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Subject: {ASSM} Variations on A Theme 4/5 (zoo themed, 'spy kids') TBD
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Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:10:08 -0400
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Variations on A Theme: Part Four of Five
----

When the powers that be insisted Nibby get a special bath, Samantha
started to protest until Jo pointed out the she was still wearing
punch, and could use a bath of her own.

She meekly complied with medical orders, and wound up in a borrowed
dress with a freshly blow dried and combed Miss Nibbles at her side.

When our escort got us to the hallway that led to ICU, Nibby's head
came up and she went into a sort of scrabbling overdrive until
Samantha got her under control.

Jo and I laughed, then I gestured grandly.  "Go.  We'll hang back for
a bit.  We need to catch up on the medical stuff anyway.  And
remember, no business.  Assume this ICU is monitored once you get past
the doorway."

"Yeah, right.  I remember all that stuff..."

She faded out as she let Nibby pull her away from us.

I looked at Jo and grinned before I turned to the remaining escort.
"When you get a chance, see if this hallway has video monitoring, get
us copies of everything from a few minutes before Nibby's head came
up, to the time she actually greets Billy, then save it and make it
available for him to watch any time he wants to."

The woman nodded.  "Can do.  No such thing as true privacy in a
military hospital, these days."

I sighed.  "Noted, and expected, I guess."

She smiled a bit wryly, then went on.  "Are you folks aware you're in
a special situation, now?"

Jo glanced at her.  "How so?"

"As an official part of 'Team One', you share in their 'perks', I
guess you could call them."

I snorted.  "Like getting to ride in armored limos and humvees on
call?"

She nodded seriously.  "That's part of it."

Jo froze, and since we had our arms around each other's waists, that
forced me to stop.  She pulled away from me so she could study our
escort.  "You're serious."

"Very.  Due to our overall mission requirements, we are not only
'outside' the usual security channels, we are superior to them, even
though we are monitored extensively.  We have access to those records
any time we want them.

"Effectively, we are self policing, and only truly answerable to each
other, and that loosely.  Any disputes are settled internally. There's
more, of course, but the most important one is this:  Nobody, anywhere
in the world, has the authority to *tell* you what to do. They can
advise, and usually we follow that advice, but that's the extent of
what they can do.  They can't replace us even though they can do
cosmetic things, like the earlier praise and recognition. Samantha and
her team were already 'Team One', before that recognition came through
'officially'."

Jo was in the pose that said she was considering things, so I waited
her out.  When she spoke, she was thoughtful.  "So what happens when
someone runs a normal background check, now?  I'll assume 'cold
plate'.  What else?"

"The usual 'Special Agent - Interpol' notation is what the average
person will see.  If they have slightly higher clearances, they'll see
'CB' for 'Carte' Blanche', which boils down to 'cooperate, or else'.
And if they are near our level, or on the right need to know list,
there's an 'SD' appended, for 'Self Determined'."

Jo shivered and reached for me while she stared at the calmly speaking
woman.  "Are you saying that if we are interested in seeing something,
we get to see it, no matter what?"

"Yes.  And that's applies anywhere in the world, at any time.  If
someone runs into that part of your identity, they'll know enough to
realize 'need to know' is whatever you decide it has to be, for anyone
around you.  If you're worried about abusers, don't.  At this level,
we all know each other, or can find out almost immediately, since we
have to watch each other.  Abusers of our authority seldom get a
second chance.  Bad decisions are another matter, but generally
speaking, they tend to be self correcting, since one of us can jump in
to advise and possibly help correct a situation as it happens."

I nodded carefully.  "I get the impression the teams don't usually
concern themselves with what we ran into today.  It's the electronic
war you fight, that's on the frontiers of the technology and not
usually concerned with normal politics and national stuff."

"Exactly.  Your typical hacker, scriptkid or anything else, doesn't
care about security clearances.  To fight effectively, we have to
ignore them, too.  What we discovered today...  That's some sort of
alliance, and as far as I know, it's the first one we've seen in
action before they got past the planning stage.  There are probably
others, and we're already rethinking the way we do things, to figure
out ways to make sure we spot these alliances more quickly."

She winced.  "We're used to them hiding in open and private forums.
What we've never seen before is combining the blackmail and
appropriate forum--and the upper level planning--into one place.  That
implies a confidence well above what we're used to seeing, anywhere.
It might be arrogance, but we really don't think so.  They had a
reason for choosing you folks, and all of us would like to know what
it is, beyond all the built in benefits like hiding behind some of the
most effective screening procedures in the world, outside what the
teams use."

She shrugged and smiled.  "You folks are supposed to be on vacation,
for now, so relax.  We're pretty sure we have the situation contained,
and if something flares, you and Samantha will be the first to know,
other than the on duty monitors and the rest of her team."

Jo nodded.  "Thanks.  Can we assume that our home is secured and
someone is quietly picking up the pieces and getting repairs done?"

"Yes.  We took the liberty of putting inside and outside people in
place as a precaution.  Since it was a moot point due to the attack,
we disabled your alarm system in favor of bringing in a portable
setup.  Nothing inside has been touched, except for bringing your
clothing and other personal stuff from your bedroom and bathroom.  If
you're worried about the attention, your home is being guarded by a
well known national security firm, until you can take time off from
seeing to your daughter's needs.  The people doing the work are some
more of our own, who are specialists in their way and have been in
place for years, with clean records.  It's all very routine, and
expected by everyone involved."

"Thank you."

Then Jo paused in her walking to turn me and hug me fiercely.  "A lot
of memories, Honey."

I sighed and hugged her back.  "Yeah.  I know.  If there's a way to
avoid it, I haven't seen it yet."

She leaned into me.  "I've found a partial solution."

"Oh?"

"Strip our stuff out and lease it to Dr. Simmons, to give his clients
a more natural environment to recover in."

I sighed.  "Sounds good, in theory.  What if it's been bugged?  Can we
take the risk, for their sakes?"

She slumped.  "Oh.  No."

I stiffened, and she felt it and looked up worriedly.  "What is it?"

I spoke softly.  "Hope, I think."

I turned to our escort.  "Can we assume we'll be living behind a
visible security screen for the rest of our lives?"

She sighed.  "Yes.  Of some sort."

I winced slightly.  "Ok.  We'll adapt and let it affect our private
lives as little as possible.  Now, let me tell you what I'm looking
for."

"Go."

"Everybody knows, or will know, that we got sucked into some sort of
government operation, eventually.  Normally, that means we'd wind up
in a protection program of some sort.  We never wanted that."

"Understood."

"So let's go the other direction.  Find us about a square mile on or
near a military base, in a zoo legal state, that can be secured and
built on.  That's stage one."

"Got it."

"Good.  Stage two is simple.  Do whatever it takes to make sure you
can duplicate our old home, then, with lots of fanfare, we disassemble
the house and the entire yard, including removal of the fences and
landscaping, then it all gets moved and reassembled at the new
location, in the most secure part of the land you found in stage one.
Goes without saying that all of it will be scanned, right?

"Right."

"Stage three is the expensive part, but it shouldn't be too bad, if we
can get the funding for it.  We donate the land to Dr. Simmons for his
new clinic, then the entire parcel gets the soil removed and
recompacted before building begins.  I want the teams to quietly have
a hand in designing the unobtrusive security and privacy screening
that will go in as part of the landscaping.

"All of this will, of course be very visible, and with lots of regret
on our part, but due to the viciousness of the hate attacks, we no
longer feel safe living in that area.  For our own safety, and that of
our children, we feel we need to move."

She was silent a long time, then she nodded.  "Anything else?"

"Yes.  I suddenly feel the urge to set up some sort of private
'University' for gifted children and adults, on a part of the land
that's a comfortable distance away from our home.  Ask the rest of
'Team One' if they'd like to design the campus and living quarters.
Give them ten to twenty acres to play with, and whatever funds you
think you can pry loose for such a project.  The subtext of this
project is that the campus will really be a new home for any kids and
teams who get 'blown' to the point of needing to live behind some
serious security.  We won't be fooling anyone except possibly the
public, of course.  Let's also take a long term view and look into
building some sort of secured community for the families of blown
kids, on part of the land."

At that point I looked at Jo.  "Half of our private funds for seed
money?"

She thought about it.  "For now.  Let's see what we can pry loose from
our new employers for our own expenses, then we'll rethink the funding
issues.  Somebody mentioned interviews, so let the team members make
their own decisions about how much they want to participate."

I turned back and raised my eyebrows.  "Is that enough for now?"

She nodded.  "Plenty. How soon?"

"Yesterday."

"Can do!"

We all laughed, then she sobered.  "I'll make some calls as soon as
you settle with the doctors.  I imagine I should call your lawyer, and
let him know what's going on."

I nodded.  "Please.  Call him first and tell him and Beverly what's
going on.  He has a lot of memories and might want to spend some time
wandering the place before it gets dismantled."

She nodded again and I smiled.  "Thanks.  Now, let's go find out
what's been happening to our kids."

Jo pinched me and I winced.  "What was that for?"

She laughed.  "Mostly for being crazy enough to think the way you do.
Thanks for spotting the chance to realize one of our dreams.  That
*was* what you had in mind for the 'clinic' right?"

"Yes."

"Good.  I approve of your plans, so relax."

"Uh huh.  That means you're going to hit me with something."

"Of course!  The rest of the pinch was payback for that comment about
riding in the back humvee because you're a natural follower.  You made
it almost 24 hours.  I'm not sure, but that may be a new record of
passiveness for you, since I gave birth to Rachel."

I chuckled ruefully.  "Nothing active about it.  I like stability, and
you know it.  When I realized I wanted to keep the house, the
relocation part fell out when I added it to relocating *us*.  You're
the one that wanted to give it to Dr. Simmons."

She was smiling.  "Let him and Warren figure out what to do with it,
and where to get his funding.  We have enough problems to solve...."

