Ch 13
Patricia and convinced Barney to stay in the big empty hotel for a while. She was loving this lake, and since the only ones they'd seen around here were mermaids, the hotel was free living. The smelly kitchen area they stayed clear of. They parked their boat right on the beach in front of the hotel. Picking a room on the second floor that faced the lake, they ate what they found in the huge refrigerator and freezer in then back of the kitchen, staying n there just long enough to grab what they wanted. They used the outdoor grill to cook with, and as of yet, they hadn't filled the garbage dumpster.
Barney was cooking up some steaks on the grill for lunch when he heard Patrica yell from the dock, "Barney, here comes a whole pack of mermaids!"
He grinned, Patricia loved seeing them. It was a bit of a pain for him, because she wouldn't let him use the motor on their boat to go out fishing. He had to row them everywhere so the prop on their boat wouldn't accidentally cut a mermaid.
"They're coming right up to the beach!" she cried happily, and ran to go meet them. Running over to where they were, Patricia waved to them. "Hi!" she cried. She received a bunch of waves back. She also saw mermen and one mermaid was carrying a boy on her back. This was so awesome! As with the first time she'd seen them close up, a few had bright, colorful tails, the one with with the boy on her back was all gray.
Coming up to hand walk onto the shore, the one with dark brown hair asked, "You're staying here?"
"Yes, the whole place is empty, and there's food in the refrigerators and freezers, we love this place!" Patricia said brightly.
"Those are still working?"
"They are!"
"Hey Joan, there is a power plant at the dam, that must still be operating."
The woman nodded then pointed to two of the men. "You two, go find it and keep it operating. If it needs anything, come back and tell me."
"Yes, Ma'am," they chorused and got back in the water to dive back under and swim away.
The woman sat on the shore and unzipped her tail to wiggle out of it. "I'm Joan" Pointing she said, "That's Bob, Allison, Ellen and those two are Don and Gus."
"Hi I'm Patricia. Over there is Barney," Patricia replied.
Allison looked at the motor on their boat. "You use that motor?" she asked.
"No! we don't want to hurt any mermaids by accident!"
Joan looked at Bob and smirked. "Looks like you're safe, Bob. Another boat won't run you over."
"No more boat faced Bob," Allison said with a giggle. She went over and disconnected the outboard motor. "Joan, what do we do with this?"
"Put it over there on the porch for now."
Seeing this, Barney said, "Alison, right? that's a big motor, it's heavy."
Allison picked the motor up and carried it up the beach. "It's not bad," she replied.
"The boat will be easier to move with no motor or this gas tank on it," Joan said and lifted the gas tank out.
"Yeah, thanks!" Patricia beamed.
Barney wasn't so happy. "So I have to row everywhere?" he asked.
"Make a sail," Bob offered, "Or go find a sailboat. There are a few of them around."
Joan clapped her hands together and looked at Barney then Patricia. "OK guys, living in the hotel is fine. What I need is help getting this place cleaned up. You can stay for free in exchange for helping us do that."
Barney frowned, "We can stay anyway. Who are you?"
"Joan Tanner and I own this hotel. Many places around the lake now."
Barney's mind worked. Instead of a bikini, he pictured her in an Austin Acoustics uniform. "You're Joan Tanner!" he cried.
Joan grinned. "Yeah, I just told you that."
"Yeah!" he beamed. "Quarterback for the Austin Acoustics! MVP quarterback of the league and friends with Kendra! I LOVE watching you play! And yeah, for what you must make doing that, I bet you got money coming out your ears!"
Joan laughed. "We do OK. So, you two want to be caretakers for me? If some big job needs to be done, I can send you help when it's available."
"You don't have a staff?" Patricia asked.
"They all died when that bomb hit. Right now, we are very short on people," Joan explained. "It would be a huge help if you would take care of this place for me."
"And in exchange, we get to live here for free," Patricia said, verifying it.
