Chapter 4
Grandpa Wally lived in a well-off suburb of Minneapolis. The exclusive twice-gated community housed large, very expensive homes that most people would call mansions.
He was about to sit down to lunch with two longtime friends when the guard at the first gate called him.
"My apologies for disturbing you, Mr. Taylor, but there is a group of people here requesting entry. I was asked to give you the name of Mr. William Danforth. He is a Private Investigator and he says he has some very important information about your daughter."
"No apology needed, son. How many people are there?" Wally asked.
"Besides Mr. Danforth, there is a woman and two teenaged twin girls and a young man. Where you expecting them, sir?"
"No, I wasn't expecting them, but please allow them to pass, and give them a pass for the second gate, and son, if you could 'forget' that there is anyone else in that vehicle other than Mr. Danforth, I would be very appreciative."
"I don't see that I need to record anyone else as long as there's no trouble, sir. If I need to record Mr. Danforth's departure, I'm on shift until five tonight, sir," the guard replied.
"I think that if he hasn't gone by the time your relief is due, he will probably be departing then. Would you be available to run an errand for me after your shift is over?"
The guard chuckled; "Yes sir, I can certainly run an errand for you after work."
Wally thanked the man, and hung-up. He was concerned for his daughter's need to visit him covertly. As he was re-entering the small dining room, the television in the kitchen caught his attention.
"... Once again, there has been an explosion near Citadel Heights Shopping center. Currently the death toll is listed as ten. Fire Department officials found the bodies of ten as yet unidentified men in the rubble of what used to be a home at thirty-four twenty-nine east Grover St. Neighbors say that a family of four lived there. Wendy Taylor and her three children are heirs to the wealthy corporate conglomerate, Taylor Industries. The family's car is missing from the garage and witnesses say they saw the family leave the house earlier today. We have received a 'No Comment' from a spokesman for Taylor industries. Police suspect foul play is involved and we have received an unverified report that the mafia may be involved. Reporting from St. Cloud, this is Brenda Miles, WCCO News."
As the scene switched back to the normal commentator, Wally rejoined his guests in the dining room. "Mike, do you still have the ragged old laptop with all your legal forms on it?"
"Sure I do, I carry it in my trunk with a portable printer. Has something come up?"
"I'm not sure, but I think so. My daughter just snuck past the guards here and the TV just reported her house exploding, killing ten unknown men. For whatever reason, I expect that the police will be here soon looking for answers."
As Cal approached the second gate, it started opening, and the guard, standing outside his shack, waved him through without stopping him. Cal was surprised by that, since every time they had come to see Grandpa Wally, the guards always stopped them at both gates. He drove on past the smiling guard and headed through the maze of streets. Stacy had fallen asleep with her head resting on Wendy's shoulder, Christy and Father where quietly discussing how the twins could use their abilities without disturbing the metasynth around them. When they pulled up in front of the big mansion (Cal couldn't call the huge edifice a house), Grandpa Wally, Mike Jackson and his wife where standing outside waiting for them.
When they had all piled out of the truck, Wendy walked up to her father and hugged him. "Hi Daddy. It's sure good to see you."
"It's sure good to see you too, Babygirl. Hurry up and get inside. We don't want anyone to see you out here," he replied as he hurriedly ushered everyone in through the door.
Father was hanging back slightly; something about this place was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt an abundance of metasynth energy all around him. It was almost as if...
"A lay line!" he said to himself. This was very good stroke of luck. The family could hide here from the Antioch since the metasynth power convergence under the house caused a massive natural distortion, not to mention almost unlimited energy to draw on. He immediately sent out some of the small probes that had attached themselves to the truck to find the boundaries of this metasynth event, then followed the family into the house.
The twins took Wally aside, each one holding a hand while they gave him the information gleaned from Father, and what had been happening to them over the last couple of days. A sad smile crossed his face when he saw how much they loved each other. Sad, because now their future was so uncertain.
