//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Family Matters // Story: Bailing Out // by PhillyCh3zSt3ak //------------------------------// Chapter 19: Family Matters I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. Revelation 6:1+2 February 12, 2021 – Base cafeteria “-So then I told him,” I started the punch line on my story to some of the other test pilots. My phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Emily. “Sorry guys, I got to take this,” I said walking away. “Aww, interrupted right at the good part too,” one of the guys commented. “That’s what she said,” someone said walking in on the conversation as they passed. I rolled my eyes as I walked to a more private area, “Hey sis, what’s up?” “Andrew, something happened,” she said on the other side, I could almost hear her sniffling on the other side. “You don’t sound so hot, what’s going on?” “It’s Eric. He’s… he’s…” she trailed. “He’s dead?” I asked with shock. “No, it’s worse.” “He got hit by a train?” “No, but I wish he was right now.” “Emily,” I sighed as I started rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Stop playing twenty questions with me and tell me what’s going on with Eric,” I borderline demanded. “He’s cheating on me half a world away.” “Well how do you know that? You did tell me that he was doing business overseas after all.” She took a little time to say something. “I looked up his phone’s GPS and it showed he was at a hotel in Japan notorious for being a place to hook up.” “Well how do you know that he didn’t just wander in the area of it?” I asked trying to give my brother-in-law the benefit of the doubt. “He’s been there every night for the last week, though his hotel is on the other side of the city,” she said with a sob. “Listen sis, I’m going to come out to LA.” “You don’t have to-” “No I DO have to. Remember what you did to that bitch Heather years ago for breaking my heart?” “Yeah?” “Well now it’s time for me to be a brother. I’ll see you in a bit ok?” I said before hanging up. I walked back towards the group. “Hey, any of you willing to give me a lift to LA?” *** Los Angeles airspace Yeah I wasn’t able to catch a ride with one of the pilots, even any of the cargo planes leaving to secret DARPA facilities with some of the stuff we’ve been working on. I mean hell, even if they were going over the city I could just jump out, glide down, and catch a cab somewhere. But no, no free rides for me. So therefore I’m flying myself to LA. I took a break near the Angeles national park, you know the one behind the Hollywood sign? I sat on the “H” of the sign as I took a breather. Spits is going to be pissed once she knows I just left out of the blue. My phone started ringing, and speak of the devil. I picked it up and with an innocent, “Hi Spits,” I answered. “Where the hell are you?” she asked. Time slowed down to a stand-still as I thought of what to say. I could either blatantly lie to her and say that I’m still on base, which she could easily check up with those pilots that I hang out with, or I could tell her where I am. Lying would land me on the couch and end up sexless for who knows how long, BUT admitting where I am and why may land me some sympathy. And sympathy doesn’t land me on the couch. “I’m in LA right now, actually I’m sitting on the Hollywood sign.” “Why the hell are you there!?!” she yelled. I pulled the phone away and popped my ears, “Emily called and said that Eric’s been cheating on her. I’m just heading to her place to cheer her up, and maybe beat the shit out of my scumbag brother-in-law over in Japan.” “Well that’s all fine but I would have liked if you said something- wait did you say Japan?” she asked with what I would have assumed was a confused look. Well I can’t see her now can I? “Yeah he’s been over there for about three months now.” “I’m going to meet you there,” she said while in the background it sounded like she was getting up and heading into a lobby. “In Japan?” I asked jumping down from the sign, I used my wings to do a few power strokes to help soften my landing. I folded my wings against my black hoodie before adjusting it to slide my wings back in between the areas cut out for them. I got to the guys in R&D and got them, with the motivation of money, to make two hoodies that have zippered wing holes that have little flaps to hide the zippers when closed up. Spits had an orange one at home. “No, in Canterlot,” she said with sarcasm permeating her voice. “Alright. You have my sister’s address, right?” “No, can you send it to me?” I put the call on speaker and opened my address book and copied Emily’s address and sent it via text to Spits, “Sent. Hey could you stop at the house and get our passports? If I have to go half-way across the world to beat Eric up I don’t want to get stuck in customs.” “Alright I got the address. Should I fly there or FLY there?” she asked emphasizing the last one more and I knew immediately what she meant: