The Rescue Mission
Chapter 16
Written by rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

I walk into the Jacksonville dojo with my duffle bag. My butterflies flutter up to some potted plants in the main room. I see Sensei Chou standing in the center of the mats. I put my duffle bag on the floor. I do the traditional handclasp and bow to him. He returns the gesture as well. Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a subtle movement behind a pillar.

“Who else is here, Sensei?”

“Why don’t you figure who it is?”

“Yes, Sensei.” I see a side of a face that I thought I would never see again. “Is that you, Jackal?”

He steps out from behind the pillar. “Yes, it is I, Richard. You put on a wonderful show of the martial arts against Captain Borhgess. I saw what you did to those four ‘wannabees’ in New York on TV. I’m impressed.”

“I didn’t know you were there in Charleston.”

“That is because I was using the stealth techniques of the snake. However, your fairies saw me with their keen eyesight.”

“What?” I turn to my fairies with an astonished face.

Tiger flies up to me quickly and changes into a fairy. “We couldn’t tell you, father. The news would have distracted you.”

“Sigh. . . . You’re right, Tiger.” I turn to the Jackal, “So, the letter from Josh was a ploy?”

Tiger flies back to the potted flowers and changes back into a butterfly like the others.

“It had to be, Richard. You know every letter is read before it is given to the inmates or sent out. Fortunately I shook hands with Josh when I did. Because, once I did hear the word that a contract was put on me, I immediately planned a way out of prison. The Creator explained to me that I will be needed to help you with the next set of animals. I feigned death by stopping my heart beat at the appropriate time after I was beaten up. As far as everyone else is concerned, the Jackal is dead. I will come up with a new name later. I give you permission to use my first real name only. It is Qiang.” (It is pronounced as ‘Chang’)

“I remember some of the words Sensei taught me. Doesn’t that mean ‘strong and good’?”

“I’m impressed again, Richard. Yes it does, it appears I now have a chance to fulfill my parent’s wishes when I was born. If you’re wondering where I went astray, the area where I lived had several gangs in a large city. Eventually, I was asked to join the assassins’ clan because of my fast ascension in the martial arts. I’m quite sure your next question is did I kill anyone.”

“Yes.”

“I killed war lords, drug lords and the like. I told them I would never hurt anyone innocent.”

“What about my graduation ceremonies?”

“Sigh . . . I was hired by the Consortium to kill you. There was only one real laser rifle aimed at you. The other laser rifles shot blanks.”

“I see. So, it was a good thing I used the 3D Server to protect us.”

“Yes it was, Richard. I contacted Sensei Chou discreetly as possible. We met and decided what to do next.”

“What about the assassination clan?”

“I’ll be with you and Sensei Chou when that happens. They must be told the truth. Hopefully our differences can be resolved peacefully.”

“Well, tell me all you can when the time is right. I’ll let you know when I can be in China for a good length of time.”

“That’s good, Richard. The new animal you will be learning is the snake. You will learn how to stop your heart from beating and start it right back up with no ill effects. You will also learn how ‘to play dead’. The stealth techniques of the snake are far superior to the black panther. You will learn how to wrap your body, arms and legs around someone to act as a constrictor snake. The movements are more fluid in motion. There will also be some new weapons to learn as well. They will be the whips and chains. On the chain weapons, there will be some that are more lethal like delivering a poison or to hurt someone from afar. It is a mental attitude of waiting for your opponent to attack first, then react quickly to it.”

“Yes, Qiang.”

“I’ll also teach you the defense against those weapons as well. But, your greatest contribution is for you to figure out how to combine the animal moves like you did against Captain Borhgess. Most Shaolin fighters stick to one style at a time when they fight someone. So, go get changed and we can begin with your first day here.”

While I’m the locker room area to change, the Jackal (I mean Qiang) and Sensei Chou walks into a separate training room. While that is going on, more students and instructors come into the dojo. When I walk out of the locker room, Sensei Chou directs me into the separate training room. The butterflies flutter into the room quickly. They see a flowering pot in one corner of the room. They fly to it immediately to get their rest and watch me learn the new moves.

