03-04-2019, 04:53 PM
He went to stand in line.
* * *
"Helen," Troy said as she grabbed the phone and started hitting buttons. "I heard the words 'Triad' and 'Elders' used in that conversation, seemingly interchangeably."
"Yes, Troilus," Helena spat as the phone rang. "The Elders control the Triads. Your Area 51/Men in Black conspiracy theory IS bullshit, but that doesn't mean that ALL of them are! You've learned about two secret organizations today. This is a slow day for me!"
The call connected.
"Hernando! Triple Maria's guard and tell her call me as soon as she can! I'll want both of you on the line when it can be done. Call in all staff at the Hong Kong Embassy and tell them to bring their families, then lock it down. I'll need a word with the ambassador, too. Have the Minister of Intelligence round up all known Triad associates in San Finzione. Set up roadblocks at the borders and tell La Policia to watch the trains and the air and sea ports. Whyte's just picked a fight with the Elders for us, and now they're GOING to strike back at us, unless someone will still take my calls."
She hung up and turned toward her friends.
"Well, Leonard just started a war with the Triads. How's everyone else doing?"
"You've got to pull Rita out of there now, Helen." Troy told her. "Get her out of the You Makeup, take a regular vehicle; not a limo or helicopter, and put her on the next flight back to San Finzione. Take some of the cars that you and the Ultimados brought. Nobody will be looking for YOU in an '88 Chrysler sedan!"
"Yes," Helen said distantly, thinking of something else, then processing what Troy had just told her. "Yes, you're right. I need to get Ortega on this."
She nodded and ran across the street, Mander trying to keep up behind her.
Julie Equals stood up and walked over to her best friend for life. Between the ability to control minds, and a career Army Intelligence officer father who'd made damn sure that his only little girl knew how to fight off and/or shoot any prick who couldn't comprehend 'no;' Julie didn't fear much in the world.
She had a recurring nightmare, though. Her 6th birthday party had been a pool party. For some imagined and long-forgotten slight to her six-year-old self, Joowie shoved Toy into the pool. He hadn't been ready for it, and started drowning. Troy's father jumped in and saved him, and everyone was now angry at Julie on her birthday for what she'd done. She had nightmares of what could have happened every night the next week, and whenever Joowie Annwews had nightmares, she'd do what she had done since the age of four: Leave the house in the middle of the night, go next door, and crawl into bed with Toy Madeenah.
Twenty-two years later, Julie still occasionally had the recurring nightmare of Troy drowning, and developed an abject fear of him going anywhere near a swimming pool. Other bodies of water were acceptable; they could visit the beach or a lake with no problem, or even go on a boat ride. Swimming pools, on the other hand, were nothing more than deathtraps designed specifically to kill Troy Medina of Anchorage, Alaska; because of the time that the boy who would grow up to be her lifelong best friend, true love, and one day soon, father of her children; almost didn't live to be any of those things due to one.
It didn't matter that as soon as Toy Madeenah was all right and saw Joowie Annwews crying all those years ago, the grown-ups mad at her for what she did to him, he ran over and hugged her and said "No cwy, Joowie. I yuv you, bes' fwend." It didn't matter that Troy Medina forgave Julie Andrews when it wasn't enough that he had become an expert swimmer and taken the first aid and water safety courses to obtain a Lifeguard Certification because outdoor swimming in Alaska could only be done four months out of the year, and going to the pool was the one favorite activity that he had to do without his Partner-In-Everything. It didn't matter that Troy Equals forgave Julie Equals every time she woke up at 3 AM, shuddering and calling his name until he woke up too and saw the sadness and fear on her face, and held her closely; whispering reassurances that he loved her and wasn't going anywhere until they both fell back to sleep.
* * *
"Helen," Troy said as she grabbed the phone and started hitting buttons. "I heard the words 'Triad' and 'Elders' used in that conversation, seemingly interchangeably."
"Yes, Troilus," Helena spat as the phone rang. "The Elders control the Triads. Your Area 51/Men in Black conspiracy theory IS bullshit, but that doesn't mean that ALL of them are! You've learned about two secret organizations today. This is a slow day for me!"
The call connected.
"Hernando! Triple Maria's guard and tell her call me as soon as she can! I'll want both of you on the line when it can be done. Call in all staff at the Hong Kong Embassy and tell them to bring their families, then lock it down. I'll need a word with the ambassador, too. Have the Minister of Intelligence round up all known Triad associates in San Finzione. Set up roadblocks at the borders and tell La Policia to watch the trains and the air and sea ports. Whyte's just picked a fight with the Elders for us, and now they're GOING to strike back at us, unless someone will still take my calls."
She hung up and turned toward her friends.
"Well, Leonard just started a war with the Triads. How's everyone else doing?"
"You've got to pull Rita out of there now, Helen." Troy told her. "Get her out of the You Makeup, take a regular vehicle; not a limo or helicopter, and put her on the next flight back to San Finzione. Take some of the cars that you and the Ultimados brought. Nobody will be looking for YOU in an '88 Chrysler sedan!"
"Yes," Helen said distantly, thinking of something else, then processing what Troy had just told her. "Yes, you're right. I need to get Ortega on this."
She nodded and ran across the street, Mander trying to keep up behind her.
Julie Equals stood up and walked over to her best friend for life. Between the ability to control minds, and a career Army Intelligence officer father who'd made damn sure that his only little girl knew how to fight off and/or shoot any prick who couldn't comprehend 'no;' Julie didn't fear much in the world.
She had a recurring nightmare, though. Her 6th birthday party had been a pool party. For some imagined and long-forgotten slight to her six-year-old self, Joowie shoved Toy into the pool. He hadn't been ready for it, and started drowning. Troy's father jumped in and saved him, and everyone was now angry at Julie on her birthday for what she'd done. She had nightmares of what could have happened every night the next week, and whenever Joowie Annwews had nightmares, she'd do what she had done since the age of four: Leave the house in the middle of the night, go next door, and crawl into bed with Toy Madeenah.
Twenty-two years later, Julie still occasionally had the recurring nightmare of Troy drowning, and developed an abject fear of him going anywhere near a swimming pool. Other bodies of water were acceptable; they could visit the beach or a lake with no problem, or even go on a boat ride. Swimming pools, on the other hand, were nothing more than deathtraps designed specifically to kill Troy Medina of Anchorage, Alaska; because of the time that the boy who would grow up to be her lifelong best friend, true love, and one day soon, father of her children; almost didn't live to be any of those things due to one.
It didn't matter that as soon as Toy Madeenah was all right and saw Joowie Annwews crying all those years ago, the grown-ups mad at her for what she did to him, he ran over and hugged her and said "No cwy, Joowie. I yuv you, bes' fwend." It didn't matter that Troy Medina forgave Julie Andrews when it wasn't enough that he had become an expert swimmer and taken the first aid and water safety courses to obtain a Lifeguard Certification because outdoor swimming in Alaska could only be done four months out of the year, and going to the pool was the one favorite activity that he had to do without his Partner-In-Everything. It didn't matter that Troy Equals forgave Julie Equals every time she woke up at 3 AM, shuddering and calling his name until he woke up too and saw the sadness and fear on her face, and held her closely; whispering reassurances that he loved her and wasn't going anywhere until they both fell back to sleep.
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