flying here with her own wings. “Depends, can you go faster than a passenger jet?” I queried. “If I hit the right updrafts and winds I can. And I’ll be sure to drop by the house and grab the passports.” “Thanks, I’m going to head over to Emily’s now. See you soon,” I said before we exchanged an ‘I love you’ and then I hung up. Now a new thought comes to mind, how am I going to get there? I could fly again, but that would draw attention to me. I mean a human with wings flying above the city, yeah like that won’t be seen on CNN, FOX, and other news sites. I could pull a GTA and ‘borrow’ a car, but I have no desire to go down to the local precinct if I get caught. Then there’s getting a taxi, I do have cash on me after all. Then there’s just walking, but it’s got to be at least thirty miles to get to her house if not more. I’m partial to the taxi right about now. *** A few blocks away from Emily’s Well that was a long drive that took almost an hour to get from the park there to Emily’s house, which was a mile away from the beach. A nice property if I do say so myself. I remember when I helped them move out here a few years ago, after we were all done she and Eric had taken me to the beach for some surfing lessons. Let’s just say that I wiped out, a lot. I continued to walk the last few blocks to get out of an apartment complex. It is late afternoon now and the sun is starting to set. As I walk along I feel like someone is watching me, not from above in the clouds either, but from behind me. I looked at the reflective glass of my wristwatch at an angle so instead of being a piece of glass it acted like a mirror. Behind me I saw two young men in their late teens following me. I started walking slightly faster than I already was. I checked again and saw that they were still following me, matching my pace. I hate using advice I got from TV shows, but this one does seem applicable to the situation. I believe it went something like this: ‘If you’re being followed it’s not necessarily a bad thing. You’re the one they’re following and can walk them into your own ambush at your own choosing.’ I started looking around at the current landscape. I saw a few apartment complexes that ranged from two to three stories up. Two of the complexes came close to each other with an alleyway that a garbage truck could fit through. I came up to where I could see down it and turned straight into it. As soon as I rounded the corner I reached back and unzipped the openings in my hoodie and let my wings out. I quickly took to the air and landed up on the roof of one of the buildings. I pulled up my hood and laid down so that I could see over the ledge. They strolled into the alley. “Where did he go?” one asked as he spun around in confusion. “There’s no way he got down there that fast,” he pointed down towards the end of the alley. “Come on, let’s go get this fucker,” the other said as they started walking down the alley. When they had reached the middle I jumped down, using my wings like air brakes I gently touched down a few feet in back of them without a sound. I tapped them on their shoulders. They spun around and looked at me with very surprised looks, “Hello,” I said as I smashed their heads together causing them to stumble and fall to the ground. “Looking for me?” They grasped their heads and moaned in pain, “I’m sorry, it seems as though you’re busy with a couple of concussions.” I crouched over them, “Just a tip though, don’t try to sleep with a concussion because you might not wake up.” I stood up to walk away. “You asshole,” the taller of the two said. “Don’t you know who we are?” the stouter of the two asked. “Don’t know, don’t care,” I replied coldly as I turned around, my back facing them. I folded my wings back inside my hoodie and walked away like nothing ever happened. I walked out of the alley and kept heading towards Emily’s house. Behind me I heard a, “Holy shit! Did you see that?!?” And with that I started walking faster, luckily I had my hood up during that little scuffle, if you could even call it that, so that should keep my identity hidden. I continued to walk until I got to Emily’s house. I stopped at the door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later I heard the deadbolt being unlocked and the door opened. Standing there was Jenny, whose expression went from confusion to excitement in the span of a few seconds. “Uncle Andy!” she yelled running towards me, giving me the biggest hug an adorable pink haired munchkin like her could. “What are you doing here?” “Hey there short stack, where’s your mom at?” I asked in return messing up her hair. She let me come inside, me closing the door behind me. “She’s in her room crying and I don’t know why. She just told me to watch TV for now.” We walked into the living room, “Hey why don’t you watch TV for now and let me go see what’s up with your mom, ok?” “OK!” she said with excitement before jumping on the couch, turning up the volume. ‘Earlier today we received word from NASA that the first manned mission to the moon since the Apollo missions will be launching in three days. Set your calendars everyone, this is going to be quite the event. If you’ll remember this series of missions is to establish a moon base as a stopping point to start manned missions to Mars-.’ the rest of it got cut off as Jenny changed the channel. I walked over to the master bedroom and knocked softly on the door, “Hey Em, I’m coming in ok?” I said before opening the door slowly. The room was dark and depressing. Emily was on the bed looking more worn out then she had ever been. “Andrew,” she said with a sniffle, shuffling to sit up, “I wasn’t expecting you at least for another few hours if not tomorrow.” “Well when I heard I flew here as fast as I could,” I replied. It wasn’t a total lie after all. “How are you doing?” “Better than I was this morning when I found out.” She rubbed a tear out of her eye, “I don’t know how to tell Jenny what’s going on. I don’t even know where to go from here.” “Do you have any idea how long he’s been doing this?” I ask while taking a seat on the bed. “Since the beginning of December if not further back with other women state-side.” My assigned text tone for Spits went off. I looked at the lock screen, ‘I’m almost there, no later than an hour after sundown.’ I opened up the messenger app and sent back, ‘K, just ring the doorbell when you get here.’ “Do you want some tea or anything?” I ask. “I’d ask if you’d want some wine, but considering you current condition that would be unwise.” “Sure, I should have something in the kitchen cupboards,” Emily replied with a sniffle. I probably should get some Kleenexes for her. I walked into the kitchen and started boiling some water. Jenny came in looking for a snack. “What’s wrong with mommy? Is she ok?” she asked as only an innocent child could. “Don’t worry kiddo, she’ll be fine soon,” I replied as I messed her hair up again. “Hey have you eaten yet?” She shook her head ‘no,’ “What would you say if I ordered us some pizza?” “YAY! You’re the bestest uncle ever!” “And don’t you forget it,” I added with a smirk. We ordered two large cheese pizzas from Papa John’s, gotta love that place. It’s a regional thing. About a half-hour later the doorbell rang and there before me was the delivery guy. One payment and tip later, Jenny and I were eating some quality pizza. Emily came out too as soon as she smelled the wonderful smell of food. However she ripped off the cheese and put pickles and peanut butter on it. Damn those cravings must be hitting her hard. “That’s just weird,” I commented, which elicited a little giggle from Jenny. The doorbell rang again. Emily got up to go get it, “Sit,” I commanded. Ok not really ‘commanded,’ more like suggested. “I’ve got this one.” Getting up I went to the door and standing on the porch was Spits. “Hey,” she said before giving me a quick kiss. “Glad to see you made it. Got the passports?” I said ushering her inside. She pulled off her backpack and pulled out two US passports, “And because you left so suddenly I even brought you a change of clothes.” ‘And a set for myself,’ she thought to herself. “Is that pizza?” she said walking into the kitchen. And as if on cue, “AUNTIE SAM!” Jenny yelled. I looked inside and saw Jenny wrapped around Spits’ leg. “What are you doing here?” “Well I came to deliver some important papers to Andrew here before taking off on a plane to take care of some ‘business,’” Spits replied. If there were any time to use air quotes that would have been the time. “Aww, so you’re not staying?” Jenny asked with puppy dog eyes. “Just the night, then we’re off for a bit to go find someone,” she said as she tried to mess with Jenny’s still pink hair. “Hey, only Uncle Andy gets to do that,” Jenny pouted. Kids, what are you going to do? The rest of the night wound down to Spits and Emily doing what I like to call ‘lady talk.’ This be the reason why men invented the smartphone, so that guys may distract themselves while their significant other talks the night away with another woman. Jenny and I watched TV for a while. She watched some Spongebob looking show, or it was Spongebob Squarepants. My God that show’s been on the air for what? Twenty years now? Then Emily came in and chased Jenny to bed right at the stroke of eight. We all watched whatever was on TV for the next hour, that is until the news came on. “This video has been going around the internet today that has a bunch of people questioning its authenticity,” the male reporter said before cutting to ‘amateur video’ footage. It showed an angle that obscured my face but showed me flying up onto the building’s roof, then gliding down, and bashing the two street gangsters’ heads together. They even managed to get my ‘Don’t know, don’t care’ before I walked away. “The video has gone viral all around the world as of a few hours ago with over one million views