She stopped, then spoke thoughtfully.  "Somebody should pass a
suggestion up the chain to Mrs. Yarborough.  She mentioned retiring in
a couple years.  I think we can safely assume the Feds and other
interested parties are going to want to fine tooth the Ralston's
place, but after that, she might want to consider buying it for
herself.  Looked like a nice place, quiet neighborhood where the kids
know her and won't bother her.  Fringe benefit would be her screen
could unobtrusively cover Samantha's parents."

Our escort responded before I could.  "And nobody would be surprised
if she offered to keep everything in trust until Billy had a chance to
return and make decisions about his family's effects.  She could even
be a caretaker for him.  Let someone else sort out the details.
Nobody's going to be surprised when all the electronics is seized for
investigation.  Again, how that gets handled isn't our problem.  I'll
pass it all on, along with your thinking."

Jo was already reacting to the appearance of a doctor, so her 'Thank
You' was pretty quiet. 

I happened to be watching the woman, so I was able to lip read the
whispered "You're welcome, Mom."

She noticed me watching, blushed, grinned ruefully when I nodded my
head slightly, then she moved towards the desk phone to start making
her calls.

* * *

We wound up settled in a conference room with five Doctors and us
seated around a table that had various folders and computer terminals
at each position, and glasses of water already waiting for us.  There
were also light snacks and various non-alcoholic beverages available
on a cart.

Jo and I studied the situation, smiled at each other and I let her
take the lead.

"Posh.  Somebody been waiting for us to show up?  We're Thomas and
Jolene Metzler.  Might as well call us Tom and Jo, since it looks like
a long term relationship."

One of the women smiled.  "Agnes 'Aggie' Conroy when I'm not being
'That Brutal Bitch' to my patients.  Prosthetic surgeon and therapist
who specializes in experimental prosthetics.  Also in charge of the
team who worked on your son William after he got here."

Jo leaned back and smiled.  "Should I conclude the obvious?  Our
adopted son is now partly bionic and part of some special research
program?"

Agnes laughed.  "Not quite.  Only thing special is the technology in
the leg he agreed to wear for us.  Leading edge in a few ways, but
proven in the field in all the others."

Jo nodded.  "Worry about that in a minute.  What about Rachel?"

"We handled her knee replacement, of course.  Completely routine, and
she declined most of the 'enhancements' her status entitled her to
while she was being worked on anyway."

Both of us sat straighter and I let Jo keep control of our side of the
briefing.  "Oh?" 

Agnes nodded.  "She opted to allow the passive hearing aid implant
that has a secured wireless channel.  That was it."

She smiled and shook her head.  "William wanted to go all out, but she
brought him down to Earth, for now.  He's not going to be any sort of
'Bionic Kid'.  He has however, agreed to be a posterboy for the new
tech if it proves out.  The hospital sponsors a 'Bionic Team' that
regularly tours the country and competes with normal athletes.  If the
leg proves itself, he and Miss Nibbles are going to train as a
'showcase' long distance relay team.  It was his idea.  He's a long
distance runner, but he and his friends have included Miss Nibbles in
impromptu relays that she runs the next to last leg on.  His idea was
to create mixed human-dog relay teams that compete against each
other."

She smiled.  "We're wondering how we missed it.  We have mixed teams
on duty in which one or both of them are using prosthetics, so the
request is already working its way up the chain of command for
approval, and volunteers."

Jo looked a little stunned, and I knew I was showing my surprise.  She
looked at me and I shrugged before I turned back to Agnes.  "I guess I
really only have one concern.  William's zoosexuality.  We haven't had
a chance to do any media watching, but we're certain he's already out,
right?  If he isn't, we are, because of Jo's films.  I don't know for
certain I'm out, but I imagine I am, so I'm not going to panic.  We're
already taking steps to protect ourselves, due to other concerns."

Agnes nodded.  "Understandable, and while he doesn't know the details,
William does know that some of his friends are involved in something
more serious than online fantasy games and role playing."

That got raised eyebrows from both of us.  Jo asked it for both of us.
"How?"

There were chuckles and giggles from around the table, and Agnes
smiled.  "Briefly, he spotted the collar change the same day it was
made, and after thinking it over, decided not to say anything.  Seems
someone in cosmetics screwed up.  In their favor, it was a mistake
nobody realized could be made.  The tentative conclusion is that we
should avoid making the switch unless the person is also one of us."

Jo raised her eyebrows.  "That's what happened, not how he spotted
it."

"Not trying to be evasive.  The short explanation is that he noticed
two things and the first difference caused him to explore further. Her
original collar had some semen stains on it.  After they had sex that
night, they were cuddled and he noticed the stains were gone. Further
exploration revealed that something was inserted between the layers,
because he could tell the collar flexed differently.  He said he was
actually relieved, because he no longer had to worry about his parents
noticing the stains, and questioning him about them."

Jo was smiling.  "Might be interesting to do a controlled experiment
to see if zoos will spot a switch sooner."

Agnes gestured at the orientals who were seated opposite her.  "I'll
let Akiko and Chang deal with that, and your other concern."

We turned slightly and waited.

Akiko nodded.  "William's zoosexuality is only an issue if he competes
and travels in states or countries that have laws against it, and he
has sex with his bitch.  Our legal department is looking into the
situation, and we also wish to call on your years of accumulated
knowledge, later.  Perhaps we can make arrangements with Dr. Simmons
to join our research efforts and share data from his focus groups and
the forums you will be moderating for him."

She turned slightly.  "Chang?"

He nodded.  "Because of the nature of the situation, we have a fairly
unique opportunity to closely observe an established zoosexual
relationship, in a supportive environment.  It's too soon for any
serious research, but at the same time, we do have data from other
rehabs, and we're wondering how their relationship will affect his
desire to recover and how he approaches his overall rehab program.
Many other possible projects are being discussed, and later, he and
his friends, and you, will be consulted to see if he wishes to
participate, or not."

He sighed...  "We also have transcripts of his parents' reactions,
taken from the police records.  I'm afraid for the moment, we are in
an unusual situation, with too much unexpected data available.  We
haven't had time to formulate any questions so we can extract usable
conclusions, if any are there to be discovered."

"Forgive the digression, please.  I'm afraid my wife and I are not
very successfully hiding our interest, since we come from a culture
that accepts zoosexuality and non-abusive bestiality.  To get the
chance to do detailed observations in the context of your culture..."

He shrugged and smiled.  "William will be competing, and we will do
what we can to protect him.  Most likely, he and Miss Nibbles will be
confined to those competitions that are held on military bases.

"In his favor, he understands there will be restrictions, and he will
accept them.  His desire is to run with his bitch again, and he
doesn't really care where that takes place, as long as it does.  He
expressed his understanding quite clearly:  'I'll already be a
research project, with all the monitoring and no privacy. Why not
include my zoosexuality?  I'm not going to be able to hide it, and I
don't want to try.  Just let us be who we are, ok?'

He and his wife shared amused glances before he turned back to us. "We
find that attitude refreshing in one so young, and under so much
pressure.  We'll try not to be so greedy we interfere with their
happiness."

He tapped keys, and a scene came up on our monitor.  Nibby had herself
carefully braced on the edge of his bed, with Samantha there to help
keep her under control.  He had one hand clenched in her fur, and he
was laughing while she licked his face.

"That's live, and has been going on ever since the two of them arrived
in the room.  If it hadn't been for the rails, she would have most
likely wound up on the bed with him and in the process seriously
disturbed Dr. Conroy's team's excellent work."

He was watching his screen and not bothering to hide his grin.  "For
the record, the monitoring record from the time of your arrival, to
this time, shows one of the clearest cases of a non-abusive zoosexual
relationship it has been my pleasure to witness."

He lost himself briefly, then he looked at us directly.  "It is our
understanding that you two, through your daughter, played a
significant role in William's development into a well adjusted young
man.  Thank you.  Please, keep up the good work, with both of them."

He turned away slightly.  "Agnes?"

She nodded.  "Indeed.  Very good work.  I'm looking forward to working
with him and his friends."

She sighed and looked at her notes.  "William's surgery and
rehabilitation will be routine, except for the mods in his prosthesis.
For now, we have it shut down and immobilized while he heals.  There's
no way to know how long it will take, and it doesn't really matter.
Rehab will be the critical phase, so all we can do for now is wait.
Once he is out of ICU, arrangements will be made so they can sleep
together safely.  We have quite a bit of experience taking care of
human-dog teams when one or both of them have injuries.  The open zoo
aspects will give us the opportunity, for the first time, to modify
normal procedures to avoid interfering with their relationship as much
as possible."

I raised my eyebrows.  "Are you implying that as soon as they can
safely do it, they will be allowed to renew their sexual activities?"

"Yes."

"That's..."  I reached to pull Jo into a hug.

We were both crying when I spoke quietly.  "For ALL of us who might
someday  benefit from your skills and understanding, Thank you."

She waited for us to recover and as I came out of the sudden euphoria
I stiffened and studied Jo.  "Honey?"

"What?  Something wrong.?"

"Maybe.  Don't you see it?"

She frowned.  "Maybe...  Damn!  It's too pat and routine sounding for
what's being done."

She glared at the room in general.  "You folks are too casual about
this.  You're some sort of special team, running a special ward,
aren't you?"

It was Akiko who leaned forward to watch not us, but Agnes.  "We rest
our case.  Three well adjusted civilian zoosexuals, sleep deprived and
under significant situational stress, have ALL spotted and reacted to
anomalies in their surroundings significantly faster than people who
are considered our best covert operators.  We need to reexamine our
existing data with this in mind.  We also believe this faster
discovery time is significant enough to allow us to discover
previously unsuspected zoosexuals in the intelligence service. Policy
when selecting individuals for high risk covert ops should be modified
to allow zoosexuals to be given priority of selection instead of being
used to place them on lower risk or no risk operations lists."

Agnes nodded.  "Recommendation noted.  I will send it to the
appropriate people as soon as possible."

She looked at each of the other people.  "Anything to add?"

