Oceans

"As we started into the building, we were spotted by another group of soldiers. We pushed our way into the building and barricaded the door behind us. I left three of the men to hold off the attack and continued into the building. On the first floor, I cut the power lines plunging the building into darkness. I made my way around the building killing anyone I ran into."

"As I got to the last room on the second and highest floor of the building, the lights came back on. In front of me stood the biggest man I'd ever seen. He looked at me and laughed."

"I pulled out my sidearm and raised it. I could have...I should have shot him. That forty five would have blown a hole in his head the size of a coconut. I dropped it and raised the sword. He nodded and raised his own blade. He swung at me, a beautifully executed earth to heaven stroke. I jumped back sharply avoiding the blow."

"He nodded again acknowledging my skill. Unlike on television and in the movies, the Samurai avoided blade on blade contact whenever possible. Two finely honed blades clanging against each other like on Highlander would only destroy both blades. I launched my own attack. The difference was that my attack was only a feint. It was never intended to land. He committed to moving back to avoid my blow and succeeded. His mistake was when he evaluated my skills and thought that I was using Kenjutsu or Kendo moves. Before his feet landed from his light leap backward, I did a lightning fast advance and lunge. The kind that is very common in European styled fencing. My blade impaled him through his chest nailing him to the wall behind him."

"Through the air rushing out of his collapsing lung, I heard him laughing at me yet again. I kicked the door open and entered the room. This time I was even more too late. All I found was Kerri's body. It had been hacked to pieces. I screamed as loudly as I could and kept screaming."

"The next thing I knew Dana was beside my bed shaking me awake. She looked at me with concern written all over her face. I could see everything she wanted to tell me. She was afraid that I was working too hard. She didn't want stress to push me over the edge. I told her it was only a nightmare and not to worry about it. She reluctantly went back to her own room leaving me there to figure out what the fuck was going on in my head."

"I've always believed that there are things that human beings simply don't understand. Ghosts, spirits, angels, I believed in all of that shit. I was sure these dreams were trying to tell me something. I thought that I'd figured it out. The dreams were trying to tell me that Kerri was in danger and only I could save her. I had to save her no matter what. I became even more determined to finish the statue and for us to just go away together to find what we'd lost."

"The next day was supposed to be our last day on the promotional tour. I was supposed to sign autographs and talk to people at a display of local artists. Then we'd fly back the next day and I could go back to working on my statue."

"Dana brought me a radio because one of the guys that Kerri was trying to sign was supposedly a guest on the show. Dana tried to keep me up to date with what other artists were doing and what went on in the art scene in our area."

"The guy, Denny Wainwright, sounded like an asshole to me. He was supposed to be talking about some art fair they were having in the park, but he kept trying to turn the show into "This is your life, Denny Wainwright."

"The host seemed to be holding his own and he asked a few heated questions. He asked Denny how he compared to Amanda and I laughed before the guy got his answer out. It would be years before he would even be considered to be in Amanda's class, if ever. To my surprise the guy said he was better. I almost pulled my headphones out. The people around me started looking at me. Then the host began comparing him to me. I hoped that he'd say that he was better than me too. That would put me in the same category as Amanda. Since she was kind of my hero, I loved the comparison."

"But he didn't do it. From Kerri's talk you all know what he said. I stood up immediately and told Dana to get us out of there. I needed to get back to New York double damn quick."

"We got a flight out that afternoon and were back in town by early evening. Dana tried to calm me down. Kerri, you even called me a couple of times that evening but I was even angrier at you. It was one thing for you to simply spend more time with your other clients than with me, but I'd always thought that the two of us had something special. I truly believed all of that bullshit we spoke about when we said we'd be together forever. You having sex with other men ruined it. I guess maybe I was too insulated. I was too locked up in my own little world to ever consider it. I guess I was stupid or clueless or maybe I just loved you so much that I thought that you loved me the same way. I could NEVER have done what you did, Kerri, NEVER."

