The Bullworth Never Ending Story

[BloodChuckZ]

“There....That’s the last of them”, Tony said, as Nick tossed the remainder of the posters into the furnace.  Since it was Summertime, the boys had to use some old propane torches they had found in the basement to set fire to them.

“Thank you so much, boys”, Ms. Phillips said profusely, as she watched the last of the posters burn up.  “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been able to get these taken down.”

“Aw, it weren’t nothing, Ms. Phillips”, Tony said, “We were glad to help.”  Tony knew Ms. Phillips didn’t pose nude for students....He had been through both Art and Photography classes under her, and had never so much as heard any rumors that she would do such a thing.

Nick gave Tony a look, saying, “It was nice to have something to do today besides class.”

Tony almost laughed, but Ms. Phillips didn’t notice, as she was rummaging in her purse.  “I’m going to give you boys a reward”, she said, handing them $50. 

“Whoa, for real ?”, Tony exclaimed, taking the cash and handing Nick his share.

“It’s worth it, just to get these horrible things taken down”, Ms. Phillips said.  “I’ve gotten sooo many calls today about them....I had to explain that I’d NEVER do something like that, and that it was probably a prank by SOMEONE.....”  She halted there, as if not wanting to say anything more about it.  “Anyway, it’s time for me to get home...Poor Lionel still needs looking after.  Goodbye, boys...And thanks again !”

Ms. Phillips left the basement.  Tony and Nick stayed behind, watching the last of the posters turn to ash in the furnace.  From the next room, Mr. Riddle, who had been silently eavesdropping, walked in.  “Hello, boys...Having a cook-in ?”, he asked humorously.

“Just had to take care of something for Ms. Phillips”, Tony said, without elaborating further.

“I see”, Mr. Riddle said, then watching the fire for a bit.  “Say, Uh...How goes the search ?  Those clues prove helpful ?”

“I’ll say they did !”, Tony replied, then proceeded to tell Mr. Riddle of their adventures the past few days.  For some reason that he still didn’t fully understand, Tony felt he could trust Mr. Riddle and knew somehow he would keep in confidence what he told him.  Tony brought him up to date on what they’d found out.

“....And, that riddle was dead on, about the place down low that can only be entered up high ?  We think the girls are being held underneath the Chem Plant...It’s the only place we couldn’t check out, because the tunnel doors are blocked with welds”, Tony concluded.

“Well, you boys have been busy”, Mr. Riddle remarked.  “Are you going to tell the Cops or the F.B.I. any of this soon ?  Maybe it’d be better to let them handle it.”

“Not until we’re sure”, Tony replied.  He hesitated, then said, “We haven’t figured how to get into the Chem Plant yet....The access is blocked by gates, fences, and barbed wire.  But, we’re gonna go on a reconnaissance mission tonight and try to find a way in.  Maybe after that....”

Tony trailed off.  Mr. Riddle stood there, watching the dying flames, seemingly lost in thought.  Turning to Tony and Nick, he said, “I’ll see if I can find out anything.  If that IS the place, you can’t just go in there by yourself.  You’ll need plenty of backup.  Give me a day to find out, and come see me tomorrow night...Can you promise me that ?”

Tony debated, remembering his dream.  “I can’t promise”, Tony said at last.  “Karen and Melody are in real danger now....I can’t explain, but I just know.”  He looked Mr. Riddle in the eyes.  “If it was your girl, what would you do ?”

Mr. Riddle looked at the poster fire, almost all but out now.  “I suppose...Just about what you’re doing now”, he said, then added, “But listen...If you aren’t back tomorrow....”

“Fair enough”, Tony said.  “If we’re not back.”

“Till tomorrow, then”, Mr. Riddle said, and took his leave, disappearing back into the bowls of the basement. 

“Fire’s out”, Tony said to Nick, “Let’s get outta here.”

“Back to the dorm for some sleep ?”, Nick suggested.

“Not for me”, Tony said.  “I’m gonna go...See Pinky.”

“No”, Nick said, frowning, “You’re not, are you ?”

“Yes...Yes, I am”, Tony replied wearily.  “It’s time to put an end to her crap.”
_________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Mr. Riddle sat in his basement enclave, the suitcase with the triple-combination locks open in front of him on the cot.  He had attached a special power cord, and had attached a slim cable that led to the tiny, nearly invisible UHF antenna outside.  The Transceiver was powered up, and he brought the microphone to his lips to speak.  “BAL-7620, BAL-7620, Whiskey Victor Tango”, he intoned. “BAL-7620, This is CRB-3847, Do You Read, Copy ?”

A voice answered him in a few seconds, riding over the hiss of static. “CRB-3847, This Is BAL-7620.  Switch To Secure Frequency.”

Mr. Riddle did so, as this was standard procedure.  “BAL-7620, CRB-3847, How Do You Read ?”

“Copy You Clear, 3847“, the voice responded.  “EarthNet Link Is Confirmed Secure.  What Is Your Report ?”

“I need vital information ASAP on a certain building in the Blue Skies area”, Mr. Riddle began, and then went on to describe as briefly as he could just what he needed and the reason why.  When he finished, he added, “Again, repeat, this information is vital and needed within 24 hours.  Quite possibly the lives of two female students are at stake, Copy ?”

There was a stretch of static that went on for about 15 seconds.  Then, “Copy that 3847, will attempt to secure information by 1700 hours alpha zulu on seven-sixteen.  Contact again at that time, Copy ?”

“Copy That, 7620“, Mr. Riddle replied.  “Will make contact next on seven-sixteen at 1700 alpha zulu, Copy ?”

“Copy, 3847“, the voice said. “7620, Out.”

Mr. Riddle replaced the microphone, then powered down the Transceiver.  He sighed, hoping that there was a way the information could be unearthed in such a short amount of time.  Even without it, he was sure that Calderone boy would attempt to breech the Chem Plant...Perhaps with disastrous results.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Operator laid down the microphone, and turned in the swivel chair to the man seated nearby.  “Did you hear all that ?”
 
The man who was once Mr. Luntz at Bullworth nodded. “Get on this right away.  We need Blueprints, Schematics, anything that could be of use.  Pay particular attention to those underground areas of that place.”  He rose from his chair and went to the door.  “Call me right away if you’re able to access anything.”

“Right, Boss”, the operator said, and turned back to the unit to get to work.
___________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Ms. Phillips returned to the apartment.  It had been a long, horrid day.  She still didn’t know how much damage had been done to her reputation yet....She supposed she would find out in the coming days or even weeks.  She started to unlock her door, only to be surprised to find it wasn’t locked.  Drat, She thought to herself worriedly, I hope that Gally-Bear didn’t try to go out somewhere.

She entered the apartment.  Everything seemed normal.  Sidetracking to the kitchen, she dropped her bag and purse on the table, opened the refrigerator and got a quick snack.  She hadn’t had time to eat at all today with all the madness from the posters and the fallout from that.  She munched down the snack and then headed to the bathroom, which was something else she had neglected to do all day.

It was time to check in on Mr. Galloway.  So far, the apartment had been quiet, and she hadn’t heard him talking to himself.  That meant, hopefully, that he was getting through the withdrawal and would be able to return to school soon.  She eased open the bedroom door to look.

Ms. Phillips wasn’t expecting to find the sight that greeted her.  Mr. Galloway lay askew in the bed, head hanging over the side with drool running out of his mouth.  Covers and blankets were strewn haphazardly about the floor, and the nightstand was overturned.

“Lionel !!”, Ms. Phillips cried out, making her way to him.  She stumbled over something on the floor underneath a blanket.  Throwing it aside, she saw what it was and snatched it up.  It was an empty bottle !  She quickly went to him, righting him up in the bed.  As she did so, the strong smell of the Liquor assaulted her nose.  Mr. Galloway was drunk !!

Lionel Galloway lay like a dead weight, totally passed out.  Ms. Phillips became angry.  With all the shit she had to deal with today, and now this ?   Her first thoughts was that he had gone out on his own and had gotten the Liquor.  Why would he have done that ?  Just when he was close to getting over the hurdle.  They had talked just last night, and he had given her his word !  Really, all men were just pigs, she fumed, as she began to straighten up the room.

But as Ms. Phillips cooled down and took stock, some things struck her as odd.  Mr. Galloway was wearing the same exact nightclothes as he was when she left this morning.  In fact, he had been wearing them for several days.  The closest place to get that particular bottle of Liquor was over at the Yum-Yum Store in New Coventry, that much she knew.  That would mean Mr. Galloway would certainly would have had to have gotten dressed to do that, since he would have had to walk there, and back. 

