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Castle In The Sand [91-95]
Copyright 1996 by D. J. Pedersen
By: "thaumaturge" (Deana Johns) <Deana.Johns@softcom.net>
(M/f, ff, MF)

All rights reserved. Limited permission to post is granted providing
this header remains intact. May not be posted to any pay sites. May be
offered as part of a collection, also provided this header remains
intact. Permission to archive is also granted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 91

Judy hadn't told Cindy that they had company at the silo. When the
helicopter came in for a landing there was an OD green Hum-vee parked
by the silo. An armed soldier came out at the sound of the helicopter
setting down. At first Judy and the other two were concerned. They had
the pilot wait while Judy went to check it out. The man produced his ID
for her.

"Mr. Howdy thought it was best that the Silo be guarded while you folks
were away," the soldier explained.

"Thank you. I was a little concerned. I didn't expect anybody to be
here," Judy said.

"Looks like you've got quite a load. Let me help you carry that stuff
in," he offered.

"Thanks. That would be nice," Judy said. She thanked the pilot of the
helicopter and he joined in helping the women cart their packages into
the silo. He was awed by the luxury that met him inside.

"I had no idea," the pilot said.

"That's the idea," Judy chuckled.

"I think it was a fine thing you folks did for your country," the pilot
said, before climbing into the helicopter.

"Thank you. We didn't do all that much. Just let people follow us
around. Now John and Kevin, they were the real heroes," she said.

"I think you all did a great thing, but I look forward to shaking their
hands when they come back from their honeymoons," the pilot said.

"Thank you. And thanks for a nice flight in," Judy said.

"You're quite welcome for that. It's seldom I get passengers as lovely
as you three.... Just when I get a call to come here," he chuckled.

"Thank you. Have a safe flight back," Judy told him. The pilot began
his pre-flight check. He fired up the turbine and the rotor began to
spin up. Suddenly there was an odd grinding noise and the pilot swore
and shut down the engine. The rotor slowly came to a stop again.

"Trouble?" Judy asked, returning to the pad.

"Yeah, looks like I lost a bearing on my rotor pitch control. I'd
better have a look at it," he said, climbing out. He climbed up on top
of the helicopter and examined the central rotor. He moved some arms as
he bent his head to examine the area. Finally he climbed down. He
climbed back into the cockpit and put on his headset, trying to call
in. He got a hold of his base and talked to his mechanic. Finally he
climbed back down and turned to Judy.

"They have to fly me out a part to fix it. But they won't be able to
get one until tomorrow now. Looks like I'm stuck here. I'm sorry about
that. Do you mind if I sleep in the chopper tonight?" he asked.

"No need to do that. We've got plenty of unused beds inside. You're
most welcome to come inside," Judy said.

"Thank you, but I wouldn't want to impose," said the pilot.

"No imposition at all. We can use the company," Judy said.

"You can keep me company, if you have a bedroll. I'm set up in the
first room when you go in. My relief will be here around midnight,"
said the solder.

"You both shall have a soft bed and a good meal. Don't be silly," Judy
said, leading them inside.

"Thanks. I could use a good meal. Mr. Howdy didn't want to be an
imposition on your privacy, so I've been on field rations for a week,"
said the soldier.

"That we can fix. You'll find Amy and Alice to be excellent cooks,"
Judy said, leading them to the kitchen.

"This is mighty nice of you, Ma'am," said the pilot.

"It's Miss. My name is Judy," she said.

"Yes, I know. I saw you on TV. Nice to meet you Judy, I'm Steve," said
the pilot.

"Jim, yes nice to meet you, Judy," the soldier said. Judy found the
younger women in the kitchen already working on dinner. They had
already changed into some terry shorts and tube tops that had become
the standard uniform of the Silo when dressed at all. Judy was grateful
that the matched pair was dressed at all.

"Two more guests for dinner, ladies. This is Steve, our pilot and Jim,
our protector," Judy said. "Steve had a little trouble with his
helicopter so he'll be spending the night with us."

"Nice to meet you," the two triplets said in unison.

"I'm Amy, this is Alice," Amy said. The men shook hands all around with
the women. Judy could tell that there was an immediate attraction
between the men and the matched pair. She excused herself to go change,
taking a long hot shower in the process. Returned similarly clad to the
twin pair. She wasn't a bit surprised to find them sitting on the men's
laps.

"Dinner's almost ready," Alice said, looking up at her.

"I see that you two didn't waste any time making our guests feel
welcome," Judy smirked.

"They're real nice men," Amy said.

"Let me guess. They just came up and sat on your laps and said 'Hi',"
Judy chuckled.

"How'd you know?" asked Steve.

"I just know my girls," Judy said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Your girls?" Jim asked in alarm.

"Relax, a term of endearment," Judy chuckled, sliding into a chair.

"I'll bet it's nice to be home again," Jim said.

"Yes, it does feel very nice. Although I must admit the White House
wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Judy chuckled.

"Yes, the girls were telling us all about it," Jim said. Judy looked to
the girls and relaxed a bit from what she saw, they wouldn't knowingly
reveal anything they shouldn't, but they were *very* trusting.

"I'm glad they've been keeping you amused. What's for dinner?" she
asked.

"A big salad and baked chicken breasts. We've got tomatoes coming out
of our ears in the hydroponics room," Amy said.

"Yes, after a week I can imagine. We can slice them up and dry them
tomorrow," Judy said.

"This is some setup you have here," Steve said.

"Yes, not mine. It belongs to John. He did most the work himself. Cindy
and Theresa helped quite a bit. I just stay here sometimes," Judy said.

"We helped too," Alice beamed.

"Yes, you did several floors, if I recall," Judy said.

"It must be wonderful living here like this. I quite enjoyed the stars
at night. Kind of like back home," Jim said.

"Where's that?" Judy asked.

"He's from Tennessee," Alice said.

"How long have you been in the Army, Jim?" Judy asked.

"Six years. I'm just on the last of my tour. I wouldn't have missed it
for the world, but I'm ready to get out now," Jim said.

"Six years, and still got to be a Ranger?" Judy asked.

"Yes Ma'am.. I mean Judy. Kind of surprised you recognized the patch,"
Jim said.

"I may not know that much about men, but that patch is respected all
over the world," Judy said, smiling.

"Yes ma..... I mean Judy. Kind of feels awkward. I'm so used to calling
women Ma'am back home," Jim said.

"I don't mind so much. It just kind of makes me feel a bit old," Judy
said.

"You're not old. You're barely thirty if that," Steve said.

"That's old compared to these two," Judy said.

"Oh, you're not old... John's much older than you, and he's not old. He
just thinks he is," Amy said.

"Thank you, Amy. Maybe I just *think* I am too," Judy said.

"I think the breasts are done," Alice said. The two men sort of
snickered at each other. Judy kind of rolled her eyes. Why were men so
damn predictable?

* * *

Back East, Sheila finished her walk-through of the guest house with
Sally and Jean trailing behind Catarina and Bianca. Shannon was at her
side.

"It's just perfect. I wish there were some men at the Silo. I could get
started setting the machines up if we could get them shipped," Sheila
said.

"Why not give Judy a call? She's pretty resourceful. I'll bet her and
the other triplets could get them up to the pad. We do have the winch
motor, you know. In fact they are already in the maintenance room. They
just need to be jig poled up to the pad. Or maybe the chopper could
lift them right out of the maintenance room," Sally suggested.

"Maybe it's worth a try. I'd hate to see them get hurt though. Out
there all alone by themselves. John would never forgive me," Sheila
said.

"You're a phony," Shannon giggled.

"Why do you say that?" Sheila asked.

"We're talking about three grown women here. Not kids. I think they can
handle it just fine. If not, then they will be bright enough to realize
it. All that woman's independence thing you've been fighting all your
life and you act like this. That's why I say you're a phony. I think
you've bought the male sexes line of crap," Shannon teased. This was
enough to get Sheila to pull out her cellular phone, she grinned at
Shannon as she hit the speed dial to the Silo. They were just finishing
up dinner when the phone rang. Judy answered it.

"Judy? This is Sheila. Listen, I hate to ask, but would you take a look
at the crates up in the maintenance room? We sure could use them here,
now. I hate to have to wait until we get some men back to the Silo. If
you could figure a way to get them up on the pad so the helicopter
could pick them up, or find out from them if they can lift right out of
the maintenance room, it would be a big help. Don't go getting
yourselves hurt though. If you can't figure a safe way to do it, don't
try. Alright?"

"Hold on. I have just the right man for the job right here," Judy said.

"Man?" Sheila asked into a silent line, as Judy was already in motion.

"Come on Steve, time to earn your keep. I need an opinion from you,"
Judy said.

"Anything. Glad to help. What do you need?" Steve asked.

"Follow me. Amy why don't you talk to Sheila and find out if she needs
anything else. Alice, entertain our other guest... better yet, you'd
better come along too, Jim. We might need you," Judy said. She led them
up to the maintenance floor and showed Steve the crates. "We need to
get these shipped to New York as soon as possible. Can you hook on them
down here, or do they need to be lifted to the pad?" Judy asked.

"Down here?" Steve asked puzzled. Judy grinned and flipped the control
on the roof. It rolled back, despite the weight of the large helicopter
on it. Steve and Jim were in awe. But it made sense. It was a silo
after all, Steve thought. He looked at the crates. John and Kevin had
built them strong, with integral lift rings. He looked up at the pad
above. Gauging the opening and the crates.

"Normally, I could hook on to them down here, if the wind was calm. The
trouble is that I'd need someone to hook up, you could do that, that's
not hard, but I don't have a portable radio so you could direct me. It
would be a bitch getting lined up without one," Steve said. Alice had
tagged along.

"John used to talk to Kevin in his helicopter on his snowmobile helmet
radio," she suggested.

"That was a military helicopter. It might have a different radio," Judy
said.

"Could you get that radio? Maybe I can tune it," Steve asked. Alice
left and returned with the helmet and radio a short time later. Steve
looked at the radio. "Sure, I can tune this. If Jim could direct me and
you could hook up then we could lift right out of here, tomorrow, as
soon as the part arrives. In fact they can bring in a portable radio
with them and a big enough machine that we can take several at once,"
Steve said.

"So if the wind's calm then, you can do it. What if it's not?" Judy
asked. Steve looked over at the winch motor and the jig pole mount that
John had fashioned.

"We can still do it. We'll just jig pole them to the surface. That
would be a lot safer anyway," he said.

"Well why don't we do that tonight, then tomorrow we can ship them for
sure. Would you two mind? I don't really know how to run that thing,"
Judy said.

"Be glad to. What's in the crates?" Steve asked.

"Scanners for Second Skin. We're setting up another salon back east.
Everyday they are here is a day when they could be making money for us.
I'm sure you'd be well compensated for your efforts," Judy said.

"No problem there, glad to do it. It ensures us the shipping contract,"
Steve chuckled.

"Don't you get all our shipping?" Judy asked.

"I think John divides it up between us and the other service. I don't
mind that. He gives us both more service than we used to see," Steve
said.

"Well, thank you anyway. You're a life saver. I wouldn't have a clue
how to run that thing," Judy said, heading back towards the kitchen.
Amy was talking to Sheila when she got back to the kitchen. She handed
Judy the phone when she reached for it.

"Sheila? Can do. We can have them on their way to you by tomorrow
sometime," she said.

"Great. Safely?" Sheila asked.

"Yup. Two strapping men here to help," Judy said.

"Amy didn't tell me much. Just how the hell did you find two men so
quick? We just left you a few hours ago," Sheila asked.

"Steve -our helicopter pilot- had a breakdown when he went to leave.
He's stuck here for the night. Jim's a soldier that Bill assigned to
guard the Silo while we were away," Judy said.

"Are they cute?" Sheila asked.

"As a button. The girls have already staked claims," Judy said.

"They may share. They always were generous with their loving," Sheila
chuckled.

"I don't think I'm up to that yet. I was just warming up to the idea of
Kevin and Bill. I'm not ready for a novice flight yet," Judy said.

"Well... keep an open mind. And have fun," Sheila said.

"So I ship to Second Skin in New York?" Judy asked.

"No, ship them right to Shannon's place. The address is on John's
computer in the Com room. Ship them air freight to La Guardia, and then
arrange a truck shipment from there to her estate. Make certain that
you tell them that you need them loaded and unloaded. Those union
truckers back here won't do shit if it isn't on the work order. Ship
them priority. The price is worth it. We can make up the cost in an
hour once they're running," Sheila said.

"Will do. If I can I'll get them moving tonight," Judy said.

"That would be great. If not, tomorrow is fine. I just couldn't see us
losing two weeks while John and Bill are on their honeymoon," Sheila
said.

"Do you think that Bill will be coming back here?" Judy asked.

"Oh, there is that. He may get sidetracked with this homeless thing. I
think I know your concern," Sheila chuckled.

"Yes, I was thinking that I'd like to try him first. He's well used to
multiple company with the triplets," Judy chuckled.

"Well, I'd better get off or it will cost us another hour's production
to pay for this call. I'm on my cellular," Sheila said.

"Okay, have fun back there. I'll get these going as fast as possible. I
love you all," Judy said.

"I ... and *we* love you too. Bye," Sheila said. Judy hung up the
phone. Amy was standing by.

"What do you mean we staked a claim? We wouldn't leave you out," she
said, pulling Judy into her arms.

"No, love. You two go ahead. I'm not quite up to unknown men yet," Judy
said, hugging and then kissing the young woman. "Well, if you change
your mind. Then just join us. Okay?" Amy asked, kissing her again.

"Okay, thanks," Judy said. When they got back to the maintenance room,
Steve and Jim already had the Jig pole mounted and rigged. Steve was
studying the controls John had interfaced with the winch.

"Nice set up he has here. Real good gearing and control. Custom job,
John's work?" Steve asked.

"I wouldn't know. Probably. What can I do?" Judy asked.

"Enjoy the show. Maybe you could go topside with Jim. He may need a
hand pulling the crate onto the pad and moving them aside so we can
lift another one," Steve said. He fired up the winch and played out
enough cable to hook up to a crate. The integral rings made it easier.
Jim hooked up the cable to the crate and then headed topside with Judy
in his wake.

