11-01-2009, 09:44 AM | #31 |
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A couple of hours later we got another
thump. It consisted of another note, thanking me for the food and telling me that I would get a few hour off from the flames for my kindness. it also included a phone number. Hallelujah! I gave it a dial. A loud voice answered at the other end. "Temple of God Annex. May the Lord come into your life." "This is Red. Can I talk with Micah?" "He's busy at the moment, trying to lead a poor, misguided believer to the Light." Well, in war there are casualties. I figgered the tele-evangelist deserved what he was receiving. At least I didn't have to listen. Yet. "Well, when the Lord grants him a moment of respite, could you have him call me back at my number?" "Let me get a piece of paper." I waited. The voice at the other end came back and I left my number. "And, by the way, could you take a message? Do any of your unenlightened guests need any medicines? I wouldn't want any of them to go to Judgement before you've had a chance to Save them." The person at the other end thought that was being quite neighborly and would pass it on as soon as Micah came up for air. I hung up and went to see the Hoover doll. "Do we have a list of medical conditions and maintence medications needed by the hostages? I'd like to get all the needed medications on hand before they call back." The Hoover doll scurried off. Nothing to do now but wait. An hour later my phone rang. "Red speakin'. " "This is Micah. Thanks for the Bar-be-que. The dog seemed to be very pleased with the bacon. I don't know why." "Just trying to do my Christian duty. Speakin' of duties. Did you get my message about medicines?" "Yes. I'll send the list back by trebuchet so you'll have a hard copy." "Can you send the tele-evangelist back with the cart? That way we can use him as a go-between for more food and meds. You'll get some more innings with him later." "Certainly. He is misguided, but I expect to lead him to the light eventually." I personally figgered the only light he wanted to led to was the one behind a mistress while she was wearin' some translucent nighty, but I kept my mouth shut. "Fine, I expect he'll look forward to that. Now, if you don't mind, Micah, I'd like to slip in a little business. Do you mind tellin' me why did you decide to Witness to a bunch of heathen diplomats." "Red, in a world filled with war, hate, and evil, we need ministers to go forth among nations to speak the Truth to the misguided and heathen. The decision was made among us that it would be better to show the Light to professional ministers, who were knowledgeable in the ways of persuasion, that to try to train the Enlighted in the ways of the unwashed world." Yep, if it worked, you'd get a lower defection rate. Lower than 99%, anyway. "Sounds like a hard but viable plan." "The progress has been very slow. None of the diplomats seem inclined to walk the path to Righteousness, no matter how we try to engage them. Even the dog seems to delight in being obstinate." "How does a dog manage to do that?" "You think he'd could understand the spoken language. Impossible, of course, for a dog. He has done unspeakable acts to my shoes, while I've been engaged in Witnessing the Gospel to the massed ministers. Why an unhousebroken dog was in a meeting of ambassadors, I will never understand." "Maybe they wanted to have something to sneer at. You know how arrogant the ambassadors are. I'll bet some of them have told you that you could find the floor with your hat." "They were far less polite than that, Red. Still, such abuses are part of the Calling, one learns to ignore the insult of the unwashed as they are led to the Light." "Well, let's leave it at that. Oh, before I hang up, what and when would you like some more food? That way I can have it ready when you need it." "I think fish would be nice. Around 6 PM should be fine." "That sounds appropriate for a fisher of souls, such as yourself. I'll get a bunch from Sea Island. If you send to tele-evangelist back now, and pitch the medicine list as well, we'll be good to go. I'll give you a ring when dinner is ready to be shipped across." "You're been a good go-between, so far, for a heathen. We'll wait for you call around 6." "Fine, talk to you then." A couple of minutes later I heard a thump in the yard, and saw the tele-evangelist wheeling the now-empty cart back. I turned to the Hoover doll. "Looks like it's going better than I thought." "It doesn't look like it's going at all." he muttered. "Nonsense, there's been no talk of hostage executions, or other nasty treatments. We've got a real thoughtful bunch of kidnappers here. I hope they just stay stupid. And I hope VR will stop peeing on their shoes. That's liable to get him shot. Or a long, looong bath...." Last edited by Greg Anos; 11-01-2009 at 10:00 AM. |
11-01-2009, 12:19 PM | #32 |
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a long, long bath !!! that sounds even worse than usual, in this context !!!! luckily vr seems to be pretty good at getting away from baths. quick on his feet, and agile, and sneaky, and all that.
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11-01-2009, 12:24 PM | #33 |
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11-01-2009, 12:38 PM | #34 |
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11-01-2009, 03:12 PM | #35 |
Enjoying the show....
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Sir sir Ralph is SO going to hell on the express train!!!
