Podcasts about Yippee

Yippee-ki-yay! Dive into the chaos of Bruce Willis's straight-to-video era with our hilarious and brutally honest review of the 2022 action thriller "A Day to Die." Is this ice-cold flick a hidden gem or just another paycheck gig? Join hosts Doric Scott Jay and Mr. Smith as they dissect the plot twists, bad CGI explosions, and that wild opening siege—plus, we finally get some nudity after 29 episodes!In this episode of Dropping a Bruce, we break down every cringeworthy moment and surprising standout performance (shoutout to Leon as the drug kingpin Tyrone Pettis!). From Kevin Dillon's disgraced parole officer scrambling to save his pregnant wife to Frank Grillo bringing the badass energy, we debate if Bruce dropped a deuce or gave it his all. Expect laughs, rants, and our scientific hypothesis on why these films keep getting made. If you're a fan of action movies gone wrong, Bruce Willis deep cuts, or just love ripping apart bad cinema, this one's for you—you'll gain fresh insights into Willis's later career and why some straight-to-video flicks are gloriously awful.Dropping a Bruce is your monthly podcast diving into all 40 of Bruce Willis's straight-to-demand releases, rating if he phoned it in or went full Yippee-ki-yay. 00:00 - Intro by the Cheeky Bastards00:16 - Welcome to the 29th edition and podcast overview00:50 - Introducing "A Day to Die" and cast hype (Frank Grillo, Kevin Dillon)02:23 - Movie facts: Release, cast, budget, and ratings02:59 - Trailer highlights and plot tease05:23 - Bruce Willis's role as Police Chief Alston06:23 - Hilarious plot rant and summary07:27 - Production background: Filmed in Jackson, MS, and box office flops09:23 - Critic reviews and fan reactions10:42 - Cast deep dive: Frank Grillo, Kevin Dillon, and Leon shine11:33 - Opening siege confusion and bad CGI breakdown14:19 - Infiltrating the school with RPGs—pure insanity19:09 - 18 months later: The real plot kicks in23:58 - Kevin Dillon gets fired and the ransom demand28:06 - Assembling the team for the heist32:43 - Drug house raid: Boobs, bullets, and chaos36:01 - Double-cross and teaming up with the villain40:39 - Final heist on the armored hearse47:55 - Vital thoughts: Favorite scenes, lines, and performances56:54 - Dropping a deuce or Bruce? Final verdictWhat did you think of "A Day to Die"—hidden gem or total mess? Follow the show on our socials:Facebook & Instagram- @DroppingABruceEmail - DroppingABrucePod@gmail.com

Creation Groans – We Groan – The Holy Spirit Groans  “Why Waiting Is Sometimes Painful”   By Mary Lindow   WELCOME TO THIS PODCAST EPISODE!  As I promised, I had told you I was going to share a few podcasts and share a few wonderful stories and experiences that I have had where the Lord has divinely protected, orchestrated and guided my life and my husband Steve's life.  It's been a very interesting and intriguing journey, and at times very perilous and not at all fun when it comes to the persecution side of things.    For some reason, there are individuals who preach a gospel that say to the masses that follow them, “Everything is going to be rosy! Everything is going to be fully prosperous financially, and you're going to be perfectly healthy every day of your life. Every single day of your life is one big, happy party!” Well, for sure, this is not biblical foundational truth when you hear these things.    If you examine the scriptures, you will see that there was a tremendous amount of persecution and much sorrow for strong believers, even some having to be driven into living into caves due to persecution! The apostle Paul speaks about learning how to abase and to abound, meaning, he learned how to function and adjust whether he had plenty or whether he had little. But, he continued to serve Christ and continued no matter how difficult the persecution became, to get back up, even after he was stoned one time and they left him for dead. He got back up and marched back into the city, met up with some dear friends, went to the next city and preached again!  (Acts 14:19-21)   This Podcast Is Going To Discuss The Current Groaning Of Creation,  Our Own Groaning And The Longing For God To Finally Complete  The Fullness Of Things So That Christ Can Return, And Of Course  The Holy Spirit Makes Groaning And Utterances Too Deep  For Our Own Words, Travailing Through Us As We Pray.   Romans 8:26-27 tells us this!  It says: 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.   27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.   ALL THREE OF THESE TYPES OF GROANING ARE TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW.  It's no secret if you know Steve and I that we have gone through a very difficult season starting a few months before the COVID-19 virus swept our world. With that taking place, we had the loss of our counseling Offices, our dear friend and team counselor/colleague and key supervisor, who carried the doctoral licensure for our Counseling Center died from Covid19.  Adding to the difficulty, ministry invitations to teach and speak also came to a screeching standstill because people couldn't travel and churches were suffering financially or were uncomfortable holding services.   WHAT IS ONE TO DO WHEN IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE EXPERIENCING THE LIFE OF JOB OR JOSEPH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT? Certainly it's not wise to pretend that everything is “perky and wonderful” and then lie to people when they too were suffering.  No! We groaned and we wept and we encouraged and we prayed and prayed!  And then prayed some more with others who were suffering and going through the groanings of trauma and loss. For the most part (and I'm truthfully speaking), I'm telling the partial story because the long version of the personal costs and deeper details would take entirely too long to share. I'm sharing openly and a bit vulnerably for a reason though!    We personally had parents locked down in nursing homes over a thousand miles away that we could not get to and one of them died after being abused in that nursing home. Oh yes, we had police and investigators and detectives and even the state of Illinois health board investigating, but by the time they caught up with the perpetrators and those that had dropped my precious 90+ year-old mother-in-law on the front-side of her head, onto a hard wooden bedside table, and then onto the floor where they had stopped using fall mats (because no one was permitted to come into the nursing home to check during lockdowns), her bones were fractured as well as previously from another fall we didn't know about, until the x-ray team was sent in, garbed up, to run a scan on her. She was also suffering from dementia so it was frantic and frightening for her.    Deep Anguish. Deep Groaning!  The damage had been done and shortly after all of the fees and fines were placed upon this nursing facility, they placed her in a Covid-19 wing, and she died.  Alone.  We couldn't bury her.  We had one hour to make a decision what to do with her tired little body.     The Glimmer Of Good News was that my father-in-law, who was in an assisted living facility a few blocks away, lived a little longer. He only got to see his wife one time in 18 months and that was through an acrylic panel. No hugging, no touching.  When he became more frail and tired, Covid restrictions were just then being lifted.    STEVE WAS PROMPTED BY THE LORD to fly to Illinois to see his father because he knew his time to go to heaven was near.  A very dear friend that is like a close family member, graciously offered to cover Steve's flight expenses and partial hotel stay. Steve had two days of being at the hospital with Steve's father while he was being refitted with a new pacemaker, and being treated for an infection from sitting too long and alone in his assisted living apartment. He had been moved to a new, fresh, clean, assisted living facility, where one of our nieces was the new head administrator. Everything seemed so peaceful and wonderful! Steve's dad was delighted to be getting such wonderful attention and care.  Steve hugged him good night and said; “I'll see you in the morning for breakfast Dad! Sleep well.”    At 8:30 the next morning, Steve received a phone call… … From our niece, and his Dad had fallen into her arms when she went to check on him that morning. He had told her he felt a little dizzy, and then passed into heaven.    God's Timing Was In The Details.  There was joy that Steve could go see his Father, there was joy in the new accommodations and “sense of safety” with the Covid restrictions being lifted, and then there was sudden sorrow, groaning, grief, and loss. Steve's parents had made plans to be buried next to each other, but it was impossible, since Steve‘s mother had to be cremated due to burial restrictions during the thick darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic.    A BEAUTIFUL THING TOOK PLACE AMIDST THE DEEPEST SORROW.  Our United States military allows you to place the urn of a deceased spouse into the arms of the other deceased family member, if they were former military.  Steve's dad was a World War II veteran. Steve's Mother's urn was placed in the arms of Steve's dad, her husband, and they were buried together. An additional blessing was that because Steve was there, he was able to officiate his father's funeral. It was a full honors military funeral.   The Majority Of People Don't Like To Hear About Hardship From Other People. Especially people in ministry, missionary work, prison ministries, those who rescue trafficked children or those in care giving careers.  There is a “subtle suspicion” that suddenly causes people to pull back and pretend they don't see the struggle or suffering taking place when they're used to someone “appearing to look like they have it all together” or who have been some kind of a bright shining hope to them at one time in their lives, or are a ministry, or helper that they once looked up to.    YOU SEE, THE PROBLEM WITH MOST OF US IS, WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE PAIN, SUFFERING, AND THE GRIEF OF OTHERS.   We Don't Like To Face The Reality That We May Be Called Upon  To Help Those That Are Groaning.     Just Recently, Steve And I Were Again Facing A Bit Of Difficulty because he had an injury take place when he was working at a local Home Depot in a part-time job where everybody in each department take turns working at the customer services register. Steve being the kind of guy that he is, never slacks off in his work. He leaned over into a shopping cart because there was no one else younger or stronger nearby to help, and lifted out a 60-pound bag of dry cement to scan the price. Steve is 76years old. He is very healthy, very strong, but the lifting of the heavy object caused bulging discs in his lower back and he was in absolutely excruciating pain, thus, started a long recovery.    He Is Actually Doing Really Well Now, and we are so grateful for the prayers and the wonderful chiropractor and doctor that we have, who are both Christians and are 100% committed to working towards better health without surgeries. During this time of Steve having to be home and not working and going to physical therapy, we were both also still doing part-time counseling. Steve gradually had the strength to work on installing and fixing a small appliance in our home.    STEVE ALWAYS, WEARS HIS WEDDING BAND ON HIS LEFT HAND.  He loves that wedding band!  Sometimes we set our wedding bands on our kitchen windowsill close to each other so that we can see them next to each other and feel the “cozy joy and love” of knowing we are forever each other's true love.  When we were first married, we had picked out our wedding bands, and Steve's was white gold with a gold center band running through it, with a few lovely diamonds embedded in it. It's a very special lifetime treasure, which we hope to pass on to one of our grandchildren one day.    Steve Had Taken His Ring Off And He Set It In A Strange, Not Normal Place.  I had been cleaning house and I noticed his ring sitting in an unusual place.  I thought to myself that I had better leave it there because he might remember where he put it and might want to put it back on.  About three days later, he told me he could not find his ring. He couldn't remember where he put it and I went to look for it in the location that I had last seen it.  It was gone.    Now Here's Where It Gets Interesting!  Steve had a little tin up on his bookcase in his office area. It was an old Altoid mint tin. In it, he keeps a cloth tape measure, rolled up very tightly, a couple coins, and I think he has some paper clips in there. But that's where he usually takes his ring off and usually puts it in the tin, or next to it every night. He had gone in and looked and took that bookcase apart, and yet, the ring was not to be seen.  I had gone in and looked from top to bottom as well, looked behind his desk with a flashlight, you name it, and I was searching everywhere! I even looked in his sock drawer to see if the ring had somehow fallen in there, but we could not find it.    WE WERE GREATLY DISCOURAGED, HEARTSICK, SADDENED.  Yes, it was another time groaning, another disappointment another loss, and although it may seem to be materialistic to some, this was something emotional. It was a bond between us both, that when we took our vows we put those rings on each other‘s hands looking firmly in each other's eyes saying, “till death do us part”.    You don't want to replace something like that. It has history.  It has memories.  It has weight to it.    One week passed.  Two weeks passed.  Three weeks passed.  We still could not find it.    I Even Took My Vacuum Cleaner Bag Out And Put A Mask On and poked through it's contents with a pencil into every single dusty section to see if maybe it had gotten suctioned up into the bag. Nope, it wasn't in there. I finally decided I was going to share it in the Kingdom Prayer rooms on Faith United Network's Christian media site. I'm part of a team of prayer warriors there that pray for people from everywhere, and we fervently pray for, “everything”. Several people decided they were going to get busy praying with us and I basically said that our hearts are broken.  It's been something that we just were in anguish over.   ONE AFTERNOON I WENT TO LAY DOWN ON OUR BED TO REST.  The next day was Father's Day.  As I lay there I asked the Lord if he would please by his grace, by his mercy, guide me to that ring, show me where it was. I spoke to the Lord saying to him that it would be such an indicator of great love for Steve to find that ring for Father's Day. It would mean so much to know that the Father cared about even the slightest detail of our lives.  I Just Could Not Sleep During That Nap After Praying And Crying A Little Bit. So, I got up and something prompted me to go back into Steve‘s office and look in that mint tin, one more time.    Now remember… Steve had looked in there and I had looked in there thoroughly.   As I took the tin down and held it closer to my line of sight, at first I couldn't believe what I was seeing!  Right there, perfectly placed like an egg in the middle of a nest, right in the middle of the wound up cloth measuring tape, perfectly wrapped around it, was Steve's ring, sitting in the center of it. If we missed seeing it, then we missed it! But I know, and Steve knows that we both had looked in that location several times to no avail.  If the Lord in his kindness and his goodness decided to make sure that the ring was put in a place and then prompted me to go look one more time, I'm going to receive it in childlike faith that he cared so much that let us know.    THE HEAVENLY FATHER CARES ABOUT THE VERY SMALLEST OF THINGS! Now, some may say, “This is foolishness! Why would God care so much about a ring, and why would he possibly move it or have you see it in a different way?”    There's Another Interesting Happening In The Scripture. The floating ax head is a story from 2 Kings 6:1-7, where the prophet Elisha helps a man who lost a borrowed ax head in the water. Elisha performs a miracle by making the iron ax head, float to the surface, demonstrating God's care for even small concerns in our lives.   There's Also A Story Of The Woman Who Had Lost One Of Her Ten Silver Coins.  When she swept her house and looked everywhere for it and when she found it, she went outside and all of her neighbors rejoiced with her. (Luke 15:8-10)    I WAS SO EXCITED that I'd been prompted to go look specifically in the location of Steve's ring!  I put it on my finger and walked out and smiled at Steve and I said, “Guess what? Happy Father's Day!”  He was so delighted and we both cried a little bit, then and then stopped and gave God huge thanks, and then of course I immediately went and shared with the prayer group that the ring had been found! Yippee! There was genuine delight and genuine rejoicing!   Dear Believer!  God IS In The Smallest Of Details.  He's In The Little Things That Matter.    RIGHT NOW WE ARE EXPERIENCING UNPRECEDENTED DEVASTATIONS, HATRED, AND TURMOIL IN THE WORLD. Some say that things may be getting better, but maybe in another location it's becoming more difficult.    THE EARTH IS GROANING! We are aching and groaning and questioning!  We are crying out to God saying,  “What is going on? What more can we do? How can we pray?  Why are so many suffering?  Why are the answers not coming?  Why is it taking so long?  Why do I have to wait for the answer?”   Friends, Inside Of All Of Us, The Holy Spirit Is Groaning.  That is the urging for us to pray, to cry out and weep before God with groaning too deep for even our own words. The needs of God‘s people, and the cry for God's intervention is as urgent in our days as it was in the time of Isaiah. I'm concerned that we may have forgotten the proper concept of what the so-called Christian life is in the sight of God. Honestly, unless God comes down as “when the melting fire burns to make his name known to his adversaries”, our efforts to stop these unrelenting attacks are pretty much fruitless. That's from Isaiah 64:2    LOOK AT THE PICTURE OF MANY IN PUBLIC MINISTRY RIGHT NOW!  How much of it presented in the wisdom of man, applauding the talent, the charisma and the physical appearance? And yet how little of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's genuine power. THE BIBLE DOESN'T HIDE BROKENNESS.  It doesn't tie up pain up in a neat little package. What it does is, it shows us the kind of hope that enters into our suffering.  A hope that weeps, a hope that groans.   Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”    The Hebrew Word For “Near” Doesn't Mean Help Is On Its Way.  No! It's a much more in its potent meaning! It means “present” -right now. Close enough for you to feel God's breath while he speaks in your ear that. He is there.  The Word “Crushed” Is Also Strong Word.   When you're crushed, you feel ground down, shattered, and at times you cannot lift your head.  Friends! God doesn't despise you or ignore you when you're crushed.  Actually, he moves TOWARDS you.  He definitely doesn't say, “get up and stop your sniveling”, first!  Instead he says, “I will reach down and help you.” He did this through sharing, sending his son Jesus Christ.  Love came down to us…    DC Robertson In His 30 Day Devotional Book Titled “Hope For The Broken” Made Very Powerful Statements. I Will Share A Few With You.   “Hope doesn't start when the storm passes. It starts when you realize you are not alone in the storm.  This is a place where the real journey of Hope begins, not in the removal or the resolution of our pain, but in the nearness of God TO us while we are IN pain.  That's what sets biblical hope apart from motivational thinking.  It's not about finding the silver lining. It's about finding the savior in the dark.”   FRIENDS. THE CHURCH IN A BROADER SENSE,  IS SUFFERING GREATLY BY HER OWN HANDS.  Self harm, whether it's by individuals or institutions, without a doubt involves defective thinking that is a side effect of self-deception.    Many Of Us Are Grieved And Groan At The Devastation In The Church That Happens When Victims Are Silenced And When Abusers Are Protected. So often, Power is abused and truth is hidden from those considered by the deceivers as “the less powerful” in the body of Christ. His bride is still struggling with being unwell and too often is found to be “unsafe”.    DR. DIANE LANGBERG HAS SO MANY GOOD STATEMENTS TO SAY ABOUT THESE THINGS.  RECENTLY, I READ THIS EXCERPT FROM ONE OF HER POSTS.  “It's extremely important to remember that all power is given to us. The power that is operating in someone's position, they're gifting, their knowledge or verbal ability, or their spiritual authority has one source. All of that power comes from Christ. He said to us all power is given to ME in heaven and on earth, it's not ours! It's his and it's to be used in humility and in alignment with his word and his character.  He who had all power never used it to feed off of a vulnerable person or to increase his stature or to protect himself. Any power that we have is his and is to be used to bless others with his grace and truth.” Christian psychologist Diane Langberg is a deeply intelligent and humble woman who has arbitrated among war torn countries, advocating for healing and preaching Christ through loving actions and helping reconciliation take place. She makes very potent yet honest assessments regarding the condition of many of the houses of worship being exposed today.    I'D ABSOLUTELY SAY FRIENDS THAT THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF GROANING GOING ON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT GROANS AS HE SEES THE DECEPTION AND THE HARM BEING DONE!   Here are Diane's words; “Where do we who serve a holy God, full of grace and truth, find justification for protecting a place where he desires to dwell, when that place is full of sin and harm done to his lambs? When this is done, we have failed to meet even the requirements of the law of the land, which calls the abuse of children and spouses criminal. Jesus cleansed the temple twice. His people did not listen. The spiritual leaders of the people failed to obey him. The desecration of God‘s house and his people were scathingly denounced by both Jeremiah and Jesus.  We who are the people of God, who worship in his sanctuary, need to pay heed and listen!  Our God would have his refuge be holy, like he is holy. And in Matthew, after Jesus cleansed the temple the second time, he gave us a clear view of his ability to restore God‘s house to its true calling, giving us a picture of what that restoration looks like!  After the cleansing, the wounded and the sick came in and he healed them. And the little ones came into the temple and sang praises to our God. When the people of God expose deeds of darkness and the wolves in our midst that commit them, the wounded are healed, and the children sing. It is then that we will know the sanctuary of our God is indeed a holy dwelling for our Lord's Holy Spirit and a safe harbor for his lambs.  One of the measurements of our faithfulness to God is in the way that we conduct ourselves in relationship to our fellow humans. A second measure of our faithfulness to God is in the stamping out and the calling out of sins that harm humanity.  When these conditions are met, we as his people then live out the character of a holy and loving God and do this in front of the afflicted and needy while a watching world observes.  It's when we chase out the darkness and we address the corruption and provide a true sanctuary of safety, that we once again become a holy and a safe place.”  (Excerpt From the Book “In Our Lives First” - Meditations For Counselors. Volume 2)    DIANE'S WORDS HAVE A DEEP CONVICTING MESSAGE!  Holy Spirit groaning most definitely takes place as you digest and pray over her words.  The truth can cut deep into our denial of things.  The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus, and he told his disciples that he would send another, which would be the Holy Spirit who would convict the world of sin.   Conviction Causes Us To Groan As The Holy Spirit Groans, Seeing The Condition Our Own Souls And The Souls Of The Present Day Deceivers Of Our Current Day.   CREATION GROANS! Romans 8:22-23 so deeply expresses this “groaning of all creation and longing” as we wait upon God, waiting for him to transform every aspect of our lives as individual temples of the Holy Spirit and to transform his church, making his bride spotless and without blemishes or malice. 22 “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together as if in the pains of childbirth until now.  23 And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body at the resurrection].”   FRIENDS, THE WAITING IS SOMETIMES PAINFUL. The groaning of the whole of creation describes the state of suffering and dissatisfaction with everything we have today!  Look at how the earthquakes and the tragic floods and heartbreak of their aftermath, the fires burning in the West and the winds are groaning in the Earth right now! We know - we feel - deep down inside that something is wrong!  Our anxiety and frustration is our inward groaning.   SO WHAT'S TO BE DONE?  THERE'S ONLY ONE THING. We wait upon God.   We must cry with a cry that never rests! We say to him, “Oh that you would open the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down with your presence!” That's Isaiah 64 verse 1.  We must desire, groan in prayer and believe, and we must ask and expect that God would show us Unseen, Unknown things.    Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.”   IF HE CAN SHOW ME IN MY SIMPLE MINDED HEART CRY, exactly where my husband‘s wedding ring had been misplaced, or where it had been lost and he had in fact, placed it where I could find it, can he not show us great and mighty things that we know nothing about?   Oh Weary Listener!   We must put our trust in a God who men absolutely don't know exactly how he goes about preparing acts of great grace and compassion for them!    FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE  WAITING FOR HIM TO FREE YOU,  TO VINDICATE YOU AND OTHERS  FROM GROSS LOSSES AND HARM,  KNOW THAT THIS WONDER WORKING,  MIRACLE DOING GOD,  CAN SURPASS ALL OF OUR EXPECTATIONS.     It Must Be The Only One True God Who We Put Our Trust In.  Yes! Let us as God's people prepare him room in our hearts to wait on a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above, what any of us could ask or think.  That's Ephesians chapter 3 vs. 20.   Let's join ourselves together as his chosen ones who cry day and night to him for things that men have not seen! He is able to arise and to make his people a name filled with praise and humble adoration in the Earth!   Isaiah 38 verse 18 says,  “The Lord will wait, that he may be gracious to you,  Blessed are all those that wait for him.”     In Closing Out This Podcast,  I'd Like To Say Lovingly But Clearly,   We Must Take Time To Develop  This Much Needed Element Of Our Christian Walk.      I Echo Andrew Murray, Who Often Talks About How Little We Wait Upon God. We get too much secondhand teaching and spiritual information from the teachings of men. Now, that teaching may have great value, even like the spiritual information, John the Baptist sent his disciples away with, but he sent them to the living Christ. If the teaching leads us to God himself, then it's good teaching. But what our lives need is more of God.  Anyone who wants to learn the beauty of waiting on God would do himself or herself a great favor to remember the lesson from Isaiah chapter 7 verse 4. It says to take heed and be quiet. “It's good that a man quietly waits.”    Friends, Take Time To Be Separated From All Of Your Friends, All Your Duties And Cares, And Even Your Joys. Take Time To Be Still And Quiet Before God. It's when we look to the Lord and we wait for the God of our salvation that God will hear us and answer us in the most perfect and loving way.   Micah 7:7.  But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.   LET'S PRAY TOGETHER  Loving Father, I pray that You would teach me how to prayerfully and patiently wait on You, and to come to a true understanding of what it really means to wait on the Lord. Help us to be still before you, to listen to Your voice through Your Word and to abide in You. Keep us from fretting and worry, but rather let us learn more of You.  Draw us closer to Yourself and keep us from presumptuous thoughts, but rather teach us humility of heart, knowing that Your desire for all Your children is that we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before You. And in all things, I pray that as we learn to wait on You and go deeper into Your Word of truth, that in all things we would bring glory to Your name.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete message, podcast link and website information for Mary Lindow is included. Thank You! Copyright 2025  "THE MESSENGER" - The Advocate Of Hope  ~ Mary Lindow www.marylindow.com PODCAST LINK Your Gracious Support and Donations Are So Very Helpful And Assist Mary In Publishing Her Teaching Podcasts, Inspirational Videos and Audio Messages. THANK YOU! Please go to PAYPAL to donate  or support this blog:  Donate to the tax-deductible ministry name of:  paypal.me/mlindow    (His Beloved Ministries Inc.)  Or  You Can Mail a Check or Cashiers Check to:  His Beloved Ministries INC  PO Box 1253  Eastlake CO 80614  United States THANK YOU!      

Mick and Bents discuss Origin Game 3 and run through all the NRL Fantasy Buys, Holds & Sells ahead of Round 19.

