THE STARTING FIRE-
"You blind fool!" Achilles cursed as Briseis fled out the door.
"You just let her slip out like that?" he demanded incredulously as he swiftly followed.
"She was very slippery," Agamemnon panted as he struggled to keep up with Achilles. "Like a fish with very nice curves…"
"Shut up!" Achilles barked.
As they came to the end of the driveway, a car suddenly sped off, but Achilles spotted the face that looked back at him in the window. Achilles stared at the shrinking figure of the car for a moment and then said, "I'm going after them."
Agamemnon threw up his hands. "And you're calling me a fool? She's not worth the trouble. Now, if you would just think for a moment, how about helping me…"
Achilles' red Ferrari had already zoomed for the horizon and Agamemnon smiled. He had known that Achilles would act like that. He reached into his pocket for his vibrating cell phone.
"Calchas," Agamemnon answered the phone. "Mr. Superman is off on pursuit. I want you to take the girl to my brother. Then let's see if she can still stick to Hector's lie."
"Copy that," Calchas replied.
"Copy that what?" Agamemnon demanded.
"Copy that sir?" the confused voice ventured.
"No!" Agamemnon stomped his foot. "My codename is Suave Big Man, remember that."
"Will do, uh…Suave Big Man," Calchas stammered. Well, at least the Big Man part fit.
HOUSE OF ACHILLES –
"Ok," Hector whispered as he stood on the doorstep of Achilles' home. "Plan A is that Helen disguises herself as a hooker and says that she's a gift from Agamemnon so she can get inside the house. Plan B is that Paris dresses up as an executive from L'oreal Shampoo telling Achilles that he's been hired as a model. Plan C is that we simply break down the door and take Briseis back by force."
"I like Plan C," Paris decided.
The two brothers backed away and then rammed up against the door, slamming their whole body weight against the wood. The only problem was that Paris had used his head to collide into the door.
Inside, Patroclus had heard someone knocking so he opened the door to be greeted by a young man with dark curls that immediately smiled and said,
"Hello! My name is Spooky, Spooky Doo!"
Once that was finished, he threw back his head and guffawed.
An older man pushed 'Spooky Doo' aside and demanded, "Where is Achilles?"
"Who wants to know?" Patroclus demanded right back.
"The name's Hector," Hector growled. "Now where is Achilles? I've got a score to settle with him."
All his life, Patroclus had dreamed of being as renowned of a hit man as his older cousin. This, he decided, was his chance.
"You're looking at him," Patroclus answered, imitating Achilles' cold voice laced with scorn.
"Achilles?" Hector gaped. "You must use some really good anti-aging cream! Hey, I use Botox, but it's not exactly working for me…"
"Did you come here for a battle, or to chatter about cosmetics?" Patroclus interrupted, his eyes taunting, hiding the excitement about a chance to prove himself.
"To fight of course," Hector turned back into his usual brooding self. He stepped into the house and slowly; Patroclus and him circled the other. Then, Patroclus lunged forward and shoved Hector into the den where he knew there was at least the loaded hunting rifle hanging on the wall.
Hector pulled Patroclus into head-lock though and squeezing his arm around the boy's neck, yelled, "Say uncle and tell me where my cousin is, you cousin-thief!"
"I don't know where your damn cousin is," Patroclus yelled back, puzzled.
"Liar," Hector hissed and grabbing a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the coffee table, stuffed it into Patroclus' mouth. The boy spit out many, but he could feel a few not chewed peanuts push their way down through his throat. He was choking now, gasping for air and Hector quickly let go of the boy in fear.
"I'm sorry" Hector told the boy. "I am so sorry, just please don't die on me or anything!"
The boy spat out a peanut at Hector's eye. "I'm not really Achilles," he muttered in a hoarse voice. "And I'm allergic to peanuts."
With that, the boy who was not Achilles, fell unconscious.
At that moment, Thetis entered the room and took in the scene with her old blue eyes.
"Patroclus," she whispered and sank down to grab the boy's hand, feeling for pulse, which was still there.
Then, she looked at Hector and Paris who smiled at her and cheerfully stated, "Hello, my name is Spooky, Spooky Doo!"
Thetis screamed.
And Hector quickly pushed Paris out the front door and fled.
ACHILLES' CAR-
Impatiently, Achilles answered his cell phone. It was his mother.
"Patroclus is unconscious!" she whispered, her voice unsteady.
Achilles slammed down on the brake. "How? When?"
"I don't know," his mother responded. "But I heard some yells from the den and when I got there, a man with dark hair and a beard was beside Patroclus. I think the man gave him peanuts and you know about his allergies!"
'Hector, it could only be Hector,' Achilles thought in rage. "Take Patroclus to the hospital and I'll meet you there as soon as I get something done."
He forgot about Briseis and changed directions for Café Troy. Hector would pay…dearly.
CAFÉ TROY-
Andromache was just closing the café when she caught the first whiff of the heavy, choking smell. The smell of smoke.
'What in the world?' she wondered and started toward the front door except it was already engulfed by red flames. In horror, she looked out the window and just could barely see the golden-haired man that stared back at her.