The Ties That Bind

Destiny’s Saga II

By

T. Starnes

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

About The Author

Other Books By T. Starnes

This is a work of fiction.  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

The Ties That Bind

Destiny Saga, Volume II

Copyright ©2016 by T. Starnes

All Rights Reserved

ISBN 978-0-9968668-2-8

B0172JOK0C

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http://tstarnes.com/preview-notification-newsletter/

Chapter 1

They say that high school is the next stage in our lives, when we learn how to stop being children and start becoming adults. I feel like I am the poster child for this idea. Three months ago I was a loner, with a family that regretted adopting me, no friends, and little idea of where I was going. I was totally lost.

In three short months everything changed. I learned I have a purpose in life. Not just a purpose, but a destiny. A reason for being. Sure it is totally overwhelming and I still think there is no way I am going to live up to what is expected of me, but what teenager doesn't think that. I will admit most teenagers don't have to worry about being the next stage of human evolution, but that's just details.

Thankfully I don't have to go it alone. I'm not that quiet kid without any friends anymore. I have three girlfriends, all of whom love me unconditionally. I have a woman who treats me like I am one of her own kids. I have some great friends that completely support me.

Sadly, I also had a schedule that seemed to want to crush me. There was a company meeting on Wednesday to get the last of the details of Marcus's drone project worked out so we could get moving on it. I had another football game on the weekend that I hadn't prepared nearly enough for. But first I had a meeting with the financial guy Jonathan had set up for after school on today to figure out what to do with all the money I was now sitting on, at least until I had to hand it over to Ted and Marcus.

As soon as morning exercises were over I met with Mrs. Runkle, and introduced her to the girls so they could take the aptitude test; but I couldn't stay to find out how they did. Mrs. Bell was already waiting to take me to the meeting with the financial guy. Since she was now officially in charge of the trust, she had to be there, too.

We met Jonathan outside the office building in the town's business district. I always laughed when I heard it called that. While not a map dot, Allentown was not that big, and our 'business district' consisted of about a one block area with a couple of office buildings.

I had talked to Jonathan about him the night before, and I brought Mrs. Bell up to speed as we walked into the building and rode the elevator up to the third floor.

Jonathan said he hadn't worked with Mr. Stoner before, but that he came highly recommended. He suggested we get this guy's thoughts on how he would manage the money, but we shouldn't commit today.

Mrs. Bell smiled at me, "Cas, you know I am just a figurehead. Business has never been my thing. You seem to know what you want to do, plus it's your money."

"Yeah, but you know how much I value your opinion."

She gave me a one handed hug, and then winced.

"Is it your head again?”

"Yeah, it still hurts. Maybe it's the florescent lights.”

I knew she was blowing me off. I let her get away with it, but I was worried about her. These headaches had been going on for weeks.

"Have you talked to anyone? Doctor Chang or your regular doctor?”

"No, not yet. It's just a headache.”

I made an uncertain grumbling sound at her, but we had arrived at the guy's office so I dropped it. There was a woman that I guessed was in her mid-twenties at a desk by the door.

"Hi. Caspian Grey and Angela Bell to see Mr. Stoner. We have a four o'clock appointment.”

"Please have a seat and I will let him know you are here.”

We sat and waited. I figured it would be several minutes until he got to us, since we got there a little early. I looked around what I could see of the offices while I waited. I hadn't seen this setup before.  There were a lot of office doors and an open area where the receptionist was waiting. Each had an office number and a name on the door.

"Excuse me, but is this all Mr. Stoner's office?”

"No, Mr. Stoner rents just one of the offices. There are several small offices run by different people that share the space and split the administrative costs. There are two financial advisors, including Mr. Stoner, a CPA, and a guy who does something with computers I don't really understand.”

"Ahh, okay. Thanks.”

Four o'clock came and went and no sign of Mr. Stoner. Eventually it rolled around to 4:15 and he came out of his office and greeted us, or rather, he greeted Mrs. Bell. Me, he seemed to ignore, but we all went back into his office. Introductions were made and then he jumped right into it.

"What can I do for you?”

He was looking at Mrs. Bell but I answered.

"I received a decent amount of money recently, and I need to see about investing it. I need four hundred thousand in a fairly risk free investment. I need it to be accessible in the next six months, as it has already been committed to a business partnership. The remaining three hundred thousand does not have to be as liquid, but I still want to avoid any high risk investments. I know it isn't a lot, as far as investments go, but I wanted to try and keep that second amount of money split among several smaller investments if possible.”

"Okay, seems someone did his homework. On the first part I guess what you are thinking of is a CD, but that isn't going to do you a lot of favors.”

He said the first part very patronizingly to me and then returned his attention back to Mrs. Bell.

"I would suggest putting the entire amount into an annuity. I actually have one in mind that is returning good rates.”

I cleared my throat to get his attention back on me.

"Correct me if I am wrong; but getting my money out of an annuity early, would be a little costly for me, right?”

"Well, there would be some fees, but if you could keep it in there long enough, I am sure you will earn enough interest to offset that. It really is your best option.”

"Aside from the four hundred thousand, which I really do not think should go into an annuity; wouldn't it be a better idea to keep the remaining money a bit more diversified?”

"Some people might say that, but I say strike when the iron is hot. Now this product I am suggesting is the best performing investment I have seen in years. You would be crazy to look elsewhere.”

This guy was setting off all kinds of alarm bells in my head. It wasn't just what he was saying, which already seemed sketchy, but his attitude was rubbing me the wrong way. Plus, although I was doing all the talking, he kept addressing Mrs. Bell.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Stoner. We will think about this.”

As I stood up to leave, he leapt up and moved over to Mrs. Bell.

"Ma'am, I think it's great to have your son in here learning about finances, but this should be taken seriously. This isn't something you want to wait on.”

Mrs. Bell was frowning, and stepped around him.

"As Caspian said, we will think about it and get back to you.”

As we walked away from him, I shared a look with Mrs. Bell. She was clearly having similar concerns about this guy. There was a guy leaning against the door frame of the office closest to the receptionist as we were walking out, drinking a cup of coffee and watching us.

We stopped as he addressed us in passing.

"Stoner up to his old tricks, again?”

"What old tricks?”

I looked back and Mr. Stoner was glaring at us for a minute, or more likely, he was glaring at this guy, before he went back into his office and closed the door.

"Let me guess, he had this one thing that was the best investment he had seen in years, and thought you should put all your money into it, right?”

"Yeah, that is about how that went.”

"Man, will he ever learn? I swear half my Rolodex is people he made that pitch to, who later got burned.”

"If it is so bad, why does he keep doing it?”

"'Cause it's only bad for the client. He always suggests whatever he gets the biggest commission off of. He makes his money up front.”

"So what would you recommend that is different.”

"I couldn't say. Investing your money isn't one size fits all. Anyone that suggests the same product to all of their clients is doing them a disservice. It depends on how much capital you have, how diverse you want to be, and how adverse to risk you are.”

I looked over to Mrs. Bell and she gave me a head nod.

"Do you have a few minutes to sit down with us?”

He looked at his watch.

"Yeah. My next meeting isn't for an hour. Come on in.”

We walked into the small office and sat down in front of his desk.

"I guess I should say my name is Charles Green. Give me a little background on what you guys are looking for.”

"Sure. I'm Caspian Grey and this is Angela Bell. I recently came into some money as part of a legal settlement ... a million dollars, in fact. All of it is sealed up in a trust, with Mrs. Bell here as the trustee. Seven hundred thousand of that is already earmarked for an investment, with the first three hundred thousand already paid. The remaining four hundred thousand isn't due right away, but I need it available in six months at the latest. I know that really limits the options available on that portion of the money. The remaining three hundred thousand I would like to keep diversified. I am hoping the company we are starting will be able to add more money into my portfolio, enough for the trust to start paying out a stipend to help cover home expenses.”

Mrs. Bell turned to me, "Caspian, you should keep your money invested. You shouldn't have to help...”

"No, I want to. With me, you have an extra mouth to feed, plus we regularly have the other two girls visiting us, which adds to the cost. I want to do my part. Now, with the company, I am no longer working for Ted ... at least, I'm not getting a paycheck.”

Mr. Green was watching the back conversation.

"Girls huh, that sounds interesting. As for a stipend out of the trust, you need to get it larger to be able to do that. With so much of your money already tagged for a hard investment ... and, I am guessing, not one with a dividend payout or disbursement in the near future ... you need to leave the rest of your money in the trust. Three hundred thousand sounds like a lot, but unless you leave it to build on itself, you will eat your principal up quickly if you start pulling money out.”

"For the first chunk, the only real option is a short term CD. The interest will be better than just sticking it in a bank account, but not by much. But, it would be available in a set amount of time, and it's fairly safe. The other option is to try and do a bunch of short buys and sells, or maybe short a few stocks. That would increase your return on the investment, but it is also more risky. It is possible that, even if you make the best decisions possible, you would lose some of your principal. The stock market works great on the long term, but for short term investments like yours it is more of a high risk, high reward sort of thing.”

"Yeah, I don't think that would be the smart play.”

"For the remainder, I would put some into the market, maybe a mutual fund, and the rest into smaller investments. Perhaps an energy company, or some form of real estate investment. I do agree that being diversified is a good idea, but you don't have enough capital to really spread it around. Still, I think if we played with the money right, you could get close to a ten-percent return on the principal every year. Thirty grand isn't 'get rich' money, but if you leave it in the trust and allow compound interest to do its thing, you should grow your cash nicely. Of course if this initial investment works out and you have more money to play with, we can start getting really interesting.”

"Mr. Green, I'm sold. I will get you my attorney's information. Please work with him and Mrs. Bell to get it all arranged.”

We got up and both shook hands with him. We were just walking out the door when Mrs. Bell grabbed her head, let out a cry and dropped to the ground. Her whole body was convulsing as I dropped to the ground next to her and tried to hold her still. I noticed her eyes had rolled up into her head.

I could vaguely hear Mr. Green on the phone talking to someone; my guess was he had called 911. I kept calling Mrs. Bell's name and holding her still, but panic was starting to set in. I looked up at Mr. Green.

"Emergency services are on their way. They said not to move her.”

I absently nodded at him and clung to her with all my might. Tears were streaming down my face. I have no idea how long it took, but eventually I felt someone pushing me out of the way. I looked up and saw two paramedics and a rolling gurney.

"She is having some sort of seizure. Give me the Lorazepam.”

The other EMT reached into her bag, pulled out a syringe of some kind, and passed it over to the guy kneeling next to Mrs. Bell. The guy gave her a shot and the shaking started to subside.

"I think we are good, for the moment. Let's get her on the gurney and into the bus.”

They maneuvered some kind of stiff board under her and lifted her onto the lowered gurney. Once that was done, they started to walk her out. I followed closely behind them. At the ambulance, the guy turned around to look at me.

"You're going with her?”

"Yes.”

"Okay, get in.”

I sat on a bench and held her hand once they had her in the ambulance. The sirens started and we were headed to the hospital. The guy started to attach stuff to her, checked her blood pressure and started making notes on some kind of pad.

"What's her name?”

"Angela Bell.”

"Are you related to her?”

"I'm her son.”

I was still on the verge of panicking just looking at her with her eyes closed, and didn't think before I answered. I have no idea why I said that, though.

"Does she have a history of seizures?”

"No, but she has been complaining about a headache for weeks.”

He made some more notes.

"I need to call the family doctor and her daughter.”

"You can do that at the hospital ... and you mean your sister, right?”

"No.”

He gave a 'whatever' look and let it pass. We pulled up to the hospital and I had to scrunch back in my seat while they pulled the gurney out. Once she was out of the ambulance, I followed closely behind. They stopped me from going into where they were taking her, and redirected me to the waiting room.

I took the opportunity to call Zoe first. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hello? Cas, why aren't you and mom home yet?”

"Zoe, we are at the hospital.”

"What's wrong, are you hurt?”

"No. It's your mom. She had some kind of seizure. I am calling Doctor Chang, next, but can you get a ride up here?”

She had started crying pretty hard. I head a thunk as the phone was dropped and then another voice on the line.

"Cas, what is going on?”

It was Vicki.

"Vicki, Mrs. Bell had a seizure and is in the hospital. Can you get Zoe up here?”

"Oh my god. Yeah, I will get her there. What are we going to do?”

"I am calling Doctor Chang next. She will know what to do.”

I hung up and started to pick up the phone again when the nurse at the desk held up a hand.

"You're looking for Doctor Chang?”

"Yes. She is a family friend and our doctor.”

"I think she's working, tonight. Let me page her.”

A page went out and I stood there for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what the clerk was doing, but she talked to several people on the phone. I couldn't say if one of them was Doctor Chang or part of the clerk's routine. However about ten minutes later Doctor Chang came through the door leading back into the emergency room.

"Caspian, is everything alright?”

"No. Something's wrong with Mrs. Bell. She had been complaining about a headache and collapsed into some kind of seizure. They wheeled her back there a little bit ago. I was hoping you could help, maybe find out what is going on.”

"Yeah, I can do that. Just wait here.”

I reached out and grabbed her arm as she turned away.

In a whisper is said, "Also I told them I was her son on the off chance they might tell me what was happening.”

"Okay. Let me go see what is happening.”

She disappeared behind the doors again. I just stood there for a long time. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to find out what was going on when I heard a shout from behind me.

"Cas!”

I turned around and saw Zoe, Vicki, Tami and Megan. Zoe ran at me and threw her arms around me. Her eyes were puffy from crying, and as soon as she hugged me, she started crying again.

"What's happening? Is she alright?”

"I don't know. I got Doctor Chang to go back and check on her, but she hasn't come back yet. Here, let's sit down.”

There were several open seats. I sat down and pulled Zoe into my lap. She curled herself into a ball and clung to me. Tami and Vicki sat on either side of us and kept petting Zoe, whispering that everything would be alright, but looking at me in concern when Zoe wasn't paying attention. Eventually, Doctor Chang came out.

"I see everyone is here. She is under observation, now. I admitted her to the hospital and had her moved to a room. If you are quiet, we can go up and see her.”

"Yes. We would like that very much.”

We all followed Doctor Change up two floors in the elevator and down to a room. Inside was just Mrs. Bell, who seemed asleep. All kinds of wires and tubes ran to her and there was a steady beep ... beep ... sound from one of the machines.

"What's happening?”

She motioned for us to sit down in the seats already in the room.

"I had them run a few tests. There is a tumor in her brain. It is pressing pretty hard on her primary motor cortex. What you saw wasn't a seizure, at least not in the practical sense. We think the tumor is messing with her motor control and causing involuntary muscle spasms.”

"How serious is this?”

She looked at Zoe and then looked at me. I knew before she said a word this was going to be bad.

"I will be honest with you, it's very serious. The neurologist doesn't think she is going to wake up.”

Zoe lost it. I hugged her tight, and the other girls pulled in to hug her as well. We completely surrounded her, trying to give Zoe as much love and support as possible.

"There is an option.”

I looked up from the girls, all of whom snapped their heads towards the Doctor.

"We could administer her a treatment of your blood.”

"What?”

"Cas, we know what your blood does. We don't know if it will affect past the blood/brain barrier, or if it will be able to reduce or remove a tumor. But, from all my experiments, I think it might. We couldn't tell anyone about this and I have to come up with some way of hiding what is happening from the hospital staff, but it might work.”

"Might?”

"Cas, this is something hardly anyone ever comes back from. Where it is, we couldn't really operate on it. Using conventional medicine, I think she will die. But, I think you can save her.”

Zoe turned to look at me, pleading in her eyes.

"I will do it. There is nothing I wouldn't give to save Mrs. Bell.”

She nodded and left. That is when it struck me that Megan was still in the room. I was in so much shock that it never occurred to me. She was just staring at me.

"Shit.”

Vicki looked at me, "What?”

I nodded towards Megan, and both Vicki and Tami turned to look. Zoe still had her face pressed into my chest and was oblivious to the world in her panic.

"Oh," was Vicki's response when it dawned on her what was happening.

"Yeah," I said.

Megan was looking back and forth between Vicki and me.

"What's happening? What did the doctor mean about administering her your blood? What does she mean 'she knows what your blood does'?”

Doctor Chang came back in at that moment carrying a syringe. Vicki pulled away from me and walked past Megan, grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door.

"I will explain as much as I can, while they try to save Mrs. Bell.”

As they walked out the door, Megan was looking back at me. As usual, Doctor Chang was wrapped up in what she was doing and was oblivious to the interchange.

"Okay, Cas, I am going to take some of your blood and inject it into Angela. It's a little crude, but I don't want to wait to get a donation and hook up a bag of it for her. Plus, my tests have shown it shouldn't matter one way or another. It if is going to work, it should work from just an injection and the quantity of blood doesn't seem to matter either.”

There was a short but sharp pain as she jabbed me with a needle and started to draw blood. Her bedside manner was as brusque as ever, but at this point, I just didn't care about that. Once the syringe was full, she went over and injected it into one of the tubes coming out of Mrs. Bell.

"And now we wait.”

The doctor puttered around for a few minutes cleaning up the supplies to erase the evidence of what she had done, and then left. I noticed Zoe had fallen asleep. That much panic and stress can really do a number on your body. There was a small couch, and I laid her down just as Vicki and Megan reappeared.

Megan's eyes were like saucers as she stared at me.

"Is all this real?”

I looked at Vicki then back at Megan, unsure of what all Vicki had told her.

"It seems so. The Doctor that was in here and Mrs. Bell have been doing experiments on me and the girls, to try and figure out what is actually happening. They are pretty certain at this point that my biology is different from everyone else, but we are still trying to figure out the entire scope of what that difference is.”

She sank into a chair and stared at me some more before speaking again.

"I don't know what to do with this information.”

"You don't have to do anything, except keep it secret. This is very important. You can't tell anyone what you know. We have been trying really hard to keep this in the family, as it were. The only people that know about it are my sister Tina, the Doctor, and everyone in this room. Honestly, had I not been in so much shock, I would have made sure you weren't in here when we were discussing it. But now that you know, you have to keep our secret. Otherwise, me and the girls could be taken away. Imagine what the government or pharmaceutical companies would do to get at my cells.”

"Yeah, I can see that. I won't tell anyone. Actually, it is exciting. Vicki said you were going to change the world.”

I frowned at Vicki, "That isn't exactly what I am planning on. We haven't really discussed it yet, but I do have some thoughts. We were going to be having a family meeting soon, at least before this happened. Would you like to be there, now that you are on the inside? I find myself in need of some sage advice from time to time, and could always use an extra counselor.”

She beamed at me, "Yes. I would love to. I can't believe this is happening.”

"Yeah. Why don't you get Zoe home? She needs to change and we should pick up some stuff for Mrs. Bell when she wakes up, clothes and what not. Vicki, will you go with them?”

"Yeah," Vicki said as she went over and shook Zoe awake. She wiped the stained tear streaks from her face and gave her a small peck on the lips, then started to whisper at Zoe. After a minute, Zoe nodded, gave me a hug, and left with the other two girls. Tami came over and sat in my lap, hugging onto me. We probably sat like that for almost half an hour, just thinking.

Tami eventually pulled herself from my lap.

"I am going to go get us a couple of drinks, okay?”

"Sure. Thanks, Tami.”

She leaned down, gave me a short kiss, and then walked out. I moved over to a chair next to Mrs. Bell's bed. I reached out to hold her hand and dropped my head onto the bed.

"Please get better. I need you to stay with us. I love the girls but I rely on your advice above everyone else. With everything that is happening, I need your experience.”

I was silent for a while longer, tears starting to pour out of my eyes soaking the bed sheet.

"I don't know what I would do without you. You are the closest thing to a mother I have ever had. I never realized before how much I really wanted a mother, and now that I have one, I don't think I can go back to not having you. I love you. Please don't die.”

My tears turned into sobs as I thought about a world without Mrs. Bell. Panic was starting to creep up on me again.

And then ... she squeezed my hand. My head shot up and I looked into her open eyes. Her cheeks were wet with tears. She let go of my hand and reached up to stroke my cheek.

"I love you, too, Cas," she whispered.

As she said that, Tami walked in carrying two sodas. Seeing Mrs. Bell awake, she set down the drinks and ran over to give her a hug.

"You're awake. We were so scared.”

Mrs. Bell stroked Tami's hair with one hand while she held onto my face with the other.

"I am okay, kids. What happened?”

Both Tami and I sat up. I took one of Mrs. Bell's hands and held it tightly.

"Tami, could you go find Doctor Chang?”

"Of course," she said as she practically ran out the door.

"We sent Zoe home with Vicki and Megan to get stuff for you, in case you woke up. I also wanted to get Zoe away from the hospital for a little bit. She was really panicked and I was worried about her. They should be back soon.”

"As for what happened, you collapsed in Mr. Green's office, and had some kind of seizure. I had Doctor Chang take over your care and they ran some tests. You have a large tumor in your brain. The doctors were sure you wouldn't make it, and would probably never wake up. That is when Doctor Chang suggested we give you some of my blood. It was a long shot, but here you are, awake. So it must have worked.”

She squeezed my hand again.

"So, I guess I have to thank you for saving me ... first Zoe, then me. It's like God sent you down to save this family, and gave me a wonderful son at the same time.”

I lay my head down on our clasped hands. I was just thankful she was still with us as I basked in the love I felt from her. A few minutes later, the door opened and Tami came back in the room, followed by Doctor Chang.

"I see it worked. Excellent. We need to get you down to Radiology and get some more pictures of your brain. I want to see what changes have happened and make sure things are turning around.”

"So, what do you think happened, Doctor?”

"Last week I administered your blood to some tissue from a cancer patient. Your blood eradicated the tumor cells and removed all trace of them. I need to confirm it with actual scans, but I am betting you have removed or are starting to remove the tumor from Angela's brain. I wasn't positive it would work, but my tests had indicated it would. I wish there were some way I could market you. You are literally the cure for cancer.”

I frowned at her, "We talked about this.”

"I know, I know. I am just thinking out loud.”

An orderly walked in at that point.

"Okay, let's get you wheeled down to Radiology.”

I looked over at Tami, "Could you go with her? I am going to try and catch Zoe at home, and give her the news.”

She nodded and held Mrs. Bell's hand as they walked out of the room, followed by Doctor Chang. I reached over to the bedside phone and called the house, where Vicki answered.

"Great, I caught you. Mrs. Bell is awake.”

"Really?”

"Yeah, the treatment worked, we think. They are taking her back to re-scan her brain now, and check. Can you get Megan to bring you guys back up?”

"Sure. Man, I can't believe she is going to be okay. We were all sick with worry.”

"I know. Me, too.”

"Okay, we will see you soon. I love you.”

"I love you, too.”

I sat down in a chair and waited for everyone to come back. Relief washed over me, knowing we would be able to hang on to Mrs. Bell a while longer.

Chapter 2

Zoe, Vicki and Megan showed up before Mrs. Bell got back from her tests. Zoe once again threw herself into my arms.

"She is really going to be okay?”

"They think so. Doctor Chang is plotting how to keep her miraculous recovery a secret, but yeah, she said she thinks the tumor will go away.”

Megan still looked a little shell shocked.

"So they just gave her an injection of your blood and it removed the tumor.”

"Yes.”

"Why aren't you out there helping other people or over at the Children's ward saving sick kids. Imagine all the good you could be doing.”

"Because we don't know exactly what all it does, yet. This was a Hail Mary pass to save Mrs. Bell, but it could have serious side effects. We already know my DNA has corrupted and has started changing the base biology of Zoe, Vicki and Tami. But we don't know the extent or the side effects, yet.”

"Vicki said it made them smarter and stronger.”

"It seems to, but there could be other complications. Those three were affected before we knew that could happen. Mrs. Bell was an emergency. I don't want to do anything else until we learn if there are other, less desirable, side effects. You can understand that, right?”

"Yeah, I guess. I was toying with asking to borrow you from your girls. I could really stand to become a super woman, too.”

"Let's not joke about this. I am actually really concerned, and still a little upset about what I did to the girls. I am scared this will all have some massive side effect on them. That would crush me.”

"Sorry, I was just teasing ... well, kind of. But I get it. Can I still be part of your cabal?”

I snorted, "It's hardly a cabal. We are just trying to figure out what to do about all of this. But yes, when we have family meetings about it, you are welcome to join us. I have always valued your opinion. But please, don't tell anyone. Not even your sister.”

"I won't, I promise.”

I looked down at Zoe who was still clutched to me.

"Are you going to be okay?”

"Yeah. I was just so scared. Thank you for saving her.”

"All I did was sit there and be some kind of medical milk cow. Okay, enough weepiness! It looks like we are out of the woods. Let's dry our eyes. Your mom should be back, soon.”

"Where's Tami?”

"She went with your mom to hold her hand.”

We were all sitting around, trying to chat about happier subjects when Mrs. Bell was rolled back in. Tami walked quickly over to Zoe and pulled her into a tight hug.

"So what's the word, Doc?”

She waited until the orderly got everything sorted and left.

"The tumor isn't gone yet, but it has shrunk by almost a third. If I had to guess, by the end of the week, it will be totally gone.”

"Man, that's great news.”

"We need to get her checked out, tonight," she looked down at her watch, "or I guess I should say tomorrow since it's already after midnight. I am going to try and work on her file a bit, to keep the other doctors from realizing she has had a miraculous recovery. It'll be best if she weren't in the hospital.”

"Is she safe to travel? I don't want to have Mom's health put in danger just to protect my secret. She comes first.”

Both Zoe and her mother noticed my choice of wording. Zoe looked over at me with an odd look, while Mrs. Bell had a slight smile. Doctor Chang seemed as oblivious as ever.

"She should be fine. From everything, I can tell, your blood is going to make her pretty much immune to every virus and bacteria I have thrown against it, and it is going to shut the tumor down, cold. I will take a few samples now, and some more in about a week for comparison to her original samples, just to make sure. But, I am betting she'll feel totally fine by the time she gets home. The hard part is actually getting her out of the hospital. She has been here for just over eight hours. If I just discharged her, now, my colleagues would get really curious. What we will need to do is have Angela refuse further treatment. That has the added benefit of stopping further testing on her, and hopefully making the other doctors less interested in her case.”

Of course, all that was easier said than done. There was paperwork and a lot of waiting, but eventually, we got to escape the hospital. We all piled into Megan's suburban. Tami sat up front, Mrs. Bell and Zoe were in the captain's chairs, and Vicki sat cuddled next to me in the back.

"Tomorrow night we need to sit down and have a family meeting. Megan, since you're in on our little secret club, you can join us if you want.”

I could see her look back at me and smile in the rear view mirror. Zoe was still looking at me like she was trying to figure something out.

"What was with you earlier?”

"What do you mean?”

"You called my mom 'Mom, ' that's what I mean. What was that about?”

"Honestly? It's because that is how I feel about her. I realized today that I finally found the family I didn't know I was missing.”

Mrs. Bell broke in, beaming at me.

"And I couldn't be happier about it," she said.

Zoe got a sly smile, looking at the two of us as she said, "So, that kind of makes him my brother, now. I guess we have to stop ... dating.”

I knew she was jerking my chain, but my reaction was involuntary, and my face fell.

Zoe was laughing at me, but Mrs. Bell came to my rescue.

"Don't let her mess with you, Cas. Think of me as your mother-in-law, if you prefer.”

Zoe was still grinning as she added, "I'm okay with that.”

Vicki lifted up her head, "Does that make you our mother-in-law, too? How does it work when three girls decide to marry the same guy?”

"Whoa, whoa, let's not...”

They ignored my protest.

"I don't know. We should find a Mormon, or something, and ask.”

"Hey, I am only fifteen! Let's not jump too fast.”

All three ladies in the back of the Suburban looked at me like I was an idiot. Mrs. Bell put words to their thoughts.

"Get real, Cas. I have never seen people as devoted to someone as these girls are to you. You are pretty much already on the hook, buddy.”

Thankfully, they decided they had enough teasing. Vicki pressed herself closer into me and they switched to light-hearted topics. By the time we got home, I started to get worried about Mrs. Bell ... or I guess I should say, 'Mom, ' as that's what I was thinking of her in my head ... again. We walked in the door when she made a sudden dash for the restroom, where we could hear retching noises.

"It was too soon to take her out of the hospital, we should take her back.”

Tami put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from going to her, "Doctor Chang warned me this could happen. Consider that all three of us got sick after we were ... umm, you know, I don't have a good word for this.”

"Infected," I offered.

Zoe punched me in the arm, "No, it's not an infection. I would say after we were evolved.”

I rolled my eyes, and got punched again by Zoe, "Continue, Tami.”

"Anyway, she said that since we all got sick after we were evolved ... nope, still not the right word ... that she might also get sick. She said it was probably the body's reaction to the sudden changes it was going through. I will go get her in bed and resting. If it was anything like it was with us, she should feel better after a few hours.”

Tami gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then went off down the hall.

I turned to the three women left standing with me, "Okay, it's already really late. Megan, do you mind taking Vicki and Tami home? Tomorrow is going to suck for all of us, but we need to power through. We can try and keep the family meeting short tonight and get everyone to bed early so we can catch up on some sleep.”

"Sure, Cas, no problem."

I gave Megan a big hug, and both my girls kisses, before they left. After checking on Mom, Zoe and I settled into bed. Thankfully, Zoe was good at reading my moods, and just cuddled with me so I had time to think. Eventually she broke the silence.

"You're not beating yourself up about Mom, are you?”

"No. While I am loath to evolve ... and Tami is right, we need a better word ... anyone else, I don't see how there was any choice in this case. It was that or lose her.”

"So what has you so keyed up?”

I was quiet for a moment as I tried to put my thoughts into words.

"Partially, I am arranging my thoughts for our family meeting tomorrow, but mostly I have had something bumping around in the back of my brain. There is a pattern I am starting to see, but I don't have enough information to make sense of it.”

"What's the pattern?”

"It has to do with everyone in my life. There is the sudden ramp up of our relationship. We seriously went from zero to sixty in no time flat. I am not complaining mind you, just saying it is one of the pieces of the puzzle. By itself that normally wouldn't raise any flags, considering how we met and how intense everything was. But, add Vicki to that. First, she was just helping a friend. Then she was interested in me, but not in love with me. Now she is totally in love with me ... of course I feel the same about her. Then there is Tami. My relationship with her is much like with Vicki. It started out as one thing, but did a one-eighty into a pretty serious romantic connection.”

"Then there is the fact that you girls are as into each other, as you are into me, even though some of you previously had no interest in girls. Plus there is the fact that all of you have no interest in girls or guys outside of our little setup, and you and Vicki actively wanted to add a fourth to our makeup.”

"Add to that, Rachel, the other day. That was weird. She is totally into Jacob, and yet she was all over me. That came out of nowhere. And then there is Tina. From disinterested, to sisterly, to wanting to kiss me at your party, to standoffish and cold. All of those, singularly, could be explained ... maybe even a couple of them, but all together? No, I feel like there is something I am missing.”

"Yeah, it is weird. I mean, I guarantee that I love you, and I know Vicki and Tami love you; but you are right about how we feel about each other, and how we feel about people outside of our group. I have thought about that since you asked about it the other day. I actually have no attraction to anyone outside of our group, which is strange I guess. I do think it is weird that both Vicki and I were very attracted to Tami and really wanted to add her to our relationship. I didn't at the time, it felt so natural, but laying here thinking about it logically, there doesn't seem to be an explanation for that. Also, speaking of Rachel, I do feel a little something towards her, too ... and, sorry about this, Tina. But that's it. Tina, Rachel, Vicki, Tami, and you are the only people who I find attractive at all.”

"Yep, it's a puzzle. We need to go to sleep now. As it is, we are only going to get a couple of hours before school tomorrow.”

As predicted, the next morning came way too soon. We checked on Mom, who was still feeling sick, and dragged our way to school. We showed up late to the morning run and Vicki, who was normally there with us, hadn't made it yet. I saw Tami had chosen not to run and was slumped on the bleachers. When I collapsed next to her, she leaned over to lie against me while Zoe took the other side. Amanda was smirking when she stopped running and jogged up.

"You guys look like shit.”

I shrugged, "Yeah, it was a long night.”

"I bet.”

Zoe opened one eye, "It wasn't like that. Mom got sick yesterday afternoon, and was rushed to the hospital. It was after three in the morning when she was released from the hospital. Cas, Tami and I were there all night, along with your sister.”

"Oh, god ... I am sorry, I didn't know. Is she alright?”

"Yeah, she is getting better. She is still feeling sick today and stayed home, but Cas thought we still all needed to come to school.”

"I wondered what happened to Megan last night.”

"She was nice enough to pick up me and Tami and bring us up to the hospital. Cas was already there and rode in the ambulance with Mom. She stuck around and drove us all home afterwards.”

I nudged the now sleeping Tami and pulled her and Zoe to their feet.

"We need to get in guys; it's almost time for class.”

The rest of the day was a haze. At lunch, none of us even ate, we just put our heads down and took a nap until Rachel woke us up and said it was time to go to class. I begged off from practice by explaining the previous night to the coach and went by to find Mrs. Runkle.

"Hi, Mrs. Runkle, I wanted to see how the girls did on the test.”

"As you predicted, Cas, they all aced it. Normally I would have to take their previous school work into account, which for some of them would disqualify them from the program. But, considering your explanation of their sudden focus, and their scores, I am willing to take all three. However," she made sure I was making eye contact, "I am holding you responsible for their participation. They need to take this seriously.”

"They will. Thanks, Mrs. Runkle.”

I walked out of her classroom and headed down to the field where Zoe and Vicki were waiting on me. Tami had to run home to take care of some family stuff but said she would meet us at home, later. It's weird, but even though Vicki and Tami lived with their parents, all four of us had started calling Zoe's house 'home.' I knew it would still be more than three years until the four of us were away from our parents and were at college, and living together for real, but Mom was right. We really were all committed to each other.

My thoughts also bounced to Mrs. Bell. Since our conversation last night, it was like a switch had been flicked in my head. I really was just thinking of her as 'Mom, ' now. I was actually still a little amazed by how fast she had shifted position in my thinking, and also by how happy it made me.

On and on the thoughts rattled in my head. I wasn't really paying attention when I rounded the corner into the hallway that lead to the field, and walked right into Jake Masuko. I tried to walk around him and he pushed me. Ralph and Tommy, his two cronies, were right behind him.

"Where you going? You still have to pay for Tony and Tyler.”

"You know what they say, Jake, if you can't do the time...”

"You are going to be doing time, in traction.”

"Jake, I don't want to fight you. I am tired of this shit. But every time you guys have come against me, one of you has left in an ambulance. Do you really want to do this?”

"Not this time. Tyler may have missed, but I won't”

I looked at his hands to make sure he wasn't armed, and he wasn't. Just then, there was a shout behind me. I turned to see the Principal walk around the corner.

"That's it. You three come with me. Threatening violence to another student on school grounds is enough for expulsion.”

What happened next surprised me. Jake reached out and lunged for Mrs. Polaski. Maybe it happened in larger, more urban, schools but I had never heard of a student attacking faculty like that. He had to reach past me to get to Mrs. Polaski, putting his outstretched arm right in my path.

As she jumped back with a shout I grabbed him by the wrist and took control of his arm, twisting the joint in a way that I knew was pretty painful. I kicked out with my right leg, contacting against the back of his knee. Since the joint is supposed to bend that way, there was no actual damage, but his body collapsed like a rag doll.

Mrs. Polaski took off running, I guess to get help, as his friends tried to rally. When Randy threw a punch meant for my nose, I pushed my upturned hand against the inside of his swing, using my wrist to push out against his wrist, redirecting the strike so it sailed past me. Using the other hand I struck out in an open palm strike just below the diaphragm, pushing all of the air from his lungs. He started to fall backwards from the blow and I grabbed the now falling arm that I had deflected and wrenched out, swinging his dropping body against his friend, sending them both to the floor.

I stood over them. Tommy had smacked his head on the ground and was dazed. Randy was wheezing and gasping, trying to pull in air, and Jake was holding his wrist. I knew it wasn't broken, but I had taken the joint to just shy of that point. For a little while, it would feel as though it was broken, to him.

I heard footsteps pounding down the hall and saw one of the police officers assigned to the school and Mrs. Polaski coming up to me.

"Jim, these three are the ones that tried to attack me. I plan on pressing charges; they are banned from the campus. I might ... MIGHT ... allow them to go to the ABC school.”

She turned to me, "Cas, I appreciate your help, but I think it would be best if you headed home now.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Polaski.”

I didn't wait for her to say it twice, and bolted.

That, apparently, was the last I would see of Jake Masuko and friends. ABC stood for Adaptive Behavior Center and it was the school districts warehouse for troubled kids. It was actually one town over, and was shared by several of the smaller school districts. Of course, that assumed he didn't spend a long time in jail.

I made it out to the field and sat down next to Vicki, who was watching Zoe and Tami practice. Actually, that is too strong a word for what they were doing. It was more like choreographed drag-ass. They were really struggling, and their coach was all over them. Eventually, she just told them to go get some rest and come back to practice ready, next time. They met us in the stands.

"You two look dead on your feet.”

Zoe slumped against me, while Tami did the same to Vicki.

"I am so tired I almost walked into a wall," Zoe said with her eyes slowly closing.

"None of that, we still have to make it home.”

They grabbed their bags, and we all headed towards the back of the school, when we heard a horn beep. We turned around to see Megan with her head stuck out the window.

"I knew you guys would be hurting, by now. Get in, and I'll take you home.”

She actually parked and walked up to the house with us.

"I figured if I was going to be included in the family meeting, I would just hang out until it started, if that's cool.”

"No problem. We might not be great company, though. I think all four of us are going to crash.”

"I figured. I have to get some homework done, anyway, so I will hang in the kitchen while you guys catch a nap.”

"You don't seem nearly as bad off as we are.”

"That's 'cause I ain't a dummy. I skipped school, today, and slept.”

We all laughed as we headed up the stairs. The girls headed to our room while I went to the restroom. I found Zoe already asleep and Tami and Vicki playing tonsil hockey.

"I thought you were going to get some sleep.”

Vicki shrugged, "I couldn't help it, she just looked so damn cute.”

Tami blushed, but hugged herself to Vicki. I crawled over them and spooned in behind Tami. I am not sure if they went back to kissing or not, as I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Chapter 3

I felt a nudge against my shoulder.

"Cas?"

"Huh?" I didn't open my eyes. I had been having a great dream that involved three beautiful women. I was in that semi-conscious state where you can almost remember what was happening and tried desperately to cling to the dream.

"Cas."

I let out a sigh and opened one eye, "Yeah"

Vicki stared back at me with her ice blue eyes.

"Everyone is here. It's time for the family meeting."

I sat up and noticed I was the only one in bed. Both Tami and Zoe were nowhere in sight.

"They are both downstairs already. You have been pushing yourself pretty hard lately, so we wanted to let you sleep."

She pulled me up to my feet. We had all fallen into bed still dressed, so I smoothed some of the wrinkles out of my shirt and took Vicki's hand.

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I guess I am up and ready. Let's go."

Downstairs everyone I considered part of my family was there, plus Megan. I sat on the couch between Zoe and Tami. Vicky sank down into my lap as the other two pushed against my side.

"I know we are all beat from what happened last night, but this is important. We talked the other day about our future, and what we should do about ... well ... all of this. Doctor Chang said we are the future. We are the start of what humanity will become. That sounds great, but just being the next genetic step in human evolution isn't enough."

"Sure we could all live our lives, have kids, they will have kids, on and on. Over time, our genetic line will replace what is here currently and humanity will evolve. But we are talking millennia for that to happen. And that assumes we don't die out ... or get killed off ... like other branches have had happen in the past."

Megan raised her hand, "Why not do it faster? All it took was to give Mrs. B a little blood..."

"Possibly. If we can alter people through just a blood transfer and make them capable of passing on the genes, that would be the best case scenario. But here is problem one, we don't know the difference between that and ... the other method."

Vicki smirked, "Why not bring more girls in, and use the other method. Sounds like fun!"

"And that brings me to problem two. We don't know the full effects, yet. I am all for taking steps to speed the spread of our genetics, but we need more information. Honestly, until Doctor Chang and Mom can do more research, I want to hold off on that. I think we have some time, a couple of years at least till we have to face that step.

"So, we just wait?"

"No. Here is problem three. The spreading of our genetics isn't enough. We have to make the world ready for us. Make it a better place. Face it, if we ... and by 'we, ' I mean all of humanity ... don't change our ways, we might not have a world to populate. We are going through the planet's resources as fast as we possibly can! Crazy people are trying with all their might to get hold of weapons capable of wiping out civilization. No, we need to do something, and that's my plan."

"What, to change the world?" Zoe said.

"Essentially, yes, that is my end goal. Before we can get there, we have to get ourselves ready to make those changes. That means pushing our education as far as we can, and using the resources we have to build the tools we need."

Megan was shaking her head, "I get the education thing but what do you mean using our resources."

"Like this company I started with Ted and Marcus. If we can make a go of it, I can use that to start investing in our future. Keep an eye out for projects that we can use to our, and humanity's, advantage, or do like Zoe, and find a new hobby. Information will be important. We need to start learning what is really going on in the world."

Mom looked at me, and then over at Zoe as she asked, "What do you mean 'her new hobby.' Zoe Bell, what did you do?"

Zoe looked at me and I gave her a brief nod, "I have been, umm, playing with networks and stuff."

"I believe they call what she is doing: 'hacking.'"

"Zoe!!"

"While I agree with your alarm, I think if she channels her efforts it will help us."

Tami was looking worried, "If you are going to be using your business to get us ready, and Zoe is going to be using her computer, what are the rest of us going to do?"

"Well, Mom is already set. Her research into the nature of our change is the best thing she can do for us. As for you two, it depends on where your aptitudes lie. You don't have to do anything now, but think about it. Think about what you might be good at, something you will enjoy doing, that can also be used to get us prepared."

"But..."

Tami was interrupted by a pounding on the door. Megan, who was standing closest, walked over and looked out.

"It's Doctor Chang," she said as she stepped back, opening the door.

Megan was pushed back, almost falling as the doctor burst into the room, and flung herself at my feet. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Caspian. I knew what you wanted, but I did it anyway."

I pulled her up off the ground.

"Doctor, what happened?"

She continued to sob as I walked her over to the couch. She was clutching my arms and her head was buried in my chest. I stroked her hair, and whispered soothing nonsense to her, while I looked in confusion at the girls. They all just stared back at me with the same look.

"Doctor! (pause) Doctor! (pause) DOCTOR! You need to pull it together. Tell us what is going on."

She gave a sniffle, and drew in a great breath. Then she leaned back and looked at me, tears still rolling down her face.

"I knew you wanted to limit people's exposure until we could study it more, and I did it anyway. I am so sorry."

"Did what?"

"I injected myself with your blood. I saw the effects on the girls, and on Angela, and I wanted that for myself. I didn't care what you wanted, or had said. All my tests said it would be safe, so I ignored your wishes and did it anyway."

"While I wish you hadn't done that, I can't say I am surprised. You always seemed so headstrong. I didn't think we could keep you locked down, forever. But, why the dramatics? What happened to make you so upset? Was there a side effect we didn't know about? Are you in danger? Are the girls?"

She wiped away the tears.

"Yes, there was a side effect, and no ... no one is in danger. I am crying because I realized how disloyal I was. I tried to rationalize my behavior like I normally do, but I knew. I knew in my heart what I had done. Can you forgive me?"

"Yes, I can forgive you, but I am still confused. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"The change of heart is the side effect, in a way. As the sickness passed, I could feel it growing. I could feel myself thinking of you differently. I felt drawn to you. Somehow, you started to become the most important person I could think of. I wanted you to be proud of me, and then I realized what I had done ... how I had betrayed your trust. It didn't happen all at once, but as the day went on, the feelings became stronger, until I couldn't stand it. I had to come and tell you."

"So the change does what, makes you subservient?"

"No, at least it doesn't feel like that. It feels more like ... loyalty. I don't have the desire to blindly submit, but I do want to do right by you, and have you be proud of me."

"Why hasn't anyone else been affected by this?"

Mom finally spoke up, saying, "We probably were, and didn't notice."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Cas. We were already loyal to you, before exposure. So the change, altering our brains to make us loyal, was essentially doing what already existed."

I sat back and thought about this. There did seem to be a grain of truth in it, but if it were true, it brought up other possibilities.

"I can see that, I guess. Do you think the change could be altering brains in other ways?"

Her near panic had subsided and her tears had stopped. I am not sure if it was because I forgave her, or because we started to delve into the specifics of the change, but either way I was happy to see her focused again.

"Possibly. If it can do it once, there is nothing to keep other changes from happening. Are you thinking of some change in specific?"

"Yes, actually. I had a conversation with the girls, both about their ... umm ... romantic interest in each other," I looked apologetically at Mom and she gave me a 'whatever' hand gesture, "and their lack of interest in others outside of our group."

"I take it from the way you said that, that their 'same sex' interest did not exist prior to the change?"

"In some it did, but to a lesser degree. In others, not at all. But, more than that, is the fact that none of them are at all attracted to anyone outside of our group, male or female. Could this be some part of the change?"

"Maybe. If it is, it has to be limited to the insemination vector, as it's not something that is applied during the blood transfer. I can truly say I harbor no romantic feelings towards you or the girls ... and, thinking about it, I am attracted to others. So it doesn't seem to affect me."

She looked over at Mom.

"Me, either."

"Okay, but at what point do these changes start taking place. Rachel has been pulling away from Jacob and showing an increasing, and pretty aggressive, attraction to me. Previously I had noticed no interest from her ... at least, I don't think so."

Tami was shaking her head, "No, she said once you weren't her type."

"So, why the sudden interest from her? On top of that, there are some who have been exceptionally positive towards me, and others who are really negative to me. I know we discussed that before, but now that we know some kind of change is happening in the brain based on exposure to me, it makes me wonder if that is some actual change, happening."

"These are all interesting observations, but they are all just anecdotal at this point. We need to get some tests done on these people. Do you think you could get Rachel in to see me for tests?"

"I will have to think up a reason, so she isn't suspicious, but yeah, I think I could," Tami said

"I have an idea."

We all turned to look at Zoe.

"Well, I have that money that came in. Why not take, like two-hundred dollars, and have the doctor give it to her. Tell her it is some kind of non-invasive research study."

The doctor was nodding thoughtfully, now.

"Yes, that will work. It's actually pretty common, so it shouldn't throw up any red flags. What about someone who fits the other categories?"

"Well, I would have to say Megan might fit the positive category. For someone older than me, she has always been really nice. Considering our age and grade difference, that is unusual."

"I don't know if I feel different about him than other people I like, but yeah, I have always felt good about Cas," Megan said.

"Okay, that is the positive. What about the people with a negative reaction?"

"What about Megan's boyfriend? He reacted really strongly, and she has some pull over him."

Megan looked at me for a second, considering, "Yeah, I can get him in for a test. I hope you're right, because it would explain why he was such an ass the weekend at the cabin."

The doctor was making notes in a small notebook she'd drawn from her jacket pocket.

"Okay, along with that, I will look at the most recent MRIs of the girls, Angel, and get one of myself. I will see if I can find out why we are being affected differently."

She turned and looked at me.

"Once again, I am sorry for what I did. But I promise I will make it up to you. Also, considering all that has happened, I think you should just start to call me Alexandra when we aren't at the hospital. Or even Alex, it's what all my friends call me."

"Okay Alex. Don't sweat it. What is done is done. Now what we need to do is move forward and find out what is really happening. I want to keep from accidentally altering anyone else until we learn the full extent of what is going on."

I bade Alex and Megan goodnight. Tami and Vicki had arranged to spend the night, so they were all headed upstairs when I sat in the recliner in the den. Zoe stopped when she saw me sit down.

"Cas, aren't you coming?"

"In a few minutes. I want to sit and think for a little bit."

She gave me a worried look, "Okay, but don't brood. I know where your brain is going to go. Just remember, we love you."

As she went upstairs, those last three words cycled round and round in my head.

Chapter 4

She said they loved me. But, knowing what I know now ... about the changes that are being made to their brain and the changes that happened to Alex's base personality ... can I rely on that? Do they actually love me, or is it something that I did to them?

The very idea that I had forced my girls to love me, tore me up inside. For my part, I can say that I loved each of them. I didn't want slaves to my biology. The worst part was that if they weren't forced to love me because of some manipulation to their brains, how would I ever know? Would this be in the back of my mind every time they said it? Could I trust myself to believe them? I could feel this worm of doubt in the back of my mind. I knew it would poison my relationship with them, but I couldn't see any way to stop it.

Worse than that, was, how were they infected by me? Was it just when we made love, or was it earlier? Rachel was clearly showing signs of the same kind of change, and I'd never slept with her. If it was earlier, could I ever trust myself to be out among other people? I wanted to make the world a better place, not subjugate it! Yet it seemed like I had no choice. Was I fated to be a monster, regardless of what I wanted?

I was still sitting in the chair hours later when all three girls came back downstairs. I didn't even notice them at first. I was totally lost in my self-loathing. It wasn't until I felt a hand wipe away the tears flowing down my face that I looked up and saw all three of them leaning over me. Zoe and Tami lowered themselves into my lap, each leaning against a shoulder, while Vicky pushed my legs apart and sat between them, leaning her head on my knee.

Zoe was the first to say something, "You're beating yourself up about changing our brains, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid I made you love me."

"Before we get into if you did or didn't, let me ask. Would that be a bad thing?"

"What?"