Steve worked the wireless controls and slowly lifted the heavy crate,
guiding it with his hands. Jim had hooked a small guide rope that he
tossed up onto the pad. He showed his face at the edge and took up
slack as the crate raised. When it was high enough, he used the rope to
pull it towards the pad. Judy pulling too as Steve slowly played out
cable again.

They repeated the operation six times. The girls went topside and
helped slide the heavy crates aside to make room for the others.
Finally they were done. Jim came down and with the girls' help they
dismounted and lay the heavy jig pole back down. Then Steve closed the
roof.

"I can't thank you enough," Judy said, kissing both Steve and Jim on
the cheek, "I just wish that there was some way to get them shipped
tonight."

"It's important?" Steve asked.

"Yes, whatever it cost would be worth it. We could make up the extra
shipping costs in an hour of operation once they get set up. They're
just burning money sitting there," she replied.

"I have an idea. Can I use your phone?" Steve asked.

"Certainly," Judy said, leading them back to the kitchen. They all
stopped off to wash their hands. The cable was greasy. Steve looked in
his wallet for a number, then dialed it.

"Charley, you old horse thief. This is Steve.... Oh, pretty good.
Listen, have you still got that big Sikorski sky crane in the
neighborhood? You do? Great. How'd you like a quick easy haul? Oh, six
crates about five hundred a piece. We'd like to get them on a plane
tonight, but my unit's down. ... Ring bearing on the main pitch... I
know you did, you were right. Anyway, how fast can you lift? Two hours?
What's her name? Your *wife*? That's not like you. Just tell her it's
business. Alright, if your dinner's that important. Where... let's see,
call my dispatch for exact long-lat. When you get in the neighborhood,
give my cellular a call and I'll turn on the lights. Don't go setting
down on my baby. You'd squash her like a bug. Yeah, thanks, Charley.
Oh, you can bill through my service, I trust these folks to make good
on it. Great, see you then. See ya," Steve said.

"Okay, he's going to lift in about an hour. It will take him about
another to get here so he'll be here in about two. He's big enough to
handle them all at once. I got to warn you that this will set you back
about three grand," Steve told Judy.

"Outstanding!" Judy said, launching herself at him and hugging him
tightly.

"Easy, darling. What about the money?" Steve chuckled.

"We can make that up in less than an hour," Judy said, just inches from
his face. She suddenly realized how intimate it had become and slowly
untangled herself. "I'm sorry, I was just excited," she said.

"No need to apologize to me. I'll have to think of more ways to get you
excited... Make it up in an hour huh? No wonder you're in such a hurry
to get these things going," Steve said, grinning.

"Now all I have to do is arrange air freight and trucking on the other
end," Judy said.

"Where they going?" Steve asked.

"Long Island, New York," Judy said.

"Through La Guardia? They could end up in Timbuktu if you shipped
through Kennedy," Steve asked.

"Yeah, Sheila said to ship through La Guardia," Judy said.

"Your best bet is Travis Air Freight, they have a regular ten-thirty
flight into La Guardia," Steve said.

"Ten-thirty. Could we make that on time?" Judy asked. Steve looked at
his watch and winced a bit. Then took out his wallet again and
consulted his phone list. He picked up the phone.

"Ben Travis please, Steve Collier calling," he said, "Then get him at
home. Yes, I'll wait....... Ben? Steve Collier here. Could you hold
your ten-thirty to La Guardia for six crates.... About like coffins...
Five hundred a piece.... Charley will be flying them inbound in about
two hours.. figure three to get to you. You will, great... Listen,
could you have your man arrange for truck transport on the other end?
This is hot cargo and they don't need the hassle of lost weigh bills
those union guys are famous for.... Yeah and they need load and unload
too... You'll make the call yourself? Great. How's the wife... *again?*
I would have thought she'd take the scissors to your tubes by now....
Well congratulations... yeah, I know. I did that once, remember?. ....
Okay, I'll call you back with the exact address.. out on Long Island
somewhere... Second Skin... I'll see what I can do... Okay, thanks. See
ya," Steve said, breaking the connection.

"All set. He'll have trucks waiting when they set down. They should be
able to load up and arrive in Long Island by around four A.M. Eastern.
They'll unload the crates on that end for you," Steve said.

"You are a miracle worker," Judy said, kissing him on the cheek and
hugging him again.

"I'm just trying to figure what else I could do to get you excited
again," Steve chuckled. Judy looked at him again. She realized that she
was in his arms once more.

"I seem to be making a habit of this.... Maybe there's a reason," she
said.

"I was hoping..." Steve said.

"Let's find out," Judy said, lifting her head to his. He bent and
softly kissed her. She found herself quivering a bit in the middle of
it. She deepened the kiss herself. After a time she finally pulled
back. "Yup, there's a reason," she said, softly.

"I think so too... Uh, I guess we'd better get your crates labeled and
get that address for the shipping... then maybe we can pursue it once
we get your cargo on the way," Steve said.

"Yes... I think I'd like that. What do we need for the labels?" Judy
asked, still in his arms.

"I find a roll of duct tape and a magic marker or a Sharpie works
best... and the address of course," Steve said.

"I think we have all those.... I guess we'd better get started...." she
said, making no move to leave his arms.

"Yes... we should..." he said, pulling her back to him. Eventually they
got the crates labeled and the address forwarded to Travis Air Freight.
A short time later Steve's cellular rang with Charley inbound. Judy
showed him how to manually turn on the lights on the pad. Steve used
the radio in his chopper to direct the line over the load, then had
Judy direct him on station while he took a second cable off the lift
cable and looped it several times around the crates and then through
the lift rings. He reconnected the cable and then took the mike himself
to direct the lifting to avoid any damage to his own helicopter or -
more importantly- Judy.

"Okay, that's good. You're on your own. Travis Air is holding their
ten-thirty to La Guardia for you, so make haste... Yes, she's easily as
pretty as she sounds... Prettier... Yeah, same to ya. Thanks Charley, I
owe you big time for this. Yes, yes, send it to my office... thanks
bud, Good Flying," Steve finished.

"As pretty as I sound, am I?" Judy chuckled.

"Easily.. Prettier, You have a lovely voice. Usually women who sound
that nice look like blimps in person," Steve said. Judy chuckled.

"Thanks..... Now where were we?" she asked, moving against him. The sun
was now down and the stars above were in their full glory as they
kissed in the red glow of the pad lights. Sometime later they found the
twins with Jim in the massive hot tub. Judy didn't think a thing about
it as she stripped off her clothes and climbed in. Steve shrugged and
did the same. Poor Jim looked like a basket case already. Judy didn't
know if he had a chance to last the night.

"Changed your mind, huh?" Amy chuckled from Jim's lap. Alice was
snuggled to his side.

"Kind of. I kept finding myself in his arms.. we finally discovered
there was a reason," Judy said, leading Steve by the hand to a built in
chair and then moving onto his lap.

"Who am I to complain? I was ready to sleep in the back of my
helicopter," Steve chuckled.

"You certain you're interested in me?" Judy asked, softly.

"*Quite* certain, darling," Steve said, kissing her softly.

"Then there's something I think you should know about me before this
goes any further," Judy said.

"What's that?" he asked. Judy turned to the girls.

"Come here please, Alice," she said, beckoning her with her arms. Alice
stood and moved toward her.

"Boy, are *you* in for a surprise," Jim giggled.

"Hush! This is *serious*," Amy said. She insured his silence by
covering his lips with her own. Alice reached Judy and she took her
into her arms and kissed her deeply, not too far away from Steve's
shocked expression. She could feel his reaction underneath her.

"Thank you dear, now you can go back and join your sister, so Steve and
I can have a little talk," Judy said, squeezing Alice's cute buns
before releasing her.

"Let me know if I can be of any further assistance," Alice chuckled as
she moved away. Judy turned to Steve.

"Well, I know what your body thinks of it... how about your mind? Still
interested?" she asked. Steve looked at her and nodded. "There's
something else," she said.

"What's that?" he asked, ready for just about anything after what he'd
just seen.

"Just that until two weeks ago I had never been with a man before.
*Ever*.. Now I've only been with one. That was John," Judy said.

"I'll be as gentle as a lamb with you, I promise... John, the John now
on his honeymoon?" he asked.

"Yes, and you need not worry about being so gentle. John is an
*excellent* teacher," Judy said, chuckling at her memories.

"Yes, I can see that. I was just wondering about him being on his
honeymoon after being with you," Steve said.

"Well, you see, we all love *each other* around here. Not the guys...
But I don't think that would bother me. But basically there are now
thirteen... no, make it *fourteen* women who are flat assed in love
with John *and* each other. Two of them have now married other men, but
they understand that the women expect to continue their relationships
with each of us. In fact most the women -except me- have bedded the
other two guys. I expect to in the future. We are one big happy
*family*. We wouldn't want anything or anybody to change that. So if
you can't handle that then maybe we'd better not get any more
involved," Judy said. Steve thought about things for a bit.

"No, I'm still interested. It's you that I'm interested in. Not the
others. But I don't mind that you feel that way. It just seems kind of
odd that I should become exposed to this sort of thing.... You see, a
few years ago my wife left me -divorced me- I didn't know why until I
found out she was living with another woman. It made me think long and
hard about things. Fact is that I wouldn't have minded her seeing the
other woman if she'd just stayed married to me. I even told her that
later, but she didn't seem to be much interested in me anymore.

"Anyway... I went out and *tested* myself. I spent lots of time hanging
around places known to cater to lesbians. Most weren't the slightest
bit interested in me, but I did manage to convince one couple to come
home with me. I found that I actually enjoyed it very much... not just
what they did to me, but what they did to each other. I found it
incredibly sexy.

"They weren't much interested in a long term relationship. I wasn't
much interested in a short term one, so we parted company. But ever
since then I've had the desire with me. It's stayed. That's why I find
it kind of ironic. When I found myself becoming interested in you, I
had no clue that you had those inclinations. Now that I know you do,
I'm thrilled to death," he said, pulling her into a passionate kiss.
Judy lifted her head and smiled at him, then turned to the other side
of the pool.

"Amy, do you think you could spare your sister for a night? Jim looks
like he's almost done for anyway. I think I could use that assistance
you offered, Alice," Judy said.

"Sure, no problem," Amy said. She caught Alice and kissed her tenderly
before patting her rump in Judy's direction. "Have a good time, Sis,"
she said. Alice was halfway across the pool when suddenly her and Amy
kind of smiled and shuddered.

"Are you girls *still* feeling each others orgasms?" Judy asked,
chuckling. Alice kind of smiled and nodded, moving to their side.

"No kidding? You can feel each other's orgasms?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, sometimes. If we forget to shut off," Alice said.

"So how's Bill doing?" Judy asked, pulling Alice onto her lap while
still on Steve's.

"Oh, he's keeping up his end of things," Alice chuckled.

"Where are they?" Steve asked.

"Camp David," Judy answered, her lips descending on Alice's. Steve was
going to be excited about the concept of telepathy over such a distance
when he was suddenly distracted by the sight before his eyes. His
questions vaporized as Alice turned her head and kissed him deeply,
Judy's hands exploring her young, firm body. When they broke out in a
sweat, they used the cool plunge. Judy and Alice helping Amy with an
overdone Jim. The cool water helped revive him enough that some of his
enthusiasm returned. Amy drug him off to her room to use it up.

Judy guided a *very* happy and noticeably excited Steve to her bedroom
with Alice hanging on his other side. He wasn't the slightest bit
disappointed. Neither was Judy. Alice *always* seemed to enjoy herself.
Judy enjoyed herself so much that it sort of bothered her. She wasn't
prepared for the feelings she was experiencing. That's when she left a
blissfully sleeping Steve and Alice and made her way to the kitchen.
She had just brewed a cup of tea when Cindy called.

After the phone call she found that she was less bothered herself by
what she was feeling. She eagerly slipped back into bed with the
sleeping couple. Her motion stirred Steve awake and he pulled her into
his arms. Their lovemaking was slow and passionate. Alice hardly seemed
to notice as she slept blissfully at her side. Occasionally she would
shudder a bit and smile in her sleep. Either Bill was doing *very*
well, or Jim had found his second wind.

Shannon and Sheila were baffled and then shocked when the buzzer on
Shannon's gate sounded. At first she thought it was kids playing a
prank, but over the intercom they determined that it was a delivery
from the Silo. Shannon directed them where to go and triggered the
electric gate mechanism. Then her and Sheila pulled on some clothes and
found some slippers.

"What's going on?" a groggy Sally asked them as they passed down the
hallway.

"Judy's a flipping miracle worker. The crates are here," Sheila said.

"You're kidding? It's not eight hours since you talked to her, that's
impossible," Sally said, waking up.

"Maybe they entered a time-warp tomorrow afternoon and came back to
now, but put on some clothes and come see for yourself," Shannon said,
heading for he guest house. Jean stirred and found Sally dressing.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Sheila says the crates are here," Sally replied.

"Huh? I thought... it's not possible," Jean said, looking at the clock
and sitting up. Sally sat on the bed to pull on her shoes, instead she
turned and kissed Jean and caressed her bare breasts.

"That's what I thought. Let's go find out. If not I can think of
something else worth doing at this hour," Sally chuckled, circling
Jean's nipples with her fingertips.

"You always *were* a morning person. Alright, let's go see," Jean said,
getting up. A few minutes later they found that it was indeed true. Not
only that, but the men were cheerfully unloading them and putting them
exactly where Sheila was directing them to. There were four strong men,
even so they had to carry over a hundred pounds apiece on each crate.
They didn't bat an eye when Sheila directed them up a flight of stairs
for two of the crates. They refused the assistance of the women.
Perhaps it was the sight of four lovely women so early in the morning
that gave them the strength they needed to muscle the crates up the
stairs and into a large bedroom.

Sheila had them open the crates while she inspected the machines. They
were all in good shape. So were the computer monitors and such, which
were probably the most fragile. The men opened all the crates for them
and positioned the heavy machines exactly where they wanted them. They
seemed downright cheerful about it.

"You seem awful cheerful for this time of the morning," Shannon
commented.

"Not often we get to meet an academy award winning actress and three
intriguing heroines, stunning beauties every one of you," one of the
men replied.

"Hell, we'd be happy to do it if you were ugly. You done this country a
great service. It's the least we can do," said another.

