A New Past: Book Two

 

by Charlie Foxtrot

 

A New Past: Book Two by Charlie Foxtrot

 

© 2014 by Charlie Foxtrot. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

 

Cover Photo: ©iStock.com/Shaiith

 

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7337401-1-1

 

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The story depicts an alternative, invented "reality" or timeline. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. Some of the characters in the story are based on actual people, but none of the events depicted in the story are actual events. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

Warning: This work contains frank and graphic sex scenes between the characters. While the primary plot is not about sex, the characters do have a varied and fulfilling sex life that is portrayed within the context of the story. If works of this nature offend you, don't read this book. Consider yourself warned.

 

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***

 

 

Table of Contents

Once more into the breech

New Horizons

Life's Interludes

At the Gates

Inside New Walls

Introspection

Love in the Air

New Jobs

Intrigues and Intrusions

Giving the Game Away

New Ventures

Small Steps

Winds of Change

In a Pinch

Pride….

...and Prejudice

Interventions & Interviews

Escalations

Priorities

Spectacular Launches

Clearing the High Bar

 

Chapter One

Once more into the breech

"Victor, I just told you I don't want to scale up manufacturing to that sort of volume. To do it, I'd have to move production to a bigger site, and that would increase our security risk."

Victor Martin was still my primary contact at Lockheed. We had been discussing production forecasts all morning long. He kept dismissing my arguments without explaining why he needed five times the volume of my carbon nano-tube stealth coating.

He looked as frustrated as I felt, loosening his tie before pulling out a sheet of paper.

"Sign this, and I can explain," he said.

I read over the paper. It was a typical in-brief document stating that I was a party to a Top Secret project titled "Long Dart," and that I understood the restrictions regarding this project. I hesitated, then signed and dated the page.

"Okay, now tell me what this is about."

Victor gave me a tight smile.

"How familiar are you with the B-1 bomber?" he asked.

I shrugged and said, "I've seen pictures of it. It's an impressive looking plane. Why?"

"It was a political hot potato in the 1980 election. We knew it was vulnerable to Soviet technology based on the Belenko defection in 1976. That's when we first learned about the MIG-31, and its projected capabilities. Carter canceled the program. Reagan brought it back in '83, even though he knew we had a stealth bomber on the drawing board. That design is based on a totally different airframe type."

I nodded. From my prior life, I knew the B-2 would use a flying-wing concept to minimize its radar cross section. The design was still highly classified in 1985, but I'd seen the operational aircraft in my first life. I assumed they wanted to use my coating to improve the stealth characteristics even more.

"It must be a big mother, if you need me to scale up production to the levels we're talking about," I said.

Victor grimaced and said, "That's just it. We're thinking that we can apply your coating to the B-1 and have an aircraft that runs at about a quarter of the cost of the new bomber, with just as much stealth. Because of our work on the F-117, we got the contract to do this study. We need to be able to cover about a thousand square meters of surface. We also want to coat the first stages of the engine's compressor blades. You've been producing about a hundred kilos a month for us, since you came to California two years ago. If our tests work as we expect them to, we're going to want to apply the coating to all 100 of the B-1s that have been ordered, starting as soon as possible. At your current production rates, you would need fifty months to produce enough coating. If we add in the coating for the new bomber, the Air Force is going to need even more from you. You have to increase production!"

I scrubbed my hands over my face. The Air Force wanted my coating integrated directly into a product line. My behind-the-scenes approach was likely to become public. "Damn it. Does this mean Lockheed is going to release me from our contract?"

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"You have rights to purchase 100% of our production. Are you building the new bomber? If not, how would they get my coating?"

Victor paled as he said, "We're going to have to talk about that. We're not one of the contractors on that project, though we've been brought in to review some of the work during the latest design reviews."

"So you want to modify a B-1 and have it show up the new bomber?" I asked with a smile. "It makes sense if the B-1's are cheaper to build as well. We're still talking about three-and-a-half million per plane just for the coating. How are you planning to apply it?"

"We're thinking of a whole surface replacement. We'll pull the airframe panels, coat them --along with the screw heads-- and then put them back on the aircraft. It will be a pain to do the refit, but we don't see any other way. The engines we'll just change out. We're working with GE to apply the coating to the rest of them during production."

I shook my head. "Crap." I thought about the production set up in Austin. "Okay, I can set up parallel production lines, but am going to have to buy or build a bigger space. How much lead time do I have?"

"Current production, and the stockpile of the coating we've built up, should let us handle the test contract, which is just two coated aircraft. However, we're pretty sure the Air Force is going to want to move forward quickly, once they see the data. Maybe ten months. We have a demonstration milestone in six and have already started applying the coating on one aircraft."

"You know, using the coating is going to come out if you guys do this, don't you?"

"Why do you say that? We've got good operational security."

"B-1s are already on folks' radar. They know the airplanes are not fully stealthy. Once you start coating them, someone will notice they are much stealthier. If you do this, it's just a matter of time until they figure it out."

***

"Kelly!" I yelled as I walked into the offices. "Can you get Alison to fly over here? I need to meet with her before school starts up."

Kelly stuck her head out of her office and frowned at me. "Problems in Austin?" she asked, already reading my expression.

"Problems everywhere. Whatever happened to 'relaxing over the summer?'"

Kelly followed me into my office and shook her head. "Do I need to call Jeryl, and have her come back here early?"

Jeryl was visiting Michigan with her family. She had been gone for a little over a week on a two-week trip. Kelly had been teasing me about missing my girlfriend since the second day she was gone.

"No," I said more sharply than I intended. I sat down, scowled at her and added, "I don't know why I'm so pissed at Lockheed. Maybe I need a break, too."

Kelly dropped into the chair in front of my desk. She was dressed stylishly as always in a white skirt and light blue blouse. She had cut her hair shorter after we moved out to California, and the style made her look like a young Meg Ryan. She smiled at me.

"Hey, you've been working hard since we got out here. You've spent two years doing double work in the school of engineering, you're involved in the review process of every start-up we fund, you still review every research paper that comes in here, and you've booked yourself almost solid all summer long meeting with different partners. You do need a break."

I glanced down at my desk calendar. Wednesday. No free time until Sunday when Jeryl was supposed to return. The rest of the summer was the same way.

"Shit."

Kelly smiled again as she said, "You don't have to do it all, yourself. You know that don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's next on your calendar?"

"Time to review Professor McTavish's latest research plan."

"How urgent is it? Do you have reason to believe she is off-track?"

"No. It's not urgent, but I need to get it done before the end of the month, so Candace can move funds in July. Her current funding grant runs out then."

"Beginning or end of July?"

"End."

"Do you need anything specific from her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you expecting material or research from her that is holding something else up?"

"No."

"Then reviewing that plan is not important or urgent. Schedule it after the 4th. What's next?"

Instead of answering her, I pushed my calendar to her. "Here," I said.

Kelly grabbed the calendar and then picked up a red pencil from the coffee cup I used as a holder. She began crossing things off and fitting them into smaller blocks of time after the upcoming 4th of July holiday. She crossed things off, shifted time blocks, consolidated meetings. Three minutes of ruthless efficiency.

Finally, she tossed the marked-up calendar back at me. "There. Now you have three hours a day in the office this week instead of twelve."

