07/02/06:

                We finished the second wand today! But we were so tired we just ate in the rooms and slept there, too. We can rejoin the world tomorrow. Before we crashed we left a note for Allison asking if Olias, Alfred and the rest would like to have breakfast tomorrow.

07/03/06:

                It was so good to see Olias and Alfred at breakfast this morning! Alfred told us that there are going to be some big parties tomorrow for the Fourth. All the acts that Jesse brought into town for his big show have stuck around, and they're all going to perform - and no stupid magic tricks this time! Caesar is throwing a big party at his place that we're all invited to. Dallas has worked out an agreement with Las Vegas Hilton and is going to be staging some amnesty games. This time the fight isn't to the death. People who are working off misdemeanor crimes or who have been indentured for debts will be competing in non-lethal games to win amnesty. They've also devised a lotto where anyone with a debt who is not indentured can register and receive a lottery number. Tomorrow one person per hour will win. They'll have all their debts forgiven and will be given 50,000 in chips to make a fresh start.

                I asked Alfred about the shantytown north of Vegas. He told us that it's clearing out slowly but surely as people find work and places to live. Quite a few of the people who had been there have moved on to the Kingdom or to Kansas.

                He told us that he's learned that the vast majority of the people living in the hotels around town are family members of people working the farms surrounding Vegas. Working on those outlying farms is considered hazardous duty, especially now with harvest approaching. The people who sign on to work out there are given not just a good salary but their family is given the chance to live in the hotel. Employees get meals, housekeeping, and a safe place to live.

                Olivia asked Alfred what Jennifer and Debbie have been up to. "Debbie's been hanging around with some other Drow women. She said that you were okay with it." Olivia assured him that she was. He continued, "Jennifer was driving Allison crazy, trying to 'help' all the time. Allison finally gave in and allowed her to keep your rooms clean and take care of your meals and that made her happy."

                Jennifer came in just then and Olivia asked her if she wanted to go with us when we leave, or stay here in Vegas until we get back.

                All I could think of was Millie's warning to Olivia about Jennifer being a distraction, but I bit my tongue. Fortunately, Jennifer solved the problem by saying that she would rather stay. Allison assured Olivia that she could find Jennifer a place on the staff. Jennifer said that she would rather stay busy and (thankfully!) didn't want to get in the way while we were on the road.

                Allison said that we would find Debbie at the Temple of Eilistraee. Olivia asked her how things had been going with Debbie. Allison smiled, "Fine. We did have to change her bodyguard. For some reason, she didn't get along with the first one."

                "Bodyguard?" Olivia demanded. "Why does she have a bodyguard?" Alfred explained that they all do - Debbie, Jennifer, and Olias - and now that Olivia and I are out of seclusion, so will we. I looked at Olivia and saw that she was thinking the same thing I was - neither of us was sure if we liked that idea.

                So, we ate breakfast and made some preliminary plans; the 4th is party day, the 5th is hangover recovery day, and we can leave on the 6th. That left today to shop for supplies.

                Alfred ordered up a car and went to change - into a suit! "Have to uphold the image," he said with a wink. Downstairs, his limo pulled up, along with an entire entourage complete with a pair of motorcycle escorts to lead the way and a Hummer troop transport to bring up the rear. When Olivia and I stared at the little parade we were causing, Alfred jerked his head at the Hummer and said, "Bodyguards." I guess!

                Our first destination was the Temple of Eilistraee, in what used to be the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. On the way I was watching the people on the street and studying their reactions to Alfred as we passed them. There was no kneeling and groveling, but almost every single person we passed stopped and paid their respects with a short, dignified bow, or at the very least a nod.

                When we arrived, Mandalay Bay's security people were there to greet us and escort us to the Temple (apparently, our driver called ahead since Himself is in the car). When the elevator doors opened at the Temple level, there was a Drow woman waiting for us. She bowed to Alfred and greeted us each in turn. "Your Greatness. The Priestess Olivia of Crom. The Priestess Jazz of Corellon. What can the House of the Dark Maiden do for you today?" I explained that I wished to pay my respects and Olivia said that she wanted to speak to Debbie.