When they returned to the main group in the small dining room, Wally shook Father's hand. "Thank you for saving my family." Wally then turned to the group. "Mike, my daughter and her family need to disappear. I mean totally erased, no trace. What do we need to do that?"
Father/Danforth spoke up, "I can handle altering their appearance. I know a guy that will do it without questions or records. He isn't cheap, but he is good."
"Speaking of cheap, Daddy, I need to give you power of attorney over my business interests. Maybe later, you can give them over to my secret lesbian lover."
Mrs. Jackson chuckled. "You could be accused of the height of vanity! Your secret lesbian lover, indeed!" The chuckle broke into a full-blown laugh.
Wendy chuckled with her; "Well, I am the second best lover I've ever had!"
"Second best? I'd like to meet the first!" Marsha Jackson replied, still laughing. "I know I'm the best lover I've ever had!"
A blushing Mike smacked her butt lovingly. "Now who's being vain! Behave; we've got work to do. When you quit clowning around, would you please go get my laptop and printer? We're going to have to backdate the powers of attorney a bit; otherwise it'll look suspicious. We should also create a living will. Wendy, are you still using that old shyster Jacob Aster as your attorney?"
"Yep, he's been a great help. I imagine he'll be upset once news of our disappearance becomes known; he is such a kindly old man," Wendy said sadly.
Wally took his daughter's hand; "I'm afraid the news is already out. Your house was destroyed in an explosion almost an hour ago. The police are looking for you because they think the mob's involved. I'm sorry, I thought you knew."
"We knew the house was going to be destroyed, but I guess the reality of it hadn't sunk in. Mr. Danforth arranged it so our records wouldn't fall into the wrong hands," Wendy said. "I only hope no one was hurt."
Mike cleared his throat. "As an officer of the court, I need to say that I cannot be a party to any illegal activity. You need to know that the bodies of ten unidentified men were found in the rubble. I think you should tell me everything that happened today, so I know what I didn't hear."
Calmly, Wendy explained to the best of her abilities the events leading up to this morning, and meeting with Danforth in the parking lot by her house. She only omitted the reality of her new relationship with her children, and the details of Father's existence.
Mike listened closely, hearing far more than what she said. He relaxed once her story had ended. He had always known Wendy was a good person, and would never do anything to intentionally hurt someone. Though it wasn't by-the-letter-of-law legal, his conscience was clear.
He sat back, deep in thought, building a believable and mostly legal plan. No one said a word while the man worked through this. This was his specialty, what he did best. Finally, he sat forward and nodded his head. He pulled out his cell phone and called a number in the phone memory. "Brian? Call in and tell Dewey you've got an emergency for me, then get up to Wally Taylor's place. Bring a friend. We have a potential grand omega problem." Without waiting for an answer, he hung up and turned to the assembled. "Okay, Mr. Danforth, I'm basing a lot of my assumptions on something I need you to verify. The real enemy here isn't the federal government and this is not a 'recent' or originally a 'local' issue?"
Mr. Danforth smiled; "You could say that, though you're comparing a nuke to a firecracker."
"I thought so. Can any of you read minds?" Mike asked.
Both Stacy and Christy nodded. "Actually, we all can, Mike. But only Stacy and I actually know how."
"I see. I have to ask you not to read my mind. I know I probably can't stop you, but for the safety of my men, please don't. I'm a team leader of a top-secret group. Yes it's a government group, but all of us know that it's possible our benevolent leaders might be, shall we say, misguided." He stopped talking when he heard the door and his wife entered carrying a large case. "We've been trying to prepare for all those contingencies that our leaders will tell us can't or won't happen... Like invasion by aliens." He smiled at Danforth. "We have the latest, best weapons we've been able to steal from the bright boys in research, and have a small infrastructure built up. We've some plans for bigger stuff in case it does come to repelling an attack from space, but power is in issue. We do have cold fusion reactors, but those don't put out the power for more than one shot every couple of minutes."
