by Martha Carr
The chairman threw his hands in the air and scoffed. “Great. We’re creating alliances here.”
Senator Trumbull slammed his fist on the table in front of him. “Look, there are a few things I know for damn sure. Magic is not the definition of special, and we will not take a backseat to any race.”
Several of the senators shifted in their seats, and Senator Trumbull waved his hands in a conciliatory gesture. Senator Hawkins from Maine opened her mouth and raised her hand but then pressed her lips together in a thin line, deciding to wait him out. Senators Hawkins and Trumbull had been on opposing sides on more than one occasion, and she knew that interrupting him would just cause a ruckus. He wasn’t the kind of man who accepted interruptions when he was in the middle of a thought, nor did he really like Hawkins—she could tell.
Senator Trumbull watched her for a moment, arching a woolly eyebrow and squinting one eye. I wonder if she’s a witch. Damn, for once it could be true.
As much as he wanted to examine that thought—because he and Hawkins had been at odds for years and she did seem a little strange at times—now was not the time. He pushed the thought away, like so many others, for later. He knew that if Hawkins crossed him, he would make sure somebody thought she was a witch, though it wouldn’t surprise him a bit. He’d always thought it was strange how easily she got her way, and how people flocked to listen to what she had to say.
At that point, everybody seemed to be talking at once, but the senator wanted to get them on track, knowing that he needed to reel them to his side. “All right, everyone, quiet down. This is a touchy subject, but we all need to act like adults about it and really listen to each other. It won’t just affect one side.”
“But we can’t just let magical thugs run around the streets like nothing is wrong. We also can’t send them back to Oriceran, and have them just leap through a portal and merge into the crowd again. We have to start thinking about the fact that most of the magical beings coming over here right now are not anywhere in our system. They don’t have Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, loans, bank accounts, or anything. If we send one back and he comes here through a portal, he’s as good as gone.” The chairman was adamant about this, but he still wasn’t convinced that the bounty system was what was needed.
Senator Trumbull nodded. “Which is why we need more bounty hunters, like Senator Porter said.”
The West Virginia senator stood up adjusting his pants. “So, we want to fight against the magicals, at least the bad ones, by putting the magical in power positions?”
Everyone started talking at once again, but Senator Trumbull had had enough. He stood up and slammed his hands on the desk stopping all conversation. “You have to remember that integration is a necessity, not something we can simply vote against and it will go away. Magic is slowly returning to Earth. This is our moment in the history of the entire world to make a difference. Patriotism on an epic scale. Whatever we choose to do now will lay the foundation for what comes later—good or bad.”
The senator gave a long dramatic pause, long enough to make everyone squirm. He spoke quietly, causing everyone in the room to lean closer to hear. “We are going to learn how to keep our enemies close. Work with them, learn from them, and grow with them.”
Senator Trumbull jabbed a finger into the air. “But we will never forget that some relationships sour, and if this one does, we will be prepared. Senator Porter is right. We expand the bounty system, and we make sure to stay in charge of it. No one arrested is returned to Oriceran. We will find a way to deal with them here. I feel like we’ve faced worse foes in our history here on this planet. With the help of our magical allies, we can take care of this problem.”
The senior senator, Porter, banged his gavel on the table and stood up. “I think that we’ve talked about this long enough. It’s time to take a vote. All those in favor of expansion of the bounty hunter program and increasing the budget to support it, raise your hands.”
Everyone in the room raised their hands. Senator Porter nodded and cleared his throat. “Is there anyone against it?”
All the hands went down. He banged his gavel on the desk again and continued to the next item on the agenda. They appointed several of the senators to work on the budgets and get something together to present to the President. Senator Trumbull sat back with his hands crossed over his stomach and a smile on his face.
Just as the senators were about to leave, he turned back to the group and gave a weary smile, projecting his voice loudly. “Remember the DC riots. It’s our job to see that never happens again.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Senator Trumbull turned to leave, and his weary smile was quickly replaced with a more nefarious one. He felt as if his hard work was succeeding where the Harriken had failed against Leira and Correk. He hadn’t come all this way and maneuvered himself through the branches of government, just to be taken down because one group of mobsters couldn’t get the job done.
He would make sure, in one way or another, that those two didn’t interfere with his plans ever again. The LA riots were exactly what he needed, but he had much more to accomplish before he’d claim it as a success.
4
“Senator Trumbull, where are you going?” one of the aides called as the senator headed toward the front doors instead of his office.
He waved his hand over his shoulder. “I want to get a cup of coffee from the stand outside.”
What the senator wanted was the attention of his constituents, many of whom were outside the building protesting something or other and waiting for a glance at one of the higher-ups. As he exited the building, people called his name in excitement. He could tell he still had the support of the people who had voted for him.
“Good to meet you. How are you?” Senator Trumbull walked among his constituents shaking hands, waving, and smiling.
