The Schism
Chapter 1
The rain beat on the trashcan lids like drumsticks on a drum, and the weeds between the cracks in the sidewalks lifted their spiky leaves a bit in anticipation of the coming wet. They were beaten down again by pedestrians running to get inside; some with large umbrellas, many with newpapers over their heads, which they then proceeded to shake off as they stepped inside, and grumble over the flowing ink.
There was one person, in particular, who had to get inside quickly. No umbrella or picayune shielded this person from the pounding droplets, just an oversized tan coat with large pockets, which at this moment contained the hands of the owner. The owner walked brisky along the sidewalk, bursting into a jog as the torrents began to swell. He had something very important to deliver...
* * *
The large, dimly lit room housed ten chairs, upon which were seated ten people. There was an eleventh person, who stood at a podium in the front of the room with a gavel. The occupants of the chairs were muttering to each other, so that the general effect of the noise upon the ears was that of a room full of rather loud owls hooting continuously. Then the eleventh person at the front banged the gavel, rather contemptuously, really, and the nine others were silent.
"Where is L?" boomed the person at the podium.
The ten others resumed their chattering, for, perhaps, there was someone in the room who knew what had kept this person addressed as L.
The gavel sounded once more.
"Silence!" boomed the person at the podium. "D, aren't you his representative?"
The person called D stood up. "Yes, but that doesn't mean I know where he -"
"I didn't ask you where he was, D. I only -"
The person at the podium became the second person to be cut off within the span of thirty seconds as the man in the oversized tan coat (with large pockets) burst into the room.
"I'm here," he said hoarsely, gasping for breath. "I have the papers."
"Good," said the person at the podium, "give them here." He held out his right hand, into which was then deposited a packet of papers. "Someone bring up a chair for L."
Obligingly, one of the ten others ran into the darkness at the back of the room and back, this time carrying a chair similar to those at the front. L sat down.
"Now that we are all those requested are present, I hereby call this meeting to order," said the person at the podium, banging the gavel again. "Is the secretary ready to transcribe the minutes?"
"I am, M," said one of the other ten, pulling a typewriter out from underneath his chair.
"We will begin with roll-call," said M, the person at the podium. "Will the Vice Chancellor please read the committee list to see if anyone is missing?"
"I will. Please answer when I call your name," said the Vice Chancellor addressed. "J?"
"Yes," said J, the person with the typewriter.
"J?"
"Yes," said the other J.
"M?"
"Yes."
"M?"
"Yes."
"K?"
"Yes."
"D?"
"Yes."
"L?"
"Yes."
"L?"
"Yes."
"S?"
"Yes."
"O?"
"Yes."
"R?"
"Yes."
"And finally me, R, who of course is here. Everyone is accounted for, M," said Vice Chancellor R.
"Very good," said M from the podium. "Let us begin by reciting the pledge."
All twelve voices rumbled together. "The world is quiet here."
M leafed through L's papers before speaking. He held them in the air, saying, "These are important documents which L has stolen from the Library of Records at the recently contructed Heimlich Hospital."
S stood up. "You mean the recently half constructed Heimlich Hospital."
"Whatever," said M. "It makes no difference. My point is, these are clippings from the Daily Punctilio, a rather popular, if inaccurate, newspaper in this area. The staff at the Punctilio has recently hired a reporter named Geraldine Julienne, and started her with a daily column entitled "Secret Organizations you should Know About."
The others gasped and started chattering amongst one another once more.
M banged his gavel. "Silence! This is not necessarily a bad thing. We will simply have to be on the lookout from now on, and make sure that any information regarding VFD is not let out. The consequences of that, of course, would be potentially disastrous.
"Your assignments will, for now, remain the same. We should be unaffected by this new column, but take this meeting as a warning. Whatever secrecy precautions you took before, keep them and even fortify them now."
All were silent.
"Any questions?" asked M.
No one could think of any.
"This meeting is adjourned," said M, banging the gavel twice. "Return to your duties."
And with that, the twelve members of VFD filed out the door at the back of the room and into whatever lay behind it.
* * *
How was that? The plot isn't very apparent now, I admit, but developments are to come. Please review!
~ Anoriel
