Ch 103

Coach Emerson of the Dallas Cowboys was surprised, but happy Joan Connor recovered from that horrid wound she took. Many times, he thought about how lucky she's been. If she hadn't cocked back the throw right at that instant that bullet wouldn't have just grazed her deep. it might have gone right through her.

TV ratings for the Cowboys had gone up since Joan had been playing. Joan shocked the world it seemed by playing in the NFL no one had ever done that before and news and enthusiasts were all over it. Just by being on the field, Joan was packing the stadium. It also helped that she was one hell of a quarterback.

Looking at the crowds that were here today, he saw many signs of 'TNT' and a long one of 'Cowboys pack'in dynamite' Some fans held the foam fingers, others held foam sculptings of dynamite.

.

Besides practicing for the game, Joan had been practicing her makeup. A bit of blush on her cheeks, lipstick to enhance her lips, light eye shadow and eye liner with an eyebrow brush just to darken them a bit. Bob pronounced her beauty queen. Instead of going to the game, he wanted to go make out. That made Joan smile.

The cheerleaders noticed also. A few complimented her on her look. She had 'aced it'. Just enough to bring out her features and 'make people take notice'.

When they met in the tunnel head out, the guys noticed it too.

"Damn Joan, you going girly on us?" one man asked. Joan laughed and said, "I'm trying a gender change." That caused a good chuckle. They were called, and the team ran out to line up. Joan was happy, no one sat or kneeled during the National Anthem. Out of the corner of her eye, she did see a big screen shot linger on her.

The Cincinnati Bengals were on the opposite end of the field. At the coin toss, Dallas got the ball.

"Coach, let me go out," Joan begged.

"You got first QB, go," he told her.

The offence went out on the field. "Guys! Let me grab it, we're going to the end zone!" Joan announced.

The ball was kicked. Joan studied it and got it's trajectory down. The ball was coming down and a Bengal was racing at her. Joan jumped up and caught the ball. The defender looked up at her. he was then knocked back by a blocker. Joan landed and shot to the side, then raced downfield.

The Bengals make a crucial mistake, they thought stopping Joan was going to be easy. How hard could it be to grab a thin 5 foot 5 girl and hold her squirming and helpless? By the time Joan had dodged three and stiff armed another defender back on his butt, they realized they were in trouble. Joan darted through them and jumped over another in a flip to get past them. They tried hard, but by the time they got serious, Joan was already through them. They raced to catch her and found out she was faster than they were. Halfway down the field, it was obvious, no one was going to catch her. The roar of the crowd was the only thing that kept up with Joan all the way to the End Zone.

"Touchdown, DALLAS!" the announcer yelled.

Joan had a good game. After her initial touchdown run from the kickoff, she watched Bob on the defense keep breaking the line to try and sack the quarterback. He did it on his third try. The quarterback was looking for a receiver and Bob plowed into him, taking him down. A four yard loss the Bengals could not recover from. Turnover on downs on the Dallas 45 yard line. Joan planned a long bomb. It started out OK. Joan hiked and ran back 30 yards and posted to throw. Both receivers were covered and a few Bengals had broken through the line.

Shit.

Not having the time to wait for a receiver to get clear, Joan charged the closest tackle. He dove at her, she jumped and stiff armed his shoulder to drive him into the ground and her in a flip over him. Landing, she ran at the mixed up line with another tackle hot on her ass, right behind her. She dodged a tackle from the front, the two crashed together, A stiff arm to knock another one aside and she was past the line of scrimmage. Two more racing at her from the side, She ducked low and jogged into them, hitting them before they were set to grab her. One flew away, she stiff armed the other one and jogged the other way. Putting on a burst of speed, she managed to clear the line and went racing on. Ahead, the safeties covering her receivers were running at her to intercept. She was mid field. Changing course, she ran for the edge. They followed. She skidded to a stop and ran back. They followed, but slower. Pumping hard, she got around them. They came close, then a receiver bumped into them. That gave Joan a bit of a reprieve, she charged on across the goal line.

As they set up for the field goal, that play was shown twice more, as the announcer told about it.

"What started out as a failed pass, ended as a touchdown run! Fast thinking and fast moving Joan Connor defeated four tackle attempts just to get past the line of scrimmage! What a play! What would normally be a disaster for a quarterback, she turned into a stunning victory!"

The Bengal's coach was not pleased. He worked on a plan to stop that cheeky little girl!

