The More Things Change...(Part VIII)

[Robbie C.]

“No!”

Sonny Crockett was still in the grip of the dream when his eyes snapped open, his body soaked in sweat and trapped by the tangled sheets in the forward berth of the St Vitus Dance. His breath came in ragged gasps, and for three heartbeats he didn't know where he was. Then it all came back to him. Both wherehe was and whenhe was.

Sitting up, he scrubbed at his face with his hands. Trying to shake it off. The dream started the same way: him standing on the side of the stage with Caitlin singing, feet nailed to the floor when Hackman's bullet tore through his wife's chest. But this time instead of stopping there the dream went on. The thump of Huey rotors filled his ears. Smells of burning shit and fermenting fish sauce filled his nose. And all of Vietnam came flooding back in one sick instant.

Mostly, though, it was the firefight when Robbie got hit. They'd been attached to a line company from the First Battalion, Fifth Marines, helping the grunts sweep and clear some ville northwest of Da Nang. In theory it was a simple operation, but no one had noticed an NVA company slipping into the AO and digging in on the ville's outskirts. After months of VC and boobytraps, no one expected to find NVA this close to the coast.

In his dream Sonny saw the whole thing replaying in slow motion. The crack-bark of AKs opening up on the point element of the company. Green tracers drifting past like lost, deadly fireflies as rounds starting hitting the main column. Marines scrambling for cover or being thrown to the dust as rounds hit them. In his dream he saw that dust puffing from torn and faded jungle fatigues as AK rounds tore through men he knew. Training took over, and he scrambled for cover in one of the shallow ditches lining the road. He could hear shouted commands over the firing, and the lighter pop-pop-pop of M-16s as the Marines started returning fire.

“Robbie!” In the dream Sonny didn't recognize his own voice right away. Where the hell is he? He was with the command element which was...oh my God...right in the kill zone.Sticking his head over the embankment, Crockett could just see three crumpled forms in jungle fatigues in the middle of the road. One wasn't moving, but the other two were. He recognized the torn helmet cover of the lieutenant and the clean flack jacket of Robbie. Off in the distance voices were screaming for the corpsman, and the deep bellow of Gunny Thompkins trying to gain control of the fight. Again in the dream he didn't know his own voice. “Cover me! I'm going for the LT and Robbie!”

Before he knew what was happening he'd sprinted into the kill zone, his M-16 forgotten in the ditch. He knew the Corps mantra about never leaving your rifle, but he also knew he couldn't handle a wounded man with the weapon and made his choice. The big .45 in its leather holster slapped against his hip as he sprinted, reminding him he wasn't totally unarmed if things got close.

Robbie had been hit low, just at the bottom of his flack jacket. A quick look showed the lieutenant was in better shape, grazed badly in the leg and more stunned than wounded. Shouting, “I'll be back for you, sir!” Sonny crouched down and hefted Robbie in an awkward fireman's carry and stumbled for the ditch. Rounds tore into the ground around him, and he could hear them whining past like angry bees. He almost tripped when he reached the ditch, but managed to set Robbie down near a blood-covered corpsman without doing any more damage. This time he took his M-16, emptying a magazine on full-auto toward the treeline before grabbing the dazed LT and heading back to the ditch. The third man, a friend of his from the line company named David Conner who'd run out first to get the lieutenant, was already dead; his throat torn out by an AK round. More rounds ripped through the air as Sonny looked at the corpsman. In the dream he shook his head. Sorry, nothing he could do. That's when he screamed.

Faint yellow moonlight streamed through the ports as Sonny sat, not moving, waiting for his breathing to slow and heartbeat to stabilize. It had been years since that dream had visited him, shoved aside maybe by Caitlin's frequent nighttime visits. Finally he pushed himself off the bed and went to the head to wash his face and towel off the sweat. He looked at his face in the small mirror, seeing dark circles under his eyes and lines he'd not noticed in the daylight.

“Fuck.” Turning, he grabbed a pack of Lucky Strikes off the saloon table and clambered topside. The breeze was cool, and he lit a cigarette and drew the smoke into his lungs. He let the smoke hiss out his nose, feeling the dream slipping away as the breeze dried the remaining sweat on his back and in his hair. “It's just me, boy,” he muttered, hearing Elvis stir somewhere on the bow. Now that the gator was getting older he liked spending his nights topside, dreaming whatever gator dreams occupied his mind.

