After seeing Veronica safely to her car in the parking garage, Gus pulled out onto Constitution Avenue and proceeded toward the White House on his way to a flat he kept near George Washington University.
Gus insisted that he lived in a flat, which is an English term for a small apartment; however, it was a spacious four level townhouse built in 1880. It was perhaps only 40 feet wide but straight up for four stories as was typical for the era. Fifteen years ago all the plumbing and electrical was replaced but the charm and federal styling was all still intact and had been beautifully decorated by Gus’s late wife.
As he was passing 15th Street he saw a man running in the darkness down the sidewalk. When he got closer the man turned on 16th toward Ellipse Road. Gus thought that if Abdul was anything he was a creature of habit and he was hoping that tonight as always he would be on the Ellipse. As he passed he saw that it was in fact Abdul as he had hoped. Gus slowed down and waited for Abdul to turn the corner onto the Ellipse and not wanting to be noticed, he pulled over to the curb and stopped the car. Getting out, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and being startled he spun around to see Matt with is child-like grin all geared up for an adventure.
“Welcome to the stake out sir,” Still finding humor in Jess’s forced formality comment earlier in the day.
“Stake out?”
“Yeah, Shay and I figured we’d hit Abdul’s old hang out to see if he turned up. We haven’t seen him yet but, we still might get lucky.”
“I just saw him not two minutes ago running onto the Ellipse which is why I pulled over right here so I would not be seen.” Gus looked toward the Ellipse making sure they were not noticed by Abdul.
“What were you going to do Gus accost him?” said Matt laughing.
“I hadn’t thought through it completely but I figured I would at least try to talk to him.”
Matt nodded a half dozen times thinking how that might go and said with amusement, “Sounds like a good plan.”
Matt had a Heineken in his hand but didn’t seem effected by it. He was never a heavy drinker and seeing him with a beer was a little out of place on a public street. However, it was Friday night and Gus ignored it. Matt was a little loose but that what was normal for him. He set the bottle on the top of Gus’s car and started to walk in the direction of Abdul.
“Wait!” cried Gus. “This is crazy. This could turn very badly. We probably can’t prove that Abdul had anything to do with the shooting but we know he keeps some very dangerous company with powerful friends.”
“Oh, I’m certain he had something to do with it,” said Matt. “But your right, as much as I would love showing him how we run the defense in the U.S. Senate, we should play this safe and just try to talk to him.” Gus had never seen Matt with a cool head in stressful situations but if ever there was a time for some maturity it was now.
“Where’s Shay?” asked Gus.
“Oh, he’s on the Ellipse near the Boy Scout Memorial. We split up.”
“Call him and tell him to remain out of sight. Abdul is walking clockwise which means he will be passing him in the next 10 minutes or so. Since we know he is only on his first lap, let’s walk clockwise and we should meet up with him near the National Christmas Tree at the North end of the Ellipse.”
“Fine, but you’re not walking anywhere Gus. They removed a seven-inch wooden knife from your gut last week, or did you forget?” said Matt.
Gus was already several steps ahead on his way to the Ellipse but upon hearing Matt’s sound advice he stopped. “I’m actually feeling very well, and it was a splinter not a knife and I doubt it was seven inches. But, you’re right; this probably isn’t an activity for a 70 year old senator. I’ll wait until he passes on his counter clockwise rotation, walk to the Pavilion and wait for you there with a cup of tea.” They parted ways in the darkness and Gus said a silent prayer hoping Matt could keep his cool.
The Ellipse is a circular walking path directly south of the White House and serves as a pathway to the National Christmas Tree—a permanent tree on the grounds that gets decorated every December—and various other monuments and memorials. The design of Washington as a city was peculiar with supposedly masonic symbols around every corner and bush. The city of Washington DC was a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists—even the street layout of the city was supposed to reveal an inverted five point star with the White House being at the bottom. Gus wanted to dismiss such ridiculous notions, but it was peculiar that Abdul chose the Ellipse at the bottom of an inverted star for his walking fetish. As Gus walked he concluded that it really didn’t matter what he believed. History was full of terrible things that were sparked from misinformation. Chuckling to himself he thought there was a good chance that Abdul was just a little obsessive compulsive and was really just getting his exercise—in a suit.
Arriving at the Pavilion Gus made himself comfortable at a table in the corner and sipped his black tea enjoying a gentle summer evening in Washington. While he waited, he composed an email on his phone to the building maintenance department thanking them for the repairs to his office and wrote several lines praising Marshall for his very respectful demeanor. Pushing send, he placed his phone in front of him on the table and waited.
