Endgame - Chapter 105

   When "Zar" got there for her now routine 10 day stay, she smiled as she casually dropped she had 11 this time around. A 31 day month, after all. Instead of idle chit chat after eating, they had more of a discussion than normal for what could have easily become movie time. In the course of one of their patented frank and open discussions about how the relationship was going, Panic brought up wondering how it was for each of them individually. Why they were doing this, instead of the normal thing that most people pursue. Zar looked at him before replying.

   "Good question. You go first then."

   "What do I get out of this? The obvious. Its exciting, I get to walk around with two beautiful women, instead of just one. The guys tease me, and I admit I don't mind it. Is that wrong of me?"

   Zar giggled.

   "Merry? Should he be in trouble for that answer…"

   "Hmm. I think its fine."

   "I guess its my turn. What do I get out of this. Well, Panic. Do you wanna hear the whole story?"

   "Sure."

   "I remember in college. Our… mutual friend? Has all these cops and former MPs over all the time, working on the case. They all make this… timeline. You know, put dates or times down, events down. A timeline."

   "I know what one is. What about timelines, then."

   Zar shrugged.

   "I was bored. I made my own… timeline. Zero? I'm born. I started putting stuff on my timeline."

   "How did it go."

   "Until I got into some therapy for what happened to me, I always thought I had a happy childhood."

   Panic thought about it.

   "You either liked your childhood, or you didn't. How does it change."

   Zar smiled wistfully remembering childhood.

   "I have a couple early memories. Of running to the door, and jumping into this… daddy guy's arms. When he got home from work. I remember squealing all happy he was home. Mom's yelling, he's dirty, he was working, get away from him till he showers."

   "Happy memory there, sounds like."

   She smiled and closed her eyes slowly before reopening them.

   "You know how it is to be a tiny kid. I remember, actually thinking I had to show him my crayon mess I was making on paper."

   "What… you thought you had to have so many crayon drawings completed, in so many hours of the work day?"

   Zar laughed.

   "No. Kids can get strange ideas, and I somehow got the idea drawing crayons, was my job. My work. Daddy? Goes off every day, to do work. I couldn't go with him. This, was my work. Plus… its a daddy. I remember him seeming to be all interested in my crayon mess."

   Panic caught her happy vibe and smiled a little with her.

   "I get it. Little kid, explaining all the work she did all day. To daddy."

   "I don't have a whole lot of… daddy memories. Him coming home from work, me running up to him… that's most of them. I remember he'd watch cartoons with me, on the couch sometimes. He'd get up, to go get us a snack… I had to watch the show he was interested in, and didn't want to miss it? I had to watch carefully, to tell him what he missed."

   Panic smiled more.

   "More important work for a little kid."

   They paused, each remembering childhood and happy toddler memories internally. It showed on their wistful faces.

   Zar piped up and asked out of nowhere.

   "That's normal, right? A little kid, older people pretending the kid's included in everything. Kid walks around all happy they have important shit to do… its normal."

   He looked at her quizzically.

   "Yeah. I think so. I remember being… I don't know how young. Older brothers and dad were digging out the front yard. I remember taking a million partial wheelbarrows of dirt I shoveled back and dumping it. I remember feeling ten feet tall."

   Zar cocked her head and smiled more.

   "There. Feels good, when you think the adults include you, huh."

   Panic chuckled.

   "Uh huh. I remember, I wanted to try to take back a full wheelbarrow and dump it, in the worst way. I remember, I started taking back one more shovel of dirt, with every wheelbarrow trip when I was working at it by myself. I wanted to work my way up, to… you know… a big people's wheelbarrow."

   Zar chuckled.

   "You make it?"

   He laughed easily.

   "Oh. Hell no. I eventually dumped a three quarter load, and took me forever to get the mess up."

   "You get in trouble?"

   "I remember being scared I was, cause everyone was telling me no, and I kept taking bigger and bigger loads. Then my oldest brother came looking and saw my mess, I guess when I didn't come back quick enough. But no, I didn't get in any trouble."

