Summerabbacat

I had an influx of pollen too @drsawzall, although not from a snowstorm, mixed with a flurry of feline fur, and a deluge of dust from windy weather. Oddly, they all appeared at the same time, when Ollie was telling Axl how remarkable he is and that he does not have to do all this on his own, especially at the age of 17.

Gerald, Kofi Annan at his finest. I have no interest in isotopes, but I found this chapter and Orel's fascination with them wholly believable and quite moving.

This chapter brought back memories of the William Higgins classics from the 1980's The Pizza Boy He Delivers and Delivery Boys. If things get as raunchy for Axl and Oliver as what they did for the guys in those two films then they are in for a good time. Marshall-Lee and Aiden will be very pleased the Sausage Protocol 2 has worked out so well.

I am glad Axl expressed his frustration about the absent adults in his life, even if only to himself. He deserves so much more in life than his father and Mrs Slater, both of whom take him for granted, with little in the way of even a thank you in person. Hopefully Orel's "experiment" will be a resounding success. Terrific story @Topher Lydon.

Axl, 17 years of age going on 30. Still going to school, working nights to feed Mrs Slater and Aiden, and lonely. Mr Fraser and Mrs Slater both need to get off their respective arses and start acting like parents. Life has been difficult for both sure, but they have responsibilities for others they are clearly shirking, wallowing in misery presumably. Orel is certainly unusual. His manner of speech is somewhat "robotic" and I kept thinking of Robot from Lost In Space. He s clearly compassionate, his desire to find companionship for both his brother, Oliver, and for Axl, very admirable. And what of Finn, is he perhaps a descendant of Bobby Grady, and if so, how? Very enjoyable @Topher Lydon.

Life has been difficult for Marshall-Lee for half of his life at least (and what were his parents thinking hyphenating this as his name). His mother deserted the family when he was 7 years of age, an event which has had a profound effect on them all, not least of all his father who is emotionally distant from Marshall-Lee and his brother Axl, as he is working all the time to care for them. Axl is 17 years of age and at the age of 10 became Marshall-Lee's de-facto mother and father, at least as far as offering him emotional support and essentially raising him. Both boys are damaged, attributable at least in part to their mother's departure without a word. Aiden, we don't know much about his family yet, other than he has a mother and possibly his father is either deceased or incapacitated from an accident. I suspect it is the former. Aiden himself is very intelligent, observant and remarkably honest and direct. A delightful start to what promises to be a most interesting story @Topher Lydon. I was already investing in the story and its characters, but when Aiden revealed his knowing Marshall-Lee feeds an orange stray cat behind his house, I was hooked.

These were my thoughts too. Clearly the colour of Jean and Lauralei's skin was as important to the residents of Merrickville/Silver Creek as the gender of the person whom some of their "favourite sons" slept with.

I think I remember that now about him, but not about her.

It may have been stated in Buckshot or perhaps even in Deed, but is Jean of Haitian descent or something similar @Topher Lydon?

So much violence and death, with the killing of Scarecrow by Bobby the highlight of the melee. I too am glad Kieran atoned for his traitorous behaviour and lived to tell the tale. He proved himself to be far braver than he had previously shown; his pleas firstly to Jack and secondly to the railroad workers led by Big Angus McTavish, in an attempt to save the residents of Merrickville, not the pleas of a coward. The concluding scene featuring Bobby, Timmy and Timmy's father, very moving @Topher Lydon. The only debt left to be paid is the extermination of McCulloch and Valance. As much as I would like to see them killed by Elias, Theo or Bobby, I hope Elias is able to retrieve the deeds, arrest them and hand them over for justice to occur. To the gallows with both of them.

