Chapter 12-1: Unstable Radius

[I knew part of me was just trying to live up to my overblown reputation.]

I yelped as Naiara’s hoof slapped my flank. “Come on, Snow, I’m only going like half speed here.”

Growling as she danced away, my horn flared back up. “Just you wait, I’m gonna get you this time.”

She just smirked and began her next sequence. Dodging left, right, up, down, side-to-side, and all possible directions, she moved surely towards me, as I did my best to dissuade her with my ice magic.

Exactly what kind of ice magic wasn’t important right now, as the purpose of the exercise was for me to be able to keep up with a moving target and be able to use my magic against them.

So far, it wasn’t going great.

I was driven back a few hooflengths as she caught me in the sternum. It hadn’t hurt, as we were just sparring, but it had been firm. Naiara kept her hoof raised, and maintained eye contact. “They’ll get harder if you don’t hurry. I’ll leave bruises eventually.”

Nodding, I rubbed the spot where she’d hit me for a moment. “I understand. Let’s go again.”

She hopped back and switched stances. She didn’t appear to favour either side, as that would hinder her Stompeii Emboli style, which was structured around omni-directional movements.

She was very good at those.

The moment my glacier-blue glow relit, she was springing away from the spot she was, and it was only due to her deliberately slowing down that I could barely follow her with my eyes.

The problem was that being able to keep her physical form in my sights did not automatically guarantee that my magic could reach her, nor that a pony with my minimal level of combat experience could predict where she would be to account for my reflexes.

The frozen spots of land that I’d iced, where she had been standing when I focused on it, were a reminder of this.

Still, I kept trying.

Zigzagging back and forth, Naiara suddenly went airborne, flipped over me, and landing a backhoof kick to the back of my head. She pulled the strike, but was true to her word. That one had hurt. “Not good enough, Snow. You’re thinking too much. I can see it in your face.”

“How am I supposed to use my magic without concentrating?”

“The more you use your magic, the less time it’ll take to cast. Look at Undertow sometime, her casting happens almost at once, quicker than you can blink. You’ll get there too, at some point. Until then, you get roughed up as incentive.”

“Hmph, slave driver.”

“That’s exactly what I am. Now let’s go.” She retreated back to her starting point.

Not this time, not again. My vow might’ve sounded confident, if I’d said it out loud.

Naiara’s jade eyes hardened before she moved this time, and I felt a bead of nervous sweat run down the back of my neck. Her stutter-step to the right immediately sent my backtracking, though she’d still managed to cover half the distance in that time.

I need to move faster.

Strangely, I felt my horn respond, though couldn’t see any effect it might have had, at least at first.

It became apparent what had happened as Naiara charged straight at me, when a look of surprise crossed her face and her hooves began scrambling for purchase that just wasn’t there anymore.

Only when she crashed down to the ground, and yet kept going, did I spot what had happened. Without really meaning to, I’d created a slick trail of ice, just thick enough to turn walking into skating, along the ground.

A very roundabout, ice-magic way to ‘move faster’.

Magic’s weird, but it works! I thought this as Naiara went sliding past me, and I returned the earlier favour by smacking her flank, and carried on straight into Soft Swell lake with a splash.

Spluttering and spitting, trying not to swallow any of the irradiated water, she quickly got herself back on dry land. Still, she gave me a smile for my efforts. “There you go! That’s one for you. I’ll need to speed up a little.”

“Please don’t.” I whimpered, still smarting from her hits.

“The price of success, svara.”

“What happened to you?” This was Bosco speaking as he trotted up, slipping his shiny new communicator back into his pack and smirking at the sopping wet zebra.

Naiara just spat out some more water. “Snow finally got me, once anyway. Put me in the lake. No damage done, but I think I’ll take a Radaway just in case. I don’t have Taint-based water resistance after all.”

I dug one serving of the medicine out of my pack, and tossed it to her. “Here, maybe see about grabbing a towel too. Don’t want you catching a chill.”

“This coming from the freeze-icorn.” That drew a chuckle from each of us.

“I spoke to Schwarzwald.” Bosco began, after Naiara had upended the Radaway down her throat. “She says the information Amber’s after is in a place called Whitepony. Apparently it’s an old Ministry building.”

“Which Ministry?”

