Thursday, April 18, 2013

Chapter 52: Can't Hide Forever


Jace was a little disappointed that his father couldn't make it home for his birthday, but he understands that Jack's job keeps him from being able to be there. And he does have the rest of his very large and loving family to celebrate with him.


Jace becomes an adult.


As much as loves his very large and loving family, Jace wants to start one of his own as soon as Kirsten ages up, so he moves out to large farmhouse with enough rooms for all the children he plans to have. He gets a job at City Hall, hoping to get into politics, and gets everything ready for his upcoming wedding.


"You certainly didn't waste any time dismantling a criminal empire I spent decades building," Cole says, joining Delaney at the coffeeshop that used to be his warehouse. His wry smile tells her that he's not as angry about that as one might think.

"You left me in charge," she answers, as though that explains everything, "I did what I felt I had to do."

"You're still acting almost entirely on impulse, Laney," he chides her, but he's still got that little smile on his face, like he's amused at the antics of a child.

"It wasn't an impulse," Delaney protests, "I thought about this move. A lot. Getting involved in the business in the first place was a stupid impulse. I did it for thrills, like it was an extension of some of my high school pranks. It seemed so sexy and exciting," she frowns as her words make her remember Ian, and her betrayal of Jack, "Well, it's not sexy or exciting, and even if it was, I'm trying to make something of my family. I had another kid, you know, a daughter. I don't want to be out all night like I was with Jace. But I couldn't just drop the responsibility you dumped on me when you took off for ages," she casts an accusing glance at him, "So I did something that would still pull in a profit for you."


"So you're ready to settle down?" Cole asks, something verging on awe in his voice, "It's taken me so long to get there, and I've sacrificed so much on the way. I had the worst time with relationships, and I've got s list of ex-wives I can't even name, descendants I have no contact with...But you're committed to Jack. True love forever and all that?"

"I don't know about 'true love'," she says with a shrug, "That's the kind of thing my son gets on about, like life is some kind of fairy tale. But I do love Jack, and I fucked shit up between us. I've got a chance to make that right, and I'm going for it."

"Fairy tale," Cole chuckles under his breath, "For the longest time, I thought I was completely alone in the world. Unique. And then there you were."

"A dragon," Delaney says, her voice low and serious.


"No," Cole says, "Well, that's part of it. But the whole blended heritage of our families. You and I both have got the dragon-dominant side of our genes, but there's so much more. I wanted to find out what you couldn't tell me about your family, who your ancestors were, so I went to visit an old...friend...of mine. Time moves differently there, I didn't realize how long I'd been gone."

"I wasn't sure if I should worry about you," Delaney admits, "I thought about hiring a P.I. to look for you, but I figured that would just needlessly endanger anyone who took that job."

Cole laughs in acknowledgment, "Yeah, that wouldn't have gone well. But, anyway, where I was, no normal human could find me. Aren't you at all curious about what I found?"

Delaney shrugs, "There was a time when I was interested in knowing about my heritage. But, really, if it isn't going to help me in the here and now, why should I care about old history?"

Cole nods, "All right then, I won't bore you with old history, except to say, you and I come from the same place. That's not the reason I wanted to talk to you, anyway. My fairy friend asked me to do something for her. To prove myself worthy...long story, that. But, I have a job and I need you. What's more, I need someone with the kind of magic that MorcuCorp's metal can't weaken, and I need the very unique skill set of a Hawksquill."

"You mean Shadow and Iola?" Delaney asks, her eyebrows raised, "I don't think I could convince them to help on a heist."

"This isn't just any heist. We'd be infiltrating Landgraab territory, to take back something they should never have had in the first place. The tooth of a dragon."



Delaney brings Cole to Shadow's shop so he can ask the couple for their help in person. "This is my former, ah, employer, Cole King," she introduces them.

Iola smiles, "Is that what you're going by?" she asks, looking Cole directly in the eye.

"For the last few decades," Cole says, "But I didn't expect to get a pseudonym past a Hawksquill. And since I'm coming to you all for help, then I guess it's best to use my own name again. Rory Bowman," he introduces himself.

"And what is you want my help with?" Shadow asks, "We're not unaware of what kind of business Laney was involved in," he continues, "I'm assuming she wouldn't bring you to us if you were going to ask us for something outside the law."

Rory smiles, "Well, there are laws, and there are laws," he says, "What I want your help with is most definitely illegal. But while what I want to steal is technically and legally Landgraab property, by the laws of the human world, in the law of dragons, they are holding something that they acquired through murder, a tooth of a dragon, which should be returned to his family."

