#and fixing all “Harold”s to “Harlow”

[xarrixii]

flash/burn chapter 42, translated several times

i couldn't make a monday chapter update for today so you get this instead

english -> portuguese (brazil) -> hungarian -> french -> german -> italian -> finnish -> chinese (traditional) -> norwegian -> vietnamese -> russian -> swedish -> english

/ / / / / |

link to pure format google doc (where i didn't edit for clarity)

Chapter 42: Moving Forward 2023-12-17

So why can't you teleport somewhere? Harlow said, making a vague gesture with his other hand.

Liam tilted his head to the side. I can't teleport to a place I've never been. If you want to go to Yugenzia's bakery, you should find out what it looks like in advance. Because it's a technical prohibition. The same goes for teleportation. It also requires a lot of mental calculations. Stable.

Harlow snorted softly, stopped looking for the unconscious guard, and walked past Storm's blue smartwatch. Liam had just explained that it was essentially Storm's version of Cinder's arm. They entered Storm's house. How's Haydn? Bank? How many times have you teleported in two minutes?

I checked the driver's destination first, Liam admitted. I trained for weeks to be able to teleport to this place from anywhere in this area. I know where it is and that memory is always with me.

They also moved into the truck. When it moves in an unpredictable way.

But that doesn't mean I like it. The truck's GPS system was a big help. When they found Raiden, they were no less concerned. Liam tied the last guard's hands and waited for Harlow to put away his watch. "Can you always use fire, like a lightning bolt?"

“What do you mean what?” Harlow closed Storm’s hunting bag.

"Stand up. Walk faster. Imagine you're launching a rocket into space."

Harlow took a deep breath. He doesn't remember anything like that. Especially when they're running away from someone. I think. He shook his head. ninth NO.

Trilla walked through the building and Liam raised an eyebrow. Liam cursed. "Damn it. We still have to check if Raiden is here. Sure. You guard the entrance, and I'll guard the camera..."

Harlow suppressed the thought and nodded, watching Liam run out the door and head towards the cell.

He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and struck it, letting the small flame spread through the air, across the table, and straight to the middle of the door behind the locker. Inside the cell, I heard Liam run towards the metal wall. A few people were thrown to the ground.

Harlow slowly removed the flame from the lighter and ran his finger up and down the metal part of the lighter. Heat slowly.

The lighter appeared to be empty.

He lunged at the first man who entered, gently touched his temple with one finger, grabbed him with his other hand, knocked him to the ground, and threw him into the street.

Rinse and repeat this procedure each time with a different finger.

“Toilet paper for three!” Liam called after him. Three seconds later, someone put a hand on his shoulder and he found himself in a garage, a few blocks from a converted prison cell.

Harlow turned to Liam. The ignition clicked again and went out again. Suddenly his hands lost the heat that had burned since early December.

"You..." Liam's gaze moved from Harlow to something brighter, something hard to describe in the cold, heavy air. "...Ainsley excels at everything she does. Keep up the good work, son."

Liam's hand released Harlow's and stopped just above her shoulder before pulling away. Really weak, no, not through the tunnel of thought.

"Let's go."

Harlow got into the driver's seat of the truck they were driving and placed the bag full of the recently stolen watches in the back seat. Even though Liam's hand hadn't yet touched his shoulder, it was already a wonderful graft from someone else. He was quickly becoming a fool.

Like the trip to Longport.

Liam looked at him, pointed to the left, about a third of the way, and said, "Did you know that the original tower wasn't just the foundation of Amaterasu?"

"What are you trying to cut in half?"

"Correct."

Harlow felt that she had no feelings at all. "No, I haven't heard of that."

“Yes,” Liam continued, “this has been her home since she gave birth to Raiden. After participating in its construction, he realized that everything was starting to take on a reality and began to answer the question Where? my character behind the plot."

“Why Longport?” Harlow asked. Liam heard the confusion and surprise in his voice. “I mean, why did you choose Longport to build this tower? There are many other crime-ridden towns nearby."