“Two of them, actually. Jointly owned by Image and Morale. Apparently it was a record archive. Dunno how much is left after two hundred years, but Amber seems to think that there’s something valuable in the place. Schwarz said it concerns Lethbridle, so it’ll be wherever they keep those records.”

“Lethbridle? What about Lethbridle?” The biggest settlement in the region had been quite busy recently, especially being stuck between the Steel Rangers at Neighlway, and the slavers in Plottawa. What was Amber’s Bernstein Conclave planning for the place?

The charcoal colt just shrugged. “Didn’t say. I don’t think even Schwarz knows. We’re just supposed to find the computers that have the info on Lethbridle, then link up the communicator. It’ll do the rest, apparently.”

“Nice to be kept in the loop, huh?” The words were nearly lost under Naiara’s furious towelling. Bosco and I stepped back to avoid the irradiated flying droplets.

I looked at him. “So is that it? Just get to a working terminal, and let the gadget do the rest? Sounds simple enough, so long as the place isn’t another ghoul hangout.” I shuddered, thinking of another Ministry building, this time for the Ministry of Wartime Technology, housing agricultural supplies, materials, and vehicles.

“Schwarz didn’t say whether Amber didn’t say or not. Maybe she doesn’t know herself. I kinda doubt Ms. Bernstein has been there personally.”

“What’s she like? Amber, I mean.” Naiara had the towel draped around her neck, apparently having done all she could with it. Her mane was much wilder than its usual appearance, which was smooth and lustrous, whereas now it was damp and clumpy.

Undertow wears that look better.

“Real high society mare. Fancy dresses, squad o’ bodyguards, the works.” Bosco’s expression spoke volumes about his opinion of said ‘high society mare’.

“Fancy dresses aren’t so bad every now and then. Sometimes it’s fun to look pretty and sophisticated, ain’t that right, Snow?”

“I’unno.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? They didn’t dress up in the Stable?”

“Some did. I was never really invited to those parties. Mostly I just wore my Stable clothing, or went without altogether.” Whiskey Sour’s bar wasn’t really the high class place to relax in Stable 61.

Come to think of it, I don’t really remember where Roc and his ilk had their parties. Huh.

Naiara wasn’t quite ready to admit defeat. “Well then we’ll get Amber to throw us a fancy party when we’re done, and then we can get nice dresses and things.”

“Why does this matter?” Snarking aside, I had to agree with Bosco’s question.

“Why not? Be a nice change from Raiders.”

She wasn’t wrong there. Raiders weren’t known for their finery. “Point taken.”

“Speaking of a change from Raiders,” Bosco’s eyes darted between the two of us. “I want us to go help Schwarzwald with this. Today.”

We both raised an eyebrow. “Today?”

He nodded determinedly. “Today. We’re not doing anything for a week anyway, until it’s time for the Raider meet up. We only came back here so Undertow could make sure there was enough charge in her diving Orbs. Soon as she gets back, we’re setting out.”

Though surprised at his commanding tone, Naiara didn’t seem inclined to disagree. “Alright.”

He really wanted to do this, that much was sure. He seemed to trust Schwarzwald, and remained on good terms with her, although the only person I’d ever seen the mercenary mare on bad terms with was a drunk stallion, who tried to throw his weight around. Him, she knocked clean out in six seconds. Everybody else, including the stallion’s girlfriend, was treated more like a fun distraction than anything else.

Bosco was right about the timing too. There really wasn’t anything more that we had to do for the Raiders right now. Caber Toss had scheduled the meeting for days away, and we’d visited all the tribes he wanted to contact.

That left plenty of time for helping Bosco out, which I’d previously resolved to do more of, and not focus so much on my own stuff. Even if, so far, my intentions had outdistanced my actions in that regard.

This was a prime opportunity to make some strides now. Though I was sure that Amber was mostly concerned with Schwarzwald’s participation, she had asked for Bosco and I to go along too. Bosco wanted to go to help Schwarzwald, and I wanted to help Bosco. The system worked.

“I’m in. As soon as Undertow’s done with her Deep Diver stuff, we’ll be on our way. You can take the lead, Boss Colt. It’s only fitting.”

He made a face. “Hey, c’mon guys, it’s not like that.”

Naiara and I saluted, neither of us making much effort to hide our laughter. “Whatever you say, Boss Colt.”

“Don’t call m-ah forget it. Let’s just get Undertow and go.”