After the silence lasted awhile she nodded.  "Noted.  Now, let's get
back to our main business, which is healing their children, and not...
Looking at them as test subjects, without their permission."

She sighed and faced us.  "You have our sincere apologies for allowing
other business to intrude so suddenly.  All of this *is* routine for
us.  We are one of the medical teams responsible for dealing with the
medical aspects of intelligence operations.  You were 'test subjects'
only in the sense that everyone we see becomes part of a constantly
evolving monitoring and evaluation process designed to give our
operatives in the field the best chances of survival we can give
them."

She smiled wryly.  "Recent events have made rethinking our policies
with regards to the fitness of zoosexuals for positions of trust, one
of our highest priorities."

Jo and I both laughed before Jo replied.  "Isn't there a saying about
'When you know something is true, that's the best time to reexamine
it?' "

Agnes smiled.  "Some truths take longer to be revealed as assumptions,
or falsehoods.  To get us back on track, your daughter's knee
replacement was routine with no complications, as was the implanting
of the hearing aid and the controls for it.  It looks, and responds to
routine checks, exactly like state of the art civilian ones, so it
will pass all security checks currently in use, or anticipated to go
online in the next few years.

"And that is it for what we have to tell you, for now.  You may, of
course, examine the records and ask us questions any time we are
available."

We looked at each other and Jo turned it over to me.  I looked back
and spoke thoughtfully.  "Two questions for now.  I'm not concerned
with the nuts and bolts of Billy's prosthesis.  I'll assume it has
some sort of internal power supply, and I'm wondering how that gets
recharged or replaced.  The other question I have is how much will
having the prosthesis affect his normal performance in daily life, and
as an athlete?"

She nodded.  "Good questions, and you've managed to take us into
'We're not certain' territory, with both of them.  Sandra?  This is
your area."

Sandra nodded and leaned back.  "We're trying out a new power system
that relies on a regenerative approach for routine use, and a storage
system for high impulse applications, such as sprints and long
distance running.  Lab testing indicates the endurance is going to be
dependent on how the leg is used by the individual.  Our hope is that
we've created something that has the potential to be used in long
endurance runs, such as a marathon, but we don't know yet.  It has a
full suite of sensors so we can get real time performance data without
any special add ons.  Since we had the space, we also built in the
capability to monitor his other vital signs, along with things like
accumulated fatigue poisons and other things people usually have to
wear special sensors and harnesses for."

She sighed.  "I know it's not much of a real answer, but it's the best
I can give you.  We *think* we've come pretty close to what would be
expected of the flesh and blood leg of a marathon runner, but until
he's to that point himself, we won't know if we actually reached that
goal.  For the rest of it, the existing tech could be depended on for
runs up to several miles, so he should be able to at least return to
the performance levels he had previous to the accident.  He might be
faster, he might be slower, or he might stay about the same.  The
prosthesis is heavier of course, and the balance, while close to that
of a natural leg, is still different enough that he's going to have to
retrain himself extensively before he finds a running rhythm that
works for him.  He has a lot of treadmill time ahead of him, and for
his own safety, it will be while he's wearing a supportive harness."

I nodded.  "Makes sense, and thanks."

"You're welcome.  Recharging will be by use of a simple inductive
system that he can carry easily and plug in anywhere."

That got my attention.  "Inductive?  Sounds to me like someone
designed this with a disposable or renewable external power source in
mind for endurance missions."

She nodded.  "I did.  It's also built into the ones for the upper
limbs, and the ones we build for dogs and horses.  They are just as
much of an investment as the people who team with them, and if we can
prolong their functional lives, we owe it to them for the demands we
place on them.  Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get them small
enough to be applied to domestic felines.  There are other problems in
that application, too."

"Thanks.  I can't think of anything else.  Jo?"

She shook her head.  "Too tired.  Let's see the kids, then take a long
break to recuperate.  On the plus side, it's not going to surprise me
if the kids come 'home' a lot sooner than would be normal, due to
where we are living for the foreseeable future."

That got me to smile.  "Good point."

I studied Agnes briefly, then nodded.  "Anything else?  Sounds like
the kids are in good hands, and that's quite a relief at this point."

"Thank you.  We're finished for now.  Due to the nature of the
situation, we won't be able to just call you with updates and progress
reports.  Those will be delivered by courier."

Jo stood and smiled oddly.  "Keep that thought in mind, if it makes
you feel better."

Several of the people at the table sighed.  Agnes was one of them. "We
don't want to know.  For appearances sake, it will help our people's
morale if you pretend you need to live by the rules the rest of us
follow."

Jo nodded.  "Noted.  We'll be discreet."

I joined her and we shook hands with everyone there, then we left to
go see the kids after our escort rejoined us.

* * *

When we got closer to the kids, Nibby noticed us first, and then they
did.  We stopped and smiled at them.  Jo spoke quietly.  "Looks like
you're doing well.  Do we need to be here?"

The four who could blush, did, then looked embarrassed and Jo giggled.
"Relax.  Teasing.  May we come in, or is it still private?"

Rachel giggled without letting go of Johnny's hand when he tried to
pull away.  "What privacy?  Looks like we'll be making our own movies
for awhile."

I chuckled.  "Is that so?  Is that a guess, or passed along
information?"

She sighed.  "A guess, really, Sam says we're all on vacation for
awhile.  Me and Billy aren't going anywhere for a few weeks, at
least."

Jo smiled.  "It will be good for you.  Did the four of you get things
sorted out yet, or is it too soon?"

Jo managed to choke off her giggle when Rachel looked at Johnny
without saying anything, but I didn't bother trying to suppress my
grin.

Jo spoke gently.   "So that's the way of it?"

Then Jo looked at Billy's bed, where he was asleep and Samantha was
settled in a chair and holding his hand while she watched his face.
"Looks like that problem is solved, too."

Johnny came out of his silence.  "Yeah.  Sort of a case of using all
that high tech fancy stuff and we never figured out how to talk
normally, so we didn't really know how we all felt about each other.
But all this..."

He sighed and watched Rachel's face.  "We'll keep doing the other
stuff, but we're going try and figure out who we are, too."

Rachel nodded seriously, and didn't say anything when she finally
looked at us.

Jo and I nodded back, then I shrugged a little.  "Might as well get
this over with.  Jo and I have decided that we'd better move.  For
now, we'll be living in the VIP compound."

Rachel sighed.  "Yeah.  Sam told us what happened.  Sucks, but all of
us except Billy sorta figured that someday we might get blown real bad
and have to go into hiding.  Sorry."

I shook my head.  "We're not going into hiding.  People are looking
for some land we can build on, then the house and yard will be
transplanted to there.  After that, we're going to sell or donate the
old property to Dr. Simmons so he can build a special clinic.  Don't
worry about it yet, but we want you kids to help with the security on
both places, when you aren't working on your own projects."

She was watching me suspiciously.  "I know you, dad.  What's the
catch?"

I laughed.  "Once things settle, Jo and I are going to fund some sort
of 'school' for gifted people.  We're figuring it will also be a
secure place for blown kids and teams.  That will be above board and
located on the same land as the house.  Think you kids can handle a
project of that size?"

I sighed.  "It's not going to be easy to adjust to the restrictions,
but at least this way we won't have to hide completely, and we'll be
out of the protection program, so I suspect we'll actually be more
secure than if we were in it, right?"

She and Johnny were looking at each other by the time I finished, and
I recognized the 'oh, wow, what can we do with that sort of freedom?'
look, so I laughed gently.  "Hey.  You kids are on vacation.  Dream,
but that's it.  No hard plans until the other stuff takes place."

Jo giggled.  "Be honest, ok?  But if you can think of ways to get
funding...  Things might move a little faster.  Plan for at least
*your* lifetimes, not ours."

"Yeah..."  She grinned the little girl grin she got when she was going
to announce she'd always been ahead of us.  "How much room do we get?"

I grinned back.  "Ten to twenty acres minimum, on a one square mile
parcel, that will be on or near a military base."

She actually froze.  "You're kidding!"

"Nope.  Security concerns, you know."

She got thoughtful.  "Hey, 'Blushing Bride'.  You been paying
attention?"

Samantha looked up.  "Kinda.  Billy and I already decided that we
don't care where we wind up, because the three of us are going to be
putting up with all sorts of security for the rest of our lives."

Rachel sighed.  "Yeah, I know.  We all got some pretty limited options
about our futures."

She looked up and focused on her bodyguard.  "After you swap with your
replacement, go tell Soliel to run the image viewer on my laptop with
the extra command line parameter of 'bolthole', all lowercase.  She'll
know what to do after that."

The woman nodded.  "Will do."

"Thanks."

Then she stiffened and turned to stare at Samantha.  "Sam?"

"What?"

"Did you save all the data dumps from Nibby's collar?"

"Of course."

"Good!  Sorry about the switch to business, but is anyone going back
through those now that we know the Ralstons founded Cell Seventeen?
Let's scrub all of our commo files from that area and see if anything
shows up."

Sam nodded, then looked at her escort.  "Pass the word.  Nibby and I
will stay here until you get back.  Tell them to pay particular
attention to the times when Nibby was home by herself."

Then she sighed.  "Tell my parents Billy and I are going to get
married as soon as he's ready, and send a crew to strip my stuff out
of the house as soon as it's safe to go inside.  I'm moving in with
the Metzlers for now, to help take care of Billy and Rachel.  And I
guess it's time we looked into getting our diplomas.  All of us have
the credits we need, so there shouldn't be any problems.  Billy's
gonna need some sort of home ed, I guess.  Have someone contact the
school and set that up."

She sighed.  "For now, tell our parents we got tapped for a 'special
kids' study.  Someone else can sort out the details to make it work.
Maybe it can be back dated to Rachel's party to make it look like some
sort of surprise."

He nodded.  "Routine stuff.  We'll contact the same crew that's taking
care of the Metzler's move and have them divert temporarily.  The rest
of it will take some work, but we're not rushed for time, as far as we
know.  I'll pass it up the chain and something will get done that will
make it all look as innocent as we can make it, for most of you."

