The early morning light was chasing away the night.  Vic climbed out of bed and wiped the sleep from his eyes.  He looked at the clock on his night table and it was five in the morning.  Vic picked up a pair of shorts from the floor near his bed and put them on.  Vic stood up and stretched and yawned trying to get the blood flowing.  Vic adjusted his shorts cause his boxers were crammed up the crack of his ass.  Vic then slowly made his way to the door of his room and headed for Erica and Jenna's room to make sure they were getting up.

Vic slowly opened the door and barely poked his head in and called out in a low soothing tone, "Yo it is time to get up".  Vic heard movement and peered in and saw Jenna moving about.  Erica seemed to not have budged one bit.  Jenna sat up and weakly waved to acknowledge Vic as she saw him walk into the room.  Vic put his finger to his lips signaling Jenna to be quiet.  Jenna shook her head cause she knew what was going to happen next.

Vic moved to Erica's side of the bed and he saw her face buried in the pillow as she lay on her side facing Vic.  Vic looked for any signs that Erica knew he was there.  He saw no signs since she was lightly snoring.  Vic raised his hands about shoulder high and looked again as his fingers twitched.  With a quick burst his hand were pushing on Erica's arm as she bounced on the bed several times.  Vic said as he bounced Erica, "Time to get up we are going to".

Before Vic could finish his statement he was laying on the floor grasping his side.  Erica with one quick motion kicked Vic in the side.  Vic was moaning and laughing as he lay there on the floor.  Jenna was laughing hysterically and Erica just turned and lay there as if nothing had happened.  Vic picked himself off the floor and Jenna was gently easing Erica into the real world from her deep sleep.

"You will never learn will you," Jenna said as she looked at Vic.

"I couldn't resist," Vic replied.  "It was funny though," Vic added.

"Yeah it was funny," Jenna added as she was stilling smiling thinking about Vic dropping like sack of potatoes.

Vic turned away and headed out of the bedroom and made his way down to Christy's room.  As the door closed Erica sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes.  "Was Vic just here?" asked Erica said sounding very tired.

"Yeah, don't you remember kicking him?" asked Jenna.

"No," Erica replied in a slightly grumpy tired tone.

"Yeah you landed a great shot and dropped him," Jenna said with a huge grin.

"Naw aw, you're making that up," Erica said as she looked at Jenna trying to see if she was lying to her.

Vic was heading down the stairs and over to Christy's room.  Vic saw light from under Christy's door so as he neared and he knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," Christy said responding to the knock on the door.

Vic opened the door and walked in he saw Christy moving about doing some last minute packing.  "I just was making sure you were up," Vic said as he stood out of Christy's way.

"Thanks, I just got some last minute additions to the stuff I want to take," answered Christy.

"Don't forget the package," Vic reminded Christy.

"There is no way I am going to forget that.  So you better not for get yours," Christy said as she looked over at Vic and smiled.

"I won't don't worry about that.  Well I am heading back to my room to shower.  The limo will be here at 6:30," Vic said as he turned to walk out of the room.

"Got it," Christy responded as she zipped up her suitcase.

By 6:25 everyone was down in front of the house with all their stuff starting to pile up at the front door.  The limo pulled up and Vic helped get all of the luggage into the back.  Vic made sure that Jenna and Erica also had their packages that he told Christy not to forget.  After a few moments they were in the limo and on their way to the airport.

"Well Vic you have yet to tell us what your vacation to Hedonism was like.  We told you all about the beach house.  We need to know how you managed to lose the bet," Jenna asked as she looked at Vic and was joined by Erica and Christy. 

Vic looked at his friends and cracked his neck and began to say, "Well it was all that I expected naked women running everywhere.  Julie Ashton and Tiffany Granrath were great but I got caught up in Ted's screwed up little world and one thing led to another and I am not meeting any hot women.  I was probably the only guy other then Ted who did not get laid," Vic, answered his friends looking a little unhappy.

"Wow that really sucks," Erica commented after Vic finished.

"Yeah but you got to take the good with the bad I guess," Vic responded in a low tone.

"Well what was the good?" asked Christy.

"Winning the trip was good," answered Vic.

Christy, Erica and Jenna were shaking their heads sympathizing with Vic who sat there looking out the window. 

The limo pulled up to the terminal door and the driver quickly opened the door and called over the South West skycap.  Everyone climbed out of the limo.  Christy paid the driver and gave him a nice tip.  The skycap got all the luggage checked in and set to the final destination of LAX.  They all checked in at the South West Airline counter and got their seat assignments.  They would take a small Dash 8 to LaGuardia then a 757 to Phoenix and then stay on till they reached LAX.

As they finished picking up their boarding passes Erica and Jenna headed to the small snack bar.  Christy and Vic followed closely behind.  Jenna and Erica ordered two large coffees and Erica got some Starbursts.  Christy ordered a Dr. Pepper and Vic got a bottle of water.  They sat at one of the tables that were available.  The conversation quickly went to their expectations of the convention.  Vic was only half listening as he looked about the airport and noticed that every guy seemed to be drooling over his friends.  A slight smile appeared on his face.

The conversation then turned back to the days that the girls spent in the Hamptons.  Jenna and Erica complained of how they felt used and Christy was upset that Hudson had to leave.  Vic sat there and said nothing just nodded his head when it seemed to be the right thing to do.  Christy noticed his lack of concern for their feelings and the fact that he wasn't really listening at all.

"You don't seem to concerned that none of us felt that the time in the Hamptons was any fun.  As a matter of fact you're acting like you expected it to turn out the way it did.   Almost as if you had scripted it all," Christy said as she coldly gazed at Vic waiting for an answer.

"Well to tell you the truth nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to us.  Look at our lives over the last year.  We have gone through so much stuff in one year it is shocking.  So the weirder and crazier the stories are, the more normal and believable it sounds to me," Vic replied dryly as he looked at each of his friends as he spoke.

They all sat quietly for a few seconds looking at each other knowing that their lives had been turned upside down over the last year.  Slowly they all smiled and they each knew it was all okay.  Then Jenna broke the silence, "Yeah but I think somebody still needs to get some."  Jenna Erica and Christy busted out laughing as they looked at Vic.  Vic dropped his head and slowly shook it knowing it was never going to end.

The PA speaker saved Vic as it announced that the boarding of their flight to LaGuardia was now starting.  They all stood up and headed to the South West gate.  They handed over their boarding passes to the flight attendant and walked out side to the small plane.  The climbed aboard and took their seats.  In about fifteen minutes they were airborne and twenty minutes later they were landing at LaGuardia.

After arriving at LaGuardia they headed over to their next gate and waited for the boarding of their next plane.  Just as they were finding a seat in the first class lounge the announcement for their flight was made.  They made their way to the gate and once again boarded the plane.  The Boeing 757 is a large plane with a spacious first class.  Vic took his seat next to Christy who sat next to the window.  Erica sat across the aisle from Vic and Jenna sat at the window on that side.

