" That wasn't totally a lie; it would have been difficult. A visit, maybe once in a while -- but day to day would be intolerable. But right now, it wa... a solid gold excuse that was irresistible."Not surprising," Dick said. "Michelle, that's my five bucks back." Well, at least we got that settled now," Rob said. "How close are you to finishing this dark fantasy of yours?" Not real close," Dave replied. "It's never been my first priority, and it's gotten squeezed out at times, although I try to. I knew that I, we, would. I saw Marissa slip Brad something, and then wave to a bellman. Brad leaned over. “I hope you know how lucky you are, sir.” “Every day, Brad, every day.” I looked over at Marissa and smiled. Not just lucky, but the luckiest. He wished us both a Merry Christmas and drove off. “Checking in?” the bellman asked. “No,” was Marissa’s quick reply. “I’ve already taken care of that. We’re on the penthouse level, suite A.” The bellman put our things on the trolley and led us. It was just on." James commented, unableto believe how good his mother was looking. It was like ten years hadbeen peeled off in an instant. "Good. Rots your brain." Anne replied, picking up the remotecontrol and switching the set off. The silence in the room was a bitdisconcerting, but he didn't comment. How much longer was she going tokeep this up before she lowered the boom? "You look nice, mom." James tried, a bit unsure of what to say.He knew there must be something wrong with his ears,. " He was right. It did.The Judge also gave me the name of the mobster I shot on the dock. Karma must really be a bitch, because it was one of the same guys I killed in the hangar during that first attack, when the FBI agent tried to shoot me. Hearing his name out of the blue like that set me back for little while, but I clung to my motto: 'If you lie down in the mud, you'll get dirt on you, ' and he did.Jim and Colleen created my trust, and the US Government lived up to their end of the.