“And now entering from the other side we have his closest competitor to date, holding an impressive number of wins and competition victories of his own and training with Mr. Kim’s Gyms:  Darin Frost, Jr.”

…let the match begin.” said the announcer.

…On the refs signal the horn was sounded and the match began.

Darin and Robby circled each other on the mat.  Each wanting the advantage, but each also wanting to stay away from the other.

Robby threw a fierce volley and DJ came back with blocks for each blow.  DJ, now with his confidence up, threw a fierce volley of his own.  But his assault too was blocked, blow by blow by his opponent.

“Come on DJ, you can do it.  Take him” came a familiar voice.  DJ couldn’t believe it.  Over the din of the crowd he could hear his twin sister, Lisa, rooting him on.  She’s the last person that he thought would be in his corner, but it sure give him a boost now having her there.

DJ let his concentration slip while thinking about Lisa rooting for him and Robby scored a point with a very nice punch-kick combo maneuver.  “Well,” thought DJ, going on the offensive, “two people can play that game.” DJ threw back a combo assault with more power than he had intended but landed two points out of it.  The crowd was on their feet.  This was going to be close.  The score now was 2 to 1 with DJ in the lead.  The first person to score 5 was the winner.

DJ threw a quick blow to the face, pulling back before the blow could do any “real” damage, but just enough for him to score a nice, clean point.  Cheers erupted again.  Robby was not only mad, but he now felt like he was being bested.  Robby came around and began a round kick, but faked DJ out and came down into a sweep maneuver, taking DJ off of his feet and scoring 3 points.  The crowd went wild.  Now Robby was a bit over confident and he immediately charged in on DJ, hoping to get the quick win.  DJ was ready for him and was as elusive as ever.  Coupled with his escape maneuver, DJ pushed Robby off balance; causing his momentum to take him out of bounds.  An automatic point for DJ.  The score was now 4 to 4, the crowd and the crowd was on their feet with no thought of sitting back down until this match came to an end.  The next person to score would be the winner.

…DJ and Robby both had the same thought.  “Take the risk and let’s get this thing over with.”

Everything seemed to begin to move in slow motion.  DJ threw his high roundhouse kick to the chest at the same time that Robby was doing the same thing.  There was a hush over the crowd as the opponents both made contact and both of their kicks looked good.  It seemed to each of them as if it took forever for their feet to traverse the necessary distance.  Then, it seemed that for a fraction of a second, right at the point of contact, time had frozen and nothing happened at all.  Just as quickly the judges were giving their indication as to who won the match…

So, hang in there.  Its coming.  Having the laptop and being able to write ANYWHERE in the house has been extremely helpful.  It also helps that the computer is not shutting down when it decides its too hot (that would be my desktop).  After my readers have their first crack, I may have to start thinking about publishing options!  Woo Hoo!

Mikey Campinieri sat in his jail suite– it was certainly not a cell, in what was supposed to be a Federal penitentiary.  Hardly punishment by the standards of your average incarcerated criminal.  But then, not all of those who are jailed have unlimited resources.

Mikey was on a cell phone talking with his people on the outside.  Whereas this was a privilege to most who were in jail, Mikey could use his phone whenever and wherever he wanted to.  Right now he wanted to use it because his elaborate plan to trap and kill Darin Frost, Jamie Elliot and their partner Max was being played out.  Mikey had made a study of Darin, Jamie and Max and felt that he could predict their every move now.  He was now haggling with those who were at the scene who thought that Darin wasn’t going to do what Mikey predicted and he was trying to get them to wait it out….

“… He’ll do it!” yelled Mikey.  “Just give him some time.  He’ll do it.  He’s going to decide that the best chance is to send that mutt of his in with his surveillance camera on.  He’s going to play right into our hands!”

“Mr. Campinieri, I don’t know.  It doesn’t look like this is going to work out.  I have an acceptable plan B, Sir, if you will only allow it we could—”

“NO!” said Mikey, interrupting, “Just wait!   You hear me?  Just wait!”

