Author: Thinking Horndog
Title: The Pact:  Episode 3 -- Interventions
Part: 40 of 40
Universe: The Pact
Summary: The boys hatch a plan to energize the football team using their
excess feminine resources -- but they stumble onto something dark in the
process...
Content: mF mM cuck humil M-dom anal oral ir rom

The Pact:  Episode 3 -- Interventions

Chapter 36

	At mid-afternoon, the masked black boy came in and undid Fernando's
bindings.  He said two words -- "Behave yourself," -- and walked out.
Fernando got up and went to the bathroom to shower and shave and get human
again, feeling like a stranger in his own home.

	At some point, Maddie and Pietro had come home; they were in the
house, but they avoided him.  It was just as well; after the past few days,
Fernando had no idea what to say to them.

	Marta was up and around, putting the house back in order after their
absence; Fernando stayed out of her way, but she tended to ignore him,
anyway.

	The black boy was still around, wandering here and there and watching
Fernando directly or hovering near Marta or the children.  Obviously, he was
a guard.  It bothered Fernando to be in his presence; for a while, he didn't
understand why, but then the light dawned:  Fernando had already submitted to
him on more than one occasion -- what would he do if the boy snapped his
fingers and waved him off somewhere to dominate him again in some manner?

	That Randy would want some homosexual act from Fernando was a lot
less likely than Fernando thought it was, since Randy wasn't really
interested in such things -- but Fernando didn't know that, and he'd been
conditioned over the past few days pretty thoroughly.  Much -- MUCH -- more
likely was the possibility that Randy might crawl back into bed with Marta --
something they both enjoyed.

	Dinner was surreal.  Everyone acted more or less as though the last
several days hadn't happened -- except Marta sat at the head of the table and
NO ONE deferred to Fernando.  To a certain extent, it was as if he wasn't
there.  The black boy was, and he got more attention from Marta, who called
him 'R' and treated him as if he was one of the children's friends.  After
dinner, Fernando went to his office -- but it was more like banishment than
retiring for some peace and quiet.  He logged into his computer and checked
the household accounts; some were empty and some he no longer had access to.
Well, he would fix things -- Marta knew nothing of finance.  Eventually, no
matter what, she would turn to him.  Fear led him to stay away from the
hidden portion of his empire -- who knew who was watching?  He
surreptitiously felt for and found his journal -- and breathed a sigh of
relief.  They hadn't found THAT!  Maybe things were recoverable...  He sat
for a long time, thinking.  It boiled down to a matter of escape.  Would they
follow him, the secret society?  Not if they were local.  The family was a
loss -- well, he could build a new one, somewhere.  He would collect his far-
flung accounts, resign, and walk away -- probably to Central America, where
the value of his money would be multiplied.  That would take a few days --
but first, he needed to feel safe -- and he didn't.

	He was right.  Toby was watching him from three different angles as
he sat there -- not to mention the computer screen scraper he was running!
Despite Fernando's care with what he was doing, Toby learned a couple of
things he hadn't known before -- and made notes to do something about them.

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

	Teela and Sonya left for the Ho's about two o'clock -- a time
carefully calculated by Terence to allow Tabitha an interview with Louise
before Louise finally went home.  Terence made pickup of Tabitha at his house
around one-thirty and took her to the clubhouse -- much to Fred's relief.
He'd been stuck in the situation of having to console the girl for a LOT
longer than he wanted to be!

	Louise let her pour it all out.  "Sit down, Baby, and tell me all
about it."  This led to further eruptions on Tabitha's part, but with
repetition the shock started to wear off, and Tabitha stabilized.  "Okay,
Baby, we're gonna take care of you -- I promise!" Louise told her, "but you
need to know a few things and understand some stuff that is going on..."  She
proceeded to recap the situation, ending with, "So Fred isn't a member -- and
he doesn't know I am -- and I want it to stay that way until I figure he's
paid up.  Understand?"

