Chapter 54:
The meeting
Daniel:
Rodger is in a T-shirt that says: I luv Ursula. There is even a heart on it. Now, I feel overdressed. I chance a look at Constantine, who looks ready to turn back. Still, we don’t have the time to retreat, and come back in more normal clothes. Rodger sees us, and slithers to us.
“Oh, Daniel, Constantine. What a pleasant surprise. Why are you in suits?” The Prime Minister asks. We both look down.
“We, uhm,” I begin, and look at Constantine for help.
“We thought that this is an official meeting, sir,” Constantine says, clearly having more courage in him because he looks Rodger in the eyes.
“An official...oh, no, boys. I am on a vacation. No meeting is official, until the end of this month. Honestly, I had hoped that you will visit me sooner. Come on, we must leave, before my security gets wind of the fact that I plan to do a ride hopping.”
Rodger winks at us, and then looks around.
“The coast is clear,” he says, after a couple of more glances left, right, and behind him. “Come on!”
“We are here with our security,” I say. That puts a damper on Rodger’s mood.
“Are they fun?” He asks. I blink at that. Why is he behaving like a... child?
“They might join us on the rides. All four of them are good people,” Constantine assures our host.
“Well, if they try to tell me that I can’t get on the Brain Scrambler, we are ditching them,” Rodger then begins to slither towards the exit of the hotel.
“Brain Scrambler?” I ask Constantine.
“Oh, this is bad,” he says, as he rushes after Rodger. “Mr. Prime Minister, sir...”
“Rodger, boy. Call me Rodger, or I am ditching you two,” Rodger mock snaps at Constantine. I have to chuckle at that.
Perhaps not a child, but a grumpy old man? This will be fun!
“Sir...” I can see from here, that Rodger’s glare turns from fake, to something genuine. Constantine gulps then. “Rodger, the Brain Scrambler is called that for a reason.”
“A fun reason,” Rodger holds his finger up for silence. The exit is before us. He looks in all directions again, and then pulls out a card from his pocket. He runs it by the door, and then the door opens. “We don’t have that much time, before someone sees that I am not boring you on the golf course.”
“The Brain Scrambler is...” Constantine tries again, but Rodger just waves him off.
“Hush, you,” he says, no bite behind his words. “I will teach you boys how to have fun, if it is the last thing I do.”
I finally catch up with Constantine, who takes a hold of my hand. His grip is a bit too hard, though.
“Relax, how dangerous can a ride made for tourists be?” I ask him.
“Brain... Scrambler...” Constantine repeats the words as if I am a slow man.
“You... are... no... fun!” Rodger mimics him, just as frustrated. He pulls out some car keys, and clicks them. Instead of a limo, as I thought he might be riding in one, an unassuming car, that looks rather old, beeps at us. It is orange, and has Caltea leaves on the hood. It sort of looks like a beetle, now that I think about it.
“Come on, in the car,” Rodger says, as he gets in the driver’s seat. Constantine and I pile into the back. What follows is the most exciting ride of my entire life. All the hover cars that I have been in before, didn’t separate from the ground all that much. This little thing flew right into the air, and then began to race as if someone is chasing us.
Constantine has my hand in a death grip. I can see that he has taken out his little snake icon, which is much like our crosses on earth. Except, it is a wooden snake, and there is no cross. He is praying to his God for deliverance. I wonder why, then, the pillars appear out of nowhere.
Rodger chuckles then, and begins to dodge each one of them. Left, right, up a little, then to the left again.
“What is this?” I ask, as we lurch down. Just as we are about to crash to the ground, Rodger pulls the car up.
“The Brain Scrambler,” Constantine says in a shrill voice. “It is illegal for hover cars to take off into the air. So, the speed bumps appear out of the ground to force them down.”
“Wicked,” I give out a hoot, when the car spins around a pillar.
“See? Dany gets it,” Rodger says, and then whistles. “Hold on, boys. This is a tough one.”
I see a wall of pillars. There is no space between them, their tops are nowhere to be seen.
“We are going to die...we are going to die...” Constantine begins to chant his mantra, as I grip him with one arm, and the edge of the seat with the other.
“Come on, Rodger! You can do it!” I yell, as one of the pillars begins to lower. It will be a tough fit, but Rodger’s shoulders straighten. The car begins to tip to the side, as Constantine’s voice becomes even shriller.
“Come on, bastards. Force me down,” Rodger calls out his challenge, and we move between the two pillars. Then, just as we are nearly through, the pillar that lowered surges up, and hits us straight on. It catapults us in the air.
The thing that Rodger does next, is a thing of beauty. He doesn’t panic. Instead, he turns the wheel, and makes the car go with the hit.
He makes it tilt to the right, where another pillar is lowering, and lean over at that side, and away from the former lane. When the pillar rises in the new lane, Rodger is prepared. The car rises with it. Soon, we are so high up, that I can see the star of the Ursula Solar System.
My breath hitches in my throat. For a second, it is just the three of us in the world. Then, Rodger parks on the pillar that forced us up, and lets it lower us down to the ground. He turns around, and gives us the thumbs up. Constantine nods, and then faints.
