by Richard Lord
“Is that a multiple choice question? Do I get to choose which one I answer?” Renfield grinned.
“You’ve been a pain in my butt since the moment I was assigned your case! You’ve put us through hell and we lost a good man down there because of you!”
“Brady, stop! I would prefer no one go down, but someone has to stop this before the next wave. It’s big and it’s coming, everywhere all at once. This is where the Queen is. I’ll explain, but we need to move now.”
Renfield turns. As he begins to walk away Brady grabs his shoulder to stop him. “Every time I look at you I think you are insane. Yet, every time I see what you do next, I know you’re not. Do you see that Officer over there?” Brady points at Jacobs. “He takes meds to keep calm. Do you have any idea how many of his pills you’ve stressed him to take in less than 24 hours? Sure, he shouldn’t be here, but he feels like he has to make amends for his condition. So he volunteered, he’s here and now he’s my problem. He’s your problem!”
“I understand, we needed him more than either of you could know.” Renfield then turns and heads in the direction he seems fixated on. Then he stops himself and turns back. Adam looks at Brady as directly as possible, “We also need you! Keep up, don’t die and pay attention!”
Brady, clearly angered, yells back at him as he turns away again focused on his destination. “When did you become in charge here? Last I checked I got you special clearance and this is MY team. Not to mention you still haven’t explained how you jumped out of a helicopter at some ungodly height, landed in rocky terrain and yet still you’re walking around like you own the…never mind. I suppose any man who can live through that is worth taking a chance on. You are a man right?”
Renfield turns back for a moment and smiles at Brady and replies, “Sort of, it’s complicated.”
Brady looks at the destruction around them and mutters, “I suppose it must be.”
Renfield stops again and looks back at Brady to reply, “Ya think?”
Brady stops and wonders, “How did he hear that?”
CHAPTER 11
“I remember he was faster than I. That seemed impossible. I was so much younger and I had certain advantages.” -- from the book of Phillip
Renfield sits in the room and listens to the rant. The senator continues. Insults slung at Renfield, thoughts out of order.
“…so since your company controls that, I want you to do something about it now and it better be in my best interest.” The Senator finishes.
Renfield looks up at him and replies, “I don’t run the company anymore. It doesn’t’ even have the name I gave it anymore.” He takes a breath and looks back at the Senator whom he is quickly loosing respect for. “So what do you want me to do for you?”
The Senator whirls and yells at Renfield, “Fix it! Fix the damned problem! You’re the one who created the situation and this is going to look very bad for me in the polls!” Raising his voice to a whole new level of anger he demands, “Somehow you still control it! I know you! So fix it!”
“Or what?” Renfield asks.
“Or…” The Senator goes quiet as he considers his next statement and then just as he is about to say what is on his mind he feels the arm around his neck. He suddenly does an immediate inventory of who was in the room besides himself and Renfield. He looks to the couch Renfield was just sitting on and realizes the seat is empty. He utters, “How?”
Renfield leans into the Senator’s ear and explains, “You couldn’t tell anyone if I explained it, so shut up. And as far as political connections, I am far more powerful than you can possibly imagine. I may have had what you all like to call a slip up, but I did what I thought was right. Don’t try to boss me around like you own me. I hope this makes it clear that I don’t really appreciate that sentiment.” Adam slightly relaxes his arm’s grip on the Senator’s throat. “Am I clear?”
The Senator takes the moment to twist and turn himself to face Renfield. “I can destroy you in a week!”
Renfield grins. “Or I could be rid of you in a second. The choice is yours, sir.” Renfield says as he lets his arm go. Then he hears the thought and he waits.
The Senator grabs for the upper right drawer of his desk. Renfield waits until the Senator’s hand is fully in the drawer and gripping the 9mm Taurus he keeps there. Then Renfield kicks the drawer shut on the Senator’s hand and says, “Okay, what part of don’t fuck with me did you not get?” Renfield screams into the Senator’s ear.
The Senator turns and looks at him, the pain begins to register in his mind but his eyes grow wide as he sees the look on Renfield’s face.
“Oh, and you’re going to have to explain the fall that broke your hand.” Renfield says. Then Renfield punches the Senator hard in the mouth. “And your fucked up face.” He adds. Then Adam continues, “I don’t know, jogging accident? What do you think?” He looks at the Senator’s midriff and then looks back at his face and adds, “No. No one would believe you jog. Stairs is to cliché.” He then punches the Senator hard in the groin. “That you’re not going to want to explain, but I can, if you want to press charges. Think about it. Either way, you’re a creative son of a bitch, so you come up with an explanation for the broken ribs too.”
As Renfield draws his hand back the Senator holds up his hands in submission but asks, “Why would you let this happen? I don’t see any benefit to you.”
“People. Did you forget about them?” Renfield leans in and breathes hard in his face.
“What? What people? I’m talking about the people that matter, you’re talking about a bunch of ‘whatevers’. Who cares?” The Senator has a look of confusion on his face as he makes the comment. He struggles in his mind to understand why Renfield, with his money and influence, would care about those who don’t have either.