Cáel  Defeats The Illuminati: Part 19The Great Hunt.Book 3 in 19 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.‘The Hunt is never an easy thing because in the Wild there are things which hunt the hunters'September 11th: First Day Of The Great HuntCentral ArgentinaFelix was still nursing his hurt hand when I came back from my Ishara-space."Well?" he smirked."Plenty of good news," I smirked right back from the place where I had dropped when Felix had cold-cocked me. "Suffice it to say the weather on the final day will be in our favor ~ no more precise answer than that from the goddess SzélAnya ~ plus our horses will not throw us, or give away our position. That's from the Goddess Epona by the way.""Finally, the Goddess Ishara will be watching over us and our travails... she will send omens to warn us of hunters closing in as well as talk to me in my dreams. Apparently she doesn't want me; us; to shame her in this contest so is taking this competition seriously. Mind you, this means the other goddesses will be taking this contest seriously as well, so we have our work cut out for us again.""What is Ishara the Goddess of again?" the teased me."Oaths, love and medicine," I repeated my answer."Fine," the grinned, "is there any goddess in my corner?""None that bothered talking to me," I snorted. "Want me to knock you out and see what you can see?""Nah... I'm Felix Melena. I work better alone.""You mean in alone in a team of two, right?""Yeah; a team of four actually, Nyilas. Don't forget our mounts," Felix motioned to our two horses.I was ecstatic because they had brought Peppermint down from 'Summer Camp' for this romp through the Pampas. To me she was the perfect mare for this endeavor.Felix had been gifted with a spirited gelding named 'Thunderbolt'; 'Rayo' in Spanish. He was a black haired beast with white sox and a white diamond on his forehead. Felix had wanted a stallion, but the Horse-mistresses of Epona had nixed that choice as highly impractical for a horse-virgin such as himself. I had to agree as stallions had far too much spirit and the likelihood of one making noise when it smelled an unknown mare was far too high... so a gelding it was.Not that an 'unknown' mare was that much of a possibility. See, we had been put down where the other thirty huntresses would also be starting from; a makeshift corral our host Freehold had put together as the entrance to some 'badlands' in which the hunt would be taking place. There ten Amazons; with their own mounts; manned the place, fed the horses and made sure no one cheated out of the starting gate.We had our 24 hours head start on our pursuers, but that didn't turn out to be the huge edge we thought it would be. We were given the first part of our map... which led to the area we would find our second part of our map... and so on until sometime late Saturday night, or Sunday morning, we would find the final part of our map which would direct us to where our extraction point would be.We were to be extracted at Noon; not sunset as we had originally been told; on Sunday. Actually, anytime between ten minutes before to ten minutes after... so fair this was not seeing as we were novice outdoorsmen. Still, those were the rules we were given so off we went early Thursday morning. In the truest Amazon fashion, this was to be a contest which required the utmost skill and endurance to win.Heading out, Felix and I were deciding on what the enemy strategy, or strategies, would be. We figured some would start by simply trailing us seeing as how they were better both at tracking as well as doing so from horseback. The second group would follow a different, but equally difficult 'Treasure Hunt' toward our final point of extraction and wait for us there.I reminded Felix that neither he nor I nor any of the Amazons would be riding our horses to death, or even injury, because that wasn't the Amazon way. Such callous disregard for one's mount wasn't in them and we had to follow that dictum, or suffer irreparable harm to our own 'honor' should we do so and somehow win. Doing so and losing... we decided to not even go there.This also meant we had to take time for our horses to graze and find water for them to drink along the way. After getting that lecture, Felix wondered out loud if it wouldn't be a better idea for us to let our horses loose and 'hoofing' it ourselves seeing as how the Amazons would also have to follow the same horse etiquette. I had to remind him reluctantly how much faster horses could travel. Horses were the way to go.The difference was there was no rapid charging across the landscape with the Sun at our backs as we headed out. No, we took it at a steady trot until we hit our first terrain feature; a steady gradient cut in the side of a canyon which had been created over the millennia by the forces of wind and rain. Down we went. Our horizon sunk down until all we had were the walls of the canyon.Our map directed us to take this route to the first 'treasure horde', whatever that was. By the way we were moving and how the Sun slowly crawled up above us; recall it was almost 'spring' down under; we figure we were making good progress toward our first target... which we located without too much hassle around noon.It was a Bonanza! Not for us, but for the horses. We had four bags of grain for our mounts. We humans received some sort of indescribable jerky (since it was probably not human we decided to eat it... later [it turned out to be the local flightless bird and it tasted like chicken jerk jerky too!]). There was also the second part of our map which led us farther out into the wilderness. Off we went.Third Treasure Trove.By evening we had found our third treasure trove. The second had contained two compasses and two hatchets (Yippee!). The third had contained two sections of twenty-five meter rope and some flint and tinder so we could start a fire. Felix was all for this as it was butt-numbing cold already and we were damn tired from a day full of riding.We compromised by creating a banked fire. We also decided to sleep instead of pushing on. It was pretty dark outside even with the three-quarters Moon above. We definitely didn't want to walk our mounts into something which could bring them up lame this early in the contest. I assured Felix we couldn't abandon them and leading them would be torture. Essentially we would be disqualified.I won the compass toss and got to sleep the first part of the night. Felix woke me around Moon-set and then I kept watch; there were predators about, or so we believed; until sunrise. Then we ate the last of the jerky, fed and watered our mounts then head out once more. This time our hearts began to hammer within their cages and every noise had sinister implications.See, the Amazons are cheating bitches of all cheating bitches and could have started after us at 12:01 last night and pushed on following our trail through the night. Being expert horsewomen and spectacular trackers they could do shit like that. We, their prey, had to be clever in other ways. What those ways were weren't relatively apparent though.Maybe Pamela could show up and, after slapping me upside my head, give me a clue. No Pamela arrived though so we were on our own. Shortly after the Sun crested the canyon walls; we kept to the canyons just in case; we came across the fourth 'trove'... and it was chilling. We received two binoculars and some more jerky (it was to be our lunch). The binoculars were the chilling part because if WE had some then most likely the Amazons behind us had some as well.Also, the way from our fourth treasure to out fifth put us in the horns of a dilemma. We could either cut over the sides of the canyon to where the fifth treasure trove/map was, or keep to the canyon and travel three times the distance. After a quick discussion followed by some 'rock-paper-scissors' (complete with a prayer to Dot Ishara), I won, so up and over the side we went.To reduce the size of our silhouette, we dismounted and led our horses across the... and stumbled across a herd of cattle; Sweet Mother Ishara! We moved through the herd, waved to the accompanying Amazon gaucho, and went on our way. Felix muttered something about my 'dumb' luck. He-he-he-he-he... We talked to the gaucho, turned on the charm and convinced her to not tell any of our pursuers we had come by this way.She was like nineteen years old and I could tell really took a shine to Felix... so he promised to come back and visit her the moment he won the contest. After we departed her and her track-erasing herd of cattle, I pulled him aside."You had better keep that promise to that girl. If you don't, she and her kinfolk will hunt your ass down and tag you like a mule deer in the Yellowstone," I cautioned him."I know. I know," he grinned. "These are some crazy ass bitches. Besides, being the lone male in a freehold of women has its own appeal."I thought we were in safe territory again when Felix finally asked that doom-laden question."Cáel , where have all their dudes gotten off to?"'Oh shit', I mused. How much of the truth could Felix handle?"I'm only telling you this because I like you," I said then took a deep breath. "They sold them to the Nine Clans... they are a bunch of assassins.""Really?" he studied me. Like he was going to catch me in a lie after four years of dating the most dangerous game on this Earth; girlfriends."Really. Where do you think they get those legion of ninja and combat fighters from? Sure their life expectancy isn't what we have, but it is much better than they would have if they stayed home." There was some part of the truth in that."That seems... short-sighted.""What do you think guys like us are for? Now they won't have to kidnap local passer-byers for weeklong orgies.""How come words has never gotten out about this?" Felix was relentless."It has from time to time, but Havenstone makes sure such reports are relegated to the realm of tabloids and UFO aficionados. If that doesn't work, they bribe some people to bury the story. If that doesn't work, they kill some people.""Now that I believe," Felix nodded."That they kill people to keep their secrets?""Absolutely. They look like the kind of girlfriend who wouldn't be happy unless she burns your balls before your eyes after you break up.""How succinct," I nodded back."So, are we ever going to see Khalid, Trent, or Brian again?""Sure... they are only being kept prisoners and milked of their seeds... but I can arrange for you go to go meet them if you really want to," I offered."No thanks," Felix shook his head then grinned. "They washed out while only you and I remain. Let me find them on my own and get some sort of permission from Ms. Love (Katrina) first. I thought Khalid was kind of cool and Trent was the kind of brother I could invite out for a beer, or ten.""Not Brian?""Brian was too invested in himself and his weevil-ing ways. I couldn't trust him at my back, or with my girl. Mind you, I wouldn't trust you with my girl either, but we are otherwise okay.""Smart move. I have exceedingly low impulse control around the ladies plus an over-developed libido.""Yeah," he smiled my way. "I'd trust you in a knife fight, but not with someone I loved. You are way too smooth, Nyilas. Way too smooth.""What brought that revelation on?""Ms. Lee (Brooke). Normally I can mend any fence with any girl I come across, but not with her after she'd been with you. I admire that," he studied me."So, are you and Gene going to be a regular thing?""Yeah. I think so. I still expect me to be getting plenty of tail at Havenstone once I win this thing, but having a less-lethal girl on the outside wouldn't suck either."So much like me... I admired that about the guy."Once we win, don't ya mean?""Sure thing, Nyilas," he chuckled. "I figure it helps me to help you across the finish line. The better standing you end up in the better an ally you make back at work.""That reminds me; Katrina told me they are going to spin this; your participation in this inaugural Great Hunt is that all sins are forgiven; yadda, yadda, yadda. Thus you still walking around Havenstone being the bad boy you are.""Clever lady and always thinking ahead. Is she seeing anybody?""No, and dude, you don't want to go there. She is far too clever by half to fall for any of our reindeer games. She scares me," I cautioned him."All the more reason to pursue her," he snorted."Go for it," I shrugged. Hey, I'd warned the guy."What about that blonde number I saw you with... Elsa was it?"Oh, he knew exactly who Elsa was, but he was acting all nonchalant about his treatment at her hands."Yeah. Elsa. What about her?""Is she in your stable?""Nope. Not really," I shrugged. "Going after her too?""Oh, definitely.""Good luck with that," I sighed. He'd learn the hard way."There is something you are not telling me.""Yeah. She has the hots for me. Wants to own me... and not in a good way.""Oh... is that your way of cautioning me to be wary of her?""Most definitely. Elsa is one scary lady and she already knows who and what we both are.""What are we?" he was eyeballing me again."Hunters on the prowl. Guys who like a challenge. In your case, the guy who only wants the best. I'm more of an omnivore.""You mean you are a man-slut," he snorted."Got me," I chuckled."So, you think she's out of my league?""No. I think she is Katrina's friend and Katrina sees right through both of us. Elsa might not have those interpersonal skills, but she's twice as lethal. Trust me on that; I've fought her.""How tough was she?""Beat me black and blue then choked me out because I wouldn't surrender.""Oh... I'd like to get her on the mats.""Good luck with that then. Become a 'Runner' and there is even more I can tell you about her. Right now it is all simply in-house stuff.""Corporate confidentiality details, eh? Executive Services purview and stuff like that. Man, I was wrong to look down on your branch of service. I apologize.""Why thank you. I honestly never thought I'd get a sincere apology from you.""I can be wrong once in your lifetime," Felix laughed, "and I'm man enough to admit it.""Oh... and thanks for the sim-cards. They helped me get off that deserted atoll.""No problem. That was Katrina's idea though.""Well, you got them to us so surreptitiously the Chinese suspected nothing.""Don't you mean those rogue Albanians?""Yeah... them too," I laughed along with him."I think we can be friends, Nyilas," he grinned."I think so too. I didn't think so originally. On the first day you and the others treated me like the country bumpkin, but now I think you see me as a survivor... just like you.""Precisely. You know I had the option of leaving Havenstone... no matter how this affair turns out.""And you didn't take it? Who offered you this opportunity anyway?""Katrina.""It might have been a ruse," I warned him. "These bitches don't play fair.""I took that into account... but I love the challenge of this place. It is like no other work environment on Earth. Challenges every day, hot women all around, and the chance to risk my life on a monthly basis. Screw regular corporate America. I've found the place where I belong."Felix sounded so enthusiastic. I hoped he understood the fate he was embracing. I also hoped he found a niche in Havenstone which allowed him to live out his life... hopefully a long, long life. Maybe I should warn him about the 'cliffs'? Perhaps once we had won and were safely back in Havenstone's motherly embrace.Hiding.Fortune favored us backtracking from our seventh treasure trove; our dinner and more grain for the horses. A few birds flew up out of the brush ahead of us. I took that as a sign from Ishara."Felix," I hissed. "Hide!"We looked around and found a draw away from the main canyon floor for us to slink into. I used some brush to cover our side tracks then ran back to cover.No sooner had I gotten there than two Amazons came trotting past us. The lead one was Svetlana Inara and she was tracking us from the saddle. The second one was Beatrice Astarte who was scanning the environment as they moved together following our trail up this vein of the canyon. As soon as they were around the next corner of the vein, Felix and I mounted up and raced down the other way.The sand floor covered our hoof-falls and we had to go that way anyway. We had barely covered the distance to the next draw when we spotted two more Amazons following our earlier trail this way. We had Two Amazon parties on our trail and it wasn't even Friday night yet! This group spotted us and gave chase. They must have ridden their horses hard to get this far because we quickly left them in our dust.This allowed us to slow down a bit and deviate over to where the eight 'treasure' was. Our map had us going back down his particular draw which I thought was most unwise, so we went over the lip of the draw dismounted and led our horses at a rapid run; for us humans; across the greater landscape. Thank SzélAnya, a late afternoon rainstorm fell upon us as we dropped down into the next vein of the canyon before the pursuing Amazons crested the draw we had exited.We walked through the rain until the sun set then debated what to do next. We were going to need light to figure out where the eighth treasure was at; they were all somewhat hidden. We had to keep moving no matter what because we doubted the Amazons on our asses were going to let up. We decided when we got close to the eighth treasure horde I would do the searching while Felix stood watch on the entrance to the draw.Using a hatchet I cut off a branch from a bush and set it alight so I could see what I was doing. It took me twenty long minutes to figure out where the treasure was hidden... night-vision goggles and the map to the ninth map piece. Gleefully, I went back down to where Felix was except... no Felix. Oh Shit! I slipped back and put on my night-vision goggles, got a hatchet at the ready and returned, scanning about.I spotted one Amazon... she was Carla Nemain... and I recalled her being teamed with Ella Mielikki. Anyway, I tried to sneak up on Carla and it almost worked. At the last moment the cloud cover cleared and the three-quarters Moon revealed me. She spun on me with twin fighting sticks while I tried to brain her with the flat side of my hatchet.Yours truly took two punishing blows to his ribs while only clipping her with my hatchet. Still, the blow appeared to cause her to stumble so I pressed my advantage. I knocked one of her two sticks out of her hand then missed twice. I thought I heard someone coming up hard behind me. Well... fuck!"What do you have?" Carla grumbled. "Are you trying to kill me?"I kept silent, pulling out my second hatchet and pressing my luck a little further. I disarmed her and then hammered her down with a hatchet to the top of her skull. Down she went. I spun around just in time to see Ella Mielikki coming at me with a lasso. She launched it a second too late and I was able to bat it aside. She drew her honor blade and kept coming though."Ella... I have two hatchets. This is not a fight you can win," I addressed her."You won't kill me," she kept advancing."Of course not. We are sisters, but I can do... this!" and I attacked her with the flat ends of my twin hatchets. I so had her too... or I would have had I had the extra moment to ensure Carla was unconscious.She wasn't. She jumped me from behind then Ella rushed in from the front and I went down in a tangle of arms, legs and torsos. I was doing surprisingly well wrestling them both despite the odds until Ella put her knife against my throat."Give up," she panted. "You have been captured. Admit it!""I surrender," I sighed then relaxed my body. My two hatchets dropped to the ground."Let's bind him up too," Carla grinned. They proceeded to tie my hands behind my back then my legs together. Then then gave each other a celebratory 'high-five'. Then came their pillaging of our loot. They especially loved our night vision goggles and the grain for 'their' horses. They abandoned our horses, put loose nooses around our necks and began riding off down the canyon, their horses feeding on the grain in feedbags... and there was a suitably humbled Felix...To do so they had to untie our legs, but they compensated for that by tying our elbows together behind our backs as well as our hands. It was a rather painful affair. All in all, our captors were quite triumphant. After a while, I decided to speak."So, how did you catch us so fast?" I asked Carla. She had my noose."I prayed to Nemain and then picked a compass point and rode that way. We came across your path and followed you here."So you weren't the group following us from the afternoon?""No... you were being followed?""Yes... by two groups... both of whom tracked us from the beginning," I sighed."Ella," Carla addressed her companion. "We had better get a move on. There are four others on our track.""Damn it," Ella grumbled. "You take both males. I'll double back and start masking our trail. You pick a different compass point and I'll catch up.""Okay. Come here," Carla accepted Felix's noose from Ella. "We are going... north by northwest."Ella doubled back and was soon out of sight. Carl took the next draw she came across and kept up a steady walking pace. As a matter of safety, she didn't wrap our tethers around her saddle horn on the off chance her horse took off. We could be dragged to death of we were attached to the horse. So, we had a momentary advantage... and took it.I spotted Felix counting down with his fingers behind his back. I spotted him at '4'. I rapidly signaled '3', he went to '2' and I finished up with '1' then we lunged backwards trying to pull her off her horse. With my luck, she tumbled down on Felix's side, horse rearing up. I ran for it, quickly pulling my noose along with me. I heard Carla and Felix cursing behind me.It was gut-check time. I could abandon Felix or attempt to double back and help him with only my legs because my hands were behind my back."Fuck it," I cursed silently as I doubled back. In the forefront of my mind was the notion Felix would come back for me if the roles were reversed. In I charged.Felix was standing, trying to use his martial arts kicks to keep her at bay.He was also absorbing the majority of her concentration because; again; she didn't notice me until I was right on top of her. I put a shoulder into her diaphragm, taking her down and knocking her knife out of her hands. Felix didn't waste a moment giving her as snap-kick to the cranium... knocking her out. I picked up the knife and backed up toward my partner.First I had to saw through his elbow bonds and then his bound hands to free him. This all took precious time. I had just freed him when Carla began moaning. Felix looked to me then to the horse."Go," I urged him on. "Go to the next site and then double back for me. You know which way they will be heading and it is you on horseback versus two of us who aren't."He gave me a quick nod of the head then jumped into the saddle... and almost spilled himself over the other side, but then was off like a flash. I ran off in the other direction. Of course with the minimal lighting and my arms tied behind my back I didn't expect to get too far, but what realistic choice did I have. I certainly wasn't going to give up, damn it.[The Politics Of Not Playing Fair]In hindsight, knowing the Amazons were cheating bitches of cheating bitches, I should have tried to cheat more, but I ended up thinking too much about the male version of honor and not enough about winning. Thankfully, others were much more invested in me winning than that. Add to this and I had family I really hadn't counted on seeing things that way.And then there was the Sanctity of the Contract to consider... which I clearly hadn't, though the opportunity to do so was right there all along.As I was fleeing for my life I caught sight of one person running past me to my right and another to my left as a third slammed into me and took me down. For an instance I was thinking 'now they are operating in groups of four!' then the clothing of the three entered my consciousness. They weren't dressed like Amazons. Their camouflage was all wrong unless you were deliberately trying to hide in this environment.The only people I knew who would do something like that without a plethora of modern weapons being evident; thus being the Seven Pillars; were the Ninja![in Japanese] "Hey there, are you looking for me?"