Master of Plagues, D. B. Reynolds [best books to read fiction .txt] 📗

that bounced around inside Stuart’s brain. He nodded his head and just drove off. A drive down 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue took him through a journey in time since parades, processions, and protest marches made history near there.
The commuter route took him over to the United States Capitol. The group of congressmen, senators, governors, and other politicians proudly walked atop Capitol Hill near the eastern end of the National Mall. Stuart took a moment to dissect through their cunning smiles and expensive suits. Demeanors of deceit and greed explained the manner in which they walked and whispered over to one another. Growing up, his father, Harold Duffelmeyer, told him how some of the biggest crimes in U.S. history were committed right up there on Capitol Hill.
Harold taught his son that if you wanted to find a criminal without a criminal record, then search around the steps and hallways and byways of Capitol Hill. Stuart cruised on past the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Smithsonian Museum, Washington Monument, Supreme Court of the United States, and the National World War II Memorial. But, it wasn’t until he came to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Raoul Wallenberg Place SW, that he’d been hit with strong inclinations about his ancestors who suffered during the Holocaust of World War II.
Stuart’s grandfather, Baron Duffelmeyer, confronted hatred, faced genocide, promoted human dignity, and strengthened democracy amongst his people. A huge spiritual configuration of Rabbi Wedemeyer’s face toppled a commanding glow around the roof of the Holocaust Museum. Stuart hadn’t expected to see the spirit of the Rabbi until he returned to New York.
“Rabbi Wedemeyer?” Stuart spoke with amazement, staring at the very top of the building.
“Didn’t I tell you that we’d see one another again before you left Washington, D.C.”
“You did.”
“Stuart, my son,” Rabbi Wedemeyer said, his spiritual voice carrying strong vibrations. “As a young man of Jewish Holocaust survivors, you are indebted to your ancestors to visit inside the museum.”
“Yes, you are correct, Rabbi Wedemeyer. My grandfather, Baron Duffelmeyer, and his family, survived the attacks of the Nazi Germans. Before I embark upon my journey outside Washington, D.C., I will visit inside the museum.”
“Well done, my son. My ancestors, too, were brutalized by the Nazis.”
The glowing spirit of Rabbi Wedemeyer dissolved into the partly cloudy skies of Washington, D.C. Stuart purchased a ticket and went inside for an experience of a lifetime. Experiencing it in person was captivating beyond words. He strolled through the museum looking at images and wartime films of how Nazi Germany caused such devastation to the beloved Jewish people. Clothes worn inside the brutal concentration camps were hung on display. Numerous exhibits showing the Nazi assaults caused Stuart to shed some light tears for his people.
Torahs that were desecrated were enclosed inside glass cases. Newspapers from around the United States were also on display to show the terror the Nazis spread throughout Europe. The ovens where bodies were burned were proof how brutal the Jewish people were treated. Stuart walked up and placed a flat hand on one of the ovens. To think how one of his very ancestors could’ve been burned inside one of the ovens brought more tears to his eyes.
Stuart lit a candle before leaving to memorialize all the Jews who tragically lost their lives. He rushed out of the museum and jumped back inside the convertible Lexus.
At a time when traffic wasn’t too bad, he used Interstate 95 to drive out of the Washington, D.C. city limits. In just over four hours, the Lexus ate up enough highway miles to make it to Durham, North Carolina. The trip couldn’t’ve been sweeter since the rented car got good gas mileage and certain radio stations accompanied him with pleasant music. Stuart stopped at a convenience store in Durham to fill up and coat his stomach with a warm meal.
After several more miles of driving through North Carolina, he ended up in the uninhabited barrier section of Portsmouth Island. He finally made it to the southwest-to-northeast part of the North Carolina shore. How sweet it was to be standing alone at the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound.
Breezes blowing off the ocean bathed his face with mists of cool Atlantic water. The Ocracoke Inlet was the precise location Stuart wanted to be. Before making any moves, he heard the cranking noises of hard wood from out on the ocean. Cargo vessels from the Eighteenth Century appeared from out of nowhere. The ghosts of captains and their faithful seamen sailed towards the abandoned port of entry. The giant vessel charged right into banks to where Stuart hadn’t moved.
“Aren’t you guys from post-Revolutionary America?” Stuart inquired from the ghost of the captain.
“Aye, mate, that we are,” replied the spiritual make up of the captain.
“This port hasn’t been active for almost three centuries. What do you and your shipmates want here?”
“Mate, we needed somewhere to haunt.”
“So, you chose Portsmouth Island?”
“Listen mate, when we were in the human flesh like you, this was one of the biggest port of entries along the Atlantic Coast.”
“What happened?”
“Hurricanes messed up our shipping traffic.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Well, there’s nothing better for us to do than haunt this port.”
“Can you tell me something?”
“Anything for you, mate.”
“When’s the next hurricane coming through?”
“One should be coming through rather shortly.”
“How soon is rather shortly?”
“Be patient, you’ll see.”
Stuart smiled at the captain before his vessel disappeared within a matter of seconds. The ghosts of people from the past weren’t a figment of his imagination. The characters from the spiritual world were gone and it was time to get down to business. Stuart pulled the magical talisman from underneath his T-shirt.
He closed his eyes and rubbed the magical Hebrew letters on the talisman. The skies above the Atlantic Ocean parted and the clouds darkened. Towering waves out on the Atlantic roared and pounded around the coast of Portsmouth Island. Winds in excess of over two-hundred miles an hour blew all around Stuart.
Warm ocean air and warm ocean water mixed together and created the essential ingredients of a mammoth hurricane. Thunderstorms along the west coast of Africa converged with the warm ocean waters near Portsmouth. The ravages of a huge hurricane swept Stuart off the ground.
The vapors of warm water and cool air caused him to feel the effects. Spiraling wind patterns had him fighting to breathe normal. The forces of nature were no joke. Stuart knew the respect it commanded. The center of the hurricane formed a swirling around it like a drain. An opening like an eye told him they were in harmony with one another. Immediately, Stuart and the hurricane sent telepathic messages back and forth to one another. The behemoth winds and vapor pressure calmed down. The lines of communication were now open.
Stuart swallowed some of the fine mists from the Atlantic hurricane. “From this day forward, you will be addressed as Colonel Boaz. The Hebrew word ‘Boaz’ means swift and strong. With the Universal powers invested in you, you will be swift and strong to rescue those in need. Do you understand your new name?”
“Yes, master, I understand my new name.”
“Colonel Boaz, your powers have been fully-activated. Welcome to the fantastic family of Stuart Irwin Duffelmeyer.”
“Thank you, master.”
Colonel Boaz loosened its grip and gently placed Stuart back on the grounds of Portsmouth Island. The strong winds and condensation of the latent heat subsided. The belligerent waves from the Atlantic Ocean resumed to normal. The skies closed up while the clouds brightened. Surroundings at Portsmouth Island looked no different. Stuart wiped some of the ocean mist from his face and sped off in the Lexus convertible.


