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Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 2nd China-Central Asia Summit in Astana and deliver a keynote speech. He is also scheduled to hold separate meetings with the leaders of Central Asian countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in Astana. It comes ahead of a major summit between China and Central Asia in Kazakhstan.
From Monday to Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the invitation of the country's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In the land of the Great Steppe, President Xi and his counterparts of five Central Asian countries are expected to further cement China-Central Asia cooperation. Exchanges between China and Central Asia date back at least two thousand years, to the days of the Ancient Silk Road. And with the Belt and Road Initiative, political trust has been enhanced and trade volume has skyrocketed. What does the summit mean for China-Central Asia ties? What results can we expect this time? What do stable China-Central Asia relations mean for the world?
In dieser Radioreise nimmt Sie mit Alexander Tauscher mit nach Astana. Freuen Sie sich auf die kasachische Hauptstadt, die zugleich die jüngste Hauptstadt der Welt ist. Das frühere Nur-Sultan mit seinen neuen prächtigen, gigantischen, futuristischen und zugleich sehr kunstvollen Gebäuden schießt regelrecht aus der Steppe in den Himmel. In dieser Sendung fokussieren wir uns einerseits auf die neue Stadt und tauchen zugleich in das Leben der Steppen-Nomaden ein. Den historischen Teil von Astana aus Sowjetzeiten mit interessanten Wandmalereien beleuchten wir in einer separaten Sendung mit Dima Dimov. Unser erster Guide Oral zeigt uns die Zentralmoschee von Astana, die größte in Zentralasien. Außerdem fährt sie mit uns auf dem Fluss Esil entlang des beeindruckenden Präsidentenpalastes. Den atemberaubenden Blick vom Bajterek-Turm, der wie die Moschee auf Initiative des ersten Präsidenten von Kasachstan Nursultan Nasarbajew gebaut wurde, beschreibt Guide Dilnaz. Die Traditionen der kasachischen Nomaden lernen wir in der Jurtensiedlung Ethnoaule kennen. Dort zeigt uns die Künstlerin Golmaral Tatibaewa ihre Schmuckstücke. Die Sängerin Merike spielt Lieder der Steppe. Und Organisatorin Nami erklärt uns, warum sie die kasachische Sprache bewahren und weitergeben will. Kasachische Küche und kasachische Gastfreundschaft erleben wir mit Nursultan in seinem Aula-Restaurant. Die moderne Interpretation der kasachischen Küche präsentiert uns Chefkoch Azamat Rakhmetullayev im Evas Wine Cafe. Und einen Treffpunkt für mehrere Generationen erleben wir mit Alfa Rabi & Dianijar im Cafe Lowkey. Unser modernes Basiscamp dieser Radioreise ist das Hilton Astana direkt vis á vis der großen Weltkugel, die zur Expo 2017 errichtet wurde. Anna Suchanova, Commercial Direktor bei Hilton Astana erklärt, was Besucher heute auf dem modernen Gelände und in der Kugel erleben. General Manager Leo Holli beschreibt die enormen Wachstums-Chancen von Kasachstan. Die kasachische nationale Fluggesellschaft, die die Hauptstadt im Namen trägt, hat uns in Windeseile nach Zentralasien gebracht. An Bord eines Air Astana-Fluges von Frankfurt nach Kasachstan sprachen wir mit Inflight Supervisor Shamil Bojanow über kasachische Küche in 8.000 Meter Höhe. Außerdem schwärmt er von seinem Job, der es ihm ermöglicht, viele fremde Länder und Kulturen kennenzulernen. In diesem Sinne reisen auch wir in das neuntgrößte Land dieser Erde, in die nach Russland zweitgrößte ehemalige Sowjetrepublik. Viel Spaß in Kasachstans Hauptstadt Astana!
This episode is brought to you by the Insta360 GO 3S action cameraThis week, James and Will are joined by ex-pro Levi Leipheimer. Levi turned pro in 1997 and in 2000 hit the big time with US Postal, riding as a teammate of Lance Armstrong. Stints at Rabobank, Astana and Radioshack followed, during which time he won the Tour de Suisse, three Tours of California, the Dauphine and two stages of the Vuelta a España, finishing second in Spain in 2008. His last contract at QuickStep in 2012 was cut short after Levi admitted to doping during his career, his admittance of guilt and subsequent testimony playing a role in the take down of Lance Armstrong. Today Levi is open about this part of his past, and here he speaks candidly about doping, both his feelings at the time and his feelings on the subject now, both in the context of US Postal and the early 2000s and the cycling now.Today, Levi heads up the event he founded some 16 years ago, Levi's Gran Fondo amateur race and its pro-race sibling, The Growler. As the US calendar shrinks, the 220km Growler is said to be 'the hardest one-day race in North America', and the only race broadcast live in the States, this year via YouTube. Levi talks us through the importance of the Growler to the US domestic scene, from the $156,000 prize purse that helps fund poorly paid pros, to the platform it offers young talent.Interview begins at 8:13------This episode is brought to you by Insta360, the 360-degree filming action camera specialists. Insta360 has now launched two GO 3S cycling bundles: a Cycling Multiview bundle that captures all angles plus a Cycling POV bundle for a great point of view. Check out the all-new, road-cycling-perfect Insta360 GO 3S here and don't forget to use the code Cyclist at the checkout for a free Insta360 GO 3S carry case, plus for a limited time there's also 15% off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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De eerste emoties en pijntjes zijn een beetje gezakt, maar er móét nog uitgebreid worden teruggeblikt op de Giro d'Italia. Dylan van Baarle en Wout Poels hebben in de laatste week veel meegemaakt en vertellen hun versies van de verhalen. Want was Simon Yates nou boos op zijn ploeggenoten, de dag voordat hij op legendarische wijze de roze trui veroverde? En wat had Van Baarle dan anders moeten doen? Poels, normaal gesproken altijd de beste versie van zichzelf in de derde week van een grote ronde, haalde niet uit de laatste dagen van de Giro wat hij eruit had gehoopt te halen. En dus heeft hij zijn gedroomde trilogie van ritzeges in alle drie de grote ronden incompleet. Reden om nog een jaar langer prof te blijven? Zijn ploeg Astana is er in ieder geval alles aangelegen om zijn doel alsnog met hem te halen en is daarom in verregaande onderhandeling om zowel Van Baarle als podcast-host Marijn Abbenhuijs naar het team te halen.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Prima visita ufficiale in Kazakistan per Giorgia Meloni dall'inizio del suo mandato: una visita che la premier ha definito non solo di protocollo, ma di sostanza. "L'Italia è uno dei principali partner commerciali ed economici del Kazakistan e anche uno dei principali investitori nell'economia kazaka.
A huge day in the GC at the Giro and Geraint and Laurens De Pluski are debriefing it all from training camp in Tenerife. After some big name exits and cracks on stage 16, who's left standing? Is Derek Gee still De Pluski's man? Is Simon Yates smelling blood? There's also Continental chapeau of the day for Astana after a first and second finish, and we get the low-down on G's birthday celebrations including a suspect cheesecake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Vitality win sixth trophy in a row, Spirit did the job in Astana, BESTIA Major visa saga, first s1mple impressions with FaZe, and more in this episode of HLTV Confirmed!➡️ Follow us for updates: / hltvconfirmed
Po dzisiejszym zwariowanym do kwadratu etapie Sylwek Szmyd przekonuje mnie że jutro będzie jeszcze ciekawiej. Niestety nie daje się przekonać bo na etapie 16 tegorocznego Giro: Tarling i Roglicz wycofali się z wyścigu, Bernal odpadał potem wracał by znowu odpaść, Ayuso stracił naście minut, Byczek Del Toro okazał pierwsze oznaki słabości, Carapaz szarpał wszystkich jak reksio kaszankę, Vismowy Yates po cichu zbliżył się do koszulki lidera, Gee zaskoczył wszystkich nawet realizatorów transmisji, Astana natłukła punktów UCI a Mertinelli spadł w przepaść... Chcesz folołować? – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pncastCykChcesz popaczeć? – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pncast/Chcesz połoglondać? – YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5hNRM9CimnQAZTho-FBAcQ Chcesz pobiznesować? – e-mail: podnominal@gmail.com Chcesz dać zapomogę? – PATRONITE: https://patronite.pl/pncast Buycoffee: www.buycoffee.to/pncastPatroni : HIGROSYSTEM.PLMarek DrÓb
Jack's away at IEM Dallas this week, so Sam is joined by Ethan. The pair are discussing PGL Astana, and they definitely don't crash out over NAVI's abysmal start to 2025.Also on this week's Overtime on Inferno, Sam and Ethan discuss the fact that electroNic should retire, the inconsistency of Astralis' rifle core, and why FURIA have suddenly become one of the most likeable teams in the world.Join the discord:https://discord.gg/X3jU4djxUKCheck out Logan's newsletter:https://thestratbook.gg
O OVERTIME chega na sua edição #141 com o convidado especial o português Rafael Ferreira, repercutindo a campanha da FURIA na PGL Astana, além de já falar sobre a IEM Dallas que já tá rolando nos Estados Unidos.
