Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 24 - Lives

File #17 - Tiberium Crisis
Problem:
(1) Aliens want my tiberium
(2) Dad is an idiot
Possible Solutions to (1):
(a) Give it to them - unacceptable!
(b) Give it to authorities - too many questions/they deserve nothing
(c) Put it somewhere they can't find it - best choice, but how?  Think on this.
Possible Solutions to (2):
(a) Remove dad - last resort
(b) Put dad where he is harmless - preferable/inevitable, see file #12 section A

James had spent many hours considering what to do with the tiberium crystal, and had developed a tentative plan.  It wasn't that long until he would be an adult, after all, and his options would increase immensely once his position as the head of household was secure.  All he had to do was avoid attention until then.  He still didn't understand the crystal growth, or how the alien had tracked it to him - could his sister have told somebody about it?  As graduation loomed, his thoughts were with the potential extra-terrestrial crisis as much as they were with his coursework

Eliza, sick of the men in the household acting all strange, decided to visit her daughters and their roommate.  She was especially excited to meet Melissa, after hearing so much about her from Crystal.  What she found wasn't quite what she was expecting.
Eliza: "Oh, is that what young women wear in the city these days?  Such short shorts..."
Crystal: "Mom, is that you?  I'm in the kitchen!"

Eliza stepped into the kitchen to greet her daughter.
Eliza: "I'm not sure I approve of her.  I suppose I should be lucky you're wearing something that actually covers your thighs."
Crystal: "Mom, it's fine, she's just like that.  She's really nice if you get to know her, she just tends to project an air of, well, you know."
Eliza: "This is a small town, dear.  People'll talk."

Crystal: "I know, I'll keep trying to suggest other clothes.  That really is how women dress in Bridgeport, though."
Eliza: "Hmph, well, I'm glad I don't live in Bridgeport then.  I'm glad I caught any of you here, I was worried you'd all be at work."
Crystal: "Well, I work freelance, and Lissa is still looking for a job."
Eliza: "What's Faye up to these days?  I thought this was too early for Bistro work."
Crystal: "It is, I'm pretty sure she doesn't go in to work until later.  She's a spice runner now.  She's not living here anymore, though."
Eliza frowned.
Eliza: "What's that supposed to mean, not living here anymore?"
Crystal: "Uh, well, it means what it sounds like.  She left."

Eliza: "And why would that be?"
Immediately after Eliza asked the question, she regretted doing so, noticing Crystal take the deep breath that always preceded her dramatic tales.
Crystal: "Well!  It all started the other night.  Actually, no, it started before that.  It was sort of a slow burn, you know?  So, her and Lissa hadn't been getting along so well, I really don't know why.  It was entirely on Faye's end, because Lissa said she liked Faye just fine.  So, where was I?  Oh yeah, the other night.  So, we'd decided to have sushi rolls on Faye's night off, and she bought the ingredients and cooked them.  When we get to the table, Faye's telling us what all of them are, and can you believe that none of them were vegetarian?  She knew Lissa's been a vegetarian all her life!"

Eliza attempted to interject, but Crystal was on a roll.
Crystal: "So Lissa was remarkably polite, considering the circumstances, but she was still pretty much like, what the hell?  We talked about veggie rolls!  It turns out, that Faye wouldn't get the ingredients for veggie rolls, because none of them were available as local, organic produce.  So then Lissa got mad that Faye cared more about vegetables being shipped across the country by truck than about the lives of fish, and Faye got angry that Lissa didn't care about carbon emissions or pesticides, and then Faye started waving her arms around and yelling at us that we didn't care about her and Lissa jumped right up and yelled back, and before I knew it they were full-out arguing at the dinner table!"

Pausing to take a quick breath after that whopper of a sentence, Crystal plowed on before Eliza could get a word out.
Crystal: "So then we didn't see her all night, but we thought she was probably okay, off at her boyfriend's or whatever.  Then the next day, some moving guy knocks on our door and says he's here to get her stuff.  So of course we don't believe him, but he's got a video on his phone that Faye recorded saying that she couldn't stand living with someone who had such disregard for the environment, and that she was moving out."

Crystal: "So, you see, it was really unavoidable, with how things happened and all."
Eliza just stared at her daughter, not quite certain where to start tackling the situation.  After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke.
Eliza: "Do you know where your sister's gone?"
Crystal: "Oh, yeah!  She's shacked up with her boyfriend, Johnny Peacock.  I've got the address around here somewhere, she at least gave me that much."
Well, it looked like Eliza was going to have a talk with her other daughter.

She found the address without much trouble.  It seemed to be a charming enough little house, but Johnny Peacock was old enough to be Faye's father.  What was she doing with him?  Eliza approached the house, passive-aggressively trampling the lawn rather than using the sidewalk to show her distaste for old men who date innocent young women.

Stepping up to the door, she rang the bell.  Then again.  Finally, thinking that the buzzer might be broken, she resorted to knocking.  That's funny, there was a car parked on the street, but it appeared that nobody was home.  Or they just weren't answering the door for Eliza.

She sighed and pulled out her phone to call for a taxi.  There was only so much a mother could do once her children left the nest, but she wouldn't give up.  She couldn't let Faye make mistakes like this.

While his mother ran around town, James embarked on his next stage of research.  The fire department wasn't locked, so surely that meant anyone in town was free to come in and look around.  He didn't see anyone in the building, but he did find a corkboard with maps and timestamped logs of incidents.  Excellent, this was exactly what he was-
Voice: "Can I help you with something?"