"How?" I looked at her notes and changes.

She stood and leaned over my desk and stared me straight in the eye. "Del-le-gate!" she growled.

"I knew you were going too deep this summer. I saw you do it last year, as well. That's why you're interviewing for an advisory panel this week and next week instead of doing the review work yourself. We're also adding a secretary, just for you and Jeryl. Laura can take care of Candace and me, and she can handle Dad when he's out here, but you two need a firmer hand. We're going to get you someone that can coordinate things, and make sure you are out of here at a reasonable hour. Paul, if you don't take care of yourself, I swear I'm going to call Mom and have her come stay for the summer."

Her look made me swallow my flippant response.

"Okay, sis. You're right."

She smiled. She loved being right. "Good. I'm glad you didn't make that harder than I expected," she said as she sat back down.

"Now, I've already done a first round of interviews for your secretary. Of course, I posted it as an executive assistant, since they aren't going to just answer the phone and file things for you. The two candidates I've short-listed are going to be in here tomorrow morning. I expect you to give them a fair interview. Both can do the job. I want you to determine whom you are more comfortable with."

"Jeryl doesn't get a say?"

"She helped in the first round of interviews," Kelly said with a grin. "She agreed that we just needed to do this so you wouldn't over think it."

I shook my head. I knew when Kelly and Jeryl got together on a plan, I was beat. "Okay. I get the picture. How much are we paying this assistant?"

Kelly stood, smiling. "When have Jeryl or I ever let you set salaries? You keep your eye on the big things, Paul. We'll take care of the rest." As she headed for the door she added, "You have an hour before we go home. I think you should take me out to dinner tonight, so don't take any work home."

"Yes, ma'am," I said with a forced smile.

***

"So, do we have plans for the 4th of July company barbecue yet?" Candace asked as we all pushed back from the conference table. Jeryl had returned Sunday evening on the same flight Candace had caught from Chicago. They had joined Kelly and me this morning as we discussed expanding our Austin production facility. Candace had spent most of the morning going over the available real estate. We had finally decided to buy land and put up a dedicated building.

"We've got three days to sort it out," I said. "With all the extra time you ladies have arranged in my schedule, I figured I'd have plenty of time to pick up stuff for the grill."

"What about our new employees?" Kelly asked. "Do you know if Laura or Matthew have family to bring?"

I waved a hand at her imperiously. "I'll delegate that to you, sis," I said with a grin. "Besides, they would have to have really big families to run us out of food, if last year was any indication."

Everyone laughed.

"I was surprised you chose Matthew, Paul. I thought for certain you would choose Ruth," Kelly said.

I had spent an hour with each of their candidates for our new executive assistant. By the end of the second hour, I knew it was no choice in my mind and I also knew they were going to be surprised.

"A medically retired staff sergeant from the Marine Corps, or a Jewish grandmother type? I have enough women in my life telling me what to do. Of course, I chose the Marine."

Jeryl grinned at Kelly. "I guess you have to pay up that bet now." Her tone was pure honey.

Kelly blushed.

"What bet was that?" I asked.

"Never you mind," Kelly snapped. "It was between Jeryl and me. Not you."

I glanced at Jeryl who avoided my gaze. Curious.

"Well," I said, "what about you ladies? Are either of you bringing a guest, this year?" Both Kelly and Candace avoided my eyes. "Kelly? No junior partners from one of the other VC firms you want to bring around?"

She had been dating one guy off and on for the past two months.

"I swear you've blushed more in the past two minutes, than I've seen you blush in the past year," Candace said to Kelly with a smile.

"You guys can stop picking on me," Kelly said without heat in her voice.

BOOM!

The explosion slammed against the conference room door. Sound and pressure hit like a physical force, rattling the windows, triggering the fire alarm. Sprinklers popped off. I was closest to the door and moved toward it. Kelly, Jeryl and Candace were just starting to stand as I put a hand to the door. A flickering light showed beneath the door.

"Fire!" I yelled.

My ears were still ringing so I wasn't sure anyone else could hear me. I motioned them toward the sliding doors leading to the terrace that ran along the back of our building. I got us all out and closed the doors behind us.

"Paul, what was that?" Candace asked as she looked over my shoulder.

I turned and saw a flicker of flame on the wall by the door.

"I don't know. We need to head down and get clear."

I pushed her toward the fire escape at the far end of the terrace. Jeryl was the first down the ladder. I was the last. No one else from our offices appeared on the terrace.

"Oh my God! Laura!" Kelly sobbed, as she realized who was not with us.

Laura, Kelly's secretary had been the only other person in our office this morning. She had been manning the receptionist's desk by the entryway.

I grabbed Kelly in my arms and said, "Calm down. She might be out front."

The terrace and our escape ladder were at the back of the building, overlooking the golf course. We stayed close together and moved around the building.

Three fire trucks were already in the parking lot and men in heavy protective equipment were pushing through the front door as a couple of dozen people streamed out. Smoke poured from the front windows on the top floor. Our floor. Kelly's sob caught in her throat as she scanned the crowd of evacuees.

Jeryl hugged us both close. I watched helplessly as the professionals began pulling charged hoses into the building. The other tenants that saw us gave us a wide berth. It was obvious they thought we had caused the fire from their looks.

Police and the local fire chief were huddled together watching the scene when I finally shook myself loose from the ladies and walked over to them.

A police officer tried to stop me with a hand, but I ignored him.

"You need to call the FBI," I said before they had even taken notice of me. That statement got their attention.

"Why? And who are you to tell us what to do?" the head fireman on the scene asked.

"I'm Paul Taylor. My company owns the building. We were on the third floor when that bomb went off and killed our secretary."

"What?" The policeman asked.

"Our secretary, Laura Wilkins was in the outer office. That's where the explosion happened. The rest of us were in the back conference room," I said as I motioned to the ladies. "Someone sent us a bomb. Laura opens all packages. I saw a box with a stack of mail on it when we went into the conference room."

"Shit," the cop said dispassionately. He grabbed his radio and stepped away from us as he keyed the mike and began speaking. A minute later, he was back.

"Homicide is on the way. They'll decide if the FBI needs to be called."

***

The interview room made me feel dirty despite its sterile appearance. The walls were mostly white. The lighting was good. The air conditioning was keeping the room comfortably cool. I still felt dirty. Part of it might have been the smoke and soot on my clothes.

More of it had to do with the feeling of blood on my hands.

Laura had been with us since we opened the California offices, almost two years ago. She was a kind, efficient woman who always treated Kelly and Jeryl and I more like friends than bosses. She had just gotten engaged to her longtime boyfriend who had just finished his MBA at Stanford.

The door to the room opened and two men entered. One was the detective who had taken my statement earlier. The other was more clean-cut and was more silent than a local cop deserved to be. The new man extended his hand.

"I'm Special Agent Jamison," he said.

I shook his hand. They sat down and pulled out my statement. The police detective deferred to the FBI agent.

"Mr. Taylor, have you received any threats recently? Any indications that someone would want to harm you?"

"No. At least nothing that was brought to my attention. I retain a security firm. We'll need to check with them on anything they might have observed. They brought nothing to my attention, so I'm assuming there were no warning signs."

Agent Jamison nodded and asked, "Alison Wilson's firm, correct?"