“Shay, you’ll never guess who I just ran into?” said Matt calling Shay on his phone. “Lazar-Gus just showed up. I was walking toward the Ellipse on 16th when I saw his car pass me and park. I was going to give him a scare but thought better of it.”
Shay was already uncomfortable with the situation and Matt’s light-hearted approach irritated him. “Very mature Matt, I’m glad you decided to not give him heart failure after everything he’s been through this week.”
“Listen, Abdul is on the Ellipse which is why Gus stopped. He is starting his nightly double round-about and is currently on his clockwise loop. He will be passing you in less than 10 minutes so Gus and I think you should get out of sight. After he passes you, walk north toward the National Christmas Tree and I’ll meet you there. Then when Abdul makes his counter clockwise loop, we’ll be waiting.”
It was now almost certain that they would run into Abdul and Shay was even more cautious and confused at the seeming lack of planning, “And then what, we’re going to kill him?”
“You want to? Could be fun,” said Matt obviously joking.
Shay sat down on a nearby bench, frustrated with Matt as he so often was. His last comment hardly needed a response but he quietly said with a sigh, “You’re an idiot.”
“Thanks! Ol’ Gus just wants us to talk to him and ask him some of the usual questions like, where he was last Friday, who’s his daddy....”
Dealing with Matt sometimes was like standing in a huddle waiting for the play call while the quarterback just cracked jokes, so Shay tried to give him a shot of reality, “Is everything a freaking joke to you? It’s not like we’re cops. We shouldn’t even be doing this.”
Matt was humored by Shay’s irritability, “Yeah, actually, most things are pretty funny if you look at them the right way. I guess I’m just not afraid.”
Matt did seem a little more flippant and free-wheeling than usual. Shay wasn’t sure if he’d go so far as to call him brave but he did seem stupid-fearless. He accredited it to arrogance and ignorance more than anything else. “Where is Gus?” asked Shay.
“He’s waiting for us at the Pavilion,” Matt started to say but Shay cut him off, “I see Abdul, later man,” and hung up.
Once Abdul had passed, Shay rushed to the top of the Ellipse and waited for Matt behind the National Christmas Tree. Matt arrived a few minutes later and was surprised that Shay wasn’t there yet. He walked south toward the direction Shay would have been coming from but didn’t see him. He walked back to the Christmas tree and called out for Shay loudly. Shay came out from behind the tree with his finger to his lips motioning Matt to shut-up.
“What were you doing behind the tree?” Matt asked still talking loudly.
“I didn’t want to look suspicious,�
� whispered Shay.
“Oh, and a man in a suit hiding behind a tree isn’t suspicious? You just went from being a senator talking a walk to a senator being a creeper.”
Shay rolled his eyes and said nothing.
Before too long, they saw Abdul approaching right on time. As he got closer they could hear him speaking on his phone but the closer he got instead of being able to understand what he was saying they couldn’t make out a single word. His speech was gibberish at best. It was more like grunts and slurs, the sound of which made their skin crawl and their hair stand on end. Abdul was now only 5 feet away but didn’t seem to notice them standing there. Matt stepped in front of Abdul just before he was about to pass them in an attempt to make him stop so they could have their little talk. Abdul walked right into Matt and with a dead-weight thump fell backwards, flat on his back. He stopped making the noise that was coming out of his mouth and just laid there in a dazed state. During the fall, his phone fell out of his hand and was lying on the path next to him. Shay immediately noticed that he was not on a call at all and that he must have just been holding the phone to his ear so he didn’t look out of place walking the Ellipse babbling.
Matt and Shay, not knowing what else to do, stood there looking at Abdul and then at each other and then back Abdul. The strangeness of the situation had robbed them of any words that could have been spoken and they continued to stare at Abdul. It then occurred to Shay that maybe they should help him up. Matt had the same thought and bent down first and grabbed Abdul by the shoulder talking to him, “You okay buddy, let me help you up.” Bending down to help, Shay saw a text message come through to Abdul’s phone which made him step back. It was only a number–12345.
