One in Ten Ch. 09

"Huh?" Tone stole a look my way. The stars were aligned properly. The Captain didn't rush in.

"Do you even know this woman? If you want to shoot her solely because she's a woman, you are as bad as every cop who shook you down," I explained.

"She's not threatening you. She's doing her job, that's all. She's - an equal - a human being," I continued. "If you are going to kill her because she has tits then what are any of us fighting for? How can we expect dignity if we don't extend it? Put the gun away and prove to every woman here that they need to be more like us - like you, please."

Tone tilted the gun up until it was pointed at the ceiling. I withdrew my hand, he lowered it and put it behind his back once more and everyone drew a collective breath.

"Very well done, Mr. Jensen. Now come with us," the Captain said.

"No," I responded.

"After all that, you are going to make me detain you by force?" she grinned in a non-condescending way.

"That won't be necessary..." I got out.

"Because he has a lawyer," Capri finally managed to wiggle in front of me.

"Morning Jarhead; does the Posse Comitatus Act mean anything to you?" Capri snarled. "You are currently tap-dancing over the Supreme Court as we speak. Bitch, you aren't getting demoted, you are going to prison." The Captain regarded Capri.

"Jarheads are Marines. We are Rangers," she corrected my legal counsel. "We are operating under an executive order directing us to seize and detain Israel Jensen."

"Rocket Rangers, Girl Scouts, or Brownies - I don't give a fuck," Capri sneered. "Until I hear something resembling a declaration of Martial Law if you lay a hand on Mr. Jensen, I will have all of you arrested."

"Really?" the Captain scoffed.

"I'm with the Public Defender's office, Sweet Cheeks," Capri gave a feral glare. Technically, this wasn't a lie. She had not been officially fired yet. "I am an officer of the Court. I will deputize everyone on this metro and have them use whatever means necessary to subdue and detain you and your fellow Green Pixie Faeries."

Two things were crucial to this scenario. One was that Capri was the greatest litigator of her generation, or the best poker player. The other factor was that the Captain was NOT a lawyer, or even a student of the law. Though the lawyer's argument sounded far-fetched, Capri was absolutely convincing. Stacked with that was the Captain getting a really hinky feeling about this whole mission.

"There is still the matter of the man with a handgun," the Captain pointed out.

"What gun?" Capri instantly replied. The Captain decided the best course of action was for her squads to fall back to the doors and exit at the next stop. As soon as the Rangers retired, Capri turned on Tone. Considering that we were pressed tightly together and he had over a foot on her, Capri had to stare straight up.

"You are an idiot," she snapped. "Did it occur to you that there were nine women behind her in body armor with assault rifles who would have shot the hell out of all of us had you killed their officer? Did you think at all, or do you suffer from testosterone poisoning of the brain?"

"Bitch," he grumbled, "I still have a gun."

"Please Tone, don't make me kill you," I sighed.

"I have a gun for you too," he tried to stare me down. I laughed.

"There is a professional killer within five meters of me that will not hesitate ending your life," I explained. "You will never see it coming." That Mexican woman had to be a Vanisher.

I could tell Tone was trying to figure out who it was. I wasn't giving any visual clues. I kept looking at him.

"You are with the women," he sneered.

"Duh," I replied. "Haven't you been listening? I don't make friends based on gender, or profession. Doing so would make me a dick, and not in a good way."

I looked around and realized that I had imparted a certain level of understanding to both the men and women with my words. They understood that I was a nut - except Capri and Doyle. Doyle had captured the entire encounter and speech on video. Capri already knew I was a nut but believed in me anyway.

"What about the Arena?" Quinn asked. "They slaughtered us. We have to do something."

"Okay - what?" I looked at him. "Are we going to kill one for every one of ours they killed? Why don't we make it two to one - better yet, five to one? How much is going to be enough?"

"We have to do something," Kenny complained.

"Not a damned thing we do, Kenny, will bring any of the dead back to life," I pleaded. "There is nothing we can do for them. If we take revenge it is because we want to hurt women and no better reason. We all know women who deserve to have their asses kicked. That's not important because nothing changed last night." Now they were sure I was bonkers.

"Yesterday morning they treated us exactly the way they have for forty years. Last night 936 men and 178 policewomen died in under thirty minutes. The fundamental situation did NOT change for us men. They are treating us the exact same way today," I continued.