"Thanks."

He left.

We were all silent for awhile, then Jo moved to go over and peck
Rachel on one cheek.  "We're going to head to our temporary home, and
take a break for a day or two.  If you need us, send word and we'll
come in."

Rachel studied her, then sighed.  "Yeah.  I can see it.  I'll be ok.
Besides, John and I have a lot of catching up to do, and plans to
make."

Jo smiled again.  "I won't ask.  If you can stand living nearby, once
we have our home relocated, we can talk about a few cottages tucked
away somewhere.  No pressure though, and if you opt to move somewhere
else in the country, we won't have a problem with that.  But I imagine
we're going to be here for at least a year, if they will let us stay
that long."

"Thanks, Mom.  See you and dad in a couple."

I went over, kissed her gently, then shook Johnny's hand  "Your lives.
Always have been.  Do what you feel is right for you, not what you
think we or anyone else would want you to do."

"We will, when we figure out what that is."

"Good."

Jo collected me, and we left after our escorts attached themselves to
us again as we left ICU.

* * *

I was too tired to try and make any sort of comments about the limo
ride to our new house.  We got in, settled, and once that was done, we
were off.

About all I noticed when we arrived was that we wound up in what
appeared to be a compound that consisted of a main house and several
outbuildings with lots of security around the entire complex.

Our escorts had ridden with us, and the man across from me must have
noticed my focus as I studied what little we could see.

"VIP Housing.  Visiting Generals, those sorts."

"Flattering.  I suppose we'll get booted if a real VIP shows up?"

"No, Sir.  You and your wife outrank them."

I winced.  "That's...  Absurd."

He interrupted me.  "No, Sir.  Right now 'Team One' and it's members
are at the top of a very short list of people who mean more to our
security than all the Generals and their men.  You and your wife
aren't working members who take part in their operations, but you are
a critical part of their support structure.  'Morale Officers' or some
such title would fit.  I'm genuinely sorry you got drawn in, but once
you were, we have a responsibility to see that you are taken care of."

Jo sighed.  "Taken care of?  I assume that boils down to losing the
simple things in life, like doing my own shopping, and going to the
mall to relax and browse?"

He sighed.  "I'm afraid so.  Best I can offer at the moment is
escorted trips to the Base shopping centers."

He smiled.  "Not as full of people, but on the larger bases, the
stores aren't much different than the civilian ones, these days.  At
least they are secure enough you'll be allowed in them with only a
light screen.  Happens a lot, so you folks won't raise any eyebrows."

Jo nodded.  "I'll take what I can get.  What about our home lives?  Am
I allowed to risk myself by cooking our meals, or will that be taken
away, too?"

He laughed.  "Relax.  You'll have a house crew to help you take care
of things, but in everything except security concerns, you'll be able
to pretty much do as you wish.  If you want to cook your own meals,
you can.  If you want to relax and let someone else do it, you can do
that, too."

He leaned forward slightly and studied both of us before he went on
seriously.  "I strongly recommend you let us do most of it for now.
You folks have been under some serious stress, and you need time to
unwind.  Take the advice you gave the kids, and let go for awhile.
Make your children's health your top concern for now.  They all know
what they are doing.  Let them get on with their jobs.  Your 'job', if
you want to see it that way, is to be what you are already. Supportive
parents they can count on to be there when they need you."

I smiled at his earnestness.  "Were you one of the kids, or one of the
parents?"

He shrugged.  "One of the kids, from an older team.  We stay together
as we grow up and as we get 'displaced', we cross train and move into
other roles."

He smiled.  "For what it's worth, I'm the team leader.  That's why
Samantha picked me for this job, that of being your chief of staff, if
you'll have me."

I looked at Jo and sighed.  "Well?  Your call."

She nodded.  "I'll trust her judgement."

She turned her attention to the young man across from us.  "Do you and
your partner have names?"

He smiled.  "I'm James Smith, and that's my XO and wife, Agatha."

She held out her hand.  "Pleased to meet you, James.  You, too,
Agatha.  I guess our house staff are all members of your team?"

"Yes."

"Ok.  We'll worry about details and other briefings tomorrow,
sometime.  For now, just point us at the bedroom and leave us alone
after you show us how to call someone if we need anything."

"Done.  There's an intercom station in each room, with a list next to
it.  The list is updated with all the names next to what each person
is in charge of.  If it makes you feel better, your pen team already
secured the compound."

Jo smiled.  "It does."

Then she yawned.  "Let's go.  I need a bath and some sleep."

After we closed the door to our bedroom, I stretched and yawned.  "I
could get used to this stuff."

She laughed.  "So could I.  I draw the line at back scrubbing, though.
Still want you to do that."

I chuckled.  "What?  No handsome young men at your beck and call when
you need a body servant?"

"Maybe in the future, when you're being taken care of by your own
harem."

"Point."

I raised my voice.  "Ok.  Whoever's on duty, talk to us."

The intercom came alive and the first thing we heard was a feminine
giggle.  "I won!"

Jo and I smiled at each other and I chuckled.  "What?  You bet we'd
figure out you'd find a way to bypass the security?  That's a no
brainer.  And who are you?  I know we've met all of you, but I can't
put names to the voices yet."

"Tabitha.  Tabby to my friends.  Yeah.  I told the non faithful that
since you are zoos, you're at least as paranoid as we are, with
decades more experience, so you wouldn't assume the place was as
secure as James made it sound."

Jo was grinning.  "I hope the bet was substantial."

"Oh, it was.  "Daily back rubs for a month, and in one case..."  She
sobered.  "A gold wedding band, a dog, and a bitch,  when he can
afford them.  I called a bluff."

We looked at each other and raised our eyebrows.  I let Jo take it.
"Dog and bitch along with the wedding band?"

"Yeah.  We've both been curious, and after getting to know you
folks...  Well, we'll want advice, but we think it will help us be
better people, plus take some pressure off the security folks once we
train them as guard dogs."

Jo was nodding and smiling.  "Ok.  None of our business, so congrats
to both of you.  Two things, and then you can go back to being
passive."

"Ok.  Go."

"First item.  We're going to have a BBQ tomorrow afternoon and evening
and would like to see all of you here."

"If things stay quiet, we'll be there.  Some of us were wondering if
you'd be able to have them again.  Thanks."

"You're welcome.  Just trying to keep things as normal as we can,
Dear.  I think all of us will need that."

There was a sigh.  "Yeah.  We've been talking it over, and as much as
we'd like to, there's no realistic chance we'll ever be able to go
home.  Gonna be nice to have some real parents we can be around.  You
said two things?"

"Uh huh.  When you come to the BBQ, bring us a couple of neutralizers
so we can shut down your monitoring, if we want to, or if one of you
wants to keep secrets when you talk to us."

There was a long silence.  Then, tentatively, "How'd you figure it
out?"

"As Tom so inelegantly puts it, 'a no brainer'.  You kids wouldn't
create a hole in our security that you couldn't plug at need."

"Um.  Good point, and I lost that side bet.  Got a spare bedroom
Elliot and I can use?"

I raised my eyebrows.  "Sounds like an interesting side bet.  I won't
ask for details.  You know the layout better than we do, I imagine, so
once you figure out where to put William and Rachel, take your pick.
With dogs in your future, you should pick a room with easy access to a
yard."

"Thanks, Papa.  Anything else?"

I looked at Jo and she shook her head.  "No.  You can go back to
passive mode."

"K.  See you tomorrow."

We were both shaking our heads and holding back our laughter.

Jo was first to get herself under control enough to speak.  "Let's
check out the bath and shower, then it's bedtime for me."

I sighed.  "Yeah.  Me, too.  Got a lot to think about and I'd like to
do it when I'm fresh."

"Likewise."

So we showered, toweled off and then, without bothering with robes,
went to bed.  We settled, found our snuggle positions and quickly fell
asleep.

* * *

I woke to hands rubbing my back.  "Mmmm...  Feels good."

Jo kissed the back of my neck.  "Better to do it.  How you feeling?"

I took inventory.  "Not enough sleep yet, but I won't be able to go
back to sleep, either.  Numb, emotionally, but coming out of it enough
to realize I don't know how I should feel.  Angry and a little sad,
for now.  Oh, and low key worried about Rachel and William.  No news
during the night, so I can relax, a little.  You?"

"About the same, I guess.  Disbelief, mostly.  Worry about it later.
You ready to get up?"

I chuckled.  "Almost."

I raised my voice.  "Ok.  Routine morning.  How's the rest of the
world?  Then send a detailed update the proper way, to keep people
happy."

"Ambrose here.  All quiet.  You folks are on the news.  Reasonably low
key.  Old file pics from somewhere, of you two.  Looks like someone
donated some phone pics and clips of Rachel and William.  Hope they
got paid.  All innocent.  Rachel and him walking with Miss Nibbles one
evening and some footage of him running for the school, and one of his
morning runs with Nibby.

"Rachel and Billy had an easy night.  John and Sam bailed out a few
hours after you did, and took Nibby with them.  Been some discussion
of making special arrangements so Nibby can be around 24/7 unless she
wants to go out.  We have the impression any decision on that won't
happen for a couple days.

"The rest of us napped on cots here.  We figure we'll move to some of
the guest cottages in your compound, later today.  Rooms are picked
out near yours, for Rachel and Billy, later.  Best we could do for
yard access were rooms off a long hallway.  None of the bedrooms have
direct access to the outside, or walls on the outside, because of
security.

"Things look good on your forum, still no indication they are aware of
the penetration.  Laika checked in, took care of anything she needed
to deal with personally.  Business as usual for her since we don't
want to tip them off about who she is.  She also dropped in on the
adult areas and made a few posts, since you folks are a pretty hot
topic right now.  Lots of get well wishes.

"Sam will update you later on the discussion about Dr. Simmon's
proposal.  Nothing has really gelled yet, other than people wondering
what you folks are going to do after it all settles.

