by Matt Rogers
Chapter 29
The restaurant’s interior was unlike any other’s which sadly made it an exact copy, if not in décor, at least in theme. Someone, somewhere had come up with the idea of giving dining establishments a certain ideal, an overarching palate of what the place was to represent. Whether it was the Wild West or the French Rivera, a tiny island in the Tropics or an exotic locale from the Far East the end product was always the same; stuff as much junk on the walls and shelves as possible from the locales the place was trying to impersonate.
“Hello, Governor.”
“Hello, Nat, please sit down.”
They were in, surprisingly, Dallas, for the Governor had a speech to give. He rarely visited the great glass city with the iconic green-glass ball sitting atop a concrete silo because he hadn’t won their popular vote a single time. Dallas was an enigma to him, a place in the heart of Texas which voted against what the rest of the state voted for. His advisors spelled it out for him one time in the middle of the campaign season.
“Forget about Dallas.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a big city. Big cities were long ago abandoned by our constituents and replaced by theirs. Concentrate on the surrounding cities, that’s where our people fled to.”
City sprawl led to urban flight and what once was a beacon to the rich became home to the homeless. The weird part about Dallas, the really strange part was where the leaders of the business community chose to reside; inside the perimeters of the city. They chose to remain near where their glass skyscrapers stood but were a bit hesitant to call the city itself their home. What did they do? They actually bought a small circle in the heart of the once-whole city and voted it free. They were no longer a part of Dallas, they were the donut hole. They had access to everything Dallas provided without the inconvenience of paying for its upkeep or infrastructure. It became known as the Park Cities and a testament to the possibility of flight without movement.
“What can I get you, Officer?” the cute high-school waitress asked as she arrived at their table.
“I’ll have a sweet tea and chicken fajitas, please” he responded with a smile.
She wrote down what should’ve been easy to remember and sauntered away to gossip about Governors, police officers and the latest fashion trend involving shoe-wear with toe slots.
They were at one of the quasi-franchise places which sprung up around freeways in populated areas. The establishments themselves were very expensive to build and operate because of the price for commercial property. They catered to the masses but needed to appear not to. The prices were set so they could eke out a profit and hopefully remain relevant until they could earn enough money to tell the property valuators to take a flying leap off the green-glass orb on a silo. The state of Texas had no income tax so needed to make up the difference somehow and the ‘how’ became a property tax. The tax was set by the amount the property valuators deemed the property to be worth. The more it was worth the more taxes were due. Since freeways contained people and they liked to eat the evaluation of land along the concrete pathways was deemed ‘prime’. Prime land went for prime prices so the restaurateurs needed to make a boatload of cash every month in order to keep their places going. They could do it in two ways. Charge high and sell less or charge low and sell more. Many tried the charge high and sell more theory but found it to be rather difficult to pull off. A select few tried the charge low and sell less theory and realized the error of their ways when the rent came due.
“So, Governor, how are you doing?” Nat asked by way of opening the conversation so he could close it earlier rather than later.
“I’m doing great, Nat. I’m on this new diet and I think it’s really going to be the one for me.”
Nat’s eyebrows raised for he’d heard it before but didn’t want to insult the man.
“Oh yeah? What’s it called?”
“The Predietor. You get it? It’s a take-off of predator only they…”
“Yes, Governor, I get it. So, what can you eat?”
“Anything a predator eats. It’s great. I read up on it and it seems it came from this guy on safari who was watching these lions and had an epiphany.”
“An epiphany?”
“Uh-huh, it’s like a sudden idea or something. Anyway, he saw how muscular those beasts of the jungle were and decided we should eat like them.”
Nat was always fascinated with Human ideals of what was considered attractive. He’s been around long enough to have seen civilizations in the past who would’ve looked on the people of current time and surmised they were of poor stock. The past involved hardship and hard work. Those who were wealthy endured neither. One way to lord the fact over the lesser beings of the realm was to become fat. Fat showed power. Fat showed prestige. Fat was what all wished to be and became all the rage until food became abundant.
“So you’re going to eat like a lion?”
“Yep. Turns out if you only eat meat you’ll lose all the weight you want.”
Nat didn’t want to burst the Governor’s bubble but saw a rather large hole in his line of reasoning.
“Um, Governor?”
“Yes, Nat?”
“Lions need to chase their prey. Then they must tear the flesh from the carcass and eat it raw.”
