The Name's Oliver - Ben Oliver. Ch. 159: Duty vs Ethics, Pt. II

[Joria]

OMG!  The bunny suit!  The bunny suit!  roflmbo  Hon, you absolutely need no sartorial advice from me.  This was just too funny to not share with dh.

[RaiaDraconis]

I haven't commented yet, but I have to tell you that these last several chapters have had me laughing my butt off. Seriously, this is just hilarious! Now I want to go back and watch "Some Like It Hot" again.

Poor Olivia. (S)he must have been cringing the whole time!

[cndneh]

I haven't commented yet, but I have to tell you that these last several chapters have had me laughing my butt off. Seriously, this is just hilarious! Now I want to go back and watch "Some Like It Hot" again.

Poor Olivia. (S)he must have been cringing the whole time!

HAHA! "Some like it Hot"  I knew there was sometime about Olivia... she reminded me of this movie!

[Beezy]

LOL! Lingerie?! Oh gosh, good thing he didn't have to go there.

[Schipperke]

Homecoming

Diary Entry

It had been a stressful few days and I was glad to be home, back with my friends.

"Well, look who's here!"

"He looks vaguely familiar - what was his name, again?"

"What happened, Bennie, did your lady friend get tired of you?"

"Maybe her husband came home!"  *loud laughter*



Oh yes, my fellow recruits were in fine form.  Sabrina added, "De Luca is Really Mad at you for taking off like that!  You're in Big Trouble!"  The three recruits seemed to find this quite hilarious.  I responded, "Oh, I can take care of De Luca!" and joined the laughter.



May, who was the only one other than De Luca who knew where I'd been, caught my eye and winked.  I wish they had warned me what excuse they were going to come up with to explain my absence.  Someday I was going to have to have a serious talk with those two about trashing a guy's reputation.  But right now I had more important things to do.

The singing chef!



The recruits rushed over to grab their share of the crepes, losing interest in ribbing me.



As the recruits dashed off to work, I noticed that someone new had joined the household.



For some reason, the maid we had been paying never seemed to get around to making the beds.  It was a matter of speculation as to just what he did to pass the time while everyone was out at work - judging from the empty ice cream cartons we found lying around, our high-priced maid seemed to spend his time raiding our freezer and lounging on the couch watching soap operas.  May told me the new household member was called Bonehilda, and she was dedicated to keeping the house clean.  Well, I sure hoped so, because the poor girl didn't have a lot going for her in the looks department.  May had taken it on herself to instruct Bonehilda on her household duties.







Ok, poor Bonehilda wouldn't win any beauty contests.  But you had to give her credit, she certainly had excellent taste in men!  Ben, my boy, ALL the ladies love you!!!*

Diary Entry Ends

* I didn't plan to make Bonehilda part of this chapter, but it just cracked me up when May was trying to talk to Bonehilda - Bonehilda kept thinking about Ben and saluting him, and Ben wasn't even in the same room!  Now, I know it's not possible to do romantic interactions with Bonehilda, and I'm sure we're all very grateful for that.  But after seeing those completely undoctored screenshots, can anyone seriously doubt that the queen of the low body fat seems just a wee bit interested in our Ben?  Between Darren Lott and Bonehilda, Ben's list of romantic interests is beginning to look decidedly odd at this point.

This update was meant to include Ben and De Luca's debriefing.  But Bonehilda insisted on getting in on the action, so tomorrow's update will be extra-long to make up for that.

[ladybug53]

Wow ! A house full of ladies with a flirty Ben . I don't think he'll get bored anytime soon . His latest romantic interest is quite funny . Looks like bony girl has taken a liking to him according to those screenshots . Too funny !  " Extra long chapter for tomorrow ! " I'm really looking forward to this . Woo !   

[yruvian]

I think I prefer Bonehilda over Darren any time. Sure, she's a bit... bony, but at least she's not after his money 

[Joria]

I'm sure Ben's debriefing will be wonderful, but I have to admit, Bonehilda just made my day.  I'm so glad you included her bit. Poor child is sure to wind up with a broken heart.

[RainBeau]

It's good to see Ben as his normal self! Too bad his reputation had to suffer in his absence. Although, maybe it would suffer more if they knew what he was really doing?

[Sherry]

can't wait to see de luca reaction on Ben mission (or leaving the mission in this case)

YAY! go boney, go! she gonna make some funny act too. My boney loves to check herself out

[Louise56]

It is so funny that Boney like him lol. I kind of wish she could flirt a little lol.