There were no street clothes laying in the bedroom anywhere.  Gripping the empty bottle, she went out into the short hall and looked into the closet.  There, she saw Mr. Galloway’s suit neatly hung up, right where she had placed it earlier in the week, after she had gotten it cleaned.  Similarly, his other clothes were there, just where she had put them.  Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.  No man ever hung up his clothes when there was a woman around.  If he had gone out, he would have dressed, when he returned, he wouldn’t have bothered changing back...That would have been the last thing on his mind.  He would have gotten stinking drunk wearing his suit, just like he used to do in class after school.

Stepping back, she looked again at the empty bottle in her hand.  Someone had brought this here.  And she had a pretty good idea of just who.  And just as soon as she tended to Lionel Galloway, she intended to find out for certain.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

There was a knock at the door.  Pinky rose and hurried to answer it.  Cracking the door open, she saw who it was.  “Hello, Handsome, come on in !”, she said coyly.

Tony just stood there.  “This is it, Pinky.  You’ve gone too far this time.  You can’t be blackmailing my friends like this !”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Pinky said sweetly, trying to play innocent.

“You know damn well what what I’m talking about !”, Tony replied harshly, “Doing that to Laurent !  Have you lost your mind ?”

Pinky opened the door wider.  “Come on in, and we’ll talk about it”, Pinky said, giving Tony a knowing look.

Tony rolled his eyes and sighed.  Even though he knew better, he stepped inside.  Pinky closed the door behind him.  “Pinky, what you did was despicable.  How could you do that to a boy you hardly even know ?”

“I don’t know what you mean”, Pinky said loftily.  “He was the one that....”

“Oh, Come Off It !”, Tony interrupted.  “He told me what happened, you boxed him in the bathroom and assaulted him !  Then threatened to tell Nina that he assaulted you !  Who does that ??”

“Oh, Posh, I won’t tell his mousy little girlfriend anything about it, now that you’re here”, Pinky said.  “I’ll keep my word and not say anything.”

“That’s Not The Point !!”, Tony exploded.  “You can’t just play people like that, they’re not Puppets in you own little private Carnival Show !!  And you can’t just go around threatening to expose people just to get your way....Like you do to me !”

“I’ve never told Anybody about us”, Pinky said primly.  “Never once !”

Tony hung his head and groaned.  “There IS no US.  I keep telling you that.  I belong to Karen, my heart and my life is with Karen.  Don’t you get that ?”

“Oh, is that so ?”, Pinky said airily.  “I suppose I forced you to make love to me that first time, last winter ?   Held a gun to your head and made you get hard ?  Forced you to drag me to the bed and hammer me with your big stick ?  And not just once....Several times.  There is too an 'Us’, mister.”

Tony put his hand to his forehead.  In a flash of sudden clarity, he had to concede that Pinky was right.  She hadn’t controlled him...Rather, it was that he couldn’t control himself.  He walked over to the chair by the room’s desk and sat down heavily.  What did this speak to his character, he wondered anew, if he couldn’t even control that animal side of him that lusted ?  And it hadn’t been with just Pinky, it had been with Lola too.  He was not worthy of a girl like Karen.  He was flawed and imperfect.  He didn’t deserve Karen, and her kidnapping was the karma of his punishment.  The innocent always pay for the crimes of the guilty, do they not ? 

“Why me, Pinky....Why me ?”, Tony said wearily.  He was tired of all this, tired of the stress and strain, not only of the abductions, but all that had been laid on his shoulders the past year.  He felt stressed to the breaking point.  He looked up miserably at Pinky.  “You can have just any boy you want....Why go after me ?  I’m no prize, nothing special.”  He uttered a bitter laugh.  “I cheat on my girlfriend.  That’s pretty low, I guess.”

Pinky approached him and stood before him.  “I cheated on Derby...Lots of times”, she said softly.  “Even with you.”  She knelt down in front of him.  “I’m....All alone now”, she whispered softly.  “I don’t have anyone.”

Tony, struck by his own self-pity, didn’t respond right away.  Then, regaining his composure, looked at Pinky and said, “Pinky....I’m sorry things didn’t work out for you....Derby...Kurt...Tad....I don’t know why things happen like that.  Maybe....It’s because we’re just messed-up teenagers in a messed-up place....Maybe...We deserve what we lose....Maybe, deep down, we’re not good people, we just pretend we are....”

Pinky laid her hands on Tony’s legs.  “You’re a good person, Tony-boy”, she said slowly.  “There’s something about you....Something I don’t have....A Charisma, a Force....Whatever you call it....I want that....I need it, don’t you see ?”  She rubbed her hands up and down on Tony’s legs as she spoke.  “That’s why I burn for you, that’s why you excite me....”

Despite himself, or maybe because of himself, Tony felt his passion flare in the midst of his misery.  Pinky saw, and laid a hand on his growing bulge, stroking it.  “We can only be who we are”,  she breathed, “If only for a little while.”

After a moment, Pinky stood up and began removing her clothing.  Tony could only watch as his uncontrollable lust climbed higher.  When she stood naked before him, she reached out her hand to him.  Unable to resist and hating himself for his weakness, he let her draw him near to her and began to undress him.  When he stood as naked as she was, he offered no resistance as he allowed her to pull him to the bed.

“Do Me, Tony”, she whispered, “Do me real hard...I need it so badly.”  Pinky mashed her lips on his, poking her tongue into his mouth in a passionate French kiss.  Tony followed her down on the bed as she gripped him and guided him into her. 

Unable to help himself and far past the point of even trying to do so, Tony did as she wanted, ramming her hard over and over again.  Pinky responded in kind, thrusting up to meet his hard strokes, like two lonely ships in the night on a collision course.  They poured out their frustrations and self-loathing into each other as the shadows lengthened and darkness began to descend on the Vale Valley.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After it was finished, Tony laid immobile for long while before rising.  Recovering his clothes, he began to dress.  “I’ve got to go”, he said shortly.  “I have a mission to do tonight.”

Pinky propped up on her elbow, her dark hair tangled and falling in her face.  She brushed it back and asked, “A Mission ?  Tonight ?”

“Yeah”, Tony said shortly.  His pants pulled back on, then slid on his shirt.  “We think...The Townies are holding the girls.  I’ve got to go scout it out.”

“All by yourself ?”, Pinky asked.  “Those....Boys....Are awfully tough.” 

“I’ll have some help”, Tony said.  “Probably not enough, but I’ve got to make sure if we’re right.”  He finished dressing and faced Pinky.  “I have to do this...I have to try.  I’m going to Hell for what I’ve done...It's the only way to redeem myself.  If I fail, it’s all over anyway.  But I’ve still got to try.”

Tony went out the door, closing it noiselessly, and left the Boar Inn.  Pinky rose, wrapping the sheet around her, and went to the window.  She watched Tony head down the street. 

“I need redemption too”, she whispered to herself as Tony dwindled from her sight.  “I need redemption too.”
________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Ms. Phillips was in a place she hadn’t been in a long time....The Yum-Yum Store in New Coventry.  She approached the clerk at the counter, a person she had never seen before.  Withdrawing the empty liquor bottle from her tote bag, she held it out to him.

“Excuse me, can you tell me if you sold a bottle of this today ?”, Ms. Phillips asked.

The clerk, a swarthy-looking fellow by the name of Pandar, took the bottle from Ms. Phillips and examined it.  He thought this to be a bit of a strange request, but having been in the Vale Valley just a few weeks, but he shrugged it off.  There had been plenty of strange things he had seen in the short time he’d been here.  “I do not sell any of this today”, he said frowning, “But I have been here only since my shift started at 4 PM.  Mr. Oh was here in the daytime.  However..”, he continued, “I sell a bottle of this last night, I recall.”

“Can you tell me”, Ms. Phillips said eagerly, “Just who you sold it to ?”

“Yes”, Pandar the clerk answered, eying her.  “It was a pretty lady, such as yourself, but with short dark hair, and maybe not so tall as you.  What, in your country, would call a ‘pixie’ style ?”  He handed the empty bottle back to Ms. Phillips, who returned it to her tote bag.

“Oh...Thank you so much !”, Ms. Phillips gushed.  She had been right !  It had been that little bitch Bethany.  She dug into her purse and passed a Ten dollar bill to the clerk.  “Here’s a tip for you trouble !”

