Jillian and I drove back to Malibu after a quick shopping trip early the next morning. We called Helen and Scotty to confirm arrival and Scotty wanted to schedule his maiden voyage with us and Reese.

  “So, the new boat is ready?” Reese asked excited.

  “We would feel safer if you would be available in case of emergency.” Helen said.

  “Good morning, everyone! How many does it sleep?” Paul asked, joining in on the conversation.

  “Good morning to you as well. It sleeps six, including the pack.” Scotty said proudly. Reese and Scotty continued to talk technical terms as Jillian and I put things away in the kitchen. A strange sensation rolled through me as both dogs turned their heads and we heard beep…beep…beep from the road alarms.

  “Danger. Hide. You and both dogs. Now!” I said to Jillian as she looked at me very concerned and grabbed a 2-way radio and Ginger followed her upstairs.

  “Pete! Go! Now!” I said as he reluctantly turned and trotted as Jillian called for him.

  “We've got visitors, not good.” I said into the radio as I grabbed a two-way and went into the garage and pretended to be busy. The mirror over the washtub provided a good view of the driveway. I heard the slow rolling of tires on the dirt covered street.

  “Escalade, looks like two people, approaching the driveway… now backing up.” Jillian whispered.

  “I’m in the garage.” I said quietly.

  “Why are you breathing so hard?” Jillian asked me.

  “I’m scared.” I said honestly.

  “Do the breathing exercise we do together, Ginger. Where’s Pete? Pete is not with me. Shit! Breathe and focus, any wrong move and they are fucking dead.” Jillian said in a very serious tone that caused me to chuckle a little.

  “Watch your scope reflection.” I said quietly.

  “I know I know.” Jillian said. I closed my eyes and thought of William for the first time in a long while as I felt perspiration roll down my sides from my underarms. I looked at my shaking hands and took a deep breath.

  “Passenger door open, driver side open. Two men, one mid twenty’s the other forty maybe fifty.” Jillian said.

  “Which one is the driver?” I asked.

  “The younger man, automatic weapon, adjusting an earpiece… both of them have…new clothes.” Jillian said.

  “What do you mean new clothes?” I asked.

  “I can see the packaging creases in the clean shirts and pants. Military gestures, four, maybe five days facial hair, healthy… wait. The older guy is favoring his left leg. Approaching the driveway. Visible in 3, 2, 1”. Jillian said.

  “Radio silence.” I whispered as I adjusted the volume.

  “What can I do for you gentlemen today?” I said loudly with my back to them as they came into view in the reflection. They both immediately turned on me and pointed their weapons. “FREEZE!” The older man said as they both moved quickly with military precision toward me. I turned to face them and walked slowly lighting a cigar.

  “I SAID FREEZE!” The man demanded.

  “Why? This is my house.” I said looking at both of them, then into their eyes.

  “One more move and I’m going to put a bullet in your leg.” The man warned. I stopped and stood still.

  “Who else is here?” The younger man asked forcefully.

  “No one. Why? Would you threaten them as well?” I asked as I lifted my arm to drag on my cigar.

  “Don’t move.” The older man said slowly aiming his weapon at my head and moving in close. I smelled citrus, oranges probably. Really dirty finger nails, bloodshot eyes, body odor. He pulled the two-way radio from my shirt pocket.

  “It’s an open channel; I heard your vehicle…” I started to say as he turned the volume all the way up and listened. Just ambient sound and the perfect timing of a slight bird call in the distance. This told me that Jillian has moved into position outside, probably across the street.

  “This is a big place for just one person.” The younger man said with sarcasm. This comment drew a muscle twitch from the older man’s face as I concentrated and focused.

  “Tell ya what ‘Lloyd’. Put down your weapon because it’s really annoying and tell Charles here, his safety is still on. That half second it takes to hit that button, could be the difference between… well, I’m not going to discuss tactics today.” I said to the both of them.

  “I don’t know how you did that but you got his name wrong.” Charles said clicking off his safety.

  “How long have you known this man?” I asked Charles. He did not respond as I looked at both of them, shifting my stance. Lloyd’s facial expression was blank but I sensed fear because I knew his real name. He was studying my face trying to recall if it was familiar, all the way back to high school.

  “Today is a… special day? Well, for you two anyway.” I said. Nothing was said for about fifteen seconds as Charles looked around the garage and Lloyd was still trying to figure out how I knew his true name. He had at least three others.

  “If you put your weapons down, I’ll offer you some coffee...” I said to Lloyd. “…and you...” I said turning toward Charles, “a cold beer.” I said as Lloyd’s head turned slightly as he received a transmission in his ear piece. Charles slung his weapon on his shoulder. “Hands up.” Charles said as he approached me.