"I could help with that, but I don't know if fighting is the answer. An entire multi star-system empire fell to this race. We don't have the option of retreat, and I don't know if there are still allies out there or not. Any attempt to reach them would bring the Antioch here in force. Besides, we're not actually looking at an invasion of this planet, more like species suppression. Our best defense right now is the fact that the Antioch believe that there is no other extra-terrestrial presence here," Danforth said.
"Oh man, this sounds like it's a complicated mess. How long would it take for you to fill me in on the whole situation?" Mike asked.
"Probably more time than we have right now, Boss." The guard from the first gate was standing in the doorway. "Johnny at the second gate told me that the cops were down at the first gate. They'll be here any second."
As if to prove his words, the doorbell rang. Wally turned to his daughter, "Get the kids upstairs; we'll deal with this. No, Danforth, you stay here. I'm gonna need you, just follow my lead. Brian, go with them; I can't explain why you're here."
Father whispered to Cal as he was leaving, "It's safe for you to use your powers in this house. I'll explain later when I have more time." Cal gave him a quick nod and followed the rest out to the stairway.
Wally tried to compose his features into a properly somber mask as he opened the door. "Good afternoon, Officers, I've been expecting you. Come in, we're in the dining room."
As Wally led the two police officers to the dining room, they introduced themselves as Detectives Winters, (the man) and Donahue (the female). Wally quickly introduced the other people in the room.
"Mr. Taylor, is there someplace we can speak privately?" Winters asked.
Wally almost chuckled at the ploy to get him alone. "This is as alone as we are going to get, Detective. Ask away."
Winters pinched his lips together; "Very well, do you know where your daughter is?"
"No I do not, nor do I appreciate your tone, Detective," Wally replied.
"Do you know if she was involved with organized crime... sir?" Winters asked.
"I'm not intimately involved with her business dealings, officer. However, I don't see why she would be involved with the mob. There was no reason for her to have anything to do with them."
"Sir, this morning, ten federal agents were killed attempting to serve a warrant at her residence. Neither she nor your grandchildren were present when the agents gained access to the home. Though badly burned, several documents were retrieved implicating her in one of the biggest money laundering operations in the United States. I think she was tipped off about the raid, and set a trap for those men. That means the needle when we catch her. If you are aiding her in any way, you will be charge as an accessory after the fact. If your..."
Mike was on his feet. "That's enough! You will apologize to my client right now, and leave. I will be filing a formal complaint with your superiors in regards to your conduct! This man's daughter is missing! I myself have known the girl since she was a child and believe there is no way she could be involved in this, no matter what documents the feds planted to cover their asses! If either of you attempt to harass my client again, I'll have your asses kicked off the force."
Detective Winters' face was so red from restrained anger that he could not say anything; he turned and stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Detective Donahue sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry for my partner's attitude, Mr. Taylor. He takes it pretty hard when fellow officers get killed. He is right about her being the prime suspect though, and the longer she runs, the guiltier she looks. If you do hear from your daughter, could you please try to get her to come in on her own; it'll go easier on her if you do."
"I can understand his frustration in this situation, Detective. It is a horrible thing when safety officers get killed in the line of duty. But it would be an even greater tragedy if the wrong people were convicted for this crime," Wally replied. "My daughter was a market analyst; the only people that have a 'thing' for her is the SEC. Though she showed them how she figured out the trends in the market, the SEC is convinced what she was doing was illegal. She never handled large amounts of hard money; everything she did was handled over the internet. She is a very wealthy woman, and would have no reason to do anything illegal."
"Detective," Mike said thoughtfully, "I know Winters is your partner, and I really don't want to upset him any more, but do you think you could check into the identities of those men that were killed? I mean more than just the cursory check-up. Something about this whole thing stinks. From what I saw of the remains of that house on TV, nothing like papers could have survived. Hell, even her computers were in pieces!"
Donahue looked right at Mike; "Mr. Jackson, you just put your finger on it. Ever since I looked over the scene this morning, something has been bothering me about it. You're right; the folder they found should have been just as blown away. I'll try to keep Donovan reigned in while we check this out. The biggest question I have is, if this is all a big frame up, why? From everything I've been able to find out about Miss Taylor, she was a perfect mother and great neighbor. Do you know if she had any romantic interests, sir?"
