GuiltyPleasures wrote:"Why do you do that, Jordan? You're so mean."

"No, I'm a realist, whatever that means."

And she's four?! I like that little gal!

She's a little spit fire, that's for sure. No where close to timid. Madison is going to be the balance between Jacob and Jordan because she'll have no problem smacking them upside the back of the head. Malachai's just trying to be the peacemaker but Madison is just plain mean, and she's a total Daddy's girl, so David doesn't get on to her. All she has to do is bat those pretty hazel brown eyes and him and he turns to butter.

Chapter 123

David was sitting in the living room, his new babies surrounding in him their bassinets, playing or sleeping. He was performing his second favorite pastime, reading the newspaper. Normally, he just skipped the cover story because he knew that the damn thing was ninety percent lies. But today's headline just caught his eye. The headline read "UTOPIAN PRESIDENT DEAD!!!" His eyes grew wide, but he continued reading. "... Sources say that the body of Utopian President Harold J. Gentry was found in the charred disaster that WAS known at one time as the White House. No one knows exactly how the Utopian President passed, whether by the gun shot wound in his head or the explosion, but the bullet work look very similar to that of one Gunnery Sergeant Matthew J. Cartwright, who escaped from the hold facility in Denver about a year and a half ago and was reported dead, killed while he was running to an unknown location..." David did a double take, then jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, he pointed at the headline as she shoved the paper in Brie's face. "Look at that shit!" he said.

She scanned the page and her eyes almost popped out of her head. "Matt killed the Utopian President?" she damn near shouted.

The babies started fussing. "Now you're done it", David laughed and they headed into the living room. James as still asleep, Meagan was still asleep, Makayla wanted her binky, and Jeremiah was wet and wanted a bottle.

They tended to the kids when Jacob came in. "Mama, Daddy, is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not at the moment son", Brie said. "Your Daddy and I have it under control."

"I told you, Jacob", Jordan called from their bedroom.

"Shut up, Jordan!" Jacob retorted.

"Both of you stop it now", David said sternly. "Behave yourselves or you're both going to be grounded."

"Like we go anywhere", Jordan said as she walked in the room.

David laid Jeremiah down in his bassinet again. "Jordan Hanna Draiman, pop off at me ONE MORE time, and that DS you love so much is mine for a month."

Her eyes grew wide. "Not my DS, Daddy."

"You better believe it, young lady. Now, go to your room. That's not up for debate, Jordan." He looked at Jacob. "You too, Jacob."

Madison skipped into the room, sticking her tongue out at Jordan and Jacob as they walked past. "Morning, Mama. Morning, Daddy." She bounced on the balls of her feet with a huge smile on her face.

"Good Morning,. Madison Jade. What do you want?" David asked.

"I wanna see that babies."

"Not right now, sweetie. They're sleeping", Brie told their fourth child.

"I don't care." She looked at her father and batted her eyelashes.

"Brie, what harm will it do?" he asked his wife.

"I said no, David, and I except you to stick by that or what good is telling her no?"

David took a deep breath and looked at Madison. "Your Mama said no. Maybe later."

"But, Daddy..."

He closed his eyes. "Go, Madison."

After Madison left the room, Brie looked at her husband. "You need to become more proof against those puppy dog eyes from little Miss Maddie like you are against them from Jordan. I don't know what it is about Maddie but you just can't seem to tell her no."

"Because she looks so much like you and I can't tell you no for shit, either", David said with a laugh.

"You're not supposed to tell me no, I'm your wife. Madison, however, is your daughter. You have to learn how to tell her no."

David a softie? whoa whats the world comin to? hahhaah love this shit!

Every man has that one thing that they just can't say no to. David's is his Maddie Jade because she looks JUST like her mama.

Chapter 124

"Good Afternoon, Commandant", David said into his phone after he finished his lunch. "What can I do for you today?"

"I'm sure you're seen the newspaper for the day", The Commandant said.

"Yes, I have. Is it true?"

"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

"Even the part about Matt being the one that pulled the trigger?"