The flight attendant quickly came over and took their drink orders.  Erica noticed the double take the flight attendant took as she asked Vic what he wanted to drink.  Erica quickly leaned across the aisle as the flight attendant moved away.

"Did you see the look she gave you?" asked Erica.

"No," answered Vic, as he looked at Erica confused.

"She was checking you out.  I think she likes you," Erica joked.

"You're imagining things," Vic retorted and adjusted himself in his seat.  He looked down the aisle and noticed the flight attendants gathering and looking at some papers and slightly point in his direction.  Vic tried to shrink in his seat.  Christy looked at Vic and was confused with what Vic was trying to do.

"Oh she is talking with all her friends you are doomed now," Erica joked as she was watching the flight attendants gather.

The flight attendants went about their normal preflight routines and did not say anything to Vic.  They only smiled at him.  Erica and Christy were enjoying the show and laughing slightly as Vic tried to remain calm.  The plane did take off on time and they were airborne.  Vic felt some relief since he could not see any of the flight attendants from where he was sitting. 

The plane neared it cruising altitude when suddenly Vic noticed three flight attendants heading his way.  Vic cringed in his seat knowing that any minute they would be here and the tormenting would begin.  Vic took a deep breath and exhaled.

The lead flight attendant bent over and asked, "Are you Vic Carmece?"

"Yes I am," Vic answered looking a little nervous.  Christy was looking on and Erica was trying to peer in on what was happening.  Jenna remained still in her seat

"Wow, your story is truly amazing saving all of those children and getting them all out alive.  You are a true hero," the flight attendant added as she looked at Vic then to her fellow flight attendants.   Erica and Christy were looking on in shock at what was just said.  Vic weakly smiled and shrugged.  "If there is anything at all that you need please feel free to ask," The flight attendant added as she smiled and placed her hand on Vic's shoulder and slightly squeezed it.

As the flight attendants walked away Erica and Christy simultaneously said, "What the hell just happened here?"

"What are you talking about?" Vic said as he tried to pretend that what had just transpired did not happen.

"You know what we mean," Erica replied as she looked at Vic.  Jenna was now looking over also waiting for him to answer.

"I take it that you haven't picked up a newspaper or seem any of the news reports over the last three days," Vic said remaining calm as he looked at each of his friends.  They all looked at each other knowing that they had not seen a paper or watched any news on TV.

"No but what does that have to do with what just happened?" demanded Erica.

"Well some guy named Vic Carmece almost single handedly brought down a child slavery ring and managed to destroy a large drug storage facility," Vic said calmly adjusting himself in his seat hoping that his friends would be too stunned by what he just said to harass him.

After a few seconds Christy Erica and Jenna looked at each other and all said together, "What?"

"Weren't you listening to what I said?" Vic replied.

"Yeah I heard what you just said.  Why didn't you mention it a bit earlier?  You know like yesterday when you were doing Laundry and we were all sitting around moping," Erica said in a questioning tone.

"Well when I pulled up from the trip I saw you were all back and I knew something was wrong.  You guys shouldn't have been back until later.  That is just your standard M.O.  Then I walked in the house and took one look at you guys and I knew I was right," Vic paused and looked at his friends who seemed to be listening intently.   Vic continued, "Well I broke the tension with my entrance.  It gave you guys enough ammo to lighten up your mood for the rest of the night.  Plus I was real tired of telling the story".

Everything was quiet then Jenna broke the silence, "I ain't giving you your ten bucks back".  Christy and Erica started to laugh.

"Yeah like I had a chance of winning that bet.  My fate was sealed when I asked Ted to go with me," Vic joked.

"Yeah, plus there was no way we were going to believe you if you told us you got lucky anyway, cause paying for it don't count," Erica said as she giggled.

"Exactly what I thought," Vic added.  "When we get to the hotel I will tell you the whole story.  Will that be okay?" Vic asked.

"Well when we get there we want details of the hero stuff," Christy said as she looked at Vic and then readjusted herself in her seat.

"Okay no problem," Vic replied.

"Oh and if there is anything dealing with Ted and naked women together leave that out," Erica said as she shuddered as the thought of Ted naked with women entered her thoughts.

During the flight Vic was repeatedly asked if everything was okay by the three flight attendants.  They brought him several beers and brushed up against him.  Erica spent her time on the flight writing some news songs that she had going through her head.  Jenna and Christy just relaxed and watched the movie.

The plane touched down in Phoenix and the passengers that were getting off departed the plane.  Vic then decided to take the opportunity to use the lavatory.  Christy Erica and Jenna left the plane to stretch their legs.  Vic managed to get in and out of the lavatory with no problem.  Vic returned to his seat and was not bothered by the flight attendants.  After a few more minutes Christy Jenna and Erica returned with pretzels and drinks.  They all settled into their seats when the new passengers were allowed to board the plane.  Vic happened to look back and saw the first class passengers boarding.  Vic's eyes went wide and he turned back in his seat.

"Christy," Vic said trying to get her attention.  "Christy you will never will believe who just boarded the plane".  As Vic finished talking Melissa Etheridge passed by and took her seat right in front of Vic.  Christy's eye went wide and was amazed at who she saw taking a seat.

Suddenly Vic had a sinking feeling in his stomach.  He quickly turned towards Erica who sat there staring at Melissa.  Vic placed both hands on his face and cringed and a low sound came out of Vic, "Doh".  The only thought going through his head was 'Please don't embarrass me, please don't embarrass me'.  Vic then looked back down the aisle and saw Nikki Tyler walking on the plane.  Vic made eye contact and smiled sheepishly and turned back around in his seat.  Vic realized his heart was pounding as images of Nikki danced in his head.

"Wow she is great," escaped his lips.  Christy looked at him with an odd stare.

"Hey you better check on Erica over there," Christy pointed over towards Erica.  Vic looked over to where Christy was pointing.  Vic saw Erica was going through her backpack looking for a Melissa cd and her Sharpee.

Vic leaned over to Erica and in a low tone, "Please don't embarrass us no matter what you do".

"What am I going to do?" asked Erica.

"I don't know and that is what scares me," replied Vic in a hushed voice.  At that moment Melissa looked back down the aisle and smiled.

Luckily a flight attendant did come between Vic and Erica asking if they needed anything.  Jenna and Erica told the flight attendant they were good and Christy shook her head no.  Vic asked for a bottle of water and the flight attendant smiled and told Vic she would get it right away.  Vic smiled as she placed her hand on his shoulder then moved up towards Melissa.  Erica then reached across and smacked Vic on his arm and gave him a dirty look.

"You know that is the second time today you hit me.  One more time and you are going to get it," Vic said as he glared over at Erica trying to look serious like he was really upset but a hint of a smile started to show on his face.

"Yeah, promises, promises," Erica muttered as she shook her head and giggled.