[in Japanese] "Yes we are, Ishara-sama," a feminine voice answered. "Where is your companion? We are supposed to make a good faith effort to save them as well.""Wait... who hired you?""Well, it is supposed to be something of a secret so tell no one, but it was your brother," she replied in thickly accented English. With a few flashes of steel in the moonlight and I was a free Amazon once more."Were did the other two go?""Covering your tracks and laying out a few nuisance traps to confuse the two following you.""Your body feels... awfully familiar," I hazarded conversation of another sort."I am Miyako's older sister; and married. Happily so though I have been repeatedly reminded of your... horn-dog status. It is 'horn-dog' correct?""Yeah," I sighed. "That's me. Let's go find Felix before he gets hopelessly lost."By this time the other two had made it back to us, expertly covering my tracks; they were not leaving any; because, you know, they were ninjas. By the looks of things it must have seemed I flew away because I had simply vanished as well. I wish I could have hung around long enough to see the looks of consternation on the pursuing Amazons' faces, but I had real work to take care of."So basically, my Brother, the Great Khan, has hired three ninja to help me win," I whispered as we made our getaway into the moonlit darkness."Oh no," I could have sworn she smiled, "There are seven of us. We each have other tasks to perform, be it carry extra equipment, or scouting ahead to make sure we don't bump into any more of your girlfriends.""They are not my girlfriends... yet... maybe," I shrugged."Don't make me hit you," she whispered back. "I will hit you if you cheat too much on my little sister. She is so impressionable you know.""Oh... boy," I groaned. A protective older sister while I was on a time table. "Is all of your team female?" I asked instead."Yes. When dealing with our allies the Amazons it was considered the diplomatic thing to do. Now we most move like the autumn breeze over the grass, Ishara-sama.""Please, call me Cáel . What's your name?""Not something I can reveal while on a mission. My name in the team is 'First' as I am the team leader.""I could call you Hatsuyuki," I kept going. Hatsuyuki meant 'First Snow'. We were angling in a different direction suggesting to me we had come across Felix's path and were racing to catch him."I will help you out a bit," she chuckled ever so slightly. "Every woman on the team is a sister, or sister-in-law of Miyako, so we have all heard the tales of your exploits and been suitably warned by Grandmother to not fall for your... reindeer games.""Wow... cut off at the knees before even leaving the starting gate," I frowned."Please concentrate on the task at hand Ishara-sama," she whispered then, "Four more ahead of us. I swear they must have some sort of divine assistance as well.""Cheating bitches of all cheating bitches," I quietly cursed. Hatsuyuki put her hand over my mouth despite the low volume of my words.I risked a peek. It was fucking Elsa and Rachel and they were having a pow-wow with Tormé Maeve and Parul Nammu. By the rules of the Great Hunt, no Amazon could subdue, or otherwise hinder any other Amazon; as long as they didn't have a male. Then all bets were off. After a while the two teams flipped a coin and departed in different ways... which were eerily close to our actual track.The moment they were safely away, we took off once more at a steady jog. Mind you, I was in pretty damn good shape... and these little ninja babes were threatening to run me into the ground such was their stamina. The big thing was breath control. We had to be prepared to be utterly still at a moment's notice. Every Amazon around us was as hunter of some sort, be it of big game, or of humans.Even with their precautions we found ourselves being tracked by Daryna Šauška and Yatta Oxóssi within the hour. Exactly what they were tracking wasn't known to me and was a source of consternation to the Ninja. It was impossible to outrun horse-bound foes at our current pace and if we moved faster, the odds of our enchantment failing would drastically increase."Fuck!" I hissed."What?" Hatsuyuki made brief eye contact then scanned around for whatever threat I might have detected."They are tracking the magic of the enchantment," I enlightened her."Are you sure?""Alal; my Grandfather is," I held her eyes this time. "Honestly, I was going through the Rolodex of my mind when this thought occurred to me. I think it was a mystic rite the Egyptians invented millennia ago, but he knows it.""What is the counter?""I don't know," I sighed, "but I do know your movement is leaving a magical trail behind which glows like the failing light of a sunset to the searcher."Hatsuyuki whispered some arcane words which my ears failed to focus on while making several complicated hand gestures. She gave me one head nod then we took off, jogging in another direction though still angling to intercept Felix. I noticed the change immediately. Dry grass crackled beneath our feet and standing grass bent at our passage. I was the worst offender without a doubt.Later when we stopped for a break, 'Three' returned to tell us the followers had initially been confused by the loss of the spell energy betraying us, but then they dismounted and began tracking us on foot; slower yet still a persistent menace."New plan," I decided. "We set an ambush for them.""We can't do that, Cáel ," Hatsuyuki informed me. "We are forbidden to directly confront our foes."My mind barely hesitated in its skullduggery."But if I confront them, could you steal their horses?""Yes," she grinned once more, or so I thought. "Then set up a field of simple traps with a path I can maneuver through so I can lose them once I have their undivided attention. Can you do that?""Yes," and another smile."Let's get on it," I grinned back. I could tell she was warming up to me. After all, I wasn't pressuring her to save me, or violate her Contract. Instead I was thinking on my feet and utilizing what they were best at to avoid my enemies.[in Japanese] "Team, here is what we must do," Hatsuyuki gathered her girls together and laid out what they needed to accomplish.Twenty minutes later, the ambush was set and the two ladies walked right into it. Apparently the idea I would fight back so aggressively hadn't occurred to them. I smashed straight into Daryna first, knocking her down and running past her. Instinctively she jumped up, cursing me even as she gave chase. For an instance Yatta hesitated, considering mounting up and giving chase, or pursuing on foot. Rapidly riding a horse even in this partially moonlit night was risky so she decided to join Daryna on foot as I raced away. She did grab her lasso first though. Seeing as Daryna was following in my footsteps, it was Yatta who stumbled into the first series of traps, spraining her ankle in the process.Hearing that, I took a quick detour, allowing Daryna to catch up if she cut crossways in her pursuit. Predictably she did so and crashed into her own series of traps while I continued to beat feet out of there. As Daryna untangled herself from the 'spider web' trap; really just a tangle of silk strings; she heard the horses neigh and then take off. The ninja had exploded smoke bombs in the horses' faces to accomplish this feat.By the time Daryna stood up, I was long gone in the foot race. She carefully picked her way back to Yatta, helped her up and then worked her way back to find their saddles cut loose and packs set aside... and their horses long gone as well. From what 'Five' related to us later, Daryna elected to take after their lost steeds while Yatta treated her sore ankle. 'Five' didn't hang around to see how long it took Daryna to return with their mounts. The rest of us had successfully slipped away by that time.Reunited.By the time we had reunited with Felix he had already discovered our next Treasure Trove; more grain, a compass and a map of the whole region. Woot! We still only had one mount until an hour past sunrise when our two steeds came trotting into our brief camp. Now we had three horses. We elected to release Carla's mount to find its way back to her mistress... eventually, we hoped."Care to explain the entourage?" Felix joked."Somebody who is somebody loves me," I shrugged. "I can't tell you who though. I've been sworn to secrecy.""Damn... five female ninja. We have got to not waste this opportunity.""I am so onboard with that plan," I grinned, "but it going to be tough. Most of the only speak Japanese and they are all related to a girl I've already knocked up.""So they all know what a stud you are, Cáel ," Felix laughed. "Give it time and they'll be begging for it. I know the type. Fit, but silent with minimal social skills. They want to know all about how you seduced their sister, cousin, what have you.""God, I hope so," I groaned. "All this abstinence is driving me crazy.""Me too," he chuckled. "Me too."Oh, what we had planned was horribly irresponsible. We had the inaugural First Great Hunt to win for all Mankind after all. Still, it took only three elements to be effective; a stream, river, or lake of some kind to bathe in; to convince the ninja we had to take a bath to remove any scent the Amazons who captured us may have sprayed on us; and the ninjas' willingness to believe such an outlandish excuse to get naked. Once they saw us naked nature would take its course.Well, despite our awesome masculine arsenals... we got nowhere. The ninja babes didn't buy our excuses, blew away our pseudoscientific ramblings (pheromones don't work that way, they insisted) and seriously; we didn't really have the time. So while putting our shirts back on and then going for our boots, two more Amazons came our way. We barely had the warning time to seek cover when Elsa and Rachel came riding down the stream, looking each way for any signs of us.Thanks to our horses remaining perfectly still as well, they gradually moved past our hidey-holes and out of our view. The second the ninjas gave us the 'all clear' we hurriedly finished dressing then headed off in a different direction. The last two Amazons I wanted to confront were Elsa and Rachel. I liked Rachel too much and quite frankly was too afraid of Elsa.Once more we risked using some Ninja Magics to aid our passage through a light, early morning rain. This one put off a confusing area of tracks which were both difficult to follow; Amazons were no dummies; and included our chosen pathway to the next treasure trove. Shortly after an overcast noontime Sun, we hunkered down for a few hours and took a short nap.I would have liked to sleep longer, but according to the two ninja who had stood watch, the whole area appeared to be crawling with Amazons out and about, mounted and dismounted and following our misleading trails, but still being close enough around to make traveling above the canyons frankly impossible. Felix and I had a meeting of the minds with Hatsuyuki.Sending two Ninja off on our steeds wouldn't work because at least one group of the opposition had our binoculars and none of the Ninja could pass for us under such scrutiny. In fact, we couldn't come up with a single plan which guaranteed us a chance to move about unseen. So, we came up with a crazy plan instead. I would take off on Peppermint in an elliptical path meant to draw off as many Amazons as possible.It had to be me because a few of the Amazons might not pursue Felix if he tried the same stunt, focusing on capturing Ishara first... so Ishara had to be the one to play decoy. We shook hands, hugged then scouted around for the best opportunity for me to make a bolt for it... then off I went. What the Ninja planned to do wasn't revealed to us though I had a feeling they weren't enamored with my plan.Peppermint and I came out of the closest draw and set off with a meandering gate; we would need all the speed she could muster soon enough. Unthinkingly, I had also stumbled across an added bonus to my plan. Me and my dumb luck. See, all the Amazons anywhere close to me at the start had been pressing their mounts hard for a day and a half now plus hadn't spent any time last night sleeping whereas me and Peppermint were relatively well fed and watered as well as well rested.Still, my initial sense was that I was simply fucked. All across the plain, Amazons noted my presence within a minute and began moving to hem me in. I imagine once I was unmounted and bound, the grand melee to see who would claim me would begin. I counted twelve of the fine ladies and while none were directly ahead of the direction I was heading in, some were far too close for me to hold out much hope.I didn't give up though. I wasn't in me and apparently it wasn't in Peppermint either. She picked up the pace instinctively when I leaned forward and off we went. Incrementally, all thirteen steeds picked up their speeds. I wasn't going to make it... and then it got worse. Coming out of a draw to my front-right was none other than Ella Mielikki.See appeared as surprised to see me as I was to see her, but that didn't last. She whipped out her lasso and spurred her mount to go faster. She was going to cut me off. I had no out in any other direction. All I had was a plain full of grass and thunderclouds in the distance; just too far away to do me any good.'Remember who you were...' came unbidden to my mind.I leaned forward and began whispering in Peppermint's ear in a language I did not know... but three thousand years ago it had been the language of horse peoples like the Scythians who taught it to their noble young... and so had another people long forgotten by history... the Medians. The words spilled out of me until all that was left was the final benediction; words that would bind man and mount together.[Median] "For Aya," I whispered.Remember who you were; wasn't meant for me. It was for the hundreds of Median steeds my Grandfather had ridden into battle... with his comrades-in-arms for over a thousand years two thousand years ago.Ella was whirling the lasso over her head. We were so close I could read the prayer to Mielikki on her lips as she strove to close those last few hoof-falls. The lasso flew through the air...Peppermint took off in a burst of speed utterly unlooked for. Her ghostly white plume rose majestically over her head; Grandfather's symbol... and now mine. The thunder of a hundred such steeds filled my ears with their power as we pulled away from the falling lasso... now less than a foot... too short. She had missed us and with that throw, passed the last chance the Amazons had to catch me.Rachel would later tell me they were all completely aghast at the pace Peppermint set as we rode past Mielikki, easily outdistancing her thus everyone else. We had escaped them and they knew it. They didn't know how and the looks of utter disbelief the Amazons behind me exchanged left them no doubt I had led them a merry chase only to vanish in a whirlwind of dust as I raced all the way into the storm-burst. Gone, gone, gone.Rachel told me she had then turned to Elsa and laughed heartily."I should have given him my honor blade," she chuckled, "because unlike the rest of you, I knew better.""But, what did he do?" Elsa had asked, truly curious and a bit frustrated."Just being Cáel ," Rachel had shaken her head as she replied. "Just being Cáel ."[Sunday]It was a thick, pounding rain as promised. No one could ride in this. Visibility was down to a few yards and the ground had turned into a morass. Only the greyness of the clouds betrayed the coming of day to us while our final treasure trove; a compass, map and coordinates for the rescue; pointed us in the proper direction... us and thirty Amazons.In our favor, the Ninja threw up a marching cordon around us so we didn't walk into any ambushes, and any Amazons not already at least even with us in the distance separating us from our evacuation point had a chance of catching us. Again, no Amazon worthy of their name would ride in weather like this and in a foot race, we men actually finally had the advantage.I wish I knew who was closest so I could plan accordingly. In strictly hand to hand combat, Felix and I had the advantage on over half those we were confronting. While most excelled at being hunters, beating up their prey with hands and knives wasn't normally their second best feature. No, they were fine combatants, just not in Felix's, or my, league.But then there were the Amazons like Tormé Maeve and Elsa Zorja who could kick our asses without a doubt, and planning how to fight them required a completely different game plan."What's on your mind?" Felix leaned in and shouted into my ear."This ain't over. Not only do we have to reach the evacuation site within a twenty minute window, we have to hope a half-dozen Amazons aren't waiting there for us."Felix nodded."Who is going to be the worst team?""Elsa and Rachel. I'm not sure I can beat Rachel and I'm damn sure I can't beat Elsa," I answered."Leave Elsa to me then. While I've never fought her before, she's also never fought me," he reasoned. "My best bet is an all-out offense; holding nothing back and hope I can outmuscle her before she pulls some surprise on me.""That's about right," it was my turn to nod.One of the Ninja came running back to us."There are two Amazons ahead of us going in the same direction. What do you want to do?"I looked to Felix who cracked his knuckles. He was right too. We didn't have enough time left to race around them; not in this mud; so jumping them and putting them down was our best bet.Bleeding.Our fists were bleeding, I had a knife wound on my left thigh, and Felix's nose was most likely broken, but we had put down two pairs of Amazons in the closing hour of the Great Hunt... and we were still free. We had even recorded the coordinates of where we left the four bound Amazons because leaving them all tied up in these conditions didn't seem fair.So far we had put down Niranjana Ereshkigal and Anna Cybele whose strategy was to figure out where the evacuation point was and then set up an ambush close by, and our old buddies, Tormé Maeve and Parul Nammu, who had been racing up to the evacuation point after some piece of divine intervention. They stumbled into us as we were binding up the first two.Thanks to the Ninja we had a moment's warning before they jogged right into us. It was on! Felix immediately challenged Tormé while I circled Parul, each seeking an advantage. Unfortunately, Tormé began cleaning Felix's clock so spun around and we switched partners."I wanted it to be me and you," she snarled."I was hoping to miss you entirely," I replied. She laughed and closed... and then slipped in the mud and slid right into my knee strike. Before she could clean the cobwebs from her head, I had landed three solid fist strikes to her jaw, rendering her incapable of immediate resistance; one tough chick! I quick glance back to Felix showed me he had Parul well in hand, so I quickly bound Tormé up and took her honor blade so she wouldn't be cutting herself free too soon.After we had Parul secured, Felix slapped me on the back and laughed."You bastard, I saw that," he chuckled. "She slipped.""I'll take it," I was unapologetic. Explaining to Felix how she was Katrina's #1 assassin would take too long. I'd leave it to Katrina to warn him how dangerous dating her would be.And then we heard the helicopter... and looked at our watches. It Was 11:48! We raced up the last bit of the slope to see the helicopter finish its descent. We'd made it... and then we saw Elsa and Rachel climbing up the slope beside us, disguised as we were by the downpour."Cáel !" Elsa screamed out my name. Rachel simply charged Felix wordlessly.I drew Tormé's honor blade and faced Elsa down. "Do you honestly think you can defeat me?" Elsa laughed. "Because Cáel , you cannot. You are already beaten, bruised and bleeding. Surrender and I promise to be gentle.""On any other day, I would agree with you, but this is not like any other day," I held my captured small knife out in a fighting stance."Today... today I have my Grandfather's knowledge and my Father's boundless spirit, Elsa. Today; you cannot defeat me. Come at me and find out, if you must." My stance flowed into an alien design... which came from a time when knives were the only close combat weapon anyone was lucky enough to have. My knife raised up over my head yet still pointing at my opponent while my empty left hand pointed at my foe.Then it occurred to me... if I could withstand the pain, I could grab her blade and hold it in place while I slashed down with my own ceremonial weapon. I could regenerate the damage; that was my edge and this was a fighting stance my Grandfather had perfected with that knowledge when all blades were either sharp stones, or smelted copper.I could see Elsa studying me rapid-quick before she made her lunge. It was so On! The first series of slashing strikes saw me barely missing having my hand cut open. I wasn't so lucky my second time around. Elsa sliced my ring finger to the bone."Damnit, Cáel !" Elsa snapped. "If you are going to fight me, at least use the training Pamela gave you. I have no idea what this crazy stance is supposed to show, but I think it is nothing more than your made-up style again. This time I am going to really hurt you if you don't surrender... Right Now!"Yeah, Elsa was upset she had to actually hurt me. I sensed that in her. Still, the pain quickly receded and I continued to stalk her... silently and with great determination on my face. No response was necessary and I was sure my quietude was unsettling her even more. On the next exchange Elsa moved so fast I couldn't track her blade. Still, I moved my empty palm across to stop her most likely angle of attack.I was wrong. By shifting my entire body to stop her slash, I put myself in the wrong positon; closing the distance between us and intercepting her surprise backslash with my left side at the kidney level. Ouch! Motherfucker! I grunted but used my positioning disadvantage as an advantage. As Elsa's hand recoiled from the dire wound she had given me, I reached out with my left hand and grabbed her wrist.My right hand came down attempting to slash her wrist in this exchange. She caught my right wrist in her left hand. Our bodies collided then my forward momentum slammed into her form and we both fell over. She rolled so we ended up crashing down on our sides, but I refused to release my hold while driving my blade ever downward.I didn't have much advantage over Elsa, but I was superior in upper body strength. It was my old buddy except coming out in my favor today. Slowly my blade inched toward its target."How... can... you... still... be... fighting?" Elsa ground out between her teeth."I am Ishara," was my reply. "The power of the goddess runs through me," I added a lie meant to confuse and dishearten her.She tried to break away by rolling around. I wouldn't let her. I tangled my legs up with hers until we were one conjoined mess. Then she surprised me with a head-butt right as the option was just occurring to me. She smashed my nose. There was blood everywhere, but I wouldn't relent on my hold. Instead, I followed up her head-butt with one of my own.Elsa caught mine with the hardest part of her forehead instead. Our skulls collided. I refused to feel the pain so while she was still reeling from that contact I smashed forward once again; this time impacting her temple and really shocking her. I had to have seemed like a monster to Elsa by this point in our bout; I could feel no pain and no infirmary would hold me back.Lacking every other point of leverage, she went for the 'Tried and True'; her knee impacted my precious gonads and for just that instance, my hold on her weakened. She broke free then rolled away."Stay down," she almost screamed at me. I didn't, instead rising up and resuming my archaic stance once more."This is going to hurt you a whole lot more than me," she promised next. Just then we both heard a titanic scream to my left. By the sound of the grunt which followed, I realized Felix had connected with one of his powerful kicks to Rachel's ribs. I used the positional advantage to charge. We collided once more, each one's opposite hand clamping down on the other's knife hand.While standing, we pushed each other back and forth, attempting kicks and foot stomps all the while my knife approached Elsa's collarbone. We were both too on guard for head-butts to pull one off this grapple, but I didn't need it... because we were in fact, grappling and I had a whole martial art devoted to grappling; Brazilian Jujutsu!I dropped Tormé's honor blade and flipped us around so I landed on top of her. Her blade drew a bloody line along my hip, but not enough damage to cause me any consternation. I could see it in her eyes, the moment we landed in the mud. She realized her mistake by allowing me too close, but the last time she had let that happened she had succeeded in stabbing me in the kidney, so she was taken off-guard for just that instance."Yeah," I chortled, "Just recalling my Brazilian Jujutsu aren't ya?""I can beat it," she ground out."You and an MMA Army," I growled back. She was in danger of having me roll her over... then it would be light's out!Right then Rachel and Felix came crashing down on the two of us, breaking my concentration and my hold. The four of us rolled up and separated once more.Rachel moved to Elsa's side while Felix helped me stand."We are running out of time," Felix informed me. We were. That appeared to be Rachel and Elsa's strategy all along. Keep us occupied for the remaining... eighteen minutes... damn was I out of breath and hurting."Switch," Felix tapped me on the forearm. "I got this."He didn't and he knew he didn't. For some god damn unknown reason, Felix was doing a selfless act for the first time in his life and I couldn't comprehend why."She'll destroy you," I pointed out."You're bleeding; badly," he stated, "and failing fast.""Listen to your friend," Rachel interjected herself into the conversation. Worse, she stepped aside and clearly indicated she would let me pass."Rachel!" Elsa snapped."He's earned it. For the past eighty-four days and then some, Cáel has earned; our respect," Rachel reminded us."Okay," I acknowledged the act of kindness. I moved behind Felix so he could screen me from Elsa... then shoved him as hard as I could across the muddy surface toward freedom. The look he sent back my way was priceless. Reluctantly, he looked back once then jogged to the helicopter and the rewards he deserved for surviving against so many for so long; just like me, but without the Goddesses and my troop of ruthless Amazon allies..."Two on one," I joked."No. I've surrendered my trophy," Rachel smile to me was emotionally crushing."Fine," Elsa nodded then, "Let's continue." This time I didn't have a knife.When we collided this time, she didn't hesitate to stab me in the left pectoral; above the heart, but not by much. I failed to catch her wrist and realized I was all out of game. My regeneration couldn't tackle both bleeding wounds and I was beginning to feel woozy.Elsa fell back."Surrender, Cáel ," her own voice had softened."Never surrender," I laughed back then I began to sway.This time as Elsa closed, she went for the grapple as well. I countered as best I could, but my reflexes were slowing down too. I wasn't going to make it then something tackled us both, slamming Elsa into my chest, stunning her."Felix... you came back," I groggily mumbled as Felix hammered Elsa hard, twice in the temple."You would come back for me. I see that now," he confessed. He half pulled, half-dragged me to our waiting chariot. The clock was a 'ticking."Rachel," I looked over to the other combatant. She hadn't started advancing on us like she should have."Go," she waved us away. "Today... today you have won your freedoms. Now go."What honors Rachel had passed over for whatever reasons were unknown to me. I was terrified she had done it out of love for me. Terrified because I felt so unworthy of such devotion and affection.Yet, Felix and I had made it and as the helicopter took off, I could sense the tension leave my body. My wounds were indeed healing and my blood supply, so witlessly spent was returning to me. Felix leaned into me as the nice Epona medic aboard our ride began to administer her traumatic injury training. I winced because it felt appropriate, not because I was allowed to feel any of the passing pain."You are a Runner now," I looked over to Felix. "Welcome aboard.""Sure thing, Ishara.""Ha," I chuckled. "Call me Cáel . You have earned that right.""I imagine there is something to that," he nodded. "Tell me what it is when you get the chance.""I will," I promised. "That and a few thousand other critically important things none one else will bother to teach you. As the saying goes, 'you've earned it'."Thus Ends The First Great HuntNow onto the final chapter of the First Part of Cáel 's journey.By FinalStand for Literotica.

