"What! But we're in the middle of another album!"cried Lance. "And I thought that we were planning to go to Cancun for another concert!"

"That's fine, that's fine!"said Javier. "Don't you see, this is the chance of a lifetime! We'll just have to work a little harder is all."He looked at the other guys. "This is one time we need you guys again. Only not mowing lawns, but, first…let's see, Speedy, you'd be a good messenger. Good for emergencies and such. Getting things from one place to another. Fatass, you should probably…no, we'll leave it there. First things first, we need to go meet with la Sra.Estrada first. Change your clothes. You have exactly fifteen minutes. I'll be waiting in the car."

"But, Javier, I'm not an actor."said Lance, while they were on their way to Televisa studios.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to give it a shot, does it?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you worry for one second. If you're not good, oh, well, we'll just go back to singing, that's all. However, that's for Estrada to determine, not us."

When they got to the studios, and were led to Carla Estrada's office, she explained that she wanted Lance to be the protagonist's partner.

"And who is the protagonist, may I ask?"asked Javier.

"Catalina Robles."she said.

"The name always reminds me of Catalina from Corazon Salvaje. I never did like that lady."said Javier. "And what's the story going to be about? Like what part will Lance here, play in it, or what?"

"He will be playing the part of a military officer."

"Military?"asked Javier. "Do you think he'd look good in a military outfit? Va a ser de epoca?"

"Yes. As for him looking good as a military man, well, why not?"

"Oh, wow. Well, so, he'll be a military officer. And…?"

She explained the story to them.

"Sounds good, I think."said Lance.

"He'll just have to learn to be more…stiff, is all."said Javier.

"So what do you think?"he asked him.

"I don't know. I never imagined myself in uniform."

"It's not for reals, besides, these are different. When they show them on telenovelas de epoca, these are real soldiers. Not like the ones you see walking around today. They're dashing, elegant men. You'll see. I just don't know about it, though. You'd look good, however, I don't know what we should do about your hair. See, back then, they wore it…well, like gelled down, you see what I mean. Oh, well, we'll see."

"How did it go?"asked Pietro as soon as they arrived.

"Well, it looks like we'll be accepting. We have a rehearsal to see how well Lance acts tomorrow."

"You have to get everything perfect."said Pietro.

"We're almost finished with the album, anyway. There are only two more songs to go. La promocion, y las fotos. That's it. Then we will be able to devote our full attention to Amor sin Barreras."

"What's that?"asked Toad.

"It's the name of the telenovela, Swamp Breath."

"It has a name?"

"A title."

"Oh. Why?"

Javier decided not to answer him.

"What about the concert in Cancun?"asked Lance.

"We'll simply have to switch it to here, in Mexico, that's it. Speedy, go let them know."

"I'm on it!"

He sped out of the room, and returned five minutes later.

"They said no problem. The arrangements will be made in not time."

"Good, that's that. Now, we need to get to the recording studio."

The next day, Javier sat, sipping coffee, while he watched Lance perform a simple performance for Carla Estrada.

"What do you think?"he asked, anxiously.

"I think he's very good, for someone who hasn't acted, or taken classes before."she told him.j

"Really?"

"Yes. Of course, there's room for improvement."

"So…"

"So, I think that he will be perfect."

She handed him the script.

"We got the part."said Javier.

"And where are we going to film?"asked Lance.

"Well, right here, I guess. But we'll worry about that later. Ma.del Carmen will be delighted to see Amor sin Barreras, I'm sure. We'll be meeting the rest of the cast in a few days. For right now, you should concentrate on learning your parts. Ma.del Carmen can help you. She knows just how a military officer should behave in a telenovela. She's seen thousands. And, well, I lived most of my childhood with one. My father was a colonel."

With Ma.del Carmen's help, Lance became the perfect military officer. Javier was right. She did know everything there was to know about appearing in a telenovela. Javier also added bits and pieces, not to mention the fact that he also did a lot of research on the subject, to add to his knowledge. He said it was good to know as much as you could about your character.

"See, you stand up straight, and you put your hat under your left arm. You look just like el Colonel Adolfo Solis, General Prisco Dominguez, and el Capitan Santiago Lopez. Are you a teniente, colonel, capitan, or general?"

"He'll be starting out as a teniente."

"Oh, wow. You'll work your way up?"

"Yes."

"Oh, so anyway, you salute like this."

She demonstrated.

"And you wear this, like this."

She had so much information, and as she was such a good actress herself, she helped him practice by acting the parts of other girl.

"Well, I've watched them for the majority of my life."she said.

In only a few weeks, she had made of Lance a true military officer.

"We only need the uniform."said Javier. "A sus ordenes, mi general! We have the first session in a week!"

"I thought you said he wasn't a general yet."said Blob.

"Oh, Fatass, you keep your mouth shut. Tu ve a ver si ya puso la marrana."Javier told him.

"I didn't know we had a pig here."

"Oh, Jesus. I meant…well, forget it, just go and find something else to do."

"Right."

"Now, we need to go for a final fitting."

"You seem like…well, let's just say I'm looking at el General Prisco Dominguez in real life."said Ma.del Carmen. "I won't say Colonel Solis, because apart for his name, Adolfo, which I love, you know, calling him Fofo, I hated everything about him. He was always trying to take Matilde from Manuel. However, I admired the general, so you look just like him."

"I feel kind of strange."he said.

"You'll get used to it."Javier told him.

"I just don't look or feel like me."

"Because you're not supposed to be you. You're supposed to be el teniente Francisco Valdez Manzera."

"I'm going to have to remember that."

"It won't be hard."

He looked into the mirror, now that the costume was complete, and saw that he had indeed been transformed. He didn't look like himself anymore. He stood up erectly, like Ma.del Carmen and Javier had told him too. He smiled. The dark suit was rather simple, as it was a teniente's, and not a colonel or general's, but still, the gold buttons, were becoming, as were the boots.

"You do know how to ride on horseback, by now, don't you?"asked Javier.

"I guess I've got the basics."Lance said.

They had been giving him lessons, since they thought he might have to mount a horse, sometime, during the filming, and besides, people expected a military man to be able to ride. The other members of the Brotherhood were awed by Lance's appearance.

"What do you guys think?"he asked.

"Oh, wow. Just go out in public like that, and…well, these buttons, just one button alone looks like it cost a fortune. Are they made of actual gold?"

"Well, no."Javier told him. "It's only a costume, however, I think the real thing was. I remember my father's uniforms. I still have a few of them. They certainly were expensive. The material, the buttons, what you had to pay to have them made, everything."

"So, then, like, your dad gets the real one, and Lance the fake one."asked Toad.

"It looks real."said Blob.

"It's supposed to look real, Fatass. That's the point."

"Oh, well, it does."

Lance smiled, and saluted. Javier clapped.

"Now, how do we greet the lady?"he asked, pushing Ma.del Carmen forward.

"Teniente Valdez."she curtsied.

"Srita.Medina."

He leaned, and kissed her hand.

"Very good. I have the feeling that this is one telenovela that will make on of the best fifty of all times."said Javier, happily.

"Make no mistake."said Lance. "I'm going to give a hundred and ten percent to this."

"That's just what I want to hear."