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Message-ID: <28182asstr$978567006@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Dorsai@giganews.com (dorsai@mail.com)
User-Agent: Xnews/03.12.21
NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2001 22:07:10 CST
Subject: {ASSM} STORY: Next Door Neighbor - part 10 of 10 - M/f, Mff, MF and so on :-)
Date: Wed,  3 Jan 2001 19:10:06 -0500
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
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Next Door Neighbor
(M/f, M/F, M/f/f, f/f, F/f, M/F/f/f, anal, oral, cons, inc)

by Dorsai


LEGAL DISBLAMER
	You know the drill: Erotica blah, blah, blah; Legal age yadda,
yadda, yadda; Do not do this nag, nag, nag. 

INFORMATION
	You can get a copy of this story in text and .pdf (Adobe 
Acrobat)
formats, and my other stories, at the alt.sex.stories text repository 
at
			http://www.asstr-mirror.org
under my Author name of Dorsai.

	You can reach me directly at my public email account at
			dorsai@mail.com

	This story is released for public distribution provided the 
	copyright notice is retained.

---------------------

Part Ten

The next morning, I managed to catch the phone before the second 
ring; Lucy stirred next to me, but didn't actually wake up. I eased 
myself away from her - with a mild noise of complaint - and went over 
to get some coffee started before heading into the bathroom. When I 
got out, the coffee was about half done, and Lucy was starting to 
stir - perfect, I thought: waking her up as gently and easily as 
possible.
As the miniature coffeemaker was starting to hiss that it was done, 
Lucy opened her eyes, and saw me sitting there, looking at her. She 
blessed me with a radiant smile, and as she started to roll over, 
caught sight of the ring I'd put on her finger the night before. She 
suddenly stopped, and turned to look at me, saying "It wasn't a dream 
last night, was it?"
I smiled back, and said "No, not for either one of us."
She suddenly sat up - letting the covers fall down and making her 
breasts jiggle in a most interesting way - and hugged me fiercely 
before telling me "I love you!"
I hugged her back, and told her that I loved her, too - but that we 
needed to get ready to go to the FBI office. At that, she pulled away 
from me a bit, and said, "I was hoping that part of it was just a 
nightmare", wistfully.
I kissed her, and told her "It won't be long, and you'll think it 
was, though", in an effort to comfort her, before gesturing toward 
the coffee. She nodded, and I got up to make us both a cup.
After we'd both had a few sips, I told Lucy "Last night, Agent 
Gallery asked me a favor."
"What's that?"
"He asked me if I'd bring the girls with us this morning."
Lucy looked at me sharply, and asked "What for?"
"A couple of reasons. First, they just want to make sure the girls 
understand what all this is about. Second, they want me to go with 
them when they hit TechnoDynamics, and having all of you at the 
office just makes their job a little easier. Last, at my request, 
they're going to give you and the girls some brief lessons on self 
defense, and an introduction to guns."
Grudgingly, Lucy admitted that it was probably a good idea, adding 
"I'm not too sure about the guns part, but if you think it's a good 
idea, then I'll give it a try."
I assured her that I did think it was a good idea - "If for nothing 
else than to make sure they understand what a gun can really do".
When we'd finished our coffee, Lucy headed for the bathroom while I 
went in to get the girls out of bed. I found them wrapped in each 
other's arms, their legs intertwined. They were so lovely, I went 
back to knock on the bathroom door, telling Lucy there was something 
she'd want to see. A minute later, she came out, and I took her over 
to look at the girls - and she immediately fell in love with them, 
all over again. I got an idea, and dug out the digital camera I'd 
bought; when Lucy asked, I told her that it didn't use film, so there 
wasn't any problem with anyone but us seeing the photos. She nodded 
her agreement, and I got several images, from different angles, of 
Robyn and Sandra laying there.
I put the camera away as Lucy headed back for her bathroom, then went 
and sat on the edge of the bed. I reached out, and began caressing 
their upper arms in turn, first one, then the other, until they 
finally opened their eyes. When they saw me, both of their faces lit 
up, and they quickly threw off the covers to give me a good morning 
hug. I told them that all of us were going to the FBI office that 
morning, and both of them brightened at the idea. As I watched their 
cute backsides head for the bathroom, I called down to the front 
desk, and simply asked for the duty agent; a couple seconds later, a 
female voice answered "Agent Jones. What can I do for you, Mr. 
Andrews?"
"You can start by calling me Dan. Mister makes it sound like I'm even 
older than I feel, some days."
She laughed, and said "Okay, Dan. Agent Gallery told me you were 
pretty relaxed about all this, I should have listened to him. What's 
up?"
"We'll be wanting some breakfast this morning before we head in to 
the office. I was thinking the caf  here in the hotel would be good, 
unless you think it's too small, or too crowded."
"No, sir, it'll be just fine. The morning rush is over, and it's 
pretty empty now."
"Great. We'll be heading down in, oh, twenty minutes, thirty at the 
outside."
"That'll be fine, sir. We'll be ready. Thanks."
"No problem."
With that, I hung up the phone, and decided that the girls wouldn't 
mind sharing the bathroom with me while I shaved. After retrieving my 
vest and pistol from Lucy's room, I went into the bathroom to shave 
and brush. Since the girls were in the shower, giggling, I doubt they 
even noticed I was there.
After I'd dressed, I stuck my head in the bathroom to see Robyn and 
Sandra toweling each other off, with a little groping tossed in. I 
let them know that we'd be having breakfast in the hotel caf  in 
about fifteen minutes; both protested it wasn't enough time, then 
made a face at me when I answered "Fine. Go hungry, then!" - knowing 
full well that neither would pass up food after all the activity of 
last night.
Back in Lucy's room, I found her putting the finishing touches on her 
makeup. I told her where and when we'd be having breakfast, she 
smiled and said that was fine, with her - it gave her time for 
another cup of coffee. I smiled back, and poured each of us a cup as 
I told her about watching Sandra and Robyn heading for the bathroom, 
and how I'd found them after making arrangements for breakfast. She 
laughed when I told her about telling them to be ready, or go hungry 
- she knew better than I did that neither of them would willingly 
skip a meal. How they ate so much, and still stayed so slender, was a 
mystery to both of us.
Lucy and I were just finishing our coffee when the youngsters swarmed 
into the room. At my suggestion, all three had selected comfortable 
blouses and pants; even covered up that way, they were all a treat to 
see.
By then, enough time had passed that I knew it was okay to head off 
to get something to eat - Robyn and Sandra weren't the only ones 
feeling hungry that morning. They waited patiently as I opened the 
door a bit and checked the hallway before opening it all the way. We 
made our way to the elevator, and stopped only once on the way down 
to pick up an older gentleman. At the main floor, I spotted a couple 
of FBI agents, and the troop of us made our way to the caf . I let 
Lucy and the girls find us a booth while I waited near the door for 
Agent Jones to let me know which one she was. I wasn't disappointed 
when a few seconds later, an apparent businesswoman got up to walk 
toward me. At 5'6" and maybe 120 pounds, dark red hair and nicely 
curved, I doubted anyone would take her for a gun-toting FBI agent. 
She looked every bit the attractive business exec - other than the 
all-but-issue purse she was toting that held her pistol in a 
convenient inside pocket. I saw several guys watching her, but she 
didn't seem to notice them, for some reason.
When she got close, I stuck my hand out, and said "Good morning, 
Agent Jones."
She looked surprised, but took my hand and shook it before asking 
"How did you know it was me?"
"Educated guess. I figured the only one of your crew to approach me 
would be the agent in charge. You sure didn't sound like a guy on the 
phone, and that purse is all but a giveaway that you're carrying. Too 
bad that none of the fashion houses make purses that are designed for 
carrying a weapon."
She grinned at me wryly and said "Believe me, Dan, I wish they would, 
and am afraid they will - it would be nice to have some more choices, 
but I'm afraid I'd spend too much of my salary on them if they did!"
Both of us laughed at that before she told me "Agent Gallery said you 
were good; I'll have to apologize for doubting him about that, too." 
She followed that a moment later by saying "Dan, I'm sorry to ask, 
but Clara was very clear about it: are you wearing your vest?"
I grinned at her, and said - in my best little-boy tone - "YES, 
mother!" - and getting a grin in return before I told her "I'm also 
carrying my little purchase from last night."
She smiled at me, and said "Good. My people have already heard how 
you did, and seen the results. They're impressed, and they don't 
impress easy. Hell, *I'M* impressed - I only wished I could shoot 
that good. We're going to have to get you out on our combat range 
some day - I'll bet you could give our course record a pretty good 
run."
I thanked her, and then it was down to business as I told her "As 
Agent Gallery requested, Lucy and the girls will be staying at the 
office while I'm out. Lucy knows why, and I'll be telling the girls 
over breakfast. You can see I managed to convince them to dress for 
the occasion. If there's anything else I need to tell them, this 
would be a good time to let me know."
"No, that's it. I'm sure our office people will appreciate them being 
dressed appropriately. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yeah, there is. Last night, I was told that Mike could smooth out 
the trigger on this thing for me - it's feeling a little gritty. If 
he can, I'd like to clean the action on it a bit, too - it's a little 
mushy when it trips. He might like a little warning before I get 
there, I'm thinking."
She nodded, and said, "I'm sure he would. I'll make sure he gets a 
heads up. Anything else?"
"Nope. After breakfast, we'll be heading straight for your office."
"That's fine, thank you. My people are ready to leave whenever you 
are."
I nodded, and thanked her as I headed for where Lucy and the girls 
were waiting for me. I looked over the menu, and quickly made my 
choice; when the waitress arrived a bit later with coffee, all of us 
were ready to order.
As we were waiting for our meals to arrive, we chatted about a number 
of things before I managed to ease the conversation toward the FBI. 
As I'd hoped, Robyn and Sandra were anxious to know what we'd be 
doing there. Lucy and I shared a look before I started telling them 
about what the day held for us all - that I'd be going with the FBI 
to TechoDynamics office while they and Lucy stayed with the FBI. I 
went on to explain that the FBI liked the idea of all of them staying 
together while I was out, then brought up the idea that there might 
be something for them to do there. They perked up at that idea, and I 
suggested that maybe the people at the office could even show them 
some of the stuff that FBI agents learned. They seemed to think that 
was a *great* idea, and actually started to look forward to spending 
some part of the day at the FBI offices.
Lucy leaned over to give me a hug and kiss, whispering "You are 
*such* a _devious_ turd. If you'd told them that they WILL do that 
stuff, they'd have fussed; but when you hinted that it might not 
happen, well, you had them cold." before kissing me again.
About then, the waitress showed up with our order, and Lucy and I 
listened as the girls wondered about the different things they might 
be able to do that day.
When we'd finished our meal, the waitress was prompt to clear away 
our dishes, then return a few moments later with our check - I got to 
it before Lucy did - and coffee refills for Lucy and me. When we'd 
finished our coffee, I left the money for the meal with the ticket on 
the table, and nodded to Agent Jones, who stood up and led the way 
out of the caf . Out in the lobby, I saw a number of people not 
paying the slightest attention to us as we headed for Lucy's car. I 
saw a car leave the parking lot ahead of us, and another behind us 
after we'd pulled into traffic. Both kept direct visual contact on 
us, despite the vagaries of city traffic, even though they were 
careful to change position so as to try and stay inconspicuous.
Once at the FBI offices, we found that Clara was waiting for us, as 
was Bill, to my surprise. He reached out to shake my hand, saying 
"I'm here to brief the rest of the people that will be assigned to 
you. If you've got a minute, I'd like to introduce all of you."
I looked at him and said "Far as I know, my time is yours. We'll be 
glad to."
Lucy and the girls quickly agreed, and the four of us followed Bill 
back to his office, then through another door into a conference room 
full of people. Once there, Bill cleared his throat, and the light 
chatter quickly stopped. When it was quiet, he told them "Folks, this 
is Mr. Andrews. You've all read his file, and seeing him, I trust you 
can understand why you've been instructed not to interfere with him 
if he takes a, uh, active part in events. I tried him yesterday, and 
was lucky enough to come out of it with only a broken rib. With him 
is Lucy White, her daughter Robyn, and Robyn's friend Sandra." As he 
mentioned their names, Robyn and Sandra gave the group a small wave, 
and earning themselves a number of smiles.
Bill went on to tell them "People, just to make it clear, Mr. Andrews 
here is armed. Here are the targets he used last night when he was 
checking out the weapon." At that, another agent came in with the 
three targets mounted to some kind of foam backing, keeping them 
straight and flat. The white background also made the holes in the 
targets stand out.
"This one was his FIRST magazine, at twenty feet. His first shot was 
the one furthest from the x-ring; they got better from there, as you 
can see.
"This next one was a magazine he shot using the classic antiterrorist 
double-tap; that is, two shots fired in rapid succession. The target 
was at thirty feet. He fired these from a standing position, his 
weapon in his hand, but at his side. The owner of the range called 
out for each of the four exercises.
"Last is this target. He started from a standing position, the weapon 
in a holster at his _back_. The range owner called the start; Mr. 
Andrews fired all eight of these in less than six seconds. The range 
was FIFTY feet. I think you can put away any fears you might have had 
about Mr. Andrews accidentally shooting you", he said to general 
laughter.
"Agent Gallery has reported that Mr. Andrews is a very cooperative 
protectee, as are the ladies. Last night, they gave the detail plenty 
of warning before moving anywhere, actually asked for input from the 
detail about security measures AND LISTENED to the answers." - this 
drew general laughter - "Mr. Andrews even made arrangements for his 
detail to get something to eat while they were at Caf  Triomphe, 
whose owner is an old friend of his. Folks, he has an eye for 
security, and the training. Best of all, he's got good instincts, so 
don't be afraid to let him take over, if need be. Mr. Andrews 
understands some of the problems we're facing here, so don't hesitate 
to be honest with him. How much diplomacy to exercise is up to you.", 
he added with a grin.
Here, Agent Jones, who had been standing in the back spoke up "I can 
vouch for how helpful Mr. Andrews is. Mr. Andrews actually prefers 
that you address him informally, so call him Dan. He took the time to 
call down to us this morning to inquire if we had any problems with 
him and the ladies having breakfast in the hotel. When we didn't, he 
even let us know when they would be moving so that we could have our 
people in place. From my own experience, and from what Gallery told 
me, I have every reason to believe that Dan and the ladies will be 
helpful and understanding. I also want to add that Dan is a most 
observant person: he had me spotted as FBI well before I could 
introduce myself; further, he had me identified as the head of the 
detail. So if he spots one of you, don't take it personally."
As she was talking, I nudged Bill, and when he turned, asked him "I'm 
going to guess that she'd not a junior agent?"
He grinned, and said "Nowhere near it. She's one of my best; her and 
Gallery get the important ones" before turning back to the crowd.
About that time, the door behind us opened a bit, and Clara stuck her 
head through to ask Bill if we were free. He nodded, and gestured she 
should wait a moment. She did, and heard him tell the agents "Okay, 
people. You already knew the why. Now you know the who. Thank you, 
and you're dismissed."
They easily got to their feet, with most of them pausing to give us a 
close look before heading out the door.
When they were gone, Clara told us that she had an agent to show the 
girls around while we talked about what would be happening that day. 
With that news, both of them perked up considerably, and were ready 
to go when Clara opened the door to introduce them to Special Agent 
Abigail O'Malley, a cute young agent fresh out of the FBI Academy. 
Mid-20's, short brown hair, hazel eyes, slender but nicely curved, 
she looked more like a surfer girl than an armed agent.
When they'd left, I told Clara that I'd hinted to the girls that they 
*might* get a chance to see some of the training the agents went 
through, so they'd be more agreeable to the self-defense and weapons 
introductions they'd be getting. Clara smiled at my ruse, and said 
that she figured her people could come up with plenty to show the 
girls to keep them busy. That out of the way, she led us to a smaller 
conference room where there were several agents around a table. Clara 
led us to the gap they'd left us, and when they'd stopped chatting, 
told them "Folks, this is Dan Andrews and Lucy White. They're the 
people that brought us the goods on TechnoDynamics. Lucy is going to 
be staying in the office today, but Dan will be going with you, for 
several reasons. First, he's already been inside, and is familiar 
with the layout of the place, and the people. Second, it's his work 
that got us here. Third, he's had some damn good ideas about how to 
go at this. For those of you who haven't read his file, let me tell 
you that he was the team leader for a group that was the prototype 
for the Delta Force, and he's been 'in the field'. He's rated expert 
pistol and rifle. He has a Masters degree in computer science, from 
MIT. He's smart, and he's got good instincts; if he makes a 
suggestion, you should listen before making up your mind. If he 
insists, you better be ready to justify it to me if you say 'no'. Any 
questions? No? Okay, let's get on with the briefing."
Lucy and I sat there as different people talked all of us through 
what would be happening shortly after 1:00 PM that afternoon:
First, several cars full of agents would pull into the TechnoDynamics 
parking lot, and the lead agent - Agent Hernandez - me, and a couple 
of others would enter the lobby where we'd get the head of security 
and the head of personnel to the front desk. At that point, the other 
agents would enter, and spread through the building to establish 
themselves in certain key offices. That done, Agent Hernandez and I 
would head for the IS supervisors office while the other agents began 
the process of letting people know what was going on. Depending on 
what we got from the IS supervisor, one or two of the junior agents 
might be pulled off to assist us. All computers were to be properly 
shut down and secured, and all employees below management level - 
except for a select few - were to be escorted out of the building 
after being cautioned not to communicate with anyone about what was 
happening; there were a number of junior agents that would be 
assigned to that task. With only management personnel left, they 
would be isolated from each other, and read their rights before 
questioning. Any that seemed unduly nervous or otherwise apprehensive 
were to be brought to the attention of Agent Hernandez. When the 
building was secured, there were a number of accountant and other 
special agents that would begin the process of going through the 
files and records of the company. As this was happening, a number of 
bank accounts would be seized throughout the country, and records 
would be analyzed to identify all transfers involving the suspect 
accounts; then THOSE accounts would be analyzed, and so on, to a 
level of 5 removes from the TechnoDynamics accounts.
At that point, one of the FBI computer people got up, and explained 
to the rest of them just exactly how and why the computers were to be 
secured. He also told them that I was the one that figured out what 
was going on, and that I'd had to walk the rest of them through it 
before they saw what was happening. He also added that his group had 
requested my presence to help with any problems they might run into.
Another agent told us that the local police had been notified, and 
were ready to provide additional personnel, if needed.
When the briefing was done, all of us were thoroughly familiar with 
what was going to be happening, and when. Agent Hernandez and I had a 
brief conversation in Spanish after he asked me a question.
When we were done, he laughed and said "Mr. Andrews, I'm impressed 
with your fluency in Spanish; but that accent is something else!" 
Clara told him that it might be Russian or German - that I was also 
fluent in both of those. He got a dumbfounded look on his face before 
Clara led us back to her office. There, she asked me if there was 
anything I needed, and I told her "Only a cup of coffee, and to see 
your gunsmith, Mike." She nodded, and excused herself with Lucy 
before leading me to a coffeepot, then the gunsmith, a slender black 
man.
"Mike? This is Dan Andrews."
"Mr. Andrews? A pleasure to meet you. I hear you've got a little 
something for me to do."
"Call me Dan, Mike. Yeah, I do" I told him, before reaching under my 
shirt to pull out the pistol - carefully, then getting the weapon 
safe to show them that it wasn't loaded. I added "The trigger on this 
thing feels kinda gritty, so if you could smooth it out some, I'd 
appreciate it."
He nodded, and asked "Jones told me you said something about it being 
mushy when it trips?"
"Yeah. Seems like there's a little too much play in where the hammer 
is released."
Again, he nodded, and told me "Easy enough. I can have the trigger 
polished up for you in about ten minutes, or so. If you've got 
another hour or thereabouts, I can take care of the rest of it."
"If you need some ammo, I've got a box out in the car", I told him.
"No, I've got plenty here, but thanks for offering. Don't see much in 
this caliber, these days."
He promised me the weapon would be ready by twelve o'clock, and I 
told him I'd see him then.
When we got back to Clara's office, I mentioned to her that I had 
noticed most of the agents were looking at me strangely. She looked 
confused for a moment, and then laughed, explaining "It's several 
things. First, you're the first person in a LONG time to come in and 
just hand us a case like this. Then there's the fact that word of 
your military record has gotten out. Finally, the agents that saw you 
shoot last night have been talking about it - a LOT."
Seeing the mildly confused look on Lucy's face, Clara told her "Short 
form - they're impressed. Shucks, *I'm* impressed."
Lucy looked at her, then me, then back to Clara before asking "You 
mean he's even impressing the FBI?"
Clara laughed, and answered "Yeah, even us. And believe me, Lucy, we 
don't impress easily. I personally have busted bank robbers, 
kidnappers, con men, drug dealers, and all kinds of people. I've been 
shot at, several times, and even hit once. I was in on it when we 
busted a spy ring. But this man sitting next to you? He's 
*something*."
"He sure is. I think I'm going to find out what, after last night - 
he asked me to marry him, and I accepted" Lucy told her.
Clara got a delighted look on her face, then spotted the ring on 
Lucy's finger. In moments, the two of them were like long-lost 
friends, talking about marriage and all the rest of it. I just sat 
back and drank my coffee.
A while later, they finally ran down a little bit, and Clara told us 
"If you'd like, we can go see what O'Malley has been up to with 
them."
Both of us nodded at the suggestion, and Clara got on the phone to 
ask the receptionist to have O'Malley call her. A few seconds after 
she hung up the phone, it rang. When she answered, she nodded to us 
that it was O'Malley, and asked where they were. She nodded at the 
answer, telling her we'd be there in a few moments. When she'd hung 
up the phone, she told us "O'Malley's going to be one of the good 
ones, I think. She's shown them our fingerprint facility, and has 
them in the lab now, showing them how we can collect evidence from 
damn near anything. I think the two of you might like to see it, 
too."
We stood up, and she led us through a few twists and turns before we 
went through the door into what could only have been a lab. Around 
the middle of it, we spotted O'Malley, with Robyn and Sandra flanking 
her as she talked to them about some object she was holding. We 
managed to get about halfway to them before the girls spotted us, and 
came rushing up to start telling us about all they'd been doing, and 
how much fun they'd been having, and how interesting all of it was. I 
looked around, and saw that a couple of the lab people were watching 
all this with amusement; I figured if they could laugh about having 
Robyn and Sandra in the middle of their work area, things couldn't 
have been _too_ bad.
When Robyn and Sandra had caught us up on what they'd seen so far, 
O'Malley stepped up and asked us to follow her. She led us over to a 
corner where one of the technicians was positioning a sheet of paper 
on a small platform inside a small booth, underneath a couple of 
strange-looking lights. O'Malley told us that he was getting ready to 
check the paper - a note from a kidnapper - for fingerprints and 
other evidence. We watched as he dimmed the lights in the booth, and 
hit another switch. Immediately, the paper began to glow strangely, 
and we could see several dark smudges on it. O'Malley told us that he 
was looking at it with a special light that brought out the oils left 
behind that made fingerprints. As we watched him, the man carefully 
applied a liquid to the paper, and let it dry before he turned the 
light off - revealing that whatever he'd done, it had made the 
fingerprints visible in normal light, too. Then he switched on 
another light, and we saw some spots glowing in an arc at the bottom 
of the sheet. O'Malley let us know that he'd turned on a special 
laser that showed them where there were body fluids - in this case, 
apparently saliva, since the arc resembled what happened when someone 
licked the flap on an envelope too much, and left saliva on the paper 
inside. The man carefully took several photographs of the paper 
before using a scalpel to cut out one of the spots. O'Malley let us 
know that the sample he'd just collected was enough to run a DNA test 
that would be compared to their suspect's. She went on to tell us 
that they were confident of a match, since they'd captured him after 
he collected the marked money they'd left for the ransom; but that 
they were going through the entire process to make sure that they 
didn't leave anything to chance - the man had kidnapped a couple's 3-
year-old daughter, and they wanted to be certain they put him away 
for as long as possible. When Lucy asked, O'Malley told us that the 
child had been returned unharmed, and was attending pre-school.
I eased my way back a little bit, and got Clara's attention. 
Together, we walked a few feet away before I told her "Thanks. That 
little demonstration is going to do wonders to put to rest any fears 
they may still have."
She grinned at me, and said "You can point to damn near anything in 
here, and we can give you a similar story. I told you, O'Malley's 
good - she knows why you're all here, and she understands what those 
folks are probably going through. She's determined to let them know 
that _her_ FBI isn't going to let anything bad happen to them. We've 
got good people here, Dan."
"I know that. It's just getting those three to see it, too, and know 
that your good people are watching out for them."
"And that you're watching out for them, too. From the way they all 
look at you, I know that's more important to them than anything else, 
right now."
"Well, Lucy and I had a talk about it last night" - "I'll bet!" she 
interjected - "and she understands why it's so important. Not just to 
you, but to me, and even herself. She's not happy about it, but she 
can live with it."
"And the girls?"
"They're tolerant-to-amused at the attention. They understand that 
the people we're after are bad guys, and why. I'm figuring that being 
here will help it sink in just important this is, and why."
"I think we can help with that."
I grinned at her, and said "I'm counting on it!" and getting a smile 
in return.
We went back to join Lucy and the girls, and followed O'Malley as she 
showed us some of the other technology and techniques that the FBI 
used to solve crimes, or prosecute offenders. By the time we left 
their lab, it was time for me to collect my pistol from Mike. Lucy 
and the girls followed O'Malley on to their next destination, saying 
they already knew I could shoot good.
Mike told me what he'd done, and I gave it a couple of dry-fires to 
check it out. He invited me to try it out on their range, an offer I 
readily accepted. What I didn't expect was the audience I drew. There 
must have been twenty agents that had nothing better to do than watch 
me.
I went through the first clip nice and slow, appreciating the fine 
work Mike had done on smoothing the trigger out - it felt like two 
pieces of polished glass sliding across each other. With the target 
at thirty feet, I all but eliminated the 'X' in the x-ring.
Following that, I went through another magazine, getting a feel for 
where the hammer released. This time the target was at fifty feet, 
and I *almost* took out the 'X' again.
When I'd reloaded, I turned around to see the crowd had grown to 
about thirty people. One of them stepped forward to ask me if I'd do 
them the favor of going through their combat range; I checked my 
watch, and saw that there was still plenty of time, and agreed. They 
led me outside, then down to a hilly area where I found Bill, and 
Agents Gallery and Jones. Bill told me that the range was set up no 
differently than it was for any other agent, with random pop-up 
figures. Some were targets, others were 'civilians', some were a 
combination. The goal was to go through the range and fire 3 
magazines before getting to the end while using whatever cover and 
concealment was available. I was to start with my weapon holstered, 
and my hands at my sides. Scoring was done through a calculation of 
the number of 'kills' and 'wounded' for both bad guys and civilians, 
and elapsed time. Time would start from when I first drew my weapon.
I nodded my understanding, and the three of them stepped aside for me 
to enter the range. I found myself going down a stereotypical city 
street, with a mix of single and two-story 'buildings', alleyways, 
cross streets, and so on.
The first thing to happen was a couple of generic thugs to cross in 
front of me from opposite sides; both quickly sported half-inch 
holes. To my right, a figure popped up, a child with a toy gun. When 
that dropped, another slid out of a hood with a shotgun; that one was 
perforated, as well. A few more steps, and I heard something behind 
me, and added a third eye to the two the woman with a machinegun 
already had. A couple more steps, and a lady with her arms full of 
groceries came out of a doorway, then disappeared back inside - 
followed by her reappearance with a handgun. Another half-inch hole, 
and I move forward again. A construction worked pops out of a 
manhole, then disappears. A cop pops out of an alley. Another hood 
shows up in a second story window, and gets ventilated. When he 
'falls', he's replaced by another one, who gets the same treatment. 
The next window down, a kid pops up. A granny appears in a doorway; 
her shotgun gets her shot. A hood slides out of a doorway, with a kid 
held in front of him. He gets a third eye, too.
I duck behind a dumpster, and change mags in a couple of seconds; 
when I step out, a biker-looking character pops up. Armed only with a 
kitten, he goes free - but not the biker chick with a magnum that 
follows him. A woman with a baby is next, then another kid with a toy 
gun. A couple of bikers with rifles get dealt with, then the 
'druggie' with a machete. A psycho with a kid hostage is next to get 
shot, but not the little girl with a doll. A cop in an upstairs 
window, then a terrorist with a rifle gets dealt with. Another 
terrorist, with a pistol, then a thug with a rifle, get taken out. 
