Chapter 23: Risks

Holly had been right about the effects of the pill mellowing out over time. Over the night, Gene had felt the speedy quality becoming a steady hum rather than a pounding techno pulse. The mental aspects were ever-present, and together the effects were simply amazing. Gene had never felt so connected to the world around him.

They'd taken on gas just inside the Moroccan border before dawn, the massive fuel tanks nearing empty in the truck. Holly made contact with a Somalian M1 agent named Sagal, the woman herself heading to Marrakesh as well, though she didn't reveal the reason. There were confirmed reports of naval fighting along the northern Moroccan coast, and large-scale fighting going on in Oran, Algeria. For the moment, Marrakesh was still relatively safe, though people everywhere were beginning to understand the depth of the global crisis, and looting, rioting, and hoarding supplies were becoming much more common in many cities.

Gene's mind raced as the first light of day crept up behind them to the East. He relived his years spent as part of Whitehead. He wondered about Poppy. He'd never met her in person, only had voice communications with her three or four times. She'd been the real hacker in the group, the one capable of laying tracks or making them disappear. Her knack for finding security holes was uncanny. Whereas Gene was more of an analysis and strategy guy, Poppy had been the main tech grunt. If anyone had knowledge which Victor and M1 and all the others wanted, it was probably Poppy.

Or Utah. Charles Utah knew it all, so Gene believed. The guy had never been surprised even when things went sour fast. Knowing Utah was dead tore a little piece out of Gene's confidence in human abilities. Utah had seemed indestructible.

"How much did you know about Utah?" Gene asked Holly as they passed yet another lonely roadside shack.

Holly thought a moment, staring forward. "Enough. Pining for your old buddy?"

"'Pining' isn't the right word. Nor is 'buddy' for that matter. Just wondering how the guy I saw matches with what you know about him."

"Well," Holly took a swig from a water bottle, "He grew up in Seattle, Washington, dropped out of school at fifteen, had his own intranet running before most people had heard of computers, taught himself a dozen software languages before he was eighteen. On top of that, he seemed to be very charismatic, talking himself into connections for which he had no pedigree. He brought together all of you in Whitehead, and from what I know, he helped your group to provide eight-to-nine figure servicing contracts to dozens of states and organizations."

Gene nodded. "It was all just a cover. I'm sure you know that."

"Cover?"

"The contracts. The work we did was just a storefront for the laundering. Oh, we provided the services, but Utah was working a different game. The numbers were too high, even for the specialized work we did. I figured it out a year or so before I left. I never told him I caught on, but I checked up on it enough to know I was on the right track. He was laundering big-time assets for the biggest of clients. Not just crime bosses or corporate executives. States. Countries. Multinational organizations. The depth of this was simply unreal. Utah was riding that hard. I made great money at Whitehead. Utah had to be an order of magnitude over my head."

"Hmm..." Holly looked perplexed. "Seems obvious now that you bring it up. How did we never catch on to that?"

"Because we did what you do, in the storefront, anyway. Even though the numbers were high, you knew the difficulty and the risk. It doesn't surprise you to know that someone might consider it worth substantially more than you get paid."

Holly nodded. "Yeah, I suppose..."

"I never really knew him well. We only met in person maybe four times, and only one of those for longer than two minutes. He never said one word more than was necessary, and if he had a personality, a 'charisma, ' I never saw it. Utah was all business, efficient, a fucking robot to me. I don't know if I respect him for that or not. Whoever got to Utah and killed him has got to be one of the best snoops in the world."

"A snoop we'll have to deal with sooner or later. We aren't quite sure who was part of the No Limits team that caught up to him. Once we're on the Cambridge, we'll have more time for research." Holly craned her neck. "Careful, guard post ahead. Remember, whatever happens, don't get out of the truck."

"Goddamn ... there's another convoy racing up behind us." Tamara turned her head at Hilda's words to see the green, camouflaged trucks speeding up the straightaway. "That's the third one in the last hour."

Dawn had come on cloudy and grey, drizzle coating the windshield. They'd encountered few other motorists, but they'd seen several individual military vehicles as well as the packs-of-dozens moving as convoys. Hilda had been forced several times to find alternative routes due to road closers, detours, and 'bad vibes.' They'd stopped for a few hours overnight, sleeping uncomfortably on the truck bench. Tamara felt foggy, much like the mountainous landscape around them.

She drifted off frequently. Her dreams were right on the surface, sticking with her as she cycled through shallow sleep and minutes of drowsy consciousness.

The first explosion was easily ignored.

Hilda slammed on the brakes seconds before a second concussion sounded somewhere over the edge of the hill. Hannigan's pistol was gripped tightly in his hands as Tamara tried to comprehend what was happening. Before she could get there, Hilda floored the accelerator, ran the truck to one side of the road, and turned quickly, zipping back in the direction from which they'd come.

Hannigan turned back, his pistol out the window quickly. Tamara could hear more explosions, though they became more distant.

Brrrrrt-ZING!-ZING-brrrrrrrt-ZING-brrrrrrrrt.

