07/20/06:

                As Leo and I were getting ready this morning he asked, "Should we grab some food and take it in to the group?"

                "I don't know - will we get into trouble for it?" I only half-joked.

                "What if we only take enough for us?"

                "I don't know - I think that would be even worse," I said.

                "Well, can you conjure up a couple dozen eggs?"

                I shrugged, "I don't know. I've never tried to make anything specific. But I'll try."

                So I summoned the Magic and whispered, "Okay Corellon, work with me here."

                And it worked! Leo found some bags to put them in - there were enough for each camp.

                We walked in and Leo showed them the eggs. Olivia gave me a look and I winked at her. She went back into her and Alfred's tent and reappeared with a bunch of sausages, and Alfred was carrying what had to be 15 pounds of potatoes!

                We kept some for the Shoe camp and Leo and Alfred went about distributing the rest. When they returned Leo said, "I think we just made some friends."

                "That's what we tried to do last night," I said.

                Alfred said, "A guy in Men's Formal Wear told us that he's got a pickup that runs. And if we can siphon some gas from Scooby, he can drive us around to look for supplies." He gave Olivia a big wink when he said, "siphon", she nodded and the two of them went out to get the gas.

                While we were eating breakfast Leo said, "You know. If food is this hard to come by, we should try bartering food from you two for the supplies we need. If you're willing to do that."

                "Sure," I said. "I'd be willing to use the Blessing to speed grow crops, if it would help."

                Olivia suggested using that here, "I bet the mall's got what used to be small gardens or something like that, most malls did."

                "Sure! I'd be happy too," I said.

                But Lisa nixed the idea. "No! That would have everyone at each other's throats. Just to give you an example - Nordstrom's - they had a great roof. And the people there hand carried dirt in here and up to the roof. Enough dirt to cover the whole roof two feet deep. They were going to plant a garden. Penney's starved themselves for weeks, saved food, and bartered it all to buy some explosives. They went in to Nordstrom's and blew the roof to keep them from growing food. They are some heavily armed assholes."

                "Well so are we," Olivia said. Hastily, she added, "Heavily armed, I mean!"

                "How are they armed?" Leo asked.

                Lisa explained that they'd been heavily armed assholes, Before. "You know the kind - paranoid, hated the government, had bunkers instead of basements."

                "Great," Leo mumbled.

                I asked Olivia for the umbrella and opened it. "Okay Lisa, if we leave you money and/or trade goods, can you get ready to leave here? Are you at all interested in getting out of here?"

                She said, "We'd have to cut Sears in on it. They have the garage to hide things. If we didn't hide things - Penney's would just take everything."

                "Can you do it?" I insisted. "WILL you do it?"

                "We want to," she said. "I want to. I want to get the Hell out of here."

                Olivia asked, "Tell us about Sears. Do they have children or other noncombatants in there?"

                "Yes."

                "So, how would we get the combatants out of there?" Olivia pondered.

                "Or we could just bribe Sears," Lisa said. "They won't fuck with Sears. Nobody fucks with Sears - they run the place. They're about a thousand of them. They were a bunch of former Satanists, forty of them or so and then they recruited some real bad asses but the worst of all are the six Waster they've got over there. The rumor is that the people 'donate' energy to them."

                "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!"

                Lisa nodded her agreement to that, "And we're not sure, but we think the guy leading them all is a real, honest to God Vampire. And this is their territory, but if you leave them alone they leave you alone."

                "Okay. I'll go talk to them," Olivia said, "Jazz?"

                "Sure. I'll go with you."

                Leo and Alfred said they'd go get the guy with the truck and see what they could find. I asked Walter if he'd like to come with us.

                "No thank you ma'am. I'll stay around here and talk to these good people. Sometimes I have a real problem keeping my mouth shut, so I'll let you two talk to the bloodsucker."

                Olias said that he too would stay around camp.

                So Lisa, with great trepidation, led us out into the mall towards Sears. As we passed Penney's we saw close to twenty 'people'. And I use that term loosely. They really looked like extras from 'Deliverance'. They were sitting on beat up furniture, throwing sticks for their dogs to fetch and drinking what had to be moonshine. They were even drinking from Mason jars!

