GsB IV begins a year and a half after GsB III ends. There has been many changes and yet many things have remained the same.
 
Though still with the SWA for Bink's medical and education in Italy, Tammy is no longer allowed in the field. She has become a mother and her first priority is to her child: Francesca.
 
Fernando and Hondo are still doing missions for their agency, they have since gotten married and tried to minimize the length of their missions based to be with their spouses.
 
This story in in mainly in Japan, there are various branches to other nations. It is a lot more convoluted that it may seem.
 
There are currently 25 chapters I wrote, and I give no apology to what I wrote. This series was abandoned a long time ago and I resurrected it as my own creation with help from a select few. Like it or not, I am posting it as is and I will complete it with those interested in joining in the RPG part after chapter 25.

Chapter One: History Rewind
Fifteen days before Present Time:
 
At Ranger HQ, Chip was alone in the main room as the others are out except for Gadget who was in the hanger working on some designs she had drawn the other day. Jeanette enters the door with Misao behind her. He turns to face them as they enter the domain.
 
"Chip, we got to talk." Misao calls to him.
 
"About?" Chip asks as he heads to a set of chairs and table. He signals to them to sit down.
 
"Almost two years ago, during the celebration at the UN, the Japanese Emperor went to Fernando's little crew and asked for help." Misao tells him, taking out a pocket tape recorder from her purse and putting it on the table. She presses a button, playing back a recorded message.
 
"Here they are…" Misao's voice points them out from the tiny tape recorder, "Dr. Aiesha G.- daughter of Fernando G., Hondo I. Sackett- who worked beside him during the case, and Tammy G.- formerly Tammy Squirrel. She married Fernando just after the case mission was over, shortly before his assassination. She was the one who discovered the LSD Terror plot."
 
"This is uncalled for!" Hondo can be heard whispering to Misao.
 
"I am glad to meet you all." the Japanese Emperor is heard on the tape.
 
"So are we." Dr. Aiesha G. replies.
 
"I was hoping to meet with you, in hopes to have you come to Japan and help out with our problem with the Yakusa unifying resources and forces with the Triads. You will be given unlimited resources and be greatly rewarded for success of your work." the Japanese Emperor explains his request.
 
"We will have to think about that. Do not get us wrong, but we still are in mourning." Tammy responds to his request.
 
"I am deeply sorry for the intrusion then." the Japanese Emperor replies.
 
"No, don't be. You did not know, and it's no insult to us. But, this is not a good time. I'm sure Misao can give you our contact information, and you can get back to us in about sixty days or so?" Tammy offers.
 
"It would be my pleasure." the Japanese Emperor accepts her offer.
 
"Arigato, Emperor-wan." Tammy gives her thanks to him.
 
"Domo Arigato, Tammy-san." the Japanese Emperor returns the thanks.
 
Misao reaches over to the tape recorder and presses the stop button to end its playback.
 
"Sixty days was five hundred and seventy-seven days ago." Misao explains.
 
"So, what do you want me to do?" Chip asks.
 
"The Japanese Emperor is waiting desperately for some help. Since Fernando finally showed himself, I think he's too much of a coward to do anything on this case." Misao explains.
 
"Well, we all know that chicken shit squirrel is too in on himself to care about anyone else but himself. Why else would he leave Tammy alone with the baby." Chip begins, "I know personally that he is out there in hiding so that no one can find him. Now, about this case, can you guarantee the same offer of unlimited resources and great rewards? It's not for me, you know. It's for everyone that I involve. You know, to give them some recognition. What Fernando did at the UN Party in his honor, he has to pay for."
 
"Don't worry about that, Fernando did us all wrong. He will pay for that. How dare he pretend to be dead and not tell any one of us." Misao tells him.
 
"Now explain to me, who are the Triads, and Yaccusa?" Chip asks.
 
"Oh, they are just small time gangs trying to make a name for themselves. In one month, the President will be arriving to Japan by Naval fleet to witness and sign peace treaties for the unification of Korea and then peace trade treaties between Japan and Korea. Many in the Asian community do not want these treaties to be signed; many more do not want a unified Korea. I'm sure that the Brotherhood of Calculus has a hand in this." Misao explains.
 
"So it's simple, keep the gangs away in order to allow the treaties to be signed." Chip replies.
 
"Something like that." Misao replies.
 
"And Fernando refuses to have his team from doing this simple job? What a coward." Chip almost says to himself.
 
"You and your team only have a day to get together. I'll get the plane tickets for you all to get to Pearl Harbor Hawaii and clearance to get on fleet to go to Japan on." Misao tells him, "I'll be here in the morning to give you those things."
 
"I'll get the Team together. Jeanette, you're welcomed to come." Chip says to them.
 
"I'll go but it depends on who's going." Jeanette replies.
 
"The Core Group, Foxglove if she wants, Tammy has to be there, anyone else who is interested. The more the merrier." Chip explains.
 
"I see. I'll decide when Misao arrives here in the morning." Jeanette tells him, "But about Tammy..."
 
"What about her?" Chip asks.
 
"Her baby." Jeanette answers, "If she comes with us, her role in this mission would have to be a minimal one."
 
"She is to be an intermediary to the Japanese Emperor since he knows her from the meeting. From there we get what we want to get the mission done and the rewards thereof. This should only take a couple of days to complete, a week at most when we get there." Chip explains.
 
"You really think so?" Jeanette asks.
 
"All we need to do it expose those in the highest level of government. You girls can do the Intel gathering while we men do the arrests. From there we hand them over to their authorities and those under them will be rounded up. Case over. And Fernando and his little motley crew will not be around there to horde the rewards." Chip answers her.
 
"Good to see that hard work ethics and mentality. I will see everyone in the morning." Misao says as she slowly gets up and leaves for the door. Jeanette stays behind, if for only a moment after Misao is gone.
 
"I could not say it in front of my friend, but I need to think about your work ethics, Chip." Jeanette says.
 
"Explain yourself." Chip tells her.
 
"Though I never agreed with all of his methods, Fernando has never done a job for a reward. If a reward was given, there is a chance that he would or would not accept it but he never did a job for one. You, Chip, I don't know what it is, but there is something different. Something different and wrong." Jeanette tells him.
 
"When you put yourself in front of death to save someone you love along with the rest of the world, when only the one you love gives you something of a reward when nobody else won't, you need to reevaluate why you do things and then start demanding for what is owed to you." Chip tells her, "Rescuing kittens stuck in trees or finding a lost baby bottle on a beach will not pay the bills. Having Fat Cat arrested for crimes he committed and getting nothing for the job does not put food on the table. Things need to change, Jeanette. Things need to change."
 
"But not like this. You want to negotiate the reward of a rescue's value, that's on you. Don't expect me to charge on rescues I do. I volunteer here, as do my friends. You should be paying us for services rendered and supplies used and we replaced out of pocket. But I do not expect to be paid as a volunteer, I do rescue because it needs to be done and the payment I want is the thanks from those I rescue give me, because Chip... a life is a price never to be paid for any situation." Jeanette tells him, "Fernando rescued your wife and Tamara in their run-away Time Travel mission gone bad, and rescued Gadget again when she tried to over ride a rescue mission and wound up nearly getting killed. Want her to visit him and give him a reward every night? Because according to you, she would have too because every day she is alive is a day she would not have otherwise if it was not for him- twice."
 
"If that squirrel has touched my wife, I'll..." Chip started to say.
 
"You'll what? It would not be Fernando that is touching her, but Gadget touching him, and you cannot fault him for that." Jeanette interrupts and tells him.
 
"Then he is to no longer rescue Gadget if something happens to her. I'm the one who rescues my wife." Chip tells her.
 
"Alright then, your logic is impeccable as always." Jeanette tries to convince him of the lie. She then follows with, "I have to get going."
 
"You will be here tomorrow morning?" Chip asks.
 
"I'll think about it." Jeanette answers.
 
"I can make it worth your while." Chip let the words slide in.
 
"I said I'll think about it." Jeanette tells him more sternly as she got up and starts walking out of the house.
 
Half a day later...
 
Not far away in another tree house, a clenched fist knocks on its door. It waits for a response. Within ten seconds, the locks on the doors can be heard being undone, followed by the door slowly opening. Halfway being opened Tammy can be seen carrying a wrapped bundle in her arms, a baby bottle sticking out from it with two tiny hands holding onto it.
 
"Come in. How can I help you, Jeanette?" Tammy says and then asks.
 
Together they walk down the hall to the living room, where they sit down. Tammy inspects the baby bottle for a second.
 
"That's not baby formula you're feeding her, is it?" Jeanette asks.
 
"No. It's my own milk. I use a breast pump to make more than enough for her when I can't breast feed her directly." Tammy explains. "But that's why we are not here. What's up?"
 
"So where is the extra breast milk?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Where else, in the refrigerator. Now what's going on? I'm sure you're not here to take notes on baby feeding." Tammy almost tells her.
 
"No. I'm not." Jeanette begins and then pauses for a moment. "I know this is of short notice, but Chip just accepted a mission for tomorrow morning. It will take a while to do and in Japan. He wants you there to participate."
 
"What is this mission about? How long is it going to take? You know I can't leave my baby behind." Tammy tells her.
 
"I told him all that. He still wants you to go. He believes that you can be an intermediary to the Japanese Emperor which will keep you safe and out of the action." Jeanette explains.
 
"What about Bink?" Tammy asks.
 
"Isn't she with Fernando?" Jeanette asks.
 
"That is what we want everyone to think. But she is actually in Italy to finish up her studies there and get her high school diploma through the SWA in the next couple of months. She is then supposed to return home here." Tammy explains, adding, "This information does not leave your lips. Ever."
 
"I won't say a word. But why Italy and not here in the states?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Why not? She has her medical care for her cybernetics there for one; she is learning four different languages on top of advanced mathematics and science there. I talk to her everyday to see how she is doing and confer with Marco and Ferro to verify everything. That kind of education and care is not offered here." Tammy explains, adding, "But if I accept this mission, I have the right to get up and leave without notice and reason. My family comes first." She then checks on the bottle again, finding it almost empty.
 
"I don't know if he would accept those terms." Jeanette started to say.
 
"Those are the terms or I'm not going. He's not paying for my baby's supplies, feeding her, changing her diapers or rocking her to sleep. I need a lot to keep her comfortable and happy each day." Tammy explains before putting a small towel on her shoulder. She then takes away the empty baby bottle from the baby and puts her on her shoulder, lightly tapping on her back until she burps loudly. Tammy then hefts the infant in front of her, "Ooo... that was a big one..." she then snuggles up to her before getting up and putting her in a bassinet near the sofa, loosening up on her blanket wrapping. "Now you be a good little girl while mommy takes care of a few things..."
 
The baby inside kicks her legs and sway her arms as she lets out a baby pitched, "Ahhh..." Tammy gives her one more check before separating herself from her child.  
 
