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?