Change mags on the move, and the President shows up; he's followed by 
another terrorist, who gets holed. A woman with a baby carriage, 
flanked by a couple of gangsters with machine guns - they fall, she 
doesn't. A paperboy on a bicycle to ignore, then a biker with a rifle 
to get perforated. Behind me, a noise - the lady with the baby 
carriage apparently had a machine gun in it, and she gets ventilated. 
An unarmed biker goes free, but not the guy in a suit packing a 
shotgun. A couple of kids, a housewife, then a female terrorist gets 
shot, as does the construction worker with an Uzi. As the slide on 
the pistol locks back, I shout "Time!" to stop the clock.
Behind me, I hear cheering, and make my way back to where the 
assorted agents are all waiting. Bill is grinning at me; so is Agent 
Gallery. Jones is just staring, as are a few of the others. A few 
seconds, and another agent walks up to Bill, handing him a sheet of 
paper. Bill looks it over before looking at me, then the other 
agents, before saying "Perfect score on bad guys - every one a lethal 
first shot. No innocents wounded or killed. Time was just 3 seconds 
short of a new course record. He's added seven points to set a new 
best score."
Bill turns back to me and says "Dan, you've broken the best range 
score we had, and did it your first pass through. If you ever need a 
job teaching firearms, I'm sure we can get you a job at the Academy. 
Don't you think so, Amanda?", he added, looking at Agent Jones, who 
just stood there staring at me.
When she realized her name had been used, she gave a sudden start, 
and blushed, making several of the other agents start laughing. I 
looked at Bill, and he told me "Jones, here, set the score you just 
beat. Took her thirteen tries to do it, too."
I apologized to her, saying "Sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass anyone, 
or anything."
She gave me a shy grin, and said "It's okay. At least it took someone 
as good as you to do it!" - getting a few chuckles from some of the 
agents around us.
"Well, if it'll help make it better, I'd be happy to buy you some 
dinner tonight, to make up for it."
"Deal!", she laughed, before we all headed back to their offices. 
Back inside, Mike quickly offered to clean my pistol as I reloaded 
the magazines. As I was holstering the loaded pistol again, Lucy came 
up and gave me a hug, saying "I just heard that you did good on their 
range."
"Pretty good."
"Hmmph. Set a new course record, Agent Jones told me. Blew by HER 
course record."
I just shrugged, and Lucy said "Funny thing is, she doesn't seem mad 
or upset about it. Just said she was going to practice more, and get 
the record back."
"That's how it is with folks like this: records are the _harmless_ 
way of measuring how good they are. When it gets down to it, the only 
thing that *really* matters to them is whether or not they're good 
_enough_. They are, and that's all they need to know."
Lucy looked at Mike, and he just smiled at her, and nodded.
About that time, another agent showed up, and said "Mr. Andrews? It's 
almost time, sir. If you'll follow me?"
At that, Lucy suddenly got serious, and I told her "Look, it's 
nothing, really. We're going to shake up a bunch of office drones. 
How dangerous, really, are the people YOU work with, compared to 
these agents?"
She thought about that for a few seconds, the smiled at me, and 
answered "Nowhere near. Just be careful, okay?" before giving me a 
kiss.
As we got to the cars we'd be taking, Agent Hernandez came out to 
greet me, saying "A gringo speaking Spanish with a Russian accent. 
Damnedest thing I've ever heard!", with a smile.
When we got to the TechnoDynamics offices, Agent Hernandez and I, 
followed by a couple more agents, made our way to the front desk. The 
receptionist recognized me, and greeted me by name - and completely 
lost her composure when Agent Hernandez showed her his ID, and told 
her to get the Personnel manager and their head of security there. 
*NOW*.
She got the numbers dialed easily enough, but stammered her way 
through telling them that the FBI was there to speak to them. In 
about zero seconds flat, we could see that both were hurriedly making 
their way down the stairs from the second floor. I told Hernandez 
which was which, and he greeted them by name when he showed them his 
ID. With a small wave of his hand, the agents outside came in, and 
quickly made their way to the offices they'd been assigned as 
Hernandez explained what was happening, and why, to the Personnel 
manager and security chief. Both paled when he told them, and he had 
a couple of other agents lead them off to separate rooms before he 
and I headed for the IS supervisors office.
As we entered, she looked up at me, and asked what was happening. 
Agent Hernandez showed his ID again, and told her what we were doing 
there. That done, he stepped back a bit, and let me deal with her 
first. I explained to her what I'd really been there for, and what 
I'd found - and not found. As I was talking, I could see 
understanding on her face, and when I'd finished, she said "Well, 
that explains a lot."
"How so?" I asked.
"Why someone with your credentials and education would be pulling 
security checks."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when I was told you were coming in here, I got on the 
Internet, and did a search on your name. Found out the masters thesis 
you did, and couldn't believe that the same person that wrote _it_ 
was in here doing security tests on our system. I finally decided 
that it was just a coincidence that you had the same name. Now I know 
better."
"So will you be able to help us?" Agent Hernandez asked her.
"I think so. I knew something was going on, but couldn't quite figure 
out what it was, or how it was happening. I mean, I'm good, I'm just 
not in *his* league." she told him, gesturing at me.
He grinned, and answered "Ma'am, believe me, you're not the only one 
not in his league!"
She looked a little confused, then turned back to look at me when I 
asked her "You said that you knew something was up, but not the how 
or what?"
"Yes"
"What made you suspicious?"
"When the Finance VP comes in here and tells one of my techs to 
change out a hard drive, I'm going to figure something is up."
"What happened, exactly?"
"That ass McKinley came in here one night, and told my tech to change 
out one of the hard drives. Even told him which one. All of our stuff 
is hot-swappable, so the guy did it. McKinley then tells him to 
format it, then toss the drive, and leaves. The tech checked the 
records, just I've taught them, and sees that it's still under 
warranty. He leaves it for me, with a note about what happened."
"And?"
"And I had a look at it. None of the stuff on it made any sense to 
me, but it still seemed good, so I hung on to it, and replaced it 
with a new one. A few days later McKinley calls to see if I've tossed 
the drive yet. I tell him I did, and he's happy."
"So you've still got the old one?"
"Sure. It's the bottom one of that stack in the corner, there."
I dug it out, and told Agent Hernandez "I knew there were some 
missing files. I couldn't find them *anyplace*. The records showed 
that they'd been archived to a drive, but not which one. I'll bet 
money that this drive has what you need to not only nail their coffin 
shut, but wrap it in chains and bury it in cement."
The IS supervisor looked at me, and said "But it's been FORMATTED. 
Surely, you don't think you can get anything off it now, do you?"
I just smiled, and said "Oh, there's ways. I know a guy that can pull 
a surprising amount of stuff off here." Then I turned to Agent 
Hernandez, and asked "Can you get one of your computer people up 
here?" He nodded, and spoke into a small radio. A couple minutes 
later, an agent came in and identified himself as Special Agent 
Carson of the Technical Division. I quickly filled him in on the 
details of the drive's history, and he nodded his understanding. I 
asked him if the FBI had anybody in particular to retrieve the data, 
and he said that the only person he was aware of would take several 
weeks to do the job. I told him to send the drive to the person I 
knew, saying "I'll give him a call, and he'll put it on the front 
burner. You'll have the data in a week, tops. Just a couple of 
things. First, the agent that delivers it is NOT to ask questions of 
ANY kind; Lacy will tell them when it'll be done. Second, the agent 
is to ignore any comments or other remarks that Lacy makes."
Agent Hernandez couldn't help asking "Why?"
"Because Mark 'Spacey' Lacy is a guy I went to M.I.T. with. Hardware 
weenie. He thinks software is only useful when it makes his hardware 
do something. He's pretty eccentric; if the agent asks him for 
anything more than the time of day, Lacy's likely to figure the FBI 
is after HIM, and get real uncooperative. Second, he's REALLY 
eccentric, and may voice a few less than flattering comments about 
the government, or suggest some pretty improbable conspiracies. The 
scary part is, the way he explains them, they sound almost 
reasonable. As long as the agent just delivers the drive and collects 
it when Lacy says it'll be ready, everything will be cool. He's one 
of those rare people that's so good at what he does that you'll 
forgive him anything short of being an axe murderer when you need 
him." I answered.
Hernandez nodded his understanding, as did the other agent, who 
assured me that my instructions WOULD be followed. That done, he took 
the drive, put it in the padded aluminum briefcase he had with him, 
and left to get it back to the office for transport.
The next few hours went by pretty easily. With the suddenness of what 
had happened, the FBI agents didn't have any problems with the staff. 
Their technical people ran into a couple of problems, but the IS 
supervisor was able to help them with all but one that needed my 
attention. Knowing that her suspicions had been correct, the IS 
supervisor was a more than willing participant in helping the FBI 
techs ferret out the information they were after. Agent Hernandez had 
to take the lead on questioning some of the staff, and asked me for 
info on a couple of them. I told him what I knew, and what I 
suspected, and he was finally able to convince them to cooperate 
fully. By five o'clock, Hernandez agreed that my presence wasn't 
necessary any longer, and had one of the agents take me back to their 
office - with another car full of agents for company.
When I got back to FBI headquarters, Clara showed me back to where 
Lucy and the girls were getting some basic education in firearms. I 
stayed back out of the way, so they couldn't see me, as I watched 
them take their first, tentative, shots with a single-fire .22 
pistol. After a few shots, they got comfortable with the weapons, and 
weren't as hesitant to try a .38, then a 9mm. Lucy went on to try a 
..357 magnum; the youngsters weren't up to trying something that 
powerful. Finally, the instructor got all of them to try just one 
shot with a .45; all three put it down with relief after they'd 
pulled the trigger. All of them were still willing to have a try with 
a 9mm machine gun, though - putting it down with a combination of 
relief and regret when they'd emptied the magazine. Finally, he let 
them go through a magazine of ammo with an M-16; all were reasonably 
comfortable with it when they'd finished. When he saw me standing 
back, the instructor gestured for me to go ahead and join them - all 
three quickly hugged me and started telling me about what they'd been 
up to. I congratulated them, and expressed my satisfaction with how 
they'd shot.
After we left their firing range - and the instructor had 
congratulated me on setting a new combat range record - Robyn and 
Sandra were insistent on holding onto my waist as they told me about 
all they'd done that afternoon. They were even enthusiastic about the 
self-defense training they'd gotten the instructor to give them. 
Talking to them about it, I realized that they understood that they 
weren't ready to walk down dark alleys yet, but were at least past 
the point of just standing like a deer in the headlights if there was 
any trouble. As we were going down the hall, Agent Jones met us, and 
told me that Clara would like to have a word with me before I left, 
and that our detail was ready whenever we were ready to leave. I 
thanked her, and asked her when she wanted to join us for dinner. She 
smiled, and asked if seven o'clock would be acceptable. I assured her 
that it would, and she headed on her way.
In Clara's office, I found out that the drive we'd gotten from the IS 
supervisor was on it's way to Lacy; with Clara's permission, I gave 
him a call to let him know that it was coming, and who would be 
bringing it. A brief conversation followed before he got around to 
telling me that he'd be done with it three or four days after he got 
it. I thanked him, and that ended the call. Clara thanked me for 
speeding things up, and told us that we were pretty much free to do 
as we pleased; that if they needed anything else, they'd let us know.
Lucy asked if that meant we could go home, and Clara thought it over 
for a moment before saying "If you'd stay here in town for a couple 
more days, I'd appreciate it; but if you want to go back home right 
away, I'll understand that, too."
Lucy and the girls shared a look before Lucy looked at me. I gave her 
a small shrug, letting her know that either was fine with me. She 
turned back to Clara and told her that we'd go ahead and stay at the 
hotel for another few days before heading home. Clara thanked her, 
and wished us a good evening. On the way home, I told Lucy and the 
girls about inviting Agent Jones to join us for dinner, and why. They 
all agreed that it was a nice thing to do, and welcomed her company.
Once outside, I saw that Agent Gallery was with us again, and gave 
him a friendly nod; he gave me a big grin and a thumbs-up, apparently 
having heard how things had gone at TechnoDynamics.
Back at the hotel, we were making our way to our rooms after getting 
off the elevator when the door to one of the other rooms opened up. 
We'd just passed the FBI agent watching for us, and even he was 
surprised when a couple of large, burly guys came out and stood in 
front of the four of us. Lucy took one look at them and gave a little 
squeak before stepping back, in front of the girls. I just stood 
there looking at them, waiting to see what they had in mind - and 
ready to deal with it. Behind me, I heard the FBI agent ask "What do 
you want me to do, sir?"
"Just hold on a second, and let's see what these gentlemen want." I 
told him.
The one on the left asked "Your name Dan Andrews?" I nodded, and he 
went on "A friend of ours believes that you're involved in something 
that doesn't concern you. Our friend thinks that it would be best for 
everyone concerned if you were to remove yourself from any 
involvement in the matter."
"And if I don't agree?"
"Then there exists the possibility that some unpleasant things could 
happen to you. Or maybe the broad."
"What kind of unpleasant things?"
He looked at the FBI agent behind us before looking at me again, and 
said "Things like maybe your house could burn down. Or maybe you 
could get hurt, or even dead. Or these things could happen to someone 
you care about."
I looked at him, then his partner. Both had the cold, dead eyes of a 
shark - they were so used to doing this kind of thing, and following 
up on it, that it simply didn't mean anything to them any more. Legal 
problems aside, killing someone meant as little to them as removing a 
callous.
When he saw that I wasn't noticeably afraid of them, the one on the 
right started to get a little nervous. I asked the leader "By any 
chance, do you know Jules Francone?"
They shared a look, and the leader answered "It's possible. Why?"
"You got a cell phone?"
He nodded, and I went on "Suppose you do us all a favor. Call him up. 
Tell him you're here with Boomer, and ask if he wants to talk to me."
"Why should I do that?"
"Like I said, it could save us all some time and trouble. You're 
already here, and you've delivered your message. What can it hurt to 
call him?"
He thought that over for a few moments, then reached into his jacket 
pocket. I heard Lucy gasp behind me; the FBI agent was playing it 
cool.
He pulled out a phone, and we watched as he dialed a number, then 
asked for Jules.
A moment later "Jules? This is Vincent. I'm here with somebody called 
Boomer. You want to talk to him?"
He listened for a few seconds, then looked surprised before handing 
me the phone.
"Hey, Boomer, what the hell are you doing with Vinnie?" I heard.
"Hey, Guido, what's up? Listen, I'm standing here in a hotel hallway. 
I got a woman and two girls with me. There's an FBI agent behind me, 
and a couple of legbreakers in front of me. So far, everything's 
cool, but after these guys talked to me, I'm thinking that the cool 
isn't going to last very long."
"No shit? Boomer, I don't know what you're into, but if you've got 
Vinnie's attention, it's not good. What hotel you at?"
I told him, and gave him my room number, then he said "Okay. Look, 
you know I'm not in the family business, right?"
"Sure. Saw Muddy, he told me. Anyway, you told me you didn't want to 
do it that way, so why shouldn't I believe you?"
"Okay, just making sure. Look, I'm not in the family business, but 
they're still family, right? Let me find out what's going on, and 
call you back."
"Sounds fair to me. I'm pretty sure I know what it's about; what I'd 
like to do is see if we can't stop this bullshit before it gets too 
deep, you know?"
"Yeah, I got ya. So Muddy told you I was staying out of it? Before or 
after he offered to help? And with how many other guys?"
"After. A few, he said."
"Oh, shit. Okay, let me tell them to lay off you, okay? Then I'll 
call you back later."
"Fine with me."
With that, I handed the phone back to Vinnie. He took it, and 
listened for several seconds before handing it to the guy on the 
right. The other guy listened a little bit, too, then gave me a 
strange look, and took a step back before closing the phone and 
giving it back to Vinnie.
"Jules says we should leave you alone, if we know what's good for us. 
Says he'll tell... he'll explain it. Says if we mess with you, 
*we'll* be the ones to get hurt, not you." Vinnie said.
I just shrugged. That seemed to make the one on the right even more 
nervous, and he took another step back.
"I think it's a buncha crap. I think I could kick your ass from here 
to Tijuana and back, not even break a sweat. Jules isn't even 
*family*, not really."
I just looked at him for a moment, and said "Vinnie? Don't let your 
alligator mouth get your hummingbird ass in trouble."
He got red in the face, and tried to hit me.
A moment later, he was laying on the floor, out cold, his leg 
sticking out at an odd angle from his knee. When the other one looked 
up from where Vinnie was, he was looking down the business end of my 
pistol. His eyes got real wide, and I told him "You, you're the smart 
one. Somebody isn't afraid of you, it's one of two reasons. Either 
they're a whole lot badder than you think, or they're flat-out crazy. 
Either one is bad news. Now, you can go away and leave me and these 
folks alone, and I won't hurt you. If I see you again, I'm going to 
figure you're not as smart as I thought, and I'm going to take you 
out. We understand each other?"
His eyes locked on the muzzle of the .45, he nodded.
"Now, get the fuck away from me. Take this lump of shit with you. Do 
it easy, and slow, right?"
He nodded again, and carefully reached down to grab Vinnie by the 
collar, then drag him back into the room they'd been in. His eyes 
never moved from the pistol.
When the door had closed behind them, I pushed Lucy and the girls 
past me - Lucy was white as a sheet, and the girls were quietly 
crying. Right on their heels was the FBI agent.
"Sir, I'm sorry, sir. I don't know how they got this close!" he 
exclaimed, his weapon drawn as he watched the door.
"At ease, there, agent. It's a big hotel. You can't be everyplace at 
once, and you can't watch everything. I'd have been surprised if 
somebody _hadn't_ shown up with a message."
He looked at me strangely, and I went on "You folks warned us that 
there might be organized crime involved. They've been at this longer 
than you have, and they don't have to play by any rules."
He looked only slightly mollified at that, and said "Still, I need to 
tell Agent Gallery about this."
"That's fine. He can call the ambulance that Vinnie needs."
The agent finally grinned at that, and asked "Uh, what was that, sir? 
That you used to take him down?"
"Tai Chi"
He looked at me in disbelief, and I told him "Watch a Tai Chi tape 
sometime. Run it on fast forward. It's a martial art, done slow. Do 
it at regular speed, it's right useful."
As he reached for the radio on his belt, I nodded to him, and made my 
way to Lucy's room, where I found the three of them sitting on the 
bed in a huddle, crying.
When they saw me come in, all three jumped up and ran over to hold me 
for reassurance. I hugged them, and rubbed their backs, and generally 
muttered comforting words at them until the waterworks dried up.
About that time, there was a knock at the door, and they let me loose 
long enough to go answer it - finding Agent Gallery there, looking 
worried.
I let him in, and the first thing he did was to look over at Lucy and 
the girls to make sure they were okay - and earning himself a LOT of 
brownie points with me. Then he turned to face me and said "Dan, I 
think we need to move you. Tonight. As soon as you can."
"I understand where you're coming from, Agent Gallery, but that won't 
be necessary. I'm sure no one will be bothering us tonight."
"What makes you so sure?"
"You talked to the agent in the hallway?" - he nodded, and I went on 
"He heard me talking to Guido. Well, Guido is Jules Francone. He's a 
member of the local Family, but he's not _family_, if you know what I 
mean." He nodded, and I told him "Me and Guido, we did a little time 
together on a mission. He got shot down someplace or other, and me 
and my boys went in to pull him out before the locals noticed he'd 
lived. Got a little interesting, but we all made it out okay. On the 
way out, he told me who he was, and we got to talking the way GI's 
do. He told me about the Family, and that he didn't want to make his 
mark that way. Of course, along the way, he picked up the name Guido, 
kind of a left-handed compliment at him trying to stay out of the 
family business. Well, when Vinnie and Lugnut out there showed up and 
had their say, I asked them to call him. Gave him a little 
description of what was happening, and said I'd like to avoid 
trouble. He's going to talk to some people, and get back to me. In 
the mean time, he tried to put the leash on Vinnie. Vinnie tried to 
get cute, and found out I wasn't interested."
Agent Gallery looked at me, surprised, and said "We weren't aware 
that you had any contacts in the Falcone family."
"Like I said, I helped pull him out of a jam. No official contact, 
technically."
He nodded, and said "So why are you so sure nobody will bother you 
tonight?"
"Couple of reasons. First, the first bunch got sent back with their 
tails between their legs. Second, Jules is going to talk to somebody; 
I'm willing to bet that even though he's not in the business, he's 
still got some influence. That'll slow them down enough to think 
about what happened."
Agent Gallery nodded, and said "Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Still, 
I'd feel better if you didn't go out tonight, okay?"
"That's fine. I was kinda in the mood for room service, anyway."
He smiled his relief, and suddenly brightened, telling me "Well, 
you'll still have Agent Jones here - she told me that she'd be coming 
to collect the dinner you offered as consolation prize for breaking 
her record. I'll feel better knowing she's here with you."
I nodded, and told him "You got a phone number or something for her? 
I probably need to warn her that it's not going to be as dress-up as 
I'd figured."
He laughed, and said "She's already been told what happened. She said 
she'd be casual."
I thanked him, and he went over to check on Lucy and the girls before 
letting himself out.
By the time I'd finished with Agent Gallery, and he'd left, the 
others had calmed down appreciably; but they were still shaky enough 
that all were more than agreeable to my suggestion of a group snuggle 
on the bed. In short order, I had Lucy in my arms on one side, with 
Robyn and Sandra on the other.
As we lay there, Lucy told me that Agent Jones had been very helpful 
in making sure the girls had plenty to do, and had even joined in 
with the three of them on the self-defense classes to let them 'beat 
up' on her. She'd also shown them a few things that she'd learned on 
her own, that particularly applied to females defending themselves. 
All three agreed that they liked Jones a lot. Lucy even went so far 
as to tell me "Every time she talked about you, she got this *look* 
on her face. Dan, I swear, if you smiled at her right, she'd go to 
bed with you!" - and I teased her right back, saying "And of course, 
YOU would never think about joining me, would you?" and making her 
blush. All of us had agreed that Amanda Jones was a right attractive 
female, FBI agent or not.
We were still laying there, holding each other when we heard a knock 
at the door. Sandra started to get up to answer it, but Lucy quickly 
gestured for her to stay where she was, getting up to answer the door 
herself, instead. I heard her ask who it was, then the locks on the 
door being undone a few moments later. As Agent Jones came in, she 
gave a silent whistle at the rooms we had as I heard Lucy re-setting 
all the locks on the door. Agent Jones was dressed in a light cotton 
dress, pale green to show off her red hair and slightly pale 
complexion; it also showed that she had a nice pair of trim, muscular 
legs, and a slim, but definitely female, shape.
When she'd had a good look around, Agent Jones looked at the three of 
us on the bed, and smiled, saying "That's about as comfortable group 
of people as I've seen in a long time!", making Robyn and Sandra 
smile back at her. Lucy came in then, and said "Well, you know things 
got a little 'interesting' out in the hall, and I think all of us 
just needed to hold each other for a little while."
Jones said, "Yeah, I heard. I also heard that it was interesting for 
the two goons, too!"
Lucy smiled at her, and answered "Yeah, thanks to Dan.", before 
looking at me lovingly.
Robyn asked Jones "Uh, Agent Jones?"
Agent Jones said "It's okay, Robyn. Just call me Amanda, or Amy."
"Amy? I wanted to thank you again for what you showed us today. If it 
wasn't for that, I think I would have done something to mess things 
up when those guys were bothering us."
"Yeah, me, too!" Sandra added.
"It's okay - that's what I'm here for" she told them.
I noticed that her eyes kept drifting down to a spot below Robyn's 
waist. A quick glance revealed that Sandra's hand was on the inside 
of Robyn's thigh - and rather high up, at that. I decided to try 
something, telling Amy "Sorry we didn't get up, but we're a pretty 
casual group; we're not ashamed or afraid to show affection for each 
other."
She pulled her eyes away from where they'd been, and when she saw 
that I'd been looking at her, blushed faintly, saying "That's okay. 
My own childhood was kind of strict, and I always envied the other 
kids that had families that were, uh, more open with each other."
Lucy listened to this, from behind Amy, and gave me a look that 
plainly asked "Am I hearing what I *think* I'm hearing?"
Robyn told her "Well, then, why don't you kick your shoes off, and 
join us, then? Nobody here bites, and I'm sure we can make room for 
you between me and Sandra!"
For the first time in what I suspected was a long time, Amy seemed to 
find herself flustered at the invitation - but after a few moments, 
brightened up and did just as Robyn suggested - kicked her shoes off, 
set her handbag on the table, and climbed up onto the bed with us. 
Sandra readily moved to the side to make room for her, and in just a 
few moments, Agent Jones was neatly bracketed by Robyn and Sandra, 
who both took one of her hands in theirs. Lucy resumed the position 
she'd had before, next to me.
Though visibly nervous, Amy was a trooper, and stayed between the 
youngsters even when each of them rested a hand on her leg. As we sat 
there chatting, she began to calm down, eventually joining in our 
talk without prompting. When the girls finally let go of her hands, 
she let them stay in the girl's laps; and even putting them back 
after using them to emphasize something she was talking about.
After a while, I realized that Amy might have other plans, and asked 
her if there was anyplace she had to be. She quickly assured me that 
she didn't, saying that with the additional agents we'd met that 
morning, there were more teams assigned to us - meaning that she'd 
work a shift, get a shift off, work another shift, then get TWO 
shifts off before coming in to repeat the cycle. She had the next day 
off, and would meet up with us again the next evening.
I told her that I'd planned to feed her something better than room 
service fare, and she quickly assured me that it was the gesture that 
mattered - that she'd be just as flattered if I took her out for a 
burger and fries. I asked if anyone was hungry, and Robyn's stomach 
growled - I told them that I'd take that as a 'yes', even as Robyn 
was blushing. Lucy handed over the room service menu, and when I 
asked for it, the phone. I called down and told Agent Gallery that 
we'd be having room service, so please, don't shoot the waiter. He 
laughed, and said that the waiter would be one of his people.
We all had a look at the menu, and after everyone had made up their 
minds, I called down and placed the order. While we waited, we 
continued to talk with each other, with most of the conversation 
going on between Amy and the girls as they asked her even more 
questions about what it was like to be an FBI agent. I think she was 
getting a little tired of talking about herself when we heard a knock 
at the door. About that time, the phone rang, and when Lucy answered 
it, I saw her listen a moment, then smile. After she hung up the 
phone, she told us "That was Agent Gallery. He was letting me know 
that the person at the door is one of his, with our order."
She got up and went to the door, taking possession of the meals we'd 
requested. When the door was secured again, she wheeled the cart in, 
and we all worked our way off the bed to get our food, then sit 
around the table to enjoy it. Sandra and Robyn positioned themselves 
on each side of Amy and listened attentively as Amy, Lucy, and I 
talked about what had happened that day, and what we could expect in 
the coming weeks and months.
When we'd finished, we piled the dishes back on the cart, and I 
wheeled it out into the hall, after checking it first - and finding 
agents at each end of it. Both raised a hand in recognition when they 
saw me looking at them.
With the meal over, I could see that Amy wasn't in any particular 
hurry to leave. As I was talking with her, I saw Lucy and the girls 
go into a huddle behind her, and knew they were up to something. 
After they rejoined us, things seemed to go along fine for a bit - 
until Robyn asked Amy if she'd like to see the clothes they'd bought 
at the mall the day before. Amy readily agreed, and the fashion show 
was on - with a little prompting from Sandra, even Lucy agreed to 
join in. As Amy and I sat at the table, I assured her that she'd like 
what she saw - letting her interpret it in whatever way she wanted. 
She blinked when I said it, and I could all but see the gears going 
in her head.
The first part of it was pretty much a repeat of what had gone on the 
night before - each of them taking turns to change in the bathroom 
before opening the door to show us what outfit they'd bought. It was 
when Lucy finally opened the door to show us the teddy she'd bought 
that we finally got a reaction out of Amy. From the corner of my eye, 
I could see it when she quickly looked over at me; I turned my head 
and smiled at her, saying "I told you I thought you'd like what you 
saw. Very pretty, eh?"
She gulped, and nodded her head before looking back at Lucy. Still, I 
don't think she was really prepared for when Robyn made an appearance 
in her bra-and-panty set. Amy looked at me, then Lucy, who told her 
"Like Dan said - we're a casual bunch, and affectionate. You might 
even say that we're private nudists - most of the time at home, we 
don't wear much, if anything."
"Uh, doesn't that get kind of, um, embarrassing?"
"No, why should it? I mean, all of us know what parts we all have, so 
it's not like there's any surprise *there*. If anything, it's 
actually relaxing."