James: "GAH!"
He jumped and spun around, nearly falling over backwards into the corkboard; however, he managed to recover in time, likely thanks to his athletics training for school.  There was a man in plainclothes and a leather mask, the purpose of which James mentally cringed to think about.  He hadn't checked the basement - what if there was some sort of fetish club down there?  He supposed that at least this man was wearing clothes, but-
He forced his mind to stop, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath to gather his composure, then opened them again and smiled politely to the man, extending his hand with a mental note to wash it later.
James: "Sorry, you startled me.  James Woods.  I was just admiring the variety of disasters the fire fighters of this town have averted."
The man extended his hand and shook James's.
Man: "Darren Brown.  Nice to meet you, and thanks.  We do our best.  Did you come all the way down to the fire station to ogle at our kitchen corkboard?"

James: "Oh, no!  I'd actually come down here hoping to talk to one of the fire fighters here.  See, I'm considering joining the force myself when I graduate.  Would you mind if I asked you a few questions, and maybe looked around a bit?  I promise I won't touch anything, and if the alarm goes off I'll find a wall and stick to it like glue."
Darren: "I know your reputation.  You're a fine young man, excellent student.  I'm sure you won't cause any trouble.  What did you want to know?"
They talked for the better part of an hour before James had the answers he was looking for.  After checking the alarm systems, he stepped out to the driveway to consider the truck.

The equipment here was adequate, but not the best.  He supposed that explained their usual slow response times to emergencies around the town.  There was plenty for him to work with, here, especially with the information he'd gathered from his conversation.  Time to get back to planning, and perhaps run a few test simulations.

Eliza was distracted by thoughts of Faye as she cooked pancakes one morning.  Where had she gone wrong as a mother?  Could this have to do with Faye's bad break-up in high school?  Eliza knew she should have insisted that her daughter have a few therapy sessions, but she'd seemed alright after a few weeks.  Clearly not alright enough, given how she'd started living her life.  Distracted by her thoughts, Eliza didn't notice where the flames sprung from, but within moments they were shooting up from her pan and the stove, billowing smoke everywhere.

Eliza: "FIRE!  FIRE!"
She yelled to get the attention of anyone in the house  - forgetting that with Greg at work and James at school, she was the only person still in the nearly-empty home - and ran outside.  Pulling out her cell phone, she quickly dialed the emergency number for the fire department.  Too many long minutes later, the fire department finally arrived, sending a fire fighter in to extinguish the blaze.

The stove, curtains, food processor and cabinets on either side had to be replaced.  A quick re-paint on the wall and ceiling solved any issues there, and the Woods continued with their lives for a few more weeks, until Eliza received a call one day.
Eliza: "Hello?"
Crystal: "Hey Mom, is this a bad time?"
Eliza flushed the toilet, standing up and gazing out the window.
Eliza: "Not at all, Crystal dear.  How have things been for you?"
Crystal: "Gross, Mom!  Are you using the toilet?  I can call you back."
Eliza: "No, no, I'm not your father.  I was just cleaning it, is all."
Crystal: "Oh, okay, sorry.  It's just that he called me the other day, and-ugh, nevermind, you can fill in the blanks.  Look, there's something I have to tell you about, something that happened."
Eliza: "With Faye?"
Crystal: "Ugh, Mom, no!  Why does everything have to be about her, lately?  Look, I have my own life and issues too, you know!"
Eliza: "Sorry sweetie, you're right.  What's wrong?"

Crystal: "Well, it's not wrong exactly.  It wasn't really expected, but it's okay, I'm actually kind of excited about it now.  So you know I've been seeing Lyle Andrews for a while, now?"
Eliza: "Of course."
Crystal: "Well, we just found out this morning.  I'm pregnant."
Eliza was stunned by the news.  She'd expected such things from some people, but her daughter?  Melissa - Melissa Hart-Bachelor now, after her shotgun marriage to that Ricky guy - had just moved out a few weeks ago under identical circumstances.
Eliza: "How could that happen?  Especially after what just happened with your roommate.  Weren't you careful?"
Crystal: "I was!  I guess there's just failure rates and all, and we got really unlucky.  But it's going to be okay, Lyle is staying with me, and we're going to have this baby together."
Eliza: "Are you getting married?"
Crystal: "I really don't know yet, Mom, but you'll be the first to know if we make plans to.  I promise.  He's a good guy, no matter what he won't leave me alone."

On the other side of a too-thin wall, James tried his best to block out his mother's phone conversation.  Didn't she know he was working in here?  Couldn't she take her drama downstairs?  All the tests had been a success, and he was getting close to being able to execute the plan.  The days were already warming - summer must be here.  Leisure Day sounded like a good target to shoot for, James thought.  Nobody would expect anything.

File #12 - The Plan
Section A: DIVERT
- make it seem like their idea
- house too empty?
- closer to work?
- more ideas needed, these aren't good enough:
-
-
-
- how am I going to pay for this?
Section B: DISTRACT
- timed and spaced apart
- three at .5 .7 and .2 miles
- use T-4:30 T-4:00 and T-0:40
Section C: DESTRUCT
- note weather: wind direction, speed, rain
- evidence linked to target 0

~ * ~

Crystal is so Greg's daughter.  Look at those arm movements.  Just look at them.  Also, her hands are super-huge in that one picture.

Eliza turned into such an old prude.  I'm shocked.  I'm almost certain that she was wearing shorts just like Melissa's when I made her in CAS.

That is one filthy sink.  I mostly left Eliza and Greg to their autonomous selves at this point in the story, so the housework didn't always get done unless I was planning to shoot a scene.  Which the fire wasn't a planned scene, it just sort of happened, so I made up a significance for it.

James is potentially going to get himself into so much trouble.  Sometimes I hate my legacy rolls forcing me to take my characters down certain paths.