“Go where, Boss Colt?”

“GYAH!” We all jumped at her sudden appearance. Undertow was soundlessly emerging from the lake, apparently having been out swimming. Unlike Naiara’s floundering, she seemed perfectly at home in the water, barely making a ripple.

Naiara found her voice first. “We were just about to head out and…” She blinked suddenly. “Wait, did you say Boss Colt?”

“I did.”

Happy laughter burst from the zebra. “Oh that’s amazing. Undertow just made a joke! I totally didn’t see that coming.”

I joined her in celebration. “Good one, Undertow. ‘Boss Colt’ was just saying that we’re heading out for Whitepony to do this job for Amber. It’s only right that Bosco’s in charge this time. You ready to go?”

“Whenever you are, Lady Snow.”

After what happened last time, I made no attempt to even give her the option to stay behind. Not that it was either of our choices really. I wasn’t kidding about Bosco being in charge. I’d happily defer to him on this. I was coming along to help him, and because I’d been asked for by Amber. Not being the one dragging people around was much nicer.

“Well then, we done making jokes at my expense? Yeah? Good. Let’s go. We’re meeting Schwarz at Sprinkles Supplies. It’s on the way, plus I thought you might wanna stop in.”

Boss Colt knows me pretty well.

~~~~~~

“Snowflake, ya got some explainin’ t’do, missy!”

Uh oh. “H-hey, boss. How’re you doing?”

Fedexi Lexi ignored my question for a moment, instead beckoning us into her office, in a manner that was in no way a suggestion. Gulping slightly, I meandered in, with Undertow and the others following.

Her office was surprisingly well furnished, with a wooden desk of obvious quality taking up one third of the space, with several comfortable chairs facing it. Lexi stalked behind the desk, leaned on it with her elbows, and put the flats of her hooves together in front of her face, hiding her entire face sans the eyes, her hard, frowning eyes.

“Snowflake, what in the hell d’ya think yer doin’?”

“Um…”

She wasn’t particularly interested in hearing an answer. “I didn’t mind when ya came out as Red Ice to the entire Wasteland. I didn’t even mind when ya public’ly went against the Steel Rangers and Plottawa, since y’all said ya were someplace else, and ya didn’t make Sprinkles a target by talkin’ ‘bout us at the time. Ya did good work for me when ya worked here with those Pegasus girls, even if it was just fer one job that ya didn’t finish, but now I really gotta ask: What in the hell are ya thinkin’? Raiders?!”

“Now, I can explain…”

“SHUT YER TRAP! I ain’t done.” Immediately I closed my mouth, and sank lower into my chair, as she went on. “I want to know ‘xactly how much o’ what I’m hearin’ over the squawkbox is right, and how much ain’t. Answer me right, ya hear?”

Trembling slightly, I nodded dumbly. Lexi had never been this angry at me, not even when I first showed up here with a hole through my leg, and she had to take the time to fix me up.

She sighed deeply. “Awright. First question: Are ya workin’ with Raiders?”

“…Yes.”

“Don’t take that tone with me!” Her snapped respond set me back on edge.

“What tone?” I mouthed silently to myself, panicking.

“Second question: WHAT are ya doin’ with these Raiders?”

My hooves were nervously tapping together. “I was…uh… trying to unite four clans into one group?”

She’d stopped blinking. “…Y’all know Raiders are the biggest threat to my caravans, and the boys an’ girls who guard ‘em, right?”

“I guess…”

“Ya can’t guess no more, I just tol’ ya. Now, YOU tell me. Why in the hell are ya tryin’ t’make the Raiders worse, and more organised?” Clearly she expected this to be good.

“I’m not.” She raised an eyebrow, but otherwise gave no reaction, simply waited for me to continue. “I mean yeah, I’m trying to organise them, but not make them worse. I’m actually going for the opposite. See, I’m trying to change the Raiders. Make it so that they aren’t just attacking people all the time. Give them a chance to find their own way. Not all of them are crazy and violent.”

The eyebrow didn’t lower. “Uh huh.”

“It’s true!” I stressed. “Some of them are, I won’t deny that. But not as many as people think. They can change. If we outnumber the violent ones with calmer Raiders, then they’ll have to change. If we can convince their leaders of it, then they can change their tribes!”

“And the bastard that got hisself shot through and dumped outside of Lethbridle’s gates?”

“One of the worst,” I confirmed. “He was crazy, and dangerous, and violent, and beat his own followers with a grenade. He’s dead, and his group is being handled by a better leader. His name was Four Fields, by the way.”

“I don’t care!”

