Virtual American Gothic - Second Season Episode Three Strange Bedfellows by Queribus (queribus@calweb.com) **************************************** NOT TO BE REPOSTED OR REPUBLISHED IN ANY FORM INCLUDING ARCHIVING ON A WEB PAGE WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S CONSENT. Guest stars: Ray Wise as Richard Fenton, Grace Zabriskie as Allison Fenton, Sheryl Lee as Samantha Fenton. Special Guest star: Brent Spiner as Councilman Kane **************************************** " Welcome to Trinity, South Carolina. . ." An charming white haired woman was sweeping the terraced steps of her front yard. Static interrupted the picture for a moment, must be a bad connection. No, back again crisp and clear, a grandfather walking with his grandson, then a black schoolchild running playfully. "It looks like a pretty nice place to live." The pleasant music behind the images became just a trifle harsh and off-key. The screen cut to a black and white still of a very disgruntled Lucas Buck. "But one thing we don't need in Trinity is a sheriff who's looking backwards." A new, color drenched image appeared on the screen -- a man who seemed the very prototype of the New South, clean cut, blown dry hair, pale beige suit, cheerful open, honest smile. There he was, shaking hands with Cecil Perkins on Main Street, visiting the new mothers at the hospital with Nurse Rita, in his shirt sleeves in the park, pastel jacket thrown casually over his shoulder, eating a hot dog and talking to two young boys. Could it be--yes, it is, Caleb and Boone. "We need a sheriff to take us all the way into the 21st century. We need . . . Richard Fenton." The commercial ended with a large still of Councilman Kane and Fenton, arm in arm. Red letters formed across a sky blue background Vote Kane/Fenton and Your Future's Looking Bright! Against the perky sounds of "Nothing could be Finer Than to Be in Carolina in the Morning" Lucas's office seemed even darker and gloomier than before. His face emptier than a moonless night, the incumbent Sheriff of Fulton County turned off his television set. ---------------- Kane's and Fenton's rally was taking place on a temporary stage within spitting distance of the Sheriff's office. Jonathan Vergilius Kane stepped up on the raw boards and essayed a slight soft shoe to the delight of the crowd. He leaned over the bunting to introduce "the finest young couple in the New South, and we got them right here in Trinity. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm proud to introduce your new sheriff and his lady, Mr. Richard W. Fenton and his lovely Allison." They looked a picture in pastel purity. Allison's pink suit with its discreet Chanel trim was a streamlined MBA take on Jackie Kennedy chic. The band was playing their theme song, "Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be In Carolina In The Morning," as they introduced their daughter Samantha,"but we just call her Sam," to the crowd. She was, of course, a blond confection in prom white with virgin-Mary-blue trim. A perfect family for a perfect campaign. Fenton harangued the crowd with a buzz word crammed speech invoking A New Vision for the Trinity of Tomorrow and invited all Trinitarians to join Kane and him on a Supercharged Highway Into the Future. Kane, with a self-deprecatory smile, hummed a little to the Carolina theme, and then stopped short -- time to get serious. "I would never conduct a negative campaign, it's just not my style. I know that our Sheriff has served for many years in this fine city and county, but I simply have to ask, does he have the Vision, does he have the Insight, does he have the Plan, the Program, *Does *He *Have *The *Heart*, to carry us all the way into the 21th century! I'm afraid the answer is no, my friends. But Dick Fenton Does!" Kane paused for the applause that flowed out as if he'd turned on a tap. "The Future is calling and the Torch has been passed!" Pause again, and applause again. " The Buck Stops Here! Let's me say it again! The Buck Stops Here! and Again! The Buck stops here!" The crowd, which was substantial, picked up the slogan and ran with it, chanting until the buildings on Main Street rocked with the driving rhythms. ------ Inside the sheriff's office, the deputies were listening, Floyd especially mesmerized by the wall of sound. "Well, at least they know the sheriff's slogan." "I don't think that's his slogan, Floyd." Ben said. Floyd was swaying and tapping his feet to the beat of The Buck Stops Here, when Lucas came out of his inner office, his face totally unreadable. "Is that your version of the Macarena, Floyd?" "No sir," Floyd froze midstride,"sorry sir," then, under his breath to Ben," What's a macarena?" Ben shrugged, some kind of cookie, maybe. Lucas sauntered to the front door and looked out. "Sounds like the last seven days of Hitler." "More like the last seven days of Buck, isn't it?" " Why do you say that, Ben?" Lucas turned to his deputy, his