A/N:I could've put a lot of things in this chapter, but I've decided to devote most of its space to the Mbola family story, which I've been working on for a long time. Beware, iot's not a nice story, but it'll explain quite a few things. Enjoy...

The day after, Tommy was just a little bit surprised to see his best friend attend to school as usual.

"Dad and I discussed it last night", Robert explained – Tommy couldn't help noticing how effortlessly Ro referred to Professsor Moshimo as his "dad" nowadays – "and we reached a compromise, you might say. I have to come and live with him in his secret lab, but I can stay a real boy until further. I told him, even if Klaus is telling the truth, and Bjorn is plotting something, we can't let that stop us from trying to lead normal lives."

"That's the spirit, Ro! I wonder what Bjorn is up too, though. If he went trough the trouble of resurrecting Protoboy, it must be something bad."

"It will backfire on him." Robert said with conviction "In the long run, no one ever benefits from an alliance with my brother." He sighed. "Of course, in the long run, no one ever benefits being his enemy either."

Bjorn Bjornson woke up in a royal castle filled with tension. As he entered the court kitchen, he found Princess Justine chewing slowly on a piece of scrambled eggs while studying the morning newspaper. There were two newspapers in Fredonia, and Justine was reading Libertèe Fredonie, the independent newspaper that told the royal family what they needed to know, but did not like to hear. So naturally, she wasn't too happy. Bjorn tried to lighten her mood with a kiss on the cheek and a "Good morning, beautiful!" It didn't help.

"And how is your dear father this morning?"

"Still furious" the teen princess replied. "Interpol has rejected his demand for an arrest warrant on Afonzügel., They say the claim that one of the bank's wealthiest customers were to break in, is ridiculous. The surveillance cameras were destroyed, and his guards are not accepted as witnesses." She turned and looked him in the eyes. "Why are you so cheerful, anyway?", the princess wanted to know. "It was your plans that Afonzügel hacked into!"

"He didn't find out much", Bjorn assured her. "Not much more than Protoboy already insisted on hinting to his brother. The only change in plans is that I will have to insert my main forces slightly earlier."

"You should do something about my father too, cheri. He does not approve of you right now. He blames you for the break-in. It didn't exactly help the credibility of the bank, you know."

I will make it up to his majesty," Bjorn promised, "by bringing him Afonzügel. And I know just the person to take that bespectacled cyborg down."

"Not that Russian slut that you dragged into my home the other day?"

Bjorn tried not to show how much she was enjoying the ill-concealed jealousy in the princess' voice.

"Miss Kalashnikov prefers to be called mercenary, for that is her profession. And she was only here for a few hours anyway. It's not like she even stayed the night –"

"Fat chance of that happening!"

"In any case I can think of someone even more dangerous who might be up for the job..."

From time to time, Donnie snuck into Tommy's room just to see if there was anything that he could use against his younger brother. In fact, he did it more often now that Tommy had a girlfriend, because he was hoping to find some dirt on them. It also helped – even if Donnie would never have admitted this to anyone – that his brother had finally gotten rid of his stupid robot toy recently. Something about that toy made him seriously paranoid.

During dinner, Tommy briefly commented that he was going to hang out with a friend from school – Donnie didn't catch the name, the only thing he really took notice of, was that Tommy was going to be out for a while. Too late, Donnie found out that there was going to be a change of plans, and he only had time to hide inside a closet before the door opened. He recognized two voices, and the other one was Lola's:

"First of all...If my dad calls, I'm not here."

"Huh?"

"Just promise me, Tommy. Promise me that if dad or Vivian calls, please tell them I'm not here. Robyn is covering for me, but just in case."

"Okay, I promise."

Donnie was all ears now. Maybe he was about to get more than he bargained for. He could only think of one reason why two teenagers - who were an item - would be alone in a bedroom and worry whether their parents knew they were in there together. And the best part was, he'd brought his cell phone with him! With a bit of luck – and stealth – he might be able to get some very compromising pictures. He could blackmail Tommy for years!

"Something…happened today."

"O…kay" Tommy responded, in confusion.

