Carl had spent most of the past two days in briefings, mainly about what was expected of him, as well as being briefed on some of the new up and coming metahumans. It turned out that the NSA wanted someone to make official contact with someone called Alex St. John-Smythe. He was supposed to be some hotshot, up-and-coming meta, who went by the code name Maestro.
They've got to be off their rockers, he thought. I mean what kind of code name is "Maestro?"
According to
And maybe a scapegoat for Alex to blame if anything goes wrong, Carl thought.
After watching some of the news footage and reading several other documents,
Carl got a sense that Alex was actually a really nice guy. He was also
fairly impressed that he had gone head to head with the Royal Elite and
managed to survive the experience. The drawbacks, as Carl saw them, were
that he wasn't a
After repeated (and carefully worded) demands, Carl was also given a chance to see his wife, Tammy, and their kids. They were allowed to visit him at a safe house. They were understandably surprised at the cloak-and-dagger routine but were even more so when they saw that Carl was no longer confined to a wheelchair.
Carl explained it all with a story he had been carefully rehearsing. He had been surfing the net and came across something the government should know about. In gratitude, they offered him a job, and they also had him examined by a team of specialists. He stayed away from specific details, but he let Tammy think that his recovery was due to the government's involvement. In any event, she took it well and the visit was pleasant.
Dressed in a new three-piece suit (which initially itched like crazy
before "coating" with it a few times), Carl got into the car he'd been
issued, a Black Chevy Monte Carlo and at
It wasn't long before a taxi pulled up to the building. A very tall, well dressed young man, obviously Alex, got out of the back of the cab. The driver began pulling a couple of bags out of the trunk but seemed to be having a little trouble with the larger bag. Alex spoke briefly to the driver then reached down and easily lifted the bag out of the trunk. The driver shook his head, but it was difficult to tell if it was disbelief or annoyance.
Alex paid the driver and headed into the building. Judging from the smile on the cabby's face, it must have been a good tip.
Carl waited a few minutes and then headed over. He went up a short flight of steps and went inside. There was an intercom unit by another (locked) door on the inside. He rang the bell...
******
Alex walked into his flat, dropping his cases by the door. He hung up his overcoat and headed for the kitchen. The trip home had been mercifully uneventful but had been noticeably lacking on one small but (in his opinion) significant detail: there was nothing resembling a good cup of tea to be had on the flight.
He filled the kettle with water, turned on the burner and set on the stove. He rummaged in the cupboard for a quick snack, pulled out the tea, a cup and saucer, and waited for the water to come to boil. After a few moments he was rewarded by the whistle of the kettle as the water began to boil.
He fixed his tea and went to the refrigerator for some milk. Noting the expiration date was well past, he grimaced and decided to forego the milk just this once.
Just as he lifted the cup to his lips, the door bell rang.
"Who in the world could that be?..." he wondered aloud. Alex set his cup down and went over to the intercom by the door. "Yes, who is it?"
"Uh, hi. I am Carl Terrance, a liaison for the federal government," the intercom said. "Is this Mr. St. John-Smythe, Alex St. John-Smythe? I was wondering if I could have a word with you," the voice replied.
"Is this something that can wait, I've just returned from a long trip."
"It's about your recent run ins with the Royal Elite."
Alex sighed and said, "Alright, come on up..."
Alex moved the suitcases away from the door and over by the wall next to the hidden stairwell to his room. A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door...
Alex opened the door, standing there was a dark haired man in a three piece suit.
"Hi, I'm glad you had time to see me, I know you just got back from overseas," he said, smiling. He fumbled with his wallet and opened it for Alex to see the ID inside. He then handed him a business card.
"You know I had some trouble finding this place, I didn't expect it to be the whole building. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything, I can come back if that's the case."
"Not really," replied Alex. "I was just trying to decide if I should get some sleep or just stay up and get used to the time change. Please, come in."
Carl entered the room and looked around. The décor was somewhat conservative, but in a kind of hip, trendy way. The ceilings were fairly high and the whole place seemed to have a large, open feel to it. There was a fairly large recording studio almost immediately to the right of the entrance. There was also a hallway with five doors off of it: two on the left, two on the right and a set of double doors at the end. A large, well appointed kitchen was evident on the other side of the large space and the living room came complete with a gas fireplace (with stonework up the wall), overstuffed chair, sofa and coffee table. It also seemed to have an elevator on the far wall.
