04/30/06:

                Someone got the idea to invite Dean and Eric to the party, but I'm not sure when they showed up, I remember seeing them talking to Olias at one point. By unspoken agreement, both Olivia and I stopped drinking about 5:00 or so. We also ate a light dinner early, so we would be ready for our 'job' tonight. We must have done a good job at projecting the image that we wanted to be left alone, because everyone did just that; even Malcolm. We told him what we were going to be doing and why we had agreed to do it, and he respected our decision. All he said was that if we needed to talk, we knew where to find him.

                About 11:45 or so, Armani showed up and came over to where Olivia and I were sitting and talking. He more or less threw himself into a chair beside us, then called the waiter over and asked for a triple shot of whiskey. The waiter brought it and Armani downed it in a single slug before he slammed the glass to the table and quoted a nice cheerful passage from Hamlet:

                "'Tis now the very witching time of night,
                When churchyards yawn and Hell itself breathes out
                Contagion to this world; now could I drink hot blood,
                And do such bitter business as the day
                Would quake to look on."

                Olivia looked at me, "Shall we?" "Let's do this." I said, and the three of us walked to Caesar's private penthouse pool area. Caesar himself was inside with all the lights out, staring out into the darkness past the city lights. I asked him, "Does the pilot know where to take us?"

                Caesar never turned, "He was supposed to find a place before coming here." I wished there was something, anything I could have done or said to make him feel a little less wretched, but there wasn't a thing. Olivia pointed to a table near the door where there was a CD boom box. She opened it and the 'Lion King' CD was already in it. Caesar broke the silence. "The last time one of us died, after the memorial service, we placed the body on a framework, so it could return to nature. I don't think that will work in this case."

                The door opened and two guards came in leading the real Excalibur, who was still heavily drugged. The led him to a sofa and sat him down. Caesar's Gray came in and sat down beside Excalibur and assumed his appearance. "That is just too weird to watch," Olivia whispered to me. He proceeded to fine-tune his appearance until he was satisfied. When he was done he got up and left with the two guards. As they were leaving, another man came in, examined Excalibur, and gave him an injection. He told us that that should be enough to keep him docile for the flight. Armani nodded to him and he left. Caesar was oblivious to it all.

                A few minutes later, at midnight sharp, we saw the dust on the deck start to fly as the Azrael came in and landed. The door opened and the copilot stepped out to meet Olivia and I. We were supporting Excalibur between us. He looked at us a bit funny and asked, "Who cut these orders?" Olivia asked them where they were stationed and he told her, "Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico." "Perhaps the orders came from President Ventura? As a gesture of good will towards Caesar?"

                I looked behind us and Caesar had come outside but would get no closer to the helicopter. Armani helped us get Excalibur into the Azrael and as Olivia was strapping him in, he handed me a box saying, "This should take care of business." Then he left to go stand with Caesar. I helped Olivia finish up then opened the box and inside were two thermite grenades. Olivia and I looked at each other in confusion. The pilot was starting up the engine so I went forward to tell him to wait a moment; I'd be right back.

                I ran out and waived Armani over. He looked impatient as I asked him what the grenades were for. "Do you expect us to blow him up?" "No! They're to dispose of the remains." Oh! I felt like a moron as I got back on and signaled the pilot to take off.

                We'd been underway for 3 or 4 minutes when the copilot came back from the cockpit. He nodded absently to Olivia and I as he walked past us. He opened a cupboard behind us and rummaged around for a few seconds, and then the next thing I knew he was holding a gun to my head!

                "You two are now prisoners of the United States Air Force, against whom you may or may not have committed a number of criminal acts." He then started to demand answers from us. It seems he had no memory of the last year. Olivia asked him very calmly, "What is the last thing you do remember?" (How many times have we asked that question?)

                The last thing either he or the pilot could remember was reporting for duty at Holloman. Olivia asked him, "Was that before or after February 20th, 2005?" I could see his hand (and the gun) shake a little as he said, "Explain to me the significance of that date."

                Olivia told him that was the date that people began to Change and signified the beginning of the fall of the US government.

                I said to him, "Surely you see this giant kitty-cat sitting here, and the one back on the roof where you picked us up." "Yes I do. But we've seen many persons who no longer appear to be human." He was trying very hard to be intimidating, and was a little put out that it wasn't working on us. "Like the two of us?" I asked him.

                "Yes like the two of you. As far as we're concerned, you're all nothing but a bunch of extraterrestrials." "Oh, no!" I said, before I could stop myself, "They're little gray guys; you'd know one if you saw one."

                Olivia asked him what the last entry in their flight logbook was. He seemed confused by the question but answered, "A flight to Nellis for a mechanical checkup."

                Well, that confused Olivia and I even more. Caesar controls Nellis, so why are these two obviously not in control? Was this all a setup? I couldn't believe that, but something sure was screwed up.

                I asked in my most calming voice (or so I'd like to believe), "Won't you please put down the gun so we can sort all this out. We mean you no harm."

                "No, I don't believe I'll do that," he said. "You haven't answered any of our questions yet." Since reasoning with him didn't work, I worked up some Magic and threw a command at him. "Freeze!" What I didn't know was at virtually the same time that I was doing that, Olivia was readying a holding spell. I guess the huge gun at the back of my head made me screw it up, because my spell had no effect on the guy and he started to move his gun hand up and closer to my head. Just as he was doing that, Olivia's spell hit him and he stopped in his tracks.

                She reached back and took the gun out of his hand. We both unfastened our seat belts so we could get around to further restrain him. Mistake! The Azrael lurched and we were all thrown about the cabin. When we had a chance to take a look, we could see that the pilot had turned us around and we were headed back to town. In fact we were headed directly for the Palace! The pilot switched on the intercom and told Olivia to drop the gun and both of us to let his copilot go. "If you don't, say good-bye to all you hold dear!" Oh Shit! He was aiming his main weapons at the Palace!

                "Okay! Okay!" Olivia yelled at him. She ejected the clip from the gun and dropped it to the floor. I could 'feel' her gathering some Magic. "My copilot?" he said. "Right now," she told him and she dispersed the Magic that had been holding the copilot. As soon as she did that, she threw a mind-clouding spell on the pilot and said, (in her most calm and soothing voice) "This is all a misunderstanding. We work for President Ventura. This mission is at his orders." It must have worked, because he pulled up and we soared OVER the Palace not INTO it.

                While Olivia kept up her Magical influence over the pilot, I tried the copilot again. This time it worked and he fell into a deep sleep. Olivia helped me get him strapped in securely. We had a quiet discussion in Elven whether we should abort or continue. We decided to keep going, and to get it over with. She moved forward to keep 'talking' to the pilot while I stayed in the back to keep an eye on the copilot and Excalibur. I heard her reassure the pilot that his friend wasn't feeling well, so I was going to stay with him until he felt better. But it was nothing to worry about, no reason to cancel this mission that was so important to President Ventura.

                Finally, we arrived. It seemed like ages but was really only a few minutes. The pilot put us down out in the middle of nowhere. This far from the city lights there was nothing but pitch-black night and a huge canopy of stars outside the lights of the Azrael. Olivia threw some more Magic at the pilot while I made sure the copilot was going to stay put. I helped her get Excalibur out the door and went back for the boom box.