Vic then realized that the flight attendant was still talking to Melissa and noticed her hand gestures and then he heard his name mention and then the flight attendant smiled at him.  Vic smiled back and was a little nervous.  As the flight attendant left Erica quickly took her place next to Melissa.  Erica asked Melissa for her autograph and gushed on about how great she was and how she loved her music.  Vic then noticed Erica looking back at him.

Vic's water came and Erica finally got back in her seat.  The plane was just getting ready to take off.  Erica leaned over and to Vic and said, "Melissa would like to talk with you when we are airborne".  Erica finished by giving him a dirty look.

"Well at least you know she doesn't want me," Vic commented in a low voice.  Erica sat back in her seat and smiled.

The plane took off and climbed to its cruising altitude.  The flight attendants came around the captain made his speech and turned off the seat belt sign and Vic stood up and made his way to Melissa and introduced himself and with in a few moments he was sitting in the empty seat by her and talking to her for the duration of the flight.  Melissa had Vic retell the story and she was in awe of the fact that he saved the kids and destroyed the drug storage facility.   Vic was very modest and downplayed his part but he still came across as a hero.

By the end of the flight Melissa had his address and email and phone number.  Melissa wanted him to be a special guest of hers when she toured and came Long Island.  Vic thanked her profusely.  The plane finally landed and made its way to the terminal.  The plane stopped and the passengers started to stand and get ready to disembark.

Vic waited and said goodbye to Melissa and watch her leave and saw his friends move off the plane.  Vic looked down the aisle and noticed Nikki Tyler still seated and looking in his direction and smiling. Vic smiled back and looked away feeling a little embarrassed.  Finally he moved from his seat and started walking down the aisle.  Nikki stood up and as Vic neared her she stepped out in front of him and faced him.

"I know who you are," Nikki said coyly and smiling.

"Well that's good cause I know who you are," Vic managed to respond.

"I can't believe I am talking to Vic Carmece the man who save all those children.  I saw all the reports and read several newspaper articles about your amazing story," Nikki gushed.  "Are you going to be here in LA long?" she asked.

"Well I will be here for awhile.  I am with some friends though.  The three girls that look like they are in the business, that’s who I am with," Vic managed to stammer.

"Well aren't you the lucky guy," Nikki said looking at Vic with an evil grin.

"I wish.  It is not like that at all.  They are just friends," Vic said looking a little down.

"Awe that is a shame.  Well if you get some free time give me a buzz.  Here is my pager number leave me a message and we will get together," Nikki said as she handed Vic a piece of paper with her pager number.  Nikki held his hand and smiled.  Vic's knees went weak but managed to stay strong.

"Okay no prob," Vic replied.

Nikki kissed him on the cheek then turned and walked away from Vic and gave him a little wave.  Vic stood there for a moment not sure what to do. Finally he realized he had to get off the plane and get to his friends who were probably wondering what was taking him so long.

Eric and Jenna stopped Christy from walking off.  "Hey were is Vic?" asked Jenna.

"I don't know I thought he was right behind us," Christy replied.  "I saw Melissa leave so he is not with her," Christy added.

"She looks familiar," Erica said as they watch a gorgeous blonde walk off the plane.

"Yeah I have seen her somewhere before," Jenna agreed.

"Duh, you dolts that is Nikki Tyler.  We sold a lot of her sex toys in Virginia remember," Christy said trying to spark Erica and Jenna's memory.

"Oh yeah.  She was a popular one," Erica realized.

"Hey there is Vic," Jenna pointed out.

Vic walked over to his friends and they all then took off walking through the terminal to the luggage pick up area.  Down by the luggage pick up there was a limo driver with a sign saying 'Carmece'.  Vic moved over to the man with the sign.  Vic saw that the man was most likely of Mexican decent with short hair and a pencil thin mustache.  As Vic got closer he noticed that the man's eyes grew larger as if he saw some one famous.  Vic turned to look to his left and saw now one and then right looking for some one.  As Vic turned forward again the driver had moved towards him and held out his hand in greetings.

The driver looked genuinely excited to meet Vic and shook his hand a little to enthusiastically.  Vic smiled as the driver started to say, "Mr. Carmece it is truly an honor to be driving you to your hotel.  I have drove many famous people around but to drive some one who has save all those children is truly an honor".  The driver released Vic's hand and Vic stood there for a moment slightly stunned.

"Thanks, but I was just there and I did what need to be done in the circumstances that I found myself in," Vic explained.  "It doesn't really make me a hero just some one who did the right thing," Vic tried to explain.

"Sure Mr. Carmece anything you say," replied the driver.  "The limo is out front.  How many bags do you have?"

"Well we have quite a few," answered Vic.

"Okay I will grab one of the carts and I will find you at the luggage carousel," said the driver as he walked away heading to get a cart.  Vic headed over to his friends and started to pick up the luggage as it came out.

The driver returned with the cart and the luggage was quickly piled on.  The driver then led them out to the limo and let them in and packed all the luggage into the trunk.  Christy opened the little fridge in the back and grabbed a soda.  Christy then handed a water to Vic and closed the fridge.  The driver got in the front and asked, "The Pasadena Hilton correct?"

"Yeah that is the destination," Erica answered.

"Okay.  Well Mr. Carmece I am scheduled to pick you up in the morning.  The scheduled pick up time is 4:30am is that correct?" the driver asked Vic.

"Hey you know more then me," Vic answered. "I am supposed have an itinerary waiting for me when I check in.  If they told you 4:30 in the morning then I will be downstairs waiting for you," Vic answered.  Vic felt the stares from his friends as he was answering the driver.  Erica reached for the controls and shut the glass between them and the driver.  Vic knew he was in trouble now.

"Why are you being picked up in the morning?" Erica asked as she glared at him.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that I am supposed to appear on Good Morning America tomorrow," Vic answered trying to sound casual.

"No you did not mention that at all," Christy said tersely.  Jenna sat there laughing to herself realizing how ridiculous Erica and Christy were acting.

"You are holding back a lot of info from us that we should know about.  We might want to come down to the station with you in the morning," Erica said.

"No, that is not going to happen.  I did not want to do the interview but Ted agreed to appear and they pressured me even though they knew I was going to be in California.  So they are doing a live feed from here.  Also they are giving 500,000 dollars to New York Skates which was my charity of choice to get me to agree," Vic told his friends and hushing Erica from interrupting him.  "I want to get in and get out. No distractions".

Erica and Christy sat back in their seats seeming a little upset that they were not going to the studio in the morning.  They quickly got over it when Vic explained the time they would have to get up and get ready to go.  That made them a little happier. 

After a forty-five minute ride the limo pulled up in front of the hotel.  The driver quickly got out of the limo and moved around to open the door for his passengers.  Erica led the way out of the limo followed by Jenna then Christy and finally Vic.  Vic closed the door and stretched as he looked around.  It was simply gorgeous but something was just not right.  He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he knew something was wrong.

