Well, as promised, here's the latest bit of MVL. I'm posting
it a little early, as I'm headed to StarCon in Denver this weekend.
So I wanted to get it off while I still had the chance. Obviously
I won't be doing much writing this week, and I'll be resting the
next, as travel takes a lot out of me.
I hope you all enjoy this, and have fun reading it. Comments,
corrections, flames, insults, congratulations, and all sorts of
stuff like that are welcome.
The first bit may sound morose. That's because I was remembering
someone who was very close to me, a long time ago, when I wrote it.
Some things stay with you for a lifetime, I suppose.
And for those who missed it the first time around, our
resident cabbit/author, Kara-Ohki makes a guest appearance in
this part of Mi Vida Loco. Look for it. She enjoyed it.
(Altho she needed a lot of mouthwash, afterwards. Heh.)
You will notice that the recent teaser I posted to the list
starring the late and ENTIRELY unlamented Gubby is part of this
section. I'm glad that the majority of you enjoyed that, and now
you'll get to see the rest of it.
Ed Becerra
*********
"I've seen places, faces, and smiled for a moment. But oh, you
haunted me so."
-- _From Russia With Love_.
"We have all the time in the world. Just for love. Nohing more,
nothing less. Only love."
-- Louie Armstrong.
"Where are we?"
"If this were real? The southern Ural Mountains, Kei." He
frowned, turning in place to get his bearings. "Magnitogorsk
would be off to our north, and Aktyubinsk to the south and slightly
to the west." He pointed to the flowing river in the distance.
"That's the Ural river."
Zen looked puzzled. "What's here? Zen means, we're here to talk
with you, but why are you here? It's a very nice simulation,
as holodecks go, but Zen doesn't understand."
Ed grunted. "Well, a better writer than I am once said that the
best place to start a story was at the beginning. And that's this
place. Or at least it was for Tasha."
Yuri grinned slightly. "Let me guess, it's a long story, right?"
She raised her face to the sky. "Minerva? Might we bother you for
some refreshments, then?"
"Coming right up," replied the ACI's disembodied voice.
The trouble consultant sat cross-legged on the grass and
motioned for Zen and Kei to join her. "So.. it's story time. Start
at the beginning."
"Ever wonder why vampires hide, Yuri?" asked Edward. "Ever get
curious as to why beings with such powers always try to make
themselves seem non-existant? They do everything they can, everything
in their power, to convince normal humans that vampires are just myth
and legend, created to frighten little children and entertain
adults."
The three women looked mildly confused. Yuri spoke up. "I always
thought that if vampires were real.."
Ed interrupted her with a smirk. "If?"
"Okay," Yuri grinned. "Point for your side. But, getting back
to it, I always thought that they were hiding from the people with
the holy water, stakes, and garlic."
"Close, but no cigar, Yuri. That's why we're here. This is one
of the reasons they hide, despite the powers that the partially
supernaturally based viral plague known as vampirism gives them. It's
not the first time what was done here has been done.. it's been done
before. But this facility remains the most intact."
He began to pace slowly back and forth through the grass. "The
virus has existed for as long as history, and even prehistory.
The powers and abilities that it gives have been known just as long.
The people of Midian knew it as 'the bite that mocks death'." His
brows drew together. "That says it all in a nutshell. After all, who
would turn down immortality?"
"*I* would," snarled Kei. "Better a good, clean death than an
eternity spent as an undead gaki.. uuuh.. oops?"
Yuri and Zen both whapped her in a single synchronized
motion. Kei bowed her head, and put her hands together. "Gomen.
I meant no offense."
"None taken," replied Ed. "That's the way a lot of people feel,
and it's part of what this place is. It's a farm, if you will. A
farm, built by humans, to breed, raise and study vampires."
Three jaws dropped. "That has to be the stupidest thing I've
ever HEARD of!" shouted Kei, as she shot to her feet. Yuri was
nodding vigorously behind her. But Zen was shaking her head slowly,
as if something had just come together in her mind.
"It's not stupid, Kei, and Zen thinks she knows why." She waved
a hand at Ed. "Go on."
He gave her a twisted, pained grin. "Give the fanfic author
a cigar. She saw it first."
"Saw what?" asked Yuri.
"There are plenty of diseases that bother the living, Yuri. But
by definition, the dead _aren't_ bothered by them. The dead don't
get cancer. Or AIDS. Or any other mortal disease or health problem.
