I have been dying to get this story line over with so I could get back to doing comics that are more random and less demanding on the reader. Thanks for putting up with that, though. I'm going to do something different and ask for your comments on the story line . They were always welcome before, of course.



"Do you go to Scottsdale often? Myst? E4? You know those clubs?"

"I work in North Scottsdale."

"Are you going to club up there any time soon? Like in the next week or two?"

"Probably not."

The girl's black BMW purred in idle. The thing gleamed like it was fresh off the lot, or at least had a fresh coat of paint. Away from the street lamps it was invisible but for its dimly reflecting tail lights and the orange glow of her cigarette.

"Look, I'm just trying to pay you back, I - if you go to Myst this Friday tell them you're with Jojo or Krysta. That'll get you in the VIP. You won't get the wristband for getting upstairs or anything, but you won't need it. Thank you so much for letting me use your phone, I - "

"Hey, no problem; I don't expect a thing from you."

She shook my hand and called me honey as she drove away. I was disappointed that I hadn't had any flyers for Not Included in my wallet.

Fae smiled and said, "It's like we're in a video game. And Ty got a power up!"

...

The cook had been flipping his spatulas about, using them to toss bowls back and forth, catching the porcelain hemispheres on knees and elbows before throwing them onto the stacks that circled the great flat grill. Now everyone else had been served, though. He exhaled loudly and leaned against the counter.

He got off at 10:30, he said, but it wasn't too bad. Most of the crowd seemed to be clearing out and his job was becoming far less demanding as the night progressed. He talked about the X-Box 360.

"At Wal-Mart they were escorting people that bought them to their cars, and my friend that was working there escorted a guy out to his car. The guy pulled out and a truck rammed into him and stole it. That's pretty freakin' desperate to ram someone with your truck for a video game."

"Yeah. Holy shit. 'Tis the season, huh?"

"I guess so."



I saw Narnia this Saturday. It receives rather high marks from myself, but my goodness, the things that get PG ratings these days. Full scale war is alright for the kids as long as there's no sex or dirty words, eh? That silly MPAA. Now I'm even more curious about this.

-Tyrus Peace