I nodded and asked, "Do you have a file on me, or are you guys that fast?"

"We have a file relating to your security clearance. We've check out your associates previously in connection with government contracts you hold as well. You're a very interesting young man, sir."

"Call me 'Paul.'"

I tried to think of a way to tell them the name of the Unabomber. My prior life's knowledge sat like a weight in my chest. Ted Kaczinski. In my first life, he wouldn't be caught for another eleven years, and more people would die. But how could a 21-year-old college student know his name in 1985? If I just blurted it out, they would crucify me as an accomplice or sympathizer.

"Any ideas on who did this?" I asked.

"No, not yet. It might be the same person that we think is responsible for a bomb at UC Berkeley in May, and one mailed to Boeing, last month."

"I heard about the Berkley one. Nothing about Boeing, though."

"It was defused," Agent Jamison said. "We got lucky on that one. If this was the same person, attacking you, fits one of the profiles we have working."

"One of them?"

"We have dueling profiles, right now. The task force I'm on has existed since '79. Until two years ago, we thought the bomber was a neo-Luddite. They hate technology and believe it is poisoning mankind. Our current profile is leaning more toward a disgruntled airline mechanic. Given the targets of the past two bombings, it's still a toss-up."

"And my work hits both profiles," I said.

"That's right."

"Shit."

The agent nodded in agreement and commented, "That about covers it."

"So, what's next?" I asked.

"You go home and get cleaned up. It will take us a couple of weeks to release the scene back to you for renovation or sale. We don't have any instances of this nut job attacking the same place twice, so you should be safe. Other than that, I can't really say."

"That's not good enough for me," I said. "I'll put up a million-dollar reward for this guy, whoever he is."

"That's very noble, Paul, but I don't think our agency is going to support that."

"I'm not giving you a choice. For Laura and her fiancé, I'll go straight to the news people with the reward."

"You can't do that. You'll create a witch hunt."

I thought of Laura's ready smile, and the pride she'd taken in showing off her new diamond ring, last month. "I don't care. I don't want anyone else killed by this idiot."

He sighed. "You could ruin any evidence that is uncovered by that approach."

"Not if you guys support it. Set up a phone center to handle the calls. I'll pay for it. This is the first death from this guy, right?"

"It is, as far as we know."

"Then use that as the basis for the reward."

"Don't you think you should discuss this with your security team before deciding?"

I looked him in the eye. "I'm not hiding from a bully and a terrorist. I'll pay more for my security, but I'm not going to let someone like this get away with murder," I added as I stood up. "Talk it over with your bosses. I'll be putting out a statement, tomorrow. The FBI can be onboard or get steamrolled."

I looked at the police detective. "I'm going home. You guys have my address if you need me."

I walked out of the room.

***

"Yes, I'm furious!" Alison said. She stared at Jeryl, then me, and finally at Tiffany, who was staying with us this month.

"Paul and Jeryl, were you ever going to activate your trackers so we would know there was a problem?"

Her focus shifted. "Tiffany, why did you wait for them here? You should have been at the office immediately after hearing the call on the scanner. Why did I learn about the attack twelve hours after the fact? I should have been notified when you learned there was a problem."

Her blue-eyed gaze returned to me. "What if the farm was targeted at the same time? Why did you come back here—to a known location—before knowing it was safe and secure?"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, then added, "Obviously, we have gotten slack over the past two years. For that, I blame myself."

I could tell she was serious. I also had to agree with her. She was the expert.

"You're right, Alison," I said. "I should have alerted Tiffany immediately. Hitting my tracker was the obvious way to do it, and I didn't. It never even entered my mind."

Tiffany frowned at me. I chose to interpret it as a thank-you. Alison nodded and appeared to calm herself some more. She had landed in San Francisco early this morning. If she had not already been en route to discuss the new Austin plant's security needs, it would have been remarkable how quickly she arrived on the scene.

She turned her gaze to Sanford, who had accompanied her, as he stepped into the room. "I've checked the property, and everything is set," he said. "All the monitors are active. I'll be downstairs in the monitoring room."

He left us without another word. The monitoring room was in the basement.

"We need to leave town for a bit," Alison announced. "The Deer Valley house is probably the best place."

"No. We need to be here for the funeral."

"We'll come back for it," she said, her tone and firm lips indicating there was not much room for argument. "I'll have staff over here to take over care of the house while we're gone."

"That's fine, but the FBI doesn't think we're at risk."

"They aren't being paid to protect you. Until my team reaches the same conclusion, we're moving you to a safer location. Besides, we need to re-evaluate security in Utah with this threat in mind, as well."

"What do you mean?" Jeryl asked, as she had come to love our getaway in the mountains.

"Probably a gatehouse, and the ability to screen mail and packages," Alison replied. "Now, everyone pack a small carry-on bag. I'll arrange transport. I want us in Utah tonight!"

"I'll stay here," Candace said. "I'll check into a hotel if you insist, but I need to stay here and don't think I'm much of a target."

Alison looked at her for a minute, calculating. Finally, she nodded. "Stay here, then. Tiffany or her replacement will be here to keep an eye on things and provide security for you."

"I should stay as well," Kelly said.

"No, you need to go. You're Paul's sister, not just a lawyer or business partner. If there is still a threat, you make too appealing of a target."

I nodded this time. "I agree. Besides, you need a break." She had been brittle last night and this morning. She had been close to Laura.

I stood up and held out a helping hand to Jeryl and then Kelly. We all headed to our rooms to pack a bag. Alison followed me upstairs and ducked into our home office to use the phone.

Three hours later, we were on a Gulfstream III flying east. Alison handed each of us a tumbler of expensive scotch. "You may not feel it, but you are in shock. Drink up. It won't change anything, but it will help you relax."

I took a sip and shivered at the feeling and taste. Jeryl wrinkled her nose after her first sip. Kelly sipped without emotion. Alison patted her shoulder and then caught my eye. I kept the glass in my hand and followed her to the back of the plane.

"I'll get a professional to visit us in Utah," Alison said. "Kelly is taking this pretty hard."

I sipped the scotch, then said, "I think Laura was her best friend in California. I can hardly fathom it. Jeryl and I dealt less with Laura than Kelly did. Most days during the year, it was just the two of them in the office."

Alison nodded. "Now what's this about offering a reward?"

I explained. The FBI had finally agreed, just before we left town. I intended to announce the reward after Laura's funeral.

"I agree with your sentiment, but you won't announce it, personally. If you do, this nut case may come after you again. Let the Bureau handle it. You just sign the check."

"We should make a company statement, but I don't have to read it."

"Okay. Let me review it first," she said. "In Utah, I'll evaluate you on the range again. You can't get a concealed carry permit, but we've got Brownings in the cars and house."

"You don't really think there is a threat, do you?" Her attitude was a little scary.

"Until I talk to your FBI contact, I won't know. It would be foolish for us to assume there was no threat. You're better served if we assume there is, and act accordingly. Unless you want to allow Jeryl or Kelly to be put at risk?"

I scowled, and she gave me a tight smile with her unnervingly arched eyebrow. She made her point well.

She stepped closer, evaluating my stance with her instructor's eye. "I'll also be checking up on your Krav Maga practice, while I'm here."