eyes round with innocent surprise, always a dangerous sign. But this time Ben was ready for him. "Because I don't know what you're doing, Lucas. No rallies, no commercials, no campaign headquarters, even. It's like you want to lose." "Now, why do I need to advertise, Ben. Everybody knows who I am." "Maybe they know a little bit too much, you're 20 points behind in the polls." "Yeah," Floyd interjected. "60/40 split, that's what they said in the paper." "Do you know what a poll is, Floyd, here's a hint, it's not from Eastern Europe." Floyd looked unready for a pop quiz and started humming the Carolina theme nervously. Lucas continued to zero in on his chief deputy, "Are you in the 60% for my opponent, Ben?" "This might surprise you, Lucas, but I've always voted for you. And I'll continue to vote for you until somebody runs that I think can replace you. But looks like I' m in the minority this year." "You won't stay in the minority. Nothing ever really changes in Trinity. That's its irresistible charm." Buck opened the door. The chanting had stopped. "I think I'll stroll on over to the hospital. See how things are going." "Has Gail come out of her coma?" "No, not yet." Lucas glanced away, his eyes gone dead again. "Damn it, Lucas, is that why you're letting Fenton win? Is Gail what's bothering you?" Lucas turned his stark ice-man eyes on Ben,"Nothing's bothering me, Ben. Nothing at all." He swirled out of the office. Floyd had reached the second verse of the Carolina theme, "Shut up, Floyd." "But Ben, it's a mighty pretty tune." ------ Lucas cornered Billy Peele at the doctor's station. "I can't tell you when she's going to come around, because I don't know." Peele looked harassed, but whether from Buck's interference or the frustration over a case that made no sense, even he didn't know for sure. "Can you fix up what's wrong with her, or do I need to call in experts?" "I don't think a specialist could do you any good, Sheriff. We took out Gail's spleen, no problem, she healed. Her femur was cracked, it's healing nicely. Ribs the same. We relieved the pressure of the subdural hematoma. She has no fever, no internal damage. Hell, she should have been awake and walking around a week ago, but the girl just lays there, barely responsive. Maybe she doesn't want to come back." Peele glanced at Buck to see if there was any emotional response. Nope, none at all. " As it is, if something doesn't change pretty soon, she's not going to be able to come back." " If you can't make her better, then I don't need you any more, Peele, just you think about that." ------- The Carolina song floated through the hospital halls. "Butterflies will flutter up and kiss each little buttercup at daw. . a . . awn. . ning. . . but I' m afraid you' re not going to be able to see them, are you, Miss Emory?" Jonathan Vergilius Kane tipped his straw boater to the sleeping woman on the bed, so pale and so fragile. " You're very lovely, Gail, another time, another place, we could have been friends. I somehow feel you would have been an ardent supporter of my platform." He walked over to the Intravenous feed that snaked its way into her arm. "Don't take this personally, dear, it's only politics." "Are you Miss Emory's long-lost uncle?" " Not really." Kane turned to see Lucas Buck and Nurse Stacey standing in front of a slowly closing door. "Then why are you messing with her?" "I wasn't aware her long-lost uncle did." Kane smiled. "I'm just canvassing the neighborhood." He gently inserted a Highway To The Future button into Gail's nightgown. "I don't think she's going to be voting this election," Lucas pressed, a slight ominous tone creeping into his voice," so, I suggest, you move on to other constituents." "I'm very much afraid you're right, Lucas. But you know how politics is, you win some, you lose some. Good Day, Nurse." Kane slipped out the door elegantly, tipping his hat in farewell. " I want private nurses in this room day and night," Lucas's voice was curt and commanding. He ripped Kane's button off Gail's gown and threw it against the wall. "And clean up this trash, would you." "It' ll be expensive. Nurses round the clock," the nurse said as she pocketed the button. "Just send me the bill." Lucas leaned over Gail, studying her face as if he might read some mystery in it. "Well, sleeping beauty, tell me, what will wake you up?" --------- "Redemption, South Carolina in the heart of Fulton County was where Richard Fenton was born and raised to a life of hard work and simple truths." The commercial began with a sepia photo of a modest clapboard house surrounded by fields of corn and honeysuckles. The voice narrating was thick and mellifluous as caramel candy. A series of images designed to quick-start middle-American normalcy flowed by quickly, melding into each other --- a picture of life as it should be. A 60's era convertible driving past Ascension on the road to Trinity, Graduation with pasteboard hats flying into