[photocrazy]

...pick up more Pepsi on the way. Once he arrived at the hospital, he noticed all the doctors, nurses and security guards going crazy, running around. "What's going on!?" he asked loudly at one of the nurses. She explained that one of the patients was gone. Gradually, Pete discovered that it was Ron she was talking about. Then he asked if Lawanda had been there, but the nurse couldn't tell him anything. Concerned that Ron might beat him to Lawanda, Pete took off, and headed towards....

***

LaWanda quickly opened the locker with the key. Inside the locker was just dust, and an empty can of Pepsi. She placed the key inside the locker and closed the door. Whirling around just in time, she saw Arnold Schwarzenegger!! Surrounding him was the press with photographers and al their flashes firing. "No one can see me now!" she smiled as she slipped out of the airport.

As she approached her car, inside it she found....

[Mandiannie]

Pete ran back to the car and sped away from the hospital. after about half an hour he arrived at Lawanda's apartment and pressed the doorbell to see if she was home. After trying unsuccessfully for 10 minutes to get an answer he turned back to the car wondering where she might be and wondering at the same time if she was with Ron.

*******
Stan looked around the lab at all the people there. He knew that they had all been trained to do the required work. Why was he here" he wondered. A few minutes later he was pushed into a room or what looked like a room though it had no windows. He turned around to see what was going on to find that the door he had entered in at had dissapeared! "Oh oh he thought "What now?" Then he noticed something in the corner of the room. He walked over to see what it was. "Nothing but a tin can" he thought in disgust and promptly kicked it to the other end of the room. What was he doing here and how was he going to get out of this mess?

******
Meanwhile back at the airport Lawanda got to her car only to find that her tires had been slashed. Someone had definatly followed her but who was it and why hadn't she seen him? She walked back to the airport and sat down on one of the seats. "I wish Pete were here, She thought but quickly pushed that thought aside. Where was he and what was he doing. She hoped he was ok. Not knowing what else to do she picked up her cell phone and called...........

[mommy2twins2]

Her answering machine. There were two messages. One was from the kidnappers. "we know you gave us a phony key, but we have tracked down the real one. good luck on seeing your boyfriend again ALIVE." "The people at eh airport (whoever they are) must have found out about the guy who ambushed me in my car" she thought. the next message was from Ron

"Lawanda, you are in grave danger! I didn't want to have to tell you this, but stay away from Pete! I am out of the hospital, I will try to hook up with you later."

******

It finally occurred to Pete that he would be awfully visible in this car. He was heading for the Benson company, but if he showed up in this, everyone would see him from miles away. "It's also probable that they are following me," he thought. He was right. He didn't notice the GPS tracking device blinking away in his rear wheel well. They were following his every move, and he couldn't even see them. He decided he better lose whoever it was, so he headed to the mall. Once inthe parking lot he...

[Kara]

found a parking spot under a shade tree, just behind a large RV. He parked, stepped out of the car and walked briskly inside. It was a large mall and it would be easy for him to hide here. He'd normally head straight towards Radio Shack or the bookstore but he knew that those were the first places they'd look for him. So he headed towards Macy's and began wandering through the aisles of home goods -- pastel sheets and comforters, paisley draperies and terrycloth towels. No one would ever look for him here. To his surprise ...

[FrugalByDesign]

...parked the car, threw the keys on the seat and hit the locks One quick shove on the door, and the car was no more. He headed into the mall. Taking a seat inside, he tried to sort things out. He knew about S.U.P.P.L.I and all the experiments they were doing. It hit him that he had been, and probably still was, a part of those experiments. And he could easily see that he was a WILLING part of them, even if by omission. That had to stop. First, he needed a Pepsi. The mall only served them in the various restaurants - no cans here - so he headed to the food court.

***

"Stan, you have FAILED", a voiced wailed over a loud speaker in the vacant room. You have let THE COMPANY down and have allowed our competition, S.U.P.P.L.I. to make great headway on the same cloning and testing we are doing! How could you have had a supply cabinet in your office with the key labeled S.U.P.P.L.I. and not seen that they had infiltrated the operation? It was right there under your nose!"

"I don't know", Stan stammered. I thought I had all my bases covered. Once we got Ron hired on, I put him in charge of THE COMPANY'S project, just to keep his mouth shut. I thought the prestige and bonuses would keep him in line. But he wanted more power. He felt he was untouchable - that I couldn't do anything to him because we shared this secret. He threatened to tell the other employees what "the Benson Project" REALLY was. I did my best not to cross him, just to keep him shut up."

"And because you FAILED", the voice boomed, "we had to try to take him out with that accident. We aren't leaving that in your hands any longer."

"What ARE you leaving in my hands?"

