I was a little con artist as a kid, always looking for ways to fool adults and impress the pretty girls with my exploits. It was all harmless fun back then. It got a lot more serious during The War. The Shang. The Chinese. Charles\u2019 family. Even the American military if you look at it the wrong way. Or the right way. I conned them all in the end. I had to. They gave me no choice you see. None of them liked the Cowboys. And the Cowboys were my people. My family. Nobody messes with my family.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jack woke up alone, the echoes of dreams still fluttering in the back of his mind. Some were not much fun at all. Like the one involving him, Katy, and Olivia running through dark allies. Others were amazing. He particularly liked the fragments of one that involved him, Julie, and Alex not running away from anything. He looked around to see torn sheets, feathers spilled out all over the bed and floor, and even some blood. He looked down and saw the bandages were long gone, strewn all over the floor and bed. It looked a lot more like a running away night than he wanted to think about.<\/p>\n
Jack closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. At least part of the dreams had been real. He must have been flailing around a lot to do this much damage. He opened his eyes again to see the broken lamp on the floor. He glanced up to see the empty nightstand it had been on and sighed. The girls were going to kill him.<\/p>\n
He heard the uniform begin to hum and looked up to see Betty standing in the middle of the room. She made a show of looking around at the devastation before giving him a broad smile. \u201cGood morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack grunted in response. \u201cWhat\u2019s good about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re alive,\u201d Betty said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood point. That is better than the alternative,\u201d Jack said and rolled off the demolished bed. He eyed his uniform where it lay, a cord running from it to a power outlet in the wall, but Betty cleared her throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bathroom is over there,\u201d she said with a wrinkled nose. \u201cMight I suggest a shower?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack glanced at her for a moment, and she gave him a meaningful look. He bent his head down and sniffed. Yup, that odor was one hundred percent Jack on the run. He sighed and followed her suggestion. It only took a moment to switch the shower from sonic to water mode, and one more moment for him to realize that hot water hurt when it hit his still healing wounds. He actually let out a yelp of pain on first contact, and spent the rest of the shower scrubbing himself very gingerly.<\/p>\n
He stepped out of the shower once that chore was done and examined himself in the mirror. He was noticeably thinner than before, his eyes sunken into his head and his jawbone visible under loose skin like he\u2019d been on a starvation diet for weeks. His wounds were still bright red and puckered, but they were closed enough to keep stray infections from getting into his body. It was sobering to count them up. He couldn\u2019t remember the last time he\u2019d been shot that many times. He looked like death warmed over.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you coming or just admiring yourself?\u201d Betty asked from the bedroom.<\/p>\n
Jack blinked and shook his head. \u201cComing,\u201d he answered and left the bathroom to make his way to where his uniform lay. He pulled the cord from the wall and it retracted into the fabric automatically. He picked the uniform up and shook it, nodding in approval at the solid folds of pure white dress uniform. The smart cloth had done its job over night, knitting itself back together and bleaching all the blood and other stuff out. He doubted even his old drill instructor would have seen anything wrong with this. Which of course meant the old man would have just invented<\/em> something to find.<\/p>\n Jack smiled and started pulling the pants on. Then he swung the shirt around and promptly pulled a muscle. Jack sat down on the bed, his eyes full of tears, and waited for the pain to lessen enough that he could make a coherent thought. His first thought was to wonder who was keening in pain. It sounded like a little kid whining about stubbing his toe. His second thought was the realization that he was the only one in the room.<\/p>\n He silenced himself with supreme effort, gave Betty a wan smile, and pulled the shirt on far more carefully. The cowboy boots were harder. He had to reach down, slip his fingers into the loops, and pull each one onto his feet. That hurt. A lot. He blinked the stars out of his eyes before slipping the jacket on, and then looked around for his cowboy hat. It was on the floor. Far away from the bed. Oh joy. He was not looking forward to bending over to pick that up.<\/p>\n Betty smiled and stepped over to the hat. She looked down at it and Jack felt his uniform\u2019s holoemitters click into higher gear. They began to vibrate and the background sound that was usually just at the edge of hearing intensified. Then Betty bent her knees and swooped down in a single smooth motion to lift the hat off the floor. She straitened back up, walked over to him, and placed the hat on his head with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cThere you go,\u201d she said as the holoemitters dropped back to their normal power output.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks,\u201d Jack said with far more feeling than he probably should have. It wouldn\u2019t due to admit that he was some helpless invalid. Then he came to his feet in a smooth motion. Usually it would have been to look shiny and debonair. Today he just didn\u2019t want to pull anything. He nodded, took a deep breath, and turned towards the door. \u201cShall we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLead the way,\u201d Betty answered with a smile.