After watching the Jackal do the initial set of moves, I try to copy what he did. I discover it is a lot of low style moves of getting beneath an opponent and to strike from below. After an hour of learning the first set, we sit on some chairs to catch our breath.

“You’re picking it up very fast, Richard. I like that.”

“Thank you. I heard you rose to the top in the clan very fast.”

“I did, Richard. I actually have earned the fifth black sash in the quickest amount of time. I find it was exhilarating to make the body to do the impossible. You will do that and more, Richard. The way I see it for you, when you have earned the tenth and final black sash, you will be a legend among the Dragon Masters. You will probably have your own school to teach by then. Also, I think you will be the one who will solve some mysteries in China and Japan. But, that can wait for another day.”

We get back up to learn the next set of moves. Again it is a lot of low level moves to move around and attack an opponent, this includes leg swings to trip somebody up or deliver a quick leg strike. After another hour of that, I get a water break for fifteen minutes. Once I get rested up again, I put both forms together, soon I start to feel the fluid motions become a part of me.

After putting them together, I work on the third form of the snake. That includes the pose of having the arms and hands in front of me to appear as a snake rising up to strike. Then I put all three forms together just before the lunch break. We sit down on the chairs to catch our breath.

“Pant . . . pant . . . you are right. The motions are very fluid and fast.”

“Yes, it’s an adrenalin rush that is much higher than the other animal forms. But when you learn the dragon forms, it will surpass the snake forms.”

“I’m looking back on what I’ve learned so far. I’m beginning to see how I can combine them together that will really surprise the opponent.”

“That’s good, Richard. I look forward to seeing it when you do it. Well, it is time for lunch. It is a full hour. You need to keep eating the right foods.”

“Let’s go to a Chinese restaurant. I know one that is nearby.”

“That’s good, Sensei.”

We get up and towel off the sweat from our faces and arms. I put on pair of pants so I can put my wallet into a pocket. My butterflies flutter out with us. They stay near the flowers and trees that are planted around the building. We get into Sensei Chou’s car. He drives us to the nearest Chinese restaurant. We get inside and order a combination selection for our meal. It can’t be too filling. I still have three more hours of training this afternoon.

“Qiang, I was wondering, are you getting paid for your time with me?”

“I’m getting it from Sensei Chou.”

“Well, let me pay you in cash. I’ll let my attorney know what the amounts are for. We can attribute it to a higher fee for Sensei Chou because he is traveling to be here with me.”

“Thank you, Richard. I greatly appreciate that. I do have an offshore account that I can put it in.”

We work out an amount that’s appropriate for the Jackal. It is about three-quarters of what I’m paying for Sensei Chou. He tells me he gets by with it without any problems. Any money that is left over, he puts it into a savings account. I use my cell phone to call Anna.

“Hello, Anna.”

“Hello, Richard. It’s good to hear from you again. What’s up?”

“You’re not going to believe this. I having lunch with Sensei and someone I didn’t expect to see since I received that letter from Josh.”

“From Josh? Then you must be talking about the Jackal.”

“Yes, ma’am. However, let’s use the name Qiang. I’ll explain later how he got here.”

“Okay, Richard. I have a few guesses as why. I’ll use the name, Qiang, for him.”

“He and Sensei talked it out. Qiang is teaching me the next set of animals for the first black sash. After that, it is a wait and see what will happen next. I would like to pay him in cash. He has relied on Sensei’s hospitality since he got out.”

“How much will he need?”

“We worked it out to be about three-quarters of Sensei.”

“That’s reasonable. You can go ahead and cash out a check for him. I’ll attribute it to traveling expenses for Sensei.”

“That was my thought as well.”

“Very good, Richard. Tell me the whole story when we get together again.”

“You might get that chance. The Wilsons are planning to be in Mount Blanc during the first week in May. I’m doing the same.”

