The Arena

Carl turned to her said ,"between now and when we leave I want you here every day practicing for at least two hours with Stephen instructing you. He is going to stick to the basics. We will work on advanced techniques when we get back."

About that time Stephen's wife Carol had arrived with lunch and Carla assisted her with laying it out. Carol was about the same height as Carla and it was from her that Carla go her Vietnamese heritage.

As they ate Stephen asked Aradia "Did Carl ever tell you the story of how he saved my life?" This elicited a groan form Carol, and "not again from Carla and a frown from Carl.

"Hush up the both of you" Stephen said "some people might find this interesting"

"Only if they had not heard it a thousand times "responded Carol.

Stephen continued on ignoring her "Anyway about 20 years ago Carl, Father Marcus and I were in New Orleans looking to take out this pack of werewolves. We had located them in an abandoned old three story building. We had climbed up and entered through the top floor following the military technique of clearing of a building from the top down. Marcus and I were wearing night vision googles. Carl could get them to fit over his helmet so he went without. We had gone all through the top floor and had not found anything. Until the last room we checked." He paused them smiled "It is always the last room you check."

J"ust as we were about the open the door a werewolf smashed through it. The remnants of the door slammed into me knocking me across the room as Marcus emptied a magazine into the creature.

When I hit the floor it gave way and I fell through it and the next floor till I hit the first floor. The floors must have been weakened in that spot by water leakage from the roof or something. I ended up breaking my right arm and destroying my right knee if the fall. My night vision goggles were still working but I had lost my gun. I could see about two dozen werewolves coming toward me."

At that Carla rolled her eyes while Carl held up 8 fingers. Carol just had the expression of a long suffering wife.

Stephen continued " I figured I was a dead man but Carl here" he stopped and pointed toward him "without hesitation just jumped down after me, two floors down, no rope , nothing. On purpose or accident he land on one of the werewolves that helped to break his fall. It was like a hand grenade exploded among them. As I said he did not have any goggles and it was pitch black in that room but he started slashing away with that sword of his and before you know it he had killed eight or ten of them."

At this Carl held up three fingers

Stephen continued after glaring at Carl "anyway those werewolves started to run over each other trying to get out of there. Marcus had worked his way downstairs and I heard gunshots as he got two more of them. Carl carried me out of there and to safety."

"So for saving your life your named your daughter Carla after him and made him her God father?" Aradia asked

Carol nodded and said. "It was almost a bad thing; Steve wanted to name the baby Carl regardless of gender"

"...and interrupted Stephen. " You, as Carl's partner, get free use of the range and free ammunition"

"Lucky for the business Carl does not have many partners" mumbled Carol, though she said it with a smirk.

After lunch Stephen took Aradia downstairs for more range time while Carl and Carol discussed Carla's education and career choice. Carl was careful to relayed his conversation with his God daughter because he did not want to give the impression he was interfering.

"II told her I would help as long as she finished high school and you guys approved."

"I swear she can be such a little drama queen. Neither Steve nor I have any problem with her wanting to go study under Miranda. I have tried to teach her what I know but she does not have the temperament for the healing arts. But we are adamant about her finishing high school. You would think that we were keeping her chained in the basement to hear her complain."

"Well she is a teenager."

"Tell me about it I have three of them. Look any help you can give in this will of course be greatly appreciated."

At that Stephen and Aradia had finished at the range. He had also fitted her with a protective or bullet proof vest. Everybody said their goodbyes with Carl and Aradia starting for home.

Aradia turned to face him the cab of the truck. "So you have a God Daughter and a namesake. That is kind of cool."

"Yes, it is in a way. I was there for her birth and many significant events in her life. I was even the one who taught her to drive. In all probability I will be around for her high school graduation, and if it happens her marriage and the birth of her children."

They had were stopped at a traffic light so Carl tuned to her and continued "...and unless I die in battle I will also be around for her eventual death."

