Reno's Introduction to the Cavaliers

by Tommy Boy

When I entered the Institute for the first time, I was amazed by the sight. I had seen pictures of the inside in magazines but in real life I appreciated it even more. The front being of a Mediaeval Castle with turrets on either end. The facade was unique. You first enter into a large reception area.

Buckaroo met me there. "I see you are ready to move in," eyeing my duffle bag and sax case..

"You invited," I told him.

"That I did," he said bemusedly.

Buckaroo handed me what looked to be a watch and told me to put it on. Besides being a watch, it connected me to the 'go-phone system.' It would allow me passage to certain restricted areas. "Keep it on at most times," he told me.

I followed Buckaroo up the stairs and followed him down the hall. We entered a large room that resembled, to me, a frat party room. A sofa sectional in one corner, kitchen in another, a band set up in the far other and the last corner a hi tech computer center.

"This room is referred to as the bunkhouse," Buckaroo told me.

In the conversation area were Rawhide, Pecos, Peggy and a girl with long blond hair wearing a red "Team Banzai" polo shirt and camouflage dungarees.

"Tommy Boy," Buckaroo called over to the group.

The girl in the red shirt stood up and came over to us. "Meet Reno Nevada."

She extended her hand out for a hand shake. "Nice to meet you Reno. Tommy Boy."

I shook her hand.

"I need you to give Reno the nickel tour. I have a conference call with the Prime Minister of Britain scheduled in 15 minutes."

"No problem," she answered.

Buckaroo then headed out the door but stopped at the door jam and looked back at them, "show him the room on our floor."

"Across from Pecos or next door to Rawhide?" she asked.

"Across from Pecos."

Buckaroo left the room. Rawhide got up from the conversation pit, "I guess I better sit in on this conference, the Prime Minister isn't going to be happy with what Buckaroo has to say," and took off after him. Peggy and Pecos continued talking amongst themselves.

"Follow me. We'll go to your room first." Tommy Boy told me. I picked up my bag and sax and followed.

We left the bunkhouse and turned left in the hall. "The Hong Kong Cavaliers, live on this floor. Our prime responsibility is to protect Buckaroo. This also means that you are part of the inner group. You are free to study any endeavor you wish. We publish resident and intern findings. You can assist others as you wish. We just ask that you nourish your body like your mind. We have several disciplines that you can learn and refine."

She stopped in front of a door and opened it. It was a large room furnished with a desk, computer, bed, and dresser. "You can add what you want. Make it feel like a home to you."

I set my baggage on the bed. "This will start," I answered

We headed to the stairs again. An intern was stationed at the stairs at a desk. "Danny, this is Reno. He's on this floor. Can you leave word?"

"Sure Tommy Boy." he told her.

"Your watch will show clearance but they will now know to see a new face. This floor is a secure floor. Everyone must pass the sentry."

"Got you."

We went back down to reception then passed through double doors. "The cafeteria is to your right. Open 24 hours a day. As we know, scientists don't have a schedule. So it is convenient to all. To our left is our library." We looked in. Two stories high, atrium center. "We have books on essays, literature, sciences and numerable other subjects. If it can't be found, I assure you we can find it in two days."

We went back out and down the hall. The hall connected to another building by way of a greenhouse. "We have formal and informal gardens. We have fields beyond the primary perimeter of the institute that we grow most of our own food."

We entered a traditional four story building. "This houses the science labs and infirmary." We walked through then went outside. "We have a target range over there." Tommy Boy pointing to the left of the building in front of us. "This is the residence hall for interns. Down the lane is the stables for our horses. A munitions building and a garage to work and maintain vehicles are to our left. We also have an auditorium that seats assemblies up to 500 people."

"Sounds like a self contained world."

"Utopia is seldom achieved but for some this is their life. I know three people who have not left here in two years."

We started walking back towards the main building. Tommy Boy told me, "walk around and see what interests you. I need to see how the discussion went. Be at the cafeteria by six, we have informal meetings at dinner. "

She headed off in a jog to the main building. I went back too, to unpack my bag and get things settled in my room before dinner.

*********

At dinner I walked through the line. Tommy Boy had seen me and flagged me over to her table. She sat with Peggy and Rawhide.

"So how was the tour?" Peggy asked.