"
"Thanks," replied Alex, "but I can't really take credit for the décor. So what can I do for you, Mr. Terrance?"
Carl look around more, he could smell the scent of what smelled like spoiled milk. Alex probably had been gone for a while. The Agency hadn't be to specific as to how long he had been gone, only that he would be here in the morning. Carl decided to get down to business.
"Well, I was sent to make a proposal as well as to make sure no one hassles you while you're in the States." Carl let the last line linger for a moment before continuing.
"With all your recent issues with the Royal Elite, they felt it might not be a bad idea for someone to stop by and check on you from time to time. In addition they felt that you might still be in danger. I also wanted to talk with you first hand about the Royal Elite, if you feel up to it."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think the Elite are going to be a major problem in the immediate future. Besides, what do you think I could possibly tell you that I haven't told the Allied authorities already?"
Carl waited letting the comment linger for a moment. "I am not sure myself." He took a breath and let it out slowly. "Sometimes it helps to be asked different questions, by different people, at different times. I know that may not make sense. Have you eaten yet?" Carl noticed the cookies laid out on the counter. "We could go out and grab a bite, my treat."
Alex looked wistfully at the rapidly cooling cup of tea on the counter top and sighed. The tea was probably stale anyway...he thought.
"Okay. There's a Starbucks near Broadway and West 64th. We can walk..."
******
Carl kept an eye out for an electronics shop or a computer store, nothing presented itself along the route they took.
Fifteen minutes later, the two men were sitting at a small table, listening to the CD of the week on the store's sound system. Alex had a small, decaf latte and Carl had a large, black coffee.
"So," began Alex, "you mentioned a proposal. If I asked what kind of proposal, would I regret it?"
Carl knew that he was just supposed to make contact, explain the situation and see if Alex would be interested in a continued information exchange. Being in a public setting made Carl uneasy. He kept looking around for the trail that he knew had to be there.
"To be blunt, the group I work for is worried that the Elite may try and do you harm since you helped in disrupting their plans. In addition there are other threats that could use your expertise, that is if you are interested."
"Your group needs a musician?" asked Alex with a crooked grin.
Carl grinned back and shook his head. "You have helped before in
The knowledge also bothered Carl. If he had known, and the technology had been available, he could have improved the survival rate of the victims.
Alex's expression darkened slightly. He needed to get Alex to make some leaps of logic in order to understand where he was coming from. There was also a very real possibility that this whole meeting had extra ears listening in.
"You put your life on the line for people you didn't even know, that takes a special kind of person. Sometimes things are not always as they appear."
Several thoughts crossed Carl's mind, but if he didn't act fast he would lose Alex. Carl then took several bags of sugar and poured them into the coffee, most of the sugar however went onto the table. Carl looked at Alex and then the sugar and put three letters in the sugar -- B-U-G -- then pointed to him self.
"Now take me for example," Carl said. "I have a wife and two kids that I don't get to see because of this job. I rarely get out of the office to meet interesting people such as yourself." Carl wiped the words away while cleaning the sugar. "I hate all this shadow conspiracy stuff. If I had my way, I would do this online through email."
Alex watched the whole proceeding with something like stunned disbelief.
He had some difficulty believing that a
"I understand the feeling." Alex yawned. It was half-affected, half-real. How long have I been up, anyway?he asked himself while checking his watch. "Nevertheless, I presume that a face-to-face meeting would carry more weight, at least for the proposal part of things anyway." Alex stifled his second yawn. "I'm sorry, but I really need to get some sleep. I'll consider the request. I'm willing to help out as needed, but I can't ignore my primary reason for being in the States in the first place. I'm only here to work on my musical studies -- I can't drop everything on a moment's notice to answer an alarm call."
Carl simply nodded.
"As for questions about my experiences with the Elite," Alex continued, "do you have any specific questions? If so, you could give them to me all at once then I could dash off an e-mail later today with all of the replies. It may be that, in writing it down, I'll recall something that hasn't come up before. I'm certain the account will be a lot more coherent when I'm fully awake."
Carl grew uneasy. Alex seemed too tired to be of any help. The introduction was not really going as well as Carl had hoped.
