Into the Light

Chapter 34: curious-er and curious-er

Chapter: 34

"It is one thing to show a man that he is in an error, and another to put him in possession of the truth."

John Locke

In the hotel room, smelling of musk and onions left out in the sun too long, Blake completes his transcription of his notes into a thirty-page chronicle and taps the rhythm of his heartbeat on the tips of his nose. The final act is saved as word document. After searching web, they find a suitable place to start the operation, the Dante statue in MeridianHillPark, and Blake loves the symbolism but Stiggy is excited to see the cascade waterfall fountain and the neo-classical bridge. He hopes his thick swollen tongue doesn't stop him from communicating on such an important day but Blake says he understand shim just fine.

The day grows in light but not in warmth, as crowds slowly gather, gangs of protesters bound by idealism circle the five star hotel where the esteemed moderate Republican Senator Elizabeth Constantine will hold court with her supporters and contributors. She hopes her dark business suit is not too overbearing.

Her outspoken and causal temerity have gained her many constituents in congress and also in the corporations. The senator's agenda for this day begins at six, no later, as the earlier worm evades the bird. A woman born and bred in Boston, schooled in democracy like many interns, and finally received her law degree from Boston's second best university. All of this she carries with her and is never allowed to forget.

She clacks down the marble stairs to the back of the hotel behind the kitchen to make her entrance to the dining hall. A spot of water slicks her heel but she doesn't fall. Her second in command, a young aide with a buzz cut, grabs her arm and leads her all the way to the podium through the expanding applause in the dining hall. She taps the microphone.

"Hello everyone I hope you all got enough sleep because I have much to say today starting with the proposed action in, I'm sorry," she turns to her aid, "What Stan is it? Oh, Uz becky, that's how you say that? Okay," she says and thinks I wish they could make up their minds on names. Ugh, this hotel reminds me of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

The crusaders meet at the statue after each takes a different route. Blake, Stiggy and Darius go over the plan and then make their way out of Meridian Hill through the rest of RockCreekPark. Blake and Stiggy had split up the venom and armed the individual delivery devices. Darius goes to the lookout point. The day warms up like an electric blanket on low as they investigate the park that is going into hibernation as a large amount of protesters have already migrated for thee senator's speech.

Blake reassures Stiggy that this will be easier than he thought. They have more distractions than previously presumed. The protestors will obviously get more media attention. After watching a fit female jogger bounce by, her ponytail dashing across her bare shoulders, Stiggy steps in front of Blake.

"What does she look like?" he asks.

"A ghoul. A torso with a tiny reptilian brain floating in a green outline and a blue radiant energy. No realness in her either and the message was that she is invulnerable to the blade, but her body can be changed, not just her face. The mask of her will shatter like plaster. She's a gorgon and the snake will bite the snake."

"Oh," Stiggy says, pauses and continues, "I guess I'm off for a while and here's the other soda with the extra large straw. My tongue really hurts though from last night, the plastic insert didn't go in that easily. I think it is infected. Should have used iodine. The dart is in there though. I'm so glad the new Pontiff is on the other side of the district to take away some of the police pressure. "