                As we walked by, they let loose with the catcalls and rude suggestions that we expected. "They're always like this," Lisa said.

                Once we had gotten by them Olivia and I could Feel some Magic, strong Magic coming from somewhere ahead of us. It got stronger and stronger until we found the source - the Software, Etc. store. There were a bunch of 'kids' out front of it in the mall proper. They were all wearing weapons and were sitting around a table playing cards. Each and every one of them was radiating Magic at one level or another.

                One of them had an aura even stronger than Olivia's. It was a Borg!

                Olivia asked, "Do you believe that, Jazz?"

                "Now there's something you don't see everyday," I said.

                It just followed us with its eyes as we walked past.

                Lisa shuddered and said, "I hate the Freaky Boys! That's what they call themselves."

                Thankfully, we got past them with no problems and found ourselves in front of Sears. The old security gate had been replaced with a very 'decorative' wrought iron one. Decorative if you go in for the spiked look, that is. And 'standing' guard at the gate was one of the Wasters. He was a young-ish man sitting in a big ol' Lazy Boy reading a book.

                He barely even looked up at us to inquire, "Lost?"

                "No," Olivia said. "We were hoping to talk to whoever's in charge. We're from out of town."

                He looked at Lisa, "Is this Macy's business?"

                Lisa looked ready to faint, but managed to say, "Sort of. Our camp would like to rent some storage space in your garage."

                The guy let out a big sigh, rolled his eyes, marked his page and put the book down. "All right. Follow me."

                As he was undoing the many locks on the gate, Olivia said, "Do Wasters ever get sick?"

                The guy stopped and looked at her in amazement, "No. We're pretty fucking dead."

                "Oh. Do you mold?" she asked.

                He almost laughed at that, "You've associated with our kind before?"

                "Yeah, a guy in southwestern Colorado, named Randall," Olivia said.

                "He's a real good guy," I said. "He helped us defend a town once."

                The gate was finally opened and we went thru a big, black velvet curtain to find a very dark hall. Lots of candles burning everywhere. Lisa was still hanging in there, but looked terrified. I took her hand and told her, "Take it easy, it'll be alright."

                It didn't work, and I think she got even more scared. So I threw a small Magic at her to take her fear away.

                "What did you do to me?" she asked.

                "Trust me. They love fear in others, don't let them know you're afraid."

                We stopped at another big curtain where a little Goth chic met us wearing a chainmail halter top and a weaselly little guy in a tuxedo coat and a top hat. "Yes Sire?" the girl asked.

                "They're here to negotiate. Take them up to see Landau."

                The gal made a big production of getting a torch and lighting it. As we followed her up a stationary escalator, Olivia said, "Hey! Doesn't that top chafe?"

                "No."

                "Pinch?" she tried. No answer to that.

                Upstairs, we were led past a gauntlet of mannequins in heroic poses that just made me want to giggle. At the entrance to the electronics department there was a theatrical blackout curtain. Our escort asked us, "Are you prepared to face what's beyond?"

                Oh please.

                She reached out and yanked a bell pull and was rewarded with an Addams' Family foghorn.

                "Cool," I said.

                The curtain opened and there was another Goth girl waiting, "Yes?" she asked our escort.

                "Three to see the Master."

                "Okay, do any of you have any crosses, Holy Water or garlic on you?"

                "I wear a crucifix," I said

                "Oh that's fine. Now. Are you sure you want to go in?"

                "Yes. Sure. Thank you Wednesday," Olivia said.

                The girl got huffy. "It's Ursula," she sniffed, and turned to lead us into the area. Once past the curtain, she picked up a torch of her own - but this one was different, it wasn't real fire and put out no discernable heat. As she held it up we could see bodies hanging from the ceiling. That's when we were hit by the stench of blood.

                Looking closer there was tubing running from the bodies off to a dark corner. "These are people who have tried to attack us," the girl said.

                "Wow. Sucks to be them," Olivia said.

