Within the hour, Bill came out to the stage with his sax and played
with the band a little. He wanted to do the "Down In Jungle Land" solo,
so Bruce and the rest accomodated him, and the Prez did all right and
got cheers. Then he gave a short speech, telling everyone there and the
world that it was a great idea they were for, but that they would have to
get every country to go along with it.
        "And that will be an impossible thing to do." He said that it was
being studied and such, and told everyone to keep at it, then caught a
glimpse of Jess and Flece stage left and smiled that way. The girls smiled
back.
        "We all want the same thing!" he yelled to the millions there and,
with waves, added, "happy Independence Day!"
        They cheered him again, but chants started up immediately, people
yelling for him to sign the Declaration or other things. Bill's handlers got
him off stage to head him back to the Mansion. But then he turned
around and bounded back up the stage steps, motioned for Hillary, Al,
Tipper and others to come up, and he did sign the Declaration, there on
the table at front stage center, to the deafening cheers. Then the others
signed as Bill announced that he only signed as a private citizen. There
were some boos, but most of the throng applauded as he explained that
that was all he could do at that point. Then he and the others with him
returned to the White House after meeting and talking with the
performers and speechmakers on and off stage.
        Our three sat on the grass the rest of the afternoon with the other
guys, and listened, talked and thought, Kit even getting another short
nap in Jessy's lap. Then they walked all through the sea of humanity and
heard what all the folks were talking about. Almost to the last, the people
were saying fine things about the cause as they watched senators,
representatives and other government officials and big peeps sign and
give speeches between the music. Everyone was peaceful and
considerate, mellow and cool as the hot sun lowered to the hazy horizon,
and the music was incredible, another mix of everything dosed out.
        Speeches by the organizers gave ideas about the near future - how
to proceed with the protest and all - and visions of the farther future if
the WPG would be approved, some ideas a little militant, some visions
pretty wild. And the young were starting to take the lead, on stage and
off.
        Joni and Julio made an appearance, sang a new song, and were
cheered on and on some more as they slipped back off stage and out of
sight, on their way to a safe house, their entourage and small army
keeping agents at bay.
        Jessica, though, was going through what Kit had gone through
back in Kentucky. She realized that the governments would stonewall,
despite the show of signatures and mighty words, and their cause would
be quashed. And it was quashing her. But with sundown coming, it was
time for them to finalize the hologram message.
        They all walked to Jefferson's Monument - a good long walk and
talk - and the others were noticing Jessy's melancholy. They wondered
if she and Kit had had a fight, and tried to cheer her, offering better
living through chemistry, of course. But she declined. So they figured
something really was wrong, though she just wanted to keep her head
"centralized".
        She and Kit went alone inside Tom's Monument, Flece staying
with Juli and the others out front, answering the questions about Jess
with "it's that time of the month". It was, almost, the near-full moon
rising over the horizon as daylight left the sky.
        Jessy and he read all of ole Tommy's words carved into the
granite and marble as they ambled their way to the other side, then sat
down on the steps and started working with Puter.
        They felt they had it in about an "our". Flee came back to check
on them and they asked her to read the message. She felt it was dang
good, so Kit instructed Pute to send it to the boxes, got the transmitter
out and they pressed the button with a finger each on top of each other
when Puter gave them the "go". And Big Alex and Joan of Arclight
showed up above Teddy's Island out to the West.
        They listened to the roar of the cheers and all, and the music
stopped on stage, and together they pressed the button again, then Kit
put the transmitter back in Pute's pack as they stood and rushed
through the Monument to the front to show their surprise at the
hologram.
        Joan started: "Hello, once more. And congratulations! You have
a majority of signatures!..." and she waited a short while (programmed
in) as the people cheered and all. "...And you have given a great
amount of money!...Now your government will go to the courts of the
world." She and Alex were dressed in angel-like robes that time, going
with the religious spin for the heck of it. Pute had even put in a cloud
at their bare feet.
        Al continued: "We want to thank the President and the other
leaders for signing the Declaration, and hope the rest of the world's
presidents and leaders will follow their example very soon. But they
must see and feel your WILL. Get everyone you can to sign, keep
giving all you can, keep the pressure on and help Arnold and all the
others. You have done great. You have been heroic! But you must
continue all the way to VICTORY!" And there were cheers.
        Then together, taking turns, they said, "keep your ears on the
music and words...keep your hearts on triumph...and keep your souls
with history. Don't let go. Your children and all of their children will
honor you forever....Godspeed!"
        That was it. The giants waved to the waves of roars from the
"Nation", then poofed out. Agents coptered into the box site. Speeches
from the leaders on stage started filling in the blanks. And Jess, Kit
and Flee held each other, the others around them patting, hugging and
rubbing them.
        "Let's go flyin', Cody," Jess said to him, still down.
        "Where to, precious?"
        "Up."
        They made their emotional farewells with everyone, just saying
they wanted to get in the air. Felecia wanted to go with them, and
they wanted her. They were sorry for Julio, but Jess told him that they
didn't know where they were going and didn't want him or any of the
others in jeopardy, hugging and kissing him, telling him Kit was still
nervous enough about she and Flee sticking with it. They encouraged
everyone to stay and enjoy the concert and Kit talked with Josh about
meeting back in Alaska later. They would surely be in close touch.
        They were still going to take the 421, in case they had to do the
deck boogie, and walked all the way back to the Jeep and drove back
to Williamsburg, having a little joy on the way. They paid the bill, went
out to preflight Vic, listening to the concert and speeches and, before
they even realized they had company coming, they were rampchecked.
        "FAA. Can we see your licenses, medicals and other paper?" one
of the suits asked. There were two. Hard-looking and mean-acting. Not
friendlies, Kit was processing. He handed them his license and medical
- with bogus name and address - and asked Jess to get the plane's
papers out of the flightcase for them, giving her a quick wink that she
understood, and she snuck the Beretta from the case while Kit kept the
agents distracted.
        One agent started checking Kit's license with a laptop he put on
the wing. The other was telling them that there were police on the way
to check them with breathalyzers, piss and blood testers.
        "Look, your honors," Kit said, "we have a very serious meeting
to be at. Uh...we have some cash we can share...or we can call the
White House. Your choice. We haven't had as much as one brew
between us...let's not waste time...how would a couple thousand each
do ya guys?"
        "Put your hands behind your back. You're under arrest for
bribery and obstruction," the one not on the laptop told Kit, taking one
of Cody's wrists in hand. These weren't FAA boys. Kit knew FAA
boys.
        Well, the girls had put their wigs back on at the end of their drive
to the airport. Kit had his contacts in and mustache. So, as the agents
were turning him around to cuff him, he said, "I think you should have
taken the offer," and nodded to Jess.
        She drew in a breath and pulled the gun on the suits and got their
hands reaching for the sky. Kit took their pieces - knowing then for
sure that they weren't FAA - and told them to get into the plane, giving
one of the guns to Felecia; and they all boarded and the girls got them
taxiing out as Kit kept two guns on the suits in back.
        The agents were telling them that the guys would be spending the
rest of their lives in prison and such. Kit just told them to shut up and
strip down to their underwear, to keep them busy. He was plenty
scared something would happen to the girls, though. And now he had
made them real outlaws, goddammit.
        At the end of the runway, they got the Eagle all set to go, called
Tower, who responded normally, unaware of the situation, and Kit
used the suits' own cuffs to lock them down to their seat frames as Jess
poured the juice into the horses. They flew on out and headed North
after she asked Kit which way.

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