An essay by James Dultry, as provided by Franz Bidinger III
Illustration by Luke Spooner
The newspapers called it Colombian Devil’s Breath. The scientists, Scopolamine. I call it the drug that ruined our country.
This isn’t a morality tale about the war on drugs or some sad story about how addiction destroyed our youth. This is my recollection of how the world’s paramount superpower was turned into a nuclear wasteland because of a little white powder.
I was working as a bodyguard for the Vice President of the United States. The job description stated that my life was not as important as this man who wouldn’t even look me in the eyes. It’s doubtful he even knew my name as anything other than bodyguard number one or two. But shit, it was hard for me to complain. Lofty benefits and a bloated salary to maybe take a bullet for a man no one cared about enough to shoot at? I figured that my long stint with the special forces would prepare me for any danger surrounding Mr. Vice President.
I followed the guy everywhere. The five other bodyguards and I all had sleeping cots at his estates and we accompanied him to whichever country he was sent to brownnose in. Before we were sent anywhere though, the CIA briefed us at the Pentagon, explaining every possible threat we might find and how to adequately protect the Vice President. Half of it was always paranoid horseshit and half the time they missed a real threat. Nonetheless, we figured Colombia would just be another quick in and out featuring black coffee and beautiful women. And it was. But that was when the government should have known that some very messy shit was brewing.
The video showed the three of them walk out of the room while the rest of us just stared. I couldn’t help thinking back to that day in Bogota.
To read the rest of this story, check out the Mad Scientist Journal: Winter 2013 collection.
James Dultry is an ex-special forces officer who spent ten years as a bodyguard for high profile individuals. He played his part in allowing the world to turn to shit and he’ll never let himself off the proverbial hook for losing the Vice President. He currently resides in a government regulated radiation bunker at a location that’s still classified.
Franz Bidinger III is not as foreign as his name might suggest. He enjoys fly-fishing, hockey, and bourbon-laced evenings discussing philosophy and other impractical matters.
Luke Spooner a.k.a. ‘Carrion House’ currently lives and works in the South of England. Having recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a first class degree he is now a full time illustrator for just about any project that peaks his interest. Despite regular forays into children’s books and fairy tales his true love lies in anything macabre, melancholy or dark in nature and essence. He believes that the job of putting someone else’s words into a visual form, to accompany and support their text, is a massive responsibility as well as being something he truly treasures. You can visit his web site at www.carrionhouse.com
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