                The woman nodded, "Ahhh, Debbie. She has been of great assistance to us. She was instrumental in securing a loan for the Temple from Lord Bellagio." She led us over to the observation deck and went to get Debbie. Debbie appeared a few moments later and let Olivia hug her and fuss over her a bit. Finally, we got her to sit down and explain how she'd gotten this 'loan' from Dallas. "I arranged an appointment to meet with Dallas in his private office. Then I told him that if he didn't give me the money I'd cry 'Rape!' Dallas just laughed and told me to go right ahead - security cameras monitored every inch of his office. Since that didn't work I tried the next best thing - tears. He started looming uncomfortable & trying all sorts of things to get me to stop, but they didn't work. Finally, he gave in and coughed up the money."

                The Drow woman excused herself and Debbie offered to show us around. The actual 'Temple' is on the old dance floor and what used to be the dining area is now packed with hydroponics tanks. They're quite busy with crops of marijuana and mushrooms. As we walked along, Debbie checked the chemicals in the tanks and adjusted them as needed. I'm afraid to ask where she learned to grow pot in a closet hydro rig.

                Olivia asked her if she wanted to go west with us. Debbie thought about it for a bit, then said, "I would really like to stay, if that's OK with you. I've made some friends at the Temple and, as it turns out, I've got a flair for fundraising."

                Olivia asked, "Have you joined the Temple?" Debbie shrugged, "Not yet, I'm not sure if I'm going to. But I do like being here."

                Olivia told her that was fine, she could stay at the Excalibur and asked her to check in on Jennifer once and awhile so she wouldn't be too lonely. Debbie agreed and said, "That girl needs to go to some Khaless services and grow herself a backbone." But she did promise to check on her.

                Then she showed us the old kitchen; inside they've set up an elaborate distillery - probably more of Dallas's money at work. She proudly showed off the final product, stored in the coolers - that sparkling, glowing green Drow wine - the stuff that looks like antifreeze with glitter in it. It looks totally spooky, but tastes wonderful! They sell it to raise funds for the Temple.

                I congratulated her on continuing a long tradition of religious orders producing alcoholic beverages to support themselves. Olivia bought several bottles and asked Debbie if she's seen the redhead since that night in the desert.

                "Slash?"

                "Is that her name?"

                "It's one of them. She also has her Ka name, not that we ever use it." Debbie giggled and said, "Rumor is that her name Before was 'Angelica', but no one has the nerve to call her that."

                Another Drow woman joined us and greeted Alfred, "This must be Olivia and Jazz. Debbie has told us much about you. I am glad to meet you, but I was under the impression that you two were still in hiding at the Excalibur."

                Olivia explained that we had been in seclusion to concentrate on the creation of Healing wands. The woman introduced herself as Elspeth of Eilistraee, and as Priestess, she welcomed us to the Temple of Eilistraee. Olivia asked her if she knew if Slash would be in town before we left on the 6th, but she had no idea. "That one visits as her other duties allow."

                I told her that I would like to make a donation to the Temple, in thanks for the assistance I received from the Dark Maiden. Elspeth thanked me with great dignity and told me to give it to Sister Debbie, "She is in charge of our funds." Sister Debbie!!!!! What's next, Reverend Mother Mary Margaret Drizzt? But Debbie collected the donation and gave us a receipt without batting an eye.

                We chatted a bit longer and excused ourselves so we could continue our errands.

                We got to the Fremont Market at the hottest part of the day. It was awful! But as we entered the Market proper it was cooler - Hell, it was actually pleasant! Olivia and I could 'feel' the Magic being used to do it. Looking around, we saw the remnants of the riot damage and some positive changes as well. There were troops wearing Venetian colors patrolling the area to keep the peace and Alfred pointed out another addition. In the center of the market a pavilion had been built and it was flying the colors of Las Vegas Hilton; he's established a permanent Street Judge to take care of disputes right then and there.

                As we moved thru the crowd to do our shopping, I noticed that the crowd parted to let us (okay, to let Alfred) pass and it was with the same respect as I noticed on the street. Respect - not fear. I'm starting to feel better about the boys' safety.

                We had worked our way towards the Judgement pavilion and saw that next to it was the auction area. It was full of people waiting to be auctioned off. People sentenced to work off their debts or to atone for criminal activities. Suddenly, Olivia stopped, pointed to one man in particular and asked, "Don't we know him?"

                It took awhile but we finally figured it out; he was an SCA member. At one time he'd been the King of the Outlands (the SCA Outlands, not our real kingdom), a fellow who went by 'Duke Carrick'. The last time we saw him was when the populace split up back at Estrella. He'd been in the group going to Martinez Lake.