There was total silence.

***

Ron had hung up the phone after his call to LaWanda. He had no idea why he had made that call, who LaWanda was, who Pete was, or what he was talking about. These memories were coming in and out...he was great when they were "in", but when they were out - he had no clue what he was talking about. He took this, at least for the moment, as a GOOD sign. Yesterday he couldn't remember anything. Perhaps his memory would recover as quickly as his physical ailments had. All he remembered at the moment, was that he LOVED - and badly wanted - a Pepsi.

***

The messages on her answering machine had shaken LaWanda up. The kidnappers were threatening her again, and Ron had at least part of his memory back - but he was warning her that she was in danger. WHY? She hadn't done anything! She wanted to cry... Was she safe here? Gazing up at the news program running on the tvs in the airport - she froze. There she was, big as life, on the TV screen, right behind Arnold. Pictures of him had captured her face too. And it was a full face view. No denying it - SHE was in the airport. If anyone was looking for her, they knew. She had to get outta there. But HOW?

***

"Benson Project" flashed into Ron's head. "Benson Project. Focus, Ron, Focus. What is the Benson Project? Pepsi? It's connected to Pepsi?"

[Kimmistil]

Charlie went running down the hall, at CIA headquarters. He knew the company tried to take Ron out. He also knew about Ron's amnesia. "What a disaster!!" he thought. "It took us years to get Ron in that key position on the Benson project and now Ron can barely remember his name, let alone his mission."
Opening the blue door at the end of the hall, Charlie stuck his head in and told the person sitting behind the desk, "Ron escaped from the hospital, we don't know how much he's remembered and we're afraid he might compromise the entire mission. We were so close to finding the secret lab and those geneticlly mutated freaks. He's also on the brink of being addicted to pepsi. He said he could handle it, but I think it's getting the best of him. What do you want us to do?" The man behind the desk sighed. "He was our best operative. Find him before he does major damage. If you can't bring him in, then", sigh, "take him out!" "Yes Sir!" Charlie slowly walked back to his office and picked up the phone. Dialing slowly he waited for someone to answer on the other end. "I'm afraid it's bad news" he told the operative on the other end. He relayed the directors instructions. The operative hung up the phone and thought to himself. "Finally!!!!! Screw bring him in, take him out is what I heard, that jackass is finally gonna get his and I'll get that promotion." Putting on his coat he headed out. "Okay if I were some semi addicted pepsi addict, with partial amnesia, where would I be?"

Meanwhile, after hanging up the phone, Ron.........

[goofyemt96]

Ron decides that he is not safe here! He must go somewhere else, But where will he go what will he do, He only has partial memory left. He is so afraid of what will happen next ...When there is a knock on the door and to his dismay it is....

[FrugalByDesign]

a political activist looking to garner his vote. Vote? Vote? I don't even know what's going on around here! How the heck can I VOTE? He sends the activist away with little more than a wave of his hand.

Little bits of memory have been jetting in all morning. He remembers where he lives. He remembers where he works. He remembers that he is working on a Benson project that has something to do with Pepsi. And he remembers he works for "Stan". Oh yeah, and he remembers there's some chick he's been trying to score wth - Latisha? Linda? Matillda? Who knows. He decides to head to the office, just because he isn't really getting any more "thoughts" while being here. Maybe the office will jog some more memories.

***

The gas slowly leaks into the room where Stan sits huddled on the floor - nothing but a shell of a man left at this point.

***

In the food court, Pete gulps down his Pepsi and heads out of the mall on foot. He is very careful to avoid going out the same entrance he came in - just in case he's still being followed. He decides to catch a bus to the office - a bus HAS to be safer than a CAB! He still has no idea where Lawanda or Ron are - maybe at the office he can come up with other ideas.

***

LaWanda uses her feminine wiles to persuade an elderly gentleman to take her to the office. She doesn't feel her apartment is safe at this point - her face was just on TV and "they" (whoever THEY are) know where she lives. She coyly sits in the passenger side of the gentleman's vehichle and they head toward the highway. For the first time in many hours, LaWanda feels safe.

[Kimmistil]

The operative is slowly circling his car around "the office" deciding this was the best place to start. As he circles to the front again, he sees a fancy car pull up and Lawanda get out. She glances around trying to see if anyone is watching and darts into the building. The operative grins. "Ahhh.... some place to start. Maybe she knows where Ron is." As he pulls into the lot in front of the building, a taxi pulls up and lo and behold, out jumps Ron. "Ahhhh..... now that's what we call service. " With a big grin on his face the operative parks, gets out and heads for the building. Screwing on the silencer, he follows Ron into the front door. Entering, he sees the elevator reach the seventh floor. At the seventh floor, Ron steps out and sees........

