Chapter 32

For all that had happened today, it was only 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, and the Stars hinted at more excitement of one sort (Yolanda) or another (Rose and Miranda). I preferred the latter. But we don’t always get to choose.

If I had my way, I would be balls deep in my stark naked Cartoon Anime Doll in a comic book store after I killed the surveillance cameras and cell phones. Our chosen nerdly audience would spend hours trying to convince their disbelieving friends it actually happened.

Leaving the Neo-Zs to the cartons, I went off to find the Doomsday researchers. A tested and functional laser platform moved the plan ahead of schedule. The next obstacle, the bombs, had to wait for Mike’s convenience. Only then could we take our trip to the Hill House lab. No way I wanted to move that threat uncontained! The bomb needed to be sealed with the toxins.

The team appreciated the pressure drop. Not averting the end of the world freed up the afternoon for us all. I began to make nefarious plans for Holly and Polly. The Dungeon Calls! All that remained was to distract the Sprouts. They were too young for me to explain the binding frame and St. Andrew’s Cross.

Down in the office, I dispatched a few snoopy bots out. Luck was on my side, which meant my old friends and clients were safely secure, cyber-wise. Andy continued to pay his bills and seemed to be getting more proficient at the job as each day passed. We, Amy and I mostly, made a better choice of successors than we imagined. He and Vanna were thriving. Embarrassing the ZCS reputation was not one of their choices. That antecedent and their dedication to my principles (There is no acceptable substitute for excellence.) would make them wealthy and respected. That is all Andy ever wanted, peer respect.

Phoebe came in, dressed quite unlike her girls: half-sheer pastel pink toga, and solid silver panties, the bared tit embellished by a nipple ring dangling a S/S pendant. They still had the green and blue dresses and half-sheer panties. “We’re going out for a while with Celeste and Lulu to do some shopping and sightseeing in our new neighborhood. Emma is going with us in full combat gear. According to her, ‘it is not a choice’.”

Emma entered, looking like a men’s magazine front cover. ‘Full combat gear’ translated to mean pocketed, solid black shorts, mid-thigh and a half-sheer silver crop-top. The Airwear outfit smartly accessorized by a solid gray shoulder bag, slung left shoulder to right hip, a half-sheer white choker, and a ‘special’ RIA pendant closure at her neck. The S/S ‘Z’ broach clipped to the strap between her tits put the ensemble over the top.

The strap prevented the top from covering her erect nipples, effectively rendering her topless for her stroll up the street.

Lulu and Celeste arrived with Emma. “Mind if we go out, Mr. Mark?” Ms Ryan asked bashfully. “There are lots of cool boutiques up there and I want to introduce our family to my grandmother a few at a time.”

The two girls were dressed somewhat more edgy than the McLeans. Silver cellophane togas, bare nipple sporting a S/S super-infused nipple ring pendant, hanging over the tip of the exposed ‘C’ sized titty. A silver chain draped between the nipple jewelry and the S/S clip broach on their silver collars completed the mobile wet dream.

The girls’ lack of panties pushed the hotness factor an order of magnitude higher. I was glad Emma felt obligated to run interference. “It’s 3:30 now. Make sure you’re home for dinner. Eve, Caralyn and Frieda are trying to impress us tonight. Have fun. Cat, as a precaution, wear an earwig, private channel. I will too. We’ll come running at the slightest sign of trouble.”

“Roger that, Major. Keep us in the loop if stuff goes on here, good or bad.”

I would need an overnight to properly introduce the Ellis twins to the pleasures available in the basement. I didn’t like to rush important events. Maybe after the kids were down for the night, we could book some rack time.

Speaking of which, I could use some actual naptime myself, so I found Amy taking it easy for once in the girls’ dorm.

“I feel like a siege survivor, dear. Mind if I sleep until dinner?”

