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Chapter 60 – The Tank

The Doctor, Shakes, and Legate where playing 3 on 3 football against Poltoius, Aemilius, and Jack. They were downstairs in the bigger on the inside room that The Doctor had put the two football pitches in. One of the pitches was half the size of the official field, and was encased in bulletproof glass all around. Its appearance had earned it the nickname, "The Tank." There was no out of bounds and instead the players used the walls and ceilings to their advantage. Music blasted loudly. Currently, "Booty Swing" from Parov Stelar played.

As most of their games typically went in "The Tank", the players ended up pushing it to the extreme. Jack ran towards The Doctor, intending to tackle him. At the last moment, The Doctor braced himself and bent over, body slamming Jack to the ground. Jack hit the ground with a loud thump as The Doctor passed the ball to Legate. Legate moved the ball up the field, shot it for a goal, and his father barely missed blocking it.

"Yes!" Shakes yelled as he ran down the field.

The Doctor helped Jack up. They both watched as Poltoius kicked the ball out. The ball went high in the air and The Doctor and Jack both jumped to hit it off of their heads. It bounced to Aemilius who bounced it off of both of his knees as he ran down the pitch. He kicked it hard against the wall. As it bounced back, Jack bounced it off his chest. Then he shot it towards their goal. Shakes caught it easily.

Jack complained. "Man! That's so unfair! He's as big as the damn goal! I call shit on this!"

The Doctor laughed as he and Legate ran back towards the other side of the pitch. Shakes kicked the ball back out to them.

Pete and Lewis walked into the room. The room had a concrete floor, but inside the pitches was artificial grass. There were benches set up outside of both fields. Pete put his hands on his hips as he walked in. "I've never been in here. This is really something."

Lewis smiled. "I'd be embarrassed to tell you how much time we spend in here. It's really sad."

Pete chuckled as they walked over to the bench and sat down to watch the players.

Jack was moving the ball down the field. The Doctor, in an attempt to steal the ball from Jack, tripped them both. They both tumbled down the pitch. When both of them stopped rolling, they lay on their backs and laughed.

Pete laughed at them. He looked back at Lewis. "Well, at least he's in a good mood. This will go over better."

Lewis smiled. "He's already recovered from that concussion?"

Pete looked back at Lewis. "You're forgetting about his wife. She wasn't going to allow him remain injured."

Lewis nodded. "True."

Jake popped inside of the room. He walked over to Pete and Lewis and patted them on the shoulders. "And I'm here. Did you tell him, yet?"

Pete looked back at Jake. "No. We just got here ourselves. Have you seen them play this? Is it even football?"

As Pete said that, Jack ran to steal the ball from Legate. Legate saw him coming and passed the ball to The Doctor. Then Legate completely disappeared and Jack ran full speed into the wall. He fell onto the pitch. Legate reappeared next to the goal as The Doctor passed him the ball again. Poltoius never saw Legate kick it in.

"Wooo!" The Doctor yelled as he ran back down the pitch.

Pete laughed, "What is this that they are playing?"

Lewis laughed, "This is what we call, 'Anything Goes Football.' You will carry more bruises than any fight you have ever been in. Oh, it's the best!"

Jake smiled. "Damn. That does look fun."

Jack got back to his feet and made a "T" with his hands. "Alright!" He yelled. "Time-out! That is unfair! Legate! What the actual fuck, man!?"

Legate laughed at Jack. "Oh, you're fine. Shake it off."

Pete laughed in disbelief. "Rose lets him play this?"

Lewis shook his head. "She's never been down here. I don't think she knows. She would be pissed though. Oh yes. Granted, I bet she'd be good at it."

Pete looked at Lewis seriously, "Oh hell yeah, she would be! All of them would carry an ass kicking they wouldn't forget."

The Doctor noticed them sitting on the bench. He threw up his hand. "Hey! Time-out for real guys."

He ran over to the side of the glass to speak to them. "Hey. What do you need?"