“Yes, Sir, but what if—- Oh my, Mr. Campinieri it looks like they’re going to send the dog in just like you said, Sir.”

“Of course they’re going to send the dog in just like I said.  Who do you think is running this show?”

Max was fitted with his lightweight surveillance camera and Darin began to give him instructions.  The S.W.A.T. team was called in to blow the door, but they were to remain outside of the building until they had something more to go on.  The safety of the prisoner was paramount.

With the charges set, everyone backed away and the door was blown right off its hinges with an almost silent explosion.  That way those on the inside would not be alerted to the fact that the building had been breached and do something rash.

Max entered the first floor of the four story building.  Everyone could see the multiple display images  being produced by the special camera on his collar.  Each of the five screens showed different perspectives.

“OK, Max, we’re going to stay on this floor until we’re satisfied.   Seek boy!” said Darin into the microphone which sent orders directly to Max’s ear.

Max had now traveled the entire area of the first floor.  No traps and not hostage either.  Darin gave Max the command to go up one level.  He had to navigate him around back to where the camera had shown an open staircase to be.  Max went up to the second floor and began the procedure all over again.

“Good boy Max, keep seeking, Buddy.  You’re doing well.” said Darin.

“Ok Mr. Campinieri, its just like you said, the dog has now completed his examination of the second floor and he is on his way up to the third.”

“Is the cage laid out just the way that I told you?” asked Mikey, “It has to be just the way I told you!”

“Yes, Sir.   We laid it out exactly as you requested.”

“Very, very, good.” said Mikey with a little chuckle in his voice.  “Now you’re gonna see something really cool.  If I know that dog, and trust me I do, he’ll go right for that cage when he senses that there is a little baby in there crying.  Start the tape now!”

As Max came out of the stair well on the third floor he could hear the whimpers of what sounded like a little baby.  The audio came over the speakers outside and Max was headed toward the sound before Darin could even give the order.

“What’s happening now?” Mikey asked.  He was just like a little kid in a candy store.

“The dog is going toward the direction of the cage, Mr. C.”

“The name is Mr. Campinieri.  My father never shortened it and neither will I.” said Mikey

“Sorry Mr. C. uhh Campinieri.  Sorry sir.”

“Yeah, right.  So whats the dog doing?” Mikey asked

“He just turned the corner.  He’s headed for the room with the cage.”

“Oh, this is just too easy,” said Mikey  they’re going to spoil all of my fun if they do EVERYTHING that I thought they would.  But, of course, this is the dog.  He is more predictable than the human mind.”

“He see’s the cage now, Mr. Campinieri and he is headed that way.  Just like you said he has now broken into a run… He’s in the cage and the door has shut!”

Darin Frost sat in the office of Assistant District attorney J.J. Levine.  This was a delicate investigation and the Campinieri family had its criminal paws intertwined in every aspect of the legal system.  Trying to get something past them was going to be a tricky task.  Darin was up for the job though.

The Assistant District Attorney was squeaky clean.  Darin didn’t have to worry about any complications or criminal ties from his office.  Darin knew.  He checked him  and his staff out himself.  This was the man who would probably end up with Darin’s life in his hands, so Darin had to make sure he could be trusted.   This was also the man who, when all of this was over, would probably be elevated the District Attorney’s position.  With the evidence given by Lenny Cartelli, the DA was about to crash and burn.

Darin sat in the plush brown chair, reclining a little.  This had been a long ordeal and the end was near.  The Assistant DA sat behind a large mahogany desk.  Papers and files were strewn across the desk, on the floor and all over the rest of the office.  How he found anything, Darin was not quite sure, but he appeared to be a fairly organized guy.

