Doing it right...

[Sgt. Howard]

The next morning, two bear sisters were debating the day-
"Nadette," Berdine started, "will you be OK there? I mean, with Atsali there and all?"
"I'll have to be, I guess- we ARE going, and I guess she'll be there as well... oh, why couldn't I see this coming? She is so scared of her own feelings that she has to wall them off..."
"Not her emotions, you ding dong! Her hormones!!! That tea she drinks?... I have it on good authority that she doesn't drink it any more..."
"HUH?!?!?- she QUIT?!?!?"
"Yup... and she's starting to remember she is a siren/succubus mix... at least, THAT's what a certain Drow Elf told Daniel, who told me... accidently turned on to a human at the Alexander's place not too long ago..."

Bud woke up... encompassed in Kevin's arms. She thought about the night before and smiled... she considered how once before she had woken up in bed with Kevin and not known how she got there, how she deliberately tested Kevin's resolve and found him honorable, and the number of times she had snuck into his bed recently and simply curled up with him...
Now she lay there, fully 'given' to him... completely and thoroughly, she had given her trust, her love... and herself.

"I could get used to this," she thought to herself...

Neil and Phix were up early... in truth, they really didn't sleep that much. He went through his plans and preparations time and time and time again... knowing full well that any change in Nodaki's efforts could throw everything into a cocked hat.
Phix was pretty much a wreck between loss of sleep and worry for all parties concerned- Safyr had agreed to shadow the gang, that she could give warning enough to keep most players safe...
'Most of the players'- there would be casualties.
That's the hell of warfare...

[Sgt. Howard]

BTW, Al- nice avatar...

[Sgt. Howard]

Greg and Annie finally did get to sleep around 2200, and as such had only marginal trouble getting their morning act together- Greg padded his way to the kitchen to pull some coffee for the two of them as Annie found the bathroom. The domestics were in full force, knowing what the day held in store for them... and for the family of the house. To say the least, they were scared... but professional enough to not let it show... at least, not too badly.
"Do you expect trouble, Sir?" Edward asked as Greg filled two cups.
"Heh- YOU call it 'trouble'... I call it 'Sport'... relax, my good man- your Master and Mistress are in good hands, as are you... and your grandchildren will never tire of the stories you will tell about today,"
Edward let go a heavy breath- "I ... truly hope so, Sir,"
Greg, smiling, turned to deliver coffee to his ever-lovin'..."...if only I could believe that myself," he almost muttered aloud.

"Pickle!!! What did you do with my dress?!?" demanded Atsali for the third time that morning.
"I didn't- didn't touch your stupid dress, you just don't- don't 'member what you did with it," came the saucy reply.
"Girls! Less fighting, more effort- 'Sali, look in your closet to the left- it's in the protective green bag," Katherine hollered up the stairway.
Buck watched the whole proceedings with amusement... "... they know their drill?" he asked.
"'Sali shepherds the squirts and squishies into holding bay 4 and counts noses- Emerauld will be there to provide proper ID in case of security breech. When 'Sali says 'move out', there will be no argument- and you will be in the upper gallery while I am on the main floor,"
"No backing out," he commented.
"No backing out," she replied.

[GlytchMeister]

{Time warp - sorry... This would ordinarily go immediately after Al's previous post}

...

{This post has been fused with the aforementioned post made by Al, so no more time warp!}

[FreeFlier]

. . . "Then you lot do a 'gangbang' on Jin before you kill her... and make it a slow death, please... I assure you, even May will not take that risk. She knows me only too well, AND knows that she cannot kill me... I suppose under other proper duress, she might just tell me what I need to know... then I can make more of what I am, properly created so as to be indestructible, invincible... you have wondered about taking over the Twin Cities? Oh, there is SOOOO much more to be had, I assure you,"

ONE.

DOES.

NOT.

APPROVE!!!

She's gone shadow . . . that usually means that her idea of subtlety is making sure the bodies are never found.

. . .

Two believes that two will offer help and advice.

. . . /noselick/ One might leave the bodies to discourage others.

Meat to be wasted . . . to fall on bare rock and nourish nothing.

. . . That's new. . . . and disturbing.

Nobody noticed the unblinking ice cold blue eyes in the shadows...

/noselick/ This one notes that this one was not there . . .