🌪️ JUAN AYUSO es un huracán. Ayer consiguió su primera victoria de etapa en el Giro de Italia y hoy ha vuelto a lanzar un pequeño mensaje. El día de la gran victoria de LUKE PLAPP y de la exhibición de Astana. 📱 Síguenos en redes sociales: Twiter: @podcastLBC @albermg Instagram: @amarcosgallego YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZPuzTB6PXX363rL2CRju3w 🟢 Escúchanos en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FgUyioG97fwjEh5yXJETh?si=a0090831798c4d0d 📱 ¿Te gustaría anunciarte en este podcast?: https://advoices.com/la-bicicleta-podcast ⚠️ ¿Quieres ayudarnos? Puedes contribuir y convertirte en mecenas de La Bicicleta Podcast en Patreon. Desde 1,50€ al mes puedes ayudar a que sigamos aquí contigo cada día: https://patreon.com/LaBicicletaPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink 🚀 Únete al canal de Telegram: https://t.me/boost/LaBicicletaPodcast
O OVERTIME chega na sua edição #140 com o convidado especial Raules, repercutindo a primeira fase da PGL Astana e o, já, resultado histórico do Brasil em território cazaque.
kyousuke Falcons move instead of Spirit upgrade, Astana surprises in NIP, Astralis, and FURIA playoff runs, big G2 visa blunder, StarLadder Budapest Major announced, and urging electronic to give up IGLing in this episode of HLTV Confirmed!➡️ Follow us for updates: / hltvconfirmed
PGL Astana is on and Jack and Sam really couldn't care less about it. They still talk about it, though, meaning that Astralis, BIG, and G2 are all on the receiving end of some tough love. Not everyone is criticised on this weeks episode of Overtime on Inferno, FURIA and NIP both get some love as they impress in KazakhstanJoin the discord:https://discord.gg/tldrCheck out Logan's newsletter:https://thestratbook.gg
FaZe get s1mple for Dallas and the Major in place of broky, Astralis disband looking possible, Vitality continue their dominance streak, Falcons making another final, and Spirit's time to prove themselves - this and more in this episode of HLTV Confirmed!➡️ Follow us for updates: / hltvconfirmed
Koersklappers: Ward Rigole, Jonas VergauwenWard en Jonas, oftewel: ons gouden, dynamische duo dat nog steeds een rekening in De Karper heeft openstaan van toen bij de Kerstspecial.Ditmaal alweer kwinkslagend en voorbeschouwend over de aanstormende Ronde van Italië, maar ook met de beste Italianen voor onze Sporza Minicompetitie en ook nieuws over Remco, Astana, fietscontroles en Bart Wellens.Doe mee aan onze Sporza minicompetitie
O OVERTIME chega na sua edição #139 para repercutir o título da Vitality na BLAST, a surpreendente contratação de s1mple e skullz pela Faze e já faz a prévia da PGL Astana, que terá a FURIA de MOLODOY e yekindar a partir de sábado.
Welcome back to Spin Cycle. In this episode, Caley, Jonny, and Kit give Astana the props they've been yearning for (almost as valuable as UCI points). Then, a look at the youngsters of Romandie, a cluster of a TTT at the Vuelta, and a trip in the sad Visma Van. Plus, Joe Laverick joins to discuss the Traka and how gravel has become a meme.
Tour de Romandía, Tour de Turquía, el milagro de Astana y en compas de espera por la llegada del Giro de Italia No te olvides de darle LIKE ❤️ y COMENTAR ✍️ A los mandos de las bicicletas: David Gómez ( https://x.com/davidesportista ) ¡Haz CLIC en el botón de APOYAR y conviértete en un FAN de Ciclismo de Ayer y de Hoy! ️ Ten acceso a los episodios EXCLUSIVOS para FANS, no tendrás publicidad y ayudas al mantenimiento del proyecto. ¿Quién puede dar más? ¿Nos acompañáis en esta ruta? ➡️Únete a nuestro canal de TELEGRAM. Comentamos las carreras, jugamos a intentar adivinar el ganador de las carreras, hacemos piña alrededor del ciclismo t.me/ciclismoayerhoy SUBSTRACK: https://open.substack.com/pub/ciclismoayerhoy Nuestro Twitter: https://twitter.com/ciclismoayerhoy Nuestro BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/ciclismoayerhoy.bsky.social Nuestro canal de Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ciclismoayerhoy Página de Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568610367016 Nuestro Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciclismoayerhoy
Send us a textIn Episode 283, I have the pleasure of conversing with International Master Malcolm Pein, Chief Executive at Chess in Schools and Communities, Chess Correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, Proprietor of Chess & Bridge Ltd and Executive Editor of CHESS Magazine. Malcolm is a Former British Junior Champion. As a Qualified FIDE Trainer, he has trained over 20 national and world junior champions. He has been a Chess Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph for over 30 years and has commentated on chess for the BBC, Sky TV, Canal+, Independent Television News and CNN.He is the author of many books and Executive Editor of CHESS Magazine. He has consulted on many films, including Chess Masters: The Endgame, EastEnders, Casualty, X-Men: Days of Future. In 1992, he founded the London Chess Centre, a games shop in central London and the UK's only dedicated chess shop. In 2010, I founded Chess in Schools and Coommunities, which teaches chess in 350 schools and 800 classrooms weekly. Over 250,000 children have learned life skills through chess in its' programs. In 2016, he was appointed Manager of the England Open Team. Notable successes include defeating China (the strongest chess country in the world at that time) at the Chess Olympiad in Baku in 2016. In 2019, England took the silver medals at the World Team Championships at Astana, the team's best result for over 20 years and later that year at Batumi, England took the bronze medals at the European Team Championships. We speak about parallels between Malcolm and our 109th Podcast Guest National Master Bruce Pandolfini, growing up in Liverpool, his favorite Beatles songs, fundraising and more.
Начните свой путь инвестора с помощью Freedom Broker: https://ffin-kz.onelink.me/ZmAs/drvcqz41Реклама. Публичная компания «Freedom Finance Global PLC». Лицензия № AFSA-A-LA-2020-0019.Сегодня у нас в гостях – легенда мирового велоспорта, олимпийский чемпион и победитель Вуэльты Испании Александр Винокуров. В этом выпуске мы поговорили о его пути в профессиональном спорте: с чего всё начиналось, как он добрался до вершины и что чувствовал на пике своей карьеры. Затронули важнейшие вехи – победу на Олимпийских играх 2012 года и триумф на Вуэльте-2006. Не обошли стороной и трудные моменты: допинг-скандал 2007 года, восстановление после тяжёлой травмы бедра на Тур де Франс в 2011-м и возвращение в спорт. Обсудили его нынешнюю должность генерального менеджера команды «XDS Astana Team», а также критику в адрес финансирования казахстанской велокоманды. Винокуров откровенно рассказал о своём опыте, взглядах на развитие спорта в стране и о том, что для него значит велоспорт сегодня.______Таймкоды:0:00 Dope Söz 1370:14 Допинг в велоспорте 2:20 Слава Винокурова10:27 Реклама13:36 Золото олимпиады 201220:20 Спорт в 90-ых23:20 “Astana” team 33:28 Подарки чемпионам37:18 Велосипедная инфраструктура41:51 Травмы велоспорта43:03 Проф.спорт или олимпийский? 46:14 Зарплаты в велоспорте55:28 GGG и патриотизм1:01:07 Жизнь в Монако1:06:31 Велогонщик или спортивный менеджер?1:07:33 Блиц для Вино______Dope soz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dopesoz/Telegram: https://t.me/dopesozҰсыныс бойынша/По сотрудничеству – oralbaiuly@gmail.com
“And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling [.…] And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4: 37-41) Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has identified the challenges of our age, “a new pagan society,” he calls it, and “anti-Christian”; others have said “post-Christian” or apostolic. Although the time is difficult, Bishop Schneider is not afraid. He tells us to pray and to have confidence in the power or the Rosary, its importance and efficacy. So, today we are talking about his new book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes (Sophia, 2025); he entreats us to petition God that He give us holy popes in the coming years, that the head may lead the body, as the church sails on into the unknown. He also talks about the traditions and history of the Rosary. We also talk about his remarkable life. Bishop Schneider's book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes Bishop Schneider's website, Gloria Dei Bishop Schneider on Wikipedia Another episode of Almost Good Catholics about the Rosary: Annabelle Mosely on Almost Good Catholics, episode 12: Did God Just Wink? Seeing the Numinous All Around Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
“And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling [.…] And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4: 37-41) Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has identified the challenges of our age, “a new pagan society,” he calls it, and “anti-Christian”; others have said “post-Christian” or apostolic. Although the time is difficult, Bishop Schneider is not afraid. He tells us to pray and to have confidence in the power or the Rosary, its importance and efficacy. So, today we are talking about his new book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes (Sophia, 2025); he entreats us to petition God that He give us holy popes in the coming years, that the head may lead the body, as the church sails on into the unknown. He also talks about the traditions and history of the Rosary. We also talk about his remarkable life. Bishop Schneider's book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes Bishop Schneider's website, Gloria Dei Bishop Schneider on Wikipedia Another episode of Almost Good Catholics about the Rosary: Annabelle Mosely on Almost Good Catholics, episode 12: Did God Just Wink? Seeing the Numinous All Around Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
“And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling [.…] And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4: 37-41) Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has identified the challenges of our age, “a new pagan society,” he calls it, and “anti-Christian”; others have said “post-Christian” or apostolic. Although the time is difficult, Bishop Schneider is not afraid. He tells us to pray and to have confidence in the power or the Rosary, its importance and efficacy. So, today we are talking about his new book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes (Sophia, 2025); he entreats us to petition God that He give us holy popes in the coming years, that the head may lead the body, as the church sails on into the unknown. He also talks about the traditions and history of the Rosary. We also talk about his remarkable life. Bishop Schneider's book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes Bishop Schneider's website, Gloria Dei Bishop Schneider on Wikipedia Another episode of Almost Good Catholics about the Rosary: Annabelle Mosely on Almost Good Catholics, episode 12: Did God Just Wink? Seeing the Numinous All Around Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
“And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling [.…] And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (Mk 4: 37-41) Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has identified the challenges of our age, “a new pagan society,” he calls it, and “anti-Christian”; others have said “post-Christian” or apostolic. Although the time is difficult, Bishop Schneider is not afraid. He tells us to pray and to have confidence in the power or the Rosary, its importance and efficacy. So, today we are talking about his new book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes (Sophia, 2025); he entreats us to petition God that He give us holy popes in the coming years, that the head may lead the body, as the church sails on into the unknown. He also talks about the traditions and history of the Rosary. We also talk about his remarkable life. Bishop Schneider's book, Salve Regina: A Rosary Crusade for Holy Popes Bishop Schneider's website, Gloria Dei Bishop Schneider on Wikipedia Another episode of Almost Good Catholics about the Rosary: Annabelle Mosely on Almost Good Catholics, episode 12: Did God Just Wink? Seeing the Numinous All Around Us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies
Alex Dowsett shares the aerodynamic strategies he learned during his time at Team Astana—insights that helped shape some of the fastest riders in the world. From bike setup to body position and marginal gains, this aero masterclass reveals what truly separates pros from amateurs. If you're chasing speed, this is the deep-dive you didn't know you needed.Our S&C Plan - https://www.roadmancycling.com/strengthandconditioningIf you would like to join Anthony & Sarah and race the L'Etape by Tour de France event in Las Vegas go tohttps://lasvegas.letapebytourdefrance.com/ and use the following code to get a 20% discount at checkout! - Roadman20REAPCustom Carbon Composition Bikes made in the UK. REAP's gravel bike is set to redefine gravel riding with 50mm+ tyre clearance https://reapbikes.com/ROUVYROUVY replicates terrain, gradients, and resistance, giving you the most authentic indoor cycling experience possible. Explore, train, and ride with ROUVY—visit ROUVY.com to start your adventure today! And to get one month FREE use code Roadman1m4iiii PowermeterThe PRECISION 3+ Powermeter from 4iiii is a compact yet powerful unit & is packed with features that set it apart, including integration with Apple's Find My network PLUS It's got up to 800 hours of battery life.Learn more by visiting 4iiii.com
A very busy weekend of action all over the globe and we've got plenty of takes and insight on the newest "Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast!"Host T.J. Rives returns with insider Dan Rafael of his Fight Freaks Unite Substack to go over it all.They start with the "PBC on Prime" show in Newcastle, Australia, as Tim Tszyu wiped out Joey Spencer in four rounds in his return after a tough set of losses. What's next- Keith Thurman?Then, we talk the Queensberry on DAZN show in Manchester, England with heavyweight Filip Hrgovic pounding Joe Joyce for 10 rounds and decision win. Who's Hrgovic gonna fight and should Joyce continue despite reapeated beatings he's taken in the last two years? Next, we move on to the Top Rank on ESPN+ show in Las Vegas with Richard Torrez headlining and wins over Italian Guido Vianello. Frustrating fight for Torrez with all of Vianello's holding, but it's a solid win.The boys discuss and Dan goes over the Lindolfo Delgado and Abdullah Mason victories on the undercard, too. And finally on the the recaps from Astana, Kazakhstan Janibek Alimkhanuly squashes Anauel Ngamissengue in five rounds and retains the IBF/WBO middleweight titles. What's next in a barren middleweight division? Plus, Bakhodir Jalolov defeats Ihor Shevadzutskyi in a heavyweight bout, but Dan wants more from Jalolov.News:Jai Opetaia has an injury that has caused his May 13 cruiserweight title defense against Claudio Squeo to be postponed until June 8 in Australia on DAZN.Heavyweights Fabio Wardley and Jarrell Miller will fight in the main event of a Queensberry Promotions card on June 7 (DAZN) at Portman Stadium in Wardley's hometown of Ipswich, England.The bout will be for vacant WBA interim belt. Presser on Monday in Ipswich, England. And, Pro boxing will take place in Cuba for the first time in over 60 years with a card on April 11 featuring pro fights with several Cuban Olympic medalists. Pro boxing was banned there from 1962-2022. Dan has moreNostalgiaApril 8, 2006 – 19 years ago on Tuesday – Floyd Mayweather defeats Zab Judah to win the welterweight title in a huge promotion and wild fight with a melee in the ring. Big Dan was ringside and remembers the mayheam on this "Money May" win.Hear it all on the "Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast" and make sure to follow and subscribe on this feed on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.!