“Those people voted for you! Do your job. It’s not going to get built. I’m not going to help you build it and if anything your insulting attitude towards the people who vote for you, hoping you will make a difference in their lives. kind of pisses me off, Senator, sir.” Renfield walks towards the door but stops to turn and clicks. He kicks the drawer shut again. “That was stupid.” He looks at the man knowing he is in disbelief at what he just witnessed. Renfield understands pain threshold, and can clearly see the Senator has yet to pull his hand from the drawer because he can’t process what just happened to him, physically. Nor can the Senator process what he just saw with his own eyes. Renfield reaches down and eases his hand out of the drawer, but he doesn’t let it go. He holds it delicately as he raises the Senator’s arm to show him his own double crushed hand. “This is going to be harder to explain. I’m thinking stairs sounds about right now.” Renfield turns and heads towards the door again, but he stops. He stands still for a few moments and without turning he says, “Don’t fuck with me, don’t fuck with the people who voted for you and don’t fuck with what’s right.” Then he turns and continues, “And if you think your secretary is a line of defense…” Renfield opens the door, walks through it. And then clicks again. Standing behind the Senator again he whispers, “I think you now know better. One way or another this works out for me. You either tell and they put you in the looney bin or you figure out I could be there and back here too. Instantly. Got it?” Renfield sees the man complete the fade to pale and looks down at his trousers. “Have some dignity! I just got these shoes!” Then Renfield clicks away.
CHAPTER 12
“I learned that pain was simply a signal in case you didn’t notice something was wrong. Pain can also be a signal that you are about to become stronger.” -- from the book of the second daughter
“Dad?” She hinted with that opening word and tone every father knows. It basically means there is a question to follow.
“Yes?” Renfield had learned it was best to reply with a question of his own, in a similarly vague manner.
“Do you feel pain?” She stared up at her father as she shook her head to get the hair from her eyes and then she stared at him, as
if she was intent on knowing the answer.
Renfield knew the look and braced himself. He returned the look to show he was giving his full attention to what was on her mind.
“That’s a complicated question. Why do you ask?” He had also learned to narrow in on her queries before making a mistake in his answer that she would disapprove of. While still a child, he was quite aware she was judgmental, already and that his answers had influence on her way of thinking. He was also determined to tell her the truth whenever she asked a question. With slight exceptions such as Santa Clause, but he was called out on that early. That and one other time he was faced away from her when he answered and he could hear her finding it hysterical that he thought she believed the answer.
“Well, remember when you were putting that nail in the door you made, over there?” She reminded him.
“Uh huh, go on.” Renfield wasn’t sure what was coming next, but he had some clue now.
“You yelled out a bad word.” She continued.
“Yeah, I’m sorry for that.” Renfield could tell more was coming, but he was trying to be just a Dad with just any kid. Which would have worked if she wasn’t so quick. But, she was and he knew that reply wasn’t going to defuse whatever bomb was ticking in her head.
“Okay, so you felt pain and shock and you reacted without thinking, correct?”
She was narrowing in on her point and Renfield knew it, but he was trying hard to keep his tone light and his heartbeat from betraying that he was expecting another shoe to come from the sky any moment. “Yes, that is correct, but not right. In other words, you analysis is correct, but yelling bad words was not right to do.”
“But you couldn’t help it. It was your reaction to pain. Right?”
Renfield looked at her while cocking his head, “It was not the appropriate reaction, but I get your point. Aren’t you supposed to be tracing your hand for your turkey drawing project?”
“I did that. It’s rote and foolish. My point is that you seem to feel pain. However, I remember when you broke your leg and your hand in that accident. You walked around all day and did stuff, and then you healed. You didn’t seem to feel pain. Why would a hammer cause you more pain than broken bones?” She summed up her question.
“Okay. I’ll answer that, but don’t tell your mother. Deal?” Renfield gave her the standard keep a secret look.
“Actually that raises another question.” She replied.
Renfield waved a finger while saying, “Nope! One question at a time. Which one do you prefer to hear the answer to? You choose. I’ll answer one, but you have to choose which one you would rather have the answer to.”
She looked up and put a finger to her chin, much the way her father does, but with no goatee to play with while doing so. Then she looked at her father in a pleading look, but Renfield gave her a stern look back. She knew he was serious. He always was when it came to making choices. “Well…” She drew it out as she always did looking at him as if he had the answer to what was more important to her.
Renfield stepped in as he always did in those moments and said, “Remember, what are the pros and what are the cons is how you begin. But, sometimes even if the cons outweigh the pros, what you want is still more important to you and you alone. There is no one who can do that math for you because it’s not an equation.”
“I know, I know, hold on.” She looks to her left and then to her right as if the two questions are objects, one on one side the other on the other side. She takes a few seconds on each side first, then less the second go and then she lowers her right hand.
Renfield knows that means she chose the question she had assigned to her left. He doesn’t try to read ahead. He waits.
She then says, “Does Mom not like me?”
Renfield immediately begins trying to keep her from reading him while he ponders, what to him, seems like an odd question. His brain reels back through his daughter’s entire life history wondering what would bring on that question, but he knows already and he knows that he understands. He just wish he didn’t. Then he begins to answer, “You and I are different from each other, right?”
