Oh the Irony

 266.

The taste of irony is bittersweet, a confection whose external visual appeal, enough to induce watering of the mouth, hides a toxic interior. Irony is like biting into a delicious looking chocolate only to find a tooth-breaking ball-bearing inside. Irony is an assassin, Shiva the Destroyer. It patiently lies on the topmost drawer of the screenwriter's toolkit, always looking for an unusual twist of plot, ever winding its way towards the inevitable surprise ending.  

No sooner had we made the executive decision to re-launch Mongoose TOM, nee Operation Firecracker, one of the principle targets, a cunning, viscous, greedy Vegas gangster and contributor to myriad conservative republican campaigns, most of them to ensure sympathetic tax legislation but an equal number to keep the adjective 'systemic' at the heart of all social reforms, dies of cancer. Considering the horrific historical place the Jews hold, it has always struck me as a gross hypocrisy for any subsequent downstream racism. What physiological disorder demands men to concoct rules and laws specifically designed to ensure the continued hardship and covert genocidal legislation of a specific demographic? My college professor was fond of saying that the history of the United States can be categorized into one neat and factual heading bearing the quotable title of  'Man's Inhumanity to Man.'

Davis and Saunders had been shadowing the deceased gambling kingpin and his mob for almost a year. Having infiltrated their inner sanctum of operations in order to lay the groundwork for the clandestine sting operation with the grand design to take down a conspiracy of high-profile personalities, including the Senator from South Carolina, Jefferson Hartaugh, they now consider the response necessary to keep the plan from implosion.

"We have a paid informer with access to inside information in Vegas, I will check with him immediately, but I can almost guarantee that the VP of Operations, a slime-ball cad by the name of Goldson, will assume leadership of the cabal, that is unless the wife and her lawyer decide they want to muddy the waters and take control. This could get ugly in a hurry," Davis informs us.

Saunders adds, "Surprisingly enough the widow is a generous philanthropist and sits on several influential boards, one with especially interesting ties to both MBI and Hartaugh. It's cover is a Texas based consulting entity called SAC, but actually specializing in foreign campaign money laundering, a Vegas casino syndicate being the perfect machinery for it, and they also dabble in arms sales, mostly notably to third-world insurgencies. And by dabble I mean six-figures worth."

Julie presents the next obvious question to the group, "Do we feel a high level of confidence that this latest turn of events will not deter our chances with the initial design of the plan and its chance of success?"

A moment of silence fills the room as we each consider the implications and opportunities available.

Our legal counsel, Harlan, breaks the silence, "There is a sweet irony in the old adage suggesting that "our problems are not our problem, our problem is our response to our problems."  

Slightly bemused I add, "I see no reason why we can't move forward with the plan, this Goldson character, can we reel him in, get him on board?"

"He is already on the line, hook set. I believe we can," Saunders quickly replies.

Davis nods in affirmation and ends the debate with a sigh, "Oh the irony."