"They didn't take our dowels today," Luanga countered.

"True, but irrelevant. They shouldn't have asked for them in the first place. To have changed, the cops shouldn't have even showed up," I explained. "To have really mattered, none of the women in the metro should have even called the police on seven peacefully assembled citizens. Women continue to treat us as second class citizens, except now many more men realize it."

"Wow," Doyle laughed after an extended period of silence. "You are not out to make many friends, that's for sure."

"Around the age of five we figure out we can lie to our mothers and get away with it. From that point on, dodging responsibility becomes an accepted approach to life," I answered.

"After that, it is easy to see nothing as your fault. You can ignore almost any injustice around you because it isn't you, you can't make a difference, or isn't that someone else's job? We were all so afraid of dying, men accepted subjugation and women accepted subjugating us to be the only option. Now we will reap what we've sown," I sighed.

"You could all do worse than treating the next few days as if they were your last," I begged. I didn't want to tell the whole truth yet. They wouldn't believe me yet - that was coming. At the next stop the Ranger departed. With that done, I had one other chore to attend. I went to the fourth car and wiggled through the crowd to Ambrosia.

"Thank you," I said. Her look was not that of a happy camper.

"Does any of this make a difference?" she asked.

"It does to me," I nodded.

"What are you doing tonight?" she hinted.

"Sorry, but this is it for me - my last ride," I confessed. "After this morning, I'm gone one way or another. I am glad my last image of you won't be one of fear." It was all I could offer.

"I wouldn't have hurt you," she grumbled. She didn't get it, even now.

"Would you have taken 'no' for an answer? Would you have let me go to the rally?" I countered.

She was kind enough not to lie to me and I was conscious enough of her warring emotions to retire after a moment's silence. When I made it back to my knot of men and Capri, I expected to get some shit for my sojourn. They looked at me with concern.

"What?" I inquired.

"Hold out your hand," Capri directed me. I did so. My hand was shaking like a leaf in a gale.

"You look like you are about to keel over," Capri informed me. "Please accept the fact that you are saving people. I don't know why you want to get beaten, battered and killed, but stop it. We need you - as sane as you can be and alive." Those words were accentuated by the tears welling up in Capri's eyes.

Paraphrasing an old saying: my desires were writing checks my body and soul could not cash.

"You would think after all the crap I've heard you went through, you would want payback more than any of us," Tone gruffly stated.

"I do and I did," I met his gaze. "Last night, I saved one of us and I saved his mother too."

"When I do that, Tone, I'm spitting in all their faces because they didn't break me," I declared. "I am a good person and I won't let any woman take that away. I don't need to beat some woman in the face because I know I'm better than that. I'll pop one in the head to remind them to give me some respect. We deserve respect. You cannot take that with the barrel of a gun."

"That's fear and that's what they've been doing to us for way too long - and it clearly hasn't worked," I grinned. "We are here, proving that point. We are not afraid anymore. We will not bow down ever again." Tone stared at me for a few seconds then nodded.

"I'm still angry," he grinned.

"Brother, you would have to be crazy not to be angry," I sighed, but in a positive way. "We've been beaten down, degraded, ignored and lied to. If all you have is anger, then all you have is what they've given you since you were born. The trick is dropping all their crap and being who you are supposed to be."

"How do we figure out what that is?" Quinn mused.

"Pole Dancer!" one girl close by blurted out. We all slowly turned and stared at her, even the women. "Hey, he's kinda good looking and I like meaty men."

The world cracked a tiny bit more.

"You first," Quinn challenged her. He crossed his arms and looked at her sternly.

"What?" she gulped.

"You pole dance for me first and then I'll see if I want to pole dance for you," Quinn announced.

"I - ah," she stammered. "I don't think I could do that." There were a multitude of things Quinn could have said, many of them harsh and confrontational. Instead...

"Pity," he smiled at her. "You are kinda cute. I like the short feisty ones." She was embarrassed yet smiling. That little exchange was the highlight of our ride. A man and a woman - strangers - had played. A few sentences, a few words, but they'd experienced a playful exchange. In my heart, I prayed they walked away enjoying that moment and exploring the possibilities of such a thing.