[FrugalByDesign]

That things are starting to look a little more familiar. He is fairly sure he can make his way to his office - so he heads in that direction

***

Lawanda dashes into the building and heads toward her office

***

A clone enters the room where Stan lay dead and touches his body. Immediately, he is transformed into an EXACT replica of Stan, with all his knowledge and memories. EXCEPT the "flaws that caused Stan to "fail" do not exist in this clone. The clone is allowed to leave the room and is taken to the office.

***

Pete arrives at the office and notices...

[Mandiannie]

Ron got back to the office and walked to his desk. He had to think, but for some reason he couldn't do it sitting down so he walked over to the window. He glanced out into the parking lot just as Lawanda was getting out of the elderly gentleman's car. "Great" he thought as he watched her thank the driver and proceed to the front door.
**
Lawanda walked up the flight of steps to her office. why was the light on she wondered. Glancing around she saw movement at Pete's desk. Ron's warning flashed in her mind "Your in grave danger, stay away from Pete was all that she remebered, but why should she stay away from the person that she trusted the most. Ron had amnesia she knew that and it was possible that he was getting the facts mixed up. Was she going to chance going over to find out or not. "Well, I've come here to get answers" she thought as she made her way across the room.

***
Pete had been watching Lawanda and wondered what was going through her mind. She was coming over and he was so glad to see her. We have to get our heads together and figure something out to get me out of this mess and she's just the person that can help me" he thought. Lawanda was staring at him with a strange look on her face. Then he realized he'd been thinking out loud and promptly asked her how her day had been.
Well, she said, I was in a cab accident, I got a note that you had been kidnapped, Ron called to say he was out of the hospital and my tires were slashed and that's only half of it. How was your day and why are you here in the office at this hour?

[FrugalByDesign]

Pete attempts to remain calm under LaWanda's questioning. He is very confident that he knows what is going on with S.U.P.P.L.I - but he has no idea that there even *IS* a "Company".

Ron's memories are coming back in waves. He is getting bits and pieces of memories about "The Company" (aka the "Benson Project"), but does not have a clue that S.U.P.P.L.I. exists.

Lawanda doesn't know about either of them, but knows SOMETHING is going on.

The Stan clone has arrived and he knows about both.

And the shadowing operative lurks within the shadows of the office - not yet showing us his allegance.

And Pete's response to LaWanda?

" I had an urge for a Pepsi - and the 7-11 is closed. And you?"

[Mandiannie]

Ron remembered.
He had to find Pete and Lawanda.
He had to explain this whole mess even if it meant jeprodizing his career.
Pete was after all his brother, technically that was. He had a right to know. "Where am I going to find them? he wondered. "Chances are they both went back to the office for answers and I could almost bet on it that they're there together."
Lawanda loved Pete and trusted him more than she did him that much was for certain and she's most likely ignored the warning thinking it was a figment of his imagination. My job is too risky to get involved with a girl anyway what was I thinking when I asked her to ride with me.
Pete and Lawanda are probably both either going to be at the office or getting a Pepsi at the 7-11 across the street. He'd have to go talk to them before another bout of amnesia hit him. At least he had a few facts straight in his mixed up mind and those were the ones that he'd tell them, because chances are when tomorrow rolled around he wouldn't have that many of them straight.

*****************
They walk over to the neighboring 7-11 to grab a Pepsi. As they walk out the door who should be waiting but Ron. "Get in the car!" he orders. Lawanda looks at Pete for a go-ahead. he shrugged his shoulders and went to hold the car door for her. Once they were comfortable Ron started driving without saying a word.
What seemed like hours later but really was only 1/2 and hour They stopped and parked at a roadside turn-in. Ron stopped the engine and slowly turned to towards them.
"I'm sorry for being so mysterious. But you both know that I have amnesia and I know that if I don't tell you what's going on at the office then by tomorrow I'll have forgotten."
He turned to look at Lawanda. "There's something that you should know. Pete is actually my brother."
Lawanda was too stunned for words so Ron continued. "Well, he's not my biological brother. You see when Pete was born his parents wanted to have another child but were unable to because mom had ovarian cancer and had to have an operation that prevented her from having any more children. So after lots of thought they decided that they would adopt. I was 3 years old when they adopted me. Just as old as Pete. They never change my last name because it was one of the adoption terms."
Lawanda was trying to get all this and looked over at Pete who just listened with a sad smile.
"We had a falling out many years ago. I guess Pete was jealous that I got the attention and I was jealous because Pete was the smart, brainy, funny kid who made everyone smile. I was trained to be a cop, but after collage I joined the CIA. Pete never knew. He just thought I'd disappeared."
Pete looked up startled at this new information about a brother he both loved and hate.
"So why are you working in my office? he asked
"Well, it's a long story."
"We got wind that two companies were testing the same substance. a Pepsi addicts antidote or something. They both had the same product though one wanted to dispence it in pill form and one wanted to make an addicting addition to regular Pepsi. The office you work we work in is one of the major fund-raising, developer, and marketing firm for both companies. Both accounts are run by separate people, one by our boss Stan and the other Pete is the SUPPLI project that you were working n. The problem is not that they're making almost the same product, the problem is that someone in the office is combining the information from both products and feeding it to one company or the other. I'm suppose to have it all figured out, but it's so bizarre that I'm having trouble identifying who to follow. I have established one thing though and that is that I can trust the both of you. I'm asking for your help and any information that you might think is useful. If we put our head together I'm sure we can solve this puzzle."
I also want to tell you..... he started and then stopped.
What. What was he going to say. The glazed look returned to his eyes and his head felt foggy again.
Pete look at Ron and then back to Lawanda. "I think he's having another bout of amnesia.
'What now?