“So, exactly how do you want to play this, Frost?  The ball’s in your court.”  Said Levine

“Well,” said Darin, “What I  would really like to do, now that we have cross referenced our lists and we know, for the most part, who is on the take, we should leak some misinformation about the case assignment.  You can assign the case to someone who you can trust, but we will leak information that it has been assigned to one of Campinieri’s people.  Let him get his  hopes up.  Let “the family” make all of its inside moves and then we can let the real judge begin handling the case.  Issue subpoenas and the whole nine yards and drag Mikey and company downtown to answer for the charges.   Let him enter his plea and make sure that he gets really good exposure.  By this time Campinieri will be fuming, but we’ll get a message across to him…..We’re playing our game, not his.   He thinks he’s going to be able to shut things down quickly.  Not this time.”

“Shrewd, Frost, very shrewd” said J.J. Levine  I think I’m going to like working with you again.  I still like your style.

J.J. Levine began to reached into his jacket to get a cigar.  He knew he needed to kick this cigar smoking habit that he had, but he failed every time he tried.  Max, was not too keen on the Assist. DA reaching into his pocket.  It looked like he might be reaching for a concealed weapon.  Max sprang into action and put himself between Darin and the perceived threat.  Growling and snarling, Max, in his own way,  warned J.J. Levine against making any other sudden moves.  Normally J.J. Levine didn’t cause any alarm, but Max has been on a heightened sense of alert lately, as if he could sense things building up.  There weren’t many people who he trusted.

“Easy Max, settle down boy.  He’s OK.” said Darin.

Max settled down, but kept a careful eye on the Assistant DA.  When Max saw that all he pulled out of his pocket was a cigar he relaxed his posture some more, but still kept a watchful eye on him.

“Max seems overly protective today, Frost.” said Levine

“Yeah, he would kind of hate it if something happened to me, so he makes sure that it doesn’t.  He’s very good at his job too!  Max has saved my life countless numbers of times.”

J.J. and Darin talked for a while longer until they had the plan completely fleshed out and then started to put the wheels in motion….

“Loretta!”  J.J. called to his Administrative Assistant.

Loretta Taylor came walking in the door.  She was a short girl, but a force to be reckoned with.  Loretta was no pushover.  Loretta stood 5 feet tall and not one inch over.  She weighed 106 pounds — some say that was probably right after a shower while she was still dripping wet.  She had bushy brown hair to compliment her grey eyes and spotless complexion.   She was what many men would refer to as drop dead gorgeous.  Had it not been for her height, surely she would have gone into modeling and gone a long, long way.  But in this day and age, short  was out and tall was in.  Most people stayed out of Loretta’s way.  If she wanted something, she got it.  If you got in her way… shame on you.

Loretta answered as she walked in… “Yes, Mr. Levine?”

“I want you to get on the horn and make it known that we have an indictment coming down for Mikey Campinieri–that’s already old news.  Then I want you to spread the word that the case has been assigned to judge montgomery’s docket.  Make sure it is known that everything is being expedited and that Montgomery is probably not even going to  require an appearance from Campinieri.”

“Okie Dokie,” said Loretta, “Sounds easy enough.”  As she left the office, she pet Max on the head and said, “Hey Maxie boy.  Want a treat?”

Max started shaking his tail and back and forth at a speed that made it dangerous to be near.  Loretta disappeared for just a second and threw  a dog treat in for Max.  They had become good friends and Loretta made sure she always kept some treats on hand.

“I’ll get right on those calls,” Loretta called out as she disappeared.

When Loretta stepped out of the office and shut the door, J.J. Levine took out his secure cell phone and placed a call  judge Wilder….

“Hello, Steve.  J.J. here.  Yeah, I got a case for you.”

Mikey Campinieri was elated as he listened in on the bugged phone in the Assistant DA’s office……

“Hello, Gladys?  Yeah Loretta here.”

“Hey Lo!  What ya got?” said Gladys, Judge Montgomery’s secretary

“‘The Boss’ says he has a case for Montgomery, in Re: Mikey Campinieri, et. al.  Can you add it to the docket?” asked Loretta.

“Yeah, I can do that.  Montgomery has taken Campinieri’s cases before.  They never seem to amount to much of anything.  Any chance that we’ll get something this time?” asked Gladys

“No idea Gladys, but what I do know is that this one is really, really big.  Afraid I can’t say much more.  I’ll get the files over to you as soon as ‘The Boss’ releases them.” said Loretta.

