But this morning, he didn’t have the luxury; he had to report to the director’s office (his supervisor) for a briefing of some sort. Vincent left his office and went to the end of the hall, where he took a right, counted nine doors, entered, took a left, counted six doors, entered, took another right, counted eight doors, entered, moving rather briskly, turned left, or maybe right, he turned left (sound of door opening and closing), counted (any doors look like they’ve just been opened?) four… maybe five… three, counted three doors, entered, went down the hall (faint voices, one of them could be Captain Vincent’s), yes, he went down the hall, door number six on the right, yes, he’s inside, and entered…
“As I said, Section 9 is up in arms about this.”
“Section 9 doesn’t have jurisdiction over this case, director. Section 9 doesn’t even have precedence, now if Section 2 or 7 were complaining we might need to explain ourselves, but Section 9. Tell them to take their petition and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“It’s not that simple, Captain. They have indicated that certain information about the subject has been withheld from your reports. They believe that should this information be exposed, we would no longer be in charge of the operation.”
“They always say that when they want to muscle in, director. I comply with the full disclosure ordinances, I play my operations by the book. This is all just politics and it’s wasting valuable time.”
Vincent, standing, Director Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald Fitness Worldwide, Inc.) sitting behind his desk, both men speaking over each other. Vincent knows what to say to the director, he knows because he can tell what the director will say before he does, and he has a ready-made response. They want to retrieve her, already, without his report’s completion. No evidence, just the length of his investigation… won’t be long now. The director has reservations — he’s concerned…
“Perhaps, you could share with me the current status of the operation?”
“Of course, we are currently in Phase 5. She is under twenty-four-hour surveillance. Nothing, as yet, has indicated to me or any of my officers that a Section 9 movement is required.”
“Haven’t you been in Phase 5 for longer than normal?”
“Yes, but my surveillance is not yet complete. I assure you, Director Fitzgerald, as soon as we’re ready, we’ll initiate Phase 6.”
“You’ve got to give me something to get Section 9 off my back, captain.”
Spineless… he should just roll over and let them butt fuck him… jurisdiction, he’s observing jurisdiction…
“They shouldn’t be on there in the first place, this has nothing to do with their operations. Nothing, as yet, has indicated to us that rebranding is required.”
“You haven’t heard or seen anything suspicious, something that Section 9 may have picked up in an independent investigation?”
Knows nothing… just weary… gullible (old trick), appease his concerns…
“No, not at all. She’s a recluse almost, she has an assistant, her brother came to visit her the other day and they had a fight. That’s about it. We need to gather more information, director. Don’t let those jug-heads in 9 push their way in, they’ll fuck up the entire operation.”
“All right, but you’ve got to speed up your mission control. I can hold them off, but as soon as they go to the magistrate and start saying things, there won’t be anything I can do.”
Insert team player lingo now…
“I thought we were all on the same team. How are we supposed to do our jobs when we have to worry about another section coming in and taking over?”
“9 is pushy, always have been. They think they own this damn department. That director of theirs, that Donahue, he’s a real S.O.B. We’re all in the same boat, my boy, every section in the department, trust me.”
Sympathy and just a little force…
“Fine, but if I see even one of those black-clad neandrethals come anywhere near my operation, I’ll bring him down and explain later. I can’t have them moving in, it’d ruin months of work.”
Vincent departs before the director responds, knowing that he has nothing more and would continue only for the sake of it, as the director has the right to do, he nods in such a way that communicates his subordination (a trick of plagiarized body language he’s picked up that causes the person it’s directed towards to feel as though they themselves waved him away).
* * *
“Are you ready? Okay then, sit down beside me. Ready? A long time ago, in a land not far from where you are now, there was a mighty king. Do you know what a king is? Sort of like a president. This mighty king was called Midas and he was sad. For the citizens of his kingdom, do you know what that is? Like a state. For the citizens of his kingdom were not happy and he did not know how to please them.
“King Midas sat on a giant tower and looked down upon his lands. See him up there? He sat for days and days, trying to think of a way to make his people happy. But nothing came to mind. Midas could not solve the problem and so, he sent for an ancient wizard named Merlin. Merlin lived in the city of the dragons, who were not at all mean or angry. They were nice to the old wizard because he made them pies and cakes. See him making the pies and cakes?
“When Merlin arrived at the castle, that’s a castle, he saw how sad the king was and offered him his best blue-berry pie. King Midas ate the pie but it did not help him. He asked the great, old wizard: ‘how can I make the people happy?’ And Merlin, who was truly wise, whispered the answer into the king’s ear. Not even the queen or prince heard. Midas was pleased.
“The next day, after Merlin had gone back to the city of the dragons, King Midas sent barons out with instructions to find a valley circled by mountains. Barons are like senators. After two months of searching, a baron named Mithra returned with the news that he’d found a valley that was encircled on three sides with mountains that reached beyond the clouds. King Midas was happy with this and he put Baron Mithra in charge of his plan.
“Baron Mithra rode his horse back to the valley with one thousand men. They began to build a giant wall around the valley so that it was enclosed. See them, they’re building a wall so that the valley doesn’t have an opening. After a year of building, the castle was complete. Baron Mithra went to King Midas and told him the good news.
“Within the valley, King Midas built a giant garden and in this garden he put all sorts of animals. But he did not put any mean animals. Only deer, raccoons, squirrels, giraffe, zebra, horses, antelopes, gazelles, elephants, cats, dogs, fish, and singing birds. The garden flourished in the valley and King Midas often wandered its grounds in harmony.
“During a festival for dads and moms, when everyone in the king’s lands were dancing, King Midas sent his soldiers to their homes. Their children were sleeping in their beds. The soldiers took the youngest child from every home. See them putting the kids in carriages. None of the children woke up because the wizard Merlin had cast a spell over them. King Midas had the children taken to his garden in the walled valley.
“When the children woke up, they were in the garden. At first, some of them cried. But the peaceful garden won them over and soon they began to wander through its forest. They picked fruit from the trees, patted deer on the head, played with dogs and held kitty cats on their laps. They were happy, they had forgotten their parents and the village they came from. See them smiling.