[FrugalByDesign]

In the meantime, the new "Stan", and the covert operative are BOTH looking for Pete, Lawanda, and Ron. "Stan" is programmed and focused on taking all three of them out - they threaten The Benson Project and therefore The Company. They thought they had Ron. They really did. They thought they could count of him to be the spy they neeeded. He LOVED doing that stuff. What happened to him? That hit on his head did him in. PERMANENTLY? He didn't have time to find out. That model "Ron" could easily be replaced with a new one - but every time that's done, there are problems. And those problems are becoming less and less predictable. There are plenty of clones, though. And that's what they're for.

***

It hasn't been hard at all for the covert to track the three. The orders were to "take him out". Well, they weren't but that's the part he was acting on. He knew how he'd do it, too. He'd...

[Susan-s3js]

invite them all to a "working dinner" at the Kyoto Steakhouse. While they ooo'd and ah'd over the skill of the chef cutting and cooking their meal in front of them, he'd make sure the neural neutralizer was slipped into the saki. Sure, he'd been working on the order to "take them out" but he wanted them neutralized and unharmed, paralyzed long enough for him to spirit them away and get them to his headquarters, not dead. So he would, literally, take them out - to dinner - and it would be too late for the "Boss" to react, when he realized he had been crossed.

None of the three men were yet aware just how important they were or how pivotal the information each carried would be in the events to come. Each of the the three had a portion of the plan imbedded deeply in their memories, under layers of false memories. Stan was beginning to remember too much, too soon. That would compromise the whole thing. LaWanda had no clue she was the key to the whole thing and would trigeer events that would literally save the world.

He picked up his cell phone...

[Mandiannie]

He knew the numbers for all three of their cell phones. He paused a moment, who was he going to call. Ron? No he had amnesia and would probably forget. Lawanda? Maybe but she didn't take well to strangers and after slashing her tires he wasn't sure that that was a good idea. He'd seen how she'd reacted and how scared she'd been. Pete? It seemed like the only feasible option.
He located the number from the address book and called.


******
Pete's phone jingled. Lawanda looked over at him with a silly little grin on her face. Pete's face turned red. He'd forgotten that he'd programed unknown number calls to "you are my sunshine" but the grin on her face almost made him want to kiss her. He opened the phone to answer the call.

"Hi Pete!" said the voice on the other end. It sounded vaugly familiar but he couldn't quite place it.
"I was wondering if you'd like to come for dinner at the the Kyoto Steakhouse this evening. It would be on me. I'll explain who I am when you get there, but it has something to do with Ron's amnesia oh, and Lawanda and Ron can come too. Maybe I can give you a few more clues to the mystery you seemed to be discussing in the car."
Abruptly Pete hung up. He remembered the voice. It was the same voice that had said the one word to him while he was in that dark room. "Drink" was all that he had said then. But that still didn't tell him who the caller was. One thing he knew though was that he didn't trust him.


***********
He hung up the phone. Curiosity kills the cat he thought and hopefully this cat was curious enough to come to the milk.
He glanced down at the phone. "Oh crap" he thought "I forgot to attach the voice scrambler! What if he recognized my voice. It was highly unlikely. He'd only spoken one word back at the lab but Pete had an impeccable memory if he recalled correctly. "Well I guess I'll have to wait and see.

*********
Stan rifled through the files on his desk. It had to be here somewhere. He had put the addresses on a paper and put it there he was sure of it. "I guess I could look in the employee files" he mused, "but what are the chances that they'll be home. They're probably someplace scheming "Oh well, tomorrow's another day. I'll just grab a nice relaxing dinner at the Kyoto Steakhouse and resume my search tomorrow."