“OK, Lo.  Thanks.  Lets do lunch tomorrow.  Its been a while.  We need to catch up.”

“Sure thing Gladys.  Silver Diner at 11:30 sound OK?”

“Sounds just fab!  See you then.  I’ll be looking for those files.  Ciao”

“Wonderful!  Wonderful!” said Mikey Campinieri.  “We couldn’t wander into better luck!  We’ve owned Montgomery for years.  Tell the legal team to stand down, we won’t need to do anything except make a nice showing.”

“Mikey,” said  Luigi, his new right hand man, “I recommend that we, at the very least, make a nice showing.  Remember, this is Darin Frost that we’re dealing with here.  He has a way of turning the tide on us.”

“Not this time, said Mikey, “Not this time.  We’re home free.  Give Montgomery a nice little raise and he’ll find some creative grounds to kick out the Cartelli — God rest his soul —confession too!   You just  hang around Mikey for a while and I’ll show you how things are done!”

“J.J!  Good to hear from you.  Seems I only get a call from you these days when you have a ‘hot one’ for me.  These other piddly little cases I’ve been getting are for the birds.  So what do you have?  Wish I could have that Campinieri case.  I ‘d like to blow that guy out of the water, but  I’m glancing at the schedule here and see that you already gave that baby to that slime Montgomery.”

“Well just between you and me Steve, that what the docket says and that’s what we want the docket to say until showtime.” said Levine

“What do you mean,” asked Judge Wilder, you mean I get the Campinieri case?”

“That’s exactly right, Steve.  But we need to keep this on the QT.  It has to stay under wraps.  That’s why I’m calling your cell and not the office phone.  I’ll be delivering the files to your office myself.  We’ll have a courier bring some dummy files over to Montgomery’s office.  Easy enough to do because we know he’ll never open them past the first couple of pages anyway.”

“Gotcha.  I’ll book my courtroom for the same time as Montgomery has his scheduled but I’ll leave the  case name blank.  Nobody will be the wiser.  I’ll nail his tail the wall!”

“Well, lets just make sure we stay within the confines of the law, hmmmm?” mused J.J.

“Always, J. J. Always.”

As J.J. closed and re-sheathed his secure cell phone, Loretta came back into to the office to update him on the status…”OK Boss, called Montgomery’s and Gladys put the case on the docket.  Made all of the other calls.  The news should be on the streets in 5 minutes.  Now, what in the world is going on?” asked Loretta.

J.J. putting on his best sad puppy dog face said, “Loretta, whatever do you mean?”

“Look, Mr. Levine, I’ve been working for you for a long time.  Doing a god job too or I’d be outta here for sure.  You, the detective, Max and I know that Montgomery is the scum of the earth.  There is no way this side of eternity he’s getting a Campinieri case….unless you and the detective here are now on the take.   And I’d be willing to bet my salvation against that one.” said Loretta

“Good call Loretta,” said Darin, speaking before J.J. could start again. “We know that these phones are probably bugged and we just want to lead Mikey down his desired path.  He won’t even be able to imagine how wrong he is until its too late.  Can you make up a dummy copy of the files?  Make the first 5 or 10 pages authentic.  The rest can just be paper.  They’ll never read them anyway.  Then have the courier deliver the fake set to Montgomery’s office.  We’ll handle the rest.  For now, the less you know the better.  But by this time tomorrow, you and the rest of New York will know it all.”

“You got it detective.  I think I’m going to quite enjoy this.  I just can’t wait to see what you have  planned.”

With that Loretta went to her task as she thought…..”Oh what at tangled web we weave!”

Duncan Frost, Darin’s twin brother was one of the most upbeat people that you could ever know. Anyone who knew him would be incomplete agreement about that. So…when Darin started getting into one of his down moods, the first and only thing Toni knew to do for an immediate remedy was to call Duncan to see if he could cheer his brother up.