                He looked bad; tired, hungry, dirty and pretty beat up. It looked like he'd put up a good fight. We asked the guards about him and they gave us his file. He was to be auctioned off for a 20,000 chip fine, destruction of property (he'd stolen a goat from one of Luxor's farms) and for assaulting the officers who tried to arrest him. One had been injured badly enough to require hospitalization. The file had a note in it, "Warning: Subject appears harmless, but has skill and experience with weapons." The big red rubber stamp on the folder that said "Arena Bait" was more than a little disturbing.

                We went to the desk and paid the 20,000 chips. Four guards brought him out and when he was informed that he'd been purchased he balked. "I'm not going anywhere. You can't sell me!"

                I said, "Duke Carrick, please come with us." His head jerked up and he said, "What did you call me?"

                He had no idea who we were, Olivia stepped forward, "It's Olivia Mitchell and Jazz Hughes…from the SCA." He shook his head; she tried again, "Branwen ip Conyn and Siobhan O'Connor?"

                That rang some bells. "You were with the group that found Martinez Lake. You…you went with the others…I guess you guys were right after all…"

                He calmed down with that and we took him to a quiet corner of the market where some food vendors had set up a little sidewalk café. We got him some fresh food from some Aztlan traders and he wolfed it down. When he finished we made introductions. He was amazed when we introduced Alfred as Lord Excalibur. "But you're not a cat" he said. "We were told that all the Overlords were cats."

                We explained what was going on and he laughed (that kind of laughter with a slight hysterical tinge to it) and said, "Looks like you've done pretty well for yourselves."

                "Yeah we have. We learned early to roll with the punches and to make the best of what there is." Then I asked him how things were going at Martinez Lake.

                "Pretty good, until last fall when the soldiers appeared."

                "Whose soldiers?" I asked. "Everybody's. No one's. I don't know. They were scavengers, deserters. They came in looking for someplace to settle. They said that all they wanted was someplace safe with no trouble. They were accepted and worked hard to bring in the harvest. And then they took it. Took it all, all the food, the armory, everything. They killed all the Elders and then anyone who refused to join or submit."

                Olivia asked him about his family. He said that they and some others had managed to escape. But then about a month ago they got separated. He wasn't sure how long ago it was or where it had happened, somewhere near the Grand Canyon was all he knew.

                Olivia asked him how big a group had taken over. "Initially it was about 50 or so, but they gained followers with some groups who'd been unhappy with the Elders and their policies. Then they suckered in some outside fringe groups. But most of that lot ended up dead after they'd taken what they wanted."

                He told us that somehow the soldiers had gotten hold of a couple civilian helicopters and used them to track down escapees. That's how he and his family had been separated; they were trying to run from one of them. He ended up alone and followed a river to the farm where he'd been arrested.

                He was silent after that. I used some Magic to heal his wounds and Olivia used some to clean him up. Alfred pulled out a cell phone and dialed, "This is Excalibur. There's a fire." He hung up without waiting for a response.

                We (Olivia and I) decided that we needed Millie's help with this and asked Alfred if he knew where we might find her. He told us that she'd been busy; she'd gotten herself banned from the Luxor. In fact, Luxor's people had been just about to crucify her when Las Vegas Hilton got wind of it and broke it up. And now Luxor and Hilton are squabbling over Luxor infringing on Hilton's domain.

                Alfred said that he'd offered to pay her fine and spring her from jail but she declined the offer saying that she didn't want to get him involved, she would just suck it up and do her time. And that time was more than usual; it seems that Millie got lippy with Hilton after he'd 'rescued' her. Something about his being pussy-whipped. It was hard to tell what Alfred was trying to say; he was laughing so hard.

                He pulled himself together and excused himself. He took a few of the guards with him and left the rest and their transport with us. He told the guy in charge to do what ever we told them to. "Anything we tell them to do?" Olivia asked with exaggerated lasciviousness. Alfred pointedly ignored that and told us that he would get the appropriate people working on this and get back to us.

                So we headed for the Clark County Jail and asked to see Millie. She was brought out and we high-fived her thru the security glass. "Pussy-whipped?" we asked. "I couldn't resist the opportunity," she said with a big grin. We told her what was up and asked if she could help.

