Gus usually spent his Sunday mornings walking to the corner to buy a newspaper and then read it with a pot of black tea on his balcony. Gus was old school in a lot of ways, mostly in the way he viewed the world. He had a smart phone and knew how to use it but being English, there were some traditions he liked to keep and walking to get the morning paper was one of them.
In the news that morning, Gus read about another consumption breakout in Fort Hall, Idaho, a small Indian reservation near American Falls jointly owned by the Shoshone and Bannock Tribes. Consumption or tuberculosis as it was once called started to mutate at an accelerated rate back in 2020 as a direct result of antibiotic overuse. The disease was as deadly in 2040 if not more so than it was in the 18th and 19th centuries as it became immune to all modern medicines. The public started referring to the disease again as consumption since it more adequately described what the disease did to its victims.
At Fort Hall, thirty-seven were already dead with an estimated sixty-two infected. Since there was nothing that could be done, the tribal casino had been closed to the public as well as the Fort Hall freeway ramps. Medical personnel and the Red Cross attended to the community as best they could with protective gear and assisted in burying the dead.
Ten years ago, Gus’s wife had succumbed to the disease and he sighed and turned the page. Just then Gus’s phone began to vibrate on the glass tabletop and not recognizing the number, he answered officially, “Senator Guiscard.”
“Gus, its Ted.” Ted sounded upset but was obviously trying to keep his composure and Gus could tell he was also driving.
“Theodore, it’s good to hear you. How are you this fine morning?” said Gus pleasantly, the black tea doing its magic.
Ted responded with a little more composure, relieved to hear Gus’s voice, “A little shaken, do you have a few minutes?”
“Of course, of course—where can I meet you?”
Ted put his car in park and turned off the engine, “Your place, I just pulled up.”
Ted didn’t bother with the formalities of knocking. He just opened the door and ran up the stairs to Gus’s kitchen area. Hearing the door, Gus got up and met Ted in the kitchen. Ted was out of breath and Gus directed him to sit and they both took a chair at the kitchen table as Gus told him to take his time.
Regaining his breath and a measure of composure Ted began to speak, “I got the DNA results from the lab this morning.”
He paused and took a few more breaths while Gus interjected, “That was fast I would have guessed a week or more before you had any results.”
“I went to a contact I had at the Bureau (FBI) and pulled a favor—all off the record of course.”
“I don’t need to ask what you found because I already know that the majority of that blood was Veronica’s, but are you convinced?” Gus was looking at Ted over the top rim of his glasses with an expression that demanded a response.
Responding a little confused as if he had forgotten why he had the DNA test done in the first place Ted responded, “Huh? Oh, yes. You were right of course. The reason I am in such haste and torment is what happened at the lab.” Gus narrowed his eyes a little wondering what could have possibly occurred in a secure facility like FBI Headquarters.
More relaxed now and with the composure Gus was used to seeing in Ted who was always collected and deliberate he continued, “It was while I was in the parking garage leaving, man and a woman approached me. I paid them no mind since I didn’t know who they were and it appeared they were on their own business walking toward the building entrance. Just after they passed, without a word, one of them pushed me up against a car and held me down on the hood while the other searched my pockets. Oddly enough, they only took the carpet scrap with yours and Veronica’s DNA on it.”
Gus leaned back in his chair, pulled on his beard and didn’t speak as he tried to think through the reasons anyone would so brazenly steal a scrap of carpet with his blood on it. After a few moments he responded with only, “Curious.”
Ted was not expecting such a flat response from Gus, which made him feel like he needed to provide more information, “Not wanting to leave the carpet scrap in the lab I brought it out with me—that was so stupid! It would have been safer in the lab.”
“No, you did the right thing. How could you have known someone else would have wanted it?” replied Gus, still leaning back in his chair trying to unravel the events, he looked at Ted’s hair with narrowed eyes, “When were you going to tell me about that blood in your hair?”
Ted reached up with his hand the felt a lump that seemed to be growing larger by the minute, “Oh that, I guess it wasn’t enough for them to just take what they wanted from me so they hit me over the head with something hard—a kind of insult and injury thing I guess. I was out for probably 10 minutes. I then got up and came directly here.”
Gus leaned forward placing his elbows on the table, “Well, considering what has happened to us over the last 48 hours I’d say you are looking pretty good and lucky to be alive.”
“Us—who and what are you talking about?” said Ted, confused and alarmed.
