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.