and counting. There have been countless video replies either in trying to prove this is real or fake,” the anchor finished before swapping over to a clip from a reply. “You can totally tell it’s faked. As you can see there are too many shadows to hide the equipment to make it look like the actor here to ‘fly’ as you will,” a male said. He sounded like a guy that still lives in his mother’s basement. They cut to another clip, “As you can see the wings bend organically, not mechanically. It’s safe to say either this is either extremely well done CGI work that took many man hours, or it is the real deal,” a female voice said over a digitally drawn over version of the video. She highlighted the areas where the joints were on my wings. They cut back to the anchors, “As you can see the internet community is ablaze with conversations and arguments over this three minute video.” “Andrew,” Spits said real slowly, like she was formulating the next sentence real carefully. “Tell me why that sweatshirt on the TV looks just like yours does?” “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I quickly stammered out. “Andrew, you’re hiding something,” Emily said giving me a look used by our mother when she wanted to get something out of us that we were hiding. “No I’m not.” “Yes, you are. You always acted like this when we were little when you had something to hide. Now the question is: what are you hiding?” Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. I looked over to Spits and gave her my best innocent face and hoped that everything would end up ok. Emily was still sitting there with her arms crossed. “Well? I’m waiting,” Emily said as she started tapping her foot. “Em, please swear that you won’t freak out,” I said as I stood up. “Why would I freak out?” “Just please, promise me that you won’t.” She sighed, “Fine.” She raised her right hand, “I swear upon grand grandpa’s grave that I won’t freak out.” She put her hand down, “Happy?” “Not really, but it’s the closest we’re going to get right now,” I replied. I stood up and took off my sweatshirt. My wings were still sitting, quite comfortably might I add, folded against my back. Emily raised an eyebrow, “Just give it a second.” I slowly unfurled my wings to a relaxed position, showing off the wingspan without fully extending them; similarly that’s how Spits has her wings out at home when we’re alone. She sat there just staring at the jet black wings and feathers, “Hold on a second.” She pinched herself, “Nope not asleep.” She looked up at me, confusion definitely on her face, “Andrew, what’s going on? What’s THAT?” she asked as she pointed at my wings. “These?” I ask making them move a little. “No, the kitchen sink. Of course THOSE.” “Em, you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Not Jenny and especially not our parents.” She nodded and I proceeded to tell her the abridged version of how I got my wings. You know, cutting out the gore and giving the version that a layman could understand, in other words what I understood. After it was all said and done Emily just sat there for a few minutes. During the telling of my tale I sat down and put my hoodie back on. “So let me get this straight, the military performed an experiment on you-.” “One that I opted in to, no one forced me to do it,” I add. “-And Sam also has wings.” Spits made her orange wings shift out a bit so you could see a feather or two. “And you’re involved in something that you can’t tell me because of legal paperwork?” “That’s the gist of it.” “And they actually work?” “How else do you think we got here in such a small amount of time?” I asked. “Well I thought you got the first available plane.” “Anyway though, I’m going to take care of this ‘Eric’ thing so you don’t have to.” “Please don’t hurt him,” Emily pleaded. “Don’t worry, Em. First I’ll try to talk to him rationally, and if he doesn’t then we’ll see where it goes from there,” I replied. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t go too far,” Spits said reassuringly. “There’s a pull out bed in the couch there,” Emily said pointing to the couch. “There’s some sheets and blankets in the closet there. I’m going to get to bed, I have to work in the morning and Jenny has to get to school. Have a good night guys.” “‘Night,” I said before she disappeared into her room. We spent the next few minutes making the pullout bed and stripping out of our clothes down to our undergarments, Spits didn’t bring our sleepwear, only a change for the next day for the both of us. We sat on the bed trying to get a little comfortable. “Hey, I brought your laptop with me,” Spits said pulling out my Toshiba laptop from the backpack. “I figured you’d want to book a flight online rather than up at the front desk,” she handed me it and I booted it up. “Did you get a chance to preen your win- wait, you didn’t tell your sister about them until now so that’s probably a ‘no’ then.” “Nope, no chance to. Can you take