BLADESTORM

18. They Have Aplot!

Jason darted through Fardel Well panting for air and disrupting the serenity as he ran out of control through the center of a yoga class, the volume of his voice assaulting the tranquility. "They have Aplot! They have Aplot!" Screaming at the top of his register down the hallway, through the gardens, out the backdoors. "They have Aplot! They have Aplot!" He was beginning to scare the guests. He reached the outdoor lounge area next to the tennis courts and found Eddie hunched over an acoustic guitar desperately trying to hold his fingers in place long enough to form a G chord. On the table next to him sat Windy's songbook. His focus was strong and he managed to block out everything around him.

"They have Aplot!" Screamed Jason.

"Listen to this..." Eddie strummed the guitar and his fingers cramped up. They were in the same position for too long and he strummed something like a pillow absorbing the sound of a fart. He shook out his hand, rolled his eyes, and set down the guitar. "Maybe, not my thing." He picked up the songbook, yawned, and skimmed through the pages. "Didn't you have a tough-go using this book?"

"They have your brother!"

Eddie didn't adjust his head, but shot a look out of the corner of his eyes at Jason and turned the page in the songbook.

"How do we use this to make money is the thing?"

Eddie turned another page without a care in the world then closed the book. He snapped his fingers and called a Windbreaker to his attention. "Put this in the Ice Machine," and handed Windy's book to the Windbreaker.

"What are you going to do about Aplot?" Jason persisted.

"Pass me my telephone." Jason passed Eddie his telephone.

Int. Music Guild. Day

A single light bulb illuminated Aplot, squirming in a chair, hooded with his hands tied behind his back.

Paris removed Aplot's hood and he gasped for air.

"I've been kidnapped!"

"I think you're right," answered Paris.

"You have no idea who you are!" Screamed Aplot. "How could you possibly know who you have taken! You'll never get away with this! You kidnapped the wrong cookie!"

"Listen carefully, Aplot. The sanctity of your everlasting soul depends on it." said Paris.

"I will not!"

"All of this can be over," Paris encouraged. "Just hand over the songbook."

"My brother has it! And by now, he has probably the damned thing figured out! By the time Eddie is done with you, your entire family, everybody you ever knew will be frozen till the end of time!"

They gave him a moment to catch his breath.

"What are you going to do with me?"

Paris and the Banned stepped into the light. Aplot recognized all of them.

"Paris Shoes!...and the Banned! Oh, God! I've been abducted by rejections of my own design! Get me out of here!"

"Time to confess," said Tiger.

"Start at the beginning," Drago told him.

"The beginning?" Asked Aplot.

"Of Time," explained Phoenix.

Phoenix's phone rang; a familiar number. "Stop right there."

He answered the call.

"Pay attention, you have kidnapped my brother."