Background Intrigue surrounds a murder that wasn't. A traitor in the midst? A homeless mentally ill poet may have the answers. Previously, Lucy completed her task of getting Harpsters mom and brother out of the Blackwell mansion safely. Winston showed up as expected to recruit here and she jumped on board. Plans were worked on and the rest of the team waited to hear if Lucy and made it to the inside of Winston's operation. We pick up now as Lucy is traveling along with Winston's crew worried that she joined up a little too easily. I went along way to easy. What the hell was I thinking? I have to remedy that. Stupid, stupid, stupid Lucy! Hey, wanna become a master criminal, kill a bunch of folks, and maybe betray your country? Sure! Get my home by ten though, Judge Wapner's on. Yeah, definitely on at ten. Crap. Lucy felt a little crazy driving along with her little Toyota in the Humvee caravan. But, she had made her move. Winston called and she answered. It was the plan and maybe Winston was expecting her reaction. She had planted the seeds. Maybe they had already had enough wink, wink moments for her answer to be a given. Well, she would be a little harder to get when they reached… hell she didn't have a clue where they were going. The Humvees were pulling over to the side of the road. She pulled over too.   Winston stepped out of the lead vehicle and approached Lucy's car. "We're going to have to take some security measures, I'm sure you understand."   Lucy understood, but decided not to for the moment. "What do you mean? Are you saying I'm a security risk? I just left everything I own. I ended my former life completely. What exactly do you need to secure?"   "I hear you. But, we have our procedures and we follow them in all cases. We need you to step out of your vehicle. You'll ride with me. We have to blindfold you. Not knowing where we are or where we are going is to your advantage as well. You'll see, it's for everyone's protection. We'll talk more when we get to base." Winston was firm, but not as forceful as she imagined he usually was.   "Very well then. I hope you're not sticking me in some hot trunk or something." She did her best to remain in control even though she wasn't.   "No. You'll be able to ride shotgun. You just won't be able to see for a while. It won't be long. Like I said, it's for your protection too. If someone ever asks you where we are you can honestly answer that you don't know. He put a pair of what appeared to be wrap around shades on her. She couldn't see a thing. He grabbed her arm, escorted her to his vehicle, and helped her into the passenger seat. She heard her Toyota start up. She was pleased that they were bringing it along.   ~~~~~   Tenaya turned to the group. "She's in. That means we are a go to put our plans into effect. First of all, is the tracking device working. Dammit, Q, the only answer I want to hear is yes. That's my partner out there."   Q smiled. "Hell yes. It's working like gold. There's no way Winston's got anywhere near this technology. It will pinpoint where she is, but that is all. That will allow us to get surveillance in place. This is delicate business. This is all paranoid by nature. Suspicions' are the nature of everyone involved. Lucy has got to be on her toes. The others aren't going to like a newcomer. But, she can handle it. Getting intel to us, that's the tricky part. They'll watch her like a hawk. It comes with the territory. They watch each other like hawks. They'd watch their mom and make her taste the apple pie before they'd have a bite."   The Bard paced around the room muttering and obviously on edge. "Hi Lucy. I'm home. How's little Winston? Okay. Remain calm, keep your arms loaded and inside the vehicle at all times. It's like my old buddy, Walt Disney used to tell me: stay calm and let cooler heads prevail. Get it? Cooler heads!" He kept pacing and chuckling to himself. Harpster came over and put his hand on his shoulder.   Tenaya spoke, "Well, we can start with the rest of our plan right away. I've called a press conference for two in the afternoon. That will get it on the news at five o'clock locally and hopefully it will go national for the six o'clock network newscast. It's going to be right in the courtyard of the Bel Air precinct." She couldn't help but laugh out loud.   Tenaya continued, "I'm just praying that Chief Sandoval attempts to intercede. I couldn't ask for more than to see his face when he is standing there when he is accused of conspiring to murder Johnathon Blackwell Senior! Ha! How great would that be if the damned fool was standing out there with his pants down? If we get lucky, maybe Junior will show up to get a parking ticket fixed."   