                As we walked beneath them, some of them stirred and reached out to us. Mondo Creepy!

                At the back of the room there was another curtain. And in front of it were some aquariums filled with blood and there was also a 'throne' - a big one. It was decorated with human bones and skulls. Olivia gave a little whistle and said, "Gee, sure am sorry about your penis."

                The Goth shoved the torch at us to get our attention and said, "Are you sure…."

                Olivia interrupted her, "Yes!"

                "Jesus!" I said. "This is like a bad Halloween Haunted House!" I did my very best Bela Lugosi imitation, "Are you sure you vant to go on?"

                From behind the curtain we heard a laugh, "Show them in, Ursula."

                This time when the girl opened the curtain, instead of another dark room, we were blinded by the sudden onslaught of bright fluorescent lighting! When our eyes finally adjusted we could see what appeared to be an employee break room with tables, chairs and a TV. The first indication we'd seen in the mall of electricity.

                There was also a man. Quite average looking (but a little pale), wearing black leather pants, a white silk shirt and watching TV.

                "Thanks Ursula. You can go back to what you were doing." When she was gone he asked, "Wine? Water? They come with no obligations."

                "Wine, thank you," Olivia said. I nodded agreement, but Lisa was frozen in her tracks.

                Landau poured wine for us and Ursula reappeared with a goblet of blood for him.

                "I saw your rig some in. Someone smacked the shit out of you."

                "They certainly did," I said.

                "So. What do you want? How can Sears help you?"

                We started to explain that we were old friends with the people in Macy's shoes. He chuckled a bit and we stopped.

                "Oh, I'm sorry," he said with a little wave. "It's just that I implemented that little rule on a whim. It's very amusing."

                "What rule?" I asked.

                "That people must identify themselves by store and department. I never thought people would take me seriously!"

                "You're using us for entertainment?" Lisa finally spoke up.

                Landau seemed to notice her for the first time. He gestured her way and Commanded, "Sleep."

                Her eyes rolled up in her head and she slumped over. Olivia and I caught her and laid her down. Landau used some more magic and created a memory for her. When she woke, she'd remember that she stood quietly by, quaking, while we negotiated with Landau.

                So we started again, with introductions and explained why we were there.

                "And you want to use our auto bays to store vehicles? There are three such spaces, but they would go at a premium rate. I've always rejected requests to use them before. We use them from time to time and can't let them go on a permanent basis."

                "But this would be temporary," I said. "Just until we get back from New Ectopia."

                "New Ectopia? I was in Portland when everything happened. It was fun 'til those twerps showed up. A bunch of weenies, but some very accomplished weenies. So I left there and worked my way here and into this situation."

                Olivia cut to the chase, "Good. How much for the spaces?"

                "Back to business. Five utils per vehicle, or bay, per month," he said. "Plus whatever more may accrue by the time you get back if you're gone longer than that. With that fee, you will receive access for one driver or mechanic per vehicle to come and go to work on the vehicle."

                "Okay. Deal."

                "Wait," he said, "I want something of you. I want you to leave Penney's alone."

                "Boy! Are we that transparent?" I asked.

                "No," he said, "I'm that telepathic."

                "Look," he said, "they've made a bargain with us. Penney's provides lives for us. Now hold on, let me explain and satisfy your morality. They have a lottery, and three people are chosen every Friday, one for me and the other two for my friends. They people in that store serve a purpose. We don't have a choice, we are what we are and we need nourishment. If I were to let my friends 'loose' it would bring the local populace down on us."

                Olivia said, "As long as you're not feeding on children…"

                "Never," Landau said. "As a matter of fact, if you were to take a look around in there you would see an inordinately high percentage of children for that very fact - their parents know they'll be safe. But once they turn 18, they're fair game. They have a choice of taking their chance in the lottery or leaving."

                "The dynamics here in the mall are really very interesting," he said. "Take the Freaky Boys. Your friends in Macy's Shoes are afraid of them - without ever realizing that they are their most likely allies. But that Borg has them to afraid to even speak to them for fear of being turned into drones. But if they really want our help (and garage) it will cost, have you any utils yet?"

