Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Family Ties 4

"The point is, Tommy, that we're all going to get through this shit and I don't want to hear any talk about 'TOGETHER'!" Sal had reached his reason for the 'invitation' and it went against everything Blue was working to acheive. "I want you and Victor to keep the war alive. Nothing is better for business than competition, and right now, you two are the heavyweight champ, and the top contender for the title."

"Which one am I Sal?" Tommy asked as if it actually meant something to him.

"To me, Tommy, you're the Champ and always have been, to the rest of Rat Town, however, you are the top contender. The way they see it, Victor's my boy, you know that. He's been with Maxie long enough, the two of them shoulda been pumpin' out some babies by now. Guy's probably got somethin' wrong with his prick. Anyways, it's not like I give a rat's ass about grandkids. Family ties are the whole reason we can't let the truth out. you've been doing a real nice job of drivin' the numbers, Victor keeps thinking that he's callin' the shots but you and I both know, there hasn't been a single change in the price of Juice that we didn't personally instigate. Now that why I've called you here, Tommy. Change is good and I want to be good, right now, in a big way. I'm after another ten an ounce, so you know what to do." Tommy nods even though Blue hasn't got a clue."Good, after you drop your prices by five an ounce, Victor's going to have to follow. Make sure you cap it at fifty barrels, including exports, then cry dry. Victor's going to mirror that shit but before he does, he's gonna want to squeeze for everything he can get and that's when he'll inflate the price, and he'll get it too. Then I'll tell him to dry up, if he doesn't do it on his own. the small timers are going to start selling their juice like crazy, probably in the neighborhood of twenty more per ounce. by then, we'll have our shipments back, we'll hit the streets at ten an ounce higher than we're getting now and it will be a bargain. We should be able to ride that wave for a few months with sales peaking just in time for Farb Fest." Sal laughed with self-satisfaction. Tommy joined in. Blue didn't know the particulars of the JumpJuice business but the supply and demand model Sal was just spinning seemed to make sense. More importantly, he discovered that Sal was actually an ally, which meant that Tommy had nothing to fear from Sal or Victor which was good news, even if he did have to keep it to himself.

That's exactly what Blue was thinking when he decided to take a chance,"So Sal," he started off matter-of-factly,"where are the shipments? I realize that the one you're looking for now may actually be lost, missing or just out of your reach at the moment, but Sal, I can't believe that YOU don't know the whereabouts of missing shipment number one," he closed with a shower of praise,"it's simply incomprehensible that someone got the better of Sal Lorenzo, so where is it?"

Blue's training was paying off, he was reading people well, judging situations well and saying only what needed to be said but this time he really nailed it, sal was really dying to brag about how smart he was and the only person he could have done that with, who really knew just how devious he had been, he had to dump dead on a doorstep. "With great power comes great responsibility," Sal said as he confessed his longing to share in the news of his triumph. Tommy hadn't been privy to any aspects of the Bobby story until this moment so the whole thing was really quite enthralling but what captivated him most was the pure selfishness and greed which fueled every iota of Sal's being. The man lived for nothing but the acquisition of wealth. blue thought about how easily Sal could have blended in on Wall Street if only Earth was his home world, but Sal had Rat Town and Cleveland and several other major cities across the land, what he didn't have was compassion or scruples of any sort. "I would have liked to share my victory with Bobby, sort of, for an hour, maybe. Well, anyways, I do know where the shipment is and YOU are going to find it. I will tell you just where and when to find it when the time comes. For now, I just have to tell you my favorite part of the story. Victor's team is really far too good to pull one over on, so I had to split them up. Only a few of his regular guys were on this shipment and they kinda hated him so it was easy to get them to go along with the plan, plus, they were weak-minded and horribly insecure, my favorite thing about having a staff psychologist, profiling! Naturally, they jumped at the chance for more money and more power!

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Family Ties 3

"No, Tommy, thank you, for joining me on such short notice," Sal said as they entered the adjacent room and the large doors closed behind them."Now, I'm not sure how much you share with your family about the business, and of course it isn't my place to tell you, but I want to be absolutely certain that you have never spoken of our relationship." Sal turned meaningfully toward Blue who answered so quickly that it nearly startled him.

"Of course not." Blue had no hesitation because he had no relationship with Sal and trying to figure out what Sal was driving at would have been an utter waste of time. As it turns out, this was precisely the right tack to follow, saving both men considerable time as Sal had something urgent on his mind and mulling over the details of who Tommy might have said what to would only have served to infuriate him.

"Good". He started,"I have several very important matters to discuss concerning our arrangements. First of all, I assume that you are aware of the missing shipment?" Blue, knowing that going with the flow is usually best in situations when dealing with an individual tied to an agenda, simply flipped his hand in the air as if the mere mention of it was repetitive enough to be monotonous."Right," continued Sal,"are you then, also aware of the other missing shipment?" Blue raised both hands slightly, turned his palms upward and parted his arms wide, illustrating that he was sitting in Sal's house. This caused a little glimmer of a smile to cross Sal's face as he went on, "and I can assume since my men did not bring you back here dead that you had nothing to do with the disappearance of said shipment." The smile was mirrored back by Blue."Oh, speaking of which, sorry to hear about Maxie's little outburst. Can't say I understand what went down that day but apparently neither you nor Victor were meant to die. Nicely done on the pummelling as well, heard you really kicked his ass!" Sal's smile grew a little wider."Still, I told you not to kill him. I've spent a lot of time setting this whole Farb-damn operation up and I don't need you, Maxie or Victor Bastin' me around. Come to think of it, Maxie probably did the right thing to blast you, would've upset the balance to leave you alive if Victor was dead." Sal's smile grew into laughter. Blue crossed one leg over the other and leaned as far back as he could while still keeping his eyes on Sal. If he was going to listen to this shit, he was going to get comfortable. "Tommy, I gotta hand it to ya, you really have changed since you got shot. You know what they say 'What doesn't kill you, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise! So let's get down to the business of wealthy. I have no doubt that both shipments will be recovered. Nobody wipes their ass in Rat Town without McGoogle knowing about it and there isn't a breath that McGoogle takes that isn't first cleared through me. So you know what that means..."

"Yeah, sounds like you end up smellin' a whole lot of shit!", Blue couldn't help himself. He couldn't believe the set-up and if he didn't drop the punchline he'd not only regret it on this world, but just about any other. His own laughter was surprisingly overpowered by Sal's.

"Guess I stepped right into that one!" Sal was actually scoring bonus points with Blue at the moment. Nobody enjoyed beating a dead horse more than Blue. In fact, Blue liked to not only beat the dead horse but he would often crouch down real low, dig his shoulder right into the withers, forcing his upper arm under the animal and push with all of his might. With any luck, the horse would slide out into the road a little bit, just enough to get run over by a semi or bus and then he would wait. Blue would wait until the horse got nice and flat and then he'd roll it up like a rug. He'd take that rug and he'd throw it up over his shoulder and start walkin' down that road a piece 'til he came to a clearing in the otherwise elephant's eye high cornfield, a path, down through which he could see a farmhouse, with a clothesline. He would walk that rug over to the clothesline and he'd toss one end of it over the line so the whole rug would hang free in the air. Then Blue would walk up to the door of the farmhouse, introduce himself in a well-mannered yet confident tone and politely ask to borrow a broom. With that broom he would tirelessly beat the dust of the road from the rug, whistling to himself, usually a tune like 'Horse with no name' or 'Wild Horses'. Sometimes he would sing to himself, something along the lines of the theme song to a favorite TV show from his childhood called, 'Mr. Ed', often carrying on until he became hoarse.

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Family Ties 2

Blue had  no idea what Tommy's father used to say about anything but Vinny sure did."Never thought I'd be around to hear you quote my father, Sal, would've thought the whole idea of him blastin' a hole in your daddy's head might put you off even thinking about the old man." Vinny couldn't help taking the shot at Sal since so few people ever even tried, besides he always liked to have a little banter before battle.

"Actually Vincent, I think of your father's words every day of my life. You might say that they are the very cornerstone of my dynasty. After all, if your father hadn't mercilessly butchered my father, then said those very words to him as he lay screaming in pain, I'm not entirely sure I would have been so driven to control Rat Town so completely. Oh, but you probably heard the story a different way, undoubtedly with a Levito spin. Regardless, our fathers who are most likely chained together in some fiery pit deep in the bowels of Varst taught me one thing. Never let anyone get the best of you. So you see, Vinny, your father did me a favor; and in some respects he did the old man a favor by pulling that trigger, the poor old crunge probably would have hung on in agony for hours, bleeding to death on the floor otherwise. But I didn't ask you here to reminisce about old times and I am afraid that my interests concern only your brother. So, make yourself at home," as Sal said this a beautiful woman carrying a tray of assorted nuts and a small ice bucket with three chilled bottles of beer entered the room. "Tommy and I will be in the next room and I assure you, I will return him to you, unharmed, quite shortly." Sal opened his arms toward Tommy as well as toward the other room, the doors of which opened automatically as he gestured toward them. Blue headed toward the open room with a quick glance over to Vinny as if to say that everything was fine, as he did Sal suddenly added,"Oh, I nearly forgot! Congratulations to both of you on your aquisition of the OmegaLux Crystal, no small achievement from what I understand of such things." Vinny and Tommy looked at one another, then back at Sal, then back at one another, then back at Sal and said with confused politeness,

"Thank you".

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Family Ties

The ride to Sal's was interesting. Blue wasn't sure why he was wanted by Sal but he knew it had to do with JumpJuice. What he understood even less was why he had agreed to go, he just knew it was the right thing to do and sometimes knowledge must be allowed to exist without understanding. "but I just don't get it, Tommy. Why in Farb's name would you willingly leave an ice cold six to get on a bike in the middle of the night to go to Sal Bastin' Lorenzo's?, Vinny asked through the unparalleled clarity of the VinnCycles' comm system.

"It's the right thing to do Vinny, I know it, I feel it, I just can't explain it. It's like finding that crystal. Varst, it's like everything that's been happening since that crazy chic Max shot me," Tommy exclaimed only to be cut off by Vinny's all too valid retort...