"Chip and the Rescue Rangers can go to hell if he does not accept my needs. How many days is this mission going to take? A week? Two weeks? If it's more than a few days then it is more than just a minor inconvenience for me. It's a lot of diapers and baby bottles for little Francesca." Tammy tells her.
 
"A few weeks, maybe more than a month as I can figure from what was said. We will be taking a plane to Pearl Harbor and then the Navy will take us to Japan." Jeanette begins to tell her but is interrupted.
 
"More than a month, thirty plus days, six to eight bottles of mother's milk a day, just as many diapers, 1AM feedings – a day, for a month or more. Care to do the math on how much this would inconvenience me? And how will Francesca take it? She's just a three-month-old infant! What about Bink, and Fernando – retuning to an empty home? I dare say if Chip says no to one iota to fulfill my needs and my baby's needs, and then I am not going. The Rangers can go to hell when it comes to my baby and me because she is first in all things in my life, Jeanette. Maybe one day you will understand, but now you can't because you are not a mother." Tammy tells her.
 
"If you go, I'll be there to help you with the baby. Bink can take a plane to Japan when she graduates, as can Fernando when he finishes his mission." Jeanette tries to convince her.
 
"I have to be at Bink's Graduation in a few weeks. Japan mission or not, I'll be in Italy for that graduation." Tammy tells her.
 
"I don't know if Chip would accept that." Jeanette replies.
 
"The Hell with Chip. I'm a mother and an older sister taking care of children under my care. My husband is not here to support me because his government law enforcement job dragged him out of this house kicking and screaming to get a mission done that they could not do themselves. I'm all alone right now being Super Woman to keep my family together and no Rinky Dink Make Believe Rescue Service Organization is going to tell me what to do." Tammy tells her, "Chip wants me to be there, he better be able to do for me everything I need to take care of my family during this time. Diapers alone are going to be a cost he is not going to like."
 
"Pampers or Huggies?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Cloth diapers with a plastic panty. That requires a lot of laundry to do every day with special detergents to keep them soft, bacteria free and washed out so she won't get a skin reaction from it. Then there are the medical baby lotions and baby powders just to keep her bottom comfortable." Tammy explains.
 
"I can help you get that done." Jeanette offers.
 
"She can't ride on a plane. She's too young, and the cabin air pressure difference will injure her." Tammy tells her.
 
"I'll see what I can do. Maybe if we fly in a low altitude in a high pressure cabin?" Jeanette explains.
 
"Babies under the age of one year cannot ride elevators in sky scrapers like to the observation deck of the Empire State Building because the pressure change is too great for them and can rupture their little eardrums. If we have to take a plane, it has to have a constant sea level air pressure of an average of 14 pounds per square inch and must climb and descend no more than 1000 ft per minute while flying less than 20000ft while maintaining that pressure. Anything else will rupture Francesca's eardrums, and if that happens, there will be no Rescue Rangers because I will kill everybody if anything happens to my child. Got that!" Tammy tells her sternly.
 
"I think you're over exaggerating the situation." Jeanette replies.
 
"When it comes to my child, I do not exaggerate. But I do not expect you to understand because you are not a mother. None of the Rescue Ranger women are. But I am, and things are different for me. My child, my baby is my main concern because she is too young to do things for herself and take care of herself. She cannot walk, she cannot talk, she cannot feed herself, she cannot go to the bathroom voluntarily on her own, I have to do those things for her in her care and make sure that she does grow up in her own time. And I do all this for her because I want to, because I do it out of love for her as my child. If you, Chip or any of the Rescue Rangers starts to make demands on me against my child and family, I'm going to walk away. If you, Chip or any of the Rescue Rangers try to force me to take actions on a mission I do not want to do that takes me away from my baby, remember that I am legally armed and will use such in defense of myself and my family." Tammy tells her.
 
"Then this is a 'No. '" Jeanette says almost to herself, "Alright. I'll tell Chip that you are not interested."
 
"I did not say that. I said that if I go, there are certain conditions I will adhere too, and not because for me but for my child I recently gave birth too. Then if he says no to any of the conditions I am stating, and then I'm not going." Tammy clarifies.
 
"I see." Jeanette says.
 
"He wants me, everything has to be paid for, including round trip airfare to Italy in the conditions I stated for Francesca's travel for Bink's Graduation." Tammy throws in.
 
"Anything else?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I don't think Chip is capable of doing this, so I doubt I will be going." Tammy answers.
 
"At least let me try." Jeanette replies, adding, "I'll get back to you this evening with an answer."
 
"You can try. Whether you succeed is another story that remains to be seen." Tammy tells her.
 
Jeanette nods before getting up. "I'll let myself out." she says.
 
"Come back around 7PM. I'll be taking out Francesca for some shopping and a day in the museums." Tammy tells her.
 
Jeanette nods before leaving the living room area. In a few seconds the main exit door of the house is heard closing. Tammy checks up on the baby, finding her sleeping.
 
"I don't know how you do it, but sleep well." Tammy says softly.
 
She then goes to the kitchen and prepares herself a small meal of semi prepared pasta salad with tiny cuts of assorted vegetables and shredded nuts. She adds some strips of meat and grated cheese. A drizzle of olive oil is added as a final topping to the mix. A fork dives into the bowl as she takes her meal to the sofa to sit down on. It takes her just a couple of minutes to eat her meal. Putting the empty bowl on the nearby table before laying down her side on the sofa, looking over the bassinet to check the baby who was still sleeping. Though Tammy turns on the TV, she ends up going to sleep in a couple of minutes. The stress of motherhood though welcomed can be daunting.
 
 
The meeting with Chip was noticeably short. Before Jeanette could make him aware of the demands Tammy made, he was agreeing with them and making claims that all would be done under his orders to satisfy her needs. She finds it bothersome when he said, "Everything will be done to make sure she goes on this mission for she is the one the Japanese Emperor wants to talk to, not us. But she will be making our demands to make this a successful mission."
 
"I'm sure that you do not understand the extent of what she requires." Jeanette warned him in the meeting.
 
"Whatever it is, make it so. And I don't care what it is." Chip tried to enforce his authority.
 
Thus Jeanette leaves the meeting with a bad feeling about it.
 
 
Several hours later...
 
After a long day of thinking, Jeanette looks at her watch, finding it at near the time of the meeting with Tammy. She cleans up the area of her table at the café, closing up her laptop and notebooks, putting them into a handmade bag made to long ago of Denim, Kevlar and Vinyl Leather. She gets up and leaves the café, leaving her usual 20 percent tip on the table under the half empty mug of root beer.
 
The walk to Tammy's new home under Fernando was uneventful, as she would have preferred it. But sometimes people wanting answers seem to fall from the skies and land in front of her. Question is what were the questions Jeanette had for those answers to form and fall? There was something about the mission that eludes her and she can't figure out why. Either way she thinks that she can solve it later, walking to the home a little family calls their own.
 
The door opens immediately after she knocks on it. Tammy signals her to enter quietly, which she does. Together they walk down the hall, keeping quiet as they enter the living room. Tammy sits on the far end of the sofa where the bassinet was with little Francesca sleeping inside. The table in the middle of the room was pulled closer to the sofa with a large screen Macintosh laptop on it. A Skype Video conversation was going on though Jeanette could not see what was on the screen as it was turned towards the bassinet.
 
"I'm back." Tammy says to the computer.
 
"Good. Put her on." an all too familiar voice says from the laptop speakers. Tammy turns the large laptop around to Jeanette, and she recognizes Fernando on the screen.
 
"Isn't this primitive by your standards?" Jeanette asks.
 
"It gets the job done." Fernando tells her, adding, "Let's keep the excitement to a minimum, I don't want you to wake up my little girl."
 
"I can assure you that is not going to happen on my end. But I have to ask, why do you want to talk to me?" Jeanette says and asks.
 
"You are going to involve my family in a dangerous mission involving the Triads and the Yakusa, a mission that I denied for good reason. And you bring it back?" Fernando tells her.
 
"There is a reason..." Jeanette starts to tell him.
 
"I don't care about the Atlanteans, or the treaties unifying Korea or peace and trade negotiations with them and Japan. So allow me to fill in some details." Fernando interrupts her. "There are over 7.5 Billion Orientals, with that many intelligent and sapient individuals in Asia and of that less than five percent are Atlanteans in Japan. But that's nothing compared to the numbers of Triads in the rest of Asia, which is more than 15 to 30 percent depending on where you go. That's one in every three to six people, many in law enforcement, politics, government, education, sanitation, you name it, Triads are there oiling the machine of corruption from the loneliest dog catcher, mail delivery person, and food inspector to highest members in Parliament and Generals in the military since Confucius was alive! The same with the Yakusa, though Japanese, may or may not be Atlanteans, but their corruption runs deep in the Japanese congress and the royal court. So what do they want, remove corruption that is there? I'm not allowing my family to get involved with this mission because it will end in death. So what do they want, who, where and when?" he tells her.
 
"So you know the extent of what needs to be done? Why are you not here?" Jeanette demands.
 
"It is easier to find Josef Mengele and destroy the Nazi rebirth in South America and destroy the pot and cocaine fields that's driving their cause with the monies it generates than it is to deal with the shit you're about to dive into." Fernando tells her.
 
"Isn't Josef Mengele dead? As is any and all of the Nazis in South America? It's been over 70 years since World War II!" Jeanette states the obvious.
 
"You need to rethink. In fact you should try to reenter my good graces so I can reboot that grey matter in your head! Josef Mengele managed to clone Adolf Hitler, or you did not see the movie 'The Boys from Brazil?'" Fernando explains.
 
"'The Boys from Brazil' was a movie." Jeanette tells him.
 
"Believe that all you want. But the secret base we encountered and destroyed shows there are not just one Hitler clone, but several. As was Josef himself, there is at least three; all complete with his medical knowledge and experience with a mind transfer device he created himself. If the guy was not downright evil, I would call him a genius." Fernando tells her, "This has to end before we all end up speaking German in five years. And you think this Triad and Yakusa problem is a problem? Think about it for a minute. 'The Boys from Brazil' is a science fiction movie based on fact. Hitler and Nazi are reborn. Books published swaying the minds of the idiot masses. Elections rigged to promote a power play of evil and people put into power who should never be. Governments will be taken over and handed over to them as gifts for the grand master of evil. Italy will join because some think they can regain the Roman Empire. Then Japan enters this little circle, The Atlanteans found out, Genetic Cleansing being the cause of the day, and with today's technology in genetics, all it takes is to make a poison or virus that acts only on Atlantean genes, killing them and leaving us Terrians alive. As much as that may sound like a solution to some, I am not evil enough to allow it to happen. So I am here to stop it. Now tell that to Misao and let her choke on that." Fernando tells her as he points out to various items of a pristine laboratory before holding up a sealed glass vial of yellow liquid between his thumb and index fingers.
 
Jeanette can only stay there looking at the screen with her jaw dropped.
 
"Tammy?" Fernando calls to her.
 