“And that’s part of the problem, isn’t it?” I snapped back. “Part of why I’m doing this. It doesn’t matter whether the rest of the Wasteland likes it or not, but Raiders are still people, and deserve their chance to join the wider community. Raiders aren’t blameless, as they’ve killed lots of people, but it doesn’t have to continue, at least for these Raiders. We’re not aiming to change the entire Wasteland with this, just these groups. That’ll be a start, and maybe more will change afterwards, but this is what we’re aiming for right now.”

Her posture, though still disapproving, had softened ever so slightly. “An’ ya think ya can change these Raiders? Make ‘em like everypony else, just tryin’ to keep themselves goin’?”

“I… don’t really know. But I want to try.”

Finally, the hooves parted from in front of her face. Without saying anything, she reached down to a desk draw, and brought out a bottle of unlabelled moonshine, and a glass. Pouring herself a stout glassful, she downed it in one gulp, before resting her hooves flat on the table. “What evidence do y’all have that this’ll even work? Yer gamblin’ with lots o’ dangerous ponies, Snowflake.”

“Lady Lexi?”

Her gaze shifted to my right, losing its ire as it came to rest on the Deep Diver. “I tol’ ya, I ain’t a Lady. What is it, Undertow?”

“What was it that you said about me, during our last visit here?” She spoke slowly and calmly, though I was finding it hard to read past her goggles at that moment.

“I said ya were a good girl, why?” Lexi was pouring herself another glass, smaller this time.

“May I ask you why? Why you said it?”

Lexi shrugged, then topped off her drink. “Cause yer sweet, an’ quiet, an’ ya obviously think the world o’ Snowflake here. What’s yer point?”

Nothing changed outwardly, but I still got the sensation of immense satisfaction from Undertow. “I merely wished to point out that even you can consider a Raider to be a good girl.”

My boss gurgled as the moonshine caught in her throat. Hacking and wheezing, she set down the half-empty glass, and looked at us both in disbelief. “Wha? Undertow, darlin’, yer not sayin’…”

“I am a Raider, Lady Lexi.”

She was flabbergasted. “I… but… yer one o’ the ones that ain’t got a choice, right? Only there cause ya couldn’t get away?”

“No.” Her response was flat. “I lead the Deep Divers, one of the four groups that Lady Snow is trying to unite.”

Lexi continued to stare wide-eyed at Undertow, before turning to me with a glare. “Why didn’t ya tell me?! Had to go draggin’ Undertow into this by havin’ her damn near gimme a heart attack!”

Her sudden shift to anger left me flathooved. “I… what?”

“It’s never the baby that Momma gets mad at, always the first child.” Naiara’s sarcastic reply wasn’t delivered with her usually playfulness, and Bosco’s stone-faced silence didn’t really convey that he thought this was fair either.

“True, but that is a sign of a mother’s trust, dahling.” came a voice from the door. “After all, big sisters are born first so that they may protect the little ones that come after.”

“Who the fuck is this, and why’s she in my office?!”

Schwarzwald, unimpressed by Lexi’s anger, strolled in as casual as you like. “I am a companion to these lovelies, and will be aiding them in this endeavour.”

Lexi was fuming at being disrespected in her own office. “Yer involved with all this Raider crap?”

Schwarz just smiled that unshiftable smile of hers. “Yes and no, but that is for another time. We are on a different assignment at present.”

Somehow, this was also my fault. “Another li’l tidbit ya forgot ta tell me, Snowflake?”

“Sorry!” I tried helplessly. “It didn’t come up.”

Throwing her hooves up in the air, Lexi sat back in her chair heavily. “So what are y’all doin’ right now?”

“We’re going to Whitepony to look for some records.” Bosco finally broke his silence, and delivered this news with firm conviction, as if daring her to call him on it.

She eventually elected not to. The mention of Whitepony had derailed her. “…So no Raider business? Then why’s Undertow here?”

“Because I wish to help Bosco, and Lady Snow.” Undertow had completely turned the tables on Lexi, and she was now no longer in command of her own office.

“Me too, if anypony cares.” Naiara chipped in.

Lexi closed her eyes, a seconds-long blink, before admitting defeat. “Good girls.”

“Aren’t they just?” Schwarzwald was leaning against the wall by the door, which drew a sour look from the office’s owner.

I didn’t want Lexi looking this bad, especially after telling Undertow that this was her ‘territory’. Deep Diver thinking might make her lose respect for Lexi. “Undertow’s helping me with my magic, so that I can help more people. She’s been really helpful.”

“Yer havin’ trouble with yer magic? Why didn’t ya come to me? I’da helped.”

