Wicked Messenger by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Chapter 21
In Detroit, Castor Williams turned off the television in disgust, turned to his reclining, Sunny brother Pollux and said;
“That’s it! That’s ******* it! The ************* President supports the shooting of Elis!”
“Didn’t you hear the ******** about respect, dignity and civil debate?”
“Precisely that; ********. War against us has been sanctioned on the highest level and our own leaders need more information. ****!”
Pollux chided; “My brother has become opinionated and emotional.”
“******* right. It’s our lives at stake.”
“...........................”
“We could blast the ************* as we originally planned and put an end to all this nonsense. It gets worse daily.”
“We don’t have ‘silver bullets.’ We’ll be the ones blasted.”
Castor was vehement when he said; “We’ll recruit some discontented military men. There has to be plenty.”
Pollux shrugged and said; “I’m not thrilled with the situation either. Earth is certainly not Eli.”
“Exactly, and someone’s got to make it that way. The government abdicated.”
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“Well, let’s just say for sake of argument that I agree with you. Who or what are you going to target?”
“Anybody and anything American. Random, just like they’re doing to us.”
Pollux shook his head with his eyes on the floor, but was grinning. He said; “My radical brother.”
Castor added; “It’s easier for us that way. No pattern.
We’ll be hard as hell to catch. We can stay small and go wherever we want. And we can take out commercial buildings. Hit them where it hurts most; in the pocketbook.”
Pollux queried; “And we’ll do this the rest of our lives?”
“Until they stop the Robby Allison imitators, end the police hassles and get an Eli sympathetic President.”
“Far ******* out.”
Thus was born “EDICT,” the “Eli Defense Initiative for a Changing Testament,” which was eventually to grow to an incalculable number of members; some technically belonging to other affiliated and like-minded independent organizations. The public became aware of their existence a week later, when the brothers took the initiative, forsaking the study and used a speedboat carried explosive to blow a hole in a Greek freighter carrying Chinese toilet bowls, which suffered water damage, to the UK. They had the foresight to be in the other speedboat. A
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British blogger re-coined their moniker to “Evil Defecatory Incontinents Chucking Terrorism.” It caught on and in time the majority of Brits and Americans believed that this was their true name and their “edict” was largely considered to be simply destruction of the free world’s or the world’s free excretory processes. The totality of EDICT at this point, Castor and Pollux, celebrated that their sought US “pocketbook” impact was realized through the temporary shortage and resultant quadrupling in price of low water flush commodes in three UK
counties, a minor middle Eastern consortium insurance outlay approved at a middling level and an outlay of US$7,854.09 by Greek ship owners to arm Greek freighter seamen with otherwise useless, stockpiled US bazookas, rejected by a number of African counter-insurgent groups.
Recruitment was initially difficult for a few very good reasons; 1)Most Elis still had difficulty making a meaningful decision, and the possibility of becoming “radical” pushed their envelopes into their concept of the stratosphere; the ceiling, 2)Castor and Pollux found it difficult to approach other Elis and say; “Would you like to help us blow up some things. We have our good reasons,” 3)Most Elis thought it was extremely gauche to use explosives and projectile firing devices, as this was what they were told was the methodology of the “archaic”
Earthlings, reminiscent of some century old action movie,
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starring someone on steroids capable of grunting, 4)Many thought this was their Zeus-led government’s job, and if they did it for them, the elected would just be encouraged to be lazier than they already were, 5)Elis distinctly disliked living small, 6)Some of the women thought this might upset Frank, and they didn’t want to do that as they thought he was cute, 7)Many thought their parents would be angry, 8)Most didn’t want to live in grubby hideouts, 8)Most already had access to a serviceable privy, 9)Military Elis didn’t like taking orders from civilians, and 10)Many did not want to risk incarceration and torture.
Enrollment surged when Brian Feldstein, agent for aging T&A actress Barbie Standpipe, announced that she was joining EDICT, as she had grown to disdain her bourgeois existence, saw that small was beautiful and wanted to do what was right. This was accompanied by a short film clip of her in a leafy backyard hot tub, saying; “I’m an American and I believe in freedom. Free love is all!” She then stood to reveal her assets and the film ended with a giggle and a splash. While no one has been able to testify to her getting small, “Screen” magazine reported that her people were in negotiation with Prominent Pilose Productions for the starring role in their next scheduled après-garde film, which has a working title of “Take It as It Comes,” ostensibly having something to do with Jim Morrison’s difficulties with the legally imposed limitations of performance art. For the non-
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history buffs, he was an ill-fated rocker in the age of the dinosaurs.
Joshua woke and went to a local café for breakfast. He purchased a newspaper, and while he waited for his coffee, ham and eggs, he was greeted with:
BLUNT DEAD
Shot Down Resting at Jersey Shore
New York Herald, September 25, 2058. The nation is mourning the assassination of the most prominent member of the black activist community, Preacher Alvin Blunt. While taking some well-deserved time off in Mantoloking, NJ, Preacher Alvin Blunt fulfilled his dour board member, Nathan Gaunt’s prophecy by being gunned down.
