Monday, May 20, 2013 - 11:50 AM EST



With Jacob out of any immediate danger and being transferred to a regular room, I decided it was time to go home for a little while. It was time to check on the progress of the repairs being made on my Compound. Time to check in with Matthew and the battle plans - if you want to call them that - against Jonathan. Time to check in with Asmodeus and get that damn robot under control. Time to get ready to go to Houston tonight.


I weave my way through the southern end of Old Saybrook, Connecticut with so much on my mind. Wanting to be home. Wanting Jacob to come home. Wondering where things with Caitlyn and I are going. Thinking about my deceased grandmother and knowing she'd be kicking my ass right about now. Especially if she knew what I was about to do at Madness tonight in Houston. Even thinking about whether I should continue on with what I planned tonight.


As I weave out of the southern end of Old Saybrook, to the east end, I make a right onto Galileo Drive. I'm almost home. There must be something about nearing home that clears my head. Galileo Drive is about an eight mile stretch of road that rides along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It only has on home. Mine.


The road bends to the right and steers away from the coast about three miles away from the Compound. If I make a right just before I reach the Compound, it'd lead me to that small lake on the edge of my property. Not today, though. Today, I'm headed straight for home.


Just ahead on the right hand side - the Compound.


I make that final right turn and head through the recently repaired gates. As I pilot the Suburban up the driveway toward the main building, I take a look around as construction crews continue to hammer out the repairs. I come to a stop, as I always do, just in front of the large wooden double doors. These doors, were the first to be fixed after Jonathans failed attempt on my Brotherhood. I exit the truck and head inside.


Once inside I head to my office to get caught up on emails. Once inside my office, I close the door. I take a seat in my chair behind the large oak desk. I pull out my phone and send one, and only one, text. To Matthew.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "My office. 10 minutes. Don't be late."



I log into my email and as I read down the list I notice it's all fan mail, fan mail, fan mail. It has been awhile. I guess now is as good a time as any to go through a few of them.



FAN MAIL 1: "Mr. Duke, your supposed Holy War with Jonathan is troublesome to me. I know my bible, Mr. Duke. Exodus 20:13 clearly states "Thou shall not kill!" You must end this war at once or face eternal damnation!"



Great. Bible thumpers. You know what I do love about Bible thumpers? The fact that you can reach into the very same Bible and point out contradictions. Fighting the weak with their own weakness.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Hey stupid. Exodus 32:27. Go ahead, I'll wait. Never mind, Ill recite it for you. "Thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, . . . and slay every man his brother, . . . companion, . . . neighbor." Have a nice day."

FAN MAIL 2: "Yo DUKE! Can you give me a heads up on the finish of the match at High Sakes? Buried alive brother!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "**Stakes."



So, does this guy think we're like WWE? Like, predetermined winners? HA! I laugh at that. Those that have yet to arrive in the XWF have no idea. Nothing is predetermined. He deserved only a spelling correction.



FAN MAIL 3: "Hey Sea Bass! Who you think is the better GM? Witasick or Heyman?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Chevy. If you meant General Manager, then the answer is C. Shane ."



Such brilliance from the XWFers these days.



FAN MAIL 4: "Hello, Mr. Duke. My name is Brian and I am 9 yrs old. My mommy bought me the new XWF '13 game. I was Mr. Satellite against Sebastian Duke. I can't beat you.:("



Yep. I'm about to grammar nazi a nine year old.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "**years. Not "yrs." In this case, Brian, fantasy differs not from reality. Mr. Satellite will get buried alive. Deal with it."

FAN MAIL 5: "I'm a big fan of Mr. Satellite. The Bible states "Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him." In case you don' know, which surely you don't, it Leviticus 19:13. You stole the robot from my man Satellite. You sir, will definitely have a date with Satan when you perish."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I've met Satan. We've battled a couple times. He's beat me. I've beat him. I'm not scared. What is with you Bible bitches these days? Do you not know the Bible is one big contradiction?

"My retort? Luke 19:29 through 34. "Jesus sent two of his disciples saying 'Go ye into the village; Ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never a man sat. Loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? Thus shall ye say unto him, because the Lord hath need of him.' And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, 'Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him.

