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 Bridgewater, Female, 19

	- Agent of Marker 1, sister of Anna

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

Anna Bridgewater, Female, 22

	- Agent of Marker 1, Sister of Holly

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

Marcus Hannigan (O'Leary), Male, late-30s

	- Former agent of M1 and Playa Gordo

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

Dr. Erns Henderson, Male, 40ish

	- Associate of Panthea, husband of Juliana, father of Hannah and Georges

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

Juliana Henderson, Female, 40ish

	- wife of Dr. Henderson, mother of Hannah and Georges

	- Dark tan skin, 5'0, 100lbs, long dark hair

Hannah Henderson, Female, 15

	- daughter of Dr. Henderson and Juliana, twin sister of Georges

	- Dark beige skin, 5'10, 160lbs, long dark-brown hair in a ponytail

Georges Henderson, Male, 15

	- son of Dr. Henderson and Juliana, twin brother of Hannah

	- Dark beige skin, 5'10, 165lbs, mousy dark-brown hair

Panthea (Silk Purse), Female, early 50s

	- A woman with an unknown background

	- Brown-grey skin, 5'7, 140lbs, short curly black-silk hair

Adam (Silver) Silverbaum, Male, late-20s

	- M1 Technician

	- Ashy beige skin, 5'7, 150lbs, ear-length black hair

Aristotle Bridgewater, Male, late-40s

	- Former M1 Executive

	- Bronzed beige skin, 6'2, 185lbs, short blonde hair

Finch waited just outside the tunnel which led to the last line of defenses before the bunker entrance. In his hands he carried a case of twelve radios. Anna had given him instructions on where to go. She'd also given him a pistol which was strapped to his waist. There'd been no time to do more than show him the safety and pass him a spare clip which he'd stuck in his pocket.

He raced ahead and opened the door. Two guards spun towards him, and Finch wasn't terribly thrilled to see the signs of panic in their expressions. He handed over a radio and told the men the bare instructions Anna had given for them, then dashed to the right along a hallway until he met another door, this one opening out onto a small, metal-covered opening in the side of a mountain.

The fresh air was so amazing that Finch stopped in his tracks to suck in a few lungfuls before moving on. He found the next group of soldiers not far away, then kept moving.

From one spot to the next, he dropped off radios, slowly winding around the side of the mountain along metal walkways before climbing a ways over well-trampled grasses and low vines.

Finch heard the sounds of gunfire long before he closed in on his next drop-off. He gripped the pistol nervously, keeping it out from his body as he raced to the walled-off strong point which protected the walkways and the bunker entrance. Loud booms were echoing around the mountains, rattling Finch's nerves, but he was determined to get the job done.

He slid into a concrete bunker where several men and women were waiting, "What's wrong with the comms?" one of the taller women asked.

Finch had heard that question or variations thereof at each stop. "Jammed. Use this, channel fifty-two, modulation delta, Protocol A3."

"A3?" the woman questioned as she took the radio and started fiddling with the dials, "We're supposed to use Farsi to talk to Ops?"

Finch shrugged, "That's what I was told."

"Great. I suspect we're a bit rusty on that one, been a while since boot."

Finch shrugged again, replying, "That's the instructions. I gotta move on. I was told to get these last four to the front. Which way?"

A man pointed to one side of the bunker, "Up the steps just beyond, then follow the sunken path another couple hundred yards."

"Be careful," the woman with the radio cautioned, "they are engaged right now. You sure you're up to the task? You look pretty young."

Finch took a deep breath and spoke more calmly than he felt. "I've been running for my life for weeks already. What's another few hundred yards?" Then he sprinted up the steps and headed towards the sounds of battle.

- - -

"Well, I haven't taken my dose yet today or I'd be sure I was I was trippin'" A familiar voice said behind Gene in the sterile cafeteria near the industrial kitchens at the M1 compound in Israel.

Gene turned and showed his surprise. "Jesus? I was sure you were dead."

