Page 22 - Just Deserts

The Decimator

Rod Deal had evidently just emerged from a battle of titanic
proportions: his clothes were rumpled and torn in an artistic fashion,
and his coiffure tumbled down like the ruins of Athens. He kicked
down a door, which splintered obligingly, and the camera tracked
him into a dark and oppressive room. The private eye ripped open a
set of heavy drapes, flooding the room with artificial light. Virtually
spot lit, a young boy sat bound and gagged in a straight-backed
wooden chair. It was the final scene of ‘Decimator I: Death-trap
Seduction.’
Rod Deal ripped the handkerchief from the lad’s mouth and
began untying the ropes. “Are you all right, Billy?” The Decimator
asked, his vocal cords barely managing to harmonize a note of
solicitude with the usual drawling snarl. Billy coughed and shook his
head convincingly. “Yes, sir. I just knew you’d find me. That’s how I
kept up my courage. Boy, you must have been in one heck of a
fight!” Cut to Sunderbar from the neck up, caught full-face with a
nimbus from the window’s backlight. “Well, young man,” said the
lightly battered hero, “when it’s a question of saving lives, I’m glad to
do whatever it takes.”
The video machine halted and Hathaway put on the lights. Keller
was stooping in front of the desk, gathering up the papers which had
dropped from his portfolio. “I’m sure you appreciate the impact of
that very dramatic scene. Altruism, physical courage, the rescue of
innocent youth. You can appear pro-child, and, by extension, pro-
family and pro-education, without making any kind of commitment
to politically treacherous programs. And the reference to a fight is
pure gold: the tag line for the commercial can tie right into the
election—the implication being that you are taking on your opponent
not for any selfish personal reasons, but because it had to be done to
save society.”
He appeared ready to launch into further flights of analysis, but
Hathaway interrupted. “Yes, we do get the point, Cyril. Now if you
would excuse yourself, Mr. Sunderbar and I have several details to
iron out.”
Keller looked at both men beseechingly, but found no response
other than stony silence. He picked up his papers and headed for the

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