That applies to the _undead_, as well."
Their eyes went wide at the possibilities that had just exploded
inside their minds as he continued on.
"The psuedo-virus that is vampirism is a pretty selfish
organism, Kei. It doesn't like sharing it's host with anyone, or
anything. Cancer, AIDS, bacteria, you name it, the 'virus' attacks
it with a vehemence rarely seen anywhere. It can keep its host
'alive' under conditions that would pulp most life. It's only
weaknesses are to strong ultraviolet light, garlic, and religious
symbols. And that last only works if the host was a believer during
life. If a child were _raised_ as an atheist, and became a vampire,
they wouldn't have that weakness."
He smiled coldly. "Now, if ONE weakness could be gotten rid of
by thinking ahead.."
"..why couldn't others?" finished Zen.
Ed nodded towards her. "It's been tried before. The Babylonians.
The Chinese. Most of the other ancient civilizations too." He pointed
to a weathered mountain in the distance. "That was once the main
Soviet research center into vampirism. They were trying to solve the
daylight problem. With the Soviet Union being a purportedly
atheist country, religious symbols weren't really much of a problem."
Yuri and Zen were looking a little ill, while Kei was well on
her way to manifesting an Akane-esque battle aura.
He continued to pace. "How did you think Brezhnev lasted as long
as he did? He was a _very_ ill man there towards the end. Human,
if you can call it that, experimentation using vampires. Not that it
was very successful, mind you.."
"It'd better not be!" gritted Kei.
Ed speared her with a glance, and she quieted down. "Anyway,
it's been going on since the dawn of time. Or at least the dawn of
human desperation and the search for immortality." He stuck one of
his ever-present cigars in his mouth and lit up. "And to experiment
on vampires, you have to HAVE vampires. That mountain over there was
a 'breeding center', if you will. And where my beloved Tasha was
'born'."
"That's why I often come here to think, Kei. It's a reminder
to me that the most beautiful of things can come from even the
greatest of evils. And that goodness and light have no monopoly
on perfection."
Yuri sipped the drink Minerva had brought her. *Who knew she
liked those fruity things with the little umbrellas?* mused Ed.
"Why did they even bother?" asked Kei. "There's always nanites."
"Yes, and there's always the chance that the nasty little
buggers will run out of control and turn your planet into a ball of
grey goo, Kei. Fooling with nanites when you don't have off-planet
colonies isn't a good idea." He shook his head. "Not that playing
with vampire-based biohazardous research is much better, but at least
it would leave the non-human life of the planet alone."
"So what was that thing we saw?" interjected Yuri. "And what did
it mean by those comments?"
"Something I never really believed existed, Yuri. Stupid of me,
no?" He chewed on his cigar in a nervous gesture. "Some time ago, I
ran into a race of beings that were.. other. They taught me to be
humble, because even with all the power I have now.. even being
something that might have fought demons and demigods on a fairly
even footing, they were capable of crushing me like a crippled
bug. The Xunca."
"They're.. awesome, in the original meaning of the word. They've
_rebuilt_ entire galaxies. They're _created_ life from lifelessness."
He shook his head in amazement. "And they treated me like a
housekeeper who found an interesting moth in the living room of the
house. Toleration, until they could shoo it outside where it
belonged."
Yuri gulped. "That's powerful."
"Yup. And they were _afraid_, Yuri. Afraid of something they'd
seen out there, in the depths of space. Far beyond all galaxies,
far beyond everything. There's something out there that goes beyond
good and evil. Vaster than imagination itself, it wants oblivion.
It wants everything, Yuri. Totality. Negation. It wants to see all
existence everywhere wiped away. It doesn't want to rule, it wants
to destroy. And in the end, it wants to see itself gone as well."
He shrugged. "Words can't describe it. Think of it as the ultimate
murder/suicide. It wants to kill us all, then after making sure
everything is gone, never to return, to die itself. Anti-life.
Anti-existence."
"That is _sick_," said Kei. "But what's that got to do with
that.. that _thing_ that showed up during the fight?"
"What's a pervert, Kei?"
"Huh? I mean, excuse me? What's that got to do with it?"
"What's a pervert? Define what makes a person a 'pervert'."
Kei blinked furiously. Yuri looked thoughtful, while Zen
frowned. "Isn't it someone who's sexually sick?"
