There was only one week left until the Pound Ball Grand Final. The first two thousand enforcers had completed their training. They would be featured during the pre-Grand Final parade. This seemed appropriate considering that the Cellrebrum City Enforcers were one of the finalists.
Governor Ryan was also to make a special speech about the upcoming Grand Final. In this speech, he would include the announcement of the first Head Enforcer.
The parade would start from the city square. It would travel all around the city centre and finally end up outside Kingdom Stadium.
James and the Hat Lady were at the stadium ahead of the parade.
‘Last year feels like a lifetime ago,’ said James in delight as he looked at the huge entranceway of the stadium.
‘We have accomplished a lot in a very short time,’ said the Hat Lady.
‘Indeed,’ said James, nodding. ‘About “we”. I completely appreciate everything you’ve done, but I believe it is time we parted ways.’
‘Mmm, just like that,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘No, nasty backstabbing. Just a simple split.’
‘I’m not so foolish to try that with you,’ chuckled James. ‘I’m just surprised you let your usefulness run out.’
‘Maybe your assumptions about me were wrong all along,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘My remaining goals should all fall into place.’
‘That’s remarkable,’ said James. ‘You have such cunning, yet such little ambition. Do you have one last game to play?’
‘Ambition is relative to what we desire,’ said the Hat Lady calmly. ‘Our perceptions of what that is greatly differ.’
‘Be as cryptic as you like,’ said James. ‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’
The Hat Lady smiled as she became invisible.
James sighed. He knew he would never fully understand her.
Back at the city square, the parade had begun. Ryan and Saliyah were on the first float of the parade. It was themed Pound Ball Governor. Saliyah was singing another of her hit songs. Ryan was wearing his old Scarecrows uniform. He was sitting on an imitation throne. The next float was the official Pound Ball league float. Jeff was standing on it with several former players. They were dancing to the song from the first float. Behind the Pound Ball float were the floats of the twenty-two teams that did not qualify for the grand final. The Scarecrows were the first of them. The Chiefs float followed them. Around twelve floats in a marching band joined in. They lined the parade. Using a variety of instruments, they played the Pound Ball theme.
After the twenty-two floats passed, the two thousand enforcers followed. Percival, the newly appointed Deputy Head Enforcer, led them. They matched in step. The first several hundred carried swords, and the rest were carrying rifles.
The Cellrebrum City Enforcer float followed the marching enforcers. Some of the Enforcer’s players danced around their float, and other Enforcer’s players shook hands and high-fived the crowd. The final team float was that of the Phoenix City Flyers. The superstar triplets were on the float. The other Flyers players were doing the team march and salute. The final float of the parade was the halftime show float. It was the largest float of the parade. It had all the celebrities that were to be performing at halftime on it. Two of them, using mini-cannons, were shooting the official Pound Ball Grand Final t-shirts into the crowds.
The crowds roared and danced in delight at the parade. The Pound Ball spectacular grew greater every single year, and everyone loved it.
A few hours later, the parade ended at the stadium. Ryan and Saliyah had climbed to the top of the steps at the front of the stadium. Yensid Media was there to film Ryan’s speech.
‘Good afternoon, everyone,’ shouted Ryan as Saliyah wrapped her arms around his waist. ‘It’s that time of year. It’s Pound Ball time!’
The large crowds that formed roared in excitement.
‘I was here last year,’ shouted Ryan. ‘It was both my greatest moment and my most painful moment.’
‘He married me,’ screamed Saliyah as she jumped on Ryan.
‘I also won the Grand Final and suffered a career-ending injury,’ called out Ryan. ‘None of that compares to marrying the love of my life.’
They both kissed to an even louder roar of the crowd.
‘Enough about me! Enough about me!’ called out Ryan. ‘This is about this year’s Pound Ball Grand Final. It’s about the Enforcers and the Flyers. This year’s two best teams. I promise you they will light up the stadium in ways you’ve never seen before.’
‘Don’t forget the entertainment,’ shouted Saliyah. ‘You thought last year was wild. This year is going to blow your mind.’
‘Well, it’s you again,’ chuckled Ryan.
Saliyah climbed off him and began prancing around.
‘Okay, calm down. Calm down,’ said Ryan as he watched Saliyah trot down the stadium steps as Percival walked up them.