Two notes that one's eyes are not blue.

And that shadows are not seen in the dark.


Seriously, getting a reaction that strong is good work - she insisted that I post her reaction.

--FreeFlier

[Just Old Al]

After a very long and nearly sleepless night, Al threw a robe over his scrubs and headed for the dining room for coffee. Around him the house buzzed with activity and not a small undercurrent of tension.

Wending his way into the dining room, he overheard Greg's pronouncements at the coffee urn and winced. Bravado in front of the troops was all well and good, and reassuring the civilians also a net win, but that type of talk always made Al quite a bit more than nervous.

He'd heard too many things like that himself over the years, and uttered lines like it many times too. Sometimes it was true, sometimes it wasn't - and there was no correlation between the perceived situation before and the eventual outcome.

Greg spotted him, and with hands encumbered by full cups of coffee steered in his direction.

"Taking care of Miss Annie, I see? Considering she can outshoot you and outfight you this is no doubt a sound course of action." Al grinned as he spoke those words - he knew that would not ony get a rise from his blood brother, but give him an emotional lift that both of them could use.

"Bah! Just because your dam can handle weapons that would break your shoulder - and do so accurately - is no reason for you to apply your sense of inferiority to my relationship with Miss Annie!" Greg Harrrumphed back at him - slightly nettled by the barb but enjoying the challenge and attempt at normalcy.

They bantered back and forth for a few minutes, then sobered.

"Get any sleep last night?" Greg asked.

"Nary a wink, my lad. Neither of us did. I daresay this concept of going to war with one's family at one's side will never be popular unless it's for disposing of one's mother-in-law with friendly fire."

"You've got it rough - Daisy's going to be right there. At least I know Annie will be at the safe room doing mook repellant duties and not out on the main floor with me and the TCI."

"Yes, it is difficult. However as you've heard me say - needs must. Now why don't you take that coffee down to Annie and give her a big kiss and a hug for me."

"Done and done. Worst case I'll see you at the hall - hopefully before that."

The two men parted company. Al filled two cups, adulterating his and hers in the ways they both liked, and then headed back for his still-sleeping love. He hated to wake her, but it was time to be up and about.

[jwhouk]

(Slight chrono shift)

---
I pulled my car onto the driveway leading up to work. I really was not thrilled with the idea that I was going to have to work the night before a wedding that promised to be hell, but Friday night was a scheduled work night.

I pulled up into the parking lot - and immediately saw the LTD sitting there. But, it wasn't parked in a spot; it was parked in front of the entrance.

I got out - and was immediately greeted by Lily - and Suzie.

"You didn't get the message, did you?" Lily said with a smirk.

"Yeah - you're off tonight - 'administrative leave,' due to your temporary transfer to MIB," Suzie added.

"What?"

They both escorted me into the front gatehouse - where I discovered that I had been taken off the schedule.

---

I got as much sleep as I could that night, but it wasn't enough.

There's the old saying that when you work third shift, you never get enough sleep. This was no exception.

Sarah and I got ready – we'd managed to get our "suits" fitted the other night, after we'd returned from my uncle's funeral – and drove over to the church in her car.

I'd already made plans with the Alexanders, to stay over Sunday night, regardless of what happened; I'd also given our pastor a "heads up" that our car might be in the parking lot overnight, as we were going to be "car pooling" with a friend to a wedding out-of-state, and we'd probably be back just in time for church on Sunday morning.

At least, that's what I was praying would happen.

We got out, our bags in hand and already dressed in our finest, and headed through the portal. The first persons we saw upon entering the Alexander home were Phix and Neil.

"Cheesehead Company, reporting in, Centurion," I said in greeting – giving him an "Ave" hand salute.

"No need to be formal, Joe," Phix said. "Edward will be around to show you up to your quarters – same as last time. Oooh, I love how that looks on you, Sarah!"

My wife demurred with a smile. "Is Aeternia still sleeping?" Phix nodded in reply.

"Though I suspect she will be waking up soon…"

A loud cry sounded from the upper reaches of the house.

"On cue," I said.

[jwhouk]

And we are now on chapter 31...