“Many thanks, pretty lady”, Pandar said, but by that time Ms. Phillips was quickly exiting the Yum-Yum store.  Again, Pandar thought this was rather odd, but he shrugged.  It was none of his business.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ms. Phillips drove back to the school.  There was something she had to check.  Leaving her car in the Parking Lot, she hurried into the school.  It was just starting to get dark, and a few Bullies were out in the Parking Lot.  They watched with lecherous eyes as she passed, but did not say anything, at least not that she could hear.  Inside the outer Office, she made for the filing cabinet containing the Employment Records.  Pulling Bethany Jones’ file, she looked up the address, and wasn’t surprised to find that it was just a few blocks from her own, on the third floor above a row of six business buildings located on Theater Street.  Bethany’s apartment was just a few buildings North of the Worn-In Clothing store, which explained where she got her cheap knock-offs at.

Ms. Phillips left the school and returned the Parking Lot.  The Bullies were still clustered there, leering at her as she passed them on the way to her car.  She had no fear that they would try to harass her, but she felt an embarrassing shame over what they must have seen on those posters, even if it was only a painted image of herself.  She wished anew that she had destroyed those long ago, artistic content or not, but it was too late now, the damage had been done.  Now, she must deal with that little bitch Bethany before this went any further.  She drove her car back to her apartment.  After a check on Mr. Galloway, who was slumbering in his drunken stupor, she grimly set out on foot for Theater Street and a showdown with Bethany Jones.
________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Miss Jones’ apartment was located on the third floor of a red 4-story red-brick building, tucked in-between a 2-story cream colored brick building and a 3-story dirty-brown brick building.  The storefront of her building was closed up, the business part on the first floor vacant.  However, there was a ramp the went up on the side of the far-north building and wound around the back of the entire block of the six buildings, at the second-story level.  Ms. Phillips climbed that and began to search for a way in.  She found only one door that gave access to the second story of the block of buildings, and that was located in the back of another red-brick building to the South, which was at the back-end of the Worn-In Clothing Store. 

Ms. Phillips tried the doorknob and found it unlocked.  She opened it and found herself in a short hallway the T-junctioned into another hallway farther on.  Advancing to that, she saw that this hallway ran the North-South length of all the buildings.  Turning right, she made her way towards Bethany’s building.  Each of the buildings had a foyer of sorts, with stairs leading up to the floor or floors above, as the case may be, except for two of the buildings on the block which were only two stories to start with.  Each foyer also contained a bank of mailboxes near the stairs with the tennant’s name on a strip behind a dirty piece of plastic.  When Ms. Phillips judged she had reached Bethany’s building, she stopped to peer at the names there, and easily found the one marked '3A--Miss Jones’.  Grimly, she climbed the stairs which came out on a landing.  She quickly discovered that '3A’ was the front apartment, and she went to the door.

Ms. Phillips listened for a bit.  She heard the sound of a TV or Radio playing in the background, and then some movement inside.  She raised her hand and knocked sharply three times on the door.  From within, she heard Bethany’s voice call out, “Who Is It !?”

Lowering her voice as much as she could as a ploy, Ms. Phillips rumbled “Rent !!”  A few seconds passed, and then the door was un-latched and  pulled open.  An irritable Miss Jones was saying, as she opened the door, “I PAID the rent last week, what is the prob....”

Bethany cut off abruptly at the shock of seeing Ms. Phillips standing in her doorway.  She tried to shut the door, but Ms. Phillips pushed her way in, catching Bethany off-balance.  Bethany stumbled back as Ms. Phillips charged in, pulling the empty bottle from her tote and brandishing it at her.  “You Little Bitch !!”, she hissed, “I Warned You Not To Mess With My Gally-Bear !!”

Deirdre Phillips flung the bottle at Bethany Jones, but Bethany ducked.  The bottle sailed on, smashing into the TV, and both shattered with a looping electrical buzz.  “Goddammit, That Was MY TV !!”, Bethany screamed.  Fury replaced shock on her face and she charged at Ms. Phillips,  but Ms. Phillips was ready for her.  Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the Mace canister that had sat unused inside for who knew how long and triggered off a blast square in Bethany’s face as she ran at her with fists upraised.

“EEEEYYYYYKKKK !!!!!”, Bethany screamed, “MY EYES !!!!!”  Bethany flailed around, managing to catch ahold of Ms. Phillips hair in the process.  She blindly slammed Ms. Phillips’ head into the wall.  “AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH !!!”, Deirdre Phillips yelled, “YOU LOW-LIFE CRETAIN !!”  She kneed Bethany in the guts, and she fell back.

Bethany staggered upright, and Ms. Phillips came after her, head throbbing.  “Is That The Best You Can Do ?”, she growled, panting, then grabbing Bethany by her short hair and yanking.  “EEEEKKK”, Bethany yelled, digging her fingernails into Ms. Phillips’ wrists, drawing blood.  “OUCHHH !!”, Ms. Phillips screamed, letting go of Bethany’s hair.

Bethany followed up by landing a punch in Ms. Phillips guts.  “OOOOFFFF !!!”, Ms. Phillips groaned loudly, doubling over.  Frantically wiping her eyes trying to clear the Mace from them, Bethany tried to throw a roundhouse punch to Ms. Phillips head, but missed, slamming her fist into the wall.  Bethany howled, staggering back once more, blinking her eyes and holding her swelling hand.  Blindly, she tumbled over an end table and fell to the floor.

“Look Where You’re Going, Moron !”, Ms. Phillips laughed weakly, trying to straighten up.  It was only then she was able to get a good look at Bethany as she kicked around, trying to regain her footing.  Bethany was wearing a pink blouse, pink high heels, and a short pink skirt.  Underneath the skirt were no panties.  Ms. Phillips could see her naked pelvis as she flailed about, trying to get up.  Sudden revelation crashed through her mind.  It couldn’t be...But...

“You...You Did It Again, Didn’t You ?”, Ms. Phillips hissed.  “You Little Strumpet !!  You Got My Gally-Bear DRUNK And Did That Again, Didn’t You ??”

Bethany laughed harshly. “YES, I FUCKED HIM !!!  That’s Right, I FUCKED HIM HARD, And You Know What ?  HE LIKED IT, LIKED IT JUST FINE !!!”, she screamed.

“That Does It, I’ve had Enough !”, Ms. Phillips said angrily.  “I’M GOING TO TEACH YOU A LESSON !!!”

“WHAT ?  How To Pose Naked In Front Of Adolescent Boys ?”, sneered Bethany.

“ARE YOU CONFUSED ??”, Ms. Phillips bellowed, “I NEVER DID THAT !!!”

“Right....And You Never Dumped Three Ex-Husbands, Either, Did You ?”, Bethany retorted.  “You’re Just A Dried-Up Old PRUNE Now !!”, she jeered.  “Lionel’s A Single Man, You Have No Claim On Him, There’s No Ring On His Finger !!  HE’S MINE NOW, ALL MINE !!  He Loves My Sweet Tight Box, Not Your Old Baggy Used One !!”

“YOU UNCIVILIZED BITCH !!”, Ms. Phillips screamed, rushing at Bethany in a rage totally unlike her normal pacifist artistic self.  But Bethany had already prepared for her charge, having reached down and yanked off her left high heel to use as a weapon.  She waited just like a batter in the box at a World Series game, and when Ms. Phillips barreled near enough, she gripped the shoe and swung the sharp heel at the side of Ms. Phillips head.

At the last second, Ms. Phillips saw and ducked, but the heel pierced her left ear in the instant before she crashed into Bethany, both of them tumbling over an easy chair and falling to the floor.  Ms. Phillips rose before Bethany, looking for all the world to have the strangest-looking earring hanging off the side of her head.  As Bethany attempted to rise to her knees, Ms. Phillips planted her fist with all her might directly in the middle of Bethany’s cute little upturned nose.

“AIIIIIEEEE !!!!!!!”, Bethany screamed as Ms. Phillips fist smashed into her nose, crunching cartilage and spurting out huge amounts of blood.  Her hands came to her face, and Ms. Phillips pinned her down.  Reaching up to the side of her head, Ms. Phillips removed the shoe from her bleeding ear and then jammed it into Bethany’s open screaming mouth, pointed toe first.

“I’m Going To Make You Eat This”, Ms. Phillips hissed, “Since You Like Big Things !”  She forced the shoe halfway into Bethany’s mouth, the pointy toe jammed down her throat.  Bethany gagged and began to buck up against Ms. Phillips in real terror.  “How Do You Like Your Size Sixes Now ?”, Ms. Phillips taunted.

Youth and fright drove her strength, and Bethany was able to buck Ms. Phillips off.  Ms. Phillips’ head struck the overturned end table, and she lay stunned for a moment.  Bethany was able to get on all fours, wrenching the shoe from her mouth and vomiting right after.