"Actually, I do have a few questions." Carl looked around, there were other customers in the café. "I think perhaps it would be best if you got some rest. I think I have taken up too much of your time."
Carl stood up from the chair. Alex did the same.
"When you have some time," Carl went on, "or you think of anything, feel free to give me a call. I can walk with you back to your flat, if you want. I have to pick up my car, anyway."
"I'll do that, Mr. Terrance," replied Alex. "I hope you didn't waste too much of your time."
Carl put down a twenty-dollar bill; it would more than cover coffee.
******
As they departed, Carl noticed that the tall, young man was humming something to himself. The tune wasn't familiar but it sounded classical. Once they were out on the street, Alex turned to him and said, "If you have anything else you'd like to say, you can ask on the way back. I've temporarily made any eavesdropping a fruitless pursuit."
"How, just by humming? What good would that do?" Carl asked skeptically.
Alex gave a slight smile. "Not exactly. I've recently gained a good deal of control over my... uh, talents," explained Alex.
"They lend themselves rather well to the manipulation of sound. Suffice it to say, if there is anyone listening now, they're hearing a good deal of street noise and snippets of small talk between the two of us."
Carl thought carefully before saying anything, perhaps he could trust Alex, something made him want to trust him.
"Well, to be quite honest, I don't know why they sent me to speak with you. They gave reasons, but none of them really make sense. I think they are after my laboratory. Fortunately for me I have no access to it at the moment. I was hoping that you might have a computer that I could use for a few minutes."
"You're a scientist?" asked Alex, mildly surprised. "Seems like they would have sent someone with more of a background in criminal psychology or something..."
Carl chuckled a little. "Not a scientist, at least not as you would be familiar with, if you want I can show you a bit of what I have been working on, assuming I can get in touch with a friend of mine. Now don't get me wrong," insisted Carl, "I really do want to know more about the Royal Elite. I am just glad I haven't had any nightmares, after seeing the footage from Ireland." Carl wasn't sure why he was talking as freely as he was. It just felt right somehow.
"Then it's probably as well you weren't there to witness things first hand," replied Alex. "I can't think of many people I'd wish to have that kind of experience. If you don't mind my asking, why would you need to use my computer? Why not just stop in at some cyber-café?"
"Well a cyber-café, would be a problem since I would be watched. I can also check your system for bugs and tracers." Carl watched the streets, there was light traffic in this area, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Then you may as well use mine," said Alex. "Probably not as good as you're used to but you shouldn't be too disappointed..."
As they got to the front door, Carl grabbed the door and held the door open.
"As I understand it, you use music, as a power source, would you mind explaining how you use music?" Carl began to get a germ of an idea, something that Alex might be interested in, but first he needed more information about Alex's abilities.
"Have you ever seen the film Death Takes A Holiday?" answered Alex. Carl looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Never mind", said Alex. "The actual 'how' is very difficult to explain and would require something of a leap of faith to believe anyway." Alex was silent for a moment as he lead Carl down the hallway to the lift. After punching in his code, the doors opened and they entered.
"Basically, I get a "charge" out of the music I hear," continued Alex. "Whether there's some form of energy conversion going on or the music is just some 'psychological crutch' that I need to get my powers to work was never really determined. The end result is the same -- if I hear the music, I get a boost."
"Anything else I can answer for you?" asked Alex with a wry grin.
"Just one more thing that's been puzzling me," replied Carl. "Why did you choose the code name Maestro."
Alex's wry grin turned into a very sour expression.
"I didn't," he said, his voice somehow carrying the same sour expression. "It was given to me by some idiot that thought it would be a clever idea. A sort of play off of my musical talents, I suppose -- at that point I had only demonstrated enhanced physical abilities. It would be a year or two before I manifested any musically generated powers. Probably the same person who designed that god awful costume, poor bastard."
"I take it your not to pleased with the code name," Carl said as he stepped off the lift.
"You have a marvelous gift for understatement," said Alex wryly. "Actually, the whole costume bit is something of an embarrassment - akin to parading around in one's pajamas. I don't really like looking at it, much less wearing it. I've worn it tw-- no, three times since I received it last year. At no time was it a pleasant experience."
"What costume would you be referring to?" Carl asked somewhat perplexed.
