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September 8, 1935: A nervous and unlikely assassin lurks in the Louisiana state capitol building. The new capitol, completed only three years earlier, towers over Baton Rouge as a monument to modernity and progress. It is also a monument to the limitless ego of the man who turned the building from a dream to reality, a visual testament to the many ways in which he works his will across his state. As the Senator Huey P. Long saunters down the hallway, Doctor Carl Austin Weiss nervously waits behind a marble column. The Senator is excited, moving ahead of his bodyguards and speaking in grandiose terms about his plans for the future and seemingly oblivious to the fact that his party has failed to keep up with his brisk pace. Dr. Weiss sees his chance and fires.

What happens next is chaotic and confusing for everyone. Several eyewitness accounts produce differing stories, but the facts are as follows. Huey Long is shot in the abdomen. Dr. Weiss is shot 32 times by the Senator's security detail. One of the bodyguards, a man by the name of Murphy Roden, is shot in the chest. Conspiracy theories from various parties begin surfacing almost immediately after the event. Mr. Roden is allegedly hit with a ricochet of his own bullet, and there are claims that at Senator Long was accidentally shot by his bodyguards as well. These claims are never substantiated, and in the weeks that follow, they quickly become irrelevant.

Huey Long and Murphy Roden are rushed to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge. Mr. Roden dies the next day, but the population of the state of Louisiana huddles around their radios for news about their beloved Senator. Crowds begin to gather outside the hospital for the next two days as tantalizing hints of the Senators possible recovery make their way out of the building and into the public. A detachment of the Louisiana National Guard is stationed at the hospital, both to prevent any further assassination attempts, and keep out the ever increasing mob of well wishers. By the third day after the assassination attempt, the hospital releases a statement that it has done all it can, and that the survival of the Senator is now in the hands of providence. In Michigan , Father Charles Coughlin uses his radio show to call for a nationwide day of prayer for the recovery of the Senator. A number of churches of all denominations embrace the idea and hold prayer sessions for the health of Huey Long. On the morning of the fourth day, the hospital announces that Huey Long is likely to recover, and celebrations break out across the country. Huey Long issues a short statement for the press from his hospital bed that very day, saying “I cannot leave yet. There is still too much left to do.”


















Note to my readers.
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I have never before sought to engage in the madness of online forums, but I found myself compelled to so on this occasion. I apologize if I am unaccustomed to the rules and expectations of online society. This is my first attempt at writing a story at all, in addition to being my first time posting one on the internet. Constructive criticism is welcomed, I'll likely just be glad anyone is reading it at all. My biggest question for you is this, should I continue the story in this format, or should I make it in the form of a webcomic? maybe both? I have a few panels drawn of this already. I also have several more pages of this already written, but I thought I would just post the point of divergence up and see what people thought of the general idea.
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