I nodded. I had no problems with that. It was always good to change up the instruction.

"We're also going to start having some drills. You should have sent up the alert as soon as you were clear of the building. What if the bomb was intended to drive you out of the building for a snatch and grab?"

It was my turn to frown.

"I know. Tiffany was only five minutes away. I should have alerted her immediately. We should have stayed at the back of the building. Nobody could have approached us unexpectedly from the golf course."

"Do you remember interviewing me three years ago?"

"Yes."

"Then you were worried about protecting your family and friends from long-term economic harm. You need to re-evaluate that stance now. This might have been a one-time attempt, but you've made enough of an impact to make enemies. You need to start thinking about protecting them from physical harm, and you must take it seriously. Understand?"

I nodded and took a longer drink of scotch. Alison nodded back. There was no sympathy in her eyes.

***

That night in Utah, Jeryl and I were snuggled together in the master suite of the house when I heard a soft tap on the door. I slipped out of the bed without waking Jeryl who had just dozed off, and opened the door a crack to see who it was. Kelly looked in on me with a tear-streaked face.

"Paul, can I sleep in here? I don't want to be alone."

I opened the door fully and pulled her in for a hug.

"Of course, you can. Come on in."

Kelly had on a loose T-shirt that covered her to mid-thigh. She stayed tucked under my arm as we moved to the bed. Jeryl stirred as I lifted the covers, and she slipped in. I gave Kelly a little hip nudge to move her to the center of the bed and climbed in after her, trying to be a gentleman, but still catching a glimpse of her lovely legs. I pushed any lustful thoughts away. She needed comfort. I knew what loss felt like. I experienced it in my prior life and this one.

"Thank you," Kelly whispered as she rolled on her side and gave me a hug.

Jeryl, now mostly awake, scooted in behind her and reached around her to give us both a hug. "It will be alright, Kelly," she said.

I moved my arm, and she lowered her head to my chest as Jeryl stroked her back. Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I woke in almost the same position, except Jeryl's arm was draped over Kelly's waist and her hand was making slow circles on my stomach. My morning erection was getting stroked lightly every third or fourth circle. My body responded eagerly, but this wasn't the time or place.

I used my free hand to stop Jeryl. This was hardly the time to scare or startle Kelly and I knew if Jeryl kept teasing me, we would do something I would regret, and Kelly might never forgive. Kelly was vulnerable. I would protect her, even from myself.

I slipped out from under the covers and walked quietly around the bed to give Jeryl a kiss. Then I headed to the bathroom to take care of a few things. Jeryl appeared to be asleep again when I came out, dressed in my workout clothes and headed downstairs to hit the treadmill. It was a beautiful summer day in the mountains. I was surprised to see Alison on the elliptical machine as I entered the workout room.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning. I was thinking about a run outside, but after our talk, I figured you would tell me not to."

She gave me a tight smile. "You're a smart boy, Paul."

I settled into a warm-up pace. "How long have you been up?"

"A couple of hours. My body clock is somewhere over the Atlantic, as best as I can tell. Once it got light out, I decided to get in a workout."

Alison was trim and fit. She had on black running shorts and sports bra, along with well-worn running shoes. I knew she was in her mid-thirties, but she could have easily passed as a co-ed on campus. I carefully put any thoughts about her body out of mind and increased my pace.

"How's Kelly?" she asked as she finished up her workout and grabbed a towel from the pile set in a cabinet by the door.

"Wrung out. She had problems sleeping and came to Jeryl and me last night."

Alison nodded. She probably monitored movements in the house, given the threats she was guarding us from. "I've got a doctor coming out this afternoon. I want all of you to speak with her. I'm also arranging for Jeryl's Aunt Helen to come out. She has training in grief counseling and can help you all. Jim and Beth will be here later today, as well as Jeryl's sisters and mother. Her father is on a fishing trip in Canada, so I haven't been able to reach him yet."

"Don't. We're all fine, and he has been planning that trip with his buddies for almost a year. Let him enjoy it." He and Uncle Ben and three other local farmers had made their plans last summer after one of them caught his limit of fish on the border lakes between Wisconsin and Canada.

"Very well. Your new executive assistant should be here after breakfast as well."

"Why? He wasn't supposed to start officially until next Monday."

"He's a Marine. He can handle himself, and I'd like to get another set of trained eyes out here without having to wait for an intercontinental flight."

"You seem to know a lot about him," I said.

"We ran a background check on the final two candidates before you met with them last week. We'll probably hire the lady you didn't want as Laura's replacement. She is certainly qualified."

"Isn't that Kelly's call? And isn't it a bit soon to be talking about replacing Laura? She's not even buried yet."

Alison gave me her cold stare for a full minute. Any lustful thoughts I might have had earlier disappeared under that gaze.

"Kelly will not be able to make those kinds of decisions for a while. She's in shock. If I have any say about it, she won't step foot into those offices until they are refurbished. Meanwhile, there will still be business to attend to. You should call Mrs. Feldman today and offer her the job after you discuss it with Candace. She can work out of the house for the short term. Tiffany can train her on the proper security measures."

"You're keeping Tiffany?"

Alison sighed and dropped her towel in the basket Mrs. Eccles kept in the room for just that reason. "Yes. Tiffany made a mistake, but it's one she will never make again. Having that sort of experience will stay with a person. We were all lucky this appears to be a singular act."

"Okay, I'll make the call and get things rolling after my workout."

I finished running three miles, did my push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups and then headed to the sauna to do a little more thinking. I had to get the name Kaczinski to the FBI in a credible manner.

***

We flew back two days later for Laura's funeral, then returned to Utah the same evening. Kelly was doing a little better, but still very fragile. Whether Helen's counselling or the group therapy Alison arragned helped, I couldn't tell. She still seemed to end up with Jeryl and me, late at night, about half the time.

Family had stayed with us through the weekend, but then returned to their lives. The mountain house felt almost empty when Jeryl, Kelly and I returned. Candace had taken over the home office near Stanford. Rose Feldman was hired as her new secretary. Matthew, the Marine who was now my assistant, was settling into one of the guest rooms in the house. Alison had handed off my pistol training to him.

Carl, my architect, was called out to the house and quickly came up with a very pleasant design for a gatehouse that would offer both a place to screen deliveries, and an additional apartment for Alison's folks. By the middle of July, he had permits in hand and was organizing more construction for the property.

"Paul, I think you need to take a trip," Jeryl said one sunny afternoon.

We were in the office reading through our pre-opened mail. Alison had arranged for it to be x-rayed by the postal service, but still insisted that security open it before it was brought to Jeryl or me.

"Where, and why?" I asked.

"Austin, to review the property we purchased and talk to the builders. You know the construction needs much better than Candace. The bids coming back are too high and too slow."

"Then maybe you should be the one going," I said as I rose and walked behind her to look over her shoulder at the letters she was reviewing. "After all, you are the COO."

She grinned at me, then sobered as she said, "I don't want to leave Kelly, right now. You know she still cries most nights, don't you?"

I nodded. "Okay, I guess it's time to put Matthew to work on my schedule. We'll fly to Austin and see what's up."

And that is what we did. It was the first trip Matthew had arranged for us, so we both learned a lot about working together. He made the arrangements and then re-made them when I told him to book us first class instead of coach. Everything was set the third time, after he had made Tiffany's booking to have her meet us in Austin.