The field goal was good. Joan went back to the bench. On a whim, she saw the cheerleaders were doing their dance. She ran to the end of the line and puled her helmet off. Not having pom-poms, she copied their dance and used her helmet. Of course, this made it up onto the main screen. She did get some applause before she noted the glare of Coach Emerson. Joan got out of line and seeing A group cheering her, she jumped up on the dividing wall, arms out and roared. They roared with her. She did a backflip off the wall and jogged over to the benches.

"What are you doing?" Coach Emerson asked, frowning at her.

"Just a little publicity," Joan replied.

On the big screens Joan's roar and flip was shown. Coach Emerson only frowned at her.

By the end of the second quarter, Dallas was leading 42-7. As the halftime festivities played, in this case a marching band. A sports reporter had cornered Joan outside the locker rooms.

The neatly dressed blonde man with his hair combed back said, "Joan Connor, it is a great pleasure to meet you. How does it feel to be a quarterback in the NFL, a position that no woman had ever had before?"

Joan grinned. "It's fun! I have a great time out there. It can be a real challenge trying to get the ball over the line and into the end zone."

"And you always get it in the end zone every time you get the ball."

"Not every time," Joan corrected. "There's been a couple times I missed."

"Now, you were shot on the field last year. Didn't that make you a little nervous about coming back?" he asked.

Joan waved a hand at him. "Naw, I've been shot before. It really hurts, but the guy who did it got caught, so no worries."

"Watching the game, I noticed you seem to know how to get through the line, even when most of the opposing team is after you. How do you do what?"

Joan shrugged. "The best I can say is situational awareness. The more players you can keep track of, the less likely you are to be surprised. It's the one you don't see that's going to take you down."

"Have you ever been successfully tackled?"

"Yeah, a few times. Can't avoid it. Though I do like to avoid it as much as possible." Casting him a smirk, she added, "Can't get to the end zone if you're lying on the ground."

He chuckled. "True. I do have to wonder though, don't your worry about being hurt? I mean, you're not very big."

Joan eyed him. "Tell me what's worse than being shot. Yes, I if get tackled, that's the game. If I get ran into and knocked down, then I do. I'm not concerned about it. Is there a possibility of getting hurt? Yeah, football is a full contact sport. Every single guy who goes out there should know it can happen to them. It does every year. Sprains, bones broke, when you go out and play hard, that can happen. I could go out after halftime here and get my leg snapped. Guess what, if it happens, it happens. Until it does, I'm going out there and play my best."

"Can you tell me what has been the hardest hit you've ever received?"

Joan thought for a moment, then said, "When Mom said I was grounded for letting an alligator in the house?"

The cameraman laughed.

"If you mean on the field, that was in school. This guy on the other team couldn't quite catch me, she he grabbed the chin guard on my helmet and tried to yank me down that way," Joan explained. "It twisted my helmet around and mashed my nose into the padding. I tried to throw him off and my helmet came off, which also cut down here on my jaw line when the strap broke. I managed to keep my feet and after I got the ball to the end zone, I went back to kick his ass. THAT really hurt!"

"I'm surprised you didn't break your neck!"

"Guess I got Lucky. The coach and some players did keep me away from him. I was set to cause him some major pain," Joan told him.

"I understand your mother played football also?"

"That's right!" Joan beamed. "She played college ball with Canyon College. She was known as the 'Iron Maiden', Cameron Connor."

"So, your family has a history of playing football."

"We do, and I'm sure my kids will continue it on," Joan said with a smile.

"I am sure that will be a legacy to be proud of! I was talking to Coach Chambers of the Bengals, he didn't think you were going to be much of a problem for them."

Joan let out a snort. "It can suck to be wrong."

He laughed at that. "Well, I can honestly say, every team should take you seriously." He turned to the camera and said, "We're here with the rising star, Dallas Quarterback, Joan Connor! Next, we're going to have a visit with Coach Emerson!"

The camera turned off.

"We got two minutes!" Coach Emerson called out. "Form up in the tunnel!"

They went back out for the second half. Joan was swapped out for their other quarterback. Joan wasn't happy about it, but Coach Emerson wanted time to get more time on the field, and the Bengals were not going to catch up to them any time soon. Joan did get to sit near Bob when he wasn't out on the field. Their teams was still stopping the Bengals, but only got one more touchdown in the third quarter, then another in the fourth and an interception by the Bengals got them a touchdown.

56 to 13 was a decent win.

.