"Well, let me get my purse, so I can tip you properly," Sheila said.

"No, Ma'am. We don't want anything. That wouldn't *feel* right," said
one. The men all nodded.

"Well, you've done us a great service here. We'd like to thank you some
way," Shannon said.

"What you done for this country is all the thanks we need," said one.

"Maybe, but you won't leave here un-rewarded," Shannon said. She
stepped up to one and kissed him full on the lips. Sheila, Sally and
Jean took their cue and moved to the others. Then they rotated. They
didn't stop until each had kissed each of the startled men.

"God, my wife finds out I'm dead meat... but I wouldn't have missed
that for the world. You've made my week for me, Ma'am," said one,
humbly. Catarina and Bianca came in on the tail end of it. Sheila
explained to them and each man got kissed twice more before they got
out the door.

"Best damn tip I ever got. Academy award winning actress.. who woulda
believed it," said one.

"Nobody back on the docks, that's for sure," said another. The truck
pulled out and Shannon closed the gate. Sheila and the girls set about
setting up the machines. Shannon woke her staff and ordered breakfast
sent to the guest house for all. Afterwards it was just late enough for
her to start calling. By nine o-clock they had their first customers.
Shannon stayed on the phone and by the end of the day they were booked
through the end of the week. The rest would follow suit once word got
out. About two in the afternoon, Sheila took a break from the endless
parade of stunning nude actresses and relaxed with a glass of wine
while she called the Silo. She got Amy on the phone.

"Hi dumpling, this is Sheila, let me talk to Judy," she asked.

"Oh, she's not up yet. She had a pretty late night, according to
Alice," Amy giggled.

"Well see if you can rouse her anyway, she managed to get us up at
*four* this morning, I want to know how," Sheila said.

"Okay, I've got to wake them anyway, the man's here to fix Steve's
helicopter. Hang on," Amy said. After a time a slightly groggy Judy
came onto the phone.

"Just one question; How?" Sheila asked.

"How what?" Judy asked.

"How the hell did you get six, five-hundred pound crates across the
country, in less than eight hours after I talked to you?" Sheila asked.

"Oh... I tapped into something called the old-boy network. Steve's been
explaining it to me. It's how this country really runs. He got a part
for his helicopter from Atlanta overnight too," Judy said.

"And how was the *old-boy?*" Sheila giggled.

"Not so old, and certainly no boy.. and absolutely wonderful," Judy
said.

"Sound's serious," Sheila said.

"Could be. The mere sight of women kissing turns him into a raging
bull," Judy chuckled.

"What's he like?" Sheila asked.

"A genuine hunk of a man. Bright, witty, educated, successful and a
tender wonderful lover," Judy mused.

"With all that, still want me around?" Sheila asked.

"That's the *silliest* damn question you ever asked. You *know* I love
you," Judy said.

"Yes, love. And you know I love you. I'm thrilled for you," Sheila
said.

"Hell, *I'm* thrilled for me," Judy said.

"Hope you remembered to wear your galoshes," Sheila said.

"No need. Clipped tubes like John," Judy said.

"You trust he's clean too?" Sheila asked, concerned.

"Yup, checked recently. Clean bill of health," Judy said.

"Still not positive, but good as a girl can usually get," Sheila said.

"Oh, fairly positive. He hasn't been too active for a while. Had
himself checked because he had a little t�te-�-t�te with some women he
was a little worried about, about a year ago," Judy said.

"Good enough... You sure you know what you're doing?" Sheila asked.

"No, but it feels right enough. I'm as sure as I've ever been... but
you've known me to change my mind about things before," Judy chuckled.

"Yeah, when you change your mind you do it in a *big* way... Well, kiss
the girls for me. I love you all," Sheila said.

"I will...by the way, that shipping is going to set you back about four
or five grand. Total," Judy said.

"Peanuts and well worth it. We'll clear sixty-five in profit today.
With Shannon's cut that still makes forty grand free and clear. Not a
bad day at all," Sheila said.

"No shit. Well, you take care. I think I'm gonna go find an *old-boy*
and *thank* him again," Judy said.

"Okay, have fun... Oh, how did the girls' Soldier boy turn out?" Sheila
asked.

"Oh, okay, Amy was quite taken with him, but I don't think he's up to
our crowd," Judy said.

"Out of shape?" Sheila asked.

"Not hardly, an Army Ranger. But perhaps not up to the triplets'
stamina," Judy chuckled.

"Well. Time will tell, huh?" Sheila said.

"Yeah," Judy said.

"Well, see you, lover. I'll save a special kiss for you," Sheila said.

"As I will for you. Bye, love," Judy said. Sheila was barely off the
phone when it rang again, she answered it as Shannon was tied up with
Bianca's afternoon treatment.

"Hi darling, didn't expect you to answer," Mae's voice said.

"Hi love, how's work?" Sheila asked.

"Don't have a clue. Was running smooth when I last checked in, but I
haven't been near the place," Mae said.

"Really, that's surprising. Not like you at all. Think there are too
many reporters around?" Sheila asked.

"Hadn't thought about it much," Mae giggled.

"All right, love. I know you *too* well, I know you're busting to tell
me something. What is it?" Sheila asked.

"Oh... not much. Got engaged this morning..... Candice did too," Mae
giggled.

"*WHAT?*" Sheila gasped. Mae chuckled.

"I got engaged this morning, Candice did too," she repeated.

"To each other?" Sheila asked.

"Well, no. Not specifically, but that was understood," Mae said.

"Listen, darling. I left you yesterday afternoon, the only men in sight
were the flight stewards, they weren't your type. Now could you explain
a little better what the hell you are saying?" Sheila asked.

"The flight stewards weren't, but the co-pilot was," Mae said.

"O-kay, I never saw him. But that sort of explains one. What about
Candice?" Sheila asked.

"The pilot," Mae giggled.

"Candice fell for the pilot?" Sheila asked.

"Like several tons of bricks. A real charming country boy. A fighter
jockey from the Vietnam war. Swept her off her feet in seconds flat. I
think I took hours myself... okay, it was several minutes at least,"
Mae giggled.

"And they *both* asked you two to marry them this morning, and you both
accepted?" Sheila asked.

"My, you're quick.. Yup," Mae said.

"And you're serious?" Sheila asked.

"Never been more serious in my life," Mae said.

"Well... congratulations... I guess," Sheila said.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic," Mae said.

"I'm still in a state of utter shock. I leave three of my lovers
yesterday afternoon and within the last ten minutes I learn that
they've fallen madly in love with charming men," Sheila said.

"Three?" Mae asked.

"Judy and her chopper pilot. Head over heels. The jury's still out over
Amy and her soldier boy," Sheila said.

"You're kidding?" Mae asked.

"Nope. Sounded as serious as you do," Sheila said.

"I've got to call her," Mae said.

"I'd wait a bit, you'd be likely to catch her *mid-flagranto* if you
called now," Sheila said.

"Well, I guess stranger things have happened," Mae said.

"Yeah, I only got to believe six impossible things before breakfast,
but nine before lunch," Sheila said.

"What were the six?" Mae asked.

"Crates. I called Judy last night and asked if it was possible for them
to ship us the three machines for here before John returned to the
Silo. Less than eight hours later they were on the doorstep here,"
Sheila said.

"You're kidding? That's phenomenal!" Mae said.

"Seems to be the day for it. Well, take care, love. I can't wait to
meet these mystery men, all of them," Sheila said.

"Yeah, I'll try to hold mine back for a while, he's been talking about
a quick trip to Reno. But after Cindy's, Theresa's and Andrea's
wedding, I'm holding out for more," Mae chuckled.

"Okay love. See you when we get back. Kiss Candice for me," Sheila
said.

"My pleasure. Kiss the girls there for me and her. I love you, bye,"
Mae said.

"I love you too. Bye," Sheila said, hanging up the phone. Sally stepped
out of the guest house and stretched and inhaled deeply. "Careful,
there's something in the air," Sheila mused.

"What?" Sally asked.

"I don't have a clue, but in the past twenty-four hours three of our
lovelies have met men and fallen madly in love. The jury's still out on
a fourth," Sheila said.

"Who?" Sally asked.

"Candice and Mae are flat engaged. Judy's head over heels and close on
their tails. Amy's the iffy one," Sheila said.

"How the hell did that happen, we only left them yesterday?" Sally
asked.

"Three pilots and a soldier that Bill had guarding the Silo..
respectively," Sheila said.

"There was only two pilots on the plane, I saw the back of their heads
when I boarded," Sally said.

"That's Candice and Mae. They are flat engaged. Judy's was the chopper
pilot who flew them to the Silo. He had a breakdown and had to spend
the night. Apparently he spent it with Judy and she's all ga-ga over
him today," Sheila said.

"We almost lost Jean too. She's still talking about one of those
delivery men from this morning," Sally mused.

"Well, I personally am going to avoid all contact with men until I'm
certain that the plague has passed," Sheila said, heading inside. She
walked in the door and almost ran into a stunning nude actress that she
had been frothing over for years. "Oh, excuse me," Sheila said.

"That's okay, you didn't see me. You're Sheila, right?" said the
actress.

"Yes... I've admired your films for years," Sheila said, enthralled.

"Thank you. I've been wanting to meet you since I saw you on
television," she said, making serious eye contact with Sheila.

"Thank you.. Nice to meet you. Really. Ah, listen, I'm a little tired
right now, we've been up since four setting this up. Perhaps we'll meet
again sometime," Sheila said.

"Count on it," said the actress, holding Sheila's hand in both of hers.
Sheila felt herself sinking into the actress's gaze. It scared the hell
out of her and she pulled away and excused herself. She made her way
shakily into the main house and into her room, closing the door behind
her. She lay on the bed and tried not to breathe too deeply. The
actress spotted Shannon as she was dressing again.

"I thought you said Sheila was interested in me?" she commented.

"I'd be very surprised if she wasn't," Shannon replied.

"Well, she sure didn't seem like it," replied the actress.

"That's not like her at all... but we have been up a long time,"
Shannon said.

"Maybe so.. that's the excuse she used," said the actress.

"Excuse?" Shannon asked.

"That's what it seemed like to me," replied the actress.

"I'll see what I can find out," Shannon said, excusing herself. She
found Sally out on the deck. Relaxing in a chair. "Know what's up with
Sheila?" Shannon asked her.

"Possibly. Why, what did she do?" Sally asked.

"I've been trying to line her up with a particular actress she's been
frothing at the mouth over for years, apparently she blew it off,"
Shannon said.

"I think she's in shock. She just found out that Mae and Candice got
engaged this morning and Judy's going steady. Also, Amy's got a hot
prospect," Sally replied.

"How is that possible? We just left them yesterday about this time,"
Shannon asked.

"To quote Sheila: '*Three pilots and a soldier Bill assigned to guard
the Silo while we were away, respectively*," Sally said.

"Three pilots?" Shannon asked.

"The copter pilot to the Silo. Judy's new beaux," Sally said.

"I can see why Sheila would be rattled by that news. A month ago Judy
was a *devout* lesbian. Mae was a strong supporter. If not for John I
didn't think that either of them would have had anything to do with
men," Shannon said.

"Well, apparently all of them are big beau-hunks and utterly charming,"
Sally said.

"They'd have to be," Shannon said.

"Anyway, Sheila said she thought there was some kind of plague in the
air and that she was going to avoid men and try not to breath too
deeply until it was known safe. I think she's taking a nap," Sally
said.

"Thanks.. How are you holding up?" Shannon asked.

"I'm okay. Catarina's a fast learner. She's running one machine. Jean's
running a second. Bianca offered to spell me on the third, but it's in
the midst of casting anyway. I just came out to get a breath of air. We
need to add some ventilation I think. Maybe some vacuum tubes right on
the casting tables. I noticed you have a built in vacuum system, think
it would take full time operation?" Sally asked.

"If not then it could be adapted to. That's a good idea. I'll contact
my maintenance man," Shannon said.

"That Bianca's a real trouper. I think she's doing much better," Sally
commented.

"Yeah, so do I. I think she does it for enjoyment as much as for her
addiction now," Shannon chuckled.

"Can't fault her for that!" Sally giggled.

"Yeah, I can't either. I guess I'll go give Jean a break. She's a
trouper too, but I'm sure she could use a break," Shannon said.

"That's very kind of you. May I thank you with a kiss?" Sally asked.

"You most certainly may," Shannon said, moving to collect her reward.

"You know, you really don't need to be doing this. The offer of the
location was generous enough without you doing the work too," Sally
said, once she released Shannon.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world. I'm having a ball," Shannon said.

"Okay.. but if it stops being fun, feel free to duck out," Sally said.

"Maybe I will later. Maybe go join Sheila for a nap," Shannon said.

"Do it, if you feel like it. We can handle things," Sally said.

"Thanks, well. See you this evening," Shannon said, slipping away. A
short time later Jean stepped out onto the deck. She spotted Sally and
moved to her side. Sally kissed her and then told her all the news from
the West.

"Most unusual," Jean commented, moving a lock of hair from Sally's
forehead.

"Yes, I thought so. Perhaps John's marriage just made them more open to
things," Sally mused, "I was a bit worried about you, over those
delivery men."

"Oh, I wasn't really interested in them. I think I was just missing the
feel of John and I was a bit vulnerable. I kind of got turned on when
we kissed them," Jean said.

"Yes.. I miss him too. I don't think I'll ever get over him," Sally
said.

"Why would you try? I mean... he's asked each of us to marry him. If we
actually get a chance, I intend to take him up on it," Jean said.

"I probably will too. It's just that.... I kind of long for a less
global relationship," Sally said.

"Like waking up next to the same person every morning?" Jean teased.

"You fill that role quite nicely. If I didn't enjoy the feeling of a
man inside me, I'd be quite content living alone with you for the rest
of my life," Sally said, softly.

"Yes, I quite agree. On both counts. Seems kind of selfish of us,
desiring a man all to ourselves," Jean said.

"Oh, maybe not so selfish. Most the world lives that way. I think the
thing that separates us, is that we are willing to give up that sole
proprietorship in exchange for sharing time with an exemplary man.
We're not willing to settle for less," Sally said.

"I think there's more to it. Theresa and Andrea could have that sole
proprietorship, but they choose to remain involved with the rest of us.
I think it's the feeling of *family* that we all share. None of us have
strong family ties elsewhere, if we have family at all. These people
are *our* family," Jean said.