"Tommy, you have to realize that what I'm about to say, I'm telling you in the utmost confidence."

"Okay."

"I'm serious! You can't tell this to anyone. Not Gus…not Robert…"

Robert? Is she talking about that Asian kid from the soccer team? And why should Tommy confide in him, anyway? Donnie thought, impatiently waiting for Lola to get to the juicy details.

"Not even your dad?"

"Especially not my dad! That's why you can't tell him I'm here right now. What I'm about to tell you…he doesn't want you to know. But I think you have the right to."

"Sheesh, you got me worried now."

"Well, you should be. I…I need to sit down."

Donnie could hear the two younger teens getting seated.

Then…

"Before I get to the point, Tommy, there are two things you should know about my mother…"

"Uh huh", Tommy responded. His voice sounded even more nervous now.

"First of all. I told you she's dead, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I lied. She's alive."

"What? Then why – "

"I'm getting to that. Second, you have to realize that her marriage to my dad was of convenience. My parents were both from upper-class families, and my mom was picked out by a family council. In other words, it was arranged."

"I see."

Donnie's frustration grew. He was beginning to wonder if this was leading to anything he could use against Tommy.

"Now then…have you ever heard of the Kufanya massacre?"

"Can't say I have, sorry."

"Okay then…Kufanya Valley is a place in the north of Cassaia where they discovered vast mineral resources about ten years ago –"

What is this, geography class? , Donnie thought to himself Give me something I can use!

The land was owned by a local tribal community, but a company called Chukua Mining tried to buy the land from them for well below market price. The local representatives refused to sell, because they knew that it was worth much more. Negotiations broke down, and for a few weeks, nothing happened. Then...then the community village was attacked by an armed force. Massacred, actually. About five hundred civilians were killed, including women and children."

"That's terrible!"

"Uh huh, and it caused a sensation. The Cassaian government blamed the massacre on a rebel guerilla group from Congo. That sort of made sense, because there are splinter groups in Congo who are laying claim on parts of Northern Cassaia. In any case, the government tried to hush it. Shortly after the massacre, they took control of the land, and sold the mineral rights to Chukua Mining."

"Ah, what you're saying is that Chukua Mining was behind the –"

"I'll get to that in a minute. For a year or so, the government considered the case closed, but then there was a presidental election, and it lead to a change of government. The new president had promised to take serious action against corruption, and it turned out that one of the first things he had done upon taking office, was to start a secret investigation of the Kufanya massacre. What they found out, was that the men who massacred the civilians in Kufanya Valley really did cross the border from Congo. But they were not guerrilla soldiers - They were a death squad, paid for by people in leading positions within Chukua mining. The new President's state attorney general rounded up three main suspects – The general manager of Chukua Mining, who was being accused of ordering the massacre, the former minister of justice, who was accused of being bribed into stopping the investigation of the massacre, and a liaison who was accused of arranging the massacre."

"Uh huh..."

"Tommy...my mom was that liaison."

There was a moment of very awkward silence.

"My mom's family used to be major investors in Chukua, and even though they are still a very respected and high-ranking family in Cassaia, they're involved in some...shady businesses. My mom knew where she could find killers for hire."

Apparently, Tommy still didn't know what to say, and the girl continued:

"The Mbolas had an emergency family meeting, and they decided not to help her out. They didn't want to be involved, because it could seriously harm their reputation. The evidence against her was too obvious, and the President was too determined to get all the suspects convicted. It would prove that he was serious about fighting corruption and that he was doing something about human rights. My dad got a divorce, my mom was forbidden to use the family name Mbola, and her family bought out of Chakua Mining. In the end, the general manager was sentenced to life, the ex-minister was sentenced to ten years in prison, and my mom was sentenced to thirty years. My mom has been in prison for most of my life, Tommy."

There was a moment of uneasy silence.

"Now then, the new president was actually an old friend of my dad's. Apparently, he felt guilty, even though none of them knew that my mom was directly involved. So he offered dad the position as Cassaia's ambassador to the United States. Dad accepted, because he thought I would be safer in America. He was afraid that relatives of the people who died at Kufanya Valley would try to get revenge on me. That's how I got where I am now."