  “You know, if you do that again, Lloyd here is going to think we’re going steady.” I said as Charles checked me for weapons. Lloyd almost cracked a smile as I heard the familiar thud from the Escalade doors.

  A woman and a man approached from around the bushes near the driveway. The man was elderly, seventy years old, maybe more. The woman was about thirty, they also had new clothes on. The older man carried a silver briefcase about six and a half pounds. White hair, tall, thin and drawn. The woman was a dishwater blonde, poor clothing and shoe choices, make-up looked fresh, lipstick a little excessive, definitely a plus size.

  “Well, well well. Mister Wayne.” The woman said pretending to be in control of this situation.

  “Out of everyone we could possibly come across, it is you that most interests me. Especially since you're still alive.” The woman said slowly walking into the garage. She was concentrating hard to free her mind of thoughts which made it difficult for me to obtain information.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I asked looking toward the older man who was calm on the outside but unstable on the inside.

  She stood in front of me, staring. I could smell her perfume, make-up and body odor. Her hair was brushed, but a little greasy and matted. Finger nails clean and manicured, nail polish about three weeks old judging from her cuticles. Two rings on her fingers, very old, worn and tarnished.

  “How is it that you know their names and drink preferences?” The woman said no longer looking into my eyes and slowly failing at preventing me access.

  “Lucky guess I suppose. Charles here thinks he’s in charge, like that dopey 80’s sit-com, and he has looked at my bottling bench a total of four times. Lloyd here needs a haircut, ya know, like the barber in Mayberry, and I know he can smell my coffee pot.” I said. This freestyle bullshit banter was the best I could come up with as I concentrated on the woman.

  “His name was Floyd.” The older man said holding the briefcase in a voice that did not fit his appearance.

  “Your name is Floyd?” I asked turning to Lloyd. This confusion caused the woman to briefly lose focus and I noticed her blink two times quickly. That’s all I needed.

  The silver briefcase dropped hard to the cement floor as the old man just let go of it. He turned his head toward the woman as blood dripped from his nose, then from his ears. The woman quickly opened the briefcase and pulled out a syringe. Charles dropped his weapon and caught the man as his knees gave way and Lloyd ripped off his shirt sleeve exposing his pale white skeletal arm. The woman inserted the needle and administered the fluid; dark and clear into the button on his shoulder. Shear panic and blood was something I have not seen in a while.

  “It’s not going to work!” The man said in a jittery voice that sounded like he was freezing cold as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth, then his eyes. The woman pulled another syringe from the briefcase and tried again, but he expired quickly with the needle still in his arm. Charles lay him flat on my garage floor as his blood could be heard dripping down into the drain. The three of them exchanged concerned looks with each other as I re-lit my cigar causing them to look at me in possession of both of the weapons. I leaned over and looked at the dead old man.

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  “I was hoping that would have taken an hour or longer.” I said tapping my cigar ash on his chest. This was the man that synthesized the initial sample that put into motion the catastrophic events that spun out of control at the direction of this woman.

  “Oh shit.” The woman said with her eyes closed.

  “You two. Get this out of my garage right now.” I said calmly gesturing as little as possible toward the corpse.

  “You three need to leave immediately.” I said as I pointed Lloyd’s weapon at the woman.

  “I double checked. The safety’s off.” I said with a wink to Charles as I took a strategic position behind the woman causing the men to jump into action to my command.

  “Jenny-bear? Please take the briefcase.” I said as this comment drew interesting expressions from each of their faces. “It’s what this corpse used to call ‘Jen’ when she was a child.” I said to Charles and Lloyd.

  “How can you know that!?” Lloyd asked. I said nothing as we all walked outside as Charles and Lloyd carried the old man and Jen with the briefcase.

  Mom and Sam were watching everything, they went unnoticed until Jen (that’s what I call her because she absolutely hates it) shrieked and both men dropped the corpse and Lloyd reached for a gun from his ankle holster.

  “DON’T DO IT!” I said loudly. My excitement caused Mom and Sam to slowly lock onto the target.

  “Put it down and don’t look at them!” I said to Lloyd as I got in between the bears and the trio. Sam came up to me snarling and drooling and presented his paw, not taking his eyes off Lloyd.

  “This is my security detail.” I said as I turned and held Sam’s massive paw and turned back to face them. Mom and Sam were more scared than anything, and this made them somehow much more dangerous. Lloyd was looking sideways between Jen and the bears and I. He made a poor decision.

  Lloyd quickly grabbed and raised his gun and out of nowhere, Pete jumped. The gun fired one round as Pete locked onto his outstretched forearm. I ducked; the bullet hit Sam. Mom and Sam were on him in an instant. Pete quickly released his arm and got out of the way.

