Chapter 30F: Evening Reprise

That's when the front door of the Nichols home burst open and a screaming Jan Thomas came running out with a H & K MP-5 PDW held in a combat-ready position. She was followed by a similarly screaming Gwen Nichols and Susie Waters. Gwen had a shotgun and Susie was carrying Don's Ruger AC-556K. And within seconds from around each end of the house two eleven year old girls soon emerged. Each of them was identically armed with standard MP-5s. Each of the twins pulled up for a moment as they took in the sight spread out before them. They had both been quiet as they'd come around the ends of the house and entered the front yard. Then, they too screamed and rushed forward to where their father lay immobile a body's length from Don's feet.

The twins Terri and Traci joined their mother Gwen at Henry's side. Dan gasped for some breath and reviewed what he'd seen. He didn't think Henry had been shot in the head. At least, not at close range. He hoped he'd gotten that bitch before she could do anything further to Don's father. He glanced around at the women and girls of the Nichols household and found the hugely round-eyed Jan and Susie approaching him. He shook his own head for a moment as he reviewed things. He remembered the stopwatch at this moment and reached up to press and hold its red button for a second.

He was suddenly pressed in a double-hug by two armed, young women. He shuddered for a moment from the emotions of the moment and the adrenaline coursing through Don's bloodstream. Jan reached up and pulled his head around a bit to look in his eyes. "Dan, are you alright?" He flinched at her usage of his real name. He also felt Susie's body tighten up against his as she heard Jan use his name and his response to it.

He turned to look at Susie and saw the beginning of tears. He nodded at her as he spoke. "Yeah, Jan. I'm OK."

He lifted his left hand to Susie's face. He wiped away a stream of tears tracing down her cheek. "You'll learn about some more stuff later on, Susie. Just, not right now. Can you accept that?"

Don's blond stepsister nodded. "Sure, Don. Or, Dan?"

"Either'll do when we're in private. Just stick to Don when anyone other than Jan's around." Susie's eyes got a bit larger than they'd already been as she nodded.

Dan turned back to Jan and found her grinning very tightly. "What?"

"It's just that you're so damned funny about all of this shit. You've got all these idiots coming after you and you've got secrets you're hiding from everyone. And you just deal with it all." She nodded at Susie. "Soon, huh?" Jan's tight grin loosened up and approached what might be called a smile.

"Well, yeah. When it happens you just deal with it." He shrugged for the benefit of both of them. "Speaking of dealing with it, let me use your cell phone."

Jan reached down to the waistband of her shorts as Susie disengaged from their hug. Dan reached over and took hold of his AC-556K. Susie looked into his eyes and nodded. Susie went over and kneeled down by her mother and two younger sisters by the prostrate figure of her stepfather. As she did so she picked up one of the MP-5 sub-machineguns that had been dropped by one of the twins. Jan disengaged from him and took up an aggressive, protective stance beside her mother and sisters. Dan took Jan's cell phone and dialed 911 while slinging the compact assault rifle from his right shoulder.

"Morgan County 9-1-1 Emergency Response Center. Do you have an emergency?"

"Yeah, this is Don Nichols. Another bunch of those uniformed types attacked my Dad and me. My father Henry has been stunned and is down on our front yard. I'm OK. I've got four more bodies strewn about the yard. I stunned one of them with one of their own weapons. The other three I had to engage by hand-to-hand. I think you should send every ambulance you've got. I'm surrounded by five downed people."

"OH MY GAWD! Again! Don, when are they gonna stop attackin' you!?"

"Hey, I just don't know! Only, please get those ambulances movin'."

"Right! I'm doin' it right now!"

Dan listened as the dispatcher reported another attack on Don Nichols at his residence. He cocked his head in response to the distant sound of a siren. He and the dispatcher finished comparing notes regarding what he'd reported and then he hung up to limp around and check on the status of the four program enforcers he'd dropped on the lawn.

In a short while there was a huge assemblage of emergency response vehicles. Henry Nichols got immediate attention and was the first individual taken off to the Morgan County Hospital. Gwen Nichols was allowed to accompany him in the ambulance. The four program enforcers who'd tried to grab Don Nichols and who'd so callously attacked his father were picked up and handcuffed to gurneys prior to being taken away.

Things happened simultaneously and with overlapping impressions on those who observed the happenings. Police Chief Matheson was obviously purely mad as he reviewed what had happened while listening to Dan. Sheriff Perkins was even more enraged by all of the attacks that seemed to be directed against the son of one his friends and one of the county's leading, most responsible citizens. Captain Lester Thomas was seemingly hyperventilating until Dan told him to calm down. Jan's uncle just looked at Don Nichols for a moment before letting out a great whoosh of breath. He smiled for a moment. "Right, Don. Thanks for keepin' me straight."

And right away Lester radioed to call out the regional SWAT team to provide security for the Nichols household. The West Albemarle Regional Combined Agencies (WARCA) SWAT team immediately responded and members from several surrounding communities' law enforcement agencies began heading towards Danielville. Since many of the WARCA members knew the Nichols through their use of the training facilities provided by the Nichols Security Agency then it wasn't surprising than there was a hurried and enthusiastic response by the SWAT team members to the threat being directed at the Nichols household.

