Fri, 21 October 2005  Chapter 8 - "Half Dozen to Another"and Chapter 9 - "Time For You to Lose the High Chair" Comments[4] |
Fri, 21 October 2005 Chapter 7: Hector Upraided Him (Where?) Hector Priam, chief of police for the city of San Francisco, lay in his bed as restless as he had ever been. He stared at the ceiling as he lay on his back. His eyes were wide open, and his mood was anything but winding down. He had felt this way since he had left the meeting with the group, and he was unable to pinpoint the root of his anxiety.He knew that he did not look favorably upon Franc's new proposal. He only agreed because he knew his brother was unable to succeed without his help. It had always been that way. At first, when they were young, it seemed as though it was a split initiative between the two. They would constantly be in trouble, and it always would fester from some grand idea of Franc's, but back then, Franc was "the brains" and Hector was the brawn. By the time they both arrived in high school Hector had begun to see his brother's faults. He was irrational, and impulsive. Two things Hector was not, and had no tolerance for. Nonetheless Hector continued to buy into his brotherâ??s ideas, and as a result he had realized that he was doing this to protect his brother, which was never too much of a problemâ?¦ until now. Hector knew from the beginning that the whole thing was a terrible idea. Even before the group was formed, or even before Hector was introduced to many of his new "associates." Hector had known Mayor McCain since his election as mayor. He actually endorsed him. It's not that Hector didn't pick up on the Mayor's greed right away. That still wasn't an issue to him. Mayor McCain was very supportive of San Francisco's arm of the law. It was an extension of the mayor's office by right. It was also an extension that the Mayor continually used to his advantage and to the advantage of the citizens from time to time. As for Giovanni and Juan, they were the ones that Hector was supposed to be hunting. The crime lords. They were the ones that he promised to rid the city of at all costs, and now he was doing business with them. Hector had no idea how it got to this point, or how his goals had been changed. He once again thought of his brother Franc with resentment. Hector was first introduced to Robert Baron through his brother, and at first like any one else in the world, he was quite impressed with Robert and in awe of his presence. He quickly got over his admiration, and could cut right through Baron's crust. Robert had funded his way into the hearts of every city official, and had also been given a quick route to the services of the law. It was a relationship that Hector learned to live with, and actually had little problem with. The relationship between Robert Baron and his brother Franc was not. At the beginning of the group Franc seemed to fully be in the same corner as Hector. Everyone was separated at the beginning. It seemed to be the Mayor and the businessman; the mafia boss and drug lord, and Hector and Franc. Slowly they became accustomed to each other, and the group began to solidify. As time pasted on, and the group became more intertwined, Franc seemed to distance himself from Hector. Franc began to have private meetings with Robert. Sometimes the Mayor would attend. When Franc started proposing ideas to the group that were foreign to Hector was when he started to pay closer attention. Then, things began to go into motion without consulting the rest of the group at all. Franc started collaborating with Robert, and "things" were done without the groups approval or even knowledge. And as before, the same thing that got the two brothers involved started happening again. Franc's private ideas necessitated resource from the arm of the law. When Franc's first "big idea" went sour, and it involved the cops, Hector put his foot down. He still became tense just reminiscing the turn of events. He had spoken to Franc later that night after they had cleaned up his mess, and for once he did not hold back on his brother. Two had died, and the department's fingerprints were all over the whole operation. Franc had risked his brother's job, reputation, and staff for gain. Hector raged at his brother that night swearing to turn his brother in if he continued to risk his department's safety and continued as he had planned. Unfortunately Franc's idea had reached two influential people in the city, and his planned seemed, to them, financially sound enough to pull the right strings. Those two were the Mayor of the city, and the CEO of the most powerful company in the world. Hector was ordered by the Mayor of the city to put together a "drug task force" that would be the main team to enforce laws regarding producing, trafficking, and selling any and all drugs. The state enacted a set of laws which allowed drug enforcement operations to work covertly, which allowed them to work separate from the police. This gave the task force the ability to remain silent about upcoming and previous operations which was the key to Franc's new "big idea." General Forge and Foundry supplied the funding and technology, which got Baron's foot in the door on Franc's plan. Someone representing Columbia was needed, and no one else fit the description as well as Juan Pedro. Finally Giovanni was brought into the group because of his locked down status of the industry, and his knowledge base of the "who, when and where." At that point the group had been formed, and they had: someone to fund, someone to govern, someone representing the "good guys", someone representing "the bad" sellers, someone representing "the bad" buyers, and Franc to spear head the whole deal.
The phone rang. Hector was startled by the late night call, and rolled over to reach his bedside phone. He answered expecting business, "Chief Priam."