"Good, I may see a few things that I can start project wise with the resources that are here."

"Good," Peggy told him.

Rawhide sat quietly eating his food listening to the girls banter back and forth. He looked up at me, "You get used to the girls running their mouths off." He told me, "it's worse when Pecos is here."

"Now hush Rawhide, he's been married before, he knows about the female art of gab, don't you Reno?" Peggy chided her cowboy friend.

"How true, you can't stop a thing between two or more women," I told him.

Rawhide smiled, 'a friend for his side at last.' he thought.

Tommy Boy heard his thought. "You think that because Reno is here, that you have a comrade in arms? I bet he'll get cornered just like you do."

"I don't get cornered," he defended himself.

"Three to one is cornered Rawhide," Peggy pointed out to him.

Rawhide knew that he was a no winning conversation. He was saved when Buckaroo came in, walking his fast gait to their table. "Tommy, we need you at the com now," he said in a urgent voice.

Tommy Boy, Rawhide and Peggy got up to follow their leader. I got up to see what was going on, practically running after them while they headed for the stairs and to the bunkhouse.

Tommy Boy took over the computer com and analyzed the situation. "A full attack on the primary defenses. Warning system engaged." She entered codes and watched what was coming back to her. "Tracing feed." Names come up "New York, London, Cape Town - using a non tracing line" After ten minutes, it suddenly stopped. "They broke off." She went in to the system to see what the intruder had done. "New file. Sending to Com 1. It's for you Buck. It is from . . ." Tommy Boy faltered a moment then looked to Buckaroo, " Xan."

Everyone but Rawhide crowded around Com 1 with Buckaroo. Rawhide watched over Tommy Boy's shoulder at her computer to see what message Xan had left for his sworn enemy.

She opened the file.

A video of an oriental elder came on. "Greetings Buckaroo Banzai. I would like to extend to you an invitation to meet. A week from today in the state of Florida. I will contact you with coordinates in three days. Failure to meet will cost you great losses at what you call the Institute. I look forward in meeting you." The video faded out.

Rawhide was the first to comment, "It's a trap."

"It's quite obvious, but we are going to Florida. Tonight. Scramble 10 interns. Have the jet ready and load Rover 1. We are going to Miami. Be at the bus in 1 hour."

Buckaroo left the room with Peggy following close behind. Rawhide was already on the phone calling the airport to have the 727 prepped, routed and cleared, and flight lined.

"Is he like that all the time?" I asked in astonishment to Tommy Boy.

She answered. "Usually, but it is worse when it involves Xan. Have Jake help you get a bag and gear. Welcome to Team Banzai Reno Nevada. Be in the front in an hour."

********

There were twenty of us near or on the bus waiting for Buckaroo to board. Buckaroo arrived on the dot in the said hour.

On the bus, Pecos sat next to me discussing music genres. I was impressed by her knowledge for her age in regards to music styles and performers.

Tommy Boy and Rawhide followed in Rover 1, a Humvey that was their war wagon.

It took us an hour to get to the airport. We loaded the plane with the car and our belongings in 10 minutes and were ready to take off. The plane's departure was at 10 pm. We were scheduled to land at 3 am in Miami.

On the plane after taking off and settling in, most of the passengers were dozing. Beyond arriving at the hotel, the plan was unknown to us.

I was to pumped to sleep. So I started work on my journal of what I was experiencing with Buckaroo and the Cavaliers. Been with them for less than a day and already in the thick of an adventure with him.

Tommy Boy was dozing a few rows in front of me. She awoke after a short nap. Tommy Boy got up and went to the galley and poured a coke. She looked like she was contemplating something then went up front where Buckaroo and Rawhide were planning strategy.

"Hey guys," she sat down on the swivel chair that was free at the table. "Any ideas yet?"

"Before leaving the institute I scrambled Florida Blue Blazers. We should know by the time we touch down if there have been any sightings of Xan's known men," Rawhide answered.

"I need to interject something into this ordeal," Tommy Boy told them.

The guys looked at her.

"The last few nights I had been having visions. One of them came true today.

"One vision was seeing that message that was delivered by Xan today. Another is myself being in the hands of Xan. It doesn't look to be a pleasant experience. And the third one is myself facing you, attempting to throw a star at you."