Debby Danforth was 19, and into dancing and Gymnastics. She was happy to be accepted into the Dallas cheerleading squad. Long blonde hair and a great figure, she was sure she could snag herself a good upcoming football player to latch onto. It was a damn shame their prime quarterback was a women. Debby figured it was a shemale or something. Connor looked too damn good to be natural.

One young player that caught her eye was Bob Tanner. He was built and from what she knew, he had a good record. He'd gotten five sacks this last game. He also seemed very personable. If he had decent dick and could use it, he was hers.

They were having an after game party up at Greg's place since he had a large patio and a pool. He was a decent linebacker too, but he was older, and there were already two girls fighting for him. Getting changed for the party, her room mate Laura noted the barely there bikini Debby put on instead of underwear.

"Hmmm, going to try to grab yourself one of the boys?" Laura asked.

Debby beamed her a smile. "Oh, yeah. I think Bob Tanner would be perfect for me," she beamed.

Laura raised her eyebrows. "Wow. You do know he's Joan Connor's guy, don't you?"

"So? I'll coax him away."

Laura shook her head. "You're playing with fire. Go for someone else."

"Why? I think he's the best."

Laura chuckled. "Well, don't blame me if Joan trashes you. I know you're new, but no one screws with Joan. Take my advice, back away from the dangerous turf. You're best off finding a guy who's not on the team. Either they are assholes, or they are taken."

"I thought Bob was a nice guy."

"He is, and he's taken. From what I know, he and Joan have been together since grade school."

"Maybe it's time he traded up?" Debby asked with a grin.

"You're looking to get your ass kicked," Laura told her.

"She touches me and I'll have her arrested!" Debby stated.

Laura frowned at her. Sternly she said, "Hon, Joan killed a man. She chopped his head off and stuck it on a pole! Guess what, it was covered up. I heard her friend Allison talking about it. Don't mess with Bob for your own good."

Debby winced. "Well, if she's that violent, I'm sure Bob need a good girl to cuddle with."

Laura let out a huff and said, "It's your funeral."

.

Bob was enjoying the pool party. Allison had come too, so he had Allie there on one side and Joan on the other in bikinis and light wraps to gaze upon. He'd initially got the drinks for them and they found three empty loungers in a row. Perfect.

"That was a good game," Allison told them. "If the coach would have left you in, I'm sure you could have driven the score way up," she beamed.

"Yeah," Joan agreed, "But he wanted Jerry to get more game time in. That's OK, I just watched Bob. He's good at grabbing people and throwing them to the ground."

Bob looked over at Joan with a leering grin. "Maybe I'll grab you and throw you to the ground."

"Ohhh, then what?" Joan asked with a sexy grin.

"Oh no, It's my turn," Allison said. She got up and straggled Bob's lap. With an evil grin she asked, "Does your sack work?"

Joan burst out laughing.

Feeling Allison's groin against his, Bob couldn't help but to rise to the occasion. "Oh, you tease," he said softly.

"Who's teasing?" Allison asked. "But, if you want," she said and got up. "We can go get some shacks. Can you stand up?"

Joan giggled at them. She bent over and kissed Bob, then whispered in his ear, "I'll see if you're still stiff when we get back."

"Oh, thanks a bunch."

"Any time!" Joan beamed.

.

Debby was watching. Joan couldn't have that big of a hold on him, that other girl had all but dry humped Bob right there, and she laughed. It was time to make her first approach.

.

Bob laid back and thought, yeah, tonight's going to be good. He'd closed his eyes. Feeling someone sit on him, he opened his eyes, surprised they were back already. Seeing the blonde over him, he had no idea who this was.

"Ahh, who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Debby, the best girlfriend you could ever have," she replied in a sexy tone and moved to rub his chest.

Bob clasped her wrist. "Ahh, Debby, right? You should probably get up now."

"I'll give you more that just a little tease," she said in her sex tone. "Instead of against me, I'll take you all the way in."

"I don't even know you," he said. He glanced to see Allison was coming with a basket of something. Joan was coming faster. "You need to get up," he said firmly.

"Come on, aren't I pretty? You can know me all you want. I want you," she said firmly.

It was then Joan's hand smacked into the back of her head, grabbed a handful of hair and pulled Debby's head back as she cried out.

"What are you doing?" Joan asked in a hard tone.

"Let me go, bitch!" Debby spat. She tied to slap Joan, Joan gabbed her wrist.

Joan pulled her up by her hair turned her around to face the pool and gave her a shove. Debby cried out, the edge was right there. She fell in the pool with a yelp.

