the empty road - 8. the past

by bofa xesjum

part eight of forty

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hello. hello yourself. who are you? i am your employer. employer, what must i do? begin by filling out this form. um - it looks rather long and involved. don’t worry, nobody will actually look at it. i can’t remember anything about my so-called past life. that is because you do not in fact have one. so you are saying that i should just make something up? that is what i am saying so just get on with it. i do not want to make trouble, just to do the right thing. at that point, the employer got up and left the room without another word. the candidate began filling out the form, as he had done so many times before. once he began, the words and names and places flowed like raindrops over a deserted street.. my parents were named james and eileen prester, and they lived quiet lives in the american midwest. james was often out of work, and drank heavily, but eileen had a steady job at the bank. james was a dreamer, and he dreamed most often of being an outlaw like jesse james or john dillinger. at one point, eileen did not miss a day of work at the bank for sixteen years and three months. next

the empty road - 7. the child

by bofa xesjum

part seven of forty

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before. way before. many years ago. john prester was born. he was a happy child. always up to some naughty mischief. he lived with his mother and grandmother they both laughed heartily at his jolly nonsense. one day a stranger called - a certain mr wilkins. he had a black briefcase and produced papers from it. the two women were overwhelmed by the contents of the papers. young john was instructed to pack his bag and accompany mr wilkins.. the boy accompanied mr wilkins in a taxi to the nearest railroad station . mr wilkins did not prove to be a very cheerful or communicative traveling companion. he volunteered the information that he was an attorney, and then lapsed into brooding silence. john turned his attention to the trees, signs, and buildings flashing by outside the train window. the train passed within a few feet of a window and a pretty girl smiled at him. john smiled back at her and she was gone - had she even seen his returning smile? he wondered. he looked over at mr wilkins and that gentleman, if he had seen the exchange, was not smiling himself. thus began what would be the first of many journeys he would take in the service of his new masters. next

the empty road - 6. the messenger

by bofa xesjum

part six of forty

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what? knock knock. who is that? daggett opens the door.. a messenger from the chairman. the messenger wears a blue uniform. blue - the color of the security agency. the director knows trouble when he sees it. the messenger steps confidently into the room and speaks. you are director of the interior department? the messenger asks. i have that honor, the director replies in a steady voice. you oversee the activities of a captain john prester? the messenger continues. yes, he is an agent of this department - and a highly trusted one,. do you know the whereabouts of this highly trusted personage, if i may ask? i can easily find out , the director replies, if you let me check my schedule. yes, please do that, the messenger answers with a sneer, insolently staring down the unhappy director. the director reaches into his vest pocket, for his phone, but he is stopped by the messenger. none of your monkey tricks!, the messenger cries. i have a warrant for captain prester’s arrest - and yours! faithful daggett has placed himself behind the messenger, and produces a silken cord and quickly strangles her with it. daggett lets the messenger’s body fall , her cap comes off and her long auburn hair flows across the director’s feet. next

the empty road - 5. the agent

by bofa xesjum

part five of forty

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back? not yet. i’m sorry, sir. don’t you be sorry. agent john prester was late. the director was starting to worry. what, he thought, could have gone wrong? outside in the distance a mountain lion howled. prester was his most valuable and most trusted agent. he had seen and done things too terrible to describe. and now he had mysteriously vanished - into the darkness of oblivion. prester had a lot on his plate - had it suddenly become too much? and then, he had mysteriously asked the director for a few days’ leave. i had a feeling something was wrong, the director told himself , shaking his head. daggett, the director’s trusted right hand man, looked out the window into the foggy night. prester’s probably just held up in this everlasting blasted fog, he remarked confidently over his shoulder. prester had never let a little thing like war or revolution - let alone fog - stop him before. daggett had no reply, and kept looking stolidly out the window, when suddenly the phone shattered the silence. who can that be? the director muttered, only three people know this number and two of them are dead. daggett turned from the window to answer the phone on the director’s desk, when there was a knock on the door. next

the empty road - 4. the trooper

by bofa xesjum

part four of forty

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headlights. yellow headlights. bright yellow headlights. what absolutely rotten luck! get out of the car! a trooper with a big hat. covering the ground with long manly strides. mrs hartwright and the prince exit the car. collins remains crouched behind the car, on the alert. he is concealed by the raised trunk of the car. but the trooper is not as dumb as he initially seems. he draws his pistol and shouts, come out with your hands up! collins obeys, as the trooper produces a flashllght and trains it on him. poor john prester’s body remains on the ground, to all appearances still quite dead. if the trooper sees the body , he does not say so, and mrs hartwright speaks.. i am most sincerely happy to see you , officer, it seems my husband is somewhat indisposed. the trooper’s name is larry varney, and is trained and ready to mean business at all times. larry does not like the looks of mrs hartwright and the prince , and does not conceal his disdain. but he keeps his flashlight and his focus on collins, and asks him to step out into the road. larry gives no indication that he has noticed the body of john prester lying in the dirt behind the car. next

the empty road - 3. the dark

by bofa xesjum

part three of forty

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later. a road. a dark road. a dark country road. are we there yet? i think this is the place. come now, you think, or you know? <> pull over, mrs hartwright tells collins, the chauffeur the prince exhales a melancholy sigh, but says nothing. collins, as instructed, pulls over carefully and stops the car. a long wooden railing separates the car from an untended field. am i to do anything? the prince asks petulantly, with another sigh. collins is quite capable, mrs hartwright assures him, as she lights a cigarette. collins gets out of the car. there is no light, except for mrs hartwright’s cigarette. the prince does not hear collins open the trunk, but he does hear a sudden - thump as john prester’s body hits the ground, and then a grunt as collins lifts it. i say, do you remember jenny thorndike? mrs hartwright suddenly asks the prince in a casual tone. i would prefer to forget her, the prince replies. what has she to do with all this racket? she was always getting into scapes like this. they were all in a day’s - or night’s - work to her. the prince opens his mouth to reply, but suddenly a pair of yellow headlights appear in the road up ahead… next

the empty road - 2. the room

by bofa xesjum

part two of forty

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yes. he enters. the door closes. please step this way. the room is in shadows. lit only by an ancient fireplace. would you like a drink, she asks. i would prefer to get down to business. he is aware of another person in the room. i, too, would prefer to get right down to business. john prester turns and confronts his ancient adversary - prince ladislas o’brian. the prince has aged considerably since john prester has last seen him. the prince does not rise to greet john prester, but remains firmly seated. i could use a drink myself, if you do not mind, the prince adds. you used to sit before more roaring fires, if i recall, john prester retorts casually. the fires were more roaring all over the world in those days , the prince states decisively. mordant, mrs hartwright’s butler, enters with a tray of drinks and places it on a low table. are you sure you do not care for a drink, mrs hartwright asks john prester with a smile. a cup of coffee if you please, john prester replies and pulls a chair up closer to the fire. the butler leaves to get john prester’s coffee, and the prince picks up a sandwich from the tray and sighs. next