All Queers Must Die

by Gerald Lopez

  “Your statement has a ring of truth about it,” Bart said, as he served himself some of the French toast.

  “There’s powdered sugar and syrup right here,” Lisa said, pointing to containers to the right of Bart.

  After adding some scrambled eggs and bacon to his plate, Bart placed the plate on the table next to a side chair Marcus pointed him toward. He then went back and got some orange juice.

  Once Bart and Lisa were settled and had started eating, Marcus spoke again. “As I was saying earlier, some people have class and others don’t. I’m speaking about Rachel of course. I heard about her doing chupa in the club last night, and learned that you had to drive her home, Jeremy. Chupa!” he slammed his hand on the desk. “Doing chupa… a peasants drug—the drug the poor people back in our country use. She couldn’t take the drugs of kings such as cocaine or heroin—it had to be chupa. That girl is getting to be more and more of an embarrassment to me as each day passes.” He turned to his wife. “And you wonder why I despise her so much. She reminds me of everything I struggled hard not to be in my life.”

  When Marcus came to a long pause, Bart felt the time was right to ask a question. “What exactly is chupa?”

  “Chupa,” Marcus said, “is a slang word for the leaf of a tree that is native to my country—native and plentiful. People that work in the fields pull the leaves off a tree, wad them up, put them in their mouths, and hold them on the inside of their cheek while they work. It gives a mild hallucinogenic effect and calms the body. Oftentimes, they’ll grind up the leaves and put them into lemonade or other drinks. Most people have the common sense not to overdo chupa.”

  “What happens if they do overdo it?” Bart said.

  “Bad things… things I can tell you about from firsthand experience,” Marcus said.

  “Maybe I should go,” Lisa said.

  “Stay,” Marcus said. “It’s time for things to see the light of day. There’s a change coming… a big one, and I don’t need Magdalena’s witch fortune-teller to tell me that.” He turned his attention to Bart now. “I hear you’re fixing to take down Orion. Don’t bother denying it, Jeremy. I have ears and eyes everywhere. For example, I know my wife and Simon have been supplying Orion with his underage-looking male whores, so that he doesn’t sully the resort with real underage boys.”

  Bart turned and saw that Lisa looked nervous, as her husband stared at her. Marcus smiled, then faced Bart and continued speaking.

  “My wife is a genius… if she and I really did love one another; we’d be a formidable team. I’m impressed with the way they’ve handled my old friend… friend… I feel dirty just saying that man is a friend of mine—but he was; and I respect what happened in the past. The man saved my life when we were small children, and that’s one thing I can never forget. I don’t know how he survived living with ‘his general,’ or how my brother survived living with his soldier. Those men were sadists, who enjoyed causing pain to others, even to children like my brother and Orion were at the time.”

  “And what about you?” Bart said, deciding to push the boundaries a bit.

  “I’d like to think I was smarter than my friend Orion and my brother Roberto, but I was probably just luckier. The soldier I was sent to live with was more interested in money than perversion. I always had an eye for the finer things in life, and had studied art early on in my life. My knowledge of such things was a valuable asset which interested my soldier. It didn’t take much research on my part to find where the valuable works of art were hidden in the towns we went through. The other soldiers, and even Roberto and Orion, thought my soldier was collecting young boys for a harem. We didn’t dispel that rumor, so we could use it to disguise what we were really doing. The fact was he and I were amassing an army of small, spry soldiers, who could infiltrate churches and homes to steal anything with value that could be sold on the black market, or melted down then sold. Children were perfect for the job, and most people wouldn’t look twice at them. Oh, yes, my soldier Victor and I helped each other to grow wealthy, while the others only cared about sex and power. They never realized that money could be power, and more importantly… freedom. The children working for us always got a decent cut of the goods, and a lot of them were able to leave the country when they got older. I tried to help my brother and Orion, but there was nothing I could do. Eventually, Roberto’s soldier took over everything in our country, then Roberto was in charge after him. As soon as I could, I got out and moved here.”