"How so?"
"Well, with all of us naked, there's no mystery to it. I mean, since 
we can all look at the others pretty much any time, there's no 
sneaking looks, or any of that nonsense. If Dan wants to look at my 
tits, he can - he doesn't have to try and cop a look when he thinks 
the girls won't notice or anything like that. And if the girls want 
to know what a penis looks like, well, there's Dan, any time they 
care to look. It's kind of surprising, actually - when you can look 
any time you want, it takes the 'dirtiness' out of it. And if he gets 
an erection when he's looking at us, we know that it's not just 
because he's looking at *a* naked female, but because he's looking at 
US, and finding US sexy. We all know what he finds attractive in a 
female, so when he get an erection while looking at us, we take it 
for what it means - as a compliment."
"You've all seen him like that?"
"Sure", Robyn told her, adding, "Like mom said, we're pretty relaxed 
at home."
Lucy spoke up, telling Amy "I don't think it's a big deal. First, 
it's not something he's _completely_ in control of, any more than we 
are about our nipples getting hard. Second, I figure if the girls see 
that a guy with an erection can still behave himself, they won't fall 
for any stories they hear from guys their own age trying to get 
between their legs."
Amy nodded at that, and watched as Sandra headed into the bathroom, 
only to reappear a few minutes later in her 'look what I have for 
YOU' outfit.
Amy stared at her for nearly a full minute - Sandra just stood there, 
looking back at her while the rest of us looked at each other.
Finally, Amy flushed slightly, and turned to look first at Lucy, then 
me, before asking "You're okay with her wearing that?"
"Sure, why not?"
"But isn't it a bit, um, mature for her?"
"Amy, you spent time with them this afternoon. Didn't they seem 
mature to you?"
She nodded, and I went on "Considering the situation we're in, and 
the way they've handled it, wouldn't you consider _that_ a sign of 
maturity?"
Again, she nodded her agreement before I continued "I'd say she's got 
the emotional maturity, and the intellectual maturity. Obviously, 
she's got the physical maturity. Why, then, should her age be a 
factor? Haven't you ever met people whose emotional age was just a 
fraction of their chronological? Yet, no one objects to what those 
folks do. Seems a bit a of a double standard, to me."
She looked at me doubtfully, and I told her "When I was in the Army, 
I could consistently shoot a six-inch grouping at five hundred yards. 
I could spend days out in the field with nothing more than a knife 
and the clothes on my back, and come back in fine shape. I knew a 
couple dozen ways of killing someone without using a gun. I was 
routinely trusted with many thousands of dollars worth of 
sophisticated equipment. But because I was only twenty years old, 
people in authority didn't think I could be trusted to drink beer. 
Was that fair?"
She shook her head, and I asked "Then why is it fair to judge these 
girls solely by their age, which they have no control over? By their 
own actions, which they CAN control, they've shown me - and Lucy - 
that they're level-headed and responsible people when it matters. I'm 
not going to fuss at them about something as inane as their 
_skivvies_, for crying out loud."
Lucy told her "Amy, they've proven to us, in a number of ways, that 
they're mature enough to make their own decisions. Both of them have 
shown us that they're not only ready to make decisions for 
themselves, but to stand ready to take the consequences of those 
decisions if they made a bad choice. They've both shown us that 
they're ready and willing to deal with serious matters before they go 
on to pleasurable ones. Robyn, what did you tell me this afternoon, 
while we were in that self-defense class?"
Robyn looked Amy right in the eyes, and said "I told you that I knew 
Dan was worried about us, and that he wanted us to take the class and 
learn about guns so we'd learn something, and he wouldn't have to 
worry about us so much."
"And?"
"And that I wasn't mad or anything because I knew this was all really 
serious and really important, and I wanted to help you, and 
especially Dan, even though I was kind of scared by all of it."
"Sandra, what did you tell me when we went in to see the guns?" Lucy 
asked.
Sandra, too, looked Amy in the eyes as she said "I told you that I 
was scared about all of this, but that I knew you and Dan had to 
catch the bad guys, so I wasn't going to make any trouble for you. 
And that if you and Dan thought we should know this stuff, then I was 
going to pay attention and learn it so you wouldn't have to worry 
about us so much."
Amy looked at Lucy, who told her "Amy, if Sandra and Robyn are grown 
up enough to recognize the situation, and deal with it maturely, do 
you seriously think I give a happy damn about what kind of UNDERWEAR 
they choose?"
That said, we waited, watching as Amanda Jones, FBI agent, thought 
through what she'd just been told, and what she'd just seen and 
heard. Several times, she looked from one to the other of us, though 
Lucy and I seemed to get most of her attention.
Finally, she drew in a deep breath, and told us "I can't see anything 
wrong with what you've said. It goes against so much of what I've 
learned so far, but there's simply no escaping the fact that what you 
say is true; and that your attitude about maturity and responsibility 
is right. The only thing that has mattered to me, for as long as I 
can remember, is the FACTS, the EVIDENCE. What you show me here is 
indisputable fact; with my own eyes and ears, I know the evidence 
that these young _ladies_ are mature well beyond their years, and 
deserving of the trust and responsibility you give them."
With that, Sandra moved over to Robyn, and they kissed before putting 
an arm around each other. Amy watched as it happened, then asked 
Sandra "Why did you do that?"
Sandra looked at her as though Amy weren't quite right in the head, 
and answered "Because she's my best friend, and I love her."
"You don't care that she's another girl?"
"No. All I care about is that she's my friend, and I'm her friend."
"Would you kiss another girl like that?"
"Yes, if she was my friend, and I loved her."
"Is that how you kiss boys?"
"The ones that I love, yes."
"And you know what love is?"
"Love is when making someone else happy means as much to you as 
making yourself happy. When you'd rather get hurt than have them 
hurt."
Amy then asked Robyn "And you?"
"What she said. She's my best friend. We love each other. We love my 
mom. We love Dan. Different ways, but love is love, right?"
Amy turned to look at Lucy, who just smiled at her and said "She's 
got a point, you know. I love each of them, in different ways. That 
doesn't mean that I love one more than the other, only that I love 
them differently, just like my love for Dan is different from what I 
feel for them. But it's still *love*."
"And you're okay with that?" Amy asked me.
"Sure, why not? They're not hurting anyone, least of all each other. 
They really do care about each other. They've been best friends for a 
pretty long time, even by adult standards. Most of society would 
frown on what they do, but then, most of society has it's head on 
backwards about a lot of things. To paraphrase something the science 
fiction author Heinlein said in one of his books, 'If everyone knows 
such-and-such, then it isn't so, by a factor of at least a hundred to 
one.' We've already agreed that they're mature; why deny them the 
freedom to express honest, caring emotions in a physical way just 
because they're both the same gender?"
She sat there, blinking at me as she thought for a couple of minutes 
before nodding her head, and saying "Go on."
"You look tense. If Lucy were to rub your shoulders, would that be 
helpful?"
"Yes"
"If you were nervous, or afraid, and she held your hand, or hugged 
you, would that be a caring gesture?"
"Yes"
"Then if you were feeling sexual desire, and she was willing to help 
you relieve some of that desire, it wouldn't that just be an even 
greater help, and a more caring gesture? Simply more of what she'd 
already shown, and not something different?"
"But she's another woman."
"So? Do you think your body would care the gender of the hands that 
soothed your brow? Do you think your body would care the gender of 
the arms that held you in times of stress? Do you really think your 
body would care the gender of the lips and fingers that brought it 
sexual relief? Or would it be only your mind that would object? A 
mind that you've already admitted has accumulated a number of 
misconceptions?"
Again, she got a distant look on her face as she thought through what 
we'd just told her.
A few moments later, she excused herself, and went into the bathroom.
When she came out several minutes later, she was wearing only her 
very sheer bra, French-cut panties, and a nervous smile on her face. 
As we all looked at her, she took a deep breath and said "I admire 
all of you; but particularly Dan. If you can be that loving, that 
caring, and that honest with each other, then it's something that I 
want to learn, too. Every day on my job, I'm ready to take a bullet 
for somebody else - but *this* scares me. I've _never_ opened myself 
up like this to *anyone*. But I'm determined to do it with you, 
people that I KNOW are what I want to be like. I don't know how much 
of this I can actually DO, but I'm damned well going to *try*."
Robyn, Lucy, and Sandra all looked at me, telling me with their eyes 
that I should be the one to respond to Amy's statement.
I stood up slowly, and as she watched me, undressed before her, 
setting my holstered pistol on the table next to her purse before 
letting my clothes accumulate in a small pile on the floor next to my 
feet. Naked, I carefully walked toward her, stopping when I was but a 
single step away. With her eyes on mine, I told her "Amy, you've 
shown us bravery by your willingness to protect us. You've shown us 
kindness by showing those I love how to protect themselves when I was 
not there to protect them. You've shown us respect by not denigrating 
our choices. Now you show us trust. We respect all the qualities in 
you that make you who you are. One of the most basic things that all 
of us believe in is that we will NOT force or push another person 
into doing something they do not want to do. If you wish to join us 
this evening, as our friend and guest, we will be delighted to help 
and encourage and comfort you as much as you want or need. If, at any 
time, you are uncomfortable with something, you only have to say so, 
and we'll respect that without thinking badly of you. Each of us has 
gotten to where we are at a different speed, and in a different way; 
and we are not the kind of people to think ill of someone else as 
they move along THEIR path at THEIR speed."
As I started talking, I could hear it as Lucy and the girls started 
undressing, too, so that by the time I was finished, all four of us 
were naked before Amy. When I stopped talking, she looked deep into 
my eyes, then looked at the others, seeing their nakedness. When she 
looked at me again, she nodded slightly, and did not flinch when I 
took the last step forward before I kissed her softly on the lips. 
When I stepped back again, first Lucy, then Robyn, and finally Sandra 
moved forward to kiss her, too - just as softly, and just as 
chastely, as I had.
She looked at each of us, and saw only patient acceptance of her and 
her situation. When she understood that we welcomed her without 
making any demands in the process, she started to cry softly, and the 
four of us moved in to hold her, and comfort her. When she'd gotten 
herself back together, and stopped leaking around the eyes, she stood 
up and gave a little shake before announcing "Dammit, if you're all 
going to run around naked, I'm not going to be the party pooper by 
wearing a bra and panties!". As she reached behind herself to unhook 
her bra, Robyn asked "Can I do that for you?" - and with a smile, Amy 
nodded. Then Sandra stepped forward, and replaced Amy's hands with 
her own on Amy's panties, gently sliding them down her legs, then 
setting them aside before standing up and stepping back again. When 
Robyn had gotten the bra unhooked, she slid it off Amy's shoulders, 
and down her arms, before moving over to set it on top of the 
panties. That done, she moved back with the rest of us, to look at 
what Amy had chosen to reveal to us. At first, she looked nervous, 
but quickly got her courage back, and simply stood there, her hands 
at her sides, as we looked her over.
What we saw was smooth pale skin with a light dusting of freckles 
across her shoulders, a pair of medium-sized breasts with small pink 
areolas and nipples. Below them was a trim stomach, then a flat belly 
that merged into a pair of trim, muscular thighs. Between those 
thighs was a small triangle of dark red, curly pubic hair; peeking 
out from under it, we could see the edges of her labia. As we were 
looking it at her, she was looking at us, too - and when she got to 
me, and saw that I'd become semi-erect at the sight of her, we could 
all see it as her nipples hardened, and her labia extended a little 
more. Without prompting, she turned away from us, so that we could 
see the small, tight globes of her ass, before she turned around 
again.
Lucy was the first to move toward her, giving Amy a kiss that made it 
clear that Lucy found her attractive, too. Then it was Robyn, 
followed by Sandra, both of whom made their kisses as friendly, and 
inviting, as Lucy's. Finally, it was my turn - and to my surprise, it 
was Amy that made it clear that any activity between us would be 
welcomed. From the corner of my eye, I could see Lucy looking on, 
somewhat bemused by Amy's actions.
When our kiss broke, Amy looked at Lucy somewhat guiltily, and Lucy 
told her "It's okay, Amy. I already know he's attractive. I think we 
can all see that he thinks you look pretty good, too!", making Amy 
blush as Robyn and Sandra giggled.
I told Amy "If you'd like, I think we'd all be a little more 
comfortable on the bed as we got to know each other. You can tell us 
about yourself, and we'll tell you about us, and along the way, maybe 
you'll relax and get comfortable with us."
She gave me a small smile at that, and nodded. Robyn and Sandra moved 
next to her, then each put an arm around her waist to walk with her 
toward the bed. Lucy and I followed, and in short order the five of 
us had taken up various positions as we filled up the bed. Amy was 
sitting up at the headboard with Robyn and Sandra at her sides. Lucy 
sat cross-legged at her feet while I leaned back on my arms, my legs 
extended off to the side.
With a little prompting, Amy started telling us about herself, 
working herself backwards in time from what she had been doing before 
we came along. After a few minutes, Robyn put a hand on her thigh, 
making Amy stutter for a moment before continuing her story. When 
Sandra did the same thing a minute later, Amy didn't hesitate to 
reach out and do the same to them.
After a while, Amy's legs got a little tired, and she pulled them up 
to sit cross-legged to stretch them a little. Robyn and Sandra easily 
let their hands slide to the insides of Amy's thighs, and after a few 
moments, started caressing her slowly and softly. Amy didn't seem to 
notice - her own eyes kept returning to where my penis was laying in 
my lap, or to where Lucy's cleft was clearly visible. After a few 
times of that, Amy looked at us, and realized that we knew where 
she'd been looking - and when she realized that we didn't mind, and 
weren't going to say anything about it, visibly relaxed as she kept 
talking.
Also, as she talked, she realized that we were genuinely interested 
in hearing about her, and that we weren't judging her in any way - 
and that helped her to relax, as well, so that she was more willing 
to tell us things that she'd obviously never told anyone before. So 
when she got to her teenage years, and the friends she'd had, it was 
pretty obvious to all of us that she was leaving some things out.
Finally, it was Lucy that called her on it, asking "Amy? There's 
something I'm curious about. You've told us what good friends you 
were with Virginia, and you've told us about finding out about boys, 
but I get the idea that there was something between you and Virginia, 
too. If you want to tell us about it, I think we'd all be interested 
in hearing about it; but if you don't want to talk about it, then 
we'll understand."
Amy just sat there for a few moments, looking at Lucy before her gaze 
went to me, then the girls. She hesitated a bit, then said "Well, 
yeah, there were things that happened between us. Uh, girl stuff."
Robyn looked up at her and said "Amy? It's okay. Really."
Sandra added "Yeah, it's okay, Amy. We don't mind."
Amy looked at me, then Lucy, who told her "Honest, Amy, it won't 
bother us. Just take a look at yourself, and us, and ask yourself if 
we *really* look like people that would judge someone else."
Amy grinned at that, and said "Yeah, you do have a point there. If I 
can sit here with these two cuties snuggled next to me while you and 
Dan watch, then I guess there's no reason not to tell you the whole 
thing."
I nodded for her to continue, and Amy started out by telling us 
"Virgie and I started out in the same class in third grade, and 
became best friends, kind of like Sandra and Robyn, here. Even when 
we went to middle school, we took almost all the same classes 
together. Virginia was a little smaller than I was, with dark black 
hair, that was really straight, to the middle of her back. She had 
really pale, almost white, skin. She was the first one of us to hit 
puberty, and it hit her *hard*. Almost overnight, she had hair 
between her legs, and started pushing out the front of her blouses. 
It wasn't until a few months later that I got started, and it was 
slower going for me. But because we were friends, it didn't matter - 
or so I thought. But what I didn't know was that Virgie was feeling 
the effects of it more than I was. It wasn't until later that I 
realized that."
"What happened?" Lucy asked, quietly.
Amy stared into her lap a few moments, then told us "I was a month 
from my fifteenth birthday. Virgie had had her fifteenth about a week 
before. I was sleeping over at her house and we were staying up late 
on a Friday night, talking. Both of us were in our panties, but 
neither of us was wearing a bra. I remember that I was fascinated by 
the way her breasts would sway as she moved, and how the nipples 
would seem to poke out like pencil erasers one moment, then almost 
disappear the next. I was *so* envious - my own breasts were about 
half that size, and barely moved at all; and MY nipples hardly ever 
stuck out as much as hers did, even when I was cold.
"Anyway, she saw me watching them, and asked if I'd like to touch 
them. It really surprised me, but I finally admitted that I would. 
She told me to go ahead, and stuck her chest out so that I could. I 
remember feeling a tingle go up my arms the first time I actually 
held them in my hands - they felt so warm and soft and heavy at the 
same time; I was absolutely fascinated by them. I touched her 
nipples, and when she didn't say anything, I began to play with them. 
In just a few seconds, they were sticking out again, even farther 
than they had before. She had on these really thin panties, and a 
couple minutes later, I looked down to see that the front of them had 
this wet spot. I'd gotten wet before myself, and knew what had 
happened - what was happening - but it still surprised me that she 
would get THAT wet. Then she surprised me again and asked me if I 
wanted to suck on her tits. I did, and didn't, at the same time, but 
when she asked me again, I nodded my head. She put her hand on the 
back of my head, and pulled it down so that her nipple was touching 
my lips. I stuck my tongue out and licked it, and I heard her give a 
little moan, like she liked what I did. I did it again, and she 
moaned again. Finally, I opened my mouth, and put the end of her 
breast in it. I could feel her nipple pressing against my tongue, and 
I just started sucking on it. When I did, I heard her start moaning 
again, and I could feel her nipple getting even longer and harder in 
my mouth. I knew I was making her feel good; but at the same time, I 
couldn't help thinking that she was probably getting really wet 
between her legs. Thinking about that started making me tingle 
between MY legs, and before I knew it, I could feel myself getting 
wet, too. I hardly noticed it when she took my hand off her breast, 
but I *definitely* noticed when she slid it under the waistband of 
her panties - I could feel her pubic hair under my palm as my fingers 
felt something thin and slippery slide between them. It took me a 
bit, but I finally realized that I actually had my hand on the 
outside of her vagina, and that it was the lips of her sex that I was 
feeling.
"Mind you, I wasn't the one moving things forward, but I damned well 
wasn't backing out, either. It was more like I was a living puppet 
for her to position any way she wanted.
"Anyway, with my hand inside her panties, she kind of guided my hand 
around a little bit, until I got the idea that she wanted me to play 
with her. I did, and after a bit, I felt her let go of me, and pull 
her hand out. I knew where it felt good when I touched myself, so I 
figured I try touching her there, too - it took me only a couple of 
seconds to find her clitoris, and start rubbing it. When I did, I 
thought she was going to go nuts - her hips started moving as she 
pressed herself even harder against my hand. As I was doing that, I 
felt her hand touch MY breast - and it felt like there was 
electricity in my nipples when she did. I didn't stop her, and after 
a little while, I felt her hand start to slide down my front. I knew 
where she was going to touch me next, and I couldn't help groaning in 
relief when I felt her hand pressing on the outside of my panties, 
right about where my clit was. When she heard me, she did it some 
more, and when I let her, started rubbing me even harder. It felt SO 
good; even better than when I did it myself, for some reason. I could 
feel my juices starting to leak out, and it wasn't long before Virgie 
could feel them, too. When she did, she moved her hand back up, and 
let her fingertips slide under the waistband of my panties, so that 
she was touching ME between the legs. I felt her fingers slide down 
to the outside of my vagina, then her fingertips started slipping 
across my opening.
"I'd been told so many times that it was important for a girl to stay 
a virgin until she was married that I really tensed up, and Virgie 
could feel it. She stopped doing that part of it, and went to rubbing 
my clitoris again.
"She started pressing herself against my hand, as though she wanted 
ME to put MY fingers in HER; but I was so wrapped up in the virginity 
thing that I wouldn't do it; I just kept playing with her clitoris 
while I sucked on her tits.
"Finally, I felt myself start to have an orgasm, and Virgie just kept 
playing with my clit while I was having it. When it was over, she 
whispered to me that she wanted me to put my finger in her - she said 
she was *so* close, that doing that would help her have it. But I 
just wouldn't do it, and she finally pulled her hand out of my 
panties and put it in her own, with mine. She kind of pushed my hand 
out of the way, and I could tell when she slid a couple of her 
fingers inside herself. I could see as she slid them in and out a few 
times before she had a climax.
"When she was done, she was *so* mad at me, and all I could do was 
keep telling her that she wasn't a virgin any more; and that just 
seemed to make her madder. Finally, she just told me that it was late 
and that she wanted to go to sleep. Both of us got under the covers, 
but instead of laying on our backs and talking, she turned on her 
side, facing away from me. It really hurt me, and I finally rolled 
over onto my side, facing away from her. It took a long time, but I 
finally fell asleep. The next morning, she was nice to me again, but 
she never invited me to stay over with her again. And whenever I 
tried to invite her, she always had some reason she couldn't. We 
still saw each other in school, and we still studied together for a 
while, but we eventually just kind of drifted apart."
All three of them were looking at her with tears in their eyes. When 
Amy saw them, she realized that they shared the pain that she'd felt, 
and started to cry, herself. In a few moments, the four of them were 
in a group hug, Lucy and the girls holding her as she sobbed out her 
pain. I got up and went into the bathroom to bring all of them small 
towels to dry up with. When they were done, each sniffled her thanks 
for the towel I handed them, and started cleaning themselves up 
again. When Amy had finished, Lucy told her "We're your friends, now, 
if you want us" before giving her a kiss. This time, Amy was a more 
willing participant, and even dared to reach out to caress Lucy's 
side, and back.
When their kiss ended, Amy told Lucy "I remember how soft and gentle 
Virginia was, and how excited I got when we were touching each other. 
I know I can't go back and undo it, but I have to admit that I 
wouldn't mind seeing if I couldn't get some of that same magic with 
someone else."
Lucy told her "I think any one of us would be happy to help you with 
that. Well, except maybe for Sandra - she started her period 
yesterday, and she's a little hesitant about it just now."
Amy looked at her, and said "I'll probably take you up on that, 
later. But right now, I think I'd like something a little more, uh, 
substantial. I've only known two men in my life, and neither one of 
them left me feeling the way I did with Virgie. The first was the guy 
who took my cherry when I was seventeen; once he had me, he lost 
interest. The other was a guy in college who just didn't have the 
patience or desire to make me feel as good as he did."
Lucy laughed, and said "If you're looking for a guy, then Dan, here, 
is the one. If anything, he'll spoil you for anyone else!"
Amy looked at Lucy quizzically, and asked "You wouldn't mind? Letting 
me have him, I mean?"
Lucy answered "Amy, all you're going to do is borrow him for a while. 
When you're done with him, or I should say, when he's done with you, 
he'll be right back here with us."
Amy got a surprised look on her face, and asked "Us? You and... 
them?", nodding toward Robyn and Sandra.
Lucy nodded, saying "He's the one that both of them gave their 
virginity to. I wish to hell I could have had him as my first, too."
Amy looked at Robyn and Sandra, and asked "Didn't he hurt you? I 
mean, he's a full-grown man!"
Robyn just grinned, and told her "No, he didn't hurt. He made it feel 
GOOD! I was sore afterwards, but it was a _good_ sore, you know?"
Sandra nodded her head in agreement with Robyn, and Amy looked at 
Lucy again, and asked "And you're obviously okay with this. Why?"
Lucy grinned, and told her about how it had been me that had gotten 
her and Robyn talking, and how I'd been the one to help them learn to 
trust, and even respect, each other. She finished up by saying "Amy, 
you know him. You know what he's like, and what kind of person he is. 
Do you really think that he'd just jump into bed with *anyone*? 
Particularly someone as young as these two?"
Here, Robyn spoke up, telling Amy "When I tried to get him to be my 
first, he didn't want to. I mean, it's not that he didn't want to 
make love to me; it's just that he didn't want to hurt me, and he 
wanted me to make sure that I was ready. He tried to talk me out of 
it, even."
Lucy laughed, and said "Same thing with me. I threw myself at him a 
couple of times. He just caught me, and set me on my feet, instead of 
jumping my bones like I wanted him to. When he finally gave in, 
though - God! It was worth it!"
Amy looked at me speculatively; I just looked back at her, patiently.
She finally opened her mouth to speak, telling me "I told you that 
the first guy I had was the one who took my cherry. And he *did* 
_take_ it - what he did wasn't exactly rape, but it didn't miss it by 
much, either. The second guy was a little better, but couldn't deal 
with how tense and nervous I was - he didn't have the patience to 
help me relax enough. It felt better with him, but still not as good 
as what I heard my friends talking about. I *know* it can be better. 
I want to know what that 'better' is. If you will, I'd like you to be 
the one to help me find it."
I answered her by telling her "I can't do it for you. If you're not 
open to the experience, if you're not _willing_ to learn what that 
'better' is, if you're not an active participant, then nothing I do 
will make the slightest bit of difference. I can help, I can guide, I 
can offer advice - but it's YOU that ultimately decides how it turns 
out."
Here, Lucy spoke up again, telling Amy "What he says is true. When I 
was with him the first time, it was great. But when I let myself open 
up to him, it just got better. Every time since then, it's gotten 
easier and easier to 'be there' with him, and every time since then, 
it's been even better making love with him. The other night, we made 
love; and somehow, we just *locked* with each other - I was 
completely in touch with myself, and him, at the same time. And I 
knew that he was feeling the same thing, completely in touch with ME. 
We made love for the longest time, and when we finally came - 
together - it was the deepest thing I'd ever felt. If I die tomorrow, 
I'll die knowing what real, true JOY there can be in making love."
Robyn spoke up then, saying "When I made love with him that first 
time, I was *so* afraid. Not of him, but that I'd do something wrong, 
or that it wouldn't feel good. But when I was actually with him, he 
was as patient and gentle and caring as anybody could want. I *gave* 
him my virginity, because *I* wanted to. He showed me that he 
respected my choice, and was honored by it."
Sandra followed that by saying "It was my choice to have him be my 
first, too. Like Robyn said, he was as gentle and patient as I could 
have wished for. Because I listened to him, I knew it could be a 
pleasant, good experience - and when I acted like it would, he helped 
_make_ it that way. I know, now, that he would never have made love 
to me if he wasn't sure that *I* believed it would be a happy thing, 
too."
Amy looked at each of them, in turn, before looking at me and saying 
"I know this: they love you and trust you, and you've made every one 
of them happy - happier than anybody I've ever seen before. I love 
you, too, now. I trust you, too - even more than I did before. When I 
hear two young women speak so highly of the man that deflowered them, 
and hear a third woman say she wished you had been her first, then I 
know that you can do what I want - what I *need*. Knowing that, I'm 
ready to do *anything* to see it happen. If you tell me I should 
stand on my head and whistle 'Dixie', I'll do it, because I trust 
you, and believe in you, and love you."
There simply wasn't anything else for me to do but sit up, and lean 
forward to give her a soft, loving kiss on the lips - a kiss that she 
returned just as gently.
When we separated, Lucy told her "This should be your time with him. 
We'll go into the other room, so that you don't have any 
distractions. If you don't mind, though, we'll be back when you're 
done."
Amy nodded her agreement, and thanks, accepting a kiss from each of 
them before they headed into my room, closing the door behind them.
She looked at me, and said "I don't know what it is that makes you so 
special; I'm just glad you *are*."
I told her "But you *do* know what makes me so special to you. You 
just haven't put it into words, yet."
She looked at me thoughtfully, and said "Yeah, you're right. You're 
smart - god, you're smart! You're brave, and thoughtful, and gentle, 
and caring. You've got more morals and ethics than anyone I've ever 
seen before. You're willing to give other people the best part of 
yourself, without asking anything in return, other than that they do 
THEIR best. You're forgiving of people that aren't as smart or strong 
or brave as you, and absolutely intolerant of people that try to hurt 
others, for whatever reasons. You *willingly* put yourself between 
the innocent and the guilty, without making a big deal of it. You're 
so modest it's aggravating, sometimes. Most of all, you treat people 
the way they show you they deserve to be treated - you're not afraid 
to trust yourself and your own judgment."
I nodded in acceptance of what she'd just said, then told her "As for 
you - you're a living example of the FBI motto: Fidelity, Bravery, 
Integrity. You're no dummy, yourself - not everyone sees some of the 
things that you do. Anybody that's willing to put themselves in front 
of a bullet to protect an innocent has plenty of guts - and the moral 
sense to know why they're doing it. You won't do anything you don't 
think isn't right - but you're ethically aware enough to understand 
between personal choice, and public opinion. You know that you don't 
know everything, and you're willing to listen to reasoned argument, 
and decide for yourself based on the facts and evidence in front of 
you. You're just as loving and affectionate as anyone could want - 
for those you feel are deserving of that love and affection."