[Sgt. Howard]

Patty Hazelton woke up at the Hampton Inn and started her morning routine before heading to the office for coffee and waffles. Her greatest fear was that she might be turned back at the door, not allowed to go in.
The odds of somebody she knew being there was slight at best- that she might be considered a protest infiltrator seemed very likely.
But still she had to try...perhaps she could sneak in, or just plain 'brass' her way in... well, maybe not that- she really wasn't big enough to be 'brassy'...
Waffles proved to be a high standard of ... 'standard'... the coffee was eminently forgettable and her not-yet-human stomach was grumbling about 'nothing there' before she even finished her plate. When the English-challenged manager of the dump gave her the hairy eyeball for even contemplating another waffle beyond her regulated allotment of two, she decided to go out for breakfast.
The streets of Minneapolis can be quite daunting to an outsider... as is the case with every big city... and between her very simple tastes in clothing and her continued rubbernecking, it didn't take long for any native of the town to spot her as a rube. Wandering down one street, she found herself the center of attraction of a rather loud, rough and less-than-gentle group of local youths.
"Hey there, sweetcheeks- where you been all my life?" came one catcall.
"Ma gooness! LOOKY whut the fox fairy done dropped on our doorstep!" came another.
"Hey Toots- you looking fo a GUD TIME?" yelped a third.
"What I am looking for is breakfast," she calmly stated.
The lot of them went mute- her slightly broad nose, full lips and dark hue made them think she was from some other part of the city. They were expecting 'inner city eubonics', NOT the crisp, Vermont dialect that rolled effortlessly off her lips.
"Say WHUT?!?" proclaimed the tallest of the group, "Were'd you lern to talk like DAT?"
"Mother and Father, of course," she replied with scrunched up eyebrows, "Were did you learn to talk like THAT?"
"DE sumpin' wrong wid d' way I talk?" he challenged, deliberately making his speech thicker.
"Well, yes- it makes you sound like an imbecile... would you know where I might get breakfast?"
He grabbed his crotch, "I gots a full meal fo yo heah,"
She looked him up and down- "I want a meal, not a snack,"
His 'hoodies' egging him on and laughing at her responses, he went to broadsmack her across the face. She took a half-step back, slapped his hand out of the way with a contemptuous look on her face. Stunned, he looked at her in utter frustration- then went to grab her. She put him in a wrist lock, driving him to his knees with the leverage it gave her. Bringing her face up to his, she calmly said, "I am trying to be nice here- and YOU are making it difficult. I am looking for breakfast... the fact that I have NOT had breakfast makes me ... grumpy... and when I get ... grumpy... I tend to hurt people who make things difficult. Now... where can I get a good, solid breakfast?"
"If... you let me ... stand up... me an' th' boys will escort you... Ma'am... won't we, guys?"
She released him-
"... if it's not too much out of your way," she demurely replied.

[GlytchMeister]

"uffffff... Haaahhhhh..."
John stood from his cross-legged position without using his arms, twisting as he did so. Then, he slowly unfolded his arms, drawing a single line of fire between his palms. With a thought, the line split into five, each hovering between his fingers... Then, he slowly brought his hands apart and carefully performed several katas at the edge of the cliff, the lines of fire twisting into countless knotted fibers of heat, smoke, ash, fire, and lightning. His movements gradually quickened, moving faster and faster until he was little more than a blur of flesh and power.
Then, suddenly, he stopped. The grass around him had vaporized, the soil and clay around him had fused and cracked and fused again into ceramic, glass, and obsidian... The air around him hissed as the energy dissipated.
*poit*
"Senseis." John turned away from the cliff to face Monica, Brandi, and Tepoz.
"Are you ready?" Monica said, a meaningful look in her eye.
"Are you?"

...

Your last chance to run away is coming fast, dummy...
Not. An. Option!

