Fandom: A Maxine Kordell Novel

By Larry M. Rosen

Maxine Kordell—former serial killer and passionate conservative—learns of sexual abuse in the football program at CSU, a Virginia university. Max—whose fiancé was killed by a pedophile—investigates, then draws the ire of alumni, students, administrators, and coaches, several of whom make the mistake of trying to intimidate her. Witnessing such unreasoning fandom first hand, Max begins questioning her own partisanship. Joined by Mena Harling, they find a cover-up involving head football coach Josh Dadier, affectionately known as JoDad. After CSU’s President is murdered, then Dadier, an assistant coach, and the athletic director suddenly die, it's clear something even more sinister is happening at CSU.

At the same time, Max is approached by the RNC as a possible GOP candidate for one of Virginia’s U.S. Senate seats. But when she attempts to investigate CSU further, she’s asked to stop by a White House political strategist, then aided by White House liaison Julie Hartz, who, unknown to Max, is The Tracer, and has her own agenda for ending the pedophilia.

Probing further, Max discovers an international ring of sexual abusers, The Unity, and a criminal gang called GAG. Aided by Mena, Willi Mayers, and Haley, she begins rooting them out. But The Unity has loyalists everywhere—university campuses, Hollywood studios, the Olympics, religious organizations, and the U.S. Congress. And GAG fears Max will expose their activities, also making her a target.

Meanwhile, BURN, a group that eliminates up and coming conservatives, had earlier decided Max should be watched, and assigned an assassin to court her. But BURN’s leader, The Rector, has a personal reason for wanting Max dead.

In confrontations in Los Angeles, on a private Caribbean island, and in Virginia, Max and her friends must face the assassins Cike, Logistique, Cum Sicario Disputabo, and Ubiytsa. As they do, Max must come to grips with truths that threaten her already shaky worldview.

Later, when matters seem settled, Max learns a Pennsylvania Catholic bishop has covered up sexual abuse for years, and a close friend was victimized. So Max decides to make a frightening bloody statement, then meets with Pope John Paul II, to learn to what extent he will address Church sexual abuse in the future. As endgames play out, and her core beliefs are challenged, Max, in a Catholic cemetery, at the gravesites of her fiancé and high school friend, must decide who and what she truly is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716889424

Book preview

Kordell

Prologue

Home Of Hulitop

McLean, Virginia

The person sitting alone, in an enormous home in a gated community in McLean, Virginia, was feeling quite optimistic about the future. This was a decided shift from past musings, as it reflected changes in societal mores that had occurred astonishingly fast.

Fifty years ago, it would have been unthinkable that homosexuality would today be seen as acceptable and natural to a majority of Americans, despite Europe having largely accepted this view for far longer. I suspect a decade or so from now, gay marriage will also likely become part of the American tapestry. These social phenomena can be understood using the metaphor of bodies in motion from physics. A body in uniform motion is said to have a trajectory. Such a trajectory allows the physicist to calculate the body’s position in the past, as well as in the future. The metaphor is based on the notion of cultural trajectory. It is now easy to see where society is headed in the near future. American culture will become indifferent to homosexuality and gay marriage in most quarters. After a few decades, people will wonder what all the past fuss was about, as they decouple from nature current religious bigotry, and its concomitant pretense of morality.

The person smiled, then a doubt crept in.

"The pastoral class will offer strong opposition, particularly the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The political class will stick their finger in the wind, then determine if it’s safe to support homosexuality and gay marriage. The courts, well, who can ever predict what that politicized bunch of poseurs will do. When it suits them, they are about the law and precedents. Stare decisis. To stand by things decided. At other times, they are about the public good, whatever that really means. And sometimes, they are about placating their ideological companions in the clubs at which they are members. Still, the trajectory of history suggests all parties will eventually come around. Sadly, eventually is not a precise term, nor is it likely to be short-term."

The person began to focus on what all this meant with regard to the most important issue.

Our history spans millennia. At times, our activities were conducted in a relatively open manner, without fear of prosecution, and sometimes even without judgment. Times have changed, and the Catholic Church pedophilia scandal has emerged at an inopportune moment.

I wished to allow our needs to remain on the back burner, as homosexuality and gay marriage played out in the public square. Once that was successfully behind us, public attitudes could be manipulated. Homosexuality has falsely been conflated with pedophilia, but this bigoted misinterpretation sometimes served our interests. At times, we embedded ourselves in de jure or de facto homosexual groups, making our presence far more difficult to detect. The Catholic Church is a prime example. Studies have shown that homosexuality among priests is far higher than in the general population. One study estimated that at least 33 percent of all priests in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States are homosexual. Another reported that from 15 percent to 58 percent of priests in the United States are homosexual. One study said that since the mid-1980s, Roman Catholic priests in the United States were dying from AIDS-related illnesses at a rate four times higher than that of the general population, with most of the cases contracted through same-sex relations, and the cause often concealed on their death certificates. A follow-up study revealed that the AIDS-related death rate among priests was more than six times the rate among the general population in the fourteen states studied.

