Case 4: Masada, Part 5
Disclaimer: Same as before.
C.J. Sandiego - Please remember the InGen Conspiracy Case.
~ ~ ~ ~
San Francisco, 1600 Local Time
"Ready hon?" Zack asked Tatiana as they watered some plants in Ivy's apartment, careful not to dirty her beige carpet.
"In a bit." Tatiana replied as she watered a small orchid Ivy had in the window, "Oh, look at this."
"What?" Zack said, "I don't think I'd want Ivy mad at me for invading her privacy."
"It's on a shelf in the living room." Tatiana replied. Zack was in the small kitchenette area, closest to the door and he walked in to see what his fiancée was gawking about.
On top of a shelf in the living room, next to several books and a couple awards from various competitions Ivy had won was a framed photograph. It was a picture of Hal and Ivy standing next to each other, arm in arm. Both of them were dressed up, with Ivy wearing her wine red dress and Hal a black three piece suit with a sky blue shirt and tie. Both of them were smiling about something or other.
"Isn't this cute Zack?" Tatiana asked.
"Yeah, it's from when Hal and Ivy solved that case in Jurassic Park earlier this month. It's from that dance competition they won." Zack said, then raised his eyebrow saying, "Why?"
"I'm just saying they make a cute couple. It's a real nice picture. And wasn't there a trophy on that shelf last week?" Tatiana asked.
"There was, it's just that Hal and Ivy exchange which one has the picture and which has the trophy every week." Zack replied.
"Do you think Hal likes her?" Tatiana asked.
"Ivy says they're just friends." Zack said, "I'm not sure about Hal though. It's to be a very long story about how Ivy looks just like someone he loved who was murdered last year. She was an ACME detective too, named Diane."
"I know, Ivy told me all about that." Tatiana said, "They're just friends, however, I think they could work as a couple."
"So that's why you booked them together in one room?" Zack said, rolling his eyes, "Don't rush things like that. You know if Hal does try something Ivy would break his arm in four places."
"Please, I don't think either of them will try anything. But I'm hoping the enforced proximity plants the seed." Tatiana replied, "Anyway, there weren't many other hotels in Tel Aviv."
~ ~ ~ ~
Israeli Border Police HQ, Tel Aviv
26 May 2000: Elsa Neuman sat across from Hal and Ivy with Demerest hovering behind them in the conference room of the headquarters building of the Israeli Border Police. Her ginger hair was done up so it fit neatly underneath her helmet which lay at her side. Her own rifle wasn't more than an arm's length away.
"So what do you know of Parhouz's activities?" Ivy asked.
"Well, ma'am, I was on patrol in the Sinai Desert ten days ago when we intercepted a truck that had crossed our border from Egypt, ostensibly carrying a water tank. We inspected it and discovered a large cache of weapons of various kinds. After the driver was interrogated we discovered that the weapons were supplied by a 'Friend of Palestinian Liberation' in exchange for sanctuary in Palestinian territory." Elsa began.
"How did you know it was Parhouz?" Hal asked.
"A few days later two of our undercover agents from Unit YAMAS identified a bearded fellow with a scar running down his left cheek." Elsa replied, "We forwarded the information to a nearby unit. We found his safe house deserted but booby trapped several stores of ammunition."
"YAMAS?" Ivy asked.
"It's an Israeli undercover counterterrorism unit attached to the Israeli Border Police, the MAGAV." Hal replied, at Elsa and Andrew's quizzical looks he added, "I was here a four man SAS detachment teaching your blokes in your Special Command Teams a thing or two about off road desert driving and tactical maneuvers."
"You are SAS?" Elsa asked.
"Yes." Hal asked.
"What are you doing in ACME then?" Demerest asked.
"My exchange tour." Hal replied, "They sent me to ACME when I was working with the US Army Delta Force unit as part of a four man unit helping ACME boost its counter terrorism abilities."
"Anyway, back to the case." Ivy said, "How did you identify Parhouz?"
"It was after we booby trapped some weapons and set up a surveillance operation was when we caught his picture on film." Elsa said.
"An advanced for of jarking, nice." Hal replied, at Ivy's quizzical look he added, "We used to put tracking devices on weapons' caches we discovered in Northern Ireland. Their idea of jarking, however consists of putting rounds that explode as soon as the trigger is pulled into weapons."
