Let the Music Play, Chapter 46

[MikeL]

I'll reply more in detail tomorrow (3am here!) but just a couple of points for now. First, THANK YOU ALL!

 

BTW, the Offshore banking was added by Emoe... I originally had it as Offshore Baking, but Emoe didn't think that quite fit. LoL!

I dunno why... a conspiracy involving offshore baking sounds.. delicious!

 

Things are not going Jerry's way, but he's still got a good chance; the bribed officers have to back him even though the bribes are worthless; if their government remains in power, they bribed officers are in major hot water for being involved in Jerry's antics.

 

There are a lot of loose ends at this point in the story, but the final chapter and the epilogue should work for tying them up.

 

The final chapter is 47: Endgame and it should post on time. The epilogue will be posted a few days later.

 

Okay, now, a question for everyone; what loose ends do you feel should be tied up?

Jerry's neck should be tied up in a noose. Speaking of justice, where would Jerry's trial be held? Do war criminals always go to the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague? Does Australia have a right to try him first? What charges can the US bring against him? Will Paraguay give him a speedy trial and execution?

 

Other loose ends:

 

1. Helen's condition. Will she survive? If she doesn't, how will Barbra's life change?

 

2. Will Instinct continue to perform?

 

3. Will Brandon and Chase's relationship be made public? How?

 

4. What kind of career will Joe get into?

 

5. Will Shadow have a breakout hit and headline their own tour?

 

That's just a few loose ends; there are others. The last chapter and/or epilogue will be rather long to answer all the readers' questions. Or, would we be left hanging awaiting the sequel? Nah! CJ wouldn't do that to us.

Edited July 3, 2008 by MikeL

[Phantom]

The final chapter is 47: Endgame and it should post on time. The epilogue will be posted a few days later.

 

CJames.... are you stealing titles from other series? Endgame was the name of the last show for Star Trek: Voyager!

 

First the cliffies, now the title stealing, ladies and gentlemen I believe the goat has gone crazy!

 

....But that's my thought lol

[TalonRider]

CJames.... are you stealing titles from other series? Endgame was the name of the last show for Star Trek: Voyager!

 

First the cliffies, now the title stealing, ladies and gentlemen I believe the goat has gone crazy!

 

....But that's my thought lol

I thought the same thing when I first saw the title.

 

As for the second part, we've known that for a long time.

[Tiger]

I thought the same thing when I first saw the title.

 

As for the second part, we've known that for a long time.

Of course we have. That's why we love him! Besides, if he were sane, would this series be as good as it is? I think not.

[C James]

Yay, this time I won't be overly late in writing my comments,, ,heheheh,,, good chapter CJ,, and I'll add a big "I knew it"... I knew that brandon wouldn't fall all the way down the cliff.

 

I personally like the little phrase Brandon said as Dimitri had his final fall.

 

Also, great thing that this time around, the technical side of the detonation wasn't too detailed ...

 

The final stake here is to find Jerry, and what about the pending civil war,,,,

 

One of the reasons for the technical detail about the nuke in chapter 36 was to try and make the disarming procedure understandable; if someone doesn't know how a nuke works, the idea of preventing it from detonating by blowing it up or shooting it might seem a little odd. However, those are the real procedures.

 

The "happy Landings" just happened while I was writing, it wasn't planned, it just came out and I thought it fit.

 

...........Aha!! another cliffhanger, (Brandon was definitely white knuckled to the side). Poor Dimitri, he greatly underestimated a pissed off Brandon. Too bad he didn't land in a patch of water, he could have looked into his own eyes and seen the object of his desire. Steves survival surprised me, as I had forgoten Wilde was there on the slope, those tailings are nasty stuff to be sliding on. I think the no-mention of Helen in this chapter is the foregone conclussion of her demise. Poor Jerry! He is really screwed, no money, no leverage and maybe no military coup! Next title of the next chapter? Jerry's vacation? (afterall, he has been working hard long hours for months, and can really use the rest).

 

Of course, the sequel could be all about Jerry. His coup might still work, and then he's got a war on his hands.

 

Whew!

 

The only good Dimitri is a dead Dimitri. He was definitely a killjoy in this story.

 

If there were to be a cliffhanger in this chapter, and of course there isn't 'cause CJ doesn't use cliffhangers , it would be Helen's fate. Not a single word. My take is Helen will make a miraculous recovery....I have no idea how, though. I'll leave that up to CJ. Besides, the body count in this story is too high as it is. My other reason is that the boys will be so bummed out if she dies, we'll never have another pool party!