The light changed and nothing else was said. Aradia contemplated an aspect of Carl's near immortality. How many friends and loved ones had he seen die through the centuries and how that must weigh on him. As a witch she could conceivably prolong her life a bit but nothing compared to the centuries that a Paladin could live unless she became extremely powerful.

A wizard or witch that powerful was extremely rare and as time wore on them it tended to corrupt their minds so some of the good ones turned bad. She wondered how a Paladin dealt with it as there is no record of them ever turning bad. Rumor had it that when a Paladin could not take anymore he arranged to face an impossible situation so that he was sure to fall in battle , taking a many of his enemies with him as he could, but there was no evidence to support that.

It was late evening by the time they returned home. As they ate Carl laid out the rest of the week's schedule. "Your exercise schedule is your own. I am not going to start you on a new routine so close to our departure on a mission. You only risk injury and your physical condition is adequate for now. Stephen has scheduled your range training for everyday at noon. I imagine Carol will be there to feed you, just make sure you don't put on too much weight. She has a mother hen complex." An idea a hit him and he snapped his fingers. "You know she may have some useful information on Haitian voodoo. Pick her brain when you get the chance."

"Tomorrow is Sunday and I do not know what your worship schedule is but in between you going to the range and my morning workout we have to get the yard taken care of before the HOA gets on my ass. I will show you how to use the mower. Keeping the grass cut will be how you pay the rent around here. If you are to work out with me I leave her at 5 am. Since we had a run today tomorrow morning I will be going to the "Y" to swim some laps if you care to join me. "

"Don't you go to church? I thought Paladins were some type of holy warriors."

"You might call me unaffiliated. I don't need and intermediary between me and my God. Some Paladins have chosen to align themselves with a particular religion. I do not look down upon or criticize those who follow a particularly faith. I just choose not to. Without getting too deep, there was movie that came out in the 1970s, before you were born of course, and there was a scene that stuck with me in which the main character was talking to God and stated he did not go to church. God replied "neither do I."

I do not believe that God favors the followers of Jesus over those over Mohammed or Buda. He is not going to condemn a billion Muslims to hell anymore than Christians or Jews are going to face one for their beliefs. I do not believe a just, kind, forgiving God sends children into an afterlife limbo or even hell because their parents fail to have a certain religious ritual performed on them.

Religions, to include the followers of your faith, have been a source of evil as well as good and it would be difficult to move against an evil members of one religion if you were a member of another without it causing some religious strife. If I were a member of the Catholic Church and had to move against corrupt members of the Islamic faith it would open up calls of another crusade. Worst still one if I had to move against leaders of the faith I may have chosen. As an example the Templar Knights found out that the Pope is not always a choir boy. What if I was a Sunni and had to move against a Shia? The situation can be difficult. I do not want to appear to play favorites."

Carl paused for a moment to give Aradia time for a response. She had none so he got up and headed off to the den. " We have a busy week, I suggest you get sort through your new stuff and get some rest."

The remainder of the week went quickly and Carl seemed to adjust to having a roomie as Marcus called her when she joined them in watching a Monday night football. Aradia occasionally secluded herself in the garage to work on some magic. She did protest when Carl sent her to get inoculated for the trip to Haiti, but he explained that she should not rely on magic to protect her against everything.

Wednesday morning she asked Carl to join her at the range she had something she wanted to demonstrate. At the range she had a jar of a white liquid and an older protective vest she had gotten from Stephen. Using her wand she painted and intricate symbol on the vest while chanting and incantation. She then placed the vest down range on a target dummy. She then asked Carl to shoot at the vest. He emptied a magazine of 7 rounds at the vest. Upon examination the vest showed no sign of impact. Instead there were seven bullets lying on the ground in front of it.