Governor Austin Travis brow furrowed as he digested the information. He wasn’t a bad guy, thought Nat, just an easily manipulated pawn type of guy. He was bought at an early age and set on a course for stewardship. He had the looks, he had the presence and he would follow the orders of those behind the seats of power. He wasn’t dumb, maybe moronic but not stupid, for no one could obtain the station in life he had with a delinquent intellect. The problem the Governor had, in Nat’s opinion, was he was too easily swayed. He could see both sides of the coin. Unfortunately for quite a few of his constituents the coin he was shown had only one image.
“So you don’t think the Predietor diet will work?”
“I didn’t say that. But maybe you should think about taking up jogging. You know, to simulate the lion chasing down the antelope thing?”
He knew it would fall on deaf ears. The Governor hated to jog. Oh, he’d do the publicity pictures and once a year drag his poor secret service staff out onto some backwoods trail where cameramen would be stationed to snap photos of him as he loped gracefully along at an acceptable pace but he also knew the second he was out of sight the Governor would collapse in a heap and lie on the ground for fifteen minutes trying to recover from what his lungs perceived as a frenzied dash for life.
The food could be seen and heard before it arrived. Nat’s was sizzling and smoking on a tray which liability agents had to find terrifying and the Governor’s choice was right behind it.
“What is that, Governor?”
“Honey smothered baby-back ribs.”
They ate without speaking for to do so would mean the man eating the piglet would need to wipe the sauce off his mouth and Nat quickly concluded no amount of cloth smaller that a bed sheet would do the trick. When they finished the questioning began.
“Nat?”
“Yes, Governor?”
“What have you heard about the cruise ships?”
“I heard someone hijacked and rammed them into Cuba.”
The news had come as a shock and it hit the airwaves like a tsunami.
“Hello, folks, this is Nick Price with the Channel Five Award Winning Daybreak News. We have a breaking story out of Florida. Two cruise lines have been reported missing and lost on Cuba. For more we go live to Miami Beach where Tim Tidbit flew in this morning. Tim, are you there?”
“Yes, Nick, I’m here.”
“Tim, what can you tell us of the horrific events which unfolded overnight?”
“Well, Nick, as far as we were able to discern a group of hijackers took command of two cruise liners and ran them ashore at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
“Guantánamo Bay?”
“Yes, Nick, Guantánamo Bay.”
/> “Isn’t that where we’ve been holding our political prisoners, Tim?”
“Yes.”
“Do the authorities believe there is some connection, Tim?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard the question correctly.”
“Do the authorities believe there is some connection between Guantánamo Bay and the cruise ships which plowed into them?”
“Do you mean like animosity?”
“Yes, Tim, were the cruise ships animus towards Guantánamo Bay?”
The deed had been done in the dead of night on open waters and involved two families; the Delmars and the Santiagos. The plan involved two watercraft and four boarding passes. Two pair of mated from each family boarded two Caribbean cruise ships with smartphones. The phones contained global positioning technology and the watercraft were equipped to hone in on their signals. The trap had worked due to the size of the transports involved.
“No, Nick, I haven’t heard of any animosity between the Vacation Industry and Guantánamo Bay.”
“Were they possibly used for transport of the prisoners, Tim?”
“Um… well I guess that’s possible.”
“Then it would also be possible for the cruise ships to be used as payment reminders, isn’t that so, Tim?”
“Payment reminders?”
“Yes, sort of like demand notices for back payment due.”
“Are you saying the cruise liners were used to demand payment?”
“I’m not saying it, Tim, I’m asking if it’s possible.”
“Well, I guess anything’s possible but…”
“Thank you, Tim, we are now going to switch gears and bring in an expert on maritime warfare, Admiral Jennings. Admiral, you’ve just heard our award-winning south-border reporter question whether or not cruise companies can use their ships as battering rams to demand payment for transporting political prisoners. What do you have to say on the topic?”
The couples on board remained hidden until the time was right. When they got the call the Vampires went invisible while the Wolves assisted in lifting others from small boats onto much larger ones. Once on board the plan commenced. The command structure proved to be both the strongest form of governance for a ship ferrying passengers to warm weather vacation spots and the weakest in terms of vulnerability to attack.
“Hello, everybody, sorry for breaking into your regularly scheduled programming but we have an update on the cruise ships lost to Cuba. Tim Tidbit is at a news conference and we are going live to our award-winning reporter. Tim, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here, Nick.”
“Tim, what’s the latest on the Cruise Controversy?”
“Well, Nick, the owners of the cruise lines held a news conference a short time ago and denied using their ships as any sort of warning. They say if they wanted to demand payment they would’ve done so through the mail.”
“Through the mail?”
“Yes, Nick, through the mail.”
“Do you believe them, Tim?”
“I’m… I’m sorry but I don’t think I understand the question.”