                "I'd love to but I don't have the resources. I'd need a little trip to see 'you know who' to recharge before I could be of any help to you."

                We told her to stay put (har-har) and we would see what we could do about getting her out. As we left the jail Carrick said, "You guys really know how to work the system, don't you?" "Watch and learn", replied Olivia.

                At the Las Vegas Hilton the staff took notice of the colors on the car and asked if this was 'official' business from Lord Excalibur. "No, but we urgently need to speak with Lord Las Vegas Hilton." We were shown upstairs and past a long line of petitioners, thru some doors and past another line of people and to a window marked "Overlords only".

                We were impressed. Olivia said, "I feel so special my nipples are hard!" Our escort told the clerk at the window, "These are good friends of Lord Excalibur." I said, "And Lord Bellagio." (If you're going to name-drop - drop all the names you can, damn it!) The clerk said, "His Greatness will be delighted to hear your needs." "Yeah right! I thought to myself.

                He continued, "May I tell His Greatness what this is in regards to?" Olivia told him, "Millie Hartwig. We need her released from jail." The clerk hesitated. I said, "We would be sure to tell the Lords Excalibur and Bellagio how helpful His Greatness has been. And I'm sure that 'other parties' will be equally pleased."

                Olivia slipped the guy a 10,000 chip and he asked someone to show us to the Overlords' waiting room. It was quite plush and we were offered refreshments - my God, they had chocolate milk!!! Carrick was looking pretty shell-shocked by everything so we got him a good stiff drink. Olivia and I reasoned that it wouldn't be good to try to negotiate with Hilton after we'd been drinking, so we forced ourselves to be content with chocolate milk. How we suffer for the Kingdom!

                Since we figured we were going to be waiting awhile, Olivia and I started talking about the parties tomorrow. Olivia said, "We're going to have to get something new to wear. The dresses we had for Vesta's wedding are a mess after the attack on the Temple."

                "There are those dresses that Caesar gave us to wear for the reception." I said, "But no, we can't wear those, we've already been seen in those."

                Carrick finally spoke, "Are you two crazy?"

                "No. I don't think so anyway. Do you Olivia?"

                "No, not at all."

                I said, "But we have been cooped with no one to look at but each other for an awfully long time."

                "Yeah, wa-a-ay too long," she agreed.

                "Next time, we make one wand, take a break and then make the other."

                "Definitely," she said, "We need to get out more. We NEED to get laid."

                We chinked our glasses and I said, "Amen to that, sister."

                Carrick looked at us like we were maniacs and asked for a refill.

                We told him to relax; we were working on his problem. Alfred was talking to Caesar and Lucifer; they would take care of getting troops together, and we were trying to free the person who could locate his family. He just needed to calm down and wait for things to come together.

                A few minutes later we were escorted into the Hall of Justice. Las Vegas Hilton came in and said, "I give you two minutes" and turned over one of his hourglasses. He has more of those things than Lance Ito! Anyway, we explained that we needed Millie out of jail and why. He thought for a minute and turned his attention to Carrick. He 'reached' out and seized Carrick's mind.

                "Is this true?" he asked him. "Yes."

                "Have you been sent here as a spy?" "No."

                "Have you lied to these people about any threat to the city of Las Vegas?" "No."

                "Have you exaggerated the threat?" "A little."

                "In what way?" "They aren't really all that tough, they're just utterly ruthless."

                Olivia said, "They're still a threat to the farming communities and you can't allow that." He released Carrick and glared at us.

                "She insulted me," he finally said. I said to him, "Oh come on! She'd been dead for over a year, her social skills were a little rusty." Carrick started at that, "What?"

                Hilton did the little 'Jedi hand motion' at him and commanded him, "Forget."

                "What if she apologizes?" I asked.

                "She offered," he snarled.

                "But think of the spin we can put on it, make you look really good. How you put aside your insult and released her for the good of the city and the safety of the people," I said.

                He sighed and called Lucifer on a speakerphone, "I have your 'friends' from the New Outlands here with me. They've just informed me of a threat to our farms."

                "Yes," Lucifer said, "I've been in contact with Excalibur and Caesar about the subject."

                Olivia and I spoke up to tell Lucifer that we were trying to get Millie freed so she could help. He said to Hilton, "So give her 20 lashes and release her."

