Either of you.” He had read their file and knew how close they were to La Contessa.Troy turned and smiled at his wife’s idea, then turned to Orteg....“Thank you, Capitan.” He looked closer at the Capitan’s eyes. “How long since you slept, sir?”“After a soldier makes it into El Squadra de Ultimados, La Contessa meets with them in private for some ... unique additional training. We do not require much sleep. It is why only two of my men were needed to provide you security around-the-clock.”Troy’s. ’ ‘We didn’t just meet, Zeke,’ She replied. ‘And, well, I’ve sorta admired you from afar too. I saw you win that Karate Championship, and cheered you on from the stands with everybody else. And when you took the honors in that Chess Match against Brighton, I was there too.’ ‘With Duke,’ I chuckled, ‘I noticed. I just didn’t understand why he was there.’ ‘I dared him to go,’ she giggled, ‘for school support? I told him that as head cheerleader I had to go, so naturally he took me.’ ‘So why me?’. In defiance I had eaten more than my fill, and now I regretted my rebelliousness. My stomach heaved and suddenly I hastened from the bed and managed to position myself on my hands and knees over my washbasin. I left the remains of my dinner there and retreated. The smell was horrible and the ship had not ceased its violent rocking. In a fury I left my cabin to tell my father I would not tolerate such treatment--he had better order the captain to control the ship. Up on deck was a maze of. ~~~ Those memories faded into the cold light of day and the falling snow as we filed into the terminal to be checked for proper documentation and I was separated from my uncle Harry in a way that made me a bit fearful that things might not be completely kosher from my foreign traveler point of view.I watched them stamping my passport and was surprised when I heard the words, “Strip down, dear, we need to check for contraband on all passengers on this flight.”This certainly was not on the agenda.