TNT: Ch. 52

I'm sure I look truly pathetic to all of you right now, raving about my new resolve and then forgetting it after one post. There is in fact a good explanation, which most of you already know. If not, I'll probably write a post about it on WKoL sooner or later. The other reason is that I've actually had the draft of this chapter on my computer for several days, but a plot point I've been trying to work has failed to come together. I had planned to reveal that Ming was not in fact a legal immigrant, and that the FBI had discovered this while searching for Vlad. Ultimately I dismissed this for two reasons: (A) I don't know enough about immigration laws to write it believably and (B) It would be introducing a very serious plotline to my two comic relief characters and I didn't want to do that. So I've rewritten the end of this chapter and I will accomplish what I sought to accomplish with the immigration plotline a bit differently. This is a breakthrough for me as I almost never rewrite in this story; I let it go where it will and try to make it work later.

Sure enough, Eric awoke at 5:45 the next morning, but he wasn't sure whether to wake Gina. He hated the idea of her waking up to find no one there, but he wanted to get into town and get the paper quickly and didn't think it would be kind to wake her. Ultimately he decided to leave her out there while he went in to get the bike.
Erivc thought about the previous night as he walked back to the garage. Gina had certianly seemed less guarded then normal; more feminine. He wondered if this was a residual affect of the drug or if she was just breaking down. He hoped she wasn't breaking down.
But then, her concerns were realistic enough, he thought, getting on the bike and donning the helmet. She was a person without a place now, with her old home now in the dubious hands of her slimy brother. That was one place Eric intended to steer clear of.
The bike handled well on grass and dirt, so Eric thought he'd swing by Gina in case she'd woken up. Sure enough, she was sitting up beneath her blanket.
"Where're you going?" she yawned.
"Into town to get that paper. I'm anxious to know where we're going next."
"Good plan. I'm going inside to take a shower."
"Alright, see you in an hour or two." He started to head for the road.
"Wait!" said Gina suddenly, "About last night. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so... emotional on you."
"It's alright," he replied, "You've had a tough week."
"But still, thanks for being there."
"Any time."
And he was off.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Vlad and Ming were waking up.
"So Ming," Vlad asked, "Who is covering for you at work?"
"The temp I hired was working very very well," she said, "So I hired him full time. I figured with the extra staff I could take the time off when Velma called me about the reunion."
"Does this mean I no longer have a job?"
"It means you have, I'll call it, extended sabbatical. Since you are using that man's credit card on your quest, you no need pay anyhow."
Vlad thought about this for a minute. All things considered it was fair enough. Though he wondered how much credit Master Lin had actually given them.
"How long you staying here?" Ming asked.
"Well, we don't know where we're going next, but I think I'm going to stay with the family a while if Eric doesn't mind. As much as I care about the quest, we've always said 'Family First.' Why back when we first came to this country, Elvis and I would always pick each other first in the dodgeball games, even though we did not play dodgeball well, because family is important to us. Why I remember one game where It was just Elvis and I left on opposite teams, me on my side and he on his, and we both got ourselves out so the other one could win. Of course, we both lost in the end, or else both won - nobody really knew so I guess it worked out ok."
At that point, Vlad noticed that Ming was no longer in the room and went off to put some pant on and head downstairs.