  The scene was horrific as Mom and Sam tore into him. Only a couple of muffled high-pitched screams and crunching could be heard. Ginger was behind Jen and Charles, growling low as Mom and Sam turned with blood-stained mouths and claws. Jillian appeared from the bushes with the sniper rifle. Charles looked at his shirt covered with blood, only to realize most of it was from his face. Mom and Sam avoided Charles as they walked away not taking their eyes off Jen.

  Charles started to panic and tore off his shirt sleeve as Jen was motionless; traumatized, looking at what was left of Lloyd in her blood-spattered new clothes, two big bears, Ginger and Pete looking ferocious and Jillian appearing with the sniper rifle. Charles tried to open the briefcase with his blood-soaked hands. Jen just watched as Charles looked toward her for assistance. She did not respond to his cries for help as he was on his knees moving toward her as she watched him struggle and backed away.

  Jillian was tending to Sam, trying to identify the extent of his injury. “How is Sam? I asked not paying attention to Charles or his pleas for help.

  “Just nicked him.” Jillian said inspecting his shoulder separating his coarse fur.

  “I’ll get the first aid kit.” Jillian said as I stopped her and whispered; “She is the reason for, everything.” Jillian continued into the garage, ignoring Charles as he just looked surprised and collapsed face down with a moist thud. I walked over to Mom and Sam and checked for other injuries and took off my shirt and wrapped Sam’s wound. I comforted Mom and Sam as they were focused on Jen. I turned and looked at her.

  “You’re next, Jenny-bear.” I said as Jillian came back running and avoiding the blood pools that surrounded Charles and Lloyd and handed me a box of dog cookies.

  “Helen and Scotty are on their way, Mark and James are, gone.” Jillian whispered to me.

  I took a bite out of one of the dog cookies and offered the remainder to Mom. I did the same with Sam. I tossed a cookie to both Ginger and Pete who were behind Jen. Their sudden movements of catching the cookies and exposed teeth scared Jen even more.

  “That sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” I said to Jen with a snort commenting on the crunching sounds.

  “He… he was my cousin.” Jen said as it sounded like a thought escaping as a breath as she looked at Lloyd's crushed skull and half of his neck missing.

  “Yea, well now he’s gonna be somethings lunch.” I said looking at all the blood as Jen looked at me surprised.

  “I sure as shit am not going to bury someone that shoots my friend. I’ll give you a shovel, if you want.” I said to Jen handing out more cookies. Mom and Sam’s disposition were returning to normal as Sam was enjoying Jillian’s attention and concern for him as she tended his wound.

  “I’ll give all the cookies to Ginger and Pete and you won’t get any!” Jillian said as Sam tried to play a little.

  “Any minute now, Huh?” I asked Jen. Her mind was naked to me. I walked over and grabbed her hand. She tried to pull away but instead just turned her face away from mine.

  “Wow.” I said calmly as I released her soft hand. Jillian watched the interaction between Jen and I, and approached.

  “Your Doctor J.” Jen said quietly only glancing for a moment at Jillian.

  “Do you have any weapons?” I asked Jen.

  “None.” She said immediately shaking her head. I searched her plump body completely. She actually told the truth. I got in the golf cart that has a utility trailer attached and told Jen to help me put the three bodies in it. I whistled pleasantly “For whom the bell tolls” Metallica, as I tossed a pick axe and a shovel on top of the bodies showing no respect.

  “Get in. You, have a lot of work to do.” I said to Jen. Jillian came up to me and whispered; “Helen and Scotty will be here in five minutes.”

  “PETE!” I yelled not knowing that he was already sitting in the back seat of the golf cart like a statue.

  “You know, it’s going to take about ten gallons of water to clean my garage and driveway. How are you going to compensate us?” I asked Jen. She said nothing.

  “If she lives.” Jillian said coldly walking away after handing me a cold drink and a clean Hawaiian shirt.

  “We’ll take possession of the Escalade. Okay? That’s fair.” I said, again no response from Jen.

  “Do you want me to stack your corpse on top of them or separate?” I asked Jen with a jerk of my thumb pointing behind me. Jen said nothing.

  “The top it is then, no sense in changing tradition now huh?” I said as Helen and Scotty roared up the street and came to a sudden stop near the golf cart. Helen was driving as Scotty trained his sawed-off shotgun out the passenger window at Jen. As the dust cleared, Scotty with his shotgun and the huge wolf heads came into focus.

  “Just taking out the trash.” I said as Mom and Sam approached Scotty’s vehicle as Scotty opened the door.

  The wolves, Ginger and the bears all greeted and inspected each other and moved slowly toward the golf cart. They did not bother with Pete because he was working.

