Chapter 27: A Plan is Hatched
It was almost the end of the working day at the Carvaress building. Pardi called the twins to inform them that he was going to be a little late. He ordered two jumbo pizzas for them to share when he returned home. He then called Orcille.
‘Hey Orcille, I’ve been looking at the surveillance cameras. Great job of concentrating the rebels in one spot,’ said Pardi in a proud tone.
‘I’m surprised you are calling me. We’re not due for an update for another couple of weeks,’ replied Orcille.
‘That is true, but I decided we needed to move things along faster. Leadership in the capital is getting out of control,’ said Pardi.
‘Still intimidated by strong female leadership, I see,’ replied Orcille in a snarky tone.
‘Always the attitude from you. I thought I raised you better than that,’ said Pardi.
‘So what do you want me to do now?’ asked Orcille in a more serious tone.
‘I want you to give the rebels exposure. Something that is going to stir emotion in the average simpleton,’ said Pardi.
‘I have a feeling that’s going to get us arrested,’ replied Orcille.
‘Yes and no, I’ll have you covered either way,’ said Pardi. ‘The House of Divine Knowledge is the easiest way forward. Adoy has some of the softest theologists and philosophers around,’ he said as he looked at a list of the female theologists and philosophers at the Adoy House of Divine Knowledge.
‘Anyone in particular you want me to target?’ asked Orcille.
‘All and anyone, one of these losers is bound to cave and give you an audience,’ replied Pardi.
‘You don’t exactly fill me with confidence,’ replied Orcille.
‘I know you will pull this off,’ said Pardi with confidence in his voice. ‘You will be granted an audience. You will then woo this audience like no one else can. The Adoy citizens will feed off your energy. You will do me proud.’
‘Make you proud. That’s all I ever wanted to do,’ said Orcille in a saddened voice.
‘I know,’ said Pardi, ‘I’ll talk to you soon. There is an interesting second part to this plan. Love you, sweetie.’
‘Love you too, daddy,’ replied Orcille.
Pardi returned home to have pizza with the girls. The pizza had arrived fifteen minutes earlier. The pizza delivery guy was still at the apartment. The girls insisted he stay. They dressed him up to look like a fairy.
‘Who the hell are you?’ Pardi demanded as he walked through the door to see the delivery guy sitting on the sofa wearing a tiara and with makeup smeared across his face.
‘He’s the pizza fairy,’ replied Yassme.
‘He gives the pizza its magical taste,’ added Yassmay.
‘I thought you’d be happy. He looks just like one of your girlfriends,’ said Yassme.
‘These crazy shenanigans have given me a more practical idea,’ said Pardi as he rubbed his chin.
‘Is it okay for me to leave now?’ asked the pizza delivery guy.
‘Yes, get out,’ shouted Pardi at the delivery guy. ‘This is family time. Go be a pervert somewhere else.’
The delivery guy quickly grabbed his things and scurried out the door while grumbling under his breath.
‘Right, it’s pizza time and action-packed virtual reality movie time,’ said Pardi with enthusiasm.
‘Yaaaay,’ shouted the girls as they jumped on the sofa.
‘I’m so proud that you didn’t open the jumbo pizza boxes until I got home,’ said Pardi as he put his hand on his heart.
‘Our new friend kept us occupied while we waited,’ responded Yassme.
‘He deserves at least 1% of the credit,’ added Yassmay.
‘Okay, great. Let’s get tucked in, shall we?’ Pardi said as he opened one of the boxes.
He looked down at the pizza with a slightly puzzled look on his face. ‘Wow, they are really generous with the pineapple,’ he said. The girls looked at each other while giggling.
Two hours later, ‘What did you think of the movie?’ Pardi asked the girls.
‘It was so cool. It felt like we were in the movie with all the action going on around us,’ said Yassme as she clapped her hands.
‘Yes, like you were the star of the movie,’ Pardi said with enthusiasm.
‘In a way, but more as a witness than a participant,’ replied Yassmay with a tad of disappointment in her tone. ‘Several times, I wanted to snuff out a few characters, but it didn’t offer me that kind of flexibility.’
‘How about I told you we could take this type of adventure one step further,’ said Pardi.
‘Sounds like a lot of fun but also a little irresponsible,’ said Yassme in a slightly more serious tone.
‘Irresponsible, I didn’t think either of you had grasped that concept,’ said Pardi with a perplexed look on his face.
‘So you don’t mind if we start blowing up stuff,’ said Yassmay with an excited look on her face.
‘Ahh, you have the wrong idea,’ said Pardi. ‘I didn’t mean reenact the movie in real life. I meant acting like the stars in the movie,’ said Pardi with his palms facing out to the girls.
‘Ooohh, that sounds way more boring,’ responded Yassmay.
Pardi explained his plan carefully to the girls. He then showed them a map. He pointed out the Adoy Region. ‘When you get there, hide in the Agriculture Zone and wait to be rescued,’ he said in a firm tone. ‘These are the girls you will be playing in the movie,’ Pardi said, showing the girls pictures of Pearls and Jewels.
‘They’re ugly, and we’re beautiful,’ said Yassme.
‘Great actors can play characters very different from themselves,’ said Pardi. ‘I know both of you are up for this challenge.’ Yassmay frowned.
‘It could be fun. We could play with the local Sapes,’ said Yassme.
‘When does this gig actually end?’ asked Yassmay.
‘Once you return back here,’ replied Pardi.
‘When does it start?’ asked Yassme.
‘That all depends on your brother,’ replied Pardi.
‘We have a brother,’ they responded in unison.
‘Yes, it’s a recent development. I disowned him years ago because he’s a freak. Now, he is in the process of redeeming himself,’ said Pardi.
‘Would you ever disown us?’ asked Yassmay as she gave her father a cold stare.
‘No, of course not. I love both of you so much,’ replied Pardi in a slightly nervous tone.
‘Only joking; we know how much you love us,’ responded Yassmay.
They both put their arms around Pardi. They could feel his rapid heartbeat. They felt comfort in his slight fear of them.
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