"Even that part. I'm sure you're going to say something about it in your monologue next month."

"Once we start seeing the effect that it's had on the Utopian movement, I'll be more than happy to mention something in my monologue."

"Is there a new album in the works?"

"It's slowly coming along. Have quads in the house has kinda taken precedence over a new album. That, and the fact the the studio equipment here blows serious balls."

"I'll have some of our tech guys come over and..."

"It's not that the equipment is malfunctioning, it's that the equipment is old and doesn't work. We can't lay down tracks and mix albums and shit like that with equipment that doesn't work."

"I see. I'll have to speak to the Director and see if we have the budget to replace that for you."

"Thank you, Commandant, and please keep me updated on the condition of the Utopian movement."

"I have so far, haven't I?"

David laughed. "That you have, Commandant."

"We've got a pretty good relationship here, I think. I give you the information, you feed it to the people."

"We're considering doing another rally in memory of Natalie's parents."

"As long as it's not at the safe house."

"Brie's looking for a good location in the area."

"Good, do you guys have a good amount of firearms and ammunition there?"

"As Brie's been saying the past few weeks, 'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition'."

"She sounds like my wife."

"Apparently, Marine Corps. siblings can sound like Marine Corps. wives."

"Oorah, Draiman."

so glad the commandant is thorough enough to keep David updated on new info...so awesome!

Chapter 125

"I think I found a good location for the rally you wanted to do, baby", Brie said as she came into the kitchen. She laid a print out from the Tahlequah Chamber of Commerce on the table in front of him.

"Lake Tenkiller?"

"Yeah, it a good scenic location. There are like eight different camp grounds that we could do this at and they're fucking huge."

"How big is the lake itself?"

"12,650 acres."

"Whoa, that's big."

"Yeah. Wanna do a summer thing?"

"Let me talk to the guy about it. We'll even do some of the stuff we wanted to do for that last one and didn't in the interest of time."

"Oh, Tim wants to come speak again. He said he had a blast listening to you guys play, then going on after you. You got them fired up for him."

David smiled. "It'd be nice to have him back. Hopefully no one tries anything stupid this time. I really don't want to move safe houses again."

"I want one that's split level, damn it. This single level shit just isn't cutting it."

"You miss running up and down the stair every time the kids needed something?"

"It kept my calves strong and toned."

David pulled Brie into his lap. "Really?"

"What is going on in that bald head of yours?"

He stood up with her in his arms. "Why don't we go to the bedroom and you can find out?"

She laid a hand softly against the side of his face and brushed her lips against his. "Have I ever told you no?"

"Not that I can remember, but I'm sure you've done it before."

She playfully smacked his shoulder. "No, no, you can't. Just leave me be", she laughed. Then she whispered, "Take me to the bedroom and ravage me", in his ear.

He moved with the quickness to the bedroom that he shared with his wife and kicked the door shut behind him. He laid her on the bed, settling on top of her, and said, "God, I love you." He didn't give her a chance to respond, he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss.

She moved against him as she tugged at his shirt. Once it was free of his body, her hands roamed the plains of his stomach and chest. Damn, he'd done a great job maintaining the six pack she'd helped him get.

Once they had removed each others clothes, he did exactly hat she'd asked him to do. He ravaged her.

--------------

They laid in bed, holding each other. "I love you, Brie", David said.

She smiled, her fingers playing along the hairs of his arm. "I love you too, David. Now that I've got you thoroughly worn out, what do you say to the rally at Lake Tenkiller?"

He chuckled. "Let me talk to the guys about it first. I'm sure there won't be a problem with it, but they have to agree with me. I'm not the only member of the band, you know."

"What about Tim coming back to speak?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me. He was a great speaker and the crowd really responded to him. I'm sure we'd be glad to have him back. Again, let me talk to the guys."

"No, damn it, I want a decision now!" she said playfully.

"Oh, really?" he said, pinning her down and rolling on top of her.

