CH 34

Soccer was an easy sport to gear up for. gym clothes and sneakers that had nubs on the bottoms. Knee and elbow pads were recommended, but not required. Mrs. Hughes was the girl's coach, Mr. Nader was the boy's coach.

Joan and Allison were familiar with the warmup exercises and the run around the track. After the warmups, Mrs. Hughes and a senior girl showed 'the new girls' now to kick and head the ball, and use their bodies to stop the ball. The positions and rules were explained, and variations. Each 'line' had to have a minimum of two players. Players could be shifted to have up to 4 players on each line, but the total of players on the field could not exceed 12, including the goalie.

They did a few kicks at the goal, taking turns. While they were doing this practice, Joan was working strategy in her mind. This was similar to football in that you had to get past the opposing team, and get the ball into the goal. It was using your body and feet instead of hand carrying the ball. Hands and arms weren't to be used at all, and there was no body contact allowed.

Near the end of the practice they formed up for a quick game. Mrs, Hughes put their normal team against the secondaries and the new girls. She want to see what Joan Connor could do. Teir normal team got the ball first.

Joan noted there was no huddle before they began. What kind of game was this when you didn't huddle to plan what you were going to do? With Allie beside her forward in the middle, Joan whispered to her, "After I get the ball to you, go left, I'll hook around and get behind the front line. We pass to each other on the way to the goal."

"Got it."

The ball was tapped, signalling the start. Joan lunged, The other center quickly kicked the ball. Jan's lunged put her just behind the ball, she jumped and stepped in front of it, making it bounce towards the opposing goal. Quickly changing direction, she kicked it and raced behind it. Seeing Allison was going to be clear, she kicked it over to her. Two players moved in front of Allison, Joan turned quickly again to run at Allison. Allison kicked the ball back to her. Joan gauged angles and kicked the ball coming at her hard. The ball sped by a full back who was too slow to get in front of it. The goalie woke up to the fact the ball was coming at the goal, she jumped to grab it, the ball slipped through her hands.

Score!

"Yes!" Joan and Allison cried thrusting their fists in the air. They trotted together and high-fived with a loud slap.

The whole team was looking at them.

"They move like greased lightning!" one girl said in amazement.

"I thought we had the ball," another girl said.

"What just happened?" a girl on the side asked, looking confused.

Mrs. Hughes blew her whistle with a smile on her face. Joan and Allison were just as good as Mr. Nader told her they would be. She was sure their standings in the league this year would be a little higher. Still, she had to chastise her team.

"What was that?" she asked loudly to her normal team. "You had the ball, yet they grabbed it and blew right THROUGH you! Did you even try to stop them?"

A dozen gaping faces looked at her.

"Let's try that again ladies! Reset and do it again. HEADS UP this time!"

Joan and Allison got back to the center positions, braced themselves to run and grinned at the other side. The girls in the center conspired quietly then looked off to the left. The ball was tapped, then the other girl kicked it back to the mid-backs on the left side. Joan raced after the ball. Seeing Joan catching up to it, the mid back also ran at the ball. Allison appeared to intercept the ball and race downfield. Again, the players able to moved to block Allison, leaving Joan clear. Allison kicked to Joan, Joan gauged the angles and kicked the ball hard as it approached. The ball went screaming towards the goal. This time, the goalie was set and watching the fast moving ball. Hands out to catch it, it hit her hands so hard it bounced and knocked her back. The ball rolled back outside the goalie area, Allison raced by and kicked it in. Joan was running back and forth in front of the girls trying to block Allison.

Mrs. Hughes blew her whistle. "OK I can see where we need to practice. Everyone, form up on the track, we're taking a lap and the last four who cross the line do it again! The first four across the line will not need to help pick up."

They all lined up, taking up the width of the track. The whistle blew, they all took off. Joan and Allison threaded their way to the front and took the outside curves where o one else was. Putting all their efforts into the run, Joan slightly lead Allison. But the time the got around the corner, they were ahead of the pack that was spreading out. They drifted to the inside and were around the second corner while most or the team were still on the back stretch. Huffing and pushing to try to beat each other, Joan lead Allison over the finish line by a footstep. The next closest girls were on the second corner coming around.

"We won!" Joan cried, arms in the air.

