Episode 6

A Message Received... Brutal, Punishing Assault... Crucial Meeting Set... 

Voice Actors: Molly Lynch, David Beach, Tara Kempton, CJ Cinco, Joe Valdes, Sam McMorris, Melissa Jones, and Conner Her. 

Written, Narrated, and Produced by Mark Johnston
www.constellationaudio.biz 

Photo Credit: Seth Steward 

Music by Mark Johnston

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:18

Constellation Audio probably presents Breedy by Mark Johnston.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

We have an update to bring you in the Dioptace mystery painting story from this morning. A new mosaic message from the cryptic creator himself posted just minutes ago that reads, quote, to my framed art fan, always remember to look inside the art. End quote. We here at Channel 7 are still trying to make sense of this unusual note. A post with only language and no photo is rare for the anonymous artist known as Dioptees. I'm joined now via video conference by well-known art collector and charcoal city businessman Jerome Harrelson. Mr. Harrelson, what do you make of this new development and what has been a fascinating story so far?

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Well, I find the artist to be utterly intriguing, and I have been a fan of their work for some time now. I do admire their unconventional methods, and as an art lover myself, I hate to see great works perish without proper admiration. Although I respect that the artist has something profound to say. In regards to this message, clearly intended for the keen eye procurer of a magnificent piece, I would say that the artist is giving sound advice. Whether the message is intended as figurative or maybe even literal, one should always ponder every subtle detail of great art. I find that it always has more to give, which is why, in this special case, it is an extraordinary gift to the world that there is an intact work from Dioptes that can be studied and admired. We have a photo of it on the internet, yes, but being in the presence of the actual painting is something else entirely. The possessor of said painting should be, I would say, quite content in that they are one of the few to behold such beauty.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Are you saying so that you would be compelled to make a bid for the piece? We already have reports of other interested parties.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I would throw my hat in the ring, yes. This is one of the most unique and extraordinary circumstances that I can recall surrounding an artwork. Something tells me that it has a bigger role yet to play, and I would be honored to be a stop along its journey, even if just to admire it momentarily.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Thank you, Mr. Harrelson, for joining us. Next, we have reports of delayed highway construction on Interstate 33 due to unusual sabotage of machinery.

SPEAKER_04 3:52

Coral nearly drops her leftover spicy tuna roll from her chopsticks. Her hand had frozen mid-journey from the to-go box to her mouth when the report blazed onto the TV in her apartment. She takes the bite, drops the utensils, and quickly reaches for her phone to see the post for herself. After a few seconds of navigating, she stares at the enigmatic message from Dioptase.

SPEAKER_08 4:17

Look inside the art. Clearly it's intended for me, but what the hell does it mean?

SPEAKER_04 4:23

Coral walks across the room and picks up the painting.

SPEAKER_08 4:27

Look inside the art. What the hell? Wait, what was it that nice old man said on the news about figurative and literal?

SPEAKER_04 4:36

She turns the frame over in her hands to look at the back. She notices that there is a paper backing across the entire rear of the painting. Could it be? She considers for a moment due to the value of the piece, grabbing her Xacto knife to make a precise cut. Then decides otherwise. With an eagerness, she rips the paper backing right off of the frame like a child on Christmas morning. What lies underneath pulls her jaw open to the floor. Directly on the back of the canvas lies the famous Dioptase signature. Not a scribbled autograph, but a blue-green tetragonal prism intended to emulate the magnificent mineral from which the creator's name is derived. As beautiful and shocking as the discovery of the prism is, there's something furthermore breathtaking directly below it. Also painted right onto the back of the canvas is a seven-digit number with a dash in the middle. A phone number. It hasn't moved from its resting place since the day of its purchase. A notification on that device can only mean one thing. The buyer has found the hidden number. He gets up from his mat, walks over to the shelf, and flips open the phone to find a one-word text message. Hello. He wonders for a moment why they decided to text instead of call, then decides he would probably do the same under the circumstances. He writes back, Would you like to meet? Then waits an unusually long time for a response. When it arrives, it simply reads, Yes. Christian then sends a succinct directive for the recipient to follow. Alabaster Street Park, third bench east of Fountain, 9 p.m. Come alone, dress in white. After 30 seconds, the unknown individual responds with a simple okay. Christian closes the phone and throws on his hoodie. This should be interesting. Lawrence and Colette exit their glossy dark escalade and walk through the mostly empty parking lot to the front entrance of Funland, a mini golf, arcade, and batting cage complex on the outskirts of Charcoal City. It is one of several local businesses used by the family to launder CD cash flows.