With this news, both Buckaroo and Rawhide now knew what they are about to face. "They are going to kidnap you to get to me." They surmise together. "Well, we got a plan now." Buckaroo said. "We can't turn back though." he looked at Tommy Boy.

"I know. But I think that is the plan." She got up. "You know no matter what I would never intentionally hurt you." she layed her hand on Buckaroo's shoulder.

Buckaroo looked up at her and answered, "I know that."

Tommy Boy went back to her seat and put her headphones on. Sleep would not come for her on this flight.

********

We touched down at Miami airport. A charter bus was there to meet us on the tarmac. We all got in except Buckaroo, Rawhide and Tommy Boy. They would follow with Rover 1. The bus rolled out towards the highway.

Tommy Boy backed the car off the plane. Buckaroo and Rawhide went into the office of the airport authority to settle how long the plane would be there.

While waiting for the boys, Tommy Boy stood next to the car waiting. She lit a cigarette. On a whim she decided to look around the airport grounds with her binoculars.

She thought she saw someone hanging around the exit gate. She adjusted the glasses to see who was at the gate. Standing there looking back at her looking through glasses was someone she all too well recognized. Xan knew they were there. After the man watched her for a minute he put his helmet on and got on his motor bike and left.

The guys came out of the office. "Xan knows we are here," Tommy Boy announced as they approached.

"How?" Rawhide asked.

"I just saw Andy," and she got in the Humvy.

********

At the hotel we took a whole floor. With exits secured by two interns, we settled into rooms on the floor. Peggy was setting up gear in the suite for when Buckaroo arrived. I helped her and Big Norse set up a computer system that was the portable World Watch One. The com was up and running and information was coming in from the Blue Blaze Irregulars around Florida. The activity reported was centered to the Miami area.

Big Norse reported to us. "Four mid level men have been seen in the area in the last 24 hours." Big Norse ran through profiles finding the men that had been identified. "Randall Stalls, munitions expert. Artie Wilson - creator of chaos. Bill Templeton, team leader and Andy Frenwick - a lieutenant in Xan's army."

Peggy turned to Big Norse at the mention of the last name. "Did you say Andy Frenwick?"

Big Norse confirmed with a nod.

Buckaroo entered the suite with Rawhide and Tommy Boy following. Big Norse gave them the information that we just heard.

Tommy Boy sat down on the sofa confirming the Andy Frenwick person. "We saw Andy at the gate. He saw me at the car while the boys were in office."

I had to ask why this Andy was so familiar to them.

"Andy is my twin brother," Tommy Boy informed me.

"It seems that Xan is being most serious in his efforts here. To bring a Lieutenant of his personal group here is to say..."

"That we can expect the unexpected," Rawhide said out loud.

"Exactly," Buckaroo said. "No one leaves here without a partner. This is overload time."

Everyone felt a little uncomfortable.

**********

Everyone disbanded to rooms that were assigned to them. I bunked with Jake. Peggy stayed in the suite with Buckaroo. Rawhide and Tommy Boy were in a room across from Buckaroo. We all kept our doors open for just in case emergency.

Jake settled down to bed with his rifle standing next to the bed. "With high alert like this you never know what is going to happen." he explained. I followed fashion and laid down to get a few z's myself. My first day with the clan and I felt completely lost.

**********

Breakfast was delivered by the hotel staff to another suite room. Tommy Boy took breakfast to the sentry interns on the exits. Buckaroo was conferring with Rawhide in his suite. I sat down next to Tommy Boy on the sofa to ask a few questions that were coming to mind.

"Are those two inseparable?" referring to Buckaroo and Rawhide..

"As you will find out. Where one is the other is usually not to far away. Rawhide is his best friend, confidant. Rawhide's first duty is to see that Buckaroo is safe."

"What are we for then?"

"The defense perimeter to that protection to Buckaroo."

"So why get into the middle of the area if Xan wants him so bad."

"It is not necessarily getting Buckaroo per say. It is what Buckaroo stands for against him. Xan wants the World Crime League to do what the mob has done to the major cities, what the drug dealers have done. Create his own hierarchy of crime control. He wants a piece of the pie of every take. And once that is done he can infiltrate politics because he would control the population with fear. And currently the government is so bogged down with it's bureaucratic red tape that they can't do a thing to him really.