"Yes." Elsa replied, with an ironic smile, "And so far we found eight Arab terrorists whose AK-47s mysteriously exploded into their faces. And as I analyzed photographs, which is my job, I forwarded copies to ACME. It seems that we have someone on the inside giving information to Parhouz and that's why we've been unable to catch him."
"Sadly we never were allowed to do that in Northern Ireland. It would have rid us of a few terrorist wankers." Hal replied.
"So Parhouz hasn't been able to leave the Occupied Territories" Ivy asked.
"So far he's been contained. We have checkpoints, dogs and assorted units surrounding the area. He'd be a fool to try anything." Andrew replied.
"He just somehow, conveniently, avoids being captured by Israeli raids. What is so important about this guy anyway? He seems like he's one of Maelstrom's weapon traders, but that's all." Ivy asked.
"He's wanted for a number of bombings throughout Britain, Europe, and Israeli. About a dozen countries including Germany, France, Italy and the UK have warrants for his arrest." Hal replied, "I lost a mate of mine trying to capture Parhouz in Northern Ireland three years ago."
"Maelstrom must be recruiting down here. For what I can't imagine." Ivy began, "But it seems to be the place to get one or two expert bomb makers in a hurry to..."
"The trouble is what could Maelstrom be targeting? And Parhouz, if we capture him he should be able to find out Maelstrom's plans and delay if not stop them." Hal began.
They walked outside and just then a trio of masked men armed with AK-47 appeared. Hal shoved Ivy out of the way and then drew his sidearm swiftly and shot the first one twice in the chest and once in the throat. Demerest shot the second down with two rounds to the stomach. As the third opened fire the breach of his weapon exploded, propelling the bolt backward, into his face with such force that the metal object was solidly lodged in his brain.
The surviving terrorist was reaching for a hand grenade as Hal, Demerest, and Elsa were checking the two dead ones. Ivy swiftly drew her own sidearm and shot him. She had weapons training, to be sure, but this was the first time she had ever shot anyone. It had all been due to training and reflex action, she had no time to think.
Back at their hotel room, Hal and Ivy were going through copies of the documents Elsa had translated and printed out for them. Hal couldn't help but notice Ivy seemed more than a bit subdued.
"Are you alright?" Hal asked.
"I'm fine." Ivy replied.
"Hey, I know how you feel. After the adrenaline rush, you realize what you've done." Hal replied.
"So when did you....?" Ivy began.
"First kill a man?" Hal replied, "It was shortly after my eighteenth birthday in Northern Ireland. It was an IRA gunman who'd been responsible for the deaths of several British soldiers over the past decade. I spent six days tracking him, memorizing his routes, picking out his hides. I found where he was firing from after the fifth day, and my spotter radioed in his location. We had our orders, shoot to kill. As he set his rifle up to fire on a border checkpoint I centered my crosshairs on his face."
Ivy noticed Hal's eyes took a frighteningly faraway look, as if even almost a decade later he was reliving a moment that heralded a point of no return. She could see that Hal relived the moment where he had first killed another human being.
"I could see he was married by the ring on his finger." Hal continued, "I could tell he hadn't shaved that morning, or for the past five. I centered the crosshairs on his head and I slowly squeezed the trigger, breathing slowly, and surprising myself with the rifle recoil. I could tell that I had killed him off the bat, because I saw blood erupt from his head and saw him pitch backward. That was the first sight picture, and it wasn't the last."
"How do you live with that?" Ivy asked, emotion tingeing her voice.
"I relied on the knowledge that they'd do the same to me in a heartbeat. But it doesn't help that I see their faces every time I close my eyes." Hal replied, "So you see, Ivy, you have an advantage. You killed that terrorist in self defense, you'll get it out of your system. That's radically different than killing a man in cold blood. I know a mate of mine on my old sniper unit with the Royal Marines, he got locked up in a mental hospital because he couldn't deal with the nightmares, the cold sweats, the strain of being a sniper."
Hal had tenderly put his arm around her shoulders as she said, "But that man could have been a husband, a father.....definitely someone's son."
"I know." Hal replied. As Ivy looked at Hal, into his eyes, she could see a soldier with years of combat under his belt.
"But why do I feel guilty?" Ivy asked, she sounded unsure of herself and that alone was unsettling for Hal.
