Cousins Just Gotta Have Fun (2/2) by Cousin Tok Place: CERK immediately following part 1 Sunday, July 8th, 2001 (early) After Tok, Celeste and Shelley had selected the appropriate Torture Props, they found the proper tools in a storeroom. "You guys wait by the elevator," Tok said. "I'll go get him." Tok stuck her head into the Game Room. "How are things going in here?" Inwardly she cringed just a bit, in case Vachon and the General had switched back. No such luck. "Did you find me something?" Vachon-in-Lacroix demanded. The empty bottle lay on the floor near his feet. Tok made a mental note to add a recycling bin in here. "Almost, Vachon. We need your help for a moment, if I could tear you away from ..." Tok did a small double take "... your Spanish soap opera?" "Can't you guys at least get cable? *My* help? What do I need to do?" Vachon looked at her warily. Tok tried her best to smile sweetly at him. "We need to get up to the penthouse to finish upgrading the General's entertainment system." At the words 'entertainment system', his eyes gleamed. "Access is controlled by a palm reader in the elevator. You come over and activate the panel so we can go up there and work, and you get to go up there when we're done." "Why can't I go up there with you?" he whined. "Well, um ... the whole entertainment system will be down until we finish," Tok covered quickly. "Watching us work would be pretty dull." "Alright, alright. Show me what I have to do." Tok and Vachon-in-LC hastened to the lobby elevator. Celeste and Shelley had already loaded equipment into the car and were holding the door open. Shelley hit the button for the top floor, and Celeste showed Vachon the palm reader. Tok stepped inside just before the doors closed, and soon their plan was underway. * * * * * Tok knelt before the state-of-the-art big screen TV, VCR and DVD player. After a few simple adjustments, wiring and new connections, everything was ready. She inserted a tape labeled "R.S." into the VCR. She turned around to see Celeste finishing up at the stereo. "How's it going over there, Celeste?" "Got the 'eject' button on the CD player disabled. It's all loaded up with showtunes, and if he turns on the stereo for anything, it kicks in. Continuous loop and the usual can't-turn-it-off provisions." Celeste looked at the stereo and then frowned at Tok. "You're sure we can reverse this all later?" "Absolutely." Tok cringed internally at the mental image of Lacroix, himself again, tripping over their 'enhancements'. "Absolutely," she said again, sounding a little less sure. "Let's go see how Shelley's doing with the elevator." Shelley was proud to show off her work. "We hide the tape player here, behind this panel. It's wired to the down button and will start playing at maximum volume if he tries to leave. One free trip back down before it activates, for us. All we need is the tape." Tok drew the tape out of the nearby equipment bag. The label read simply "Roseanne/Star Spangled Banner." As she inserted it into the tape player, Shelley said, "You know, this one may be over the top -- cruel and unusual punishment." The three women considered that for a moment, then as a group chorused "Nah!" As soon as the panel was secured, they loaded up their equipment and hopped into the car for the trip downstairs. "Tok, I just thought of something," Shelley said, sounding worried. "What if Vachon and the General switch back after he's set this off? He'll be *really* pissed." "I'm way ahead of you, Shelley. This is my fifth War co-leading the Cousins," Tok said, "and believe it or not, I do have survival instincts. I made a kill switch for the whole thing. Gandalf's going to keep an eye on him, and he'll shut the whole thing down if he sees the General's back." "Your vamp-cat?" Celeste arched an eyebrow. "You really think he can handle it?" "Gandalf was smart, even as a mortal. His vampire reflexes will let him react quickly. Relax, we're covered." Tok leaned back against the elevator wall and grinned. "Besides, he can let us know how it went later. That way, we don't have to risk a video camera." They exited at the lobby and headed for the Game Room to tell the slacker his entertainment was ready. * * * * * Vachon examined all the possibilities in the penthouse, settling first on the stereo. He hit "power", intending to listen to his favorite radio station (CERK -- not!). He tried to adjust the station, but instead the CD player started. "The sun'll come out tomorrow ..." Vachon shuddered and hit the 'stop' button. "Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow..." "There'll be sun." "Just thinking about tomorrow ..." A string of Spanish profanity followed. The only thing that still worked was the volume control, and that didn't cut it out completely. In desperation, Vachon turned next to the television. Maybe Lacroix had MTV or something better than what they had downstairs. He turned on the TV and started searching through the collection of tapes and DVDs on the shelves nearby. Behind him, the VCR clicked on. Vachon turned in horror to see Richard Simmons capering and bouncing across the enormous screen. "AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!" His attempts at shutting down the TV were no more successful than they'd been with the stereo. All he managed to accomplish was upsetting the color balance. Richard Simmons was now a lovely shade of magenta. That was quite enough! He headed for the elevator, planning to have a little chat with Tok about *her* sense of humor. A split-second too late, he realized they'd also boobytrapped the elevator. "OH-H-H-H SAY CAN YOU SEE..." came screeching forth the instant he hit the call button. He held his hands over his ears, to no avail. It was even worse when the elevator arrived, and he couldn't force himself into the car. The doors closed again without him. He ran through the penthouse, unable to block out the sounds. He threw himself down on Lacroix's bed and pulled the luxurious pillows over his head. The hours until sundown, when he could finally escape, he spent devising amusing fates for his Cousinly hosts. As soon as the sun was safely down, Vachon-in-LC threw open a window and flew off into the evening air. If he never saw CERK again, it would be too soon. Once he was safely gone, the grey vamp-kitty crept out from the ventilation system and triggered the kill switch. Blessed silence descended. Cousin Tok and the Cousinly kitties tokaara@mindspring.com / AIM Tokaara / ICQ 46441308