Q jumped in. "Christina Gonzalez is a close friend of mine, so I gave her the run down and the exclusive. She doesn't know the whole story, but she knows that the Chief, Junior and Dr. Khin are the ones being accused. She has her people on it. She'll be knocking on Junior's door before the first question is asked. She's local channel seven, but she's gone national more times than I can count."   Harpster was anxious to speak and cleared his throat, "We still haven't come to a decision regarding Ruby. I think announcing her, as my rightful heir right then and there would be the perfect kicker. That would send that mealy mouth kid of mine off the deep end. It would also shine a bright light on my daughter and make it difficult for anyone to get to her."   Diamond looked worried. "I don't know. One day she wants to go undercover with psycho militia and now you want to put her face on national television in the middle of a murder scandal. Why can't she just keep a low profile until the dust settles?"   "Ya see though. She's the one now. It's all her. Blackwell publishing. The big dog. The big cheese. The whole enchilada. Speedy Gonzales. Harpster's dead man. Old news… pushin' up Daisy, that naughty girl. So, being the precious stone that she is, it's time she take control. She is the Kahuna with the tuna. I asked Charlie and he said the dolphins are down." The Bard went back to his pacing.   Q smiled. "I agree. Junior doesn't have any right to anything. It's your show, Ruby. Step up and take the reins. It's no scam. You own the company."   Harpster added, "That's right, honey. You are in charge now. I'm retired. It's legal. You are the legal controlling partner of Blackwell Publishing and all of its affiliates. You may as well get to work. If you need a harpist, I'm available. Gotta sneak me in when no one's looking though. I am dead, after all."   Discussion continued and before long Tenaya, Q, Diamond and Ruby got in Q's Mercedes and began the half hour drive to the Bel Air Police Department. They arrived to an even larger throng than they had expected. The courtyard had just enough room for the four of them to squeeze through the sea of cameras and microphones to the top of the steps.   Q stood in front of the bank of microphones. "I am Quincy Langston. I am the personal attorney for Johnathon Blackwell Senior. We have several announcements to make this afternoon on behalf of the deceased and his estate. I'm joined here by Detective Tenaya Adrian of the Bel Air Police Department. She is currently under indefinite suspension. Also with me is Diamond Dancer and her daughter Ruby. We have extensive evidence that Johnathon Blackwell Senior was murdered by his son, Johnathon Blackwell Junior and that Senior's personal physician, Dr. Tahir Khin and Police Chief Sandoval of the Bel Air Police Department are co-conspirators in the plot and subsequent cover up. There are other unnamed parties that will be facing indictment as well. We would also like to announce that we have conclusive DNA evidence that Ruby Dancer is the first-born child of Johnathon Blackwell Senior and thus his rightful and undisputed heir. She will take control of all aspects of Blackwell Publishing and its affiliates immediately. We are prepared to answer a few questions at this time. Please don't ask about specific evidence. As you know we can't discuss matters currently under investigation."   Obligatory blinding flashbulb pops and unintelligible questions converged on top of each other in a cacophony that we all recognize as a news feeding frenzy. The group in the spotlight couldn't be more pleased.   Elsewhere in Los Angeles County, three Humvees and a Toyota made their way through the mountainess roads of the Angeles Forrest on their way to Winston's hidden compound. In the passenger seat of one of the Humvees, Lucy Smaldino sat amused listening to the radio and thinking to herself. This guy isn't very bright for a dude that wants to rule the world. Doesn't he think I might notice that he is listening to an Apple Valley radio station as we wind our way through mountain roads? I don't even need a tracking device to know I'm on the Angeles Crest Highway in the Angeles Forest. This might be fun after all.   Author Notes The characters are in place now and the action should start to pick up. Suggestions and input always welcome. I listen with open ears to everything you say. Don't be shy. Your input is invaluable to me as is your support. Thank you so much. mikey

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