THE GLASS TOP COFFIN (standard:drama, 1994 words) [9/12] show all parts
Author: Stephen-Carver Byrd	Added: Jan 04 2003	Views/Reads: 2589/1867	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
*** Part 10*** Jordan vs. The Ducks

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

fight was growing bold and ugly but that's exactly what Jordan wanted. 
By now he had already hired a lobbyist to fight on the behalf of the 
remaining residents of Falls Hills. The dam project, being a federal 
issue, Congress was just beginning the early stages of deliberations. 
However, a recent poll had suggested strong congressional support for 
its go-ahead. Jordan himself made a plea before Congress. He stood at a 
small podium and pounded a fist with such fury that he quickly found 
himself surrounded by five Capital security officers. Jordan's outrage 
on the matter was splashed by satellite throughout the entire world. 
But still, it seemed to have little impact of the old gray heads of 
Congress. 

With the battle in full force, Jordan had little time to write. At this
point it had been over two years since his last publication. His fans 
were understanding but at the same time they thirsted for more “Jordan 
Taylor” entertainment. No one realized it at the time, but soon Jordan 
was going to deliver. And by far, it would be his best ever. He'd been 
working on the book for the last ten mouths and had just finished with 
the third and final draft. When released, it would prove to be the best 
selling novel of modern times. It was simply called: “Falls Hills.” The 
story reminisced about his life in this small valley as a boy. He 
reenacted every possible scene from his childhood, including the magic 
of Mr. Moore and the day Jordan learned of the devastating plans of the 
Power Company. It was beautifully written, warm and comical. To the 
millions who would read it, “Falls Hills” was certain to convey tears 
of sadness as well as a wonderful sense of elation. The small community 
of Hills Falls would soon not only belong to just Jordan, it would also 
become the home of millions of heartwarming neighbors, at least in 
heart. 

Jordan agreed to a release date of approximately four months ahead of
the congressional vote and specified that the book be released in both 
hardbound and paperback simultaneously. Once the book hit the open 
market, sales exploded. “Falls Hills” received so much publicity that 
it was being read by people who had never touched a Jordan Taylor 
novel. Hell, people who never touched a novel in their life were 
reading it. Within three months, “Falls Hills” had total sales of 
approximately forty-six million copies and was still listed as number 
one on the best seller's chart. 

The small community was overwhelmed with tourist during that summer of
1988. Jordan was relieved that two years earlier he had done a second 
renovation on the old store; a new tin roof, new wood floors and a 
beautiful paint job of white, green and gold. The little store stayed 
packed with tourist eight hours a day and CNN cameras were continually 
rolling, reporters grabbing anyone willing to talk. The long line of 
cars parked along the highways forced the sheriff to add a small army 
of officers to the area simply to maintain order. Inside his grocery, 
Jordan had stacks of boxes filled with his newest novel in both 
hardbound and paperback. Most of his time that summer was spent inside 
the old store, meandering with the tourist and autographing books of 
“Fall Hills.” Over the next several weeks he was flooded with calls 
from Congressmen who had read the book and seen public sentiment 
flowing heavily in Jordan's favor. The majority of these Congressmen 
told Jordan that they had changed their mind and would not allow the 
Power Company to destroy this awe-inspiring region of North Carolina. 
But Jordan was still worried. According to the small firm he had 
helping in D.C., the vote was still slightly in favor of the Power 
Company. Then something happened that changed everything. 

Jack Arnold, an elite, private investigator, that Jordan had hired
hoping to dig up a little dirt, called him early one evening. Arnold 
informed Jordan that he had uncovered secret hush money that involved 
the Power Company and sixteen Congressmen. Two million dollars were 
being compensated for each congressional vote that fell in favor of the 
Power Company. The money had been furtively wired to several 
undisclosed bank accounts in the Bahamas and Jamaica. With the help of 
inside contacts from these banks, detailed documents had been obtained 
and secretly forwarded to Arnold, indicating who held the accounts as 
well as the exact parties that initiated the money transfer. Jordan 
knew now that he had them by their old gray balls. As soon as Arnold 
leaked his discovery to the media, the feeding frenzy commenced. It 
only took hours for the FBI to thoroughly check out the documents 
before twenty-two arrest warrants would be issued, including sixteen 
for the Congressmen. 

The annual Falls Hills Fourth of July firework show had been put on hold
until after the August 19th 1988 vote in Washington. It was a landslide 
in favor of Falls Hills. A young Jordan and Kate held hands as they 
watched the fireworks explode over Lake Sapphire. It was a beautiful 
August evening and Jordan glanced around looking at the hundreds of 
people clapping and celebrating. He knew that without their help none 
of this would have been possible. One man who helped in a different way 
was William Kinston, the County Commissioner of this district. He and 
Jordan had worked diligently on reshaping Falls Hills' zoning laws that 
would forever keep it safe from an external commercial world. 
Eventually Jordan would resale the property back to anyone who had an 
honest intention of helping the area maintain it‘s exceptional 
character. It was resold at the exact price that he had purchased it. 
No profits were to be made here. Some of the proceeds went back into 
the community to build a beautiful park, a baseball field and other 
improvements. Many of the people who returned to the community were 
still underprivileged and Jordan also used this money as a means of 
help during their times of need. 

Jordan continued looking at all the people whenever a firework would
light up their face. Then he saw someone that he knew. There was no 
mistake about it. That face had been sketched deep into his memory for 
the last 25 years. It was Mr. Moore. 

The early night went momentarily dark and then another big firework
rumbled, lighting up the countryside. Jordan looked again and Mr. Moore 
was looking directly at him. The old man smiled and raised his little 
finger then wiggled it. Jordan smiled back and returned the gesture. 
Then it went dark again. A shooting star flared across the muted sky, 
leaving in it's wake a reflection in the water, just as Jordan had once 
seen it do somewhere in a distant time. Another firework bellowed and 
flamed. Jordan looked back through the blue glittering light. Mr. Moore 
was gone. 

Debate throughout 1989 revolved around construction of a nuclear power
plant to be built along the North Carolina/Virginia border. There was 
strong opposition to it, but Jordan didn‘t care. Falls Hills was 
forever safe and that's all that mattered. The Power Company's request 
for “Nuke” was granted in November,1989 and the big “Radioactive Cat” 
was in full operation by 1994. 

Continued - Please see part 11 


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