"Yes dear?" Tammy returns to the screen. She sees him typing something on the keyboard. A plain looking Katana (Samurai blade) with a gold foil flower on its Saya (Scabbard) and Kashira (Pommel) materializes on the table behind the laptop and she takes it.
 
"Years ago I saved the Crown Prince's child from a kidnapping and he gave me that sword as part of a reward. It is from the House of the Chrysanthemum and is over 1700 years old. Beware, it is very sharp, and can slice a cyborg's head off its neck as its metal is based on generations of ancient study. The Crown Prince is now the Emperor. Show him that sword; lay it flat in the Saya on your open palms and bow when you hand it to him. He will give you protection within his power once you tell him who you are to me." Fernando tells her.
 
"Will do my love." Tammy tells her.
 
"Take care and do your best." he tells her.
 
"You too." Tammy replies.
 
"Give the girls my love." he says. Before she could reply the screen closes as the connection is closed on his end.
 
Tammy closes the Macintosh PowerBook Laptop, putting it into sleep mode. She then nudges Jeanette to get her out of Shock Mode.
 
"That's not possible." Jeanette says to herself.
 
"What are you talking about?" Tammy asks.
 
"What he said, all of it." Jeanette answers.
 
"As for Genetic Poisons, how you think most cancer drugs work that target cancer cells? Expand that to a larger gene-target and you could take out whole populations. Considering that Atlanteans differ genetically that it can be measured compared to us Earth Born species, such a poison would be easy to make that will kill every Atlantean in Japan and anyone with the Atlantean gene. As for Hitler coming back, Dolly the sheep as cloned over 30 years ago, so there is that possibility. There certain members in Italy's Parliament have been looking for an excuse to bring the rebirth of the Roman Empire who claims to have Caesar's DNA material to try to clone him. Then there is a small area in Rome where the people inside claim to be the descendents of Caesar. Give anyone an excuse and some technology, all hell can break loose and your little tail will not be worth much to anyone anymore." Tammy explains.
 
"Tammy, how can you say that?!!" Jeanette holds back from yelling at her.
 
"Because it's true. Back when we went to save Bink in the first mission, I was captured and about to be sold like commodity to somebody who put a reward on us, and who knows what would have happened to me. On the second mission, I was almost killed for the same reason and later on placed on sale to get drugs for a bust. Believe me, in seeing the evils in this world, I can tell you that you and I are not worth the money in our pockets if they want us dead and we would be lucky if we end up as somebody's sex slaves in the slave trade industry. They would not care about your political connections, or that you own a time machine. But in seeing that you have breasts an ass and a vagina, for your own survival, you better hope somebody gets a liking to you and your goods because that is what is going to be like when hell breaks loose on this planet." Tammy almost preaches to her.
 
"That is not going to happen." Jeanette tells her.
 
"That is not going to happen because people like us are not going to allow it to happen." Tammy throws back at her then asks, "Now, what did Chip say about the mission?"
 
"He said that whatever you need, it will be given." Jeanette answers.
 
"Both you and I know better. But I'm going to hold you up to that promise." Tammy tells her.
 
"Why me?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Somebody has to be held responsible for his idiotic mistakes. Besides, this insures my place in the mission. Are you going to be at my side or at somebody else's? I am going to need somebody to trust and help me when I need it. Remember, I'm not going as me, but as me- mother with a newborn daughter. I would appreciate it if somebody would be there with me." Tammy explains.
 
"And if I decide not to go myself?" Jeanette asks.
 
"You'll be there with me, even if I have to get Monty to carry you bound and gagged to where it is we got to go." Tammy tells her.

Chapter Two: Historical Mission Start
Early the Next Day:
 
Except for a 2AM feeding and diaper change, Tammy and her little daughter had a good night's rest though everyone else remains to be seen as six-in-the-morning arrives. Tammy wakes up and gives herself a quick shower and puts on a fresh set of clothes. The early evening before was spent packing for both her and her baby girl, so she was already ready to go. All that was needed to do was to eat and get ready to go. In a half hour she was at the café in a booth by herself with a rolling baby carriage beside her. She orders a light meal as she takes a bottle out for the little girl in the carriage.
 
Even after she finishes her meal, the café seemed relatively empty, even at 7o'clock when the breakfast crowd should be coming in. The only thing left to do was to go to Ranger HQ, which in and of itself was not a problem. But with Gadget gawking at her child makes her uncomfortable at times, she has to be both a politico and a football full back.
 
She looks about the carriage and the items attached to it. The padded baby bag's handle is wrapped around the carriage's handle and holding in place with easy access to the baby's things. The samurai blade is hidden on the inside of carriage in a hidden section. A backpack for Tammy and her things, and a final smaller bag with assorted things like a travel breast pump and other personal items is fitted on a rack between the wheels of the carriage, and a hip pack on her side containing her fire arm and spare loaded magazines, along with quick access to important papers and identification. Airport security or not, the TSA has already been warned of her arrival and to allow her to board what plane is set for their journey without the security screening, her documentation allows her to enter the boarding area and airplane armed.
 
Once checked and ready, she gets up out of her seat and leaves the café, leaving a hefty tip behind. She gets to Ranger HQ in a couple of minutes, finding the place dark. As she walks to the door, a black Mazda Miata pulls up from the road near the place. A white furred brunette mouse with glasses steps out of the automobile, looking at the place and then at Tammy as she walks on the path that leads to its doorway.  
 
"Tammy!" the white mouse takes a couple of steps towards Tammy with her arms extended out as to hug her.
 
"Don't get any closer than that, Misao." Tammy warns her, making her stop in her tracks.
 
"No friendly hug?" Misao asks.
 
"Not even a handshake." Tammy tells her.
 
"Alright then. I see Fernando's attitude has rubbed off on you." Misao complains to herself, and then does a complete turnaround, trying to take a couple of steps to the baby carriage, "Is that the baby?"
 
"It is, and you are to stay away from her at all times." Tammy warns.
 
"But why? Aren't we friends?" Misao asks.
 
"First of, you never was my friend, just an acquaintance. Second, this is a mission; I'm on mission mode. It's business only between you, and I; and whoever is involved. That means you are not to get near my daughter. If you get closer to us than necessary, you will only get one warning to leave the immediate area, the next warning will be followed by gun fire." Tammy explains as she closes the hood of the carriage three-quarters of the way.
 
"Gun fire? Are you armed?" Misao asks.
 
"Locked and loaded 24 – 7." Tammy answers.
 
"But this won't do. You can't get into the airport if you're armed." Misao tries to explain.
 
"I have enough government clearances to walk in looking like Pancho Vila wrapped in belts of bullets with revolvers in each hand and shooting up the place in a Cinco de Mayo celebration. What you should worry about is what Gadget and the others are going to try to sneak in and get caught with. They can spend the mission behind bars as far as I care." Tammy tells her as she holds up a wallet open for a second with an identification card and shield inside. She puts it immediately away.
 
"You can't be saying that, they are an important part of the mission." Misao begins to say.
 
"Then you deal with them and you're responsible if they get caught bringing anything considered as a weapon on a plane." Tammy tells her. She then pulls out a cellphone and scrolls down the list. She stops at an entry, and presses the ‘SEND' button. Somebody answers the phone after a couple of seconds she puts her cellphone to her ear.
 
"Hello, We are downstairs waiting. Five minutes? You got two." Tammy tells who it was that answers, and then closes the phone to hang up on the call.
 
"Whoever that was, you could have handled it in a more cordial manner." Misao tells her.
 
"Francesca's morning feeding is a few minutes. I am not going to pull out my breast for her to feed on out here for everyone to see. So Gadget better be down here to open that door before I walk away from this place and this mission." Tammy tells her.
 
"I don't believe the change you have undergone. It's like you're..." Misao begins to say.
 
"Assertive?" Tammy interrupts her.
 
"A demanding asshole." Misao tells her.
 
"If it were just me, there would be no change. But now I have a little one to love and care for because she is a part of me. She is of my blood and flesh, and I have to account for her safety and well being more than I do of mine own. So it's not because I'm a demanding asshole as you put it, but because I am a demanding mother. Something you will never be." Tammy tells her.
 
"Why I never..." Misao says out loud though to herself.
 
"Maybe you should, and maybe you can become a mother like I am and understand what I am going through." Tammy tells her. The door in front of them can be heard being unlocked and then opened. Gadget stands in the doorway, wearing a bathrobe, rubbing her eye with a fist clenched sleeve, yawning.
 
"It's about time." Tammy turns to Gadget as they enter the domain, "I need a private space to breast feed my child. Where can I go?"
 
"Oh..." Gadget begins, "You can do it in my workshop."
 
"Thank you." Tammy tells her, pushing the baby carriage into the workshop and locking the door behind her.
 
She finds a short sofa at the end of the table where Gadget usually takes a rest between experiments. She positions the carriage in front of it, opening the hood more to take Francesca out and sitting down. She unbuttons her blouse as she sits down, holding Francesca with the other arm as she put her on her lap. Reaching into her clothing, she undoes the front clasp of her bra, positioning her breast and the baby to suckle on it. Though Francesca was still sleeping, she takes to Tammy's breast and starts suckling on it.
 
During this time Gadget goes into her bedroom to change into her usual clothes. When she is dressed, both she and Chip walk out of the bedroom, where Misao tells Chip that Tammy has a firearm in her possession.
 
A couple of minutes into her breast feeding her baby; Tammy can hear an argument outside the door followed by the doorknob being tried to open. Not liking what she is hearing, she slowly opens her hip pack and pulls out a round cylinder which she holds between her teeth, followed by her handgun. Putting the gun between herself and the baby, she takes the round cylinder from her mouth and screws it into the muzzle of her gun, making sure it's tight against the barrel. Holding the baby tighter against her, Tammy extends her arm with gun in hand out over the child and takes aim at the door.
 
The lock eventually gets undone and the door partially opens. Chip can be heard yelling, "No One Is Allowed In This Place With Any Weapons!" The door finally opens fully and he steps into the doorway, finding Tammy holding the baby close to her with one arm and a gun extended over the child aimed at him.
 
"Give me a DAMN good reason why you dare interrupt my baby's breast feeding." Tammy tells him in a very cold and threatening tone of voice.
 
All Chip can do is stare at her, the baby suckling on her breast and the gun aimed at him. Unable to say a word, Tammy gives him a final warning, "Leave or I drop you where you stand."
 
Gadget runs into the doorway, "I'm sorry Tammy, I'll make sure you are left alone!" before grabbing Chip by the back of his leather jacket and pulls him away from the door as it closes against the doorframe.
 
Tammy relaxes and puts the gun down on the chair next to her, letting it go and leaving it there. With her free hand, she reaches over and brushes the light soft red baby hair from Francesca’s forehead. Less than another ten minutes the baby Francesca stops feeding on Tammy's breast and is sleeping in her arm. Carefully she puts the baby back in its carriage, loosening the blanket wrapping she was in. Then she sits back on the chair and lets out a pent up breath.
 