Gus, told Ted about his adventure with Abdul Faris in a matter-of-fact manner and when he finished he rather casually took a sip of his tea, “How terrible of me, can I fetch you some tea?” Ted just nodded as Gus walked out to the deck to retrieve the pot.
Talking louder so that Gus could hear him Ted wasn’t sure how to respond to such a fantastic story. “So—wow, Abdul is dead and you killed him? I can’t get my head around that and here you sit, reading your Sunday paper and sipping tea!”
Gus walked back in with the tea and poured Ted a cup and prepared it for him in the English tradition and calmly asked, “Sugar?”
“No—no thank you,” said Ted.
“Ah, a man after my own heart. Sugar destroys the after taste, does it not?”
Frustrated at Gus’s casual demeanor Ted shook his head, “I don’t know, yeah—I guess.”
Gus sat back down, took a deep breath and slowly let it go in the silence, “Don’t mistake my calm tone this morning for a man who is at peace. I am eaten up on the inside with worry, fear and shame as if I had swallowed barbed wire. Ted, I’ve learned, that peace is something you find, it doesn’t find you. The best thing for my reasoning skills today is to get back to the simple, daily pleasantries of life and let a layer of normalcy coat my tormented mind. I can scarcely believe what I have just told you myself. The problem we have at the moment is we need to act quickly but I scarcely know what to even do if anything can be done at all and that’s the thing that troubles me the most.”
Still wrapping his head around what Gus just told him Ted sipped his tea and they both looked out the deck doors onto a beautiful summer morning, neither of them speaking, both deep in thought. After several minutes without turning to look at Gus Ted said, “So what are we going to do?”
Gus also looking straight ahead and without breaking his stare responded, “I don’t know.”
They sat for some time not speaking but running through countless scenarios in their minds and endless ‘what-ifs’. Gus then broke the silence and said resolutely, “One thing is clear. We need to get the Committee together. I also worry about Veronica after what you told me about the DNA sample. I can’t figure who or why anyone would want that and what they could possibly do with it. I think we can rule out the FBI wanting it since they don’t normally employ thugs.”
“Yeah, and the Senate doesn’t have demons either,” said Ted flippantly. It was hard to remember the world was not as it appeared nor how they saw it only a week ago. The most frustrating part was wondering how long it had been different and how long they had been acting so ignorantly while their enemy played them for fools.
“One thing doesn’t make sense,” said Gus.
“Only one,” said Ted half smiling.
“Well said—nothing makes much sense but one incident doesn’t seem to fit into the chaos of all the others.”
“And
what is that?”
“Why kill me? Before that incident I was in ignorance for the most part about Toprak. Sure I knew they employed Abdul Faris and that they were guilty of espionage but since the assassination attempt, I have learned much more, almost as if,” Gus paused and Ted raised his eyebrows in a gesture for Gus to continue, “As if they couldn’t keep a secret any longer. Listening to Abdul sing and spill his guts you’d thought he was in a bloody Christmas pageant. He was delighted to tell me who he was, what he did and even how he did it.”
“You were able to speak to Abdul before you–killed him? Holy hell Gus, I still can’t believe you killed Abdul!”
“Yes, we had a brief conversation. I guess I left that part out. He mentioned that they were ten years ahead of us and that we would never catch up. We still don’t fully understand who ‘they’ are but Toprak Esir Inc. is at the fore.”
Being at an even greater loss than Gus, Ted offered, “Maybe your would-be assassination is not related to Toprak?”
“He has to be,” said Gus, being a little short, “The guard who tried to kill me had a cell phone with the text code, same as Abdul.”
Ted hesitated slightly, “Did you actually see the phone?”
Realizing he had made a gross assumption Gus slowly responded, “No I didn’t and I was not allowed to see it either.”
Ted felt like he was on to something, “When Homeland Security and the FBI showed up at your door last week did they show you their badges?”
“Yes, yes it was all very official. I had no reason to second guess them especially considering how ignorant I was a week ago.” Gus leaned forward on the table with renewed energy, “So let’s assume for a moment that my Homeland Security and FBI visitors were legit and that the shooter was connected to Toprak. What is the motivation to kill me?”
Remembering last week, Ted smiled, “Well, you gave a stirring speech last Friday but I hardly thought it worthy of killing you.”
More information was desperately needed and Gus had an idea, “Do you think you could use your contact at the Bureau to get a positive ID on the shooter?”
“Probably, why?”
“Do you remember the reason we started to investigate Abdul Faris?” said Gus, leading Ted along his line of reasoning.
Ted wasn’t sure where Gus was going but responded, “Sure, we suspected that he was a spy and worked for Toprak.”