"Thanks for the invitation to the BBQ.  Looks like we'll all be able
to be there.

"And finally, no word yet on how this is going to be handled.  We've
deliberately stayed away from it.  Sure, we have some ideas, and there
are a few we want to kick around with you folks, but there's nothing
we feel strongly enough about to pass up the chain.

"That's all that we can think of, that we figure you need to know
right away.  We'll send more details by courier, or bring it
ourselves, if you wish."

I sighed.  "Thanks, Ambrose.  No hurry, so just bring it with you
later."

"Will do.  Anything else?"

I looked at Jo and she shook her head slightly.  "No."

"Ok.  Back to monitoring.  Oh, your inside team has assumed we're in
contact, but they have decided to not think about it."

"Ok.  See you kids this afternoon."

I flipped the blankets off and settled on the edge of the bed.  "You
been up yet?"

"No.  Too comfortable."

"K.  Let's see if these people are as efficient as they should be.  I
need clothes, or at least my robe."

I went to the closet, opened it, and smiled.  All of our hanging
clothes were waiting for us, so I grabbed my robe, put it on, then
tossed Jo's robe on the bed.

A quick check of the drawers made me raise my eyebrows.  "Jo? Somebody
moves quickly.  Everything is here from the house, and put away in the
same order as they were at home."

She got up and put her robe on, then went over to settle and study the
instructions for the intercom.

I went to the bathroom, did my usual morning rituals, then settled
opposite her and waited.

Eventually she looked up and smiled.  "If I'm understanding things, we
could live like the idle rich if we wanted to."

I chuckled.  "A vacation sounds like something we should do while we
have the chance."

"Point.  Breakfast here, then a tour of the house before we settle
somewhere while we wait for the BBQ to kick off?"

"Sounds good to me."

She punched some buttons, got the right person, and ordered our
breakfast.  After that she shrugged.  "We're presentable, so open the
door and invite our chief of staff and his wife in so we can start
figuring out what the HELL we're going to do with our lives."

I sighed.  "Yeah.  We're not in Kansas any more, are we?"

"No."

I didn't recognize the team at our door when I opened it, so I had
them call and tell James and Agatha we'd like to share breakfast with
them if they could make it.

Not surprisingly, they arrived at the same time the food did.

After we shared our toast, Jo looked sideways and caught the two of
them studying us.  "We can talk while we eat, if you want to.  We're
used to planning the day with Rachel before she disappeared."

Agatha nodded.  "Been doing that a long time?  It had the look of
something you do a lot."

Jo raised her eyebrows, then nodded.  "Ah.  It probably wouldn't be in
any briefings yet, and our kids know about it so they wouldn't think
to mention it.  We've been doing it for about twelve years, ever since
Rachel admonished us one morning.  Only time we've missed is when we
weren't together for breakfast, and if that happened, if Rachel was
home, she filled in for the missing person."

I sighed and picked up the conversational thread.  "Right now, it's an
anchor for us both.  Something stable from our past.  Plus, there's a
little more meaning behind it than usual, because it was the only
thing Rachel remembered after she woke up the first time."

I shrugged.  "Can't speak for Jo, but for a little while, I was afraid
it would be almost the only thing Rachel remembered.  Luckily, she's
regained her memories.  All of them, as far as anyone can tell."

Agatha nodded.  "Ok.  Sorry if I've accidentally triggered some bad
memories.  I was curious on two levels.  A personal one, because it's
obvious you and Jolene care deeply for each other.  And a professional
one, because the more we know about you folks, the better we'll be
able to anticipate your needs and the less we'll intrude in your
lives."

Jo smiled.  "We understand.  We'll do our best to not abuse you folks,
but I know we'll be leaning on you pretty heavily, and even more when
the kids can live at home."

James nodded.  "That's what we're here for, to do the stuff you won't
have the time or energy to do for yourselves."

Jo smiled.  "Since we've decided to be lazy, we'll let you make the
arrangements for a BBQ this afternoon.  We used to hold them for the
kids when the weekend weather was good, and it will give us a chance
to all relax together and catch up on the news while we spend some
time just being..."

She glanced at me, then went on a bit wryly.  "Parents for some kids
who haven't had time to let the loneliness settle in where it counts."

Both of them winced and Agatha spoke quietly.  "As far as we know,
this is the first team that's had to drop everything while they were
still in school.  Nobody is sure about how to deal with it, so in a
way, we're all making it up as we go along."

Jo finished eating while she thought about it, and since I was
deliberately trying to stay away from business, I kept out of it.

Eventually we both finished and settled back to enjoy our coffee.

Jo sipped, then spoke thoughtfully.  "I think the best Tom and I can
do is treat the situation as if it were just an extended vacation,
from our point of view.  We'll know more after we talk to them.  We
can't truly understand them, so all we can do what we've always done
for Rachel, once she was old enough to have a pretty good idea of how
different she is from most kids.

"And that is?"

Jo smiled.  "Be their non-judgemental friends."

Both of them thought about it for awhile, then nodded before James
spoke quietly.  "Wish we'd had you around when we were kids.  Not many
parents able to do that, when the kids are so different."

He glanced at his wife, then stood.  "Short notice, so I'd better get
things moving.  See you later."

He pecked her cheek, then left.

She was smiling while she watched him leave, then the smile faded a
little when she turned back to us.  "All of your kids seem to be
keeping track of you.  We've already seen a courier with room
assignments for Rachel and William, their 'caregivers of choice', and
so far, one other couple.  As of this morning, it looks like the rest
of them have decided to settle in some of the guest cottages, for
now."

She hesitated, then went on while obviously choosing her words with
care.  "Those assignments had the flavor of something they assumed
you'd approve, which says a lot, about many things.  I guess what I'm
really asking is: Are you folks ok with them making decisions like
that on your behalf?"

Jo nodded.  "We don't mind.  They have to know more about the layout
and capabilities of this place than we do, and they have the sense to
consult with the medical staff, so I can't see us changing their
decisions with regards to room assignments.  If you or anyone else
sees a potential problem, check with us, or them, preferably them,
since they have a more realistic appreciation of the security aspects
than we do, for now.  If you come to us, we'd consult with them anyway
and most likely follow their suggestions, particularly if we know
Rachel was part of it."

Agatha was an interesting study at that point.  She opened her mouth,
closed it, thought awhile, then nodded.  "So you're saying that for
anything related to the team's interaction with you, and overall
security, we should consult with them first?"

"Exactly.  Our lives for the foreseeable future will depend on your
knowledge and decisions.  We might as well all admit that, and move
on."

She finally nodded.  "We'll do our best, and hope any mistakes we make
will be minor ones."

"Good.  That's all we can ask for."

Jo looked at me.  "Your turn."

I leaned back and got comfortable.  "First, thank whoever it was that
took the time to gather our clothing, bring it, and put it away for
us."

"I shall."

"Thanks.  Second, Jo and I both like to cook, and we'd stocked up on
food about a week ago.  We don't really have any preferences brand
wise, or special needs, but there's no point in wasting food, either.
If it hasn't been done, bring all of our food here so the cooks can
use it in any way they wish.  I realize there are security concerns,
and I'm feeling more than mildly paranoid at this point, so I'm not
going to get upset if all the stuff that could have been contaminated
is disposed of if it can't be tested and declared safe."

She nodded.  "I'll put it on the list of things to do.  Anything
else?"

"Maybe.  Our vehicles.  Should we mothball them for now, or just
figure on getting rid of them?"

She thought about it.  "A compromise?"

"Depends."

"You're going to be riding in armored limos for quite awhile, maybe
for the rest of your lives, if things go the wrong way, later.  With
that in mind, keep them, but let us use them as part of our fleet."

I sighed.  "I was afraid of that.  Ok.  The only thing we're really
attached to is the shell on the pickup.  Let the man-dog teams use it
whenever they need it.  The rest can become part of the fleet."

"Thank you.  The accountants will love you for that."

I chuckled.  "Until they get the requests... Hmmm..."

Jo stiffened, then grinned.  "Greedy."

I tried to look innocent.  "Creative funding."

She laughed.  "Very creative, and how come we never thought about it
years ago?"

I shrugged.  "Heck if I know.  Didn't need the money as badly as we do
now?"

I turned back to Agatha.  "We're VERY greedy at this point, and we'd
like to pay our own way, instead of live on a government handout."

She smiled.  "It isn't one, but I understand.  That sort of 'earn my
way' attitude is typical amongst the teams and their support staff.
What do you have in mind?"

I chortled.  "You'll understand when you see the truck and shell. Look
into getting us a contract to supply the shells as standard equipment
for the man and dog teams, and possibly even for long distance small
animal transport.  We'll talk about what to do with the money if we
get the contract to make them."

"How soon?"

I shrugged.  "After the truck gets here and you've had time to look it
over.  Sooner the better, but it's not a high priority project unless
you decide to make it one.  Maybe there's a way to armor it, yet keep
it functional.  Remind us to mention that as a possible project for
the teams."

"Teams, plural?  Are you thinking of some sort of design competition?"

"Maybe.  Remind us to mention it to the kids when they get here, if we
forget."

She smiled.  "Noted.  Anything else?"

"Yes.  A tour of this place, so we can do more than find our way to
the bedroom."

She laughed and stood.  "If you'll follow me?"

* * *

The tour took most of the morning, and covered the house and grounds.
We were settled in the shade by the pool when Samantha, Johnny and
Nibby showed up.

Samantha settled in one of the chairs and slumped, John wandered off
to talk to people and Nibby took off on her own business.

"Hi.  Everybody else will be here after they get the relief team
updated."

Jo nodded slightly.  "Ok.  Something wrong?"

"Yeah.  Mom and dad are in an isolation ward at the hospital.  They
were brought in early this morning, for observation and tests."

Jo sighed.  "Problems from the attack?"