                Alfred was with Lucifer and said, "How 'bout this? Let her out on a three-day pass - a work release program. She'll still have to do the rest of her sentence, and I'll put up a 50,000 chip bond for her."

                Hilton still wasn't happy about the idea. "Make that 600,000 and you've got a deal." Olivia and I were appalled!

                Lucifer said, "Very well, I'll pay it. I'm not worried about getting it back. If this works she'll probably be hailed for her meritorious service to the city."

                Before he hung up we asked for his helicopter, he agreed, "Go collect Millie and meet us at the Palace." He hung up, we thanked Hilton for his help and we left.

                Back at the jail we signed the release papers for Millie and she was escorted out to us by a couple of centaurs. We took one look at her orange jumpsuit, Carrick's near rags and the T-shirts and shorts that we were wearing and decided that we needed to go shopping.

                We'd just finished getting clothes for us all when the leader of Alfred's guards told us that Alfred had called to tell us that Caesar had called a meeting in his war-room in 45 minutes.

                Just like always, Armani greeted us at the lobby of the Palace. I surprised him by giving him a big kiss; "It's so good to see you! We missed you!"

                He smiled and said, "And I've missed you, too. I'm glad to see you've finally come out of your rooms." He escorted us to the war-room where we found Caesar pacing. "So glad you made it." he said to Olivia and I. Then he turned to Millie, "So, you're the one who insulted Las Vegas Hilton." We introduced him to Millie and Carrick. He asked us to be seated and then advised Olivia and I to behave during the upcoming meeting. "I find you two to be very entertaining, but there will be others here and you wouldn't want to be an embarrassment to your friends."

                "Who else is coming?" Olivia asked him. "All the major players." So we promised to be on our best behavior.

                The first to arrive was Luxor. We were less than happy to see him, since the last time we had anything to do with him, he tried to get us killed. He looked to be about as happy as we were and glared at us until the others arrived.

                Once everyone was present, Caesar called the meeting to order and gestured to Carrick, "This is the criminal found at Luxor's farm. Las Vegas Hilton has interrogated him and his story is confirmed. Olivia and Jazz of the Kingdom of the Outlands have brought all this to light. It seems they picked a most opportune time to come out of seclusion."

                Before I could shut myself up, I said, "Does everyone in Vegas know what we've been doing?"

                Caesar said, "You had been quite…. Public, and then you suddenly disappeared. People were curious, inquiries were made. The Lord Excalibur explained that you had retreated into seclusion to create some Magic items to replace the ones you so generously gave to the people of Las Vegas. No intrusion was intended."

                Luxor noisily cleared his throat, "Well, the security of our fair city falls to Venetian. Tell me, brother, what are your plans?"

                Lucifer gave him his very best 'eat shit and die' smile and said, "Well, dear brother, may I remind you that you are a month in arrears in your dues. So, unless you intend to make yourself current, my plans are none of your business."

                I glanced at Olivia, and I'm pretty sure that she was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, same as me. Luxor opened his briefcase and pulled out a stack of chips that he grudgingly handed over.

                Lucifer took great delight in writing out a receipt for him. Then Lucifer addressed the rest of the group, "This afternoon, this person" "Carrick." Olivia supplied for him, Lucifer nodded his thanks, "Carrick, who knows the area and can ID those involved, will accompany myself and a few selected others to locate the enemy base of operations. Then we will take the appropriate steps to neutralize whatever threat they present."

                Luxor golf clapped, "Oh, very nice."

                Lucifer turned on him and they began to argue in earnest. Lucifer made some very nasty accusations about Luxor's drug dealings; something about babies being born addicted to narcotics. "If that's not harming children, I don't know what is!"

                Caesar intervened at that point and told Luxor to figure out a solution for that by the time this problem is solved. Lucifer and Luxor continued to snarl at each other and I was expecting Luxor to go over the table after Lucifer when Caesar 'reached' out and took control of both their minds and commanded that they stop their bickering.

                Once he released them Luxor sat back and sulked. But Lucifer stood and bowed to Caesar, "My most humble apologies, and my thanks for your timely correction." Caesar acknowledged the apology with a nod and told Lucifer to put together an operational plan, and then they would reconvene. "If you see a way to interrupt their operation, report back. Do not take action."

                Dallas looked our way and I detected the slightest of smiles. Yeah, right!

                Caesar left, followed by Luxor and the others. Lucifer asked Alfred, Olivia and I if we would like to go change into something a bit more 'appropriate'.

