"Hold up…" Alex warned just as Lin was about to open the vial of Blacklight. "… You might want to wait a second before you do that." Alex said in a slightly higher pitched voice, as if there was a joke only he understood.
"Why? You didn't have any warnings for Carlos."
"That's because there's a small side effect for females who join the Hive. You see, you're going to have the sudden urge to bang me here and now." Alex shamelessly explained before continuing. "Blacklight tends to twist basic human instincts, like the need to breed." Lin raised a eyebrow at this. "As Alpha I am privy to first breeding rights, this translates to Blacklight hijacking your urges to make you see me as the only man you would have an interest in. It'd probably happen to the males of the Hive if I was female. Still, not a bad trade if you ask me."
"Well no shit you'd like this arrangement, you're the one benefitting from it." Lin shot back, not out of malice but for argument's sake.
"Any Alpha would, and someday you or Carlos might become Alphas with harems of your own. If you find someone you want for yourself, then claim them like I have with Luz." Lin looked back at the vial, Alex's asinine warning meant nothing to Lin. Alex was always nice to look at and if anything that Luz said was true, very… the words passionate and forever were used the most when she spoke of their carnal activities. Lin opened the vial and the black ooze quickly climbed out and launched itself at the nearest living thing, who reacted like any person would and screamed. She fell to the floor of Alex's living room in pain as the Blacklight penetrated her every cell. "So… how do you feel?"
"Shut… the fuck up." Lin growled as she pushed herself off the floor. She looked back up to Alex and instantly felt what he had been talking about. She did want to fuck him, really badly, more so than any other man she had ever stared at for more than a passing glance. But it wasn't love, she had never been in love before but she could tell that what she felt wasn't that. It was like she knew that no other man could ever compare to Alex now, like she couldn't be with any other because she knew there would always be something better.
"Are you ready or do you need a…" Alex wasn't able to finish that sentence.
Carlos was going over a map of Stilwater, one colored to represent the gangs' current territory. The small bit of purple surrounding by green, yellow, and red irritated Carlos. The newly made Evolved was going over new patrol routes for the Saints, the product of an effort to mix it up as much as they could to prevent drive-bys. Carlos also had to figure out just what his next move against the Sons should be.
Even with the massive boost in numbers from the jailbreak, they still lacked a fixed number as most of the boys and girls from the jail break had to lay low from the cops. They would come out if the Sons made a move but couldn't be out in the open that much. What he needed to do was cut the Sons' funding. Doing that was the best way of crippling their defenses. Much of their core gang was fanatically loyal beyond normal payment, but that wasn't the reason why Carlos needed to break their cash flow. He did that, and they would have to take the action to the Saints, where a home field advantage was a big plus. Taking their business also gave the Saints some much needed cash, the Saints having many projects that needed money to complete.
"Hey, what'ch doing?" Shaundi asked as she walked over to the war table the Saints had set up in the office above the lobby of the hotel.
"Nothing much…" Carlos said as he backed up from the table. "… just makin' plans. The boss is still waiting on the Brotherhood to respond and he still doesn't want to piss off the Ronin until we know what their relationship to the Yakuza is."
"So that leaves the Sons… right. Well that provides a great opening for me…" Shaundi said as she showed Carlos a lightbulb.
"Are those the new lights for the Hotel?" Shaundi would have glared if that wasn't a valid question seeing as Carlos was in charge of upgrading the Hotel. Instead, she just smashed the lightbulb on the table casually. "… I'm guessing not?"
"Smoke this…" Shaundi said as she started lighting the drugs on the inside.
"Ever hear of a pipe?"
"Pipes cost money, money that could be used for drugs or shoes." Shaundi said before handing the lightbulb over to Carlos. Once he took a sniff of the emanating smoke he frowned.
"I don't feel anything." Carlos stated, confused to the point of this whole thing, Shaundi even more surprised.
"Don't tell me you Viral guys can't get high, 'cause that's a big deal breaker for me right there."
"Nah, the Boss says we can get sober faster but we still feel the effects. But whatever that stuff is, I don't get anything off it." Carlos explained while Shaundi just stared down at the bulb.
"Huh… weird… never heard of defective drugs… well, not like this." Shaundi said clearly confused but not that much. "Whatever, this stuff is called Loa Dust and it's the Sons' number one product."