Maybe the dream was telling him it was past time to reach out to Robbie again. Sonny sighed, looking past the glowing tip of his cigarette at the dancing stars overhead. Somehow he'd always avoided it, made excuse after excuse, just like he had when he came back to Miami and married Caroline. Maybe it was also telling him he couldn't lock Vietnam away in some box and never look at it again. Lord knows he'd tried, even going so far as refusing to identify himself as a vet any time an investigation took him to a veterans' center or group home.

“Hell, look at Dave and Randy.” He wasn't sure if he was talking to Elvis or himself, but having the gator there provided a good excuse if anyone wandered by. “They own where they were. Robbie always did, too. Me? Maybe it's time I did, too. Maybe it's past damned time. Caitlin was never afraid to own where she'd been or who she was. I was always the one doing the hiding.” Taking a final drag on the cigarette he snubbed it out before heading back to bed. Sleep came easy this time, and passed without any visitors.

 

Trudy was waiting for Crockett and Tubbs when they stopped by the task force office the next morning. “We heard back from Metro-Dade about that girl and the big guy,” she said as soon as they'd helped themselves to coffee.

“Took them long enough.” Sonny snorted as he sat down in one of the chairs around the big table. Funny. I don't think I've ever spent more than ten seconds in the outer office.“Any of it worth our time?”

“Could be.” Trudy looked down at her notes, and Crockett noticed she was wearing a deep blue dress he'd never seen before. There was a decidedly Oriental cut about it, highlighting her figure to spectacular advantage. “They both have records. Her mostly for theft and him for assault. Your buddy the bouncer was right; they work as a team and do favor the newer clubs down where you met them.”

Tubbs shook his head. “And let me guess. She likes to steal from rich-looking classy men from out of town.”

Trudy giggled. “You got that right. And she likes targeting Black men. She's got ten arrest reports, and in eight of them the complainant was Black.”

“So they're a random rip-off team? No real method other than 'hit the Black guy who looks rich'?”

“It looks that way, Sonny. At least as far as Metro-Dade can tell.” She smiled. “But we all know Robbery isn't where the hotshot detectives go.”

“I'll be watchin' for them just the same.” Tubbs leaned back in his chair. “Especially that Mikko. She was reallyworth watchin' out for.”

“Go easy, Romeo. Maybe we need to take you to one of those church picnics where you can meet a nice girl.”

“Mikko wasnice, Sonny. Nice on the eyes, nice on the...”

Sony raised his hands. “Ok! Ok! No church picnics.” He looked back to Trudy. “Any word from our favorite peddler of imitation luxury goods?”

She smiled. “Izzy's set up in one of those hotels down by the Deco district. Stan's keeping tabs on him, and so far he's generated nothing more than a spike in old guys wearing what they think are Gucci shoes personally signed by Richard Gere.”

“So business as usual for Moreno.” Tubbs got up and helped himself to more coffee.

“He's been out of the loop for a month or so. I don't like the little weasel any more than you do, Rico, but it takes time to get back into the swing of the street. But if he's still jerking us around in a couple days, have Stan lean on him.”

“You got it.” Trudy looked over at the closed office door and lowered her voice. “I know he wouldn't approve, but I have to tell you, Sonny. I've never been happier in my life.”

“It shows, darlin'. It really does.” Sonny's smile was genuine. “I'm happy for both of you. You've always deserved better than you got, and he's the finest man I've ever known.”

Tubbs sat back down and smiled. “I second that. You look happy, Trudy. I don't think I've ever seen you looking so happy. Grab hold of that and don't let go.” He looked over at Sonny and favored his partner with a lopsided grin. “Take it from the two guys who keep losing things like that.”

“I didn't...”

“Don't worry, Trudy. We don't take it that way.” Sonny spoke quickly. “It's just...we know what it's like to lose things like that. We're both really happy for you, but don't take what you have for granted. That's all we're saying.”

She nodded, her eyes glittering in reflected fluorescent light. “Believe me, I won't.” She sniffed once, collecting herself, and smiled.

Tubbs looked at Crockett. “You know, I'm thinking of calling that chump right now. See if we can move this deal along a bit faster. Maybe shake him up a bit.”

Sonny nodded, his brain working through the possibilities. “He's seen us moving slow so far. Be interesting to see what he does when New York starts wanting product yesterday. Keep him off balance.”