 

Thanks for all the technical stuff, CJ! :wacko:

 

Two dudes who are afraid of heights fighting it out on a small piece of rock jutting out over a 200 foot deep ravine....now, that's irony. Happy landings! I loved that.

 

Thank you Conner!!

 

About the fear of heights... I didn't emhasize Brandon's well enough; it's mentioned in a couple of places early on and in chapter 19, but not clearly enough. However, yep, that's why they both have a fear of heights; for the final showdown way up high.

[C James]

I think that since the Toowoomba episode, Jerry lost his grip on things. His planning was really good for designing and building the bomb, but besides Instinct, the grain of sand in the well-oiled machine, his plan was doomed to fail. At some point he'd have been identified, and the bombs would have been found no matter what.

 

Of course, CJ already let one villain escape at the end of a story, so this could happen again, but I cannot imagine him disappearing as Blofeld in a James Bond movie. I expect something in which Joe's involved.

 

Jerry did indeed start loosing his grip, starting with the shipping container incident where he killed the road boss. The stress got to him, and in spite of his high opinions of himself he doesn't handle stress well. He also tried to get too fancy on some of the details, and had some bad luck.

 

CJames.... are you stealing titles from other series? Endgame was the name of the last show for Star Trek: Voyager!

 

First the cliffies, now the title stealing, ladies and gentlemen I believe the goat has gone crazy!

 

....But that's my thought lol

 

I had no idea!! I don't watch much TV, so I didn't know that.

 

As for going crazy... How does one go where one already is?

 

I thought the same thing when I first saw the title.

 

As for the second part, we've known that for a long time.

 

ROFL! I have never claimed to be sane!

[AFriendlyFace]

Okay, now, a question for everyone; what loose ends do you feel should be tied up?

-The parents of Chase, Eric, and Jon! I'm interested in knowing more about them

 

-Steve and Wilde's relationship

[Drewbie]

Love to see em stay together, know it doesn't always happen, Again, to see what happened or what they think of their sons now would be cool

[C James]

Jerry's neck should be tied up in a noose. Speaking of justice, where would Jerry's trial be held? Do war criminals always go to the War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague? Does Australia have a right to try him first? What charges can the US bring against him? Will Paraguay give him a speedy trial and execution?

 

Other loose ends:

 

1. Helen's condition. Will she survive? If she doesn't, how will Barbra's life change?

 

2. Will Instinct continue to perform?

 

3. Will Brandon and Chase's relationship be made public? How?

 

4. What kind of career will Joe get into?

 

5. Will Shadow have a breakout hit and headline their own tour?

 

That's just a few loose ends; there are others. The last chapter and/or epilogue will be rather long to answer all the readers' questions. Or, would we be left hanging awaiting the sequel? Nah! CJ wouldn't do that to us.

 

War criminals don't always go to the Hauge. For one thing, not all nations recognize it (the US included, in some cases) and they don't have the death penalty. For example, if the US captures Bin Laden, he isn't going to the Hauge, but more likly getting a federal death penalty. Or, like Saddam, getting his neck stretched.

 

Jerry is a tricky case. Australia has the biggest beef with him, and should IMHO get first whack. The US has the legal situation of him planting, and trying to use, weapons of mass destruction on US soil. There's also the matter of his involvement (as a con-conspirator) in the murder of Gunter, the pilot, and the Sheriff's Deputies. Under the law in most states, that makes him guilty of capital murder.

 

However, Paraguay, should it survive, certainly has their own score to settle with Jerry.

 

Jerry does seem to have a knack for making people upset with him? Poor Jerry!

 

BTW, at least the first four of your loose ends will be dealt with in the next chapter and the epilogue.

 

-The parents of Chase, Eric, and Jon! I'm interested in knowing more about them

 

-Steve and Wilde's relationship

 

Love to see em stay together, know it doesn't always happen, Again, to see what happened or what they think of their sons now would be cool

 

The Carlisle's parents are the one thing we won't see more of in LTMP. However, the same is not true for the sequel, "Changing Lanes", which will start posting within ten days of the end of LTMP. However, I think they are about the only "loose end" that will be left for the sequel. I'm not personally fond of leaving a lot of things unresolved in a story, so I wanted to use the final chapter and the epilogue to do quite a bit.

 

And hrmmm, No one had any objections to my mention that "Changing Lanes" might be all about Jerry, once he finished off Instinct? Well, Okay, just so long as you're all okay with it.