"The Landgraabs have a long history of dragon slaying, " Iola says, "And they took the teeth as trophies. You are only interested in one of them?"

Rory nods, "That's where you come in. I've been tasked with finding one particular tooth, which belonged to a dragon very dear to the heart of a fairy friend of mine. The Landgraabs have them scattered in several storehouses throughout the world, but the tooth I'm looking for belonged to a dragon killed by Reinier Landgraab, and the family keeps the bulk of his relics in a museum in Aurora Skies. I've narrowed the search down to one location, but the Landgraabs don't exactly label the teeth by name. Only a Hawksquill could tell whose mouth a particular tooth was torn from."

Shadow and Iola trade glances at the mention of the name Reinier Landgraab. "What you're asking of us is dangerous," Shadow says,"We'll have to discuss this, first."


"Of course," Rory says, "Take as much time as you need. That tooth has been in Landgraab hands for centuries."

Adan, the shop clerk, stands back at a respectful distance. He can just barely hear their conversation. He thinks about the inventory he could be taking during this down time, but a strange compulsion roots him to this spot, watching, listening, though he has no idea what his employers are talking about, nor does he particularly care. When the conversation is over, Adan gets back to work, forgetting the whole incident.



"Walking right into Landgraab territory," Iola whispers, her hand trembling as she caresses Shadow's face, "It could be a trap, you know. They tried to trap your father that way."

"But he got away," Shadow points out.

"This isn't our problem," Iola says, "This dragon' tooth has been in Landgraab hands for centuries. What does it matter if it stays with them?"

"Because it's wrong," Shadow says, "It's a wrong and we've been asked to help right it. I can't turn a request like that down. But it's you they need, more than me."

Iola shakes her head, "No, they need you, just as much as me. Rory has considerable power as a dragon, but it's useless in the face of that metal the Landgraabs have. But your magic, that's something else. It's not affected by the metal's radiation."

"It can't be a coincidence, that we're being asked to steal something once stolen by Reinier Landgraab himself. We have to do this."


"I'm frightened, Shadow," Iola whispers, near tears, "I've never seen this future, I don't know what will happen..."

"I'm frightened, too. But we have to do this. I'll protect you, you know that, Iola, I will never let anything harm you."

"And who will protect you?" she whimpers, "MorcuCorp never wanted me. It's you. They'll take you from me..."

"Sssh, sweetheart, don't cry," Shadow soothes her, "They had me once, and my family has been in hiding ever since. Our children live in hiding, but we can't hide forever. Sooner or later, we must face MorcuCorp down. We can't just sit by, Iola, we have to act. The universe has put out the call, and I must answer it."

"I know," Iola sighs, "I know you, Shadow. There was never any doubt what your answer would be. And I will go with you."


Kirsten Foster, Jace's teenage fiancee, asked Iola to tell her fortune. "Will Jace and I be happy together?" the girl wants to know.

It's not a question Iola has to delve into very deeply, there is such a high probability of the young couple's future happiness. But she's no charlatan, so Iola uses her gift to peer into the near future before giving an answer.


There's nothing surprising about Jace and Kirsten's future; marriage, children, a steady and happy life. But that simple vision she sought is followed by a bombardment of images, too many and too fast for Iola to sort through, to comprehend. One image stands out clearly from the jumble, her son, Fergus, as a young man, the head of MorcuCorp. 


"You know it's never a straight line," Ariel says after Iola shares her vision with him, and the plan to steal back the tooth of a dragon.

"We get involved in a plan to infiltrate a Landgraab holding, and then I sudden;y get a vision of my son at the head or MorcuCorp. How can I not believe that doing the one might not be the cause of the other?" Iola asks.

"Because you know better than to believe correlation equals causation," Ariel replies, "I taught you better than that, Iola. I think Shadow's magical thinking is rubbing off on you," he continues with a serious frown.

"Magic is real, father. You know that."


"She has a point, Dad," Max interjects, "There are places where even logic can't go. Once magic gets involved, logic flies out the window."

"No," Ariel insists, "Even magic obeys the laws of physics. And that's not even the issue here. Events always have a cause, but real life events are never as simple as billiard balls being pushed around a table. You see visions of possible futures, but what events might cause them to take place is not clear. And you know this, daughter. What you saw could be the result of you refusing to take part in this venture."

"That doesn't seem likely. I did agree to go," Iola says.

"But you haven't gone yet, and are still looking for ways to get out of it," Ariel says.

Iola pouts at him, like she did as child when she didn't like the lesson he was teaching her.

"And, anyway, you don't know that your vision is a bad thing," Max says softly.

"But, MorcuCorp..." Iola says.