SPEAKER_10 7:51

Okay, Larry, we're just gonna take a look at his books. I'm not expecting to be impressed, so we may have to help him find some motivation. But please don't get carried away. He just needs a little encouragement.

SPEAKER_04 8:29

Coral stroll down the lamp-lit street in her mostly white Judo City trials sweatshirt. It was several years old and the only white garment to be found in her modest but colorful closet. Alabaster Park was still another six blocks away since she took the long route in order to stop at Jem's place beforehand. After deliberation, she decided it was smart to let someone know where she was going, and more importantly, who she was going to meet. Jem lived in a substreet-level studio apartment below a quaint three-story civil law firm. Once reaching the familiar building, Coral skips down the single flight of stairs from the sidewalk and knocks on the door. Jem opens up and immediately gives Coral a long, sturdy hug.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Oh my god, that was so scary today in the subway. I turned around and you weren't on the train. Thank God you're okay.

SPEAKER_08 9:24

I know. I definitely got my cardio in for the week. Here's to hoping those weirdos lose our trail. They wanted the painting. I think someone overheard us at the pub.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

I'm so sorry if I put you on blast. I know better than that. I was just excited.

SPEAKER_08 9:40

It's all good. I don't think we gave them any more information. Did you see the mosaic post?

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Yeah, what the heck was it all about? Some hidden meaning in the image?

SPEAKER_08 9:50

More like a hidden message behind the frame. I found a phone number. Did you call in it? I sent a text. I was too nervous to call. I'm meeting them in like 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Holy hell. You're meeting Dioptes? The Dioptes? Tonight?

SPEAKER_08 10:08

Yeah. In Alabaster Park.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Well, I have to come. Can I come? Do you want me to be there?

SPEAKER_08 10:16

I would love for you to be there. But they told me to come alone.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Damn. That is crazy. I can't believe that my best friend gets to meet the most mysterious artist on the planet. What a day.

SPEAKER_08 10:28

Just keep it to yourself for now. I'll fill you in later.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

For sure. Let's meet up tomorrow. I have a theory that I'm trying to track down. I'll have more info later.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Twenty minutes after closing time, inside the Funland manager's office, Colette examines the paper balance sheets carefully. Sitting across the desk from her is Ramon, the man in charge of this sad, dilapidated, dwindling excuse for a children's business. Lawrence is slowly walking circles around the perimeter of the room. Ramon is visibly shaken by the giant's looming presence.

SPEAKER_10 11:20

This isn't gonna cut it, Ramon. These numbers are pathetic. We need you to generate more legitimate business so that we can wash more cash through here without raising suspicion.

SPEAKER_03 11:30

I'm doing the best I can. This economy isn't doing us any favors. Plus, I'm moonlighting on the highway reconstruction project right now. I haven't slept in weeks. I'm sorry. Aren't there any other shops you can use?

SPEAKER_04 11:44

On his current lap around the space, Lawrence stops at the office door, leans out, and re-enters with an aluminum batting cage bat.

SPEAKER_10 11:54

Of course. We have many, many more, Ramon. You are just a tiny cog and a giant network, but that doesn't let you off the hook. We need this establishment to pull it away.

SPEAKER_04 12:06

Lawrence interrupts his sister's sentence by smashing the bat directly into Ramon's shoulder, sending the man to the ground in sheer pain. He then pulls the victim up by the collar and lands three fast jabs square in the face before dropping him back down, leaving him unconscious and bloody.

SPEAKER_10 12:27

Larry! What the fuck? Did you kill him?