“Do you remember why we suspected that?”
Remembering Gus’s incident in the stairwell and over hearing a conversation between Abdul and the security guard, Ted responded, “Ah! The stairwell conversation.”
“Being so delirious from blood loss I didn’t even think at the time to take a look at my killer to see if I could ID him, but I’ll bet you a million GD’s that he is the security guard I saw in the stairwell and that he was not there to kill me but to injure only. The reason I think that is because a dead man’s DNA is of no worth. Whoever is behind this, and I still suspect Toprak, they needed it for something. I think poor Veronica was an unexpected casualty.”
Ted was confused again with Gus’s logic, “But why, and why you?”
“I’m not sure. Perhaps they know more about me than I do myself. Abdul kept going on that they knew everything and they were so far ahead of us.”
“Surely there has to be an easier way to get a man’s DNA in this world,” said Ted. Then thinking deeper and more sinister Gus said, “Maybe they needed blood, not DNA. This Toprak is an evil lot. I can only image why they need blood, but an assassination attempt after my speech provided the perfect opportunity and the perfect motive and subsequent cover-up to pin it on a crazed security guard. No one would suspect a deeper plot.” Gus sat back in his chair confident that he was on the right track.
Ted picked up his phone and dialed his contact at the FBI, “Are you still at the lab?” Ted asked his contact. “I have an awkward question and request. Do you have the appropriate security clearance to look at an open case file?” Gus was unable to hear the full conversation but from listening to Ted he could follow along well enough.
“Can you look up a case for me?” Ted gave the number and waited, “It doesn’t exist? Are you sure?” Ted pushed mute and told Gus that there was no such case number. Gus thought for a minute. It did seem odd to him that the investigation had proceeded so rapidly and that on last Monday not even three days after the incident and over a weekend they acted as if the investigation was already concluded.
Having an epiphany Gus waved his hand, getting Ted’s attention, “Ask her if there is a case with that number in the closed file.”
Ted nodded, taking his contact off mute and said, “Check that same number in the closed files.” They both sat in silence waiting then Ted nodded again and whispered to Gus, “It’s there.”
“Ask her if the death photo of the shooter has red hair and mild acne scars.”
Ted nodded again after his contact responded, “Do you see anything in the file about a cell phone found at the scene?” asked Ted. He nodded in the affirmative to Gus. “Is there anything about the content of the text message? OK, that’s all I needed. Thank you.”
Putting his phone on the table Ted said, “So it appears we have a match on the security guard and the cell phone was apparently real and the text message really was 12345.”
“Hum, I had been assuming that 12345 was some kind of kill-switch thing. Apparently that is not the case,” said Gus running into another dead end in his logic.
“Didn’t you mention that Abdul got a 12345 text?” said Ted.
“Yes.”
“And he was then in earnest to kill Matt?”
“Yeah you could say that,” said Gus sarcastically and shaking his head in disbelief.
Ted was still trying to find the logic in their discussion and suggested, “Maybe the kill-switch was for Veronica not you. You were still only to be injured.”
Gus was sick at the thought, “So as usual, things have turned out even better for Toprak since they now have both of our blood. I think you have it correct Ted.”
“I’m not sure I do. Don’t you think this is a little extreme for just a blood sample?” said Ted still in a state of shock and disbelief at what they all had experienced in the past 24 hours.
Gus laughed and responded, “Theodore, you have no idea what extreme is with these people. What happened to me was tame.” Remembering the carnage on the Ellipse he added, “Very tame indeed.”
Gus got up and cleared the tea off the table and told Ted, “Send out a text to the Committee to meet at the Library of Congress in an hour.”
“Why the Library?” Ted questioned.
“We’re going to need access to all the information we can to make sense of our new world and we’ll have better security there than in any other place. We are wanted men now; we just don’t know who wants us.”
They both climbed into Gus’s car and drove toward the Library of Congress. On the way, Gus called Veronica, “Veronica, how are you my dear?–So very glad to hear it. I need you to meet me and the Committee at the Library of Congress, it is very important you make haste and do not delay–Yes, sadly there is much wrong in the world at the moment and we do not have a moment to loose–See you soon.”
Gus and Ted waited in the rotunda of the Library, a very grand and large room whose ceiling rose over five stories with ornate carvings and stained glass from another era, certainly a kinder and simpler time. Veronica arrived first being that her apartment was closest and coming into the rotunda Gus greeted her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“Theodore, I will take Veronica up to the room I have reserved and catch her up on the weekend events, come up with the rest after they arrive. If we don’t see them all within the hour, call me.” Ted nodded, finding it a little odd that Gus used his full name so frequently today.
