WAR: Cousins: Family Reunion (1/2) by various Cousins, with all proper permissions Date/time: After "A Call To Arms, 2004", throughout the night and early morning of Monday, November 8. ---------------- Tser walked into Tok's office right around midnight. "Are you *still* working on those reports?" Tok looked up from her computer screen to glance at Tser. "Yeah, it's taken longer than I thought it would. Entirely my own fault for telling the General I was a CPA. Well, almost -- not officially until that last test result comes in." She sighed and ran her fingers through her bangs. "Would you like something to eat? I still have some of my dinner left," she said, indicating several cardboard cartons and foil containers next to the small microwave oven on a table on the far side of the office. "What have you got?" Tser started examining the spread. "Beef fried rice, General Tso's chicken, egg rolls, and egg drop soup. Help yourself." "No thanks. Hey, did you turn off your phone again?" "I was trying to *concentrate*." "What about your cellphone?" "It's recharging -- I forgot to turn it off and the battery ran down. Why, were you trying to call me?" "Lacroix wanted a progress report, and when he couldn't get you, he called me." "Sorry about that -- did he say what he wanted?" "He suggested -- strongly suggested -- that you check your voicemail. If you know what I mean." Tok shuddered. "Yeah, I guess I'd better." She picked up her phone and punched in the voicemail number and then her password. She was startled to discover that her first message was not from the General, but instead from one of the UF leaders. "Why would Julia be calling me?" As she listened to the message, her eyes grew wide and she fumbled for a pen to take notes. "'The cure for the disease that bites viciously like a wolf in winter and often kills,'" she read back to herself, hanging up the phone. All thoughts of accounting reports fled from her mind. "Tser, we gotta go see the General right away. Julia says it's time for War!" She shoved Tser out the door and toward Lacroix's office. * * * * * Tok and Tser stood in front of the General's desk, as Tok told him everything Julia had said in her message. "They think this rock, wherever it is, talks about a cure for vampirism. They're calling all the factions to Toronto to help look for it. What are we going to do?" Lacroix studied his steepled fingers for a moment. "You are going to call the Cousins to Toronto, of course. We cannot afford to not have a hand in this. Never fear, I will deal with this supposed cure in my own way." Tok gulped. Tser managed, "Yes sir, of course." They retreated from the General's office quickly. "We're supposed to find a *rock*," Tok said. "A large rock," Tser reminded her. "With carving." "Somewhere in southern Ontario. Have you considered how monumental a task this is?" "I'll get Bonnie to call Will and Mary," Tser said. "She should know if anyone else is in town. Then I'll go find Shelley." "Good. I'll go dig out that list of Cousins so we can start making calls. Tell Shelley to get the rooms ready." She thought for a moment. "I think Bob is still down in the dungeon cataloging all the GSS gadgets we have left over down there. I'll have one of the vamp-kitties go get him." Tser went to rouse the Cousinly Receptionist from her nap, while Tok went back to her office to start calling. * * * * * "Ring ... ring." Brandi picked up the phone. "Hi, Tok." She listened to the voice on the other end of the line, "Ok, I'll drive there from NC, right away. Is it all right if I bring Shadow, my Doberman, and Angel and Rascal? They're ferrets. I can pick up anyone who needs a ride along my way there -- as long as they don't mind the critters." ------------------ Cousin Tok checked the next name on her list, Kezia - UK - Five hours ahead of Toronto. 'It's not even 6:00 AM', she thought, 'I'd better allow the phone to ring a bit longer.' Tok chuckled evilly. A groggy voice eventually growled, "Whoever it is, it's too early on the first day of a fortnight's vacation from work, so this had *better* be good!" "Hi, Cousin Kezia, this is Tok and it's better than good - it's War, so now you've got a good use for that vacation time!" "(mumbled) war. ... WAR!! Brain, Kezia, coffee, plane tickets, computer on, feed cat (a yowl is heard) - not necessarily in that order! I'll email my ETA at Pearson to Bonnie." ------------------ "Ring ... ring." Rhonda grabbed the phone, listened for a second and said, "Hi, Tok ... war? Sure, I'll be there. I'll take some vacation time from the radio station and drive right down. ------------------ Marci was just cleaning up after her latest mosaic project when the phone rang.... "'ello ? .....heyya Cuz ! ...." Listens attentively to what's said on the other end of the line. "Sure I'll be there ! I'm just a few hours away . I'll load up the classic and I can be there by tomorrow." She listened a second. "Later today, then. Whatever." Listens some more. "Okay then - see ya in a wee bit." Marci starts hustling around packing up anything and everything...mumbling to herself "Now where'd I put that Canadian insurance card ?" after a few hours of serious packing ....."Got everything I think ! Look out Toronto, here I come ! heheheheh" ------------------ "Ring ... ring." Arletta picked up the phone. "Hello." She listened to the voice on the other end of the line, "Yes, of course I'll come right away. But I think I'll drive to Toronto this time. Oh wait, can you put me up at CERK again? The Light Cousin's HQ has another group of architecture nuts ... er ... enthusiasts meeting there right now. She heard an affirmative reply, then added, "Great! I'll see you soon. Bye." ------------------ The phone rang, and an answering machine picked up on the second ring. Tok was dubious about leaving a message, especially since there was no way of telling if it really was Becky's house because the message was the generic one supplied with the