"Crazy, you said it, that's what she is, Vinny continued as the convoy of limousines surrounded the Levitos on all sides." That's what all of this is, and now we're driving over to her bastin' father's house for what, so he can finish the job?"

Vinny had a point and Blue had no good answer to it so he sunk to emotional manipulation. "Mojahdii even said it was the right thing to do, Sansaa trusts his judgment, maybe we should too."

Vinny groaned a little but didn't say another word for the rest of the ride to Sal's.

When they reached Sal's it wasn't at all what Blue had expected. Sure it was a true example of  how tastelessly wealth can be squandered on what the unrefined perceive as luxury and elegance from gaudy chandeliers and curtains to pointless collectible exotica, but he was welcomed graciously by the staff attending the estate, even the goons were polite and respectful, not forceful or intimidating. He and Vinny were escorted to a study, replete with the obligatory historical and exotic weaponry and books too numerous to have been read within a single lifetime, a distinction Blue was learning to view with a fresh perspective. "Tommy Levito," a voice echoed from the doorway behind them. Tommy and Vinny turned around fully, their backs now facing the ostentatiously adorned fireplace they had been staring at in mutual disbelief, to see Sal who now struck Blue as a cross between Hugh Hefner and Danny Devito, so much so that it was all he could do to contain his laughter. "...AND the mighty and always enjoyable Vincent Levito,"Sal continued as he walked toward them pulling peanuts from his bathrobe pocket, eating them and tossing the the shells upon the floor as he did. Less than a foot and a half behind him a very well appointed attendant swept every single shell up, just seconds after one would hit the floor into what appeared to be a dust pan fashioned from gold. " I am so pleased that you have agreed to visit. It seems that a matter of great importance to both of us must be dealt with immediately. I am sure that you will find it well worth the time and energy it took to make this short trip to my home. Like your father used to say,'guys who raise bees don't complain about a few stings now and then, do they?'"

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Uninvited Guests 2

Normally, curiosity gets the better of most people when presented with an unusual spectacle unfolding before them, so no one could blame Tommy and Vinny for leaving their tent and following Mojahdii and the visitors toward the commons, except that it didn't. In fact, neither one of them seemed to be the least bit motivated to leave the comfort of the lounge chairs and the ice cold beers. "That was weird," Vinny said to Tommy as he leaned all the way back in his lounge chair, his muscles bulging as he cradled the weight of his head then slowly relaxing as total ease spilled over them cascading down to his shoulders, then his chest, ribcage and abdomen which began to bounce slightly as a little laugh gripped his solar plexus. "Did you see that guy jump when Mojahdii crept up on him like that?"

Blue was just polishing off his second beer when he swallowed quickly to avoid spraying Vinny with LPS - laughing projectile spray. "Varst Vinny, I didn't even see Mojahdii over there until he popped out right next to the dude and all of a sudden he's like 'pip' hello, I'm standing right next to you. Sweet!"

"Whoever that dude works for - no more. Those other cats are going to rat him out as soon as they get back, he'll be lucky if he gets to drive." Vinny added.

"No, Vinny, he won't even get that, those guys can drive, maybe he'll get to ride shotgun, maybe, depends on who he working for." Tommy responded.

"My guess...Lorenzo. Those guys, those cars, they gotta be Sal's goons and they're after something." Vinny theorized.

"Or somebody," Tommy continued as Mojahdii approached the tent with a half-dozen goons, led by Jason. He looked calm but a little put out, as if what he was doing was necessary but unpleasant.

"Hello, Tommy, Vinny, several of our residents were talking about you around the tables this evening and this gentleman here, his name is Jason, well, he tells me that he knows you." Mojahdii explained diplomatically.

Vinny's muscles were no longer relaxed as he rose to his full height, slowly, menacingly, never taking his eyes off the new arrivals who packed in closer to Jason, each brandishing a different weapon. Blue had risen in unison with Vinny but placed a hand on Vinny's shoulder, gently pulling him back to one side. He calmly stepped one step closer to Jason and the rest of the goons. "Yes, we saw you arrive, nice driving!" Tommy said with a disarming smile.

"Mr. Levito," Jason said "we have never met, but my team and I are here on business for Sal Lorenzo. We had no idea that this was your place, I apologize for just showing up like this." He said, concerned that he had just brought his team into the mouth of the beast.

"Jason, right?" Blue said in an inquisitive and welcoming tone as he held out his hand,"Tommy," he said as he shook hands with the leader of the team. Vinny and the team members each took a step back and Mojahdii smiled and headed back toward the commons, confident that Blue could handle the rest. "Please come into the tent, there is a place for all of you to sit. There is no need for your firearms, you are free to look around for whatever you came for, assuming it is not me!" he laughed, lightening the tone of the conversation without revealing that, in fact, none of his men, those who would normally be armed to the teeth, were anywhere around. "So, tell me, what are you looking for?"

Jason looked around at the other men, then looked at Vinny who sat quietly, exuding a sort of energy that made it clear that no matter how heavily armed these guys were, he was pretty sure that he was going to be the last one standing if all Varst broke loose. Jason was still feeling the effects of the Mojahdii incident and doubt seemed to be his right-hand man. "I am not sure that I can tell you that, Mr. Levito." he looked at Tommy who gave him a look reminding him that he had just introduced himself by his first name, so he continued,"uh,Tommy. Would you mind if I took a minute to make a phone call?"

"Not at all," Tommy said, realizing that the evening was going to end up as anything but the relaxed dream it had started out as.

As Jason stepped out of the tent one of the goons said,"Hey Tommy, Vinny."

Blue looked at him and realized that he had no idea who he was. He was just about to answer with some comment citing his recent death and resurrection but Vinny said,"Hey Butcher. How the Varst is Martha?"

"Fat as a thumpin' prize-winner, 'bout to pop out a double I think. Sweet as ever." Butcher answered.

"Another double? What's that make it, five sets of twins now, Butcher?" Vinny laughed and Blue laughed along, relieved that Vinny was handling the conversation. "When did you hook up with the Lorenzo squad? I thought you gave up the Juice trade?"

"Did you not here me, Vincent? Another double!" Butcher blurted out as he started laughing at his own situation. In fact, everyone in the tent was laughing as Jason came back in, looking rather put out.


"I'm supposed to ask you to come with me." He said to Tommy. "To see Mr. Lorenzo"

The whole tent went quiet as Tommy and Vinny looked at each other and back to Jason.

"I think that would be a marvelous idea." Mojahdii said as he popped out from behind Jason, sending him straight up a couple of feet into the air. As he landed he lost his balance and fell backward across the cooler. Everyone laughed, including Jason, as Mojahdii reached out his withered old hand and helped him back up with a single pull as if Jason weighed nothing at all.

Blue was pretty certain that this was as much instruction as it was agreement on the part of Mojahdii,"I'm good, Vinny?" He looked to the big man who answered with a 'why not' expression.

"I just want to let Sansaa know..." Vinny said as Sansaa cut him off by appearing in the doorway to the tent, immediately adjacent to Mojahdii. She was holding up a small bag, presumably packed with all that the two would need for their journey. The visitors looked around at one another, unsure what to make of anything that was going on while Tommy and Vinny just smiled and walked out of the tent. Vinny threw his arm around Blue's shoulders as the two of them made their way toward the VinnCycle.

It was already growing dark as Vinny and Tommy neared the cycle with the whole team now heading toward the cars. The sound of Mojahdii and Sansaa giggling to themselves drifted toward the men, they turned to look but Mojahdii and Sansaa were gone.

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is - Uninvited Guests

There's nothing really intimidating about a single long, black car pulling up to your home, or the place you had just been considering calling your home, but a convoy of a dozen limousines simultaneously crunching to a halt, side by side in perfect formation on a dry dirt road does instill a sense that something meaningful, at least to someone, is going on. Normally, Tommy's reaction to such an arrival would be something along the lines of grabbing a gun, jumping into a fast car or calling his gang together giving the directive to engage the enemy. Vinny, though not directly involved in the JumpJuice trade, would nevertheless jump to his feet to protect Tommy. Instead, they both sat there, continuing to enjoy their beers while sporting matching looks of astonishment, curiosity and boyish appreciation of the truly remarkable parking job that had just been executed by the visitors. As the dust settled and blew off toward the northern fields, all twelve driver-side doors swung open and a driver, one for each car, each wearing a chauffeurs cap, stepped out. Precisely two seconds later, all twelve passenger-side doors swung open and a man with a rifle, one for each car, each wearing sunglasses, stepped out and steadied his rifle on the top of the door frame. This made both Blue and Vinny laugh. The whole thing was just a little too perfect and each of them were just a little too relaxed to acknowledge any sort of a threat. Five seconds later the rear, back, passenger-side door opened on the far right vehicle in the line which was, in the view of Tommy and Vinny, the car on the far left. A man got out of the car wearing sunglasses and holding a briefcase. He took one step to the right of the door, placing his left, empty hand on the corner of the open door. He stood motionless, looking directly toward the tent.

Suddenly, Mojahdii was standing directly next to the man with the briefcase, also looking in the direction of the tent. "Hello." he said quietly, making the startled visitor drop the briefcase as he jumped a good foot and a half in the air. Mojahdii remained standing directly next to him, smiling.

When the man had landed, he stood silently for a moment. He was so completely taken off-guard by the sudden appearance of Mojahdii that he lost all sense of who he was or why he was standing where he was. He was completely dumbfounded. He had been in more fights, combat operations, brawls and contests of fighting skill than he could count and prided himself on his ability to face anyone. Even more than that, he prided himself on his ability to sense his opponents presence long before he would need to engage him. He had just been stripped of that by what looked to be an eighty year old man in a sheet.

"Welcome to the Shadowlands," Mojahdii said, knowing full well that he had just mortified the visitor, he continued,"how may an old man be of service?" Mojahdii had a way of knowing just what to say in every occasion and one of his specialties was using that wisdom to influence, if even by the most subtle of ways. He knew that this man would remember his humility at a moment he had displayed true mastery and hoped that it may serve the man well in the future. He continued,"My name is Mojahdii, May I ask yours."

