Scene 1: An elderly woman is bedridden, dying of cancer.  Her daughter, Amy, is at her bedside along with a male  neighbor, Rory.  The ladies talk, Rory stands back, watches, listens.

Scene 2: Amy's kitchen. Rory, at the kitchen table, eats a piece of homemade black raspberry pie.  The mother died a few weeks earlier.  Amy complains that her mother died due to lack of health care ... she blames her Congressional representative. Old Representative Krupt.  Rory: "He's having a town hall in 3 weeks ... why don't you give him a piece of your mind?" Amy: "I  might just do that!"

Scene 3:  Rory's basement ... looks like a university laboratory.  Electronic scale ... glassware ... fume hood ... controlled temperature, bacteria incubator ...  latex gloves ... very clean.  Chemicals ...  hundreds of bottles  labeled  "Fisher Scientific" ... solvents ... acetone ... DMSO ... smaller jars ... microencapsulated zinc phosphide?  Rory's wearing a filter mask ... at the fume hood.  He weighs ... mixes ... seals a small, wide mouth glass jar with his mixture.

Scene 4a:  The town hall meeting.  At least 100 people ... lots of talking.  A few people ask questions to the Rep.  ... one at a time.  The Rep. respectfully replies.  Amy stands ... identifies herself ...  and says, "My mother died  a month ago. She was a wonderful person.  She died because she couldn't afford to go to the hospital ... AND I BLAME YOU, REPRESENTATIVE !  The audience is STUNNED ... silent!  The Rep. almost sneers ... his aides talk to each other ... visibly amused.

Scene 4b.  The same time as the town hall meeting ... dark outside.  The home of  Rep. Krupt.  Lights are on in the house ... the wife and 2 small children are home.  A human figure walks up to the front door ... dead silent ... dips a paint brush into a  jar ... applies  liquid onto the door knob ... then does the same to the door handles of the family car.  He walks away into the night.

Scene 4c.  A week later.  Dark out ... same scene as 4b.  But this time the figure wipes the door knob ... and the family car door handles.  Steals away into the night.

Scene 5:  Two weeks later ... the Rep. is in a Congressional hearing. An aide approaches the Rep. from behind ... whispers something in his ear ... the Rep. bolts out of the room. The Rep. is screaming into his cell phone ... finally, "What hospital ... where are they? ... (pause) .... I'm coming home!"

Scenes 6: Hospital ... doctors ... nurses ... clerical staff.  The Rep. sweeps into the hospital ... entourage in tow.  The Rep. addresses one of the clerical staff behind a counter; "How's my family?  Who's taking care of them?  Who's in charge here?"  An exhausted staff member asks, "Who are you?" The Rep. explodes! "Who am I ?! I'll have you fired, that's who I am!  I'm Rep. Krupt!  Now how's my family?!"  A doctor walks up ... male ... lab coat ... stethoscope.  "Rep. Krupt ... I have some bad news ... we couldn't save your children  ... and your wife is in a coma.  We're doing all we can for her but she may not make it through the night." Focus on the Rep's. face ...  as he absorbs the knowledge that he's totally helpless ... his children are dead ...  and his wife?

Scene 7:  Amy's kitchen; she has a muted smile.  Rory is starting into a piece of pie. There's a local newspaper on the table.  Front page ... funeral arrangements for the Rep.'s family.  Amy: "Can you believe what happened to the Krupt family?"  Rory: "Looks like justice to me.   What's this?  Protest at the local Planned Parenthood?"  "Yeah, isn't that terrible ... as if those poor women don't have enough problems ... all that shouting ... cursing ... in the name of the Lord. Disgraceful."  "Yeah, disgraceful."

Scene 8:  Rory's parked near the protest across from Planned Parenthood.  Watches for 15 minutes.  Exits his car ... approaches the crowd from the rear ... blends in.  People are holding homemade signs ... shouting.  Rory approaches one of the male protesters ...  40ish.  "This is my first protest.  Is it always this loud?"  "Has to be ... have to stop the baby killers ... it's the work of the devil ... our preacher says so."  "What church do you attend?"  "It's just around the corner ... the sermon's in half an hour ... want to come? The Preacher is real fire-and-brimstone ... great person ... hates Planned Parenthood ... says it's the work of Satan."  "Thank you, I will attend. Can I see your sign?  I forgot to bring one."  "Sure.  It's not much ... my kid made it."  Rory studies it ... size, weight, materials. "When's your next protest?"  "Next week ... we try for every Sunday but some of us have family stuff to do."  "I'll bring a sign next week ... I'd like your opinion of it. "Sure." Big dumb smile.

Scene 9:  Inside the church.  The Preacher is working the crowd ... today's sermon: Satan's baby killers.  Always a favorite ... shows in the collection plate.  Rory ignores the sermon ...  looks over the details of the interior.  How people enter ... things that they touch.  He's looking for something ... watching what the Preacher touches.