We exited at the Downtown Central Hub. The seven of us made our way upstairs to the edge of the downpour.

"Excuse me," the 'pole dancer' woman called out. She approached Quinn. "Can I scan you?" she murmured. She didn't need to ask; the law was on her side.

"So...maybe, you know, we can talk later," she mumbled. We were all blinking in surprise.

"Sure. I'd like that," Quinn smiled back at her. He held out his bracelet, she scanned his ID and off she went. "Shit, man," Quinn shook his head after she was gone. "I don't know what to make of that."

"That's what we are fighting for," I answered softly. "We want to be asked. We want to be able to say 'no'...or 'yes' if we like."

"Eh, we are all still going to get arrested," Kenny groaned.

"Not likely," I shook my head. "All you guys need to get the hell out of town - like before noon if you can."

"Are we, or are we not, worried about getting arrested?" Tone inquired.

"Something much worse than arrest warrants is coming down the pipeline and you don't want to be in a populated area when it hits," I cautioned them. "The rest will come out soon enough."

"Hmmm..." Quinn mulled over the situation. He rolled up his jacket collar and took off into the rain...after that woman.

"Israel, you are annoying as crap, but take care, Brother," he hugged me. I was still freaked out. I was pretty sure a man had never hugged me before. I fended off the others with handshakes and then it was only Doyle, Capri and me.

"Off to the Sentinel?" Capri asked.

"I have to stop by City Hall," I replied. Capri was glaring at me venomously. "I need to say good-bye to Francesca," I explained. Capri gave a deep sigh then nodded. As we approached that imposing structure that had launched my fall from sanity, I used Capri's phone to call Francesca. It took a few seconds.

I could envision her looking at the number and the caller ID and wondering who the hell Capri O'Hara was.

"Ms. O'Hara - Israel?" she answered.

"It's me. I'm outside and I don't think coming in to the office today would be wise. Can you come out and talk to me?" I pleaded.

"Considering the wreckage you made of the administration Monday and yesterday, and the tragedy of last night - we are swamped with work," she sighed. "But, for you, who has made my life SO interesting, I'll be right out." She hung up and the three of us waited in the rain. I didn't even dare stand in the outdoor entryway to get out of the rain, such was my popularity.

Doyle Crane cut through the silence.

"So what's going on at the Sentinel this morning?" There were a great many things I could have said, should have said, but somehow my tongue ended up talking and my brain sat on the sidelines.

"I make this shit up as I go along," I grinned. Doyle waited for the punch line.

"Mr. Crane, you do realize Israel isn't doing a 'crazy act'; he really is insane," Capri told him. Apparently that possibility had not occurred to Doyle.

"How has he avoided the GED for so long?" he whispered.

"I run real fast," I confided.

"He has the very best lawyer, his girlfriend is a cop and he has the sexual prowess of Eros, Greek God of Female Transcendence," Capri explained things far better than me.

"How about I say he's insanely lucky?" Doyle offered.

"Works for me," I sighed.

"Israel?" Francesca called out softly. It was almost drowned out in the rain. I moved inside the covered area because she hadn't brought an umbrella. She reached out, cupped my jaw in both her hands and kissed me on the cheek.

"Time has not made you wiser," my former boss chided me. "Thanks for getting all of us our jobs back. Bethany seems to have disappeared though."

"Don't look at me," I chuckled. "I am done with her and moved on. I came because I need a favor."

I pulled Francesca tightly to me so that my lips were beside her left ear. Her arms spread around my waist and hugged me.

"Francesca, get out of town - right now. Something bad is coming and you need to be as far from any populated area as possible. Grab some food, clothes and stuff and make a run for it," I whispered.

"If you tell me where you might be, I'll try to catch up with you if I can," I promised.

"I have a cousin who owns a place outside Cody, Wyoming. I'll go there," she whispered back. Security cameras watched the area but our heads were obscured by my umbrella and the rain hopefully would mask our quiet words. "She's a Silverhorn as well."

"I have to go, Francesca. I hear there are some Inuit who aren't howling for my head yet and you know I can't stand that," I joked. I was off to battle and she knew it. She gave me one more good squeeze.

"Remember you don't have to do all the fighting by yourself," she smiled sadly.

"Despite my best efforts I've made a friend, or two," I grinned.