“I'll let the lieutenant know.” Trudy turned and headed for the closed office door. “He'll need to line up the buy money and get the tracking in place.”

“I won't call Pedrosa until we have that timeline.” Tubbs adjusted his dark suit coat and settled into his chair. “The deal will move on the money timeline.”

Once Trudy went into Castillo's office, Tubbs turned to Sonny. “You look beat, partner. Go clubbing without me?”

“Naw, Rico.” He shook his head. “Visitors is all.”

“Dreams? I get those myself. Usually it's Raphael or Angelina.”

“Mine were Caitlin. Before that things from Nam. Last night it was both.” He sighed. “If we can make time today I'd like to swing past Robbie's club.”

“You got it, man.” Tubbs tapped him on the shoulder. “Providing Little Carlos is accommodating.”

Trudy stepped back into the room. “He's working on five hundred grand. Same bank as before. He wants some padding in case the price goes up.”

“Smart man, but I think I can talk Little Carlos down. He's got his jewels in a vice, and the men holding the controls aren't afraid to tighten them.”

Sonny reached for the phone. “I'll give Dave and Randy a heads-up, too. We'll want them with us when this goes down. And have Stan keep checking Carlos' communications. We need to know if he's freed up any more guns.”

“You got it.” Trudy favored them with one of her playful smiles. “He and Lester are out playing in the Bug Van, even though Stan calls it checking equipment. I think he's just showing off his toys. But I'll let them know when they come back.”

“Thanks.” Sonny made the call to Dave, conveying the plan in short words. “We'll let you know when it's going down,” he finished. “It's ok if you can't provide support, but we'd love to have you along if you can.”

“Anything good?”

“They're good to go,” Sonny replied as he hung up. “Only variable might be a tasking from the Marshal's Office, but he doesn't think that's likely. Seems we're their priority.”

“That's a hell of a change.” Tubbs chuckled. “I remember when we had to beg for uniform backup.”

“We'll see how deep it goes once we start doing serious damage to Maynard's network. Right now we're only netting small fry.” Sonny looked toward Castillo's office door. “Once we start circling Moncado we'll see just how far the Feds are willing to go. Because after Moncado it's a straight line to Maynard.”

“What happens then? Maynard knows you, Sonny. He's seen me, but he knowsyou.”

“I know. But Burnett and Cooper are strictly drugs. We don't have a good way in to his arms dealer. Holmes or whatever his name is. You'd have to dig out that cover we used back with Guzman or the South African we used with Klizer. I don't think anyone would buy Burnett as a neo-Nazi now, though.”

“I can't see that working, either. Holmes seems to deal only with Maynard.” Tubbs flipped back through the file. “He does small deals here and there, mostly with bikers or gangs. But those are pistols and a MAC-10 or two. Not the kind of hardware that would attract us.”

“I guess we'll just have to be careful, then.” Sonny looked down at the table top, knowing deep down he didn't want off the Moncado side of the investigation. Maynard's got lots of bodies to answer for. I haveto be in on it. Even if I have to use myself as bait.“Or maybe it's not a bad thing Maynard knows me. We might be able to use that to draw him out.”

“What do you mean, partner?”

“There's bad blood between us. He's not the kind of guy who sends someone else to settle those scores. Maynard would want to do it himself. Up close so he could be sure. I don't think there's any way he could resist that. Not if he's still the Maynard I knew.”

“You've got a point. We're all over his comms, so we'll know if you've been made. Not saying I like it, but it's a way to bring him down.”

“Maybe the only one we have.”

“The money's approved, Rico. The lieutenant says make the call when you're ready.” Trudy turned toward her office, her long legs accented by the blue dress and her high heels.

“Solid. I'm gonna rattle that chump's chain.” Tubbs stared at the phone. “Switek said use this button, right?”

“How the hell do I know, Rico? I only just figured out the phones with dials.” Sonny grinned. “Yeah, I think it's that one. You use the brown one to get street noise to play behind the conversation to sound like a pay phone. I think he had Lester start that one first.”

Ten minutes later Tubbs slammed down the phone. “I think he pissed his pants, but here's where we sit. He wants to get all the coke in one place first so we can load and go. He's got four hundred on hand, and it's going by water. He'll page when it's ready to move.”