The visitor had clearly not been asked his name in a very long time. In fact, as he reached for the briefcase to pick it back up, the man struggled to remember the last time someone had expressed any sort of personal interest in him at all. He drew a blank and said with the delivery of a teenage boy on his first day of high school, "Jason, Jason Marberry."

"Well, it is nice to meet you Jason," said Mojahdii, "may I ask what brings you all the way out here today?" Mojahdii had already noticed the variety of armaments tactically distributed throughout the vehicle.

"Sir, a shipment, belonging to our employer, has been stolen and we have reason to believe that the group who stole it have driven here in an effort to hide out. We mean you no harm and are only here to recover the stolen property."

"Mr. Marberry," Mojahdii answered kindly, "I can assure you that your shipment is not here. However, it is a long trip from the city and assuming by your vehicles that you did, in fact, travel from the city, I would not be a very good host were I not to offer you and your friends a meal. Please join us and feel free to have a look around while you're here. Should you find your shipment, you are free to leave with it after you eat." He laughed a little, softly, as if to himself,"If you find what is yours you can have what is yours..." he trailed off like a senile old man might, laughing and shaking his head back and forth.

The visitor was truly surprised by the invitation and was actually feeling quite hungry, so he leaned into the vehicle for support in making the decision. Inside, a bulkier man tried to act as though he had not been listening, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Tevlin," the visitor said to the bulky passenger,"he's asking us to stay and eat, whaddya' think?" Tevlin shrugged. "Are you hungry?" he asked Tevlin. At this, Tevlin turned his head and looked from side to side as if to see if anyone was looking at him. He pressed his lips together into the slightest  little frown and nodded. Jason stood back up and as he did caught sight of the rest of the row of cars. the whole team was now standing outside of their vehicles, peering over open doors and hoods to see what was going on. Jason turned to Mojahdii and held up his finger as if to ask for a minute. He leaned back into the vehicle and grabbed a headset. Putting it on he said,"no shipment, code yellow, Mess!"

Along the whole line the men exchanged large guns for small ones as they closed up the cars.

Mojahdii smiled at Jason and stepped out in front of the whole group, his arms open wide, then turned and walked down the path in the direction of the commons. Jason followed and the men fell in behind each one looking as stunned as the next that they were about to eat rather than fight.

Chapter 17 Home is where you decide it is

"We can go home if you want to", Vinny said as he and Blue were kicking back in the tent without a care in the world. "I mean, you don't have to try to get the crystal back right away. Varst, they've been after it for centuries according to Sansaa," Vinny laughed hard, " then you come along and find it without even looking for it. Still, you've got other stuff to do, and the Shadowlands, Sansaa, that's all my idea. I mean, I'd understand if you don't want to hang around any longer."

"Things getting a little too serious with Sansaa for ya, are they Vinny, got you a little scared," Blue dove right in, where any other guy would have been wise to keep clear of. Vinny pulled himself forward in his lounge chair, preparing to rise, struggling internally, trying to find the right words and deciding how to handle the "scared" label. "Don't worry bro', you two are meant for each other. You're just having trouble dealing with the fact that you're gonna have to do it her way." Vinny gave Tommy a look that was half "deer in the headlights" and half "raging bull", which is hard to describe but unmistakable."Besides, I want to stay. Bastin' farbunkle Vinny, this place feels just as much like home as any other. Varst bro', I've got you, a nice place to stay," Blue gestures toward the spacious interior of the tent, and Anna Marie. I know I'm supposed to be Onjadiavaan but I'll tell you Vinny, it's Anna Marie who's truly magical."

"Vinny fell back into his lounge chair and let all of the awkwardness, pent-up emotions and swelling feelings within, puff out, exhaling like a whistle on an old-time steam locomotive, uttering a single word as he threw his hands up in the air,"Women!"

Tommy reached into a small cooler, which Sansaa had brought over to the tent when she delivered the most remarkable meal Blue could remember enjoying in years, to retrieve two ice cold beers which he held high in the air between himself and Vinny,"to Women!"

His timing did not go unappreciated and he and Vinny laughed for a solid hour at the unpredictability that was their past few days together. Blue thought about how close he had become to Vinny and Sansaa, Mojahdii and even Targent, but mostly Anna Marie. Despite the awareness that he had some sort of higher purpose to perform and that he was only a vehicle or messenger of sorts, an element of a more universal whole, he thought about just staying put, suspending any sort of quest for the crystal and spending the rest of his days on this world, with Anna Marie.

At that very moment a long convoy of large black automobiles arrived in the Shadowlands.

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery - Betrayal

A few minutes into the drive, Victor cued to Max to remove her headset by pointing to hers as he removed his. She got it right away and with their headsets off he could speak freely. "I know it sounds like a crazy plan Max," Victor said calmly, "but I have reason to believe that I have to handle it this way and I want to be sure I have your full support."

Max was noticeably undecided. To anyone other than Leer she may have appeared to be upset by the change of plans or the restriction against calling her father but he knew better. He knew better for several reasons, not the least of which is because he could remember her telling him what she was about to say, thirty years ago. "I don't know Victor," she said reluctantly,"I mean, you do, it's just," she hesitated as if she was trying to pick her words like poorly formed parts from a far too quickly moving assembly-line conveyor belt,"I can't seem to, I mean, I don't know why, but I absolutely do think" she paused again,"sorry, I know, you're right." She continued,"Something is absolutely wrong about this whole thing. I felt really weird the moment we woke up, something inside of me, telling me to watch out, telling me to be careful, that I was going to be betrayed by someone close to me." Max looked directly at Victor, her eyes searching him for any reaction. Leer felt her eyes and turned his from the road to meet her gaze. He knew that he was not whom she thought he was and certainly that was a betrayal of sorts. He also knew that it was not the betrayal of which she spoke. He looked back to the road as she continued,"The moment you pulled those boots from Abe I thought, that's it, it's him, it's Abe! but the feeling hasn't left me. Her eyes, still drilling little holes into the side of his head, rather than taking the less destructive route through his ear hole to his brain, returned only feelings of trust, warmth and an ease she hadn't felt with another person in a very long time, not since her mother knew the difference between a dog and a Life Quality Care Specialist. "I know it's not you," Max said to Victor, her voice growing fainter," so it must be," her voice a strained whisper,"my father." Her forearms slunked into her lap and her shoulders drooped forward. Leer said nothing. Max looked over at Victor, realizing that by his silence he was acknowledging her fear, she fell backward in her seat and putting her hands to her head gasped,"oh, daddy, you really are an asshole!"

The next twenty minutes of driving was fairly silent with only the sound of the road to fill up the emptiness Max was feeling. Leer let Max sit with her realization, each moment of silence filling her mind with another example of why her father should not be trusted to do anything but look out for himself, like the day he told her that he had decided to enroll her in an immersion school for the fighting arts and that her previous three years of rigorous dance instruction was a perfect base upon which to build the skills she would learn to master at the school. Then there was the year of her eleventh birthday when he invited the guests and told her that it would be better than if she had chosen, that the guests he chose were better sorts of people, only to discover that he had invited well over a hundred guests of which only six were children, two of whom she did not even know. In fact, he had not even purchased a cake, nor did he have any intention of sharing that cake with her mother whom he promised they would visit to celebrate his little girls birthday. Anything that he had gotten for her would somehow serve him. Her education with a major focus on the history of war and the essentials of business, her diet, highly nutritional, healthy, athletic, her cars, motorcycles, boats, all fast and well armored and even her clothes, attractive enough so her looks were admired but functional, militaristic and no-nonsense as if to say "you can look but don't touch, or that hand of yours, I'm going to snap the arm it's attached to in half, like a little twig".

Her eyes had welled up with tears and her spirit had been crushed. She knew that it was unfair to blame Victor for any of this but he just sat there, driving. Driving her father's JumpJuice in a big dumptruck out in the middle of nowhere. She began to think of how he was just like her father, that they were going to be stuck in this life, just as it always had been, on Sal's terms, doing Sal's dirty work. She turned to him filled with hopelessness. "Here we are,"Victor said with a gentle smile as he turned the dumptruck down a tree-lined road toward a lovely little cottage. Max wiped the tears from her eyes as she began to notice just how beautiful the land around the cottage truly was. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the landscape through which they had been driving.

"What is this place?" she asked breathlessly as Victor pulled the truck into a large, rustic and slightly weathered barn.

Victor turned toward her as the vehicle came to a stop , reached into his left breast pocket and pulled out a set of keys which he held out to her with a smile and said,"home".

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones7

Early the next morning Victor sent enough of the team to pick up those that stayed at the site, keeping the others with the trucks to guard the Juice. It wasn't long before the whole team was assembled within the tunnel and ready to move the juice to the delivery location. "I'm going to call daddy to let him know we're still delivering," Max said, assuming that the threat was over and that Sal needed to be informed.

"No Max," Victor answered firmly, several of the team listened attentively to his explanation as to why Max was not permitted to call her father. It had never happened before, for two reasons. The first being that Sal was the boss and as the boss was entitled to know everything that ever happened and it was just assumed that Max was going to be the one to tell him. The second was that Max usually got extremely pissed off if she didn't get her way when it came to anything that had to do with her father unless it was Sal himself who said no. Even though Victor was in charge of the team, everyone knew that Max was along to remind Victor just where he fit in and that , just as quickly as guys like Bobby and Abe, he could be replaced. However, something had changed dramatically between Victor and Max, even the least observant of the team could recognize that. Still, they were prepared for a battle. "I don't think we're in danger anymore, Victor and you know that Sal is going to want to know what is going on with the shipment," Max said in the most reasonable voice she could muster up.