"Would it be a bad thing if you made us love you? Do I, Tami or Vicki seem upset to you? Or do we seem happy and content in our love for you?"

"I don't know. I guess happy."

"Look past your self-doubt, Cas, and really consider us. Since Tami joined us, how does she seem?"

"Happy."

Tami reached up and stroked my face, "I really am. I haven't felt this content, ever."

"So, even if you somehow changed our brains and made us love you, so what? We like loving you. We are better for it. But, I don't think you did."

"How would you know?"

"Well, for one, I fell in love with you before we ever did anything, remember? Tami and Vicki also loved you before they slept with you."

"But, what if it is more than just sleeping together, I mean look at Rachel. She is all over me, and I didn't sleep with her."

"Yeah, we still have some stuff to figure out. But since every girl in school isn't chasing you, I think it's safe to say that just being around you isn't enough."

"But it could be something else. You three could have been affected then fallen for me."

"I guess, but that brings us back to my first point. Who cares?"

"I care."

"I know, and honestly that is one of the things I love about you. We don't care. We are happy. We wouldn't want to change how we feel about you, even if we could."

"Okay. I guess I am just worried that I have turned you into some kind of, I don't know, slave."

Vicky let out a sharp laugh, and Zoe just shook her head.

"You know you're cute when you're being an idiot."

"I guess that works in my favor."

"Do we seem like slaves to you? Do we just blindly follow you around? I can tell you we each have our own will, and none of us feels beholden to follow you. Sure, we are inclined to listen to you because we love you, but if you're being a dumbass, we will tell you. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You're being a dumbass. Now let's go to bed so we can show you just how much we love you."

I was still a little morose when I got up, but the girls recognized my mood and tried to kiss me into submission. I did some more thinking as we ran with the morning group, and realized that Zoe was mostly right. None of them seemed worse for wear and they were all happy, so I could stop feeling bad for corrupting them.

I was still worried about accidentally affecting anyone else and my mind was set that we would avoid anything that might cause more people to be altered. At least until we knew what all the effects of alteration were, and gave those who were going to be altered a chance to understand what they were agreeing to. I had no qualms about evolving more people, but I did have problems with doing it to someone without their knowledge.

I was thinking hard and not really paying attention, when I felt a tug at my sleeve. I turned to find Tami breathing hard and pulling at me. I noticed we had started to really outpace everyone else.

"Slow it down there, turbo. Being in good shape is one thing, but if you start putting down Olympic record times, people are going to notice."

I slowed down to a walk, and she slumped against me, forcing me to put an arm around her to hold her up.

"Damn, I am in the best shape in my life, and catching up to you almost killed me."

"Sorry, Tami, I was just thinking and stopped paying attention."

"Well, you need to be able to do both. This is important!" Her hard tone of voice then softened a bit, "Are you still worried? I thought we cleared the air last night."

"You cleared more than the air."

That statement earned me a punch in the shoulder, "Seriously, no I am not brooding about last night. You were all right; all three of you seem fine in spite of my influence. I was just thinking I wanted to make sure I didn't infect anyone else until we knew more."

"Okay, just no more brooding. We like happy Cas way more than grumpy Cas."

She punctuated that with a deep kiss. As we started to walk towards the locker room area of the school to get showered and changed, I felt another tug on my sleeve. I turned to find Vicki and Zoe.

"Hey, where's ours?"

Both girls were smiling big.

After such a crazy several days, the next few were thankfully pretty quiet. We got everyone in to get tests run by Alex, did homework, and just spent some much needed quiet time, together. It was really nice. Wednesday after class, I had to catch a ride over to Ted's offices for my first company meeting with him and Marcus. They were both in Ted's office when I arrived.

"Hey, guys, sorry you had to wait on the school kid."

Ted was laughing when he stood up to shake my hand.

"Well, I do have my own company to run, Cas. I managed to keep myself busy."

I dropped my backpack next to a chair and flopped down.

"Well, I am here now so let's get to it. You guys are way more versed in this kind of thing than I am, so you kick it off and I will see if I can follow along. Now that we have the money squared away, what's next?"

Marcus pulled out a notepad with his chicken scratch written all over it, "While we were waiting for the money to get into the accounts I went over all my information and sat down with Jonathan. I have to say he is quite the find and he has agreed to handle our legal issues. As long as they don't conflict with your interests he doesn't see there being a conflict."

"We have gone over all my notes and started working on patent findings. He is currently looking up prior patents to make sure we are in the clear. Once that comes back we will file the patent and be ready to start building the prototype."

"Good. I am glad Jonathan was able to jump in. He has had my back before and I trust the guy. So you are on the patent already. Once we are ready to start development of the prototype, what will we need? I am assuming we will need people to help you build it, a space to build it in, and parts?"

"Yes to all of those."

Ted was making notes, "Marcus, get me a list of what supplies you think we will need. For most of it, I will check with my existing buyers first and we can expand past that for items they can't supply. What are you thinking of, as far as crew?"

"I need at least one other engineer, preferably someone who specializes in aeronautics or planes. We will need a couple of good mechanics, one who knows body work and one who knows engines. It would be good if both had experience with military hardware, perhaps someone in or just out of the reserves working in a technical position."

Ted made more notes, "Okay, I will take the lead on finding those guys. I have an idea on the engineer and will start looking hard for the mechanics. Once we have them under contract and get the NDAs signed, I would like for you to go over the specs with them. I think it best if we get second opinions on your plans for the prototype, and their estimates on supplies we need to build it."

I wasn't making notes but was keeping track of everything. "What about the build location?"

"I already scouted out a big enough warehouse for us to build in. It needs a little alteration, but the landlord has already agreed to update the facilities to our requirements. It should be ready by the time we get the crew and patents lined up."

"Great. The last thing I wanted to bring up is securing our work. So far, we are talking about a million dollar investment. Right now, all the stuff is just in a file cabinet in Marcus's office. Once we start hiring and buying, and once the patent is filed, word will be out about what we are doing. I may sound paranoid, but I think we should be locking up everything when we are not working on it. Preferably here and not at a separate workshop that is empty if we are not there."

Ted pulled out a card from his Rolodex, "That's a good idea. I have a guy who put in a safe at my house. I will have him come out and put something in Marcus's office."

"Perfect. Well I guess that means we are on track. We should continue to meet every week even if nothing is going on, just to make sure we stay on the same page. More if we have actual stuff happening."

Both men stood with me and we all shook hands.

"Ted, do you think you can get Mary Ann to drive your business partner home so he can do his homework?"

Both men laughed as we walked out of Ted's office.

Saturday rolled around and the girls were excited. After the game, there was the Homecoming dance at school. I was actually a little nervous. While we hadn't exactly been keeping it a secret, going to the dance with three dates was putting our relationship out there more that it had been.

The girls had already picked their dresses and my suit and had gotten tickets. I offered to help, but they just laughed at me, took money out of my wallet, and told me to just be quiet and look pretty. All three seemed to revel in my uselessness in these kinds of situations. Still, I knew my place and just said yes ma'am and followed their lead.

Before the game was on, I had something I wanted to take care of. I knew Margret worked Saturday afternoons and except for the brief conversation at the bus stop, I hadn't seen Tina since I was kicked out. I missed her and was really concerned so, in spite of having promised Margret I would not come by the house, I decided to go and visit her.

I noticed Margret's car was missing. She didn't used to work on Saturday afternoons, but since she stopped accepting money from me to help with the bills, there is the chance she picked up a second job. I knocked on the door and waited. After what seemed a pretty long time, Tina opened the door with some guy I didn't recognize, standing behind her. I did notice her shirt was on inside out.

"What do you want?"

"I hadn't heard from you in a while. I wanted to check and see how you were doing."

She sighed, "I'm fine. Cas, you don't live here anymore and Mom made it clear she didn't consider you her son and that you weren't my brother. She doesn't want me to talk to you."

"Yeah, I know Margret is unhappy with me and wants me to stay away. Is that what you want?"

"I think it would be for the best."

The guy behind her took this as his sign to step in. He moved close behind her, reached around and put one hand on her breast, and gave me a threatening glare.

"You heard Tina, get lost."

She turned and gently pushed him back, making sure she was between me and him. It was clear she wasn't rejecting him, but trying to keep me from being in reach of the guy.

"Steven, no."

Ahh, so this was the guy Tami mentioned ... the one her sister knew.

"It's okay Tina. I am leaving. But remember, regardless of what Margret says, I still consider you family. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

She didn't respond and shut the door. Steven was still pawing at her as they disappeared from sight. I felt my blood pressure go up but walked calmly away from the house.

I was still in a mood when I got back to the house. Zoe was in the kitchen when I walked in but didn't immediately turn around when she started talking to me.

"How did it ... that bad huh?"

"Yeah. She said she didn't want me to come by any more. Margret wasn't there, but there was a guy there. I am guessing it is this Steven Mertz that Tami's sister mentioned to her. He was really handsy with her while we were talking."

"Cas, you didn't..."

"No, I kept my cool."

She came over and held me tight against her.

"I know it's tough, but Tina is a good person. She'll come around."

"I hope so."

I headed back, to get ready for the game, but wasn't convinced. I knew she was trying to comfort me, but I was still pissed. Partly I was mad that she was throwing away the relationship we had just started to build. More than her reaction to me was that she let that guy have his hands all over her, in front of someone else. It was really disrespectful to her and she shouldn't have stood for it. It upset me that her apparent self-worth had taken some kind of a hit, and I was worried about her.

The girls let me be while I stewed, although each gave me a kiss as we separated to our respective buses for the game, or in Vicki's case Megan's suburban. A few of the guys tried to talk to me on the bus, but gave up when all they got were monosyllabic responses in return.

It got worse as we got into the game. The longer I stewed, the angrier I got. I started taking it out on our opponents. I was putting blockers down hard every time they got in my way and pouring it on when running the ball. I was lost in my own world. At halftime, Tami and Zoe grabbed me as I headed off the field.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Playing football, what the hell does it look like I'm doing?" I was still keyed up and took it out on Zoe. "Go back to the other cheerleaders and leave me the hell alone."

Tami whacked me hard on the helmet, "Cas, pull your shit together. I know you're pissed at Tina, but don't take it out on Zoe."

I looked at Zoe and saw tears forming in her eyes, and my anger faded away.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Zoe. I didn't mean that, I was just being an ass."

Tami grabbed my face mask and pulled me to look at her. She was still annoyed with me. I think that is what snapped me out of it more than anything else. Of my three girls, she had the sweetest and softest personality, while Vicki tended to be the hard core one.

"We have bigger problems than that. You have the attention of the teams and coaches on both sides. You have been annihilating anyone getting in your way, and running like you play on a pro team. This is not 'flying under the radar.'"

"Shit. This is bad. What do I do?"

Zoe was still looking sad, but stepped in, "We need to get you off the field. Better yet, in a way that takes you off it permanently. Too many people have noticed how you are playing. You are going to be watched by scouts from here on out."

"Okay, but how do we do that?"

"I have an idea. I already called Alex and she is on her way down. Next time you get the ball, take a hit. Go down hard and stay down. Play up being groggy and out of it until Alex gets to you."

"What ... never mind. I know you have it worked out, and I trust you. I have to get to the locker room."

I ran off the field and joined the team in the locker room. There was a lot of back slapping going on. The coach stopped his pep talk when I walked in.

"Grey here is going to keep us in points for the rest of the night. If you guys can keep their offense pinned down, and keep the ball in his hands, we can't be stopped. Keep this up the rest of the season; we are a shoe-in for state."

Man, the girls were right. This was getting out of hand. I just kept my head down and tried to look focused. We received the ball and our return was stopped just short of the fifty yard line. The first play was for me to get the ball. They knew it, too, and had two defenders stacked up on me.

I ran my route like normal, got in between the two defenders and snagged the pass. I had to slow down to make sure I was in position to receive the ball and was well lined up between both guys. I pulled my speed a little more to make sure both guys could make contact. I gritted my teeth and waited for the impact. The two guys slammed into me, one going low the other high causing me to upend as I hit the ground. My head was ringing and my right shoulder hurt like hell, but other than that, I felt okay. I however stayed put and kept my eyes closed.

The trainers started gathering around me and my helmet was pulled off. Hands pulled at my eyelids and I figured I needed to open my eyes. If I continued to try and pretend I was out, they would definitely notice.

"Wha..."

"Caspian, can you hear me."

"Yeah."

"What..."

"Out of the way, let me through."

I recognized Alex's voice getting stronger as she got closer.

"Ma'am, you can't..."

"I'm his doctor. I told him he shouldn't be playing so soon after his injuries."

She leaned over me, shining a light into my eyes like the trainer did.

"I see a few small hemorrhages forming already. Let's get him into the ambulance right away."

"Wait, I didn't see anything."

"Well, one of us went to medical school, and the other took a weekend course. Who's opinion do you think we should go with here? Get him in the damn ambulance."

I heard grumbling but felt them move me to a board and up onto the trainer's cart. Alex hopped aboard and we were whisked off the field. Several people tried to talk to me but Alex intercepted all of them. Every time I tried to speak, she put her hand on my arm.

She spoke to the EMTs off to the side for a few minutes and then climbed into the ambulance with me. When we got to the hospital, she had me sit up and walk off the ambulance with her. Instead of going to the ER, she walked me to her office. Inside mom and Vicki were already waiting on me.

"Well, that was close," Alex said, shutting the door behind us.

"How bad did I screw up out there?"

Vicki just shook her head and said, "Pretty bad. It was a hell of a performance in the first half. Maybe the best the school has ever seen."

"I was afraid of that. So what do we do?"

Alex was already writing out a note, "I am going to send this over to your coach. It is instructions that you are not to participate in games any longer. It will say that you have lasting effects from your shooting, that could become serious. From here on out, you are medically prohibited from playing sports."

"Well, that sucks."

"At this point you don't have much of a choice. People already recognized your athletic ability, and with tonight's display, you would be pretty well sought after. The last thing you want is the media all over you as some kind of sports wunderkind."

"I guess."

I looked over at Vicki, "How pissed are the girls at me?"

"Zoe is upset and Tami is totally pissed at you for yelling at her. They may love you, but you are in for a world of hurt when we get home. On top of that, we were all looking forward to the homecoming dance, and now we can't go."

"Why?"

"You were just rushed off the field in an ambulance. How would it look if you showed up healthy, and ready to dance, just a few hours later?"

"Damn."

We waited in Alex's office for almost an hour, but I let them do most the talking. I was pissed at myself. I had let my anger over Tina's situation get the best of me. I had ruined high school sports for myself; yelled at Zoe, and made it so all three girls had to miss the homecoming dance.

I knew I was in for it when I got home.

Chapter 5

Alex drove Vicki and me home, since the girls had already made arrangements to stay with us ... or, rather, with Zoe ... following the homecoming dance. No one talked in the car, although I could tell it was more Vicki giving me space to think, rather than her being mad at me too.

When we got home, mom pointed me at a chair at the kitchen table.

"Vicki, the girls are already upstairs. You head on up and let me talk to Cas for a minute."

Vicki patted me on the back once then headed up to join the other two girls. Mom sat across from me and just looked at me for a minute.

"You know, with everything that has happened, sometimes I forget you're fifteen years old."

"I know. I screwed up tonight," I said, hanging my head.

"It's not just tonight, Cas. You have been a little reserved for weeks, ever since we found out about your unique biology. It got a lot worse after Alex showed up, and we learned about the behavior changes. Tonight was just the 'straw that broke the camel's back,' but you have been headed towards this, all week."

"I know you have a lot on your shoulders. I can't even imagine what it must be like to feel responsible for the development of humanity. I don't think anyone could imagine that. But you can't let that shut you down, or change who you are. From the first day I met you, you have been kind and caring. Now isn't the time to stop being those things."

"So, what do I do? How do I fix this?"

"Well, for starters you need to stop thinking about yourself. I know it's tough with all the pressure being put on you, but you aren't alone. Those three girls are crazy about you. I know they have already tried several times to tell you how happy they are and to allay some of your fears; but I don't think you really listened to them. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, apologize to them, and remember that we are all behind you."

"Okay."

I was trying not to sound mopey, but it was tough. How do you not feel sorry for yourself, when someone is telling you to stop feeling sorry for yourself? But I knew she was right. I had been way too self-absorbed and it was hurting me and everyone close to me.

I got up and started to head towards the stairs, when I was grabbed from behind and pulled into one of her bone crushing hugs.

"Just remember, Cas, we all love you. If you start from there, everything will work out."

I hugged her back, hard, and whispered, "Thanks. I love you, too."

I could hear whispering through the opened door, but all talking stopped when I walked into the room. All three girls were already dressed for bed, and both Tami and Zoe were glaring at me. I pulled the desk chair up to face the three of them and sat down.

"I know you guys are pissed at me, and you have every right to be. First, I want to apologize to you, Zoe. I had no right to yell at you. You were trying to protect me from my own stupidity. There was no excuse for it. I also want to apologize for ruining the dance. I know you three were really looking forward to going. More than that, I have not been fair to you three all week, or hell, even for the last few weeks. You have all tried to reassure me that everything was fine and I haven't listened to you. I want you to know: that stops, now. I am done with my pity party."

"So now all I can do is, say I am sorry, I will try not to let it happen again, and I love all of you."

Both girls turned to look at Zoe who, besides apparently being the one most pissed off at me, was still the nominal leader of my ... harem, for lack of a better word.

She nodded once and said, "Okay. Apology accepted, but you can only get away with the 'I'm a dumb boy' excuse a few times, so don't make a habit of this."

"So, what now?" I pleaded, hoping for a chance to make it up to the girls.

“Now you make it up to us,” she said.

And I did my best to do just that.

The next morning I woke up with Tami and Vicki still pulled in close to me. Zoe had kind of sprawled and was laying half on me and half on Vicki. I kissed all three awake.

"Jesus, girl, I am not a mattress," Vicki said in a joking tone, rolling Zoe off both of us.

"I don't know, you're pretty comfy and come with nice pillows," Zoe teased back.

I hopped out of bed and realized I was still wearing the pants I wore to the hospital last night; the other three were naked.

I pulled Vicki to her feet and said, "If you girls are done with the morning banter, let's go get a shower."

Vicki looked at me quizzically, "I don't think there is enough room in there for all four of us."

"You're right, but I want to take a shower with each of you, so you will have to cycle through. It's all part of 'Operation: Get Cas Out of The Dog House'."

Vicki just shook her head and helped Tami and Zoe to their feet. We did manage to cycle each girl through so I could scrub their backs and wash their hair. We kept the grab ass to a minimum so it didn't take all that long, actually.

At breakfast, Tami sat in my lap and the other two pulled chairs up close to me to eat. As usual, I was required to feed the one sitting in my lap. I didn't mind, really, since I knew 'which side of my bread was buttered.'

Mom was smiling as she served us breakfast, "I see you kids managed to work out your issues."

Zoe nodded and replied in between bites, "Yeah. Cas admitted he was an idiot and begged our forgiveness, so things are back to normal."

"Well, just keep training him up right. Guys are like decorating, they need a woman's touch," mom said as she went back to cooking.

Zoe gasped, "MOM!"

Mom whipped around and put her hand over her mouth, "Ohh, I didn't mean ... I meant like ... ohhh, damn."

We all broke down laughing.

The next several weeks flew by. We got into a pretty good pattern. I would go once a week to meet with Ted and Marcus. In the mornings, I would run with what was now a pretty large group. Now that I didn't have practices, I would work out with the afternoon crew. I did go to one or two practices, but the coaches knew I couldn't play, so I just watched. I helped out at all the study sessions, went to the Dojo, and spent a lot of time with the girls.

It was really nice to go a while with no crisis. The last month, with my getting shot, then getting kicked out of Margret's house, then mom's medical crisis, plus all the new stuff we learned about my biology and the changes to everyone ... it felt like life would never slow down!

I watched Tami and Zoe cheer at the last game of the season and rooted for Josh and my former team mates.

True to her word, Megan went to see Doctor Chang trailed by Alex, her boyfriend. New tests were run on the all of us, well, except for Tina who was still not talking to me. They also managed to get Rachel in for a "research study" to get her tests and she didn't seem to realize anything unusual had happened. Alex (our Alex, not Megan's Alex) and Mom both said it would be a few weeks before we had answers from these new samples.

The week before Thanksgiving, Ted called to tell me. Jonathan would be at our next meeting. Apparently, we had progress. I followed up with a call to Jonathan, to get a ride from him. It was still more than six months to my official or at least state recognized, birthday. Then I could get my license. I was more than a little impatient. Begging for rides was getting old, fast.

Marcus was already in Ted's office when I got there and was keyed up.

"Okay, so what's the big news?" I said sliding into one of the open chairs.

"We made big progress this month. The patent applications are all researched, written, and filed with the patent office."

I looked over at Jonathan and he nodded, saying, "Yep, I don't foresee any problems. I reached out to a friend of mine that specializes in patents, and has done some work for some of the beltway firms. He did some pretty thorough checks, and assures me there were no conflicts he could see. He said we should be golden. We filed the Patents on Thursday."

"Great. So we are ready to start on the prototype, then?"

Marcus was practically bouncing in his seat, if he had been a kid he would have.

As it was he was barely contained when he said, "Well, that's the other thing. We already went ahead and started working on the prototype."

I looked sideways at Ted, "Really? That seems risky. What if the patent search didn't go our way? Seems like a gamble with our development money, if we had to scrap what was already built and start over."

Ted just shrugged, "We talked with Jonathan a bit before we started, and he already felt confident that we were in the clear ... although like any good lawyer he wouldn't actually sign off on it until he triple checked."

Jonathan held up his hands in mock surrender, but Ted continued, "We did take a gamble, I will admit, but it has put us ahead of our original timeline. We mostly worked on some of the independent parts, and built the basic frame. We tried to hold off on the parts covered in the patents as much as possible; but, even on those, we did a little preliminary work."

I frowned at him, "Ted, this is something that should have come up in one of our monthly meetings. I know I am a kid, but my money is backing the bulk of this project. I need to be in the loop. You can't cut me out of decisions like this."

Ted knew he was in the wrong, but tried to spin it, "I know you're right, but we felt like we couldn't wait. If we wanted to get a jump on it, we had to start right away."

I knew when I was hearing bullshit, "So you started on this since last Sunday?"

Marcus looked over at Ted again, then admitted, "Umm, no. We started just over two weeks ago."

"So we have had two meetings since you started where nothing was mentioned. Don't bullshit me, Ted. We are partners on this, and we need to act like it. My guess is you thought I might veto starting early, so you took a gamble and hoped it worked out."

He knew he was caught and said, "Yeah, that is about the long and short of it."

"It worked out for you this time, and I am happy about that. And yes, I probably would have told you to hold off, because we are not in a rip-roaring hurry to get the prototype done now. But that doesn't matter. We still talk about it, or this partnership needs to end, today!"

"Come on, Cas..."

"No, Ted. I mean it, and I am serious. I am fine with you guys making operational decisions but on the big ones, and you can't tell me you didn't think this was a big decision, you need to include me."

"Okay, you're right. I take the blame on this. I haven't worked on something this exciting in years, and I let myself get carried away. Next time you will be in the loop."

I finally smiled at them, "Great. That's all I ask. So, where does this put us?"

Happy that the tension was broken, Marcus's jovial mood returned, "Well ahead of schedule. We should have a working prototype ready the week before Christmas at the latest."

"By working, you mean..."

"Tested internally and ready to demo for buyers."

"Well, that is good news. Ted, you mentioned you had a guy in procurement. Do you think it would be wise to sit down with him, informally of course, and just sound him out? I don't want anything to jump out and catch us by surprise."

Ted tapped the end of his pencil against his chin, thinking.

"Yes, I think that is a good idea. I will call him and set up a meeting for after Thanksgiving. And again ... sorry, Cas."

"Water under the bridge. Go talk to your guy, Ted. I am as pumped to start the prototype as you guys are."

Jonathan dropped me off at home. I found the girls, sitting around the kitchen table with Mom, plotting Thanksgiving.

I pulled up a chair next to them and said, "I was wondering how this would go. I know Vicki and Tami both have family obligations. Did we figure out a way to make this work?"

"Yes, I think we have. Vicki and Tami's family are both doing meals at lunch with cousins, aunts, uncles and what not. So we will do a Thanksgiving dinner that night. Mom and I agree that it wouldn't be a family meal if all five of us weren't here. If it's okay, I also wanted to invite Megan."

I hadn't considered that, but since she had pretty well integrated in our group and knew all our secrets, I thought it was a good idea.

"Sounds good. You should call her and ask."

Vicki half raised her hand and said, "Umm, I talked to Mom and Dad. They know about the four of us. I know Tami can't come because she has family stuff, and can't get out of it, but could you and Zoe come to lunch with me? Then we can all come back here, for dinner."

I leaned over and gave Vicki a kiss.

"I would love to. Your family has always been really nice to me, especially that time I landed in the slammer."

Zoe blurted out a laugh, "You were in city lock-up for a couple of hours. You were never in 'the slammer.'"

I smiled at her and said, "Tell that to the guy who said I was his girlfriend."

We all laughed at that, except Tami, who was looking sad.

"Tami, we weren't trying to leave you out. Did you want to try and arrange some way for us all to go to each other's Thanksgiving?"

She shook her head, still looking sad, and said, "No, my parents don't know about the four of us. They are pretty strict when it comes to dating, and have problems with my dating one person. If they knew I was part of a foursome, they would hit the roof."

"Do you want me to come with you by myself?"

Again, she shook her head no, "No, even just you would be a problem. They don't want anyone not part of ... they aren't okay with me dating at all."

I hadn't realized she had been totally hiding our relationship, although I had wondered why she never mentioned them. Clearly, there was more going on than she was saying and I made a mental note to talk to her about it when we could get some private time.

I reached over and held her hand, saying, "It's okay. Just let us know what we can do. We will all have dinner here that evening, okay?"

She smiled at me and nodded yes. Both Vicki and Zoe leaned over and gave her a kiss.

I took the opportunity to ask Zoe, "Do you think you could call Tina and invite her? I think I have worn out my welcome trying to get her to communicate with me, but I would still like to try."

"I will call her, but don't get your hopes up, Cas. With how she has been acting, there is a good chance she won't agree," Zoe said.

"I know, but it's worth a try."

"Okay, so lunch is with Vicki; and dinner is all together, here, that night. Mom, what are we going to have and what can I do to help."

The next hour we spent planning out our schedules and meals. Zoe did call Tina, who turned her down flat. I didn't want to give up on my sister, but I wasn't sure how many more times we should try and connect with her. Every time she turned us down, it was a little knife into my heart. I didn't think I wanted to deal with her rejection.

Vicki and Tami got a ride home and we called it an evening, with everyone excited for Thursday and Thanksgiving.

Chapter 6

The big day rolled around and I was nervous, standing in front of Vicki's door holding Zoe's hand. Vicki's mom had seen the two of us together, but knowing that we would be eating, with our unique relationship out in the open, was nerve wracking. Now that I knew Tami's family was a problem, I had started considering the possibility of other obstacles in the way of our relationship. I was a worrier by nature, and the thought of giving up the women I loved tied me in knots.

"It will be fine. They already know about us, and invited both of us, anyway," Zoe said, giving my hand a squeeze.

I reached forward and pushed the doorbell, "That or they invited us in order to flay me alive for corrupting their daughter."

Zoe chuckled, "Well, Mom didn't seem to mind your corrupting me."

Before I could reply, the door opened, and we were standing in front of Vicki's mom.

"Hello, Mrs. Hollabrand. Thanks for inviting us."

She stepped up and gave me a hug, and then did the same thing for Zoe.

"Of course. We know how important you two are to Vicki. It will be really nice to spend some time getting to know you. The food is done, and we are just about ready to sit down."

She turned to walk into the house, and we followed behind her. When we got into the dining room, Vicki was standing there. She rushed over and gave me a hug and a chaste, but energetic, kiss on the lips. I was surprised when she the repeated the same gesture with Zoe, with both her parents looking on. I guess Vicki wanted to make sure everything was clear, and out in the open.

I let Zoe sit next to Vicki, and I sat across from them. As soon as Zoe and I were seated, their kitchen staff or servants, or whatever they are called, started bringing out serving platters of food. I was still a little amazed every time I visited Vicki's house. It was weird placing the down to earth Vicki I knew, in the same context as someone who grew up around this kind of wealth. A brief grace was said, and then we all started loading up our plates. I was surprised it was just me, the girls and Vicki's parents. I was expecting all kinds of other people to join us. After a few minutes, Mr. Hollabrand broke the silence.

"Caspian, I hear from Jonathan Colleta that you are doing some interesting things. He says you have gone into business with Ted Baker and an engineer."

"Yes sir. Marcus, the engineer, had a really good idea. It seemed marketable, but Ted didn't have the capital to move forward with it. I saw it as an opportunity, and offered to invest the rest of the money they needed, on the condition that I got to take an active role in the company."

"And they went along with that?"

"Well, I was offering a lot of money; and yes, so far it seems to be working out."

"That is what Jonathan tells me. He won't go into details, but he seems pretty excited by it."

"We are keeping things very quiet for now, but it is exciting."

"I am surprised they would get into business with someone so young."

I could tell he was fishing for information and I didn't really want to talk about details yet.

"I guess they saw some value in my contribution. I have gotten good advice from Jonathan on the entire project, also, and everyone involved seems happy."

He reacted slightly when I used Mr. Colleta's first name so casually, but Mrs. Hollabrand broke in to ask, "So, I understand from talking to Vicki that you three kids, plus one other girl, are dating each other. That is an, unusual situation."

If she was trying to divert her husband to a safer topic, then this was a swish and a miss. I could see Mr. Hollabrand frown, but I answered her question, anyway.

"Yes, ma'am, we are. I know it is not a traditional relationship, but the girls seem happy and I know I am."

"With three women dating you, I bet you are," Mr. Hollabrand muttered.

"Richard," Vicki's mom admonished, "there is no call for that. Vicki has been very upfront with me about the whole thing. First, you should be aware that it isn't three girls dating Caspian. They are all dating each other. From my conversations with Vicki, and some with Zoe, I understand they are as infatuated with each other as they are with Caspian."

Vicki reached across and held Zoe's hand, "Yes, we are."

Mr. Hollabrand glowered some more, but his wife continued, "I know Caspian resisted the situation, at first. He was worried that one of the girls would get hurt."

He looked at me surprised, "Three girls offered to date you and you tried to turn them down?"

"Well, it was only two at the time," I responded. "But yes, I tried to. I was worried that there was no way we could do this that didn't end up with someone getting hurt."

"That doesn't seem like a common attitude for most teenagers."

I shrugged, "All I can say is that I am not the average teenager. My experiences before moving here, and after, have both been pretty unique. They've given me a different outlook on life. I believe that it is important to do what is right, even if ... or rather, especially if ... what is right is not the same as what I want."

He looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, and then said, "I see," before returning to eating his mashed potatoes.

We made a lot of small talk from there. All three of us talked about our classes, and I explained about the accelerated program we were in. They asked about sports, and Vicki told them about my injury and not being allowed to play any longer. The conversation wound down into another awkward silence.

"Mr. Hollabrand, Vicki has never really said. What do you do?"

He finished chewing and then answered, "I am a CPA and accountant."

"Really? If I am being nosy or impolite, then I apologize, but I am surprised. I know that you do very well in your job. I have meet kids before whom have a parent that is a CPA, and I don't believe they did nearly as well."

He considered for a moment and said, "I work for a private group that pays me very well for my services."

It was obvious he didn't want to go down this line of questioning, and was being a little evasive, so I let the subject drop. When dinner was over, Vicki's father excused himself and her mother walked with us outside. Vicki had already arranged for her to take us all back home.

In the car, she looked in the rear view mirror and said, "I know my husband was hard on you kids, but give him time. He'll come around. Your arrangement is taking some getting used to, but I have seen how happy Vicki has been the last few months. I know you two are partly accountable for that, and I want you to know I accept the four of you as you are."

I was surprised at her attitude, but had to wonder if she was aware of everything we did. Most parents would not be nearly as understanding if they knew we all knew each other in the biblical sense.

I left this unsaid and just replied, "Thank you."

When we got home, Tami, Alex and Megan were already there and were helping cook. When she saw us, Tami ran up and gave each of us a hug and a kiss, ending with Vicki.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you. I really wanted to go."

Vicki pulled out of the hug and looked into Tami's large green eyes as she said, "It's okay. We missed you, but we knew you wanted to be there. We all know you love us and we love you."

She then proved this with a fairly passionate kiss. The girls then all headed into the kitchen to help prepare food. I started following them but was intercepted by Vicki.

"Cas, we have seen you try to cook, and it wasn't pretty! Go sit in the living room. We'll call you when it's ready."

I went and sat in the big recliner, but didn't turn on the TV. I started to run through events with Vicki's family, but I wasn't worrying, as I might normally have done. Considering everything, her Dad's response to our relationship wasn't that unusual ... but I was thinking about his answer, when I asked what he did. Based on everything I knew about their income, and what he said his job was, it didn't match up to what I knew about CPAs. Admittedly, what I knew about CPAs was limited. I could be reading everything really wrong, but it still made me wonder what was up.

I was pulled out of my thoughts, when Tami came in and curled up in my lap. I started running my fingers through her hair and she started making purring noises and pressed against me harder.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I am just worried about my parents. At some point, they are going to figure things out about our relationship. It will be very bad."

"You know, we haven't ever really talked about your family. I know Vicki and Zoe know you really well, and know your family, but you and I haven't ever discussed it."

She turned her head so she could look up at me, "Yeah, I know we haven't. To be honest, that was kind of on purpose."

"Why?"

"Because it's hard to explain, and I really don't like to think about it."

"Tell me about them."

She was silent for a little while, collecting her thoughts. "I guess it boils down to the fact that my parents are religious."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain the comment that they wouldn't like you dating anyone. Religious people date."

"From normal religions, yes that is true. Man, I never know how to say this without it sounding bad."

"Just say it; I will love you no matter what."

She signed, "It's kind of a cult."

I didn't see that coming.

"Really?"

"See?" she said.

"Sorry, you're right. Go on, tell me about them."

"Growing up, it all seemed so normal; but looking back, I know it wasn't. They are called the Church of the Second Coming. It is run by this guy who claims to be, well, Jesus."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I know. But they believe in him. I guess I did, too, when I was little. Then I joined gymnastics."

"How did that change anything?"

"It is really unusual for anyone in the church to join anything. The kids are mostly home schooled, and no one is a member of any kind of team. You see your family and people from the church, and that is it."

"How did you end up doing differently?"

"Dad got real sick, and mom had to get a job. When dad got better, mom didn't want to stop working, so they decided to send me to public school. I made a friend who was in gymnastics, and I really wanted to do it. I because a holy terror at home, demanding every day. I guess I wore them down, and they allowed me to go."

"It was a big deal at church and they got into trouble over both the public school thing and the gymnastics. But once it started they didn't want to pull me out, because they were worried it would draw too much attention to them."

"What do you mean 'draw attention to them'?"

"The church does stuff that most wouldn't agree with. Besides the leader thinking he is Jesus, he has something like fourteen wives. He adds a new one every couple of years, and they are always under eighteen at the time. Plus, other stuff."

"Anyways, once I started to make non-church friends and see stuff, it became obvious what we were a part of. When I was growing up with it, it all seemed normal since it was all I knew. I was never on the list of 'Chosen Girls', but it is still expected to date and marry within the 'faith,' as they call it."

"Huh."

"Huh? That's all you have to say?"

"No, well, sort of. I mean, I am sorry that it is tough with your family and I get what you mean about dating being a problem. I am sure we will have to come to terms with that at some point, and deal with it. Because, you're right. Eventually they are going to figure out our relationship. I said 'huh' cause it explained some things."

"Like what?"

"Well, the biggest is how accepting you were of my relationship with Vicki and Zoe, and your being okay joining our relationship."

"Yeah, I can see that. Of course that got easier when we first had sex and you brainwashed me."

"I'm sorry about..."

"Cas, I am giving you shit. I didn't actually mean it. You know how happy I am. This is something I really want."

"I'll give you something."

I then held her down with one hand and attacked her ribs with my fingers on the other hand. After a few minutes, she was squealing for mercy.

As she caught her breath I asked, "Is there any way you can ask your parents to get out of the church? Or, if not them, then to just let you out?"

"No. They are very serious about the church. They know I am not as serious as them, but I have never really made my problems public. I just go, listen, and try not to stir the pot. What can I do, they are my parents? Until I hit eighteen and graduate, I have to live under their rules."

"Well, if it's something you can more or less avoid, I guess that's the best thing that you can do. Have you talked to Vicki and Zoe about this?"

"No, not really. They know that my parents are strange, and they have never been invited over for anything, but we haven't ever really talked about it."

"Do me a favor, talk to them. Both of them, one at a time, or all of us together, it doesn't matter, but let them know what is going on. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Just then, Vicki yelled at us from the kitchen to come eat.

We sat at the table, and my mouth started watering at all the delicious food. I really wasn't that hungry since we had just eaten, but it all looked so good I kind of wanted to eat again. Mom cleared her throat, and held up her glass of wine. We followed suit, except that everyone else besides her and Alex had soda.

She looked around the table before speaking, "I just want to tell you all how happy I am that you are here. I love Zoe to death, but I have felt a little out of touch ever since Peter died. But then we met Cas and all of you beautiful girls, and my life feels really full again."

We all took a drink and she wiped her eyes before saying, "Okay, let's eat."

It was a nice relaxing meal, we avoided any talk of human evolution, and everyone seemed to have a really good time. Even Alex managed to seem like a regular person, at least for a little while.

That night, Ted called me to tell me we had a meeting Wednesday afternoon, with his friend in the Air Force. Ted was paying to bring him down from D.C. to talk to us. I wasn't as excited as when we were signing all the company documents, but this was another big step in moving our company forward.

Since Marcus was going to pick me up from school, Zoe made sure I was dressed nicely, so I didn't have to go back home. I got strange looks from kids all day and a few asked why I was wearing a suit, but I blew it off saying I had a thing I had to go to after school, and that I 'had to wear it' for that. Although I was excited, being different in high school makes you a target. I didn't really care what other people had to say about me, but sometimes it is better just to avoid stuff ahead of time rather than having to deal with it afterward.

When we arrived, I walked into Ted's office behind Marcus. There was a guy in a military uniform sitting across from Ted's desk. He stood as we walked in.

"Marcus, Caspian, this is Colonel Ron Perry, the guy I was telling you about," Ted said.

He shook Marcus's hand and then mine saying, "Ted warned me his business partner was unconventional, but I have to say I am still surprised. How old are you, kid."

"Almost sixteen."

"Okay. Ted vouches for you, so I guess you bring something to the table."

He turned back to Ted and said, "Okay, now that your guys are here, talk to me about this project of yours."

I looked at Marcus, since this was usually his cue, but he didn't say anything. Looking over at Ted, he gave a head nod, indicating I was to go over everything. I wasn't expecting that, but I knew all the material. We needed this to be as smooth as possible so I jumped to it.

"In a nutshell, we are working on drones. More specifically, we are working to create a better drone than what you are currently using, since we see this as the next frontier for the Air Force. I know you guys are still doing a lot of development on stealth fighters and bombers, and that has its place, but everyone knows that the future of the Air Force is drones."

He didn't refute what I was saying, but gave me a questioning look, "Why do you say that?"

I knew this wasn't a challenge, more of a test or at least an exploration of where our thinking was.

"Several reasons. First and foremost is, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, we are no longer fighting the Soviet Union ... or, really, any other major power. Every analysis we have seen, and I am pretty sure any of the honest ones coming out of your war college, suggests that most of the conflicts we will face in the future will be smaller and regional. It will be Bosnia and Desert Storm, not World War II."

"Second is that the American public has a decreasing tolerance for casualties. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles allow you to do large portions of the work that fighters did twenty years ago, without the danger to American lives."

"Third, is the cost. Not just in material, but where you can compare a drone worth say four or five million, to a fighter that costs anywhere from fifty to a hundred million."

I raised both hands palms up in a 'balancing scales' motion.

"Even during peace time we lose a couple ever year to training accidents and equipment malfunction. You can't get rid of the traditional Air Force, but there are a lot of missions a drone can do just as easily as a fighter, and do it safer and cheaper."

He just nodded and said, "Okay. We already have drones. What are you doing that is different than what we already have."

"General Atomics makes a good product, and the Predator proved itself over Bosnia, there is no doubt. But it isn't a perfect system. For one, it makes a distinctive noise. You can hear it, especially if it is circling a site for reconnaissance. Also, the current setup and design of the payload is wrong for stealth work. What we are working on is a new, silent, stealthy version of the drone that is able to carry a payload, without undermining it's stealth capability, and we'll be able to deliver them for half a million less than what you are currently paying for the Predator."

He sat back in his chair, and templed his fingers on his chin, "Interesting. I know the DIA and some non-DoD agencies have been asking for something along those lines, but as of now, we have not heard anything out of GA on it. How close are you on this?"

"We have already applied for all the patents, and have run small scale tests. Our first prototype is in production. Our current time frame is..." I looked over to Marcus so he could fill in the needed information.

"Christmas or just after the New Year, if there are complications."

The Colonel stopped for a second, thinking, and then said, "That is pretty fast, but when you are ready let me know and I will get you on the books for a test."

Marcus looked concerned and asked, "Why not get us set up, now?"

"Because other contractors pay attention to what is being tested, and try their hardest to keep competition out. Most people don't see how cutthroat the defense industry can be. Not to sound ominous, but it would be in your best interest to keep this under wraps until you absolutely have to let it out."

"What could they do?" I asked, wondering what he meant by that.

"Besides corporate espionage, which does happen, these guys pay a lot of money to, and promise lucrative jobs to, generals and higher ups for after they get out of the service. At that level, it's like any political job, and suffers from the same problems. Without anyone in your pocket, once you come out in the open, you will run into resistance."

"If it's so bad, why would you risk telling us that? I can imagine they wouldn't want you giving their competition a heads up, and the guys in their pocket have the ability to cause you career problems."

"I owe Ted, and honestly I kind of hate what I see some days. I got into the military out of a sense of duty, and since I got in procurement, the shine has come off a little. Well, I have a flight back to DC to catch."

I stood up and shook his hand, "Colonel, I really appreciate your coming by, and your suggestions."

"No problem, kid. Just make your project live up to its promise, and I will look good to my bosses."

"We will try our best."

When he left, I looked over at Ted, "Two questions. What was with making me the front man, and what do you think of his warning?"

"We made you the front man, because it's becoming clear where the drive of this company is coming from," Ted said.

"What do you mean?"

"This is Marcus's idea, yes. But if you hadn't seen it, and pushed to make it happen, it would still be notes and a blueprint. And it's not just the money," Ted said. "It was your attorney who incorporated us and took care of our patents. Our money is flowing through your money guy, and we meet on a schedule you suggested. Marcus and I both want this to succeed, but it has become clear to me whose company this is, and I am fine with that. Just let me hang on to your coat-tails for a little while."

"Ted..."

"No, I mean it, Cas. You were right the other day when you talked about keeping everyone in the loop and treating this like a company and you like my partner. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I wasn't treating this as serious as we should, and you were. Plus, I needed to show to Ron that you're not a gimmick, but the real thing. He was skeptical when you walked in, and a believer when he walked out."

"And the other thing?"

"We should take it seriously. The big boys have billions of dollars on the line, and things can get nasty. We need to take precautions."

"Do you have suggestions for those?"

"Yes, but you need to talk to a security consultant as well."

"Good idea. Ask around and I will do the same. Let's see if we can find one."

"Sure thing."

I got up to leave and stopped, remembering I had forgotten my other question, "What was that about my money guy?"

"We talked to Charles Green when we started the money transfer and he had some good points. He is going to manage the company's money as well, and dropped hints that he wouldn't be against coming on board as CFO when the time comes. I was really impressed with his recommendations, and I think we should seriously consider him when we get to that point."

"Man, I met with him just the one time."

"Well, he was impressed with you. You should give him a call."

"I'll do that. And, Ted ... thanks for everything."

Chapter 7

The week after Thanksgiving progressed quickly. I talked to Marcus and Ted several times throughout the week to get updates on how the build out of the prototype was going. At one point Ted actually had to tell me to calm down and let them work. He reminded me that Sunday meetings were when we did updates, and every time Marcus had to stop and give me the rundown on the project, was time he couldn't be actually working on it. He had a point. I was letting my impatience show through.

The other notable thing that happened was that Rachel had started to back off a little and started acting the way she used to. I didn't make a big deal out of it, but Jacob seemed relieved. I still planned on keeping my distance from her until we figured out what caused her weird behavior. The girls did a good job acting as a buffer between Rachel and me any time we were around each other.

I was ruminating on the Rachel situation when something caught my eye. There are multiple hallways that lead into the school's lunch room, and one is visible from where I usually sit, to the point where I can see part way down the hallway. What I saw were a couple of guys I didn't know, crowded around a girl. She was on the smaller side, and while couldn't see her face enough to pick up her expression, her body language screamed that she was uncomfortable and afraid. I left my stuff at the table and got up, headed in that direction.

I heard Zoe call my name, but ignored her, keeping focused on what was happening in the hallway. The three guys were starting to close in around her, and I was losing sight of the girl. I thought it was a little strange that no one was saying anything. When I got up to the small group, I could see the girl again, and she was looking concerned.

She was fairly small, about a foot shorter than me with very curly brown hair that reached just above her shoulders. She was petite but her face had strong features and a slightly large nose.

They had backed her against the wall. One guy was on either side, and the third was in front of her, only inches away.

"Is there a problem?" I said, standing right behind the guy in front of her.

I didn't recognize any of the three guys, and my guess was that they were in a higher grade, since I hadn't seen them around before.

The guy I was closest to turned and over his shoulder angrily said, "Get lost."

He never really looked at me, but his friend to the right grabbed his arm and pulled saying, "Doug, that's the Grey kid that was in all those fights."

The lead guy did turn, now, and had a slightly surprised look. I didn't know I had picked up a reputation, but it seemed to be working for me. I could see him battling between looking weak by backing down and trying to find a way to get out without a fight. His other friend saw it too and gave him an out.

"Doug, we are going to be late for class. Let's go."

He gave one glance at the confused and still scared girl, glared at me, and said, "Yeah, let's go."

All three guys turned and walked down the hallway. I watched them go and asked the girl, "Are you ok?"

I was surprised when no response came back so I turned and looked at her, "Are you ok?"

She nodded her head yes, but didn't say anything so I just piled ahead, "Is this your lunch period? Do you want to come sit with us?"

She looked nervous, but nodded her head 'yes.' I reached out, took her hand, and turned to walk back to the table, only to run into my three girls, plus Amanda, Josh, and Quam. I hadn't realized I had backup.

"Hey, guys."

Zoe smiled at me and took the girl's other hand, "You just can't help yourself, can you."

I shrugged as the girl kept looking back and forth between Zoe and me. When we sat down, I noticed something pass across Zoe's face. She turned to the girl and started making motions with her hands. I had no idea that Zoe knew how to sign. The girl looked surprised, and started making signs back.

Eventually Zoe turned back to us and said, "Guys, this is Sarah Jordan and she's a Sophomore. She said she doesn't normally speak, because she doesn't want people to make fun of the way she talks."

I looked over at Sarah, assuming by the conversation so far that she was able to read lips, "You don't have to worry about us, we would never make fun of you. What was with those guys?"

She looked down shyly then over at Zoe for a second before saying, "They like messing with me. I guess because I am different, they think its fun to pick on me. I have been in the same school as them for years, and they have always messed with me."

The way she spoke was different, but not that unusual. There was even one semi-famous actress I could think of that was deaf, and had the same kind of speech problems. I wasn't well versed on this kind of thing, but I assumed it was caused by learning to speak without being able to hear yourself.

This all flashed through my mind as I said, "I think I might have to go have a talk with them. If you want, you should come sit with us all for lunch. We would love to have you hang out with us."

She smiled at me then went back to signing with Zoe. The table managed to return to scattered conversation, but I felt Vicki grab my hand and give it a squeeze. When the lunch bell rang, we all got up and started to head out. Sarah signed something at Zoe, who gave her a nod in return. She turned around and pulled me into a hug, pressing her head into my chest.

She gave me a squeeze and partially stepped back to look up at me as she mouthed the words, "Thank you."

I noticed Zoe whispering to Tami. When Sarah let go of me, Tami walked up and took her hand.

"My next class is right by yours. Can I walk with you?"

She nodded, gave an over-the-shoulder look at me and Zoe, and the two headed off to class.

Zoe turned to me and said, "You did a good job. She gets picked on a lot, and doesn't have a lot of friends."

"She seems like a nice girl."

"Yeah, I think she is," She said, stopping to turn and look at me. "You can't help yourself, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Every time you see someone in trouble, you just have to save them, don't you?"

"I'll do it if I can. Would you have me act any other way?"

She pulled me into a hug very similar to the one Sarah gave me, "No, no I wouldn't. It's one of the things I like about you the best."

She released the hug, and Zoe, Vicki and I headed off to class.

A few minutes after we got home Alex called and said she had information for us. She had already called around to make sure everyone was free and I agreed that a family meeting was in order. The girls and I did homework while we waited. I noticed every time I looked up Tami was looking at me, only to look away when I made eye contact.

Eventually, I put my school books down and asked, "What's up, Tami?"

She was still looking around nervously but answered me saying, "I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell you this, because I don't want you to overreact. Judy told me last night she is worried about Tina. Apparently, this kid Mertz has been getting pretty aggressive with her, and she is afraid he is planning something for her. She doesn't have any specifics. She says it's just a feeling"

I started to get up, my temper flaring, but Zoe put her hand on one arm and put her hand on the other.