[Drewbie]

No Jerry will not kill them or least all of them.

 

Goat don't make me roast you more

[MikeL]

I'm not personally fond of leaving a lot of things unresolved in a story, so I wanted to use the final chapter and the epilogue to do quite a bit.

I can understand that. If you leave things unresolved you are likely to be accused of all sorts of things.

[wildone]

CJ,

 

I know you have a couple of days to release the final chapter and a few more days to release the epilogue. So, in the spirit that you showed with the "Great lemonade cliffhanger", I was hoping you could clear up some of these cliffhangers you have left us with:

 

1. What happened to the paparazzi who got hit with the fire hose on the roof of the hotel?
   
2. What happened to the paparazzi who was caught filing false stories about red rock canyon?
   
3. What happened to the paparazzi that you mentioned snapped some pictures of Instinct getting off the air force plane in Telluride?
   
4. What happened to Charity? Does she always remain quiet?
   
5. What about the bartender in Whitsunday Islands that squealed on the boys?
   
6. What about the paparazzi in the boat without a prop in the ocean, do they die of dehydration?
   
7. What about Graeme? Did he suffer any consequences from the fallout from Toowoomba?
   
8. Will my hero, Gunter, get a proper and final funeral?
   
9. What will the Air Force do to reward Instinct for their contribution in saving the nation? Will George Bush bestow them with honours?
   
10. What was the significance of the Tiger's Eye necklace that Brandon gave Chase for his birthday?
    
11. Will Jerry/The Scar ever toss a coin in the fountain in Rome again?
    
12. What about Zeke? If Steve and Wilde hook up, will Zeke be the lone single guy kind of like Jon and Eric?
    
13. Speaking of Jon and Eric, will they ever settle down?
    
14. Will Helen be ever be able to get pregnant?
    
15. Is Dimitri actually dead?
    
16. What happened to Mario's body?
    
17. Will the road boss ever be found, and will he get a proper burial?
    
18. What about the bikers who initially fell when the grenade went off and the others couldn't see them in the dust? Were any hurt, will Instinct have a large bill from West Coast Choppers?
    
19. What will happen with Joe? Will he ever learn that his dad killed his mom, and thus realize his hate for homosexuals has been all unfounded?
    
20. Will the general get a promotion for saving the country from two nuclear disasters?
    
21. Will Eric get to taste the sweet nectar of tequila again?
    
22. Will Cody make another appearance?
    
23. Did Cody ever get his cheque?
    
24. Will Joe invite the guys up to Idaho? Maybe to Telluride, Idaho perhaps .
    
25. Will Joe continue his rehab?
    

This is just the first 25 cliffhangers that came to mind . I will see if I can post some more as they come to mind .

 

Steve

[C James]

No Jerry will not kill them or least all of them.

 

Goat don't make me roast you more

 

Ack, now, now, no goat roasting! I can't control what Jerry does.

 

I can understand that. If you leave things unresolved you are likely to be accused of all sorts of things.

 

Yes, this is true, even cliffhangers, which of course I almost never use.

 

CJ,

 

I know you have a couple of days to release the final chapter and a few more days to release the epilogue. So, in the spirit that you showed with the "Great lemonade cliffhanger", I was hoping you could clear up some of these cliffhangers you have left us with:

 

1. What happened to the paparazzi who got hit with the fire hose on the roof of the hotel? He got wet
   
2. What happened to the paparazzi who was caught filing false stories about red rock canyon? The same as any other paparazi filing false and sensational stories; nothing.
   
3. What happened to the paparazzi that you mentioned snapped some pictures of Instinct getting off the air force plane in Telluride? Oh come on now!
   
4. What happened to Charity? Does she always remain quiet? Yep.
   
5. What about the bartender in Whitsunday Islands that squealed on the boys? Still serving drinks.
   
6. What about the paparazzi in the boat without a prop in the ocean, do they die of dehydration? Rescued (the radio would be unharmed) but charged an arm and a leg for the towing and repairs.
   
7. What about Graeme? Did he suffer any consequences from the fallout from Toowoomba? Could be; but he's pretty far south...
    
   
8. What was the significance of the Tiger's Eye necklace that Brandon gave Chase for his birthday? It is Australain, from Queensland, and it's a firestone, so it was a sort of oblique reference to what would happen in Toowoomba, and also just a nice looking necklace. Also, Jerry helped pick it out, and he also helped get Brandon and Chase together.
    