Joan nodded. "And if we ever get guests, we can talk about pay and profit sharing too. Right now, we're just concerned about getting everything back in working order."
"I'm in!" Patricia announced. she looked at Barney.
Barney shrugged. "It's not like we got jobs now, and this is a nice place."
"GREAT!" Joan beamed.
The Mer boy by Ellen got up and took a few tentative, clumsy steps and fell down. It was then everyone noticed his tail was separated up to his knees.
Allison went over to him. "Guys, look at this!"
Everyone did. The Mer boy had tried to walk. His fluke and tail was split to his knee joints. His face also looked a bit more human, and his eyes were a lighter brown. He frowned and tried to get up. By him, Allison helped him up onto his flukes. He smiled at her.
Joan went over to Ellen and asked who the boy's father was.
"Ob," Ellen said happily, pointing at Bob.
Joan and Allison glared at Bob. Bob flushed. His mouth hung open.
All was silent on the beach. Joan walked over to Bob, blank faced as Bob gaped at the boy.
POW
Joan's fast roundhouse lifted Bob off his feet. He fell back on the sand and laid limp. Joan walked back over and sat beside a now confused looking Ellen. Talking to Ellen, Joan found out when she'd had her fluke bitten and went for help, Bob had been very attentive to her and took care of her, getting her back to health. She'd been 'ready for a mate', and this time, washing him for instead of him washing her, she'd slipped in the tub with him and mated with him. Since she was of the clan, and Bob was just a two legged pretty tail, she knew he could not be her true mate, but was very happy he'd given her baby Enel.
Allison listened and coaxed Enel to sit and rest. He'd seen them walk and tried hard to do it. She got Enel to go back over to his mother helping him stay upright by holding his hands. She then walked over where Bob let out a gasp and sat up. She held her hand out to him.
Bob shook his head and rubbed his neck.
"Come on, up," Allison said evenly.
"That's my son?" Bob asked weakly.
"It is. Up." Allison stated.
He got up and said, "Joan hit me."
"She did. You deserved it. Just one more," Allison said flatly.
POW
Again Bob was lifted off his feet from Allison's roundhouse and fell to the sand limp. Allison went back over to Joan and Ellen. In a way, it was good Bob was immortal. They could kill him and not feel bad about it.
.
JJ took the men, Marashia and Darla around showing them the equipment they had and how it worked. Taking the four wheeled bikes out, he stopped here and there as he explained about the grape arbors and fencing and how to tell when the grapes were ripe. In explaining all of this, as well as fertilizing and stopping to fix an arbor that was cracked in the bottom, he found teaching them how to do it was harder and more time consuming that just doing it.
While JJ had the adults out in the fields, Kaede took Laura shopping in Dripping Springs. Kaede needed more supplies. Feeding nine people with the groceries she'd gotten for two, she'd used up much of what she'd gotten.
Three carts loaded to the top, Kaede pulled two behind her with her vectors as she and Laura filled a the third cart.
Seeing the carts following them, Laura asked, "Are those carts electric? I don't see any motors on them."
"I'm pulling them, they don't move by themselves," Kaede told her.
"You're using your mind to pull them," Laura said, understanding.
Another woman came from the other way. Seeing the pair, she asked, "You're from Driftwood, right?"
"We are," Laura said with a smile. "How did you know?
The woman grinned. "Well no one here has white hair, or pink hair and horns. I want to thank you for getting rid of those PSR guys. They were horrible! We've never had trouble here until they showed up. Jake got us out of town and to his and Pete's campground at night before they could force us to work or kill us. Even when we got back, the house was a wreck, they ate all our food and they'd taken everything valuable! Sorting out things they'd stolen after they were put down, we did find much of our stuff. If it wasn't for people coming from Driftwood to get rid of them, we would have lost everything!" She then hugged Laura then Kaede. "We owe you our lives. Again, thank you!"
"You're welcome," Kaede assured her. The woman happily went on her way.
Laura looked at Kaede. "Those bad guys were here too?" she asked.
