Well, we left off with Jennifer being taken out of prison by Sky since she was suffering too much from claustrophobia. I guess even as a ghost it still bothered her. It’s a problem she has had since she was a little girl. Then Sky brought Celestine to visit with me and she didn’t like what she saw, so Sky took us both back to the house where Nadia and Ana were hiding after Kat told her to do so. Kat is in charge of things right now since both Jennifer and I had been in jail and unable to do anything. I felt very tired so went to lie down in one of the bedrooms on the second floor.

Jennifer was with me for a while with Muffin and Jewel lying beside me purring. Then Jennifer went downstairs for a while and suddenly Muffin came running down screeching that I was very sick. Sky grabbed Jennifer and they were both by my side immediately. Jennifer took one look at me and realized this was very serious so she contacted Kat who was at the chateau with some others. Kat said to bring me to the clinic right away and she told Angel to give me some of her strength while she and Samantha got things ready.

Samantha said it looked like I had been poisoned while in prison. Guess this shows I’m not really like one of the other ghosts. I could not communicate in any way right now, I just laid there, waiting. But I could certainly feel new strength flowing through me from Angel, though I wasn’t sure how. Jennifer was now here too, Sky had brought her back and taken Kristina to take her place guarding Nadia and Ana, to help Kitty and the 8 other girls. Jennifer wanted to be here for the operation since this one was going to be a little different then last time when Sky shared her blood with me.

Kat was already massaging my chest above my heart, getting things prepared for this operation. Aasta and her group of girls were here now too and Jennifer could see Aasta was having a hard time with something, so she sat beside her to talk. “You know,” began Aasta, “it wasn’t that long ago that the Investigators risked their lives to save me from those kidnappers. Steve nearly died helping to get me free.” “Yes, I know,” said Jennifer, “it was very close that time.” She put her arm around Aasta.

“So, what is bothering you right now Aasta?” she asked. “Well, this time you and Steve needed help,” she said, “and what did I do? I ran and hid.” She was crying now. “I love Steve like he was my real brother,” she continued, “and I ran and hid when he needed me.” “Well, you were just obeying orders that Steve had given everyone,” explained Jennifer, “it was necessary so that we could all remain safe and one day reunite stronger than before.”

“Well, I’m certainly stronger than before,” said Aasta, “and I’m tired of hiding. Aasta hid, but Macy is a fighter. Macy is now back and she is here to stay! But don’t worry, I still follow orders, even hard ones, but I learned something from this and I won’t forget it.” “Nice to have you with us Macy,” said Jennifer, “once we are back to normal again, I will instruct Cristy to have your name changed, but your cover story will remain, for safety reasons, for all of us.”

Macy smiled and hugged Jennifer. Then Jennifer got the word from Sienna, the Investigators were back in business again. The prime minister and 3 other government officials have been arrested and will be spending a long time in prison. A few police officers were also arrested and the innocent police were set free. However, things were far from over, there is still Papa Levi and the ambassador to deal with. Jennifer then told Macy that there are more men coming to help Papa Levi and perhaps she should let her “uncles” know about it.

Then they could stop them before they arrive here. So that is what Macy did. She called “uncle” Brando first to tell him. He then called Hagen and Niklaus and they took their men out to meet these new men before they arrived. Interestingly, the police found these men dead along one of the highways. Then the ambassador got an urgent message from the prime minister to meet him at one of their usual clubs. He quickly arrived with 6 men and the driver of his limousine.

As they came inside, they were met by a man in a suit wearing a white carnation, which was their way of identifying each other when new men are used. “Please come this way Mr. Ambassador,” said the man, “the prime minister wanted a more private room for this meeting.” The ambassador left 2 of his men to stand guard at the door to the hallway leading to their meeting room. As the ambassador walked into the room he noticed right away that the prime minister was not present and this troubled him. “Come in and sit down, please,” said Johann, “the prime minister sent me since the police are watching him right now.”

“I do not like that,” said the ambassador, “what has happened?” “It seems the Investigators have been completely exonerated of all wrong doing. The leaders, Steve and Jennifer, have been released from custody and the Investigators will be allowed to operate as private investigators once again.” “No, that is not possible!” exclaimed the ambassador, “That will hinder all of our plans!” “You do not need to worry about your plans, Mr. Ambassador,” said Johann, “you came into our territory, uninvited, and tried to take over what we have worked so long to build up.

That was a grave error on your part. Did you expect us to sit back and allow you to take over? Now you must be severely punished for this.” “What?!” he exclaimed, “You can do nothing to me, I have diplomatic immunity, you cannot touch me!” Right then two of his bodyguards standing back, close to the door, were stabbed in the back by Johann’s men. They groaned and fell to the floor. The other bodyguard went for his gun, but one of the men standing close to Johann had his gun out first and shot him.

“You will hear about this, I assure you!” yelled the ambassador and he stood up to leave. “You are going nowhere,” said Johann. “But, I have diplomatic immunity,” he said again, “you cannot touch me!” “Let’s see how your diplomatic immunity holds up to a bullet,” said Johann and he took out his gun and shot the ambassador 3 times. The ambassador fell to the floor dead. On their way out Johann told the other two guards that the ambassador wanted to see them. They began walking down the hall and Johann’s men shot them.

Outside they shot the driver as well, then they got into their own car and drove off. Meanwhile, back at the clinic. “Are we going to fight with this Papa Levi?” asked the girls that were now at the clinic and chateau. “We are going to let Macy’s “uncles” deal with him,” said Jennifer, “unless they are unable to stop him, then we will step in and put a stop to him and his ideas. But Steve, Kat and I thought it would be best to fight crime with crime for a change. Especially since we had to spread out a bit for a while.

Besides, there is still a treasure hunt for us to do. We know approximately where to look for that gold, or what’s left of it anyway. About two thirds of it has already been found, some of it 10 years ago, and more about 8 years ago. We will try to find the remainder of it.” Brando did go after Papa Levi and his men, but Levi and two men managed to escape the fight and they disappeared, likely returning to Belarus. Maybe we will meet them again some day, but for now, what has happened to Steve?

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.