“We’re glad you could join us, Jim. It means a lot to us.”

CSWA owner Stephen Thomas walked down the hallway in the Colonial Center, a group of production assistants following in his wake. Walking directly beside him, James “Jim” Putsmear, the Programming Director for cable station U-62, home of CSWA events in the recent years.

“I’m glad I could be here, Steve. Getting SHOWTIME back on the air live is an important priority for us. It’s been too long,” Chuck replied.

“I agree wholeheartedly. Do you remember the last time you were with us?”

“Of course I do. Way back in Portland at the last SHOWTIME. Right after you and I made the deal to get you back on U-62 after NCN had that little problem with one of your guys throwing a fireball into another’s face. Craig Miles, right?’

“That’s right.”

“We’ve missed these events. Especially in light of the recent… ahem… scheduling issues. Don’t get me wrong, PRIMETIME and VERSUS continue to be ratings grabbers for the station, but after the issue we had with the PRIMETIMEs that were filmed on the Cruise…”

“Trust me, I know,” Stephen grimaced.

“…well, let’s just say that airing ANNIVERSARY free on U-62 went a long way to getting you back in the network’s good graces. And tonight will help even more. We both know how well the CSWA’s live events have always done. We just need to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Right?”

“Of course,” Stephen grinned, “We’ve got the situation handled.”

“Good. Because I don’t think my bosses would be real thrilled if we have any… repeats… of what we saw on the Cruise.”

“Not a problem, Jim. As you can see,” continued Thomas, “we have our best security possible keeping the card secure and flowing forth.”

Jim looked unconvinced. “This is a laptop.”

“Exactly.”

“My computer is more advanced than this.”

“Is that so?” asked a familiar voice, as she sat down in front of the laptop computer. Ivy McGinnis put her bottle of water on the floor behind her station by the Hot Zone, “Let me explain how this works. We’ve completely eliminated the network signals from the show tonight. Everything that’s broadcast on the Vision has to come through this system. Every camera feed comes through this system. You can’t hack my software with a chainsaw, skippy.”

Skippy? “Now hold on a second—“

“You know how these technical people can be,” said Thomas, quickly, as he led Jim away, all the while shooting a death glare at Ivy, “Absolutely no people skills.”

“Not bad,” said Rudy.

“Thank you, shugah,” replied Ivy.