"You may be right about that. I certainly feel no desire to contact my
parents now. Not that they gave me so raw a deal, not at all like
Theresa and Cindy, but we just don't have much in common anymore. I
think they just stay together out of habit. They'd miss each other as
sparring partners," Sally said.

"Yeah, myself I don't have the option. You know my folks have both
passed away. I have a brother in Jersey, but he's all wrapped up in his
wife and three kids. A barbecue in the suburbs with a few drinking
buddies is the high point of his life," Jean said.

"Nothing wrong with that, unless it becomes the context of your whole
life," Sally said.

"It is, with him. He's in hog heaven," Jean said.

"I can see why you're not closer. Well, guess I'd better go spell
Catarina. Don't forget to thank Shannon. She's being a real dear
today," Sally said.

"Every day, near as I've been able to tell. We wouldn't have any of
this business if it wasn't for her. Stunning women, every one of them.
I'm so damn horny I could bust," Jean said.

"Perils of the job. I'll be happy to cure that once we shut down for
the day. Maybe we can administer Bianca's next treatment," Sally said.

"She's already got two dates for the night," Jean chuckled.

"I heard you turn down that many yourself," Sally said, standing.

"As I did you," Jean said.

"Well... perhaps later. So many on the first day just made me feel like
a cheap date," Sally said, bending back to collect a kiss.

"Just like when I used to get offers as a waitress," Jean chuckled.

"Yeah, see you in a bit," Sally said, excusing herself. She stepped in
and found Catarina doing her best to deal with an attractive, but
belligerent patron. Probably one of the administrators wives that
Shannon had to schedule to *grease the machinery*.

"I'll take over if you'd like to take a break, Catarina. Now, what
seems to be the problem, Ma'am?" Sally said smoothly. Catarina looked
eternally grateful as she slipped away.

"As I was trying to tell that bubble headed foreigner, I want a
particular piece of art on my outfit. She kept saying she couldn't do
it," the woman said.

"That *bubble headed foreigner*, as you refer to her, was awarded the
*Legion of Merit* award by the President just over a week ago, for
exemplary services rendered to this country. This is her *first* day
training in this position. But she was correct in her assertion. We
can't put a specific piece of artwork on an outfit because of the
copyright laws. If you can produce legal proof of copyright ownership,
a valid release of copyright or evidence of royalties paid to the
copyright owner for the *specific* purpose of producing an outfit, then
we will be happy to oblige you. However, there are a great many pieces
of famous artwork which are considered to be in the public domain now.
I would be most happy to show them to you," Sally said, keeping her
temper and smiling.

"Well, I expected better service than this for what you're charging,"
said the woman.

"We are charging that particular rate, because of accelerated bookings.
If you dealt with our normal salons you couldn't get an appointment for
six months. But that has nothing to do with the fact that we must
operate within the laws and regulations of a particular jurisdiction.
The copyright laws are federal laws, and in most cases are covered by
international treaty. So there are few places on earth that you could
go to legally obtain what you are asking for. We certainly cannot
provide it if we wish to continue in operation. Which we do. If you
wish you could commission a custom piece of artwork and return at a
later time with it. Otherwise, may I show you what we *can* do for
you?" Sally said.

"Well, I guess while I'm here... What have you got?" the woman asked.

"In these catalogs we have a listing of all the artwork that we have on
file. There is a print of each work with a reference number. If you
would care to select one then I can call it into the computer and show
you how it would look," Sally said, offering the woman a thick catalog.

"Wouldn't it be quicker to view them on the computer?" asked the woman.

"No, Ma'am. You can view eight works on one page at a glance. It takes
several seconds to call in each image on the computer, *after* the
proper CD is inserted," Sally explained.

"I would have thought that you would have better computers," said the
woman.

"Ma'am. These are the fastest computer workstations available that we
know of. If you know of a faster one then we would be *very* interested
in knowing about them," Sally said, smoothly. Finding no edge for a
fight, the woman consoled herself looking through the catalog. Sally
glanced at the order sheet. The piece of artwork that the woman wanted
would have looked absolutely dreadful on her.

Sally knew of another work within the same style and period that would
work out very well, she consulted her own catalog and pulled up the
image. She mapped it over the image and turned to the woman.

"Ma'am, I've selected a work that I think would suit you very well,
what do you think of this?" she asked. The woman looked up, prepared to
do battle and was instantly entranced by the image on the screen.

"Oh, that's *just* what I wanted!" exclaimed the woman.

"Yes, Ma'am. Would you like to view it from other angles? It's best to
know how it looks from any direction. A particular image may look great
from one direction and downright embarrassing from another," Sally
said, turning the image.

Catarina met Jean out on the deck and chose a chair beside her. She
rubbed her eyes.

"God, that woman would not listen to me. She acted like her husband's
position as a minor local dignitary entitled her to ignore the law,"
she said.

"Yeah, kind of like when I'd get an adamant customer at the diner.
They'd demand roast beef when we were out of it. Like their desires
should automatically produce what they wanted," Jean chuckled.

"I am not so sure that I am up to working with the public," Catarina
said.

"You'll do fine. Actually, you will find that -for the most part- the
public is very easy to work with. The problems arise when you have to
deal with a person who *thinks* they are important, whether they are or
not. In fact, the ones who actually *are* important are easy to work
with too, because they usually got to be important by understanding how
things work," Jean chuckled.

"And you learned such great wisdom working at a diner?" Catarina asked.

"A place of amazing diversity," Jean chuckled.

"Perhaps that is where I should start," Catarina said.

"No, that is *not* the best place to learn. Watch Sally. She's very
good with the customers. Observe how she deals with them, how she tries
to turn bad things into opportunities to make the customer happy. See,
all the customer wants, is to be happy. Sometimes you have to show them
what happy is. Just keep in mind that the whole point is to satisfy the
customer's needs. That's why they come to us. Do whatever you can to
make them happy. If you can't do one thing because of legal restraints,
explain that to them, *briefly*, then offer them an alternative.
Arguing over what you can't do doesn't solve a thing. If they are
insistent, explain to them that we must operate within the constraints
of the law and that they are welcome to pursue their desires anywhere
they please, but that we will not violate the law. If they aren't happy
with that answer, so be it. We have enough customers who are willing to
be reasonable about their requests," Jean explained.

"Thank you, I will observe and learn," Catarina said, squeezing Jean's
hand.

"You'll do fine. Well, I'd better go relieve Shannon. I don't want to
take advantage of her generosity," Jean said, sliding off the seat. She
paused to kiss Catarina on the cheek. Catarina smiled at her and pulled
her back into a brief warm kiss. Jean smiled at her and slipped away.
Shannon found Sheila in her bedroom.

"May I come in?" she asked.

"Of course. Anytime," Sheila said, warmly.

"I was thinking that perhaps you needed a little stress relief,"
Shannon said, moving to her side.

"Perhaps I could use some. I don't know... I just got a little scared.
Several people that I know and love suddenly getting involved with
others.... And then there was this stunning nude woman who was giving
me signals that were pulling me in that direction... It scared me just
a bit," Sheila said.

"Yes, she was quite puzzled over your reaction. I guess we all get
scared from time to time. *You* scare *me* a bit," Shannon said.

"Why's that? I wouldn't have thought that I could scare a fly away,"
Sheila said.

"I think that you are a more dynamic woman than you give yourself
credit for. You are stunningly beautiful, you are smart and charming
and you make me melt in my shoes by your very touch. That's scary,"
Shannon said, softly caressing Sheila's cheek.

"I wouldn't have thought an actress of your standing would suffer from
insecurity," Sheila said.

"Fame doesn't eliminate insecurities. In some cases it amplifies them.
Sometimes you get a whole new set of insecurities; Will I retain my
looks long enough to make an adequate pension? What if the public takes
a dislike to the roles I've been typecast into? What if the public
takes a dislike to a particular trait of a character I've played and
attributes that trait to myself? I was lucky. I just happened to get a
part in a movie that was a big success. That led to other roles in
movies that became successful. Eventually my name became synonymous
with successful movies, not because they were necessarily better or my
acting was superior, but just because it was *perceived* that way by
those who made and attended them. Now I'm well off enough that it
doesn't matter. This Second Skin venture will help insure that
considerably, if today is any indicator," Shannon said.

"We're more than pleased by the joint venture. You brought in all that
business with your contacts. It's only right that you should be well
rewarded. I think you'll clear twenty thousand for the day," Sheila
said.

"You're kidding!" Shannon gasped.

"Not a bit," Sheila chuckled.

"Twenty thousand a day!?" Shannon asked.

"Yup, and if you can keep the same flow rate up, every day. We'll milk
it for as long as it lasts. Oh, we should take Sundays off, I guess.
Mainly to give the women a rest," Sheila chuckled.

"So you're talking a hundred and twenty thousand dollars a week?"
Shannon asked.

"Roughly. It may settle back to a hundred or so," Sheila said.

"Good god...... You know. I find making money like this incredibly
sexy," Shannon said, laying next to Sheila.

"No doubt, with the parade of stunning nudes that have passed through
today. I found myself literally salivating several times. They seem to
be a lot more comfortable about it than I thought they would be,"
Sheila said, opening her arms to Shannon.

"Perhaps that's from all the times they've had to spend hours nude, in
front of a full crew doing retakes, to get a scene right," Shannon
said, working the fasteners on Sheila's outfit. Sheila's fingers were
busy themselves. The conversation lapsed and was replaced by very
pleasing non-verbal communication. Later, as they softly stroked each
other's bodies, they slipped into a well deserved nap.

"I wonder how the others are getting along?" Cindy asked, lounging nude
around Heather's pool, watching her lithe nude sliding through the
water as she swam laps.

"Probably swimming laps in Shannon's pool or relaxing wherever they
are," John said from a nearby chaise, his eyes closed to the sun
glistening off his nude body.

"Yeah, I imagine Mae and Candice are the busiest of them. She wanted to
get back to work in the worst way," Cindy mused. The phone rang and
Heather stuck her head up.

"Would you be a dear and catch that for me, Cindy?" she asked.

"Glad to," Cindy said, picking up the cordless phone. "Hello."

"Cindy? I'm not disturbing you am I?" Sally's voice asked.

"No, we're just laying out by the pool. Heather's swimming laps. What's
up?" Cindy asked.

"I just wondered if you had heard from Mae or the silo?" Sally asked.

"Not a word. I suspect they didn't want to disturb us either. But
mankind does not live on love alone," Cindy chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm just taking a short break. I thought I'd better give you the
news if you hadn't heard," Sally said.

"A break from what? Laying out by Shannon's pool? And what news are you
talking about?" Cindy asked.

"One: a break from making you an even richer lady. Sheila called Judy
at the Silo last night and somehow Judy got all three machines shipped
and here in eight hours. We had our first customer here at nine o-clock
this morning and we will probably net forty grand today, our cut.
Second: The news is that Mae and Candice both got engaged this morning,
apparently to the pilots of the plane we were flying on. Also, Judy is
love struck over the helicopter pilot that flew her and the girls into
the Silo. Apparently he had a mechanical problem when he went to leave
and had to spend the night. Seemingly with Judy, cause she's all ga-ga
over him today. Lastly, Bill assigned a soldier to guard the Silo while
we were away. Amy was quite taken with him but not quite as serious as
the others," Sally finished breathlessly. Cindy sat with her mouth
gaping like a fish out of water, not knowing which question to ask
first.

"Are you still there?" Sally asked.

"Yes, I just don't know which question to ask first," Cindy said.

"Well, I don't know any further information about the women and their
new loves, so ask any you have about the business," Sally giggled.

"Okay.. How the hell did Judy get the crates shipped across the country
in eight hours?" Cindy asked.

"Haven't a clue. Something called the *old-boy network*, whatever that
is," Sally replied.

"Okay, how are Catarina and Bianca doing?" Cindy asked.

"They're doing well. Catarina's learning the perils of dealing with the
public. We had a snooty bitch that was the wife of some minor dignitary
who was insisting that we put a particular copyrighted image on her
outfit. I stepped in and handled that one. Otherwise she's doing very
well. Bianca is doing great. She seems to be doing much better as far
as her addiction is doing. Shannon and I think she's keeping the level
of treatment up because she enjoys it as much as she needs it. That's
fine. We won't even try to start weaning her for two more weeks at
least," Sally said.

"And you say we'll clear forty thousand today?" Cindy asked.

"Our cut. Shannon gets a third of profit and the shipping set you back
about five grand. It was worth it. They both are. We wouldn't have this
much business at a new location near this quick. I expect we'll do
sixty-five net for the day, maybe up to seventy before we collapse. I'm
the horniest woman on the planet right now. You wouldn't *believe* the
parade of stunning nude actresses that I've witnessed today. I think
Sheila and Shannon are off raping each other as we speak. Sheila was a
bit shook about the news from out West," Sally concluded.

"Well, keep up the good work. You've got me all hot just talking about
it. I'll call and find out the specifics myself about the girls. I
expect that you will cure your affliction at the first possible
opportunity. I like to keep my employees happy. Love ya," Cindy said.

"I love you too. Kiss that hunk of a man and that adorable woman for
me. Bye," Sally said.

"I will, right now. Kiss them all for me. Bye," Cindy said. Cindy let
the phone dangle in her hand for a moment while she watched Heather
swim by, then set it down and moved to John's side. Leaning to kiss
him.

"Mmm... what was that for?" he asked, his hands sliding up over her
breasts.

"That was from Sally. This one's from me," she said, descending once
more. Heather climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel, drying
herself as she walked over by them. Cindy held out her arm and Heather
moved to her. Cindy taking the towel and drying her off. Heather
smiling down at her as Cindy held her arm draped around her waist. She
daubed the drops off her and then turned her around and completed the
back.

"Thanks," Heather said, turning once more. Cindy pulled her down into a
warm kiss.

"That was from Sally, this one's from me," Cindy said, repeating the
gesture.

"Mmmm, I'm torn over who the better kisser is," Heather chuckled. "Who
was on the phone... oh, Sally I guess." She sat on an adjoining chaise
and lay back. Cindy admiring her perfect body. "So what's up? How are
they doing?" Heather asked.