"But The Boston Globe has brought us to the forefront. In the past, my brethren were protected, as the Church ignored or denied charges against them, paying off accusers, or moving our people to a different parish. This is no longer as easy as it once was."

The person thought some more, then arrived at a conclusion.

I can no longer wait for the trajectory of events to buttress us. I must act now. But doing so requires us to come together in a way that pools our resources and political power, yet accomplishes this in the shadows. The public is not ready to accept pedophiles and some of our other brethren, so we must be both decisive and stealthy.

The person felt optimistic again.

I am now ready to move. My brethren form The Unity, and our combined power will crush those who stand against us, by destroying their reputations, ruining them financially, or taking their lives. We will no longer be denied that which is ours.

A great rage overcame the person.

I am Hulitop, leader of my brethren, leader of The Unity. And my time, our time, has come. At long last, we will take what we want. So now I begin to set in motion the insurgency I have named SCARY WORLD-HOW.

The Unity, GAG, BURN, And TOETIFTSA

Cathedra

Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo

Castel Gandolfo, Italy

Cardinal Giorgio Penna was unofficially the third most powerful man in The Vatican. His influence and duties spanned administrative, economic, personnel, and procurement operations for the Holy See. Penna held a doctorate from Oxford, had earlier been a prominent notable in the Catholic Church in Australia, and held ultra conservative views about homosexuality and abortion. He was of average height and weight, wore wire-rimmed glasses, and had sand-colored hair that was beginning to grey.

Cardinal Penna was also a pedophile, and had long been a Church fixer with regard to a variety of child sex abuse instances. This was not an insignificant undertaking in Australia, where, over several decades, seven percent of priests in Australia's Catholic Church were accused of sexually abusing children.

Penna had appeared before an Australian investigatory group, which had found that several thousand children had been abused at more than 1,000 Catholic institutions across Australia. The average age of the victimized girls was 10.5, and was 11.5 for the victimized boys. Penna had admitted he’d mucked up his handling of pedophile priests, while steadfastly denying he himself was a pedophile. Despite the evidence amassed by Australian authorities, Penna continued to hold power at The Vatican.

The Palazzo Apostolico di Castel Gandolfo is a 17th Century 135 acre papal palace in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Pope John Paul II had a swimming pool built there, and Giorgio Penna was using it to relax. In the pool with him was a nine year old boy, the son of one of the staff who maintained the estate.

Vincenzo, let’s play a new game, Penna said, to the boy, who was floating on his back against the side of the pool.

What kind of a game?

It has no name, but you’ll love it.

How do we play?

Come stand with me here in the shallow part of the pool, and I’ll teach you.

Vincenzo swam over, then stood in front of the cardinal. Penna hugged the boy, pressing him close, then his hand lightly touched the inside of the boy’s thigh.

I don’t like this game, Vincenzo said, his body tense. I’m afraid.

You have nothing to fear, Vincenzo. The Church and I, are we not, after all, second only to God.

*    *    *    *    *

The Vatican

Vatican City, City-State Amidst Rome, Italy

Cardinal Penna was sitting in a chair in his Vatican office. The chair was made of a heavy dark wood, with a gold and yellow upholstered back that was scalloped at its top. Behind him was a dark wood credenza, atop which was an ornate gold candelabra, featuring ten orange candles. On the wall next to the candelabra hung an enormous dark wood cross trimmed with gold, with a white porcelain Jesus crucified upon it.

The telephone on the credenza rang, so Cardinal Penna picked up the handset.

Blue spiraling triangle within another triangle, the caller said, initiating a code sequence that indicated the cardinal’s preference for young boys.

SERE ADMIDE, the cardinal replied, which completed the code sequence. SERE ADMIDE was an acronym advocating the cause’s objective -- SExual RElationships between ADults and MInors should be DEcriminalized.

How are the doings in Vatican City, Your Eminence, or should I say Cathedra? the caller asked, using the title of the cardinal’s sphere within The Unity, as well as his codename.

Conflicted as always, Hulitop. The practices of The Vatican Bank remain messy, the health of Pope John Paul is said to be deteriorating, deliberations have begun about containing the emerging pedophile scandal, and Cardinal Bellini continues his ceaseless efforts to move the Church in radically liberal directions, although an equally powerful cardinal resists him. As you know, this other cardinal is to be feared, so I do not mention his name.

It appears you have successfully managed to contain accusations against our brethren in Australia. Sadly, this was not the case in Boston with Cardinal Law.

Australia has very strict laws forbidding the press from disclosing information during an ongoing investigation. This is to our advantage there. Unfortunately for Cardinal Law, despite his political power, Boston is governed by America’s First Amendment, allowing the press to run amok.

I will do what I can to further assist Cardinal Law, but sadly what we do now is too little, too late. You will have to continue to succor him in The Vatican to avoid his prosecution, naturally with the honors and perks he deserves after so many years of loyalty.