"Oh," Liam said, pulling a bagel out of the glove compartment. "Thunder."

He watched as Liam continued to eat his half bagel in silence, his vision blurred and his eyes focused on the road. Harlow smiled softly. "You... realize how little that explains, don't you?"

"You'll find out if you promise not to tell him."

"Even if they tear him to pieces."

"I am sick."

"explain."

Liam smiled and placed the remaining bread on the dashboard. "He may not act like it, but he really wanted to take care of Raiden before he joined Cinder. He wanted to be with his son for as long as he needed him and then return to his family. the family he left behind. But Chen found out about him, she realized that Ye was not a person who could be ignored. He scolded Raiden's father."

Harlow's first reaction was to wonder if Raiden would do the same to Storm. Lives closer to Longport. Ask Harlow if he would like to participate in your new project. I think.

weakened This is really a way to gradually wear him down.

"Okay," Liam sighed as Harlow tightened the grip on the steering wheel. "Take it off."

"Just because of this?"

"I'm an idiot."

Harlow frowned, but stopped the car at the first spot on the side of the road and turned to look at Liam, who refused to get out of the car. Instead, Liam crossed his arms.

"I said I wanted to pee."

"Yes, I'm a liar." Liam looked Harlow up and down. "I told Jack Starr he was impulsive and emotional. But I also told him I trusted him. I was starting to feel like he was trying to trick me and that I shouldn't have told him."

"The Electric Man Was he the one who made me unable to move for days?"

"Yes, that's exactly it. This is good for identifying talents. The ones you're throwing away now. I'm losing my authority." Liam laughed and turned on the radio.

Harlow took a deep breath.

"I'm here to play your stupid game, pretending we still have Raiden in some cell and Amaterasu is trying to trick you into being A-4. Do you know how long it takes a normal dick to get to A-4? He's only been at A-5 for about three months, but he's still finishing up his paperwork."

"I'm not pretending..."

"So tell me what I remember."

Harlow's hands turned pale as she grabbed the steering wheel. "Forget it. Okay, Raiden is free, okay? You did it."

"Free Raiden," Liam continued to shout, "but why did you deliberately choose to withhold information about your current mission and your personal differences with Cynder? Some say it was you who sent this message, Raiden, and today you have shown me that you are willing to lie to me to keep a secret and prevent someone from committing tyrannical murders.!"

Oh my God… Harlow took a deep breath, took his hands off the wheel, and covered his face with his hands. Liam turned the radio off again and looked at the sidewalk before walking over to Harlow.

“Listen my son, I know it’s hard. But we have to start thinking about this truth. This is a matter of national survival. The Thunderers are on the move now. They’re farmers. Night Prankster, so what? Now we’re on the plains."

I'm trying to understand, thought Harlow, but I can't.

Nothing, Liam thought, placing his hand on Harlow's forearm. But I need to know if I can trust you when the time comes. Amat can trust you. You're on an inclined plane.

Harlow suddenly burst out laughing.

You remind me of thunder, don't you?

Liam smiled. "Here it is. Well, I missed R&S Jambalaya."

"Teleportation machine. And before you start the truck again, how do you know I asked why you chose Longport?"

"I don't think so, I tried to explain, but you explained it first. Damn, I can't teleport that far."

"Keep walking quietly."

"Donkey, Urbain, the correct word is donkey."

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The first 1 Ye

[altusfl]

86.  The 1990 off-season --- The 1991 USFL draft

The 1991 USFL draft

The 1991 Draft would be disrespected by fans but not by evaluators of NFL talent. The year’s draft would be considered largely devoid of true “blue chip” talents or ready to go QBs by the fans and the media, but would be one of the deepest drafts in several years with several raw talents with great upside.  “This is the kind of draft where a team or two might have one of those once a decade drafts where they hit on a player in almost every round.” an NFL scout would tell a reporter after the bowl games.

The USFL’s latest expansion and the influx of money from the league’s TV partners would kill that NFL dream.

