Right now, many of us are reminded of the words of summer -- hot, humid, muggy, and so on. Well, one weatherman in my neck of the woods has gotten tired of those words, and has started describing the weather here as Spicy I'm just waiting for someone to come up with a pepper scale -- "Today's going to be in the jalapeño range..."

EW, what's your spicy weather like? I hope at least it's sunny -- finally we saw the sun here in Brussels, and I want the same for you

DT -- We've been getting sun, alright. The high temps have been between the mid- and upper 90's F and the humidity's been just high enough to require scuba gear whenever you want to go outside.

Indeed, that's high! Here it will cool down a bit during the week, which is not very exciting... I'm in favour of spicy weather, not of mushy one!

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Oh boy....does anybody else hear a funeral dirge softly playing?

I'm not sure that dirge is playing very softly at all, LOL.

More like the tension-filled orchestra swelling in the background ... lol

It's been a rough few weeks -- laptop not cooperating, couldn't even get into Gatchmania for nearly the last week or so now -- but hopefully, I can catch up and everything will be in order again! *** Jun followed him, taking his place the moment he moved forward. They advanced to the bridge, then ran across it, diving headfirst into the low bushes that grew at the side of the road the moment they cleared the other side. Still, there was no movement from the van, nothing that would indicate they were not alone. Jun paused a moment, scanning the area for any signs of life or movement, but the forest had returned back to business as usual. Birds twittered overhead, chasing each other through the sky to defend the branches they claimed as their own. There was the lazy drone of a fat bumblebee as it hovered over the small white flowers that grew in abundance just at the edge of the pavement. A bright orange and black monarch butterfly flitted by, followed by a gauzy white moth, neither of whom displayed any interest in the humans they suddenly found in their midst. At the sound of chittering, Jun turned her head and saw a fluffy tailed gray squirrel watching her from the tree trunk it had been climbing down, its tail up, head down, tiny paws clinging to the rough bark of the tree, holding itself suspended there as it tried to decide if they were friend or foe. The tail flicked; clearly the squirrel was not appreciative of having guests. Jun looked back to Red Impulse and her heart skipped a beat. He was gone. In fact, as she quickly glanced around, turning in place, Jun did not see him anywhere. She was just about to panic when she caught sight of him near the front of the van. As fast as she could, Jun made her way over to where he was crouching down. He waited until she joined him before speaking. "It appears that they all left with the truck," he whispered, "but be ready for anything." Jun nodded and they crept through the foliage until they were close enough to the van to see the damage that had been done. The driver's side front fender was crumpled from where it struck the tree; flecks of white paint clung to the tree trunk, the spot the metal hit scraped free of bark like a raw wound. On the other side, the passenger side front tire was completely flat, blown out, just as the van driver had said. "Looks like he bent the rim," Jun observed. Red Impulse gave her an amused look. "Is that your professional opinion?" "Look, mister," Jun brindled, "I may not be a mechanic, but I've spent enough time in the racing pits to know a bent rim when I see one. In fact, considering the how he hit the hole and the tree, I would say it would be very surprising that he didn't do damage to the brakes, rotors, or axle as well." Jun waited a moment, waited for Red Impulse to make some scathing comment in return, but he did not. "Well?" she prompted. "Don't you have anything to add?" "No. No, I don't," Red Impulse said in a low, measured voice. "I think you pretty much covered all bases. The only other thing would be is if you could tell me if there was someone still in the back of the van." Jun's eyes widened. "You think there is?" Red Impulse shrugged. "I think anything is possible, but at this point, I'm thinking it's not probable, but not certain." "Oh, well, as long as you're sure," Jun muttered. "Don't give me grief," Red Impulse snapped, "just stay low and keep a look out. I'm going closer." Before Jun could suggest she go instead, Red Impulse was already on the move towards the driver's side door. He hesitated only a moment at the door, studying the side panel of the van, then headed for the back of the van. Jun's stomach tightened, the way it always did just before they engaged the enemy (or she ate too much spicy food, but that was definitely not the case now) and she knew -- she just knew -- what he would find in the back of that van, even without seeing. Jun rushed down the passenger side of the van just as Red Impulse flung open one of the back doors. The barrel of a machine gun came out first, but Red Impulse had anticipated this, carefully staying off center of the door when he opened it, forcing the holder of the gun to come further out of the shelter of the van. The gunner fired, but Red Impulse was already moving and the bullets went wide as Red Impulse grabbed the man's arm. More bullets sprayed the area around them, making pocks marks in the dirt and the asphalt behind them. There was a sickening crunch of bone as Red Impulse hit the side of the guy's knee with his foot, causing the man to stumble and yell out. It was that yell, even more than the bullets, that brought the second man out of the van. Just as the other door swung open, Jun attacked, catching him off guard by shoving the door back as hard she could into the man.

Now to see if they get any answers out of these guys!