Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Hosted by Denise, constrained by a sentence limit (high and low) of six, there are worse ways to spend the remaining time you have on earth.
Previously with Rosetta… / Previously with Ian…
Prompt word:
SHUFFLE
“Hold on Mr. Devereaux, I’ll patch you through.”
The Delta Lounge at Philadelphia’s International Airport offered a panoramic view of all the non-diverted flights taking off, a minor consolation being ZZ Top doing their Texas-shuffle classic ‘La Grange’ in rotation on the sound system; for god knows what reason, I found myself thinking the best use of time during my unscheduled layover was to try and rattle my favorite adversary, of course, that being Anya Clarieaux, was not exactly a low-risk gambit.
The operator was human as I knew for a fact that the de-facto head of the Omni Corporation would no more utilize an AI than the Pope would ask for a Ritz Cracker in the middle of Easter Mass; Anya Clarieaux shared a quality with most kindergarten teachers, charismatic preachers and third-world dictators, i.e. she trusted herself and only herself.
“Ian Devereaux, what a delightful surprise; I’m on the line with Lou Caesare’s niece Rosetta and her little friend ‘the Valedictorian’… sorry… ‘the Sophomore’ (does he have a real name like Sam or Elmer)…never mind; Ian, you always bring me the nicest playmates; remind me to thank you sometime, in person… wait a minute, Miz Storme, this is speaker phone time, you were saying…”
“I don’t give a shit about time machines, time clocks or closing time, all I want is for someone to get that fuckin’ Order of Lilith off my case.”
Anya laughed her slightly-scary laugh, “Talk not far from the tree; not to worry Rosetta, I happen to know a representative of that organization who I met in London with Ian a few years ago by the name of Sister Aclima…
“I know what’d make this even more fun, hold on you two, (sorry Elmer, you three), the clickety sound of an old-fashion telephone dial rotating then a ringing sound followed by a woman asking the most ubiquitous of one-word questions, “Yes?”
“Sista A how you been…. it’s your friend Anya… Anya Clarieaux… shame, shame, chica, you haven’t been keeping in touch… ‘fraid you might’ve thought you could ghost me after that time in London, wait hold on…
Ian, you have done it again… I believe what we got here is a ‘bottle episode’.”
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About clarkscottroger
I’m detecting a connection between Anya Clarieaux and the Order of Lilith that I wasn’t aware of, but I might have simply missed it. I do wonder what those nuns in that order are up to. Nicely told series of tales.
Thanks Frank!
(that was just to throw off regular Readers)
Between you and me, to your point about Anya and the Order of Lilith: yes and no.
Yes you haven’t ‘simply missed it either.
Funny thing, this fiction writing. We draw on our imagination but usually tend to go to the set of crayons and other implements we’re used to. So to the point of Anya and the Order. Anya knows of them because Anya is the head of the Omni Corporation, a multi-national tech company with a primary focus on information brokering. If she don’t know it, she can find out all about it. But lets give you the “previously on…” the first meeting between Anya Clarieaux and Sister Aclima (of the Order of Lilith) below are the three Sixes (well, there is that pesky sentence limits, so it took three weeks to say what one chapter couldn’t)
from ‘the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf (an Ian Devereaux mystery)’: Chapter 21 Chapter 22 and Chapter 23
It feels like we’re holding a bottle of nitroglycerin, this thing could explode.
Why does it feel like there’s trouble brewing. Like Frank said, there might be a connection that I too was not aware of.
well! glad you inferred! (and gald I waited on Reply(ing) to Comments) please see my Reply to Frank’s insightful (inciting inquiry? lol) for links to the original encounter ‘tween the two
glad you said that… while, yes, that is an apt …metaphor/similar/can never keep them straight my use of the term ‘bottle episode is an indulgence on my part to the series television concept of a ‘bottle episode’
in my defense, I was thinking that I needed to find a way to tie/coordinate or whatever the three storylines (Rosetta and the Sophomore/ Sister Aclima and Ian’s) and try to provide the Reader with additional context to this story…without doing three separate info-dumps. (yeah, next week will most likely be: bottle episode 2.0
All together now, one two three! What are they going to do next? Harmonize? hehehehe
This thing is telling me I am trying to place a duplicate comment- but I do not see my comment so I will duplicate it here-
All together now- one two three! What are they going to do next? Harmonize? hehehe
don’cha hate that? I am loathe to edit another’s Comments without directive, so lemme know*
yeah practicin’ my slang/ (or would that better be said: slanguage> ha ha )
A very interesting episode… love the vista as a plane is about to land, since now I recognise that very red and large building… and I know how to get there too.
yeah like the building and the city itself is very amenable to writing to… not too huge (NYC) or spread out (LA) and a convenient Great Lake
after all is said and done, i do love ZZ Top…. when approached by nuns i always give way…
otherwise you be writing your spelling words fity times on the blackboard after school
This: “…than the Pope would ask for a Ritz Cracker in the middle of Easter Mass..” made me laugh out loud. What a brilliant phrase. A wonderfully fun Six, Clark.
thanks… fun
The La Grange vid, pure icing on the “bottle episode”, Clark. To top it off, non other than our favorite villainous, Anya, holding court.
I’m with Misky – the Ritz cracker bit had me laughing.
Thanks for your response to Frank’s commemt, it answered a question that was occupying my mind too.
A cracker of an episode.
You’re welcome.
(I’ll ask you the same question I asked Frank sorta…I’ve found fairly old posts and… for just a second think, ‘Hey good stuff, who wrote this?’