Chapter Three
David Hartman finished up his lunch of lentils, greens and brown rice. There was only one vegetarian restaurant in Bakersfield that he had been able to track down via the phone book, and it wasn't that bad. He wished that the lentils had been curried, as David simply loved the heat. He wondered if that was what had drawn him to fire as revenge.
"Man, Bakersfield is ugly," he said to his lunch companion, as they saw the row of grey buildings across the street. "Hardly a tree in sight, and surrounded by desert. This is the flaw of technology; it lures mankind to hideous cities and pulls them from their natural roots."
Phillip Lehrer, short and stocky, nodded, gulping down the last of his soy milk. "There's an animal research company here in Bakersfield. We should practice once more on them."
"Don't be an idiot," David answered, lowering his voice to a whisper as he leaned over to consolidate the conversation solely to the two of them. "We've got our target; we've perfected our technique. The Symposium of Research Scientists is our goal. It's the largest convention of animal torturers in the country. If we can nail three hundred of them, maybe we can wind up saving thousands of lab animals."
"Are you concerned that public opinion might be raised against us, for killing so many people?"
"Public opinion! The same public that eats at McDonald's and grills chicken two nights a week? The same public that watches rodeo and bull-fighting? We need to make a huge presence in society. We need to alert people that there are folks who realize animals must be protected and nurtured, not tortured and eaten."
"We're gonna make the news, that's for sure. How's your finger?"
Hartman looked at his forefinger, wrapped in a couple of bandaids. Both Karen and him had accidentally broken a window while examining the Bakersfield site, like some Vaudeville comedy team they had both suffered superficial cuts as a result. That had been careless, but he felt assured that the heat of the fire had baked away any evidence of their touch.
"It's fine. Nothing."
Hartman, tall and lean due to his strict veganish, with a hawk nose and thick brown eyebrows, thumbed through a notepad. "We've got the house in Studio City with the garage out back; Terry, Eddie and Julio are already there. We've got the registration materials for Terry and Julio to attend the conference. Our Bakerfield connection came through for us with supplies. We've got enough chemical incendiary to have the electrical fire ignite the room in seconds. We've got the electrician tools, the little CD4 to start the electrical fire, the timing mechanisms. We've got the back-up radio signalers in case the timers fail. We've got the chains to lock the doors closed, which Terry and Tom will do right before they send the radio signal." He closed the notepad. "We've got everything compartmentalized, so that if any one of us are caught the rest can continue on. Remember, if caught, you don't say one word about anything. No matter what.
"No matter what!"
"Right we're all set to go."
"Sounds so simple. Start electrical outlet fires, which will spread throughout the banqueting room; with the doors locked no one will be able to escape. It's brilliant. Wiping out a huge selection of the worst of humanity."
"Brilliant, but necessary." Hartman laughed. "Can you imagine these intelligent brainiacs allowing two members of the Animal Rights Action League to join their conference? It's like they're asking to be punished!"
"Yeah, true. And, animals all over the world will thank you."
"Long live the chimpanzees free from their cages! Alright, it's a little after noon. We'll jump the 3:21 freight train to Los Angeles."
"You sure it's the way to go? Not by Amtrak?"
"Amtrak is for societal minions who cour to authority. I've been riding trains since I was eleven. You'll see. It brings out the rebel yell in your system. I'll meet you at the train. I just want to check with Karen to make sure she's got everything down. I've told you how to slink through the train yard and which train and car we'll be in. You'll do fine. I'll have all the timing mechanisms for the CD4 in the briefcase. Karen is driving the truck down with the supplies. We'll organize it in the garage in Anaheim Tuesday evening you'll be able to see our fire burning from the moon."