Joey's Future : The Middle Years, pt. 3 
By J. Pardo libguy3@yahoo.com


After a week, Brutus was still in pain from the break in his arm.
Although he understood why Lizator did this, it still damaged his
career, and limited his income. Who would want to pay for a one-armed
strongman? It was in this state that Brutus received a phone call
promising great wealth in exchange for information. He wouldn't have to
do anything, just report on the circus's activities, and whereabouts.
The mysterious caller was elated when he found out about their
impending trip to New York, and instructed Brutus to introduce a man he
was sending to Maximo as his cousin. 

"How will I know this man?" Brutus asked.

"You'll know him. He'll be wearing a red tie," the voice said.

Shortly before the trip a man arrived wearing a large tan suit, and a
bright red tie.

Brutus ran across the yard straight to this fellow, and proceeded to
grab his arm and drag him to Maximo.

"This is my cousin, Hakim" Brutus said.

Hakim took the que. 

"Hakim, Sword Swallower!" he said, holding his hand out to shake
Maximo's

"Show me your stuff," Maximo said.

Hakim looked around the tent for a suitable sword. He found one outside
of a closet which was being emptied for the move. He tilted his head
way back, and shoved the long, thin, sword down his throat, so that
only the hilt showed.

"Okay," Maximo said, "You're in! You bunk with Brutus. You have to pull
your weight around here."

"You got it!" Hakim said.

Later in Brutus' trailer...

"When do I get my money?" Brutus demanded.

"You'd think I'd be foolish enough to bring you money here?" Hakim
said, "you have to wait until the job is done!"

"What job?" Brutus asked.

"You don't know about the job?" Hakim shouted. "If you don't know then
I can't tell you.  You might be a spy."

"I am no spy, just tell me about the job," Brutus demanded.

"No can do, get the information from your source," Hakim refused him
again, then left the trailer ending the conversation.

They all packed the bus on their way to the airport.  At the last
minute, someone came on board and told Brutus he had a phone call.
Brutus hurried off.

"Did he get there?" the mysterious voice asked.

"Yes, and he won't tell me a thing," Brutus said.

"He did as he was instructed," the voice said.

"Tell me about the job!" Brutus demanded.

"I can't tell you much, suffice it to say that you'll have a bang-up
time in New York," then he laughed maniacally and hung up.

Brutus was disappointed that he didn't get a chance to ask about his
money.

When he got back on the bus, Hakim asked Brutus what the call was
about. 

"Nothing!" Brutus said, "he told me nothing"

"Those were his exact words?" Hakim asked calmly.

"No, he finished the conversation by saying, I'll have a bang-up time
in New York, whatever that means," Brutus shrugged his shoulders.

Hakim looked at him with curiosity.  "How can anyone be so stupid?" He
wondered internally. It was so obvious what the man was trying to tell 
Brutus, he was just too dense to get it.

"Nevermind then, did you get everything?" Hakim asked.

"They're loading up the last of the supplies now." Brutus said.

Hakim left the bus.  "I forgot something in your trailer," Hakim yelled
back to the bus.

No one saw as a man substituted one cannon ball for another, and rolled
the original away.

Hakim rushed back on the bus, looking very winded.

"I got back as fast as I could," he said.

The bus pulled out heading for the airport. The chartered plane was
loaded and flew across the Atlantic arriving at LaGuardia.  Maximo
oversaw the loading of his cargo.  The animals made cacophonous noises
as the hatch to their part of the plane was opened.  Many were
frightened and refused to move.  Mark and Lana ran in calming them
immediately.  The animals trusted the youngsters, who actually went
inside their cages to pet them. The lions purred as Mark and Lana
scatched their bellies.  They were perfectly contect afterwards, when
they were hoisted onto a truck and taken to Yankee Stadium, along with
the rest of the cargo.

The performance was tomorrow, and the entertainers practiced their
routines.  The lions were put through their paces, and the elephants
(on loan from the Bronx Zoo) responded to Lizator's gentle persuasion.
Maximo remembered about the 25 pound balls, then he remembered he had
no strongman.  He looked around as the balls were being unloaded.  Lana
was passing by when one of the balls bumped pass free and was heading
straight for her head.  Maximo yelled, and Lana turned in time to see
the massive ball coming towards her.  Quickly reacting, she held out
her arms and bent slightly to the right, just as the ball sailed by. 
Not content with letting it fall, she quickly grabbed the ball and
jammed it into the ground, like a successful running back slamming his
football into the endzone after a touchdown catch, except Lana's ball
was stainless steel, and it embedded into the ground with only a third
of its 14-inch dimensions showing.

Maximo had found his "strongman," he went over to Lana. 

"Do you think you can catch them in mid-air, fired from a cannon?"
Maximo asked.

"Sure," she said, "no problem. That last ball felt like bubble gum to
me."

"Great! Tomorrow, you'll be added as a new act.  We must come up with a
name for you.  I have it... Herculana, the Muscular Dynamo."

Lana laughed at the name, then flexed her 12-inch biceps at him. Maximo
stared at her physique, then quickly turned away, before his mind
wandered to inappropriate thoughts.

Lizator was coming in as he was leaving. "What's all the commotion?"
she asked.  "I heard yelling and came as fast as I could."

"The ball fell, and I caught it and shmushed it into the ground. 
Maximo saw me, and wants me to catch them." Lana explained to her
mother.

"Okay, then!" Lizador said, finishing her duties.

Lana didn't tell her Mom about the cannon.  She didn't want her to
worry.

Yankee Stadium filled up to capacity as news of these amazing children
spread.  With only a $5 donation, people who be viewing a high quality
circus. Many dignitaries were there, the President, Vice-President, all
of the cabinet members, the First Lady, the Governor of New York, and
the Mayor of New York. Joey proudly sat among them as the patriarch of
his circus family.

As the circus started Lizator concentrated on getting her elephants to
cooperate.  this was not the environment they were used to, and the
sight of so many people spooked them.  She did not see as they hauled
in the cannon.

Maximo has asked Mark to load the cannon as the act neared. Mark was
told to aim it at a 60 degree angle.  He did not know that his sister
was to catch them.

Hakim wowwed the crowd with his ability to swallow nearly the entire
length of a sword. Only the hilt shown in his mouth as he smiled. He
pulled the sword out of his mouth and easily skewered an apple which
was thrown by Maximo. They clapped loudly as the next act was
announced.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! Welcome to the greatest show in
the universe!" Maximo bragged with his deepest voice. "May I draw your
attention to the pitcher's mound. Presenting the greatest liontamers
since Gunther Gebel-Williams. They call themselves Lanamark."

Mark and Lana did their normal death-defying (at least to the paying
customers) act of controlling the lions.  The crowd roared as she
caught the pouncing lion, Savage, in mid-air. She decided to add to the
act by lifting him up above her head and inserting her head into its
mouth.  Savage was taken by surprise too, but trusted Lana and keep his
mouth fully open.  Finally she gently brought him to the ground, and
heard thundering applause. Savage licked her face, then jumped up to
his perch.  Mark prepared the flaming hoop for Czarina.  At his
command, she ably jumped through it. He, too, decided to add flair to
his presentation, as he lifted Czarina, all 200 pounds of her, and
jumped the through flaming hoop with her. He winked at his sister, as
he too got thundering applause. 

Their mother was shocked at the performance. Both proud and angry that
they would put themselves into danger, she would talk to her children
later. She had her own problems as her elephants weren't cooperating. 
Even with their own handlers, they refused to climb on each others
backs, which was part of the act. Lizator was forced to show them who
was queen. She climbed under one of the elephants, squated, then with
her 40-inch calves straightened her legs and lifted the front of the
elephant onto the back of the other. The elephant was scared witless at
it rose. Lizator came out from under and gently praised the elephant,
which visibly relaxed.  The other elephants saw this, and became
amenable to to her calling.  They finally were willing to climb on each
others backs, with one climbing on top of them all, until itreached the
end and saw Lizator with the ramp behind her.  Sheba, the top climber,
rested his large paws on Lizator. Lizator's biceps expanded at the
extra weight, then she led Sheba down the ramp.  Again, the crowd
exploded with applause.  They had seen enough thus far that would
satisfy them for many months to come, but there was one more act
awaiting them.