“Excellent! I’ll make the same plans as well. I’ll call Crouching Bear and let him know.”

“Thanks and take care, Anna.”

“The same to you.”

“Click.”

“It’s settled.”

“Thank you, Richard. I appreciate that very much.”

“You’re welcome, Qiang.”

When we get done with lunch, Sensei Chou drives us back to the dojo. Once we get there, my butterflies flutter back inside once the door is open. I can sense from them they need something more substantial to eat from inside the car. I whisper to Tiger before he flutters inside.

“Tiger, please come here.”

Tiger flutters to me and lands on my shoulder. “Yes, father. What is it?’

“I sense you are feeling weak. Was there enough nectar around the dojo?”

“There wasn’t father. It’s Winter now.”

“I’m going to leave a window down on the car about one and a half inches.”

“Thank you, father. We can fly inside and get to the fruits, the water and the nut bush.”

I open the door to the dojo. Tiger flies in quickly and tells the other fairies what I’m doing. They quickly agree to the plan and flutter back out of the dojo. I turn on the engine and lower the rear window down about two inches. I then turn off the car engine and get out of the car. I attach some window screens to the windows and pull them down before I close the doors and lock it. The butterflies time their flight just right to glide into the opening. They settle in around the nut bush and change into fairies to hide there. Three of the fairies open the cooler and to open the bag of fruit. They hand a piece of fruit to each one to eat. I can now sense they are regaining their energy very quickly. I walk back into the dojo to finish my training for the day.

After two hours of learning the moves, I get introduced to the whip and chains. There are several chains. There are the three-segment, the seven-segment and the guillotine basket to start off with. The guillotine basket is very deadly. The basket is thrown toward your opponent and lands on his head. Around the neck portion is a series of knives. If pulled right, it will cut and pull the head off from the body. Yes, it is a very lethal weapon, I may never use it, but I must learn the weapons and the defense against them.

There are several different lengths of the leather whip. On one whip, it has a series of small protruding knives that can really cut you up. I can attach several points that can be filled with various poisons. I am told the poisons can be anything. There is the numbing poison to render a person to collapse and yet live. Of course there is the poison to kill someone. That vial has to be handled with care continuously.

“The other weapon you’ll have to worry about that kills from afar is the blow darts. That weapon has been around long time.”

“I’m familiar with that weapon. The Cherokees have the blow gun and a host of hand-held weapons beside the bow and arrow. Each of them can be dipped in certain poisons if they want to.”

“That’s good. You need to train your senses to reach out all around you, especially your ears. Once the ears have zeroed in on the object flying toward you, then you can react properly to the weapons.”

“Yes, Qiang.”

Sensei lashes out the whip toward the Jackal. Qiang times it just right to catch the end of the whip. He then wraps it around his wrists so that he can pull the whip out from Sensei’s hand. Then I try it. Sensei lashes out the whip toward my right side. I try to grab it. I miss it several times because I’m misjudging where to grab it. I then remember the lessons to slow it down in my mind. Once I did that, I am able to grab the end of the whip with no problems.

“Excellent! You figured out how to do it. What did you do, Richard?”

“I remember the lessons I had in slowing the motions down in my mind.”

“That’s right that lesson must be used to defeat any weapon that is coming at you.”

“Yes, Qiang.”

Sensei Chou smiles when he hears that I remembered that lesson.

Qiang then starts lashing out the whip all around me. I grab the end with my left or right hand each time. I let it go as soon as I grab it. Then Qiang directly aims the whip toward my body. Again I grab the end of the whip with ease and let it go.

“That’s very good, Richard. Now on to the three-segment chain. It is like the num-chucks, but these pieces are much longer.”

“Yes, Qiang.”

Sensei Chou then starts using the three-segment chain to lash out at Qiang. Qiang times it just right to block the hit with his forearm or leg. He never let’s it hit his body. Then it is my turn against Qiang. He lashes it out toward my torso. I do a mantis block with my forearm by tightening up the muscles before it gets there. I then tighten up the rest of the muscles to block the rest of the hits.