‘Today is a big day for another reason,’ said Ryan. ‘The enforcers officially begin their duties protecting all the residents of this continent. I want to announce the appointment of our first Head Enforcer and first Deputy Head Enforcer.’
The crowd clapped approvingly.
‘Our new Head Enforcer believes his new role is above everything else,’ said Ryan. ‘In taking this appointment, he sheds his identity to become one with his work. He will only be referred to as the Head Enforcer. From this day onwards, anyone who takes this position will only hold the identity of the role.’
The crowd remained relatively quiet, with just a few claps.
‘The Head Enforcer could not be with us today,’ said Ryan as Percival stood by his side. ‘He has dedicated his time to ensuring the highest quality of training for all the trainees. In his place, we have the Deputy Head Enforcer. Give him a warm round of applause.’
The crowd hesitantly clapped. James stared on angrily. He could not believe that the new Head Enforcer had snubbed his parade.
‘It’s an honour for me to be here today,’ said Percival. ‘I want you to know that the enforcers are here to protect and serve you. This continent will become a safer place for everyone.’
Percival stood back to let Ryan speak.
‘A big thank you. A big thank you to all of you,’ shouted Ryan. ‘You are the life of the party. And what a party it’s going to be. The Pound Ball Grand Final is in just six days.’
The crowds erupted in excitement again.
Percival walked over to James. ‘Sir, I need to discuss some security concerns about the Grand Final,’ said Percival to James.
‘Fine,’ said James. ‘Meet me inside the stadium. I can’t talk to you around this crowd.’
Percival nodded.
James entered the stadium, and Percival followed. They entered the luxury box. James turned to face Percival. ‘So, tell me, what are these concerns?’ asked James.
‘The extra ten thousand seats are going to make providing security for the Grand Final very difficult for us,’ said Percival.
‘By seats, you mean attendees,’ corrected James.
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Percival.
Well, there will not be ten thousand extra attendees,’ smirked James. ‘There will be twenty thousand extra attendees. Ten thousand extra sitting and ten thousand standing.’
‘That’s impossible for us. We won’t be able to move,’ replied Percival sternly.
‘Let’s face it,’ said James. ‘You loafers only want to be in the stadium so you can watch the Grand Final. All of you are better off outside. That’s where potential problems are going to occur.’
‘We cannot protect the celebrities on the field if we are outside,’ replied Percival.
‘I have something better than your security,’ said James. ‘We have reinforced plexiglass. A charging Sape couldn’t break through it. The celebrities are safer without you.’
Percival frowned angrily.
‘Another thing,’ said James as his tone became agitated. ‘I do not appreciate your Head Enforcer snubbing my parade. You had better tell him he needs to fly right, or I’ll have him replaced with someone who is not you.’
Percival stared angrily at James.
‘Anything else troubling you?’ asked James.
‘I’ll pass your feedback onto the Head Enforcer,’ replied Percival.
‘I imagine the crowds from the parade are still dispersing,’ said James. ‘Now get out there and do your job.’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied Percival as he turned and left the luxury box.
James noticed a slight shimmer of light on the other side of the box. ‘Still hanging on,’ said James. ‘Let me guess: you are not happy with how I handled that.’
The shimmer disappeared. ‘Go off, be offended,’ replied James, shrugging his shoulders. ‘You have no hold over me anymore.’
Later that day, the Hat Lady met up with Joan and Sally for fruit cocktails at the Thirsty Sape restaurant and bar. The three of them sat at a small table several rows back from the comedy stage.
‘Juice in a mini bucket,’ said Sally. ‘Got to love this place’s unique presentation of food and drink.’
‘I’m concerned about the Deputy Head Enforcer,’ said Joan. ‘I could tell by his accent; he’s from the North.’
‘They have so many out-of-work guards,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘It is inevitable that they would join the enforcers. I’m a little more concerned about the Head Enforcer. It’s a bit off. He did not want to be named, and he did not show up today on the announcement of his appointment.’
‘I’m guessing it’s going to be one of James’ actors,’ chuckled Joan. ‘Everything is entertainment with that guy.’
‘I wish it was, but something happened while I was in Carrington,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘James has been uncomfortably tight-lipped over the appointment.’
‘Maybe you need to press him a little harder,’ said Sally. ‘You’re pretty good at extracting information.’