“Hey Dunc, its Toni. How are you?”

“Fine, Sis, just fine. What’s up? Is my brother misbehaving again. You kind of have to that tone in your voice.” said Duncan.

“I guess I’m not too good at hiding it huh?” Toni asked.

“Well, lets just say that you could do better in that area, Sis. So whats the problem this time?”

“Not much really, Dunc, just a little setback that the Dr. had to tell Darin about but he also told him that it was insignificant and it would not impede progress. Well, you know Darin–”

“Dwelling on the negative again, huh?” asked Duncan

“Exactly,” said Toni.

“Well, I’ll be over in a few, I have an idea. What is he wearing?” Darin and Duncan had exactly the same taste in clothing and had bought many of the same things without even discussing it with each other.”

“He’s wearing blue jeans and the blue, short sleeve polo shirt he likes.”

“Oh, the one with the thin white stripe on the sleeves and the dove on the left front?”

“Yes, that’s the one….don’t tell me…”

“Yeah, I have one too! Amazing, isn’t it? Look for me real soon.

They shared a small before hanging up the telephone. Duncan changed his clothes and hopped into his navy blue Jeep Cherokee, that, of course, resembled his brother’s to the letter, and drove the 7.5 miles across the county to the Frost home. THIS was something that Duncan did not have that his brother did. Duncan was an inventor, primarily and most of his inventions didn’t make a whole lot of money, but they kept him fed! Others made him income year round and helped to finance his continued work. Darin on the other hand had been a very successful police officer and was a shrewd financial wizard. He even helped Duncan with investments so that he would have some money down the line. Duncan was more that happy to let his brother manage his financial portfolio.

The door to the Frost home was locked, as usual, and, since Toni knew he was coming, Duncan just used the key that he was provided, after entering the correct passwords into the security system, in order to gain entrance. He found Toni in the kitchen preparing dinner and noticed that she already had an extra place set.

“Expecting somebody for dinner, Sis?” he said as he entered the kitchen.

“Only if he can do the job he came to do, otherwise, I’ve got five dollars in my wallet that will get you whatever you want on the dollar menu.”

“McDonald’s! Dollar menu?” gasped Duncan in mock amazement, “Well I better get hopping. McDonald’s can’t hold a candle to your cooking.” said Duncan as he smiled.

As often was the case, Toni had to do a double take. Not only did Duncan looks just like Darin, but they sounded exactly alike and then there was that killer smile. Toni knew that this was her brother-in-law and not her husband, but sometimes they fooled even her. She always thought that it was a good thing that they never tried to to that on purpose. She found out later that Darin had always wanted to pull that prank, but Duncan would have none of it. He knew that he didn’t want Toni Frost on his bad side–Ever!

“He’s in the Den. Moping and staring out of the window.” said Toni

“Well then, I guess I’m off to the Den.” said Duncan. With that he was gone.

Duncan had done his best to sneak in undetected so that he could surprise his brother. He knocked at the door of the den and so as not to intrude on his brother’s privacy. Darin stood there staring out of the window.

Without even turning around, Darin said in a rather downcast voice… “Come on in Dunc, Toni call you?”

“How did you know it was me?” Duncan asked. “Not only have you not turned around, but I didn’t say a word.”

“Well now, lets see,” said Darin, “I have any number of security devices here around the estate. Any of which would have detected you as you drove in and fed the information automatically to my computer. Not much gets in and out without my knowing it. Did you happen to notice that you weren’t greeted by Max? He’s out patrolling the grounds but I told him you were clear so he just ignored you. Of course I’m not facing my desk and did not have the advantage of any of those systems, but it sure would have been helpful.” Darin said , still his back to his brother.

“Then how in the world did you—” Duncan began to ask, but Darin was already ready with his answer

“Elementary my dear Duncan.” Darin said in his Sherlock Holmes voice that he like to use just before making a revelation to people that really wa no revelation at all, just something that they did not think about. “In the absence being able to use all of those resources, its not hard to determine who’s knocking at the door when the reflection I see in the window looks just like me. Either I’m in two places at once, or my twin brother is around and about.”