Right on top of that set of radio exchanges Dan observed the arrival of more officialdom. Martin Anderson appeared at his side and began asking him if he or Henry were seriously injured. Mark Mullins and his daughter Janet were there too and Janet immediately hugged him once she found him in no way further injured. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before peeling off and grabbing hold of her best friend Janice Thomas. Dan looked to Mark Mullins and shrugged while shaking his head. The elder Mullins just grinned and patted Don's shoulder before moving on. The man seemed to have something figured out — whatever it was.

Right! It's 'cause Janet's got a case of the major hots for Don and I'm stuck in Don's body!

Dan's younger half-brother FBI Agent Darryl Hanks and his shadow Dara Jones arrived with BATF Agent Paul Tobler pulling up in a vehicle right behind them. They arrived in time to observe Henry Nichols being loaded into an ambulance. They then watched as Dan's opponents were moved into the other waiting ambulances.

Another dark SUV surged up onto the street and for a brief moment Dan wondered if it was a suicide squad of program enforcers arriving to try and attempt another assault on him. But, the doors of the vehicle opened up and out poured the family of William and Margaret Nichols. Don momentarily relaxed in relief in response to this weird overlay of reality impinging upon him.

He looked around and noticed several law enforcement personnel drawing back their hands from their sidearms. He suddenly realized that his own hand had migrated down to the pistolgrip of his AC-556K. He withdrew it as William Nichols was intercepted by Lester Thomas. Still, he was unprepared when Addie Nichols nearly knocked him over as she rushed up to grab hold of him. At least Margaret retained control over her younger children. Both Michael and Sarah were trying to rush up to their older twin cousins Terri and Traci.

"Don! Are you hurt!?" Addie had an intense look on her face as she examined him and noticed that he had a weapon in hand.

Dan was wondering whether this was another case of adolescent hero-worship or lust but as he looked at Don's younger cousin he judged that it was simply a matter of real concern.

Whew! For a moment I thought I had another sex-crazed girl on my hands!

"I'm OK, Addie. Dad's been stunned. I think he'll be OK. He's on the way to the hospital with Gwen. Nothing happened to me. He gestured at the four downed enforcers being trundled into the waiting ambulances."

The thirteen year old cousin of Don looked at him for a moment. Then she sighed and stepped back from him while still maintaining eye contact with him. "OK, that's good. I'm gonna check on the twins. I'm glad you're not hurt. After what you did to those guys who tried to rape Julie you became my favorite cousin. Julie and I are friends. It means a lot to me what you've done. Some day I want to thank you for that." She turned away while wearing an enigmatic-seeming smile and walked over to her younger siblings and Don's half-sisters.

Huh! What was that? Did she mean something by that?

Dan was left standing there suffering from a bit of post-combat let-down and wondering what exactly Don's younger first cousin had meant by her not exactly clear statement of meaning...

The pair of FBI agents and the BATF agent now came trudging over towards him. Darryl looked somewhere between serious and amused by what he was seeing. He quickly shook his head as he tried to wipe a smile off of his face. Agent Jones was again doing her best to watch everything going on around them. And BATF agent Tobler was looking down at what was slung from Don's shoulder. He was frowning ever so slightly at what he was obviously noting as being a Class-III weapon in the hands of a fifteen year old boy.

Dan shrugged and managed a tight grin in the face of the BATF agent's frown. He hefted the weapon up ever-so-slightly. "It belongs to Dad. My stepsister Susie grabbed it as she ran out with her mother and my other stepsister Jan. I just took it from her since she seemed to want to help my stepmother and my half-sisters when they were beside my Dad. I'm fully trained on its usage. Just check with Captain Thomas." Dan nodded towards Lester.

Agent Tobler nodded and immediately turned to walk over to Lester. He immediately pointed back to where Dan was standing with the weapon in hand. Lester smiled and started gesticulating and saying things in an enthusiastic manner.

I guess Paul Tobler is hearing about 'Sneak'.

Darryl was smirking as he looked at the compact assault rifle and the carnage rendered by his old friend's young son. "So, Don. What are we going to do with you? You seem to be capable of dealing with the most incredible threats thrown at you." Dan's younger brother paused and leaned in close. His next question was whispered. "Are you immune to stunner shots?" Darryl's expression seemed to be honestly perplexed as he asked the question.

Dan shrugged Don's shoulders. "Maybe. By my count I've been shot by four different stunners and nothing worse than a tingling has happened. I even used a stunner that had been used to shoot me and I dropped one of those women enforcers with it. But then, I shot that big enforcer in the end and nothing much happened. I mean, I shot him twice and he barely staggered when I hit him twice with the stunner. What gives?"

Darryl looked around and leaned in closer. "I called one of our testing labs about stunner effects. It seems that about one in a thousand people is completely impervious to the stunners. Maybe one percent are partially protected against their effects. I'd guess you're in the first population. Maybe that guy you had the trouble with dropping was in that larger population." Darryl raised his eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

Dan rocked back on his heels as he considered those probabilities. He thought about that and slowly nodded. "OK. I guess I might fit into that smaller population of those who are immune to stunners. And if that's true then my last opponent and target might have been part of that larger population who're partially immune to stunners. That'd certainly explain what's happened today, wouldn't it."