a quick look for me?” I asked while putting in my password. “Sure, as long as you give me a wing and back massage in return,” she said with a very lusty look in her eye. “I can’t see why not, you flew just as far as I did.” I extended my left wing and Spits ran her fingers through the feathers looking for broken or out of place. It felt really nice. When she did it the first time while I was awake it was really hard to stay focused on what I was doing since it felt like one of those sensual massages. Now it feels nice and the nerves aren’t quite as sensitive as they used to be. Oh they’re still sensitive enough to detect air currents and updrafts, but not as bad as they used to. She plucked out a broken feather here and there. Believe it or not it didn’t hurt that much, it was like plucking out a single whisker. After she was done inspecting my left wing she gave the joints a quick rub to relax them a little. “Alright, and now the right one,” Spits requested. I retracted the left wing and stretched out the other. She did the same thing like the other, but didn’t pluck out any feathers. She did however move some back into place. During this I was able to get two round trip tickets for tomorrow. “Alright I’m all done. Now it’s your turn to give me a little something,” she said laying down on her stomach, spreading her wings. She reached behind and undid the clasp on her bra. “I’m waiting, lover,” she said with a smile and a bit of longing. I started the shutdown sequence and set the computer off to the side and knelt beside her and started kneading the muscles closest to the wing joints first. She let out a slight low content moan as a knot was loosened. I moved to another spot, “A little more to the right,” she requested. I obliged and was rewarded with another slow moan. “Right there,” she said. I kept kneading the muscles in that spot before moving onto the wings themselves with the muscles, ligaments, and joints. I started on one wing before moving onto the other. Every single time I hit a spot she wanted massaged she moaned. After I was done I laid down next to her. “That was nice, you should do that more often,” she said with a smirk. She cuddled up next to me, her bare breasts pushing up against my back and her soft wings wrapped around us. I shortly fell asleep after that but one thought passed into my mind as I drifted off and Spits started tracing circles on my back lightly with her finger: happy wife, happy life. *** The next morning Spits and I woke up the next morning to a high pitched girl’s voice saying, “Wake up Uncle Andy, it’s morning.” I opened my eyes and saw that it was Jenny already dressed in her school clothes. There isn’t any dress code apparently so she was wearing a pink t-shirt and a pair of jeans. “Mommy made pancakes! Come on you’re going to miss them,” she said dragging me out of bed. Damn that girl is strong for being so little. “Don’t worry kiddo, I’ll be there in just a bit. I just want to take a quick shower first, ok?” I said to her with as much patience as one can from just waking up. “OK!” she said excitedly as she skipped back into the kitchen. I got up and showered. I came out and saw Spits right outside the door waiting to go next. “You know if you would have taken a few more minutes I would have joined you,” she said with a smirk while tracing a finger on my chest. “But oh well, maybe next time,” she said walking inside and closing the door. “You can be such a tease sometimes,” I said through the door. I walked into the kitchen and saw a large stack of pancakes sitting on a plate for me, “Hello ladies, is that for me?” “Yeah! Mommy made a bunch, Aunt Sam already ate while you were showering,” Jenny said excitedly before drinking her juice. “Is she usually a morning person?” “Normally, not really. It usually takes a little more to get her out of bed for school,” answered Emily. “Today must be an exception because her favorite uncle is here.” I shrugged to her suggested hypothesis. I started eating the stack while Emily finished off a cup of coffee. “So how are you two getting to the airport?” “I was going to ask if I could borrow the car, but you need it to get to work. So I’m planning on just calling a cab.” “You know the cabs are excessively expensive here, right? I’ll just drop you off at the terminal. I’ve got a doctor’s appointment anyway so I’ll be going into work later.” “Well since you’re offering…” “Alright I’m done,” Spits said coming in wearing a towel on her head. You know how women are with that whole thing. I don’t know how, but Spits managed to keep her wings hidden from Jenny while eating, so that little secret is safe. Don’t’ get me wrong, I’d like to tell my niece about this, but kids are such blabbermouths that it wouldn’t stay secret long. Just look at the lyrics for “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus,” the kid couldn’t keep it secret for long before he said something. “Well Sam I’ve got good