Pete smiled at him. "Just a quick word. Can you come out here for a bit?"

As they were talking, Jack lined up the football and kicked it as hard as he could to hit The Doctor in the back. As the ball struck him, his wrist's force field activated and the ball bounced off of him, harmlessly. He turned around and pointed at Jack, who was laughing hysterically. "I could do that all day, man!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he pointed at him. "I'll be back in a minute to get even with you."

Jack laughed, "As I live in fear."

The Doctor smiled as he walked out of the tank and joined Pete, Lewis and Jake. Shakes joined him. They both picked up water bottles and towels and wiped the sweat from their faces.

Pete took a deep breath. "Son, you're not going to like this news. Not at all."

Jake looked at him and decided it was best to get it out all at once. "We can't do anything with Dorian Idles. His hot shot lawyer brought up the point that anyone could have been using his e-mail address to schedule an assassination against you."

Lewis added quickly. "We can prosecute the man who did shoot though. And we intend to. This is just not something I thought about. This was my fault. I apologize."

The Doctor could sense that they were all expecting him to become very angry. Maybe it was because he had been playing the game and had gotten so much of his aggression out that he reacted completely different.

"Well, that's disappointing. I won't lie. But, nothing really changes. We can keep a man on him and still stay a step ahead of him. Maybe we can get a harsh sentencing for the shooter. Everything thinks I'm recovering."

Pete's relief was oblivious. He smiled, "Hell of a way to recover, son. How bruised up are you when you leave a game like this?"

He smiled. "I have a dermal regenerator over in the corner there. We usually all have to use it after this."

Pete laughed in disbelief. He pointed at his face. "You're going to have to use it on that eye for sure. You have a nice shiner there."

The Doctor rubbed his eye. "Geez. Jack did get me. Damn it."

Shakes laughed at him. He turned to Lewis. "Lewis. You couldn't have seen this coming. It doesn't reflect badly of your idea. Don't let this discourage you. Your charge is safe. The person responsible is being held accountable for his actions, and the situation is no worse."

Lewis dropped his head and sighed. "Still sucks, Summus. I didn't realize how hard this was."

"You are doing fine. But, take the day off. You need to relax a bit. I'll take the guard back. Go spend time with your beloved."

Lewis nodded his head. "Thank you, Summus." He said something to him in Quauhtin.

The Doctor's wrist blinked. He reached around and picked up his phone up off of the bench. He walked away as he spoke to someone in the strange language where he popped his mouth.

Pete looked back at Shakes. "Who's he on with?"

Shakes shook his head. "I'm not sure. He's speaking Andromedae. Something about a brain injury."

Pete looked concerned. "How is he speaking that to someone? Are they here?"

Shakes continued to watch The Doctor. "No. He's probably routed the call through his ship. That's how he can talk to them on his phone easily."

Pete looked impressed.

The Doctor ended the call and rejoined them. "That's what I needed to talk to all of you about! My mind has been scrambled since the shooting last night. I'm sorry."

He whistled loudly for the others to join him. They ran out of the tank and stood around him.

Jack grabbed a towel. "What's up?"

The Doctor rubbed his face. "Let me see if I remember all of this. The Andromedaens called me the other night. A member of the royal family there has suffered a brain injury similar to the one you had, Pete. The doctors of Plentitude called to see if I could come and help repair it. They are on their way there now."

Pete looked surprised. "You're leaving for Plentitude?"

He nodded his head. "Yes. I'm going to take Rose, Genie and Sam of course."

Pete pointed at him, "And Tony. I'll get some sleep knowing he's safely away from here. Just, don't take him to that restaurant you took me to."

All of the men looked questionability at The Doctor.

Jack asked, "What restaurant was that?"

The Doctor smiled like a loon. "Sky Bubbles."

All of Quauhtin and Jack laughed hysterically.

Shakes threw his head back and declared. "No! No children at Sky Bubbles. Oh wow!"

Jack grinned, "Oh, I love that place."