She nodded, as I had, in acceptance of what I'd said. Then we shared 
a look, and both of us leaned forward slightly to share a kiss - a 
kiss that started with our lips touching softly in love and respect, 
and ended with our tongues dueling in passion and arousal.
When we separated, I could see her eyes were smoky with desire. I 
reached out to put my hand over her breast; when I had it in my hand, 
her eyes closed, and I could feel her nipple stiffen under my palm. I 
let my fingertips trace across it's surface, until my hand was 
underneath, cupping it, as I let my thumb brush across her nipple 
softly. I heard hear moan deep in her throat before she opened her 
eyes, and reached out to take my penis in her hand. Feeling it start 
to swell at her touch, she smiled, and said "Lucy was right. It *is* 
a compliment, knowing that it's for me, personally." With that, she 
used her other hand to gently push me, until I was laying on my back, 
her body over mine. Looking down at me, she said "I've never done 
this before, really. I had my boyfriend in college in my mouth a 
couple of times, but never for very long. This time, for you, I 
*want* to do it."
That said, she moved and lowered herself, until I could feel her warm 
breath on my stiffening penis. She unwrapped her hand from it, 
letting it lay on her palm instead. I first felt her kiss the head of 
it, then a few moments later, the sensation of the tip of her tongue 
running it's rapidly-increasing length. Time after time, she ran her 
tongue along it - first one direction, then the other. When she felt 
that I was nearly fully erect, I felt her take the head in her mouth, 
running her tongue around it as she let herself taste it, and the 
small bit of pre-cum that had leaked out.
I reached out to gently nudge her leg, encouraging her to move to 
where I could touch her; she only released my erection from her lips 
to tell me "Please, not yet. Let me do this first, then you can do 
with me what you want."
An interesting offer, to be sure - enough of one that I contented 
myself with simply caressing the calf of her leg, where I could reach 
it. I knew that I wouldn't do anything to abuse the trust she'd shown 
me with her offer; that she trusted me enough to even MAKE the offer 
was reason enough.
With the end of my erection back in her mouth, I simply laid back and 
let her do as she wanted - I understood that it was important to her 
for some reason, and I trusted her enough to let her go.
She might not have had much experience before then, but she proved to 
be a quick, and enthusiastic, student. In only a couple of minutes, 
she had me fully erect, my entire penis coated with her saliva as she 
went through cycle after cycle of sucking on me, licking me, and 
sliding her lips up and down my length. I felt her tentatively touch 
my scrotum, and when I didn't object, cup it in her hand, rolling my 
balls around as she felt their size and weight. Satisfied with what 
she'd learned, she went on to gently squeeze them, careful not to 
hurt me, before letting her fingernails drag lightly across my 
scrotum.
The sensation of THAT was enough to push me past the point that every 
man knows: when you go from simply enjoying the sensations you're 
feeling, to knowing that you've just started down the path that will 
end in release.
She almost seemed to _sense_ the change in me, and readily increased 
her efforts. It wasn't but a few minutes before I felt myself hitting 
the home stretch: the tightening in my penis and the faint tingling 
in my balls that told me that it wouldn't be long before I unloaded 
into her warm, wet mouth. As she felt me getting closer and closer, 
she slowed down her actions, prolonging my pleasure, and making sure 
that when I *did* climax, it would be a good one. Finally, though, 
there simply wasn't possible for me to put it off any longer: I felt 
my balls tighten as the first load of my semen rocketed down my 
length to launch out the head. When she felt my balls tighten in her 
hand, Amy quickly let most of my length slide from between her lips; 
but she was careful to keep the head and about the first third of me 
in her mouth. As she felt my jets of semen traveling down my 
erection, she would suck on the end of me in time with their arrival, 
swallowing each load with enthusiasm.
Only when she felt me softening between her lips did she give me one 
final suck before tightening her lips around me and pulling her head 
back, wringing the last few drops of my sperm from me. Satisfied with 
her handiwork, she turned herself around, and moved to lay next to me 
as I got my breath - and senses - back. She held me until my heart 
rate slowed, then I moved to lay on my side, facing her. I leaned 
over a bit to kiss her, ignoring the few flecks of my semen that were 
still on her lips. Then, propping my head on my hand, I put the other 
on her stomach - only to have her move it to cover one of her 
breasts.
"Why was it important to you to do that?", I asked.
She glanced away for a moment, then looked back at me, and said 
"Because my boyfriend in college really pushed me to do that so much. 
I didn't like it then, mostly because it got him going so easy, but 
he didn't seem too interested in doing anything for me, in return. It 
got so I hated doing it because I knew he'd finish before I really 
even got started."
"And now, tonight?"
"It was my way of claiming my own pleasure."
"How so?" I asked, as I started toying with the nipple under my hand.
"I knew that I was doing it because *I* wanted to, not because YOU 
wanted me to. I knew you'd like it, but you weren't doing or saying 
anything to push me to do it. It was the difference between doing it 
by choice, and doing it because someone else wanted me to. I also 
knew that if you had a climax, you'd be able to go longer when we 
made love - and I *DO* want us to make love, for as long as possible, 
so that I can have more time with you to treasure when you're gone."
I could tell that there was more that she wasn't saying, and let her 
lay there a couple minutes before asking "And what else?"
She looked at me in surprised, and said "What makes you think there's 
something else?"
"Just a feeling. What is it?"
She gave me a strange look, and finally said "I was worried, a 
little, about whether or not I was really ready for this - to be open 
to the experience, I mean, like Lucy said. Doing that was my way of 
reassuring myself that I really was - ready, I mean. I know that 
you're going to do whatever you can to make this good for me; doing 
that was how I proved to myself that I was ready to accept whatever 
you had to offer me."
I nodded in understanding of what she'd said, and that seemed to 
satisfy her. I don't think she really understood just how much she'd 
told me about herself.
We continued to lay there like that for several minutes, before I 
started exploring her body with my free hand. She looked at me, a bit 
apprehensive, until I told her "You're beautiful. Not just on the 
inside, but on the outside, too."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean just what I said. You're a beautiful person, on the inside, 
for all the reasons I told you about before. On top of that, you're a 
beautiful person on the outside. I mean, just look at you - your hair 
is a fascinating shade of red, rich and thick, and nicely styled. 
Your eyes are a lovely green, and they sparkle very nicely. You have 
a strong, but feminine, face. You have a little button of a nose, and 
your lips just *beg* to be kissed by someone that cares. Your skin is 
smooth, and clear. No wrinkles, or sagging anywhere. Your breasts are 
nicely shaped, firm, and just the right size. Your nipples are a 
delightful shade of pink, and when I touch them, they stick out in a 
most appealing way. You have a firm, smooth belly, with a trim waist 
and nice hips. Your belly button is positively cute. Your legs are 
smooth and firm and nicely muscled. They hold up a nicely rounded, 
obviously firm ass. Between them, you have a marvelous thatch of 
pubic hair - thick, but fine and soft, the same color as on your 
head. You're obviously fit, with good muscle tone. You keep yourself 
clean, and smelling nice - something soft, and fragrant, it's a treat 
for the nose. You're slender, but nicely curved - not too plump, and 
definitely not too scrawny; just the right size to cuddle with."
She blushed slightly when I started, but was listening in rapt 
attention as I finished. She looked at me, and asked "You really see 
me like that?"
"Of course. It's all there, and every bit of it true - you only have 
to admit it to yourself, and then take pride in it."
Her eyes got wide, and she said "How did you know?"
"I didn't, for sure. But a number of little things pointed at it", I 
answered.
"I told you that my parents were kind of strict. One of the things 
that they didn't care much for was people that took too much stock in 
themselves, and how they looked."
"That's fine - but there's a difference between that, and knowing 
your own worth. Believe me on this - you're most definitely an 
attractive young lady, worth any man's attention."
I could tell that she wasn't just going to take my word on it - but I 
could also see that I'd given her something to think about, too.
By this time, I was feeling up to being a little more active; and 
having the cute bundle that made up Amy in front of me gave me the 
desire to follow up on it. I leaned over her, and gave her a soft 
kiss on the lips - then another, more firm, followed by one that let 
her know that I found her attractive. She responded to each in kind, 
and our fourth kiss had us touching tongues. When it ended, she was 
panting slightly, with her eyes closed. They opened again, though, 
when she felt me move over her - but she looked up at me in complete 
trust.
I lowered my head to kiss her again, and she welcomed my tongue in 
her mouth before we began a gentle duel, using our tongues as our 
weapons. When the kiss ended, I could hear her panting slightly 
before I moved to give her a soft, gentle kiss on the forehead. I 
followed that one with another to the tip of her nose, then one to 
each of her eyelids. Her lips again, then the lobe of her ear, which 
I also nibbled at, softly. The point of her shoulder was next, then 
the hollow of her collarbone, and the place where her neck curved 
into her shoulder. Along her throat to the other side, where I 
mirrored what I'd just done.
My next point of call was her jaw, just below her ear - then along 
her jaw line to the other side. Down to the hollow of her throat, and 
beyond, to the upper part of her chest. Across, to the upper slope of 
her left breast, then a spiral that closed in on her areola and 
nipple. Taking her erect nipple into my mouth, I sucked on it gently 
as I strummed it with the tip of my tongue; and got a soft moan in 
reward. Releasing her nipple, I kissed my way to the bottom of her 
breast, then in a reverse "S" to the upper slope of the other breast. 
Again, I spiraled in on the peak, finally taking her other nipple 
into my mouth to let it know what the first had experienced.
When I released it, I heard her whispered stammer "I... I didn't know 
it could be like this - that someone could *do* this to me." I smiled 
down at her, and said "Amy, I'm only getting started." She looked 
back up at me and said "I know", confidently.
I applied my lips to her cleavage, and began working my lower and 
lower on her body, pausing to pay attention to the belly button that 
I'd honestly told her was cute. When I was done with it, I used her 
navel as the center point for a series of figure 8's that went from 
one hip to the other across her lower belly as I gradually eased my 
way toward her pelvis. As my head approached the dark red triangle 
covering her mons, she readily spread her legs to make room for me, 
placing her feet flat on the bed so that her pelvis was tilted up 
slightly.
As my lips finally grazed the top of her pubis, I let my tongue trace 
the outline of her thatch. I followed a path from one top corner to 
the other, down the side, and then out the inside of her thigh to 
halfway to her knee before stopping. Then I reversed course, widening 
the return path by following a zigzagging pattern back toward her 
womanhood. Stopping *just short* of her labia, I picked up on the 
other side, heading for her other knee. Again, halfway there, I 
stopped, and reversed course, placing a number of small, soft kisses 
all across the inside of her thigh as I made my way back. Once more, 
I stopped short of her inner lips, and when I raised my head 
slightly, she whispered to me "Nobody's ever done that to me before." 
I only smiled at her, and said "Then I guess it's about time someone 
did, don't you?" She nodded, and a moment later, I told her "If this 
is the first time you've ever had someone do this, then I guess you 
could say that you're giving _me_ part of your virginity" - and 
earning myself a delighted smile from her as she nodded her 
agreement.
I lowered my head again, and looked at the blossom of her womanly 
flower: thin, straight, delicate labia slightly parted and faintly 
glistening inside with moisture. At the top, they disappeared under 
the hood of her clitoris, at the bottom, they faded into the short 
stretch of skin that let to her back opening. I could see that the 
soft, fine hairs of her incredibly thick bush followed the contours 
of her mons, thinning to nothing at the bottom of her cleft. This 
close, I could also detect the faint musky odor of her beginning 
arousal.
A glance upwards showed that she was watching me with considerable 
interest; I lifted my head and told her "Even here, you're 
beautiful!", making her blush slightly before she visibly relaxed, 
and let her head fall back.
I extended my tongue, and felt her start slightly when I first made 
contact with the folds of her sex. Extending my tongue a little 
farther, I let it slide between her inner lips, from bottom to top, 
before drawing it softly across the hood of her clitoris. I heard her 
moan softly as I did, and repeated my action, delving even deeper 
into her entrance. Another moan as her legs spread a little further 
in invitation for me to continue - which I did, with great pleasure.
As her juices started to flow, I was able to get a better taste of 
them: tangy-sweet, with a hint of earthiness to them, they were 
slightly oily. When I lifted my head slightly to focus on her 
clitoris, my upper lip and nose were buried in her bush - it was 
thick, but made up of fine, slightly curly hairs that felt 
surprisingly like a camel's hair brush on my lip. Back and forth I 
went, from the opening to her womanhood, to the nubbin of her 
clitoris, teasing each with my tongue and lips, slowly bringing her 
arousal and excitement farther and farther along. Finally, her 
clitoris made an appearance out from under it's hood - and I happily 
began fluttering across it with my tongue for a little bit before 
releasing it. When I returned to her vaginal opening, I was 
pleasantly surprised to discover that my attentions to her clitoris 
had apparently been effective - her labia were now noticeably more 
extended, and parted enough to reveal how wet she was inside.
With the knowledge that I was having the desired effect, I increased 
my efforts, and was soon rewarded with a soft moan of pleasure from 
her. A few more minutes, and she was moaning almost continuously, and 
even arching her pelvis up toward me when I would slide my stiffened 
tongue into her opening, as though making love to her with it. Back 
at her clitoris, I found that it's hood had retracted, leaving it 
fully exposed to my tender - if questionable - mercies. Taking it 
between my lips, I softly 'nibbled' at it, pulling on it as if I were 
trying to milk it with my lips - making it even firmer, and drawing 
it out even more. After a little bit of that, I parted my lips and 
softly sucked it into my mouth where I gently sucked on it in time 
with fluttering my tongue across it, only to be rewarded with a gasp 
of pleasure from Amy as she started tossing her head back and forth.
When I returned to her vaginal opening, I found that she was even 
wetter, and more open, than she'd been before. I quickly took 
advantage of the situation, and started lapping at her opening as 
though it were the Flavor of the Month. In short order, she was 
moaning almost continuously, and her head was almost a blur as she 
tossed it from side to side.
After exhausting her supply of nectar - she was making it *almost* as 
fast as I could lap it up - it was back to her clitoris again. This 
time, I eased my arms under her legs so that I could reach up and 
start playing with her breasts, gently squeezing them and playing 
with her nipples, as I drew circles around her clitoris with the tip 
of my tongue. Between my tongue action, and the feel of my hands on 
her breasts, it didn't take long before she was groaning and gasping 
for release, her pelvis hunched up as she tried to get my tongue 
directly on her clit, without success. Finally, when I heard her 
whimper in frustration, I fastened my lips around her clitoris, and 
softly sucked on it rhythmically in time with licking it. I carefully 
timed my actions with her pelvic thrusts, so that I was bringing her 
steadily - but slowly - to the brink, until finally, with a furious 
tongue-lashing of her nubbin as I pinched at her nipples, I pushed 
her over the edge into orgasm.
When it hit her, I could hear the air rushing out of her lungs as the 
first spasm of it overwhelmed her; she'd barely managed to draw a 
breath when the second hit, causing her to release a deep groan of 
relief. A shuddering gasp later, the third spasm, a few pants for 
air, then a fourth. After that, they began to taper off, so that she 
was able to breathe, if raggedly. When her groans had faded, I 
released my hold on her breasts, and pulled my arms back, so that I 
could move myself over her, supporting my weight on my elbows and 
knees as I covered her body with mine.
She was still panting slightly when she opened her eyes and saw me - 
without hesitation, she put threw her arms around me and gave me a 
ferocious hug and a big kiss. I could tell that she realized I still 
had her taste on me AFTER she had her tongue in my mouth: I felt her 
pause for just a moment, then she went back at me with all the 
enthusiasm she'd shown me at first.
When she let me go, and lay back again, she looked up at me and said 
"I didn't know that it could feel so good to have somebody DO that to 
me. I always thought it sounded kinda, well, gross - but it _wasn't_. 
At first, I was afraid that you'd say something, or that you were 
just doing it because you thought you had to, or something like that; 
but when you KEPT doing it, I relaxed, and then it started feeling 
better and better, until WHAM!"
I grinned at her, and asked "And when you kissed me?"
She blushed a little, and answered "I forgot about it until I had my 
tongue in your mouth - then I could kind of taste it. It really 
surprised me, actually, but it wasn't a *bad* taste or anything, so I 
just figured to hell with it."
I laughed, and said "Yeah, I did notice that last part", and getting 
another small blush from her before I went on "It's okay, Amy. I 
think every woman wonders what she tastes like after a guy does that 
to her."
"Do all women taste like that... me?"
I laughed, and answered "I can't speak for ALL women. From my limited 
experience" - she snorted at that - "I have to say 'kind of'. You 
taste different than Lucy, who tastes different than Robyn, who 
tastes different than Sandra. Yet, in a way, all of you taste a 
little bit the same - kind of like the basic chemistry is consistent, 
but each woman adds her own unique character to it."
She put her hands on my sides, and started caressing me as she raised 
her head to place a number of small, soft kisses on my face and neck 
and shoulders. As she moved, I could feel her soft pubis brushing 
against my semi-erect penis; that, with the feeling of her firm 
breasts pressing against my chest started getting me hard again. When 
she felt it, she stopped kissing me, and asked "You're going to make 
love to me now?"
"If you want me to." I answered.
She grinned, and said "I want."
I lowered my head as she raised hers, and we shared a gentle, but 
passionate, kiss as I let myself slide down her body, until my 
erection was laying against the outside of her mons. She raised her 
knees, and locked her ankles behind my back so that her pelvis was 
tilted up. That put her opening almost directly under the head of my 
penis; when our kiss broke, I eased myself back a little more, so 
that the head slid down to rest against her opening. I felt her tense 
slightly when she felt me pressing slightly against her entrance, and 
immediately stopped.
I saw the faint trace of fear in her eyes, and told her "It's okay. 
We're only going to make love IF you want to, and WHEN you want to."
She gave a nervous laugh, and said "I DO want to. It's just that all 
the times before, the guy just *pushed* himself into me, and if it 
didn't hurt, it was uncomfortable."
I smiled at her, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before 
telling her "Amy, I'm not those guys. And you're not that girl, any 
more. I'm not going to be making love TO you, and you're not going to 
be making love TO me - we're going to be making love TOGETHER. Both 
of us, as equal partners. I understand what your experience was 
before, so I'm going to wait until you let me know that you're ready, 
okay?"
I could see the relief in her face, and a few moments later, felt her 
gradually relax under me. A few seconds after that, when she realized 
that I wasn't moving, that I was literally waiting for her to let me 
know she was ready, I felt her arch her back a bit, pressing her 
vaginal opening against me. I still didn't move, and she did it 
again, more insistently, before telling me "Please. I'm ready. Make 
love with me."
With that, she reached down between us and took hold of my erection, 
sliding it between her labia so that the head was coated with her 
woman's oils, before holding me steady at her opening.
When she nodded to me, I pressed myself forward, firmly but gently. 
After a few seconds, I saw her frown, and immediately stopped 
pressing against her. She got a surprised look on her face, and asked 
me "What? What happened?"
"You looked like something was wrong - you frowned about something, 
so I stopped."
She looked confused for a moment, then smiled, saying "Oh. I was just 
thinking that you've been so patient and gentle with me, I wished it 
was easier for you. I must have made a face then, because I was upset 
with myself."
"Amy, there's nothing for you to be upset with yourself ABOUT. You've 
told me what your first time was like, and what your boyfriend in 
college was like. I know your sexual experiences haven't been very 
good. I *want* to help you change that. I *want* to do what it takes 
to help you learn to enjoy _making love_, and not just tolerate 
having sex. Don't worry about me - I'm here because I WANT to be. 
Okay?"
She nodded, and told me "I keep forgetting just how MUCH of a dear 
you are. Okay, no more bad flashbacks on what happened before. I'm 
here, now, with you."
That said, she pressed herself against me again, letting me know she 
was still ready. I pushed myself forward again, carefully, so that I 
was pressed against her opening. We looked into each other's eyes as 
I was doing that, and I could feel it as she let herself accept that 
I wasn't going to just bull my way into her. After several seconds, 
she'd relaxed enough that I could feel her entrance start to open up 
to me - and shortly after that, we both felt the head of my erection 
slide past the ring of her opening. Again, I stopped, waiting to see 
if she was experiencing any pain, or other discomfort. She let me 
know she wasn't by reaching down to put her hands on my ass, trying 
to pull me into her. From what she'd said, I knew that she was all 
too used to having a man try to bury himself in as few strokes as he 
could manage; from how tight she was, I didn't think that she'd been 
sexually active for quite some time. So I took my time - pausing 
whenever she looked hesitant or apprehensive, and making sure to 
withdraw from her a little ways every so often, to be certain that 
her oils were well-distributed along my length. It took a couple of 
minutes before we felt our pelvises touch - when they did, she got a 
mildly surprised look on her face, and looked up at me to exclaim "It 
didn't hurt! It wasn't even uncomfortable!"
Saddened by hearing her talk that way, I lowered my head to give her 
a kiss that she eagerly returned.
Underneath me, I could feel her moving slightly as she experimented 
with this new, obviously pleasant, sensation. I waited calmly, 
knowing that the more comfortable she got with it now, the more 
enjoyable she'd find it later. After a couple of minutes, she stopped 
moving to hug me again, and tell me "I didn't know it could feel like 
this - it feels *good* to have you inside me!"
With that acceptance from her, I figured it was okay to finally show 
her what making _love_ was all about.
I watched the expression on her face change when I slid myself out of 
her about half way; only to see her eyes widen when I filled her up 
again. Back out, until only the head of my penis was in her, then 
back in again, until our pubic hair merged. The smile on her face as 
she felt me moving inside her was a sight to behold - there wasn't a 
doubt in my mind that after tonight, she'd remember *this* sexual 
experience much more often than those she'd had before.
After a few more of the slow strokes in and out of her, I could see 
that she was ready - even eager - for things to move along; still, I 
took my time about speeding up, so that she'd have ample time to let 
me know if anything was wrong.
It wasn't.
In only a couple of minutes, I'd escalated into a steady pistoning in 
and out of Amy's tight, wet womanhood; from the way she hunched 
herself up at me on the inward strokes, I knew that she found it as 
pleasurable as I did - if not more so. She even lifted her head a 
couple of times to look down between us, where she could see my 
glistening erection sliding in and out of her; once, while she was 
watching, I heard her mutter "Oh, god! I can see it, and feel it, at 
the same time!" before letting her head drop back to the pillow.
I was amazed when, after only a few minutes, she seemed to have a 
small orgasm, her vagina clamping down on me as I continued to slide 
in and out of her. It seemed to pass after only a few seconds, but 
when she opened her eyes, I could see that they were slightly glazed, 
and that she had a slightly distant look on her face. It passed 
quickly enough, and I lowered my head to suck on her breasts and 
nipples. I started to feel a little strain on my back, and moved to 
relieve it by sitting back on my heels; I didn't even have to reach 
for her to pull her closer - she stayed right with me, making sure 
that I was inside her the whole time. Once in a more comfortable 
position, one that didn't require me to support my body with my arms, 
my hands were free to begin caressing her body. Once, when I had 
caressed her face, she turned her head and wrapped her lips around 
one of my fingers, sucking on it for a bit as she stared into my eyes 
- an exceptionally erotic moment.
I also used my hands to squeeze and play with her breasts and 
nipples, something that she seemed to enjoy tremendously, holding my 
hands in place when I did it. When I reached down to softly rub her 
exposed clitoris, she had another one of her mini-orgasms, this one a 
little stronger that the first. I was fascinated by how her entire 
body would tense up - including her inner muscles - then relax with a 
slight shudder as each wave of it ran through her.
When she'd recovered from that one, she held her hands out to me, 
asking me to pull her up. I did, and we hugged each other as she 
started moving herself on me, hunching her hips back and forth to 
move herself around me as I held still. I could feel her nipples 
getting even harder where they pressed into my chest, even as I could 
feel her getting wetter and hotter where she was wrapped around my 
penis. Gradually, she moved faster and faster, impaling herself on me 
harder and harder until she was almost slamming herself onto me. But 
her efforts tired her out, too, and she finally let herself move away 
from me a bit, her eyes telling me that she wanted to lay down again 
- she was panting hard enough that she couldn't speak. I let her arms 
slide through my hands to lower her onto her back again; then moved 
to hold myself over her as I went back to thrusting myself into her. 
She looked into my eyes gratefully, and ran her hands along my sides 
and back before closing her eyes to concentrate on the sensations I 
was generating in her.
Her actions seemed to have moved her well along, so as I continued 
pistoning in her, her moans of pleasure and arousal increased with my 
efforts. After a few minutes, she let her pelvis drop a bit, so that 
I was sliding in and out of her at a different angle - one that 
gently tightened the flesh at the top of her opening, applying a 
slight pressure to her erect clitoris each time I entered her again. 
With that added stimulation, she moved even more quickly toward her 
release as she kissed and bit at my chest while she raked her nails 
across my back.
After a few more minutes, I could feel her getting even tighter 
around me, and knew that she was getting close; I simply kept up the 
rhythm I'd gotten into, knowing that if it got her that far, it would 
take her the rest of the way, too. And it did.
I didn't think anything of it when she put her arms around me and 
pulled me down to where she could kiss me, then my chest and 
shoulders. I learned better when she suddenly buried her face in my 
shoulder and all but screamed her release as her vagina clamped down 
on me, and she dug her nails into my back. As tight as she'd been 
before, it was only because of her ample wetness that I'd been able 
to move in her; but when her inner muscles tightened on me that way, 
there simply wasn't anything I could do, no matter HOW wet and 
slippery she was.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though - all along my length, I 
could feel the rings of her vaginal muscles spasming, tightening down 
on me in waves of pressure-and-release from the base of my penis to 
the head. If she hadn't already used her mouth to bring me off, it 
would have been more than enough to do it then.
After the first couple of waves of her orgasm passed, I felt her 
fingernails leave my back before she fell back on the bed, gasping 
and shuddering as the rest of her orgasm washed through her. Whatever 
had happened to her before, I knew that this young lady was a sexual 
being, and that we'd released the passion she'd kept locked away for 
so long.
As her gasps quieted and her shudders slowed, I lowered my self to 
cover her body with mine, and began softly kissing her face and 
shoulders. With those new sensations, and a different reference point 
for her body, it didn't take her much longer to get her wits about 
her. When she finally opened her eyes, and saw me looking down at her 
with a smile on my face, she hugged me fiercely before rapidly 
placing small kisses all over my face and lips and anyplace else she 
could reach. Only after I'd spoken her name several times did she 
relent, and let herself fall back to the bed again, looking up at me 
with something akin to worship on her face. But before I could say 
anything, she suddenly started to cry, and hugged me again - not so 
hard this time. I spoke softly to her, offering words of reassurance 
and comfort until she released me again. When she'd wiped her eyes, I 
looked at her in concern, and asked "What is it? What's the matter?"
"There's nothing the matter, you big dummy! I'm *happy*, dammit!"
"You're happy, so you're crying?" I asked, relieved.
"Yes, I'm crying because I'm so happy! I'm happy because you made me 
feel so good, and because you've been so nice and kind and gentle and 
patient with me, and most of all because you've shown me what it's 
like to make _love_."
I managed to kiss her again before she gently pushed me away, saying 
"Don't. I must look like a mess; I always do when I cry."
I smiled at her lovingly, and said "You look fine. There's nothing 
wrong with an honest emotion, honestly expressed. But if it would 
make you feel better, I'll get you a towel or something from the 
bathroom."
She smiled back, and nodded - then got a dumbstruck look on her face 
when she felt me sliding out of her. She looked down, and saw that my 
penis was still hard, and glistening with her juices; she looked back 
up at me and asked "You're still hard? You didn't...?"
I grinned, and said "Yes, I'm still hard, and no, I didn't. What you 
did before made it easier for me to last longer this time, just like 
you wanted. If you hadn't done that, believe me, I WOULDN'T be hard, 
and I WOULD have climaxed." She looked like she wasn't quite sure 
whether to believe that, or not; when I turned to go into the 
bathroom, I heard a small gasp from her. When I came out again with a 
hand towel for her, she saw my erection swaying in front of me, and 
watched it the whole time I was walking back to the bed. Only when I 
tried to hand her the towel did she look up - and blush furiously. 
Believe me, on a redhead, that's something to see.
"I was, uh, just, um..."
"Amy, it's okay."
She blushed again, then exclaimed "Oh! I almost forgot! Your back!"
"What about my back?" I asked.
Another blush, and she hesitantly said "Uh, this last time, I guess I 
got a little, um, enthusiastic. I kinda hurt you, I think."