the air, A wedding supper with elderly but proud parents, Allison Fenton holding baby Samantha in her arms. The voice over the images continued. "And here, among the people of Trinity, Ascension and all the small but tradition-rich communities of our home, Richard married and brought up a family upheld by the values that South Carolingians hold so close to their hearts." The images become even more heart-warming, if that is indeed possible. Samantha at 14, laughing and cooking hamburgers at a barbecue. The family playing ball in the tall grass with their golden retriever. Both parents looking solemn and hopeful at the bedside of their daughter, who smiles bravely, her arm in a cast. Fenton and his daughter saluting the flag at the Independence Day parade. The whole family at home on a quiet evening, reading the Bible by the fire. The voice over is Richard Fenton's thready baritone, earnest and confiding," My wife and daughter and I have experienced the joys and trials that all our neighbors in this beautiful land have faced. We have seen good times and times that try the spirit, and we know deep in our hearts, that the only things that really matter in the long run are our home, our country and our faith." The picture changes to the Fenton Family, dog and all, silhouetted from the back, looking at the sun setting over the Trinity river. A woman's voice speaks the last words over this serene family portrait, "Kane and Fenton For Your Family's Sake." "Oh crap!" Ben said, and changed the channel to Wheel of Fortune. ------------- It was Meet the Candidates Day at Caleb's school and Richard Fenton was just finishing a somewhat simplistic explanation of democracy to Miss Coombs class. A few TV cameras were discreetly situated in the back of the classroom. "So the electoral process is the key to the freedom of our country." "Well, so what?" Caleb whispered to Boone,"we' re all too young to vote, anyway." "Someday, you' re going to grow up, Caleb Temple," nothing escaped Selena's sharp ears," and you want to know how to be a good citizen then, don't you?" " I guess." Richard Fenton put on his best voter-of-tomorrow smile. "Young men and women like you are our future, and we want you to have the best future you can have." He handed Caleb a Highway to the Future button, ruffled what there was of the child's hair and strode out of the classroom to exhort another group of pre-teens. The camera crew followed him avidly. "Lunchtime!" Selena announced. Caleb walked out to the playground muttering,"I can't even drive, what do I need a highway for?" "You might want to hitchhike." Buck was standing behind him, solid black from his head to his toes. Next to Fenton's pale blue outfit he looked like an object lesson in depression. "I might if I thought I could get very far," Caleb said, ruefully, " What does your button look like?" "Nothing much." Lucas rummaged around in his pocket and pulls out a small button with BUCK in white letters over a black background. "Nothing much is right." Caleb said, turning the plain button around skeptically," You' re going to lose aren't you?" "Not over a button." "Well, you' re not trying to win, you don't even act like Lucas Buck any more. Did you leave something behind when you came out of the grave?" "Maybe I left my son behind." Never too late to drill in another lesson. Caleb was all too sick of Buck's lessons. "Which one? Me or the one I killed." "You remember that?" Lucas's tone was wary, how much more of his son's memory was coming back? "After my little swim, I 'member a lot of things. I know I hurt Gail so bad her baby died, and now I expect she's dying, too, and there's nothing I can do about it." Caleb turned away to hide his tears. As usual, the best way to conquer grief was through anger. "There's no way I can tell her I'm sorry. I thought maybe you might want to help her, but you can't even help yourself!" ---------- Richard Fenton is staring directly into the camera's eye. His gaze is sensitive, yet strong. "Ladies and gentlemen of Fulton County, Let me be serious for a moment. It has been a very difficult year in Trinity. We have seen crime escalate dramatically. And all our communities have suffered. Outsiders have come in and harassed our towns and our people," Stark black and white pictures of a hospital emergency room; families weeping. "Not one but two serial killers have stalked our streets." A photo of Father Tilden at the pulpit appears first, then the camera zooms in on a stained glass window, slowly revealing the images of angels supporting a cross. "A valued man of God has fallen from grace and lost his life." Several different photos of Matt Crower, Yancy Lydon, and Dr Nerrone in better days now appear, one after the other. "Madness and suicide have cut short careers and taken valuable members of our community from us. The music behind the pictures slips into a minor key. A harmonica growls. An image appears of the Trinity river glowing a