news, Emily’s giving us a ride to the airport.” We finished eating and packed up the backpack, which now contained our used clothes, before getting in Emily’s car. We first stopped at Jenny school and dropped her off. She waved at us as she went inside. The drive to the airport was quiet as I tried to plan my and Spits course of action. We’d try to do this diplomatically to see if Eric had any remorse at all. Then what? Throw a couple of punches at him? Kidnap him and bring him back to the states? Take incriminating photos and take them to a divorce lawyer? We arrived at the airport. After some ‘goodbyes’ and hugs to and from my sister we checked in. Airport security was as annoying as always. It took another hour to get through that, which left us a good fifteen minutes to get to the terminal and be ready to leave. “Flight 1277 from LA to Tokyo is now boarding. Please have your tickets and passports ready, thank you,” came the female voice over the intercom. Boarding and seating went easy enough. Unfortunately there’s a baby a few rows behind us. Oh joy, it’s going to be one of THOSE flights. Soon enough we were in the air. We punched through the clouds and started cruising. “I wonder how the team’s dealing with me being gone for the Equestrian games. I was supposed to be on the Cloudsdale team after all,” Spits said. “I’m sure they’re taking care of it in a way that you’d be proud with.” “I’m sure you’re right,” she said before dozing off. It was going to be a long flight regardless of any worries present or future. *** Meanwhile at the Equestrian Games Trials… Soarin’ sneezed out of nowhere. “Hey boss, you alright?” Echo asked. He wiped his nose, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure someone’s talking about me indirectly. So, what do you think of our newest addition?” Echo rubbed her chin as she looked at the newest team addition as she flew through the rings of the practice course for the Games. “She’s cocky, over confident, and has a bit of a narcissistic attitude. With enough guidance she could become a valuable member of the team, both at the Games and possibly on the ‘Bolts.” “Assuming she’s overcome that ‘incident’ from eight months or so ago…” *** Back in September, after a night of drinking Soarin’ sat at Spitfire’s former commanding officer’s desk. It had been handed down from Captain to Captain ever since the Wonderbolts organization had been started. He downed a few aspirin to help with the headache from the hangover. Why he drank so much last night, he didn’t know. Echo came in with a file folder in her hands, “You ok, boss?” He started rubbing his temples to find some sort of relief, “Yes other than a deep regret of drinking so much. This the file folder of your potential candidate?” “Yes, sir. It is,” she replied setting the folder on the desk. He started to read it. “So she was a former academy cadet. Her body is in good physical shape. Recovered from the ‘dizz-a-tron’ in a very short period of time. Impressive. And she was expelled due to an incident involving a tornado almost hitting civilians.” He closed the folder, “Echo, are you sure you want to bring her back?” “Yes, with the proper discipline we can at least get rid of her carelessness.” “I trust your judgment, Echo. You are my second in command after all. Send a message and tell her the ‘good news.’” *** Present “Private Dust, front and center!” Soarin’ yelled. Meanwhile on the other side of the trial grounds sat Twilight and her friends. “I can’t believe they went with Lightning Dust instead of me!” Rainbow cried to the heavens in despair. “Don’t worry, I read the report and it’s only probationary,” Twilight reassured her. “I guess it’s fine then…” They continued to relax until Applejack stood up and a necklace with a small square crystal fell out and Twilight immediately took notice. “Wow Applejack, where’d you get that?” “This?” she asked while handling the little charm. Twilight nodded, “This here has been handed down from generation to generation to the first born daughter in the Apple family.” “How long has you family had it?” “Some family records say that it was first given to my great-great-grandmother by a white winged angel woman who they never saw again. She was the one that apparently gave the strict instructions that it be given to the first-born daughter once they came of age, no one quite knows why.” “Applejack dear,” Rarity said popping out from behind Twilight. “May I have a look at it?” “Sure, just be careful with it,” she said handing it over to the fashion expert. Rarity pulled out a jeweler’s magnifier and started inspecting the interesting little pendant. “Well I can tell you this much: it’s not diamond or any other precious stone, but quartz.” “Quartz?” Applejack and Twilight asked at the same time. “Yes. And what makes it more interesting is there is what appears to be microscopic etchings of dots and dashes in the crystal.” “May I see it?” Twilight asked, her