Character Is What You Are In The Dark.

This is fiction. Any resemblance between the content of this story or any of the characters depicted herein and real persons or events is highly unlikely and purely coincidental.

Marsha finished crying about the time she and Tina reached home. The door opened. High-pitched voices filtered through the door. "Mama, Mama's home." Three deep brunette, stair-step little girls came running across the living room, arms wide. Once inside, Tina knelt to hug her girls.

Mia walked across the room, towards the door. When she was about two steps away, her arms raised up to greet Marsha. Mandy was about half a step behind. Nobody said anything, the group just stood there holding the newest concubine. Little arms engulfed Marsha's legs.

"Okay girls," Mia announced, "your mom has to change out of her work clothes."

"But we wanna tell Mama about sleeping over at Tiffany's." The middle of the three girls stood with her hands on her hips, staring at Mia.

"Lucy, when anybody comes home, what is the rule?" Mia crossed her arms and stared right back.

It took some time but eventually Lucy answered. "Everybody that works in Philip's office has to change and get cleaned up when they get home."

Mia picked Lucy up and blew a raspberry on her tummy. In the ensuing chaos, Tina grabbed Marsha's arm and led her to the master bedroom.

Surprisingly, there was more emotional comfort for Marsha from washing Tina's hair, than when Tina first washed hers. Standard dress for the house was nudity for the concubines. Tina's three girls wore shorts and tops. It was boxers for Philip.

"Edited video of the meeting Philip attended during your initial trainings will be displayed on the wall opposite the bed." The voice on this AI was decidedly different from the one in Philip's office.

Tina guided Marsha to the foot of the bed. They both sat down. "Do you want me to stay?"

"I think I need to do this alone." Marsha hugged Tina. "I can always ask the AI for help."

Tina walked over to the door. When she opened it, Marsha could see her three girls. "Who's that?" one of the girls asked.

"Philip brought Marsha home, she's going to-" the closing door silenced Tina's voice, ending Marsha's awareness of her explanation.

The wall pixilated into a picture of Philip, Nicholas, and an officer she did not recognize. The three of them were sitting in an office. Its decor matched Philip's conference room. "Are you ready to witness?"

"Yes." The video started. Watching the scene, Marsha learned that Philip had told her the truth. At the end of the presentation, Marsha made a request, "Can I start digging into daddy's dealings?"

There was a pause, Marsha worried she would not be allowed.

"Your sponsor has indicated his willingness to allow you to dig." The AI's words were exactly what she needed. "He requests that you use his study here in the pod." A door opposite the bathroom opened. "Mia will be joining you in a few moments. When Tina is in the pod and her children are present, Philip has instructed her that their care is her primary responsibility."

There were two chairs and two monitors on a desk, which was next to some type of medtube. Marsha would ask about it later. Mia came in and sat down next to her. "Help me see if I can show just how dirty my father's hands are."

"You know none of this is your fault." Mia enfolded Marsha's hand with hers.

"Mia, can I ask an embarrassing question?" She turned away from her monitor to look at Mia. Her fellow concubine smiled and signaled for her to ask away. "Last night, sex didn't hurt as much as I thought it would," Marsha confessed. "This morning in the shower, it was much better." Marsha leaned in closer to Mia. "Right now there's a dull ache there and I feel like.... I'm confused."

Mia let go of Marsha's hand. Softly touching Marsha between her breasts, Mia slowly trailed her fingers down the other woman's body toward her sex. Marsha's eyes closed and her legs widened in anticipation. When Mia contacted her clit, her eyes opened from the stimulation. Once the fingers started to breach her cunt's entrance, Marsha moved to grant access. "I have a diagnosis. You're experiencing ECS: empty cunt syndrome. If you need, I can relieve it with my fingers, but Philip is carrying the therapeutic tool you need between his legs."

Marsha put her hand on Mia's, pulling it away. "Philip never said I could do this without him here." She looked into Mia's eyes. "I'd like to try this." She held up Mia's hand. "Last night I know everybody was involved, but I want Philip's okay."

"You really have fallen for him." Mia softly pulled her hand away. "Together, we'll talk with Philip tonight. Let's get back to digging for dirt."

Though it was their day off, the AI woke up Bubba and Clem with urgent news. Lieutenant Percy expected them at a meeting in twenty-five minutes. The 'country boy' from Alabama extracted his black 'hoodlum' brother from Detroit out from under the concubines. Clem's eight-year background as a Ranger and five years as a deputy sheriff in Walker County led to this special assignment. Three years on the Michigan State University Police Force and twelve years as a SEAL rounded out Bubba's resume.

They were extracted before the first testing centers were opened. Due to circumstances, they had to share an apartment on the moon base. There were a few difficulties way back when, but eventually Clem and Bubba combined households while cherry picking concubines. Between Clem's laid-back nature and Bubba's knack for reading and assessing people, they were very effective at staffing testing centers.