"What?"
"I kinda left some scratches, and even broke the skin; you've got a 
few spots where you're bleeding a little."
"Oh, well."
"'oh, well'? You're not going to do something about it? You're not 
mad or anything?"
"Been hurt worse, for a lot worse reasons."
She gave me a dirty look, and said "Come here. Let me at least wipe 
it off for you."
"Only if you'll sit on my lap when you do it."
She hesitated a moment, then grinned and said "Deal!" before going 
into the bathroom to get a damp washcloth.
I sat down, and she moved over to sit on my lap sideways. I stopped 
her, and shook my head, telling her "Uh-uh. Not like that."
She looked confused for a moment, then brightened up - facing me, she 
moved to put her legs on each side of mine before lowering herself. I 
put my hands on her hips, and she let me guide her over my erection; 
once in position, she easily lowered herself onto it until she was 
firmly planted in my lap, my hardness again filling her.
She had a distracted smile on her face for a little bit before she 
remembered why she was there, and reached around me to use the 
washcloth to wipe off my back. When she put her arms around me, I put 
mine around her, and started caressing her back before letting my 
hands wander down to cup her asscheeks, gently kneading them before 
moving on to caress her hips and run my hands up her sides. Every 
time she moved the washcloth, she would move on my lap, changing the 
way my penis felt inside her - several times, she repeated a motion 
when it felt good to her. While she was doing that, I continued to 
stroke whatever parts of her body I could reach, though my favorite 
was the firm, smooth mounds of her ass.
When she pulled the washcloth back around, I could see that it was 
visibly pink; but not too much so. Reluctantly, she started to raise 
herself off of me; I stopped her and asked "Think you could hit the 
bathroom floor from here? If you can, we'll get it later. Unless, of 
course, you *want* to get up..."
She shook her head, and with a grin, turned to throw the damp cloth 
toward the bathroom - her breasts jiggled very fetchingly when she 
did - and managed to hit the floor, but just barely. Giggling, she 
turned back to me, and asked "Now, where was I again?"
I grinned back at her, and said "I'm not sure about you, but I 
believe that I was right... about... HERE!" before lowering my head 
to take one of her nipples in my mouth, and start sucking on it. I 
heard her give a deep-throated moan of pleasure before she started 
slowly raising and lowering herself slightly on my lap, sliding 
herself up and down on my hardness.
Cupping her breasts in my hands, I squeezed them gently as I went 
from one nipple to the other, licking and sucking on them, making 
them stand out more and more from the small, dark pink spots of her 
areolas.
After several minutes of this, she slowed, then stopped, telling me 
"As nice as this is - and it IS nice! - I'm starting to cramp a 
little in my leg. Is there anything else like this we can do?"
I released her nipple from my mouth - watching as it crinkled 
slightly in the relatively cool air of the room - and told her "If we 
move onto the bed more, you can stay on top, and just have a little 
more room to move around if you want."
She grinned, and said "I want."
With a little pleasant trial-and-error, we figured out how to get 
both of us moved more onto the bed without to separate from each 
other. When I was flat on my back, she managed to pull her legs 
underneath herself, so that she was squatting over me. Leaning 
forward, she put her hands on my chest to steady herself. Looking 
into my eye, she raised herself up until the head of my penis was 
_just barely_ inside her. Then lowered herself again *ever* so 
slowly, the satisfied smile on her face telling me that she was 
savoring the sensation of my hardness filling her womanhood. When she 
was resting firmly on my pelvis again, she paused, and I reached up 
to cup her breasts for a bit before softly squeezing them, and 
pulling gently on her nipples. She pushed her chest into my hands in 
encouragement, and I continued playing with her mounds as she moved 
herself around slightly on me, discovering how it felt when I pressed 
against her from different directions.
I was running my thumbs over her nipples when she raised herself over 
me again, letting nearly three quarters of my manhood escape her 
warm, wet clutches before lowering herself back down. A few moments 
later, she did it again, then again. Before long, she'd gotten into a 
slow, steady rhythm of impaling herself on me time after time.
The slowness of what she was doing didn't last long, though. Over the 
next few minutes, the tempo increases gradually as her excitement and 
arousal took control of her.
Finally, the effort got to her again, and her motions began to slow 
down. I looked up at her and asked "If you'd like to try something a 
little different?"
She grinned, and nodded her head before letting herself come to rest 
on me. I told her "If you'll get on your hands and knees, I'll get 
behind you, and..." She expressed her understanding, and with a faint 
groan of disappointment, raised herself up until I came free of her, 
then moved her leg over so that she was on her knees next to me, 
waiting. I sat up, then got to my knees, the two of us shared a deep 
kiss before she turned around and lowered herself to her hands. I 
moved behind her, then forward so that my erection was resting 
against her butt. She looked over her shoulder at me, in complete 
trust, and lowered her shoulders a bit, so that her wet opening was 
more available to me. With one hand on her hip, I used the other to 
angle myself down slightly, so that the head of my penis was wedged 
between her labia. When she felt that I was in position, she pressed 
back toward me, sliding herself onto me a little ways. I put my hand 
on her other hip, and we each gently pushed ourselves toward the 
other - and both of us felt the delightful sensation of my manhood 
sliding into her, until I was completely buried in her in a single 
stroke.
I leaned forward a bit, and reached down to cup her dangling breasts, 
softly squeezing them before pulling on her nipples slightly. She 
gave an appreciative moan when I did that, and moved one of her hands 
to cover mine, squeezing it.
Still holding onto her breasts, I eased myself back a bit, and felt 
my penis sliding out of her - accompanied by a disappointed groan 
from Amy. I stopped when I felt the ring of muscle at her entrance 
around me, just behind the head, and waited a few moments before 
pressing myself back into her as Amy moaned her pleasure.
Over the next minute or so, I slowly speeded up my actions - but when 
I found that holding onto Amy's breasts made it awkward, I let them 
go to put my hands back on her hips so that I could more easily move 
in her.
Again, it didn't take me long to get into a rhythm of pistoning in 
and out of her; and by this time, the feeling of her tight, wet 
sheath sliding up and down my erection was feeling pretty damn good. 
She seemed to be enjoying what *I* was doing, too - over the liquid 
sounds of our union, I could hear her panting her pleasure, and 
softly moaning her arousal.
Leaning back a bit, I changed the angle that I was entering her at - 
increasing the noises she was making, and letting me see how her 
tight opening tried to stay with me when I pulled out, only to 
disappear when I pushed back in. My manhood was shiny with her 
juices, and I could smell the distinct odor of them in the air. With 
all of these things helping me along, it didn't take long before I 
felt the tingle in my balls that signaled my release wasn't far off.
Determined to get Amy off one more time, I straightened up and 
started moving a little more quickly in her, and a little more 
forcefully. From the way her insides clasped at me, I knew that she 
was enjoying it. I could also tell that she was getting close from 
the way she groaned almost continuously; I was glad to hear it 
because I knew that I wasn't far off, myself.
Finally, I felt my balls tighten up, and knew what was next - I took 
a couple of long, slow strokes in her, then buried myself in her as 
far as I could as the first spurt of my semen erupted. That must have 
been all she needed, because as I felt the next load start it's 
journey, she clamped down on me as she threw her head back in a 
(thankfully) silent scream of release. Again, the sensations of her 
vagina as she orgasmed were phenomenal - and this time, I was free to 
enjoy every last one of them as I pulsed load after load of sperm 
into her hot, wet insides.
The fluttering of her vagina kept me hard, and the incredible 
tightness of her as she orgasmed would have kept me from withdrawing, 
even if I'd wanted to. Instead, I leaned over her again, my hands 
next to hers, covering her body with mine as her climax gradually 
tapered off. When enough of it had passed, she started to shakily 
lower herself to the bed; I put an arm around her and helped ease 
both of us down, so that I stayed close to - and inside of - her. 
When she was finally on her stomach, I eased my legs to the outsides 
of hers, so that I was crouched over her.
After a bit, she managed to turn her head enough that we could share 
a kiss before she told me "Clara Hawkes was right - you are 
*something*. I don't think she meant it quite this way, though!", 
with a giggle. I laughed, and told her "You seem to have done pretty 
well yourself, there, Agent Jones."
She kissed me again, and answered "It wouldn't have been possible 
without you."
We lay there like that for another couple of minutes before my penis 
finally softened enough to pull free of her. When it did, she got a 
surprised look on her face, and said "THAT part I'd forgotten about - 
the getting sticky and feeling, um, drafty, when it's over."
I nuzzled her ear, and said "If you'd like, I'd be happy to share a 
shower with you - that would pretty much solve both problems, I 
think."
She all but purred as she told me "I'd love it."
It was a considerably changed Amy Jones that walked next to me as we 
headed in to share a steamy, playful shower. About halfway through 
it, I was industriously lathering up her breasts as she did the same 
for my penis when she gave a sudden start before looking in my eyes 
to tell me "I just realized: this is the first time in my LIFE that 
I've done anything like this - and I'm actually _enjoying_ it!"
"Done anything like what?" I asked.
"Taken a shower with a guy. Been naked with him with the lights on. 
Just STOOD there while he played with my tits. Not just had my hand 
on his penis, but actually *played* with it. Laughed and joked and 
had FUN with him afterwards."
"Amy, that's what love is all about."
She suddenly got serious, and looked into my eyes as she asked "Do 
you love me, then?"
I kept her gaze, and answered "Of course I do, Amy. I'm not going to 
dump Lucy for you and run off to Mexico or anything, but yes, I love 
you."
She shook her head, and answered "No, I didn't expect anything like 
that, and I wouldn't want it, anyway. I just wanted to know that 
somebody loved me, was all."
This time, it was MY turn to look into HER eyes as I told her "Amy, 
I'm not the only one. Lucy loves you, for who you are, and for what 
you do. Robyn loves you for the same reasons, as does Sandra. I'm 
sure that there are plenty of other people that love you, too - and 
if you'll look around you, you'll know who they are."
She nodded solemnly, then after a moment, got a grin on her face and 
said "Want to go see what Lucy and the girls have been up to?"
I grinned back at her, and told her it sounded like a *great* idea. 
We rinsed each other off - groping each other in the process - and 
turned off the shower. Once we'd dried each other off, we headed for 
the door between the rooms. Amy was right beside me, not a stitch on, 
and not the slightest bit concerned about it.
I quietly opened the door, and we looked in to see Lucy and the girls 
tangled up on the bed. When we got close enough, we could see that 
all three of their faces were shiny with each other's juices. I felt 
Amy give a little shiver next to me, and whispered "What is it?"
She whispered back "They all look *so* lovely and happy like that, 
together. I wish I could be there with them."
She got a surprised look on her face when I told her "Then go ahead. 
I promise, every one of them would be delighted to have you there."
She looked at me with concern on her face, and quietly told me "What 
if I made a mistake? What if I was too nervous? I've never really 
*done* anything like that - except for Virgie!"
I smiled at her, and pointed out "You'd never done anything like what 
WE just did, either - but once you got started, it turned out okay, I 
think."
She gave me a playful pinch, and said "It turned out better than just 
'okay' - it was *great*!" with a grin.
About that time, Lucy opened her eyes, startled when she saw us 
standing there. Her little jump woke up Robyn and Sandra; the three 
of them looked at us sheepishly before untangling themselves.
In a passable Ricky Ricardo imitation, I said "Lucy, you got some 
'splainin' to do!" - and all of them, Amy included, started laughing. 
And kept laughing until tears ran down their cheeks.
When the laughter died down, Amy surprised all three of them by 
leaning over to give each of them a kiss - and not just a dainty one 
on the cheek, either. All three of them found out that this girl 
could KISS, when she wanted to. When she stood up again, all three of 
them were staring at her, dumbfounded. It was Lucy who finally asked 
"Okay, I'll play - what the hell happened to YOU? I'm not 
complaining, mind you, but you are most definitely NOT the same Amy 
Jones that we left alone with him."
Amy blushed, and told her "What happened to me was HIM."
Lucy looked at me, and asked "What the hell did you do to her? Or 
with her? Or whatever?"
Amy just laughed, and said "What he did was show me what REAL love 
is, and what patience and understanding and caring are. What he did 
was show me what tolerance and acceptance are. What he did was show 
me that it's okay to be ME, and that people love me."
Lucy looked at me again, before turning back to Amy to ask "And just 
how did he accomplish all of this?"
"He made love TO me, and WITH me. I'd never had an orgasm with a man 
before; and even the ones I gave myself were small. But HE gave me 
*three* INCREDIBLE ones. Any one of them would have been more than 
everything else I've experienced, all put together, but he gave me 
THREE of them. And while he was doing it, he was so kind and gentle 
and patient and _forgiving_. Now I know why all of you love him so 
very much."
"So you were with him long enough to accomplish all that, and have 
three orgasms, too?" Lucy asked.
Nervously, Amy answered "Yes."
"Good!"
Surprised, Amy asked "You're not upset? That we made love like that, 
and that he did all that for me?"
Lucy just laughed, and said "Amy, *I'm* the one that left you with 
him, remember? *I* know what kind of man he is, and I could see that 
you were kind of messed up about love and sex and all that. I knew 
that if I left you alone with him, there was a damned good chance 
that he'd do just exactly what he did - with my whole-hearted 
agreement, mind you. So no, I'm not upset; I'm _glad_ that he was 
able to help you that way - not just about getting your head on 
straight, but having real orgasms with a real guy. And from the way 
you just kissed me - and the girls, too, if their expressions were 
any indication - you relaxed about more than just making love with a 
man."
Amy blushed, and said "Yeah, I did."
"I'm going to take a wild guess here, but I think maybe you even 
relaxed enough to want to spend some time with us, too?"
Amy looked at me, and I nodded to her; she turned back and said "Yes, 
I would."
Lucy just smiled at her, as did Robyn and Sandra, before they pushed 
the bedcovers down, and opened their arms to her. I could see the 
tears in her eyes as she made her way to the bed, and into their 
welcoming arms.
They shared a group hug before starting to kiss each other - REAL 
kisses of love and affection - before Amy hesitantly reached up to 
put her hand on Lucy's breast. When she felt Lucy lean forward a bit 
to make firmer contact, she smiled; when Robyn and Sandra reached 
out, each caressing one of her firm mounds, Amy's face got positively 
radiant.
I stood there, happy to see all of THEM happy, for several minutes as 
they quickly got familiar with each other, in more ways than one. 
Finally, they settled down enough that Lucy, then Amy, remembered 
that they'd left me standing there. Even after Lucy and Amy stopped, 
it still took a few seconds before Robyn and Sandra followed their 
example.
I told Lucy "We've still got a bunch of FBI agents hanging around us, 
so don't kill her, okay? It wouldn't look good. And remember that she 
still has to be able to get out of here under her own power so she 
can get some rest tomorrow; she's got work to do tomorrow night, 
right?"
Lucy grinned at me, and said "Yes, Boss. No killing FBI people, 
check. Has to leave under her own power, check. Has to get some rest 
tomorrow, check. Are ravishing and debauchery allowed?"
I grinned back, and said "As long as you don't break the rules, yes. 
But I'll warn you: she's a fast learner, so you may have your hands 
full."
Lucy looked down to where she had one of Amy's breasts in her hand, 
and reported "Yes, one of them already is!" - and all four of them 
started giggling.
Finally, Amy looked up at me, and asked "What about you?"
"I think I'm going to have some things to do tomorrow, so I'd better 
get some sleep. Besides, they left us alone, so I'll leave you alone. 
You ladies have fun."
Sandra spoke up, saying "Uh, Dan?"
"What is it, Stinker?"
"Um, I think I'd be more comfortable with you, instead of here. Can I 
stay with you tonight?"
When she heard that, Amy got a surprised, slightly pained look on her 
face. When Lucy saw it, she explained "It's not you, Amy. Sandra 
started her period yesterday, and she just doesn't want her problem 
to get in the way of your fun. Our fun."
Relieved, Amy looked at Sandra, and told her "Sandra, all four of us 
have periods, right? I promise, it won't bother me; but if it makes 
you feel better, and you really want to, then I won't mind if you 
want to stay with Dan tonight."
	Sandra thought it over for a bit, then looked at me and said 
"Uh, is it okay if I come over there later?"
	I laughed, and told her "Sure, Sandra. Any time you want will 
be fine."
Relieved, Sandra looked at Amy as she said "In that case, I think I'd 
like to stay here for a little while."
That settled, I wished them all a good night - "I think it will be!", 
Lucy told me, laughing - and I headed back into Lucy's room, closing 
the door behind me. Once there, I got myself a beer out of the mini-
bar, and laid back to watch a movie while I drank it - it still 
wasn't very late at night.
An hour or so later, Sandra came wobbling into the room, obviously 
worn out - and, just as obviously, happy as she could be. She came 
over to kiss me, and I caught the distinct smells of the other three, 
with a predominance of Amy. I grinned at her and asked "I'll take it 
that all of you have been having fun?" She just giggled, and said 
"Yeah. Lots of it. That Amy is a GOOD kisser!"
I gave her a pat on the fanny, and said "That she is. Why don't you 
grab a quick shower, and when you get out, we'll lay here and snuggle 
for a while."
She nodded her agreement, and pulled my hand over so she could have a 
sip of my beer before she headed for the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she came out and crawled into bed with me, 
tucking herself into my side and pulling my arm around her. We lay 
there like that until the movie finished; as the credits were 
scrolling, I looked down to see that she'd fallen asleep. Carefully, 
so as not to disturb her, I called down to leave a wakeup call at the 
front desk. I also spoke to Agent Gallery, to let him know that Amy 
would be staying with us for a while - possibly until morning. I 
heard the smile in his voice as he told me "Good. She's a damn fine 
agent, but she doesn't have enough *friends*. She needs to unwind a 
little." I knew that HE knew something was happening - and cared only 
that she was being properly treated, and taken care of.
"You sound like an understanding man, Agent Gallery."
"Please, call me Tom. Maybe I am, I don't know. I just know that 
we're a tight bunch of people. We have to be, of course. While the 
rest of us talk about our home lives with each other, it seems like 
Amy never talks about the people she knows AWAY from work. She's a 
damn good looking woman, but we never see HER come in looking like 
the rest of us do when WE'VE gotten plenty of 'bed rest', as we call 
it. She's due for it. She deserves it."
"You're certainly a thoughtful man, Tom. Well, we won't be going out 
tonight, so you can make your arrangements accordingly. I seriously 
doubt that any of us will be awake before, oh, eight o'clock, at the 
earliest."
"Thanks. Take good care of her, Dan."
"We will, Tom. Good night."
That done, I hung up the phone, and rolled onto my side so I could 
hold Sandra close to me as I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning before my wakeup call; I went ahead and 
called down to let them know they could cancel it. Sandra looked like 
she was pretty well out of it, so I went ahead and got some coffee 
started before heading into the bathroom.
Clean and shaven, I saw that the coffeemaker was done, and poured 
myself a cup - Sandra was still well and truly out of it.
When I'd finished my coffee, I called down to the front desk, and was 
quickly put in touch with the duty agent - Agent Hendricks. I told 
him that everyone else was sleeping in, but that I'd be down for some 
breakfast in about ten minutes, if that was okay. He assured me that 
the caf  in the hotel was quite slow, and that they'd be waiting for 
me. He also told me that I had a message from Jules Francone - Agent 
Gallery had had the front desk hold the call so that we wouldn't be 
disturbed so soon after the 'incident', as he put it. I thanked him, 
and hung up before pouring myself a second cup of coffee.
As I was going through the second cup, I got dressed; when I saw 
Amy's purse with her weapon in it, I decided that I should probably 
take it to the other room, where she could see that it was safe. I 
carefully opened the door, and saw the three of them snuggling 
together on the bed; Amy was wrapped up by Lucy and Robyn. All three 
had happy, satiated smiles on their faces, so I knew they'd had a 
good time. I put Amy's purse on a dresser, well away from anything 
else, so that she could see it from the bed. I couldn't help stopping 
by the bed to give all three of them a kiss, not at all surprised 
that each of them smelled strongly of the other two. Again, I 
couldn't resist the temptation to grab my digital camera and take a 
few photos, a mix of close-ups of each of them, and a few of them as 
a group.
That done, I went back into Lucy's room, closing the door behind me, 
and put on my holstered pistol before heading for the door. I quietly 
undid all the locks, then opened it a crack to peer into the hallway. 
There were two different agents out there; again, one at each end of 
the hallway. Both nodded in greeting, and I went on out, making sure 
the door was locked behind me. Down in the lobby, I saw that Agent 
Hendricks wasn't in any mood to fool around - there were a couple of 
people in suits that all but screamed "FBI". I stopped by the desk 
and picked up the message they had for me before heading for the 
caf . I was only a couple of feet from the desk when a man walked 
toward me - Agent Hendricks, I expected. He introduced himself, and 
thanked me for letting them know what my plans were. I assured him it 
was okay, and inquired about the men in suits who were making no 
pretense of not watching out for me. He told me "I know that you 
don't think anyone from the Francone family will be bothering you, 
but it seemed prudent to make sure that anyone else out there knows 
we're here, too." I thanked him, and asked if I could buy him a cup 
of coffee. He hesitated, and I told him "I expect that I'm going to 
be paying some people a visit- probably today, but maybe tomorrow. 
I'd like to work with you on the logistics of it." When he heard 
that, he agreed, and the two of us continued to the caf . After we 
got some coffee, I ordered, and we talked over what I thought was 
going to happen while I waited for my meal.
When I'd finished breakfast, Agent Hendricks and I shook hands before 
I headed back for the room. Once there, I went into the room that the 
girls hadn't used in a couple of days, and made my call to Jules. He 
answered quickly, and let me know that he'd made arrangements for 
'the interested party' and I to meet sometime that day.
I asked when would be a good time, and he told me "Pretty much any 
time - just make it at least a couple hours from now so they can make 
arrangements, okay?" 
"How about one o'clock, then?" I asked.
"Beautiful. You know you're going into the lions den, don't you?"
I gave a small laugh, and said "Yeah - same old tune."
He laughed then, too, and said "I guess it's nothing new to you, is 
it?"
"Not really."
"Well, I'll be there, too, kind of as a go-between. I know my uncle, 
and I know you - maybe we can settle this before it goes too far."
"I hope so, Guido. Stuff like this doesn't do *anybody* any good."
"I hear that. Okay, I'll see you later, okay?"
"See you then."
That conversation over, I called down to speak with Agent Hendricks. 
When I told him what Jules and I had set up, he said "His uncle, huh? 
Must be Benito Francone, a.k.a. Benny. He and Jules' daddy were in 
business when Jules' dad kinda got blown up. Benny had the entire 
operation then, and we heard that he _personally_ took care of the 
people that killed his brother. No bodies were ever found; it was 
like they dropped off the face of the earth. He's a mean old bird, 
and hard as they come. Watch yourself."
"Oh, I will. He's not the first hard-ass I've had to deal with."
Hendricks laughed, and said "Yeah, I guess not. I'll bet he's gonna 
be some surprised at you, though!"
I verified the arrangements I'd made with him over breakfast before 
ending the conversation.
With a few hours to fill before my meeting, I went back into 'my' 
room to collect my new laptop. Once in there, I saw that Amy was 
mostly awake. When she saw me, she woke up completely, and gave me a 
radiant smile of greeting before gesturing that she wanted me to come 
over to the bed. I sat on the edge, careful not to wake up Lucy or 
Robyn, and Amy reached out to take my hand. Holding it to her mouth, 
she softly kissed my palm before holding it to her face as she 
whispered "Thank you. Last night was the best time I've had in my 
_life_. I never felt so loved, so accepted, by *anyone*, not even my 
own family."
I smiled at her, and took her hand in mine in return, telling her "It 
was my pleasure - OUR pleasure. Know that we love you, and when you 
get the chance, pass it along."
She nodded solemnly, and I leaned over to give her a kiss - and 
getting a taste of Lucy and Robyn in the process. I smacked my lips 
in appreciation, and she blushed slightly when I told her "Hmmmm. 
Robyn, with a little Lucy tossed in for variety..."
I grinned when I saw the blush, and told her "I'll be in the other 
room, working a little bit. You're welcome to stay as long as you 
want - just remember, if you leave before they all get to give you a 
proper goodbye, you'll be in some *serious* trouble."
She grinned back at me, and said "I wouldn't dream of it - I owe 
them, and you, too much."
"Amy, you owe us nothing. We did it because we love you. No more, no 
less."
She gave my palm another soft kiss, then released it so I could stand 
up and collect my things before heading back into the girls room.
Back in the other room, I got the laptop fired up, and spent a little 
time getting the software I used loaded on it. That done, there was a 
little fine-tuning the settings, and I logged into my internet 
provider to check my email. I was pleasantly surprised to find that 
nearly all of my customers had replied to the messages I'd sent them, 
saying they appreciated the warning, and wishing me well. When I saw 
that, I silently laughed to myself, thinking "If they only KNEW how 
well it turned out!".
The couple of people that had problems or questions were easily dealt 
with, so it wasn't long before I was done. Email out of the way, I 
started working on the project that I'd set aside to come help Lucy; 
I'd copied the necessary files to a few diskettes, so was able to 
pretty much pick up where I'd left off. When I checked the time 
again, I still had an hour and a half before my meeting; I saved my 
work, and went in to see what the others were up to.
I opened the door to 'my' room, and saw that it was empty. Continuing 
on, I found them all on the bed in Lucy's room, snuggling as they 
watched cartoons on TV, of all things. All four of them clambered off 
the bed to come over to hug and kiss me when they saw me. Amy and 
Lucy were particularly enthusiastic in their greetings, making sure 
that I *knew* I'd been kissed. Almost had my socks rolling up and 
down...
Sandra told me that she'd woken up and went looking for me; when she 
got to my room, she saw the three of them in bed, and decided to join 
them for a little bit while she and Amy talked quietly so as not to 
wake Lucy or Robyn. Lucy was the next to wake up, and finally Robyn. 
With all of them awake, they decided that they smelled like a used 
brothel, and went in to take a group shower that turned into a grope 
session. Dried off, Amy told them that I was working in the other 
room, and they'd decided to leave me alone, figuring that I'd been 
busy enough with all of them the last few days. Instead, they'd gone 
to Lucy's room to watch TV, so they'd be sure and not disturb me. The 
idea of cartoons had actually been Amy's - it sounded like fun, and 
they'd all agreed.
I told them that I'd be going out early that afternoon, but that I'd 
be back in a couple of hours, tops. They all looked apprehensive, but 
I told them that it was just a meeting, and that there wasn't 
anything to worry about. Lucy and Amy looked dubious, but didn't say 
anything; Robyn and Sandra accepted it without any noticeable 
problem.
They invited me to join them, and when I agreed, Lucy and Amy got 
into a friendly argument about who sat on my lap - Amy wanted Lucy to 
do it, and Lucy wanted Amy Amy finally gave in when Robyn and Sandra 
chimed in, telling her that she was the guest so she'd better do it, 
or they'd positively *ravish* her. In mock fear, Amy made her way 
over to me, and let me hold her as Lucy snuggled into my side, with 
Robyn, then Sandra on the other.
When I figured it was time, I hugged Amy and told them that I had to 
go - Amy got off my lap, and she and Lucy stood up to let me get off 
the bed. Both kissed me again - Lucy looking on in amusement when Amy 
saw her watching and hesitated a moment - and told me to hurry back. 
I assured them I would, and headed out the door.
In the lobby, Agent Hendricks was waiting for me, along with the two 
suits I'd seen earlier. He asked me if I was sure I wanted to do it 
this way, and I told him I was. With a sigh, he gestured to the other 
two agents, and the four of us headed for the parking lot. There, we 
got into an issue FBI car, and left, another car of agents right 
behind us.
After a while, we pulled up to the gates of a small estate - probably 
the size of a half-dozen 'normal' house lots, with a guy standing 
there. I handed my holstered pistol to Agent Hendricks, and told him 
"Try not to lose this, okay? I kinda like it."
He laughed, and said "It'll be here when you get out."
I got out of the car, and it and the one full of agents pulled out of 
the driveway to park across the street from the gate. The guy 
standing there watched all this carefully. When I walked up to him, I 
told him "My name is Dan Andrews. I believe I'm expected."
He looked me over, and nodded before opening a small personnel gate 
to the side of the big heavy one across the driveway. I went in, and 
was immediately met by a couple of largish guys in suits who told me 
"Sorry, sir, but we gotta check to make sure you're not wired, or 
carrying."
"That's fine. I left the hardware with the FBI boys out front; I 
don't think I want a wire any more than you do - but go ahead."