  “You were lucky to have escaped the abuses your brother and Orion must’ve suffered,” Bart said. “Marcus, you had lots of luck… and the brains to know how to use that luck. So, what do you want now—for me to lay off Orion?”

  “No,” Marcus said. “The man’s become an embarrassment to not only himself, but to everyone around him. People know he and I are friends… but, even though I owe the man—I will not allow myself to go down into the muck with him. I, myself, could never do anything to betray the friendship he and I have. But I’m not above making sure someone else has the means to make sure that Orion’s dirty affairs here come to an end. It’s time.”

  “I’m not sure what that means exactly,” Bart said.

  “That means when you leave here, you’ll be taking a briefcase with enough cash to ensure that your plans with Simon go off without a hitch. Your plan will be costly and Simon will charge a great deal for his part.”

  “How did you know about Simon?” Lisa said.

  “Trust me, I have someone that keeps me up to date regarding Simon and his activities,” Marcus said. “Now, there’s only that despicable daughter of mine to deal with… and unfortunately, she’s not so easily handled.”

  “You know what she needs,” Lisa said. “And we both know she’ll never get it.”

  “It’s true… she never will,” Marcus said, then turned to Bart. “You see, I despise my daughter, Jeremy. I’ll admit it right in front of you and my wife. I have no love for my own child.”

  “Maybe I’m the one that needs to leave now,” Bart said, before taking a bite of his bacon.

  “Stay… eat,” Marcus said. “I suppose we’ll also need to clean up this chupa mess my daughter’s brought into town.”

  “It’s my understanding that Rachel’s merely a distributor for somebody else,” Bart said.

  “Who?” Marcus said.

  “I was hoping you’d know who,” Bart said.

  “No, I don’t,” Marcus said. “Chupa has no value on its own, but it can heighten the qualities of other drugs and substances. Is my daughter distributing other substances, Jeremy?”

  “It’s my understanding that she is, Marcus, but I can’t be sure,” Bart said. He thought for a moment, and decided to throw one other fact out on the table. “I’ve also been led to believe that Mr. Orion is an investor with the same people Rachel works for… as a way for him to increase his funds.”

  “That man always was crass,” Marcus said. “His family was poor, unlike mine. My father was a smart businessman with a good income; we had a large home, were educated, and had nice things. For a while, we even had tutors. Then we were sent to live at the orphanage for our protection.” He walked away from Bart and Lisa, looked out the window for a few moments, then spoke without looking back at the others. “The past has come back to me as if it all happened yesterday. There’s a reason for it, I’m sure.” He turned back around. “Back to the subject of chupa, Jeremy. Like I said, on its own, chupa is relatively harmless unless it’s abused. The real problems occur when someone without enough knowledge of the plant starts mixing it with other things. Then bad things go down. Things like what happened between me and my first wife… Magdalena.”

  “OK,” Lisa said. “What’s going on here, Marcus? We agreed never to talk about her. You asked me never to mention her. Why bring her up now?”

  Marcus walked back toward them, then poured himself a glass of orange juice and drank it. “I dreamed of her last night,” Marcus said. “In my dream she told me that
it was time to reveal the hidden things in order to free myself from the past. I’m not foolish enough to believe in every dream I have, but this one was different. It wasn’t about an actual past occurrence, but more about making peace with it, so I could move on. Maybe I can still be forgiven for things. There’s still time.”

  “I think God can forgive your stealing in order to survive as a boy,” Bart said. “And it doesn’t sound like you were the sadist the others were.”

  “I wasn’t as bad as them,” Marcus said. “I never raped or abused anyone. Once, a while back, I beat a woman badly for coming after my family. In the end, I regretted it, asked her forgiveness, and paid her a great deal of money to make up for what I did. The thing that bothered me most was the fact that I’d lost control of myself. There were better ways to deal with that situation.” He turned back to his wife. “Forgive me, Lisa, for bringing that violence to our doorstep.”

  “If that woman could forgive you, then so can I,” Lisa said.