"Anyway Dana thought that she'd calmed me down that night, but we all know she was wrong. I lit out early the next morning only to have Dana pull me back into the studio. I was dressed in head to toe black leather and carrying my Paul Chen Golden Oriole Katana. I drove my blacked out Mustang GT. Everything on that car is black. Even the brake rotors are black anodized. The badges and lettering are also black. The only things on the car that aren't black are the two fog lights. They're a very eerie yellowish green. They stick out of all of that blackness like two eyes."

"You all know what happened at the art fair, I lost my temper and hurt that idiot. But you don't know what happened afterwards. I had Dana let everyone in the small art community know that any gallery or any museum that worked with Denny would never have my business again. When Amanda seconded my motion, Denny's career in art ended. Within a week he couldn't get a job painting houses. No one would let him anywhere near a paint brush."

"I guess I should feel guilty or something for destroying a man's career. Maybe I should feel something for taking what he'd worked and struggled his whole life to achieve away from him just as he was getting started. But to be truthful, I didn't feel shit. All I felt was anger. I guess I blamed Denny for destroying my marriage, when in reality he was only the messenger. Denny had done far less to hurt me than you did Kerri or even than your stable of boy toy artists did."

"If I really wanted revenge, I should have hired investigators and had them find out how many and which guys you were fucking and ruined their careers. I should have confronted you and tried to hurt you the way you did me. But I loved you so much and really I was still in shock. I didn't know what I was doing, I wasn't thinking, I was just reacting."

"I was going to launch into Denny again while he lay there writhing on the ground but Dana came to my rescue again. She pulled me away from him and made me walk around the back way to get to the car while everyone was still looking at Denny. I calmed down a bit as we walked and that was when I ran into Chloe. There was no premeditation, meeting her wasn't a part of some plan. In fact, the only reason that Chloe hadn't been pulled from the Commerce show was because I hadn't ever heard of her. I didn't even know that you'd signed any female artists until Dana whispered it to me."

"Chloe herself told me that she was putting a couple of pieces in the Bank event. I really liked her work and I liked her as well. She was so different from all of the jaded artists you usually run into. I told her to...Well you've already heard that part too."

"What you don't know is that I was so pissed that I didn't just want to hurt Denny physically, I'd already done that. Besides destroying his little career from a business standpoint, I had to strike a blow against his ego as well. So I had Dana delay the opening. I also had a meeting with the men at the bank the next day to explain what was going on and the changes I had in mind for my statue. I charged them another three quarters of a million dollars and called in some of my special friends. That night, while I waited for them to arrive, I hacked my statue into pieces. Dana cried when she came into the studio because she didn't know what I'd planned."

"Over the next few days, aided by a crew of specialists, I worked feverishly to complete the statue. I know that you tried to call me several times Kerri, but it was simply too late for that. Most of my anger was directed at you by then. I guess we'd both figured out what was wrong with us. By listening to you just now, it's clear that you'd figured out that I knew and were desperately trying to talk to me. But also from listening to you, it's clear that even then you really hadn't come to terms with what you'd done and just how badly it had damaged me."

"Actually, even now, years later, I still don't think you understand it. So let me explain it to you. From the first time that we saw each other, I loved you. I spent most of my fucking life trying to please you. I gave you everything I had for as long as we were together. You weren't just my heart and my soul, you were EVERYTHING. So speaking to you wasn't on the menu. If we'd talked you could have made me see things your way because I loved you so much. I was like one of those guys at a drug treatment facility. The only way to get over my addiction was to quit it cold turkey. So for those weeks that I modified the statue, I never left the studio. There were lots of people coming and going but I never left."

"During that period of time, I worked harder than ever to make the statue what it became. We worked very long days and often very deep into the night. Dana was the only constant. Chloe did come by a few times to ask about a piece she was working on and we became friends of a sort. Actually we still communicate now. But since you and she haven't spoken since she signed with Dana, you wouldn't know or care about that."

"Three days before the opening, everything except for some minor tweaking and some cosmetic work was done. I was still polishing and filling the seams because it was imperative that they not show. And like all of the other times, I let my mind wander and found myself somewhere else. This time I thought I was in a hospital, running down the halls until I got to the room I'd been running towards. It was a bridge as usual and again it turned out I was on a ship. This time it was a space ship of some sort."