"Whoo..." she lets out her breath, and then looks around and then down at her breasts. The one Francesca drank from was slightly smaller than the other, when it's usually the other way around and a lot less noticeable for her. "Francesca, you're going to need to feed from the other breast to keep me even, OK?" Tammy says to herself.
 
A soft and short "Ahh..." comes from the baby carriage, making Tammy get up slightly from her seat and looks inside the carriage. She notices that Francesca had shifted herself into another position but still sleeps. Reaching into her blouse, she adjusts herself into her bra and clips the clasp into place and then buttons up her blouse.
 
She takes her gun and undoes the silencer from the barrel, putting them both into her hip pack. Quietly she gets up from the seat, closing the carriage hood most of the way and rolls it to the door. Opening door took some doing as it opens into the room and not out into the hall but she manages to get the carriage out of the room without waking up the baby. In seconds she is out into the main room where the others waited for her. Chip walks up to her with a raised finger.
 
"You listen here..." Chip says loudly.
 
"No. You Listen..." Tammy interrupts him, sternly telling him, "You get loud and wake up my child, and I will make you regret that you made her cry by making you cry. Got that!" Then she looks around, seeing Misao at the corner of the room, "That goes double for you." She turns back to Chip, "I know what you beef is. So I got a gun, and several government licenses to carry such protection, which overrides the rules of this establishment. And the reason is simple, besides me working for various government agencies along with my husband, it's for me to protect my home and my family from those who would do me and my family harm by people with a lot more power and money than Fat Cat could dream about. People who are backed up by government agencies from around the world. So unless you can protect me, my daughter, my sister and my home, then shut up. You can't do what I have to do."
 
Tammy rolls the carriage to a nearby seat but then turns to face Chip. She takes a few steps to him and slaps him hard across the face enough to make him stagger. "That is for interrupting my daughter's breast feeding session. I don't care what you wanted to talk about, the only people who can see my bare and feeding breasts are those in my family and you are not part of that group." Tammy tells him, "Next time you interrupt me breast feeding my daughter, I will shoot you dead without warning. Got that!"
 
Chip could only nervously nod as he leans against the wall rubbing his face where he was struck.
 
"That goes double for you, Monty and Zipper and triple for you, Dale!" Tammy says as she walks to the chair. She sits down and looks at everyone. "Where's Jeanette?" She then asks.
 
"She's on her way, something about getting DOS ready." Gadget tells her.
 
"And you, Misao, that little two-seater can't take us all. And I'm not taking my Jaguar to this trip." Tammy asks and explains.
 
"A Limo-van will take us to the airport." Misao answers.
 
"Will it fit the carriage without folding it?" Tammy asks.
 
"It should. It's about the half size of a city bus." Misao answers.
 
"Then thank you." Tammy tells her.
 
"I don't see why you have to bring your pup with you." Chip says out loud to himself. The women of the room, including Jeanette who has just entered all turned to face Chip, all with evil scowls. Chip now knows he's in deep trouble, but how deep remains to be seen.
 
The women walk up to Chip, Gadget grabs and twists his ear more turns than she can actually twist her wrist. Jeanette still carrying her bags and Misao stand to either side of him, letting Tammy to stand in the middle where she sends a knee to his groin and a tightly clenched fist across his jaw as he double over in pain from the groin hit to his gonads. He crumples to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut in mid show. They turn to the remaining men.
 
"You have a problem with me bringing my baby on this mission?" Tammy sternly asks them.
 
"No!" Dale say first immediately followed by Monty throwing in, "No Problem a' all! Let me know, an' I'll carry da carriage for ya!"
 
"Thank you." Tammy says as she returns to her seat. As she falls into cushions, she lets out a sigh. The men carry Chip into his room and close the door behind them.
 
"Well, I'm here." Jeanette asks as she puts down her bags.
 
"Thank you for coming and for your future help on this trip." Tammy says.
 
"Wha...?" Misao asks out loud to herself.
 
"It's an agreement she and I made last night." Jeanette explains.
 
"And I'm going to hold you up to that agreement." Tammy throws in.
 
"I'm a woman of my word." Jeanette tells her.
 
"Good. Misao, when is that limo-van coming?" Tammy says and asks.
 
"We got a couple of hours." Misao answers.
 
"Good. I'm going to take a nap." Tammy lets out with a yawn.
 
"This is not a time to sleep." Misao states.
 
"Taking care of a baby is not easy. With diaper changes and 2AM feedings, she needs her rest." Jeanette explains.
 
"I'm not going to be sleeping. Just be very quiet." Tammy throws in.
 
"Got enough diapers and milk for the trip?" Jeanette asks.
 
"She's not due for a change for another half hour but I have enough diapers for a week without needing to wash them. But they should be washed daily, you know why." Tammy answers in explanation, adding, "And you know I'm the source of the baby's nourishment."
 
"Oh, yeah." Jeanette says.
 
"Wash the diapers?" Misao asks.
 
"They're cloth diapers." Jeanette answers.
 
"Cloth diapers? Why not disposables ones?" Misao asks.
 
"I would need 100 boxes of diapers for her on this mission if I used those things. I'm also more ecologically sound in not adding to the garbage dump with those things. A disposable diaper can only be used once. A cloth diaper when washed properly can be used again and again for years. Besides, those things give her a rash." Tammy explains.
 
"How are you doing, keeping up with the feedings and all?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I'm fine. Just have to eat for two, more so now that I'm not pregnant and she's feeding from me." Tammy answers.
 
"You ate breakfast?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I had a fruit salad at the café." Tammy begins, "I have to be careful in what I eat because the flavor and other things can come out in the milk."
 
"All natural diet then?" Jeanette asks.
 
"It has to be. And no coffee, the caffeine leeches into the milk. Funny, Fernando says that I taste a lot sweeter." Tammy answers.
 
"Tammy, that's too much information!" Jeanette complains.
 
"No, it's true. Instead of smelling all sweaty, when I take off my clothes at the end of the day and give them a sniff, they smell fresh, sweet and fruity."
 
"How about meat, vegetables, grains and nuts?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I eat those too, not much like I used too though." Tammy answers.
 
"Misao?" Jeanette calls to her, "Any way to adjust for Tammy's diet on the trip?"
 
"It's a private plane we're getting on, but we can pick up a few things for her along the way." Misao answers.
 
"Good. Tammy, you can eat canned fruit or it needs to be fresh?" Jeanette says and then asks.
 
"I can deal with canned fruit for a couple of days, but fresh fruit would be better. Fresh fruit is more nutritious." Tammy answers.
 
"What about juices? And milk?" Jeanette asks.
 
"It's necessary to have both, but not together." Tammy asks, "Although Fernando knows a way to mix milk and orange-pineapple juice without making the milk curdle. It tastes good when he makes it."
 
"Milk and orange juice?" Misao complains with her tongue sticking out and holding her stomach.
 
"Never had an Orange Julius? That's what it is, though it is quite difficult to make." Jeanette tells her.
 
"Only takes him a few minutes." Tammy says.
 
"I got some almond milk and cheese." Gadget throws in.
 
"No thanks. I just need to rest." Tammy says. But rest does not come as a soft cry comes from the baby carriage, growing louder. Tammy sighs in defeat and slowly gets up, opening the hood of the carriage. She picks up the baby and holds her, "What's wrong Francesca?" The smell of a dirty diaper catches everyone's nose at once.
 
"Whoa!" both Gadget and Misao complain.
 
Tammy lays the baby back in the carriage and opens the baby bag tied to the carriage handle, working on changing the diaper, cleaning, and powdering her little girl in less than a minute. The dirty diaper and wiping cloth goes into a sealed zip lock bag.
 
She pushes the baby carriage to the bathroom, keeping the door open and unseals the ziplock bag. Taking out the diaper, she holds it by a corner while dunking the rest of it in the toilet. She flushes the toilet to remove the baby's excrement from the cloth, taking three flushes to get it all but the stain removed. She puts the diaper and wiping cloth in the basin sink, running hot water over it with the drain sealed. She takes another ziplock bag of a white powder and pours half the bag onto the diaper. It takes her a couple of minutes to hand wash the items, rinsing it a couple of times.
 
She takes the diaper and wiping cloth and wrings it dry, and then turns to face the baby carriage, but sees the other women there.
 
"What?" Tammy asks of them.
 
"You do that every time you have to change her diaper?" Misao asks.
 
"No, I usually flush out the baby's shit and then throw it in the washing machine with the others and let the washer/dryer take care of them during the night. But since this is a trip, I have to do what I have to do." Tammy explains, "Gadget, can I use your dryer?"
 
"Oh sure..." Gadget says.
 
"That was one of the most unsanitary things I ever seen." Misao complains.
 
"It's what your grandmother did on your mother's bottom, and her mother before her since plastic disposable diapers were not invented until twenty years ago..." Tammy tells her, "Besides, the soap is anti bacterial baby soap known by the name ‘Dreft', so I'm clean of any so-called contaminating harmful bacteria. Since she's feeding from me, what infection she could give me, I'm giving to her so it's a closed circuit between us. You would understand that if you were a mother and take care of your own child."
 
They walk to the room next to the bathroom where a washing machine and dryer standing beside each other. Tammy opens the dryer and puts the cloth diaper and wiping cloth inside, putting it on ‘HOT' setting for 12 minutes. They all stand around as the dryer spins to do its job.
 
"You told her about flying the plane?" Tammy asks Jeanette.
 
"I just got here." Jeanette answers.
 
"So when were you going to tell her?" Tammy asks.
 
"What about the flying plane?" Misao asks.
 
"Francesca is an infant, so the flight has to be low and rise to altitude slowly and steady to keep the pressure even or the sudden pressure change would injure her." Jeanette explains.
 
"What?" Misao replies suddenly.
 
"Babies under the age of one year are not allowed to fly on airlines because their developing bodies are still weak unless the flight on the plane is low and steady. You tell the pilots and show the baby and they will know what to do." Jeanette tells her.
 
"They better." Tammy tells her.
 
"They will. And it won't delay the flight by too much." Jeanette tells them.
 
"What about the carriage?" Gadget asks.
 
"It can fold down to half the size with all the bags in it but I will need the baby bag I have tied to the carriage handle." Tammy answers.
 
"We can have it secured in the back of the jet. Right Misao?" Jeanette answers for her.
 
"What kind of jet is this?" Tammy asks.
 
"It's a long range 737BBJ." Misao answers.
 
"I see, at least two stops then." Tammy says.
 
"What do you mean, at least two stops?" Misao asks.
 
"If we're meeting the fleet at Pearl Harbor, and then we are going to have to stop at Los Angeles International to refuel. If we are going to Tokyo, Japan then we will have to stop at Seattle, Washington and then at Anchorage, Alaska to refuel there. Either way, you said it's a long-range 737BBJ which should be a 737BBJ-ER, and that has a 3,800-mile range. Hawaii is 52-hundred miles away and Japan is more than 7,800 miles away. If this was a 747BBJ-ER, we would not need to refuel to get there but the 737 is a smaller plane with less range." Tammy answers.
 