"Oh, on", she said unexcited. "He's going to do something to make me agree to wait." She laughed. "Ok, fine. I'll let you talk to the guys."

"That's what I thought, but I'm still not getting off of you."

"Oh really?" She rolled and put him on his back. "I think not."

--------------

Finally, David and Brie got out of bed when the quads started fussing over the baby monitor. They went and tended to the babies and then went out to the kitchen with everyone else. "What have you two been doing?" Mike asked.

"What do you think, Mikey?" Brie asked him in return.

"She's been convincing me to have that rally we've been thinking about at a place called Lake Tenkiller."

"And what did you decide?" John asked.

"That I needed to talk to you guys first."

"He was adamant about it. No matter what I did, he still insisted that he should talk to you guys", said Brie.

"Thoughtful of him", Dan said with a smile.

"Hey, I tried. I know you guys trust my judgment, so tell him that Lake Tenkiller is a good idea."

"Give us the specs and then we'll decide."

Brie gave them the same spiel that she gave David about the location she found. The acreage, everything that she found. "So, what do you think?"

"It's a good location, and we've got no place better other than here at the house", John said.

"And the Commandant specifically asked that we NOT hold it here", David said.

"Then I guess it's settled", Dan said, "Lake Tenkiller it is."

cool

Chapter 126

"Field trip, field trip, we're going on a field trip", Malachai and Maya said as they bounced on the couch in the living room.

Brie brought two of the quads into the room in their car seats with David right behind her with the other two. "'Chai, Maya, it's not that big a deal. It's just a trip to scout a location", she said as she set the two car seats she hand in hand on the floor.

"Don't forget to mention the fact that they're getting to go swimming in the lake while we're there", Dan said as he and Nicole walked into the room.

"Yeah, that too. So, Malachai, you might want to go put on your swimming trunks", Brie told her son. "And make sure that your brother and sisters are putting their swim suits are too."

"Mama, I'd feel better if you checked on Jordan and Maddie. I don't feel right about it", Malachai said as he hopped off of the couch.

"No problem, son." Brie turned to David. "Will you be ok with the quads until I get back?"

"They're sleeping for now. I should be fine, but if you hear maniacal laughter while you're helping the girls get ready, then get your ass back in here." She laughed and gave him a kiss then went to get the girls ready for the day at the lake.

--------------

David and Brie got their huge family loaded into the huge van that had been sent for them. That was a feat all on it's own. Malachai was STILL the only one that wasn't in a booster seat or car seat of some sort. But, once the car seats were all arranged and settled in, David got in the driver's seat and followed the directions that Brie read out to him as they drove. Finally, they reached Lake Tenkiller. They all pulled up right before the boat ramp. Thankfully, this area of the lake was vacant. Nothing like trying to spend some time with your family at the lake or beach and being recognized to RUIN your day.

They all unloaded their respective vehicles. They decided to have a cook out while at the lake, but first, while the women all tended to the children, then men scouted the location, looking for the best place for them hold the rally. About two miles from where they had left their families, there was a decent sized clearing. It was big enough for a stage and several thousand people. They got out of Mike's truck and looked at it. "Nice", Mike said. "Who knew Oklahoma had such a big natural concert hall near a lake?"

"How would we set this up?" David asked.

"Put the stage at the far end of the clinic over there", John pointed. "We can have the concession vendors set up along the sides here, and still have an hell of a lot of room for the crowd."

"David, did Brie mention anything to you about speakers for this?" Dan asked.

"She mentioned that Tim kid wants to come out again and speak. He thought it was cool as hell to speak following us the last time and thinks it would be cool as hell to do it again."

"Then have her ask him back", Mike said, "but this time, he goes on before us."

"You just have to be the show stopper, huh, Mikey?" David laughed.

"Damn straight."

--------------

The rest of the day was relaxing for all of them. The kids all splashed and played, including the quads, who were now almost a year old. After about six hours out, it was finally time to go home. None of the kids wanted to leave because they rarely got out, but they'd heard word that the Utopians were getting desperate and looking to take the heads of anyone they suspected was involved with the death of their President.

