FicWad

Shane has never been the activist in the family. Jack is the one with the influence and resources to be a philanthropist. The twins have invested money in young Banshees looking to buy property for business. They charge very little interest, but they are extremely selective in regards to whom they are willing to lend money, since they do not have limitless resources. Shane is not stingy, but he has never had the resources or political influence to help others on the scale that Jack does. He often physically gives help, but he can do little else for others. Shane is a man with few weaknesses. He can, at times, be quite severe and difficult to love, but he is never cruel or uncaring. He is determined to bring Laura back to Highton with him. He will not leave Crosspoint until she can go with him, and he wants very badly to give her back the family that she lost. Doctor Sparrow was successful in inducing Laura’s abortion, so she is no longer with child. She is staying with Shane in his hotel room in Crosspoint, though his sister, niece, and brothers have already left. Every day he spends in Crosspoint endangers not only himself but Laura, Jack, Kerrigan, Liam, the refugees in Bridgeton, and Doctor Sparrow as well. He needs to return to Highton as soon as possible, but Julius, who would need to sign the paperwork in order for Laura to live in District Five, wrote him a letter of refusal immediately upon receiving his request on the grounds that the public were already suspicious of Shane living in Highton, let alone more Werewolves. He notes that if Shane wishes to settle there after the war is over, he will reconsider his decision upon the ending of hostilities, which would be too late to keep Laura out of danger. Shane asks Jack and Kerrigan, but Kerrigan knows of nobody who might sponsor Laura outside of District Five, and Jack has just returned from one of his all-night opium binges, Shane having been sent to recover him, and cannot possibly think of a potential sponsor. Shane returns to his room crestfallen only to find Laura missing without a note.

Captain Fitzmaurice is not the luckiest man in the Vampiric Army. Had he not joined as an officer, trained in skills and tactics, he would have spent more time serving punishments than in combat. He has a tendency to fall asleep when he drinks, and he tends to go to town alone at night, wishing to conduct all of his personal business privately. He has punished many of his enlisted men for doing things he would do in the same circumstance. Because he is an officer, he does not have the restrictions on his behavior and movements that enlisted men have. He was the one captured and killed, but Captain McEvoy and countless other officers from nearby units have been captured as well, some returning after enduring torture, others killed or still missing. Unfortunately for Captain Fitzmaurice, he is well-known for his terrible taste in women and his tendency to settle for women who are less than what he deserves. He is handsome, and several members of his unit have tried to find him girlfriends. He always refuses. The few times he did not refuse, he was extremely disappointed. Despite the occasional long-lasting relationship, his affairs tend to be brief, since he always inevitably finds something about the girl that annoys him beyond the point of his tolerance. Nancy’s stupidity quickly begins to bother him. He also finds her father extremely dishonest and untrustworthy as well as rather suspicious and unnerving. If she had one or two areas in which she was lacking in knowledge, she might be air headed and cute, but she is so stupid that she can barely function without help. She nearly shot Captain Liam playing with Captain Fitzmaurice’s rifle, thinking that it would not be loaded in his tent in a war zone at night. Captain Fitzmaurice tires easily of her sheer ignorance. He doubts that any person could honestly be that dumb and still manage to live to adulthood. He begins to fight with her, often loudly in camp at night, and, when he tries to leave her, she tells him that he cannot because she is pregnant with his child. He rushes her to Doctor Sparrow, but Doctor Sparrow pulls him aside.

“Billy, there’s nothin’ I can do. I’m out o’ the herbs she needs. ‘Sides, she says she wants to keep the baby. I can’t force her to have an abortion. Has she been sleepin’ wi’ someone else?”

“Not that I know. ‘Course she might well be. Jaysus! I can’t stand the dumb bitch!”

“I’m sorry, Billy. There’s nothin’ I can do. If someone else could be the father, there’s no way for her to prove who is and who isn’t. If not, well, even if ye’re not, her da’ll believe her, an’ he’ll force ye to marry her as soon as she shows, an’ considerin’ her size, ‘twon’t be long. Look what me own da’ did to Mike Crane.”

“Forced him to marry your slut sister. Would someone else be able to induce it?”

“Not if she refuses. Ye can’t run. Ye’d be desertin’, an’ ye’re a career officer. What else could ye do for a livin’?”

“I could go to the docks an’ work wi’ General Malone when he returns.”