"Three days and I am risen," the man mused, spreading his arms in a beatific pose, "ye of little faith, do you not believe in your Lord and Savior?"

Gene scowled, in no mood for the man's quirky humor. "What the hell happened with you?"

Jesus grabbed a banana and sat down next to Gene, "Oh, you know, there was a girl, fell head-over-heals, didn't work out..."

"Fucking hell, I mean at the Oasis. You got cut open."

Jesus nodded, "That's what I'm trying to explain. See, I'd been the recipient of a gift, of sorts, a prototype receiver that let me tap into comms across the world, right into my brain, man. Right into my fucking brain."

"And someone cut you open to get it. Who? Anna? Charlotte?"

"Both, but they knew something I didn't."

"Which was?"

"Victor had my handle, dig? He could hear what I was hearing, and since I knew the old man was still alive, pretty soon, so did Victor."

"Old man," Gene repeated, "you mean Bridgewater."

"Exactly, dig. Plus, word is Victor had plans for me beyond just listening in. He's got something he wants to test out, see? Something which he could have tried with my implant. So I hear, man, so I hear." Jesus downed the banana in about three chews and two swallows. "Not really sure what that means, man, but they did me a solid taking that out. Kinda like getting my sixth sense ripped away, but I'm getting used to the downtime, dig?"

"Why'd they just leave you to die, then?"

"Die? Shit, no. It looked bad, man, it looked bad, I know. But I was fine, really. They mellowed me before they took off. No bad dreams for this hombre."

Gene shook his head, little of the details adding up but he was not really in much mood to argue the finer points. "So what are you doing here?"

"Same old, same old, my brother. Tappin' into comms, breaching protocols, tappin' that ass."

Gene raised an eyebrow.

"Not a euphemism, my brother, there's some top quality ass in M1. Really top quality. That Holly chick? The old man's protege? Can't wait to get on that one."

A pulse of jealousy and anger caused Gene to growl but he said nothing.

"Oh," Jesus said, "I forgot. She's your chick, dig? I remember. Didn't stop you from doublin' up with Charlotte in that groovy Oasis spot. Damn hot one, that Charlotte."

"She's not my chick, Jesus."

"Good," he smirked, "you won't mind me tapping her ass, then."

Gene's instinct was to punch the man, but he restrained his impulses, barely.

"This ass," Holly said from the entranceway, shifting her hips to the side and wiggling her butt a bit, "you gotta do more than get high and talk about my ass behind my back, Jesus. I'm easy, but not easy enough to bend over for you."

"Hmph," Jesus chortled, "not the word I heard, dig?"

"Don't care what you heard. This ass is not yours. Ever."

Gene knew that seemed like an overstatement given how ready and willing Holly had been over the weeks to have sex with most anyone. Perhaps the time spent with him and the unexpected, somewhat-unwelcome closeness they had developed made her draw a line somewhere just above Jesus's level.

"Whatever, bro," Jesus told Holly, "I get plenty 'round here. Trust me."

"Don't you have work to do?"

He shrugged, "It can wait. I was hungry."

"And now you've eaten. Get the fuck back to work before I tell your XO about you taking mushrooms before flying that chopper a few weeks back..."

"Shit," he said calmly, "dude knows, trust me. I got a whole Amazonian pharmacy in my bunk. Sometimes I just randomly take shit, don't even know what it might do."

"Somehow I doubt that's true, though you wish it to be. How about I tell your XO about that little confession. Sure you want someone searching your room right now?"

Jesus sat up, his eyes crossed enough for Gene to be fairly certain the man was high right that second. "No need to get pushy, dig? I'm outta here."

He left quickly, and Holly brought a cup of coffee over to the table.

Bridgewater, Silver, and Marisa walked in suddenly, "Gene, Holly. Good. I have news."

Gene stood, as did the young blonde.

"We have a plan to retake the Cambridge. It doesn't involve you two."