Matthew's eyes widened when we walked into the large suite in the Hilton. He'd probably never seen a hotel room with a separate living area and two bedrooms.

"You certainly do throw money around, don't you Paul," he said, and then blushed, thinking he had overstepped some bounds.

I smiled and dropped my briefcase on the table in the common room of the suite. "It's not about the money, Matthew," I said, and motioned out the window. "We just spent four hours in the air and a couple of hours in cars getting here. If we had flown economy, we would have been cramped in next to each other and gotten no work done. We would have gotten here feeling tired. Instead, we got the schedule of meetings sorted out for the next three days, and we both feel moderately alert."

I waved at the suite. "If we had stayed in regular rooms, one of us would be planted on a bed trying to make calls or prep for the morning. Here we can both work at a table or desk, and we have two phone lines to make our calls on. We have a choice of ordering dinner in if we don't want to go out and take a break. When I look at the cost, I see good value in the additional work I'll be able to get done."

Matthew nodded slowly, clearly recalibrating his assumptions about business travel. "Okay, that makes sense. I guess I've still got some adjusting to do. In the Corps, we would take the cheap seats and room and then just have to suck up the extra inconvenience to get the work done." He grinned at me and added, "I think I like your approach, better."

I laughed and then started pulling out a pad of notes we had worked on during the flight. "Okay, let's finish getting organized, and have a bite to eat."

The next morning, we were at the property before eight o'clock, dressed casually in long khaki pants, loose shirts and sturdy work boots. The property was a large lot, almost four acres, in an industrial park. It had a driveway and not much else. We walked the perimeter before the first contractor showed up.

By the end of the day, we had met with three general contractors and listened to proposals and re-set expectations.

"What do you think?" I asked Matthew as Tiffany drove us back to the hotel.

"I think you should hire the Seabees to build it for you. It would be done to specification and a hell of a lot faster than those guys will do for you."

His candor surprised me.

"Why do you say that?"

"I got to work with combat engineers and Seabees a couple of times. They don't screw around once they have their plan set. This project has three elements: the building shell and utilities, the interior finishing, and the perimeter fencing and security. It's not rocket science. These guys are going to sub everything out and then add a mark-up to manage the effort. You need one team that will get it all done, working together."

It was my turn to nod. All three contractors had felt a little 'off,' to me, as they described their timelines. He had 'hit the nail on the head' of the problem.

"Do you know anyone who might be able to do that?"

Matthew scowled and shook his head. "Not in Texas. I know a few guys who just got out who might know someone. Let me make a few calls when we get back to the hotel."

Matthew was still on the phone when I got out of the shower and had changed into some casual clothes for the evening. He was still in the field appropriate work wear from the day. If his clothes had been a set of utilities, he would have looked to still be in the Corps. I opened a bottle of water and waited for his call to end.

"Okay, I don't have a firm answer, but I've got two vets who are willing to fly down and review the project and give you a bid on general contracting the work. They opened up shop together a year or so ago when the captain got passed over. The other guy is a retired Master Chief. They have become turn-around specialist in the construction industry."

"Have you worked with them, before?"

"No, but some guys I did work with, said they were the best on the civilian side."

"Where are they at?"

Matthew laughed. "They'd better be at LAX soon. I got them tickets and said, come down to talk to us."

"First class?" I asked with a smile.

"After your little talking to, yes. But I did not get them a suite. We're meeting them for breakfast."

"Sounds good. Now, why don't you get cleaned up, and we'll let Tiffany take us out to a great Tex-Mex place?"

Matthew grinned and headed to his room while Tiffany, who had sat in an air-conditioned car most of the day, rolled her eyes.

The next morning was interesting. I let Matthew lead the conversation with the two vets. Matthew was respectful, but firm with the grizzled gray-haired former Master Chief and the much younger Marine Captain.

We drove out to the site and tramped around the property for the second day in a row.

"How big of a space do you need?" Troy, the ex-Captain asked.

"Ideally, we'll have four buildings, each with its own loading bay and covering 10,000 square feet."

"Do you have plans for the buildings already?"

I nodded as Matthew headed to the car to grab them.

"Staff Sergeant Keller mentioned security."

Master Chief Flattery unrolled the plans in his massive hands and began looking at them closely with Matthew pointing out a few key features in the interior details.

"Yes," I said. "We're doing some manufacturing for the Air Force, so we need security around the compound itself as well as around and in the buildings. I've got a security firm that will handle the actual installation of the security systems."

The two men looked at the plans together and then asked for a few moments to discuss the project. Finally, they came back to us by the car.

"Okay, Paul, we'll take you on as a client," Troy said. "We've got some contacts here in Texas that we can sub out most of the work to. Our typical deal is a base rate for managing the project with a percentage of any project savings coming back to us as a bonus. Since this is out of our local area, we'll want reasonable expenses as well."

I worked some numbers in my head. "Let's go somewhere cooler and put some numbers down on paper," I finally said.

Two hours later, we were all happy and the three former service men ordered beers from room service.

"I've never done a deal where the money man was more interested in doing things right than saving a penny," Master Chief Flattery said.

I wondered if anyone ever used his first name.

"Well, I'm looking at making quite a profit off this site, so it would be foolish to pinch a penny and lose a dollar. If you guys can hit the timeline we laid out, I'll be happy to pay that bonus. If you make the timeline and save money on the overall project costs, you will have earned that kicker bonus as well."

The beers arrived and they insisted I join them for a toast to our new business arrangement. Before the first beers were finished, the sea stories started.

"Paul, do you know the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story?" Master Chief asked.

I shook my head despite knowing the answer.

"A fairy tale starts with 'once upon a time.' A sea story starts with 'now this is a no-shitter!'"

We laughed and the Master Chief continued, "Now, this really is a no-shitter...."

***

"Paul, have you ever heard the name Kaczinski before?" Alison asked over the phone.

I was glad she could not see my face. "No, why?"

"The FBI got an anonymous tip letter at the post box set up for your reward. They wondered if you had heard the name before."

"Nope. Never heard it. Should I know who they are? Did you want me to check with Jeryl, Kelly or Candace?"

"Yes. You might also check with your Austin team. The letter was mailed from a drop box in the Dallas airport."

"Okay, I'll make a few calls. If I find a connection, should I call you or the FBI?"

"Call me."

"Okay. Thanks, Alison. Have a good night." I hung up the phone and pushed back from my desk with a deep breath. Concealing my dropping an envelope in a postbox while going between gates in Dallas had taken some effort. I sent Matthew off to grab us a couple of drinks so he wasn't around. It had only taken a second. Hopefully, the FBI would follow up on the note.

I looked at my desk and decided I had done enough for the day. There was still plenty to do, but nothing urgent. I put a few things away and headed upstairs to see what Jeryl and Kelly were up to. Matthew waved at me as he headed downstairs to the exercise room. He was as diligent as I was about working out, even though his leg injury in the Corp kept him from running long distances.

I stepped into the bedroom and walked into the bathroom without a thought. The sight stopped me. Kelly and Jeryl were in the deep soaking tub nestled in the bay window looking up the valley. I knew what Jeryl was trying to do, help Kelly relax, to literally wash away the guilt she must be feeling. It did not make the sight any less enticing, though I knew better than to act on it.