A very busy weekend of action all over the globe and we've got plenty of takes and insight on the newest "Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast!"Host T.J. Rives returns with insider Dan Rafael of his Fight Freaks Unite Substack to go over it all.They start with the "PBC on Prime" show in Newcastle, Australia, as Tim Tszyu wiped out Joey Spencer in four rounds in his return after a tough set of losses. What's next- Keith Thurman?Then, we talk the Queensberry on DAZN show in Manchester, England with heavyweight Filip Hrgovic pounding Joe Joyce for 10 rounds and decision win. Who's Hrgovic gonna fight and should Joyce continue despite reapeated beatings he's taken in the last two years? Next, we move on to the Top Rank on ESPN+ show in Las Vegas with Richard Torrez headlining and wins over Italian Guido Vianello. Frustrating fight for Torrez with all of Vianello's holding, but it's a solid win.The boys discuss and Dan goes over the Lindolfo Delgado and Abdullah Mason victories on the undercard, too. And finally on the the recaps from Astana, Kazakhstan Janibek Alimkhanuly squashes Anauel Ngamissengue in five rounds and retains the IBF/WBO middleweight titles. What's next in a barren middleweight division? Plus, Bakhodir Jalolov defeats Ihor Shevadzutskyi in a heavyweight bout, but Dan wants more from Jalolov.News:Jai Opetaia has an injury that has caused his May 13 cruiserweight title defense against Claudio Squeo to be postponed until June 8 in Australia on DAZN.Heavyweights Fabio Wardley and Jarrell Miller will fight in the main event of a Queensberry Promotions card on June 7 (DAZN) at Portman Stadium in Wardley's hometown of Ipswich, England.The bout will be for vacant WBA interim belt. Presser on Monday in Ipswich, England. And, Pro boxing will take place in Cuba for the first time in over 60 years with a card on April 11 featuring pro fights with several Cuban Olympic medalists. Pro boxing was banned there from 1962-2022. Dan has moreNostalgiaApril 8, 2006 – 19 years ago on Tuesday – Floyd Mayweather defeats Zab Judah to win the welterweight title in a huge promotion and wild fight with a melee in the ring. Big Dan was ringside and remembers the mayheam on this "Money May" win.Hear it all on the "Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast" and make sure to follow and subscribe on this feed on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.!
It's a tremendous weekend of main event fights all over the globe and we're ready to go over it all. And, you'll hear from an unbeaten welterweight star champ, who's going for a unified title next weekend, as well, on the "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast"Host T.J. Rives is back with insider Dan Rafael to go over it all.There are tons of Saturday previewsIn the "PBC on Prime" main event from Newcastle, AustraliaJunior middleweight Tim Tszyu meets American Joey Spencer in a 10 round battle. Can Tszyu regain his form and set up bigger things? Next, the Top Rank Boxing card on ESPN+ in Las VegasUnbeaten Heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr. meets Guido Vianello in a main event schedlued for 10 rounds. Plus, Junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado and sensational lightwewight prospect Abdullah Mason are also in action. Then, it's Nomad Boxing with Top Rank on ESPN+ from Astana, KazakhstanJanibek Alimkhanuly takes on little known Anauel Ngamissengue, for Alimkhanuly's IBF/WBO titles. It should be an easy night for Janibek, but we'll see. Plus, heavyweight gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov meets Ihor Shevadzutskyi in a 10 rounderFinally, we go to the Queensberry Promotions on DAZN show in Manchester, England with Heavyweights Joe Joyce and Filip Hrgovic meeting in the main event. Do either of them have much left to get back into contention.Then, a conversation with Jaron "Boots" Ennis, as he faces Eimantas Stanionis on April 12th (DAZN) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in an IBF/WBA welterweight unification fight. "Boots" gives his side of why he's stayed at 147 lb. and not moved up for seemingly more lucrative fights.Then, some NewsWe have the Announcement of PBC on Prime card May 31 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas:Caleb Plant defends WBA interim super middleweight title vs. Armando Resendiz. And,Jermall Charlo ends 18-month layoff vs. Thomas LaManna in 10-round super middleweight co-feature. PBC makes it clear this is ahead of a Plant-Charlo fight later this year if they winMVP announces newly signed women's undisputed junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner will make a mandatory defense vs. Jennifer Miranda in the KatieTaylor-Amanda Serrano 3 co-feature July 11 on Netflix at MSGAnd, Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani appeared together this week at the Japanese Boxing Commission awards ceremony and when Inoue accepted hs seventh consecutive Japanese boxer of the year award he challenged Nakatani to a fight next year. Would probably be the biggest all-Japanese fight in history.Finally, GREAT NostalgiaApril 6, 1987 – 38 years ago on Sunday – Sugar Ray Leonard comes out of three year retirement and defeats Marvin Hagler to win the linea/WBC middleweight title in one of the biggest fights in boxing history. Ray was the rightful winner...so say T.J. and Dan. But, why did they not rematch?Hear it all on the "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.
It's a tremendous weekend of main event fights all over the globe and we're ready to go over it all. And, you'll hear from an unbeaten welterweight star champ, who's going for a unified title next weekend, as well, on the "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast"Host T.J. Rives is back with insider Dan Rafael to go over it all.There are tons of Saturday previewsIn the "PBC on Prime" main event from Newcastle, AustraliaJunior middleweight Tim Tszyu meets American Joey Spencer in a 10 round battle. Can Tszyu regain his form and set up bigger things? Next, the Top Rank Boxing card on ESPN+ in Las VegasUnbeaten Heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr. meets Guido Vianello in a main event schedlued for 10 rounds. Plus, Junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado and sensational lightwewight prospect Abdullah Mason are also in action. Then, it's Nomad Boxing with Top Rank on ESPN+ from Astana, KazakhstanJanibek Alimkhanuly takes on little known Anauel Ngamissengue, for Alimkhanuly's IBF/WBO titles. It should be an easy night for Janibek, but we'll see. Plus, heavyweight gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov meets Ihor Shevadzutskyi in a 10 rounderFinally, we go to the Queensberry Promotions on DAZN show in Manchester, England with Heavyweights Joe Joyce and Filip Hrgovic meeting in the main event. Do either of them have much left to get back into contention.Then, a conversation with Jaron "Boots" Ennis, as he faces Eimantas Stanionis on April 12th (DAZN) at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in an IBF/WBA welterweight unification fight. "Boots" gives his side of why he's stayed at 147 lb. and not moved up for seemingly more lucrative fights.Then, some NewsWe have the Announcement of PBC on Prime card May 31 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas:Caleb Plant defends WBA interim super middleweight title vs. Armando Resendiz. And,Jermall Charlo ends 18-month layoff vs. Thomas LaManna in 10-round super middleweight co-feature. PBC makes it clear this is ahead of a Plant-Charlo fight later this year if they winMVP announces newly signed women's undisputed junior lightweight champion Alycia Baumgardner will make a mandatory defense vs. Jennifer Miranda in the KatieTaylor-Amanda Serrano 3 co-feature July 11 on Netflix at MSGAnd, Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani appeared together this week at the Japanese Boxing Commission awards ceremony and when Inoue accepted hs seventh consecutive Japanese boxer of the year award he challenged Nakatani to a fight next year. Would probably be the biggest all-Japanese fight in history.Finally, GREAT NostalgiaApril 6, 1987 – 38 years ago on Sunday – Sugar Ray Leonard comes out of three year retirement and defeats Marvin Hagler to win the linea/WBC middleweight title in one of the biggest fights in boxing history. Ray was the rightful winner...so say T.J. and Dan. But, why did they not rematch?Hear it all on the "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.