check out the patreon for more episodes, ad-free episodes and videosOur friend Justin (twitch.tv/hcjustin) joins us for a right ol' chinwag about everything you want here on bst.png! You really should watch Justin over at twitch, or perhaps his youtube channel which is over here: https://www.youtube.com/@hcjustinAnd there we go. That's our wonderful friend Justin, who is just oh-so-wonderful! Yippee! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comMany thanks for completing my weekend polls (here they are if you missed them: paying subscribers / non-paying). Your answers were extremely useful: roughly the right amount of content, stick with the audio, the balance of investment ideas and other stuff is about right, and the price too is about right (interestingly, paying subscribers thought that, non-paying less so — that put a smile on my face). Also: keep writing about what I know.You're a bit more equivocal about the video content. There are more gold than bitcoin bugs in the readership, with a healthy number are in the “own both” camp.And so many of you joined my Comedy Substack, it became one of Substack Humor's fastest movers. Yippee. Thank you!Today I am going to tell you about my seven largest investment positions.Take note: the asset allocation I advocate is the Dolce Far Niente portfolio. This is 15% in gold, 5% in bitcoin, and we have a large allocation to global equities, especially the US. It also has a 10% allocation to risky/fun investments: small caps, special situations and so on (the kind of flutters I write about here). The reason for this allocation is to minimise risk and any damage caused by losses.Do as I say, not as I do and all that. My personal allocation does not fully correspond to the Dolce Far Niente, partly for lack of discipline, partly because I have a greater appetite for risk and will stomach bad losses, if they come around, partly because I am overweight bitcoin.My largest positions As I am sure you know, my two largest positions are in bitcoin and gold. In my view everyone should have an allocation to these assets. Given the debasement of currency taking place worldwide, the greater risk is not owning them. On which note …If you want to buy gold or silver to protect yourself in these interesting times, the bullion dealer I use and recommend is the Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. Find out more here.But we will put those to one side. After bitcoin and gold, my seven largest positions are:

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.comMany thanks for completing my weekend polls (here they are if you missed them: paying subscribers / non-paying). Your answers were extremely useful: roughly the right amount of content, stick with the audio, the balance of investment ideas and other stuff is about right, and the price too is about right (interestingly, paying subscribers thought that, non-paying less so — that put a smile on my face). Also: keep writing about what I know.You're a bit more equivocal about the video content. There are more gold than bitcoin bugs in the readership, with a healthy number are in the “own both” camp.And so many of you joined my Comedy Substack, it became one of Substack Humor's fastest movers. Yippee. Thank you!Today I am going to tell you about my seven largest investment positions.Take note: the asset allocation I advocate is the Dolce Far Niente portfolio. This is 15% in gold, 5% in bitcoin, and we have a large allocation to global equities, especially the US. It also has a 10% allocation to risky/fun investments: small caps, special situations and so on (the kind of flutters I write about here). The reason for this allocation is to minimise risk and any damage caused by losses.Do as I say, not as I do and all that. My personal allocation does not fully correspond to the Dolce Far Niente, partly for lack of discipline, partly because I have a greater appetite for risk and will stomach bad losses, if they come around, partly because I am overweight bitcoin.My largest positions As I am sure you know, my two largest positions are in bitcoin and gold. In my view everyone should have an allocation to these assets. Given the debasement of currency taking place worldwide, the greater risk is not owning them. On which note …If you want to buy gold or silver to protect yourself in these interesting times, the bullion dealer I use and recommend is the Pure Gold Company. Pricing is competitive, quality of service is high. They deliver to the UK, the US, Canada and Europe or you can store your gold with them. Find out more here.But we will put those to one side. After bitcoin and gold, my seven largest positions are:

Are you having a bad day? Are you bad at fishing? Do you want to laugh? Do you also want to hear about shadows, pterodactyls and echidnas? Then listen to this amazing and hilarious podcast. Yippee! Check out all the podcasts from Rosary School at https://www.archdradio.com/podcasts/slp/rosary

Willow. Oh, Willow. She's barely there. Drew could crush her with his bare hands! His big, lecherous, controlling hands! Who will save her (not Wiley)? Can she save herself? Nina is beside herself with worry. She's never gonna get rid of that furrowed brow. And then there's Kai, who loves Drew. So much. Way too much. Will it cost him Trina? Would that bother anyone? Plus, are Curtis and Portia going to make it, or are they already shopping around? Not sure about any of that. Isaiah deserves a meatier role. He's not just beefcake! And it's softball season. Yippee. Also, remember when Gia and Keisha talked about sphincters for awhile? Apparently, they hadn't finished that conversation. Very, very sorry. #mauricebenard  #kellythiebaud #rogerhowarth #maurawest #steveburton #delirious #barshampoo #daydrinkingwithsethmeyers #hillstreetblues #kinshriner  #nicholaschavez #afterlife #rickygervais #hallandoates #superstore #freaksandgeeks #freefallin #alanarkin #newgirl #lamornemorris #colonoscopy #takethenap #alleymills #billylibby #chickadee #fortgorgeous #robertgossett #daydrinkingwithsethmeyers #marcuscoloma #useastaplegun #riptwitch #ripepiphany #ripsonyaeddy  #waywardchickadee #barshampoo #ripmiffy #lovedogs #justinebateman #brookeshields #neilgaiman #dnice #cq #deborahcox #malcolmjamalwarner #lume #godzillaminusone #ripjacklynzeman #jasonmomoa #adambelanoff #thecloser #majorcrimes #wings #murphybrown #thecosbyshow #pinkalicious #ripbillymiller #ripmatthewperry #riptylerchristopher #riplesliecharleson #ripandrebraugher #ripjohnnywactor #dutchbarnvodka #chadduell #rickygervaisrobot #colinfromaccounts

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(Airdate: 6.2.25) Miley Cyrus comes to grips with her parents being individuals and not so much parents, and is ok with dad Billy Ray dating Liz Hurley. Wednesday fans got a spooky 6 minute treat from Netflix during Tudum, it's a trailer for season 2, Delicious! Yippee-ki-ya ol' Blue Eyes? Frank Sinatra was originally offered the role of John McClaine in Die Hard because of prior contractural oblligations to the Chairman of the Board, even though he was 73 at the time. He graciously backed out, but can you imagine Alan Rickman terrorizing Frank? And @HalleBerry Listen to the daily Van Camp and Morgan radio show at: https://vancampandmorgan.com/stations buy us a coffee    

Yippee, another episode of The Doggy Pod. This week Dr Rob brings us to speed on the latest with canine micro-chips. We also talk dogs and living in apartments, the pro's and cons. Also, do dogs really hate cats or is that a myth? Plus lots more. Enjoy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Yippee-ki-yay, mother**ker!" It's been 30 years since John McClane rolled out of bed (with a hangover) and straight into a city-wide terrorist scavenger hunt in 'Die Hard with a Vengeance.' In this anniversary episode, we dive headfirst into the explosive third installment, which marked John McTiernan's glorious return to the franchise, and unpack the high-octane action, the unbeatable chemistry between Bruce Willis & Samuel L. Jackson, and how it redefined the buddy-cop action formula. Complete with riddles, Germans, Samuel L. Jackson yelling, Bruce Willis shooting, bombs, blood, and explosions, we'll get to the bottom as to why this sequel still hits hard three decades later.Send us a textThank you for listening! Don't forget to rate & subscribe. New episodes bi-weekly. Also available on YouTube. All new website coming soon!

The only faith the Bible talks about, the only sort of Faith Jesus talked about was the sort of faith that moves mountains. The sort of faith that conquers the world! The sort that has powerful results.   Conquering Faith There are times in our lives when we have to overcome obstacles. Now not every obstacle is there for overcoming, let me say. Sometimes they're meant to be there at least for a while, and sometimes they're meant to be there as a permanent feature. I don't know if you recall the apostle Paul's prayer to God about the thorn in his flesh that was hindering him, but three times Paul asked God to take it away, and God's answer was no, because that thorn in Paul's flesh was there to keep him humble. Even adversity, especially adversity sometimes, plays an important part in God's plan for our lives. But sometimes it's God's plan for us to overcome obstacles in our lives. Sometimes we need to be more than conquerors over our circumstances, in order to achieve what God's called us to achieve. When we have to conquer an obstacle that's way beyond our power or our wisdom or our strength, then we need to have faith – faith in the One who does have the power and the wisdom and the strength to make things happen. We need the sort of faith that conquers the world, and that's the sort of faith that we're going to chat about again today on the programme – world-conquering faith. So let's go back to Hebrews 11 and see what God has to say to us today about that sort of faith. Hebrews 11:29: By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute didn't perish with those who were disobedient because she had received the spies in peace. And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Sampson and Jephthah and David and Samuel and all the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fires, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Isn't that just one of the most amazing passages? I get a real courage in my heart just reading that passage. So, what's God saying to us through His Word today? When the nation of Israel fled from their centuries of slavery in Egypt, and after they'd wandered for forty years in the wilderness, God finally let them into the land that He promised them through Abraham centuries before. Now you'd think, wouldn't you, that if the land was the land God had promised and He'd chosen and He'd provided, that God could ordain for them that they'd kind of waltz in there and settle down and take over, but that wasn't God's plan. The land was occupied by many nations and kings and tribes, and the Israelites had to take the promised land battle by battle. That's often God's way. That's why so often, life as a Christian seems to be battle after battle. That's why sometimes we think to ourselves: "Why is following Jesus this hard? Why doesn't it all just fall into place? What about the promises of God?" Well, the promises are there, just like the promised land was there for Israel, but they had to be taken (often battle by battle), and those battles, my friend, require faith. Faith pleases God and so those battles are our opportunity to grow in our faith, as we rely on God's promises to take us through, and that's pleasing to God. So Israel took Jericho ... by strength? No, by faith! And Rahab, the prostitute who'd harboured the Israeli spies before that battle, she was saved by faith. And then the writer goes on to list many situations and circumstances in the history of Israel where battle after battle after battle after battle had been won, as Israel God's people stepped into the breach and put their faith in their God. My friend, that's what the Christian life looks like. That's what we're meant to be living, and after each battle and each trial and each beating and each victory, you know what happens? Our faith grows stronger. We don't just become mighty men and women of faith by sitting here in our lounge-rooms watching the television, we become mighty men and women of faith by using our faith – by exercising the muscle of faith, so that it grows stronger and stronger with each battle. And one day we wake up and we're able to face bigger battles for Christ because now we have the faith we need to live through them. Let me share with you a letter I received awhile back from a woman, Elsie – an elderly lady, who used to support Christianityworks by sending some stamps every few months. Listen to the world-conquering faith of this frail old woman. She writes: Although I'm only a very aged pensioner' (those are her words), ‘I have been kept by God's grace through many years. In the last eighteen months, I have had both floodwaters and burning tree-embers over my veranda, but God has protected me through it all. Only last night the bush-fire threatened my home again, and I went to bed knowing that only our Creator could keep me safe. Berni, I'm sending you these stamps in the name of our miracle-working God, who fed thousands with five small loaves and two fishes, who burst open prison-doors, calmed tempests, split rocks and provided water, conquered death and defeated Satan, and who is coming again to take us all to His eternal home in glory. May these stamps help others to enter His peace. And so they did. We used those stamps in our very next mailing to our supporters, and in response to that mailing, I received a letter from another woman, who as it turns out lived just a few kilometres from Elsie, who'd been to the point of suicide when she received our letter, yet God used that letter to save her life. She wrote: "Thank you for saving my life." I believe with all my heart that that miracle was born out of Elsie's world-conquering faith. I rang Elsie, I told her what had happened, and she wept with joy. What an awesome God we serve, that this self-described "aged pensioner" can be filled with that sort of world-conquering faith. And as you receive God's word today, may you be filled with a passion to travel through the battles, through the fires, through the floods of your walk with Jesus, so that day after day He will grow in you the sort of faith that conquers the world.   Unwavering Faith You know the thing that is absolutely the most difficult thing about faith? It's that sometimes when I believe in God for something, He doesn't give me the answer I was believing for. Sometimes when I trust in God to do something, something that's really good – something that's really powerful – something that truly would glorify His name, either He doesn't do it or He delays in doing it, or He does it in a completely different way to what I was expecting. You see, when it comes to faith, I just want it to be simple: I decide what needs to be done, I ask God to do it, and I believe in Him that He's going to do it and He does it! Hey, that's simple enough. How come God doesn't get it sometimes? How come He heads off in some tangent when I can see plain as day what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it needs to be done? Now, as we've been exploring what Hebrews chapter 11 has to say about faith over these last few weeks, have you noticed that each of the examples so far has focused on successful outcomes of having faith in God? Yippee! But the Bible is nothing if it's not realistic, and so it also talks about those times when God doesn't seem to deliver on our prayers – when we've prayed in faith and He doesn't show up. Have a listen. This first passage follows on from the Abraham story. God had promised Abraham many descendants, even when he and his wife were old, beyond childbearing age, and He promised a land of his own – the promised land, in which his descendants would be like ... well, more numerous than the stars in the sky, and the grains of the sand on the beach. Question: How much of that promise did Abraham actually get to see? Well, only two small parts. Firstly, God gave him a son Isaac – miraculous to be sure, but only one – not the multitude that had been promised, and God fleetingly let him pass through the Promised Land, so what does the Bible have to say about these unfulfilled promises? Hebrews 11:11: By faith he received the power of procreation, even though he was too old and Sarah herself was barren, because he considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one person – and this one as good as dead, descendants were born – as many as the stars in heaven, as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore. All of these died in faith, without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth. People who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to return, but as it is, they desire a better country – that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, He has prepared a city for them. So, Abraham didn't even see the outcome of his faith. All but two of the Israelites that finally centuries later left slavery in Egypt, perished in the wilderness and never saw the Promised Land; only their children did, and yet God commends them for their faith. God's plan, God's promises span centuries, right down to the birth of Jesus. God's promise of many descendants is what gave Jesus to us, and you and I today are still being blessed. Because Abraham trusted God, because Israel trusted God, you and I are blessed in Jesus who came through God's promise to Abraham. God's plans span millennia, way beyond Abraham's life! Abraham's life was just one small piece in the overall jigsaw puzzle, and yet God commends Abraham for his faith. See, that's the big picture – that's the truth. You and I, our lives, are just one small part in the overall scheme of things, in God's whole plan for the human race. And sometimes from our narrow perspective, well, we can't see the whole picture. In fact, I'd suggest that our perspective is inherently way too narrow ever to fully comprehend God's big picture. So often, God makes promises and we step out in faith into these promises, and things don't go quite the way we planned, and yet those apparent failures are critical in the overall plan of God. Again, listen to what Hebrews has to say further on, on this very thing. Having regaled us with all the successes of faith that various leaders and kings and prophets had, the writer of this book of Hebrews under the hand of God turns his attention to the apparent failures of faith. Hebrews 11:35: Women received their dead by resurrection, but others were tortured, refusing to accept release in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats – destitute, persecuted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in the deserts and mountains, in caves and holes in the ground, yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better, so that they would not apart from us be made perfect. So, you read that, and it seems to me that having faith in God is more important to God than the outcome of that faith. Stepping into the firing line with a distinct possibility of getting shot, trusting in God, is more important to God than whether or not we get shot. That's what the Scripture is telling us, and it's true. What we're interested in is a narrow form of success – success in our little bit, but sometimes our apparent failure, or what you and I would call failure, is a critical element of the jigsaw in God's overall plan. Just think: What if Jesus had been saved from the cross? Where would you and I be now? But I'll tell you something. I bet you the disciples were praying to God in those final hours that Jesus would be saved – that He'd be spared. I bet you that had you and I been one of those disciples, that's exactly what we'd have been praying, right? It's not always about winning each battle. Sometimes God's got a bigger picture and what pleases Him, and what He commends us for, is a faith that stands an unfailing faith, despite the outcome.   Overcoming Faith Well, we're going to conclude our time together in this particular series by looking at what Hebrews chapter 11 has to say about the sort of faith that overcomes obstacles – the sort of faith in God that'll help us overcome difficult circumstances. Often we hope that if someone is against us that our faith will mean that we'll end up winning, and they'll end up losing. That's a good thing to believe for, isn't it? Do we see something of that in the Bible? Well, yeah, we do. We often see God's people in the Old Testament, whether under the leadership of Moses or Joshua or David or Jehoshaphat or quite a number of judges and kings and prophets, turn to God in times of distress, and God goes out there and fights the battles for them and gives them victory over their enemies. Sometimes that's what the Lord does in our lives, and when we just feel to get out there amongst it and the forces of hell are unleashed against us, there is absolutely nothing wrong with praying in faith for victory, so that the Lord's will can prevail. There's been many-a time in my life when I've been up against it; when it seems that people came against this ministry of Christianity Works and our mission to share the good news of Jesus with many, many people around the world; when our finances have been so difficult that we couldn't really see how we could possibly continue; when people that we relied on failed us, and left us in a difficult spot. Please don't ever think that just because I'm here on the radio proclaiming the good news of Jesus, none of these things happen to us; they do, and the more we preach Christ, the more the enemy unleashes his armies against us. That's par for the course. So, when we're in a tough place, should we turn to God as our first resort instead of our last? Should we rely on His faithfulness to overcome the obstacles and opposition that we face? Absolutely we should, because He's our God, and yet that's not always what He has in mind. Sometimes His victories are so different to what we're expecting. There's something that Jesus said to His disciples in the final days before His crucifixion that must have seemed so outrageous and so plain wrong to them, as they heard it, and as they lived out the next few days. This is what He said. Have a listen. John 16:32-33: Jesus said, ‘The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered each one to his home, and you will leave me completely alone, yet I am not alone because the Father is in Me. I have said these things to you so that in Me, you may have peace. For in this world you will face persecution, but take courage; I have conquered the world'. The first verse speaks of the coming fear and trials that the disciples were already beginning to face. You'll each scatter! You'll flee to your homes! You'll leave me alone! Man! If Jesus had been saying that to me, I wouldn't have been impressed. You'll face persecutions. Zippedy doo dah! There's a promise of God that we can stand on, and yet in the very next breath, He's saying: But I'm telling you these things so that in Me, you might have peace. Have courage! For I have overcome the world; I have conquered the world. Words are cheap. Not so long after this, they see Him arrested, tried, beaten to within an inch of His life – the flesh literally hanging off His back where He'd been whipped, lugging a cross – a huge wooden cross – up to Golgotha, where He's nailed to the cross, and there He dies. And yet this miracle man Jesus had said to them: Take courage! Be of good cheer! I've overcome the world; I've conquered the world. Let me ask you this: When He was hanging there on that cross, did He look like much of a conqueror – much of an overcomer – in the eyes of His frightened, disillusioned disciples who'd fled, who'd left Him in His darkest hour, just as He'd predicted? Not likely, and yet just a few days later, He was raised from the dead – just a few days later, to their absolute disbelief, even though He'd been telling them this would happen. The One whom they'd seen dead and lifeless was alive again. He truly had conquered the world. He'd conquered the grave; He'd conquered death; He'd overcome the very worst outcome of all – the outcome of dying. Do you see how the immediate circumstances of His trial and crucifixion shroud the ultimate victory in the disciples' gaze? And so, my friend, it often is with us. So often we're focused on the short-term victory in this or in that – a victory that all too often involves saving our skins (let's be honest), when all along our Father in heaven is working out His ultimate victory in our lives. And in order to realise that ultimate victory, for a time, we have to suffer. Have a listen to how the apostle John puts it. 1 John 5:4: For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Ultimately, it's the one who believes Jesus is who He says He is who conquers this world – because in Jesus Christ, you and I have victory over the grave; we have victory over death; we have victory over this world. And as we're travelling through the short-term pain of a lifetime, that's what keeps us pressing on to the end – the truth that in Christ Jesus, we have life eternal. Peter the apostle says this. 1 Peter 1:6: In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while, you have to suffer various trials; so that the genuineness of your faith – being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. To that you and I can shout: "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Through Him, we have victory over the grave." There are going to be times in this life when you and I feel like losers. Peter was writing that to a bunch of people who had been tarred and feathered and burnt on stakes at Caesar's parties. These people weren't just suffering various kinds of trials; they were dying for their faith, but in those moments to them, and in those moments to us, God is faithful. His love is unfailing; His promises are true, and we have all that we need to make it through. For me to be able to serve you with this truth today is such an incredible privilege. As I walk through my trials, as I suffer through my things, I need this word just as much as you do. I need the encouragement and the power of God's Word just as much as you do, so please take this truth; hold it close to your heart; because through your faith in Jesus Christ, as weak and as tenuous as it may feel sometimes, you have already overcome the world. I've said these things to you that in Him, you may have peace.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 367) — Is John McClane a realistic cop or just an action hero with a badge? Yippee-ki-yay, history lovers, let's see if McClane would survive a real Internal Affairs review. Where to watch "Die Hard" now Helping us conduct a review of McClane from the entire Die Hard franchise is retired U.S. police sergeant Patrick O'Donnell, who is now a technical consultant and author of "The Good Collar." Get Patrick's book Also mentioned in this episode Hire Patrick for your next project Listen to the Cops and Writers podcast Did you enjoy this episode? Watch the credits roll Unlock ad-free episodes Get the BOATS email newsletter Leave a comment Support our sponsors Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through these links. Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: https://links.boatspodcast.com/367 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The return of everybody's favorite new series! Yippee! Join Spencer, Ty and Andy as they pit characters from all across fiction against each other... in order to test their abilities. Support us on Patreon for $5, $7, or $10: www.patreon.com/tgofv. A big shout-out to our $10/month patrons: Abbie Phelps, Adam W, Anthony Cabrera, asdf, Axon, Baylor Thornton, Bedi, bernventers, bunknown, Celeste, Charles Doyle, Dane Stephen, Dave Finlay, David Gebhardt, Dean, Francis Wolf, Heather-Pleather, Jacob Sauber-Cavazos, James Lloyd-Jones, Jennifer Knowles, Jeremy-Alice, Josh O'Brien, Kilo, LM, Lawrence, Louis Ceresa, Malek Douglas, Newmans Own, Packocamels, Phat Ass Cyberman, Rach, raouldyke, Rebecca Kimpel, revidicism, Sam Thomas, T, Tash Diehart, Themandme, Tomix, weedworf, William Copping, and Yung Zoe!