"But you smoke it."
"They suck at marketing, what can I say? The point is this stuff is all over Stilwater U, I mean frats are buying the shit by the pound. If we get ahold of enough, we could figure out how to make it ourselves. Maybe even better."
"And take the whole market from the Sons, good idea." Carlos nodded as he thought the plan over. He was already contacting someone in the Hive with connections shady enough to acquire the needed drugs. It was strange, it wasn't like talking with words, it was like all he needed was the intent and the rest would figure itself out just how he wanted it. "The drugs will be here in about a day."
"Really? How'd… oh… that' one of those mind meld thingies isn't it. Is it weird know that everything you think someone else knows. I mean… what if you stare at some chick's ass and that chick is one of you… you'd be in some shit."
"It doesn't work like that, the way the Boss explained it and from what I've seen. None of us knows what the other is thinking. If we want, we can send out what we are feeling and us Evolved can send out orders but our thoughts are still our thoughts." Carlos tried to explain, but he really wasn't an expert on the subject.
Alex was sitting on the railing of the upper terrace of the Hotel, soon to be the Nightclub Purgatory. He like the name since it fit with the Saints' naming scheme. Purgatory would act as the public face of the Saints, while the rest of the underground neighborhood will be filled by those Saints currently wanted by the police, along with their families if they had any. Reconstruction on the neighborhood was proceeding slower than the nightclub, but moving along fast enough that Alex didn't feel worried.
"Hey man what's up?" Gat said as he walked over and soon joined Alex on the rail. "So me and the boys have been gettin' bored, what with you saying the Brotherhood and the Ronin are off the table. All we have is the Sons to murderize, and they aren't all that happy with that."
"I know…" Alex grumbled. "… Carlos told me about them staying in their drug labs and hideouts, they won't come out in force unless we make a serious move."
"Shouldn't this be fuckin' easy? We got the boys back, we got you and me, we should already be owning this city by now."
"The only reason we aren't is because I want to give the Brotherhood a chance, and right now, they're watchin' us. They want to see if we're really back or we're just a bunch of washed-up gangbangers trying to reclaim a throne we shouldn't have. So I'm guessing that they won't respond until we take out the Sons.
"And the Ronin?"
"Don't poke the dragon and the dragon won't notice you." Alex chuckled to himself. "Right now I doubt they notice us beyond our screwing with the Sons. I want to keep it that way… for now."
"But why are the Sons still fuckin' around?"
"That… I'm not sure why." Alex admitted. The two looked down to a group of Saints arguing over the placement of the stripper pole. One side thought it should be where the support beams used to be while the whole thought it should be right in the middle. "But you're right Gat, this time round we might not be having as much fun." Alex sat as he switched around and stood back up. "But have no fear, once we take Stilwater and lock shit down so we never have to do another redo, we'll be going to the mainland and taking the Saints national."
"Really? I wasn't expecting that, I thought you planned on running the Saints just so you could do whatever the hell you wanted in Stilwater." Gat said as he followed Alex off the railing.
"I did… but… when I was drowning after the Hughes' boat blew, I realized something. I want to do more." Alex said as he looked to his best friend. "I want to do whatever the hell I want yeah, that hasn't changed. But now, I want more than Stilwater, I want more than the state, country, whatever. I want the world to know the Saints, to know we're better than any gang that came before us. That what we do, we do because Julius believed that we can make a change."
"Damn… that's some deep shit."
"When I was staring in the face of death in New York, I realized how little I was doing with my life. But when that happened again here in Stilwater… I had the exact same thought, I was going to do nothing but indulge in every vice and sin I wanted. I'm still doing that, but back then it felt empty. Like that with who I am, I could do so much more. And I will." There was a small silence that followed.
"I still get to murder people right?" Gat joked, half to break the serious tone that had been created and half as a genuine question.
"Yeah man…" Alex chuckled as he gave his friend a reassuring pat on the back. "But let's go talk to Shaundi and Carlos to see what they got for the Sons." The two walked over to the War Room and found Carlos, Shaundi and Victor all staring grimly at a bloody box. Alex and Gat also began staring at the box, a small pool of red forming under the corner of the cardboard container. "Uh… what's going on?" Alex asked causing the rest of the Saints to snap their attention over to him.
"Found this on the steps outside the Mission House." Victor answered. "Brought it to el enano and Shaundi was already here."