Allison frowned. "You beat me by one lousy step"

"Want to try again?" Joan asked.

"Connor, Young, Richards, Deitz, hit the showers," Mrs. Hughes ordered. "Anderson, Baker, Wallace, Peterson, take another lap!"

"Mrs. Hughes!" Allison called, "Joan beat me by one lousy step, can we do it again?"

"Showers girls."

"Allie, I'll let you win next time," Joan told her.

"No you won't! you better run as fast as you can," Allison scolded.

"Ok, I will," Joan said with a smirk.

Allison stuck her tongue out at her. They headed for the showers.

.

Mrs. Hughes sat with Mr. Nader and watched the Joan Connor games.

"She's wrecking machine out there," Mrs. Hughes commented.

"Do you remember Cameron Connor, the Iron maiden?" he asked.

"Yes! our team tried everything to get her to sign up with us, so did a few other teams, including NFL teams." she said.

Mr. Nader nodded to the screen. "Joan's her daughter. I did some research, Allison Young is ... Cameron's younger sister. Jackie Connor is Delilah Connor's daughter. You remember the Bulldozer?"

Mrs. Hughes giggled. "We are so going to win this year."

"For quite a few years to come," he said. "That is, unless something displaces them again."

She looked at him. "They were force to move?"

Mr. Nader tipped his head slightly. "They have been in Palmdale for many years. I don't believe anything could physically force them anywhere. Something happened, and the whole clan left and came here. They were well known and liked in Palmdale, active in community affairs. They moved here, into a small, quiet town and they have pretty much kept to themselves. Something happened."

"Many people are fleeing California for financial reasons," she offered.

"That could well be," he agreed. "The Connors, especially John and Cameron, were being targeted by some very bad people. Everyone I know thought those bad ones were all gone. It is possible there are leftovers, looking for revenge."

Mrs. Hughes thought briefly, then her mouth dropped open. "That bus ... that big car pileup on the road out to the small lake where they live. You think they were after the Connors?"

"I am sure of it," Mr. Nader said. "It is foolhardy to go after the Connors directly like that. If there are any of them left, they well may try something against their children. I'm not saying there are any left. I'm saying keep a close eye out for strangers."

Mrs Hughes had many friends and acquaintances from her career in football. Some were in California. She got on her phone and started asking people she knew about the Connors. One she knew now lived in Palmdale, and was a detective on the police force.

"Detective Afezikai."

"Hey Joline it's Dakota."

"Dakota! Damn girl! It's great to hear from you! How have you been?"

"Teaching school, coaching, raising my family. Say did anything happen there with the Connor family?"

"What hasn't happened with them, you mean. Lately, we're missing them. They did much for our community. It turned kinda sour though after the last charity event they held. They left not a year later."

"What happened?"

"Just outside the festival grounds, their oldest daughter, Joan, was shot. The perp fled, then got into an accident and killed himself."

"She was shot?"

"She was, two people saw it. Drive by. A car pulled up, put one point blank range, square into her back. She lived, thankful. From what we know, the car had been sitting down the road, off to the side. The perp was waiting for her."

"I guess that would make me move too," Dakota said vacantly.

That had to be the 'something' that had happened. The Connors moved to keep their kids safe. Mr. Nader was right, they had to keep a close watch out for strangers.

.

The day the boat launched was a big event. Everyone around the lake was there at the Tanner house to witness the event. While it was in 'trailer' mode behind the Excursion at the ramp, Delilah and the kids decorated it with bunting around the rails except for where the side and front gates were and multicolored streamers hanging off the canvas cover that was pulled out over the platform. Mark got on the boat, Sonya backed it slowly into the water.

As soon as the boat was floating, Mark waved she her to stop. Sonya got out and disconnected the hitch. Mark opened the hatch near the front and retracted the tow bar, then lifted the wheels. Joan and Cameron tied the boat to the dock. Mark raised his arms and announced, "It's a float!"

Everyone cheered. From the dock side gate, Sonya got on and inspected for leaks with Mark. None were found. Mark started the engine, a 22 HP lawnmower engine with extra muffler on it.

"Who's going for the first ride?" Sonya asked.

Everyone piled on. John untied the lines before he got on, and shut the gate.

Mark motioned to the helm. "Sonya, take us out." He stayed beside her and guided her on how to leave the dock.

