Fantasy A Little Night Music by TMaskedWriter

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Troy stopped a moment, realizing that this was something they hadn't encountered before. In the year that Susan had been part of their lives, they'd gone to doctors' and therapists' offices with her, but those were office visits; they hadn't had call to go into a hospital with her. He placed his hand on Susan's shoulder and started easing her back into the limo.

"It's ok, hon," he assured her. "It's all right. You don't have to come. Only Julie and I have to go."

Julie stopped walking, noticing that the other two weren't behind her, and walked back toward them. Susan's leg was retreating into the car when Troy turned and took hold of Julie's right hand with both of his.

"Sunflower," Troy said, looking Julie in the eyes. "Susan's had a very stressful day. She's done a lot for us, and it's taken a lot out of her." He emphasized the word "stressful" by looking at her more intently and glancing toward Susan. Julie nodded her understanding as he turned back to Susan.

"Susan, hon, why don't you go on ahead to the castle? Maria's there, and she's waiting for us. We'll come later." He gave Susan a brief kiss. "We love you, Susan. Go be with Maria. If you're with her, then we are, too."

Susan nodded and sat back down in her seat, fighting off tears. Troy gave her a smile that said she needn't shed any and closed the door. He took Julie's hand and they walked toward the entrance as the car pulled away and toward the castle.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

A Little Night Music Ch. 14

"Royalty, Lord, it looked good on me.

Buried in silk in the royal boudoir,

or going nuclear free.

Or playing Crokinole with the Princess of Monaco.

Telling my jokes to the OPEC leaders,

getting it all on video."

-Moxy Früvous, "King of Spain"



Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez received his call ten minutes before the end of the meeting. An empty office was found nearby for him to take it. Thankfully, the office had a convenient ash tray. He hung his jacket on the back of the chair, took out a cigarette, and lit it while his assistant connected the call.

"I can guess what this is about, Hernando," Detective Inspector Luc Allaine of Interpol, the voice on the other end of the phone said, speaking English with a French accent. "I have been watching the news. How is she?"

"They're closing her up for now," Ramirez said with a puff of his cigarette. "The intestinal damage has been seen to, but they say it is a waiting game whether or not they were able to save her liver or must go back in. In a few hours, they may have better news. I will know more when I return to the hospital. Until then; yes, Luc, I need you to dredge up a possible ghost for me."

"The man in the white windbreaker?" Ramirez could hear Allaine taking a drag of his own cigarette on the other end. "The tourist video did not give much. Left-handed was all I could get from his back."

"Si. I have more for you from my angle, Old Man." Ramirez propped his feet on whoever's desk he was using before continuing. "The man was deaf and he had a shuffle to his step, as if the right side of his body may have been weaker than the left. White, late 50s, balding. Nothing else I could distinguish about him at the time. There was also a broken vial found at the scene. We haven't identified the contents yet."

"Hmm..." Allaine thought. "Assuming it was his, if he had a medical condition, it may have been medication for it. Or a drug. A touch of Bolivian Courage before the deed? But non, if it were something he needed, why wait until that moment to take it? Would it not need time to kick in? Why not take it before, then discard the bottle instead of saving it until the last second?"

"Poison, maybe? No other substances were found on the broken blade."

"Possible, the old poisoned blade trick is good for the movies; in reality, hardly practical. I do not wish to hear about things that I should not know, old friend, but I am certain that in your career with Le Ultimados, you have had cause to stab a man at one time or another." Although he could not be seen over the phone, Ramirez nodded. "You do not stab him once and leave the knife inside the body long enough for a poison to take effect; you remove the knife and stab him again, non? And the the blood is coming out of the wound instead of circulating through the body. Any poison would be expelled with it. A glass blade might break off in the body, and perhaps then, it could take effect, but it is not something to chance. A professional would know this. So a contingency, maybe. There was some confusion beforehand, non? The maid in the video caused a distraction."

"Si. That was Jeanne Carpentier, La Contessa's personal maid. She is no suspect. It was an honest, if conveniently-timed accident that hindered his plan more than anything."

"Ah, Oui. You just had to say that she was French, Old Man. Oui, the crowd around him turns to see; bumping and jostling occurs. If our man had a physical weakness on his right side, as you suggest, he may have been unable to hold onto the vial. Now, like any good customer service, I must ask you the obvious question, Hernando: You were there with your gun; why did you not shoot? This 'Bystander Effect' satisfies the press, oui. But I think there is more."

Allaine was typing on the other end of the line and couldn't see Ramirez's face redden a bit.

"I was..." Ramirez took a puff of his cigarette to think. "It is difficult to say; I certainly cannot over the telephone."

"If that is your way of piquing my curiosity and drawing me into the investigation, Hernando, it is working. Un moment, le micro is thinking."

Luc muttered French curses at the computer until the results came back empty. "No one active in our system. But you didn't expect that either, did you? You said, 'possible ghost,' at the beginning of the conversation."

"Si. I think the man we're looking for dropped off your radar a while back. We're looking for someone who WAS a pro, say, 20 years ago."

"I see, a good time to be a young man good with a knife to be seeking work." Allaine typed again. "You're thinking someone who achieved every young criminal's goal: the fabled 'big enough score to get out of the game young.' Come back for one last hurrah?"

"Whoever he was, he walked into the castle with the tour group, knowing he would not come out alive. And he made no threats, before or during. I do not think this was ego or politics."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Your thought about his injury, if it affects the motor skills on the right side of his body, it may well be a brain injury rather than a physical one."

Ramirez finished his cigarette as he thought.

"Si. That might also cause him to lose his hearing."

"Oui. I've just sent an email to the right people to go through some inactive files on this. Hmm... a brain injury that afflicted him so, he has probably seen experts and specialists." More typing followed. "Schön Klink in Germany appears to have the top people in the world. He's probably been more than once; no doubt under an assumed name. Perhaps he's gotten sloppy enough to use an old alias as well." Luc did some more typing. "They have seventeen facilities around the country. Two are in Munich, that seems the place to start. Once I hear back, I'll wake some people in Munich and put them on this."

"I doubt that I shall sleep much, myself, Old Man. I shall await your call.

"A bientot, then." And with that, Allaine ended the call.

Ramirez leaned back in the office chair and stretched out for a moment before he heard a loud squeal coming from the Palace wing of the castle. He jumped to his feet, grabbed his gun, and ran toward the noise.

* * *

Contessa-In-Reggenza Maria Louisa Francesca de San Finzione walked out of the meeting room where she'd just met with her top advisers and shown them, in no uncertain terms, that they were not dealing with the little girl they saw scamper around the castle as a child, but a woman with the strength and confidence to handle her Great-Grandmama's job for however long was needed.

She left the meeting and turned toward the Palace wing, where La Familia's residences were located, when she saw a woman being escorted by two palace guards. When she recognized Susan Bailey as the woman they were escorting, she let out a loud, girlish squeal and ran between the two guards, wrapping her arms around the slightly-older woman in a giant hug that very nearly became a tackle.

Although Susan wasn't one for such displays, she returned the hug with just as much enthusiasm.

The two guards saluted and one of them spoke in English.

"Contessa, this woman says that she is a friend of yours. It is very important that we bring her to you. My Contessa will be very pleased to see her. I want to serve my Contessa."

Maria didn't break the hug, but backed away to look Susan in the face quizzically.

"I'm still pretty new at all this," Susan explained with a shrug. "You've got a REALLY big castle and, well, I was pretty sure I couldn't just walk up to a castle and knock on the gate and ask if Maria's home, so..." She turned to the guard. "Well done, soldier. You can see your Contessa is pleased. Back to your post."