   "Well. My timeline. This… happy, normal memory thing? Doesn't last long. I don't know how old I am, but… I'm real little. Before school even starts… there I am. Watching cartoons alone, playing."

   "Timeline still happy?"

   "Yeah."

   He was interested now.

   "So… you're still a happy timeline…"

   She made a face and recovered.

   "Daddy disappears… dancing starts. I loved dancing. About as much as jumping into the daddy guy's arms every day, I guess. If I'm not in school? I'm either dancing, or… home playing."

   "Sounds okay. Was… dancing fun? Or… more like you got yelled at for not practicing enough. Like… mean piano lessons."

   "Here's where my timeline, goes awry."

   "Oh."

   "See… up until therapy, for what happened? I always remembered dancing and playing at home… as very happy memories. I remember thinking how I was the luckiest kid in the whole world."

   "Sounds like a happy childhood to me."

   "Well. It was. Up until then? My… timeline… would have been all happy up to about age 14. But, therapy. I found out? I was neglected. I didn't know it wasn't normal to be by yourself all day and night. All I remember? I thought we were rich or something. Because I had every crayon, colored pencil, felt tip marker, coloring book, blank drawing paper I could find. I remember liking puzzles, too. Mom got me a piece of wood to build puzzles on."

   "You sound happy."

   "I thought I was. Because I was good about the rules answering the phone or the door? I was allowed to have my little friends over. We thought we were spoiled rotten. No adult supervision, all the snacks a kid could want. Hundreds of channels on the TV, all those crayons… I honestly thought, it was all so wonderful? Because I followed the rules and didn't get into trouble. So? I got rewarded."

   "I know what happens on the timeline around… a certain age."

   She gave a thin little thing that wasn't quite a grin, but it tried to be one.

   "You can say it. I had a lot of therapy sessions. I can talk about it, trust me. But yeah, the rape happens. But see, this is about my timeline. Remember?"

   "Yeah."

   "I would have colored in happy colors from what… 3 or 4, to 14. Once I figured out I was actually neglected? It takes away from it. I think we already talked a couple times about… how happy the colors were for me. From 14, to 18."

   "No need to go over that."

   She smiled a little.

   "I can talk about it, without going to pieces. Whole point of therapy. You can remember something bad, and not fall apart. But thanks."

   "So, you looked down at your timeline, and…"

   "Yeah. Not a lot of happy memories. I loved that daddy guy, so he disappears. I loved dancing? That got ruined too, when I was 14."

   "You replaced it with soccer though. That's something, you loved soccer."

   "Did I? Or… was it just something to do, a way to escape. And even if I enjoyed those years playing soccer? I was alone in hell, with the rest of the town."

   "So… what does this all do to your timeline you would make… now…"

   "Honestly, the happiest I can remember being as an adult? Was… me and Merry and… our mutual friend. I remember, how wonderful it was. There were two other people, and they loved me and cared about me, and I did it back. I really felt like I'd fixed everything, and life would be wonderful now. I felt like… I had a family, finally. You know?"

   He nodded.

   "Hmm. Merry? How do I explain what I was like, before therapy."

   "You want me to explain it briefly, for you?"

   Zar nodded.

   "Honey? Victims of trauma, can sort of freeze. They think they survived, and got through the bad thing, but… they don't realize they stopped growing as a person. As a personality. She didn't barely talk to anyone, for four or five years. Her first year of college? She's free, she escaped, she made it. And… she had a 14 year old's understanding of adult relationships. You sleep with people you like. She didn't understand the… concept of love. Other than it was just a word to say. And? She had the personality, of basically a fast, mature 14 year old."

   Merry looked at Zar, who shoveled her hand at her.

   "About it. I had bad panic attacks. I couldn't get in a car with a boy, ever. I couldn't go on a regular date. I wouldn't accept a gift, of any kind. I tried like hell, but… I couldn't make anything last. I couldn't get a whole month out of a boy. I find a boy, I go to his room. We have a physical relationship, and as long as it lasts? It lasts."