Several other senators had exited the building. Some looked at him and rolled their eyes, while others waved happily at him.
Senator Porter walked up and slapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks for having my back in there. It turned out just the way we needed it to.”
Senator Trumbull shook his hand. “I told you, and I meant everything I said in there. It’s time for a change. We have to start taking control of things, or it will turn into complete chaos. We look out for each other, right?”
There was something about the question that made Porter a little nervous, but he chuckled and nodded. “Absolutely.”
The senator turned to go back in the building, completely forgetting about his coffee. As soon as he walked through the doors, one of his aides ran up and held out the phone. “Senator, it’s one of the calls you’ve been waiting for.”
The senator stopped in his tracks and looked around and down the hallway toward his office. The place was full of people, from reporters to fellow government officials. Not only had the person called on the wrong line, but they called at a terrible time.
He took the phone and turned to the side, whispering angrily, “I’ll have to call you back.”
He snapped the phone shut and turned to his aide, slapping it into her hand. She looked nervous, even taken aback by his lack of patience. Trumbull noticed and wiped the grimace off his face, giving her a fake smile. “Thank you.”
He looked around the reception area for a moment, taking a deep breath. He had to act like nothing was wrong, but at the same time, he needed to take that phone call. Just like the meeting with Homeland Security, the future was at stake, as well as everything he had worked his entire career for.
He had managed to change the minds of the people on the committee, something he had been known for doing during his time in office, but that wasn’t enough. The Harriken had failed, but he was damn sure not going to follow in their footsteps.
“Yes, good to see you. How’s the family?” Senator Trumbull strode toward his office, moving surprisingly quick for someone his age.
People wanted to stop and talk to the senator, but
he didn’t have time for them, and his aides could tell. They pushed people off with a smile and an excuse, but the senator was just focused on getting to his office. He barely even noticed when a camera flash went off except to wonder how so many media had gotten permission to come inside the Capital that day.
He couldn’t help but wonder amongst all those people how many of them were magical beings. It was like an invisible enemy sneaking around. They could be your aide, your secretary, or even your best friend. Hell, they could be your damn wife for all you know. Damn magical beings, interrupting our way of life and causing the whole world to go into an upheaval. We’ll be the shining star we always are while this country sets an example to the other countries about how to handle this problem.
The senator continued toward his office, smirking at his thoughts. He was more than ready to talk to his contact. The meeting had gotten him all riled up.
“I’m sorry. The senator has business to attend to today before he can do an interview,” he heard one of his aides tell the media.
The aide looked up and took a deep breath, realizing that she had fallen behind. She hadn’t seen the senator move that fast in a very long time. She hurried after him and the other aide opened the door for the senator, but once inside, he turned and blocked their entry.
“Why don’t you guys take a break? Talk to the media about some of our initiatives, and if you have research to do, please take care of that. I need some time alone, and a break from everything. Take about an hour, and then be here on time for our next meeting,” Senator Trumbull told his aides.
“Can we get you coffee or anything like that before we leave?”
“No,” the senator snapped. “I mean, thank you very much, but I’ll be fine.”
He forced a smile and watched as they walked down the hallway and out of sight before slamming his door. He just wanted to get them out of his hair so he could make his phone call. He turned to his assistant and narrowed his eyes. She wasn’t like the aides. She had seen his moods, his snappy remarks, and the way that he acted oddly when he wanted to be alone.
He pointed at his assistant and took the notes out of her hands. “I want you to hold all calls. I’m not to be disturbed for any reason until I tell you further.”
“Yes, Senator.” His assistant nodded in understanding.
The senator marched into his office and closed and locked the door behind him. He hurried to his desk and pulled out a burner phone, dialing the number from memory. He started speaking as soon as someone answered.
The senator was on a roll, and he wasn’t going to waste time having a conversation about something they should already know. “We’re a go, and fully funded. Start the campaign like we discussed in the smaller outlying places. Hold town meetings. You have enough people in place already?”
The person on the other end answered in a deep voice, “We have everything set up. We just want the assurance that everything that has been promised on your end is in place.”
The senator rolled his eyes as he sat down behind his desk. “Yes, yes. I told you the money is there.”
The senator was thrilled to get this underway, and he could barely contain his glee. Everything that he had worked so hard for was all coming together, bit by bit. It was the perfect scenario, the perfect controlled chaos.
The person on the other end of the line assured him, “Everything is in place, then.”
The senator rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Plant the seed. Magic can’t be trusted, not if you want to be safe. Not if you don’t want to wake up one day and find out humans are nothing more than glorified second-class citizens.”