"Cas, calm down. We don't know what is going to happen and you can't just rush over and start beating up her boyfriend or yelling at people," Zoe said.

Tami nodded and said, "She's right, Cas. Judy promised she would keep an eye on Tina and let us know the second she found anything out or if anything got out of hand."

I wasn't happy with that, but Zoe was right, there weren't a lot of options right now. Nothing had actually happened yet. I tried to go back to studying, but I had a lot of trouble focusing.

When the time for the family meeting rolled around, I tried to push my thoughts about Tina down, because this was also important. Since we would all be focused on the family meeting, Mom brought home several pizzas instead of cooking. I was happy to see Alex had called Megan in addition to everyone else, further cementing her role as a part of the family, if not in the same way as Alex and Mom, or my girls.

When we were all seated around the living room munching on our pizza I said to Alex, "It's your show."

"We all know that after Angela's trip to the hospital we learned of some new effects of the change and some other possible effects, all of which opened the door to a lot of questions. Since then I managed to run most of us through new tests as well as some others you had all suggested, trying to run down a lot of the new possibilities. After we ran the tests Angela and I have been working on trying to make sense of it, and we have come up with some, but not all, of the answers to the new questions."

"First let's talk about the changes in loyalty and personality. This was possibly the hardest thing to lock down. We know so little about how personality actually works, why people act the way they do. We do know that if the brain is physically altered, through say an accident or brain surgery, people often have changes in personality, sometimes major changes."

"Thanks to the scans we had of Vicki, Angela, Tami, and myself before and after our change, we have seen some differences, in some cases pretty stark changes. Keep in mind, everything I am about to say is science's best guess. There is so much we don't know about the brain, but the attributes I am about to assign to areas of our brain come from MRI scans on hundreds, and in some studies, thousands of people to try and narrow down areas of control."

"The temporal lobe of the brain controls long-term memory, smell, and hearing and apparently affects our ability to pick up new languages. The processing in these areas seems marginally better in all of us; but, in Caspian, this area has significantly more activity. I am not sure why that is, or what effect that will have, but we need to keep an eye on that. In all of us, the Parietal Lobe is significantly increased. This area affects spatial awareness, comprehension, logic and reasoning. My guess is this is why everyone, myself included, has felt ... smarter for lack of a better word ... after the change."

"The other area that has an increase in activity is the frontal lobe, which controls voluntary movement, motor integration, and short term memory. However, this is part of the brain which also controls emotions and social functioning, and that is where this gets interesting. In everyone for whom we have before and after scans, the map of activity has changed."

I broke in to ask, "What does that mean?"

"In the other areas I discussed, the amount of activity was increased in all of us, but the physical areas of those parts of the brain that had more activity, didn't change. It was like there were more synapses firing to and from the same spots. In the frontal lobe, the actual places that were firing were different."

I was looking at my hands, trying to avoid eye contact when I asked the next question, "So you are saying the only area of the brain actually altered, not just enhanced but actually changed, was the part of the brain that controls your personality?"

"I wouldn't say 'personality, ' since that is something Science has not nailed down, but social functioning and emotions, yes. We knew there was a change, so this isn't that surprising. I have run tests on myself and Angela every week since her attack, and I am pretty comfortable in saying the changes all happen at the beginning, and don't change again. So, any personality changes that happen have already happened. We won't change any more."

Megan broke in and asked, "Is there a way to know what part of your personality or social functioning or whatever is changed?"

Alex thought for a moment and then she said, "Not really, at least not just using us as a test sample. I can say I feel very little has changed, except for my feelings towards Caspian. The problem is, personality isn't something you can directly tell on a scan of any kind. We could put together some kind of questionnaire or test, and administer it before and after the change; or perhaps we should put together a battery of psychological and personality tests. Again, we would need to run it on several subjects to have at least some kind of sample beyond one person."

I spoke up again, asking, "What about the apparent differences between the two types of change."

"We would have to track the two groups, separately, but would need to do the same procedure on both," she replied.

I shook my head, "I don't know if I am comfortable altering more people, just so we can get the data to work with, and that's just on the blood transfer. On the other method, I don't think I want to add any more girls. I am happy with what we have."

I noticed a look pass between all three of my girls, and then Zoe said, "You never know."

I groaned, "I imagine you three are already plotting something. I want to say, now, I am against adding any more girls for the sole purpose of testing these theories."

I moved a finger to point at each of the girls, "If you three feel like you have to add someone, please talk to me first. I know you springing Tami on me worked out, and I am very happy she is with us ... but, it could have gone another way."

Alex looked hopeful, "So you would be open to testing the theory on the blood transfer method?"

"I am not thrilled about that, either. We only did it on Mom to save her life, and yours wasn't our choice. But, I don't know any other way to do to find out what actually happens. Eventually, we do need to find a way to move forward. So yes, I am open to it, but I have conditions.

"One, we don't just start doing this, willy-nilly. We find someone who this would actually help. I don't want to start altering perfectly healthy people, just to get our answers. There are those, who even if the side effects are worse than we think, the change would still be a net benefit to them. Like it was with Mom. Those are the people I want to go after."

"Two, we don't have to go into detail, but I do want them to be aware that this isn't any kind of official medicine, and that there are potential dangers involved, and tell them what we currently think will change in their personality. I want them on board, upfront."

"Aren't you worried about getting exposed by someone who says no?" Mom asked.

"Yes, but we can mitigate it. There are those who are desperate for a cure that the blood transfusion can provide. We also get them to sign an NDA before we talk to them, and keep an eye on them. That's about the best we can do."

"Is it possible for people who aren't sick, but already know everything and want to do it, to sign up?" Megan asked, looking sheepish.

"I can only think of one person who falls into that category. I don't know, because if the risks are greater than we think, we would be putting you into danger."

"Everything in life involves risk, Cas. If I go into this with open eyes, that is on me," she replied, now looking determined rather than sheepish.

"Let's talk about my other findings before we get into that," Alex interjected.

"Ok, so we are done talking about the mental changes by blood transfusion. What about people altered the other way?" I asked.

"As I said, we don't know. We know there are more changes. There are differences in the scans between the girls and Angela and myself. But, as to what those are, besides your previous conjecture, there is no way to really know without doing the same before and after questionnaire."

"Ok, let's table that for a while. If ... and I really mean if ... at some point the girls want to add someone new to the relationship, over my strong objections, we can talk about that."

All three girls smiled, and I knew I was a going to have problems with this in the future. I wasn't sure why they all seemed to be so into the idea of adding more women to our group.

I sighed and ask, "What's next?"

Alex flipped a page in her notes and replied, "Next is what we learned from Rachel."

That made me perk up, "We learned why she had such weird behavior?"

"Maybe. Let me ask you a question, did you ever kiss Rachel?" Alex asked while looking over at the girls.

"No ... wait, yes. At Zoe's birthday party," I answered after recalling the truth or dare game.

Alex made a note saying, "Good, that supports my evidence. I have to say, the more we study you, Cas, the more amazed I am. Your body is perfectly designed to propagate your genetics. It hadn't occurred to me to test your saliva, until after we tested Rachel and found some interesting enzymes ... or, pieces of them, since they had already started to degrade pretty severely by the time we tested them."

I turned to Mom, "Is that why you took a throat culture from me?"

She smiled and said, "I said it was for a test we wanted to run."

Alex kept on rolling, "It seems you produce an enzyme that acts like a targeted aphrodisiac."

Something about that statement made me worry, "How do you know that?"

"I know you don't want me testing on other people until we know the full extent of how your biology works, but since we knew that the enzyme breaks down over time, and seemed to leave no lasting effects, I expanded the trial that we did with Rachel and paid a couple of students to test out what they thought was a female version of Viagra."

I kept my eyes locked on her while she was talking, and she refused to meet my eyes.

"Alex, we talked about this..."

I started to build up steam to another lecture when Mom cut me off, "In this case, Cas, I agreed with her. The enzyme looked to be more or less harmless, and only lasted a limited time. We studied our tests on Rachel pretty thoroughly, before we agreed to expand the test."

I shook my head, sighed, and said, "Tell me how it works."

"It is somewhat subtle, and I don't think the person feeling it would notice that the feelings, but it seems the enzyme makes the person highly attracted to you."

"I can say that sounds about right. After our kiss on the practice date, I thought about it all the time. I know I made a lot of jokes about getting a second helping, but they weren't really jokes, I was totally serious," Tami interjected.

"So kissing someone acts like a me-only aphrodisiac," I asked?

"Close enough. It is the first step your biology takes, to lock down mates and ensure the continuation of your genes," Alex replied.

"Is there a second step?" I asked.

"That is more conjecture at this point, and brings us back to the earlier conversation. All of our anecdotal evidence says that yes, once you have sex with a partner, you are somehow locking them in to just you ... and, apparently, your other mates. Meanwhile, their body changes to the point of being able to procreate."

I was starting to get the sinking feeling again, "Okay. Well, we have covered that ground already and I am going to add 'no kissing of anyone new' to my list of stuff to avoid. Anything else?"

"Yes, there is one more thing. We did tests on Megan and her boyfriend, to try and figure out why some people have a positive bias and others have a negative bias towards you," she replied.

"There isn't anything overt, not like with some of the other stuff, and it will be hard to be sure without being able to test more negatively biased people, but there are suggestions. We found some genetic markers in Megan, Angela, Zoe and Tina that they all share. This was missing in myself and Vicki and Megan's boyfriend had what I guess you could call the opposite markers, although that isn't really how it works."

"Until we can study some more people, we won't know for sure, but my working hypothesis is that some people are genetically pre-disposed toward you and others have almost a genetic allergy to you."

"So what can we do about that," I asked, hoping we could find a way to fix my relationship with Margret.

"I don't think there is anything we can do about it. It is just something we are going to have to deal with," she said.

I just sighed but nodded my head in understanding. I had already pretty much given up hope of fixing things with Margret, but it still hurt to hear the final nail go in.

"Do you have anything else Alex?"

She shook her head no, so I opened my notebook to where I had been keeping notes. I was interrupted by Megan before speaking.

"I have something."

We all turned and looked at her.

"I want to be the first one to take the new personality test thing, and do a blood transfer."

I looked skeptically at her, "Why?"

"Because you need to do 'before and after' testing to learn the full effects of the change. Anyone you get to do it, no matter how drastic the circumstances, you will still feel guilty about any change that might happen to them. You will start thinking that you somehow tricked them or took advantage of them."

"I don't think..."

Vicki interrupted me, saying, "The hell you wouldn't, Cas. Megan is absolutely right. Even though we keep reassuring you, deep in your heart, you still kind of feel that way about us."

"Anyone else you get, while you are going to try and give them enough information to make an informed choice, there is only so much they can be told," Megan continued. "I, on the other hand, know about everything. I am as fully informed as I can be, and I still want to do it."

I threw up my hands and said, "Fine. I can't argue your logic, but this gets to the next thing we need to talk about. Before, I said if we were going to make this work, we had to make the world ready for us. I still believe that, and I have a plan. It is going to take several years, but I know what we need to do to make this work."

Everyone scooted to the edge of their seats, eager to hear what the plan for our new life would be.

Chapter 8

I pulled my notebook closer towards me, to glance over my notes one more time. I didn't really need them, but I wanted to wait a second to gather my thoughts before diving in.

"The last time we all sat down together, I said I wanted to get the world ready for us. It is going to take time for our genetic line to propagate, and if we are going to be the next stage of evolution, we have to make sure the world is ready for us. As I said before, the world is a screwed up place. If it takes five hundred or even a thousand years until our genetic line makes up the bulk of humanity, we have to make sure that there is still a humanity left. The big question is, how do we do that?"

"The biggest problem I see with the world is everyone is out to get the most they can without care for what others, or even the planet itself, wants or needs. That is true, both here and abroad. We humans, on the whole, are incredibly short sighted."

"The way to fix this is to get enough people on the same page all working together. Of course, that is a huge challenge. That was one of the goals when the UN was formed, and we see how well that worked."

I paused to looked around and see if they were still with me.

"This means getting integrated into politics, into the military, into other countries social hierarchy, and keeping everyone focused and together. I don't mean us in this room, I mean our followers."

Zoe gave me a strange look and said, "Our followers?"

"Yep. Looking at the problem we face, there is no way we can do this ourselves. It just isn't possible. We need to start adding people to our ranks, people who have the same goals that we have."

Mom put up her hand slightly and asked, "And what are those goals?"

I gave her a smile and said, "To make the world a better place. To make this a place where people think of the welfare of others, as much as the welfare of themselves."

I stopped to see if there were more questions and then continued, "This isn't going to happen overnight. What we need to do is start getting people to follow our cause. We will need a banner for people to gather around, and that can't be a person."

"My thought was that we create a charitable organization, and use that as our rallying point, the thing that people gather around. Keep in mind that this is a long term plan. We need to get the resources to make this work. I am trying to do some of that through the company I started with Marcus and Ted, but we need to look for other ways to get together the resources to build something like this. That is something I want everyone to think about."

"Have you thought about what you want to call this organization?" Vicki asked.

"I have, in fact. I wanted to call our organization, 'Evolve, '" I replied, smiling at her. "I will start having Jonathan put it together now, but it will be a shell until we get real resources to put into it."

"There have to be a couple of ground rules for this though. The biggest one is we can't alter everyone we bring on board. In fact, nearly everyone who joins should not be altered."

"Why?" Alex asked, almost shocked.

"A couple of reasons. People altered through blood transfusion don't actually move the genes forward, since we don't think it passes through offspring. So that means there isn't a pressing reason to actually do it. More than that is, some point in the future, the population at large is going to find out about us. The change caused by blood transfusion is something you can test for. Considering the personality changes that we think are happening, we will be accused of brainwashing our supporters."

"No, we want nearly all of our followers to be normal. They need to support us because they believe in doing what's right. They believe in helping their fellow man."

I saw several heads nodding around the room, although Alex still looked skeptical.

"Alex, we need to build this on the right foundation. Spiking the blood supply to make everyone loyal to me, and I know that thought crossed your mind, would set us up on a foundation of mistrust and lies. People would fear us, and our whole effort would be wasted."

"The next question is, how do we go about building followers. For now, we do that retail. We start going out and trying to help people. Right now, it will be local, people that we see that need help. Eventually, when we have the resources, we can expand. We'll go beyond that and help people elsewhere, and then help people wholesale."

"Again, I am not talking about helping people by altering them, although I am sure that will sometimes be what is needed. There are lots of ways to help: money, support, even physical labor. Everyone we find that needs help will have a different situation. What we need to do is keep our eyes open to find people that need help, and step in when they do."

"And of course, we need marketing," Tami said, smiling.

"Huh?" I asked cleverly.

"If we are building followers for this new thing, we can't just help them and disappear into the night. They have to know who helped them. We have to give out cards, or flyers, or ... I don't know, something."

"Hmm, that is a good point. I guess now we are at the point where we can start assigning jobs. You take that one."

Tami's smile faded, "Wait, I didn't mean..."

"No, you're right; someone needs to take the lead on that. It is a great idea. We all need to be finding ways we can support our efforts. Everyone needs keep their eyes out, looking for people that need our help. I will talk to Jonathan, today, about setting up Evolve."

"I think that about covers it. Anyone have something else?"

Zoe raised her hand and said, "I have something, actually. Last time we talked, you said we should start considering what we wanted to do with our lives. I think we should go beyond that and think what our place in Evolve will be, since I know I want to be involved with it and I bet everyone else will too. I know we need college to really learn what we need to know, but I think we can start mapping out our place in the organization, now, and start to focus our studies around what we want Evolve to do."

I gave her a smile, "That is exactly what I was thinking. There are lots of ways we can be involved. We need people to actually run the organization or organizations, since I believe we will end up needing to create companies to generate revenue, in order to support our goals. This could mean managing people or assets. Or this could be focusing on things to help generate the resources we need."

I looked over at Alex and Mom, "On that, there was something I wanted you two to think about. When we put together enough money, I want you two to think about leaving your jobs and joining the company, or creating your own company."

Mom looked at me warily, "What exactly would we do?"

"While we can't use my biology to create cures, I am sure we can find a way to use what you learn from me to go in some interesting directions. On top of that, you were both smart before you were altered, and now that your mental processing has been sped up, I think you would be a force to be reckoned with. But like I said, that is for some time down the road. It costs money to outfit a lab."

Mom continued to look at me skeptically, "You are putting a lot of your plans into your company working out. It seems most of the things we are talking about require financing."

I shrugged, "True, but what else can we do? Right now, it is our best bet. If it doesn't work out, we will have to sit down and figure out a 'Plan B.'"

I looked around the room, "I guess that about covers it. Once Alex gets the psychological and personality tests in order, we can move to start testing."

I still wasn't thrilled by that, but I couldn't escape their logic. I knew that I would be giving in to Megan's demands. Everyone sat around talking for a little longer before Alex and Megan headed home.

When I got upstairs with the girls, they pushed me down to sit on the bed while each of them remained standing, looking at me with serious expressions.

"This seems serious," I said looking at each of them.

"It is," Zoe said, taking the lead. "We know there has been a lot going on, and we have been really patient with you. We love that you spend time with us, and we all love our time together at night. But we also want a little romance."

"By romance, you mean..."

Since she said they enjoyed our time together at night I assumed she didn't mean sex, but my brain was having a hard time getting to her point.

"Ugh! Boys," Vicki said throwing up her arms.

Tami laid a hand on Vicki to calm her down and said, "We mean dates Cas. Since your date with Vicki, months ago, none of us have been on a one-on-one date. We all really liked the trip to the pool hall, and we want to do group dates, too; but, that was also well before Thanksgiving."

I may be slow, but I wasn't completely stupid, "Damn, I really have been taking you girls for granted, haven't I? Okay, how about this, there will be a date every week, either one-on-one or a group date, and I will try and make sure everyone gets a fair turn."

They looked at each other before Zoe said, "That works. Who's first?"

I thought for a second, "How about we do it in the order we started dating: Zoe, then Vicki, then Tami? That way it all stays fair. I will take Zoe out this Friday."

They all agreed and quickly shed their clothes to show me how much they liked the idea.

When Friday rolled around, all three girls were being extra affectionate. At school, they were being frisky enough that a teacher had to reprimand us for proper behavior in the hallways. Refocusing on my love life seemed to have the added benefit of calming down all the worry I had about everything else. I practically floated through my classes.

Walking into the cafeteria, I caught something out of the corner of my eye and told Zoe I would meet her at the table. She saw what I was looking at, but I told her not to worry and turned to head down a side hallway as soon as she started walking towards our lunch table. I had already noticed Sarah was at our table, and figured this was my opportunity to ensure her safety.

"Uh-oh," one of the three guys said as I got close enough for them to notice me.

The guy who had been the most aggressive the previous day turned and said, "What do you want?"

I knew he was putting on a front, and that I would need to shut him down, hard, in order to keep his anger at me from spilling over onto Sarah. That would be the opposite of my goal, here.

I got in his face and snarled, "What I want is for you to never talk to Sarah again. Don't talk to her; don't look at her, in fact, if she is walking towards you I want you three to walk in the other direction."

"Why the hell should we do anything you say?"

He decided to make a macho move and shoved me. I had been expecting this, and had already braced my back foot when I stopped in front of him. This, coupled with my higher density of muscle, made his light shove completely ineffectual. In fact, he managed to push himself backwards, while I didn't move at all.

I looked at his two buddies and then right into his eyes, "I want you to think very carefully. I took out Jake and two friends without problems. I took out Tony, Tyler, and three other guys, without problems. I dropped Jake and his two buddies a second time, without problems. Each of those fights lasted less than a minute; and most of that time was because I was trying to minimize the damage I did to them. When you come at me, I will not try and minimize the damage. I promise that you will leave needing a cast."

I looked at stooge number one, to his left, "Are you ready for that?"

I then looked at stooge number two, to his right, "Are you?"

I knew he was dumb enough to try one more move, and I was ready for him. I pulled back, telegraphing the punch for all the world to see. Even without dropping into slow motion ... which happened anyway, since I don't seem to be able to control it ... and without my enhanced reaction speed I would have been able to avoid his punch. Instead, I reached up and met his fist with my open palm, griping as soon as I made contact.

To be fair, it was a hard thrown punch, and there was some real power behind it. Unfortunately for him, I was not just another fifteen year old high school kid. I stopped short of braking bones, but he did drop to his knees in pain. I knew there would be bruises on his hand from where my fingers dug in.

"That was your one get out of jail free card. Next time you make a move against me, Sarah, or anyone else ... I will make life very hard on you. Are we clear?"

He said nothing and tried to hold back a wail of pain, I guess to keep up his image. Unfortunately for him, it came out as a sad whimper.

I squeezed a bit tighter and said, "I said ... Are ... We ... Clear?"

"Yes, yes! God, please let go," he whined as tears started to flow from his eyes.

I released my hold on him and stepped back as he grabbed his now throbbing hand.

I looked at him and said, "Take him to the restroom so he can clean up."

They didn't need to be told twice and hauled him off the floor and down the hallway away from me. I turned and walked back to our lunch table. Everyone was looking at me as I sat down and Zoe slid my lunch over to me.

"Thanks, I forgot to ask you to get that for me."

She smiled and patted my hand. Sarah was still looking at me with giant eyes, until Zoe leaned over and whispered into her ear. After that, she smiled at me, and went back to eating. I noticed Matt Conway, one of Josh's guys on the team, staring at her the whole time we ate. I made eye contact with Zoe and quickly looked his direction, then at Sara, then back at Zoe. She saw my meaning, smiled and gave me a slow nod. No one else was really paying attention to us, but I knew Zoe would have all the other girls enlisted in a new scheme by the time the day was over.

I had already told Zoe I wouldn't be able to watch their practice. I had some business stuff to take care of, and would catch a ride with Megan. My three girls had all arranged to be walked home by Josh. I was glad to see the buddy system I had helped set up at the beginning of the year, was still in full effect. With Jake and his cronies out of the picture, I didn't know if it was as needed as before, but even without a specific threat, I felt it was still a good idea.

Back at home, I sat down with one of my work notebooks and dialed a number I read from off a business card.

When the secretary answered I said, "Mr. Green please. Tell him it's Caspian Grey, I was in his office before the holidays."

She put me on hold and after less than a minute, a voice came on the line saying, "Caspian, it's good to hear from you. How is everything?"

"Good, thank you. Mom ... Mrs. Bell, rather ... is feeling much better, and has recovered from her attack."

"Yes, she told me all about the small tumor in her brain and the help she received at the hospital."

"She did?" I was surprised. I didn't know she talked with him after our visit.

"Of course. She called me up the week following your visit, gave me an update, and got the ball rolling. We set everything up according to how you laid it out, originally. I met with her and your attorney and got everything signed off."

"Ohh, I didn't know that. So we are all set, then?"

"More or less. We left a little money in the account that you can use to pay for things you need, but the bulk of the unassigned three hundred thousand is being spread across various investments. Your lawyer has an updated list of what we have you in."

"Okay. At some point in the near future I might have to access more, to be able to work on a project I have in mind."

"I am assuming this is the charity organization I received a call about?"

"Seriously? I had that conversation just last night, I didn't expect her to move that fast."

"Well, we haven't actually done anything. She just wanted to sound me out about what options there might be if you needed some of the money. As I told her, with what we currently have invested, it will not go very far. You just aren't capitalized enough. If you want to really start doing something, you will need a lot more money. Of course, when we are talking charity, there are ways to use other people's money as much as your own."

"I would be interested in talking about that. Can Mom and I make an appointment to come down there in a few weeks and talk to you about it?"

"Sure, I will get something penciled in. You wanted to bring your mother to this meeting?"

"Sorry, that is what I call Mrs. Bell. It's a long story," I replied, not really wanting to go into all the details at the moment.

"Okay. I will talk to Angela, and set up something up."

I heard the girls coming in as I got off the phone. As they bounded into the kitchen, I tried to stand up and greet them, but was pushed back into my chair by Zoe, who promptly sat on my lap. She gave me a thorough kiss and hopped up only to be replaced by Tami. After Tami kissed me, Vicki repeated the same maneuver before leaning to whisper in my ear.

"We will put your clothes for your date with Zoe on the bed in 'your' room. Wait a few minutes and go get ready."

I could tell by the way she said it, that by 'my room' she meant the room they set up for me when I moved in, not the room where I actually slept. Vicki stood up and the three girls raced upstairs holding hands. I put away my work stuff, and went upstairs to find the promised clothes lying on the bed.

I grabbed them and went off to shower and get ready. It was no surprise when I got downstairs that I was the only one there. I was certain there was no way any of those girls could get ready for a night out, in under thirty minutes.

I sat on the couch and read a book while I waited for them. After about fifteen minutes, I heard them file down the stairs. I was surprised to see not just Zoe dressed up, but also the other two.

"I thought it was just me and Zoe tonight?"

"You aren't the only person who can take someone on a date ya know?" Tami said, laughing. "While you and Zoe are out at dinner, I am taking Vicki dancing."

"Then I am taking her back to my house for a little late night fun," Vicki said, wiggling her eyebrows at us.

I let the innuendo pass, and smiled warmly at them both. I went to both and gave them a kiss on their cheeks, knowing they would kill me if I ruined their lipstick.

"I am glad. You two have fun. Maybe you can tape the stuff at your house for me to watch, later," I said returning the eyebrow waggle back to her.

She slapped my arm and turned me around to walk back to Zoe. They were going to have to wait a little longer for their ride to get there, while Zoe and I walked hand in hand the couple of blocks to Little Joe's.

Dinner with Zoe was really nice. Of all my girls, Zoe was the one with whom I spent the most one-on-one time, just by the simple fact that we lived together. Still, most of our conversations revolved around what was happening that day at school or about our friends. That is of course when we weren't talking about my biology and the changes. I realized that we hadn't really talked about her past much. It was really nice to spend some time learning about things she did when she was little. It seemed like we both had decided to avoid talking about evolution, the plans for our future, and all the big subjects that seemed to have consumed our lives over the last few months. So, I was surprised when she turned the conversation that way.

"Do you really think we will be able to change the world, to be ready for ... you know?" she asked after a long pause.

I shrugged, "Who knows? We will try, that's all we can do. But," I paused, considering my next words, "I think even if I wasn't different, we should still try and change the world. The more I think about it, the more I thought we should try and make the world a better place. Not just because we want to make the world ready for us and our kids, but to make the world a better place for its own sake."

"It seems so big though ... so impossible."

"True, it really is. We aren't going to be the first to try. But, where would humanity be, if every once and a while one of us didn't try to do the impossible."

She gave me one of her loving looks and squeezed my hand, then let the conversation meander off to other subjects. It also seemed that all night we were in physical contact, in one way or another. Holding hands or feeling her foot rub against my leg. The anticipation was building up all night, and I could see Zoe was getting really excited. I thought about teasing her, maybe suggesting we go see a movie or something, but the intense look in her eyes suggested that might not be the smartest move I could make!

It was only a couple of blocks to her house, and she was practically pulling my arm off dragging me down the street. Once we were in the house and the door closed behind us, Zoe turned around and jumped onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist while I placed my hands under her rump to keep her from falling off. Zoe pressed a serious lip lock on me as I carried her down the hall towards the stairs.

I did notice Mom sitting in the living room. I saw her shake her head at us as we passed. Once into our room I closed the door behind me with my foot, while she slid to the ground and began shedding clothing.

We had just snuggled up in bed when the phone rang. It really wasn't that late, since we ended our date so early. Since the girls all spent so much time, here, Mom had added a new extension into our room just before Thanksgiving. Zoe rolled over and answered it.

"Hello," she said in a sleepy yet happy tone that probably told whoever was on the other end what we had just done.

She listened for only about thirty seconds to the voice on the other end of the line before saying, "WHAT?"

She dropped the handset, and turned to look at me. Fear was in her eyes.

"Tina's in Trouble!"

Chapter 9

I stared at Zoe for a minute, my brain still in a post-coital haze, letting the words sink in. Once they did, I managed to snap back into reality and reached for the dangling phone receiver.

"Hello?"

"Cas, it's Judy. Tina needs help."

"What's happening?"

"She is acting strangely, like, not all there. Steve dragged her into a bedroom with some guys, and locked the door."

"Where are you?"

She gave me an address that was on the other side of the sub-division.

"I will be right there," I said as I hung up the phone.

I turned around, and Zoe was handing me my pants. She was already half dressed. We both finished throwing on clothes in record time. As soon as my tennis shoes were on, we bolted down the stairs. I heard mom call out in concern from the racket we were making but we didn't even pause as we burst out the door.

Both of us started laying on the speed, with Zoe drafting only a step behind me. I was totally wrapped up in my thoughts and didn't notice, but Zoe apparently did. Later, she told me she thinks we made the mile and a half distance in just under five minutes. I am thankful no one seemed to take notice of us, otherwise they would question why two random teenagers were running through the neighborhood at nearly Olympic record speed.

We both slowed a bit as we rounded the corner, and saw Judy standing in the front yard. She ran inside, and we were close on her heels. Kids were staring at us as we tore through the house. As we neared the door, Judy said it was still locked. I only slowed my momentum slightly, pushed Judy into Zoe's arms, letting my shoulder lower and connect with the door. There was a loud crack as the door and part of the frame ripped away, splinters from it showering those inside.

There were three guys. Two were naked with one guy still in boxers. Mertz was one of the naked ones, standing at the foot of the bed looking at my sister, who lay completely motionless and totally nude. As it had before, time slowed. I noticed torn clothing, clothing I recognized as Tina's. Mertz turned and moved in front of me, his arm already lifting in a swing. I brushed it aside eschewing all finesse or skill, instead choosing to close the distance and began lowering my head slightly. The top of my forehead impacted with the bridge of his nose and blood showered out as he violently fell backwards. I could feel a trickle of blood already starting down my forehead.

Time returned to its normal speed. Both guys turned to move towards me. I moved into a stable position and glared at them. Both stopped.

"One chance. Run ... and don't stop."

One guy looked like he wanted to get froggy. His buddy clearly wasn't on board, reaching down and grabbing his clothes. Seeing his only backup moving to get out, he chose the same fate. When they went out the door, I turned to the bleeding and moaning Mertz. His eyes widened as I leaned over him, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and lifted his head up to within inches of mine.

"When she wakes up, if she wants to press charges for rape or attempted rape, I am going to walk your ass down to the police station, myself. Regardless of what Tina decides to do, this is the last time you will ever see her. Don't ever speak to her again. You two are broken up. If you try and see her again, and I find out, I will pound you unconscious."

He didn't say anything.

"If you are working through trying to go to the police and crying that I assaulted you, remember that I was saving my sister from being raped by you and your two buddies. And ... I have witnesses!"

I let go of his neck, letting his head silently thud against the carpet, and turned to the two girls in the doorway.

"Zoe, help me get her dressed."

Zoe rushed over. The panties were torn too badly to put on her, and the button on the shorts had been ripped off. We couldn't find a bra, but I didn't know if that was because she hadn't worn one, or because we couldn't find it. We decided just to put her in her shirt and shorts, without underwear. Once she was dressed, Zoe carried her shoes as I lifted Tina off the bed and cradled her in my arms. Thankfully, Judy followed us out of the house.

The crowd had gathered around to see what all the noise was about, made way for us. I noticed several kids leaving the house at the same time as we did, scattering in different directions. My guess is they were pretty certain whatever had happened was going to bring the cops, and they didn't want to be anywhere near.

As we walked the distance back to Zoe's, Tina started making some noises and opened up her eyes.

"Cas?" she said weakly.

"It's okay, Tina. We are taking you to Zoe's. You're safe now."

Her eyes were lidded and her voice was slurring a little bit, "I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you."

"It's okay. We can talk tomorrow after you have had some sleep."

"Will you hold me?"

"Of course."

She smiled and her eyes closed. She started to make soft breathing sounds that almost sounded like a quiet snore. I looked over Tina's sleeping body at Judy.

"Are you okay, Judy?"

She nodded weakly, "Yeah, I guess."

"What were your and Tina's plans? Were you going back home? Staying at Tina's?"

"I told my mom that we were staying at Tina's house. Since her mom is working a night shift now, we had planned on staying out really late."

Margret having a night job was news to me, and I sighed.

"Alright, you stay with me and Zoe tonight. We have an extra room. I know Tami is staying over at Vicki's house tonight, do you want us to call her and have her come stay with us?"

She looked hopefully and said, "Yes, please. Can you do that?"

I just nodded, "Yeah. So what happened?"

"We were sitting outside drinking some, well, punch I guess, and she started to slur her words. I thought she was getting drunk, but she started to make less and less sense. Steven said she was drunk, and he would find a place for her to lie down. I saw another one of his friends go in the bedroom with them, and they shut the door. I tried to go in, too; but the door ... it was locked, and I knew! I knew what was going to happen, so I called you."

She had started crying in the middle of her story, tears rolling down her face.

"You did good, Judy. You did the right thing, and Tina is safe. I know she has been ... a little off, lately. We will find out why. I promise."

She whispered, "Thank you."

I felt Zoe reach up and wipe the blood still dripping down my forehead. It was a slow drip, so clearly the cut was small, since I had always heard that head wounds bled a lot.

We walked in silence the rest of the way hone. Walking in the door and down the hall, we found Mom sitting at the kitchen table, clearly waiting on us. She stood and started to say something, but I plowed ahead. I hated to interrupt her, but I wanted to make sure we got some things started.

"Zoe, call Alex and ask her to come over and help. Explain what happened. Then call over to Vicki's and ask Tami to come home. Judy, come with me. Once I get Tina in bed, I will show you where you can sleep."

I turned to look at Mom, "I know you have a bunch of questions, but I want to lay Tina down until Alex gets here. Zoe will fill you in when she gets off the phone. I know we worried you, and I am really sorry about that."

She nodded and I walked upstairs with Judy following behind me. I put Tina in Zoe's room, covered her up, and then walked Judy down the hall to the room they officially kept for me.

"Go ahead and lay down, even though you probably won't be able to sleep. Once Tami gets here I will make sure she comes in to see you, okay?"

She gripped me in a fierce hug, and I felt her nod against my chest, "Okay. Thanks, Cas."

She pulled away and I closed the door behind me on my way back to Zoe's room. I sat on the side of the bed and stroked her hair, watching her slow, steady breathing. After a while, Zoe showed up and sat down on the other side of Tina.

When I looked up at her she said, "Alex is on her way. She said we should go to the hospital to get a rape kit done, since from my description it sounded like she was drugged. I told her we got there before anything actually happened. She is still going to bring over a sample kit so she can test for which drug. She also said if some kind of drug was mixed with alcohol it could be life threatening. I told her Tina was sleeping and she had woken up briefly and talked to you."

"I am half tempted to just take her to the hospital, but then Margret will get involved. I don't know how she is acting at home, but I am betting Margret doesn't know she was at the party, or with a date. Margret always made it pretty clear she didn't want Tina dating till she was sixteen."

Zoe was nodding, slowly stroking Tina's arm, "I still can't help but wonder why she seemed to change so much once Margret kicked you out."

"I know, but we have to wait and let Tina talk to us about that in her own time. Pushing her won't make it better. All we can do now is try and make sure she is safe. Did you get hold of Tami?"

"Yeah, Vicki is getting them a ride over here. They should be here soon."

Still dressed I lay down and pulled Tina into my arms while Zoe cuddled her from the other side. About ten minutes later we heard the front door open followed by footsteps up the stairs. Tami and Vicki appeared in the doorway, looking concerned.

"Tami, your sister is in the other room and she has had a rough night. I think she would really like it if you could be with her."

Tami gave a single nod, and walked out the door, while Vicki kicked off her shoes and lay behind Zoe. I returned to stroking Tina's hair while Zoe filled her in on what had happened. We talked softly for almost an hour longer before the three of us managed to join Tina in slumber land.

I was woken by Tina pushing against my arm, which was draped across her stomach.

I lifted up my head and said, "Are you okay?"

She was pushing herself up and said, "I think ... I'm gonna..."

I saw what was about to happen, and rolled over, twisting to sit up. I grabbed the waste basket next to the bed. I barely got it to her before she started heaving into it while I used my other hand to hold her hair out of the way. When she finished I helped her out of bed and walked her to the bathroom, where I washed her face. She was still looking a little out of it, so I picked her up, and carried her downstairs. I sat on the couch, still holding her in my arms.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," her voice was muffled since her face was turned into my shirt.

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

"Not really. I think I drank too much. Did Judy call you to come get me?"

"Yes, but it wasn't alcohol. It seems like Steven slipped something into your drink. According to Judy, you were practically passed out, and hadn't even finished the first drink he had handed you."

She sat up, fear on her face, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Judy is upstairs with Tami, when they get up, you can ask her about it. Steven offered to help you go lay down, and locked you in a room with him and a few of his friends. Judy got scared and called me. When Zoe and I showed up, your clothes were ripped off and damaged, and most of the guys were naked. We are pretty sure we got to you before anything happened."

Tears started streaking down her face as she said, "I knew he wasn't a good person, but I didn't think he would take it that far."

"Tina ... Can I ask you why?"

Although I didn't ask the whole question, she understood what I was asking.

"I was scared. I started having ... weird feelings for you that I knew were wrong, because you are my brother. I mean, I know not like, my real brother ... you know what I mean. I thought of you as my brother, and then I started thinking about you as ... something else. It scared me, because I couldn't understand why I was thinking about you like that, and because I liked it. Then Mom kicked you out, and I thought you would decide to not be my brother anymore. I was hurt; and, even though I knew it wasn't your fault, I wanted to hurt you back."

She sniffed and wiped away the tears, "I guess I only managed to hurt myself. But, you came and saved me anyway, just like you promised."

"There is nothing you could do to me, that would keep me from trying to protect you."

"I know. So now what?"

"Do you want to go to the police about Steven?"

"I ... I don't think so. It would start problems with Mom. I just want it behind me. I don't want to ever see him again. I am going to have to face him one more time at least, and tell him we are breaking up."

"I sort of took care of that for you."

She looked at me and said, "Huh?"

"I wasn't gentle with him when we found you. I was pretty mad. I made it clear to him you and he are over, and told him if you wanted to press charges, then he had better show up at the police station and admit everything."

"Oh! Good. I really never want to talk to him again. I hated being with him, actually. He was crude and really mean most the time. I can't believe I acted like that. I bet Zoe hates me, now. I was as much of a bitch to her as I was to you."

"I don't hate you," Zoe's voice came from the doorway behind me.

We both turned and saw Zoe, Tami, Vicki and Judy standing there. Zoe came over and sat on the other side of us hugging Tina.

"In fact, I love you almost as much as I love your brother."

"We need to get you cleaned up, and then you and Judy need to get home. It's probably best if Margret doesn't know about this. She will freak out."

"Yeah, probably.

We stood up and most the girls took Tina upstairs to get cleaned up, while Tami came over and leaned into me.

"How's your sister?" I asked.

She shrugged and replied, "She seems okay. She was just scared something was going to happen to Tina and there was nothing she could do. She felt better this morning."

"Okay. Let's put last night behind us, and get ready for a new day."

The speed of the turnaround in my relationship with Tina was nothing short of miraculous. Monday morning she showed up to have breakfast with us, chatting with Zoe like nothing had changed. As she dashed out the door to catch her bus, she gave me a big hug. I was very happy to have the old Tina back, and it appeared Zoe was, too. I knew that Zoe really liked Tina, but until she did her disappearing act from us, I hadn't realized how close the two girls had become.

The only thing tempering my happy mood was that something was bugging me every day at lunch. I felt like there was something I'd noticed but I couldn't put my finger on it. I brought it up to the girls, but they all said everything seemed normal to them.

By Wednesday, I had put it out of my mind, since I had other things to think about. We had a security consultant coming by to talk to us about securing our research materials on the drone project, and my attention was shifting over to that.

Marcus picked me up after school and gave me a lift over to the new facilities we had set up, to work on the prototype. Since the security guy hadn't showed up yet, I took the opportunity to make a pass through where the team Ted had hired were working on the prototype. The body had been constructed, but was still mostly gutted. Each of our team was working, either solo or in pairs, on various internal systems. Even the engine was sitting outside the body of the drone and lay half open, although at the moment no one was working on it.

The building we had was mostly an open warehouse with rows of work benches against one wall. There was a small enclosed area that held offices at the front, and that is where the front door was, so anyone coming in had to go through the offices first.

Ted stuck his head out of the office area and let me know the consultant was there. Both Marcus and Ted maintained their original offices in Ted's building. Here we only had a secretary that handled purchasing for the team working on the prototype and to cover the front door. It normally remained locked and she had to buzz people in. We had three other offices, two used by the two engineers and one shared by the mechanics. There was also a conference room and that is where I followed Ted. Inside I found Marcus, Jonathan, and a man I didn't recognize.

Marcus turned as I came in and indicated the guy I didn't know, "Cas, this is Jim Mapes, the security consultant we talked about. Mr. Mapes, this is Caspian Grey, our other partner."

We shook hands and exchanged the normal pleasantries.

Mr. Mapes wasted no time and jumped right back into his pitch.

"As I was saying, I would suggest we put in a safe at this location, to limit the time any sensitive documents are in transit."

I looked over at Ted.

"I thought we had agreed on holding plans at your office, since it had twenty-four hour on site security, and putting in electronic monitoring here for the hardware and physical equipment."

Ted shrugged and replied, "We had and that is where we started this conversation. Mr. Mapes feels we should have a different strategy."

I looked back at the consultant and said, "The way we have it set up now, they log into a remote terminal in the main offices to access and revise plans, and we keep hard copies on site there. So there is no question of any plans being in transit. Doing this seems like it would increase our vulnerability and put both the plans and work product in the same place."

Marcus was shaking his head in disagreement.

"We have to have the plans here to work on the prototype, and it's not like we secure the computers in a safe.  If someone was to break-in, it wouldn't be hard to get a copy of our plans.  I think we should keep them here in a safe and set up a one direction upload to the server in Ted's building."

"Network security has issues," Mapes said.  "I think you should reconsider the uploading of your secure documents."

"But then all of our designs would be in one place.  Again, that seems like a mistake to me," I said.

"I have to agree with Cas on that," Marcus added.

Mr. Mapes did not seem happy at that decision, and his look at me indicated his displeasure, but there wasn't much he could do.

"If that is your decision. I have the diagrams and measurements I need. I will send you over a proposal for both cost and estimated install time later this week."

He gathered up his things, shook everyone's hands, and made a hasty retreat. After I heard him leave I turned to Ted.

"Something about that guy bugs me."

Ted looked at me with a puzzled expression as he asked, "Like what?"

I shrugged and said, "I don't know, can't place my finger on it. Just ... never mind, just ignore me for now. Let's go over where we are on everything else."

The guys took me through a rundown on the current progress. Things were actually moving at a much faster pace than I expected. Thanks to the head start they gave us by working on some of the electronics pre-patent, a move I was still not happy about, we were certain to make the Christmas deadline. We would even have time for some additional testing and modifications. Ted had already reached out to his guy at the Air Force and set up a test for the week after New Years. He again got a cryptic warning about competitors but, without something tangible to work with, there wasn't much we could do with that.

Ted dropped me back off at home and I was happy to see Tina had come by for diner. With Margret working a night job, it seemed like we should expect her fairly often, something all of us were happy about.

Between thinking about work, Tina's visit the night before, and planning out my Date with Vicki the next day I had put the voice in the back of my head saying something wasn't quite right in the lunch room aside. As soon as I sat down, it started chattering away again.

I was distracted again, when Zoe punched me in the arm.

"What?"

Zoe frowned at me and asked, "Haven't you been paying attention?"

I gave her my best sheepish look as I said, "No, sorry. I was just thinking about stuff."

"Andrea asked you for help with the marathon."

"I thought you had been training since the beginning of the year?" I said, turning towards Andrea.

Andrea rolled her eyes at me and said, "You know I have been training, but I need to work on my speed. I just can't seem to get where I need to be. I also need someone who knows my endurance and can help pace me during the event itself."

"So you want me to train with you for the marathon and be your running partner during it?"

"Yeah, basically."

"You know I have never run a marathon before, right? I just signed up with everyone else, but I wasn't going to take it seriously. Are you sure you want me for this?"

"Cas, you run five to ten miles every single day. I know when you run by yourself you do it at a pace I can't match. That is why I want your help; I know you can really push me. And I have seen you on our group runs. You are really good at holding your pace to the group's current level, or where you want the group to be at. You are good at tracking and holding a pace. Please?"

She looked at me with a sad, puppy dog expression.

"Dammit. You girls all know how to push my buttons. Yeah, I'll do it. But can we do our training in the morning?"

She was all giddy with excitement, "Great. Yes, I can meet you at your house for morning runs. Thanks, Cas, you're the best."

As she leaned over the table and gave me a kiss on the cheek, Tami leaned in from my right side and whispered, "You're such a push over."

I just shook my head in resignation, "Yeah, yeah."

And that's when I saw it, what was bugging me. It was a girl, sitting by herself at one of the far tables. Her hair was stringy and poorly cared for, her clothing was disheveled, and every time someone got near her, she flinched. She wore a long sleeve shirt but every now and then, I could see what looked like a nasty bruise peeking out.

Zoe followed my gaze to where the girl was sitting and asked, "What?"

"Do you know her?"

She shook her head no. I looked at everyone else at the table and they all did the same.

"Why?" Zoe asked, looking concerned.

"Something has been bugging me all week and I just figured out what it was. I have been reading up on various psychology and sociology books, for ... a project, and something from there connected. She is in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Zoe asked, shifting her gaze back to the girl.

"I don't know, yet."

I motioned for Zoe and everyone else to stay seated and walked over to where the girl was seated, and sat down across from her. She had been looking downwards, and was startled when I sat. Her eyes darted around. It seemed like she was looking for a place to escape to.

"Hi, I'm Caspian."

She still wouldn't look at me, directly. I started moving my head to keep my face in her eye line and hold eye contact with her.

"What's your name?"

She stopped looking around and returned to looking down, then mumbled something.

"I'm sorry? I didn't catch that," I kept my voice soft and even, trying not to spook her more than I already had.

"Emily."

She glanced up, and I gave her the warmest smile I could manage as I said, "It's nice to meet you, Emily. You're a freshman, right?"

It was a good guess. Just by the way schedules worked out, it seemed this lunch was mostly full of freshman and sophomores, so I figured I had a fifty-fifty chance.

She nodded yes but didn't say anything. I was grasping for ways to keep the conversation going, to see if I could bring her out of her shell. I noticed she had a book that I knew Josh's English class was reading.

"I noticed the book; do you have Ms. Vanhorn for English?"

She nodded again, glancing up once or twice, but didn't say anything.

"My friend Josh has that class. He says she drones on and on, in kind of a monotonous voice. It's all I can do to convince him to stay awake."

I thought I saw her mouth twitch in a small smile, but it quickly went away. I was surprised when she finally said something however.

"Why are you talking to me?"

I shrugged, "Why wouldn't I want to talk to you."

"Because you're with the cool kids, you sit over with the cheerleaders and football players."

That was the longest sentence I had gotten out of her so far, so I started trying to push it more.

"Yeah, but don't hold that against them, they are generally pretty nice. But some days you need to change it up. Plus, all through lunch, Andrea has been talking about a marathon she wants to run. Do you know how boring it is to talk for a whole lunch period about running? I either had to get out of there, or the next time she started comparing the pros and cons of running shoes, I was going to have to make her eat one of them."

Her mouth twitched in an almost smile, again, and then the bell rang for the end of lunch. She quickly stood up and started gathering some of her stuff.

"Wait," I said, standing quickly.

She froze in place but looked ready to bolt.

"Would you mind if I sat with you on Monday?"

"What about your ... girlfriends. I heard you were dating three girls."

I shook my head in mock disdain, "Man, people around here like to gossip. They won't mind, I promise. Most the time they are all talking about shopping, anyway, so I am sure they would be okay if they got to avoid my whining on the subject. So, would it be okay?"

She finally looked up at me and said quietly, "Yeah."

And then she quickly turned and walked away. As I watched her go, Zoe, Vicki and Tami all walked up.

"Another project?" Tami asked, putting an arm around my waist.

I didn't look away from Emily's retreating form, but nodded as I said, "Yeah. Something is very wrong in that girl's world, and I want to find out what."

Vicki kissed me on the cheek and said, "Good boy."

I let the problem slip to the back of my mind as I gathered my things and walked the girls to their classes.

Chapter 10

When we got home from school the girls went into prep mode, tonight was my date with Vicki, and Zoe's date with Tami. I had a pretty good plan for Vicki and what we were going to do, tonight. I was really looking forward to it.

I stopped Vicki as she was following the other two up the stairs, "Dress casually. We are going to be doing stuff, outside."

She turned and looked at me with a smirk, "What are you planning?"

"You'll see," I said as I turned her around and swatted her butt.

She came down a little later, well ahead of the other two girls, in jeans and a t-shirt with very minimal makeup.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "Perfect. Megan just pulled up so let's get going."

I hollered up the stairs that we were leaving and both Tami and Zoe appeared, still only half dressed, to say goodbye. We hurried out to the suburban and hopped in. Vicki immediately started grilling Megan on what my plan was, but I had seen that coming and warned her not to give anything away.

We drove a few miles away from the house and pulled into a small sports complex. Vicki was looking at me sideways when we hopped out. Megan gave us both hugs and wandered off, although I tapped my watch to remind her of step two of my plan. She gave a half wave, before disappearing from sight.