<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips. \u201cActually, do you think you could?\u201d Betty cocked her head to the side in confusion. \u201cI don\u2019t know the way.\u201d His stomach growled and he looked down. And that was when the different kind of pain in the pit of his stomach registered. \u201cI think I know where I need to go though.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty laughed and stepped towards the door. It opened and Jack followed her out into the hall. They stepped into a small cafeteria a minute later and Jack looked around. Olivia sat at a table alone, looking more tired than Jack felt. But her eyes widened in shock and he knew what she was seeing. Death warmed over.<\/p>\n \u201cMa\u2019am,\u201d Jack said with a nod. \u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m alive. And that\u2019s Olivia to you,\u201d she finished with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re looking good,\u201d Jack said in what he hoped was a deft sidestep.<\/p>\n Olivia rolled her eyes. \u201cI look like death warmed over.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, that\u2019s what I look like,\u201d Jack corrected. \u201cYou just look a little chilled.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia snorted and shook her head slowly. \u201cIt feels like I should look a lot worse. I mean they only got me a couple times. And my uniform took most of the damage. But I feel like they were hammering on me all night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not really meant to fight in these uniforms,\u201d Jack said as he pulled on his. \u201cThey\u2019re just emergency measures in case things go ti\u2026belly up.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia raised one eyebrow at him before sighing. \u201cI think they saved our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think you\u2019re right.\u201d Jack shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, Jack,\u201d Olivia said with a pointed look.<\/p>\n And that was that. Jack smiled. \u201cMy pleasure, Olivia.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded in approval and then turned as a noise sounded to her left.<\/p>\n A door opened and Katy walked through with a smile. It was a wan smile and he could see the loose skin hanging from a normally much rounder face. Her body was burning every reserve it had to repair her damage too. But at least she was smiling.<\/p>\n Then he frowned as he realized he\u2019d left her behind. But now she was here. Just her though. \u201cWhere are the others?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty smiled at the question. \u201cJasmine and Natalie are in the workshop right now. Their bodies took a lot of damage.\u201d Then she shrugged. \u201cAnd the girls weren\u2019t nearly as prepared on that front as they thought they were. They\u2019re having to do a lot of scrounging to get bits working again.\u201d She smiled at Jack\u2019s worried look. \u201cBut don\u2019t worry. They\u2019re mostly good. Combat effective if we need them. It\u2019s just the fiddly bits they\u2019re trying to get right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cocked his head to the side, wondering what the fiddly bits might be. Then he shook his head. He really didn\u2019t need to know that. As long as the girls were combat effective, that was good enough for him.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Ken?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty shrugged. \u201cHe\u2019ll be coming along shortly. He\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n Another door opened and they looked to see Julie and Alex walk into the room with large serving plates full of steaming food that made Jack\u2019s mouth water. They placed them on the table and Jack\u2019s eyes devoured the heaps of scrambled eggs, diced ham, cheese, peppers, onions, and other stuff he didn\u2019t know the names of.<\/p>\n \u201cEat all you want,\u201d Julie and Alex said with a smile and stepped back.<\/p>\n Their stomachs growled at the food and Jack and Katy shared a wry look. \u201cChallenge accepted,\u201d they said in unison and sat down to begin scooping massive spoonfuls of the food onto their plates.<\/p>\n Julie, Alex, and Olivia watched with wide eyes as they began devouring the food at lightning speed. The food exploded into his stomach and Jack felt his body eagerly go to work on the new nutrients. He stopped for a moment to drink down a glass of water and then proceeded to shovel more eggs and meat into his mouth. They finished their first plates at the same time and filled them back up again.<\/p>\n Alex shook her head in amazement. \u201cHe told us you\u2019d need a lot of food, but this is ridiculous. How do you afford to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n Katy paused with one spoon in front of her lips and smiled. \u201cWhy do you think I joined the Space Force? I let Uncle Sam pay the bills.\u201d Then she returned to eating like she was afraid it would disappear if she didn\u2019t shovel it down fast enough.<\/p>\n Julie, Alex, and Olivia turned their attention to Jack and he paused. \u201cWhat?\u201d he asked through a mouthful of food. Then he swallowed in response to their upraised eyebrows. \u201cI just make it a policy not to get shot every other day,\u201d he added with a shrug and then shoveled another spoonful of meat and eggs into his mouth.<\/p>\n The girls served themselves after that, but they only ate a small fraction of the heaping pile of food before Jack and Katy finished polishing it off. Jack found himself looking at the plate and wondering if he should lick it off for any stray protein that might still be lingering on it. Then he looked up to see the same idea in Katy\u2019s eyes. And then he felt a gas bubble come up from his stomach and belched. It was long and loud and made him feel much better as he relaxed back in his chair to see three sets of eyes staring at him. Which was when Katy echoed his belch and smiled as she relaxed too.