"You're a human being, you just killed another person. You do feel that way." Hal replied, "The worst thing you can do is go numb and feel nothing for what you've done. That's when blokes go to the mental hospitals."
"Why do I feel....?" Ivy asked. Hal instinctively put his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder. He could feel tears soak through the material of his shirt.
"Hey, it's alright." Hal said, soothingly, "It will pass. You know that you saved my life, Elsa's and Demerest's when you shot that terrorist."
Ivy looked up at him, with a weak smile, "I guess even the SAS need people to watch their backs."
"You're right. We're just as human as the rest of you." Hal replied.
"What time is it, by the way?" Ivy asked.
"Ivy, if you're asking ME for the time, then something really must be wrong. I mean your internal clock is practically flawless. You'll have to tell me how you do that someday." Hal replied, "It's almost 0200."
"No wonder I'm tired." Ivy yawned, as she changed into her night shirt.
Hal averted his eyes as she did so, but Ivy had already had her shirt over her head and Hal could see that she'd chosen to wear black under her clothes that day. 'I definitely shouldn't be feeling this way.' Hal thought, feeling blood from his head moving to someplace lower, 'She's vulnerable right now. I shouldn't be thinking about what I'm thinking. Wanker.'
"Hal, it should be seventeen hundred right now." Ivy said, buttoning her shirt up.
"Oh you mean, Zack and Tatiana have their big dinner, when they tell your parents and hers about their wild weekend in Hawaii." Hal replied as he removed his collared shirt and undershirt.
Ivy couldn't help but stare for a bit. Hal was lean and fit, from years in the British Royal Marines and later the Special Air Service, 22 SAS. She certainly was admiring the view before she averted her own eyes, frankly she knew that Hal had stared a little long when she slid her shirt over her head, and she was flattered. Honestly.
'Hmm, I don't think I'd mind taking our sleeping arrangement a little farther than last night.' Ivy thought, 'Wait a minute, Darren, slow down! Remember we agreed to stay friends for now...'
~ ~ ~ ~
Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, 1700 Local Time
"Zackary, what's the occasion?" Detective Robert Darren, San Francisco Police Department, Zack's father, said.
"You'll find out shortly Dad." Zack replied, gulping.
"Tatiana?" Mrs. Rossovsky said, "Why are we here? What's the occasion?"
As the salad was served, and soup was finished Tatiana and Zack sat beside each other. Zack slid his hand onto his fiancée's. The main course was uneventful with lighthearted banter and talk. But one could easily sense the tension in the air. The two sets of parents knew that there was something amiss, but they couldn't put their fingers on it.
After the main course was served and the families had eaten, Tatiana found her courage as Zack gently squeezed her hand. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make."
Tatiana gulped audibly and blinked her eyes nervously, "When Zack and I were in Hawaii a month ago, something came up."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Mrs. Rossovsky said.
Tatiana stood up and said, "I'm pregnant. One month so far."
At this Tatiana's mother grew pale, "How could you DO this!"
"Mother, it was an accident...." Tatiana began.
"How could you do this?" Tatiana's mother continued.
"Mrs. Rossovsky, I am appalled." Zack said, "She's your daughter, she may be carrying a child, out of wedlock. But she's our child. And your grandchild, and I wish you'd be less harsh with her."
"Mrs. Rossovsky, while I don't condone my son's actions...."
"Bob..." Rosalyn Darren, Zack and Ivy's mother, began.
"It's okay Rosalyn." Bob said, "While I don't approve of our son's actions but..."
"You DON'T APPROVE!" Mrs. Rossovsky shouted, "YOU DON'T APPROVE! OUR DAUGHTER HAS....."
"Rudina, calm down." Mr. Rossovsky began, "You're hurting our daughter."
Tears appeared in Tatiana's eyes, "Mother, this child is you grandchild. Will this scorn be directed at your own grandchild?"
Zack held Tatiana tenderly, appalled at his future mother-in-law's vitriol. "I intend to marry your daughter, and be a father to my, excuse me, our child. It doesn't matter how he was conceived...."
"You say this as a crude excuse..." Rudina replied.
"Please, son," Rosalyn said, "Tell us how this began."
"It all started in Hawaii, when we got an unexpected four days vacation." Zack began.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (I'll write up that chapter on their wild weekend shortly, but I just didn't think it fit with the action adventure of this chapter.)
