Reagent

''"So, what brings you to Rio?" Zeke inhaled the fragrance of the waitress' hair as she leaned over to set his drink on the small table, giving him a smile.  "The winds of change whispered of tropical beaches..." He stared at the woman, who couldn't quite bring herself to not stare at his eyes. "Tell me, was it the batting of those luscious lashes that called me all the way from Quebec?" She blushed, and his grin widened. "They whispered such tempting things..." he leaned forward, one hand slipping a keycard into the front of her top with a wink. She gasped, eyes darting furtively around. Zeke picked up his drink and lay back in the lounge chair with a contented smile.  The waitress headed off with a furtive glance back. Zeke watched, amused, as she delivered the other drinks on her tray to businessmen in a poolside cabana, loaded with the powder she had not seen his other hand add to them. It wasn't his best magic, but it was subtle. Under the watchful eye of the Illuminati, flashy just wouldn't do. A late night switch of paperwork while the businessmen, and a waitress, slept an uncommonly deep sleep full of storms and fire however, that would do quite nicely.''

= =

Washington Post - March 17, 1992
Local Couple Celebrates First Success of Unorthodox Fertility Clinic DULLES - Isabella and David Covington may not be the happiest new parents Dr. Earl Lovell will ever meet, but they are the first for his practice. Twins Ezekiel and Elena, delivered last night at 6:04 and 6:07, mark the first success for Lovell's drug free fertility clinic, mollifying skeptics' claims of fraud for the moment. "A family has always been a dream of ours," said Isabella, a former aide in the Spanish Consulate, "but Mother Nature wasn't very cooperative." David, an employee of the State Department of foreign affairs, dismissed suggestions that Lovell's treatments might be placebo while holding son Ezekiel. "I know what they are saying out there, but believe me, we tried every drug and test we could afford. We had just about decided that adoption would be our only option when we heard about Dr. Lovell." Lovell admits his treatments are not for everyone. "We are changing the whole atmosphere, the people here. There is something out of balance that causes such a state to exist, its not natural, and we can fix that without drugs, but the patients, both the prospective mother and father, have to have open minds." Lovell doesn't abandon science and medicine, blood tests and ultrasounds are still done, but according to the brochures, his methods incorporate diet, environment, and meditation among other techniques. Will this success quell the critics for good? Lovell doesn't think so. "There will always be critics, but those two children, and the amount of joy you can see on their parents faces? That's what this is all about, I'll take on a hundred naysayers if it means a hundred children being born that otherwise wouldn't."

Files of Broad Run High School: Counselor Mark Hughes
10-4-2006 Assessment: Ezekiel was sent to me based on concerns about his lack of interest in extra curricular activities. After talking with him he seems to be fairly uncommitted to any activity or future career. I think his twin's attitude of concentrated enthusiasm has made him feel that he needs to feel the same to try things. Recommended trying out several clubs, assured him that there was no need to feel as passionate about them as others.  4-12-2008 College Planning Session: Ezekiel still doesn't seem to have a career path in mind but is a solid B student. He seems to have a knack for picking up skills, he took earlier advice well and has participated in sports, drama, and band though hasn't really tried to distinguish himself in any. We agreed upon a solid foundation for a college prep diploma, though not with honors. 2-20-2009 Parent Counseling Session: Ezekiel has not put much thought into college. I was concerned and scheduled this session with his parents. We discussed his grades and options. His father was for impressing upon him the importance of choosing a college and applying but his mother insisted that he must just have 'gypsy blood' and needed some time to figure out what he wanted to do. I tried to remain neutral in the argument that followed. Despite my concerns, Ezekiel will not be pursuing college after graduation but take a year off to travel at his mother's insistence.

Airline Travel Log: Covington, Ezekiel
4 June 2009 9:35am Dulles, VA, USA to London, UK 2:50pm London, UK to Barcelona, Spain  23 August 2009 6:30am Barcelona, Spain to Marrakech, Morocco 30 September 2009 4:47pm Casablanca, Morocco to Berlin, Germany 1 October 2009 11:15am Berlin, Germany to Amsterdam, Netherlands 20 December 2009 7:43pm Amsterdam, Netherlands to Tel Aviv, Israel 16 January 2010 10:20am Tel Aviv, Israel to Cairo, Egypt 4 February 2010 5:25pm Cairo, Egypt to Johannesburg, South Africa 17 March 2010 6:40am Johannesburg, South Africa to Sao Paulo, Brazil  28 May 2010 11:15pm Sao Paulo, Brazil to Los Angeles, CA, USA

Dear Big Bro,
Aren't you homesick yet? I thought you said you were going home when you left here, not run off to China with some japanese chick in a band. Mom called me, like somehow I was supposed to know what you were thinking. Dad was muttering something about killing you if you knock her up by the way. Pretty good punk pop at least, even if I don't understand anything they're singing. You know you are totally her token American boytoy, right? Second drummer is so a made up title so her label pays the bills of flying you around. Are you at least taking some classes online or something? Have any ideas for a major? I might take the summer off and come play tourist with you, if that's cool, but I have to be back by August. Love ya, Elena

The Korea Herald - September 14, 2010
Man Survives Bizarre High Rise Tumble and Gasline Explosion SEOUL, KOREA - A aftershow hotel party for the band Ruby Razors' third album release almost ended in tragedy last night when Ezekiel Covington of Virginia, USA fell from a 35th floor balcony. Covington survived unharmed in what is being called a lucky twist of fate. An explosion blamed on an underground gas leak occurred just after Covington fell, claimed guests. The force of the explosion lessened the falling Covington's speed and threw him sideways into the hotel's pool, where he regained consciousness and climbed out under his own power. "It was a miracle!" stated Razors lead singer Keiko Watanabi. "I saw him go over the edge and thought he was dead!" Bassist Aya Masaki was in the hotel lobby when she heard the explosion, which damaged several cars but no people. "I ran out to see what had happened, and as we were looking around, there was Zeke, climbing out of the pool. I just thought he was drunk and had been swimming in his clothes.  I told him he'd missed the excitement." Covington himself remembers little, only his initial sense of going over the railing and waking up in the pool according to the doctor who examined him. "He is a truly lucky man."