magic aura already around the necklace and the jeweler’s magnifier. She looked at it in the magnifier, “You’re right. They’re in a pattern too. What could have made this?” “There’ll be time to figure that out later,” Applejack said taking back her heirloom. “Ah do believe it’s time for Rainbow’s team to run the relay.” *** LA, noon “Excuse me, but can you have Jenny Swartz come to the nurse’s office?” the principal asked over the phone. “Of course, I’ll have her sent over right away,” the teacher replied. She walked over to Jenny, who was in the middle of coloring a picture for art class. “Jenny? I need to take you to the nurse’s office now.” “Why?” she asked innocently. “I don’t know, but it has to be important.” They walked to the nurse’s office and inside waiting was the nurse. “I can take it from here Ms. Fitzgerald,” the nurse said. “Please have a seat, Jenny.” She sat down on the bed, “Now it looks like your mom missed one of the inoculations on your record to keep you healthy.” She walked over and got a syringe and filled it with the solution, “Now this is going to pinch a little ok?” She jabbed it into Jenny’s arm, she let out a little squeak. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” she put a Band-Aid over the injection site. “Now let’s get you back to class.” *** Downtown LA “Ah yes, Mrs. Swartz it’s good to see you again as healthy as can be,” the doctor said as he read a chart. “Now it seems as though you’re just missing an immunity booster. Other than that everything seems to be in order.” “Well that’s good,” Emily replied in relief. *** Hours later, Tokyo The Boeing 747 touched down at the airport sometime around seven at night, damn you time lag! But anyway, we got through customs and said that our business for being here was for ‘pleasure.’ That got us a week’s worth of time here, but we’ll only need a day or two to track down my scumbag brother in law. We didn’t have to collect any baggage from the carousel since all we had was the backpack. I hailed a cab and had him take us to the hotel I reserved mid-flight. He asked in broken English where we were from, I just answered with Vegas. I mean Vegas is known worldwide, regardless of the language barrier that may exist. We arrived and I even gave the guy an extra tip, though I digress I probably should have gone to the exchange and gotten a few hundred US changed into Yen, I should go do that soon. One check in and trip up to our hotel room later I was analyzing the triangulation data from Eric’s GPS. Then I loaded up Google Earth and looked for the perfect vantage points to get incriminating photos. I’d still have to go to the ‘love’ hotel he’s shacking up at to see what room he’s staying in. I’ll do that tonight before calling it a night. “Hey Spits, want anything while I’m out?” I asked while I put on my hoodie. “If you could bring back something to eat that’d be great,” Spits replied back from the suite’s bed. Airplane food might not be the greatest, but it’s better than nothing. I grabbed my wallet and keycard and stuffed them in my front pocket. The reason? It’s harder to pick someone’s front pocket than the back one. I started walking the sidewalks as I started towards Eric’s position. I called up Spits, “Is he still in the same location?” “Let me check, yep, he hasn’t moved an inch. But then again you said these things have a twenty-five yard radius of accuracy so I can only guarantee that he’s been in the same building.” “Alright thanks, just let me scope out a good spot and I’ll be back,” I finished with an amateur Governator impersonation. “Wow Andrew, just get back safely.” “I will,” I said before I hung up. I walked to the corner that Eric’s hotel was on. Immediately I started looking at the surrounding buildings. There were three taller than the hotel and one the same height. If I can get inside any of these then we’ll be all set. I walked inside the hotel and went straight for the manager’s office and knocked on the door. The door opened and there stood a middle aged man, “[Excuse me, do you speak English?]” I asked in Japanese. “Yes,” he replied. “Awesome,” I pulled out my phone. “I’m looking for this guy, have you seen him?” “Sorry, I can’t help you,” he said as he retreated back into his office. I put my shoe in the door, keeping it from closing, “Listen buddy I’m in a tough spot. That guy I showed you is my brother in law and he’s cheating on my sister, who I might add is pregnant. So I’m going to ask you again, have you seen him?” “I might have seen him, but I can’t be sure…” “Really? I’m pretty sure he’s the only white guy coming in here over the last three months consecutively. In fact according to his phone’s GPS he should be here right now.” “One second,” he went over to his computer and stared at it for a moment and wrote something down on a piece of paper. “I can’t tell you anything,” he said handing over the paper. On it was a room number and ‘he always books this one.’ I took it without saying another word and left. I walked out to the front of the building and called Spits, “Got it, I’m on my way back.” “Alright, I’ll see you soon,” Spits replied before hanging up herself. “[Look what we’ve got here, a foreigner,]” a male voice said. “[Yeah and it looks like he’s got money,]” another said. I turned around and saw a group of four teens, “[Listen guys, I don’t want any trouble,]” I said in fluent Japanese. Thank you ridiculous amounts of anime I watched when I was younger. “[Well, well, well it looks like the foreigner cowboy knows how to speak something other than English,]” the third commented. I looked at them closely, they had pipes, wrenches, and crowbars. This is one of the few times that I really wish I was packing heat but the law here says you can’t, “[I’m now a cowboy now? Then allow me to quote the greatest cowboy of all, a Mr. John McClain:] ‘Yippie-ki-yay motherfucker,’” I said before lunging at the group. *** One fight later and I walked into a convenience store. A fight that I won by a landslide, what’s a bunch of undisciplined punks to a trained soldier? Those CQC training sessions really paid off. “Boy you look like you’re a man on a mission,” the Black male said from behind the counter. He looked a little older, may in his late forties. “Looking for something for your ladyfriend?” “Wife actually,” I replied. “Ah the love of your life. I know just the thing.” He ran into the stockroom and brought out a bouquet of roses and a heart shaped box of chocolates. “Go with these and trust me, I know what the ladies like,” he said before inhaling the smoke from his cigar. I paid him and walked out with my newly obtained goods. The trip back to the hotel was uneventful and when I got back I was greeted by Spits. “Hey Andrew- what the hell happened?” she asked with concern. “You should see the other guys,” I said with a smirk. I was bloodied, most of it was from the four punks, but they got some good hits in, mainly on my arms as a parried the attacks from their weapons. She helped me clean myself up. I then presented her with my two little gifts. Unfortunately she wouldn’t be able to take the roses home, customs and all, but the chocolate I bet would be gone before tomorrow night. That guy was right, he knew what the ladies like. I ordered room service and we pretty much called it a night after that. Blame jet lag. The next “morning,” which was more like the early afternoon, we started planning our course of action. We knew for a fact which side of the building that the room’s windows were on, but according to city blueprints there wouldn’t be any windows to the outside in the bedroom area available to the public, so my spying through a window across the street idea is out. The only other option is to “break” into the room and catch him in the act photographically and hope he comes to his senses and goes back to my sister. And if not, well I guess I could pull some strings and have him dumped on some desert island somewhere. We sat in front of the TV watching whatever was on, to be honest I could barely understand what they’re saying because they’re speaking so fast, but I caught a word here and there though. When the sun started to set we left the room. We arrived at the hotel room and were ready to catch Eric. “Got the camera running?” I asked. Spits looked at her phone for a moment, “Yep.” I pulled out the keygun and stuck it in the lock. After a few pulls of the trigger the door unlocked silently. I slowly turned the nob and let the door open. I could already smell the scents associated with sex. In order to get this he’d have to be here consecutively for several hours. I walked in to the main room and saw a woman, for the lack of a better term, ‘riding’ him. “Hello Eric, having fun?” I said with a little venom. “HOLY SHIT!” he yelled. The woman immediately got off of him and hid under the covers. “Oh I’m sorry, did I interrupt your sexy time with someone other than your wife?” “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I walked slowly towards the bed, “It’s easy, you hurt my sister. Now either you’re going to fucking man up and get back with your pregnant wife or I’m going to leave you some place that has no women.” I then turned to the woman, “[Apologies miss, this bastard’s cheating on his wife.]” I turned back to Eric, “If you’re not on the first flight to LA you will regret it. Understood?” He nodded, “Good. Come on Sam, let’s get out of here.” *** Meanwhile… Three monitors sparked to life as two people watched them. On these monitors appeared heart rates, blood pressure, and other vital readings. All three subjects’ vitals were within acceptable parameters. “So doc,” one asked. “What was in those cocktails anyway?” “Vell zat’s quite easy. Stem cells, nanites, and ze gene therapy retrovirus. Ve have learned from our mistakes and will take zis slowly.” He pressed a few keys on the keyboard, “Ze experiment begins!”