Bodyguard Trevor Washington said that the Preacher was on the second floor deck of his Atlantic Ocean-front rental house, when a person in a black wetsuit exited the ocean carrying what was first thought to be a commonplace harpoon used for fishing. In New Jersey the beachfront is legally public land, utilized by swimmers, boaters, fishermen, dog-walkers and anyone else who wants to be there. But, the “harpoon” turned out to be a .22 in a black case, with which he opened fire, hitting Blunt three times. His bodyguards took cover under the barrage and the person scampered to the road, where a car waited. As they drove away on Mantoloking Road, Blunt’s bodyguards gave pursuit, but were soon hopelessly stymied in dense weekend shore traffic.
The Preacher was pronounced dead on arrival at Shoretown Emergency Hospital at 2PM EST. He leaves behind a wife and three children, two boys and a girl.
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In addition to his well-publicized past activities, including the founding of POCKET, the ground-breaking Blunt vs. The City of New York case, which compelled the city to refrain from investigating street people, “who gave the appearance of being homeless,” and the controversial Blunt vs. The Borough of Brooklyn, which legalized public urination, “if there was no public restroom within ten thousand feet and the urinator was more than ten thousand feet from home,” he recently instituted a number of suits on behalf of, and against the Elis.
He was warned that while one is tolerated in taking up the case of black people, one has crossed a line when the case is extended to others, involving a larger constituency. There exists a minority opinion that ninety years ago, the seminal Reverend Martin Luther King, was assassinated shortly after publicly announcing that his mission wasn’t only about black people; that it was about poor people .......................
Joshua thought; “Oh, ****,” as he inadvertently let his coffee, ham and eggs get cold, oblivious to everything else while reading the obituary. Under the current circumstances he was not surprised; just disappointed. He considered who the culprit might have been and he had many suspicions, one emanating from what sounded like a half assed story from Blunt’s bodyguards; “Letting a person with a HARPOON approach. Then taking cover. Then attempting pursuit and getting stymied in weekend traffic.” Having never visited, he didn’t know that weekend Jersey shore stymy was a distinct possibility, even entering off-season. Nonetheless, it seemed to him that there was a good possibility that the guards were complicit, perhaps hopeful of stepping into the Preacher’s shoes or perhaps they vehemently did not approve of the Preacher’s “abandonment” of
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black causes they interpreted from his boundary extension into Eli territory. Or maybe they just hated Elis. It had become not uncommon.
The traditional racist forces were another possibility.
While the question was; “Why now?” the answer could be that they were now provided with many potential smoke screen villains.
Maybe it was the anti-Eli skinheads. Very obvious, but that’s the way they are.
Maybe it was everyday black people who wanted a leader who pursued only their interests. Other organizations existed and allegiance could have been switched in a non-violent, monetary manner. Did emotion overcome rationality?
Maybe it was a radical Eli, who thought Blunt’s prominence was a detriment to his own.
Maybe it was his heir apparent, or someone who mistakenly and wishfully thought they were the heir apparent.
Maybe it was orchestrated by his wife, who had to endure public knowledge of the Preacher’s indiscretions. Cops always take the spouse as the first suspect.
Maybe it was the Federal Government, excessively tired of his black ass. Not likely, as it was done right. He got in; he got out; and didn’t become famous while he was there. Smart competent person. Maybe it was an indie operative maneuver
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attempting to impress someone in the Federal government, in the hopes of getting an overseas contract.
Maybe he was just plain nuts, and had not experienced a BM
in days.
If the bodyguard account of the incident was to be believed, two people were involved; a conspiracy. Yet Joshua suspected that no one would ever be brought to justice for the slaying of this well-intentioned man.
Maybe the event would give rise to many people writing books about their “knowledge” of and/or participation in the tragedy, further confusing matters.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. What was clear to Joshua was that a good man was gone, America continued on Chaos Road, Elis had become irrational, that he had made a promise to a little girl he loved, that that promise appeared to be harder and harder to fulfill, and that he passionately wanted to kill all the villains. But, he had no idea who they were.
He dejectedly walked back to his room under the rumbling gray sky, oblivious to the teeming reality which surrounded him on all sides. He wasn’t aware of it, but he had become a typical Manhattan habitué. When he got there he found a red swastika, in still wet, running, garish paint, on his door. Dry lightning hit the roof antennae making lights blink.
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In Cripple Creek, Michigan, an isolated backwater, an old eccentric white man used his skinhead oriented blog to covertly suggest “That the US was better off without/before the Eli migration.” While in “normal” times he would have been overjoyed with the Preacher’s demise, he saw the event as a door to re-establishing the “relevance” his family had years prior. Mark Ritt, now 75 years of age, was the nerdy, bookish son of the deceased Garson Ritt, who, sixty years ago, at the end of the last century, wrote a carefully worded anti-Federal government pamphlet he called a book, which became the skinhead Bible until everyone else also became anti-Federal government and wrote their own books. In his blog Mark referred to Blunt as an Earthling, rather than a black, and utilizing the extremely unlikely theory that an Eli killed Blunt, he termed the event a
“trans-species killing that once again shows us the true nature of the monsters.” The “call to arms” proved exciting to his father’s audience as well as camouflaged, covert, big city baldies.