“Ye’d be caught. Ye’d go to prison.”

“Ye’re right. I could file a request to change me command. Maybe I could go up north an’ fight for the Northern or Eastern Armies. From what I hear, they need men real bad.”

“Don’t. If ye can get her drunk or somethin’ I can do it surgically while she’s asleep wi’ a knitting needle or a ramrod. I don’t like it, but I’ve done it before. ‘Tis all I have.”

“That’s what we’ll do.”

“Let me fetch me coat. I’ll go wi’ ye.”

“Should ye drink ‘afore surgery?”

“No. Should ye be drinkin’ when ye know damned well ye’ll be fightin’ tomorrow firs’ thing in the mornin’?”

“No. I see your point.”

“We’ll do as we must, as we’ve always done.”

“An’ hopefully she’ll be asleep ‘afore ye.”

“Shut your gob.”

“Don’t get angry wi’ me. I ain’t the one who put a girl in the family way.”

“I need a drink.”

“How may have ye had?”

“Since I found out? Three. One before.”

“Jaysus, ye’re usually not this bad. One or two maybe, but four? Liam, aye, but not yourself.”

Shane searches refugee camps frantically. He checks with local Werewolves and in bars where Werewolves often congregate. He even finds Jack and brings him and Kerrigan to ask Southern Army Intelligence if she was captured, found in a camp, or found crossing the border. Getting that information requires proving that he himself has legal refugee status, that Laura is not a wanted target, and that his brother is, indeed, Jack Shepherd, which means that Jack must be with him. Although he seldom visited Shane and has never met Laura, Jack vaguely remembers the little girl in the window above the bar from a visit ten years ago. Kerrigan, eager both to help and for an excuse to leave the cabin, insists upon going with the men.

“Might someone have taken her?” asks Kerrigan.

“I doubt it,” replies Shane. “She’d put up a fight.”

“Could she be looking for family?”

“She’s none left.”

What’s so special ‘bout this one?” asks Jack. “She’s far too young for ye, if ye ask me.”

“She’s beautiful, an’ I don’t ask ye.”

“I can find ye a dozen beautiful girls.”

“Beautiful to a Vampire, maybe. Beautiful to a Banshee, maybe. Not like Werewolvish women, though.”

“What’s wrong wi’ Vampires an’ Banshees?”

“Nothin’. Your wife’s gorgeous for a Banshee, but-”

“Half-Banshee.”

“I’ve never seen the Demon side o’ her. She’s far taller’n most Banshee women, an’ she’s a lovely figure. She’s also a fine cook, but not many Werewolves’d fall for her. Miss Kerrigan’s a pretty woman, an’ I’ve seen the way ye look at her, sorry miss, but she’s too small for me. If ye took Kerrigan’s fight an’ Lynn’s size, ye’d have a beautiful Werewolf.”

“I thought Werewolvish soldiers rape any women they can find.”

“They do, Jack. ‘Tis a display o’ dominance, an’ ‘tis awful what they do. It has nothin’ to do wi’ whether she’s pretty or not. If the girls didn’t fight, they’d probably lose interest. ‘Tis as much a sport to them to rape girls as bettin’ on the horses is to yourself.”

“I thought Werewolves liked big women. If ye like Lynn’s body, then ain’t she a bit small for ye too?”

“I like me women smaller an’ finer-boned than the average Werewolvish man. Most Werewolvish men’d turn up their noses sayin’ me favorite women is thirty pounds too light. The fact that I’m a beta is amazing, all things considered.”

“A what?”