I have arranged for that to happen, and few voices here opposed it. Still, I wish we could have been more proactive. We’re constantly putting out fires. What we need is a way to stifle those who light the fires. Engendering fear in them comes to mind, but how to do it?

The very purpose of my call, Cathedra. We will shortly be getting together in Hawaii, where I will reveal the insurgency called SCARY WORLD-HOW. So keep your schedule open. Attendance is mandatory.

I’m certain your plans will ease our burdens.

They will, Cathedra. Our world will come to pass well before your Jesus’ Glorious Reappearance.

The line went dead.

Olympia

Sports Medicine Office Of Lorenz Nessman

Lansing, Michigan

Lorenz Nessman served as the USA Olympic Gymnastics National Team’s Medical Coordinator, a position he’d held for some seven years. He’d been awarded a Doctor Of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Michigan State University, then completed a fellowship in sports medicine. Nessman, of medium height and build, had a full head of dark brown hair, and wore light gold-colored wire rimmed eyeglasses. He had already sexually abused well over a hundred young female athletes over the years.

Nessman was sitting behind the desk of his Lansing, Michigan office, where he practiced sports medicine, his patients frequently female Olympic gymnasts and hopefuls. Sitting on the other side of the desk was Jenny Caputo, a 13 year old gymnast, who had sustained an injury. Her mother, Dora, was seated beside her.

Jenny’s gymnastics coaches told us you were a miracle worker, Dora said, a sports medicine physician who could fix any problem.

I’ve been rather successful treating a wide variety of sports-related injuries, often incurred by gymnasts. It’s nice to know I’m developing some acclaim for my work. That’s encouraging.

So how will you treat Jenny?

I’ll be performing osteopathic manipulation, using my hands to move Jenny’s muscles and joints. I employ a variety of techniques, such as stretching, gentle pressure, and resistance.

Does it hurt? Jenny asked.

"Not a bit, Jenny. Dora, let me take Jenny into my examining room, so I can ascertain what’s causing her discomfort and pain, then begin treating her. You stay here, Dora. There are lots of things to read, and not just the usual doctor’s office stuff. There’s People magazine, for example, if you’re into celebrity lives, some fashion magazines, and a couple of Michigan newspapers. I’d estimate I’ll be spending about an hour with Jenny."

Thank you, Doctor Nessman. Jenny, I’ll be here when you come out.

Nessman led Jenny through a door in his office, then closed it behind them.

You can disrobe, Jenny. I’ll get you a gown to minimize any embarrassment over being naked.

Nessman opened a cabinet, removed a medical gown, handed it to Jenny, she got undressed, then donned the gown.

Tell me about your pain and discomfort, Nessman said.

Jenny did so.

Great, Jenny. Now I’m going to have to do some probing, but I promise it will only require a gentle pressure in various places. It won’t hurt a bit.

Okay.

Uh, I have to ask this, Jenny. Are you still a virgin?

No, but my mom doesn’t know that. Please don’t tell her I told you that.

Wouldn’t think of it, Jenny. You and I are both governed by patient confidentiality. I don’t tell on you, and you don’t tell on me.

Great. Thanks.

Nessman had Jenny lie down on a medical cot, then he began to touch her. Jenny was surprised he wasn’t using sterile gloves, but instead his bare hands. But he was the doctor, so he knew best, she supposed. Nessman gently touched her stomach, thighs, and breasts. Jenny wasn’t sure, but she thought his breathing had changed, and his face had an odd look. A short time later, his bare finger penetrated her vagina, then, later, her anus.

*    *    *    *    *

Home Of Lorenz Nessman

Holt, Michigan

Lorenz Nessman was sitting at one end of a sofa in the family room of his Holt, Michigan home, watching a local news channel on TV. The telephone on the end table next to the sofa rang, so Nessman picked up the handset.

Heart inside a heart, the caller said, using a code sequence that indicated Nessman’s preference for young girls.

SERE ADMIDE, Nessman replied, completing the code sequence.

How are you feeling, Olympia? the caller asked, using the title of Nessman’s sphere within The Unity, as well as his codename.

I’m ebullient, Hulitop, positively ebullient.

Good to hear, my friend. What has lifted your spirits?

I attended to a young Olympics hopeful today in my office. Pretty, sexy, and naive, just the way I prefer them. I spent an hour with her, while her mother waited in my office. She told me she’d lost her virginity, but not to tell her mom. So whatever doubts she may have had about my, uh, probing, will not be spoken aloud.

Sadly, that is too often not the case with our brethren. You are fortunate the mother and girl are simpletons.

It’s not always this easy, but so far nobody has questioned my methods. And I do help many of them to recover from their injuries. Still, your point is well taken. It would be nice if my needs -- all our needs -- could be met without fear of discovery and prosecution.

I am working to make that happen, Olympia, which is why I have called you. Our Hawaii get together is almost upon us, and there I will reveal the insurgency that will help take us out of the shadows -- SCARY WORLD-HOW. So I will see you there. Attendance is mandatory.

The end of fear of discovery and prosecution. I’ll be there.