I assume Steve is well-off given the red sports car he drives, so providing "entertainment" for six teenage boys for a weekend away, feeding them and paying them for their time, is not likely to be a financial burden for him. And what does he get out of it, live "porn" to pleasure himself with. Peggy's appearance, albeit brief, showcased what a true star she is. With minimal effort she enchanted Edward, reminding him who is the master/mistress and who is the servant. Juanito's concerns for his relationship with Raj should not be taken lightly, nor should he be "judged" harshly for having such concerns. He may not cope with Raj's gender change, particularly if Juanito is predominantly or exclusively a bottom and Raj undergoes vaginoplasty.

Intelligent and observant. Perhaps there is a little (or maybe even a lot) of Josh Aterovis in Killian Kendall, so to speak. How are your driving skills? LOL.

After reading this very clever comment again @weinerdog, it has occurred to me Narcissus aka Daisy may even be involved in the disturbance(s) to the dig site and the assault on her father. She has enough hatred for him and Lily to seek revenge against them. What better way to do so than to discredit them AND cause disharmony in the community, a community she has completely divorced herself from. Although she is not involved in the community she may have learned of the dig site, particularly if Gordon Wallace has been bemoaning its existence.

Excellent. Perhaps Jack can introduce a new culinary "delight" to the "residents" of Merrickville - Fenian soup. Inedible by humans, but one which tantalises the taste buds of coyotes, wolves and bears. Take 300 or so Fenians, chop roughly, add any herbs and spices so desired, leave to marinate and serve when ready.

Bloody hell @Wombat Bill, this chapter suffered from premature ejaculation. It barely got started and it was all over. LOL. I am very suspicious the beach house is named Tranquility. Something about the whole situation is very fishy or should I say Neptunian. Why the look of disdain from Orion when Achilles happily agreed to share a room with Kilby aka Romeo? It appears Kilby's life is not in any danger, nor is he about to be trafficked overseas or subjected to gay conversion therapy, unless all of Achilles statements were lies. If, as Achilles indicated, the boys are not going to have sex with Steve and no one else will be visiting, I suspect Steve may be making teen gay porn videos, which the boys may or may not be aware of. Achilles also stated they were not going to have an orgy, so it may be that Steve has hidden cameras set up in each bedroom and films the boys having sex with each other one-on-one. You have me very intrigued @Wombat Bill.

"You speak of war and destiny, Colonel," Levesque said, his voice now quiet, deadly. "But you are not soldiers. You are thieves who have stolen a flag. You are mercenaries who have rented your cause to a railroad baron. You are trespassing on land that belongs to men and women who have poured their sweat and their blood into it. You are not liberators. You are a plague." "He took one step forward, closing the distance imperceptibly. "So, I regret, Colonel, that we must decline your kind invitation to oblivion. This is not a military objective. This is our home. And you are not an army. You are pests. And we have decided to exterminate you." Jean Levesque must have balls the size of a tennis ball (each one). In a chapter full of suspense, despair, dread and threats of violence, I could not help but laugh at this humorous, biting, laceration of Rafferty and his band of thugs (or should that be bugs, LOL). The ultimate scorn, compared to cockroaches on whom Levesque turned his back. I was wondering what had happened to Madame Lorelei/Lauralei. It was good to see her make a reappearance, and in her usual calm, determined and efficient manner. The burning question for me after this chapter is, where is Jack? When will he make his appearance? I imagine he has not been commandeered ready for action, but something is bound to happen to threaten one of his humans and he will know, and he will react, with a violence and fury the Fenians have never before encountered. The old saying "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" will pale into insignificance beside "hell hath no fury like Jack in battle".

A motley crew constitutes the archaeological dig volunteers @Josh Aterovis. I suspect Alexander James at least also knows who the real Killian Kendall is. I am almost certain Killian will not be able to remain undercover, and I doubt Professor Healy will take kindly to having been lied to by Lily about the real purpose of Killian's attendance at the site. In Killian's initial introduction to Fletcher, Fletcher referred to him as a "spirit talker". I took this to mean, perhaps incorrectly, the experiences Killian had with the spirits of both Amalie and Paul momentarily "occupying" his body to shed light on their murders. If this is in fact what Fletcher meant by "spirit talker", I wonder if Killian will have a similar experience at the dig site. I imagine a visit from the spirit of someone murdered on the dig site or in its vicinity is a distinct possibility. Perhaps Gordon Wallace's father or another paternal relative murdered a tribe member or members and he does not want it known the "white" side of his family was involved in such a crime or crimes.