Coming back to his senses only slightly at hearing the text message alert, Abdul glanced over at his phone, and then came to life. He groaned deep in his throat and pushed Matt with great force away from him. Matt was six foot four and over 240 lbs. He was not someone you got aggressive with, especially someone of Abdul’s size. Shocked, Matt stumbled a little in amazement and just stared at Abdul. Without hesitation, Abdul got to his feet and went after Matt with the ferocity of a lion tearing with his fingers any part of Matt’s body he could reach. Still stunned, Matt fell backwards and Abdul pounced on his chest with his mouth open and rapidly proceeded to bite off mouthfuls of flesh where he could. Shay rushed to push Abdul off Matt’s body but before he even reached him, Abdul stopped for a brief moment, with his hand on Matt’s throat and raised his head and looked at Shay with bleeding and bulging eyes, quite out of control of his own actions, tormented and in pain. Abdul then raised a hand toward Shay and without touching him, threw him 10 feet backwards. Landing on his back, Shay quickly sat up and stared in fear. Abdul glared at Shay and spat out a piece of flesh from Matt’s arm at him in defiance.
Before Abdul could focus his attention back on Matt, Matt grabbed Abdul by his hair and threw him off. Still crazed, Abdul came back with renewed ferocity. Matt met him mid-stride and landed a tightly closed fist in his face, breaking his nose and throwing a wash of blood and a few teeth into the air. Before Abdul could even stagger, Matt threw him to the ground like a rag doll and began to beat him mercilessly. Shay watched in utter amazement and fear. He knew Matt was rough around the edges and could even be cruel at times but he hardly thought he was capable of what he was seeing or that any man could inflict so much bodily damage upon another man with only his fits. Matt was already a large man with an impressive build but watching him destroy Abdul it was as if he had twice the strength as he normally did. Blood was everywhere on both men but Abdul was hardly recognizable. His face had been hit so many times that it was disfigured and already swelling. His nose cartilage had completely broken away from his face and was now hanging off to the side under his left eye.
As Abdul still struggled to break free, Matt continued pounding blow after blow. Shay was no expert on mortal combat but he was amazed Abdul was still conscious after the number of blows to his head. Shay then saw Gus walk up behind Matt and Abdul. Gus’s presence made Abdul take another deep guttural growl and it faded up into the air and dissipated into the distance. Abdul’s body went completely limp. It was obvious that he had been unconscious for some time during the beating and that whatever it was that had possession of him was the only thing animating him.
Gus put his hand on Matt’s shoulder which caused him to stop and look up as if he had come back to himself. Matt looked down at Abdul and slowly got off his body and stood up. He looked around at both Shay and Gus and then down at Abdul. Matt could hardly believe what he had done although he was fully conscious of his actions and was not sorry. He wiped his mouth on his shirt and then held his right arm where a chunk of flesh was missing the size of a tennis ball. They were all in shock and they just stood there for several minutes catching their breath and looking at one another.
Breaking the silence, Matt spoke first, “Well, I didn’t think he was going to be happy to see us but I didn’t expect that.”
Still in complete disbelief, Shay responded, “What the hell just happened?”
“Hell,” said Gus.
Matt and Shay both looked at Gus trying to make sense of what he had just said. Gus continued, “My curiosity got the better of me so I left the Pavilion to see if I could observe from a distance. That’s when I heard something unearthly. At first I actually thought that the zoo had an escaped lion on the loose. As I came nearer I saw Matt commencing the work of death on our friend here.”
“Friend—what are you talking about Gus?” said Shay as upset as Gus and Matt had ever seen him.
“My dear Shay, do you think any man could carry on the way he did? Abdul is only a host. We’ve judged him wrongly I’m afraid.” Both Shay and Matt looked at Gus in amazement that he seemed to know what was going on.
Both of them said in near unison, “A host?”
Thinking for a minute Matt said, “I don’t know that I would say he is innocent, he must have consented to all this somewhere along the way.”
“That may be true, that may be very true, but before we can ascertain that, we must clean up this mess,” Gus said, pointing to Abdul, “Before someone sees three senators and a body on the south lawn.”
Matt picked up Abdul’s limp body, still out cold and threw him over his shoulder and made their way in the dark to Gus’s car. Gus opened the trunk and took out a shirt from his bag of dry cleaning and gave it to Matt. “Put him in the trunk and clean yourself up. We can’t have any blood on the upholstery. We have no idea where this is going but no matter where this mess ends up we can’t be caught in a Bureau investigation.”
Matt dropped Abdul into the open trunk with a lifeless thud, took off his shirt and threw it in on top of him. He then tied Gus’s shirt around his arm, shut the lid and slid into the back seat of Gus’s car. As they pulled away, Matt’s empty Heineken bottle slid off the roof and shattered on the street.