“I’m thinking the same, Sir. Real honest rest.” She handed me one of those night blindfolds I used in the dungeon. “Better use this. Girls will probably be in and out later, putting your new clothes and the laundered stuff away.”

“Out of curiosity where is everybody?”

“That’s a big question. The Pennys are talking to Laura’s people and the Bright Stars are in cahoots with the girls on the Bowery. Eve, Jean, Jane and some of the dancers are involved. Your sisters are with the Bakers, surfing the web for their mothers’ history. I let them use my laptop, Sir. Better search capability than usual but not as powerful as yours.”

“Well done! They won’t find out anything the Colonel doesn’t already know. I haven’t seen his background checks on anyone yet, but if there was a problem, he would tell me.” I shrugged, “They are as curious about my Dad as I am about their Moms.”

“Enjoy your nap, Sir. Frieda said dinner would be ready around 7:30. Kinda late, but we have snacks to keep the wolves from the door.” She smiled, “If that doesn’t work, we can always call Sergio.”

On my floor, I stripped, put the night blinders on and lay down. I don’t remember hitting the pillow. Morpheus was a bit heavy-handed. Guess I was tired.

The dreams, though fragmentary, were strange and just flat weird. Frieda and the Baxters playing hearts with Felicia. Lulu, Billi and Minerva designing Airwear flapper gowns, etc. Even the odd face, never seen directly, flitted by. Maybe, the soft voices of the girls dealing with my closets triggered the jumble.

Maybe I’m crazy. Why else would those two tiny fairies from the Godzilla movies, Shobijin, (Emi and Yumi Ito), be singing back up? Heavy metal in fairy dust harmony.

“Fairy tales do come true. It can happen to you. And the rest of that song you were humming”

It turned into a quite fun lucid dream. Soft ands caressed my face, holding the blinder in place. “Can you hear me?”

“Of course, Diane. You have my absolute attention.” I chuckled, “Thank you for waking me so sweetly. What you have in mind, sweet tits?”

“We girls want to play a game. You are so good at telling all the twins, triplets and sisters apart, and all the others, too, we want to see if that’s all you can tell apart.” I heard her giggle, “And have a lot of fun trying to confuse you.”

The bed shifted slightly as several bodies settled on the huge mattress. Cynthia’s voice on the side, “Here’s the deal. You can’t use your hands. Boobs are a giveaway. That’s cheating.”

“This gets better and better, Cyn. Should I name names and reasons as you try to kill me or list you all from the afterlife?”

“Save it up, Mark. We’re going make you forget your own name.” Lanie answered, “Whoever dies first, loses. No hands, no peeking. Teach you to be too busy to take care of our more personal needs!”

“I have been inconsiderate, ladies. For that I am truly sorry. Breaking the rotation is just plain rude. Learn me to do gooder.”

I lay there and suffered the torture of a fine blowjob from Vicki who was squirming enough to convince me someone else was paying special attention to her pussy. She erupted in moan and was replaced by June’s cunt. She rode me hard until she came in pulses. Sam saddled up next and had a grand old time, bouncing as I pumped back.

The scene clearly had the girls primed to blast off because Sam spasmed with a squeal when I pumped a load as deep in her as I could thrust. June sucked me deep and climaxed herself. I was sure whoever wrapped their lips around my cock had her clit in another set of lips.

Diane kept a running commentary in my ear. “So pretty. I think she needs CPR.” Etc.

Another blowjob, well and energetically performed by Patty followed by a very tight virgin twat! What the fuck? The mystery girl screeched loudly when she stretched open enough for my dick to slowly push through her determined maidenhead and slip all the way in. “Slowly, sweet mystery girl. Move when you are ready. This is new territory. Let’s do it right.” I whispered, barely audible.

OK, I cheated, but to be rough this time would have been a greater sin. “That was sweet, Mark.” Diane cooed in my ear.

She felt too tall to be Polly or Holly, but never the less seemed familiar somehow. I took extra time in her, bringing her off several times, finally coming hard as she screamed out her first cock induced orgasm, falling forward on my heaving chest. Wow! She was almost like the Bakers wrapped around my prick!