Gus and Veronica walked up a grand white marble staircase that lead to second floor meeting rooms reserved for senate members and their
staffs. Closing the heavy oak doors, there was a feeling of safety but Gus knew very well it was only an illusion.
Gus began cautiously and provided a preface to what he was about to say, “Veronica, our world has changed in the last week. You are aware of some of those changes but they were only the beginning I’m afraid and as odd as it may sound, they were pleasant compared to what I am about to tell you.”
Gus related for the third time the events of the weekend, growing weary of telling the story. At the conclusion, Gus added the conversation and discoveries he and Theodore had had that morning about the shooting and the reasons behind it. She sat in silence staring at Gus in unbelief as if she was frozen. Gus patted her hand several times and apologized for the weight he had just dropped on her, “You look like you could use some water.”
Gus left the room and returned with several water bottles and opened one for Veronica. Veronica took several slow swallows then looked down at the table in a distant stare. Gus wished he could have retracted what he had just said and perhaps relate it with more care, “Oh my dear, I so wish this burden hadn’t come to you, we all seemed to have drawn the shortest lot in all this for reasons I do not know and at least for the time being, we bare it alone I’m afraid.”
Veronica slowly turned to look at Gus and asked him poignantly, “Have you told me everything?”
“I may have missed a few details but nothing important I assure you. I have told the story enough times in the past two days I could recite it from a stage.”
Veronica’s demeanor was sharpening and Gus could feel her confidence grow as she spoke, “I will not be seen as fragile in all this, do you understand how I mean?”
Gus was taken aback by her resolve and he cocked his head slightly and looked at her with narrowed eyes as she continued, “My bed is made alongside yours and our Committee and I will sleep in it. I have already tasted death and there is no fear or bitterness in it for me.” Thinking deeper and slightly smiling confidently she said, “Toprak or any evil cannot threaten me with death; their greatest threat is void in me.”
Gus put his hand to his lips and rubbed them slowly as if to ease words from his mouth but nothing came. Veronica’s resolve was more than just the after effects of dying although the experience must have had a profound effect on her in ways that Gus would probably never know. He noticed that her very countenance and disposition had changed which also seemed to be more than the effect of the human spirit rising to the occasion. Difficult circumstances throughout history had always made people stronger and more determined but Veronica’s newly found strength was more than that. Her inner strength and moral resolve somehow seemed to be what Gus could only label as noble; deeply rooted in honor, duty and iron will rising up from the wellsprings of a pure soul.
Veronica sat confidently unafraid of what the effect of her words might have on Gus. She had never referred to the Committee as if she were a part of it. She had always been more of an appendage to Gus and the Committee in a supportive role, but in that moment Veronica welded her fate with theirs. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Gus smiled at Veronica affectionately and said, “Welcome to the Committee my dear.”
As the rest of the Committee shuffled in, they were all very sober and few words were spoken between them, only polite greetings were uttered to Gus and Veronica. They all sat and looked at Gus for direction being overwhelmed with such decisions on their own. There was a darkness to the day that Gus had been trying to shake since he had awoken and everyone seems to be under the same spell. Surprising everyone, Veronica was the first to speak as she looked around the table at the Committee, “So, shall we begin or shall we commiserate in silence a while longer?”
Jess gave Gus a stern look and said, “Have you not told her?” assuming that her usual cheerful and charming disposition was spoken in ignorance. Gus laughed slightly, “I just finished briefing her of all the events even some new developments that you are not even aware of.” The Committee all looked at Veronica but said nothing.
“Right,” said Gus taking lead of the meeting as he always did. “I don’t suppose I need to explain why we are here. However, what is not evident is where we should begin. Perhaps we should get everyone on the same page with this morning’s events.”
Gus related to Matt and Shay the experience Ted had at the FBI that morning and how the carpet sample was stolen, but before he could delve into their theory about his assassination attempt, Ted interrupted him. “Excuse me sir, but I have been thinking and I still think we are incorrect.”
“Oh? Go on then,” said Gus, a little surprised.
“Whenever something just doesn’t add up and logic defies reason, it usually means you are missing critical information. Last week while you were out, the Speaker held a special session as you are now aware. It was terribly ill-attended with probably only 20 percent of the Senate showing. The Speaker was on fire and pretty much accused any senator not in attendance of treason.”
“Oh!” said Gus taking a seat at the head of the long hardwood table.