                "We'd love to!" As we left, he told us to meet him at the airport, ASAP.

                We made a quick dash back to the Excalibur to arm up and met Lucifer at his helicopter. We told him that before we could do anything, we had to get Millie to 51 so she could recharge and get some info for us. He gave the pilot his orders, and off we went.

                Out at 51 we found the Grays still working on their Azrael. It looked really different - more like one of those flying killer robots from the Terminator films. Olivia asked them, "Does that thing work?" "Of course."

                I asked, "Can any of you fly it?" "Of course." So we told them that we were going to be off on a mission soon and they could come with us if they wanted to. One of them said that it hadn't actually been field tested yet. Another pointed out that this would be a live fire test. That seemed to make them excited.

                Carrick was totally freaked out now so I used some Magic to calm him. Millie suggested that he stay upstairs while the rest of us went down to see Zaphod. Lucifer said that he preferred to avoid the elevator trip and said he would keep an eye on Carrick.

                Downstairs, we could see right off that Charlie had wasted no time undoing all of Millie's cleaning. She took one whiff and said, "Good God, Charlie!" "What?" he asked. She shooed him away and sat down to log in to the system.

                She sat and pondered for a bit then said that the main group was still at Martinez Lake. She created a map and marked the locations of the smaller groups.

                I asked, "The Duke's family?"

                "Martinez Lake."

                "They were recaptured and sent back?"

                "Yes."

                Olivia asked, "Are they still alive?"

                "Yes." Millie pointed to one spot on the map and said, "This group has been examining Las Vegas. Their plan is to infiltrate by twos and threes and take service with the Overlords. It seems they don't believe their mind powers are all that strong. And when they have enough men in place, the plan is to take some of the Overlords hostage and demand the surrender of the city."

                We asked how many in that group. "70, but not all of them are combatants, some are slave labor."

                She came out of it and asked if there was anything else. We couldn't think of anything, but off the top of my head I asked, "Is Vesta's baby a boy or girl?"

                "It's a surprise. She doesn't want to know and she doesn't want anyone else to know, either."

                "Fair enough."

                "Why haven't I gotten pregnant?" Olivia asked.

                "Someone is watching over you."

                "Crom?" I asked Olivia. She shrugged, "I guess I wouldn't be much good to Him sitting home having babies."

                I thought to myself, "Holy birth control, Batman!"

                We went back upstairs and told Lucifer what we'd learned and gave him the map.

                We took off in Lucifer's Blackhawk with the Grays following in their Uber-Azrael. Finding the camp was easy. They'd taken care to hide it from people on the ground but not from the air.

                We saw two helicopters, several fuel trucks, two stolen Vegas police cars, and a motley assortment of various vehicles. There were guards on a regular patrol around the perimeter. Carrick pointed out a stockade filled with prisoners.

                Just then a truck drove into the camp escorted by two more Vegas police cruisers. The drivers got out and there was a lot of backslapping before they started to unload produce from the truck. Olivia got some binoculars and said the boxes were all marked with Bellagio colors.

                With the truck unloaded, they went to the cruisers and pulled out two men wearing Bellagio colors. They were hauled over to the stockade and tied by their wrists to some posts. Olivia and I agreed, "That's it, we've got to do something." Lucifer agreed with us but said we needed more information first. Olivia radioed the Grays and asked if they could detect any electronic communications going on down there. A few seconds later, we could hear someone reporting back to Martinez Lake. They listed off all the items they had secured in the raid, reported numbers killed, wounded and two taken prisoner. The man at Martinez Lake ordered them to use the two new prisoners as examples, "Stake them out for the desert to take."

                Lucifer asked his pilot to find a place to let us down. He found one and asked us if we still remembered the drill. "Oh yeah!" We got the equipment ready and Alfred, Olivia and I rappelled down behind some rocks.

                We unclipped, pulled out our neuro-guns and watched as the ropes were pulled back up. Then we went looking for perimeter guards. Alfred spotted two who were close to each other. Olivia and I took aim and fired. Olivia's target dropped but I had totally missed mine. Alfred took aim and fired but he missed, too. I gave it another try but missed again! Olivia gave us a dirty look, sighed, fired at him and shot…. herself! She fell and I caught her as Alfred holstered his gun and just charged the guy.