"I have absolutely no doubt that Sal is acutely interested in the whereabouts of the shipment, Max," Victor began,"but I don't think that now is the proper time to fill him in." Leer knew something that no one else on the team knew and he could not tell any of them. In order to gain not only Max's acceptance but also that of the entire team he was going to have to be very convincing that what they did know warranted the stealthy completion of the mission. He continued,"Look, we nearly got our asses blown off yesterday, first from inside and certainly, had we continued on our course, from the outside. We all know that Bobby was one of our own, then Abe. Now I'm not saying that any one of you is involved in this betrayal, however, someone out there is still waiting for us to show ourselves, knowing full well that we are under armed and under protected. With any luck they'll still be looking for the drones. So, Max, any communication with others has to be under only the most secure connections.That is why I had Aldo set up the delivery protocols the way I did. We MUST remain below the radar for the duration of our journey. When the job is done, I will personally dial the number to Sal for you." Victor looked at everyone on the team with an expression of sincerity and need unlike anything they had ever seen from him. In that moment, for each individual in the team, Victor transformed from boss to leader.

Max walked slowly to him and sliding up his chest, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him saying, "I'm with you , just tell me where to go."

The rest of the team let out a collective "WOOT!" followed by a good minute of laughter, relieving themselves of the awkward nervousness they were experiencing at such an unusual feeling of excitement, loyalty and enthusiasm, emotions that few of them felt very often and certainly rarely with respect to Victor. Leer had won them over even more quickly than he had imagined he could and if his plan succeeded he would be certain that he was on the right path with regard to the even larger, universal mission.

"Okay then, it's time I let you all in on my little secret.. I'm going to kill about, um, well, I'd say about, a little over half of you," he smiled a wicked but comical smile," and we are going to lose the shipment." The entire team was silent at first but quickly figured out that he had to be joking so they started laughing all over again. "Yes, that's right, we're going to lose lives and the Juice and head back home, beaten and empty-handed. Max, it has been a real pleasure, but I'm afraid you have to die first," Victor said as he bowed to her. "Now let's get moving. I want you all to follow me to my little hideaway beneath the sea." he walked over to the big lead truck and climbed up,"C'mon Max, ride with me. Nick, drive the other truck and Samuel, ride shotgun. The rest of you, hop on the bikes and let's move out."

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones6

The tunnel turned out to be the perfect place to spend the night. Very few cars came through from either direction and those that did gave the crew a wide berth. Thunderstorms pummelled their way across the whole region but the team stayed dry under the shelter of the long tunnel.

Franco and the rest of the team who stayed behind to bury the drones spent the night in the work site trailer. It was reasonably comfortable though a bit noisy as the forceful rainstorm pounded the roof, the metal shell reverberating like an old Stratocaster through a daisy chain of distortion, reverb, and flanger effects pedals which was music to some and pure annoyance to others. They seemed to be far more interested in the card games they had going than what was happening outside. That is until the reverb turned into a clanging sort of drumbeat. In unison, every one of them stopped talking, some stopped breathing, and all pulled their guns and knives as they quietly created a makeshift barrier behind which they hid, eyes trained on the door, weapons ready.

Samuel's best friend in the world, Garldiparn, a short man with no hair and a tatoo of a old-time train which ran the length of his torso, spiralling steam from his chest to his navel, approached the door. he answered it nonchalantly," Ah, yeah, whatchu want?" Three large men stood in the doorway with rain pelting them from above, having a hard time even looking at Garldiparn. "Well, c'mon in, you'll catch your death out there," he said, grinning from ear to ear, smoking a big fat cigar of some homegrown hand-rolled that stunk up the air and sent clouds toward the visitors faces. "You guys shouldn't be out here, nobody supposed to be on the site at night, but hey, I get super lonely, ya know, I got cards, you guys play cards? "Course you do, c'mon, I got a table back here somewhere," Garldiparn rambled as he walked back toward the team.

"Oh no, ah, nevermind," the largest of the men said in the nicest voice he could muster. "We're just looking for some friends of ours, thought they might have stopped here. We'll just be moving on."

"Okay boys, you suit yourself. Hey, do you think your friends are lost?" he continued, the men looked unsure of what to say."Because if they are lost then they are definitely on the north road, it's been washed out all day, "bout twenty minutes north of here, damn broke. Everyone who drive past here been goin' on the southwest pass road, only way out of here, but if your friends are stuck? north road for sure, maybe dead, who knows, so sorry to hear bout your friends. You close? I got some good friends, real close..."

"Yeah, thanks pal," the big guy cut in, "We'll be going, we really have to find our friends," he said turning away, pushing the other two out the door."That guy wasn't about to stop talking, let's get the Varst outta here. My guess is that they're well past here now, beyond the southwest pass, they sure as Varst aren't about to take the Juice up into the mountains when the road is washed out." The other two men nodded in agreement as all three got into their cars and sped off in the direction of the southwest pass trailing a motorcade of another ten cars, identical to theirs, behind them, on a mission, after the Juice.

"Okay, gentlemen, they have departed, you may all come out now. I believe they have been properly misled and are currently in pursuit of nobody on a road to nowhere," Garldiparn said as he rubbed his hands together eagerly,"I believe I was just about to increase my wager if memory serves!" The rest of the team burst out laughing as they emerged from behind the wall of boxes, site maps and safety gear to congratulate "Gardi" on his brilliant performance.

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones5

Aldo was not the most loved of the team but he was indispensable in all matters technological so he was generally forgiven for being a complete dipshit, still no one was going to buy him a beer when this thing was all over. Actually, Victor was planning on buying him a beer when this thing was all over so he said, "Thanks Aldo, and remind me to buy you a beer when this thing is all over, the rest of you, listen up. Max and I are linked in three, two, one, we have a connection. The moment you are locked in you'll see my location. I'm not waiting around for any of you so make it quick. Fiorelli's I have you on my screen, nice work."

"Hey Victor, how about beers for us, mazz, or better yet just a little extra snark?" Franco said half-joking in response to the acknowledgement.

"Sure, Franco," Victor laughed,"and while I'm at it, I think I'll give you my house, cars, first born and my own personal invitation to a one hour discussion face to face with Farb himself. And for the rest of you, lifetime JumpJuice and a pension that's just plain Beezle! Now let's keep it moving, I've got Samuel and Nick locked in, just a few more and I'll let you all in on where we're headed."

"I thought we were deliverin' the Juice to the Sin Shack," Samuel questioned, looking for a little clarification as to just how dramatically the plan had changed.

"Apparently, Samuel, so does someone else," Victor quickly replied. "Gavin and Marv are now linked, so let's get down to it. Those of you who didn't link to a drone, meet us at the location that appears on your navcom panel in a few minutes...All of you who are the VR link for your drone, enter your birth dates followed by the three digit number you see flashing in the upper left hand corner of the numeric keypad you used for the link now." Victor gave them a few seconds to do so, Max gave him a little rub on the back when hers was entered. "What you see now that all of your codes have successfully been entered is the exact location we are all meeting at. I will see you all there in less than thirty."

Max leaned in close to Victor as the cycle hummed its way toward the location. She felt good to be with Victor now but she was troubled by what was happening with the shipment. She felt a little out of the loop, like something secret was going on that Victor somehow knew about and she didn't. Max had become used to being a heartbeat away from the head of the operation, her father, and although it was sometimes uncomfortable, she felt more powerful. Her heart was torn between her feelings for Victor and her need for security which she always associated with her father. She worried that she was just passing one dependency over to another so so hugged Victor tighter to fight off the fear that one day he would be gone and she would be left alone.

"We're here," Victor said calmly into his head set, quietly but with enough of a nod to his head to get Max looking in the right direction.

"Drone - Destination," she said, without hesitation and the craft automatically hovered to a stop just a short distance from their cycle. Within five minutes all of the team along with all of their drones had arrived at the site.

"Okay, let's move." Victor ordered.'I want Gavin, Samuel, Marv and Franco up in the cabs." Four large diggers were lined along the edge of the work site. The whole area was under construction.
"Max, I want you and Manny heading up the unload. The rest of you, let's get the Juice out of the drones and into the the digger shovels. Split up and take a drone, I will meet you at each drone to open them and Nick, I want you to wait. I need you at your cycle and will meet you there as soon as I get the drones open, Now go!" Victor was firm but not upset. If anything, Leer was excited, he loved danger and while there was no sign of it now, the shipment was still in danger.

Everyone hurried to their tasks and within minutes Victor was at the cycle with Nick. "I'll drive," he said as he jumped on the bike and Nick took the back seat."We're going for the trucks." At the far end of the site stood two large dump trucks. Nick and Victor reached the trucks quickly and were heading over to the diggers in no time. The team had worked quickly and nearly all of the Juice was in the shovels by the time they arrived with the trucks. "Dump 'em", Victor ordered, then quickly added,"GENTLY!"

Gavin, Samuel, Marv and Franco skillfully maneuvered the payload of each shovel into the dump trucks. The shipment was once again mobile.

"Gavin, Samuel, Marv and Franco," Victor called out,"stay in the cabs. I need you to bury the drones. Manny and Nick, jump into the dozers and help dispose of the drones. Max, Drive the dump truck Nick brought over. The rest of you, on the bikes. Let's head out. We'll be back tomorrow for you guys," he said to the drone disposal crew, and before anyone could ask any questions, he sped off. As he drove the dump truck away he ordered into the headset, very clearly and with conviction," REMEMBER, absolutely NO contact with anyone outside the team until I say okay."

Less than an hour later Leer pulled his rig into a tunnel, high up the side of a fairly large mountain just north of the construction site. As the rest of the vehicles drove into the tunnel behind him they slowed to a stop. "We're staying here tonight," Victor announced. "Make yourselves comfortable and stay in the tunnel. Fred and Dominic, take the north side entrance of the tunnel and set some flairs. Keep them inside the tunnel. We don't want anyone driving into us but we don't want to be visible outside of the tunnel. Gino and Todd, you guys have the south side. Okay boys, our engines are overheated, let's pop the hoods and give'em a rest. That's our story and we're stickin' to it."

