Chapter 17

Big Bertha had taken more time than we had expected, so we quickly moved on to a different street, but in the same neighborhood. This street did not have as much action as we were looking for, so we shifted to another neighborhood.

The weather was damned hot for us damyankees and Phobos began to show some signs of a "hangover" from this afternoon's sun. He was forced to join Martha in the car while the rest of us continued our patrol. Ajax was feeling especially important, since this left him as our sole backup. I wasn't worried, since I was sure that Nemesis and I could look after ourselves, but I didn't want to rain on Ajax's parade. In any case, backup of any sort is always appreciated.

We did not encounter the normal sex-trade we expected, but we did happen on a mugging. Five young thugs were mercilessly beating on a man of about 60. Based on the way he was dressed, he could not have much worth stealing, so it looked like an attack for the fun of it. Well, that we could stop without too much trouble!

Ajax was actually the first one to the mugging, since it was taking place in an alley, but Nemesis and I were not far behind. By the time Ajax got there, the attackee was on the ground and being subjected to kicks, but sometimes a fist was used. Ajax waded in with his baton swinging and jabbing to great effect. He broke both knees of one thug with a single swing of his baton. It was a thing of artistic merit and a pleasure for me, as his mother, to see. A mother always is pleased to see how her children are progressing in their chosen field. And, yes, his biological mother could not love him more than I do!

The first thug downed was enough to distract the other thugs, and they tried to turn on Ajax with some chains that they were carrying. The first one to reach Ajax swung his chain overhand at Ajax, a really stupid thing to do. Ajax raised his baton in both hands, holding it at both ends, in such a way that the chain wrapped around the baton. Ajax jerked the baton down, which caused the thug to fall forward and to be hit by the chain swung by one of his friends. He was out of action for the duration.

The thug who had accidentally struck his friend was knocked off stride by his swing, and Ajax had time to shed the chain from his baton and poke the second thug in the solar plexus with the end of it. This brought his chin within easy reach, so Ajax had no trouble in breaking both his lower and upper jaw in several places on the upswing with the baton.

Three thugs were down by the time Nemesis and I arrived, and neither of the other two thugs even noticed our presence. I used my baton and Nemesis used her toe spike to smash knees on the remaining two thugs. We now had six patients for the EMTs, so we had to hurry. The original victim was in pretty bad shape, so we had to apply CPR while we waited for the EMTs. Fortunately, Ajax was large enough to be effective with the CPR by himself while Nemesis smashed all of the elbows and knees that were not already broken. We nailed their hands to their ankles and did a penisectomy, though we left their balls alone. I called 911 and explained the situation. Immediate help was promised, and we stayed with the original victim until the first EMTs arrived.

The EMTs and cops that were the first responders pretended that they did not see us, and that made life a lot simpler all around. We didn't want to press our luck, and we left as soon as the new help showed up. I tip my virtual hat to the Miami cops for the way they treated, or is that didn't treat, us. At least sometimes, the phrase "To Serve and To Protect" is taken seriously!

It was getting late, so we decided to call it a night and returned to our hotel. I was getting concerned about Chris. All of his skin that had been exposed to the sun that afternoon was red with a rash, and blisters had started to form in places. I guess I panicked, but we changed clothes as quickly as possible and raced to the nearest ER.

We must have caught them in a slack spell, because Chris was immediately taken for examination. By this time, the blisters were all over his body and he was delirious. I explained to the doctors that it was not just sunburn, but the disease that he had caught in Africa while on military duty. They reacted correctly and called in a doctor who was a specialist in tropical diseases.

The hour it took the doctor to get to the ER from home (after all, we did drag him out of bed) was hell for us, but not so much for Chris. By now, he was in so much pain that he was doped up on morphine and couldn't care less. When the doctor arrived, he didn't mess around but called for some medicines to be inserted in the IV and gently sprayed him with a soothing mist. It seemed like forever, but Chris was finally soothed enough that he could be sent to a room. Nevertheless, Chris was going to be held in the hospital for at least two days for observation. The doctor said that this was the worst case of this disease that he had ever seen. I can't remember the name of the disease, but it sure was enough to scare the hell out of me and all the rest of us. Martha was so upset that I was afraid that she would need hospitalization, too. The kids were stricken with fear, too, but they really could not appreciate the gravity of the situation. We hovered over Chris until the hospital staff drove us out to get some sleep.

The next morning, we were back to see Chris as soon as the hospital would let us in. He looked a great deal better, and most of our fears moderated when we saw him. He admitted that he had seen all of the beach that he could stand, so we decided to return home as soon as he was released from the hospital.

Jerry and Mary wanted to do some sightseeing, so I drove them around while Martha stayed with Chris, then she did the driving while I visited Chris in his hospital room. I have a confession, I felt myself getting horny, and could hardly wait for Chris to come to bed with me.

Three days later, we headed north. OK, we did stop off in Orlando so that the kids could visit the theme parks. I think that Martha was the one who had the most fun. On the doctor's advice, Chris stayed behind in the hotel while the kids went to the parks, and I stayed with him. We spent most of the time in bed, and I'll bet I had more fun than Martha did at the parks.

We headed north after all three "kids" had burned out on the theme parks. The weather got steadily colder as we progressed toward Boston. Nobody was surprised when we were forced to layover in New Haven because of a snowstorm in the Boston metro area that had closed the roads. Was this global warming at work? Whatever it was, it got old fast. Five people in one tiny motel room can really get old fast!

We finally got home, and what a relief that was! All five of us took long hot showers and headed for our own beds. It sure was nice to spread out and not come close to pushing somebody else off the bed! Just Chris and me in a bed to ourselves was as close to heaven as I expect to get in this lifetime.

The next morning, we were called downstairs by the aromas of a cooking breakfast. Martha and Mary had got an early start on the rest of us, and were fixing a good old traditional breakfast. My mouth waters as I still think about it! We struggled out of bed and managed to get to the table before Jerry had eaten it all, so we did get our share, though I thought there might be a fight over that last sausage link. Chris and Jerry split it while the rest of us laughed at them.

We lazed around that day, the way everybody wants to do after a long trip, especially by car. That afternoon, though, we did hit the exercise room to loosen our muscles back up. We wanted to be ready when the weather finally broke.

Hey, it's only a week until Spring Training! New England seems to wake up from its winter slumber about this time of the year. Sure, we've had hockey, football, basketball, and who knows what else, but baseball means spring is almost here! Now is the time to shake off the winter blahs and to start living again. Ah, yes, the sap is rising, and not all of it is in the maple trees!