                Olivia had gone a distance from the Azrael and found a rock to settle Excalibur on. I turned the song on and Olivia stepped behind him and said, "Caesar wants his good friend to die with dignity." She drew her dagger and slit his throat. He slumped to one side and I caught him by the shoulders. Together, we laid him out neatly on the sand.

                We waited quietly while the music ended. Since she's faster than I am Olivia sent me back to the Azrael to have the pilot get ready to take off as soon as she was thru the door. I gave him the instructions and had just gotten to the door when she jumped aboard, still counting. The pilot had us in the air just as the grenades exploded. He turned us away from the blinding light and then brought us around in a wide circle so we could watch as the flames burned themselves out. There were no remains to speak of.

                We thanked him and he turned us back to Vegas. On the flight back, Olivia asked me if she was the only one who felt like crap. I assured her that it was mutual.

                As we closed in on the pool deck where we'd taken off from, we could see that Caesar was still standing inside, in the dark, staring out. Olivia and I practically ran from the Azrael and he and Armani came to meet us. We told him what had happened and how the pilots had almost killed us. Caesar swore under his breath and shook his head; "They were Bellagio's men. With everything else going on it slipped my mind that they had not been enthralled since before his death. I am very sorry."

                He 'invited' them outside and did his thing. He told them that they should report to Nellis and see a Major Carter. He instructed them to tell this Major Carter that they had been reassigned and were currently Caesar's 'favorites'. Then he really 'leaned' on them and told them that they were to forget all that they had done and seen tonight. Then he sent them off to Nellis.

                With that matter settled, he turned back to Olivia and I, "I trust our business was completed?" I nodded and said, "Just as you requested."

                He gave a tremulous sigh and said, "Please return to what you were doing before." He started to leave, turned back and said, very, very softly; "I thank you for your assistance." He quietly went into his quarters and shut the door behind him.

                Armani walked us back to our suites, where the party was still going on. There was an empty table in a corner and Olivia headed for it. I detoured past the bar and asked the bartender for a bottle of Cuervo and two shot glasses. I sat down and the two of us settled in for some serious drinking.

                After a bit Olivia declared that she needed more of a distraction and went off to find Jennifer. I spotted Olias talking to Dean and Eric and waved him over (I wasn't sure I was steady enough to walk over to him!).

                He asked where Olivia and I had disappeared to and I told him that we had to take care of something. "Something that now requires tequila?" he asked. When I didn't answer right away he thanked me for 'rescuing' him from Dean and Eric. They'd had him trapped and had been questioning him about New Ectopia for quite some time. "I'd call in more like an interrogation," he said, "At least until I told them about how they'll be celebrating May Day in the morning." Apparently he'd told them that there were going to be streamers hung from the Space Needle to form the worlds largest May Pole. "After all, how could they not take advantage of such a great phallic symbol?" But what had really scared our conservative friends from Kansas was Olias telling them that how the 'New Ectopia Legislature' had been pushing thru a bill to legalize Virgin Sacrifices in time for the big celebrations for tomorrow.

                "And they believed you?" I asked him. He grinned and said, "Yeah, I think so." I shook my head, "I was hoping you could help them by answering their questions, not scare them. An alliance with them could be very helpful to us." "But they kept asking the same questions over and over. I couldn't take it anymore. Besides, I never thought they'd actually believe me!"

                I couldn't help myself, I laughed. It was something I would have done in a heartbeat, given the chance. "I'll talk to them tomorrow and make sure they realize that you were just pulling their legs." I started to pour myself another shot, but he took the bottle away, "You have some work to do tomorrow for Corellon, I'd better get you to bed." And he did a great job of making sure I stayed there for the rest of the night!

05/01/06:

                After a few hours sleep, Olias and I went out to make the preparations for my 'surprise' for the wedding. We visited each of the sites I'd picked out and I asked Corellon for his Blessing on the soil before Olias and I planted the seeds. Before we moved on to the next one, I did another small Magic to make sure no one disturbed the seedlings.

                When we finished we returned to the Palace and went back to bed. I asked to be woken up in time for dinner. Olias asked if I wanted to watch the coverage of 'Excalibur' being sent out into the desert - I declined and as I left the room he said, "Neither did Olivia. Strange, don't you think?" I started to say something, than thought better of it and told him, "I'm just tired, and I'm sure Olivia is too. That's all." I left before he decided to pursue it further.

                A little before 3:00 Olias woke me to let me know that Malcolm was 'asking' for Olivia and I; apparently Jesse had just arrived. I asked Olias if I had time to shower - he told me that Malcolm had said, "After the display of drinking the two of them gave last night, make sure they clean up. I'll have food and aspirin waiting for them."

                Malcolm was as good as his word. He waited as Olivia and I filled our plates from tables of food set up in his suite. As we joined the rest of the council at the table he said, "I'm not sure what Ventura's up to." He told us that Jesse arrived a few hours ago with four more of the C-130's; one of them 'loaded for bear' - some kind of Vietnam-era gunship, he said. Blah blah, big guns, Klingon phallic symbol. Very nice, clap clap.

                One of them had some large cargo carriers in it and they'd gone straight from the airport to the old football stadium at UNLV. Right now he was meeting with Dallas, undoubtedly finalizing the plans that Dallas had hinted to me about.

                "Ventura told Caesar's pet press people at the airport that he's holding a 'Town Hall Meeting' tonight. at the stadium. Does anyone have any ideas?" Malcolm asked.

                "Breads and Circuses" I said and Olivia agreed. Malcolm said, "Well, we'll know soon enough. Bellagio has announced that he will broadcast the 'event' for free, so all would be able to watch. This 'meeting' is scheduled to start a few hours after the Battle for the Excalibur is done."

                Oh my God! I had completely forgotten about that! I was so wound up about what Olivia and I had done last night I had totally it spaced out. It was scheduled for 4:00! That would explain why Alfred wasn't eating. No time to finish eating, so we grabbed some plates and headed for the elevator.

                We got into some cars that Armani provided for us (including another limo for Malcolm) and headed for Thunderdome. Blocks from the arena, there were people lining the streets; they'd gotten there too late to actually get inside. We could see that Lord Bellagio's people had been busy; there were some Jumbo-Tron screens set up so they would be able to see the match. At least the press of the crowd slowed the car down enough for Olivia and I to finish eating.

                We pulled up to the entrance, and as Alfred got out, the people who'd gathered there all began to clap. Slowly and rhythmically they clapped, and it got louder and louder, but that was the only sound. None of them said a thing.

                Alfred led us to the door where armed guards stopped him. The Overlord of the Hard Rock stepped into view and challenged him. The crowd stopped clapping. Alfred presented him with the papers he received last night when he registered to fight. "I am here to fight for the Excalibur." The crowd was totally silent. Hard Rock examined the papers (as if he hadn't signed them just last night!) and said, "The Law permits it. And these people?"