She was tall with nice firm tits, too. ‘I was right’; a little voice said in my head, ‘not an Ellis sister’.

Someone lifted her off my rod and Kelli plugged me in next. She came primed to go off immediately, squeaking constantly through a wracking series of earthquakes, as Patty replaced Diane. Kelli wore herself out and collapsed to one side. Though she tried her best, my cock remained attached to me.

Elaine, Vicki, and then Cynthia, taught me to neglect their personal needs more often. Such delicious punishment!

A new mouth tried to swallow me whole and damn near succeeded. The mystery girl, if an amateur, had tons of enthusiasm! When she pulled off my harder than ever cock, and after getting into position, impaled her dripping pussy to the end in one, slow stroke. Damn, she was nearly as tight as Toon, even after fucking herself comatose two girls ago!

Wrong again, through no memory failure of mine. I knew for sure there were at least two mystery girls, neither of them named Ellis, when I ripped my second hymen of the evening to tatters! The hip action, when the girl’s cunt eased the squeeze enough to get into her first serious fucking experience. Like her anatomical twin, she liked what was in her, liked it a lot. Coming loudly, she bounced the same, but had a different side-to-side wiggle. She fainted like her sister, too. Same, height, weight and rock hard nipples, I decided as I emptied most of my reserve of hot cream inside between her spasms and ripples.

Patty didn’t talk in my ears. She used them for handles. Someone was taking care of her needs.

She was rolled aside and Max socketed me instantly, trying to stab me with those solid steel nipples. I stabbed her twat deeper and won the joust, tits down. Hip. Hip. Hooray for hard pointy boobs!

Clearly afraid my tanks were running on empty, Diane deep throated me until someone made her shudder in ecstasy. The mental image alone would have made overcooked ziti stand up and salute. My pasta never flagged.

The next girl was Leah. That was too easy. She mounted up in a reverse cowgirl, just as her first was an accidental reverse deep dick lapfuck. Same sounds, same crazed wiggles and squiggles. Leah is always great fun. She sealed the deal when a long, orgasm-created, out-of-control stroke dislodged my prick and reinserted it in her dampened ass. She slammed down before she knew she was in reruns.

Balls deep once again! This time she leaned back as another dirty girl feasted on her clit in sync with my prick’s plunges into her butt. We came together in one great heave.

Patty wiped me clean with two of Leah’s ever present wet antibiotic wipes and hopped aboard for a fine full throttle fuck, coming like a freight train as I turned into cooked manicotti at the end.

My tank was truly empty. Mr. Happy was finally satisfied. With an effort I said, “The best wake-up call in the history of history. I can’t thank you enough for the pop quiz.”

Diane giggled madly. “We all win. No one died too much to save. Now, give up your list before we forget ourselves. Many IQ points got lose in the ozone. I hear they grow back good as ever.”

Max snarked, “You better hope so. There ain’t that many to spare.”

Razzberries. “Anyway, keep the blindfold in place and take your best shot.”

I recited the activity order: “Blown by Vicki. Screwed by June then Sam. Blown by June then again by Patty. Fucked next by a girl taking her first dick, whose name I don’t know yet, but will remember forever.”

I kept the list going: “Patty replaced Diane at my ear. Kelli nearly fucked herself into a coma. Next Elaine, Vicki and Cynthia tried to kill me. They gave it a shot, but I survived the attempted death by fucking.”

I took a deep breath: New girl number two gave a fine blowjob and then gave up her cherry almost like her twin sister, but equally epic. Someone tried to suck Patty inside out. Max fucked me next, followed by a good cocksucking by Diane. Leah, bless her heart, took it in her pussy and again in the ass, reverse-wise, just as she did her first time on a dick, while someone licked her clit, clearly doing an excellent performance.”

