Circus Jack - Chapter 15. Freaks of Nature

Violet Python, the sinister ringmaster, revels in her success of abducting Pepe, ensuring he will never perform again. Amidst the tension, we learn about Python's troubling relationship with her assistant, Scarlet, and her calculated plans to deprive her rival, Spectadelli, of his prized wonder dog.

Tune in to discover the dark underbelly of the circus world and the fate of Pepe in this suspenseful episode of "Circus Jack."

Thanks for listening to Circus Jack. We look forward to seeing you in the next episode. And remember that whether it's a cloudy day or a sunny day, it's always a good day. Make it yours. See you soon.

Episode Transcript

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Music.

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Hi, this is Richard Carlton, London. You're listening to the story Circus Jack.
Now let's continue on our story about Pepe, the hero of Circus Jack.
Chapter 15. Freaks of Nature.
After a long journey north from Baltimore through farms, forests,
and aside oceans and bays, the wagon arrived at its final destination outside

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of Germantown, Pennsylvania. Sylvania.
The banner, with painted figures flying high above an amazed audience,
spread across the entrance gate read, Violet Python's Aerial Circus.
They stopped beneath the entrance, and the woman rolled back the canvas,
exposing Peppy to the glare of light.

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The woman smiled broadly and attached a leash to his tight-neck collar.
He expected a welcome at his arrival, like Spectadelli's Circus.
But none came for Peppy the Wonder Dog, no crowds, no applause, no welcome.
Only an abrupt transfer from the chicken crate to a cramped cage inside a dark tent.

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Shelves of glass jars filled the tent. They contained a variety of bizarre,
lifeless creatures suspended in clear liquid that filled the room with a musty odor.
There was a headless chicken with three legs and a two-headed snake.
A small human head on the body of an octopus and malformed babies fused together at birth.

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Their black eyes followed Peppy everywhere he went in his small cage.
He shuddered. Wooden crates of boxed food, circus equipment,
and costumes competed with the freak show jars.
To welcome to your new home, the blonde woman said with a lopsided smile.
Adjusting to the poor lighting, he could see he shared this place with other

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dogs and two sleeping cots with side tables and lanterns for humans.
The mood of the people coming and going from the tent wore grim and hurried expressions.
Unlike Speckdelley Circus, a lack of joy permeated the air like a cloud of rot
and anger was the common currency as staff, stagehands and performers were quick to shout at one another.

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Peppy could do little more than lay down and whimper.
On the opposite side of the carnival grounds, Violet Python received a news
of her successful abduction.
That dog will never see a performance ring again, Python said with a smirk,
shuffling papers on her polished maple desk.
The office car had a sterile, bland atmosphere with its lack of decoration or color.

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Light poured in through multiple sets of side windows and an overhead skylight
illuminating the occupants below.
Across the table, to the right, sat the circus accountant, a balding middle-aged
man dressed in a rumpled black suit.
Thick spectacles rested on the edge of his nose as he grinned nervously.

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Beside him was Scarlet, Python's personal assistant.
She accompanied the dog-napper bringing Peppy and delivering the news to her boss.
Python could not forget her fondness for Scarlet, plucking her from a crowd
of attractive young ladies living in a home for wayward girls,
two years earlier, offering the temporary home money and Scarlet a new life.

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The key skills Python sought from her assistant were good bone structure,
thin but strong frame, firm breasts, and a flawless complexion,
with Scarlet Met in addition to the constellation of brown freckles scattered
over her nose, like the Milky Way.
Python found it impossible to concentrate as she gazed at her assistant's blonde

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hair that rested in waves over flawless breasts and a slim waist exposed by
a teasing cropped midriff.
That's a shame as I hear he's quite a talent, Scarlet said through a smile of
smooth straight teeth as she picked at her manicured nails.
This dog would bring in an additional cash flow, the accountant said,

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mopping the perspiration from his bald spot.
Not the point in getting him, Python said, leveling a growl at the man.
I know it would be a moneymaker putting him in the ring, but why risk attracting
Spectadelli's attention?
He would hear of his beloved wonder dog eventually, Python said.
Gazing again at Scarlet, she parted her lips slightly, running her tongue over

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their edges with slow satisfaction, as if eyeing a delicious meal served in her dining car.
Python rose from her seat and glided around the table, standing just behind Scarlet.
She spread her hand and long fingers over the perfect mound of Scarlet's breast,
feeling the firm flesh rise and fall with each deep breath.

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Python spread her legs slightly, pressed her pelvis against Scarlet's chair,
expelling a breath, as her eyes rolled back in her lids.
Licking her lips again, Python said, it would be much better to starve Elvie
Spectabelly from his profits than to put the dog in the ring and risk his people
sniffing around my circus, looking to steal him back.

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Python's dark heart pumped in satisfaction, knowing she deprived Spectabelly
of the single greatest carnival act developed this century,
keeping this dog from the eyes of the public until old and feeble made her deeply satisfied.
I might even sleep better tonight, she said to herself amused.

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Thanks for listening to Circus Jack. We look forward to seeing you in the next episode.
And remember that whether it's a cloudy day or a sunny day, it's always a good
day. Make it yours. See you soon.