"Hey!" Carlos exclaimed at being called a runt.
"What's in it… and why can I feel it through the Hive Mind?" That last part Alex said dangerously. Carlos looked down both fear and shame.
"It's… my fault Alpha… I'm the one who asked him to do it." Carlos said apologetically but he could still feel Alex's anger. Alex walked over to the box and opened it, inside was the dismembered head of one of his Infected. Branded on his forehead was the Loa skull and snakes of the Sons of Samedi.
"What did you do?!" Alex snapped up and quickly demanded from Carlos.
"I asked someone from the Hive to get me and Shaundi a few pounds of Loa Dust, we wanted to use it to see how we might be able to make ourselves."
"Hey, don't lump me in on this." Shaundi said defensively but backed down once Alex looked over to her, his eyes piercing through. "Sorry boss… it was my idea, I brought it up to Carlos…."
"... and then he brought in the Hive." Alex finished, looking back to Carlos. "The idea was good Shaundi but the problem was that Carlos should have handled it himself. If you're worried about them spotting you as a member of the Saints, you are fully capable of Consuming anyone to get a disguise. Even better, Consume the dealer. But you brought the Hive into this, asking for information is one thing, asking them to get directly involved is a complete other!" Alex raged. "Look at him!" Alex demanded of Carlos, and being the focus of his Alpha Carlos was unable to disobey. Carlos looked up and at the decapitated head. "This is on you." Alex said before walking away with Gat following right behind him.
"Yo man, what are we going to do about this?" Gat asked as he followed his Alpha.
"I don't know, what I do want to know is how they found out that one of our Serfs was connected to the Saints. There shouldn't be a connection, that was Manuel Alcabú, and while he certainly was not living crime-free he didn't have any gang ties. So how did the Sons connect what on the surface is some random guy looking to get some Loa Dust to the Saints?"
"Maybe it looked funny that he wanted that much shit at once… but that still doesn't tell us how the fuck they got the idea to drop him here."
"All of this just feels wrong, Mileena said that the Sons felt off. Maybe this has something to do with that. But has for vengeance for Manuel, it will have to wait, we don't know exactly who did it."
"Uh… boss, I know you don't want to hear this but… something else is strange. That brand on his forehead… that was done before he was killed."
"So… that just means that whoever did this dug himself another foot into the ground."
"Nah, that's not the part I'm worried 'bout. It means he was tortured, wouldn't that set alarms off in the Hive Mind?" Alex stopped walking and his eyes widened as he understood what that meant.
"Someone can mask people in the Hive Mind. They can't disconnect them, I would have certainly felt an absence, but they were able to keep us from feeling his pain and calls for help!" Alex punched the nearby wall and caused a small crater. Gat didn't even flinch. And thankfully there weren't any Saints nearby to see their boss do something on the level of Superman. "We need to figure this shit out and fast."
"Well we know that whoever is doing this is in the Sons, so why not tear them apart until we find out who it is?"
"I like that idea… I really do." Alex smiled, but Gat could tell that there was no real joy behind it.
The General waited in his mobile headquarters outside the old meat packing plant. He was waiting for Mr. Sunshine to finish with his latest ritual to the Loa. While the General did think the rather costly and bloody events were something of a high price, he let his adviser do as he wished. It was thanks to him that the General made his name in the armed conflicts of Africa, now he was in America and he would make his fortune here and live like a king should.
To do that, he needed Mr. Sunshine. It was because of him that he had made it this far, and the General would not make the mistake of tossing such a powerful asset to the wind just because he could be costly at times.
But recently, that policy was beginning to be strained. Just yesterday he had heard from one of his men that Mr. Sunshine and his followers caught one man that apparently had a connection to the Saints. They brought him to this very place and performed one for their rituals to the Loa with him as the sacrifice. The only problem was that his men said that the poor soul had never been seen with the Saints. Still, that may not be the case as the Saints and who they had connections to weren't yet fully known. As the former rulers of the city, it was safe to assume that they had many contacts.
If this man had been a friend to the Saints, then that meant the Saints were trying to gain large amounts of their product. That was not good news. The manner of which Mr. Sunshine decided to inform the Saints of their failed attempt was also an issue. It was far too personal, and it may have had the effect of inciting the Saints into drastic measures. This all depended on how close the man was to the Saints.