Disclaimer: Same as before.
C.J. Sandiego - Please remember the InGen Conspiracy Case.
~ ~ ~ ~
San Francisco, 1600 Local Time
"Ready hon?" Zack asked Tatiana as they watered some plants in Ivy's apartment, careful not to dirty her beige carpet.
"In a bit." Tatiana replied as she watered a small orchid Ivy had in the window, "Oh, look at this."
"What?" Zack said, "I don't think I'd want Ivy mad at me for invading her privacy."
"It's on a shelf in the living room." Tatiana replied. Zack was in the small kitchenette area, closest to the door and he walked in to see what his fiancée was gawking about.
On top of a shelf in the living room, next to several books and a couple awards from various competitions Ivy had won was a framed photograph. It was a picture of Hal and Ivy standing next to each other, arm in arm. Both of them were dressed up, with Ivy wearing her wine red dress and Hal a black three piece suit with a sky blue shirt and tie. Both of them were smiling about something or other.
"Isn't this cute Zack?" Tatiana asked.
"Yeah, it's from when Hal and Ivy solved that case in Jurassic Park earlier this month. It's from that dance competition they won." Zack said, then raised his eyebrow saying, "Why?"
"I'm just saying they make a cute couple. It's a real nice picture. And wasn't there a trophy on that shelf last week?" Tatiana asked.
"There was, it's just that Hal and Ivy exchange which one has the picture and which has the trophy every week." Zack replied.
"Do you think Hal likes her?" Tatiana asked.
"Ivy says they're just friends." Zack said, "I'm not sure about Hal though. It's to be a very long story about how Ivy looks just like someone he loved who was murdered last year. She was an ACME detective too, named Diane."
"I know, Ivy told me all about that." Tatiana said, "They're just friends, however, I think they could work as a couple."
"So that's why you booked them together in one room?" Zack said, rolling his eyes, "Don't rush things like that. You know if Hal does try something Ivy would break his arm in four places."
"Please, I don't think either of them will try anything. But I'm hoping the enforced proximity plants the seed." Tatiana replied, "Anyway, there weren't many other hotels in Tel Aviv."
~ ~ ~ ~
Israeli Border Police HQ, Tel Aviv
26 May 2000: Elsa Neuman sat across from Hal and Ivy with Demerest hovering behind them in the conference room of the headquarters building of the Israeli Border Police. Her ginger hair was done up so it fit neatly underneath her helmet which lay at her side. Her own rifle wasn't more than an arm's length away.
"So what do you know of Parhouz's activities?" Ivy asked.
"Well, ma'am, I was on patrol in the Sinai Desert ten days ago when we intercepted a truck that had crossed our border from Egypt, ostensibly carrying a water tank. We inspected it and discovered a large cache of weapons of various kinds. After the driver was interrogated we discovered that the weapons were supplied by a 'Friend of Palestinian Liberation' in exchange for sanctuary in Palestinian territory." Elsa began.
"How did you know it was Parhouz?" Hal asked.
"A few days later two of our undercover agents from Unit YAMAS identified a bearded fellow with a scar running down his left cheek." Elsa replied, "We forwarded the information to a nearby unit. We found his safe house deserted but booby trapped several stores of ammunition."
"YAMAS?" Ivy asked.
"It's an Israeli undercover counterterrorism unit attached to the Israeli Border Police, the MAGAV." Hal replied, at Elsa and Andrew's quizzical looks he added, "I was here a four man SAS detachment teaching your blokes in your Special Command Teams a thing or two about off road desert driving and tactical maneuvers."
"You are SAS?" Elsa asked.
"Yes." Hal asked.
"What are you doing in ACME then?" Demerest asked.
"My exchange tour." Hal replied, "They sent me to ACME when I was working with the US Army Delta Force unit as part of a four man unit helping ACME boost its counter terrorism abilities."
"Anyway, back to the case." Ivy said, "How did you identify Parhouz?"
"It was after we booby trapped some weapons and set up a surveillance operation was when we caught his picture on film." Elsa said.
"An advanced for of jarking, nice." Hal replied, at Ivy's quizzical look he added, "We used to put tracking devices on weapons' caches we discovered in Northern Ireland. Their idea of jarking, however consists of putting rounds that explode as soon as the trigger is pulled into weapons."