"Hey!" Kelly shrieked as she sank deeper in the water.

Jeryl had her back to me and laughed at the look on Kelly's face. They were both nude, a hint of steam being the only thing obscuring the view of their bodies.

Kelly put an arm across her breasts and the other over her crotch, even if it was difficult to see much under the water. She had sunk low enough so her chin was nearly in the water.

"Paul, what are you doing?" she shouted as I stopped to stare at them.

Jeryl actually sat straighter, so her nipples broke the surface of the water. I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Jeryl knew exactly what she was doing, pushing Kelly's boundaries. Part of me appreciated the view; the other part recognized the therapy in it. After five years together, I knew when Jeryl was working an angle. Kelly needed to see that normal, healthy desire still existed after trauma. My greater experience didn't help decide whether it was correct or not.

I looked Kelly in the eye as I stood back up.

"I'm walking to my bathroom. What are you doing?"

"Jeryl told me I needed to try out your soaking tub. It was supposed to be relaxing."

"Then relax," Jeryl said. "It's not like Paul is going to jump in here with us."

The thought had crossed my mind, but I tried to keep a neutral expression on my face. The urges of a younger body occasionally surprised me. Kelly did not need any pressure right now.

"Ew. He's my stepbrother, you know?"

Jeryl laughed. "'Step' being the key word there. It's not like he hasn't seen most of you before in the hot tub outside. Your bikini isn't that big."

I shook my head and continued to the toilet. When I came back out, they were still in the tub and Kelly had draped her hands along the edges of the tub. I stopped and looked at them both. Jeryl gave me a small smile.

"So, I take it you like my soaking tub?"

Kelly blushed but looked me in the eye. "It's as nice as Jeryl said it was. Now, instead of being a pervert, how about giving us girls some privacy?"

I smiled and went to the bedroom.

The girls came out fifteen minutes later wearing robes. I was enjoying the warm sunshine on the master suite's private balcony. Jeryl took a seat on my lap and immediately let me know she had nothing on under the robe. Kelly sat down on the chair angled toward me, clutching her robe tightly so nothing was accidentally revealed.

"Did you ladies have a nice soak?" I asked.

"Yes, but not as pleasant as if you had joined us," Jeryl said with a kiss.

"Somehow, I don't think Kelly would have enjoyed that as much as you would have," I chided.

"She'll never know if she doesn't try," Jeryl quipped back as she stuck her tongue out at Kelly.

Kelly blushed. "Hey, I'm not a prude, but Paul is my almost brother. Doing anything with him would be weird."

"That's alright," Jeryl said as she pulled my hand inside her robe and pressed it against her thigh. "It just means there is more for me."

I stroked her leg and tried to shrug at Kelly. "What do you expect me to do with a girlfriend like this?" I asked.

Kelly blushed. "I've got a feeling you're going to be expected to screw her brains out as soon as I get up and leave."

"Yep," Jeryl said. "We'll see you later." She kissed me again.

Kelly stood up and looked at us. She licked her lips once and then sat back down, letting loose the grip on her robe.

"Maybe I'll stay here a bit. The sun sure feels nice." She gave Jeryl a saccharine smile as our kiss ended. "Just don't do anything to embarrass yourself or my brother," she added for good measure.

Jeryl looked her in the eye for a moment and smiled. "You're right, the sun feels deliciously warm."

She stood up, shrugged off her robe, and draped it over the railing. She sat back down on my lap and snuggled into my chest. My body responded instantly to Jeryl's warmth, but I tracked Kelly's reaction. I hoped this was Jeryl's therapy, showing Kelly that desire and life continued after loss. A moment later, she pulled my hand to her breast as she stared at Kelly. I feared we were crossing a line.

Kelly blushed and then crossed her legs, exposing quite a bit of thigh. "So, Paul, what do you say to a trip back home in a couple of weeks?"

Jeryl kissed my neck as I toyed with her hard nipple.

"I don't know that I need the Illinois summer humidity, but I suppose it would be good to see what's new back home. Are Mom and your dad there?"

Jeryl's hand drifted to my obvious erection.

"They are, at least until the end of August. I don't think they're spending much time at the farm since Mom quit teaching. They said something about doing a tour in Europe in the fall."

I chuckled. "Mom said she intended to enjoy some of my money once I was off to school. Any idea where they are going?"

Jeryl's hand moved to undo the zipper of my shorts. Kelly's gaze moved between my hand on Jeryl and her hand on me. She licked her lips as Jeryl slipped her hand inside my shorts.

"I think Germany and France, but I'm not sure."

Jeryl freed my dick and Kelly's eyes got big. I registered Kelly's fascination, her arousal mixing with grief. This was dangerous territory. My prior life's perspective recognized the psychological complexity—grief, voyeurism, boundary-pushing therapy. Jeryl's instincts had been right before, but I was acutely aware this could go wrong. Still, I trusted her.

"What happened to not embarrassing my brother?" Kelly asked without turning away.

"I don't think this is anything to be embarrassed about," Jeryl said as she stroked the head of my cock. "Besides, he saw you in the tub, so I figured it was fair for you to see him. Isn't it marvelous."

Kelly blushed and stood up. I was afraid she was mad, but instead of storming away, she leaned over flashing me her tits as her robe fell opened. She gave Jeryl a kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun, you two." She turned and walked into the house without looking back.

Jeryl watched her go for a second and then stood up. "I hope you are ready to fuck me senseless because that turned me on a lot more than I thought it would," she said.

The therapy session was over, Kelly safely inside. Now it was just Jeryl and me, and five years of knowing exactly what we both wanted. I stood up and turned her toward the valley. She immediately knew what I was up to and grabbed the railing of the balcony, her knuckles turning white. I dropped my shorts and stepped close behind her. I slipped into her with one long stroke and grabbed her hips before starting to thrust vigorously. Her first orgasm hit within a minute. Her second came as I did. As soon as I slipped from her, she spun around and dropped to her knees and began sucking me clean. We headed inside to the bed, as soon as I was hard again.

***

"What can I do for you today, Victor?" I asked as I fiddled with the note pad on my desk.

Victor had left a message for me several days before. We had been exchanging callback messages for a couple of days. It was good to finally speak with him live.

"Do you know any researchers at Rice?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Some guys down there just published a paper on the generation of carbon fullerenes."

I nodded. Time had caught up to me. Discovery of Carbon-60 was public knowledge now. I knew it would take a few more years to progress from fullerenes to nanotubes, then another decade to scale production. My production advantages would shrink over time. Ripples of change, or the steady march of progress?

"So?"

"Look, we know what makes your coating special, we just don't know how you manufacture it in the lab, let alone at scale. It's related to their research, and you know it. We need to know that your folks aren't talking out of school."

"I'm pretty certain they're not, but you can always have the FBI check it out." I knew there was quite a bit of research needed to go from fullerenes to carbon-based nanotubes. Bulk manufacturing was another whole set of problems.

"We'll check for any connections. I just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Okay. Do you have a copy of the paper you can send me? I'd like to read it."

"I can get it for you. What address do you want it at?"

"I'm in Utah. You've got that one, don't you?"

"I do."

"Anything else I can do for you?" I asked.