With fifteen minutes to spare, they exited the shower, leaving a wet concubine with a washcloth in their wake. Four of their dry concubines ran them through a dressing gauntlet. As they crossed the living room, the three youngest members of the household, April, Debbie, and Kandi, exchanged a hug and a kiss for drink, a sticky bun, and a napkin respectively.

Outside the door of the colonel's office, they quickly took a moment to check each other for evidence of sticky buns. Passing each other's inspection, they approached the entrance. The door opened automatically. Lieutenant Percy stood waiting inside. They had a few ticks over five minutes before the meeting started. They were barely safe, Lieutenant Percy expected everyone to follow her lead and plan ahead to allow for a five-minute cushion before any meeting.

The video conferencing link on Tonya Evans' laptop opened, blinking for her attention. She did not notice. The overnight Nielsen Market Share for the ship tour rivaled Super Bowl numbers. By the time Expose International ended, they were up to a forty-four percent share. The third ding grabbed her attention. Che Ryan was waving at her.

Clicking the engage button, she started the session. "Hey Ryan... Ryan, what's going on?" A multitude of questions fought to be asked. "What's it like? No, I mean are you okay? No that's not right. Can I arrange for you to be interviewed?"

"Tonya," Che held up both hands. "Calm down. I need you to get in touch with Anne Birch."

Tonya gave him thumbs up. Her mind ran through a new series of questions. The first being, 'why would Che want her to involve the investigative reporter'?

"Space to Tonya, space to Tonya, yoo-hoo," at this point Che was waving both arms trying to focus the producer, "listen." She looked back at the screen. "There might be a big story coming your way."

"Why are you telling me this instead of Grant Kenyon?"

"Kenyon has too many political ties to be objective."

Tonya thought a minute, Kenyon had friends on both sides of the aisle in Congress. Sometimes he would give a sneak look at the advanced copy before a story broke. "What can you tell me?"

"Today at noon, both you and Anne Birch need to go to the website www.Cheleaks.net, open the chat window and log in using your WNN login and passwords."

Tonya finished jotting down the web address. "No hints?"

"Sorry Tonya, consider this a teaser."

Four drones had been dispatched to Three Forks. Doctor Arlington went under twenty-four hour surveillance from one of the drones. Three of the drones began an outside surveillance at the sanatorium.

An analysis of the original construction blueprints for the sanatorium revealed that the facility initially was a hunting lodge built by Dallas Oil back in 1973. In 1999, the property was deeded to the Lamp Unto My Feet nonprofit group. The main lodge then underwent renovations and an expansion. By 2001, it became the Madison River Sanatorium. To fund the sanatorium, the nonprofit used revenues from a variety of properties' partial oil rights. The majority of these properties existed in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

"What types of communications does the sanatorium have to the outside?" Lieutenant Percy drew a box on the top third of a legal size yellow pad.

"The sanatorium's primary communication links are four phone lines using the service of the local cable company." The AI briefed Nicholas, Colonel Reynolds, and Lieutenant Percy. "There are two cell towers that provide the campus with connectivity. Records show that a virtual private network connects Doctor Arlington's residence to the sanatorium. Security elements and all staff use four channel UHF/VHF radios to remain in contact. Channel one is used for general operations, channel 2 is used by maintenance/custodial staff, channel 3 is used by security, and channel 4 is used for emergency rebroadcast across the other three channels."

Nicholas started addressing his department's needs. "We will need to reroute the cable and the VPN so that we can monitor all traffic. Get us a tap on both cell towers. I want the MAC addresses of each cell phone on that campus. Be prepared to deny service using a MAC filter."

"Bubba," Lieutenant Percy never looked up, "make sure to load five drones with level D jamming capability."

"Yes Ma'am," Bubba signified his understanding of the order, "the equipment will be loaded onto the transport."

"If I may?" Clem looked directly at Lieutenant Percy. She nodded. "Could I see an overlay of security forces in and around the facility?"

The monitor in front of Clem provided the information. One security guard maintained a post inside the reception area near the main entrance. Different colored lines moved along the halls of the main floor. These colors moved outside and looped around the parking lot, the back lawn, and the veranda. "These paths reflect observations of the drones and triangulation of security guards' cell phone signals and radio checks."

"Zoom in on the individuals as they move about outside."

The screen split, showing three different men. Each of them was dressed in a bright orange vest emblazoned with the word 'security'. The men had shoulder-mounted microphones to check in at regular intervals. On their hips were a baton, a Taser, a 9mm pistol, and handcuffs.

"Ma'am, the mannerisms displayed by the redhead and the bald security guard show they are probably the more capable of the five observed." Clem offered his opinion. Lieutenant Percy drew a second box and began writing there.