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was good,\u201d she whispered and leaned back against her chair. \u201cGot any more where that came from?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack chuckled as the three sets of eyes opened wider.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s joking,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cWe\u2019re actually kinda full right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSpeak for yourself,\u201d Katy groused. \u201cI could eat a cow right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMostly full,\u201d Jack corrected and patted his stomach. He could feel it asking for more food already, but they needed to give their bodies time to digest this food first. \u201cGive us an hour though and we\u2019ll be needing another round.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAn hour?\u201d Julie asked in amazement.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe half an hour,\u201d Katy said with another look at the empty plates.<\/p>\n \u201cAn hour<\/em>,\u201d Jack said with emphasis. It wasn\u2019t healthy to eat too much food too quick and they\u2019d already pushed that line just in this meal.<\/p>\n She sighed and gave him the point.<\/p>\n Then he turned back to Julie and frowned. Somebody knew exactly what they needed and had made certain the girls were prepared. \u201cWho told you what we\u2019d need?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMalcolm,\u201d Julie said quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the man that helped you last night,\u201d Alex added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe man in the suit,\u201d Jack said and nodded in understanding. \u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWondering when you were going to ask,\u201d another voice said from behind the door Katy had come in from. Then it opened to reveal a tall, thin man with a long, angular jaw. Short, black hair topped his head, and hard, black eyes met Jack\u2019s gaze. He wore a black suit with matching black tie that looked cut from exactly the same pattern as what he\u2019d worn the night before. It might even be the same one, depending on how smart the cloth was. \u201cI\u2019m Malcolm McDonnell, and I\u2019m very pleased to meet you two.\u201d He looked over to Katy and nodded, and then turned to Olivia. \u201cAnd especially you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ken followed the other man into the room and Jack barely recognized the sagging skin and sunken eyes that looked at him from a face that wasn\u2019t much better than a deaths head. Ken had been hurt more than any of them, and it was going to take time for his body to recover. Jack and Ken exchanged nods of greeting and encouragement. Jack\u2019s said it was good to see him again. Ken\u2019s said that he\u2019d spent enough time with the man to know he was good people.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look good,\u201d Jack lied.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look like Hell,\u201d Ken returned with a smile.<\/p>\n Jack snorted and turned his attention back to Malcolm. The other man grabbed the open chair next to Olivia and deposited his lanky frame into it as if he didn\u2019t have a care in the world. Jack knew the act well. He\u2019d used it enough times. He leaned back again to study the other man.<\/p>\n \u201cJack?\u201d Julie said with one raised eyebrow.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAren\u2019t you going to introduce yourself?\u201d Alex added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat? I\u2019m sure he already knows who I am,\u201d he said and looked to see Malcolm smiling at him.<\/p>\n \u201cJack.\u201d Julie wasn\u2019t asking this time.<\/p>\n Jack sighed and gave in. \u201cJack Hart. Cowboy,\u201d He said and reached up to tip the brim of his hat towards the man.<\/p>\n Malcolm nodded in acceptance of the name.<\/p>\n \u201cJonathan Michael Christensen,\u201d Julie said in a hard voice. \u201cYou be nice to the man that saved your life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am!\u201d Jack protested back at her. \u201cI told him my name! What more do you want me to say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you might be a good start,\u201d Alex supplied.<\/p>\n Jack looked at her for moment and she jerked her head in Malcolm\u2019s direction. Jack sighed and turned back to the other man. \u201cThank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Julie and Alex sighed as if he was hopeless. Malcolm did not smile. Jack could see the smile pulling at the edge of his lips, but the man kept it down and managed to keep his expression calm. But the twinkle in the man\u2019s eyes was just unable to hide the amusement the man was feeling at Jack\u2019s predicament.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re T&J,\u201d Ken said in a surprised tone.<\/p>\n Julie and Alex nodded back at him. \u201cOur friends call us Julie and Alex,\u201d Julie said. \u201cAnd who are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKen Banno,\u201d Ken said with a smile and a small bow. \u201cCowboy. At your service.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack placed a hand on Julie\u2019s shoulder. \u201cJulianne Taylor Hansen.\u201d He placed his other hand on Alex\u2019s shoulder. \u201cAlexandra Jennifer Thompson.\u201d And then he smiled. \u201cOtherwise known as T&J.\u201d<\/p>\n Julie aimed a dirty look at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can call us Julie and Alex,\u201d Alex said and removed his hand from her shoulder.<\/p>\n Ken sat down across from them, glanced at the empty serving platter, and began to shake his head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Julie asked.<\/p>\n Ken chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019re in love with a Cowboy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMmmm.\u201d That was Alex. Short and to the point. She didn\u2019t need to say which song that came from. It had topped the charts a year ago.<\/p>\n Ken looked at Jack and sighed. \u201cYou\u2019ve been holding out on us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA gentleman does not kiss and tell,\u201d Jack intoned in a grave voice as he shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when did you become a gentleman?\u201d Katy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I became an officer, of course,\u201d Jack answered with an innocent smile. \u201cHaven\u2019t you heard that they go together?\u201d<\/p>\n Katy gave him a doubtful look before turning to Malcolm. \u201cI\u2019m Katy Reynolds. Cowboy. Thank you for helping us last night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was my pleasure,\u201d Malcolm answered her.<\/p>\n \u201cOlivia Wyatt,\u201d Olivia added in a cool tone to the man sitting next to her. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm smiled. \u201cStraight to the point. Charles was right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout what?\u201d Olivia asked with a cocked head.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said I\u2019d like you.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia pursed her lips and studied him for several seconds. \u201cAnd how do you know him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe grew up together. Rather to the disappointment of his father I might add,\u201d Malcolm said in a way that Jack instantly recognized. This was an old time rascal dressed up in a nice suit. \u201cAnd he told me to look out for you when you arrived. Charles. Not the father. Which was a very good thing, because you seem to have developed some enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey will regret that,\u201d Olivia said.<\/p>\n \u201cOf that I have no doubt,\u201d Malcolm answered with a nod. \u201cBut in the meantime, we have some strategizing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo disrespect,\u201d Jack started with a wave of his hand, \u201cbut why should we trust you? You haven\u2019t even given me the secret handshake yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJack!\u201d Julie reprimanded.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is<\/em> no secret handshake,\u201d Malcolm returned with a wink. \u201cThough that was a nice try.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips and nodded. The green outline surrounding Malcolm\u2019s body pulsed twice on his contacts to remind Jack that Betty had already vetted Malcolm. Still, one could never be too careful.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe I didn\u2019t tell Charles about it,\u201d Jack said and held his hand out.<\/p>\n Malcolm looked at the hand and then back up to Jack\u2019s eyes. Then he stuck his hand out and placed it in Jack\u2019s.<\/p>\n Jack squeezed. He wasn\u2019t a knuckle cruncher and never had been. But he\u2019d grown up in farming, fishing, and hunting country, where real men shook hands and meant it. He felt the citified little limp hand in his and forced himself not to grimace. Then the hand stiffened, shifted just a bit, and squeezed back. It wasn\u2019t a knuckle cruncher grip either, but Jack had felt that handshake from city boys who grew up on the wrong side of the airfields. It was a strong handshake, one that dared the other man to squeeze back if he really wanted to try anything.<\/p>\n Jack didn\u2019t. He nodded at Malcolm and released his hold on the man\u2019s hand with a smile. \u201cSo. What\u2019s our first order of business?\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm smiled. \u201cWell, for one I suggest that we go to a little place I know that has amazingly good food before you three gluttons start gnawing on the table legs.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack frowned. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not really up to another fight right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm laughed. \u201cOh, you don\u2019t need to worry about another fight right now. Trust me. Every gang on New Earth has heard about yesterday by now. Not a one of them wants to even look<\/em> at the contract that is out on your heads.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what if they send someone who knows what they\u2019re doing next?\u201d Katy asked.<\/p>\n Malcolm smiled and steepled his fingers together. \u201cWell, in that very unlikely event, I happen to know the\u2026upstanding and completely law abiding businessman who happens to\u2026protect this neighborhood and the restaurant I am thinking of. Nothing happens in his neighborhood that he is not aware of. You will be\u2026quite safe as long as you remain in this area of\u2026expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t very safe last night,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n Malcolm shrugged. \u201cThe neighborhood you were in was not under his watch last night.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack frowned. \u201cLast night? What about now?\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm smiled. \u201cThere has been some\u2026management turnover in some of the\u2026local business organizations in the last few hours. I can assure you that there will not be a repeat of last night\u2019s performance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if a certain family will like that,\u201d Jack said very carefully.<\/p>\n Malcolm chuckled. \u201cAn organization that can remain unnamed for now paid a lot of money to kill you all. And they lost a lot more than money when you failed to accommodate their wishes. Trust me. You just did more damage to their influence on Alpha Centauri than anyone has done since the first colonization ship arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they did a lot of damage to us too,\u201d Jack said with a wince.