“Excellent, Richard. You used the mantis technique of blocking the hits. I saw your muscles tense up throughout the session. When we get done with the snake form, the new insect to learn will be the blue scorpion. That has some very specific offense and defense to learn. The first one is the Iron Shirt. It is stronger than the Mantis Stomach. The Iron Shirt is the foundation to the dragon armor. The offensive tactic is the Din Mak.”

“I know what that is, Qiang. When learned the right way, you can deliver a hit that can cause a delayed reaction when it hits a pressure point.”

“That’s right, Richard. You’ll learn how and where to hit that pressure point and the nerve point to really put someone down and out on one hit.”

“Am I to assume there is a defense to the Din Mak once the hit is applied?”

“First, you must be alert at all times. You can block the signal before it reaches its destination point. Therefore, you must learn all of the acupuncture points and nerve points. There are some points where you can deliver your own two finger hits to your own body that will cancel out the Din Mak hit.”

“Yes, Qiang.”

I continue blocking their attacks. After fifteen minutes of that, it is my turn to attack them. I have some trouble in getting the motions right. It takes another fifteen minutes of lessons from them on how to use it properly. Once I get it understood, I can now lash it out very effectively.

We stop for the day at 4 PM.

“Whew! That is some work out.”

“Yes, it is. However, this is only the first day of a three-year process. Recover tomorrow, Richard. We’ll begin again at Monday evening for a two-hour session in the evening at 7 PM.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“Richard, I understand from Sensei that you did some earlier training a couple of years ago. What did you learn?”

“I started on the black panther. I also did the drunken moves technique as well. I was given some strong wine to get the motions understood. The following week I was given a mild truth serum. I was able to fight that serum when one of my fairies escorted a wasp to deliver some of his venom to me.”

“That’s very good. When we get done with the snake form, we’ll go back to the black panther. Then we’ll do the blue scorpion.”

“Yes, Jackal.” I go into the changing room of the dojo. Fortunately they have a set of showers installed here. I get changed and put the work out clothes into the duffle bag. I walk around to the front part of the dojo. I see Sensei and Qiang standing there. I do the traditional hand clasp and bow to them. They return the gesture as well.

“See you on Monday at 7 PM. We’ll do this until Thursday, then a full day on Saturday like today.”

“Yes, my friends. See you then. I’ll get your cash on Thursday, Jackal.”

“That’s fine, Richard.”

I turn around and exit the dojo. As soon as I get near the car, I hear my fairies giggling and laughing.

I speak up to get their attention, “Ahem.”

“He’s here.”

“We’re sorry, father.”

“What do you mean, Emeril?”

“You’ll see when you open the rear door.”

I open the rear door. I see little pieces of fruit scattered about the entire car. Fortunately it is confined to the rear seat area. I also see their clothes are stained as well. “Uh huh. I see you had some fun with the food. We call it a food fight.”

“Yes, it was a food fight, father.”

“I hope you ate more than what I see around here.”

“We did, mother.”

I smile at them, “Well, my silly fairies. You made the mess. You get to clean it up.”

They all respond in one voice, “Yes, mother, father, Omega.” They giggle and laugh and some more.

I get into the front seat and place my duffle bag on the front seat. I remove the screens from the windows and roll them up. “Fortunately, I have some paper towels and soap in the trunk. I’ll drive to a nearby park. Don’t feel too bad, my fairies. My brothers and I did the same thing one time. Mom and dad told us we need to clean up the mess we created.”

“Thank you for the understanding, mother.”

“You’re welcome, Bianca. As a little reminder for everyone, you get to stay in your sticky clothes until I get back to the apartment. Then you can get a proper wash up done.”

They all respond together, “Yes, mother, father, Omega.”