                Alfred said, "These are my friends." (I got a lump in my throat.) "They may enter," and he moved aside as the guards opened the doors to let us pass.

                Inside, the place was almost empty. The only people there were the Overlords with their entourages and security people. Each of them had their full Overlord aura going and it made the place seem claustrophobic. We saw Dallas with his people (including his Orion girlfriend) and he gave us a strange little smile.

                We were shown to our place and a flourish sounded as the lights dimmed. Caesar and his mate, Binion, had arrived. When they had been seated, Hard Rock appeared under a spotlight and announced, "Excalibur has been forfeited and is open for all willing to fight for it." He paused for some drama and continued, "Who then, lays claim to the right?"

                Binion started to stand as Alfred stood and said in a voice that I've never heard him use, "I do."

                Binion sat back down and as we looked around we saw a lot of laid-back ears and snarling. Hard Rock pulled himself together and said, "The claim of Alfred Yazzie is recognized."

                Another Overlord stood to claim the right. Hard Rock gestured from him to sit down, "You did not register before the deadline, your claim is disallowed. Anyone else?" Binion stood and calmly said, "I will fight." Six others also claimed the right and were recognized by Hard Rock. He gestured them all to join him on the floor.

                Once they were all there, Hard Rock asked the Overlord nearest him to state why he thought he should have Excalibur. As he was opening his mouth to speak, Alfred stepped in front of him and said, "Talk is cheap. Put your money where your mouth is." The Overlord roared in anger and flexed his muscles. Alfred returned the 'greeting' and Hard Rock gestured to the door of Thunderdome saying, "Well, the first two combatants have chosen." He led them into the 'dome and went over the rules. They could fight with physical weapons only; the match ended at the yield, and they could not intentionally maim or cripple an opponent.

                Once the door was closed the Overlord started posing and posturing. Alfred very calmly did some stretches. While he was doing that the Overlord feinted at him. Alfred shook his head and let loose with a roundhouse to the chin and the Overlord lost his aura. Then Alfred attacked with a flying circle kick, sending the Overlord flying; he got up and without looking at Alfred he yielded to Hard Rock.

                We all yelled and cheered while the Overlords glared and hissed.

                The next Overlord to enter the 'dome was really big - as big as Alfred, even in his real form! As soon as the door closed he charged at Alfred. Alfred just slipped to one side and avoided the attack. The Overlord stayed with that tactic until he was able to get an arm around Alfred's waist and hold him still. He had time to land several punches before Alfred was able to step out of his grasp and land several very quick blows to the Overlord's midsection, knocking the wind out of him. The Overlord fell to one knee gasping for air and yielded.

                Two of the contestants still outside the 'dome bowed to Hard Rock and returned to their seats. Binion stepped in front of the remaining Overlords and entered the Dome. We heard some muttering and whispers as she did; "Finally! This will show them! She'll send these monkey boys back to where they belong!"

                She circled Alfred a few times before she pounced on him, bringing him to his knees. (I'm not sure if I should say pounce, but that's what it was. A pure 'pounce'.) She got in some good blows before Alfred was able to turn and punch her in the stomach. That made her pause and he was able to get under her and lift her into the air over his head.

                He made as if he was going to throw her to the ground but she yielded first. That convinced the remaining contestants to withdraw. Alfred carried her over to the door and with great courtesy he set her gently on her feet and opened the door for her. She nodded to him as she passed.

                Hard Rock asked, "Is there anyone else?" Silence. Caesar stood and proclaimed, "Hail, the Overlord of the Excalibur!"

                One of the Overlords near us said, "This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!" He didn't understand why the Star Wars fans around him started to snicker.

                Alfred acknowledged Caesar with a bow and said, "Mighty Caesar, I have already given my word to carry out certain duties to King Malcolm of the Outlands." Then he bowed to Malcolm, who stood and returned it with one of his own. Alfred continued to Caesar, "May I entrust my Domain to you and to my good friend Dallas, Overlord of the Bellagio, to oversee when my prior duties keep me from doing so myself?"

                Caesar stood, all pomp and circumstance, and said that it would be their honor to assist a fellow Overlord and how he would be pleased to do this favor for his good friend King Malcolm. "But now, Overlord of the Excalibur, we must go meet our people."

                Caesar walked towards the door and Alfred waived us down. He told us that he would need some healing, but "Not now. Later. Wouldn't want to destroy the image so quickly." Olivia checked him out and found lots of bruises and a few nasty gouges. Alfred told her, "I think there are some cracked ribs, too. That big guy was fighting for keeps!"

                Hard Rock directed us to the doors where we could hear Caesar outside addressing the people. He was appealing to them for cooperation and patience to assure a smooth transition. Then he said, "My people, once again, I give you what you have asked for. All hail, the new Overlord of the Excalibur!" A guard opened the door and Alfred joined him outside. The crowd went crazy! I looked around, and the other Overlords were very much unhappy!

                Alfred thanked the crowd and made a brief speech. He echoed some of the things Caesar said and finished by telling them that he wasn't sure whether there would be any changes in regards to Citizenship but he was going to look into it and think about it. Then he announced his first act, "All of the people working for me, I want you to continue to work for me because you want to, not because you have to. If you don't want to stay, don't. Anyone who wants to leave is free to do so." Then he asked them to excuse him, "This was a mighty battle and there were many worthy contenders. It took a great effort to overcome them all and I am very tired. With your leave, I will now withdraw and see to my injuries. Good night."

                Again the crowd went crazy. Caesar's security people helped us get to our cars. There was now a limo for Alfred as well as the limo for Malcolm. The drivers took us to the Excalibur while Olivia saw to healing Alfred's injuries. As we saw all the people still out on the streets, cheering as Alfred's limo passed them, he shook his head and said, "Now I know what Dallas meant when he said that it felt like someone had painted a target on his ass."

                When we pulled into the driveway, the entire staff was lined up, waiting. A man in a suit stepped up as Alfred got out of the car and said, "The staff is waiting your inspection, Lord Excalibur." "Call me Alfred." That threw the poor man. He asked again, "Do you wish to review the staff, Your Greatness?" Alfred started to correct him, but he was still a little Enthralled and there wasn't much point to arguing with him just yet.

                Since it seemed to be expected of him, Alfred quickly walked the ranks and greeted the senior staff members. Then he addressed them all and told them, "I'm looking forward to meeting more of you when I have the opportunity. I have asked Lord Bellagio and Caesar himself to help oversee the day to day running of the Domain while I am away." Then he singled out the Gold Elf woman who'd been so rude to us a few days ago and gestured her to move forward. She cringed, but did so anyway. He asked her for her name. "Candace," she said. He told her that he was promoting her to Manager of the Hotel and Casino operations so he could concentrate on the Domain.

                Then he gave one of his best smiles and said, "I meant what I said earlier; I do hope that you will all decide to stay. If nothing else to show the 'other' Overlords a thing or two." They applauded and Candace showed us up to our suites. The staff was finally starting to look like they might begin to believe us.

                The first stop was a door marked (rather ostentatiously if I do say so) in big gold letters "Private Residence". We all laughed as we passed that and Candace politely laughed along with us.

