Isa was a nervous wreck by the time I got there. A big man, able bodied, proud and used to handling things on his own, he was more than just frustrated that he had been unable to stop Marikay's abduction, he was livid and like any loving husband would be, broken. Had it been my wife I'm sure I would have been the same.
While the Greensboro Police Department was busy stumbling all over themselves looking for clues I had Donny go online and access Isa's home security system using the information Isa gave us. Hacking is so much easier when you actually begin with passwords and access codes. It was there we found the image of an Alien outside the window just as Isa had told me on the phone.
Photo courtesy of Carol Newsome Photography
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The trees and flowerpots, even the benches Downtown-- the few that remained-- were mostly broken. The Downtown Greensboro Interdimensionals bragged about the many tons of garbage they picked up but when we got there we found foxes and coyotes eating from trash on the streets and sidewalks oblivious to the noise coming from the rooftop clubs and parking garage parties so common Downtown. Why the city was trying to close down the parking garage parties never made any sense to me anyway. Why not make them official City events and charge admission instead? The infrastructure is there, the crowd is there, the party is there-- the only thing that wasn't there was profits for the City of Greensboro. But like everybody always says about Greensboro, that makes too much sense.
Our young people were leaving the city in droves. All it took was one trip to Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta or even Roanoke and they were dreaming of going away forever. Auction Greensboro talked about all the things they were doing to keep young people from moving away but in the end, like the Downtown Greensboro Interdimensionals, they were no more than a publicly funded cheerleader squad performing only for each other.
"What's on your mind?" The Veggiecycle asked.
"You probably wouldn't understand," I said.
"Try me," he insisted. "You never know."
"Ah," I moaned, "It's as if the whole world is coming apart, everything is broken and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
"I know that feeling," he said, "I remember one time when Veggie and I were rushing to an emergency and my chain started to break." It was then he started to recite, Chain Drive, one of the many silly poems he would tell us over the years.
Its adjustment you ignore.
Without it I am nothing
but to touch it you deplore...
"So you really did have a break down once?" I asked.
"Oh I broke down lots of times in the early years," he said, "but by the time you met Veggie I had learned how to warn him before it was too late."
Of course, his experiences had nothing to do with what I was going through but the knowledge that Veggie hadn't built the perfected motorcycle meant there was still hope we might invent it yet. And for that I was happy.
___________
Bobbie stopped by the hobby shop to pick up a remote control toy helicopter and a Go Pro video camera. John and Lemar helped Steve and Wooley load up tools and weapons back at the shop while Donny called a friend of ours who just happened to work for the company that installs and maintains video surveillance cameras for the City of Greensboro. With his help, Donny was able to watch the entire city from a single laptop though several would have made the job easier. And GPD never knew we were watching. As a matter of fact, because this same company also installed many privately owned surveillance cameras we now had access to many more cameras than even the police. Believe me, most of them you don't want to see.
In less that an hour we were all converging on Downtown Greensboro. While on the way there I called up Danny Bayer a friend of mine who owns a small recording studio at the artists co-op Downtown and asked him to bring his PA equipment and some sound effects recordings to meet us there. Minutes later we all met on the street just outside the former bank high rise turned Alien headquarters.
As Bobbie and Wooley attached the Go Pro camera to front of the remote control helicopter and Steve loaded a bucket full of smoke grenades to be carried to the ventilation shaft on the roof of the building by the tiny chopper, I passed out gas masks, fire axes, oxygen tanks and red toy firefighters hats to the entire crew. On such short notice the toy firefighters hats were the best we could do.
Donny kept an eye on the various cameras including several inside the building and quickly located the room where Marikay was being held captive still bound in bread ties in the penthouse suite where 2 Tall Whites and one Grey Alien were standing over her. When he zoomed in we could see the absolute terror in her eyes. I instructed Donny to call 9-1-1 and tell the operator we had located Marikay the instant we got on the elevator.
Danny hooked up his PA system and found the right CD. The crew lined up with John and Lemar in the front row, Steve and Wooley in the second row and Isa and I bringing up the rear. "How come those guys lead the charge," Isa asked.
"Age before beauty," I smiled.
"You mean they're younger and stronger," he grinned.
"Age has it's perks, my friend," I said in agreement. "Besides, I want to make sure you're the one who rescues Marikay."
"She would like that," Isa said.
"You will too," I replied. "Men of action don't like waiting on others."
We waited as Bobbie piloted the helicopter to the top of the building and dumped the load of smoke bombs into the ventilation shaft. It seemed like forever but eventually we saw the smoke start to fill the lobby. It was then that Danny powered up his PA system and started playing alarm sounds along with a 200 decibel warning. "Everyone please remain calm and exit the building immediately by walking down the nearest stairs! Do not use the elevators as you may become trapped! I repeat, do not use the elevators as you may become trapped!"
