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they really couldnt offer me more money without a casino, which a strip club ' couldnt have under the weird laws there, their top gross was limited but they ' did wind up offer-ing me a slightly lower salary and a profit percentage, which we took, along with the biggest piece of ego I could imagine a name change to " Mistys Harbor, complete with large, sexy portrait of me framed in Ve-gas neon. ' " The only dark spot was the numbers of the Redeemed that seemed to be growing everywhere. You couldnt go anywhere without running into them with ' their flowers, candy, shaved bodies and raped and gutted minds. They had bought large buildings, huge tracts of land, and were gaining political influence, the kind that comes with massive amounts of tax-free money and power. They swelled in membership and never seemed to lose converts, a fact that actually attracted more young peo-ple and lost souls to the movement. As usual, the press was mixed, the conservatives upset at losing their kids, the liberals shocked at the gutting of a generations spirit, but with Constitutional guarantees ' there was noth-ing, it seemed, that could be done to slow them. They were spreading worldwide, in the Latin coun-tries, in Africa, in Europe and parts of Asia, tailoring their public beliefs to fit local concerns. It was hard to tell what they were doing in the Iron Curtain countries, but I had no doubt they were there and working successfully. The cult alone soon had a worldwide following esti-mated at more than twenty million. Dory and I watched the TV and headlines and understood anew what Dan Pauley had meant. The Association planted, and grew, and moved out to conquer all. I couldnt believe that Parch and IMC would take this lying down, and I ' wondered if, somehow, they'd just discovered an enemy they could not fight without mak-ing themselves into the enemy. It must be frustrating, I thought more than once, to know and have the power and be so impotent. Wed been living our own life of peaceful glamour for more than two years ' now, and it showed no signs of slacking off. Some tentative investments Dory had made in local real estate had already paid off, and we were very comfortable and secure. To celebrate our second anniversary I'd taken some time off and " " we'd gone to Hawaii and Tahiti, a sort of belated honeymoon, just the two of us doing what all lovers do or would like to do, if they had the time and money. Coming home from the club late one night, about four or so, I was feeling a Page 167 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html little off and just wanted to get in, eat, and relax. On such days Dory would have a light supper waiting, and I could just relax and unwind. I walked in and saw nothing cooking and Dory in the living room avidly watching TV. For a moment I just thought shed got engrossed in a movie or ' something, but then I realized it was a newscast and that she was very intent on it. I frowned. A newscast? At this hour? She looked up as I entered, looking worried and hag-gard, and I grew concerned. Whats up? I asked. Whats happening? " ' " " ' " She got up and came over, giving me a hug and a kiss. You havent " ' heard? You dont ' know? " I shook my head. News didnt travel much in my circles, at least not while it ' was happening. " They shot the President! " 'What? " She nodded. He was comin out of a hotel in Chicago where he was " ' campaigning and they zapped him! "What? " Who?" "The Redeemed! About an hour ago. Opened up on all sides with automatic weapons! Mowed down a huge crowd." My God! I thought, and sank back into the sofa. What insulated lives weve ' led. I wasnt a fan of the Presi-dents, but I still felt a deep sense of outrage at the ' ' deed. " Why would they do it? I asked aloud. It doesnt make sense for The " " ' Association to do something like this. " We both went over and turned back to the TV. They were showing an instant replay of the thing it seemed to have been in front of the network cameras. It was a stunning, horrible, grotesque sight. "Theyre all ' Page 168 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html smiling, " I breathed, unable to tear myself away from it. Oh, my " God! " They switched back to the studio, where a tired looking anchorman, not one of the regulars, continued the story. "Vice President Arnold was awakened and told the news at 3:45 Pacific Time. Arnold immediately cut short his campaign swing through California and is expected to fly to Washington later on this evening. His motor-cade is already getting ready to go to the airport and he is expected to leave for there as soon as possible. "Repeating our earlier story. President Long is dead, shot to death by gunmen waiting for him with subma-chine guns outside the Trevor House Hotel in Chicago where he had been in an early morning political strat-egy session with Illinois Republican bigwigs. He emerged from the hotel at about six fifteen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |