Sup, which Emma do you like more?

I haven't played in a while and don't really remember which were the most competent / intelligent ones

Oh my god you just game me an essay topic. I'm gonna go off. It's probably a little unfair since I haven't finished Leon's route yet, I don't remember sariel's very well, and I am not up to date on everyone's event lore, since I know even if there's something she's lacking in a route, every Emma has the same capacity to impove and learn because she's always diligent on her studies. It is unfair that I'm gonna reference some event but not others. I also already know I'm gonna have a gilbert tangent since I thought about this on the sub and yeah that's where ill end up. I'm also gonna throw some shade at chev and silvio cuz. I that's just how i am.

NOTE: there's not a single emma that I can bring myself to call actually just stupid since intelligence is more like a subjective spectrum and something that cannot be quantified exactly. (Kinda like how someone can be dyslexic or illiterate but still be very intelligent. Just not in the way our stupid and elitist school systems makes us think being intelligent means)

It depends on how they play on her estabilished traits and a little bit on what she learns in the palace and from her suitor.

The things I would say are consistent is that she is VERY intuitive (we could call it the bunny senses lol) good at reading people, emotionally intelligent...compassionate...that general idea. The other is that she is good at talk no jutsu but that manifests in different ways depending on route. Either through negotiation skills (Chev, Sariel) or just straight up being a therapist (Licht, Luke)

It all starts in the prologue, with the event convinces sariel to choose her as belle. She essentially has two reactions: The slap and the formal apology she gives chev. Depending on the route, they lean into either one or the other. In Chev's, it's remarked how one can hardly believe she's the same woman who slapped and yelled at that drunkard, because she generally carries herself more composed and... Dignified. She is better at keeping a level head and also good at negotiation and debate. In Sariel's it's similar. In Silvio's route you get the emma who's first instinct is to slap a guy for saying something stupid. This works for silvio because he hates fake people and it makes him relate better to her cuz he also never got the hang of that whole speaking politely even to someone you hate thing. This change is a lil dependant on which suitor she's interacting with.

Back on her intuition again, this is something that can feel like a plot hole or just bad writing if they don't execute it well. Like how in chev's route that scene in the ball where she sees him basically accidentally drive away that father and daughter that tried to talk to him and she just gets this feeling of urgency that she wasn't able to put into words. This happens again after she saw him on the battlefield and she became afraid of him but still didn't want to just give up on him. It is explicitly stated that even as belle, she does not have to get involved with him any further but she still doesn't have a coherent thought on why that is??? At least not till, I think it was when she realised she was in love... And like. I'd like to believe the game doesn't wanna hold my hand about it like?? If a person who'd fall in love with chev would have to be insightful and good at reading between the lines, WHY DIDN'T they write that??? I know making her someone who follows her heart is a good contrast to chev, who is very logic driven, and makes it to where they cover each other's weaknesses, but christ was it frustrating to read back. WHY couldn't you make made her more articulate?????

The beginning route emmas are generally more... Simple, to borrow chev's words. Like how in Yves's she straight up forgets about clause 99 and makes Yves the king without even thinking about how she'd be supposed to never see him again and they just immediately annule it. Which is funny cuz in other routes she REALLY Angsts about that.

Unsurprisingly, the strongest use of emma's intuition and talk no jutsu is in Clavis's route. When she was convincing chev to save clavis... Which is something she didn't even HAVE to tell him, he was testing her and preparing her for when she'll have to testify and convince the foreign princes. She had to talk to GILBERT alone. She smelled the danger on him instantly. And she survived that talk. Amazing. Altho she's one of my favorite and one of the most "she just like me fr" versiona of emma, I was still... A lil bit ahead of the plot than her. Mostly because long before the route was even out I said about clavis's thing "to want to be remembered is to want to be loved" which is literally just something he told her later when the route was, just inverted. This is literally the only reason why chev couldn't chase me out the palace. If I can read his little brother that quickly I must not be completely innept afterall. Now I know i say "characters saying exactly what i would say is always a win" and I am aware that's a VERY subjective measure for a good story, but it's usually good indicator of the story being aware of where the audience would be and also the kind of person that would actually like the suitor we're supposed to be romancing.

Now, an example of something that normally you would call stupid but they make it make sense would be sariel's route where she insists on uh... Going on missions around the kingdom with him. We all know she doesn't REALLY need to do that for belle duties, she doesn't do it in other routes and it cuz it's not REALLY for her belle duties. She WANTS to get to know sariel better and be there at his side, maybe be there to look after him if he's in danger. She finds the argument that will her get what she wants and takes measure to make sure she doesn't hinder him needlessly. This emma is good at getting what she wants! We all like an active emma! The rom end is her forging her own plan to save sariel and putting the talk no jutsu in action!! She does something like that in Jin's too. She makes the plan to save him only upon learning that he was about to get himself executed! She was quick on her feet! She went out there to stall for time! She recognized that clavis would never let him die like that and incorporated that into the plan!!! I still remember that event where she recognized he went out while she was passed out cuz his hands were cold and he was impressed like "i didn't think about thay" when jin's route was the latest one out she was the smartest emma around hands down!

Now with rio's emma, pre-route, I used to worry that she's one of the blissfully unaware ones, since they were giving us events where rio gets something done behind the scenes to help her and then he chokes and doesn't tell her the truth of what he did but later evemts corrected that. And you see it in jis route too. She IS good at reading rio and she hates when he "sacrifices his life for her" and she calls hin out on it. The fact it's not a sacrifice and that she has a problem of not asking for help even when she should is a different suitcase to unpack. She fucked up when she expected just talking to get things resolved and it got rio stabbed but that did affect her greatly and you can see in his later events how she's grown foresight and thinks ahead about things even rio doesn't (she asks rio's mom to mentor her) . Rio literally sets the floor for her with a scheme to get her to show some nobles that didn't approve of their relationship her value and she shows off her talk no jutsu. They really make a good team.

Like I already said, Licht and Luke's MCs kinda end up doing therapy work. Granted the climax of Luke's route is more intense. In licht's route she is patient, she tries to understand how he thinks first, she takes A LOT of time to think about what to say to him to pull him out of his darkness. I could say Luke's MC gets her intuitive insight nerfed but it's LUKE. He had me fooled. He had EVERYONE fooled. Literally nobody expects the matryoshka doll of trauma that is luke. Oh and I remember his proposal event in which it's clear that she's been doing a great job adjusting to playing like a noble lady so the nasty people that don't approve of their relationship now that luke is actually acting like a prince, literally can't find an actual to pick with her other than that she's a commoner (luke explicitly states this to cheer her up). And we ALL know luke only shaped up to his true potential for her.

Silvio's route is... *looks for a nice way to say it* it doesn't give her... As much opportunities to shine... She's still insightful, in how she sees right through silvio and how sad his life is, but the thing they do with her intuition, compassion, empathy is that silvio does and says a lot of terrible shit to her but she just gets this feeling that deep down he's hurting too (that's a scene in the rom ending) and like?????? Emma is never wrong to trust her suitor, we all know it's an otome game, but this *gestures vaguely to the whole route* just feels like cybird forgot how to write a real woman. Like no. That's not how I act around a shitty jerk that bullied me. Especially not if sariel is gonna give me the go ahead to act like a "wicked noblewoman" to drive him away. Granted, emma is so altruistic the meanest thing she can think of is pretend to be drunk and ask for piggie back ride.... I guess I'm not that nice, but before you call me cruel, I am not even talking about the mean shit i could say about silvio. I'm talking about the very simple and real fact that when women hate men, we just wanna get away from them is all.

That is NOT how im gonna act after a guy asked me to be his escort so he wont reveal my secret identity!!?!??! I'm gonna be weary, on my guard and very "don't you FUCKING touch me" like. Yeah, eww stuff like this has happened in other routes but say, in noktos, they get that shit outta the way in CHAPTER ONE. He says something to get under her skin. Tricks her into coming to a party with him. She gets drunk and cuddly. He gets her to his room. They do NOT sleep together cuz nokto explicitly says that would not be enjoyable. They get that out the way quickly. She's mad furious about him for a looong time afterwards. It's all understandable. He later admits he did that to get her to keep her guard up so someone with actually terrible won't take advantage of her. "Did her a favour" i know it's a trope. If it was on a to do list for suitors, silvio fucking failed this one.

Cuz after all, he doesn't really act like someone who's trying to get her to slip and reveal her as belle (he did go for that seriously in clavis' route) and you know what that does?? Get her to lower her guard!

That is something that gil (mwuah he saying what I'm thinking. Mwuah. I would say we share a brain cell but he obviously has a multitude of brilliant braincells he uses for evil) doesn't just take cruel advantage of, he warns her!! He doesn't just send silvio out to save her, he gives this vague warning not to watch out only for silvio and let her guard down around others. Altho he had to be seen whispering to her in the kitchen to raise suspicion, he didn't HAVE to do that!! But he's like 10 steps ahead in the 5D chess and she's just normal so she never picks up on it even after she gets that she fell in his trap. He took steps to make sure she didn't die or something, cuz yeah he needed her alive for the long plan and he only meant to threaten silvio a lil but still!!!! When they're in the carriage after that, she points out how silvio's been letting her get away with everything, i am pretty sure she was being that that was the reason ahe ended up in that situation , wich by the way,

I KNOW the point is supposed to be that it's keith and that interrogation felt like coming outta nowherw but. I can't help but feel like different emma's would have handled that better. I feel like say, gil's emma woulda done better than just panic. She's good at thinking quick on her feet. You have to be cuz that man throws you curveballs only. She's already good at it, and being around him trains her even more. Like the fake lovers event. It's... Funny to think maybe she can get good at lying. Since gil hates lies. But that's essential what she did there where she had to find an excuse to act in front of a whole audience of nobles, without revealing either her true identity or use the name of the family that sariel found for her to use, since that could even get them killed.

Coming back to silvio's route, that rescue was the moment she knew for sure silvio wasn't really dangerous and actually looked out for her. That was the begging of things not going as shitty as they were before. Or was supposed to be except that then she goes and gets drunk and passes out in silvio's room after we JUST had a talk about not letting your guard down. God that pissed me off to an irredeemable point. But after that they hang out nicely and cuz she wants to not cuz she's forced.

AND THAT WAS ALL PART OF THE PLAN. Gil wingmaned this couple as much as rio did and he'll never get any thanks for it!! Like yeah the 5D chess involved getting silvio on the throne and getting better tariff deals for obsidian and what not but it also involed. Getting them together. (Insert deleted scene of gil playing with the chess set in chev's room and he's making the pieces that are silvio and emma kiss) ughhhhh i wanna kiss him so badly (gil ofc)

I don't really wanna go on a rant about just silvio's route but it's like the more I think about it the worse it gets? Emma kinda just gets taken for a ride. There are other routes instances where she gets pushed around or needs rescue but... (Points to her for getting out of that kidnapper's cell before the boys even came to rescue her and thinking quick and throwing that vase) in the dramatic he rescues her from that interrogation, and then he makes his plan to take the throne and she's basically there for moral support... And then in the romantic ending (in which silvio is much worse cuz he tries to commit to the villain bit but then backs out and does a self sacrificing move) the "you're my fiancee now so shut up asshole" plan was rio's idea...... She's just.... Done better than this...

Huh i know literally nothing about keith or his emma and his route is up next. I know she has to be observant in order to tell the two keiths apart. That ought to be interesting. Wait. Does dating keith count as polyamory since you technically date two of him??

Hey Michelle!

I'm slowly but surely becoming obsessed with your Silvio text posting. Lol Please don't feel pressured to answer this if you don't want to, but I was just thinking.... how would Silvio be if you were killed and he feels like he could have (or somehow should have) stopped it?

Would he be someone who just loses all motivation to do anything, or would he be hellbent on revenge, or maybe want to do what he thinks You would want him to do? I'm just curious on how you think he'd react long-term.

Silvio doesn't handle it well AT ALL and sees it as a personal attack - an act of war.

Because EVERYONE FAR AND WIDE IN THE COUNTRY OF BENITOITE knows of his obsessive fondness of you. And to take the only source of happiness from him, the only person who's ever accepted him for who he was, saw the beast in him but loved him anyways. Learned of his past, the wrongs he'd committed, the wrongs he'd done towards you to push you away from him at first but it never scared you away; you never let go of his hand.

Honestly, others could've attacked him from any angle: him personally, his wealth, his possessions, his title. He wouldn't have given a damn in the world.

And now.. now he had no charming smile to wake up to, no warmth to fill his heart and bed, no one to make the smallest things feel like the greatest adventures. Who's love soften him as the days grew of the two of you together. No one to sass him off and tell him when he's wrong or even just to playfully give him a hard time, no one to eagerly await his arrival back into town on the docks. No one to crave for him.

But the fact.. THE FUCKING FACT TO STRIP HIM RAW AND BARE, SHAVING HIM DOWN TO THE BRINE AND BONE. TO SAVAGE A MAN FROM HIS HUMANITY AND NEW FOUNDED PURPOSE in life left him seething.

A lot of anger, rage and resentment still carried with him through the years but a deep sadness festered; the mere smashing of doors, broken vases, shattered mirrors and agonizing screams wouldn't ever bring you back to him. The thirst came back - he started to aggressively drink again to numb the pain, quench the thirst that he never imagine having to go through again.

Fuck, he hasn't cried since he was a kid; before, he had to dry his tears himself, wipe his chin and stand tall, make something for himself. Yet now, he'd give anything for the touch of your love to wipe his cheeks dry, the charm in your voice that made everything feel better, the warmth in your hands that would never let him go.

Now, all he's left with is a cold tombstone. Used of the finest materials, one he has meticulously kept in pristine condition, littered about with roses and all the things you've ever cherish and loved. Any moment, any chance he had, he was there with you. Reminisce, talk about his most cherished moments and memories with you, the gift you've given him that money couldn't ever come close to - and how he feels like he failed you.

He even wanted to commemorate a statue in your honor; a symbol of love, peace and hope. Etch your name onto the side of every ship. A mural done in your memory.

But it's once he starts to finally think, actually SIT and FUCKING THINK about who could've done this to you. Who hated his bare existence so much that taking your life would've made the assailant smile, knowing damn well you were the key to his weakness.

And there was only one bastard who immediately comes to mind. Who'd pull such a dirty move, who had lingering eyes in every inch of the continent, who'd laugh in his face and feign innocent.

GILBERT VON OBSIDIAN.

"If war is what you fuckin' wanted, if a game is all but what ya wanted to play. Bring it the hell ON."

He couldn't bring you back and hell, maybe this isn't what you would've wanted him to do. But his eyes tunnel visioned, rational thought left his head a while ago. It wouldn't be a smart move to cause tensions with the Conquering Beast's nation and he knew that all to well. But with a little investigating, a little planning, a little money, and a lot of dirty playing; he'd win the war in your name.

Now, all he needed was time and the right opportunity.

How did Rio initially treat MC when they first met? Like how he spoke to or how he treated her? Also, is MC an orphan? Or her parents aren't really just that much mentioned in the game?

So, when Rio first meets Emma (spoilers)...

He's cynical, suspicious, wary, and mistrustful of everyone. Dour and unsmiling and scorned by the townspeople.

When she comes across him initially it is in the aftermath of a carriage crash, in the middle of a torrential downpour. He's badly injured and when she first offers him aid he's apathetic and tries to dissuade her. He says he's tired, and ready to be done with everything - not exactly suicidal, but uncaring whether he lives or dies.

Rio's both-end POV bonus story is really useful in answering your question, especially since it's implied slightly that his memory loss is more of a psychological block than any sort of injury. He wants nothing more than to be done with 'Valerio' and to never have to confront or deal with that life again, and the accident is a convenient way to achieve that.

When Emma is nursing him back to health, his initial reaction is to be suspicious of her and wonder what her angle is, what she stands to benefit from doing such a thing. Even though he doesn't remember it, life in the Benitoite court has taught him that there's no such thing as someone without an ulterior motive or that doesn't have it out for him, so he has a very hard time wrapping his head around her good nature. Without specifics or actual knowledge, he still has a base instinct that people are untrustworthy.

All of this even as a part of him is desperately longing for it to be REAL, for there to be a person as truly good-hearted as she is.

Because he'd only ever smiled as a mask back in Benitoite, again he still has that instinctive reluctance to do so now. Without trusting the people of Rhodolite he opts instead for blankly keeping everyone at arm's length...which causes them to mistrust him in turn and insist that he's trying to con Emma or harm her, and is faking his amnesia.

At one point it gets so bad it leads to some people even attacking him, out of misplaced desire to protect Emma, and it's only her confronting them and defending Rio that truly finally convinces him of her earnestness and wins him over.

So in short, there are a lot of layers to Rio. ONION LAD. There's:

The very base layer, the kind and open man we know in-game so far who is the person Rio is at heart when he's with Emma.

Above that is the wary, cynical Rio that is the result of his trauma and a childhood of having had the things he cares about taken from him by his brothers and the queen. Watching his mother be harassed and abused and by extension, himself. This Rio is more ruthless and willing to do what must be done and hurt others in the name of 'defending' himself or those he cares about - such as how he maneuvered the old queen into taking her own life, and nearly kills Emidio in his dramatic end.

The outermost layer of 'Valerio', which was detached and covered his empty cynicism with cheer and smiles that mask any hint at weakness. He projects a calculated air of 'friend to all', and without being willing to become attached to everyone he views people as pawns and pieces to be used to his advantage. For a long time he even tries to insist to Emma that his friendliness is merely this outer layer and he's only nice to people to ingratiate himself to them - but even she points out that he may be underestimating himself, and remains convinced that this goodness is an inherent aspect of himself.

Interestingly enough, it's that very aspect of him that tips Emma off at the end of Rio's dramatic route as to why she should have realized he and Silvio are closer than it would appear on the surface. What she initially thought of as just Rio hating him (which seemed odd enough to her that Rio would act so openly like that towards anyone) she comes to realize was more an illustration of the fact that Rio felt he could be 'himself' around Silvio and express his true thoughts and feelings, rather than cover them up with the fake, polite exterior he immediately dons around Emidio (whom on even a base gut level Rio realizes is someone to be wary of).

As for Emma's parents, I don't recall having seen or heard them spoken of much. Rio jokingly calls the bookstore owner 'Dad' and everyone always teases that Emma is his daughter, and he clearly views her in a protective, fatherly, manner...but he's not her actual father.

Rio Ortiz Chapter 13 Summary

This is mostly a summary for me - I make no promises on the accuracy of what’s happening. I’m not nearly fluent enough to get half the jokes/innuendo much less accurate plot points.    

*Flashback Time*

Three years ago, Emma had come down with a severe fever and was on bed rest. The doctor had prescribed her some medicine and assured her that if she took it and rested, she would recover quickly.

Rio, who’s fake smile had slowly begun to show hints of genuine fondness, took care of her. At this point in time, he had already moved out of Emma’s house and had his own residence, but he sat next to her bed as if he had no intention of going home. Emma reminded him that he has his first day of work the following day and couldn’t afford to baby her. Besides, she would be fine with a little rest and medicine.

Rio admits that he cant do anything for Emma, even when he’s right here with her. In fact, he might be a detriment to her recovery, since she can’t rest with him by her side. But still, he doesn’t want to leave her alone. This might be his way of repaying her for protecting him while he was weak. And now that she’s the weak one, he doesn’t want her to have to do anything. It strange, he doesn’t care what happens to him as long as he can stay by her side.

*Flashback End*

Nokto reassures Emma that they’ve successfully administered the antidote to, and Rio won’t die. She notices Licht lingering at the entrance to Rio’s house.

(Hey, we get to see Rio’s home!)

After Rio collapsed, Emma had the carriage driver take her and Rio to the town doctor, and sent the carriage driver with a message to Sariel briefly explaining the situation. Nokto and Licht somehow heard the report and immediately came to them. Nokto, part of the foreign policy faction, wanted to hear the report directly. Licht, who was an accomplished swordsman, came to play the part of the bodyguard to Emma and Rio.

It is actually a pretty big deal to for a Rhodolite noblewoman to be served poisoned tea at the Benitoite Embassy. This could cause a giant diplomatic rift in the friendship between Rhodolite and Benitoite, so they need to move forward cautiously.

At least, that’s the part of the conversation that Emma remembers. She’s been focused on Rio’s recovery, which is very slow in her opinion. The doctor seemed to be certain that Rio would make a full recovery, but she wonders if it is true.

Licht offers to stay behind if Emma wants to return to the castle and personally guard Rio. Emma thanks him but insists on staying. Nokto teases her, but Licht accepts Emma’s decision.

Nokto has some new news for Emma. Sariel was able to lodge an inquiry against the Benitoite Embassy for attempted poisoning, and unexpectedly, the Benitoite Embassy took responsibility for it. Emidio was concerned about Rio after he left, and had the tea tested for poison. He even found the staff member who had served them and turned him over to Rhodolite. The person admitted to poisoning them under Silvio’s orders.

Emma asks if they’re sure, and Nokto asks her why it sounds like she’s doubting Silvio’s involvement. Emma recalls the last time she spent meaningful time with Silvio, back at the market. She had the feeling Silvio was facing her head on and would not use another person to get what he wanted. Back then, he had personally tried to sus out her real identity, when he could have used one of his servants to do so instead. Besides, she has no idea what his motive for trying to kill her could be.

Nokto thinks that Emma has some interesting assumptions of Silvio given that she’s known him only for a short while. Emma thinks that the way Nokto is questioning her means that he also doesn’t think Silvio is the true culprit.

Nokto recalls that Emma and Rio were attacked at the auction house as well. The attackers were thieves after the necklace, but Silvio had to know that sending two near defenseless people to the auction house was putting them in danger. While they don’t know why Silvio did this, he couldn’t have had innocent intentions. Nokto and Emma can discuss the maybes of what Silvio is doing for ages, but until they speak to Silvio himself, they won’t make any real discoveries.

Emma wonders if they can interview Silvio, since they know he’s at the embassy. Licht quickly jumps in to say that wherever Silvio is, he is not at the embassy. Emma recalls speaking to the staff member and wondering if that was a lie. Nokto explains that when they spoke to Emidio, he had told them that Silvio has been missing for the past three days. The embassy was rebuffing their inquiries all this time because they were also looking for him. But, as soon as the situation becomes clearer, there is no doubt that Benitoite will make Rhodolite pay for their missing prince.

The instructions the Embassy has been receiving from Silvio were through letters. However, there is no guarantee that Silvio is really the one communicating. Nokto admits that this situation is very bizarre, Silvio isn’t the type of person who would just kill someone without a clear benefit. Honestly, from his point of view, Emma is more useful alive then dead.

Licht points out that Rio may have been the real target. He was well known for getting in arguments and pissing Silvio off. Nokto admits that this makes the most sense, and both he and Licht agree that this is all about Rio.

Nokto and Licht go through the reasons why they know that Rio was the true target. He is known to be Emma’s loyal dog, so if he was worried about her being poisoned, he would personally test it. It would be expected of both a butler and a bodyguard, so putting Emma in danger to get to Rio makes sense.

Emma recalls Nokto mentioning a while ago that Silvio must like Rio, that he has a habit of choosing a favorite to stay by his side when visiting places, which in this case had been Rio. Nokto muses that Silvio may have been keeping Rio near to find an opportunity to kill him. They can make guesses as to what Silvio’s motive is, but until they understand this past relationship between Silvio and Rio, its just guesses.

Emma thinks about how Rio has been rejecting his past all this time, meaning that there is something that he doesn’t want to remember. And he has a very strong aversion to Silvio and only Silvio. She hadn’t really thought about it, but Rio may have been unconsciously antagonistic towards him. If so, their relationship may have been a very bad one.

Licht brings up what Clavis had said about Silvio erasing all traces of Rio’s past existence. This may be something that you do to people you hate, to completely isolate them.

Emma and Licht spend the night at Rio’s house, having decided that its better for him to be stable in a familiar place as opposed to moving him to the castle. Rio’s condition has improved, and Emma wonders if she should think about heading back to the castle. If anyone who knew her as noblewoman were to recognize her, she would have to come up with a convoluted explanation as to why she is hanging about in town. So far Sariel has let her stay, though she thinks it’s partially due to Nokto’s influence.

Licht joins Emma by the fountain in front of Rio’s house and asks if she understands what Nokto didn’t say the last night. Emma says she did, that if Rio is being targeted, she is also in danger. The previous day, Rio had been quick-witted enough to save her from being poisoned, which given that she has no immunity to it, would have killed her.

Licht points out that even if Emma stays with Rio right now, there is going to be a time where they will have to part ways. It’s up to them on whether it happens now or later, but that ending will happen no matter what Emma does.

Emma agrees that she knows this, but she doesn’t want to part from Rio until after all these problems are solved. She made a promise long ago to protect Rio, and she will see that promise through, even if she can’t smile at their ending. Licht looks down and says that people part all the time, not just her and Rio. He hopes that Emma won’t have any regrets at her and Rio’s ending.

Suddenly they spot Rio, who has just left his house and is smiling while calling out to them. Emma thinks that while she is relieved that Rio has recovered, she won’t be able to smile at their end anymore.  

The Reconciler Left No Heart in San Francisco

           Raleigh Tencount stirred swiftly when he heard the bells on his private phone in the nightstand drawer. Before he opened the drawer to answer the phone, he looked over at Cindy Melville, a dentist he had met when reconciling a case on Hilton Head Island. He wanted to see if the bells had awakened her. They hadn't. Tencount slid the waxed nightstand drawer open soundlessly. He pulled the phone up to his ear and whispered, "Clay Campo here. Do you realize it's the middle of the night?"

           A raspy, elderly voice intoned, "Sorry about the lateness but I need to talk with you urgently. This is Nicolo Ricci. You know who I am. I want to make a deal. A profitable deal for you. Time is critical."

           Tencount knew the name well. Ricci had been the head of the New Orleans crime underworld for more than twenty years. Tencount knew several thugs who worked for Ricci, most were from back east, and Jersey led the pack. They were like flies circling the garbage in the French Quarter. They ran Ricci’s bars, strip joints and a few of the popular eateries. Tencount had his legitimate financial offices on Decatur Street in the Quarter. It was his headquarters where he and his staff managed the wealth of the city's upper-ultra wealthy elite. In his second career, as a Reconciler, Tencount kept track of the underworld crime movement, because in many of his reconciliation cases, it affected him. He wondered if Ricci's call had anything to do with the disappearance of Ricci's grandson, Chip, and his uncle by marriage, Silvio DeLuca. Tencount was well aware of who was responsible for their disappearance. Those facts were unknown to anyone except himself and the old friend who had been responsible.

           Tencount eased to a sitting position on the bed and looked back at Cindy who stilled hadn't stirred. He must have worn her out on their last night together. They had had dinner at Commander's Palace and then had dessert in his king-sized bed overlooking the lake. Cindy had flown in two days ago from Winston Salem to take part in a dental association meeting. When she had called to tell him, he invited her to make his home hers. She eagerly agreed and the last two nights had been filled with great joy to both of them. If Ricci's job is acceptable, it was perfect because Cindy flew out this morning at ten. Very convenient timing.

           Tencount stood and walked barefoot to the kitchen. He said, "Okay, Nicolo, I'm where we can talk. Tell me what you want."

           Ricci wheezed, "San Francisco has become a problem for me. I have an ex-employee who I need for you to conduct a Reconciliation that would end our disagreement."

           "Nicolo, you said he was an ex-employee. Why do you have a disagreement with an Ex?"

           Another wheeze and then, "He left with some valuable company property that he refuses to return. That's the reason for the Reconciliation request."

           "You said it was critical? Why?"

           "There is evidence that he plans to leave San Francisco sometime next week. Another of my employees learned that he bought a ticket to Lima. If he goes to Lima I would have a problem in getting the property back into this country."

           Tencount didn't pause when he said, "When can we meet and where?"

           "Lunch at twelve. Are you familiar with Blue Tennis Balls on Saint Ann?"

           "The one halfway down the remodeled store fronts with the Blue Balls hanging from the Balustrade? How could anyone miss it? Yeah, I'm familiar with it. I'll see you there at Noon. I'll be wearing an LSU jersey with Number 99 front and back." He hung up with no other words spoken.

           Tencount left the kitchen and ran into Cindy in the hallway. She stopped, tiptoed and gave him a kiss as she whispered, "I have to hit the john. Don't go back to sleep when you get in bed. I need for you to rock me to sleep with your fantastic rocker after I dump the pee." She smiled up at him with those gleaming white teeth effectively melting what little resolve he had reserved for more sleep. Walking on down the hallway he was thinking-- if she stayed a week I'd be weak from the way she's going after me. Good thing we only had one night at Hilton Head. When she returned, he was able to deliver her request flawlessly.

           They loaded into his SUV at eight-thirty. Their destination was the Louis Armstrong airport in Kenner. Since he wasn't allowed at the gate, she had him drop her at the entrance, gave him a huge wet kiss, a wink and a, "Thanks for hosting me Keith. I may come back on vacation if you'll have me. Don't answer now. I'll send a text or e-message if it looks like I'll make it. You are the best." She closed the door, put her hand on the window and wriggled her fingers. As he drove off the ramp, she was still standing at curbside watching him leave.

           He drove straight down Airline Highway, turned on Decatur and went to his office parking spot. He went through the back door and ran into his partner, Kenny LeBlanc. He slapped Kenny on the back and asked how things we going. Kenny said, "Swimmingly well, Tencount. Jeanne just handed me the new account status and we added fourteen new clients last month. The combined value is some thirteen million plus. Rachel is analyzing the asset mix to see if any is salvageable for their new recommended plan. We'll know by tomorrow."

           "Sounds great. I'm going to check the mail, and I have an appointment for a lunch at the new Blue Tennis Balls. Ever been there?"

           "Last Thursday. Passable Creole menu. It's owned by the Ricci's and managed by Val Vicenti."

           "Yeah, I heard. In fact, Ricci called me this morning and that's who I'm meeting. He promised it might be profitable to me. We have his brother so maybe he's ready to roll over."

           Kenny whistled and yelped, "Geez that would be big bucks. Put the squeeze on him and we'll retire." He laughed, slapped Tencount's arm with the papers in his hand and went toward his office. Tencount was in front of him so he opened the door and was surprised to see Michele on her knees in front of the file cabinet with folders stacked almost to her waist. She looked up and said, "Mail's open on your desk. I'm dumping old files to the archive to get some room without buying a new cabinet. There wasn't anything interesting that needs your attention."

           "Good because I have to leave in ten minutes. I'm walking up to the new Blue Tennis Balls for lunch."

           She grunted and without missing a beat, with her hands in the file drawer, said, "Who ever heard of blue tennis balls? I've heard of blue balls but they had nothing to do with tennis."

           He laughed and asked, "And how would you know that Michele?"

           "Well, that's my secret and I'll never tell even under torture." He laughed again and especially harder when she turned her head and stuck out her tongue at him. He sat after that and sorted through the mundane mail that had come in that morning. He tossed the bulk of it in the recycle bin. He stood and said, "You think it's safe for me to go to the Blue Balls considering your old boyfriend is the manager?"

           She looked up and said, "Val is harmless. He is truly one who has a bark but has no teeth to back it up. He came here to get away from the Jersey scene because he said it scared him."

           "I take that as a yes its safe. Anything I should tell him from you?"

           "Only to do a good job with the new restaurant. He is a good food service guy. Have a nice lunch."

           Upon arrival, when Tencount opened the blue door he was immediately met by one of Ricci's bodyguard goons. He told Tencount to go to his right and to the walnut door at the end of the line of windows. He said it was a private dining room for select parties. “Just open the door and go on in. Ricci is alone and waiting for you.”

           He stepped through the door and saw Ricci sitting alone sipping from a cup of dark espresso. He set his cup down, smiled broadly and said, "Thanks for agreeing to listen to my proposition. Come on over." He stood and shook Tencount's hand. He sat as he waved Tencount to do the same. When he was settled, he asked if Tencount would like some espresso. Tencount shook his head and said, "Extra dry martini. Two olives." Ricci said, "Coming up. Good choice." Ricci waved to a server behind the bar. When he came over he gave him the martini order and told him to watch it and refill it when it emptied.

           Ricci turned to Tencount, a serious look on his face and said, "Drop the Campo bullshit. You know I know you. Why do you do that?"

           "I don't know who's calling, Nic. No one I do reconciling for knows my real name and occupation. Here in New Orleans it's hard to keep it sealed but I do very little, very little reconciling for New Orleans clients. Too risky. When I'm working I use at least ten aliases. On most jobs, I normally activate about five. Hotels, travel tickets, car rentals and things like that are in different names to foil any tracking."

           Ricci was nodding and when Tencount paused, Ricci asked, "Do you have full ID with all those names? Like driver's licenses, passports, and whatever?"

           "I do, including birth certificates.  However, enough about me. Let's order and then you tell me your story."

           Ricci called the server back and said, "We'll order now." They both scanned the menu quickly and both ordered the stuffed flounder, baked potato with red beans and rice. The server took Tencount's glass and brought another martini with two olives.

           Ricci leaned forward and said, "The ex in Frisco was the overseer of our operation for the Bay area which included Oakland and Sausalito. One weekend he disappeared into the clouds. An audit revealed that a mil and a half had disappeared with him. I put five of my best on him and they finally located him but can't get to him. He's on a ship, Pacific Whale, offshore beyond the limits. My men rented a boat and did a pass-by to see if there was any way on. No way out there. We suspect the mil and a half are with him on board. My man discovered that he had bought a ticket to Lima, paid ten G's for it because he can't transport that kind of cash unless it's underground travel. We have no connections in Lima or anywhere in Peru for that matter. That's why we need to shortstop him. My men swear they can't do it. That's why I called you."

           "Why can't your men do it, Nic?"

           "Hey, Tencount, my men are always under the microscope by the locals, the Fibbies, as well as DOH. It's not easy being a crook today. Too many cameras, eyes, and squealers. I'm certain that Kendall is also being watched.    You, on the other hand, being a lone wolf with no known criminal history are perfect for what I need."

           "What's in it for me? You said it would be profitable for me."

           "I am going to offer you a two-fold reward. You get your regular two-fifty and then I'll do what my brother has been pushing me to do for months. I'll let you take a look at my personal assets like you did for him. He raves about your company and what it's done legally for him. He thinks you're magicians."

           "Agreed. What's the ex's name and former address?

           "Royce Alan Kendall. He lived at 28767 Alexander Court in Palo Alto. We learned he sold it three months ago for one point six mil which is probably with my money on the ship."

           "When is he supposed to leave for Lima?"

           "The 20th of this month. You'll have to find out how. We don't know. My men tried to determine how but could find no booked flights either public or private. They tried to search for ships but that's an impossible job. Too many steamers and cargo ships sell rides that are undisclosed because it's unofficial. Like me offering you a ride to Baton Rouge. Who would know and how would they find out? It could be with the ship he's on, but we found no posted sailing date. We ended up shit creek when we scoured travel sources."

           "It would be an endless job. I have several ideas of how I would pursue getting to him. I'll fly out as soon as I find a flight. I'll get him on my radar today though. What else can you tell me about him? Girlfriends? Male confidants? Family? Anything that I can follow that might provide a lead or a crack in his armor."

           "Yeah, I know a few. His brother is Todd Kendal. He works for Avondale and lives in Metairie. They hung together when Royce was my man running the Quarter. Before he soured, his closest friend was Bill Sampler who owns Sampler's Deli in Palo Alto. Sampler is connected to the Cosa family. He had a gal named Jenna, works in the office at Alioto's on the Wharf. An accountant I believe. Those are the only ones I ever met but there's probably many more that will turn up. Royce got around."

             "Those are good sources Nic. I'll devise a plan and get started as soon as I leave here. You have texting, right?" He nodded and Tencount continued, "I only use text to communicate so check often. I'll let you know the moment I get there. Anything else you can think of now?"

           "Plenty to think of but not about Royce. You have all I know. I'll text if I hear any new stuff."

           "You realize that my agreement considers expenses as an extra fee don't you?"

           "Yeah, submit tickets and you'll be reimbursed within a day. Don't scrimp if you don't need to because cost isn't a worry. The money isn't a worry. It's his ass we want because we want others to know you can't get away. He is our example that we want reconciled." They shook again. A Gentleman's agreement that they both knew would be honored for their own health.

           Michele was out when he returned to his office. He fired his computer on, waited a minute and then opened his preferred Reconciler travel account he maintained in the name of Mitchell Sullivan. He entered his trip data and turned to two letters Michele had prepared for his signature. He read both, signed and clipped the envelopes together and dropped them in his out box for Michele to complete for mailing. He opened the small safe in his bottom desk drawer and took a leather zipper pouch, laid it on his desk and turned the dial on the safe several times, took the leather pouch and leaned back in his chair, swiveled it around so that he could see the Courtyard and the flowering trees as he unzipped the pouch. He checked the contents thoroughly before zipping the pouch closed. He slid forward in his chair and grabbed the handle of his briefcase; He opened it and dropped the pouch inside, set the briefcase at the side of his desk for later.

           He was idling as he stared at the lavender blooms on the Crepe trees that lined the brick fence of the Courtyard. He noticed movement to the left in the yard, leaned forward and saw Michele and Jeanne sitting under the Crepes on one of the benches eating their lunch. It made a fantastic sight, two beautiful women on this glorious sunny New Orleans afternoon in the colorful Courtyard.

           His enjoyment was interrupted when his computer bonged signaling a response to his trip request. He swiveled around, rolled his chair closer and read the screen. He had an American flight tomorrow evening at seven. His arrival time of seven-twenty-two was close to  his departure time because of the two hour time difference. His quarters, since Ricci said don't scrimp, would be at the expensive 5 Star Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square with an unspecified check-out date. His return flight contained an unconfirmed reservation time. His rental car would be at the National Car desk check-in at the airport. He would be picked up by Tanger Airport Shuttle at five-fifteen. He hit confirm and sent it to print. While he waited for the print job, he ran Todd Kendal through the search engine and located his home address and phone number. He would call on Todd this evening and collect what data he could from Todd about Royce and Jenna.

           He moseyed to the printer, picked up both print jobs and smiled at his success in the trip data entry. It made it so much easier when it was all accomplished digitally rather than by the hassle and irritation of doing it personally by phone. He was well satisfied by the selections. He opened the briefcase, dropped the printed copies inside. He erased the computer screen and shut the system down. He went out the back door, to the Courtyard and then to where Michele and Jeanne sat. He told Michele that he was flying out to meet with a potential client and that he wouldn't be in for a few days, but would be in touch by text. She smiled and said, "Good luck with wrapping the client as a new client. How did the lunch go?"

           He smiled at them and said, "I have the promise of an analysis. If we get this client, it will be a boon. We already have his brother."

           Michele grew excited as she said, "Ricci? Nicolo is going to let us do an analysis of his assets? Oh, wow. That will be a boon. I'll cross my fingers and everything else. Did you see Val?"

           He was shaking his head as he said, "We met in a private room alone with only one male server. I never got to see the restaurant per se. Just a wall and windows plus the private dining room. If we get his account I'll take you there for lunch one day and we'll both get a look. Then we can see Val."

           "I'll hold you to it. Good luck and travel safe. Bye,"

           Tencount knocked on Kendal's apartment door in Metairie at seven-ten. He heard the TV sound go lower, footsteps, and then the door opened. Tencount handed Kendal a quality card that identified him as Eugene Evans a Senior Advisor with Wilkins-Kenley Insurers and Realtors. The name was familiar to Kendall because Wilkins-Kenley was a well-known old firm. But, he handed the car back to Tencount saying, "Sorry, but my insurance needs are all taken care of and I don't want to move. Thanks."

           Tencount took a step forward and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Kendal. You misunderstood. We're the agents for your brother, Royce. We've had his insurance since back when he lived here. We are still his agents of record. I'm seeking your assistance. Do you have a moment to speak with me?"

           Kendal grinned and said, "Of course, Mr. Evans. Come in and we can talk here in the living room." He turned the TV off, sat in a chair next to the couch where Tencount had sat. With an open briefcase on his lap, Tencount pretended to read from documents as he informed Kendal that,"Royce sold his home recently and he is due a refund on his homeowners contract. Because of the value of his home, the refund is considerable. We, or I should say the company, hasn't been able to locate him. His check was returned marked as 'No Forwarding Address.' We wonder if perhaps you know an address where we could resend his refund."