Sonny nodded. “I'll let the lieutenant know we'll need a fishing boat of some kind rigged for smuggling. The cigarette can't handle that much. I'll get some specs together to make it look right for the job, though. I could break it into three boats, but that would take too long to load.”

“Solid. From the way he was muttering I'd say we have a day in hand while he consolidates his supply.” Tubbs leaned back. “You think it's worth chasing how he brings the stuff in?”

“Not yet. Let's see how quickly they replace this load.” Sonny tapped his fingers on the table. “If they can keep that much coming in, it almost has to be cargo ships of some kind. Or a combination of sea and air. If he's smart he'd diversify.” He shook his head. “He's not smart. If Moncado's smart he'd diversify.”

“And we can keep the pressure on. No question.”

“No doubt. And the more he moves, the more the pressure increases on him. He has to run more risks to get the stuff in, and he's sure to get careless.” Sonny scratched his chin, thinking. “The question is how do we draw Moncado out? Can we even get him in the US?”

“According to my intel he's in the country quite a bit.” Trudy flipped through some notes. “He's got a condo in one of those new high-rises and a house out on the Keys. For a death squad guy he moves pretty freely.”

“Thank Maynard for that. So at least getting him in the country is one less thing we have to worry about. It's just a question of timing.”

“Cooper would want to see the big guy after this deal.” Tubbs looked down and adjusted his tie. “The one after this at the latest. It's all about business. I expect he'll want to meet another of the New York people, so we might want to get ahead on that.”

Trudy nodded, scribbling something on her pad. “I'll bring it up. The Marshal's Service might have someone. I don't think we want anyone local.”

“No. He might have seen them. They also have to sound like they're from New York.” Tubbs grinned. “That's a scarce commodity in that office.”

“We can't reach out to Metro-Dade.” Sonny remembered the comment the snipers had made. “Too big a chance something will leak.”

“What do you mean leak?” Trudy's brow furrowed.

“Dave and Randy said they'd heard talk at the Marshal's office about a leak in Metro-Dade. Not OCB, but the wider department.” Sonny shrugged. “Rico and I have been out of the game long enough we wouldn't know one way or the other, but I don't think they have any reason to lie.”

“They don't.” Castillo's whisper cut through everything else in the room. “I've been told the same thing by contacts in other agencies. We keep them out of the loop. Go only to OCB, and then only when you have to.”

“That explains why my request for information on Mikko and Jimmy was buried with ten other names.” Trudy smiled. “I just assumed you had more information you wanted checked, lieutenant.”

“Since you're here, lieutenant, we'll need a fishing boat of some kind to do this next deal. A cabin cruiser or maybe a shrimp boat. Something clean that won't draw a second glance but can handle and hide four hundred kilos.” Sonny chuckled. “Little Carlos wants to move all his stuff at once.”

“When?”

Tubbs spoke up. “He's moving it to one location first. He'll call when it's ready.”

“I'll make the arrangements. I assume you've already arranged backup? Good. We need to keep the pressure on Pedrosa so we can draw out Moncado.”

Sonny nodded, then looked at his watch. “I've got something I need to take care of. I'll check in later today.”

“Hang on, partner. I'll ride shotgun.” Tubbs looked over at Castillo. “Did you need us for anything else, lieutenant?”

“Not right now. Trudy can call if anything comes up.” Castillo looked from Crockett to Tubbs. “Be careful. Maynard's network knows you're playing now. Maybe as Cooper and Burnett, but we've monitored traffic showing he's looking into them. You're fully backstopped, but be cautious just the same.”

 

They had just pulled out of the parking garage and into the bright heat of the day when Tubbs laughed. “I wonder when Castillo was going to warn us about the Metro-Dade leak.”

“You know the answer to that one: whenever the hell he got around to it.” Sonny laughed, accelerating through a yellow light. “He wouldn't keep something like that from us, though.”

“No.” But there was a hesitation in Tubbs' voice revealing his doubts.

“Come on, Tubbs. You think after all these years he'd hold out on us?”

“Not really. But you gotta admit this is different, Sonny.” Tubbs hesitated and then laid his cards on the table. “I was thinking about this the other night. You know how he always used to hold us back? Tell us not to take risks, follow procedure, all that?” He snapped his fingers. “Bam! That's all gone now. It's like anything goes so long as we get the target.” He shook his head. “It just takes some getting' used to is all I'm saying.”

