Gene Polanski, Male, 45

	- Business VP, husband of Tamara, father of Lauren, Finch, and Logan

	- tanned beige skin, 6'1, 210lbs, short peppered grey-black hair

Tamara Khouri-Polanski, Female, 43

	- Professor, wife of Gene, mother of Lauren, Finch, and Logan

	- dark olive skin, 5'6, 150lbs, shoulder-length curly rich brown hair with natural red highlights

Lauren Khouri-Polanski, Female, 15

	- High school freshman, daughter of Gene and Tamara, sister of Finch and Logan

	- medium olive skin, 5'8, 150lbs, back-length curly black-brown hair, colored white-streaked highlights

Finch Khouri-Polanski, Male, 14

	- Eigth-grader, son of Gene and Tamara, brother of Lauren and Logan

	- dark olive skin, 5'6, 145lbs, ear-length curly rich brown hair with natural red highlights

Logan Khouri-Polanski, Male, 12

	- Sixth-grader, son of Gene and Tamara, brother of Lauren and Finch

	- medium olive skin, 5'1, 110lbs, ear-length straight black hair

Holly, Female, 19

	- Agent of Marker 1, Sister of Anna

	- Bronze-tanned skin, 5'1, 100lbs, straight shoulder-length straw-blonde hair

Anna, Female, 22

	- Agent of Marker 1, Sister of Holly

	- Bronze-tanned skin, 5'2, 120lbs, straight shoulder-length straw-blonde hair

Wistin, Male, late-30s

	- Agent of Marker 1

	- Light brown skin, 5'10, 175lbs, short straight black hair

Sofija, Female, late-30s

	- Agent of Marker 1

	- Nutty-almond skin, 5'6, 145lbs, cropped dark-brown curly hair.

Hannigan, Male, late-30s

	- Former agent of M1 and Playa Gordo

	- Pale, freckled skin, 5ﾒ11, 185lbs, short sandy-red hair

Dr. Henderson, Male, 40ish

	- Associate of Panthea

	- Dark beige skin, 7'0, 280lbs, unkempt black hair.

Gene's clothes were drenched in sweat. Despite the minimal cool air being kicked out of the vents in the small truck and the dead of night all around, the desert heat was still stifling. Being packed in the rear seats with Holly and Wistin wasn't helping. Sofija drove while Anna dozed in the front.

“What are we going to find there?” Gene asked no one in particular.

Holly replied, “hard to say. I doubt Victor even knew it was there, was never part of M1's assets. Dad worked independently at times, maintained a few places off the radar. This one... probably not more than a dozen of us even know it exists. Never been there, never had to...”

Gene sweated in silence, watching the endless shadows of sand pass by in the moonlight. They weren't so much on a road as a crease in the dunes which sometimes disappeared in the blowing sand. Sofija seemed to know where they were going, so he tried to relax between the overly-warm bodies to either side of him.

They'd managed to get their supplies together and headed out of Rjim in a hurry. There'd been no sign of any pursuit, but Anna's instincts kept them pressed to move away as fast as possible away from the town.

Gene turned toward Holly. “Your mom, too? Everyone in your family involved somehow?”

“Yeah... she's... Haven't seen her in years. She went deep when I was young. No idea what she's been up to. Anna never told me she had surfaced again. Can't be sure where she stands in all this.”

“Shitty for all of us. Family and all that...” Thoughts of his own bubbled as the miles passed. He couldn't stop thinking about Tamara and the kids. He wondered if they were dead. Gene tried to prepare himself mentally for that very real possibility, tried hard not to dwell on it. Not easy.

“No word on yours, Gene,” Holly said, as if reading his mind. “Anna tried to get intel. Victor's compound is still locked down, M1 still holding out there. No one's come back for a second try. No need, I suppose, it was just Victor's ruse.” She laughed softly, “bet it pisses him off that I fucked up his plans for you.” She glanced at Gene, saw the pain on his face, ran her hand along his jaw and through his hair. “Don't sweat it, Gene. We're doing what we can.”

He glanced out the window past her face, grunted, said, “sweating is the only thing I can do right now. Fucking desert. Fucking Victor.”

- - -

Lauren shook constantly as she stood in the narrow hallway. The darkness made it difficult to see anything further in the house. Her brothers moved inside and the giant closed the door behind them. The light from the device worn on his head offered just enough to see shadows on shadows.

The man turned toward them, held out the ring. “Panthea doesn't send this lightly. I'm gonna want a full story out of you three.” His accent was gone, the menacing growl left outside. His voice was light, gentle, no hint of the tone he'd used only moments before.

Lauren's voice was small, quivering. “what happened to your accent?”

The man smiled a bit, said, “scared the shit out you, right?”

She shivered. “No... the piss.”

He glanced down at her soaked pants, nodded. “Sorry about that. Wait here.”

The man disappeared only a few seconds, returned with a couple of plush towels. He dropped one on the floor and pulled Lauren over it, handed her the second, said gently, “take them off and leave them there. Bathroom is just there,” he nodded his light toward a door a few feet away. “Clean up, I'll bring you some clothes. Use the candle if you need some light. You boys come with me.”

Her brothers followed the man deeper into the house, leaving Lauren alone. She managed to shed her soaked clothes and darted into the bathroom. Overwhelmed and still frightened, it was all she could do to step into the shower once the water was warm.

- - -

Finch followed the huge man down a hallway and around a corner. He never slowed, leading them toward a door at the far side of a large room. In the darkness, it was all Finch could do to keep up. Logan just behind him, they continued on, saw the man push his fingers into the device near his ear. A very light click followed, and he pushed aside a tall bookshelf.

He motioned them in, and then pushed the shelf back in place once they were all inside. He flicked a switch and Finch could see a long, deep stairwell. “Follow that down, hang a left. There's food in the fridge, help yourselves.” He sounded like a kind old grandfather, though from what Finch saw of the giant man, he looked no older than forty. “I'll be back in a few minutes.”

Finch did as he was told, descending the stairs, Logan at his heels. They turned left and the hallway opened into a massive windowless room. It looked sterile. Everything was white except a spare few nobs and panels. Finch wasn't really sure what to do. He was frightened, knew his brother was as well. He took Logan's shoulder and led him to the fridge.

Finch opened the door, pulled out cheese and bread and cans of soda and settled onto an oversized white couch. He ate quietly while Logan crammed handfuls into his own mouth.

Logan paused long enough to ask, “think he's going to kill us?”

Finch thought, seems like we ask that a lot lately. “Dunno. He really scared Lauren. He's so huge!”

“Didn't scare me.” The way his brother's voice broke betrayed the lie.

“Whatever, Logan. Scared me.”

The man returned with Lauren in tow, clean clothes fitting fairly well over her teen body. She looked exhausted, settled next to Finch, and refused the food he offered.

The man sat across from them in a small white chair. His smile looked genuine. “Well, out with it. Why are you here?”

No one spoke a moment. Logan broke the silence, “are you going to kill us?”

The man tilted his head, said softly, “no, I'm not going to kill you.”

Lauren nearly whispered, “are you Dr. Henderson.”

“Yes.”

“Panthea sent us. We don't know what to do.”

“How about you start with the extraordinary circumstances which would have forced Panthea to call in this favor?”

Over the next while, the three of them told Henderson as much as they knew. Everything from their flight from home to the gun battles, and eventually speeding away from Panthea's as she gave her life to save them.

“Dead, huh. Maybe. She's a wily one.”

Lauren looked sick. “Pretty sure. She was bleeding everywhere, they shot her in the neck.”

Henderson frowned, said softly, “well... I hope not. She's one of the few people I trust in the world. Would hate for that circle to grow smaller. Especially in these times.” He let out a long breath, smiled again. “Tonight, you stay down here. I'll see what I can find out. You're safe here for now. We'll worry about tomorrow... tomorrow. You boys can shower in there, help yourselves to the fridge. Bed in there. Sorry, only have the one but it should be big enough for your three. I'll be just in that room if you need anything. Knock first... don't want any... misunderstandings, you hear?”

- - -

Tamara and Hannigan waited in the dense brush for the traffic to disappear before they made their way down the hill and into the small town just over the Croatian border. They had said little all morning, and no mention was made of the moments they'd spent copulating in the middle of the night. The duo had headed out before dawn and slipped into town before the sun had fully fallen on the town nestled into valley floor.

The moved through a small, quiet neighborhood of small, quiet houses, each looking a hundred years old. Hannigan wanted to find a car quickly, but none were out in driveways or along the roads. He began to grumble to himself, “we're exposed out here, goddamnit, we need transport now!” Tamara was growing used to the man's agitation. She felt the same way, which didn't help either of them keep themselves in check.

They rounded a sharp corner and trekked up a rise where a small laundromat sat nestled against the earthy mound behind it. Two cars were parked out front, though the business did not look open. Hannigan hustled them into the trees nearby and watched a few moments before nodding. “The grey one. The minute I have it fired up, you be there, got it?”