Vic paid for the limo and tipped the driver.  The concierge got the luggage brought it all into the hotel and got them checked in.  A bellboy was called to take the luggage up to the room.  The room was a large suite with two separate bedrooms.  There was a large living room area and a bar.  The room also had a large picture window over looking the residential area of Pasadena.  Jenna gave the bellboy a tip and sent him on his way.

Vic walked around and was checking out the large bathroom and the bedrooms that each had a king-size bed.  Christy Erica and Jenna moved their luggage into the bedrooms.  Vic checked the sofa, which also was a pull out bed.  So Vic moved his stuff to the far side of the sofa and sat down with the remote in hand and started clicking through the channels.

After clicking through several channels Erica grabbed the remote from Vic's hand and turned of the television.  "No TV for you now.  You have a story to tell," Erica said staring at Vic as she sat down holding onto the remote.  Christy and Jenna sat down and waited for Vic to start explaining his trip to Hedonism.

"Okay, are you all set?" Vic asked.  "Once I start I am not stopping for anything if you have to go to the bathroom I suggest you go now".

"What happens if you have to go?" asked Christy.

"I will just talk real loud so you can here me," answered Vic with a smile.  His friends groaned in disgust and laughed slightly.  The bad part is that they knew he wasn't really joking.  Everyone did decide to use the bathroom before Vic started just to be safe. 

Everyone finished and settled down and Vic looked a little apprehensive and seemed to struggle with the starting point.  "Okay I will start with my arrival at the airport cause that should have been my first clue that something was going to go wrong and I was going to loose the bet," Vic managed to say.  Erica Jenna and Christy nodded in agreement.  Vic took a deep breath and looked at his friends then began to relay the details of his story.

Walking into the airport with luggage dragging behind me with my backpack slung over my shoulder I was stoked to get down to Hedonism.  Then my enthusiasm was replaced by horror and shock.  The site of Ted in a loud Hawaiian shirt khaki shorts, knee socks pulled all the way up and Jesus sandals, greeted me.  To top of the look he was wearing some huge hat that screamed shoot me I am a tourist.   Cringing as I neared him I knew I had to act and act quickly.

"Hey Ted," I managed as I cringed as I looked at him.

"Vic you finally got here," Ted said a little loud and to perky.

I looked at Ted and dropped my luggage.  "Okay we need to get some thing straightened out here".

"Huh, what do you mean?" Ted asked.

"The hat has to go".  I yanked that eyesore from his head.  "Now those socks, what is the deal with those?"

"I got some funky fungus thing happening.  My toes look hideous," Ted tried to explain as his hands were making gestures to enforce the funkiness of his toes.

"Okay but knee socks with the Jesus sandals.  That has to be changed so follow me".  I took Ted over to the Gift shop.  I passed a trashcan and I stuffed the hat in the trash.  "Don't even think about pulling that hat out of the trash," I told Ted as I turned back to see him try to fish it out of the trash.  Ted jerked away from the trash and kept following me.

In the gift shop I bought Ted a pair of Yankee ankle socks and a Yankee hat.  I tossed Ted the hat and the socks after paying for them.  Ted bobbled the hat and socks for what seemed like an eternity.  I watched the socks go up followed by the hat.  Ted's eyes were large. Finally he controlled both items and put the hat on his head.  We managed to sit on a bench and Ted changed socks.

Ted held his old socks out and looked at me.  "What do I do with these now?"

Well the first thought was to tell him to stick them straight up his ass.  I refrained and answered, "Toss them in the trash".  Ted reluctantly tossed his socks in the trash.  He tried to grab his old hat but I threatened him again.

At the ticket counter we checked in and got rid of our luggage except for our carry on stuff.  We then headed towards the gate.  I noticed that Ted had the tags on his hat still I quickly yanked them off in one quick swipe.  Our next obstacle was the x-ray machine and metal detector.  I placed my bag on the belt to be checked and emptied my pockets into a small bucket and went through the metal detector.  No problem for me.  I turned to get my stuff from the bucket and saw Ted but his bag on the belt and emptying the contents of his pockets in another small bucket.  He dropped change and bent to pick it up.  Then he knocked his bucket over spilling everything over. It was funny and yet it was embarrassing cause he was with me.

Eventually he got everything together and made through the metal detector and it did not go off.  I was feeling relieved.  He was gathering his things from the bucket when I saw the little red light go off on top of the x-ray machine.  Ted was having problems putting his stuff in his pockets and I was staring at the light.  Then I noticed the belt had stopped and the old lady that was monitoring the machine was talking on the radio.  I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest.  The only thought going through my head was Ted has a gun and we are going to jail and I am going to be a prison bitch.

Four armed airport security guards came up quickly with their hands near their guns.  I stood still and Ted was finishing putting his stuff in his pockets totally oblivious to anything that is going on.  The woman point s to Ted and suddenly the guards grab Ted and he looks about in shock.  They quickly guide him away from the area and I stand there thinking do I follow and help or do I jump on the plane and distance myself from him.

My mind was made up for me when a security guard asked me to follow him and I was off to the room behind Ted.  In the room was a table and that was all.  The guards positioned themselves about the room so they could get a clear shot at us if we were going to shoot it out.  Then I heard the announcement for the boarding of our plane.  This is going to suck if we miss this plane I thought.

One guard moved up and opened the bag and pulled out a device that looked like a zip gun.  I almost died when the security guard held it in his hand.  Ted had this stupid look on his face like he had done nothing wrong.

"What the fuck is this?" growled the guard as he held the item in his hand.

Ted flinched at the tone of the guard and meekly answered in his cracking voice, "A piece of a spectral analyzer".

"What?"

"It connects to the device that looks like a Star Trek tricorder," answered Ted.  The guard grabbed the item Ted had mentioned and saw the wire and plugged them together and looked at the item a little skeptical.  Now I recognized the device and felt a lot better.  At least we weren't going to jail.

Ted showed the nervous guards how it worked and almost had them draw their guns on him as he waved the tube end around carelessly.  The guard quickly inspected the rest of the items, which were just a cd player and cds and a notebook some books and a what looked like maps.

"If we are finished they have called our plane and are probably going to call final boarding in a moment".  The guard looked at me and shook his head and called out to the gate to hold the plane.  We were then escorted to the gate and we headed out to the plane.

The plane ride to Newark was no problem Ted didn't have any time to do anything cause we were up and done on the ground so fast.  We headed off the plane and on to our next plane.  I always hated flying into Newark.  The airport is a nightmare and reminds me of a demilitarized zone.  We arrived at our gate just as they were beginning boarding so we weren't going to have to wait in the hellhole that is Newark.

On the plane you could see all the couples that were heading to Jamaica.  Not everyone was heading to Hedonism but a few may be heading there.  I sat in my seat and tried to relax.  I was on the aisle and Ted had the seat in the middle and an older man was sitting at the window.  Finally the plane was loaded and we were heading out of the terminal for take off.  We were on our way to Hedonism to get some.

Well as the plane leveled out and the flight attendants were moving about Ted pulled out a book that I hadn't noticed before.  The title on the book read 'Phantasmal Forces on the Isle of Jamaica'.  I was could only wonder where the hell did he get that book and what idiot actually wrote it and who actually took the time to study that crazy shit.  Ted was engrossed in some part of the book and was nodding his head every so often.  Then he pulled out a map of Jamaica and was locating areas that I guess the book had mentioned.  I could tell Ted's moving about and the fact that Ted elbowed him a few times and hit him with the map did not please the man by the window.  Ted profusely apologized for each instance but kept irritating the old man.  I leaned towards the aisle trying to give Ted as much room as possible.  Finally I grabbed the map from Ted and quickly folded it up and looked at him with a serious scowl.

"Put the map away.  Read your book and try not to bother the gentleman by the window anymore.  He is heading to Jamaica for a rest and doesn't need to be bruised up when he gets there".

Ted looked at me and nodded and put the map away but smacked his head on the seat in front of him as the person adjusted it back.  I couldn't help but smile the old man laughed and then looked out the window.  Ted looked over to me and to see if I had seen what had happened.  He could tell that I did and he put the map away.

The rest of the flight went by with out any problems but Ted did manage to draw unwanted attention to us even though he went to sleep.  He makes the oddest noise while sleeping.  People turned around and stared at him, and then they looked at me.  Thankfully the old man was also sleeping.  I did nudge Ted several times to get him to stop but he would then lean on me and drool.

The plane landed and Ted woke up.  We gathered all our stuff and departed the plane.  Well according to the directions I had gotten once we picked up our luggage we were to head to the tourist information desk and they would be waiting for to help.  It sounded simple enough so we headed to the luggage pick up.

Immediately we could feel the heat and then the cool breeze.  Wow the Caribbean, it was sure different when you weren't haze gray and underway.  Ted followed my lead to the luggage pick up.  We waited for several minutes before the bags started coming out on the conveyor belt.  Eventually our luggage appeared and I grabbed my bag.  Ted managed to trip over several people trying to grab his bag.  He did manage also fall on the belt and ride it for several feet before he was able to get up with his bag.  I wasn't sure if I should laugh or hide.

We headed to the tourist info desk and as the directions said they were expecting us and pointed us to the bus that was heading out to the resort.  As I was thanking the woman at the desk Ted headed out towards the bus.  As he reached the door a little old woman was coming in the same door Ted was about to go out.  For some reason I knew what was going to happen next, it seemed to all unfold in slow motion.  Ted neared the door the old woman pushed the door hard with out looking and glass door swung open smashing into Ted's face.  The woman walked through totally oblivious to what had just happened and she was screaming for someone named Herschel.  The door swung back to the closed position and just like in the movies I saw Ted's eyes roll back and he dropped to the ground.

I walked over to Ted and he had a goofy look on his face.  I put my bag down and asked him if he was okay.  Ted came to and managed to ask, "Did we miss the bus?"

"No Ted we did not miss the bus but that door just kicked your ass".

Ted was shaking his head and trying to stand up.  He straightened out his hat and brushed himself off.  We did manage to get through the door and onto the bus.  There were several couples on board.  The bus wasn't full but we took off to the resort.  We were one step closer to hot woman and sex.

I got us checked in and Ted had his key to his room and I had a key to my room.  Were not on the same floor, which was more then fine with me.  "Okay Ted I am headed up to my room and then I am going to head out to the pool and get something to drink and relax".

"Sounds good I am going to my room and I will catch up with you later.  I am going to take a nap," Ted replied.

I looked at him with a look of disbelief and I guess I muttered okay I am not sure.  He went his way and I went mine.  I couldn't believe he just told me he was going to take a nap.  I was in shock.  I got to my room and looked around.  The room was greet it had a small balcony that over looked the pool and I immediately stripped down and got into my swim trunks.  I grabbed my mp3 player and headed down to the pool.  I also made sure I had my dark iridium lens Oakleys on. 

I grabbed a towel from a cabana boy and found a chair to relax on by the pool.  As I was getting ready to sit down a cabana boy came over to me and told there was a meet and greet for the winners of the Night Calls sweepstakes.  I wasn't going to miss that I thought.  So I followed him to another location by a Jacuzzi.  Tiffany and Julie were there and several photographers were also there.

I was the only single guy there.  I was surrounded by couples.  Not only was I surrounded by couples but they were all gorgeous people.  Each one was better looking then the next.  I felt like the freak that escaped from the circus.  I sat down and tried not to draw any attention to myself.  I was thinking I shouldn't have come over here.  At least Ted wasn't here.  As that thought crossed my mind I looked around to make sure he wasn't walking up.  He wasn't anywhere in sight.  I am glad he decided to take a nap now.

Julie and Tiffany stood before the group and began some speech about how great it was that we could all come and that they just wanted everyone to have a great time and enjoy everything that there was to do there and let us know about some special event that happening.  It seemed like a well-rehearsed speech that they had given on numerous occasions.  They finished and went through the crowd and stopped and talked to everyone for a moment.

They came over to me and I introduced myself and then Tiffany asked, "Are you here alone?"

"No, I came with a friend who is up in his room recovering from the flight".

"Oh that is cool that you came here with your boyfriend," Julie said with a smile.

"No, I am not here with my boyfriend.  I am just in-between girlfriend at the time and the rest of the story is long and crazy.  You don't what to be bored with the details of my life".

"Well why don't you join us for dinner tonight then at our table.  I want to hear this story," Julie said with a smile.

"Yeah this sounds good.  How did you win the trip?" asked Tiffany.

"It was the battleship story".

"I remember that one.  That was a great story.  I had so many questions about how you did it and how small the space was," Julie said with a sly smile.

"I can answer all of your questions tonight then," I said trying to remain calm.

"Great I will make sure you are scheduled to sit with us tonight then," Tiffany smiled and they made there way to the couple behind me.

I took the opportunity to escape.  I got back to the pool and found another chair to sit in and relax.  The lounge chair I found was in the shade.  I did not mind at all.  The shade was welcomed since I was sitting in direct sunlight for the last forty-five minutes.  I sat down and was watching the topless woman walk by as I listened to my mp3 player.  I found myself falling asleep and finally I was out.

I was enjoying my peaceful slumber when Ted shook me awake.  I shook my head to help clear my thoughts and then looked at Ted.  Ted looked like he was in the middle of some huge crisis.  I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.  Then I readjusted my sunglasses and looked at Ted again.

"What's wrong dude?"

"Well I don't know how to say this with out just saying it," Ted's hands were going a mile a minute as he tried to tell me what was wrong.  Then he started again and his hands were waving about.  "I just saw the ghost of an old Jamaican woman".

"What?  Are you crazy?"

"I was up in my room reading my book with my spectral enhancer running when I saw her.  She looked sad," Ted continued.

 "You have gone insane haven't you?  It has to be the heat".

"It is not the heat.  I really saw her.  She looked at me and she knew I could see her.  Then her lips moved but I could not hear her.  She pointed out the window to the mountain.  I tried to ask her what it was about the mountain.  She just pointed and I could see her cry".

I looked at Ted and I could tell he was serious about what he was saying.  Regardless if it really happened he believed that it had.  I knew if I told him he was crazy and told him to go away he would just become more of an irritant.  "Okay so what do you want from me?" I found myself asking.

"Well we have to get to the mountain." Ted said that as if it was just an ordinary thing.  I almost shit myself just thinking that he was insane.

"Okay how do we get there?" I asked him just to play along.

"We take the scooters that the resort has.  I got a road map.  We will be there and back by in no time," Ted replied.  It seemed like he had everything planned out.  I wasn't sure but I knew something was wrong.  If it wasn't wrong now it will surely go wrong. 

In moments I found myself with Ted heading out on the road on the rental scooters from the resort.  We were told not to take them off of the resorts property.  We weren't listening.  All I could think about was getting back in time for dinner.  I wanted to see Tiffany and Julie again.

After about forty-five minutes we were near the top of the mountain.  At least as high as we could go with the scooters.  Ted got off his scooter and opened his backpack and broke out the spectral enhancer.  As Ted powered the item on and image of an old woman appeared.  It was kind of eerie since it looked like the bad hologram from the original Star Wars movie.  The old woman looked at us and pointed to the top of the mountain then looked at us again and seemed to plead with us.  I looked at her and looked at Ted hoping some how this would make some sense.

"What the hell does she want?  She keeps point to the top near that ledge".

"I don't know but I think she wants us to go up there," Ted answered.

"What!  How are we going to get up there?"

"I guess climb through the trail over there," Ted answered and point to a small trail about ten feet away that led off the road.  The woman's image disappeared as we moved the scooters off the road.  My instincts were telling me to get back on the scooter and go back to the resort find some sleazy little nympho and have fun.  Unfortunately I found myself following Ted.  I couldn't explain it. 

After about ten minutes we were up on the ledge that the woman was pointing to.  We looked out and the view was magnificent.  Something was still wrong I felt like I had seen this view some where before.  Then I noticed a building and some trucks.  Ted was peering out taking deep breaths and commenting how awesome it was here.  Then it suddenly hit me where I had seen the view before.  I grabbed Ted and pulled him back from edge of the ledge.  It was at that point that I lost my balance and we both went rolling backwards.  We stopped tumbling momentarily thanks to a grate.

More alarms went of in my head.  I knew we should move carefully but Ted moved his leg and the grate broke free.  Unfortunately most of my weight was against it and I fell along with the grate.  Using pure instinct and the desire to drag Ted down with me I clung to him like a python.  We went sliding straight down a metal shaft.  Luckily due to natural friction and the size of us we weren't in a free fall.  We couldn't stop but the fall wasn't to fast that if we hit bottom we weren't going to be to splotches.

Eventually we did hit bottom and Ted landed on top of me causing me to loose my breath and gasp uncontrollably for a few minutes.  Then I realized that there was enough room in here to almost stand up and I pushed Ted off me.  He hadn't moved, I guess he was too scared after what just happened.  It was then that I knew I was definitely going to miss dinner.

I looked around and saw that we were in some sort of ventilation shaft.  Ahead of us was a large fan slowly turning moving air towards us.  For some reason I did not go into panic mode.  I was calm and relaxed which did not make sense.  I always thought I would freak out at times like this.  I was thinking so this is what it is like in a ventilation shaft.  It is nothing like the movies.

I sat up and Ted sat up and he was looking around.  "Ted, if you didn't realize we are in a ventilation shaft".

"Wow, I would have never known that," Ted replied sarcastically.

"Yeah but that isn't the worst part".

"Being in a ventilation shaft isn't the worst part?" Ted asked looking at me with his eyes wide-open waiting fore me to explain how it could be any worse.

"Well we are most likely in a ventilation shaft owned by a drug smuggling operation".  Ted's mouth dropped wide open.  "I pulled you back from the edge cause I recognized the view.  I saw aerial shots of this place years ago when I was in the Navy.  The Coasties had planes fly recon missions of this place.  I thought with all the info they had this place would have been shut down by now".

I looked about and saw Ted trying to gather his thoughts and figure out why that old lady had lead them up there.  "Vic, What do we do now?" Ted asked.

"Well our best bet is to play stupid, which shouldn't be to hard.  We are dressed like tourist we have no weapons and fancy comm. devices".  I looked at Ted and he shook his head in agreement.  "So we get through the fan up ahead and turn ourselves in.  It should be easy right"

"Sounds simple enough," Ted agreed.

"Okay lets go then".  I started crawling over to the fan.  I was able to tell that the fan not powered on but spinning on its own.  We quickly passed through just in case it started again.  After moving forward about twenty feet we came to another grate.  This one led to a large open room.  It looked like a storage room but at this time it looked completely empty.  I kicked out the grate and Ted and I crawled out.  We were free and from the shaft.  I stretched and looked about nothing was in the room but at the far end were some bay doors and from us across was a door.

"Lets go to the door".  I pointed it out to Ted and we moved on our way.  I figured by the time we made it to the door we would be surrounded by guards with guns. So I kept our pace casual and I put my hands in my pockets to look like I was strolling down the street.  We made it to the door.  No alarms no guards with guns.  I was confused.  I looked at Ted then looked around the large storage area again.  I shrugged my shoulders and told Ted to open the door.

Ted grabbed the doorknob and turned and pushed the door hard open.  I heard the sound of the door hitting a person then quickly followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.  I peered in to see a man lying on the floor bleeding profusely from his nose and spread out on the floor.

"Holy shit you knocked him out with the door!"

"I didn't mean to.  I swear I didn't," Ted pleads as he knelt down next to the guard.  I stepped into the room to see rows of children staring at us from behind benches with sewing machines.  Oh shit we are in deeper than I thought, was the only thing I could think of.

"Ted we are fucked and we are fucked hard dude.  We just stumbled on to something really bad."

Suddenly the girl that was close to us started speaking in Spanish to us.  I was clueless to what she was saying but Ted started talking to her in hushed tones.  He sounded really gay when he was speaking Spanish. It was real odd.

"Tie him up," Ted turned to me and said.  I looked at him all confused.  He turned to the little girl and she was pointing and told him something and Ted searched the guy's pockets and found tie wraps.  We bound the guy's legs and hands and gagged him with part of his shirt.  We rolled him under on of the table to clear the way.  We even rolled him through his own blood.

"Hold on, hold on one minute.  Do you really expect us to believe this?" asked Erica as she stared at Vic.  Vic matched her gaze then looked over to the door since there was some knocking.

Christy got up and answered the door and the food they had ordered was being wheeled in.  Christy tipped the waiter and Vic moved over to the food. Jenna also got up and Erica stood there waiting for an answer.

"Well do you?" Erica asked again.

Vic turned and looked at her and said, "Yeah.  I have no reason to make up a stupid story like this".

Everyone got their food and sat down and started to eat.  "I can not believe you guys fell down an air vent," Christy said as she laughed.  "I wish I could have seen that".

"I wish I could have seen what Ted was wearing before Vic made him change," Jenna said as she laughed.

"That was good," Erica added and Christy agreed with her.

Vic sat back watched his friends tear apart his story and laugh about what he had told them so far.  "Okay you ready for me to continue?" Vic asked as he looked at his friends.

"Yeah go ahead I can't wait to here what Ted does next," Jenna said with a big smile.

Vic shook his head and once again began relating his story to his friends.

Ted was now having a rather animated conversation with the girl.  It lasted for several minutes.  The girl then got up and started gathering the kids together.  There must have been about thirty kids ranging from about fourteen to seven years of age.  I looked at Ted to find out what was going on.

"They are slaves," Ted began to explain.  "They have been praying for some one to come and rescue them.  Now that we have come they are ready to go".

"What I must be missing something here.  We were planning to turn our selves in and hope to get out of here alive.  Now we are some sort of saviors rescuing enslaved children.  Why did I even bother waking up this morning"?

 "We got to help them," Ted said as he looked at me for some guidance and an okay.

I had no idea what to do or even how we wouldn't get everyone killed.  I am no hero.  I took the gun from the floor and looked it over it seemed like a standard sub machine gun with bolt action.  Then I noticed the guard started to struggle as he woke up and realized he was bound with his tie wraps.  I smacked him in the head rather hard and he immediately stopped moving and struggling.

"Well if we are going to do this then we might as well go all out".

Ted looked at me and smiled and moved over to the girl who appeared to be the leader of the kids.   I followed Ted and shortly we were being lead out of the room quickly moving down some halls.  I was waiting for any moment to be ambushed by some group of guards with guns.  It did not happen but we did not seem any closer to get out though.

Then I happened to come across a supply room.  Oddly enough it had a big sign that read supply room.  I looked at Ted and then opened the door.  Inside were all kinds of weapons. We moved in quickly and got the teenagers armed.  I am all for kids with automatic weapons.  Amazingly they seemed to know more about the weapons then they should have at that age.  They had the guns loaded and cocked and ready to go in seconds.  I looked at Ted and we were both in shock.

I took some grenades and some extra rounds and what looked like a Glok.  I never played with a Glok before so I figured it would be cool.  We then headed back down the hall. Ted was in the lead and I guess they were heading out of here.  I noticed a lab and took a moment to sneak a peak.  I had no idea what I was looking at but saw several containers labeled gas and others labeled ether.  Also the lab looked over another huge Storage area that was extremely busy.

I cautiously took a look at the storage area and saw almost a hundred guys moving boxes crate and other stuff.  Some of the guys had guns strapped to their backs and under their arms.  I guess that must have been almost everyone in the area was down there.  Now I knew why we were getting a free ride out of here.  I quickly caught back up with the group.  And made my way up to Ted and let him know what was going on.

As I finished telling Ted what I saw he turned and let the girl know what I saw.  I made my way to the back of the line and we passed another lab and I took a quick peek inside and it was the same as the last.  I went to leave and I knocked over gas can.  Gas was flowing all over the floor.  I quickly ran out of there.  I caught up to the group again and I kept looking back waiting for something to go wrong.

The group stopped and I was wondering what was going on.  We did not stop far enough from the lab for my comfort.  Ted appeared as I kept looking back in the direction of the lab.

"Hey we got a problem the door is blocked," Ted explained.

"What do you mean blocked?"

"Well there are two guards standing just on the other side," Ted went on to tell me.  " What are we going to do?" He then asked.

I looked at him and then at the line of kids who were waiting for me to make some kind of decision.  "Okay we need a plan obviously.  Okay we need a diversion then.  That should be simple enough we get a kid to run out and that should get the guards attention.  Then we ambush them".  It sounded real simple at the moment and just as Ted was explaining the idea to the girl.  She just pointed to a spot on my bandolier that had the hand grenades on.  I looked down and only saw a pin and no grenade the lab that I had left suddenly exploded.  A fireball shot out at the door and the sound of glass shattering could also be heard.

We are dead I was thinking at that moment. I looked at Ted again and he was shocked and the kids were getting scared and huddled closer together.  Suddenly the door opened and the guards were running in.  Luckily they did not expect to see two guys in shorts leading a large group of kids with guns.  They stared at us and never raised their guns.  The girl barked some orders to the kids and they moved like a pack of rabid dogs taking the two guards down.  I looked at Ted and we looked at the kids and we smiled.  As the kids got off the guards they were tied up with tie wraps it was the funniest thing I had seen in awhile.

Also at the same time more explosions were heard.  Each one seemed further down the hall as they happened.   I didn't take the time out to figure out what was going on.  We headed out and saw more men running about trying to figure out what was happening..  They weren't paying much attention to us but we tried to keep low and out of sight anyway.

The area we walked into was another large storage area.  There was enough coverage for us get to the large bay doors that were open.  As we made our way people were screaming alarms were going off and more explosions were happening.  We were extremely lucky.  We got to near the bay doors and a truck was pulling in.  Something inside my head just triggered caused me to react and I shot out the front tires on the driver side.  The truck stopped half way through the doors.  The driver looked at us and just slowly made his way out of the truck and began to run.

Ted got the kids out as I provided cover for them.   As the kids cleared I moved out and decided to let loose with a couple of rounds into the gas tank of the truck.   I started to run and shouted for Ted to get everyone running up the road.  The tank exploded and caused the truck to start burning.  We had the kids running up the road as I caught up to Ted.

I looked back and explosions were still going on then the trailer of the truck exploded and shot out a huge fireball.  The fireball went right into the field and started the marijuana crop to start burning.  The building did stop the fireball but it was now burning also.

"What the hell was in that trailer?" asked Ted.

"I don't know.  I just wanted to block that entrance."

"Well we better get these kids out of here before the fire spreads this way," Ted said as he moved the kids along.

We managed to get the kids to a main road and we started walking along the road.  After about twenty minutes we got to an intersection and saw some guy with a large truck.  It was an old army transport truck.  The driver was standing in the brush taking a piss.  I told Ted to hold the kids here and I will see if I can get us a ride.  Ted turned and got the kids to move closer to the side of the road and wait.  I moved closer to the driver.

"Hey, excuse me but I seem to have a problem and I was hoping you can help me," I shouted to the driver as I moved closer to him.

"Hey we all got problems mon," the driver responded in a heavy Jamaican accent.  He still has his back to me and he was finishing and zipping his pants.  He then turned and took a look at me and his hand went in the air.  "Hey mon don't shoot.  I will give you what you want mon," he pleaded and looked scared.

I realized I had the gun hanging off my shoulder and grenades across my chest.  "No, I don't want to take anything from you I was hoping you could give me and my friends a ride?"  I waved for Ted to bring the kids up.  I tried to play calm and casual.

The driver saw the kids and some had weapons still strapped to their backs.  "Hey mon you got a little militia going there," the driver joked.  He still seemed uneasy and was waiting for me to do something crazy.

"Hey we need a ride to the Hedonism resort.  I happen to be a guest there and this is just one long and fucked up story".  I shook my head and held out my hands.  I was hoping he saw that I was not going to cause him any harm.

"Okay mon.  You got yourself a ride but aren't those kids a little young to be going to Hedonism?" The driver joked as he moved closer to his truck.  I had Ted load the kids into the back.  The driver climbed in the truck and I got in the passenger side.  Ted shouted out that all the kids were in the back.  I looked in the back and saw them all sitting quietly as the driver pulled back on to the road.

After some time and a whole lot of explaining.  We were pulling into the resort.  The driver was laughing and could not believe that we may have destroyed that installation.  As we pulled up in front of the Hotel entrance several concierges came running up and they did not look happy with this beat up looking truck pulling up in front of their grand hotel. 

Their attitude quickly changed when I stepped out with the gun slung over my shoulder and grenades across my chest.  They immediately changed their attitude and backed away.  Ted had the kids getting out of the back of the truck.  I walked in trying to get some help and I saw people moving away quickly.   I managed o get to the front desk that I checked in earlier in the day.

The gentleman behind the desk was looking very scared as I approached him.  "Excuse me, I need some help".

"Okay," the man stuttered.

"I checked in earlier and now I have a problem.  I seemed to have come across a child slave ring and I accidentally liberated them".  I was explaining to the man as he stared at me in fear.  "Oh and I happened to loose two of the hotels scooters".  The man looked at me no longer afraid but confused.

"You lost two hotel scooters?"

"Yeah I checked in earlier and took out some scooter and now I need you to get the American consulate on the line and get some help here.  I have thirty kids outside," The man was now looking behind me and I turned to see all the kids with guns standing there with Ted.  I turned back to the man and continued to speak.  "I mean I have thirty kids in your lobby who earlier today were slaves.  I need help please."

"Okay, okay I will call the consulate and get some one over here," the man replied.

"Also can you put us in a room to keep these kids from the guests.  They are a little young for the environment".

We were then moved to a small room with a table.  Food was brought out for the kids and we piled all the weapons in the corner on a large blanket.  The kids ate like they never had eaten before and I had this warm fuzzy feeling like I had done something right.

Also during the time we were waiting for help I had to talk to the American consulate and explain that I was responsible for the explosions and the smoke billowing into the sky from the top of the mountain.  I could tell that they were not happy about that.  The local news reported the explosion and said over a hundred people were dead and many more were injured in an explosion and fire.  No specifics were given and there was no mention of it being a drug storage facility.  Also there was no mention about children be rescued or killed.

As Ted and I sat there and talked to the little girl who was named Maria who was the leader of the kids some officials came into the room.  I looked at Maria and then at Ted.  I then looked over at the men walking in.  I stood up to greet them.  Maria hung onto Ted.

"Hi, I am Vic Carmece from Long Island, New York.  I want to apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you".  No one smiled at us as they neared.

Orders were just being given and men were ushering the kids out of the room and leaving us behind.  Maria held onto Ted and started to cry.  I can only guess she was saying good-bye to Ted.  Finally they pried her free and she waved to me tears in her eyes and saying something I could not understand.

The men had us sit and suddenly we were pummeled with questions from several different men one after the other.  They were not treating us like the heroes we should have treated like.  We just liberated thirty kids from slavery and probably destroyed a huge illegal drug facility.  They were concerned with who sent us and why we were here.  Ted and I sat silent as we looked at the men.  I looked at Ted and he had a look of shock on his face and I know I looked confused.

I spoke first.  "Excuse me guys.  We just rescued thirty kids from slavery.  We may have destroyed one of the biggest illegal drug plants in the Caribbean.  Don't we deserve to be treated with some sort of respect?"

"When we figure out who sent you and why maybe we can work that out till then you guys are in deep shit," growled the man who I guess was in charge of the whole operation.  The men started to swarm around now like sharks looking for the kill.  Another man entered the room and walked over to the man in charge and said, "The rooms are clean".

The leader looked at us and I knew it was time to give him some credentials on who we are.  "Excuse me again but I think we can clear a lot of this up and get us all on the same page."

"How do you intend to do that?" The leader asked.

"Well I have a file in the FBI that explains who I am and gives you a recent history of me.  Also agents Ryan and Muir can vouch for both of us not being anything other then two normal guys.  Also I won the trip here from Playboy while watching Night Calls," I tried to explain but it didn't look good.

The leader made several gestures and men were dispatched.  "We will see if your story checks out.  So until we find out we are taking you to the Consulate.  The children have been taken to the local Catholic Seminary.  They will be okay.  They get children from slave rings all the time," the leader said.  We were then ushered out of the hotel and brought to the Consulate in a limo.

We spent the next several hours like prisoners and then confirmation of our identity came through.  Our situation then turned around dramatically.  We were treated rather well but we had to stay until a former investigation was held.  That was what took so long for us to get out of there.

The final investigation was that one hundred men died another seventy-five were badly injured.  The entire plant was destroyed as well as the crop that was growing.  They complimented us on a job well done.  They were amazed that we could be so thorough with the destruction of the plant and crop.  We just played stupid and went along with there findings saying that we were incredible setting the labs to explode then wedging a truck in the entrance and having it go off like that. 

Also they let us know that the head guy in charge was one of the dead found in the building.  There was something odd about his death though.  They told us he died from bleeding to death.  They could only speculate about what happened but it seems that he was getting a hummer at the time of the first explosion.  Well the explosion startled his woman who was blowing him.  She clamped down and bit it clean off.  It lodged in her throat choking her out.  He was bleeding like a crazy and must have passed out from the lose of blood.  Ted and I got a good laugh about that.

They spent another few hours debriefing us on what to say to the media.  Also that we were going to be invited to the White House to meet the President.  Ted agreed to that I turned it down sighting that my schedule was to busy to meet the President and I did not want to embarrass myself in front of him.  Really I just wanted to get this behind me and go to the convention and relax.  Especially since I did not get any on this trip. 

Finally they got around to getting us back home.  They flew us home in a private plane.  I have to say private planes are the greatest.  All this one needed was several hot dancers and it would have been heaven.  The next thing you know I am standing out front of the house and having this feeling something was wrong in the house.

"From that point you know what happened," Vic finished his story.

"That is just amazing," Christy said looking at Vic in awe.

"What happened to the kids?" asked Erica.

"Well Ted and I went over to visit and there was only a handful left.  Maria was there and she was going home in a day or two," Vic explained.

"What did Maria say to you as she was being taken away?" asked Jenna.

"She said I was sent from heaven to answer her prayers and she blessed me," Vic responded.

Silence fell about the room and Vic looked at the time.  It was near midnight.

"I am beat so I am going to pull the sofa bed out and get some sleep."