Evey with all the Connors, Youngs, Riggs and Tanners on board, the deck was full but not crowded. Sonya back ed the boat away from the dock, then shifted and moved forward. They motored out into the lake.

Sonya driving, she picked up speed listened and watched to be sure everything was working smoothly. It turned a bit slow, but not painfully so. The faster they were going, the quicker they turned.

Daniel looked over the back. "Dual screws?" he asked.

"Has to be, or else it wouldn't turn at all going slow." Mark told him. "The prop wash has to hit the rudders on the ends of the pontoons there."

"I have to say, this is a great piece of engineering you came up with. It's even it's own trailer. How'd you do that?"

Mark explained to him and John the 'aircraft' type gear used to bring the wheels up out of the water so they didn't drag along.

By the helm, Cameron, Sonya, Delilah and Sarah noticed something right away. The kids were hanging out near and on the railing, watching the water go by.

"Someone falls off, they are going straight to the bottom,"' Cameron said.

"We need to go get tails," Delilah said, then went around shooing kids off the rails.

"We also don't have an anchor," Sonya noted. "Without tails, the only way up is to climb something."

"We'll get four, one for each corner of the boat," Cameron stated.

"With break and shake lights," Sarah added, "So whoever is down there can find the anchor to haul themselves up."

"Knotted ropes to help them climb." Sonya added.

The kids were happy when Sonya announced she was going to their dock so they could get their mermaid tails on.

Pulling up beside the dock slowly, she got them stopped. Cameron and Delilah jumped off and go them tied up. The kids ran up to the house to get their tails. Bob stayed by the boat. He saw the alligator in the water on the other side of the dock, it's eyes and snout out of the water as it watched them.

.

Returning from the house with swimsuits on and carrying their tails, the kids returned, bringing Cameron, Delilah and Sonya's tails with them as well. JJ hardly ever wore his tail but he brought it along.

Joan said, "Moms and Dad need to be protected from dropping to the bottom as well!" She even brought John's Mono-fin which he had only used a few times so he knew how.

While the kids put their tails on, John and Martin went up and got a cooler of drinks. Kids putting their tails on meant they were going to want to swim. Their stay at the dock was a little longer than they planned, but now they were ready for a mid-lake party.

.

John Henry was good and plotting action and reaction. He knew someone would eventually look into what had changed in the Driftwood area recently. Looking into the files from Driftwood, he noted the building permits and land sales in the past two years. In each file that showed these transactions, he planted viruses. The key to activating the virus was a request from out of state to call up the files. Once activated, the virus traced the IP back to it's origin source and inform him the location of where the request came from. It also send the virus along with the information to allow him access to that computer's files. Faster than any information could be printed out, the virus would disable any devices attached to the computer, and inform him. He would decide whether to shut down that computer or let it run.

Put in place as a possible eventuality, John Henry was mildly surprised when he got a notification that an IP from New York City was looking at the Driftwood files. This computer was downloading all the files made withing the last year. Going to work he got into that computer and looked at it's files.

Streaming down his screen, this computer he surmised was a home computer. It had many security devices attached to it. Looking into the video feed, he saw it was a plush apartment in some high rise. He got the address and the name of the residents. This was a very rich man who had guards a the door and several servant's rooms. He found the man on his computer, trying to get the printer to work. He typed in a message to fill the man's screen.

Thank you for accessing these files! You have lead us directly to you. Names and address are registered. Such cooperation from an unfriendly source is rare to find. Your computer will destroy itself in :

The timer that filled the screen started at ten seconds. He watched them man frantically type on his keyboard until his view went blank.

John Henry then contacted Mrs. Weaver, General Watson and John Connor and let hem know what he found.

.

The old man watched his assistant come in wearing deep frown. "Sir, I have bad news. We've been hacked and a virus took our computer system down. It is unrecoverable. Security, communications, banking records, all gone."

"How did that happen?" the old man cried.

"Our tech was pulling up standard public information files from Driftwood Texas, and all peripheral equipment stopped working, then he got a message n the screen that they have our address, here. Then the computer destroyed itself. We've found there is no recovery. The hard drive crashed, memory modules have been wiped clean and the CPU is burned out. A new computer was put on line, and when our backup data chips were installed, that computer crashed also. We no longer have any data, Sir."