“You were so busy, and I didn’t want to disturb you. Undertow’s doing just fine. Better than fine. I’ve learned more with her than I have in my entire life.” I was more than happy to show my pride at what Undertow had been able to do for me, and how good she was herself.

Another glare morphed into a gentle gaze for Undertow. “Is that right? Yer a strong unicorn, and ya been helpin’ Snowflake out?”

“She’s the strongest I’ve met, and yes she has.”

Undertow was less combative now. “Lady Snow has helped me much more, I only do what I can to make her stronger.”

It was a few seconds before Lexi said anything. “…Atta girl. Awright, awright, I’ll trust that y’all know what yer doin’. Don’t hope fer miracles with these Raiders though. They’ve had a long time to get plenty good at bein’ bastards.”

“Do not fear, our current employer is taking steps to protect us while on this assignment. She has guaranteed their safety.” Schwarzwald seemed unconcerned that she’d warned us about Amber’s words not long ago.

“Well that’s real good t’hear… since I can’t anymore.”

Confused, I looked back at Lexi. “What do you mean? Can’t do what anymore?”

Firm, yet apologetic, eyes panned over the five of us. “Yer too hot right now, Red Ice. I like ya, Snowflake, but I can’t have Sprinkles Supplies associated with ya, not while yer dealin’ with Raiders. Not with DJ Pon3 warnin’ folks offa ya. If Lethbridle found out that we went easy on ya, then it’d kill our business round here, not to mention that more ‘n a few o’ my workers ain’t happy to have Red Ice on the premises at all. I told ‘em not to get involved, but they won’t listen forever, and that could mean strikes or breakin’ rules, ‘specially if you keep going with what yer doin’. Sorry, but y’all can’t come back until all this Raider crap is finished. ”

My insides went cold. What?

Immediately, Undertow and Naiara jumped to my defence. “What?”

“You can’t be serious.”

Schwarzwald and Bosco were less supportive. “It makes sense, dahling.”

“It’ll be okay, Snow. We’re almost done with the Raider stuff anyway, it’ll only be for a little while.”

All eyes went to me, waiting for my response.

Making no attempt to wipe away my worried tears, I quietly let her know what I thought about that. “S-so, you d-don’t care that I’m Red Ice, until it hurts your b-business? Happy to be nice, unt-til I get in the w-way of p-profit? D-don’t do this to m-me, boss!”

It’s not fair! Lexi’s done so much for me before, so why now? What does she have all these guards for if not to stop trouble? Why is she sending me away?

Lexi didn’t falter. “Yeah. Sorry, but that’s the way things are. Raiders are bad news, kid, and yer not gonna change folks’ mind on that. Y’all can try, but I don’t’ see it happening. All that’ll happen is I get a bad rep, and lose a lot of caps for me an’ everypony else here. I like ya, but yer not worth all that if you keep this up.”

Schwarzwald’s voice drifted into my ear. “I told you that there are all kinds in the Wasteland, Snowflake. You must accept this.”

“She’s right, Snow. It’s harsh, but you kinda have to be in the Wasteland. We just have to make sure that the Raider stuff works out, and then there won’t be any of these problems anymore.”

“…I think we should go.” Naiara was standing now, having taken up position close to my chair.

“I agree, Lady Snow. We may not like it, but this is still Lady Lexi’s territory, and she has authority here. If she wishes for us to leave, then we must.” Between Naiara and herself, they began to gently walk me out.

As Schwarzwald and Bosco disappeared through the door, and the three of us were just about to step through the opening, Lexi had more to say. “Wait!”

Wordlessly, I half turned, waiting for for her to yell at me some more.

“…Don’t die.”

That took me by surprise. Sniffling through my runny nose, I turned the rest of the way.

Still sitting at her desk, and cradling the bottle of moonshine, Fedexi Lexi was gloomily watching us, her frizzy mane drooping over her orange eyes. “Whatever happens, keep yerselves alive, all o’ ya. This Raider bullshit? I don’t care if you fail, won’t ‘xactly be a big loss if Raiders keep bein’ Raiders. I don’t care if y’all get hurt, cause I’ll just patch ya up again.” She rubbed a hoof through her unruly mane, stressed at the whole situation. “…Just don’t die, awright?. That goes fer all o’ ya.”

None of us really knew how to take that, resolving to simply walk away in confusion a few seconds later. All of us except Schwarzwald, who was quietly singing “Momma told me not to come” under her breath.

We weren’t too far away from the office to hear glass shattering against the closed door, along with a frustrated “Dammit ta hell!” as we left.