"So far they're ok.  Stressed a hell of a lot.  Trying to understand
why Lillian would do what she did.  The firebomb they can understand.
It's the toxins.  Neighborhood has been evacuated until it can be
decontaminated, and our home will have to be torn down and replaced.
They're...  Majorly depressed.  So am I.  There's not much that can be
salvaged.  The decon team will do what they can, of course, but that
was some nasty stuff she used, and getting our hands on the
neutralizing agent is going to take some time."

She turned and stared over the pool.   "Things keep getting weirder. A
few of the guys who hang with Lillian turned out to be linked to a new
terrorist cell.  It was one of them who put the stuff in without
telling anyone.  Ironic, but he exceeded his authority on his own.  He
was pissed off because I wouldn't go out with him last year."

She smiled grimly.  "He opened up as soon as he realized he could
measure his life in days if he didn't cut a deal.  The Feds are
handling all that.  Probably hit the news in the next couple days."

I sighed.  "Is all of this linked somehow?

She shook her head.  "A best as we can tell, no.  The Ralstons were
doing their thing, and Lillian's boyfriend put her up to the attack on
my room.  That one was spur of the moment and he hoped it *would* get
linked to anything they did, and he'd escape blame in all the
confusion.  Missed communications, we think, because not that many
people knew I was going to move in with you folks."

She looked at us and had a small smile.  "Might have worked, too, if
the stakeout hadn't been there to catch her in the act, and we hadn't
been who we are."

"So, any other news?"

"No decision on how to handle the folks hiding on your forums.  That's
a strange situation, too.  They know about the Ralstons and Lillian
and yet they haven't done anything to protect themselves.

"Our penetration is getting deeper and more solid.  We think we have
most of their alternative communications lines located, just in case
they move.  Wish we could figure out why it's business as usual for
them."

I nodded.  "Cover to keep us away from something else?"

"People are looking into that.  Scares us.  If this is a distraction,
what's the real  plan they're covering?"

Jo's tones were musing.  "If I understand what's going on, we have at
least three different operations going on, none of which knew about
each other.  We can assume they at least know the others exist, now,
because if they've been hidden this long, they aren't stupid, right?"

"Yeah.  There's a group of folks losing sleep over the idea they all
may team up."

"There has to be something in common that would focus all that
attention on this area, right?"

Sam nodded and sighed.  "Whatever it is, we can't find it."

I sat upright suddenly.  "Of course you can't!  It's been there all
the time.  Jo's movies!  Send someone after her copies, and make sure
they aren't tampered with between wherever they are right now, and the
most secure analysis lab you kids have access to."

Sam was staring at me in surprise.  "But..."

"Do it.  Screw hiding your penetration of our security."

She nodded and raised her voice.  "You heard Papa.  Scramble our pen
team and an escort while someone gets secure word to the folks taking
care of their house."

The sound system for the pool area came on.  "Ahead of you.  We're
grabbing all the pirated versions we can find on the net.  As soon as
we get the originals, we'll do a comparison.  We've also started
grabbing the ones off her site, quietly, and we're putting tracers on
the traffic there, in addition to taking a harder look at the folks
working at the ISP.  Amos is going after the maintenance logs to see
if he can spot anything."

Jo sighed and we turned to watch her.  "There's another link that
needs to be checked.  Warren and Trixie.  Be careful, but dig deep.
And those tapes at the house are copies I made myself.  The originals
have been in a private safe deposit box I've never told anyone about.
However, there is a sealed envelope that Warren has, to be opened when
I die.  I think it's time to find out if that envelope is still
sealed, and if the safe deposit box has been accessed since I was last
there."

I winced.  "I hope our suspicions are unfounded, Love."

She nodded.  "So do I."

Then I looked at Jo, sadly.  "We'll have to go through some serious
drug work, ourselves, you know."

She nodded and turned to Samantha, who was wearing a look of horror.
"We could be deep conditioned, and never know it.  Make the
arrangements."

She sighed and turned to Johnny, who had been silent through the
discussions.

He sighed.  "Arrangements made--for ALL of us.  We need to know, and
first on the list after Tom and Jolene will be Rachel and Billy, then
you and I.  Until we know, everything we do is going to be logged and
screened."

He smiled slightly.  "And we'll be watching everything, so it's
unlikely anyone is going to slip anything past us and add anything
cute to our heads.  If they try..."

Samantha nodded abruptly.  "It will have to do."

Since there was nothing we could do for awhile, we apologized to James
and Agatha when they showed up, then got the BBQ started.  About an
hour later the kids arrived, and by unspoken agreement, we all did our
best to pretend it was just another spring BBQ.

* * *

After everyone had a chance to get something to eat, a few of the kids
decided to go swimming, while the rest of them found places to settle
and have low voiced conversations.

From what I overheard, most of them were trying to figure out what
they'd do with their lives, and what was going to happen with their
family and friends.

Jo and I stripped and swam a few laps, then settled on some lounges in
the shade to relax.

Shortly after we settled, a hand holding couple brought a lounge over
and settled in it with her on his lap.

"Hi.  In case you don't remember us, I'm Tabitha and this guy is
Elliot.  Ok to ask some questions?"

I raised my eyebrows and Jo shaded her eyes so she could study them
briefly before she nodded.  "Of course.  Trite, and I know it sounds
silly right now, but that's the main reason we're here, right?  So you
kids have adults you can talk to?"

Both of them sighed and Elliot hugged her while he spoke softly.  "Do
you think we'll ever be able to see our parents and friends again?"

Jo and I winced, then Jo spoke carefully, for her.  "You kids know
better than we do, what those chances are.  I think it depends on the
other people, doesn't it?"

He sighed.  "Yeah.  We've been gaming some pretty wild possibilities,
but the one with the best chance of protecting them all, says we'll
never be able to see any of them again."

I raised my eyebrows.  "One solution that might work?"

He nodded.  "Uh huh.  None of us like it though.  We've sent it up the
chain for discussion and passed it to the other teams to see if anyone
else can do better."

I nodded.  "I was going to say you would get to see your families if
they wound up in a protection program.  I was also thinking that with
enough room, a small secured community could be built."

Tabitha sighed.  "Thanks.  That was one of the scenarios we looked at,
but it's too unrealistic.  If these really are fanatics, they could go
after any of our friends, too.  If they did, there's too many people
at risk to make relocating them all a practical solution."

I winced.  "You're hinting that they could target the whole school?"

"Yes."

"Damn.  That's beyond anything we zoos have considered possible. We're
used to smaller scale hate crimes."

She smiled sadly.  "Yeah.  We know.  Some of us fine toothed your
forum, looking at what other people have gone through, and to see what
suggestions people had made.  Nothing suitable for hate on this
scale."

I sighed, but Jo interrupted before I could say anything more.  "Let
things settle for awhile.  Maybe someone will find a better solution."

Tabitha shook her head.  "None of us think they will come up with
anything better.  We're all willing to implement it, so I guess what
we're really waiting for is approval and help.  It's pretty drastic
and we haven't figured out how to do it so you folks can stay visible,
too.  To make it work as we have it figured out, all of us, including
you folks, would have to cut all ties with our past.  That's a price
we hope we don't have to pay."

Jo sighed deeply, and reached to touch Tabitha lightly on her leg. "If
we have to pay it, we will.  Tom and I started to think about that
possibility after Dr. Simmons asked us to run his forum.  We knew we
might have to tell our members to move and not tell us where they are
moving to.  Maybe you can work that in somehow, since at some point
there's going to be a chance people discover it was through the forum
that you penetrated their communications."

Elliot spoke up.  "We talked about that.  Everyone thinks you should
keep your forum active, even after whatever is done, is done.  We
don't want them wondering why you shut it down or left it.  If you
left, it would be a red flag."

I winced and looked at Jo.  "That's going to be another problem.  How
do we keep these people from joining the new forum, if we run it?  All
of those people involved really are zoos, as far as we can tell."

Jo sighed.  "Some sort of screening?"

I nodded.  "Maybe.  I think we should table this until we know what's
going to be done about the current set of problems."

I turned to watch Tabitha and Elliot.  "Will your contingency planning
allow us enough time to let things settle?"

Elliot shrugged.  "Ours will.  But the other side may move first.  We
haven't had time to learn if they have any plans to attack our
families and friends.  We think they may opt for some fast and dirty
solutions instead of taking a long term view.  There's the controllers
for that new terrorist cell to worry about, too.  Hopefully they'll
abandon it now that it's known."

He sighed.  "So far, it looks like the attack on Samantha really was
spur of the moment.  Lillian, as best as anyone can tell so far,
really did think she was just tossing a smelly smoke bomb in Sam's
bedroom.  Nobody believes the guy's assertion that as far as he knew,
that's all he was handing her.  His story is that he was upset with
Sam, and played on Lil's jealousy in an attempt to ingratiate himself
with her."

I shook my head wearily.  "I'm not buying spur of the moment, except
that it was all hastily planned right after word got to the right
people, about the accident, and about what happened at Billy's when
the cops detained his parents.  If I'm remembering what Detective
Andersen told us, all three attacks happened simultaneously, or close
to it.  To me, that says all three were coordinated by one person,
somewhere."

Then I remembered what happened at the hotel.  "Has anyone considered
the possibility Jo would have been a target, too, if she hadn't
changed locations?  That officer that was taken down, was on a suicide
mission."

I stiffened and Jo saw it and blanched.  "What is it?"

"Check me on this.  If the cops hadn't had Billy's house staked out,
Samantha's parents and some of the neighbors and probably some of the
firemen who responded, would have been killed or injured, too, and any
records in Sam's house would have been destroyed, or someone could
have stolen them in the confusion."

The three of them nodded slowly, so I went on.  "Ok.  I don't like
what I'm thinking, because I honestly don't think Warren would be
involved in something like this.  On the other hand, there are some
other people who would have known where everyone was, or where they
would be at any given time.  The cops and one other person.  I think
the cops are only being used as unknowing spotters, though, because Jo
was missed during the first series of attacks.  It's the other person
I think you need to check out.  Still with me?"

Elliot and Tabitha sighed and looked at each other, then Elliot spoke.
"Yes.  Can't see where you're headed."

