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.