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                                 MARINER II
 
                        by Jason A. Miller  (C) 1998
 
               Chapter 7:  Everybody Wants To Rule The World


	The party was in full swing now.  The guests of honor, Callie and 
Jimmy sat at a small table, talking quietly but happily.  Sandy was 
singing "Unbelievable", swinging her head enthusiastically, while Owen 
bopped along behind her from the safety of his keyboard.  Couples were 
finally starting to dance.
	Callie was doodling on a cocktail napkin, writing boys' and girls' 
names in two separate columns, and drawing lines between them as she and 
Jimmy tried to figure out who was dating who this evening.  "All right," 
she said, pen held between her teeth.  "There's me and you, that's one.  
Glory and J.T. would be two.  Nancy set herself up with Neil --"
	"Yeah, of all the things.  Why *Neil*?  It's not like he'd even 
acknowledge her."  Jimmy leaned back in his chair, sipping on a fruity 
concoction provided by Jazz.
	She lowered her voice and did her favorite Hal Holbrook 
impersonation.  "Follow the money!"  They both laughed.
	"Sandy and Owen are supposed to be together tonight.  Heaven knows 
what Nancy was thinking," Callie muttered.
	"Not exactly heaven there, dear!"
	Callie raised an eyebrow.
	"Who else do we have?" asked Jimmy.
	"Well, there's Saja.  Have you heard who they set him up with?"
	"I dunno... Sandy?"
	"Not zo fast, Meezter Bond," she said, waggling her eyebrows 
furiously.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"So, you're the Doctor!  I've heard quite a bit about you.  I must 
say, this is a tremendous honor."
	The Doctor looked up from where he was sitting.  A pleasant-faced 
young fellow in a black suit looked back at him.  Older than the rest of 
this crowd -- certainly long past his teenage years -- but he was standing 
with Jazz, so he'd most likely be trustworthy.  The Doctor let his guard 
down.
	"Oh, I assure you, none of it's true.  It's all wretched 
propaganda, you know," he answered.
	Barek looked at Jazz, and then across the room, at where Jimmy sat.  
"One of the pitfalls in living in a small town like this.  Everyone knows 
everyone business.  This, Doctor, is where the `in crowd' go to check each 
other out."
	"I get the distinct impression," said the Doctor, and now he was 
amused, "that you don't belong here."
	"That would make us the same."
	"Indeed, indeed," said the Doctor airily.  "Have a seat, please!"
	Barek and Jazz sat down.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Chris and Roz sat far in the back of the room, as far from everyone 
else as they could get.  A large crowd clustered around the front doors, 
but they couldn't tell what, or who, caused the commotion.
	"This is such nonsense," said Roz.  "We've been here nearly a week, 
but there's been no sign of these rogue agents since the day we arrived."
	"Well.  At least there's a party," answered her junior partner 
through a mouthful of hamburger.
	"Exactly.  I'm almost hoping that our troublemakers pop their heads 
in tonight, and get the ball rolling early."
	Chris looked at his watch.  "Within a couple of days.  The Doctor 
promised."
	Roz grumbled.
	"Well.  *I'm* gonna go enjoy myself.  You sit here and eat hors 
d'ouevres or something," Chris said, as he left the table in search of a 
dance partner.  The girl on-stage was rapping, and Chris felt the sudden 
urge to "boogie down" with the natives.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"I don't understand!"
	"You never do, my dear Sydney.  You never do!"  Garrett might have 
been overseas for weeks, but he hadn't lost anything off of his attitude.  
That was the first thing Sydney noticed.  And, she thought darkly, he was 
still together with Mila.  Holding hands in public.  Pitiful!  Oh, how the 
mighty Booths had fallen.  She had to recover her wits quickly and think 
of a barb.
	"So, I see you've been kicked out of school already,"  she replied.
	"Sydney!" interjected Mila, who was, of course, wearing a pink 
dress.  "I didn't travel six times zones to hear you insult my boyfriend!"
	Wow.  Even Mila sounded different, and they all knew it.
	"`Crossed six time zones'?" Sydney repeated.  "My dear, you're
turning into the Countess!"
	That broke the ice, and the two girls laughed and hugged.
	Garrett stepped back a pace, and scowled.  So, Sydney realized.  
Maybe she still had some leverage against these two.
	But what were they *doing* here?