"Si," Contessa Maria told them. "You have done well."

Smiling, the two guards rounded the corner back toward the residence. Ramirez came running from the administrative wing, gun in hand and pointed downward, toward them. He stopped when he saw Maria break their embrace and take hold of Susan's hand.

"Contessa," he said to Maria. "I heard a cry."

Maria beamed.

"Si, Generalissimo. A very important friend has arrived. This is Susan Bailey." Maria looked behind her, as if expecting them to be just out of view, then turned to Susan. "And the others?"

"With Helen at the hospital. They'll be here soon."

Susan looked over at the Generalissimo, gun not pointed at her, but out and at the ready.

"Hi, I'm Susan. You must be Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez." She looked at the gun. "Helen... said I could trust you?"

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

The sun didn't shine through the open balcony doors into the bedroom of the castle. It didn't cast its beam across the marble floor, onto the Persian rug, across the king-sized bed, or onto the face of Contessa Helena de San Finzione, because there was nothing outside the version of La Contessa's bedroom where Helena and Suzy-Q lay in bed, playfully stroking each other's hair and planting little kisses on each other's face and neck as they spoke.

"Shouldn't I have woken up by now," Helena asked Suzy-Q. "I mean, we figured out there's probably a bomb, that's the sort of thing that does it on TV. Learned a few things with someone," she cupped Suzy-Q's breast for emphasis. "Whom, I must admit, it would be nice to be THIS friendly with her... Hey, what is Susan to you, anyway? Your boss? Is is like that animated movie about the emotions in the little girl's head? Is she Capo di Tutti Capi? How does it work?"

Suzy-Q thought a moment and idly stroked Helen's pussy before while she thought.

"Well, 'boss' and 'boss of all bosses' are inaccurate. Yeah, that's right, Susan's seen The Godfather. 'Dear friend, who kindly allows us to sleep on her mind's couches' might be brutal, but accurate. We were well on our way to becoming multiple personalities when Troy & Julie showed up. Now, we're... more like her advisers. Sometimes, if Life's getting to her, she'll... sort of 'mentally pull over and let one of us drive for a bit.' The other two have been working overtime with everything happening; that could be why nobody's noticed me gone yet. I've always been something of a wallflower until recently; you wouldn't recognize me a couple months ago. Well, except for the whole 'We all look just like Susan' part. I dressed differently back then."

Suzy-Q sat up and looked out the windows at the blackness outside, because Helena hadn't imagined anything beyond this room and the passage back to her study.

"The only bad part about this little visit for me," Suzy-Q said, staring at the Nothing outside. "Is that I'm pretty sure Susan's not ready to know about all this." She bowed her head. "God, don't let me be the part that keeps secrets from her. I like her too much for that."

Helen turned to face Suzy-Q, propping her head up with her hand.

"Hey, I get it. If I found out some part of my psyche was going off and helping Susan through weird vision quests; I can't say how I'd take that either. The worst part for me is not knowing how long until I wake up. For all I know, it's been days and the bomb's gone off already. People could be dead now because I can't wake up! Oh, fuck! SPRINGHEEL!"

Suzy-Q lay back on the bed and faced Helen as well. With Susan's free hand, she touched Helen behind the left earlobe and started tracing tiny spirals.

"Don't freak out! Remember: On TV, that always makes them flatline in the real world, and you don't have time for that shit! We keep coming back to TV and movies on this."

Helen closed her eyes and sighed, visibly relaxing.

"Yeah..." Helen sighed out. "That's really all we've got to work with, though." She sighed again as all of the tension left her face. "No one has touched that trigger in years."

"Wonder where I learned it," Suzy-Q said with a smile. "Now, we can more... well, we said goodbye to 'rationally' long ago; so, let's say 'calmly,' discuss your concern. This 'guest access' I've got to your thoughts? I think you might 'drop the firewall' a bit during sex; because I picked up a lot back in that 69. You're lonely, Helen; and you feel like you have to be alone in everything. If there's some kind of 'lesson' in all this, Contessa, it's that you are most certainly not."

She kissed Helena's neck before continuing.

"Contessa Helena de San Finzione surrounds herself with smart, capable people; many of whom are presently NOT undergoing vision quests; they're on this thing too. From what I get from you about Ramirez, his macho pride might've gotten stung for being helpless; but he's over it by now, and is doing something. Probably just what we've been doing. Not the sex; the 'putting stuff together' part. There's a good chance he's figured out the bomb thing, himself."

Helen nodded as Suzy-Q slid her hand gently down to Helen's shoulder and started massaging it.

"And Troilus Fucking Equals, Helen, is out there for you. The world finding out about all of you is his nightmare, but you know that once Julie's sorted out, nothing's going to keep his brain away from this. And when Julie's back to herself, she'll be right beside him. This fucker needs to start praying that Troy finds him before she does.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"I can't give you a number on how long it's been, but not as long as you think. Susan is with Maria now, and she just met Ramirez. She left Troy and Julie at the hospital, so they're probably right by your side. Oh, this is important: Susan's got a really big thing about hospitals. We don't talk about it, not even to Troy and Julie. Just, please undersand; it's ABSOLUTELY nothing personal if she doesn't come visit you in the hospital."

Helen nodded again, opening her eyes, and seeing Suzy-Q's looking back.

"I can get that. Hey," she mused, enjoying the shoulder rub. "We both called this a 'vision quest' before. Much as I'd like to keep this up and maybe go another round, I have to wake up; so maybe that's the answer."

"Like, you need to learn some personal truth to get out of here? Well, if I was some kind of spirit guide, wouldn't I already know what it is? But for some reason, I'd have to be all Cryptic Asshole and lead you on a freaky journey through challenges that oddly mirror your life; speaking only riddles until you figure it out?" She paused. "You know, thinking about it now, spirit guides are kinda dicks. Well, if that's what I should've been doing all this time, I didn't get the memo. But yeah, it's worth a shot."

Suzy-Q turned her wrist and pressed her fingers to the side of Helen's face.

"The Vulcan Mind Meld?" Helen asked.

"Hey, I haven't tried doing this on purpose yet, just give it to me, ok? If and when it's time to tell Susan about all this, a Star Trek gag might get us some slack."

Suzy-Q closed her eyes. Helen heard her whispering the words "My mind... to your mind... My thoughts... to your thoughts..." and mouthed along. After a moment, Suzy-Q opened her eyes and spoke.

"Ok. Didn't get much, and this is just me guessing, based on everything I've picked up and Susan's limited information on the subject, but here goes."

Helen nodded and she began.

"Marion Parker. It's ok to say her name now and then, Helen. She helped Persephone steal those guns. Think about it: How's a 16-year-old girl going to get away with selling a bunch of stolen guns? Your mom managed to make a friend or two amongst the 'Uncles who need to stay here a couple days, but don't you say a fuckin' thing about it to anybody.'"

"Oh, PLEASE tell me she cheated on him and he's not the real donor!"

Suzy-Q gave a sad smile at that.

"I'm here to help, not lie."

Suzy-Q took a deep breath and took hold of Helen's hand.

"He was touching her, Helen. Persephone. You were three, you didn't know what you were seeing, but it's pretty clear to anyone older seeing it. That's why Marion did it. Why she stole the guns for a plane ticket and whatever cash was left and told her oldest daughter to get on a plane for 'Don't tell me! if I don't know, he can't beat it out of me.' And years later, she noticed when he started looking at you the same way; the way he used to look at Julie that made her stop coming over to play."

All Helen could do was nod in reply. Tears began forming in Suzy-Q's eyes.