"Well, we might need a little consulting time. That project we discussed has hit a few bumps."

"Engines?"

"How did you know?"

"I was thinking about it after we talked. Do you need me in Palmdale or at GE?"

"GE, but let's give them another week before we burn any of your contract hours."

"Don't put it off too long. School starts back up, in three weeks. I've got some tough courses this semester."

"Will do. Thanks for getting back to me, Paul."

***

Chapter Two

New Horizons

For the third time in a week, Kelly walked into our kitchen from the back porch carrying a bowl of cereal. She was dressed in a T-shirt that barely reached the top of her thighs.

"Good morning, guys. Can I borrow some milk, again?" she asked as she set the bowl on the counter and opened the refrigerator. She bent at the waist and gave me a good look at her black panty-covered ass.

I arched an eyebrow at Jeryl, who just smirked back at me. Kelly was more comfortable around us after our time in Utah, closer, but I wasn't certain flirtation, intentional or otherwise, was a good idea.

"Good morning, Paul…argh!" Matthew said as he walked into the kitchen and froze. Kelly's ass wiggled at him as she rummaged in the refrigerator.

Kelly straightened up as soon as she heard his voice and managed to smack her head on a shelf in the refrigerator.

"Ouch, shit, shit, shit!" She lifted a hand to rub her head, which lifted her shirt and showed her crotch to us. The front of the black panties had a red heart right above her pussy.

Matthew's mocha skin got a shade darker as he turned around to keep from looking at Kelly. Jeryl laughed and pointed at the heart. Kelly looked down and then stepped close to the counter as her blush deepened.

"Matthew, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in. I should probably get dressed." She hurried out the door.

Matthew turned enough to watch her leave. He might have been embarrassed, but he still looked. Jeryl nudged me and smiled.

"So, Matthew, what's on the plan for today?" I asked once Kelly was out of sight.

"You're meeting with your new review committee. They've all reviewed the current batch of research proposals and want to go over their recommendations with you this afternoon. I've got lunch arranged at the conference room in the Four Seasons."

"That explains your suit, I guess."

He was dressed in a sharp looking blue pinstripe suit with a maroon tie. Now that I knew what to look for, his slight blush was obvious.

"Candace suggested we both dress well for this first meeting."

"Of course, she did. It even makes sense. Most of these people will look at me as a snot-nosed undergrad if I don't dress for the occasion. Just so you know, I really hate wearing a tie."

Jeryl's eyes twinkled. "Oh, Paul. You look so good in your suit though." I smiled back at her. She always wanted to help me out of my suit after I wore one!

"What about this morning?"

"You and Jeryl have a meeting with Lockheed and the Air Force in an hour. Then you need to finalize your course registration for the fall before heading over to the Four Seasons."

"Shit. Are we going to have time? Registration is always a mess."

"You've both got the courses you want. You just need to stop in and sign off on your final schedule. I'll pick up your books, later this week. We've got plenty of office supplies upstairs, so you should be ready for the semester when it starts, next week."

"Man, where did the summer go?" I lamented. "Okay, I'd better go get dressed. Where is the meeting this morning?"

"At the office."

"It's done?" Jeryl asked. We had been waiting for the cleanup and renovation to be completed. Neither Jeryl nor Kelly had checked on progress. I'd done a walk-through with the designer last week. We had changed the decor significantly as well as the internal office layout. Alison had also insisted on changes to the reception area to improve security.

"Yes, ma'am," Matthew said. "Candace signed off on it, yesterday. I've got new keycards for you all. You'll need to enter new PINs the first time you key into the office. It should only take a few minutes, this morning, to complete that."

Jeryl got up and hurried upstairs with me to get dressed. Sanford was soon driving us down to the offices. Matthew was right that it only took a few minutes to have each of us create a new six-digit PIN at the reception area. The foyer to the offices looked bare, with no one manning the reception desk. Sanford decided he would wait there for our guests.

Beyond the reception area, through a bulletproof frosted glass door, there was a long hallway. Before, we'd had an open office area. I knew from discussion with Alison and the contractor doing the work that all the normal interior wall panels had been replaced with ones covered with one of our stronger coatings. No bombs or bullets would shred our walls again. The colors were lighter than they had been. Jeryl and I checked out our adjoining offices, separated by a shared restroom and a small conference room. She glanced at the conference room, which could not be seen from outside our offices, and smiled at me. I suspected we would see how good the sound insulation was soon.

Lockheed and the Air Force arrived five minutes early. We were all introduced and poured coffee, while Sanford closed the door, and we got down to business.

"Victor, thanks for coming to us this time," I said by way of opening.

"It's nice to have a change of scenery," he said. "Paul, we need to know the status of your production ramp-up."

"We've purchased property and have begun construction. Our plan looks solid to be able to begin production by February."

"Of course, scaling the process to produce higher volume is going to drive up our costs — and the price — as a result," Jeryl added.

John Hampton, the Air Force major who was the program manager for Lockheed's contract on the project, frowned. "How much?"

Jeryl smiled. "Not too much. Given the estimated demand and the cost we're incurring to meet your timeline, we're going to need to raise the price five percent. That will be $73.50 a gram."

The major punched numbers into his calculator. "That's an increase of almost two hundred thousand per aircraft!"

I looked at Jeryl and shrugged. We had discussed our approach and gotten Candace's agreement. "You can always purchase elsewhere," I said.

The man sputtered, "You know we can't, unless you're willing to sell your process to us."

I shook my head. "I don't think your program can afford that."

Victor smiled at the major and then decided to avoid that entire discussion. "Any chance you can accelerate your timeline?"

"Matthew, what do you think?"

The former staff sergeant frowned and replied, "I can call our builders, but they said there was not much float in their schedule."

"And there you have it, gentlemen," I said. "Victor, when we spoke in July, you said I'd have ten months to ramp up production. I'm trying to get it done in eight, and you still want it sooner?"

Victor had the grace to look down at the table.

The major looked around the room for a moment before he said, "Our project has to give up some material for a competing effort. We're trying to make up the schedule impact that not having two aircraft to test with will cause."

"Well, I don't see how we can build any faster," I said.

"Paul?" Jeryl interjected. "What about the original lab? They could make some, couldn't they?"

It was a good idea, but I replied, "Maybe. They might be able to produce ten or twenty kilos a month. But, and this is a big 'but', doing production in a lab is going to have some serious security risks. We won't have nearly the control we have at our buildings."

"How much risk?" the major asked.

"Too much. Besides, shifting the lab to production would stop almost all the research efforts there. I'm not willing to let your problems impact them that much."

We kicked around a few other ideas before ending the meeting.

"I'll keep thinking about it, but I don't know what we can do," I finally concluded as Victor and the major stood to leave.

"I guess that's all we can ask," Victor said.

We ushered them out and then headed over to campus to sign-off on our registration. It was surprisingly painless compared to the prior two years, at least for me. Pursuing a double engineering major had taken agreement, and signatures, from both departments as I doubled up classes and took a higher than encouraged course load. This year, Matthew had evidently gotten the signatures from the faculty members that I needed, ahead of time. I was starting to see the wisdom of having an executive assistant.