"I'm not going to betray Warren's trust, so all I'm going to do is ask
you to access his cell phone records for the time between when we left
to go pick up Nibby and the time of the attacks.  There's a number
that's going to show up that might be difficult to trace.  You'll know
which one it is when you see it.  To make sure you recognize it, I'm
going to tell you to be very, very careful when you go after those
records.  There's a good chance Warren's being watched by some very
sophisticated observers, because he's one of the people who knew where
everyone was going to be, and when he wouldn't be near any of them."

The two of them nodded slowly.  "How soon?"

I sighed.  "Has Samantha passed on all her tricks yet?"

Elliot looked over at where Sam was floating in the pool.  "She says
she has.  You saying we should use them?"

"Definitely."

He sighed.  "If it's that bad, she should be the one to do it, and
she's supposed to be on a vacation."

I sighed.  "It could be that bad, or worse.  If I'm right, you'll have
a link to the one who tried to kill us all, and maybe even learn who
it is."

Both of them winced, then Tabitha got up to go talk to Samantha.  Sam
looked at me and I nodded.

She smiled back, touched her ear meaningfully, then got out of the
pool and went into the house.

Tabitha resettled.  "She was already planning her approach."

I laughed.  "Not surprised, once I remembered her hearing aid.  And
that reminds me.  You were supposed to bring some neutralizers."

Tabitha giggled.  "Just use the same phrase Rachel used as her clue,
to turn off the monitoring in your area.  When you want to be
monitored again, just say Sam's forum name."

Jo laughed.  "Appropriate.  Thank you."

Elliot smiled.  "We like it.  There's also been some talk of coming up
with something similar to your toast ritual that all of us can use.
We're in this together, so share and share alike makes good sense."

Jo's eyebrows went up.  "Smooth."

He nodded seriously.  "Thank you.  We still have to worry about lip
readers but the team members will ignore us and what we say, if they
see us talking."

I was smiling.  "So what is it you want kept private, assuming that
the business is out of the way, for now?"

He blushed.  "Advice.  Where and how do we get our dogs?  Should the
security be more important than the sex, or what?  Anything else you
can think of."

Tabitha leaned back and settled against his chest.  "But what we
really want to know is anything you can tell us about making sure we
stay together for the rest of our lives, and handle stress so well."

Jo and I both sighed and looked at each other.  Finally I winced
slightly.  "For all we usually say otherwise, I was the one who had
the most freedom of choice."

She nodded.  "True."

I faced Tabitha.  "Communication and compromise.  Plus lots of
patience, in our case, are the some of the things that have kept us
together."

Jo nodded.  "One more thing, and it's the hardest to do in the long
term, human nature being what it is.  You have to find ways to *never*
take each other for granted, and if one of you thinks that could be
happening, you need to deal with it as soon as you *think* it could be
happening."

Tabitha nodded slowly.  "Ok.  That's how Elliot and I found out about
each other's interest in dogs.  Maybe..."  She blushed.  "I kind of
think some of our curiosity is because we've been fucking each other
since we went through puberty.  It just sort of happened the first
time, and after that, it just got to be part of keeping each other
company.  Feels good, of course, but that's not why we kept doing it..
Right, El?"

He sighed.  "Yeah. It was weird.  We'd been neighbors for years, and
when we were seven, Dad and her mom filed for divorces, then ran off
with each other.  Mom went nuts for awhile and her dad took me in so I
wouldn't have to go into foster care while we waited to see what was
going to happen.  Mom eventually recovered, but by then she'd decided
she wasn't going to stay recovered unless she put me, and everything
here, out of her life.  I get the usual cards and stuff, but we
haven't seen each other for ten years."

Tabitha giggled.  "The names say we're bother and sister, but we
aren't.  Going to make it simple when we get married.  Won't have to
change anything.

"But we were telling you how we started screwing.  Dad had to work all
the time to pay the bills and keep food on the table, so we just sort
of stumbled into being best friends and helping each other.  Fucking
screwed up our lives, so naturally we wondered what there was about it
that would make our parents split up and then leave us behind.  Weird
thing was, when we think about what happened, now, we can see all the
signs that it was going on, but when it happened, it was a big shock
because we didn't have a clue."

Elliot took over when she fell silent.  "We've never seen a good
reason for what happened a couple years later.  Tab went through an
early puberty, and since I was there, I was the one she confided in.
By then we knew our way around the net, so that helped, too.  A bunch
of us had just formed the Nerd Patrol, and there was a lot of mutual
support available.  So, we're used to getting our help remotely.  Her
dad did what he could, and I really think we'd have been truly fucked
up if he hadn't been there for us when he could be, which was any time
he was home."

He laughed tiredly.  "So we already knew the theory by the time I went
through puberty.  One day Tab was stressed, we were hugging each
other, and things just...  Happened."

She touched his hands.  "For me, the sex wasn't anything special.  I
didn't get off or anything because it was painful to lose my hymen. On
the other hand, I knew it was something that had to happen, and El
cared enough to stay with me and cuddle."

She giggled.  "The sex made him feel good, then the cuddle made me
feel *real* good...  And we were hooked.  It was after we'd been
fucking a while that we realized what it was that had made our parents
fuck up our lives.  If it's right for the two of you, you don't think
with your head, about what it's doing to everyone around you."

Elliot looked at us, and I could see he was nervous.  "We've been
living together since we were seven, and fucking since we were twelve.
We'll both be eighteen when we graduate, and we've never really
thought we wouldn't get married."

He shivered.  "But we're scared, because until now, we sorta knew we
could walk away from each other if we met someone we liked better.  If
we get married..."

Tabitha was the one who sighed.  "If we get married, someday we could
screw up someone else's lives, the way ours were, you know?  So yeah,
the dogs are also going to be a kind of way for us to explore safely,
without risking fucking up our lives, or someone else's."

I winced at her honesty.

Then a thought occurred to me and I smiled.  "Well, you have one thing
going for you.  Living with dogs forces you to be honest, and you're
already honest enough to make most people uncomfortable."

Jo shifted as she got ready to interrupt me, but before she could say
anything, Samantha came running out of the house.  Everybody focused
on her and when she was close enough to be heard clearly, she shouted.

"Breakthrough!  Lock this place down!  Nobody in or out until further
notice from the big dogs!  Official word:  'Shoot to kill if anyone
tries to get to us'."

James came running from wherever he had been.  "How bad is it?  Do we
shut down the party?"

Sam slowed to a walk.  "No.  The penetration hasn't been discovered,
but thanks to Papa, I managed to nail down the mastermind--and she has
no idea I've penetrated her communications.  The lock down orders came
from the top as soon as I passed them the word, and they will stay in
effect until they figure out how they want to handle things.  In the
meantime, we're done, and the party can change to a victory
celebration."

By the time she finished she was standing next to us and I could tell
she was both elated, and scared.  "Tom?  I know who you wanted me to
check out.  Innocent, as far as anyone can tell."

I sighed.  "You said 'she'?"

"Uh huh.  Warren is clean, too.  It's Beverly.  She's the missing
link--and the mastermind who's been running things all along.  She was
also the one who dimed Trixie.  It's all there, in an encrypted
partition on her office computer.  As soon as I realized what I was
reading, I backed out and sent the word to Trixie."

She looked around, then grabbed a chair and brought it over.  She sat
in it and slumped.  "I *think* I got away clean, but I can't be
certain.  She had a lot of gen-three protection, and one of the links
looked like it was something more, maybe even to a gen-five cell.  I
didn't do any exploring."

Elliot and Tabitha flinched.  He spoke first.  "Gen-five?  Already?"

She nodded.  "Could be.  I know most of the gen-four and earlier
stuff, and this had a completely different feel to the way it linked
into her computer.  Outbound on demand communication link and not a
true monitoring one.  I'm sure of that much."

"Good.  Safe to assume you put the big dogs in touch with the
gen-fivers we know about?"

"Yes.  The Anime Animals are already sanitizing my back trail."

"Glad to hear it.  Hard to believe they'll find anything to worry
about, but they *did* find us and not the other way around."

By then the rest of Team One had joined us and were listening in.  Sam
looked around and finally smiled.  "Our lives are screwed, but we got
the job done good enough that the action people have all the pieces of
the puzzle so they can assemble it.  I had the impression things went
nuts as soon as I told them who the mastermind is."

Jo looked miserable, and I couldn't blame her.  "Did you find out
*why*?"

Samantha sighed.  "No.  Wanted to.  Bailed as soon as I realized I'd
probably stumbled on who we were looking for.  She's brilliant as a
planner, though.  I got lucky when I cracked her firewall.  She had
the encrypted partition open already."

Johnny spoke up.  "And you went browsing.  Dangerous."

Sam shook her head.  "Not as bad as you think.  Warren has a key
logger on each of the systems.  That was another clue, since it was
only hers that had it disabled for some programs.  I tapped the
filtering cache to see what was being ignored, and got more than I
expected."

"Ok.  Hope those aren't gen-fivers she's in contact with."

She frowned thoughtfully.  "I need to think about what I saw. Probably
make sense if I'd done some more exploring."

She looked up and around again.  "Let's table it, and celebrate the
win.  For once, I *don't* want to know, unless someone tells me what
was going on."

She cut off the possibility of people asking her more by running over
and diving in the pool.

Johnny sighed, then did his own looking at everyone.  "I know.  I want
to know more, too.  But if that was *really* a gen-five developed
link..."

Tabitha sighed.  "Yeah.  Bugs me though.  Why would a legal secretary
have access to that sort of stuff?  Is she really in control any more,
or is it the people at the other end of that link?"

She stiffened, blushed, then whispered urgently.  "Don't, any of you,
use Sam's forum name.  El and I were having a private discussion with
mom and pop, so all this stuff hasn't been recorded."

The rest of them smiled, then drifted away to leave the four of us
alone again.