Just as Ms. Phillips was coming out of her daze, Bethany picked up a lamp that had been on the end table and hurled it at her.  Ms. Phillips saw it coming and ducked just in time, the lamp grazing her head and crashing to the floor behind her.  Both women rose shakily to their feet, Bethany by one of the front windows of the apartment, Ms. Phillips just a few feet away.

“You’ve Gone Too Far !!!”, Ms. Phillips said menacingly.  “Don’t Think For One Second That I’ll Put Up With This !!”

“Who Are You...To Be Dictating Anything To Me !?”, Bethany returned in a muffly voice, blood running from her damaged nose, making her look like a clown.     

“Don’t You Know ?", Ms. Phillips said snidely, “You Just Ran Into An Artist !!!”

Both women began to charge at each other, but Ms. Phillips started first and had the greater momentum.  They crashed together, arms flailing, but Bethany was pushed back towards the window, followed by Ms. Phillips.  They both smashed into the window, teetering on the ledge for a moment, then they both tumbled over and fell the three stories toward the sidewalk.

The small awning over the first floor might have been enough to break their fall, if only it hadn’t been so old and moldy.  As it was, the awning only arrested their fall for a split-second before ripping and dumping them onto the pavement.  They still landed with a considerable amount of force, Bethany slamming into the sidewalk first and Ms. Phillips landing on top of her, then being pushed away due to the rebound.

As gaping townspeople gathered around in the oncoming darkness, Ms. Deirdre Phillips lay stunned.  She had rolled over on her back.  There was a great deal of pain in her right arm and knees, which had struck the pavement first.  She was in Shock, and the world blurred in and out.  “What did I come here to do again ?", she muttered.  She turned her head to the side and saw Bethany Jones.  She lay unconscious, her left leg twisted up under her, obviously broken.  There was also a stain of blood seeping from her head.
 
“Ohhh....How....Nauseating.....”, Ms. Phillips murmured, and then passed out.
_____________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

It would be full dark before the time Tony would make it back to the Dorm.  Needing time to think, he had decided to go down to the beach just before he reached the South Bridge.  It was more isolated in that spot, a bit rocky, and there was a spot on the flat rock shelf out of view where one could just sit and contemplate.

Tony thus sat and thought long and hard about what had just happened.  It really hadn’t been his intention to cheat once again with Pinky.  But he had.  Instead of standing his ground and telling her off, come what may, he succumbed to her ‘charms’....Again.  And to top it off, this was the third time he had cheated since Karen had gone missing....All in a mere, what ?  11 days ?  It seemed like it was so much longer.  It was as if some crazy writer was intentionally slowing down his life story and prolonging the misery.

He wondered again for the thousandth time how he allowed himself to get caught up in the situations in which he found himself that led to now his Sixth time of cheating on Karen...Four times with Pinky, and...Two times with Lola.  This couldn’t continue, he knew.  If he was ever lucky enough to get Karen back, this would have to stop.  With every encounter, the risk multiped exponentially that he would be found out, exposed, revealed.  And what would be his defense to Karen, when that got back to her ?  That he couldn’t help himself, that he was powerless to resist ? 

"You some kinda Superboy, a fuckin’ King Arthur or something ?"  Jimmy’s voice floated into his head, an echo of the night they had talked up on the Courthouse Clocktower.  "You’re Human, just like the rest of us.  You’re gonna make mistakes that are outta your control in certain situations.  You just gotta learn from them and move on", he had said.  Yeah, he was doing a bang-up job of learning from his mistakes, all right.  Three times in less than two weeks.  The term 'Reverse Progress’ mockingly went through his mind.

But, he reflected, he had forgotten the key piece of advice that Jimmy had dished out on that night under the giant Clock....."Don’t ever, NEVER, be alone with Pinky anymore", he had said.  And that applied equally to Lola, or any other girl who laid out their traps for him.  He had somehow forgotten that part of their talk, but it was true....They can’t play if one stays away, simple as that.  Tony dwelled on the circumstances of the past couple of weeks that had impelled him to be alone with those girls....Twice for information, and now once to help his friend Laurent out of a jam.  If these were ordinary times, would those have happened ?  He had to conclude that that they probably wouldn’t have....But this was not ordinary times. 

The rotating shaft of light from the distant Lighthouse on the Bay brought him out of his revere.  It was getting late, and he had a mission to accomplish.  Laying his guilt aside for now, he rose and mentally shook himself.  He must focus on what he had to do now.  There would be plenty of time for recriminations later.  Instead of moping about himself, he had to get Karen back.  She was surely going through much worse than what he was.

Climbing back up the rocks to Vale Valley Boulevard, he set off towards the Dorm with urgent resolve.
__________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

“What took you so long ?”, Nick asked as Tony entered their room.

“I don’t want to talk about it”, Tony said.  “Let’s just say Laurent’s secret is safe...For now.”

Nick grinned, but made no comment.  Instead, he said, “Well...Here’s some news.  Constantinos got expelled.  He’s confined to his room for now.”

“Expelled ?”, Tony exclaimed.  “What the hell for ?”

Nick shrugged.  “Don’t know.  Musta been something bad...Maybe he got caught hanging around in the Girl’s Dorm once too often.”

“Well, that sucks”, Tony said.  “Maybe it’s got to do with that mystery girlfriend.”

“Maybe”, Nick said.  “But look....He’s been around this place far longer than we have.  I’m thinking...He might know a way we can get past them gates to the Chem Plant.  Save us a lotta time.”

“Shit, that’s right”, Tony said, facepalming himself.  “We gotta go talk to him.  Wait...You said ‘confined’ to his room ?  Is he, like, under guard or something ?”

“Naw”, Nick answered.  “Seth the Prefect just comes in once an hour to make sure he’s still there.  Seems to really enjoy it.”

“When was the last time he checked on him ?”, Tony asked.

“Few minutes before you got here”, Nick told him.  “We got time.”

“Ok, let’s go !”, Tony said.  The two boys left and went down the hall to Constantinos’ room.  They opened the door without knocking.  Constantinos was huddled in his bed with the blankets drawn up under his chin, looking like the most pitiful and miserable creature on earth.  On the other side of the room, Ivan appeared to be actually studying, having a schoolbook and some papers spread out on the room’s lone desk.

“You guys might try knocking”, Ivan said, looking up.

“Beat it”, Nick told him.  “We gotta talk to Constantinos.”

“Ha, good luck with that”, Ivan laughed.  “He ain’t said a word since he’s been back.  He got expelled, y’know.”

“Yes, we heard”, Tony said.  “Would’ja mind giving us some privacy ?”

Ivan was about to retort, but the mean look on Nick’s face changed his mind.  “Ok, all right, I’m going”, he said, gathering up his book and papers.  “Geesh, maybe when they build the second story on this place I can get my own room.”, he grumbled as he made his way out the door.

Tony and Nick went and stood over Constantinos’ bed.  “Hey, we need to talk to you”, Nick told him.

“Oh, go away !”, Constantinos moaned, covering his face with his blanket.

“This is important”, Tony said, “We need to know how to get into the Chem Plant.”

Constantinos didn’t answer, just moaned some more.  “Look, it’s about the girls.  We think they’re being being held there by the Townies.” 

Constantinos still didn’t answer.  Tony reached out and slowly pulled the blanket off his face.  Constantinos’ eyes were wet.  Tears were coursing down his cheeks.  Tony sat down on the bed beside him.  “Hey, man, what’s wrong ?  We know you got expelled and all...But what’s really bugging you ?”

“I...Can’t talk about...It”, Constantinos said, squeezing his eyes shut.  “Can’t.”

“Sure you can”, Tony said.  “Look, we’re your friends.  You can tell us anything...Really.  It won’t leave this room, I promise.  If you can’t tell your friends, who can you tell ?”

Constantinos opened his eyes a slit and looked at Tony, who had a sincere look on his face.  He swiveled his eyes towards Nick, who nodded, saying, “Com’on, man....Let it out.”

“Come Clean”, the ghostly voice of reason in Constantinos’ mind echoed.  “Spill the Beans.  Dump it all out.  Only you can set us free."

Constantinos’ face crumpled.  From deep inside him, the emotions he had been bottling up came boiling to the surface, hard and fierce, and he burst out crying.  “Ohh...It’s....It’s AWFUL !!”, he blubbered.  “It’s so...TERRIBLE !!!....It’s the WORST !!!”

“That’s Ok”, Tony said, laying a hand on his shoulder.  “Let it out.  We’re right here, and we got plenty of time.  Let it all out.”