   Merry cut back in.

   "Remember. She can't get in a car with her boyfriend, she won't bring him home. She won't go on any kind of a date, and if you try to give her a pencil with the school's name on it? She yells at you and throws it at you, if you insist on trying to make her take a little gift. And? Every once in a while… you could get a sense of the 14 year old."

   Zar looked at him with a pained expression on her face.

   "I was a hot mess, if you can't tell from the description. Merry was in psych classes, and… she basically saved me. Him too, our mutual friend. There were… two kinds of therapy."

   Merry took over easily.

   "One half of it? Was a more or less garden variety trauma therapy. And the other half? Well… she got to see a working adult relationship, from the inside out. Relationship therapy, sex therapy… call it whatever you wanna call it. Before any of us noticed? It… became normal. We didn't intend on that to happen, it was just meant to be like… training wheels on a bicycle for her."

   Zar piped up surprisingly quick.

   "I remember getting scared. Imagining everything ending, just when it was going good for the first time in my life. They took me in, and promised me I didn't have to go, until I wanted to. The next, what? Two years, give or take? Happiest moments of my life. Before any of us realized it? We all decided it could be permanent, or as long as I wanted."

   No one said anything for a short space, before Zar continued.

   "Now. That's my side. What do you get out of it."

   "I feel… guilty, a little. Like I know I'm getting away with something and I should know better. Man, I'm just sitting there, eating cookies right out the cookie jar? Big old smile on my face."

   Zar smiled.

   "That's good. I think. So… its exciting to you."

   "Yeah. That's what I… get out of it."

   Merry cut back in gently.

   "Science Girl? Says that men putting sexual excitement over emotional relationship goals? Is totally normal. And… that girls putting relationship goals ahead of sexual excitement? Again, totally normal. Honestly, this is all way more normal, other than the fact that there's two girls instead of just one girl."

   Zar smiled and patted Panic's hand.

   "That's why I… take it easy on you, so to speak. Having sex. This isn't all just some… modern, sexy three way fun thing. Not really. So? I've been… waiting, I guess. For you to come around. Get more… comfortable around me."

   "I don't feel like you make me uncomfortable. I mean, other than you make it hard to sit down with half a boner sometimes."

   Zar smiled at the compliment.

   "Thanks, but… I mean little things. When I bend over to pick up my socks? You politely look away. If I touch you and you didn't expect it? You jump out of your skin sometimes. That's why I've wanted to take you away with me for a little bit now. I thought a couple weeks alone with me, in my little apartment… I don't know… thought you might be less jumpy and it could get more… normal. You're allowed to watch me get dressed. I like it."

   "What's it been like for you. Since…"

   "Since we lost our… mutual friend?"

   He nodded lightly.

   "Yeah."

   "You can ask Merry. The first year or a little more I was at college? I had a once a month routine. Find a boy, and try it again. I did it pretty much every month, until I got involved with the two of them. Then, after he was… gone… I kinda went back into my shell I was in, before I came to college. After a while, you start to try to live again, but… it wasn't the same. Instead of once a month? I guess out of necessity… I mated physically every couple of months. I used to joke with Merry? That was my quarterly fling. And that's just a phrase, by the way. More like… two, sometimes three a year, if that many."

   "You're saying… you spent years looking and not finding anything again. A slow year was one boyfriend, a good year was two. Three was a great year."

   "Pretty much. I mean we email and call and talk and stuff, but… then, one day out of the blue? She says she found him again, she's just sure its him. That? Was a while ago. And that, was you. Now, that things are settling back down for you two? Here we are."

   "Here we are… where."

   Zar smiled.

   "A world of… possibilities? Open up. When you have two girlfriends, that know about each other and are fine with it. We all sleep in the same bed, we make out in front of each other. What I'm trying to say, is that once you're more comfortable about it? We, the three of us… we could, you know. Do more."