"Slut," Joan spat and sat down.

"How come you have all the fun?" Allison asked. "Chip?" she asked and held the basket out to Bob.

In the pool, Debby came up coughing and grabbing for the edge. She pulled herself up, glaring at Joan.

"You'll pay for that!" Debby spat.

Joan stood back up.

Hearing the splash got everyone's attention.

"Oh, we got a crowd," Bob noted.

Debby got all the way up out of the pool. Glaring at Joan, she balled her fists and stepped forward. Joan waited until she swung with a round house, then ducked and pushed her back into the pool. Everyone laughed.

Debby surfaced again, sputtering.

"Be smart, go away!" Joan said firmly.

"You... bitch!" Debby barked, and swam for the edge. She did swim over to the ladder.

"Shoulda got popcorn, this could be entertaining," Allison said as she sat and watched.

"Hon don't kill her," Bob asked.

"Not unless I have to," Joan assured him.

Debby climbed out, looking enraged. "I'm gonna fuck your face up!" she spat and marched towards Joan.

Joan let out a snort and grinned evilly at her.

"Debby, STOP!" Laura yelled.

Debby didn't. No one made fun of her like this! She wound up to slap Joan's face off. She swung, Joan grabbed her wrist tight. Joan then spun her around by her wrist and grabbed the back of her bikini bottoms and lifted.

Debby cried out as her bikini shrunk into her butt crack and tried to force itself into her slit, making her lower lips poke out. Joan let go of Debby's wrist and grabbed the back of her bra strap, lifted, then took a running step and jumped in the pool as Debby flailed and cried out. They hit the water and sank to the bottom.

Everyone crowded around the edge of the pool. Bob and Allison even went to look.

On the bottom, Debby was frantically trying to swim up. Joan unhooked her bra and tore it away, then tore her bottoms off. Free, Debby tried to escape for the surface. Spinning her around, Joan grabbed an ankle and pulled Debby down to punch her in the gut, which caused a burst of air bubbles to rise up out of Debby. Joan then let her go and walked over to the ladder.

Debby desperately struggled to the surface to get a breath. Joan climbed the ladder back up right after Debby splashed up on the surface, wide eyed. The remains of Debby's suit were slowly floating up. Guys were watching and grinning.

Joan pointed to Debby and announced. "In case anyone's wondering, THAT is what a slut looks like."

Gasping and croaking, Debby feebly made the opposite edge of the pool. A couple guys pulled her out. She laid on her side, gasping for breaths. Pictures were taken.

"Done playing now?" Allison asked.

"For the moment," Joan replied. She grabbed a chip and sat down. "And, I didn't kill her."

Looking over a the scene, Bob saw Debby was still trying to get her breath back, while a bunch of guys watched. "You didn't, and I bet she's not too happy right now. If she has any sense, she won't come back."

Another man came over with a towel and covered Debby up and slowly got her to her feet. Wet and bent over, she pointed over at Joan. "Kill her!" she snapped in a croak.

The man shook his head and led her away.

After Debby was escorted out, Cynthia came over to ask Joan, "What was that about? I saw when you threw her in, but not why."

Joan replied, "She was sitting on Bob, rubbing herself against him and wouldn't stop."

Cynthia snickered. "I'm surprised you didn't kill her."

Joan shrugged. "Hit her a little harder or higher, and it would have. Bob said not to."

"The guy who took her away? He told her to never bother you again." Cynthia said.

"Good advice."

.

While Joan was having her pool fun, Cameron got her bags packed to take Nana to go see her friends. She had to call him and clear her trip with General Watson.

"Why do you want to go to Japan?" he asked.

"Unofficially, to take Nana to see her friends in Kamakura. Officially, I want to see this Diclonius there that was the cause of a big ruckus in that area. I wiped the files world wide about her. Before she goes on her way, I want to get to know her a bit."

He paused, then said, "I see. I'll inform the Japanese you are coming. Just keep in mind, they are very formal people."

"Yes. Shall I wear my Samurai uniform?"

"That would be best. It will make you easily recognizable."

.

Cameron figured Nana should be in a kimono also. She ordered Nana's size on line. When it came, Cameron explained they were going to the Maple Inn to see Nana's friends. Nana was excited. She bounced around and told everyone she was going. Neither John nor Delilah liked that Cameron was going by herself, so Delilah was going to make the trip with her. In getting ready to go, They helped Nana into her blue Kimono with silver trim, and put her hair up in a double braid. Each braid was wrapped around the horn on that side of her head to keep her horns hidden. Cameron and Delilah put their hair up in buns with decorative sticks in an 'X' pattern shoved into the buns. In their long suitcases, they put their extra clothes, swords and stilettos that were painted like the sticks in their hair. Just in case.