Jason talks about the latest twist in the tariff rollercoaster and why the President felt he needed to press the "pause" button. As you might expect, listener reactions are... mixed. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Hour 1: Jason talks with listeners about Trump's "pause" on most tariffs and the resulting boost to the markets, along with his explanation about why he did it. Then he's joined by Tracy Perlman from WCCO-TV for some "Tracy Talk" including possibly the most made-up job ever.

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El invitado de lujo de esta quincena, Mael, nos explica cómo comenzó la aventura de Remeras Rojas y la cantidad de programas semanales que lanzan actualmente en radio, podcast y youtube. Tras 67 minutos de compartir sus inicios con la saga de Star Trek en Argentina, pasamos a hablar del capítulo ‘Starship Mine', la versión trekkie de ‘La Jungla de cristal' (aka ‘Duro de matar', aka ‘Die Hard'), con el Capitán Picard en el papel de John Mclane. ¡Yippee-ki-yay, Replayers!

Vincent, Buffy and other family matter.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. It is selfish to believe that your family will always love you. At some point you will be asked to earn it The main front was stabilizing. The 2nd Army was in tough shape though all three divisions were still in the fight. The 1st Army's 2nd and 9th Divisions had corked up the advances out of Cambodia. As soon as night fell, they would maneuver the majority of the 2nd Division to crush the Alliance forces north of Bangkok. The rioters would be crushed tomorrow morning. They would survive.This realization came too late to them. The rot of fear had infected the 1st Army, 1st Division and the police force commands. Of more importance, a small group of secretive individuals convinced two senior Thai officers that something had to be done before the city fell, or the Prime Minister reasserted control over the city.Those two conspirators had the same problem as the Loyalists, enemy troops and protestors in the street. Those officers had no way to contact the crucial enemy commanders, but they knew who did, the Indian Navy. Surreptitiously, they contacted the Indian Navy's Expeditionary Fleet. The fleet's Admiral quickly put them in touch with the Alliance Command Authority and within two hours, a deal was made.The Great Khan would stop the Alliance offensive if the King of Thailand made a public appeal, no strings attached. This new group of rebels and the Alliance worked out the path they needed to take to reach the King so that the Alliance forces were out of the way and no planes, or helicopter attacked their formations. They even had a TV station that would broadcast the King's speech ending the conflict. All they needed was nightfall.And that was the true story of how the counter-coup was pulled off, how the King of Thailand was able to talk to the Great Khan and how the Thai government was overthrown. In the final analysis, the Loyalist hadn't fallen before the might of the Alliance. They were done in by a tiny number of Black Lotus operative almost no one knew existed, with a small amount of assistance from JIKIT."No wonder the Seven Pillars has never been able to wipe out these guys," Addison yawned. "They are slippery as eels and thrice as lethal. I am glad they are on our side." Several sets of eyes looked at her skeptically. "I mean, I am glad we are currently working toward the same goals."Thus,"I suggest we all get some sleep," Addison declared as she stood up and stretched.Odette was comfortably asleep, so I curled her up and carried her to the elevator. I wanted to go home and forget that I had lost any semblance of a normal life. I didn't know what was worse; me doing the shit I was doing, or me understanding what I was doing. Juanita had gone down ahead of us to pull the car around to the front.Chaz, Pamela, Odette and I went down in the first wave of the exodus from the workplace. The door opened on the ground floor. I wasn't the first person to notice her. My reflexes had improved to the point I had a moment to recognize her before the people around me sprang into action.Pamela side-stepped to the right, pistol mystically appearing in her two-hand grip. Chaz, Chaz bore Odette and me to the ground. His level of dedication astonished me. He was shielding us with his body. From what, I hadn't been able to determine."Deadman switch," one of my aunts stated. "I want to talk with Cáel." The voice had a stressed tenor to it."Back outside," Pamela simmered."No.""Chaz, what is going on?" I asked him. He hadn't moved and wasn't letting me wiggle around to see."Explosive vest," he responded coolly. That's right. Chaz was shielding Odette and me with his body.That is what I found astonishing, his desire to give his life for me. His expectation that Pamela could kill the threat while he was currently occupied was understandable."We seem to be at an impasse," Pamela edged further away.She wasn't avoiding the blast radius. That was impossible in this lobby. No, if it came to firing, she was making it easier for Chaz to get a shot off since the shooter couldn't cover both angles of attack."Let me talk to him," my aunt insisted. This made no sense."Chaz, let me deal with this," I told my bodyguard."Are you sure?" he questioned."Not really. As Pamela said, she's not going to let any of us leave until she talks to me and if you kill her, she kills all of you." Chaz let me stand.Odette was just awakening to the threat. Chaz rose to stand by my side. (Sadly, Odette didn't rate him dying for her.) I prayed I didn't fuck this up."Cáel, is that really you?" the women with green eyes and red hair asked me. She sounded desperate, which would explain the suicide vest."Yeah, which one are, Mom?"{9:10 pm, Tuesday, September 2nd ~ 6 Days to go}"Yes, I'm Sibeal. Are you my son?""Do you mean   No! Grandfather Cáel hasn't supplanted my spirit with his own," I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure how I can convince you of this.""Do you miss your Father?" she queried."Yes," I murmured."Ahh Cáel, you are still my son. Thank all that is divine," she sighed."Care to deactivate the vest now?" Pamela suggested."Do you promise not to shoot me? You two, and the one sneaking up on me from behind." She meant Juanita, who had sensed the danger and exited the car."You are three kinds of crazy, so I'm not making any guarantees," Pamela answered."Pamela   Chaz, I really think she is my mother. And I assume she is here to kill Cáel O'Shea, not me," I interjected. I still wasn't leaving Chaz' side. "Please don't kill her.""No guarantees," Chaz affirmed."She's his mother," Odette chimed in. "If it was anyone else, they would be in a cloud of bodyguards, not alone.""Here is the deal, Mom. You deactivate the vest, then we will talk. Otherwise, I'm taking my security's advice and backing the fuck out of here.""Okay," she nodded. "It's a fake. I'm upset, but not enough to be suicidal. I wanted to see what you would do. Father would have sacrificed everyone else. You got tackled and you obeyed the man who was trying to save your life.""Chaz, what do you think?" Pamela asked him."We could hold her here until Virginia shows up. That would give Cáel a few minutes to reminisce before she gets dragged off to the looney bin." (That would, of course, lead to her death while in Federal custody   so that wasn't happening, period.)"I concur," Pamela agreed. She still had her gun out and aimed. She went to a one-handed grip so she could motion Juanita to come inside.I took the opportunity to walk around Chaz, though I only advanced half way."I think it is asking too much from my bodyguards to walk up to you with that vest lying at your feet," I pointed. "You know   just in case you are lying." She nodded, smiled and came forward. A hug was in the offing. I almost missed Odette coming up behind me."I'm on a timetable," Mom murmured into my shoulder. "You know why.""I am afraid I do," (my pheromones were already affecting her). "What brought this on? How long can you stay?""The kidnapping made it imperative. But this has been my first opportunity to get close enough to you to determine if my father had won, or not," she confessed."I'm not sure how long I can remain ~ maybe a day, or three. I have heard you have an upcoming ordeal you must go through for your Amazons." Odette again by way of Delilah. I decided to give Delilah the benefit of the doubt and just accept that she did what she did because she was worried about me."Oh. Mom, this is Odette Sievert, my roommate and all-around better friend than I deserve." Odette extended her hand. Mom reached past me and shook it."Nice to finally meet you in person," Mom smiled."Nice to realize you aren't as nutty as the rest of the bunch,and considering you came at Pamela and Chaz with a fake suicide vest   that is saying something," Odette grinned."My son is all I have left of Ferko (my dad)," she grew grim. "If my father stole him after killing my husband   I wouldn't know how to carry on.""Aaahh," Odette stammered through this tense family moment. "You are about to be a grandmother in a serious way," she tried to turn things around. "How does a dozen grandkids sound?"Operational security and secret information were concepts Odette was aware of. She simply refused to use either one."Really?" Mom looked from Odette to me. "How serious?""How about we get out of here before the FBI shows up," I began directing my mom out the doors."Cáel?" Chaz questioned."Hey now, I never agreed to hand my mom over to Virginia. The vest was fake. Let's not dwell on this," I urged Mom and Odette out the door."Ishara," Juanita repeatedly prayed, "why do you test me so?"Chaz and Pamela showed their faith in me and my decision-making ability by tagging along. For me, what does a son who hasn't spent any time with his mother since he was seven (because she was supposedly dead for the past fifteen years) ask first?Actually, we waited for Chaz, who had the presence of mind to ensure the vest was truly a dud and then called Virginia so she could clean up one of my messes   yet again."Thank you, Color Sergeant," Mom looked toward Chaz as the GL 550 pulled away from One Mi Ma1 Tower. Unfortunately, the look he sent her way wasn't friendly."Thanks for reminding me," I nodded to Mom. "Chaz, what in the Hell possessed you to jump on Odette and me? I appreciate it,""Me too," Odette chimed in."But please don't do that ever again. Of all the, let's just say I have too many deaths of people I like on my mind. I don't want you added to that list.""Tough.""Well, thanks for considering my request," I groaned."Chaz, three nights ago our boy learned that one of the women he knocked up is going to die and no one will intervene to save her life and they won't tell him where she is," Pamela let him know."Who do we talk to?" he asked me. By 'talk' I assumed he meant torture until they coughed up a viable location/suspect."The Goddess Ishara.""Fuck. I apologize, Cáel. That is hard news for a young man like you to take. As for my jumping on you   suck it up. It is my job to make sure you can do yours.""Juanita," Pamela called out. "Stop driving to Havenstone. Take us back to Cáel's place. He won't let the Amazons take his mother, which means I won't let them, which means Chaz won't let them. Besides, Odette could get killed in the cross-fire and too many people like her for that to be safe for any would-be assassin.""Really?" Odette perked up. Of course she wasn't worried about being killed. Odette was fascinated that people found her valuable   enough to kill anyone who killed her. She'd more fully grasp that curse later on. She was a genuinely nice person. What Pamela left unsaid was that if 'people' thought someone might kill Odette, they would 'proactively' protect her. Too many people she now hung out with were of that stripe of crazy."Pamela, would you miss me if I got killed?" Odette turned to the most dangerous person in the car. (I didn't think Mom was in her league, but then I had never seen her fight, so I was keeping an open mind.)"You bet your ass, Baby-cakes," she grinned at my super-kind sidekick."Me too," Chaz added gruffly. "Of greater importance, Addison would take umbrage. Next to Ms. Love, she's the nastiest bitch I've ever met." He meant that as a compliment."Not Lady Yum   I meant Worthington-Burke?" I inquired."She doesn't take things personally. She'd miss Odette, but not enough to move off-mission," Chaz explained."Let's not forget Buffy," Pamela snorted. "What she lacks in experience she makes up for by being totally psychotic and fanatically loyal to Wakko here. People who piss him off tend to end up as a place holder on the Obituary page.""Unless they never find the bodies," Juanita commented   from her personal experience disposing of people for me. Groan."Cáel, I am so happy I met you," Odette hugged my arm. "My life was going nowhere before you gave me your phone number. Now, I know my life is at risk and I don't care. Being with you has been more wonderful than I ever thought possible."Mom was studying me, both pleased and worried."What?" I asked."You have a lot of your grandfather in you. He did have a gift for inspiring the best out of people. You are like your father in that you care for those people   caring for both their lives and their happiness. Your father inspired that same kind of loyalty because he kept the needs of his people in the forefront of his mind.""Dad was like Grandpa?" I worried."Hell no." That was Pamela."Thank the Divine, no," Mom exhaled at the same time. "How do you know my father?""I killed him," Pamela grinned."You were the one? I'm, I don't know what to think," Mom murmured."Keep that in mind before you try to pull another stunt like you did tonight," Pamela's grin grew feral."Pamela is the best Grandmother I could ever hope for," I explained."Spiritually speaking," Odette tried to lighten the mood (she was a cracker-jack morale officer). "Otherwise it would make Cáel's having sex with her granddaughters rather, suspect.""Odette, you can say 'incestuous'," Mom gave a half-grin. "Do you know much about my family?""Your Pa created you and your sisters to be fuck-toys who also ran errands for him," Odette nodded. "They are all loonies.""Don't share that view with them," Mom cautioned. "When we last met, they had a highly under-developed sense of humor and a well-cultivated mean streak.""Gotcha," Odette giggled. "After dealing with the Slayers of Testicles numbers 1 & 2, I have learned what kind of wacky girls Cáel attracts without even trying.""I really should make sure Mr. Fiennes is okay," I reminded myself."You would do better catching up with that girl down the hall. The Korean takeout girl also asked about you", offered Odette. Yeah, the girl in 3-F baked me some cookies when Dad was murdered."How many grandchildren are we talking about?" Mom looked at me with some serious maternal affection."Who are the Slayers of Testicles?" Juanita wanted to know. My family jewels belonged to House Ishara   at least in her and her sisters' estimation."Oneida's bodyguards," Odette let slip out before she saw the warning look in my eyes."You are sleeping with the apprentice of House Arinniti?" gasped Juanita   I was hoping her questioning wasn't hurting her driving. "What about the 84 day rule?""I'd better not bring up Rhada," Odette nodded thoughtfully."I'm going to spank you," I growled at Odette."Was that aimed at me?" Juanita."Yippee, and we are going home now, too!" Odette squealed."Not you, Juanita   Odette. I want to teach her how to 'not say' whatever pops up in her head," I grumbled."You promised to punish me!" she beamed brightly. "Punish me! Punish me!""Uuuuuuu," I beat my cranium against the headrest in front of me."I thought she was the 'nice' girl," Mom chided me."She was," Pamela smirked. "Unfortunately, she's been totally corrupted by your son.""Yep," Odette agreed. "He's opened up a whole new horizon of things sexual for me.""Son, how many women are you seeing? I thought you were engaged." Mom."Uuuuuuu," I repeated."I'll take care of this," Chaz intervened calmly. "He is as loyal as he can be   within the bounds of his limited moral arsenal   to Hana Sulkanen. So he is sexually and romantically involved with Brooke Lee and Libra Chalmers, civilians he met through contacts at Havenstone. There is Anais Saint-Armour, RCMP, who departed this weekend,""She'll be back," Pamela assured Mom. "They always come back at least once.""Who has only come back just once?" Chaz laconically questioned Pamela."Good point," Pamela acceded. "They keep coming back until he changes the locks, his phone number and address." That made no sense,"I am glad you two are my friends," I groused. "I'd hate to think what you would say about me if you hated me.""You're welcome," Pamela grinned."Ms. Marla Chalmers," Chaz continued without missing a beat, "Libra's younger sibling, who your son indubitably impressed while in college; three teachers at an exclusive school, he met them while body-guarding a group of children; an assistant manager of a hotel he stayed at; six attractive, college-educated European young women,""Don't forget the Macedonian!" Pamela interjected."I have removed her from the list because she has no reliable way to hunt down our boy," he explained."Good point," Pamela nodded."They like busting your chops, don't they?" Mom smiled."As opposed to physically busting my chops   this I can live with.""You have matured nicely. Your father would be very pleased   quietly, of course.""Thank you Mom." She knew the man better than I ever would."We won't count the 189 Amazons who have staked a claim to him for the next nine days," Chaz added."What! 189? When did that happen?""The thirty huntresses and the 159 members of House Ishara," Pamela clued me in."159? When did that happen?" I gasped again. I was repeating myself   not good. I knew I had told Buffy to 'keep up the good work', but still, House Ishara wasn't even two months old yet."They are the best of the roughly 20,000 Runners in the Host and thus, all are serious bad-ass bitches," Pamela assured me. "I think Helena would like you to explore a few more heroic Runners who have since passed.""Passed?" Mom."Cáel sees dead people," Odette beamed."So does his Aunt Baibre," Mom said."Met her, came off a bit, off," I confirmed."That's Baibre. What other ones have you met, besides Deidre and Brianna?"She was asking if I had met others outside of Delilah's watchful eye."Hmm, Imogen, Kelly and Matilda.""Okay. You haven't met the bad ones yet," Mom nodded. I was stunned yet again. Not by what Mom said, but by,"The 'bad ones'?" Pamela inquired. "They come in shades worse than Kelly and Matilda?""I'm with you on that. Those two were unsettling," Chaz agreed. Holy Shit! Pamela and Chaz were agreeing that two of my aunts had them worried on a tactical level. So 'not good' for me, since I couldn't take either of my friends. Bad-bad."Fiona is the worst. She is the second youngest of my generation and by far the most lethal. She was Father's pet.""Oh joy," I sighed."Is she bulletproof?" Chaz inquired."Not quite, but she is definitely hard to kill. She has a greater share of Alal while remaining sane.""Oh, she's the sane one?" Juanita joined in."On that side of his family, sane is a relative term." Thanks, Odette."Relative to how far your cock is into them?" Pamela snorted."Hold on now," I interrupted the jocularity. "What do you mean   'your generation'   'the second youngest'   what happened to the youngest   and when you say 'worst', define 'worst'."Pamela's phone rang."Father created three generations of daughters and sons. Carrig was the 'success' on the male side of the equation."Uncle Lumpy was the 'success'? What had the other uncles been like   idiot cyclops cannibals?"He destroyed all the rest.""Please clarify," Chaz studied my mother. "Your father murdered his own children?""Yes. All but one of the 36 sons. He kept Carrig around as a reminder to not create any more sons. The first generation of daughters were all 'failures'.""You mean dead?" Odette gulped."Yes   dead now, though he viewed all of us as property, not human beings.""Consider Grandad's low opinion of humanity, that's extra tragic," I put an arm around Odette. Pamela was muffling her conversation."Of the second generation of daughters, only Aunt Faoiltiama was kept around. I always had the impression her soul wasn't entirely human. She is rather primitive and predatory. A less horrifically unbalanced Carrig   physically that is. Carrig was somewhat more erudite.""Wow, I don't know what to think of that," I mumbled."Of my generation, eleven of us were allowed to live. Kelly and Maitilda are the most physically dangerous. That was their purpose   killing things.""Trained in combat styles by Cáel's grandfather?" Chaz looked, depressed."Yes. The four of us were. Fiona was the only one I couldn't best.""I would like to spar with you when it is convenient," Chaz requested."Okay. You deserve to know how bad it can be," she nodded. "Of the rest, Una was the youngest, the most human and humane. She was Father's final failure. I was never sure why he kept her alive.""For Cáel to rescue, of course," Odette insisted. Crap. She was right. By the horrified look on my Mother's face, she knew Odette was correct as well.Alal had let Una live as a contingency card, in case I was a soft-hearted sap. In hindsight, it was obvious. The innocent damsel trapped in a madhouse, at the mercy of her fiendish kinfolk, she was a perfect weapon to make me do stupider shit than normal."Damn," Mom muttered. "Anyway, Briana is the most willful and the family's representative to the Illuminati. Deidre is the most sedate, so she handles the normal business interests that we are allowed to know about. Darcie had Alal's hunger for lost and forbidden lore. In her case, it is all-consuming. She has memorized much of Father's collection.""She is rather good at it too   or was when I last saw her. Imogen is our tactician and oversees the O'Shea's bodyguard contingent. She has Father's ability to choose the best men and women, to train them to a razor's edge and to inspire fanatic loyalty.""Sadhbba: she is Father's spy master; with the exceptionally eerie talents of subterfuge, deceit and finding the weakness in others. She and I did not get along. Fiona could do it all, except for my talent.""Which is?" Chaz took over, since Pamela was waving me over for a close, quiet chat concerning her phone call."Fiona was an updated version of me. She was slightly better at everything I could do, except for one thing. I had Father's sixth sense about things. Fiona did not, and that was the reason she hated me so much. Father stoked our internal conflicts to keep us all on edge.""Good to know," Chaz understated his concern. "Do you have any intelligence on how, when and with what your father will come after our boy?" I wasn't insulted by the 'our boy' moniker. He wasn't calling me a child. He was telling Mom that I was 'one of the boys'   on his team. I felt all warm and tingly. My dearth of long-term male friends had meant I had never really been in a fraternity   the close brotherhood of men   before."Problem for you to deal with," Pamela handed me the phone. "It is Tabitha Loire." Tabitha? Vincent's   FBI Special Agent Vincent Lorie's   drop-dead gorgeous daughter. He had taken more than one bullet in Romania. I hadn't heard from him since that morning at the hospital, before being whisked away to the US via Germany. I remained a lousy friend."Hello? Who is this?" the weary, angry voice on the other end of the connection spoke."Cáel Nyilas. Tabitha Loire, what can I do for you?""What can you tell me about my Father?""Oh God! He is not dead, is he?" I grunted. Pause."No. No, Da is okay. He was released from the hospital a week ago. I would like to talk to you about what happened to him overseas.""He won't tell you?""No. Neither will his boss, or any of his acquaintances. Mr. Nyilas, he is down in the dumps and I want to know what I can do to help out. If you are his friend, you should help."I couldn't blame her for being both bitter and exasperated. She had run full tilt into the Great Wall of National Security and been stopped cold."How about I come down and talk to you?" I offered. "What I can tell you shouldn't go out over a phone and I have been remiss in not catching up with your father sooner.""Umm, when?""I'll take the next train down tonight," I decided. "We'll arrange some vehicles at the station. What is your address?" She hesitated. After all, she had Pamela's number, not mine and I was tied into her father being shot   badly. She gave me the address, her desire to know what happened overcoming her caution when dealing with strangers. "I'll give you a call when we arrive in Alexandria.""Train?" Juanita griped. Chaz pulled out his phone and called Agent-86 for both the next train from Penn Station to Alexandria and an update to Virginia and the Homeland Security people for clearance to bring along our ironmongery. Pamela looked at me with pride. So did Mom. Whatever Juanita's opinion of me was, it was concealed by her call to someone else   probably updating Buffy on my itinerary."Vincent was the Federal Agent who was wounded at Miercurea Ciuc?" asked Mom."I need to have a talk with Delilah," Pamela glowered."I want to be in the room when you do," Chaz agreed."Juanita   Penn Station and call someone at Executive Services to pick up our car. Long term parking there is a bitch," I related.Was it? I had no idea, but Alal apparently did. I had been to Penn Station three times; and I never had a vehicle that needed a parking space. All three times, Havenstone sent a car to pick me up. That was for my preliminary and final interviews, plus handling all the paperwork after I got the job.I'd left Bolingbrook in a U-Haul truck (without much in it) a week before starting work. I had an iron-clad belief I could find a place to live within that time span. That was all the time and money I had allotted to that endeavor. My budget had been tight, or so I believed.Unlike the other four chuckleheads who joined the New Directive, I hadn't received a signing bonus. Maybe I should have asked for one. Too late for that now."You taking your mother to meet Vincent?" Odette poked me. I looked from Pamela to Odette then back again.Sneaky-ass bitches. They were introducing my widowed Mother to a really nice, mature guy who was brave, a good father, a widower and all-around stand-up guy. He had a ready-made family, an oldest daughter my age. Beyond some physical similarities, Vincent was not much like Dad. Dad was a quiet, private man.By the nature of his job as a Field Agent, Vincent had to possess superior communication skills. Physically, they were nearly the same height, but Dad was broader in the shoulders. On the other hand, Vincent had both a warrior's spirit and the skills to back it up.But why Mom? Her life was more a disaster than mine, and mine was colossally fucked up."Don't get any ideas," Pamela put out there. Was she talking to me? "Chaz and I don't like you. Your father is a rat-bastard with a mind like a snake. We have no idea if you are yet another one his plots to get at Cáel."They were still taking her with us as we went to see Vincent in Virginia. Since this was going to be a quick trip   I had to be back at Havenstone at 6 a.m.   no clothing was necessary. Chaz received a call from Agent-86 with a follow-up call as we pulled up to the station. I didn't know the nature of the second call until we went to pick up our tickets for the 10:05 Northeast Regional.Waiting there was my old buddy and now sister, Wilma Draper/Ishara. I was at a loss why. It wasn't as if I needed more firepower than Juanita, Chaz and Pamela in the confined environment of a train."Wilma?""Hello Ish   Cáel," she smiled. She was emotionally pumped."What are you doing here?""Oh... Buffy told me that I was to be here on assignment to fulfill an Isharan obligation." This would be Wilma's first mission for House Ishara, no matter how brief and danger-free it might be. She was ecstatic.Huh? I couldn't recall any obligation I owed Buffy, or Vincent. Unlike every other Amazon House, things regularly happened without the Head of House's knowledge. Face facts: I was the least prepared leader the Host had ever had. I compensated by having hyper-competent underlings   the very best of the best Runners-turned-Full-blooded Amazons."Ah," Pamela nodded, sensing my loss of understanding, "A promise to provide Vincent a bodyguard was made in your presence. Being the highest ranking member of the Host present, and failing to pass on that knowledge, it falls to your House to answer that pledge.""Wilma, you are here to be Vincent Loire's bodyguard?""Only temporarily. The current state of affairs at HQ won't allow me to take more than three days leave. Your 'First' is seeking another appropriate Isharan for the task."I had totally dropped the ball.The initiative to bring JIKIT and the Amazons together was my creation. Katrina had approved it, yet it was my status as Chief Diplomat of the Host (as I had redefined that role,) that was responsible for that group, and thus Vincent. There was also another undercurrent to providing Vincent an Amazon bodyguard. I would be sending Vincent the message that he was still a valuable member of the team. His infirmity was simply a temporary difficulty.I gave Javiera a call. I suddenly needed to know Vincent's status with the FBI. A little past Philadelphia, she called back. Vincent was on long-term leave and, barring a positive physical assessment, he would never be going back into the field. They were making him a desk jockey for the rest of his career. That would be a heavy enough blow to the man to put him in the dumps.I made my view clear. As Unpaid Honcho Assigned to Unit L &  U HAUL, I wanted Vincent on my team   JIKIT's field team. I had plenty of lethal shooters. I needed a trained investigator and a veteran lawman to keep us aware of the niceties the world's legal systems wished to live by. I finished that off with a very regal "Make it so!" Javiera, my boss, hung up on me; though I thought I caught a laugh before the connection was cut."Pamela," Chaz turned to Pamela, "I am proud to call him 'brother'.""I think he is coming along nicely, Grandson Charles," Pamela preened. Wha- huh? My family had grown yet again. Grown yet again with people who were better than me."Does that make Aya your niece?" a sleepy Odette smiled."I guess it does," he nodded."Aya will love you," Pamela smiled."I hope Caitlyn loves him too," I smirked."A man could do worse than marrying an Amazon," Chaz blithely retorted. Less I forget, the Tomorrow Clan had its own long warrior tradition."Asking it to be three thousand years long is a bit too much," Pamela agreed with what I had not spoken aloud."On the plus side," I began."He's also getting several frisky sisters-in-law," Pamela finished. Hi-Five."Super Twin Powers Activate!" we proclaimed loudly.Fuck Ishara for taking Tad fi from me. I could be just like my Father. I could bleed off my pain with humor and look at my daughter with untainted love."When I grow up, I want to be just like you," Odette yawned. Which one of us she wanted to emulate wasn't clear.{Wounded, but not forgotten}{2:00 am, Wednesday, September 3rd ~ 5 Days to go}The tickets were one-way. Katrina was having a private jet come down at 4 a.m. to fetch me. We arrived in DC at 1:30. Two bleary-eyed State Department flunkies met us with an S U V and a sedan. We took the S U V ~ we had seven people ~ while they drove the sedan back so they could try to make something of the night that duty had destroyed.They looked curious about what this was all about and were a bit disappointed that no explanation was forthcoming from our crowd. We were polite, and I thanked them for their service. Being a decent human being doesn't cost you much and can pay serious dividends.The drive to Casa de Loire took thirty minutes. Juanita informed me the small airport I would be flying out of was a twenty minute drive, so I had roughly an hour and half with Vincent and his family. When we arrived, Juanita sent Wilma to make a 'walk-around' Vincent's home so she could get the lay of the land as well as keep an eye out for voyeurs.Pamela saved another series of frowns from Juanita by being the first person to the door. Tabitha had called her after all. Tabitha, Vincent's oldest and a Georgetown University senior, clearly didn't know what to make of us, and we weren't making it any easier for her by showing up on her stoop three hours after she had called Pamela.It wasn't going to get better. For starters, Juanita (and the not visible Wilma) had a MP-7A1. Ya know  military-grade weaponry. The door opened halfway. It was Gretchen Loire, the middle daughter."Hello. May I help you?" That wasn't her being uninformed about our imminent arrival. This was the child of an FBI agent allowing a stranger at her door to identify themselves instead of giving them a name to use."I'm Pamela Pile," my mentor answered. "This is Cáel Nyilas, my grandson. The gentleman to his left is my other grandson, Color Sergeant Chaz Tomorrow of the British military. To the left is Juanita Garza, my younger grandson's bodyguard   the one without a gun in his hand. The young lady in back is Odette Sievert, another one of your father's co-workers. The woman beside her is Sibeal Nyilas, Cáel's mother. Don't trust her   long story. A seventh member of our group is checking out your backyard. Her name is Wilma Draper.""You are heavily armed. Is my Da in trouble?""I want to talk to your father, if that is okay with you. I'll let Cáel answer your questions. He's our titular boss."'Thanks Pamela', I groaned inwardly.She was cute, exhausted and emotionally-vulnerable. Eager for answers and for someone to make sense of a world where her anchor   her father   had been nearly killed (not that his wounds had really been life-threatening). I hadn't had sex in over a day and that had only been a tension-breaker quickie with Odette.As we entered, it was obvious that Gretchen and her younger sister, Mariyah, had camped out in the front living room, catching some 'z's' on a recliner and a sofa with light blankets for covers. Mariyah was on the sofa, sitting up on her elbows and struggling to wake up.As Chaz shut the front door, Tabitha came down the stairs."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. Well, I was an infamous celebrity. I even had two Facebook pages (Nyilas Nailed Me! and Az  j Magyarorsz g kir lya (The New King of Hungary)) as well as four Instagram accounts devoted to me."Ms. Loire," I met her halfway and shook her hand."Call me Tabitha.""Call me Cabbage-Head," I grinned. That caught her off guard."Oh, kay, not what I expected." (I get that a lot) "We need to talk," she failed to stifle a grin."If you sleep with any of these girls, I will shoot you," Pamela warned me in Hittite."Excuse me?" Tabitha looked her way."Don't worry about it, Tabitha," Pamela gave her a congenial look. "I simply warned the boy that if he acted inappropriately, I would scar him.""Aren't you engaged?" she turned on me."Yes. Yes I am. Hana is a wonderful woman; beautiful, smart, with a big heart and a serious nature. Sadly for her, I'm a lousy human being, untrustworthy cad and perpetually prone to making bad decisions where women are concerned. Very bad decisions.""Miss, since my associate appears to be eminently capable of mangling the English language, let me help you clarify the situation: Cáel can't say 'no' where a woman is concerned. He can't even say, 'no, please don't hurt me', or 'no, not now. I'm talking to my date'.""Hi. I'm Odette. There are four sane people in this room and I'm one of them.""Says the woman who snuck aboard a transatlantic fight and hid in a place in the galley which you couldn't get out of," Pamela snorted."I got to go to Europe for free," she defiantly perked up. "Oh, and ladies," to the Lorie girls, "your father is a wonderful and brave male. (OK, too much time around the Amazons for her.) "He saved my life in Budapest.""He was in Budapest?" Gretchen."When?" Tabitha."Why?" Mariyah."We need to talk to Vincent  

