Chapter 26

I did what I had done before, by starting to write it as a story before aiming at the screenplay. I had a lot of it on the computer when Jacquie informed us that we had nothing to go to the Globes for, but a number of nominations in the BAFTA awards this year.

It took Roberta a few days to come down from the high of cracking, or at least being a very small part of the team that had solved, or was in the process of solving a string of crimes that spread all over Europe, into the Middle East and even the USA. Art is a worldwide business, and art theft is just the same.

Chapter 25

When we arrived in Los Angeles, we were swept up in a tidal wave of media hype. As defending champions of the Best Film and other awards, we were a hot topic. We were a few days early, which were filled with interviews and TV appearances. ‘Thirteen Women’ was controversial, seeing that it acknowledged the Devil without a mention of God. The ultra-right was in an uproar, which meant that everybody else supported us, ‘just for the hell of it!’

I tested the microphone by tapping it lightly and feedback rang throughout the tent.
 
"Sorry," I said quietly with an awkward smile then repeated it through the microphone loud enough for everyone to hear.
 
I'd raised my hand to say a few words about Matty because I'd felt like I needed to but up until I got on that stage, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to say.
 
"Some of you know me, some don't" I began and watched the guests go silent offering me their full attention, "I'm Matty's sister, Ruth"
 

It was around 8 am the next morning that I ferried Jackson downstairs in search of breakfast. He'd already been up for thirty minutes at that point but I'd been up thirty minutes prior trying to decide what he and I were going to wear for the celebration.

Deciding on Jackson's outfit had been simple enough. I'd chosen a button-down shirt and khakis, a timeless choice for any event. Dressing a young boy was easy, if a bit boring.

A bit more difficult though was choosing an outfit for myself.

“This is good. Thanks,” said David as he wiped the last of the Lasagne sauce from his plate with a piece of bread.

“Only ‘good’?”

Mantra is about halfway convinced that Gabriel is telling the truth about a Multiverse-ending catastrophe that is on its way, but she's determined to be wary. The adventurers retrieve Gabriel's "Time Capsule" and travel into the future of a different timeline. They observe the crucial battle being fought their by heroes from two different universes uniting to overcome a resurrected god bent on destruction. The Time Capsule's monitoring equipment detects that there are not two parties involved in the faithful battle, but three. This is a mystery of the utmost importance, because finding out who or what the third force is may mean the difference between victory and the Multiverse's collapse.

"I'm sorry," I told him, "but I'd prefer to keep this to myself."

"Why?"

"Because you — and the pair of cops who just left — laughed when I told you my name.
None of you call me by my name. Not Perry, not Mason. You keep calling me Deeny. You don't believe me."

[Browyn and Bernadetta (Detta) were having a heart to heart about Bronwyn’s brother David]

“I’m still not sure what you mean?” said Detta.

Bored with their sex life and seeking to supplement their income a husband and wife decide to enter the world of prostitution. This is a vignette in the day of a life of a high-class prostitute and explains how a married couple can live happily together while they each have sex with strangers for money.

"Charlotte didn't say much, but she did ask me why my name is Mason."

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Carly began,
her face registering annoyance, puzzlement, and curiosity all at once.

"That's — uh — actually a really good question, actually," Tatum put in, hesitantly.

The Bar

Just another night at The Bar. The cities change. Copenhagen, London, San Francisco, Omaha, Tokyo. But somehow, The Bar stays the same. The same sights, smells, sounds. The same faces, or close enough. Different languages, but the same lines.

[At a village pub in mid-Wales]
The door to the bar opened, and a man walked in, followed by a young border collie dog. He was wearing a fairly clean set of overalls and a decidedly muddy pair of Wellington boots. He removed the boots and left them close to the door. The dog stayed at the side of his master. This scene had been played out hundreds of thousands of times at this and many other Public Houses all over Wales for decades.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 54 Tekin Receipt of a New Un

If we can find any folk who fit here I’ll be as glad to accept them and take the money off the government thieves in Whitehall and the local authority bandits in Barrow, Kendal and Penrith too as the next person, but if they don’t fit here the government can keep the bloody money and the refugees and the victims of violence even though they be women and their kids. Being abused does not give any the right to abuse any of our folk.

Char knows going to a support group is what he needs as it can be hard to break the habits of a lifetime. We all need help from time to time. Sometimes, we could use a little magic too.

Sally and I continued working out how we could downsize our lives smoothly and simply. It soon became evident that once you have put down roots in one place for any length of time, those roots spread out and it all gets rather complicated.

"The point is..." Jen insisted, turning a slight shade of red,
"the point is, that now we — you — don't know anything.
Everything is potential, right? The sky is the limit."

"That's only the upper limit," I countered.

Eden is presented with a problem to solve that goes all the way back to before the creation of the entire Multiverse. The story she hears hardly leaves her overflowing with confidence. But is it all true, or is she being taken in by some sort of scam?

Torrid Transformation Part 2