The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week
Is Brollan being an elite IGL not enough confusion for you? No, well don't worry, Stewie2k is back and he's just recorded the greatest map of his career.On this week's Overtime on Inferno, Sam and Elliott discuss the return of NA's most impactful player, siuhy's new team, and the fact that they're already tired of Vitality being good and would rather talk about MOUZ being good instead.Join the discord:https://discord.gg/tldrCheck out Logan's new project:https://thestratbook.gg
Hana finds a place in Cáel's Amazon Life.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.You never really know what you can't do until you've tried to do it and failedI saw Iskender at least once a week, so I didn't know this was a bad sign. My superiors were wary to meet Iskender because intelligence types like their routines. When assets start acting strange, strange things happen. I knew this to be true. When your normally suspicious girlfriend suddenly acts all lovey-dovey,, she knows ~ she knows.Iskender's face showed that he didn't much like this change to our meeting schedule either. Introductions went around. Odette was the only one to say 'Glad to finally meet you' and mean it."Cáel Nyilas," he finally turned to me, "I bear a request from the Great Khan himself." No beating around the bush with this crowd."What do you need?" I replied. Irrationally, I found myself hoping 'please say you need a second for 'beer-pong''."Here is a flash drive with the particulars, but the basics are that we need the United States and the United Kingdom to lend diplomatic support to our efforts to obtain war material and other equipment from other aligned nations," he said."Things like?" Addison asked."Ships from the United States, tanks from Germany, helicopters from France and computer components for Japan and South Korea," he replied. "This is a list of roughly five thousand items we are attempting to procure.""Sure, we'll help," I volunteered."Cáel, before someone has an aneurism, why don't you find out what your team can do," Pamela burst my bubble."Sir, what exactly does your faction think we at JIKIT can do? We are a covert interim unit with limited authority and oversight," Addison stated."Wouldn't this be something you could accomplish through your own extra-ordinary resources?" Yum-Yum asked."We can only get so much through back channels and shell companies," he replied. "With the quantities the Khanate needs," he trailed off."You can't make that many purchases," I nodded. Even I knew an eighteen year old could buy a six-pack with little effort and a so-so fake ID. Buying five kegs was a totally different matter.There was a silence."Iskender, give the team 48 hours to go over this data. We will either return it as if we never received it, or act upon the information on your behalf," Yum-Yum spoke with finality."I understand," he bowed his head. "I will await your response.""I'll see you out," I told Iskender. "I get the feeling you knew this would be our reply.""I didn't, but the Great Khan did," he gave a weak smile. "Honestly, I don't know what to make of the request.""We do and I think we can get it done," I assured him. I escorted him to the elevator then returned to the room.I didn't have to be told what was wrong with this. If your girl finds out you ate fast food with another chick, you can explain it away. If you got take-out, or breakfast at some nice nook, then you had trouble by association. By giving us their Christmas list, Temujin had told us more than what he needed. He was telling us what he didn't need as well.This gave us incredible insight into Khanate economic and military policy over the next three years. See, you could go to Best Buy and purchase a 72" widescreen TV. It was what Best Buy did. You couldn't show up expecting to buy 500,000 TV's though. To get them you had to tell the manufactures they needed to build them because there was a market for that many systems.In turn, they need to buy the various components they didn't build themselves. That meant you would need to smelt more copper, produce more plastics and mine more cadmium, because they would be needed. Therefore, what the Khanate was ordering was stuff they expected to get three to thirty-six months down the line. This went beyond the war with China.As an example, the Khanate was ordering 265 Leopard 2A7 tanks from Germany to be delivered within two years. Germany didn't have those tanks lying around. They needed to build them. They had to expand the factories to build them and therefore produce all the components you needed for a brand new cutting edge tank at a faster rate than ever before.This also told us the Khanate didn't expect to build enough tanks for their own use, much less export to allies such as Vietnam. Maybe they didn't have the construction capacity, or maybe they were busy building something else. We could figure that out by seeing what else they were purchasing abroad, things like cars, trucks, tractors and locomotives.This was an excellent and powerful gift. It was also,"This is poison," Addison began the next phase of the meeting."I disagree," Mehmet Ali Sharif (our State department analyst) countered. "This will provide JIKIT with exceptional insight into what the Khanate's medium term goals are.""It is both," Yum-Yum nodded."The question is 'who are we going to share this with?'" I sighed. That was the critical juncture. After all, the UK and US had team of analysts whose sole job was to make forecasts like this."We decide that in 47 hours," Yum-Yum stated. "Mehmet, lets farm out 15% of this packet to different agencies and see what they come up with. Keep things compartmentalized.""Will do. Addison, let's burrow through this data to see what we can send to who," he got to work."Cáel, what is your insight into the Great Khan's thinking," Addison turned to me. "Are we being suborned?" I had to think that over."Yeah," I nodded. "He's got six months to figure out who is friends and enemies are and he might as well decide where we stand right now. If we share this data, he gets hurt, but it will mean the end of our taskforce and the end of real hard information about what the Khanate is up to as well.""Serving three masters never turns out well," Yum-Yum smirked. "Still, our regular intelligence agencies are months away from piecing together the inner workings of the Khanate and we have jack-off HUMINT on the ground. Our respective countries have 'back-burner-ed' Central Asia and now that's biting us in the ass. Barring an excessive NBC (Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapons) platform, I think we buy in."That meant becoming a true intermediator between our respective governments and the Khanate. That also meant continuing to work with the Amazons and 9 Clans, because if we betrayed the Khanate at this juncture, how much could the others really trust us? No, to keep JIKIT going, we were going to hide this information, thus becoming complicit in what the Khanate planned.We had already wandered past the point of intelligence-gathering and analysis to actual policy-making some time ago. This was the point of no return though. This wasn't plausible deniability. This was actively helping the Khanate achieve their national goals and meant moving beyond the realm of covert activities and into one of co-conspirators. I honestly thought we'd all buy in."So, what's next on the agenda?" I posed the question."Someone is late for their knife-fighting training," Pamela gave me a shark's smile. I smiled too. Finally I had something to do that I didn't understand, but didn't mind being ignorant about. If I fucked up, it would all be on me.{9:45 pm, Thursday, August 28th ~ 11 Days to go}Brooke Lee was many things, but being a cook wasn't one of them. What inspired her to cook dinner was almost beyond me. It had to do with that checklist women go through when seeing what a guy doesn't see in them. Brooke was gorgeous, fun to be around (if a bit snobby) and good in the sack. So, what made me closer to Libra and Hana than her? She wasn't trying to compete with the Amazons, thank God.She was better looking than Libra (true) and just as much fun, and if Libra was a better lay she would have hung herself, so it had to come down to womanly stuff ~ things like housecleaning, buying stuff and cooking. House-cleaning was a continuous menial effort and she had a maid service for that. Buying stuff? She had that down pat.Cooking? How hard could that be? very, but she hadn't accepted that, so here I was eating charred prime rib, rubbery asparagus tips, lumpy mash potatoes (made from real potatoes, I'd seen the peals in the trashcan) and some sort of Tomato salad. When she informed me she was cooking, I began looking for a reason not to come over for a late night rendezvous. Then she dropped the E-bomb."If you don't come over, it will be just me and Casper (Winslow) again.""Casper's still in town?" I asked. Since that horrible weekend where I first met Hana (good for my life), her father (hates my guts) and her cruel brother Brennan (now dead by my indirect intervention), Casper's life had been one of healing from the worst kind of treatment (by Brennan's now deceased posse) possible. I couldn't treat her like a pariah."I'm coming over to see you, but it will be great to see Casper again as well," I elaborated/exaggerated."Great," she gushed. "I'll see you at nine.""Make in nine thirty," I said. "I need to see a girl about a bed.""You are horrible," she chided me playfully, clearly not believing me."No I'm not. I'm tucking Aya into bed. She has an early start tomorrow and she's going to be gone all weekend, so this will be the last time I'll see her until Monday night. I'll be at your place as soon as possible after that," I told her. Aya was going to Doebridge and I was making a habit of steering clear of that Amazon municipality. Their security and I had a disagreement last time I was there."It is sweet of you to keep up with that little girl you were kidnapped with," she cooed. "You are a cool, great guy.""She's a special kid. We share a bond," I said. That was true and then some."I'll see you at nine-thirty. You won't be disappointed."And so I was at Brooke's at nine-thirty, getting ready to eat a largely indigestible dinner. Casper had stammered a greeting while looking at me happily. The smoke from the kitchen was warning enough of what was to come. I made light of the charred disaster. I didn't point out that two hours at 350 didn't equate to an hour and a half at 450. It just didn't.Brooke made up for her culinary inadequacies by looking good enough to eat off the plate, off the floor, or between the covers. She had on an Aqua tank top, black bra and khaki shorts with open-toed sandals on her feet. Casper was in the same general get up, except her tank top was white as was her bra.I carved up the beast while those two stood around drinking wine. The roast beast (original species uncertain) was as dry as leather, but the knife was sharp. We discussed Brooke's job hunting lack of success. The jobs she was qualified for didn't pay enough, required her to ignore too much leering and were generally an insult to her intelligence. Basic 'intern' stuff really.I mentioned Libra's job with Hana. She created some excuses about making her own way in the world then followed that up by asking if I could use my newfound influence to send some job offers her way. 