"See, your Lord and Savior was a thief. Learn it. Open your eyes. Then toss the garbage you think you know into the trash where it belongs. The Brotherhood of the Illuminatus is the right way to go."



Fuck this shit. I don't have the patience to battle hypocrite Bible thumpers today. Luckily, Matthews ten minutes were up anyway. Right on cue, he knocks then enters and takes a seat across from me.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Any movements?"

MATTHEW: "Some. Not much. A van leaves here and there. Probably retrieving more supplies and weaponry."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "What are our plans moving forward?"

MATTHEW: "I, uhh, don't really have one."



His response is not one I like. I slam my left fist down on the table.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Matt, that's completely unacceptable! Gather 8, 10, 12 guys! Get them deployed out there! I want those vans intercepted. Confiscate any weaponry in those vans!"

MATTHEW: "I understand why you'd want to do that. There is one thing you're not considering my Dux."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I'm listening."

MATTHEW: "They know us. They'll recognize us. They may fight us right there. It could end up becoming a suicide mission."



This is why he's become an advisor. I definitely didn't consider that angle.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Alright. I see your point. Let me makes some calls. See me in about an hour."

MATTHEW: "Yes, my Dux."



Matthew starts exiting and I stop him at the door.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Matt, have you seen Asmodeus?"

MATTHEW: "Oh yeah. That robot has him trapped on a table in the Dungeon."



HAHAHAHAHA! I have to see this!



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "One hour, Matthew."

MATTHEW: "I won't be late."



Matt exits my office. I just smile and shake my head as I stand up and start toward the Dungeon. As I descend the stone spiral staircase toward the Dungeon, I can hear Asmodeus screaming and a little banging.


I walk through the door and Asmodeus stands squatted on a table near the wall with a hammer in his hand. Satellites robot remains on the floor constantly swinging an axe back and forth. Not very fast, but fast enough that Asmodeus keeps his distance.


The robot chops and chops at the table. It's a pretty thick table so, I have time. I just lean against the wall looking on.



ASMODEUS: "What the hell are you doing? HELP ME!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "This is far too amusing to interfere!"

ASMODEUS: "You'll burn for this!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Doubtful."



I stand there just smiling and watching. Then the robot speaks.



ROBOT: "Stay where you are, Sebastian Duke! Or the old man gets it!"



Did the robot just threaten me? That's in and of itself, very amusing.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Relax, simple machine. I'm not going anywhere."



The robot stops swinging the axe at the table and turns to face me.



ROBOT: "Simple machine? I'll have you know, Sebastian Duke! I'm far more of an advanced piece of technology then you have ever seen! Far more advanced then anything this entire planet has ever seen!"



I think I offended the robot. Is that even possible? The robot whips the axe toward my head. I duck just in time as the axe collides with the wall behind my head and falls to the floor. The robot begins to roll toward me. It stops directly in front of me and its "eyes" look up at me.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "You missed."

ROBOT: "If I really wanted to kill you, Sebastian Duke. You'd be lying in a pool of your own blood and brain matter."



[white]Touche, robot. Touche.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Are you going to leave Asmodeus alone and pick on me now?"

ROBOT: "Not likely, Sebastian Duke."



Suddenly, something, like a rod ejects from the robot and nails me pretty hard in the shin just below my knee.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Ahh! Shit!"



It hurt. A lot. I kicked that damn robot across the floor. He tried to stop himself but toppled over. Himself? I'm even starting to refer to it as a person. I walk over to that robot and roll it over so its back panel is face up. I kneel down over the robot and open up the panel.



ROBOT: "What are you doing, Sebastian Duke?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "It's for your own good."

ROBOT: "Waaaaaiiii...."



I reach into the panel and tear out wires. The robot falls silent and I can hear it as it powers down. I stand up and look over at Asmodeus. He's sitting in the fetal position with his hands covering his face.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Haha! You can look now."

ASMODEUS: "Is it over?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Yeah. He's..... powerless."



I help my old man off the table.



ASMODEUS: "I told you it wasn't funny!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Actually, it was funnier in person."