           Kendal stood, held up his finger and said, "I have the address,. Let me get it for you." He left the room, was gone two or three minutes and came back with a small hand-printed card and handed it to Tencount. He sat back down and said, "He plans to move to a new job he was offered in Peru. That's the address of his girlfriend, Jenna Boatwright. That's also her home phone number. He gets his mail there temporarily."

           "Thanks, Mr. Kendal. This will be a relief. But, you say he's going to Peru? He also has his automobile insurance through us. He will be cancelling his coverage I assume as the policy isn't legal in Peru."

           "Call me Todd please. Yeah, like you, I assume he will when he leaves on the 20th. When I talk with him I'll remind him to leave his address in case there's a refund from it also."

           Tencount mulled as to whether he should ask how Royce was traveling to Peru but that would have trigged a reaction from Kendal, so he said, "That would be very nice Todd. You've been extremely helpful. Sorry to have had to bother you." He took his .38, silencer attached, in his right hand. He dropped the papers in his left hand back into the briefcase, quickly closed the top and before Todd could move. Tencount shot him in the forehead killing him instantly. Tencount rose, left the briefcase on the cushion, pulled on gloves, and spent the next half-hour scouring the apartment for any additional information concerning Royce. He found the original copy of Jenna's address torn from a sheet of blue writing paper that had been a letter from Royce to Todd. It seemed obvious that Royce hadn't been around Todd in a while as there was nothing to tie Royce to this apartment. He stuffed the original address in his coat pocket, turned the air conditioner to sixty, closed the front drapes, snatched his briefcase from the couch and closed the door behind him. On his drive home he noted that the entire trip had taken just an hour and twelve minutes. The result was that he now had Jenna's home address, home phone number and had verified that Royce would leave on the twentieth. No witness existed that would place him at Kendal's apartment once his body was discovered which would take a while because of the colder air preserving the body.

           At home, Tencount cleaned and packed his weapons and ammo in his heavily padded, lead-lined pouches from his safe and sealed them in a small shipping box. He slapped three yellow stickers that said "Film" on the outside of the box. He created a label in the name of Mitchell Sullivan at the Fairmont Hotel address in San Francisco. They would accept delivery and hold the package for his pickup. He dropped the box in the passenger seat of his car for shipping by UPS the next morning. He mixed a Wild Turkey and water, sighed as he stared at his suitcase before beginning the selection of clothing to pack for the trip tomorrow. It was nearing eleven when he set the packed case at the front door for the shuttle driver to load for the trip to the airport in the coming afternoon. Sitting on the edge of his bed, reaching for the lamp switch, he eased his head to the pillow with the thought; today was a good start with finding valuable data to immediately use when I'm there.

           He awakened at eight. He threw on casual clothes, pulled the SUV out of the garage and drove to IHOP for breakfast. While he ate a leisurely breakfast of the special of the week, a French toast delight and poached eggs, he went on his iPad and searched the address of Jenna Boatwright. She lived on North Point Street, near the Cannery and within easy walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf where she worked. A huge plus was that his hotel was conveniently close to her address making surveillance of her a snap. He wouldn't have to worry about parking the car which draws attention plus finding a place for parking is almost as bad as New Orleans. He left IHOP and stopped at the Strip Mall location of UPS. He purchased extra insurance on his box of 'film' because the actual contents were worth over three grand and therefore, so was his 'film.'

           He sat at his home desk, pulled up his primary search engine, Duck Duck Go and entered 'Pacific Whale.' In a short while it displayed the data on the ship. It was Liberian registration, no surprise. It was forty-seven years old and primarily transported vegetables and fruit, mostly bananas from the leading exporters of western South America, Ecuador and Columbia. That jelled as to why it was anchored off the coast of San Francisco. It was awaiting a return trip for more bananas. Assuming it would leave on the 20th  it might mean that Ricci guessed right that the Pacific Whale was Royce's transportation to Peru. He was safely aboard and merely awaiting the sailing date to roll around. If that was correct, there would be no options for accosting him leaving the ship. He had it locked and sealed. Tencount needed a new plan and needed it quickly because today was the fifteenth and he had yet to arrive in San Francisco.

           He took his camera case and binoculars from the desk drawer. He would have to play the tourist game to disguise his rambling, stopping, gawking and snooping as he watched Jenna.  She was to be his Ace in the hole to get to Royce. He closed the computer down, shut the lights out and went to the bedroom to get ready for the shuttle arrival. He checked his tickets, his stash of cash, and made certain he currently was carrying the Mitchell Sullivan identification. All was in order. He popped an Abita Amber and sat in the front room sipping the beer watching the early news on WLW. Nothing earthshaking caught his attention. During the Saints training camp update his doorbell bonged signaling the start of his newest deadly adventure.

           The trip was uneventful. The traffic was light as the shuttle made its stops to drop other travelers at their hotels. He smiled as he looked at his hotel coming up on his left. While checking in he told the desk clerk that he was expecting a box of film and would appreciate an immediate call when it arrived. He unpacked his clothes and knew he couldn't interview anyone until his box arrived. His mode of operation was to leave no witnesses regardless of how removed they were from the culmination of the actual event. That was his safety net taught to him by his Houman mentor when he was just a tyke beginning to learn the game of survival. Even though it was now just six-twenty his hunger was still functioning two hours later. He roamed into Ghirardelli Square searching for a place to eat while he waited for his weapons. He discovered McCormick & Kuleto's Seafood restaurant and wandered in to give it a try. It was excellent. He would come back if he wasn't otherwise occupied elsewhere. Dinner at Alioto's would have been a waste because Jenna didn't work the main room of the restaurant. She was office personnel and probably already at home.

           After dinner he casually walked to North Point and located her address. The lights were on but he could see no movement inside. He stood for nearly twenty minutes and no one passed in front of the windows, so he gave it up and went back to the hotel because it was now nearing midnight by his body time and he needed sleep.

           He was having breakfast in the hotel cafe when his cell phone sounded. It was the desk informing him that they were holding a box for him ready for pickup. After he paid the tab, he strolled across the lobby, casually leaned on the desk and asked for the package they were holding for Sullivan. He had to show his ID before they released the box to him. He went directly to his room, opened the box and took out his silenced .38, checked the ammo, slid it into the small holster that fit his side and tested the look under his Golf jacket. No lumps, no unusual drape to the jacket which satisfied his desires. Tonight he would make a call on Ms. Jenna Boatwright to verify what he suspected and to glean other data before he said the long goodbye to her. Today he would work to set in motion his getting aboard the Pacific Whale to meet with Royce Kendal gun to forehead before he sailed.

           He watched the residents of Jenna's block trudging home after a hard day's work. He set his eyes on one particular woman coming up the street. She stopped and spoke to another woman before she turned at the address he had memorized. She took the mail from the box, stepped to the door and inserted a key, turned the knob and entered the room he had watched last evening. He sauntered down the block, leaned against a fence and checked his camera. He saw the light on in the room. He went to the end of the block, stopped, raised his camera, focused on the old prison, Alcatraz, on the island in the Bay, and snapped a couple of pictures to take back with him as proof to Michele of his being in San Francisco. He went back up the street in a determined walk, turned into her walkway and knocked on her door. When she opened the door he said, "Jenna, I'm Mitchell Sullivan from New Orleans. Todd gave me your name. I need to talk with you."

           She pulled the door open and said, "Come in, Mitchell. I've been trying to reach Todd. Royce wants to talk with him before the 20th."

           "Yes, I know. Todd told me that the Pacific Whale sails that day and Royce will still be onboard as planned. I need to get to Royce to deliver him the information Todd gave me. Todd told me you can call Royce and tell him I'll come to him when he's ready to hear the info."

           "Well, it's about time. Royce has been beside himself because Todd promised it by yesterday but never called. When you go out, I have some items you can take also. Before you go, I'll get them for you. Who do you work with, Mitchell. I know it isn't Ricci."

           "Oh, hell no, Jenna. I work for Angel Cicero in Dallas. I did work for Ricci back when I lived in New Orleans but that was before Royce was the Quarter honcho.“ He took a wild gamble and asked her, "When are you joining \Royce in Lima?"

           "Not for another month. My passport came in but I still need the shots. I start them Monday. Tell Royce that I got the reservations on American and am all set when I clear the shot process. Would you like a glass of wine? I left mine in the kitchen."

           "Yeh, that would be nice."

           "Come on back. I'll get the items for you to give Royce. The wine is on the counter beside my glass. Another glass in on the table tray. Pour yours and I'll be with you n a minute..

           Tencount was just pouring his glass when she came in with a large minalla envelope stuffed to capacity. It was sealed and securely taped. She laid it on the counter and picked up her wine. Tencount touched his glass to hers and said, "Here's to the best for both of you Jenna. I hope you enjoy Lima and what it has to offer.

           Jenna. How do I get to the Pacific Whale? Do they have a shuttle to the harbor?"

           "No, you go to the Harbor Masters office and sign up for a trip. They have a tug that goes out with supplies and you ride it out and back. It's fifty bucks each way unless you're a crewman. You can call Royce on ship to shore at no cost once you sign for a trip. It's really crappy because cell doesn't work where the Whale is anchored. When I call him I have to go down and use the ship to shore. It would be better if I didn't call and you just went on out."

           "Okay. It'll save you a trip down there and back. Why do they anchor so far out?

           "Once they unload, they have to pay portage fees and they're too cheap to pay the freight to stay at dock. If they don't have an immediate turnaround they go outside the limit and anchor until called. Royce has been out there two weeks now. He's had me come out only twice because he doesn't trust the crew. They're all foreign, don't speak English, and they're crude and rude when I board. The Captain is nice enough and his staff are all okay--- but the others, all animals."

           "Well, Jenna. You have to imagine how tough it would be to get normal people to work a banana ship. A life at sea, all men, all, as you said crude and rude, so they do become animals to be survivors. It isn't an appealing lifestyle." He sat his glass down, looked at Jenna and said, "Well, It's been nice meeting you and sharing the wine. I guess it's time we said goodbye." She smiled and sat her glass down but when she turned to lead him to the door, Tencount shot her in the forehead exactly as he did with Todd Kendal. He caught her before she hit the floor. He stretched her out on the tile and put a towel under her head to catch the trickle of blood flowing down her temple. He took two pictures of her before he washed his glass and sat it back on the tray. He pulled his gloves on and began the search. Her bedroom had her suitcases sitting outside the closet in advance of her beginning to pack. He moved them to the side and noticed that one was unusually heavy. He threw it on the bed and found it locked. Rather than search for keys, he took his knife and jimmied the locks. He opened it. He was somewhat shocked when he saw that it was stacked with packets of twenty dollar bills. Five thousand to a pack. He saw an envelope underneath the money and withdrew it. He opened it and learned that this was the money from the sale of the house. He grinned and thought: my take just increased by maybe a mil or more.

           He continued searching and found a few other jewels about Jenna and Royce. Royce had already bought a property in Lima. The surprise was that he bought it two years ago. Did he skim the funds from Ricci that far back or was this from his savings? He put the Peru deed in the suitcase on the bed. He discovered Jenna's Passport and American tickets. He dropped them in the suitcase. The envelope from the kitchen was put on top to be scoured later. When he was finally satisfied that he had gathered most all of the evidence of her leaving and of Royce's sale and purchase in Lima, he wound down his search. He checked the kitchen and the living room to make certain that he was leaving no trace of his being there. He took the suitcase to the front door. He lowered the temperature, turned the lights out and went quietly out the door and to the city sidewalk. To any observer he was nothing other than the familiar sight of another tourist with his suitcase, his camera and binoculars around his neck, on his way to his hotel.

           The suitcase went on the padded Valet bench in his room. He cleaned his piston and silencer and stored them back in the lead lined pouch. He hung his jacket on the back of the desk chair and opened the suitcase. He took the envelope Janna had meant for Royce and opened it. He stood and read the note enclosed. She revealed that the suitcase held a half a million. The other million was in the Bank of America safety deposit box in Royce's name. He grinned when he read that the key was in the envelope and that the Code for the Box was J1273R. He knew he had copies of Royce's signature on the property purchase in Lima. With a little practice, his skills would allow him to become Royce for about ten minutes which is enough time to empty a bank box. In addition to the envelope, she had placed birth certificates, legal papers relating to established trusts and medical powers. No evidence of a Will for either. They may have realized it wouldn't be valid in Peru. He searched the bottom of the envelope and withdrew the key. He immediately attached it to his key ring evidence that it was his key and his box.

           He slept well knowing that he was adding at least another million and a half to his growing account in the Caymans. The discovery of these funds would give him wiggle room over Ricci's money assuming he found it. His original plan was to keep half and tell Ricci that the other half was the only money that Royce had kept with him. He woke early because of the two hour time differential. He checked the hotel cafe times and saw that it would open in about fifteen minutes. He shaved, dressed, and secured the room before he left for the cafe. He had a hardy breakfast with three cups of the dark Kenyan roast coffee. On leaving the cafe, he crossed the lobby and asked the desk clerk where he could find a UPS location. The clerk gave him directions to the one near the Cannery, close enough for a short stop on the way back from the bank. He returned to his room, took his camera and binoculars and became the true tourist. He had time to go to Fisherman's Wharf and get a few pictures before he began practice on Royce's signature. He enjoyed the early morning walk and the nice scenery of the activity in and around Fisherman's Wharf. He took a picture of Alioto's Restaurant while thinking of the staff reaction when Jenna didn't show for work this morning. Her absence would trigger a call to someone or someplace for assistance in locating her. In fact, she may be found before he flies back home. But, he had no worries about her being found. There would be no evidence of his visit and involvement. He's just another tourist taking in the sights of the City by the Bay.