bright toxic red. The word repent written in blood on a hospital wall. A blurry shot of black wings floating ominously in the clouded sky. "And finally, a mysterious, still unexplained illness came upon us, a time of near-despair, when the dark wings of the angel of death seemed to hover over our future." Fenton's face fills up the whole screen, looking grave but approachable, his eyes sad, his tone regretful. " I would certainly not want to be the person to hold one man responsible for all this tragedy. But I Believe, One Man Can Make a Difference." Across the television screen softly focused images flow into each other like a prayer, beginning with the sepia picture of the Fenton Home in Redemption. The Fenton family walking up the steps of a church. Samantha kneeling in prayer, her blond hair glowing. Fenton looking pensively into an ethereal light, his wife standing beside him, gazing up into his inspired face. Fenton's voice is heartfelt. "I've tried to shape my life from the lessons I learned in Redemption. Let me be that one man, let me make a difference in Trinity and in all of our homes and hearts everywhere." A white bird flys across a blue sky. The voice behind the picture of tranquility and hope, has the rich gravity of a preacher. "Kane and Fenton for a Brighter Tomorrow." The commercial slowly faded to black, and Nurse Stacy reached over Gail's bed for a kleenex. Inspirational messages always made her tear up ---------- Later that night, in the dark recesses of Lucas's inner office, the door slowly creeped open. Dim light oozed out of the corner torchieres. Richard Fenton's eyes peeked around the door's edge. He was not a man built for sneaking, but he seemed particularly careful as he stepped into the room. The sheriff's chair swiveled around. "Don't worry, Dicky," Lucas grinned," the coast is clear." "I can't afford to have anybody catch me here." "If this is the worst you've done tonight, then the night is still young." Fenton dropped a folder of papers on the sheriff's desk and paced nervously. Buck glanced at the contents of the folder and tossed it aside. "There's nothing here but finances. I'm not interested in Kane's money." "A couple of contributors there might be a bit shady." "Who cares. I hired you to find out who Kane is and where he came from. That's what matters to me." "Nobody knows, Lucas. Everything about Kane leads to a complete blank. I' ve tried to get closer, but he doesn't seem to trust me completely." "I wonder why. Try harder, Dick, it's only two more days till the election." "I know, Lucas, which worries me, I never wanted to be sheriff." "Don't worry, you' re not going to be." "But the polls are so bad, Lucas, I mean good . . for me. . but. ." "The Polls mean nothing. Just you play it the way we worked it out and I'll still be sheriff, then when that congressman gets confirmed to the cabinet in six months. . and his office opens up. . well, somebody's got to be appointed to fill out the term." Lucas leaned back in his chair as if contemplating a very beautiful future. Somehow, the light in the room brightened. "Allison really wants to go to Washington." "And she will, I'll just put a few words in the governor's ear." "The governor?" Fenton stopped pacing, this was what he needed to feed his dream. "How do you think he won his last election?" "My God, Washington!" "Why not, you' re one of the top money raisers in the state, even if most of it was my money." Lucas smiled enigmatically. "But those were damn fine commercials." "The party would be grateful to have me." Fenton's eyes began to gleam with ambition. "But how do I get out of this stupid sheriff thing. . .I mean, I know, you like the job. . . you do still want it, don't you?" "Oh yeah, I'd take it if it were forced on me." A chair slid into the back of Fenton's legs. " Sit down and relax, Dick -- have you got a gun?" "I think so, somewhere." "Well, then find it. Get it tonight, I want you to carry it everywhere. This is important, Fenton. Don't let me down here." "Why do I need a gun? I don't think I could fire one anyway." "Boy, you' re going be a great sheriff." "I don't want to be sheriff!!" "Get the gun. And I'll take care of you. Just don't get too tricky, Dicky." ------------ Fenton arrived home, very late, to that little house in Redemption. It was not quite like it looked in his commercials. For one thing, it was twice as big, with a new roof, new antique stone overlay, a swimming pool, a satellite dish, three car garage to accommodate the Mercedes and the Range Rover, not so humble any more. The honeysuckle was still there though. Fenton crept on noiseless feet to his study, but his wife had radar hearing, as usual. "Where the hell have you been," Allison demanded, her voice ragged with stress. "You had a radio spot to tape this evening." " Radio is a thing of the past. TV is the only viable medium. Besides we' re far ahead of Buck in airtime." He rummaged through the desk where