"Do we at least have those printed out files?" he old man asked.

"No sir, all peripheral equipment stopped working. That includes the printer, sir."

"We still have our contacts, correct?"

The man shook his head. "All that information was in computer memory. We have nothing, sir. Not even our own payroll information or autopay for the bills. "

"That computer was suppose to be hack proof!" the old man yelled. "The virus software didn't work?"

"Apparently not, sir. Whatever hit us was very advanced."

"Get people to work and FIX IT!" the old man snapped.

"Sir, there is no fixing it. Our data is gone, it will have to be rebuilt."

"I WANT WHO DID THIS!" the old man roared, then coughed.

Another man came in, looking meek. "Sirs? I got a call from the bank, it appears our banking records are missing, they want our backup data."

"WHAT?" the old man cried.

"We have no backup data," the first man told him.

"If we cannot supply the data, then we are insolvent," the new man said.

"Fifteen billion dollars gone? FIND WHO DID THIS!" the old man raged. His face turned red. He gasped and clutched his chest. "Find ... them!' he gasped out.

His assistant tried to call 911. Being on the computer system, his phone didn't work. He raced out the door as the old man gasped and turned pale.

.

Sunday during the cookout, the Sheriff arrived at the Connor house. He looked over their cars as he headed for the group of people around that patio and pool. Seeing him, Sarah waved, "Hey, Sheriff, come to get some food?"

"Good day, Mrs. Riggs," the sheriff said tipping his hat. "Had to come out for a request from the county office. Do you people have any damage vehicles?"

Sarah looked at Cameron. Cameron shrugged and asked, "Was there an accident?"

"There was," the sheriff admitted. He pulled some papers out of his back pocket. "Got warrants here to search for any vehicles badly damaged for, well, everyone who lives around the lake."

People looked at each other. Cameron told him, "Most all our cars are right here in the lot, sheriff. Look them over as you please, then come grab some food and a drink."

"Might kind of you ma'am."He said. "Say, you got that big RV thing you drive around?"

"It's in the barn. I can take you to it, or drive it down for you," Cameron offered.

"I'd like to see it as it sits, if you don't mind," he replied.

"I'll go," Delilah offered. "You're cooking. Come on sheriff," Delilah said.

The Sheriff followed Delilah up to the barn. "Anything in that garage?" he asked.

"Christine and Cam's Purple Jeep," she said and angled towards the garage. She opened to an overhead door an motioned him in. "Had to get them out of the way for parking room for the others," she told him.

"I can see that." He looked over the Jeep, then went over to Christine. Shaking his head, he said, "You know, I think this is the best rebuild job I've ever seen. This car is a museum piece."

"Thank you!" Delilah beamed. "We do our best to take good care of Christine. I don't think there's another one like her in the whole world."

"I'd say you're right about that." he agreed. "Let's head up to the barn."

They left the garage and went up to the barn. Delilah opened a side door, the sheriff followed her in.

"Can you tell us what happened? I know Martin had to go watch over an accident site, but nothing in particular."

"Can't really say, that whole thing is being investigated," he told her. He looked closely a the two large vehicles in here. One looked like a modified tank. It had dust on it like it hadn't moved for a while. The EV had some mud and road dirt on it. He walked around it. Something like this could crash a car, but besides some dirt, there were no scratches or dents from hitting anything. No burned spots either. It hadn't been repaired, because the off road debris was evenly spread over it. This vehicle was his best shot at finding a culprit, if the culprit was up here.

"If you don't mind me asked, how much do one of these things cost?" he asked.

"Cam said it was seven hundred thousand," Delilah told him.

He gaped at her, then shook his head. "That's a pile of cash, but if you can afford it, good for you."

Something caught his eye, movement from inside the EV-2. Joan's face and one bare shoulder showed.

Delilah jumped up on the track and opened the passenger door. "All right, get dressed, get out," she said firmly, then jumped down.

The Sheriff chuckled behind his hand as he wiped his mouth.

"Kids!" Delilah grumbled. She then said, "Come on out, it's no secret who's in there, Joan and Bob!"

Joan came out followed by Bob. Both red faced and looking meek. Their clothes were rumpled.

"How'd you know where we were?" Joan asked meekly.

Delilah pointed to the sheriff, "The Sheriff here said we had intruders in the barn, do you want him to arrest you for having underage sex?" she asked.