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Saja sat by himself, meditating cross-legged on a table top.  A 
club waiter tried to place food on the table, but was frightened away when 
he saw that Saja wasn't moving.
	Saja's "date" was standing by the door, ogling Garrett or 
something.  It wasn't that Saja didn't like Sydney -- they'd always been 
reasonably good friends, and she always made it a point to dance with him 
at Swans Crossing parties.  It was just that *Sandy* was supposed to be 
his date tonight.  Even if the so-called "date committee" for this party 
hadn't known that.  Well, at the very least, Glory hadn't known that.
	Sandy was up on stage, singing someone else's words.  A bunch of 
other ninth graders he didn't know, crowded the dance floor.  Jimmy and 
Callie still sat alone, whispering and laughing.  Callie was scribbling 
something on a napkin.  She looked up from her work, and met Jimmy's eyes.  
They both laughed uproariously.  Saja's blood started to boil 
(metaphorically, of course).  This is not how he'd wanted things to turn 
out.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	From her vantage-point up on stage, Sandy could see Mila looking 
at Garrett, and Garrett looking at Sydney.  She couldn't stop singing to 
go greet them -- she wouldn't know  what all the fuss was until this song 
was over, or until Owen got hungry and decided to take a food break.
	She could also see Sydney looking across the room, at Saja.  Shoot!  
She couldn't believe that Nancy had paired up Saja -- *her* Saja -- with 
someone else -- her *friend*.  And even worse, Sydney's look was a longing 
one.  Sydney was treating this like a date -- a date date -- and the meeker 
Sandy wouldn't stand a chance.
	But Saja wasn't looking at Sydney, or at Garrett or Mila.  He was 
looking straight at Callie, and his meaning was unmistakable.
	Sandy's voice started to falter.  This was never going to work.
	Behind her, Owen -- *her* date for the evening -- kept on playing, 
unaware of all the by-play.  Couldn't even realize how upset she was 
feeling.  Couldn't even act like they were supposed to be together.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Edward spun Sophia around in an awkward circle.  She glared at him, 
and he mumbled an apology.  Technically, it wasn't his fault -- the music 
was terrible!  Her younger brother's friend was doing the singing.  She'd 
have to insult Bobby about that later, of course.
	She looked over to where Jimmy sat.  He seemed perfectly happy.  
He was even laughing.  What was up with that?  Not long ago, all she'd have 
to do was look at him a certain way, and he wouldn't pay attention to 
anyone else.
	"Are you ready to get out of here yet, Edward?" she asked.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"I didn't realize you had such an interest in the local politics, 
Mr. Barek," said the Doctor.
	"I met Margaret Rutledge at a fund-raising event sometime last 
month.  We spoke briefly about her campaign, about her opponent."
	"Opponent?  What a ludicrous notion," the Doctor muttered.
	"Huh?" Jazz asked.
	"Oh, I think you'll find that, underneath it all, the candidates 
all run on the same issues.  It's not as if there's not that much at stake 
here, really."
	Jazz laughed.  "Ha!  Just a little bit cynical, aren't
we, Scotland?"
	"No no no," Barek protested.  "The Doctor's one hundred percent 
right, again."
	"I'm glad to see someone agrees with me!" the Doctor laughed, and 
removed his hat, leaning forward in his chair.
	"All right, someone explain this to me like I'm a Swans High 
student, then," said Jazz, "because I now have positively no idea why you 
both are so interested in these elections.  I mean, if there's nothing at 
stake."
	The Doctor started to answer, but so did Barek, so the Doctor 
graciously deferred to the younger man.  "Well," Barek said.  "I love to 
follow the interplay, the by-play, between the candidates.  Here we have two 
upstanding socialites, movers and shakers, who were once devoted friends.  
Very devoted friends.  And now, they attack each other with words.  Lie, 
cheat, steal, all in the name of maneuvering into a position where they can 
win their little election - until the next one rolls along."
	"Their ends justifying the means," the Doctor added, darkly.
	"Geez, if that's what you guys think of the Swans Crossing mayoral 
race, I'd hate to hear what you two think about the Presidential campaign!"
	"Ah.  I'm a Bush man, myself," said Barek, rubbing at a couple of 
frayed threads on the lapel of his coat.
	"Interesting choice," said the Doctor.  "From my vantage point, 
I'd say it's the other fellow whose chances are unimpeachable."  But 
neither of them knew what he meant, since they weren't from the future, so 
he dropped the joke and settled for a mental chuckle.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Garrett and Mila walked arm in arm to the head table.
	Sydney, Glory, Nancy, and a host of others, followed in their wake.  
The Countess and the Captain were already seated, and stood up as the 
Countess' daughter approached.
	"Mila, my darling angel!" said the older woman.  "It is so 
gratifying to have you back in Swans Crossing again.  This town has grown 
on us, it has positively grown on us!"
	Unseen, Captain Walker stood up and backed away from the table.
	Garrett pulled out a chair for Mila, who sat down very carefully.  
Her entourage murmured amongst themselves, impressed.
	Sydney hovered nervously behind Garrett's chair.  "I still don't 
understand, Countess.  I thought Mila had signed a six-month contract for 
that French soap opera."
	"Robbers and swindlers!" moaned the Countess melodramatically, in 
her best drama-queen character.  "That meddlesome fool of an agent couldn't 
even get my darling angel the leading role!  It was all such a waste of 
time."
	"Mama's right," said Mila.  "My character was only on the show 
twice a week.  She wasn't even the main character -- some scheming brunette 
got all the best scenes.  It wasn't fair!"
	"And as for the time slot," the Countess moaned again, clutching 
her elbows in evident pain.  "Who expects French school children to watch 
a serial about other school students, at six in the morning, when they're 
still asleep?  Oh, the sheer incompetence!"
	"So that's why Mila's back," said Sydney.  "But I don't understand 
what Garrett's doing here."
	"Yes," added Glory.  "I'm your own sister, and I haven't heard a 
word about this yet!  Do Mom and Dad even know you're back?"
	Garrett laughed, and Mila joined him.
	It was the Countess who explained.  "I threatened to take Jack 
Goldbrick to court over this disaster, this complete disaster!  So, he 
became most accommodating.  He promised to move Mila back home, *and* give 
her her own serial, and this time, they'd film it right here in town!"
	"And," said Garrett, "Jack wants *me* to be the male lead."