“Where are we going?” asked Shay.
“We’re going to take Senator Faris home, get comfortable and wait for him to come too,” said Gus nonchalantly.
“Do you think that’s safe? Going to his home I mean?” asked Shay nervously.
“Probably safer than bringing that kind of evil into any of our homes.”
Shay had never heard Gus wax religious in all the time he knew him or label anything as evil. It was evident things were changing. Things were different for the whole world though no one knew it except for the four of them in the car and of course Toprak a half a world away. Everything was still very surreal and nothing made any real sense. One thing was clear however and that was that Toprak wanted the three of them dead.
Rehearsing the events of the last hour in his mind, Matt asked Shay, “Just before Abdul had his freak-out his phone rang. Did you by chance see who it was?”
“It wasn’t a phone call it was a text,” said Shay.
“Did you see what it said? Whatever it was it sure made Abdul light up.”
“Let me guess,” said Gus, “12345.”
“Yeah, how did you know?” said Shay flippantly.
“We’ve been graced by that number before.”
ddd
The ride to Abdul’s flat was a quiet one. Matt was unusually silent, even for the current situation. He was usually joking about something or other but now he just sat in the back seat and looked out the window deep in thought. Pulling up to the curb in front of Abdul’s walk-up flat, Gus said to Shay, “Call and wake up Jess and tell him to meet us here. I realize it is just past 12:00 but we need his help to unravel all this and I fear we can’t wait until morning.”
“What shall I tell him?” asked Shay.
“Tell him we need an expert in five point star symbology, the devil and how to dress a demon bite.”
Shay started laughing, unsure of any other appropriate response, “That’ll wake him up.”
Gus saw lights pull up down on the street and went to the top of the stairs to meet Jess. Jess came running up the stairs and began to ask questions in between gasps. Gus put out his hand in a calming motion and in a quiet voice said, “We’ve had brush with the devil tonight I’m afraid and Matt is doing poorly. Come inside and I will catch you up.”
Walking through the door, Jess noticed the door jamb was shattered from the door being kicked in and he stopped for a moment looking at it and then at Gus. Gus just smiled a half smile and said, “The Senator forgot his key.”
Abdul’s flat was very plain with little furniture and nothing in the way of comfort. The walls were bare and clothes and garbage were lying everywhere. The carpeting was old and matted and looked like it had never been vacuumed.
Jess saw Matt lying on the couch and Shay was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest, “You all look terrible.”
“After you hear what we’ve been through tonight I think you’ll agree we look pretty good,” Gus responded wearily.
It was obvious that whatever had happened, Matt got the worst of it. The makeshift bandage made from Gus’s shirt was completely blood-soaked as was the couch all around his arm. Matt was shivering slightly and was nearly drenched with sweat. It was obvious he was battling some kind of infection. Jess looked at Gus and was about to tell him they needed to get Matt to a doctor when Gus directed him to sit down in the only other chair in the room.
“Oh, no, you sit sir; you probably need it more than I do,” Jess insisted.
“I am perfectly well. When you hear what I have to say, you will want to be the one sitting I assure you,” said Gus as he started pacing again.
While pacing the floor—a behavior Gus habitually did to make his thoughts more linear instead of circular—he related to Jess the events of the night.
When he finished, Shay interjected “You forgot the part where your mere presence made the” he paused and choked a little, “demon, if that’s what we’re calling it, leave Abdul and vanish.” Shay then corrected himself, “Well, we never really saw it but we heard it vanish–if that makes any sense.”
Jess slowly nodded but then assessing the situation became confused as to why he was asked to come. “What we need is a doctor and a priest.”
“And we would tell the doctor what, that Matt was bitten by a very large dog? No,” said Gus taking a deep sigh, “no there are too many lose ends at the moment to make an announcement. The possibility of this cycling out of control into mass hysteria is almost certain. Never mind that this is still a matter of National Security. Going to any government authority is out of the question,” said Gus, closing the door on the issue. “Besides, we have everything we need between the three of us.”
Nervous and uncomfortable, Jess rose to his feet and countered in a raised voice, “I am no doctor and I am no priest!”
“You are the closest thing we have to both in this situation. And besides, the Church and the priesthood parted ways centuries ago if you believe Henry the VIII. You need not feel less of a man of God just because you have not been ordained.”