                Inside we saw that Armani had already seen to having all our belongings sent over. Alfred looked around the place and asked Candace if someone had gone thru the place with a lint roller. "Yes sir," she said (showing more humor than I would have given her credit for), "and we've removed the scratching post as well." Then she clapped her hands and the previous owner's 'personal staff' filed in. Alfred took one look at them, cast his eyes to the floor and said, "Please go get dressed. We'll meet tomorrow. Fully clothed."

                "Jeez Alfred, put your tongue back in your mouth, " I said. "Are you blushing?" Olivia demanded.

                Poor Alfred, things only got worse. A human woman came in, clad in the skimpiest French Maid's costume I have ever seen! She introduced herself as Excalibur's butler and told Alfred that all our belongings had been unpacked and rooms set up as they had been at the Palace. "We took the liberty of placing all of Miss Olivia's belongings in the same room as yours. The same with Mr. Olias and Miss Jazz." The entire time she never once made eye contact with any of us.

                Alfred thanked her and told her that he would excuse her while she went to get some 'real' clothes on. She curtsied and said, "Yes, Great One." He said, "Don't call me that - at least not here. I guess in public it'll be necessary, but not now, not here. Here I'm Alfred."

                He introduced the rest of us and asked for her name. "The previous Overlord enjoyed calling me 'One of Many'." Olivia said, "But what's your name?" She paused for a moment, kind of measuring us. "Allison," she said. Alfred shook her hand and said, "I am very pleased to meet you."

                Allison showed us around some of the other room, including Excalibur's offices. One wall was glass covered by a curtain. On the other side of the glass was a mock up of an ordinary office: cubicles with desks and chairs, Dilbert calendars and coffee mugs on the desks, a water cooler and candy machine in one corner. It looked like my old office. When she was asked about it, Allison told us that the 'previous Overlord' liked to make his office staff work in there. He would order them to strip nude and 'work' in the cage while he would watch them. She said that he felt it was only fair after all the times that Humans had watched him work in the nude.

                She drew a shaky breath, "If only he didn't have such a head start on us. We could show him a 'trick' or two." I put an arm around her, "Don't worry, he'll get his."

                Alfred told her to go get changed, we'd take care of ourselves 'til she returned. I told Olivia in a whisper that I was feeling better about what we'd done, "How 'bout you?" She gave me a nod.

                We were all in the hot tubs when Allison returned wearing what had to be a quickly altered man's tuxedo. Alfred told her that was better and she promised that it would look better tomorrow.

                Olivia asked her what had happened to the people who'd been in Vegas visiting when the Change hit. Allison told us that some ran off in a panic, trying to get home, some stayed and some Changed. It was the 19th when the Overlords had taken over. She'd been working in the Casino here when Excalibur first appeared to take control. He burst into the place with some armed soldiers at his side and enthralled the place, ordering everyone to their knees. Anyone who had withstood the Magic and was still standing had been shot where they stood.

                "He had soldiers with him?" someone asked. She nodded, "The first thing they did was to hit the Air Force Base. Then they took over the police by telling them that the National Guard had been mobilized. So when the commanding officers showed up at a police station they were let right in. Then the Overlords would appear and enthrall all the policemen." She said that Caesar wasn't the leader at that point - Bellagio had planned most of it. "I'm so glad he's dead," she said.

                "So are we," we told her, and asked her to continue. She said that it had been Bellagio who 'nailed' (enthralled) the first people when Siegfried and Roy had called 911 for help when their 'kitties' started to misbehave. Then he used them to 'get' the Police Chief, and then used his knowledge to plan the takeover.

                "Pretty smart," I said. She nodded and said, "Oh yeah, very smart. In one night they took the entire town. A few days later the CDC/NSA forces rolled into town to round up Positives. The Overlords captured them all and set them against each other in the Arena. The Overlords used their Power to make them think that they were locked in with and fighting against a Changeling. They thought it was funny."

                She was quiet for a few moments then her watch alarm went off, "You'll have to leave soon if you want to make it to the Town Hall Meeting on time. I'll have the cars waiting for you." And she left us to get dressed. Michael and Vesta begged off, saying they would rather stay and take care of some last minute wedding plans.

                At the stadium we were waved to the VIP section. There were lots of armed soldiers manning the gates with Secret Service agents checking ID's. Olivia turned to me and said into her wrist, "Look Jazz, our good friends of the United States Secret Service." I replied into my wrist, "Oh they're just here to tease me." Malcolm looked at us like we were crazy and said, "Ladies, decorum."

                We showed our ID's and a lieutenant showed us to our seats in the VIP section, right in front of the stage. Before he left, the lieutenant handed Olivia, Alfred, Debbie, and I some foam earplugs and said, "We've been told that Elven hearing is particularly sensitive. You're going to need these."

                Dallas came over to say 'hello'. "Your Greatness," he said with a nod to Alfred, then to Malcolm, "Your Greatness." Alfred smiled, "Your Greatness. Your Greatness," he bowed to both Dallas and Malcolm. Malcolm, with a wicked grin greeted both of them with, "Your Greatness."

                I mimicked Malcolm's earlier remark, "Gentlemen, decorum." Malcolm raised his eyebrows at me and Olivia piped in with, "Hey! I'm boinking a His Greatness!" Feeling left out I said, "Hey! I had a brush with Greatness!" Olivia, being the evil woman that she is, said, "Yeah two out of three! When's Dallas gonna get a crack at ya?"

                Dallas quickly changed the subject and pointed to a guy sitting over a bit. He was about 55 or 60, was wearing a uniform, and looked like a career military type. "That's General Hoyle from the Kansas Coalition." I asked if we should go greet him. "No, not right now. He's still feeling airsick from the flight here."

                I reminded Dallas that I could 'take care' of that for him. "No don't. He's dead set against such things." He saw mine and Olivia's looks of disgust and worry about what that might mean for any future relations. "Now, he's not against other people using Magic, it's just against his personal beliefs. Really, I got the impression that he's an okay guy." Then he pointed to a high corner of the stadium, behind the stage, "That's where I put Ka. Hope they get a good view of everything."

                Then the lights started to dim and the military band appeared and began to play 'Hail to the Chief'. Everyone in the stadium rose except General Hoyle, Caesar, and Malcolm. As the song ended Jesse appeared and walked to a podium that had been placed center stage. As he took his place, the General, Caesar, and Malcolm all rose and gave a brief bow. Jesse returned it and they sat.

                Jesse was wearing a suit and had his hair tied into a neat ponytail. He cleared his throat and said, "Been a hell of a year, eh folks? Well, you can all relax; tonight. is not about politics. I'm here to meet the survivors, the strong, and the resourceful. Believe it or not I'm here in town for a wedding! The wedding of some personal friends. Influential friends. Friends who know a lot of important people and have done some great things." I thought to myself, "Get this man a snorkel before he suffocates!"