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	J.T. ate, while Neil watched.  The live music had stopped for the 
time being, and one of the Club staff had placed a boom box in front of 
Sandy's microphone.  Something slow, not very danceable, played.  Sandy 
stood with the gawking crowd at the Mila and Garrett table.  Owen sat by 
himself at another table, eating.
	"I'll never understand it," J.T. said ruefully, shaking his head.  
"You know, I really thought we'd seen the last of Glory's brother."
	"Don't try to understand it, my friend," said Neil.  "Once we've 
published our formula, all this will be behind us."
	"No more Garrett?"
	"No more parties!"
	"Nothing ... except UB2B!"  They both laughed, and high fived each 
other.
	"Would you like some more canapes?" asked their
waiter, who barely sounded English, and wore a really rotten toupee, to 
boot.  J.T. snatched a handful of (cold) items off the tray, and the man 
retreated a few paces, just barely out of earshot.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	The agent, whose code-name for this mission was still Kerim (a name 
from the wrong geographical region, but from the right spy-film genre), 
watched the two screwball kids eat the food.  Was this all their research 
was?  Talking about their absurdly-named formula, while slapping their 
forearms together?  Americans...
	He shook his head, and readjusted his wig.  He had a communicator 
built into a pin on his lapel, and whispered into it.
	"Recommend we advance our plan 24 hours.  We must strike this 
weekend, while our subjects are still distracted."
	He fidgeted with something in his ear, waiting for an answer.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"Excuse me for a moment," said Barek as he stood up abruptly, 
laying a consoling hand on Jazz's shoulder, and pointing his forefinger at 
the Doctor as he moved away.  As if to say, I'll be right back.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	With a deep sigh, the Captain lowered himself back into the submarine.  
He vigorously twisted the hatch, and locked the outside world away.  His 
daughter would knock later in the evening when she wanted back inside, but 
he wasn't going to let anyone else in this evening.
	He mopped his forehead with a handkerchief, and sunk down onto his stool.  
He grabbed a set of navigational charts off the table, and started mapping out 
circles on them with a compass.  He was going to be very busy over the next few 
days.  And besides, this was a good mind-clearing exercise, to wipe away the
memories of the Countess and her unfortunately good-natured attempts to bring 
him into the party.
	"I don't believe I actually went along with this,"  he said, speaking 
generally in the direction of the tank of nudibranchs on the bridge.  He found 
it very soothing to talk to them, and they usually understood what he was 
trying to say, even if they couldn't answer him, for obvious reasons.  "I don't 
wish to stay in this town a minute longer than necessary..."
	But then, what would happen to Callie?