"They were everywhere," Kaede explained. "They wanted to take over the whole country and force people to do what they wanted."
"They were violent ones."
Kaede cracked a grin and said, "Yes, but we showed them we can be much more violent."
Thinking about all she learned about Kaede, Laura said, "You are the most powerful person I've even met, yet you are still a good person."
Kaede snorted out a chuckle. "Trust me, there are those in Driftwood that are more powerful than I am."
That statement boggled Laura's mind. "I can't imagine that," she said.
"It's true," Kaede said. Seeing the lettuce she lifted one up and asked, "How many of these do you think?"
Laura did a quick calculation in her head. "I think ten, and however many you want."
Kaede made 12 heads lift up and drop in the cart. They continued on to fill their third cart. Before they got to the checkout, Laura had to go and grab another cart.
It was a good thing they had a truck to put all this stuff in. Instead of bags, Kaede insisted on boxes to put their stuff in. Laura stood at the counter and emptied each cart onto the conveyor as the checkout girl rung their stuff up, Kaede made trips to the truck to start filling the bed to keep the flow going. It was also good Johnny had given her the debit card. It was a big bill.
Kaede also made a mental note to get their own gardens going as soon as possible. Maybe some cows too.
.
Finding out the area around the big lake had power, John thought about supplying some power from their plant at this house. After all, The only house that needed power was theirs. They were lucky, the fires lit by the bomb hadn't gotten to their house, They just had many dead animals to bury. Mainly alligators.
Getting terminators on the job, John had a new trench and tunnel made from the old Tanner house, which was closest to town, dug out up to Sonya's factory to supply power there. He bought gas powered generators to convert to alcohol for the town, JJ's farm and the Lupin farm.
He also asked the sheriff to keep a close look out for wild pigs. They could use the meat.
Driftwood was slowly rebuilding, and for now, with no outside assistance. Being classified now as a high radiation area, he didn't expect any for quite a while. One thing he did get, was the fish and Game commission did have a contract with the old owners of the lake to supply game fish for the big lake. He contacted Joan told her about it. He also told her about something else he'd found.
"Not all the alligators are dead," John said. "In cleaning out the marine biologists' house, I went down to the basement to shut off the main breaker and found four baby alligators. I've been going down to feed them so they won't starve. I don't dare put them in the lake here. Can you take care of them?"
"They survived? How?" Joan asked.
"This place is build solid. They were underground, The nearest I can figure is the tank they were in is against the wall with shelves of stuff over them. It was shielded enough to protect them. Their shells are still in that tank. They are only five, six inches long."
"I'll be there soon, meet me there?" Joan asked.
"Say, in about an hour?"
"Yes! Thanks Dad!"
.
Joan stopped weeding the garden she was in and happily yelled. "We got alligators!"
In the next garden over, Bob heard her happy yell, then watched her vault the fence and race to their house. She then burst out with a bag and jumped into the Jeep. She then backed out of the driveway and raced down the road. He thought they were done with alligators.
Joan drove down to the furniture factory and raced inside. "MOM!" she yelled.
"Basement!" came a muffled reply.
Joan found the stairs down and took them two at a time to see Cameron and a terminator making a hole in the wall by the electrical distribution box. The supply cable was disconnected and cable was pulled out with the ends sealed. "Mom, Dad found some living alligators in the basement of the Marine Biologists house! Do you have anything to put them in so I can take them to the big lake?"
Cameron sighed. Right, Joan loved her alligators. Then again it was another species from the small lake that was going to survive. "Check the warehouse, there should be some totes there you can put them in."
"Thanks!" Joan replied and raced back up the stairs.
This was a happy day for Joan. Besides knowing they were going to get more fish for the big lake, some alligators had survived as well! She found a decent sized tote, put it on the passenger side and went to the marine Biologists' house. She got the tote and the bag of strips of bacon she'd brought. Not long after she arrived, John drove in. He grinned at her as he got out. "Figured you wouldn't take long getting here," he said.