I laughed again. “But wait! There’s more. Patty cleaned me off with a couple of the wet wipes Leah always carries and fucked us both to pieces. I came in Sam, new girl numbers one and two and the last time in Leah’s cute butt.”

“Before you score the test, I will tell you that you are all wonderful in different ways, not better or less better than each other, but all great in slightly different ways. Even the unknown girls are fucking amazing.” I chuckled again. “Now who the hell are you amazing fuckers?”

“Take off the mask and all will be revealed.” Kelli said. “I think I know without knowing for sure. History might repeat itself after all.”

My eyes adjusted to the light a hell of a lot sooner than I adjusted to the sight of two taller versions of my Mom with my Dad’s green eyes. All I could do was laugh. Déjà vu all over. The two familiar seeming new girls were as shocked silly as me. Emphasis on silly.

“OK, ladies. Without putting too delicate a spin in your things, in a strange and, might I add, entirely enchanting twist of fate, I have fucked your cherries into memory, filling your tight pussies with my fat dick.” I stood and bowed. “I suppose we should start with the proper introductions. Hello. I’m Mark Allyn. And who in hell are you? And why do you look so much like my Mom?”

The twins curtseyed sweetly. Connie spoke carefully. “We would be Bonnie and Connie Carlyle. We look like taller versions of our own Mom but with green, instead of blue, eyes.”

Bonnie continued, “Up close with no mask, I think we share a face and a lot more. Mom was named Connie and claimed to have a never-seen twin.”

“Of this Connie, I knew nothing, not even a rumor, but I’m certain her never-seen twin was my Mom, Bonnie Carlyle Allyn. You have her tits and hair. Dad was Alex Allyn. You have his eyes and stature.” I grinned, “This adds only one way. My parents are Alex Allyn and Bonnie Carlyle and from Asheville; yours are Alex Allyn and Connie Carlyle. How old are you and where were you born?”

“I believe you are right about our parents. The answer is twenty-three last April and Nags Head.” Connie responded, “Why do you ask?”

“I started going to summer camp when I turned six, but we always spent a week or so at the Outer Banks as far back as I can remember. Since I just turned twenty-nine and you are barely twenty-three, the timing is perfect for hot twiny threesomes among the dunes in the summer of eighty-five.”

“And we went canoeing and camping with Mom on the French Broad or in Asheville, starting when we were six.” Bonnie volunteered, “But we never saw your Mom and our Dad once or twice. Where were you then?”

“That was the summer they sent me to, or hid me at, various camps for half of June and most of July. That went on until I was fourteen and went to pre-college high school. Again, timing is everything when fooling the kids.” Sighing, I added, “To this day I have no idea why they let me think I was an only child.”

“So, since we are Bonnie Allyn Carlyle and Connie Allyn Carlyle, and you are Mark Carlyle Allyn, the genealogy is correct.” Connie reasoned reasonably, “That makes you our overwhelmingly magnetic, previously unsuspected, ¾ brother.”

Bonnie softly said, “Honestly, bro, it feels weird to have a guy to say that to, but anyway, we had not the slightest inkling this would happen. Ms Beauchamps brought us the new uniforms and the ‘Airwear’ as she called it, insisting we try it all on. It felt so sexy!”

“She showed us how to wear it all properly and then Elaine called with a dinner invitation. Ms LaSalle drove us up.” Connie picked up the thread, “We were shocked, then envious when you all popped the quiz. We got excited like never before and spontaneously cut in line. I thought you would split me open. Then the fucking became better than astonishing!”

I chuckled. “You went first, didn’t you?”

“Yes she did! All the girls had a clit muncher whenever your cock was in their mouth, but I jumped on before Connie had a chance to do me. I wanted to be wrapped around that beast when I exploded. And that is exactly what went down.” Bonnie hooted, “We went down on each other while you were double-holing Leah.”