CHAPTER—43

HARD HITTING HURRICANE

Many residents living in the Washington, D.C. area have always said that where you lived in the city said a lot about who you were. John O’Connor and his wife Susan were some of the first ones to make a statement by moving into The Dumont condominiums over on Fourth and Massachusetts Avenue. Incomparable elegance and first-class amenities were the sophistications they enjoyed from their hard-earned success.
John met Susan while both were doing internships at Children’s National Medical Center there in Washington. Since graduating from NYU’s School of Medicine for Pediatric Cardiology, he sought opportunities in the nation’s capital. Susan graduated from Boston University’s School of Medicine and also decided to head to Washington to pursue her career as a pediatrician.
During their tenure as hospital residents, they dated and would soon fall in love. Their love for one another fueled the passion to become engaged. The engagement soon led to marriage. Two sons, four year old John O’Connor, Jr., and three year old James O’Connor, became additions to their family. John got exactly what he wanted. Two sons were always his dream, every since he was a little boy himself growing up on the upper east side of Manhattan. John and Susan felt their lives were complete with their family and careers.
Their boys were happy to have the rooftop pool with sweeping views of the DC monuments. Playing with other kids who resided at The Dumont brought joy to their parents. If their kids were happy, they were happy. John and Susan enjoyed retreats with their boys around the beautifully landscaped courtyard.
The sanctuary of nature brought them moments of peace to read a novel or enjoy the greenery of the flowers. When John Jr. and James were attended to by the nanny, the O’Connors snuck away to work out with the premium cardio equipment of the twenty-four hour fitness center.
John loved living only blocks away from the Capitol. Susan was delighted to live in the indulgence of the most powerful address on the triangle. John and Susan took on the daunting task of being a part of an internationally recognized team of pediatric healthcare professionals. Their team cared for more than 360,000 patients each year. Fifty million dollars in uncompensated care was provided by Children’s National Medical Center.
John proved his worth by becoming one of the top cardiac physicians in the Children’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Dually board certified in pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care medicine, the life of an infant was in the hands of him and his surgical staff. Inside the operating room, the doctors and nurses