"When did you become an expert on aircraft?" Misao asks.
 
"Since my job with the SWA requires for me to have such skills." Tammy answers.
 
"The SWA, weren't they disbanded?" Misao asks.
 
"Believe that." Tammy tells her, "It does not matter where you get your information; you should at least verify your facts. Speaking of facts, Jeanette, tell her what Fernando told you last night."
 
Jeanette released a pent up breath of air, not wanting to say anything, but Misao's inquiry forces her to answers, "What did Fernando tell you to tell me?"
 
"Fernando said that he does not care about the Atlantean involvement in this mission. But according to him we are going in over our heads, which is why he refused the mission last year." Jeanette explains.
 
"My dear Jeanette, how can I say this? Fernando is a coward." Misao tells her outright.
 
"I'm not going to argue that point." Jeanette throws in.
 
"You can't, because he is." Misao throws back.
 
Jeanette notices Tammy giving her the eye, forcing her to talk, "There are more Triads than there are people in North America, and one in twenty people in Japan is a member of the Yaccusa. There are about 10 of us in this group? No way we are going to handle millions of people who are gang members."
 
"I think you are over stating the problem. All we need to do is find and point out the gang members in political office and the government will do the rest." Misao explains.
 
"Considering that the police are run by the Triads and the Yaccusa have the judges in their pockets..." Jeanette begins to explain.
 
"You siding with him or are you part of this mission?" Misao asks her sternly.
 
"I have my own reasons to be part of this mission." Jeanette answers.
 
"I see. I hope there are no conflicts of interest here." Misao says to her.
 
"There are no conflicts of interest. There are concerns, and I made them known." Jeanette tells her.
 
"Let's make sure there are none, for we have a long mission a head of us." Misao tells her.
 
"I think you are missing the point." Tammy brings up.
 
"I doubt I am." Misao begins to say.
 
"You are missing the point." Tammy interrupts her. "You know what my husband is doing?"
 
"He's somewhere in South America destroying a few small crops of marijuana and cocaine and telling small time drug farmers to stop it or else." Misao answers, "There is nothing I don't know about his missions."
 
"Apparently you are more in the dark than anyone here." Tammy tells her, "Disinformation for fun and profit, I'm going to tell you this much: Nazi rebirth in South America, reunification of the Axis Powers, Genetic Technology used to usher in a new wave of genocidal holocaust against the Atlanteans. Stopping that is what my husband and his crew's mission."
 
"Do you hear yourself what you are saying?" Misao says trying to hold back her laughter, "Nazi rebirth in South America, Reunification of the Axis Powers? Genetic technology used to create a holocaust against the Atlanteans? Please, don't make me laugh."
 
"I would be laughing too, if I was not shown evidence to its truth last night." Jeanette tells her, covering for Tammy.
 
"Pray tell, what was this evidence?" Misao asks, still wanting to laugh.
 
"A walk-through of a secret medical lab in South America used by Josef Mengele." Jeanette answers, lying to add to the cover.
 
"But Jeanette, Josef Mengele has been dead since 1977." Misao tells her.
 
"It was not Josef Mengele but one of his clones." Jeanette responds.
 
"You do know how stupid this sounds. Chances are what you saw was a fake movie scene walk-through, like on The Alien Autopsy Internet Movie on Youtube." Misao tells her.
 
"Just as stupid as the conspiracy theories saying that Japanese are Atlanteans from outer space." Tammy lets out enough to be heard.
 
"Touché Mrs. Squirrel-G." Jeanette says to herself softly.
 
"*Hmph!*" Misao lets out, throwing in, "I do not care what others have to say about the Atlanteans. They don't need to know where the Atlanteans came from. All they need to know is that they are part of the global community."
 
"You say that when they start burying them in graves by the thousands." Tammy starts, "Until then, we are all going to pretend that everything is honky dory."
 
"My. You used to be the skittish quiet one, but now you got a mouth." Misao tells her.
 
"People change when they go through severe events. For me it was losing my mother and sister, getting chased, getting kidnapped, recovering my sister, working for the Italian Government, being almost killed, getting married and having a baby. But no matter how much I changed, you remained the same." Tammy tells her in return. After a second or two of silence, she throws in, "If you don't mind, I want and will be getting my rest. And while I am resting, I want no one to be talking about my husband or what we think we know. So don't disturb me unless the limo-bus is here. Only Francesca can disturb me."
 
Misao was about to say something but the looks on Gadget and Jeanette tells her otherwise.
 
Though 10 minutes has passed, Tammy opens the dryer and takes out the cloth diaper and wiping cloth. She puts them to her cheek and rubs her fingers into the cloth; she nods to herself before taking a ziplock bag from the baby bag tied onto the carriage handle. They get folded up and put into a new ziplock bag and into the baby bag. Tammy takes the handle of the baby carriage and rolls it back to the main room where she sits back down on the chair.
 
"Don't get too comfortable." Misao tells her, "I have Intel to hand out and discuss."
 
"You can say it on the plane or on the ship on the way to Japan." Tammy tells her.
 
"What I have to say, I will say it now." Misao says in return.
 
"Without the guys?" Gadget asks.
 
"I don't want to see Chip rubbing his crotch trying to sooth his pain Tammy gave him." Jeanette says out loud.
 
"What I have to say, I have to say it to you ladies only." Misao tells them all.
 
"Oh pray tell what is that?" Tammy mockingly asks.
 
"Even though we will be dealing with Asian Royalty, this is not an opportunity to be chasing after favors or dates." Misao tells them.
 
"I'm happily married." Tammy responds to the silly demand.
 
"So am I." Gadget adds.
 
"Don't look at me. I'm not interested." Jeanette lets out.
 
"We know..." both Gadget and Tammy tells her.
 
"Ha ha." Jeanette lets out in a sarcastic tone.
 
"But seriously. Fernando gives me everything I would ever want, including the sun, moon and stars." Tammy explains.
 
"Chip does the same thing for me." Gadget adds.
 
"I doubt Chip would be able to do anything like that." Misao replies, "As for Fernando, he's too cheap to give a real woman what she wants."
 
"He gave me the Star of India." Jeanette tries to sway the argument.
 
"I'm sure that fake trinket came from a lab somewhere." Misao argues.
 
Tammy thinks about showing off the blade but doesn't as she thinks Misao would try to take it later on in the trip. For now it stays hidden in its place in the baby's carriage. But at least she will give her a few words to chew on.
 
"He gives me everything I want, and all I ever wanted was a little family of my own." Tammy tells her.
 
Misao carefully thinks her words, knowing that saying the wrong thing will send Tammy home. Thus she says, "Any guy could have done that for you."
 
"No guy would have gotten married to make that family. Most guys just want to have the sex and walk away from the responsibility. Nor would they have put up with the rescue missions in Italy like he has. And if they did rescued me, they would have demanded sex as a reward for saving me." Tammy tells her, adding, "Say one more thing about my husband and I will be leaving for home, even after I shake hands with the Emperor. Fernando is willing to stay with me through the good times and the bad. You seem to come and go as you please, especially when you or the Atlanteans need help, and make demands when you are here. Remember, you are not my boss and you need me more than I will ever need you."
 
In Misao's mind, at least she didn't leave.
 
Jeanette tries to change the subject, "Would you like to eat something, Tammy?"
 
"Not yet." Tammy answers, "I got another couple of hours before I eat."
 
"We will be leaving in a couple of hours." Misao reminds her.
 
"And?" Tammy asks, "My priorities do not match yours, Misao. If you want me to do things, then you are going to abide by my wants and needs."
 
"I abide by your wants and needs, you are going to do what has to be done for this mission." Misao tells her.
 
"Understand this: I am volunteering for this mission. That means I will be doing what is needed when I please, leave when I please and get paid accordingly." Tammy tells her, pointing out, "My sister will be graduating from her school in Italy in a few weeks. I will walk out of the mission to be in that graduation and return afterwards because my family comes first. Got that?"
 
"Got it." Misao replies, "And you get this: this is not a frivolous mission. You are not to use it to supplement yourself, your income, your social status; you are a volunteer, and thus you will be treated as a volunteer and receive nothing for the work you do for us except for your normal pay. If you are to receive a reward or recognition of this work, it will be decided upon by us and not by you."
 
"Then so be it. We'll see who gets a reward or not." Tammy answers. She gets up and checks on the baby before she starts walking to the door.
 
"Wait a minute! Where are you going?" Gadget says before the others.
 
Tammy stops by the door and turns to her, "If you want me, I'll be at my home." She then opens the door and pushes the carriage outside, making her way onto the path.
 
Jeanette runs out of the house with her bags and towards Tammy, calling for her half way from catching up to her, "Tammy!"
 
Tammy stops as she turns around to see Jeanette trotting up to her, and Gadget holding the door to her place open. "I'm going home. I'm not going to get any rest with her there." She says before turning around and continues walking.
 
"But..." Jeanette tries to say as she catches up.
 
"I need my rest. I'll go to the mission, but I need my rest and that bitch is keeping me from getting it. I'm not asking for much. Just pick me up when that limo van comes. Alright?" Tammy explains, interrupting her.
 
"Then I walk you home." Jeanette replies.
 
The long walk to Tammy's house was uneventful though lengthy. The door opens when they approach it and enter the domain. They go down the hall to the living room where Tammy parks the carriage by the sofa where she sits down. It takes her a few moments to make a comment.
 
"Damn that Misao..." Tammy says to herself.
 
"I know she's not liked by some including this family, but she has to be respected." Jeanette states as she walks to a nearby chair.
 
"I know what Fernando says in that regard but she does not respect me or this family, she proved that today." Tammy replies, "Maybe I should not go. What for?"
 
"It's not to do her any favors, but they do need help. As Fernando told me years ago, if you can help, and then do so." Jeanette answers.
 
"I'm not sure we can. I just sense a trap in this." Tammy begins to explain, "It is not just a few people we are dealing with, it's millions. And if it's just arresting high-ranking officials, we need to deal with their staff as well and that's hundreds if not thousands of individuals. Plus when this gets out on the news media, we'll be marked for death."
 
"It should not be that many." Jeanette replies.
 
"Hold onto that thought." Tammy says before getting up and walking to her bedroom.
 
The bedroom door can be heard slamming shut, and then being heard slamming shut a second time a couple of minutes later. She returns and drops a heavy red loose-leaf binder on Jeanette's lap.
 
"Hey!" Jeanette lets out loud, and then she looks at the binder, opening its front cover. Sections of pages are tabulated by continents and then by nations. "What is this?" Jeanette asks as she turns to the tab labeled ‘Japan.'
 
"It's a list of known individuals involved in organized crime and government corruption. What you are looking at is the Yaccusa in Japan. China is on a dual layer 8GB DVD Rom because it's so huge." Tammy explains.
 
"Uhm..." Jeanette looks at the list, "Hirohito Kashakura, Captain of the Royal Guard?"
 