	"Well..." Tabitha frowned.  "He never did anything bad to me."

	"I'm hearing that a lot lately," Louise groused, "but he has an
account, you know?  This stuff goes back a long time, and there's a lot of
water gone under that bridge.  Maybe at some point I'll give him time off for
good behavior -- but he needs to serve some time, first."

	Tabitha frowned.  "Okay.  So what have I got to do with it?"

	"I want you to help me turn the screw.  We're going to bounce you
around for a while -- because you're Fred's responsibility.  I want him to
worry where he's gonna put you tonight -- EVERY night -- until he comes to me
and I rub his nose in it!" Louise explained.

	"So..."

	"So you're sleeping over with Sonya and Teela tonight -- but you'll
need a new place tomorrow -- and another the day after -- and so on..."

	"Okay.  I guess.  What else?" Tabitha asked.

	"Act needy.  Lean on him for support.  Be dependent."

	"But he didn't cause this!"

	"Yes he did, Baby.  I won't fault his intentions -- and he's right,
too -- your momma is a piece of work.  But his timing sucked.  Frankly, it
was probably better if you didn't know, because then you wouldn't have let
your momma know you knew -- get me?"

	Tabitha sighed.  "Everybody keeps telling me I'm an idiot.  You know
how that feels?"

	"I'm sorry, Baby."  Louise patted her hand.  "But we all have our
problems -- and sometimes it's best to recognize them so you can keep them
from getting you in trouble.  Point is, Fred isn't blameless for what
happened -- and he knows it.  I just want you to make it a little worse than
it already is."  She cocked her head.  "Just how much do you like Fred?"

	Tabitha blinked.  "Well, he's okay...  I only seem to catch older
guys, like him and Ed -- and Rico..."

	"Rico."  Louise pursed her lips.  "I didn't think of that.  Of
course, you've had sex with Rico."

	"Uh huh.  A couple of times.  Is that a problem?" Tabitha asked
anxiously.  "I like Rico..."

	"No, it's okay," Louise assured her, "but I'm glad you mentioned it.
I like Rico, too."

	"Umm..."  Tabitha eyed Louise dubiously.

	"No, it's okay, really," Louise reiterated.  "It just keeps me from
being surprised.  You aren't romantic with Rico or anything, are you?"

	"No, we just have a good time," Tabitha related.

	"That's fine, Baby.  We probably really ought to find you a guy your
own age."

	"Good luck with that," Tabitha mumbled.

	"It happens, Baby," Louise assured her, squeezing her arm.
"Sometimes it takes a bit."  She leaned in.  "Will you help me?  I promise
you'll be taken care of."

	"I guess," Tabitha agreed reluctantly.

	"It's all gonna be fine."  Louise waved Terence forward.  "Fred gave
you his number, right?"

	"Yes."

	"Call him in the morning.  Tell him you need a new place.  Call him
early, if you can -- say, six o'clock.  I want him to take it at home..."

	"Okay."

	Louise married Tabitha up with Terence and sent them off to the Ho's.
In the car, Tabitha asked, "What do you think of all this?"

	"It's Mama's game.  I don't want to be involved," Terence replied.
"But I know why she's playing it.  If you're asking me whether you oughta do
it or not, don't.  I can't get in it like that.  Best I can advise you is go
with your gut.  You promised Mama you would play, so..."  He shrugged.  "But
if it seems to be goin' on too long or whatever, do what you gotta."  He
pulled up in front of the apartment building and Sonya and Teela trotted out.
Tabitha was repeating her tale of woe before Terence could pull away.

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

	The three girls -- Teela, Tabitha, and Sonya -- had takeout pizza and
ice cream and TV and girl talk late into the night.  Tabitha wasn't going to
manage any six a.m. wakeup call...

	Louise and Terence went home; Fred and Damian were already there.
Louise went to bed early, pretending to be tired -- but she was actually
well-rested, so sleep came with some difficulty.  Fred had his own problems.