I drive to the nearest park. I see no one around. I park the car under an oak tree. I get out of the car and open the rear trunk. I get out the bucket and pour some water from a container into the bucket. I get a roll of paper towels and the liquid soap. The fairies tear off pieces of paper from the towel roll. I squirt some liquid soap into my hand. They dip the paper into the soap and the bucket of water. They proceed to clean up the rear seat area in about fifteen minutes. Once they get done with it, they leave a pile of the torn paper just outside the car. I then take the torn pieces and throw them into a nearby trash can.

While I drive back, I hear them reminiscing about their time with it. They laugh and giggle while they recant the fun they had.

“I got you right on the face, Tiger!”

“But I got you back, Lavan!”

It goes back and forth until I get back to the apartment. “All right you bunch of sharp shooters, I’ll be in the kitchen setting up the shower again.”

“Yes, mother, father, Omega!” They all giggle and laugh as they change into butterflies. As soon as I open the door, they flutter out quickly to the rear balcony garden.

Traphel and Rose Lace are now seeing a bunch of spots of fruit juice on their wings and bodies. “What happened?”

“We got into a food fight.”

“Father had us clean up the rear seat area.”

“I should hope so.”

“Do you remember the time we had a food fight, Traphel?”

“I sure do, Rose Lace. There were about fifty of us throwing the berries at each other. It was a lot of fun.”

“Then King Oren had us to pick up the seeds from the fruits and plant them while we are wearing our dirty clothes. Once that was done, we then got cleaned up at the nearest waterfall.”

“Even that was a lot of fun.”

All of the fairies giggled and laughed when they heard the story retold.

Once I’m out of the car and have it locked up. I bring my duffle bag up to the apartment. I immediately set up the curtains and the shower set up like before in the kitchen sink. I walk to the sliding glass doors. “Okay, it’s ready!”

“Yes, mother!”

They all flutter in quickly and change to fairies. They have their fun while they get cleaned up. I take my sweaty work out clothes and put them in the washing machine to get them clean as well. I feel my muscles are beginning to tighten up after a hard work out. I take a pair of aspirin to help ease the achy joints and muscles. I take another hot and cold shower as well to get my own stickiness of sweat off.

The rest of the weekend proved to be very relaxing. I get back to work on Monday to start the week all over again. However, this time from Monday to Thursday, I’m at the dojo from 7 to 9 PM. By the end of the week, I learn some more snake moves. With the Jackal’s help, I learned how to slow my breathing down and get my heart to stop for five seconds and start it back up. During those five seconds I learn how to use my ears to listen to what is around me. I hear Sensei and the Jackal talking to each other. When I wake up, I repeat what they said. They tell me I must get it up to one minute and no more.

This continues until two weeks before Christmas Week. This time I get a phone call from Brianna at work.

“Hello, Richard. I miss you very much.”

“Hello, Brianna. I miss you very much as well. What’s up?”

“My family is having Christmas here in Charleston this time. So . . . I was wondering . . .”

“You’re wondering if it would be great to have me there for Christmas there with y’all?”

“That’s right, Richard.”

“Hmm . . . let me check with Mr. Parker. Call me later tonight at my apartment.”

“I’ll do that, lover boy.”

“I’ll be waiting for it, lover girl.”

We then both give each other a fake kiss over the phone, “Mwah! Mwah!”

“Click.”

I get up from the chair in my office. I walk out and down the hallway to Mr. Parker’s office. I knock on the door two times. “Knock, knock.”

“Enter.”

I open the door and walk inside.

“Hello, Richard. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Mr. Parker. I would like to discuss the holiday break coming up.”

“Ah yes. The holidays are on Tuesdays this time. Well, you know the Monday’s before them, and we are closed here.”

“I know that sir. That’s not the problem. It is after January first that I’m curious about. You know I will be in Charleston in January. I just got a call from Brianna. She told me her family will be in Charleston for the two weeks.”

“I see, it seems to make sense for you to do it in one trip before Christmas.”

“That’s right sir. I stay there between Christmas and New Years.”

“Well, let me check your vacation time here.” He punches some keys on the keyboard to bring up Richard’s vacation time on the PC monitor. “Well, you have plenty of time left over to do it. Okay, I give the approval for you to use that. I’m sure Mr. Bryson will approve it right away.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll tell Darrell that I will be gone during that week.”