Now Darin turned around because he had to see what he knew would be one of his brother’s dumbfounded looks. That in itself was enough to cheer Darin up…and it did. After they chatted for a while and talked about the old times and Darin was able to get over the latest setback, which really WAS insignificant it was time for dinner.

After dinner when the dishes were done and the whole family was cutting up with their favorite uncle Duncan, who had of course, brought over inventions for each of the kids, like he always did, Toni asked Darin to take out the trash…..
“Honey you didn’t forget that it was trash night did you?” asked Toni

“No I didn’t forget, its just that taking out the trash when you only have one good arm is not the most exciting job in the world so I save it for last.” said Darin.

“Really?” said Duncan, interjecting himself into the husband/wife conversation. He took out a sling from his pocket, identical to Darin’s sling and put it on, stabilizing his arm and said, “I’ll have to see about this myself. And if I can do it, I guess you’ll have to stop using that one as an excuse.” Duncan had been trying to get his brother to lay off of using his arm as a crutch and had been waiting for an opportunity for this demonstration.

Duncan proceeded to drag to trash with his one hand, stopping long enough to hit the garage door opener, and then dragging it out to the trashcan.

“Would you mind taking the trash can to the curb, too?” Toni asked.

“Not at all Mademoiselle,” said Duncan as Toni gave him a mock peck on the cheek to thank him.

She saw Darin scowling with his jealous look and said, “Oh cut it out Frost, you know I’m head over heels in love you, 100% YOURS and not even a brother who looks just like you is going to be able to do anything to change that. Next time YOU take the trash out and I guarantee you won’t just get a little peck on the cheek!” Then she smiled that smile that just melted Darin and had no choice but to cave and smile back.

Outside, Duncan was still playing the part of the one armed bandit and had just gotten the trash to the end of the driveway when Lenny Cartelli came up from behind him….

“Don’t move and don’t make a noise! I don’t want to have to take out the whole family to cover up my mess. I just wanted you to know who offed you before it happened. You’ve been making me look really bad and Mikey said that I needed to take care of you myself. Well that’s what I should have done in the first place, but I really thought you’d make it a little harder for me! THIS was too easy, but none the less, the deed will be done. So much for your nine lives! Been nice knowin’ ya.”

Duncan thought about screaming out a warning, but he really didn’t want this Lenny Cartelli character to know that he had the right man. Duncan was ready to give his life for his brother and his brother’s family. He knew he was going to heaven and if it was his time, ordained by the Lord, there would be no avoiding it any way. But, just like good old Duncan, he did have to add, “Hey look, Lenny, its not too late for you. You can still know Jesus as your Lord and savior. If I don’t get to show you how, make sure somebody does! There’s a tract in my back pocket. Take it!”

Lenny didn’t even know why, but he took the tract, put it in his pocket and pulled the trigger three times! Then he was gone like a flash.

When Darin heard the gun shots, he immediately knew! Nobody else was sure about what was going on. “Toni call and ambulance. Call and ambulance now! Max go! Darin reached into the drawer and pulled out his gun and followed behind Max through the open door leading to the garage. As Darin got to the end of the driveway he could see his brother crumpled and to the ground and gasping for breath and a car speeding off down the the street. Too far away for him to get a license plate or capture the image on one of his cameras.

Darin held Duncan’s head, blood pouring out and knew that his brother had not chance. None at all. But he saw Duncan smile and listened as he gasped his last words….”Lenny Cartelli. I gave him a tract.” And with that all of the life left Duncan Frost and he went home to be with the Lord. Darin sobbed uncontrollably for his brother…it should not have been him! Why hadn’t he taken out the trash himself? he wondered.

So, Mikey Campinieri had sent his #1 man to the job for him. Darin’s resolve to put Mikey away had just faded into a vendetta. Lenny Cartelli might have been the trigger man, but Mikey Campinieri was going to pay!