It took about an hour but they were finally home. Most of the Draiman children were asleep by the time their Dad pulled into the driveway. Malachai helped by carrying Maddie in for his parents, then helped with the twins the best he could. When the young ones were all safe in their beds, Malachai wished his parents good night and headed to bed.

"He's such a good kids", David said as he climbed in bed next to Brie.

"Who? Malachai?" she asked.

"Yeah. He's been really helpful the past few years. He's matured amazingly."

"David, he was five when you met him, almost six. He's bound to have matured over the years we've been in hiding."

"I know, but he's so respectful. He addresses me as 'sir'."

"I know, and he addresses me as 'ma am', baby. He's grown up. And he has a really good role model, four in fact."

"You're not talking about me and the guys, are you?"

"Yeah, I am. Now, how about we get some sleep because the girls and I have to get to work on organizing a rally by the end of the summer."

awesome ! a family day out!

The first one in ages! I know. It's crazy!

Chapter 127

"Kristen, is there any word on the food donations?" Brie asked one morning after breakfast. The guys were downstairs rehearsing and the children who were old enough for school were in their lessons. This left the women to organize the rally at Lake Tenkiller.

"Yeah, I've got several mom and pop shops all over the COUNTY wanting to cook for this." Kristen said with a smile.

"That's great news. Did you give them the date?"

"The date is Aug. 16, right?"

"Right."

"That's the date I gave them."

"Great. Tina, what is the stage looking like?"

"It's coming along great. We're about a third of the way through the construction and it's looking amazing. I have a contact in the crew that says they're wanting to burn The Face in to some of the panels", Tina said.

"THAT is cool as hell. Nicole, what's the news on speakers?"

"Tim Schmitt is gathering a BUNCH of his friends to com and speak for this saying that the opportunity to lead up to Disturbed is as big an honor as following them", Nicole said as she beamed.

"Whoa. Local business wanting to donate food, the construction crew is a third of the way finished and talking about wood burning the Face into the paneling, and the key note speaker is dragging a bunch of his speaker friends along for this. I never cease to be amazed by all this stuff."

"How are things going on your end of this, Brie?" Tina asked.

"It's kinda hard to nail timing down if I don't know EXACTLY how many people are going to be speaking. All in know is that Tim is before the band and that's it. Nicole, next time you talk to Tim, ask him how many of his friends are wanting to come speak and how long they're going to need. I'll also need names of the speakers. Can you do that?"

"Sure thing, Brie. Not a problem at all", Nicole said with a nod.

"Great." Brie smiled and took a sip of her herbal tea. "I love it when a plan comes together."

--------------

"What the hell are we going to play for this thing?" Dan asked.

Mike sat on the stool behind his drum kit and twirled his sticks. "I want to play something that has some bad ass drumming in to."

"That's everything we've ever done, Mike", John said.

David remained silent as he took a drink of his water. He just stared at the blank dry erase board in front of him as he took a drink of his water, trying to think. Then it hit him. "Why don't we do songs that were never really released on albums?"

"Like what?" Dan asked.

"'Hell', 'Two Worlds', 'Monster', 'Run'."

"Well, we should have a few things that we HAVE released on albums too", John said.

"Of course we should", David said. "As for that, we need to do things that we DIDN'T do in the last one."

"Most of the songs we did for that were the political things we did on Believe and Ten Thousand Fists. So, how about we focus on Indestructible and The Sickness with a little Asylum in there?" Dan said.

"I definitely want to do 'Another Way to Die', for this one. We were going to do it last time, but never got to it", Mike said.

David stood and went to the white board. "Ok", he said, "Let's write this shit out then." He grabbed a marker off the tray in front of the board. "So, and this is in no particular order, we have 'Another Way to Die', 'Monster', 'Hell', 'Run', 'Two Worlds'. Do we wanna do 'Parasite'?"

"Yeah, let's go for it", John said.

"Alright", David said as he wrote it up on the board. "At least three more. Any suggestions?"