Holly protested, "What? Why?"

"Details don't matter right now. You're not going to idle. What's important is that I'm going with Marisa and a couple of techs. What we need to do won't be easy, but we've worked out the plans. Gabriel thinks he's in control of my boat, and for now, he's right. But he's wrong about who his allies are in this fight. He'll find out too late how wrong he is."

Holly looked certain to press her father, but she stayed silent.

"What about your mole?" Gene asked, then remembered too late that had been told in privacy for his ears only. Holly knew, certainly, and Marisa and Silver had been outside of suspicion, but that didn't mean the latter two were aware of how close the infiltrator had gotten to Bridgewater.

The man flinched, one of only a spare few signs that Bridgewater didn't have complete control over everything before him. "Ears only, Gene. Remember?"

"Sorry..."

"It's fine. I'll bring these two up to speed shortly. As to your question... I have a couple of suspects, both of whom are currently in Tirano and didn't come here. Unless they've tapped me some other way, they won't be able to pass on this plan to the Cambridge."

"So what am supposed to do, then?" asked Holly, fidgeting.

"You're taking Gene back to Tirano."

"I thought it was under siege," Gene muttered.

"It was. It is," Bridgewater replied. "But by the time you get there, there will be an opportunity to get inside. I need you there right now."

"I thought you wanted me safe, Bridgewater," Gene said. "I'm not complaining, my kids are there, but why move me somewhere under attack."

The man leaned closer and said quietly, "Because, despite my mole, I trust your safety more to Anna and those in Tirano than I do here. Spider's the real deal, but some of these others," he said, raising his head towards the door behind him, "are lazy layabouts who I don't trust enough to tie my shoes."

"You talking about Jesus?"

"What? No," Bridgewater said, suddenly grinning. "No. That guy sure acts the part, I know, but he's as solid as anyone. I trust him almost as much as I do my daughters. Don't believe everything you see, Gene."

Gene didn't bother to point out the concerning manner in which Jesus had acted the few times Gene had met him, instead saying, "Fine. So Holly and I go to Tirano, you get back your sub. What then?"

"Working on that. If I can get control of the Cambridge fast enough, we can better track and reach your wife and Utah. Holly, I'm sure you remember your algo?"

"Of course," the blonde replied, "it's nearing Malta from the west."

"Correct, though Gabriel has only recently stopped following the route. We've sussed him out, though," the man beamed, "and Utah's not taking Tamara to Sicily, at least not the north side. It turned a few minutes ago, now heading in the same direction as the Cambridge. It might not be coincidence. It's possible Utah and Gabriel are in this together, though I doubt Utah would do so without getting something pretty significant in return. The Mantis is off-net right now, so we're not sure where he comes in to this currently. Our best bet is to take the Cambridge and cut off Utah. You two are going to Tirano. A jet will get you to Bergamo and I want you on it in five minutes. From there, you figure out how to get to Tirano. Understood?"

Holly nodded and Gene grunted but did the same.

"Good luck, you two," Bridgewater said, sticking out his hand and shaking Gene's.

Holly closed in for a hug, holding her father tightly. Gene heard him whisper, "I'll be fine, Kitten. I'll see you again soon."

"That better not be a lie this time," she hissed in reply before looking at Gene with a serious expression and then heading towards the door.

- - -

Logan held very still behind two thick trees growing out of the same massive trunk. He'd been following the soldiers for almost two hours, slowly trailing the last in the line as far back as he could without losing sight of them. Being naked and the air cool, he was shivering horribly, his feet completely numb. Logan knew he was in trouble when his pain numbed somewhat and his head started to feel thick and unfocused. He had to find warmth soon or he would never live long enough to destroy the device which had shut down communications with the bunker.

He listened a moment, sure the soldiers which were lagging behind at least thirty others had started moving again, and his legs, barely able to move, started pulling him in their tracks.