"Almost 90 percent of the royal guard is a member of the Yaccusa." Tammy explains, "As is 75 percent of the Japanese Parliament and their staff. Continue on and see how much of the police force is involved."  
 
Jeanette closes the binder, "No thank you."
 
"We would be nothing more than interlopers, gatecrashers, trespassers, and molesters to their way of life. We mention any name on that list - we're going home in pine boxes. That is if there are bodies found." Tammy explains.
 
"And if anything happens to you and your baby, Fernando would nuke Japan off the face of the earth." Jeanette replies.
 
"Nuking would be the half of it." Tammy throws in, "No. He would go back in time and make sure that Japan would never be formed, the Atlanteans will never arrive there, let alone on Earth at all."
 
"Isn't that a little harsh?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I would think not. He's done it before to entire lines of families. Though he's not responsible for these, why you think the Byrons, the Shellys, the Poes and the Thomases lines ended at the famous person? Somebody wanted them dead and no more and thus they became." Tammy explains.
 
"I doubt that it's the deliberate action of some organized effort that did them in, but there are certain events in time that cannot be changed. That is a given. The storm that killed Lord Byron and Percy Shelly was one. The drinking habits of Edgar Allen Poe and Dylan Thomas were notably quite self-destructive. You could have stopped them from killing themselves by drinking to death on that particular day, you would not on another day thus only delaying a self fulfilling self destructive prophecy." Jeanette explains, "I doubt he would destroy a whole line of global history to satisfy his anger."
 
"We will have to see." Tammy says, "This mission is a lot more dangerous than it seems. I see it, you see it, but Misao doesn't? I think she is leading us into a trap."
 
"I think she does not know the scope of the problem." Jeanette throws in.
 
"Every Oriental Asian knows how ingrained the Triads and the Yaccusa are. It's part of their everyday life; it's part of their culture. Even the ABCs here know how ingrained they are." Tammy explains.
 
"ABC's?" Jeanette asks.
 
"It's a euphemism for ‘American Born Chinese,' though it includes all Asian Orientals born in the USA." Tammy explains, "And yes, they know about the Triads and Yaccusa because their tentacles reach over to here." Tammy explains.
 
"Can I dare ask how you would know this?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Other than being common knowledge?" Tammy asks as she point to the red binder.
 
"You're not an Oriental Asian." Jeanette points out.
 
"So I'm not. But I know who is." Tammy answers the original question. She gets up to go to bedroom.
 
Tammy returns to the living room as she carries a laptop in her arms, which she sets down on the living room table. It wakes up from sleep mode as she opens the case to reveal the screen and keyboard. A few strokes of the track pad and a click of the mouse button, the same telecommunications program used to talk with Fernando gets turned on. She scrolls down a list of names, finally choosing one on the names on the "J" list. It takes a moment for the call to be answer. It eventually gets answered.
 
"Hello?" a high-pitched female voice answers but the cover on the camera was on not revealing who it was. At least Tammy was able to recognize Jeanie's voice.
 
"Hi Jeanie." Tammy replies.
 
"Jeanie?" Jeanette asks to herself.
 
"You know what time is it?" Jeanie asks.
 
"Around 9:30 in the morning here." Tammy answers.
 
"It's past midnight over here." Jeanie throws back at her, lifting the visor from the digital camera to reveal herself in her typical nearly see-through negligee. "Everything alright with Fernando?" she asks.
 
"He's fine, on a mission in South America involving cloned Nazis." Tammy answers.
 
"The Boys From Brazil mission?" Jeanie asks.
 
"Yup." Tammy answers.
 
"I see." Jeanie says, and then almost complains, "I know you don't like me because I tried to steal your husband, but he was mine long before you were born. So this can't be a personal call."
 
"I need you to tell this person who you are, where you are, and how engrained the Triads and Yaccusa are." Tammy explains, and then introduces before turning the laptop to her, "But first, this is Jeanette, Fernando's former EMT Partner at the café."
 
"You. I know you." Jeanie almost shouts out, "You're Misao's partner."
 
"I'm not her partner. Friend maybe, not partner." Jeanette tells her, and then asks, "Who are you?"
 
"I'll answer Tammy's questions, but first, why you need to know this?" Jeanie asks.
 
"We are about to embark on a mission in Japan..." Jeanette started to say.
 
"Do not say anymore. Tammy! I want to see you!" Jeanie shouts at the screen.
 
Tammy turns the laptop around, "I'm here."
 
"This is that Triads – Yaccusa mission I told you not to involve yourself in last year?" Jeanie asks, "Don't do it at all costs."
 
"Who is she?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I know." Tammy says at Jeanie.
 
"Give me back at that ‘munk." Jeanie tells her.
 
Tammy slowly turns the laptop to Jeanette.
 
Jeanie then gives Jeanette a scowl before telling her, "Who am I? I am with the stroke of a few keyboard keys can make or break a politician's career, alter the economy of nations, and make heroes out of nobodies. I am Jeanie Chin, editor and owner of the Chinese and Asian News Networks. Between my newspapers, magazines, and news information shows, I make more money a day than Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the Queen of England makes in a year combined, I have access to more people and computer systems than they can and I do it every day. That is who I am and what I can do, Miss Jeanette. I sway the thinking of over two billion minds with the information I expose for all to see. Now I'm telling you to drop this case. There are over 600-million Triads in Asia alone, another 20-million Yaccusa members in the tiny island of Japan. They will know who you are, when you will arrive, drive you to your destination, replace your hotel blankets and towels. They will go through your private belongings even if you have the hotel manager lock them in the hotel safe. They will know which hand you wipe yourself with in the bathroom and where you place the soap when you shower. They will be making your breakfast, lunch and dinner, mixing your drinks at the bar. If they want you dead, you would not know who did it. Now, I'm telling you to back off from this mission or you will be dead if you don't."
 
"How can I be sure that you are who you say you are?" Jeanette asks in a challenging tone.
 
"When are you to arrive in Japan?" Jeanie asks.
 
"Just before the signing of the Korean – Japanese treaty." Jeanette answers.
 
"Then, Tammy. I will post notice of your arrival there so you can be treated in a hero's welcome for what you did in Italy. Fernando coming too?" Jeanie says and asks.
 
"Fernando will still be in South America. I will be there with our daughter." Tammy answers as she moves next to Jeanette to be seen on the screen.
 
"Daughter?" Jeanie asks, "When you two finally did it?"
 
"That's none of your business, but she's recently born so I will be going there by sea." Tammy explains.
 
"You know Fernando is a national hero there. The Japanese public is going to want to see the baby and interview you. I can set that up for you if you like." Jeanie tells her.
 
"I'll talk with Fernando first about this. I'll let you know what he decides." Tammy explains.
 
"Tell him to call me, and we'll discuss the details. Don't worry, I'll respect your privacy if he says no." Jeanie replies.
 
"Good." Tammy responds.
 
"Can I see the baby?" Jeanie asks.
 
"Not now, because she is sleeping. Maybe when I get to Japan I can show her to you if you're there." Tammy answers.
 
"I'll be there. Let me know when." Jeanie answers.
 
"I leave today to go to Pearl Harbor by plane. Then it's a slow navy boat to Japan." Tammy explains.
 
"By plane?" Jeanie almost gasps, "Newborns and infants are too young to go on planes!"
 
"I know. That's why I will be demanding that the pilots take off slow and fly low to not hurt the baby." Tammy explains.
 
"They better. Have the baby checked out by a doctor after the flight." Jeanie tells her.
 
"I did not think of that. Thanks, I will." Tammy responds.
 
"Keep in touch, and I'll see you in Japan." Jeanie says, and then she goes into her desk drawer and adds as she holds up a brick of monetary bills, "That's for the baby when I see her."
 
Jeanette could only drop her jaw at the amount of money shown.
 
"That's not necessary." Tammy tells her.
 
"Come on now. I'm practically her step-mom. Anything the baby needs, when in Asia, she has it." Jeanie tells her in return.
 
"Alright. I'll talk to Fernando about it." Tammy says.
 
"He'll tell you to take it because I take ‘No!' for an answer." Jeanie tells her.
 
"Alright, like I said, I'll talk to Fernando about it." Tammy throws back.
 
"Just do because I will be speaking to him about it and this mission." Jeanie says, "I'll be waiting for your next call."
 
The screen goes black from her disconnecting the call on her end.
 
Tammy does not turn to Jeanette as she tells and asks her, "‘They will know who you are when you arrive, drive you to your destination, replace your hotel blankets and towels, go through your private belongings locked up in the hotel safe, know which hand you wipe yourself with, where you place the soap, make your breakfast, lunch and dinner, and mixing your drinks at the bar.' You tell me how deep are we going to be and if we can tread water long enough to swim out of it? This is a no win situation. At least with Padania, it was just a few idiots we went after though there were hundreds if not thousands. Here we are dealing with millions, who will know when we will get there, why we are there and who we will see. Why are we even doing this, Jeanette?"
 
"You want to cancel and not go? I can talk to Misao about it." Jeanette asks and then says.
 
"No. I'm going, that's not the problem, but I won't be there alone with the baby when I return from Italy. I will have added help and protection when I return from Bink's graduation." Tammy answers.
 
"Bink is not going to be able to protect you." Jeanette replies.
 
"Who said anything about Bink?" Tammy asks, and then says, "I'll be back with everybody from Section 2 if I have too."
 
"I doubt they would come just because you ask." Jeanette says.
 
"They will. Besides, Fernando is still just one phone call away. I would not be surprised if he has a Chrono Server Lock on me and the baby in case anything happens to us." Tammy explains as she closes the laptop, "So that's not the least of my worries. What are Misao's intentions on this? We all know that this is a no-win mission, so why take it?"
 
"You know the saying, ‘the bigger the risk; the bigger the reward.' Well, it's obvious. Taking on something this big would have a reward bigger than anything the rangers have ever seen." Jeanette answers.
 
"Taking something this big means the reward is so big that it can influence the world's global economy and status of world super power." Tammy explains, "In fact, the only way I see to win this is to take the leadership from these factions and put them in hiding for a while. Having that much power in being able to manipulate the actions of these two gangs, I rather not want to think the consequences of such an action."
 
"You really think Misao would do that?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Misao already leads the Atlanteans because you gave her the ability to Time Travel long ago. If it weren't for the Time Lord's decision allowing her to keep those abilities so that Fernando would have a nemesis, this would have ended a long time ago with the Atlanteans being nothing more than just an undecipherable scribble on some archeologist's notepad about some Inca Ruins. Now she has power over a population that can threaten either of those two groups, if gaining control of either one or both, she can manipulate the governments from within with their internal influence. And then what? She has control over a major section of the world." Tammy explains.
 
"If true, how you figured all this out? She is an ascended being." Jeanette asks.
 