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Sandy quickly grew bored of all the fawning over Garrett and Mila, 
so she struck up a side conversation with Glory.
	"Your music has been gorgeous tonight!" said the younger girl.  
"You must really have wanted to make a good impression on Owen!"
	"I didn't even know I was supposed to be here with Owen!" Sandy 
moaned.
	"But you guys spend so much time together anyway! Nancy thought 
it'd be really cute if you guys got to see each other in a different light.  
Sometimes the very thing you're looking for, is the one thing you can't 
see."
	"That's not the way I wanted it!" she said.  "There are other 
people I want to see in a different light!"
	"I don't get it," said Glory, confused.  "Nancy said she spoke to 
you yesterday, and everything seemed fine."
	Sandy shook her head, almost in tears.  "Nancy never spoke to me 
about anything.  If she'd asked me, she'd have known I already had a date!  
She ruined everything!"
	Glory looked even more confused now.  "But we both thought Sydney 
and Saja would make such a great couple!  It would have been great for 
Saja to get his mind off of Callie -- he looked so dejected in school this 
week!  Honestly, none of us knew about the two of you!  I wish we had 
known!"  She sighed.
	"You really don't get it, do you?"
	"I don't understand."
	"Why did you have to trust her?" Sandy whispered, loudly.  Nancy 
turned her head to glance at them, but was more interested in Sydney, 
Garrett, and Mila.
	Glory wrapped her arms around Sandy, and leaned her chin on Sandy's 
shoulder, although this required some stretching. "Look, Sandy, there's 
got to be something we can do for you. What can I do to help  Everyone's 
going to be happy tonight!"
	Sydney must have heard that, since she turned around and laughed 
ironically.  "Ha!"
	Sandy might have said something, but not while Sydney was paying 
attention.  She didn't want to ruin Sydney's evening too, since, for all 
she knew, Sydney had nothing to do with all this.
	"Never mind," she sighed.  "It's really time for me and Owen to get 
back on stage.  Look, no-one's dancing anymore!"  She walked away, staring 
at the ceiling.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	
	Jimmy had taken off his bow-tie, claiming it was cutting off the 
food supply to his stomach, and now sat next to Garrett at the big table.  
Callie didn't think much of Glory's brother -- she loved Glory, but Garrett 
was creepier than some of the things she and her dad had fished out of the 
Orinoco.  Still, Garrett was a good friend to Jimmy, so she wasn't going to 
say anything.  So, she was alone for the moment, finally with a chance to 
stand back and reflect on all this.  She still felt curiously detached -- 
this couldn't  all be happening to her!  Not six months ago, she and her 
dad had  been in Ireland, visiting her mother's --
	"Callie!  You got a minute?"
	Ugh.  It was Barek.  "I didn't expect to find you here, of all 
places," she said as he approached.
	"Life isn't all tailpipes and engine blocks."
	"You're still a few blocks out of your element, Barek."
	"Do I take it to mean that you don't like my suit?"
	"I'm not quite sure that it.. suits you."  That was rather ham-
handed, she thought, and he knew it.  "So," she pressed on, "what's with 
the date, anyway?"
	"I'll have you know that Jazz happens to be a fine young woman.  
You know, there are lots of nice things about living in Swans Crossing, and 
Jazz has been a most pleasant discovery."
	"Yes.  We all look out for her," Callie said.
	"A devoted bunch.  But you'll find that I can be just as devoted, 
once I get my hands on something."
	"Well, maybe you'd just better keep your hands to yourself where 
Jazz is concerned, all right?"
	Barek threw up his hands in protest.  "Now, now, now, calm yourself 
down, that's not why I'm here."
	"So what do you want?" she asked, losing patience again.
	"You and I got off to a rough start at the bike shop, didn't we," 
Barek said.
	"I guess you could put it that way."
	"Well, I'm proposing a truce."
	"A truce?  After all this time?"
	"A truce, in honor of you and young James' finally forming such a 
graceful couple."
	"I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to take that, Barek."
	"Aw, you're selling me short again.  Why don't you take me at face 
value, and let's be friends?"

