Bleach Monster, Part XI

 

Mark woke up from a miserable night’s sleep.  He had an important committee meeting today. It could make or break the legislative work he’d be involved with for the last few months.

His poor night’s sleep had nothing to do with that. He had dreams of his teenage years.  He dreamt about his years in summer camp.  They were awful. He had very few friends. He was very awkward around people.  He got caught doing things that really made him look like a sicko. He wasn’t really a bad kid. His parents loved and supported him.  They still do.

Years of therapy paid off. He had a good job that paid well. He had a few friends that he trusted.  He had moved so far away from those dark times. But suddenly they were back. He thought he was stronger. But when he saw Murray inside he cringed. 

Murray strolled over to the SCOTUS. He had his reservations about if what he did was right? Should he really have had Danit get the troops to DC? Or should he have handled things the way he usually did, on his own? But what’s done is done. He now had to live with the consequences.

Mark arrived to the Capitol Building. He lingered around the tourists before he went in.  Murray, Danit, Danny and Tony were mixed in with the tourists. They had their cameras, maps, bottled water and were wearing baseball caps. 

Murray used his keen hearing to listen into a conversation Mark had with a security guard. Nothing important was said. They were talking about last night’s Nationals game.  Mark mentioned how much he missed being in NYC, where is beloved Bronx Bombers played.

Mark stood outside for a few minutes and sipped his coffee. He calmed himself down.  He knew he had work to do.  He truly believed he was serving his country and that Americans benefited from his toils.

He was about to go in when he heard someone scream out his name.

He turned around.  But he saw no one.  He waited about a minute and went back to the door. He brushed this off to nerves.  He figured with all the tourists one of the parents was yelling at one their kids, who just happened to share his name.

Of course, Danit was calling Tony Mark. It worked.  They didn’t get him to look around more carefully. They slowed him down. That was all they needed.

Murray snuck around to the staff entrance and hid in an alcove near the door. As Mark was about to walk in, Danit once again screamed out his name.  Mark stopped dead in his tracks.

He started to shiver.   He saw Danit and Tony. But thought it was a boy named, Mark with his mom. He smiled and walked toward the door. They smiled back.

He got closer.  Just as he got to the doorway, Murray jumped into his path.

The two froze.

Bleach Monster, Part X

Murray left the Seaport.  The others stayed. He raced up to Penn Station.  He received an urgent message from an old friend. He needed to be in DC early in the morning.

A ticket for an Amtrak Acela was waiting for him. He got to Penn. Swiped his card in the Amtrak machine and out popped his ticket.  He sat in the passengers waiting area for about 15 minutes and boarded Amtrak Train 2167 to our nation’s capital.

Murray sat in the train’s quiet car and prayed no loud mouths that didn’t care about the rules would be there with him. 

It was a smooth ride.  Three hours later he was in Union Station, Washington, D.C.  He hopped on the Red-Line toward Shady Grove and found his friend, Arnold on Pennsylvania Avenue and 11 Street. He was in all black and was drenched in sweat.

“What’s wrong?”

Arnold stood silently for minutes.

Then he spoke

“We have issues.  Remember the old days when we were in camp?”

“’Of course.  Those were the best years of our lives.”

“The crazy counselor who used to give out pots when we were bad has taken a high ranking staff position on the Senate Finance Committee.  Apparently he cleaned up his nutty act and did quite well in school. He wound up rising up through the legislative staff ranks rather quickly. But I’ve heard he cannot be trusted.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“I’ve read stories about what’s going on in NYC.  Specifically in Staten Island, Forest Hills, 161 Street and in Central Park. “

“What stories?”

“Stories written about people with special powers.  There were only three.  But something tells me you were involved.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You.”

The two made idle chatter for the next 20 minutes. Murray denied knowing anything about the Bleach Monster.  Wine-Girl, Blubber Boy and Tear-Water Boy never made it to the press.

Murray suggested they grab a beer.  Arnold agreed.  They walked over to a bar not far from the Ronald Reagan Office Building.