“A beta. Ye’d be an alpha. Ye’re strong. Ye’re the oldest. Ye’re the dominant one, an’ nobody challenges that, though ye’d challenge an’ beat anyone who did. If ye were a Werewolf, ye’d marry a woman like yourself, perhaps Kerrigan. The fact she’s married to another alpha male means ye’d have to fight for her. Me, I’m a beta. I take things a bit slower than ye do. I could physically oppose ye, but I don’t often. Leadership ain’t for me. I’d rather follow a competent leader than be one myself. A beta is a natural guard. Tough, quiet, always lookin’ for trouble an’ danger. Most Werewolves are subordinates. They’re from the middle o’ the pack. They do as they’re told happily, an’ they don’ make much fuss, ‘cept if the alpha don’ do his job or the alpha or beta dies. They’ve an order ‘twixt themselves. Then there’s the omega. That’d be Mike Crane. He lets everyone dominate him jus’ to avoid a fight. The pups start off on the bottom below even the omega an’ fight their way up one at a time. Werewolves are obsessed wi’ order. We operate in clans an’ packs. Jus’ ‘cause I’m a beta don’ mean I don’ know how to take another role. The men I drink wi’, the ones ye brought to Bridgeton, wi’ them I’m the alpha. When I took Laura from the refugee camp where I found her, I acted like an omega, an’ I asked, rather than took, not because of any weakness but because I’m an outsider to their pack. Personally, Werewolves have a lot o’ honor. No Werewolf relies on his pack mates in a personal fight, but they’ll join in if the offender is an outsider. Promotions depend on two things in the Werewolvish Army: royal blood an’ the ability to fight off your superior for his position. If you want to be command, though, ye have to be born royal or marry a royal, though. They’ll kill ye if ye challenge a royal for his position.”

“Where’s Laura in all this?”

“She’s an omega now. She’ll rise wi’ time. Naturally, she’s at least high in the middle o’ the pack, if not a beta herself, but she’s recoverin’ from a terrible ordeal, an’ she’s lost an’ scared. She’s little older’n a pup herself. The women have their own hierarchy, an’ we men have ours. Back home, she was on her way up, though she’d only be middle o’ the pack ‘til she bears a pup. In the camp, she was an outcast. I had to get her out. She’d’ve died.”

“They’d’ve killed her?”

“Not necessarily, but they could. An outcast may or may not be tolerated by the rest, but he or she has to fend for him or herself. ‘Tis a death sentence in a place like this.”

“But why her, Shane? Why d’ye want to rescue this woman?”

“I love her.”

“Ye love her body.”

“No, I love her.”

“Me little brother finally found a girl good enough for him?”

“Contrary to what ye might think, I’ve dated many woman in me time. ‘M not that particular.”

“Ain’t it like datin’ your daughter, though?”

“Not a’ ‘tall. Me childer grew an’ left, an’ I never found ‘em again here, jus’ like ye never found Jack Junior an’ Mary.”

“I’ll bet she’s a sweet young thing, too.”

“Mary!?”

“Faith, no! Not wi’ her mother bein’ who she was! I mean your, what’s her name?”

“Laura.”

“Laura. She’s a body t’die for, I’m sure.”

“How would ye know.”

“If ye weren’t willin’ t’die for her, ye wouldn’t be runnin’ ‘round a city as dangerous as Crosspoint in the middle o’ the night lookin’ for her. ‘Sides, I always know when ye’ve been to bed wi’ a good one. Ye’ve a certain glow to ye, an’ ye’ve a bounce in your step. ‘Tis the on’y time ye walk normal-like. Usually ye walk as though that old bite still hurts ye.”

“It does, from time to time. Most’ly in the snow an’ rain or when ‘tis terrible cold out. The rest o’ the time ‘tis a force o’ habit.”

“Jaysus!”

What?”

“Look there!”

“Where?”

“Your left, down the alley.”

“What am I lookin’ at, Jack? Me eyes ain’t so good as yours.”

“Werewolves. Two men.”

“’Tis a fight club. That’s what the Werewolvish on the sign says, at least.”

“Look at them girls to the side.”

“They’re slaves. I wish it bothered me more, but I’ve seen it so many times.”

“Go up an’ ask if they’ve seen Laura.”

“She’d never go here.”

“What if ‘twasn’t her choice?”

“Jaysus! D’ye think-”

“Aye. I do.”

“Jaysus!”

