Author: Nova

Part 1

Chapter 1
Atomic Bombshell
Lincoln, Nebraska: 15 years ago

“What an atomic bombshell!”
Nebraska Attorney General Lincoln Todd flipped through the glossy pages of his men’s magazine. A leer pushed out his ruddy cheeks. Dark eyebrows arched toward his charcoal hairline.
“Eyes on me, Linc.” Kirsten Kelly huffed, sitting on the other side of his big oak desk.
“If you insist, darling girl.” Linc beheld the buxom blonde in a black miniskirt. “You’re a Gentleman’s Lady, right, Kirsten?”
“You know I was. That’s how we met.” She crossed her lovely legs. “At August Adolf’s Gentleman’s Mansion. You’re begging for campaign donations. Remember?”
“Me and a dozen other lucky gents.” He flashed a disarming smile.
“But check out old Auggie’s latest lady.” He showed her a page from the Ms. Indian Summer issue of August Adolf’s Gentleman’s Delight. “It says this Nova Orlovic chick is part Cheyenne. Savage, isn’t she? And here she is. At the Trinity Site in New Mexico. Where the first atom bomb exploded. Squatting at Ground Zero with a Geiger counter in her sweet little hands. Wearing nothing but feathers and a teeny-weeny leather bikini.”
“Have you been listening to me?” Kirsten wrested the magazine from him. “I’m pregnant.” 
“Oh, that. Then congratulations are in order.” Linc opened a bottom drawer and pulled out a brandy bottle with glasses and a box of cigars. “Who’s the proud father?” 
“You, you idiot.”
“And I thought this was just a friendly little visit.” Linc’s smile vanished. “What do you want?”
“Child support…for starters.” She squinted at him. “And I know you’ve got your eye on the governor’s seat. Most Nebraskans don’t cotton to cheating husbands with bastard children.” 
“I see.” Linc mustered his lawyer face. “So how can we make this little problem…go away?”
“A few hundred grand would be a great help.” 
Linc whistled. 
“Otherwise hush money.” He pulled out a business card from his top drawer. “Here’s a referral to Equality Before the Law. That’s EBL, for short. Ms. Wiggum’s an expert at dealing with these…delicate situations.”
“Ms. Wiggum? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Kirsten saw Linc raise an eyebrow. “She’s your wife. What’ll she think of our affair?” 
“This ain’t her first rodeo,” Linc said. “Wanda understands our marital arrangement...its rewards…its risks. And she’ll set you up. For life.”
“But whose life? And for how long?”
Linc lit his cigar. Took a puff. 
“Now that’s up to you, darling girl.”