Glytch's mouth was dry. He could barely eat - everything was tasteless. It was all he could do to choke down a strip of bacon, an egg, and a piece of buttered toast... Knowing it wasn't enough, he got up and went to his bedroom, digging through his camping backpack.
"I know I keep a stash of it in here... Aha!" He pulled out a small box of chocolate powdered instant protein milkshake and made the short trip to the kitchen. "Rosalita? Could I borrow the blender?"
"Of course! It's right over here..."
Atsali followed Glytch's actions with growing concern, eventually following him into the kitchen. "Hey, are you ok? You usually eat like you have hollow legs in the morning..."
Glytch plopped four scoops of chocolate ice cream into the blender and poured in some of the powder, chasing it with a splash of milk and a bit of chocolate syrup before glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh... Well, I guess your legs are still hollow..."
"I can't eat normal food... I'm too nervous. Mouth is too dry. So I figured... Well, I might as well get some tasty chocolate in while I can, eh?" He turned back to the blender and turned it on, pressing the button a little harder than necessary.
"Glytch..." Atsali tried to begin once he was finished blending.
"Besides, this is enough to keep me going all day without ever getting hungry... And I'll be topping my tank off whenever I can."
"You aren't going to-" she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Glytch decoupled the cup from the engine and took several large gulps. "Nah... I man, do the math... We have four golems, two sphinxes, a centurion, and a bunch of other wierdos... And a magic bartending smurf."
"I HEARD THAT! I AM NOT A SMURF!"
Glytch chuckled before continuing. "He's one golem with an expiration date. I think it'll be ok." He reached out and pulled Atsali into a tight hug.

Rosalita saw Glytch's grimace under his hood and knew he hadn't told the whole truth. It may be ok... But some of them might not...

[jwhouk]

---
"I see the insanity is already at daily levels," I commented as I saw Glytch and Atsali's scene in the kitchen.

"So you decided to dress up a bit, I see?" Katherine said, seeing that I had on an old sport coat over the polo shirt.

"Kinda at Sarah's insistence," I replied. "So - how exactly are we all going to get over to the A-Mill from here? I don't recall Phix mentioning anything about a portal..."

"I'da kinda wondered dat too," came a voice behind me. "Heya, Mistah Houk." Cavin and Calista entered from the portal door off the grand dining room.

"Atsali said we could come with you guys, but she didn't specify how, exactly," Calista added.

"Oh, dear... I hadn't quite thought of that..."

"We had," Buck said, appearing from the front hallway. "Our full livery is out and in force." He motioned to the bay window, which looked out toward the paddocks.

There, in the driveway, was Buck's Bentley, along with the Aston, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, two Suburbans, and...

"Wait a minute - is that what I think it is?" I asked.

Buck smiled.

"Elon Musk is a friend of mine," he whinnied a bit in pride. "Yes, that's a Tesla Model X."

"DIBS!" I nearly yelled.

[jwhouk]

And now... a special guest.

---

The drive up to the Twin Cities had been rather uneventful. He'd made the drive thousands of times, when he'd been courting his wife down at Northern Iowa. She had slept the entire way up the previous night, and their accommodations at the Renaissance Minneapolis – a hotel in an old train depot – had been perfect.

She had asked him about the wedding. She'd been surprised by the invitation; who was this "Wahnee" chick? He had to reply, "It's kinda complicated," and sit down to explain the whole… well, saga.

Their son was back home in Iowa with grandma, spending quality time with them – though they both suspected she would be tearing their hair out by the time they got back on Sunday night.

That morning, he'd offered to take her to the old coffee shop he used to frequent, when they used to live in Richfield. She knew which one: the one on Franklin, with the weird barista. She knew better to question why he needed to go there – because she knew.

The best damn coffee in the Twin Cities.

They drove over, parked surreptitiously in the Plymouth Congregational Church's lot, and snuck in. She had to have one of the gooey cinnamon rolls to go with her coffee, one creamer and one sugar; he managed to resist but got his favorite – a French press with an extra shot of espresso.

Properly caffeinated, they drove back to the hotel to get ready. The wedding was just on the other side of the river, and it wouldn't take them long to get over to the A-Mill.
He checked where the parking was going to be available – apparently, her dad had secured parking at a structure a block down from the hall. Those who had RSVP'ed for the wedding had received a follow-up mailing with a code and such for free parking at the site.

He'd kept up to date with the whole fiasco that was happening with her fiancée – and, as a result, he'd brought something else with him to the wedding. Fortunately, he still held his conceal-carry license from when he lived in Minnesota.

His wife made some last minute adjustments to her dress, realizing she'd need a coat over it. It was, after all, December in Minneapolis.

"Ready to go, hon?" he asked.

"I'm ready." She looked at him. "You don't think you're going to need that, do you?" She pointed to the bulge under his sport coat – which he wore without a tie.