   He was stumped and silent for a few seconds at that one.

   "Oh. Okay. I promise, I'll try to get more… comfortable."

   Zar giggled.

   "I know. Big chore, huh… and its not just that, you know. Its a lot of little stuff, too."

   "Really? Like what."

   "Like… those nights we sit around the campfire, at the camp?"

   "Yeah…"

   "I've been waiting for Merry to give me the… you know, the go ahead. I wanna hold your hand, sit on your lap, kiss you too. Or are you too shy, to acknowledge me in public like that. Having your friends know."

   "I guess I could start doing that. The guys? Will pretty much just high five me. I don't want you to think its a cheap thrill, because of that feedback."

   She smiled.

   "Its fine. You're allowed to brag. In fact, once this all becomes normal like me and Merry want it to? If you don't brag, I'll do it for you. What I'm trying to get across to you, is this. I'm serious about all this. Merry? She is too. This isn't just for kicks."

   "Hmm. And… its okay, if I just find it… fun?"

   Zar shrugged.

   "Sure. Look, everyone knows its… exciting to meet a new lover, and its exciting to cheat and carry on. You get the best of both worlds that way. You get to enjoy the thrill, and none of the guilt. So, what do you say. When I go back to DC for my next 20 day work schedule, you going to come and spend some time with me, hmm?"

   "Sure. What did you have in mind. Besides… the obvious."

   "Mm. We know men and women are different. Guys? You get a new girlfriend. Oh, she did this, she did that. High five, you lucky dog."

   He studied her a little bit.

   "Women don't do that?"

   Zar grinned.

   "We sure do. But… you want an example? What I got… jealous over, or… whatever you wanna call it."

   "True story. And Merry's gonna kill me, but…"

   "Oh, go ahead and tell him. I'm over feeling silly."

   "Merry said she was working. And, you know how every once in a while, you just suddenly think about your grandma that's gone? She… had that moment where it just popped into her head. So, she stands there for a few seconds."

   He nodded.

   "A little… sad moment."

   "That's just it. She said it was the normal, bittersweet memory you'd expect. Like normal, it happens. But then? She said she was closing her eyes and counting to ten, about to let it pass, and get back to working. That's when it happened."

   "What?"

   "Merry. Do you wanna tell this part?"

   "No. Go ahead…"

   "She said she closed her eyes, and had started to count to ten. She got to three, and… she said it freaked her out, she could… smell him."

   "Smell who."

   Zar expressed a weak little smile.

   "Our mutual friend. She said she gave up counting to ten, and… just smelled it and kind of froze. She said she had to open her eyes and shake her head, and get back to work. She turned around, and realized she was standing with her back to customers in her section that needed waited on."

   When Panic asked Merry about the smelling incident, she shrugged.

   "You know how you hug someone, and you can smell them? Just like that, only way I can even begin to describe it. When I was little, my grandma just used to dry the laundry on a clothesline, if it was warm out. My mom? Only did that for official spring cleaning. But… you walk on the one side of the laundry on the line? You can smell the clean laundry. Scent's in the air. And that? Was what it was like. I'm indoors, and for a couple seconds with my eyes closed? Its like I'm standing there and his arms are around me, that's what it smells like. I open my eyes and get my bearings, turned around, and… my butt's almost up against your table and I noticed you."

   He studied Merry's face telling him.

   "So… I turn around, and there's you and George, at my table. I don't know if you remember, but… I took a few seconds to talk. I'm standing there, close enough to reach out and put my hand on your arm? And I can still smell it in my nose, and kind of taste it in my mouth."

   He said nothing.

   "That was it. I noticed you. I hadn't made the connection yet, it took me a while to realize it, but… I kept listening in on you talking, and… all of a sudden? It was like every other sentence out of your mouth, was… something he would have said. The rest of the story, you already know."

   He looked back at Zar.

   "That's… the part?"

   She put a guilty little smile on, and nodded to assent to it.