"One of the guys at the controls was speaking to me but I couldn't understand him. A guy next to me pointed at the screen which showed a clock counting downwards and another ship pulsing. He adjusted something on my collar and then I could understand all of them. We only had a short time that their defenses would be down. After that we wouldn't be able to board the other ship."

"Though I was angry as hell at you in the real world, Kerri, I still had to try to save you in the dream. Without a word, I followed a couple of men and we ran quickly through the ship. The dream again was so real that I could feel my lungs burning. I could barely keep my balance as the ship was struck over and over again by some type of blasts."

"We eventually got to some kind of docking bay. We quickly ran across a pneumatic tube that had been stretched between the two ships. Even as we approached it, the tube began to vibrate. I ran quickly through the tube feeling it shake with every step I took. Behind me, my men followed me through the tube intent on helping me to achieve my goal."

"Before we were through the tube, it began to disconnect from the other ship. The vacuum of space began to suck the air out of the tube and we were sucked along with it. With the last of my strength, I flung myself at the landing bay of the other ship."

"I strained with everything I had while holding my breath. The oxygen rushing out of the tube and the lack of gravity conspired against me and my momentum slowed. For the briefest of seconds, failure crossed my mind. In that second, I didn't worry about the possibility of dying in the endless emptiness of space, Kerri. I only worried that I'd failed you again."

"Then from nowhere the first of my men slammed into me. His momentum added to mine and I made it to the landing bay. The next man slammed into him and I was able to reach out and pull him onto the bay as well. Unfortunately, the second man was too far away for us to reach. With the lack of oxygen outside of the receding tube, we couldn't even hear his screams as he was pulled away into the emptiness of space."

"It wasn't that I didn't value his sacrifice, Kerri, it was more a case that I was intent on saving you this time at any cost. There was nothing I wasn't willing to risk or give up this time. And that included the loyal men who followed me, as bad as it seemed."

"I quickly ran through the docking bay on the other ship with my remaining ally right behind me. As we got to the end of the hallway, several men who looked like storm troopers from Star Wars came after us."

"They were all coming out of one doorway. To get to it I had to go through them. I looked back and my ally was shooting at them with a laser pistol. I didn't have a gun so I couldn't help him. He looked over his shoulder at me with a "duh" look and pointed at my belt."

"I looked at my belt and for the first time noticed what was hanging on it. It looked like a tsuka, the handle of a Katana. I pulled it out and stared at it. There was a button on the hilt. I pushed it and yep, it was a light saber. All kinds of questions went through my mind, like how the hell does the laser just stop at a certain point. Unlike the ones in the movies, this laser seemed to curve like the blade of a Katana."

"How the hell had they gotten the lasers to curve? My ally was tapping his wrist as if he had a watch on, which I took to mean 'look dumb ass get it in gear'. So I leaped at the men. One of them aimed at me and all I could do was to raise the light saber. It shocked the shit out of me when it deflected the shot. After that it was like old home week as I plowed into the crowd. I hacked my way through them and turned just in time to see my only ally fall."

"I came up behind the man who'd shot him and cut him in two before I walked through the doorway."

"As I stepped through the doorway, I heard the sound of clapping. I looked around and saw it, all the armor, the breathing unit, the whole nine yards. I'm not bullshitting, it was fucking Darth Vader."

"An inspiring performance," he said, rising from where he sat. Above him, on the stairs, I saw Kerri. This time she was alive and breathing. She actually smiled at me. I was sure that she knew that I'd save her this time."

"I pushed that button again and my light saber's blade sprang to life. The blade from Vader's saber also popped open. His blade was a deep red. Mine was pure black light."