Alex sighed and went over to luggage that still waited near the front door. Opening one of the smaller bags, he pulled out the costume. It was intact, clean and bore no sign that it had ever been damaged. Alex still wondered why he had bothered re-creating it but the memory seemed to dance away from him.
Walking over to where Carl was standing, Alex handed it to him.
"It was a 'gift' from one of the lab techs at the Ministry. He had found a preliminary sketch for the thing and thought it would be a good thing to actually make it. He added a few protective qualities to it but it still made me look like a bleeding penguin. In the recent past, I apparently did a sort of subconscious redesign but I'd still rather wear slacks and a dress shirt, given the choice."
The costume was largely a black body suit that included "gloves" and "boots." The upper portion of the costume was comprised of a swatch of white that comprised the right sleeve and ran over the right shoulder, running down diagonally across the chest and back and meeting at the left hip. The material seemed to be Duralon, a rather expensive fabric that seemed to be a popular choice for such garments owing to its resistance to damage and its ability to convey some protection to the wearer if properly modified.
"Xavier sent it on to me after I had finished up some training at the Ministry. He meant well, but I would rather have gotten a baseball cap or something..."
Carl looked at the costume, a smile was on his lips, and several thoughts of improvements went through his head. If things worked out and he got in touch with Wedge, he would make Alex an offer.
"So have you personally explored your abilities in a controlled manner? Or has it been just see what music works and wing it?"
"Oh there was a great deal of 'exploration' if you want to call it that," replied Alex. "The scientists at the Ministry were quite thorough in their testing, evaluating, poking, prodding and theorizing. In the end, they decided that they couldn't figure out how I do what I do and wanted to start another battery of tests. It was decided it would be healthier for all concerned to just let it remain a mystery..."
Carl was intrigued; somehow Alex was able to manifest power based on music. "Mysteries are ok, if that's the way you want it. Let me think about it and I'll get back to you. So where is this computer," Carl cracked his knuckles.
Alex showed Carl into his studio. There were a large number of instruments arranged against a far wall. There was a rather intricate looking soundboard as well as a few synthesizers. The electronic equipment was all connected to the computer.
The computer itself was state of the art... or it would have been a year ago. While certainly still useful for Alex's purposes, it was nothing spectacular in Carl's eyes.
Carl looked over the computer; it was a bit older than he was used to. Alex seemed to be using it for his music compilations. There was some software to retrieve and send email; thankfully he was not using America online, but a local provider. Carl set to work and within several minutes had made contact with Wedge. Having Alex looking over his shoulder was slightly unnerving, but he shrugged it off.
It appeared that Wedge had been and was still extremely agitated, about Carl's disappearance. It took several minutes of online time, for Wedge to look up the address and shift a gateway nearby. Carl disconnected and turned to Alex.
"My ride should be here momentarily. I appreciate you letting me borrow some computer time. I think it would be only fair to show you why I went to such lengths."
Alex raised an eyebrow and waited -- Carl and Alex didn't have to wait long.
The first indications that something was odd was the slight subsonic hum that was barely perceptible, even in the near quiet apartment. As the sound increased, it reminded Alex of the Song of Transport, only somewhat backwards. This time, instead of Traveling to another location, it seemed as though another location were traveling to him. The music had a harmonic component that seemed somewhat unreal.
Carl turned slightly and smiled, "Walk this way." He then turned and vanished a slight rippling like water was the last Alex saw of him. With the disappearance of Carl, there was another sound, the sound of the surf.
Carl noticed that the first thing that was wrong was that he was standing on a beach with sand and surf. Wedge was no where to be seen, and the palm trees swayed in a slight ocean breeze. "WEDGE!", Carl shouted, "What the hell is going on!" The Gate way was shimmering behind him, and through the distortion Alex could be seen standing facing the gateway.
Alex was more than a little curious but his batteries were rapidly winding down and he was wondering if what he was witnessing was real or some hallucination brought on by sleep deprivation. His curiosity vied with his desire to sleep. Curiosity won out.
Taking a step forward, he found himself standing on a beach, next to Carl. He would have thought himself on an island in the South Pacific except that the color of the sky seemed a bit off...
"What's all this?" asked Alex in disbelief. "I'll tell you now -- the moment I see a large, white rabbit checking his watch and complaining about being late... I'm leaving."
Carl watching Alex stand there on the beach, smiled somewhat ,"Uh, then if we get Wedge to show, don't freak."