"It's like a chess game. It's our groups of Blue Blaze Irregulars against Xan's minions. And our kings are Buckaroo and Xan. The rest of us are pawns and knights."

That made sense to me.

"So what does the other side want if they don't necessarily want Buckaroo this time?"

Tommy Boy looked a little defeated with that question. "Xan wants a knight this time." She got up and headed to the other suite.

*********

Buckaroo and Rawhide were arguing when she entered. "I can hear you down the hall." She closed the doors behind her. "If you are going discuss me, I would like to be present."

They both looked at her. They were arguing on what to do, set up a situation to expose her or everyone go back to the Institute. Rawhide was voting for the latter.

"They want me, they will get me no matter what. We know that. Let's make it easy so no one will lose a life over it." Tommy Boy said making the final decision for everyone.

Rawhide didn't like it but he was being out voted. "We know Xan will return me to you two. And you know what to look for when I return." She tried to say it with confidence.

Buckaroo took that as Tommy Boy wanting to get on with the plan. "You two go out to see about the Blue Blaze report on Andy in the red light district. I'll scramble Team One after you leave."

********

Rawhide and Tommy Boy left with their gear. Buckaroo came in and announced the scramble of Team One. "Reno, go with the team and keep an eye on things."

Jake was team leader with Pecos, three interns and myself comprising the team. We gathered our gear and headed for Rover 1.

Jake got in and settled in to the driver's seat. "We are to follow Rawhide and Tommy Boy at a distance." We followed the signal that was a homing signal to Rawhide's and Tommy Boy's go phones. A red and blue dot on the tracking depicted the two. It stopped on a street and the two looked to be walking out of their rental car. They were checking out the address the Blue Blaze Irregular had given them for Andy, Tommy Boy's twin brother.

After several minutes the dots did not move. Jake went in, Pecos called to the com that we were going in.

We pulled up behind the rental car. All was intact. Everyone took evasive action towards the building that it was parked in front of. Jake and another intern were on either side of the door and took a stance to search each room like in a combat police run. After checking three rooms, Rawhide was found on the floor. He had some lacerations to his face from a fight and looked to have some knife wounds to his arms. Pecos continued the search of the first floor. The next room they found Tommy Boy's go phone. The back up interns reported to Jake that the premises were clear. Jake turned on his go phone.

"Com, Jake here."

"Com over," Big Norse answered.

"Situation. Rawhide was attacked. Will need to take to nearest hospital. Tommy Boy has been taken. Repeat taken. She is without transmitter. Over."

Buckaroo reached over Big Norse. "Copy Jake. Take Rawhide to Memorial. I'll be there to meet you."

"Roger."

Two interns got a back board out of the Rover 1 and started to get Rawhide on it. It took four of them to carry him to the Humvey. Pecos and I got the rental car and followed them to Memorial.

Rawhide was coming to when they got him out. Buckaroo was there to meet us in the emergency room. They wheeled him into a sectioned off room. Rawhide was trying to get up. Buckaroo tried his best to calm his friend.

"We were over ran by six of them. Andy was one of them. They separated us. Four on me and Andy and another on her." Buckaroo listened as he checked out his friends injuries. A few stitches here and there, but he had a nasty concussion. He estimated that Rawhide had been out for half an hour. Once he got stitched up he could return to the hotel and they would keep an eye on him there.

"Do me a favor. Be good for the doctor to stitch you up so you can get back to the hotel and make yourself useful." That shut up Rawhide from wanting to leave right then. He didn't want Buckaroo to pull rank to keep him out of the loop in what was going on.

********

Tommy Boy felt cold against her back. Cold metal. She tried to move but found that she was bound tightly to the cold slab. Her wrists, ankles, legs, chest, and head were all bound. She was barely able breathe a breath.

A voice that sounded distant announced that she was coming to. She tried to open her eyes but they weren't ready to open just yet. She felt queasy and unsettled.

She felt someone take her pulse. "He pulse is within perimeters."

"Tommy Boy, open your eyes," she heard in oriental English like in the video she had seen.

She tried to open them again and finally they opened. She saw fuzzy forms around her. Four of them from what she could make out.

"How do you feel?" the voice asked.

"Nauseosus, like I want to throw up."

The men moved around on her and one checked her eyes. "The affects of the drugs are still working in her my lord."