“I hear you.” Sonny swerved around a city bus, ignoring a string of horns honking behind him. “I wonder if he went to someone or someone came to him. One of those late-night meetings in a dark office building you always see on TV. But you can't deny it's working.”

“Yeah. I just don't want to be the sucker in the room with no chair when the music stops.”

“Neither do I. But I can't see Marty doing that to us.” But the thought did send a shiver down Sonny's spine, one he tried to ignore as he pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. “So I'm just going to see Robbie. After that, who the hell knows.”

“Fine by me, partner. I bought a ticket for the whole damned ride.”

It was still early, but judging from the number of cars in the lot Robbie's club was going strong. Sonny finally found a spot out toward the street, and Rico climbed out of the Ferrari and whistled. “Damn. Looks like he's onto something. That or giving out free drinks.”

“Robbie's too smart to give things away. I'd say he's got a good touch. He always was a smart guy.”

“Not too smart if he hung out with you.”

Sonny shot Rico a glare and then laughed. “You might be on to something, Tubbs. After all, look at how much time youspend around me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Tubbs laughed and grabbed Sonny's arm. “Let's get in there and see what all the fuss is about.”

The place had been jumping the first time Sonny and Rico stopped by, and it looked like nothing had really changed in the intervening years. The guy on the door was still massive, cars still lined the street, and overdressed people milled around outside waiting to get in. A quick flash of the badge got them past the door and inside.

Tables still filled the space in front of the bar, and looking left Sonny could see an opening leading to a dance floor and stage. More private booths were toward the back, floating in and out of vision obscured by cigarette smoke and bodies. Sonny made his way past the crowd just inside the door and motioned for the bartender. “I need to see Robbie Cann.”

“Everyone says that, pal.” The skinny man spun his toothpick in his mouth and was about to turn away when Sonny's voice changed.

“Maybe so. But I ain't just everyone. You tell him Sonny's here to see him. Now.” He leaned partway across the bar. “So pick up the damned house phone and make the call.”

Eyes wide, the man turned and snatched up a white receiver next to the cash register. The music was too loud for Sonny to hear what was said, but he enjoyed watching the man's facial expressions shift from annoyed to scared and then resigned. Hanging up the phone, he turned back to the bar. “Head on back. Security's expecting you.”

“See? That wasn't so hard, was it?” Sonny turned and headed down the dark corridor he'd last walked down years earlier to try to save a woman and her baby. The walls were still that odd shade of purple, and a big man with an earpiece gave him and Tubbs a quick once-over before opening the door marked 'private.'

The office hadn't changed, even if the occupant had. The Night Ranger and Guffria posters still hung on the purple walls accented with what were supposed to be pieces of paper. Or something. Sonny was never sure what they were supposed to be. Robbie Cann sat behind his desk, rising when they came in. His face had filled out some since Sonny had last seen his old friend, but the goatee was still there along with the burning intensity in his eyes. His voice was still as quick as his thoughts. “Sonny! And Tubbs, isn't it?”

“Robbie.” Sonny avoided the outstretched hand and hugged Robbie instead. “How's the shoulder?”

“Great, Sonny! Just great.”

“Look, man. I'm sorry. I've been a terrible friend. And a crappy god-father. I...”

“Sonny. It's ok.” Robbie stepped back a moment and Sonny could see the sadness in his eyes. “It was a lot to process. For both of us. I could have called, and I didn't. You could have called, but didn't. I do read the papers, though. I'm...I'm sorry about your wife. I don't know how the hell you got through that. I kick myself every day for not reaching out then.”

“It's ok, Robbie. I should have invited you to the wedding. Like you said, we had a lot to process.”

Robbie nodded, then seemed to see Tubbs for the first time. “Please, guys. Sit. We'll have a drink. I'm guessing this isn't just a social call.”

Tubbs shook his head. “I'm just riding along with my partner, Robbie. I am glad to see your club's doing good, though. You finally out from under that paper?”

Robbie nodded. “In more ways than one. They make noise from time to time, which is why I have those big guys hanging around. But I did the right thing, Sonny. And you know, you were right. It does feel good to be able to look at my wife and son every day knowing I did that.”