"No!" Joan and Bob both cried.

"Then you better behave!" Delilah warned. "There aren't any wet spots in there, are there?"

Joan flushed bright red and cried, "NO!"

Delilah pointed at the door. "Go and join the rest of the party. Your private party here is over."

Joan left quickly, Bob followed.

The sheriff watched them go, then said, "There is no law specifically against underage sex, unless an adult is involved."

Delilah grinned, "As long as they think it's illegal, that's fine."

He laughed.

The Sheriff knew the Riggs had one car, so did the Youngs and Mrs. Tanner. The only multi vehicle place was here, and none of the vehicles had any damage at all. The theory that someone from the lake had rammed into all those cars, very questionable from the start, was proven false. He did bow to Delilah coaxing him to stay just for an Italian sausage with peppers and onions and a soft drink. He also noticed the alligator was still outside the fence. It looked like they had a handle on things up here.

.

Heading back to town, the sheriff noticed a car on the side near where the big accident was. He stopped to talk to the two suited men where were wandering on the side of the road.

The on balding one came up to him. "Did you serve the warrant yet, Sheriff?"

"Yup, and there isn't a single vehicle up there from any house that's even got decent dents in it."

"We found something hit the lead car had enough to cause a violent chain reaction. That something MUST be up around that lake," the man insisted.

"We'll, it isn't, at least that belongs to anyone up there," The Sheriff said firmly. "MY deputy had the road blocked from the lake end to intercept those clowns. I was coming up behind them. Nothing passed me or him. Whatever it was, had to have come from the side. There are trails around here, and whatever it was, it wasn't a car. I'm thinking a bulldozer or tank, but they would have left big tracks and crushed brush. There isn't any of that up or down this whole road."

"Can you explain it?" the man challenged.

"No, I can't," the Sheriff said. "It's a damn mystery. The best guess I can come up with is the lead car got ahead of the rest, saw Martin and came speeding back. Even so, why smash into the other cars? It is two lanes, he could have just driven on by."

"He could have died at the wheel and drifted over into them."

"Has the coroner found any bodies that had bullet wounds in them?" the Sheriff asked. "Last I know, he didn't."

"What are you telling me? Something just dropped out of the sky on them?" the man asked.

The Sheriff grinned. "You know, the Staties came and took over the scene and the investigation. You need me to check something out, fine, I'll do it, but this is your ball of yarn to untangle, not mine. It's up to you to figure this shit out." He tipped his hat and said, "Good day, gentlemen. I have to file a report on the warrants I served."

The Sheriff got back in his car and continued on his way.

.

The Sunday barbecue party was over except for getting Bob and Allison back home. After Bob and Joan were found, they got a soccer ball and kicked to each other an bounced it off their knees and heads. John scrubbed the grill down after the coals were low enough to do so. Cameron cam over to him. "John, I just talked to John Henry. The source of our troubles has been de-funded."

"Great, but won't they recover?"

"It was fifteen billion dollars that evaporated. They won't be recovering that much any time soon." she stated. "There are most likely still terrorists around, but they no longer have funding. Their backing is gone, their communications are gone. I doubt we will see any more large scale attempts to destroy towns and cities."

John smiled briefly. "Let's hope so."

.

Watching Monday's practice, Mrs. Hughes noticed Joan and Allison were adding something to their game besides speed and accuracy. Confusion. She recognized what they were doing. When one had the ball, the other would run close to anyone near her. It was a football strategy to block the opponent away from the ball carrier. By running back and forth in front of the other team, it slowed the other team's response trying to figure out what they were doing. After another practice game where Joan and Allison raced down to get a goal, she gathered all her players and had Joan explain why they were doing, what they were doing. Suddenly, the holes Joan and Allison were able to get through made sense.

She also had them practice stop and start drills and the five step side to side drills, moving as fast as they could go. These drills were harder, due to the fact it took more energy to start, stop, they start again in another direction. It did make many of the girls faster. Run, stop, kick, run drills were even better and sharpened the team's aiming skills.

This next Saturday was a game against Dripping Springs. They were another small town that had a small High School population. She decided not to unleash Joan and Allison on them. A caravan went up for the game, all the parents of the players, and the Boy's team which had a game against the Dripping Springs boys.