***********

[FrugalByDesign]

Stan's greatest concern was keeping the two guys from comparing notes with each other plus keeping both of them from telling Lawanda anything. As it stood now, none of the three of them knew enough to be really dangerous. A collaboration of information, however, would ensure that decades of carefully guarded secrets were spilled, along with the certain end of that most precious project. He could not let that hapen. He wasn't PROGRAMMED to let that happen. And the lack of attention to detail that had caused the previous "Stan" to fail, would not permeate his strategies. He just wouldn't let it.

He pulled his car up to the valet parking, tosses the guy the keys and snarled "Don't you DARE take it out for a joy ride! I have written down my milage and I know how far you have to drive to park it, so don't screw with me." Yeah, he knew that if he treated his food server that way, they'd spit in his food, but what could this dorky dude do? He certainly wasn't going to cause his employer to have to file an insurance claim, so he wasn't going to smack it up or anything. Stan sauntered into the restaurant, ready for a nice rare, juicy steak.

***

The valet parked Stan's car and promptly relieved himself into the gas tank. "That'll learn 'im", he thought.

***

Pete wasn't exactly sure what to do here. He felt the need to get more info about what was going on, but he wasn't at all sure that he wanted to have LaWanda and Ron involved, when he did. LaWanda wasn't any big deal, really, but Ron - man, that dude could be a pain! But the voice on the phone had said enough that Pete knew he was aware of what was going on with all three of them. Pete could only answer for and predict his own reactions - not the other two. What if they made things worse because they didn't "know". Like a lot of times in life, he found himself having to make the best of two bad choices.

That meant telling them AT LEAST about the dinner invited. He'd hold off on the "S.U.P.P.L.I." part of his disclosure until he saw how things went. He made his way to LaWanda, and told her that he needed to talk to both her and Ron. She made a face. "The last time Ron and I got together, we had a car accident!"

"Oh,yeah. That's right. How did you two end up in the same cab, anyway - especially after that bruise and all?" Pete was DYING to hear this answer.

LaWanda wasn't quite ready to spill it all - she wasn't even sure anymore what would spill - so she said "It was my idea. I wanted to clear the air after that little incident."

"Huh", said Pete, as he headed down the hall toward Ron's office.

***

Ron was "in" when they arrived at his door. He had close to full memory - who knew how long that would last. "What?", was his response when they showed up at the door.

"Well, first of all, ya snuck outta the hospital and the whole town is looking for you. The last time I saw you, you couldn't move one side of your body and didn't even know who I was. Did you even stick around long enough to get your test results?"

Ron mumbled purposely indecipherable.

Pete interjected, "What do you remember?"

"About what?"

"About yesterday?"

"I remember working, getting in a cab with doll face, getting smacked, and walking outta a hospital".

"What do you remember about working?"

"I remember WORKING. What are you getting at here?"

"So you remember all your assignments, and who we are, and who our boss is and that stuff".

"For the moment".

"Okay, so while you were 'out', LaWanda and I had some, uh, hmm... difficult situations that we had to handle. They're complicated - but you need to know about them. You could be in danger".

"DANGER?!?!? What the *** did you do that got ME in danger?"

Pete wasn't sure where to go here, so he said "I don't know, but I got a call from someone who does. That someone wants the three of us to head to the Steakhouse for dinner and details on what that might be."

"So help me, if you have screwed anything up here for me, your ****** is grass!".

LaWanda remembered what it was she REALLY disliked about Ron.

[Mandiannie]

Stan asked to be seated at one of the tables near the back of the room. He wanted to look at people while he at. He loved studying the different looks on their faces when the ate the food here. Most had never eaten sushi in their life and the mixed reaction to the taste was great amusement to watch. It was like getting dinner and a show. He gave the waitress his order and sat back to watch.

******
Ron, Lawanda and Pete arrived at the Steakhouse and proceeded through the doors to find a spot to sit. The attendant took them to a table to the left side of the restraunt. They seated themselves and waited for whoever it was that was suppose to meet them. Lawanda had on the white blouse with ruffles down the front that would identify them to whoever it was that was coming.

*********
Stan couldn't believe what he was seeing! The very people he was looking for were seated not 6 feet away from him. What were they doing here he wondered. He'd have to wait till they were finished eating and he'd catch them on the way back to their car. He was about to get up and say hi to them just to let them know he wanted to talk to them when he spotted the stranger coming towards their table. "Who was he" he wondered. He'd seen the face somewhere before but wasn't sure that he had a name to go with it.
Then it hit him.
This man worked for the rival company as a PR guy and he was also known to be able to put a scare into people so they'd remain quiet about whatever he told them. He'd even heard rumors that this guy was a hit man of sorts. "Oh no he thought. I've got to warn them or I won't get a chance to question them. He wanted to know how much they knew before he finished them off. But what if this guy has the same idea he thought. I'll have to give them a heads-up when I get the chance so I don't loose MY CHANCE.