And then there was the flip side to this problem. If the man they killed wasn't connected to the Saints, then they might scare off their customers. That was happening regardless, but by how much? If word got out that it was because the man was a Saint informant, then the cost would be minimal. If that didn't turn out to be the case, then people will begin to see going to their dealers as a risk to their health. Word would get around that to go to the Sons dealers was taking a gamble, that they might bag you up and take you to be tortured and killed.
"I am here General." Mr. Sunshine said as he entered the car. There was small bits of flesh, bone, and blood in the small corners of his suit. Never enough for anyone to see but the General who knew where to look for. "You seem troubled?"
"Your actions towards the Saints yesterday, I feel they might have been a bit aggressive." Mr. Sunshine looked to the General, it was that strange look he gave when he was studying the person in front of him, like he wasn't deciding for himself what he was going to do but just gathering information for someone that was.
"Do not worry General, this is war. You know as well as I do… war is a nightmare." The General stared back at his adviser. He sighed.
"I guess you're right, but we need to remain cautious." The General finished the conversation feeling that it was good to work out things out in such a productive manner, now if only the same could be said about the rest of his problems.
"Okay… I've had a day to cool down." Alex said with his feet kicked up on the desk in the War Room. Gat, Carlos and Shaundi had been called together to discuss just what they could do to move forward on the Sons. Carlos had gotten a bit of credit back by doing as Alex suggested and consuming a Sons dealer before bringing back all the Loa Dust he had. "After the whole mess Carlos made…" He got back some credit, not all. "… I went home to calm down. Fucked Luz for a while, then had lunch. Three pizzas and four plates of pasta with various sauces… it was Italian night. Then got high with Dana… and ate five calzones. Then fucked Luz again. Then ate dinner, a lot more Italian food, then got high, but this time by myself while watching Bob Ross… holy fuck that guy is awesome."
"I know right." Shaundi nodded in agreement.
"Then went to bed… fucked with both Luz and Mileena, then slept until forty minutes ago, and now I'm here… so I'm as calm as I'm going to get." Alex sighed. "Loa Dust… gimmie." Alex held out his hand for someone to pass him a lightbulb. Shaundi did so quickly and Alex soon smashed it open and let her light it. Alex brought the lightbulb up to his face and then frowned. "This is shit… I get higher off weak-ass pot." Alex said before hurling the lightbulb across the room.
"Carlos said it didn't work on him either when I showed it to him yesterday." Shaundi said, all but confirming that it was because they were both Blacklight.
"Huh… okay… there is so much wrong with the Sons." Alex said, rocking back and forth in his chair. "Something is going on with them. I really hope that it isn't some Blacklight shit that I'm not in control of. I don't need another Tanya situation."
"To be fair man, she did end up saving your life." Gat had to say it. He might not have liked Tanya in any sense but he had to say it.
"I know, which is why when I become crime boss of the world I'll name something after her. A bathroom maybe… no, a fuck room feels more appropriate, but not mine, no…. someone else's." Interrupting the meeting about the Sons was the sound of Carlos' phone. They all looked at him and he reluctantly took it out, he was going to decline but answered when he saw the number.
"Listen man… no… I need to call back la… oh... no way… okay… yeah I owe you one." Carlos said slightly irritated before hanging up. "That uh… was my buddy with the Brotherhood contact. He says Maero wants to speak with you."
"Rrrgh…. the time could be better. I was expecting them to contact us after we took out the Sons."
"My buddy says that Maero will be at the Stilwater caverns in two hours."
"Fuck." Alex grunted, sitting back proper in his chair. "Okay, get the boys ready. If things go to shit I want people ready for an attack from the truckyards or Chinatown. Hopefully it won't come to that and they'll just fold but considering how early this is I doubt it." Alex said as he sat up. "Gat, I want you in the Projects and Victor in the Red Light district. Carlos, since this is your contact you're coming with me. Shaundi, find someone that can figure the fuck out how to make this Loa Dust stuff. If they can find out why it doesn't effect Virals, great, but don't tell them that." Alex finished his orders and walked out of the War Room with Carlos following behind.