Gunfire had been heard ahead some distance, more in echo than direct, but it grew louder the further he went. It wasn't quite a heroic moment to fear that he would be shot, but his weak state and his shivering body made it difficult to force down such thoughts and be brave. He pressed on anyway.

Logan was almost certain that the two people he'd heard talking from the intake were in with the soldiers ahead. The man's voice was distinctive and commanding, and Logan had heard him talking several times to a woman whose tones matched those he'd heard earlier. That meant the device had not gotten away, which gave him hope that he might be able to take it from her.

His shivering was making his teeth chatter, and the pain in his jaw was growing minute by minute. At least the pack on his back protected a small part of his skin from being so cold.

The voices grew louder and he stopped again, able to look out from a thick line of bushes and see that the soldiers had formed a circle around a campfire, joining another dozen or so. There were hurriedly downing cans of something edible and throwing back canteens. Logan crept closer.

He made out the commanding voice again and listened.

"… three are going to Delta. Get there! I want first on my left, second on my right. I'll be in the middle with third. We're pushing through that breach ahead. Ammo and weapons only. We jump in sixty seconds."

Logan saw shouldered packs being slung to the ground as the men and women grabbed extra clips and brought rifles to the ready position. A minute later, they rushed off at a measured pace towards where gunfire was intensifying.

He crept forward, enough to snag several of the packs. Logan raced back to cover, then pulled out socks and shirts and underwear, finding a few that fit alright if very loosely. The pants were harder to size, but in what had to be a woman's pack (because Logan spotted tampons) he found a pair of camouflage trousers which he could fasten with a tied off belt. He returned to the campfire, warming himself quickly, feeling coming back to his feet and fingers and sending shards of icy pain through him as his nerves came back to life.

Logan rummaged through the other packs but couldn't find any shoes which fit him. So he put on six pairs of socks to keep warm, then downed a spare canteen of cool water. He swallowed quickly, then steeled himself again, carefully heading in the direction the soldiers had take gone.

Right towards the battle.

- - -

Tamara confirmed that the console did nothing when she tried to maneuver the sub. Buttons pressed gave no obvious response. At one point, she'd slammed her hands down hard in frustration, but the blinking lights and the low drone of the engines never faltered.

She returned to the room and saw that Haul had managed to move himself a few inches towards the bed. She kicked his leg and he groaned through the gag.

Her frustration was compounded by the sub's small size. Other than the cockpit and the bedroom, there were only two small storage closets, a single marine toilet, and a tiny shower with a sink inside the stall. There was no where to go to get away from the man held captive in the bedroom without either sitting on the commode or staring into the darkness out the front of the boat.

"How did you track me?" she asked without expecting a response. Tamara had retied the blindfold around Haul's eyes and when his silence was his only reply, she checked his restraints and pockets for the third time in the last hour.

She loosened his gag and asked her question again.

He coughed twice, then in a gravelly voice said, "Water."

"Fuck your water. How did you track me."

"You... you really don't expect me to tell you..."

"No... I just wanted another reason to do this," she kicked his shin hard and he doubled himself in pain, at least so much as the ropes would allow. "I can't figure it out. We were only around you briefly, and unless you did something while I slept... you did, didn't you?"

His eyes told her the truth.

"What did you do? Inject me with something? Make me swallow some bug? What was it?"

"Heh," he coughed again, "all I did was turn it on."

"Turn what on?"

"Something you've had inside of you for years."

"What?!"

His nasty grin spread on his face, "See, you underestimate me at every turn. I know more about you than you do. I hope I get to be there when the Mantis tears you open and makes you remember everything... Like the time you cheated on your husband with me..."

"Bullshit."

"Why would I lie, my dear," he sputtered, "you'll remember that soon enough. Bet Shay won't be to thrilled to find out about that, eh?"