If my plans succeed, Olympia, the world we wish to see will be ushered in before too many more Olympics have come and gone.

Hulitop hung up.

Thespis

Romano Weinberg Company

Los Angeles, California

The Romano Weinberg Company was founded in the 1970’s, and produces and distributes motion pictures for movie houses and television. Its founder and namesake is a world-renowned producer and director, best known for such films as Rosalind’s Child, Revulsion, and My Month With Michelle.

Weinberg preferred young women, but he was not a pedophile. The objects of his dalliances ranged from teens to just south of thirty. He tended not to care very much if they were legitimately attracted to him, feigning an attraction, or even revulsed by his advances. What did matter was they were under his thumb, and powerless to reject him, unless they wanted to experience a decided downturn in their careers. The casting couch and upstairs bedrooms at Hollywood parties, while perhaps not as prevalent as in the movie studio days, were still a springboard for an aspiring actress’ hopes. Some actresses even considered this a part of the business overhead, just like being seen on red carpets, and accepting the intrusions of the media in their private lives. What price Hollywood? A high price, if you wished to play in the big leagues.

At the moment, Weinberg was in the midst of dallying with thirteen year old Gemma Samson, whom he’d already furnished with a controlled substance, readily available from one of his company’s Doctor Feelgoods. Gemma, who, when made up properly, looked to be in her twenties, was one of several teenage and twenty something starlets auditioning to play the lead in a remake derived from Lolita. Not much for foreplay, he had kissed Gemma’s neck, groped her breasts, stuck his tongue in her mouth, hastily placed her on a couch, then entered her.

They’d been at it for little more than a minute when the phone’s intercom chirped. Weinberg ignored it, but it kept chirping, a signal that Gemma’s mother had arrived to get her daughter.

Dammit, Gemma, Weinberg snapped, withdrawing and rapidly zippering up, your mom’s always showing up early. Doesn’t she understand that scheduling is very important in the biz? I guess not. So this will not help your cause.

As Gemma got dressed, a frustrated Weinberg grabbed a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, then took a long pull directly from it. Gemma, trying not to cry, left the office.

*    *    *    *    *

Home Of Romano Weinberg

Malibu, California

Romano Weinberg was sitting alone on a small sofa in the library of his luxurious Malibu home. It was around 8:00 pm, West Coast time. He was tired, sexually frustrated, and getting angrier by the moment.

Too often my needs go unmet. At other times, my little darlings are cold, scared, or unresponsive, or my time with them is severely limited. But what upsets me most is giving my love in a tense environment, when the wrong person can walk in, and see me with one of my darlings.

Weinberg felt his anger giving way to depression.

I’m no criminal or lowlife. I jumpstart young careers, offer affection, and provide good counsel. Yet part of my life remains in the shadows, as it currently must.

Weinberg became even more morose.

"As it currently must. No. It’s time for that to stop. Gay men and lesbians are coming out of the closet in droves. So why not us, too. We’re successful people, decent people. We should be able to hold our heads high. Instead, we’re consigned to the shadows, and in constant fear of discovery."

The telephone located on a small boat conference table rang, so Weinberg got up from the sofa, then reached for the handset.

Heart inside a heart, the caller said, using a code sequence that indicated Weinberg’s preference for young girls.

SERE ADMIDE, Weinberg replied, completing the code sequence.

How are you feeling, Thespis? the caller asked, using the title of Weinberg’s sphere within The Unity, as well as his codename.

Depressed, Hulitop.

Why so, my friend?

My, uh, session, with a young actress earlier today, was far too abbreviated for me to derive any pleasure.

Why was it abbreviated?

The girl was expecting her mother to pick her up, and that woman is nosy, and shows up early most of the time. So I felt tense, then the woman appeared even earlier than expected, and I was forced to end the session.

"Surely, my friend, you have the resources to find, shall I say, appropriate companionship tonight."

I do, and the service tries, but it’s hit and miss, mostly miss. I myself don’t understand what draws me to one girl rather than another. I’ve even engaged from time to time in a menage a trois. It did not satisfy me.

I’m hardly a psychologist, but may I offer a candidate explanation.

Please do.

"Your sexual arousal and satisfaction derives from your ability to dominate the will of a young girl. Your lust and its quenching depend on your power over your supplicants. That is, to use a non-psychological phrase, the turn on."

You’re right, Hulitop. That is it, period. It’s about conquest and power, not really about having sex with virtual strangers with whom I will never share anything meaningful.

I want you to be happy and feel fulfilled, my friend. But one reason is selfishness on my part. You, and those under you, are different than many in the other parts of The Unity. You are not pedophiles, using the inaccurate and exasperating word society places on many of us. What you desire is to exercise your right to take what you wish from those under your rule, a right that supersedes any rejection from them. In this, the recognition of that right, as well as the desire to act upon it, lies the common denominator that links you and yours with those defamed by the name pedophile. But to enable you to exercise your right, we must all band together, for in numbers there are resources and political power. Also, when necessary, there is the iron fist to smash those who would deny us our rights, rights given us by God, who made us this way, which means in His image, or, at the least, in one of His images.