"When he started making slimy comments about you 'maybe being good for something after all,' she'd had enough. But she didn't have another load of stolen guns to fence and send you away; so THAT'S when Marion Parker stood up to the fucker. For you. And he killed her for it."

They wrapped their arms around each other; holding and sobbing quietly for unguessable time in this place where it didn't seem to have a meaning anyway. Eventually, they looked each other in the face again and brushed away each other's tears.

"Yeah, sorry," Helen said sadly. "I'd kind of pieced that together long ago. That 'don't tell me' line comes right out of my own thoughts on the matter."

"Damn," Suzy-Q replied. "I thought that was a pretty good one. It should've done it. Like, not even hearing someone else put it into words?"

Helen shook her head.

"No, but it was a good effort. Maybe it's just up to the doctors and whatever drugs they've got me on when this is going to end. Seems the most productive thing we've done since we got up here is have sex."

"Well," Suzy-Q said, sliding her arms down to Helen's waist. "There's a lesson for you to take away from that, too."

Helen smiled and kissed her.

"What's that?"

Suzy-Q gave a wicked smile and began a slow line of kisses between her breasts, her destination obvious.

"Somewhere," she said in-between kisses. "Way deep... down inside... there is definitely... a part of Susan... that REALLY likes you."

The two giggled.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Troy and Julie Equals walked into the Byroni Medina Memorial Emergency Medical Center. He held her hand as they walked up to one of the Ultimados standing guard in the lobby.

"Hello," he said to the Ultimado in English. "My name is Troilus Equals. You have a file on me; it might be under 'Medina,' spelled the same way as on this building. This is my lovely wife and Partner-In-Everything, Julie Equals. If they're not combined into one, her file should be right in front of mine. If not, try under 'Andrews;' no relation.

"Your commanding officer is a Capitan Ortega, right? Go ahead and call this in. Or maybe you already know what the procedure is if we show up. Whatever it is: Roll out the red carpet or get more guns and point them at me; go right ahead and do it. If guns need to come into this, no one will be hurt as long as they're all kept pointed at ME alone! One way or another, though, this ends with us seeing Helen. So, where do we go?"

The Ultimado's response was to salute, and state that their approach to the hospital had been under blackout conditions because they had been instructed to expect what the Ultimados' files referred to as "An Equals Situation." Troy wasn't sure if he was supposed to return the salute or not, and settled on doing so. They were directed to Post-Op Intensive Care.

"Thank you," Troy said. "Also, would you know if the gift shop still open? Or if they have Julie Andrews Roses? Yes, I mean that one, this time."

The Ultimado didn't think so. The two of them walked to the ward.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

A Little Night Music Ch. 15

"SISTER! I live and lie for you.
MISTER! Do and I'll die.
You are mine, I possess you,
Belong to you FOREVER! (EVER! EVER!!!)"
-Queen, "The Seven Seas of Rhye"



Troy and Julie Equals held hands as they looked through the glass wall at the unconscious form of the woman that they both called "my first girlfriend." The woman they'd traveled halfway around the globe to be with.

On the other side of the glass, Contessa Helena de San Finzione was on a hospital bed in a white room; a hospital gown covering her, and an oxygen mask over her nose. Two doctors and a nurse were in the room, dressed in Clean Room suits and hooking her up to machines. They'd closed her up half-an-hour before, but were not confident as to whether they would have to go back in or not, so were keeping her in a sterile environment.

"When can Maria come see her?" Julie asked Capitan Gregorio Ortega, standing next to them. While Generalissimo Ramirez was with the other Contessa at the castle, Ortega was freed up to come take charge of the Ultimados guarding the hospital. When he'd gotten the call that there was "An Equals Situation" at the hospital, he told his driver to step on the gas and to use the siren and lights.

"I'm afraid that Contessa-In-Reggenza Maria will be unable to do so. Outside the castle, it is now a risk to National Security for both Contessas to be within one city block of each other."

"Well, that sucks," Julie replied. "Can't someone get a webcam set up or something, so Maria can at least look in on her?"

Although, like her husband; their other, active mutual girlfriend, and La Contessa; Julie Equals knew the secret of Mind Control, she chose not to use it in her suggestion. Her father was a career military man like Capitan Ortega, and she didn't care to use it on him without good cause.

The Capitan nodded.

"It is a good idea. I will put someone on it." He looked over at Troy and Julie. "I am sorry you cannot be in there with her. Either of you." He had read their file and knew how close they were to La Contessa.

Troy turned and smiled at his wife's idea, then turned to Ortega.

"Thank you, Capitan." He looked closer at the Capitan's eyes. "How long since you slept, sir?"

"After a soldier makes it into El Squadra de Ultimados, La Contessa meets with them in private for some... unique additional training. We do not require much sleep. It is why only two of my men were needed to provide you security around-the-clock."

Troy's response was given as an impression of Spike from Buffy. Possibly Catherine Tate.

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. Didn't really ask for it, though."

Ortega turned back to face La Contessa before responding.

"YOU did not have to. I should check on the men." He saluted his unconscious Contessa. "They have orders to comply with your every request, Señor y Señora Equals."

He turned and walked away. When he was gone, Julie turned to Troy.

"What do we do now, Master?"

Troy Equals broke the handhold to walk over to a nearby table and grabbed two of the chairs. He brought them back to where Julie still stood.

"What we came here to do, Mistress," he said as he held her chair for her to sit. He set up the other chair next to her and resumed their handhold, looking straight ahead at Helen on the other side of the glass. "Exactly this."

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Susan Bailey had been experiencing a day of firsts. She'd had her first airplane ride, joined 'The Mile-High Club' for the first time, been inside a castle, met royalty face-to-face, first time since working the diner that a swarthy man with a loaded gun had run toward her; and now she was wearing body armor and riding in a military vehicle for the first time. It was Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez's officer's car, but she counted it.

San Finzione's primary industry was tourism. Because most of the bigger hotels in the country were owned by Società Finzione, La Familia de San Finzione's corporation, La Policia had their full co-operation. They were able to quickly verify that there was no Carlos Jimenez; the name on the assassin's identification, registered in any accommodations owned by Società Finzione.

That left the smaller lodgings owned privately or by foreign interests. Primarily airport and theme park hotels and motels, and wine country bed & breakfasts. Their lack of ties to the government meant that La Policia had to visit each one individually. It was in one of the airport motels that they'd located a guest who matched the Generalissimo's description checked in with one suitcase and registered under the name Carlos Jimenez. They surrounded and were ready to secure the empty room, but because it concerned a direct crime against La Contessa herself, procedure demanded that La Squadra de Ultimados be involved in the investigation, and so, word reached Ramirez.

Contessa Maria had wanted to come to the scene as well, but Ramirez would not allow it. Out of courtesy, because Susan was present, they both spoke English.

"Great-Grandmama would be there!" Maria insisted.

"You cannot do the thing that Contessa Helena can do. It is not safe for you. You are needed here now, Contessa."

"Well, if that's all that's keeping her," Susan said, grabbing her purse after Jeanne had seen to her party's overnight bags, Maria explaining to her that all three bags should go to the same guest room. "I, on the other hand, am NOT needed here, and CAN do The Thing that Contessa Helena can do; so, therefore, it's safe for me to come along. So, let's go!"

Ramirez was about to protest when Contessa Maria addressed him.

"Must I give you an order too, Generalissimo?"

"Now, I didn't order that, Maria; Sir." Susan added, serious now. "Nor would I. The entire world has seen the video now, Generalissimo. Of them, only three people watched it and immediately understood exactly how and why you were unable to act and why you must not believe in any way that it was your fault. La Contessa caused me to experience it from your side as well. It laid me low, and I'm still working to forgive her."