*****

[FrugalByDesign]

The Stranger approached the table - sure he had the right place when he saw LaWanda. She was everything he had been told she would be. Too bad he found himself in this position. He loved recognition, but being known for her demise wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He pulled out the fourth chair at the table and sat down.

"Who the *** are YOU?". Ron was extremely edgy after what he had (and had not) been told.

"Who I am is unimportant at this moment - if you all want to live, that is."

"Live? LIVE? OF COURSE I want to LIVE! You must not, though, since you're drawing this out for no apparent reason". Ron's blood was beginning to boil and it was giving him another headache.

" Have you all ordered yet? I hear the sushi here is outta this world. WAITER!" The Stranger was not going to be rushed. This was too important and too complicated. And some California rolls sounded real good right now.

Once his order was taken, he turned to the group and said " I know your secrets".

LaWanda thought "What secrets? That I have a hard time paying my bills each month? That I'd like to not be alone for the rest of my natural days? That I stole a sweater when I was 12? What secrets?" Her face was a total blank.

Pete turned white. He had kept S.U.P.P.L.I.'s secrets for a long time now. Is that what he was talking about? THOSE secrets?"

Ron had an instant memory flash. He was in Stan's face, swearing at him in a low, hissing voice. "I know about The Company. I know what you're doing. And I want in. I want in BIG TIME." Stan had put him in charge of the "Benson" project - that's what they were calling it. BENSON - Because EVERYONE Needs Some Orders Now. The plan included addiction - and the goal was accomplished when EVERYONE was hooked. Ron had been able to hold that over Stan's head for some time now, and this stranger was now saying he ALSO knew this little secret? PROVE IT!"

"Saki by the glass - $6, Sushi Platter, twenty five bucks, the looks on all of your faces - priceless!"

Ron was in no mood for this, Pete was getting close to a panic attack and Lawanda was still trying to figure out WHAT secret. The stranger? Loving every minute of this.

***

Stan read body langauage very well. He could tell by their faces, their closed body stances and their hushed voices that something VERY serious was going on. And Ron was a loose cannon. He had to DO SOMETHING... and ....

[Mandiannie]

then it came to him, one of those great idea too smart to reject. He had that little stick-on bug that he used sometimes to hear conversations in the office in his shirt pocket, maybe he could slip that under the table but how. This guy probably hadn't told them about him yet so chances are his plan would work he'd just have to wait for an opportunity to slip the bug under there. His moment arrived when the stranger excused himself to go to the restroom. Quickly he walked over to the table. The look of utter surprise as he approached was instant and they all stared at him like he had suddenly grown another nose or something.
"Oh oh" he though "Maybe they know!"
"Stan, what a surprise to see you here! Lawanda exclaimed
"Hey i was just curious and thought you wouldn't mind my asking, he started "you know that guy?
Pete answered him "No, but he apparently knows us better than we know ourselves and has something we need to know.
"So why are you here?" he questioned
"Well, he says he has to share some information with us that he thinks is sorrily important." Ron answered the question this time.
"Mind if I join you or is this a private conversation?"
"Well, there was something mentioned about secrets but he hasn't elaborated on it yet, so maybe we could take a rain-check on that and you could join us some other time.
"Oh" Stan replied. "I guess I'll do that then. You think you could meet me here Saturday?
He took out his pen and date book to he could write down what they said.
"Sure, how about 6:30. We'll have dinner with you then"
He opened his date book and pretended to write it down then promptly proceeded to drop his pen. It bounced under the table and he bent to pick it up. Silently he stuck the bug to the underside of the table. That should do it he thought.
"See you then" he said as he walked back to his table.

He sat down and chuckled. They hadn't even noticed that he'd dropped the pen on purpose. He glanced back to the table. "And I'm not a moment too soon, he comes that shady character! Let hear what he has to say.

[photocrazy]

***

At the local pond two officers are standing, holding a flashlight and a huge net.

"What are we doing here sir?"

"Obeying orders. Sergeant Fletcher said that the suspect confessed to dumping evidence here in this pond. It's your job for you to search this pond."

"All by myself?!"

"Of course not, I'll help you a little. Try dragging this net over there and I'll try over here. Holler if you find something."�

"I've found something!"

"What is it?"

"It's a... Omigosh! It's a body!"�

*****

Inspector Cramer took the call at Kyoto Steakhouse. "Hello? Yes, I've got my laptop, send me the goods." He pulled out his laptop and turned it on, thankful it was wireless. "Hey Fletcher, is this a picture of the deceased, Stan Wilson?"� the Inspector waited a moment and replied "Then come up with a theory that explains why I see the exact same guy two tables away?"