"We have the full task force plus units from all the precincts on call and waiting for the order to move out." Category: novel text -- posted at: 2:15 AM Comments[0] |
Fri, 14 October 2005 Chapter 7 - "Hector Upbraided Him"Comments[0] |
Fri, 14 October 2005 Chapter 6: The Kingpiece (Where?) Just as morning broke a man walked down the hall towards his breakfast. He ignored the numerous decorations that he had to walk by to get anywhere in the house. He passed the many paintings, sculptures, and busts of fame as he did repetitiously almost everyday. Several flags, plaques, and important letters also seemed to pass by the man as if they were just a part of the beige colored walls, and of nothing fancy. His mind was somewhere else.
He arrived at the table and sat down to his breakfast. He stared at it knowing it was what he had pursued since he had thrown on his clothes a couple minutes ago, but the next step eluded him at the moment. He tried very hard to culminate his mental processing power. In the process of trying to come to some sort of conclusion his vision went fuzzy. A helpless feeling came over him. He rubbed his eyes in utter exhaustion.
He was rubbing his eyelids with his thumb and index, as she called. His head rose up slowly as his eyes were coming into focus. His wife sat in front of him in her robe.
Before the man had anytime to respond a tall black man, also dressed in black, approached, "Good morning Mr. President. I hope you slept well. The Attonery General would like to convene with you in the west wing in several minutes to discuss the penalty increase of the controlled subâ?¦" George could see the glimmer of sweat on Thomas' head as he nodded in reply. Without any noise, even from his footsteps, he made his way and turned the door knob. As the door opened slightly, the President said calmly, "Thomas?"
The serviceman turned, but still made no noise. The President could tell by the stillness that Thomas had turned towards him in attention, and he proceeded, "I am not angry with you personally Thomas, but will you please reiterate to the team that when the President of the United States says 'you may leave now' he does not want you out of his face. He just wants you to obey him. I must retain that caliber of command" Thomas left, and the attention was now on George as he turned to his family's gaze. His face wore a serious look on it. He started to think of something fatherly or husbandly to say to someone, but that was about as hopeful as his breakfast. Inside, thoughts ran in and out of grasp. This couldn't be lack of sleep. His mind was on overload with the state of events. When he started his election campaign he was sure he was doing what he had always wanted to do. He had so much support from everyone. Everyone kept reassuring him that he was the "right man for the job." Everything made sense back then. When the only goal was to become the president. Now that he had assumed the role, all his supporters became competitors for his ear. Everyone had a demand, and a priority level. He thought he had his own list of priorities coming into this, and he thought that's what got him the job in the first place. His agenda. There was that word again agenda. He heard the word a million times a day. That was the problem. He heard about his agenda all the time, but he was never the one to put it together. He said to himself 'how come someone else has me in order? How come I don't get to decide where I am and when? Maybe that's the irony of a position such as mine.' He rolled these thoughts over in his head, and a deep feeling of loneliness set in. He was the President, and answered to no one besides the citizenry. He had no one to escalate things to or manuals on how to do his job. It was completely out of the question to approach someone for help. What would anyone think of a president who needed something, or anything. Things were out of control, and he found no one around to help.
Then he remember as he lowered his head, "Thank you God for providing us with this blessed food that we are about to eat, and thank you for providing us with the necessities of life. Amen." George's family had instinctively lowered their heads as George began, and now as they raised them, "Also Lord, please help my staff to put up with me and help them to stay together through these difficult times. In your son's name; Amen." Although The President tricked himself into believing that the last bit of prayer was for his staff's sake, he himself needed the strength more than anyone. Category: novel text -- posted at: 5:15 PM Comments[0] |
Wed, 5 October 2005 Chapter 6 - "The Kingpiece"Comments[0] |
Wed, 5 October 2005 Chapter 5: The Tasking (Where?)