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

	Looking back on it after things quieted down, Fernando was amazed
that he'd been so stupid.  Bedtime had come and he'd gone and gotten into his
pajamas and settled in bed.  Marta came and looked in and left, and Fernando
dozed off, thinking, 'Let her find her own bed.'

	In short order, however, he was awakened; the black boy and the blond
boy were both hovering over him.  "Tsk, tsk, tsk," the blond boy chastised.
"You just don't get it, do you?  What part of 'Marta is mistress here' didn't
you get?"

	Defense wasn't possible; they whipped the sheets back and threw a
loop of some type over his ankles before he got over his shock.  After that
came those silly fur-lined binders on his wrists and his arms were connected
behind him.  That done, the black boy opened the bedroom door.  "Marta!"

	Marta came in.  "Fernando's sorry -- aren't you, Pussy Boy?" the
blond boy prompted.

	"Yes," Fernando nodded.  "I'm sorry."

	"What are you sorry about?" the blond boy trapped him with the query.

	Fernando hesitated.  "I don't know," he admitted.

	"This bed is for your mistress," the blond boy related.  "You don't
sleep in it any more.  You're a guest in this room.  You only come here if
you're invited -- and the only reason you would be invited is to fulfill one
of your various functions."  He sighed in some asperity.  "That being the
case, I guess we need to give you a reason for being here...  Let's get him
undressed."

	The black boy waved Marta grandly to her bed, where she perched while
watching the boys undo Fernando's binders and pull his pajama top off, then
reconnect them and undo the web strap around his ankles to get off the
bottoms.  All the while, they discussed dispassionately exactly what Fernando
should be made to do, periodically offering suggestions to Marta.

	Apparently, the basics were clear; Fernando owed Marta oral sex, in
any case.  At issue seemed to be the payment for fixing it so that Marta had
to summon two of them to ensure his 'cooperation'; since he seemed to have no
concept of his place, they had to dispatch enough muscle to handle him if he
became balky.  In the process, of course, each of them had to insist that he
could have handily subdued 'Pussy Boy' all by himself -- and prove it by
muscling Fernando.

	The upshot was that Fernando once again found himself with his face
in Marta's crotch, while the blond boy and the black boy conducted a
scholarly dispute over whether he was really male or not and thus whether
sodomizing him was a homosexual act or not.  The blond boy seemed convinced
that Fernando's sex was indeterminate -- that he had obviously gotten his
undersized manhood as some cosmic flip of the coin.  The black boy insisted
that he HAD fathered children, needle-dicked or not, so he was technically
male.  To illustrate their points, someone was fondling Fernando's manhood
and someone was fingering his anus.

	"Well," Lon summed it up, "Even in the unlikely event that he's
technically male, he's functionally as queer as a three dollar bill.  I did
him last time, and I'm not really into it, either, so..."

	"I dunno," Randy complained, "Can't we just bypass that end of
things?"

	"How do we make a point, then?" Lon countered.

	"Oh, all right..."  Much of this was for Fernando's benefit, as had
the other posturing.  Marta made sure he couldn't see the grins on their
faces as they talked their way through the charade.  Randy climbed up on the
bed and extracted two well-lubed fingers and replaced them with an equally
well-lubed cock at Fernando's anus.  "The things I do..."  He pressed it
home, not being particularly solicitous.

	It hurt some, but Fernando was practiced.  He let out a single
"OOOMPH!" as Randy pressed his cock home and settled down.  Randy undid
Fernando's binders.  "Play with your dick -- or your clit -- or whatever the
fuck it is," he directed, holding onto Fernando's hips and working to get a
rhythm going.  Fernando did as he was told.

	Meanwhile, Lon climbed up on the bed and presented his cock to Marta.
"It's all his fault I'm here, but he's busy for now, and I thought you might
enjoy something on the side..."