~~~~~~

The gate to the Sprinkles compound clanged shut behind us, and we began to stroll around the outer perimeter. I was in no way interested in saying anything, happy to just follow silently, while listening to the other conversations that had started up.

“Hey, Schwarz?” Bosco didn’t look at the mercenary as he spoke. He wasn’t really looking at anything. Apparently deep in thought, his eyes were glassed over as he walked.

“Yes, Bosco?

“What’s Amber paying us for this job?”

“Such a pragmatist.” She teased. “The fee is one thousand caps each for yourself and dear Snowflake, and two thousand for me.”

“Why do you get more?”

“What does it matter, Bosco?” Naiara chipped in. “A thousand caps isn’t chump change.”

“Thank you lovely, but to answer Bosco’s question, I will be the one to deliver our prize to Amber in person, and so I garner a higher cut for protecting the information, from whomever may try to take it from me.”

She adopted a chivalrous pose. “Through fire, and ice, I shall be the brave knight, guarding the precious relic.” and then shattered the illusion with a lecherous grin. “Bloodied and torn, I shall return to the waiting princess with the prize, and enjoy the gentle attention of her... tending to me.”

Bosco mostly ignored the lewd rhetoric, focusing only on the information he’d asked for. “Fine, so a thousand caps. Lemme ask this, is her Bernstein Conclave a big group?”

“Oh yes. Their normal operating channels are very different from the general population this far north, but they have many different operations of varying scales in progress at any one time, and dear Amber sits in the centre of the web, guiding it all. Not without help, of course. If she was so busy as to handle everything herself, then she would never have made the time to visit.”

Not even for you?

“Doesn’t sound like they advertise much. I’d never heard of them before the Molar Bear hunt.”

“You wouldn’t have. Simply put, Lethbridle and the surrounding area are far too remote, and poor, to be greatly affected by Bernstein machinations. They are more prominent further south, especially Tenpony Tower.”

“And do they only trade in caps?”

He had her attention now. “Whatever do you mean, Bosco-dahling? What else is there?”

He came back from where he’d been, his eyes focusing again. “That’s what I wanna know. Would Amber be willing to pay in a different way for the information?”

Her eyes lit up. “Bosco! You naughty boy!”

“No.” He stated flatly.

“Oh poo. Then what do you mean?” We were all listening in now. What was Bosco looking for that he’d take over caps?

“I want a favour from her. I’m trying to figure out someone of my own, and a network that’s as extensive as you say hers is would be really helpful.”

“Hmm, that is a good question. I actually don’t know, dahling, I shall have to ask her.” She lapsed into silence, mulling over the new possibilities.

Bosco was clearly talking about his Memory Orbs. He’d carried them around for six years before being able to view them, and didn’t remember anything before those six years.

With Amber’s help, he might be able to find out who he was. That was worth a thousand caps, or two, if he needed mine as well.

“Who pays a thousand caps for a two hundred year old piece of information?” Naiara’s question was very valid, and had me wondering exactly why none of us had asked it before now.

“Amber does.” Schwarzwald answered simply. “She also never does anything without purpose.”

“So what’s her purpose?”

“I do not know, and do not intend to ask. I will carry out the job she has tasked me with, for the payment we agreed on, as two thousand caps is fine for me… but then again, a favour from Amber may be quite beneficial.” Mercenary or not, the idea was definitely intriguing her. “Hmm, I will have to think about it later. For now, we still have to complete the task first, and I do not aim to disappoint. I have, after all, been doing this for a long time.”

~~~~~~