By the time we arrived at The Four Seasons, for lunch and our all-afternoon meeting, I was doubly glad. The six academics we had selected immediately approached me and thanked me for the first class flight and accommodations for the meeting. We all settled in for a long afternoon of research proposals. I was surprised at how organized things were. By the time cocktail hour rolled around, we were done, and fourteen grants had been approved. Matthew and Candace were hosting dinner for the advisors, tonight.

"Wow," I said as we climbed into the car to head home. "I was not certain about hiring an assistant, but I have to say that he has earned his pay this week, already."

Jeryl reached out and squeezed my hand. "I'm glad you see mine and Kelly's wisdom. We both need to delegate more, so we can focus on what's most important. Besides, I'm pretty sure Matthew thinks Kelly is cute."

I laughed and gave her a kiss. I thought she was right in that regard as well.

***

Three days later, exiting my Advanced Thermodynamics lecture, I was surprised by the crowd outside the hall. Normally, there were a handful of people waiting for the next class, but today the corridor was crowded and most of them did not look like students.

"Paul Taylor, what do you think about the FBI arrest in Montana, today?" A woman asked as she shoved a microphone in my face. A few classmates pushed past me, glaring at the news crew.

"I don't know about it," I said as I tried to get clear of the throng.

The reporter followed me. I saw another three reporters hustling up behind her. I tried to remain casual as I triggered the emergency alert on my watch. A button push, then stem pull, then stem push. It was designed to not happen accidentally. Sanford would receive the alert and arrive within ten minutes. Slowly, I moved toward the door at the far end of the hall.

The reporter persisted, "The FBI arrested a man in Montana on suspicion of murder related to the bomb at your offices in July. They released a statement that the critical tip was received after you funded a reward for information leading to the arrest."

I smiled and pushed through the door. "If they think my offer of a reward had something to do with the arrest, then I am happy. Other than that, I have no comment."

Another recorder was pushed toward me. "Was your offer of a reward an indictment of the FBI?"

I kept my mouth shut, and looked down the street, hoping to see a Range Rover coming.

"Were you targeted because of the work you do for the airline industry and government?"

Our black Range Rover appeared at the corner, rolling through the stop sign. I stepped closer to the street.

"Do you believe your technologies are helping the world?"

"Do you feel safer knowing this arrest has been made?"

I shook my head and waved my hand at the Land Rover. It decelerated quickly to stop next to me. I heard the electric locks click pulled open the door and quickly climbed into the front seat. One overzealous reporter nearly lost his hand and tape recorder as I jerked the door shut. Sanford pulled away before I had my seatbelt on.

He took the corner hard, steering away from campus. "Was that the emergency?"

"Yes. They ambushed me outside of class. I wasn't sure what was going on, and decided to alert you before things went sideways."

"Good. You did the right thing. If you aren't sure what is happening and there might be risk, you are supposed to alert us."

I resisted rolling my eyes. Every one of Alison's operatives had said the same thing to Jeryl and me repeatedly over the past few months.

"I was glad you got there as quickly as you did. I was about ready to head for campus security."

Before he could reply, the radio crackled, "Romeo-one, status?"

I smiled. Security had taken to calling the Range Rovers 'Romeo,' with a number designator. Whichever car I was in became Romeo-One, just like how any airplane the president boards becomes Air Force One. Jeryl liked to tease me about being Romeo-One in the bedroom as well.

Sanford picked up the handset and said, "Romeo-one in transit. All clear."

"Do you want to go back to the house, Paul?"

"No. Let's go to the office. Kelly or Jeryl probably need to make a press release. Evidently, the FBI arrested someone, today, in connection with the bombing. That's mostly what the reporters were asking about."

Sanford nodded and took the next right toward Sand Hill Road and made a brief announcement on the radio. Soon we were at the office, where another news van was parked. Matthew was out front by the curb to open the car door and escort me inside as more ridiculous questions were shouted at me.

"Thanks, Matthew," I said.

The Marine smiled at me. "Just one of the things you pay me for. Kelly has a statement drafted for you upstairs. The FBI called the office right after they made their arrest. When we saw the van here, we figured you would be in the clear at school."

"Someone must have figured out what classes I have. What a pain in the ass!"

We used our security badges to enter the office after smiling at our new receptionist, Sherry. She was a petite blonde with a perky smile and blue eyes. She had started shortly after the school semester began. Her finger punched the buttons on her multiline phone set as she continued answering the phone with a smile.

Rose Feldman — Kelly and Candace's new secretary — was waiting inside, with Kelly hovering by her desk as she typed on her computer.

Kelly glanced up, smiled and said, "How does this sound? PT Innovations congratulates the FBI on their arrest this morning related to the bombing of our offices in July. If our establishment of a reward for information leading to an arrest of the person responsible for this cowardly attack played any part in today's actions, then we are thankful that we were able to assist. However, we believe the professionalism of the agents investigating these events is what will lead to a conviction. We are hopeful that today's actions will prevent additional violence against businesses or individuals."

I read over it on the computer screen and then nodded. "It's good. Let's release it, so Sherry can catch a breath between phone calls. Has it been like that long?"

Rose chuckled. "We made the PBX send all calls out there, just so we could hear ourselves think. It only really started to get maddening about thirty minutes ago. I guess it took that long for people to put things together after the FBI press briefing this morning."

"Where's Jeryl?" Kelly asked.

I glanced at my watch. "She has back-to-back classes this afternoon. She's got another forty minutes before she'll head home."

"Do we need to pick her up?"

"Probably not a bad idea. I'll go with Sanford and get her."

"No," Kelly said. "Send Matthew. He won't draw a crowd like you might. You've tried to keep a low profile on campus, but people will still recognize you, especially if the press is hanging out."

"Okay, that makes sense. Matthew, can you pick her up and get her back to the house?"

"Can do," he said.

I headed into my office and pulled out my class notes. I had an hour or so of homework to do and decided to hit it while the lecture was still fresh in my mind. The VLSI Design course was one that definitely held my interest this semester. It was an entirely new area of study for me, and I found it both challenging and rewarding. I dived into the assignment and tried to put the press out of mind.

"Ready to call it a day?" Kelly asked from my doorway sometime later.

I looked up and realized it had started to get dark out. I glanced down at the question I had just finished working through and then stood up and stretched.

"Yes, I think I am. I got 'in the zone' doing this problem set. I didn't think we'd be here this late," I added as I started shoving my papers into my satchel.

"You looked busy, and I had some things to finish up. Matthew picked up Jeryl. She's at the house. We've been tasked to stop for Chinese on the way home. I've already called in the order."

"Okay." I picked up the soft-sided briefcase after fastening its two buckles. "Am I driving?"

Kelly stuck her tongue out at me. "Like I trust you with my car," she said with a smile.

"Hey, I drove it first," I teased.

"But I drive it better!"

We laughed together and headed out. I was happy to see the news van was gone as we walked outside. Soon we were headed to our favorite take-out joint.

Jeryl was happy to see us. Sanford made a brief appearance to make sure we were all right before retreating down to his rooms with the security monitors. Jeryl, Kelly and I settled in around the kitchen table.

"So, did you tell him?" Jeryl asked after filling her plate with fried rice and beef and broccoli.

I looked at Kelly.

"Not yet. I thought I'd let him eat in peace," she said with a little smile.

"No chance of that now. What'