Notre Dame Heisman Trophy Winning WR/KR Raghib “Rocket” Ismail was considered the #1 talent in the draft by a large margin. The Dallas Cowboys owned the NFL’s number 1 pick after trading up with New England from #12.  The Cowboys had already picked up WR Anthony Miller, QB Troy Aikman, DT Cortez Kennedy, and RB Harold Green in the prior three drafts.  While adding a deadly complimentary receiver like Ismail to partner with Miller and Aikman made sense on paper, there was a general feeling that Jimmy Johnson was out on principle on spending the #1 overall pick on a #2 WR.

Add the fact that the NFL was spending 2-3 times what they felt they should be on first rounders and signing Ismael seemed to rub Johnson the wrong way.  There was no question he saw enough value to take Ismail #1 overall, but to pay him at a premium?  It was unlikely.

This was a problem for Dallas as Ismael was not going to be without suitors.  The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts had been sold to a group that included actor John Candy.  The Argos were going to make a serious run at Ismail if only for the PR value.

There was no way Dallas was going to be able to sign Ismail on the cheap.  This spurred New Jersey Generals owner Stephen Ross into action.

The New York Generals surprised no one by signing Rocket Ismail to a very large contract to be the first pick in the draft.  The most surprising thing about the deal would be that Ismail would end up making less than most expected when the terms were finally announced.  It appeared that the early nature of the spring draft prevented the Candy group from putting together the sizable offer most expected and frankly, Ismail was eager to play his pro career in a run and shoot offense.

Sacramento had thought to pay handsomely to land Todd Lyght — considered one of the two best CBs in the draft and certainly the highest profile one.   Lyght was impressed by Gold Miner defensive coordinator Charlie Sumner but was leaning towards waiting for the NFL draft.  Sacramento spoke to Russell Maryland next , but quickly became convinced he cut a deal with Dallas on the cheap to go #1 overall in the NFL draft and was unlikely to look at Sacramento, so the team opened up talks to trade down. New England’s Vince McMahon saw a player he could sell in New England in the former Notre Dame star CB and traded up.  McMahon was able to convince Lyght that his team offered Lyght the chance to make additional revenue as a spokesman in New York City AND New England.  Lyght was taken with the proposal and quickly signed.

It was thought that Portland would pay Pat Harlow handsomely to protect Gary Hogeboom’s blindside, but the Lumberjacks surprised everyone when Norv Turner drafted San Diego State’s Dan McGuire, the Brother of Oakland Athletics star Mark McGuire.  While McGuire was the #1 rated QB prospect in the draft, he had his flaws.  While he was big with a strong arm and a winning personality, his decision making and release weren’t as quick as one would hope and he had started fewer college games than one would have liked.  He was considered a raw middle of the first round prospect.  Turner was worried that Hogeboom was too reckless and might quickly become injury prone in his 30′s, even with Harlow there.  The thought was that at his size, McGuire could take some hits.  Turner knew Paul Allen loved the thought of marketing the 6′8″ Dan McGuire and respected Turner as a QB whisperer.  Turner thought he could mask McGuire’s deficiencies in his QB friendly system that mostly required a QB who could throw a consistent Slant route and bring him around slowly in a year or two.  This plan fell apart when  Hogeboom’s agent immediately request a trade.

Sacramento realized they had little to offer a player in terms of glitz, so they thought they would target a player they could impress with a red carpet rollout….an offensive lineman.  They drafted Pat Harlow out of USC.  Harlow was a Californian and the idea of making good money and not leaving the state appealed to him.

The DC Federals went after a guy they considered the best WR prospect in several years….Herman Moore.  Moore was a tall breakaway threat with off the chart hands.  Moore would be very receptive to staying in his home region and playing for a coach with a great offensive mind for whom he had a ton of respect.  

Seattle’s ownership would have a coin flip between safeties Eric Turner and Stanley Richard as a high caliber defensive player they thought they could land. Richard would seem taken with waiting for the NFL draft, so the team would pick Turner. After drafting him they would discover that Turner was leaning towards staying in for the NFL draft as so many players seemed to be signing with the USFL.  This was only cemented when Cleveland fell in love with Turner when he climbed over a locked fence to participate in their workout.  Seattle would find themselves unable to trade his rights.