“Yeah, I’m a girl and you’re a boy. What does that have to do with this?” She gives him an odd look and a suspicious one at the same time. She can tell he is stalling.
“Actually, I’m a man, but that’s another conversation for another time.” Adam begins to answer but he sees her pout at him in disapproval already and stops to hear what she is about to say.
”Well, Mom says you act like a child.” She responds as the pout goes away and she perks towards him for the answer to her chosen question.
Renfield chuckles and then gets very serious again, “That’s a good point. See, your Mom doesn’t want you to end up like me. But I know for sure she loves you more than anyone, other than me!”
“What’s wrong with you?” She asks.
Renfield surprised by the follow up question pauses then answers, “It’s not that there is anything wrong with me, she just doesn’t want you to go through things I have.”
“Is she worried I’ll turn into a boy like you?” She asks.
Renfield pushes down his laughter and answers, “No!” Then he grins at her. “I don’t think that’s her concern. She just wants you to live like the princesses do.”
“Dad, you’re not a king, so how can I be a princess?” She states.
“True, but be patient with your mother. That’s how she was raised and yet she became a pilot, go figure.” Renfield grins at her again and goes back to his work.
CHAPTER 13
“No matter where you are, you’re always experiencing your mistakes or your wisdom. Usually, people consider their wisdom as mistakes and their mistakes for wisdom.” -- from the book of Christina
“OK. It wasn’t even close to easy but I called in our position and they said they won’t dedicate more force to this nightmare of an operation. However, they are sending someone. I guess their bringing supplies or a transport out of here. I don’t know. It was all weird and I suspect they had some idea of who or what you are or they wouldn’t have given me the clearance to bring you here. I should have thought of that before I came.”
Renfield, lolling down at his leg answers, “Oh yeah, Christina. I miss her, it will be good to see her again.”
“What?”, yells Brady. “How the hell do you know the name of the person their sending? What are you not telling me? What in God’s name is going on? What is all of this? Who are you?”
Renfield says, ‘I’m your friend, or will be when you stop being angry and suspicious of me. Christina, this one, doesn’t know me yet, but she’s good. She’s a pilot, but also a fighter and she…”
“Hey don’t trail off on me! How the hell do you know who their sending if I don’t and that look on your face…you really do know her! What kind of reunion should I expect! Tell me now!”
“None, she doesn’t know me yet. In fact, she likes me then hates me then understands. It’s complicated.”
“Stop saying that and start giving me answers! Are there more of those things? Are we sitting ducks? Start there!”
“Yes and yes and it’s always complicated, how can I not say that?”
“You could answer me directly, starting right now!” Brady stands and walks towards Renfield.
“Neither of the things you are considering is a good idea. I promise you you’ll be dead long before you can beat out of me things you cannot comprehend yet. Stay the path. You’ve believed this long. Have faith.”
“Faith in what? Your madness? This madness? Do you know how scared my whole team is right now? Then you tell me you know who else they are injecting into this and you don’t think I have some pretty serious questions?”
“Well if it’s any consolation, I didn’t tell you anything, hence my point. I was just remembering some pasts.” Renfield looks up at Brady. “In all of them you are my friend. That means a lot to me and I hope it’s true this time as well.”
“What do you mean, ‘THIS TIME’?” You keep making statements like that, but that leaves me to guess and that is what I cannot stand about you, so I highly doubt we will be friends!”
“Loud and clear, Detective. How about some rest? We have some walking to do and well, more, but Christina should be here soon and we need to be ready to move again once she is here. You can’t say I never told you anything. I told you this was going to happen. Also, to give more, her plane goes down so we have to be ready to get her.”
“You mention that as an aside? I believe and I have seen, but that’s messed up. What takes the plane down? I can radio that information in and she can avoid it. If it’s a ‘her’ and she is named Christina.”
“Don’t. This is when I need you to trust me. If we change too much from what I know we can’t win. All of the previous tries will be in vain and that’s a fool’s move.”
Brady looks at Renfield and is struck by an omniscient feeling that Renfield, is again, telling the truth and fate matters to him. The popping embers from the fire that Brady was watching land on Renfield and he notes that they burn into his flesh, but don’t seem to phase Renfield at all. He looks up, half-gazing at the stars, half anticipating the plan and wonders, “Who is Renfield? What is Renfield?”
CHAPTER 14
“I believe he was serious when he said he knew everything, but he just couldn’t remember all the answers at once.” -- from the book of Sara
“Why are you here, Brian?” Renfield turns to look at the subject of his distraction.
“I just want to ask you.” Brian responds.
“Ask me what?” Renfield responds, but he already knows and he also knows Brian has heard him and knows that he knows. Renfield takes a long deep breath while Brian stands in front of him waiting. Renfield turns his eyes to the ground and he simply stares. He knows Brian can’t hear the answer to his own question because Renfield has yet to gather this thoughts. He breathes in deep, but slightly shallower as his eyes rise slowly to meet Brian’s gaze. Then he asks a question of his own. “Have you asked your mother?”