"Hi Dad, when did you find them?"
"A few months ago," he said and pulled a battery powered bright stick out. "They were hungry little critters too. Power's off, so I brought us some light for when we get down there. You were out putting down the PSR, so I just fed them. Now you're home and we got the big lake to put them in, I figured it was time to let you take care of them."
"That's fine by me. So far, that's all they've known is being in that tank?" she asked.
"That's it." John said and pulled a baggie of ham chunks out of his pocket. They headed into the house. John turned on his bright stick and led them down into the basement.
The open topped tank was tipped up on one side. Joan could hear the little alligators moving. When she looked in, there was water in the lower end. all four alligators were standing on their back legs, forelegs against the tank wall. seeing Joan they all opened their mouths.
"Feed them the ham chunks, two each," John said and passed her the bag.
Joan did, dropping ham chunks into their mouths. after they got their second chunk, they dropped back down. Once all four were fed, Joan picked that one up and put them in the tote. They wiggled, and in the tote they all grouped together at one end.
"Being picked up is new for them," she noted.
"You're moving them from the only place they've known," John said. "I bet they are a bit nervous."
"Clean water and some sunshine will be good for them," Joan said, smiling.
John smiled at her. "I know you will do your best for them," he told her, then scrubbed her on the head.
Joan frowned. "Dad, I'm not five any more."
"You're still my daughter, so suck it up."
Joan laughed. She picked the tote up. Gong back out to the Jeep, she used the seat belt on the passenger side to hold the tote in place. She noted all four alligators were still grouped together. OK, these were smart alligators. They were grouping together for safety.
Joan went back in and got the small pool with the ramps and put that in the Jeep also. She then drove up to the hotel at the big lake. Going inside carrying the tote, she put them in the corner of the dining room and moved a table back. She then got the pool and put it by the tote. She half filled the pool with water then got a kitchen knife and cut the end off the tote at the end the alligators weren't at. They didn't like that, and hissed.
She put the ramp of the pool into the end of the tote, then sat down and watched.
After about an hour, the alligators moved slowing apart and moved towards the pool. One got brave enough to get up onto the ramp. It stayed there, watching her.
"Hey Joan ... what are you doing?" Patricia said from behind her.
Joan turned to her. "Hi Patricia. Dad found some living alligators at the small lake. That lake it too polluted right now for them to live in it, so I brought them here. Eventually, I'll release them into the lake."
Coming closer, Patricia squatted down by Joan. "They are little."
"They are only a few months old. Where their eggs were allowed them to survive the bomb. I'm glad they survived," Joan told her. "So many of everything died, it's a miracle they survived. These alligators are a little more sociable that others. They do recognize people, so make sure you and Barney come down to spend a little time with them and feed them. When they get older, they don't like strangers so it's best of they recognize you."
The alligator on the ramp moved and slid down into the water. He swam over by Joan. One by one, the others joined him. One crawled up on the edge to open it's mouth. Fore paws on the edge of the pool.
"They are still hungry," Joan said and reached for the bag of bacon. She ripped off small pieces and fed them."Want to try?" she asked Patricia.
"OK."
"Don't let your fingers get near their mouth. Even young, they have very strong jaws," Joan told her. "They will bite the end of your fingers off," she warned. She then fed another one to show Patricia how to do it.
Patricia held a piece of bacon over the pool the one on that side moved over a bit. Patricia dropped the bacon in his mouth. she giggled as it swallowed. "I just fed an alligator. I take it you've done this before?"
Joan nodded. "Even since high school. Allie Gator, that's what she got named, was like part of the family. She wasn't small like this. She was nine and a half feet long before she died." Joan frowned. "She'd still be alive if it wasn't for that damned bomb. It kill nearly everything in and around the small lake."
"So she was your pet?" Patricia asked.
"no," Joan said defensively. "She just liked to hang out around the house."