"Tactically," Lieutenant Percy began, "we need one squad for a rear entry, one to secure the front, and one to control the access road to the sanatorium." Arrows marked the points Percy had mentioned. She drew another box. "Clem, each of the squad members will wear body armor, understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Interior obstacles, Bubba?"

"The interior security doors were ASTM certified for the year of construction." He looked down at the screen. "I recommend using strips of HEXOTAPE to defeat the locking mechanisms."

"Gentlemen," Lieutenant Percy said, "I'll brief the teams in two hours. We will be in transit in three hours sharp." The lieutenant stood. "Bubba, Clem, assemble your teams. Clem, the front, Bubba, the back, Donna will secure the entry road." She stood. "If you will excuse me." Bubba and Clem joined her standing. Once Reynolds returned their salute, the three exited.

"Nicholas, who is she?"

Nicholas patted Philip on the back. "Lieutenant Priscilla Percy used to be one of the training specialists for the SAS Close Quarters Combat and Hostage Extraction courses for British Armed Services." Nicholas leaned in close to Philip. "Don't ever make her angry. She is one seriously badass bitch."

Within an hour of trying to track how her brother, Michael, ended up in that sanatorium, things starting happening. In the county achieves, she found the four people who sent her brother to Montana. Judge Parker oversaw the commitment case. The other signatures on the papers belonged to Guy Truman, their family doctor; Nicole Davis, a county health department supervisor; and Eric Driver, an assistant county attorney.

Reading through the year old paperwork, Marsha was astounded. Her brother had been accused of violently attacking both her and her father. Nicole Davis's official summary of Michael's purported behavior reflected three damning police reports that depicted incidents that never occurred. Cross-referencing the information cited in the police reports gave her three additional names.

The police officer from the first report had retired one month earlier than the date posted on the report. The second name had been and was still a sheriff's deputy. The incident supposedly happened on a Thursday. She had no other entries for any activity during that week. Mia checked the timesheets. Deputy Cummings was on vacation. At the time noted on the incident report, Deputy Cummings' Visa card showed she was also buying lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe in Orlando, Florida. The last report showed that Michael had tried to strangle Marsha. The deputy who signed this report, Frank Macy, was also one of the deacons at her father's church.

"Judge Parker is dead." Marsha had attended Judge Parker's funeral three months ago. The old man had succumbed to a heart attack while playing golf.

Mia noticed that Marsha had zoned out for a moment. She helped the process along. "AI, please post information on those individuals on the monitor."

The display showed there was active information about two of the individuals on the local Dallas news outlets. Doctor Truman had succumbed to smoke inhalation when his house caught fire during the night. A hit-and-run driver had killed Nicole Davis as she jogged the streets of her gated community. Video captured by security cameras showed she was run over by a cab. The cab was found two hours after the crime. The cabbie was discovered in the trunk suffering from a beating and a high dose of an unidentified sedative.

"Mia, three of these people have died." Marsha said that into the air to help her think.

Mia started tapping her fingers softly on the monitor. She turned and smiled at Marsha. "Other than your brother's hearing, what do they have in common?"

"Then I guess we'll need to keep digging," Marsha softly retorted.

"The AI can try a public records search." Mia pointed back at the monitor. "Let's see if we can find where everybody else is right now."

"Could that overtax the AI?" Marsha asked.

"Marsha," Mia took her attention away the monitor, "trust me. The AIs can multitask." That put a small smile on Marsha's face.

"The individuals have three items in common," the AI announced. "They are all members of the following groups: the Republican Party, the Temple of the Trinity, and they all subscribe to The Dallas Morning News."

The monitor flashed red. Before Marsha could move, Mia opened the new window. Intercept from Dallas 911 operators. "A call came in from the Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. One of people you are researching, Eric Driver, collapsed in his office. He is non-responsive and not breathing. At this time, emergency medical personnel are in route."

"Marsha, this is too much to be a coincidence."

"I don't think the guy Billy talked to is in Montana." Marsha flipped back to the three officers' names. "We've got to tell Philip."

The AI informed her. "I am providing him with a summary of your discoveries."

"In seven minutes we will be at the LZ," Lieutenant Priscilla Percy informed her three squads through their implants. "Remember, be on your best behavior. For reasons of plausible deniability, this exercise is not using any Confederacy technology once we're on the ground." The shuttle buffeted slightly as they entered the atmosphere. "Ground vehicles will be used to cover the last forty clicks to the target. Bubba and I will take squad one in the delivery van to the rear entrance. Four minutes later, Clem and squad two will use the Suburban to approach the front entrance. Diana and squad three will use the heavy lorry to block the sanatorium's driveway."

The shuttle landed on the unnamed hunting road. The fourteen people exited carrying their equipment. In the place of stunners were 9mm pistols. Each squad member also carried the Spetsnaz spec AKS-74. Three different squads quickly transferred some heavier bags to their respective vehicles. They left at staggered times.