"I hope not, but I've heard about some of the stuff around this wedding. Better safe than sorry."

"There's likely going to be hundreds of police officers there, you know."

"I think that if Justin was in my shoes, he'd do the same."

"You clean up well, you know that?" She smiled.

"Glad you didn't force me to wear the tie."

"I still could, Paul."

He blanched as they left the hotel room.

[jwhouk]

...Yes, he was invited. Why would you think otherwise?

[Just Old Al]

Al returned with coffee to the quiet, still-dark room. Deciding the best form of defense is a frontal assault, he walked over to the table, set the cups down, then to the window...

..where he raied the blinds fully while loudly yelling "WAKEY, WAKEY! UP AND OUT!"

The mumbled obscenities coming from under the pillow that had been pulled over a tousled head made Al realize he'd hit the target -and hit it properly.

Still grinning, he picked up the coffees, took a draught from his and came back to the bed, handing the second to the hand that snaked out from under the covers.

"Gods, she's beautiful" he thought....

"OK, drink your coffee and get moving. You stylist is going to be here soon for primp and makeup on you and the other lot, and you've got a houseful of guests all of whom are going to have their issues. Buck is already out there arranging transport and sorting that out, and the staff are working at 110% of efficiency making food - that no one seems all that interested in."

"Now get your lazy centaur backside out of bed!"

"Why don't you come back, instead?" She smiled with an almost feline look on her face, and Al did the hardest thing he ever had - he stiffened his resolve and kept moving.

"Nonono....you have things to do, as have I. Come on, then!"

Sucking his coffee down in a gulp, Al dressed quickly in his old flight suit, Land-Rover ball cap and his leather jacket. A quick hug to Daisy and he was back out the door and off to the garage - to the ambulance.

It was flight check time.

Lights on and with the garage at a comfortable temperature, he started a thorough check of the ambulance's systems. That done, he opened the back, turned on the lights, and taking up a clipboard began his inventory of the contents of the rear.

Lee-Enfields? Check
Mosin-Nagants? Check
Mausers? Check.
.303 ammunition? Check.
.303 elf-grade ammunition in a special can? Check.
7.62? Check.
8MM? Check.

On and on down the list he went. The weapons, each in their padded racks and secured for quick-release, with Chryso and its Union-Jack labeled can nearest the door for emergency use. The ammunition cans, prepacked and color-coded, strapped into the floor racks beside the weapons that would use them. The side lockers, with pistol ammunition in the confusing array of styles people had shown up with. The cloths, flower bowls and candles for disguising the weapons were also there. Al smiled a little at that one - a bit of misdirection would go a long way there - and keep things available for when the time came.

FInished, he re-holstered the clipboard, closed the rear doors, and walked to the front. A touch fo the key started the Alexander TDi (what a lovely engine!) and then a touch of a button on a wall panel opened the vehicle bay door.

WIth that, Al drove the ambulance out, and the door closed, leaving the garage still.

[Sgt. Howard]

Accommodations at the Motel Six were not up to the standards that any of the Westboro Baptist Church members were comfortable with- to say nothing of the distance between themselves and the 'A' Mill that was the target of this whole wretched expedition. That they found themselves across the street from a Cadillac dealership was not very re-assuring either. The marginal breakfast provided by the place did not sit well, but the congregation was simply too intimidated by the city to explore other options.
Around ten, Rebekah Phelps- Davis got into her SUV and followed the GOOGLE map printout to the site to do initial recon. What she found was that there was only one street where a protest would make any sense...
It was also the obvious choice for a frontal assault.

The accommodations and breakfast of the BLM protesters, by comparison, were much finer than most of their own homes- paid for by the DNP, by donations and a raking of taxpayer's money. They would be driven to the site.

Patty finally found a decent breakfast mill, dismissed her escort, and settled into a proper feed. She wound up ordering two breakfasts (much to the amusement of other diners) and tucked in with gusto upon their arrival.
She was going to 'high tail' for a fellow who was practically seen as royalty among centaurs- she had NO intention of doing so on an empty stomach. In human form, she was of course 'plump', but certainly not in a disagreeable fashion... 'curvy' would have been an accurate description. Her manners were well rehearsed, having studied human etiquette on 'YOUTUBE' and practiced as much as possible- she had not yet mastered eating meat, but given that her target was ALSO a centaur, she figured that might not ever be an issue...
And throughout the meal, she dreamed of what she might say to Rowdy...