Joan told her some 'Allie Gator' stories. When Willie tried to stop Joan from going swimming in the lake and Allie had attacked him and how she got Willy to safety then Allie getting her to the dock and pushed her in to 'keep her safe' , coming home after a season of football and Allie dragging her into the water for an 'alligator' hug. Feeding Allie's babies as Allie floated by the dock with the little ones climbing up and and going back into the water from her back.
Patricia listened to the stories, and decided that this Allie Gator was Joan's pet, even if Joan didn't want to admit it. She sat with Joan for a while and watched the little alligators swim round in the pool, then climb the ramp to go back into the tote. She'd feed them mornings and at dinner time like Joan requested. Having alligators for pets seemed kind of cool.
.
"You did what?" Barney asked, eyeing Patricia.
"Fed the alligators with Joan," she beamed. "You have to cut up the meat small so they can eat it."
"What alligators? There's alligators in the lake?" he asked.
"No, in the dinning room..."
"They're inside?" he asked in a higher pitch.
"They are babies!" Patricia stated. "Come down and see them with me. It's almost dinner time, so I have to feed them again soon."
"Those things get big and ornery," he told her.
"Joan had one that was nearly ten feet long. If anything, it protected her. They came identify individuals. Come on, you have to come see them."
Barney knew this was a wild area, but he had never dreamed they would be raising alligators.
.
In Seacouver, Jackie was having a good time living with Duncan. They were getting a bit more 'dojo' back into the Dojo. Besides the fun aerobics to music the patrons liked, Petyon got a rythem tape and headphones and dragged out the punching bag and boxing gloves. Jackie tried it. It was a good fast heat pounding drum and horns beat. She She pummeled the bag with not so hard punches in time with the music. the five girls there at the time watched her beat the bag with fast and what looked like hard blows, making the bag shudder even though Duncan was holding it on the other side. Even the boys there were impressed by the speed of her punches.
"Notice the hand Jackie is not punching with is set to block," Duncan told them. His voice waved a bit from the solid rain of blows smashing into the bag. They all looked, trying to keep up with Jackie's fast arm movements.
"Notice how her feet are set. Instead of just arm strength, she's using a solid base so she can put her whole body into each punch," Duncan told them.
After 15 minutes, the tape ended and Jackie put one last punch into the bag that shook it hard and knocked Duncan back away from the bag.
"This works great" Jackie beamed and took the gloves and the headphones off. Holding out the gloves and the headphones, she asked, "Who's next!"
A tall boy stepped up, "I want to try!"
Jackie showed him the button on the headphones to start the recording. "You can tape it on with the gloves on. Remember, don't just punch out with your arm. When you punch, lean into it so your body weight is behind your fist. Speed and power!" she told him.
A thinner brunette asked, "What's the best way to develop power?"
"Pushups and over the head weight lifts," Jackie said. She leaned closer and whispered, "It makes your tits look bigger too."
"Really?" the girl who had maybe 'A' cups asked as she glanced at Jackie big mounds.
Jackie nodded. "I can show you how to do those, over here." She took them to the side as the tall boy began hitting the bag much softer than she had been doing.
Having the girls to pushups to one side, Peyton noticed a couple boys watching them. Others were waiting their turn at the punching bag, sure they could hit it at least as hard as Jackie had been. He also only had one set of dumbbells. After the pushups, Jackie used the ten pounders and laid on her back, arms over her head to pull them up vertically, keeping her arms fully extended, then back to the floor over her head. That was a nice sight.
Unfortunately, there were only a couple girls who could even lift them off the floor like that. The ten pounders were the lightest dumbbells he had. Jackie told the girls to get 2 liter bottles, and fill them with water to use at home for dumbbells. Jackie did find an exercise the girls could use them for, deep knee bends while holding the dumbbells. She stressed keeping the back straight while doing this.
By the time the boys had tired themselves out hitting the bag and the girls had done more heavier exercise that they had their whole lives, Peyton called a break before they did their dance exercise. Many people were sweating.