   "Nothing could be sweeter, or more romantic. Uh… I admit when she was talking about, how you had her steal some raw meat? She said she got a kick out of that, and it was somehow exciting to pass the raw meat under the table. Your hands touched."

   Merry came back in.

   "I know how silly it sounds now. Ooh, his hand touched mine. Then… when you were finally eating the raw meat I grabbed for you? I realized it had just been in my hand, I still had raw meat yuckies all over my hands and fingers. You weren't eating out of my hand, but… almost. I got the weird idea, that all I had to do? Was figure out how to get you to eat right out of my hand, and that would be it. You'd feel it, what I felt."

   Zar looked around sheepish, a wan little tight smile.

   "There. How much sappier and girly can it get, huh? Do us girls all giggle, if one of us tells the story about that weekend? How… I don't know… we got licked for an hour straight. Yeah, we're just like the guys that way. We're human. But… that sweet romantic part? Just as big. I guess guys don't do that part."

   Panic blanked out for a few seconds, remembering. The guys didn't often do it, but… they did. This all reminded him far too much, of his surprising heart to heart with Trans Am. How its nice the guys are all jealous of his business and trophy wife, but… he feels scared all the time wondering how in the hell he keeps her interested in him all this time. What would he do if it went away.

   Men and women in the end, seemed to both have the same doorway to the vulnerability and romantic awe of the situation. The women's door to it was well oiled; the men's doors were rusty and had to be pried open.

   "Hmm. Now that you mention it, hun. You were always popping something into my mouth for me to taste it. You had me…"

   Merry smiled.

   "What. Eating out of my hand?"

   "Yeah. You did."

   "I did, didn't I. And how many times did I get you a little piece of fat off of a BBQ chop."

   He smiled, remembering that.

   "You always had me get the sauce off your finger and thumb, from picking it up."

   Merry grinned.

   "It worked, though."

   Zar smiled.

   "So. That's the big secret, huh…"

   She stalked over slowly to be near enough to put her hands on his shoulders, standing behind him seated in front of her.

   Merry smiled as she put gentle pressure on his wrists from leaning over, above and behind him. When he finally "gave up" trying to get the last few bites off his plate? Zar picked up a piece, and held it for him. Then the other couple bites left. When they were done, she held her thumb and finger out to get cleaned.

   "Not bad. I can see where this game might have potential to go somewhere good…"

   Zar dabbed a drop of sauce and put it near her thumb and finger for further cleaning. When both Panic and Merry figured out quickly that she was scrunching her fingers together to get him to imitate licking something else entirely, they all got a chuckle.

   "When you leave, to go back? I'll email you a couple food articles I'm working on."

   By now Zar had his chair out from the table, and had stepped across him, so she could sit down on his lap but facing him. She was still having little kid fun. Poking a finger and getting it licked. Trying to touch his tongue before he retracted, then it became her turn to try to sneak in a tongue touch before the quick little lick came.

   "Sounds like homework… so… this one of those top of the line models? Comes with the… safety features. The air bags…"

   "Hmm. Yes. This is, that hard to find model. Safe to have around women, children, pets and old people."

   "Ooh. Another one of those… classics they quit making, huh?"

   "This one? You can stab him in the face with a dinner fork, repeatedly. He'll just look at you, and ask you to be more careful with that thing."

   By now, Zar was nestled in on his lap, sitting on him facing him. Draping her arms over his shoulders, making to kiss his neck and cheek. She started whispering suggestively into his neck shoulder junction.

   "Won't hit a girl, huh. We're going to have to work on that one. Won't leave any marks on me when you're done with me? I don't know, sounds like a deal breaker to me… we'll just have to work on that, when I get you back to my place, won't we…"

   Later on, when they were all three lounging across the couch on each other, actually watching a movie? Zar struck.

   "Merry? Can I ask a stupid question."

   "Hmm."

   "Its been a little while now, and… I've been waiting for you to tell me why you have such a deep voice that I don't remember you having."