           He started practicing Royce's signature slightly before nine. At nine-twenty-nine he looked up, held the signature at arm's length and compared the two scratches on the paper. His trained eye declared them perfect. The bank opened at ten. By the time he walked to California Street the bank would be open. However, he didn't want to appear too early or too anxious to get to the safety deposit box. So, as he slowly walked the streets carrying his briefcase, he snapped a couple of pictures of the streetcar as it stopped at the Intersection and took four shots while he gazed right and left just as the real tourists were doing while they strolled along through Chinatown. When he entered the bank he was greeted cordially by the Receptionist who pleasantly pointed to the steps that lead down to the vaults and the safety deposit boxes. He gave the man his key, signed in, entered the code and was accompanied into the vault by the man who held the second key. The man turned his key, took Tencount's key ring and entered his key, he opened the large door and slid out the jumbo sized box and handed it to Tencount. Tencount thanked him, opened the door to a private room and lifted the lid on the box. There it was. All of the bricks carefully and tightly bound around the glorious green. There was nothing else in the box other than the money. Tencount stacked the decks of fifties easily inside his briefcase. When the box was empty, he returned it to the attendant, thanked him again and left the bank, all smiles, holding a fortune in his left hand. He retraced his original route except for a stop at UPS to purchase two identical sized boxes, wrapping tape and six yellow stickers that said, 'File Documents.'

           In the room, he packed the bricks of money in the box leaving room in the center of one box for his weapon pouches. He sealed one box, stuck three of the stickers on it and set it by the door. He used his iPad to Google the Harbormaster's office. He told the woman he would like to book a trip to the Pacific Whale on the earliest trip available. She asked his name and he told her Todd Kendal. She said, "You are slated for the one-fifteen trip. Do you want to return on that tug or a later one?"

           "How long will it be alongside the Whale?"

           "Usually thirty minutes or less. They unload quickly as the nets are pre-packed before they leave dock."

           "Good. I'll return on the same tug."

           "Cash or credit card?"

           "Cash when I get there if that's acceptable"    

           She short giggled when she said, "Always acceptable and always preferable. Get here not less than fifteen minutes before the scheduled time. The total fee is one hundred even. See you at the desk."

           He looked at the clock. If he left now and walked he could have a quick lunch before the one o'clock time-frame. He checked his weapons, selected the .38 again with the silencer. He donned his khaki golf jacket with the weapon in its holster. He returned to the Wharf and ate at one of the outside vendors as he sat watching the boats in the bay flitting back and forth, some working, some pleasure, and some fishing. While he watched, he was thinking: take away the hills and San Francisco would be a west coast mimic of New Orleans.

           Tencount slapped a hundred on the desk and said, "Todd Kendal. I'm signed for the one-fifteen trips." She snatched the bill from the desktop, stuffed it in a drawer and slid the Registration book over for his signature. He scribbled the name and slid it back to her. No receipt given or wanted. She pointed toward the side door and said, 'The Santa Maria,' first in line. You can board when you want. It's a half-hour trip out, sometime shorter coming back without the load. Check with the Purser when you climb aboard." I thought to myself; a Purser on a freighter? Titles are important I guess.

           On the trip out to sea, Tencount was standing on the left side of the tug leaning on the railing looking at the San Francisco skyline as they were passing by, eagerly chugging their way toward the Golden Gate bridge. He heard a voice say, "It always tugs at my heartstrings when I see that great sight. I'm a native and I do miss it when we're at sea." I turned my head and I stood beside a middle-aged salt and pepper hair and bearded man about my height. I smiled at him and said, "That I can understand. One's home is always an emotional sight. I held out my hand and said, Todd Kendal. I'm an interloped for a while today. And you?"

           He gripped my hand as he said, "Joseph Alanto. I'm the Captain of the Whale. Is Royce a relative, Todd?"

           "I'm afraid so, Joseph. He's the reason for my trip today. I need to see him before he heads to Peru. You don't go to Peru, right?"

            "Yeah, Royce will leave us when we dock in Columbia. He will fly from Bogota to Lima the next day."

           "Royce said that you sail on the 20th and that was my hurry to get to him. I sure don't want to go to Peru to talk with him." He laughed and said, "Once this tug empties those nets behind us we'll be ready to sail."

           "Do you have any other passengers like Royce? I have a friend who works the docks in New Orleans and he says it's common to book on freighters and cargo ships. Is that true?"

           "Only if you want a destination that cruise lines don't serve or if you're on a one-way trip. And, yes, we have two other passengers, both Columbian going home."

           "Is your crew Columbian? Royce said that they speak only Spanish."

           "He's right about the Spanish. I speak it also. But I have a mixed crew from about five South American countries. I even have two Brazilian's who speak Portuguese. "

           "If you promise not to laugh, I'd like to ask a question. Is there really a Purser onboard?"

           "Okay, no laugh. Yes, he takes care of all the payments to the vendors, the Harbormaster's, the crew, the tugs, and any other transactions involving money. It's an important function of my staff. If we don't pay, we don't sail."

           "Makes sense. It just sounded funny when the woman told me to check with the Purser."

           "Well, Todd, you've checked in with me and I know you're legit so you can skip the Purser. Your relative is in Cabin 2F. When we get aboard, go left and the first open door is where you want to go. One flight down and to your right. Cross over and you'll be near his Cabin on the left. A horn sounds twice when the tug is preparing to leave so don't tarry or you'll end up in Peru. No, not really. There's one more tug before we sail. But it's at eight this evening."

           To our right, a tug crew member came to Joseph and said he was wanted on the ship to shore. He smiled and said, "Nice meeting you Todd. Maybe I'll be back but if not, enjoy your visit."

           He didn't return. When the tug Supervisor signaled it was secure and I could embark, I climbed the rickety rope and wood stairs and stepped onboard. The Purser waved me past. I followed Joseph's advice and went through the door and down one flight. I turned right and halfway down I saw a sign that said 'Captain.' I went on to the right-side deck, turned left and Royce's cabin was the second one on my left. The first was a storage room. I tested the handle and it opened. It was mostly rope, fire extinguishers, and metal buckets with folded cleaning rags on the shelf. I eased the door closed and looked both ways on the deck. No one was in sight. I used the butt of the gun to tap on Royce's door.

           He yelled, "Just a minute." I waited patiently.

           When the door opened, I put one round in his forehead. I caught his toppling body and dragged him to the storage room. I took two pictures as proof that the reconciliation had been accomplished. I then went to work as I moved the stacks of buckets and the fire extinguishers to the side, folded his body into the fetal position, wrapped his head in a number of the cleaning rags and then dumped rolls of the rope over it. I slid the buckets and fire extinguishers back in place, closed the door and secured the handle. I stepped over the flange to his room and closed the door. I already had my gloves on as I began my search. The cabin was small with few hiding places. He had nothing of interest on the table or in the drawers. When I opened the top door of the storage areas, there was a green duffel bag stuffed inside. I opened the bottom door and found two small suitcases. I took them out, opened them and saw nothing but clothes. I put them back, took the duffel down and opened it. Bingo. Under a few shirts there was the money. I threw the shirts on top of the suitcases, tightened the duffel bag and tested the weigh. No big deal.

           I checked the time. I was running ahead of schedule so I sat in the chair at the desk. While I waited I had a decision to make. Do I remove the Captain as a witness? I fought with myself and lost when I realized he was too high of a profile to the ship. He would be discovered missing almost immediately. He may be able to describe me or not. We were both focused on the skyline as we talked. The only time we faced each other was when we briefly shook hands. I can only describe him as being salt and peppered and my height, so the logic tells me that he can't give much of a description of me either. The gun went back into the holster.

           Two blasts from the horn. Time to embark. He stood, put the canvas strap in his hand and slung the duffel over his shoulder. He returned on the same path. He stood over the tug at ladder top waiting for the signal to climb down. It took about five minutes to secure the tug and the ladder. He had no trouble with the duffel as he descended the ladder. He sat it down against the wall near the door to the hatch. He sat on top on it for the trip back. When he was ashore, he hailed the first cab he saw coming by the dock. He rode it back to the hotel. The Bellhop grabbed the duffel  bag from the cab, slung it over his shoulder and went to the Bellhop stand, dropped it on a luggage cart and the two of them went to his room. He directed the Bellhop to put it in the closet with his boxes. He handed the Bellhop a fiver, got a huge smile in return, and then closed the door behind him. He stood there cursing himself because he hadn't thought far enough ahead to get extra boxes and stickers.

           He showered and changed clothes for the dinner hour. He called American and arranged to book his return flight at six tomorrow evening. If it all went right he would be home by nine or nine-thirty at the latest. The moneyboxes would take four or five days to arrive, which wasn't a problem because he could do nothing with his share until he could get to the Caymans later. But Ricci, no doubt, would want his money as soon as it arrived and it also held my fee plus expenses. Did I cheat Ricci? Of course I did, we're both criminals and everyone knows you can't trust a criminal. I'm certain he expected it. That's why he used the code when he said the money wasn't that important.

           He put his weapon in the pouch, dropped it in the center of the bricks of money, covered it with the remaining bricks and then sealed it securely. It received the balance of the stickers indicating it was files. He called for a Bellhop with a cart. In a short while he arrived. He had the Bellhop load the two boxes and the duffel bag on the cart, gave him his garage ticket, and handing him the car keys, said, "Load the boxes in the trunk and the duffel in the back seat please."

           He received a polite 'Yes, Sir,' and they left the room. Tencount went to the entrance Portico and the Bellhop continued to the garage. In just a blink of the eye, the Bellhop came driving the car and stopped where Tencount stood. Tencount handed his a ten and a wink and sat in the car. The Bellhop closed his door, waved him forward and Tencount drove directly to the UPS office again. He shipped the two boxes, bought two more, a medium and a small. He took his tracking receipt and went to the car. He drove to the back of the strip center and climbed in the back seat. He used his tape to strap the bottom of the two boxes together. He dug into the duffel and filled the small box which would be his to skim. He transferred the balance to the medium-sized box, covered it with the duffel bag and then sealed it securely. It would only be opened by Ricci who would find the duffel as proof of his story. He popped the trunk and dropped the boxes inside. He drove back to Ghirardelli Square, returned the car to the garage and strolled over to the shopping area and looked for a different restaurant.

           He stopped several wanderers and asked if they knew a good restaurant. Four of the five he stopped suggested Gary Danko. He located it and stood reading the reviews posted on the board outside. It was very expensive and featured American cuisine. But, it was rated highly at four and one half stars. So, why not give it a try. He had a half-hour wait so he chose the bar to wait. He laid the summoning device on the bar, ordered a martini with two olives. The TV was on to the late news and he snapped to attention when the anchor announced a breaking story about an Alioto's employee being found shot. He paid close attention to what was said. The anchor reported, "She had been a dependable and reliable employee at Alioto's for the last eleven years. When she didn't appear for work this morning, they became concerned when she couldn't be located. A police department visit to her home revealed that she had been shot sometime after work yesterday. No persons of interest were named. Her name was not released pending notification of relatives. The investigation is ongoing." Tencount took a heavy sip of his martini and thought: this was expected. There's nothing that can point to me. I didn't know her so there are no ties. He finished his martini and signaled for another as he sat breathing easy and showing no anxiety over her discovery. It didn't ripple anyone at the bar.

           Gary Danko was good, very good, so he gave the reviews a gold star for honesty. He slept in the next morning, not awakening until seven, that being nine by his body time. He packed for the trip, showered, and then stuffed the hotel laundry bag in his suitcase. He closed and locked it as if that did any good with TSA on the prowl. He went down for breakfast, grabbing the Chronicle to scan while having his morning meal. The story of Jenna's death was Page 4 material. He read the story and didn't learn anymore than the news report from last night other than they named her and reportedly were searching for her long time boyfriend, Royce Kendal, a well-known to police, overseer of questionable bars and clubs in the bay area. Same ending--the investigation continues. Tencount smiled as he thought: let them untangle that mess once Royce is found. Keystone Kops will be back in action

           His flight was one for the books. It was smooth, an on-time departure, led an on- time arrival and no hassles in between. He was home at five of nine, much better than his estimated predicted timing. He didn't bother to unpack as he needed nothing from the suitcase. He prepped his coffee for tomorrow morning, jumped in the shower, slipped on his lounge pants and punched on the WLW late news.. He popped an Abita Amber and flopped in his recliner saying aloud, "Oh man! Good old familiar living. Maybe one more caper and then retirement from my second career."

           The next morning he went through the back door surprising Michele. She stopped in her tracks and said, "You're back early! How did it go out there?"

           He made a face and then said, "It didn't. I was cancelled twice because of crisis in the management ranks. That's why I'm back early. He apologized and asked that we defer our sit-down until November when his retirement becomes final. I told him fine, so I had a couple of great meals and came on home. But, the good news, Ricci is on."

           "Oh, wow, that's exciting."

           "No Michele. What's exciting is that if we get the Ricci account you and I will spend a week in the Caymans."

           She moved forward, threw her arms around his neck and said, "You're finally going to ask me for a date are you? Well, I will say yes right now. Work your ass off to get the Ricci assets. I've never been to the Caymans."

           "You will love them. I'll take you on a trip to Hell while we're there. You'll be wide eyed when you see it."

           "I can't wait. Don't tease me yet." She waved a letter at him and said, "Kenny is anxious for this letter, so I gotta go."

           Tencount sat at his desk and dialed Ricci. When he was connected to Nicolo, he said, "Nic, I'm sending you a couple of photos this afternoon. In about four days the material that was removed will be delivered. I'll call again when it's delivered. How about the Blue Balls again when I have it?