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones4

As Victor and Max cleared the grove of gargantuan trees they immediately caught sight of the drone. It was cruising down low in a valley thatSeemed to have been formed by a gigantic celestial ice cream scooper. The growth of grass on the ground was so smooth that Leer just punched it, right over the side of the crest and into the valley making a direct line to intercept the drone. He was closing so fast that he barely had time to notify Aldo before they were closing on it.

"Thanks for the warning," Aldo said sarcastically as  Max gave the call that they were close. "I just got a call from the Fiorelli twins so let me talk you both through at the same time. You might as well all listen up," Aldo said as his voice needled it's way into the headset of every member of the team. When you get within range, that's when you get the lock signal from the red lights, three fast bursts which will cycle over and over as long as you are within range of a connection, you're going to hit the yellow triangle on the lower left of the navcom panel. When the whole screen goes green, the riders need to complete the engagement process by entering their birthdates into the keypad between their legs, that means all of you who are on the backs of the bikes. When this step is complete, state your name clearly. Your voiceprint will be recognized and the drone will lock onto a remote guidance mechanism on your cycle. When you reach your destination, simply say the words, Drone - Destination. I trust there will be no problems but if you should find that you are having trouble, I can help to establish a lock between your cycle and any drone so long as you have maneuvered yourself into range." Aldo added with just the right inflection to be clear that the success of this part of the mission was undeniably attributable to his technological superiority. "However, I have no idea what your destination is, so the very next screen you will see after you have established contact with and control over your drone will be a map indicating the position of Victor's cycle versus that of your own. Victor, if you would be so kind as to say a few words to ensure that everyone can hear you." Aldo requested impatiently.

"Let's get to the drones quickly gentleman, we are seconds from ours and time is of the essence," Victor said, eager to wrap this phase of the operation up as expeditiously as possible.

"Right," Aldo broke in,"you heard the man, now one more thing, the drones are very responsive so try to restrain from any wild driving while you're out there today. I've seen most of you on the road and, I personally want my full share and nothing less. I will not be very happy if a drone crashes because one of you jack-asses decided it was time to show off!"

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones3

As Franco and Manny sped their way toward the sighted drone, Victor and Max got a blip on their navcom screen. the drone appeared to be within a couple of miles as the crow flies but there was no way to get a visual. In front of them rose a large grassy hill and perched upon the hill was a cluster of the most majestic trees Leer had seen since he was in the Redwood National Park, home to some of the tallest trees on any of the worlds he had visited. These would rate a close second. "Beezle Victor!, Max gasped as she gawked at the immense and beautiful old wonders. "How old do you think those trees are Victor?" she asked like a child filled with awe.

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of five to seven hundred years old, maybe more, I would guess," Victor responded. Suddenly a wave of that feeling of a distinct memory came over Leer, only this memory was not about the future. However, it was about this very place eight hundred and twenty-seven years earlier. As he sped around the first tree, he saw himself as a young woman. He was planting that particular tree. Leer was really wishing that he could share that memory with Max. In another life perhaps.

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones2

The cycles fanned out in all directions except for that from which they came. The terrain was varied but mostly ridable. The cycles were built to handle smooth and rough terrain, they had what Vinny called the 'dillo pillow on the VinnCycle. If you felt like you were getting into some rough territory, where you might spill or even drive right off of a cliff, by engaging the 'dillo pillow, you could effectively seal yourself inside a lightweight armor capable of withstanding just about anything. As you might imagine, the 'dillo pillow is great for getaways, no matter who's chasing you.

After just a short time in pursuit of the drones, the first red indicator light flashed on the navcom panel of the Fiorelli twins' cycle. Franco quickly turned the bike in the direction of the signal and nearly drove directly into the rock face. Recovering quickly, he attempted to quickly shoot out around it to the left. Unfortunately, he lost track of the drone. "Bastin' Farbunkle!, I lost it," he cried out, upset that he was no longer the first to have a drone within range.

"Nevermind the panel," Manny cried out as he slapped Franco on the back and pointed to the sky beyond the outcropping. There, but distant, a drone was cruising through the sky in the opposite direction from them. "C'mon bro, gimme some squeelie!" Manny hooted in Franco's ear. Franco popped the clutch and hit the throttle, burning a stripe into the road leaving an acrid cloud to drift across a nearby field, bursting with Cunja Berries, the very fruit from which the prized JumpJuice is made. the berries grew abundantly with very little maintenance. The difficulty was in the harvest and the processing. It kept most people from even considering producing it for income and it was illegal. Or at least, theoretically it was illegal. The government, having outlawed JumpJuice at a time when the fruit was used for more practical purposes due to rivalling interests championed by powerful lobbyists, continues to struggle with the issue of JumpJuice legalization sporatically. As it stands, however, the machine that has sprung up from the illegal status, distribution and consumption of the commodity hums along with such force that no one, politician, lawyer or cleric dares to place a foot in its path, regardless of how obvious the flaws in the status quo may be.

Chapter 16 Transformation - Special Delivery Drones

The subterranean escape route which Leer had planned worked brilliantly. Within minutes the team was reassembled in an underground garage stocked with bikes, decked out rides much like the VinnCycle. "Two to a bike, quick as you please, destination and route maps are already loaded into your navcom panels and we've got Aldo ready to talk us through individually as we get near enough for air to ground links with our drones, right Aldo?" Victor said as he instructed the team like an orchestra conductor, first pairing the men then pointing them to their bikes.

"Right Victor," Aldo confirmed so everyone could hear within their headsets." You're all going to see a red light flash on your navcom as you near your drone. Use the panel to navigate closer and when the light turns blue, I'll guide you through the rest. Feel free to listen in as I guide the others so I can keep repitition to a minimum. We've got six drones and three times as many teams, so we should be able to round them up quickly."

"Those of you who aren't driving, I don't want you tempted to jump on your phones and tell anybody about what's going on right now. Whoever was waiting, thinks we've been hit and is probably wondering who did it. I want the mystery to endure. Those of you who are driving, well, I don't have time to quote statistics, but using a phone while driving significantly increases the likelihood of an accident and we can't afford any losses."Victor pauses for a moment, as he stradles his ride he continues," Oh, and about Abe, for those who didn't know, he was planning on blowing us up, his boots were full of explosives. Someone set us up and I'm pretty sure I know who it was. We are going to deliver this shipment, but not today. Let's get to the drones and link up. After that, I will fill you in on the rest of my plan, now let's move out!"

Leer felt bad about driving the large knife through Abe's feet but knew that he had to do what Victor would have done. Actually, Victor probably would have just shot him in the head right away. Leer had a pretty good idea that Abe was dead by now, but at least he didn't have to pull the trigger. He wasn't really against the idea of killing people when he felt that his own life was in danger but in this case there was even greater reason to get rid of Abe. He sent the team a clear message that he would handle the business that needed to be handled and he was relying on them to be there for him when he needed it.

"How did you know?" Max asked Victor as she leaned in close against his back."Those sources again?"

"No, Max," Victor laughed, "I could just tell that Abe was an asshole and too stupid to do anything on his own."

Chapter16 Transformation - The other side of Dreams cont.

Most of the guys were trying to read Victor's expression to determine whether he was joking or not while a few simply laughed without even considering that he might be serious. Abe kept looking at his feet. He was moving them slowly under himself as he sat on one of the benches which lined either side of the vehicle where all of the bullet-proof vests, head gear, firearms and explosives were centered. If you had been Abe at that moment and had any sense of humor or timing whatsoever, it would have been precisely the moment to act, but you aren't Abe and he didn't. Instead he sat, cowering from his own thoughts in the middle of the most visible area of the vehicle and attempted to hide there. No one but Abe and Leer knew what he was thinking at that moment and because Leer did know he said this,"We're all going to die." The men were really beginning to wonder about Victor at this point. He gave a quick glance in Abe's direction to ascertain whether Abe was paying attention or not and determining that he was continued,"you see, gentlemen, I believe we are going to be ambushed but not quite yet and the only way we can avoid a fight, which I much rather would, is to make sure it never happens, so," he walks over toward Abe and sits right down next to him. Then, he throws a helmet from the wall above his head onto the floor and props his feet up on it. "Let's all relax a minute, shall we, I have a plan I'd like to share with you." The men walk toward him but do not sit down. "Sit down, put your feet up," he says jovially as he grabs Abe by the leg and yanks his foot up alongside his own, placing it on the helmet. The men get the point and sit around him. Now there are two on either side of him and Abe and the rest, sitting directly across from them on the other side. "Alright, now the first thing we have to do is take a deep breath." He breathes in deeply and the men do too as Victor smiles at all of them, particularly Abe, who returns an uneasy and half-hearted grin. "Next," Victor somersaults forward from the bench, grabbing both of Abe's feet as he spins back toward him in a single motion, "we grab Abe." He motions with his head to Marv, who is seated directly on Abe's right side. Reacting quickly, Marv is able to stop Abe from reaching for his gun and also thwarts his attempt to move from his seat. Victor's empty seat is quickly filled by Samuel, a very large man who, had this been Earth would most certainly have been characterized as Native American. He quickly held Abe down while skillfully laying the brutally sharp point of his knife to the trembling man's throat. "Let me have that, will ya Samuel?" Victor asked in his most polite voice, his eyes resting on the knife. Samuel flipped the knife so quickly that it was nearly imperceptible to the eye and handed the knife to Victor, the tip balanced between his forefinger and thumb. "Nice touch," Victor chuckled as he pointed to the shallow crimson slice left by the blade on the neck of Abe. Taking the knife from Samuel he immediately sliced at the feet of Abe, artfully carving his boots from his feet in seconds. He pulled them off quickly and just as quickly drove the blade to its full length threw both feet, binding them together in a single motion. Without hesitation he reached inside of one of the boots removing its cargo of explosive putty and shoved it into the screaming mouth of the impaled Abe. "Tie him," he said to the men who held him, "we'll deal with him later," he continued as he threw on a helmet and barked the command of,"Stop" into its microphone. Immediately the convoy came to a halt.