Tadifi's legendBook 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Meanwhile, Elsa was quietly amused. It wasn't like I could request the SD to force my House Guard to not do something they had been told to do by someone in my hierarchy. That would lead to chaos, and it was unfair to Juanita."Fine," I decided. "Get us three some water. Elsa and I will be practicing."Now Juanita was stuck. I wasn't asking her to leave the room, just leave me alone. I was technically her leader, respect notwithstanding."It is good to see you have not become drunk with power," Elsa smirked once Juanita had left on her errand."Your mockery is unappreciated," I glared back. I was only kidding. "I haven't seen you around recently. It is good to see you.""It is good to see you too," Elsa said in a voice far softer and compassionate than I would have preferred. After all, she had me drugged, beaten, then beaten me up again in the not so distant past.Of course, I had also sexed her up, bringing her to orgasm with my fingers alone. We had also exchanged a burning French kiss in Katrina's office that Buffy was aware of. Then there was the Buffy-Elsa personal feud and the Elsa-Rhada family feud. Balancing that was Elsa's super-hot body and intriguing personality. Sex with her promised to be memorable, more memorable than normal."What have you been up to? I'd like to say I've been behaving myself, but I don't want to advance our relationship by lying (right now, about this).""You are largely responsible for what I've been up to the past two weeks," she stepped back. She tossed her spear aside and entered her fighting stance. How nice of her to warn me, and get rid of her weapon. How erotically odd of her to give me the illusion of a chance."I deny everything," I rocked back. She was blindingly fast. The fact that I was able to block most of the blow was a testament to how much I had learned in the past two and a half months."Watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasu', 'Wǒ shuō pǔtōnghu ', 'Wǒ shuō guǎngdōng hu ' and 'Aku isa basa jawa'," she lectured me as she maneuvered me into a corner with a series of kicks and feints. She spoke Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Javanese. That was nice to know."Wait," then she kicked me off the mat."Amazons don't have a 'time out'," she smiled. I cautiously worked my way back onto the practice area."What part did you play?" I readied myself. This time, I went on the offensive. I used my greater strength and reach to compensate (rather poorly) for her superior reflexes."Someone had to ride herd on those disparate forces. My status was respected by the Amazons, I had experience dealing with outsiders, plus your person Addison nominated me, and Katrina suggested that you and I were close. That was enough for the Khanate. Your embassy and earlier aid to the Seven Families brought the 9 Clans along.""And you stole the carrier?""It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to humiliate the Seven Pillars," she grinned. "Riding in a nuclear submarine was interesting, right up there with running around, spray painting translations next to all the markings onboard the captured vessel. Herding regular civilians wasn't nearly as much fun.""In the annals of the SD, that is going to be a victory hard to surpass," I got out right before my legs were swept out from under me. Before I could roll over, she landed on top of me. She didn't go for a pin. Elsa simply sat there, straddling my hips and looking down at me. We were both breathing heavily."I owe you for that," she patted me on my bare chest."Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?""I'll let you figure that out during the Great Hunt," she gave a sliver of a smile."Not you too," I groaned."Who else are you worried about?""You and twenty-nine other Amazons. By name, Rachel. She's pretty upbeat about her chances and believes she has a score to settle.""Rachel will be a tough one," Elsa acknowledged."Comfortable?" Juanita muttered."Yes, I am," Elsa grinned her way. "Thank you for asking." Juanita gave me a look that suggested I do something like protest, or actually try to fight her off."Why are you being nice to me?" I wondered."I've learned to appreciate your numerous qualities," Elsa enlightened me. "I am also honest enough to admit I was completely wrong about you. You make a good Amazon." That was huge praise indeed and more importantly, it was to a public audience. I was double fortunate that no one was close enough to see Elsa's camel toe resting against my lightly covered hard-on."Thank you. Is there anything I can do for you?""Aren't you engaged to someone?" Juanita reminded me. What she was really saying was 'don't you know you belong to the maidens of House Ishara?' Trust me, I know these things. Had she meant Hana, she would have said Hana."She has the patience of Job," I reasoned. "Oh, Elsa, Job is a figure in the Old Testament of the Bible." I doubted she knew."Oh. Is he a bloody-handed butcher, raging misogynist, or one of those pacifistic wimps?""He's a nice guy who gets swallowed by a whale.""That's Jonah," Juanita corrected me. "Job is the one who was tested by God. Job accepted God taking away all his family, wealth and health, only to be rewarded for his loyalty to God with more than he ever had before.""Wimp.""I would never turn away from Ishara," Juanita rumbled."Zorja would never feel the need to test my loyalty so," Elsa riposted."Oh look," I thrust my hips up. "I seem to need a shower." Elsa's expression was of superiority and lust combined into a lethal cocktail of my demise."Let's go. You can wash my back," she said as she rose over me. She even offered me a hand up. That was unexpected and accepted warily."Is there some battle wound that makes you incapable of bathing yourself?" Juanita got feisty. Holy Hell, she was my Caribbean Buffy-twin."None," Elsa smugly commented. "I like the feel of his hands on my body. He possesses non-threatening masculinity wed with sisterly solidarity. It is a unique experience that you seem woefully unaware of.""Yippee!" I whispered."You really are a man-whore," Juanita declared under her breath."Check," I gave her a thumbs-up. Sadly, Elsa gave me enough respect to walk at my side, not in front of me (so I could have been mesmerized by her buttocks.) As I was stripping down in the locker room, I noticed Juanita hovering close by. "Are you going to follow me into the shower?""Yes.""Why? I am not going to be in danger in the middle of Havenstone.""I'll be the judge of that," she insisted."You do realize I've had sex with an audience before, don't you?""I've been warned about that and know proper counter-measures.""What? What kind of measures?" I was now naked and, towel in hand, was making my way to the communal showers."Charlie horses, trips, stun-gun if applicable," she informed me with relish."You are threatening to damage my prestige," I enlightened her."Cáel, I was chosen for more than my martial skills. I was selected because I will not wilt before your childish ways.""Are you a lesbian?""No. Why would a woman have to be a lesbian to withstand your wiles?""You'll figure it out eventually," I chuckled. Actually, knowing what a playboy-cad I was turned out to be a counter-intuitive edge for me. Expecting me to be a letch just meant I totally ignored the woman. Then the doubt would set in. 'Why wasn't I hitting on her?' she would think. She'd go through the phase of her not being good enough for me to knowing that wasn't the case, definitely, and would come at me to prove herself right. Wham-bam, another one in the can. Oink.Step One: reduce the amount of time talking to her as a fellow human traveler of life. From here on out, I would address her by her name when I wanted something and otherwise treat her like furniture ~ furniture I was comfortable with. In this case, I treated her like a towel rack. She promptly dropped it. That was okay, I was planning to get dressed wet anyway.I rinsed off my hair quickly as Elsa settled underneath the showerhead beside me. As soon as I finished, she handled me a bottle of (scentless) body soap. It was probably one of those the jaguar will smell me coming ten miles away excuses Amazons used to avoid being girlie. I got my hands all sudsy and began working on her shoulders and neck from behind.Wordlessly, Elsa followed my physical directions, allowing me to wash her arms before working my way down her back in languid, amorous circles. Around the 10th thoracic vertebrae, Elsa gave me a deep, cleansing exhalation. I dug my fingers into her taut back muscles, racking them down to her buttocks, deftly ran them along the sides of her glutes and finished up caressing them along the line between her thighs and ass.I worked her buttocks apart, worked my fingers along her perineum, tickling the back of her labia then up, across her anus and back to her tailbone and the small of her back. A crazy idea came to me: maybe I could talk her into a tramp stamp; something like If you are reading this, know I'll kill you next. That would be so Elsa.I lathered her ass up for another half-minute before working my way down to her thighs, starting with the hip joints and then coaxing of her parted lips. I knelt down so that I was resting on the balls of my feet. Elsa obliged me by parting her legs, standing on her toes with her feet over a foot apart, then placing her hands against the shower stall while arching her back so that her hips were thrust back."Oh, come on," Juanita protested. "What kind of bath is this?""Did you hear something?" Elsa looked down at me."Nope. I was focusing all of my attention on you," I smiled up at her. I was really liking the way her muscles were stressed through her exertions. I couldn't seem to pay enough attention to her robust calves. I didn't pass up the opportunity to plant gentle kisses on each cheek either.Elsa's ankles and feet happened all too fast and the pretense of a bath was complete. She looked at me while she soaped up her breasts then let the water cascade all over her body."Thank you, Cáel," she gave me a regal nod of her damp head, turned and left. "Train harder for the Hunt. You are going to need every edge you can get.""I'm stalking oysters over the weekend. They are cunning and stealthy adversaries," I replied sagely. Elsa snorted, then started toweling off as she left, going toward her own locker. I walked past my soaked towel on the floor without a single glance. Juanita stalked behind me, clearly with a lot on her mind she was now waiting for the proper moment to share. I got dressed."Not going to dry off?" she grumbled."I never use towels," I lied. "I like the rain-washed feel." By ignoring her act of defiance, I really steamed her. I wasn't done. As we headed toward the elevator, I opened up with my next jibe. Buffy really shouldn't challenge me so. I'm a past-master of dealing with clingy, bossy women."Regretting you made that bet?" I mused while we waited."What bet?" she simmered."The bet where you assured Buffy and whomever else was in the room that you wouldn't break down and physically harm me ~ punishing me for my wicked ways?""What? How did," she groused then, "You are playing me.""Yep.""You really are full of yourself," she seared me with her gaze."No, but I know what I'm good at and I'm good at frustrating women. I've been working at it for the past four years and I've got over 200 women who would agree that I'm very good at doing it.""Why are you doing this to me? I'm on your side," she turned all pouty and hurtful."Because if I don't, I'll go mad, Juanita," I enlightened her. "You want to protect me, right?""Yes," she sensed a verbal trap. The elevator opened and we stepped in."See, I don't want to be protected," I started."That's,""Let me finish, please," I stopped her. She gave me the visual 'go-ahead'. "I don't want to live a life where I need to be protected. I don't want to worry that women I hang out with could be cornered by some unsavory types at an eatery because those women happen to know and like me.""I admire what you are doing, I really do. This is not the life I wanted, though. This is not what I wanted to be doing four months after leaving college. I wanted to be some corporate worm, barely scraping by on my work reviews and being, as you said, 'a man-whore'.""You don't have that luxury," she pointed out."Am I not doing my job?" I countered."I guess you are," she grudgingly admitted."Yet you feel you have the right to critique my personal life and how I approach it," I related. "I'm not beating you up by playing the I am Ishara bullshit. I certainly don't expect anyone to be grateful to me for the opportunity to be in a House. I don't because I believe that every member of House Ishara has already proven they belong here before I ever meet them. I believe in you. Sometimes I would appreciate it if my sisters would give me the same respect."She looked away because my harpoon had struck home."Unlike the rest of you, I inherited my place in this madhouse. Unlike every other Amazon here, I am only a part of House Ishara because I am the choice of a thousand ancestors to be our leader. Notice that no one asked me if I wanted to do this. And I don't think I ask too much of you because frankly, there are times when I feel unworthy to be in your company.""You are still Ishara and I must still be your guardian," she held her ground. I glared at her. She glared back. I coughed. She kept glaring."What's my name?""Oh," she shrugged. "Cáel Wakko Ishara.""That may sound silly you to, but I have chosen the designations for myself, my First Ancestor and the Goddess for a good reason."We rode in silence. When we got to the ground floor, we made our way to our bikes and got ready to head home."What is the reason?""To never take ourselves too seriously. The worst thing I can think to befall my House is we become as humorless as the rest of the bitches around here. 'Laugh at Death' should be our motto.""Isn't that a bit childish?""Of course it is," I groaned. "You clearly haven't been paying attention to a damn thing I've been saying. I swear I'm thinking about bringing back 'National Clown Nose Day'.""We had a 'National Clown Nose Day'?" she pedaled to keep up."God help me," I muttered.(Where is my Serge?)"You are not going to let me go through my door first?" I sighed in exasperation. Juanita insisted that she go through every door first, because today was so very different than yesterday, when I had Pamela, perhaps I protest too much."You have a gun," a somewhat familiar voice said from inside my/Timothy's apartment. Oh, fuck. Ya know, because Juanita was as pretty as she was lethal, which is to say 'too much for the given company'."Don't make any sudden moves unless you want to see it," Juanita cautioned her."Oh, it's okay," Odette intervened. "This is Anais Saint-Armour. She's a Mountie.""Oh, she's on the List too," Juanita grumbled. "What has he done wrong this time?""Why don't you tell me who you are first?" Anais growled at Juanita while I pushed my way into the room."I don't like your attitude," Juanita glared."Anais, this is Juanita Leya Antonio Garza; she's my latest bodyguard. Juanita, this is Anais, a good friend of mine who helped save my life in Hungary when the 'terrorists' were closing in," I somewhat exaggerated,, she had helped me catch up with the rest of the team when Pamela and I got sidetracked."Why did he chose you?" Anais fumed. Did I mention she's insanely jealous with an aching need to know why I was marrying anyone else, but her."What list?" Odette proved to be on the ball."He didn't chose me. I volunteered for the spot.""Buffy made an anti-girlfriend list. Elsa is on it too," I mumbled."I bet you did," Anais (responding to Juanita)."It is not like that," I moved to interpose myself between my Mountie and my non-mounted (for now) guardian. "I'm on the board of directors for Havenstone now and,""How did that happen?" Anais turned 'The Force' on me. (That's Canadian for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, really) "You insisted (reference back in the days we were seeing one another) you were impoverished.""I inherited it from my Father,""He's poor too. I ran a background check when we first started dating," Anais kept up the pressure."My Mother?""She's dead.""Okay, it was my Father through a convoluted meandering of genetics," I went back to attempting the truth (shame on me)."Which is it?" she glowered."My Father, but it's too complicated to get into now," I tried to touch her. She recoiled. She was still pissed with me."He's telling the truth this time," Odette rose to my defense."Why didn't you tell me this when you were in Hungary? For that matter, if you are rich, why didn't you use those resources to get yourself out of trouble instead of involving me?" She really was a great cop."I had to make a call to someone I trusted and who couldn't be traced back to me, or Havenstone, or the Irish Embassy," I fibbed."What have you gotten yourself into?" Anais thawed somewhat."I believe I promised you dinner," I reminded her."You did.""Where are we going?" Juanita stressed our lack of privacy."'We' aren't going anywhere. Ms. Anais Saint-Armour and I are going to a restaurant of her choosing. Don't worry about it. She carries a gun.""I'm not carrying a gun," Anais torpedoed my plan."Where are we going?" Juanita repeated herself. I had to switch mental gears quickly to take in the new looks I was getting from Anais. I shouldn't have ignored those cues."I can't get around my personal security service," I sighed. Why did I give in? Anais was all about gathering evidence and then drawing conclusions from the facts in available.I had been involved in some significant bad-assery in Europe that was way beyond anything she would have associated with the old me. Terrorist cells duking it out with me (and others) in a Budapest metro station? A rustic inn being reduced to ashes after a suspected firefight? Bomb threats? A full-scale military operation in Romania?I had been kidnapped with a resultant massive manhunt for me then returned under highly mysterious circumstances. There had been a young girl with me, we were close for reasons not really gone into and I had saved her despite all forms of parenthood had been anathema to me.I was a man who others deemed necessary to protect, thus a man making secretive phone calls, getting snippets of information and being involved in the deaths of way too many people to be the old, playboy me. Who had I become?I therefore might be a man who 'needed' to marry a billionairess due to some unspeakable political reasons, not out of any romantic/sexual desire of my own. Anais knew that I was a commitment-phobe, not a gold-digger. That meant she could be involved with me without it really being cheating. I needed her help, I had reached out to her when I was in crisis and she was in the people-helping business, right?There was clearly more evidence out there for her to discover and she had the good fortune to be able to have me in a spot where I could be interrogated."Where do you want to go?" I disengaged and went to my room. The door was only partially shut as I changed."Eleven Madison West," I was told."Oh," Odette cooed, "that place is expensive.""I know," Anais remarked."Why did you pick it?" Odette inquired."To remind Cáel that meals can be very expensive." That was my 'date' reminded me that I'd cheated with her over the course of a home-cooked meal, cooked not-by-her in someone else's home. I wondered how Maya was doing.Eleven Madison West meant I pulled out one of my Havenstone suits. They were tailored after all and I suspected that getting into this place at this time of night was going to take some charisma and finagling. Dressing as causal-me wouldn't do. When I stepped out, jaws dropped ~ I do look good all gussied up. Odette dispelled the shock by jumping into my arms."You look hot," she squealed. "Too bad I'm not going out with you.""You might want to remember that," Anais griped."We need to stop by Havenstone so I can attempt to dress up for this affair," Juanita stated."How about we call in a replacement? Give you the night off?" I suggested."Who?""Chaz?""You want that British SSR non-commissioned officer to be your personal bodyguard for tonight? You've got balls," Juanita coughed. I took out my phone and got ready to give him a call."Hey, Anais, why didn't you call me to tell me you were coming over?" I carefully avoided the word 'warned' as she would take that the wrong way."I don't have your personal phone number. I called your home phone and got the answering service, last night and again this morning," she narrowed her eyes."Odette, did Timothy get lucky last night?" I looked past the Mountie."No. A good friend of his rolled his motorcycle and he went to the hospital to help him out," Odette shook her head. Poor Timothy. My roomie/fuck-buddy misinterpreted Anais's pique. "Timothy is gay, not a sexual enabler.""Huh?" Juanita wondered."Wingman," I translated. "Sometimes the three of us go to gay clubs where I act as his wingman,""And they feed me to lesbians," Odette sounded enthusiastic. Thanks to me she was hardly a same-sex virgin."If there are three people living here and two bedrooms, who sleeps on the sofa?" Anais skewered Odette with her eyes."If Cáel has company and isn't sharing, I sleep with Timothy," Odette refused to wilt, or cut me some slack with Anais."Isn't sharing?" those ocular death orbs flicked my way."Hmm, if we are going to Elven Madison West, I had better make that call," I evaded. I rang Chaz."Nyilas," he answered. "How are you doing this evening?""I'm good. I have an ex-girlfriend from out of town visiting, she wants to go to a swanky place and Juanita isn't dressed for the detail so,""You want me to double date?""No, I need a bodyguard.""You are assuming I have something appropriate to wear.""You are British!" I protested. "Even your chicks have tuxedos.""Very well. Will this be a personal protection detail, or close support?""Aahhh,""Close support," said Anais."Personal Protection," countered Juanita."The one most likely to save me from being stabbed with a steak knife," I muttered."I am not going to physically attack you," Anais simmered. Yeah, right, I had heard that one before, and not just from her."Personal Protection it is," Chaz informed me."Oh, and she's a Mountie.""Is she armed?""No," I thanked the goddesses."Does she want to be?""Huh? Are you going to arm her?" I panicked."No. You have a NYPD liaison. Give Officer Kutuzov a call and make a formal request. If she is a law enforcement officer in good standing, it shouldn't be a problem.""Oh, I can do that?, I'm not sure that's the best idea," I prevaricated."Man up, Nyilas," he chided me. "You should work on making it so women don't want to shoot you instead of thinking of ways to disarm them.""Spoken like a man who wisely prefers the company of other men," I grumbled."Good use of the word 'wisely'. Next question: what are we using as a means of conveyance?""Umm,""I have my motorcycle," Anais was less than helpful."If you weren't one of the bravest human beings I'd ever met, I would determine at this moment that you are a dolt. Call Havenstone and arrange for one of those Mercedes Armored GL550s. Bring your license. I drive on the correct side of the road and I'm not keen on having a distraught paramour driving into a storefront at 80 kph.""Man, I like the way you speak," I joked."I took advantage of a proper English education.""I was joking with you.""I know.""Can I date your sister?" I didn't know if he had a sister, but he'd hinted there were multiple Tomorrow's out there. Anais' mood didn't improve."Yes. I like you. You are a good bloke.""Does your sister know how to kill people?""Yes. I'd say she's relatively proficient with a variety of small arms and hand-to-hand techniques," he enlightened me."Just checking.""Cáel, every woman you are interested knows how to kill people, or how to have people killed," Chaz reminded me."What about Odette? She's neither well connected nor lethal.""Odette is indeed an enigma. She counters that by being well liked by people who are capable of killing others who hurt her, except where you are concerned. You live a treasured life.""Have you made dinner reservations? If you need me for a black tie event it has to be, what is the American for it, swanky.""That's more of a Cael/Pamela thing," I corrected him. "American's say 'high class', expensive, or 'hot spot'.""Thanks for the update. Make those calls.""O-kay. Will do. I'll meet you at Havenstone in thirty minutes. Does that work for you?""Yes. Make those calls. I'll see you at, 7:52 pm, EDT. Mark.""Huh?""Goodbye Cáel," and he hung up."Who is this 'Chaz' character?" Anais questioned me."He is Color Sergeant Charles Tomorrow of the British Army's Special Reconnaissance Regiment, he's a badass and he's delicious," Odette answered for me."How do you know him, either of you?" came next."He was with," Odette began blabbing 'National Security' stuff."Odette, don't. Anais, he is member of the Joint International Khanate Interim Taskforce along with me. Odette helps out in an auxiliary role," I answered."Cáel, how did you end up doing this kind of work?" she was perplexed. "You were devoid of anything approaching civic responsibility when we were last together. Quite frankly, I didn't think you cared for anyone but yourself.""Hey now," Odette got feisty. She was my friend after all."We can talk about that over dinner?" I suggested. She didn't like that answer, so I lied. "I grew up," which was what she wanted to hear. I was spared any more interrogation at the moment by the necessity of making those three phone calls. Nikita liked hearing from me again, though she was less pleased that it was official business. She did agree to contact the appropriate agency for me, despite me making it for a different female law enforcement agent.I'd wised up about Havenstone. I called Executive services to have the car delivered to my door step. I cautioned the operative that, in my neighborhood, they might be stopped on suspicion of purchasing guns, drugs, and/or a good time. I would have the car in fifteen minutes and agreed to take the delivery driver back to work afterwards. I'd have done it even if I wasn't meeting Chaz.At Eleven Madison West, I got a snooty 'exactly who do you think you are?' followed by 'you will be placed on the waiting list, a spot may open up around 9:50'. Was I going to inform Chaz and Anais of this? Of course not. I planned to beg like a big dog, suggest that while I was a nameless face, I actually knew people, a person, and we'd see how far that got me.While waiting for the S U V to arrive and on the drive back to Havenstone, this is pretty much what followed:"Do you know who was behind your father's murder yet?""Yes, but I can't talk about it.""Was that the reason people are trying to kill you?""Yes. That and other reasons.""What other reasons?""Things I can't talk about.""Why can't you talk about it?""Secret society stuff ~ decoder rings, secret handshakes, writing in cyphers, holding clandestine meetings in public places after dark, and various other things world governments don't want me talking about.""Are you pulling my leg?" I wished I was running my hands over her legs. This wasn't the time for that revelation."No. Most of what I am telling you is the truth.""Were you in a shootout at the Chicago Medical Examiner's morgue?""Yes. I was unarmed at the time.""Was your life in danger?""It depends on what you mean by 'danger'. My allies had guns and were expert shots. I was shot at, but they missed me, so I not sure how much my life was at risk.""Can you please be serious?""I'm trying. You scare me.""You don't need to be afraid of me. I only want to help." That was mostly true. She was a diligent, hard-working incorruptible public servant,well, as long as you overlooked her charging me with bestiality when she was truly pissed with me."I'm not afraid of you hurting me. I'm afraid for you. You are an excellent peace officer and I'm worried that you will learn too much. Then your life will be as screwed up as mine.""I can take care of myself.""The reality that you are going out with me unarmed speaks volumes about what you don't know, Anais.""Don't think this line of questioning is over, Cáel.""Don't worry. I know you are not done.""Very well. How is your aunt?" The crab-fisherwoman, not the Irish menagerie."Happy as a clam, working a real job and living life on her own terms.""Where did you go wrong?" That was a loaded question. I had to tread carefully."A girl humiliated me in high school. I decided to take control of my life and somehow, despite my best intentions to be an unreliable lothario, I've ended up with people closer to me than family,and this constant need for physical protection.""Why are you engaged?" Finally, the real reason she was here. Had she come by to pick up her accoutrements, she would have been gone by the time I came home. She wanted answers, answers that allowed her to be in charge of our relationship again. It was the double-barreled impact of exceptional sex and wondering why she wasn't 'the one'.(Me) "Are you seeing somebody?""You didn't answer my question.""I've answered plenty of your questions. Answer mine.""No. Men expect too much from a career woman." Translation: 'I'm a bitch that, regardless of my dynamite looks and raunchy sex drive, repels men because I'm a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.'"You do put your career first." Translation: 'I've totally forgotten that you are a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.' It was what she wanted to hear."Your turn.""Put on your tin-foil hat. I did it to save lives in Central Asia when the anthrax strikes were going on. I have this friend over there that people listen to.""Who? The Great Khan?"I didn't respond which wasn't the answer she was expecting."How?" as in how could I possibly be good friends with the master of arguably the third or fourth most powerful nation on the face of the Earth"That's one of those things I can't talk about.""Do you love her?""I don't know. I'm lousy at relationships. I get along with her daughter. Her father wants to bury me alive in the Nevada desert. The rest of the family seems to be coming around to the idea that I might be one of them.""That isn't a 'yes'.""No, it isn't.""Do you think you can ever love someone?" If you need translated, sigh, okay, 'why don't you love me?'"Do you mean 'when am I going to stop stumbling from botched relationship to botched relationship and make something constructive of my personal life?'""Yes.""Did I mention that I've discovered I have a grandfather?""No. That isn't answering my question.""It is in a way. Did I mention that Mom had ten sisters I wasn't aware of? I had an uncle, but he died in my arms.""No. My condolences on your uncle. What does this have to do with you becoming more of an adult and becoming accountable for your life?""Did I mention I have an adopted grandmother who is my spiritual twin?""No.""Don't worry about my uncle. He died trying to kill me. My aunts murdered him, though I can never prove it.""Oh.""My grandfather? He was the one who sent those terrorists to kill me. It was his litmus test to see if I was worthy of being in his family. I passed.""Are you serious?""Yes. My spiritual grandma? She's a retired professional assassin. Daily I interact with a half-dozen people who have killed multiple human beings in their lifetimes. You want to know why I'm not behaving responsibly? I am acting responsibly. I'm trying to not get the decent civilians around me killed."She took awhile digesting that. By that time, we had returned to Havenstone and picked up Chaz. I made introductions."So, are you really with the SRR?" she asked him."Yes.""Why are you with Cáel?""My mandate contains multiple answers. Suffice it to say, since my RAF contemporary will not be returning from the UK until tomorrow, I am presently chief liaison officer for Her Majesty's government with JIKIT.""Why are you coming along as Cáel's bodyguard? Don't you have something better to do with your Friday evenings?" Subtle and polite, Anais ain't. Why was I putting up with her? She was a sexual tornado who would try anything once. She was a real prize."First question: Cáel is a friend, his life is in perpetual danger and I consider it my duty to keep him alive. He would do the same for me. Second question: the nature of my present assignment doesn't leave much room for any meaningful romantic associations.""Hmm," I contemplated what wasn't being said. "Chaz, you are nailing one of my security chicks, aren't you?""Yes.""Which one?""A man of character doesn't brag about such things."Chaz was getting some Amazon nookie. I had to find a way to tell him how dangerous that was. She might decide he's make good father material, not a good thing where Amazons were concerned."Are all of his security personnel women?" Anais pressed."Miss Saint-Amour, Havenstone is a corporation that employs over ten thousand people. There are precisely five men currently on their payroll. All their security personnel are woman. Cáel has very limited, if any, input on the matter.""Are you sure about that?""Yes, Miss Saint-Amour. Who would trust a man of Cáel's dubious experience with his own security?" Chaz pointed out."Oh." She hadn't thought of that."Can you tell me why you think his life is in danger?""He is far more likely to be kidnapped than murdered. He possess certain sensitive data that powerful entities would like to access, thus I am his bodyguard tonight. Considering the quality of the women who normally guard him, I consider it an honor.""To guard Cáel, on a date?""He was kidnapped visiting a child at a playground. Yes, we believe his life is in constant peril. The training and experience of his security service is top flight and it has been a pleasure to serve among them.""Were you with him in Budapest and Romania?""The metro station?""Yes.""Yes.""Romania?""Do you mean the counterterrorism action south of Miercurea Ciuc?""Yes.""Yes."Wow, these two were lousy communicators. I could imagine Chaz propositioning one of my Amazons.Chaz: 'You have a superior feminine physique which I find appealing. Want to fuck?'Amazon: 'You look like you have the prerequisite stamina and battle scars to be part of the New Directive. Sure.'"Were you involved in the actual combat? The SRR is normally an intelligence gathering unit.""I was gathering battlefield intelligence, Miss. That required my close proximity to armed and actively hostile enemy aliens (as in they were in Romania illegally, not that they were all supernatural beings). My involvement resulted in two KIA's and one WIA.""Damn Chaz, you rock.""I am a professional.""How many did Pamela gak?""One KIA.""Just one? Whoa, that's so unlike her.""She kept trying to bracket the cell leader (aka Ajax). He had the Devil's Own Luck.""Cáel, why are you making light of all those deaths?" Anais chastised me. "How many terrorists did you wound, or kill?""I wounded one guy.""That is disingenuous," Chaz chided me. "You orchestrated the operation, showed tactical expertise in seizing the most critical terrain feature and engineered the death of the terrorist leader.""My Cáel did that? When I knew him, he was adverse to violence," Anais shook her head."Considering the considerable number of people he's killed, he's still adverse to physical confrontation where his own life is involved. But God help you if you threaten someone he is close to, though. He's the man who can get things done when the team is in a pinch.""Cáel, what happened to you?" she didn't sound upset at all."I learned to care for people beyond my immediate interest, you know, actual long-term relationships," with the unspoken 'as opposed to women I'm currently having sex with'."It took you long enough," she snipped. Reference her being a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.The interrogation was put on hold while we entered the restaurant and,"Mr. Nyilas?" the maytre dee greeted me."Yes.""We will get you a table right away," he nodded obsequiously. What the hell was up with that? Where was my two hour wait time? Oh yeah, I was a minor, fifteen seconds of fame celebrity."Will Ms. Sulkanen be joining you this evening?""No. She had to oversee a packaged Erythrosine-monosaccharides explosion in Boca Raton. Flaming plastic pink flamingo bits were raining down everywhere. I imagine it is taking an Everest-sized load of hush money to keep this out of the media," I replied. I was so eerily sincere, he bought it and a look of horror snuck over his face. I had become the public face of corporate malfeasance."Your table (gulp) is ready, Sir," he began to sweat. He took us to our table for four then beat a hasty retreat. Undoubtedly his civic-mindedness would have him calling up TMZ within a minute. After all, it was unlikely he owned any plastic pink flamingos, or invested in their construction. Once he was gone, Chaz let a thin smile break through his hard-earned military unfazed-ability."What exactly are packaged Erythrosine-monosaccharides?" he inquired."Packaged is self-explanatory. Erythrosine is pink food coloring and monosaccharides are,""Sugar," Anais frowned."Exploding pixie sticks, I have nieces and nephews. You are a genius at misdirection, Mr. Nyilas," he nodded."Thank you, Color Sergeant Tomorrow. It is nice to be appreciated for my bizarre and useless preoccupation," I grinned."You practice lying?" Anais' view of me dimmed."Miss, he excels at extraneous, outrageous utterances. No harm is intended.""Things like I was helping her find her contact lenses?" That had been my excuse when caught coming out of Maya's apartment. Sadly, Anais is highly perceptive and knew the lady didn't wear contacts. The copious female aroma wafting off me certainly hadn't helped."That's unfair," I countered. "Back then, I was a college nitwit suffering from undiagnosed nymphomania. I'd like to think I'm getting better."" tes-vous mieux?" she retorted in French."Je suis assez intelligent pour aller vers vous lorsque des vies  taient sur la ligne." That's right, Anais. When my life and the lives of others were on the line, she was the first one I thought to call. Letting a woman know that you admire her profession, professionalism and reliability never hurts."Are you really a nymphomaniac?" she returned to English. French is the language of sex, as is any derivative of Sanskrit, Farsi and Portuguese. Reference the multitude of Indians, the hotness of Persian women and the outpouring of lust that is Brazil."I had a magnetoencephalography recently. The neuroscientists didn't know what to make of my brain patterns. I appear to be somewhat unique in my madness."She didn't believe me. I didn't blame her. No one really likes hearing a truth they don't want to accept."Here," I leaned forward and pointed to the tiny divot in my forehead. "I was stabbed with a needle in the skull. That is why they looked at me, not because of my sexual malfunction."She touched it to makes sure. We were interrupted by the waiter stopping by to see if we were ready to order yet."We will have three of the most expensive appetizers, dinners, deserts and wines," Anais preempted us. Ugh. I was either a millionaire by the wonders of Havenstone accounting, or broke. I foolishly never looked into such things, never having had much money before. I needed a distraction."Hey Chaz, nice suit," was what came to mind. It was a swell masterpiece of the tailoring arts I hadn't expect from a ground-pounder from a family of ground-pounders serving Queen and Country for generations."Thank you. Pamela picked it out for me, suspecting an event such as this would transpire. She told me you paid for it," Chaz answered."I did?""I made the reasonable deduction that she forged your signature on whatever medium was used for payment," he shrugged, "in the same way she exhibits a criminal tendency toward every other aspect of her life.""What does Pamela look like?" Anais glowered."She's his grandmother," Chaz responded politely. "They make quite the pair. Normally we don't let them alone in the same room. Bad things happen.""Bad things?""Things like that scenic hostel being reduced to ruin," he enlightened her."This is the supposed assassin?""Retired assassin," Chaz corrected her. "So far she's only, what is the term you two use?" he looked at me."Sending a Get-Well card to their next of kin? Pumping up the volume? Making a critical attitude adjustment? Retroactively revoking their lease on life? We have a few.""Yes, those. Pamela has assured the team director that she no longer accepts assignments of a murderous nature. These days she only practices her skills on those we determine are a threat to the greater endeavor," he explained."She murders people? You all murder people?" Anais furrowed her brow. "Cáel, do you engage in these activities?""What? Who? Me? No!" I waved off any conspiratorial associations. "The vast majority of people I've killed was totally by accident.""How do you accidently kill people?" she pierced my soul with her voice."Okay, I let them kill themselves because warning them would have resulted in me and some friends meeting very immediate violent ends," I pleaded."Miss Saint-Amour, I've talked to trustworthy people who were on the scene when this happened. It was a paramilitary action with the lives of children on the line. Cáel acted to save the lives of innocents," Chaz defended me. That is what Anais wanted to believe; that I was basically a decent human being. I was a pig, but a courageous one. I had confronted her after my infidelity, on the other side of the US/Canadian border where her jurisdiction didn't apply.I knew my revelations were hideously hard to believe. In my favor, I had been in dangerous places doing dangerous things. The Metro firefight had been captured on the place's security system (which had been leaked to the public thus leading to some delusional admirers into thinking I would make a great new King of Hungary even though they hadn't had a monarch since 1918 nor was I from the right (Hapsburg) family. In case this whole Havenstone thing came crashing down in flames, I needed to keep my options open).There had been a bomb threat at Mindszent which I had reputable sources call in (and where I had admittedly hung out with a few of the women who saved me from an earlier disaster) and Miercurea Ciuc had made the international news. Well over 100 people had died and some of the terrorists were still at large. The Romanian government declared I had been 'instrumental' in the confrontation without saying what 'instrumental' meant.I was heroically vague, more mature than where we left off and clearly incited pussy-twitching memories. We'd once fucked so continuously hard and long one weekend that neither one of us could stand until an hour after we stopped. Anais was well worth the pain I was contemplating. Sex with her wasn't the pain I was worried about. It was dodging all her calls afterwards. Once again reference her being a compulsive control freak with abysmal trust issues.Oh, how did I know she was reveling in our past coital moments? She hadn't walked out on me yet. She hadn't walked out when she found Odette in my domicile, when she met Juanita, or when she found out that I worked with highly experienced killers as part of my new daily routine.Normally Anais was smarter than this and had a career in law enforcement to contemplate. Lastly, she hadn't asked to be armed, despite getting permission from the NYPD. Had she decided to get a gun, Anais was sure in her hormonally-cascading mindset she would have shot me by now. I incite all kinds of passion in women. It is a curse.The rest of dinner was unremarkable. Anais continued to interrogate Chaz who proved that he was both skilled in counter-interrogation techniques and not willing to spill anymore secrets about what anyone at JIKIT did. However he had provided her with every logical reason to beat feet back across the Canadian border and she hadn't taken the hints about what a disaster sleeping with me could be.We drove Anais back to her motel, then Chaz and I headed home in silence. Despite his earlier declarations, he knew how to drive the 'right' way all along. As he was letting me out in front of my building, he gave me this pleasant warning."I'm not going to lecture you about not going back there, or avoiding the crazy ones. You already know better and are going back by her place anyway. I do advise that whatever you do, don't let her restrict your movements in any way. She's likely to make you pay double for your past indiscretions and take payment out on your cock. Good luck, Mate.""Wait," I stopped him. "Can you help me hotwire her bike? I can use that as an excuse to darken her doorway.""Dolt," he muttered. He helped me anyway because that's what really good friends do ~ assisting you in your self-destruction so we could joke about it later. At least that was what I hoped was going on. Chaz being a closet sadist was an unsettling idea. I didn't get to immediately pursue my plan because,(We work for you, don't we?)At 9 am, the President of the United States of America, after a late night briefing and a good night's sleep, decided that for the sake of world peace he had to intervene in Southeast Asia ~ Thailand to be specific, though he had some vague notion that a summit of regional leaders was in the offing and the US needed to establish some sort of game plan instead of looking impotent and disinterested.Based on carefully selected bits of information supplied to him by us (JIKIT), he ordered two carrier taskforces to move to the Gulf of Thailand to enforce an anticipated UN arms embargo and 'No-Fly Zone'. It would take four days (September 3rd) for Carrier Strike Group Nine (built around the USS Ronald Reagan) and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (2,200 souls) to take up a position in the South China Sea close to the Gulf of Thailand. By fortuitous circumstance, 500 Marines and sailors were already deployed to Malaysia on a joint training mission with the Malaysian Marines.The second one, the USS Carl Vinson's Carrier Strike Group One wouldn't arrive until the 9th, six days later. What the US government wanted to know was what the Khanate and Vietnam would do in those long, lonely six days. The Khanate had as many modern, up-to-date combat aircraft on Woody Island as the Reagan could send up. The Vietnamese could add another 48 planes worth worrying about.There was the added complication that Thailand hadn't asked for help yet. His experts (us again) were suggesting that he was about to wake up one morning and find Khanate tanks rolling down the streets of Bangkok, which