Shane asks the girls about Laura. They tell him that Werewolvish girls are popular among the soldiers since they are the mothers, wives, and daughters of the enemy. They tell him that they do not know and have not seen Laura, but they tell him that their boss prefers women with no husbands. They tell him where their boss drinks. Kerrigan pays the women a handsome sum of money, despite Shane’s protests to her involvement. The three of them go deep into the heart of Crosspoint’s vice-ridden slums. Jack and Shane do not like Kerrigan coming with them. They walk into a small bar in a back alley, the sign of which is completely illegible. Jack leads, his hand resting on his pistol. Immediately, he is offered an opium pipe. A young soldier tries to bolt past them but runs into Kerrigan, who has not yet come through the door, knocking her down the wooden stairs. Shane detains him while Jack helps Kerrigan to her feet. The soldier is a Private in the Southern Army who should be on watch but snuck away for a drink and the women. Jack makes a mental note to write a letter to his colonel. Jack enters again and is again offered an opium pipe. Badly as he wants his opium, he declines, knowing that he will need a clear head in order to help Shane rescue Laura. The establishment is part bar, part casino, part fight club, part opium den, and part brothel. Jack is in no way surprised at the number of green uniforms in the crowd. He is also not surprised that they are all enlisted men. Officers do not tend to frequent the slums in the way that enlisted men do. Some of his men lay unconscious from drinking, opium smoking, or brawling. He knows that he will read discipline reports about every one of them, since reports have a way of finding him, even though the discipline is handled by the commanding officers long before he ever hears about any of it. Shane finds the man the girls described drinking in a booth in the back corner, and the sight of such a man makes Shane’s body tense out of instinct and anger.

Kerrigan holds him back saying, “Calm yourself. If you go looking for a fight, a fight you shall get, and you will not leave this place alive. We shall have to lie. I brought bribery money, and, since the two of you obviously have no idea how to handle the situation, I shall have to do so myself. Follow my lead.” Kerrigan confidently strides over to the men and sits at the table, telling Jack and Shane to remain standing and keep a watchful eye. “Excuse me, sir. Please forgive that my Werewolvish is a bit out-of-practice. You see, my husband and myself have been traveling in the area because he is on business. I regret that I had to come to this place, but one of my two personal bodyguards seems to have lost his wife somewhere in Crosspoint.”

“I do not take married women.”

“She would not have had a ring. She took it off and left it in my locking trunk out of fear that it would be stolen. Her name is Laura.”

“I have no Laura here. Leave me be.”

“I have money, and I am willing to pay you five-hundred gold for her release. She means everything to Marshall.”

“Who is Marshall?”

“Marshall is my bodyguard.”

“Which one?”

“He is the shorter one.”

“What does this Laura look like?”

“Marshall, answer the man’s question.”

“She’s a head shorter than I am. She has straight, dirty blonde hair halfway down her back and sparkling green eyes. She has a beautiful smile.”

“Is she a fighter?”

“She does not fight professionally.”

“I mean would she fight back if I were to try to have a man sleep with her.”

“I’m fairly certain she would.”

“You wait here. I shall return.” A few moments later, he returns with Laura and turns to Shane asking, “Is this your wife?”

“She is,” replies Shane.

Kerrigan hands the man the money, but he refuses to release Laura. Kerrigan silently pulls a pistol out from under her skirts and shoots the man in the forehead. Shane grabs Laura’s arm, and they run. Laura is burdened by heavy iron chains, so Shane throws her over his shoulder and wraps her leg irons around his forearm, running faster than anyone else, despite his burden. Jack takes the gold. Eventually, they come to rest in a street far from where they fled. They are somewhere in the governing district of Crosspoint near banks, the main train station, the main post office, and Crosspoint City Hall. None of them are familiar enough with the city to know the exact location, but they follow the sound of steam engines to the train station where they can orient themselves in their surroundings.

“Kerrigan, I’ve the gold,” says Jack.

“It is not real.”

“Looks real.” He takes a piece of gold out of the bag and bites it. “Tastes real. Feels real.”

“Of course it seems real. It is Leprechaun gold.”

“Where’d ye get that?”

“I got it from a Leprechaun, well, a half-Leprechaun.”

“Aiden Flannigan.”

“He makes it for a small sum. It only lasts for about an hour once it leaves my possession. Otherwise, it lasts about a month before the charm wears off. I, unlike you, do not habitually travel with large sums of money. I can get money from my account at any bank in Hell, and I find it rather burdensome and incredibly dangerous to carry a trunk of gold with me.”

“I really owe ye, Kerrigan,” says Shane.

“Perhaps one day I will need a favor. You are a noble man. I only ask that you answer my call one day.”