"Is the big bad, I know," Max interrupts, "But if Fergus takes control of it, maybe that's a good outcome. You didn't see him locked in one of their labs, after all."




"There you are," Shadow says, finding Delaney in Jilly's room, playing with the mirror. "We've decided, we're going to do this with you."


"Great!" Delaney says, then pauses. "But, I, uh, used up all your Dad's stock of ghost potions and the like. We're going to have to ask him to whip us up a batch."

"I'll go with you, but you have to explain to him why his stockpile is gone," Shadow answers.

"What if he's mad at me?" Delaney says.

Shadow laughs, "Have you ever seen my father get mad at anyone about anything? Don't worry, Laney. He'll make whatever we need. He's infiltrated MorcuCorp bases before."

"He has?" This is news to Delaney. "Did he steal stuff?"

"Yes. My Mother. C'mon, let's go talk to him."


At Shadow's urging, Delaney comes clean to Farrell, telling him that's she used his potions up in her life as a master thief, and now they need more to infiltrate and steal something from the Landgraabs.

"I knew what you were up to," Farrell says with a smile, "You fooled me the first time, when you said you wanted to visit Jack in jail. But after that, well, I knew."

"Really?" Delaney gasps, "And you didn't mind?"



Farrell shrugs, "As long as you were safe," he mumbles, "But, infiltrating a Landgraab base, that's not the same as robbing a bank, you know. Security is much tighter."

"But you've done it," Shadow says.

"Because I had to," Farrell answers.

"We have to do this, Dad," Shadow says.

"Then you'll need more of my potions."



Shadow reports back to Iola at the shop. "We're on. My father is making us a batch of his potions. We'll be set to go after Fergus' birthday."


Iola's fears, about this plan, about what she's seen in Fergus' future, are nowhere near settled.


______________________________

I decided to change my eye defaults. I loved the old ones, but as pretty as they were, the multi-foiled effect was actually sort of restrictive, as they added so much color. So I ended up always making very neutral eye colors that got brightened and enhanced by the defaults. So now that I've changed, all my blue eyed Sims have grey eyes, lol. In some cases I'm editing in CAS to give them the colors I think they should have. 

Next up, infiltrating a MorcuCorp base, woot! We haven't done that in awhile.

Also, poor Delaney, three of her wish slots are filled with 'Get Married', 'Get Married to Jack' and 'Propose to Jack' because I'm evil and locked them in.

29 comments:

  1. You mean Watcher you! Which makes me wonder if something is going to happen to Iola and you're going to play switch-a-roo on us again and let Jack take her place to fulfill the couple part of the equation. Adan has been watching very closely after all and I have no doubt MorcuCorp is doing some of their own planning.

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    1. Me, mean? >_>
      Doing the switcheroo with Shelly was an easy choice, because, Shelly. Doing that to Iola would be a much tougher decision. Not that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, mind you. I still haven't figured out exactly what's going to happen on this mission. I'm just jumping in, hoping that I'll have it sorted out once I get there. =P
      But, yes, Adan has been keeping his eye on things, and MorcuCorp will have their own agenda. But, Geoffrey rarely does what you might expect he'd do.

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  2. Hm! Now why would Shadow's magic be different...

    Rory's lookin' stylish.

    Jace looks nice as YA too.

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    1. Well, it's not Shadow's magic that's different, but the fact that the metal has no effect on humans. Dragons and fae and the like will will be weakened by the radiation, but not humans.

      Rory has changed a bit since Appaloosa Plains.
      Jace got a interesting mix of features. Hey, did you know he's genetically part Archer? Shelly was Stina's daughter, and Stina was made from a clone of one of Rio's granddaughters from the Roman legacy. But that's not what Rory was referring to when he said Delaney and he were from the same place...
      The whole Rory thing gets sticky, because technically he was Kvornan's great grandson in the Roman legacy, but I've pulled the whole Tricou story way off (my) canon and Kvornan is totally different now anyway...but I should probably keep Kvornan and Rory away from each other in case my universe implodes.

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    2. Oh... for some reason I thought Shadow's mom was affected. It's been a while since those chapters, lol.

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    3. I probably never said either way. In the few times she was exposed to the metal, there were other things that would have prevented her from using magic, or situations in which her magic wouldn't have done much good anyway, so the option to use it never came up.

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  3. Oh noes! But I bet it'll be lots of fun to see Fergus take revenge and eventually head the company. Can't wait for that (down the road.) Ooooh! The foreshadowing! The suspense! Another raiding party is getting ready to enter Morcucorp.