Tamara grumbled to herself. There was no point in discussing anything with Haul. He was just trying to rile her up and distract her from sorting out a way to foil his plan. Whatever bullshit he was trying to tell her about an affair with him years ago, Haul didn't seem the type to offer such details if they were the truth. At least, so Tamara hoped.

- - -

Lauren was worried sick about her brothers. Since communication systems had been jammed, there's been no word from Logan. She didn't even know if he'd been able to get to the intake. It had been hours since he left, hours more since she though he should have returned. Maybe it was too soon, maybe the trip through the passages was more difficult than she knew. Maybe.

But now Finch was out near the fighting, running radios to those under fire. It scared her to death to think he was so in danger. She wasn't exactly mad at Anna for making him go. It was Lauren herself who suggested they would go as far as taking up arms, eagerly so. But now that Finch was actually doing something of the sort, it tore at her to think about the realistic dangers.

It took every bit of her willpower to keep from rushing out to find him.

She was thankful that Georges and Hannah were with her as they waited near the communications center. She'd been inside for a while, on call should someone in the room need her assistance. It was a whirl of barely-contained chaos. Frantic voices, anger and frustration in the air. It didn't help that the room's air was barely moving, cool but a bit stale. It made unwashed bodies, sweat, and fear turn sour.

"He's fine," Hannah said, taking her hand, "They both are."

"I wish I could know for sure," Lauren replied.

"Logan's crafty. He'll get the job done and be back soon. And Finch is smart and fast. He'll be okay."

Lauren didn't protest further, but she was unconvinced by the teen's attempts to comfort her.

"You three," Anna called from where she stuck her head out of the comms room, "I've got news through some... unconventional channels."

Lauren's ears perked up.

"Your father is in Israel. He's on his way here. Shouldn't be but a couple of hours now."

"What?" Lauren remarked, uncertain, ignoring her burning question about how Anna might have gotten such a word with the comms down, "Isn't that dangerous? There's a fight going on!"

"I know," Anna replied, nodding smoothly, "but we've gotten a bit of luck just now. Seems your brothers both did their jobs. The intake is closed, and Finch got radios out to the those on the line. We've had contact with an ally we didn't know was tracking the No Limit's force. Seems we've caught them in a bit of a pincer. Gene should be able to get in as long as we keep putting the pressure on the enemy."

Lauren's hopes rose with each word. Not only did it seem her brothers were okay, they'd actually succeeded. And better, her dad was on the way. Maybe the siege would even be lifted.

"Just so you know, because I think you deserve to hear the truth, we haven't heard anything from Logan," Anna told her quietly. Lauren's hopes slid a bit. "With comms out, we just can't reach him. He's assuredly fine, probably still making his way back down to us. If I hear anything, I let you know."

Lauren nodded and said, "Thanks," then Anna disappeared back inside the room.

"See?" Hannah said brightly, "they did good."

"Wish Logan and Finch were back, though. I hate not knowing they are safe..."

Hannah squeezed her hand and Lauren drew in her strength. Hannah told her, "It'll be okay, promise. Go get something to eat. Georges and I will hang around to see if we're needed."

"Alright," Lauren replied, "I am starving... Bring you back anything?"

Georges replied, "Not much there to chose from, but one of those protein bars would be dandy."

"Same," added Hannah.

Lauren raced off towards the cafeteria, concerns for her brothers weighing down her excitement about her father's imminent return.

- - -

Logan slumped against a tree, his back to where the ridgeline ran from east to west, over which the intense battle had erupted some time earlier into a crecendo of sputters and snaps and metallic noises, frequent concussive explosions rattling the surroundings. He knew the device was held just beyond that ridge, the woman and man he'd heard were right there. All he had to do was go grab it.

Beyond weary, his legs simply could not move for a long time. He may have even dozed despite the fear and the close firefight over the ridge. Logan drifted in and out, unable to snap himself out of it until he heard shouting coming from the direction of the battle. He managed to move then, sliding under a low bush and hiding as best he could. Soldiers rushed by. Enemy soldiers, some bloodied and bandaged, some being helped by others. He spotted the woman and man he was targeting walking calmly despite the chaos around them.