"Like that Ms. Sano," Francesca teased me.

"Ugh," I lowered my head in shame.

"Israel," she put a finger beneath my chin and tilted my head up, "never be ashamed of giving anything your best effort."

There was a pause. "I won't stand for it, you hear? Now go. I have to go walk on water for a few more minutes as civilization comes crashing down." I had already said good-bye in my own way - until we meet again, hopefully - so there was nothing more I could say that would have added any meaning.

At the Sentinel Eloise gave me the plan for the day. Doyle was in the 'bull pen' with the other journalists. The President of the Federation was going to make a personal appeal for me to join the National Government in dealing with this crisis. In case I was feeling 'uppity', there was going to be a special taskforce of the FBI around to make me behave.

"Do you know who is in charge of this Watch Dog group?" I inquired.

"Some hot shot out of the Capital named Enola Treyvon," Eloise studied me. "I think you've met her." How did Eloise know all this shit?

"Yeah, we've met. She opted not to keep me in custody at the time," I replied in the least informative way I could think of.

"There has to be a story in there somewhere," Eloise pressed.

"Which you are not going to get," Capri intervened. "Did you miss Israel nearly getting killed in the shootout yesterday with your favorite mobster and the cops?"

"Since neither you, nor Mr. Jensen were questioned, I would discern you both made it out before things got too bad," Ms. Granger smirked.

"So, are you going to GNN this morning, Israel?" Eloise turned to me.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged.

"What's your exit strategy this time? I don't think 'running down the stairs' will work out all that way with the FBI standing around waiting for you," she prodded.

How in the hell was I going to get out? Dimples would give me a head start, but what then? I needed something - a big distraction - that didn't involve people dying.

'Never be ashamed...of my best...efforts?'

The chaos that had haunted my life had me leaving multiple things undone - like laundry, and the Sexbook account Troy Berry had created for me.

Flash mobs had expired during the Gender Plague. A generation later, women rediscovered the spontaneity/activism of their parent(s). I had never participated in one. I had been invited to a few, but anything associated with women and the word 'mob' was a nonstarter for me. This morning, I was relying on a piece of social media I'd never used to do something I had avoided like death itself.

Here was hoping I still had fans.

I had to borrow Capri's tablet and off I went. I had over 32,000 'friends'. There were 1,754 unanswered requests.

"Israel?" Capri asked gently. Both she and Eloise looked over my shoulder.

"Wow, you are a rock star," Eloise mused.

"I didn't know Sexbook had a Fan Fiction page," Capri noted. I was back to wanting to die of embarrassment. I didn't deserve this, as in I wasn't worthy of this level of attention.

"What's the plan?" Eloise prodded.

I began referencing locations and ages of my 'friends', created a list and launched my appeal.

*I am the real Israel Jensen. I'm not promising anyone any sexual favors whatsoever. The last 48 hours have been a mess and I've done things you must all view as questionable. I regret only that I cannot do more for more people.

I have always been drawn to passion and I've been lucky to share that love with several women close to me. I am sick to my soul that I let my wounds keep me from the thing that turns out to have healed me the most. I owe Angel and Kuiko, whom you may know, and Freya and Venus whom you do not. Debra, I apologize I couldn't be more. M...

In an hour, I am about to do what I've done every other morning this week - something colossally stupid and definitely something that is going to piss people off. This is going to be my last hurrah - for some time, if not forever. Odds are I'm going to end up in either Metropolitan or Federation custody. I'm going to make a run for it anyway.

That's where all of you come in. I need your help. I have nothing to offer in return. If any of you are crazy enough to help, gather in front of the GNN building at 8:15 this morning. If you don't show up, never be afraid to say you had a chance to do something asinine and pointless then wised up in time. May whatever face of the Divine gives you comfort be with you.

Israel Jensen*

I was hoping to hear something in ten minutes, or so. I had barely handed the tablet back when a message popped up.

*What is your favorite color?* GoldenDoe34 sent. Huh?

*Kelly Green. My Mother had a recreation battle flag of the Irish Brigade in our living room at home* I answered.

*That's not what your page says* she pressed.

*That's because Troy Berry set up the page without consulting me* I replied.

*Where did you and Venus have sex?* PandorSweets sent.

*I'm not sure I should say. That was between us* I countered.