"How about we mix shit up and throw a ballad at them?" Mike said.

"Which on did you have in mind, Mikey?" David asked.

"'Overburdened'."

David, Dan, and John looked Mike almost in shock. "You really know how to throw a monkey wrench in shit, huh?" David said.

"What? I want to play 'Overburdened'. I love that fucking song."

"Danny does have a kick ass solo in it", John said.

David let out a sigh. "What do you say, Danny?"

Dan thought about it for a moment. "Sure, why not?"

David wrote the song on the board. "Alright, 'Overburdened' is on the list. Two more."

"How about 'Fear'?" Dan said.

"Whoa, talk about old school. Why not?" David wrote the song on the board. "I want to do some Asylum stuff on stage too, guys. Maybe 'The Infection' or 'The Animal'."

"Put them both on there, David. Those are good songs. And add 'The Night' to the list too. I REALLY want to play that riff that I drove John crazy with", Dan said.

"And you still drive me crazy with it quite frequently, Danny", John joked.

"What can I say? I LOVE that riff!"

"David, add 'Inside the Fire' to that list too.", Mike said. "I want to tear that song up."

David laughed. "'Inside the Fire' it is. I want to open with that."

"We'll we can fight about order later", John said. "Let's just get the songs PICKED first."

"Well, do we want to make it a fifteen song set?" David asked. "Because we're over ten."

"How many until fifteen?" Dan asked.

"Three more."

Dan scratched his head. "Ok, let's really do this. Tell me to shut up if you don't like where I'm going, but here's what I think should round off that list: 'Deceiver', 'Haunted', and 'God of the Mind'. What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good", Mike said.

"I like it", said John.

"So be it, " David said and wrote the last three songs on the board. "I think we've got a good list here, so why don't we call it a day for today, and then come back down here tomorrow and fight like dogs over which song is going where in the set?"

"Sounds good, brother", Dan said.

awesome!

Chapter 128

A mass of uniforms surrounded a table at the War Headquarters, formerly known as the Pentagon. The satellite images on the table were NOT pretty. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PICTURE?" screamed the highest ranking uniform at the table. The picture in question was taken on the same day, at the EXACT time that the President was murdered.

"Major, we're trying to find..." a Butter bar Lieutenant began.

"I don't give a damn, Lieutenant. I want to know what's wrong with this picture. Why is it that we can catch the demo team going in but NOT THE FUCKING SNIPER?!"

"The man is a ghost, Major. He made sure that he was out of range of our satellite so that he wouldn't be seen, but the bullet work looks like that of Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Cartwright."

"He's dead, Lieutenant and has been for a year and a half now. Try again."

"Like I said before, sir, he's a ghost."

"THEN FIND THIS GHOST AND FRY HIS ASS!!!"

--------------

"Good morning, David", The Commandant said when David answered the door one morning. He was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when he opened the door. His response was nothing but a grunt.

"You'll have to forgive him, Commandant, he hasn't had his coffee yet", Brie said from the couch. She was holding one of the new babies, though the baby wasn't really NEW anymore. The child had to be about a year old by that point. It looked like a little girl with curly brown hair and green eyes.

"It's not a problem, Mrs. Draiman. I've had those days."

She set the child down in the floor and picked up another one. This one was a little boy, but the features were the same. Brown curls but with brown eyes. "Admiring my children, Commandant Henchly?"

"I can't help but notice that ALL Of your children have brown curls."

"That's because David and I both have brown curls naturally."

"But, David is bald."

"He keeps he head shaved. I straighten my hair."

The Commandant nodded. "I understand. but, I'm not here to look at your kids, though they are all very beautiful children. I'm actually here on business."

"You'll have to wait until David wakes up some more to talk business with him."

"How many cups of coffee does that usually take?"

"Depends on his mood when he wakes up. Today, I'd said about three or four."

All the Commandant could do was shake his head and laugh.

--------------

"We've received Intel that the Utopian are scrambling even worse than they were before Gentry died", the Commandant said.