he had last seen Allison's pistol, but there was no gun there, just cubbyholes full of statements, stamps and invoices, all organized within an inch of their life. " Don't you compare yourself to Lucas Buck, you fool. Nobody should ever take him for granted, I don't care if you are forty points ahead." " Allison, are your prescriptions filled?" " I have enough pills to annihilate the whole family if that's what you mean." " Now, that kind of talk is not going to help." Fenton drug out the patient long-suffering smile that usually mollified his spouse. "You have to keep yourself together, dear, everything's going to work out exactly the way we want it. And it's 25 points ahead, not 40." " Trust you to know the polls. I wanted a congressional race for Washington, not a back water hack-job in this one horse town I've been stuck in my whole life." " Honey, Samantha will hear you. Do you know where that gun of yours is?" " What do you need a gun for, to shoot off your own foot?" Fenton put his coat back on, his smile shredding to pieces as he opened the front door. Somewhere, in the broad night there had to be some kind of comfort. " I gotta think, I can't talk to you when you're in this kind of mood." "Dick Fenton, can't you spend one night in your own home." ---------- The next morning, Buck walked into Gail's hospital room. "You can go outside, now, Nurse, just make sure the do not disturb sign stays on the door." He took his long blue coat off and folded it carefully at the foot of Gail's bed. Going closer to the sleeping girl, he pushed her hair back from her face, cupping his hands around her cheeks. "If you won't come to me, then I'll have to come to you." His kiss started gently but grew steadily more insistent, more demanding. With Lucas's first touch, Gail opened her eyes. The day was bright, the light from the sun dazzling, wiping out all detail from the landscape around her. She turned and saw her mother standing beside her, care and concern in her tired eyes. As Gail reached for her mother's hand, the face she saw changed, the hair slowly lightening from black to faded blonde as her aunt's face replaced her mother's. The light was fading to golden twilight as Judith Temple led Gail to a rocking chair in a simple room. Gail sat in the chair, and a little black-haired girl cuddled into her lap, with a story book about the big bad wolf. The smell of sweet soap rose from her young skin. This was her little girl, her baby. Just as Gail began to relax into the family memories buried deep within her, Merly jumped off her lap cause "Someone's at the Door, mamma" And the door opened and Lucas came in. " I promised you another chance," he said, looking so different, so confident, in his khaki uniform. She stood up and let his arms fold her inside, following a pattern laid down long ago that she could not diverge from. Somewhere there were flames burning brightly, somewhere, as Lucas laid her down on the floor and embraced her, his face buried in her neck. She knew that beyond the warm flames was a cold darkness that hid pain and fear but she held onto Lucas's strong shoulders, allowing him to take her deeper past the center of darkness where the pain couldn't reach her. "Mamma, Someone's at the door." Oh my God, Merly was watching, her baby was watching. "Your baby is dead, Gail." He said. She saw Merly grown, and Lucas snapping her neck on a narrow bed. "We can make another baby." He said. Merlyn's dead staring eyes changed to Caleb watching Gail, his eyes vicious with hate. He raised his hand and there was a poker in it. "Someone's at the door! Gail!" The boy said. She couldn't go through this again, pushing the images away from her, she clawed desperately at her fears. " Don't you start fighting me too." Buck's voice slashed through her. Suddenly there was only Lucas, his teeth bared, his eyes wild, no escape from his hands, his body, his mouth. She fought the dark as it surrounded her, only to find he was colder than any darkness, and he threatened to drown her in deep black waters. Like a swimmer with one breath left in her body, Gail fought to reach the surface, gasping, flailing for the light, her eyes opened on the pale white hospital room, the needle from the intravenous drip spiking into her arm. "Guess you only love me when I' m dead." Lucas said, putting his coat on calmly. Gail looked down at her body, the sheets torn away from naked white thighs. Nurse Stacey came into the room and smiled at the sheriff and her patient. " Well, Miss Emory, you appear to be feeling better, what a relief." " Maybe I should have played doctor sooner?" Lucas winked at the nurse as he left the room. "What did he do to me?" Gail sat up in bed, her hands trembling, her heart pounding. " Honey, did you kick your covers off?" The nurse spoke as if to a backward child. "Now calm down, Sheriff Buck has been waiting and watching by your bed day and night, he was that worried for you." " Did he touch