They materialized in a wood south-west of Le Mans, according to Hope's tracker. Ruby remembered that Arman had said they would be staying in Paris right about this time. She hoped they were still there. She used Nico's phone to call Arman, which circumvented all satellites on any world and used some weird deep-space frequency that Silvanus had programmed into it. She wasn't sure if it would work here, but it did. Ruby: "I'm back Arman. We need you to come and get us." She gave him the coordinates from Hope's tracker unit. "How long do you think that will take? Oh, and by the way, I have black hair now...just so you know it's me." Arman: "Great! I like black hair," he laughed. "I've sort of been expecting you to call. Can you wait ten minutes or so?" Ruby: "Ten minutes? Just ten minutes? I brought him - the one I told you about." Arman: "I don't have to drive, you know. You stay put. You say we...how many so I know which of Lex's cars to bring?" Ruby: "Four and some bags...five bags. Two fairly large." Arman: "No problem. You stay put. The car is going to appear out of thin air, so don't be surprised. He didn't bring his sword, did he?" Arman seemed in a jovial mood, laughing again. Ruby: "It's packed in one of the bags. I'll tell them. See you soon, Arman. Thank you!" Arman: "My pleasure!" Ruby: "We just have to wait a little here." She told them the car was going to go poof right in front of them, so not to worry. This was especially aimed at Damon, who'd never seen a car in his entire life...except in the vids she'd shown him. She watched him closely as he took in all the sounds around them - crickets chirping, rabbits running through the dead leaves and stopping to feed. The moon was up, giving them some light. An owl hooting caused him to twitch with a start. "It's okay. Just a bird, Damon. Night-hunter." She could tell he was a bit edgy, but then he stiffened and his eyes fluttered closed. "He comes," he whispered. About ten seconds later, the car appeared in front of them out of a cloud of what seemed like fairy-dust. "You sensed him coming?" "Hai..?" Damon didn't think it so odd. Arman opened the door and got out grinning. "Good to see you again, Ruby!" His eyes swept the four of them but lit on Damon as he continued. "Told you it wouldn't take long. This is him?" Ruby nodded, moving toward him. "Daaammnnn! I got to call Nick. Nick will know what to make of him. Well, grab your things. Put the bags in the boot." He reached down and clicked something and the trunk lid popped open. "Car...," Damon said, grinning from ear to ear as he cast a glance at Nico. "You know car, Baba?" "Surely do. I've been here before - in case she didn't explain that. That is one fine Hag Arman," Nico whistled as he grabbed his and Hope's luggage. "One of our mechanic's little projects. It's a 1959 Mark I 3.4 litre Saloon. Only 36,000 made. It's got an Audi 4.2 litre engine and a tranny to match - hardly stock! He had to make a few mods to the chassis. Zero to sixty in just over 4 seconds. Wish it were mine, but it's Lex's." "Wow," Nico was very impressed, but it was time to move out. "Can we drive back to Paris?" "Sure, it's late and it'll give us an hour or so to get to know each other!" ***** Thanks for stopping by dear friends! Thanks as always for your comments, favs and views. Hope you're having an excellent week :)) Cheers! Rayvn