Scene 10:  Outside the church. Rory: "I have a grieving friend I'm praying for.  Is the church open other than for Sunday sermon?"  "Sure.  That's the only time I see the Preacher, though ... collection plate and all.  It's open most of the time ... choir practices ... political get-togethers.  There's nothing to steal ... who'd want a huge cross or a used bible?" "Great, I'll bring my friend by some time ... and I'll see you next week with my sign."

Scene 11:  Rory's basement.  Big placard with a gory fetus, with the word "Killer!" in bright red. He puts a long, narrow piece of wood into an empty graduated cylinder ... then adds fluid to 2 inches from  of the top. Leaves it ... lights go out.

Scene 12: Following Sunday.  Protest at Planned Parenthood.  Rory is wearing thin leather gloves. He carefully takes his sign out of the back hatch of his old car. Approaches the crowd ... recognizes the protester from the previous week. Rory: "How do you like my sign?  I was concerned about the feel of it ... might be too heavy?" Protester: "Let me see."  Rory was careful to handle it only in the areas with duct tape ... the bottom tip and a small hand-hold in the middle. The protester just holds it anywhere along the wood. "Hey, this is nice.  Could you make one for me?"  "Show it to your friends ... maybe they'd like one too."  The crowd handles the sign, one by one.  Visible signs of approval ... the gory fetus is a winner.  Even some teenage kids are getting into it ...  yelling at the Planned Parenthood clients ... doing so with complete impunity ... what fun!  Rory finally retrieves his sign. Protester; "Looks like we could use at least 20 of these ... I'm sorry ... I didn't catch your name."  Rory: "My friends call me The Doctor."  "OK Doc, we'll see you next week." Rory exits the crowd, drives away.

Scene 13: Same day ... dark out.  Rory enters the church with a small bag.  Takes a seat at the back  ...  a choir group is practicing.  Twenty minutes later ... view from outside. The choir group exits the church ... lots of goodbyes. Twenty minutes later ... Rory exits.

Scene 14: Three weeks later.  Planned Parenthood.  No crowd this week ... just an older woman and a middle aged one.  Rory has the sign from the previous encounter ... approaches the older woman.  Rory: "Where is everyone ... sleeping in?"  The older woman looks very sheepish ... almost afraid.  "Haven't you heard?  Near thirty of us took ill and dropped DEAD!  The damnedest thing.  The hospitals can't explain it ... the police are useless.  Even that fellow from  the Feds ... from the what-is-it ... the EIS ... had it in big bright letters on his jacket  ... even he seemed lost.  He said it must be food poisoning ... the only thing that made sense ...they must have et from the same place ... maybe some fast food joint." Rory: "God, what a shame." "Speaking of God ... (she comes closer ...  secretive)  The Preacher dropped dead too." Rory; "The fire-and-brimstone guy?" "Yeah ... ain't that strange.  They say God works in mysterious ways, but why the Preacher?!" Rory: "Well, maybe God decided that those folks had done enough good work, and he called them home."  "You think?  But why wasn't I invited?  Why am I still here?  I ain't good enough for God?"  Rory stifles an urge to offer his sign.  "Well, God does work in mysterious ways.  Maybe he's still got something big for you to do."  "You think?"  Rory; to himself, but with no crowd  noise ... audible; "I need bigger prey."  "What'd you say?" "I said, we all need to pray."  "Oh, right"  Rory: "Gotta go."

Scene 15:  Amy's kitchen ... more pie.  Amy: "I heard a group of Planned Parenthood protesters took ill and died ... men, women, children  ...  along with their pastor.  Isn't that odd?" Rory; "God's retribution."  Amy thinks this response strange but doesn't respond. "Rory, what do you do for fun ... to entertain yourself?"  Oh .... I ....  I read comic books.  I have a huge childhood collection from the Silver Age ...  the earliest Fantastic Four ... the Avengers ... the Justice League of America ... I even have the Iron Man issue showing the origin of Hawkeye ... (Rory notices that Amy is just staring at him) ... along with the Black Widow."  "A man your age ... reading comic books?"  "I find them inspiring ... literature about people actually doing things ... doing the right things ...   Giant Man .... Hank Pym ... he was a biochemist.  That's the reason I became a ... (fades off)" "What?" "Oh nothing, just reminiscing."

NEXT TIME: Part II:  The EIS and The Country Club.
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Final note:  The recent death of the North Korean semi-big-wig Kim Jung Whatever is being attributed to VX nerve agent ... anybody with the right resources can make that stuff ...  any chem prof with a lab.  How many chem/biochem  profs are there across the U.S. ?  Here's an old saying I'm now inventing: "Don't piss off a biochemist.  He knows what makes life work and knows dozens of ways to make it stop working."   Ciao.