Ed shook his head. "A pervert, technically, is a person whose
behavior deviates from what is acceptable to the society they live
in. What's a pervert /here/ isn't necessarily a pervert /there/.
Different society, different perversions. Get the idea?"
"Oooo-kay. I can understand that. I don't agree, but I
understand. So?"
"So what would be the ultimate perversion in a society devoted
to the concept of anti-life?"
"Someone who was entertained by life?" mused Yuri.
"Exactly." He frowned slightly. "Map please, Min."
A large oblong pool of darkness, shot through with thin streaks
of dim light appeared before him. "Take a look. Recognize anything?"
Kei and Yuri shook their heads. Zen took a closer look, and
inhaled deeply. "The Long View. That's it, isn't it?"
"Ayup. Beautiful, ain't it?"
Zen nodded, sighing. Her partners took a closer look, and
spotted the gently twisting lines formed by the dim threads of light
in the darkness. "That's us," gasped Yuri quietly. "The universe."
"The Long View," Zen agreed. "A construct of all visible objects
known to mankind. Billions upon billions of parsecs across. So deep,
no human mind can really grasp it." She pointed to one tiny, almost
invisible speck that made up one of the smaller, dimmer lines.
"That's us right there. The Local Cluster. Our galaxy, and the twin
Magellanic Clouds next to us."
"It's so.. small," whispered Kei.
Ed chuckled. "Tell me about it. Most people who get a chance
to see this usually get religion."
"And those who don't?" asked Yuri.
"They tend to go get drunk."
Zen turned a thoughtful face to the projection. "Let Zen guess.
It's this." She pointed a finger at a spot between the thin luminous
lines that were all the galaxies. "The Great Dark Spot. Dark matter
that we can't see through, or even analyze."
A tired look settled across Ed's face. "That's it, Zen. Whatever
lives there, it worries or frightens most every ascended race I know
of. And you just met one of them."
"So that's what it was," said Yuri. "A god?"
"I don't know, Yuri," Ed replied. "And I don't want to know.
But I do know this. That crystal, what was inside of it, that was
from the first New Year's Eve party we went to. We danced alone.
No one else but we knew we were there. That means, they've seen
Tasha. They know where she is." He closed his eyes for a long moment.
"Their little joke. She's so near and yet so far."
Kei patted him on the shoulder, awkwardly. "You'll find her,
somehow."
He chuckled grimly. "Oh that's the cream of the jest, Kei. They
_wanted_ me to know that THEY know where she is. They want me to know
that all I'd have to do is say the word, sign the contract, and I'd
be home. With Tasha."
"Would you?" asked Zen in a flat voice.
"Some favors come with too high a price, no matter how
desperately you might want the prize. There's one thing you can't
exchange for your heart's desire, Zen. And that's your heart." His
smile slipped, crooked now. "Tasha understood that. Aili understood
that. It took me a very long time, but I learned to understand
that."
He turned away from their gaze. "Anyway, that's the long and
short of it. I seem to have the the sort of luck that attracts
natural disasters. It's just that this one is a trifle larger than
usual."
"THAT'S putting it mildly," muttered Kei.
"I suppose so," he shrugged. "Here then, for the record. While
the rest of their kind want chaos, destruction and oblivion, they get
their entertainment by watching us scurry around. By the standards
of their own kind, that makes them disgusting perverts, regarded
by their own in the same way _we'd_ regard a child molester."
He raised a mocking eyebrow. "Have fun trying to explain that in your
after-action reports."
He paused, rubbing his chin. "Now for the fun part. You know the
whys and wherefores behind what just happened back on Repose. But
just why does the Central Computer want to see me for? And don't tell
me it's because of the technology I have access to. Let's get real.
The kid glove orders it gave you concerning me are just too bloody
suspicious for words."
"True," replied Yuri. "But that's all we have to go on. Trying
to get an answer out of the CC that it doesn't want to give is about
as easy to do as trying to put out the sun with your bare hands."
Ed reached up and rubbed at his temples. "I love my life, really
I do. So, there's nothing to it but wait until we reach 3WA
headquarters and hope like hell the almighty Central Computer will
deign to address us?"
"That's about the size of it," nodded Yuri.
"Oh, joy. Well, it's going to be a few weeks before we get
there." He looked around the holodeck and grinned. "Min tells me you
were having a lot of fun with one of my exercise programs. Care to
try one of the _hard_ ones?"