They talked for a bit about Robbie's son and how the club was doing, Sonny feeling the Jack Daniel's warm his throat and doing more listening than talking. Rico seemed happy listening, tossing in a comment now and again just to remind them he was in the room. Finally Robbie's voice wound down like an old wristwatch. “I'm clean now, Sonny. We get some party animals in here from time to time, but I'm out of that life for good. Testifying saw to that.”

“At least the DA was fair.”

“Yeah. Nothing on the record to mess with my licenses.”

Sonny accepted another drink and decided to just lay his cards out. “Robbie, I've got a huge favor to ask. We're working a case, and we need someplace neutral to meet the guy we're after. We need to get him on tape, and I was wondering if we could wire one of your back booths? None of the tape will ever hit court. You have my word.”

Robbie looked at him for a long moment and then finished his scotch. “I should have known.”

“Look, man. You don't feel good about it, no problem. I understand. That's not why I came.” Sonny took a deep breath. “I came because you're my buddy and I was an asshole and ducked you when you needed me.” He looked down at the floor. “You know, we're working with two guys now who were scout-snipers in the Third Marine Division just north of where we were. They're both so damned open about where they were and what they did.” He waved his empty glass toward the card still displayed on Robbie's desk. “You never hid it, either. Never hid Vietnam. Me? I've been ducking it for years. I've had cases take me to vet centers, and I always say I'm a cop. Never tell them I was there, too, unless I don't have a choice. I'm here because I let being a cop get in the way of us being Marines and surviving Nam. I don't ever want to do that again.”

Robbie stared across the desk. “I never knew that. And you were the one telling me we did the right thing.”

“Yeah. We did. But I did the wrong thing by trying to hide it.” Sonny shook his head. “I'm done with that now. Life's too short.” He closed his eyes, seeing Caitlin's face float by for an instant. “Life's too damned short,” he repeated.

Robbie nodded, then turned to Rico. “What do you think, Rico?”

“It isn't my place to think about this one. I got no skin in the game.” Rico rested his hand on the desk. “But I do know Sonny didn't come here to try to wire your club. Neither did I. I came because my friend wanted to try to set things right with an old friend he'd done wrong by.”

Robbie nodded but didn't speak. Instead he refilled their glasses and looked at a framed photo on his desk. “I still have that picture of us when we first processed into Da Nang,” he said after a time. “Never put it away. Even after all this.”

“I've got the same one in my locker. Or I did, until we gave up our lockers. It's in the boat now were I can see it every day.” Next to a photo of Caitlinhe thought, feeling the bourbon on his tongue without realizing he'd raised his glass. “I could never take it down.”

“I've missed you, buddy.”

Sonny nodded. “I've missed you, too. And I promise this won't happen again.”

They shook hands and then hugged again, laughing when Rico drained his scotch and said, “You two need to get a room already.”

“No, just more drinks for my friends.” Robbie did the honors and then looked at the two men. “And yeah, I'll let you wire one of my booths. Who's the guy you're after?”

“A cat named Pedrosa,” Tubbs said, nodding his thanks.

“Carlos Pedrosa? Guy who only pays his bar tab when one of my big guys swings by the table. He's in here from time to time. Always got a bad smell off that one.”

“You got a good nose.” Sonny grinned. “Must be our old MP training. Carlos is dirty enough.”

“And you say it won't make it to court?”

“No. This new detail we're on is more interested in results than court cases. We'd use the wire to gather intel. And we'll pull it again as soon as we're done. But if you're not cool with it, forget I asked. No harm, no foul.”

“Have your guy come by during the day. Call ahead and there won't be any issues.” Robbie grinned, his eyes lighting up again. “Now let's have another drink and do some serious celebrating! I got my old buddy back and made a new friend in the bargain.”

[vicegirl85]

Loving to see Sonny renewing his old friendship and facing what I've always seen as his "survivor's guilt" from his Vietnam service.  That was what I always saw as the source of his apparent discomfort around the vets in Back In the World.  Nice to see Trudy and the Lieutenant are still progressing in their relationship, too.  But I have a bad feeling about the outcome for Robbie.  Hoping I'll be wrong! 

[mjcmmv]

So happy to see Robbie again! That was a tough interaction, but glad they cleared the air.

Worried about Sonny meeting Maynard. I kind of got the feeling Maynard is looking for revenge of some sort. 

Real anxious to see where this is going! 

Edited June 21, 2019 by mjcmmv

[Robbie C.]

Glad you're both enjoying the story so far!