'Surely not everyone at Havenstone was that way'. No. She had seem them being polite. They could be much, much worse."Why don't you become a consultant?" I suggested."That would be nice," Casper said. Brooke had become her closest friend."What would I consult in?" Brooke inquired."Employment," I mused. "You know networking and you know people who are looking for specific kinds of jobs. Start your own business.""I like that idea," Brooke grinned. "I could create a web page and get business cards, raise the start-up capital and start getting listings and finding clients.""I know some people who could help out," I offered, "as long as Central Asia is an acceptable location.""What kind of work do you think you can find?""Well, they need to build a government," I worked on my idea quickly because Brooke was literally dripping with sex. I was thinking 'tapping that booty all night long' sex.Women love sex, romance and sensuality. They also want to love their lives, feel successful and have just as much independence as they fantasize to be a good thing. I was coming through for Brooke yet again. I'd bolstered her when her former fiance's life imploded, casting her aside. I'd later given her the strength to make a moral stand for Casper and now I was helping her out of her career doldrums. God, she was going to let me fuck her silly. She was going to be freaking animal.But first we had to pretend to eat before we somehow shuffled Casper off to bed. The tomato salad was edible. It turned out to be Casper's contribution to tonight's festivities. I made sure to compliment her on it, while not mentioning the rest of this disaster. Brooke didn't mind. Midway through the meal, she stood up and paced about while calling her parents. Her Mom answered, so she gave that woman the good news first.My name came up, to her father, and not in a bad way, which was rather rare.'Yes, I was engaged to Hana Sulkanen. I was also her friend as well as Libra's.''I had friends in the Khanate, where business opportunities were aplenty.''Security concerns? No. She knew some people (my Amazons) who did that kind of work. Besides, it wasn't like she was going there.'"You might want to consider going there and meeting some of their people on the ground before sending your friends to that part of the world," I whispered.'Oh, I'll probably go to,'"Astana."'Astana, their capital. Father, there are extraordinary opportunities there. I'll be fine.'"I'll hire you some private security," I suggested. I wouldn't use the Ghost Tigers I had guarding Hana. That would be inappropriate. I couldn't use Amazons for that kind of work either.I was thinking about using Captain Delilah Faircloth of Her Majesty's MI-6. They had all kinds of contractors they'd used in China who would be looking for work now that the shooting had temporarily stopped. For all I knew, Lady Yum-Yum could use Brooke's new business as a cover to insert British operatives into the former capital of Kazakhstan.Now that I thought about it, that was a good idea. Brooke would have her hand in an espionage operation and not even suspect it at first. Later on, she'd probably love the peripheral risks and experience was experience.'Cáel can hire some private security using his government contracts.''I know you know people in the government Papa, but Cáel's people actually kill people.' Which went over like a bamboo hut in a tidal wave, but Brooke was irrepressible. Her parents wished her luck, Brooke did a happy dance and Casper snuggled close to me."Hey Casper," I put an arm around her. I was relieved she didn't flinch. I remained a good guy in her estimations of such things. I'd also hack my own hand off if it tried anything overtly sexual. "How are you coming along?""Better, day by day and my therapy group is good, very caring.""Glad to hear it. If there is anything personal that I can do, don't hesitate to ask. It is not a matter of debts to one another. You are worth it.""I'm glad you still think so," she stared up at me. I could easily dismiss her being needy. She was truly a damsel in need of a shoulder, a warm hand and a kind word. I didn't owe her because of Brennan and Anima. I owed her as a fellow human being."Isn't he the best guy in the world?" Brooke beamed. "We need to find ourselves one just like him." I couldn't see how that was going to happen. I was born in the wrong neighborhood, went to the wrong school and hung out with a different brand of friends. The convergence of me with Trent, which then led to Libra and Brooke, had been beyond bizarre.Felix was such an idiot for not buying into Brooke instead of stupidly trying to use her against me. Even that had backfired when I sucker-punched him in front of nearly a hundred Amazons. I'd knocked him out cold because he had shown more balls than brains in that one encounter. I wouldn't get that lucky again. I'd have to figure a way a new way to kick his Alpha-male ass."I'd argue with you, but I'm a hell of a guy. I'm a prince among men," I joked. "I mean that literally, I'm a Prince of Hungary and Transylvania.""Does that come with one of those cool sashes and lots of medals and ribbons?" Brooke teased."I'm sure the Hungarians are working on that right now," I chortled."Magyarorszag es Erdely Hercege" Casper murmured. "I read it in USA Today. They said it was something the Romanians gave you, but I wasn't sure what it was.""In Romanian it is "Prinţul Ungariei şi Transilvaniei", I clarified. "Prinţul is,""Is what?" Brooke said after a moment's lapse."When I went into battle with the Romanians, that is what they called me. It was a jest of sorts, not real," I sighed, recalling that dark day. Casper patted my hand."Is Magyarorszag the name for 'prince'?" Brooke requested." Magyarorszag is the name the Hungarians call their homeland," I clarified. "Hercege is their word for prince, but let's not buy into the hype. I'm just a guy with a job that entails greater risk than a pizza delivery driver.""A Jewish pizza delivery driver in downtown Gaza, Cáel. Every time I see you, you are sporting a new scar, or scratch. What do you have for me this time?" she gave me a sultry 'come-hither' look. I caught it and liked what I saw. Casper caught it and sighed slightly."I'm sleepy," she yawned. "I should be going to bed.""Oh no," Brooke protested. I almost believed her. "Are you sure?""Yes. I'll take an Ambien then be out like a light," Casper said before giving my hand another squeeze."You don't have to do this," I whispered into Casper's ear. "I'll brave another one of Brooke's home-cooked meals to spend time with her." Casper giggled."Hey now! What was that about?" Brooke pouted. She was definitely going to be wrapping those scrumptious lips around my sceptre in the next three hours, of that I was certain."He, ah, was wondering if we could do this again real soon," Casper babbled, caught between fright and comedy."Soon," Brooke shot me more of the 'sexy'. "He hasn't even made it out of the door yet.""I like the way you think," I winked to Brooke."What do you think is on my mind," she was provoking me. I didn't say a word. I chose to undress her with my eyes instead. She knew what I was doing too."Bedtime," Casper put both hands on the table then stood. "Thanks for coming over tonight." I stood as well, hugged her then briefly watched her walk away. Just because she was 'handle with care' didn't mean she wasn't a handful. My miniscule number of rules included not doing it with girls not in their right minds. I wanted them to be free to hate me when the time came.Brooke saw Casper off to the bathroom for her meds and the whole pre-bedtime ritual stuff while I cleaned up the dinner table. Five minutes of work now meant not waking up to the smell of ruined food later. The only thing in need of saving was the salad. I Saran Wrapped the rest of it. I was going to claim I was taking it into work for breakfast then dispose of it at our HQ ~ One MiMA Tower.Once I was finished, I puttered around noisily until Brooke came looking. I could have gone to her bed and stripped naked, eagerly waiting for sex. Since Brooke was trying to play in the same league as Hana, she might have misconstrued that as me taking advantage of her. If not tonight then in the morning when she replayed the encounter. Brooke liked to be 'in charge', so I fed that instinct.I had come here for sex. We both knew that, but we could pretend we didn't. Brooke could then want to have me and got to make sure I wanted her with or without sex, so we could have guilt-free sex together. Brooke was not overly complicated, for a girl, and she was hot enough to be worth having to go through these sorts of games."Whatchya thinking about?" Brooke said as she sashayed into the kitchenette."You," I met her gaze. She licked her upper lip."I've been thinking about you too," she moved within my comfort zone. I obliged her aggression by placing my hands first on her hips then, as I pulled her close, to the small of her back. We were groin to 'growing' and I was very aroused by her presence and her scent."Are you going to toy with me some more so that I go home tonight stiff and moaning with lust?" I groaned."I like toying with you," she snickered. "You are fun.""You are fun and sexy. We need to try another beach weekend with less drama before the season ends," I played to her amusement."I don't think I can wait for the weekend," she protested by shimmying her hips against me. "While you were out saving the world, I've been all alone.""Oh hell no!" I hissed. "What brought that on?""You are a hard act to follow," she teased. "I've missed you.""I've missed you too," wasn't a total lie. I hadn't been celibate by a long shot. That didn't mean I didn't miss her."How about we do a little bit less 'missing'?" she suggested."I'd like to have you on the sofa," I pressed into her."I'd like to have you in the bedroom ~ my bed is bigger," she grinned. My eyes shown with anticipation, which was what she was looking for. Brooke took my hand and led me through the living room and around the corner to her bedroom.She cat-crawled onto the bed while I hurriedly stripped down. She languidly lay back on the pillows, hair billowed around her in a dark halo while she hungrily watched my physique being revealed to her. Brooke's left hand traced a line down around her breast to her pubic mound where she started playing with herself. Her eyes fluttered, her lust blossomed into womanhood and I was beside her in a flash.Instead of falling in beside her (she was close to her side of the bed), or to her far side, I came at her from the foot of her bed. I spent only a few seconds kissing her toes, shins and kneecaps. While my kisses made moist lip-prints up her thighs, I unbuttoned her short shorts and undid the zipper. Brooke raised her hips so I could pull her clothing down ~ no panties.To change things up slightly, I finished the removal by turning her over onto her stomach, then pulling on her hips until she was in the doggy-style position. She looked back at me, her eyes framed by dark lashes and darker eyebrows on her tanned flesh. I pressed her shoulder blades down until her breasts were squeezed against the bed.After that, I slid down until I was on my belly. Using my shoulders and neck, I began licking her labia from the hood to the anus. That got her going and before long, I was drinking from her nectar and loosening up her asshole with some quality rimming. Brooke had prepped for me carefully and cleanly and this made me attack her nether regions with renewed gusto. Butt sex was in the offing.Not yet though. I got her all nice and gushing, but I wanted to try something more. I kept my tongue action going on while I coiled my body behind her. With a quick, graceful repositioning, I rose up on my knees, her thighs resting on my shoulders while I made furious suction actions onto her."Yep, Yeah!" Brooke exhaled. "This is, aha, new."True to my predations, while I worried and nibbled her accoutrements, Brooke took one hand (the other she was using to pull her hair aside) and began stroking me. Her tongue touched my spongy head several times before she stopped the outright teasing and placed her lips upon me. She didn't suck it in. On no. She sucked on my angry red helmet, running her lips right to the edge then back again, as if I was a Popsicle.I was leaning back on my haunches because of the awkward hold on hips with the weight I had to support. Not that Brooke was at all heavy."Crawl forward," I mumbled from between her legs. It took her a few seconds to figure out I wanted to return us to our starting position. She made a great display of slithering forward. My tongue stayed in her cunt until both her knees hit the comforter.At that stage she was ready to go and my forcefulness lifted her knees temporarily off the sheets.With my third lunge, Brooke reached back and stopped my rocking motion. I stilled which allowed her to reach over to the side table, open the drawer and pull out a designer bottle of lubricant."I know this is what you like," she panted in anticipation. I knew this was what we both wanted by the way she ran her fingers along my palm before making the hand-off.This was one of those bottles with the glass stopper, so it make a slight grinding sound as I opened it. Brooke want down onto all fours, her palms resting on the comforter. Her head was