Tamara gave her affirmation and waited. She watched Hannigan open the door and jump back. A shout sent him running back toward her. “Run! Up that way!”

She followed him through the trees and up the steep hill behind the building, several minutes of running uphill had her quickly exhausted. Tamara stumbled, twisted her ankle, and cried out as she fell. Hannigan turned quickly, cursed, and helped her to her feet, bracing her with an arm under her shoulder. “Shit! Ok, this way!”

They moved slower than he liked and he mumbled curses the entire time. Finally, they stopped near where a road cut around the edge of the mountain rising ahead of them. Tamara sat down and massaged her swelling ankle. Through her pain she asked, “what happened?”

“Guy sleeping in the car, pulled a gun when he saw me.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah. Think we're ok, but we can't go back that way. No idea if he'd call the cops. Fuck! Hate leaving a mark like that behind me. Someone looking for us might notice.”

Tamara nursed her ankle a bit, said, “don't think I can walk far on it.” She frowned. “Sorry...”

“Ok, no, it's ok.” He looked around. “Pretty isolated here. You wait. I'll find a car and come back. You ok with that?”

She nodded.

Hannigan looked to where the road led back down the mountain, then glanced to where it wrapped around and ran up. He seemed to decide on a direction and sprinted through the trees, quickly gone from sight.

Tamara sat stewing, angry that she'd injured herself, angry that they couldn't find a vehicle. Angry that she had no idea if her family was safe, if they were alive, if she'd ever see them again. Angry, too, that she'd twice given into her needs and let Hannigan cum in her. She shuddered as memory of the sensation made her flush. She had to admit to herself that she liked it, like the man, and wondered briefly if they'd have another opportunity to fuck again. She secretly hoped so.

- - -

Lauren roused from what felt like a long sleep and sighed. The bed was the most comfortable she'd ever slept in, and despite her brothers to one side, there'd been plenty of room to sink in and fall asleep. She felt a moment of fear after the night before, but Dr. Henderson had been a different man inside the house. The shotgun-killer-giant seemed to have been left outside.

She had no idea what time it was. There were no windows, nor clocks. Lauren stretched, suddenly felt pretty good. Finch's leg was pressed against hers. She instinctively moved away from it, but moments later, she found herself wanting to feel that warmth again. It was reassuring, comforting. They were safe for a moment, despite everything trying to kill them to date.

Lauren had slept in the panties and shirt Dr. Henderson had brought her. They fit her pretty well, high-quality fabrics soft and casual against her body. She let herself drift a moment, felt her clit stirring on its own. Lauren swept her hand idly down to her genitals and gave herself a lazy caress.

Her body tensed. She was more in need of release than she realized. Lauren cast a quick glance beside her, felt certain that Finch and Logan were sleeping, pushed her panties down, and explored her slit with soft touches. She moaned lightly, again, thought to try to stay silent, but she felt too good to hold it in completely.

Her legs moved a bit, rocking slowly as she built. Lauren's pussy grew wet, the fifteen-year old's labia swelling with arousal. She dragged a finger to her hole and penetrated herself, gasped lightly and rocked her hips. She cast down the covers and exposed herself to the cool room air. Her flesh felt warm, and it wasn't just her arousal. Finch's body was closer, perhaps she'd shifted as she masturbated.

She felt his side against hers, his leg hot on hers. Even though it was her brother, that close flesh, that warmth made her feel giddy, excited. She let herself sink into the sensation as her fingers danced between her legs.

Lauren built quickly, rising, breathing heavier, hips rising to meet her hand. She twirled her clit steadily, felt herself ready to let go.

The covers moved down and just as her climax crashed down, she saw Finch's fingers flying along his shaft. He grunted, eyes glued on Lauren's naked flesh. The girl groaned, didn't look away from her brother's spurting penis. She orgasmed, moaning as cum shot into the air, splashing down on his stomach. She cried out softly as several drops of Finch's cum splattered on her arm. She didn't look away even as she felt the full impact of what she was watching. What her brother was watching.

Lauren lay panting, unable to think too hard on what she'd just done. Her eyes locked on the way Finch's cock drooled thick globs of semen out the tip and onto his slowing fingers.

Finch seemed to come to his senses first, covering himself briefly before yanking his underwear back up and jumping out of bed. Lauren's mind raced and before she could do the same, Logan had stirred and was staring at where Lauren's hand still rested, one finger dipped into her drooling pussy.