Susan gestured that he might want a seat; but just so she didn't have to keep looking up to address the tall man eye-to-eye. Although Ramirez suspected that if she chose to command him, he was making it easier for her, he did so simply out of older-generation gentlemanly manners.

"But that didn't happen to you, sir. You stayed alert and you remembered details that are now aiding the investigation. It was a Kobayashi Maru scenario, Generalissimo. You chose the best possible course. That's what I want to do right now, sir. Troy and Julie are standing watch over Helen, Maria's got Contessa-ing stuff to do, and I'm the only person doing nothing."

Susan had to take a deep breath before she continued.

"I get that Helen and I have enough in common that, other matters to resolve aside; we would probably be friends already if we'd met any other way than what happened. And I'm aware that the primary skills that I bring to the table are 'Carrying Food on Trays,''Star Trek Trivia,' and 'Gotten Into Yoga Recently, So I'm A Bit More Flexible.' From what she's told me of you, you know her fairly well. Either of you: What would willful inaction do to you at a time like this?"

Ramirez nodded and maintained eye contact as he stood again.

"You will wear a vest and helmet, Señorita Bailey, you will not have a gun, and you will never go more than three feet from myself or one of the Ultimados. And STAY in the MIDDLE of us! Always one of us in front of you, always one of us behind."

He walked off to prepare. Susan stopped to give Maria a goodbye hug and whisper in her ear.

"Nobody's ever called me 'Señorita' outside a Mexican restaurant before," Susan told her giddily.

"He is married," Maria whispered back with a titter.

"And he's not Troy, but still, that was some serious 'Antonio Banderas' dad' shit there. 'Always one of us in front of you.'"

They stepped back together and smiled.

"Go be safe and let me know what happens, Susan." Maria gave another smile of happiness at meeting her dear online friend. "Call it an order from La Contessa."

Susan knew that Maria was making a joke, however, it reminded her that by accepting San Finzione citizenship, she was now "a subject of the... well, it's a tiara, not a crown, but same deal." And that brought her another first: Her first order from "her Contessa." The blow was softened by the fact that it'd been given by Contessa Maria, rather than Contessa Helena.

Susan gave a strange salute that involved rotating her wrist five times and smacking herself in the forehead with the back of her hand, then departed.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

La Policia kicked in the door of the motel room. Four Ultimados followed behind them and kept them covered as they searched the bathroom, closet, and under the bed. Once the room was declared safe and clear, Ramirez and Susan followed behind with the others.

An empty suitcase lay open on the table, and the bed had hardly looked used. Medication bottles were found in the waste bin for drugs called Carmustine and Lowmustine. It was an item in the closet that held the most interest for La Policia: A small shrine comprised of cut-out pictures of Contessa Helena de San Finzione from various publications.

Susan had pulled out her iPad and was looking up the two drugs as she studied the bed. La Contessa's gift iPads had Wi-Fi access everywhere in San Finzione, and she was able to find them quickly. She stopped to look in the bathroom before seeing what everyone was staring at in the closet.

"Well, that's fake," she said aloud, causing Ramirez and the Prefect of security officer to turn their heads. "Also, those two pill bottles in the trash? That combination is used to treat Hodgkin's Lymphoma and Brain Tumors."

Ramirez's eyes lit up. He took out his phone and started composing a text. He looked at Susan quizzically as he typed.

"We suspected some manner of brain injury. Why do you say the thing in the closet is fake?"

"Who is this woman, Generalissimo?" The Prefect of security officer asked.

"Eh," Ramirez said, turning to face him. "She is a special envoy from the castle. 'Extend every courtesy' and so on." He turned back to Susan. "Why do you think this?"

Susan took another good look at the collage/shrine before answering.

"All of these pictures are from the last two months. That's the one they used for Populace Magazine's "Most Powerful Thirty Under 30" issue. Print ads from the tourism campaign. There she is at the Grand National last month. That paparazzi shot of her coming out of the ocean where you can see her nipples through the bikini top was around that time too."

The Prefect decided to join their conversation more closely.

"We'd need to get a psychological profile done on the assassin," he said. "But I think this speaks of insanity."

"You're SUPPOSED to think that," Susan replied. "But no, going from 'Hey, the TV lady gives me a boner' to 'Can't take my eyes off of you' to 'I must stab you, THAT will prove my love' in the space of two months?"

"If, as you suggest, the man had some terminal injury," The Prefect responded. "That might cause him to move up his timetable."

The Generalissimo began to nod in agreement, but stopped as he hit Send and paid more attention to Susan.

"Don't you guys watch SVU," Susan asked. "With that kind of psycho, the knife always represents his cock. Now, from the reports I've been allowed to see, his knife was what? A four-inch blade with a two-inch handle? If you could choose a thing that represents YOUR cock, Prefect, would you choose something that's four-inches long? Or made of glass?"

While they were still stunned both at the idea and at Susan's casual use of the word "cock," and others within earshot weree struggling to not break up laughing at the woman talking to their boss like this, she continued.

"And I've looked in the trash, on the bed, in the bathroom, and now in the closet too. You know what I don't see? That's in every motel room?"

"A Bible?" Ramirez asked.

"SEMEN," she said so loudly and suddenly that a few of the seasoned security officer officers and elite soldiers couldn't suppress a snort. "Every cop or news show where they go into a motel room, there's traces of semen everywhere! I'm sure if you run one of those black-lights in here, you'll see it all over from every freak who's stayed in this room before. But there's no cum on the bedsheets, no wadded Kleenex on the floor or in the trash, none near this 'psycho shrine' you've found, which, by the way, looks like it folds-up neatly into that suitcase on the table."

They puzzled at that for a moment, officers stepped outside to laugh, then Susan continued.

"Think about it: You're a nutbag, you've just arrived in the city where the object of your obsession; the woman who's been making you constantly hard for the last two months lives. And in a few short hours, you'll meet her and kill her and somehow make all your fantasies come true in the process. But you've got a few hours to kill first. Nothing to do but kneel at your shrine and whisper 'Soon, my love. Soon.' Until it's time to go achieve your Sick Fuck Dream. He checked in about sixish? So, the tour was at noon, let's say he left an hour or two before, that leaves four or five hours in THIS room. Nothing to watch but Basic Cable, and nothing to read but the Bible."

She paused and looked squarely at them both before finishing.

"Gentlemen, crazy or not, with those long, tense, final hours of nothing but waiting for time to tick by in this room, wouldn't you need to jerk off at least once? Probably in front of your Nutso Shrine so you can look at those nipples in that bikini? I'm not even THAT kind of crazy, but with so much Nothing to do, I'd have to step into that shower, grab the hose and see what the water pressure's like in San Finzione at least once. But this guy just unpacked his shrine, had a nap, took his meds, and left."

Ramirez seemed to chew on the thought as he answered.

"Or, with a brain tumor, he may have taken his medication first, slept off some side-effect of them, then gone to perform the job. He knew we would soon track him to this room, he made no effort to conceal the trail. We were meant to find this so that the investigation would end with him being written off as a solitary lunatic. This is not the end of the trail."

He turned to the Prefect and sent another text. The Prefect's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"I will need the information on those pill bottles immediately. Send it to myself and to the email address I just texted you, Martin. A friend with Interpol is looking at this from another angle as a favor for me. I'm certain he will be interested in any fingerprints or such that you find. I will ask him to pass his information on to you as well."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

The Prefect nodded and left the conversation to command his people. Ramirez extended his hand to Susan, who took it. His handshake surprised Susan. It was firm, but gentler than she'd expected from a hand she was certain had squeezed the life out of a man's neck on more than one occasion.