	"Yes, I'd like that," Marta played up.  Tapping Fernando on top of
the head, she said, "Look, Fernando, I'm doing your work for you..."  Bolt
upright, she took on Lon's cock., making a production of it.  After a moment,
she pressed Fernando's head back down into her crotch.  "Give me an orgasm,
Fernando!"

	Fernando had too much to do to wander off too far mentally.  He had
to masturbate and lick Marta and stay tight so the black boy could enjoy his
sodomy...  Someone swatted him on the ass periodically to facilitate that --
and Fernando though it was the blond boy, because it was generally only on
his left side.

	The blond boy apparently added something, because Marta finally began
responding to Fernando's efforts.  In a couple of minutes, she peaked,
wailing and clutching Fernando's head to her, then settled back, husking, "Go
away, Fernando -- I need a cock!"  The black boy pulled Fernando back and
away, still burying his cock in Fernando's ass, while the blond boy shifted
around to crawl between Marta's spread legs and slide his cock into her
weeping vagina.

	At that point, the black boy withdrew his cock and swatted Fernando
on the ass.  "Roll over and get up in there," he directed, "you know what to
do."  Fernando scuttled over and stuck his face in the sex act and the black
boy pressed his legs back until his ass came up and re-entered Fernando's
ass.  "Keep diddling," the black boy puffed.  "You know you love this shit."

	This time, Fernando was there for the whole show -- the black boy
flooding his guts with his seed, the blond boy flooding Marta's vagina after
Marta reached orgasm twice, and his own completion, spraying droplets of seed
on his chest and belly.  He was there for the cleanup, too, managing to deal
with the slimy deposits in Marta's vagina and the goo on the blond boy's
still-hard cock -- but when the black boy presented him with his shit-
encrusted erection, Fernando vomited, which triggered more grumbling and
complaints while they supervised his cleanup.

	Now, it was probably one a.m.  Fernando was lying at the foot of the
bed on the rug with a blanket thrown over him, his hands again bound behind
him and his right leg bound to the bedpost, listening to Marta's soft moans
as the black boy slowly fucked her.  He could see nothing, but it was clear
what was going on from the sounds.  The blond boy had departed -- whether it
was just the room or the house was unclear -- promising to be back in the
morning to "get things rolling."  Fernando hoped he was reading too much into
that -- he was exhausted and sore and listening to lovemaking was not
conducive to sleep, since the woman involved was his wife -- the woman who
had promised to cleave unto him only -- and man was a black...

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

	It was eight-thirty p.m. and Frank was sitting up in bed watching TV
-- naked.  Jiang Yi was lying with her head in his lap and her ass in reach;
Frank was fooling with her asshole with a finger -- and Jiang Yi wasn't
complaining.  "What time you got to go to work?" Frank asked.

	"The restaurant is closed on Mondays," Jiang Yi replied.

	"Oh, so you can clean house..."

	"Yes..."

	"Don't get all testy -- I had to say some fuckin' thing before your
head swelled too much," Frank chuckled, rubbing her ass.

	"Frank, what are we doing?"

	"Makin' each other happy, I figure.  Am I wrong?"

	"No."  After a moment, Jiang Yi added softly, "I will clean house."

	"Damned straight you will!" Frank retorted.  "I can about keep up
with me, and Teela does her shit, but I don't see me keeping up with the pair
of you -- and I ain't gonna try!"

	"No, Frank.  I will do the housework!"

	"I know.  Shut up, willya?  I don't want to have to say anything
lovey-dovey."

	"Yes, Frank."  She kissed his cock.  Frank stopped fingering her ass
and ran his hand through her hair.  Jiang Yi said, "Eww!" but she let him do
it.  Frank figured they were about twenty minutes from a fuck.  He played
with her hair for a bit and she kissed and licked for a bit, then, "Frank, do
you like me?"

	"Shut up, Woman."

	"No, I mean like..."