                Olivia ran thru the choices and a deal was struck 25 ounces of gold for the storage spaces and protection. "Bring the gold to the front gate, tell the person there that's it's a rental payment." Then he gestured toward Lisa and she began to stir. "She'll be fine in a few minutes, but confused."

                He smiled at us and said, "You will do me a favor, won't you?"

                "What?"

                "Help keep up the reputation - tell everyone that this was all very oogey - boogey?"

                "I was terrified the whole time. I think my knees are still shaking," I said.

                He laughed and called for the little Goth chick to escort us back out.

                On the way, we passed another waster. This one was a blonde woman.

                "Did you come in with the new vehicle?" she asked.

                He admitted we were and she asked what sort of trade goods we had. She was particularly interested in music and when Olivia told her that we had quite a few CD's she was excited and offered us jewelry or some loose gems. When we weren't interested she asked, "Well, what do you want?"

                "Armor plating?" I said. "Or some electronic circuitry?"

                "Yeah, do you know anything about mechanics?" Olivia asked.

                "I just might," she said, "follow me."

                She led us to her place and as she was rummaging thru a stack of stuff she introduced herself as Louise. She showed us a box with some jewelry and a few loose stones. But nothing real spectacular. Another box had some raw minerals and some tubing made of different metals. Those got Olivia's attention.

                Louise finally found what she was looking for and proudly presented us with a small box, "You need electronics? Here ya go. Take those rocks and stuff and these and let me pick five CD's in return."

                Olivia opened the box and found a stack of cards. Magic cards, the game Magic. "And what are we supposed to do with these?" she asked.

                "Take those to the Freaky Boys and trade."

                So we took her out to Scooby and let her pick her tunes. She wasn't real happy with our selection, though. She was really hoping to find a copy of Nina's 99 Red Balloons, "But in German. Not the lame English version."

                "Well, when we're out and about, we'll keep our eyes open for you," I told her.

                "You two really aren't afraid of us, are you?"

                "No not really. We ran across a few of your kind, early on, after the Change, but we took care of them," Olivia said.

                "And since then we've met another who is really quite the good guy," I said and we told her about Randall.

                "Are you sure you really want to stay in Macy's Shoes?" she asked.

                "Not particularly, but we have friends there."

                "Well, if you get bored we have a really rocking party every Friday night - you should come!"

                "I bet," I said. "But we'll pass."

                She was a little indignant, "Hey! We have to eat, too."

                "And I understand that. But don't take it personally, I could never watch National Geographic specials, either."

                "Do you know what I really miss?" she asked us and when we were silent, she said, "Starbucks. I really miss Starbucks coffee."

                "Well when we're looking for CD's for you, we'll look for some Starbucks."

                "You two are alright," she said.

                Once she was gone, we dug out the gold to pay Landau. We went back in, but Lisa declined the chance to go talk to the Freaky Boys with us.

                They were still out front of the computer store playing cards. As we neared one of them said, "Stop right there. You're not going to cause any trouble are you? We've got a game going here."

                "No, no trouble," Olivia said. "We've come to talk trade, if you think you can stop long enough."

                A guy inside the store said, "Ah, just leave them alone. Come on in here if you want to talk terms."

                The inside of the store was wallpapered with posters of Lara Croft and Max from 'Dark Angel'. I said, "We're here because we've been told you know electronics."

                The guy introduced himself as Dexter, "And you are in the right place. What do you need?"

                "We have a couple of electronic systems that got fried and we need them repaired."

                One of the geeks from the table out front went on to babble out some specs and details of Scooby.

                "Yeah - what he said, I guess. And our grenade launcher is busted. It needs to be fixed, too."

                "Okay, whatcha got to offer us?"

                Olivia opened the box to let him see the cards. His eyes bugged out, "Shit! Where did you get those?"

                "We recently acquired them in trade," I said.

                He got a pair of white cotton gloves and examined each card with a magnifying glass.

                "Okay. What kind of electronics systems?"

                "Just come look," Olivia said.

