Chapter Twenty-three: Lighthouse and Liquid by Tina Semanas “I want to go too! I need to be a part of stopping this evil agenda of the wholesale destruction of a whole generation of men. My anger boils when I think about the poor drones hooked up to that green poison, The Sister's have turned God’s image bearers into subhuman slaves with no reason for being!” Phen’s rage uncorked, “I too was a lost man in the mindless sea of zombies - - I was being drugged into oblivion. Jonathan, I need this. I must fight those terrible cold-hearted women.” “Phen you can’t! You heard what Nika said? You are needed here, you are irreplaceable. They must develop more strains of Xenon blockers with your blood. I am sorry, you have to stay put.” Jonathan patted Phen on the shoulder to calm and comfort his crest fallen friend, “Phen, don’t worry, I am bringing Samuel and Thomas with me to deliver the first batch of blocker. We will get this done, let us do our job, and yours is to let that vampire Nika keep sucking the blood from your veins.” Phen knew Jonathan was right. As much as he wanted to go, it was best for him to assist the research team. “Jonathan, are you sure you know which bottling plant the factory in Lawrenceburg gets their water from?” Jonathan said, “Yep, there are two main suppliers, both are In the western suburbs in Cincinnati near the Ohio River; each of them bottles up to 40 million gallons per day. Our engineers have figured out how to pump the blocker into the filtration system, but that will require bringing in ten 20 gallon drums of solution pass the guards and manually dumping each drum in the filtration system's water supply.” “When do you leave?” Phen asked. Jonathan replied, “Late tonight, the production team has already filled 5 of the drums, and we should have them loaded up and ready to go on a truck in three or four hours. The drive is a good two and a half hours to get to the plant, and hopefully there will be no roadblocks or security patrols along the way.” Thomas joined the conversation, “Even if there is, all they will find is a clear odorless liquid. No one will suspect a cargo of Xenon blocker. We will pose as plant inspectors and just say we need this to purify the water.” Phen hugged Jonathan, Thomas and Samuel knowing how dangerous it was for them. Security was always on high alert around the Lawrenceburg factories, making sure no desperate individual or roving gang tried to break out a loved one from the slavery of the assembly lines. Phen smiled knowing The Sisters had no idea that water was the key to the drone’s freedom. Brilliant! -------------------------------------------------------- Tranquility 5 spread her massive pink wings across the bright morning sky. Heading west from New York to Cleveland, Dr. Gladstone anxiously awaited any reports concerning Ara and Beck’s whereabouts from the on-ground patrol teams. Sitting behind her desk near the rear of the plane, she dialed Central Surveillance Headquarters, “Hello, this is Dr. Gladstone, do you have anything to report? I will be arriving in Cleveland in less than an hour and I want some answers.” A voice came over a speaker that was sitting on the desk, “Yes Doctor. We have identified some unusual activity coming from an old farmhouse in the area we are patrolling. Apparently some NWP agents in that area heard a loud explosion and saw three sets of vehicles leaving within a half-hour of each other. We are sending a team there right now and we are waiting for any intelligence from our satellite surveillance.” Dr. Gladstone said, “Very good, finally, some concrete answers. Trace the path of those cars.” “Excuse me Doctor,” the speaker voice interrupted, “We have a reading on two black Rovers. It seems they are headed north toward the shoreline of Lake Eve. Yes, let me send you the feed.” Dr. Gladstone turned on a smaller projection unit in her office. A fuzzy feed showed two vehicles heading past a small patch of woods and over a road to a tiny little lighthouse standing tall near the shoreline of the Great Lake. After parking in a small lot, two sets of black clad guards could be seen leading three captives with hands cuffed behind their back. They were all heading toward a small door on the side of the lighthouse. One of the captives was a smaller framed girl; Dr. Gladstone knew immediately who it was - Ara. A teenage boy was walking with her as well as a taller dark haired man. “Zoom in on those two faces. I need to know...” Dr. Gladstone demanded, but then her voice cut-off short after the picture came into clearer focus. It was Drew Dias! “I can’t believe it? I thought he was dead? Drew Dias...unbelievable?” And then the camera panned to the other man, “It is Athan Stone! My, my, my, where is he hiding his darling Beck?” I can hardly wait to find out. Should be fun? Maybe Cleveland has more entertainment to offer than people ever seem to give it credit for?” ------------------------------------------------------------------ Don, Nias and Beck were speeding in their green military Rover down the backroads of the Ohio countryside trying to avoid any roadblocks on the major highways. Don knew Beck was still in critical condition needing the resources and care that were at the community. “Do you think we were followed?” Nias asked. “So far so good. I don’t think we are the ones The Sisters are worried about? They really were after Ara and Athan. Our task is to do the best we can to avoid getting pulled over. We have a good two hour drive and Beck needs all the help she can get at this point.” Nias noticed that Beck was not comfortable in the back seat. Every bump was like a stab in her leg, the pain made her face grimace and hands clench. “How much morphine can we give her, she is really in pain?” “I’m sorry, she will just have to tough it out at this point. I am worried giving her too much more of the drug will cause her vitals to crash. I am sure she will be alright.” Don stepped a little firmer on the pedal as he drove down lonely country roads passing by nameless abandoned cities and bombed out neighborhoods. