"We're a hit!!" squeals Lois as she receives the news from the local radio station. "If Brandy gets any hotter we'll have to ice her down!! Babs, listen to this!! Oh, I'm so glad that you've come to work for me since Brenda is so busy!! Hmmmm another B name-must be lucky for me!! Brandy's single "Smoking Gun" has topped the charts locally, and now that a national news channel has done a segment on The Masked Man, and played our song while doing it, we'll go platinum in no time."

Babs, a lovely 22-year-old student grins enthusiastically. "Lois, this is so exciting!! Working for you is a dream come true!! I can't believe that I'm actually getting hands on experience with a record company, and getting to know the top stars, too. I've met Brandy, talked with Miguel on the phone, and I get to see Eddie Maine, your husband, almost daily!" She nearly dances with excitement, her light brown hair bouncing as her vivid green eyes sparkle. "Just think-if the new Q is as talented as his father, maybe he or she will be a recording artist, too!!"

"Fine by me," Ned, a.k.a. Eddie Maine, smiles as he walks into the living room/office. "Lois, Grandfather is trying to buy stock now that L&B has another hit."

"Tell him to blow it out his ear," she chortles. "I wouldn't sell Edward the time of day, let alone stock in my company." She grins at Babs, and says, "We did it, Babs!! We did it again!!" Hmmmmmmmmmmm

"I wonder if Robert ever had trouble like this," Mac remarks to Kevin who is sitting patiently in Mac's office. "I'm sure that if anything else can go wrong, it will. I finally get a respectable job, something with growth potential, and the crap hits the fan. Heck, I can't even get Kat to have lunch with me, anymore."

"Considering that you proposed to Felicia when you were under the influence of that aphrodisiac, and Kat heard about it, I'm not surprised," Kevin observes, dryly. "And, given that you haven't proposed to Kat since you came out from under the stuff, she is understandably miffed. I mean, you were engaged to Felicia, at one time, and you almost got married."

"Yeah," Mac recalls, fondly. "She was so beautiful, walking down the aisle that day. You know, I've often wondered why I let her talk me out of getting married. If that jerk, Ryan, sorry Kev, hadn't showed up when he did, we'd have been married."

"But, she'd never have had Georgie," Kev said.

"Sure she would," Mac told him, "but Georgie would have been mine!"

"You were willing to accept Maxie as yours, why not Georgie? I see how you guys are together. There's still something between you... something that you'll never find with Kat."

Mac looks thoughtful. "Maybe you're right. Nothing has ever felt so right before, and certainly not since." Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

"What's about all we know at this point," Scorpio tells Luke who stands by the fireplace, drinking coffee. "We're reasonably sure that Faison is here, but just where, we don't know. Our guy, Tori-Otoko, hasn't been able to intercept any messages from him, and he's been working night and day. We've intercepted information from Rivera, the Quartermaines, Lily, and a variety of other small time thugs, and strangely enough, Sonny seems out of the loop on this caper. Faison is out there, somewhere. I think Lucy knows something, but she's not talking to us."

"Miss Lucy?" drawls Luke with a slow smile. "Oh, don't you worry, Robert. Miss Lucy and I are old friends. Partners, even. If there's something going on, she'll talk to me. I can guarantee that."

Robert looks at his friend, and asks, "Does Laura know about this??"

"It's not like that," Luke tells him. "Lucy is a bit flaky, but she loves Kevin. Remind me to tell you how she saved my bacon in Mexico someday. That lady is up to any adventure we might imagine, and a few we wouldn't even attempt. Don't sweat it, Robert. Miss Lucy is on our side, no matter how things look." He looks at Tom who is still holding Siggy. "The duck and I go way back, too."

At his comment, Siggy quacks in assent. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Stay tuned!! Will Edward find a means of regaining control of L&B?? Does Babs have a lifelong job as well as a lifelong friend?? Will the B in L&B eventually stand for Babs?? Will the romance between Mac and Felicia be rekindled?? Will her newly found wealth get in the way?? And, what about Kat?? Will she get over her snit and go after Mac again?? Will Lucy tell Luke her plans for thwarting Faison and making tons of money at the same time?? Will Luke want a piece of the action, too?? How about Lucky?? Will his reward for saving Siggy be shares in Jax Cosmetics?? Hmmmmmmmmmmm