"The time is upon us" Carl told Jeffery.
"If this works, there's no telling what we'll be able to do"
"All those folks in Llanview will be putty in our hands"
Meanwhile, Todd and Victor, still unconscious were strapped to a table crucifixion style, with their brains hardwired to a machine which would relay all of the information within their precious brains right into the hands of Allison and her followers.
"Do you really think we can get to Viki this way?" Jeffrey asked, "She might be too smart, she'll never buy it"
"That's why we're putting new things in their brain, you imbicile" Alyson finally interrupted, "We'll put them back in Llanview, re-establish the trust of the Lords and the Mannings, the holier than thou Buchanan's" she paused, "and then our boys wipe 'em all out. And Llanview will belong to us"
"And we'll have everything that God intended for us" Carl said.
"Oh, Mitch would be so pleased" Allison said.
"And what about Natalie?" Jeffrey asked, "Why don't we brainwash her too?"
"Well, Natalie poses a bit of a challenge" Allison started, "You see she is the definition of a trouble magnet. She's a cop, and they look out for their own, so they're looking for us. It's important that we get the two Todds on our side, so our best bet is to keep her unconscious, and maybe start wiping her memory out so that if they are onto us, she can't help them"
"And if no trouble arises?" Carl asked.
"That's a big if" Allison said, "But, then I don't see any harm in getting her on our side too"
And thus, they started to program the brains of Victor and Todd.
"We have a house" John told his housemates gathered around him in their living room, "and more than that, we have evidence. They've been holding hostages in their house for a while, probably including right now"
"So now we just need to scout it out and get in" Jake said, "Anyone else have anything to add"
"The owner of the bank, Carl Peterson" Aaron added, "If he had to guess, he's involved. A lot of money has been funneled into offshore accounts. And not all his money, I might add"
"There's a Carl on tape" John said, "probably the same one"
"Alright boys, tomorrow, we scope out the playing field" Jake said, "If this is it, we could be resuming our normal lives within the week"
John looked away. His normal life wasn't much to be proud of, and he wasn't sure what was next for him after this case. Not that it made any sense to him, but it somehow felt personal, necessary that he saw the end to it.
"So what are we doing tonight? Drinks and pool at Rodi's and heading back to your place?" Natalie asked.
"Is there something wrong with that?" he asked, noting her tone.
"No, of course not I-" she paused, "I didn't mean to sound short. I promise. I just had a long day, and-"
"Well do you just wanna go home and rest?"
"I appreciate it. But with Tess lately, I could use a little normal"
"Normal?"
"Well, our normal, I guess. Beer and pool, and time with you" she said, "and that sounds pretty good right about now"
If only that could always have been his normal. If only he'd shown her how much she meant to him from the beginning. If only-
He could make a list a mile long, but in the end, he'd been the one who'd ruined the best normal he'd ever have.