Inspector Cramer sees him talk with two fellows and a pretty young lady a couple tables away and sees him drop the pen. He keeps a sharp eye around as another man returns to the table from the rest-room.....

*****

[Mandiannie]

The stranger returned to the table and sat down, not knowing that not only was Stan watching him, but so was the police officer.
Calmly he sat down and began his story.

"It all began about 5 years ago. 2 companies went to work with the same idea. They both wanted to create a pill that would not only sustain Pepsi addicts, but also make them feel incredible great about themselves and give them super confidence in themselves. Ron, both you and Pete were "test" subjects. Have either of you noticed that you feel a constant urge for Pepsi and no matter how you try to cut back on your intake, you always seem to want more? he asked.
Pete stared at him. How could he know all this SUPPLI was suppose to be a secret! The Science of the Useful Pepsi Pill Lab Investigation was suppose to have been a top-secret thing. So why did both his brother and this guy know about it.
He had been trying to quit and he told the guy as much.
"It's been over 3 months now and I've been trying to quit, but the urge seems to steadily increase.'
"Well, here's what's been going on. The office you work at is the key marketer for both companies. Someone has been compiling the data and selling it to not just 1 company, but both. So you see, both companies now have the exact same product and are rivaling to finish it...and.... someone in the office has been sneaking those pills into the soda fountain, you know the one in the break room that has the Pepsi in a dispenser that you can fill your cup at. You probably wonder why it's only available some days. Well that's most likely why."

"Ok, enough" he thought as he finished his speech. "I think I've told them enough, but I need to get them out of here together with me somehow. Why don't I ask them to come back to the office with me and I can finish them off there.

"Why don't we go to your office and I can show you what I mean. I can get a sample of the Pepsi in the dispenser and we can run some test on it"

I won't mention the fact that I'm not equipt to do that. All i need is to get you to the office so I can do away with you. He thought as they got up to go to their cars. He paid the bill at the front desk and they walked out together.

********
Stan watched them go and after getting the bug back he followed them out the door. This guy knew way too much and if they were going back to the office, then so was he. He got into his car and glanced over at the car next to his. He stared. The guy was in the next car! and what did he have there! "What in the world! he's got a gun! and he's putting a silencer on it!
Great thought Stan, maybe he wouldn't have to do the dirty work.

********
The officer watched Stan leave and got up as well. Where was he going he wondered. I'll have to follow just to see if he actually works at the office where he's suppose to be. That body that they found can't be him if he's the Stan that I'm thinking of.


*********************************************


Side note:
is this story making anybody else LONG for a PEPSI! it sure has me craving for one!!!!
*********************************************************************

[FrugalByDesign]

The officer's phone rang with interesting news. The recovered body did indeed VISUALLY look like Stan. DNA tests had been run on it - and it was an EXACT MATCH to three others, as of yet, unidentified bodies in the morgue. AN EXACT match. That is UNHEARD of.

***

Once the four were back at the office, trouble started.

"So Pete", said the stranger. "You have been working on the S.U.P.P.L.I. project in secret for quite some time. But did you know that RON has been working with the competitive project - the Benson project for just as long? And are you at all interested in knowing how you two "brothers" ended up working on these projects? That's a very interesting story.

You're not really "brothers". Your half clones. We were having SO many problems with the full clones that we decided to use a single clone- half out it's genes, mate them up with another host and you two were, uh, "born". The only problem we have seen from doing this so far is that you have exact opposite strengths and weaknesses. Exact opposite personality traits - one strong, the other soft. Ron, don't you find it odd that you healed so fast? You were given the stronger healing genes."

LaWanda's mind raced back to her thought " One guy like the two of them combined would be GREAT.", and she shivered.

The stranger continued. "That meant we had to work with you differently - but we did not realize it in time - and Ron, being the ****** half that he is, ran off and got "hired" away from us. We figured that he'd blow himself up in this project LONG before things had gotten this far - just from his "magnetic" personality. When that didn't happen, we find ourselves where we are right now - the two main players of this most important experiment - and there can only be one survivor."

"One survivor? What does THAT mean?", wailed LaWanda.

"It means, my dear, that before this night is over, one of these two gentlemen will be dead at the hand of the other. The last one standing will determine which company takes over world Pepsi dominance. And you, my dear. You will be the Host Mother to an entire population of Pepsi addicts!"

The three of them were speechless...and unwilling to play their parts in this plan....

Stan arrived in time to alter the plans, anyway.