           "They told me you were good but I didn't realize how fast you worked. I'll put you at the top of my referrals. Okay. The Blue Balls will be fine, but when you come down, call first so that I can have the material brought in through the back door."

           "Can do that easily enough. It'll be three or four days so expect my call. You don't have to get on the phone. I'll tell whoever answers that it's lunch time."

           "That'll work. You'll get your fee and expenses out of the box."

           "You do know that I didn't bother to count it. I have no idea how much is in there but I brought evidence that he bought a place in Peru and paid cash. That may have been from your money."

           "My problem Tencount. I'm not worried or concerned. See you later." He abruptly hung up. Tencount smiled knowing he was probably pissed that some of the money was missing.

           They met on Friday. The box was in a chair when Tencount entered the private room. Two minutes after Tencount sat down, the door opened and Nic waved the man in the door forward. He said, "Count what's in the box. Peel off a quarter of a mil plus ten thousand. Let me know how much. Write it on a sheet of paper. This young pup doesn't need to know."

           They ordered while the man counted the money. Before we finished the steak, he came with the note and was holding the duffel bag. He asked, "What is this and what do I do with it?"

           "Tencount spoke up and said to Nic, "That was from the boat where the money was stored. You can stuff my share in it and I'll dispose of it."

           Nic nodded to the man and he left us. After dessert and espresso, the bag with Tencount's fee was dropped in the chair opposite him When Nic pushed his chair back, Tencoont stood, shook his hand and Nic nodded toward the man and said, "This is Edward Espira my accountant. He is updating my asset listing and will call you next week. After you do your analysis magic, call Edward. He'll arrange for an appointment for the three of us to discuss your proposal. If I need additional assistance are you available?"

           "Most likely but it depends on what kind of assistance. We can negotiate."

           Nic turned and walked out the door at the rear. Edward shook my hand and said, 'I have your number."

           I picked up the duffel bag and smiled my way back to the office to tell Michele to start thinking of her Cayman wardrobe.

                                                                                    .

(OOC: This is collab piece with the handler of Silvio Leon. The writer(Ampersand) is extremely talented and I absolutely recommend that you expand your horizons and check their site out. 

https://oracularmysteries.wordpress.com/

Thanks!)

===

“Hey, you made it!” Silvio beamed as his client and co-worker walked through the front doors of the coffee shop. He’d already settled in at a table, a cold brew, a pink cake pop and his deck of cards set out before him. The shop was relatively sparse, though a few people milled about, sipped their drinks, or tapped away at their laptops. The air was redolent of coffee, brewing tea, rich pastries, and the walls were hung with art from local creators. “You want a coffee or a tea or anything? My treat.” Adrienne Levi, phone in hand, was just finished firing off a text when she acknowledged Silvio with a smile. Sitting across from him, she finally answered. “Oh, um, mint tea if they have it.” “Sure!” He got to his feet, nodding toward the counter. “Back in a flash. Anything you want to nibble on?” “Surprise me.” Silvio gave Adrienne a little salute before heading back to the counter, returning a few minutes later with a steaming cup of fragrant tea and a croissant dusted with sugar and slivers of almonds. “Figured this would be a good combo,” he said, setting the food down for her and taking his seat again. “Don’t want to do a reading on an empty stomach, y’know?” He leaned back and sipped at his coffee. “So, have you ever done this before? With the tarot cards, I mean.” Taking a sip as well, Adrienne shook her head. “I’ll be honest. I’m kinda intimidated by this. Not by you personally.” Her voice was quiet, just loud enough for the table. “I think perhaps by the idea of the unknown. Skeptics would say that you’re just good at reading people.” Almost down to a whisper, as if those people could be listening. “But it feels like something not easily explained.” She paused, perhaps feeling ridiculous. Her normal conversational tone resumed. “Sorry, sometimes I talk too much. No, I haven’t is what I mean.” “Aw, I don’t think that at all. I like hearing people tell their stories.” He picked up the deck and started shuffling it. “I’m asking because I just want to let you know things might get kinda personal. The cards might tell me things you would rather I not know, and that’s fine. If things start getting a little too intense, let me know and we’ll stop. I don’t want to be poking my nose where it doesn’t belong. Is that cool?” Adrienne bit into the croissant, taking care not to dump sugar all over her t-shirt. Between chews, she acknowledged Silvio’s conditions. “Very.” “Okay, then, let’s get started.” Spreading the cards across the table between them, he sat back and gestured with an open hand. “I need you to choose six of the cards here. Think about what you want answers to; it’ll help guide the reading.” Adrienne’s hands hovered over the cards, feeling trepidation over a choice that could be considered rather mundane. Silently, she separated six of them in no particular pattern. This was after much thought, she had no real idea of what these cards were except that maybe one of them meant that she would die any moment. Or one saying that she’d become a princess and have her own castle. That lack of knowledge released her to allow someone who clearly knew what he was doing to take over. “There. Six cards.” Lacing her hands on her lap, she sat up, watching Silvio intently now. “Alright. We’re going to do the universal six-card spread reading. If I need to stop at any time, just let me know. First, we’re going to see how you’re feeling right now.” Turning over the first card revealed an illustration of an angel blowing on a trumpet. Below it, grey-skinned men, women, and children rose joyously from their crypts, arms raised. “Judgment. You’re feeling like you’re putting a chapter of your life behind you or moving on to a new phase. But that’s not a bad thing. You’re sort of taking stock and figuring out where to go next.” Glancing up at her, he said, “I think that fight you had with Lab Rat King was a turning point. There was something different about that match, wasn’t there?” The nightmares could attest to that. And while some of the lesser wounds had started to fade away, the boot shaped bruise on Adrienne’s neck had started to color up like the prettiest sunset. “Didn’t feel like it was a fight, Silvio. I don’t know what that was. Like it was the worst night in a long time but afterwards, people started talking. No one’s ever paid much attention to me. Kinda weird.” He nodded and turned over the next card. “Let’s look at what you want.” The second card showed a crowned man seated on a throne, holding a scepter and looking out with a stern expression. “The Emperor. You want the support of a male figure in your life. I’m guessing that’s probably Knox for your upcoming match.” Looking up to meet her eyes, his brow knit. “You still okay, or do you want to stop? We’re about to get into what your fears might be.” Adrienne thought about Knox briefly. He had been polite at every turn. But he had also dictated her involvement in that match. But she didn’t fear what he may do. She felt empowered to voice any discontent with him. This certainly was not the norm for any woman much less Adrienne. But Silvio’s insistence of continuing consent was refreshing. Instinctively, she looked around, just in case someone was eavesdropping. “I’m okay.” He nodded and turned over the next card to reveal a figure of an old, white-bearded man shrouded in grey. In one hand the old man held a staff and in the other a lantern he held aloft. “The Hermit.” Silvio looked thoughtful, lips pursed as he tapped the card lightly with one fingertip. “You’re kind of the odd person out here. In a group of four, you’re the only woman. There might be some fear there that you’re not going to get the kind of support you need. Those douche canoes you’re facing off against said and did some pretty shitty stuff to you. It was inappropriate floor to ceiling, but I get the feeling they’re not used to having somebody point out their asshattery as specifically and incisively as you have. Knox stepped in, but let’s be real - no guy is ever going to understand being targeted like that. You are unique in this particular scenario, and maybe there’s some trepidation about what that means.” He took another sip of his coffee to give them both a moment. “You still cool about going on? The next card is going to deal with what you’ve got going for you.” She put a finger on the Hermit card. All of the other women in this company seemed so complete. Completely actualized. She knew that wasn’t the case but the card struck a chord alright. Sharing a few words here and there was one thing, but she felt out of place. Adrienne just wished she had someone to talk to other than her mother. Looking up, she nodded back. “Yeah. I’m good with this.” The next card he turned over showed a woman robed in white and wreathed in flowers with a serene expression on her face. Bent at the waist, she calmly holds the jaws of a fierce-looking red lion. “Strength.” He smiled and looked up at her with dark eyes that spark with delight. “Not that surprising. You’ve been showing everyone time and time again how much heart you have; how courageous you are. That’s what you’ve got going for you. That’s what’s going to see you through this. It will not fail you.” “Is that one real?” She twirled a strand of her dark hair nervously. “I mean, they all sound pretty right. I feel pretty pathetic sometimes. This summer’s been the first time I’ve ever been out of Clearwater by myself.” “There’s a Japanese saying I like. ‘Fall down seven times, get up eight.’” The fortune teller looked at her with a gentle smile. “Everybody has rough times. Everybody fails. That isn’t always your fault - you can do everything right and still not win. That’s not you being pathetic - that’s just life. What matters is that afterward, you still get up and you try again. You aren’t weak for losing. You’re strong because you don’t let it stop you. I’ve seen you fight. I see you changing and adapting with each match you have. And y’know what? Whoever thinks of you as weak does so at their own peril. You have the right heart for all of this. Everything else - your physical conditioning, your mic work, your move set - those are all things you can learn. You can’t teach heart. You either got it or you don’t. Believe me - if and when we ever get into the ring together, I’m not going to be stupid enough not to take you seriously.” “Thank you, that could actually be fun. And not terrifying.” Silvio grinned and turned over the next card to show a robed woman sitting between black and white pillars, a crescent moon at her feet and a diadem on her head. He clucked his tongue and raised a brow. “Ah hah. See, I kinda feel like this is cheating since you already told me, but what you’ve got working against you is insecurity. Those feelings might be coming from within or they might be imposed from without. But whatever the case, there’s some Doubting Thomas in your life. Ignore them. They don't know what they’re talking about. You’re on the right track.” There was that first urge to stop. She barrelled through, fingers clutching the gold band on her finger. “I guess. You’re ...you’re talking about Danny, right?” Adrienne still wasn’t clear on how this worked so maybe she was just confirming what was obvious. “Danny’s complicated. But th-there’s one more, I’m okay with that.” Silvio’s brow knit and he gave her an apologetic look. “Hey, I’m sorry if that struck too close to home. And, maybe that is who the card’s addressing, but you would know better than me. This last card is how things are all gonna turn out. You’re sure you want me to read it for you? If you want a minute, that’s fine.” Settling her nerves, Adrienne smiled. “I’m ready. I’ve worked so hard and sometimes I’m not sure what for. Stopping now would be unfair to … me.” He nodded and flipped the last card to reveal a woman suspended in the sky, swathed in blue silk and surrounded by a wreath of greenery. In each hand, she held a baton. “The World. This is good. Success and fulfillment. This is going to be the culmination of your endeavors and hard work. I’m pretty sure you’re going to break out into a win here for Chaos 95, and it could not be more deserved. I, for one, cannot wait to see you pummel that skin melting penis-faced manifestation of toxic masculinity with below average hair and his mopey, complicit little crony who clearly missed the entire point of Watchmen and is likely salivating over the prospect of jerking one out to the, fabled ‘Snyder Cut.’” He gave a little shrug. “Pardon my language there.” Adrienne shrugged. “You’re cool. They’re jerks for sure. But they’re also the real deal.” She looked at the card. Everything felt right, but this one resonated with her. The words he said, and the art. Adrienne had come a long way. She’d been Danny’s girl for so long. And in the darkness, she was less. Face down, with a forearm against the back of her neck, she’d been told her place explicitly by a monstrosity she didn’t want to name right now. But this image here defied that. “But I’m prepared for them, Silvio. And I realized that they aren’t an exception here. They’re caricatures, but I know better. I’m going to drag them all out into the light.” “Hell yeah, you are!” he laughed. “I mean, dang, we’ve each gotten our shit rocked by Knox at this point, so we both know he’s a strong partner to have. Those jack wagons have shown everyone their true colors, and now they’re upset at people calling them out for what they really are. Disinfect them with sunlight, Adrienne. They might be a real deal, but there’s a reason to forgo Great Values for name brand, y’know?” Sweeping up the cards, he took out a box for them from a backpack he had hanging off the chair behind him. “I gotta head out soon, but I have a gift for you. I do my readings for my promos with just the Major Arcana cards, but there are also four suits that you can use along with them. Wands, cups, pentacles, and swords. There’s one that made me think of you.” Pausing to stick his cake pop in his mouth, he shuffled through the deck before coming to the card he wanted, then drew it out between his index and middle finger. “Here you go. The Queen of Swords.” He laid a card between them. It showed a woman seated on a throne wearing a crown of butterflies upon her head. She was dressed in regal fashion, and held a sword in one hand while the other was extended forward. Behind her, grey clouds gathered on the horizon. “The sword suit’s element is air. She holds a sword in one hand and holds the other out in greeting; she’s open, but doesn’t lack self protection. Her open hand can also be interpreted as putting thought into action. The butterflies she’s crowned with indicate free thinking and an active intellect.” Silvio tapped the clouds gently with one finger tip. “The dark clouds here signify that she has known sorrow in the past, but she is not letting that prevent her from seeking the horizon. She is determined, independent, and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.” The card is pushed across the table to Adrienne. “It’s yours.” If it were anyone else, the little gasp would have looked facetious. Like any person, Adrienne had received a number of gifts over her life. Rarely, if ever, had she been given something that was given to her - with her in mind. The recently departed bike was a gift with the implication that Adrienne didn’t fit into that blue dress like before. Quickly, she wiped away the wetness in her eyes because she could go do that later and maybe not be weird in public. Holding the card gently with both hands, Adrienne focused on the image. Queen’s something used too often these days. But this was better than anything else she’d been. Finally, she looked to Silvio, astonishment in her eyes. “Thank you.” Silvio face contorted with concern over the reaction for a moment, fearful he’d said or done the wrong thing. As she looked at him, though, that expression on her face, he gave her a sheepish smile with teeth slightly pink from the candy coating of the half-eaten cake pop. “Aw, heck, I’m just glad you like it. You’re doing a great job, Adrienne. I can’t wait to see what you have to show us next.” Washing down his dessert with a last swig of coffee, he got to his feet and hefted his backpack over one shoulder. “I got a client to meet at the parlor, but if you ever need anything, drop me a line, okay? I got your back.” “Same here.” Adrienne waved goodbye with her free hand, clutching about the coolest thing she’d seen in a long time to her chest. “Bye, Silvio.”