Rescue and patchwork relationship.B Book 3 in 18 parts, y FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.Loving your enemy is easy, you know precisely where both of you stand(Right where we left off)The closest Marine had been waiting for me to finish my bonding moment with Menner before speaking. He walked and talked like an officer."You are certainly Mr. Cáel Nyilas," he nodded. "I'm Lt. Robeson, United States Marine Corps. I would like to take you and your party home. What is the situation?""Lieutenant, this young lady is Aya Ruger. She was kidnapped along-side me and managed to kill over twenty of our enemies, so be careful around her." I was deadly serious about what I said. Aya should get proper credit for all the people she sedated then drowned. Dead was dead, even if it was accidental."These two," I pointed to Zhen and Mu, "are Lúsìla ninda and Amar, Taiwanese nationals suffering some shock from the abrupt crash landing of the aircraft. They don't seem to know why they were kidnapped, but they were instrumental in aiding Aya and me making it to shore during the typhoon.""If you say so, Sir," he nodded. He did believe me, yet a soldier was taught to be skeptical of anything a civilian told him about a military situation. "The bodies?""Those are the corpses we found after the storm. I decided we should attempt to place them in your custody so you can figure out who they are," I suggested."Sir, I don't think we can let civilians keep their weapons aboard the flight," the Marine Lt. stated since I had both a pistol and submachine gun, Aya had her pistol and Zhen had her and Mu's blades. A Marine NCO sent a party to gather the dead."Marine, I am Cáel Nyilas, Irish diplomat, freebooter and Champion of the worst possible causes," I began my spiel."You probably have some orders concerning bringing me in alive. I am not so constrained and am more than willing to steal this aircraft and fly back to Hawaii without you. My team keeps their weapons, or you give me your best shot, right now," I met his gaze. He mulled over his options. Two Romanians and two Marines were starting to load the ad hoc body bags aboard the C-37B."Normally I don't take that kind of crap from a civilian and I don't want you to think I'm making an exception because of your Security Clearance. I'll let your people keep your weapons, but if something goes wrong, I'm shooting you first," he assured me."Done deal," I offered my hand and he shook it."Oh and Happy Tibetan Independence Day," he congratulated me."What?" I gasped. Rescue and patchwork relationships{6 pm, Sunday, August 17th ~ 22 Days to go}{11 pm Sunday, Aug. 17th (Havenstone Time)}{And just this once, 11am Monday, Aug. 18th Beijing Time}"Oh and Happy Tibetan Independence Day;, nice work.," the Marine congratulated me."What?""How is that possible?" muttered Mu."Yippee!! No more burning monks," Aya fist-pumped. Personally, I think she did that for the enjoyment of our guardians and to piss off Zhen and Mu just a tiny bit more.(Mandarin) "Brother," Zhen studied her brother's pained expression. "What has gone wrong?"(Mandarin) "The province of Tibet apparently has broken away," he groused. In English, to the Marine Lieutenant he repeated, "How is this possible?""I take it you didn't know Peace Talks had broken out?" he grinned. I doubted the Lt. bought my 'these are my two Taiwanese cobelligerents' story, but belief was above his pay grade, so he didn't give a shit."Yes," Mu mumbled, "we knew of the proposed cease-fire.""Yes, you mean both sides actually honored it?" I added. I really had been out things for a while."Nearly two days ago, noon, Peking Time, the People's Republic of China and the Khanate put a six month cease-fire into effect which has remained intact for forty-one," he looked at his watch, "forty-one and a half hours." He was being a cock to the petulant Mu. No one called Beijing 'Peking' anymore. I had even ordered Beijing Duck on several menus. Peking was the height of Western Imperialist thinking, or so it looked to Mu.(Mandarin) "He is yanking your chain, Mu," I explained. "You are looking pissed off at being rescued, which isn't doing my alibi for you much good.""My apology," Mu nodded to the lieutenant. "Is there any news from the Republic of China? Are they free as well?" That was nice of Mu to call Taiwan by its pet name, the ROC."Not yet," he patted Mu's unwounded leg, "but with the utter shellacking the Khanate put on the People's Navy (really the People's Liberation Army Navy, but the Marine was getting his shots in) it is only a matter of time."I had been translating in a low voice to the V nători de munte in order for them to keep up with the conversation. They all started laughing. The Marines joined in. There was a huge joke here that we had missed out on while stranded.(Romanian) "So, ask them if they know where their aircraft carrier is," Menner chuckled. Most Romanians had grown up knowing of only one China.Me: (Romanian) "What!"A Naval Corpsman who didn't know Romanian, but knew 'aircraft carrier' just fine jumped in: "Oh yeah, the missing Chinese Aircraft carrier," she chortled.Mu: "What!"I'd only been gone two and a half days. What the hell had been going on?(What had transpired in my absence and the subsequent consequences)(Notes:P R C = People's Republic of China; PLA = People's Liberation Army;P L A N = People's Liberation Army Navy;P L A A F = People's Liberation Army Air Force;R O C = the Republic of China {aka Taiwan, aka Chinese Taipei, aka the "other China"};The First Unification War {aka what the Khanate did to China in 2014};Truce lasts from August 16th 2014 until February 15th, 2015 = 183 days)There are several classic blunders grownups should know to avoid: never fight a land war in Asia, never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line, and, if you are going to cross a master thief, first make sure you have nothing of value. For the land war in Asia, check with my partner, the Khanate. Substituting Black Hand for Sicilian ~ check with Ajax, use an Ouija board. So far, destiny was batting .500.The last blunder I created entirely on my own, but I felt it was the true and right response for the circumstances. So witness the Six Families of the Ninja and the greatest theft in all of recorded history.In the closing hours of the First Unification War, as in many wars, some serious theft was going on; mainly it was the People's Republic getting fleeced.The most obvious and immediate blows came in the Spratlys and Parcel Islands where Khanate forces (actually, elements from all the JIKIT players) seized the key island in the Parcel chain, Woody Island, and secured the P L A N base the Chinese had created there, including the 2,700 meter runway built there in the 1990's. The 1,443 Chinese civilians and 600 military inhabitants in the area were incidental complications and the survivors were about to be 'repatriated' to the mainland anyway; the Khanate didn't want them hanging around as they prepared for the inevitable end of the six-month truce.Yes, the Khanate had stolen the most important island airfield ~ an unsinkable carrier really ~ in the South China Sea. It was also the northern end of the potential People's Republic of China's stranglehold on the east-west sea lanes between East Asia and the rest of the World, i.e., roughly 25% of all global trade.The southern end? That would be the Spratlys. There are few 'real' islands in that 'island group' and only two worth having: the artificial one the P L A N was building and the one the ROC has a 1200 meter airfield on. That artificial island and every other PRC/P L A N outpost in the region was also stolen by the Khanate between 4 a.m. and noon of that final day of active conflict.Every geological feature that had been the basis for the PRC's claims to all of the South China Sea was now in Khanate hands. Considering how much the P L A N had bullied everyone else in that portion of the globe, the Khanate taking over their geopolitical position was incredibly awkward. It was going to get worse.Technically, the Khanate hadn't stolen the P L A N 'South Sea Fleet' (SSF); they'd blown the fuck out of it, including sinking the sole fully-functioning P L A N carrier Liaoning as well as five of the nine destroyers and six of the nineteen frigates in her battle group. The Liaoning and one destroyer had died in those last few hours as the SSF was racing for the relative safety of Philippine waters ~ so close, but no cigar.So the Khanate had stolen the ability of the P L A N to project power in the South China Sea until February 15th, 2015 when the U N brokered truce ended. But that was not the epic theft, though. That distinction went to the Ninja. What did they steal? A semi-functional Chinese nuclear powered super-aircraft carrier still under construction.The beast had no official name yet, but she was a 75,000 ton engine of Global Domination laid down in 2011 and clearly complete enough to float and to be steered under her own power. (To be on the safe side, the Ninja included stealing four tugboats to help in their getaway.) So, you may be asking yourself, how does one 'steal' a nuclear-powered, 1000 foot long, 275 foot wide and ten-story tall vessel?For starters, you need a plan to get on board the sucker. We had begun with the Black Lotus. They wanted to sneak onboard, exit the dockyard the ship was being built in, then sink it off the coast so it couldn't be easily salvaged. That was plan A.Enter the Khanate and their plans; they too wanted to sink this vessel, and destroy the dry docks while they were at it. That was plan B. Actually, the Khanate desire was to contaminate that whole section of the port city with fallout from shattered reactors. They knew they would have to apply overkill when they smashed that bitch of a ship because the PLAN had hurriedly put on board its defensive weaponry ~ ensuring that the Khanate couldn't easily destroy it. For their approach, Temujin's people wanted the Black Lotus' help with the on-the-ground intelligence work. But the Black Lotus didn't want to help anyone irradiate Chinese soil.Enter JIKIT as referee. All those islands the 'Khanate' was busy stealing were actually part of a larger JIKIT mission called Operation Prism. Another object that was a part of the overall plan was Operation Wo Fat, the sinking of the Liaoning ~ again GPS direction and distance to be courtesy of the Black Lotus.JIKIT absolutely needed the Black Lotus. The Black Lotus wouldn't help anyone planning on poisoning any part of China for the next thousand years. Sinking the unnamed and incomplete vessel off the coast in deep waters meant no nuclear leakage and plenty of post-war time to salvage the wreck before it did start to hemorrhage. The Khanate wanted to kill this potential strategic nightmare no matter what it cost the Chinese ecology.JIKIT went to the Ninja to help them adjudicate the issue. All the lights flared brightly in Ninja-Town when they heard of that delicate dilemma. They could make everybody happy and send a clear message to the Seven Pillars expressing how unhappy the six surviving families were about the 7P's trying to annihilate them when all of this 'unpleasantness' began.The Khanate was already going to blast the shipyards and docks, the Black Lotus was already going to sail the ship into deep waters, so why not take it one step further, sail the ship into Japanese waters and declare it Khanate property as a colossal Fuck You! to the PRC, PLAN and specifically the Seven Pillars, all at the same time?Now normally, you can't steal a ship that big. The owners will notice it is missing and come looking for it. And you can't sell or hide the damn thing. So, you steal it at the tail end of a war before the players can capture, or sink it. It just so happened the Ninja had access to a war and such a time table.The next problem: where do you put it? The Khanate's closest safe haven was 8,000 km away at the Eastern Mediterranean Seaport of Izmir.But wait!The Khanate was about to steal an island airbase with its own (albeit small) harbor. The Khanate was confident that a few weeks after the truce, an alternate port, or two, would become available for the two-to-three year process it would require to prepare the vessel so it could be commissioned as the true warship it was meant to be.So, how do you steal a well-guarded, humongous ship with its skeleton crew of 500? You need a distraction ~ a big one. Remember those Khanate airstrikes? They intended to destroy the dockyards anyway. Now all they had to do was 'miss' the carrier.They could do that. If you recall, to dissuade the Khanate from sinking the ship in the final days of the war, the PLAN had hastily put teeth on the thing by giving it all its pre-designed defensive weaponry and added jury-rigged radar and sonar systems. The carrier could defend itself if needed. With the new plan (C), the airstrikes could avoid those teeth, thus reducing the risk of losing their precious planes and pilots.A series of bombing runs and missile hits near the carrier would convince the PLAN admiral in charge to hurriedly put some distance between the ship and shore, Not out to sea. That would be stupid. Within the harbor, his weaponry could adequately defend his ship. And if she took serious damage, he could run her aground, so the vessel wouldn't really sink.The only problem was that out in the harbor, with everything exploding, he was away from the only ground security support available. That was when the Amazons, Black Lotus, Ninja and JIKIT mercenaries would make their move. How could they sneak up on such a big, important ship? By using the submarines the US Navy, the British Royal Navy and Japanese Defense Force were providing, of course.Note: As I stated earlier, Lady Fathom, Addison and Riki had wandered way off the reservation . By this time, if you were a Japanese, British, or American submarine commander in the Yellow Sea and you weren't part of this madness, you were insanely jealous of those who were.The missions JIKIT was sending them on were:-definitely Acts of War if they were ever discovered,-far more dangerous than any war game exercise they'd ever been part of, and-the ultimate test of their crews and equipment.These people weren't suicidal. They believed they were the best sneaks under the Seven Seas and now they could prove it ~ in 50 years when this stuff was declassified (if it ever was).For the one American, two British and four Japanese submarines inserting the assault teams, this whole mission had a surreal feel to it. They were transporting a packed assortment of women of Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian descent along with some very lithe Japanese ladies and gents, none of who talked a whole lot.There was a third group with the spooky women and spookier Japanese teams, and that group was scared shitless about the sudden turn their lives had taken. They were all former American and British servicewomen (to not tick off the Amazons too much) with carrier and/or nuclear reactor experience who had been RIFed (Reduction in Force, aka fired) in the past five years from their respective national navies.Around a week ago, they had all answered an advertisement by a logistics support corporation that was going to do a 'force modernization' in an unnamed country. They all knew that mean the Khanate. The job had been laid out as 'basically your old job with the addition of training the natives' and it included the promise of no combat.It was a guaranteed five year contract with an option for a year-to-year extensions for another five years if you desired to stick around. For that, you received your 'pay grade upon retirement + 20%', free room and board, private security, judicial protections and a $10,000 to $10,900 signing bonus. For many struggling military families, it was manna from Heaven and thousands were signing up.Then 72 hours ago, a different group from the same company came knocking on the women's doors. If you could come with them right then and there, they had a satchel of money, $100,000 to $109,000, tax free, and a Non-disclosure Agreement for you to sign. Sure, the deal sounded shady, but the money was very real.Twenty-four hours later those who accepted the money found themselves in a small fishing village on Ko Island, Japan. There some rather fiercely intense people outlined the job they were needed for. From a submarine, the assault teams would sneak aboard the carrier, neutralize the crew and then the new crew (them) would sail it to Jeju, Jeju Island, South Korea.At that point they would be allowed to stay with the vessel (preferred), or depart for a non-war zone of their choice. Both options came with another $100,000 to $109,000 payment. Anyone who declined this particular job would remain incognito on Ko Island for another 48 hours then be allowed to leave without the need to return their initial payment.Of the 312 job applicants, 293 volunteered for both the first and second parts of the assignment. With the technical and linguistic expertise of the Amazons and 9 Clan members that would be enough to get their prize to Jeju Island's temporary safety and then make the last leg to Woody Island and a more permanent anchorage.Besides the airstrikes to goad the carrier away from the wharves, all the Khanate had to do with the carrier was put three or four clearly Mongolian faces onboard when the various nations of the world came calling. After all, what was the public going to believe:, the Khanate had pulled off yet another daring (i.e., mostly JIKIT) Special Forces coup, just as they'd managed to do throughout this short war, or that 'Ninjas stole my Battleship, umm, carrier' stuff some PRC leaders were claiming? Forty-eight hours later the whole globe was able to watch the newly named Khanate supercarrier, the  z Beg Khan, passing through Japanese territorial waters while being escorted by South Korean and Japanese warships.The PRC did complain to the United Nations over the 'theft' of both the carrier and 'their' islands, but the Security Council, led by the UK, could and would do nothing about the 'latest round of injustices heaped upon the People of China'. By the time the UN got around to doing nothing, the next round of JIKIT diplomacy was causing the PRC even greater headaches.That greatest theft, while remarkable in its own right, was really a sideshow to the reordering of the political order in Southeast Asia. The big winner wasn't the Khanate. And it certainly wasn't the mainland Chinese. No, the nations to immediately prosper were an unlikely pair, the Republic of India and the People's Republic of Vietnam (PRV). The Republic of China (R O C) was also getting its own small boost as well.By gambling their precious navy, India had become the largest power broker in the South China Sea's resource bonanza. She went from a minimal presence to being the critical ally of the Khanate and the 'big stick' (naval-wise) of Asia's new dynamic duo. The Indians had the only two functional aircraft carriers in the region and the Khanate had Woody Island with a mega-carrier number of planes sitting on it.Their combined naval aviation was not something any of the others powers wanted to mess with. The duo then sealed their supremacy by making the duo a trio. That third member was the PRV. Vietnam was the land-based logistical anchor of the three regional powers.Not only did Vietnam gain the prestige denied it for over two centuries, it redressed the P L A N humiliating treatment of their own navy for the past thirty years. The Khanate's naval aviation would shield Vietnam's economic exploitation of the Parcel Islands. The Indian Navy could counter anything the P L A N South China fleet could come at them with.Yes, the P L A N had two other fleets, the Northern and Eastern, but both had been put through their own 1001 levels of Hell by the Khanate's air power, plus they had to protect the Chinese heartland from Russia and North Korean ambitions. The South Koreans and Japanese were suddenly a very real threat from the East too. But for the time being, the Indians had the decisive edge.The final location for the  z Beg Khan was an old familiar haunt for some Americans, Da Nang, PRV. It had the facilities, courtesy of the US military from the 1960's and 70's, to be the new base for the Khanate's Eastern Fleet and logistical hub for their naval aviation forces in the Parcel Islands.The Vietnamese were thinking with more than their testicles, as were the Indians. Sure, geopolitical clout was nice, yet that was only the icing on the economic cake that was the Parcel Island Accords. That hasty bit of JIKIT backroom dealings gave a 50% stake in the Parcels to the PRV.India got 20% of something she had 0% in a month ago. The Khanate gained a 20% stake for their audacity and the ROC gained 10% because the other three would protect its share from the PRC. Something was better than nothing and the three legitimate powers agreed to the deal because in less than six months, the PRC would be back in the game.The Indians and Vietnamese wanted the Khanate to stay interested in the region and the Taiwanese wanted to forge closer ties to the Khanate. That treaty was a 'no-brainer'. Within one week, the Vietnamese were strutting like peacocks and internal political opposition to the Indian intervention into the South China Sea in the Indian parliament was silent.The Spratly Islands was a tougher deal to work out within the six month timetable. There were more players ~ the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand (who had a non-functional carrier). The JIKIT deal gave everyone but the Indians a 10% piece of the huge natural gas, oil and fisheries pie and the Indians got 20% once more.The Philippines and Malaysia were both very opposed to this treaty; they believed they deserved a far larger portion of those regional resources. Indonesia and Thailand also felt they could hold out for a bigger slice and weren't happy with India getting so much for basically having a double handful of ships (34 actually) sailing about.That 'handful of ships' was the point JIKIT was trying to make. If the PRC beat the Khanate next year, did any of the players think the PRC would give them anything, even if they promised them more right now? Really? When the PLAN had the biggest guns, they hadn't respected any other claims to the region. Why would that change in the future?The reality was this: India would only stick around if they had the economic incentive to remain. Vietnam, the Khanate and the ROC were watching the clock and realized this was the best deal they would get. Brunei and the Philippines were also coming to that understanding. Brunei was tiny (thus easy to defend), very rich already and a good ally of the British.The Philippines had a very weak navy and a non-existent naval air force. They couldn't even enforce their current claims versus Brunei, much less confront the PLAN, or any other nation's current military. The Philippines was, sadly, relatively big and very poor. Its big traditional ally was the United States, and the US was currently busy doing 'not much' about the South China Sea situation.The world's biggest navy was partially taking up its traditional (and treaty bound) role of interposing itself between the North Koreans, PLAN/PLAAF and Russians arrayed near Japan and South Korea, or busily not 'ratcheting up tensions' in the region by sending more forces into the front lines.President Obama was urging dialogue and 'stepping back from the brink' even though every country in Southeast Asia felt the brink had already dissipated the moment the PRC was forced to accept the cease-fire. In this context, the Philippines had good reason to be feeling lonely at the moment.Bizarrely, both New Delhi and Hanoi were singing the praises of US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Rt. Honorable Phillip Hammond, Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for the UK, for their deft handling of the crisis, thank you, Riki Martin and Lady Yum-Yum.Riki wasn't expecting any thanks. She was certain she'd be fired and imprisoned for the rest of her life. Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke was sure she'd get two additional knighthoods out of the deal, which would look very nice engraved on her tombstone. Javiera had long ago decided to face the music and go down with the ship, so to speak.The CIA's Addison Stuart already had her exit strategy. She was going to go work for the Khanate, building up their clandestine service when this whole mad scheme collapsed into recriminations and 'extreme sanctions'. Mehmet, Air Force Sr. Master Sgt. Billings and Agent-86 had all decided to go with her. Katrina had their escape plane on standby. Mehmet's family was already 'vacationing' in Canada.Anyway, the Republic of India, the Khanate, the Republic of China, the People's Republic of Vietnam (the Vietnamese were happy to already be getting half of the Parcel Island windfall), the Sultanate Brunei (Lady Fathom 'knew' some people and the Sultan was an autocratic Muslim ruler, just like the Great Khan) and the Philippines (because they had no other true choice) were all coming around to signing the Spratly Accords.Indonesia and Thailand were kind of waiting for a better deal. Malaysia was downright hostile, having gravitated toward the PRC over the past decade and been assured by the PRC a better apportionment would be their reward for upsetting the treaty process.The Great Khan's answer was simple. He publically threatened the Malaysian Federation in general and both the King (Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah) and Prime Minister of Malay (Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak) in particular with military action if they kept dragging their feet.He even told them how he'd do it. He'd butcher or expel every living thing in the states of Perlis and Kedah (~ 2.1 million people) and give those empty lands to Thailand to settle along with the added sweetener of Malaysia's 10% of the Spratlys. He would also invade Eastern Malaysia, taking the island state of Labuan for himself while giving Sarawak to Indonesia and Sabah to the Philippines if those to states agreed to the split.He'd also decimate their navy & air force before devastating every port city, just like he'd done to China. He'd already killed more than two million Chinese. What was another two million Malays to him? Also, Indonesia wanted Sarawak and the Philippines had claims on Sabah. While they were openly and publically defying the Great Khan's plan, could Malaysia really take the chance?What would India and Thailand do while this was going on? Thailand stated that it would protect its territorial integrity, whatever that meant. India wasn't returning Malaysia's phone calls while showing their populace re-runs of Malaysian violence against their Hindu minority, the bastards!To the world, the Indian Navy proclaimed it would 'defend itself and its supply lines' which was a subtle hint that they would shepherd any Khanate invasion force to their destination. Why would the Indians be so insensitive? The Malaysians were screwing up their deal to get 20% of both the Parcel and Spratlys wealth, that's why.If the Khanate went down, there was no way India could defend their claims (which they'd won by doing nothing up until now). Oh yeah, Vietnam began gathering up warplanes, warships, transport ships and troops for the quick (710 km) jaunt across the Gulf of Thailand to north-eastern Malaysia to kill Malaysians because Vietnam needed the Khanate to ensure their own economic future as well.That military prospect had a cascade effect, especially among the Indonesian military. If the Indian Navy remained active, the vastly more populous Western Malaysia couldn't reinforce the state of Sarawak. Sure, the Philippines was unlikely to conquer Sabah on their own, but all the Indonesians needed was for Sabah to be kept pre-occupied while their army took their promised territory, fulfilling a fifty year old dream of conquest/unification.The United Nations blustered. It wasn't that they didn't care, they did. They also cared about the deteriorating situations in Libya, Nigeria, Syria and Ukraine. The situation was complicated by the unwillingness of the permanent members of the Security Council, namely the PRC and Russia, to recognize the Khanate.In reverse, when those two tried to stick it to the Khanate, the UK stoically vetoed them. Why? Well, more on that later. Let's just say the Khanate was good for business in the European Union in general and the United Kingdom in particular because the Khanate was prepared to economically befriend the British. Ireland was being treated in a promising manner too. The United States,the United Nations?Let's just say that in the two months following the cease-fire, the Khanate bloodily and brutally solved the ISIS conundrum and the Donbass Crisis. When the smoke cleared, the Khanate had reintroduced the practice of impalement to the modern battlefield, driven the separatists from the Ukraine and was on the border with Israel and Jordan.Sure, the Ukrainians were stun-fucked by the Khanate's 'peace-keepers' going on a bloody rampage through the eastern rebellious regions, but they had delivered up peace by mid-September. Yes, the Russians were in an uproar about the impalements.As the Khanate spokesperson said, 'if they aren't your people, then it is not your problem' and 'there are no more Russians left alive in the Ukraine'. In fact, fewer than a thousand people, all armed insurgents, were executed in such a manner, but the terror created by the highly publicized killings had the effect of sending a hundred thousand people stampeding over the frontier into Russia proper.Next, the Khanate said it wanted to 'reexamine' the Crimean situation. There were Turcoman in that area and they weren't being treated well, or so it was claimed.Even as Russia and the Khanate were posturing in the Donbass, the Khanate struck in the Middle East. By the end of September, Syria and Lebanon had ceased to exist as organized entities. Most of those two countries as well as portions of western Iraq became Turkish provinces in the Khanate infrastructure. Northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq became the Khanate state of Kurdistan.It was a campaign reminiscent of the 13th century Mongol conquest, not a modern military struggle. Whole villages were eradicated. The entire Arab population of Mosul was exiled to the new territories in the East. The city was repopulated with Kurds from Turkey. Back in Turkey, those Kurds were replaced by Armenians from Azerbaijan, cauterizing another internal issue within the Khanate.Jordan was cautiously hopeful. Israel? "We don't seem to be having problems with Hezbollah anymore," with a shrug and "it could be worse." As for ISIS; there really was an Islamic State controlling more than half of Iraq and all of Syria now and it allowed no other pretenders to that distinction. By the time the world woke up to that reality though, the Great Hunt had happened and I was dealing with the consequences of that.A larger ideological and political matter was occurring in the United States, the United Kingdom (and to a limited extent Australia and Canada). The Ramshackle Empire (aka the Khanate) was just that ~ a Frankenstein nation fueled more by nationalistic pride and nostalgia for a Super-State (that only two living people had firsthand experience with) than an integrated armed forces and infrastructure.It may have been built upon more than a 13th century creation and two hundred years of real and imagined oppression. It did have long term planning and real genius driving it forward. Having throttled the PRC into giving them six precious months of peace to 'tidy up the backyard' (aka the Middle East and Russia) and forge a true nation, the Khanate was now hiring experts to aid them in the task.First and foremost, Temujin and the Earth & Sky had envisioned an armed state built upon military principles and discipline. Fate had delivered to them the means of their own salvation in the form of NATO's policy of disarmament and 'Reduction-In-Force' levels (RIFed).The US and UK had trained tens of thousands of male and female volunteers in their Armed Forces in infrastructure creation and management for the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns. From 2010, those militaries had informed those experts that their services were no longer required. Unlike the shrinking militaries of the 1990's, there was no private sector to 'soak up' the majority of those personnel.The Earth & Sky had been working on the problem of nation-building on a time table and they kept coming up short. They had to fight to create their state first, so the all-important after-battle had been something their leaders dreaded. Temujin had been understanding about not everything being 100% ready. Few wars were fought that way.Then a young male Amazon of mixed Magyar ancestry talked history with the Earth & Sky representative to a seemingly inconsequential personage's funeral. A few critical E&S leaders (a minority, to be sure) immediately sought ways to cultivate this man into what was a ten year plan to open doors to the Amazons. Then that man saved the Great Khan's life and everything changed.Before the E&S had even remotely considered directly approaching the Amazons for help, the Amazons came knocking on their door. The Seven Pillars of Heaven had tried to kidnap a camp full of Amazon children ~ an assault on their future. The two secret societies were bound by one unique, fortunate idiot and a mutual thirst for vengeance.They were also directed by two incredibly foresighted, ambitious and brilliant people. In Katrina of Epona, the E&S elders found someone who equaled their hope to see the Seven Pillars humbled and humbled immediately. Moreover, these were the Amazons they were dealing with. Amazons always sought both lightning decisions and long term solutions.From the moment Iskender left his third meeting with Cáel Nyilas, Katrina put the fruits of the First Directive (the Amazons efforts to recruit militant outsider women) into overdrive. Havenstone had the apparatus in place to screen potential inductees. All they had to do was add a "can you suggest any other people who might be interested in this line of work" box to their employment forms.That brought men into the process in surprising numbers. The market was flush with military veterans having trouble readjusting to the civilian community. The Khanate wasn't hiring killers. They wanted ex-military and civilian police officers to create a national police force.They also wanted engineers and builders, cadres for their cadet corps and a whole range of specialist in jobs most of the Western World took for granted. The money came from off-shore accounts funded by Havenstone International. The employment opportunities came from Earth & Sky front companies operating in the UK and the US (and Israel, but that was another matter).They had already started hiring scores of civilian English-speaking experts to help build their newborn nation's infrastructure before the first blow landed. English hadn't been chosen out of any cultural bias. Relying on Russian and Chinese sources wasn't feasible, the Khanate wasn't overly linguistically gifted where distant tongues were concerned and, as pointed out, the English-speaking world had a glut of applicants.Now to the problem, there were people in the US and UK who weren't happy with their citizenry going to the Khanate and helping them to survive and thrive. These power groups wanted the Mongol-Turkish Empire to keep the resources flowing to the West, without any reciprocal commitment on their part.Imagine their surprise when some wonks at the State Department and Foreign Ministries found bundles of expedited passport requests to the (former) nations of Turkmenistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Mongolia (and later Afghanistan and Iraq). The Department of Defense  Ministry of Defense were discovering their former military personnel and civilian contractors with Security Clearances were heading the same way.Of all those destinations, only Mongolia and Kazakhstan were under any kind of 'Restricted Travel' advisories. Barring any coherent anti-Khanate strategy from their administrations, the bureaucracies were doing their jobs, with Havenstone exerting just enough influence to get the job done while flying beneath the radar.After JIKIT was created, the group had a US Senator greasing the wheels to get the requests expedited. In England, Lady Worthington-Burke shamelessly used the people at the other end of the O'Shea hotline to get the job done overseas. She did have to sell out a teammate, but that was what good boys were for ~ taking one for the team. (That would be me, if there was any misunderstanding.)When Cáel Nyilas was kidnapped under the watchful eye of the FBI (I wasn't sure how they got that bum-wrap), the whole situation exploded. The PRC didn't have me, yet promised they might produce me if certain concessions were made. According to Addison, I was worth 5,000 barrels a day of refined fuel oil and 50 tons of coal a month, and the Great Khan agreed to pay! Woot! I was loved by somebody who was a somebody.All that attention drove home some salient points. I was a noble scion of Ireland, Romania, Georgia and Armenia (in no particular order) and they all wanted to know why the US had let me be kidnapped. Didn't my president know I was a sacred national treasure? After JIKIT tracked down the bribes and clandestine activities to Chinese shell corporations, those powers wanted to know what sanctions would be applied.'But wait, wasn't I a private citizen?' my national leaders pleaded. Then the PRC made a case which boiled down to 'I had it coming for being a fiancé to Hana Sulkanen and a brother to the Great Khan', while ignoring me being snatched in the territorial US of A. Of course, they didn't claim to have actually done the kidnapping.Javiera was waiting on that one; 'What was their excuse for kidnapping a little US girl to force my compliance?' The furious Federal authorities even found two dead adult bodies and two digits from said child to add to the media frenzy. To prove I had migrated to fantasy land, the CNN journalist got it right ~ they had tortured the girl and I had killed two of them for it. Just ask the Romanian Army how lethal I could be.In a rare comment, Temujin informed the international press that he believed I was still alive. Why did he believe that? If I wasn't, they would have been able to spot the pile of dead enemy around me and my 'boon companion' (go Aya!) from orbit. Until they discovered this carnal pit from Hell, I was surely still alive.Just at the cusp of turning publically against the Mongol barbarians, the world suddenly got angry with their enemy, the PRC. The principal two Western regimes were paralyzed with indecision until my miraculous cry for help from the middle of the Pacific showed the world I was alive, had punished my enemies and rescued others from under the opponent's cruel thumb.Clearly if I started ranting against the People's Republic of China, my government would be rather peeved with me. I hadn't screwed a dozen poli-sci majors to miss out on that obvious situation. I behaved and hoped they wouldn't make me die from an embolism, or some other equally implausible cause.(DC is a marvel. 9 pm, Monday, August 18th. 21 days)I'd been dragged to DC, to honor promises made in Rome a week ago. I had another choice; I could have justifiably said I was still getting over my kidnapping ordeal. But that choice fucked over Javiera Castello, my boss at JIKIT (Joint International Khanate Interim Task force).That was how I ended up in a 'secret and secure' meeting with Tony Blinken, Deputy National Security Advisor (DNSA) and his experts. He was someone I didn't know. The rest, I'd had a verbal run-in with them after the Romanian bloodbath. I'd been cranky. I would hardly consider us to be on good terms now.All four experts were from the US State Department. They were foregoing their usual group of flunkies because this meeting wasn't really happening. All the participants were officially somewhere else, mostly not even in D.C. Had this soiree 'really happened', the Congressional sub-committees would have been able to request the minutes of Tony's meeting with members of JIKIT and:·         Victoria Nuland, Ass. Sec. of State for European & Eurasian Affairs (ASSEEA)·         Robert O. Blake Jr., Ass. Sec. of State for S & C Asian Affairs (ASSCAA)·         Daniel R. Russel, Ass. Sec. of State for E. Asian and Pacific Affairs (ASSEAP)·         Bill A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) (aka Big Willy)We made stiff, formal introductions (which signaled the utter lack of trust in the room.) Javiera hadn't wanted to put me through an interrogation this soon after my near-death experience, considering my snarky nature when stressed. The White House was putting the squeeze on her. The main player was Tony, who talked with the Leader of the Free World on a weekly, if not daily, basis.The Diplomatic Security Service people had successfully peeled off Pamela and my SD Amazons only after they agreed I could keep Aya. They tolerated me keeping the nine-year old girl despite the obvious fact she had gone through worse hardships than I had endured and was still packing her Chinese QSW-06 suppressed pistol.I had already fabricated and submitted my report on how I'd overcome a plane-full of rogue delinquents from the Forumi i Rinis  Eurosocialiste t  Shqip ris  (Euro-socialist Youth Forum of Albania) bent on recruiting impressionable European socialites by accessing my Twitter account.That's right, the Albanians had it out for me. I reiterated that critical bit of data to the Department of Homeland Security when they questioned me on the veracity of my memories. The two ethnic Chinese I was found with? I thought they were from Taiwan, and they both appeared to be suffering from amnesia.I was already suffering repercussions from my pathological refusal to take life seriously. Javiera believed I was about to get a formal apology from Ferit Hoxha, Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations. Damn it! Now I had to do something nice for the Albanians. Maybe I'd offer them membership in the Khanate, full-statehood with an economic package to sweeten the deal.Yes, that was how Albania and Kosovo joined the Khanate, a product of my love for exaggeration and a little post-Ottoman solidarity over Tarator (cold soup made of yoghurt, garlic, parsley, cucumber, salt and olive oil with a side of fried squids), Tav  Kosi (lamb meatballs) and Flia & Kaymak (a dessert I highly recommend).We had toasted the Pillars of Kanun (Albanian oral law and tradition): ~ Nderi (honor), Mikpritja (hospitality), Sjellja (Right Conduct) and Fis (Kin Loyalty), ~ and he promised to tell his people that I had Besa which was an Albanian-ism for being a man who would honor his word of honor (despite us being brought together by my lie). The shit-ton of financial and military aid I asked the Great Khan to sweeten the pot with might have helped as well.Later, Lady Yum-Yum told me that the military leaders of NATO called it a 'master-stroke' in neutralizing Comrade Putin's Russian-backed 'Greek threat