“I’m asking if you believe them, Tim. I’m asking if you think they are honorable and upright citizens or are they, as quite a few viewers have been calling in to say, nothing but a bunch of lying miscreants who advertise one thing and then when they you get on board you realize everything isn’t paid for in full. You realize the good stuff, the fun stuff, all costs extra. Now, I’m not one to throw stones but I’ve got to say those cruise line owners seem to have a lot of explaining to do for their past actions and…”
Once on board the hierarchy was exposed. When a ship the size of a small city was at sea there could and should be only one leader in the case of an emergency. The reason for the hierarchy grew from the knowledge of people at sea; during emergencies everyone panicked. It was deemed appropriate for one man, the captain, to issue orders so the others, everyone else, wouldn’t go crazy and take the rest of the passengers with them to the bottom of the ocean. The line of reasoning was simple, logical and disastrous when Wolves and Vampires decided to exploit the situation.
“… and furthermore, what’s with every tourist island having the exact same tokens and baubles? Don’t they know the same items were on the previous island? I would think the cruise ship owners could get together with the locals and have them offer something different for people traveling with children who get quite bored when they’ve seen the same thing on three previous…”
The top of the pyramid was the key and as long as they controlled the tip everything below would fall into place. The captain was in his state room when a Wolf entered. It took two fingers to the larynx for the man to grasp the situation. Once in the hallway the Vamps took over. The Captain had no idea who was behind him but he knew for certain whomever it was held a sharp blade to his kidney. The message was clear, the note precise and the orders carried out with military preparedness.
“Captain on deck!”
He could tell with his own eyes they couldn’t see with theirs. The knife was still there yet no one did a thing. It was as though his assailant was invisible. He was beginning to wonder if he were dreaming when he felt the point push a little harder.
“We have an emergency situation! Get everyone to the life-boats and evacuate the ship!”
“What’s the problem, Captain?”
“I have learned we have a bomb on board.”
Obedience was the rule and was learned the hard way. The crew on any cruise ship consisted of two types; those serving the passengers and those serving the Captain. The lower hands, those in charge of passenger comfort had no command, could issue no orders and were effectively paid-labor along for the ride. The ones under the Captain were different. They were in charge of safety and the ship. They were smart, experienced and knowledgeable on the rules of law governing the ocean; the Captain was the law. His word was sacrosanct. He could not be challenged and his orders were to be followed without question. There were times when a Captain went insane and the crew had to take matters into their own hands. If it was done the authorities would understand and the crew would merely be thrown in the blockade instead of put to death. As everyone who sailed quickly learned it didn’t matter if the order made sense or even if the man in charge was acting irrational. Do what he said or face the consequences. It took minutes to abandon the ships.
“Do you think it was middle-eastern terrorists, Nat?” the Governor asked.
The Alien sat back and thought over the question. He knew who it was and was enjoying the knowledge but he couldn’t let on for it would ruin a perfectly good plan. They now had the United States surrounded. Every means of possible invasion for First Clan’s Wolves was now open when the warfare between Human’s broke out. If Mexico didn’t dance than the grand lady of France would enter the ballroom. If she refused then the annoyance of the tiny island which had thumbed its nose at the greatest power on the planet, a power a mere ninety miles away, would finally get a chance to test its metal. Cuba was the hole card. It could be played at any time for Wolves were not Humans, they could swim the distance without effort and even sharks would learn to stay clear. To Nat’s mind Trudy had sewn up the rough spots and now it was only a matter of patience before the merging would commence. He was still curious how Second Clan would react. They were the more numerous, after all, and still ruled by the greatest Wolf in the world but so far they had remained neutral. He loved that about his little Superiors. They felt so deep the need to dominate they would wait for a winner to emerge before challenging. To him, the evolution of the greatest fighting force in the universe was a resounding success.
“I don’t think so, Governor.”
The Governor immediately became interested.
“Who do you think it was?”
“I believe it was Cuba, Governor. I believe Cuba saw a chance to embarrass the United States by stealing a symbol of American privilege and ramming them into a symbol of American justice.”
/> Nat knew what would happen. He knew the Governor believed he had answers others didn’t because he’d made the man think so by providing him with information others weren’t privileged to. He’d done it with every leader, no matter how powerful or weak, at least once. It was how he held a seat at the table for every important discussion throughout the world. Heavenly technology definitely had its uses.
“Hello, everyone, this is Tim Tidbit filling in for Nick Price with the Channel Five News at Five. Up first, the Governor of Texas, Austin Travis, accuses the Cuban Communist Regime of declaring war on America.”