New Mexico’s owners, the Maloof family,  had their eyes set on Dan McGuire to be their featured star, but when Portland took him they thought about trading down.  Their coach, Craig Morton, had been ok with the McGuire plan, but he preferred to sign a veteran QB anyway as they make fewer mistakes and he saw McGuire as a bit of a project.   “We don’t have to be the most talented team in our first year, we just have to spend our picks wisely on contributors we can sign in the first three years.  We can get a good RB or WR to sell to the fans with our second first round pick.”  He argued.  “We don’t have to keep the first pick.” Morton wisely advised that it would be tough selling Albuquerque to rookies, so it would be better to build a respectable team of hard working younger vets first.  “We can always trade for Testaverde, Hogeboom, or Craig Penrose,”  He argued.  He had worked up a contingency deal with his former team, Denver, in case McGuire was not there.   New Mexico traded away the #7 pick for Denver’s first pick in 1992 as well as several vets.  Denver would pick popular Colorado game breaking WR Mike Pritchard.  Pritchard was raw as a receiver, but his talent was indisputable.  He had averaged a mind boggling 26.4 yards per catch for his college career.  New Mexico loved him and their fans were disappointed with the trade, but Pritchard’s agent had made it clear that Pritchard would only play for Houston, Memphis, Denver, or New Jersey in the USFL….other than that, he was content to wait for the NFL draft.

Archie Manning quickly selected Tennessee Tackle Charles McRae for his New Orleans team.  McRae would fall victim to Manning’s charisma and sign quickly. Manning considered McRae a natural blindside protector for Tommy Hodson, who had taken a beating his rookie season.  Manning liked Hodson and thought the kid showed a little potential…Manning didn’t want Hodson to have a career like Manning had with no personnel support on offense.  This was the only reason Manning passed on his favorite prospect, a local player by the name of Brett Farve.  Farve had a lot of moxie and a huge arm, but had been involved in an auto accident that he was still recovering from and was very undisciplined on and off the field.  Ultimately Manning decided the safer option was to give Hodson the tools to succeed.

Although Oklahoma liked Nebraska  LB Mike Croel, there was a general consensus that Croel was waiting for the NFL draft and they needed a replacement for the retired Peter Raeford at CB, so they drafted his teammate CB Bruce Pickens.  Pickens would listen to the Outlaws, but Croel rightly convinced Pickens that if they waited they would both be top 5 picks in the NFL draft.

Birmingham would quickly chose Tackle Antoine Davis.  Charlie Pell was a sound coach who realized nothing worked with a questionable offensive line.  Davis projected as a right tackle who could probably also play left tackle at a high level in the USFL. The problem was Davis’s agent. Davis’s agent would wisely tell the player to wait for the NFL draft as Davis was likely to be the #1 OL in that draft.  Davis would listen to the advise for a couple of weeks before the Birmingham’s minority ownership group would exercise their Auburn recruiting networks and start making offers to Davis’s extended family and friends, improving the perception of the USFL in the Davis household.  Davis would warm to the USFL and be signed by the end of camp.

Ted Marchibroda would be disappointed to see the 3 elite offensive tackles off the board. He would toy with drafting Florida OLB Huey Richardson, but would instead pull the trigger on a trade with the Arizona Wranglers for their first and second round picks.  Arizona was in love with the idea of signing Arizona State’s star RB Leonard Russell.  They thought the powerful Russell would fix a long time problem —an inconsistent running game — as well as give Phoenix fans a second new reason to come to Wrangler games (in addition to their championship win).  Russell would quickly sign at a reasonable price.

On the clock again, Denver would draft and sign Colorado OLB Alfred Williams.  Williams would sign a reasonable contract to play for Denver when the Gold assured him they planned to “Go all in on Buffaloes” in the draft.  (They would also take and sign RB Eric Bienemy and OLB Kanavais McGhee in the second round.)