Sunny Elis were verbally abused and intimidated by groups of belligerents, many old enough to know better, in the streets of Baltimore, Binghamton, Bar Harbor, Boston and Chicago. Minor physical attacks requiring no hospitalization plagued Brooklyn, Bethesda, Los Angeles and Dallas. Spray painted swastikas appeared on doors throughout the country, amplified by the
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tagging by bored kids who really had no opinion on the matter, but thought it cool.
President Frank Stabile sat alone in the Elliptical Office and fretted about the escalating violence. He was constrained by the rule of law and an inability to determine who was breaking it. He regretted having paid politically intended homage to Robby Allison, whose action, hindsight finally suggested to him was the beginning of the chaos. But, he didn’t find it productive to dwell on that and he couldn’t overtly contradict, if possible, his recent speech to the nation. His primary concern was his impending run for re-election. He knew he was obliged to say something about Preacher Al Blunt’s assassination, but he felt that if he said something positive, it would be taken as another endorsement of a controversial character. Yet, if he said nothing, it would be taken as a rejection of the man many admired for his peaceful pursuit of justice. He thought; “Times are difficult, but when were they not?” He decided to have his speechwriters carefully prepare a short positive statement and commission the making of a bronze bust for the White House lawn.
Having come to that pervasive conclusion, he saw that he had only dealt with the easiest part of the problems.
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With the growing disregard for law and order, the strengthening of the anti-Federal government feelings and the confusing, widening divisions between all groups he considered the country ripe for an attack from any of a number of opportunistic directions. In his duty as Commander-in-Chief and considering his legacy of possibly being “the ******* in charge when America fell,” he decided that his best option was a bluff.
He had his most trusted people “leak” to the far left wing press that America was stockpiling advanced weapons, which were obtained from the advanced technology of immigrants and that the powers that be were intentionally letting things get out of control, in the hopes that one of their international rivals was fooled into attacking, thereby giving America the excuse to obliterate them once and for all, stimulating the economy.
Regarding the street violence, he came to the simple conclusion that Elis did not vote and the number of their Earthling supporters was a dwindling minority. Regarding the killing of Blunt, he rationalized that he never got any of the black vote anyway. Any further “initiatives” were best reserved for the next convention, when the empty words would draw voluminous applause, foot stomping and whistles. Regarding the economy and the stock market, he would have his writers add a bit to his Blunt speech that “the underpinnings of the economy are
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fundamentally sound,” and deflect any possible questions about precisely what “underpinnings” were.
No Earthly powers put any credence in the “stockpiling of advanced weapons” nonsense. They had no thoughts of attacking anyway, as if they were successful in decimating America, who would buy what they manufactured and mined?
However, the Eli Ministers had to put credence in Stabile’s bluff, as they had not found the missing “silver bullet” once owned by Ares Jarrod. Their simple logic was that it had to be someplace and if it were in the hands of an individual citizen it would have been used or commercialized by now. Therefore the most likely holder was the government. Cronos was the only one who thought otherwise, but he was compelled to remain silent about his belief that it was in the possession of Joshua.
At their regularly scheduled meeting the subject again came up, this time prompted by Marshall Ordnance, who was mad as hell that his three men were still “missing.”
Cronos chronicled the attacks on Sunny Elis and that “many”
Sunnies now want to resort to the original plan and kill all Earthlings, regardless of the risk. The “We Need More Information” trio reported that Darkies called for patience and peace. They didn’t say and might not have known that the primary
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reason for this was that no Darkie had been attacked. Zeus ruled that damages were physically minimal and there will be no change in plans.
Darker-skinned Darkies infiltrated EDICT, the radical Sunny group. They viewed them as irrational trouble makers, giving the impetus for violence. They had seen that all attacks had been on Sunnies and had no personal interest in the trouble. EDICT took them in as they are incompetent, desperate for company and personally flattered. The undercover agent’s mission was to sabotage and inform. They saw little play in going to their own government, so they contacted US intelligence and offered their services. Of course it was accepted as the Feds had nothing to lose in the arrangement, but they wondered if this was some sort of a ruse and planned to take any conveyed information with a grain of salt.
Another significant event occurred, with world-wide implications over and above the specificity of the incident itself. If one had paid heed to the precise words of tricky Zeus, when at a recent meeting he closed it with; “It (war) is premature. As events unfold we can reassess,” they, as Cronos, would understand that there was a limit on his acquiescence to the forces which sought 100% certainty.
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The first Eli to be murdered on Earth was found dead, the victim of multiple bullet wounds. In the apartment he shared with his brother, radical Sunny co-founder of EDICT, Castor Williams’ body was discovered by Pollux.
END OF SECOND EPISODE
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