Constantinos did.  Slowly at first, and then faster, he revealed to whole sorted mess, from the night of the Independence Dance and the kiss from the mystery Tiffany, to their next encounter at the side of the Girl’s Dorm, to her building Kleptomaniac obsession using him as a Proxy to steal books from the Library, the downright weird sex sessions up in the Attic with Tiffany’s almost fetish-like worship of the stolen books, to his getting captured by Seth in the Library with the latest haul...all of it.  For 15 minutes he wrenched his tale of woe from his clenched guts like a mountain man battling a bear to the death. 

Tony and Nick sat stunned at the revelations.  It was no wonder that Constantinos had been so preoccupied lately....This girl made made most of the girls in Bullworth seem normal by comparison.  Tony’s problems with Pinky, and to a lesser extent Lola, seemed trivial in the face of this whacko chick.  Even Nick’s encounter with Beatrice, strange as it was, didn’t even come close to what Constantinos had been dealing with.

“I’m so Ashamed”, Constantinos blubbered hopelessly.  “She....She USED me....I was just her Patsy !”

Tony nodded in sympathy.  He could relate, although neither Pinky nor Lola had risen to the level of madness this girl Tiffany apparently had.  “We understand, Constantinos, really.  That girl is over the top....Certifiably Crazy.”

Constantinos uttered a depressed laugh.  “Trouble is, I actually miss her.  That’s pretty fucked up, isn’t it ?”

“Not at all, man”, Nick answered him.  “That’s actually pretty normal in those kind of relationships....There’s been studies about that sort of thing.”

Tony looked at Nick queerly, wondering again how he knew about stuff.  “It’s, Uh...Yeah, like he said....But all girls aren’t like that.  You’ll get a normal girl....Someday.  They can’t all be nuts.”

“I...Don’t know about that”, Constantinos said, wiping his nose.  “But, uh....Thanks for listening, guys....I feel....Better for letting that out.”  And, he did feel better, Constantinos reflected.  The Voice of Reason had been right....Only the truth can set one free.  Just as long as not too many knew about it.

“That’s what friends are for”, Tony said.  “We guys gotta stick together.”

Constantinos looked up at Tony.  “Are you really my friend ?”, he asked.  "Right after we met, you punched me....Remember ?”

“Well...Yeah”, Tony admitted.  “And, I’m sorry about that....But I didn’t really know you then...I was just trying to survive in a new place....And the only ‘friend’ I had then was Jake, which really turned out to be a bizarre joke.”

“Yeah...I guess I can understand”, Constantinos said.  “Place was more of real jungle then...”

“I suppose we’ve come a long ways since those days”, Tony said, then sighed.  “And, sill a ways to go, it seems like.”

Constantinos lay contemplating for a bit.  Then he said, “I can show you how to get in to the Chem Plant.”

“We need to get past those gates first”, Nick said.  “That’s the hangup.”

“Ahh, those are easy”, Constantinos said.  “The hard part will be getting in the Plant...I heard the EPA chained all the doors shut....Probably welded them, too.”

“Oh, that’s great !”, Tony groaned.  “How the Hell do we get in there then ?”

“You have to take the Ramp up to the roof”, Constantinos told them.

“Ramp ?”, Nick asked.  “There’s a Ramp ?  We didn’t see a Ramp.”

“Oh, Yeah....It winds up around the building inside the outer skin”, Constantinos said.  “Then, there’s an access building on the roof that leads inside.”

“The place down low that can only be entered up high !”, Tony exclaimed.  “That’s what that means, Nick !”

“You think so ?”, Nick asked.  “Yeah, I guess It’d make sense, since we couldn’t get in through the Tunnels.”

“You guys found the Tunnels ?”, Constantinos asked, forgetting about his own misery for the moment.

“Yeah, we were in them last night”, Tony answered, “Only the access doors to the Chem Plant were welded shut....All three levels.”

“There’s....Three levels underground ?”, Constantinos asked.

“Well, there is there", Nick said, “That seems to be the only place.”

“And you guys think...”, Constantinos puzzled, “That Karen and Melody are there ?”

“We think the Townies are holed up in there”, Tony said with a trace of anger, “And we think the Townies are the ones who kidnapped the girls.”

“Whoa”, Constantinos muttered.  “That’s heavy.  If you guys can smuggle me out of here tonight, I can show you how to get in there....Faster to show you than tell you.”

“Sure”, Tony said, “But there isn’t much time....Here’s what we’ll do....”  And with that, Tony begin to outline a plan.
______________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony had Constantinos cover up everything but the hair on his head as he laid in the bed, then he and Nick went out into the Common Room.  A few of the Bullies were there, Tom, Wade, and Troy, playing some of the stand-up Video Game Consoles in a bored manner.  Over at the lone round table sat Ivan, still working on his homework, and on the couch sat Gordon, watching TV, which had a lot better programming on now since the Valley had opened up to the outside world. 

Tony and Nick went and pulled out a couple chairs and sat down at the table. Ivan looked up, startled.  “You guys finished in there ?  Can I go back to my room now ?”

“Ehh, just hang here for awhile”, Nick told him with a hard glance.

“Um, yeah, we’re gonna tuck Constantinos in a bit later”, Tony added. “He needs some alone time for....Meditation.”

“Ehhh, Whatever”, Ivan sighed, and returned to his homework.

I a few minutes, Seth the Prefect came strolling in the door of the Boy’s Dorm.  Prefects didn’t usually come in the Dorms very often, for reasons that were long buried in time.  Tony thought that this might change once the second story was added on.  Seth barely gave anybody a glance as he turned the corner and marched to Constantinos’ room down the hall. 

Tony had unscrewed the light bulbs when they left Constantinos’ room, forcing Seth to use his flashlight to be able to check to see if Constantinos was there.  Seth actually had to enter the room and shine the flashlight on Constantinos’ head to see if he was there under the blankets.  As soon as he saw the unruly sight of his dark hair, he uttered a snort of disgust and then turned and left the room.  Seth marched back down the hall without so much as looking in the Common Room, turned the corner to the Main Hallway and was quickly gone through the Dorm doors.

“That was short and sweet”, Nick commented.

“What I’m counting on”, Tony said.  “Com’on, let’s go.”

The boys went to their room first of all.  Tony rummaged around in his Wardrobe and finally located what he was looking for, pulling out a Wolf’s Head Mask that was left over from Halloween.  It wasn’t his costume, but he had come across it somewhere and stashed it.  “This dark hair on here is a perfect match for our lad’s mop”, Tony said.

They went back to Constantinos’ room and entered.  Tony used his flashlight and screwed the lightbulbs back in.  Then he roused Constantinos and while Nick fluffed and stuffed clothes and pillows under the blankets, Tony fixed up the Wolf’s Head Mask on Constantinos’ pillow with the head of dark hair facing outward.  When they finished, it looked as if Constantinos was still in bed, that is if one didn’t look too closely.

Unscrewing the lightbulbs once more, they snuck Constantinos back down to their room to wait.  Tony went back to the Common Room and told Ivan that Constantinos was fast asleep but the lights were out.  “So, if you got anything else to do, you’ll have to do it here”, Tony said.

Ivan yawned and closed up his book.  “That’s Ok, I’m done for tonight anyway.  Fact, I’m rather sleepy...Guess I’ll turn in.”

“Well, alright”, Tony said.  “Just don’t wake up Constantinos.  We had a devil of a time getting him to sleep.”

“No worries”, Ivan said, “I’ll be a Rat...Er, Mouse.”

He left, and Tony returned to his room.  The three boys made ready by dressing in Black Ninja outfits for stealth, and waited until Seth made an appearance in the Dorm again.  Like before, he was in and out quickly, checking on Constantinos’ room.  “Our ruse worked...He don’t suspect a thing”, Tony said, peering out his door.  “Let’s get ready.”
_________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Close to Midnight they snuck out of the Dorm, crossed the yard to the shortcut to the Quad, then snuck some more to the Library, where they breached the wall and went through the Nerd’s gate.  Having successfully spirited Constantinos away from the school, they were more at ease as they traversed the Nerd’s battlefield and entered the Tunnel to the cavern.  From there, they made their way across the wooden walkway to Blue Skies.

When they emerged from the trail underpass, Tony noticed something immediately.  “Look”, he pointed, “Those Rail Cars are gone !”

And so they were.  The whole short spur line stood empty, and they could see the entire loading complex across the street.  More importantly, the direct access to the Rail Yard was open and unblocked.  “Hmm....Don’t see that often”, Constantinos remarked.  “Musta got their work done today.”  The boys crossed the street and followed the spur line to the Rail Yards. 