Italy Finally Falls to the Forces of Populism

By 

Alessandra Migliaccio

 and 

Ben Sills

11 May 2018, 04:01 GMT+1Updated on 11 May 2018, 10:33 GMT+1

Italy's Political Deadlock

Italy's Political Deadlock

First came Brexit, then Donald Trump, and now the rebellion by angry voters has landed its biggest blow on continental Europe.

Italy, the most indebted member of the euro region to avoid a bailout during the European debt crisis, has succumbed to the forces of nationalism and protectionism that emerged over the past two years as the biggest threat to the political order.

Efforts to form a broad coalition to dilute the power of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement floundered this week and the party’s 31-year-old leader Luigi Di Maio spent Thursday morning drawing up plans for a governing alliance with fellow college dropout Matteo Salvini, 45, of the anti-immigrant League.

Important issues are still to be settled, not least who will be prime minister. Yet they are on track to make Italy the biggest country to install a populist government since it formed the precursor of the European Union with five other nations almost 70 years ago. While France, Germany and the Netherlands chose a different path in votes last year, Italy always remained a risk.

“Italy is a wake-up call that populism is alive and well,” said Federico Santi, a political analyst at Eurasia Group in London. “There was a big wave of optimism after the French election, but the truth is that the problem definitely hadn't gone away.”

A mural by artist TVBOY shows Di Maio kissing Salvini on a wall in Rome.

Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Salvini and Di Maio are now taking till Monday to finish their plan to form a government in Rome. 

They still have to reconcile the League’s promise of a flat tax at 15 percent for people and businesses, while Five Star has offered a citizens’ income to poorer Italians. Both want to scrap the pension reform that helped weather the debt crisis but upset many voters.

League lawmaker Guglielmo Picchi said he expects curbs on immigration, tax cuts and “a more assertive stand” towards the EU as his party’s key issues in 

“The difficulty in the talks is not so much who does what, as agreeing on the priorities,” Picchi, 45, a former Barclays Capital investment banker, said in an interview. “We need to be careful about Five Star’s citizen's income, Italy can't just shower money on people.”

Markets ReactItalian bonds dropped. The spread between the country’s 10-year debt and benchmark German bunds widened by six basis points on Thursday to 138 points, the widest since March. The gap increased by 15 basis points in the past three sessions, its worst run since December.

Cutting taxes to stimulate growth is a risky endeavor for a country with Italy’s fragile finances. It wouldn’t take much of an uptick in borrowing costs, or of a slowdown in growth, for the country’s debt to begin spiraling again, says Stephanie Flanders, head of Bloomberg Economics.

Italy’s debt is still at least 30 percent bigger than its entire economy, the second-biggest in Europe after Greece, and the new government will be arriving in office with two sets of expensive promises to justify.

“Italy is not much further away from a debt crisis than it was five years ago,” Flanders said in research note. “The fastest road to another euro-zone crisis still runs through Rome.”

That said, Italian bonds are still short of the 213 basis-point premium over bunds in April last year, when Marine Le Pen threatened to pull off her own revolt in France. The spread is also narrower than the 187 basis points in December 2016 after Premier Matteo Renzi’s resignation fueled concerns that a snap election could bring Five Star to power.

Good Timing?

In the euro region, Rome-born Mario Draghi is keeping a lid on bond yields with the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing policy. The economy is resurgent, with even the perennial laggard Italy enjoying its best growth in more than six years, despite some recent signs of weakness.

And Italy has also made progress in addressing the mountain of bad loans in its banking system since 2016.

“If you had to choose a moment to have a mini political crisis this is a somewhat favorable one,” John Normand, head of cross-asset fundamental strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a television interview.

Read More: Why Italy’s Jaded Voters Don’t Know Which Way to Turn

Indeed, Italy’s political class has been wrestling for decades with the stagnant wages and hollowed out industries that have blighted workers across the developed world.

Successive leaders failed to convince voters that the European recipe of free markets and open borders can turn things around. A series of backroom political deals and a surge in immigration fueled the sense of anger in recent years.

Salvini speaks as Berlusconi looks on after meeting with Mattarella in Rome on May 7.

Photographer: Giulio Napolitano/Bloomberg

The old order buckled at the March election. Renzi’s outgoing Democratic Party suffered its worst ever result. Silvio Berlusconi, 81, was eclipsed as leader of the center-right by the more hard-line League. Five Star became the single biggest party.

Momentum then built behind the two populist groups. With the threat of a repeat election ravaging his party, Berlusconi on Wednesday freed Salvini from his center-right obligations, paving the way for a Five Star-League alliance.

Five Star, though, is a different beast today from two years ago. Since assuming the leadership mantle from its founder, the comedian Beppe Grillo, Di Maio has sought to moderate the party’s policies and broaden its appeal. Most crucially, he’s dropped the pledge to hold a referendum on euro exit which made Le Pen’s campaign in France so potentially explosive.

QuicktakeItaly’s Populists Are Backing Away From Euro Exit

How the EU reacts will be critical. It’s in the midst of divorce proceedings after Britain’s vote to leave in June 2016 and has been troubled by nationalist rogues in the east emboldened by the election of Trump as U.S. president five months later.

“They could get into trouble and there's no real plan with what to do with Italy at the European level if they do,” said Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management. “If we do see the Italian government really clash with Brussels we could see calls again that Italy would be better off outside the euro area.”

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Dueling Matteos Battle for the Future of Italy

ROME — Pity the weak and wobbly new Italian government. While its incompatible coalition partners pretend to tolerate one another, they are relegated to being nervous bystanders, and potential casualties, in the real fight for power: the Battle of the Two Matteos.

Technically speaking, the former center-left prime minister Matteo Renzi and the popular anti-migrant nationalist leader Matteo Salvini may be out of power. But their sparring has come to dominate Italy’s political life and the debate over the country’s direction.

The two Matteos share more than just a name. Both are ambitious. Both are extremely talented men in their 40s who have spent their entire professional lives in politics. Each represents a strikingly different vision of Italy’s future. Most of all, they need each other to get back into power.

Mr. Salvini needs the once high-flying Mr. Renzi as a punching bag — mocking him as a “misunderstood genius” whose feats “Italians didn’t notice”— to maintain his Everyman appeal as he seeks to destabilize the government and strengthen his policies against immigrants and the European Union.

And Mr. Renzi needs Mr. Salvini as a boogeyman — he called him a “monster” — to elevate his profile and convince liberals that only he can keep the nationalist at bay while pushing forward his pro-globalization, pro-European and pro-American positions.

“Salvini is the perfect enemy from this point of view,” Mr. Renzi said in an interview in his Senate office, decorated with notes from former President Barack Obama.

Mr. Renzi’s support has dwindled since he resigned as prime minister in 2016, and he recently left the Democratic Party he once led to start an offshoot, Italia Viva, which for now is polling at only around 6 percent.

Mr. Salvini stumbled, with a nudge from Mr. Renzi, from his perch as interior minister this summer after dominating an Italian government that wrought havoc on the European Union with its crackdowns on migrants, skepticism about the euro and breaking of budgetary rules.

The removal of Mr. Salvini, a hard-right demagogue who seemed to the establishment a ticking time bomb poised to take control of the eurozone’s third-largest economy, prompted sighs of relief from the markets and Brussels.

But Mr. Salvini’s fall from power has not stopped his incessant campaigning, rattling the awkward government alliance of the populist Five Star Movement and the center-left Democratic Party.

As he racks up electoral victories in regions once considered liberal strongholds, Mr. Salvini has applied excruciating external pressure on the coalition.

At the same time, Mr. Renzi has proved himself an expert palace operator, applying internal pressure and gaining outsize influence from his seat in the Senate.

“I am proud of having been very Machiavellian,” Mr. Renzi said, adding that Mr. Salvini clearly did not foresee his play and that everyone prematurely counted him out as dead. “And then with a palace maneuver I sent home Europe’s most dangerous populist. So I proved that the old lion still has claws.”

Indeed, Mr. Salvini might still be in power were it not for him.

This summer, at the height of his popularity, Mr. Salvini pulled the plug on his own coalition with the Five Star Movement, in a bid for new elections. He said he wanted “full powers.”

But the plan backfired, when Five Star, surprisingly, turned to the Democratic Party to form a new parliamentary majority, leaving Mr. Salvini out of power. The two parties had loathed each other till the moment they decided to join forces.

Mr. Renzi had spent the three years since his resignation as prime minister excoriating Five Star as a band of anti-Democratic hatemongers.

But when Mr. Salvini overreached, Mr. Renzi pounced. Recognizing Mr. Salvini as a greater threat, he urged his Democratic Party to join forces with Five Star.

That well-concealed dagger thrust was just the start of what Mr. Renzi now envisions as a contest between the two men that will take years to unfold and potentially end in an electoral showdown.

“We won the battle inside the palace,” he said. “Now we have to win it among the people.”

For the time being, Mr. Renzi said his mission was keeping Mr. Salvini out of power long enough to prevent him from appointing a new Italian head of state in 2022, an institutional position he said represented a final check on Mr. Salvini’s power.

In 2014, Mr. Renzi won more than 40 percent of the Italian electorate in European Union elections. But he never was directly elected as prime minister.

In 2016, he bet his popularity, and office, on a referendum to streamline Italy’s government drastically and a promise to give future prime ministers greater powers. Opposition came from across the political spectrum and he lost, clearing the way for Mr. Salvini’s rise.

Mr. Renzi, who was presenting his economic vision across Italy this weekend, acknowledged that he was now in no position to compete with Mr. Salvini, Italy’s reigning populist, in a popularity contest. (Mr. Salvini declined to comment.)

But the fragmented system Mr. Renzi failed to overhaul now plays in his favor. He has been able to exercise significant sway with small but committed parliamentary support and minimal backing in polls.

“I play by the rules that this country has,” he said with a shrug. “I wanted to play tennis, but if you make me play Ping-Pong, I will play Ping-Pong. And don’t complain if you lose.”

Once the new government was formed with his loyalists in key positions, Mr. Renzi bailed on the Democratic Party, arguing that it was too stuck in its old leftist ways.

He started his new party, Italia Viva, which has enough parliamentary support to bring down the current government if Mr. Renzi decided to withhold his backing.

Suddenly, Mr. Renzi mattered again.

The two Matteos recently faced off on a television talk show under a backdrop depicting them in fencing masks and crossing swords. The cover of the newspaper Il Foglio similarly showed them ready to brawl. “The first rule of Fight Club,” Mr. Salvini was imagined saying, “is to make everybody talk about Fight Club.”

The new governing coalition has in the process been relegated to spectator status in the battle of the titan Matteos. As it tries to pass a budget and prevent the closing of a major factory, members are nervous that every misstep, every raised tax and slashed benefit, will push their supporters toward one Matteo or the other.

Mr. Salvini, who is by far Italy’s most popular politician with about 40 percent support in the polls, is eager to press his advantage by causing the immediate collapse of the new government.

He is using strong showings in regional elections to make the case that the people are behind him. Last month, his candidate trounced an opponent backed by Five Star and the Democratic Party in traditionally liberal Umbria.

But Mr. Renzi wants the government to last long enough for Mr. Salvini’s momentum to fade, or so he hopes, and build up his own base.

Both are chasing the same sliver of business-minded voters who have long gravitated toward the Forza Italia party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who, at 83, is a faded force.

There is, however, a more fundamental problem for Mr. Renzi: Many Italians simply find him insufferable.

“It’s crazy,” Mr. Renzi said in acknowledgment of the rage against him.

“Italians don’t like ambitious people, and I am ambitious,” he said. “I am ambitious for myself; if I weren’t ambitious I wouldn’t have become prime minister at 39.”

He attributed the anger to years of character assassination by Five Star, the League and leftist critics in the Democratic Party. He cited the disruption he caused to the Italian establishment as the self-styled “Demolition Man.” He said the church did not like his gay rights laws, and the unions did not like his job market reforms.

There is much truth in that critique. But it is also true that Mr. Renzi has a boundless ego and dismissive manner, a tendency to personalize politics, to surround himself with local loyalists and to herald major changes hardly perceived by many Italians. And he’s sneaky.

In 2014, he publicly told the prime minister of his own party not to worry about him trying to take his job. Then he took his job.

In 2016, he promised to leave politics if he lost a key referendum. He lost and didn’t leave politics.

In 2019 he said he’d stick with the Democratic Party and would never form his own little party. Then he left the Democratic Party and formed his own little party. His defense has essentially been that everybody flip-flops.

“There is not a political leader in Italy today who can say that he hasn’t changed his mind with respect to his own future,” he said recently at the Foreign Press Club, “exactly like I did.”

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Adult Stem Cells - Significant Progress Made in 2010

Thinking back on 2010, I needed to impart to you a preview of the amazing advancement that has been made this previous year as far as undifferentiated cell science and regenerative drug.