"Yes." Elsa replied, with an ironic smile, "And so far we found eight Arab terrorists whose AK-47s mysteriously exploded into their faces. And as I analyzed photographs, which is my job, I forwarded copies to ACME. It seems that we have someone on the inside giving information to Parhouz and that's why we've been unable to catch him."
"Sadly we never were allowed to do that in Northern Ireland. It would have rid us of a few terrorist wankers." Hal replied.
"So Parhouz hasn't been able to leave the Occupied Territories" Ivy asked.
"So far he's been contained. We have checkpoints, dogs and assorted units surrounding the area. He'd be a fool to try anything." Andrew replied.
"He just somehow, conveniently, avoids being captured by Israeli raids. What is so important about this guy anyway? He seems like he's one of Maelstrom's weapon traders, but that's all." Ivy asked.
"He's wanted for a number of bombings throughout Britain, Europe, and Israeli. About a dozen countries including Germany, France, Italy and the UK have warrants for his arrest." Hal replied, "I lost a mate of mine trying to capture Parhouz in Northern Ireland three years ago."
"Maelstrom must be recruiting down here. For what I can't imagine." Ivy began, "But it seems to be the place to get one or two expert bomb makers in a hurry to..."
"The trouble is what could Maelstrom be targeting? And Parhouz, if we capture him he should be able to find out Maelstrom's plans and delay if not stop them." Hal began.
They walked outside and just then a trio of masked men armed with AK-47 appeared. Hal shoved Ivy out of the way and then drew his sidearm swiftly and shot the first one twice in the chest and once in the throat. Demerest shot the second down with two rounds to the stomach. As the third opened fire the breach of his weapon exploded, propelling the bolt backward, into his face with such force that the metal object was solidly lodged in his brain.
The surviving terrorist was reaching for a hand grenade as Hal, Demerest, and Elsa were checking the two dead ones. Ivy swiftly drew her own sidearm and shot him. She had weapons training, to be sure, but this was the first time she had ever shot anyone. It had all been due to training and reflex action, she had no time to think.
Back at their hotel room, Hal and Ivy were going through copies of the documents Elsa had translated and printed out for them. Hal couldn't help but notice Ivy seemed more than a bit subdued.
"Are you alright?" Hal asked.
"I'm fine." Ivy replied.
"Hey, I know how you feel. After the adrenaline rush, you realize what you've done." Hal replied.
"So when did you....?" Ivy began.
"First kill a man?" Hal replied, "It was shortly after my eighteenth birthday in Northern Ireland. It was an IRA gunman who'd been responsible for the deaths of several British soldiers over the past decade. I spent six days tracking him, memorizing his routes, picking out his hides. I found where he was firing from after the fifth day, and my spotter radioed in his location. We had our orders, shoot to kill. As he set his rifle up to fire on a border checkpoint I centered my crosshairs on his face."
Ivy noticed Hal's eyes took a frighteningly faraway look, as if even almost a decade later he was reliving a moment that heralded a point of no return. She could see that Hal relived the moment where he had first killed another human being.
"I could see he was married by the ring on his finger." Hal continued, "I could tell he hadn't shaved that morning, or for the past five. I centered the crosshairs on his head and I slowly squeezed the trigger, breathing slowly, and surprising myself with the rifle recoil. I could tell that I had killed him off the bat, because I saw blood erupt from his head and saw him pitch backward. That was the first sight picture, and it wasn't the last."
"How do you live with that?" Ivy asked, emotion tingeing her voice.
"I relied on the knowledge that they'd do the same to me in a heartbeat. But it doesn't help that I see their faces every time I close my eyes." Hal replied, "So you see, Ivy, you have an advantage. You killed that terrorist in self defense, you'll get it out of your system. That's radically different than killing a man in cold blood. I know a mate of mine on my old sniper unit with the Royal Marines, he got locked up in a mental hospital because he couldn't deal with the nightmares, the cold sweats, the strain of being a sniper."
Hal had tenderly put his arm around her shoulders as she said, "But that man could have been a husband, a father.....definitely someone's son."
"I know." Hal replied. As Ivy looked at Hal, into his eyes, she could see a soldier with years of combat under his belt.
"But why do I feel guilty?" Ivy asked, she sounded unsure of herself and that alone was unsettling for Hal.