"Well, John made about three thousand dollars today from our newest
location alone. We'll net about sixty-five to seventy for the day in
the new salon on Shannon's estate. She gets about twenty thousand of
that. Somehow Judy managed to ship six five-hundred pound crates all
the way across the country in eight hours using something called the
*old-boy* network," Cindy said. John chuckled. "You know what that is?"
Cindy asked.

"Yes, dear," he said, "That's where somebody who has been in a
particular business for years gets on the phone with others he knows
who have been in the same business for years. They all know exactly how
the system works and how to make it run like greased lightning," he
chuckled.

"Apparently. I never heard of such a record time for shipping before,"
Cindy said.

"They probably could have done it in half the time if they'd really
been trying," John said.

"So, any other news?" Heather asked.

"Yes.. Apparently since we left them yesterday afternoon, Mae and
Candice got engaged to the pilots who were flying us and Judy's close
with the chopper pilot who dropped her and the two triplets off at the
Silo. Oh, and Amy's quite taken with a soldier that Bill left guarding
the Silo while we were away, but not as seriously as the rest," Cindy
said.

"When the cat's away... Wonder how Alice escaped unscathed?" John
mused.

"You don't seem surprised or concerned," Heather said.

"Nope. I could even tell you which pilot got which and what Judy's
connection to the old-boy network was," John chuckled.

"Okay, which pilot got which?" Cindy asked, smugly.

"Candice is enthralled with a big old country boy named Jimbo. I think
the other one's name was Scott. He'd get along well with Mae. Judy's
new beaux is named Steve. I've flown with him lots before. He's a good
guy and Judy's connection for the lightning fast shipment. I haven't
got a clue about Amy's new beaux," John said.

"Is he always so perceptive?" Heather asked.

"Always. He figured out that Theresa and I were making love in a shack
at the end of the road by the way the phone rang once," Cindy chuckled.

"He was correct?" Heather asked.

"Dead on," Cindy replied, tracing her fingers across his chest.

"Why were you making love in a shack?" Heather asked, amused.

"'Cause they were pissed off at me. I have the whole Silo wired for
audio and visual recording. It was wired that way when I bought it. I
just started using it. A fact which I *neglected* to inform Cindy and
Theresa of. This bright girl here figured it out by the sound of a VCR
starting up. I suspect that she told Theresa about it and then Theresa
balked at making love in the Silo. Cindy -being her resourceful self-
carted her down the road to a shack I had built to hold a vehicle by
the main road, so we would have transportation in the winter. The
reason they went there, was because it was heated," John said.

"Sometimes it's like living with Sherlock Holmes," Cindy chuckled.

"Last time you said that, it was 'Like living with *fucking* Sherlock
Holmes'," John chuckled.

"Well, I was a bit pissed off at the time," Cindy said, kissing him on
the cheek.

"You have the whole Silo wired? You record everything?" Heather asked.

"Yes, the tapes have never been watched though," John said.

"Not exactly correct. While you were in mid-debauch with Judy I played
one for Catarina, Bianca and Shannon. The one with our conversation
about the Russians on it. When we figured out they were watching us and
your plan for the ruse," Cindy said.

"Why'd you do that?" John asked.

"Because I had sworn that I would not tell anybody the information. The
tape was recorded before any of us took that oath. A little legal
loophole that Bill wasn't thrilled about, but didn't interfere with,"
Cindy said.

"Oh, makes sense," John said.

"So how long have you been doing this recording?" Heather asked.

"Since the night Cindy first arrived...... That's kind of what started
it all. She represented a threat to my relationship with Theresa. When
I started snooping and saw them making love that first night, I kind of
flipped out. That's when I started recording everything. I don't know
what I intended to do with the tapes, but it turned into a habit. I
just kept it up out of inertia. Now there's over two years history on
them. I was intending to give them to Cindy and Theresa for after when
I was gone. I guess that the tapes have just about outlived their
usefulness. I'll have to stop it all when the President and First Lady
come to visit," John said.

"The *President* is coming to stay with you?" Heather gasped.

"Aw, now you've gone and spoiled my surprise," Cindy moped.

"Sorry, love. I didn't know it was a secret," John said. Heather's eyes
suddenly got real big.

"MW.... Muriel Wilson," she said, softly.

"Shhhhh. That's not for public information," Cindy said.

"No, of course not.... In the White House? *You didn't?*" Heather
gasped.

"No, we didn't. The invitation was made from both directions. Clearly
made. But there was no impropriety on the First couple's part while we
were there," Cindy said.

"If you don't count getting Frenched and receiving a beaver shot from
the First Lady," John chuckled.

"Just the *rumor* of that would be enough to ruin him politically,"
Heather said.

"True, but the news media won't be learning it from us," John said.

"Nor me," Heather said.

"We know that. That's why we're here. That same sort of rumor could
ruin *your* career. You know about being discrete," John said.

"Yes, the only reason I said anything to you, was that you put the
monogram from my panties last night together with John saying the First
couple were going to visit us. Otherwise you wouldn't have known a
thing unless you became *personally* involved in it," Cindy said.

"Yes, I trust you two implicitly," Heather said.

"Good. We trust you too. Not that there's the same degree of danger for
us as for you," Cindy said.

"No... Anyway, back to the tapes. Is the quality good?" Heather asked.

"Not bad, not network quality for sure, but pretty good," John said.

"The one we watched was clear enough," Cindy chuckled.

"Do you have any idea how much they are worth?" Heather asked.

"Nothing, except esoterically to the people on them," John said.

"You'd be wrong about that. From what I understand, pretty much the
whole story of the Russian spy incident is recorded on them. That's a
movie people would love to make," Heather said.

"Way too much editing would be required. There is way too much
intensely private information on those tapes for me to ever allow an
outsider to view them. And I personally am not interested in spending
several years editing out those things. Which is what it would take,"
John said.

"Yeah, I can see that. I wish there was a way," Heather said.

"What about your logs, John? Don't they list what's on each tape?"
Cindy asked.

"Only what room at what time on what tape," John said.

"You have logs!" Heather gasped.

"Yes, I had to track things somehow. I just had the computer log which
camera was recording on what machine at what time. That's the only way
I could have tracked it," John said.

"So couldn't you use a computer to select a particular room and have it
move the tapes to that section and dupe off just that one part?" Cindy
asked.

"Sure, it could be done. It would still have to be watched closely.
There's not a place in the Silo that wouldn't contain some pretty racy
footage at one time or another," John said.

"But you could eliminate a lot. Like bathrooms or bedrooms," Cindy
said.

"Mostly. One of the problems, is that I started using split screen.
Putting more than one view on a tape at a time," John said.

"Yeah, there was some pretty racy footage of Theresa with Amy and
Andrea right next to our conversation about the Russian's. I made it a
little better by panning the sound balance over to only one channel,
but Theresa and the other two almost glowed in the dark from the
footage that was shown while Shannon and the others were watching our
part," Cindy said.

"Do you have pictures of the Silo, I mean of how it was when you first
bought it and how construction progressed?" Heather asked.

"Some, not many. I'm kind of sorry about that part. The kitchen, guest
room, pool and all the floors were in by the time I started recording,"
John said.

"Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll gladly pay ten million
dollars for the screen play," Heather said.

"You're kidding?" John said.

"Not a bit. I'd make ten times that at least," she said.

"Well, I'll give it some thought. You just want the screenplay? Who
said what, at what time and what room they were in and such? You don't
need actual images?" John asked.

"Some, just to know how to set up a scene. Character positions and
such. That makes it so much easier to shoot," Heather said.

"I'll think about it," John said.

"Do that. Well... I'm feeling a bit amorous... would either or both of
you care to join me for a little loving? Since you *are* on your
honeymoon?" Heather asked.

"I don't know, what do you think, John? Have we any room in our busy
schedule for this gorgeous creature?" Cindy chuckled.

"I think we could fit her in... Say in about the time it takes us to
walk into the house? Or would you like to make love right here?" John
asked.

"Here would be fine.... except I'm a bit skittish about the outdoors
since Cindy told me about the spy satellites. I was thinking of that
huge water bed I had custom built for your visit," Heather said,
drawing her fingers over Cindy's body.

"Is that where that came from? I was wondering where you found one that
big," Cindy chuckled, standing and taking Heather's hand to help her
up.

"The water bed it is...Work, work, work... it's a tough life," John
said, getting up.

"You don't *have* to come along. I'm certain that Heather and I can
amuse ourselves without you," Cindy said.

"Whichever you would prefer," John said, stalling.

"Don't go getting silly on me. Come on. You know very well what I
prefer," Cindy said.

"And I," Heather said, reaching her hand out to John.

"Your wish is my command," John said, as the two women helped him up.
They walked arm in arm up to the house. Their hands got a head start on
things. It was a good thing they chose inside; a short time later a
news helicopter flew over the estate in search of candid photographs.

"Sometimes I wish we could shoot them down," Heather moaned, not
entirely from the sound of the intrusion.

"I fear we are the cause of that," Cindy said, breathlessly.

"Mmph," John said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 92

It was late evening by the time Cindy made her calls to the Silo and
the West coast. She got Judy on the phone first. Steve was still there.
Even so she managed to extract most the story from her. Later she
managed to get Candice on the phone. Once filled in on the details she
wished all the women well and sent her and John's love. Once off the
phone she filled John and Heather in on the details.

"You were right... as usual," Cindy told John, referring to who got
whom.

"Don't you ever get tired of him being correct?" Heather asked.

"No, actually. I'm quite proud of my man's powers of perception... I
think that's what makes him such a good lover," Cindy giggled.

"No argument there. The best I've ever known. You both are," Heather
said, kissing Cindy on the neck.

Bill was reading a book when Andrea came and plunked down in his lap.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello, love," he said.

"I'm bored," she said.

"I'm sorry. There's much to do around here. Watch TV, or read a book or
play on the computer," Bill offered.

"We could make love again," Andrea giggled.

"We could, if you'd like. But there is more to life than making love,
even on a honeymoon," Bill said.

"Sorry you married me?" Andrea asked.

"Not a bit. You sorry you married me?" Bill asked.

"Nope, I'm just bored," Andrea said. Bill sighed and set down his book.

"Come on, let's go take a walk," he said.

"Why?" Andrea asked.

"That's a silly question for a country girl. For the experience. To
listen to the birds and watch the squirrels and see the sunlight
filtering through the trees," he said.

"It's getting dark," Andrea said.

"Then to see the stars," Bill said.

"I guess," Andrea said.

"What else would you like to do?" Bill asked.

"I don't know, I'm bored," Andrea said.

"You said that already," Bill said.

"I know... so let's do something," Andrea said.

"What?" Bill asked, again.

"I don't know!" Andrea said, angrily. Bill sighed heavily.

"Look, Andrea. I love you dearly. And I know you miss your sisters and
having people around you. But if we're going to be married for the rest
of our lives then I think we need to get something straight," Bill
said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Number one, when you get bored, that's *you* who got bored. It's not
my fault that you are bored. It's not my responsibility to make you
unbored. It's not my job to keep you *entertained*. I don't ever get
bored. I know how to entertain myself. That's what I was doing when you
came up and sat on my lap and told me how bored you were. I was reading
a book. Now you don't have to read a book, you don't have to watch TV,
you don't have to play on the computer, and you don't have to go for a
walk with me. Those were just my suggestions to you for you to become
unbored.

"Having made them, my job is done. You need to decide what *you* want
to do. Now I think the main problem -besides missing your sisters - is
that you just got so used to having so many people around you twenty-
four hours a day. Actually I am quite enjoying the solitude. Compared
to what I've been through in the past month, this is heaven," Bill
said. Andrea leaned against his shoulder and thought about what he had
said.

"I'm sorry... you're right. I do miss my sisters... and it's not your
fault that I'm bored," Andrea said.

"So what would *you* like to do about it?" Bill asked.

"My first choice would be making love... My second would be that walk
you talked about," she said.

"Tell you what. You reverse the order and we'll do both, okay?" Bill
asked.

"Deal," Andrea said. They grabbed light Second Skin jackets and headed
down the path. There was still plenty of light to see the wild life
that abounded with the protection of the closed environment. A short
way down the path they encountered Theresa and Kevin walking slowly arm
in arm.

"Isn't it gorgeous!" Theresa exclaimed.

"Yes, I think so," Bill chuckled.

"You're not bored?" Andrea asked.

"Good heavens no. I'm having a great time. We made love about five
times today, then we read for a while. Kevin suggested that we take a
walk together. We've been out for almost an hour now. We were just
starting back to cook dinner together," Theresa replied.

"I guess I'm just not used to being alone," Andrea said.

"But you're not alone. You've got a charming, interesting man with you.
Your new husband. Talk to him. Find out where he went to school and who
the first girl he kissed was. Ask him about how he got to where he is
in his job. He's your husband. Find out who he is," Theresa said.

"Talk. That never occurred to me," Andrea said.

"Well, he's your husband. I'd think you'd want to know him," Theresa
giggled. "Well, see ya. I think we're going to go start on dinner so we
can get to bed... if you know what I mean."

"Yes, I think so," Andrea said. Theresa kissed them both and Andrea
kissed Kevin before they parted. They walked on.

"So, where *did* you go to school?" Andrea asked. Once they got to
talking, Bill and Andrea's relationship got stronger daily. It was
Andrea who suggested they go out for a walk, earlier the next evening.
They met Theresa an Kevin on the trail again. This time Andrea was more
enthusiastic.

"I want to thank you, Theresa," she said.

"For what?"

"For reminding me that I was a married woman and didn't yet know who I
was married to," Andrea said.

"No great revelation there. I'm just beginning to know Kevin, and we
talk all the time," Theresa said.

"Well, thank you anyway," Andrea said, pulling her into a warm kiss.

"You are quite welcome," Theresa said.

"Will you come over for dinner tomorrow night?" Andrea invited.

"I'd like that. Maybe we can play some cards or monopoly afterwards,"
Theresa giggled.

"That would be fun. See you then," Andrea said, kissing her and Kevin
once more.

"You're becoming very domestic," Kevin remarked when they got down the
path.

"Not hardly. I'm just letting Andrea know what she's in for. Most the
world lives like that. If they end up living around Washington D.C.
that's exactly what she has to look forward to for a social life,"
Theresa said.

"You sure it's wise to spoil her illusion?" Kevin asked.

"Yes. Because it will be a much harder fall later if she doesn't learn
it now," Theresa said, "You saw them last night. Bill was trying to
enjoy himself and she was downright miserable. It was making it hard
for Bill to smile. Now at least they're talking."

"So, dear heart. Cards again tonight?" Kevin teased.

"Yeah, strip gin," Theresa said.

"How's the scoring work?" Kevin asked.

"One article of clothing per point. If you run out of articles you get
to deduct from the other person," Theresa said.

"So basically one hand," Kevin chuckled.

"Yup," Theresa replied, mischievously. The dinner went well. Andrea
pulled out all the stops and dug deep into the well equipped kitchen.
She found a nice roast in the freezer and thawed it earlier in the day.
She sliced carrots and potatoes in with an onion and let it simmer
until tender. It was great. Afterwards they sat around and talked a
bit. Andrea asked about a card game.

"Actually, I was sort of teasing you, Andrea. I was letting you know
what your social life might be like if you folks had to live by
Washington D.C.," Theresa said.

"Bill explained that to me. So if that's what I'm going to have to live
with, then I'd better learn, hadn't I?" Andrea asked.

"If you really want to. Hearts or Gin?" Theresa asked.

"I don't know either," Andrea answered.

"Then we'll teach you both," Theresa said.

"Careful, she's a demon at gin," Kevin mused. Theresa smiled at him.
Several hours later Andrea was into it. She was genuinely disappointed
when Kevin and Theresa thanked them for a wonderful evening and said
their good-nights. Afterwards Bill pulled Andrea into his lap.

"So, little wife of mine. How do you think you'll be able to handle the
social life around D.C.?" Bill asked.

"Bring them on! I'm ready for them," Andrea chuckled.

"Well, it may not be as bad as all that, but it might. I think that's
what Theresa was trying to tell you. That the important thing is that
we have each other. No matter where we go or live. You can be happy at
the North pole all by yourself, or miserable at the most glamorous
party on earth, surrounded by the cream of the social world. The
difference is attitude," Bill said.

"At this point, I think I'd prefer the North pole with you," Andrea
said.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Certain... at least I am now," she said.

"Race you to bed," Bill said.

"I'd rather you carried me," Andrea said, kissing him softly. Bill
stood during the kiss and carried her into the bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 93

The men complained that they needed to do some shopping, as they needed
to buy some slacks. A change of shirt, socks and shorts wasn't
sufficient for the environment they suddenly found themselves in.

"About time you learned what we do," Mae said. She drug them down to
her salon. "I need some time on one of the machines," she told an
attendant.

"Not much problem on the scanners, but the spinners are booked solid,"
she said.

"We'll make time for this. My fianc� needs clothes," Mae said.

"Fianc�?" asked the attendant, shocked to her core.

"Yup. Candice's too," Mae replied.

"Stranger things have happened, but not in my lifetime," replied the
attendant.

"So can you fit us in?" Mae asked.

"Yeah, take number three. She's late. I'll just tell her we thought she
wouldn't show. After you get your designs done, we'll just stick them
into the task stack at the bottom. A few hours won't matter much to
these folks," said the attendant.

"Okay guys, step into my parlor...." Mae said, guiding them to the
scanning room. It didn't take too long for the scanning with the new
equipment. When the men complained Candice told them about the
prototype. They shut up. They next moved to Mae's office and designed
the clothes for them. As they would be flying, Mae called in Theresa's
uniform designs she'd done for Kevin and adapted them to the flight
uniforms. She also specified thermal weave on each item. Next she
designed them shirts and underwear. Her and Candice had a ball with
that. Jimbo insisted on something that he could wear to a plane crash
without starting bad rumors about his past.

Candice relented, but made some very racy ones anyway. The socks they
would buy, but in fact the thermal weave worked excellent for them. Mae
just didn't want to tie the machines up too long. She transferred her
order to the task stack over her LAN with priority instructions.

"Now what?" Scott asked.

"Now we go to lunch. Your things should be ready for dinner," Mae said,
looking at the task stack. The weavers would be busy all night. Her
staff had realized what she hadn't. That you could scan people and then
be scanning another while one staffer designed outfits for the first.
The orders got put on a task stack. When they were done, the customer
just came in and picked them up. There was no fitting involved, but her
staff went through the formality anyway. It didn't take too long to
convince the customers that they fit. Mae picked up the phone and
called Shannon's. She got Sheila on the line and told her of her
staff's innovations.

"I figure we can keep three spinners busy for each scanner. If we run
the spinners all night we can almost offer overnight service. That will
help immensely with our work load. In fact, almost triple our
throughput," Mae explained.

"No kidding. The problem is getting more spinners with John and Kevin
out," Sheila said.

"Well, how about getting a head start on them? Do you know the
suppliers? Order the parts in so that they will be at the Silo when
John gets back," Mae suggested.

"I have a better idea. You're just up the road from Silicon Valley. Why
don't you look around for a company that can assemble them for us. We
have the designs. John's broken the assembly down pretty good. We have
the suppliers ship to the assembler and he turns out machines as we
need them," Sheila suggested.

"Can do. Uh.. in a few days? ..Please," Mae asked.

"Okay," Sheila chuckled. "Who am I to thwart true love.... it is still
true love, isn't it?"

"Truer every day," Mae said.

"Okay, but first chance you get. Maybe you could make some phone calls
to start things?" Sheila asked.

"You got it. That I can do. In fact I'll draft a staff member to start
a pre-select on the manufactures in the area so all I have to do is
check out the finalists," Mae said.

"Good idea. I'll get the suppliers geared up for at least another
spinner for each salon. Better yet, two. We can afford them," Sheila
said.

"I'm certain that they'd pay for themselves," Mae said.

"Okay.. gotta go. Love you both. Wear your galoshes," Sheila said.

"You know we both went on the pill last month," Mae chuckled.

"Yeah, I forgot. See you," Sheila said.

"Kiss the girls for me. Love you too. Bye," Mae said, breaking the
connection.

"So that's what you do for a living. Figure out ways to spend money,"
Scott chuckled.

"That particular expenditure might just triple our volume. Double it at
least," Mae said.

"You're joking," Scott said.

"Not a bit," Mae said.

"You'll find she jokes very little where work is concerned," Candice
chuckled.

"And how much do you get per outfit?" Scott asked.

"Between seven-hundred and fifteen thousand. Depending on the
complexity of the outfit. Accessories are much cheaper though. A set of
custom stockings to go with a thousand dollar outfit only cost a
hundred dollars. It all depends on how much set up is required for an
outfit. It's no problem to do a set of gloves when you're already doing
a body suit. If you want custom panty hose, then the body suit has to
come off or be pulled out of the way before you can make the panty
hose. Then there's dresses. Some have to have stitching done to connect
a broad skirt to a body suit foundation. That stuff really costs. To do
wedding dresses like Cindy's, Theresa's and Andrea's would cost you
fifteen thousand," Mae said.

"Quite the tycoon you've hitched your wagon to, Scotty my boy," Jimbo
commented.

"Oh, I think you'll find that Candice holds her own in that respect.
She basically runs things for me. If you guys weren't here I'd have her
buried to her eyebrows in things that need to be done," Mae said.

"So who's doing them in the mean time?" Jimbo asked.

"My staff, on some of them. The others are put on hold," Mae said.

"We didn't mean to be pulling you away from important work," Jimbo
said.

"Jimbo, it's not every day that a woman gets engaged. Everybody's
entitled to a vacation," Mae said.

"Well... I don't like keeping you from making money. If you're going to
support me in a manner in which I wish to become accustomed," Jimbo
teased.

"I'm sure that as a pilot for the government you do quite well. Better
than an airline pilot I should hope," Mae said.

"Ah, just barely. Uncle Sugar's a tight old goat," Jimbo mused.

"Well, when Sheila finally realizes that they need a corporate jet,
then I know where the pilots will come from," Mae chuckled.

"I've got two years to go for my pension," Jimbo said.

"We'd cover that," Mae said simply.

"You don't know what you're saying. I get seventy percent of my wages
for the rest of my life," Jimbo said.

"And you said Uncle Sugar was tight.... I suspect that we'd still cover
it. But it may be that long before Sheila realizes that we need a
corporate jet. We'd probably start small, a Gulf Stream or Lear Fan.
But the first time Sheila can't get where she needs to go and loses a
million dollars because of it, then things will happen fast. And I know
for a fact that you're a good pilot. I'm not as naive as I look. I know
what that landing took the other night. I saw where we ended up. I felt
how much you had to fight your little darling to keep her straight.
Good pilots aren't easy to find. When we need one your name will be on
the list, both of you," Mae said.

"Ah, by then darling it would be nepotism. A clear conflict of
interest," Jimbo said.

"Nope, you'd be in a different position from me and Candice entirely.
Neither of us would be directing your actions, or you directing ours.
You'd be working for Cindy and Theresa, as owners, under direction of
Sheila, as CEO," Mae said.

"Who am I to turn down a good offer when I hear one?" Jimbo said.

"The offer isn't made yet... but I think it's a safe bet. Don't quit
your day job yet," Mae chuckled. "Now, how about that lunch?" Mae made
the error of taking them to the restaurant where she had first taken
Candice and Alice when Sheila had made the Second Skin offer to her.
About halfway through lunch they had their pictures snapped. By evening
they were all over the national press. Mae took pity on a reporter she
knew would treat her fairly. She told him of her and Candice's
engagements. This accompanied the photos. When asked if there was any
connection with the fact they had caught the bouquets, Mae replied that
it hadn't occurred to her. Sheila read the article that evening.

"I'm not normally a superstitious person, but remind me never to catch
a bouquet," she mentioned to Sally.

"Not even to catch John?" Sally asked.

"Where's the nearest wedding?" Sheila chuckled.

"You really have to go?" Judy asked, Steve.

"Got a business to run, darling. Don't worry. You'll be seeing enough
of me," he said.

"I doubt that. I don't think I *could* see enough of you," she said.

"Well, you could always *marry me*," Steve said. Judy looked at him
startled.

"Are you asking?" she said.

"Yes," he said.

"Okay," she replied, "Assuming you pass muster with the family, of
course. I don't think that's a problem. You've already won Amy's and
Alice's hearts... and mine." Steven pulled her into his arms and kissed
her deeply.

"I guess that my business can wait a bit longer," he said.

"Oh, no. If you're going to support a wife you're going to *need* that
money," Judy teased.

"Actually, I don't have a flight scheduled till morning," he said.

"Then we can consummate our engagement, but you'll be leaving early,"
Judy chuckled.

"Already a nag," Steven said, kissing her again. He actually did make
his morning flight, well fed on the twin's biscuits. They all turned
out to see him off. He was floating as high as his helicopter as he
flew back. Cindy read the article about Mae and Candice the next
morning.

"Handsome fellows," she commented.

"I'll say," Heather said, reading over her shoulder. One of the
luxuries at Camp David was a selection of morning papers. Kevin stepped
out of his cabin and picked them up. He glanced at the article.

"Oh, my," he said, carrying the stack into the cabin.

"Oh my what?" Theresa asked. Kevin dropped the stack before her. "*Oh
my god*!" Theresa gasped, "I've got to call them!"

"Later, it's four in the morning out there," Kevin chuckled.

"Oh, yeah," she said, reading the article.

"My god, they must have gotten engaged the morning after we left them,"
she said.

"It would seem so. They were the pilots I saw boarding their plane at
the base," Kevin mused. Andrea's reactions were much the same. Bill was
just as philosophical.

"Aren't you excited for them?" Andrea asked.

"Oh, not really excited. More interested in the men. Two more guys I'll
be sharing my wife with if the family holds true to form," Bill
chuckled.

"At the same time you'll be sharing their wives," Andrea chuckled.

"There is that," Bill mused, "I wonder how many more will be involved
in this? If each of you women find other guys that would make ....
what? Twenty eight of us?"

"Twenty-six," Andrea said.

"I was thinking about Cindy's flame in Minnesota. From the way she
talked I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her," Bill said.

"Would you mind?" Andrea asked.

"No, I came to that realization a long time ago. Before I asked you to
marry me," he said.

"Had enough biscuits?" Andrea asked.

"Yes, I'm stuffed," he said.

"There's more here, care to go work up an appetite to make room for
them?" she demurred.

"I think that would be a swell idea. I'd better get my fill before the
demands for your time go up," Bill chuckled.

"Oh, think I'll be that popular?" Andrea asked, opening her robe and
sliding onto his lap.

"I have no doubt," Bill said, caressing a breast as he bent to kiss
her. Later in the day Sheila called Judy at the Silo.

"Ready to go to work yet?" she asked.

"Sure... he's gone for now. We consummated our engagement last night,"
Judy said.

"*I'll be dipped in a bucket of shit!* I never thought I'd hear those
words come out of your mouth!" Sheila said.

"My, you're eloquent today," Judy chuckled.

"I'm just shocked to the core. I told Sally to remind me never to catch
a bouquet," Sheila said.

"One out of three isn't bad odds," Judy said.

"Haven't you talked to Mae lately?" Sheila asked.

"No, not since we got off the plane," Judy said.

"Well, darling. Gird your lovely loins for this one; try three out of
three!" Sheila said.

"Huh?" Judy asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you read the papers? ..of course not. No delivery to the Silo.
Candice and Mae both got engaged the morning after our flight. To our
pilots," Sheila told her.

"*Oh my god!*..... They must have worked fast between Salt Lake and San
Francisco. I didn't see any sign of them before we got off the plane,"
Judy said.

"Well, you'd better give her a call... later. I've got some things I'd
like you to do," Sheila said.

"Sure.. oh, yeah, work. What do you need?" Judy asked, grabbing a note
pad and pen.

"I need you to call all the suppliers for our machines. I need parts
for two more spinners for each salon we've got open. Better schedule
for two more each for each of the ones we've got *scheduled* to open
also. Then get on the line to our personnel agency. I need at least one
more operator for each salon, better make it two. But one for swing and
one for graveyard. They don't need to operate the scanners, just baby-
sit the spinners. We're going twenty-four hours a day on production.
Mae brought it to my attention that her staff had figured out that one
scanner could keep three spinners busy. So what we'll do is scan a
customer and design their clothes separately. So we need another
computer work station for each scanner in service. You getting this?"
Sheila asked.