   
9. Is Dimitri actually dead? Yep, dead as a doornail, and before the Echidna gets me, let me say it was in the narration; he had a FATAL impact with the rocks.
    
   
10. What happened to Mario's body? The Air Force has it... I assume they cremated it.
    
11. Will the road boss ever be found, and will he get a proper burial? The Road Boss's body was about fifty feet from the epicienter of a nuclear blast, so the answer would be no.
    
12. What about the bikers who initially fell when the grenade went off and the others couldn't see them in the dust? Were any hurt, will Instinct have a large bill from West Coast Choppers? No one seriously hurt, but I'm sure there were same bikes in need of repair.
     
    
13. Did Cody ever get his cheque? Now that is up to Shadowgod... I tried, but the Shady One seems to be stalling? Leaving us HANGING? Yep, what we have here is yet another SHADOWGOD CLIFFHANGER in LTMP.
    
    

This is just the first 25 cliffhangers that came to mind . I will see if I can post some more as they come to mind .

 

Steve

 

ACK! WILDONE!! Those aren't cliffhangers!

 

Ok, I answered some (edited in in Red, above) , but left others unanswered as they are in the remaining chapter and epilogue, or in the case of the Tequila, in "Changing Lanes".

[Tiger]

I hope Instinct isn't dead. That would be terrible.

[Graeme]

Jerry is a tricky case. Australia has the biggest beef with him, and should IMHO get first whack. The US has the legal situation of him planting, and trying to use, weapons of mass destruction on US soil. There's also the matter of his involvement (as a con-conspirator) in the murder of Gunter, the pilot, and the Sheriff's Deputies. Under the law in most states, that makes him guilty of capital murder.

There were almost certainly some American citizens in Toowoomba, too.

 

What would happen would depend on which political party was in power in Australia at the time. It would be awfully tempting for the Australian Government to let the USA deal with Jerry, because Australia doesn't have the death penalty, and changing the law to allow it in this one particular case would be an unnecessary political distraction. Too many people would object on principle -- though, under the circumstances, I think the vocal majority would be calling for Jerry's head. I personally disagree with the death penalty, but I would have to say I would be very, very, very tempted to compromise my principles in this particular case.

[Benji]

There were almost certainly some American citizens in Toowoomba, too.

 

What would happen would depend on which political party was in power in Australia at the time. It would be awfully tempting for the Australian Government to let the USA deal with Jerry, because Australia doesn't have the death penalty, and changing the law to allow it in this one particular case would be an unnecessary political distraction. Too many people would object on principle -- though, under the circumstances, I think the vocal majority would be calling for Jerry's head. I personally disagree with the death penalty, but I would have to say I would be very, very, very tempted to compromise my principles in this particular case.

 

 

........Tell ya what, wash your hands of Jerry and we will kill him for us. That way you can protest the execution and secretly be thrilled!!

[C James]

There were almost certainly some American citizens in Toowoomba, too.

 

What would happen would depend on which political party was in power in Australia at the time. It would be awfully tempting for the Australian Government to let the USA deal with Jerry, because Australia doesn't have the death penalty, and changing the law to allow it in this one particular case would be an unnecessary political distraction. Too many people would object on principle -- though, under the circumstances, I think the vocal majority would be calling for Jerry's head. I personally disagree with the death penalty, but I would have to say I would be very, very, very tempted to compromise my principles in this particular case.

 

Good point about the Americans in Toowoomba. That would be enough to get him a US Federal death penalty, i think.

 

BTW, this reminds me of an issue I want to bring up in the post-story discussion; I largely ignored Australia after the big boom. There were no scenes with the OZ authorities, etc. I did that because it wasn't the focus of the story, nor relevant to the outcome, but I felt bad doing it.

 

BTW, do I take it that you don't like ?

[Benji]

Good point about the Americans in Toowoomba. That would be enough to get him a US Federal death penalty, i think.

 

BTW, this reminds me of an issue I want to bring up in the post-story discussion; I largely ignored Australia after the big boom. There were no scenes with the OZ authorities, etc. I did that because it wasn't the focus of the story, nor relevant to the outcome, but I felt bad doing it.

 

BTW, do I take it that you don't like ?

 

 

......As much disdain I had for Jerry, his death was quick and anti-climatic, Dimitri's death (I think) was more drawn out.

[Graeme]

........Tell ya what, wash your hands of Jerry and we will kill him for us. That way you can protest the execution and secretly be thrilled!!

Which is why I said it would depend on which political party was in power. That option would be very, very tempting.....