You are wise, Hulitop, and you give me hope for a future in which we can all take that which God makes us desire.

To that end, we will soon meet in Hawaii, where I will reveal the insurgency I have named SCARY WORLD-HOW. You know the date, so keep your calendar clear. Attendance is mandatory.

I’m anxious to hear your plans. I hope you’ll address what has become a growing discomfort.

A discomfort shared by our brethren, Thespis, one I will indeed address. Our time is at hand.

Hulitop ended the call.

Academe

Commonwealth State University

Northern Virginia

Jimmy Sands was standing in a shower stall in a locker room at Commonwealth State University, located in Northern Virginia. Sands, the defensive coordinator for CSU’s football team, The Asps, had just completed a defensive secondary training session with some of the young boys attending a CSU football camp. Sands was 59 years old, stood about 6’3", and had stark white hair that had receded enough to reveal a deeply furrowed forehead.

One of the boys, a 10 year old named Philly, was showering next to Sands, soap suds streaming down his face and body. When Philly had rinsed the soap off fully, he turned to Sands.

So, Coach, show me the hand technique you said you’d teach me while we were showering. Is it to help me in press coverage along the line of scrimmage, or when I’m trying to carry a receiver across the field when he’s running a crossing route?

We’ll start with press at the scrimmage line. So, turn around, Philly, then get into a basic defensive position, with your legs spread and knees bent.

Philly did so.

Great form, Philly, Sands said. I see you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been teaching the boys.

I have, Coach. I know how important technique is to football success. JoDad says that all the time.

That’s right, Philly. Head Coach Josh Dadier does say that a lot. And he’s right. So, now that you’ve assumed the proper position, let me show you how to use your hands. Turn around to face me, but stay in the right stance.

Philly turned around, resumed the stance, Sands placed his hands on Philly’s chest, then shoved the boy using three quick short jabs. Philly stumbled, and lost his stance.

See how effective that was, Philly. Quick short jabs, but without any grabbing. If you grab, the refs might call you for defensive holding. You don’t want to cause a yellow flag to be thrown, do you, Philly?

No, Coach.

Think you can do what I showed you? Let’s see. Use the technique on me.

Philly gave Sands three quick short pushes.

Great job, Philly. You’re a natural. One day, you’ll be playing for JoDad and me at CSU.

Philly beamed.

But if you always use the same technique, Philly, the receiver will find a way to beat you. The trick is to use several techniques, so the receiver never knows what you’re gonna do.

Show me the other techniques, Coach.

I intend to, Philly. Right now.

*    *    *    *    *

The person sitting in an enormous, opulently furnished office at CSU was deep in thought.

"Discretion has never been one of Jimmy Sands’ virtues. Neither is moderation, or ensuring plausible deniability. Plausible deniability. I hate that phrase. Why should we have to deny anything? We have our needs and our rights. Yet we are deprived of both by a society that sees us as sexual predators, or even worse, perverts. We are neither. We’re about love, not the taking of prey. Why are they all so shortsighted about this? It makes me angry to contemplate their bigotry against us, very angry, angry enough to kill."

The telephone on the large mahogany desk rang, jolting the person, who then quickly picked up the handset.

Triangle, love heart, and circle, all merged as one, the caller said, beginning a code sequence that promoted their cause.

SERE ADMIDE, the person sitting in the office replied.

Jimmy has been careless again, Academe, the caller said, using the title that connoted a sphere within The Unity, as well as the codename of the sphere’s leader. What is our resulting vulnerability?

At the moment, Hulitop, possibly none.

Possibly?

The child’s mother visited Keith Coleman, CSU’s Athletic Director, and said her son claimed Jimmy had improperly touched him. She said it took quite some time for the boy to tell her that, and he has become emotionally distraught.

Has the mother gone to the authorities?

Not yet. She said she wanted to talk to the AD first, to make sure the boy hadn’t misinterpreted what had happened.

What did AD Coleman tell her?

He said he would talk to Coach Sands about the incident, as well as to Josh Dadier, then get back to her.

Was she satisfied with that approach?

She was at the time.

And since?

AD Coleman telephoned the mother after meeting with Dadier and Sands. He explained to her that Coach Sands was teaching the boy defensive hand techniques in the shower, after a CSU football camp training session. It was going well, but then the boy stumbled, and Sands’ hand accidentally touched the boy’s penis. It happened several times.

Did the mother accept that explanation? Hulitop pressed.

She was torn, Academe replied. The boy had told her about Sands’ hand on his penis, but had added that Sands shoved a finger up his rectum.

How did Coleman address that?

He suggested that the boy was confused about what happened, mistaking a praising pat on the butt for something else. Coleman made sure to say the boy wasn’t lying. No need to risk getting the woman’s hackles up. AD Coleman summed things up by saying it was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and added that JoDad was satisfied nothing inappropriate had happened.

And the mother’s reaction?

She said she’d talk to her son again before deciding what, if anything, she was going to do.

