Balancing Act - Part 2 Return Of An Old Foe by Big T. (f/m, qs) Chapter 1 We continue the story as the girls and Travis are enjoying their time in sunny Key West Florida. They are on the beach sunning and playing in the crystal clear surf, having a great time. It's late in the afternoon and getting time for dinner. As they come out of the surf, Monica looks at Travis and comments, "I don't know about you guys, but, all this activity has made me hungry." Travis laughs cheerfully and replies, "I agree Mon. You read my mind." "That's the /only/ thing we ever read on your mind, Travis," Kara jokes as she smiles warmly. He replies, "Hey ... you know me." "Okay, so let's go back to our hotel rooms, get changed and go eat," says Jodie. "So what'll it be tonight?" asks Mandy. Travis comments back, "I was thinking we might try that Japanese place up the street from our hotel." "Oh, good idea, let's go!" quips Shawna. "You like that little suggestion, huh?" inquires Kara. Shawna smiles back as she and Kara laughs. Soon, as they are walking up the street to the restaurant, Travis hears some strange faint noises behind them. He stops and turns around, thinking they are about to be mugged. He's prepared for anything as he looks around, ready to defend the girls from any would be attackers. The girls stop as well after a few steps, and look back. "What's up Big T?" asks Shawna. "Something wrong?" questions Jodie. "I could have sworn we were being tailed. Maybe it's nothing," says Travis. He looks around, examining everything of their surroundings ever so cautiously once more. He then turns and continues on with the girls to the restaurant. Even as they are eating, Travis can't shake the feeling that he has. A feeling that something /bad/, is about to happen soon. It is a feeling that he hasn't had in ten years. The girls notice he is mentally occupied, and Mandy asks, "You seem a little distant tonight buddy, whats wrong?" He replies, "I'm sorry girls, I can't get earlier out of my mind." Jodie points out, "But, nothing happened." "That's just it ... I got a bad feeling earlier, Jo. One I've not had in a long time. And the last time I got it, I almost died, at the hands of my worst enemy. But thank God, I don't have to worry about /him/ again." "Him ... Him, who?" asks Shawna. Travis answers with a heavy heart and mind, as he remembers and says the name, "His name ... was ... Arcane!" "Was?" asks Monica. "What do you men by /was/?" Travis answers, "Meaning now, he's dead. He died at a chemical plant back home. He fell from a catwalk platform, during our last fight, into a tank of sulphuric acid. I never saw him come out after falling in. I assumed the acid killed him." "That's awful," says Shawna, adding, "Why were you fighting him in a chemical plant in the first place? Who was this ... Arcane ... anyway, Travis?" Travis answers, "It's a loooooong, complicated story, I'd rather not tell again right now. But I will one day, I promise." Shawna quips, "Fair enough." Kara chimes in saying, "Okay guys, lets not ruin dinner with negative things." Travis agrees, "You're right Kara, let's have fun and finish our meal, shall we?" Soon, after a satisfying meal, Travis and the girls leave and are heading back toward their hotel. On the way, they are talking and laughing at a joke, Mandy had just told. "That's a good one," says Kara. "Yeah, it was," adds Monica. "Thanks guys," replies Mandy. "Where'd you hear it?" asks Travis. Mandy tells him, "I saw it on a /jokes page/ on the internet not long ago." As they continue on, Travis sees a dark blue, newer model Chevrolet Camaro, approaching slowly. And when it drives closer to them, he sees the driver and his passenger. To Travis, both men look oddly familiar, as he and the two men exchange intense looks. Kara and Monica notice the men too, as well as the strange look on Travis's face. Monica looks at the car and sarcastically remarks, "Take a picture, it'll last longer." After the car drives on, Kara asks, "Who the heck were they?" Travis answers in an uneasy tone, "I'm not sure, but I think I know them somehow. Right now, let's get back to the hotel." An hour or so later, at their hotel, Jodie and Monica were out on their balcony, enjoying the cool evening and breathing in the fresh ocean air. Also, they were talking and looking out across the street below, to the beach. Monica looks at the moon as it is coming up over the horizon, shining across the ocean, and comments, "Look at that moonrise Jo." Jodie answers, "I know, it's beautiful!" Then, Kara walks out to join them as she asks, "What's up guys?" "Just admiring the view up here," Jodie answers. Kara crosses her arms and leans on the balcony railing beside Monica. She looks around at everything for a moment, and inconspicuously notices that the Camaro from earlier, is parked close by on the street below. She then tells Monica and Jodie, "Don't look now guys, but, that blue Camaro from earlier tonight is parked below, just a few spaces down from the hotel office door." Jodie says, "You two stay here and act like we haven't seen them yet, I'll go tell Travis." She turns around and walks inside, as Kara and Monica continue to admire the view. Plus they watch the Camaro, without letting the two men in it know they have spotted them. After Travis has been informed of their uninvited guests, he says, "Oh ... they are, eh?" Jodie nods as Shawna and Mandy come over. Mandy asks, "What're you going to do?" Travis confidently replies, "Find