I turned my head to study Sam while she floated with her eyes closed,
then spoke gently.  "If they haven't been updated yet, someone should
take the time to have Billy and Rachel briefed about what's going on.
Rachel in particular, since she followed Warren around like a lovesick
puppy for over a year while he was showing her what he did.  Maybe she
saw or heard something useful."

Sam shook her head and spoke without opening her eyes.  "Their guards
have been put on alert.  We'll deal with the rest when we have a legit
reason to go back and see them.  Right now, we're locked down and I
can't easily change that.  Don't want to.  Beverly scares me."

I sighed and turned back to Jo.  "I think you were going to say
something to Elliot and Tabitha, before Sam interrupted us?"

"Hmm?  Oh.  I was, wasn't I?"

I studied her a little.  "Yes, I think you were.  But...  Something
wrong?"

"Yes.  Several things, but I imagine people are already looking into
one of them."

"Oh?"

"Beverly isn't stupid.  Can't be, right?"

I nodded.  "True."

"She's getting old, though.  I think two things are happening, at
least.  One, she got careless, maybe it's from overconfidence. Elliot?
Tabitha?"

Tabitha spoke thoughtfully.  "It's possible she got overconfident.  I
wouldn't bet on it, though.  Sam's good enough to go through a lot of
gen-four protections without leaving traces."

Jo shook her head slightly.  "She's lost her patience.  Had to, to
order those attacks.  Something must be making her feel like her plans
were going to be destroyed.  It doesn't make sense any other way, once
we include the fact she dimed Trixie.  Bev likes short term, rapid,
and bloody fixes when she feels personally threatened, I think."

Tabitha and Elliot looked at each other, then brought their attention
back to Jo.  Elliot sighed.  "Can't see that it makes much difference,
now.  Sure, we'd like to know what those plans were, but she's going
to be scooped up soon, and that should take care of it, right?"

Jo shook her head.  "Wrong."

Both of them jerked, as if she'd slapped them, and I couldn't blame
them.  Elliot said it.  "You think Sam missed something?"

Jo turned to gaze at Samantha, who had lost all pretense of trying to
relax.  "I think it's a possible blind spot in all of your thinking,
because you're young, yet, and Samantha hasn't fully internalized all
of her command responsibilities."

Sam came over to the edge of the pool.  "I'm certain I haven't
internalized it all yet.  After all, you're the one who forced me to
accept I *am* the leader, and not a consensus figurehead."

Jo smiled, and shook her head a little.  "I wouldn't call you a
figurehead.  And perhaps 'internalize' is the wrong word for what I'm
talking about.  There's no doubt you have already unconsciously
assumed the habits of command.  Now, you have to be aware of them on a
conscious level.  Better?"

Samantha finally nodded slowly.  "Or I'll start making serious
mistakes, won't I?  Like whatever it is you think I've missed?"

"Yes, Dear."

"Tell me."

"You have an 'XO'.  Have you given serious consideration to making
sure someone would be able to step into your position smoothly, so
there's no disruption in the team's usual operations?  *That's* what I
think that link you found is.  Beverly's link to whoever it is that
will be replacing her."

"Oh.  Crap."  She scanned the yard until she saw what she was looking
for.  "Johnny!  Gather the team and meet me in my room!"

Then she turned back.  "You four can stay put and finish that private
stuff unless we need you for something.  The other side has started
generational coordination and planning, I think it's time we started
doing more of it ourselves."

Elliot and Tabitha nodded, and after they did, Sam climbed out of the
pool and headed back inside.

Tabitha turned back after Sam was inside.  "Any other insights?"

"Not really.  More questions.  As far as I know, Bev hasn't lived
beyond her means, so I don't think money has been her motivation. That
leaves power and control, as far as I can see, right?  And that's
something that will be looked for anyway, won't it?"

I groaned.  "Oh.  So *that's* what that was probably all about.  She
wants to be the power behind the throne, most likely."

All three of them were watching me, so I just sighed.  "I guess I have
to betray a friend's trust, to make sure he's safe."

Jo came over to settle beside the lounge and hug me.  "Who?"

"Can't you guess?  Warren."

She inhaled sharply.  "No way to avoid it?"

I smiled sadly.  "Not this time.  I don't think Laika would be able to
find a way out, either."

Three sets of eyebrows went up, but the owners didn't say anything. 

I sighed and looked around at the yard.  "All this...  Just because of
Beverly's, and perhaps someone else's ambitions and long term plans
finally reached a point where she could force people to give her what
she's wanted all along.  She's been using us all along, Jo.  Warren,
you, me.  Didn't you say you'd talked over your options with Bev,
before you decided to let Sam fuck you on camera?"

"Of course I talked things over with Warren, and she was there taking
notes.  They were already handling the legal stuff for most of us when
I entered The Industry."

I sighed.  "And Warren made a comment while we were headed out to get
Nibby, that he thought Bev missed the good old days more than he did.
And later, you said the Ralstons must have done something to make it
personal for her, and she was out for their blood.  It all fits."

I fell silent and just gazed at nothing while I tried to find the
strength to betray Warren's confidence in my silence.

Eventually, I found a solution that I could live with.

"Elliot?  Tabitha?  We were told that we're members of Interpol, now.
True?"

Elliot spoke calmly.  "True, on paper.  The reality is that we're
responsible to our consciences, and Samantha."

I sighed.  "Those are...  Some pretty powerful restraints."

He sighed and nodded when I faced him.  "Yeah.  We know."

"I'm sure you do."

I took a deep breath and leaned over to hug Jo.  "I hope that someday
he'll understand and forgive me for what I'm about to do."

She hugged back, then pulled away to watch my face.  "And that is?"

"Elliot, Tabitha?  Will you take some orders from me, and carry them
out to the best of your abilities, without asking questions, for now?
I don't want you involved, but you're all I have."

Again, they held a silent conference, then they faced me.  "We're on
the record, anyway.  Give the orders, and if we have problems, we'll
discuss things until we're all comfortable."

I nodded.  "Fair enough.  Thank you.  I want Warren picked up
immediately, and put into high security protective custody.  Then I
want him brought here, so Jo and I can talk to him, privately, before
he makes a decision that has the potential to destroy his life, if
it's handled wrong."

Tabitha frowned.  "We're not supposed to do things for personal gain,
Papa."

"It's not for my, or his personal gain, Tabitha.  There's a decision
only he or I could make, and this is a case of putting into practice
the philosophy of 'share, and share alike', that's all."

Their eyes went wide.  "Does that mean you're going to trust us?"

"I have to, Tabitha.  I wish I didn't, but you deserve to know the
reason I want this done, so you can make your choice."

Both of them nodded.

I went on.  "On the trip to get Nibby, Warren decided that to make
sure Protective Services wouldn't get involved in William's case, he
had to call in a marker.  He didn't tell me what created that marker.
He did let me listen in as a silent witness to the conversation,
though.  Personally, I didn't want to be there, but now, I'm pretty
certain that if I hadn't been there, we'd be missing an important part
of the puzzle."

They looked scared, and I couldn't blame them.  I was, too.

"Kids, I got to listen to some serious power brokering.  The marker
was collected.  In the very near future, it will be 'Judge Warren
Finley'."

Their eyes went wide and Elliot nodded.  "And Beverly would have been
the power behind the bench.  Get off my lap, Tabby.  Our lives can
wait.  We need to take care of this, first."

They stood and he looked at us.  "We'll have him brought here as soon
as possible.  Hours, probably, and as far as he and the world will
know, it will be a family legal emergency.  That's the best we can do
right now.  And we'll pass the word to Laika."

I smiled.  "Thanks.  While you're doing that, find out how Rachel and
Billy are doing, and get word to us."

They left, and I turned my attention back to Jo.  "Good kids, all of
them."

She got up and held out her hand.  "Come on.  I need time to think,
and I can do it best in the kitchen, while we get dinner ready."

My eyebrows went up and I grinned at her before I spoke teasingly.
"What?  Bored already?"

She sighed.  "No, you idiot.  I'm being a concerned mother while I
sort out some of my own problems.  Beverly *used* me from almost the
start of my career, and a lot of stuff I took for granted doesn't mean
the same thing it used to."

I sighed, let her help me up, then I hugged her.  "Yeah, I know, Love.
Figure out what you want to cook?"

"Finger foods first.  No telling how long they'll be working and I
don't think they should be interrupted."

"Good point.  I'll run the knife and do the slicing while you make the
batter?"

"That will work.  I'll have to think about what I want to do for
later."

I sighed.   "Let's do something special for Warren."

She squeezed my hand.  "No.  Let's keep things normal.  He's going to
need something stable to anchor him."

I chuckled.  "You're the woman.  I'll trust your decisions on how to
take care of a stressed man's stomach."

She giggled and wrapped an arm around my waist before she tugged me
towards the house.  "Kept you healthy, haven't I?"

I smiled and matched her action with my inside arm, as we started
walking. "So far.  Could change now that we have twelve teenaged kids
and a bitch to keep track of instead of one teenager."

Motion at my side got my attention and I looked down to see Nibby
walking beside us..  "You know something?  I think Samantha was
holding back when she told you about Miss Nibbles' collar.  Nibby here
has a rather uncanny ability to somehow be where an ear would be most
convenient for Sam's use."

Jo was smiling.  "Fine with me.  With all this security in our lives,
I enjoy knowing we have our own Guardian Angel to look out for us,
too. 

"You have a good point, except it's 'Angels', not 'Angel'."

"True.  But these 'Angels' are going to have to settle for eating
ordinary food, and not manna from Heaven."

I laughed.  "I doubt if they'd be able to tell there's a difference
right now, if they are anything like Rachel is, when they focus."

She giggled again.  "Remember when she complained about the texture of
the pizza when you decided to peel the food off the dough and put in
on a piece of cardboard?"

I chortled.  "I do.  She'd eaten half of it before she said anything,
too.  Taught her a lesson, though, and she's paid more attention to
what she eats, ever since.  I put that one in the win column for our
side."

"So did I."
---------

End: Part Four of Five

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