                A spotlight appeared on Caesar and his entourage, "Our host is a person I look forward to meeting. King Malcolm of the New Outlands also joins us. I'm glad to see that things are going so well for my friends from the New Outlands." A spotlight appeared on us. "Don't know how many of you people know this, but a couple of King Malcolm's people have just become Overlords." He introduced Alfred and Jim 'Dallas' Finney (Dallas has a real name! Go figure!) and the crowd went wild! The Overlords in the audience started looking very nervous at that. He went on to say that Dallas "was responsible for bringing everything together tonight."

                A spotlight appeared on General Hoyle and I saw that Eric and Dean had joined him, "It is also a pleasure to meet General Hoyle of the Kansas Coalition. But as I said before, tonight. is about entertainment. I have taken the liberty of arranging something special for the people of Las Vegas." He took off his coat and tie, saying, "I've always hated these things. Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe these boys can introduce themselves…."

                The lights went out and the opening bars of "Back in Black" started up. Olivia, Alfred, Debbie and I rushed to put in the earplugs. The lights came up and there was AC/DC (all still Human)! Malcolm looked stunned then turned to Olivia and I and asked, "What the Hell is he doing?"

                The music continued and the crowd got more and more worked up. Vendors appeared and began to hand out food and drink. AC/DC played about 6 songs, then the lights went out and when they came back up U2 was on stage! Somehow, I wasn't surprised to see that Bono is now a Wood Elf. They played for about 45 minutes. During that time, some very scantily clad women started to shoot t-shirts into the crowd with air guns. It was more than a little bit surreal!

                The stage went dark again and this time when the lights came up it was Bruce Springsteen. And, oh joy and happiness, Jesse joined him on stage with a guitar! (My what a talented Klingon he is!) (OK, he does at least know how to play, but he's no Eddie Van Halen)

                When Springsteen finished his set, everyone joined them on stage for an encore: 'Rockin' In The Free World'. Looking around I saw that all the Overlords were looking very nervous, Gen. Hoyle looked very unhappy, and Malcolm looked very concerned.

                The second encore was 'Born In The USA'. When that was done Jesse stepped to the front and said, "I'd like to bring out a very special little lady." A spotlight isolated a small figure as the military band struck up 'My Country 'Tis Of Thee'. The singer was Charlotte Church and as she sang I could 'feel' a very strong Magic begin to swell up. At first I thought it was coming from her, but then as it grew stronger, I could tell it was coming from all around us. The entire crowd was producing it! Then, I realized that there were a lot more people involved than those in the stadium - it was pulling from those watching at home! It was so strong even Malcolm could 'feel' it. "Do you feel that?" he asked Olivia and I. All we could do was nod.

                As she finished the last line, "let freedom ring!" there was a huge release of energy. Some people were actually knocked off their feet by it! As it was released, so were the people. Anyone who was enthralled by an Overlord was freed!

                All spotlights hit Jesse as he stepped forward, bellowing, "Now listen up! You are all now free. I don't want there to be any taking of revenge; that's not the American way. Overlords! Listen to me! I have figured out how to break your control over people."

                I started to raise my hand (how asinine was that?) when Malcolm looked at me and I said, "Would this be a good time to point out that Caesar decided yesterday to free everyone?" Malcolm put my hand down and shook his head, "Wait. Let's see where he's going with this."

                Jesse was still going on. "We are all citizens of the Unites States. There is room for everyone, even the Overlords and Ka." ("Like Hell!" I thought to myself) "But what we need is Democracy. Leaders who rule with the consent of the ruled. Tell the people who have been ruling you for the last year that THAT is what you want. Thank you!" and he stormed offstage.

                A spotlight isolated Caesar and Dallas's TV people put their cameras on him. I noticed that all his people were still with him; he'd never enthralled them. Caesar slowly stood and gestured for quiet, and said, "My people, President Ventura puts on a good show. But this is Las Vegas; we're used to 'good shows'. What he does not realize is that I have already freed all but the criminals. You were free before he got here and you will be free when he leaves. It is your choice how you want to be led. If you want President Ventura, go with him. If you choose to stay here, then please do so; there is more than enough room for us all. Good night, may your Gods bless you, and may all the benevolent Gods Bless our beloved city."

                The lights came up and some people started to leave. We all stayed where we were, stunned. Malcolm swore and said thru clenched teeth, "I am so going to kick him in the nards. I hate being played. I have no trouble with him freeing the people who were still enthralled, but…….."

                He was so angry he couldn't finish the thought. Dallas came bouncing over and asked if we wanted to go backstage; our passes would allow us to do so. He seemed oblivious to everything that had just happened. I know I just wanted to get the Hell out of there but we went anyway. Debbie and Jennifer were very excited. As we worked our way backstage, Dallas told us that all the acts we had just seen had been on tour February '05, and it had taken quite a bit of work for Jesse to track them all down. Apparently he has a new Mage who helped him do it.

                We spent some time talking to some of the artists. Bono was telling Olivia and I how he was backing Jesse's plan for reunification. "Partisanship will just tear your people apart," He told us. I told him that I could understand his feelings and where they were coming from; then I asked, "I understand you are a big admirer of Martin Luther King, Jr., a real believer in his nonviolent approach to matters?"

                He nodded and said that was indeed true. I looked at Olivia, she nodded so I said, "Well then, let me tell you about a little thing called The Hammer of God." So I told him the story (okay, not all of it) and he was <this> close to believing me when a dude all dressed in black interrupted us. He was Human, average height, dark hair, cheesy facial hair, and looked like one of those pretentious "artist" types that used to hang out along the 16th Street Mall back in Denver, sneering at us poor wage slaves while swilling lattes. OK, so I was inclined to hate him before he said anything.

                Olivia and I could 'feel' his Power and guessed who he was before he introduced himself - Jesse's new Mage. He nodded to us and said, "So you are the chief spiritual advisor and the Vizier for Malcolm, King of the New Outlands?" Olivia looked at the security pass hanging around her neck, then at mine. "So it appears."

                He 'smiled' at her and introduced himself as Aristarkus. (Where do these guys get these names? I'm going to have to talk to Olivia; obviously our names are wa-a-a-y to dull!) Olivia said, "So, your Jesse's new Mage?" "That is my privilege," he said his a little bow.

                He told us how he had studied our works, particularly our 'achievements in group magic'. "I spent six months organizing tonight's finale", he said with barely concealed smugness. Olivia snarled. "Too bad it was all for naught," I said. He asked me what I meant by that. "Too bad you wasted all that time and effort to free a bunch of people who were already free! Good job!" And I gave him a big, double thumbs up.

                He bristled. "That wasn't the point. The point was to remind the people that they are still Americans," he said.

                "And to accomplish this you used a bunch of Aussies, Irishmen and a little Welsh girl? Interesting choice," I told him. He chose to ignore that and set in on a rap how factionalism will destroy everything. President Ventura has a plan and it'll work. He's going to rebuild the agricultural, financial, industrial and social structure of the country.

                Olivia snorted, "Oh good. 'Cuz we want to reestablish something that can build the likes of Manzanar." Aristarkus got snotty and said; "World War II history has nothing to do with this." "WWII? How about last weeks history!?!" I said. He started to say something, but I think my glare must have improved by exposure to Olivia; he paused and thought it over first.