Vicki was standing with arms crossed, "What exactly are we doing?"

I pulled her with me, managing to get her arms loose, and taking one of her hands. I led her around to the far side of the complex, where the batting cages were. Even though both the other girls are cheerleaders, Vicki is by far the most athletic of the three of them. While she likes nice clothes dressing up, she is the most aggressive of the three and loves to compete. When her mom dropped a bit of information at Thanksgiving, it had planted some ideas in my head about stuff Vicki would enjoy.

When we stopped in front of the batting cages, she turned and asked, "Batting cages?"

"Yep. Your mom mentioned at Thanksgiving how you used to love playing baseball. So much so, that they fought to get you into Little League. It's not what you normally do on dates, but I thought you would enjoy spending some time getting reacquainted with your old passion."

She squealed and hugged my neck, "Cas that is so thoughtful. No one ever takes me to stuff like this. I can't remember the last time I got to play."

I just smiled at her as I walked us up to the attendant, paid, got bats, helmets and the small lecture they give you to keep your helmet on at all times in the cage.

When we got to our assigned spot I asked, "Do you want to go first?"

She shook her head and half pointed with her bat, "No, you go."

I plopped the helmet on my head and went in. I hadn't used a cage before, but the instructions were pretty clear. I set it for a fairly fast, but not MLB fast, and hit the button to start the machine. I missed the first several swings. I understood the mechanics of baseball, and enjoyed watching it, but this was the first time I had ever even picked up a bat.

"You're overpowering it. Don't swing away like you are chopping wood. You have to predict where the ball is going to be and try and connect there, not swing once you see the ball at the plate. By then it's too late," Vicki said from behind me on the other side of the chain-link cage.

I just nodded and let two balls sail by while I tried to gauge the timing of it. Of course, this only works on a machine that methodically shoots the ball at the same place every time. I started to really concentrate, and felt the moment when I slipped into slow motion. Every other time it just sort of happened, and was an involuntary reaction. This was the first time I really felt the change taking place. It was a weird sensation.

I started to focus and unfocus trying to drop in and out of slow motion. This of course did nothing to help me on my swing, since I was barely paying attention to connecting with the ball. But after a few minutes I found that sweet spot, where I could force myself into slow motion. The only real downside to being able to do it on command was, with as much focus as I needed to make the change happen, I ended up with a splitting headache.

I turned the machine off and waved Vicki in. She was just shaking her head, laughing.

"Wow, you really suck at this," she said and then paused after looking at my face. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "Terrible headache. While batting, I figured out how to go in and out of the slow motion thing I told y'all about."

"Really? That's so cool," She said excitedly.

"Yeah, but it comes with a massive headache."

She took off my batting helmet and rubbed one hand gently across my temple, "Do you want to call it a night and go home?"

"No, you go ahead and bat. I just need to sit down for a minute," I said shaking my head.

I knew the headache wasn't going to go away any time soon, but she had been looking forward to our date all week, and I didn't want to disappoint her. I watched her wail away in the cage for a long time. She was really into it and didn't seem to get bored at all. After almost thirty minutes, the pitching machine shut itself off. She looked over at me with an unsaid question.

I shrugged and said, "That was it for our allotted time. You did really good in there."

She came through the door of the batting cage and gave me a sweaty hug, "Thanks. I wasn't expecting to do that good. I always enjoyed baseball and softball, but I wasn't amazing or anything."

"Well, remember you are working with much better reflexes and muscles than you used to have."

She stopped walking for a second, looking up and thinking, "Huh, I guess you're right. I didn't really consider that. So, what's next?"

"Back to the car to get dinner."

"Shouldn't we go shower or something first?"

"I think we will be okay."

We got to the suburban, and found Megan waiting, holding a basket. She handed it over to me, gave me a high five, and walked off, never saying a word.

"Ha, you have her well trained."

"Megan has always been nice to us. Buuutt, her willingness to do extra stuff, may stem from the fact that I agreed to give her what she wants."

Vicki stopped dead in her tracks and asked, "You are going to alter her?"

I put my arm through her elbow, getting her moving again as I replied, "Yes. Alex told Mom yesterday she has the battery of tests ready. We are going to do it tomorrow, giving us Sunday for her to recuperate at our house."

"What made you decide to go ahead and do it?" she asked.

We sat down at a picnic table away from other people. I started spreading out a cloth and putting out the food, which included fried chicken, coleslaw and potato salad. A good, old fashioned Southern style picnic.

As I handed her a plate I said, "Both she and Alex made excellent points. We need to track the personality changes, and she is more aware of the potential risks than anyone else we could include. The problem I face is my reluctance doesn't really have anything substantial behind it ... besides not liking the idea I might be controlling people. But, we won't know that until we test to see what level of control is there. I really don't have a leg to stand on; so, since it was my own hang-ups, I gave in."

"Well, I am glad you decided to do it. Megan has been very good to us," she said between bites.

We wound down the conversation as we ate, sticking to lighter subjects. When all the food was finished I reached in and grabbed two small, wrapped, pieces of pie. Handing one to Vicki, I opened the other as my brain shifted to another topic that had been bugging me.

"Vicki, could you help me understand something?" I asked while I pushed my pie around with a fork.

"Sure," she said with her mouth half full of pie.

"You said your dad is a CPA; but my understanding, backed by doing a little research afterwards, is that CPAs don't make nearly enough money for the lifestyle your family leads. Plus, your mom doesn't work. You can tell me if this is none of my business, but, I just don't get it."

I let out a big puff of air. I had been holding that question in since thanksgiving, and it was driving me mad.

Vicki looked thoughtfully as she ate another bite of pie. I was starting to worry that I had upset her since she was silent for so long, but she eventually started talking.

"I'm not sure. I never really thought about it, since we have had money for as long as I can remember. It's not an inheritance or anything. My dad always made a big deal of being a self-made man. Maybe he has investments, or something."

I wasn't convinced, but decided to let it drop for now.

"Maybe. I guess it's not a big deal, I was just curious."

By that point, we had both finished our pie, and I started packing all the stuff back into the basket. She seemed to brush off my question and stayed in a good mood. We met up with Megan and she drove us back home. It wasn't all that late and Zoe and Tami weren't back from their date, wherever that was, yet.

Vicki liked to sleep in, so I managed to slide out of bed without waking her, and got my morning run in. We had gone to bed in the spare bedroom so we could leave our main room for the other two girls. I peek into that room and saw Zoe and Tami. They had the covers thrown off, and were nude, cuddled tightly together. I stood there a moment, just looking at them, before I went out.

When I got back, I checked on them again, and was surprised to see Vicki was now pressed up against them. I guess she woke up, noticed I was gone, and went to find other people to sleep with.

I just shook my head and went downstairs to get breakfast ready. Mom was already in the kitchen cooking.

"Morning," I said, starting to clean up the detritus spread around her.

She turned to me, gave me a loving smile and said, "Morning sweetie. Did you guys sleep okay?"

"Yeah, pretty good. Do you want some help?"

"No, I got it. Go sit at the table and keep Megan company."

I stopped and looked at her in surprise as I asked, "Megan's here? She is really early."

Mom just shrugged and said, "I know. I guess she is excited about what is going to happen today."

I let a frown cloud my face, but Mom just patted me on the shoulder.

"Go keep the girl company, Cas. This is a big thing for her."

I gave a single nod, seeing that she was right. Megan was nervously fidgeting.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked, walking up behind her.

She jumped a foot out of her chair, or at least it seemed that way, "Holy crap, Cas. You scared the hell out of me."

I chuckled and slid into the seat next to her, "I would say I was sorry, but it was too good of an opportunity. Besides, I did it on purpose. You got some nice air on that one."

She gave me a baneful glare, "You're a mean man, Cas."

"What can I say? A fella has to get his joy somewhere," I said, giving her a sly grin.

She dropped back into silence.

"You nervous?" I said, becoming serious.

She thought for a second, and then shook her head, 'no.'

"Not really. I mean a little, but I am more excited. This is a big thing, and I feel like I am becoming part of the family."

I put my hand on top of hers as I said, "Megan, you are already part of the family. You don't have to do this to prove anything."

She kept her head down, but smiled.

"I am not trying to prove anything, Cas. I want to do this. Plus, it will help."

"Has Alex explained what is going to happen?"

"Yeah, we talked last night. She will administer a bunch of tests, and then give me an injection. She said I would get sick later tonight, and part of the day tomorrow. Tomorrow night she plans on giving me the same tests, again; then again, at mid-day, Sunday; and again, next Wednesday."

I nodded, "Yeah, I am not sure this is where the protocol will end up, but on its face it's the best thing we could think of. Once we have this information, we will know more for next time. It's just frustrating that we know so little."

"That is one of the reasons I want to help, Cas. We need to know this stuff."

Just then Mom came in with breakfast. I smiled at her and then turned back to Megan.

"Well, let's eat some breakfast. We'll try to relax a little before Alex gets here."

We were just finishing up with breakfast when Alex showed up carrying a briefcase. We cleaned up the table, and Alex set a thick sheaf of paper in front of Megan. There were questions typed on every page, in not particularly large fonts, with room to write answers.

"Holy crap," Megan said, looking at the packet.

Alex laughed a little, "I know it's a lot, Megan, but the people who helped me put this together said it will give us a good baseline as to what your feelings are. Angela and I added some additional questions more specific to our situation and the group..."

"Family," I interrupted. "Everyone here is part of our family."

"Right, Family," Alex continued. "They may be a little more ham-fisted than what the professionals wrote up, but I think they should tell us something. It is very important you answer these as honestly and openly as possible. Don't spare people's feelings. The more accurate this and the following examinations are, the more accurate the information it gives us."

Megan just nodded and started writing. The rest of us, including the girls, who had at this point pulled themselves out of bed, sat nervously around the living room. We didn't really talk about what was happening, but talked all around it while we waited for Megan. About an hour and a half later, Megan came into the room carrying the packet.

Alex stood up and took the papers.

"We can review these while we wait for everything to take effect, since there is a significant time lag."

She pulled a packaged kit from her bag and sat next to me.

"Cas, this might..."

"Yeah, I know. Just get on with it, ya vampire," I said, putting a smile in my voice to let her know I was kidding.

She smiled, unwrapped the kit. It included a small syringe type thing, a vial, and a thing that looked like a small, rubber hose. She tied the hose around my arm, and wiped the area around the inside of my elbow with a pad that smelled like rubbing alcohol.

"I am not sure why I am sterilizing the area," she said, laughing. "It's not like there is a disease on the planet that can touch you."

She then made a flicking motion against my arm until the vein started to stand out against my skin. I felt a sharp pinch, and then she did something to connect the vial to the thing she had used to stab me. She twisted it, and dark red blood began flowing into the vial. When it was three-fourths full, she did another twist. Then she pulled the thing sticking me out of my arm, and quickly put a piece of gauze over the area, taping it down with a Band-Aid.

"There, all done."

She then took out another syringe, put it in the vial and pulled the plunger to fill the syringe's receptacle with my blood, and went to Megan. She did the same procedure with Megan that she did with me, except when she got to the point of bringing up the vein, she stabbed the syringe in and depressed the plunger, sending the murky red fluid into Megan's body.

Everyone sat silently for a few minutes.

"I don't feel anything different," Megan said.

Alex just shook her head and replied, "You won't. It takes time, we knew this. We will all just hang around here, today, until you start displaying symptoms."

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out. After a little while, I think everyone just forgot about what was happening. We watched TV, played some board games, and just sat around talking. It was actually a lot of fun. Nothing really noteworthy happened until just after dinner.

We were cleaning up dishes when Megan said, "Shit!" and made a mad dash for the bathroom. You could plainly hear the cause of her curse.

Zoe started to head towards the bathroom when I stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'll go."

Zoe started to shake her head, "Cas, you don't have to..."

I held up a hand, "I do have to. She is doing this for me. The least I can do is be with her."

I went into the bathroom where Megan was sitting on the floor, leaning against the toilet. I did notice briefly how very clean that toilet was. I suspected the girls had a hand in this, knowing what was going to happen.

I sat on the tub next to the toilet, and petted Megan's hair. She looked at me for a second, then got an expression on her face, and turned back towards the commode. I managed to pull her hair back out of the way, and held it while her stomach let loose.

When she finished she looked back at me, and smiled weakly.

Before she could say anything I jumped in, "Megan, you are very brave to do this. I am so happy you are my friend! I love you!"

She squeezed my hand and said, "I love you, too, Cas. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

She stopped and then laughed and added, "Okay, almost nothing."

I smiled at her too, "Good. The last thing I need is another girl."

She slapped my knee, looked concerned again, and turned back to the bowl just in time. It went like this for almost ten minutes, before all that was left were dry heaves. I helped her up, washed her face, and handed her a toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash. When she was done cleaning up, I led her to my room. I pulled her, fully clothed, into bed. She laid her head weakly on the pillow and made a sad moan. I spooned behind her and held her, rubbing her back.

My girls showed up a minute later, and joined us in bed. Everyone was caressing and trying to silently express their love and appreciation for Megan. Eventually she fell asleep, and we excused ourselves.

Megan slept through the night and well into the next day. When she got up, she looked pretty much the worse for wear. The girls got her showered, and then we all sat on the couch with her, taking turns holding her and soothing her. By early afternoon, she agreed to eat something, and thankfully, it stayed down. After that point, she rebounded quickly; and, while not back to a hundred percent, she was feeling much better. I spent most of dinner staring at her.

"What, Cas?" she said, a little irritated with her spoon half way between her soup and her mouth.

I opened my mouth to speak but Zoe broke in, "He is about to apologize to you. He sees you feeling bad, and he's feeling all guilty about it."

Megan rolled her eyes, "Cas, I'm fine. I knew this was how I would feel. Stop mothering me, plus I am feeling a lot better now."

I sat quietly through dinner, trying not to focus too much on Megan. The few times I did look over, she gave me a smile, though.

When we all finished up, Alex brought out another stack of papers and said, "Okay, Megan, time for your second test. After this, you should be okay to go home. We need to get together Sunday, next Wednesday, and Friday, to do these again. From the experiences that the rest of us had, you should start feeling the physical effects of the change sometime near the end of next week."

"Now that I am looking forward to," she said as she started working on her test.

It took less than an hour for her to finish, this time. She gave everyone hugs, and headed home to get some more rest, as the day had been pretty trying on her. After she left, Alex and Mom sat down and began comparing the responses between the two tests. We wanted to go over them also, but Alex pointed out that we knew the change took time, and happened gradually over about a week. She said she would come over on the weekend and we could have a family meeting and get a full report.

Alex packed up everything and took off, taking Vicki and Tami with her, so she could drop them off at home. Zoe, Mom and I let the rest of Sunday be a lazy day and just vegged out. It wasn't until Zoe and I were lying in bed that night that I remembered I was going to eat lunch with Emily the next day. Zoe had already fallen asleep, so I couldn't talk about it with her. It took a while for my brain to calm down enough for me to join her.

School, the next morning, was average at best. I was distracted and some of my teachers noticed. The classes I was taking as part of the accelerated program, in particular, were a problem, since the teachers there held me to a higher standard ... and rightfully so. They were not kind in their reprimanding my lack of focus.

At lunch, I found Emily already at her seat, and slid in across from her.

"Hey, have a good weekend?" I said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Her eyes darted around for a moment before she looked down at her food and mumbled, "I guess."

"So, this weekend Vicki and I went to the batting cages, and man did she..."

"What ... Do ... You ... Want," she said, clearly frustrated with me.

"Like I said on Friday, I wanted to sit down and eat lunch with you."

"I'm not an idiot," she wasn't avoiding eye contact any longer.

"I was almost certain you weren't."

"I know what you are doing."

"What is that?"

"I see you around the school, stepping in to help girls. I saw what you did for Sarah when those guys were picking on her. You like finding girls and saving them. I don't need to be saved."

"Okay, so clearly I have ulterior motives. But you're wrong about me, I don't go around finding anyone to save. If I see a wrong, I try and right it. Sometimes it helps someone, sometimes it helps no one. Sometimes, like with Sarah, people see it. Other times no one does. Don't judge me on just the stuff you can see."

"And what wrong are you trying to right by sitting with me? I am not looking to make friends with anyone."

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, 'You don't know?'"

"Well, I know I find it sad that you feel like you don't need friends. But as far as why I am sitting here, I am not really sure. It is clear there is something very wrong in your life, and if possible, I want to help."

"Why would you say there is something wrong in my life?"

"I could see the bruises on your arm on Friday, but it's more than that. Your entire body language screams something is wrong. Until you got pissed off at me, you wouldn't make eye contact. You seem terrified at your own shadow and flinch when anyone bumps into you."

"And you plan on doing what?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I plan on doing nothing without talking to you about it and finding out what you want and what you need. If I saw in you some kind of immediate danger, I would step in and do something; but, as it is, nothing."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Trying to be your friend."

"I said I don't want any friends."

"We both know that's a lie."

That stopped her. She thought for a second and then said, "What do you mean by that?"

"I have seen the way you look at the groups of people spending time together at lunch. The ... I guess I would call it longing ... I see it in your face, it's hard to miss. You want friends, you're just scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I have no idea. But you know what? I am not scared of being your friend. Normally, your body language manages to steer off people who might be your friends so you can avoid whatever it is that terrifies you. I don't plan on making it that easy on you."

"What if I tell you to go away?"

"Then I will go away. Is that what you want?"

"Ye..." she stopped before she finished and looked down at her food. She was silent for a long time, most of lunch in fact. She just went about eating her food and not saying anything.

I know she stopped from saying she wanted me to go away, so I felt okay sitting and eating my lunch, but I really wanted to know what was going through her head. Near the very end of the lunch period, she put down her fork, and looked back up at me.

"So, I guess if you are not going to take no for an answer, what now?"

"I will take no for an answer. Are you saying no?"

She looked away and didn't say anything for a moment, "No, I'm not. I haven't had a friend since I was much younger, and this is not how people normally go about making friends. So, what do we do now?"

"Simple, we hang out and be friends. It's not that hard. Although, I guess I wasn't totally honest."

"How were you dishonest?"

"Well, I said I wanted to be your friend, buuuutttt, it's never just me that is friends with someone. The girls come with me as sort of a package deal. So, really, you are getting four friends, not one."

I had told the girls to pay attention and made a hand signal. They all quickly got up and came over, surrounding Emily, who was looking terrified as the whirlwind of girls descended on her.

Each of the girls introduced themselves to a silent Emily before Vicki broke in, "So, Emily, Cas has some stupid work thing to go to this afternoon, and he's bailing on us. We were all going to go with our friend Megan to the mall. What time do you need to be home by?"

"Uhh ... my ... umm ... my dad doesn't get home until six."

"Okay, so you can hang out after school?"

"I don... ," she stopped when she caught the look I was giving her, "Yeah, I guess."

"Great! Meet us at the front entrance after the last bell. We will make sure you have a ride home after the mall."

The bell rang and Vicki half stood up and leaned over and hugged Emily, "This will be a lot of fun. I am glad you are going to hang with us."

Zoe and Tami followed suit in giving Emily hugs before turning to walk to class. They walked slowly, knowing I would catch up.

I gave Emily a half smile, "Sorry about that, they come on strong. But you guys will have fun, I promise."

She still looked bewildered when I jogged off to catch up to the girls.

Chapter 11

The school day ended, eventually. Somehow, my accelerated classes had all been moved to the afternoon for this semester, which meant I couldn’t zone out like so many kids do in classes just after lunch. Not that the subject matter was all that hard. I was finding it easier and easier to grasp concepts, and my reading speed was still slowly accelerating as time went on. I wasn’t sure where the changes would end.

I had discussed this with Alex, Mom, and the girls after one of our family meetings. The girls said they had noticed the same things, but we all agreed that despite how far we have accelerated, we needed to be seen 'putting in the work' to explain our advanced pace. If we moved too fast or too far, it might draw unwanted attention. So, while the material wasn’t daunting, the pace of the in-class work and homework was noticeable… if for no other reason than it just takes time to write down answers.

As this was my normal Monday schedule, I caught a ride over to work. Since the building where we were building the prototype was somewhat further away, I always got rides to Ted's office. From there, if I needed to go out to the other facility, I could usually find someone willing to take me.

I sat down at my desk in the small office they set up for me at my request.  Since I wasn’t in the building full time, I didn’t think I needed much more than a desk and a file cabinet. I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I pushed aside the stack of papers people had put on my desk, waiting for me to show up, and turned to find Marcus standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Marcus, what’s up?”

“I was just checking if you had made it in. There was someone I wanted you to come talk to.”

If Marcus said I needed to talk to someone, then that was good enough for me. I got up and motioned that I would follow him. He led me down the hall to an open area, with a series of cubicles. This is where a lot of the junior engineers and technical people were set up.

I was a little surprised when I saw the guy sitting in the cubicle. All of the engineers I had met so far were middle aged or older. This guy seemed much younger than the others. Actually, he seemed to be not that much older than I was.

“This is Ronald Fisher,” Marcus said by way of introduction.

“Ted hired him on a few months ago right out of MIT. He has some really interesting ideas about desalination that I think we should explore.”

I looked over at the man Marcus introduced for a moment, considering if I wanted to continue this subject in front of a third party.

“Marcus, you know our capital is stretched with the drone project. If we get it off the ground, we can look into expanding, but until then …”

He gave a small sigh before replying, “I know. I was just taken with both what Ronald thinks he can do, and his reasoning behind it.”

Ronald half raised his hand and said, “Would it help if I say this won’t cost that much… at least, not initially.”

I was surprised to hear the man had a fairly thick Australian accent, mostly because I didn’t expect it.

“If Marcus thinks this is a good idea, the least I can do is hear you out. Tell me what you told Marcus, and what you think the early costs will be.”

He pulled out some papers and laid them out on the cubicle's desk.

“As Marcus said, my idea is an improvement in water desalination, specifically a way to make it much cheaper. How much do you know about water desalination?”

I thought for a second before saying, “Practically nothing at all.”

“Currently, the main method used involves heating the water to remove salt and impurities,” he explained. “As the water is heated, it evaporates off and is collected separately, leaving behind salt crystals and minerals. The major problem with this method is the energy needed to heat the water. If you wanted to have the US use only desalinized water for drinking, for instance, it would increase the country's energy consumption by more than ten percent. What I have been working on is a way to desalinize water without that large energy expense.”

“Why is desalinization important?”

“In short, because the world needs more drinkable water than ever before and we have less of it. Population is increasingly expanding the need for potable water, and there is only so much that ground water and other traditional sources can supply. Additionally there are areas of the third world where clean water is extremely hard to come by, where the people who live in those areas have to live off of contaminated sources. And finally, there are areas that suffer from extreme drought conditions. My own country, in fact, has been experiencing between forty and sixty percent lower rainfall since last year, while areas like your state of California often experience similar problems.”

“The world needs access to clean drinking water badly, and that need is just going to get worse. The major stumbling block to that is cost, as all of the existing methods of reclaiming water, both sea water and sewage, are expensive.”

I gave him a nod after his explanation, “Ok, I see the need for desalination. You think you have an idea to change the way things are done?”

“Yes. It was something I started working on when I was at university. Using a series of membranes I believe we can create a form of reverse osmosis that will clean the water of not just salt and minerals, but contaminants. While I am certain this process would make salt water drinkable, I believe it could also be used to reclaim sewage into drinking water as well … Although I understand most would not want to use that particular feature. Now reverse osmosis isn’t new and is being used for water desalination now.  The big problem with current methods is the energy cost needed to make the water clean and usable, especially brackish coastal water. What my method does is eliminate the need for heating that current reverse osmosis processes use.  My process will use a quarter of the energy traditional methods require, making it a viable option for large scale water projects. The power requirements are low enough that I believe we could even make it work on power supplied from wind or solar power, which would make it viable for areas without energy infrastructure, like the Australian outback or large areas of Africa and the Middle East.”

I templed my fingers against my lips in thought before responding, “I can see how this idea could really help the world, and that alone makes me want to support it. But, we also need to look to the financial aspects. Do you think this could be financially viable?”

“In some areas, yes I think it would be very viable. Governments like your own and Australia's will go for it, as they are already concerned with the available water. In other areas, like Africa, the initial build costs will be too much for them, I believe.”

“Okay, we can deal with that when we get there. I am sold on the idea. What do you need, to make this happen?”

“Well, at first I need to build a small version of the process, to work out the practicalities in my initial theory. I do not believe this stage would be very expensive. The next stage would be to build a full scale test facility. That would be expensive, but could be used to show our process works.”

I turned to Marcus, “Have you talked to Ted about this?”

“Yesterday,” he replied, “he said he was on board if you were.”

“Ok, I am signing off on stage one. Let’s build up the test version of it. If that works, get the patents cleared.”

I stood up and reached my hand out to the engineer, “Ronald, I am looking forward to seeing what you can do.”

He shook my hand, looking both excited and eager. He was digging through papers as Marcus and I made our way to Ted’s office.

Ted looked up when we came in and said, “Cas, good to see you. Did you get a chance to go talk to Ronald?”

“Yep, I sure did. I am on board with doing the initial phase of his project and seeing if it is viable. If he can make it work like he thinks, this could be good for us. Actually, this brings up something else I wanted to talk about.”

Ted put down his papers and looked concerned, “Is there something the matter, Cas?”

I held my hands out in stop motion as I said, “No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to talk about the direction of the company and some other stuff that was going on in my life.”

“First off, I love that we managed to get this company started and I have high hopes for our drone project. But this new project, something that could help a lot of people, is really what I am excited about doing. I have started a charitable organization that I hope to use to help people, both in large projects and individuals in a one on one basis.”

“Making money is great, and I am all for it. Honestly, I have no problem producing military hardware; but, if possible, I would really like for us to keep our eyes out for projects that will help people.”

Marcus looked over at Ted, who was tapping a pen in thought, waiting for him to respond.

Eventually Ted said, “I applaud the idea, Cas, but I am not sure that is practical. It’s hard to pick a field and target ideas in that field. You generally need engineers who are expert in whatever that specialty is. It's why my company focuses on such a specific area.”

“I get that, Ted, I really do. And I am not saying we should change the direction of the company. But so many engineers have these ideas floating around their heads that they are dying to work on. Look at Marcus and his drones, or Ronald and his desalinization thing. Both are projects divorced from what they do on a daily basis. I think we should foster this, and make it known we are more apt to support projects that have a humanitarian angle. Ted, how much do you know about 3M?”

“Some. We do work with them from time to time; and, of course, we use a lot of their products.”

“They have this thing they call innovation time. They let their engineers spend fifteen percent of their time working on their own projects. If those projects seem viable, they often pick them up and take them on as an official project. We have several engineers working on the drones, and if Ronald’s thing takes off we will have more. I know it will cost us some money, and slow down some of our work, but I want us to let engineers use between ten and twenty percent of their time working on stuff like this. Getting those ideas they have out into the world. What do you think?”

Ted started tapping his pen again, “I need a little time to digest this, since it is so much different than what I am used to. Marcus, what do you think?”

“I love it. I know I have always had ideas I wanted to work on, but didn’t have the time or felt like I should focus on something else. I am completely for this plan,” Marcus replied.

Ted stopped tapping and looked back at me, “Ok, I guess I am for it, too. We will let the engineers know about the new policy. They don’t have to work on other stuff; but, if they want to, they can spend up to fifteen percent of their time on it. I just hope this doesn’t backfire on us.”

I shrugged as I agreed, “Me too, Ted … me too.”

When I got home, I was still thinking over stuff at work and it took me a second to notice the collection of people at the kitchen table. I knew they were taking Emily out this afternoon, to do something; but I didn’t expect to see my girls, Megan and Emily, all gathered around the table, chatting.

When they noticed me the girls all gave me big grins while Emily stopped talking immediately and looked down at her hands. I was happy to see how animated she looked right before she noticed me, however. As I sat down I saw all three of my girls looking at me expectantly. Clearly they were plotting again.

I reached across the table and put my hand on top of Emily’s, getting her to look up at me.

“Did you guys have a good time, today?”

She looked over at Vicki then back at me and nodded. She started to look down at the table again when Zoe nudged her.

She looked back up, seemed to steel herself, and said, “It was a lot of fun. We went to the mall and looked at a bunch of stuff, and we ate at the food court.”

By the time she finished speaking, she was smiling ear to ear. This was by far the most exuberant I had seen her, and it looked good on her. I gave her hand a squeeze, and noticed her eyes dart to the clock. She pulled her hands out of mine and jumped up.

“Oh, my god! It’s so late. I need to get home, right now.”

Megan stood up and put a hand on her elbow, “I will drop you off on my way home.”

She got halfway to the door before turning around, and running back to me. She crushed me with a hug. I hugged her back and felt her trembling beneath my arms. She always wore slightly baggy clothes and I had never realized how thin she was. She felt delicate, even fragile. All too quickly, she pulled out of my arms and ran out the door.

I was watching the closed door when I felt arms encircling me from all sides.

“We really like her,” Zoe said as she pressed into my right side.

Tami, to my left, said, “You’re right, though. She has something bad going on in her life. She wouldn’t talk about her family, and when we were trying on clothes I saw some really nasty bruises.”

I looked down at Tami, “Do you think she is being abused at home?”

She shook her head yes, “Yeah, I do. Putting together her bruises, how shy she is around guys, and the way she avoids saying stuff about her family, I would bet on it.”

I extracted myself from their grip and motioned for everyone to sit down.

“I said at our last meeting we would talk about it before you three started plotting to add a new girl to my … umm …”

“Harem,” Vicki supplied helpfully.

“Anyway,” I said, pointedly ignoring her, “it seems like you girls have started plotting again.”

They all passed looks back and forth before Zoe said, “You’re right, we are plotting. We like her a lot. She is so sweet and funny. Once you get her away from guys she can really talk. And she really likes you; she asked so many questions about you.”

“What? We only talked a few times. Why would she want to know about me?”

Zoe gave me the ‘you are so dumb’ look before replying, “Cas, she avoids talking to guys, totally. Her only consistent male interactions are probably her father, and if what we suspect is true, those aren’t positive interactions. And then you ride up on your white horse, and are caring and sweet, and treat her like she is special. Of course she is interested in you!”

“Well, I know you three want to get her added to our little group, and I know you like to move fast. I will say, I am not against it. Surprisingly, I find myself really drawn to her, as well. But, and I want to make sure you all hear me on this,” I stopped to make eye contact with each girl.“ We need to get her some kind of help, for whatever is causing her to be so bruised all the time. First let’s help her, then you can return to your plotting. Okay?”

I got a bunch of murmured replies, and was under no illusion they would actually listen to me. I just hoped I could refocus their relentless energy and scheming, to something more productive.

They let it drop, and we went about the rest of our day. The rest of the week followed the normal school day patterns, with only the marathon training I had started to do with Andrea, and spending extra time with Emily standing out.

I did notice what looked like fresh bruises on Emily the day after the shopping outing with the girls, but she dodged my questions and I eventually let it drop. I was happy that she became steadily more open and talkative as the week wore on, although she still refused to move over to our regular lunch table.

Some of the guys at the table started asking why I was leaving my girlfriends alone to go sit with Emily, but Vicki quickly shut them down, making it clear this was an authorized activity by them.

As Friday rolled around, all three girls were getting excited as it was time for the next date night. This time it was Tami and I together, and Vicki and Zoe headed off to do their own thing. All four of us were starting to look forward to date night.

I had to stop by work on the way home, and I took longer than expected. While it was still in the early stages, Ronald’s project was one more thing to keep an eye on. I was walking out to the house just as Zoe and Vicki were walking out. Both were dressed casually but looked very nice.

“Headed out for your date,” I asked as I gave each of them a kiss.

“Yep,” Zoe replied, looking immensely happy, “you two have fun.”

They giggled as they ran to the waiting car. I couldn’t see who was driving it, but assumed it was one of the people who worked for Vicki’s family. I was expecting to find Tami also dressed up and ready to go out, but was surprised to find her sitting barefoot at the table wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she wore to school.

I sat next to her and said, “Aren’t we going out tonight?”

She shook her head, “Nope. For our date I want to spend it here. Mrs. B is out working with Alex so we have the house to ourselves. I am going to cook us dinner, and then we are going to watch a movie.”

I gave her a perplexed look, “Don’t you want to do something special.”

She stood up and slid into my lap, putting her arms around my head, “This is special, to me. I want to take care of my man.”

I smiled back at her, “You already take care of me more than I deserve.”

She hopped up and started working around the kitchen. While she cooked, I just sat and watched her work. The feeling of having someone doing something so … domestic for me, really warmed my heart. As she cooked Tami started softly humming a song I didn’t recognize.

It took some time but she finished making dinner and put a plate in front of both of our spots. She gave me a quick kiss then sat down to start eating.

“You are really amazing, you know that?”

I got a huge smile for my compliment before she decided to demur.

“It’s nothing. Anyone could make dinner.”

“It’s not nothing. Sure anyone could make dinner, but it wouldn’t be the same. Your happiness is infectious.”

“That’s because this is what I was meant to do.”

There seemed to be something in the way she said that which meant more than the words themselves, so I hesitated for a second.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you realized it yet or not, but everyone close to you is starting to plan out their lives around you… around what we can be for you.”

“What do you mean ‘what you can be for me?’”

“Cas, you are the most important person in the world to us. Not just Zoe, Vicki and me, but Alex, Megan … everyone close enough to you to know what is really happening. We have all started planning our futures based around it. Did you know Megan changed her planned major for college, next year?”

“No.”

“She had planned on being a teacher, but she is switching to engineering so she can help you in your company.”

“That is a pretty big change.”

“Yea, but she has always been good at math and after being altered she should be able to handle it. Zoe knows she wants to do something around computers, and is trying to figure out how to make that work for you. Vicki has started reading on non-profits, and wants to make an impact with Evolve.”

“Huh. I had no idea. What about you?”

“I want to do this.”

“This?”

“This. Taking care of the family. Not just us, but some day there are going to be a lot of kids. There have to be, actually, if we are going to move your genetic line forward. I plan on being the one to stay home with them.”

“You don’t have to do that Tami. We can figure out something when that day comes. Don’t you want to …”

“You don’t get it, Cas. This is what I want to do. I told you a little about my family, the way I was raised. The church came first, the kids came second. We were an afterthought, a way to make the church grow. I don’t want our kids to grow up that way. I want them to know that they are loved and cherished for themselves, and not as a means to an end.”

“There is a real danger they could be seen as just the next step in your plan, and that isn’t fair to them. So I plan on being the one to stay with them, and focus on them.”

“Wow, you are something else, Tami.”

She just smiled and held my hand before she went back to eating.

“A change of subject. I am not going to be around for Christmas.”

“What?”

“I know. I really want to be, but there is a church revival, every year. My parents insist Judy and I go. They have been lenient this year with all the time I spend over here, so I kinda owe them not to fight going for Christmas.”

“I can see that. As long as it means you can spend so much time with us the rest of the year, then I am good. I will miss you, though.”

“I know, me too.”

We finished the rest of diner making idle chit-chat, but it was hard not thinking about Tami being gone over Christmas. It had only been a few months since I was shot and she joined our little group, but I couldn’t imagine spending time without her now.

After dinner I helped her wash up the dishes. We were constantly touching and caressing each other at every opportunity, turning the domestic chore into almost foreplay. When we were finished, I was ready to grab her and run upstairs. Instead, I opted for a little more decorum as we walked up to the second bedroom, hand in hand. I wanted to leave our normal room for Zoe and Vicki when they got home.

Later that evening I was roused out of sleep by a hand pushing on my shoulder, and a soft kiss on my cheek. Tami was still tucked up tightly against my other side, so I knew it wasn’t her. I cracked on eye open to see Zoe standing over me.

“Come join us in bed, and bring our girlfriend. We miss you.”

I didn’t say anything, but instead slid out of bed and picked up a sleeping Tami. She was pretty zonked out and only murmured a bit as I cradled her in my arms. Once back in our room, I lay Tami down next to Vicki. As soon as she was out of my arms, she seemed to instinctively turn and snuggle into Vicki, letting out a little sigh.

I moved in behind Zoe, and spooned against her. I started to close my eyes and go back to sleep, knowing I needed some more rest before the marathon in the morning, when Zoe’s voice stopped me.

“Tami told you she is going to be out of town for Christmas?”

“Yeah, and I get why, but it will be sad not to have her with us.”

“Yeah, I know. Actually, there is more. Vicki is going to be out of town, too. Her parents planned a ski vacation. She invited us, but we also have plans.”

“We do?”

“Yeah. Mom wants us to go visit Grandma. She is getting pretty old, and we don’t know how many more opportunities we will have. Mom already said you should come with us.”

“Aww, man, I can’t. We are going to have the prototype ready the next week. I need to stick around for that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There is no way I can be out of town for an extended time. Where is she?”

“Florida.”

“That’s too far to go just for Christmas day. How long are you going to be gone?”

“A week, I think.”

I rolled and lay down fully looking at the ceiling, “This sucks. There is no way I can go with you.”

Zoe turned around and put her head on my shoulder, “I’m sorry, Cas. We didn’t plan it this way. I think Mom and I just assumed you would go with us.”

I gently rubbed her back, “I know, I am not blaming you. You should go see your grandmother while you can. Family is important.”

“I just don’t want to leave you all alone on Christmas.”

“I'll be okay. I'll have work to distract me.”

“Well, we will think of something.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but there was nothing to be done. I really did believe that it was important they spend time with their families over the holidays. Just because I couldn’t disappear for a week, didn’t mean they should have to stay, too. Still, I would miss them.

That was what my brain focused on as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 12

The next morning I was up and ready by the time Megan came to pick me up. Andrea was already in the car and we were both dressed in running clothes. I was pretty calm, since honestly I was running this thing more out of support for Andrea than for myself, but she was keyed up. She started to go into our running strategy for the race, something we had gone over many times. I cut her off after about five minutes.

"Andrea, it's ok. You can do this in your sleep, you're just nervous. You need to calm down and relax."

She took a couple of deep breaths then said, "You're right, sorry. A friend of mine said Arkansas's team is going to be there, and I want them to notice me now, so I can get scouted as a senior. Those guys are amazing; they have been national champions like seven times in the last ten years."

"You'll do fine, you have prepared for this and you're ready."

She just nodded and looked out the window, he nerves getting to her a little bit.

We had parked and started walking toward registration to get our numbers when I heard my name called from behind me. I was surprised to see Josh and Amanda walking up. They did our runs with us, but Josh was never going to be a great runner and I was certain marathons were not his thing.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here," I said as they got closer.

Josh waved a hand at Amanda and said, "She had heard Andrea talking about this and wanted to try it out. Don't worry; we know we can't keep up with you guys. We are going to run with the other amateurs."

I smiled and gave Josh a chuckle, "You guys run more than most, and you'll do great."

As with any large event, after registration we stood around just waiting for something to happen. Andrea said she saw her friend, the one that told her about the Arkansas team, and went over to talk to her. I made small talk with Josh and Amanda while we waited. We saw each other nearly every day, so there wasn't a ton of stuff to actually talk about.

Amanda did try and press me for details on what our plan was with Emily, but since I honestly didn't know what schemes the girls were cooking up there wasn't much I could tell her. Like so much in my life I just referred her to them.

It was almost race time when Andrea came running up, as excited as I have ever seen her.

"You won't believe it, a couple of the Arkansas people didn't make it cause of car trouble or something, and needed another two people to run with them, so they had enough to switch off lead. My friend knows the coach and their captain, and recommended me to them. They want me to run with them."

She looked concerned for a moment before continuing, "Cas, I know we were supposed to..."

I held up a hand, stopping her, "I totally get it. I was just in this for a little fun. I won't be crushed if you run with those guys. Actually, this is such an amazing opportunity I would be upset if you didn't run with them. Plus, Amanda and Josh are here. I can just run with them."

She threw her arms around me in a crushing hug, "Thanks Cas, you really are the best." With that she bolted to join her friend and the runners from Arkansas.

I looked over and Josh and Amanda, "I never thought I would see someone so excited about running."

They both chuckled and we headed over to our position to start. We were deep in the middle of the pack, which was fine by me. An air horn sounded and we were off. I let Josh set the pace and it was considerably slower than what Andrea and I had been training at, but that was fine with me. It was a nice day out, not too hot yet since it was still early, and I was looking forward to taking it kind of easy on the run. Andrea can get a little intense about her running.

We started falling further back until we were one of the last groups. There was a pack of older people, maybe in their 40s, just ahead of us and no one I could see behind us. The group ahead of us wasn't well coordinated and they were putting a lot of distance between their lead and their stragglers. If I had to bet, I would guess they wouldn't stay a group much longer and a couple of people would either fall far behind or just drop out entirely.

Amanda was leading our group at the moment, and unfortunately she also wasn't paying much attention to other runners. Josh was falling further behind and the gap between them was becoming noticeable. I knew that once Amanda realized she was putting distance between them, she should slow down and get back to his pace, so I slowly edged off so he wasn't running alone. You could see he was struggling, red faced and puffing.

We started getting tangled with the group ahead of us. Amanda had actually passed one of their stragglers by a good bit, although he was ahead of Josh and I still. That was when it happened. We were running along an open road and it hadn't been shut down. I am guessing because the shoulder was so wide they thought there would be enough room for the runners and cars, and I am guessing they were right. Besides, the speed limit on this stretch was not all that fast.

I am not sure if it was fatigue, or if he tripped, but the furthest straggler, the one closest to Josh and I, tripped and fell towards the roadway, rolling a bit. He wasn't that much in the road, but he was enough. That wouldn't have been such a big deal except for at that moment a car was happening by. There wasn't a lot of room, and I was almost certain neither the runner nor the driver were going to be able to stop what looked to be inevitable.

I was closer to the guy than the car was, actually not far away at all. Time slipped into slow motion again, although it felt a little different. Instead of the incredible sluggishness I normally feel, this was more ... flowing is the best way I can describe it. I burst forward, getting to the guy almost as the car did. I grabbed onto him with both arms and pushed off as hard as I could, trying to use my forward momentum to get us clear of the car. I hadn't tried jumping much since I started noticing the changes in my body, and clearly my leg muscles were stronger than any of us thought. I propelled both myself and the runner up enough to clear the hood and just missed the edge of the car. Unfortunately we didn't miss it completely. The guy's body was dragging a little bit behind mine, and his right foot clipped the car's rear view mirror. He let out a shout of pain, followed by another as we impacted hard in the roadway.

I lay there stunned for a moment, since the wind had gotten knocked out of me, but recovered enough that after a moment I pulled the guy out of the roadway, just in case another car who wasn't paying attention came along.

The worst part was, the driver didn't even stop. Actually, I think he had been distracted and wasn't watching the roadway, because you could see him finally react just as he passed us. For a second the brake lights flashed like he was going to stop and check on everyone, then the lights went out and he accelerated away from us. Sometimes people are such cowards.

The guy's friends got to us and helped me pull him the rest of the way out of the road, while one of them took off down the road, saying he thought there was a gas station nearby he could call for help from. The guy was moaning in pain and his ankle was turned at a gruesome angle. Without question it was broken, but considering he was still alive that seemed like a pretty fair trade. His friends had him at this point, talking to him and each other. While they thanked me, they were focused on their injured buddy, rightfully so. I fell back to join Amanda, who missed all the excitement, and Josh, who hadn't moved since everything happened. He was staring at me wide eyed.

"Cas, how did you..."

I interrupted him, wanting to avoid this line of questioning, "I just got lucky Josh. I was really close and the guy was already mostly clear of the car."

His brows furrowed, "bullshit, I saw what happened."

Amanda seemed interested now, which wasn't a good thing.

"Josh," I said still hoping to forestall this entire conversation "It was nothing."

"Cas, I know I am the dumbest person in our group, but I'm not an idiot. I have seen you and your girls working out. I remember what happened in your last game. And I saw this."

Just then the guy over with his friends let out a yelp of pain. I took this as an opportunity.

"Amanda, could you go see if he is ok. I am worried about that guy."

"But I..."

"Please Amanda."

She looked very interested in our conversation and it was clear she didn't want to go, but after a minute of looking back and forth between Josh and I, she turned and walked toward the other runners.

As soon as she was gone, I turned to Josh, "You're right, there is more going on here. It isn't for public knowledge and I don't want anyone else, including Amanda, to know about it if they don't have to. Come by the house tonight, I will fill you in. Ok."

"Absolutely. I knew there was more going on with you lately then you had been saying. If I can get you to teach me even a little of how you have been doing all this stuff..."

I shook my head, "Josh, it's not like..."

"It's cool Cas, I can wait till later to talk about it."

He was smiling as he walked over towards where Amanda was standing. The way Josh seemed happy, like something had happened for his benefit, bothered me greatly. And he wasn't really listening to anything I was saying. All in all there was no way this was going to work out well.

It took almost half an hour longer for an ambulance to arrive, along with some folks from the organizing group. Both the injured guys group and Josh, Amanda and I called it a day and grabbed rides with the organizers back to the finish point.

After a little bit he and Amanda took off while I waited for Andrea to finish. Josh kept throwing me expectant and questioning glances, and I knew this would come to no good.

Andrea was excited to hear about the accident, the story of which was already making the rounds. Thankfully Josh was the only one who saw what I did. The guy was kinda out of it and I am not sure how much of what happened would be clear to him. For everyone I talked to, simply saying I pulled him out of the way seemed good enough.

Andrea also wanted to talk about her run with the Arkansas team, and she went on about it the entire time Megan drove us home, and only stopped when she had to go into her house. Apparently they let her lead for a while and set the pace, and she was very happy about her performance.

By the time Megan and I got home, everyone else was already there for the family meeting. While we were going to use this meeting to go over Megan's results, I was thankful to have a forum to bring up the stuff with Josh from today.

Everyone was gathered up in the living room and looked up as we entered. Zoe stood up and gave me her spot, and promptly reseated herself in my lap, while Megan took an empty space next to Alex. Alex was about to start speaking when I interrupted her.

"We have an issue. Josh has a fairly good idea about some of my abilities."

That stopped everyone cold. Several people looked from me back to Megan, assuming she had some kind of knowledge simply due to her proximity to me while driving me home.

"There was an incident during the marathon. A guy fell in front of a car and I moved to pull him out to safety before he was run over. I had ended up running with Josh and Amanda, and only Josh was in a position to see me. My actions were enough to confirm his already growing suspicions about my abilities. He confronted me about them and I told him that wasn't the place, and I would find time to sit him down and talk to him."

"I tried to remain non-committal, but he is going to expect some kind of answers, and he has enough first-hand knowledge that we won't be able to put him off with platitudes and half-truths."

Mom looked at me hard for a moment before speaking, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to tell him about my differences, but not about everything. And he isn't to be part of the family meetings. As soon as I said that I would talk to him about what he had seen, he got excited and jumped to conclusions that he could get the same abilities. His attitude lately has been concerning me. He has a sense of entitlement that is frightening, and even if made loyal to me, his base personality is one that will be sure to cause us issues if he is enhanced, or even given all the information."

Mom turned from me to the girls, "Zoe and Tami, you probably know Josh the best. What do you think?"

They let a look pass between then before Zoe said, "Cas is right. Josh has always been entitled and it is getting worse. He also is not the most, circumspect, person we know. I think he would be a liability for us."

Mom nodded and said, "Okay, Cas, it's your call, but it sounds like you have the right idea. I think we should sit him down with just you and me and talk to him. I want to be there; hopefully an adult presence will let him know the gravity of the situation. I think it's best if he doesn't know about everyone else."

Vicki was shaking her head, "I think the three of us need to be there also. He already has an idea something is up with us and has asked me about it twice now. Both times I played it off as something in his head, but, once he has more information, it isn't hard to make 2 plus 2 work out to something reasonably close to four."

"Ok, then the five of us," mom said after thinking for a moment. "Arrange a time and let me know. Now, on to the research we did on Megan's questionnaires. We did the best we could going over this, and had some help from a behavioral researcher at UT, although the data we gave them was scattered and anonymized enough that they cautioned their conclusions had a higher than normal error rate."

"We looked at each of the questionnaires, and compared the changes in data points. We can say pretty conclusively that loyalty is a big part of the change. Megan was already predisposed to you, but now she falls in the, extremely loyal camp. If I had to guess, it is at the 'take a bullet for you' level of commitment. It is clear her behavioral changes are only in relation to you. Everything else we looked at says she is exactly the same person she was before the change, psychologically. Her moral values are the same, her relationships, other than her relationship to you, are the same. We can find no change in her personality other than an extreme level of commitment towards you."

"The other thing you had been concerned about, the idea of a romantic element did not emerge. Her romantic feelings for you have not seemed to increase, and her feelings for her boyfriend do not seem to have decreased. I still feel like, if we get to test out someone who undergoes the change through more intimate means, we will find they do have more changes. But for those simply changed through blood transfer, there seems to be no element of that."

"We also slipped an IQ test in there, and while IQ tests have limited reliability, it seems clear intelligence increases notably pre-change to post change."

"Our sample size is still only one," Alex interjected, "which means it has limited usefulness. We will need to run this same study through everyone you change from now on, if practical. While we may never get enough to have a truly significant sample size, anything is better than a single source."

"I'm open to that Alex. Megan," I said turning to her, "how do you feel about all this."

"It's hard to say, since you can't think as someone you were before, even when thinking of how you thought then you still think as you do now."

She stopped and laughed a little. You could hear Vicky say quietly, "That sentence got a little away from you."

