It was a bumpy descent, but Jim's wheels touched down safely in a nearby field. When the plane came to a stop, Jim reached for his cell phone and dialed.
"Mr. Santo," Jim said nervously. "We're on the ground and I spotted the group on the way down. We're about a half mile away. Everything's gone as planned."
This plan was Santo's most ambitious yet.
"Is Charlotte with the group?" Santo asked.
"Couldn't tell," Jim responded. "But the priest and his wife are there."
"Good. Any sign of the cubs?"
"Cubs? I thought it was just one?"
"Well, I arranged for a few more for the Causewells."
For all their differences, Felix and the Causewells had one important similarity: They had wronged Mr. Santo.
Spring of 1958: Young Ronnie Santo was the star of his high school baseball team, and his skills were improving every day. With every game came more home runs, more defensive gems, more game-winning hits. Word got around, and soon everybody in the area knew that he was a superstar in the making.
Best of all, young Ronnie had met the girl of his dreams. Santo loved Harriet Dunny more than anything, and not a moment would pass when she wasn't in his thoughts. Their young love was a pure love. The couple frowned upon premarital sex, choosing instead to spend their every waking moment holding hands and gazing longingly into each other's eyes. He planned to marry her after graduation. Spring of 1958, Ronnie Santo was on the top of the world. But all that changed in a matter of moments.
May 27, 1958. Ronnie had just finished warm-ups and was heading down for his traditional pre-game emptying of the bowels. He trotted cheerily through the locker room and swung open the stall door, only to see a grimacing Dick Causewell - Santo's friend and bible studies partner -sitting on the bowl. Santo's first instinct was to awkwardly utter "sorry" and quickly close the door. But then he saw the sight that would break his psyche and send him on his lifetime course of rage and deviance: the head of his beloved Harriet, bobbing up and down in Dick Causewell's lap.
Santo was never the same again.
Rupert, the head animal trainer, waved his arms to Felix off in the distance.
He then called Santo to confirm the plan: "Mr. Santo? I've procured the extra cubs, and everything is in place. Just one question: I understand why we're mauling the Causewells, but why Felix?"