                I don't now what was funnier, the Three Stooges trying to shoot one stationary man or the look on that man's face when he saw Alfred bearing down on him out of the darkness.

                I was using some Magic to neutralize the neuro-toxin in Olivia when I heard Alfred snap the guy's neck. Olivia was coming around as he came back to tell us that he'd propped them both up to appear as 'normal' as possible.

                Looking around we saw four guys standing between us and the rest of their camp; they were busy BS-ing about their 'great victory' at the farm today. Alfred suggested we create a distraction. I said, "What about a grenade?" Olivia suggested that we summon some sort of animal to create the distraction. Bingo! We had a plan! I called upon my power and summoned a Celestial Elephant right in the center of camp. It arrived along with some impressive blue flames (and some glowing and heavenly choir music) and it began to trumpet and charge about. As the men of the camp converged on it, Olivia gave me a signal and at the exact moment that I dismissed the elephant she fired off a fireball from her wand. When those flames died, 13 of them were dead and a bunch of the rest were scattering and extinguishing their clothes.

                I summoned up power to bring down a flame strike and killed 11 more. Alfred neuro-gunned a man who had turned to the source of the attacks and was ready to fire at us. Unfortunately, some of the others had also seen where the fireball had come from (like Murphy says, tracers work both ways) and had begun to fire at us and all three of us were hit.

                Olivia fireballed another group that was closing in, killing all 27 of them. Amateurs! By now the survivors had learned something and were splitting up and spreading out. I pulled my gun and took aim at the nearest target, hit him twice and killed him. Alfred had also traded his neuro-gun for a real one and opened fire.

                Three closed in and two of them opened fire, hitting Olivia and Alfred - neither seriously. The third guy raised an RPG to his shoulder and fired. And he missed! Well, sort of. The grenade shot right past us and hit the stolen truck. It exploded and sent a shower of shrapnel flying. We all hit the dirt to avoid what we could. Alfred and Olivia managed to find some decent cover and only took a little bit of it. But I didn't fair so well and took a crap load of it. Like they say, close DOES count with horseshoes and hand grenades.

                Olivia popped up from cover and yelled at the guy, "You fucking idiot!" and let a fireball fly. He was standing near something flammable and when that exploded it took out six of his comrades.

                Suddenly we felt a downdraft of air and the Azrael became visible as it opened fire. I don't know what the Hell those Grays put on that thing, but it was pretty impressive. Instead of the usual "smash you to Jell-O" gauss cannons, this thing was armed with some kind of phaser miniguns. These bright energy pulses ripped into the raiders and people went flying everywhere and things were exploding right and left and we were all covered in dust, dirt, and other things I'd prefer not to think about. After a few moments of that the Azrael stopped shooting and just hovered there for a few seconds. Finally, one of the Grays announced, "All clear" and the Azrael cloaked and took off again.

                The people in the stockade were in a panic and I sent some Magic to calm them down before they trampled someone to death. Olivia opened the gate and as Alfred and I got them into all the various vehicles she cut down the two men tied to the posts. They looked awful so I healed them before we put them into a car. Alfred had singled out the few ex-prisoners who looked coherent enough to handle it and asked them to help by driving.

                One of the prisoners, a large Orc, got some of the prisoners to grab all the weapons they could find to take along. He helped himself to a big-ass, WWII-era .50 caliber machine gun and several cases of ammo belts. I'm not sure how he was able to lift it - the thing must have weighed a couple of hundred pounds with all the ammo he had!

                Olivia spotted what looked like a command tent and we went to search it. Alfred and I found nothing of import but somehow Olivia found an invisible case of some kind. Before she tried to open it I did a spell to detect traps and Bingo! It had one. I went outside and asked the prisoners if any of them could do something with it.

                The Orc stepped forward, "I can, but we should get going. Is it safe to move?" I 'looked' closer and it was safe so we grabbed it.

                Before we left, I remembered the guy that Alfred shot with the neuro-gun. I asked the Orc to follow me and we found him. I asked the Orc to load him into a vehicle. Lucifer landed then and I told him that the three of us would drive back to Vegas with the caravan, just in case they ran into any trouble. He agreed and said that he would fly on ahead to report to Caesar.

                When I turned back around the Orc had just finished tying the raider spread-eagle to the hood of one of the cars. He turned to me as if to ask if I had a problem with that. I looked at him and said, "Okay, let's get going." I got into one of the police cruisers with Alfred, Olivia and the two men wearing Bellagio's colors.