   "Why didn't you just ask?"

   "Mm mm. Figured if you wanted me to know, you'd have said something."

   Panic giggled.

   "So you ask anyways…"

   "I waited a while."

   Merry paused the movie, and explained what happened to her throat, and that the girls that tried it were enjoying "free room and board" for the next 10 to 15 years. Panic got her to admit it sounded "sexy" for her to have such a deep, rusty voice. He followed that up predictably with the story of "Emily" and her deep voice all the guys liked. When it was over, Zar was staring at Merry across the couch.

   "Christ, Merry. Was this before or after, you jumped off a bridge and almost drowned. You got trying to get killed, out of your system now?"

   "Before, hun. Its how I got this little beauty…"

   Merry then showed off her trake scar a little. Merry ended up correcting her gently. She hadn't been trying to kill herself, she had accomplished it. She explained going out with her throat closed up, and floating and looking down at her own body getting worked on with a knife.

   This started a whole line of conversation about life and death. In the course of it, Zar chided Merry about doing dangerous stuff, and Panic reminded her that he probably wouldn't "be here" if she hadn't jumped in, explaining how he got a head injury out of it. Zar didn't like the description Merry gave at all, of being planted like a carrot at the bottom of a river in the thick mud.

    In the end, Merry decided to take a page from George's playbook. Or more specifically, from George's wife's playbook. A running gag was that Georges wife would "make" him go out for the night with the boys to have fun. Merry giggled and smiled, as she all but packed Panic's bags for him and practically shoved him into Szarabjorna's car, for his get acquainted visit with her.

   It worked, in as much as after they got back, Panic certainly seemed to be much more at ease around Zar. Merry and Panic both had fun with people at first, enjoying the comedy of well meaning and concerned friends trying to find some way of easing into the awkward conversation, that they thought something was amiss. Naturally, that something being Panic running around with the other girl that came into visit them every month.

   The final installment, was naturally the range itself. The girls didn't care, and it was up to Panic himself to pull the trigger, and begin to gradually show public displays of affection towards Szarabjorna. Particularly around the campfire.

   It was at first treated like it was a joke. After a while though, it slowly revealed itself to be as it was. Namely, that Panic had two girlfriends now, and they both knew and approved of the other. It still got treated as if it were likely some ongoing joke or con, until things came to a head.

   A member who hadn't been out to the long-range yet, while there, slowly started more or less coming on to Szarabjorna. Merry was "beyond" off limits, ever since she had tasered a member for touching her and the story was passed around as a cautionary tale. Merry being "responsible" for killing over a dozen dirty cops no doubt added to this mystique. Szarabjorna had no such reputation, and… this whole situation was widely held to be an ongoing joke.

   After rebuffing advances as sweetly as possible, and even less amiably finally, however… Little Lightning finally had enough. After several "final warnings", she launched one of her once infamous kicks into his groin. And honestly, really… when a woman is clearly tall and athletic, and sports four college conference championship rings, and a national title ring on top of that, for of all things soccer? You really should take it a tad seriously when she threatens to kick you in the nuts.

   The sudden change that washed over her normally sweet face, and the verve with which she attempted to show that this was not a final salvo by far, and simply the opening shot… Merry had to intervene. She wasn't going for the guy, she was tackling her friend when she was clearly going to finish him off balled up on the ground.

   This being enough of a floor show to stun the open mouthed campfire participants that weekend in and of itself, there was more. The man balled up, had a string of highly unsavory things to say at, about, and to… what indeed proved to be Panic's… well? Other girlfriend.

   "Little" Robbie, all six and a half feet of him, intervened. He got the guy up, and hustled him off into the bunkhouse, for a little private "talk". He didn't lay a hand on the guy for their private session, he merely talked. In true Rob fashion? He didn't even raise his voice. No one was really sure exactly what was said in the bunkhouse, but that seemed to be that. For that moment in time, anyways.