"I'll do my best, but I make no promises..."
It was at that moment that a very odd sound was heard from the tree line.
Moving at a leisurely pace was what could only be described as a black capped mushroom, with tendrils. The cap of the mushroom was covered in gold veins as well as small round glass protrusions. It walked, if it could be called walking, in the direction of Carl and Alex. A voice that was as normal as any other human, came from the direction of the moving mushroom.
"Tween, who's your friend?"
Carl took a look around, wondering what the hell had Wedge done.
"Alex, meet Wedge, Wedge meet Alex," said Carl as he shifted his stance. "Wedge is my AI, in my absence it appears he's done some redecorating."
"I wonder what it looked like before..." said Alex under his breath.
The mushroom approached Carl and wrapped several tendrils around him, as if to hug him. This was partially true, the hug also reestablished a mental contact with Carl. The information that was exchanged in several heart beats filled Carl in all that had happened. Wedge extended a tendril over to Alex and a hand-like appendage extended from the tendril.
Alex took the offered appendage. He was somewhat surprised to find that it was warm and felt more like a hand than it looked.
"Uh... Pleased to meet you."
"Thank you, Alex, for bringing Tween back. If there is anything you need, we can accommodate."
"I'm glad I could be of some help, although I can't say that I really did more than show him where my computer was..."
Carl then moved past the large mushroom and up a trail, it was as if he knew where he was going.
"Follow me," he said disappearing in to the brush. The mushroom then shuffled off down the beach, leaving trails in the sand.
"Thank you again Alex," it said.
Alex gave a sort of half wave to Wedge and then followed Carl (or Tween?) through the brush...
During the walk, Carl was conversing with Wedge, getting him updated on the events that had transpired. Carl was amazed, but also a bit frightened, Wedge was capable of so much, but if someone crossed him, who knows what damage he could do. It was a good thing that Wedge still looked at Carl as a fatherly figure.
At the center of the Isle was the main control room, under a glass-like dome. Carl approached it and the field across the doorway disappeared. Carl not really waiting for Alex to catch up went inside. The Lab was as he had left it weeks ago, there were some new devices that it appeared Wedge had put together, from the look of the materials strewn about on one workbench. The center of the room was dominated as usual by the trans-dimensional device. The energy curtain around it glowed and rippled, and through the curtain could be seen Alex's apartment as well as Carl's house. Carl gave it a glance and continued to the back of the room, where he kept the replicator.
Alex walked up to the dome-like "structure" and raised his hand to touch it. Before his hand made contact, there was a ripple effect and a portion of it parted, much like a curtain being drawn aside. Alex entered.
Once inside, he was amazed at what he saw. The array of equipment was astonishing. He could only guess at the purpose for most of it, and would likely guess wrong at that.
"This is... impressive. Did you build this yourself? How did you do it? This isn't True Space, is it? This must take an enormous amount of power to maintain. How do you generate..." Alex realized he hadn't stopped to take a breath or let Carl get a word in.
"I'm sorry," he said, somewhat embarrassed. "Physics has been an interest of mine for a while but I haven't had much time to devote to it. I mean, for all of the things I can do, my understanding of how I do them is fairly limited."
Carl turned at Alex's barrage of questions. "Actually the whole island thing is new, and Wedge decided he liked it when the original power source failed. The island and everything you see is suspended between two points in real space." Alex looked slightly puzzled. Carl thought for a moment.
"I think I have a good explanation. You know what a worm hole is, or is supposed to be?"
"I think so..." replied Alex, not sounding too certain.
"Basically the space here is held in place by the Worm hole generation device. The openings however are smaller than the material its holding, so its kind of stuck between two points in space, so the amount of power is not as great as you might think. Now if power were to fail, then everything would get squeezed out into normal space as the field collapsed... which means that the island would bury your house and mine. But no need to worry about that, Wedge replaced the generators and they are working better than I could have predicted."
"But wh--, well, I'm sort of envisioning it as being a marble between two glass plates, each plate having an opening too small to allow the marble through. What keeps this, uh... marble," started Alex uncertainly indicating the lab, "from knocking around uncontrollably between those two 'plates?' Is it that device there?"
"No, what I have here, is my replicator."
"It's a little... large, isn't it?" asked Alex. It seemed to resonate with strains from the Song of Creation, but he couldn't be certain.