Which is what led you to tell me our vulnerability was possibly none.

Yes.

Keep your eye on things, and instruct Sands to maintain a very low profile, at CSU, and at that charity he runs.

Will do.

In the past, you’ve indicated that AD Coleman might be a liability because of his heavy drinking. Is that under control?

He’s reduced his intake, but not stopped drinking.

Although one of us, Coleman’s alcoholism makes him a liability. He speaks too freely when inebriated. Though harming The Unity is not his intention, his booziness may injure us if his words reach the wrong ears. So continue to watch him closely.

I will.

We will shortly be getting together in Hawaii. Once we have gathered, I will discuss the insurgency I have named SCARY WORLD-HOW. So be sure to keep your calendar clear. Attendance is mandatory.

I’m looking forward to learning about your plans. I bet they’re exciting.

They are, Academe. Our time has come.

The line went dead.

*    *    *    *    *

Home Of Hulitop

McLean, Virginia

The person sitting next to Hulitop on a sofa in the enormous McLean home was soft-spoken and polite. This belied the fact the person was named Cike, pronounced phonetically in English as Sue Coor. The translation of this Chinese name into English is assassin.

I may be in need of your services shortly, Cike, Hulitop said. Academe is trying to contain what might soon explode into headlines about Commonwealth State University. The CSU Defensive Coordinator has been indiscreet, but he knows nothing of The Unity. He believes he has been protected in the past because CSU wished to shield its football program. This belief was not unfounded, so our assistance was minimal. You see, academic institutions are often rather duplicitous, although I admire the talents of the faculty, particularly in science and engineering. Not so much in some of the liberal arts, as they have become infested with uber left leaning activists parading themselves as scholars, while presiding over such nonsense as ethnocentric studies, which I classify as GWG, Gripes Without Gravitas.

So Academe and Coach Sands are not potential targets, Cike said.

They are not. But I am keeping a wary eye on AD Keith Coleman, an alcoholic who sometimes talks too much, and too loudly. Also, and here I am acting on a feeling, I am concerned about Head Coach Josh Dadier. He has willingly looked the other way over the years, but if the Jimmy Sands stuff becomes public, I’m not sure where his loyalties might lie. He’s very concerned these days with his legacy.

As you wish. I will develop contingency plans for Coleman and Dadier. I assume, in Dadier’s case, there must be no evidence of murder, so, since he’s elderly now, something that appears to be death from natural causes is appropriate. He is too famous for the media to ignore his death, should there be any suspicion of foul play.

You read my mind perfectly.

And Coleman?

If we decide to kill only him, death from natural causes is preferable. His alcoholism plays into that quite well. If we decide to kill Dadier, too, then Coleman’s death should appear to be the result of an accident. Two deaths from natural causes might be a red flag for the authorities. But again, Coleman’s alcoholism is a perfect fit for a fatal car accident, a fall down a long flight of stairs, or drowning in a swimming pool after staggering around drunk.

I will develop a plan for each of the contingencies, then submit it to you for your review.

Polite and considerate, as always, Cike. I love that about you.

Caucus

U.S. House Of Representatives

Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Congress first convened on March 4, 1789, in New York City, then the nation’s capital. The House of Representatives is the lower house of Congress, and, with the Senate, creates bills, then attempts to get them signed into law.

Teddy Crull, a young Congressman representing Texas' 21st Congressional District, was sitting at his desk, thinking about a variety of topics, although all were focused on him.

I have my eye on far more than a career in the House of Representatives. I want the Presidency, and a Senate seat is the best stepping stone to get it. Once there, the Senate’s arcane rules will allow me, even as a junior senator, to shove a wrench in the works. I need to be able to do that. I intend to bring government to a halt in the name of conservatism, which will get me the national spotlight.

At core, Crull -- born into a Catholic family, but later becoming a Southern Baptist, and a product of a childhood spent in evangelical schools -- was a Christian Dominionist, although he generally played that down, except in certain circles. Crull believed the United States should be governed by Christians under a strict conservative reading of The Bible, which should take precedence over the U.S. Constitution. On several occasions, Crull had publicly stated that, if all evangelicals showed up and voted their values, they’d turn the United States around, but only if the Body Of Christ rises up.

Crull was generally in favor of the use of military force, and a loud voice against the participation of women and the LGBT Community in the military, despite the fact Crull had never served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Crull, a skilled debater, had a tendency to smear opponents, and, on one occasion, when he falsely attacked a man with an impeccable military service record, was rebuked by Senator John McCain.

Crull was sometimes likened to former Senator Joseph McCarthy because he falsely accused opponents, bore a physical resemblance to Tail Gunner Joe, and had a voice that sometimes became a nasal whine reminiscent of the junior senator from Wisconsin. All of this made Crull persona non grata among most of his GOP colleagues, and a man loathed by Democrats.