“So, spill it, Elaine. How much of this did you deduce before you called the pier?” I laughed, “Testing the waters to see if they dive in the deep end, fuck at first sight like you and Cynthia?”

“We strongly suspected when their service pictures popped up as we looked for ‘Bonnie Carlyle’ and our mothers and we remembered what Laura and Nell said about the new Pennys at the pier.” She replied proudly. “We had someone to gain, too.”

“Pardon me, I have been remiss. Allow me to introduce Elaine Alexandra Zarkhov and Cynthia Alana Wolfsdottir, spawn of Alex by different mothers during hot foursomes at clothing optional resorts, circa 1993 or 94-ish.” I smiled, “Again, no idea why they said nothing. I was boning my first back in Asheville since ‘91, so a hammer could not have hurt my feelings. I would have shrugged off the open marriage part as long as things at home were cool.”

“But Master, if you had known, your life would have been very different, none of us would be here, and our lives would have been much more horrible.” Caralyn booed the thought. “So since you are finally united in every way, things worked out perfectly.”

“Well said, Caralyn Thomas.” I smiled. “And my life would have been much poorer, but we came together as we should.”

“A girl needs to take notes here.” Max squealed. “Stop that Patty, I’m trying to think while I still have two IQ points to rub against Diane. OK, Connie and Bonnie are 100% sisters. Mark is 75% brother and 150% cousin to them. All three are 50% siblings to Cynthia and Elaine. Cynthia and Elaine are 50% sisters to each other.”

“Like your limerick about Cyn, Lanie and Mark, three halves make a much larger whole?” Kelli suggested.

“I’m 98.6% certain we should leave their holes out of the discussion.” Vicki “We get distracted too easily.”

“You forgot that Connie and Bonnie are also 100% cousins to one another. Alex Allyn was married to Bonnie Allyn who was their mother’s sister, making her their aunt and him their uncle. Daughters of uncles are cousins.” Diane reasoned, “Plus, Cynthia and Elaine’s father is married to the Carlyle twin’s mother’s sister, therefore Connie and Bonnie are at least 50% cousins to Cynthia and Elaine on paper.”

“Oh goody!” Elaine hooted, “If the Carlyle twins are our cousins, their mother and her sister are our aunts. Does that mean Mark, 150% cousin to the Carlyle twins, is 50% cousin to us? Is that 25%, twice?”

“Maybe even more, in a convoluted way.” June giggled, “But what part of this isn’t? We all know 67.92% of all statistics are 54.28% made up on the spot. My head hurts.”

“And that doesn’t even count Mark’s newly discovered twin, seven-year-old, 100% daughters, Marcy Allyn McLean and Carly Allyn McLean, created with the help of our Dr. Phoebe McLean, who also lives here.” Leah filled in one more blank space on Max’s imaginary chart. “The Sprouts are 50% niece to Cynthia and Elaine, but 75% to Bonnie and Connie and 100% sisters to one another.”

“Except the nieces are also your first cousins, once removed, Ms Zarkhov. Or is that 37.5% cousins, with the halfnesses factored in? What we don’t have is in-laws.” I teased Elaine, “You can’t tell the players apart even with a program and birth certificates.”

“Will the test be based on the book or the lecture notes?” Patty asked. “For purposes of discussion, can we just call them brother and sisters, daughters and nieces, aunts and uncle?”

“OK. So, we gained two sisters and got fucked by a new brother/cousin before we knew whose dick we had up our pussies and we have two surprise nieces waiting in the wings.” Connie summed it up. “That about it, so far?”

“So far, But the night is young. Welcome to the Absurdicon. Make yourself at home. Can I get you nothing to wear? A hot group shower perhaps?”

Amy showed her grin and palmcorder at the door. “Sir, I recommend a shower first. The Fusion Cooks will serve dinner in thirty minutes. The Carlyle’s choice of eveningwear is ready in the fifth floor dormitory. Follow me.”