<\/p>\n Malcolm shrugged. \u201cYeah, we\u2019re not going to be admitting that. Can\u2019t let anybody think we Ageless can be taken down by random street hoods, can we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey had automatic rifles and rocket launchers. They were not random street hoods.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh Jack.\u201d Malcolm affected a wounded expression. \u201cI assure you that there is no mention at all of such heavy weapons used in the police reports. Just like there are no indications that any fictional interstellar conspiracies of ancient and powerful families were trying to take over Alpha Centauri and eliminate their rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack watched Malcolm waggle his eyebrows and then they shared a snort.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose we wouldn\u2019t want the people to worry would we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course not.\u201d Malcolm smiled at everybody in turn. \u201cAnd that is why all of us are going to make a point of going out there and showing off for the cameras. Myself, a businessman of some repute. You are of course Cowboys, famous for breaking the Chinese and Shang at a hundred worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLess than that actually,\u201d Jack corrected.<\/p>\n \u201cAllow me to wax poetic, will you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Jack said with a sigh.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I said, a hundred worlds. And the hero of Serenity, come to relax after her selfless defense of our sister world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought the official story was less flattering,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, GNN\u2019s got the story they run with.\u201d Malcolm chuckled. \u201cBut they don\u2019t have the viewership they once did. FNT thinks it smells like cover up and they got one of their head reporters on the case. I think you might remember her. She used to be a religion correspondent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFaith,\u201d Jack whispered as he remembered their first interview. She\u2019d held back from hitting him with the question her superiors had wanted her to hit him with, and he\u2019d refrained from destroying her goody-goody gumdrops reputation in return. And then GNN had dumped her for not stringing him up like a dead fish on air. \u201cShe\u2019s a good girl.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat she is,\u201d Malcolm said with a smile. \u201cAnd she came to bat for you on this. She\u2019s been drumming the Serenity story since the first reports came in. And you should see the tear she\u2019s been on since she found out you were involved in last night\u2019s shoot out. She\u2019s throwing around words like \u2018conspiracy,\u2019 and the fact that Cowboys got targeted too\u2026well\u2026let\u2019s just say you are the number one trending news story on New Earth this morning. Everybody<\/em> wants to talk to you, and no one<\/em> will dare try to hurt any of you for the foreseeable future for fear of proving the conspiracy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo all we need to do to avoid getting killed is\u2026dodge the first attempt?\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm gave a harsh laugh. \u201cPretty much. Life sucks sometimes, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell me about it.\u201d Jack shook his head. \u201cSo which story do we go with? Random street hoods or conspiracy?\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm chuckled and his smile could have melted butter. \u201cNeither. We don\u2019t know. And it would be presumptive of us to say anything before the investigation is completed.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack laughed. \u201cThat\u2019s a good one. I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt has the advantage of being mostly<\/em> true,\u201d Malcolm said with a wink.<\/p>\n \u201cFine,\u201d Jack said and brought a hand up to cover his mouth. The yawn came almost without warning, powerful enough it brought tears to his eyes and felt like it would snap his head off at the jaw bone. And that was when he realized he was starting to slow down again. His body had all the food it needed and now it demanded more healing sleep. \u201cI think I need to take a rain check on that restaurant though. My body just made me another appointment with a bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Malcolm frowned and looked back and forth between the three Cowboys. Then he shrugged and waved towards the bedrooms. \u201cFine. You\u2019d never fool them right now anyways. But we need to get out and on this before the newsies realize you\u2019ve been down for too long. And you need<\/em> to make a statement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d Jack let out a long breath and stood up carefully. He really didn\u2019t want to pull another muscle. \u201cThis getting shot business is no kind of fun, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell me about it,\u201d Katy chimed in with a groan as she came to her feet as well.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we avoid it in the future please?\u201d Ken asked with a groan.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll keep that in mind,\u201d Jack said and they walked back towards the bedrooms. Dressing rooms. Whatever they were. Jack really didn\u2019t care. They had a bed and a bathroom. That was really all he needed. And he needed the bed badly enough that he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was a little con artist as a kid, always looking for ways to fool adults and impress the pretty girls with my exploits. It was all harmless fun back then. It got a lot more serious during The War.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2307-angel-war-earc","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-medron-pryde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4877,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions\/4877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}