Aradia explained that the magic symbol she created was made using a special magical paint she created in her cauldron. It would slow down and even stop bullets fired at whatever wore this symbol but she wanted to test just how powerful it was. Stephen then brought an AK-47 and fired 30 rounds at it. It appeared that at a distance of 50 yards most of the bullets were stopped or diverted , about eight or ten rounds hit the vest but at a reduced velocity. Stephen fired another 30 rounds at the vest and this time about 15 rounds hit the vest at what appeared to be a higher velocity, the remainder falling short. Stephen just shook his head in wonder.

Aradia then spoke up seemingly disappointed. "It appears that the effectiveness diminishes the more it is called upon."

Carl immediately cheered her up saying "This is great. Even a regular vest cannot protect against an unlimited number of rounds and certainly does not protect against injury. My chain mail vest will lessen the damage I suffer but not prevent it if I get shot. With your bit of magic our protection against bullets is enhanced 100%." Go ahead apply it to both our vests."

On Thursday Carl did a final inventory of his and Aradia's gear and they packed up for the trip to Haiti. They also reviewed all available information they had on what they were getting into. The information available was sparse.

A plea for help had been relayed through e-mails and Internet postings on "good's" secure website, though none direct from Haiti. The e-mails and postings were filled more with rumor than fact.

The country was so devastated from the earthquake, floods and disease that things like electricity to run a computer much less connections to the internet were problematic at best. From what he had been able to gather a local Voodoo Priestess was having trouble with a couple of Voodoo sorcerers. Some were blaming them for many of the country's more recent problems.

Carl also had a second motive, a wizard and two Slayers had gone to Haiti together on some sort of mission which nobody was clear on. They had simply disappeared. While he was not personally acquainted with the three there was widespread concern among the "good" community about them although it seemed not enough concern to push anybody into going to Haiti to find them. Carl's opinion was that they had perished and it would be best to know the where, when and how of it. Plus his warrior's creed would not permit fellow warriors to be abandoned on the field of battle; dead or alive.

The problems they faced were many. For all the effort that was put forth good never seem to make any headway in Haiti, there was just so much evil. It was like the country was a portal to the Hell and they were just barely holding back the tide.

Their mission was twofold Carl explained. "First, contact and help out, if she will accept the help, a local Mambo or Priestess known as Mama Yacine. Second try to find out what happen to the two slayers and wizard that had disappeared earlier. We have no points of contact so we will just have to feel around and try and turn something up. As you know we really have no idea what we may be facing so I want you to be prepared to face anything from a plague of locust to a son of Satan."

He handed her the GPS she had on the run. "I have already loaded the airports coordinates into this one as a way point. If we get separated head back there and I will try to link up with you. Wait 24 hours no more. If I don't show get yourself back here. Contact Father Marcus. He will know what to do then."

"Now before you ask, no, the same does not apply to me. I will not be leaving without you or at least your body. You on the other hand lack the experience to mount a rescue operation if I need one. Now if things really go bad and you find yourself alone and trapped use this." He handed her what looked like a radio with a large red button in the center. Type in this code and hit that button. It acts like and emergency locator beacon. It will send your location by satellite link to Marcus. But only make use of it if you think I am out of commission. It is a last resort item. The bad guys could turn your using it as a means to draw other of us into a trap."

Aradia merely nodded and stuck both items in to the cargo pockets of her pants. Her mood was extremely somber as the full import of what they were about to face hit her. Her previous missions had the benefit of having more information; knowing almost precisely what they were going up against; more people going with them and not so isolated from possible help.

Carl sensing her mood "Don't worry so much, just remember your training, keep your head about you and always keep me in sight. If I didn't believe in your abilities you would be staying behind to cut the grass."

Twenty-four hours later they were Haiti. They had used various connections to get included on a relief flight.

Despite what Carl told her she was not prepared for it and really neither was Carl. He had witness much devastation and destruction in the world and this certainly ranked up there with the worse of them. Earthquakes, floods, disease on top of corrupt gangs posing as government made the place a hell hole. Even before the earthquake starvation was real. People were eating mud a grass pies to survive. He had a growing sense of uneasiness even before the plane landed. Heck even before he departed every instinct he had was telling him that this was a mistake. Still he chose to go.