My twin sisters did not know they had chosen pastel violet cellophane single boobed toga dresses, half-sheer silver panties and a chain belt dangling an infused ‘RIA’ pendant. The collar was half-sheer white with an S/S closure. Amy offered a nipple ring but they both declined, preferring the classic understated elegance of simplicity.

We made it to the showers just as Emma brought the package laden shoppers home with tales to tell, all good. Not as good as some of our imitate escapades in the house today, but the girls’ had some cool adventures.

My wake-up girls scattered like dandelion fluff in a storm, leaving Diane on my floor as self-appointed shower buddy. Lord knows, we needed it. I remembered the line in the Woody Allen film about how messy sex is if you’re doing it right. I mentioned it to my little dancer.

“On that scale, Mark, two trips through a carwash is just a start.” She giggled and wiggled, which had almost no effect on her sweet ‘A+’ boobies, but I really appreciated the gesture. “But we’ll have to make do with the loofahs.” That girl has skills. Proctoring the ‘guess the pussy’ pop quiz had her wound to the popping point. Humming ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, she wanted a reenactment of her role in the Viking Dance Recital, plundered from behind and a little rough.

Before long, Diane had me rejuvenated sufficiently to give her an energetic pillaging against the wall. She sheathed my broadsword in Valhalla as we danced with the Valkyries to Midgard until our legs gave it up. Afterwards, all we could do was laugh and pant on the floor as the shower rinsed the evidence away.

We were the last ones to the dinner table. Go figure. Sam took a look at our looks and giggled. “You aced the quiz, Mark. Trying for extra credit?”

“He got a perfect score on the bonus question.” Diane answered with a straight face. “He’s was very apt student once I resharpened his magic marker. That ain’t your mama’s number two pencil.”

I hoped to avert the building pun-fest by asking about the menu. It worked. Frieda, Toon and Eve were creative, you have to admit. You have to admit they were a little twisted. The entire meal was finger food except for the garlic butter brushed grilled veggies.

In a great zany family-style feast, platter after platter after platter began to appear:

Grilled Bell Peppers, String Beans, Sliced Yellow Squash and Vidalia Onions. Fried Shrimp Samozas. Pepper Pork Spring Rolls. Sweet and Hot Papaya Salsa. Wasabi or Rosemary Sour Cream. Chopped Liver and Sliced Onion Biscuits with Brown Mustard. Steamed Pastrami Dumplings. Fried Bananas, Breaded in Chocolate Cake Mix. Candied Mangoes. Pan-seared Hunan Knishes. Mongolian Mutton Tortillas. Curry Rubbed Roast Beef on Pita Bread. Ginger/Scallion Crabcakes. Smoked Oysters. Sweet and Sour Mudbugs. Alligator Mousse with Fritos™. Lemon Chicken Fingers. Bagel Chips and Cumin Cream Cheese Or Avocado Dip.

It was the funniest dinner ever. It was also really, really delicious. Nil disputandum de gustibus, I thought, Toon, Eve and Frieda were clearly making it up as they went along, but in indisputably excellent taste. But really, Mandarin crawfish, Fritos and alligator pudding, Devil’s Food Fried Bananas?

Max called it ‘Cogito ergo dim suum’. The Sprouts thought is was the Greatest Thing In The Whole World. Phoebe named it ‘Menu Non Compos Mentis’.

We all decided it was a culinary non sequitur as we stuffed our faces. Eve confessed that some ideas never left the kitchen. “Honey Habañeros was a no go. The Pickled Catfish, Pecan Matzoh Pinwheels were not The Kosher Kommando’s proudest moment.”

“Like they were lined up for blocks to order Corned Beef Tongue in Lobster Sauce on Mashed Potatoes. Luz lost her mind on that one.” Frieda defended her bad choice, “But those habañeros should be reported to the Fire Department and FDA for masquerading as food. Lava is jealous.”