“My point is,” continued Ted, “it’s no secret that you and the Speaker were not on the best of terms and if your wake-up call lit a fire under him, what effect did it have on the enemies of the United States?”
“Ah, Ted has a valid point,” said Matt. “On your way out of the hall when the Speaker applauded you, you should have seen the mix of emotion in the room; everything from un-moved to, well – if looks could kill.”
“Looks almost did kill,” said Shay.
Gus resumed his lead of the conversation, “Gentlemen and” nodding to Veronica, “lady, it is no secret and we don’t have to be politically correct in here, but there is a plot to over throw this country and it has been in play a great many years. I also don’t have to tell you that the Senate is overrun not only with our enemies but also ignorant, self-serving opportunists who vote with the party that benefits them most personally. I don’t suppose I have to tell you our numbers very few.”
Ted, returning to his earlier statement said, “My point is, I believe your speech was the reason you were nearly assassinated because of the effect it had on the Speaker, a known enemy, and our political enemies could not risk you awaking any more supporters, not after they had worked so hard to get where they are. After your heroics with Veronica,” Veronica blushed slightly and smiled, “you became of greater interest to Toprak Esir and that is why they stole your blood sample. What they plan to do with it the devil only knows, but I would bet it is a fate worse than death.”
Gus nodded several times as he thought through the logic and said, “Yes, I do believe you are right Ted. Does anyone have anything else to add or take away from Ted’s reasoning?”
“Only that we need to be careful we don’t think of Toprak Esir and our political enemies as separate bodies. I think the evidence is overwhelming that they are one in the same,” said Jess. “If there is a distinction it is only that the political hand is rather slower-moving and perhaps even passive while the Toprak hand is aggressive, but they are none the less two hands of the same beast.”
“Very well said Jess, I’m sure you are right,” said Ted as everyone agreed.
“The evidence to support what you say is manifest in the fact that both the security guard and Abdul got the same obscure text message sometime before they were, shall we say, activated,” said Gus.
“Speaking of which,” said Shay, “I don’t suppose it matters much now what the code means in and of itself since we now know what it does to those who receive it.”
Gus resumed a mentor role and directed his words at Shay, “Perhaps right here and right now that might be true my dear Shay; however, there is great power that comes from knowing the mind of your enemy.”
Gus got up and walked around to the front of the room, leaned over and placed his hands on the table looking intently at the Committee, “We are in unfamiliar waters.” He paused, waiting till the weight and the importance of understanding
the concept sunk in. “This morning it became obvious to me that our enemies are not plainly visible to us and they have been working on our demise for quite some time. I would guess since at least 2030 maybe even before. They are extremely patient and willing to sacrifice anything to accomplish their goal.”
“And what goal is that?” asked Shay, wondering how Gus could know their goals when the whole group still knew so little.
Gus sighed in a somewhat defeated tone, but then said clearly, “World domination.”
Ted snickered slightly and said, “The goal of every villain and every bad guy. All we need is a superhero.”
Without speaking, Gus walked over to the whiteboard and wrote Toprak Esir and then wrote the English translation, World Captive and then turned to the Committee. “When we first heard of Toprak I was aware of the translation of Toprak to mean ‘world’ but sadly, not being familiar with the word ‘Esir’ I assumed it had something to do with real estate since that was their business, at least publicly. When speaking with Abdul, he referred to Toprak as The Toprak Esir. I found it rather curious so I looked up the translation this morning. What Abdul was referring to was indeed, ‘The World Captive’ or ‘The Captive World’ and it has begun.”
“Right in front of our faces!” said Matt, irritably.
Gus underlined the words on the board as he considered what Matt had said, “I think we will see that more and more from here on out, that our enemy has been parading in plain sight for over 10 years. The republic of the United States, at the urgings of the enemy has imposed a self-inflicted gag-order of political correctness and the public ignorantly assumes that nothing so sinister could ever happen in the good ol’ U.S. of A.”
Just then, all of the senator’s phones received a text message as all of the phones in the room except Veronicas made their individual message tones and everyone reached to see what it was. Reading the text, everyone stared in amazement and then looked at Gus, “It really has begun then and our enemy is becoming less transparent and publicly aggressive,” said Gus, then for Veronica’s sake he read the text aloud. “U.S. Senate official business. The Speaker privately resigned on Wednesday of last week for reasons he would not disclose. He is now the subject of a missing person’s investigation. The DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has raised the Threat Advisory. All official persons should take precautions to secure themselves, staffs and families until further notice.”