Tony showed Constantinos the windowless Warehouse building where the loading dock was clearly visible now.  “That’s where we accessed the Tunnels”, he told him. 

“Really ?”, Constantinos said.  He seemed a bit more chipper now, perhaps because he was out doing something familiar...Sneaking around. “I never seen that space empty before.”

They moved on past that to the Railroad Warehouse, with it’s storage for Rail Car parts, offices, and the breakroom.  Rounding the corner, they joined the road that went past the Gloop Oil Refinery.  Ahead of them, the monolith tower of the Chem Plant loomed ahead, glittering a rusty red evil in the moonlight.

They trudged up the road towards the first gate.  “This is where we got stopped before”, Tony said.  “We couldn’t find a way through.”

“Did you try pushing that red button up there ?”, Constantinos asked, pointing to the switch mounted to the side of the building to their left.

“Yeah, Duh”, Nick said, “Didn’t work.  Why do you think we brought you out here ?”

“Did you push it twice ?”, Constantinos asked, smirking.

Tony and Nick looked at Constantinos thunderstruck.  “Could...It be that simple ?”, Tony asked, facepalming himself.  Constantinos actually half-smiled as he leapt up on the raised concrete platform and climbed over the railing.  Going over to the switch, he pushed the red button once.  Tony heard that familiar whoosh from around the corner, meaning the gate from that road was opening.  Then Constantinos pushed the red button again, and a whoosh sounded in front of them as the first gate swung open.

“Shit, simple as that”, Nick said with a trace of disgust.  “I’ll be damned.”

 Constantinos hopped down and rejoined them.  “See, piece of cake.”

“Ok, Genius”, Nick growled as they walked up to the next gate.  “Let’s see you get this one open so easily.”

“Not a problem”, Constantinos said, and scampered away, running up a ramp by the next building and disappearing around a corner.

“Where the Hell’s he off to ?”, Tony wondered aloud.

“Hard telling”, Nick said.  “We never got this far.”

“You think this building...Was that last big one we were in ?”, Tony speculated.

“That one that was stretched out ?”, Nick said.  “Yeah, looks like it.”

In less than a minute, Constantinos reappeared on the other side of the gate. “How the Hell...?”, Tony asked in confusion.

Constantinos went to another electrical box switch mounted on a low stone wall and pushed the red button there.  With a whoosh, the gate ahead of them opened up.  “Gotta give him props...”, Nick muttered.

The boys went through the gate.  A few yards further on found them standing in front of the Chem Plant.  Tony could see a road led up to it from the North to a sidewalk in front of the Plant.  behind the sidewalk was another gate, but this one stood open and obviously hadn’t been used for some time.  The reason was clear, for a hundred feet down that road to the north was a large tall metal barricade across it, strung over the top with double rows of razor barbed wire. 

Constantinos joined them.  “When I first came here to Bullworth, that thing wasn’t there”, he said, pointing to the barricade.  You could drive straight down the road from Spazz Industries and wind up here, right in front.”

“So...Why’d they put that up ?”, Tony asked, looking at the barricade.

“About three years ago, they stuck that thing there, almost overnight”, Constantinos related.  “We heard it was to keep the Townies and other riff-raff out.  Same with them gates we just went through.  But that didn’t work for long, they found a way in here anyway.”

“Just like we did”, Nick observed ironically.

Constantinos nodded.  “The Townies kinda made this place their hangout, after hours, when the workers had gone home for the day.  It was kind of a joke, really, all this.  What they really needed was some good security.  But they were skinflints, Harrington wasn’t about to waste money on a real security force.  They’d just put a couple guys in Building XX-7 with them monitor screens, and only one guy at night.  They were supposed to call the Cops if they spotted anybody sneaking around.  But half them screens didn’t work right...The cameras were old and lots of them were busted.  The Townies still came here, they’d get inside by the way I’m gonna show you.  The Chem Plant people just treated them like harmless parasites.”

“Not so harmless now”, Tony said ominously.

They turned and walked in through the big open gate in front.  Ahead of them were the metal front doors, which were chained and welded shut, just as they had heard.  The EPA was apparently dead serious about shuttering the place.  Tony wondered just how toxic it still was in there.

“Jimmy Hopkins tracked the Townies here, and had a big Boss fight with Edgar Munsen inside, which he won”, Constantinos continued.  “He had to get in by just the way you’re gonna see, that access shack at the top.  Jimmy had to fight through a buncha Townies up on the roof to just to get in and go after Edgar.  It’s all part of his legend.” 

To the right, Tony could see the ramp that Constantinos had told them about.  It was a bit wider than a car, and wound up around the curve of the building a bit before disappearing inside the outer skin of the round Chem Plant building.  A faded and dirty sign overhead read ‘Employees Only Past This Point’. 

“That our cue”, Nick said, and they began walking up the ramp, using caution to move silently.  They had automatically unlimbered their weapons in the event they ran across anyone, and Nick kept his eye to their rear as they ascended.  But they encountered no one.  As they moved, Tony saw that on each floor were rounded steel doors which had also been welded shut.  The enclosed ramp was a bit claustrophobic, but they dared not use their flashlights.  Several minutes into their upward climb, the began to see moonlight ahead, streaming around the bend.  They slowed, and at about that point, the slope of the ramp began to flatten out.  A few yards further, and the were on the roof level, though still within the enclosed structure. 

Tony could see the opening up ahead, where the moonlit sky replaced the ramp’s ceiling. An eerie breeze was blowing, making a slight whistling sound at this height.  To their left, suddenly, was an opening to a long narrow storage area that would turn out to be a metal shack that was set level with the roof, running along the South side.  It was hard to see inside without lights, but it appeared that there was a number of wooden crates inside.  Just a few feet past this opening the metal side walls ended.  Nick put one hand up to Constantinos and laid his other hand on Tony’s shoulder, and motioned both of them to flatten against the wall.

They could see just a small portion of the roof from their hiding spot.  Tony inched forward and slowly was able to peek around the corner.  Then he spotted the access building, set about fifty feet away, and understood why Constantinos had called it a shack....It was a little less than ten feet wide, but the length, from what he could tell, was about double that.  It was a little hard to judge, because there were crates stacked up on either side of it.  But it wasn’t what Tony saw that chilled him...It was who.

Standing guard were two Townies.  Tony couldn’t make out which ones, but he could see clearly the Rifles that were in their hands.
___________________________________ 

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony pulled back and motioned Nick to go forward and take a look.  Nick peeked around the corner for a minute and backed up, motioning the others back as he did so.  Using hand gestures, he indicated that they should go back down the ramp. 

All three boys snuck back towards the ramp and went down silently.  When they reached the bottom where it was safe to talk, they held a hurried conference. 

“You see them Rifles ?”, Nick said tightly.

“Yeah, I did”, Tony said.  “I can’t tell what they are though...Didn’t get a good enough look.”

“We don’t have the weaponry to face up to those”, Nick said.  “The minute we step out to fire, they’ll cut us down.”

“Maybe....They’re the Air Rifles that were stolen from the carnival”, Tony suggested.  “If we can get the drop on them....”

Nick shook his head vehemently. “We have no cover whatsoever.  Just to shoot our weapons at them we have to expose ourselves.  They got cover, they set those crates out there to get behind.  We got nothing.”

“There’s...Those crates in that side shed”, Constantinos ventured.

Nick again shook his head.  “We got to take them by surprise, it’s the only chance we got.  Moving crates make noise.”

“We could lob some M-80 at them”, Tony said, but he was getting a sinking feeling.

“You gonna stand out there and do that ?”, Nick asked.  “They’ll cut you to shreds before it leaves your hand.”

“But, there’s only two of them”, Constantinos put in.

“They probably have Walkie-Talkies or Radios”, Nick said. “They’ll call up the rest of the gang...We’ll have to fight them all.  And that is the absolute worst place to launch an attack from.  Think about it.”

“But...Dammit, We got to do something !”, Tony exclaimed.  “The Girls...”

“I know...I know”, Nick said.  “But we can’t help them at all if we get shot up.  We got to fight our way inside, go down inside that place in the dark, where we could be ambushed at any time, find those lower levels, and then rescue them.  Look, even if they are only Air Rifles, you told me just what ONE of those pellets did to your friend Pete.  We can’t save the girls if we get taken out !”

“Hell”, Tony said, realizing that Nick was right.  “God Damn It.”  He leaned wearily against the flaking, rusty walls of the Chem Plant.  “We need help....Some Sacrificial Lambs....Throw them in front of us...”