Both of them nodded, and politely - but thoroughly - frisked me, and 
checked to make sure I wasn't wearing a listening device. Both gave 
me a look when they realized I was wearing a vest, but didn't say 
anything.
One of them escorted me to the front door of the house - easily a 
dozen rooms - which opened as we got close. Another man in a suit 
came out, and the one with me told him "He's clean. Got a vest, 
though." The one who came out nodded, and led me into the house, and 
on into a large room. Inside, there was a sizeable conference table. 
At one end sat an elderly man, with a couple of younger men seated to 
each side of him. Behind him stood a couple of heavy-set fellows, 
with a couple more standing off to each side of the room.
When I went in, the elderly man stood up, and introduced himself "I 
take it you're Dan Andrews. My name is Benito Falcone. My nephew, 
Jules, tells me that it might be worthwhile for us to have a little 
talk."
"Glad to meet you, Mr. Falcone. I'm hoping that we can sit down and 
talk out this problem that we seem to have, before anybody gets 
hurt."
About that time, the guy that met me at the door walked over to him 
and whispered something into his ear, then left.
Francone looked at me a moment, then said "I understand you were 
brought here by some FBI people. That was not a friendly thing to do, 
I think."
"The FBI people were assigned to me by their office. It seemed better 
to have them with me, out in the open, than have them scurrying 
around where nobody could see them. You know they're there. They know 
I'm in here. It helps prevent any problems or misunderstandings."
He gave a small laugh, and said "And makes it easier for you to leave 
here. Okay, I'm not playing with a dummy. But we've still got a 
problem. I understand that you found some information that you gave 
to the FBI about some associates of mine. This information is going 
to cause them some problems. When it causes them problems, it causes 
ME problems, and I don't LIKE problems. I think the easiest thing 
would be for me to get rid of the cause of all these problems."
"That wouldn't do you any good, Mister Falcone. All the information I 
have is already in the hands of the FBI. Even if something was to 
happen to me, it wouldn't hurt their case even a little bit."
"Perhaps. But if something was to happen to you, it might let other 
people know that it isn't a good idea to make me unhappy."
"I think that there are people who would tell you that it isn't a 
good idea to make ME unhappy, either, Mister Falcone."
"You're talking about Vinnie? Yeah, I suppose he would - but then 
again, he's not going to be happy with you when he can move around 
again."
"As long as he's unhappy someplace else, I'm not going to concern 
myself about it. I just want to see an end to OUR problem."
He looked at me for a long moment, then said "You want an end to our 
problem, but you're not giving me anything to work with, here. What's 
to keep me from having some people pay you a little visit, and maybe 
deal with you that way?"
"Because if you did, those people might not find it so easy to visit 
anyone else after that - THEY might be the ones that get dealt with."
He got an outraged look on his face, and exclaimed "What? You're 
talking to me like that? What do you think, you're some kind of tough 
guy?!"
I just stood there, and shrugged my shoulders.
Behind me, I heard Jules tell him "Uncle Benny, he doesn't think he's 
a tough guy. He's what tough guys WANT to be."
Falcone calmed himself a bit at that, and watched as Jules and I 
shook hands before he pulled me into a hug, and said "It's good to 
see you again, Boomer. Even like this."
"Nice to see you learned how to stay out of trouble in helicopters, 
Guido."
He hugged me again, and turned to Falcone to say "Uncle Benny, this 
man, he doesn't scare. Not because he's stupid, but because he's a 
lot tougher and a lot smarter than most people give him credit for. 
You remember I told you about how I got shot down in... that place?"
Falcone nodded, and Jules went on to tell him "This man here, and 
some others, are the ones that pulled me out before I *really* got 
into trouble. Even then, it was pretty exciting getting back. Anybody 
you send after him, they won't come back. God's honest truth, I'm 
surprised Vinnie and Charlie did. I talked to them. Neither one of 
them has the faintest idea of what he did - all Vinnie knows is that 
he woke up in the hospital; all Charley knows is that he was looking 
down the barrel of a .45 before he even knew this man moved. You know 
Charlie - and this man SCARED him."
"Okay, so maybe he's tough. But dammit, he's costing me a lot of 
money!"
"Uncle Benny, you KNEW those people were crooks when you went into 
business with them. Now you're gonna get all upset that they stole 
your money?"
"Them I can take care of. But I don't like this one going to the FBI 
and making trouble. I think maybe I need to take care of him, so 
nobody else gets any fancy ideas."
"Uncle Benny, I promise you: you don't want to start that kind of 
trouble with him. Believe me, I saw what him and his friends can do. 
They don't make war. They ARE war. They're the people Uncle Sam sends 
in to soften people up before war happens, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So maybe he's lucky. I bet he can't be lucky 
forever."
"He doesn't have to be. Uncle Benny, I don't think you understand 
just what this man can do. If he got it into his head that he wanted 
to kill you, there's nothing anybody in this room could do to stop 
it. NOTHING."
"He'd be killed, if he tried."
"Maybe - but I can tell you that HE wouldn't die until after YOU did. 
And he'd probably take everybody else in this room with him. Then 
when his friends heard about it, they'd take care of the rest of us. 
They know I'm not in the business, so I'd probably wouldn't get hurt 
too bad - but by the time they were done, this family would be 
nothing but widows and orphans."
That gave the old man something to think about. When he stopped to 
take a drink from the glass in front of him, Jules told him "Uncle 
Benny, remember when I was younger, and started sniffing after the 
girls? Remember what you told me - that I had to think with my 
brains, not my balls? I think it's time I reminded you of the same 
thing."
The old man looked at him a moment, before nodding his head slightly.
Here, I spoke up again, offering something I'd thought about that 
morning.
"Mister Francone, there's something else for you to think about."
"What's that, tough guy?"
"I told you that the FBI already has everything I know. You could be 
using this time to cut the damage you're going to have, instead of 
fussing over me. There are going to be people that the FBI is going 
to want to talk to - people you should talk to FIRST. From what they 
told me, they think they can take out as much as half your 
organization. I'd think you'd want to stop that."
He asked me "Why you telling me this, instead of just watching them 
do it?"
"Because I don't want any trouble with you - trouble that wouldn't do 
either one of us any good. I give you a little warning so you can 
save some of what you've got here, and you decide that I'm not worth 
messing with. That way, both of us come out of it with something, 
instead of both of us losing everything."
That was an idea that he could understand - a little mutual back-
scratching. And keeping at least SOME of what he already had. I could 
see in his face that he knew he had a serious problem with the FBI 
investigation.
Finally, he said "What about those assholes, and the money they 
stole?"
I shrugged again, and told him 'You do business with crooks, you take 
the chance of getting cheated. I think you have other sources of 
income you can use to make it up. And them? They know they did you 
wrong. They know you won't be happy about it. Do you think they're 
going to be feeling safe and secure and comfortable in prison, 
knowing that you can get to them any time you want?"
With that thought, he cackled, and said "I think maybe I could learn 
to like you, mister tough guy. Yeah, I got 'other sources of income'. 
This is gonna hurt me, but not so bad, maybe. Okay, you walk outta 
here, I forget about you - I got an organization to take care of, and 
I don't need any extra trouble. But you don't go causing me any more 
problems, right?"
"I got no beef with you, Mister Falcone. I just want me and my 
friends to be left alone."
He nodded, and said "Okay, that's how it is, then."
At this point, Jules spoke up, saying "Uncle Benny?"
"What is it, Jules?"
"Just to make sure there aren't any misunderstandings, maybe it would 
be a good idea if you let Vinnie and the other boys know that you 
were okay with this, and that you wouldn't like them bothering him?"
The old man nodded, and looked at me, saying "Any of my boys show up, 
it's them, not me. How you deal with them is up to you - I won't get 
involved."
I nodded, and told him "Fair enough, Mister Falcone. Thank you."
He looked me over again, and said "Yeah, I think I could like you. 
You're nice and quiet and polite and all that, but you got *balls*. I 
think maybe Jules did us BOTH a favor, being here - now that I look 
closer, I can see that there's steel in you."
I just smiled at him, and said "It's been a pleasure meeting you, 
Mister Falcone".
He laughed, and waved his hand in dismissal; Jules walked with me as 
I headed for the door. Outside, we stood and talked for a little bit, 
him telling me that he'd gotten an architecture degree, and had his 
own office now. He laughed, and told me how upset the family had been 
when he'd turned away the clients they'd sent him - then been proud 
when he'd become a success without their help. We exchanged business 
cards as an easy way to contact each other, with promises to stay in 
touch.
Back outside the gate, Agent Hendricks got out of the car, and 
shielded me while I got the holster back in place. I had to admit to 
myself that it made me feel a little more secure having it there, and 
decided that carrying it after all this was over might not be a bad 
idea.
On the way back to the hotel, I told him how the conversation had 
gone. He had trouble believing that old Benito Francone had let 
somebody off the hook like that, but I just told him that his 
informants would verify it soon enough. I think my confidence did as 
much to convince him as what I'd told him. He wasn't going to let the 
detail off the hook until Agent Hawkes told him, too, though.
Back at the hotel, I found Lucy waiting for me. She gave me a 
terrific welcoming kiss, then another, saying "The second one was 
from Amy. She said to tell you 'thank you' again, too."
I smiled, and pulled Lucy into a tight embrace, kissing her for all I 
was worth. When it finally ended, she pulled back a little, and said 
"Whoosh! What brought that on? Not that I'm complaining, I just want 
to know how to make it happen again!"
I told her where I'd been - she got a frightened, indignant look that 
I hadn't told her before - but quickly cheered up when I told her how 
it had turned out. She was mildly disappointed that it would take a 
couple days for the FBI to get the message, but gratefully realized 
that they would be slower to leave us alone than they were to protect 
us in the first place.
I looked around, and asked her where the girls were. She told me that 
they'd gone swimming in the hotel pool - AFTER calling down to warn 
the agents, and give them time to prepare.
I made my own call, and Lucy and I went down to the pool to watch 
them, and give them the anticipated good news.
When we got to the pool, Lucy and I could both see that the girls 
were well-protected: there were a couple of female agents obviously 
watching out, as well as a few other people that didn't seem to be 
doing anything, even for laying around a pool. Watching, I did notice 
that a couple of the younger male agents would steal the occasional 
admiring glance at them.
Lucy and I got their things and sat down at a table, where the girls 
eventually noticed us. When they came over, we handed each of them 
their towel, and I told them a condensed and simplified version of 
what I'd told Lucy. Both seemed to know that there was more to it, 
but were too happy at the news to bother with it. The girls asked us 
to join them, and after looking at each other, we agreed. I gestured 
to one of the agents in suits, and he came over to ask what I needed. 
I told him that Lucy and I would be joining the girls for a swim 
after we went up and changed. He thanked me, and promptly got on the 
radio. Lucy and I headed back to the room, changed, and came back 
down. As we were going into the pool area, I saw Lucy give a little 
smile before she whispered to me "There's as many of the female 
agents checking YOU out as there are guys checking ME out!"
I grinned at her, and whispered back "I think the guys are getting 
the better deal.", and she nudged me in the ribs. By that time, we 
were right next to the pool, so I just bumped her with my hip - 
sending her into the water. She shrieked, and every agent that wasn't 
watching us started for a weapon before they heard the splash, and 
knew what had happened.
Lucy came up spluttering, and made a try for my ankle to pull me in; 
I carefully danced away, and made a dive toward the deep end of the 
pool. Once underwater, I tucked and turned, so that I was headed back 
for where Lucy was. She didn't see me, and gave another little shriek 
when I slid by and 'goosed' her. Robyn and Sandra were watching, and 
decided to come to her aid. Feeling a little feisty, I decided to 
give them a run for their money. Even though I stayed in the pool and 
they didn't, it still took them nearly twenty minutes before they 
managed to corner me for a mass-tickling exercise. Not being 
particularly ticklish, they still had their hands full a I put up a 
'fight' by tickling and groping them at every opportunity. I finally 
decided to call a truce when Sandra went underwater and started 
trying to pull my suit down.
When I looked around, I could see that every agent in there had a 
grin on their face - even the ones that weren't actually looking at 
us. I eased over to where a couple of them were laying in their 
suits, and quietly said "Folks, it's a little like living in a 
fishbowl, us in here and you out there. Any *good* reason you can't 
jump in here and have some fun with us?"
They looked at each other, and one of them discretely got on the 
radio, telling us a few moments later that there wasn't any reason at 
all. That settled, two of the younger female agents got up, along 
with a couple of the younger male agents. When Lucy and the girls saw 
that, all three of them grinned. The agents jumped in, and headed 
over to where I had rejoined the others, whispering in Robyn's ear. 
She got a big grin, and when the agents got close enough, I told them 
"The game is Tag. No getting out of the pool, if you do, you're 'it'. 
No drowning, but dunking is allowed - for *anybody*. Robyn is 'it' 
first."
With that, Robyn went underwater, and made a beeline for one of the 
female agents who made a valiant effort at escaping - without 
success. In the meantime, Sandra headed off in a different direction, 
then turned back to jump on one of the male agents, pushing him 
underwater. I went under, and pulled the feet out from under the 
other female agent before moving on. Lucy just stayed there, hanging 
on to the edge of the pool, laughing - until the female agent that 
was 'it' headed for her. After that, it was catch-as-catch-can: while 
keeping an eye out for whoever was 'it', the rest would swim around 
trying to find someone to dunk or pull underwater. Once they 
understood that I was serious about anybody being a target, all of 
the agents got into the spirit of the thing, and didn't hesitate to 
go after anyone they thought was vulnerable. Sandra and one of the 
female agents teamed up to get me; the other female and a male got 
Lucy. Robyn was kept busy staying away from the other male agent - 
'it' - who proved to be almost as good a swimmer as she was.
Eventually, all of us laughing and tired, we agreed to a halt to the 
game as we hung onto the edge of the pool to catch our breath. I 
looked around, and saw Agent Hendricks standing off to the side, a 
bemused expression on his face. When he was sure that he wasn't going 
to get splashed, he came over to crouch down by me and say "I don't 
think these people have *ever* had quite so much fun protecting 
someone as they have with you people. How you can do it is beyond 
me."
I looked up at him and said "It's easy, actually. If we stay locked 
up in our rooms, they win. Non Illegitimus Carborundum."
He looked confused, and I translated for him: "Don't let the bastards 
grind you down!" - then splashed him before heading for the other 
side of the pool. When I got there, I saw that all of the other 
agents were trying to hide grins at the sight of him standing there 
with a large wet spot on the front of his suit. He looked positively 
stunned for several seconds, then started laughing before telling me 
"Just remember, Dan: paybacks are a *mother*!", making several agents 
laugh. I just grinned at him before heading over to dunk Lucy. With 
that, the game was on again.
Finally, all of us had had enough, and by mutual consent, the game 
ended. We kind of collected in one corner of the pool, and one of the 
female agents told me "Mr. Andrews- I mean, Dan, I think this is the 
first time in my _life_ that somebody has paid me to play grab-ass in 
a pool!", making the other agents laugh, and agree.
Lucy told them "Thank you, all of you, for jumping in with us and 
helping make this fun", then floated over to give each of the male 
agents a kiss on the cheek. Robyn and Sandra offered their thanks and 
kissed the guys, too - embarrassing them mightily. The females looked 
at me, with a mixture of anticipation and welcome; I went over and 
gave them a proper thanks, as well. Neither one hesitated in the 
slightest to kiss me back, and both looked pleased when we'd 
finished.
Robyn called out "Last one OUT is a rotten egg!", and promptly eeled 
out of the pool, leaving the rest of us to scramble out as best we 
could. The last one out was one of the male agents, who accepted the 
good-natured teasing he got with a smile and a laugh.
As I was drying off, I saw Lucy look behind me; but before I could 
turn to see what it was, felt myself being drenched in ice-cold 
water. I turned around to see that Agent Hendricks had emptied an 
entire pitcher of ice water on me, and was rapidly heading away, 
laughing. I laughed, too, joining everyone else, and nodded to him in 
acceptance of his trick.
Mostly dried off, the four of us wrapped our towels around ourselves 
to avoid dripping water onto the hotel carpet, and headed back to our 
rooms. Once there, we all stripped and headed in for a group shower 
to rinse off the chlorine from the pool. With that out of the way, we 
opted for a brief nap - Lucy and I in one bed, Robyn and Sandra in 
another.
I woke up to find Robyn climbing on top of me. Resting on her hands 
and knees, she looked down at me to ask "So, what's for supper?" - 
making me and Lucy both laugh. A moment later, Sandra assumed the 
same position over Lucy, who just turned to look at me.
I thought it over, and offered "If anyone's in the mood for some 
shopping, how about if we just grab a bite at the mall?"
All three of them thought it was a splendid idea, and Lucy good-
naturedly handed me the phone so I could give the FBI agents a heads-
up.
They didn't have any problem with the idea, and readily agreed to the 
fifteen minute time I offered. Lucy and the girls heard me, of 
course, and all immediately went into overdrive as they rushed around 
to get dresses in something more than the birthday suits they'd been 
wearing. Even though I ducked into the bathroom to shave again, I 
still managed to be ready ahead of them.
A while later, as we were going into the mall, I spotted one of the 
female agents that had been in the pool with us. Looking like a young 
housewife, she presented quite a different appearance than when I'd 
seen her last. I couldn't help easing over next to her and whispering 
"Personally, I think you looked better in pool!", causing her to grin 
and whisper back "Thanks!", before I rejoined Lucy and the girls.
First on the agenda was something to eat - Sandra and Robyn decided 
on pizza while Lucy and I went for roast beast sandwiches.
With something in our bellies, we were off to do some *serious* 
shopping. I lost track after about the umpteenth store, but I'm 
*pretty* sure we hit all of them. Any we might have missed probably 
didn't have any reason to be in a mall, anyway. When we were done, 
all of us were pretty well loaded down with packages - even I'd been 
drafted into pack horse duty. I think that the only thing that saved 
us was a couple of the agents discretely offering to help, each 
taking a package or two. I think they did it as much to try and blend 
in with the mall crowd as to help out.
Back at the hotel, we managed to get everything hauled up to our 
rooms, and decided that the easiest thing to do was to simply pile it 
up in the girls room. Lucy, the girls, and I thanked the agents that 
helped tote all the stuff by kissing the agents of the opposite sex. 
With Lucy wearing an engagement ring, there wasn't any reason to 
pretend that we weren't staying together, which left one room 
'unoccupied'.
Too tired from the pool and all the shopping, none of them had any 
interest in showing off the stuff they'd bought. In fact, all three 
of them started yawning not long after we put away the stuff we'd 
bought. I asked if anyone wanted to stay up, but none of them did; 
after a short discussion, we decided that Lucy and Sandra would sleep 
together, as would Robyn and I. That settled, all of us headed off to 
get ready for bed after kissing each other good night.
The next day, the three of them spent the day lazing around, watching 
movies on TV and so on while I got caught up on the work that I'd put 
off while helping Lucy. Every so often, one of them would come in to 
check on me; and if I wasn't too busy, would come over to give me a 
kiss or a hug. With that kind of encouragement, it actually didn't 
take me long to get caught up - again, laying the groundwork for the 
project in the first place saved me time and trouble in the long run.
As it got toward evening, I reached the point where I felt 
comfortable saving everything I'd done and putting the computer away. 
 From there, I went in to where Lucy and the girls were stretched out 
on the bed, watching a movie on the television. I joined them, and 
told Lucy that when the movie was over, she and I needed to talk. She 
nodded, and when the credits started rolling, the two of us got up to 
head into the girls' room. There, I told her that we probably needed 
to talk to her boss and their client the next day, Monday. She 
agreed, and we worked out the details of what all we needed to tell 
them, and in what order. Lucy got on the phone and left a message for 
her boss, telling him that we'd be giving him a call at four o'clock 
the next afternoon so he could make the necessary arrangements with 
the client.
With that out of the way, the next decision - according to Robyn and 
Sandra - was what to eat for supper. Not wanting to 'dress up', and 
feeling the desire to get out of the hotel for a little while, we 
settled on fast-food fried chicken. I called down to let the FBI 
people know, as well as to inform them that we'd be eating in 
whatever public park we could find. Hendricks told us there was a 
park with tables and a small pond not far away, and I readily agreed 
to his suggestion. We gave them some time to get set up, and then it 
was out for supper. Only a couple of cars tagged along with us as we 
hit the drive-though of the chicken place; most of them were already 
waiting for us when we got to the park. Lucy and the girls were 
delighted that there was a pond, and understood why I'd gotten an 
extra order of dinner rolls with the chicken. We found a table not 
far from the pond, and soon had a nice collection of ducks hitting us 
up for dinner rolls. A couple of squirrels showed up, too, but didn't 
find anything to their liking. A few crows hung out on the other side 
of us from the ducks, and decided that scraps of fried chicken were 
acceptable, though the mashed potatoes that got tossed their way 
found a couple of takers, as well.
When we'd finished eating there were still a few pieces of chicken 
left, along with some mashed potatoes and a few rolls. We decided to 
pack all of it up rather than throw it away, and took it with us as 
we headed around the pond on a little walk. Lucy and I walked along, 
hand in hand, as Robyn and Sandra rationed most of the remaining 
rolls to whatever ducks hadn't shown up for dinner call. About a 
third of the way around the pond, we came across an obviously 
homeless man. From the look of him, I figured he'd just had a run of 
bad luck - he didn't have the look of an alcoholic or drug user. I 
got Lucy to sit with me on a table for a little bit, then 'forgot' to 
pick up the package of leftovers up when we left. A couple minutes 
later, I looked behind us, and saw the homeless guy happily chowing 
down on it. Lucy looked back to see what I was watching, and saw him, 
too - then softly said "I wondered why you didn't bring the chicken 
along."
"If I'd offered it to him directly, he'd have refused, probably. 
Leaving it there, he could take it without having whatever dignity he 
has left being offended."
Lucy hugged me in response as we continued walking.
After we'd finished our tour of the pond, I think all of us felt 
refreshed - reasonably full bellies, some time out in the fresh air, 
a little exercise, and each other's company. We headed back for the 
hotel, and spent the evening in various pleasures: the girls found a 
movie they both liked, while Lucy and I spent the evening laying next 
to each other on the bed, reading and listening to a classical music 
radio station. All during the evening, one or the other of us would 
lean over to give the other a kiss - on the shoulder, on the back, on 
the cheek, or if the timing was right, on the lips. None of them were 
invitations; rather, they were just expressions of love and 
affection, freely given and freely accepted.
When it started to get late, Lucy got up to let the girls know when 
they should go to bed; both accepted their instructions with only a 
little good-natured complaining.
Shortly after the appointed time, both girls came in to give us a 
goodnight kiss; both were nude, and Lucy and I couldn't help copping 
a feel as we kissed each of them. That done, both went back into 
Lucy's room to go to bed, closing the door behind them. Lucy and I 
stayed up a bit longer, both of us to finish up the chapter in the 
books we'd been reading. Lucy finished first, and just lay there 
watching me until I'd put my book down, too.
She kissed me on the cheek and asked "Today, at the park? Why was the 
guy you gave the chicken to the only one you tried to help? We saw a 
couple others, and you didn't even pay the slightest attention to 
them, other than to keep an eye on them."
"He was reasonably clean, and his clothes were decent and in good 
shape. He was alert, and paying attention to what was going on around 
him. It didn't look like he was a drunk or a druggie, just that maybe 
he'd had one too man bad things happen recently. If I'd thought of it 
sooner, I'd have let a five or ten fall out of my pocket, too. The 
other ones, well, it was pretty obvious that all of them were hung up 
on some chemical or other - alcohol, crack, heroin, whatever. 
Anything they got would only go into their arms, or up their noses, 
or wherever. The first guy, he'd figure out how to use whatever he 
got to last him as long as possible, and try to get the most out of 
it. As long as someone is trying to do for themselves, I'm more than 
happy to give them a break. It's the ones that find excuses to 
forfeit responsibility for themselves that I can't tolerate."
Lucy kissed me on the cheek again, and said "You're as soft on the 
inside as you are hard on the outside. I love you."
I kissed her back, on the lips, and told her "I love you, too. Don't 
tell anybody what a marshmallow I am, okay? If word got out, I'd have 
a dickens of a time trying to negotiate deals with my customers."
She giggled, and answered "Okay, I won't tell", before moving in to 
give me a hug.
With that, both of us got up and undressed for bed; Lucy decided that 
she wanted me to spoon against her back. I put my arm around her, and 
she promptly moved my hand up to hold her breast as she wiggled back 
far enough to feel my penis resting between her ass cheeks. Once 
satisfied, she turned her head so we could share a goodnight kiss.

The next morning, Lucy decided to stay at the hotel, telling me "I've 
got my own report to write, remember?". The girls decided that they 
just wanted to lay around and read magazines that morning, so I was 
the only one that headed in to the FBI office. There, I was quickly 
called into Clara's office, where she told me "Dan, I am *not* amused 
by your little visit to Benny Falcone on Saturday. If I'd been aware 
of it, I would have forbidden it."
I just looked at her a moment, then raised in eyebrow in question. 
She realized what she'd just said, and amended herself to say "Okay, 
I couldn't have forbidden it. But I damn well would have objected in 
the _strongest_ possible terms. You took an unnecessary risk, going 
in there."
"It wasn't any risk at all, actually. I rode right up to the front 
gate with a couple cars full of FBI people. Hell, I was IN one of 
their cars. They parked right across the street from the front gate. 
Obviously, they knew I was in there - and just as obviously, would be 
expecting me to come back out. So there really wasn't any way for 
Benny Francone to actually DO anything to me. All he could do was 
talk, which he did. After a bit, his nephew Jules showed up, and 
talked some sense into the old man. Then I talked to him a little 
bit, and he finally calmed down. When he saw that trying to do 
anything to me or Lucy or Robyn or Sandra would be a bad move, he was 
willing to consider that he had better things to do with his time and 
money."
"And how is it that you know Jules Francone, by the way?"
"Oh, that. Well, me and my crew kinda went in to pull him out of a 
jam when his helicopter decided it didn't want to fly any more. The 
thing was, it was in a place that Jules wasn't officially flying in, 
in the first place. Kinda awkward for the government, so they had us 
get him out before things got embarrassing. We did, though it got 
kinda interesting there, for a while."
"I'll bet. Okay, so what made you think he was legit, and not part of 
the family operations."
"As we were moving him out, he and I had a chance to talk a little. 
He told me about his family, and that he didn't want to make his mark 
that way - that was why he'd volunteered for the military, so that he 
could do something on his own. Said when he got out, he was going to 
pass or fail on his own name. Sounded pretty reasonable to me, so I 
didn't have any reason to doubt him. Didn't know the local Family was 
his, though; you kinda forgot to tell me their names, remember?"
That flustered her for a few moments before she told me "Well, you 
might like to know that we're starting hear from our informants that 
old Benny has said to lay off you, that everything's cool. That, 
coupled with Vinnie Castillo being in the hospital and Charlie 
Petrovski telling people that you're - and I quote - 'one *bad* 
motherfucker', has about convinced anyone with any sense to leave you 
_way_ alone. We're going to give it another day to see if the story 
holds up. If it does, we're going to reduce your detail - the only 
people you'll have to worry about then are the freelancers, and 
they're so inept that they shouldn't be any problem."
I nodded my understanding, and told her that Lucy and the girls would 
be happy to hear that. Clara went on to tell me "Just make sure you 
keep that vest on, and don't forget your weapon. You're still damn 
important to this investigation, and we don't want to see anything 
happen to you."
I asked how things were going, and she told me "They're going great. 
The banks have been extremely cooperative, and our forensic 
accountants have taken what you gave them, and run with it. They've 
been at it all weekend, and expect to be done by tomorrow afternoon. 
The last figure I heard was that the money they can directly 
attribute to you is three hundred and seventeen million dollars. This 
morning, they told us that they had roughly one point four BILLION 
dollars frozen, and were able to prove that _all_ of it was destined 
for, or sourced from, illegal operations. They think they'll have a 
few hundred million more before they're done. This morning, we took 
down the honchos from TechnoDynamics; we snagged each of them as they 
showed up for this mornings meeting. We also got them under RICO - 
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations - to seize all their 
property, too. Larceny, fraud, money laundering, drugs, weapons, tax 
evasion, and accessories to murder are just SOME of the charges 
they're facing. This one is going to be a _beauty_ of a case; we 
figure to get at LEAST a quarter of old Benny's organization; with a 
little luck, we'll take out half or more of it."
