Chapter
Four. Under Cover.
Then one
night on the campaign trial, Sogwa had a visitation from a Spook.
It was three
in the morning, in a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere. Sogwa was tossing
and turning in the damp night. Vapor rose from the floorboards and gathered
into a dark presence at the foot of Sogwa’s bed. It loomed there, moaning and
wailing.
Sogwa awoke
and sat straight up in bed. She turned on the nightlight.
The Spook
wore a dirty tattered grey cowl. In the hole where its face should be Sogwa saw
nothing but the flash of mirror shades. And words cannot describe the Spook’s
odor.
Sogwa sat
quiet and still. She rested her paws in her lap. She made no sudden moves; neither
did the Spook. The raindrop on Sogwa’s necklace gleamed.
Sogwa said,
“Who are you? What are you?”
“I have no
name... worth ssspeaking...” the Spook whispered in a voice made of breezes and
creaks. “I am an agent... of Chaosss...”
“Who sent
you?”
“The
Powersss... that Beeeeeee.....”
“What do you
want?”
“I come to
ssspeak... of forensicss... the sscience... of crime...”
“Crime?
What crime?”
“I sspeak of
motive... and method... and opportunity...”
“What
happened? Who did it?”
“Nothing
yet... nothing yet...” the Spook whispered. “O young innocent... you do not
undersstand... the big picture... I bear... ssecret information...”
“For me?”
The raindrop on Sogwa’s necklace flickered.
“Yesss...
for you ssee... young innocent... the Empire has committed... crimesss...”
“What
crimes?”
“The wronnng
crimesss... and worse than that... it
has made... mistakess...”
“What
mistakes?”
“Expennnsivvve
mistakes...” the Spook wailed. “So now there is war... there is Warrrrr...”
“Where?”
“In the
unnnderworrrlllld...”
“Between who
and who?”
“Between the
forces... of eeeevvvvilllll... and the forces... of leeessserrrrr
eeeevvvvilllllll...”
“Both evil,”
said Sogwa.
“Yessss...”
Sogwa asked
politely, “What does your side want?”
“My
asssociatesss... make rebellion... we plot treassson...”
Sogwa said,
“Against the Emperor?”
“The
Emperor... is nothing...” the Spook whispered. “The Emperor... is a puppet...
an excuse... a shadow... a sniffle... my dark companions... conspire to
retire... Empire itself...”
“Why, the
very idea!” Sogwa exclaimed.
“Yes
indeeed... we are spirits... we plot thought-crime... we target... the very
idea...”
“I see,”
said Sogwa. “Who has motive for this thought-crime?”
The Spook
whispered, “All.... but the fewest... of the fewest... of the few...”
“And what’s
your method?”
“Leave
that... to usssss... The disgruntled underlings... are recruited... the
alternate dreams... are recorded... the blood contracts... are
counter-signed... the neurons... are repolarized... the ectoplasm... is
lesnerized... all is in readinessss...”
“For the
thought-crime against empire.”
“Yessss....”
“Well, what
are you waiting for?”
“We await...
an opportunity... we need... a distraction...”
“What kind
of distraction?”
“A big
event... a huge messs... an inconvenience... for the Emperor...”
“And that’s
when you’ll strike,” said Sogwa.
“Yesss...”
hissed the Spook. “But the dissstraction... must have nothing... no, nothing...
no nothing nothing nothing... to dooooo... with usssssss...”
Sogwa looked
down at her necklace. The raindrop winked at her.
Sogwa said,
“Maybe I can help.”
The Spook
creaked, “Eggggggzellennnnnnnt...”
“But first,
I must meet the Emperor, and his friends, face to face, in person.”
“So be
it... but why...”
“So I can
see him myself, and judge for myself, that’s why!”
“Blesssed
ssimplissity...” the Spook sighed. “Alass... you really should... be
President...”
“I don’t want
the job!”
“That is
why... you should be President...” the Spook whispered. “O young innocent...
you soon must choose... between
insanity... and anarchy...”
“All right
then, Mister Spook, you can help me choose. Just answer two questions.”
“Yesssss...?”
“First, what
do you think of Coreena’s Mom? You know, Mother Nature?”
The Spook
wailed with terror.
Sogwa
said, “Good answer! And second, how much is two plus two?”
The Spook
looked left. The Spook looked right. It leaned close and whispered, “Four!”
Then flick,
it was gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment