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Friday, June 13, 2014 – 12:23 PM EST – The Compound – Old Saybrook, Connecticut

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It's Friday the thirteenth. The mere mention of the day in question always receives different types of reactions from all different types of people. Some look at it as just a normal day. Another day on the calendar. Some look at it through superstitious eyes. The kind of people that fear black cats and walking under ladders. Weak minded fools that wouldn't know danger if it stared them directly in the face.

To the Brotherhood of the Illuminatus, typically speaking, Friday the thirteenth is indeed, just another day. Just not this one. No, this one is a living nightmare.

To say that things here within the Brotherhood of the Illuminatus are running smoothly would be an outright lie. To say that things are a complete fucking mess would likely be the understatement of this still young century. Your King of Darkness is no longer brooding within the dungeon of this very building. His Messenger is not standing within the shadows behind him.

Instead, his Messenger paces the length of the library along with Father Asmodeus and Matthew. In case you can not figure it out, we're in crisis mode. And your King of Darkness is in county lock up.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “How could you possibly let this happen!?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “It's not like I sat there and said 'today, I won't follow him.' I must have dozed off, but you know as well as I do that if he doesn't want to be found, he doesn't get found!”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Christ! He has a title match in eight days! How the hell is he supposed to get out in time for that!?”

MATTHEW, THE TECHNOLOGY WIZARD: “It's a matter of evidence.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Oh they have the evidence, Matt! Were you not standing right here when they were conducting their search of the premises?”

MATTHEW, THE TECHNOLOGY WIZARD: “Yes, but what I'm saying is, if they didn't find anything conclusive, we can get him out.”



Father Asmodeus, who is obviously frustrated, throws a crystal vase across the room, shattering it against the wall.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Jacob, you've been with him. You've followed his every move. Tell us. What did they find down there?”



I think my silence tells the story. They sprayed chemicals. They used black lights. They took samples.



JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Probably more than we think.”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “This is bad.”



Ya think?



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Did anyone notice whether they found the truck from the two teenage boys he took care of?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “That truck is lying at the bottom of the lake, Father. They didn't find that.”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “If only we would have had more warning!”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Our contact with the state police tried. For some reason, our phone lines had been out for several days.”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Well, the truck was a large piece of evidence that most certainly would have connected him to those boys. It being at the bottom of the lake is a good thing for us, and for him.”



It's funny. Father Asmodeus was born in the United States and only spent about a decade in Germany. Yet, when he's worked up over something, an obvious German accent escapes him.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “You need to figure out a way around this! Get us out of this, Jacob!”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Father, it may already be too late. What if I can not accomplish this task?”



I'm sure the thought may have crossed his mind, but his demeanor says otherwise. He looks shocked that I'd question my abilities to do things that I've always succeeded in.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Failure is not an option! Look around you! Everything you see, everything we do, everything we are trying to do is all my creation! I've built everything around you, Jacob. I'm not about to stand idly by and watch it come crumbling down around us because you can't keep a leash on that maniac!”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I beg your forgiveness for what I'm about to say, Father, but that maniac, as you call him, is YOUR creation! YOU seeded him! YOU made him what he is! YOU turned him into a killing machine!

“You knew damn well, Charles, that it was only a matter of time before he went ballistic! You knew damn well it was only a matter of time before he was pushed over the edge!”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Don't you ever refer to me by my given name! What's more, is don't you ever speak to me in that tone of voice again or so help me God I will put an end to you! Do you understand me!?”



The room falls silent. Honestly, I didn't even realize that I called him Charles.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “We have to find out what exactly they have on him. Then we need to figure out how to get our hands on that evidence and destroy it, or at the very least, turn it against them.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “And how do you propose we do that?”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Not we. You. I'm staying as far away from that investigation as I possibly can.”

MATTHEW, THE TECHNOLOGY WIZARD: “The state police have a mainframe where they digitally store their evidence. If I can hack into it, it can be helpful. If nothing else, it'll let us know what they have, what dots they're connecting. That sort of thing.”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Get to it Matthew. Let me know as soon as you are into their computers.”

MATTHEW, THE TECHNOLOGY WIZARD: “I didn't say I could. I said 'if.'”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “I don't care if you said you definitely can not! Again, I can not stress this point enough, failure is not an option. I don't give a damn what it takes, Matthew, get in to those computers!”

MATTHEW, THE TECHNOLOGY WIZARD: “Yes, Father!”



Matthew makes his exit. He started out as kind of an idiot, but when either Asmodeus or I, or even Sebastian applies pressure to him, he always comes through. It's like he thrives off of it.



JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You know what surprises me about all of this?”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “Enlighten me, Jacob.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “What I find surprising is that you care more about the welfare of the Illuminatus than you do about the welfare of your own flesh and blood. Your very own son.”



I do not wait for a response. As I head toward Sebastians office, I can feel him staring a hole through my back. Times of crisis brings one of two things. Either you rise to the challenge and overcome whatever obstacle you have in front of you, or you collapse under the pressure. If the Brotherhood of the Illuminatus does indeed collapse, it will not be because of Sebastian Duke. Instead, if and when it does collapse, it'll be because of the actions of that old man in the other room.

It's only a few moments of peace. Asmodeus comes barging in and slams the door behind him. He looks at me with a face full of contempt.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “You may sit in his chair, you may run his business, but you are no King of Darkness, Jacob. I can assure you that much.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “I never claimed I was him, Chuck.”



There's two things that really chap the ass of the High Priest more than anything else. One, is calling him by his given name. The other, is calling him by the nickname of that given name. Of course, this time I did it on purpose.



ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “You have never shows me this kind of flagrant disrespect. How can you be so arrogant to think that everything he does, could not effect the rest of us?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “It's not a matter of what he does, Asmodeus. I'm not being arrogant. I'm trying to get you to stop thinking about the Illuminatus for a minute and think about your son. He's potentially in a whole lot of trouble and all you care about is this god damn Brotherhood!”

ASMODEUS, THE HIGH PRIEST: “That's what you think? That I don't care that my son is in trouble?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Truth be told, I don't much care what you think. Get the hell out of my office so I can focus on saving your fucking Illuminatus.”



He doesn't say another word. He does as I request and is gone. Now, its time to make a personal call to the Honorable, Judge Phillip Williams. A few rings and then an obviously hesitant answer.



JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “Hello?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Hello, Phillip.”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “Who is this?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You can call me the Messenger.”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “I'm about to sit down for lunch. What can I do for you, Mister Messenger?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Your favor has been called in.”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “Excuse me?”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “You've met a man by the name of Charles Duke in your past. He helped you pass the Connecticut bar.”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “Yeah, I know him. Well, knew him.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “It's time you paid that debt, don't you think?”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “I don't recall owing him anything.”

JACOB, THE MESSENGER: “Mister Williams, I'm not one to beat around the bush. I'm kind of blunt so I'll get right to the point. You need to find a way to take the bench for the Sebastian Duke case. Once you are the presiding judge on that case, you will be instructed to make...”

JUDGE PHILLIP WILLIAMS: “I don't know who the hell you are or how you got this number, but I promise you, I will find out.

“Don't ever call me again if you know what's good for you.”



Click.

The line goes dead. I guess he'll be a tougher nut to crack than I first thought. Since he won't deal over the phone, I suppose I'll have to meet him in person.



Fade to Darkness.