The person on the other end of the phone sat quietly for a moment, then began to talk. “I just don’t understand. These are just such small moves. I don’t know how they will make such a large difference. We have the capabilities to work on a much broader scale than this. With the money you’re paying us, it wouldn’t even cost us anymore. In my experience—”
The senator cut him off before he could continue. “No. No, dammit. No more spectacles! That damn riot almost cost us everything. That Leira bitch managed to rally everyone around peace, love, and understanding. It was like the damned 60s all over again with the hippies out on the Mall lawn chanting and talking about how good of a time they were going to have at Woodstock. No one understands that to have that peace, love, and understanding, you have to first take care of the problem. The problem doesn’t solve its damned self.”
The person on the other end let out a heavy sigh. “But at the same time, Senator, it made a point. Haven’t you been watching the news? People are terrified of the magical community, and they may trust some of them, but they can see that they can’t trust all of them. The jury is still out with humans regarding the shifters, and they know that dark families are looking around. At least, some of them know. The others just assumed that they were bad magical beings starting a problem. They don’t understand what a dark family is yet, but we can make sure they understand. We can also share that they are everywhere: walking among them, leading them, and causing the strife. We will have them begging for humans to protect them.”
Just like during the first demonstration, the senator was tempted by the other man’s words. At the same time, he knew Leira would be an issue. She would bring all her cronies and make it into something that would be held up in a favorable light by the humans. It was no longer the right against the left, or the liberals against the conservatives. It was the humans against the magicals, and he would make damn sure not to lose this war. He didn’t even want to give Oricerans the chance to make their way to his planet by the time the gates were fully open.
The senator was starting to get irritated by the guy, but since he was the one pulling it off and already had the money, he decided to tone it down. “Did you see all those pathetic unity flags flying everywhere? I told you already, small rallies across the landscape. Let each town think they had the idea first. From there, it will spread like a virus, and no one will be able to stop us. Humans First, now, and always.”
The person on the other end swallowed hard. He knew the senator wasn’t going to listen. “Humans First, sir. Now and always.”
With that, the senator hung up the phone and tossed the burner in the trashcan. He leaned back in his chair with an evil smile on his face. If he couldn’t get at the magical beings through a large riot, he would attack them from beneath. They wouldn’t know what was going on until it was too late and everyone had turned on them. The small demonstrations across the country would be televised, and Leira wouldn’t have a chance to take down every single one of them.
The senator clicked the Enter button on his computer, curious to see how large Humans First had gotten. He snickered as he pulled up their Facebook page. “Let’s just see how many people I have on my side…”
He looked at the number, and a huge smile grew on his lips. “Ten thousand and counting. That’s exactly what this country needs—a movement to stand behind. A movement that isn’t about politics.”
5
Correk smoothed his long hair and used one of the ties that Leira had given him to secure it at the back of his neck. He had been on Earth for quite a while, but there were still things that baffled him whenever Leira introduced them to him. He twisted the elastic band around his hair and snapped it in place, catching the side of his finger.
“Dammit!”
Yumfuck looked up from his guitar and raised a furry eyebrow. “Be careful with that new technology.”
Correk slapped his hands on the table. “I know, right? I don’t know how these humans came up with elastic, but it could be used as a weapon. I don’t really think that elastic is a new technology, though.”
Yumfuck sighed and tilted his head to the side, giving Correk an exhausted look. The Light Elf shook his head. “You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”
Yumfuck giggled. “It’s my favorite trait. Sarcasm should rule the world!”
The troll lo
oked down at his guitar and began to shred, playing different sections of Stairway to Heaven but adding his own badass tempo. Correk listened for several minutes, watching as Yumfuck stood on the chair and whipped his green poof of hair back and forth.
When the troll’s performance was done, Correk clapped his hands and Yumfuck bowed. “How did you learn to play like that?”
Yumfuck plopped down in his chair and shrugged. “YouTube. I’m thinking of starting my own channel.”
Correk narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You have a lot of hobbies.”
“Not hobbies, callings.”
Correk, out of habit, reached down to grab a handful of whatever was in the bowl between them. He stopped and leaned forward, sniffing the contents of the bowl. “What is that?”
Yumfuck peered over. “Chex Mix!”
Correk wrinkled his nose. “Are we out of Cheetos?”
“Leira said that we needed to start eating healthier. What? There are actual pretzels in there.”
Correk went to dig through the Chex Mix, but stopped. His eyes suddenly flashed with light, and his smile evaporated as his expression turned grim. The fur along the troll’s neck stood on end, and he shivered. “What the fuck was that?”
Correk stood up quickly and grabbed a handful of Chex Mix. “A witch is in trouble. I have to go.”
Yumfuck immediately put down his guitar and stood up, growing a bit taller and putting his hands on his furry hips. “You need an assist?”
Correk patted Yumfuck on the head and smiled. “Not this time, little buddy.”
Yumfuck pouted and watched as Correk opened a portal and walked through alone.
The portal slammed shut behind Correk and sparks sizzled on the parking lot’s asphalt. He looked around for anything that would tell him the location.