Lemme tell you the tale of Minnie the Moocher
She was a low-down hoochie-coocher
She was the roughest toughest frail
But Minnie had a heart as big as a whale.

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Chapter 16
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“These medium range earphones are great, Mortar. Good work.”

“Ah, it’s no problem at all. It’s the least that I can do. Is everyone in place?”

“All set. Are the girls not patrolling tonight?”

“We’re both at the festival enjoying ourselves, sweeties.”

“Aw, is little Pixeletta dressed up in a cute and embarrassing outfit? I want to see.”

“I happen to have a camera, and I’m posted nearby.”

“You guys do know I can hear you too, right?” Judy whispered hoarsely.

George shrugged and said, “The last time I’d felt like I was in the cross hairs of a rifle sight I was in uniform in Northern Ireland, but I had a load of mates who could shoot back there. Scary. I didn’t like it at all.”

It moved the Landrover thirty-odd feet. That winch had no chance of doing anything. We looked at each other and I shrugged my shoulders and said, “You can’t lose them all either, but hell that was lucky.” I think we both got the shakes a couple of hours later.

The girls took it in turn to doze until late afternoon. They’d found an old logging track that was suitable for the car and not axle deep in mud. It allowed them to hide out of sight but it also allowed then to keep an eye on the minor road off of which they were parked. Hardly a vehicle passed while the girls were resting. That suited them and their purpose perfectly.

As the sun went behind one of the hills, Ethel roused Stella.

“It is time doll.”

Stella laughed.

“Just like old times eh?”

“Not quite but remember the last time we were around here? You were the ‘Doll’ all right.”

“We have both changed a lot since then. The world has changed even more I’m afraid.”

“From what we are reading in the news, the boys back in Chicago don’t seem to think so…”

Olivia becomes engaged in Angela's treatment for her criminally enforced addiction by the rape gangs.

Title track: Time Machine By Joe Satriani

flashback

And Lo, the traveller came at last to the sky's edge. He put down his staff + poked his head thru the fabric of space, beholding the mighty clockwork of the cosmos, the great turning gears, the merry go round and the ferris wheel. He smelled the heavenly corndogs and heard the calliope music. And he said, "Hey wait for me you guys!"

For a moment I wasn't sure what was happening to me. It felt like I was dreaming a bizarre dream. A dream where I am the main person but also just a bystander. It was simply a paradox. Impossible. But the drama was unfolding in front of my eyes.

Students and teachers came running to the hallway so that they could figure out where the noises were coming from. Sammy and her friends arrived first. They looked confused and shocked when they saw a boy who was wearing a football jersey lying in front of the lockers, screaming in pain and holding his bloody face.

Simon Harper came into the bar and his first order of business was to order a round of shots. The offer was good to anyone in the group who wanted to join the newcomer in a drink. He was just in a happy mood and wanted to spread the cheer by saying cheers with his companions for the night. Most of the gang quickly said yes to Simon’s gesture of comradery. Only Liv Perry quickly turn down the kind offer. The lady was also disappointed by her fiance, Joe Wyant, not joining her in restraining from the shot.

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Chapter 14
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“And that’s the first act, everyone, good job,” said the teacher right before the bell rang. Everyone put away their copies of the book the class was reading—an old and classic play about a prince whose widowed mother married his father’s brother—when the teacher also reminded them, “Don’t forget your two paragraphs on the subject of revenge like we discussed. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Judy joined everyone in filing out of the door when she heard a familiar and welcome voice call out, “Hey, Judy!”

Katey and Jessica were sound asleep in bed when Katey’s cellphone starts ringing. She moans as she fumbles around on her nightstand for her cellphone. She finally finds it and pulls it down towards her.

“Hello?”

“Katey, we need for you and Jessica to get to the airfield as fast as you can. We have an emergency on our hands.”

Katey sits up in bed and shakes Jessica “okay, we're on our way.”

Jessica wakes up when she was shaken by Katey. She looks over towards Katey “why did you wake me up?”

I never knew my father.

My mom said he was in the military for a long time, so our family got a steady check thanks to his years of service. I guess that's why she never worked, like the single moms of a lot of kids at school.

A number of weeks later, we had a real holiday. A national holiday, or as they call it in some countries, a bank holiday. Nothing was open. Including Tina & Zoe's coffee shop. Dave announced he was closing the shop & invited Tina, Zoe and the rest of his crew to a cookout at his place. He also instructed Tina & Zoe to drag me along too.

It's been two and a half years.

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Chapter 13
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After a rough night of sleep, Judy told her mom over breakfast that she had more work to do with the heroes she’d joined. Her mother offered her a lift to the nearest blue pillar. Judy negotiated for part of the way so that she could change into her costume somewhere out of sight.

This time, the base required a code, which she entered before being beamed into the underground base. Thankfully Walter had sent the code to her with an email.

28th of Towin Day 1

Chaunter beckoned Waxwing over to her and asked quietly, looking across the cabin at Flame staring at naught, “How is she?”
Waxwing was the closest they had to a healer, she’d had the emergency healing training, but she was no more skilled to deal with Flame than the others. “She has fully recovert from the deepcaltth, but she is still too deeply shockt by the loss of Irune to be reacht yet. Perchance, Gosellyn or Campion could reach her but…” Waxwing’s words trailed off as she thought of Flame, the young woman who had only just reached agreement with her wife Irune on the voyage north and who had lost her love within a tenner. “Ceël keeps spaeking to her. Neither of us is sure how much contact is being maekt, but Ceël keeps spaeking of Irune’s children and how much they will need her. Her eyes flicker when she hears the names of the children, but that is the only sign of contact so far.”

The other woman

Williams plan begins to take shape as his attorneys work help William regain control.
William turns the tables and he may go too far. Yasmine learns more about William and it isn't all good. She begins to seriously question if her plan can work now as the counsel makes plans to make her little brother the Sultan.