                When we took him out to Scooby there were two men from Macy's beginning work on the body damage while Walter supervised. Dexter climbed up into the remains of the turret and let loose with a torrent of techno babble. Something about sludge, and upgrading and being able to do so much better than this and… and… and…

                I couldn't stand it anymore and cut him off, "Fine! We'll upgrade if we can find what we need and if we can afford it and if you can actually do it, if not, you're just taking out of your ass."

                "We'll have to go to the market," he said.

                "Yeah, and we need to exchange some currency, too," Olivia said.

                Dexter told us the market was too far to walk so as we began unloaded Olivia's motorcycle and a turbobike. "Hey! I've got my own bike. I'll be right back."

                Walter watched him run away and said, "That boy is just - wrong."

                We didn't argue.

                But we did almost bust a gut when he reappeared wearing full biker leathers - sitting astride his Vespa!

                And so, it was with much shame and embarrassment we let him lead us to the market.

                When we got to the market, we took a quick tour to see what they had to offer. Dexter was very excited about some of the things we saw, including a missile launcher. We promised him that we'd tell Leo about them. "But Dexter, until we exchange some currency we can't buy anything."

                As we were walking thru trader country looking for someone outbound, we came across a trader having a heated discussion with a group of mercenary types, so we stopped to watch. It seemed that the leader of the caravan was refusing to pay the mercs who had escorted him here.

                "We were late due to your ineptitude! Why should I pay you for that?"

                One of the mercs (The leader of the group? A guy with crazy hair - and what was with that beard?!?) calmly said, "We did what we were hired to do. We got you and your goods here. And we lost two men doing it. You will pay us as agreed."

                There was more arguing back and forth until one of the mercs stepped forward carrying a locked cash box. "Got it, Rodrick," he said. The trader saw the box and tried to get to it but was restrained by two of the mercs.

                "Good. Jimmy it open and take what we're owed plus compensation for the dead," Rodrick said.

                "Oh come on! Why not take it all?" Cashbox asked.

                Rodrick said, "We're professionals. Do you ever want to work again? Or would you rather be considered nothing but a bloodthirsty hooligan?" A crowd had gathered by then and was enjoying the show. A bunch of us yelled out, "Bloodthirsty hooligan!"

                Cashbox was having trouble opening the box - there were four separate padlocks on it, so Olivia stepped forward and said, "I'll open that for a cut of the dead guys' pay."

                He looked at her, then at Rodrick, who nodded. "Deal."

                Before she got started, the market judge appeared on the scene. "Everybody just hold it," he shouted. Everyone, including the crowd began to tell their stories, all at the same time.

                "Silence!" he roared and amazingly, everyone complied. "Okay, I want one representative from each group to talk to me."

                The trader said, "I missed an on-time bonus and it is all their fault."

                Rodrick said, "Our contract stated we were to see the cargo here. In one piece. It is. He owes us."

                The judge asked Olivia, "And what is your involvement?"

                Rodrick said, "Security professional."

                "She was going to help them break into my cash box!" the trader yelled.

                The Judge glared at him and asked, "Are all of your caravan vehicles intact?"

                "Yes."

                The Judge turned back to Rodrick, "How many of your men were injured or killed on this trip?"

                "Three injured and two dead, sir."

                "And what were you going to take from the cash box?"

                "What we are owed," Rodrick said as he handed the Judge the contract.

                The Judge read them, nodded and said, "Pay the men." He asked Olivia, "What was in all of this for you?"

                "One of the dead man's pay."

                "That's all?" he asked.

                "And the knowledge that she did a good deed," I said.

                The Judge looked at the two of us. "You're not New Ectopian are you?"

                "Oh, Hell no!" Olivia said. So he explained to us that in New Ectopia, she could have charged 12 utils for her services.

                "Twelve utils?!"

                "Well, yes - split amongst the group."

                Since he seemed to be in the know, Olivia asked him where we'd find the New Ectopian embassy so we can get our papers. He gave us some directions to an old Methodist church and some advice. "They'll take your money and give you a book filled with their rules. They'll also exchange your currency, but you'll do better out here."