"Ascended being or not, it's the next logical step. Not saying that she would be into world conquest, but to lead The Atlaneans into something bigger would be something for her. Imagine, if she can led all the Atlaneans, half Atlanteans, quarter Atlanteans, anyone and everyone with a bit of Atlanteans gene in them caused by Atlantean Diaspora, that would be a major cultural force to be reckoned with. And with her leading it, who knows how far it will go." Tammy tells her.
 
"It's a little farfetched, don't you think?" Jeanette asks.
 
"Just as farfetched as the Nazi's reunification in South America and the rebuilding of the Roman Empire. Come to think about it, she would fit right in with those egomaniacs." Tammy replies.
 
"That is my friend you are talking about." Jeanette starts to tell her.
 
"What about Misao talking dirt about my husband?" Tammy asks. She pauses for a second, and then continues, "I know you tried to state a couple of nice things about him but you need to stand up to her. You can't coward when she tries to challenge you and your statements."
 
"How do we know that secret base background in Fernando's phone call is real?" Jeanette asks.
 
"I'll just answer your question with a question. Who Fernando is working for?" Tammy tells her.
 
"The CIA." Jeanette says as she thinks about it, "But really. What he says about them all the time, Disinformation for fun and profit? How can I trust anything he says based on that?" Jeanette says and asks.
 
"You need to trust the person who making the comment, and not the comment itself. I know Fernando has put you through some hardships, but he was always there to catch you when you fell, right?" Tammy answers the question and asks one of her own.
 
"He has, but he should not have, he did not had to and that's the point between me and him. If this is how he treats friends, I would sure hate to see how he treats his enemies." Jeanette answers then comments.
 
"He kills his enemies. Especially those who crossed the line on threatening him and his family." Tammy replies.
 
"He has not deliberately killed anyone outside of self-defense in a long time." Jeanette responds.
 
"You may be right on that, because on thinking about that, though he did killed Christiano Savonarola, Mr. Savonarola drew his gun first. The more I think about it, all of Fernando's killings have been what Hondo calls as ‘the quick draw.' We all know nobody is faster than he is." Tammy says as she thinks, "It could be that he's setting them up."
 
"Well..." Jeanette started to say.
 
"Well nothing." Tammy says. She takes the cushion from the back of the sofa and props it up against the armrest, and then curls up into a ball at her end of the sofa, "Enough of this talk, I'm taking a nap."
 
"Maybe you should unfold the bed from this couch." Jeanette says as she gets up off the sofa.  
 
"Too much work for one. Too noisy and it might wake up the baby, two." Tammy says, getting quieter as she says each word. She lets out a quiet yawn after finishing what she said.
 
Though she seems to sleep, she was not sleeping, rather resting with her eyes closed. She would preferred if her husband was there to tell her how wonderful things have been since their marriage, how great things will be with their family and what the future might bring. But he is not there. However Jeanette is.
 
"Anything to drink?" Jeanette asks as she heads to the kitchen.
 
"Water, soda, juice. Everything else is for the baby" Tammy quietly explains.
 
"I see." Jeanette says as she picks up a half-gallon bottle with a hand written label, which makes her ask, "Mango and cantaloupe?"
 
"Two mangoes with one cantaloupe, pureed in a high speed blender with half a cup of water and a spoonful of sugar to take out the bite the cantaloupe rind might bring." Tammy explains.
 
"Cantaloupe rind?" Jeanette asks.
 
"It's not like the whole cantaloupe is thrown into the blender. It's the flesh cut close to the rind and that bring some bitterness. It is where most of the nutrients are. Bring me a glass if you don't mind." Tammy explains and requests.
 
"I see." Jeanette says as she prepares two glasses of the juice.
 
Putting the bottle back in the refrigerator, she takes the two glasses to the sofa, giving one of them to Tammy as she gently sat on the table. They both take a sip from the glass.
 
"This is not bad at all..." Jeanette says out loud though meaning to herself. She then asks, "You know how to make it?"
 
"One cantaloupe cut up into cubes as close to the rind as possible, of course scoop out and throw out the seeds. Two Mangoes, its flesh scraped off the skin and seed. Throw both in a blender and set it to blend for a while. You may have to push down the solids to get it going. When most of it is getting mixed, throw in a half-cup of water and put it to 'Puree.' When everything looks smooth, throw in a spoon of sugar and let it mix for two minutes. Then it's done. You can do the same with watermelon, honeydews, and other melons." Tammy explains.
 
"We'll see about making it when on the ship. It is a long trip." Jeanette replies.
 
"I don't know about that. I don't know if they will let us into the kitchen or supplies." Tammy responds. She finishes her drink soon after.
 
"Don't know, but we can ask." Jeanette replies.
 
"Only thing I hate about it is the mess. The glasses have to be cleaned as soon as you finish it." Tammy says as she put the empty glass on the table by Jeanette.
 
"I'll take care of it." Jeanette says as she grabs the glass, "Want another?"
 
"One was fine." Tammy says, "And thank you."
 
Jeanette walks to the kitchen with both glasses and washes them out. She puts them away where she got them from before. In coming back to her place on the table, the whole event takes a little over a minute.
 
Once at the table, she notices that Tammy appears to be sleeping.
 
"Tammy, you're asleep?" Jeanette asks.
 
"No." Tammy answers, "I'm resting with my eyes closed."
 
"Look, go take a nap. I'll take care of everything." Jeanette tells her.
 
"No. When you have a baby, you can't sleep like you used too." Tammy tells her in return. "The best you can do is rest."
 
"I see. I'll wake you up in 90 minutes. I'll be in my room upstairs, if I still have a room." Jeanette says and then comments as she gets up to go upstairs.
 
"No one has been upstairs since we returned. As for your future ownership of that room will be discussed after the end this mission." Tammy states.
 
"I see." Jeanette adds. She then goes to the hall and up the stairs to her room.
 
Hearing her go up the stairs, Tammy says to herself, "Good."

Chapter Four: Flight II
 
Tammy starts to walk away to the other bedroom, starting to unbutton her blouse. In under a minute she is in the other bedroom, sitting herself down on the bed. The front clasp of her bra gets undone from the pressure of her index finger against the clasp on her thumb and middle finger, and then one of the connecting straps is dropped against her. She pulls on the other strap, taking the bra cup off her breast before lifting Francesca into position. The baby latches her mouth onto her mother's nipple and begins suckling on it and taking in the nutritious milk being offered.
 
Tammy relaxes as her baby feeds on her, trying not to think about what happened or about anything else. This is bonding time for her. Bonding time with her daughter when she can. She lets out a quiet sigh.
 
"We live in interesting times, Francesca. Very interesting times." Tammy says to herself. The only answer she gets is baby continues suckling on her breast.
 
Francesca continues feeding for another 20 minutes as her mother holds her in a comfortable position. Then Tammy puts her over her shoulder to burp her but it is not required, as she was not bottle-fed. Breast-feeding does not allow air to be swallowed as a bottle would.
 
Looking at the size of the Queen-sized bed, Tammy puts Francesca on it as far back in the middle as she could reach. She then attends to herself in cleaning up and securing herself inside her bra and blouse.
 
Tammy lays back on the bed where Francesca was, laying on her side to face her baby. She reaches over and opens up the wrapping and baby blanket. Francesca stretches and kicks her legs as babies would. Reaching to her baby, she picks her up from the sides over her, exchanging baby looks and baby noises. For the next twenty minutes, she either holds her closely or put her high up in the air, one of the few rituals of parenthood of having fun with their child.
 
Though fun, it can be tiring too as Tammy puts the baby Francesca back on the middle of the bed and lays next to her in a semi fetal position. A knock on the door interrupts their fun, making Tammy go for her purse with her gun inside. The knock on the door repeats itself again.
 
"Miss Tammy." a voice on the door calls for her. It belongs to the stewardess from before.
 
"Is there something wrong?" Tammy asks as she slowly got up from the bed.
 
"No, but I brought you that fruit salad we spoke about earlier." The stewardess replies.
 
"Oh... Come in." Tammy says.
 
The stewardess comes in with a small bowl of fruit salad and plastic cutlery. She gives them to Tammy before sitting down by her.
 
"Can I hold the baby?" The stewardess asks.
 
"Just be very gentle with her." Tammy says before putting the fruit salad bowl to the side with its cutlery. She then picks up Francesca and gently hands her over to the stewardess.
 
"Don't worry, I got five of my own. My youngest about her age." The stewardess explains.
 
"Really?" Tammy asks, taking back the fruit bowl and cutlery, unwrapping the bowl to eat from it.
 
"Yeah, I gave birth to him over two and a half months." The stewardess answers, "They're so beautiful at this age."
 
"So you got five? How do you handle a job and family?" Tammy asks.
 
"The oldest is a boy, and then three girls and now a boy again, but while I'm away my mother takes care of the children." The stewardess explains.
 
"I wish my mother was alive. She would be happy to have a grandchild." Tammy says almost to herself.
 
"Don't dwell on it, and eat up. You need your strength to feed and care for this little bundle of joy. She's yours and no one can take her away from you, and you're not going to let them either." The stewardess tells her.
 
"Yeah, I guess so." Tammy says to herself.
 
Holding the baby in one arm, the stewardess reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her wallet, opening it up and leaves it between them. Tammy picks it up and looks at the identification inside.
 
"Government Agent: Nilah Tompkins?" Tammy says as she looks at the ID card at the see through panel.
 
"Fernando says that he loves you, and Jeanie says that she will pick you and only you with the baby at the port to take you to the emperor's palace. Everyone else is on their own. You have the proof of the emperor's blade?" Nihah explains and asks.
 
"I got it hidden somewhere. But how is this possible?" Tammy asks.
 
"Just because Fernando is in South America does not mean that he can make a few phone calls to ensure your safety. Misao's plane was filled with a few assholes we had to take care of. I'm sure they would have done something to you and the baby. So welcome to the Baby Panda." Nilah explains.
 
"The Baby Panda?" Tammy asks.
 
"Jeanie's plane. The one you were on before was the Giant Panda almost a year ago. Everything was explained to us." Nilah answers.
 
"And everyone?" Tammy asks.
 
"All the crew are agency members except for the pilots, they are of Jeanie's crew. We are all here for you. And on the USS Ronald Reagan, the ship will be nothing but agency member teams running the show." Nilah answers.
 
"Oh god. How deep is he in this mission?" Tammy says to herself.
 
"Deep." Nilah answers.
 
"How deep?" Tammy asks.
 
"Let me put it this way. Fernando had a friend who was a Viet Nam vet during the '59-'63..." Nilah begins.
 
"We were not at war with Viet Nam until 1963!" Tammy says, holding back from getting too loud.
 
"The United States sent ‘Military Advisors' in Viet Nam to train their armies in guerrilla warfare and terrorism. Fernando's friend was one of those military advisors and was sent home when the USA Marines engaged war on them. His friend believes that the US lost the war due to the training the military advisors gave the Vietnamese. That is how the Viet Man War started from 1959 to 1975 instead of 1963 to 1972, as some would lead you to believe. Considering how deep that friend of his was in that mission, your husband is in that deep if not deeper and all of us involved are in as deep for your protection." Nilah explains.
 