Lauren squeaked, closed her legs, pulled up her panties, and covered herself completely, then rushed out the door behind Finch.

- - -

His brother and sister had made awkward moves out of the room, separately. Logan had seen something amazing. He'd seen his sister's hairy pussy, her hand held there, her body flushed and sweaty. Drops of cum on her arm. Did Finch cum on her?

In all the times he'd seen things which made him horny, that one topped them all.

Alone in the bed, the twelve-year old stroked himself quickly, the images of Lauren's dark's pubes, her wet fingers, the globs of semen on her arm, were plastered in his mind. The boy shuddered, fist moving quickly. He looked down and watched as his little cock expanded, swelled, and groaned as he saw his sperm shoot up into the air, splashing down all over the bed. He came hard, released his seed wherever it wanted to go.

Logan caught his breath and rolled over toward the middle of the bed. He saw a wet spot near where Lauren had fingered herself. He leaned in and sniffed. The smell was nothing like expected. It wasn't gross or upsetting. It smelled a bit sweet, pungent. Lauren's pussy juice made him hard again and before he left the room, Logan quickly masturbated to another orgasm, this time squirting his smaller load into the wet spot Lauren had left just for him.

- - -

“Up ahead. Everyone on high alert,” Sofija called back, bringing Gene out of the sweaty, uncomfortable doze he didn't recall falling into. “We don't know what might be up there.”

Gene could see buildings in the distance, the shimmering light of morning casting waves across the endless brown sand. He stretched as best he could while Holly and Wistin leaned forward.

Sofija stopped the vehicle and stepped out, followed by Anna. They conferred a moment near the hood, then the older sister came back to the left rear door. “Wistin. Check it out. We'll wait.”

The man nodded, checked that his guns and gear were in place, and set off over the sand toward the buildings.

Gene stepped out after Holly and stretched more effectively, his body aching and stiff. Holly pulled her pants down and squatted, pissing forcefully and letting out a contented sigh. Gene watched a moment before unzipping and letting his own stream flow nearby. Holly smiled as she glanced over, said with mirth, “I can clean that off when you're done.”

“Not now, Holly.”

“Mmm... clean mine, then?” She rose and thrust her hips toward him, used her fingers to spread her bald labia.

“Not now, Holly.” Gene was tiring of her ill-timed sexual teasing, though part of him admitted silently to being tempted.

“Your loss.” She drew fingers through her wet snatch and brought them to her lips, making a sound like the bitter piss tasted like honey.

“Stow it, Holly,” Anna's voice forced Gene's attention toward the woman. “Right now, we need to be focused on one thing, and that's being certain we aren't walking into a trap.

They waited out Wistin's recon inside the truck, passing around nutrition bars and water. It was over an hour before he returned. The four stepped out to meet him.

“Someone's there, no doubt. There's a few tracks leading north, several vehicles for sure. Can't get a read on it. Helicopter pad, no bird, though. Couple of trucks parked around the backside. Didn't see anyone observing, but the place looks well kept, so they likely saw me through cameras. Didn't see anyone moving around.”

Holly looked toward the buildings, “most of it is underground. The cover was a research station in case anyone stumbled in. Not too likely that anyone finds themselves here by accident, though.”

Anna looked conflicted. “I don't trust it.”

Holly replied, “what choice do we have? We don't have enough gas to get anywhere. This was a one-way trip. You knew that.”

Anna checked that her pistols were loaded, flicked the safeties off, brought her rifle up, ready for targets. “Right. Nothing to do but go say hello. I'll go in straight with Wistin. Holly, take Gene and circle around the back. Find a vehicle we can use if we need to run in a hurry. Sofija, trail us, make sure no one is coming from behind.”

Holly laughed, smacked Gene's ass. “I love it when they come from behind.”

Anna growled her annoyance at Holly, and the younger sister gave her a puppy dog frown. Anna looked at Gene, “safeties off, shoot anything that might shoot back. But give us a few to introduce ourselves first. If you gotta run, do it, don't wait for anyone else. Get Gene out of here if you have to, Holly.”

The blonde nodded, grew serious, switched the safety off on her automatic. “Let's do this.”

- - -

Tamara watched for almost two hours as car after car passed by on the winding road below. She'd munched on dried fruit while she waited, too much time to think about the weight of everything that had happened to her. To her family. She started to despair, wondered if Hannigan had been caught, if he'd decided to stop helping her and simply fled.