Despite his Bible thumping and support from segments of the evangelical Christian community, Crull, a married man, enjoyed watching pornography, and had engaged in a series of extra-marital affairs, the first three consensual, the last two not. The consensual affairs had begun with a prostitute, then with a teacher and a former co-worker, all before he was elected to the House. In the last two affairs, Crull had pressured co-workers after being elected, but prior to being seated. In one, he had told the young woman her career would be dead in D.C. if she didn’t sleep with him. In the other, Crull had offered the woman a position in his House office if she would sleep with him, but a negative reference if she refused. The woman had reluctantly agreed, taken the job on The Hill, then left a few months later, with a glowing endorsement from Crull.

I’ve avoided any complications since I’ve been seated, Crull thought. "But I need one soon. The last was Mandy, but she went to work for a political organization supporting a former female printer company executive in her upcoming run for the Presidency. Mandy had a little too much to drink one night at a company party, and blabbed about our situation. The political operatives there are tough cookies, and let me know they needed something to ensure their silence. That something was $500,000 paid by a PAC of my aerospace and gun lobby sponsors. No way I could tell my evangelical supporters about it. And my PAC had to make an FEC filing that listed the $500,000 under other disbursement. What a waste of cash. No way that woman will get anywhere near the GOP nomination, even though she’s pretty good delivering zingers at the liberals. She almost bankrupted the printer company, failed badly in her bid for the Senate, and got fired for disloyalty when she was an adviser to another high profile GOP campaign. Somehow, she thinks all that makes her a fine candidate to be President. Talk about self delusion."

Crull realized he was hungry, and was trying to decide if he wanted to eat in the cafeteria, go out somewhere, or have his staff order something sent in.

Damn cafeteria. I go there, and nobody in the GOP will join me. Most of them barely say hello, nodding at best. Maybe I’ll tell Shayla to join me for lunch at a French restaurant. She’s new to my staff, impressionable, and cute. I haven’t allowed any complications here, but I think it’s time I did. If I handle it right, she’ll play ball. I know she doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she only recently moved here from Kansas. She’s not a born again Christian, so that makes it easier. She won’t see the complication as getting between her and the Lord.

The telephone on his desk rang, so Crull picked up.

Butterfly made up of love hearts, the caller said, using a code sequence that indicated no gender preference.

SERE ADMIDE, Crull replied, completing the code sequence. I wish you wouldn’t use that code. It’s for a child lover without a gender preference. I like women, and grown up ones at that. I’m no pedophile.

Still in denial, I see, Hulitop said. You’re either gay or bi, but your religious side won’t let you admit that. You ignore the sin of betraying your marriage, but fear what you deem to be the sin of homosexuality.

I’m not gay, and I resent you always saying that. It’s not true.

Your wife doesn’t satisfy you, Teddy, so you blamed her, and slept with other women. That didn’t satisfy you, either. So you think there might be a reason that’s so?

I’m loyal to The Unity. So why do you persist in heckling me?

To thine own self be true, Teddy. I want you to be happy, and that means being honest with yourself about who you really are.

Okay, I know I get these, uh, feelings. But I ignore them, and you’re not a homosexual if you don’t give in to such feelings. If I did, I’d seek Reparative Therapy.

As useless as prayer and laying on of hands, Teddy. When will you enter the 21st Century?

Why have you called, besides to hector me?

You are very valuable to us, Teddy. You’re a Congressman, your ambition will likely get you to the Senate, and perhaps you’ll even attain the Presidency. To attain that, in the short term you’ll have to keep your nose clean, and there are already rumors circulating about watching pornography and extramarital affairs. Bill Clinton had the charm to overcome that. You, Teddy, do not. You’re a poor choice for a Christian redemption story, as most folks won’t be rooting for you. In the long term, however, if The Unity can effect a change in public opinion and the law, you could be home free.

Okay, I’m valuable as an elected representative.

You’re also valuable as Caucus because you represent a large swath of sexually confused people afraid to accept their identity, then demand their right to act on that identity. Think of it, Teddy. Imagine yourself free to take a woman you want, or a man, no matter their willingness to accommodate you. This is the foundation upon which The Unity is built. We will not be denied what we need. You will not be denied what you need.

Is this even remotely possible?

It is, Teddy.

How?

Do you recall the 1983 House Congressional Page scandal? The House Ethics Committee recommended that two representatives be reprimanded for having engaged in sexual relationships with minors, specifically 17 year old congressional pages. Then a move was made to censure them, and Speaker Newt Gingrich wanted them expelled. The House Page Board was established after that to protect pages in the future.

I remember that.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all that nonsense disappeared, and we were free to satisfy our needs?

Nice, sure. But how do we do it?

We will meet in Hawaii, where I will reveal how we do it, using an insurgency named SCARY WORLD-HOW. Be there, Caucus. Attendance is mandatory.

Hulitop hung up.

SCARY WORLD-HOW

Royal Hawaiian Resort

Waikiki, Hawaii

The people in the Monarch Room of the Royal Hawaiian Resort in Waikiki, Hawaii, were seated at a large round table. The room, normally rented for much larger gatherings, was located on the beach, and its enormous windows offered views of the ocean. The room was opulently decorated with chandeliers, a beautiful flower centerpiece on the table, and expensive china, glassware, and cutlery.