Victor threw open the armored door just beyond the writhing form of Abe. He tossed out the boots and fired at them, exploding them with a single shot as he closed the door to shield himself from the blast. He quickly instructed the men to grab every explosive device they had in the vehicle for a rendezvous in two minutes, outside. He opened the door, smoke still hanging in the air, areas of earth still on fire, his vehicle blackened from the explosion. Leer ran to the front of the convoy. As he ran he called all of the men to action, instructing them all to meet outside the vehicles, and fast. In less than a minute they were all outside, every one of them loaded with hand-held explosives. Victor quickly planted an explosive under one of the vehicles, directly in front of the men assembled closest to him. "Like this", he said,"everywhere." Then he turned to Max, "You and I are going to release the drones, I'll take the front half." he smiled as he ran to the first vehicle in the line. Without hesitation, Max dove into the closest vehicle and headed for the drone deployment station. It was simply a matter of typing in an access code and pressing a button and the drone was launched. Victor and Max repeated the routine in each of the vehicles and within minutes, the drones were off.

"What do we do now?" Franco asked Victor as all of the men had emptied their arms of explosives.


Sure enough, he was right. Hobbling, but on his feet, only moments after Victor called it, Abe appeared in the doorway of the large transport vehicle. He fell his way out of it, mostly but managed to scramble fifty feet away before Victor gave the order to,"FIRE!" All Varst broke loose as the convoy erupted in a series of blasts. It was really quite beautiful the way they fired off, one by one as the men shot them to life then one would start the other in a rhythmic daisy chain of blasts. None of the explosions were powerful enough to destroy the vehicles but they sure gave the appearance of a major attack. If someone had been planning an ambush, and Leer knew that they had, they would hear the explosions and investigate, only to find the convoy decimated and empty.

As the last of the explosions fired off a low rumble seemed to be coming nearer to the men of the convoy. They looked around suspiciously only to discover Victor smiling and moving slowly closer toward the source of the rumbling. Less than thirty feet from him the ground opened up as a large claw burst from the ground, seeming to eat the very dirt it had just pulled it way through. The points of the claw arched up again then turned down and spiked right into the surface, each lodging itself into the ground by about a foot of dirt. This created a sort of archway,  inviting them to enter, which Victor was only too happy to oblige. He turned to the others, "Hurry along now, our ride is here!" then he walked through the archway, down into the darkness.
As the last man followed him down the claw jumped back into action, scraping and digging in an apparently random pattern, effectively sealing itself back inside of the ground, leaving no obvious evidence of what had just transpired.

Abe, looking up from his painful, face-down, shrapnel encrusted landing did his best to understand all that had just occurred. He heard the sound of engines roaring their way toward him. He pulled himself up from the ground and tumbled in the direction of the new arrivals. These must be the people he had nearly martyred himself for, the people who would have remembered that he had sacrificed himself  for their cause and in so doing avenged the death of his friend Bobby. At least he had tried, at least he could tell them what had happened. Abe was beginning to feel relieved that he did not go through with the suicide bomb detonation. He felt somehow stronger, more confident now that he was a fighter, wounded in battle. He walked toward the approaching vehicles, through the smoke and dirt of the explosion and as he did one last explosion burst forth, sending shrapnel toward the new arrivals. They caught sight of Abe moving slowly toward them through the smoke and quickly shot him in the head. His mouth still stuffed with explosives, his face burst apart, dropping his headless body to the ground, his sacrifice complete.

Chapter16 Transformation - The other side of Dreams

Leer was barreling down the freeway with a convoy of six of the most bad-ass rigs imaginable. The military of a small nation would have a hard time taking her. The convoy boasted an arsenal complete with rocket launchers, a sonic cannon, smoke screen capabilities, remotely guided drone air support (courtesy of Aldo) and a missile deployment vehicle capable of delivering its payload in any direction while on the move. The JumpJuice was allocated throughout the convoy in storage units specifically designed to separate from the larger vehicle, becoming mobile drones in their own right. Even if the entire convoy was assaulted and immobilized, these drones would have the capability to continue and would do so in separate directions, thereby increasing the probability that at least one major delivery would succeed. this was precisely the system in place when the other shipment was taken. One-third of the men involved with this delivery had been involved in the hijacked delivery. Not a single one of them could tell you how it was accomplished. Each and every one of them swears that the were asleep for the whole thing. Quite suddenly, and apparently ubiquitously, the members of the delivery team were put to sleep. Not a single vehicle was destroyed. No guns were fired. Many of the men believed it was the hand of Farb that snatched the shipment from them. In fact, only seven men were missing and of those who remained only a dozen were willing to return to run this shipment, and half of them were Victors gang. The same thing was simply not going to happen again. If it did, the remaining men would almost certainly find a new line of work, possibly even devoting themselves to the service of Farb. However, that was no reason to rule out the possibility of a conventional attack, therefor all preparations had been made and the finest team had been assembled.

The convoy continued down a stretch of highway that had all of the attributes of an ideal ambush location. The highway lay in plain sight of two small bluffs which essentially lined either side of the road. It would provide attackers perfect high ground as well as reinforced cover behind a variety of natural rock outcroppings. The men became increasingly nervous in this particular stretch of the route. Leer did not. While Blue was exploring his dreams for insight regarding his place in this world, Leer was exploring the other side of dreams, memory. Although Leer had actually been in this very spot at precisely this moment nearly thirty years ago, it all seemed like a dream. He remembered how he felt when he reacted to things that had not yet been said. "Victor, why don't we deploy a couple of units up, behind those outcroppings, Banyan Pass is no place to get caught with your guard down," Franco urged as a nervous sweat broke out upon his forehead.

"Our guard is not down, Franco. We are all ready. Besides, this place is far too obvious." Victor smiled calmly and Franco seemed to be genuinely relieved. "I have an idea that I would like to share with all of you," Victor announced to all of the men in his vehicle, roughly a dozen. "I need a moment alone to figure out a few details but I'll be back right away. Do not be concerned about an attack, but DO keep an eye out for one."Victor walked toward the back of the vehicle. It was a little like an armored RV, well appointed and fairly comfortable for a portable arsenal.

After several minutes alone in a small room at the back of the vehicle, Victor returned. "We're going to blow ourselves up!" he laughed as he quickly looked around the vehicle to catch the individual reactions. There was only one person who did not look in his direction at this announcement. It was Abe.

Chapter 16 Transformation - Dream Images 2

"What in Varst is that thing you're eating now?" Vinny asked Tommy as the two of them enjoyed their first meal alone together since they arrived at the Shadowlands. "I think it's bleeding!"
Vinny peered in closer as Tommy took another bite which he chewed with relish.

"It's a vegetable," Tommy answered, sucking down the juice which seemed to burst forth from it as he chewed. "I have absolutely no idea what it is, but the girl who gave it to me really seemed proud of it. That, or she wanted me to have a whole bunch of babies with her and she was convinced that this vegetable would be that magic love potion to win me over." He laughed to himself and added,"She was pretty cute."

"Did you just say, cute?" Vinny asked with a look that bordered between dismay and disgust. "And, if that's a vegetable, that means that you have no meat in your lunch!" He went on, becoming even more animated, "Tommy, I don't think I should have brought you here. The expectations, the constant attention and the sudden changes all seem so...Sudden! And Weird!" Vinny continued to look concerned.

"I know Vinny," Tommy said compassionately,"there are many things that are quite different about me since I died, almost died, rose from the dead, checked out then quickly checked back in, whatever the Bast happened, who knows?" He thought for a moment,"I don't know what to say to you except, thanks for being here for me. I gotta believe that it's all related, the dying, but not really, finding the crystal and the dreams, I just need to figure it all out and I really think that the people here will be able to help me do that; and I have you to thank for bringing me here." Blue wanted to tell Vinny what he knew of the truth but everything was beginning to confuse him a bit so he decided to wait. "You know, Vinny, it's not just about me anymore, and if we believe what Mojahdii and Sansaa have to say about it, it's not just about this world, so whether I just eat vegetables or not seems like small potatoes." He laughed at his own pun and so did Vinny. "But hey," he continued,"it's time to show you my paintings."

When they got to the tent Blue pulled the cover from the paintings with care,"I really appreciate you not peeking at any of these, Vinny, but I feel like I need to show them to you now." As he said this he pulled one of the light wizard paintings from the stack. Vinny's jaw dropped as he  fell a little backward, finding a spot to sit down rather than collapsing outright.

"You painted THAT?!" Vinny said in utter disbelief. "I was expecting to see some crappy, scribbled, messy, ugly, awful thing that I'd have to pretend I liked, but that is BEEZLE, Tommy, Bastin' Beezle! I don't know what in Varst it is, but it's Beezle!" Vinny must have said Beezle about a hundred times before Blue managed to show him the half-a-dozen paintings he had done so far. "Bastin Farbunkle, Tommy, what ever happened to you turned you into a damn genius, you could make some serious snark just selling those bastin' things. The next time you get that crystal to show up, let me hold it. I want to hold it, I want to rub it, I want to get into a bathtub and soak with it." Vinny was beside himself with excitement over the paintings Tommy had done. He had no idea that Blue was an amazing artist before he ever became Tommy but even Blue was unable to separate the inspiration which poured forth from within and the talent he had before the transformation.

"We'd better get these over to the meeting, Vinny," he said, not sure how to handle Vinny's enthusiasm. "Can you take the one on canvas while I carry these watercolors?" he asked, hoping to get moving without too much more discussion regarding his abilities as an artist.

"I would be honored," Vinny said, in all sincerity as he helped Tommy out of the tent with the art in hand.

The two brothers from different worlds walked together toward the hut of Mojahdii. As they got closer to the hut Vinny stopped suddenly,"Hey Tommy, what are you going to do about JumpJuice?" It was a legitimate question which Blue was hoping to get an answer to within his dreams or from the people helping him. He wondered what Leer was doing at the moment and whether or not he was able to break free from the dirty business they both seemed to be mixed up in.