    And it was nice to see Rory again, but I need my Jack fix! Need the big meaty sweetie! Though, I almost bet we won't run into him very soon. He's got to avoid the disaster the raiding party runs into doesn't he?

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    1. Fergus has quite the future ahead of him, I'll say that.
      LOL, I feel like I need to send a raiding party into MorcuCorp each generation. There is so much MorcuCorp to raid!

      Jack will be around again eventually. I missed having him there too.
      And Delaney suddenly rolling a wish to propose to him (on top of her already locked wish to marry him. I locked that after Jace was born and forced her to carry it around forever)..so tempted..must...not...break...rules

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  4. Oh dear. This sounds dangerous. But I'm excited for it! I hope they make it through MorcuCorp unharmed. Especially with Adan seeing all of their plans...

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    1. Thanks, sparkle!
      It is a dangerous mission, and they do have a spy in their midst reporting to MorcCorp.

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  5. Eeek, I'm awful worried about what's going to happen to all of them when they raid MorcuCorp *chews fingers* and Iola's vision of Fergus worries me too :(

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    1. Thanks, Ali!
      Iola's vision won't come to pass for awhile at least, if it does at all. But the MorcuCorp is coming up soon. =D

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  6. Who is Adan?! Do I remember rightly asking if he was a spy, and you saying 'no, register just messed up'... Did you change your mind?

    WHO IS RORY'S FAIRY FRIEND?! I must know whose tooth they're getting.

    Yay! A Morcucorp raid! Love these, but I hope everything goes ok!
    Why do I get the feeling poor old Jack will be on guard when they get there, and be very confused and not know whether to let them in and lose his job, or say no and lose his family. We all know what he'd choose if he had to, but still... DRAMA!

    What a cliffhanger! Really good one, I mean it. Not so suspenseful that I want to strangle you, but suspensful enough for me to want to read the next chapter tomorrow :)

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    1. You did ask if Adan was a spy. My answer was probably rambley and badly worded, but the situation was that register did mess up and stuck me with a new cashier. So I decided he was a spy sent by MorcuCorp, since that would serve my purposes. So, anyway, yes, spy! Though, he doesn't really know he's a spy, he's working under a hypnotic suggestion MorcuCorp has put him under.
      I'll get into that more later when we next see Geoff.

      I think you can guess whose tooth they're getting...Reinier has killed many dragons, but one really stands out. And there's a fairy who would still be wanting to get his tooth back. Yeah, you got it now, right? It will be more explicit later.

      You know, I still haven't worked out what is going to go down at the MorcuCorp raid. So, I'm taking everyone's guesses in the comments and putting them in the 'that could totally happen' hat. So, that could totally happen. =P (I have a few of my own ideas in the hat too, lol. It's just really up in the air until I settle on what's going into the story)
      But whatever happens, I am hoping for DRAMA. That's what it's all about.

      Tomorrow? Aagh,I still have build sets. And decide what's going to happen before I shoot. But I'm glad you are looking forward to it.

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    2. I seee!! Ok, makes sense now :p Thought you'd been lying to me, but I guess I just misunderstood a little.

      I think I know now. I had a feeling, but wasn't sure. :D

      I do that constantly. When I roll for a generation, I make an outline of how it would all make sense in my head, and then someone comments something on a chapter, and I change the story, then the next chapter someone comments something else, so I change it again. Probably why it make absolutely no sense :p Oh well, it's fun! And it's a way to keep the reader guessing if you don't even know yourself!

      Well, looks like it'll be a long night then! Chop chop! ;p

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    3. I wouldn't lie to you. =(
      But I was probably not very clear in my answer. Anyway, fixed now, lol.

      Yeah, I figured people would probably guess which dragon's tooth they're going to reclaim.

      I do it constantly too, even if I have a strong idea where a story is going, new ideas can change that, sometimes based on comments here, sometimes just a new thought I have. My whole time travel arc with Farrell was constantly changing and I ended up having to come up with a whole new scene around that nectar bottle after I dropped the original story. It does get a little messy sometimes.

      If I said 'We will sell no wine before it's time' would you get the reference? Probably not, seeing as it's an American ad from the 70s. Anywho, this story will be mellowing in a cask until it's perfect. =D
      Or, you know, for about a week. Also, I'll need to do some Summerdream before then. =D

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  7. you have a fantastic story here. I've been following both this and your summerdream. I was so happy when I got online and saw you had updated it. Can't wait to see where you lead this story now.

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    1. Hi, Melissa! That's my name, too. =D

      Thank you so much, I'm happy you are enjoying my tories.

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  8. Oh, Delaney. xD Now that I'm making an effort to let my sims be more autonomous, I should have more childish ones. That trait was always boring when I micromanaged them, but free-range childish sims are probably incredibly amusing.

