Broken Monarch

by Tom Schneider

  ***

  Glenn woke again, this time back on the couch. He grabbed the bong of the table and filled the bowl. He lit it and slowly filled the chamber before taking his finger off the carb and releasing it into his lungs. He held it in a couple seconds and then blew out a cloud of smoke. He felt a rush come over him, stars flashed and filled his eyes. He pictured Lindsey again telling him, “They break you down, with drugs, deprivation, isolation, torture, electrocution, even surgery. Whatever it takes. Then they create a walled-off ‘alter’ persona they hold the key to… it works. We’re both evidence of it.”

  The Twilight Zone played on the TV in front of him. The first episode, Where Is Everybody, from 1959. A man is crawling on the sidewalk. He rolls over and staring down at him is a large eye – an optometrist sign. The sight of the eye horrifies him and he gets up running. He gets to a pole and pushes a button repeatedly calling out for someone to help him. The button is for the crosswalk and the crosswalk signs are flashing both WALK and WAIT simultaneously. The screen cuts to a group of generals and men in suits seated, watching a screen showing the man sitting in a chair with electrodes on his head screaming for someone to help him.

  “Help me. Somebody’s watching me, somebody is looking at me! Help me! Please, somebody help me! Help me, help me, help me!”

  A general picks up the phone and tells the men at a row of desks in the nearly empty hangar to get him out of there. The men run across the room to a small isolation chamber in the corner of the room and open it to see the man with electrodes on his head and chest. He was pushing a button on the wall and beating a clock above it with his hand until he broke the glass as they rushed to his aid.

  14

  1:00PM Lindsey’s

  She tilted her head and squinted her eyes, and shuffled in her slippers and Adidas sweatpants to the phone on the counter between the kitchen and dining area. She stared at it with an unbearable urge. She picked up the receiver and pushed the green-lit buttons and put it to her ear. Someone picked up the line but didn’t say a word. Lindsey stayed quiet too. Robert’s voice finally broke the silence,

  “What’s kicking kitten?”

  “Captain Cook knows about Neverland,” she said. There was a pause before she heard a response.

  “Okay, thanks for checking in. Love you. You’re a little slice of heaven… I have something for you when I see you. You’re going to like it. It’s big and sparkly. Happy place now.”

  Lindsey lowered the phone from her ear and dropped it back on its’ base. She stared ahead and tears rolled down her face. She realized Robert used the wrong phrase. Whatever he was supposed to say, it wasn't Happy place now, and she remembered what she did. She had just checked in and dropped the dime on Glenn. Their chance to get away, all her feelings, she just burned them all in a momentary trance. She felt overwhelming grief. She couldn’t believe she had been so naive to think she could ever be free of the programming. She thought she knew her programs and alters. She knew she had recontact programming but she thought she’d be able to see it coming and cut it off.

  She wondered what triggered it. Why did she call him? Was she programmed all along to do this? Everything? To be with Glenn? Just what decisions were hers? Did she develop this deep bond with Glenn over time, was it a connection they made upon seeing each other again or was it part of Robert’s twisted plan all along?

  It didn’t matter now. She didn’t even know what she had told him but it was probably everything. She sat with her elbows on her knees and head in her hands, sobbing.

  “What did you do? What did you do?”

  “I just threw away the only thing I had.”

  She had to warn Glenn. Would they try to take him out? Would Robert continue with whatever he planned? Was this part of the plan, too? Were they both going to be eliminated? It occurred to her that if she didn’t know the plan, she probably was the plan.

  She had to find him. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. No answer. She put the receiver back down. She picked it up again and dialed the restaurant, where they patched her through to the kitchen. Daniel answered the call.

  “Hello, kitchen.”

  “Hi this is Lindsey, is Glenn there?”

  “No. You haven’t seen him?”

  “What? No.”

  “Oh, I’m looking for him too.”

  “If you see him tell him to call me.”

  “Yes ma’am. Will do miss Lindsey.”

  "And if you see him tell him Richard is looking for him, too."

  15

  11:30PM, The Park Grille Tavern

  Bruce Springsteen’s, Born to Run Played on the Jukebox. Glenn walked past the cigarette machine and pool tables, through the crowd and out of the Tavern. He stepped down on the sidewalk and noticed two guys smoking beside a black sedan. They seemed to take notice of him too, tossed their cigarettes and got in the car. Glenn backed out into the road and he saw the sedan’s lights go on. He rolled slowly to the corner as they inched up behind him. He made a left and decided to go around the block to make sure he was right about them following him. He was right.

  As he came back around the block he pulled his van over alongside the Park Grille, near where he started. With the tavern's location on the corner and equipped with doors on two different streets, he planned to ditch his pursuers, as he’d seen a woman or two do their own. He hopped out and hurried through the door. He went in and pushed through the crowd, past the bandstand, and out the other door. He heard someone yell to his right and saw one of the men on the corner coming toward him. Glenn ran across the street, past the amusement park’s parking lot and into the woods beside it.