Chapter 54:
The meeting
Daniel:
Rodger is in a T-shirt that says: I luv Ursula. There is even a heart on it. Now, I feel overdressed. I chance a look at Constantine, who looks ready to turn back. Still, we don’t have the time to retreat, and come back in more normal clothes. Rodger sees us, and slithers to us.
“Oh, Daniel, Constantine. What a pleasant surprise. Why are you in suits?” The Prime Minister asks. We both look down.
“We, uhm,” I begin, and look at Constantine for help.
“We thought that this is an official meeting, sir,” Constantine says, clearly having more courage in him because he looks Rodger in the eyes.
“An official...oh, no, boys. I am on a vacation. No meeting is official, until the end of this month. Honestly, I had hoped that you will visit me sooner. Come on, we must leave, before my security gets wind of the fact that I plan to do a ride hopping.”
Rodger winks at us, and then looks around.
“The coast is clear,” he says, after a couple of more glances left, right, and behind him. “Come on!”
“We are here with our security,” I say. That puts a damper on Rodger’s mood.
“Are they fun?” He asks. I blink at that. Why is he behaving like a... child?
“They might join us on the rides. All four of them are good people,” Constantine assures our host.
“Well, if they try to tell me that I can’t get on the Brain Scrambler, we are ditching them,” Rodger then begins to slither towards the exit of the hotel.
“Brain Scrambler?” I ask Constantine.
“Oh, this is bad,” he says, as he rushes after Rodger. “Mr. Prime Minister, sir...”
“Rodger, boy. Call me Rodger, or I am ditching you two,” Rodger mock snaps at Constantine. I have to chuckle at that.
Perhaps not a child, but a grumpy old man? This will be fun!
“Sir...” I can see from here, that Rodger’s glare turns from fake, to something genuine. Constantine gulps then. “Rodger, the Brain Scrambler is called that for a reason.”
“A fun reason,” Rodger holds his finger up for silence. The exit is before us. He looks in all directions again, and then pulls out a card from his pocket. He runs it by the door, and then the door opens. “We don’t have that much time, before someone sees that I am not boring you on the golf course.”
“The Brain Scrambler is...” Constantine tries again, but Rodger just waves him off.
“Hush, you,” he says, no bite behind his words. “I will teach you boys how to have fun, if it is the last thing I do.”
I finally catch up with Constantine, who takes a hold of my hand. His grip is a bit too hard, though.
“Relax, how dangerous can a ride made for tourists be?” I ask him.
“Brain... Scrambler...” Constantine repeats the words as if I am a slow man.
“You... are... no... fun!” Rodger mimics him, just as frustrated. He pulls out some car keys, and clicks them. Instead of a limo, as I thought he might be riding in one, an unassuming car, that looks rather old, beeps at us. It is orange, and has Caltea leaves on the hood. It sort of looks like a beetle, now that I think about it.
“Come on, in the car,” Rodger says, as he gets in the driver’s seat. Constantine and I pile into the back. What follows is the most exciting ride of my entire life. All the hover cars that I have been in before, didn’t separate from the ground all that much. This little thing flew right into the air, and then began to race as if someone is chasing us.
Constantine has my hand in a death grip. I can see that he has taken out his little snake icon, which is much like our crosses on earth. Except, it is a wooden snake, and there is no cross. He is praying to his God for deliverance. I wonder why, then, the pillars appear out of nowhere.
Rodger chuckles then, and begins to dodge each one of them. Left, right, up a little, then to the left again.
“What is this?” I ask, as we lurch down. Just as we are about to crash to the ground, Rodger pulls the car up.
“The Brain Scrambler,” Constantine says in a shrill voice. “It is illegal for hover cars to take off into the air. So, the speed bumps appear out of the ground to force them down.”
“Wicked,” I give out a hoot, when the car spins around a pillar.
“See? Dany gets it,” Rodger says, and then whistles. “Hold on, boys. This is a tough one.”
I see a wall of pillars. There is no space between them, their tops are nowhere to be seen.
“We are going to die...we are going to die...” Constantine begins to chant his mantra, as I grip him with one arm, and the edge of the seat with the other.
“Come on, Rodger! You can do it!” I yell, as one of the pillars begins to lower. It will be a tough fit, but Rodger’s shoulders straighten. The car begins to tip to the side, as Constantine’s voice becomes even shriller.
“Come on, bastards. Force me down,” Rodger calls out his challenge, and we move between the two pillars. Then, just as we are nearly through, the pillar that lowered surges up, and hits us straight on. It catapults us in the air.
The thing that Rodger does next, is a thing of beauty. He doesn’t panic. Instead, he turns the wheel, and makes the car go with the hit.
He makes it tilt to the right, where another pillar is lowering, and lean over at that side, and away from the former lane. When the pillar rises in the new lane, Rodger is prepared. The car rises with it. Soon, we are so high up, that I can see the star of the Ursula Solar System.
My breath hitches in my throat. For a second, it is just the three of us in the world. Then, Rodger parks on the pillar that forced us up, and lets it lower us down to the ground. He turns around, and gives us the thumbs up. Constantine nods, and then faints.