[Schipperke]

The Computer Expert

Diary Entry

As soon as the recruits left for work, De Luca came over to hear my report.  I told her about the phone conversation I had overheard.



"Yes," she said thoughtfully, "it's as we suspected."

I was all for rushing out and arresting Darren Lott, but De Luca shook her head.  "No, no, Oliver!  Lott is small potatoes.  There's no point in arresting him, and if 'Olivia' managed her departure as well as you claim, we just might be able to use her to milk Lott for more information in the future.  He might be delighted to see her again." 

Oh, joy.  I was about to protest, but De Luca didn't give me a chance.  She continued, "No, what we need now is a good computer man.  Fortunately, we have recently acquired the services of the top computer expert in the Sim world.  He flew in a couple days ago."





De Luca said, "It's a great coup to get this fellow on our team.  I'd love to know how Mr Payne pulled it off.  He'll be spending part of his time here and part of his time in Union Cove."

I was excited at the prospect of meeting a real live computer whiz.  I was sure two such intelligent fellows as he and I would have a lot to talk about.



De Luca gave me an enigmatic look and said, "Right.  No doubt.  The address is 18 Veronaville #E.  Give him the full details.  He'll know what to do."

I arrived at 18 Veronaville just before noon.  The place was neat and very individualistic in appearance.  I wondered what sort of fellow this computer whiz would be.



I walked through the gate and saw someone blissfully meditating in the noonday sun.  Could this be the computer expert?



It was!  He told me his name was Carl, and introduced me to his little friend as well.



He told me his story, and what a story it was!  I had no idea he was one of the founders of the original Union Cove settlement.  In honour of his importance in the community, he had been given a huge castle to live in, and for a time he had been reasonably content.  But as the novelty of the new town wore off, he found himself becoming dissatisfied with a life that increasingly seemed too materialistic to him.  The insights he had gained in meditation had made him realize that what he really wanted to do was to "do something good, for a higher cause,"* as he put it.  "And when Mr Payne told me of your work, I knew I wanted to help," he finished up.  "So tell me, what's the situation?  And how can I help?"



I told him of the unexplained money transfers.  And of the telephone call I had eavesdropped on, in which Darren Lott confirmed that the money transfers were an attempt by ESCARGOT to devalue the currency and damage the Sim economy.  He listened thoughtfully.  I finished my tale and asked him what he thought he could do.



"Yes," he said thoughtfully.  "It's an interesting challenge.  Just the kind I like!  I think if I -"

And that was where he lost me.



He went into great detail about what he was going to do.



And I didn't understand a word of it.  Well, I knew the guy was a genius, but did he really think a mere mortal like yours truly could understand anything he was saying?  I smiled and nodded encouragingly to show him I was listening, and when he finally wound down, I said it all sounded good to me.



"Excellent!" he exclaimed.  "Right this way.  My computer room is downstairs, behind this bookcase."



Behind a sliding bookcase, down the spiral stairs we went, to a white room full of computers.  I noticed a small fridge and coffee machine along one wall.  "So I don't forget to eat," he explained.  "Sometimes when I'm working on a particularly thorny problem, I lose all track of time."



He sat down at one of the computers and went to work.



I stood and watched over his shoulder for a bit, but I had no idea what he was doing and he seemed so engrossed in his work that he had completely forgotten I was there.



He didn't notice when I made my way back up the stairs and went outside to take the Llama back to the barracks.



Diary Entry Ends

Notes:  1.  Many thanks to Carl for giving permission for his Simself to appear in this story!  Having acquired the services of such a distinguished computer whiz is truly a coup for Mr Payne and his team.

2.  Carl's splendid residence was created by Neashaleigh, who kindly gave permission for it to be used in this story.  The house can be found here:  Neashaleigh's Wrathweaver Tower.

* The story of Carl's enlightenment and decision can be found in Anushka's Union Cove Chronicles.

[Beezy]

Carl!! I was not expecting that. I love how he lost Ben!

[ladybug53]

I really wasn't expecting Carl either ! This was such a great update . We might even get to see Olivia again !  Am so, looking forward to tomorrow morning ! 

[Louise56]

It is great to see Carl in your story! I enjoyed the update very much. I'm glad we didn't see the last of Olivia!