Kei looked at him as if he was out of his mind. "Hard ones? That
Techno-whateverthehellitwas 3000 wasn't the meanest one you have?"
"Oh, goodness no. That was just an _exercise program_."
His grin blossomed into a wide, mischievous smile. "The _training_
programs are MUCH more entertaining!"
Kei, being Kei, rose to the challenge. "Bring it on, little
man!"
Ed looked over to Yuri. "You okay with this?"
She nodded. "How about you, Zen? In or out?"
Zen shrugged. "Zen has been a little bored. Who knows, getting
killed might be entertaining."
"Then let's get to it," Ed grinned. "Min, let's have the
Manhattan scenario, if you please."
The room shifted around them, the shore of a river appearing
beneath their feet and skyscrapers filling the island landscape.
The sounds of a busy weekday in a large city floated through the air.
Yuri looked around. "This doesn't _look_ very dangerous," she
ventured.
"Oh, ye of little faith," smirked Ed. His arm went up and
pointed to a swiftly approaching cargo aircraft. "Let the games
begin!"
The aircraft began to release large numbers of parachutes,
followed by a second cargo plane, then three more. As the
parachutists quickly dropped from the sky, all four could hear them
hoarsely shouting battle cries. Zen's eyes went wide and she groaned.
"You didn't. You _couldn't_. Even YOU wouldn't go _that_ far, Ed."
He laughed, and tossed them each an assault rifle. "What can I
say, Zen? Except... YO, JOE!"
Kei's rifle swept down and blew away a shock trooper in a blood
red uniform. "Who _are_ these losers, Zen?" she shouted as they hit
the dirt.
"COBRA terrorists, Kei.. before your time," rasped Zen, spitting
dirt from her mouth. She took aim and shattered the faceplate
of a Battle Android Trooper that was charging towards her.
"You've GOT to be kidding, right?" asked a confused Yuri.
Ed was laughing his head off as he sprayed a cluster of Cobra
troopers. "Wait for the _good_ part, ladies!"
*good part?*, wondered the three.
Then a tremendous reptilian roar caused the ground to quake
beneath them. All three trouble consultants would have face-faulted
if they hadn't already been on the ground.
"You got a sick sense of humor Ed," screamed Kei over the
deafening sound. "Gojiro? In NEW YORK?"
"Why should Tokyo have all the fun?" he screamed back.
* * *
"Let's go pick a fight, guys; I'm feeling seriously omnipotent."
- Tresh, "Generation X: The Movie"
Some hours later...
"That was the sickest, most perverted excuse for a training
scenario it's ever been my misfortune to run into," muttered Kei as
she rubbed a kink from one shoulder and groaned.
"Cobra commandos, the GI Joe special missions force, Godzilla,
the Decepticons, the Autobots, the Bionic Six, the Avengers, the
Fantastic Four, the Six Million Dollar Man, all the remaining
superheroes and villains in New York, T-800 terminators, fembots,
Predators, Robocop, the bugs from 'Alien', the aliens from ID4,
Gigantor.. was there anything you DIDN'T throw in, Ed?" grumbled
Zen as she itemized the list.
"Well, there _were_ the the Zentradi, the Invid, and the tripod
Martians from 'War of the Worlds', but I didn't want to go all out
for your first time."
Yuri conked him over the head with the smoking remains of her
rifle. "Not funny."
He rubbed his head and chuckled. "But it WAS exciting, wasn't
it?"
"I never thought I'd hear myself say this," said a surprised
Yuri, "But maybe there IS such a thing as too much excitement."
"So.. we on for tomorrow?"
The three trouble consultants looked at the smiling maniac
standing in front of them. Then they looked at each other. There was
a long quiet moment.
"Is tomorrow afternoon open?" asked Yuri.
* * *
"I'm sorry, Ed. This is required of ALL armed ships approaching
3WA headquarters," Yuri told him quietly.
"Just exactly how many _sentient_ starships have you gotten
here lately?" snapped Ed.
"Well..." Yuri's voice trailed off. "I.. err.."
"None," interjected Kei. "But we can't land in an armed ship
that isn't either a 3WA craft, or piloted by a 3WA crew, unless it's
accompanied by an armed escort, Ed. That's only common sense." She
paused, noticing the astonished looks her partners were giving her.
"What? You don't think I can't see common sense now and then?"
The deafening silence from Yuri and Zen caused her to fume.