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Saja still sat on the table-top, eyes closed, trying to summon up 
his concentration.
	It was no good.  He was trying to reach out to Callie, but she was 
out of his reach.  That was for two reasons -- one, she didn't possess his 
Zen-like concentration and couldn't project herself onto the astral plans 
like he did, and two, she was with Jimmy now.  They were a unit, a couple, 
a team, and Saja was just an extraneous component.
	He opened his eyes.  Sydney stood over him.
	"Wake up, Bobby!  Let's dance!"
	Oh, wow -- he'd forgotten that he was supposed to be just Bobby 
tonight.  But he'd been so thrown off when J.T. realized the truth about 
his feelings for Callie, that he'd slipped right back into Saja-mode.  To 
say nothing of losing his date with Sandy, though there'd be time for that 
someday.
	He took one more look at Callie.  She was dancing -- Sandy was 
singing "Gotta Grow Up", and the Swans Crossing Line Dance brigade seemed 
to be in effect.  So he let Sydney grab him by the arm, and joined them.
	Before he reached the dance floor, he took his bandanna off, and 
tossed it onto the table.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Sandy finished the song.  She'd sung it at Mila's birthday party -- 
it was her signature tune, really.  But tonight, it felt hollow.  Her 
"date", Owen, sat behind her, plugging away at the keyboard, not even 
interested in dancing with her.  And Saja/Bobby and Sydney seemed so happy 
line-dancing on the floor below.
	Oh, this wasn't right.
	"All right, I'm gonna take five and go say hi to Mila,"  Owen told 
her.  He stood up, and left the stage
	That was her cue to leave.  She set the microphone down across 
Owen's keyboard, placed an Escape Club CD in the boom-box, and left the 
room for a breather.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"Callie!  How are you enjoying yourself?"  It was the Doctor's 
friend Benny, standing over her shoulder as she filled up from the dessert 
tray.
	"I feel a lot better than I did last weekend, that's for sure.  But 
how are you doing?"
	Benny yawned.  "Eh.  None of this is really my scene.  I feel more 
comfortable teaching in that school of yours, to be honest."
	"So what happens next?" Callie asked, lowering her voice to a 
whisper.
	Bernice raised an eyebrow, and then led Callie away by the elbow.  
They stepped out into the now-deserted pool area.
	"Whatever's going to happen, will happen tomorrow afternoon," said 
Benny.  "At least, as closely as the Doctor can calculate.  Or as closely 
as he's willing to tell us."
	"Dangerous to know one's own future, as Saja would say, is that 
right?  Is that why he can't tell us specifics?"
	"You could say that," the older woman smiled.
	"I haven't seen any of those bald men around, though,"  said Callie.
	Benny said, "That's why we should be worried."
	"Can't get too comfortable," Callie agreed, and then hurried back 
inside.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	Sandy stepped out into the pool area, as Callie and the new 
substitute teacher stepped back into the main area of the club, heading for 
the ballroom.  Summer was truly over -- the deck chairs were put away, and 
the pool was completely drained and empty.  The bottom of the pool was 
filthy!  A deflated water-chair and some sort of... rubber ducky? sat at 
the bottom.
	She sat at the edge of the pool, feet dangling over the edge -- 
careful not to let her shoes fall to the bottom.
	She felt a presence sit down next to her.  It was Saja.
	"Bobby!"
	"Nah, it's back to Saja tonight."
	There was an awkward silence.
	"So," she said, grasping for words.  "Are you enjoying the night 
with Sydney?"
	"To be honest, it's not what I had planned."
	She smiled gratefully at him.  "It's not what any of us had planned, 
really."  She leaned her head on his shoulder.  He might have been 
surprised, but didn't say anything.  "But at least we're here now, right?  
It can't be that bad."
	"Yes.  Far from the madding crowd."
	"Just what I was thinking ... though I suppose you'd know that."
	"Indeed," he said sagely.  "Though there are some minds that even 
I cannot read."
	"Really?" she asked.
	He sighed, and hesitated.  "I still never know what Callie's 
thinking."  He looked at the doors leading back into the club, and then 
checked his watch. 
	She couldn't believe he'd just done that, in front of her!  She 
surged with uncharacteristic anger, and lashed out at him.  "Look.  Why 
are you here?" she asked.  "Are you here for me, or for Sydney -- or is 
this all about trying to get back at Callie, and make her jealous?"
	Saja looked completely stunned.  Good.
	"I -- I -- I ... didn't think you..."
	"So I *was* right!" she said.  She knew something like this was 
bound to happen.  "Am I your consolation prize?  Second place?  Or third, 
even worse?"
	"Sandy, I -- I -- " he started.  "Wait a minute, let's backtrack.  
What happened here?  I thought --"
	"Never mind, Saja.  Go meditate for a while, or something."  She 
stormed back inside.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	When she retook the stage, the rest of her friends applauded (Saja 
hadn't followed her back inside).  Owen handed her a folded-over piece of 
paper.  Her name was written across the edge, in thick masculine scrawl.
	"Mila's agent was here -- Jack Goldbrick.  He left this for you."
	"Really?"  She started to open it.  What could *this* possibly be 
about?
	"Song! Song!" the audience clamored, so she stuffed the note into 
her jacket's pocket, and grabbed the microphone.
	Jimmy and Callie stood alone in the center of the floor, surrounded 
by their schoolmates and a few grownies and parents, who were all 
applauding.  She had to admit, the two of them did look terrific, 
especially Jimmy in his tux.
	Well, if he was James Bond this evening, she may as well make their 
last dance a fun one.  She whispered something to Owen, who glowered back 
and started playing John Barry swing.  Not very well, but then again, that 
wasn't his style.
	Sandy searched inside for her best Shirley Bassey voice, and cut 
loose into the microphone.  For the first time all evening, she felt at 
peace.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

