Into the Shadows: Chapter 4 Part 1

Chapter 4 Part 1
Open Seas

Click here to read Chapter 3 Part 3



Paivi Anderson
Current Events p.6
Dr. Hasenpfeffer

For my assignment I read an article in the St. Andrew Herald by Jerome Knowles. It was called “Moira Kelly takes the lead in the polls.” He states that Kelly, a member of the Liberal party is ahead in the polls because Americans think she’s personable. That means she nice. He also says that her policies on the Righteous Front terrorist group are helping her. She hopes to solve the terrorist crisis by sitting down and talking to the members of the Righteous Front. The current administration has been fighting the RF with the military, but the RF keeps blowing up more restaurants and shopping malls. According to Knowles, Senator Stevens represents the same ideas as the current President who is also from the Conservative party and will not have much of a chance with the voters. I personally think it’s because he’s not very nice, but that’s just because he looks like a jerk when I see him on the news.

Paivi, interesting opinions, but try to keep them relevant to the facts. B-
Dr. H.



The full moon shone over the water creating a silver path on the waves that disappeared into the horizon, a road straight to the heavens. A yacht cut directly across the light and then in a moment, it was gone, returning to the shadows.

An older man sat in a leather chair next to the window looking out over the waves. In the distance he could see the city of Miami glittering like so many giant candles floating on the water. His gray hair had become a bit wavy due to the humidity. He had long ago given up on his tie and jacket: now his collar was unbuttoned, and the shirtsleeves on his hand-tailored dress shirt were rolled up to the elbows. The crisp white cotton had wilted in the steamy heat and large rings of sweat seeped from underneath his heavy arms. In his hand he nervously clinked the dwindling ice in his glass, pausing only to refill it from the decanter of bourbon sitting on the small table next to him.

Taking a swig of his drink, he jumped—startled—as the door at the end of the room popped open. A young man peered cautiously into the room.

“Senator Stevens, we are nearly there,” said the young man.

“Thank you Martin.” He spoke with a southern drawl. The Senator finished his drink and took one last look at the water.

The deckhands took no time in connecting the Senator’s yacht to a new, larger and more brilliantly lit one. The man and his party—consisting of Martin and a young woman by the name of Margaret— made their way across a metal bridge. Upon stepping onto the glossy wooden deck, they were met by two men. The one who greeted them was rather small. His companion, however, was quite an intimidating figure of substantial size, not to mention the two large handguns he wore in holsters strapped across his broad chest.

“Ahhh, Senator Stevens, how nice to see you again,” he smiled, revealing a toothy grin.

“Follow us, please.” He led the man and his companions along the glistening deck to the back of the yacht, where they climbed a staircase towards the ship’s rooftop. Each stair was lit with tiny twinkling lights.

As the first sight of the uppermost level came into view, torches danced along the railings, throwing brilliant light and dark shadows across the deck. A few young ladies in sparkling evening gowns lounged along the banks of seats under the torches. They leaned back, sipping champagne and chatting quietly.

At the far end of the deck a man rose from a lounge chair. He was fairly tall and wore a pair of white linen pants and a loose fitting white linen shirt. He was barefoot.

“Your friends can wait here—the girls will bring you a drink.” Their escort stopped them at the top of the stairs and waved Senator Stevens on alone. He walked across the deck, trying not to notice the men with machine guns standing on either side of his host.

“Senator Stevens,” greeted the man, sounding relaxed. He shook his guest’s hand briefly. “Please, sit. Here, have some champagne, you look like you could use it.”

Senator Stevens accepted the delicate crystal champagne flute, but just held it, as if not quite sure what he should to do with it.

“Mr. Lin, it’s truly my pleasure,” began the Senator, sounding as if it wasn’t a pleasure at all. “I take it you have the information you promised?”

“Ahh, right to the point, aren’t you? I thought we could at least share a drink first. But here is what you came for.” He gracefully placed a small, USB Flash drive into Senator Stevens’ plump and sweaty hand.

“This is it? This will help me win?” He stared at the little drive in disbelief.

“Please let us recall, you requested some information, something that no one else has, that could help you win your precious election. The information you seek is on that drive.”

“So what is it? Dirty photos? Information exposing bribes? What?”

“No. What you have in your hands is a list of names. These names will be worth more than gold to you.”

“Names? So what? Names alone won’t do me any good,” Senator Stevens was getting angry, and losing his already strained ability to be polite.

Lin smiled calmly and leaned forward.

“Your country lives in fear because of your constant battles with the terrorists. What do they call themselves? The Righteous Front? Ha! But all along you have had the answer to stopping them—you just didn’t know about it. You see these are names of people who live in your country. You will be surprised to find that they know more about these Righteous Front fellows than you could ever imagine. Your staff should be able to come up with a plan that will benefit you greatly.” He leaned back on his lounge chair and sipped his champagne, smiling at the elegance of his own actions.


Join me next Wednesday for the next installment of INTO THE SHADOWS!

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