                "You have my attention," he granted. "Let's find someplace where we can speak in private," I said. We found an empty dressing room and told him all about Manzanar (leaving out the parts about Zaphod). He knew part of the story. He'd been rounded up after testing positive, but had managed to escape the CDC forces and knew nothing about the rest.

                "If Jesse's keeping you out of the loop on something like this, you might want to rethink that gung-ho support of yours," I told him. He allowed that it was all very unfortunate, but not exactly new; it had happened before - during WWII with the Japanese, with the African slaves, and with the Native Americans before that. "Oh great! It hasn't worked for the past 250 years, but NOW it will?" I asked.

                He tried telling us again how Jesse's plan will work and that it's what the people want.

                They want people in power that they selected to be in power. We explained to him that that's what we have in the Kingdom (mostly). The King was chosen by the Land but is advised by a council, and the populace chose each person on that council. And every single person in the populace is free to come and go as they wish.

                He poo-pooed all of that and told us that Jesse's system was the only one that would work and besides, the worst of Manzanar happened before Jesse was president. I told him that 75,000 dead out at Manzanar was making it impossible for me to believe ANYTHING that Jesse has to say. Aristarkus again tried to tell us how that happened before Jesse was in office. "Yeah, well your boy Jesse, did his damnedest, just 3 days ago to eliminate the one and only chance at saving those 75,000 dead people. It was HIS choice and HIS orders. He can't slough this one off on anybody else. We were there. We saw it happen, and we were the ones who stopped it."

                His eyebrows went up at that and he asked, "What, precisely, do you mean by that?" We told him how we had been at Manzanar when Jesse's people had attacked. We never came right out and said that we had anything to do with the elimination of the Hammer, but he asked us how we had done it. He really wanted to know, but we wouldn't tell him. Speaking for myself, I trust this guy as little as I trust Jesse - which is to say not at all. All we would tell him was that it was a group effort. "You know, just some more of our 'meddling' with the group Magics," I said.

                I could tell that he was so curious it was killing him, and after feeling his initial disdain towards us, I decided to yank his tail a bit more and tease him, so I said, "It was really spectacular." Olivia nodded and said, "Yeah there was a big BOOM and then the Hammer was gone."

                I said, "No, that's not really how it was at all." Olivia started pulling on the hem of my sweater, but I went on, hoping she would trust me enough to not slam a silence spell on me. I really wanted to piss this guy off. "She's really way too modest, you know. Now, I didn't actually do it, I was just there as support. Kind of like a spare battery, but she described it to me."

                There was more yanking on my sweater. "She told me that she just 'pictured' the Hammer in her Minds Eye and very carefully and very delicately, she 'flicked' it away. And that was it. It was gone."

                I'm telling you, the look on his face was priceless! "You do realize that everything within 2,000 miles of that satellite was destroyed?" he asked. Olivia said in her very best 'I'm so-o-o bored with this' tone of voice "Well, we thought there might be more than one up there. So, rather than have to waste my time doing it all a second time…"

                That baked his noodle! He changed the subject and told us that he understood why Malcolm has a problem giving up his Kingdom. We told him it was nice that someone finally did get it. He said he understood the bond that was made between Malcolm and the Land and how he was incapable of simply walking away. He's explained it to Jesse (he didn't say if Jesse understood the ramifications or not) but neither he nor Jesse could understand why we (the Kingdom) had a problem with accepting Jesse as an ally.

                We told him that until his actions of the last few days, we had no problems with that idea - although from our point of view, Jesse had gotten much more out of it than we had. Olivia 'tsked' at me, "Well now he did arrange my reunion with my brother. Of course the only reason he did it was so that my brother could talk me into doing something against my principals."

                Aristarkus shook his head a bit and said, "I told President Ventura that would never work, but he wouldn't listen to me." Then he got real snarky about us implying we had gained nothing from the alliance. He demanded to know if we would have been able to handle the NDR without Jesse's help. "President Ventura neutralized that threat and made the region safe." I disagreed with that assessment; "The only reason he did that was because HE was in the region. If he had been elsewhere, he would have left us on our own." He had no immediate response to that.

                Olivia asked him, "You don't really think that anyone other than Queen Melissa will agree to this alliance do you?" He told us that he thought the General from Kansas would. But from what we were told, the Coalition is made up of ex-militia members who never had a whole lot of trust for the Government to begin with, and the General hadn't looked real happy about Jesse's shenanigans tonight.!

                I mumbled something to Olivia about assuming Melissa would still be 'around' to make it to the summit tomorrow. Aristarkus warned us about acting against her. Olivia told him that we had a personal grudge worthy of Thunderdome with Melissa and it was none of his concern. He told us not to waste our time; that despite what she thought, her being here did not grant her diplomatic immunity. We asked why she would need it.

                He told us that she was going to be tried and executed for 'war crimes' as soon as Jesse has a chance. "War Crimes?" we asked. "Against civilians," he told us. We told him that we found that somewhat ironic after all the civilians Jesse had killed.

                Once again we saw his snarky side, as he demanded that we give him examples. We cited Grand Junction, Salt Lake City and Manzanar. Aristarkus got real defensive and asked us, "Are your hands so clean of innocent blood? If they are, then you may judge President Ventura that way. But can you stand there and tell me that you have never killed an unarmed person? A person incapable of defending themselves? Someone who was not a threat to your imminent safety?"

                Well, all the sudden I felt like shit again. Until last night we both could have said 'Yes that's true, my hands are clean.' I found that I could not look him in the eye. I was at a total loss. Then a question popped into my head, "Was that a lucky guess? Or did he actually know something? We know how good Caesar is at keeping secrets!"

                He must have accepted our silence as an admission of surrender on that point and changed the subject again. He told Olivia that if he had not taken service and given his word elsewhere he would gladly place himself as her student to learn the secret of how she destroyed the Hammer.

                He asked her again to tell him, and swore an oath that he would never tell anyone - swore that he wished his Magic to be taken from him should he ever reveal her secret to ANYONE. Olivia believed that oath and she told him how she'd done it (once again leaving out Zaphod). She told him the spell she had used and told him that she was able to do it because she had additional power to draw upon.

                Then she admonished him that if he should ever try it, he'd better not try it on anything close. "The Hammer was HOW far away? And HOW big of an area was affected?" He thanked her, again saying if he were not sworn to service elsewhere he would gladly become her student.

                Then he asked what counsel we would give Malcolm, he said that he understand the power we have with him. We tried to downplay that but he asked us if we could deny the part we played in putting Malcolm on the throne. "No we can't deny it. We won't deny it and we've never tried to deny it. As a matter of fact, we're really rather proud of what we've accomplished." Olivia asked him, "Are you trying to claim that you put Jesse in the oval office?"

                He told us that he'd been one of Jesse's campaign workers, so in a way he had. "So we have even more in common. We have all played the role of kingmaker at some point." That annoyed me; I don't want to have anything in common with him.