"Oh, Jackie!" a blonde said. "I saw an add for a fencing match down at the Winslow center! It's for tomorrow, I can take you there if you want. Registration is open until 5 PM today."
Jackie perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah! I heard some really good fencers are showing up."
Jackie pumped a fist, "I'll be there!" She then ran over to Duncan.
Hearing them, Duncan nodded to her. "I'll show you where it is, and I'll come to watch you fence. I also have the uniforms and the Eepe blades, so you won't have to rent them. Better call though to be sure that's what they will be using."
Jackie looked at Payton. "Got a phone book?"
After she called and found out there were two categories in the matches, Eepe blades and sabers, she had them hold a saber for her. She told them she wanted to register for the Eepe and the saber matches.
Duncan got a call, but the blonde Taylor, told her she'd take Jackie down to register. Once the dancer-size was over, Taylor was winded. It was six block walk. They hung out in the Dojo for a bit to let Taylor get her strength back.
Sitting on the bench, Taylor said, "I've heard about your fencing. From what I know, you've never lost a match. Not even when it was real battle swords."
"Nope. Don't plan to, either," Jackie said with a grin.
"I want to see that."
"Then come to the matches tomorrow. Got enough energy back for a walk?"
Taylor grinned. "You really are eager to go sword fight."
"I am!"
Duncan came through. "Jackie, I'll be gone for a bit." he said.
"Problem?" she asked, standing up.
"Nothing unusual," he said waking past.
"Got your cell phone in case there is?" she asked.
Turning to walk backwards, he said, " I do, if there's trouble I'll call OK?" He then turned back the way he was going and left.
Jackie nodded, eyeing him. "Let's go," she told Taylor. She followed Duncan out to see him get in an old T-bird and drive away.
.
Duncan drove to Charlie's apartment building. He got to apartment and knocked on the door. A dark skinned and pretty woman in a nurse's uniform answered the door. The place smelled like hospital.
"Yes?" she asked.
"I was looking for Charlie Desalvo. is he in?" Duncan asked.
"Yes, this way, and try not to excite him." she said firmly.
Duncan went into find Charlie stretched out in a lounge chair, feet up. Charlie was bald, but his eyebrows were grey.
Looking over at him, Charlie smiled. "Well if it isn't Duncan McLeod, not looking a day older than when I last saw you. Wanna tell me how you do that?"
Duncan sat nearby. "Hello, Charlie. I see you got a hot nurse looking after you," he said with a grin.
"She is but won't show me the good stuff. Seriously, you look just like you did, what 25 years ago."
"I told you, it's magic." Duncan replied.
Charlie grinned briefly. "Speaking of that, remember those bullets I got in me? Well, they did leave one in. Too close to my spine to operate the doctor said. I got an infection from it and they had to take it out. Now, my right leg is a little numb, it's hard to walk so I have to sit here and watch TV all day. How's life been treating you?"
"Can't complain. Is there something the doctors can do to fix you up?"
"They said they had to cut some nerves to get the bullet and the infection out. Seems I'm stuck with this. There's a piece missing out of my spine too, so it's dangerous to do much of anything. They said if that vertebrae breaks, I'll be paralyzed."
"Tough break."
"Yeah, I still want to know why you look so good," Charlie said firmly.
Another knock sounded at the door. The nurse answered the door. "Yes?" she asked.
Jackie called, "Duncan, you in here?"
Duncan let out a huff. "I'm here, Jackie. I thought you were going to register for the fencing tournament?"
The nurse let her in. Jackie came in and shrugged. "So I followed you first. You left so fast I was sure there was trouble."
Charlie eyed Jackie with wide eyes, then asked Duncan, "How old is she? Is she even out of high school yet?"
"Jackie's 24," Duncan said with a huff. To Jackie he said, "No trouble, I just came to see Charlie here."
Jackie waved. "Hi Charlie, are you hurt?"
