Monday, September 11, 2006

The Tale of a Secretary, Chapter IV: Trahison D'être

Prerequisites:
Committee report
The Tale of a Secretary, Chapter I: Scenery of Salvation
The Tale of a Secretary, Chapter II: Introduction to a Diligent Task
The Tale of a Secretary, Chapter III: The Smiling Man
The Tale of a Secretary, Interlude: Mr. Reed's Everyday Life


Night had fallen in the City and dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out what little star light there were. A somber mood was in the air, not only emanating from the two cloaked figures standing relaxed in the pitch black alley, but seemingly coming from all around. Not even the harlots were out going about their lucrative business.
The silence was comfortable and neither man spoke a word to break it, even their breath was inaudible. Patiently they waited, as always, and the City waited with them.
What neither men nor city knew was that this alley soon would be gone, along with so much else.

***


“A storm’s brewing.”, a seemingly wise random old man™ said to no one in particular, sipping his cheap bourbon inside one of the few open taverns. The stuff was so cheap that the bartender paid him to drink it. The kind of booze that help nudge lives over that thin line between existence and oblivion one is oh so familiar with after an encounter with a furious member of The Club. The old man didn’t mind the effects of the Stygian water, though; he rather wished to forget. Valid righteous wrath takes some people that way.
He would never again defend ignorance, at least not in front of frighteningly rational and thinking men. Lesson learned, he now sought to undo what had been planted in his mind: That annoying doubt that there are no absolute truths.

***


Back in the alley Reed and Libel still waited. They had dropped all previous engagements after receiving a disturbing message from Amanda. She had wanted them to meet her here and as if the tone of the message wasn’t disturbing enough, it was also very unclear what kind of predicament she had gotten herself into.
     Reed was annoyed by the wording Amanda had used in her message. As a man of communication he was convinced that important information should be conveyed in the clearest possible manner - with irrelevant data left out - to avoid misunderstandings. Amanda had clearly failed in this, but they had to take her seriously nonetheless.
“Glorification, James – is it a bad thing?”, Reed asked. “It is a distortion of reality, no? To put things in a better light than they might deserve...”.
Libel, who was rather used to having that kind of questions thrown at him whenever Reed got bored, pondered the question.
“One could argue that if the purpose for the glorification is bad, then the glorification itself is tainted from the very start… And that seldom leads to anything good. But would you say that all kinds of bias and manipulation are innately bad? Would it, for example, be bad if someone glorified us?”.
“’The end justifies the means’, eh?”, Reed said with a wry smile.
“Something like that.”, Libel replied.
“Intrinsic.”, Reed said, changing the subject. “I like that word. I should try to use it more often”.
“Indeed you should, it is–“, Libel suddenly became silent. He had seen shadows moving towards them from deeper within the alley. Reed could tell from a sudden change in Libel’s stature that something was amiss.
Reed swept the night around him and vanished behind a crate that someone conveniently had left behind along with some sturdy lead pipes, while Libel relaxed and leaned against the wall.
“Widdy-well! What do we have here, then? Are you out walking the dog, Sir? Or perhaps sneaking away from the missus to seek out a lady of negotiable affection?”, a young, mocking voice said.
Libel studied the men who boldly strode towards him. Five of them and they all wore battered school uniforms: Black jackets over white shirts with green ties and a faded design over the chest. Obviously some delinquents from one of the schools in the slum.
“Get lost. This is no place for kids”, he said.
The kid who had spoken took a step forward and drew an old six-shooter, which he held at point-blank range from Libel’s head.
“Is that so? Then if you would be so kind and part with your purse and other assorted valuables, then we, too, shall be on our merry way. This place really isn’t safe, you know”, he kid said with a sweet smile.
“Tell me, young man, are you familiar with lex talionis? An eye for an eye… a life for a life?”, Libel asked with deadly curiosity.
“What the are you talking about?”. For a short moment uncertainty flared in the kid’s eyes, before he regained his control.
“You’ll be dead the moment you pull that trigger.”, Libel said matter-of-factly and gestured at the blade that Reed, who had silently moved up behind the young man, held in his hand. The rest of the crew had not noticed him until it was too late.
“Do we die here tonight over mere money or do we live to learn and prosper form this encounter?” Libel asked.
The delinquent considered his options for a moment and then hurriedly waved his posse back. A wise choice.
“We live.”, he whimpered.

“Such amateurs.”, Reed remarked as the party made their way back to whatever hole they had crawled up from.
“Indeed.”, Libel said. “Never assume that you’re the most dangerous thing around unless you’re us.”
“A wisdom to live by, indeed.”
“Let’s leave this place. Amanda isn’t going to show up anyhow.” Libel said.
     Even night fled the expression on their faces as the new day dawned.

***


When Libel and Reed arrived back at the headquarters they found the place in a mess. Drawers were emptied over the floor and file cabinets were overturned and thrown into disarray, their contents disrespectfully stepped on by what appeared to be small ladies’ shoes. Dirty ones too, judging from the muddy foot prints. Even the stuffing in the couch had been spread all over the floor.
The only thing still standing was The Table of Conversation, in the center of the room. Symmetrically placed in the middle of the table was a note, signed by Amanda.
“I’m sorry”, was all it said.
Libel shook with rage as he held the paper in his hand.
“What is supposed to be the meaning of this?”
“It looks like we were lured away…”, Reed began.
“I can bloody well see that! What’s missing?”

The two men searched through the chaos, sorting papers, bills and delicate musings back into the cabinets. The result wasn’t totally unexpected.
“All of The Club’s bookkeeping is gone. Receipts, invoices, everything.”, Libel stated.
“So that’s why she was so keen on doing all our paper-work!” Reed exclaimed. “How could she?! After all we’ve done for her! But for what purpose? What is she trying to cover up?”
“Embezzlement, of course.”, Libel said. “It seems like we’ve been nourishing a snake in the bosom of The Club”.
Further proof of this was found when the men looked in the kitchen cabinet. The secret vault where the coffee was kept was empty.
Reed was furious. Even more so than that time when the ignorant old man had stopped him, saying he lacked style and had no sense of proper dressing.

In silent frustration they walked back to the main room, only to discover that someone had slid an envelope under the door. It contained a list of transactions from The Club’s various bank accounts, showing that more money had gone out than had come in lately. All withdrawals had been made at times when Amanda had been at the bank.
She had apparently gotten very rich out of them.
“’Sorry’ doesn’t quite cut it!” Reed snarled. “This will not stand!”

1 Comments:

Blogger J.R. Libel had the audacity to say...

Magnificent, just like I thought it would be. Leave the eschatology to me...

19:43  

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