  Remembering Jack’s story about sneaking into Clementon Lake Park, Glenn ran through the woods looking for the fence. When he found it he stopped to listen if he was still being followed. He heard the snapping of sticks under feet and continued moving down the fence line, toward the lake. The fence ended about ten feet past the land’s edge and into the water. He climbed out on the last stretch and around the other side, into the park, as Jack described doing before getting caught by security. Back on the ground, he saw two men approaching the fence. They saw him, too.

  Glenn ran through the picnic area pavilions and into the main strip of the park. He heard a splash as he ran by the Salt & Pepper Shaker, before stopping to catch his breath in front of the Jack Rabbit roller coaster. He caught sight of the Wacky Shack and ran to its’ front porch. The moonlight reflected off the rippling lake and onto the giant eyes on the building, by the doors. A fortune teller sign hung on the wall with an open palm exposing another human eye in the center. “Sees All, Knows All” was written on either side of the hand. Glenn stared at it and froze. He had seen the image before. He saw flashes of the image amidst swirling lights and a cacophony of sounds, interrupted by footsteps coming from behind. He pushed open the swinging old west style doors and entered the building.

  It was pitch black inside. He walked as quickly as he could stretching his arms out and trying to get his eyes to adjust. He stepped onto a floor that moved with every step you took. Forward and back the boards would slide, attempting to throw him off balance. He walked into a tunnel-like construction that rotated around when the ride was on. When he cleared the other side of the tunnel he stopped and climbed up on the outside of it, to its’ top and waited.

  As one of the men passed through and out the other side Glenn jumped him. He landed on his back and took him to the ground where he pounded him unconscious. He turned to look if the other had followed but all was quiet. He walked back through the tunnel and out the swinging doors. As he got through he saw movement coming from the corner of his eye. He dodged in time to avoid getting hit with a stun-gun. He instinctively grabbed the offending arm as it passed and swung the guy to the ground, slamming his head into the ground. He grabbed the stun-gun from his hand and proceeded to use it on the man’s nuts, then tossed it back on his chest before jogging to the park’s front gate
s.

  He walked across the street and back into the Park Grille where he ordered a shot and a beer. He downed them both in a hurry, left cash on the bar and walked past Georgie, without saying a word. He smoked a joint in the van as he drove home thinking about what he needed to pack. He figured it was time to run, get Lindsey and go, somewhere. His head was spinning with thoughts when opened the door. He hit the lights and was immediately tased in the back of the neck. He crumbled to the floor.

  Friday, August 24, 1979

  16

  3:00PM, Silver Lake Inn

  Lindsey was chopping vegetables on the metal work table. She turned her head to see Glenn behind the cook’s line. They caught each other’s eye but Glenn quickly looked away. Lindsey collected her crate of celery and walked over to the large standing chopping block at the end of the line, to be closer to him. She needed to talk to him, but he was being distant and avoiding her. It was as if he knew she called in to report to Robert.

  When she got set up Glenn walked down the line and started adding things to soup he was cooking. Lindsey resumed to chopping the celery. Her fingers grasping the stalks, the blade point stabbing the wood block, the knife rose and fell rapidly with her wrist. The blade sliding up and down her bent knuckles. Glenn watched her chop and knew she didn’t learn to chop like that cooking at home. She had experience. Not everything was a lie.

  As he passed her on the way to the walk-in cooler Lindsey said, “We have to talk.” Glenn looked at her and continued walking. Lindsey put down the knife and followed him. She pulled the door closed behind her as she entered the cooler. She called his name and then began kissing him. Tears were building in her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry. I ruined everything. I called in and reported to Robert. He must have embedded instructions deep that I didn’t know about. I remember doing it but I couldn’t stop. I’m not even sure what I said but I might have told him we were talking. That I told you.”

  Glenn moved the hair that had fallen over her face and wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “It’s ok. We’ll figure it out. I have news too.”

  “What news?”

  “I think they got to me last night. I can’t remember a thing and there are a few hours I can’t account for. And I was somewhere because I had mud on me and stuff.”

  Lindsey backed up and swung her fist down to her side.

  “That must have been because of what I said. They must have reprogrammed you... We’re screwed. If we can’t resist the programs we have no idea what we’re being set up for and no way to stop anything.”

  “We can leave now. We’ll get in my van and head south for the border.”

  “They don’t have any borders. They’ll never let us leave.”

  Glenn paced the length of the cooler.

  “You’re a programmer – handler. You can reprogram me.”

  He walked to the door, picked up a bungee cord from the metal rack and hooked it from the rack around the push handle of the door and to the rack on the other side.

  “Do it now, right here. No one can get in.”

  “Glenn, I can’t do it right now, here, with no tools – in what just a few minutes? I’ll come to your place tonight and bring what I need. It’s a good idea. It might work.”