[Sgt. Howard]

"Shake your lazy Bones there, Sgt.- we need to do a delivery," Al barked at Greg just as the latter finished his biscuits and gravy in lackluster fashion, "to the library and then to the Mill,"
"I've been promoted from Sergeant to pack mule," muttered Greg.
"A promotion you do not deserve- and keep complaining and I'll have you demoted to 'Lieutenant', bucko,"
"You don't have that authority and you wouldn't dare," growled Greg.
In such fashion, the two headed to the portal where they disappeared, only to re-appear after a short with Tina's Library set-up on a large dolly. This made it's way out the front door where the old ambulance awaited it's payload.

[Sgt. Howard]

The drive into town was uneventful, save for the standard multitude of idiots who forgot how to drive in bad weather- snowplows had to dodge one stuck vehicle after another all the way in either direction. While on the road, Al complained about how a 'perfectly young set of biceps is sitting in comfort and stasis while us older 'high mileage' types are doing the gruntwork'... Greg responded that in all likelihood, Stan was not idle- and could easily be 'scratching' Tina's 'itch'...
"Bah!... everything with you has to center around sex, you know that don't you?"
"Uh... yeah... and?"
There were several miles of silence after that....

They arrived just as Rebekah Phelps- Davis showed up to spot the area intended for protest. Rebekah noted the two older men delivering what must have been copious amounts of wine to a wedding feast- by the time they finished delivery, the van rode considerably higher. There were already security types receiving the merchandise- this was going to be a big wedding after all! While doing her recon, she happened to spot a van across the way with some interesting antennae mounted on the roof- getting out, she walked over the frozen street to see that this was an advance crew for CNN. Just as she made this discovery, another van with similar outfitting parked right next to her own Ford Explorer. THIS proved to be from FOX news- that these two saw fit to dispatch coverage encouraged her considerably- they would have headline coverage from two different viewpoints, all the better to get their message across.
She immediately dialed her sister regarding the situation.

[Sgt. Howard]

The caravan of vehicles piling out of the main gate of the Alexander estate was met by an escort of State Patrol and Local PD- the trip east was a rather stately procession, causing quite a bit of rubbernecking from the oncoming traffic. Here and there was the flash of a camera at the spectacle as the overcast often dictated the response of the device to low- light. Shelly and Justin were in separate vehicles, just to keep up the old traditions. All other couples rode together...
What should have been a joyous riot was rather subdued... as Mark Twain once described, "it would have made a lovely funeral, but was minus a corpse,"... well, THAT was probably in the offering, just not yet. All parties knew that battle loomed in the wings- and all were as ready for it as could be possible... which was to say marginally at best. Rowdy in particular was facing the young soldier's dilemma- could he take a sentient life? Could he kill a thinking, breathing being? Oh, he could fire the rifle, he could hit the target... but what happens when that target is a person?
Could he do it?

He would find out, only after the fact.

[Sgt. Howard]

Work in progress, Centaur with Sythe as the Alexander logo- I butchered somebody else's work here and it is not totally clean

[Just Old Al]

"Where the hell ARE those idiots?!?" Daisy was beside herself - the wedding party and all the others had left already, and time was growing shorter. Of course, the menfolk were an issue - they weren't there.

"Dear, they'll BE here. If not we'll go in the Aston, and let those two catch up in the ambulance - not that they will in THAT thing." Annie and Daisy, both impeccably dressed, Annie in her hoop skirt and Daisy in her Oscar De La Renta couture suit, both stood in the main hall at Alexander house, awaiting their escorts.

"Just a quick trip, he said. No problem, he said. If the golem doesn't get him I'll kill him myself." Daisy was not so easily placated.

Moments later the ambulance pulled up and Greg and Al piled out, headed for the house at a dead run.

"No problem dear traffic was bad the roads are a mess we'll be ready in a minute..." streamed behind Al as he headed down the hall at a run, Greg behind him. Minutes later both of them were back, impeccably dressed though a bit winded from the high-speed run. Daisy had calmed down as she'd seen that the time was still adequate - even figuring siting the weapons.