out who they are and what they want." "How so?" Shawna questions. "Go ask them." Travis says as he heads for the door. Shawna then quips, "I'm coming with you!" She follows close behind, as Mandy remarks, "Be careful guys!" Soon, out front of the hotel ... "There they are!" exclaims Shawna. They start over toward the Camaro, but the men in it realize they've been made. At which, the driver starts the Camaro's engine. Shawna says, "They're trying to make a break for it!" "Come on Shawna," Travis adds, taking out his car keys. Not wanting the Camaro to escape, they race over to Travis's car, a classic, black, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T S.E. (In case you're not familiar with classic American muscle/sports cars, R/T S.E., stands for Rally and Track Special Edition.) As Shawna goes over to the passenger door to get in, Travis jumps up onto, and slides across the car's hood on the left side of his butt and hip, in one swift motion. He then gets in on the driver's side and starts his car's powerful V-8 engine. As his car roars to life, he puts it in gear, and stomps the gas. The rear tires bark and squeal for several seconds, as a huge cloud of white smoke boils up from the pavement. The smoke soon drifts off in the ocean breeze as Travis's Charger takes off in quick pursuit of the Camaro. The two cars speed down the street and soon take a hard left. Travis warns Shawna, "Hang on girl!" as he power-slides the Charger half sideways through the turn. To which, she replies, "OH ... CRAP!" Soon, in the Camaro, the passenger looks at the driver and says, "Come on man, lose this guy!" "I can't, he's got a faster car!" replies the driver. The passenger then comments, "It may be faster, but hopefully we can outrun him in the hairpins ahead." And in Travis's car ... "Stay with them Travis," Shawna quips. Travis says, "Don't worry Shawna, I'm on them. Hang tight, we got some hairpins coming up!" noticing the sign. She adds, "Oh joy!" Travis points out, "I know why he came this way, he's going to try to outrun us in the curves. But I got a little surprise for them ... I had this car fitted with a custom built suspension, that gives it the handling of a BMW in the curves." Shawna laughs, and says, "You and your car upgrades." The Camaro's driver is soon shocked, to see that Travis's car is still with him in the hazardous curves at such high speed, and remarks, "I don't believe it, they're still behind us!" His friend looks back, and then shouts, "Well do something, before he catches us!" The driver calmly replies, "Don't worry, I got an idea. All we have to do is make it to the cove up the road here." Soon Travis and Shawna see that the Camaro has pulled off the road up ahead, as they exit the hairpin turns onto a straightaway. "There they are!" Shawna says. Travis applies the brakes, adding, "I see it." He pulls off the road next to the Camaro, which they learn is empty, as they park and get out. "Where'd they go now?" asks Shawna. "This way!" pointing at two sets of rapidly vanishing footprints going across a sand dune. "Come on the wind is blowing them away," Shawna tells him. They follow the fading footprints across the sand dune and down to the shore, where the trail vanishes. "Where to now? The trail is gone," says Shawna. Then from behind them, they hear, "Hey, looking for us?" She and Travis turn to see the two men, and chase after them as the men run off again. "Come on!" Travis exclaims. Under the light of a full moon, he and Shawna chase them along the shore and soon back up over some dunes to a cove. They chase them up into the back area of the cove across some sand flats. The men were almost within their reach, when suddenly the ground beneath Travis and Shawna gives way, and turns to mush, as they sink in to their hips. Shawna screams in surprise. The men stop running and come back to within several feet of them. The Camaro's driver says laughing, "Looks like you two fell into our little trap. The /Boss/ is gonna be happy you are out of the way, Travis." Travis looks at him oddly, and asks, "What are you babbling about? Who are you? Who's your /Boss/?" Then his friend says, "Let's put it this way, You've not seen him in 10 years. Not that you'll see him again now." "Come on man, time for /phase two/," says the driver. They laugh and run off back to their car to leave. Shawna looks at Travis and says, "Oh great! I can't believe this! /More - quicksand/!" She looks down at her waist as it slowly disappears downward. Travis tries to keep her calm, by softly, soothingly talking to her, saying, "Just be cool, don't struggle, we'll find a way out of here Shawna." "Easy for /you/ to say," she chimes in, as she feels the wet sand fill her denim shorts from the bottom as well as her navel, adding, "Come on Travis, think. How do we get out of here?" As Shawna feels the quicksand climbing up her lower ribs he answers, "Right now let's just be cool, and think rationally. An answer should present itself." "I just hope it does it soon!" Shawna remarks as she sinks in to her upper abdominals. * (Could this be curtains for our two sinking compatriots? How can they escape /this/ time? How will they be saved when no one knows where they are? And what is /Phase Two/? More importantly, who is the /Boss/ of the two men, who lured Shawna and Travis, into the quicksand trap? Stay tuned next time! These and many other questions answered, in our next thrilling, pulse-pounding, action packed chapter!)