Pittsburgh would draft Tennessee deep threat Alvin Harper to plug in opposite Greg Anderson.   Impressed with head coach Al Saunders and the prospects of the team, Harper would take a reasonable deal given general uncertainty about his placement in the NFL draft.

Don Coryell would surprise everyone with his selection of USC QB Todd Marinovich.  Marinovich had legit elite level talent, a great feel for the game,a big arm, good feet and mechanics, but he was a scratch on most team’s draft boards due to cocaine & Marijauna use, insubordination, and weird family dynamics.   He was considered another hit or miss second round prospect… at best.  Coryell hated the insubordination and cocaine and told Marinovich from Day 1 that would not be tolerated, but the two men really clicked.  Marinovich had both the talent and a well developed understanding of the game that Coryell wanted and Coryell gave Marinovich an alternative NFL success model to his dad.  It came out of nowhere, but Marinovich fell in love with football again.   Marinovich would later write “Don was amazing.  He really turned my life around.  He told me, ‘You can be the jerk you have been for the last year and the Raiders will likely draft you in the first round because of your Dad, or you can be the MAN I see and know and I’ll draft you because of YOU.’  Dude… It sent a shiver down my spine.  It still does every time I tell the story.  There is a reason he was a first ballot hall of fame coach.  I quit partying and all the hard drugs and toed his line.  Except for occasional pot in the offseason,... I was done with it. It was weird, I never got it before, but from that point forward I enjoyed football on a whole new level.”  Marinovich would sign a multi-year deal at a deep discount --- about what he would have made if the Raiders had picked him at the end of the NFL’s first round.

The surprises continued in the draft as Milwaukee coach Hayden Fry picked and signed his former collegiate RB Nick Bell next, despite having Anthony Thompson on the roster.  Bell was considered a second or third round caliber back, but his speed and athleticism for his size was off the charts.  Fry would explain in the press conference, “Don’t read anything into this. Nick is a special talent who is getting better as a runner each season, but Anthony is one of the best RBs in the league. I am making this pick because Anthony is not a big guy and he ran for over 1600 yard last season.  The USFL plays an 14 game regular season plus several playoff games.  If I do that to Anthony every year, he’ll be done in this league in 5 years.  If I can offset some of the load to Nick, both might play 8-10 years much like Buford Jordan and Marcus Dupree did in New Orleans.   I’ll have done better by both of them.”  

Carolina had a QB problem as a chronic shoulder injury forced longtime starter Mike Hohenesee into retirement.  Hohenessee would become the team’s new QB coach.  With a gaping hole at QB the assumption was that the team would sign a veteran or trade for Vinny Tesreverde.  They did neither, instead opting to draft Brett Farve a round ahead of schedule. Both Head Coach Jonnie Walton and Hohenessee saw a special focus in the raw Southern Miss QB.  Farve would realize that his car accident injuries were working against him and he would never go higher in the NFL draft, so he quickly took the money.

Atlanta would draft Mississippi DL Kelvin Pritchett next.  Pritchett would wait for the NFL draft.

San Antonio would quickly draft and sign UT OT Stan White who would be taken with the idea of playing for Tom Landry.

With almost all of the top rated QBs off the board, the Spirits of Miami would draft Louisville QB Browning Nagle a bit earlier than most media thought appropriate.  Coach Howard Schnellenberger instantly clicked with Nagle who played the position the way Schellenberger envisioned.  Miami was worried when Carolina didn’t take Tesreverde that the Skyhawks might take Nagle, the only other “ready to play” QB prospect in the draft, even though he was graded a second round prospect. When Carolina didn’t Miami quickly scooped him up.  Nagle quickly signed a reasonable long term deal.

New Tampa Bay coach Rich McGeorge would finally satisfy QB Chuck Long’s long instance that the team was leaving points on the field by not having more speed at receiver by drafting Miami WR Randall Hill.  Hill would consider waiting for NFL money for a day or two, but the idea of staying in Florida and playing with a guy who appeared to be a future Hall of Fame QB was too enticing.  He signed a reasonable deal.

