ENCORE 1: The next 100 words...

[profundis]

Now that he was no more than one stroke away from the most powerful office in the world, he was insulated from the more mundane tribulations of life in the Dominion of America, but the stakes were higher than ever considering the scrutiny he now lived under, not to mention what lurked in the shadows of the capital and in the lights of its tabernacles. His gift for bargaining with Synchronicity served him well in such conditions, but he knew that every bargain struck had its price as well as its promise. Caveat Emptor, went the old proverb. Buyer beware.