"Thank you for listening." Susan said after the handshake.

"The woman that you still work to forgive regards you as a friend, Señorita Bailey. Should you meet my wife and children, I will be forced to deny this; but Contessa Helena de San Finzione is the smartest woman that I know. She would not seek your forgiveness if you were not intelligent as well; and what you say worth listening to."

Susan smiled through the clear ballistic plastic faceguard of the armored helmet she wore and shifted the thick, heavy, armored vest that they didn't have in her size and shape and was now pressing down on her breasts.

"I think we should return to the castle and get you out of that gear. Contessa Maria is waiting to hear back as well."

With a nod and more shifting of the vest, they departed.

* * *

Helena was on her back in her own bed in Castle Finzione. At least, the dreamscape version that she'd created of it.

She dug her nails into the satin sheets as Suzy-Q's tongue brought her over the edge for the Stopped-Counting-Around-6th time. Helena took hold of her shoulders and helped pull Suzy-Q up the length of her body until their lips met and she tasted herself on the other woman's lips.

"Shouldn't we be exhausted by now," Helena asked as her hand slipped down between Suzy-Q's legs and idly stroked her pussy.

"I'm a figment or something, so I don't get tired. And since this is all in your head, it probably works like The Matrix for you; where you're only exhausted if you really want to be."

"If it IS The Matrix, I gotta get to a fuckin' phone and warn people."

The only thing that had kept Helena from completely giving herself over to the pleasure was that they'd concluded that a bomb was ready to go off at the Ministry of Science, and until she awoke from surgery, she had no way to warn anyone. Because time didn't seem to be passing while she was here, for all she knew, she was too late.

"Well," Suzy-Q said, rolling off of her to snuggle. "We've tried all the usual movie stuff here. Everything but getting killed so you wake up in the real world, but that doesn't feel like something we should risk. The only one we've got left is hoping that someone out there says whatever the 'magic words' are to bring you round."

"Hmm..." Helen mused. "Yeah, I remember Mel Blanc, the voice of Looney Tunes, got in a car wreck and went into a coma. The doctors couldn't wake him up until one of them walked in and said 'Eh, What's Up, Doc?" and he responded in Bugs Bunny's voice. I suspect those aren't MY magic words, though. You wouldn't know what they are, would you?"

"Nope. I'm not like those 'spirit guide' dicks. Susan wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, either. If I had the answer, I'd've tell you."

"And I forgot her parents died in a car wreck, like Troy's, so I'm sorry if that was 'triggering' or anything." Suzy-Q shook her head. "So, we just fucking wait, or fuck AND wait, until whenever someone says Wingardium Leviosa?"

"I don't think it'll be that exactly, but something, yeah. Wanna go again?"

"Not yet," Helena said, holding her close. "Liking this right now."

They held each other in silence.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

At 2300 hours, the Ultimados guarding the hospital were changing shifts. As the only ones on their flight here, there'd been no meal service, and Troy Equals glanced at the clock and realized how long it'd been since either of them ate something that wasn't from a vending machine.

"We should get along to the Castle, Mistress," he told his wife, standing up and offering his hand to raise her from her chair. "Maria's waiting for us, and if anything changes, we'll see it on the webcam." He gestured toward the camera that had been brought into the clean room.

Julie Equals pulled her hand away from her best friend's and folded her arms across her chest as she turned back to Helena on the other side of the glass.

"No, Troy! I am staying right here! She's going to wake up, and I'm going to be right here when she does."

"You're tired and hungry, Julie. We both are. I know Maria's happy to see Susan, but she needs us too. We need to get going."

Julie stood up and pounded her fist on the glass.

"FUCK THAT! I will use the fucking emergency trigger on you, Troilus! You go if you want!"

Troy understood that anything he said at this point might lead to more tears. His wife had cried more on this day than she had in all the days since they'd sold the two houses, with no fence between the yards, that their families had always called home. If he didn't let this play out, Troy knew that Julie would be smoking again by midnight. He closed his mouth and she continued.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"She is ALONE without us, Troy. Contessa Helena de San Finzione has Maria, Colleen, the Generalissimo, the Ultimados; hell, there are people outside holding candles and praying to a God that she fucking hates for Contessa Helena de San Finzione! And Denise looks up to her; she's probably crying in her room in Tacoma, or involved with something like outside right now. 'La Contessa' is who all of them are here for.

"Helena Parker has you and me, Troilus, and nobody else in the entire fucking world! Persephone's gone. Even if she's not dead, she's gone. One other person gives a fraction of a fuck about Helena Parker; and that's just because WE give so many! Susan came for us and Maria."

Julie was starting to wind down now. She didn't often have moments like this, and the ones that she did only happened when one other subject was brought up. Troy knew better than to relax just yet. He remained still, ready to hug or restrain his best friend; whichever of the two that she would undoubtedly soon require.

"And I guess they need us too. I know Susan needs you right now, especially. So yeah. Go... go check on them, Master. Or rest, or whatever; just... bring me back some food, and you can... relieve me. Whenever Helena DOES wake up, she's going to be swarmed by people in masks who're worried about La Contessa. It's going to be terrifying. One of us should be the first face that Helena Parker sees without a mask on."

Julie started to warm up again.

"So, I am staying RIGHT HERE until THAT fucking cunt WAKES UP!"

She turned toward the glass and pounded some more. Tiny, ignorable cracks were now forming, none big enough to cut her skin yet.

"YOU HEAR ME?" She screamed at the glass. "WAKE UP, YOU FUCKING CUNT!"

* * *

In Helena's bedroom, she and Suzy-Q heard a voice that seemed to come from outside and all around them. It carried a pressure, as if the world were a soap bubble popping in the mouth of da good puppy-wuppy who'd managed to bite it in mid-air.

"WAKE UP, YOU FUCKING CUNT!"

They both recognized Julie's voice as the room around them began to fade. Suzy-Q was fading as well.

"Guess that's your cue, Helen. Don't die. Love to do this again; but, ya know, if almost-dying was the 'why' of it, no pressure whatsoever."

Helen kissed her one last time before she vanished and the room began to be replaced by blackness, then redness, then whiteness.

* * *

On the other side of the glass, Julie Equals watched as Helena Parker's eye twitched. She nudged Troy and told him to look as her lips began to move.

She wasn't speaking audibly, and it was difficult to see what she was saying with the hose from the nasal mask in the way, but Julie recognized the shape of her mouth on the last two words.

"...Skanky... Cow..."

"Get somebody," she said, jumping up and down as she squeezed the man she loved before realizing that he couldn't possibly with her holding him that way and letting go. "Dammit, Troilus, get the fucking doctor NOW!"

Troy ran as Julie pressed up against the glass and continued to watch Helena.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

A Little Night Music Ch. 16

"When we die, do we haunt the sky?
Do we lurk in the murk of the seas?
What, then? Are we born again?
Just to sit asking questions like these?
I know, for I told me so,
And I'm sure each of you quite agrees:
The more it stays the same, the less it changes!"
-Spinal Tap, "The Majesty of Rock"

Susan Bailey and Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez had just passed through the gates and were on the circular drive to the main entrance of Castle Finzione when word came that Contessa Helena de San Finzione was regaining consciousness. When Ramirez told his driver to take them to the hospital, Susan asked him to stop the car and let her out here. Knowing that she and La Contessa had some personal issues between them, Ramirez instructed the driver to do so before racing away, lights and sirens active.

Susan walked up to the main entrance. The palace guards now knew that she was a visiting friend of Contessa-In-Reggenza Maria's, and Jeanne came to escort her to the Palace Wing; where Contessa Maria was in the study.