“Ready to go, love? Got your friend with you?”

“Certainly. I also have gift envelopes for both of us - I took care of that when you asked me to.”

“Where’s your holdout?” He expected her to reach for her purse as the Walther was small enough to fit even in that tiny shoulder bag. Instead, she reached down, grasped the hem of her skirt..and lifted…and lifted. Al’s eyes hypnotically followed the skirt line as it rose..and rose, till just below the level of impropriety a black, red-lace-trimmed holster with spare magazines appeared with the embroidered motto “ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ”.

“Lovely…just lovely. And the holster is a great bit of work, as well. Did you get Greg to fit that?”

“Yes, even though Miss Annie was initially none too happy with the request.” The aforementioned lady snickered but otherwise kept her peace.

“I wonder why considering you were likely standing there in your knickers while he took measurements. Good spot for it, though, and that skirt is loose enough for you to get to it easily. Let’s go now – we need to get there and unload."

Greg and Annie were standing there as well. Holding the keys to the Aston in front of Greg's eyes, he said sternly:

"I am trusting you with this. DO NOT BREAK IT. I REPEAT, DO NOT BREAK IT."

Greg indignantly retorted "Wha...me? Jus' 'cause Ah larned me onna durt track, don't git no funny ideers 'bout th' way Ah drives!" Al wiped his hand slowly down his face, obviously counting to ten...in binary.

"Look - key in, notch up, DO NOT PUSH BUTTONS THE GUNS ARE ARMED. Do I make myself clear?"

Greg nodded, eyes lighting up at the words "Guns" and "Armed". Al could see he'd made a major mistake mentioning it. With that, Greg and Annie headed out, and a few moments later Greg could be seen pulling out of the drive at way too high a speed for the conditions.

The redneck contingent dealt with, Al held Daisy's coat as she shrugged into it, then put on his coat and hat and they headed to the drive. Daisy came up short when they did, realizing that their chariot to the wedding was going to be the 110 ambulance.

“And why, pray tell, are we driving THAT thing? I thought Greg or one of the others would take it.”

Al sighed…this was going to be hard to explain.

“Several reasons, a few practical, the rest emotional. First, the gendarmes around the place know my face and were briefed on us coming in. Secondly, none of this lot has ever driven anything as top-heavy as an ambulance – especially one loaded like this. I’ve driven this truck in everything from snowstorm to ice to mud – we understand each other.”

Third and most important – this may be the old girl’s last trip depending on how things go. I am not sending her away with someone else. If she’s got to go, I go with her. If you want to take Buck’s Bentley, go ahead.”

Daisy nodded – she figured it was something like that. Damn that man and his sentimental sense of honor, she thought ruefully and amusedly.

“OK, then, if we’re taking the rattletrap let’s go.”

They got into the idling ambulance and clipped their seatbelts in. Al reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB stick wrapped in a piece of paper, and plugged the stick into the entertainment system after unwrapping it and setting the paper down. Suddenly, the truck was filled with the urgent beat of drums and keyboard, and a singer began:

“I got a van – it’s loaded with weapons
Packed up and ready to go…”

Daily was taken aback by the interesting coincidence in music and the contents of the old ambulance – and then realized it was no coincidence when she looked at the contents of the paper.

ARMAGEDDON MIX:

Life In Wartime - Talking Heads
Don't fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
It's The End Of The World As We Know It - REM
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
Ride Of The Valkyrie - Richard Wagner
End Of The Line - Traveling Wilburys
Nothing But Flowers - Talking Heads
99 Luftballons - Nena
7 - Prince
Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
All You Zombies - The Hooters
All ALong The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
London Calling - The Clash
Armageddon It - Def Leppard
Requiem (The Fifth)- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
Ain't no Grave - Jonny Cash
Hall of The Mountain King -composer Edvard Grieg - played by Apocalyptica
Helter Skelter - Beatles
For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield - Muppets
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Welcome to my Nightmare - Alice Cooper

Al had a very, very strange sense of humor, she thought, as he revved the Diesel, manipulated clutch and gearshift, and they rolled onto the access road to the gate.

Author's Footnote: We the scribblers had great fun with this list...it provoked no end of discussion. Kidos to all my fellow authors for their contributions