	"No, you mean love.  I ain't stupid.  If I get started with that
word, then you're gonna want me to say it all the time and you'll give me
shit constantly..."

	"Okay."

	Frank stopped his diatribe.  "Okay, what?"

	"I got my answer.  You love me."

	"I never said that!  You're jumping to conclusions!"

	"Fine."  She started gobbling his cock.

	"You can't just decide I said something like...  Aaahhh!  You little
bitch!  Lookit!  I never, ever so much as...  Jeezus!  Where did you learn
that?  Where was I?  Oh, yeah -- you can fool yourself if you like...  Fuck
it!  Get up on your hands and knees, Woman -- we're fuckin'!"

	"Yes, Frank!"

	"I don't hafta SEE that smirk to HEAR it!"

	Frank tried his best to make the fuck use and abuse, but Jiang Yi was
built to take it; it was just hard and fast -- and Jiang Yi LIKED it hard and
fast!  She yowled happily through two orgasms before Frank let go in her and
stopped pumping.  "I wasn't thinkin'!" he puffed.  "Next time, I'll wait
until you're getting' ready to pop and pull out, dammit!  THAT'll fix your
ass!"

	Jiang Yi turned her head -- resting on her crossed arms -- to regard
him, her lips curved in a satisfied smile.  "Yes, Frank."

	Frank grimaced.  "You make that phrase a cuss word."  He reached up
and mussed her hair.  "Maybe -- just maybe -- I'm a little bit fond of you.
Kinda like a good coon dog or somethin'..."

	Jiang Yi actually giggled.

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

	Monday morning arrived, and the black boy released Fernando when the
alarm went off.  Forty-five minutes later, Fernando was technically free for
the first time in five days.  By nine a.m., he was sitting at his desk at
work, dazed.  The outside world had no idea where he'd been or what he'd been
doing; to disinterested queries, Fernando supplied the automobile accident
tale -- and nobody questioned it.  After a bit, he got going on his work as
if it was any other day, bemused by the apparent lack of any changes.
Everything seemed so normal...

	Until he came back from lunch and the telephone rang.  "Pretty weird,
isn't it?" the voice on the other end asked.  "Nobody has any idea what's
been going on or that your little charade as a person of importance has been
revealed.  I'm sure you'd like things to stay that way, so don't piss us off!
Think about all that video we have of you with one or more dicks in you..."
The line went dead.

	It was like a bucket of cold water in the face!  Fernando sat there,
sweating, looking here and there for a face he might recognize -- but the
bank's customers were either waiting for him or waiting in line for the
tellers and totally disinterested in him.  But Fernando wasn't the type to
ever think that paranoia might be unjustified in the first place -- and after
the past few days...

	After a bit, he got himself under control -- but the illusion of
safety was gone.  It was clear that he would have to start working on his
exit strategy as soon as possible.

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

	Lon had called from swim practice.  The guys on the football team
were all at practice.  Louise and Beth were on the seven to three shift at
the hospital -- as was Robert.

	And Tabitha was with Fred.

	Tabitha had gotten up about nine after a long night hanging out with
Teela and Sonya -- and immediately remembered what she was supposed to do and
called Fred to tell him she had to leave Sonya's right away.

	Fred was working, and had been since seven; having to walk off the
site wasn't something he was thrilled about.  "Can't you hang out there a
while?"

	"No, I gotta leave.  The girls have to leave, too," Tabitha lied
dutifully.

	"Awright.  Get your shit and be out front -- but I'm gonna be a
little bit, so don't expect nothin' for an hour or so!"

	"Okay."  Fortunately, it was a nice day, because it never entered
Tabitha's head NOT to wait out front of the Ho's apartment building.  Fred
took two hours, too.  "Where have you been?" Tabitha groused when he finally
arrived.

	"I'm workin'," Fred replied.  "I just can't walk out."

	"Oh."

