15. Third Interlude: Even Ants May Dream
When Enoch Feldman Jr. was a very young man he had a very clear idea of what he wanted to be: He wanted to become the most respected and powerful Patriarch, ever. He had no doubts that, in time, he would become the Patriarch of his clan, since he had been born into the wealthiest, most talented family in the clan, and his forefathers had been all Patriarchs since the early Eighteen Hundreds.
But being a Patriarch by default wasn't enough for him. No, he wanted to be the foremost Patriarch in history. He had ambition, Enoch did. He became ruthless in his quest for power.
Soon enough, Enoch Feldman Senior saw fit to abdicate his charge as Patriarch of his clan and had his son assume the title. Junior had so much personal power and influence that no one protested having a youngish fortysomething as Patriarch of their clan. And whoever had any reservations against it was wise and prudent enough to never voice them, considering all the rumors… Although Enoch Feldman Jr. might have been a despot, he was a very able Patriarch, and his clan prospered under his leadership.
So, when a very unctuous and well-groomed man came calling, offering him riches and influence in exchange for really simple favors, he did not hesitate to accept them. The Slick Man (as Enoch thought of him) said he worked on behalf of a client who desired to remain anonymous, and that it was possible that they might never meet. His help would be needed unconditionally, but would be called upon seldom. Enoch was more than fine with that. After all, the first favors that were asked of him were very simple. How difficult was it to travel to Mexico and adopt two orphans? With enough bribes and a gaggle of lawyers by his side, it was accomplished in less time than it took to actually travel there and back from his hometown in San Marcos, Texas. How difficult was it to order his childless nephew (twice removed) to take the children in, and raise them as their own? All he had to do was to say the words, and his orders were obeyed. Small favors all, and his personal riches were ridiculously augmented by overwhelming gifts of monies and treasures. Also, whatever personal enemies were foolish enough to confront him, they sometimes disappeared, or were found horrendously murdered. The Slick Man would sometimes show up to inform Enoch that those persons would never bother him again, letting him know indirectly who was to be thanked for the intervention.
He probably felt somewhat uncomfortable when the Slick Man asked him to start training his newborn son Garret in Magick, as soon as possible, but he did as he was bid. Once again, there was a flood of gifts. Also, he felt perplexed when he was asked to facilitate the immigration of Adelaide Alecto's long-lost grandchildren to America, and to make sure that the Alecto family were reunited, but avoiding anyone finding out his involvement in it. He thought it might have garnered him a lot of influence to have Adelaide in his debt, but he did as he was told. However reluctant he felt at passing up the chance to become more influential, he wouldn't even think of alienating his benefactor, whoever he might be. At least the riches kept coming, more than ever.
But the two weirdest requests so far came within weeks of each other. Three months ago, the strangely ageless Slick Man showed up in Patriarch Feldman's house to instruct him to use all his influence and all his riches and to do whatever was necessary to install a new Theory of Magick teacher at the Blue School. He was given a docket with all the pertinent details and personal information of the new teacher. Although it was carefully prepared, and all the i's were dotted and all the t's were crossed, Enoch had enough experience in such things that he could tell it was all forgery: the driver's license, the social security number, the academic qualifications, the credit report, even the pictures, everything was fake. Besides, the teacher in question was entirely too young to fit the fabricated persona. Regardless, Patriarch Feldman once again did as instructed, and pressured, threatened, bribed, coerced, and even asked politely when was required, and managed to have "Professor Khaldi Benoni, Ph. D" installed at the Blue School.
No treasures were forthcoming this time around, but the Slick Man showed up to deliver a note. In a very expensive, hand-crafted paper, written in a spidery and old-fashined hand, the folded note simply said, "Thank you." The Slick Man seemed impressed by this, and said that "he," their mutual benefactor, had never done anything like this before. Ever. Also, the Slick Man offered his assurances that little Garret Feldman, the Patriarch's only son, would be looked after and helped along his rise as the next Patriarch of the clan. Patriarch Feldman was dutifully thankful.
And just last week, Enoch received the strangest request yet: Have his adopted great-niece's son kicked out from the Military Academy in which he was enrolled, and do whatever was necessary to get him to the Blue School in Idaho, because he was, potentially, the most Gifted one in the history of the world. Even beyond his aunt, Margaux Wingrove, Giovanni Wingrove could very well be the pinnacle of all the people of the Magick. So the Patriarch did everything in his considerable power to achieve this task. He even contacted the Furies directly, and pleaded with them to go and talk to Shari, since they were the ones that modified her memory all those years ago. Adelaide accepted. She had secretly harbored regrets for having somehow helped to set up the circumstances that led to Marge's murder, and she felt that by helping the Wingroves she would be easing some of the guilt in her heart.
Little did Enoch Feldman Jr. know that he had been a mere pawn in someone else's chessboard, and had helped to set up all the pieces for a checkmate from hell: they would all lose.