"Revenge! You mean like the lady at the post office."

"Yes, she was a refugee from Kufanya valley. Her husband and daughter died in the massacre, we checked. She recognized the name Yolanda Mbola. But there's more..."

"Even more?"

"A few hours ago, we learned that mom had escaped from prison in Cassaia. Apparently, some sort of super-powered robot broke her out. From the description, I think it might have been Bjorn's robot double."

"So Klaus was right!" Tommy exclaimed "Bjorn is planning something big. I bet he sent me that letter with your old name on it as well!"

Donnie was confused by the names, but he stayed focused.

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're probably right"

"But what does he want with your mom?"

"She has connections, even after she went to jail. And she's tough as nails; I know that from my annual visits. Besides, he might be using her to get to Vivian, or even to you! She's been sending Vivian threatening letters, and she doesn't like you, either."

"But she's never met me."

"No but I've been telling you about her, and...and...well….I'm sorry for telling you this, but she just doesn't like the idea of me taking such an interest in a white boy."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Just please let me stay here for as long as possible, Tommy. Dad was anxious enough after hearing what Klaus had to tell us. Now that mom has escaped, he's expecting for the worst, and he's probably right to do so. The moment I go back, he probably won't let me out again."

"I promise. But Lola...?"

"Yes?"

"I know this sounds very trivial after everything you've just told me, but – What's your mom's name?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you that? It's Yolanda Miriam Adhabu"

"You were named after your mom?"

"Yeah, it's an Adhabu family tradition. They have some other traditions too, which aren't as nice. The Adhabus used to be fierce warriors, and in the way, they still ...if the worst should happen, if you ever have to confront my mom, please don't try to be a hero. You don't know how dangerous she can be."

"I'm getting an idea. But I'm not afraid of her."

"Then pretend that you are! You'll be safer that way."

For the longest time, there was silence. Finally, Donnie heard footsteps, followed by the sound of a door closing. Slowly, he stepped out of the closet, and hurried out of his brother's room. He was pale, and wet with sweat.

Although Tommy didn't want to admit it, the reason why he stayed in his room for so long, was that he had lost the feeling in his legs. Finding out that your girlfriend's mother was a mass murderer, an escaped convict, a racist, and some sort of mobster, was more than anyone should have to absorb in the course of one afternoon. But for Lola's sake he would have to suppress all of this for the moment. All she wanted was one more evening together. Things might fall apart tomorrow, or at least in just a few days.

Tommy's parents, who seemed pleased that Lola came to their house for a change, let them have the living room to themselves most of the evening. Donnie, in the meantime had gone to the local gym, hoping that pumping some iron would take his mind of the unfathomable family secrets he'd overheard on this day. It worked, and by the time he got home, he'd regained most of his self-confidence. "Move over, squirt!" he said to his younger brother, who was sitting alone in front of the tv at the moment. "American Amazons is on now!"

"Donnie, I'm watching this!" snapped Tommy, who wasn't about to be intimidated by his bullish big brother after what he'd learned today. "Missing one episode of American Amazons won't kill you."

Donnie's immediate response to this was to roll up his sleeves, but he hesitated when he suddenly noticed that Lola was standing right behind him.

"It's no big deal, Tommy", she said calmly and picked up her cell phone. "I can just call –"

"NO! Don't call! Don't call anyone!" Donnie cried, and to his brother's astonishment, he went down on his knees in front of Lola. "I…I…meant to ask him politely! I'm sorry if it came out wrong! Actually, I don't really care about American Amazons. I…I was on my way out - I wasn't going to watch tv anyway!" He got up, and with and apologetic grin, he hurriedly brushed the pillow where Lola had been sitting just a moment ago. "Like I said, I was on my way out, I'm not gonna disturb you guys, stay as long as you like Lola! Please just don't…call anyone!"

Then, before the couple had time to react, Donnie ran out the front door, jumped on his motorcycle, and disappeared.

For a long while, Tommy and Lola just stared out of the window, Finally, Lola asked:

"Who…who did he think I was going to call?"