  “I know I’ve talked a while,” Marcus said, “but I have one more tale to tell… a cautionary one involving chupa and my first and only love Olivia, or as she was known by most people… Magdalena.”

  Chapter 29

  A Cautionary tale

  BART AND Lisa continued eating, and Marcus kept speaking.

  “I didn’t mean any offense, Lisa, but it’s truth time. It’d be a lie for either you or me to say we love one another. Olivia was the only woman I’ve ever truly loved in this world. You probably always thought I hated my ex wife, but that couldn’t be farther from my true feelings regarding her.”

  “I’m not offended,” Lisa said. “Like you say… it’s just the truth, however, I will admit I’m surprised by the rest of your statement.”

  “My ex wife was an incredible beauty,” Marcus said. “Olivia’s mother was French, and her father was from our country. I see some of her in Rachel, but not a lot. Rachel has none of the grace and refinement Olivia possessed. It was love at first sight for Olivia and me. Then after we were married… right at the reception, my brother made an enlightening toast. He toasted not to our happiness—but to his brother, who was the only man stupid enough to marry the town whore.”

  Lisa gasped out loud, and Bart felt a shiver go up his spine.

  “It was a big joke to my brother and the soldiers at my wedding,” Marcus said. “On what should’ve been the happiest day of my life, I’d been made a fool of by the people I trusted most. I was new to town, and I never believed in wasting my money at the local whorehouses, so I didn’t know what everyone else at my wedding reception knew. They all knew that my wife, who was dressed in virginal white, had at one time or another serviced every man in the hall we were standing inside. They all pointed to me and laughed—I’ll never forget their laughter.”

  “That’s despicable,” Lisa said.

  “Yes,” Marcus said. “The soldiers and townspeople had given Olivia the nickname Magdalena after the woman in the Bible—Mary Magdalene. It was an even sadder situation, because I still loved her. Even though she brought shame to my good family name, I loved her. We consummated our marriage, and tried to live our lives without bothering anyone… but we weren’t left alone, or in peace. My ever jealous brother was in charge of our country by then, and he wanted to make sure I knew it. I was his to command, as was everyone within his sphere of influence. When I didn’t do what he wanted me to do to someone, he made sure I’d never be able to do it with anyone again. His soldiers took hold of me and, on his orders, took me to visit his ‘surgeon,’ who made sure I would never be a fully functional man again.”

  “Why would your brother do such a thing?” Bart said, as an automatic reaction.

  “It was all about my brother proving he had absolute power and dominion over everyone and everything around him,” Marcus said. “And even though I didn’t know it at the time, he was very jealous of me and my life. I’m not at liberty to share the rest of what happened that day, because it’s not just my story alone.”

  “Where does the chupa come in?” Bart said.

  “My wife and I were still together,” Marcus said. “We loved one another and tried to deal with what had happened to me. At that time, Rachel was a baby, but still my wife wanted more children. One day her gypsy witch gave her a concoction, which she said could fix what was wrong with me. I doubted it, but Olivia insisted we try it. The mixture contained an enormous amount of ground up chupa. In large amounts like that it can be a powerful aphrodisiac. On top of that, she mixed it with other aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens.”

  “Oh, God,” Bart said.

  “What happened?” Lisa said, in almost a whisper.