	It took forty minutes to arrange Tabitha's next night -- at the
Hayes.  Louise had called around and coordinated the whole thing for the next
several days -- not that Fred was to be aware.  For Fred, every day was going
to be a struggle -- the latest installment of which was a requirement not to
have Tabitha show up before four p.m.  Fred had to find her something to do
or somewhere to go for another five hours...

	He took her home, knowing that he had to have her back out of the
house by three.  The boys were at football, and Louise was at work, so it
worked out as long as he got her out of there before Louise got home.  But it
wasn't the safest place in the world, and that preyed on him -- which would
have pleased Louise to death, if she had been aware of it.

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

	Vince and Eddie Ray made a point of catching up to Toby and Hank.
"Friday night was the bomb, Man!  Does that kind of shit happen often?" Vince
enthused.

	"No, it was a special thing," Toby replied.  "Usually, it's just some
girls..."

	"Uh, yeah, right..." Vince backed off.

	"What did you like about it?" Hank asked.

	"Everything!" Eddie Ray bubbled.  Vince elbowed him surreptitiously.

	"It was the power trip, mostly," Vince explained.

	"Okay.  Well, if we ever have anything like that come up, we'll let
you know," Hank assured him.

	"Yeah.  Thanks!"  Vince dragged Eddie Ray away.

	"Why don't we just tell them they're out?" Hank muttered to Toby as
they broke clear.

	"I don't think that's right, do you?" Toby replied.

	"Well, there's Fred...  I mean, we could send him after Fernando
again, but..."

	"That won't be around long, if we're lucky," Toby agreed.

	"Terence and Clint, too," Hank noted.  "I don't think either of them
is going to really know where they're headed until they've done a couple of
guys."

	"Well, it's their problem," Toby grunted.  "I've had enough of that
kind of thing.  I'm staying out of it."

	Hank nodded, but he wasn't sure it was over.

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

	Brenda and Bonita -- and Clint and Terence -- had quite a bit to
catch up on, they discovered.  Terence and Bonita got together during a
break, and Clint joined them; Brenda came up after a set of sprints.  "Hi,
Stinky," she announced herself to Clint.

	"Hi, Sweaty."  Clint waved her to a spot beside him and slipped a
padded arm around her.  "How's it going?"

	"Jackass Bernice keeps dropping the baton instead of handing it off,"
Brenda panted, referring to one of her 440 relay teammates.

	"Guess you can't dribble that like a basketball..."  Clint squeezed
her against him.

	"Nope."

	Terence and Bonita looked on, bemused.  "So..." Terence muttered.

	"We went out Saturday night," Brenda amplified.

	Clint grinned.  "We have a semi-committed relationship."

	"What's semi-committed?" Bonita asked.

	"Others can join in if they're invited," Clint replied.  "You're
invited -- both of you."

	"Very cool," Terence grinned, "very cool."

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

	Jiang Yi finally went home, leaving the Pendergast home VERY clean in
the process.  Frank had gone to work that morning and he hadn't told her that
he wanted her there on his return; Jiang Yi figured it was deliberate.  So
she cleaned the place -- as she'd promised -- and when she ran out of obvious
things to do, she reluctantly headed home to her apartment.

	Teela was still there -- but she left soon after.  Nothing was said
one way or the other about Jiang Yi's arrival; Teela more or less assumed
that Frank had sent her home.  Teela went home to discover the place as neat
as she could remember seeing it and was pleased, but beyond that she didn't
really make any assumptions.

	Frank was surprised that Jiang Yi wasn't there upon his arrival home,
but he figured it was for the best; he couldn't just make her come there all
the time.  Well the house looked nice -- too bad they were going to have to
find their own dinner...  He shrugged philosophically and got a beer from the
refrigerator and plopped in his recliner.

	Jiang Yi was anything but philosophical; she was depressed.  "What's
wrong?" Sonya asked, after putting up with several hours of her mother's
moping around.  "You had a date and it lasted, what?  Three days?  What do
you want?"