                We thanked him and he went about his business.

                Rodrick walked over and handed Olivia her 'share', 2 ½ utils. "Thanks for your help," he said. "Rodrick Morgan, nice to meet you."

                "Olivia Mitchell."

                "Jazz." I said, and we all shook hands.

                "I heard you say that you had some injured men - do you mind if I see to them?" I asked.

                One of the injured men said, "I can't pay you."

                "You don't have to," I said. They were all amazed, as were the people who were still hanging around. I healed two or three bullet wounds, some cuts, scrapes and a couple concussions.

                "Thank you," Rodrick said, "That was very kind of you."

                Cashbox asked him, "So do we have anything else?"

                "No, but I'll keep you informed."

                "Okay," Cashbox said. "I'll be at the Hotel California. I'm going to use this hard earned money to get blown."

                Oversharing!

                Olivia asked Rodrick, "Where are you going?"

                "Nowhere for now."

                "We're going to New Ectopia, but we've had a little vehicular problems. You don't happen to know anything about repairing weaponry do you?" she asked.

                "A little."

                We explained our predicament and Dexter said he wanted to go back and look at the missile launcher again. So we explained to him, again, that we need to get some money first.

                "That's why we were passing by," I said. "We're looking for an outbound trader who needs to change utils for Vegas chips."

                Rodrick said he knew where we could find some. "I work out of here regularly. There's a mercenary hiring hall. That's where I go to find work and you'll find your currency."

                He offered to show us to the place and we accepted.

                Outside of the building there was a bunch of people hanging around, including the scary woman mercenary who assassinated Miriam. She was in a poker game with a half-empty bottle of bourbon and a big stack of money sitting in front of her.

                Olivia walked over to the table and said, "You sure do get around."

                The woman was pretty drunk. "I remember you!" she garbled. "From Las Vegas! Pull up a chair!"

                Olivia shrugged, "What the Hell! Deal me in."

                I cringed and Rodrick laughed.

                The first hand she lost 4,000 chips. The second hand she lost 3,000 more. But the third hand she won 24 utils! By my figuring, that put her up 17.

                Losing that hand pissed the woman off, so Olivia took the opportunity to say, "By the way - good job in Kingman."

                "You must be mistaken," the woman slurred, "I've never worked in Kingman."

                Olivia persisted, "But that was some really nice flying carpet action."

                The woman threw her cards to the center of the table, "That's it boys!" and she gathered all her stuff to leave.

                He partner said, "Yes, we had a small job in Kingman but we don't talk about it. I'm sure you understand,"

                Olivia said, "I just wanted to thank her. She saved me the trouble of doing it myself."

                "You're welcome," the woman muttered. And she turned to argue with the other players who were angry that they weren't going to have a chance to win their money back.

                While they were arguing, Olivia, Rodrick and I went into the hiring hall. There were several ads posted looking for 'escorts'. One looked likely - it was a merchant going to Ka. But Rodrick pointed to one; "This one is a better bet. A caravan of Bible Beaters headed for Las Vegas. They're looking for some mercenaries 'willing to forego the fruits of the earth to help them in their crusade'. I can tell just from reading it that these people are fleeing the religious persecution in New Ectopia. They'll have nothing but utils," he told us. The note read that they were camped in an old Baptist church not too far from the mall. We thanked Rodrick for his help.

                "No problem," he said.

                "Wait a minute," Olivia said. "We've got a little 'project' that we're working on. Would you be interested in a job? It would be watching over some vehicles we're getting together for a trip to Vegas. We'd be able to get you some letters of introduction to some people in Vegas."

                "Thanks. But I'm not sure I want to go to Vegas," he said.

                "Why don't you come by the mall for dinner, anyway?" I asked. "Or, if you've been to New Ectopia recently, we could use some help." He told us that he'd think about it and let us know and took his leave. Since we still didn't have the utils we needed to buy parts we had Dexter take us to the church.