Getting set up and doing warm ups, Joan noticed Bob was on the boy's team, first string. The girls played first, then it was the boy's turn. Bob came over to sit near Joan. "I thought you were playing?" he asked as their teams went out on the field.

"Only if we get in trouble and get behind on points," Joan replied.

Dripping Springs got first try. Tensed and ready, as soon as the ball moved, Driftwood girls charged. Their charge didn't immediately get the ball, but did fluster the other team enough that the girl that kicked to the outside kicked at an angle towards the Driftwood team. The fair right forward saw it and managed to get a foot on the ball.

Here, the run stop run drills paid off. Th Dripping Springs girls couldn't keep up with the sudden moves. They got the ball back, then trying to kick it to another player, and suddenly found a Driftwood girl belt it to a forward. The first goal attempt, was a straight kick in, trying to get past the goalie, who jumped on the ball.

The game went back and forth, mostly on the Dripping Springs side of the pitch. The end of the first quarter, Joan watched their girls come back, dripping with sweat and panting. Coach Hughes got them together as their wiped their faces and guzzled some Gatorade. The rest period over they ran back out and took their positions.

The second period started like the first, then Richards tried a 'Joan' kick at the goal. Aiming at one spot, but hitting the ball slightly off center. The goalie was fooled as the ball went to the side she wasn't expecting. Driftwood got the first goal.

By the end of the second quarter, the forward and mid back girls on the field were getting exhausted from their relentless efforts. Having few replacements, Joan and Allison were the new forward centers.

Joan noted a few worn looking girls in front of her. Apparently, Dripping Springs had fewer replacements. Joan and Allison didn't give them a break. Upon the ball moving, Joan jumped out at it. She got the ball and ran. Passing , weaving and keeping the opposition off the ball handler, they all but ran straight at the goal. The ones behind the couldn't keep up and the ones in front were easily tricked by brief fake dodges to the side. Even with Allison, Joan looked at her, Allison nodded. Joan passed the ball to her in a hard kick. Allison kicked it hard at the goal. The goalie, not expecting a goal attempt 30 yards out, saw it coming too late. she made a wild grab for it and missed.

The third quarter was a disaster for Dripping Springs. Joan made three goals, Allison four. One Dripping Springs girl collapsed on the field, dehydrated and so weak she had to be helped off the field.

In the fourth quarter, Mrs. Hughes put a few girls back in to play, and a couple who hadn't played yet, and took Joan and Allison back out. Dripping Springs did manage to get a goal attempt in and kept Driftwood from scoring any further points.

While the boys did their warmups for their game, the girl teams mingled. All the Dripping Springs girls, their coach too, wanted to meet Joan and Allison. They were stunned by their speed and coordination. It was then Joan found out that after the 'semi finals' of each school classification, the team to go for the finals was made from the area's best players. Both teams were sure that Joan and Allison would lead their district team in the finals.

The boys game was a nail biter. First Driftwood got a goal, then Dipping Springs got two. In the second half, Driftwood got one, then another. The fourth quarter saw both teams playing frantically, but the score ended up 3-2 in favor of Driftwood.

It was a good, fun day out on the soccer field.

.

With the lack of funding (being paid) to go cause trouble, many groups of 'protesters' decided the risk wasn't worth the reward. One group had a system and didn't want to quit. They get the violence started, pump up others and draw police attention, then their 'pickup' squad would do the looting. Once the protest was over, the looted goods were sold either on the black market or right on E-bay. Protesting was good to them.

Gary Patrick was known by everyone in the group as 'Billy'. Billy was smart enough to keep his people organized and under his control. He also knew how to whip up a crowd and when to signal the pickup squad to begin looting, and when to get them out before the law arrived. The lack of funding didn't bother him so much as there was someone causing it to happen. If the protests died down, then his group would come under more scrutiny.

Billy didn't want to lose his income. When a messenger came to his place to tell him where the source of the anti-protesting attacks came from, Billy listened, then disregarded the messenger's advice. He knew how to cause trouble and get rid of anyone who stood in his way. The local officials knew how dangerous he was, and if they valued their positions and families, they would let the protests go on, no matter how violent they were.

Once they got the money from their last good haul, he was going to Texas teach these anti-protesters a lesson they'd never forget.