I shared her smile, and asked how much of what she'd just told me I 
could share with the owners of the company, and Lucy's boss. She 
thought a moment, and said "You can tell them the financial part of 
it, and the stuff that directly affects them. Benny knows we're onto 
him, but not how bad we can hurt him - we'd like to keep it that way 
for as long as possible."
I agreed, and thanked her for her time. She smiled, and said "Believe 
me, it was MY pleasure. I'd be happy to come and clean your HOUSE 
after you bring us a case like this. Shucks, I'd clean Lucy's house, 
too, while I was at it. And I've got a couple dozen agents that would 
be willing to do yard work for you, too!", she laughed.
I chuckled at her enthusiasm, and she calmed down a bit and told me 
"Dan, I don't think I've *ever* had my people so happy and 
enthusiastic about protecting witnesses. No, come to think about it, 
I KNOW they haven't. Jones, Gallery, and Hendricks are all singing 
your praises. Every agent that you've come in contact with has made a 
point of mentioning how polite and friendly you are. I know you had 
four of them in the pool with you the other day, and all the other 
agents are actually _jealous_ that they weren't on your detail that 
day. Sometimes they've had to protect people they didn't like very 
much - like Mob informants and such. But every one of them considers 
it an honor and pleasure to be on YOUR detail. Knowing your record, 
and seeing you shoot, they know that they're there more for Lucy and 
Robyn and Sandra than you; but even protecting the people you care 
about means something to these people - because it's YOU trusting 
them with YOUR loved ones. They know that you respect who they are 
and what they do - and for the most part, they just don't get enough 
of that in their jobs."
"What you said is right - I DO trust them, and respect them. But I 
have a question for you."
"What's that?"
"Is there any way that I can thank them for their time and efforts? 
Without causing offense, or getting anyone in trouble?"
She thought it over for a few moments, then told me "I can think of a 
couple of things. First, we have an Emergency Fund for agents. It 
covers things like expenses for the families of agents that are 
wounded or hurt in the line of duty. A contribution to that would 
certainly be welcomed. If you wanted to do something for the people 
on your details, something that applied to all of them equally would 
be acceptable."
I nodded and thanked her, she assured me it wasn't a problem. We went 
on to talk about a few other things before I finally took my leave to 
head back to the hotel. I let Agent Gallery know I was going to make 
a detour along the way, and after I explained why, he readily agreed 
to it.
At the park, I wandered around a bit before I found the homeless man 
we'd seen the previous day. He watched as I approached, and when I 
got close enough, he told me "I remember you. You were the guy with 
the blonde and two kids yesterday. If you're here about the chicken, 
I waited to see if you were coming back for it; when it didn't look 
like you were, I ate it myself."
"No, I'm not here about the chicken. I'm here about you."
"What about me?" he asked, slightly suspicious.
"I'm curious to know what happened that put you here."
Only slightly mollified, he asked "Why? You one of those church 
people that thinks if you can save my soul, that's all I need?"
"Nope. You wanna be saved, you know where the church is; no matter to 
me if you go, or not. You're not dirty, and you're staying away from 
the junkies and drunks on the other side of the pond. I'm just 
curious to know why."
More relaxed, he thought about it for a few moments and finally told 
me "My name is Mark Sellers. I used to be a carpenter, until some old 
guy in a Caddie ran through the construction site I was on. Knocked 
out the wall I was working on, and ran over my leg - broke it in four 
places. The old guy was like eighty, and could hardly see or hear, 
but had a valid license. His insurance paid for my hospital and 
medical, but wouldn't do anything about teaching me how to get around 
again after they put all these pins and shit in my leg. Now I can't 
move around like I could before, and can't do carpentry like before - 
at least, nothing above ground level, which kinda put the kibosh on 
how much work I could do. I get a little work now and then, but 
nothing much, and nothing steady."
"How do you keep yourself clean and such?"
"There's a convenience store a few blocks over; they let me use it to 
wash up in the morning because I leave it cleaner than when I go in. 
A Laundromat lets me run a load of clothes once a week in exchange 
for cleaning the place up. Every so often, I get somebody that lets 
me hang a picture or do a little light work; that keeps me in food, 
mostly. The cops know I'm not part of that bunch on the other side, 
so they leave me alone. A couple of the junkies tried to rip me off, 
and I managed to beat hell out of them, so the rest stay away, too."
"Doesn't sound like you feel sorry for yourself."
"Why should I be? Shit happens. The old man, he shouldn't have been 
on the road, but the law says it's okay with them, so I'm not gonna 
piss and moan about it. I do what I can, and hope I catch a break 
before the weather gets bad."
I looked him over, and he sat there without looking away. Finally, I 
told him "I think I might be able to help, if you want it. You'd have 
to learn a new job, but it would still be something involving housing 
and construction. Interested?"
He looked at me skeptically, and asked "And what's it gonna cost me? 
Didn't look like you were into guys, yesterday. You don't know me, so 
you got no reason to trust me. What's the deal?"
"The deal is, I'm doing it *because* you're doing what you can, 
*because* you're not part of that bunch on the other side. What it's 
gonna cost you is your time and your effort to learn something new. I 
think I've got the best reason in the world to trust you: because you 
haven't asked me to."
That surprised him, and he looked at me with more curiosity than 
suspicion when he asked "And what do you get out of it? How do you 
get paid back for all this?"
"What I get out of it is helping somebody 'catch a break' - I've been 
in a couple scrapes myself, and know what it means. I get paid back 
when you do the same thing for someone else."
"How do you know that's gonna happen?"
"Simple. If you can't be trusted, you'll screw this up before I get 
too much time or money invested in it. If you see it all the way 
through, then you'll know what it means, and you'll do it for the 
next guy, or girl."
He looked me over, and when he looked into my eyes, was satisfied 
that I was serious about it. He told me "Mister, if you're serious, 
I'd be happy to give it a try. I've worked hard all my life, and 
ain't afraid to do it some more. And if what you're saying gets me 
back on my feet, I'll be happy to help someone else out, just like 
you helped me."
I nodded, and told him "Let me make a couple calls, and get things 
started. Where can I find you tomorrow?"
"It might be anyplace this side of the water, but I'll make sure and 
be here tomorrow afternoon."
"Deal. What do you need to get you through till tomorrow?"
He thought that over, and said "A meal would be good. Haven't had 
anything to eat since yesterday. The water fountains take care of the 
thirst."
I reached into my pocket, and handed him twenty dollars, saying "Get 
yourself something to eat. If you can, get yourself a room so you can 
clean up proper. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be going to visit 
somebody."
He looked at the money, then at me, before saying "Mister, I don't 
know who you are, but I thank you. You left that chicken behind on 
purpose yesterday, didn't you?"
"Yup. Told the lady that you didn't look like a loafer, and that I 
figured you might like a decent meal. Figured if I offered it to you 
straight, you'd have told me to go to hell, so I kinda left it 
behind."
He grinned at me, and said "Yeah, if you'd offered, I'd have told you 
just that."
I nodded to him, and when he realized that I was getting ready to 
leave, managed to struggle to his feet - I could see that he'd have 
trouble moving around much on the leg that had been broken. He stuck 
a hand out to me, and when I took it, I found his grip strong and 
solid. He thanked me, and I told him I'd see him the next day.

Back at the hotel, I told Lucy what I'd done, and she positively 
beamed at me before giving me a hug and kiss. Then I went into my 
room, only to find Sandra and Robyn sprawled across my bed, a pile of 
magazines between them. I went on to their room, and sat down to make 
a couple of phone calls. The first was to Jules Francone.
I asked him if he needed any help, and he said that he needed about 
anybody he could find. I told him about Mark Sellers, and asked if 
he'd be willing to give the guy a job if I chipped in. Jules told me 
to go to hell, if the guy was willing to work and learn, paying him 
wasn't a problem. I told him I'd have Mark there the next afternoon, 
Jules told me to stop by any time. My next call was to a local 
community college, where I checked the requirements for admission, 
tuition prices, and what courses they offered. When they realized 
that I was serious, they were quite helpful.
Following that, I got a local paper, and started looking for 
someplace Mark could stay that was reasonably convenient to both 
Jules offices, and the college. When I realized that I didn't have 
much to go on, I collared one of the FBI people to come up and help 
me - with the additional help, it didn't take long to find several 
possible places. With a number of selections, the next thing was to 
go and check them out. The first couple were overpriced; the third 
was a dump, but the fourth turned out to be just the thing: a large 
garage that had been turned into a sparsely furnished one-bedroom 
apartment. The rent was reasonable, according to the FBI agent. There 
was parking for a vehicle, and the older couple that owned it was 
renting it out more as a way of keeping someone handy if they had any 
kind of emergency, than anything else. I told them that I was renting 
it for a friend of mine who was starting a new job in town, and paid 
the deposit and first month's rent. They paid the utilities, so that 
wasn't a problem. The only thing left was telephone, and I could take 
care of that the next day.
I got back to the hotel in time to join Lucy for our call to her 
boss. We told him what all had happened at our end - including the 
protection from the FBI, which surprised him until Lucy told him 
about the Mob involvement. In turn, Lucy gasped when I told him how 
much money the FBI credited me with recovering, and how much they 
were expecting to seize. Her boss went speechless for a full minute 
before giving me his congratulations. Their client was on the phone 
with us, too, and they both thanked and congratulated me, saying 
they'd be happy to take the FBI figure as 'final'. They went on to 
promise that they'd have a certified check for my eight percent - 
twenty five million plus change - ready when I got home. I thanked 
them, and then left, so that they and Lucy could talk business.
When she was done, Lucy came in to where I was laying on the bed, 
reading a book. She sat down next to me and gave me a fierce hug and 
big kiss before telling me that her boss and their client were both 
extremely pleased with her work, and highly impressed with the job 
I'd done. Her boss told her that she'd already been promoted again, 
and moved to a department at the same level as him - and 
congratulated her on both. Her boss also said that she'd be getting a 
nice bonus for how she handled the situation, and that he expected 
that their company would be showing ME their appreciation, as well.
With that out of the way, Lucy and I joined the girls as the evening 
news came on. The top story was the FBI raid on TechnDynamics. We saw 
Clara Hawkes giving a press conference, telling the public how much 
money they expected to recover, along with all the other gory details 
- including mentioning that it had been me that had helped make the 
case. When they heard that, Lucy and the girls all cheered and gave 
me a hug and kiss.
A while later, the four of us headed down for some supper; the hotel 
staff seemed to have caught the news, too - every one of them stared 
at me as I went by. Even our waitress recognized me, and 
congratulated me.
When we finished eating, the waitress refused a tip, telling me that 
anybody that helped the FBI catch 'thugs' didn't need to tip her. I 
tried to insist, but she got downright adamant about it, so I finally 
had to let it go. We hadn't been in my room for more than a few 
minutes when there was a knock on the door - when I opened it, I saw 
that it was Amy. I invited her in, and when the door closed behind 
her, she plastered herself against me to give me a BIG kiss and hug. 
Yup, Sandra was right - Amy was some kisser.
When she was done with me, Lucy was next, followed by Robyn, then 
Sandra. Only when her kiss with Sandra ended did Amy say anything to 
us.
"Wow! A girl might get the idea you're all glad to see her, you keep 
kissing like that!"
Lucy laughed, telling her "I could say the same thing - you did a 
pretty fair job of letting me know how you felt, yourself!"
Amy blushed slightly, and said "I just wanted to let all of you know 
how happy and good the other night made me feel. ALL of you were so 
kind and patient with me, and I love you for it. The whole time I was 
home, I had to keep pinching myself to make sure that it all wasn't 
just a dream; and then I come in here and you let me know that it 
wasn't. I haven't felt this good, and this happy, in a long, long 
time - and I have all of you to thank for it. I only wish that I had 
some kind of memento to keep as a reminder of how happy you made me, 
and how much all of you mean to me."
I remembered the digital photos I'd taken, and said "Um, when I saw 
all of you in bed the next morning, I couldn't resist taking a couple 
photos with my digital camera. If you've got the time, we can have a 
look at them, and I'll be glad to make copies of them to a floppy 
disk you can take with you."
Amy looked surprised, then delighted, and said "I'd *love* to. I've 
got as much time as I want, so let's go!"
The lot of us trooped into the other room, where I quickly got my 
laptop fired up, then connected the camera to the USB port. In 
nothing flat, the images I'd taken were being thumbnailed to the 
screen. All of them were fascinated - and delighted - by the shots 
I'd taken. With Amy sitting on my lap, she and I went through them, 
making copies of the ones she wanted. To my surprise, she didn't just 
want the ones with her, but of nearly all of them. I had to do a 
little compression on the images, but finally managed to get all of 
them onto a few floppy disks for her to take home.
She thanked me for them, and gave me another kiss, much to Lucy's 
amusement. She followed that by kissing each of the others again, too 
- leaving Robyn and Sandra panting. I told her that Clara had okayed 
us heading home in a couple of days, and Amy saddened slightly at the 
news. When I asked her what was wrong she told us - the promptly 
brightened up again when she realized that it was after her next 
extended 'off' period. Lucy spoke for all of us when she asked Amy if 
she wanted to pay us another visit before we left - something that 
Amy quickly agreed to.
Claiming that she had to 'go play FBI agent', Amy stood up, letting 
me stand as well. After a round of hugs, and some serious fondling 
and groping, she left to take charge of the other agents - with me 
patting her cute ass as she headed out the door.
With Amy gone, Lucy and the others went back to look at the images 
I'd taken of them. All of them thought the photos were quite 
beautiful and erotic. So much so, in fact, that it didn't take them 
long to start shedding clothing so they could better reach all the 
interesting parts on each other. I simply stood back, watching them 
for a while - until they realized that I was still dressed, then they 
all came after me to remedy the situation. I fought it - but not too 
hard, or for too long.
My shirt was the first thing to go - and with it out of the way, 
Sandra promptly fastened her lips to one of my nipples as she ran her 
hands over my chest.
When my pants, then underwear, had joined my shirt, Lucy took me into 
her mouth while Robyn went to work licking my scrotum. In about zero 
seconds flat, they had me completely hard. That accomplished, the 
three of them managed to push me farther onto the bed. They got me on 
my back through the simple expedient of Sandra spreading her legs and 
positioning herself over my mouth - letting me know that her bleeding 
had stopped. As I dipped my tongue into her cleft, I felt Lucy 
shifting her position, as well - and with her, Robyn. A few moments 
later, I could feel it as the two of them started taking turns using 
their mouths on me. Their techniques were different, as was the way 
their mouths felt on me - but make no mistake, it still felt damn 
good, whichever one was doing me.
Lucy and Robyn were taking their time with me, so I was easily able 
to bring Sandra to orgasm without climaxing myself. When she'd gotten 
her breath back, Sandra moved down to take the place of Lucy, who 
moved up for her own mustache ride. Before long, she found her own 
release, and moved down to take Robyn's place. When Robyn had 
straddled my face, I went to work on her, too, savoring the ample 
nectar she all but dribbled onto my probing tongue. As I got her 
close to orgasm, we heard a knock at the door, and the sound of Amy's 
voice, announcing herself. Sandra quickly let Lucy take over, and 
went to let Amy in. When Amy saw what was happening, she all but 
froze in place as she watched me bring Robyn to a deep orgasm. When 
Robyn got her senses back, and unseated herself, Amy was right there 
to give me a kiss - and getting a sampling of the juices of all three 
of them in the process. As we were kissing, I reached out to squeeze 
and caress Amy's breasts, feeling her nipples harden under my touch. 
Holding her body steady, she somehow managed to reach down to slip 
her panties down, then shake them loose of her legs before stepping 
out of them. She looked to where Lucy and Sandra were still focused 
on my erection, and asked "Can I have him? Please?"
Lucy and Sandra shared a look and a smile before nodding. With that, 
Amy pulled up the hem of her skirt, and climbed onto the bed to 
position herself over my saliva-slick erection. Reaching down, she 
positioned me at her entrance. She first lowered herself enough to 
get me inside - something easily done, as wet as she was - then 
another push left her pubic hair merged with mine. She paused a few 
moments, obviously savoring the sensation of having me inside her 
again, before starting to move over me as Sandra and Lucy both 
reached out to begin caressing her breasts through her blouse. Amy 
was still incredibly tight, and the feeling of the tight ring of her 
entrance sliding up and down my erection soon had me approaching a 
climax. I tried to hold off so that Amy could climax with me, but she 
wouldn't have it - telling me "Go ahead. Never mind me, just SHOOT!". 
As incredible as her hot, wet insides felt, it didn't take me much 
longer to follow her instructions as I flooded her insides with load 
after load of my semen. She kept moving over me during this, and 
worked our combined juices into a froth that her actions forced out 
of her. When she felt that I'd given her everything I had, she 
reluctantly pulled herself off of me, and lay back on the bed - only 
to have Sandra move over her to begin licking up the rich foam that 
coated her mons, and leaked out of her. Realizing that Sandra was 
open to her, Amy didn't hesitate to lift her head to slide her tongue 
deep into Sandra's wet opening. While they were engaged in trying to 
get each other off, Lucy moved back down to lick and suck mine and 
Amy's combined juices off my penis and scrotum. Robyn simply laid 
back and masturbated to the sight of Amy and Sandra orally pleasing 
each other. Amy glanced over once to see her, and her arousal at the 
sight became evident as she had an orgasm under Sandra's lips and 
tongue. When the spasms had passed, Amy went back to trying to bring 
Sandra off with a vengeance - and in only a couple of minutes, we 
could see her pleasure as Sandra climaxed on her mouth.
With both of them satiated for the moment, Sandra managed to climb 
off Amy before collapsing on the bed next to Robyn. When she saw what 
Robyn was doing, Lucy extended an arm so that her fingers could join 
Robyn's, dipping into Robyn's woman hood only to reappear a moment 
later, glistening with her daughter's essence. A few moments later, 
Sandra joined in by reaching out to squeeze one of Robyn's breasts, 
and it's nipple. In short order, they'd managed to help Robyn into 
another climax that left her gasping.
When she'd gotten her breath and senses back, Amy sat up and told us 
"I only stopped by to tell you that you were welcome to come to my 
place if you wanted to. But when Sandra let me in, and I saw what you 
were doing, well, it was just too much for me - I *had* to join in! 
You were all *so* sexy on the bed like that - I just couldn't help 
myself. Now I've got to get cleaned up before I go back downstairs. A 
female FBI agent that smells like pussy is one thing; but smelling 
like someone ELSE'S pussy simply wouldn't do!"
All of us laughed at her comment, and Lucy got up to get her a damp 
washcloth. With it, Amy quickly wiped off her face, then went into 
the bathroom to rinse out the cloth before using it to cleanse her 
pelvis, too. When she came out of the bathroom, she blushed furiously 
when she saw me laying there on the bed, twirling her panties on my 
finger. She came over and snatched them away from me, to laughter 
from the others. With a devil may care look at me, she put them back 
on right there in front of us - then stepped close enough to me that 
I could slide my hand under her skirt to smooth them across her ass 
cheeks. Another kiss to all of us, and she dabbed a little perfume 
behind her ears and in her cleavage before telling us "I mean it - if 
the four of you want to, you're more than welcome to stay with me 
before you leave town."
Lucy told her we'd think about it, and Amy gave us another smile 
before going out the door.
Lucy turned to look at us before saying "I don't know what we did to 
her, but whatever it was, we did a damn fine job of it. I think it's 
safe to say that she's over her fear of sex!", making all of us 
laugh.
All of us lay there for a while, simply content to be with each 
other, before Robyn and Sandra started feeling frisky again. Lucy and 
I watched as their touches went from friendly to loving to 
passionate, and finally ending when Robyn rolled on top of Sandra for 
a session of '69'. We could hear and see it as the two of them licked 
and sucked at each other's sex. It didn't take long before we could 
smell how aroused both of them were, too, as they took their time 
enjoying each other's bodies.
I could hear Lucy's panting next to me as we watched the two 
youngsters pleasuring each other; all Lucy had to do was look down to 
see my obvious arousal at the sight before me. When she couldn't take 
it any more, Lucy moved on top of me, kneeling above my erection, her 
back toward me. She reached down with both hands, using one to hold 
herself open as she held me steady with the other so she could lower 
herself completely onto me in a single thrust. With my hardness fully 
inside her, she leaned back against my chest, and started rocking 
herself over me so that my penis only moved in her a couple inches at 
a time. I reached under her arms to take her breasts in my hands, 
squeezing them and pinching her nipples, feeling them harden and 
extend under my touch. A couple minutes later, she reached between 
her legs, and started playing with her clitoris as she continued 
slowly rocking on me. Both of us took our time making love, watching 
as Sandra and Robyn did the same in front of us. As their passion and 
arousal increased, so did ours - so that when, several minutes later, 
Robyn cried out her release, I heard Lucy respond with her own 
climax. A few moments later, she cried out again when she felt me 
spraying her insides with my hot semen, only to have her second call 
answered by Sandra's orgasmic moan.
Lucy leaned back to rest against me, and we watched Sandra direct her 
collapse toward an open spot on the bed; when she was off Robyn, 
Robyn turned to lay next to her, the two of them holding each other 
in post-orgasmic bliss.
I could feel my erection slowly subsiding inside Lucy; when it 
finally pulled free of her, both of us could feel the miniature flood 
of my semen start draining out of her. Robyn saw it, and quickly went 
into the bathroom to bring us a hand towel. With only a moments 
thought, she tucked the end of it under my scrotum, then folded the 
rest of it under her mother's exposed opening. Her mission 
accomplished, she gave Lucy a kiss, then went back to lay next to 
Sandra.
I held Lucy next to my, my arms wrapped around her waist, while the 
two of us kissed over her shoulder.
After a while, Robyn and Sandra decided that they were ready to clean 
up a bit before they went to bed. Both delayed long enough to give 
Lucy and I each a kiss before heading into the bathroom. A bit later, 
we heard the shower come on, and saw the bathroom slowly fill with 
steam. There was plenty of laughing and giggling as the two of them 
cleaned each other up; Lucy and I just looked at each other, knowing 
what was going on between them.
Finally, they reappeared, letting Lucy and I watch as they dried each 
other off. Satisfied with their handiwork, they came over to give us 
another kiss goodnight before heading into Lucy's room to go to bed. 
A little bit later, by mutual consent, Lucy and I got up to take our 
own shower before going to bed ourselves. As we were waiting for 
sleep to come, Lucy asked me about spending the night with Amy; I 
told her that I'd be delighted to, but that I worried what her 
neighbors might think. Lucy nodded at that, and said that she'd talk 
it over with the girls before she said anything to Amy. I expressed 
my agreement, and the two of us lay there snuggling until we fell 
asleep.
The next morning, I managed to catch the phone after only a single 
ring; having not left a wakeup call, I couldn't help but wonder who 
it was. I quickly found out that it was Agent Hawkes, asking me if I 
could come in to the office the next afternoon for a press 
conference. Apparently, the story had caught national attention, and 
the press was begging for more details, and to meet the man that had 
handed the FBI the keys to such a big case. I was considerably less 
than enthusiastic, but Clara finally convinced me that I should do 
it. I reluctantly agreed, and we set the time for it. Then she asked 
if Lucy and the girls would be interested, and I told her that I'd 
ask Lucy, but that under no circumstances was I going to put the 
girls on TV - having them there, and associated with such a big case 
was a virtual invitation for trouble to come looking for them. Clara 
conceded the point, and accepted that Lucy would make her own 
decision. That settled, the conversation ended.
A couple minutes later, I got up to start some coffee before heading 
into the bathroom. Shaved and brushed, I came out to find the coffee 
done. I poured myself a cup, then one for Lucy. I set hers on the 
nightstand next to the bed where she was laying, figuring that the 
smell would help wake her as gently as possible.
It did, and she finally opened her eyes to see me sitting there 
watching her. It took her a couple seconds, but she finally realized 
that I had a cup of coffee, but that my coffee was too far away for 
what she was smelling. She looked around and saw the cup I'd poured 
for her. Smiling, she sat up against the headboard, and took the cup 
in her hands. After a couple of sips, she turned to me again, and 
thanked me for it. I told her about Clara's phone call, and that I'd 
agreed to be present for the press conference. She smiled her 
pleasure and pride at that, then sobered again when I told her that 
Clara had also asked if she'd participate, too. She told me she'd 
think about it, then listened in increasing apprehension as I told 
her about Clara's inquiry about whether the girls could appear, too. 
She instantly agreed when she heard that I'd told Clara that the 
girls absolutely, positively would NOT be there, and why. As we were 
discussing what to do 'after', Robyn and Sandra wandered in, rubbing 
the sleep out of their eyes. Apparently drawn to the smell of the 
coffee, Robyn parked herself on my lap while Sandra nestled in next 
to Lucy. Each of them took our coffee cups to take a sip, then 
another. With the cups nearly empty, they looked at each other before 
Sandra handed her - Lucy's - cup to Robyn, who got up to refill them 
before reestablishing herself on my lap.
Sandra asked what we'd been talking about when they came in, and Lucy 
and I told them. Both expressed an interest at being in the news 
conference, but took it well when we explained that they couldn't - 
and why. Both encouraged Lucy to be there, though - Robyn pointing 
out that it was a good chance for Lucy to get her company's name into 
the news for publicity.
With my second cup of coffee gone - with Robyn's help - I knew that I 
needed to get going to take care of something else I'd almost 
forgotten about: making sure Mark could get to work and the college. 
I patted Robyn on the butt to get her to let me up; with only mild 
protest, she moved over to lay on the other side of Lucy. Lucy asked 
where I was going, and I told her. That prompted the girls to ask 
what I was doing, and so I explained to them about what had happened 
at the park, and what I'd done the previous afternoon. Both expressed 
happiness that I was helping somebody, and wished me luck.
I let the FBI people know that I was on my way down for some 
breakfast, and they told me everything was fine. Once in the lobby, 
Agent Gallery met me, saying "Dan, I don't know what happened up 
there with Amy Jones, and God's honest truth, I don't care. All I 
know is that she's not the same person she was when I took over for 
her the other day. She's happier, she smiles a lot more, she even 
joked with me a little bit. Whatever you did, it was just what she 
needed. Thanks."
I smiled at him, and said "Tom, WE - me, Lucy, and the girls - talked 
to her a little bit, and let her know that we were her friends. We 
showed her that we cared about her, and that she was a good person, 
attractive inside and out. There were a couple of rough spots we had 
to help her through, but she hung in there, and we got them taken 
care of. All we did, really, was let the real Amy out."
He looked at me curiously, and said "Well, whatever it was, it 
worked. I, and all of her friends, appreciate it."
I shook his hand, and headed in to fill up the hole in my middle. A 
different waitress, but this one too recognized my name. Somewhat 
shyly, she asked for an autograph, which I gave her on one of the 
hotel menus. Then I pointed out Agent Gallery, and told her he was a 
member of the FBI. She was delighted to learn that, and promptly 
headed off to get his autograph, too, surprising him and pleasing him 
at the same time. When she'd left, he gave me a playful dirty look, 
then smiled and nodded his thanks.
My meal done, this waitress was reluctant to accept a tip until I 
found the right combination of cajolery and flattery to get her to 
take it. Only then was I free to head out for my morning 'mission'.
After visiting a few used car dealerships, I realized that I wasn't 
likely to find anything appropriate on a dealer's lot. I picked up a 
newspaper, and looked it over. I found a few ads that seemed 
reasonable, and with the help of one of the FBI agents navigating for 
me, starting going through the ads as I checked out the different 
vehicles. I had it down to a couple of possibilities when I pulled up 
to the address for the next-to-last ad. It was a middle-aged couple 
looking to sell their son's old car - a '57 Ford Fairlane. The boy 
had apparently lavished a lot of attention and care on it - the body 
work was in good condition, and the engine was positively flawless, 
purring like a kitten. Despite showing it's age in a few spots, it 
was certainly a bit of reliable transportation.
The couple and I haggled a little bit, and had almost stalemated when 
the FBI agent with me addressed me by name to ask to speak with me 
privately. A little ways away from the couple, he simply said that 
*he* thought the car was worth what the couple was asking, but that 
he'd called me away to see if a little time to think would help them 
come down some. I turned so my back was toward them, and smiled at 
him before thanking him for his thoughtfulness, and help. He solemnly 
nodded to me, and we went back to where the couple was standing.
The man hesitated a moment, then asked me if I was the Dan Andrews 
they'd heard about on the TV last night. I admitted that I was, and 
the woman asked how they could be sure of that. The agent with me 
stepped forward, and showed them his ID, then assured them that 
really was *that* Dan Andrews.