“That’s fine. It is a good possibility Mr. Bryson might approve those days off for everyone here. How is it going otherwise with the proofing?”

“Darrell and I are in a good flow pattern right now. The way we see it, we’ll be done on Friday before the Christmas break.”

“That’s good. None of us like to have anything dangling when that happens.”

“No, sir.”

“Very well then, Richard. Write up the vacation request on the form and turn it in today.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I turn around and exit his office. I walk back to my office and sit down. I type on the keyboard and use the mouse to find the online vacation request form. I create another copy of it and save it in my vacation request folder. I fill it in and attach my digital signature to the document. I then email the form to him as an attachment. Once that is done, I check the website of the hotel where I’ll be staying. It is same one that I’ve been going to since I came to Secure-Sys the first time. I fill in their form for the date requests for between Christmas and New Years and send it in. I get a response from them. They have my reservation for after the first of January. However, they are full between those two holidays.

“Okay, it looks like I’ll have to bunk with the Wilsons for that week.” I send an email to Brianna and explain to her the situation. I get a response from her that she will check with her parents about it by tonight. I respond back I’ll be out from 7PM to 9 PM for some more martial art learning. I write to her to leave the message in the mailbox and I’ll read it when I get back.

I continue with the rest of the day as usual. At 5 PM, I walk out of the building and walk toward my car. My fairies flutter to my car when they see me come out. As soon as I open the door, they flutter in quickly.

I drive to my apartment to change my clothes and get a light dinner put together. Once I get done eating, I make several trips to my car. I take the portable cooler and put in a bag of fruit for them and the nut bush. Then I bring down my duffle bag after I lock the door. By this time, my fairies flutter down from the balcony garden and into my car. I drive to the dojo and get there by 7 PM. I quickly change into my gee outfit and get ready for the lesson tonight.

For the first hour, I put everything together that I have done for the last week, that includes using the whips and chains. After the hour is up, I’m shown another set of moves in the snake form from Qiang. I repeat what he did with no problems. When the second hour is up, I drive back to my apartment for a good night of sleep.

When I get back inside the apartment, I check the mailbox for any message from Brianna. I see the latest one from her. I read that they will put me up in one of the bungalows at the Rescue Mission with no problems.

The rest of the weeks went as scheduled until the weekend before Christmas. This is the weekend I’ll be buying the engagement ring for her. I have an idea from her what she would like in the ring to be. She has given me photo hints in her emails.

We confided to each other a lot of our emotions in the emails as best we can. We know we’ll communicate better once we are in the presence of each other. Brianna writes we’ll be meeting with a marriage counselor at the Rescue Mission in January. She realizes I need to continue to learn the lessons for the black sash. We just have to make time for each event in our lives.

Once I get the car all packed up on Sunday morning, including the stone carving for Croin. I bring in the plants from the balcony garden onto a set of shelves with plastic sheeting underneath it. We know there will be some serious cold fronts coming our way this Winter. Traphel and Rose Lace will tend to them in the apartment and stay warm there. They will open the sliding glass door from time to time to allow fresh air into the apartment. I take four potted plants with me. These are the nut bush, two nectar laden plants and one pot of blackberry plants. Of course, I’ll bring along bags of assorted nuts and fruits as well. Awhile back I purchased some nut dispensers for the counter top. The fairies really liked it a lot. I made sure they are full before I left.

I put a reminder note in my cell phone to send Traphel an email message once a week to my extra cell phone in the apartment. This is to let him know how it is going in Charleston. I finally lock up the apartment to drive to Charleston.

I get in the car and turn on the engine. I set the heater to warm up the air inside the car. My fairies flutter in quickly and change into fairies. They all get under the blanket in the back seat to snuggle up and get warm.

I get on I-95 and drive to Charleston at 9 AM. I arrive there in plenty of time in three hours. I drive to the docks to park my car. My fairies come out in butterfly mode and hover around me.