	"Goldfinger, he's the man, the man with the midas touch"

	Barek used the cover of the final dance to approach one of the 
waiters.  The short one, in the ill-fitting rug.

	"A spider's touch"

	The man nodded curtly at him.

	Callie and Jimmy giggled madly, and he started to swing her around, 
exaggerating his movements as wildly as Sandy exaggerated her voice for the 
song.

	"Such a cold finger, beckons you to enter his web of sin."

	The waiter spoke to Barek.  "Nightfall covers me, but you know the 
plans I'm making."

	"But don't go in!"

	The schoolchildren clapped along, in time to Owen's wild swing 
riffs on the keyboard.

	Barek leered in recognition, and supplied the proper return code 
phrase.  "Still over sea.  Could it be the whole Earth opening wide?"

	"Golden words he will pour in your ear.  But his lies can't 
disguise what you fear."

	Garrett and Mila had their arms around each other, swaying in time 
to the song, with everyone else.  Sydney glared furiously at him, and 
looked around for Saja.  He wasn't there.

	"Where did Saja go?", she asked Nancy, who shook her head.  Sydney 
left the room.

	"For the golden girl knows when he's kissed her."

	Sandy's voice faltered when she saw Sydney leave the room -- she 
must be trying to find Saja, and steal Sandy's date -- but then she 
remembered that she was going to enjoy herself and not worry about them, 
and sung bravely on.

	Jimmy started accompanying the song, serenading Callie.  She was 
laughing hard, too hard.

	"It's the kiss of -- DEATH -- from Mister Goldfinger"

	So he kissed her, in front of everyone else, and an appropriate 
smattering of "Woo-hoos!" could be heard from the likes of J.T. and Garrett 
and even Owen from up on stage.

	"Do you know what has to be done next?" Barek asked.  
	"I am to wait until your commander's entourage has left, and 
instruct my comrades to move under the cover of their motorcade," answered 
the bald waiter.
	"Good man," Barek said, fingering the frayed threads on his lapel.

	"Pretty girls, beware of his heart of gold.  This heart is cold.  
He loves only gold!"

Owen performed another wild keyboard flourish, and everyone laughed.  Even 
the Doctor tapped his umbrella against his chin, smiling faintly.

	"It's him!" Roz whispered to Chris, as they sat alone at their 
table in the corner.
	"What?" said Chris, distracted by the dance.
	"That waiter!  He just tugged at his hair, and it moved."
	"A wig?"
	"A Baldie.  Let's *go*," she said, grabbing her partner by the arm.

	"Only gold.  He loves only gold.  Only... gold!"

	Owen finished the song.  Jimmy and Callie moved together, and 
kissed again.  From their circle of friends, they couldn't see the 
suspicious waiter sneak out the ballroom door, and they didn't see Chris 
and Roz follow him.

	Barek rejoined Jazz on the dance floor.
	"How're you holding up?" he asked.
	"It's perfect!  Nothing else could possibly go wrong." she said, 
and squeezed his hand.
	He smiled.  But if he was smiling at her, or at something else, it 
wasn't entirely clear.


			Next Episode:
			HAIL TO THE CHIEF


***If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. for Jason, send 
them to him at JMILLER6@uoft02.utoledo.edu