"It will clear up won't it?"

"Yes my lord. Lt. Andy said that they had to use an extra effort to subdue her."

"Tommy Boy. At this time you are recovering from both your abduction and a simple surgery that my surgeon has done on you. Soon we will be working with you to succumb to the mechanism that we have implanted into the stem of your neck. For you see, you are the one who is going to get your friend, Buckaroo Banzai."

The man left her side then she heard his voice in her head. "This is me in your mind," he said to her. "What is your real name?"

"You know what my real name is." Tommy Boy said out loud.

"Tell me your name." Pain started raking through her body. Couldn't move away from it.

"You know it." Tommy Boy said, breaking into a sweat. The pain increased.

"Tell me your name and the pain will stop." the voice said.

Greater pain came in waves, making her sick. Finally she gave in with what sanity she had left to her. "Valerie Frenwick."

The pain stopped instantly. She panted, the best she could in the constraints, trying to catch her breath.

"That wasn't so bad was it Tommy Boy?" He looked over her. "Work with me and you won't die a terrible death." He then walked out of the room, followed by the others.

Tommy Boy laid there trying to decipher what had happened to her. They had given her an implant that they would condition her so she would kill Buckaroo. She was glad that she had told them of her visions. It now made sense to her but will they know?

*********

For two weeks we followed information that Blue Blaze Irregulars reported to us. He found some activity on the 3 other members of Xan's team that he brought to Miami.

We found that they purchased a significant amount of wire and gauges. They were setting something big up. We knew that much.

Rawhide was getting more irritable every day too.

Pecos explained to me, "If you could get much closer in finding a soul mate. That is them. They protect each other. We all know that they love each other but they won't admit it to themselves."

"Why's that."

"Something about her past won't let her love anyone. She is a complete ice maiden when it comes to that. And Rawhide has had his own problems. 'Doesn't have time for it' he says."

Big Norse called Rawhide and Buckaroo to the com. "Buckaroo you have a phone call from Xan."

The call was put on speaker phone. "Buckaroo, your assistant is a very strong gal. She can take a beating and keep on ticking as you Americans have as a motto."

"So she is still alive then."

"More or less." Xan answered. "You can find her in an abandoned warehouse by the docks. But be aware of this, there will be five traps that you must get through to get to the girl." Xan named off an address that Peggy wrote down. "To your knowledgeable friends, you will need it." The phone went dead.

Big Norse looked at the tracer sequence. "Untraceable." Rawhide was already on the other computer trying to pull up where the warehouse was, see if there were plans to it and such.

Within ten minutes, a set of plans of the warehouse was brought up and what was around it. It was built out over water. Metal shell with four entrances, it was the type that you drove through. The police had been notified and the swat team was on it's way to await for Team Banzai to arrive. Everyone was scrambled except for the two sentries and Big Norse and Peggy.

Peggy looked to her two friends. "You bring her back alive," she told them.

Buckaroo kissed her, "I intend to." Then they pulled out.

********

Tommy Boy thought to herself what a sick joke Xan was making of her. Barely dressed in resemblance to a lion clothe, she was duck taped to a cross. Then to not make it to easy on her, some barbed wire was ran around her arms and body. They hoisted her up on a pulley to hang in the middle of a large empty warehouse. There she was left hanging. For how long, she lost count.

Team Banzai pulled up in front of the wharf entrance. The wharf seemed deserted. Jake took a set of interns to one side followed a squad of police while Rawhide and Buckaroo took the other side with their back up.

All doors were shut and locked. They had to pick a door to try to open. Everyone checked out each door. Wires ran from one to the other and around. They were rigged together.

"Our first challenge is actually four." Buckaroo summed up. They had to clip the doors all at the same time for they rigged to explosives it could be assumed with who had been noted to be in town. After coming up with a plan with the explosives expert on what to do, Jake, Buckaroo, Rawhide and the expert would defuse their assigned doors. On counts they would cut and move lines that would defuse the doors mechanism.

After a set of movements, they were able to bypass the doors from the explosives. They cut the locks on the main bay doors and were able to open the doors to see what was in the warehouse.

Before them, suspended 12 feet off the floor, was Tommy Boy hitched to a cross. Team Banzai approached carefully. Rawhide and Buckaroo saw the 5th test. Hanging off the cross was another bomb. The expert saw it too.