I had the same thought @weinerdog, particularly given his involvement more recently in the Fenton Black murder which was highly publicised. How is he going to get out of this quandary? I hope for his sake Elyse does not pressure him for amore in the afternoon, in return for keeping his true profession a secret. I was thinking Hyacinth (after Mrs Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances, which I think was popular in the USA), Snapdragon or Digitalis, more commonly known as Foxglove, which is highly toxic to humans and animals, causing nausea, diarrhoea and even death. I guess her mother and Fletcher did not know she would become such a hate-filled nasty bitch as an adult. She would have hated being named Pansy though as it has been so often used as an insult for gay men.

I am going to console myself @weinerdog with the belief it was either the rantings of a delusional woman, or the Doberman dined on human the evening its human rang Killian, and it was the last phone call she ever made.

The reason for Tad's brattish behaviour is so obvious now you have pointed it out @Josh Aterovis; a perfectly natural reaction to how he has been treated in the past. Have you studied psychology as your observations of reactive behaviour from teenagers especially e.g. Tad, Caleb, Todd, Zack, Seth, Jake and even Killian to a certain extent, are very astute, or are you just acutely observant?

I had forgotten you have speculated this before @centexhairysub, and you could well be right as it is unlikely anyone would suspect to look next door for the missing artefact.

Your description of the vast expanse of the landscape and the violent weather is certainly cinematic @Topher Lydon. As someone who lives in a climate which fortunately never experiences snow, the bleak scene featuring the blizzard although unfamiliar, was quite frightening in its power. I keep thinking to myself "why would the residents of Merrickville, want to live in a town with such awful weather", so it is a credit to your writing skills that I can believe they do. I have not seen many Western films in my life as it is not a genre which appeals, apart from Calamity Jane which I have enjoyed watching on a number of occasions, but I have seen a few episodes of TV shows considered Westerns when I was a pre-teen and into my teens e.g. High Chaparral, Bonanza. If those shows are any guide, then I think you have succeeded in capturing an "old timey western".

“Nah. He’s my uncle’s second wife’s second husband.” Charlie sniggered. “Not much there.” I should have waited for this chapter for this confirmation @Robert Hugill. The description of Graham by Charlie as a slimy git was spot on. His assessment he thinks it is unlikely Graham murdered Aunt Daphne must surely put the suspicion back onto Thomas Englert aka Franck de Leuw. My speculation Thomas was surprised when Charlie revealed his Aunt Daphne was murdered, has me thinking even moreso Graham may have been his intended target, after all Graham is the one who apparently had connections to Louis' Uncle Vernon. I cannot recall if any of my fellow readers have speculated this before so I may be copying someone else, but I wonder if Graham may have possession of the Nimrud Panther? Either JB aka Pericles is butch (but not too butch) or Louis and Charlie have faulty gaydar. I suspect it is the former. I wonder if JB might accompany PJ when the latter visits Charlie to collect their anniversary gift? More good work Mr H.

Timmy has survived, the worst is over for him. Bobby and Timmy's father are resolute in their efforts to defend Merrickville as a testament to Timmy. I also suspect his cousin Kieran may have turned a corner. Will he be welcomed into the family of his cousin? Time will tell. Jack delivered as promised. Will he be instrumental in helping the townsfolk hold steady now they under threat from the remaining Fenian fanatics? Jack has not as yet had the opportunity to display his full power and destruction skills. I hope he gets that opportunity very soon.

250 dead fanatics, a good bargaining chip with McCulloch, Valance and the Grizzly. Jack WILL deliver the message to Jean Levesque and Timmy WILL be continuing to recover.