                We finally had to agree to disagree on many points. He assured us he would explain to Jesse (again) why Malcolm cannot step down. He did ask us if the King Sword would agree to be passed from Malcolm to Jesse, would we accept that? I said, "Of course I would accept that. My ties (thru Corellon) are to the People and to the Land. But it doesn't matter if I accept it or not, it will never happen"

                He agreed that it wouldn't, Jesse could not be tied to the Land that way. But an alliance would be acceptable? "Of course it would. It has always been acceptable. At least until Jesse decided that he was going to take control of everything."

                He said, "May I ask your opinion on another matter?" "You may." And he asked if we agreed that Caesar dreams of an Empire. Yes, we agreed with that.

                But he'd be content with a small one. Yes, we agreed with that, also.

                Do you think he'd be happy with just Vegas? Yes, we thought so. Aristarkus said, "And the President is happy to let him have it - if he's willing to join the alliance."

                So why can't he just leave people be if all he wants is alliances? Let the Overlords have Vegas, Kansas have Kansas, the Wiccans have the Northwest, the SDN their rightful lands and Malcolm the New Outlands! There is no reason Jesse can't be happy with the rest if we can all work together.

                Aristarkus told us that he looks forward to seeing us tomorrow at the 'non-summit' (I thought that was nice! Couldn't wait to tell Malcolm about that!) We were rescued when Alfred approached the three of us. He bowed to Aristarkus as Olivia introduced him. He asked Aristarkus to excuse us but he needed to speak to us. As we were walking away, Alfred told us that his wounds were 'paining' him and he felt the need to return to the Excalibur for further 'treatment'. Olivia played along with a lot of, 'Oh you poor thing's and 'we'll take care of, don't worry's.'

                On our way out, the rest of the party joined us as they too made their excuses. On the ride back to the Excalibur, Olivia and I filled the group in on our discussion with Aristarkus. Malcolm was most interested.

                On the way back to the Excalibur, our driver told us that Caesar was on the phone and asking for one of us. Olivia picked it up. Caesar told her, "Keep this as quiet as possible. I need you to pick me up in the alley behind the Mirage. And bring an invisibility spell, I need to do some damage control. Is your brother with you? Good, I'm going to enthrall him. Don't worry, I won't hurt him."

                Olivia gave the driver his directions. Leo asked what was up. Olivia said, "Oh, nothing."

                Leo glared, "That has shit written all over it!"

                We pulled into the alley to find Caesar's limo full of bullet holes and blood. He 'appeared' by our car and before anyone could react he put the whammy on Leo.

                We asked if he was okay. He assured us that he was, but that his driver was dead! We asked what had happened. He looked grim, but filled us in quickly.

                Some 'hooligans' had attacked his limo, trying to get some payback. "Are you sure?" I asked. He nodded, "The town is full of them. When they were released all at once instead of gradually, some of them turned violent. Now I have no driver and my assistant is off being Healed."

                "Armani?" I yelled, "Is he going to be okay? I can help." He told us that Armani was in good hands and told us what was up. He needs Olivia to make him invisible, and "I'm going to have your brother here get us into Nellis. Everyone out there is free, including two really pissed of Azrael pilots. I'm going to have words with President Ventura."

                He turned to Leo, "I will release you, remember that. This is your sister and these are your friends. Their lives are in your hands. They are taking you back to your quarters at Nellis." Leo nodded in agreement and Olivia made Caesar invisible.

                That was when Olivia and I realized that Malcolm was in the car and might not want to have anything to do with this. He gave a little laugh, "I've been cooped up in the House for over a year. Maybe it's wrong of me to want to see some action, but I'm with you in this." So he, Olivia, Alfred, Cordelia, Leo and I went with Caesar while the rest of the group headed back to the Excalibur.

                At the gates of Nellis, Olivia said that the guard contingent was much larger that her last trip out there. One man approached the car while the rest watched us very closely with their hands on their weapons, either ready to draw or actually pointing them at us. This has been a bad week on the pucker factor scale!

                Leo presented his I.D. and said he was here to pick up some personal belongings. The M.P. flashed a hand light at the rest of us. Malcolm identified himself and told him to check the list of VIP's here for the summit. Then he really started laying it on, how they wouldn't want to do anything to make President Ventura angry on the eve of the all-important summit.

                He checked his list and came back to the car, "You should all have I.D.'s that were given to you by the Secret Service, may I see them?" We showed them and he compared each one carefully. He warned us, "No wandering around. We're on a heightened state of alert and don't have time for any monkey business." Then he asked the driver to open the trunk; he searched that and then gave the signal to open the gates.

                Caesar directed us towards the mess hall. We all got out of the car and approached it; it looked like a meeting was going on. We were stopped again by more armed M.P.'s and had to show our I.D. again. Inside the hall the base commander was addressing the troops. In one corner Olivia and I spotted our two Azrael pilots handcuffed and under guard. They looked even more pissed than when they'd tried to kill us yesterday!

                Just as the C.O. turned to see who had entered, Caesar put out the whammy. As he did, he became visible again and he looked beat. The effort of grabbing so many minds at once was making veins pulse visibly, even under his fur. He told the C.O. to maintain the current state of readiness and behave normally. "Don't do or say anything that might tip off the fact that you are not free-willed."

                He gave them detailed instructions on what to do, whom to talk to, what to say, etc. Then he told them to release the pilots - they had just been following orders and he wanted them at a flight-ready status in case he needed them.

                Olivia whispered to him to ask the C.O. if there were any recordings being made of the meeting - there weren't. Caesar told the C.O. to lead him to the security office and asked Olivia to make him invisible again. Before she did he 'freed' Leo.

                To say that Leo was pissed would be like saying that Caesar was a tabby-cat. He just exploded at Olivia. "This is wrong! This is a direct action against the President - it's treason! This is a time of war and that makes it a hanging offense!"

                Malcolm told him. "No one is hanging anyone, mister. Get over yourself, or you're going to be on the receiving end of the Flame Of Truth - and then you'll learn what's really in you. And the bad part is that it'll leave you alive to live with the knowledge."

                "So sit down and shut up! There may be people out there who aren't real happy with what's going on - and some of them may have access to nukes! I've had enough dealings with nukes, thank you."

                Olivia told Leo that he might try asking Cordelia what she thinks about the Government and its actions. Cordelia yelled, "Leave me out of this! I love you both, so please, just leave me out of it!"

                Caesar came back with the C.O. If anything, he was looking even worse. Olivia asked him if we needed to get him back to the Palace. He shook his head. I asked if there was anything I could do to help, he demurred and turned to Leo, "I'm sorry, but it was necessary." Leo snapped, "I don't think so."

                We could hear people running outside. Caesar said there were a few he couldn't reach and he'd given orders to have them rounded up, "Including your friends, Mr. Mitchell." Leo swore under his breath.

                Caesar promised him that they and Jesse's personal troops would be returned to him if they gave themselves up peacefully. We heard the Voice of the Azrael ordering people to give up. Then we heard it firing its weapons. Not the big, smash-everything-to-paste guns, but some kind of smaller weapon. Thankfully, it was over pretty quickly.