Jess was wounded at Gus’s shot at the church but he tried to rise above it. Gus was born and raised in England and was therefore a protestant and member the Church of England. Wars had been fought over the centuries between the two religions and over the past few years the battle lines seemed to be warming up again. Gus’s father was a C of E Vicar, a little known fact about Gus and Jess was the only member of the Committee who knew it. To say emotions were running a little high at the moment was an understatement. With pleading in his eyes, Jess looked at Gus hoping he would not insist he pretend to be a priest. To Jess this was blasphemy and he could not bring himself to agree it was right.
Gus walked over to Jess and put both hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye, speaking very slowly and deliberately, “You are the most kind-hearted, humble and honest man I know. Your heart is gold and you gave it to God many years ago and he has not forsaken nor forgotten you. Perhaps this is your calling and perhaps we are your brethren?” Jess had been taught that it was his heart that mattered most in getting an ordination to the priesthood and after Gus’s piercing remarks, Jess nodded slowly as his eyes began to water.
He walked over to Matt who was shivering more now and thought back to what seemed like a lifetime ago and tried to remember his training in the seminary. He didn’t remember anything about dressing a demon bite but demonic possession was probably close he figured. He paused for a moment and turning to Gus asked, “Gus? You raised Veronica from the dead, surely this is your duty not mine, I am so out of my depth I don’t even know where to begin.”
Gus thought for a moment. “I had considered that but I don’t know how it works or if it was even me who did it or if it was some other power. Believe me, on our drive over here and while getting him comfortable I tried praying, and even commanded him to be healed. If I was responsible for Veronica’s second breath, it clearly was a different situation than this. That thing that bit him was pure evil and requires pure good to heal him.”
Jess sighed and turned back to attend to Matt.
Through the night he performed every exorcist prayer, ordinance and rite he could remember and Matt was none the better. Very tired and frustrated he looked around and finding both Shay and Gus asleep he knelt beside Matt and prayed to his maker with all the feeling of his heart, that Matt would be healed and that God would accept him as his servant. He prayed for forgiveness if he had violated any eternal laws and then paused for several minutes. Gus, who was awake and had been listening, opened one eye to discover why Jess had stopped. Seeing him still on his knees he closed his eye and waited for Jess to continue.
Emotionally, Jess sniffed and continued, “God, I came to you long ago and I was rejected. I was young and proud. I sought my will not thy will. I come to you now an older man and I fear I still have nothing to offer you that you might find valuable. I do not pray for myself, my brother has need of thee and I pray only for him. In exchange, I offer the only thing I possess as a beggar of your goodness, my broken heart.”
Rising slowly, Jess placed his hand on Matt’s forehead. His fever was getting worse, but rather than despair, Jess whispered, “Tell me what I must do.”
In deep thought he went to the kitchen, opening every cupboard and drawer and after concocting something he returned with a bowl. He removed Matt’s blood soaked bandage and with two fingers, dipped them into the bowl drawing out a dark green mixture and then made the sign of the cross above Matt in the air. He then forcefully thrust his fingers into the wound on Matt’s arm, spreading the mixture liberally inside. Matt yelled out in pain as Jess tried to hold him down. Gus and Shay quickly rushed over to help. It took all three of them to hold him to the couch while he convulsed and yelled in pain. After a few minutes, Matt’s body relaxed and his breathing became slower.
Just then, they heard the sound of movement in the back bedroom. They all looked at each other and knew it was Abdul coming too. Gus instru
cted Shay to stay with Matt while he and Jess went to see who was in the back bedroom, Abdul or the devil.
Jess held the cross in his hand that he had around his neck and proceeded down the hall. They crept into the back bedroom and timidly looked at Abdul still in the bed. Upon seeing them, Abdul jumped back and tried to get out of the bed on the other side but his strength was not sufficient to allow him to do so. Having seen Abdul at his worst last night, Gus knew that they were dealing with Abdul the senator and not Abdul the demon. Gus reassured Abdul that he need not be afraid and that if they were to do him harm they would not have waiting ‘til morning. Abdul relaxed slightly but was still suspicious. Gus asked him if remembered how he got home last night. Abdul shook his head no.
“Do you remember anything about last night?” Again, Abdul shook his head.
“Do you know who we are?”
“Of course I do I’m no idiot,” said Abdul angrily.
“Good, we’re making some progress.”
It was evident that Abdul was not in his right mind while taking his walks every night and that he was somehow being controlled. Controlled by Toprak they guessed.
“What do you want and why are you in my house?”