The plan formed from nothing, if it could be called a plan. Logan was probably delirious, possibly even hallucinating. He was beyond the point of discerning the difference. He got to his knees as the woman approached. She stopped to talk to the man and Logan erupted from his cover.

Before she saw him, his hand slid over her ass and into her crotch. He hoped it caught her completely off guard, far too tired himself to draw any sexual excitement from the firm buttocks and hot crotch under his fingers.

It worked and the woman jumped around, staring at Logan in disbelief. Before she could react further, he stepped closer and did it again. "The fuck?!" she exclaimed.

"Your ass is so nice!" Logan said with a smile, "I just had to touch it!"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

The man noticed him then, his eyes narrowing. Logan knew it was now or never. He thrust both hands into her front pockets and pulled out the contents, then slammed it all together quickly, a satisfying crunch was his reward. He did it again, ignoring the painful shards of metal and plastic slicing into his skin. He wasn't sure what all he'd grabbed, but Logan hoped the jamming device was in there somewhere."

"You little fucking shit!" the woman screamed. "He just broke the jammer!"

"Yes!" Logan shouted excitedly.

The man grabbed his arms and yanked him towards him, staring at his face, "You!"

Logan didn't recognize the man at all, his smooth, cleanly-shaved face rising up into a wide forehead and dense brows, dark closely-cropped hair visible just along the edge of the man's olive-drab hat.

"That's one of Shay's boys," the man growled. "The Chancellor sent out the pics weeks ago." He turned back towards Logan and added, "Let's go, you little shit. You're gonna regret what you just did."

In seconds, his hands were restrained behind him, the earpiece ripped from his head, and he was dragged along behind two muscular female soldiers with just enough fear in their eyes for Logan to wonder if he might get shot by his own side in the retreat.

Just before a sack was slid over his head, he turned behind him to look at the woman again as she knelt beside the ruined remains of the jamming device he'd just destroyed. Beyond her, coming over the rise at a rapid jog, his heart sank when he saw that Finch, too, had been captured.

- - -

"Comms are back!" Anna shouted into the hall, then closed the door again.

Lauren had just returned from the cafeteria, taking the time to use the toilet as well. "Yes!" she shouted, excitement still muted by worries for her brothers.

In moments, Anna was back outside, grabbing Lauren and leaning close, "Bad news, kid. Seems Finch got snatched."

"Snatched?!"

"The squad at the front just reported in that No Limits got him just after he got there with the radios, took two others, too..."

"No!"

"I know this is hard, but don't go panicking on me, okay? We're trying to get him back. I promise, we're on it, okay? Major Danielson's leading the team going after him. We won't let them take your brother."

"What about Logan?"

"Can't reach him yet. No response when we reached out just now."

"Fuuuuck!" Lauren screamed, balling her fists in rage. "Fuuuuuuuck!"

Anna watched her with more sympathy than usual. "I know, I know. Look... You're exhausted and this is really difficult to sit through. You could use a little help." She slipped something out of her pocket and before Lauren could react, a single, sharp pain stung her arm as Anna poked her with a needle.

"What the fuck?!"

"Will help you relax. Trust me, you need it right now."

"You drugged me?" Lauren protested as her body began to grow heavy and a small measure of relaxation began growing inside. "You drugged me?" she repeated.

"You two come help your friend back to her room. She's going to need to sleep for a while."

"How dare you," Lauren slurred as the drugs kicked in fast, her legs already feeling like jelly. She was vaguely aware of someone, perhaps the twins, holding onto her arms. "I'll get you for this, Anna... I promise..."

"You'll thank me when you've had a good sleep and your dad is there to wake you up. Sweet dreams," the blonde woman told her as Lauren's eyes began to close and each step became more difficult than the last. She was out before she was halfway back to her room.