All this, because of his greed.
When Enoch Feldman Jr. was a very young man he had a very clear idea of what he wanted to be: He wanted to become the most respected and powerful Patriarch, ever. He had no doubts that, in time, he would become the Patriarch of his clan, since he had been born into the wealthiest, most talented family in the clan, and his forefathers had been all Patriarchs since the early Eighteen Hundreds.
But being a Patriarch by default wasn't enough for him. No, he wanted to be the foremost Patriarch in history. He had ambition, Enoch did. He became ruthless in his quest for power.
Soon enough, Enoch Feldman Senior saw fit to abdicate his charge as Patriarch of his clan and had his son assume the title. Junior had so much personal power and influence that no one protested having a youngish fortysomething as Patriarch of their clan. And whoever had any reservations against it was wise and prudent enough to never voice them, considering all the rumors… Although Enoch Feldman Jr. might have been a despot, he was a very able Patriarch, and his clan prospered under his leadership.
So, when a very unctuous and well-groomed man came calling, offering him riches and influence in exchange for really simple favors, he did not hesitate to accept them. The Slick Man (as Enoch thought of him) said he worked on behalf of a client who desired to remain anonymous, and that it was possible that they might never meet. His help would be needed unconditionally, but would be called upon seldom. Enoch was more than fine with that. After all, the first favors that were asked of him were very simple. How difficult was it to travel to Mexico and adopt two orphans? With enough bribes and a gaggle of lawyers by his side, it was accomplished in less time than it took to actually travel there and back from his hometown in San Marcos, Texas. How difficult was it to order his childless nephew (twice removed) to take the children in, and raise them as their own? All he had to do was to say the words, and his orders were obeyed. Small favors all, and his personal riches were ridiculously augmented by overwhelming gifts of monies and treasures. Also, whatever personal enemies were foolish enough to confront him, they sometimes disappeared, or were found horrendously murdered. The Slick Man would sometimes show up to inform Enoch that those persons would never bother him again, letting him know indirectly who was to be thanked for the intervention.
He probably felt somewhat uncomfortable when the Slick Man asked him to start training his newborn son Garret in Magick, as soon as possible, but he did as he was bid. Once again, there was a flood of gifts. Also, he felt perplexed when he was asked to facilitate the immigration of Adelaide Alecto's long-lost grandchildren to America, and to make sure that the Alecto family were reunited, but avoiding anyone finding out his involvement in it. He thought it might have garnered him a lot of influence to have Adelaide in his debt, but he did as he was told. However reluctant he felt at passing up the chance to become more influential, he wouldn't even think of alienating his benefactor, whoever he might be. At least the riches kept coming, more than ever.
But the two weirdest requests so far came within weeks of each other. Three months ago, the strangely ageless Slick Man showed up in Patriarch Feldman's house to instruct him to use all his influence and all his riches and to do whatever was necessary to install a new Theory of Magick teacher at the Blue School. He was given a docket with all the pertinent details and personal information of the new teacher. Although it was carefully prepared, and all the i's were dotted and all the t's were crossed, Enoch had enough experience in such things that he could tell it was all forgery: the driver's license, the social security number, the academic qualifications, the credit report, even the pictures, everything was fake. Besides, the teacher in question was entirely too young to fit the fabricated persona. Regardless, Patriarch Feldman once again did as instructed, and pressured, threatened, bribed, coerced, and even asked politely when was required, and managed to have "Professor Khaldi Benoni, Ph. D" installed at the Blue School.
No treasures were forthcoming this time around, but the Slick Man showed up to deliver a note. In a very expensive, hand-crafted paper, written in a spidery and old-fashined hand, the folded note simply said, "Thank you." The Slick Man seemed impressed by this, and said that "he," their mutual benefactor, had never done anything like this before. Ever. Also, the Slick Man offered his assurances that little Garret Feldman, the Patriarch's only son, would be looked after and helped along his rise as the next Patriarch of the clan. Patriarch Feldman was dutifully thankful.
And just last week, Enoch received the strangest request yet: Have his adopted great-niece's son kicked out from the Military Academy in which he was enrolled, and do whatever was necessary to get him to the Blue School in Idaho, because he was, potentially, the most Gifted one in the history of the world. Even beyond his aunt, Margaux Wingrove, Giovanni Wingrove could very well be the pinnacle of all the people of the Magick. So the Patriarch did everything in his considerable power to achieve this task. He even contacted the Furies directly, and pleaded with them to go and talk to Shari, since they were the ones that modified her memory all those years ago. Adelaide accepted. She had secretly harbored regrets for having somehow helped to set up the circumstances that led to Marge's murder, and she felt that by helping the Wingroves she would be easing some of the guilt in her heart.
Little did Enoch Feldman Jr. know that he had been a mere pawn in someone else's chessboard, and had helped to set up all the pieces for a checkmate from hell: they would all lose.
All this, because of his greed.
To Be Continued…
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