  “I’ll bet you…” Scotty started to say as he searched his pockets…” a piece of paper and a pen cap that she CAN out run the posse.” Scotty said as he placed the items in the empty cup holder in the golf cart. The wolves just sniffed the corpses and avoided the blood-stained ground and then trotted in a menacing circle around the golf cart staring intently at Jen. She closed her eyes and placed her hands over her face as the smell of urine reached my nose.

  “It’s not even noon and you have a full day of work ahead of you, including cleaning my golf cart.” I said to Jen.

  “How did she find you?” Scotty asked me.

  “Mark and James had locator implants. They didn’t even know they had them.” I said looking at Jen in disgust.

  “Sorry got to go, the trailer is dripping blood all over the street and she is going to die a horrible and painful death…” I said as Helen interrupted…” We can only hope.”

  “She wants to bury them.” I said chuckling a little. “I’m going to watch for about five minutes and try to locate another trailer I suppose.” I said as Jen turned and looked toward me.

  “You, are on your own. You consider all of us, peasants. WE are going fishing, then WE are going to have a lovely dinner together, probably grilled swordfish, one of your favorites, white wine and… what are we having for dessert?” I asked looking at Jillian, Helen and Scotty.

  “Peach Cobbler.” Helen said in a manner that left no less than total loathing toward Jen. She might as well had said ‘Fuck off and die already.’

  “Ohhh! That’s sounds good, doesn’t it?” I asked Jen with a closed mouth smile as Jillian was going through the Escalade.

  “Here is everything you own.” Jillian said, tossing the backpack at Jen and it falling short.

  “Oh. Let me see the survival kit.” I said with enthusiastic sarcasm as I pulled it out of Jens hand.

  “Make-up; check, tampons, three; check, hair brush; check, four water bottles, 1 2 3 4, 6 cans of gruel.” I gasped. “Maps!” I said surprised. “Our house, the marina, your place…” I said looking toward Helen and Scotty. “The outpost plus 1, 2, and 3 others. Map of Oklahoma, map of Catalina Island. All with circled points of interest.” I said out loud to everyone listening.

  “What is a fair trade for these maps?” I asked Jen.

  “Do NOT let me die.” Jen said looking at me with absolute sincerity.

  “Everyone dies.” Jillian said coldly.

  “That’s true, something else. We are all actually surprised you're still alive, really. Tell you what, whatever the dogs and the bears don’t eat tonight, I’ll bring to you in the morning. Once we agree on a burial location. You will be there a while, three graves take a long time to dig, longer than you think, unless you don’t mind something digging them up as a tasty snack.” I said.

  “Pete and I will meet you all at the Marina in one hour.” I said as I pulled away whistling Metallica.

  After twenty minutes of driving roads that were just to confuse Jen, she finally spoke.

  “You and I have similar, talents.” She said trying to be charming.

  “What? Were both good at performing oral sex?” I said. Jen giggled and pulled her hair to one side exposing her neck.

  “Don’t even think about that.” I said looking at her. “I know… everything. About you. About your family’s history, and its legacy. Since you are not dead maybe the treatments bought you some time, but death is inevitable.” I said as I pulled the golf cart over and backed it up a little. I grabbed the three-fifty-seven from the storage bin and pointed to a small area about ten feet from the road.

  “The run off won’t pollute much here, besides, the ground here is soft, you’ll thank me in about three hours”. I said as I unhitched the trailer. “Use the pick ax to break the ground and the shovel to move it.” I said demonstrating the amount of effort required.

  “Six feet long, four feet wide and six foot deep. Three of them. You are five foot four inches, use it as reference.” I said handing the pick-axe to her.

  “The quicker you work, the less interest the locals will take.” I said with a wink and looking around.

  “That’s my favorite pickax, don’t break it.” I said as I sat in the golf cart and re-lit my cigar.

  “You’re wasting daylight.” I said as I opened a bottle of water and shared it with Pete.

  “You are really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Jen said as she was surprised how heavy the pickax was. Her first couple of attempts were comical as I just had to record her using my old iPhone.

  “When you give up, there is a small neighborhood about three miles north. If you live and decide to return or send anyone to our house or any of the other locations on the maps; YOU will be hunted and killed.” I said as Jen looked at me and continued her assault on my pickax. After a minute or two I stopped recording.

  “Jen. Take off your bra and panties, please.” I said as I grabbed myself and gave her a look. Jen smiled and removed her clothes. I stood up and collected her bra and panties as she stood naked. I stood in front of her then turned and looked out over the tree tops and the valley below with rolling hills.

  “Like you said before; ‘The world; is still yours’… and now, you are naked to it.” I said as I placed her bra and panties in the golf cart and drove away.