   Panic had been downtown, patronizing an ice machine, simply because someone had left the door to their own open, and a few large bags were needed to fill the gap until it was refilled once the problem had been addressed. He wasn't particularly pleased when he made it back to camp from his ice run. He didn't yell or carry on, and in fact got quite quiet. For a little while. Then? He addressed the members quite openly. Normally one to play things off, and speak to people privately? He uncharacteristically abandoned his normal approach. Everyone was still being quite quiet, when he spoke in a low, even voice.

   He pointed at the guy that had committed this particular party foul.

   "You. I have it on good authority, that you've been told about this, and more than once. From more than one person. Now, its my turn. You don't take a hint very well. First off? You're lucky she got you. Instead of me."

   The guy started to say something, and he simply cut him off and talked over him, if seemingly politely and matter of fact in manner.

   "Can it. Now… what's so difficult about this simple concept, for you… and everyone else here, to grasp, hmm?"

   He pointed at Merry.

   "You all seem to have no problem with the idea, that this, is my girlfriend. You don't touch her, you don't ask her out, none of that shit."

   He pointed at Szarabjorna.

   "This… is my other girlfriend. She? Is entitled to all the rights and privileges thereunto, as Merry gets. Which means, including but not limited to… you don't touch her, you don't ask her out. None of that type of bullshit. I'll thank you all, each and every one of you? In advance, for your cooperation."

   No one knew quite what to say, and most were more than a little shocked. It was role reversal night, it seemed. Normally, Rob was the frank and open guy dealing with things, and Panic was the one to have polite private talks. They had switched bodies, it would seem.

   "Its not a joke. Its not some ongoing con game. And if anything even remotely similar to this ever happens again? Someone, is going to get fucking hurt. Bad. You better remember this, you better write it down… hell, put it up on the website so everyone knows. Because I'm not saying a word next time it happens. Someone's just going to pick their ass up off the ground, when they finally wake up."

   No one really knew what, if anything, to say… so no one said anything at all. They just stared. Rob was the wallflower tonight, and Panic was… well? He was "Rob" tonight.

   As quietly and politely as he made his little announcement? Panic stretched, and got up… and off hand remarked that he was tired, and going to bed, down at his cabin. The girls were free to stay up if they wanted, he was sure there would be no further problems.

   He bid everyone a good night, and off he went. The girls didn't stay too long themselves, before they left as well.

   The next day over breakfast, it was largely as if nothing had happened. No one got thrown out. No one got in trouble. Panic himself wouldn't even mention it, and when it was brought up? He shrugged and ignored it, as if nothing had happened. Everyone else, was content to pretend it had never happened as well.

   That next day, between breakfast and lunch… Little Robbie and Panic decided to have a little "workout". With the exception of a few people, such as Panic himself and Skykid? No one had ever really seen Rob work out, let alone actually fight. They had only heard about his prowess. And Panic? Well, honestly other than Sky or Rob, no one else really would know.

   Rob and Panic had a "fun" little workout, that lasted about 20 minutes. Fighting practice, with all the usual gear for that. Rob clearly "won", but… it made quite an impression and it had the intended effect. Rob eventually got in a very clean roundhouse kick to Panic's headgear, that saw his head and shoulders literally hit the ground before the rest of him.

   Dazed, after several seconds Panic got up, smiling. He shook his head a couple times, then their practice lightened up a good bit. When they were done, Rob casually informed him to quit "dropping that weak elbow", or this was going to keep happening. Panic laughed, and gave him a halfhearted "Nazi salute", before Skykid and Rob and Panic all got much more concerned with discussing what was going to happen for lunch.

   Panic did, however… ask if anyone else wanted to get a workout in? He'd be happy to oblige.

   Not surprisingly, no one felt any urge to join in the "fun". After lunch, Rob started joking around, about whether or not Panic had been keeping up with his "rib work", or… if indeed, he had simply gone to "complete shit" over the years. Because… the Irish were known to be "lazy bastards" about such things.