SPEAKER_04 12:31

He's still breathing. No point in wasting our time talking. He gets it. Let's bounce. We've got better places to be. Colette lights a cigarette with trembling hands. Jesus Christ. The streets are typically quiet at night in this part of town. A few cars drive by, and an occasional song is heard out of a high building window. As she gets closer to Alabaster Street, there are more dog walkers and evening joggers emerging along the quaint residential block to take in the cool dusk breeze. Most of the city's nightlife surges throughout the fuchsia district, two or three burrows away, leaving this peaceful pocket of Charcoal City to calmly dwindle into the late evening hours. Coral crosses the street and enters the park. She sees the central fountain ahead and makes her way toward it.

SPEAKER_09 13:56

This is crazy. This is crazy. This is crazy.

SPEAKER_04 14:00

When she gets to the fountain, Coral sees a handful of benches surrounding the water feature and four paths stemming out in equal directions. She knows that this park is oriented with the city's grid, and that since she entered from the south, the path to her right would have to be the eastward way. The lamplit park is not entirely empty. About a quarter of the benches hold quiet conversationalists or laughing lovers, and a steady stream of pedestrians with pets continue on past the cascading calm of the watery garden centerpiece. Coral heads right, walks beyond the first two benches, and says a silent, thankful prayer that the third is currently unoccupied. Upon taking a seat, Coral is immediately bewildered by her position.

SPEAKER_08 14:47

They must be watching me right now. How should I sit? What do I do with my hands?

SPEAKER_04 14:53

Ultimately, she decides to sit straight on the end of the bench, hands placed inside the front pocket of her sweatshirt. She waits patiently, breathing as calmly as she can. After a lengthy 60 seconds, a young man approaches and hands her a note, then walks away down the eastern path.

SPEAKER_08 15:12

Was that him? He couldn't have been more than 15 years old. What the hell?

SPEAKER_04 15:18

Coral opens the folded note and finds a$10 bill betwixt a handwritten message. It instructs her to head to the northeast corner of the park, order a drink, and take an outer seat at the Seafoam Bistro. Coral sighs, then reluctantly gets up and makes her way to the modified rendezvous. As she wanders into the upper portion of the park, the outdoor bistro slowly comes into view. Rather than a restaurant, it's actually just a small hedge-framed beverage kiosk serving beer, wine, and warm drinks, surrounded by flimsy foldable tables with chairs. There is no line at the order window, and there are only three or four patrons scattered throughout the dimly lit lounge area. Coral walks right up and orders a gray tea latte.

SPEAKER_07 16:05

Hi, can I?

SPEAKER_04 16:05

Then takes her cup to the furthest table she can find. At that post, she patiently waits for both her tea to cool and for her guest to finally arrive. Atop a medium-sized structure on the edge of Alabaster Park, Christian is perched with his pocket binoculars, waiting for his mystery meetup to appear within view. Right on time, he spots a likely candidate walking past the fountain and down the eastward path. The figure is wearing a mostly white-hooded sweatshirt with a few graphics and lettering printed on. Even in the dark, he can tell from the shape that it is a woman. Her dark hair is tied up, revealing a stunningly balanced neck tattoo that curves delicately up to the bottom of her ear. He watches as she nervously takes a seat on the correct bench.

SPEAKER_05 17:02

This must be it. Christian squints to try and get a better look. Is that? It looks like one of the girls from the elevator this morning. I can't be sure which, but that would explain what they were doing there. I just hope they haven't made a deal with my dad yet.

SPEAKER_04 17:17

Just as he was told, young Titus delivers the message and carries on without a word. Christian had stopped back by the guitar shop earlier in the day and found the eager learner returned to his stool, hammering away on his scales and chords. After a brief chat, Christian had recruited the lad for an assignment, and even learned of a few hidden talents that may come in handy. With the promise of a couple musical purchases, the teen was ecstatic to come on board. Christian wouldn't divulge everything to the boy just yet, but it was nice to have an ambitious apprentice under his wing. When the woman got up to find her next location, Christian scanned the area around the fountain for a solid three minutes. Once certain that there was no one moving to tail her, he was satisfied that she had followed instructions and come without company. Christian puts the viewfinder away and begins his descent off the building. Here we go.

SPEAKER_05 18:35

Sam McMorris, Joe Valdez, Connor Hur, and Melissa Jones.