At that moment, the manager grabbed the microphone on the comedy stage. Next to him was a small box.
‘Hey, hey, everybody,’ he called out. ‘I want everyone to know we had a surprise raffle. One lucky customer has won two tickets at centre field.’
Everyone in the restaurant began applauding loudly.
‘Every drink has a number on it,’ called out the manager. ‘If I pull the number on your mini bucket out of this box, you win.’
The manager put his hand into the box and pulled out a small folded piece of paper.
‘Congratulations to whoever has Bucket 333,’ called out the manager.
‘You won,’ screamed Sally as she pointed at the Hat Lady’s bucket.
’Yeah, I guess so,’ replied the Hat Lady, sounding slightly embarrassed as the manager ran towards her.
‘You’re definitely a winner,’ said the manager gleefully as he held up the Hat Lady’s bucket to show everyone else in the restaurant. ‘You’ll be so close to the action, you’ll be able to smell it.’
‘Yeah, it’s a dream come true,’ replied the Hat Lady with gritted teeth.
‘Did you hear that, everybody?’ shouted the manager. ‘The Thirsty Sape has made another dream come true.’
The manager handed the tickets to the Hat Lady and then began to dance and sing his way back to the stage.
‘Who are you going to bring with you?’ asked Sally eagerly.
‘I’d like both of you to go to the game,’ said the Hat Lady with a smile. ‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.’
‘Are you sure?’ asked Joan.
‘Yeah, Pound Ball isn’t really my thing,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I’m also a little overexposed to it anyway.’
‘You’re too awesome,’ replied Sally. ‘I admit I don’t care about Pound Ball. I do care about being up close to the halftime show.’
‘It’s the biggest spectacle of the year,’ said Joan.
‘You guys deserve to have fun,’ said the Hat Lady as she got up. ‘I need to secretly explore a training camp. There’s a Head Enforcer I need to catch a glimpse of.’
Joan and Sally looked at each other and smiled.
A couple of hours later, the Hat Lady secretly arrived at the enforcers training camp. The trainee enforcers had gone to sleep. The Hat Lady silently sneaked through the training camp to find the tent of the Head Enforcer. It did not take her long before she found a large tent. It had ‘Head Enforcer’ written on a banner outside.
Something did not feel right to her. She walked around to the other side of the tent. She touched the tent. She made a tiny invisible circle in the fabric of the tent so that she could spy inside. The tent appeared to be completely empty. The Hat Lady let go of the tent.
The next day, the Hat Lady arrived early at James’ office. She decided to confront him about the Head Enforcer. James was yet to arrive. The Hat Lady decided to wait in his office for him to arrive. James arrived a short while later. When he entered the office, the Hat Lady was sitting in his chair. She had shapeshifted into James.
‘What’s the deal with this new Head Enforcer?’ demanded the Hat Lady.
‘Seriously, you have overstayed your welcome,’ said James curtly.
‘Tell me who he is, and I’ll be out of your hair for good,’ said the Hat Lady as she stood up.
Two enforcers entered the room behind James.
‘Arrest this imposter,’ demanded James.
‘No, he’s the imposter,’ replied the Hat Lady in James’ voice.
The enforcers looked at each other with confused expressions.
‘Here’s my ID,’ said James with a grin as he handed his card to the enforcer.
‘Here’s mine,’ said the Hat Lady as she waved the ID at them.
‘Hand it to them, then,’ said James as he started to chuckle.
The Hat Lady became invisible.
‘Lock the door,’ demanded James.
One of his enforcers locked the door.
‘There’s no way out,’ said James. ‘Just surrender yourself to these nice enforcers.’
He waited a few moments, but there was no response.
‘Fine, we’ll just make this office your prison cell,’ said James. ‘You won’t be getting any food or water. You’ll have to turn yourself in at some point.’
‘I’ll turn myself in now in exchange for meeting the new Head Enforcer,’ demanded the Hat Lady.
‘Deal,’ said James.
The Hat Lady became visible. ‘That’s really all I wanted,’ replied the Hat Lady smugly.
One enforcer went over to handcuff her. James whispered in the other one’s ear.
Just as the enforcer who cuffed her was about to take her through the door, the other enforcer smashed her over the head with his baton. This immediately knocked her unconscious.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