Tommy Boy barely had enough strength but she tried to ask a few questions. At least they knew that she was alive.

"Do you mind telling me what is making you look at me other than I feel like a sick joke."

Buckaroo looked up his partner. "It seems that attached to your frame my dear is a bomb." Not a man to mince words, the truth was always straight from him.

"Great." she said feebly.

The expert looked at from what he could see. "It's going to have to stay at this height. We have to hang it there before we can get her down."

Two ladders were found to put on either side of the rope hanging the bomb. They worked quickly to stabilize it to a secure spot. After feeling satisfied that they had it secure to be cut off the cross they cut it off the cross. Two interns went to the pulley and let Tommy Boy down.

Upon settling on the ground. Jake cut the barb wire holding her then cut the tape that held her to the cross. Buckaroo covered her with a blanket from a policeman. Tommy Boy's signs were weak. She looked up to see Buckaroo and Rawhide checking her out.

Buckaroo surmised that she hadn't eaten while she was gone. He color was pale. He decided to take her to the hospital and then they would go from there to the airport and pull out to the Institute. An ambulance was standing by.

Tommy Boy watched them. Buckaroo turned his attention to her. "Rawhide is going with you to the hospital. We'll follow in the Humvey." Rawhide picked her up and placed her on the back board. The attendants strapped her in. They quickly ushered her out of the warehouse.

Buckaroo looked around the warehouse. Xan had a very sick sense of humor. He didn't have time to contemplate it. He had to follow the ambulance to take care of Tommy Boy. Jake and he went to Rover 1 and drove to the hospital.

Tommy Boy kept her eyes open while the attendant took readings and vitals in the ambulance. Rawhide kept watch over her. She was weak but fighting to stay awake. The attendant started an IV with difficulties. Upon arrival at the hospital, Buckaroo did a thorough check. To him other than malnourishment, she was severely bruised, like she was periodically been beaten. Upon questioning Tommy Boy, she didn't have any memories. The last thing she remembered was the meeting at the com in regards to Xan's file message.

Two weeks wiped out concerned both men. Buckaroo knew that it took something to make a person not remember certain things. Rawhide agreed with Buckaroo that Xan had done something to her.

With an IV attached to her, Buckaroo announced that they were going home. They transported Tommy Boy to the airport by way of the Humvey. The others met them at the plane. Part of the strategy area of the plane could be used as an infirmary. They locked her into place for the flight. She slept some. Peggy watched her while Rawhide and Buckaroo discussed the possibilities of what happened to Tommy Boy.

"She has no memory of what had happened to her." Buckaroo repeated the statement out loud.

"May be they kept her out the entire time?"

"And beat her?" Buckaroo asked.

Rawhide had not spent much time with her to know anything else. "We'll work on it once we get home." he told Buckaroo.

Tommy Boy was put in the infirmary upon arriving back home. She slowly regained her strength. She still couldn't recall what had happened to her while is Xan's captivity. When asked by Rawhide certain questions, she is unable to answer them.

She had started having headaches. Some barely noticeable to her as discomfort and a few that she would say would be like a migraines. Buckaroo had the assistants run tests to see if she had an old concussion or what could be causing the discomfort. Test were showing inconclusive. Buckaroo could not explain it.

On the second week of their return to the institute, Buckaroo gave permission for Tommy Boy to get away from the infirmary. To get out of bed and just plain out.

A few days later, while walking with Rawhide she had an intense pain in her head. She fell to her knees, the pain was so intense. Rawhide called for help on the go-phone. He picked her up and headed for the infirmary. Buckaroo tried to examine her while she endured the pain. He saw what he had missed the first time. He saw a suture mark on the nape of her neck.

Buckaroo put Tommy Boy under and had a cat scan done. It confirmed what he thought. There was an implant. They prepped for surgery. To Buckaroo it looked like they had planted a manipulative device in Tommy Boy but the points of contact it made with the nerves had slipped and now were making contact with nerve endings, thus giving her the headaches.

Tommy Boy slowly recovered from the apparatus that had been implanted in the base of her skull. If it had stayed properly connected it would have led her to do what she had warned us of all of happening. But to our luck, the attempt was not executed well.