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake Eve was in a dead calm. Gentle ripples of waves lapped upon the sandy shore. A few curious seagulls circled down and landed on a rough-hewn stone pier that jutted out into the silent, quiet waters. And just as still and quiet stood Duenna Black pondering the recent events and life’s meaning as she looked out from the top floor window of the shoreline’s lighthouse. She knew this quiet wouldn’t last. She wouldn’t allow it. Her whole life had been dedicated to progress. She believed in following lock-step behind the counsel of The Sisters, they were her inspiration and ultimate desire and career goal. They embodied the fruition of the feminism’s victory over patriarchy. Women finally won! And the embodiment of that win was The Sisters. But after her meeting with Dr. Gladstone in Tranquility 5 Duenna Black realized the win was nothing more than a farce. Feminism was just like patriarchy, the only difference was the lipstick and coiffed hair. The desire for power and pleasure was no less intoxicating in the heart of a woman than it was in the man. The only difference is The Sisters were better liars. They seemed softer and more compassionate than the brutal frankness of the history of male leadership. But they both were the same when it came to their endgame - they both lusted after having control over others. And Duenna Black realized she wanted that control too. Her heart was just as dark, just as greedy, and it all came to light when she looked straight in the dead eyes of Dr. Gladstone. Duenna Black saw herself in them, and it was grotesque. It was also then she realized feminist ideology was only a onion skin thin cover for selfish gain. Something inside of her died. It was as if her life was nothing more than the faux backdrop on a cheap movie set. Looking at the rule and governing of The Sisters from the outside seemed to make perfect sense, Utopia seemed possible, the rule of reasonable women was the answer to the world’s chaos. But once Duenna Black was allowed in, actually able to meet Dr. Gladstone and the other members of the Doyenne Council, she realized the attainment of true progress was fake, nothing more than smoke and mirrors, a beautifully painted facade held up by rotten two-by fours and wood glue. There was only one thing left inside Madylyn Black’s heart, revenge! Acid laced vengeance. And she said to herself, “Justice must start with Ara - my prize back-stabbing student. She deserved to die. But Ara doesn’t die easy? The bomb on Lacy’s apartment door was meant for her - - but that starlet, Beck Paris, got in the way.” Duenna Black’s heart jumped as she heard the sound of many feet ascending the creaky wooden staircase of the lighthouse. Her team of mercenaries performed better than advertised - they not only captured Ara but they brought some bargaining chips along in the persons of Drew and Athan. “Well, well, well, my dear Ara, I have missed having you in class!” A sinister smile on Duenna Black’s face couldn’t be contained. Walking up to the two men she continued, “So you found your brother Drew and Beck’s stooge, Athan Stone? What a treat this is, have a seat.” The three captives were pushed to the floor. The leader of her mercenaries motioned to Duenna Black, “Madylyn, can I speak to you over here for a moment?” Walking near the window overlooking Lake Eve the man whispered, “We are being followed. Not only did I see a flying drone over top the lighthouse when we pulled in, but we passed at least three sets of NWP agents on our way here. I think The Sisters know our location, and if we are caught they will kill us on the spot.” Duenna Black thought a moment to herself. “O.k., leave me two weapons and the three captives. I have already paid you up front and I will wire the rest of our agreed upon amount once I am satisfied. Now is your chance to go. You have served me well.” The leader dropped two of the weapons, and then circled his men in formation heading back down the stairwells of the lighthouse. After grabbing the weapons, Duenna Black headed to a side window to watch them leave. The men split off in two pairs and each jumped into the two black Rovers. Just as they started backing out two drone missiles were fired hitting both Rovers sending the cars up in the air in an explosive fire blaze. The sound of the impact rocked the inside of the lighthouse room causing dust and soot to fall on the wooden floor. “What happened?” Athan exclaimed. Duenna Black offered no response. Pointing one of the guns at Ara she said outloud, “What to do? What to do? Well, should I kill you all now or try to use you as leverage?” Looking back outside four Tan Rovers pulled quickly up to the smoking wreckage. Eight Tergament guards jumped out all wielding weapons and stun sticks. Duenna Black saw one guard point up to the window of the lighthouse sending six of the team heading to where they were. “Well, it looks like we have no choice for now.” Duenna Black held her gun at the approaching guards. When the six made it to the top Duenna Black said, “I want to speak with Gladstone. If you refuse Ara Dias dies!” The front guard dressed in tan battle gear pressed an earpiece listening intently to a voice on the other line, and then the guard said to Duenna Black, “That can be arranged.” ---------------------------------------------------------- Jonathan and Thomas were sweating profusely. Pouring drums of solution was no easy task, but they were in good spirits because so far they were not noticed. Thomas turned to Jonathan, “Just one more, I told Samuel to pull the truck outside and wait, I don’t want anyone to suspect him.” Just then a man wearing a white gown and safety glasses approached the two men, “Hey, what are you two doing?” Thomas looked at the man and said, “What do you mean? We were called in last week to pour in cleaning solution because we were told the water was not meeting the proper bottling ph levels. We have the manifest right here.” The man waved Thomas off, “No problem, I am just a second shift bottle inspector. Carry on.” Outside the bottling plant a large armed female guard approached Samuel. Walking around the truck she knocked on Samuel’s window. “Hey, buddy, what is this truck doing here? It does not have proper tags?” Ignoring the guard, Samuel feigned as if he was sleeping. “Buddy, wake up. You must leave or we will impound your vehicle.” Samuel rubbed his eyes, “Oh, sorry, I am here for a pick up.” “What pickup?” The guard said looking confused. “I come once a month waiting for damaged bottles to bring to the poor in the neighborhood shanty town. I am just waiting for my two contacts to arrive.” Samuel said. The guard smashed in the window and said, “You are coming with me. We dont have any damaged bottles to lend out. Who are you and what are you doing here?” Pulling Samuel out of the truck, the guard smashed him a few times with a stun stick over the head. Calling for back-up, two more plant attendants ran over and pulling Samuel up, they dragged him into a nearby office. Jonathan turned to Thomas, “The last of it has been poured, lets get out of here!”
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