Through a network of connections with other members of the "good" side they easily passed through what represented customs in Haiti.

They were met outside the airport by a man whose appearance represented what Haiti had been through. He was more than thin, he was gaunt. There were very few fat people in Haiti. His clothing was ragged, no shoes, he had a rusty orange patch in his black matted hair, discoloration due to malnutrition. Even more telling was the lack of life in his eyes. They looked blank. He approached them and asked "Are you here to help Mama Yacine?"

Carl nodded and asked "How did you know we were the ones coming and when?"

"Mama Yacine told me to come here and look for people who have nobody waiting for them. She told me they are probably the ones coming to help her."

"Fine and who are you?"

"I am Jean"

Carl noticed that he did not look him in the eyes when he spoke. He did not like it though it did not know if he should just attribute to the stress of the troubles Haiti has been enduring or some other motive."

"Did you meet or see three other men about two weeks ago for the same reason."

"Yes sir" replied Jean "but they were not here to help Mama Yacine. They left for the hills and did not say what they were looking for. "I have not seen them since the day they arrive."

"OK then when do I meet up with Mama Yacine? " Carl hoped she might know something.

"She told me to take you to her tonight as she has preparations to make. She said you should be ready to help tonight when you meet as there is not much time."

During this time Aradia kept silent and just observed the exchange, learning.

As they talked they were walking from the airport. Jean offered to carry Aradia's large duffle bag she had with her but she declined. Carl figured the bag weighed more than he did.

"We have place for you to rest till tonight"

They walked through the devastation that was Haiti after an earthquake and flooding till they arrived at the outer edge of one of the camps set up for the displaced.

They stopped at a wood and plastic tarp makeshift shack that looked like the others surrounding it. Carl was struck by the absence of people. Unlike his other trips to this country there was always somebody around. The devastation from the earthquake was worse than he expected.

Carl thought about the joke about a powerful earthquake hitting a particularly poor country and causing $1.50 worth of damage. From previous visits he did not think things could get any worse in this country. Well he was wrong things were worse. Haiti was constantly racked with competing corrupt, violent political groupings and whatever passed for peace was only established when one group, normally backed from outside, established superiority over the others. Adding to that you actually had attention whore celebrities sniping at each other over their respective relief efforts. Carl thought the modern term of derision "douche bags" suited them perfectly.

As was usual the UN was its ineffective self. The UN did not mind peace keeping but never seemed willing to make the effort to first establish a peace to keep which was of course the hard part. They preferred others do that. As a politician once said "Nobody wants the United States to be the world's policeman but guess who they call when they dial 911."

Jean then said "You are to rest, nobody will disturb you. I will come for you when it is dark." With that he walked off.

Carl and Aradia did not rest. Aradia was just nervous about being on a mission. Carl was unsettled by the setup. He was sure that jean was not a Zombie. He explained to Aradia "Haitian Zombies, unlike your brain eating, slow moving raised from the dead Hollywood type were never technically dead but raised form a near death experience caused by a potion made from a neurotoxin most commonly from a puffer fish. They became the slaves of those who had poisoned them. By almost all outward appearances they appeared normal except for slightly diminished motor and mental skills. The man who met him at the airport was not a zombie but just plan beat down by life. He figure Jean was hired to just guide us here he is not evil or any evil intent. It might be detected by whomever he met and was to guide here."

"So you suspect this is a trap" asked Aradia

"I always suspect a trap"

"Then why go along with it"

"Simple, to draw them out. We could search Haiti for years and never find who we were after. If we walk in to the lion's den so to speak we have found them. The only consequence of it not being a trap is the Mama Yacine is legit and needs our help."

"You seem to forget that it being a trap could get us killed."