The two of them looked fairly impressed and pleased, before the man 
asked me why *I* was looking to buy their car. I told him about how 
I'd found Mark in the park, and briefly told them his story before 
adding that I was looking to help someone that just needed a chance 
to get their feet back under them. The two of them shared a look, and 
the man told me that he figured if I could spot crooks like the ones 
at TechnoDynamics, he figured I could spot a good prospect, too. He 
followed up by saying that they'd take my offer, and as their part to 
help Mark get started, they'd pay the title transfer costs. I told 
them I'd be happy to do it, but the woman spoke up, telling me 
"There's a lot of folks that will hear about somebody like him, and 
just say 'That's too bad'. Ain't many that'll do like you, and say 
'Let me help'. We want to do our share, too."
There wasn't anything for me to do but thank them. Both waved it off, 
and the man asked me for Mark's name and address so he could get the 
title taken care of. I gave him both, using the address of the 
apartment I'd rented.
With that information, the man looked at me and said "Me and the 
Missus, we got some of our retirement money in those folks. Been 
losing value, these last few months. I was starting to think that 
maybe I needed to sell it, but didn't want to lose money on the 
deal."
I smiled, and told him "Way I figure it, you're not the only one. But 
with folks finding out that it was the head honchos stealing money 
from the company, and the company going to get it's money back, I 
wouldn't be surprised if it even went UP in value a little."
He got a thoughtful look at that, and thanked me - and I thanked him 
in return for his help with Mark. He just waved it off, saying 
"Everybody needs a hand sometime in their life. When I needed it, 
somebody gave it to me. Now I'm just passing it along, same as what 
you're asking him to do."
He went on to tell me that he'd get the title taken care of right 
away, so that Mark could pick up the car later that afternoon. I 
counted out the price of the car to him, and he handed me the keys 
before we shook hands. I thanked them again, and the lady came 
forward to give me a hug, then another to the agent with me - both 
embarrassing and pleasing him.
Back at the hotel, I found that Lucy and the girls were both down in 
the pool - accompanied by a number of agents, some of whom were even 
in the pool with them. I took the opportunity to call around before 
getting the car insured, paying the first six months premium with my 
credit card. That done, I made a call to the phone company, and got 
basic phone service started, again paying the deposit with my credit 
card.
With nothing left but to get Mark to Jules' office that afternoon, I 
headed down to watch Lucy and the youngsters in the pool. When I got 
there, I found that they'd gotten a couple of guys and a girl to join 
them, and had a rousing game of water volleyball going, FBI versus 
Civilians. I watched as the game drew to a close - neither side was 
cutting the other *any* slack, and it stayed close until the FBI 
people finally managed to put one into the corner before Robyn could 
get to it. The agents actually looked relieved to take a rest when my 
three climbed out of the pool to sit at the table with me. All three 
dried off carefully before hugging me, and giving me a kiss - Sandra 
and Robyn on the cheek, Lucy full on the lips. Out of the corner of 
my eye, I could see the agents around us smiling.
I quickly filled them in on how things had gone, and all three 
thought it was nice of the couple to pay the title fees as a way of 
helping Mark. Lucy in particular thought it was good of me to take 
care of getting Mark set up with a phone, and paying the insurance on 
the car. As she put it "I've been there. When you're just starting 
out like he is, everything is more expensive, because you're just 
starting out. You can't afford it, really, but you really don't have 
any choice. Now he's got a chance to get going properly."
When Robyn's stomach growled, we all laughed with the realization 
that it was about lunch time. The hotel staff was kind enough to let 
us order from the caf , and bring the food out to us by the pool. 
Only the agents that had been in the pool accepted my offer to buy 
them something to eat, too - even then, they ate lightly. I tried to 
tip the young man that brought us our meal, but he wasn't having any, 
either. He did hold still for Lucy, then Sandra and Robyn, to kiss 
him on the cheek before he beat a hasty - if blushing - retreat.
 We'd finished our lunch and were just sitting there watching the 
world go by when Agent Gallery approached. I saw him stop a little 
distance away, and waved for him to come on and join us. When he got 
close, I invited him to sit down. He did, and after greeting the 
ladies, told me "Clara's finally gotten enough confirmation to 
believe that old Benny is going to leave you alone. Vinnie's brother 
made some noise about coming after you, but Charlie talked him, and 
he decided he didn't want any of YOUR kind of trouble. Tomorrow 
morning, we're going to reduce your detail by about half. We'll still 
have some people with you, but they'll be there more as a courtesy to 
make sure people don't bother you, than with any expectation of 
trouble. They'll also be a lot more flexible, so you can pretty much 
do what you want without having to worry about them."
The four of us thanked him, and he paused a few moments before 
looking at me to tell all of us "I wanted to take this chance to 
thank you. Not just for brining us in this case, but for how helpful 
and patient you've been about the situation. I know that it couldn't 
have been fun having all of us around all the time, and all four of 
you accepted it with grace and tolerance that not many of our 
protectees show. You've also done a helluva lot to bring up the 
morale of the protective details that have been with you. Dan, you're 
a living example of what all of us want to be like; and seeing you in 
action gives all of us a goal to work toward. And all three of these 
young ladies are living reasons for why we do what we do. As much as 
we have to watch out for people that we'd just as soon not have to, 
watching the four of you gives us all the proof we need to know that 
what we're doing is right, and gives us all the reason we need to 
come in to work."
All three of the girls were more than a little misty-eyed at what 
he'd said; even I felt a little lump in my throat at the sincerity 
he'd expressed. When he stood up, the three of them quickly stood up 
too, each giving him a solid hug and kiss. I stood up with them, and 
when they'd finished, solemnly shook hands with him, telling him 
"Tom, I felt better knowing that you and the others were there; it 
helped put my mind at ease, and let me concentrate on what *I* needed 
to do. Make sure your people know that I respect them, and appreciate 
their time and efforts on my behalf."
He nodded solemnly, and took his leave of us.
When he'd gone, the four of us sat around for a little while, 
thinking about what he'd said, before we started discussing going 
home. Robyn and Sandra both smiled broadly when Lucy said she'd make 
the arrangements for all four of us to fly back. Even I felt a little 
relief at the prospect of having something resembling a life again - 
though I knew that it wouldn't be completely normal until all of this 
had finally blown over.
Looking at my watch, I realized that I needed to get going to collect 
Mark and get him to Jules' offices. All three of them gave me another 
hug and kiss before I left. As I left the pool, I heard Robyn 
challenge the agents to a rematch; it made me want to stay around to 
see how things turned out.
At the park, I found Mark anxiously waiting on one of the benches 
near where we'd agreed to meet. When I got close, he saw me, and 
stood up, saying "I was starting to worry that something had happened 
to you, or that you'd changed your mind or something."
I smiled in reassurance, and told him "No, just had something 
important come up."
I could see that he'd done everything he could to make as good an 
impression as possible. He was clean and shaven; his pants and shirt 
were simple work clothes, but clean and pressed. His boots were worn, 
but he'd taken the time to clean them up thoroughly, and even tried 
to put a shine on them. Yeah, I figured, he wants this; he's going to 
turn out just fine.
He saw me looking him over, and started to get nervous. I reassured 
him, telling him "It's okay, Mark. The guy I'm taking you to, he 
knows you've had some hard times - he's not expecting you to show up 
in a suit. Just be honest with him about what you know, and don't 
know, and everything will be fine."
He nodded his understanding, and we talked as we headed for the car, 
then to Jules' offices. As I was parking the car, Mark looked at the 
sign for Jules' office, and said "I've heard of that guy. Mob family, 
but word is, he's not in it, that he goes his own way. From what I've 
seen, he'd pretty damn good."
We got out of the car, and when I headed for Jules' door, Mark 
suddenly got nervous, saying "Here? You're gonna get me a job HERE? I 
don't know anything about this stuff!"
I laughed, and told him "I'll bet you know more than you think. 
Besides, that's what you're here for - to learn. Remember I told you 
you'd have to learn a new job, but that it would still involve 
construction? Well, this is it."
He looked at me skeptically, but followed me in. When I introduced 
myself to the receptionist, she brightened considerably, and told us 
Jules would be right with us. Then she got on the phone and let him 
know we were there. In just a minute or so, Jules came out. He shook 
hands with me, then when I introduced Mark, shook with him, too. He 
led us back to his office, and when we'd sat down, asked if we wanted 
anything. I was ready for a cup of coffee, and Mark followed my lead. 
Jules told one of his people to bring us three cups, then sat behind 
his desk. He looked Mark over, and finally said "I understand you had 
a run of bad luck, and that you're looking for work. What did you do 
before?"
Hesitantly at first, Mark told him what he'd done up until his 
accident, and mentioned some of the people that he'd worked for. 
Jules listened patiently, and asked Mark to elaborate on a few 
points. When Mark was done, Jules asked him what he'd done since the 
accident, and how he'd gotten by. Mark didn't hesitate to tell him 
after I gave him a nod of encouragement. Again, Jules listened 
patiently, nodding and asking a few more questions.
When he'd finished, Jules told him "Sounds like you've had your share 
of bad luck, and then some. But you didn't give up like a lot would. 
Tell me what you think about architects and builders - and remember, 
I know bullshit when I hear it. Tell me straight, okay?"
Mark looked at me again, I again nodded to him to go ahead. He took a 
deep breath, and started out "Most builders are crooks. Not that 
they'll actually *cheat* anybody; they'll just do as little as they 
can get away with. Once something meets Code, they don't care if it 
would only cost a nickel to do the job better and make the place last 
five, ten years longer. Architects, they're pretty smart with book 
learning, but most of them have never actually built anything - not 
with their own hands and sweat, I mean. Usually, they give us these 
drawings for stuff and tell us to build something a certain way. Then 
they won't listen when somebody that actually does the work for 
living tries to tell them there's a cheaper, faster way of doing the 
same thing. They trust contractors and builders too much, and the 
worker bees not enough."
Visibly nervous when he was finished, Mark took a sip of his coffee 
before Jules replied by saying "That's about what I figured. You DO 
know more than you think you do, at least, about the stuff that 
matters to *me*. I can use you, to start, as general office help. 
That means that you'll spend a lot of time filling out forms and 
learning the trade from THIS end of things. But I expect you to learn 
the rest of it too - why us architects do what we do, and what all is 
involved in creating the plans that you guys work from. And you'll be 
going out on jobs with me. You'll be the only one in here that's seen 
this stuff from the other side, so you know what we *really* need to 
watch for. You're going to be spending a lot of time getting 'book 
learning'; but with what you already know, I don't think you'll have 
much trouble with it. I can start you at fifteen hundred a month; 
you'll go up from there as fast as you can learn, okay?"
Mark could only sit there staring for a few moments before 
remembering to nod his head in agreement.
Jules asked him "When can you start? You got a place to stay? You 
need wheels or anything?"
Mark opened his mouth to answer, but I was ready for the questions, 
telling Jules "Yeah, he's got a place to stay. He'll be picking up 
his wheels this afternoon. He can start whenever it's convenient for 
you."
Jules laughed, and said "Convenient for me was three months ago, but 
tomorrow will do."
Looking over at Mark, who was staring at me, Jules asked "You didn't 
know, did you? That you had a place to stay, or a car?"
Mark just shook his head, his eyes never leaving me.
Jules laughed again, and said "It's okay. He does shit like that. 
I'll bet he didn't tell you that I pretty much owe him my life, did 
he?"
That got Marks attention, and he turned back to listen as Jules told 
him "I used to drive helicopters. One of 'em decided 'fuck it, I 
don't wanna fly no more', and down she goes in a place where the 
folks on the ground aren't too friendly. I'm thinking, okay, now I'm 
seriously fucked; what I didn't know that Uncle Sam, he sent this son 
of a bitch to bail me out. It got some kinda interesting, but this 
guy and some of his buddies, they brought me back, all safe and sound 
- not even a *scratch* on me. If it wasn't for them - HIM - I'd 
probably be worm chow someplace."
Jules went on, saying "He said he thought all you needed was a 
chance, and asked me to have a look. He was right - he usually is - 
and now I've got somebody that I could have used three, four months 
ago. Listen, don't sweat it. He helps people he figures deserve the 
HELP. He don't do shit for anyone he figures is just looking to suck 
tit. Me, I can see that you've had a hard time - the way you walk, I 
can see you got hurt pretty bad. But you showed up here in the best 
you got, ready to give it your best shot. You didn't try to bullshit 
me, and that counts for a LOT with me. When my shit was weak, he 
helped me out - well, truth be told, he saved my ass. Now, with you, 
he's doing it again. Damned if I know how many else there are, or 
will be. But he did me a good turn, and now I pay him back by doing a 
good turn for somebody else. I expect you'll do the same thing, when 
you get a chance. That's how it works with him - help somebody, and 
have them pass it along when they can. It don't matter how much money 
you spend on it; all that counts is that you give it your BEST. He 
trusts people to be honest enough to know when they're doing that - 
and from what I've seen, he's a pretty good judge of who to help. So 
take his help, get yourself going again, and when the time comes, do 
your part for someone else."
Mark nodded to him, then turned to look at me again. I just told him 
"That's the deal I offered you in the park, right?"
He nodded, and said "Thanks isn't enough, but it's all I have to 
offer right now. But when I can, I'll pay the next person, with 
interest."
"That's all I ask", I told him.
Jules just sat there, a big shit-eating grin on his face when he told 
Mark "Great. I'll see you in the morning, eight o'clock. We usually 
work weekdays, eight to five, hour lunch. We've got a breakroom with 
a microwave and fridge if you want to bring your lunch. What you're 
wearing will do until payday - tenth and twenty-fifth, to beat the 
bank crowds; after that, I'll expect to see you dressed like the rest 
of us - casual, but professional, right?"
Mark voiced his understanding, and stood up when I did. Jules got up 
and led us to an office where he told the woman behind the desk 
"Shirley, this is Mark Sellers. He's starting tomorrow, so if you 
could have the paperwork ready for him in the morning, I'd appreciate 
it. He's starting at fifteen hundred a month, salaried. If he needs 
an advance on salary, he's good to half a month, repaid over six 
paychecks. Anything else, just ask me or him, right?"
Shirley nodded her understanding, and Jules left us with her. She 
turned to Mark and asked him for the information she'd need to get 
him started. She also gave him an employment application to fill out 
and return the next morning. She was polite and friendly the whole 
time, even when she asked if he needed an advance. Mark looked at me, 
and I shook my head 'no', which was the answer he gave her. When she 
had all the information she needed, she welcomed him to the company, 
and asked if we needed to see Jules again. I told her that I didn't 
think so, and she showed us the way out.
Back outside, I could see that Mark was stunned at the change in his 
circumstances. Back in the car, I asked where he'd stayed the night 
before. He gave me the name of a place, and then directed me to it - 
a run-down hotel that rented rooms for just a few dollars a night. He 
explained that he'd stayed there the night before so he could have a 
secure place to keep his stuff while he got cleaned up. I assured him 
that he'd done the right thing, and he went in to collect his things 
- coming back out with a worn knapsack and a couple of small 
trashbags. From the hotel, we headed to the apartment I'd gotten for 
him; his eyes got big when I handed him the key, and he realized it 
was HIS. He quickly put his stuff away, and quickly memorized his 
phone number when I told him that he had phone service; when the 
couple that owned it came out, I introduced them to each other. The 
old man and woman welcomed him, saying that he must be the friend I'd 
rented the place for the previous day. After they'd gotten to know 
each other a little, I explained that we still had a few errands to 
run, but that he'd be back in a little while. Both welcomed him 
again, before heading into their house to let us get on our way.
The next stop was the college, where we got Mark signed up for some 
beginning courses he could take in the evenings. We only did a couple 
of classes, so that all his time wouldn't be taken up - I understood 
the importance of having 'down' time too well. I paid his admission 
and tuition fees, then we made a stop at the bookstore to get his 
textbooks and other supplies.
 From there, it was off to pick up his car. The lady was waiting for 
us, her husband having headed off to his job. She had the title 
ready, and invited us in for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie, 
which we both accepted. When we'd finished, she patted Mark on the 
hand, and told him "Young man, I think Mr. Andrews here was right. I 
know you had some hard times, but I think you're going to do just 
fine. I can see you're a hardworking man, and I'm sure my husband 
will be glad to know we were able to help you get going again."
Mark thanked her, and she gave both of us a peck on the cheek by way 
of a goodbye. Outside, I told Mark that I'd had to tell them why I 
was buying their car after they found out who I was. He nodded his 
understanding, and thanked me. I handed him the keys to the car, and 
the paperwork the insurance company had faxed to me. He got in and 
started it up. I told him that the first six months insurance were 
paid for, and that it had a full tank of gas. I went on to tell him 
that I knew it wasn't fancy, and he answered that all he needed was a 
reliable way to get around, and that this would do just fine - trying 
to hide the tears in his eyes.
He followed me back to the hotel, and waited patiently in the lobby 
while I went up to get Lucy and the girls. When I told them who was 
waiting to have supper with us, they quickly got ready, and the four 
of us headed back downstairs. When we got off the elevator, Lucy 
whispered to me "I remember what he looked like in the park. That's 
quite a change in him, Dan."
I whispered back "Yeah, amazing what a little dose of self-respect 
and a little good luck will do, isn't it?"
"I don't think luck has much to do with it, at all - I think it was 
you, more than anything else." She answered.
When we got close, I introduced them to each other, and the five of 
us headed for the hotel restaurant. As we started in, Lucy could see 
that Mark was nervous, and I heard her whisper to him "It's okay, 
Mark. We'll show you what to do", calming him considerably. When we'd 
been shown a table, Robyn and Sandra didn't hesitate to sit next to 
him, making conversation with him as though he was somebody they 
simply hadn't seen for a long time. With the realization that he was 
a welcome guest, he relaxed considerably, though he was careful to 
watch what the rest of us did, and follow our lead.
When the meal was over, he helped Sandra, then Robyn, with their 
chairs as I did with Lucy. The five of us left the restaurant, and 
back out in the lobby, he told me "Mr. Andrews, I want to thank you. 
You've done a lot for me today. Not just the job and the apartment 
and the car and all that, but you've treated me like a human being - 
you and these lovely ladies, that is. It's been a while since anybody 
looked at me like anything but a bum sitting under a tree, and I've 
got you to thank for it. I want to promise you, right here and now, 
that you won't be sorry for giving me a chance."
Lucy looked at him, and said "Mark, I know Dan, and I know he's a 
good judge of people. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you'll do 
just what you said. And it was my pleasure to have your company with 
us for supper."
Here, Sandra chipped in, telling him "Yeah, we're glad you were with 
us tonight.", with Robyn adding "Yeah - you're nice to talk to!". I 
made eye contact with Lucy, and she got the message, telling the 
girls that they needed to get back up to the room. When they'd gone, 
I pulled out a couple of hundred dollars, and handed it to Mark, 
telling him "Here, use this to get yourself some groceries. Tonight 
you should get some new clothes so you fit in a little better, too. 
Nobody would say anything, but I know you wouldn't be very 
comfortable, either. Payday is only a week away, and if I know Jules, 
you'll get paid for the full two weeks. If not, don't be afraid to 
ask for an advance. You'll get it, without anybody saying anything - 
Jules doesn't work that way, and I know he wouldn't have people that 
did, either."
He nodded, and accepted the money. I added my business card, and said 
"I know it's going to be some time before you catch your breath - 
you're going to be kinda busy for a while. But when you get the 
chance, drop me a line and let me know how things are going, okay?"
Again, I could see him blinking away tears as he nodded before 
sticking his hand out. I shook with him, and his grip let me know how 
much he appreciated the chance he'd been given. I patted him on the 
shoulder and wished him well as he headed for the door. I watched as 
he left, and when he got to the door, he turned and gave me a small 
salute before leaving.
When I got back to 'my' room, I hadn't any more than closed the door 
behind me when I was ambushed by three crying females. It was a few 
minutes before they could start taking turns telling me how happy 
they were, and how proud of me they felt for me helping Mark get on 
his feet again. When the waterworks finally dried up, the four of us 
retired to my bed to watch a movie on TV while we cuddled.
About ten o'clock, I got a call from Clara, telling me that the news 
conference had been scheduled for three o'clock, and asking if I 
could be there a half hour early. I agreed, and let her know that 
Lucy had agreed to be there with me, but would answer only a few 
questions. Clara thanked me, and that ended the conversation.
The four of us were ready to head out for lunch when I got another 
phone call from Jules.
"Boomer, you'll never guess what happened."
"Okay, since I'll never guess, why don't you just tell me?"
"Mark showed up this morning - no surprise there - but he did it a 
half hour early. Dressed in different clothes, and packing a sack 
lunch. He's got his paperwork ready, Shirley's got him in and out in 
record time. He's carrying around this notebook in his pocket, 
writing stuff down while he pays attention to *everything*. He's 
asking questions right and left, like you'd hope a new employee 
would. He talked with my engineers for a while, and they tell me he's 
_definitely_ got his head on straight. I showed him where he'd be 
working, and the first thing out of his mouth is 'What do you want me 
to do first?'. It's lunchtime, and he's in there eating while he 
reads an algebra book. *Somebody* got him signed up for some college 
courses; school hasn't even started yet, and he's already in there 
_studying_ for crying out loud. If his grades are as good as I think 
they'll be, *I'll* pay his expenses until he gets a degree. Anybody 
asks him, he's willing to help - he don't care *what* they want. I'm 
telling you, Boomer, you find any more 'bums' out there, you send 'em 
to me first, okay?"
"Sounds like he's off to a good start, then."
"Good? Hell, he's off to a *great* start. Boomer, I thought I was 
gonna get to pay you back a little on this, but it just looks like I 
owe you another one. He's asking good questions, and paying attention 
to the answers. I admit, I tried to trip him up, told him to do 
something a different way than I told him the first time. He hears me 
through, and when I'm done, tells me 'you said to do it this way last 
time', repeats what I'd said before. Then he asks me 'I think either 
way would work, but which is best? Which way do you want me to do 
it?' I tell him, and that's how he does it, each and every time. He 
runs into a snag, he asks somebody how to fix it. I'm telling you, I 
wish I had a couple more of him, at least."
I laughed, and said "Hell, Guido, they're out there. Not all of them 
as good as Mark sounds, but I'll bet they'd give it a hell of a try. 
Give them a chance, and see how it works out. Worst thing happens, 
you don't keep them past a probationary period."
"You ever screw up, Boomer?"
"Sometimes. When I do, it's a beauty, though."
He laughed, and said "I don't know if I'd want to be around for 
something like that - but it's nice to know you make mistakes, too!"
I laughed with him, and after we said our goodbyes, headed out to 
lunch. By the time we'd finished, it was time to head for the FBI 
offices. It occurred to me to fake a flat tire or something, then I 
realized that even if I *did* have a flat, there'd be FBI agents 
right on the spot to help out.
We got there a couple minutes before the time Clara had asked, and a 
couple of agents met us outside and escorted us in through a side 
entrance to avoid the media crowd. Inside, we were led to the large 
conference room that had been set up. Inside, Clara told Lucy and I 
where we'd be sitting. Next to me, I heard a man say "Hey, Freddie, 
get a shot of the teenyboppers. Maybe we can use it later."
I turned to him and said "I don't think the *young ladies* are part 
of the story. Why not leave them out of it?"
He gave me a dirty look, and said "Listen, jack, *I* decide what's 
news and what isn't. Now get the fuck outta my face."
Something about his tone and attitude just set me off, and I think 
everyone but me was surprised when he found himself pressed against 
the wall, my hand around his throat as he turned an interesting shade 
of purple.
I told him "Listen, cheesedick - who you _think_ you are doesn't mean 
*shit* to me. If your momma didn't teach you manners, I *damn* sure 
can. Got it?"
Behind me, I heard Clara say "Ease up on him, Dan. That's Gus Kenney, 
lead muckraker for a local independent. They're the last ones that 
would have him."
I loosened my grip a bit, and as the purple faded, Clara said "Well, 
Gus, I see you still know how to win enemies and influence people. 
You must not have paid any attention to the background info we sent 
out. If you had, you'd know that the man with your life LITERALLY in 
his hands is none other than Dan Andrews, the hero of the hour. You'd 
also know that Dan is formerly of the Special Forces, and TAUGHT 
unarmed combat."
The little weasel visibly paled at that, and Clara went on "And if 
you'd shown up when we asked you to, instead of twenty minutes late, 
you'd have heard us ask the media to respect the privacy of some of 
the people involved - most notably, a couple of young LADIES with 
Dan, here. Of course, I know that you don't have any idea of what a 
LADY is, but I'm sure your cameraman could have explained it to you."
Seeing that his attitude had changed, I let go of his throat, which 
he started rubbing. It took him a couple tries, but he finally got 
some of his self-importance back and sputtered "I... I'm going to 
SUE, dammit! That was a violation of the First Amendment! And 
assault! With a deadly weapon!"
Clara just laughed, and told him "*I* didn't see anything, Gus. Did 
any of the rest of you?"
Gus and I looked around, and all we could see was the grins of the 
other news people. Clearly, Gus had earned himself quite a following. 
When I turned back to look at him, Gus stared at me a moment, then 
said "Freddie, you go that on tape, right?"
Beside me, I head Freddie open up the camera, then felt him press 
something into my hand - a video tape. A moment later, I heard him 
reload the camera, before telling Gus "No, Gus. Nothing happened." 
Behind me, I heard several cameras going into action - Freddie 
quietly told me "Don't worry. They're rewinding, to make sure they 
tape over the girls - and anything else."
With the realization that he didn't have any more cards to play, Gus 
all but collapsed inward on himself, and started edging for the back 
of the crowd. People made way for him as though he were a leper - 
which, I suppose, he was. I turned to the news people, and nodded my 
thanks. Every one of them smiled in return.
Clara broke the remaining tension by telling the news people "In 
addition to his obvious good taste" - they laughed at that - "Dan 
also has a Masters degree in computer science from M.I.T. It goes 
well with the degrees he got from Princeton in Mathematics and 
Philosophy, and the medals he earned as the leader of a team that was 
the prototype for the Delta Force." That last part resulted in a few 
murmurs, and several of them giving me a closer look.
Clara went on to introduce Lucy, who got a wolf whistle from 
somewhere in the back. Clara laughed, and said "Don't get any ideas - 
she's engaged to Dan!" A moment later, we all laughed when someone 
said "Uh, never mind!"
When the laughter died down, Clare told them "*FOR BACKGROUND ONLY*" 
- the magic phrase that said "hands off!" in media-speak - "the two 
young ladies that Dan is so protective of are Robyn" - she smiled and 
gave everyone a little wave - "who is Lucy's daughter, and Sandra" - 
she smiled and waved, too - "who is Robyn's friend." I noticed that 
the camera people went so far as to point their cameras at the floor 
while Robyn and Sandra were being introduced. Lucy saw it, too, and 
squeezed my hand under the table we were sitting at.
Clara continued by telling them "In a gesture of goodwill, they've 
agreed to be present at this conference. Lucy has agreed to answer a 
FEW questions; when she's done, let it go, okay folks? Dan has 
indicated that he's willing to answer them until his patience runs 
out. That would be a good time to stop." she told them, to general 
laughter.
When the laughter faded, she told them "Actually, Dan and the rest 
have been surprisingly patient with all that's happened to them. We 
were concerned about possible involvement by organized crime, and had 
assigned them a protective detail. They've been very cooperative with 
the detail members, and shown great patience with having to live 
their lives in something of a fishbowl. At our people's request, Dan 
here made a pass through our combat pistol range. His expert pistol 
rating in the Army served him well - he set a new course record on 
his FIRST and ONLY try. A record, by the way, that was set by one of 
the members of his protective detail. We've already made available to 
you a brief description of what happened in this case, and 
approximately when. One of my agents will be handing out additional 
information on Dan and Lucy. We ask that you do NOT ask about any 
security arrangements or precautions, for obvious reasons. That said, 
we'll open the floor to questions."
The first was a reporter from a local paper, who asked Lucy "Ma'am? 
What was it that got you here in the first place?"
Lucy briefly told them that one of her company's clients had 
requested an audit; she went on to explain what had happened that had 
gotten her concerned enough to contact me.
Next was a TV journalist, who asked me "Mr. Andrews, is it true that 
you had to show the FBI's people how to see what you'd found, and 
explain it to them?"
I told him that the FBI had a fine technical department, but that not 
all of their experts could be everyplace at once; the people I'd 
dealt with had been skilled professionals that simply didn't have the 
time or resources to stay on top of everything.
I caught the next question, too, when a reporter asked about my 
military background. I told him what I could, and when he tried to 
press for more, I told him that he'd have to ask the people in charge 
- I was just a line grunt that did as I was told. He got the message, 
b