me, did he and I?. . Did he rape me. . ?" " That man has been a perfect gentleman. Why he hired private nurses so you would never be alone. As far as I' m concerned, he's saved your life. Look at the roses in your cheeks, it's a miracle." And it was true, Gail's color and strength was restored as if the past two weeks of lassitude had been stripped from her body. Her dream of Lucas, if it was a dream, began to fade quickly as dreams often do. --------- Preparation for the Election Eve Town Forum were well underway as The Bijou, Trinity's 1930's era movie house, was being wired for bright light and sound. " Testing Level One, bring Level One up." It was the first time Trinity News had tried to televise such a complicated setup live, and every thing had to be locked down tight. Klieg lights and microphone booms were hastily tied to the art deco gargoyles and fake stained glass that decorated the theatre. Behind the main screen was all confusion and shadows with old movie displays crowding the small backstage area. Lucas was whistling the Carolina theme as he pulled Fenton into the darkness behind a poster for The Third Man. "Have you got the gun?" "We can't talk here, someone might see." Out in the seats, the carefully selected audience was beginning to filter in. "Sure we can. Have you got the gun?" "Well, not exactly, I can't find where Allison hides it." " It's your wife's gun?" "She must have moved it, I'll try again." "We don't have time." Lucas was furious. Behind him, past the shadows and the tilting displays, Kane was escorting Fenton's family to special seats in the first row of the theatre. Tables and chairs were being set up on stage for the candidates. "You are absolutely worthless, Fenton, and you can forget Washington." Kane jumped up on the stage to help arrange the seating. " I don't understand, what has the gun to do with Washington?" " You didn't live up to your end of the bargain, the deal's off." In the background Kane tripped over a light cord and turned his accident into an impromptu buck and wing. The audience laughed and applauded. "Mr Bojangles is at it again." Lucas grumbled. " Who," Fenton said peering around the poster, nervously," Oh, the Magic Man." "The what?" asked Lucas. "Sometimes when Kane thinks he's alone, he kind of dances a funny shuffle and says 'Nobody knows but the Magic Man.' Nothing important." Fenton turned back to Buck who seemed suddenly preoccupied. "I'll tell you something, Buck, if you won't give me Washington, then I'm hanging on to the sheriff's race and you' re way too far behind to stop me now." Lucas watched Fenton walk out on stage carefully adjusting his pale beige suit, his blown dry hair and his New- South winning smile. ----- In the middle of the forum, Buck was responding to a question from the panel of reporters. " I don't know if I do have a special plan for Trinity's future, Danielle, I mean, I think this is a pretty good place the way it is right now." Cecil Perkins spoke up from the audience into a hand held mike. " We all know you like Trinity the way it is, and that's why we're voting against you, sheriff." " Mr Fenton," Reporter Danielle Davenport asked," do you care to give your views on Trinity's future?" Richard Fenton preened a bit and flashed his best humble- but-honest smile," Everyone knows that I am looking to the future of Trinity and not the past. I would like to hear what the fine people of Fulton Co want for themselves. And believe me, with Councilman Kane and Dick Fenton we can get you there." Applause. The camera panned to the seats to see if anyone had anything to say. Both Lucas and Councilman Kane glanced to the right of the theatre where a beautiful young girl with curly red hair was starting to stand up. The reporter went over to her with a microphone. " And your name is. . " " Patricia Bowen, but everybody calls me Poppy." " Well, Poppy, what do you want for Trinity's future." The camera panned briefly over the candidates, Lucas, stone faced, Kane, twinkling, Kane's opponent, Arthur Simpson, looked the same as he always did, dim as a 40 watt bulb. Fenton was starting to perspire, just a bit on his upper lip. " I want to know" Poppy said, "what Dickie Fenton is going to do, if I turn out pregnant?" " Are you saying you' ve had a relationship with candidate Fenton?" Danielle motioned the hand held cameras to come in closer. " Well, it'd be his baby, that' s for sure." " This young woman has been set up to slander me." Fenton exclaimed. " All I' m saying," Poppy chirped, " is Dickie's been coming over to the junkyard every night about midnight and he's not looking for spare parts." "Everybody knows that Sheriff Buck would do anything to win this election, but this is the shoddiest piece of dirty campaigning I've ever seen." " You don't get around much, do you, Dick, except maybe over to Poppy's place?" Lucas drawled, "What is she now, 15, 16 years old?" " Just 16 last week," TJ shouted out the words Buck