“How about the Bullies ?”, Constantinos suggested.  “They got a score to settle with the Townies, don’t they ?  From last year ?”

“Yeah...”, Tony said slowly.  “The Bully Army.  I think it’s about time to give them their marching orders.”

“You seriously think those Fuckups can hold off Air Rifles, or anything at all ?", Nick asked skeptically.  “Get Real, man.”

“No...”, Tony said, “But just maybe long enough for us to get some crates into position for cover.  Look, we take every weapon we got, all the ammo we can round up.  We get cover, and we can outlast them.  They can’t have unlimited ammo for them things.  They only stole so much.  We can get more, much more.”

Nick still looked doubtful.  “I don’t know, man.  I just think....”, He threw up his hands in frustration.

“The girls don’t have much time”, Tony said.  “They’re guarding the place for a reason...The girls are still alive....They got to be.  We have to do something, we have to try !”

Nick drew a breath and sighed.  Dropping his shoulders, he said, “Ok....The Bully Army it is.”   
________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

The new day begin at Bullworth Academy in administrative disarray.  Rumors of what had happened the previous evening had filtered in to both Staff and Students alike, full of wild speculation and gross inaccuracies.  The most pervasive rumor being bandied about asserted that a former lover of Miss Jones had tried to murder her by pushing her out the window in a fit of rage.  Just why Ms. Phillips was also apparently tossed out the window, or what she was even doing in Bethany Jones’ apartment, was also up for debate.  Some were speculating that one of her Ex-Husbands was involved, although nobody knew who they were.  Others were saying, correctly without knowing it, that it had something to do with the posters depicting the nude painting that had been hung up around the Towns the previous day.  It was hinted that the Police were looking for a would-be killer or killers of the two women.  Since both had been been working in the Bullworth School Office, the suspect was said to be Mr. Galloway, who hadn’t been seen by anyone since last Friday.

None of the Staff seemed inclined to temporarily take over the running of the school.  One by one, they declined, until Mr. Neil reluctantly agreed to step up and take over.  It was his fear that the State would step in and take over again, this time for good.  When that happened, the Staff at Bullworth Academy would be sacked, he was very certain.  Mr.Neal was sure that some kind of conspiracy was afoot.  First, Dr. Crabblesnitch and his operative Ms. Danvers had been arrested and hauled off to jail by the Fascist Government as a result of what turned out to be the biggest conspiracy ever.  The only reason the State didn’t fully take over then and give everybody their pink slips was the glaring light of publicity that had suddenly been focused on the Vale Valley.

But now, very few Reporters were left in the area.  The Media had moved on to other sensational events.  Bullworth and the Vale Valley were yesterday’s news.  Those girls going missing had re-sparked some interest, but scores of teenagers went missing every day, and in only a few days attention was directed elsewhere to newer, more cutting-edge breaking stories.  So, the time was right for the evil conspirators from the State Board of Education to carry out their nefarious plans to wrest away control of the school and fire the whole staff, himself included.

So, it came as no surprise to him the events of last evening.  He suspected that something like this might be in the works.  The mysterious disappearance of Mr. Galloway had only been the first step, he knew.  Now, his consort Ms. Phillips and the only other person in the School Office, Miss Jones, had also been removed from the scene.  Mr. Neil knew conspiracy when he saw it, even if others were blind.  And he also knew that with the school rudderless, they would all be out on their ass by this time next week, every last Teacher on the staff.  He could plainly see what was happening, even if those other dunderheads on the Staff couldn’t.

Mr. Neil Robert Neil was long an adult now, but he used to be the Greasers leader when he was a student here at Bullworth Academy.  Since then, he had achieved his dream, the running of the School’s Autoshop.  It was his obsession and desire.  Mr. Neil had never married, nor had he a girlfriend...The Autoshop was his mistress.  He wasn’t about to let those scheming fascists pull his life out from under him.

Mr. Neil went to the School Office.  There was a few kids in there, needing something, as always.  He chased them all out and then got on the phone.  First, he called Chief O’Rouke to get the lowdown on just what had happened.  The Chief couldn’t tell him much of the particulars, as the matter was still 'under investigation’.  Next, he called the Clinic to see what the conditions of Ms. Phillips and Miss Jones was.  Then he made a third call, to the Blue Balls Bar.  After a few minutes, he hung up from his last call, then picked up the School Intercom and announced that everyone was to assemble in the School Auditorium right before Lunch.

When the appointed time came, all the students that were in school that day and the staff made their way to the Auditorium.  After they had all filed in and were seated, Mr. Neil rose to speak.

“There's so many schemes and plans within plans and schemes", Mr. Neil began.  “This may be the case with what happened last night to some members of our staff.  However....Rumors and speculation will not remove us from this quagmire of mis-information.  We are under assault by those forces who seek to undermine and alter us here at Bullworth Academy. We all must stand vigilant against them.  So, from now on, you must not speak of this to any outsiders.”

The student body sat in confused silence.  What the Hell was he talking about ?

Mr. Neil looked around at the blank faces, and sighed.  “What I mean is...Don’t talk to anybody.  Especially not reporters or anybody in the Towns.  Just sayin’.....We’ll get invaded again with outsiders.  Until we find out for sure just what’s happening, just chill, alright ?”  He shuffled a paper in his hand.  “The facts are this...Ms. Phillips is in the Clinic with a broken arm, cracked kneecaps...And some kind of strange injury to her ear.  Miss Jones has a badly broken leg, a broken nose, and is unconscious from some sort of head injury.  Mr. Galloway is still out sick, as far as we know, form an undisclosed illness...”

There was some tittering laughter at that, and Mr. Neal held up a hand.  “That’s enough of that.  It’s really important not to be spreading around a bunch of rumors about this.  We need to go about things as normal.  Now, the Prefects will be assigned to more Gate Duty, like before, to keep out anyone who doesn’t belong in here.  They will also be patrolling the school more.  The Office area will be re-opened tomorrow.”   Mr. Neil paused for a moment, looking about the auditorium.  “That’s all.  You are dismissed.”

The Students got up and filed out, talking among themselves.  They knew little more than they did before they came in.  The rumors and speculations would most likely continue. 

There were some conspicuously absent from the gathering....Tony and Nick had slept in after their excursions the night before.  Constantinos was missing too, but then again, nobody noticed that.
______________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony and Nick had slept in after their late-night mission, and it was a good thing they had.  There was to be a busy day today for the both of them.  They has safely smuggled Constantinos back into his room when they returned, but when the boys awoke, they found him sitting at the desk in their room, like a wraith.

“About time you guys woke up”, he grumbled. “Thought you were gonna sleep all day.”

“Tony was somewhat startled by Constantinos’ appearance in their room, but said foggily, “Yeah, Mornin’ to you too...”

“Not much morning now, it’s almost lunchtime”, Constantinos commented as he hopped up from the chair and began pacing.  Nick watched him with bleary eyes but said nothing.  “Something’s come up, and it’s sounds nasty”, Constantinos continued darkly.

Tony groaned and sat up.  “What now ?  A Riot ?”

“Got wind of it this morning”, Constantinos said.  “Seth stopped coming to my room to check on me after 8 AM.  So I started nosing around, on the down-low.”

“So....What do you hear ?”, Tony asked, stifling a yawn.

“Something happened to Ms. Phillips last night, and Miss Jones too”, Constantinos said, and went on to describe what he had picked up from all the rumor and gossip.  He had even been able to go outside and snoop around, finding Seth was now guarding the front gate, and heard that Carl was guarding the other gate.  Max and Edward were said to be guarding the school. 

“Whoa”, Tony muttered, rising and getting his bearings.  “So....They fell out a window ?  That sounds rather....Bizarre.”

“Fell, or Pushed”, Constantinos said.  “And what’s more, there’s some even saying that Mr. Galloway did it.  Others are going on about a would-be killer on the loose.  It’s all very mysterious at this point.”

“I’ll bet”, Tony mumbled, trying to absorb what Constantinos has told them.

“Are they restricting access ?”, Nick suddenly asked.

“Out of the School ?”, Constantinos asked.  Nick nodded, and Constantinos continued, “I don’t think so....But I don’t really know.  I’m not getting close enough to any of the Prefects to find out, you understand.  But a little while ago, a bunch of the Greasers came in through the front gate, I guess from New Coventry.”

“Why would....Well, weren’t they in class ?”, Tony asked, a bit confused.