Philadelphia would draft and Indiana safety Mike Dumas at a slight premium to fill a longtime hole in their secondary.

The Allens would want to draft Mike Croel of Nebraska as he was the last unspoken for lottery talent on the board but the move would be rejected by management as too expensive and possibly fruitless, so the Allens would instead draft Louisville DT Ted Washington.  Washington was as big as the nose tackles of the day but had the ability to generate a pass rush. Washington would want 3 times what a pick in the 20′s had gotten the year before, arguing that given that most of the 1st round physical talents had signed with USFL teams, he was likely going to go in the top 10 and be paid a premium by the NFL.  The Allens would make the same case to Oakland’s owners and they would grudgingly agree. “Even when George Allen is on a budget, he overspends....” Tad Taube would groan. 

Michigan would draft Percy Snow’s Michigan State sidekick —hard hitting and mobile OLB Dixon Edwards.  Expected to be a second round pick, he would sign an inexpensive deal.

Jacksonville wanted Ted Washington but would settle for UCLA OLB Roman Pfifer.

Hawaii would finally land a true feature back in Fresno State’s Aaron Craver. Craver, at 215 lbs., had good size and very good speed.  Projected as a second round pick, Craver would sign a fairly inexpensive deal.

Orlando would draft and sign second round grade prospect DE Shane Curry of Miami at 26.  He would sign a fairly inexpensive deal.

The Chicago Blitz would draft and sign Illinois S Henry Jones.

Houston would consider Michigan FB Jerrod Bunch, but would take Texas A&M’s legendary RB Darren Lewis.  Lewis would initially decide to wait for the NFL draft, pissing off Houston, but then he tested positive for cocaine at the NFL combine.   He would end up signing a one year “prove it” deal with the Gamblers for the league minimum.

The NJ Knights would sign CB Vince Clark of Ohio State at a major premium to become the team’s #1 CB.  

Memphis would take Ed King at #30.  King liked the Showboats but the money wasn’t rich enough and the NFL draft appeared gutted, so he waited.  He would go early in the NFL draft.

Boston would draft Jerome Henderson to help their secondary at 31.

Baltimore would shock the world by taking semi-pro prospect Eric Swann at 32. Marchibroda had fallen in love with the kid’s game.   Swann had elite size, strength, and talent and didn’t take plays off.  With no college experience, the pick would be widely questioned by the media.  He would quickly sign with Baltimore.

Boston would pick safety Jesse Campbell at 33 with the pick they acquired for QB Mike Buck.  Boston had not accounted for the success the USFL teams would have signing draft picks.  Their plan of picking up secondary help at reasonable prices would not work out as the players’ NFL leverage increased. Boston would whiff signing both players.

The Federals would pick up Notre Dame bare bellied NT Chris Zorich at 34.  Zorich was a very active DT who played with fire and promotionally, was a great name in football. The Federals would pay a slight premium to land the second round grade prospect.

Seattle’s original plan had been to pick a defensive player from the lottery who they felt they could sign and then with their second pick try to land any upper level defensive player who other teams didn’t think they could sign without causing salary issues on their team.  Turner didn’t work out for them, but a faction in their group felt they probably could pay either OLB Huey Richardson or MLB Mike Croel what they wanted to pay Turner and survive this first draft with a name player to sell to fans.  The trouble is the majority of their coalition was more conservative and felt both players were solid in waiting for the NFL draft.  That conservative faction favored drafting a player they knew they could sign, so they drafted Jarrod Bunch HB/FB out of Michigan. Bunch had been converted from a tailback to a FB in college.  Seattle would sell Bunch that he would be the feature back in Seattle’s run focused game plan.  Bunch, tired of being viewed as only a FB, would quickly sign for a slight premium.

New Mexico would make the final pick of the first round landing LSU’s RB Harvey Williams, who some scouts would call a poor man’s Eric Dickerson.

The success of the USFL in signing players ahead of the NFL draft, despite the NFL’s offers of premium contracts, would have ramifications for both leagues.

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