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11-01-2009, 03:14 PM | #36 |
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11-01-2009, 05:12 PM | #37 |
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What Kind of fish can you catch in a lava lake? Besides,since the Conductor job and Brakeman jobs are taken on the Hell-Bound Train*, Maybe I can score a Porter job.... * Read Robert Bloch's short story The Hell-Bound Train Last edited by Greg Anos; 11-01-2009 at 05:15 PM. |
11-01-2009, 05:18 PM | #38 |
Enjoying the show....
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I am in the middle of it right now!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE his short stories.......
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11-10-2009, 11:10 AM | #39 |
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I kept an eye on the tele-evangelist as he
pushed the buggy back. My grandpappy taught me that the difference between looking and seeing was paying attention to the whole environment, not just the item of interest. I didn't notice any thing funny from the Pearl building, but... "Hey, FBI guy, just how are your agents dressed? I know better than to ask you where they are." He gave me a funny look. "They are all either in standard suits or in black flak jackets with FBI across the front and back. Why?" "Quietly go to another window, and look with a pair of binoculars at the 14th bridge pillar down from the north on the I-37 bridge. Just to the north of the pillar. Look real carefully and come back and tell me what you see. " He scuttled off. The tele-evangelist came in and motioned to me. "When can I get some time off? I have my flock to look after." "Well, we need to feed the denizens at six. Can you make it back by 5:45? I hope to get them tamed enough to allow somebody else to feed them in a couple of days. Then you can rest on your laurels." He grumbled that that wasn't much time off, but he made a beeline to the parking lot. The Hoover doll came back lookin' real nervous. "I'm not sure, but it looks like, um well..." "Come on, spit it out." "It looks like a sniper nest. A really well set up sniper nest." "Yep, that's what I saw as well. May I gather that it's not one of your guys?" "It's not one of ours. I don't have a clue who he is or why he's there." "Somebody's kibitzing. I'd better find out who. Let me call Micah first and clue him in." "Why would you do that? You'll just spook them." "Who's making the mistakes around here, me or you?" "You are. I know my orders." "You build trust by helping. So, I'm gonna build some trust with Micah. Meanwhile, do you have a wire setup around here I can strap on?" "Yes, but why do you want a wire rig?" "Because I want you in full listening mode while I'm talking to the sniper. I'm going unarmed, because snipers have reflexes and they get real jumpy when somebody sneaks up on them and says "Boo". Last thing you want is a gun to trigger their shootin' reflex. "While you're at it, can you quietly get a couple of SWAT sharpshooters zeroed in on that sniper? I might need some instant support. And the wire will keep you and them in the loop without it being obvious." The Hoover doll looked at me with a little more respect. "It'll take about 15 minutes to set up." "Fine. I'm gonna drive around his back and walk up from behind. That's take 15-20 minutes and I've gotta give Micah a ring first." He got on his cell phone and so did I. "Temple Of God Annex. May you see the Light." "Hello, this is Red. Can I speak with Micah?" "He's currently at his devotions. Could you call back later?" "I'm afraid it's rather urgent. I wouldn't interrupt the most important thing in his life without cause." "I'll check and see." A few minutes later, I got a response. "Alright, Red, what's so important that it can't wait?" "I don't mean to scare you, but please avoid lookin' out any windows and have you followers do the same." There was a burst of some choice language. "Now, now. And you a man of the cloth. I'm tryin' to help, not cause further problems." "Alright, what's going on?" "I've spotted a sniper nest zeroed in on the building, and the FBI assures me it's not one of theirs. Somebody's kibitzing. I don't want any incidents on either side. I'm gonna go over and talk to the sniper to see who he's workin' for. I plan to walk up from behind, so's he doesn't get itchy. It'll take me about 15 minutes to get there. I'll call and let you know when I find out something." "Go with the Spirit." "Y tu tambien." I hung up. The Hoover doll had finished his instructions and was looking at me. "We'll be ready in fifteen minutes." "Time I got goin'. " I wandered out to the parkin' lot and got into the car... Last edited by Greg Anos; 11-10-2009 at 11:25 AM. |
11-10-2009, 01:02 PM | #40 |
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*memo to self, read all posts before giving karma*
Have some virtual k for that |
11-10-2009, 01:41 PM | #41 |
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It's wonderful how RSE builds up the suspense.
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11-10-2009, 02:07 PM | #42 |
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11-10-2009, 02:14 PM | #43 |
It's about the umbrella
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11-10-2009, 02:21 PM | #44 |
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Are you sure you don't do this as your day job? Either writing, or working with these situations? Man -- you've got a lot of detail in this story -- WOW! Great stuff!
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11-10-2009, 02:37 PM | #45 | |
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Quote:
No ma'am, just a sidelite of my life. (Of course, being long-term unemployed gives me more time to pursue sidelites.... Actually, these yarns all have big flaws in them. I don't describe the background hardly at all. I focus exclusively on the sentinel beings and their interactions. That's Ok for all the readers here, but somebody who wasn't a MR regular would be totally lost and confused. Purely non-commercial, but I have fun doing them.... |
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