Free Black Beans & Vice by J. B. Stanley Page B

so I'm not in uniform. We'd
planned on a girls' day out, but I've got my badge and my gun, so
I'll handle the situation, James. Just hold the fort until I get there."
    Returning to the picnic table where Jane and Eliot waited,
James hastily told his ex-wife what was going on.

    "We didn't see any protestors on the way in," she stated, perplexed.
    James put a hand on his son's shoulder. "They're here now. I
think you two should stay put until I check things out."
    Perfectly composed, Jane nodded. "No problem. We'll work on
the `Healthy Kids' activity book the smoothie lady gave us."
    Thankful for her composure, James marched toward the entrance. The closer he got to the map of the Wellness Village, the
more the sounds of loud chanting assaulted his ears. When the
protestors came into view, James was unsurprised to find Gillian
among them. She was busily writing a check while Bennett shifted
uncomfortably beside her.
    James took a brief glance at the posters being brandished by
the picketers. They read, "Meat Is Murder," "Be Human, Not Inhumane," "Help Animals. Don't Be One," and "Live and Let Live."
    "ANIMALS HAVE SOULS TOO!" A young woman screamed,
her face red with exertion. "DOMINION DOES NOT MEAN
DOMINATION!" She pointed a finger at an old man trying to
scuttle past her toward the parking lot.
    None of the other demonstrators seemed to possess this woman's fervor. With brown, spiky hair, and ears pierced by rows of silver hoops in ascending sizes, she appeared to be the group's leader.
James took in her shapeless beige dress and gaunt arms and then
his eyes were drawn from her person to her poster. It portrayed a
headless chicken spouting blood from its neck as it ran around in
an aimless, pathetic circle.
    James felt anger rise within him. "That's a bit graphic for little
kids to look at, don't you think?" he asked the woman when she
paused to draw in a fresh breath.

    Her dark eyes crackled with intensity. "And what about the
graphic murders humans commit every second? Of helpless animals! It happens right here in Shenandoah County!"
    Before James could reply, a cluster of teenage boys materialized in front of the protestors. They carried takeout bags from
Dolly's Diner and wore smug grins. Sitting on the ground, they
unwrapped bacon double cheeseburgers with deliberate slowness,
waved the food around, and shouted, "Carnivores Rock! Carnivores Rock!" before sinking their teeth into the thick burgers.
    Spurred by the teenagers, other members of the community
now felt free to trade insults with the protestors. Both sides were
egged on by the female leader and emotions were fraying. The
young woman was undaunted. She got right in people's faces,
shouting and spitting as she described slaughterhouse practices
in the most explicit terms. At one point, a pregnant woman who
had paused to gawk suddenly dashed off, her hand on her swelled
stomach. Concerned, James followed her and saw her doubledover behind the bushes lining the parking lot. Afterward, she
straightened, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and fled.
    Bennett, who had joined James as he moved to watch over the
pregnant woman, shook his head. "Hope she's all right."
    "Where is Lucy?" James looked around for his friend's jeep.
    "I don't know, but she needs to fire a gun in the air when she
gets here." Bennett looked miserable. "Gillian used to be one of
these people. Man, I know where they're comin' from, but this is
not the way to change things. And how am I going to get Gillian
outta here before folks start throwin' punches?"

    James didn't have an answer. Gillian was as passionate about
animal rights as the rest of the demonstrators, but she preferred to
champion the cause in a more behind-the-scenes manner.
    At that moment, Ned Woodman emerged from the crowd
heading into the Village. He looked as frantic as Roslyn had earlier,
but James blocked the councilman's exit. Pointing at the increasingly hostile throng, he said, "Ned! Can