  “My body reacted to the mixture,” Marcus said. “I felt like I was on fire, and my heart was beating so hard that I thought it would literally burst out of my chest. You see, there was no possibility of a release from the power of the aphrodisiacs. God knows my body tried… even going through the thrusting motions involuntarily. I remember yelling and tearing at my hair. The heat was too much to bear and the need for a release was overbearing. Then the hallucinations came… those damnable hallucinations. I looked at my wife’s face, but the chupa caused me to see her concerned face turn into a wicked smile right in front of my eyes. She appeared to be pointing to my useless member and laughing. A chorus of demonic soldiers surrounded by flames laughed behind her. I saw them pointing their guns at me, as if to execute me… and… and it was all so real. The soldiers kept coming closer and laughing as they prepared to fire at me. My mind could no longer remember that none of it was real and just hallucinations, so I did the only thing I could, and prepared to fight my way through them. That was when I remembered the workman had been using Sulfuric acid to clean the drainpipes in our home, which was old. There was a container of it against the back wall. Slowly, I backed up until I was right next to it. One of the soldiers jumped at me, but I easily pushed him away. As fast as I could, I opened the container of acid and threw the contents at the downed soldier, hitting the side of his face and his bare shoulder. Her bare shoulder… her once beautiful face. The chupa had blinded me to the fact that there were no soldiers—only my wife and me. I remember hearing her screams of agony, before I felt my entire body begin to convulse.

  “Horrible… how horrible,” Lisa said.

  “Was the chupa the main cause of the hallucinations?” Bart said.

  “Yes, because of the large quantities which had been used in the mixture. Everything in the mixture combined sent my body into convulsions. I woke up in the hospital three days later with an old priest by my side. He told me that my wife’s screams had brought the household staff running to my room. They were able to help both myself and my wife. Of course, to this day, she still bears the evidence of what happened that night.”

  “What about plastic surgery?” Lisa said. “You had the money.”

  “Oh, yes, I had the money,” Marcus said. “And for the first time, I discovered just how useless money can be when pitted against a man whose sole goal is revenge.”

  “I don’t understand,” Bart said.

  “While I was unconscious in the hospital, my brother used his power to have my marriage to Olivia declared invalid, then he married her himself. She had agreed to it under duress, because my brother had threatened to have me killed for the attempted murder of my wife, then have Olivia brought to trial for attempting to murder me. It doesn’t even make sense, but my brother could’ve made it happen. So Olivia married him, but somehow she got him to agree to let me keep Rachel. So, there you have it… I’ve been raising the daughter of the town whore, who has turned out to be no better than her mother.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve kept all of that bottled up inside you for so many years,” Lisa said. “But you said Olivia still bears the scars of that night. Surely your brother would’ve had the best surgeons at his disposal to help her.”

  “He did… and they made sure to keep her alive,” Marcus said. “They also made sure to d
o nothing to cover up the scars the acid left. My brother wanted to make sure no man would ever look at her as they once had.”

  “I don’t understand your family,” Lisa said. “Your brother was your own flesh and blood; everything you all suffered should have brought you closer together.”

  “But,” Marcus said, “he always thought I’d had an easy life with no suffering… at least no suffering like what he’d endured. And he’s right. I wasn’t brutalized and raped like he and Orion were. God knows what they must’ve suffered before they were broken as human beings.”

  “That may be true,” Bart said. “But it’s no excuse to turn around and do the same to others.”

  “In their minds, they can justify all that they did,” Marcus said. “To them, they only did what they had to do in order to survive.”

  “And Olivia has never tried to see her daughter?” Bart said.

  “No, my brother would never allow it, and neither would I,” Marcus said. “It wouldn’t do anyone any good.”

  The room was silent for a few minutes, then Marcus spoke again. “That was my cautionary tale about the dangers of chupa. And I don’t like the idea of chupa being distributed in this town. I don’t like it at all. It’s also funny that my nephew has decided to make an appearance at this time.”

  “Rachel sounded like she’d met him before,” Bart said.

  “Yes,” Marcus said. “Gabriel spent his early years in school here before his mother died. My brother had to fight a lengthy custody battle with a judge, who was a good friend of Gabriel’s mother Angela. The judge and his wife were trying for custody of my nephew.”

  “It’s too bad Judge Haymond and his wife lost that case,” Lisa said. “Poor Gabriel really wanted to stay with them. God knows he would’ve been better off with them than with his father.”

  “That’s true,” Marcus said, rubbing his chin with his hand and looking puzzled. “Gabriel has come back to visit in the last few years, but always with some associates of my brother watching him. My brother is probably using Gabriel to check on his interests in Miami, and allowing him some short visits here in return.”