Chapter16 Transformation - Dream Images 1

Tommy was welcomed by all who lived within the Shadowlands. He was Onjadiavaan. He had brought the crystal to them. Some were concerned that the crystal vanished the moment he showed it, but most clung to the notion that somehow this was what must be. Most of them clung because they believed everything that Mojahdii said, others felt that surely the crystal had not vanished, it was simply lurking around in some in between world waiting for Onjadiavaan to pluck it back into existence and then it would light everything up all over again and all would be good. Still others were confident in their understanding of Shedavah and preferred to continue with their meditations and life activities exactly as they had done before the arrival of Shedavah and Onjadiavaan, these were the ones Blue liked best because they treated him like a normal person. He was among them as anyone else was, loved the same, treated the same, greeted the same, the same. There were, however, several others who considered themselves to be quite advanced, even illuminated. They were so convinced that they were illuminated that they had to be sure that any light in the darkness, ray of hope, blessed event or inspirational occurrence must be tested, scrutinized and verified as legitimate. Unfortunately for Blue, they, like Sansaa, Anna Marie and Mojahdii were aware that he was not only Tommy Levito, but that he was Blue. Onjadiavaan was said to be capable of great things and despite the illuminated's enlightenment, a few key members among them found it particularly hard to stomach that a stranger from another world should be chosen to deliver theirs. Blue had been fortunate that he was alone for most of his encounters with the "illuminati". He wouldn't have known how to handle quips like "How do you like our world? Tommy" and "Hey, why so Blue?" if he had been with Vinny. As it was, he just smiled. He didn't ask to be Onjadiavaan and he still wasn't sure that he was. what he was sure of was that he didn't want Vinny to know that he wasn't really Tommy. If Vinny was going to find out, he wanted to be the one to tell Vinny. He just had to find the right moment.  Each day in the Shadowlands seemed to bring that moment closer.

"Hey Tommy, why so blue?" Blue heard a voice behind him saying softly, followed by a strong hand upon his shoulder. It was Vinny. Blue had nearly turned in disgust but managed just the right amount of patience, finding Vinny looking at him with concern.

"Oh, hey Vinny" Tommy responded,"it's the dreams I've been having. I have been painting what I see and sharing them with Anna Marie, but now I feel like I'm going to have to defend them to the others and I don't know what to say."

"Ahh, don't worry about it little bro! You're the one who grabbed the crystal when no one else could. You're the guy they've all been waiting for and they're just jealous. Sansaa told me that nobody, not even Mojahdii, knows what you are capable of. If anybody gives you a hard time, just look at 'em and tell 'em you're going to melt their insides out, very slowly, over time if they don't stop bothering you NOW! Make sure you point your finger right at their bellies and keep it there when you tell them. When they shut up, put your finger away."

"Thanks Vinny," Tommy said laughing,"I'm really not interested in scaring anybody."

"I know bro, just kidding," Vinny added," when you gotta meet these "special people" anyway?"

"This afternoon in Mojahdii's hut," Tommy said, happy to be with Vinny.

"I'd come with ya but Sansaa says it just for the "special people", Vinny said, slightly disgusted.

"I know," Tommy said," I don't even want to be there but they're supposed to be important in some way. Tell you what, why don't you help me over there this afternoon, I can show you the paintings before any of them get to see them."

"Isn't that against the rules," Vinny asked like a little kid.

"Bast the rules,"Tommy quickly answered," you're my bro!"

Chapter 16 Transformation

Blue continued painting the images he had seen in his dreams, only sharing them with Anna Marie. This painting captures the essence of a dream that had started when Blue was not yet Tommy but continued after he had become Tommy. Its meaning would be the focus of a discussion, not only with Anna Marie but Mojahdii, and Sansaa as well as a few of the other more advanced inhabitants of the Shadowlands, people who welcomed Tommy and challenged Blue.

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising Leer, Seeing Again is Believing Mostest

"Early! Too Bastin' Early. Farb didn't make the sun rise when he did so we could all get up before it does!" Gavin was the complainer of the group, but he was also the one most likely to die for you if you needed someone to do that. He also liked to make sure that everyone did as they were expected to do, especially if it was something that he didn't want to do himself but also had to. So he continued, "did all of you boys and girl," he smarmily eyed Max, "remember to swallow those pills Aldo made up for ya? Because we don't want to lose any one of our precious family. It's a big world out there and you know how it is these days, you just can't trust anybody, especially strangers."

"Nobody's stranger than you, Gav," Marv joked as he threw what looked like a bazooka in pistol form about thirty feet into the air, arcing perfectly down into Gavin's waiting hand. Gavin caught the gun by the grip and stashed it over his shoulder in a neat little holster on his back.

"All right you guys," Max bellowed so everyone in the warehouse could hear,"This shipment is going to make each and every one of us some snark, I don't want mine going to Levito, Palmeri, Kaspar, any of 'em, and if that little worm Masterson gets anywhere near this shit I will personally beat the bastin' farbunkle out of whoever is responsible, so keep your damn eyes open. Now, before we head out Victor wants you all to gather around this little mark he has put on the floor, right here," she indicates the spot with the tip of her boot. The men move slowly toward the spot. "C'mon, c'mon, we haven't got all day, gentlemen, let's move!" They hustle just a bit and in a few seconds all of the men are gathered around the spot, including Aldo who is holding a small piece of paper up to Max indicating that he had received his "invitation" and did indeed show for the event. Max acknowledged his arrival,"Thank you all for coming, now step back from the mark just a bit, Heads Up!" she said just in time to move the men far enough back to not be hit by the falling body which made a heavy, dull thud upon the floor in the precise location of the mark. Max winced and opened one eye in the direction of the floor as if to summarize the ickiness of the situation. The men began to murmur amongst themselves.

Victor's voice echoed from across the warehouse. "Yep, that's Bobby! Found him on my doorstep this morning with a little note from Sal. Two words gentlemen,"Not Again!". That's what the note said and that's all I have to say to you, now let's get this job done." He began to turn from the group but caught sight of a concerned expression on Max's face. As he looked around Leer could see that the men were waiting for something. Max's eyes drifted toward the nearby pillar upon which the familiar "Farb Sees" icon was painted. He was happy that Max was on his side because even though he had lived this day nearly thirty years earlier, he could not remember every detail of it. To miss the prayer would be just the type of thing to raise suspicion or inspire mutiny. Turning on his heels, as if the whole thing was planned Victor said, "Abe, you were Bobby's closest friend, why don't you say a few words."

Leer's play was perfect. Almost certainly, Abe knew something about the missing shipment. Whether he was in on it or not, Leer did not recall, but putting him in the spotlight would do two things. Primarily, it would let Abe know that Victor was watching him, secondly it would let all of the others know that a similar fate would befall them if they interfered with the success of the shipment.

Abe began, his head bowed low, his voice nervous," for as much as it has pleased almighty Farb to take the spirit of our dear departed friend and colleague, Bobby, uhh," he paused as all eyes were upon him, not one of the others wishing to be in his place, at once all of their eyes dropped as if deep in prayer, he continued," uhh, we, um, ask that you take him into your divine presence. We ask this in your name." Abe stopped and began to turn away. Several of the men cleared their throats and Franco gave him a little elbow. Realizing his mistake, he continued,"Almighty Farb, we also ask that you watch over the work we do here today and deliver us and the shipment we carry, safely to its destination. In your name, all things happen, by your will may all things be done."

With that, the group dispersed, each man bowing in turn to the painted image then grabbing guns, knives, grenades, lasers, a couple of swords here and there, rocket launchers the occasional taser and several rifles.

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising, Seeing Again is Believing Most

That night, Victor and Max made tacos, margaritas and music together. Actually they didn't do any of those things. The tacos were essentially the same thing as tacos but in this time at this place they go by the name "flappers" and margaritas are called "zosh", so you order a "zosh rocks" if you like your margaritas with ice and a "zoshee" if you like them frozen, otherwise, you will end up with a "naked zosh". Music is music both here and in the place which Leer calls home, but they didn't pick up any instruments or crank up the karaoke, they made love. Leer was developing a fondness for Victor's body. It wasn't as beautiful as the one he called self but it handled quite nicely.

"Gavin just called," Max said as she slinked her way toward a relaxing Victor, "he said everything's in place for tomorrow, even Aldo's bit. You must've frightened them with your dancing."She sat across his lap, leaned in close and kissed him. She slowly withdrew as if she intended to stand right back up again but Victor's teeth would not let her. He had her lower lip firmly gripped between them, stopping her. "Ouch!," she gasped as he let go, not intending to harm her, only to keep her close. Which was the precise result, in fact, she liked it, so she kissed him hard right back. the kissing and biting went on for some time as in some animalistic mating ritual, until Leer reached up and stopped it all by holding her chin, tightly between his thumb and fingers, so she would listen to him.

"Listen Max," he said,"I've got a feeling that all Varst is going to break loose in the next few days, not exactly sure how or when, just a feeling." She remained quiet but looked directly into his eyes as he continued," I am telling you, so you can be ready for whatever happens." Still silent, Max grew with concern. "Tomorrow's run will be my last." Before she could speak he answered her next question, "I'm putting an end to all of this for both of us. You want it to end and I just want out."

At this point Max was really confused. She had been secretly waiting for the day that Victor would stop the JumpJuice traffic, the fighting with Tommy Levito and his gang and the general reign of fear over the people of Rat Town. She had even told him that she was hoping for an end to it all, but hearing that Victor was going to quit, cold turkey was almost too good to be true. Too good to be true because Sal would never let it be true. It was Sal who made sure the shipments happened and it was Sal who reigned supreme and profited most from the sale of JumpJuice. Max knew that if Victor tried to quit, Victor would die.

"Don't worry about Sal,"Victor said, knowing what Max would be thinking,"He can always find someone else, like the Fiorelli twins, and he'll leave me alone because I'll be with you. But I really want to clear up this whole thing with Tommy and that's where it's going to get messy."

Max was completely stunned. It sounded to her like Victor was planning to leave it all behind and start a new life, the kind that only happened to other people. She had spent so much time trying to shield herself from disappointment, protecting herself by being tough, disguising her own desires behind her fathers ambition, that she found it difficult to acknowledge that she might actually be on the verge of getting what she wanted; love.