                An M.P. came in and told Caesar that everyone was assembled. Caesar told us we would be leaving soon. Outside there were 20-30 bodies with holes burned thru them. Some of them were wearing SEAL insignias. Caesar directed the M.P.'s to separate the remaining SEALS and all of Jesse's men. He told them, "You may hate me but you will serve me. I will leave you a greater part of your free will than I did before." And he put the whammy on 'em. When he did he started to slump, but Alfred stopped him from hitting the ground - there was blood coming from his muzzle and his ears.

                After taking awhile to regain some strength, he said to Leo, "Mr. Mitchell, I ask you to return to the Palace with me. I need your input for the summit tomorrow."

                "And if I say no, you'll just enslave me again?" Caesar shook his head, "No, I'm asking you."

                Olivia said, "Look at the information you can gather." I nodded, "Yeah! Then you can snitch to your hearts content."

                He snarled at me, "I was doing my duty!" Another SEAL yelled at him, "Go with them, Master Chief! It's your job to gather as much intel as possible and report to the President. Follow your orders, mister!"

                Alfred helped Caesar to the car. As we passed the gates we saw the guard was dead and all his compatriots wounded. "They were the furthest away and had the most time to prepare."

                Olivia wondered out loud if Jesse knew yet. "He should," said Caesar, "I called him." He said that he'd told Jesse that Nellis was under his control as it had been before. Then he told him, "Mr. President, you are welcome to stay on my property as my guest."

                We dropped Caesar at the Stratosphere and he said, "Believe it or not Mr. Mitchell, I am not your enemy. But I can be." He thanked us for our assistance and told Leo that since he was so tired he could return with us to the Excalibur, but he requested his presence in the morning.

                When the door was closed Leo said, "There is nothing in this world or any other that will stop me from turning that kitty-cat into a fucking throw rug, putting it in front of my fucking fireplace and inviting everyone I serve with over to take turns skull-fucking his severed head!" I fought down an urge to let him have it, since that wouldn't help matters any. Surprisingly, Olivia sounded calm and collected when she said to him, "Jesse was in the wrong to begin with, Leo."

                "I don't believe that," was all he'd say. Olivia sighed and asked Cordy to talk to him, to try to keep from getting himself killed.

                At Alfred's suite we found the rest waiting for us, very worried. Connors told us that the news was reporting lots of police activity downtown, and they could hear lots of weapons being fired. Leo stormed out onto the patio to be alone, and we decided to respect his wishes. Connors called after him just before he shut the door. "Master Chief Mitchell!" Leo stopped, but didn't turn around. Connors continued in a more conversational tone. "There have been reports of snipers taking potshots at any available target of opportunity. Please be careful out there."

                Leo still didn't turn around, but he gave a single nod and said, "Thank you for the advisement, Captain." He stepped out and closed the door behind him, but he did stand so that part of the wall partially shielded him.

                Alfred said that after everything that had happened he needed a drink and time to watch the news. Then he stopped, "I don't drink, what's a good thinking drink?" Malcolm summoned Allison (who was now wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo) and ordered scotch all around. While she got the drinks we turned on the news and sunk into the couches. The news had a report that Las Vegas Hilton had been able to regain control of the police force and that all 'rebels' were being offered amnesty if they returned peacefully.

                Olivia watched all that and said, "I wonder what Jesse is doing." Malcolm looked at the two of us and asked it there wasn't something we could 'do' to find out. We thought about it and decided on an approach. Malcolm (with a head jerk toward the patio and Leo) suggested we try it elsewhere. Alfred told us to use his room. I asked him to make sure that 'no one' interrupted us. He assured me he would. Then on a thought I asked him to make sure 'no one' tried to go anywhere.

                "Don't worry, he's not going anywhere." Malcolm said.

                Inside Alfred's room, Olivia, Alfred, and I made ourselves comfortable and I started to weave a spell that would let me Scry what Jesse was doing. Olivia lent me her strength and I found myself watching Jesse pace back and forth inside his suite at the Palace.

                He looked pissed - if it had been a cartoon, steam would have been coming out of his ears. Alfred mad a comment under his breath about "Yosemite Sam" and I almost lost the image laughing. Olivia smacked him and told him not to distract me. Jesse and Aristarkus were watching the news reports. Las Vegas Hilton came on and reported that the "renegades" had been "neutralized". The remaining holdouts had surrendered just moments ago. "Our beloved city of Las Vegas is now under control again. The reports of escaped criminals were initially correct, but they have all been recaptured, and no longer pose a threat to public safety."

                "And to welcome President Ventura into town, there will be a spectacle tomorrow night featuring those criminals and the former police who chose not to cooperate. It will be a special 'Survivor' version of Thunderdome; the last one standing gets to live." He paused and smirked into the camera. "Welcome to Las Vegas, Mr. President."

                Jesse picked up a book from a table and threw it thru the TV screen. He turned and yelled at Aristarkus, "Why didn't you tell me this could happen? What good did any of it do? Get out of here before I turn your head into a candleholder!"

                Aristarkus beat a hasty retreat, leaving Jesse with some of his command people. He addressed them, "Well?" One spoke up; "Nellis is a wash. Caesar isolated our people and they are all under arrest."

                Jesse growled, "What about that Azrael team?" Another aide said, "We were lucky that Caesar got to them when he did. They would've been happy to help the Cats kill you, regardless of the collateral damage."

                Jesse said, "Fine, we have more pilots than machines anyway. If there is any chance, get some people in there, kill them and get the Azrael out."

                Then he asked if anyone knew how Caesar had gotten onto the base to begin with (they had no idea!). Lots of theories, not many even close to the truth. Jesse turned to look out into the darkness and said, "They have the police, the military, but not the people, and they're still free." He dismissed his aides and as they were leaving Olivia asked me to get the direct line to Jesse's phone. I did and she immediately dialed. It was weird hearing and seeing both sides of the call. Jesse picked up the phone and asked, "Who is it?'

                "Hi, Mr. President!"

                "Who is this?"

                "Olivia Mitchell, sir."

                "You're drunk!"

                "You're right!"

                "What do you want?"

                "If you'd have bothered to ask us, we could've told you we arranged to have all the people freed."

                "Is there a point to this?"

                "No, I'm drunk, and I wanted rub it in."

                "I'll see you tomorrow."

                "Bye-bye," Olivia waved cheerfully at the handset.

                I watched as he slammed the phone down and went to the window where he stood motionless, glowering at the Stratosphere. Then he knelt and said, "Oh Lord, what am I doing wrong? I need Your guidance. I've been holding this country together with threats, blood, bullets, and duct tape. I'm tired. Won't You please give me a break?"

                Then the spell began to fade and everything started to go out of focus. The last thing I saw was Jesse pounding his head against the window in frustration. I was a little surprised; I had never thought of him as being that religious.

                Olivia and I immediately called Caesar, someone strange to us answered - it seems Armani was still indisposed. We asked for Caesar and got the cold shoulder. We identified ourselves and told her it was an emergency. She put us thru.

                Caesar came on the line and we warned him about the threat to the Azrael. He promised to increase his security. Then Olivia warned him about Leo and he agreed to be most careful.

                Then, we crashed! Between running on a magical potion for two days, all the magic we'd used and all the alcohol we'd consumed, we were drained!!!!

continued...