Dressed in her flowing kimono, Nana had to show everyone how she looked. The sandals they got were part of the outfit. Nana even went out to show the alligator her clothes, and spun around, arms wide so she could see how good Nana looked. Nana went back inside, the alligator went back to sleep.

The kimonos Cameron and Delilah had were more earth toned, with dull green leaf and vine prints. Almost camouflage colors. They also had a loop to put their swords sheaths in once they got there. Airlines didn't like passengers to carry long sharp objects.

John drove his wives up to the airport. Hie kissed Cameron and Delilah goodbye, Nana gave him a hug. John went home. On the way he got a call from the sheriff to stop by the office.

.

John went into the office to see the secretary across from the sheriff's desk. He came in as she asked, "Want me to go kill them?"

"No," he said firmly then got up and turned his attention to John. "Mr. Connor, glad you could make it."

John shook his hand. "What do you need sheriff?"

"We're going to have a problem, please have a seat."

The secretary got up and held the chair for John. "Please, sit here." she said sweetly.

"Umm, thanks," John replied and sat down. To the sheriff he asked, "This is something we can help with?"

"I hope so." the sheriff said and passed a paper over to him. "I know you folks keep up on high tech."

John looked at the paper. It was a notification of a federal mandate that all oil and gas operations were to cease within 6 months and 'alternate' forms of energy were to be used. "Are they crazy?" John asked.

The sheriff shrugged. "I called Austin, the state is fighting it for obvious reasons. The thing is, if they don't win, we're going to be in deep trouble."

"No shit, electric already comes from hydro-electric plants on the dams, what are people with cars and trucks suppose to do?" John asked.

The sheriff shrugged. His secretary behind John said, "Buy the electric vehicles from the companies that greased enough palms in the government to make this happen."

John frowned. "I looked into electric cars. They are expensive, and so are the replacement batteries, as well as the cost of having to dispose of the old ones. This is going to drive prices through the roof! Everyone's suppose to pony up and buy these cars and trucks now?"

"Yup, unless we can do something about it," the sheriff agreed.

"I don't see how very many people at all can afford something like this," John said.

"You're right. People can't afford it. There's going to be many lost jobs and closed businesses, not to mention the lost jobs in the oil industry. We're looking at a depression here."

John stared at the paper with a frown. "Fukin government," he grumbled. "OK, what about stockpiling?"

"It's already started. That's also driving the price of all petroleum up," the sheriff said with a sigh.

"We got any wells or anything around here?" John asked.

The sheriff shook his head. "This is farm country, mostly wine."

"What about alcohol? We can convert engines to run on that." John asked.

The sheriff raise an eyebrow. "You're talking pure alcohol, not that mixed stuff they're feeding into the gas now."

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be pure 200 proof, 170 proof or above can work. We'll just need the distilling plant to get it going," John explained. "But we will need a lot of it. Methane would work also. There's only one bat cave I know of, but it does stink with guano, The thing is, I don't know how much methane we can get from it."

"I like the alcohol idea. Can you make that happen?"

"I'll go find out. Know any moonshiners?" John asked.

"You should probably talk to Mr. Lewis." the sheriff told him.

John drove up to the Lewis farm. The sheriff knew they had a still, and nobody talked about the shine that happened to make it's way down to the bar. According to the sheriff, they did make good stuff.

Mr. Lewis at first, wasn't eager to reveal his secrets. John told him about the 'no gas' policy the government was enacting and assure him, he wanted to make fuel, not whiskey. After a mini-tirade about those damn Yankee politicians, Mr. Lewis took him out to the four stills they ran, ad had John talk to the stiller out there.

John learned a lot about fermenting and distilling, including the right temperatures for the mash and the how to process it first by a boil to kill off any microbes, then grinding- even if he used cane sugar, then cooling and adding the yeast at 95 degrees -no hotter or colder, then how to get the most alcohol out of the mix. He also learned what equipment he'd need and and all the thermometers and batch stirring tools he'd want to ensure he got the most out of each batch.

He'd also need a tanker truck to supply stations.

Driftwood only had two gas stations. He talked to the owners about the conversion. They too complained loudly about 'government interference, but agreed to stock up on gas, and make an extra pump just for alcohol. Then more if this insanity wasn't stopped.

