Caldius yawned and stretched as he looked out the window of his small carriage. Was it noon, already? Guess he needed more sleep than he thought. He stood up and tried to get all the kinks out of his back. Comes from lying in one position on a hard bench for so long, Caldius thought. One of these days he was going to have to figure out some way to fit a regulation bed in the back of his wagon. But until then, he'd have to settle for the bench he had managed to tack to the back wall.

He hastily dressed and climbed out the door of the wagon into the noon air. Looking around, he saw that the rest of the troupe was already up and about, getting the camp packed up and ready to go. He saw Lori struggling with one of the tents and decided to help her out.

"So glad you decided to join us." Lori grunted as she tried to get one of the poles untangled from the rest of the tent.

"Sorry, but I guess I got a little carried away last night." apologized Caldius as he helped fold poles. Lori never did like him very much, that much was certain. But then, she wasn't travelling with him because he was such a great guy. Nowhere in the job description did it say you had to like your co-workers.

"Whatever." she grumbled, and continued folding the tent in silence. Taking the hint that she no longer needed or wanted his help, Caldius began wandering around the rest of the encampment making sure everything was set. He could almost sense the tention that was going on between all of the members. Ok, so maybe their last performance wasn't exactly as good as it could have been. So maybe it was Caldius' fault that they had been screwed out of their paychecks. One would think that they would have gotten over it by now!

Oh well, Caldius thought to himself, as soon as we get to the AlphaBar that'll all change. Their past performances were small potatoes compared to the AlphaBar. As the saying went, "If you can make it there, why go anywhere else?" If they could pull this off, they would all make it to the big time in seconds flat. Lori, Kelly, even Caldius himself. Especially Caldius.

And so, despite the animosity that everyone felt towards him, Caldius wandered the campsite with a smile on his face. Soon, his name would be in lights for all to see, and it would be glorious! But for now, everything was all set and ready to go and Caldius climbed back into his wagon. He sat down in the driver's seat and surged the wagon forward, leading the troupe on it's way. Caldius' Travelling Thespians were on the road once again, destination AlphaBar, and to greatness!

"Well, that was some show!" Shanubia said, flopping in her chair and sighing in relief.

"Uh-huh" mumbled Butch in response, ignoring her and carefully scanning the area outside her trailer.

"Oh, c'mon hon!" she said, turning to face him, "Just 'cause you're my bodyguard doesn't mean we can't have a decent conversation every now and then!"

"Uh-huh" Butch mumbled again, his eyes seeming to track something outside. Shanubia glanced out one of the trailer's windows and saw Tanya walking up the parking lot towards them.

"Someb'dy's comin'." Butch notified her dutifully.

"Thanks for the tip." she said congeneally. Why do the big ones always have to be so cob-forsaken stupid? she thought to herself as she got up to answer Tanya's knocking.

"Well, you did it again!" Tanya beamed as she entered the little trailer, ducking to make sure she didn't hit her head on the low doorway. "It's a good thing you draw such a good crowd, otherwise I doubt I could even afford to pay you!"

"Think nothin' of it, hon!" Shanubia said as she poured drinks for herself and her guest. "Heck, if I wasn't in such a rut myself, I'd do it for free! You know how I love the crowds."

"Yeah..." Tanya trailed off as she reached for her offered drink.

"Somethin' wrong, hon?"

Tanya seemed to sink farther into her chair. "It's just that... I dunno how much longer I'll be able to keep this old shack up and running. The repairs just keep stacking up, and I still have to Marsha to take care of. And then there's those guys always hanging around after hours... I tell ya, the AlphaBar sure ain't the glorious place it once was."

"Well, don' worry yourself none." Shanubia reassured her, "Not every place can be the Chez de AlhpaWorld forever, y'know. Besides, you still got a good solid crowd o' reg'lars to work with, and they'd never desert a place like the AlphaBar. I mean, where else would they go to get drunk?"

Tanya seemed to brighten slightly. "Yea, I guess. It just seems so overwhelming sometimes."

"No one ever said runnin' a business'd be easy, hon. Maybe you should see if you can hire out some help. I'm sure some o' them reg'lars ain't got nothin' better to do."

"Yea, you're probably right." Tanya said, starting to get up. "Well, thanks for the drink. Here's your check." she said as the piece of paper materialized in her hand, "See ya next week."

"You too, hon." said Shanubia as Tanya ducked out of the trailer door. Pocketing the check, Shanubia went over to her desk to consult her schedule. Tanya and she had been friends for a long time, and Shanubia hated seeing her suffer like this. It was time she helped her out a bit. Checking her schedule one more time to make sure she wasn't booked, she headed to a bedroom to place a call to her agent. It was time that Shanubia made a Special Guest Apperance at the AlphaBar.

Butch was still staring intently out at the AlphaBar long after Shanubia had closed the door to her bedroom.

"I don't like this. It all seems too easy." Bill said, glancing at the people seated around the table with him. "Are you sure he'll just cave in like that?"

"Positive." Dredd said, looking Bill straight in the eye. "Wouldn't you if your kid got nabbed?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm still not convinced, though. The guy was never a push-over, and I just get the feeling that it'll take more'n a kid to get him to give us what we want."

"Look," said Dredd, trying hard to stay patient and not really succeeding all that well, "His wife and sister are already gone. That kid and that singer friend of his are all he's got left. And since that singer is too public a person, we nab the kid. Dig?"

"Yea, I dig." said Bill reluctantly. He didn't really want to tell Dredd about his misgivings about taking the kid, but then again, hitmen rarely got to pick their targets. "So when's this going down again?"

"Next week, before they make their 'return engagement'." Dredd bit out the last two words mockingly. "He'll be gone, so he won't notice his kid's missing until he gets back. By then, we'll have everything else all set up and ready to go."

"Alright then, cool?" Bill said, looking around at the other men seated at the table, and getting nods of affirmation in return. "Ok, we'll meet back here in a couple days. By then you should have the equipment, right?"

Dredd return his gaze with a mix of contempt and disbelief. Just who did this putz think he was, anyway? This was his organization, not Bill's. "Yea, I'll have the stuff." he growled.

Bill ignored his subtle resentment. "Alright. See you guys then." He said, and then dissipated as he teleported home. As his comrades did likewise, Dredd stayed behind to ponder over exactly what was going on around here. Bill better not get any ideas, or else he'd be next on the hitlist. Dredd was determined to maintain control over his little gang, otherwise there'd be hell to pay. If there was one thing people were going to have to learn, it was that no one, whether former employees, current employees, or just innocent bystanders, messed with The Order. Butch would be the first to learn this, with possibly Bill soon to follow. And Dredd would make damn sure of it, no matter what.