This year empowered researchers to share their inconceivable discoveries around the world, extending from disclosures inside their labs through to the accomplishments of various clinical preliminaries. What made these triumphs increasingly important were the astounding stories that were told by individuals from varying backgrounds who took an interest in grown-up undifferentiated organism contextual analyses, s/cell treatment and medications. They have (with the assistance of the web) had the option to share their unfathomable encounters indicating us direct the advantages and progress they accomplished in an extremely brief time.

2010 was a genuinely wonderful and huge year for every one of those engaged with grown-up immature microorganism science and treatment. A critical achievement was seeing such a significant number of advantages reach such huge numbers of individuals, everything being equal, who have such fluctuating well being challenges.

The manner in which we care for and protect our great well being is as much an open door as when we have to recuperate from an ailment, infection or damage.

Regardless of what your condition of well being or age, anybody would now be able to profit, whether it be taking an undifferentiated organism supplement through to the individuals who experience full immature microorganism substitution treatment (which is currently turning into a day by day outpatient technique in numerous nations).

The "truth can be stranger than fiction" articles and recordings simply didn't stop all through 2010 and these were by a long shot the greatest approval of achievement we would ever request.

Grown-up Stem Cell Accomplishments in 2010

It's been conceivable to bring undeveloped cell medicines into the domains of therapeutic practice and furthermore into the home as far as increasingly fundamental well being applications.

These huge achievements include:

• Adult undeveloped cell substitution treatment.

• The banking of undeveloped cells. Numerous moms are presently saving their infant's umbilical string platelets so they can be utilized at a later arrange (if necessary) to help with the treatment of maladies, for example, leukemia. The cells can be protected for a normal of 21 years.

• Organs being developed in the research center with grown-up undifferentiated cells. In years to come it is accepted contributor organs will have the option to be developed in tremendous numbers in research centers, dispensing with the gigantic requirement for live benefactors and long holding up records.

• Stem cell supplements - experimentally demonstrated and incredibly viable. These enemy of maturing "regular" supplements initiate the foundational microorganisms inside our bone marrow and send them into the circulation system where they go about as a fix and restoration pack, bolster ideal tissue and organ work, and fortify our resistant framework. Foundational microorganism enhancements are quick turning into the crucial enhancement that everybody can stand to take.

On sixteenth September 2010, Jean Peduzzi Nelson Ph.D. from Wayne State University tended to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Jean Nelson is a neuroscientist who is doing unbelievable work on presenting grown-up immature microorganism medications, especially for those with spinal string wounds, head wounds and radiotherapy harm. In her discourse she alluded to "the valiant pioneers who originally investigated the capability of grown-up undeveloped cell treatment. The advancement of grown-up s/cells has now gone a long ways past these specific patients (as noted underneath) permitting long haul follow up consequences of various patients in friend explored distributed clinical preliminaries."

All through the 1990 s and mid 2000 s, grown-up s/cells researchers and backers confronted numerous difficulties and obstructions that deferred advancement (for example a noteworthy absence of subsidizing, government limitations, an absence of clinical preliminaries and information to back up the realities). The confirmation is presently accessible.

Dr Jean Peduzzi Nelson discussed a few patients who have been helped by grown-up undifferentiated cells. These patients were a piece of a clinical preliminary and their outcomes were distributed in a companion checked on diary in 2010. A rundown of these examples of overcoming adversity are delineated underneath.

• Silvio had a spinal line damage at the base of his neck (cervical level 6/7, American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) A, total damage. Evaluation An is viewed as the more terrible, which demonstrates total spinal rope damage where no engine or tangible capacity is protected in the sacral fragments S4-S5). Silvio was left with no development of his legs and insignificant development of his fingers.

2 years after his damage, and after escalated recovery neglected to prompt an improvement, Silvio got his own grown-up foundational microorganisms. Today he can keep up standing position and wave without assistance. With a walker and short props, he can stroll more than 30 feet without anybody helping him. He would now be able to move his fingers, which he couldn't do previously. Joined with an uncommon recovery program called BIONT (cerebrum started non-mechanical/non-weight upheld preparing) created by Dr Lazzeri and Dr Arcangeli, that Silvio utilized at Center Giusto in Italy he figured out how to walk once more. Dr Jean Nelson is hoping to bring olfactory mucosal s/cell treatment to the individuals of the US with the assistance of the NIH and/or the Department of Defense. At the point when grown-up s/cell treatment/medications are joined with a successful recovery program for Grade A spinal string wounds, the majority of the patients recaptured some muscle development in their legs. These discoveries were reported with EMG and SSEP accounts.

• Doug Rice was told in 1998 that he had 2 years to live because of incessant heart disappointment after numerous cardiovascular failures. Around then he could barely walk. He didn't meet all requirements for any US clinical preliminaries. Doug Rice thusly went to Thailand to have grown-up immature microorganism treatment. The cells were sent to an organization in Israel where they were cleansed and permitted to increase. They were then sent back to Thailand for infusion. Since that time, Doug has more vitality and is getting a charge out of life. This isn't a disconnected episode. In 2010, an article was distributed in the European Journal of Heart Failure detailing the follow up of 191 patients who got s/cells from their very own bone marrow contrasted with 200 patients with equivalent side effects. Those patients who had gotten grown-up s/cell treatment lived longer and had a more noteworthy ability to do works out. Their heart worked much better dependent on countless tests (left ventricular discharge division, cardiovascular file, oxygen take-up and left ventricle contractility). This report of the STAR-heart study gives the controlled clinical preliminary information, and new preliminaries are currently continuing in the US.

• Joe Davis was brought into the world with serious sickle cell iron deficiency. Sickle cell frailty is a blood ailment that influences 1/500 African-Americans. Specialists thought Joe probably won't live to see his teenagers. At the point when Joe was 2 years of age in 2002, he got a transplant of immature microorganisms from his more youthful sibling's umbilical rope. Joe never again has sickle cell pallor. So where are we now? In the US, around 72,000 individuals have sickle cell frailty that causes torment, interminable tiredness from iron deficiency and serious diseases, generally starting when they are babies. In a distributed report a year ago in the New England Journal of Medicine that was upheld by NIH, ten grown-ups were treated with grown-up s/cells from their sibling or sister. Of these patients, nine never again had side effects of sickle cell weakness and were excelling at 4 years after their treatment. A comparable report was distributed in 2008 demonstrating that 6/7 of the youngsters with extreme sickle cell pallor treated along these lines were without sickle cell side effects when they were analyzed at 2-8 years after treatment.

• Barry Goudy was experiencing numerous sclerosis. He had various backslides and prescription was not helping his condition. Barry was a piece of an investigation led at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and got his own undifferentiated organisms in 2003. His MS indications vanished in 4 months, and he keeps on being side effect free today. Results were distributed a year ago in Lancet Neurology - 1 March 2009 (Vol 8. Issue 3, Pages 244 - 253).

• Next we have the wonderful recuperation of patients who have corneal illness. Corneal ailment is the second driving reason for visual impairment after waterfalls on the planet. Patients had grown-up undifferentiated cells expelled from their contrary eye and embedded into their harmed eye. The patients went from scarcely having the option to see hand developments to ordinary sight in these eyes. This technique was fruitful in over 75% of the 112 patients. A portion of these patients were pursued for a long time.

• Amazing advancement was likewise made utilizing grown-up undeveloped cells in adolescent diabetes. An ongoing clinical preliminary report in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that most of 23 patients who got grown-up undifferentiated organisms accomplished insulin freedom in the multi year development.

The examples of overcoming adversity simply continued coming in 2010. Caught underneath is only a little outline:

• Windpipes made with Adult Stem Cells Help Cancer Patients. [As revealed by Colleen Barry, The Washington Post]. ROME - Italian specialists have declared the utilization of patients' own grown-up s/cells to create new tracheas for two malignant growth patients. To grow another trachea, the specialists began with a benefactor trachea and expelled the majority of the cells. The ligament framework left after the strategy was then washed in the patient's bone marrow grown-up s/cells before transplantation. Over a time of 2-3 months the grown-up s/cells spread the framework with new tissue, developed inside the body of the patient.

• BERLIN, November 26, 2010 (Life Site News.com) - Doctors related with the German umbilical rope blood donation center Vita 34 state they have relieved a youngster's leukemia totally utilizing an implantation of s/cells from umbilical line blood.

• Stem Cell Spray Heals Burns. November 26th, 2010. By Ed Yeates. SALT LAKE CITY - A shower arrangement of a patient's own s/cells is recuperating their extreme consumes. Up until this point, early tries under a University of Utah pilot undertaking are demonstrating some amazing outcomes.

• ABC News - 5 June 2010 - Mike Dunkirk depicted on ABC News, how Ves Cell grown-up s/cell treatment improved hello there, Asia Stem Cell

New world news from Time: The 5 Elections to Keep an Eye On in 2018

We knew 2017 would be an eventful year for elections, but 2018 is shaping up to be almost as seismic. Here are five votes to keep tabs on in the coming year.

Mexico

Date: July

Donald Trump’s belligerent approach to Mexico has boosted leftist firebrand, former mayor of Mexico City, and twice-failed presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) into pole position for Mexico’s presidency. AMLO has solidified his place as front-runner by matching Trump’s bluster with a defiance that resonates with Mexican voters; the percentage of those with a favorable view of the U.S. has fallen from 66 percent in 2015 to just 30 percent today.

One of his main challengers will be former finance minister Jose Antonio Meade, a technocrat who has held more posts in Mexico’s cabinet than any other person in history. Here’s the twist: Meade doesn’t formally belong to a political party, despite being selected as the ruling PRI party’s candidate. Recent polls have AMLO winning 29 percent of the vote to Meade’s 23 percent. With reports that NAFTA renegotiation isn’t going well, an AMLO victory may well push Mexican politics in an unpredictable new direction.

Brazil

Date: October

63 percent of Brazilians say corruption is a “very big problem,” which is to be expected when one-third of the country’s cabinet members, senators, and state governors are currently under investigation. After Lava Jato (Car Wash)—Brazil’s largest-ever corruption investigation that has already brought down one president—Latin America’s largest economy wants something completely different.

That doesn’t bode well for former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who’s trying to stage a political comeback. And while Lula, who presided over Brazil’s economic surge in the early 2000s, is currently leading in the polls, he was also convicted on corruption charges in July. Unless that conviction is overturned, he’ll be ineligible to run. Even if he can run, it’s not clear he can draw enough votes from outside his core support base to win.

Other noteworthy candidates to keep tabs on include Jair Bolsonaro, a larger-than-life rightwing populist who has made law and order his trademark. Bolsonaro, who has praised Brazil’s past military junta, is hoping to earn support from the 55 percent of Brazilians who tell pollsters they’re OK with nondemocratic forms of government as long as they’re effective. Also in the running is Marina Silva, a former Environment Minister under Lula. Whether Lula ultimately runs, expect a volatile campaign, fluctuating polls, and plenty of protests.

Italy

Date: Early 2018, likely March

European politics have never been more captivating, what with Brexit negotiations, Angela Merkel’s coalition challenges, and Emmanuel Macron’s bid to remake France and the entire E.U. But Italian elections next year stand out as the next chapter in the political saga of the one European country that’s both too big to fail and to save.

Nearly a decade after Europe’s financial crisis began, some countries are better off (Spain, Ireland) while others remain mired in misery (Greece). Italy, the Eurozone’s third-largest economy, falls somewhere in the middle; its continued stumbles (high unemployment, high government debt, a weak banking system, the migration crisis) provide more than enough fodder for the populist and Eurosceptic Five Star Movement (M5S) that has surged in polls.

A predominantly proportional electoral system, and M5S’s refusal (so far) to form coalitions with other parties means they’re unlikely to head the next government, even after a strong election performance. A resurgent right, led by re-energized former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, has a real shot at achieving an absolute majority in parliament, but they still look likely to fall short of the target. That’s why Italy is probably looking at another weak coalition government. That’s nothing new for the Italians—they’ve had 66 governments since World War II.

The United States

Date: November

Has Trump fundamentally altered the landscape of U.S. politics? The 2018 midterms—where all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the Senate’s 100 seats will be contested—will be the first nationwide test. Plenty will point to Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama this week as a sign of things to come, but Moore was a historically flawed candidate that makes extrapolating from his case near-impossible.

It’s worth bearing in mind that parties in power rarely fare well in midterm elections (a president’s party loses an average of 25 seats in the House and 4 in the Senate in midterms), and so far there’s little to indicate that this president can buck that trend. Moore’s loss in Alabama also gives Democrats a narrow-but-real path to recapturing the Senate next year, when they will be defending 26 of those Senate seats. Whatever happens in 2018 will go a long way toward setting the stage for 2020—and what the composition of both parties look like going forward. For the moment, Trump continues to defy political gravity. It remains to be seen if his party can do the same.

Turkey

Date: Officially 2019, but …

Finally, we turn to an election that’s technically scheduled for 2019, but is likely to be called in 2018. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—who has served three terms as prime minister—held a referendum in April to grant the presidency he now holds formal executive powers, cementing his hold on the country’s politics. But those sweeping new powers only come into effect after the next election. Erdogan will pull out all the stops to win; bad news for Turkey’s opposition, already targeted in Erdogan’s post-attempted coup crackdown. To date, more than 150,000 Turks have lost their jobs and 60,000 have been jailed.

Yet this is not a foregone conclusion. While Erdogan has plenty of tools he can use to swing the election in his favor, he’s also facing an angry and emboldened Turkish opposition. The early smart money is on Erdogan, but his victory is far from guaranteed. This is a vote that will matter far beyond Turkey’s borders. Erdogan is one of the world’s most volatile actors in one of the world’s most volatile regions. Depending on political developments next year, life in the Middle East can become even more unpredictable.

December 15, 2017 at 08:29PM ClusterAssets Inc.,