Fr. Enoch Augustine felt shivers run up his back as he finished his creed. He felt the presence of beings behind him as he had hundreds of times before, and like hundreds times before he was still frightened to turn around. This, however, was almost a comfort to the priest as it was one of the emotions which reminded him of his miraculous state of existence. That he actually still lived and breathed, and feared after all this time. It also was a firm reminder that he had been chosen to bear this task since the earliest of days. And as he had done each time before he reminded himself that what came to pass had been determined a long time ago, and that he needn't hold fear.The fear drained away, and he turned to face two great beings. Two great men whom in their plainclothes would strike terrible fear into any foreign being in all existence, save the evilest of them all. Each with their hands folded behind their back, and both staring straight into the eyes of the priest with no emotion present on their faces. Their presence seemed to make everything else in the room completely insignificant as they towered in front the priest. The men continued to stare into Father Augustine's eyes waiting for him to speak. For they knew what he was to say. "Gabriel," Augustine called to the man on the left. The man nodded in reply. The priest continued, "It has been the longest of time since I have seen you last. I believe it was Ste. Marie-du-mont?" Without any facial change the man named Gabriel drew in a breath signaling his feelings for the last meeting with the priest. "The moment of Glory and Sorrow. The Father received many that day." "Yes I remember. That was the strongest I've seen the enemy." Father Augustine bowed his head and clenched his jaw. The last meeting, no matter how glorious, apparently had its cost. The priest slowly regained himself and turned to the other, "Raphael." The taller of the two great men showed a slight sign of a smile. Augustine continued similarly, "It has not been as long since I saw you last." Now the priest wore what might be called the smallest of smiles. The man named Raphael spoke, "Very true, though I have greatly missed you as always Leaf. I know it is not understood by mere mortals, but the army awaits the day that you shall return; never to depart again." "You are forgetful Raphael. I am no mere mortal, nor is it beyond me to partially understand, much less acknowledge, the grace I shall receive upon my final ascension. You also forget," Fr. Augustine's voice and expression changed to a drastically more serious tone, "That the time you speak of is nigh." Then the priest's eyes squinted, and he seemed to be occupied by thought. "Where is Michael?" Augustine looked to both of the men for answers, and received none. He continued in a more tenacious tone, "Gabriel where is Michael?" "He has been made mortal." Fr. Augustine was floored. Gabriel's answer was a less than sufficient explanation, both angels now had heads bowed in what looked like shame, apparently not wanting to speak of something. Father Augustine noticed apprehension in the two which he had never noticed before in them or any of their high order. Uneasiness grew inside him, and he looked at both the great men again for a better explanation, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Savior I command you to answer my question! Where is the arch-angel?!?!" At the very end of Father Augustine's command a celestial light shone behind the two great men, and there eyes widened, almost in anger or fear. Their hands unfolded and drop stiffly to their side, and in unison they began, "Oh Sheppard, the end is near. All that was, is no more. You have arrived at this final crusade, and the end battle for you is nigh, and in the end, all that has been told to you by the Arch-Angel Michael will come to be. But before then you are tasked. As of this hour much of your power has been stripped of you, and your future is no longer clear. You now suffer the mortality that your original sins of ancient time have brought you. And now, as a mortal you are commanded to fulfill the prophecy that you once accepted back on the mountain with Michael before your ascension in the first days. You no longer are the Sheppard of my children, but are the Sheppard of my chosen. The keybearer has come into the light, and the darkness is fully aware. You are tasked with protection, and though you have but few holy powers left, my power stands the test of all time, and is unfathomable. Be strong Enoch, for if you are not… you will be broken, and many shall suffer the gnashing and taring of teeth. Be strong, for I shall be by your side." The two great men became silent. Tears were pouring out of theirs eyes, and they looked drained of energy. They looked to Fr. Augustine, but this time for answers. For the two great men, the throne angels Gabriel and Raphael, were no more omnipotent than the mere mortal in front of them. "Augustine," Gabriel began, "The Lord has stripped us of much of our power. The future is as hidden to us as His objective. We are being tested; the same as the humans." Fr. Augustine seemed to be deep in thought. He starred at the hard wood floor in the room. His mind reeling in an attempt to piece together the bit of information he just received in tongues. And then it hit him… "Kin of Constantine???" The priest repeated in his head. "Bradley," he said out loud. The two great men were very surprised and did not know of what the Priest was referring to. The Priest noticed this and changed tones, "Gabriel," he looked to the man on the left and received a nod, "Raphael," he received another, "The end of days is near. The enemy is at his strongest, and the kin of Cain have taken the offensive. Both of you, as well as I, have lost most of the powers on which we have relied on for so many years. We must continually remind ourselves that the real cornerstone of our power… the true rock that we have relied on for all those years was the power of the Lord. With that in mind I task you both now. Speed to the corners of the earth and call upon the Apostles through their dreams. They all are to meet here by sun up, in two days." Both great men nodded, but stood still. Augustine felt as though he were lost, and picked up that the two angels felt the same way. He could not explain why the Lord had revoked any powers at all in a time like this. Although it was not his place to doubt anything, he felt like a totally different being. Much less sure of himself, and he could only assume that both the great men present had similar feelings about this. The Priest felt that he should say more to his partners, "Both of you, we are to embark upon the greatest of all crusades. Looking at ourselves at this moment brings feelings of confusion about anything we have ever done in the name of the Lord in the past. I will admit that I am unsure, and fear has never felt like such an enemy to me before. Though, I must remind you, as well as myself, that only by our faith shall we overcome fear. I know it always has been, but right now I am humbly reminded that faith is our greatest virtue, and our strongest weapon." Raphael and Gabriel both stood a little straighter as the somewhat comforting words of the priest ran over them. The Priest was right in his assumption that fear had never been more present, and they were positive of Augustine's explanation of faith; for they had experienced it only in a lesser amount than their leader Michael. "The time is nigh," Ft. Augustine finalized, "You must make haste, and spread the word to the Apostles, and your brethren. In these last days we will truly be side by side. Let the light of God guide you, and your faith in him protect you. Amen"
With that the Priest made the sign of the cross and both of the great men ran to the other side of the room and exited through the window in flight.." Category: novel text -- posted at: 2:20 AM Comments[0] |