"You're a human being, you just killed another person. You do feel that way." Hal replied, "The worst thing you can do is go numb and feel nothing for what you've done. That's when blokes go to the mental hospitals."
"Why do I feel....?" Ivy asked. Hal instinctively put his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder. He could feel tears soak through the material of his shirt.
"Hey, it's alright." Hal said, soothingly, "It will pass. You know that you saved my life, Elsa's and Demerest's when you shot that terrorist."
Ivy looked up at him, with a weak smile, "I guess even the SAS need people to watch their backs."
"You're right. We're just as human as the rest of you." Hal replied.
"What time is it, by the way?" Ivy asked.
"Ivy, if you're asking ME for the time, then something really must be wrong. I mean your internal clock is practically flawless. You'll have to tell me how you do that someday." Hal replied, "It's almost 0200."
"No wonder I'm tired." Ivy yawned, as she changed into her night shirt.
Hal averted his eyes as she did so, but Ivy had already had her shirt over her head and Hal could see that she'd chosen to wear black under her clothes that day. 'I definitely shouldn't be feeling this way.' Hal thought, feeling blood from his head moving to someplace lower, 'She's vulnerable right now. I shouldn't be thinking about what I'm thinking. Wanker.'
"Hal, it should be seventeen hundred right now." Ivy said, buttoning her shirt up.
"Oh you mean, Zack and Tatiana have their big dinner, when they tell your parents and hers about their wild weekend in Hawaii." Hal replied as he removed his collared shirt and undershirt.
Ivy couldn't help but stare for a bit. Hal was lean and fit, from years in the British Royal Marines and later the Special Air Service, 22 SAS. She certainly was admiring the view before she averted her own eyes, frankly she knew that Hal had stared a little long when she slid her shirt over her head, and she was flattered. Honestly.
'Hmm, I don't think I'd mind taking our sleeping arrangement a little farther than last night.' Ivy thought, 'Wait a minute, Darren, slow down! Remember we agreed to stay friends for now...'
~ ~ ~ ~
Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, 1700 Local Time
"Zackary, what's the occasion?" Detective Robert Darren, San Francisco Police Department, Zack's father, said.
"You'll find out shortly Dad." Zack replied, gulping.
"Tatiana?" Mrs. Rossovsky said, "Why are we here? What's the occasion?"
As the salad was served, and soup was finished Tatiana and Zack sat beside each other. Zack slid his hand onto his fiancée's. The main course was uneventful with lighthearted banter and talk. But one could easily sense the tension in the air. The two sets of parents knew that there was something amiss, but they couldn't put their fingers on it.
After the main course was served and the families had eaten, Tatiana found her courage as Zack gently squeezed her hand. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make."
Tatiana gulped audibly and blinked her eyes nervously, "When Zack and I were in Hawaii a month ago, something came up."
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Mrs. Rossovsky said.
Tatiana stood up and said, "I'm pregnant. One month so far."
At this Tatiana's mother grew pale, "How could you DO this!"
"Mother, it was an accident...." Tatiana began.
"How could you do this?" Tatiana's mother continued.
"Mrs. Rossovsky, I am appalled." Zack said, "She's your daughter, she may be carrying a child, out of wedlock. But she's our child. And your grandchild, and I wish you'd be less harsh with her."
"Mrs. Rossovsky, while I don't condone my son's actions...."
"Bob..." Rosalyn Darren, Zack and Ivy's mother, began.
"It's okay Rosalyn." Bob said, "While I don't approve of our son's actions but..."
"You DON'T APPROVE!" Mrs. Rossovsky shouted, "YOU DON'T APPROVE! OUR DAUGHTER HAS....."
"Rudina, calm down." Mr. Rossovsky began, "You're hurting our daughter."
Tears appeared in Tatiana's eyes, "Mother, this child is you grandchild. Will this scorn be directed at your own grandchild?"
Zack held Tatiana tenderly, appalled at his future mother-in-law's vitriol. "I intend to marry your daughter, and be a father to my, excuse me, our child. It doesn't matter how he was conceived...."
"You say this as a crude excuse..." Rudina replied.
"Please, son," Rosalyn said, "Tell us how this began."
"It all started in Hawaii, when we got an unexpected four days vacation." Zack began.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (I'll write up that chapter on their wild weekend shortly, but I just didn't think it fit with the action adventure of this chapter.)