"He swung his blade at me with what I hoped was all of his might. If it wasn't, I was in trouble because just the breeze from his blow was powerful. I didn't think I was strong enough to block the actual strike. I jumped backwards, avoiding his blow and countered with one of my own, which he blocked. I'd expected him to block my swing so I disengaged and thrust again cutting a furrow through his armor along the ribs. There was no blood and he continued to move the same way he had since we'd started so I was sure I hadn't hurt him at all."

"I could tell that he wasn't accustomed to being hit. I was more surprised than he was at my blow, when he began speaking to me again."

"Must we battle? Is there no other way?" he asked.

"Unless you're just going to let Kerri just walk out of here, we MUST," I said.

"She is fine. She's here of her own free will. This is where she wants to be. SHE created this," he said. His voice got louder with every sentence and that breathing thing was beginning to get on my nerves."

"Not that I don't believe you, but I want to hear it from her," I smirked. But deep down inside I did believe him. I started walking towards Kerri and I think I called her before he stepped between us again."

"I find your lack of faith...disturbing," he said. And he unleashed his blade again. I did the same and started towards him. I feinted left and then lurched to the right. As he tried to cover the two moves I thrust deeply dead center and plunged my blade into that portable ventilator or whatever it was that he wore on his chest."

"I raised my blade to attack again and he held up his hand for me to wait."

"What is it now Vader?" I asked. I just wanted this over with."

"You've lost," he said. "This was over before it began." He was having trouble breathing and sparks were coming from his chest unit but he was telling me that I had lost? I thought he was trying some kind of Jedi mind trick on me."

"Well," I said calmly. "My daddy always told me it ain't over til it's..."

"Luke!" he interrupted me. "I am your..."

"Who the hell is Luke?" I asked.

"Whatever," he gasped, wheezing as he said it. "You've still lost. Look over there." He pointed to where Kerri sat. Two of the storm troopers were standing beside Kerri with their weapons drawn."

"I flinched and my blade sprung to life but I knew, as he did, that there was no way I could cover the distance before one or both of them unloaded their weapons into her."

"You can still accomplish your mission," he said thoughtfully. His voice was almost pleading."

"How?" I hissed. He pointed at the shaft leading to one of the ventilation ports. It was a long way down. I was sure that I wouldn't survive the drop."

"Jump and I give you my word that she will be unharmed," he said. By that time more of his troopers had arrived. One was even attaching an oxygen mask to his face. Without a word I dropped over the edge."

"I tried to stay upright as I fell. I also tried and failed to roll with the force of the impact as I landed. I could feel the pressure snapping my legs like twigs and jarring my back in the process. The force of the impact also caused damage to my internal organs. I regained consciousness to find my entire body enflamed in the worst pain I'd ever felt."

"The swordsman I'd fought on the pirate ship was there beside me shaking his head. Sitting next to him was the huge Japanese soldier. Darth Vader came over to me also. "No wonder you're an artist," he said. "The only thing you're suitable for is painting little pictures that really don't have anything to do with reality."

"I kicked your ass," I spat out through blood covered lips. "I kicked all of your asses."

"And what good did it do? You lost every time. You won all of the battles but you lost the war. You're a moron. You tried everything except the one thing you should have done." Vader started laughing and took off his helmet. Vader wasn't a he at all. He, the pirate and the honorable Japanese soldier were all Kerri."

"I woke up again just in time to see Dana staring at me again. I'm sure that she thought I was losing it. My music was still blaring in the background. I smiled and told Dana I was fine and she turned and went into the office."

"Something in the song tweaked my brain and I grabbed the remote control for the stereo and replayed the song's chorus."

"Cross the Oceans in my mind. Find the strength to say goodbye."

"Suddenly, it all made sense to me. I dropped my polisher on the floor and sat back to look at the statue. It was finished. There was nothing more I could do to it. Very early the next morning, my team and I would install it at the bank. It would remain covered by scaffolding covered with heavy tarps that we would work under during the bank's working hours."

"Later on that evening, every rich or connected art lover in town would descend on the bank for the event of the season as far as the art world was concerned. After this, they'd all wonder what I'd do next to top this one. And like that fool Denny thought he'd do, I was going to change art and blend it with technology. Nothing would ever be the same."