Laura, still burdened by iron manacles and fetters, begs Shane to find someone to remove them. Jack leads them to the room of General Ronan O’Casey. His father, Saxen O’Casey, trained him as a blacksmith before he attended college and officer training. Before the war, his second job was in his father’s shop. He brings them to amorist’s tent near some of the camps. The armorist is a subordinate of his, and he uses this shop to repair his own armor. He was drinking with a female companion earlier that night, and he hopes his hands are steady. One false strike, and he could severely burn Laura, break her bones, or even amputate a hand or foot. He pours Laura a shot of gin to calm her nerves and instructs Shane to keep her still. Jack who had some training in blacksmithing from Saxen O’Casey, Niall Mór Ó Seachnsaigh, and Ardal Malone prior to and during the Revolution, is helping to stoke and bellow the fire. Ronan wants to cut the heavy chains off before he tries to remove the fetters, handcuffs, and neck ring.

When the chains near Laura’s wrists are red-hot, Ronan lays them across his anvil and shatters them with a mighty blow from his hammer. The chains fall from the iron ring on the neck and off of her waist completely. He then removes the weight from her neck, careful not to let any sparks fly into her face. Then, using Kerrigan’s shoulder as a balance, Laura puts each foot near the fire in turn so that the chains may be cut. Ronan cannot heat and cut the iron cuffs on Laura’s wrists, ankles, and neck, so he brings her near the fire for light and has Shane steady her while he uses huge shears to break the padlocks on them. Kerrigan pays Ronan with real gold for his service, and he returns to his female companion exhausted, shaken, and still very drunk.

Captain Fitzmaurice and Doctor Sparrow do not habitually drink heavily. Brian Sparrow, Brendan’s father, taught them not to drink without eating, not to drink poitín ever, and not to drink to get drunk. He also taught them not to do to women what men did to Bridget. They are attempting to get Nancy drunk enough that she will not fight any attempt at sedation. Billy is nervous that the surgery will not work. He likes children, but he does not want any of his own any time soon. Brendan has always preferred herbs for inducing abortions, since they carry less risk of infection or severe blood loss. Nancy falls asleep on Billy’s shoulder, and they carry her back to camp. A Private on watch detains them, handcuffing all three of them, even the unconscious Nancy. He shouts to another watchman to fetch the Colonel. Colonel Callahan hates to be woken, especially by enlisted men, especially new, uppity Privates who think that informing him of things obsessively and doing him personal favors will garner a quick promotion to Corporal, especially after a long day, and especially if the matter over which he is being woken is trivial, could wait until morning, could be handled by someone else, does not require his knowing at all, or is a non-issue. He rouses himself grudgingly to find a Private pointing a gun at Captain Fitzmaurice who, along with Doctor Sparrow and the unconscious Nancy is sitting on the ground handcuffed.

“What’s the matter wi’ ye, Private? That’s Captain Fitzmaurice in civilian clothes. Have ye no eyes? Remove his cuffs an’ those o’ Doctor Sparrow an’ the girl at once.”

“But, sor-”

“Ye’ve your orders.”

“Aye, sor.” He removes the handcuffs.

“I’ll speak wi’ the Captain meself. Now, leave ‘afore I shove me foot up your arse.” As soon as the Private leaves, the Colonel turns to Captain Fitzmaurice and says, “I’m sorry for the trouble, Captain. Ye know how they are.”

“Aye.”

“I’m not sure I want to know what ye’re doin’ wi’ Nancy in that state, but something’ tells me I ought to know, since one o’ me best officers an’ me unit’s on’y doctor are drunk comin’ to camp wi’ a lass who’s out cold in the middle o’ the night. If ye was jus’ drinkin’, ye’d not’ve brought her here. Ye’d’ve brought her home. Ye’re not prone to bein’ out this late, neither. Don’t lie, Fitzmaurice. I know your tone o’ voice when ye’re lyin’.”

“She’s wi’ child, sor.”

“That’s wonderful news!”

“’Tisn’t. I want to leave her. She won’t agree to an abortion, an’ Doctor Sparrow is out of herbs until ‘twill be too late.”

“Feck!” swears the Colonel. “I’ve no choice but to help ye. I assume ye’re about to be after givin’ her abortion surgery wi’ her asleep like that.”

“Aye,” says Doctor Sparrow.

“Saved me arse twice years ago. ‘Course, ‘twas an oul’ woman what lived up the lane what did it, not a surgeon like your man Brendan here. One girl was a pretty little hoor who lived ’round the corner an’ swore her child was mine. The other was a steady girl o’ mine, but she was jus’ sixteen. I was nineteen. I married her two years later. Here, I’ll help ye carry her. Ye’re fairly legless, Fitzmaurice. ‘Tis a miracle ye got her here without droppin’ her.”