Megan chuckled again and continued, "Anyways, yes, it sounds right. I feel like I am the same person as before. I do have very strong, albeit non-romantic, feelings towards you. But I feel like I had some of those feelings before, so it's hard to say."

"Ok, I guess that will have to do. Did we have anything else to discuss?"

"Actually, I did have something else," I said, half raising my hand. "When I went into the slow motion thing, it was different this time. You know how I described how sluggish everything feels during the slow motion?"

Everyone indicated they did.

"It didn't quite feel like that this time. It didn't feel normal, but everything seemed to ... flow I guess is the best way to describe it. I was able to get more out of my body during the slow motion thing than before."

Alex looked thoughtful for a second, "Interesting, but I am not sure what we can do with that other than wait for it to happen again and see if it continues to change. Maybe..."

After waiting for a second for her to continue I prompted her, "Maybe?"

She shrugged, "Just a stray thought I will need to follow up with in the lab. Like I was saying, for now the best thing we can do is wait and observe. Did anyone have anything else?"

Everyone indicated they didn't and so I broke up the family meeting and took the girls upstairs with me. Once the room was closed I pulled Vicki into my arms.

"You and Tami are both headed out on Monday. I am going to miss you two. Are you sure you can't spend the night tonight?"

Vicky and Tami both shook their heads no, and Vicki said, "I wish we could, but I have to pack, and I know Tami does too. I am going to miss you three while I am gone."

"Me too," I said before leaning down to seriously show her how much I would miss her. After we finished, which took a while, Tami took Vicki's place, while Vicki moved to the spot in Zoe's arms Tami had just vacated. I repeated the process with Tami.

All two soon both girls had to leave. Once they were gone I slumped on the bed and Zoe put her arms around me.

"I am really going to miss you girls."

I felt Zoe's arms squeeze me tighter, "yea, I know. I am going to miss them and you too."

"I am glad you are getting a chance to see your family though. Family is important. I will try and get absorbed in my work so I don't feel so lonely," I joked.

Zoe put her hand on my chest and said, "Not over Christmas holiday you don't. Don't worry though; I have worked out an alternative."

Just then there was a knock at the bedroom door. Zoe stood up and moved towards the door saying, "And here is the alternative."

She opened the door and Emily walked in. I have to say, I wasn't completely surprised. I knew my girls well enough that I saw this move coming.

"Hi Emily," I said.

"Hi Cas," she nervously replied.

Zoey sat Emily on the bed next to me, "You already talked to Vicki and Tami?"

"Yea, just as they were leaving."

"And they explained what they would want to happen?"

"Yes."

I stopped them at this point, saying, "Zoey what exactly are you three wanting to happen?"

Zoe looked an Emily who said, "They want me to be your holiday girlfriend. Not like, all the way, but someone for you to spend time with while they are gone."

"Spend time with?"

"Umm..." She looked to Zoe again, who just gave Emily an eyebrow raise.

Emily gave a small sigh and continued, "They want us to hang out and get to know each other better. They also said it was ok if we kissed and stuff."

This last part she said looking at the ground.

I could see how uncomfortable she was so I took pity on her, "I like the part where we get to know each other better. It would be nice to have another good friend."

Emily threw another look to Zoe, one whose context I couldn't determine this time, but it did give me a thought.

"Zoe, can I have a few minutes alone with Emily to talk?"

Zoe stood up to leave and laughed as she said, "What, the week and a half isn't enough for you two."

I knew she was teasing me and let that go as she left the room. Once the door was closed I turned my attention to Emily.

"I know those three can be a lot, and when they get an idea in their collective head, they are damn near unstoppable. Don't feel pressured by them; nothing has to happen that you don't want to. We can hang out and be friends or not if you don't even want that."

Emily was quiet for a long time, so much so that I thought she might choose the 'or not' option. I was about to start talking again when she finally responded, although never looked up.

"I ... don't have a lot of experience with boys. My fa ... I have never really been allowed to date before, so I am really nervous."

I noticed the slip but let it pass as she looked up at me. Her large brown eyes were almost pleading for something.

"But I really would like this. I don't know why, but I find you ... I don't know. I just like some of the stuff Zoe and the others talked about."

I leaned in and cupped her chin with my hand.

"Me too," I said.

With that I leaned the rest of the way in and kissed her. It wasn't passionate or aggressive, but I put as much caring and love into it as I could. After a short time I pulled back. Emily's eyes remained closed and she actually leaned forward more as I pulled away, like she was chasing my lips with hers. She opened her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I know you're nervous, but I like you. The girls like you. I am looking forward to getting to know you better over this next week or so, and seeing what is here. I know our situation is a little scary."

"It is," she replied, "but I see how you are with them, and how they are with each other. You are all so loving. I think that would be really amazing."

I smiled at her, "It is."

I sat there for a moment longer, stroking the side of her face before hopping up.

"Ok, I think it's almost time for you to head home, and I have some stuff I need to take care of before Zoe leaves. They take off late tomorrow, so how about Tuesday evening I take you out?"

"I can't stay out late."

"I know, let's do an early diner and I will get you home before it even gets dark."

She thought then nodded, "I would like that."

We walked out of the room to find Zoe leaning in the hallway. She looked at Emily's face then smiled.

"Everything go good in there?"

Emily just nodded so I replied for us, "Yep. We have a date on Tuesday."

Zoe clapped her hands together once and said, "Excellent."

We walked Emily out. At the door I leaned down and gave her one more peck on the lips, shorter than the first time, but just enough to let her know I was serious. Once she was out the door Zoe put her arms around me.

"That went well."

"Yes, you can report to the other schemers your plans are progressing."

"Like you have a problem with all the action we are getting you," she said with a snort.

I know she was teasing me, but I still looked down at her and frowned, "I'm not like that, and you know it."

She squeezed me a little tighter and said, "I know baby. Sorry."

I leaned down and kissed the top of her head, "its ok. I'm not mad. I just don't like it when you take other people lightly, even as a joke. Now, let's get you packed."

We spent the next day and a half in almost constant contact. At every possible moment we were holding hands or touching each other, whether we were packing or eating it didn't matter. We were both savoring our moments together.

Sadly the time marched on and before I knew it the car was loaded and it was time for them to get on the road. Mom gave me one of her python squeezes and a kiss on the cheek.

"You have the number of my sister's house. I know how responsible you are, but please call if there is any trouble."

I gave her a hug in return, "I will be alright, just missing my family so much. My first Christmas with family and you guys are all gonna be elsewhere."

She gave me another hug and said, "Ok, time to get the show on the road. Zoe, don't take too long."

The last part was said as she walked out the door, throwing a pointed look at her daughter. As soon as the door closed, Zoe was in my arms.

"This is our first extended time apart since the year began," she said, her voice choking up a bit.

"I know. I really will miss you."

"Yea, me too."

I knew they were in a hurry so I spend the last several minutes getting one last serious kiss in. All too soon we broke apart.

"I love you Zoe," I said looking into her watery eyes.

"I love you too."

With that she turned and went out the door. I experienced a moment of sadness as it closed behind her. I knew this wasn't forever, but I had grown used to Zoe's constant presence and it felt like I had just lost a part of me.

Chapter 13

The next morning felt strange. While I had occasionally woken up alone, most notably when I was recovering from the gunshot, there was a stillness to the house I wasn't used to. After my morning run I just walked through the empty house, looking in each room and feeling the absence of everyone.

To avoid becoming morose, I ate a quick breakfast and headed to the office. The previous week Marcus indicated we were very close to having a prototype ready, and Ted had already worked his Pentagon contacts to set up a demo for them. Today was the first day I was going to get to see the finished drone, and I was getting excited by the prospect. I had dumped all of my money on this, and while I really believed it was going to work, it was still a gamble. Seeing the finished prototype made it more real, and brought everything one step closer.

I had just finished breakfast when Mary Ann arrived to pick me up on her way to work. We made small talk on the drive, but I was having trouble focusing on the conversation, since my mind was already on the prototype and upcoming demo. She saw how distracted I was, and when she noticed my sideways glance at her when we pulled up to the warehouse, she just laughed and said 'Go'. That was all the prompting I needed! I was out of the door like a shot. It was like Christmas morning, and I was acting like any fifteen year old with a present to open.

When I got into the drone assembly area, Marcus was just as excited as I was. There, in front of him, was the completed drone. It still had several panels open, with wires tracing their way over to a series of computers with engineers huddled around them.

"What's the word, Marcus?"

"Just finishing up the last diagnostics. Then we put it on a trailer, and haul it out to the area we have set aside for testing," he replied with a huge grin.

"What's the schedule like?"

"We are going to haul this down to Ellington field and work out of there for three days. It's almost three hours away, so today will be a short series of tests. Basically just touch-and-go's to get any bugs worked out, and make sure everything is functioning as it should. Tomorrow we are going to do extended trials, including endurance and distance trials. Then Wednesday we are going to start stealth trials against the 47th wing. We even have an agreement from the Texas Air National Guard, to have some of their planes go up and see if their on-board systems can pick up the drone."

"That's nice of them."

"I have a feeling Colonel Perry smoothed the way on that deal. We are giving everyone Friday off, for Christmas, and then we're back to it Monday morning. Tuesday we are going to go through the entire Air Force demo, and again on Wednesday. Ted has our actual demo set for Thursday."

"I always imagined trial periods would last longer than that. A short week, with a holiday thrown in the middle, feels like rushing things."

"To be honest, it is a bit. But we need to have it tested out and preliminary agreements in place before the first of the year."

"Why?"

"The way they normally work, is: if they like a product, they will order a handful of them up front, for six months of internal testing. A full order will depend on the results of that testing. While that is happening we will also be under a separate series of security and cost reviews, to make sure the figures in the preliminary purchase contract meets government standards. This should also cover the one hundred and twenty day mandatory review period on new contracts. The fiscal year for the federal government ends September thirtieth. If our drone gets a preliminary order, and tests out well, we want to have time for a full order of drones to make its way into next year's budget."

"Sounds like a lot of hurdles, any one of which could derail the whole thing."

"I know it sounds that way, but neither Ted nor I are worried. For one, we aren't coming in with an R&D concept, but a finished product, so they aren't paying for R&D time, like they do on some military projects. We are falling into a weird niche where our price point is that of large military systems, but the way they are buying it is similar to the way the DOD buys any off the shelf product. Ted and I spent some time last week going over all of this with Ron, and he believes this will get us around many of the checkpoints that military projects of this size normally have to go through."

"Ok, so your confidence in selling this is still pretty high, then?"

"Yes. Ron is going to come out next week, and see the tests on Monday and Tuesday. He is going to give us pointers on what his bosses will be looking for during the demo, and help us shape the presentation more towards them. While not exactly kosher, having the inside track like that is also not all that unusual. I can't tell you how lucky we are that Ted had this contact."

"Yeah, don't I know it?"

I saw the gaggle of engineers breaking up.

When Marcus noticed them he clapped me on the shoulder, saying, "Well, it's time for us to get this beast loaded up and down to Ellington field."

"Ok. Good luck on the trials, and let me know how they go. I am looking forward to coming out next week for the demo."

"Don't worry, Cas. I am very confident in my guys. This will work."

Mary Ann dropped me off at home, and once again I was enveloped into silence. I didn't have my date with Emily until Tuesday, and there really wasn't any need to go into the office this week. Half of the team would be spending the whole week with Marcus, an hour south of Houston testing the drone, anyway.

Since the beginning of the school year the only time I had been by myself for extended periods was right after my shooting. It felt like I was being driven crazy by it then, too. I had never thought of myself as being so dependent on other people, but clearly I was.

I didn't want to call Tina because I might get Margret, and I realized I couldn't call Emily because I didn't have her phone number. Considering some of the things I was beginning to suspect, that didn't overly surprise me.

I decided to bite the bullet and call Josh over, so we could talk about what happened at the marathon. I wasn't looking forward to it, but it needed to be dealt with. Josh was home, and said he would be right over. I could tell he was excited about finding out, but I was also afraid he had expectations that could be problematic. After about fifteen minutes, Josh showed up.

"Sup, dude?" he said as I opened the door.

"Hey, Josh, come on in."

He followed me and we sat at the table.

"So, I guess you are looking for a better explanation on what happened at the marathon."

"Not just then, dude," he said shaking his head, "but whatever is going on with you. I think whatever happened at the marathon also happened at your last game."

I gave an internal sigh before plowing forward, "You're not wrong. Before I get into this, I want to make it very clear that you shouldn't talk about this with anyone."

I made sure I had eye contact with him before strongly continuing, "Anyone, Josh! If this became public knowledge, it could end very badly for me."

"Okay, Cas, I get it. I won't tell anyone."

He was literally sitting on the edge of his seat.

"Ok, so I guess the easiest way to explain it is that I am not like other people, Josh. I have ... umm ... I guess the only way to say it is 'abilities'."

"Like what?"

"More endurance, somewhat stronger, better reflexes."

"How did you get like this?"

"As far as we can tell, I was born like this."

"We?"

"I have a doctor friend who has been running tests on me, trying to figure out what is going on."

"And you can pass these abilities on?"

I was surprised by this, since I had been careful not to mention the girls at any point.

"What? What makes you say that?"

"I have noticed changes in Zoe and now Tami, and I guess Vicki, too, although before you started dating her I didn't really know her."

"What do you mean changes in Zoe and Tami?"

"Come on, Cas. I know I am not book smart like you, but I do pay attention. They are running faster and are in better shape than ever before. That all happened after you started dating them."

So much for trying to hide that aspect. I sighed internally before answering, my brain scrambling trying to find a way to limit as much information as possible.

"We aren't sure, honestly. We know some of the weird stuff with me passed over to them, but we don't know how much, or in what way."

"So you can give anyone these special abilities?"

"We don't really know everything about it yet. We believe the way Zoe and the girls got passed my abilities is not an avenue most other people would be comfortable with, or that I would be comfortable with."

Ok, so I didn't out and out lie, but I was skirting the line pretty close. Although Megan and Josh weren't close, I needed to remember and suggest she tone things down around him for the time being.

"What does that mean?" Josh asked, looking slightly annoyed.

"Well, look at who has had the abilities passed to them ... Zoe, Tami and Vicki. What do they have in common?"

"Well, you're dating all ... ohh!"

"Yeah, like I said, it's through avenues not really available to everyone."

"Yeah, I see that. Man, that sucks."

"I don't know ... there is still a lot we don't know about this. I mean, it could shorten the lifespan of everyone affected to like, twenty years old or something. We just don't know."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, not sounding convinced.

I stood up and he followed suit, getting the message that our conversation was at an end.

"Josh, I want to make it clear again, do ... not ... tell ... anyone," I tried to put force into my voice the way I did outside the principal's office the one time, but nothing seemed to happen. I didn't feel the 'click' like I did that previous time, which just means the sentence just came out with more force than was really appropriate.

Josh put up his hands in an easing gesture, "Dude, I get it. I won't say anything."

"I know. It just scares me, is all. Thanks."

I walked Josh out and went back to my brooding, and sat like that most of the day until I was surprised by a knock at the door just around supper time. I opened the door to find Tina standing outside.

"Sup, big bro?" she said with a grin as she pushed past me.

I followed her towards the kitchen a little confused, "Not that I don't mind the company, but what are you doing here?"

She got to the fridge and pulled it open as she answered, "Mom headed off to her new job, and I didn't feel like having boring left overs, again; so, I came to see what you were up to."

"I wasn't really in the mood to cook, so I was just going to order pizza. And what do you mean her new job?"

"She quit the last night job she had, 'cause she just got hired on as the night manager at some clothing outlet down the freeway."

"Ohh ... are things that tough?"

"I think so, but," she turned pointing a finger at me, "you stay out of it. I know you have a big heart and want to help, but Mom becomes totally insane whenever your name comes up. Anything you do will

make things worse."

I held up my hands in surrender, "Ok. But if you think of a way for me to help on the sly, let me know."

"Sure thing. Now, go order us a pizza. I'm starving!"

I called her a mooch, laughed, and went to the phone to follow her request. We joked around and caught up on the various news in our lives while we waited for the pizza to arrive.

We sat down to eat our pizza and I decided this was the right moment to broach a subject that had been weighing on me. A smart person might have just left it alone, but while I may have a souped-up brain, my common sense was probably as flawed as always.

"I have a question."

All I got was a raised eyebrow in response.

"I left it alone for a while because I was just happy to have you back, but I want to know what caused your... 'episode' I guess I'll call it."

"Episode?"

"Yeah. The cold shoulder, dating the douche bag..."

"Ohh," she just looked down at her plate for a little while. After almost a minute, which is an eternity when waiting for someone to reply, I thought I had maybe made a huge miscalculation. Finally, she looked up and met my gaze.

"It's kinda hard to explain, and a little embarrassing."

I started to tell her it was ok, she didn't have to answer, but she held up a restraining hand and said, "I want to tell you. Steven had been after me for a while, although God knows why. He was popular and that made it pretty exciting, plus he was cute. But, I wasn't ready to really date anyone, yet. Then, after Zoe's birthday party, I started having ... feelings."

"Feelings?"

"Specifically, feelings for you. We had just started to build our relationship as brother and sister and here I was having sexy dreams about you! I was really confused, plus that was around the time Mom really started to hate you, so I was also mad at you for breaking up our family even more. It wasn't your fault, I know that. My being mad was as random and irrational as the times I was attracted to you. I guess I was looking for a way away from those feelings so I tried to freeze you out and agreed to start going out with Steven. I don't know how, but I let things start getting further and further out of my control, and gave Steven more and more power."

She was quiet for a little while before continuing, "I feel foolish for it all, now, and I am just glad you were able to pull me out ... both from the situation with Steven, and from the weird mindset I was in."

"It might not have been all your fault."

"Huh?"

"We learned something new while you and I weren't talking. It turns out, along with all the other weird stuff about me, my saliva may have some kind of ... effect on people. We did a test on Rachel, who kissed me at Zoe's party and then started hitting on me pretty hard, and found she was under the effects of it. If you remember, you kissed me at the party, too."

She had a stunned look on her face as she said, "Ohh..."

She was quite for a few minutes, looking down at her hands before saying, "It's just that I..." and then stopping again.

Finally, she let out a breath and said, "Whatever, I am just really happy to have things back the way they were."

"Me, too," I said as I squeezed her hand.

We finished eating and watched a movie together, although she said hardly anything. I felt I had pushed enough and left it alone, figuring she would talk to me when she was ready. After the movie she said it was time to go, gave me a hug, and took off out the door.

Even though things had turned a little awkward between us after our conversation, I was really happy she'd stopped by. It was nice to have the company.

The next day was more the same, me just pacing around or reading. I did put in a call to Marcus to see how it was going, and got a clipped report from him. I could tell he was pretty busy and didn't have time to talk to me just because I was bored, so I let him go. I decided I wouldn't bug him again until Christmas Eve to see if we were set for the test the following week.

Finally, time crawled by, and it was time for my date with Emily. Weirdly I was a little nervous about it. I really liked her and could already feel whatever the thing was that bound me to the other girls, was growing between us. Since she was still really skittish about the idea of her father finding out about me, we agreed to meet at my house. A little past four there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Emily in shorts and a t-shirt.

Before I said anything she started speaking, slowly at first and then gaining speed. Clearly she was still working on her confidence around me.

"Sorry. I am a mess. I didn't want to get dressed up at home. Do you mind if I take a few minutes and freshen up?"

I noticed the bag in her hand and stepped aside, ushering her in. She smiled and walked past me and up to the upstairs restroom. I guess the girls had given her a good lay of the land. After about ten minutes she came back out. She was wearing lightly applied makeup and different clothes.

I had to stop and stare for a moment. I knew that she was beautiful, despite the fact that she tried to hide it most the time, but I hadn't really been confronted with it yet. I realized I was staring too much, when she stopped looking back at me and looked down at her feet.

Pulling myself out of my own thoughts I said, "You look amazing! I am sorry you went to all the trouble to get dressed up, though. I figured you might not want to go out somewhere big and public so I thought we could cook dinner together and just hang out, here."

She shrugged and came the rest of the way down the steps, "That sounds perfect. And I would have still wanted to get dressed up, even if I knew we were staying here, since I don't get to do it often. So, you like?"

"Yes, you are stunning, Emily," I punctuated this remark by leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek.

I offered a crooked arm saying, "May I escort you to your table?"

She laughed at me but took my arm, and we walked into the kitchen.

"I was gonna make us some chicken fried steak and steamed vegetables."

"You know how to cook?"

I just laughed, "Not really. I have practiced a little bit, lately, and I had Mom and the girls show me how to make this before everyone went out of town. I promise I will do my best not to poison you."

She just laughed at me as I started pulling out ingredients. Together we managed to get the food made and on plates, in a reasonable amount of time. She did, however, have to stop me making several major mistakes. It turns out Emily does know how to cook, which was a good thing. So after about forty-five minutes, and a sink full of dishes, we sat down to eat.

I had hung out with Emily a few times, but we always kept the conversation light and didn't dig into her past. I figured this was a good opportunity to get to know her better.

"So, since this is our first date, we should probably do the 'getting to know you' thing."

"But, you already know me. We've been hanging out for a few weeks now."

"Yeah, but there is so much I don't know. Where did you grow up?"

"Here, or just outside of town, rather. The farm we live on was originally owned by my grandfather. When he retired and moved to Florida with my grandmother, Dad took over the farm."

"So you live on a farm with your mom and dad. What's that like?"

"It has its moments. I have to get up pretty early as I have a bunch of chores around the farm before I can go to school. But I get to spend a lot of time outside, which I like."

"So you're an outdoors girl, huh? I never would have guessed."

She just shrugged, "I guess I don't show it at school since I keep to myself so much, but yeah, I have always been kinda a tomboy. I don't get to do it often, but sometimes I get to take the four-wheel out to check on something, and that is always a blast. And we have a horse that I sometimes ride."

"What about your mom?"

"She's around. She helps Dad out on the farm, and stuff."

"Are you close with her?"

If my suspicions were true about her father, then I wanted to avoid talking about her relationship with him.

"I guess. She is kinda quiet actually, soo..." she just trailed off, making me think there was more there, too. The mystery that was Emily keeps building on itself.

We ate silently for a while longer, since she seemed a bit lost in her own head after I asked about her family.

"So, besides riding horses and doing farm stuff, what do you do for fun?"

"Similar stuff, I guess. Fishing, hunting, you know, country girl stuff."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Just never would have guessed any of that. I might live in Texas, but I don't even think I tried any of that."

"Really, you've never been fishing?"

"No, not really."

She got a lot more animated, sitting up in her seat, "I totally need to take you. It's so peaceful, out on the lake."

I couldn't imagine I would enjoy it, but seeing her so outwardly happy was rare, and I wanted to see more of it if I could.

"Yeah, that might be fun."

"Really? We can totally go this week. I have a spare pole and can show you how," she was actually bouncing in her seat.

"Sounds good. I have nothing going on 'till next week, so pick a day this week and we can go."

She jumped up and ran around the table to give me a hug. As little as I wanted to go fishing, that made it well worth it. We finished dinner and stacked the dishes in the sink. Coupled with what was there from cooking dinner, I knew how the rest of my evening was going to be spent, once Emily went home.

We moved into the living room and I let her pick out a movie. It was some comedy, and she seemed to really enjoy it. I decided it was ok to move things forward a little with her so I sat in the big chair and pulled her in with me, and we sat cuddled up together. I didn't let my hands wander or anything, but even after just a few days, I had found I missed cuddling with the girls. It seemed Emily was on her way to joining that group. I am sure the girls would be happy when they heard that news.

The movie ended, and it was getting close to six, meaning it was time for her to get heading home. After she quickly changed back into the clothes she arrived in, I walked her to the door and we stopped.

I put on my serious face, "Emily, I know we talked about it a little before, but you know you can tell me stuff."

She looked down at her feet again, "I know."

"I want you to know I know what is going on at your home. I will help you, if you'll let me."

"I know," she almost whispered.

"I won't push you, but I won't let this drop. I really like you, and I worry about you."

She just nodded. I put a finger under her chin and lifted her head up to look at me.

"Figure out when you want to go fishing, and let me know."

She smiled again, the cloud that had settled over her face lifting slightly. I leaned down and kissed her solidly. I knew that each time I did, it was drawing her in to me more and more; but the girls had already decided what they wanted, and this time I agreed with them. The glimpses of her, the real her that she kept hidden most the time, really surprised me. She was different than anyone else I had gotten close to, and yet she had a lot of similarities, too.

We kissed for a few minutes, then I hustled her out the door so she wouldn't be late. The rest of the week went more or less the same, with Tina visiting me in the evenings, when Margret was out at work. I would meet up with Emily during the day, so she could drag me to various places where she liked to fish.

As predicted, I found fishing a bit boring; but she was so happy, so content, that I knew I would keep going with her. Each time we went out she came a little more out of her shell, although she still kept silent about the problems at home. I was still set that before I moved our relationship to another level, that area had to get fixed. Every time I saw a fresh bruise on her, my anger would spike! I knew it was just a matter of time before I did something foolish.

On Saturday, Christmas arrived. Margret had the day off, so Tina couldn't visit. Emily had family obligations. I started to turn mopey, but stopped myself. Looking back I realized how whiny and sullen I had been getting, ever since learning about what was going on with me, and with the benefit of hindsight I was determined to turn that around.

Sure, I was alone on Christmas; but things were better this year, than last. Last year I had no friends, Margret and Tina didn't talk to me, and I was directionless with my life. I had been just plodding through, with my head down.

Now I had a family that loved me, the girls (and I noticed in my head, that was including Emily), Tina, friends, money, and a purpose. I needed to take things as they came. Sure there were challenges, like the effect I was having on the girls, but we didn't know if it was bad or good. Generally, it seemed for the better. I could either whine about it, or face up to it and make the best of the situation.

The last little bit of this year was looking up. The drone test was next week, and the girls were coming back. I had lot to look forward to!

Chapter 14

The weekend dutifully rolled by.  The beginning of the week following Christmas was the same as it had been, the previous week.  Our test of the drone wasn’t until Tuesday, and I didn’t want to get in Marcus’s way as he worked on the final touches for the demonstration.

I did talk to Ted, briefly.  He had been out to the range just before they shut down on Friday, and had watched some of the action.  He said everything was looking right on track.  Marcus had made a few more modifications, but they were mostly just fine-tuning some of the control systems, to ensure the drone did what it was supposed to do.

He had rolled out the best radar and detection equipment he could get his hands on (some of it, courtesy of Ron), and so far the drone was performing beautifully.  We knew that the Air Force would try and put it through its paces, once they got hold of it. It was best to try and match what they would do, beforehand, to ensure there were no surprises.

I was also briefly consulted on the name, since we couldn’t just keep calling it “the drone.”  With Ron’s input we decided on “SWEEP Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Mark III.”  “Mark III” because the first version never really made it off the drawing board, and the second was essentially scrapped and majorly overhauled during the practical design phase.  Apparently the arrangement of plating on the Mk. II was not ideal, as it let some signal leakage through.  Because the military does love their acronyms, we gave them one.  SWEEP stood for “Stealth Warfare Electronic Espionage Platform;” because, even though it was capable of carrying an internal munitions payload, the amount of armament it could carry was a lot smaller than other drones currently in service.

Marcus’s original idea had always focused on something geared for intelligence gathering, more than for direct interdiction.  We didn’t come up with the surveillance and interception hardware ourselves, but we did make modular connections that would allow the Air Force, with the assistance of our engineers, able to attach some of the latest in hardware available to the military.  Our goal was to build a truly silent, stealth platform for these devices to be installed on. The weapons connections found on most drones were missing on the SWEEP, due to the fact that attaching external weapons systems caused the stealth features of the drone to become moot. Instead we had installed extremely sophisticated cameras and detection equipment that allowed the drone to collect a wide range of intelligence data.

I took the opportunity to get together with Emily once more, before work took over all my free time.  We managed to change it up.  Her mother and father had to go to some auction for the day, and Emily managed to get me a ride to her family farm.  She terrified me with the wild way she rode her four wheeler, with me clinging to the back! The horseback riding was fun, though.  I wasn’t particularly good at it, since this was the first time I had ever been up close to a horse, but I soon got the hang of it and it was pretty pleasant.

Unfortunately the day ended all too soon, since she hustled me out of there well before it was time for her parents to come home, just in case.  Still, it was a great way to spend the day. I was really relaxed when I got home, even if I did smell like a horse!

The next morning I was up bright and early, pacing waiting for Mary Ann to pick me up.  To say I was anxious would be a huge understatement.  If this didn’t go well, we basically had an extremely expensive paperweight, and most of the money I got from the settlement would be down the tubes.  I had a lot of plans for the future, but they all required money.  Not that I thought we were going to fall flat on our faces, but the possibility was there, and it had me nervous.

I got to Ellington field several hours before the test, and people were bustling everywhere.  There were grandstands being set up, along with a lot of machinery on the ground in front of them.  Some of it I recognized as ours, including the control desk  the pilot we hired would use to fly the drone.  The rest, I guessed, belonged to the Air Force … or, at least, the Texas Air National Guard.

We met up with Ron and he got me through security. He walked me over to a hanger where Marcus and Ted were huddled with the engineers.

“How we looking, guys?” I said as I strolled up.

Marcus turned, smiled at me and said, “We are all set, Cas.  The trials yesterday went beautifully.  Totally fooled Ron and his test monkeys.”

Ron just shook his head, “I told you not to call them that.”

Marcus just gave him a dismissive wave, “I think we are truly ready.  We did a once-over again this morning, and everything looks perfect.”

“Great, so what should we be doing while we wait?”

Ron looked a bit sheepish, “Well, Ted needs to go and start schmoozing.  I know there are a few Generals he is acquainted with, and it would be good for him to 'press some flesh,' before everything kicked off.  I hate to say it, Cas, but I think it’s best if you stayed out of the limelight.  It's very hard getting over your age, and these guys don’t bend to the unusual well.  I would say stick with the other engineers, and join them on the side benches.  I know this is partly your baby, too, and I hate to cut you out of the festivities; but …”

He let that last part go with a shrug.

“No, I get it, and it makes total sense.  If everything is looking good here, then maybe Marcus should go with Ted and talk up the project.”

“Good thinking,” Marcus said, scooping up some stuff he had been working on and handing it over to one of the guys.

We three headed out. They went to go talk up the project, while I did my best to stay out of the way of the guys doing the final check.  They hadn’t spent a lot of time around me.  I knew they were still uncertain about me, and for the same reasons that Ron didn’t want me to go with Ted and Marcus.  Eventually I would be old enough to move my own plans forward, but while I had the limitations I was currently under, it was still a giant pain in the ass to have to sit on the sidelines.  Not that I thought I could do a better job negotiating than Ted could.  I might have some kind of genetically souped-up brain, but Ted had decades of business experience on his side, and that was worth its weight in gold.  I knew if everything worked out, Ted would get us as good of a deal as possible.

I hadn’t spent much time with Marcus’s band of Engineers.  While we chatted off and on; for the most part, they left me alone, even though I was mixed in with them off to one side of the viewing stand. After what seemed an eternity, the festivities got under way.

The tests weren’t spectacular from where I was sitting, but I knew it would be an eye opener for the group crowded around the radar control set up.  It was being manned by one of their people, and I knew they would have the best person they could get.  After a few minutes the drone came silently whisking overhead, and you could see a commotion among the group at the radar station.  From their excited body language, my guess was that no one knew the drone was there, 'till it got within visual range.

It was eerie how silent it was.  I hadn’t really considered it before, but with any machine flying through the sky, you just expected some kind of sound.  Yet, this thing was dead silent.  I am sure close up there were sounds, but at the distance it was from us, nothing at all was heard.

Next came a series of higher altitude passes, which was supposed to make it easier on the radar guys, followed by several more low altitude passes were made.  The low altitude passes would naturally be the hardest to detect, since the drone would be obscured by the natural signals given off by 'ground clutter,' but it also showed off one of the features we had touted: the lack of “buzz” commonly associated with the drones currently in service.

There were a few of the low passes where I thought maybe I could hear something, but I wasn’t sure.  Again, from my seat, it seemed like the audience was suitably impressed.  This whole time the drone had also been snapping pictures and running a video feed from the installed surveillance array. After one more low pass, there was a thirty minute wait as the drone was landed and the brass examined its take.  Their technicians had worked hard to hide pieces of intelligence in the testing area for the drone to find.  This may not have been as sexy as a test where stuff was blown up for the spectators, but the true professionals in attendance would know the value of an intelligence gathering tool such as this.

While we were waiting for the test to resume, that did get me to thinking.  There was a strange dichotomy between my stated goal of trying to make the world a better place, and building military ordnance.  On one hand, this seemed like one of those 'necessary evils.'  We needed money to do anything I really wanted to do, and this seemed like the best shot at getting the funding we needed to move forward. On the other hand, the US military didn’t always have the best track record on what they wanted to do with that ordnance. If I were being dishonest with myself, I could qualify our building a drone by saying that it had no offensive capabilities, but the realist in me understood that the military could use the intelligence our drone could gather to kill just as many people as if it had a missile attached. If it were up to me, I would find a way to offload the drone project in its entirety, and focus on things like the desalinization project.  But that was easier said than done.  It all came back to the need for funding.  This wasn’t something I was going to find a way out of, sitting here in these bleachers, but it would be something to ponder in the future.

Ted, Ron, Marcus and a bunch of guys in uniforms tromped off into a conference room set up especially for their meeting.  I went back to the hanger we had been assigned, and puttered around for what seemed like hours before Ted, Ron and Marcus entered the hanger.  I took it as a very good sign that the three of them seemed to be in an extremely good mood.

Ted walked up and exuberantly said, “We did it!”

“You’re going to have to elaborate on that,” I said, smiling back at him.

Marcus couldn’t hold it in anymore, and jumped in saying, “They were blown away by the test.  They had both the test installation, and the Ellington control tower looking for SWEEP-1, and they never picked it up.”

SWEEP-1 was the ID of the test drone that flew today.  I was happy to hear the stealth features worked as well as Marcus had hoped they would.

“They were also impressed by how silently it ran,” Marcus continued.  “Their only real concern was the lack of offensive capacity, but I reiterated that this was one of those situations where you had to decide which was more important, stealth or payload.  I told them they already had platforms capable of carrying out direct interdiction.  What they didn’t have, was a solid stealth platform.”

Ron’s head was bobbing in agreement, “They want to investigate further.  They ordered five for testing purposes, and authorized an 'intent to order' for twenty more, if the testing proves out. A representative of the DIA also expressed an interest.”  That was good news, the DIA, which stands for the Defence Intelligence Agency, is the intelligence gathering arm of the military.

“They agreed on a price of four million apiece for them,” Ted added.

I did the math quickly in my head.  While we had let Ron inside the processes a lot, we never discussed the cost structure of the drone with him, since ultimately, his allegiance was still to the Air Force.  Not that I felt that we were screwing the Air Force, but it’s best not to talk about profit with the customer.

Marcus felt that these would not be selling in huge quantities, since they were more of a specialty item for the military.  I figured, at best, we would be selling fifty of these a year; so I agreed we wouldn’t need a large production facility.  Unfortunately, even a small production line would cost a fair amount.

Our cost for producing one of these drones, including the manpower to put them together and the parts we were buying from suppliers, would come in at just about a million dollars each.  That left a hefty fifteen million on the initial order, but nearly ten million of that would be needed to set up the production facility.  This would leave us five million in operating capital, since we had just about used up all the money Ted and I had put into the project.  This was enough, though, for us to start working on the next ideas.  It would also allow Ted and I to recoup some of the money we had initially invested; which was good, since I was almost out of all my settlement money. I hated the financial pressure I must be putting on Mom.

“So, when does the order for the first five come in?”

“Soon, actually,” Ron supplied.  “The General was very impressed, and they have the room in the testing budget for the order.  The larger order will have to be part of ninety-seven’s military budget.  That should be submitted in the next couple of months, so it can go through the congressional approval process.  Assuming it doesn’t get pulled out of the budget … and with something this relatively small, I don’t imagine it will be … it will be September or October before it is finalized.”

That was a lot longer than I was hoping.  We would have to go ahead and build the production line, so we could push the initial five out; but then we'd have to just sit on it for six months, until the budget process concluded.  That meant we would have to live off the five million that would be left over, until then.  That sounds like a lot, but when you are talking about doing R&D on new projects, which I wanted us to start, it wouldn’t last all that long.  Still, it was what it was.

“That’s great news,” I said smiling back at them.

For all my weighing as to what the money meant, it really was great news.  We had just become a solid company, with a strong possibility of becoming something more.

“You have a lot of work ahead of you, getting the production line set up,” I said, turning to Marcus.

“Yeah, I know.  I'm really looking forward to it.  We'll  get plans put together, and sit down with you and Ted on Friday.  That should be enough time for me and my guys to get the basic outline of how things are going to work.”

“Sounds good to me.  Let’s get this stuff packed up, and get back to home base.”

Ron took off, saying he had to rejoin his bosses.  The rest of us started packing up and getting everything back to the warehouse where we had built the original prototype.  It took pretty much the rest of the day.  It was a little back breaking at times, but we got everything back before dinnertime and Ted gave me a ride back home.

The rest of the week was pretty packed.  I found myself at our “production” warehouse until late every evening, helping out where I could.  Even though I had been reading pretty aggressively into engineering, I wasn’t up to snuff enough to help on the building of the actual drones, so I was put to work on the more scut work parts of the project.  That was fine with me.  I wanted to get these five drones built every bit as much as Marcus and the other engineers did.  It meant being able to move the company forward to the next project.

I did spend one long evening with Ted and Marcus going over budgets.  Ron had already managed to talk the general into pushing through a first payment on the test drones.  That was good, since we needed a hefty portion of that payment to get the necessary supplies to build the drones.  While the stealth paneling would take some time, we had already started in on some of the modular component systems.

Before I knew it, New Year’s Eve had arrived.  We let everyone knock off early, and I caught a ride home just after lunch.  I had managed a brief call with Emily earlier in the week, and I arranged for us to get together on New Year’s Eve.  Her parents were going to be out until early in the morning, so she decided to push it, and hang out with me until midnight.  I knew Margaret would be working late, so I had also invited Tina over, since she would be all alone at home otherwise.

Tina showed up first, giving me a hug when I opened the door.

“Hey, Sis, a bit early aren’t you?” I said, considering the sun hadn’t even gone down yet.

“Yeah, but Mom already left. I was going to let you make the snacks for tonight, but I figured Emily might prefer something edible, instead.”

I hip-checked her in response.  She just laughed as she scooted away from me and made her way to the kitchen. I sat at the kitchen table while she started pulling things out of the fridge.

“So, what’s on the agenda for tonight,” she asked as she worked.

“I have no idea.  You will remember planning social events has never really been my thing.  I was kinda hoping I would invite you and Emily, and you two would figure it out from there.”

“Ha!  You are totally spoiled by your girls, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Ok.  Well, I'm sure we will figure something out.”

Tina knew about my work, and had a bunch of questions about the test.  She was very happy for me that it had gone so well.  I did warn her off discussing it with Emily.  Not that I was planning on keeping her in the dark for a long time, but I wanted to ease into it.  News that I am part owner in a company making military hardware, or that I am some sort of genetic aberration, wasn’t something I wanted to drop on her until I was sure the time was right.  Besides, her home situation still left me with a nugget of concern about her, and how she would ultimately fit into our unusual family.

Shortly after dark Emily showed up. As I had with Tina, I was greeted with a hug, although I added a brief kiss on top of that.  Pulling apart, I found Tina behind me, grinning.

“Emily, you’ve met Tina, right?”

“Yeah, she came along on one of the outings with Zoe and everyone else.  It’s good to see you again,” she said smiling at Tina.

Tina didn’t hesitate but came up and gave Emily a hug.  I think many people who get close to my group are surprised by how affectionate we can be, although I knew Tina also felt she was doing her part in helping the girls and their plotting.

“Good to see you, too.  Now, come with me to the kitchen.  Cas is playing 'dumb boy,' and wants to leave all the planning for tonight up to you and me.”

Both girls were laughing, generally at my expense, as they walked off towards the kitchen. I decided to leave to stay out of their line of sight, and their teasing. I moved into the living room and sat on the couch to wait.  Thankfully, it didn’t take too long.

After just a few minutes the two girls returned carrying a bag of chips and what looked like queso, and laughing.

I looked over at the laughing girls and said, “What?”

That caused even more laughing, never a good sign. I chose just to ignore them.

“So what’s the plan for tonight?”

Tina adopted a weird demure look which hinted to me as to what the conversation in the kitchen was really about, something else I decided it was best to just ignore and move past. Thankfully, Emily decided to answer my question.

“For now we are gonna take it easy, maybe watch some TV and snack.  Then a game, and later, music and dancing.”

“Here?”

“Yep.”

“But there is only the three of us.”

“So?  You have a radio.  You have an open room.  It will be fun.”

'TV' turned out to be a romantic comedy.  I found myself bracketed on the couch between the two girls.  After the conversation the other day, I thought I was back in safe waters with Tina.  But, she was making nearly identical moves to what Emily was doing, and it was clear she wasn’t through with me.  I knew this was going to come to a head at some point.  I just hoped it wouldn’t be tonight, with Emily here; since any conversation about Tina and I, would almost certainly end up in areas Emily wasn’t privy to, yet.

After the movie and double cuddling on the couch we played a game called Taboo.  I hadn’t heard of it before, but apparently Tina had found it in one of the closets.  It was a card game that involved trying to guess words on a card, without using a prohibited list of words.  I think it was meant for an even number of people, but the girls managed to make it work.

After that was the dancing, which frankly, was weird.  We put on music and at first it was fast dancing with the two girls dancing up against me, both a little provocatively.  Then the radio switched to some slower songs.  For the first one, Tina excused herself and Emily danced up close to me, cradling her head on my shoulder.  Even though we were just in my living room, I was enjoying that.  What was weird was when another slow song came on, Emily excused herself, and Tina danced up against me.  Clearly the two had worked out the dancing order beforehand.

Keeping my voice down I said, “Tina, what are you doing?”

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes, “What do you mean.”

I didn’t buy her innocent look for a second.

“You know what I mean.  You have been putting the moves on me all night.  I thought we were past this.”

“Past it … no.  More like accepting it.”

“Tina, we can’t …”

“I know, Cas.  It’s ok.  Just go with the flow, tonight.  I won’t try to push any more than I have.  We can talk about it when the girls get back.”

I frowned at her, but she just put her head back on my shoulder Emily walked back in the room.  I decided to let it drop for the time being, until I could have a private moment alone with Tina to put my foot down.

It was nearing midnight and Tina had gotten ginger ale in fancy glasses for us.  It looked mildly like champagne, and I guess for a bunch of underage kids it was the best choice for us.

We counted down the final ten seconds along with the TV that showed a scene of Times Square.  I guessed that it was a recording, since they were an hour ahead of us.  As the ball dropped the three of us shouted ‘Happy New Years’ along with the TV at which point Emily laid a big kiss on me.  I was surprised when she stepped clearly out of the way and Tina stepped up.

“Tina, don…” was all I got out before she, too, kissed me.

She now knew about the effects that kissing me could have.  I knew this would end badly, but done is done.  I still gave her a glowering look when she pulled away, and she had the good sense to look chastened.

We all sat down to watch the festivities on TV as the world said goodbye to 1996, and hello to 1997.

“Don’t you have to get going pretty soon?” I asked Emily.

“Yeah, in the next thirty minutes; but I just want to just sit here on the couch with you until I have to go, and relax.  This is so nice.  I don’t want it to end.”

I heard a “me too” from the other side of me, which caused me to frown slightly.  However, it's hard to be to upset with two girls pressed up against you.

“Ok.  Just a few minutes, then.”

That was the last thing I remembered, until I opened my eyes against the harsh glare of morning.  I looked down at the two girls nestled against me and smiled for a moment, basking in their affection … and then it hit me!

It was morning!

“Emily, GET UP!  It’s morning!  We feel asleep!”

As Emily pulled herself awake and comprehended the situation, I could see the real fear in her eyes.  I knew for a fact that things were about to get very bad.

Chapter 15

The words took some time to sink in, as her brain was still fogged with sleep. As they did, Emily began to slip into panic mode.

“Oh my God, Cas!  I am in so much trouble!  What am I going to do?  I can't go home!”

“I don’t think we have a lot of choices. If you don’t go home, they will call report you as missing.”

“You don’t understand … My father …”

I pulled her into a hug, “I know.”

She pushed me away, “No, you don’t know. He gets mad when things aren’t just right. He likes order, and things being the way they should be. And Mom … I just …”

I grabbed onto her tight and pulled her to me. She resisted at first but after a moment of hugging her close to my chest, her muscles relaxed and her panic devolved into sobbing.

“It will be ok. I will go with you.”

She pushed back hard out of my embrace, “You can’t.”

“Yes, I can. Emily, I told you, I know what's happening. I am not going to let you go home by yourself and get hurt.”

"But what can you do?”

"Hopefully, I can talk to your dad, and try and reason with him. If that doesn't work, I make a pretty good human shield. Whatever happens, I cannot let you go home and face him alone. I will not let you get hurt.”

A smile escaped her lips despite her panic. She looked completely conflicted but eventually I saw her start to give in to my arguments. I don't know if it was the fear of going home alone, or my argument that persuaded her, but either way I was glad she was at least accepting my help.

"I need you to promise me one thing though. When we confront your father, I need you to listen to me. If I tell you to do something, I need you to do it.”

She started shaking her head again, "But I can't …”

"Yes, you can. This is important! I need you to trust me.”

She took a deep breath and said, "Ok.”

It was too far to just walk to her house. Maybe I was too wrapped up in my own thing to realize it before now, but she had been riding her bike over to my house every time. I knew I could probably keep up with her at a jog, but since she hadn't been brought fully into the family … or, at least, into our secrets … yet, I decided that wasn't the wisest scenario. I peeked into the garage and discovered that Mom did have her own bike. I figured she wouldn't mind if I borrowed it for a little while.

Our ride to her house took thirty minutes, and was accomplished in complete silence. I knew she was probably still terrified about what was going to happen. For my part, I was lost in my own thoughts about how I was going to deal with the situation.

The door burst open almost as soon as we pulled into the gravel driveway.

"Where the hell have you been?" a tall, rotund man screamed as he stomped towards us.

Emily was off her bike quickly, "I'm sorry, Daddy. I fell asleep watching TV. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry.”

He had taken what could only be called a menacing step towards her, when he finally noticed me standing slightly behind her.

"Who the hell are you?”

"I'm a friend of Emily's. It's my fault that she is so late coming home. She was with my sister Tina and me, celebrating New Years. We all fell asleep watching a movie.”

He turned back to Emily and asked, "I thought you were going to be with one of your girlfriends?”

"She was, Sir, with my sister Tina. I was kind of an interloper.”

Yes, it was a lie, but the way things were going showed that it was clear he would not take the truth well.

"Go home," he barked at me.

I ignored him and looked over at Emily and said, "Go inside.”

When she walked past her father and towards the house, the look of rage on his face intensified.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he said as he started to step towards her, his hand reaching out to grab her.

I moved quickly to interpose my body between Emily and her father.

"Go … Now!" I said to Emily without turning to look at her, holding eye contact with her father.

Looking at the greasy man in front of me, I recognized the type. He was a bully, plain and simple. He actually reminded me of those kids who were always picking on Sarah, although if I had to guess, I would say he was a more cowardly version of them. When he felt helpless in his own life, he took it out on his daughter, and probably his wife, too. Although I hadn't met Emily's mom yet, it was a pretty safe bet he abused her, the same as he did their daughter.

"Get the hell out of my way," he shouted at me reaching out to push me.

I intercepted his hand, grabbing onto his wrist. I started to squeeze, hard. He let out a yelp of pain as his eyes closed.

"Look at me, you piece of shit.”

I squeezed harder and his eyes popped open.

"I know what you have been doing to Emily. Everyone knows. She has been covering for you because she's afraid, but that is going to stop, NOW!  If I see one more bruise on her … if I find out that you have touched, hit or slapped her or done anything else to cause her even the slightest amount of unhappiness … I will make it my mission to destroy you.

"I know that somewhere behind your beady little rat's eyes you're thinking 'what can this kid do to me?'  The answer is, a lot. To start with, there is her history of injuries. It wouldn't take much for the authorities to start looking into that. Then there is what I can personally do to you. I would spend every penny I have … and I have a shit-ton of them … to bury you in private detectives, and attorneys. I care about Emily. She knows it, and she trusts me. At some point I will convince her to come clean to the world about what is happening in this house.”

He was still trying to grasp that last little bit of dignity and winced out, "It's my house dammit, I will do …”

"What you will do, is do right by your daughter. Do you understand me?”

I gave an extra squeeze for emphasis and he gasped out, "Yes.”

"Do you understand that if you lay a hand on her again, I will fucking bury you?”

"Yes.”

I released his wrist, "Good. Let's go see your daughter; she is pretty scared at the moment.”

He paused for a second, and I gave him a dark glare as I growled, "You … first.”

He was still rubbing his wrist, as he wobbled his way back to his house. Emily was standing just inside the front door, where she had been watching everything. She still looked panicked, so as we went through the front door I held out one arm to her. She came to me very skittishly, her eyes on her father.

"I had a nice chat with your dad. I apologized for getting you home so late. He was nice enough to accept.”

I turned to the older woman standing just down the hallway from the front door. I let go of Emily, stepped around her father, and walked towards Emily's mother with my hand extended.

"You must be Mrs. Deakins. You have a lovely home.”