Neither of the two of them spoke a common language, so the relative silence in which they walked gave Susan time enough on the journey through the castle to notice that Jeanne kept a perfectly steady pace. Susan would fall a couple of steps behind or gain a few periodically, but Jeanne was somehow able to maintain a precise walking speed the entire time. Susan would have asked her about it, if she'd been able.

She entered the study and saw Maria seated at a desktop computer. Behind her was a tall, muscular, young man who was Maria's age; whom Susan knew to be Stavro Poldouris from Maria's "personal friends only" Facebook page. Stavro's picture and name were never shown on the public "Lady Maria de San Finzione" page.

Maria excitedly waved them over to the computer.

"Jeanne, Susan! Come, Great-Grandmama is waking up!"

They walked over to the desk. Jeanne stood behind Stavro and Maria as Susan noticed that Maria was at the computer where Helen sat when they talked over Skype, and where Helen made her video.

"Now I know why it took her so long to come to the computer the first time I called," Susan said as she leaned against the desk. She reasoned that walking around Castle Finzione qualified as cardio. "Have you guys thought of getting some golf carts or Segways in here?"

"Si, it has been tried," Maria replied without looking away from the screen. "They ruined carpets or had trouble braking and cornering on the marble floors. Great-Grandmama prefers to run if she is in a hurry."

Susan looked over at the screen. Contessa Helena de San Finzione's hospital bed could be seen on the monitor. She'd been strapped into the bed to avoid her panicking and tearing stitches when she awoke. A brace also held her left arm and shoulder in place until they could be examined more carefully. Doctors and nurses were coming in as Helen began moving her head.

Maria moved the mouse, and the camera turned. On the other side of the glass, separating them from the sterile environment that she was being kept in, Troy and Julie Equals stood watching. Troy noticed the camera pointing at them, waved, and nudged Julie. Julie turned and her lips formed into the kind of smile she hadn't been able make them move into all day. She waved as well before pointing to Helena and turning to face her again. Susan got a better sense of how big Castle Finzione was when she saw Ramirez run in behind them and realized he must have just arrived as well.

The camera was turned back toward Helen, whose eyes were now open and filling with light. She opened her mouth and screamed. The doctor and three nurses rushed to hold her down when she began thrashing in the restraints. Confusion spread across Maria's face while she watched them hold her down and start saying her name soothingly. Susan saw her confusion.

"I'm guessing you've never seen anyone wake up from surgery before, Maria?" She shook her head no. Susan turned back to the screen. "TV gets it wrong on purpose. You might want to mute it."

"NO!" Contessa Helena de San Finzione screamed.

"NONOFUCKYOUYEAHNO! WHAT THE FUCKARE YOU? GETTHEFUCKOFFME! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

As Maria took Susan's advice, everyone standing outside the room watched as the hospital staff stepped back from Helen. They then started working on Helen's restraints.

Julie saw what they were doing and pounded on the glass again, giant spider-web cracks now spreading out from where she'd been pounding it all night, her fists starting to leave spots of blood behind.

She yelled out loud to the people in the room with Helen.

"DO NOT LET HER OUT! SHE IS DELIRIOUS! IGNORE EVERYTHING SHE SAYS AND TEND TO HER!"

They let go of the restraints and went back to examining Helen. Her head turned and she saw Julie through the forest of arms and torsos. A smile crossed Helena's face before she opened her mouth to speak.

"YOU FUCKING SKANKY COW! YOU'RE BEHIND ALL THIS! MY LAST PRANK DIDN'T GET ANYBODY STABBED, BITCH!"

Julie smiled, even to hear that. Helena turned to Troy, tears streaming down her face. Someone prepared a syringe as the medical staff ignored her words.

"TROY," she half-screamed/half-cried. "SUSAN'S A SMART, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, SEXY LADY AND I'M SORRY I WAS SUCH A CUNT TO HER! I WANT TO MAKE IT RIGHT SO BAD, BECAUSE YOU TWO LOVE HER, SO OF COURSE I DO TOO!"

Her head turned toward Ramirez as the syringe pierced her arm. She wanted to look back at the warm glow starting to spread through her body, but this was important.

"BOMB, HERNANDO! MINISTRY OF SCIENCE!" The glow was washing over her more heavily as she spoke. "Got to evacuate... SPRINGHEEL, Ramirez! It's all.. about... Spr..."

The last thing that Contessa Helena de San Finzione saw clearly before blacking out was Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez hurriedly pulling out his phone. She turned toward the rapidly-blurring rough Julie-like shape and gave a little smile before the shape, too, fell into blackness.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Back at Castle Finzione, they watched the muted scene before Maria turned to Jeanne.

"I'm going to need to speak to reporters soon, Jeanne," Maria told her in French, leaving Susan out of the conversation again.

Jeanne looked La Contessa-In-Reggenza over in what appeared to Susan a very methodical and mechanical way. Jeanne said a few words, some of which Susan recalled from 9th grade French, mostly the words for "your," "face," "time," and "wear." She said the words very slowly and carefully, making Susan think of the computer on the original Star Trek series, when Kirk would ask it a question and it would reply "Working," followed by a couple of seconds of computer noises and the answer.

Sensing that she was no longer part of things, Susan idly looked around the room. She scanned some of the titles on the bookshelves and the Blu-Ray rack. From the sound of the conversation, everyone was getting ready to leave the room and put Maria into something suitable for facing the press. Susan made her way over toward one of the walls before Maria turned to see her admiring the décor.

"Susan," Maria said, switching to English, and turning to see her looking at the brickwork on one of the walls. "I am sorry that I have been unable to be a good hostess and show you around the castle."

Susan turned to her and smiled.

"Hey, I get that I'm here on what's probably the busiest day of your life. I can't imagine you'd need anything from me, but if so, just tell me what to do." Susan said, pressing on one of the stones in the wall and causing a concealed panel to open, revealing a button. She pressed the button and part of the wall slid away to reveal hidden stairs.

Maria, Jeanne, and Stavro looked at her in amazement. She turned back to the sudden silence and saw the three of them staring at her.

"Sorry," Susan said. "I've never been in a castle before today. Is finding your secret passages bad manners?"

"How did you know where that was?" Maria asked. "Only Great-Grandmama, Jeanne, and I know about the passage to Jeanne and La Contessa's bedrooms. Did she tell you?"

"No," she replied, just as confused as Maria. "I mean, I didn't know about it. I just figured this is a castle, so there's gotta be secret passages, right? It just... seemed like a good place for one. Like, maybe I made my Find Secret Doors roll just now."

Maria shook her head.

"We shall discuss it later. I must go make ready to speak to cameras. Feel free to walk around, the only area that is strictly off-limits are the dungeons, though I'm sure Great-Grandmama would not want you snooping in her bedroom," Maria said, virtually guaranteeing Susan's next destination. "Jeanne will be back afterwards to show you to your room." She walked over and gave Susan a big hug and a kiss on both cheeks. "I am happy that you are here, Susan."

During the embrace, Maria reached over and pressed the button again to slide the wall back into place.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Maria. I'll be around when you're done with all that."

Maria smiled. Susan smiled. Jeanne and Stavro smiled, then escorted Contessa Maria from the room.

Fifteen seconds after they were gone, Susan pushed open the concealed panel and pressed the button. The wall slid open, and she ascended, pushing the corresponding button on the inside of the passage to close it again. Susan wondered how she'd find her way up the stairs in the dark, when she moved and lights in the passage came on.

"Motion sensors," she thought as she ascended the stairs. "Helen really does try to think of everything."