Wally tried to look uncomfortable, but was overjoyed she had asked the question. "Well, yes she did, though she tried to be very discrete about it. You see she liked men as well as women, but tried to keep that as quiet as possible. However, she doesn't have a recent interest. No one in the last five years or so."
"Well, I think I can keep that from going on the record since it's over five years. It's hard enough being gay; I've heard it's worse if you're bisexual. Did she tell you of anyone that had been hitting on her, or maybe following her around?"
"Well, I haven't spoken to her in the last week, and we usually talk every weekend. She hadn't mentioned anything last weekend, and she hadn't called yet this weekend," Wally said in complete truth.
She nodded as she took down a note. "May I ask why you have a private investigator and your lawyer here, sir? No offence, but it looks strange on the surface."
"Actually Detective, I hired Mr. Danforth to check on a few things for me. This morning's meeting was scheduled to talk over contracts and fees. You'll find the SUV out front is registered to Wendy's holding company, but Danforth is the one driving it. He was referred to me by my daughter, and she bought the SUV he is driving. I think she planned on giving it to Cal for his birthday. He is still here because I asked him to stay. I was thinking about asking him to help find my family. Mike has been my personal attorney and family friend for years. Once I heard about Wendy I knew you'd be coming by, so he stayed as well."
"Okay, If you can think of anything else," she handed Mike and Wally her card. "Please give me a call."
Mike handed her one of his cards as well; "I'd appreciate you keeping me apprised as well, Detective."
"Well, the feds are all over this one, so I imagine you can expect more visits from representatives of our nation's three-letter criminal investigation agencies," she said. "Thank you for your cooperation at this difficult time, sir," she said to Wally as he walked her to the door.
Upstairs, as the two police detectives were being introduced, Brian was getting confused. "Uh, sorry if I seem a little out of line here, but I thought you were all related."
The twins were on the bed snuggling up to Cal, and Wendy was sitting next to them, idly caressing one of the girls' legs. The scene was something Brian would expect from lovers, not siblings.
Cal had passed on Father's parting comment to the other three and Stacy was having a mental conversation with the old computer. Christy quickly read Brian. What she found was not helping her already horny condition. The man thought all the Taylor women were extremely beautiful and this little show was turning him on. The thought that a relationship between the people on the bed was incestuous just increased his arousal. He had a sister that he had fallen in love with years ago, but had been too afraid to tell her. His parents had been very religious and incest was as bad a sin as murder in their eyes. He had no problem with incest, but he had been hoping to ask Wendy out. Perhaps he still could; it would help cover the fact that she was fucking her children.
Since the lovers were always in contact with each other, everyone knew what Christy had found. Wendy was the one to finally answer the man's question. "I guess we're going to have to trust you with this as well, because if you're around us very much it's going to become obvious. Yes, we are a family; I am the mother to all three. I am also their lover. I consider Cal to be my husband, and the girls to be my wives. I've loved only three men in my life — the kids' father who was my sister's husband; my father, though I've never slept with him; and now Cal. I've never slept with Daddy because I don't love him like that. With the exception of those three, I'm a lesbian. However, I've never felt anything like what we share between the three of us.
"We ask that you not tell anyone else about us, Brian. My Daddy knows, and I think Mr. Danforth suspects, but if anyone else were to find out, we could get in a lot of trouble."
Brian smiled at her. "Don't worry about me, I just think Cal is the luckiest man I've ever met. I'll talk to Mike about getting assigned as your bodyguard so you don't have to reveal yourselves to more people. However, I do know that I won't be able to do the job alone, but I know a couple of the others really well, so if you can trust me, I'll fill the guard detail with people that will keep your secret."
"We will be changing our appearance and identification later, so we can set things up were we can all be lovers. However, I can still only legally marry one of them, which I don't like," Cal said.