The Monarch Room had been booked by Hulitop using a discreet travel agent located in Switzerland, and the meeting was purportedly being held by a group called the International Society To Protect Orphans. Seated at the table were Cardinal Giorgio Penna, codenamed Cathedra; Lorenz Nessman, codenamed Olympia; Romano Weinberg, codenamed Thespis; the person codenamed Academe; and Congressman Teddy Crull, codenamed Caucus. Penna, Weinberg, and Crull were all wearing disguises, as they were well known public figures. At Hulitop’s suggestion, Weinberg had enlisted a pedophile makeup artist to create the disguises, and the man had worked his magic when the three men landed at Honolulu International Airport, having flown in on separate privately chartered aircraft.

Hulitop was also sitting at the table, Cike seated alongside and to the left of the leader of The Unity. The attendees believed that Cike was Hulitop’s executive assistant, which wasn’t entirely untrue.

After cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and lunch had been served, a wait staff cleared the tables, then left the room, leaving behind a fully stocked, but unattended bar. Shortly afterwards, Hulitop rose to address the group.

It has been almost 25 years since I first envisioned, then began establishing, The Unity. The very name reflects its purpose -- the banding together of powerful, successful people whose sexual predilections are seen to be outside society’s norm, and hence immoral and illegal. I reasoned that only by pooling the wisdom, resources, and political power wielded by those in this room, could we have a good chance of achieving our common goal. This goal is to coerce society, if possible, into accepting our proclivities as merely part of nature’s vast tapestry. Where coercion fails, our goal is to stifle our opposition by ruining them financially, smearing them, and exposing shortcomings of their own. When all that fails, we will use force to thin the ranks of the opposition.

There was enthusiastic applause from the people at the table.

Thank you for your approval, but right about now you’re all thinking, that’s well and good, but how do we achieve it?

I am wondering that, Cathedra noted. The debate within the Catholic Church has begun over what to do about the unfolding sexual abuse scandal. I am uncertain as to how that will play out, especially with Pope John Paul’s health deteriorating. One never knows what a new pope might propose, although we cardinals are the ones to select him. But the cardinals themselves are divided, although I believe containment will be the likely approach, which serves our interests well. If so, few, if any, of our brethren will be severely punished.

Let me tell you about my general approach, Hulitop said, my strategy, if you will. Then we can talk about tactics governed by my strategy in each of your spheres. Is this acceptable?

All the members nodded their assent.

Although our proclivities are wide ranging, let me begin by focusing on pedophilia as a blueprint. But I won’t shortchange its companions, what society deems sexual harassment, other sexual abuse, and rape.

Hulitop paused, as the members again nodded their agreement.

An interesting situation is playing out these days in China. Cases of child sexual abuse, aka pedophilia, are on the rise. That’s generally a good thing from our point of view. A major reason accounting for this rise is Chinese legislation permitting sexual abuse of minors not to be called rape, but rather engaging in sexual activity with an underage prostitute. The subtlety of this coercion is masterful. The victim is portrayed, not as a raped child, but as an underage prostitute, hence a bit of a low life, and hence not really deserving of the protection of the state. So we must also endeavor to control the nomenclature, and with it the specifics and language of legislation. Consider this example. Children of undocumented workers are now slowly beginning to be called Dreamers, a nice warm and fuzzy descriptor, far nicer than illegal alien. It’s a lot easier to resent or discriminate against an illegal alien than a child who is a Dreamer. Even the Gay Community has seen a change in nomenclature. Years ago, the words were fags, queers, and other negative epithets. Even the word homosexual, and its shortened version, homo, had a rather harsh connotation. Today, it’s gay, lesbian, or alternative sexual orientation. Such renaming breaks down walls over time. We must work to do similar things for all our brethren. This is the coercion of which I spoke.

But such coercion may not work quickly, or at all, Olympia noted.

Indeed, it may not. So the second tool in my proposed toolbox is financially ruining those who oppose us, smearing them, and/or exposing shortcomings, such as extramarital affairs, tax evasion, embezzlement, and extreme ideology.

Suppose our opponents are clean? Caucus asked.

Your campaigns provide that answer, Caucus. You invent something. Rumors of an affair, closet Muslim, Communist fellow traveler, or against the troops.

And if our opponents still persist, and are effective? Cathedra pressed.

We employ harsher, perhaps permanent measures, Hulitop replied. My executive assistant, Cike, has some eclectic capabilities. Cike, if you will.

In a blur, Cike pulled out a large throwing knife, a Cold Steel 9733 80PGTK GI Tanto, then smoothly tossed it at a hanging painting, shattering its glass front, and embedding itself in the throat of the Hawaiian dignitary displayed.

Cike, Hulitop said, smiling, that is certainly an effective way to curtail the speech of those who oppose us. Uh, sadly, the cost of restoring that painting will likely be added to our bill.

Cike remained expressionless, as the others all laughed.

"When the need arises, I