She let thoughts of home drift in, the relatively simple, pleasant life she'd lived before all this. Tamara longed for those times, wished desperately to return to those days. But she was pragmatic enough to understand that it couldn't be, that she was caught up in events which were beyond her control, and her wishes were nothing more than momentary glimpses into a world which would never be hers again.

A rusty jalopy sputtered up the mountain road and pulled off on the side in the overgrown grass. Tamara grew tense, waited. For a moment, no one stirred within. She watched several more vehicles pass by, then the driver's window rolled down, and a man stuck his head out, yelled, “hurry!”

It was Hannigan's voice. Tamara rushed down the slope and jumped into the passenger seat. She let out an exasperated groan, “thought you'd left me!”

He eyed her as the car started moving. “Sorry, lot of people out, took a while to get a ride.”

She let herself relax a moment before asking, “so... Serbia?”

“Yep. Long way to go yet, but for now, we should be ok. This piece of shit hasn't been driven in some time, doubt anyone's going to miss or recognize it.”

Tamara felt the need to talk about something that was bothering her. “Hannigan... about last night...” She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say.

He interrupted her, said gently, “listen... I don't want you to feel like you... have to do that... I'm helping you to whatever end, ok? It was great, I enjoyed it... but I don't want it as payment.”

“No... no... I didn't think that... well... I dunno.”

He grew silent.

She continued, “No, not that. I enjoyed it too, just...” She explained about her husband, about their relationship, how she'd broken the rules by letting him fuck her without a condom, how she'd violated their agreement with his cum spurting in her pussy. “It's just... I don't know, Hannigan. The whole fucking world is fucked up. I needed it... needed you. Don't think less of me.”

He smiled tightly, “not a weakness to need. I know what that feels like. I haven't... I haven't seen my wife in three years. She's... well, I don't know where she is...”

Tamara showed concern. “What happened?”

“She was in M1 with me before I left. Couldn't get her out, couldn't tell her what I knew. She was in Thailand at the time, or, I think she was. I hadn't seen her for a while when I left. I don't know anything about her now. I've been trying to find her since I left. You're the first woman I've been with since... since her.”

Tamara rubbed his thigh, said quietly, “ok... listen... for right now, we have each other, right? Thank you... for helping me. I promise, if there's anything I can do to help you... ever. I'll do it.” She frowned. “I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I miss my family desperately. I'd give anything to have them back.”

He nodded. “Same. So. I guess we make the best of it, yes?”

“Yes.”

He took her hand and held it on his leg. “I'll see you safely back to your family. Maybe, when there's time, we can find mine.”

“Have kids?”

“A daughter. She's fourteen now.”

Tamara squeezed his hand. “Where is she?”

“Somewhere in England. She lives with her aunt, my wife's sister. Haven't seen much of her since joining M1. Was safer that way.”

Tamara nodded and the two grew quiet as they raced through dense mountains and headed toward Serbia.

- - -

“You three have been through a lot. I made you breakfast. Come, eat.” Henderson pushed plates around the round, white table where Lauren sat with her brothers on either side. She felt mortified by what had happened in the bedroom, disgusted that she'd gotten off watching Finch cumming, made worse by Logan staring at her hairy privates. She tried her best to swallow her morose mood while swallowing eggs and bacon and toast.

Henderson hummed softly as they ate, eating little himself, drinking black coffee and looking from face to face. Lauren noticed that Logan couldn't stop smiling, even while he stuffed food into his mouth. She had no idea what was going through his head, but suspected her pussy had a lot to do with his good mood. She chuckled to herself suddenly, actually a bit glad that he was feeling ok, a bit proud that she'd had something to do with that, even if it was not her intent.

“So what to do with you three... I've decided that for now I need to get you somewhere out of the way. I don't need someone snooping here after you, though that's bound to happen either way. I can handle myself well enough here when it's just me, but I don't need to worry about you as well. I've got a place you can go, to hide out a while.”

Lauren asked, “where?”

“Better not to tell you, really. But it's the safest place I know. My wife is there, and my kids. If I knew of anywhere better, they'd be there instead. We'll head out tonight, after dark. Need to set a few things in motion first.”

Lauren couldn't believe the difference in the man. He'd been so terrifying, the giant of a man with a shotgun and a frightening voice. Inside the house, he was calm, kind, almost effeminate. He carried himself with a light air despite his massive size, and Lauren wondered briefly if something worse that death-by-shotgun was waiting for them.