"What do you mean by scrambling?" David asked.

"They're too busy chasing a ghost to pay attention to the fact that we're pummeling them from every side. The Major in Charge is yelling at his underlings to find the ghost sniper that took out my former friend and OCS classmate."

"And they'll never find him."

"Never. I've got to give it to Cartwright, he's very careful."

"That's my big brother", Brie said as she walked through the kitchen, grabbing a couple jars of baby food and spoons.

David grabbed his wife's hand as she left the room. "Could you top off my coffee before you walk out to feed the kids?" She grabbed his coffee cup, refilled it, then set it on the bar in front of him. He kissed her on the cheek, whispering thank you in her ear, then turned his attention back to the Commandant. "Ok, so, what does all this shit have to do with me or the band?" he asked then sipped his coffee.

"Well, you guys are getting ready to put on a concert/ rally, right?"

"What about it, Commandant? Please stop beating around the bush. I'm not awake enough for this."

"Use your music as a weapon. Choose songs that will strike fear into the hearts of the Utopians."

"We ALWAYS use our music as a weapon. Hell, we started the Music as a Weapon Tour back in 2000. As for the set list, it's not finalized. We're finding that there are some songs better suited for the rally than the ones we originally chose."

"Like what?"

"Not telling. Trade secret."

"Fair enough. I'll be attending this rally, so impress me."

"We're not trying to impress you, Commandant. We're trying to impress our families and our fans."

--------------

"I've spent a lifetime planning out your destruction, you're never gonna win this another day, a lonely lifetime planning out your destruction with no other function, you really don't know how long I've waited for your destruction, I'm telling you, you just can't get away, a whole lifetime planning out your destruction, with no other function, you really don't know,

Welcome to the end,

Run and hide again, I wanna wait this time, don't wonder why you can't clear this final sin, you know the story was over before it fucking began."

Going into rehearsal that day, David wasn't happy. He tried to use the music to vent his anger, but it just wasn't helping. He actually threw the mic stand because he was so angry. "David, what's going on, brother?" John asked.

"I don't want to talk about it", he said.

"Well, why don't you go for a walk real fast", Dan suggested.

David took a deep breath. "You know what, I think we need to call a day, or take a couple of hours, or something.

"That's fine, brother", Mike said. "While we're taking a break why don't you hit the punching bag so that you're not ruining our already shitty equipment."

David didn't let Mike get the whole sentence out before he was up the stairs and heading for his bedroom to do one of two things: change his clothes to hit the weight room, or convince his wife to help him "vent"

Chapter 129

David stormed into the room, slamming the door behind him. Brie was in the shower. "Baby, is that you?" she called. He didn't respond. He just went into the bathroom, pulling his clothes off as he walked. He saw through the glass door that her back was to the water so he climbed in behind her, slid his arms around her waist and proceeded to kiss her on the neck. Her heart beat sped and her breathing became rapid as she tilted her head to give him better access.

His teeth grazed her neck, sending an INSTANT signal to her as to what mood he was in. She did her best to let him take the lead, though every muscle in her body screamed at her to take control of the situation. "He needs to get whatever's wrong off of his mind", she reasoned with herself.

Suddenly, she was spun around facing him, her back against the tile wall of the shower. Her arms went to clinging to his neck. He didn't speak but his actions spoke volumes. "Let me have what I want. Let me have what I need", is what she heard him saying in her mind, and that's what she did.

He gripped her thighs and lifted her up to where he had better access. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he moved his his to enter her.

--------------

He leaned heavily against the wall, panting, as she held him. "Thank you", he said.

She smiled and kissed the top of his head. "What for?"

"For letting me just come in here and fuck you like that", he chuckled.

She laughed. "I'm your wife, David. When you need me, I'm here for you, no matter how you need me or what for. If you need to come in here and have boarder line violent sex, then so be it."

"But I didn't ask."

"You didn't have to, baby. I could feel what you wanted radiating off of you from the moment you walked in the room."