    Oh, Fergus. This can't be good for him, though I think that it'll go down no matter whether Iola and Shadow infiltrate MercuCorp or not. Unless they get captured due to Adan's intel, allowing MercuCorp to use Jack's intel to take advantage of their absence and kidnap Fergus. Though he is a bit too old for a proper kidnap->brainwash scenario.

    I want to know what happens! Write more updates! :(

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    1. Childish can be fun, but it can also be annoying. The constant playing with toys and leaving them on the floor...I have a childish Sim in the wishacy I'm doing, and that challenge requires you to let Sims be autonomous, and she is driving me nuts with the toys.
      I like that they can play dollhouse with their toddlers.

      Ha, I hadn't thought of Fergus being brainwashed and kidnapped. But I suppose I could do that, just send him to boarding school. But I'm still juggling my options before I move on to the next chapter.

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  9. Fergus as head of MorcuCorp. Iiiiinteresting.

    Couldn't Delaney propose to him though? As long as he's not in the household...

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    1. I know, that would be a fun twist.

      Delaney could propose, but then I'd have to deal with calls for bacherlorette parties and stuff. So I won't do that until she actually can marry him.
      I don';t mind her wish slots being full. At this point she's got so many points with nothing to spend them on that I don't really care about wishes. I just thought it was funny, all her wishes are for Jack. Aw.

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  10. You and your evil wish-locking (almost typo'ed licking LOL).

    I'm always left with a feeling of nervous butterflies after reading this and Summerdream. Infiltrate MorcuCorp? Oh, yeah... a walk in the park that'll be. >.>

    Fergus, the head honcho of MorcuCorp? Reinier, leave him alone!!!

    The creep at the bookstore is... creepy. (don't you just love my extensive vocabulary?)

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    1. Wish licking? LOL!

      I know, infiltrating MorcuCorp is something to get nervous about.

      Fergus' future isn't written in stone yet, but what Iola saw is a disturbing thought. Reinier would love to mastermind a corporate take over of his own family's company, lol.

      The bookstore creep is creepy! The poor guy though, has no clue. He's under hypnotic suggestion.

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  11. Cole/Rory is back, and with a mission! To infiltrate MorcuCorp again, that should be exciting---especially with Landgraab keeping tabs on things, he probably won't just sit by and let them take that dragon tooth. And with Iola's vision---hmmmm...

    You always have such great looking male sims! Would you mind uploading Max and Rory some time?

    I'm really looking forward to the next chapter! =)

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    1. I do love infiltrating MorcuCorp. =D
      And this time we have Rory/Cole along. The last time he took part in one of these missions (back in the Roman legacy), he blew up a secret MorcuCorp lab.

      Thanks! I do love my guys. Rory is already available on the RLC Sims exchange blog, under the Roman legacy listing. (with the hair & clothes he had in AP, but that's easy to change, I didn't alter his face at all here, so he's the same Sim). And sure, I can grab Max for you.

      I'm working on the next chapter today, Yesterday I shot scene with Geoff & Peri, and today I'm working on the main story. Hopefully I can have a chapter ready by Friday. Hopefully, lol.

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    2. Sweet! Thanks Cali!!! I'll go look for Rory today, and I look forward to when you get a chance to upload Max. =)

      I had forgotten about him blowing up the MorcuCorp lab until you mentioned it. I think I may have to reread that part of the legacy again, just for fun. :D

      (...Is it Friday yet? lol :P)

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  12. Most important - Mr Green Sweater is Max? (whoever, yum) heh
    Farrell is very relaxed knowing that they are going into that evil corp's offices.
    That shop help of Shadow's is so horrible. I am really surprised that Iola sensed nothing and Shadow, who sensed the difference in Jack couldn't tell anything was odd. Fergus being in the seat of MercuCorp is sort of frightening. I haven't seen much of him to know what he may be like, but so far what I have seen makes me worry for the entire family, and fairies and dragons and all things magical. (He remembered liking to watch the life leave the eyes.... creepy)

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    1. Yes, that's Max. =D
      Farrell ws always pretty relaxed about infiltrating MorcuCorp himself, too. It's just his nature.
      The shop help has been but under a kind of hypnosis that deeply suppresses his own memories and replaces them with fake ones, which has made his real history undetectable by the Hawksquills. Shadow was able to sense the chip in Jack's brain, but this is different.

      The memory Fergus had of enjoying watching the life leave the eyes was someone else's memory. Certainly, experiencing someone else's experiences will color his own personality, but the enjoyment he felt was not his own, it was second hand.

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