down and her waist-long black hair masked her features, but not her sounds of pleasure."Arch your back Brooke," I said as I inhaled her intoxicating aroma. She did so willingly. I let the oil pour down in a thin stream and rubbed it in with my thumb.I had to carefully aim my phallus because Brooke hadn't been lying about her lack of sexual attention. She was tight and hadn't been plundered by anyone in my long (for me) absence. Hell, this long and I was normally back to 'make-up' sex. I certainly wasn't going to be ramming my rod home with any great passion for a few minutes.I didn't want to cause her (too much) pain nor have her anal muscles constrict the skin off my love missile."Oh," she moaned. "I love it when you are gentle, Cáel. It reminds me how much you care for how I feel." She punctuated that statement by rolling her hips, driving in my entire length in her lubricated alternate option. Her body tensed up then bucked. I popped out."Put it back in," she gasped. There was so much to love about Brooke and her enthusiasm. Once back in, I rested my left hand on the small of her back to keep her back arched while I reached around with my right and began twisting and palming her right breast through her shirt and bra. As I was slowly twisting and thrusting, Brooke's arms gave out and she went face first into her pillow. Her breast pressed my hand down on the comforter and her repositioning drove a full inch of me suddenly into her.Brooke gave out a strangled sob followed by a whimpering sound. My left hand took my weight. My right came around and pulled her hair away from her face so she could breathe easier and I could judge her pain through her facial expressions."Oh God," she spat a strand of hair out of her mouth, "It feels like you are going to split me in half.""Too late to back out now," I teased her."I can, hiss, take anything you can give me, Cáel Nyilas," she taunted me through clenched teeth. I gave her another inch for her impertinence. She tried to crawl forward before she surprised me by thrusting up and back."God damn!" she howled. "You're huge!"I imagined that I would feel like a fucking Sequoyah shoved up my ass if I pulled off a stunt like that too. Brooke was game for more. I had enough in that now I could start a rhythm without fear of popping out. Her hands bunched up the comforter around her head as she hung on for dear life. This felt so good that squeezing my last bit in felt rather inconsequential after all the physical and erotic ground we had covered up until then.Brooke's stomach clenched up as her spontaneous ecstasy jumped her and me. Every muscle in her body spasmed, including her rectal ones. I was shooting off into her bowels inside a second. My heat only made her climax come that much harder. I kept humping away like a chimp on crack while Brooke began to squeal out between baited breathe."Damn, that was intense," I remarked as I fell to her side. Brooke was still face down/ass up with her eyes squeezed shut, still riding through her own aftershocks of her sensual seismic waves."Oh, oh, oh," she panted hoarsely. "I want to, (pant), do that again, real soon."I spanked her ass loudly and prepared on shaky legs to remount her."No," she moaned. "Give my ass a minute's rest. Can't we do something else for a while?""How about I get cleaned up and get you a hot wash cloth?" I suggested as my nostrils flared."I'll just lie here and feel sated," she murmured. Her knees slid down until her stomach was down on the bed. I gave her abused backside another tender spank then slid off the bed. I quick-stepped it out of Brooke's room, and nearly tripped over Casper who had been out in the hall watching us."I," she stammered. I shut the door then crossed the hallway from her."No problems, Casper. I was hoping that we wouldn't wake you up," I coaxed her down the hallway to her door, and away from Brooke's room. I noticed her eyes constantly flicking down to my crotch. "Hang on," I held up my hand. When she nodded, I quietly sprinted down to the living room, grabbed up a throw pillow then sprinted back. Now I could be covered up."Why didn't you get a towel out of the bathroom?" Casper whispered."I'm an idiot," I shrugged. She sniffled then giggled."You make Brooke very happy, but,""But?""But you are engaged to Hana Sulkanen.""I'm a Love Monkey," I shrugged. "I find it difficult to be with just one woman. It is never that a woman isn't enough for me. It is that there is something wrong with me that is never truly satisfied so I keep roaming.""Don't you, worry about the women you are with?""I'm not a wonderful human being, Casper. That is all I can think to say.""You aren't like Brennan, not like that, hold on." Casper retreated to her room then came back with a folded up piece of news print. By the size it was one of those articles you found on page 17. "Here," she handed it over. "It was delivered here in an envelope with my name on it."I looked it over. A 'Jane Doe' had been found in Charleston harbor, SC, dead from an overdose."Three days before I got that, I got a call from Anima," she told me. "She told me," Casper gulped. "She told me that she was very sorry about all that had happened. She was sorry. That was it.""Oh.""Anima is dead now, isn't she?""Yeah, I think so," I noted sadly. "Does that change anything with you?""I don't know. I mean, Brooke told me that you would make sure none of those people would ever be around to bother me again, but, was this you?""No and yes. I told someone with the power to make a difference what happened to you and who was responsible. After that, I never heard about the matter again. Anima did stop by once, crazy with fear but unrepentant. I honestly feel that how she ended up feeling wouldn't have made a difference on whether she lived, or died. I don't know what to make of her call.""She, it doesn't help. I still have to take a sleeping pill to keep the nightmares away. I haven't told my therapist about the death, or how everyone else is either dead or disappeared. I don't know what to think. I was hoping you would.""I'm not normally the person people go for answers. I'll make up an answer, if that's what you want."She reached up and touched my forearm."I prefer honesty," she smiled. "I guess I was hoping for you to be more, perfect than you are. That was unfair of me.""You wouldn't be the first person to mistake me for a decent human being," I joked. "Usually that misconception only lasts a week or so. I promise you... I'll be living down to your expectations in no time.""Brooke thinks highly of you, and so do I. We've known you more than a couple of weeks," Casper feebly jibed."I've been behaving myself," I teased her.'"Brooke sounded," she trailed off. I waited. "You two sound like you enjoyed one another.""That's how it is supposed to be. You'll feel that one day too. You'll meet someone who thinks of your pleasure first. And, if he doesn't, you will have to train him to do it right.""You make it sound so easy," Casper sighed."Do you really think I'm that unique?""A prince, avenger, soldier-of-fortune, titan of the bedroom?" she lightened up. We'd crossed a barrier. I was 'joke-able'."We have union meetings every third Wednesday," I grinned. "We kick back, drink a few beers and figure out what hot spots and hotties we need to concentrate on for the next month.""I, thank you, Cáel," she smiled."For what?""For not disappointing me. You are a nicer guy than you give yourself credit for.""Thank you, Casper," I reached over and hugged her. She didn't flinch. "For treating me like I can make a difference.""I need to go to bed now," she yawned. I hugged her again then stepped back. She walked to her door and began to shut it. I swore I heard her whisper 'you do', but I wasn't sure. I had to hurry to the bathroom, heat up a wash cloth while cleaning up, before finally getting back to Brooke. I found her reclining on the bed, totally naked."Sorry I took so long," I told her."I know. It is okay. I heard most of it," she glowed happily. "Casper needs someone, someone who isn't me. I'm not the most patient friend in the world. I sort of feel responsible for her and she needs someone to talk to about normal stuff, but I miss going to clubs and hanging out with friends who talk back." I sat on the bed and began to run the warm cloth up her thighs."What was it like, that fight in Romania?" she asked as we switched off with the washcloth. She tenderly worked over her abused anal region."The battle? A skirmish really,""Yes," she paused. "Between that and being kidnapped, you've had a mentally draining time since we last spent some time together. You act like you haven't changed much, but,""It's okay. I know it sounds clich , but it is hard to explain those things unless you've lived thru them.""If you don't want to talk about it," Brooke gave me an out. I could tell this was a part of my life she wanted to be a part of; my manliness on display."I'm okay. I can't really say I was scared for myself either time. During the kidnapping I was concerned for Aya. All of the normal human stuff came later, after the crisis was over. During the kidnapping, there isn't much to talk about. As for the fight, at the time I had a plan and was waiting for the opportunity to implement it. Bullets were flying. Men around me were getting wounded. I can't recall seeing any of the men on my side getting killed.""Did you get shot?" she stroked my abdomen."Bruised, though my flak jacket had to do its job once or twice," I sighed. I could almost hear the sounds of the bullets whizzing around me once more. Wounded men hadn't screamed out when they were hit. They'd grunted. The cries would come later when the enormity of their pain sunk in."I made sure the main bad guy ~ the Boss ~ didn't get away. I think I wounded one guy. That was it; my contribution to the battle.""It was your plan that won the fight though, right?""Yes. I did what leaders are supposed to do, but that didn't mean I could save all my guys and gals.""You are very courageous," Brooke cuddled in. "You don't back down often, but you are not an ass about it. You are the least 'macho-asshole' macho-man I've ever met, and I'd like to see more of you," she purred."I'm already naked," I played naive. Brooke pushed me down and straddled my lap."I guess I'll just have to appreciate the naked you some more then," she chortled. Brooke took charge long enough for me enter her then we combined our efforts, her moving with her thighs and me with my hands on her hips, to engage in some serious love-making.This is not a political commentary, public personalities have been butchered in order to make the story light-hearted{4:45 am Friday, August 29th ~ 10 Days to go}"Hey," Brooke asked softly, "can I join?"I was halfway thru my clean up when she'd opened the shower stall door, but I had some time. "Sure. I'll wash your back if you wash mine," I offered.She gave me a sly grin as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. I signaled her to turn with her back to me (never a safe position), poured some liquid soap in my hands and began lathering her up."Did you think you could leave me with only a kiss," she said as she backed up against me."I thought you were asleep when I kissed you," I whispered into her ear."I was. You are such a romantic, I assumed you kissed me because that's what you always do. You have a light touch.""We were up late," I teased."You are up early," she let her left hand travel down between us until she could wrap her fingers around my cock."Being with you, it is hardly a surprise," I chuckled."Are you implying you like me?" she serpentined her body against mine."Me likey, me likey a whole bunch," I told her as I nibbled her ear. Brooke responded by pulling my phallus around like a clock arm until it was fixed between her thighs and rubbing up against her. We left it there a while, she rocking her hips back and forward while I soaped up her front the way I had lathered her back. After all, this was foreplay.This was kisses planted along her shoulders, neck, ears and, as I turned her head around, on her lips. Brooke was whining with need after our last French kiss, so I pushed my hips back and pressed her down with a hand on her mid-back. At the perfect angle, I let her slip me in."Ah, this is never going to get old," Brooke moaned. She punctuated her statement by rolling her hips back and forth. In the interlude, I cut