She took my hand out of reflex but was looking past me at her husband. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw he was still staring down at the floor.

"Well, I need to check on my sister, since we rushed out this morning to get Emily home. Again, I am sorry for getting her home so late.”

I leaned down and gave Emily a soft kiss on the cheek, while she just had a 'deer in the headlights' look.

"Call me later, ok?”

I didn't wait for her to respond but instead turned around and made my way out of the house. I did make eye contact with her father, and gave him a hard glare in hopes he would remember our conversation. Once outside, I hopped on my bike and peddled a little way down their long gravel driveway, to a small stand of trees just to one side. I leaned my bike up against the tree and made myself comfortable, watching the house.

Normally, I would be out of hearing distance; but my hearing seemed to have improved, along with everything else. I sat there for almost two hours watching and listening for signs of some kind of confrontation. It was an old house, and far from soundproof.

I was just about to get up and leave, when I noticed Emily's dad coming round the back of the house heading out for the field. He looked pissed and frustrated. I hoped that frustration was from not being able to take out his anger on his favorite outlet, but only time would tell. I couldn't just stroll up to their house now and ask Emily if anything had happened since I walked out the front door, so it would have to wait until the next time I saw her.

I knew I was playing with fire. This could either help her, or cause the situation to get a lot worse. Either way, her home life would be a lot more tense; but as long as she wasn't getting beat up any more, that was a fair trade off in my opinion. Of course, it could go the other way and he could lose it, going after her and her mom harder than ever.

The problem was that I had a serious lack of options. Emily didn't want me to get the authorities involved, but I couldn't just kick the crap out of him. On the other hand, I couldn't let the abuse continue, either.

Once he was out of sight, I moved out of the small stand of trees where I'd been hiding, and pedalled my way home. I found Tina sitting by the front door. It was weird, since when I left she was still inside asleep on the couch.

She stood up when she saw me pull to a stop, "How did it go?”

"I don't know, yet, we will have to wait and see. I hope I did the right thing, and the little confrontation I had with her dad will put a stop to everything, but there's nothing to do now but wait.”

"I'm sure it will work out. I know you, Cas, and I know you did what you thought was best.”

"Yeah," I said not sounding at all convinced. "What are you doing out here?  You were inside when I left.”

"I went home just after you and Emily left. Mom was on a complete rampage. She tore into me about being out with you all night, and then went off about her work. Apparently, there have been more cutbacks, and some other people are getting promotions she thinks she should have. She was being impossible.”

I opened the door and ushered her inside, "I'm sorry we all fell asleep, and you got in trouble with Margret, but cut her a little slack. She works really hard to provide for the two of you, and I really make her life more complicated. Add trouble at work on top of that, and anyone would be upset.”

Tina put a hand against my chest and stopped me, "You don't understand. When I said she went on a rampage, I really mean it. She was going on and on about how people at her office were conspiring against her. She then somehow brought her insane ramble around, and started saying how she was certain you had gotten to them, and were pulling their strings. She said that you were out to destroy her.”

She removed her hand and walked into the living room, flopping down on the couch, "She was throwing dishes around the kitchen, smashing them, and kicking the cabinets. I was actually scared. I came over here to wait for you. I've never seen anything like that.”

I sat down next to her, "Has she done anything like this before?”

"No, not really. I mean she has yelled about you occasionally, but she's never gotten violent like this. And all her crazy conspiracy nonsense about work … I just don't know what to do.”

"For now there's nothing you can do, I think. Maybe it was a one-time thing. Just keep your head down, and come over here when things get bad.”

"I guess  …,” she mumbled.

"Ok, so I don't really believe this is a one-time thing either, but I still think the best thing we can do is, wait and see. I know she's still home and knowing you're over here will just make things worse. You should head home and try and stay out of her way until things calm down.”

"Ok," she said quietly as she stood to leave.

"Hey," I said standing up and pulling her into a hug, "Chin up. Just keep an eye on the situation and let me know what happens. I am sure there is something we can do, but I don't want to jump into anything too rashly. I've already done that once, today. Best if we try to be a little more careful, here.”

"Thanks, Cas," she said hugging me back.

Tina headed out to go home and I sat back on the couch to think. I was still uneasy about the way I had left things with Emily's dad. Now there was the news about Margret's increasing instability. While there was no way to know for sure, I had a strong suspicion her mental state was in some way connected with my influence.

Not that I was blaming myself for causing whatever was going on with her. Knowing what caused her current state of mind would point us … and by us, I of course meant Mom and Alex … in the right direction. She might hate me, but I still felt responsible for Margret. When everyone was back from the holidays, I needed to sit down with them and work out a plan for finding out what was up with Margret and getting her some help.

I was still weighing the events of the holidays, the drone test, Emily and her family, and Margret; when I heard the door open, and what sounded like a small army burst in. I had just stood up from the couch when Zoe came into the room. Seeing me, she dropped the bag she was carrying and headed for me at a dead run.

Even bracing for the impact, her hug nearly took me off my feet.

"Cas!  I missed you so much!" she said in between kissing all over my face.

I pushed her back from me a few inches so I could look into her eyes. Still laughing at her antics I said, "I missed you, too, Baby.”

Mom was just walking into the room when Zoe grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the stairs.

"We'll be back in a little bit," she said over her shoulder as we went up the stairs.

Forty-five minutes later, and a lot more tired, we dragged ourselves back down stairs. Mom just looked at us, snorted, and went into the kitchen to fix some lunch for all of us.

When Zoe and I sat down at the table, watching Mom work, Zoe said, "So what happened while we were away?”

"A lot. Let’s see, the demonstration went off without a hitch, we got an immediate order for five drones, and a long term order for twenty more.”

Mom stopped cooking and turned around, "Cas, that's wonderful news. So I guess you guys are solvent now?”

"Yep, Ted is going over the numbers, and I am going to sit down with Charles later in the week about the finances, and everything; but, things are looking up.”

"I'm so proud of you," she said, giving me a soft pat on the cheek before returning to cooking.

"Besides work, I had a chance to talk to Tina about her little personality change earlier in the year. Turns out she was trying to fight, ummm, feelings she has for me.”

"I coulda called that," Zoe said with a snort.

"Yeah, well, it's not over yet. She has agreed to table it for the time being, but made it clear she isn't going to give up chasing me.”

"And this is a problem?”

I chose to ignore her, "Also, Margaret seems to be slipping. She is starting to build some weird conspiracy theories, and throw tantrums.”

Mom looked concerned, "Has she done anything drastic?”

"Not really. At least, not yet.”

"There isn't anything you can do but wait and see.”

"That's pretty much what I said to Tina. She wasn't doing anything and Emily came over and joined us on New Years'. We all fell asleep watching TV. She was terrified about what was going to happen when she went home, so I went with her. We had a little … confrontation.”

"Is he ok?" Mom asked.

I held up my hand, stopping that line of questioning, "It wasn't like that. We had words and I made it clear things would go bad for him if the abuse continued.”

"You're playing a dangerous game there, Cas. That could seriously backfire," Mom said, looking concerned.

"I know, but I couldn't think of what else to do. Had I just let her go home alone, we all know what would have happened.”

We all sat quietly, contemplating for a moment before Zoe broke the silence.

"So, Vicki and Tami will both come back tomorrow. They already told their parents they were spending the night with me.”

"Excellent.”

"I better go invest in some ear plugs," Mom said with a laugh.

I chose to remain silent, but Zoe gave her mother a raspberry in response.

"So that's about it for my holidays. Did you guys have a good time?”

"Yes, it was very nice. My brother and his kids showed up, which was a surprise because they had said they weren't coming, but I guess they changed their mind," Mom said.

Zoe rolled her eyes, "Who are you kidding. My cousins are holy terrors. They are the most spoiled, least disciplined children on the planet.”

"How old are they?”

"Five and eight, both boys. They broke all of their presents before Christmas Day was over, plus several other people's presents, besides.”

"Zoe, I told you we would replace that picture frame.”

"Whatever," Zoe said rolling her eyes again.

"So they were a handful huh?”

"The Mongols were a handful; these kids are more like Satan's minions.”

"Zoe!" Mom barked, chastising her.

"Psh…you know it's true.”

"Well, it's not polite to say that.”

I couldn't help but laugh at the conversation, "Well, it sounds like you two had a good time. I'm glad.”

"More than you know.”

"Ohh, really?”

"You wouldn't believe what Mom got me," she was practically bouncing as she was talking.

"A car?”

She stopped for a second and stared at me, "How did you know?”

"A sixteen year old girl is excited about a present. You either got a pony or a car and we don't have room for stables.”

She stuck her tongue out at me, "Smarty pants. We are going to go pick it up this week.”

"It's not that fancy. It's a used sedan," Mom interjected.

"Yeah, but it's mine. No more begging for rides. We've got wheels!”

Mom brought food to the table and we had a rather sedate dinner. I spent most of it listening to the two of them talk about their trip and their presents. As we wrapped up the meal, I excused myself and went upstairs for a moment. When I returned, I set a wrapped present down in front of each of them.

"Since I couldn't go with you, I figured we could do our presents now.”

"Ohh, in that case," Mom said cryptically and walked out of the room. A minute later, she came back carrying two presents.

"This one is from me, and this one is from Zoe," she said setting each present in front of me.

"Ok, you open first," I said to her.

She opened her present to find a box. Inside was a small perfume bottle.

"Ohh, you have excellent taste, Caspian.”

"Well, to be honest, I had help. I admitted my ignorance on all things womanly, and asked Mary Ann from work for help.”

"Smart boy," she said admiring the small glass bottle.

Zoe opened her present to find a small silver necklace with a blue stone dangling at the end.

"It's beautiful," Zoe said after a moment spent gazing at the jewelry.

"Not even half as beautiful as you are”

Zoe carefully put the necklace back in its box before launching herself across the table at me. Mom was clearing the table as Zoe pulled me towards the stairs, clutching the small case holding the necklace.

"Night, kids," Mom said with a laugh.

The next morning we got an early start. First, Mom drove us to an auto shop just outside our neighborhood. Before we left she had dropped her car off with them, to get a final once over. The old man who ran the place proclaimed Zoe's car to be in good shape, and admonished her to remember to change the oil regularly.

We left in Zoe's new car. It was a little Toyota sedan. It wasn't fancy but it wasn't a junker either. We said bye to Mom as she got out at home, and I climbed out of the back and got into the front passenger seat. We spent the rest of the morning driving around. The only downside to this was that I had to ride around with Zoe driving. Turns out, she's hell on wheels, and more than once I was pretty sure, we were going to careen off the road. I made a mental note to myself to talk to Mom about Zoe's driving, or at least the speeding, because I could see a lot of tickets in her future.

We ate a quick lunch and then headed over to Vicki's. They had just made it home, and Vicki repeated the welcome that Zoe had given me the day before.

"So, how was the ski trip?" I asked once we were all in Zoe's car.

"It was so much fun, although Dad gave me a lot of strange looks. Mom never goes out on the slopes, but every year I go out with Dad. I am pretty sure he noticed that I have gotten a lot better since last year.”

"Really?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah. Maybe I'm not a better skier but the increased reflexes and muscle strength show up a lot when doing something that physical. I actually wiped out a few times on purpose, just so he would stop looking at me so weird.”

"We have to swing by the mall real quick before we go get Tami," I said switching subjects.

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"You know why," I replied.

It took a moment before she said, "Ohh.”

Our errand finished we headed for Tami's. For this, Zoe parked down the block, and she and Vicki walked down to Tami's house. Considering how Tami's family felt about dating, we all thought it best if I just stayed in the car.

About ten minutes later, they came back down the street. I noticed a scowl on Tami's face and the other two girls were looking pretty worried. I started to say something but Zoe waved me off with a small shake of her head. We all rode back home in silence.

Once back home and in our room, I pulled Tami down onto my lap.

"What's wrong?”

"It's my parents!  They are the most bigoted, backward, kowtowing pieces of shit.”

"I take it something happened at your church thing.”

"You bet your ass, it did. I am so tired of that fucking cult, and my parents for giving in to it.”

"What happened?”

"This is the event every year when Pastor Joseph names his new 'Chosen Girls', meaning the young girls he is giving himself the right to have sex with for the coming year … the fucking pervert.”

My heart stopped for a moment, "And you were chosen?”

"No. I am considered too wild and untamed. Even though my parents keep me on the qt, I have voiced my dissent to church 'doctrine' too many times in front of too many people. I am considered something of an embarrassment, and the only reason I haven't been kicked out is because I am still a minor.”

"Then…”

"He chose Judy. She's terrified. She has experienced enough life outside the church to realize how sick it is, and what is going to happen.”

"And your parents are going along with it?" Zoe asked.

"Going along with it?  They are thrilled. Having a daughter 'chosen' is considered a big deal. They will get all kinds of rank and status with Joseph and his sheep. I have to figure out how to get her out of this.”

"You're not alone, Tami," I said reaching back to hold her hand. "We will help you figure out something. Just don't do anything rash that could get you into serious trouble.”

"Ok, but in three months they will have what is essentially a wedding ceremony, at which point he will feel free to start raping these girls. Not that many of them protest, they are well into being brainwashed by this point. If nothing is fixed, by then, I swear to God I am going to kill him. I will not let him touch Judy.”

"I promise it won't get that far.”

Our reunion had lost a lot of its joy with Tami's news, and no one was in the mood to do anything but cuddle. I had an idea for a course of action, but it would take time. Hopefully, not too much time, because I agreed with Tami. I would kill him before I let him go after Judy. Judy was a good kid, and did not deserve having her childhood ripped from her.

Chapter 16

I woke up well before anyone else in the house. My brain was still working on what Tami had told us the night before. I had some ideas on how we could intercede and help Judy, but I didn't want to go off half-cocked. I had already gone into the situation with Emily's dad ill prepared, and there was a chance my choice of actions could blow back in my face. I didn't want to set up any more time bombs for myself.

I spent a longer amount of time than normal for my morning run as I worked out some of the details. Everyone was up when I got back, and we had a fairly subdued breakfast. I know Mom was curious about everyone's mood, but she was kind enough to let it pass and let us eat in silence.

The girls had all arranged to go to Vicki's house for the day, and I encouraged them to check in on Emily and hopefully get her to join them. Of course, they needed no further prodding. I did make them promise to call me and let me know what they heard or saw there.

Before they left, I grabbed Tami and pulled her aside.

"Hey, hold up a sec.”

"Yeah?" she said a little miffed. She had been in a bad mood all morning. Most likely, she had been working through the entire situation as well.

"I have the beginnings of a plan to help your sister and I am going to call around to some people and get some of this worked out. I need you to play it cool for just a little while. We don't want to make this worse for you or for Judy, and I think we need some good ammo on our side if we are going to make this work.”

"I only need one kind of ammo.”

"Tami, I don't want you talking like that. I know you're angry, and you would do anything to protect your sister, but this isn't who you are. Please trust me and give me a chance to try and figure this out.”

"I do trust you and we will play it your way for now. But, I promise you if things get too close to her having to go through with this, I will step in. Consequences be damned!”

"I know, and I don't blame you for that. If it gets that far, I will be right there beside you. But that is a last resort, ok?”

"Yeah.”

"Try and have some fun with our girlfriends today. Don't let that bastard control your life.”

"I'll try.”

I gave her a quick kiss and she ran out to join the others in Zoe's car. Once they pulled away, I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled the phone receiver off the wall.

"Hello?”

"Jonathan, it's Caspian Grey.”

"Hey, Cas. Congratulations on closing the deal. I just got off the phone with Ted. The contract for the purchase of the initial test units is done. They are moving fast on this, which is unusual for anyone at the DOD as far as I can tell. The additional twenty units are going through he more traditional route, and the contracts are pretty convoluted, so they will take some time.”

"Not to sound like I am questioning your abilities, but did you bring in some help?”

"Yes, I have. This is all pretty far outside my experience, and it isn't an area where we want to be making mistakes. I got some names from that Colonel of yours, and brought in a beltway guy. He's sharp, and with his contacts added to what we already have, things have been moving well. It will still be another couple of weeks on the larger order, though.”

"I'm just happy to have the initial five in the works. We needed that cash flow, but that wasn't really why I was calling. I wanted to run something by you.”

"Okay.”

"I have a problem, and I need your help sorting it out. Tami's family is involved with some sort of religious, second coming cult. She is generally left out of most of it, but their leader has this thing about 'young brides.' He has worked it into their belief structure, so that he's acquiring a new set every so often.”

"Is he going after Tami?”

"No, like I said, she's too independent and not brainwashed. She's actually considered kind of an outcast, the way she tells it. No, it's her sister Judy.”

"How old is she?”

"Twelve”

"Mother fucker.”

"That was almost my exact words. But the family has totally bought into this crap, and they're going along with it. I have very little information on these guys, basically just what I have gotten from Tami, and like I said, she is an outsider. I want to do something to help her sister, but I'm flying blind.”

"It sounds like you have a plan.”

"I do. I wanted to see what it would take to get a private investigator to look into them, and put together as much info as possible. My first thought was to use that information to go to the authorities, although they don't have the best track record with these guys.”

"Yeah, I remember Waco.”

"Exactly. My other thought was to use any incriminating info we can come up with as a threat to pull Judy out. Guys who run these things tend to be a pretty good at self-preservation. Thankfully, Judy has spent enough time with Tami and her friends at school that she hasn't totally bought in, but she's still young and I think her parents are putting her under a lot of pressure.”

"I know some guys I can talk to. But, Cas, be careful. Groups like this can be very dangerous, and can react in very unpredictable ways.”

"Yeah, I know, but I can't think what else to do. Tami is so pissed she is ready to do something … anything … about it, and damn the consequences. I got her to hold off, for now; but the closer we get to the beginning of summer and their twisted ceremony, the harder it'll be to keep her from doing something she can't come back from.”

"I'll make some calls. Give me everything you have.”

I walked Jonathan through all the information I had on the cult, on Judy and her parents, and on anything else I could think of. He said he would get someone on it right away, but not to expect any results for a few weeks, at a minimum.

We didn't discuss cost, but I told him this was important and I was willing to pay. Thankfully, some of the income from the upfront order was coming to me, so I had money to work with again. Now I just had to wait, which is probably the thing I am worst at. Not that there was an instant need to do anything, since nothing was set to happen until the start of summer. I knew, though, that Tami would be on edge until this was resolved. Besides, I hated seeing her so angry. She's always been so calm and reassuring that it is a bit jarring to see this other side of her.

The rest of the week seemed to drag on. School was back and the new semester had started, so there was that to take up most of the days, but the lunch table was subdued every day, as people seemed to be picking up on Tami's mood.

It wasn't much better at home. She stayed overnight twice that week and while she didn't start raving about her parents or their church again, she was still in a pretty dark place.

Thankfully, on Friday, Jonathan stopped by with man I didn't recognize. Mom was at work, and Vicki had something she needed to do with her parents; but Tami and Zoe were home, with me. I ushered them into the kitchen, and we all sat at the table.

"Cas, this is Carter Talmon, the private investigator I mentioned.”

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Talmon," I said extending my hand.

He shook it warily, "Nice to meet you, too.”

"Let me guess, I am not what you were picturing?”

"Honestly, no," he said with a wry laugh. "Jonathan filled me in on some work he needed for a client, but didn't go into any details. I was expecting someone much older.”

"I get that a lot. I would understand if you decided not to take the job, if you feel that uncomfortable.”

"Hey, as long as your check clears, I don't care if you're a purple elephant, you know.”

"A pragmatist, huh?”

"Nope, just a bit greedy.”

I am not sure if he was what I expected either. He was a big, stocky man in his late 40s, a little balding on the top. I couldn't place his accent, it was kind of nondescript. I also found that my initial impression was that I liked the guy.

"So, Jonathan filled you in?”

"Yep. I pulled some background information on this group. The guy who runs it had a group up in Montana about twenty-five years ago and he ran into some similar problems with some of the church's … younger members.”

"But he didn't go to jail.”

"No. They couldn't get a reliable witness on him. The families of the girls put a lot of pressure on them to keep quiet. This is one of those things that it's hard to get enough proof to do anything about.”

"And they couldn't set up surveillance?”

"I'm sure they could have, but there are limits to what they can do with that, and keep it admissible in court.”

"So, what do you think about our situation.”

"Of your two plans, the 'turn him into the cops' option has problems. We can run surveillance, but since we are not official, most of what we produce would be inadmissible.”

"But can't we..." Tami started to interject. I placed my hand on hers hoping she give me just a few more moments before she started to panic.

"I was afraid of that. And the other option.”

"Depends on how you plan on doing it.”

"Well, if he isn't thrown by a threat of police intervention, then I'll threaten to go widespread with the information. Get it in the hands of as many members of the community, here and elsewhere, as I can. I might not be able to get the cops, but with enough ammo, I can certainly get a mob. If nothing else, I can scare him into packing up and going somewhere else”

"That's a little cold blooded.”

"Yes, but does it seem like there are any other options?”

"Short of actually intervening physically, no.”

"Do you think it could work?”

"Maybe, if you get enough on him.”

"Can you get enough on him?”

"Yes. It won't all be legal and the vast majority of it would never be able to be used in the court, but I can get it.”

"Do it.”

He looked over at Jonathan who held up his hands and said, "Don't look at me. Caspian is calling the shots on this one.”

Carter stuck out his hand and I shook it firmly.

"It's going to take some time to get what we need. I will get as much as I can on him, but it will take a month or two to get enough, I think. From what I was told, that is within your window.”

"Yeah, we have until the start of summer. If we are going to act, we need to do it before then.”

We said our goodbyes, and I showed the two men to the door. As soon as it was closed, Tami was all over me.

"Is this going to work?”

"I think so. If we bring enough heat on him, I think he will, at the very least, keep away from Judy. Hopefully, we can get him to pack up all together; but, one way or another, we will make sure Judy is safe.”

When I hugged her, she was trembling so much it seemed like she might actually hurt herself.

"Baby, calm down. We will make this work.”

"I hope so, I really do.”

"We just have to give it time to happen. One way or another, we can make sure she's safe.”

"Good. I have been so worried. I'm glad we are doing something.”

I took her upstairs and tucked her into bed. It was early but she had been sleeping badly. I knew she was exhausted. Zoe and I held her tight and whispered reassuring words into her ear until her muscles slowly relaxed and she drifted into sleep. Quietly I eased out of the room and closed the door.

"Do you really think this will work?" Zoe asked as we went back downstairs.

"I do, actually. These guys operate on the fringes. You put a big enough target on them and they'll run for cover, just like the cockroaches they are.”

We had just made it downstairs when there was a knock on the door.

"Now what?" I asked to no one in particular.

I opened the door only to have Amanda push by me suddenly, already talking a mile a minute.

"Oh My God, Cas!  Why didn't you tell us? This is so amazing."  She stopped babbling for a moment to hug Zoe, and then continued, "And you, too. I can't believe this is happening. It's so incredible.”

I shut the door and wondered what she was worked up about. Looking at Zoe I could tell she was pretty confused. Maybe she heard about the tests and our big contract.  Or maybe something about Emily?

I grabbed her by the shoulders to try to get her to stop bouncing around, "Amanda, what's incredible?  What are you talking about?”

"About you guys. You know, your superpowers or whatever.”

I closed my eyes, and pinched the bridge of my nose. Fucking Josh. I don't know why I trusted him to stay quiet about this, I mean, I knew he was unreliable. I'd thought that just this one time he might get what I was trying to tell him about staying quiet.

"What did Josh tell you?" I asked. I saw the light go on for Zoe as soon as I said that.

"God damn it Josh!" Zoe said.

Amanda turned to look at Zoe, "What?”

I pulled her back to look at me, "Amanda, what did Josh tell you?

"He said you guys were like, extra strong and fast and stuff. It explained so much. I mean, I've seen you guys work out, and then what you did at the marathon. Why are you mad at Josh?”

This last part was directed back at Zoe.

"Because," I said, "I specifically asked Josh not to say anything. I tried to point out how dangerous things could get for me and everyone close to me if this got out.”

"Ohh," she said looking at me thoughtfully. "I can see that. I'm sorry, I didn't know”

I maneuvered her and Zoe into the living room so we could talk. Now we were at this point there wasn't much to do but bring Amanda inside, or at least as much as we had Josh.

"It's not your fault. It was Josh's responsibility to keep our secrets. Of course, now that you know, it is important for you to keep our secret as well. You can't tell anyone. Not your parents and not your friends. And please don't talk about this with Josh in public places or anywhere someone can hear you.”

"He tried to explain it to me, but it didn't all make sense. What is your thing exactly?  He said something about you being a genetic freak or something and getting super-powers. And then you gave them to Zoe and the other girls.”

"I would prefer not to call myself a freak, and they aren't super-powers, but yes, that is essentially it. We learned … after I was shot, and with the help of Zoe's mother and a doctor friend of ours … that I have some genetic anomalies, which make me stronger and faster than most people, and give me heightened reflexes.”

"That's why you were able to move so fast to get that runner out of the way?”

"Yes.”

"I had wondered. You kept changing the subject, but I knew what I saw. You moved so fast. And you were able to give this to Zoe and Tami and Vicki?”

"Sort of. They were able to get a portion of my abilities.”

"But Josh said you didn't want to give it to other people. I'm cool if that's your decision; I just wasn't clear on why not.”

It's like Josh didn't hear a word I said to him that day!

"I didn't say I didn't want to pass my abilities on to others, just that it didn't work that way.”

"But you were able to give them to Zoe and the others.”

Zoe, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke up, "But he's sleeping with us.”

"So he only gives abilities to people You are sleeping with?" Amanda asked, still trying to sort it out.

"No," Zoe replied. "He is only able to give them to people he is sleeping with.”

"I don't … ohh!”

I was glad Amanda had put that together on her own, so we didn't have to get into the details.

"So you see why I don't want to do what is necessary to give it to everyone.”

"Yeah, I can see that.”

"Also, this is all very new. We have no idea what the downsides might be. We are still doing a lot of tests and stuff to figure it out.”

"I get that.”

"Ok. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It's not like we are trying to hide anything from you specifically. We just have to play this very close, you know?”

"Yeah.”

"I know this will be hard, but please try and keep from discussing this with Josh when you guys are together. I know he resents not being told right away, and not being able to get my genetic thing passed on to him. I tried to explain it, but from what you are saying, he isn't getting it. I don't want him to get so upset by this that he does something rash.”

"I don't want to lie to Josh.”

"I'm not asking you to do that. I am just asking you to please keep it to yourself as much as possible.”

"I know Josh can be difficult at times, but he really means well. He just … he doesn't want to be left out.”

"I know, and I don't want to leave him out. But just the fact that you are here, now; tells me that I, and you, have to be careful with what we say to him.”

"Yeah. I don't know. I'll try I guess.”

"Thanks, Amanda.”

I saw a little head nod from Zoe, and I stood up.

"Well, I need to go take care of some stuff. Say bye before you leave, ok, Amanda?”

"Ok.”

I excused myself so she and Zoe could talk and headed to the upstairs phone. The closer I got to it, the more annoyed I got. I dialed a number and after a few minutes, Josh picked up.

"Josh, what the hell man?”

"Huh?”

"I asked you to not tell anyone what I said.”

"I didn't think you meant not to tell Amanda?" he replied, still sounding a bit off balance.

"I asked you specifically not to tell Amanda!"  I was trying not to yell at him, but I was getting pretty pissed.

"Yeah, but … I don't know, dude. I thought it would be ok.”

"What's done is done. But please, do not say anything to anyone else. This is really important! You could put all of us in danger.”

"I know man. I guess.  I'm sorry. I won't say anything to anyone else.”

"Please don't," I said and then hung up on him. Yes, it was rude, but I was really pissed off.

Amanda and Zoe talked for over an hour before she left. Zoe had plans with Vicki and Tami that I begged out of. I was still in a foul mood from dealing with Josh. Thankfully, Zoe understood and let me get away with staying home by myself.

Saturday was jam packed with stuff to do, which sucked, since the girls, including Emily, had plans to head out to the lake for the whole day. There was no way I could get out of my obligations, though, and thankfully, they understood.

I was glad they were taking Emily. It had only been a couple of weeks since the confrontation with her father, but things seemed to be looking up. She hadn't showed up with any new bruises and had even started to come out of her shell a little bit.

My first stop was by Charles Green's office. I hadn't been there since Mom and I came by the first time, and she had collapsed. I had spoken with Mr. Green many times on the phone, but until the drone project got out of the design and testing phase, and we actually sold something, there wasn't much for us to do.

I sat quietly in the waiting room for Charles to finish up his previous appointment when the original CPA I had come by to meet on our first trip made an appearance, apparently not rolling into the office until ten. He did a double take when he saw me, and his face hardened; but otherwise, he ignored me. I wasn't even sure he would remember me, since I had only stepped into his office for a moment. Then again, I guess he didn't get shot down by almost sixteen year olds, very often.

While talking to his secretary he glared at me several more times, and it seemed like a confrontation was inevitable. Thankfully, Charles appeared before that could happen.

"It looks like things are looking up for you guys," he said once we were back in his office.

"Yep. We have an influx of cash, now, thanks to the initial test order. Things will really be looking up for us, once the first full order comes through.”

"Yes, well you have recouped your original investment to the company and made a small amount of profit on top of that. I have to say I am surprised. Pleasantly so, but surprised all the same. I wasn't sure your plan to put all your eggs in one basket would pay off.”

"Honestly, neither was I. I was also against the company giving me such a large payout after the payment for the test order came in. We only had five million left for capital, since most of the profit from the first payment was needed to set up the production line.”

"True, and I don't know your internal numbers, but you guys are still really small, and don't need much. The four million left after paying you should be enough to cover your expenses for the next year. And that's not counting the bigger contract that's just around the corner.”

"Three million, actually, if I was getting the payout Ted and Marcus were so adamant about. I wasn't letting them or the rest of the team go without getting their share. Sure I was the bankroll, but they did all the work!”

"Well, I still think you should be ok.”

"Actually, that's something I wanted to talk about. I already broached this with my partners, and they are on board if you are. Ted is a great businessman, but even he has someone that he goes to for the money side of things, and I think we need that, too. I would like to bring you onboard with us, to handle the company finances, and make sure we aren't screwing up too badly.”

"I don't know. Besides the conflict with my managing your personal finances, I have my clients to worry about.”

"I know, and I know those will be concerns. I am not worried about the conflict, and my partners agree to sign a waiver on the conflict on behalf of the company if it comes to that. As for your clients, that's a harder question. I know you are loyal to the people you represent, so it's something you need to consider. My compromise is that at least until our full contract with the DOD has cleared, you just come in to consult. That way you can see how things operate before you make your decision. Besides the drone projects, we have a few other things our guys are working on, too. I would love your input on those projects as well.”

He sat silently for a few minutes, leaning back in his chair, thinking.

"I can live with that. It would be nice to not have to fight and scratch so hard to go on my own every year, and I do like what I have seen from you so far. So, yeah, I will consult for you and consider your offer.”

"Great," I said sliding a card with some numbers written on it. "You can reach my partners here. Talk to them and to Jonathan; I think you have his number. I look forward to working with you.”

"Me too, Caspian, me too," he said as we shook hands.

The rest of the day was taken up with meetings with my partners and Jonathan, who had also come on to consult with us on legal matters. The company was growing, and I can't say I wasn't excited. Petrified, but excited.

Besides telling them Charles was on board, we still had a lot of work to do. The production line was almost completed, and we were set to have the test order out the door in a few weeks. At that point, hopefully, the first contract would be done and we could really get to business. In addition, there was Ronald's project. Apparently, he was getting close to being able to show us a first test of his smaller prototype.

All in all, things were looking up both at the company and at home. Naturally, that wasn't going to last very long.

Chapter 17

While it would still be some time before we would hear back from the private eye, everything else was looking up. Tami was even coming out of her funk. Between the other girls and myself, we had convinced her to trust us to protect Judy. Thankfully, she finally accepted that. While she was still very angry at her family, she at least wasn't taking it out on the rest of the world.

There was also a lot to keep her distracted. Besides our school workload increasing as the second semester picked up steam, we were also working on Tina's birthday party. We had a spy inside Tina's life thanks to Judy, and she confirmed that Margaret was going to be working. I was already planning on throwing a party for Tina, but knowing Margaret wasn't doing anything special for Tina, I was determined to make it a blowout.

If anything, the girls were even more excited. They picked up all kinds of decorations for the inside of the house. Vicki contacted a baker that her mother really liked, and ordered a raspberry-chocolate mousse cake.

Zoe had pointed out that it was the same weekend that the traveling carnival was going to be in town. So, we arranged for all of use to go there, after cake and presents at home.

I'd only been to one of these carnivals, but I remember it being pretty exciting. It was one of those traveling groups that set up shop in an area for a few weeks, then pick up and move on to the next town. It has rides, mostly smaller rides aimed at inducing vertigo, and a midway full of games that are designed to make you spend thirty dollars to win a five dollar stuffed animal. And junk food. Mounds of junk food!

Besides me and the girls, we had asked Judy to invite a bunch of Tina's friends from school to the party. Emily and Megan both agreed to show up and I figured having a bunch of high school kids who genuinely liked Tina, would really make her look good for her junior high school friends.

Presents were another matter altogether. The girls seemed to have their act together and all focused on clothes and accessories, which was great since they knew what they were doing in that area, and Tina would be thrilled. I, however, was at a loss. Zoe had offered to go pick something out for me to give to Tina, but I didn't want to go that route. I wanted to get something that she would really appreciate.

For Christmas, I had given each of my girls a silver necklace with a different colored stone at the end, although they corrected me and told me they were actually pendants. Zoe had gotten a deep blue sapphire stone, Vicki a fiery red ruby, and Tami an emerald green … well, emerald. I had originally decided not to get Tina the same thing, since she had made it clear she was still gunning for a different relationship than we currently had and I wasn't on board with that plan.

But, in the end, even though we didn't have the same kind of relationship I had with the rest of my girls; she still clearly fit into that group, after a fashion. While it may backfire and create more boundary issues between us, I knew she would be thrilled so I said 'what the hell'. I got her the same pendant as the other girls but with a pale yellow sapphire.

Since Zoe was busy getting the party ready, Megan took me over to the mall to pick up the present. I went and picked up the necklace and was happy when they wrapped it for me. Otherwise, she would get her nice piece of jewelry presented to her in a ball of newspaper and Scotch tape. By the time we returned to the house, we were two of the last people to arrive, aside from the birthday girl. It wasn't a surprise party, but Tina had to wait until Margaret left for work. Tina knew that if her mother found out what was happening she would hit the roof. For that same reason, we only decorated the inside of the house, on the off chance Margaret might suss out what we were doing.

While we waited, everyone stood around chatting. The girls were all nice enough to spend some time talking to Tina's friends, who were ecstatic about the attention. It wasn't every day sixth grade girls got to hang out with high school cheerleaders. Eventually the birthday girl arrived.

As soon as she came in the door we all yelled, “Happy Birthday!”

She made a beeline for me and tried to crush me in a hug.

"Thanks, Big Brother.”

"No problem. We have a lot of fun stuff planned, and I think you're gonna have a great day.”

"I already am," she said and tiptoed up to kiss me on the cheek.

She pushed past me and joined her friends. Thankfully, I got to sit back and watch since Zoe was taking the lead. We didn't want to miss too much of the carnival and planned on getting an early start. It wasn't even quite lunch yet but we went ahead and did the birthday cake first, with everyone getting a very small piece. We figured anyone who wanted more could have a second piece once we got back. Given that it was standard practice to stuff your face at a carnival however, I figured this wasn't likely.

Next were the presents. There was a big stack of them, and we had already made plans to sneak them into Tina's room while her mom was still at work. There were books and make up products from her friends that she really appreciated. Mom got her a gift voucher for a full hair, manicure, and pedicure treatment. She was excited about the clothes that the girls gave her. I knew they had all dipped into my now replenished bank account to buy much nicer stuff than Tina would normally see, and was a little afraid to see the receipts. Not that I couldn't afford it. It was the principle of spending a hundred and fifty dollars on a shirt that I just couldn't get around.

I knew Tina was saving my present for last. It made me cringe a little, since I was hoping to give it to her with as little fanfare as possible. She removed the wrapping and her face lit up when she saw the jewelry box. Opening it, she looked at the delicate silver pendant and then let her eyes drift over the similar accessories currently being worn by each of my girls. Her face broke into a giant grin as she carefully set it on the table, then made a running jump onto me.

I was very glad she was so happy, but felt I needed to give her a caveat.

While she applied her death grip, otherwise known as a hug, around my neck, I whispered in her ear.

"This isn't a message or a promise of anything, so please don't take this to mean more that what it is. But I do want you to know how special you are, and how much I care for you.”

"I love you, too, Caspian," she whispered back.

I was certain she hadn't listened to a word I had just said, but I wasn't going to try and do any more damage control. At least not today. I didn't want to put a damper on her happy mood.

Once she let go, she retrieved the box and went to Zoe to have the older girl help her put it on. Zoe passed me a look while she did so, both saying 'good job' and 'you're in trouble now'. There were times when Zoe could say more with a look that I could with a speech.

Presents and cake out of the way, we all piled into vehicles and headed over to the carnival. Even with Megan's big suburban, we could only fit so many between her and Zoe's car. Thankfully, Mom agreed to play chauffeur, even though she wasn't staying for the carnival itself.

The Carnival was already in full swing by the time we got there. Since it was a limited engagement, people drove in from across the county to experience it. I bought tickets for the fourteen people in our group and picked up a bunch of ride tickets, which I handed out. There was no way we could make it through in such a large group, so it was decided we would split up. Tina went with all her friends while my girls, including Emily, Megan and myself headed off another direction. Before we headed out, I handed some money to Tina so they could get food or play the midway games.

Once they were gone, I turned to the group of girls around me.

"So, what do we want to do?”

"Let's head to the midway," Zoe said. "You need to win all of us some stuffed animals.”

The chorus of agreement from the other girls told me I was outnumbered, so off we headed to the midway to see what kind of games they had. It was mostly the normal fare you would find at this kind of event. From stuff I had read, they were all slightly rigged. Not in an overt way, but just enough so that people lost more than they won.

There was the balloon popping, where you got three darts to throw at the balloons. How many you popped determined your prize. The trick here was that the darts were pretty dull, the balloons were under inflated, and the darts themselves were much lighter than you would find with actual darts. Because the balloons were under inflated, they were under less pressure, so it took more force for them to pop. Coupled with the lighter darts that limited the force of the throw, it wasn't uncommon to see a dart bounce off the balloon rather than pop it.

There was the ring toss, where they put up a small array of bottles and you had five rings to throw at them and try and land around the neck of the bottle. The trick here was that the rings were barely larger than the bottles themselves, and are made of a very hard plastic, making them more likely to bounce. They even had the guy running the booth showing people it could be done, but, from what I had read, the ring the worker used was slightly larger, and he was much closer allowing him to drop it down from above, which was hard at the angle the player had to use.

The two most popular games were the basketball shoot and the milk bottle toss. These were the games most kids gravitated to, mainly because while they might not have tossed a ring at a target, thrown a dart, or tried to pull ducks out of a tub; they had thrown a baseball or basketball before. This gave the players a false sense of ability that was more than counteracted by the changes made to the games by the carnival.

In the basketball shoot, they use smaller than average rims and make them oval shaped, not round. It is hard to see the shape and size difference from where the player stands, but the changes mean you have to make a perfect high-arcing swish or the ball just bounces off. It's not possible to have the ball bounce off the rim and into the net. The balls themselves are also over-inflated so they have extra bounce, increasing the likelihood that the ball will ricochet off rather than go in.

And then there was the milk bottle pyramid, where they stacked a bunch of metal or plastic milk bottles together and you had to knock them all down with a softball. I always wondered why we still called them milk bottles, since they were made of metal or hard plastic but made to resemble glass milk bottles that are no longer seen in stores. My only guess is the carnival games back in the times when milk bottles were common must have used the glass variety, although then it seems you would end up with a bunch of broken glass.

Either way, they way this game usually went was the bottom bottles were filled with sand or lead making them weigh almost 10 pounds. Unless you aimed for the bottom bottles themselves, you would just knock down the top two rows while the bottom row only wobbles. The ball is also rigged. They fill the center of the ball with cork making it much lighter than normal softballs, and keeping the thrower from getting the kind of velocity they would otherwise achieve. Lastly, they almost always stack the bottles in front of a very heavy curtain. While it doesn't touch the bottles, it does allow a bottle that's leaning to be propped back in place.

Not that all these tricks bothered me. Most people who come out to a carnival midway come expecting the games to be rigged, and don't really expect to win all that much. Between the people around you cheering and the person working the booth doing his or her spiel, it was still pretty exciting.

The only one I was interested in was the milk bottle toss, but there was already a line at it, so I chose balloon pop. Seeing me looking at the booth the attendant came to life.

"Step right up young man and try your luck. Pop just one balloon and win one of your ladies a prize. Don't be shy, come play the game and take home a prize.”

I stepped up to the booth and, after taking an opportunity to leer at the girls behind, he continued with his script.

"For one dollar you get three darts. Pop one balloon and get a small prize, pop two and get the medium, and pop all three and win big Dumbo up there.”

I handed him a dollar and he set three darts on the counter in front of me.

"Care for a demonstration of how the game is played?”

"Sure.”

He picked up a dart that was separated off to its side, aimed and nailed the balloon in the middle, popping it. I had noticed that balloon seemed more full than it's friends, and if that dart was the same as mine I would be shocked. I decided I should bobble my first go through. I figured that if I played enough games to win each girl with me a prize, and I did them all on the first try, it might get me a few more looks than I was comfortable with.

I threw each dart just a little bit away from a balloon, trying to make them wobble but not pop. My first dart actually hit a balloon since I wasn't used to the strange lightweight feel of it, but I had seriously underpowered the throw, so it bounced off harmlessly. My two follow up throws were just as ineffectual.

"Good try, but no luck. I can see your friends still want the prize though. How about another round?”

"Sure," I said, handing over another dollar.

The good thing was that I had time in my first round to adjust to the feel of the darts. This time I put power behind each throw, driving each dart through the under-inflated balloon. I took time in between each, to make it seem like I was really aiming, and one by one my three darts found their mark.

"Holy crap, kid," the attendant said before switching back to his show persona. "Winner, winner. We have a winner. Here's one large elephant for one of the lovely ladies."

At this point, he handed out the elephant and started paying attention to the people behind me who had been watching.

"Don't be shy. You saw how easy this young man made it. You, too, can step up and win a prize.”

I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Even though he hadn't expected me to win so easily, he still found a way to turn my good fortune to his advantage.

I handed the elephant over to Tami, who thought elephants were cute. I was rewarded by a fairly long kiss, and the hooting and hollering from the crowd still around the booth.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon went about the same as we made our way along the midway, winning a prize for each of the girls. We punctuated this by stopping and eating junk food a bunch of times. So much so, that Vicki stopped several times to say how happy she was that her body was enhanced, otherwise she was afraid she would look like a beach ball by the time we left. Of course, she said that after polishing off a giant turkey leg, two ice cream cones, and a funnel cake!

By the end, we looked a little ridiculous with all the big, fluffy animals being carried. It was getting into mid-afternoon and I knew we needed to start heading back. But first, we had to find Tina and her friends. Most of our time had been spent on or near the midway, so I knew she wasn't there. We started wandering around looking for her until we came to a crowd next to the tilt-a-whirl that was blocking our path.

I was a little annoyed when we came across a large group of people stopped in the pathway, blocking what was more or less the only way through to the next area of the carnival, the only area we hadn't checked yet. As politely, but forcibly as I could, I pushed my way through the crowd with the girls trailing behind me. What I saw when I got to the end of the people gathered around shocked and infuriated me.

Tina was on the ground, holding the side of her face and her friends were moving back toward the crowd, except for Judy who was at Tina's side, half covering her in a protective manner. In a half circle around her, stood Steven Mertz and what I could only assume were some of his cronies.

"You don't leave me, bitch. I put up with your whiny ass for months, and you just up and walk away when your pussy brother comes calling. I don't think so.”

He started to move forward aggressively towards Tina and Judy. I was too far from him to do anything physical so I decided I had to go another route.

"Hey!" I yelled as loudly as I could. "What the hell do you think you're doing?”

He flinched a little when he noticed me. I am almost certain he didn't expect me to show up out of the crowd. But he had his buddies to worry about, and with guys like this, the last thing they want to do is look like a coward.

"Get lost. I don't know what you said to her, but Tina is coming back to me.”

I had distracted him enough to give myself time to stand over Tina and Judy, protecting them with my body. I noticed the girls had dropped their stuffed animals, and were spreading out to watch his friends. I was about to move to intercept him physically when I saw a uniform push its way through the other side of the crowd, behind Mertz, causing me to alter my tactics.

"Big man hitting a girl. Too afraid to go after someone your own size?”

"Bitch had it coming. I didn't hurt her; just let her know what a real man is.”

I laughed in his face. The cops were getting closer and I wanted him to make a move.

"A real man?" was all I got out before laughing again.

My girls had all stopped their movement and were looking at me confused. I know they were wondering why I hadn't taken this punk down yet.

My laughing in his face did the trick, and he took a swing at me. Even for regular people it was telegraphed and slow. With my reactions, it was no trouble at all to shift backwards and let it whiff by me. He was just recovering, and getting ready to try again when a hand grabbed him from behind.

"Hold it," the officer shouted.

She grabbing his hand while her partner corralled the other kids standing around. I recognized my old friend Officer Jawarski.

"Hey, ok, ok," Mertz said as he was pulled back by Jawarski. "I didn't do nothin.”

She looked up and glared at me, but I had kept my hands by my side the entire time and was already moving to help my sister up, while brushing her off. I was nearly positive she'd seen the whole thing, but my past history with her told me that didn't mean she wouldn't find a way to pin this on me.

"Yeah, I saw you not doing anything. Let’s take a walk," she snapped at him before handing him over to her partner.

"You and your friends get out of here. Go home and stop causing trouble," she said, turning around and walking off with Mertz.

While I wasn't happy about being told to get lost, that conversation went a lot different than it could have otherwise gone, so I took it as a win.

"You, ok?" I asked Tina as I pulled her off the ground.

She was rubbing her face but said, "I think so.”

"What happened," I asked both Tina and Judy. I saw my girls picking up their now slightly dirty stuffed animals and coming over to join us.

"Steven came out of nowhere, yelled at Tina for leaving him, and then slapped her," Judy offered while Tina was still rubbing her face.

I bent down to have a closer look and saw her eye starting to swell a little, "You're gonna have a little bit of a shiner in the morning.”

She started to cry softly.

"Hey, it's ok. He's gone. Let's get you home, ok?”

She had her head pressed against my chest, and nodded as her body shook from her quiet sobbing.

"Is she ok?" Zoe asked as she fell in alongside me.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. I think, mostly, she just got scared.”

Her friends were all quiet as we piled into our vehicles. It wasn't time for Mom to pick us up yet, so we just jammed everyone in the two we had, and made it work. Thank God, there wasn't an accident on the way home, or it could have been bad.

With the mood the way it was, the birthday party was more or less over. Megan promised to get all of Tina's friends home, although Judy stayed since her sister was still there. I sat on the couch and let Tina cuddle up with me. She was still pretty upset.

"What do we do about Margaret?" Mom asked once we explained to her everything that had happened.

I thought for a moment and asked, "About the black eye?”

"Yes," Mom continued. "With what we were told about how she has been acting, I am concerned she will see it and …”

"Flip out?" I supplied.

"Yes.”

"I'll go home with Tina," Judy said from where she stood in the doorway. "I had already planned on spending the night with her. We can tell her mom about Steven. It's the truth after all. With both of us, maybe she won't take it so bad.”

Tina finally sat up and wiped her eyes.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I think so. I was just scared, then embarrassed, then mad, then embarrassed again.”

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," I told her. "You didn't do anything wrong.”

She shrugged, "I guess. I just felt so weak lying there on the ground.”

"You aren't weak," I said, trying to give her as meaningful of a look as I could. "He is bigger than you. If you tried to go at him, he would have hurt you. You didn't have a lot of choices.”

"I guess," she said again.

I lifted her chin up to look at me, "Hey, seriously, you were never in that much trouble. You were in a public place, surrounded by friends and witnesses, and the cops would have been there before anything happened regardless of whether I showed up or not.”

She pulled out of my grip and said, "It's not just that. It's my stupidity that got me into this. If I hadn't encouraged that jack-off in the first place, none of this would have happened.”

"You don't really know what would have happened. Some guys don't need encouragement. Also, when it comes to giant, life-changing mistakes, you my friend are a rookie. You should take stock of all the things I screw up … on a daily basis!”

That got a smile out of her so I continued, "Seriously, I would never let anything bad happen to you. I will have Jonathan sniff around and see if there is anything else that can be done. He attacked you in front of witnesses, so maybe we can get a restraining order or something against him. Or get his ass thrown in jail. Trust me, in there he will realize how little of a man he really is.”

"Now that sounds like a plan," she said smiling.

Chapter 18

As soon as Tina and Judy headed out the door, I made my way to the phone. I knew the girls were as concerned about her as I was, since they all stood around and listened to me making my call.

"You know, Caspian, you are starting to rack up quite the bill," Jonathan said with a laugh when he picked up the phone. He must have gotten caller ID and recognized my number, which wouldn't be surprising considering how often I seemed to be calling.

"Probably, and it's all totally worth it," I responded.

"So what is it I can do for you today?”

