As Johnny finally reached the white tent that the woman went
into the people began approaching him asking him if he was a disciple of
Tatiana and trying to clutch onto his robes as he passed through them towards
the woman. She disappeared through
a curtained passageway and Johnny followed her through. He was glad when he was
away from those people especially since so many of them seemed diseased, sick
or dying. He didn’t want to catch anything and was repulsed by the site of
them. When he finally reached the woman she was behind a group with sateen blue
suits and dresses that looked like they were selling cars and not religion and
ahead of them was a group of black suites and dresses that looked like they
were prepared for a funeral.
The woman spoke quickly noticing him coming up just before
he reached her “ Great you made it! Now listen all you have to do is bring the
people that will be the line to the left side of the tent forward to me. If you
say anything say “Praise Jesus” or Halleluiah brother or sister whichever the
case may be. If they need to be wheeled up just wheel them up if they need to
be supported physically with your arms then do it. Just try to get them to me
quickly we want to get through as many people as we can in our time slot.” Johnny
noticed the woman holding a large white silky bag with a red cross dripping
down the center in the same motif as the robes she was wearing. He decided not
to ask any questions as the woman seemed focused and distracted on the room
surveying it and his role was simple enough. He didn’t really want to touch
anyone not even their dirty wheelchairs but he would do it. Johnny further
considered as he stood there waiting that he should find a place to wash his
hands so when it was over he could hurry over and get the germs off.
Once the woman was front and center in the staging area Johnny
was amazed on how much cash these people were putting in the woman’s silky bag
and it quickly made him ease about his repulsion for them but he still reminded
himself that he could wash his hands so he could continue to the end. People
were just handing it over to her stuffing it into that bag while she did some
mumbo jumbo chant on top of their heads. She called it a blessing to take out
the demons inside the person who were causing their disease or illness or even
killing them. But she protected herself from instant scrutiny saying that those
that weren’t cured God wanted it that way and the time she said it took to
realize results of her blessing was delayed because the demon poison after
removal would have to be first excreted naturally over a few days before they
were on their way back to good health. Johnny realized as she spoke to the
crowd that this was just enough time for them to spend a few more days in Palm
Springs before this scam would dictate it was time to leave.
Most of these people were so desperate they would believe
anything just to have a shot at escaping their disease, illness or death but
Johnny was still impressed with the woman’s finesse in this scam and how far
she had gotten in it even being at this event. But Johnny still had trouble
holding in his laughter while he carted each of them to the woman. He had to
shake his head to keep the laughter away while he praised Jesus and shouted out
a now and then Halleluiah.
The entire event in this tent was made up of different healing
acts and the woman was one of many acts.
Johnny thought it was a one-stop shop for stupid and though he saw the
humor in it he thought his role didn’t challenge his godly talents
sufficiently. He liked the old man scam much better and wanted to spend his
time working on the music industry scam rather then the religious one; but he
did appreciate that fat bag of cash of which he would get a cut. He also knew
that the old man scam was ongoing and became anxious to hear where that scam
was at after the woman’s meeting with the old man. Once the woman’s time was up
she went down the center of the tent through the people and Johnny followed
her. He couldn’t get close to her as people swarmed her asking for her help.
These were the people that time had run up for and couldn’t get the woman’s
blessing. The woman was writing her number on small white cards and quickly
handing them out to each of the people who begged her shamelessly as she
continued to walk towards exiting the tent. Johnny didn’t care about these
people and he agreed with the woman if they were stupid enough to hand it over
then let them. Once they were out
of the tent the crowd of people continued to surround the woman and Johnny
tired of the scene. He decided to take a walk through this religious event and
see what other activities were going on in the other tents.
As he wandered down the center aisle he could view what was
going on in each of the tents that made up this religious frenzy event. As he
walked through the sand he saw that some tents had people preaching on the
pulpit trying to reach religious riches. Other tents had people in circles with
bibles in their hands looking like they were doing some kind of group chant.
Still others were filled with religious items for sale from t-shirts to
crosses. No one else approached
Johnny and he was grateful because being in this scene made him feel ill. He needed another martini or some
cocaine so he headed out to find the woman so they could leave.
Eventually he came upon her near one of the departing buses
still handing out cards and still surrounded by people. Johnny wondered how the
woman would have any time for any other scam including their music industry
scam with all the cards she was handing out. He got frustrated as he thought he
would get more one on one time with the woman without Rooskie around. He became
even more frustrated because he knew he couldn’t talk to her about the old man.
He decided to get on the bus she was headed onto and eventually they returned
to the hotel. Johnny was dismayed to see the hotel bar had closed after they
arrived as his thirst had escalated; though his previous sexual appetite had
diminished. He checked the time
and knew he would not be able to get a drink anywhere tonight as all the bars
were now closed. He stayed impatiently lingering in the lounge waiting for the
woman to enter the lobby area and when she finally appeared and saw him she
waved him away still surrounded by people.
His level of feeling tired overcame Johnny’s frustration and
he decided not to take action against the woman for this tonight though his
mind circled thoughts to be violent with her for making him wait so long and
brushing him off. It had been a long
day of events and he wanted to rest and he decided that the woman would have to
spend time with him tomorrow as he knew the old man scam was in the works and
there must be something that needed to be done to have the money reel in. He
looked at her again as she was about to enter the elevator to the rooms and his
mind circled back to thoughts of violence but just as it happened Johnny saw
Rooskie appear and entered the elevator with the woman.
The next morning early, as Johnny heard someone tapping a
sword on stone he realized that was only his dream and the tapping was on his
hotel door. He struggled to awake as the tapping continued forcing his
obedience. He labored to get out of bed and walk to the door and when he got
there he heaved the door open and expecting to see the woman he saw Rooskie.
Rooskie pushed the door further open as he walked into the room the door then
slamming closed behind him. He pushed Johnny aside as he walked in saying “Tatiana
says we are leaving get ready and be at the van in 15 minutes.” Johnny was
getting tired of being ordered around and his fear of Rooskie was getting
replaced anger. As he walked out of the hotel towards the van he decided that the
woman better get a return for him on his scam with the old man sooner rather
than later or he would take his cut from last night and get away from the two
of them.
When he arrived at the van the woman and Rooskie were
already inside and the woman was dressed in yet a completely different outfit
then what he had seen her in before and this time looked like she just exited
the Kennedy compound wearing the clothes and shoes of Jackie Onassis. Rooskie
was wearing the same shirt he came to Palm Springs in and Johnny considered that
he never changed his clothes. Rooskie drove off as soon as Johnny closed the
van door and immediately the woman began talking about the old man looking
straight ahead onto the road as she did so.
She told Johnny that she had met with the old man and that
Johnny’s phone call worked perfectly. The old man was prepared to pay Johnny
$10,000 to keep Johnny quiet and make him go away and she told Johnny that she
helped the old man decide this. The woman was clearly enjoying herself telling
Johnny the good news gleefully adding how easy the old man was to roll. She said that she thought it worked so
well they could get even more payments then one from him and this $10,000 was
only the start with him.
At this news Johnny became very excited forgetting his
thoughts of violence and frustration and instead thinking about all that money
and knowing that the scam they were going to use to get him musical stardom
worked easily. He got even more excited as he dreamed of himself playing at
large concerts filled with hundreds of thousands of people as the van drove on
back towards Los Angeles.