“I have some time to get the ring. Bianca, Lavan, Amber and Cobalt please get in my two front coat pockets. The rest of you can hover about.”

“We’ll stay safe and out of reach. We know you have to be back here before the Wilsons arrive.”

“Thank you, Tiger. I’m counting on you and Tigress to protect them.”

“Have no worries, father. We’ll keep them safe.”

I walk down the streets and find the jewelry shop that I found on the internet. It takes about ten minutes to get there. I open the door and walk inside. I get greeted by a sales lady.

“Hello, how can I help you?”

I take out some folded up pieces of paper. “I’m looking for a wedding and engagement ring combination. I’m popping the big question on Christmas morning.”

“How romantic. Let’s see what you brought for ideas.”

“These came from her.”

She looks at them closely. “These are lovely. But I suspect you’re looking for something else.”

“I am ma’am. I’m looking for a pink diamond set. The setting will look like a miniature rose. She gave me a small potted bush to take care of. It has been doing wonderfully under my watch.”

“Oooh, I like that idea. I think I have a solution for you here.” She takes out a catalogue and starts thumbing through the pink diamond collection. Soon, she finds it. “I think this will do for you.”

I see a pink diamond cut in a traditional style. Around it are smaller pink diamonds set in a circle around it. A gold metal band contains it all together with several small gold leaves underneath the diamonds. The wedding ring is of a similar style, but without the central diamond.

“What is the total weight?”

“It is a half-carat. The price is about $1,000. Are you thinking of a larger diamond?”

“Can you do it for a total of one carat? I’m thinking of a price in the $1,500 range now.”

“That’s possible. My next question is how you are paying for it?”

“It will be by check and in the full amount.”

“Wow! Who are you? You look familiar.”

“I should hope so, ma’am. I’m Richard Moore from Secure-Sys.” I smile at her.

“Oh my! You are the one who saved our world economy.”

“I did, ma’am. Also, don’t give me any discounts. I’m sure you need the sales commission on this.”

“I sure do. Thank you very much, Richard. Did she give her ring size?”

“She typed in this email.” I show it to her.

“That’s good.” She writes down the ring size on a pad of paper and the catalogue number for the ring set. “Give me a moment to look for it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She turns around and walks into the back.

I hear Bianca whispering to me. “She’ll love it very much, mother.”

I whisper back. “I should hope so, Bianca.”

“That is a wonderful idea, Richard. She gave us a rose and we are giving her one back.”

“It is Amber. But as an added special moment. I am thinking of placing the ring in a real rose, then bend the knee in presenting it to her.”

“I love that very much, mother. That is an excellent idea.”

Then we see the manager, the jeweler and the sales lady come walking out with a board of wedding rings.

“Hello Richard. When Margaret told me, it was you. I became determined to make sure we can do it.”

“Can you, sir?”

“Sam, you can explain it better.”

“Thank you, George. To get the total one carat you’re requesting, it will have to be in the central diamond. The other diamonds are already set for their size in the gold band.”

“So, the mount for the central diamond will probably have to change.”

“Yes, it will, Richard. The current size of this diamond is about 1/4 carat. You are asking to increase it to 3/4 carat.”

“That’s right.”

“I will have to remove the central diamond and extend the arms to hold the new diamond.”

“Won’t that weaken the metal?”

“This gold is not pure gold, if that is what you’re thinking. You graduated from college didn’t you?”

“I did, sir. One of the engineering classes I had was on materials. I’m familiar with the charts that show the percent strength with different alloys.”

“Ah, then you know what I’m talking about. Then I can speak some ‘Engineering Metal Geek’ to you.” He smiles at me.

I smile back, “Yes, you can, Sam.”

We speak to each other on the various ways of extending the arms and yet keep it strong to hold the larger diamond. The best solution is to fit a new cradle into the existing one.

“Making the new cradle won’t be a problem. It is just a matter of melding it with the existing cradle. When are you planning to give it to her?”