"Are you sure she can help us?" Lin asked as they waited for the door to open. She and Shaundi were in the suburbs of Stilwater waiting for a woman that Shaundi claimed to have met in prison who would be able to find out what was in Loa Dust. Lin had tagged along simply because she was bored. All of her contacts in the underground gambling world weren't talking until the Saints had more to put up than what they currently had. So Lin was bored.
"Oh yeah, she might not look like it but trust me, she's one of the most ruthless dealers out there." Shaundi said with a smile. And then the door opened and the most soccer mom looking woman Lin had ever seen. "Laura!" Shaundi exclaimed happily with open arms.
"Shaundi? Well isn't is a nice surprise!" The woman sounded so white it wasn't even funny. "What are you doing around here, not that it isn't nice to see my old cellmate."
"I came by a month ago, but Toby said you were still in jail."
"Oh that, apparently trying to poison the warden with homemade cookies adds on years. But then I escaped along with everyone else."
"You're welcome by the way." Lin said, not wanting to let Alex's actions go unappreciated.
"Yes, I know, the break out was meant for you Saints but your boss was just so gosh darn generous and let me come on board." Not everyone that Alex freed had been Saints, but Alex also didn't save everyone either. All the rapists and child molesters were found mutilated in their cells by the cops when they arrived on the scene. "If you could give me his address later I'd appreciate it. It would be super to send him a homemade cake as a thank you."
"Carlos… remind me why we're in a cave?" Alex asked as the two of them walked down the footpath in the Stilwater caverns. It was not what Alex had been expecting, he was hoping for a cool remote cave carved out by smugglers… but what he got was a shitty tourist trap.
"Because Maero wanted to meet here." Carlos said confused at the question.
"Yes I know that… but why did the meeting have been in a cave? Why couldn't it be while we got lap dances, or a nice restaurant, or while getting lap dances, that last one sounded good." They continued walking down the path until they came to the end and found a man sitting on one of the benches. From his body Alex knew it was Maero, it was impossible to not recognize someone that large. "You Maero?" Alex asked casually as he approached.
"That's right." Maero responded, his voice slightly deep but it felt like Maero might be trying to keep it higher than it could go. Alex smirked as he half-circled Maero.
"I have to say… not very smart of you to show up without a crew to back you up."
"I don't need one." Maero answered back. There wasn't a hint of smugness, just stating a fact.
"I have to disagree with you on that…" Alex said as he pulled his gun on Maero's head. "… because a crew could really help you out right now." Both parties knew that there was no real threat, just testing the waters.
"No…" Maero said standing up displaying his full height. "… I think I'd do fine on my own." Alex smirked again and put away his gun.
"I like you… I think we might do well together. But you want something, what is it?"
"Listen… I'm not stupid. I know the rumors, the legend, and even some of the truth about Alex Mercer. I'm not looking forward to fighting someone like you. Not when I've got the Sons breathing down my neck and the Saints coming back full force." Maero explained as he walked around Alex.
"So far you haven't said anything that raises a red flag for me." Alex said agreeably, but he already could tell Maero had no plans of folding… yet. Alex had said he would give one chance, but that was one chance to fuck things up, and so far Maero hadn't. Even if he declined to fold now, so long as he didn't make Alex think he would never fold, Maero got to live.
"Here's what I'm thinking… we divide Stil…" Alex did like where that was going.
"I hear voices!" Saved by the cops.
"Wow… that is a lot of cops they are killing." Liu Kang said in shock and more than a bit of disgust as he watched Zeus, one of his Virals, and a very large human mow through wave after wave of law enforcement on their way to the nearby docks.
"Should we stop them?" Jade asked as she turned to their commanding officer.
"I want to say yes… but we have orders not to stop Zeus from… his less than moral activities."
"I thought that meant his drug use and killing of criminals." Sub-Zero asked.
"It… unfortunately covers a lot."
Alex walked through the docks that made up the Brotherhood headquarters. All around them were men and a few women tattooed to the brim, all with large trucks that Alex could swear might be compensating for something for a few of them.
"So here we are…" Maero said showing off his place.
"Jesus it's like a coked-up sideshow…" Alex thought that was a bit funny considering the two of them were more freak than any of these people. But Maero seemed to take the comment in stride.
"Pretty impressive huh?"
"Aren't you worried about being so in the open?" Alex asked genuinely curious.
"People know to stay away." Maero said matter-of-factly as they approached the warehouse he had been leading them too. They were just about to enter when they heard a scream and a woman came out running. "Babe, what's going on?" Maero asked the woman quickly with real concern on his face. Alex took note for later if things didn't turn out so well.