"Sure, its big and bulky," answered Carl, "but the possibilities are monumental. I don't think the world is ready yet for this type of technology."
"What does it do?"
Carl pressed a few buttons and selected something from a menu on the console of the replicator. There was a slight hum and a glow as a plate of chocolate chip cookies materialized in the small bay at the front of the device. "Cookie?" he said offering the plate to Alex.
Alex took a cookie from the plate and took a tentative bite from it. He wasn't quite sure what to expect, but he was still a little surprised that it tasted like a chocolate chip cookie.
It was at that moment that a dark shaped dropped from the ceiling onto the plate. It resembled a large spider, Carl let go of the plate, and jumped back, shifting into the dark shape that was known as Tween.
"GHAAA!, WEDGE!!!!"
Alex dropped the remains of his cookie and backed quickly away from both the spider and figure that had been Carl and instant ago.
The spider kept a grip on the plate, a thin translucent thread could be seen attacked somewhere overhead. "Good morning, Tween", said a musical voice coming from the spider.
Wedge appeared in the doorway, "Oh I see you have met Number One. We have been working on the environmental controls. "
"Gave me a heart attack!" Carl said as the nano-coating disappeared. Carl looked over at Alex, "You ok?"
"Umm, yes... at least I think so. This place is just full of surprises, isn't it? What was that you did just now? Your appearance changed for a moment -- radically."
"Um, well that's the other reason I needed access to my lab. The group I work for wants more nano-tech. The change you saw was a nano-tech skin that I can form over my body." With that Carl coated, becoming the black entity known as Tween. After a few moments, Carl uncoated again.
"I was thinking..."
"Yes?" prompted Alex.
"If you need to," Carl continued, "you could use the lab here if you wanted. I know more than a little bit about physics. If you have the spare time, I could sort of tutor you -- kind of my way of saying thanks for helping me get back in touch with Wedge. Maybe you could use the facilities to learn more about your unusual abilities."
"I certainly appreciate the offer. If time allows, I might just take you up on it."
Carl turned back to the replicator, as Wedge inserted several tendrils into the machine. There was another hum and a watch materialized in the bay. Carl tossed the watch to Alex, "It has a communication device, it will let you contact Wedge or myself if you need anything. Keep in mind that I pretty much have access to the entire planet in near zero time. So if you need to be somewhere quickly...."
"Thank you," said Alex. Everything seemed to be happening pretty quickly. "Hopefully I'll be able to keep from becoming a nuisance."
Carl smiled. "We probably shouldn't stay here too long in case I was being followed or watched. Oh, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this lab to anyone."
"I don't think it will be a major concern," said Alex, smiling. "It's not likely to pop up as a subject of conversation -- 'Oh, by the way, have you run across any secret, extra-dimensional laboratories recently?'..."
Wedge at that moment stretched out several tendrils into the field, they vanished into the field itself. A moment later they retracted and handed several devices to Carl.
"Hmm, seems as though you were under some sort of surveillance, no matter, I'll just drop these off in the South Pacific. No more transmissions are being picked up from your apartment."
Alex looked a little startled by the revelation. There evidently had been a few more microphones than he'd been able to pick up with the device that Xavier had given him.
"It seems my counter-surveillance skills need a bit of work. An acquaintance of mine had given me a device to search for 'bugs' -- apparently, I wasn't as thorough as I should have been. Thank you, again."
Carl touched the console and the scene changed instantly to the living room in Alex's flat. As they headed for the gate, Alex paused and turned to the mushroom shaped figure. "It was nice meeting you, Wedge. You've nicely captured the sound of the ocean, but there seems to be something missing -- sea birds perhaps? Farewell."
The two stepped through the gate and found them selves back in Alex's flat.
"Thanks for your help, Alex," said Carl as he shook Alex's hand. "If you need anything use the watch. Wedge will be around."
Carl headed for the door, leaving a trail of sand from his shoes as he went.
Alex watched the door close and wondered at the strangeness of the whole meeting. He called and left a message for Sarah to let her know that he'd made it back to New York without incident, then grabbed his bags and headed for the stairs to his room. Noticing the small trail of sand, he thought briefly of cleaning up, but decided sleep was more of a priority.
I can clean up later he thought, and headed up to his bedroom
for some much needed sleep.