Chapter Five

Maurice and his gang were in the middle of the Everglades. Since it was now the dry season, the normally wet, muddy swamp was now hard, dry, and cracked.

Maurice was armed with a machete - his brother's weapon of choice. Tony Jr. was on his knees - blindfolded, gagged, and with his hands bound with duct tape behind his back. Maurice's men surrounded the two of them.

"Where is Tom?" Maurice asked.

"He's in the car," Phil replied.

"Why isn't he HERE?" Maurice demanded.

"He's out," Phil replied.

" 'Out'? "Maurice inquired. "What do you mean 'out'?"

"Out … as in unconscious … as in hypnotized."

"HYPNOTIZED?" Maurice exclaimed. "By WHO?"

"Not 'who' … WHAT." Phil then added, "A black panther."

"A BLACK PANTHER?" Maurice cried, outraged. "Here … in FLORIDA?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You expect me to BELIEVE this?" Maurice exclaimed. "This RIDICULOUS story?"

"The thing carved up the windshield of the BMW! Go see for yourself!" Phil shot back. "Cripes, this thing was HUGE!"

"Can't you WAKE him?" Maurice exclaimed, exasperated.

"I've been trying for forty-five minutes," Phil replied. "No such luck." He then added, "Whatever did this to him … got him GOOD."

I don't believe this, Maurice thought. "Are you telling me that Tom was hypnotized by a CAT?"

"Yes, sir," said Phil.

"Tell me the truth," said Maurice. "He got into the wine cellar, didn't he?"

"There IS no more wine cellar, Boss…"

"What do you mean?"

"Jeannie trashed it the other day."

"WHAT?" Maurice exclaimed, now in full freak out mode.

"Jeannie trashed it …" Phil repeated.

"Jeannie? OUR Jeannie?"

"The very same," said Phil.

Maurice shook his head. What ELSE can go wrong today? He then turned towards the kneeling Tony Jr. Let's get this over with.

Maurice raised his machete. "This is for my BROTHER!," he cried as he held the machete aloft.

As he started to bring it down onto Tony Jr.'s neck - so as to decapitate him - the blade was stopped in mid-air by an invisible wall.

Maurice hacked away at the invisible wall. Try as he could, he wasn't able to bring the blade down upon Anthony. He was now trapped inside an enchanted invisible box.

Maurice turned towards his henchmen, who were standing behind him. "What IS this?" he exclaimed.

"This ends here," said a female voice.

Maurice turned back around. Jeannie stood before him with her arms folded in front of her chest, wearing sneakers, blue jeans, a white blouse, and a green leather jacket.

"Who are you?" Maurice asked Jeannie.

"I am Anthony's mother," Jeannie replied. She then added, "I was about to ask YOU the same question."

Tony Jr. mumbled in reply. Jeannie looked down at him and blinked. Tony Jr.'s gag and blindfold disappeared.

Tony Jr. let out a breath and said, answering Jeannie's question, "His name is Maurice. He's Faisal's brother."

"Who is Faisal?"

"The drug dealer," Tony Jr. replied, gasping for breath. "The man who kidnapped me. He and that genie Naseem … they were in cahoots together."

Jeannie turned back to face Maurice. Ancients, how many relatives am I going to have to go through before this madness ENDS? she thought.

"Since it seems that you are determined to walk down your brother's path," Jeannie said to Maurice. "You may now share his FATE."

Maurice turned back towards his henchmen. "Aren't any of you going to DO something about this?" he snapped.

Maurice's men turned and ran away into the night.

"It would seem that you have your answer," said Jeannie.

"COWARDS!" Maurice yelled after his henchmen.

Police sirens wailed in the background. "I would not worry about your men, Maurice," said Jeannie. "I trust that the Sheriff will pick them up eventually."

"Thomas Witherspoon?" the sheriff's deputy shook Tom's shoulder, trying to rouse Tom from his trance. He was still lying in the passenger seat of the black BMW.

The now-awakened Tom blinked his eyes, shook his head, and leaned on his elbow.

"Who are you?" he asked groggily. Where AM I?

"Monroe County Sheriff's Office," the deputy replied. "Would you mind stepping out of the car, please?"

Tom unbuckled his seat belt, opened the front passenger-side door, and got out of the car. The black BMW was now surrounded by sheriff's deputies.

"Put your hands on top of the car and spread your legs apart," said the deputy.

Tom braced himself against the car as the deputy frisked him for weapons.