	"I want it to happen again!  He didn't say anything..." Jiang Yi
brooded.

	"Did you ever think he might have figured you would want to go home?"
Sonya asked.  "It had to happen eventually, you know!"

	"Well, yeah -- but he didn't SAY that.  He didn't SAY 'Come back
tomorrow,' or 'Come back next week,' -- he didn't say anything!"

	"He's a guy..." Sonya muttered.  "I mean, he doesn't read minds or
anything...  Why don't you call him?"

	"He already thinks I'm chasing him..."

	"Well, aren't you?"

	"I'll scare him off!" Jiang Yi wailed.

	Sonya rolled her eyes.  "You know, I just don't get what you see in
him.  I mean he's nice enough and all that..."

	"This is all my fault!" Jiang Yi burst out.  "I've turned you into a
lesbian!  Don't you like men at all?"

	Sonya eyed her mother as if she'd grown two heads.  "When did YOU
start?"

	"I ALWAYS liked men!  Men just don't like me!  Except maybe Frank..."

	"It's okay, Mom -- I like men -- enough to use them for sex,
anyway..." Sonya grinned.

	"Lucky you -- that's an option!"  Jiang Yi headed off, grumbling.

	Sonya got on the phone.  "Teela, Mom's climbing the walls over here!"

	"What for?"

	"Your dad didn't say anything about seeing her again."

	"Oh."

	"Do you think it was deliberate?"

	"After the way they were acting?  Get real!"

	"Well, then..."

	"They don't think like we do..."

	"Tell me about it!" Sonya muttered.

	"Hang on a minute."  Teela headed downstairs.

	Frank looked up from the TV.  "Guess we'd better think about dinner."

	"Yeah, probably," Teela replied, then got back on track, "Poppa, did
you say anything to Ms. Ho about seeing her again?"

	"Well, no..." Frank replied.  "I kinda figured I'd see her tonight."

	The phone bleated.  Teela put it up to her ear.  "What?"

	"She's supposed to still be there?"

	"Hang on..."  Teela shifted modes.  "You expected her to stay?"

	"I didn't tell her to go nowhere."  Frank shrugged.  "I figured she
had places to go when I got home and she wasn't here.  We didn't talk about
it.  I sorta figured that since she had the day off..."  He shrugged again.
"That ain't her on the phone..."

	"No, it's Sonya."  Teela put the phone to her ear.  "Did you get all
that?"

	"Yeah."  Sonya rolled her eyes.  "Unbelievable.  Are they all like
that?"

	"Well, probably not," Teela replied.  "But it happens.  If you look
at it from his end..."

	"Yeah, yeah..."

	"So what's the fuckin' problem?" Frank asked.

	"You didn't tell her to stay, so she figured she had to go.  You ALSO
didn't tell her that you wanted to see her again..."

	"SHE WASN'T FUCKIN' SUPPOSED TO BE GONE!" Frank erupted.  "Get her on
the fuckin' phone!"

	"Sonya?" Teela muttered.

	"One sec."  Sonya chased down her mother.  "Telephone."

	Jiang Yi took the phone.  "Hello?"

	"Where the fuck ARE you?" the earpiece roared.

	"Frank?"

	"Are you shittin' me?"

	"I'm... home..."

	"Did I TELL you to go home?"

	"Well, no..."

	"So why ain't you here?"

	"I thought..."

	"Sounds like you been doin' a lot of that!"

	"Frank, I..."

	"Shut the fuck up, willya?  Lookit -- it's too fuckin' late tonight,
and I need to sleep once in a fuckin' while.  When you get off work tomorrow
night, you drag your ass over here -- understand?  And BRING FOOD!"  Frank
hung up.

	Teela took the phone and redialed it.  Sonya answered.  "Well?" Teela
asked.

	"She's ecstatic.  What did he say?"

	"You wouldn't believe it."