[Mandiannie]

Stan couldn't believe what he was hearing! He'd known about both projects, after all he'd been combining the data. What he hadn't been aware of was that there were other clones out there. They had made it sound like he was the first one to be given a chance to go out into the real world.

He couldn't take this any longer. He either had to take them out of here and deal with this crazy lunatic or he would kill one of them! He reached over to get the gun he had brought in for safekeeping. Walked over he took aim at the side of the psychos head. He pulled the trigger...

***
Pete saw the stranger reaching for something in his pocket he watched in horror as something long and shiny was withdrawn. The stranger aimed the gun straight at Ron. Franticly and not knowing what else to do he lunged over at him. The gun went off though the bullet never hit it's target.

****
Pete, Ron and Lawanda stared at each other and then at the bodies on the floor. How had Stan gotten here? Then bullet from the strangers gun had hit him right in the side of the head and as they glanced over to where he lay they saw that he had a gun as well. "I guess that explains why this guy is dead" Pete said feeling a little nauseated.
Lawanda was staring in shock and would have collapsed right onto the floor has Pete not caught her in time.
****

The officer, hearing the gunshots rushed up the stairs and into the office. Something had just happened in there and it didn't sound good!

*******

[photocrazy]

Inspector Cramer entered the office, gun drawn. He saw the two corpses lying on the floor, one of them Stan Wilson. He noticed they both had guns and that the same people from the table at the steakhouse were there too; only the girl had fainted.

"Come with me to headquarters; if you please...." he said.

***

Over the course of a couple of hours, Inspector Cramer had the whole story out of all three of them.

"Sounds pretty crazy, you must admit. But we do have doctors to help you get over your Pepsi addictions. We also have a special surgeon to perhaps merge both you clones together into one person, Dr. Sy Coe. I’ll call him if you like and see if you like the idea.”

LaWanda looked at Ron and Pete. Both of them as one? Wouldn’t that be what she always wanted? Ron and Pete stared at each other and replied back to the Inspector…….

[FrugalByDesign]

The morning headlines read:

TWO UNDENTIFIED MEN SHOT DEAD
AT CLOSE RANGE -
BY EACH OTHER

There was nothing more that could be reported. There were two Stans in the morgue that looked EXACTLY alike and had the EXACT SAME DNA. That was not easy to explain.

There was a huge investigation underway into both S.U.P.P.L. and B.E.N.S.O.N. Pete and Ron were both being held for questioning.

The impact of widespread cloning for the purpose of testing addiction and how it works was under fire.

LaWanda stood in her apartment, looking out the window with the bullet hole in it.

"I was right", she thought. "Even I doubted myself when things got so crazy, but I was right.

Leave the men to their own devices and they find multiple ways to destroy each other, and themselves.

The next time I want to run experients that could find world peace and end world hunger....

I'll get women to do it!"

[Terebinthtree]

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

LaWanda yawned, stretched and turned off the alarm clock.

"Wow! What a crazy dream I had last night! No more pepperoni-jalapeño pizza for a midnight snack for me! Imagine dreaming my sweetie was cloned!"

LaWanda got out of bed and quickly headed to the kitchen for a drink.

Seeing her dear hubby at the table, she said, "Hey, Stan honey, please get me a drink. I have this strange hankering for a Pepsi!"

[Mandiannie]

"Pepsi?" he asked why in the wold would you want a pepsi this early in the morning?

"Well dear I've always wanted to try getting a sugar high in the morning to see how far it would take me before I run out of steam."

"I have to run to the office dear so I don't really have time to get you that right now. We're doing some more research on that cloning experiment that we've been working on for years now"

He turned to walk out the door, but then thougth better of it and went back to give her a see-you kiss. Why had she turned so deathly white all of a sudden? he wondered as he retraced his steps.

Lawanda could feel the color draining from her face. Had it been a dream or was her husband a clone and that dream had been a memory from days gone by. "It couldn't be!" she thought. "Stan had been the villain. Maybe her dream was trying to tell her what lay ahead, but she really didn't know anybody names Ron. Pete was her high school sweetheart and he had just recently moved back to town, but they had only met in passing once and he just gave her a friendly hi! She did remember that he seemed to have a strange almost wishful look in his eyes almost as if he regretted not being able to say more or stop for a longer conversation. He'd been on the way to work and was already running late.
'I defiantly need that Pepsi. That should calm me down and bring me back to earth.

*******************

[photocrazy]

After she drank her Pepsi and had breakfast, she got an idea. Why not base a book on her dream? with a little (okay, maybe a lot) of editing, she could make a best-seller of it!

Taking out a notebook, she wrote out the main highlights of her dream. Once she finished, she sighed and tried to see if she remembered it all. Then the telephone rang. It was a telemarketer, selling Pepsi Products.