off the water so it would cease to be a distraction. Then my hands went to her hips and the rhythm began. It was a slow steady wave-like motion.Brooke had one hand against the tiled wall while the other reached under to play, as I went in. This was an excellent symmetry we had developed.I pulled out suddenly."No," Brooke protested. She turned around to see me pull a condom from behind the shampoo and quickly apply it. Brooke giggled. "Thank you for that, but don't you think it is a little late in our night together?""Would you rather I went without?" I smiled."No," she sighed happily. "It is so you." I took that as a sign to slip back in. I felt her fingernails run over the condom as I pressed forward. This time around, I let Brooke do all the work. I placed my torso onto her back so I could worry her shoulders and neck (yes, I gave her a hickey) and fondled her breasts."No fair," she whimpered. "No fair, I wanted you to, cum first.""I'm working as fast as I can," I huffed. Her fingers were strumming furiously, I was picking up my pace, pounding her with growing ferocity, and her breath was coming in labored gasps."No!" she howled as her climax gripped her. She bucked up once, twice, then a third time, holding herself tightly against me."I'm cumming," I growled and I did. Brooke's groans became longer and lower. She wiggled her cute ass against me, urging out every spurt of my semen into the condom. As I was pulling out of Brooke, she stopped me."Wait, I want to try something," she told me. She turned around and went to her knees.Brooke rolled off the condom and made deep, meaningful eye contact before tilting her head back and draining the contents of my condom down her throat. Oh, that was so sexy."Yummy," she gulped down my seed."Wow, that was so, unforgettable," I stroked her cheek."I've been reading some porn and wanted to try, oh, it has an aftertaste of spermicide. At least I think that is what it is," she snickered."I wouldn't know," I shrugged."Let me find out," she gave me more of that sultry eye-contact. She put her hand around my turgid phallus, stuck out her tongue then slipped it past her lips."No," it was my turn to moan. She was getting me hard again and I had a date I couldn't be late for. Maybe. The moment her gag reflex kicked in, I pulled her up into a kiss. My hands cupped each ass cheek, I raised her over and impaled her in one rapid motion. Face to face, I began bouncing her hard and deep.{8:00 am}I wasn't late, but it was a close thing. I had arrived with three minutes to spare, only to find Hana and Libra waiting for me at Amy's Bread on 9th Avenue. Over some coffee and scones we soaked up the city's morning ambience. I was in my biker clothes with my bike locked up within sight of the counter."So," Libra started off after the initial hugs and kisses (Hana on the lips, Libra on the cheek, no titty snuggle for me at the moment), "how was dinner with Brooke last night?"I didn't believe Brooke had given anyone any details in the period between since we'd had our last round of high octane love-making at one a.m. and before I grabbed my shower, or the two quickies in the shower, or feeling her up at the door. I had kissed her before leaving and she had been out like a light, naked and curled up with my pillow while resting her weary head on the other one. I had whispered a farewell to Casper, but not looked in. After that, I had biked over to Havenstone for my six o'clock firearm's practice.There, I had picked up my current minder, Juanita Leya Antonio Garza. She was a mocha-skinned Dominican, twenty-nine years old and a brand-spanking new member of the Isharan House Guard. She came to me by way of Havenstone's Buenos Aires' Acquisitions department. Juanita had earned her spot as my guardian by qualifying for that office's Rapid Response Team. (She had been good enough to qualify for that team's lead. Since there were not enough Security Detail (SD's) to staff all the satellite offices, the offices made do with teams trained by the SD as part of their normal career training.)She had spent the past week as part of an ad-hoc training program addressing how to bodyguard from on top a bicycle. (The SD had actually been planning this since I had been kidnapped.) Juanita had been identified by Buffy and Halen as a Runner to be brought into House Ishara and she had a seal of approval from both Buffy and Rachel as a bodyguard, so I was more than willing to put up with an aggressive road buddy."Entertaining," I grinned. "Definitely something we are going to have to work on together next time.""Next time?" Hana regarded me studiously. "Was last night that good?""We are not going to go there, Hana. I'm doing my best within my limited Code of Sexual Misconduct. I'm trying to be discreet.""Hana," Libra added her voice, "when you first met Cáel, he was simultaneously dating me and Brooke. At the same time he was also seeing that police officer,""Nikita," I clarified, "and we are keeping it at the 'strictly friends' level right now.""I was hoping to have something more than just a part-time husband," Hana stated softly. Hana wasn't whining. She was testing our boundaries, for the long term control of my being. After all, wasn't that what marriage was all about?"At this point in my life, I'm not that guy," I pushed back. Most of the women I'd been with hadn't been happy about sharing my attentions, often violently so. Those who did found ways to emotionally blackmail me into spending more time with them. Up until now, that had never worked."When I saw you with Annela, I realized that you are much more than some sort of playboy," Hana countered."I'm learning to like kids," I shrugged happily. "I never thought I would, quite frankly. I wasn't called 'Captain Condom' for nothing.""I'm not on birth control," Hana enlightened me. Oh shit!"Good thing we are getting married," I joked feebly. "So, does Annela want a baby brother, or sister?""Would there be a problem with a boy?" Libra asked."Not anymore," I guaranteed them both. "I couldn't,""Couldn't?" Hana requested what I had let slip."What used to happen to Amazon boys?" Libra pressed."Not something that I feel at liberty to discuss," I hedged."That doesn't sound good," Libra mused."Would our child be at risk if something happened to you?" Hana worried."No," I reached over and squeezed her hand. "There are plenty of people that know how I feel and wouldn't let anything happen to my children," I didn't quite lie. Honestly I had never talked over such things, even with Buffy. Would my sons be okay? Would my daughters?I needed to reexamine my future plans, which is to say I needed a plan."So how would we deal with your grandfather?" Hana redirected my thoughts."Oh," I had been worried about my Amazons, not my family."I will find a way to deal with Alal," I promised her. What a bold-faced lie. I hadn't a clue how to counter the man yet. I was still playing catch up with several thousand years of what he had already accomplished, much less plumbed the depths of his future conspiracies."You big liar," Hana smiled warmly. "That man has your number, even though you don't see it yet. We will have to work on something together.""I'll help," Libra offered. "That guy weirded me out.""He did?" I looked her way. I'd been good at avoiding ogling her cleavage for Hana's sake. "I wish I could clarify how I feel about him.""That man is evil," Hana insisted. "Don't you see that?""It isn't that simple for me," I shook my head. "It is, I can get inside his head and figure out what motivates him, and sometimes it is scary. In a way, he's lost faith in humanity. His friends have all long since died and he has carried on alone. I get the bizarre sense he is even looking forward to having something he's never had before, a family.""What about your, umm, aunts?" Libra challenged me."They don't count because he," I couldn't say 'made them in a lab'. "He never knew them as children, only after the fact and they have always lived in his shadow and under his control. This time, with me, us, things can be different.""He doesn't deserve a family in my book," Hana shook her head. "Not my family."I had to think about Katrina and Aya. How different was Katrina, who purposely sacrificed Aya to achieve her long term goals of screwing over the Seven Pillars of Heaven? Aya would bear a permanent scar of that betrayal, and Katrina had an ironclad faith I would save us both, a faith I didn't have in myself. I liked Katrina and even trusted her somewhat. Could I afford to feel the same way about Grandpa Cáel?"Hana, I'm not looking to give you a sane reason for dumping me, but my family is more than a little fucked up," I began. "I have to face the fact that right now, I really can't stop Alal from doing what he wants. That doesn't mean I accept the situation, yet it is what it is. When I have a chance at putting him away, I'll take it and that decision goes beyond my family. He needs to be stopped. As you said 'he's evil'.""Will you let us help you?" Libra inquired. 'Yeah right, what can you do versus a 5000 year old criminal mastermind' wasn't the appropriate thing to say. The truth rarely is."What would you suggest?" I did say. "Considering the resource gulf between what we can bring to bear versus his legions of followers and unspeakable power, what chances do the three of us have?""Is that a concession, insult, or genuine inquiry?" Hana questioned."Genuine inquiry," I answered. "I hardly feel I know it all. And the more insight I can gather, the better my long-term chances are.""We can start by finding a way to get rid of my Irish 'minders'," Hana gave me a quirky grin. "They are very good at fitting seamlessly into the background, but I can spot them.""Keep them around for a while, because all we can accomplish right now is getting a few more we can't identify," I pointed out. "The Ghost Tigers?""Oh, they are out and about," Libra snorted."They stop by long enough in the morning to get my itinerary, then, I guess they are out there somewhere," Hana told me. "A few times they have acted on my behalf, so I know they are close by, and that people really are trying to kill me. But they work their way, and that includes not being seen with me, it seems.""They are assassins, so I guess I should have expected that," I shrugged. "Still, while they are on the job, you are safer than you realize. None of the others ~ groups ~ will bother you while they know those two are close by. It is two, right?""I've seen two. A young woman and an older man," she elaborated."They both come across as diligent sociopaths," Libra added. "I've never seen them emit a single emotion, and they don't like my sense of humor.""I'd rather have you two alive than have them chucking at your innate comedic talents, Libra," I smirked. "Besides, the things they find funny you might not appreciate.""Good point," Hana nodded. "Some of the Great Khan's people certainly have an odd sense of humor, things that don't translate over well."I had an alternative to telling what I knew about the Earth & Sky and why they were so grim: that they saw their father's lifetimes, their own and that of their children filled with warfare and struggle. They were geographically trapped between two of the world's greate
This episode is part of our Think&Drink Series in collaboration with the Georg-Simmel-Centre for Urban Studies working with the Humboldt University Berlin. Today's speaker is Andrei Semenov, an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. Authoritarian urbanism has recently become a buzzword applied to different settings and situations. Andrei attempts to clarify the conceptual foundations of this term by using a combination of political science and urban sociology analytical frameworks. He shows that the authoritarian part refers to the dictators' response to two key challenges to their rule: elite factionalism and mass uprisings. While a wide set of strategies is available to dictators, the instruments and practices of urban development constitute one possible way of responding. More specifically, he argues that authoritarian urbanism simultaneously aims at two (not always compatible) goals: providing rents to ensure the elites' loyalty and satisfying the mass demand for housing and a comfortable urban environment. He illustrates these features with examples from Eurasian countries and concludes with some further research questions.