ASMODEUS: "I've been stuck up there for hours!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Even funnier."

ASMODEUS: "Damn you, Sebastian! What should we do with him?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Toss IT into a cell."



I begin to walk away when Asmodeus stops me.



ASMODEUS: "Where are you going?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "To my office. I have a phone call to make."

ASMODEUS: "Jonathan?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "In a round about way, yes."



I head back upstairs to my office without waiting for a reply from Asmodeus. Once I reach my office I shut the door and sit behind my desk. I hesitate for a second. Not really wanting to cash in on another owed favor. I'm quickly running out of those. It is for a good cause though.


I stop hesitating and hit the speaker button on the phone and dial up a number.


A man answers.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Agent Smith, it's Sebastian Duke, how are you?"

AGENT SMITH: "Uhhhh. Hold on, one minute."



I assume he was getting away from the others nearby to speak in private.



AGENT SMITH: "Alright, Duke. How'd you get my private number?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I have my ways."

AGENT SMITH: "What can the ATF do for ya?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I need you to intercept a cargo shipment."

AGENT SMITH: "What!? Just what are you getting yourself into?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Just an age old war, my friend."

AGENT SMITH: "What kind of shipment?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "My enemy attacked my Compound last Friday. I have surveillance on them as we speak. They continue to leave and return by windowless cargo van. One at a time, about once an hour. I have reason to believe they preparing for another attack against my Brotherhood."

AGENT SMITH: "What do you propose I do?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I need you to set up some operations and intercept these vans. Detain the men inside for further questioning. Also, the contents of these vans, I need them confiscated and brought to my warehouse in Old Saybrook."

AGENT SMITH: "What if I can not?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I'll see to it that your boss is fully informed of your.... business dealings."

AGENT SMITH: "Business dealings? What business dealings?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Agent Smith, you're dealing illegal weapons. Your bosses may be too busy to notice that every time they sends illegal weapons out to be destroyed, that a rather large portion of them turn into cash in your pocket."



Silence on the other end. They say silence is golden. When you're strong arming someone into doing something they're hesitant to do, it's best to have knowledge that could end their careers. Especially knowledge that could place them in prison for a very long time.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Agent Smith. You do realize you owe me a favor. Once this is done, you're free. The threat of Sebastian Duke ruining you, ceases."

AGENT SMITH: "Duke, I borrowed twenty bucks like 10 years ago!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I know. You never paid up. Now you will."



A little more silence.



AGENT SMITH: "What's the address of this warehouse?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I'll send it by text. I'll expect one in return after all four of their vans are seized."

AGENT SMITH: "Do you do this to everybody?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Only when I have to."



I end the call. Just as I do so, I get a text from Caitlynn.



CAITLYN: "We getting together tonight? I'm off!"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Sorry. I have to go to Houston for a show. I'll be back tomorrow morning though."

CAITLYN: "K. Be careful. See you then dear."

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "You can count on it."



A knock on the door and Matthew enters and sits across from me.



MATTHEW: "Were your phone calls a success?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "Indeed."

MATTHEW: "What's the plan?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I have a man inside the ATF that owes me a favor. He's going to seize those vans, detain those inside and confiscate the weapons. Then he sends those weapons to the warehouse downtown."

MATTHEW: "Then what?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "We hit them."

MATTHEW: "Excuse me?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "I didn't stu-stu-stutter. We hit them. We take their weapons. Then we take the fight to their doorstep. Prepare the others."

MATTHEW: "How many?"

SEBASTIAN DUKE: "What do you mean how many? All of them. Every last God damned one of us. This is it, Matt. The final battle."



Matthews looks a little hesitant, but exits to do as ordered.


I understand his hesitance to do this. What I know is, I'm sick and tired of having to pay to get my house and my security fixed. Jonathan wanted this war. He's damn well going to get it. The thing is, I'm not Jonathan. I'm not going to take all of my men to his place and wage a brutal battle that doesn't claim one life on either side.


No.


This war ends this week.


Not one God damned one of them will make it out alive.


Jonathans new death warrant has been signed and sealed. Now it's time to deliver it.