Tammy could only sit there with her jaw open.
 
"A lot is riding on you and Fernando, the blood and flesh of a god as the Japanese people revere their emperor is just a small part of it. The newly elected president of the unified Korea, the President of the United States and the Chinese Prime Minister will be there. Rumors say that the Russian Prime Minister might be there too. That is a lot of VIPs there for a simple treaty signing. Misao's plans of trying to eliminate The Triads and The Yaccusa are a ploy to elevate herself into power. Everyone knows that Misao has been vying for the emperor's throne ever since she had rescued them tens of thousands of years ago. It is the Atlanteans who sent their leader to her for negotiations which created the nation of Japan, and Misao's been pissed because she believes that power belongs to her." Nilah explains.
 
"So why don't we arrest her now?" Tammy asks.
 
"Innocent until proven guilty. We can't act until she makes her move." Nilah answers.
 
"I see. And by then it might be too late." Tammy replies.
 
"It would be cutting it close. But we are prepared for every contingent possible." Nilah responds.
 
Tammy looks down at her fruit bowl.
 
"You need to eat all that. You're eating for two, you know" Nilah tells her.
 
"I know." Tammy replies, and then starts to finish off the fruit salad. She puts down the fruit bowl down between them and reaches over to get the baby.
 
Nilah hands the baby to Tammy and then gathers the bowl with the cutlery inside. "I'll see you in a few minutes at your seat, there's some rough weather up ahead. Better to be fastened down during the turbulence." she explains to her.
 
"I'll be there in a few. Could you send another bowl of that fruit salad when I sit down?" Tammy says and asks.
 
"Two bowls of fruit salad? You must be hungry." Nilah teases.
 
"You know I'm eating for two." Tammy says as she wraps up the baby and puts her back in the baby carrier.
 
"Alright. I'll see what I can do. But it will have to be after we pass through the storm." Nihal says with a smile before leaving.
 
Tammy gets the baby secured in her carrier and carries it to her seat. She then secures the seatbelt to the baby carrier before taking the other seat and putting on the seatbelt on herself.
 
In another minute the 'Fasten Your Seatbelts' panel lights up with the pilot taking the microphone to alert everyone on the plane, "Attention all passengers. We will be heading through some rough weather ahead and will be experiencing some heavy turbulence. For your safety, please fasten your seatbelts for the duration of this storm."
 
Of course, Chip does not heed this warning and calls the others 'chicken' because the ride feels so smooth now and the airplane is so big that is can handle the rough winds. But a 737BBJ is no 747, an Airbus 380 or Aivant 255 and even these planes have more trouble with turbulence because of their immense sizes.
 
In a couple of minutes the plane gets hit with an uppercut of a windblast, making it buck up and down. Chip holds on to his seat's arm rests as he bounces off his seat. It gets worse as the plane begins to yaw, plastering Chip's face to the window. As far as he can see in the darkness of the storm, he sees the rain hitting the plane in buckets and the winds sweeping the water off the wings and glass. Lightning adds to the effect, showing a tornado in the background hundreds of miles away, making him turn into a chicken.
 
Another half hour of this wild ride, the plane leaves the storm area. Outside miles away there floats a rainbow ring to either side of the plane. Tammy takes her digital camera and takes a picture of the one on her side. Francesca seems to be enjoying the ride in her sleep. Tammy lets out a yawn before adjusting her seat back a bit. Being more tired than she would admit, she falls asleep into a light nap without intending too.

Chapter Six: Flight III
 
"Ms Squirrel?" a voice is heard with a semi hard shove to wake her.
 
"Huh?" Tammy finally wakes up, "What's going on?"
 
"We passed through the storm, and I have this for you too." the stewardess says, waving a plastic wrapped bowl of fruit salad in front of her.
 
"Oh." Tammy says, "Wait!" She checks on her baby, finding Francesca sleeping. Tammy releases a deep-seated sigh before turning the stewardess and taking the fruit salad bowl, "Thank you." Then she turns to see the others, finding Chip passed out and hung over his armrest. "What happened to him?" she then asks.
 
"He did not fasten his seatbelt and banged his head on the overhead bin during the storm. He'll be fine." the stewardess answers.
 
"Oh. I see." Tammy replies.
 
"Ignore him and enjoy the snack. Lunch will be served in about an hour." the stewardess tells her.
 
Tammy nods before opening the plastic wrapped spork and the fruit salad bowl itself. She begins to eat her snack. Gadget makes her way from her seat on the other aisle behind Tammy to the window seat next to Jeanette. She climbs on top of Francesca's seat.
 
"Tammy?" Gadget quietly calls to her.
 
Tammy looks around and then up over Francesca's seat, finding Gadget propped over the top of the seat. "Yes Gadget?" Tammy asks.
 
"Well... If you get a chance, can we talk in private?" Gadget asks in return.
 
"Alright. After I have this snack." Tammy answers.
 
"OK." Gadget replies. She continues to stay above looking down at Tammy and her baby.
 
Tammy looks up at her, "I can't eat if you're looking down at me. How about you sit down in your seat and relax for a few minutes."
 
"I don't mind." Gadget replies.
 
"Gadget, sit down or we won't have our little talk in private." Tammy tells her in an almost demanding tone.
 
"Oh..." Gadget says before disappearing in her seat behind them.
 
In a couple of minutes, Tammy is done with the fruit salad, pressing the blue button to call for the stewardess. She arrives in a few seconds, taking the fruit bowl and answering Tammy's question about using the free room in the back positively.
 
Tammy undoes the seatbelt from the baby carrier and takes it with Francesca inside with the baby bag over her shoulder. She signals for Gadget to follow her. They walk into the bedroom Tammy used to breast feed Francesca, placing the baby carrier on the bed behind her.
 
"Alright Gadget. What do you want to tell me?" Tammy asks.
 
"Well. Thank you for saving us back in the airport." Gadget starts to say.
 
"That's it?" Tammy asks.
 
"No. There's more." Gadget answers.
 
"Well, and then say it." Tammy says.
 
"It should be nothing, but in the jail cell, Misao said that she would get even with you for having her arrested." Gadget replies.
 
"Let me ease your mind, Gadget. Misao got busted for carrying an illegal firearm into the airport. That is why she was arrested and I told her so and proved it by finding her gun in her purse. Right now that gun is confiscated." Tammy tells her.
 
"There were other things she said." Gadget replies.
 
"Like what?" Tammy asks.
 
"At home, well, my home, she said that you would be arrested in Japan when we get there because she says that she rules the Atlanteans there." Gadget explains.
 
"That is what she said?" Tammy asks. Gadget nods. "Well then. Misao is going to learn that saviors of the Atlanteans or not, I will not abide to that kind of abuse of power. Furthermore, any threat to me is a threat to my daughter." Tammy continues. She then goes to a nearby intercom phone and picks it up. "Hello? Yes. Bring that rat Misao to the room again, and arm yourselves when you do. Thank you." Tammy says on the phone. She then looks at Gadget, "Come with me."
 
Tammy picks up the baby carrier and opens the room to step into the room. Gadget follows her as she steps into another bedroom on the plane. In a few seconds the stewardesses arrive with Misao.
 
"What is the meaning of intrusion on my person?" Misao complains.
 
"I verified a statement you made about having me detained in Japan because you think, no, make that you believe, that you have some sort of leadership and power of control over the law and the land of this sovereign nation. I will tell you this much – make a threat against me and it's a threat against my baby daughter. Threaten my baby daughter and Fernando will have you killed. Period. So don't play games with me." Tammy tells her.
 
Misao looks at Gadget for a moment and was about to answer, but Tammy interrupts her.
 
"Don't look at her. She is not the source of my information. You keep forgetting who I'm married too – a Time Traveler who is without limits in his abilities. Just because you stole some of his technology does not give you his powers. Have me arrested, he will know about it. I will be freed in a nanosecond and you will be sorry for what you did to me. You better hope and pray that he gets you because he will leave you in the time of the dinosaurs. At least you will be alive. I will have you killed if you threaten my daughter's well being." Tammy tells her.
 
"I don't believe you. If I am to die, I will die on a certain day on a certain time." Misao replies.
 
"No. You got that wrong. You will be found dead on a certain time on a certain day. How you get there is a matter for you to concern yourself with because you do not know what will be your demise when you are found no longer of this living realm. Cause ill will to me and my child, and I will be the cause of your demise. Got that!" Tammy holds back from yelling.
 
Misao can only give her a scowl.
 
"One more thing, Misao." Tammy tells her.
 
"What." Misao replies in disgust.
 
"If you are such a leader to the Atlanteans in Japan, why is it they have cult of personality for my husband?" Tammy tells her in asking.
 
Misao could not answer, letting a release of her pent up breath be her answer.
 
"You do not know who you are dealing with, so back off before you end up on charges from the Highest Time Lords to the Lowliest Chieftain of Micronesia. If you don't believe me, try me." Tammy tells her.
 
"Will that be all?" Misao asks in a pissed off tone.
 
"For now. And you better behave." Tammy answers. She nods to the stewardesses who take Misao back to her seat. Only Gadget remains in the room with her.
 
"Anything else Gadget?" Tammy asks.
 
"Nothing else. I think. I thanked you and told you about Misao and I think that's it." Gadget answers.
 
"Alright then. Go back to your seat and enjoy the flight. I got to check the baby's diaper." Tammy says.
 
"Uhmmm..." Gadget started to say something.
 
"My baby needs some privacy. Besides, you need to order your lunch soon. Want to miss lunch?" Tammy says and asks.
 
"Oh no… I can't miss lunch!" Gadget says before leaving the room.
 
"I thought she would never leave." Tammy says to herself as the door closes behind Gadget. Then she turns to the baby carrier and takes Francesca out, putting her on the bed.
 
Tammy unwraps the baby from its blanket. She checks on her diaper, finding it to be clean. She playfully teases with Francesca, "You haven't gone yet? You're a good girl but you need to go sometimes." Francesca giggles for a bit.
 
Tammy thinks, though babies tend to go at random times, there is a pattern to the diaper changes, and for now she cannot figure it out. She decides to give the baby a couple of minutes of attention before wrapping her up again and putting her in the baby carrier.
 
Back at her seat, Tammy fastens the seatbelt onto the baby carrier. The stewardess arrives to ask her what she would like for lunch, handing Tammy a menu. She decides for a roast beef sandwich with some a soda and some coleslaw on the side. She also notifies the stewardess that after her meal, it would be the baby's turn to be breast-fed.
 
After lunch Tammy gets up with the baby carrier to the back bedroom to breast-feed her baby. It only takes twenty minutes for her to feed Francesca, and another few more minutes to change her diaper, Tammy heads to the rear of the plane to bathroom and shower area where she cleans up the dirty diaper. She heads back to her seat and secures Francesca's baby carrier to her chair. There was not much to do except rest, sleep and take care of the baby.
 
In another two hours they were landing at Los Angeles International Airport for refueling.