A expectativa era imensa e o final não fez jus. O primeiro final de semana das clássicas belgas foi interessante, mas muito menos empolgante do que soava. Dois sprints entre os homens, duas fugas entre as mulheres. O RADIO da semana traz um apanhado do que mais importante aconteceu no ciclismo e a expectativa para a Strade Bianche no próximo sábado. Destaque para Ayuso a la Pogacar na França, a confirmação do retorno de Henrique Avancini e a ótima briga entre Astana e UNO-X no ranking mundial.Chegue junto!
A expectativa era imensa e o final não fez jus. O primeiro final de semana das clássicas belgas foi interessante, mas muito menos empolgante do que soava. Dois sprints entre os homens, duas fugas entre as mulheres. O RADIO da semana traz um apanhado do que mais importante aconteceu no ciclismo e a expectativa para a Strade Bianche no próximo sábado. Destaque para Ayuso a la Pogacar na França, a confirmação do retorno de Henrique Avancini e a ótima briga entre Astana e UNO-X no ranking mundial.Chegue junto!
We're ready for the second weekend in February with a heayweight main event in England, plus, star lightweight Keyshawn Davis joins us on the newest "Big Fight Weekend Preview."Host T.J. Rives and insider Dan Rafael return for their insight and takes.First, the preview Saturday's Queensberry main event from Manchester, England, asDerek "War" Chisora takes on Otto Wallin in an IBF heavyweight eliminator for the No. 2 position. Both are vets with Chisora being a British fan favorite and we'll see if some good action comes of it?Then, Dan talks with Keyshawn Davis, who hedlines the Feb. 14 Top Rank ESPN card at Theater at MSG and he challenges Denys Berinchyk for his WBO lightweight title. Hear Keyshawn's mindset headed into his first world title shot and his goals should he be victorious this weekend. Next in the News:Dan has done his own reporting on Canelo-Jake Paul now in talks for spring & has the update on why Canelo- Terence Crawford fight won't be happening for now.We talk more on Ryan Garcia – who is back with Eddy Reynoso training and disgustingly for Dan, his fight with Rolly Romero slated for May 2 will be for the WBA “regular” welterweight tite? WHAT. ARE. WE. DOING. HERE?!Also, Janibek Alimkhanuly will defend his WBO/IBF middleweight title against Anauel Ngamissengue in a homecoming bout on April 5 (ESPN+) in Astana, Kazakhstan. Dan has more.Finally, some nostalgiaFeb. 5, 2005 — 20 years ago on Wednesday – Zab Judah went to Cory Spinks' hometown of St. Louis, MO and the 20K sold out downtown arena. And, Judah KO'd him to avenge his loss and win the undisputed welterweight title.Plus we say Happy Birthday from Feb.4 to legend Oscar De La Hoya, as he turned 52. We give a little Golden Boy appreciation!It's all on the "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast" and make sure to follow/subscribe on Apple/Spreaker/Spotify, etc.!
Pete takes Ned on a pointless but very funny round trip, chasing and loosing Cees Bol. Then Alex Dowsett and David turn up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of the Lanteren Rouge Cycling Podcast Patrick and Benji preview the 2025 team of XDS Astana.This show is sponsored by JOIN Cycling. Lanterne Rouge listeners can access JOIN Cycling with an exclusive risk free 30-day free trial period. Head over to our website for more information: https://join.cc/lanternerouge/Timestamps: 00:00 Intro00:50 2024 recap04:45 XDS joins as sponsor11:10 Transfers30:00 Predictions & hot takesOur merch has dropped! Custom designs painstakingly crafted by Louemans on t-shirts, mugs and hats with all your favourite catchphrases from the podcast. Check it out at https://shop.lanternerouge.comIf you enjoy LRCP please support us by subscribing and leaving us a like and comment! You can also send us a tip here https://ko-fi.com/lanternerougecyclingpodcast
This week on the Velo Podcast, we have something a little different for you as former Pinkbike editor extraordinaire Mike Levy joins the show to talk gravel and road bikes. Some of you are no doubt asking yourself right now: “Wait, isn't he the mountain bike guy?” Right you are. He's a multi-faceted person though who has spent the last year exclusively riding road and gravel bikes and has fallen in love with the drop-bar world, taking on some monster rides along the way and learning what a carb is. In this special episode of the podcast, Levy is joined by yours truly Will Tracy, and tech editor Alvin Holbrook to discuss the pressing issues of our times in gravel and road biking. We start out with a discussion of some of the latest news, including what a possible SRAM smart trainer means for the market, the transition of Astana to Chinese manufacturer XDS bikes, and Alvin's review of the Factor Ostro VAM. Other topics include the emergence of carbon spokes and their impact on performance, as well as the unique features of the Kona Ouroboros and Santa Cruz Stigmata gravel bikes that the team has been riding recently. Finally, we get to the main segment: reflections on personal cycling experiences and the lessons learned throughout the year. We learned a lot on the bike in 2024 (or so we like to think) including knowing when to quit or solider on and how to maintain and in some cases rekindle the joy of cycling, as well as the importance of proper nutrition and fueling and the supportive community found in cycling.
Jonathan Kydd & Martin Wickham look back at Chelsea's wins against Spurs & Astana and ahead to Brentford this weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Turns out it *really* is really, really cold in Kazakhstan...Matt Davies-Adams has got Jessy Parker Humphreys, Liam Twomey and a whole load of special guests all the way over in Almaty as Chelsea made their longest ever trip for European competition - and came out on top with a comfortable 3-1 win in arctic conditions.We speak to fans from far and wide about their love for the club - and what made them make the 3000+ mile journey to follow the Blues abroad!Attention then turns to Sunday night's showdown with fellow West Londoners Brentford, who rather enjoy playing at Stamford Bridge...Plus - Jessy brings us up to speed with the latest goings on for the women's team - and we do a quiz!We'll be back on Monday with our reflections on the visit of bogey team the Bees and a look ahead to the final Conference League group game against Shamrock Rovers!HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Liam Twomey and Jessy Parker HumphreysPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Turns out it *really* is really, really cold in Kazakhstan... Matt Davies-Adams has got Jessy Parker Humphreys, Liam Twomey and a whole load of special guests all the way over in Almaty as Chelsea made their longest ever trip for European competition - and came out on top with a comfortable 3-1 win in arctic conditions. We speak to fans from far and wide about their love for the club - and what made them make the 3000+ mile journey to follow the Blues abroad! Attention then turns to Sunday night's showdown with fellow West Londoners Brentford, who rather enjoy playing at Stamford Bridge... Plus - Jessy brings us up to speed with the latest goings on for the women's team - and we do a quiz! We'll be back on Monday with our reflections on the visit of bogey team the Bees and a look ahead to the final Conference League group game against Shamrock Rovers! HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Liam Twomey and Jessy Parker Humphreys PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Another thoroughly entertaining and rewarding trip to Three Point Lane...Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Chelsea finest - Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey alongside him to look back on the crazy 4-3 victory over Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.We try and unpack the carnage that unfolded with the help of your messages - including how the turnaround came about, love for Sancho - and quelling of talk of title charges.Then, anyone for a trip to Kazakstan?! We preview Thursday's arctic encounter with Astana.Elsewhere, Chelsea Women returned from the international break with yet another victory - this time beating previous banana skin Brighton 4-2. Sonia Bompastor's side are back in action against Twente in the Champions League on Wednesday night.We'll be back on Friday (or maybe late Thursday night if Producer Lucy can stay awake in Almaty and finish the edit in time) to reflect on the latest Conference League adventure and preview Sunday evening's visit of Brentford.HOST: Matt Davies-AdamsWITH: Liam Twomey and Simon JohnsonPRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Another thoroughly entertaining and rewarding trip to Three Point Lane... Matt Davies-Adams has got The Athletic's Chelsea finest - Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey alongside him to look back on the crazy 4-3 victory over Tottenham on Sunday afternoon. We try and unpack the carnage that unfolded with the help of your messages - including how the turnaround came about, love for Sancho - and quelling of talk of title charges. Then, anyone for a trip to Kazakstan?! We preview Thursday's arctic encounter with Astana. Elsewhere, Chelsea Women returned from the international break with yet another victory - this time beating previous banana skin Brighton 4-2. Sonia Bompastor's side are back in action against Twente in the Champions League on Wednesday night. We'll be back on Friday (or maybe late Thursday night if Producer Lucy can stay awake in Almaty and finish the edit in time) to reflect on the latest Conference League adventure and preview Sunday evening's visit of Brentford. HOST: Matt Davies-Adams WITH: Liam Twomey and Simon Johnson PRODUCER: Lucy Oliva Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Johan Bruyneel and Spencer Martin discuss how Tom Pidcock's recent comments about his Ineos team complicate their delicate truce, what Tadej Pogačar's comments about wanting to improve in 2025 mean for the upcoming season, and Astana's new partner before answering a few listener questions. StoryWorth: With StoryWorth I am giving those I love most a thoughtful, personal gift from the heart and preserving their memories and stories for years to come. Go to https://www.StoryWorth.com/themove and save $10 on your first purchase! That's StoryWorth.com/themove to save $10 on your first purchase!
In this week's episode, Caley, Jonny, Kit, and Dane dissect Mark Cavendish's recent "retirement" from professional cycling and the unbroken kayfabe (the practice of pretending staged events are real) of his final "race."Then the crew explore the uncertain future of Astana, which faces potential relegation. The hosts discuss Astana's recent hiring of Alex Dowsett as their aero expert, noting a growing British influence within the team. This leads to speculation about whether Cavendish might join Astana in a non-riding role, further fueling the team's "British invasion."Plus! The ongoing controversy surrounding a spectator who threw beer on Eli Iserbyt during the Koppenbergcross race. Iserbyt is pursuing legal action against the individual, sparking a debate about appropriate fan behavior and the boundaries of sportsmanship. And the crew discuss the challenges teams face in nurturing young riders while also maximizing their competitive potential and preventing burnout.
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