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising Leer, Seeing Again is Believing Morest

There were roughly a dozen men looking directly back at Leer when he warned them that they had better not mess up the shipment. Half of them were his solid crew and the other half were like the migrant farm workers of JumpJuice trafficking, picking up the odd delivery here and there, often buying their own supply from their cut of the run, then selling that for a hefty profit, making the whole cycle very profitable. In other words, every single one of these men had a stake in the success of the shipment so none of them gave Victor a moments grief over his little pep talk. Max was noticeably tickled by the whole thing, the dancing especially, and her expression of amused satisfaction did not go unnoticed by the boys, Abe, Gavin, Manny and Franco, the Fiorelli twins, and Marv and Aldo. Now the Fiorelli twins were always risking their own lives by hinting at a three-way with Max but today they took it one step further.

The thing about the twins was that they seemed to think with a single brain. Their unity of purpose combined with uncanny skills in observation, reinforced by superior physical prowess made them practically irresistible to women and unstoppable to men. They were also a little bit psycho. They enjoyed composing little duets a Capella and impromptu for a myriad of occasions, this would be one of them. "Max, oh Max, when you dance like that with Victor," Manny began. "You make me wish that I could paint a picture," Franco followed as they strutted toward the pair, Franco still singing, "so c'mon girl, let's get together and make art," Manny jumped right in with, "you can even bring your boy along and he can do the h-h-hard part," the Fiorelli twins laughing through their own improvised beat box while performing a perfectly synchronized pelvic thrust dance move that left very little to the imagination.

"Not a bad idea," Victor promptly replied as he took Max by the hand and spun her toward the door they entered by,"only you're not invited," he continued. Without looking back he announced to the ceiling, " and Aldo, I want tracers on every single unit that goes out, no exceptions, no excuses."

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising Leer, Seeing Again is Believing Morer

If you've ever had trouble figuring out whether or not you are in your own body, in your own time, in the body of someone else in a time other than your own or in the body of another but remembering a time when you were in that other body but it was about to happen, you have some idea of what it must have been like to be Leer about five seconds from now. Max was walking a few steps ahead of Victor toward a plain gray door on an equally plain gray wall. They were in the lowest level of a parking ramp which must have been thirty levels deep. Leer had lost track when the names of species of animals replaced the alphabetical sequence which spanned sub-A through sub-Z. He would have questioned his own safety being in the basement of a skyscraper whose floor numbering system seemed like an afterthought if he hadn't already been there tomorrow. This is exactly what was messing with his mind. The gray door and wall were too common. The only way to determine which memory was about to unfold would be to watch Max very closely. He had a nagging feeling of nervousness, an unpreparedness which was troubling him because he couldn't remember how many times he walked through that door before all Varst broke loose. The most important clue was nothing more than a moment of hesitation by Max as she approached the door. Leer knew that if Max paused, he had to be ready to fight. For the moment, however, he could relax, Max stepped swiftly to the door and flung it open, passing through so quickly that Leer had to step it up a bit to catch the door before it closed itself. Max was on a mission. She may have been losing interest in the violence coursing through the system in which she found herself but she absolutely loved telling a bunch of hard-ass guys what to do.

"All right, all right, let's have everybody out here right now," she announced as she entered a massive warehouse after proving her way through a series of sophisticated security devices, establishing her identity and alerting those inside to her arrival. "Where's Aldo?" she asked sharply as she surveyed the men who approached as rapidly as a bunch of guys can without looking like they're running to mama. "I need Aldo out here now!" she exclaimed but no one seemed to pay any attention to what she was saying. They had all stopped dead in their tracks. Victor had slid his way right up behind her, so close and so quickly that his breath on her neck triggered her defenses. Instinctively she pivoted, driving her elbow into Victor's gut, following through in a single motion with a jab to his face, moving so quickly that she had no time to recognize his features. Fortunately, this was of no concern to Victor, he simply collapsed his stomach in on itself absorbing what little blow there was as his body bended in anticipation of the elbow. Her jab was effortlessly diverted into a body lead followed by a quick torque turn from Victor and then they were dancing. the moment she realized what was happening, Max burst out laughing.

"May I lead?" Victor asked.

"By all means," Max returned as Victor bowed slightly toward her, signalling the end of the dance, her slight curtsy turning the spotlight over to Victor.

Leer turned toward the men who were frozen in shock at what had just occurred. Max was actually giggling at this point. The men just stared. These were some serious bad-asses, they carried weapons, knew how to fight, enjoyed JumpJuice and drinking and thought that the only dance of any value at all was a lap dance. Victor looked directly at each one of them in turn then said, "This shipment will not be taken from us. This shipment will go through. I have every confidence that you will deliver the Juice on-time and in full. However, if any one of you causes this operation to fail, I will personally teach you the dance of the dead."

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising Leer, Seeing Again is Believing More

"What do we do now Victor." Max asked, bringing Leer's focus back to present day. "If Bobby's dead, meaning daddy got to him, what about the shipment?"

"The shipment is gone, Max." Victor responded. "Let's just do what Sal told us to do. Let's handle tomorrows shipment, make sure it goes without a hitch. It's time to get the boys together."

Max was a little surprised at this. She had imagined that Victor was going to dramatically alter things, possibly including the cancellation or at the very least the postponement of the shipment. Maybe she hadn't made herself clear enough to him about the fact that she was hoping that things would change, that the fighting and killing would stop and that the JumpJuice was at the center of it all. Max checked herself, giving Victor the benefit of the doubt, she thought about the fight at the clubhouse. He had been attacked, yet he only disabled the goons. Sal nearly accused him of being responsible for the theft or loss of the shipment going so far as to question his ability to manage the operation, his capacity to fight for that which belonged to him. Instead of reacting with anger or self-righteousness, Victor chose preservation and diplomacy, letting Sal know where he stood without getting into a pissin' match like the men in her life had become accustomed to. As she granted Victor this moment of understanding she allowed herself to trust in him. "Alright, Victor, I'll get the guys together, how soon?" she asked as she pulled her phone out,  a smile crossing her face as she remembered that which made them late for Sal in the first place.

"Now", he responded as he walked toward the hole to the outside world, its edges still slightly smoldering from the blast.

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising Leer, Seeing Again is Believing

Leer knew that Victor was used to being called Mr. Alonso by all but a select few. The fact that goon number two felt it acceptable to address him by his first name meant that he recognized something different in Victor and, judging by the trashing he just received at Victor's hands, it wasn't weakness. Leer was perfectly fine with the idea of people recognizing that Victor was different, it would be only natural for him to have changed on some level. In fact, he was planning on leveraging the event in order to instigate change that he knew was possible. Stepping into the body of someone else in the middle of what could basically be labelled a drug war might normally cause one to want to hide, to blend in, to go along with whatever might be happening without drawing too much attention to one's self. However, Leer had no intention of blending in. He was not afraid of changing things in Victor's life. He planned on it. The moment he remembered tomorrow, he knew what he had to do today. He absolutely believed in change because he had already seen it for himself. His challenge was to foster that change without destroying that which was meant to remain the same. Leer continued getting little memory flashes throughout the rest of the day, each one bringing him closer to the truth, that he had less than a month to live. He was getting very excited. He couldn't wait to tell Blue that they were going to die again but Tommy and Victor didn't exactly hang together. That meant that he had his work cut out for him. Leer had experienced a very similar situation on Earth in 2064 when he was the Prime Minister of Amanada. He knew he was going to be assassinated by a Tea Party activist for allowing the entire population of the Maldives to enter the country with full citizenship after their entire country essentially disappeared into the ocean., claiming that her rights as an Amanadan were being taken away by the immigrants. She killed him by rubbing poison on her baby's cheeks, then, after clawing her way through a crowd of his supporters, held her little bundle of joy out to him for the obligatory political pucker. What was truly comical about that situation is that Leer, knowing that he had to die, had somehow managed to forget where the poison was going to be. His only wish was that he had lived long enough to see the video of himself spattering kisses all over the poor unsuspecting little assassin.

Chapter 15 Bad Moon Rising, Leer sees trouble on the way

Leer knew what to expect, because he had already experienced what was to come. The difficulty with a situation like his was being able to recognize how much of an influence to have on achieving certain favorable outcomes. If he became too assertive, he might tip the scales in either direction, ending up with a different result than that which he knew would occur. His memory of the future was limited to a couple of weeks at best, after all, it had been nearly thirty years since he had said what he was about to tell Max,"Bobby's dead."

"What?" Max replied looking bewildered,"but you just told my father that he is the guy who took the shipment!"

"Exactly," he continued,"it isn't going to take Sal more than five minutes to find Bobby and have him snuffed." Leer knew far more than he was able to tell Max at the moment but he felt confident that letting her in on this much foresight would be harmless especially when he came up with a pretty solid fabrication as to how he knew that Bobby was a goner. "You know, Max, it doesn't take Sal long to get to anybody. He wasn't after Bobby until I said that he did it, now that I have, Bobby is history." Max nodded her head slightly, it was at times like this that she really hated being Sal's daughter. She wondered if she would have been able to live a life free from violence had she been born into a different family, was the stress and guilt from this way of living the cause of her mother's condition, would she end up the same way? "Everything is going to work out fine, Max," Victor said gently as he reached an arm around her.

At that very moment, the two goons who had been on the floor, unwilling to move, unsure of their own condition, got to their feet, brushed off the debris that had landed on them during the explosion and simultaneously realized that whatever Victor had done to them was healed by his own hands. The broken arm and snapped knee were apparently none the worse for wear and because they were already down on the floor for the explosion, they managed to escape any injuries that may have occurred from the blast. After looking themselves over in disbelief, they surveyed one another. They started laughing , hugging each other and patting each other on the back. Feeling slightly uncomfortable when they realized they were behaving like happy children, they quickly chiseled their own features back into place. Uncomfortably they approached Victor, each of them extending a hand for a shake. Victor shook each of their hands as both men apologized for attacking him. Victor simply smiled. As they headed toward the door through which Sal had departed, the larger of the two goons turned back slightly and said, "thanks Victor".