Danny repeated the message again and again, rattling the entire building as he spoke. Of course, everyone panicked and started running all over the top of each other.
We gave the crowd a couple of minutes to thin out then went crashing in through one of the windows out front. Not that we needed to crash through the windows but being that we had fire axes we thought it would be fun. John and Lemar pummeled several security guards who got in our way and Steve and Wooley took out a couple more. Even I managed to trip one who came running towards Isa in an attempt to tackle him. We made it to the elevator only to find ourselves blocked from reaching the button that opened the doors by a row of security guards. "That will be far enough," one of the guards said. "You don't look like real firefighters to me."
"But my wife is up there," Isa said, "you have to let me get her down."
"As long as we're the one's with the badges and the guns," the guard said, "you do what we say and not the other way around."
I must admit it was looking pretty hopeless until I looked up to see the helicopter with a stick taped to the front flying behind the security guards towards the elevator button. We watched as it flew quietly, pushing the button with the stick and opening the elevator doors. "What the!" a guard shouted! "Shoot that thing!"
Suddenly all their attention was on the helicopter and shots were being fired as the elevator doors closed and we went non stop to the penthouse! By the time they realized what had happened we were gone.
When the elevator doors opened we rushed out of the elevator with John and Lemar running over everyone who tried to slow us down. With their axes they went through doors like butter and in but only minutes we found ourselves in the room where Marikay was being held. John and Lemar quickly took down the two Tall Whites and Isa almost ran over all of us as he reached to pound a series of mighty blows against the head and upper body of the Grey Alien before running to were Marikay lay bound in bread ties!
A couple more Tall Whites rushed into the room but John and Lemar made quick work of them while Steve and Wooley were tying the others up. "They're too tight!" Isa shouted. "I can't get them off of her!"
Try as we might we couldn't budge the thousands of bread ties binding Marikay. Even untwisting them didn't work as they kept twisting themselves back together faster than we could untwist them. Finally after struggling for several minutes we heard Donny on the radio, "Bobbie, we need your remote control."
"But they shot my chopper down," Bobbie said.
"That's okay," Donny said, "all we need is your remote control. Pretend you're flying that chopper straight to the moon, just keep going straight up until I tell you to stop. Got it?"
"Moon shot coming up," Bobbie said, "but I don't know what good it will do you."
In the penthouse we watched as the bread ties untwisted and fell from Marikay's body. In just a couple of minutes they were all on the floor and Isa was lifting her from the table. "I wonder what happens when Bobbie stops flying?" I asked.
"I donno," Steve said.
"Let's find out," Wooley laughed as he and Steve tossed the Grey Alien on the table where Marikay had been.
"Bobbie," I said, "how 'bout you fly back to Earth?"
"Donny?" she asked.
"You heard the man," Donny asked, "Fly that puppy home."
"One puppy coming down," Bobbie said over the radio.
We watched in amazement as the bread ties quickly sprang from the floor to cover the Grey Alien and bind him from head to toe in thousands of little twists. The more he struggled the tighter they got. With 4 Tall Whites and one Grey Alien in tow, and Isa with a very groggy but smiling Marikay still in his arms, we made our way back to the elevator and to the lobby where dozens of real cops would be waiting by the time we got there. "How did your brother know how to work the bread ties?" Isa asked.
"You know, Isa," I answered, "I really have no idea but you can bet I'm going to ask."
When the elevator doors opened ay the lobby we were met by dozens of Greensboro Police Officers including Greensboro Police Chief Ken Miller. "We found Marikay," Isa shouted. "And her kidnappers."
I accompanied Isa and Marikay to the emergency room at Wesley Long Hospital http://www.conehealth.com/locations/wesley-long-hospital/ along with Chief Miller while the others stayed behind to answer questions for police investigators and the dozen or so local media outlets that had arrived on the scene. Marikay checked out just fine with the doctor recommending only a few days rest and relaxation and a possible visit to a therapist should she feel the need.
The next morning I opened my copy of the Greensboro News & Record expecting to see a story all about Marikay's abduction, recovery and captured Aliens but instead on the front page the headline read, Pointe Centre Hit By Vandals! No mention of kidnappings, Marikay, captured Grey Aliens, Tall Whites, remote controlled bread ties or anything that actually took place other than some broken glass and a scuffle between security guards and a group of unknown men armed with axes and smoke grenades.
That's Greensboro, everything's broken. Sing it, Bob!
There, I said it.
Continue to Wipeout.