"Well, I can! So there!" She turned back to Ed. "What else is there
to do? I mean, _we_ can't pilot the 'Calypso', and from what you tell
us, disarming her would be like amputating Minerva's limbs. She's
too nice a person for us to do that, and I'm not fool enough to think
you'd let us." That earned her a snort from Zen, who got an elbow
in the ribs for her pains. "Quiet in the ranks, you. Anyway, she
could probably blow away an entire fleet with some of the stuff we've
seen on board. So why are you so upset?"
"Because it's DISRESPECTFUL of her, blast it!" The infuriated
expression on his face matched Kei's at her worst. (or would that be
her best?) "Min is a person in her own right, and shouldn't need a
bloody armed guard to land at the spaceport!"
Minerva walked over and laid a hand on his. "It's all right,
boss. Kei's right. There's nothing they can do to hurt me in any
serious way, and I can take an insult or two." Her lips curled upward
in a wicked grin. "Besides, I still have the paintball cannon."
"I _never_ should have let you build that, pretty lady. Someday
it's gonna get me in some REAL trouble."
"Someday?" she laughed.
He threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay. We do it your way.
Just don't expect me to enjoy it." He pulled another of his endless
cigars from a jacket pocket and began to chew on it. "Damn it, I hate
it when the girls are brighter than I am."
"So you pretty much hate it around the clock, then?" giggled
Zen.
"Smartass," grumbled Ed.
* * *
The 3WA pilot had come on board and was gaping at the controls.
"I have NO idea how to fly this! Who the hell designed this ship?
The Three Stooges? AWWWK!"
The awwwk came from the fact that he was suddenly hanging
upside-down, held tightly by the ankles at arms length. Captain
Edwards' arms, to be precise.
Yuri smiled down at him. "Be nice, Fugi."
"Dammit, lemme down! And why the hell should I be nice?!",
the pilot yelped.
"Probably because the person you just insulted is a friend of
our friend and trainee, Zen, here. And that makes him a friend of a
friend." Yuri's smile widened. "Do you want to get on our bad side,
Fugi?"
The pilot went as white as his skin would allow. "I'mreallyvery
sorryandIwon'tinsultyourshipagainsirCanyoulemmedownnow?"
Ed's hand opened and Fugi dropped to the deck with a painful
sounding thump. "Apology accepted. Now, if you're willing, my
assistant and first mate, Minerva, will help you land."
Minerva walked up and took her place at the science console.
She nodded to Ed. "Boss, you really should stop frightening
the hired help. It gives you a bad reputation." She leaned over and
assisted Fugi up. "He really isn't _that_ horrible. He hasn't eaten
anyone's heart in over.. ohh.. two weeks now, I think."
Fugi passed out.
Zen, Yuri and Kei broke up laughing.
* * *
"500 yen says he strangles the man in the next five minutes,"
Kei whispered to Yuri.
"What odds?" Yuri whispered back.
"2 to 1."
"3 to 1, and you got a bet," Yuri replied.
Ed fumed quietly at the customs official and glared at the
ever-mounting pile of papers that the minor functionary was insisting
must be signed before they could leave the docking slip.
"I must ask you to open ALL bags and empty your pockets before
you can proceed," announced the functionary in a smug manner.
"I'll have you know, Mr.. Mr.. what the hell is your name?"
"I have the honor to be T. Guy Underbridge III, and I'll have
you know that I am the customs officer here, Captain Edwards. *I*
have the authority to approve or deny your entry here, and there's
nothing you can do about it." He sat down with an complacent
expression on his face. "Now, if you will open your bags, we'll get
on with my refusal to allow you entry."
"Listen, buddy, the Central Computer itself sent for this guy,
and he's supposed to be there already," snapped Kei. "Quit stalling,
and pass us."
"I can't do that. Rules are rules are rules. They will be
followed no matter WHAT the circumstances are. No one is above the
rules. Not even the CC," the official said in a pious, self-righteous
tone.
The cigar between Ed's lips snapped in two as he bit down. "All
right. Here's the first bag. Feel free to search it." He handed over
a small Gladstone bag, opening it.
Underbridge sniffed disdainfully at the small leather bag. "How
utterly plebeian," he sneered. "A common piece of luggage, fitting
for such a uncouth person as yourself." He reached inside, only to
yank his hand out, screaming in pain. "Something BIT me!" he
shrieked.