Bullets ricocheted off the truck's hood and the sound of small arms fire had Tamara's heart in her throat. She tried to press herself into the floorboard. The firing stopped as Hilda raced on, then picked up again.

"They're still firing, but not at us. Something back behind us," Hannigan shouted.

Two tanks rolled around a bend ahead and Hilda slammed on the brakes, bringing the truck to a screeching stop. The lead tank's main cannon swiveled and pointed directly at them. Hilda screamed, "oh, fuck!"

Tamara couldn't breathe from fear. They waited, waited. She heard the pounding boom of heavy arms twice, then a third time. She peaked up over the dash to see the cannons for both tanks pointing at something behind them, further up the road.

"I'm getting us the hell out of here!" Hilda's voice was excited, raw. She sped forward a few dozen feet and raced up what might have been a covered driveway or a backroad. The booms from the tanks hit sporadically, still close enough to rattle Tamara's body.

The hill crested and opened out, showing it was a small, lower knob in a long line of such prominences. Hilda found a path down the other side and retook the same road a mile or so past where the tanks had been firing.

Tamara let out her first breath in what seemed like hours when Hannigan finally broke the silence, "think we're ok for now. We can take the next road west and stay away from the fighting." Tamara felt weak as she retook her seat properly, nausea coming in waves. Hannigan looked nervous, as well, his eyes straining, his neck swiveling all around. It did nothing to make Tamara feel better about their situation, but at least no one was shooting at them for the moment.

Lauren hadn't slept well all night. She'd been awake for long hours turning over in her head her thoughts about Finch. The more she thought about it, the more it turned her on to consider having sex with her brother. Twice in the night she'd masturbated, imaging that Finch was fucking her.

The sun was well up by the time she slid out of bed and put on her clothes. Dr. Henderson and his wife were off to the East of the property to show Logan the old mine there. Henderson was planning to leave later that afternoon, and he had promised to see what he could find out about her parents.

Lauren ate scones and milk, then went with Finch and the twins to take care of chores. She glanced frequently at her brother. He wasn't unattractive, really, just that, until very recently, she'd never consider him sexually. Each time he bent over to pick up something, she watched his ass tighten in his shorts, thought of the moments she'd seen him naked, as well as the time he'd ejaculated on her arm.

By mid-morning, her panties were damp and her mind was becoming fixated on being her brother's first. She pulled Lauren aside near the compost pile, said, "so ... I've been thinking ... a lot. I can't stop imagining what it would be like to be with my brother ... I'm kinda thinking I want to..."

Lauren grinned, giggled. "Soon, then? We can make sure you get some privacy if you want it..."

Lauren felt butterflies at the thought that she might actually go through with it. "Yeah ... that'd be good..."

"Just tell me when."

"Ok..."

Gene sat restlessly at a small oceanside cafe just south of Rabat, Tunisia, still a few hours out of Marrakesh. Holly had wanted to stop off and attempt to get updates from the Israeli M1 headquarters, but after a couple of refused connections, she leaned back, frustrated. "Not a good sign. Just a refusal. No information bits on the wire, no instructions, no explanation. No nothing!" Holly was agitated, the pill still running strong even if not as manic as the first few hours.

"Does this change anything?"

"Not yet. Israel isn't aware of our destination. Whatever is going on there is probably better to avoid completely."

Gene nodded.

Holly motioned to the plate of fruits and cheeses on the table between them. "Eat, Gene. You gotta eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You think you're not hungry, but your body is starving. The pill is burning through your calories faster than normal. You gotta eat to keep the crash from being ten times worse." She cut a slice of a small green fruit and chewed on it, rind and all.

Gene raised his eyebrows. "What is that?"

"A lime."

"You eat slices of lime?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

He shook his head and did his best to swallow a few dates and hunks of a bitter white cheese. "When do we move?"

"Sagal should be there now. I asked her to ping when she was in a secure place. Should be any minute, hopefully."

Gene washed down a thick bite of cheese with a swallow of warm grape juice. "I don't like sitting here, Holly. Can't we move? I can't sit still." His legs were shaking and becoming spasmic.

"Let's get our shit out of the truck. We're ditching it here, then we can find our next ride."

Whatever was on Lauren's mind, she'd been rather quiet around Finch all day. He'd seen her watching him, staring just a bit too long at times, as if she was pondering something about him. It was a little unnerving, really.

Finch had masturbated the night before, thinking of the way Hannah had let him cum in her mouth, seeing again in his mind his semen on her lips. Lauren's face often replaced the twin teen, and Finch had ejaculated strongly to thoughts of his sister's mouth on his penis.

He wasn't sure where Logan was. Finch's brother had gone off with Dr. Henderson earlier in the day, but hadn't joined the teens as they walked to the stream. They'd gone down the hill further to where a small pool formed before the water rushed away again. Hannah had said they could swim, though the water would be cool. When Finch had mentioned he didn't have any swim trunks, the girl had just smiled, said not to worry about that.

They dropped their small packs and Hannah stripped off her shirt and pants, then removed her underwear. Finch stared a moment as she slipped into the water naked, her soft, round breasts and ass firing his growing erection. Georges was right behind her.

