Free The Sunshine Dame of Doom by Marcos Fizzotti Page B

waste.”
    “Look, we are not lambs in here, mister!” Raul angrily spoke. “We know everything about civil rights! And we tried to make them count. But you got to listen to me! You still don’t know what they are capable of. Consequences can be really disastrous.”
    “And who are they?” Hector queried.
    “Powers that be, our bosses…”
    “What happened if we refuse to work?” Vince asked.
     
    “Then you die, or worse.”
     
    Hector and Vince turned around to find the owner of that new, deep voice. They found an old black man, with white hair surrounding a protruding bald head, also with a thick white beard. He spun on his chair to face the newcomers.
     
    “This is Marcellus Malthus, our senior technician.” Raul introduced the man.
    “He’s been here since forever, even when the world was not so crappy.” Pedro complemented the information.
    “And I saw my share of things.” Marcellus said with a deep, low voice.
     
    He lowered his thick white eyebrows, reached into his shirt pocket and took a picture. He handed it to the brothers and Hector was the one to take it.
     
    “Wow, she’s pretty!” Vince said, gazing at the gorgeous, elegant black lady in the photo.
    “Indeed.” Hector agreed.
     
    They gave back the picture.
     
    “Thanks.” Marcellus spoke. “It’s my daughter Michelle. She was just like you, brave and determined, the pride of every father. And I was proud of her.”
     
    He took a deep breath and continued.
     
    “She also couldn’t take the injustices of this cruel new world and she gathered around other folks who shared her views. They believed they could make the difference and we all believed them. And they did a good rebellion job, even managed to escape this place. But they came back.”
    “Dead?” Hector risked the question.
    “Changed” Marcellus shook his head.
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “That girl who came back looked exactly like my daughter, only it was no longer her. She was too soft, adapted, accommodated, nothing like her.”
    “Are you saying they sent back somebody else pretending to be your daughter?” Vince asked.
    “I’m telling you they sent my daughter back but she wasn’t herself. I know my Michelle and that wasn’t my baby. They did something to her, something to her mind. And the other rebels who helped her came back the same way.”
    “You’re talking like they were brainwashed or something.” Vincent spoke.
    “I’m not saying anything. All I know is whatever voodoo they did to her was very powerful. After that, some men in suits came here, pointing guns to keep us quiet. They took everybody in this sector to the big courtyard outside, something they never did. We knew they were up to no good.”
     
    He lowered his eyebrows again and choked.
     
    “They made us stood in formation.” Marcellus proceeded. “And they made the rebels stood in formation right in front of us, including my daughter, facing us. Then they all pointed loaded guns right to their own heads… their faces sweet like cotton…” His hands started to shake and tears welled up in his eyes. “They pulled the trigger!” Marcellus burst into tears. “My baby, my Michelle… blew her head off! That wasn’t her, she would never… God, my Michelle! They wanted us to see! They wanted me to see it! Please, God, let me die!”
     
    Pedro and Raul ran to comfort the old man, placing sympathetic hands on his shoulder.
     
    “It’s hopeless, can’t you see?” Marcellus continued to cry. “We can’t beat them! They own us!”
     
    Hector and Vince looked shocked at the devastated old man.
     
    “Damn, Hec! How come people just shoot their own heads like that?”
     
    “They have powers.” A short, skinny woman spun her chair from her station to face the brothers. She surely didn’t belong in there as well.
    “Powers?” Hector frowned.
    “I heard stories.” The woman continued. “Somehow, they enter your mind and control your will. They force you to do