The top of the secret staircase led to a corner where two halls branched off from it. Somehow, the right turn felt correct to Susan, and she proceeded down that hall until she got to another dead end with a button on the wall. A press, and the wall swung open.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Susan emerged from one of the columns flanking the fireplace in Contessa Helena de San Finzione's bedroom. Despite being semi-dark, lit only by moonlight coming through from the balcony, the room didn't quite seem familiar to her, as much as it felt like she'd been there before. Troy and Julie's story about their visit to the castle hadn't involved much description of Helen's bedroom, so how did she have a sense of how big and comfortable the bed she still hadn't touched was?

Susan admired the décor in the dimness for a while, not wanting to turn on a light. She noticed a blue envelope sitting on one of the pillows at the head of the bed, but thought nothing of it as she moved toward the balcony. And how had she known that Helen would have a private balcony outside the room, or that she would be too curious about the view to resist stepping outside?

She felt her hair blow in the breeze as she stepped through the uncurtained glass doors, musing that movies got that part about walking out onto a castle balcony correct. The breeze shifted, causing Susan's hair to shift direction as well, and making her muse that she now understood why Helen kept her hair short. The breeze ended, and Susan saw the view.

The lights of the city below rose up before her. A central area seemed arrayed in a neat pattern, like the time she'd gone to the Space Needle at night and looked out over Seattle. The night-time lights spreading out from that area bent and twisted in ways that likely made more sense when the roads had been paved around farms and hamlets from centuries ago. She looked toward where she'd thought the hospital was and hoped she'd be able to see the candles that were being held by those outside, but the castle was too far away to make them out.

"Wow," she thought. "Helen looks at this view every day and thinks 'All of this belongs to me.' Explains a lot, really."

Susan checked the railing to make sure it was safe before leaning on it to look closer at the lights below. She noticed a lot of activity and flashing lights surrounding a building in another part of the city.

Suddenly, the building that the lights were headed toward was replaced by a bright ball of flame. She was too far away for the sound of the explosion to reach her, but that was quite clearly what had happened.

Susan backed away from the railing, looking under it a moment for fear that Helen had some concealed "Blow Something Up" button that she'd accidentally pressed. She stared at the fire for a few seconds before running back into the bedroom and looking for the button to get back to the study.

* * *

Cameras and lights were focused on the desk in La Contessa's office, in the Administrative Wing of the castle. Maria waited off camera in an emerald-green Armani pantsuit. A rope cordon kept the reporters who would be allowed to ask questions after her address out of view. The lights on the cameras lit up.

Every television and radio broadcast in San Finzione started playing the national anthem and an announcer stated that programming was being interrupted for a live address by La Contessa de San Finzione. The Castle, the Government, and her public Facebook pages also announced a live video.

The 21-year-old woman walked into the camera's view, sat at what was now her desk, and looked into the center camera.

"People of San Finzione," Maria said to the camera in English. As

interpreters translated into the country's other three official languages, she was suddenly aware of how young and girlish her voice was.

"I am Contessa Maria Louisa Francesca de San Finzione." It was the first time she'd said the words out loud. "I am pleased to report that my great grandmother, Contessa Helena, is now out of surgery; however, no updates have been given on her condition."

She looked down, then back up to the camera.

"Until she is able to resume her duties, I shall be serving you and our nation as Contessa-In-Reggenza. Stock trading will resume at normal business hours in the morning, as will normal air traffic."

Maria hadn't brought notes with her, and she silently cursed herself for giving that part of her speech earlier than she'd intended. The only flight that had'd been diverted to a neighboring country since the attack had been the one containing Troy, Julie, and Susan.

"At this time, many of you are uncertain of what the future will bring for you. Some may even be afraid."

Maria looked over as an Ultimado entered the room and ran up to her. She turned as he whispered something into her ear, then turned back to the camera and stood up.

"My people, I have just been informed of an incident which requires your Contessa's immediate attention. I am needed to perform my duty now, and do not have the luxury of assuaging your fears. There will be no questions. Thank you."

Maria followed him quickly out the door. The cameras remained on the empty desk for ten seconds before programming resumed.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez and Troy Equals were in the back of his staff car, speeding toward the Ministry of Science. Troy had insisted on coming, and the Generalissimo knew better than to debate the issue. Ramirez ended the phone call he'd been on since they left.

"They have been evacuated. The bomb squad is en route..."

He was interrupted by another call, telling him that the bomb had gone off and the building was on fire. Ramirez ended the call.

"It appears that they will not be needed." Ramirez said to Troy. He lowered the screen and instructed the driver to return Troy to the hospital after they got to the scene.

"Could he take me to the castle instead," Troy asked. "I need to see how they're doing."

Ramirez changed the driver's instructions and raised the partition again so that he couldn't hear them.

"The thing that Señora Equals did to the doctors was most fortunate."

Troy nodded and cracked a smile.

"I guess I've always sort-of wondered which of them would win in a fight. That kind, I mean. Their real fights have always been about 50-50."

Ramirez nodded at that.

"It is fortunate for another reason as well. What La Contessa said was highly classified."

"So, if they'd heard the word 'Springheel' too, they'd have been... dealt with? Are my wife and I going to have to be silenced, Generalissimo?"

Ramirez shook his head.

"No. Your file says that you and Señora Equals have top clearance by order of La Contessa. But, I would have at least needed one of you to do the thing that she does to them before they spoke to anyone."

"It's fortunate as well, then, that my father-in-law retired from forty years in Army Intelligence. So, I know better than to ask, and won't press for details." Troy leaned back in the seat.

"I appreciate this," he answered. "When La Contessa feels the need to tell you more about it, she will."

"And if she doesn't, I'm fine with that."

Ramirez turned to face Troy.

"Señor Equals, I know more than I should say of Springheel, and she has shared her concerns about it with me."

"If I didn't know you were trustworthy before, Generalissimo, I certainly do now. Helen doesn't share 'her concerns' with anyone."

"I am certain that when La Contessa is ready to share this concern with you, she absolutely will."

They rode on in silence.

[Ramesh_Rocky]

A Little Night Music Ch. 17

"I saw the news today, oh boy! (Hang your head.)

A thousand pictures of the lies we live. (Hang your head.)

Small minds play at some big-time games,

and everybody else pays. (Hang your head.)

They're on the take, and they don't give breaks.

They like to take it away. (Hang your head.)"

-Devo, "Some Things Never Change"

Detective Inspector Luc Allaine of Interpol did not have many friends in the Munich office. Waking them up at 10 PM to go obtain warrants and search Schön

Klink's records did nothing to increase the number.

The labels on the pill bottles had identified the patient prescribed them as Gareth Finnegan. A few hours' digging through Schön Klink's records said that he had visited several of their facilities eighteen times in the past three years for a malignant and slowly-growing brain tumor. No known aliases had returned from Interpol's records under that name. However, the fingerprints on the bottles came back with the name Francis Morgan, an American contract killer who'd dropped off the radar fifteen years previously.

"There was a rash of high-profile knife murders at that time," he relayed to Generalissimo Hernando Ramirez over the telephone. "Businessmen, the leaders of a couple of political movements who'd been making too much progress for the liking of some, the odd organized crime figure. Morgan's name came up as a suspect in a number of them, but he was never caught. Then he dropped off radar."

Ramirez sat up in bed with a notepad, his wife in bed next to him with her back turned to his bedside reading lamp. He took in Luc's words, ignoring her grumbling about how it was now 3 AM; and the Generalissimo had finally gotten home, had a sandwich, and gone straight to bed less than an hour before.

There had been nothing left for him to do at the scene. Everyone had been safely evacuated from the Ministry of Science before the explosion destroyed the first three floors. Unfortunately, the fragments of the vial that Morgan dropped before the attack appeared to have gone up in the explosion. If there was anything left to analyze, it would be weeks before it would be found. Since they could learn nothing more from it, the two had written it off as "probably poison" and moved on.