machine. She started to talk anyway, introducing herself and trying to find a way to be as short, sweet, and to the point as possible. Halfway through her instructions, a male voice answered. "Uh, hello?" Tok could hear a female voice in the background loudly insisting "just *answer* the phone! I'm coming, I'm coming!" She smothered a laugh and waited patiently. A breathless voice answered momentarily. "Hello, Tok? What's up?" ------------------ Bri was paging through her journalism text book, all of her notes and handouts from the class was scattered around her. It was only due to massive amounts of caffeine and The Tea Party blasting through her cd player, that Bri was even awake in the first place. As the girl read something about censorship, the phone rang. Without even taking her eyes off of the book, Bri reached over and picked up the phone before putting it against her ear. "Allo?" Quietly Bri listened for a few minutes to the other voice on the end. Of course she would be arriving, there was not any doubt in her mind that she'd go but first, she had one question to ask. "Um, I'll be going of course but I have something to ask-will I be having to wash the vamp kittens in tomato juice again? Yep, I'll be there..er..I am going to be arriving with my pets as well. Yep, by airplane, see you tomorrow...er ...today. Bye!!" With that Bri hung up the phone and stretched, yawning before jumping off the bed to go round up the pets and find her credit card. -------------------------- "Ring ... ring." Stan heard the ring from the shower. Somehow he managed to get to the phone without breaking his neck on the wet tiles, but not before the answering machine picked up. He and his caller listened to the outgoing message, and then, noticing the caller's ID, Stan said , "Tok?" Stan listened, peppering the silence on his end with the occasional "yes, ma'am." As the call concluded he offered, "See you soon." He then called Nancy at Marietta Travel, booking a flight, renting a car, and trying to keep Delta from going bankrupt. One more phone call to use up some of his sick days at work, and then back to the shower. . . . . . which, in his absence, had used up all the hot water. -------------------------- "Ring ... ring." McLisa's voicemail picked up the phone in her Toronto extended stay apartment, where she had been happily ensconced since Bouchercon (a convention for mystery readers at the beginning of October. The owner of the voice on the other end of the line frowned. She'd known McLisa's winnings in the Indiana lottery had bankrolled a prolonged vacation in Canada, and she knew that McLisa had left her temporary number at CERK in case the Cousins were needed. What she didn't know was how or where to find McLisa. She left a message and rang off, worrying aloud. McLisa had a reputation for strange and usually tipsy behavior, although whacks on the head in previous wars had variously convinced her that she was a cat or a Ratpacker (not at the same time, fortunately.) McLisa was rumored to be on the wagon, but still .... Checks with the police, hospitals, the morgue (where an amused Natalie assured them that she would recognize and identify McLisa), and the city mental health facilities turned up empty. Cerberus was conferring about asking the Knighties or the FODS to have Nick put out an all-points bulletin (and ignoring a disgruntled suggestion that it be a "shoot-on-sight"), when Perky Cousin Will arrived. Will nodded, said something about elementary and Watson, located a couple of Cousins with martial arts expertise and drove off. Half an hour later they returned with McLisa, sulking and clutching a pair of shopping bags, each overflowing with books. "Nothing to it," said Will, bringing up the rear as the martial arts experts hustled McLisa into CERK, lifting her up the steps so she wouldn't trip while reading the collection of true ghost stories which she had started just before the car door opened. "McLisa + Toronto = The World's Largest Bookstore. This isn't the first time she's been forcibly removed. It's just the first time it hasn't been at closing time and not by the store security." "And now that I'm here again," Will added, "do I need to pick up any of the other Cousins at the airport or bus station?" McLisa, drunk on her new book rather than a zombie beachcomber, ignored him and everything else as her keepers led her off to her wartime quarters. -------------------------- "Ring ... ring." "Hello? If this is that @#$%& fax machine again ...." The voice on the phone assured Mary that the caller was not a fax machine but Cousin Bonnie calling to say there was a war starting and that everyone was needed in Toronto immediately. "Okay, I'm already here, is there anyone I can pick up at the airport? And was that McLisa I saw in the World's Biggest Bookstore?" -------------------------- Tok looked in her listing and called Bean and Julia, telling them War was in the air and to get to CERK as soon as possible. Then she made a note that she and Tser would have to talk to Arletta as soon as she arrived. Hoping she hadn't forgotten anybody or anything, she massaged her temples as she went up to the War Room to check the state of the Cousinly Treasure-trove of Analgesics. She had a feeling she'd need some before long. -------------------------- It was early afternoon when a taxi drew up outside CERK. Bonnie watched as the driver unloaded three pieces of matching dark blue/green luggage and what was obviously a laptop case for the petite black clad female. Another Cousin - or else a stray Ravenette, she'd decided as the newcomer wheeled her load into the reception. "Good afternoon, would you by any chance be Bonnie, our cousinly receptionist?" she enquired in a precise English accent. "Yes, and with that accent, are you Ravenette, Cousin, or Ratpacker? You'd better be Cousin Kezia." "Guiwl'ee 'has charged, ma'ey" she replied in a strong Cockney accent, winking cheekily. --------------------------