                After he left us, Rodrick went looking for his men. He found them in the lobby bar of the Hotel California, drinking and waiting for open 'rooms'. He asked his second in command if he'd be interested in 'taking over' the company for awhile. He agreed to do it and Rodrick bought a round for all his men then headed for the mall.

                He got there in time to see Scooby being towed into the Sears garage by two pickup trucks. The job was being overseen by two men, a large Drow and a Human with a SEAL tattoo on his arm. Rodrick walked over to them and asked, "Is that tattoo earned or just decorative? Mine's on my back"

                Leo looked him over and said, "Mitchell, Master Chief."

                "Morgan, Lieutenant."

                Leo gestured over to Walter, "Lt. Colonel Evans, SEALs, retired. So are you just out admiring the scenery?"

                "No. I met some ladies and they invited me for dinner."

                Leo nodded, "These ladies, did they look like a matched set of trouble?"

                "Yeah they did. They said their names were Olivia and Jazz. Said they could use some help."

                "Mercenary?" Leo asked.

                "It's a living."

                "Want some dinner?"

                "Sure."

                "Okay then, secure those lines," Leo said. They shook hands and got to discussing the damage and needed repairs; as it turns out Rodrick has a degree in engineering!

                On our way to the church, Olivia and I ran into Leo and Alfred on their way back to the mall. They had some of the parts they'd gone looking for and we told them about some of the stuff we saw at the market.

                "A missile launcher?" Leo said.

                We also told them about Rodrick. "We think he might show up. So play nice."

                Leo asked me, "Are you unhappy with Olias as our guide?"

                "Not all, but he left New Ectopia quite some time ago and he isn't exactly the type to 'know' some of things we'll need. This Rodrick is. It's really two entirely different things."

                Alfred said that they'd been to Dos Peros and the owner offered them everything we need - out of the goodness of his heart. It seems he's a member of the Mexican Mafia and was looking for future favors. He assured us that he and Leo had decided to keep everything on a cash only basis.

                Leo said, "When we get back we're going to haul Scooby into the garage and get to work, so the sooner you get the money taken care of, the better."

                "Hey Dexter," I said, "Why don't you tell them all about the weapons we saw at the market?"

                That got him going! So Olivia and I got rid of him and headed to the church on our own, thank Corellon.

                On the way we passed a group of people going the opposite direction. They were all very athletic looking and were wearing bright red tabards and helmets. They were in formation and roller blading with their strides in unison. They all carried what had been hockey sticks but now had blades of steel on them. Pretty damn sharp looking blades. We guessed they were local law enforcement of some kind.

                We rounded a corner and found the church. The building was only lightly guarded and there were vehicles all over the block. They were very well guarded. One of the guards looked at us with some hostility and said, "What?"

                Olivia politely asked for the leader of the group, "Or the bookkeeper, at least."

                "Are you looking for work?"

                "Hell no," Olivia said.

                "Watch your language. This is a House of God."

                "Technically," I said, "this is a Sidewalk of God."

                He glared at me and Olivia told him, "We're just looking to do a little exchange of currency."

                The guard 'invited' us in and asked a woman to show us some 'Christian Charity'.

                "Food? Water?" she asked us very politely as the guard stomped off.

                "No thank you," I said, "we won't be here long."

                "But could we trouble you for an empty jar or pitcher and a couple of glasses?" Olivia asked.

                The woman looked at her blankly. "We would like to partake of a fruit drink," Olivia explained.

                "And we wouldn't want to impose upon you," I said.

                The woman went and got the items and handed them to Olivia who produced the umbrella and placed it in the pitcher. But nothing happened.

                Just as I was whispering to Olivia, "Remember - this is a House of God." The guard returned and said, "Toys of Satan will not work here. Would you like some water?"

                "Yes, please."

                The woman brought us a tray with water, flatbread, oil and herbs and served us quite congenially.

                About twenty minutes later all the men appeared from the basement.

                "I don't even want to know what they were all doing down there," Olivia whispered to me.

                The leader looked very stern. Very…Amish. Mennonite? "What do you want?"

                I said, "You have utils, we have Vegas chips. We can help each other."

                "Go to those apostates. You can deal with them," he sneered.