“Christmas morning.”

“Hmm . . . I can get it done by tomorrow morning by 10 AM.”

“I can pay you so it will be a Christmas bonus for you.”

“Thank you very much, Richard. The cost will be $300.”

“That is not a problem. I can pay you now and for the ring.”

“That’s not necessary, Richard. You can pay it tomorrow. We are still open tomorrow. But we are closing at 3 PM.”

“Then I’ll be here at 10 AM.”

I shake hands with each of them.

“You don’t have to worry, Richard. We can all hear the Creator’s voice here even though we attended different churches and synagogues.”

“That’s great. Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 10 AM.”

I turn around and exit the jewelry shop. I walk back to the docks. The people I pass are amused that butterflies are around me. My fairies see me walking back down the sidewalks. They flutter about and around me while I walk back. I then open the rear door. They all flutter in quickly and get under the blanket to keep warm. I stand outside waiting for the Wilsons to show up. They show up in the parking lot in about fifteen minutes.

They get out to greet me. I hug them and shake their hands.

“We’ll all be staying in the bungalows, Richard.”

“You’re not staying in the hotel?”

“The Rescue Mission had no one signed up for them. So we agreed to pay it ourselves, yours included.”

“Thank you very much, Larry. I’ve made arrangements to be in town here tomorrow. I have to do a business transaction.”

“So do we, Richard. We need to buy our own food in the bungalows. There is a special Christmas dinner for everyone at the Rescue Mission that we have been invited to.”

“Well, then I’ll add a trip to a grocery store as well.”

We drive our cars onto the ferry. We pay the fee. It takes about forty-five minutes to get there. Once we are at the other docks, we drive our cars off the ferry. We drive down the road to the main building complex. Once we get out of our cars, the doors open and see Brianna running toward us. She hugs and kisses her family first, then me. When we get together, our kiss and hug are extra long.

We then break apart to catch our breath.

We then hear Brian speak up, “It’s about time you came up for air. It is cold out here.”

“I’m sorry, Brian. But we were making our own little fire here.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re really burning it up here.”

Everyone laughs and giggles after the remarks are made.

“All right. Let’s get checked in and get our cars to the bungalows.”

“Yes, dad.”

We walk inside to greet the staff. We are given the keys to the bungalows and sign our name on the forms to which bungalow we are getting. We then walk back out and get into our cars to drive to the bungalows.

~~~000~~~

Brent and his group are finally released from the hospital in New York City, after being there for two months. The US Court judge hands down their sentencing phase for their participation in the Euro Scam. They each get forty years in prison. That is twenty years for breaking into the various data servers, my apartment and Dave Parker’s office. This also includes for the embezzlement charge as well. The next twenty years are for the beating I received from them.

They get assigned to the NC State Penitentiary System. After getting checked in, they are escorted to their cells. Soon, they start hearing banging on the bars and names calling out to them. Their eyes are darting everywhere as they walk down the corridors.

“Ooh, look whom we have here men. We have the four who screamed like girls.”

“Yes, let’s find out if they like guys.”

“Nah, they said they are men. We’ll check them out for you, bro’.”

Then they approach a man who is leaning against his cell door.

“You better get your act together real quick. If you don’t, they will eat you alive.”

Brent snaps back at him, “Why? Why should you care about us?”

“I went up against Richard myself. If you ask me, I deserved every bit of pain from him for what I did to him the first time we met.”

“What? You went up against, Richard Moore?”

“I sure did. I faced him twice. But, I will tell you more about my story later. Right now, you better watch your backs. If you don’t know any real martial arts, you will be mince meat with the felons here.”

“Uh, thanks.”

“I have a question before you get to your cells.”

“What is it?”

“Have you heard of the Creator?”

“Isn’t he some sort of crime lord?”

“Sigh . . . never mind. You have plenty of time to figure what is more important in life than the one you tried to pull off months ago.”

“Sigh . . . whatever. What’s your name?”

“My name is Josh.”