"I am not sure if you can help me directly, but you can point me in the right direction. Tina was attacked today at the carnival by an ex-boyfriend. He got hauled off by the police right after, but I wanted to make sure he doesn't come after Tina again. What would she need to do to get assault charges filed on him and what about the possibility of a restraining order?”

"On the assault charges, unless the arresting officer saw what happened, your sister would have to go down and fill out a complaint against him. Since she is a minor, her mother would have to be there also.”

"That is going to be a problem. Margret has been acting unstable recently. I am a little concerned about how she would handle the situation.”

"If that's the case then a restraining order is out also. As a minor pretty much everything has to go through her mother.”

"Damn.”

"If the police office was there right as it happened, there is a chance he saw everything and can be the person who files the report. They can't tell you directly, but we can make some inquires if the officer filed some kind of report through my contacts at the courthouse.”

"That is where things get tricky. It was Officer Jawarski.”

"And she saw you were involved also?”

"I wasn't really involved, just there. But yeah, she saw me.”

"Considering how things went in the past, that isn't good. Do you want me to see if I can talk to her and get a feeling for what is going to happen?”

I thought for a moment before answering, "No. I'll do it.”

"I don't know if that is a good idea Caspian.”

"Yeah, me either. But she did haul him off and didn't try and blame anything on me, so that's a step in the right direction I guess. No, this is something I think I need to deal with.”

"Ok. Well, call me back after you talk to her. If I don't hear back from you in a few hours, I'm gonna come and see if you wound up in lockup.”

I knew he was joking and laughed along, but I also meant it when I said, "Good thinking.”

Next of course, I had to find Officer Jawarski. After a short call, I was able to weasel the information out of Detective Casper, the detective who got me released after the scuffle with Tyler and his friends at the school. I hated to play on his guilt about the incident, but sometimes you have to use the tools available.

I found out she was eating lunch at a small burger shack on Lincoln Street. I had Zoe drive me out but wait in the car ... with instructions on how to bail me out if things went sideways.

I found the officer in the small dining area and stopped at the edge of her table.

"Officer Jawarski?" I said tentatively.

She looked up from her hamburger and glared, "What could you possibly want?”

"I was hoping for a minute of your time. I am aware you don't like me, but I also believe you are a good police officer. I was hoping to appeal to your sense of justice.”

"Make it quick," she said.

"Thank you," I said sliding into the seat across from her. "Yesterday you arrested a kid who attacked my sister. She is terrified of coming to press charges on him, afraid he will retaliate on her again. I talked to some people and they said if an officer saw what happened, it was possible for you to file a report on him.”

"Yeah," Was all she said. I was hoping she would see where I was going with this, but clearly, she didn't have any plan on making this easier on me.

"So, did you see enough to know what happened? And are you planning on filing a report on him?”

"I can't talk about ongoing cases," she said. Then she stopped and slammed down her food, "And who the hell do you think you are coming here and trying to pressure me into helping you with whatever plan you are hatching. Get the hell away from me!”

I sighed as I stood up from the table. I hadn't been put in handcuffs, yet anyway, and decided to take a parting shot.

"I wasn't trying to pressure you. I was just trying to get some peace of mind for a scared kid.”

I started to walk off when I heard from behind me, "He won't bother her again.”

I turned around but she was eating her food again and purposefully ignoring me. I wasn't even sure if what I heard was in my imagination or not. Either way, I had done what I could and now I had to wait and see what Jonathan found out from his friends at the courthouse.

I pushed all the drama with Tami's family and with Steven Mertz aside, since plans had been made and things were in motion. Between schoolwork picking up before the school closed down for spring break, and the expected deadline of the larger contract being ready approaching, I had other things on my mind.

On Monday, I pulled the girls, including Emily, off to an empty table to talk. Just after Christmas Emily had migrated to our lunch table and was starting to gel nicely with the rest of the gang as she came out of her shell. While I still worried about long term ramifications from the confrontation with her father, for the moment he was leaving her alone and that reprieve was doing her wonders.

"So, I've had a thought," I said once we were all at the empty table.

"That's what that smell was," Vicki said with a grin.

I just ignored her and kept going, "How would you guys feel about going away somewhere this summer?”

"Really?" Zoe said, perking up.

"Yeah. It's been a crazy year. I think a good end of the school year break would do us all good," I said.

My four girls thought for a moment and nodded, but Emily looked sad. "I don't know if I can. Things are going good at home, right now, but Dad is still annoyed every time I come and see you guys. I am worried that if I take off for a week or whatever, it will make things go back to the way they were.”

"I can talk to him," I offered. "I don't want you missing out on the fun just because you're worried.”

"It's not that," she said shaking her head. "I know that at first he only changed because of whatever you said to him, but he's been making an effort. He's even drinking less. I think it's best if I stay home.”

"Well, we still have time until the end of the school year. Let's play it by ear and see what happens," I said.

"Ok," she said, although she sounded unconvinced.

They all started talking about what we could do for vacation when Emily excused herself to go talk to one of her teachers. As soon as she walked away all three girls eyes tracked back to me.

"When are you going to bring her on board?" Zoe asked.

"When I am sure we have settled the stuff with her father," I replied.

Tami frowned and said, "Why do you need to wait?”

"Because she has enough stuff going on in her life, just with her dad. I mean, she doesn't want to go on vacation with us because of it. I buy her explanation, but it's still there, and it needs to be resolved. The last thing she needs is me going in and modifying her brain, giving her a whole new set of things to worry about.”

"I don't think it will cause her to worry," Vicki said.

"Maybe not," I said looking each girl in the eye. "But I want this to be clear. I am adamant that we clear up her family drama before adding our bullshit on top of it. I don't want you guys pressuring me to evolve her, or whatever, before I am ready. I gave in to the notion that she will join us eventually. Be happy with that victory.”

They could see that I was set and all mumbled agreement. I knew that wouldn't last and it wouldn't be the last I heard of it.

After school, I was making my way to Zoe's car to meet the rest of the girls and was surprised to find Sarah there instead.

"Hey, Sarah. What's up?”

She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "What did you mean when you said you were going to evolve Emily?”

Lipreading, damn it! Of all the things, I expected her to say, this was down at the very bottom of the list. I would say I tried to play dumb, but the truth is it wasn't really an act.

"Uhh ... what?”

"At lunch you told Vicki and Zoe and Tami you didn't want to change Emily yet. That you wanted to wait to evolve her. What did that mean? What are you planning on doing to Emily?”

Damn it. First Josh, then Amanda, and now Sarah. We truly suck at keeping secrets. I thought about trying to pass it off as a lie, but couldn't figure out a way to do it and convince her. Sarah is fairly smart and if she observed the whole conversation, or at least my side of it since Vicki and Tami had their backs to Sarah at lunch, anything I might say would be an obvious lie. Which was something I wanted to avoid.

"Do you have some time this afternoon to come back with me and the girls?" I asked.

"What? Yes, I mean ... did you hear what I asked," she said, surprised at my seemingly abrupt change in direction.

"Yes, I did. But this conversation will take a while, and I would prefer to have the girls involved.”

Before she could answer, Zoe and Tami walked up.

"Vicki caught a ride home with Megan. She had some family stuff to take care of," Zoe said throwing an arm around my waist.

"No problem. Sarah is going to be coming back to our house for a little while," I told Zoe as we all piled into her car.

She gave me a questioning glance but didn't say anything. We drove home making small talk but I could tell Zoe and Tami were both very curious. They liked Sarah, but I hadn't invited her over to our house before.

Once home I lead everyone to the living room.

"Sarah came to me after school with some questions. Apparently, she read my lips during our conversation at lunch, after Emily left," I said when everyone had taken a seat.

"Ok," Zoe said, the importance of what Sarah had 'overheard' not clicking with her yet.

"She saw me talk about the concerns I had in evolving Emily.”

"Ohh," Tami said as both she and Sarah turned to look at Sarah.

"Yeah ... Ohh. Since the cat’s out of the bag, I would like you two to give her a brief overview of what is going on. I am going to go get us some drinks and a snack, then I'll answer any question I can, ok?" I said. This last part was directed at Sarah.

She just nodded as I got up and walked out of the room to let the girls do their thing. I always felt better when someone else could explain our situation. It seems incredibly conceited to go around telling people that you are a leap forward in evolution.

I puttered around in the kitchen for a while to give the girls time to explain everything. Eventually I made my way back out to the living room with a tray full of drinks and snacks. As soon as I crossed the doorway, Sarah's eyes found me, and tracked my movements. Even after I sat down, she kept staring at me.

"Pretty unbelievable, huh?" I said.

She just nodded her head.

"Did you have any questions for me?" I asked.

She thought for a moment and said, "Is this for real?”

"Yes," I answered. "I took us a while to figure it out; but thankfully Zoe's mom works as a researcher in genetics, and we have a pretty talented doctor helping us out, too. A lot of what the girls probably told you is still conjecture. It fits the information we have, but we are so far outside the bounds of normal that it's hard to say how much is guesswork and how much is fact. But yes, to the best of our knowledge, everything they told you is right.”

"What are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"For now, keep trying to figure things out," I said. "Long term our plan isn't that much different than anyone else's plans, at least genetically. I want to live a long and happy life, have kids, and raise them. The only difference is that when I have kids, we are almost certain, they will be an important step in spreading my genetic ... differences.”

I stopped to take a drink and gather my thoughts.

"If what we believe is true, that this is some sort of leap in human genetics, then it's important that we share those genetics with the world. Imagine hundreds of years from now, when my kids have kids, and their kids have kids, and so on. When my genetic line has spread far enough to constitute a significant part of the human population. Disease will be a thing of the past. People will live longer. And really that is by far the most minor of the effects it will have.”

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. Hundreds of thousands of years ago our genetic ancestors' brains enlarged. That was a stunning leap in our evolution. With that increased capacity for thought, we were able to build tools. We could reason. We could invent. With it, we created the pyramids. We split the atom. We went to the moon. And that's all because of the change in how our brains work.”

"Now, imagine a world where that mental capacity has increased again. What will our descendants be able to do? Will we figure out clean energy sources like fusion? Will we figure out how to colonize other planets? Will we develop ways of terraforming those planets? Faster than light space travel, increasing the lifespan of humans, nano-technology built at the atomic level. The possibilities are endless.”

"Wow," she said looking a bit bewildered.

"Yeah, wow. Of course, the tricky part is to make sure I am able to procreate, and my offspring don't go the way of the Neanderthals.”

"I am surprised you haven't started trying to have kids already," she said.

"Well, it's tricky. There are a lot of changes other than the mental ones, and they make things a bit harder. I will let the girls explain that to you in a little bit. The important part, for the moment, is that this needs to stay an absolute secret. Already way too many people know about it, and we need to try and keep that circle from getting any bigger, if we can.”

"I can see that," she said.

"I always knew you were a smart girl," I said. "Now there are some additional things. While spreading my genetics is difficult, I am able to pass on some of my nature to other people in an easier way. We have learned that if I can mix my blood with that of a normal person, they undergo a change that gives them some of my abilities. Most importantly the ability to repair defects in the body.”

"I'm not defective," Sarah said defensively.

"I know." I said holding up my hands in surrender. "Honestly, that isn't what I was trying to say. I just meant that we have the ability to let you hear again. I thought that's something I should mention. Honestly, if I could get away with going through a hospital helping everyone in the building, I would. But, for the moment that isn't practical.”

She thought for a long moment before replying, "I'm sorry. I know you would never mean to say something like that. But no, I don't think I want you to change me in any way.”

I was honestly very surprised.

"Can I ask why not?" I said.

"First, because I'm not broken," she replied. "It took me a long time to accept that. Just because I am different than other people, I am not less important than people who can hear. I am who I am. I like who I am. I don't want to go changing that.”

"I can see that, but ..." I started.

Sarah cut me off mid-sentence, "And there is another reason. If I miraculously had the ability to hear again, don't you think someone would notice. There is no way we could keep something like that secret.”

I smiled at her and said, "Well that is an important consideration, but if that's the only reason stopping me from helping you, then I don't care. Sure I have reasons I want this to remain secret, but not at the expense of my friends.”

"It's not the only reason," she said shaking her head no.

"Ok, well I think we can let it drop for now. But if you ever change your mind please tell me. I count you as one of my friends, your happiness is important to me.”

"Thanks," she said smiling.

"Well, I'm going to call and ask Mary Ann to give me a ride up to work. If we are going to take off for a week, I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row before we leave. It also gives you guys time to answer any other questions for Sarah, without me hanging around making her nervous.”

By the time Mary Ann swung by to pick me up, they were already starting to get pretty deep into it. There really wasn't much for me to do at the office, but I wanted to make myself scarce for a few hours. The larger contract was still in process, the original test order was well on its way to completion. Ronald's test run was still a little while off. His was still the project I was most excited about, but he barely had his first prototype done and he had some kinks to work out. Marcus said his theory was solid and should work, but cautioned me there would be a bunch of revisions necessary before we could move to stage two.

When I got home, Sarah was gone, and it was just the girls and Mom. Zoe started in on me as soon as I was in the door.

"I think it's cool she knows," she said. "I like her.”

"Stop!" I said hold up my hand.

"What?" she said.

"I know where you're headed and you can stop the train right there. One, you're already trying to add Emily, we don't need another girl in the wings. And two, she's not available. She has a thing going with Quam, and I am not about to steal another guy's girl.”

"But …" Tami started.

"No," I said again forestalling her. "I want to make this as clear as I possibly can. Don't even think about it. Do you understand?"

They all nodded their agreement. I glared for a moment longer. They seemed to ignore my wishes every time they thought they knew better than me, and I wanted to make sure this wasn't one of those times. Vicki and Tami went home and we ate a fairly quiet dinner. Just as we were cleaning up, the phone rang.

I was a little surprised to find Marcus on the other end. He didn't normally call me at night.

"Cas, you need to come down to the warehouse. We had a break-in.”

"What?" I said.

I couldn't imagine why someone would break into the warehouse. We had used it for production of the prototype, but it wasn't being used for the production line, so it didn't have a bunch of supplies or anything. We had slowly been moving over to the warehouse and converting it into an open plan office, so Ted could get some of his space back for his business

"Someone broke in. They tried to get into the patent safe, but Ronald came back to the office to pick up some files he wanted to look over. He saw a light in the window, and called the police. He stayed pretty far back waiting for the police, so wasn't able to get a good look when the guy took off.”

"Good, that was smart. He doesn't need to risk getting hurt. I'm on my way out there, now.”

I hung up and had Zoe drive me over to the warehouse office space. She had a million questions after hearing my side of the conversation, but until we got to the offices and I could talk to Marcus and the cops, there wasn't anything I could tell her.

Arriving at the offices, I found Marcus and Ronald talking to a uniformed police officer. Thankfully, it wasn't my 'good friend' Jawarski, although it did feel like she was somehow involved in nearly every run-in I had with the police.

I stood silently, and let Ronald finish giving his statement; after which the officer folded up his notepad, nodded to me, and left.

"So, what happened?" I asked.

"I had to come back and get some figures on the filter stress tests we have been doing. We have been trying to determine a schedule of parts wear so we could put together a replacement schedule. Anyway," he said waving himself back on topic with one hand, "when I pulled up, I could see a light from the window in the file room. It wasn't an overhead light, 'cause it was moving around or whatever. I figured it had to be a flashlight.”

"At first I thought maybe I should go in and see what was going on, but then it occurred to me that anyone who was in the office with just a flashlight was probably not there for any good reason. It wasn't like there was a power outage. The light over the outside door was on, so I knew that the building still had power.”

"I drove away, found a pay phone, and called 911 to report a possible break-in," he continued. "I then called Marcus to tell him what was happening. He told me to stay put, but I came back to the offices to try and keep an eye on the place until the cops got here. When I got back, the light was gone, and I didn't see anyone hanging around. About ten minutes later, a patrol car showed up. I let the officer into the building, but he didn't find anything. I guess whoever broke in had good timing.”

"Or a police scanner," I said.

"I didn't think of that. So about the time the officer finished walking through the building Marcus showed up. He checked out the file room and noticed the safe where we keep the pending patent documents had been messed with. It looked like someone had tried to cut it open.”

They led me back to the file room and sure enough, there was a burned line cut about halfway down the safe. Someone was trying to burn their way into it with a torch. The safe itself was really pretty basic and I hadn't even though we needed it at first, but Ted had insisted.

"Why wasn't the alarm we put in triggered?" I asked.

"It wasn't on when we got here. Ted is calling Mapes to see if we can figure out what's going on.”

As if on cue, the phone rang. Marcus picked it up. His end of the conversation was extremely terse, mostly 'Ok,' or 'Yeah.' After a few minutes, he hung up and turned back to us.

"That was Ted. He couldn't get hold of Mapes, and called the alarm company call-center directly. Apparently the code was deactivated using Mapes' alarm code," he told us.

"Wait," I said. "I thought we had all agreed we were not going to issue him a code?”

"Mapes wasn’t issued a code," Marcus said, "but the center was double checked.  Mapes had a code with them, and that was the code that was used. Ted's at a loss to explain it, and he's trying to get to the bottom of it.  He has talked to Jonathan, and we are going to get that private eye you're using, to look into Mapes background. See if we can figure out what's going on.”

I frowned and said, "I hope he finds something fast. This thing with Mapes feels weird to me.”

"Yeah," Marcus said. "I know."

Chapter 19

After having stuff happen on what seemed like a daily basis, the following several weeks were filled with the agony of waiting. We had to wait to see what, if anything, was going to happen to Steven Mertz. While I had gotten the impression from officer Jawarski that the situation was getting taken care of, it was impossible for us to know with any certainty; but going back to her again for more information, was something I wanted to avoid at all costs.

Carter Talmon was looking into both Mapes, and Tami's family's church group, but he had been very clear that it would take time to get any solid information about either. He didn't need me bugging him every day for updates, and Jonathan assured me multiple times that he was very capable and we would know something as soon as he did.

The contract for the full order of SWEEP drones seemed to be languishing. Ron had been increasingly hard to get a hold of, and the guys Jonathan brought in to work on the contract all said this kind of slow down didn't match with their previous experiences.

All we could do was wait.

After two weeks of trying to pay attention in school, my nerves were totally shot. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I called Carter as soon as I got home from school on Friday.

"Yeah," he said when he answered my call.

"Mr. Talmon, This is Caspian Grey," I said, not sure how many clients he had at a time.

"Yeah," he said again. You had to appreciate a guy who remained consistent.

"You were looking into a couple of cases for me," I supplied, hoping he would offer up information.

"Yeah," he said. This guy really puts new meaning into the word monosyllabic.

"I was hoping for some updates.”

"Not over the phone. I'll bring what I have to you," he said and hung up.

I didn't know whether I was annoyed at the way this guy acted, or if I absolutely loved it; but it's one or the other. I went into the living room and sat down to wait. He didn't say he was headed right over, but that was my impression.

Thankfully, ten minutes later the doorbell rang. I found Carter Talmon standing on the other side of the door. I ushered him into the kitchen so we could sit at the table to talk.

"Which case do you want to talk about first, the dirty security guy, or the creepy church people?" he said with no preamble.

"Let's go with the creepy church people first," I replied using his name for them.

I had decided. I loved this guy's act. I didn't know if it was a put up job, or if this is how he really was, but sometimes you gotta love a character.

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a series of five pictures and set them in front of me. Each included the same older man but different girls. I say girls because they were all Tina's age or younger. In one he was holding hands with the girl. The others were much more disturbing. There was nothing overtly obscene, but each picture he was being way more affectionate than was appropriate for an adult and a child.

"This is Joseph Taylor," Carter said pointing at the older man. "Each of the girls are his current 'brides' from the previous year.”

"These seem pretty damning. How come the cops can't get this kind of surveillance on him?”

"Because he keeps himself pretty well hidden. I had to sneak well onto their property to take these shots. I can't turn them over to the police, because I was trespassing when I took them. In reality, they are also evidence of me committing a crime. The stronger evidence is the audio recordings.”

"Audio recordings?”

"Yeah. I tapped his phone. That's illegal, which again is why it can't actually be used against him. I have one where he talks about his plans for his 'old brides' to make way for the new ones.”

I felt a tightening in my stomach, "What plans?”

"It seems every year he marries off his previous years brides to people in the church, supporters and what not, so he can bring in the new girls. These aren't legal marriages, mind you. Besides the girls not being old enough, most of these guys already have a wife or three.”

He passed several audio cassettes over to me.

"I also was able to get some of his banking information.”

"That can't possibly be legal," I said.

"I told you that what I was going to get wasn't going to be admissible in court. What did you think that meant?”

"There's a difference between non-admissible and straight out illegal," I said.

"I guess, but if you want a smoking gun this is how you have to do it. You are planning on blackmailing these people with this information, which is also against the law.”

"Not for money or anything," I said, defending my plan.

"No, but to force him to pack up and leave, or at least change the way they operate. Blackmail is blackmail. Not that I am against your plan. These guys are seriously disturbed.”

"Yeah," I said noncommittally. I was trying to do good, but to have the facts of where this was headed put so bluntly made me slightly uneasy. Not that I was giving up on my plan.

"So," I continued, "What did you get with the banking information.”

"Payments from the men who are getting these girls from Taylor," he said looking disgusted. "He's straight up selling these girls to them.”

"Jesus Christ! I can't believe this kind of shit is happening so blatantly," I said. I was truly shocked by what I was hearing.

"You should see some of the stuff that happens down on the border. Slavery is still alive and well in this country. It's just easier for Taylor and his group. These girls are as brainwashed as their parents. From the conversations I have heard, they are all looking forward to their new place in the church. Apparently having been one of Taylor's wives is a huge honor for these wackos.”

"I wish there was something we could do for them, too. It seems cold hearted to get Tami and Judy out, but leave these other girls to the mercy of depraved men.”

"I am not sure there is anything you can do. You would get a lot of push back from the girls. If I had to guess, if they were to be taken away from that 'church', they would find a way to escape and come back to the flock. You have no idea how lucky you are that your friends managed not to become brainwashed.”

"Yeah, I guess," I said still feeling the guilt. "Ok, what about Mapes?”

"This Mapes character is as crafty about what he's doing as these church people are blatant. Except for the alarm code thing, he has really covered his tracks. His IDs are all fake. Every address I can find for him leads to random businesses. I can't find any banking or financial information on him. Except for his dealings with you, this guy may not have even existed. Everything about him points to his being a professional. Where did you get him from?”

"He was a second hand reference from our military contact. I have trouble believing Ron was involved; but then, it wasn't really his reference, either. He got the name from someone else in his office.”

Carter finished jotting down notes and said, "That gives me another angle to look at, but I wouldn't hold onto a lot of hope. This guy knew what he was doing. Tracking him down might not be an option. You guys need to be on the lookout, though. This wasn't a 'one off' thing. This kind of guy works for someone.”

"So this isn't over," I said, more as a statement then a question.

"Not by a long shot," he replied.

I stood and walked Carter to the door, thanking him for his information. The girls had headed out to do some stuff together, which meant Tami was going to be occupied for a few hours. I knew that Judy went with Tina most afternoons, so she was also out of her house.

Putting the information Carter had given me in my backpack and grabbing my bike, I headed for the Smith house. I couldn't get over the weird sense of déjà vu from my trip to Emily's house, just after New Years. I seemed to be making a habit out of coercing my girlfriend's, or at least potential girlfriend's, families. While in both Emily's case and Tami's case I felt justified in my actions, I still felt bad that this seemed to be my go-to move to get things to go my way.

Pulling up to their house, I pushed those thoughts aside. The house itself was so vanilla it was shocking. This would be one of those places that, if the story of what was happening ever got out, the neighbors would all talk about how nice and normal the family seemed.

I knocked on their front door and waited. I wasn't sure if they would recognize me or not. Between dating one of their daughters, and my sister being friends with their other daughter, I couldn't imagine I was an unknown quantity; though I hadn't ever really had a face to face contact with the Smiths.

The door opened showing a woman in her 40's who said, "Ohh … you. What do you want?”

I guess that answered my question.

"I need to speak to you and your husband," I said.

"We are preparing to go out for the evening, and have nothing to say to you," she said, practically snarling.

"You will want to hear what I have to say. Otherwise I can go visit your neighbors and share what I have to say with them, instead. Of course your preacher friend would not be happy with me, or you, if that happened.”

She glared at me a moment but stepped aside as I walked in. A tall, bean pole of a man stood just inside. It was unusual that her husband would let her do the talking in a situation like this, and I did a quick recalculation in my head of who was really in charge in this house.

I didn't know the layout of their house, but neither of Tami's parents seemed inclined to give me a tour. I could make out what looked like a living room just off the entry way. I walked past Mr. Smith and into that room.

Sitting down I motioned that the couple, who had followed me into the room, should take the love seat opposite the couch I sat on. More glaring ensued, but neither argued. Mrs. Smith motioned with her head for her husband to take a seat. She followed after him.

"I've discovered recently that in this kind of a situation, I am not one to beat around the bush. So I will just lay out what I have to say. I know what you are planning to have Judy marry, or at least how you see it, Mr. Taylor. I am not going to lecture you how amazingly repugnant this idea is. Not so much because I don't think you deserve to have someone tell you what pathetic human beings you are, but more because I don't think you would hear a word I have to say. Anyone willing to sell their daughter off to a serial child molester is so far gone, nothing I could say would make a difference.”

Mrs. Smith started to protest; but I ignored her, and rolled on, forcing her to quiet down.

"No, instead, I am going to rely on how much you two clearly love Mr. Taylor and this 'church' of yours. I am betting there is very little you wouldn't do, to keep it from falling to pieces.”

I pulled a small tape recorder out of my backpack, which I'd already pre-loaded with the tape Carter gave me. I pressed play and let a conversation I had cued up fill the quite room. Two men, both of whom must be known to the Smiths, were speaking about one of the previous years brides being auctioned off. I let the conversation go for just over a minute, so the couple understood how explicit the conversation was, before shutting it off.

"Besides this conversation I have bank records that confirm the exact nature of the conversation you just heard. I am betting your friends and neighbors, and those of the rest of your little church, know nothing about this little ritual you have going on. The cops might have a rough time getting something tangible on Taylor and the rest of your group, but how do you think the community would take this? How long would it be before you had a mob forming up on your doorstep?”

I sat and stared at the couple. Mr. Smith just looked at his feet. Mrs. Smith, however, continued to glare at me.

"What do you want?”

"I know Tami is off the table for your little ceremony, but Judy needs to be off the list, too. She isn't going to become one of Taylor's 'brides'. Neither girl should have to attend your church one moment longer, if they don't want to … and I guarantee they do not want to.”

Mrs. Smith's facade of anger started to crack, and I could see the edges of worry and panic slipping in.

"What are we supposed to do? It's already decided. We can't just tell Joseph she isn't available.”

"Well then, you two better think up something. If I hear one word of Judy being auctioned off to Taylor, or one complaint about their home life from either girl, everything I have will show up in every one of your neighbors' mailboxes, the next morning.”

"How do we know you won't just do that anyway?”

"Because you're a bright woman. You have to be considering your daughters. You know that this is my leverage. Without it, I lose my ability to protect them. So you keep your daughters free and clear of this, and I will refrain from riding your church out of town on a rail.”

She stared at me for a long moment and said, "Fine.”

"See, I knew you were smart," I said standing up. "Well, you two have a nice day, now.”

I excused myself, leaving the couple still sitting on the couch, looking like they had been hit by a freight train. Which I guess they kind of were. Not that I felt bad about that.

I got back home and the girls were still not there yet. I called Ted, Marcus and Jonathan and set up a meeting that evening for all four of us, to go over what I learned about Mapes. It wasn't much, but I still had a bad feeling about where this was going, and I thought a little strategizing wouldn't hurt. Marcus said he would pick me up in an hour.

Luckily, before the hour was up, the girls came home. I greeted them at the door.

"I have news," I said after giving each of the girls a kiss.

"What news?" Vicki asked.

I turned and faced Tami as I said, "I met with your parents today. Judy is safe. They are going to get her out of the thing with Taylor, and find an excuse to make her … and you, just in case … off limits.”

"Really?" Tami said looking a bit stunned. "How did you manage that? They were so happy about it I couldn't imagine anything keeping them from going through with it.”

"I did just what I said I was going to do. I got a bunch of information on the church and blackmailed them. Your parents' allegiance to the church, over you two, was made very clear. So I explained to them how I would make life very difficult for the church, and them, if they didn't cooperate.”

"And you sure they will go along with it?" She asked, still not quite believing the danger to her sister was over.

"Yes. I showed them what I have. It's damning stuff. They realize how bad things will get if I let it get out.”

"What about the other girls," Tami asked.

"I'm afraid there isn't anything I can do for them. The evidence isn't admissible in court, so the police can't use it. And those girls are all brainwashed enough that they would make any kind of intervention difficult. I will try and find something I can use to get the police involved; but for now, my priority was you and Judy.”

"So you make a habit out of blackmailing girls parents?" Emily asked, half smirking.

"Only when I have to," I said. "There is literally nothing I wouldn't do to keep you girls safe.”

Tami gave me a quick kiss and rushed out the door to go to Tina's house to give Judy the good news. I let the other girls lead me into the living room so they could tell me about their afternoon out.

About thirty minutes later Marcus showed up. He and I headed out the door. He looked concerned and wanted to get into it as soon as I was in the car.

"Wait 'till we get to the office," I told him, forestalling the questions that started as soon as I got in. "It saves me from having to do this twice. Ted and Jonathan will have all the same questions.”

"Yeah, I guess," Marcus said. We drove the rest of the way in silence. By the time we arrived both Ted and Jonathan were there waiting for us.

"Hey, guys," I said as I walked into Ted's office where the two were gathered. "Why the long faces.”

Ever since the break-in, everyone had been a little stressed; but the tension I felt when I walked into the room had notched up to a new level. Besides his desk, Ted had a small round table he used for meetings. Ted's men were seated at the table now, and Jonathan was over at Ted's desk talking on the phone. I grabbed a seat that faced the door, so I could be next to Ted. Once Marcus had grabbed a seat, pulled up the remaining chair to prop up my feet. It was probably a bit transparent, but I was trying to seem as casual and nonchalant as possible, hoping my mood would ease the tension in the room.

"We have a problem," Ted said as I sat. "I received an official notice today that the contract is on hold. They already accepted delivery of the test units, so that stays, but the order for the twenty units has been put on hold, indefinitely.”

"What happened?" I said, pulling my feet off the opposite chair.

"We aren't sure. Ron is dodging my calls," Ted replied.

"This is bad," Marcus said.

"Ok," Jonathan said as he hung up the phone, "I finally talked to your guy. He said he couldn't talk at the office, and had to wait 'till he got home. The order to shut us down came from much higher than his pay grade. From what he could find, MilTech Limited, one of the sub-contractors who handles much of their current drone productions, has ties to some DOD big wigs. They have been putting pressure on the Air Force to cut us out, and stick with their product.”

"We knew there were some rumblings," Ted said, "but from what I heard, the Air Force wasn't listening to it, since MilTech doesn't have anything comparable to SWEEP.”

"That is true," Jonathan replied, "but apparently there has been a change. MilTech started upping the pressure on their people in the DOD, and they have announced they will be launching a product that sounds very similar to ours, in the next few weeks.”

"Really?" Marcus said. "Everything I had heard suggested they hadn't even started working on a stealth product. How are they going to go from a full stop to production in just a few weeks. They need at least some lead time to do design and testing.”

No one had a good answer for him.

"This makes me even more concerned about the Mapes thing," I said. "I talked to Carter Talmon today. This guy Mapes is a ghost. Carter thinks he is a professional, some kind of corporate spy. Everything he could find on Mapes is fake.”

"Didn't Ron give you Mapes' name?" Jonathan asked Ted.

"Yeah, but he didn't know anyone specific when I asked, so he talked to some other guys in procurement, and got a name," Ted replied.

"Are we sure there wasn't anything taken in the break-in?" I asked. "Mapes being tied to someone at DOD. The break-in. The MilTech announcement. The canceling of our contract. I am having a hard time believing these things aren't all connected somehow.”

"It does feel that way," Ted said, "but no, nothing was taken. The safe wasn't breached and my IT guys swear the computers where we store back-ups of the plans haven't been touched.”

"So, what do we do?" I asked glumly.

No one said anything for a long time. We just looked around, sometimes at each other and other times at the walls around us. There didn't seem much we could do, but no one wanted to say it out loud. No one wanted to acknowledge how bad things were for us. Without this contract we were not 'dead in the water', but things would be a real struggle. Ronald's project would take a good deal of capital, for starters. It was a longer term bet than the drone project seemed to be.

Just sitting in silence was starting to get to me. I was about to suggest we call it a night and sleep on the question, when my thoughts were interrupted by a crashing sound from the front door. We were all up in an instant, and I rushed out the door, only to be greeted with a shock. Running from the broken in front door of the office were two men wearing ski-masks, and carrying guns.

The three of us were the only people in the building. These guys were making a beeline towards us, so they must have known where we were. The distance from the front door to Ted's office was pretty short and they were closing rapidly. Ted and the others were just coming out of his office and in the narrow hallway they would have been sitting ducks for the armed men.

There was no way the masked men could have expected me to move as fast as I did. As soon as I saw them, I held nothing back, both pushing my body to the limit, and forcing myself into 'the zone' of my slow motion perception. In the time it took for the man in front to raise his gun, which he had been carrying at his side while he ran, I was on him.

I pushed his wrist up as he fired, which sent a bullet ripping through the drop ceiling. I held on tight, pushing his body between me and his buddy. Thankfully the hallway was small enough that his buddy couldn’t get an angle on me that didn’t put his partner in danger. Still, I needed to do something, fast.

While holding his hand I grabbed the gun, which was still on its way up from the recoil, and rotated it up and away from me in a half circle. This caught the man's fingers in the trigger guard, the trigger itself was still mostly depressed, his finger just releasing pressure off it. After a fraction of an inch I felt resistance to my twisting, and added more pressure to my movement. As his finger broke against the trigger guard his grip weakened and I pulled the weapon out of his hand as I again pushed against his chest, giving me a few inches of working room.

Putting my weight on my back leg, I kicked out, placing my foot solidly into his chest. I put all of my strength into the kick, lifting him off the ground and sending him in a shallow arc down the hallway. It was only a few feet, but his buddy was close enough to be in the way.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was mildly impressed with the speed of his friend's reaction. He flattened himself against the wall to avoid the human missile I sent his way. He even managed to keep his gun pointed more or less in my direction. As soon as his buddy cleared the line of fire, he took his shot at me.

Unfortunately for him several things had been happening at once. He had hit the wall hard enough to dent the drywall. Added to the impact was the awkward sideways lean he was now in, and the fact that he was using one hand. All this would cause anyone, no matter how skilled, to take a serious hit to their accuracy.

I also had not been still. I continued falling forward from my kick, ending in a kneeling type of position. His bullet passed over me, and well to the left. Had I remained standing, I was pretty certain he still would have missed me. I heard a scream from behind me and feared the worst, but I couldn't let my attention waver. Not yet. He was already bringing his gun down for another shot and moving into a more stable firing position.

While I had been falling, I had also begun turning the gun in my left hand so I could grab the grip with my right hand. Being a child of the Generation X, I knew how a gun worked. I knew that guns had safeties, but seeing as how this one had just been fired just seconds before, I was certain it was still off. I also knew the basic mechanics of marksmanship, such as pointing the gun at my target and pulling the trigger.

I had never fired a gun before, so I was certain my aim would not be great, but I was only a handful of feet from my target. Thanks to my slowed perception of time, I had what seemed like an eternity to line up my shot. I wasn't going for anything fancy. I just pointed the barrel at the center of his chest, and pulled the trigger.

While I had been expecting recoil, the sudden motion of it still took me by surprise. I am not certain there was any way I could have been accurately prepared for it. I kept pulling the trigger, though, even as my first bullet was reaching its target.

Things were moving slow enough for me that I could see the bullet impact with an out-splashing of red. I was surprised he wasn't wearing some kind of bullet proof vest. Experience … and by experience, I mean watching movies … had taught me that guys like this normally did. He also didn't do that fall backwards thing you see in movies. It didn't seem to move him back much at all.

Then the second bullet hit. I hadn't readjusted with the recoil, so this one was much higher, going into his neck. It wasn't dead center. Instead it was slightly to the right side, but still close enough in that it looked pretty gruesome. The impact caused him to start to spin, his head angling to the left.

I had fired a third bullet, but this one sailed over his head, cutting at a sharp angle into the ceiling. He pulled the trigger on his weapon once more, but this seemed more like a reflex than an aimed shot. It punched through the drywall directly across the hallway.

His friend was just getting off the floor as I pushed myself up, and began moving towards him. He made a smart play, trying to push off the ground and spear me with a mid-section tackle. I had a gun, so running away from me wasn't his best option. He needed to either get his gun back, or get his partner's gun.

Unfortunately for him, I was still experiencing everything in slow motion, and I had the benefit of my enhanced reflexes. I moved aside and brought the gun down sharply on his head. The hall was narrow so he did manage to get a piece of me, knocking me down in the process; but he was out by the time I landed on the floor with him on top of me.

I wasn't sure if he was unconscious or dead. Blows like that are not like they are on TV. A forceful strike to the head with a hard metal object is as likely to crack your skull open, as it is to knock you out. Either way, he was out of the picture for a time, at least.

Time returned to normal as I pulled myself out from under him, and turned to face my friends. Ted was being held up by Jonathan, clutching his left arm. I could see blood seeping from between his fingers. All things considered, that was a much better result from a bullet shot down a crowded hallway then it might have been.

"How did you …" Marcus started.

I held up the hand not holding the gun and said, "Go call the cops, and an ambulance. I'll explain while they are on the way."

Chapter 20

None of us wanted to remain in the same area with the two inert bodies lying in the hall, so Jonathan and Marcus led Ted to the front reception area. There they could call the police and bandage Ted's arm. I stopped for a moment to collect the two guns, on the off chance the guy I struck on the head woke up.

I had just picked up the second gun when I noticed a green card sticking out of the back pocket of the second man. I knew I should leave the scene to the police, but my curiosity got the best of me. I leaned over and pulled the card out of his pocket. It was a paper sleeve with hotel room keycard inside. The sleeve listed a hotel not far from Ted's office. I'm not sure why I did it, but I slipped the card into my pocket. I knew that there was more behind this attack, and I had substance for my suspicions. It's not that I didn't trust the police, but I needed to get information, and I was certain they would not give me everything we needed to know.

Stepping over the bodies, I continued to the front office. Jonathan had grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the wound in Ted's arm and Marcus was just hanging up the phone. I set the two guns down on the desk away from all of us for the police to collect and pulled up a chair in front of the three men.

"They are on the way," Marcus said. "What the hell happened back there, Cas. How did you move that fast?”

All three men were looking at me intently, even Ted who was still gripping his arm.

"We only have a few minutes until the police get here, so I am not going to be able to explain everything to your satisfaction. Once this is all over I'll be happy to answer all of your questions. The short version is that after that drive-by shooting at my school, we learned that my genetics are different from other peoples. We are still trying to get a full understanding of what is happening, but what we know is that my brain is significantly more active than the normal brain, and my muscles are much more efficient.”

"So you have what …" Marcus asked, "superpowers?”

Everyone seems to jump right to the superpower thing.

"Not really," I said, "I can run a little faster than, well, anyone I know of. My hearing and vision are better. I also process information faster than normal. That last report you sent me, I read it in about seven minutes.”

"That was a hundred and fifty pages! I am finding this all very hard to believe," Marcus said, shaking his head.

"I don't," Ted said through gritted teeth. "Consider what you saw, just now. Also consider Cas's involvement in all of our business dealings. How is any of this normal for a fifteen year old? If anything, this explains a lot.”

"I am sure you all understand why it's important that we keep this quiet, right?”

All three nodded their heads. Jonathan opened his mouth to start to speak, when we heard tires squeal out in the parking lot.

"That's probably the cops," I said standing up. "We can all talk about this later, ok?”

All three men nodded their heads as two uniformed police officers came through the front door. Jonathan showed them to the hallway where the two men were lying. We had all agreed to let Jonathan do most the talking for us, although we each had to give statements. Ted was temporarily spared when the paramedics took him off to the hospital to get his arm looked at.

It took almost an hour at the offices to get it all sorted out, and another couple of hours at the police station answering questions. Since Jonathan was involved, he arranged for a friend of his to come sit in while we were giving statements.

While they didn't tell us we were in the clear, the detectives inferred that as long as everything at the scene backed up our stories, we should be ok. If ever there was a case for self-defense, this was it. I did learn that the second man, the one I struck in the head, also died. I wasn't sure how to feel about all of it. I had killed two men, which would shake anyone, but I also felt I'd not had a choice. I found that I didn't feel bad about having killed them, although I was feeling a little bad about not feeling bad. It would be something I would have to talk to Mom and the girls about. If nothing else talking to them would help me better understand my own thoughts on the subject, but for now I had other things to focus on.

First, I had to call home.

"Hello," Zoe said when she answered the phone.

"Hey, Zoe. I need to talk to Mom," I said.

"Where have you been. I thought your meeting was only going to last for a few hours?”

"Zoe, this is important. I need to talk to Mom.”

"Ok," she said with an exasperated sigh, "hold on.”

"Cas, is everything alright?" Mom said when she came on the line.

"I'm fine, but please don't freak out," I said.

"What's happening?" Mom asked. She was starting to get agitated.

"I am at the police station with Marcus and Jonathan. Some goons broke into the office tonight, with guns. Ted got shot in the arm and is at the hospital.”

"Oh my God. I'll be right there," She yelled.

She hung up before I could say anything. Marcus headed to the hospital to check on Ted and Jonathan waited with me until Mom got there, just in case. A few minutes later Mom came running up from the parking lot and crushed me in a hug.

"What happened?" she asked Jonathan.

"There was some kind of attack in the office. Cas managed to take out the two gunman before any of us could be seriously hurt, well, except for Ted. But the paramedics didn't think the wound was life threatening.”

"He knows," I told her, nodding at Jonathan.

"Ohh," she said as she released me from her vice-like hug. "You and the others should come and talk to me, later this week. I know Cas probably told you some of it, but he tends to gloss over some information that embarrasses him. Call me and set up a time to meet, and I will have his doctor come along. We will explain everything. Did you say anything to the police about …”

"No," Jonathan said, interrupting her. "Cas suggested we keep the more extraordinary aspects of what happened to ourselves, and we agreed. Thankfully, everything can be explain by Cas's martial arts training, and luck.”

"Thank you for that," Mom said, looking relieved.

"Jonathan, please call Mom later this week and arrange time to talk to her and my doctor. I trust you three implicitly, and could use your advice on everything that is happening," I said as I turned to shake his hand.

"Will do," Jonathan said.

We gave Jonathan a ride back to the office to retrieve his car. It was eerie seeing the front door taped off with yellow crime scene tape. When he got out of the car I turned to Mom.

"Before we go home, we need to make a stop," I said.

"Where?" She asked.

"The Asbury Hotel on 12th street.”

Instead of pulling out of the parking space, she turned to look at me.

"Why do you need to go there?" she asked.

"There is more going on here that just two guys coming after us. It has to do with the drone contract and the Mapes guy that tried to break into our patent safe. I know I should leave it to the cops, but they aren't going to see the bigger picture, at least not for a while. I am worried these guys will take another shot. We were lucky, tonight. I do not want to take another chance and see someone I care about getting seriously hurt.”

"So why do you want to go there?”

"They had a key for the hotel. I wanted to poke around a bit, see if I can find anything useful.”

"Caspian, you should really think about leaving this to the police.”

"I know, but I can't. I need to do this. Please.”

She thought for a long moment and then turned back to face the front of the car, and pulled out of the parking space.

"I must be out of my mind," she said to no one in particular.

It took less than five minutes to get to the hotel. I asked mom to stay in the car and promised I would be careful. The hotel was not one I would normally stay in, and if I missed my guess, they sometimes charged by the hour. The gunmen probably chose the hotel because employees and other guests went out of their way not to notice anything. I seriously doubted if this place had cameras, but I went in a side door, all the same.

The desk had been nice enough to write the room number on back side of the paper sleeve, room 413. I rode the rickety elevator up to the fourth floor, and leaned out of the elevator to look both ways before exiting. I wasn't sure what I was expecting; but I was greeted with a silent, empty hotel hallway.

At the door to room 413 I knocked quietly and waited. I had decided it was better to have someone in the room think I was lost, rather than burst through the door with their dead friends' room key. There was no response and after standing looking at the closed door for another moment, I put the key into the lock, and pulled my shirt sleeve over my hand to ensure I didn't touch anything as I entered the room.

The room itself was clean. The hotel was cheap, but they still kept maid service, and clearly they had been through since the last time the occupants had spent the night. I didn't know if the police would find this hotel or not, but I thought it best if I didn't leave fingerprints if I could avoid it. I saw a closed laptop on the desk in the room. Powering it on, I was happy to see it didn't have a password on it. Otherwise I would have had to take it to Zoe and see if she could get in. He had a mail icon on the screen and I clicked on it. I read through dozens of messages, most of which were either innocuous, or contained references that needed explanation. One was not.

From: kSambor@miltechinc.com

To: 10224uTns@yahoo.com

Re: Evolve

The original contractor was unable to retrieve the documents. We need to get the patent documents and any plans or designs they have, and soon. I don't care what you need to do. Get it done!

K.S.

I grabbed the hotel notepad and supplied pencil out of the desk draw and scribbled down the email word for word, along with the email address. I slipped the notepad, along with the pen that now had my fingerprints, into my pocket.

It was quite the smoking gun, but considering I wasn't supposed to be in this room, there wasn't much I could do about it … at least, not directly. I needed to talk to Ted and the others about this, and probably with Carter Talmon there, too.

I peeked outside quickly before leaving the room and locking the door behind me. Mom was relieved when I made it back to the car.

"See? No problem," I said as I slid into the passenger seat.

"I still don't like this," she said.

"I know. I promise I won't make a habit of it.”

"Hmm," was all she said as she drove us home.

I put the girls off for a few minutes, until I could call and make arrangements to meet Marcus, Jonathan, and Carter Talmon in Ted's hotel room the next morning. I made sure to impress on Marcus and Jonathan the need to keep the full scope of what happened away from Carter.

The rest of the night was spent answering questions for Mom and the girls. They were pretty freaked out. Rightfully so, since last time I was shot at, things had gone pretty badly. I reassured them that I was fine. Zoe in particular was keeping a close eye on me.

"What?" I said after I finished explaining what I found at the hotel. I could feel her eyes burning holes in me.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, not a scratch," I said smiling at her.

"That's not what I mean. I know how you let things get to you. How are you doing with what happened?”

"You mean, am I feeling screwed up because I killed those two guys. Maybe this is going to sound bad, but honestly … no. I feel ok with it. By the way they were coming in, it was pretty clear they meant to harm me and the others.”

She looked at me with an unsure expression.

"I'm serious, I feel fine.”

She let it drop but the rest of the night I could feel her watching me. I couldn't complain about that, really. I knew it was just because she cared about me and wanted to make sure I was ok, both physically and mentally. Still, I was happy when the next morning rolled around and Jonathan picked me up to go see Ted. I was surprised when Jonathan said we were meeting at Ted's house and not the hospital.

"Getting shot is pretty bad," he said when I expressed my surprise, "but the bullet didn't hit any bones or anything important. They patched him up, gave him some painkillers and sent him home. We don't get a lot of shootings here, but ERs see stuff worse than this all the time. From what Ted told me, they were actually pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.”

"Huh," was all I could say in response.

Thankfully, Jonathan had called everyone else, and had moved our meeting to Ted's house. They were all already there when we pulled up. Ted's wife, whom I had only met a couple of times, let us in and showed us to their living room where Ted was propped up in a recliner. She fussed over him for a few minutes, until he shooed her out of the room.

"I can't tell if she's mad I got shot, or happy that this has forced me to stay at home. She has been hovering since we got back last night.”

"So, you're gonna live?" I asked, half in jest and half in genuine concern.

"Yeah, they think I'll pull through. Of course now she is going to expect me to spend more time at home. That's why I'm glad we are meeting here. That way she can see you guys can't live without me, and maybe she'll let me go back to work.”

We all laughed at that, and then sat in silence for a moment. I wasn't sure if it was my revelation to them last night, or the violence itself, but everyone was still acting out of sorts, except Talmon who was a peripheral player in all this and just waited until it was his turn to participate.

"So," I said pulling papers out of my backpack and putting them on the table, "this is what I found at the hotel last night. I read most of this on the phone to Carter. I know there hasn't been much time between then and now; but these guys were definitely after us, and it seems pretty sure this ties in with Mapes.”

Everyone except Carter took a moment to look over the notes I made off the laptop in the gunman's room.

"Like the kid said," Carter stated, standing up, "I didn't have much time, but I was able to get a little information. It did work in our favor that the mastermind behind all this seems to be an idiot. There is a Karl Sambor at MilTech, Inc who is VP of new developments. I called around and, while nothing has actually been brought out directly against him, he has a rep. He is a 'win at all costs' type of guy.”

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a couple of documents. On the front were photos of two men.

"These are the guys who came after you. I haven't had time to do much digging, but I talked to someone I know at the precinct. These two do have some records outta Houston. They seem to be muscle for hire, and both have done a little time. One for assault and the other for extortion. My best guess is they were what they seem, just muscle hired for the job of ripping you off. Not sure where a guy like Mr. Sambor gets together with the likes of these two, but it seems pretty cut and dried.”