Gus found it incredibly odd that Abdul didn’t wonder about his physical condition even though his speech was very nasal due to his injuries. Since Abdul didn’t remember last night there was no reason to go into it. Besides, they might get more information out of him if he didn’t know about the incident on the Ellipse.
“We happened to be at the Pavilion and saw that you were hurt and were in need of assistance. So we brought you here and have stayed with you this whole night.”
“We?” said Abdul.
“Myself and Senator Erdem.”
Gus leaned over and whispered in Jess’s ear, “Get Matt out to the car and have Shay drive him to my place and tell them we will meet them there.” Jess nodded and left the room leaving Gus and Abdul alone.
Gus turned to Abdul and said, “Now that Senator Erdem has agreed to leave us, let’s talk about Toprak Esir, your employer. I want to know why they have you sitting in the U.S. Senate day in and day out.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything but since it don’t matter anymore, I will just for the joy of it. There is nothing I have looked forward to more over the past two years than the opportunity of giving you bad news. My tenure in the Senate is over because I have accomplished what I was sent to do.”
“And what was that?”
“To discover the beginning of course.”
“The beginning of what?”
Abdul laughed, which sounded like a donkey with his busted face. “The beginning of when we had to start taking you stupid Americans seriously. We’ve been watching for these two years now and to be honest we thought you’d felt effects long before now. We’ve been waiting and planning for it since,” Abdul paused, then responded in frustration, “A long time. It don’t matter because the toprak esir is already ten years ahead of you.” Gus was mentally trying as fast as he could to piece together the ramblings of Abdul but was coming up short.
“So why is it that you now take us stupid Americans seriously?”
“The Minimum has made you like us, well, not just like us but you’re starting to figure it out.”
“How so?” asked Gus, his eyes fixed on Abdul.
Abdul, frustrated and responding to Gus like he was a child said, “Like you and your pretty secretary yesterday trying to figure out why she’s alive.”
“How did you know about that? And how did you know about our conversation?”
Laughing in pure pleasure again Abdul proceeded to give Gus a lesson on the newest techniques of modern espionage. “I’m a harbinger. Everything that happens around me, Toprak knows. Well, at least after the herald.”
Gus pulling on his short beard thought for a moment then said, “So just to be clear, everything that happens around you, you are then able to forward that information to Toprak?” Pausing and then putting the pieces together he continued, “And you herald the information to Toprak every night walking around the Ellipse.”
Abdul just smiled in confirmation.
“So in the last two years, Toprak is aware of all of the doings of the U.S. Senate?”
“You have no idea Senator. We know everything.”
“So that is also why you have this flat next door to the Masonic Lodge. You don’t have to be present, just near.”
Abdul snickered, “Now isn’t that just the worst news you ever heard?” and broke out into laughter.
“So, let me get this straight one more time. Everything you absorb, doesn’t get to Toprak until you herald it, correct? And the only place you can herald it from is the Ellipse?”
Breaking off from his laughter, Abdul nodded.
Gus calmly got up from sitting on the bed and walked around to the other side where Abdul was sitting against the headboard. “My dear Abdul, I have some very bad news for you.” Abdul looked up at Gus as his smile began to fade. “Your herald last night was your last.”
Gus grabbed Abdul by the throat, pressing him down into the mattress until he stopped struggling. Letting go he said quietly, “God forgive me.”
“He does,” said Jess.
Gus looked up toward the bedroom door and saw Shay and Matt–who was much recovered, standing behind Jess. “We couldn’t leave you here alone with him so we eavesdropped in the hallway just in case you needed our assistance, but, you obviously have things under control.”
Gus sighed, “In any other century that would be murder. Sadly in ours, Abdul is a casualty of war. He was much too dangerous to be left alive. Toprak already knows I can produce a miracle under the right circumstances and how our speech is being affected and heaven knows what else. What we couldn’t afford is Toprak knowing the incidents of last night and how we witnessed their evil first hand or Matt’s increased physical strength and most importantly Jess, your new calling with God. Abdul also didn’t make his full rotation last night so we can only hope he didn’t send the full report.”
“What shall we do with the body sir?” asked Shay.
Gus turned back and looked at Abdul’s abused lifeless body, “It doesn’t matter what we do with it considering the world we now live in. I suspect in less than a year marshal law will be the rule. Besides, who is going to miss Abdul? What does the scripture say Jess, the devil does not support his own?”
“Indeed,” said Jess.
Gus began to chuckle and looked at Jess, “You too huh?” and walked out the door.
“Me too what?” said Jess calling after Gus.
Solar Minimum Page 4