"Yes, but hold on, let me grab my laptop," Judy said. It was close by.
She opened it and called in a notepad. "Okay, continue," Judy said.

"Okay... Mae's doing research on a manufacturer to assemble the
scanners down in Silicon Valley. Get with her to co-ordinate where to
ship components. Get with our Realtor and tell them to search out
candidate properties in Dallas, Atlanta, L.A... make that Beverly
Hills, Seattle, Denver and Miami. Also a second location in Beverly
Hills and San Francisco for another accelerated high end salon in each
location. Anything you can think of?" Sheila asked.

"Yes, several things. One, this is going to cost a shit-load of money,
and two if you really think we're ready to ramp up like this, then we
should include Kansas City, Omaha, Phoenix, Salt Lake, Las Vegas,
Sacramento, San Diego, Honolulu, and Reno. I think we should have the
personnel agency start gathering candidates for each new location. Also
I think that you should establish Mae on the West coast and Sally on
the East coast as training locations. Maybe set up a second salon in
each location for training," Judy said.

"I knew there was a reason I hired you. Tell you what. Find a map. Any
population center over a million people that we aren't in yet, get it
started to get us there. Standard salon to start with, with contingency
plans to ramp it up to twenty-four hour production once business
warrants in each location," Sheila said.

"You really think we're ready for this big a ramp up?" Judy asked,
"This could blow up in our faces and leave us penniless if the public
takes a sudden disliking to us."

"That's the chance we'll have to take. Now is the time. We rolled
seventy thousand in one day at Shannon's place. We could have done a
hundred if we'd been using Mae's methods. That's one location. That's
too damn much money to be missing out on," Sheila said.

"Bill Gates, move over, Sheila, Cindy and Theresa are moving in," Judy
chuckled.

"I'd really like to get him into one of our salons. He still dresses
like a nerd," Sheila said.

"Speaking of which, when do you want to start up our men's salons?"
Judy asked.

"Not for a while yet. Let's stick where the money is. When that starts
to slow up, then we'll do something different. Oh, yeah. See if you can
locate another supplier for our chemicals. Especially the stuff we use
for the thermal outfits. We're selling more and more of them all the
time. See if you can locate several suppliers and talk bulk rates.
Maybe get a bidding war going. Look at our usage by salon on
pigmentation and work out a flow rate for each color. Extrapolate that
to the new locations in your estimates. Follow the growth patterns of
our established salons. Work out an average growth pattern and don't
forget to factor in financial conditions in each location," Sheila
said.

"My god. Cindy and Theresa sure picked the right person for your job,"
Judy chuckled.

"John chose me.. actually his lawyers. But he made the selection. I
have no doubt that he had other candidates. They just weren't as
pretty," Sheila chuckled.

"Or as modest," Judy chuckled.

"Well love, that should keep you busy for a while. Congratulations on
the new beaux. I'm still shocked. See if you can get this done before I
lose you on honeymoon. I love you. Bye," Sheila said.

"I love you too, kiss the girls for me," Judy said.

"I will, now I get to call Cindy and tell her I just spent all her
money," Sheila chuckled.

"Good luck. Bye," Judy said, hanging up. She completed her notes,
adding her hand written to the list and then added comments on each
one. She broke the list down into tasks and prioritized it. Then she
headed for the Com room. She was elbow deep in printouts when the twins
found her a few hours later.

"What's all this?" Amy asked.

"Sheila called. Seems we're making our move into the big time," Judy
said.

"Care for a swim?" Alice asked.

"I'd love one, but I've got *way* to much to do," Judy said.

"Can we help?" Amy asked. Judy looked up at her.

"You really want to?" she asked.

"Yes, of course. We want to pull our weight too," Alice said.

"Okay, sure. I doubt you have much accounting experience, but here.
Fire up those two computers. I'll show you what to call in and what to
do with the information. Keep in mind that you have to be accurate. A
slipped decimal point could cost us millions down the road," Judy said.

"Okay... Millions? Really?" Alice asked.

"Yes love, don't worry. You'll do fine," Judy said. She directed the
girls transferring data from each store onto a spread sheet. She showed
them how to import figures, which saved them manually entering the
figures and reduced the chance of errors. They got the hang of it
pretty fast and helped Judy out considerably.

She checked the resultant figures for consistency and only when she
felt secure that the numbers were correct did she factor them into her
calculations. Next she had them run the supply lists for each location
to run an average for the pigmentations and other chemicals. A slipped
decimal point almost got by.

"Ouch. That's exactly what I was talking about earlier. That would have
cost us a hundred thousand dollars and left us with a mountain of yucky
green pigment," Judy said.

"I'm sorry," Alice said, visibly upset.

"I am too. Don't worry love. We caught it. You've been a great help.
 From here on out I can handle it anyway. You've saved me several days
worth of work. Why don't you two take a break," Judy said.

"Not unless you do. It's almost midnight. We haven't even eaten dinner
yet. Sheila doesn't expect you to work all night and I know it. Let us
make you some dinner and then you can get a start on it again early in
the morning. We'll wake you up," Amy said.

"My god, you're right. My eyeballs do feel like onions. Yes, tomorrow
it is," Judy said, shutting down for the night. She rolled her neck and
rubbed it.

"Tell you what, why don't you go climb in the hot tub? Amy can keep you
company. I'll make us a snack and bring it down," Alice volunteered.
Judy pulled her into her arms and kissed her tenderly.

"Thanks, love. That would be great," Judy told her.

"Amy, don't let her fall asleep until she's eaten," Alice called back,
after she slipped out of Judy's arms.

"I think I can think of ways to keep her awake," Amy mused. It turned
out tougher than Amy thought. After ten minutes in the hot tub Judy was
turning to mush. Amy pulled her out and into the cool plunge. A few
minutes later Alice brought down a tray of roast beef sandwiches with
some chips and soda's.

"Thanks, dear heart," Judy said, groggily, despite the chill water. Amy
helped her out to a patio table that John had added. They sat around on
resin chairs as they ate the meal. "You girls really were a great
help," Judy said.

"We like to help. I'm sorry about the mistake," Alice said.

"That's really okay. I should have seen it myself. We were all just too
tired," Judy said.

"Do you think that we could learn accounting?" Alice asked.

"I don't see why not. Does it really interest you?" Judy asked.

"Some. Business interests us. We don't get to do much lately. Not since
that fashion show," Amy said.

"That is an oversight that I'm sure we can remedy. You girls are
valuable to us all. As friends as well as lovers. I guess we all just
get caught up in our own little worlds and we forget. Especially with
all the hubbub with John and those spies. You enjoyed modeling, didn't
you?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, it was okay, what little we got to do," Alice said.

"Well, we'll be opening a bunch of new salons. How about I schedule you
to go out and open each new location? You'd probably meet with local
celebrities and news media. You'd be modeling new outfits and flying to
a new location almost every few days," Judy suggested.

"That sounds like fun, but... do you really need us?" Alice asked.

"In those figures tonight was all the evidence you need of that. If you
look at the growth rate of each salon compared to the advertising done
then you would see a direct correlation of over a thousand to one ratio
of return to investment. I think it would help the business a lot. So
the answer is yes, we need you," Judy said.

"Then we'll do it," Amy said. Alice nodded. They were through with
their meal. Judy was nodding off. The twins helped her to her feet and
put her to bed. Then they snuggled to her. She was asleep moments
later. Alice motioned to Amy and they slipped away.

"You think they really need us or that she's just being nice?" Alice
asked.

"I remember those figures. She was telling the truth about the
advertising," Amy said.

"Okay.. then we do it, but I want to go to school too. I want to be
able to read those figures like she does and make sense of them," Alice
said.

"I do too. I think we might end up kind of alone. I think that Andrea
is going to end up living with Bill on the East coast. We don't have a
husband yet. We'd better prepare ourselves in case we need to support
ourselves," Amy said.

"I think you're right. Well, we'd better get back to bed.. wanna make
love?" Alice asked.

"Sure, but we gotta get up to get Judy up. There's something big going
on in the company. I've never seen Judy working so hard. She was tense
as a badger when she first got into the hot tub," Amy said.

"Okay, just once then. Double or single?" Alice asked, pulling Amy by
the hand to their bedroom.

"Why not both? We'll get up in plenty of time, we always do," Amy
chuckled. They pulled off each other's clothes and fell together nude
on the bed, an instant later they were locked in a deep kiss.

Andrea stirred in her sleep next to her husband. She realized why and
snuggled to him, smiling to herself as her sisters pleased each other
several times. Then she slipped blissfully back to sleep snuggled to
Bill's side.

"Breakfast is ready," Amy said, softly kissing Judy's cheek.

"Mmm. Thank you," Judy said, not opening her eyes.

"Come on. Here's a cup of coffee. You said you needed to get up," Amy
said, swinging the tray around and placing a mug of coffee on it. Judy
opened her eyes and groaned a bit.

"Okay, I'm awake," she said, sitting up. She reached out and Amy guided
her hand to the coffee.

"Careful, it's hot," she said.

"Okay, what time is it?" Judy asked, carefully taking a sip of coffee.

"Almost seven," Amy said.

"Mmm... That's about right, I guess," she said, taking another sip and
then putting the mug down, she slipped out to the bathroom. She was
gone for a while. When Amy heard the shower start she carried the mug
into the bathroom. Judy was just about to step in. Amy handed her the
cup and Judy smiled and took another sip before she set it down and
stepped into the shower. Amy slipped out of her clothes and joined her.

"I'm quite alright. You don't need to do this," Judy said, kissing the
younger woman on the cheek.

"I want to, unless you don't want company," Amy said.

"No, Love. You're quite welcome to shower with me anytime," Judy said,
pulling her to her. Amy soaped her body for her and then used her own
like a scrub brush, sliding against her and squirming. Judy used her
finger on her teeth and rinsed on the shower head before she turned her
head to find Amy's lips.

Amy kept it mostly business as she washed Judy's whole body. Then she
washed her hair for her. The shampoo seeming slicker as it coated
Judy's breasts; a natural invitation to squirm together more. Judy
returned the favor and then they rinsed. Stepping out, they toweled
each other dry. Judy moved to brush her teeth as Amy finished toweling
her hair. It had grown quite a bit longer since her arrival at the
Silo.

She let Judy have precedence with the blow dryer. But then Judy pulled
her against her and dried her hair for her, treating it with anti-
tangle spray and brushing it out as she worked. Amy did the back of
Judy's hair as she sipped the last of her coffee.

"Quite a pleasant way to wake up. Not a devastating orgasm, just enough
loving to get the blood boiling," Judy mused.

"You are quite welcome to whichever you'd like... anytime you'd like.
But I figured you'd want a clear head this morning," Amy said,
finishing up with Judy's hair.

"Thank you. Where's Alice, cooking?" Judy asked.

"No, breakfast is all ready. She's going over the figures she input
last night," Amy said.

"Maybe I'd better check on her first," Judy said, finding some shorts
and a tube top.

"Nope. She said not to let you near the office till you had some food
in you. She's alright, honest. We wouldn't spoil your work," Amy said,
pulling her shorts and tube top back on.

"Wouldn't you rather put on clean clothes?" Judy asked.

"Clean this morning, so was I. Alice and I showered together before we
dressed. We do every morning. I just did that for you," Amy said. Judy
pulled her into her arms and kissed her tenderly.

"Thank you, that was nice of you," Judy said.

"My pleasure. I enjoyed it myself. I always enjoyed rubbing up against
you. I'm gonna miss you something fierce when you get married," Amy
said, hugging Judy.

"I don't think I'll be going far, and you'll be seeing lots of me. I'll
probably be traveling with you to the salon openings, so we can keep
each other company every night if you wish," Judy said, leading Amy
toward the kitchen.

"I wish," Amy chuckled. After a large tasty breakfast they joined Alice
in the office.

"I found some more errors. I got to wondering how I made that one
'cause I was importing the data like you showed me. These figures were
in the wrong place. Look, if you add this up then it don't work. But if
you shift this whole column then it all fits. There's a whole bunch
like that," Alice said.

"My god, you're right. I would have never spotted that. I wonder why
that happened," Judy said.

"I pulled the form that the girls use to make their reports. You have
to skip this section and go down to this. They probably just went along
copying figures and not paying attention to the skip. This whole group
of figures ends up in the wrong column," Alice said.

"Yes, I can see that. We'll have to change the form. Put this other
section off by itself. You just saved us several million dollars and
got yourself another job," Judy said, hugging Alice and kissing her
warmly. Alice beamed brightly.

"Me too?" Amy asked.

"You too, love. You are both going to be my assistants from now on,"
Judy said, pulling Amy into a kiss.

"Wow, assistant to the assistant to the CEO. That puts us third from
the top!" Alice said.

"Yes, it does. And with that discovery, you deserve it. I'll talk to
Sheila about getting you a bonus for finding that," Judy said, turning
to the figures.

"Oh, that's not necessary. I just got bothered that I made a mistake
and tried to find out why," Alice said.

"Which is exactly what makes you perfect for the job and deserving of a
bonus," Judy said, lifting the phone. She dialed Sheila's cellular.

"Hello," Sheila answered.

"Good morning. Have you got a monthly inventory report sheet handy? And
a general monthly sheet?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, just a sec," Sheila said. A minute later she was back, "What
about them?"

"Put them side by side and scan down to the pigmentation section. Think
about moving figures from one to the other," Judy said.

"Yeah.... Oh my, that could be a problem. Yes, I see it. That explains
some of the odd material orders we've had. I'll bet that we've got
excess pigmentation stored at a lot of salons. Good eye," Sheila said.

"Not mine, Alice's. I just hired the two of them as my assistants. They
were helping me last night and I got on Alice's case because I thought
she made an error. She was importing the data to the spread sheet, so
she couldn't have. It bugged her and this morning she went back over
all the salons and found that. I figure that's about two million over
the past year and deserving of a fat bonus," Judy said.

"I'll say, approved. Both things. Give her a three percent bonus on the
total saved. I hadn't thought about it but I'll bet they were feeling
kind of left out anyway. We haven't utilized them since the New York
show. I hadn't thought about you needing any help either, but I'll bet
your work load is huge by now. Yes, hire them. If Alice found that,
then she's just the kind of help we want on our staff. Now the trick is
figuring out where our overages are," Sheila said.