Yippee ki‐yay! This year marks 30 years since DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE hit theaters, and the MovieFilm boys decided to mark the occasion by talking through the second John McClane sequel! Listen separately or watch along with us as we tell behind-the-scenes stories and humorous anecdotes about the New York-set action extravaganza!

Find out how online accountability works:  https://cvnteyes.co/4gb6xmeParents and grandparents, are you struggling to raise godly children in today's technology-driven world? In this powerful episode of The Covenant Eyes Podcast, host Karen Potter sits down with award-winning Christian author, professor, and executive producer Lee Ann Mancini to discuss practical, biblical strategies for raising kids to follow Christ.Lee Ann, the founder of Raising Christian Kids, shares eye-opening statistics about the crisis of faith among today's youth and offers real-world parenting tips to build a strong biblical foundation from infancy to adolescence. She also talks about her Sea Kids animated series, how technology is shaping our kids' worldviews, and how parents can use discipline, obedience, and virtues to strengthen their child's faith.If you want faith-based parenting tips, tools to protect your kids online, and resources to build a Christ-centered home, this episode is for you!Get Lee Ann Mancini's Book: Raising Kids to Follow Christhttps://a.co/d/3CrnAQ9Lee Ann's Website:https://leeannmancini.com/Watch Sea Kids Animated Series: Available on Right Now Media, Pure Flix, Answers TV, Minnow, and Yippee!Explore Raising Christian Kids Resources: https://raisingchristiankids.com/Find Out How Online Accountability Works:https://cvnteyes.co/4gb6xmeWhat's your biggest challenge in raising kids in today's culture? Drop a comment below!#ChristianParenting #FaithBasedParenting #RaisingChristianKids #ChristianMom #BiblicalParenting #SeaKids #ProtectYourKids #CovenantEyes #ParentingTips #RaisingGodlyChildrenChapters:00:00 - Welcome to The Covenant Eyes Podcast!00:40 - Meet Lee Ann Mancini: Author, Educator & Ministry Leader02:06 - Why Are Kids Walking Away from Faith?04:49 - Shocking Christian Parenting Statistics05:56 - The Importance of Building a Biblical Worldview Early07:46 - Practical Ways to Teach Kids About Jesus From Infancy10:06 - How Technology Is Shaping Kids' Faith & Morals12:15 - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – God's Mandate for Parents14:55 - Why Parents Must Take Initiative in Biblical Training16:00 - Teaching Children Virtues Through Daily Life18:18 - Parents as Role Models: More Is Caught Than Taught20:14 - How Parents Can Improve Their Own Spiritual Leadership21:57 - Making Obedience Easier Than Discipline24:06 - Why Consequences Are Essential for Growth26:32 - The First 7 Years Are Crucial for Faith Development28:26 - How Society Gets Parenting & Discipline Wrong30:55 - Free Parenting Resources & Tools from Raising Christian Kids32:42 - All About Sea Kids TV Series: A Biblical Animation for Kids34:32 - Final Encouragement & Where to Find More ResourcesTry Covenant Eyes for FREE today!Use Promo Code: FreePodcast © 2024 Covenant Eyes, All Rights Reserved

Get this whole, show FREE on Patreon! Click HERE for a 7-day free trialBen Glaze and EZ lean into fair-use laws to present a WEEKLY review of one of America's top radio shows. Heard all across the US on about 40 radio stations, The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show has grown steadily since it's inception in the late 1990's.In this FULL show on Patreon!*Ben and EZ discussed the recent trend of how the FBHW Show is somehow getting tougher to pull clips from. The still increasing dullness makes for a tough task*The "Free Beer and Awkward Report" once again focused on a "who cares clip" where some nerd actually made a video game for his nerd girlfriend. FBHW played A LOT of audio of dude presenting the game to GF. The radio audience was regaled with odd chirps and sounds and a gleeful nerd chick being happy. Yippee. Why are they playing this? Because Wise Brothers "Delicious Audio" included it in the day's prep-service audio clips.*One of Kelly's duties is to create "imaging." EZ and Ben explain what that is and give another example of how Kelly is HORRIBLE at it.*EZ has a theory about Free Beer's health. This seems to be the best explanation for the phenomena of Free Beer murdering words.*Steve and Free Beer take a jab at EZ, again.*An audience member sent a text with an observation that caused Free Beer to have yet another on-air temper tantrum. This was crazy moment as it seems some of the show members want to kiss his ass to calm him down, while others aren't shy about putting him in his place.*The unraveling of Free Beer continues as he tries to bully Hot Wings into doing something he doesn't want to do.*Hot on the heels of Free Beer exclaiming how much Hot Wings hurt him for not "hanging out," Greggy does the same thing to Kelly who invited him over for a get-together.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-eric-zane-show-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Yippee-ki-yay, listeners! The Shat The Movies crew is back with a vengeance—literally—as we dive into 1995's "Die Hard with a Vengeance!" In this action-packed review, Big D and Gene Lyons debate whether the third installment in the Die Hard franchise holds up or if it's a step down from its predecessors. From Samuel L. Jackson's unforgettable turn as Zeus Carver to Jeremy Irons' cunning portrayal of Simon Gruber, we break down the film's pacing, action sequences, and that controversial alternate ending. Did Die Hard 3 give us the grittiest McClane yet, or did it lose its way in a bloated second half? Find out as we rate the movie on our patented wipe scale and discuss whether it truly deserves its place among '90s action classics! Plot Synopsis: After a New York City department store bombing, NYPD officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) is forced into a deadly game of Simon Says by a mysterious terrorist named Simon Gruber (Jeremy Irons). With the help of reluctant sidekick Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson), McClane races across the city to prevent further destruction while uncovering Gruber's true plan—a massive gold heist at the Federal Reserve Bank. As time runs out, McClane must outwit his most cunning adversary yet in a high-stakes battle of wits, explosions, and classic one-liners. Subscribe Now Android: https://www.shatpod.com/android Apple/iTunes: https://www.shatpod.com/apple Help Support the Podcast Contact Us: https://www.shatpod.com/contact Commission Movie: https://www.shatpod.com/support Support with Paypal: https://www.shatpod.com/paypal Support With Venmo: https://www.shatpod.com/venmo Shop Merchandise: https://www.shatpod.com/shop Theme Song - Die Hard by Guyz Nite: https://www.facebook.com/guyznite

Nothing says Merry Christmas like "Nakatomi Plaza," which we ironically forget to argue over whether or not this is a Christmas movie. We think this movie is meant to be enjoyed year round, which is why we're wrapping up our second season with Die Hard. Be sure to check out the end of the show for the Sonic Death Monkey Top 5 where we list our favorite movies that take place in a single location.This movie's cocktail: Yippee-ki-yay Mother Fucker.5oz Tapatio Blanco tequila.5oz Myer Lemon Charbay Vodka.5oz Double and Twisted Charbay Whiskey.5oz Charbay Green Tea Vodka1oz Lemon.5oz Cherry syrupSplash of CokeMix all of the ingredients together and sip as you loosen up and become a little more intimate with your radio palFeaturing:Lauren HeneyChuck StarzenskiJavier MartinezLuc Londe Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yippee-ki-yay! Join Movie Mistrial as we dive into the explosive action classic Die Hard and settle the age-old debate: Is it a Christmas movie?Die Hard redefined the action genre with its perfect blend of high-stakes thrills, sharp humor, and Bruce Willis's iconic portrayal of John McClane. Set against the festive backdrop of a Christmas Eve hostage situation, the film offers a unique mix of holiday cheer and adrenaline-pumping action, making it a perennial favorite.While Die Hard is a masterpiece of action cinema, its classification as a “Christmas movie” remains divisive. Proponents argue that its Christmas setting, festive music, and themes of togetherness solidify its place in the holiday canon. Opponents contend that its primary focus on action and violence overshadows traditional holiday sentiments, making the Christmas elements incidental rather than central.Join us as we unpack Die Hard's legacy and tackle the debate: Holiday classic or not? Let us know where you stand!Connect with us and share your thoughts:Twitter: http://tiny.cc/MistrialTwitterFacebook: http://tiny.cc/MistrialFBInstagram: http://tiny.cc/MistrialInstaVisit our website, www.moviemistrial.com, for more captivating episodes and to stay up-to-date with all things movies.

Ahhh, buying a home — the American dream! For many, it's a goal woven into the fabric of our upbringing, a milestone that symbolizes stability and success. But in today's world, especially for those of us in the massage industry, the dream of homeownership can often feel out of reach. Rising costs, fluctuating markets, and the unpredictable nature of running your own massage practice can make the process feel daunting. That's why today's episode is so special. Beca has some BIG news to share — she's buying a home! Cue the celebration music: Yippee, Beca! This is such an exciting achievement and a moment of inspiration for anyone wondering if homeownership is possible for them. As Beca has navigated this milestone, she's realized that many massage therapists feel overwhelmed by the home-buying process. The terminology, the paperwork, the financial preparation — it can all feel like too much. But the good news is that it doesn't have to be! Today, Beca is breaking down the essentials of buying a home in a way that's accessible and easy to understand.

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfuckers, we're doing Die Hard!!! We're joined by friend of the pod James Swinford to help us break down this Christmas classic! We gush all over Bruce Willis and the late Alan Rickman, get pumped reliving the action, and Clayton can't stop thinking about what that sweaty shirt smells like (complimentary)! Check out our Patreon for exclusive episodes every week that you won't find anywhere else! See all the bonus content at patreon.com/triplemmmpod Follow us on the socials @triplemmmpod Clayton - @justhappy2cu Shawn - @murphthesmurph Email us - menwholikemenwholikemovies@gmail.com If you're enjoying the pod, give us a rate/review - it helps us out SO much, and helps other people to discover the pod! Don't forget to be kind out there! Happy Holidays everyone! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/triplemmmpod/support

We hit episode 150!!!! YIPPEE!!!! ***cue confetti and sparklers*** What a crazy and fun and Jesus-filled journey!! We love you Tug Team!!

Die Hard is a cultural phenomenon. The one liners. The action. The relatable hero. And the debate that comes around every single year: is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Brian sits down with former Hollywood movie developer, Elizabeth Lane, to get a rare peek behind the curtain on the beloved film. Part of the team that helped move Die Hard from flailing script to action classic, Elizabeth reflects on its place in culture, the power of choosing Bruce Willis, and if the film was intended to be a Christmas classic. Yippee ki-yay, Merry Christmas! 

"Yippee-ki-yay, mfer!" Die Hard (1988) directed by John McTiernan and starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, Clarence Gilyard and James Shigeta. Next Time: Best of 2024

Thank you for joining us at the Misfits Media Podcast. On this episode Greg Connoyer joins us to discuss precision rifle oriented topics. Of course we have listener feedback, Guess the Gun and Fully-Semi-Automatic. Sponsors: Title Sponsor: A&J Sporting https://aandjsporting.com/ Use code ‘MM10' for 10% off qualifying purchases Use code ‘heavymisfit' for $150 discount off the Bergara heavy barreled action   Affiliate Sponsor: Travis's Garage Woodworking and Laser Engraving Email: tgwoodandlaser@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557696364367&sk=about   Affiliate Sponsor: Red Mist Tripods Website: https://www.red-mist-tripods.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/RED-MIST-Tripods/61556579574054/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/red_mist_tripods/   Misfits Media Podcast Email: misfitsmediagroup@gmail.com Patreon:https://patreon.com/MisfitsMediaPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink FB: https://www.facebook.com/people/Misfits-Media-Podcast/61559504157666/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/misfits_media_podcast/ X: https://x.com/LeftEdgeSendIt Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/MisfitsMediaPodcast Trigger Hill: https://triggerhill.com/Misfits_Media_Podcast   Full Circle Reloading & Firearms: https://fullcirclereloading.com/home   Rifle Package Giveaway Contest Donors: JKC Precision Josh Gabaree Chris Williamson Kyle Perry A&J Sporting Goods: https://aandjsporting.com/ Athlon Optics: https://athlonoptics.com/ Arken Optics: https://www.arkenopticsusa.com/ MK Machining: https://www.mkmachining.com/ Cole-TAC: https://www.cole-tac.com/ MDT Sporting Goods: https://mdttac.com/ Travis's garage woodworking and laser engraving: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557696364367&sk=about Full Circle Reloading and Firearms: https://fullcirclereloading.com/home Vortex Optics: https://vortexoptics.com/ L3I: https://l3idesignsolutions.com/ The Freedom Shack: https://thefreedomshack.com/ Green Mountain Sporting Goods: https://www.gmsgvt.com/ Hoz and Shield: https://hozandshield.com/ Audere: https://www.audere.sm/ Products: Mitchell Defense: https://www.mitchelldefense.com/ Aero Precision: https://www.aeroprecisionusa.com/ Athlon Optics: https://athlonoptics.com/ Tippmann Arms: https://tippmannarms.com/   2nd Amendment Organizations: Gun Owners of America: https://www.gunowners.org/ Second Amendment Foundation: https://saf.org/ Firearms Policy Coalition: https://www.firearmspolicy.org/

Welp, saddle up partner, and listen to the tale of a little event - deep in the heart of Texas. Steve and Gage went to the Vastarian event all the way down in Houston. You'll hear everything from doing donuts in the rental Ram, to Tolkien-approved breastaruants, they've really got it all down there! Gage and Steve tell us about their games, how the event was laid out, and a little of the play to play. On top of that, Terry talks about organizing his new workshop space and crushes on @moldmoldmold, Steve discusses with us his backerkit for Flames, and Gage talks about how skittles gives him sinus infections (not recommended). Yippee ki-yay! Big shout out to all those Scumbags that decided to join our Patreon, you are the reason we can keep on keeping on - thank you! Line up your flamethrower template and Bash the Planet! We have sick merch! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hive Scum Big Cartel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out Knuckbones Miniatures' (@knucklebones_miniatures) Hive Scum and Ratmen models and print out and paint up your favorite: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Knucklebones Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join the In Rust We Trust discord here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IRWT Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you'd like to support us further, take a look at our Patreon! We'd love to have you: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hive Scum Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy all of the Under the Dice Merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Under the Dice⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We are on IG: Steve: @sovthofheaven Gage: @noclearcoat Terry: @stone.jaw Phil: @bloodtrancefusion

A Yellowknife "die-hard" has added a new building to the city's landscape on Google maps. At least, we've been led to believe that it's a map of Yellowknife..?

Episode 100 Yippee!! Karsten graciously joined us for not only the 100th episode, but also the first episode in the Year of Fireside Chats. We chatted about an immense amount of topics including the latest in brainrot, Karsten's design philosophy, and truly so much more. I hope you enjoy!

Political division! It's arguably the biggest problem facing society today, or a fake thing that does not exist at all except in the mind of feckless dorks and opportunistic grifters. Who's to say! Probably us, I would think. Yeah. I think it's us guys who get to say what everything is. Also some stuff that “is” this week: a type of coffee that doesn't make you go to the bathroom, an AI that helps you talk to women, and a religious satire movie that feels at least 20 years out of date. Plus, we don't say anything about putting down dogs in this episode so everyone's safe from that. If they don't read this far I guess. Music for YKS is courtesy of Howell Dawdy, Craig Dickman, Mr. Baloney, and Mark Brendle. Additional research by Zeke Golvin. YKS is edited by Producer Dan. Social Media by Maddalena Alvarez.YKS Premium - Want more YKS? You Do?! Oh my god! You have to go to the jail hospital! Haha. That would be crazy. But after all, it is one crazy show. Whether it's even more Kickstarters, real world adventures, or our beloved series of movie review months, Mike and JF (the guys writing this) are always cooking up something fun over on YKS Premium. And best of all, a fourth thing! Wow!Follow us on Instagram: @YKSPod, TikTok: YourKickstarterSucks and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more video stuff! This episode of YKS is sponsored by these fine brands:Uncommon Goods - (voice of your loved one) Oh goodie! The same old junk! I love it! ← Think this'll happen this holiday season? Nah, me neither. That's why Uncommon Goods is so perfect. They've got those unusual finds and unique gifts that'll have your friends and family going “Yippee!” And to get 15% off that next perfect purchase, go to UncommonGoods.com/YKS. Factor - Food! It's the great satisfier. From breakfast to lunch to dinner, and everything in between, food is that classic substance known to fill bellies and titillate mouths. Many believe that's why we love it so much. But it's so darn expensive and so annoying to make. That, my friends, is where Factor comes in. Delicious meals, quick! And I'm talkin' all the foods. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/yks50 and use code yks50 to get 50% off your first box and 20% off your next month.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After an incredible weekend of girling out under the influence of fairy dust, Ellie has some lovely revelations to share. For about 20 minutes the ladies of Late Night Drive discuss the fairy dust in question. It was also an Extremely discourse heavy week- so there are discussions abound regarding (as always) age gap discourse, how often you should be seeing your partner, and (again as always) the male loneliness epidemic. Plus a bit of lazy Halloween costume brainstorming. Yippee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First things first: I switched up the order of this podcast, as the part I recorded first – ultimately – felt like it was more appropriate for my ride-or-die Patreon/Locals members, so I cut it out of the top of the episode, and moved it to the end/Part 2. The meat of the matter lies in the analysis of some popular song lyrics, as well as an intro into the Language of Eternity, plus, the latest report from the frontlines of the censorship industrial complex. Yippee.Part 2:danikatz.locals.comwww.patreon.com/danikatzwww.danikatz.comShow notes:Pop music- the power of programming via lyrics and frequencies“Come Down”- lyrical examinationEminem lyrics- noticing low vibe through-line Jay Z- lyrics denigrating womenAwareness of exposure to messaging in songs“Run the World” Beyonce- lyrical repetition 'How old are you?'- being 3D inside the eternity of NowAttack of the Wayback MachineYouTube strike- blocked by Brett WeinsteinChronicling censorship- screenshots Reviewing the inane review process at YouTubeAaron Abke- 'To speak out or to not speak out' when unifying polarities Safeguarding freedom-we have different roles and methods Frustration and messiness of being an honest journalistPropaganda course

Support the D.A.W.G.Z. @ patreon.com/MSsecretpod Support the spunge & tombini @ https://www.patreon.com/stuffisland Go See Matt Live @ mattmccusker.com/dates Go See Shane Live @ shanemgillis.com Get Merch @ mssecretpodcast.com/merch Good afternoon! We hope everyone is well. We back! Yippee. The Big Kahuna and our bros up north held it down this week - the spunge and steven gerbies!!!! They had some off time from Tires and recorded a little broadcast for you guys before the ND game! Woo hoo. God Bless our bros. God Bless the grool king. God Bless you all. Please enjoy. Try BlueChew FREE when you use our promo code DRENCHED at checkout - just pay $5 shipping. That's bluechew.com/, promo code DRENCHED to receive your first month FREE. Download the PrizePicks app or visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/DRENCHED today and use code Drenched to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup The Mountain is calling, you should answer #DoTheDew #MTNDEW Shop now @ https://lets.shop/2141/dothedew

President of the Columbia Police Officers' Association, Matt Nichols, goes over some of their endorsements in local races. Plus information on the interchange project that starts Monday in Columbia.

The Heritage Foundation's EJ Antoni tells Shaun about the government's hiring spree! Yippee!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government contintues to gaslight us about the FEMA relief funds. PLUS, Shaun talks to Gordon Chang, author of the new book Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America, about our Congress people and their CCP alliances.   And The Heritage Foundation's EJ Antoni tells Shaun about the government's hiring spree! Yippee!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textYippee-Ki-Yay, Gym-Goers! Trent's Laying Down the Law—Die Hard StylePicture this: Trent McClane, rogue Air Force operator, bursts into the gym like he's storming Nakatomi Plaza. But this time, the enemy isn't terrorists—it's bad gym etiquette! He's on a mission, and the stakes are high. Armed with a towel in one hand and a cleaning spray in the other, Trent lays down the rules like it's life or death. Rule number one? Cleanliness is next to godliness—you gotta wipe down that equipment after your workout, or you're going down. Rule two? Put your gear away, people. You wouldn't leave explosives lying around, would you? Same goes for dumbbells. Respect personal space—no unsolicited advice or invading someone's zone. And if someone's setting up their camera for that perfect PR shot, don't go Bruce Willis and photobomb it!But here's the twist—this isn't just about surviving the gym. Trent reminds us these rules are just as crucial in the pipeline, where teamwork and respect make or break the mission. In the end, it's not just about lifting weights, it's about lifting each other up. And if you follow these simple guidelines, you'll come out on top—just like our hero, Trent McClane.So, the next time you hit the gym or step into the pipeline, ask yourself: **What would John McClane do?** Stay clean, stay cool, and don't forget to **respect the mission**. Yippee-ki-yay, gym rats!Chapters00:00 Gym and Cone Etiquette02:55 Putting Equipment Away05:21 Respecting Personal Space07:14 Wiping Down Gym Equipment16:48 Sharing Equipment18:37 Being Mindful of Filming Setups23:29 Respecting People's TimeSupport the showJoin this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9aFBBZoBcQk8UUN_pO7nDA/joinBuzzsprout Subscription page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/680894/subscribeCollabs:Ones Ready - OnesReady.com 18A Fitness - Promo Code: 1ReadyATACLete - Follow the URL (no promo code): ATACLeteCardoMax - Promo Code: ONESREADYHoist - Promo Code: ONESREADYThe content provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The host, guests, and affiliated entities do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. The use of this podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship, and the podcast is not liable for any damages resulting from its use. Any mention of products or individuals does not constitute an endorsement. All content is protected by intellectual property laws....

One more episode for this season! Yippee! Remy welcomes her friend, a mystery guest, to talk about an experiment she did -- in which she went on 50 first dates in one year. They talk about why she did it, how the dates went, and what she learned from it. There *are* spoilers from the 2004 movie 50 First Dates in this episode, but it is not an episode about love and amnesia. 

#400! Yippee! Today, Rhonda has prepared a special celebration for our 400th podcast, and still going strong! She has invited a number of our favorite people and podcast guests to celebrate with us, starting with our beloved friend and frequent Ask David contributor, Matt May, MD, who officially joined us in early 2000. Matt's presence on the show had meant a great deal, personally and professionally, because I supervised Matt when he was a Stanford psychiatric resident, and had been missing our weekly chats! Our reunion via the Feeling Good Podcast has been special for that reason, but also because of Matt's kindly but scholarly answers to the many questions all of you submit. Keep them coming, and send them directly to Rhonda or David. We love reading and answering them! Next, we were joined by two more extraordinary psychiatrists and human beings, Drs. Heather Clague and Brandon Vance, who song their rendition (with guitar accompaniment) of “Help Dr. Burns!” (Based on Beetles' Help, I need somebody!” With their kind permission, here are the brilliant lyrics! Help! I need a podcast! Help! Not just any podcast! Help! Pushing the Magic Button for .... Help! When I was younger, 8 years younger than today I thought I could help everybody; help them in every way. I got so grandiose; I was so self-assured. I'd push my brilliant techniques, but my patients were never cured. So, Help me not to Help oh Dr. Burns Will they like me if they have to do the work? If I set an ultimatum, am I a jerk?! Won't you please, please stop me?! So many times, I tried to help, but then got stuck I didn't know but my patients were also thinking what the #?@! Your podcast said to test at the start and after every session. And then my eyes they opened wide Boy, was that a lesson! Oh Help me not to help, oh Dr. Burns! Help me unlearn the bad habits I have learned I'll do homework when my urge to help returns Won't you please, please help me?! Now I explore my patients' reasons not to change. I learned to sit with open hands if they choose to stay the same. Only when they fight for change and want to do the work, That's when I offer tools, and know the changes will endure. You've helped me not to help, oh Dr. Burns ‘Til my patients show me that they really yearn To do the work and ask me really firmly Won't you please, please help me? Your podcasts helped ME! Oooooooh! Much warmth to each of you! Heather and Brendan Our next guest was the brilliant and beloved Dr. Jill Levitt who joined my weekly Stanford training group when she and her husband, Brian, and two boys moved to the Bay Area from New York in 2007. Jill has moved up in the ranks and now co-leads the Tuesday group with me, and also joins me as co-therapists in a great many live sessions we have published as two consecutive podcasts. The idea is to document exactly how TEAM-CBT works, and how we can nearly always get such blow-away results in a single, extended session. That was my dream as a young man, since the methods I was taught as a psychiatric resident almost never got rapid results, or even any noticeable changes in my patients. Now that dream has become a reality, and a great many people in our TEAM-CBT community have contributed to that evolution. Next we were joined by our beloved Dr. Amy Huberman. Her riveting personal work on perfectionism was published recently on two consecutive Feeling Good Podcasts. Amy was glowing and filled with joy, which gave us great feelings of joy as well! And then we were graced by a visit from Mina, who has starred in many Feeling Good Podcasts on a number of personal issues. I will be seeing Mina and her beloved husband in a few minutes for our Sunday morning hike and dim sum feast afterwards. It is always a highlight of my week! Next was another Amy Berner who reported on her recent and wildly successful Intimate Connections Book Club with yet another psychiatrist, Dr. Leigh Harrington. Amy did some personal work with me on dating and sex appeal three years ago, when we discussed the Queen Bee phenomenon. Apparently, it was successful, because she brought her fantastic husband, Randy Kolin, as proof of the effectiveness of the many dating strategies and tips in that book. Randy is also a mental health professional who works with stressed-out scientists working on nuclear fusion at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. We wish him all the best since the work of those scientists is well on the road to creating commercially viable nuclear fusion, which will transform life as we know it on the surface of the earth by supplying unlimited, clean, low-cost energy. Their visit was followed by Zane Pierce, whom I hadn't had the chance to chat with much for a number of years. He led a recent “delight” and “gratitude” hike that we published on podcast # 361entitled “Finding Joy in Everyday Life,” with Dr. Angela Krumm from the Feeling Good Institute in Mountain View, California. We have done previous podcasts with Zane, and his lovely wife, Daisy, including one of our most popular podcasts ever on “What's the Secret of a Meaningful Life,” Episode 079. And then came the magnificent colleague and friend, Indrani Mookerjee.  Indrani joined our community after attending the 2019 intensive, and recently did one of the most explosive and jaw-dropping podcasts, Episodes 359 & 360, “You Wowed Me, A Mother-Daughter Conflict,” featuring her personal work on her relationship with her daughter. Indrani had struggled, unsuccessfully, to get close to her daughter, whom she loved greatly. She made a mind-blowing discovery of why during her personal work, and instantly achieved what I call “interpersonal enlightenment.) She now provides the joyous follow up on how her relationship with her daughter has blossomed and evolved since that momentous moment. Next, we were joined by Mike Christensen, who is our top TEAM therapist in Canada. Mike became familiar with my work when he read Feeling Good in 2006 and then heard a keynote speech I gave at a conference in 2009. Since that time, he attended many of my two-day workshops in Canada, and now is a leading TEAM-CBT therapist and teacher. He's been a featured guest on seven Feeling Good Podcasts or episodes of Facebook Live, when I was doing televised work on Facebook every Sunday afternoon. Mike describes himself as “joyously average,” a idea that really resonates with me. It is a form of “invisible enlightenment” which nearly everyone fears, but you cannot understand the incredible liberation of this “Great Death” of the “self” until you've experienced. We recollected a Feared Fantasy exercise we once did together while hiking one evening following a workshop in Canada. We also got updated on his beautiful and brilliant daughter, Katlin, who is now studying psychology in college and hopefully heading for her own career doing TEAM-CBT. And finally, one my most favorite people in the, our brilliant, wonderful, and funny Sara Shane, whose life-changing enlightenment has been a fantastic source of joy and inspiration to me and to many. Sara came from humble roots, as a Mexican immigrant picking fruit with her parents for survival in the US, and is now living in the Central Valley and attending not one, but two weekly TEAM-CBT training groups. She specializes in brief intensive treatments for the patients she treats. You may recall her from podcast #162, High Speed Cure for OCD, where she described her single-session treatment for 20 years of OCD / contamination phobia. She also did a lot of personal work to achieve liberation from her fairly severe social phobia and feelings of inferiority that were embedded from early childhood. We love you and so much appreciate you, Sara! That's about it for today, but than you all for listening. Next week, we will likely have two consecutive Ask David podcasts with Dr. Matt May, followed by two consecutive podcasts called “Raw Emotion: Personal work with Chris,” featuring the work that Jill and I did with a young man with social fears and an almost unbelievably traumatic childhood, growing up in Palo Alto. The sound quality is not always top-notch, sadly, but the unbelievable quality and impact of this session easily makes up for that, so we have decided to publish it anyway, and hope you find it as amazing as we did. David, Rhonda, and the whole gang! Special Announcement Attend the legendary Summer Intensive Featuring Drs. David Burns and Jill Levitt August 8 - 11. 2024 Learn Advanced TEAM-CBT skills Heal yourself, heal your patients First Intensive in 5 long years. It will knock your socks off! Limited Seating--Act Fast! Click for registration / more information! Sadly, this workshop is a training program which will be limited to therapists and mental health professionals and graduate students in a mental health field  Apologies, but therapists have complained when non-therapists have attended our continuing education training programs. This is partly because of the intimate nature of the small group exercises and the personal work the therapists may do during the workshop. Certified coaches and counselors are welcome to attend. Hey, another special announcement! The long-awaited Feeling Great App is finally available in the Apple and Google stores. Check it out! You can try it for free!      

You may have heard about Wendy's experimenting with “surge” pricing. This was a miscommunication about dynamic demand pricing. Clark explains. Also today, Clark discusses when you should NOT trust AI and what to know about Google search results.  Dynamic Demand Pricing: Segment 1 Ask Clark: Segment 2 AI's Troubled Infancy: Segment 3 Ask Clark: Segment 4 Mentioned on the show: Surge Pricing Is Coming to More Menus Near You - The Wall Street Journal. Wendy's 'dynamic pricing' drew backlash, but experts say the concept is here to stay Wendy's Makes It Clear After Backlash: No Surge Pricing - The Wall Street Journal. Safer Ways To Send Money How Many Bank Accounts Should You Have? - Clark Howard How To Avoid ATM Fees Best Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction Fees in 2024 5 Money Tips To Know Before You Travel Abroad [The Washington Post] TurboTax and H&R Block now use AI for tax advice. It's awful. AI is not ready for primetime   A Fake Bill Ackman Is Scamming Investors Out of Millions on Facebook - The WSJ Five Biggest Frauds To Watch Out for in 2024 The Free Tool You Should Be Using Before You Fill a Prescription at CVS or Walgreens GoodRx Review: 10 Things To Know Before You Use GoodRx Will Mark Cuban's Prescription Company Really Save You Money? 10 Ways To Save on Prescription Drugs Clark Deals - Today's Best Deals of the Day Clark.com resources Episode transcripts Community.Clark.com Clark.com daily money newsletter Consumer Action Center Free Helpline: 636-492-5275 Learn more about your ad choices: megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices