OK, obviously I am not APR although I do take great pleasure in knowing that I guilted him into publishing and that I also ghost wrote some of his stuff when he was too sick to keep his promises.

Blame Edgar Alan Dickens, a broke-dick Canuck squid and JayToyz, a purveyor of condoms in HUGE sizes for dragging me out of my sickbed and forcing me...yes, forcing me, to finish some of this crap that the Ape started and also some of my own stuff.

I will finish them, just not that fikkin' clone thing. Nay, not even with JayToyz protctive wrappers round my mind.

Oldest Man Nowhere in Mexico

[Chuck and his best bud Chai are in a limo on their way to the Chateau whilst Sarah and her husband and Su-Fi are in a comparable limo driving down memory lane. The wedding is in two days.

Chai Vathanakul disconnected the cell phone call he received, crossed over to a bench seat in the limo opposite his boss, Charles Windsor, and smiled.

"Chuck, you are my friend and mentor and I have a great deal of respect and admiration for you. Add that I hope to marry your daughter, Su-Fi, whenever you decide she's of age, and you can see why my actions will seem rather – ungrateful."

Chuck was leaning back in the leather seat and massaging his left hand, not really paying any attention to his surroundings. The ache had begun shortly after he'd awakened and he really needed Hannah's 'magic touch' to relieve the cramping and deep aches. He forgot all about his aching hand when he saw Chai pull a small silenced pistol from beneath his suit coat.

"Let me guess. You've decided that being groomed as my heir apparent is not enough and you've decided to advance the time table on your own, right?" Chuck fumbled around in his pocket and hit the speed dial on his cell phone and then removed a small pill bottle, popped the top one-handed with practiced ease and dry-swallowed two of the small pain pills.

"To the point, as usual, Director. Yes. Now, no harm will come to you or your family if you follow my simple instructions. Oh, and don't think for one moment that Hugo Panzer or Colonel Casey will ride out of the trees like the cavalry and save you. They have been…permanently delayed and will hopefully be the only casualties."

"Why did you bother to save me when we were ambushed, Chai? You were already my designated replacement should I have died."

"I was not sure of my place in your plans, Chuck, and besides, how would it look to Su-Fi if I let her father die and I survived almost unscathed? No, the ambush was premature and those who planned and executed it have paid the ultimate price."

Su-Fi answered her cell with a smile but it faded away when she heard what was being said in her father's limousine.

She turned around in her seat and banged on the privacy window and told the driver to pull over and stop the car and alert the Chateau that the Director was in trouble and to be on the alert for treachery.

John Casey answered his cell and saw that it was a 'family conference call' and listened intently to what was being said. He alerted the reaction platoon on rotation at the Circus Militia barracks outside the Chateau gardens to 'quietly' disarm the security force and to take over defense of the Chateau and await further orders.

"Paul, can you fly that thing?" He pointed to a Puma light transport helicopter near the barracks helipad.

"Yep. Got over a hundred hours in one just like it. Is it armed? We'll need a squad of troopers for ground security if we have to go head to head with anyone."

"Got a squad coming from the barracks. Let's suit up and get airborne. There's no telling how this is going to play out. Your dad's got a wicked sense about these things."

Hugo Panzer had his back to the door as he and Ellie ate a leisurely dinner after feeding and changing their daughter and putting her in the bassinette beside the small garden table. He glanced out over the gardens and noticed that several members of the Militia were 'escorting' the regular security staff away and that one of the Militia took his place.

He quietly stood and walked into their Chateau quarters and made a phone call and then armed himself and sat down beside his wife. He trusted the militia men but was prepared to defend his family against any harm. Su-Fi had alerted the family to possible treachery and he trusted her judgment.

Hannah and Yve and Jeb were talking about the wedding, seeing if there were any final arrangements that might need to be attended to when her cell rang as did Yve'. Both women listened intently and then Hannah jumped up and ran to a cabinet and pulled out three MAT-10 machine pistols.

Yve was standing behind her mother while Jeb sat on the settee, stunned by the sudden change in his fiance and her mother. "Jeb, come here. There is a security problem, my love, and it is being handled but for now, take this and protect yourself."

She turned to Hannah and smiled but it wasn't her usual loving smile. This was the smile of a tigress protecting her cubs, and for now, her mother and Jeb were her cubs. Hannah was a wild card in the equation and Jeb, well, she'd given him the pistol more to show that she respected him as a man, and not because she expected him to of any use in a firefight.

"Daddy will be fine, Mother. He has plans within plans like concentric circles. All we need to do is follow the lock-down procedures and we'll be fine. I'm sure Daddy's got the situation well in hand. After all, he is a former NSA agent as well as the Ring Director General."

Hannah flinched in surprise and looked at Yve. "How long have you known? It's not something bandied about. How do you know?"

"Why, Daddy told me and Su-Fi when we went to Thailand. We are his daughters and he felt it was time to 'come clean'. It's not as if he betrayed Grandpapa. He was always 'up front' with him. I have much to learn from him before taking control of the Ring."

Hannah just shook her head. Her husband was a trusting fool but not where his family was concerned. He must have a reason for telling his daughters his history. It was risky, of course, given Su-Fi's rebellion and then the problems that arose between her and her daughter over Jeb.

A/N: Short but then so is time. Will finish it. I got plans to be at the pyramid on 21Dec2012 to watch the world end as we know it. Might be fun.