Jake looked at him. "What about this mess with Idles?"

"There's nothing I can do about it even if I'm here. Besides. If I disappear for a while, my injury will seem worse. It might help with the sentencing. Besides, you can handle all of that, Jake."

Jake smiled. "Of course! Maybe we'll find some way to nail him to the wall while you are gone. Shakes might be able to cook up a plan."

Pete crossed his arms. "How long will you be gone?"

The Doctor shook his head. "At least a week. I'm not sure how long it will take though. But, it won't be like when we went. You can reach us with a simple phone call. I'll route it all through my ship."

Shakes nodded. "Who would you like to take with you? Lewis needs a holiday. I recommend him."

Lewis held his hand up. "Arla wouldn't like me being gone that long and I don't want to scare her with a trip in space. You go, and I'll handle the guard here."

Shakes thought about it and shook his head. "No. Talk to Arla first. If she intends to be your bride, she needs to know what she's getting into. She could join you and help care for the children."

Pete, Jack and Jake all held up their hands in surprise and make noises of shock.

Jack was the first one to speak. "Wait a moment! Your bride? You are marrying Arla? Who's Arla?"

The Doctor smacked him in the chest. "The German woman he's been dating you moron."

Jake nodded his head as he realized. "Oh! Damn, you're gone for five months and life just moves on."

Pete smiled at Lewis and patted him on the shoulder. "Fantastic! Congratulations Lewis!"

Poltoius nodded. "The guard was told, but apparently he was too shy to tell the family. Although, I think the Doc' knew."

The Doctor nodded his head. "Yeah. We had talked about it. Summus is right, Lewis. Bring her. She never has to leave the ship if she isn't comfortable with that. Talk to her and see what she says."

Lewis nodded his head and smiled.

Jack smiled and became very excited. "Holy shit! Do you know what this means?!"

They all looked surprised at him.

Jake laughed, "I really hate to ask."

Jack pointed both fingers at them. "Bachelor party!"

Pete and The Doctor shook their heads at Jack. The Doctor looked back at Pete. "That doesn't surprise me at all."

Jack held out his hands. "What? I'll plan everything!"

Jake put his hands on his hips. "What if the shooter last night wasn't acting alone? What if we need you to make an appearance in the next few days?"

The Doctor pointed at Poltoius. "Put a wig on Poltoius and he can get shot at. Put a personal shield on him though."

Legate shook his head. "I really don't like that idea. Sorry."

Poltoius smiled at Legate and patted his back.

The Doctor laughed. "Then put a wig on Summus. He could pass as me"

Jack laughed hysterically. "He's ten times bigger than you! And not to mention, way darker!"

Shakes crossed his arms and smiled. "He wishes he had skin as beautiful as mine. Who else would you like to take, Doctor?"

The Doctor thought. "Timon for sure. In case we break something. Then just whoever wants to go. I'll need…. What do you think? Six men?"

Shakes nodded his head and looked at Lewis. "What do you think, Lewis? Six?"

Lewis agreed.

Legate raised his hand. "I'd like to go. You might need a pilot. Plus, Genie and I have a game of Candyland I'm determined to win."

The Doctor smiled. "Right. Also. I want to ask something….unusual. Jake. Can I take a recruit who's in Basic right now?"

Jake looked surprised. "What? Why?"

"Honestly, it's Michelle's son. He's a great footballer and I know he's in prime physical condition. He's played football with us for months. I want to handle his training myself. He's a good lad who can be one hell of an agent with some special attention. I'd like to take him with me on this trip, too. Then, I'll handle the rest of his training once we return."

"What? You handle all of his training? Like a special case?" Jake asked.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Exactly."

Jake nodded his head. "I'm fine with it. As long as the other Director agrees. Director Tyler?"

Pete nodded. "Too bad you can't take a few more under your wing. Sounds good to me."

"Excellent! We need to leave this afternoon. I suppose I better tell Rose, huh?" he smiled.

Pete laughed, "That would be a good place to start."

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