Black Lens: Part IX

Story by Ken Bruen and Russell Ackerman

Ken Bruen is one of the most celebrated crime novelists of our time.

Black Lens is his most secret project.

Read on as the unveiling continues.

Every Wednesday on Mulholland Books.

With art by Jonathan Santlofer.

Fade in…

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8.

“What now?” he wondered, at first walking, then loping, then breaking into a run.
“What next?” –Last Days by Brian Evenson.

The Cabal rarely met in its full assembly.

Meaning,

Not all the members were ever together in one place.

Made sense.

If…

Perish the heretical thought,

Their secret alliance was ever,

EVER,

actually revealed and some…

Patriot-

Decided to take them out-

Like one of the failed Hitler putsches…

The organization would take

Only minor hits.

They took this principle to such lengths that

For Instance:

No two members of the cabal ever flew on the same plane.

Slept with the same woman.

(Or man.)

Or,

If they by chance found themselves at a social event

Ate from the same preparation of food or drink.

Until now.

An emergency meeting in London.

(London being still vaguely neutral ground.)

Of extraordinary proportions.

All but one of the members present.

Gathered at:

Brown’s

In Covent Garden.

Just because they were paranoid didn’t mean they had to suffer.

And c’mon,

Who could pass up the Brisson with brandy sauce?

Further,

Despite all the precautions-

Even during the crazy days of WWII they’d never really been threatened.

You had the

money,

resources,

contacts…

You didn’t give much of a fuck who was claiming to be the power.

Same shit, different currency to pay off the pertinent

Names.

9/11 had brought a slight frisson of excitement.

While the world mourned and went into paranoid meltdown,

The Cabal had simply expanded their stock.

Global catastrophe-

The worst acts of god-

they found new opportunity.

The current leader,

Cromwell,

sat at the head of a solid oak table.

The Cabal,

nineteen then,

gathered before him in silent anticipation.

Cromwell claimed to be a direct descendant of the man who not only blew the resurgent Irish to hell and gone but,

oh delicious icing on the global fucked cake,

Had seeded into a majority of the so-called third world nations,

Political and economic circumstances collectively responsible for the death of

Millions.

Having eaten, Cromwell surveyed the sated faces-

clicked the solid silver spoon to his wine glass, said:

‘Houston,

we have a fucking problem.’

‘A dilemma.’

‘The dynamics of which mean:

50% of you will be dead before the month is out.’

He reached for the aged Cuban Cigar in his lapel pocket.

Waited while a minion scurried to light it.

Continued:

‘But take heart.”

‘We are:

Great

Secret

Secure

and

Omnipotent

Only because

We cull.

Look at your neighbor,

look at the satisfied face across the table from you and

…………………………ASK YOURSELF THIS

‘Will their passing cost me anything but a slight fiscal migraine?’

 

Ken Bruen has been a finalist for the Edgar and Anthony Awards, and has won a Macavity Award, a Barry Award, and two Shamus Awards for the Jack Taylor series. He lives in Galway, Ireland. Learn more at KenBruen.com.

Russell Ackerman is Guillermo del Toro’s Development Executive. He is currently working on the film MAMA to be directed by Andy Muschietti, DROOD based on Dan Simmons’ novel of the same name, adapted by Brian Helgeland, and MIDNIGHT DELIVERY written by Neil Cross, all set up at Universal Pictures. He lives in Los Angeles.