   Rob hauled in one of his wider target holding frames out of a side shed and put it in the middle of the camp, while Skykid was working on the rest of lunch. For longer distance target shooting, it held the much larger F-class 1,000 yard targets used for getting on paper at such a range.

   Instead of stapling one of the giant poster sized F targets, he left it bare, after tapping the metal spikes to hold it firmly into the hard packed ground. It sported a pair of two by fours running vertically down both sides, they were normally for stapling the giant targets to.

   Rob quite easily "clapped" the right side amazingly hard and fast, and the ear splitting crack splintered the two by four. He followed it up by another hard "clap" that shredded the other one. It was quite an effective demonstration. It was intuitively obvious what his "rib" jokes had been. He could strike with the palms of his hands so fast and hard, that it would send a man's sharp, freshly broken rib bones, into his lungs and possibly internal organs or even the heart.

   "Little" Robbie played it off as fun, and made silly faces, but… it was in sharp contrast to what was all too clear. He could kill a man, with a wave of his hand. It didn't matter how big and strong the opponent was, there was no lifting weights with your ribs, lungs, and internal organs. The taller and wider the man? The bigger his target was.

   Then, he said this was just the warm up. He replaced the two vertical two by fours, and did both at once. Skykid came over bitching at Rob, calling him of all things? A "Teutonic twit", because one of his large splinters had landed in his cooking griddle, and he was going to get a "frog's foot up his German ass", if he did it again.

   Rob apologized profusely, and still got Frenchie's finger wagged in his face, and threatened with a cast iron pot up against his "thick Kraut skull", if it went on again.

   They moved the frame further from the seemingly irritated Skykid commencing his prep cooking for dinner later on, and replaced the two by four verticals again. After a short time of somewhat comical goading on Rob's part? It was Panic's turn to prove he hadn't gone to "complete shit" over the years.

   Panic repeated the performance. Right, then left… then after replacing them of course… both at once exactly as Rob had demonstrated. Skykid bitched at him as well, when a splinter landed a few feet from his precious cooking and expensive cast iron gigantic camp griddle. Now he had to apologize and assuage Sky as well.

   That was the end of that. Later on, after lunch was completed and everything was fun and light once again… someone referred to having seen Rob and Panic "practicing fighting" with all their pads on, kickboxing and dirty wrestling around for the better part of 20 minutes straight, in the course of conversation.

   Rob politely corrected him. That wasn't "fighting" practice. That, was simply working out. For fun, and to stay in shape. In an actual fight, you don't fuck around like that… you simply send several splintered ribs into the lungs and any internal organs unfortunate enough to be in the way of the sharp bone shrapnel coming in.

   Later in the evening, a guy asked Rob if he could try it, the rib two by four demonstration. Rob said "sure thing, free country", yet cautioned him sweetly. One of four things happened.

   One, you moved too slow and you would fuck your wrists up, usually pretty bad. Resulting in sore and stove-d hands and wrists that were useless for weeks.

   Two, you moved fast enough and the two by fours broke, as intended.

   Three, you moved almost fast enough yet not quite… and one or both of your wrists shattered; you would spend months with your radial ulna's screwed and pinned together, and he claimed to have seen this happen on more than one occasion.

   Or, four. You did everything fast enough, but your angle was off. You ran the risk of sending a wicked chunk of sharp wood through your hands or arms, and you could easily bleed out before an ambulance could get you to help.

   The big guy declined to attempt it.

   When someone made the comment that it was obvious what this had all been about? Panic chuckled, and said quite politely, that…

   "Ah. The one thing? Has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Just a coincidence."

   Speedy was on hand that weekend, as was Mike… and JG… and Senior. They were all celebrating the "Elvis" trials having ended. Though everyone else called it "celebrating"? They all called it… "relaxing", because the work was finally done.

   Speedy's voice came up out of the vocal mix, however.

   "Coincidence, huh? A good investigator? Doesn't believe in coincidence."