"Duncan, where do you find them? Charlie asked. He then told Jackie, "I got spine problems. Nothing can be done."
Coming over to them, Jackie asked, "What kind of spine problems?"
"Got a piece missing. It can't be replaced." Charlie told her.
Jackie frowned in thought then said, "Be back in a moment." She went into the kitchen. The nurse followed her.
"She looks like she's maybe seventeen, except for those boobs," Charlie noted.
Duncan grinned. "Jackie ages very well too."
"What are you doing?" the nurse cried.
"Charlie needs to heal, this will do it." Jackie said.
"You ... you can't do that!" the nurse cried.
"Watch me!" Jackie retorted.
"He's not your family, you can't give him that!"
"Got any straws?" Jackie asked in a harder tone.
"Oh boy," Duncan said in a huff and rubbed his forehead.
The nurse cried, "Hey... what, let me go!"
Duncan turned to see Jackie come out of the kitchen, the nurse danging from one hand, a glass of milk in the other. Jackie planted the nurse against the wall and pointed a finger at her. "Stay there or I knock you out!"
"Damn," Charlie said softly. The nurse had to weigh twice what Jackie did. "She's a strong one."
Coming back over to them as the nurse stayed in place eyeing Jackie fearfully, Jackie cast Charlie a smile. "Here Charlie, drink this, you should be better in a couple days."
Charlie took the glass. "It's warm milk.'
"Yes, drink it if you want to get better,"Jackie coaxed.
"It's OK Charlie, it's magic," Duncan said.
Charlie drank the milk. He emptied the glass and smiled. "That was really good," he said as he handed the glass back.
"Thanks!" Jackie beamed. Looking at Duncan, she tapped her fingers together. "I ahh, kinda outran Taylor following you and lost her. Can you give me a ride to the fencing center?"
"Not surprised," Duncan mumbled. "Sure I'll take you."
"Thanks," she said and went back in the kitchen to put the glass away.
Charlie looked at nothing for a moment, then quietly asked, "Did she just give me her breast milk?"
Duncan nodded. "Jackie is ... special," he offered.
"And it heals injuries?" Charlie asked.
"It does. Don't ask me how," Duncan admitted.
Charlie grinned. "She's been feeding it to you, hasn't she? That's why you look so good!"
"Sure, Charlie."
"Where do you find these women!" Charlie asked.
"I've known her for a while. We got closer when we were fighting the PSR," Duncan told him. "Jackie is someone you don't ever want mad at you."
"I can see that. I figured if you were around, you'd be part of that mess," Charlie agreed. "So what got you and her involved?"
Duncan winced "I'd rather not say. I initially went with her to keep her out of trouble. Jackie can be a little aggressive."
"I can see that too. She's a real ball of fire, huh?" Charlie asked. He then added, "Hey, that football player, Joan Connor, are they related?"
"Sisters. Joan's a year older."
"She's a ball of fire too."
Jackie came back over to said, "Remember, Charlie, two days. Be very careful before that."
I will," he assured her. He then looked at his right foot and wiggled it. "Feelings coming back," he said in awe.
"Two days, even if you feel better before then," Jackie said firmly.
"I got ya," he told her. "You be good to Duncan."
"I will, he's good to me!" Jackie beamed.
"So you're going to fence in an Eepe blade match?" Charlie asked.
"Yup and the saber matches too!"
"Jackie, those can get rough," Charlie said sternly. "We're talking possible broken bones if you're hit."
"I know, it's the risk my opponents will have to take." she relied.
"Well don't be too sure of yourself," Charlie admonished.
"Can I bring you a recording of the matches?" Jackie asked. "It should be fun to watch."
"Sure, I'd like to see that."
"Well, we should go, It's been good seeing you, Charlie," Duncan announced.
"Don't be a stranger." Charlie told him. "Jackie, it's been good to meet you. Don't forget the recording of those matches."
"I won't and take it easy until I bring them" Jackie replied in a wave.
.