Chapter Sixty-Nine: Failed Mission:

Judith gave me directions to the nine. We appeared in her office. She turned to me with her arms out.

“Welcome to my lair,” she said. I gave her a strange look. Judith tried not to laugh.

“I always wanted to say that,” she said. Judith cleared her throat.

“Anyway, you are going to need to listen to me for this,” she said. “Do you understand me?” I nodded once.

“Okay,” I said.

“Good,” Judith said. She walked over to her desk. I sat down in the chair in front. She sat down and opened a drawer.

“I have been saving this for occasion like this,” Judith said. She pulled out a small bottle of red sand.

“This will help serve the ties between you and her,” she said. “Listen closely. This will only work if you follow my directions. You take this bottle and uncork it.” Judith moved her hand as if to do so.

“Pour this into her drink in drops,” she said. “She is going to need something to drink. Do everything you can to get her to do so. Don’t use up too much in the bottle. You don’t want to end up poisoning her.” I spoke up, but Judith held up her hand.

“Relax, she won’t die. But she will get really sick,” she said. I closed my mouth.

“Thank you,” Judith said. “Once she finishes the drink, you have to leave as soon as possible. Don’t linger around any longer. Just get up and leave. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding.

“Say it back to me,” Judith said.

“Open the sand, pour a little into her drink, let her drink, and then leave,” I said. She nodded at me.

“Very good,” my subject said. Judith patted me on the arm.

“I know you can do it,” she said. I forced myself to smile. I had to convince her that I was able to do it.

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What a surprise. I couldn’t do it. Everything was going according to plan. I found Madonna in her garden. She stared up at the sky. She had her back to me. I clutched the bottle in my hand. I couldn’t back down from this. I walked up to my wife.

“Sweetheart,” I said. I paused when she turned around. Her eyes looked so empty. A small smile was permanently pasted on her face.

“Hello dear,” I said. My wife didn’t speak. I held up a small silver cup.

“It’s time for your medication,” I said. She still didn’t speak. My wife wasn’t going to make it easy for me. I took in a breath. Right…

I reached into my coat and pulled out a small glass bottle. I had one shot at this. I couldn’t mess it up. I poured the liquid into the cup. Little sprinkles of the sand dissolved inside. I had to use slight of hand to pull this off. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. I figured that I would have to try and get this over with. I held out the cup.

“Here, take it,” I said. Madonna didn’t speak. I wasn’t sure if she was going to go for it. She walked up and took the cup. I tried not to breathe out in relief. Madonna held the cup in her hand, looking at me. She downed the medicine in one gulp. I turned to run away. I had just started to escape when I felt a hand close around my wrist. Don’t tell me…

I made the mistake of turning my head. She stared at me with those empty eyes of hers. Oh no, don’t do this. I tried to pull myself out of her grasp, but she wouldn’t let go. Since when was she ever that strong? It felt like my arm was trapped in an iron vice. Judith hadn’t told me what to do when it came to this part.

“Look, I have to go,” I said. “Please. Let me go.” Before I knew, Madonna leaned up and kissed me. Where was all of this coming from? I didn’t have time to think as I kissed her back. My wife playfully nudged me to the grass. The cold made my body jump. The whole time, she didn’t speak. Madonna leaned down and kissed me again. Before I knew it, I was tangled up in her embrace. I forgot what this felt like. We hadn’t been this passionate and close since we conceived Judas. But wait, no. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t right. But we couldn’t stop. If this was going to be our goodbye. Then so be it.

We kissed that last time in the grass. She went to sleep with her head on my chest. When I put my hand on her head, I realized what I had done. Judith’s going to be mad at me. I closed my eyes and shook my head. I didn’t want to see what could happen next after this. Oh boy…