Mark took his position and loaded the cannon. He pulled the triggering
device and the cannon ball shot at an angle almost to the other side of
the stadium. Many customers screamed as they thought the cannonball was
approaching them, but sighed as they saw it would fall short of them.
They screamed again as they realized it was heading straight towards
Lana. Mark looked to where the crowd was pointing and screamed too.
Lana was very calm as the ball approached.  She stomped her feet into
the ground, and held her arms out. She tensed as the ball drew near,
and grabbed it before it hit the ground. The entire stadium was silent,
then erupted into screaming, foot-stomping, applause.  Lana had done
it. Maximo ordered another as a followup. This time Mark shoved it in
the cannon with pride, knowing that his sister would catch it. Just as
he fired, a helicopter was seen entering above the stadium.  The Secret
Service knew that none were scheduled, so began scrambling to protect
the President. Two rockets protruded from beneath the helicopter, and a
bearded man was seen at the controls.  Lana caught the ball, then
realized it was lighter than the other. She, then, heard the ticking. 
Sensing danger from the helicopter she decided on a course of action.
She squatted down, then with a great heave she threw the ball straight
up. Just as the terrorist was about to release the rockets, the ball
ripped through the helicopter, killing him.  The helicopter exploded,
and its fusilage started spinning uncontrollably to Earth, right toward
the Presidential entourage. No one saw the large furry beast as she
leaped across to intercept the burning craft. Lizator had acted as a
perch and assisted Czarina by giving her a boost.  She had saved the
crowd from destruction by shoving the craft toward 2nd base.  She was
fine, as the craft burned harmlessly.  

No one saw Brutus as he pulled out his gun. He aimed it right at
Lizator, the source of his pain. Just as he was about to shoot, he saw
Hakim running toward him. Thinking he was going to congratulate him, he
let his guard down as Hakim stabbed him through the heart, killing him
instantly.  Lizator heard a grunt and turned, assessing the situation.
Brutus was clutching a gun pointed at her, as Hakim stood over him.
Hakim's sword, sticking out from Brutus' body, reflected the sunlight. 
Maximo saw the aftermath and ran toward Hakim. Lizator ran to intercept
him.

"Who are you?" Maximo asked. "You killed Brutus."

Lizator reached them just as Hakim was saying, "my name is Hafiz Sadat.
I'm with the Egyptian Intelliegence Agency. We intercepted a call made
to Brutus from Afghanistan, and knew of a plot to cause destruction at
Yankee Stadium. I pretended to act like Brutus' cousin (that was his
instructions from the terrorist), until I was sure what form the
destrution would come.  Thanks to the efforts of your daughter and her
lioness, many people's lives were saved.  I saw Brutus about to shoot
Lizator, so I acted."

Seth was frantic that his family was involved in this operation and
joined the Secret Service as it arrived on the field and the three of
them explained the situation.  They talked to the President, who came
out and delivered an announcement.

"My fellow Americans", the President said, "you have just witness many
acts of heroism. Let's give them a rousing thank you."

The entire stadium shook as everyone stood at once, giving them all a
loud cheer. 

The President continued, "At first I thought that this fellow (he
pointed to Hafiz) was a terrorist, because of the color of his skin,
but he saved this lady's life. This lady saved us by helping the
lioness, and this dear sweet girl saved us all by throwing the bomb at
the helicopter. We are very proud of them."

Mark and Joey joined their family. They gave everyone big hugs.  Lana
hugged the President (with a little too much enthusiasm as he started
to turn blue), then released him.

The crowd went wild once again.

And Old Glory was seen above and behind the burning craft as a symbol
of America's fight against terrorism.