“In comparison, the Hunan Knishes and Ginger Crabcakes are a stroke of genius.” Nell laughed as she munched a tortilla filled with baby corn and hot, spicy Bambi-bits.

“Tongue in Lobster Sauce was not as weird as the Salt Dried Cod in Hot Fudge Fondue.” Luz chuckled. “Whose brain fart was that?”

“I sure wouldn’t know.” Eve mugged. “I swear I was curry fever crazed.”

“There is no kind of crazy that excuses Chocolate Cod.” Toon said, “Not malaria. Not bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Not even in Asian comic books. This can cost you your security clearance for being naturally nuts.”

And so on. Eventually, the conversation faded with our attention spans. Ninety minutes of lunacy inspired gluttony will do that to you. The 10d girls volunteered for clean-up duty and looked damn good doing it. The ten topless beauties busing the dining room and stowing the leftovers renewed my appreciation for fine dining.

The girls had the scene of the crimes spotless and joined us in the old rec. room by 9:30. This was the scene of earlier miracles. The original study hall was in the Annex and enough furniture had been moved in, borrowed from the old offices, the 68th Street basement or redirected from the recent deliveries, to create a lounge area comfortably suitable for 50 people. We were up to 40 plus tonight. God forbid we should have company over for dinner!

Groupings in the room were generally haphazard in a sort of understandable way. For instance, my sisters and daughters occupied one over-sized couch. Connie and Bonnie (cellophane togas), Elaine and Cynthia (topless), Marcy and Carly (crop-tops), the six of them made an oddly sweet family vignette.

The other Pennys, Leigh, Emma and Nell (sheer crop-tops) and Phoebe (half-sheer half halter) sat together, another portrait of the times. The other girls were more random, topless and half haltered boobs distributed everywhere on sofas, in chairs and on a few futons scattered about the space.

As usual, Carly and Marcy flitted like the unconcerned kids they were. Inside those cute little heads, the logic was a tiny bit more complex than you might think. The casual clothing was OK for a bunch of girls hanging out at home. Daddy was daddy. Daddy was everyone’s daddy to the Sprouts’ way of thinking. Being dressed or not around him was no big deal since it was his house with his rules where all the other girls lived and they didn’t seem to care after a while. Even Mom and his sisters didn’t mind if he looked at their boobies, in fact they wanted him to see. Maybe he would like looking at their boobies, too, when they grew some.

I was in my over-sized recliner with Linh, Lulu and the Ellis twins piled beside and on poor little me. The twins were, except for the miniskirts, naked and the other two with the cellophane dresses hid nothing. My slave girls were never far away. In our altered reality, it was just another pleasant evening at Zephyr House.

Little brief conversations allowed us to catch up with important news. Billings scheduled a crew from CDC for the dream equipment installation in the small private hospital. “Be ready to rock Tuesday morning, Dr. McLean. You will have all the necessary documents, certifications and licenses in place by Friday.” He had anticipated the need for a specialty clinic for the RIA girls and Ten Pennys and pre-ordered the equipment, contingent on her approval, for a proper very private and secure facility in the basement.

We were getting another Humvee, tricked out as a fully outfitted ambulance because, as the Colonel put it, “You never know.” This and all of the above, paid in full, courtesy of recently seized assets.

We would use the 10d construction team, augmented by the Roadies if needed, to finish the living quarters upstairs at 68th Street. The apartment at Bright Star, the Bat Cave and Phoebe’s new place were going to keep Norm and Mike in town longer than expected. Nell and Emma volunteered to sublet their place on Margin Street off Delancey, underneath the Williamsburg Bridge. To call that a bad address was high praise. The Ex-Pennys were considering the offer.

I wondered how they came to be there in the first place.

Nell, suddenly called to replace Miller on the team, found an affordable place online, ‘convenient to transportation’, and signed a long-term lease, sight unseen. “It was cheap and really, how bad could it be? I talked to Emma, who needed to find her own quarters, and we agreed to share space as soon as my stuff arrived.”