“A lot of them, I think, have been staying over at Blue Balls Bar....I knew they were fixing the place up, before....”, Constantinos said, trailing off before saying when he got bound up with Tiffany.  “Anyway, I also heard Mr. Neil took over the School.  Everybody’s up in the Auditorium, right now I think....I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Mr. Neil ?”, Tony asked, surprised.  “Why, is this some power grab ?  He’s not like that.”

“I heard nobody else would do it”, Constantinos said.  “Somebody has to.”

Nick looked at Tony.  “This is gonna screw our plans for tonight.”

“No...It’s not”, Tony said.  “We got to go in, no matter what.  Look, let’s split up...Nick, you go to lunch, like normal, and see what you can find out.  I’m gonna get outta here, while I still can, and go into town.  When I get back, I wanna talk to Russell and Trent....Don’t tell them anything yet, I’ll do that once we find out what’s really going on.”

“What should I do ?”, Constantinos asked.

“Stay out of sight, at least stay away from the school", Tony told him, "And....The Girl’s Dorm.  Do what you do best and keep invisible.  Find out what ever else you can.  I’ll be back at about 5 PM, cause I gotta see Mr. Riddle.”

Constantinos gave Tony an inquiring look.  “Mr. Riddle ?  The new Janitor ?”

“I’ll...Uh...Fill you in later about that”, Tony said, then asked, “You think they took Ms. Phillips to the Clinic ?”

“What I heard”, Constantinos said.  “That, uh, Miss Jones too.”

“You gonna tell her about our plans ?”, Nick asked with a frown.

“No...Nothing like that”, Tony said.  “I want to find out if Mr. Galloway’s a killer.  That could change everything at the School, and for the worse....It might interfere with what we have to do.”

Tony went to his Wardrobe and changed into a preppy-looking outfit.  He brushed back his hair to look more preppy.  Turning, he asked, “How do I look ?”

“Like you just came from Harrington House”, Nick commented.

“Great”, Tony said.  “I’m off then...Good Luck, and we’ll meet back here later this afternoon.”  With that, Tony left the room and exited the Dorm.
_________________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Tony didn’t have any trouble getting past Seth the Prefect, now patrolling the front gate.  Seth looked rather comical, in fact, marching back and forth in front of the gate like a sentinel of some sort.  “Where Are You Going ?”, Seth barked at him as he approached.

“Uh..To Town”, Tony replied firmly.  “Problem with that ?”

Seth looked Tony over in his preppy outfit.  “Oh, it’s you.  Go on ahead, then.  But don’t tarry too long.  Expecting the gates will be closed soon to keep outsiders out.”

Tony just nodded and smiled, heading out through the gates towards the great bridge and Bullworth Town.  He kind of wished he had his bike, but didn’t know if he would have been allowed to leave with that, given the circumstances.  With his Mediator status, he probably could have faked his way through somehow, but it wasn’t worth the hassle.  When things went sour, the Prefects got all self-important, like it really mattered anyway.

Tony had quit carrying the collapsible Skateboard long ago, since he really sucked at using it.  Some kids had really mastered it, but it was something he never got the hang of, so to speak.  So, he had to walk, but really didn’t have far to go....If he needed to go elsewhere, he could look for a un-tended bike to swipe for awhile. 

Tony got to the Bullworth Clinic in about 15 minutes and went inside.  Because of his preppy-looking clothes, nobody paid him any attention as he hunted the beds for Ms. Phillips.  Finally, he spotted her and went over to where she was.  As he approached, he could see a huge cast on her right arm.  Her eyes were half-closed, but she was breathing regularly.  “Umm....Ms. Phillips ?”, Tony said tentatively.

Ms. Phillips rolled her head in his direction.  “Wha...Who...”  As she did, Tony could see a huge bandage on her left ear.

“It’s me, Ms. Phillips...Tony”, he told her in a soft voice.  “Can you talk ?”

“Ohhh...It’s you, Tony....I...Didn’t recognize you...”, Ms. Phillips said haltingly.  Tony could tell she was drugged up, probably for the pain.  He recalled being in a similar situation just this past February, after his fall from the front roof of the school.  “Is....Anyone....With you ?”

“No, Ma’am, I’m alone”, Tony said, keeping his voice low.  “What’s happened ?  There’s all kinds of rumors going around....”

“Ohh...I’m so glad...That it’s you, Tony”, Ms. Phillips said.  “Never mind...About rumors...You need to do something...Real important...For me....”

“Well, sure”, Tony said, “What ever I can do to help.”

“I...Need you to look in on...Mr. Galloway”, Ms. Phillips said, in a begging tone unlike Tony had ever heard from her.  “He needs....To be fed....He’s not well, after what.....What that Skank did to him....He has to be looked after....Help him, Please...”

Tony was confused, but it looked as if Deidre Phillips was close to crying, so he didn’t press for details.  “Well...Yes, of course...Should I get some help, maybe ?  Like, if he’s sick or something...?”

“NO !!”, Ms. Phillips said as forcefully as she could muster.  “You must....Tell No One...Understand ?  They’ll....Take him to Happy Volts....He’ll....Lose his Job !!  Please...Help him...Help us....”

Tony suddenly understood then....It had something to do with Alcohol.  And something, or someone, had triggered a relapse.  Like everyone else, Tony had heard all the stories about Mr. Galloway’s addiction, and his remarkable recovery from what would have been a path to his certain ruin instead of the Headmaster’s job.  But now, all that was threatened, and Tony, in a flash of insight, thought that the culprit was the ‘Skank’ of which Ms. Phillips referred to...None other than Miss Bethany Jones, the only other player in this strange drama.  Tony bent low and said, “Relax, Ms. Phillips...I’ll take care of it, somehow.  You just rest, Ok ?”

“Yes...Thank You, Tony....He’s at...Our apartment....”, Ms. Phillips said, and gave Tony brief directions on how to get there.  “Look after him...He has...To recover...”

“I’ll take care of it, somehow", Tony repeated, “Don’t worry.”  He looked up.  Someone, one of the White Coats, was approaching, with a frown on his face.  “I have to go now”, Tony said shortly.

“Be...Careful, Tony....”, Ms. Phillips said, and groaned.  Tony got out of there quickly, before he could be confronted. 

Out on the street once more, he headed for the place Ms. Phillips had described, thinking as he went.  He kept a sharp eye out, in case anyone was observing him, but detected no one.  Still, he took a longer route, going through alleyways in a circular pattern, in case he was being followed.  He didn’t know the whole story, by any means, but could surmise that if the truth of the situation ever got out, the scandal that would result would be far worse than just some posters of a naked painting hung about the Towns...It would be devastating.  Tony quickened his pace.
_________________________________

[BloodChuckZ]

Nick began to work his way around the Campus, but avoided the Girl’s Dorm area.  First, he went to the School Cafeteria as Tony had suggested.  Of those who were there, he heard a lot of chatter, mostly rumor and speculation as to just what had happened last night.

At the table they usually frequented was only Ray, sitting by himself.  Nick grabbed an Apple from the fruit basket and sat down beside him.  “Whadda you hear ?”, he said quietly.

“It’s like...A Takeover”, Ray said.  In a low voice, he told Nick of the meeting in the Auditorium that had just happened, and of the somewhat confusing speech of Mr. Neil, which had only apparently added to the rumor mill instead of defusing it.  “Something’s going down, but nobody really knows what it is.”

Nick looked around tersely, taking a bite of the Apple and chewing it slowly.  “Look, I have an important mission to do tonight, and we’re gonna need some help.  Can we count you in ?”

“Why...Sure.  What....What is it ?”, Ray asked, a bit uncertainly.

“It’s Dangerous”, Nick said, taking another bite of the Apple.  “You still up to it ?”

“Umm...Uh, sure....I guess...”, Ray said, trying to be nonchalant.

“Good”, Nick said, finishing the Apple.  “Can you cut class the rest of the day ?”

“Oh, yeah, sure !”, Ray said, sounding much more positive.

“Alright then...Come with me”, Nick said as he contemplated the Apple Core in his hand, before tossing it at a group of girls gathered at another table.  A couple of them screamed, and then somebody shouted, “FOOD FIGHT !!!”  In the wink of an eye, bits and pieces of food were being thrown about, and Nick and Ray left the Cafeteria unobserved, which erupted in pandemonium in their wake.

Out in the Great Hall, they observed what looked like the entire Greaser Clique come streaming from the School Office and head down the stairs.  Nick noticed that even the girls of the Clique, Lola, Binky, and Angie, were with them.  He watched them trail around and head towards the back exit by the Chemistry Room.

“Com’on”, Nick muttered.  “There’s stuff we gotta check out.”
____________________________________