                A few miles away there was a car pulled across the road, blocking it. It looked like more of the raiders. Three got out of the car with shotguns. Olivia leaned out the window and let loose a fireball, sending the car and the men flying.

                One of the trucks pulled forward to push what was rest of the car out of the way and we continued. A few more miles later we came across another car in the road. This one was all shot up and there were two corpses lying near it.

                Olivia said it smelled like an ambush to her and she 'looked' for signs of one. All the sudden the Orc opened fire at something on the side of the road. Dirt, wood splinters, and body parts fountained up and revealed a concealed foxhole, or what was left of one. Olivia spotted something on the other side of the road and right when she launched a fireball at it some heads and weapons appeared from a pit there, too. Then they all vanished in flames.

                My attention was drawn to one of the 'corpses'. It got up and started to run. He didn't get very far. The Orc let loose a three-round burst from his machine gun and the guys entire upper body vanished. His legs kept running for a few steps before collapsing. I shot the other 'corpse' with my neuro-gun. Olivia asked the Orc to tie him up, too. As he was doing so, she asked his name.

                "Mitchell Rodriguez." "I'm a Mitchell, too. Olivia Mitchell, glad to meet you." Then she introduced Alfred and I.

                When he was done with the rope work, Mitchell walked over to one of the dead raiders and drew a big, honkin' knife and beheaded him with one slice. He walked over to one of the police cars and speared the head onto the hood ornament. He stepped back to examine his work, grunted with approval and climbed back into the truck he'd been riding in. Olivia and I looked at each other and grinned. We need to hit the town with this guy!

                We reached the city gates without further incident. Alfred ID'd himself and the guards snapped to attention. Things hit a slight snag when they insisted that Mitchell unload his machine gun. One of the guards was having kittens about how the thing was an antiaircraft gun and that Mitchell could hit Caesar's residence from here with it. Mitchell got hot at the accusation that he would do such a thing (I noticed he didn't dispute the claim itself!) and pointed out that he could have used it outside the gate with just as much effect, but hadn't. Tempers flared and insults were traded. Alfred stepped in and Mitchell finally made a great show of unloading the thing.

                It was a little after midnight when we pulled up in front of the Palace. Armani came out to greet us and he wasn't wearing his trademark suit! He was looking sharp in some faded jeans and a sweater of all things!

                He looked at the caravan and at the men tied to the hood of a car and shook his head, "Reconnaissance?" he asked us.

                "Hey!" I said, "We brought back two alive."

                He started to say something but stopped. He walked to the car with the 'hood ornament' and said, "I recognize this man. He was recently accepted into Caesar's Cadet School. He was training to become one of Caesar's guards. This means he managed to resist an 'interview' with an Overlord."

                He seemed rattled but told us that he would see to the care and comfort of the people we'd freed and would take care of the prisoners as well.

                Mitchell stepped up and asked us about the booby-trapped case. Olivia gave it to him and he set to opening it. As I watched him I noticed that he didn't look like the rest of the Orcs I've seen. He's much bigger and considerably greener. Something different?

                He got the thing opened ("Braille combination lock", he explained) and we went thru the contents. There were plans, maps, notes, lists, signs and countersigns. We gave it all to Armani, but Olivia kept the case.

                We went back to the Excalibur where Lucifer, Carrick and Millie were waiting for us. We told them all that had happened and what we found. Lucifer said that he would go see Caesar right away and thanked us for our help.

                Millie had good news; Caesar convinced Hilton to pardon her. She was really happy and confessed to having had a few drinks while they were waiting for us and said that we should have one with her to celebrate. We agreed.

                Mitchell made his presence known and said that he would like a shower and something to eat. We summoned Allison and she never even blinked an eye when we asked her to set Mitchell up with a room, a large room. She merely asked him to allow her to check his machine gun. He handed it over and politely waited for her to give him a claim check ticket for it. Then she called for a couple of bellhops to carry the thing to the count room.

                We asked her to get a room for Carrick, also. She nodded and went to see to it. With that taken care of Millie, Olivia, Alfred and I headed for the bar and then the hot tub.

                We soaked for a while, then I went looking for Olias. He wasn't hard to find, and didn't mind coming back to my room at all.

continued...