Lauren stared at him a moment, then she, too, removed her clothes. For a long second, his sister stood nude, her body facing him. Finch looked at Lauren's lovely breasts and her dark pubic hair. He wished he could see the rest of what was between her legs. He was completely erect by the time she broke the spell and slid into the water.

Finch hesitated only a second, shed his clothing quickly, and stepped into the pool. It was cold, and Finch could feel his skin vibrating as light shivers passed through him. Lauren's eyes were staring at his genitals, and for a moment, Finch felt minor embarrassment. But it passed almost immediately, and he found himself growing more excited by the way her eyes were drawn to his cock. Hannah watched, too, and that just made him more aroused.

He sank down in the water, shivering a moment before his body got used to the sensation. The air was quite warm that day, which helped to keep him from feeling uncomfortable.

"So, Finch," Georges started, "how are you liking this place?"

"It's cool. I wish I could live her forever. So much better than running all the time."

Georges nodded, "good. Lauren?"

She shrugged, "guess it's alright." Finch knew that she was understating how much she was enjoying it, but he'd long ago learned to expect that from her. "Yeah, definitely better than running."

The four had closed into a small circle, arms and legs occasionally touching. Finch was across from Georges, Lauren on his left, Hannah on his right. Several times, he was certain that Hannah had touched his thigh on purpose, once even brushing past his half-hard penis. He looked at her each time, but she just smiled and acted as if she was paying him no mind.

Lauren's leg swept over Finch's, her ankle coming to rest on his. She didn't move, and Finch felt a thrill slide up his body at the contact. Lauren glanced at him quickly, paused, then slowly pulled her leg back and left his flesh.

Finch felt like taking a risk. First, he let his hand slide onto Hannah's arm. He held it there. She slid her fingers to meet his and grasped them. Hannah guided his clenched hand onto her thigh.

Lauren again brushed his leg, this time, her foot playing against his calf. Finch was certain she was doing it on purpose once she started moving it gently up and down his leg. She didn't look at him. Finch took another risk, letting his hand drift to Lauren's thigh. He swept over it lightly with the backs of his fingers. Lauren shivered but said nothing, her leg still on his.

Finch did it again, this time making a return trip up her thigh. When she didn't protest, he turned his hand over and slid his fingers down to her hand. When their fingers met, the curled them together with only a bit of hesitation.

Finch was in heaven. His body vibrated in the cold water, two beautiful teens holding his hands, Lauren's foot slowly stroking his leg, his fingers only inches from Hannah's genitals.

He caught Lauren giving Hannah a look, the latter smiling and letting go of his hand. "Listen, Georges and I need to go say goodbye to Dad. You two should hang out. Enjoy this place, ok?" Hannah kissed Finch's cheek with a small giggle. Georges was blinking as if he was confused, but he said nothing and followed his twin sister out of the water.

Finch watched Hannah dry off, her pale ass round and firm. Moments later they were gone and Finch was left alone, sitting silently with his sister, still holding her hand, her foot moving up above his knee for the first time.

"How do we find him?" Tamara's question hung a moment as they looked down on the commune from across the river, below the dam.

"We don't." Hilda replied. "He'll find us."

"So do we go down there, then?"

"At nightfall, yes." Hilda stared a moment. "Looks about the same as when I was here before. Except there's almost no one moving around. Same as everywhere else, it seems."

Tamara had noticed how little movement she saw on the streets. They'd managed to avoid the fighting the rest of the way to Malaia, though they often heard and felt explosions from some distance. Towns they passed through were much the same as the commune: few people out, few vehicles on the road. That had been a marked change since leaving Belgrade. Tamara wondered just how much the conflict had grown.

Hannigan returned from stepping away to the nearby bushes to relieve himself. He sipped from a bottle of fruit juice, eyes scanning the surroundings. "We might as well hunker down here until nightfall, then. Best view of things, lots of ways to get moving if someone comes up here. I don't like waiting, though. How exactly is Haul going to find us?"

Hilda shrugged. "Just going by what the message said. He told us to get to Malaia and he would make contact after nightfall and before midnight. Nothing more specific. Trust me, this guy knows his shit. He'll find us."

Logan paused outside the bedroom door listening, shifting lightly on his feet as he strained to hear the soft sounds within. Dr. Henderson and Juliana had taken him to the mine earlier that day, the fourteen-year old enjoying climbing ladders and exploring in the dark with only a headlamp. They hadn't let him go far, said the walls were starting to give way, but Logan thought it was one of the coolest things he'd ever seen.

They'd returned to the house earlier, Henderson and his wife excusing themselves so that he could get ready to leave. Logan had milled about, considered finding his siblings and the twins, then decided to help himself to more scones. The first cry had sent him quickly to the bedroom door.

He heard Juliana's pants as he leaned his ear close to the keyhole. Logan tried to look through but couldn't see inside the room, so he pressed his ear against it and pulled his penis through his open zipper, stroking it quickly as Dr. Henderson's grunts became insistent.