  There was a banging on the door. Someone wanted to get in. They stared at each other for a second.

  “Shit, I thought we could have some private time in here.” Glenn gave her a wink and unhooked the door. Daniel was there with a mop in hand.

  “Oh hey, sorry I was just going to mop up the cooler and I thought someone was stuck in there. Hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

  17

  4:30PM, Robert Black’s Office

  Louis Gray grabbed the glass from his secretary as he rolled his chair back and put his feet on the desk. He slapped her ass as she went by. She paused for a millisecond to roll her eyes but didn’t bother to stop or look back.

  “And you’re confident about this tomorrow?”

  Robert pulled the receiver from the side of his head, stared at it and shook his head.

  “I told you we have redundancies. Plan A, B, and C.

  “Good. When it’s over I want you to get rid of the girl, too.”

  Robert mouthed silently, “Fuck you.”

  Louis continued after the silence, “I liked her too. She was a good girl. If she were 20 years younger I’d say keep her around for fun but she’s busted up and broken. And I don’t trust her anymore.”

  Robert ripped a page from his notebook, crumbled it into a ball and threw it in the trashcan. “It’s already in the plan, don’t worry.”

  “Good. Make it neat. No loose ends.”

  “No loose ends.”

  “Have her do a few oh-my-gosh interviews for the press, after tomorrow and have her disappear. You can donate her to one of the surgical experiments. She’s served way more than her purpose at this point… She really is a crowning achievement of yours, Robert. I have to commend you.”

  “Thanks, Louis.”

  “Listen, Robert. I know I don’t have to tell you how important what we’re doing is for national security and world order. The future is one of control and the levers of power need to be here with us, not with the damn Russians or Chi-Coms. The things we’ve learned about the mind are invaluable. The techniques we’re developing are priceless. Whoever controls the mind controls the present and whoever controls the present controls the future. And that’s us, my friend. We’re in control.”

  Robert hung up the phone and walked over to his bar and poured a double Grand Mariner in a snifter glass, gave it a swirl and gulped it down. He lit a cigarette and took a framed 5”x7” photo off the shelf. It was of a younger version of himself holding hands with a ten-year-old Lindsey gripping a Teddy Bear in her other arm.

  Louis raised his glass toward the three young women, dressed for a pajama party on the couch. Above them hung a modern painting of a child shackled by the wrists to the wall. He looked up at the painting and then down to the women below. The center one had a pale blue nighty while the two on her sides were wearing bunny outfits.

  “A toast, to all the girls, may the new ones come as the old ones go.”

  He approached the girl in the center of the couch wearing the nighty and he placed his right hand between her legs while he poured the drink from his glass in her mouth with his left hand. She swallowed the drink, expressionlessly.

  18

  11:30PM, Glenn’s Condo

  Glenn opened the door and Lindsey stood with a black briefcase in her hand.

  “You ready for this?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “Come on in. It’s good to see ya,” he said letting out a breath.

  She walked over to the dining room table and set down the case. He followed behind her and as she turned around to face him he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close for a kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled away.

  “This is going to take a little while. We better get started,” she said.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  She looked around.

  “Have a seat in that recliner.”

  She opened the case and emptied its’ contents. A stun-gun, a small medicine bag, a blood pressure kit. She picked up the medicine bag and walked over to him.

  “Here, take these,” she said handing him a handful of pills.

  “So, we’re going to create a new set of directions overlaid on what you were given last night, okay?”

  Glenn shook his head, staring down at the floor. “I don’t want to kill the First-Lady.”

  “This is our best chance. As long as I can get to you at the right time I should be able to switch off the programming. The new instructions should supersede other instructions. But they’ll only serve as a trigger if I say them.”

  “Okay,” he said as he reached for her hand. He pulled her closer to kiss her hand and then down on his lap to kiss her mout
h. He unbuttoned her shirt and felt her breasts over the t-shirt she wore underneath. Her nipples pushed up the fabric and he gave one a squeeze. She breathed on his neck and found his ear with her tongue. They made love on the chair and were breathing in synchrony with their chests up against each other before Glenn started feeling the effect of the drugs.

  Lindsey put on her pants and duct taped Glenn’s arms to the chair. Then she poured herself a drink. And lit one of his cigarettes. Glenn yelled out from the chair,

  “Hey, can I get one of those?”

  Lindsey took another swig, pulled on the cigarette then walked to the table and picked up the stun gun. She approached Glenn from behind and tased him inside of the neck.

  ***

  Lindsey was finished doing all she could with the time and resources available. No deprivation chamber, no inversion, no saltwater tank, no fancy audio and video and no time. Just a stun-gun, her knowledge and notes of his earlier programming – minus whatever he was loaded with the night before. She had no idea how much things were done or undone when he was last picked up.

  Glenn was still in a trance-like state when Lindsey gave an extra set of instructions they hadn’t talked about. She showed him a couple of pictures and a map and told him to commit them to memory.