"So what do we do about this," Marcus asked?

"That's a good question. First, the cops need to see the evidence you found, but I am not sure how to do that without getting you in trouble," Carter said.

"I was careful. The hotel is not big on security and I didn't see any cameras. I didn't run in to anyone on my trip there and I don't think anyone saw me. I made sure to keep my hands covered before I touched anything, so there shouldn't be any fingerprints," I said.

"Well that helps," he responded, looking thoughtful. "We still need to get the key to the cops.”

"The office was a wreck," Jonathan said. "They could have dropped it during the struggle and it was overlooked. We just had the office released back to us, although we had all the employees stay home, at least until we can get someone out to clean up. I could drop the key off at the station, since I am the legal representative of the company they might not think much of it.”

"OK, let's do that," I said. "I think that's it on this front. Carter, thanks again for everything you are doing for us.”

"I'm in it for a paycheck, and yours cleared," he said with a grin,”but, sure thing, kid.”

Carter saw himself out and I turned back to my colleagues.

"Don't let him fool you, Cas," Jonathan said, "I've known Carter for years, and he turns down a lot of work. He won't take anything that goes against his … let's call it a personal code.”

"Fine by me. I like that guy," I said. "Plus he does damn fine work.”

"So," Marcus said changing the subject, "What do we do about the company. Without this contract we are in a bad place?”

"We still have some working capital," Ted added.

"True," I said, "but Ronald's project is a ways off and his initial design is going to be pricey.”

"If we build it on the Gulf Coast and can show our method has promise," Ted said, "I am betting we can get some funding from state and even city governments to defray our costs. We might be able to get more if we shop our test plant around California. They have been struggling with matching the demand for water in the state. It's not critical yet, but some are predicting real issues in the next ten years or so. That will defray a lot of our build costs.”

"True. And I am willing to put everything I was just paid out back into the company if needs be. We should also start shopping our drone to other governments, too. I can see the Brits, Germans or French going for it. Who knows, we might get lucky," I said.

Ted thought for a moment and said, "Maybe. We don't have the contacts with their procurement departments like we did here, and their defense industry is just as entrenched as here in the US. It will be tough.”

"Yeah, but what else can we do?" I asked.

No one had an answer for me and the meeting broke up shortly after that. I convinced Jonathan and Marcus to follow me back home, so they could talk with Mom. Ted wanted to come, too, but his wife put her foot down. I got the impression he was happy for the attention, but knew he would be going stir crazy before long.

I left Mom and the girls to have a frank discussion with Marcus and Jonathan, and hid out upstairs. I still wasn't crazy about everyone discussing me in the abstract, so I preferred to let my family go over all the details and I could come down later. After about an hour Mom called me to come back downstairs.

"All done?" I asked as I came down the stairs.

"No," she said, looking worried. "Tina is here. There is a problem with Margret.”

I hurried after into the living room, looking upset. Tina was hugging Zoe when I came in, but when she saw me, she broke the embrace and rushed over to me.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I stroked her hair, trying to sooth her.

"Mom hurt herself. Her yelling got worse, and she was breaking stuff, then she punched the TV. She was bleeding really bad. I called an ambulance, but Mom didn't want me to get in with her. She said to stay home.”

I looked over her head and said to Zoe, "I think Alex is working a shift tonight. Call the hospital and see if she can find out what's going on.”

Zoe nodded and went into the kitchen to grab the phone. I led Tina to the couch and made shushing noises trying to get her to calm down. Marcus and Jonathan were looking highly uncomfortable in the middle of all this.

"You guys can take off, you don't have to stick around for this," I said to them.

"I'll hang around for a few minutes. For something like this you might need legal advice," Jonathan said.

I wasn't sure if he thought we would but he was trying to be supportive and I appreciated. Marcus nodded absently, but said nothing, instead looking down at his shoes. I took that to mean he had agreed to stay for a little while as well. About ten minutes later Zoe came back in.

"Alex is on the phone, Cas. She wants to talk to you.”

I passed Tina back to Zoe, who replaced me on the couch, and went to the phone.

"Alex?" I asked when I picked up the handset that was sitting next to the phone cradle.

"Cas, Zoe told me what was happening. I'm not working in the ER, but I came down to take a peek at Margret’s chart. She will be fine, but she is going to need to get stitches.”

"What caused all this?" I asked more to myself then to Alex.

"Cas, talk to Angela.”

"Why?”

"Just, do it, please. She can explain.”

Then Alex hung up. Very cryptic. I walked back in and looked over at Mom.

"Alex said I should talk to you," I said to her.

"She did?" she said. It was worded as a question, but her tone was more resigned than confused.

"I asked her what caused Margret to attack the TV, and she said to talk to you about it.”

Mom looked uncomfortable for a moment but met my gaze when she said, "We have been checking up on her since Tina told you about her behavior. We weren't able to get much, but from what Alex could find out about the prescriptions issued, and some off-hand conversations she had with one of Margret’s psychiatrists that Alex knows socially, we believe she has some kind of chemical imbalance. At least that is what the drugs she is on suggests.”

"And that caused her to attack her TV?" Tina asked, sitting up and taking interest.

"I can't say for sure, since this isn't either Alex's area or mine, but yes. Wild mood swings, violent outbursts, and paranoia can all be symptoms. Of course, they could not be symptoms, also. There are several chemical imbalances that the medication she has been prescribed could be used for. This is all guess work.”

"Cas," Tina said looking at me, "Can you help her?”

"Help her like …" I said, stopping mid-sentence trying to get her to finish her question.

"She is having some kind of chemical thing in her brain. Wouldn't your blood fix her like it fixed Mrs. Bell?”

I looked over at mom with a question.

She shook her head, "I have no way of knowing. Let me go call Alex back and see.”

She walked out of the room and I started pacing back and forth.

"So your blood really does alter the physiology of other people," Jonathan asked.

"Yes. We have learned that much. Besides confirming physical benefits, it cleared up Mom's cancer," I answered him. "But, it has side effects.”

"The loyalty thing?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes. We are pretty sure, but our tests into that have been limited. Plus, 'loyalty' is kind of a nebulous thing to test for. But we think so.”

"So an infusion of your blood could help your step-mother?”

I shrugged, "Maybe. We are still feeling these things out day by day. This is all uncharted waters.”

“So you if your blood is compatible with hers, the same type, or whatever, you will be able to test this?” Jonathan asked.

Mom reappeared at this moment and said, "It doesn’t have to be tested. Cas’s blood morphs to be compatible with any blood type.”

She then turned to me and said, “Alex thinks it might work, but she said she has no way of knowing either. But she says it's worth a try. Margret’s condition seems to be deteriorating.”

I looked over at everyone else, and then at Tina, "This isn't something I can decide alone. Tina?”

"If it will help her, then I say yes. It's worth a try. She scares me.”

I looked at each of my girls, and they all answered 'yes', as did Mom.

When I looked at Jonathan, he held up his hand and said, "This is a family decision.”

"You are in the inner circle, now, with all the rights and privileges thereof,” I responded in my best legalese.

He didn't laugh, but nodded solemnly, followed by Marcus.

"Ok, tell Alex to do it. I know she has a small supply from the last time I came in for tests. This will take a while, Jonathan, you and Marcus take off. We will call and let you know what happens.”

They somewhat reluctantly left while the rest of us sat around, trying to act normal while we waited to find out if the blood mixing worked.

Chapter 21

We all just sat, awkwardly, for almost an hour. At one point, we tried to watch TV to take our minds off what was happening at the hospital, but after about ten minutes of no one even glancing at the screen, we shut it off.

Eventually, the phone rang. Mom, who was closest, grabbed the handset.

She listened intently for a few minutes then said, "Oh, dear. Ok, I'll be right there.”

As soon as she hung up we all started talking to her at once, but she ignored us and grabbed her keys. On the way to the door she stopped to address the rest of us.

"We aren't sure what's happening, but Alex said there is a complication. She wants me to look at some of the results. I know you are anxious to find out what is happening, but please, just wait here. I will call as soon as we know something.”

Tina, looking terrified, said, "Can I come with you? Please.”

"No," Mom responded, "that wouldn't be a good idea, and you would spend all of your time sitting in a waiting room. Just wait here with the others. I promise we will call as soon as we can.”

With that, she was out the door. Hours passed. I was ready to tell Zoe to get her keys when the phone rang again. I grabbed it this time.

"Hello," I said.

"Cas, this is going to take more time than I thought," Mom said from the other end of the line. "Y'all try and get some sleep, and I'll call back in the morning. Keep Tina there at the house with you.”

"But … " I tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Stay at the house, Cas. We aren't sure yet what is happening. I know this is hard, but you have to wait a little while longer.”

"Ok," I said, resignedly.

"Thanks, Sweety. I am sorry about all this, and I promise I will let you know what is happening as soon as we know," she said and then hung up.

I turned to the rest of the gang.

"They still don't know anything. Mom and Alex are going to be at it all night. She said we should call it a night and they will talk to us in the morning.”

It was like a dam had broken as the noise from everyone talking at once rushed over me.

"Wait…WAIT!" I yelled to get their attention. "I know you're all shocked and want us to do something. But remember Mom and Alex are trained for this kind of thing. We would all just be in the way. We need them to be able to focus on what they are doing, and not trying to deal with us at the same time.”

"Should I …" a sad sounding Tina started.

"No," I said, stopping her, "you're staying here with us, tonight.”

I then turned to Tami and Vicki and said, “Let's get you two home and call it a night. We can all get together first thing in the morning.”

We went with Zoe and dropped Tami and Vicki at their houses. They were both reluctant to leave us, but even with everything that was happening they still needed to spend most nights in their own beds.

We swung by Tina's house so she could get pajamas and then came back home. Tina wedged herself between Zoe and me, and we both hugged on her tightly. She silently cried for a bit before drifting off to sleep. The emotional toll of the day had done a number on her. Zoe and I followed her into sleep not long after.

When I woke up the next morning the girls were still out cold, but light was streaming in through the windows. I made my way out of bed as carefully as possible and poked around the house, seeing if Mom had come home some time during the night. No such luck. Except for Zoe, Tina and me, the house was empty.

It was already eight in the morning, and I knew at least Zoe would be up soon. She didn't normally like getting up as early as I did, but she rarely slept past eight.

I pulled out a few boxes of cereal, some bowls and spoons, and the milk; setting them all on the table. I was about to fill my bowl when there was a knock at the door. Opening it I found Vicki, Tami, and Megan standing on the porch.

"Hey, guys, you're just in time for breakfast," I said, turning back towards the kitchen and leaving the door open so they could follow.

I pulled out more bowls and spoons, and set them on the table.

"Vicki called me this morning and told me what was happening. I wanted to come over and make sure everything was all right," Megan said in an unrequested explanation.

"No problem," I told her. "You know you're always welcome. I don't have any news, though. Mom called last night and said she and Alex were still working on whatever happened, and she would see us this morning. She hasn't come back yet.”

"Man, this is taking a long time," Vicki said. "It didn't take this long with anyone else.”

"Yeah, but no one else was having mental issues at the time. The brain is pretty complex," I said.

"Do you think she will be all right," Tina said from the doorway. I hadn't heard her coming downstairs. Zoe stood behind her.

"I don't know," I said. "Come. Eat some breakfast.”

We were all just finishing breakfast when the front door opened. It was like a stampede out of the room. We caught Mom and Alex just walking into the living room and we all stopped cold, staring intently.

"Everyone sit down, and we will tell you what's happening," Mom said.

I knew it wasn't good. Her eyes were sunken and she looked tired, but behind the exhaustion was a sadness that she couldn't hide.

Mom sat next to Tina and took her hand, "Tina, Sweety, I'm so sorry.”

"Is she …" Tina said, he eyes filling with tears.

"No, she's alive. But things got worse. We are almost certain it was caused by the blood mixing. She was already in the middle of a serious episode when I arrived, and had been strapped down. We gave her an injection and at first it looked like things were going to get better. She settled down and even slept a little bit.”

Mom looked at Alex, who took over, "An hour after the injection Margret suffered a serious psychotic break. One of her doctors told me it was the worst he had ever seen. She is experiencing delusions, both visual and auditory and swings from violent rages to wailing and crying. She was moved to the psychiatric ward this morning.”

"None of her doctors know what caused this, but this is beyond the chemical imbalance she was experiencing before. There is no chance that her previous condition is connected to these new symptoms. It is unprecedented. I am certain our attempt at blood mixing is what caused it. The period between her being injected and the beginning of her psychotic break corresponds to the period of time everyone else here experienced before first feeling the affects of their injections.”

It was as though a lead weight had settled in my stomach, and I felt nauseous.

"I'm so sorry," I said to Tina. "I didn't know. I would never have put her in harm's way.”

"I know," Tina said after a moment as she too came to grips with the information. "We all agreed on this. You checked with every one of us. It was unanimous. I don't blame you Cas, any more than I blame myself.”

I couldn't agree with that last part. I knew it would be some time before I would forgive myself for what happened to Margret.

"Do we know why this happened to her?" I asked, pushing my feelings down. "There was no indication of this with anyone else.”

"I have a guess," Mom said. "We have discussed people who have some kind of baseline revulsion to you, even when they had just met you. We believed Margret was one of those people. I think that those people have some kind of … genetic allergy I guess is the only way I can put it … to you, Cas. We know that many psychoses are genetic in nature. It is my guess, and I will be clear that this is just a guess, that instead of building up and improving someone at a genetic level, their allergy to you causes flaws in them at a genetic level.”

"As Angela said," Alex added, "This is all just guesswork. Without some kind of controlled test, we will never really know. But the explanations fit all the facts we have, as of right now.”

"It does sound plausible," I said, "but I never want to test this on anyone else.”

Mom nodded, saying, "Agreed. We will avoid any kind of mixing with someone who exhibits similar traits in the future.”

"So what happens to me," Tina asked, looking younger then I remember her ever looking.

"For now, you stay here," I said, looking at Mom for confirmation, which she gave. "I will call Jonathan now, and find out what our options are. What is going to happen to Margret?”

This last question was directed at Mom and Alex.

"She is going to be committed. Usually, it is temporary until she can be stabilized, but if what we think happened is true, I don't foresee that ever happening," Alex answered in her clinical, somewhat dispassionate tone.

"Come on," Zoe said standing up and taking Tina's hand, "let's go upstairs for a bit. We need to get your mind off all of this, while they try and figure out a game plan.”

"Ok," Tina said as she stood up with Zoe.

As she passed me she let go of Zoe's hand and gave me a hug.

"I don't blame you for this, Cas. We all agreed, so please don't let this eat at you. I know how you get. I know you guys will figure out something.”

She let go and took Zoe's hand. As they went up the stairs Zoe gave me a knowing look, most likely trying to reinforce the 'don't let this eat at you' part of the statement. Sometimes Zoe did a remarkable mother bear impersonation, much like her mother.

When they disappeared up the stairs I went to the phone and called Jonathan and put him on speaker phone.

"Jonathan, the problem last night was worse than we feared," I said without preamble.

"What happened," he asked, concern in his voice.

"We think something went wrong with the blood mixing. You remember the people with some kind of built in aversion we told you about?”

"Yeah.”

"Well Margret was one of them, we are pretty sure, although we don't have an actual test for this. Alex believes it's more than an aversion, she thinks it's some kind of genetic allergy. We can't be positive, but after being injected Margret suffered a complete and total psychotic breakdown. While we have no way to know, both Mom and Alex think this is going to be permanent.”

"What can I do," he asked.

"We need to figure out what to do about Tina," Mom said, nudging me aside slightly so she was closer to the speakerphone.

"I can see that. If this lasts more than a few days she is going to get a visit from child services. Ok, let me work it from this end. I am guessing you are going to let her stay with you for now, until we figure out something?" he asked Mom.

"Yes. If possible see if you can get me some kind of long term custody of her and Cas. I don't know if that is made easier by the fact that he has been living with us for most of this year.”

"It might. Let me get on this. I will call you back," he said and hung up without waiting for our response.

After explaining the situation to Tina, we went and picked up a bunch of her stuff so she would be comfortable, and moved her into the spare room down the hall from Zoe's room.

We all just sat around the rest of the day, waiting, but Jonathan didn't call that day. We only had a brief call from him on Sunday, saying he was working on it, but didn't have anything solid for us yet.

Monday started the last week of school and we all had finals we had to take, so missing school wasn't an option. I hoped Tina wouldn't be so distracted her grades slipped, but at this point there was nothing I could do about it.

The whole week went by without a word from Jonathan as we finished out the school year.

While all of our classmates were jumping for joy over being done with school, there was a group of us who moped through the last day of school. All of my girls were as concerned for Tina as I was. They had bonded to her and each considered Tina as a sister, especially Tami. She was hearing it both from me and Tina, and from Judy, who was concerned about her best friend.

On Saturday, over a week from Margret's break, we finally heard from Jonathan. He dropped by just after lunch. Vicki and Tami were not around, but Mom, Tina, Zoe and I joined him in the living room.

"Ok, I have a bunch of stuff," he said, sliding paperwork out on the table.

"First is the custody. I have spent a lot of time talking to the people at CPS and a family judge I know, who helped me expedite this somewhat. You are going to have to go to court, but it's a formality. They did some checks on you and everything cleared. It helped that I was able to round up several upstanding members of the community to give you character references.”

"Who …" Mom started to ask.

"Alexandra Chang, Ted, Marcus, the Hollabrands," he told her, smiling.

She couldn't hold her chuckle in and said, "Ohh, the Caspian network.”

"Precisely. You are going to be assigned custody of both Tina and Caspian. Adoption is a possibility, although considering Caspian's relationship with Zoe, I would actually recommend against that. Legal custody should be enough. CPS will come by next week some time to inspect the house. I know you have a room set up for Cas, and you just set up the spare room for Tina, but Caspian really needs to spend the night in his own room for a while.”

This last part was directed my way. I nodded sheepishly.

"And that takes care of that. Actually it was all pretty straightforward, and you were right, it did help that you have had de facto custody of Caspian for almost a year. Considering the Grey's have no other relatives that seem interested in taking them, this solved a problem for CPS. They had no interest in adding more kids to the system, and were more than happy to jump at an easy solution.”

Tina looked a bit relieved. I know she was worried about Margret still, but things had been hard at home for a while. I think somewhere, deep inside, she was happy about being able to escape that environment.

"I actually have something else," Jonathan said, talking over the conversations that had started after his last pronouncement. "This is business related however.”

"I don't hold anything back from this group," I told him.

He shrugged and continued, "Ok. I received a call from the CEO of MilTech. He wants you to meet with him.”

"About what," I said, surprised.

"He said he wanted to clear up everything that has happened. For some background, I turned the key over to the police over a week ago, and I know the room was searched. It is almost certain they have approached MilTech about this already.”

"So what do you think he wants," Mom asked, concern thick in her voice.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't think you should do it. He made it clear he was only interested in speaking to you … CEO to CEO. I don't think he knows your age, or really anything about you.”

"Could it be dangerous?" Mom asked.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. If they planned something they wouldn't leave a trail through Cas's lawyer leading right to them.”

"Set up the meeting," I said.

"Cas, I don't think …" he started to protest.

"I know," I said cutting him off. "Please set up the meeting. I think you're right, he isn't planning anything, at least not overt. He might be planning on threatening me, but then at least we have some information to go on. Right now we are flying blind.”

"All right, if that's what you want, I'll set up a meeting for you Monday morning with Mr. Baxter," he said standing up and picking up the documents Mom had signed. "I need to get back to the office. I will have these filed Monday morning, and then I'll let you know when the hearing is scheduled.”

Jonathan had called with information on the meeting the next day. Their offices were in Washington D.C., which wasn't surprising considering what they did. We scheduled plane tickets for Mom and me to fly to D.C. and spend the night, since the meeting was at nine the next morning. Zoe and Tina had worked out that they would spend a few days at Vicki's house. Since we were on the CPS radar, thanks to the custody documents, we felt it best if there was always adult supervision around.

Thankfully school was over, so we didn't have to worry about scheduling around that. Looking back I was a bit surprised we had managed to make it through the year and still hold our grades up, considering how much had happened this year.

I talked Mom into waiting at a nearby coffee shop. It would be hard enough convincing them I was serious, without having my adult guardian standing over my shoulder. I walked into the office building that was apparently entirely owned by MilTech and gave them my name. While I waited I saw her glancing my way several times, and I had the distinct impression that she thought this was some kind of mistake. I had to show her my ID, which since I didn't drive yet was a school ID, which probably made the situation worse.

Still, after a few minutes, someone who looked not much older than me (but who was probably in his early twenties), came and ushered me to the top floor. My guide dropped off in a plush waiting room, guarded by another secretary. She however didn't ask me any questions, instead showing me through the double door leading to the inner office.

Inside was a man I would guess was in his mid-forties who stood up to great me as I entered.

"Caspian, glad you agreed to meet with me," he said.

He actually sounded sincere. Even though I had tried to play off concerns with Jonathan, Mom, and the girls, I was more actually fairly concerned about this meeting.

"No problem," I said trying to play it as mellow as possible until I knew what his angle was.

"Let's get down to it," he said as he gestured at one of the padded chairs opposite his desk. I was surprised when he sat at the accompanying chair, instead of behind his impressive desk.

"The police contacted me early last week about some activities at your offices and information they found that tied to my company," he continued after sitting.

"The evidence is pretty damning.”

"Yes, I know. And I want you to know we have been cooperating fully with the police. This is not how I do business; and, regardless of what the police come up with, I plan on doing a little house cleaning.”

"I appreciate the sentiment, Mr. Baxter …”

"Call me Aaron, please," he said interrupting me.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Aaron, but sending armed men after your competitors is not a first step. This is something that has built up over time.”

"I think you may be right. I know this is a common sentiment from someone sitting in my chair, but I was as astonished about this as you were.”

"I doubt that," I said with a snort.

"Ok, maybe not as astonished as you were, but it still shocked me that this kind of thing could happen in my company. I won't lie and say I don't support aggressive business tactics, but within the law! I knew we were lobbying against your efforts to get your drone picked up by the DOD, and I won't apologize for that. It's how business is played at this stage. However, I did not know about the attempts at stealing your work product, or sending armed men after you! I would have stopped it had I known about it.”

"I hope that is true, for your sake. The police have good evidence against you, and we have made suggestions to the department of justice to look into your past dealings for similar activities. They seemed interested. If you were involved, you might be looking at a much different office in the near future.

"There won't be anything for them to find, but I welcome any investigations," he said with a frown. "One of the reasons I invited you here was to offer you my apologies for what happened.”

"Thank you," I said tersely.

"Considering your life was put in danger by what happened, I didn't hold out much hope that my apology would amount to much, but I wanted to make it all the same.”

"And the other reason?" I asked.

"Right, because I said one reason. You are sharp. What information we have on you suggested you were much smarter than most people give you credit for, due mostly to your age. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about, is a business proposition.”

"Seriously?" I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

"Yes, I know how that sounds. Just hear me out. Whoever sent those thugs after you had one thing correct. Your product is something my company very much needs to have. We have looked over your patent filings, and my engineers believe some of your innovations will be worth serious money. Not just to our own intelligence community, but to those of foreign governments as well, or at least those we are allowed to sell military tech to.”

"You saw our patents? I thought those were under some kind of classified status with the DOD?" I said surprised. According to Marcus and Ted, since we were building intelligence apparatus for the government, most of our designs and patents around that equipment were classified. It was one of the reasons for the safe for our documents.

"You aren't the only one with friends in procurement." he said with a smile. "I want you to go back to your partners. I am prepared to purchase your drone technology, and considering the situation we find ourselves in, I believe you might end up with the upper hand in these negotiations.”

"Why would we sell to you?" I asked.

"Several reasons. One is you are not set up for this, not to take it to the level it will end up going. You are a small boutique shop. You just don't have the infrastructure. Also, from what my sources tell me, you have other projects in the works that are non military in nature. Projects that will require a good deal of funding if what I am told is right.”

"Your investigators seem to have dug up a lot on us. Hopefully they will be as thorough when looking into the actions of your own employees.”

"They will be. I shouldn't say anything, but you will be seeing some things very soon that should back me up on that. So, will you take this to your partner's.”

"Yes. That's the best I can offer.”

"It's all I ask. Your lawyer has my information. Have them call my office and we can start negotiating. I look forward to working with you and I hope the first impression you have of my company won't stick with you. We have some bad apples to be sure, but you can trust me.

"Right," I said with a derisive snort. I hadn't actually planned on responding, but it sort of slipped out.

"Point taken. But you can work with me. And in business that is more important.”

We said our goodbyes and I followed the reverse course back to the lobby, where I met up with Mom.

"So, what did he want?" Mom asked as we walked out to our rental car. "Threats to get the police to back off?”

"No, he said he was cooperating. What he wanted is to buy our drone technology.”

"Really?”

"Yeah.”

"Are you going to do it?”

"I have no idea. I will take the offer to Marcus, Jonathan and Ted. We will probably loop Charles Green into the conversation. If we do decide to go through with selling our drone patent, he is the guy to do the negotiating.”

"Is this a real offer; or is he just messing with you guys, and trying to buy some good will?”

"I have no idea," I said, and I really didn't.

Chapter 22

When we got back home from D.C., everyone was excited and wanted to find out what happened. Sadly there wasn't much I could tell them. I got Marcus, Jonathan, Charles Green, and an exceptionally skeptical Ted to get in contact with Mr. Baxter. I wasn't holding my breath about that, however. He seemed pretty sincere, but they had sent armed gunmen after us, so 'sincerity' didn't really count for much.

I checked in with Alex to find out if there was any news about Margret, as well. Nothing great on that front either. She was the same, and Alex said again that she was extremely skeptical that Margret would ever recover. The one bright point was that Tina was settling in nicely.

I knew she was concerned about Margret, but I hadn't thought she was truly unhappy about her home situation until I saw the difference between the girl now living with us, and the Tina from just a few weeks before. Some part of me was a little happy that things had worked out this way, letting Tina escape from what had clearly been a stressful and emotionally exhausting home life.

We used the lull in activities to start planning our summer vacation. Emily was still out, so it looked like right now it would be the girls, Megan, Sarah, Tina, Mom and me all heading out for a summer vacation together. We had decided to go on one of the big cruise lines that were based out of Galveston. It was close enough to drive so all we needed were the tickets for the cruise itself, making logistics pretty easy. Tami was working on getting her parents to bend and let Judy come along, so Tina would have someone to pal around with. Mom was footing the bill, couching it as one of my birthday presents. We were all pretty excited about it, although I wished that Emily were coming with us.

Since I returned from D.C., Emily hadn't been around much and I was starting to get a little worried. Even when she was around, she had started to pull away from me, retreating back into her shell a little, which I took as a bad sign. I had made a few trips to her house, and didn't see anything overt. There were no new marks of abuse to hint at things starting up again. Her dad had made himself scarce the times I had visited, so it was hard to read the dynamic, but the hairs on the back of my neck were telling me something wasn't quite right.

Sadly, there was nothing I could really do. I had already taken a risk once meddling in her family affairs and still didn't know what the full effects of that would be. I didn't want to go wading into her family dynamics again unless I absolutely had to.

Thankfully I finally managed to find something to ease my worrying over Emily, and my guilt over Margret. In the early evening a week after we got back from D.C., I got a call from Jonathan to turn on the TV to the national news. Tina and the girls were all watching some show and I got a chorus of discontent when I grabbed the controller from them and switched the channel. Once the words of the broadcast sunk in, they all became as focused as I was.

… rteen employees were taken out of the offices of MilTech Limited today in handcuffs. Agents from the FBI and Department of Defense were seen taking computers, files, and boxes of documents… along with the men… shortly after a mid-morning raid on the company's offices.

The video showed men in shirts and ties with suit jackets draped over their heads being escorted out by agents with windbreakers that declared the government agency they worked for on the back. In the background other agents could be seen hauling box and other supplies out of the building.

The scene on the TV then switched to a man I didn't recognize standing in front of several microphones. The newscaster explained that he was the head of marketing for the company, and that he had made a statement moments after the arrest. They then proceeded to air part of that statement.

"The arrests today of members of MilTech's management staff are part of an ongoing investigation that MilTech has been cooperating with. We recently learned of a manifold of crimes by some of our employees, including extortion, bribery, and attempted murder. As soon as we learned of these crimes MilTech took proactive steps to ensure the culprits were brought to justice, and has worked hand in hand with Federal agents to achieve this goal. We want to make it clear that the actions of these men and women arrested are not indicative of the type of behavior we at MilTech condone. In addition to working with the authorities we are also reaching out to the parties wronged by these individuals. While we cannot name the parties affected by an ongoing investigation, we make a promise today that MilTech will take responsibility and corrective action for our employee’s wrong doing. We are also opening our books to the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense, for a total audit of our company. It is our hope that this proves that we are operating, and will continue to operate, in good faith. It is the goal of everyone at MilTech to supply the equipment needed by our brave soldiers around the world. We will take every step available to put this episode behind us and focus on what really matters. The men and women in uniform. Thank you.”

I handed the controller back to Tami and called Jonathan back.

"Holy cow," I said as soon as he picked up.

"Yeah, I know. Aaron called me personally to let me know what was happening, and said that this was the part of an offer he wanted to make us. He already talked to Ted and Marcus as well, and is flying here. We have a meeting scheduled in the morning.”

"So this is serious? He is going to make a legitimate offer on our patents?" I asked.

"It seems so," Jonathan said. "Even Ted is convinced. I know we haven't been bugging you with the details of the negotiations, but this could be serious. So far it has all been preliminary, going over what the sale would cover and what they would need from us. Charles told them we wouldn't sell for less than five hundred million, which I thought was a stretch. But he swears that when you figure in the sales to NATO allies, it could be worth a lot more that that.”

"Wow, that is a lot of money," I said, stunned. "That would really open up things for us.”

"Without a doubt. It is clear he is going to make his offer tomorrow, so we should all be there.”

"Count me in. See you in the morning.”

I walked back into the living room like a zombie, completely stunned.

"Cas, are you ok?" Zoe asked, looking over at me concerned.

"I really don't know," I said.

"What happened?" Tami asked.

"I think tomorrow MilTech is going to offer us five hundred million dollars for our patents.”

The room went dead silent for a moment, then exploded in loud noises. Some of it was questions directed at me, questions I couldn't hear because of the squealing and jumping up and down Tina and Vicki were doing.

Eventually everyone calmed down enough for Zoe to ask, "Is this for real?”

"Yeah, we think so. But I guess we'll know for sure in the morning.”

I could barely sleep that night and was at the office a full hour before the meeting. So early in fact that Zoe, who had driven me, and I were the first ones there.

"Is this for real?" I asked Ted when he came in, echoing Zoe's question from the night before.

"It seems to be. Trust me, I was as skeptical as anyone, but everything seems on the up and up. As he promised, we saw his first real gesture, yesterday," Ted said, putting his stuff away.

Ted was the last one to arrive, as we had all agreed to arrive early for a pre-meeting pow-wow.

"So you think the five hundred million is a fair price," I asked Charles.

"I do. Stealth is the big thing in military technology right now. The innovations that Marcus made can be used as a stepping stone outside of drones. Once you consider it's long range value, in addition to the actual sales of drones to both the US government and allies that we would be allowed to sell this kind of material to, I think it's fair.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Actually it's a little under what I think the real value of this is, but I think it was the smart play. It's high enough that they know it's a real number, but a bargain that hopefully MilTech will want to jump at.”

"It sounds like you think we should sell this off, even if we get less than full market value for our tech," I asked.

"We all talked about that in the earlier meetings, and I do. You guys just aren't set up for this kind of thing. Contracting to the government is a very specific specialty, and honestly you lucked into what you originally got. The odds of your selling a second product are not good. No, you want to get out of the military contracting business.”

"Ok, that makes sense. I have been wanting to move us to more humanitarian projects, or at least humanitarian adjacent. I just didn't want to leave money on the table.”

"Trust me," Charles said, "I think it's worth leaving forty cents out of every dollar on the table if you can step away. Besides the infrastructure, there are political aspects you haven't had to deal with yet, that you will really want to avoid. It's worth the loss of some money upfront, to keep from dropping money down rabbit holes later.”

"Ok, so we are all agreed, as long as he is in the ballpark, we take the deal," I said to the room in general.

Everyone gave their agreement, which was good since that was the moment Mr. Baxter showed up. Mary Ann announced him over the intercom in Ted's phone, who told her to send Mr. Baxter back.

He shook everyone's hand when he entered the room saying, "Was that proof enough to our commitment to make this right with you?”

"It was an excellent first step," Jonathan said.

Always the negotiator. Maybe it's my youthful naïveté or the fact that I wasn't part of the negotiations over the last week, but I was blown away by their proof of commitment. Wisely, I held my tongue.

"Excellent," Baxter said, unfazed by Jonathan's wording. "So let's make this quick, since we have already gone over the details for what you would be willing to sell. We are talking about the drone patents, along with the accompanying patents for the internal mountings and electronics. Also the design schematics, and all ancillary work product connected to the patents in question”

Jonathan looked in Ted's direction, who gave a single assenting nod.

"Correct," Jonathan said.

"Excellent. I have spoken with my board of directors and we are prepared to offer you this in return," Baxter said as he handed a folded piece of paper to Ted.

Ted opened it, and his jaw dropped. I was surprised. Normally, Ted holds a pretty tight poker face in meetings. He handed the paper to Jonathan, who showed no reaction at all, at least none that I could see. Next the paper moved to me and I unfolded it.

Seven-Hundred and Fifty Million!

I couldn't believe it. We were prepared to take anything in the ballpark of Charles's estimate, and they instead added half again the value. Sadly, I followed Ted's example, rather than Jonathan's. I am sure the look of surprise on my face was readily apparent.

I handed the paper onto Charles who, after opening it, said, "This should work. I am curious how you arrived at this figure?”

"You mean you are curious why I just offered to pay you significantly more than you asked for, and why my board would do something as crazy as agree with this?”

"Something like that," Charles replied.

"Three reasons," Baxter said holding three fingers up, and ticking them off as he explained. " One, I believe even at this price we can make a handsome profit in the long run. I wanted a tangible expression of the company, and by extension, my feelings towards what happened to you. Two, this is part of the remuneration we are making in the wake of our former employee's actions. Sadly, you weren't the only people who were treated this way, only the most recent.”

"And three, because of the buzz," he said pointing at me.

"The buzz?" I asked, confused.

"Yes. I know you guys are a little isolated out here. But there is a buzz in the engineering community. First it was Marcus's idea you were key to making a reality. You allotted a set amount of every engineer's time, to allow them to work on their dream projects. You took an engineer that, prior to working for you, had shopped his desalination project to five companies, all of whom turned him down, and found a way to fund him. Without any history of government contracts you managed to get a project picked up by the DOD. No one does that!

"Engineers are talking about this small start-up in Texas and how they are going to do big things. Maybe next year, maybe in five years, you guys are going to stumble across something else where we may intersect, and I want to be the first guy you think of calling, to make a deal or a partnership. So I will admit that this is a mercenary tactic on my part, but one that I hope works.

"There will be a chance for us to work together in the future. I am greasing the wheels, now, to ensure that it happens.”

I looked at each of my partners, unsure of what to say, and they all looked back to me equally as stunned.

Baxter stood and said, "I know it's a lot to digest, but I am betting you still take the deal. I will have my legal team get with you and work out the contracts for the sale. I have already told them I want this to happen quickly. I have to catch a plane back to D.C., but it was good meeting with you all.”

We each dumbly shook his hand, and then stared at his wake as he walked out.

"What just happened," I asked the room in general.

"I would say I felt like we just got mugged, except the mugger rarely leaves your wallet behind, especially with a giant check in it," Ted says.

"Hell, who cares," Charles said, his face breaking into a grin. "'Take the money and run.'“

We all laughed as the idea of three quarters of a billion dollars started to sink in. Jonathan headed out with Charles in tow to start getting our ducks in a row for when the contract with MilTech showed up. Now we had to get Charles to agree and come on full time as our CFO. With that big a bankroll, we all agreed we needed someone to watch over it.

We also agreed that everyone, down to the janitor, would be seeing a nice payday once the deal closed. We all agreed that we wanted our employees to share in our windfall, in recognition of their hard work. Of course, I knew I would be seeing a nice check soon, and that meant all kinds of good things for my plans for the future.

I asked Marcus to give me a ride and if he could drop me at Emily's house, since I wanted to try once more to convince her to go on the cruise with us. I also wanted to share the news about the sale with her before I went home to tell everyone else. We hadn't brought her all the way into the mysteries of our lives yet, but she knew about this at least.

I was in a great mood, naturally, and chatted with Marcus on the drive. Sometimes he liked to bounce ideas off me, mostly because I was good at pushing his new ideas back at him, challenging him. He said he originally thought this was because I was a smart kid without any formal training. The revelation about my real abilities put things in a new light for him, and the others.

Each had seen an opportunity in this and assigned me all kinds of reading. Jonathan had me reading books on contract law, Ted had assigned reading covering a range of business and finance books, and Marcus had a large stack of engineering, physics and related materials for me to read. Even with the incredible speed I was now reading at, it was a daunting list. While the books Marcus had me reading were mostly so I could better identify and understand potential projects for the company in the future, they had the added benefit of making me a better sounding board.

We were just getting into a discussion on some of his new ideas when we rounded the corner onto Emily's street and the flashing blue strobes of police cars stopped the conversation cold. I could see the police cars parked in front of her house, and was out the car door the second Marcus pulled in front of her house.

"Emily!" I shouted, as one of the police officers outside grabbed me and kept me from entering the house.

I was about to knock him to the ground so I could get inside and check on her when she came through the front door. Another officer kept her from getting to close to me. The front of her shirt was covered in blood.

"What happened?" I asked. "Are you ok?”

She started to respond when the officer next to her stopped her from speaking.

"I'm sorry, but she can't speak to you right now. We are still sorting out the facts of what happened. If you could go over by the curb, and talk to my partner for a moment?" the officer said after waving her to silence.

I numbly followed the man holding me away from the house. He had a few rudimentary questions, mostly to insure I wasn't involved with whatever had happened inside. He wouldn't tell me anything, except that she was being taken to the police station shortly for questioning.

Marcus was standing by the car looking anxious.

"Take me home," I told him when the officer told me I could leave. "I need to call Jonathan.”

Marcus nodded and we hurried away from her house. As soon as I was through the door I called Jonathan and told him what happened. He said he would find out what was happening and would make sure she was represented.

"What's going on," a confused Zoe asked.

"Something happened at Emily's house. The police were there and her shirt was covered in blood. I don't think she was hurt, but they wouldn't let me talk to her. I just asked Jonathan to get her a lawyer and find out what happened," I told her.

Everyone just looked at me stunned, mirroring what I was feeling at the moment. We all sat down, waiting for a call to tell us what was happening. It struck me as odd that this was happening so much. Here I had these amazing abilities and yet I kept having to sit and wait for someone else to tell me what was happening. I guess there's a lesson there … no man's an island and all that … but still, it was insanely frustrating.

No one knew what to say. With so little to go on, we didn't even know what to be worried about. Had her dad done something? Had she done something? Had some third party done something? It was all a mystery. Marcus had headed home, seeing that this was a family thing.

"So, I think we made seven hundred and fifty million dollars today," I said breaking the silence.

Not that this was the time to be breaking this news, but I couldn't take the just waiting. I needed to do something to distract myself while I waited.

"What?" Mom said, more confused by the randomness of the statement than by it's contents.

"We made a deal with that guy from MilTech. He wants to pay us three-quarters of a Billion dollars for our drone patents.”

"Are they even worth that much?" Zoe asked.

"Maybe. Charles seems to think it’s possible, although he wanted us to sell the patents no matter what the price offered. That they were more of a liability to us than an asset. Aaron Baxter, their CEO, seemed to have an explanation on why they were going to pay that much.”

"And do you believe it?" Mom asked.

"Who cares. I am going to 'take the money and run.' Do you know what this means?" I asked.

"That you guys can fund other projects," Vicki said.

"More than that, this will allow us to fund the charitable works I talked about. This big of a sale, we are going to be on the hook for a huge tax bill. I bet I can talk Charles into funding my non-profit ideas. We won't get the money until near the end of summer, at the earliest, since these kind of deals take time to work out, but it is something for us to discuss when we do.”

"That's great. I know we only touched on it a little bit, but I have some ideas," Mom said.

"Me too," Zoe added.

"Good, because I am going to put you guys in charge of it," I told them.

Everyone simultaneously started protesting my statement until I cut them off.

"I can't run it, at least not directly. I mean, I am CEO of the company putting up the money, and I will have stuff with the company to focus on. Plus, all of you have the ability to do this. You have been enhanced or whatever, so you sure as hell are smart enough. And you've all got good hearts. You won't be on it alone. I will make sure we have some good professional help to keep us from stepping in it, too bad.”

Everyone got silent again, probably thinking of what that future would be like, but I went back to worrying about Emily. Thankfully, the phone finally rang not much later.

"How bad is it?" I asked as soon as I picked up the handset, assuming it was Jonathan.

Thankfully, it was.

"Bad, but I think your friend will be ok, legally speaking. I contacted a friend of mine and hired him for her on your behalf. He of course can't tell me anything because of attorney client privilege, but I also talked to some friends at the station, and the DA's office.”

"It seems her father fell off the wagon tonight, hard, following an argument with his wife. We don't know specifics, since he isn't talking. The evidence seems pretty clear that he attacked her and savagely beat her. Emily called the police, and then intervened.”

"Really?" I asked. Stepping up to her father was the one thing she had never done before.

"Yes. She tried to stop him, and when he turned on her, she defended herself with a kitchen knife. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Her mother's injuries were quite severe. They took her into surgery right away, but the trauma to her head was too bad, and she died a little while ago.”

"Was Emily hurt?" I asked.

"No, and it seems almost certain the District Attorney is going to classify this as self-defense. Legally, I think she should be fine. However, there is now the issue of guardianship for her. Her mother had no siblings and her parents are deceased. Her father also had no siblings, but his parents are still alive. I do not know if they have been in contact with them yet, but it seems likely that they will be given guardianship of Emily.”

"When will we know?" I asked.

"Probably not until tomorrow," he answered.

"OK, thanks, Jonathan," I said and hung up.

Chapter 23

Jonathan called the next day, just to let us know he still didn't know anything. It was nice of him to call, but it didn't keep me from feeling like we were in limbo, waiting to find out what happened.

For a full week Emily went 'radio silent', with no real news coming from anywhere, not even from Jonathan. It seemed likely the DA would decline to prosecute her for the death of her father, citing self-defense; but he was still considering the investigation, and hadn't made a decision yet.

It seemed likely that her grandparents were going to get custody of her, but since they were the parents of her father, whom she had killed, Child Protective Services were still considering the option and had yet to make a decision.

While I knew what decision I wanted the DA to go with, thinking about her custody arrangement only upset me. If her grandparents did get custody she would be moving to Florida where they lived. Beyond that I had specific concerns with them. There was not only the fact that they had to harbor some kind of resentment towards Emily for the death of their son, these were people who raised a man who was capable of beating his wife to death.

Of course, the alternative was going into the foster system as a teenager. While my time in the system wasn't terrible, it wasn't a life I would wish on anyone. Plus, she would most likely end up moving around a lot.

But my real issue was that, regardless of what happened, it was clear she would be going away. The foster system would probably have her in one of the bigger cities, her grandparents lived in Florida, and then there was jail. Any way this would go, it meant I would be losing her.

I know many people would wonder what I was so upset about. I had my Zoe, Vicki and Tami in my life already and nothing had happened with Emily yet. It was something I had been thinking about. For some reason the girls were pushing hard to add people to our little group, and I was falling hard for those same people.

I had no way of proving it but my guess was it was somehow a byproduct of my genetics. Not that I had mentioned it to anyone yet, because how do you test for impulses? What I did know is my genetics were aggressive in trying to propagate themselves. Putting that together with the girls feeling a strong impulse to add new girls and me falling quickly for the same girls, it couldn't be a coincidence.

Thursday rolled around. It was my birthday, or at least the day we had picked after the Greys had adopted me. I knew a party was planned, but wasn't sure of the details. It wasn't a surprise party, but it had been made clear that I was to stay out of the way until it was time for the party to start.

I was up early, and just home from my morning run when Emily finally called.

"Hey, Cas," she said when I picked up.

"Emily! How are you? I've been worried.”

"I know. I'm ok, I guess. We got the news today that they aren't going to try and throw me in jail, so that's good. They also decided I am going to live with my grandparents.”

"At least the decision is made now. Moving to Florida isn't as bad as being in limbo.”

"I guess. I don't really want to go. I just got friends. And you're here," she said, sounding sad.

"I know, and just because you're in Florida, doesn't mean we can't all still be friends. Three years and we're off to college. I'm sure the girls are already plotting to get us all back together.”

"That's a long time, but you're right. I guess I also kind of don't want to go with them. The way they look at me …" she said, leaving the sentence hanging.

"I was worried about that. How bad is it with them?”

"Pretty bad. I get the feeling they aren't really getting much of a choice in taking me, since they are my only living relatives, but I can tell they don't want to. They haven't said anything, yet, but I can tell.”

"Were you close with them before all this?" I asked.

"Not really. I had only met them once or twice. They moved to Florida and gave Dad the farm when I was still a baby. Dad never wanted to go see them and they were never invited for family stuff. At least not that I can remember.”

I paused for a long time, trying to think of how to best say what else was on my mind.

"Emily, I'm sorry things ended up the way that they did. I …”

"No," she said, interrupting me, "I know what you're thinking. I know you threatened him to get him to stop hitting me and my mom. I'm glad you did it. These last months have been the happiest I can ever remember. Even my mom was starting to seem like a person again. You don't know what it was like living in this house … before. We were always scared. Scared we would set him off. We tip-toed through life. It isn't a way to live.”

"Look how it turned out," I countered.

"We were always headed for this Cas. Every year it was getting a little worse. You only changed one thing. You gave me confidence. You gave me some time away from the constant fear. You taught me to stand up for myself. The only thing you changed was I didn't end up in the morgue with my mom. Because before you, that was where this was really headed. It would have been me instead of him.”

I had a small internal battle with myself. I had a tendency towards self-pity, and I still felt bad about my actions in how things ended. But, she was right, I could see that. Her father had a lot of rage in him, and the drinking made it worse.

"I'm glad it didn't end that way. I'm still sorry for your mother.”

"Yeah," she said softly, "I miss her already. She tried hard to protect me. I know she really loved me.”

I heard speaking in the background. Emily's voice became muffled as she covered the handset so she could talk to them.

"I gotta go, soon," she said after finishing her conversation. "I don't know when we will be able to talk again. My grandparents know about you, and I've heard them talking. They place a lot of blame on you for everything.”

I thought for a second and said, "Then it's best if they don't catch us talking on the phone. Let's stick to email for now, until we can figure out something else.”

"Ok. I'll miss you," she said, sounding a bit teary.

"Yeah, I'll miss you, too. Can you talk to the others?”

I went and got the girls, and they each took a few minutes to talk to Emily. They had all gotten close over the last six months, and I knew her leaving hurt them as bad as it hurt me.

They were still on the phone when people started showing up. I think they had originally planned a big group, but with everything that was happening with Emily, I asked them to tone it down. It was mostly just those I had labeled as The Family. Mostly that was the people who were in the know about my abilities, and nearly all had been altered themselves. The girls, Tina and Mom of course, as well as Alex, Megan and Sarah, who was being included in the group more and more now that she knew what was happening.

While Marcus, Ted and Jonathan all knew about me, and were counselors to be sure, they all seemed to prefer we kept things on a more professional footing. This tended to beg off invites to social gatherings. Part of that was probably the vast age difference between my group of friends and theirs.

Josh and Amanda were also in the know, and while I wouldn't have minded Amanda, Josh was getting on my nerves, more and more each day.

It was a subdued affair. We ate cake and presents were given out. Although I was now sixteen and would be hitting the DMV the next day for my license, there wasn't the more traditional present of a car. Considering my new financial state, we had agreed I would go get my own car, although the girls had made it clear that they were going with me to pick out something 'appropriate'. I, of course, agreed; having already come to the realization that I was only allowed decisions on the big things, like what to eat for breakfast and what socks I could wear. This was fine by me, since I knew they quite literally had my best interests in mind. I would put my foot down if it was anything I really disagreed with, but that was a card best held until needed.

I looked at my amazing family and thought back over the previous year. So much had happened, some of it great, other parts less so. Emily was going to be a hole in my world for a while, I knew. But, I also knew we would find a way for her to come back to us. Unlike other kids our age, our plans were long term. I already knew she would somehow figure into our future.

I also would regret how the situation with Margret had ended, for the rest of my life. I didn't blame myself for it, since there was no way to know that was going to happen, but all the same I felt bad that it had happened.

It wasn't all bad. I mean, I was now ridiculously rich, and able to move forward with my plans. The company was focused on humanitarian projects, now, such as the charity organization I wanted to start. It was going to be a real thing, and we had a path for how to make the world a place we would want our kids to live in.

There was still a lot to be done. But I was convinced we would make this work. One day, Humanity would be ready to take it's next step.

END

About The Author

T. Starnesisa freelance writing living in Texas. He has a love for books of all types, but preferably sci-fi, mystery and the occasional history.

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Other Books By T. Starnes

Other books available on kindle

In The Destiny Saga

Destiny’s Road

Destiny’s Interlude: A Summer’s Cruise

What Lies Ahead

No Good Deed (Coming Soon)