Gus sat back down at the table and stared at his phone for a minute then took the out battery and set them both on the table, “Our enemies could be anywhere and their reach is alarming. We best not communicate with technology if we are to win this.” All the other Senators and Veronica did the same with their phones.
Gus began slowly but with resolve, “Our time is short and we have much to learn, but I’m afraid our school bell rang 10 years ago and we were not in attendance. I think it obvious that the numbers 1 through 5 have some meaning. One thing I have been thinking about is the five-point star. I know they are everywhere and that they all don’t have meaning beyond a pretty decoration. However, I find it very curious that if you trace the roads north of the White House you can make out a five-point star that is inverted with the White House at the beginning and end-point. I loathe sounding like a crazed conspiracy theorist and I would not even be bringing it up now if Abdul had not chosen the Ellipse at the bottom of an inverted five-point start to herald. I do not believe for a second that the city architects designed the streets of Washington according to some evil design, however I do believe the devil uses anything and everything he can including even the Bible to further his work. Since the star was there, somehow they are able to use it for their purpose.”
Jess rubbed his eyes, clearly tired and in disbelief that they were about to launch into a discussion about devil worship, “An inverted five-point star is one of the main signs of satanism and all the other like occults. It has been their symbol for centuries, but to believe that the devil himself is behind this? I just don’t know.”
Matt laughed, scoffing “You might change your mind if you saw Abdul at his worst the other night. He was scarcely human.”
“It does all seem bizarre and frankly, our enemy is counting on us to sit on our hands with our eyes closed and our mouths shut until it is too late. Gone are the days when Americans opened their mouths when they saw or heard something that was not right. We have already been beaten into submission,” said Gus while shaking his head.
In an effort to keep things progressing, Ted began throwing out all the things he knew about the number five and all possible meanings. “The Olympic Games logo has five circles, it’s the number of cards in a poker hand, most all reptiles have five fingers and toes, Roman numeral V is the symbol for Jupiter, and there are five books of Moses…”
Interrupting Gus said, “Let’s go that direction, in the direction of religion. Something about faith, miracles and pure evil fits this situation I should think,” he added a little sarcastically.
“OK, let’s see; the Torah also contains five books, Muslims pray five times a day and there are five pillars of Islam.”
Raising his hand to stop Ted, Gus asked Jess, after he saw an enlightened look on his face, “What is it?”
“Maybe nothing but, your comment about the devil being able to use anything here on this planet for his evil designs got me thinking about the Bible.”
“And?” said Gus.
“Well, the only symbol or meaning for the number five in Christianity that I’m aware of is the five wounds of Christ, the wounds that killed him. Many Christian symbols that employ the five pointed star are centered on the five wounds.” Everyone was silent and in deep thought as Jess added, “I don’t know much about the devil but what I do know is that it is seldom enough for evil to just carry-out their evil plans.”
“How do you mean?” asked Veronica, puzzled.
“Well, take for example the Babylonian invasion and subsequent sack of Jerusalem. The city was impregnable so the Babylonians put the city under siege until there was no food left, not even a single blade of grass. Anything that could be prudently eaten had been. There was at least one woman who killed her own child and then proceeded to roast it over a fire when she was discovered.”
“Oh, how horrible!” cried Veronica.
“But, here is my point; shortly after the city surrendered—SURRENDERED mind you–it wasn’t enough for evil to just carry out their goal and take possession of the city. They had to inflict insult not just injury upon the Jews. They did this by killing any priest they could find by public humiliation and they looted Solomon’s Temple and burned it for no other purpose than to humiliate, desecrate and spit upon their God. That is what evil is and that is what evil does.”
The room was silent. After a few moments Gus concluded the discussion, “As much as we are all reluctant to do so, we must agree that we are dealing with evil, as evil as anything I have experienced in 70 years and I think we’ve found the meaning to 12345. Using something as sacred as the five wounds of Christ for the kill order is the perfect insult to Christians and inverting the five-point start that is used as a symbol for good the world over is the other.” No one responded and Gus continued, “Well, now we know a little bit more what we are dealing with. We may not know what their next move is but we do know they will go out of their way to inflict insult to whatever injury they have planned and we can use that to our advantage.” Gus paused letting the words sink in.
Sitting up in his chair, Gus changed the subject. “I know it is getting late but before we leave I want to bring up the other curious thing Abdul said. When asking him why Toprak had to start taking American’s seriously he said it was because of the Minimum.”
“The Minimum?” asked Ted, confused.
“The solar minimum?” asked Veronica as all eyes turned to her.