One beer turned into another, coupled with an order or wings and fries.  Two hours later a few shots of Arrack were poured.  They paid their bill with a generous tip and departed.

A plan was hatched to take out the obnoxious camp counselor.  You see they didn’t wish him harm. The camp days were way gone. But they knew this wacko, despite his cleaned up act was still a nut.  Heaven help our country with the counsel he’ll give our senators.

Murray didn’t explain anything about his empire to Arnold. He just said he would figure out a way to take care of Mark. He needed to closely study the situation

Murray was calm. But he was a little nervous. He never finalized the creation of his empire at the South Street Seaport. He knew Danit would be waiting for his next move.  He trusted her to an extent.  But knew she’d try to take him out if he wasn’t careful. So much for sibling love.

Arnold went home. Murray checked in at the J.W. Marriott.  He took a shower and began texting Danit.  She was still up. He gave her a heads up on what was going down in D.C.  He told her to stay on guard for instructions. She got excited. 

She knew an empire was in the works.   Although she wasn’t the official leader, she knew she would run it anyway.  She was happy to let Murray think he was in control.

Murray went to J. Crew and purchased a suit. He went as a visitor to the next Senate Finance committee meeting. He saw the loony, Mark that he hadn’t seen in over 25 years.  Murray remained unnoticed.

Mark looked good.  Brooks Brothers suit. He appeared to be in good shape and was speaking very clearly. But there was still a twinge in his eyes.  If you didn’t know him back in the day you wouldn’t notice.  You might think he eyes were red due to allergies or other issues.  The meeting concluded.  Everyone scurried out.

Murray got a drink of water and called Arnold Everything seems quite normal. But Murray sensed Mark would turn into Mark and start giving out pots.  Not the kind he gave out him camp. Heck those were dirty old pots that good ‘ole camp grub was cooked in.  The new pots could be amendments to financial bills that will wreak havoc on our great American lifestyle. 

Mark has a convincing mind.

It needed to be stopped.

He and Murray walked right by each other. Mark was oblivious.

A few days passed. Murray was ready to strike.  He went to Senate committee’s website and found Mark’s email. He sent him a cordial email telling him how he’s in town and it has been over two decades since they’ve seen each other.  He suggested they meet in front of the Air and Space Museum.

Mark agreed. He was a little nervous. But figured his interactions with Murray were so dated it wouldn’t matter. You see when Mark tried to give Murray and Arnold a million pots they raided him in his sleep. They moved him while he was sound asleep on his cot and placed him in the latrine above the Willy holes.   Mark woke up screaming. He was never mean to any camper again.

Mark knew those days were gone. He straightened his life out. He did well at Wharton and had a great job.  But he knew his crazy streak was just waiting to strike.

The two arrived at the Air and Space meeting.  As usual, the Hare Krishnas were nearby.  They grabbed Dove bars from the refreshment stand and began to chat.  Mark told Murray how he still has nightmares about waking up above the Willy holes in camp.  Murray smiled.  He said he feels bad. But hey that was over two decades ago and he was never apologizing for his teen craziness. 

Mark understood.  He went onto explain how crazy camp situations helped him evolve into the man he is today.  Murray knew right there that Mark was likely to go crazy.  Some of it was his fault. Some was due the environment they were placed in.

The conversation ended. They shook hands and went their separate ways.

Murray texted Arnold. They had to get their plan into high gear.  Murray realized the way some things were phrased that trouble was brewing.

The next few days may change the shape of the universe.

Murray needed Danit and his other powerful little friends at his side. He purchased tickets for them to arrive in DC that evening. He outlined the structure of “Murray’s Empire” in a cyptic email.  They swore their allegiance. Basically they were to use their “powers” for good.

He told them to go straight to the Supreme Court upon arrival.

Murray got together with Arnold. They began mapping out their attack plan. 

Murray’s major concern was how to fight without use of their powers. Could he do it with tricky speech? Or would his empire descend upon Washington in full light?