--------------

David came out of his room with a huge smile on his face. "Did you get some pussy, David?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I did. Problem?"

"No, just glad to see you smiling that cheesy smile every man gets after he's gotten laid a few times."

"I'll put it this way, Mikey, how many times a month do you take three hour showers?"

Ok, ladies, I've hit a snag. I need some good ideas to make this work. Please, I'm begging!

Shit, David could come into my shower and do that to me anytime LOL!

Are you needing help with what comes next, or what? I know there's the rally coming up, and the Utopians are looking for a ghost.

The Utopians need a major fail, I think. Something that the resistance can use against them. Something that will allow David to vent his anger.

Whatever you come up with, whether it's based on my suggestions or not, will be great... When I get stuck in my story, I play the entire Sickness album on my Blackberry and go for a walk. And Run is Julia's theme song, BTW...

yay for run being the theme...(blushes for the idea) lol i love it!

Thanks again, ladies!

Stef, what do you mean by an major fail? I like that idea, but I need a little more clarification. Any suggestions as to what that fail could be? The rally will be written here in the next couple of days. It's not going to be very long, much like the last one wasn't very long. I'll be listening to nothing but Disturbed on my mp3 player when I head back to school, so the inspiration won't be that hard to access.

Oh, and David's bad mood wasn't long term. He was a touch pissed at the Commandant, and David's going to let him know that VERY soon.

I was thinking about that, and I thought that if they think Matt is a ghost, then they can't catch him, can they? Even if they're looking right at him. Perhaps Matt can turn that into a further advantage by stating he was trained by the best, not letting on that it's really himself he's speaking of. If you get training from someone, chances are you're going mimic that person's style, kind of like how Julia can do the spine splitting thing that people think that only Morbus can do.

Does that clear it up some? It's just an idea. If you can use it and run with it, great. If something else pops into your head, go for it.

No, I really like that idea. I'll see what I can come up with.

Chapter 130

"Master Sergeant, I have a job for you", the Commandant said as soon as his appointment walked into his office.

"What is that, sir?"

"The Utopians are under the impression that they're chasing a ghost. Well, I wanna give them a ghost to chase. Well, several in fact. I want you to start a training program to create the ELITE of the ELITE in spiers. You're the best the Corps. has to offer. Let's show the Utopians who's REALLY boss when it comes to snipers."

"Aye, aye, sir. Did you have a list of canidates in mind for the training, sir?"

The Commandant slid a sheet of paper toward the Master Sergeant without even looking at him. "These are the first men to receive the training. I want them to be albe to hit a target from a minimum of 120yrd. like you did with former President Gentry. A max of 500 unless you can do further."

"Sir, I can hit a target from 1500 yrs. I've put in that kind of training."

"Good, Master Sergeant. If you succeed with this first class, those rifles will become a diamond and you'll be known as First Sergeant. Understood?"

"Aye, sir."

"Commence training at 0430 tomorrow morning. The men have already been informed that they will be receiving this special training. Dismissed." The Master Sergeant did and about face and left the room to work on the training regiment that he was going to have to teach starting the next morning at 0430. That meant another sleepless night, but he was used to those. Recon wasn't a job for the faint of heart, especially Force Recon; being a sniper.

--------------

David's phone rang a 6:30 in the morning. He growled and turned over to grab it off of his bed side table. "Who the hell is calling me at 6:30 in the God damn morning?" he asked when he answered the phone.

"Well, good morning to you too, David", the Commandant said.

"Commandant, don't you have anything better to do with your time rather than call me and wake me from a dead fucking sleep?"

"I wanted to give you the most recent plans of the Resistance."

"can't it wait until later in the morning or possible this afternoon?"

"It could. I'm sorry to wake you."

"Ok, you and me, we're going to have to set some ground rules here. First, don't call me before 9:30 in the morning. Second, don't show up here until after 10:00 in the morning and please at least have the decency to call the day BEFORE if you plan on making an early visit so that I'm actually awake when you bang in the door. Ok?"