"Who's to know what vows you pledge to each other in private? So you'll only have paperwork on one wife; a true marriage takes place in the heart, not the government. I do have a few questions, if you don't mind my asking?" Brian said.
"If we don't want to answer, we won't; fair enough?" Wendy said.
Brian nodded in agreement, "How did you... Well, how did you find each other? I mean, I know you lived together, but..."
Stacy chuckled and pointed at her sister, "Big mouth blurted it out."
Christy gently slapped the finger pointing at her and picked up the narrative. "We were talking in the kitchen last night, and I accidentally let Cal know how we felt about him. Wendy walked in on us as we were in a very emotional hug, and razzed us about it. When Stacy and I went upstairs to change, Cal told Mom. Instead of getting angry she was hurt that it didn't include her. Cal convinced her that it did include her in a way that left no doubt at all in her mind."
"Oh? How did he do that?" Brian asked, thoughts of his sister very much in his mind.
Christy continued, "He took her back to her room and proved it to her. We joined them and spent most of the night just loving each other, both physically and emotionally. Mom got Cal's virginity, and later we gave him ours."
"Unbelievable, you guys look totally in love, yet you say this all started only last night?"
Wendy chuckled as she answered, "We've actually loved each other for years, but didn't act on it until last night. The only thing that had been missing was this level of intimacy. I remember cuddling with Cal or one of the girls while watching a movie, only to realize how much I wanted them with me when I went to bed. It was very difficult not letting them know how I felt."
Brian sighed; what they did wouldn't work for him and his sister. He'd better just continue trying to forget about her.
Cal watched the older man sigh in regret, and got an idea. "Brian, bring her here to meet us. Maybe we can help."
"Uh, how did you know I was thinking of somebody?"
Cal grinned; "I've been staring at that forlorn face in the mirror for years; I know the look of someone in love and hurting. Considering the conversation we've just been having, I assume it's a family member of your own."
Brian looked at the young man thoughtfully for a moment, before pulling a chair over closer to the bed and sitting down. "I've never told anyone any of this, but I've loved my sister for years. Probably since I was old enough to know what love actually feels like. I've been with other women, but I've never found anything even close to what I feel just being in the same room with Bree.
"Our parents were very strict; neither of us were allowed to date until after we moved out because neither of us liked the people they picked for us. I think the folks might have had an idea about how I felt, because they never left us alone together. Even the day I shipped out for basic training, Bree could only stand several paces away and cry. Mother wouldn't let her even give me a hug. I've tried to see her since I got out of the military, but I've been too afraid she'd hate me for how I feel about her."
Wendy reached out and touched his arm in comfort. "Can you bring her here? Is there a plausible reason for you to ask her to come? Do you think she would?"
"Oh, I think I can get her here if she agrees. She got into martial arts after leaving home and going to college. She's been making a living giving private self-defense lessons to rich kids. I don't know if she'll come though; it's been a few years," Brian sighed.
"Call her. As an excuse, tell her you have four students that could really use the training. Try not to give out any further information about us, but if she asks tell her three females, and one male all between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four."
Brian looked amused, "She'll know better as soon as she sees you, no matter how much make-up you can put on. But she might think it was only a security precaution I took over the phone."
"So, go ahead and call her," Christy said.
"You want me to call her right now? I think I should ask Mike..."
"You let us worry about Mike. He can't do anything to you if we don't let him. Now, get after it before you chicken out again," Wendy said. "I bet the poor girl has been waiting for this call her whole life."
When Brian called he was surprised to find her in her car already coming their general direction. When she answered the phone and learned it was him, all she asked was what the address was.
"22341 West Channel Cat road, The Hillcrest Estates. I'll clear you with the gates," Brian replied. "Bree, how come..."
"Later, love. I'll be there in two hours. And tell the cook medium rare," she answered and hung up.
A very confused Brian closed his cell phone after calling the gates
and put it back in his pocket. After he told the family what she said,
Stacy smiled. "This is going to be an interesting evening."