John then had to go home and figure out how much this was going to up further information on the web, John discovered current automobile engines would need to be modified to run on alcohol. Damn, he was going to need Joe's help down at the garage also. He was also going to have to buy sugar in bulk to get the best price on it, which meant buying it by the freighter load.

This was more complex than he thought it was going to be.

.

The flight to Japan was long, and required two layovers. Thankfully, the security people believed them when Cameron showed them they were Federal agents, go they didn't have to walk through metal detectors or get wanded.

After the grueling fights, they landed in Yokohama and were met by Iwamoto Ichi, an SDF Officer. He was kind and once they were through customs, he insisted they wear their katanas to show their status. They were then led to a limo where the Officer got in with them. He sat in one of the front seats beside Nana, and closed the privacy window to the driver's compartment.

"Honorable, Connor, I understand you came to see a Diclonius?" he asked.

"That is correct, Sir," Cameron replied. "I intent to ensure this person will not be a problem here."

Nana picked up a bottle of Sake. "Can we drink these?" she asked.

Delilah shook her head, "Those are alcohol, Nana, you can't drink those." Looking at the bottles, she added, "That clear one is water, you can have that."

"Oh good! Nana's really thirsty."

Ignoring Nana, Ichi asked, "You do know they are dangerous? Our paper files are still intact, we consider them hazardous just being what they are."

"Iwamoto, I am dangerous just being what I am," Cameron told him. "We have found being treated decently and learning, they are just like anyone else. Don't make them angry and you have nothing to worry about."

Ichi became nervous. "From what I've read, it's dangerous to get anywhere near them! Even within sight of one!"

Cameron and Delilah laughed.

"Huh?" Nana asked. "Cameron, Delilah, did you want some?" Nana asked, holding the bottle out.

"No dear, you go ahead," Delilah told her.

"What was funny?" Nana asked.

Smirking Delilah told her, "This Officer is afraid of getting within sight of a Diclonius."

Nana gazed innocently at him. "Why? Nana isn't going to hurt anyone."

"Not you..." he stopped speaking and stared at her.

"Nana's a good girl," Delilah said.

"Yes, Nana is a good girl," Nana agreed, and drank another slug of water. "Sure you don't want any?" she asked.

"We're fine, Nana," Cameron told her.

Nana the looked at Ichi. "Why are you staring at Nana? Did you want some water?" she asked and held the bottle up.

"Nana, I think Officer Iwamoto is curious where you came from," Cameron offered.

"Oh! Nana came from Far Away! Far Away is a really nice place! People get together there and play music, like ... everyone! Nana learned how to swim, and went out on a boat on the lake, and Nana got to feed Allie Gator too! Nana's got a big bed too, and every meal is yummy, and Nana gets to help cook too!..."

As Cameron figured, Nana chattered at him the whole way to the drop off point at the train station. She even didn't say anything about the fish people she'd met. When the driver pulled over and stopped, he opened the back door for them. Cameron got out and thanked him, then said, "Nana, we're getting out now."

"OK, bye Mr. Officer!" she said happily and drifted out to stand beside Cameron and Delilah.

When the driver closed the door, and got back in and drove away, Iwamoto was still staring at her.

Once the Limo was out of sight, they left the train station and walked to the Maple Inn, keeping an eye out for anyone watching them. People did pause briefly at seeing them, but no one paid close attention to them or tried to follow.

.

Getting back to his office, Iwamoto sat down hard and stared at nothing.

His Captain came over to him. "Officer Iwamoto, Samurai Connors have arrived at their destination?" he asked, not happy the man didn't report.

"Yes, Sir, and I sat next to a Diclonius the whole way!"

.

Nana pointed the way to the Maple Inn, even though Cameron knew where they were going. Getting up the stairs Nana frowned. "Lucy's here. I hope she's acting better."

Delilah put an arm around her. "It's OK, Nana, don't worry."

They approached the gate to the Inn and it opened. A pink haired woman stepped out. "Who are you?" she asked.

Nana jumped ahead a step and spread her arms out to the sides. "Lucy, don't hurt them! Cameron and Delilah are nice people!"

"My name is Kaede, NOT Lucy." Kaede said firmly.

"I am Cameron, this is Delilah, and I think you already know Nana," Cameron said.

"You are Cameron?" Kaede asked.

"I am."

Kaede's face spread out into a smile. "Yes! I'm been wanting to meet you!" She motioned into the gate and added, "Please, come on in!"

.