"Must be that rabid cabbit of mine," mused Ed. "Kara-Ohki's
a good pet, but tends to try to sneak into my luggage. Have you been
inoculated against space rabies?" he inquired helpfully.
"Importing dangerous animals, attempting to import an animal
known to be infected with a dangerous plague, assault on a customs
official, attempted murder, and possession of unlisted alien life
forms!" hissed the smaller man. "I'm not surprised that a piece of
trash like this is infested with rodents! You're going to jail, and
the animal is going to the veterinarian to be examined, then
destroyed!" Underbridge waved frantically at a pair of nearby 3WA
port guards. "Arrest this man and detain him. If the trouble
consultants attempt to interfere, arrest them as well!"
"Uhh.. Sir? They're the Lovely Angels. THE Lovely Angels. Are
you.. uhh.. _really_ certain you want us to do that?" asked one of
the guards.
"I SAID ARREST THEM!" Underbridge screeched. "Then put
yourselves on report for refusal to obey orders!"
The two guards looked at each other, their eyes rolling, then
shrugged. Their disgust with Underbridge was clearly visible. "A
man's gotta do what a man's gotta do," said the first as he strode
forward. As he passed the counter that Underbridge had piled the
forms on, his foot somehow managed to snag its nearest leg. He went
down in a fall that looked about as realistic as Boy George's makeup.
"My leg, my leg!" he moaned in a melodramatic manner. "I've
wrenched my ankle!" He thrashed a bit, and then looked to his
partner. "It's all up to you now, John!"
John winced, then a look of realization lit up his face and he
suddenly grabbed at his right calf. "Ahhhhg! Cramp! Cramp! I can't
walk!"
Yuri smiled and stepped over to where John was bent over,
gripping his leg. Her dainty fist gently tapped him on the side of
his jaw, sending him into spasms of the worst bit of bad acting since
the death of Mel Brooks.
Underbridge's eyes widened in apprehension as four sets of eyes
turned his way. The corners of Kei's smile almost met behind her
neck, when Yuri tapped her on the shoulder.
"Don't you think we should help Minerva tidy up this mess?"
asked Yuri, winking.
"But I.. oh!" Kei's face lit up and she smiled at Ed. "Have
fun!"
"Quite courteous of you, Kei. I'll return the favor someday."
Yuri, Zen, and Kei proceeded to move the two guards away from
the entry and over to a more comfortable position against the wall.
They smiled at the sounds behind them.
"ACK!"
"AIIIYEEEE!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"NOOOOOOOooooooooooooo..."
There was a moment of silence, then Ed strolled over, clapping
the dust from his hands. "Rather suprising, isn't it?"
"What's that, Ed?" asked Zen.
"Oh, I never cease to be amazed as to just how small a space
a _living_ human body can be successfully crammed into without
causing any permanant injury." He frowned slightly. "I'll have to
abandon that suitcase, though. Pity about that, some good workmanship
went into that piece."
The three trouble consultants looked over to the desk where
Underbridge had been seated. An old-fashioned leather suitcase
with external straps rested nearby, rocking violently. Its sides
bulged with odd-looking lumps and muffled grunts and screams were
coming from inside of it.
"How..?" said Yuri, amazed.
"Oh, a while ago I spent some time with a retired smuggler
who used to ferry illegal immigrants across the American/Mexican
border. You'd be surprised at just how versatile the human body can
be when you're trying to fold it." Ed grinned happily. "Inspector
Underbridge _did_ insist that he wanted to search my luggage. Now he
can inspect it from the inside out!"
Kei was hit by a fit of giggles. "It's a damned shame you plan
on leaving, Ed. You'd make a GREAT trouble consultant for the 3WA."
"Nah... I'd look AWFUL in a battle bikini."
The four left the customs area smiling. A few moments later,
one of the guards carefully opened one eye.
"John?"
"Yeah, Kenzo?"
"Shouldn't we be reporting what's happened or something?"
"Whaddya mean?"
"About Inspector Underbridge, I mean."
"I dunno about you, Ken, but as far as _I'm_ concerned,
I intend to report what happened to the little shit just as soon as I
feel healthy enough to stand up and walk over to the phone. I figure
that'll be in about an hour or so."
"A short nap, then?"
"Works for me."
The two guards smiled and enjoyed the muffled noises coming
from the suitcase near the desk as they dozed off.
* * *
"Dreamers may die, but the Dream is eternal.."