- - -

Gene awoke slowly from the most pleasant dream he'd had in recent memory. Before it faded away, he attempted to remember the details. Lauren had been in his bed, over him, kissing his lips and his chest, working her hips up and down on his cock. It had felt so real that Gene tried to fall back asleep to recapture that wonderful fantasy.

It didn't work. At least he'd gotten about three solid hours of sleep. It wasn't enough, his body sore and his mind fuzzy. He and Holly were the only passengers on an eight-seat jet, one pilot in the cockpit closed off from them in the fuselage. It was a nice jet. Large, cushioned seats, television screens, bars stocked with alcohol and mixers along the sides, chargers for phones and plugs for devices.

He'd fallen asleep just after take off outside Jerusalem, the flight expected to take a little under four hours. They had to detour around some hot spots or they might have been there in closer to three in the speedy jet. Holly was beside him in the companion seat, snoring lightly on her side, facing him.

He watched her a moment, something of his attraction for his daughter passing to Holly in that grey area between sleep and alertness. Not that he wasn't attracted to Holly. He was very much so. It was just that special, extra thrill of having shared a few experiences with Lauren and the intensity of his recent dream which made him look on Holly through the two lenses, and Gene was aroused by what he saw.

Holly was very beautiful. In a normal world, she could have been the lead love interest in any high school or college movie, perhaps, despite her short stature, even been a model. Certainly, the porn studios would have loved to have her come in for an interview or three. Gene knew how lucky he was to have spent any time at all with the young woman, and he smiled at her as she slept, his emotional interest captured by the beautiful, courageous blonde.

Her eyes flickered open as if she felt the weight of his emotions pressing in on her. Holly blinked a couple of times, then her smile matched his.

She slid from the chair and hovered over Gene a moment, then pressed herself down onto him and kissed his lips. "I love you, Gene," she whispered. "I didn't mean to... but I love you... and I see in your eyes you love me, too..."

"I do..." While it was true, he didn't mention the flickering images inside his head of Lauren's naked body, both from dream and from reality.

Holly purred as she kissed him, soon drawing down his zipper and fondling his rising erection. He pulled her up as his pants fell to his ankles and bent her over the seat. She purred again, saying, "Mmm... I like this position..." She slid down her pants, exposing her perfect pale ass to Gene's eyes. He massaged her buttocks a moment, then felt between Holly's thighs.

As usual, the pretty blonde was already wet. She waited, bent over, ready to be penetrated.

Gene pushed in, his cock surging with the heat from Holly's vagina rushing onto his flesh, her cunt stretching as he sank inside. She moaned and he started thrusting in and out, holding her waist. "Give it to me, Gene... Give me that hard cock... Mmmm... Mmmm... Gonna make a girl cum fast... Mmm... Give it to me..."

He moved faster, bending his knees slightly and fucking her from a lower angle. She moaned loudly and Gene felt her pussy tighten. She began to cum and he was right on the edge. "God, Gene, yes! Fuck me! Uhn... Uhnn... Uhn-uhn-uhn-uhn-uhn... Mmmmmmm... Mmmmmmm... Mmmmmm... mmmm... mmmm..."

The orgasm crashed through Holly and Gene erupted, spurting a thick, voluminous load of cum inside Holly's vagina, panting, boiling, his dick pulsing out each jet of semen, rewarded each time with a fresh wave of pleasure. He emptied himself and held his penis deep inside Holly's tight little vagina. As he started to soften after a moment, Holly spun and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply, passionately. "Whatever happens, Gene," she told him, an unusually soft expression on her face, "no matter if this all has to end for us... never forget this moment, okay? I don't say 'I love you' easily... Even when it's true..."

"I know," he said, awash with pleasure, "neither do I. Whatever happens, I love you, Holly."

They kissed again and for a little while, Gene was able to push his stress and weariness and fears to the back of his mind and just enjoy the love freely given by Holly.