told him to say, his heart breaking as he realized their full implication. " but I' ve seen Fenton's car over at the junkyard every night for a month." TJ had been waiting for Poppy to get over her folks' tragedy -- guess she was way over it now. Kane jumped to his feet, and took center stage. " Let's calm down people. I' ve supported Richard Fenton through thick and thin, I admired his ideas and his vision for the future." He turned to Richard and smiled patiently. Dick nodded, everything would be all right. Kane would fix it. " But the future of Trinity certainly doesn't include child abuse." Kane turned back to the audience, the flames of righteousness blazing in his eyes. " And I will make sure this offense is investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The children of this beautiful state must be protected." Cheers could be heard from the audience. Kane waved the noise down benevolently," Richard Fenton used to be my friend but at this point in time I must officially withdraw my endorsement of his candidacy for sheriff." He winked at Lucas with his upstage eye, the one the cameras could not see. " I don't understand," Fenton desperately tried to find some ground under his feet. " Nothing's been proven. . . my wife can certainly tell you that I' ve been home with her all these alleged nights. . . Allison, tell these people how wrong they are." Allison Fenton slowly stood up, the cameras closed in on her, she spoke clearly and decisively into the microphone thrust under her nose. " I' m sick and tired of lying for you, Dick, this girl is younger than your own daughter. I wondered where the hell you' ve been every night for weeks. I guess I know, now." She pushed the microphone away and started to leave, dragging Samantha with her. " Please, Allison don't do this, we're on the air." Mrs Fenton turned in the aisle and pulled a 9 mm gun out of her pink purse," I was going to wait till we got home, but since you love the cameras so much, Dickie." Lucas stood up in a spirit of reconciliation," C' mon, Allison, don't shoot the man over a little Lolita complex." " I should shoot you for starting this whole nonsense." Lucas ducked just before her gun fired and a red blotch spread over Fenton's right arm. Kane's opponent screamed and hid behind the dias. As Samantha clutched frantically at her side, Allison pushed her away. " Don't grab at me, dear, you'll spoil mamma's aim." From the back of the theatre Ben ran towards Mrs Fenton. " Honey, you can't mean it." Fenton cried, holding his bleeding arm and struggling towards his wife, her hair flying away from its careful grooming like the locks of a medusa. " Of course I mean it," Allison said, deftly avoiding Ben who at least was able to shove her daughter out of the line of fire. "It's on TV, it's got to be real, doesn't it, Dick?" She shot once, twice, three times at her husband again. " TV's the only real thing left." The gun emptied into Fenton's quivering body and blood exploded all over the stage. --------- As the camera slowly panned across the blood spattered posters and bunting, Kane beamed appreciatively," Well, that certainly is one way to win an election." Ben led away an icy calm Allison Fenton, blood dripping off his shoulders, dark red glints marking even the silver cuffs around her wrists. Samantha, her white dress smeared with crimson, knelt weeping by her father's cloth shrouded body. Cameramen hastily rubbed the bloodstains off their lenses to get one more gruesome shot. Lucas and Kane approached each other through the gore but untouched by it, crisp black and pearly grey meeting on a field of red. "I want to invite you to my victory party tomorrow night." Kane said," We can celebrate together." "Sorry. I' ve made other plans." "Really? You' ll miss meeting the woman of my dreams. The future Mrs. Kane. But, of course you've already met." He waved his arm towards Selena, delicately picking her high-heeled way through the carnage in a bright tight yellow dress. "Oh, she's perfect." Selena glanced briefly backstage and glared at Kane. "Do you have to put all our business out on the street." She walked closer and closer to Lucas, wrapped her arm around his collar and whispered in his ear, "Honey, you've got a little bit of blood on you." And sure enough, there was one small speck of red on Lucas's shirt front, no bigger than a match head. "It's not like you to be this careless." Over Selena's shoulder, Buck could see Gail staring at him from the wings, standing on crutches next to a poster of Night of the Living Dead. ------- **DISCLAIMER: Any story/episode appearing that states it is part of Virtual AG-Season Two- is based upon the Television show, "American Gothic",which is the property of Shaun Cassidy, Renaissance Productions,and CBS (apparently)... The characters added to support this concept, and the storylines, are the property of the writers acknowledged as such. PLEASE, DON'T SUE US!! ******************