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

	Fernando arrived home, sat quietly through dinner, and went to his
home office.  There were no extraneous males present, but there was some
heavyset girl named Bonita; Fernando didn't figure that she was capable of
physically abusing him, but that didn't mean he trusted her.

	After sitting for a moment, he got up and spent twenty minutes
looking for a camera or a microphone.  Failing, he sat back down and
recovered his journal from its hiding place and started his computer.  For
the next twenty minutes, he collected this item or that and boxed them or
used them as a reference for some financial transaction.

	And Toby, who was a lot better at hiding cameras than Fernando was at
finding them, learned a great deal by watching him and recording every
keystroke.

	Fernando revealed a safe under some decorative tiles in the floor;
Toby didn't get the combination, but he didn't worry too much about it.  The
FBI or whoever could empty it.  In the meantime, Toby found a bunch of things
he'd not managed to surface before -- and he would need to do a few things to
add to Fernando's pain and the group's war chest.

	Someone -- Candace? -- had thought of the fact that more throwaway
cell phones were required.  She'd been right; undoubtedly, the FBI would go
through Fernando's telephone records back until he was a teenager.  When
Fernando sat back to gloat and write in his journal, Toby called Marta on the
one they'd given her.

	"The booby-trap has been activated and the clock is ticking," he told
her.  "Take this phone to Fernando -- I need to talk to him.  He'll probably
shut down his computer -- after he's settled in, go back and turn it on."

	"All right," Marta agreed.  "Anything else?"

	"You might want to look at his journal to see what he's writing in it
right now.  Don't disturb it and don't let on -- but if it says you're in
danger, let us know right away!" Toby advised.

	"Okay."  Marta went to the office and opened the door; Fernando
scrabbled about for a moment and glared at her, but she masked her fear of
him.  "You have a telephone call," she told him, handing him the phone.

	Fernando took the phone, staring at it as if it were a snake.  Were
they going to gloat and tell him they'd been watching?  "Hello?"

	"Go to bed where you're supposed to, Fernando, and you won't have to
entertain anyone tonight," the voice on the other end directed.  "Do you
understand?"

	"Yes."  Fernando somehow managed to mask his glee.  They didn't know!

	"Run along, then -- we'll want to see you go to where you're supposed
to be."  The phone went dead.

	Marta held out her hand and Fernando gave her the phone, then told
her, "I'll be going to bed in a moment but I need to put my things away,
first."

	Marta just nodded and left.  Fernando wrote a bit more in his journal
-- a diatribe about his genius in keeping his secrets from his enemies -- put
his journal away, shut down his machine, and went meekly off to bed.
Exhaustion claimed him quickly; he hadn't recovered from his imprisonment.

	When he was settled, Marta went to examine his journal and turn on
the computer.  While she sat there, reading, the machine came to life and she
watched files being manipulated and applications being run.  It was
positively scary!  "Toby?"

	A word processor document opened on the screen and 'Yes?' appeared.

	"Just checking."

	'The journal?' appeared on the screen.

	"He's thrilled to death he hasn't been seen.  He's apparently putting
together departure plans -- for Costa Rica."

	'As long as he leaves everyone here alone in the process,' the screen
displayed.

	"Are you going to allow that?" she asked.

	'Escape?  No.  That isn't the plan.  But even if he gets away, there
will be surprises on the far end.  He won't have any money.  In the meantime,
you can see what he thinks of you,' Toby typed.

	"Yes, that's all too clear."  Marta got up.  "Will I need to shut off
the machine?"

	'No, I can do that from here,' appeared on the screen.  'In fact,
turn off the monitor.'  Marta did as Toby asked and left the room, closing
the door behind her.

	Fernando's sleep was troubled -- and at least once, late in the
night, he was awakened to sounds at his door.  Someone was keeping an eye on
him.  Well, so much the better; he would be a model prisoner until he made
his escape...


This concludes Episode 3.  Stay Tuned for Episode 4!