red moon over west virginia - 2. the dream

by jeremy witherington

part 2 of 36

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to begin at the beginning, click here

johnny , how could you do this to me? don carlos woke up. what a strange dream! who was the woman who had addressed him as johnny? and what had johnny done to the poor creature that she should be so upset with him. don carlos got up and looked out the one window of the small room. the day was still overcast. it appeared that the rain which had seemed so imminent in the morning had not materialized, as the street outside seemed quite dry. still puzzling over the strange dream - in which he, don carlos, the rightful heir to the imperial thrones of spain and portugal, had seemed to play the role of a common spiv or apache - he put his hat and coat on and exited the little room. he walked slowly down the six flights of stairs, slowly twirling the ends of his scarf in his fingers. he did not expect to see anyone on the stairs, and did not do so. in his six days in the building, he had not seen anyone on the stairs or landings, or heard anyone in any of the rooms, and had come to the conclusion that the building was deserted, except for himself and the little woman to whom he had given a week’s rent. which reminded him, his second week’s rent was due on the next day. he smiled as he wondered if he could simply move into one of the other rooms, stay out of sight of the little woman, and avoid paying the rent… a subterfuge hardly worthy of the rightful heir of the imperial thrones of spain and portugal. reaching the street, he decided to get his cup of coffee at the cafe he had given his custom three days ago, on wednesday. he did not wish to become too familiar a face at any one spot. at the same time, he did not wish to wander too far afield, as this deathly silent neighborhood quite suited his purpose. next

red moon over west virginia - 1. the next day

by jeremy witherington

part 1 of 36

to begin at the beginning, click here

so, we understand each other. molotov nodded. after a pause he said, victory will not come without sacrifice. that is quite true, lord curzon agreed. my business is finished here, molotov said. i may as well leave. without another word he got up and left. a door opened behind lord curzon and catherine stepped into the office. how perfectly excruciating, she said. it is just his way, lord curzon murmured. all these understandings, catherine grumbled. i could use a little excitement. the time for excitement will come, lord curzon assured her. there was nothing more to say. catherine looked out the window. it was a gray morning, with the threat of eternal rain. all the same, she thought, the ceremony might have been performed with a bit less pomp. or. perhaps, even more pomp. if it was going to be a show, why not a real show? next

red moon over west virginia - 0. a dark night

by jeremy witherington

part 0 of 36

it was a dark and cloudy night, down by the docks. eva peron sat alone in a room. perhaps, she thought, there is something to be said for both sides. she got up and put her hat and coat on and went outside. quietly she closed the door behind her.. she was to report to headquarters immediately. so this was how it ended. the headquarters building was dark. there were no guards outside. the front door opened easily. eva eschewed the elevator and walked up the three flights of stairs to lord halifax’s’s office. lord halifax was alone in his office. his desk was bare, except for a plain white envelope in its center. take this letter, lord halifax told eva, to the person we were speaking of earlier. eva picked up the letter. it was very light, and she suspected it might be empty. i could use a drink, she said. very well. lotd halifax’s coat hung on a rack beside the desk. he reached over and took a flask out of the pocket of the coat and handed it to eva. eva took a drink from the flask. the fiery liquid went down her throat like a thousand flaming amazon rivers. it never ends, does it, she said as she handed the flask back. so it would seem, lord halifax agreed. next