"Absolutely, David. Again, I'm very sorry to have woke you. I'm just VERY excited about where the Resistance is going with its efforts to end this war."

"Well, Commandant, now that you have my UNDIVIDED attention, why don't you go on and tell me what has your boxers in a bunch."

"We're giving the Utopians their ghost. I have your brother in law training a new breed of sniper as we speak. I had him start an hour ago. Remember, we're an hour behind you here in Colorado."

"Cool, so you're giving the Utopians a bunch of ghosts to chase, thinking that they MIGHT catch the man responsible for killing your old school mate. Whooptiedo. That was NOT worth waking me up at 6:30 in the morning, Commandant."

"Will I need to call you back in a couple of hours to give you the information again?"

"Probably, just so the guys can hear it for themselves."

"Not a problem, David. I'll call you back at 11:00. How does that sound?"

"Like a good fucking idea to me, Commandant. Until 11:00." David hung up and dropped his phone in the floor."

Oooooh, girl...I love it... a bunch of ghosts to chase!

Chapter 131

"Let get to rehearsal, boys", Dan said after breakfast.

"Nope, we're waiting on a phone call", David said as he sipped his coffee. He couldn't explain it but Brie always made the BEST coffee, good and strong. Some mornings he eveh had to put extra cream and sugar in it to make it taste almost normal. Today, he just took it black.

"From who?" Dan asked.

"Commandant Henchly. He woke me up at 6:30 in the fucking morning just to give me some stupid Resistance news that I can't even remember."

"Are you kidding? 6:30 in the morning?" John asked.

"No, ask my wife. I was NOT a happy man when we got up to get Malachai and the twins ready for their lessons." He picked his coffee cup up. "This is my SIXTH cup this morning. Usually, Brie doesn't let me drink that much coffee because I become a major DICK with that much caffine in my system. Today, I need to be a major DICK. But, she's cutting me off since I've already emptied one pot."

"Too much caffine is not good for you or your blood pressure, baby", Brie said as she cracked open a Mountain Dew.

"Look who's talking?" he laughed.

"Who just had to be put on blood pressure meds, David? It sure wasn't me?"

"And the fucked up thing is... I DON'T EAT PORK! WHAT THE FUCK?!" He laughed as he brought the cup to his mouth and took another drink of his coffee.

"You do know that coffee also stains your teeth, right?" she said teasingly.

"Do I care?"

"Haven't since I met you. I guess it's one of your charms." She smiled and winked at him.

"Just one?"

"Yeah, just one of the MANY that made me fall in love with you."

---------------

"Hello Commandant", David said as he answered his phone.

"Good morning, David. I trust you're in a better mood?"

"MUCH. I've had six cups of coffee this morning, so I'm a bit WIRED, but hey, it's all good. Now, what was it that you woke me up at 6:30 to tell me?"

"Are the other memebers of the band with you?"

"As are our wives. Spill it, Commandant. We don't have all fucking day."

"I called this morning to let you guys know that the Utopians are going to get their ghost. Matthew is training the ELITE of the ELITE sniper force. This way, we can hit more targets at once and have more important bulidings go up in smoke."

"So there are more demolition teams being trained as well?", Dan asked.

"Yes, sir. The demo team attached to Matthew is training more people. We're going to bring the Resistance down one way or another. You can mark me on that. You fellas need to get out on the road again and that means that this war needs to end and end quick."

"Well, thanks for the consideration, Commandant, but how about you end the war because there are men dying for the cause of liberty and freedom of speech and that's what you've been fighting for the entire time?" Mike asked.

"You almost sounded like David there, Mike. Been listening to him a lot lately?"

"No, I just agree with him on a lot of things."

"Very well, but you guys are the biggest advocates of the cause of liberty and freedom of speech, so getting you out of seclusion and back on the road will be a credit to the cause."

"If you say so, Commandant", John said. "We need to get to rehearsal."

GuiltyPleasures wrote:Oooooh, girl...I love it... a bunch of ghosts to chase!

I know. It's great, huh?