"It's Rex, he found out about you meeting the Saints, he's pissed and throwing things again…" It was only then she noticed the two men wearing purple, a quick glare was all she gave but Alex didn't hold it by her. The Saints were simply the cause of her current issues and she most likely did not hold anything personal against the Saints.
"I'll handle him, you stay out here and stay safe." Maero reassured her and then went inside. Alex and Carlos chose to stay out.
"Soo…" Alex said turning to the woman. "… I see we might not be well received by all in the Brotherhood." Alex needed to know just what he was dealing with.
"You could say that." She admitted. "I'm Jessica, right now Maero's right hand man is throwing a hissy fit because of you two. Apparently he thinks we don't need to make deals with you, but Maero thinks otherwise. And I agree, I saw what Julius was trying to do around here after you helped him take control from Hector and Angelo, the return of the Saints can only be good."
"Well thanks, I'll try to live up to Julius' memory." There was no humor or joke in Alex's words. He understood that Julius meant a lot to people in Stilwater, he had known that even before Carlos brought it up, and Alex would never forget the way Julius had impacted people's lives.
"See that…" She was interrupted by a large dent being made in the nearby garage door.
"Someone is mad." Alex sang out returning to a carefree mood once again. The three watched as the door opened and got stuck on the dent, but the opening was tall enough for a skinny, almost sickly man to crawl out. The man soon began breathing heavily, like there was something wrong with his ability to do so. After trying to catch his breath he noticed Alex and Carlos and quickly limped over to them. The whole thing just made Alex want to Evolve him for pity's sake alone.
"You two…" The man was a complete opposite of Maero in every way, even down to his squeaky voice. "We don't need you. We're in charge of Stilwater, so just go away!"
"Rex… you need to calm down." Jessica said trying to help the situation.
"I'm sorry…" Alex chuckled though he tried not to. "… but how the fuck did he not die when Maero threw him into the door?" Alex was genuinely sorry for asking.
"I'm much more durable then I look." He said this but his body swayed slightly and his voice wheezed a bit.
"Yeah…" Alex dragged out. At that point Maero returned to the group through the side door.
"Rex!" Maero called out as he stormed over to them. "Listen, I understand that you have some objections to the Saints…"
"It's not just me! I know that the boys know we don't need the Saints." Alex frowned at that. Did that mean that all of the Brotherhood was against the talks or just parts, either way it complicated things.
"Rex… all we're doing is talking to the Saints." Jessica tried.
"No! I'm not gonna stand here and let you two ruin the Brotherhood!" Rex called out as he pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Alex's head. Alex just grinned while everyone around them tensed up.
"Rex… this isn't a good idea." Maero warned.
"But it is…" Alex countered before leaning in on the barrel of the gun. "… go ahead… strike me down and I shall become more powerful then you can possibly imagine." Carlos groaned at the quote, Alex was having the wrong kind of fun. Everyone stared at the scene while Rex's hands began to shake. "Do It!" Alex demanded, but nothing happened… and soon Rex dropped the gun before dropping to the ground himself. "And here I thought he had more balls."
"Are you out of your mind?! What if he had gone through with it?!" Jessica demanded as she knelt down to help Rex.
"It would have made my day slightly more irritating." Alex said before focusing on Maero. "I think we both know that he was far more right about the gang than you want him to be." Maero frowned but didn't respond. "I came here with one goal in mind: to convince you to fold and join the Saints. You get this opportunity because you are Stilwater, and you held down the fort against the Sons and the Ronin. But this chance is a one time deal, and I'm not accepting an answer until we take down the Sons. I want you to understand something, the Saints are back… and we have come for what is ours."
Reviews.
LORD DESTRYUK - This story will go to SR3 but not to Steelport, I have another location all set up... but don't worry, killbane will still get massively punched in the face by Alex.
Helkil - I will be doing more BL centered chapters in the future but for now its gang stuff.
IAmPedobear - please do not use coke, pot and shrooms are perfectly fine but please don't use the hard stuff. But thank you once again for your kind words.
Xalimech - Grimm are more line with what Alex does but not only do I need inspiration for the Blacklight Constructs but I need their function. Keep that in mind as well, and thank you.