"If he was coming to Munich for regular treatments," Ramirez said, trying to keep his voice low. "They would need to be able to contact him. The Finnegan address in his file would have to be genuine, or at least someone who would relay the information."

"Oui," Allaine replied, lighting a cigarette. "Gareth Finnegan has an address in Kerry County, a poultry farm about 10km along the coast from Tralee. Sending the information to you now. His file says that he's married and has twin teenage children; a boy and a girl. The love of a woman, children, and a place to call his own. This sounds like perfectly good motive for a smart young man to get out of the game."

"Not for you, of course, Old Man," Ramirez joked.

"Not when I have a good man who permits me to stay IN the game, non."

"How is Sam?"

"Bien. And I hear Violeta in the background. Sorry for waking you, Violeta."

Ramirez turned to his wife.

"Luc is sorry to wake you," he told her. She grumbled a reply about having "those old queens" come to dinner sometime to make up for it.

"So," Luc said, getting back on topic. "You'll be sending your people to kick in some Irish doors?"

"I think not. The wife and children are likely not part of this. La Contessa may want to talk to them personally."

"So, things are looking better for her?"

"Her condition has improved, and she is being moved to a regular recovery room. Some old friends have come to sit by her side; I think they may be helping."

"Ah," Luc exclaimed. "A woman who has everything, including real friends? Rare as Monsieur Morgan's dream. But something went wrong with his dream. After buying a farm and settling down, raising two children; simply that much travel back and forth to Munich would put a dent in any retirement fund he had remaining."

Hernando thought on that before replying.

"Si. Like the American television show. He has nothing left for her and the niños, he already has lost his hearing, and his body is betraying him."

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Then, perhaps, a man comes to him with an offer too good to pass up: one last job. One that he won't walk away from. 'Die a manly death in a hail of bullets, and they will be taken care of; or waste away in a hospital bed, watching helpless, as they cry themselves into the poorhouse over you.'"

"No choice at all. I would still want proof," Ramirez offered. "With so much at stake; even if you were the one offering, I would need assurances. A token of good faith."

"Oui, a down payment of some kind. So, now, we are looking for money." Luc took a deep drag of his cigarette. "Jerking Munich around is, as the English say, 'jolly good sport.' We are treading dangerously close to the waters of 'Official Channels.'"

"If it comes to that, I shall ask that you be given the case." Ramirez thought for a moment more. "One of La Contessa's friends is supposed to be very skilled in matters involving money. He may be of some assistance."

"Involving a civilian? It feels unwise. There is serious planning here. Someone had to know who Finnegan used to be, and be aware of his medical condition to approach him with such an offer. And if this bombing was part of it... Morgan's file makes no mention of bomb-making skills. You found no such tools in his room?"

"Nothing," Ramirez said, sensing the call might go on and leaving the bedroom. "As was noted, he 'set up his shrine, took his pills, had a siesta, and left.'"

"There is organization behind this, my friend. And it seems they extend an olive branch. Whoever pulled Morgan's strings also gave you a perfect cover-up.

The shrine alone would convince the media that this Carlos Jimenez was a lone stalker, and they will eat it up. They'll trace the address in Spain, where no one will even know him; so, they'll tell the cameras what a quiet man he was, just to be on the television, and that will be it. 'Up next is Henri with the Football.'"

"And any questions left would be the speculations of conspiracy nuts, I see.

So, if we SAID we found bomb tools, maybe some kind of anti-science literature..."

"C'est la vie."

"Not an olive branch, but a patsy. This, too, sounds like a matter for La Contessa, when she is able to tend to it." Ramirez glanced back towards his bedroom. "I have another woman who may kill me if I do not get sleep soon.

You can sit on what you have until then?"

"Oui. Nobody above me has seen this. If I stop now, I have just shown an interest in a cold case. And if I leave Munich alone, they'll be too happy to see the back of 'The Cocksucker of Lyon' to cause a stir. There is nothing to connect the two. Though I suspect I will update some of my boxes anyway."

Ramirez was one of the few who knew about the string of safe deposit boxes that Luc maintained, containing everything he had on the people most likely to kill him. Sometimes, he and Sam's weekend trips to San Finzione were a cover to update the boxes there.

"Maybe you should come for a weekend soon, just to update Munich's box."

The two of them laughed. They ended the call, and Ramirez went back to bed.

* * *

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Susan Bailey had thought that the best bed in the world was the one that she often shared with Troy and Julie Equals. Her own was nice, a closer fit for three, with no real room for more, unlike theirs. The ones in the Contessa Class suites on Air Finzione were a pretty even match with the Equals' bed.

She hadn't tested La Contessa's bed when she'd been in Helen's room. A part of her had suspected that Helen might secretly keep recording equipment running in her bedroom at all times, so she'd been wary of snooping too much.

Then there'd been that explosion, and she'd panicked and gone back down to the Study to wait for Jeanne to come show her to her room.

She had a feeling that Helen's bed was probably better than this one, but Susan couldn't see how it was possible. Thus, until she received further information, she declared the one she was in to be the best bed in the world.

Susan felt for the first time that she was in a palace, rather than a castle. Castle Finzione was technically "Finzione Palace," because La Familia Royale were in residence. Count Vincenzo's father, Count Ernesto, had changed the name at the start of World War II, because, as he'd stated, "It was always meant to be a stronghold of hope for The People in a time of war."

After the War, the name had been made permanent; to show that although it now also housed Società Finzione, La Familia's corporation, the castle's purpose would always be "To Protect, Defend, and Serve the People."

Wiklpedia had prepared Susan a little for her visit, but if it had known about the guest beds in the Palace Wing, it had said nothing.

And she wore nothing, Jeanne having said what she interpreted as having her clothes laundered. Since everything she'd brought needed washing now anyway, Susan didn't protest, and all of the other women in her head were now relaxed, too, and too grateful for the silks and satins brushing against her entire body to complain. She hadn't had much experience with the idea of "luxuriating," but imagined that was the word for what she was doing now in the bed; spreading out, rolling around, feeling it everywhere.

Either or both of two things would have made it perfect. The male one carefully opened the door.

"Susan?" Troy whispered.

"Mmm... in here," she replied, looking over at him. "I thought you'd have it.

Where's Julie?"

"Staying at the hospital. They've moved Helen to a room now, so they brought in a recliner and blankets for Julie. I left it with her.

"And how's Helen doing?"

"Sleeping off a different sedative now. Hopefully, she comes out of this one better."

Susan nodded.

"So, coming to join me, Good Sir Knight?"

"Merely awaiting milady's invitation."

"You e'er have it, good sir," Susan giggled. They'd done this bit before, but now they were doing it in an actual castle. "Did you get to see Maria?"

"Just for a bit," Troy said, closing the door, and walking to the bed. He undressed as he spoke. "She and Stavro were turning in as well when I got here. Got a few minutes with them. I'd only met Stavro briefly the last time we were here, good guy."

"Yeah," Susan said, rolling onto her side, and watching Troy get naked.

"Doesn't talk a lot."

"He does in Greek," Troy replied, crawling into bed, and wrapping his arms around her. "If we're here in three nights, we're invited to his parents' house for dinner."

"Will we be? Claire told me to take as long as I needed, but it would be nice to give her an estimate."

"If Helen's going to be all right, it'll probably be a week before she and Julie get on each other's nerves." He turned to look her in the eye. "If you'd rather not stay that long, Susan; if you think you'd be uncomfortable, we can put you on plane home any time sooner."