“I didn’t. Look at her left leg. I dropped her twice.”

Colonel Callahan lifts Nancy’s skirt and gasps. “Shall we go to the operating tent?”

“Aye,” says Brendan. “Put her on the table. This could get bloody. Billy, I have rags soaked in ether in the box in the corner. Hold one over her nose an’ mouth for a little while. Then go sit over there. Ye look terrible. Ye’d best stay out o’ the way. Colonel, fetch me some wet towels an’ a bucket. ‘Twill be bloody. Ye’ve seen it done. I’m sure ye remember.”

Doctor Sparrow takes a cleaned ramrod from a muzzle-loaded shotgun and attempts to dislodge the embryo from Nancy’s womb. He has done this hundreds of times, despite the fact that he hates dealing with women’s issues. He has delivered countless babies as well, and he still hates it. He loves women, but he believes that a midwife should be the one performing abortions and delivering children. Billy only snores when he is so drunk that he falls asleep sitting upright. He is asleep and snoring loudly in the corner, and Brendan looks at Nancy’s leg. He realizes that she is dying and shouts for Billy, who wakes falling off of the barrel upon which he was seated.

“What is it?”

“Did ye know she has hemophilia?”

“Hemo-what?”

“Hemophilia. She bleeds. A lot. She can’t stop. ‘Tis one o’ two genetic disorders to which Vampires are prone, the other being albinism and piebaldism.”

“That’s three. What’s the other two anyway?”

“Piebaldism is patches of albinism. They’re considered related disorders and run in the same lines. Albinism is no skin, hair, or eye color. They can have red, blue, or sometimes violet eyes from the blood inside the eyes colorin’ them, an’ they have white skin an’ hair. A lot of Vampires also have either heterochromia iridium or heterochromia iridis, basically two different eye colors or two colors in one eye. I don’t know why ye need to know this.”

“I don’t, but I do have a question that does matter.”

“What?”

“Wouldn’t she have died when she lost her virginity?”

“She was probably born without a hymen. ‘Tisn’t uncommon. Not all girls bleed their first time.”

“Can ye save her?”

“No. I’ve cut her uterus by accident. She will bleed out. Christ! What’ve I done?”

“We all make mistakes, Brendan.”

“Between the blood-thinning of the alcohol an’ the hemophilia, I’ve killed her. I cost a girl her life because I didn’t look at her legs. If I’d seen that bruise, I’d’ve known. Jaysus! If I’d caught it then, givin’ her blood would’ve saved her. Feck!”

“At least I won’t be a father. Have a drink.”

“That’s not something ye’d want to be drinkin’, Billy. That’s diethyl ether and ethanol.”

“What?”

“Ten times worse than the whiskey ye normally drink. Feck! Shite! What’ll we do?”

“Sleep,” says Colonel Callahan. Drink yourselves to sleep if ye have to. Take a few days off. Some time tomorrow, rough each other up a little. Wear blood-stained clothes. Fitzmaurice, wear the uniform ye was tortured in. Doctor, wear that. Go to her da’ an’ lie. Say ye was robbed an’ she was raped an’ killed. Fitzmaurice, shoot her in the chest. Ye’re a good shot wi’ that rifle o’ yours, an’ she’s already dead. Doctor, clean her up a bit. I’ll send Liam wi’ ye. He’ll take her in one o’ the sick wagons an’ cover her up all nice, like.”

“Ye’re too calm,” says Billy. “Why are ye helpin’ us? Have ye seen this before?”

“A Lieutenant from another unit beat his girlfriend to death when he was drunk. I got a copy of a letter from his Colonel to the higher-ups about how the idiot tried to cover it up. Me father’s requirin’ every unit under him assemble to hear it read aloud by every colonel. Bloody waste of time if ye ask me. I don’t want to see the two o’ ye made into martyrs. I won’t blame ye for this, doctor. I won’t take action against ye. Ye did nothin’ wrong. Ye honestly didn’t know. I witnessed it. ‘Tisn’t a problem for your practice here. They check for hemophilia on the first day of trainin’, an’ they don’t let anyone in what has it. Ye’ll have no trouble wi’ the men. Goodnight, gentlemen.”