“So what do we do today?” asked Finch. He'd not met Lauren's eyes that morning, and she suspected his thoughts about the morning events were as confused as her own.

“Rest. I've got some things you can help me pack up, some things I need to take to my family. I've got clothes for all of you. My kids are roughly your ages, so there's probably more clothes you can wear.” He leaned over the table and stared at Lauren a moment, making her feel uneasy. “One more thing... I need to get those out of you.”

She crunched her brow, “huh?”

“The keys. M1 put them in your ears at some point, yes? They let you pass through places they've set up without triggering warnings. But they also act like beacons if someone gets close enough. RFID with a booster in there. Need those gone. It's gonna hurt a bit, but... not taking you anywhere with those in you.”

“How do you remove them?”

“Needle.”

“No!” Lauren hated needles with a passion. “No, some other way.”

“Got a better plan?”

She didn't.

“Won't be that bad. I'll ice it up good, will be numb when I pop them out, will only hurt a bit later. Can't be helped, but I'll be gentle.” He pushed back from the table and stood. “Finish up, eat all you want, there's more on the counter. Then let's get those keys out and destroyed.”

- - -

“See anything?” Holly's mouth was near Gene's head, and despite the seriousness of their situation, he could tell she was blowing in his ear with less than a serious intent.

“Nothing. And stop that. It's distracting.” She moved away a foot, hurt look on her face. “And stop that. Look, shouldn't we have seen someone by now? Heard something?”

Holly shrugged, “dunno. Depends. Haven't heard any gunfire, that's a good sign.” She paused, pointed toward the North end of the small complex. “Hey, look, something's stirring.”

Gene shielded his eyes from the glaring sun. Despite the dark shades he wore, the sunlight bouncing off the sand made trying to focus on anything painful. He sweated heavily in the growing heat, and the dull headache which threatened to engulf him made it that much worse.

When he was able to focus, he could see a small truck moving North rapidly out of the complex, kicking up a dense cloud of brown dust behind it.

“What's it mean?”

“No idea, Gene. We wait. We don't know if that's good or bad yet.”

“I hate waiting. I need to do something.”

Holly purred and pushed her tits against his shoulder. “You could do me.”

He was too weary to reply, simply stared off into the dwindling dust cloud kicked up by the truck.

Lights flashed out of the tallest building, a thin, two-story tower near the center. Holly watched intently. “It's Anna. They're in. All clear.”

“Can we trust it?”

“Probably.”

Gene grimaced. “Probably?”

“Exactly. Do you have a better idea?”

His silence answered her and they crossed the three hundred yards of coarse sand to the complex.

Anna waited for them near the closest building, her rifle shouldered. The blonde had a big grin. “Daddy knew what he was doing. This place is ours, and better than we expected.”

Holly hugged her, said, “do tell.”

“Seems that he set this place on its own before he was killed. They've been keeping a low profile, but stayed connected to everyone's net. They've stayed neutral, aren't to thrilled to see M1 showing up here. But Daddy left explicit instructions about us. We're kosher, and we've got access to everything they know. Seems he left us in the will, after all, my dear sister.” Anna threw her arms out wide. “Welcome to the Oasis, our new headquarters.”

“'Our'?” Gene asked skeptically.

“Not M1, if that's what you're asking, but ours. They've been keeping this up until Holly and I needed it.”

Holly pursed her lips. “Political nightmare trying to keep ourselves separate from M1 here.”

“No doubt, and we may not have to. Only a handful of people here, and only six or so agents offsite. Seems they're kinda relieved to finally have a purpose again. They've spent years listening and watching, said it was time someone finally showed up to do something with their work.”

Gene asked, “what was the truck we saw racing out of here?”

“Jesus.”

“What?”

“He was here. Briefly. Seems he was one of the very few who knew about this place. Dad trusted him completely. Didn't tell us he'd be here because he's detected another mole, couldn't risk being exposed. He's heading to Morocco to secure a bird.” She looked at her sister. “Don't worry. Dad didn't trust many people, you know that, Holly. He trusted Jesus, and I see no reason to doubt him.”

Holly nodded, relaxed. “Alright. So. Care to show us around?”

“Was just about to get that tour myself. Shall we?”

Gene shook his head at the layers of unknowns that constantly became unexpected surprises, both good and bad, with each step since leaving home. He cast his eyes about the complex, felt both hope and despair, and let thoughts of his wife and kids drive him to pay attention to details. Maybe, just maybe, he'd find them safe and bring them back to him again.