"Just a sec," Judy said, "Alice, did you keep a record of which salons
had the error?" Alice held up a carefully hand printed sheet of paper.
Judy smiled and kissed her cheek. "Done, Alice tracked her work. I can
go back and trace just exactly where the overages are. I'll redesign
the form and have a memo out to all the salons before the next
monthly," Judy said into the phone.

"Great. Good work. Give her a big kiss for me. Anything else, how's
that list I gave you yesterday going? I hope you didn't stay up all
night working on it like you're prone to do?" Sheila asked. Judy
chuckled.

"No, the girls dragged me into the hot tub about midnight and then put
me to bed. With their help last night I made good progress on building
a growth profile. We'll have to go back and correct it now that Alice
found that error, but that's nothing. I got the orders for the scanner
components placed. I'll get on the phone today to our Realtor and
personnel agency and start looking into chemical suppliers," she said.

"Great. Okay, I gotta go. We're busy as hell here," Sheila said.

"Okay, take a break every now and then yourself," Judy said.

"Yeah, I'm scheduled for Bianca's next treatment in about an hour. Bye
love," Sheila said.

"Bye, darling," Judy said, breaking the connection.

"Well, darlings. You are both officially hired. And you get a fat bonus
to start off with. How do you want to divide it?" Judy asked Alice.

"Oh, it was Alice that found it. I didn't see it," Amy said.

"Nonsense. You helped me figure it out this morning. You should get
half," Alice said.

"It was mostly you. I don't want any," Amy said.

"Tell you what. How about a third to Amy and two thirds to you, Alice?"
Judy asked.

"That sounds fair," Alice said.

"But she found it!" Amy protested.

"Hush up, I love you," Alice said.

"Okay it's settled, About twenty thousand to Amy and forty to Alice,"
Judy said, making a notation in her laptop.

"Forty thousand dollars! Are you joking?" Alice exclaimed.

"Nope, Sheila said to give you three percent of the savings. It will
work out a bit less than that, but roughly three percent of two million
dollars is sixty-thousand. Two thirds of that is forty, one third is
twenty," Judy said.

"Gosh, this work stuff is cool," Amy mused. Judy chuckled.

"Okay, what I'd like you each to do, is to go over each of the salons
that had the error and figure out the difference in the numbers between
before and after the error. Can you do that?" Judy asked.

"Sure, I figured you'd want that. That's why I wrote them down," Alice
said.

"Good. Now if you can do that I can get a bunch of other things done.
Great to be working with you," Judy said.

"How much do we get for being your assistants?" Amy asked.

"Mmm... let's see.. I think that twenty-five thousand a year to start
is about right, with a raise to thirty when you come up to speed,
probably in six to nine months. Maybe sooner the way you're going,"
Judy said.

"Wow, we'll be rich women. We can go to school too," Alice exclaimed.

"Not rich, but comfortable. Talk to John and Cindy about how to invest
it when they get back," Judy said.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Amy said.

"As far as school is concerned, I want you to take some accounting
classes. We'll pay for them. I'd like to see you get your CPA's. Okay,
let's go to work," Judy said.

"What's a CPA?" Alice asked.

"Someone who looks for problems like you found this morning, but gets
paid a whole bunch more," Judy chuckled, turning to her task list.

* * *

"This is the most comfortable uniform I ever had on," Jimbo mused.

"Mine too," Scott added.

"Our pleasure, nothing but the best for our men," Candice giggled.

"Just remember, gentle wash, drip dry, if you must use the dryer, then
low heat. Don't dry clean them," Mae said.

"That will save me a bundle right there. Wish I had two of them, I'm
gonna hate wearing that other one while this dries," Jimbo said.

"It should dry overnight, but I'll slip another outfit for each of you
into the task stack. You deserve them. I wouldn't have noticed how much
we could save if I hadn't been making them for you. That's going to
make us millions," Mae said.

"Wish we didn't have to go," Jimbo said.

"I wish you didn't too. But we all have work to do," Candice said.

"Well, you know that we'll be back. I'll ask to get assigned to Pacific
sector so that I can live here. Could we stop at a Liquor Barn on the
way to the airport?" Jimbo asked.

"Sure, but you've got that bottle I gave you." Mae said.

"Ah, that one's mine. Besides, I want to get a case for that guy,"
Jimbo said.

"Jimbo! That's almost a thousand dollars!" Candice gasped.

"Are you telling me that you're not worth that?" Jimbo asked. Candice
beamed at him and pulled him into a kiss. The man at the airport was
overwhelmed, but Jimbo wouldn't take no for an answer. The man read the
papers so he understood why. There was a tearful farewell between the
men and their brides to be. Then Jimbo and Scott inspected their craft.
It sported a new set of tires and four new engines. The inspection had
shown bearing wear on the other three. The delay was well justified.
They also had new brakes all around and a new hydraulic pump and three
new hoses that had shown wear. The airplane was also shiny clean. Jimbo
carried a sack with him as he boarded. He handed it to the steward.

"My lunch, roast beef. They should be thawed just about lunch time. If
you could just add some lettuce and mayonnaise?" Jimbo asked.

"We just got restocked. I've got some fresh," replied the steward.

"I want those. You can make me up some fresh to take when we land back
East," Jimbo said.

"I understand. Congratulations on your engagement," chuckled the
steward.

"Thank you. We'll be taking off in about ten minutes," Jimbo said.

"Maybe, we've got a senior senator and his staff to haul back with us.
I haven't seen any sign of them yet," said the steward.

"Then make me a cup of coffee and one of those fresh sandwiches if you
would. Back to the grind," Jimbo said. It was forty-five minutes later
that they lifted off. Mae and Candice waited and watched the plane take
off, feeling their hearts go with it.

* * *

"Come on, darling. We've got work to do," Mae said to Candice, taking
her arm.

"Feels good having four new power plants," Scott said.

"Yeah, keep your eye on those gauges. I don't trust new overhauls, too
easy to leave out an O-ring," Jimbo said. Scott nodded and complied.
One engine showed abnormally high oil flow. An inspection when they
landed revealed a missing O-ring.

"Noted and logged, skipper," Scott commented. The next little while
passed like lightning. As the trip in was at the government's request,
they scheduled to fly the Silo residents back. The couples from Camp
David boarded the plane and then it made its way to New York to pick up
Sheila. A hop to Minneapolis and John and Cindy joined the flight with
Heather. During the flight to Salt Lake Jimbo and Scott each came back
separately and got aquatinted with the Silo crowd. Jimbo warmly shook
John's hand as he sized him up. John was doing the same.

"Pleased to meet you, Jimbo. Welcome to the family," John said.

"Thank you. It's an honor, Sir," Jimbo said.

"You may change your mind about that," John chuckled. The other men
shook Jimbo's and hand but the women all welcomed him more warmly. He
was very surprised when more than one tongue found it's way between his
lips. Scott got similar treatment. Steve met them with a large
helicopter in Salt Lake. The women made him feel very welcome too.
Unfortunately, Jimbo and Scott had to fly on. The women's farewells
were as warm as their welcome.

"Looks like I'm gonna need a bigger helicopter if I'm going to serve
you folks. I had to borrow this one," Steve mused to John on the flight
to the Silo.

"Don't spend your money just yet. It's not too often so many of us
travel at the same time," John said.

"Thanks. That just saved me a bundle," Steve said. At the Silo the
women poured out to greet them. Judy leapt into Steve's arms when he
got out.

"Whoa, darling. So you missed me?" he chuckled.

"Like air," Judy said, melting into a kiss.

"Yeah, now I believe it," Sheila smirked from the side. Judy opened her
arm to her and Sheila moved into a warm embrace. They kissed deeply
just inches from Steve's face. Cindy and Theresa noting his reaction
carefully from the sidelines.

"Yup, he'll fit in nicely with the family," Cindy chuckled, over the
bulge that showed in Steve's pants.

"I do believe you're right," Theresa said. Amy and Alice were all over
Andrea and Bill. The greetings continued as the crowd worked their way
inside with their luggage. Judy had helped Amy and Alice prepare lunch
for the crowd. They sat around the table talking. Judy sat in Steve's
lap until he had to leave. After seeing him off, along with the other
women, she slipped onto John's lap.

"Seems you found a replacement while I was gone," John mused.

"I have you to thank for that. If it hadn't been for your outstanding
indoctrination, I wouldn't have been open to it. And he's not a
replacement, he's an addition to my life," Judy said, pulling him into
a warm kiss.

"Ah.. it's good to be home," John mused, when she let up. After lunch
Sheila called a meeting between the Second Skin hierarchy to explain
the changes she'd ordered. Judy quoted figures for them, consulting her
notes. Amy and Alice took notes off to the side.

"You realize that this could blow up in our faces if the public takes a
disliking to us?" Cindy said.

"Yup. That's the gamble, of course. But I think the time is right. We
did almost half a million at Shannon's in the first week, and it's
booked solid for the next month and a half," Sheila explained.

"What about capital? Will we have enough, or will we have to borrow?"
Cindy asked.

"That's the good part. Our business is so good right now that we can
finance the whole expansion internally and still have working capital,"
Sheila said.

"Okay, in for a penny, in for a pound. Let's do it. Assuming you
concur, Theresa?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, of course. I trust Sheila's and your judgment. Besides, I've got
a decorated officer to support me if we belly up," she chuckled.

"Then it's settled. Now about my pay cut. We were supposed to
renegotiate a long time ago," Sheila said.

"What are you getting now?" Cindy asked.

"Five percent of gross. That's way too much," Sheila said.

"Nope. Sounds right to me. Why don't you stay right where you are?"
Cindy said.

"Oh god, Cindy. That's millions of dollars we're talking about!" Sheila
said.

"I know. You're well worth it. Theresa and I would be nowhere near
where we are if it wasn't for you," Cindy said.

"But you two just put all you've got on the line," Sheila said.

"That's our choice," Cindy said.

"Nope. I won't take it," Sheila said.

"Yes, you will. I insist," Cindy said, evenly.

"Tell you what I will accept then. Throttle my wages back to the one
percent that we previously agreed upon, I'll take the rest in stock. If
you're going to put your cute asses and assets on the line on my
recommendation, then I'm going to too," Sheila said.

"That's agreeable. Judy, how much are you paying Amy and Alice?" Cindy
asked.

"I started them at twenty-five, but I think that they should be moved
up to thirty. They've proved invaluable to me since I put them on,"
Judy said.

"Do it. And I want one percent stock transferred to everybody that's
been in this from the start," Cindy said.

"God, that's millions of dollars," Judy gasped.

"Not if this expansion bombs. Then it will be so much wallpaper. If it
takes off like I think it will, then we can well afford it. Do you
concur, Theresa?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, of course. They deserve it, all of them. They've been working
their asses off. I think we should do something for our salon managers
too," Theresa said.

"I agree. I don't want to do stock with them though, we could lose
control if we give too much of that away. Judy, figure a one percent
bonus on sales per individual salon to be divided between the staffs on
a sliding scale. See that the managers get half of it and split the
rest between the employees. And half again for Mae's group for their
innovations. Do you concur, Sheila?" Cindy asked.

"No, and I'll tell you why. One, it's way too generous, even for you.
Second, it would put a crimp in our cash flow, it wouldn't leave us
enough head room to deal with things like a sudden increase in chemical
prices. I figured the expansion pretty close looking at the figures. I
think the bonus should be based upon net, not gross, which retains the
incentive for the salons to be cost conscious and efficient. Also I
think it should be given to those who have been with us for a year, as
a one time bonus. If and when the new salons do well, then we can
reconsider making it a standing policy. Also: yours and Theresa's worth
is now based solely on stock value or net worth. I think that you
should take a salary at least equal to mine. Right now you couldn't buy
anything without selling some of your stock. You've been working your
butt's off too right along with the rest of us," Sheila said.

"But isn't that actually more than I said? If that would hurt us,
wouldn't what you suggest hurt us even more?" Cindy asked.

"No, because I want my salary based on net, not gross. I said an equal
salary to my own. Also, because the bonuses are based on net, it deals
with overhead shifts automatically. And it spreads the outflow over a
period of time based upon when employees started with us. That also
retains the incentive for our employees to remain loyal to us," Sheila
said.

"Alright... if you insist. Do you concur, Theresa?" Cindy asked.

"Sure," she said.

"Okay, done. So, any other new business?" Cindy asked.

"No, not much anyway. Candice and Mae have located us a manufacture to
assemble the spinners and scanners. We go twenty-four hour production
on the existing salons while retaining the current scanning schedule or
stepping it up even. The new salons go twenty-four hour when each
warrants it. All we need is your okay to start things rolling," Sheila
said.

"Go," said Cindy.

"Looks like we're going to be busy little beavers the next little
while, we've got seventeen cities to look at real estate in to start
with. Oh, I specified lease with option to buy," Sheila said.

"Sounds like a lot of work. Unfortunately, I won't be able to get away
for a while, with the President coming in and then our trip to Europe
with Catarina and Bianca," Cindy said.

"I was hoping that would be a business trip, with you scoping locations
for salons. I think that Judy and the girls and I can handle the real
estate visits. I'd like to draft Mae to do the West coast and Sally to
check out the Eastern locations. Judy and I will take the heartland,"
Sheila said.

"With the exception that the triplets all need to be here for the
presidential visit. I think you and Judy should too as well as Mae and
Sally. Use the time for strategy meetings and to work out training
protocol," Cindy said.

"Okay, no argument there. But I might get a jump on things and visit
some locations before the President comes in," Sheila said.

"Okay, that's good. Any more business?" Cindy asked. Shakes of heads
around the table. "Good, let's go to work," Cindy said.

"The President's coming here?" Alice asked, in awe.

"Yes dear, and he specifically wants to see you three," Cindy said.
Judy and Sheila got on the phones and started things rolling. Within
the week, components were arriving at the assembly plant. Within days
completed units were heading out to the salons. Judy got onto the phone
to Steve who hooked her up to Travis freight. This sped up the process
considerably. Within a week and a half several of the salons went to
twenty-four hour production. This increased throughput considerably.
They were well on their way to the half-billion mark that Sheila has
set as their goal. It would come and go like a blink of an eye as they
passed it on