LadyMouse

by Joel Lane

The year is 2083 and Disney has been under the thumb of the UTX megacorporation for ten years. Disasters have plagued the world and a group of unlikely heros lead by the Replicant Gadget Hackwrench might just save the world, though death surround them all

4. The Smouldering Mirror of Yesterday

Chapter 4:

The Smouldering Mirror of Yesterday

Gadget shook inside as Matamoros' countdown clock ticked down. The sweat poured down her worried face as she looked from 'her mother', Miriam, to the disguised Larry Williams back the helplessly frightened Milo. Larry seemed the calmest, and most sinister looking with his false beard and moustache. He waved a wand over Miriam, then nodded sharply at her.

"We give up! We surrender! Look, you psycho! I don't like my friends involved in this. You guarantee not to harm them and I'll surrender." Gadget bit the words off with a defeated sound to her voice.

"You all surrender or there is no deal. My dear, 'Gadget'–your secrets cannot have anyone running around to speak of them. You all will be my guests in the Yucatan Replication Facility, where you will all have modifications to your speech centers, so you won't be able to speak of Gadget's little secret again. You don't have to agree! Perhaps Mrs. Hackensack's OTHER daughter would be better suited to play the part?" He sounded so calm and reasonable, as if he were asking about desert after a power-lunch, that Miriam didn't react at first.

She grimaced at Maximilian and shouted, "Stay away from my little girl! You megalomaniac!"

He frowned and chided Miriam, "Now ,now! No name calling! I've been perfectly reasonable up to now, and you are out of options. Set down at the air-port at Hangar 27, or be destroyed."

Gadget, still leaning over Milo's right shoulder, said urgently, "Alright! We're setting down! Don't fire."

Milo started to say, "Gadget, we can't do that!" She terminated the transmission and cut off the view-phone.

Larry snapped off, "Her bra's bugged!. It sending out the strongest signal. Her shoes are too, but not powerful enough to penetrate the electronic counter-measures of this car!"

Gadget said sharply to all, "Tiffany plan 'B' in effect! We fight over the controls, clip a wire and 'crash' into an underground parking structure and you lot bail out and get picked up by Tiffany. I keep Miriam's bra and shoes on board and take them on a wild ride, then dump them. MIRIAM! You got all that? "

Miriam was grinning and working on her bra. "Got it! Got IT! Damn thing!" She glared at Larry and shouted," Mr. Mysterious! Grab the shoes!" She struggled for a brief, arm-twisting moment and pulled out her bra, and went, "Viola! For my next trick..."

Gadget yelled at her, "You'll hang on!"

Gadget dipped the nose down into a dive toward the airport parking structure. Miriam shrieked and grabbed a hand-hold. The air-car bobbed and wavered in a convincing dance toward disaster. Milo knew it was all staged, but his stomach still was queasy, when Gadget did a barrel-roll, while diving. Larry and Miriam gave out cries of alarm during a moment of free-fall. Gadget kept her hands on the controls, even if her feet left the carpeting a time or two. The pursuing craft fell back to give the 'ailing' craft room.

Gadget spotted the wire they had picked out, earlier in the evening, and rammed it with the nose of the craft. It severed cleanly and Gadget heeled the craft over almost sideways and shot it into the entrance of the underground parking structure, past the incurious eyes of an UTX 3483 Attendant Servo-mech in the attendant's shack. She dropped a flare from the tail of the Boeing air-car and brought the air-car to a bumpy landing that had seemed to have scraped most of the paint off. All the doors opened on the craft as Tiffany in her faux 'Miriam Hackensack' outfit rushed up. The flare burned with eye-searing light and sent up a huge cloud of grey smoke to the ceiling beams.

She jerked up her flash-light as the overloaded lights went out. Gadget yelled from inside the Boeing craft, "Last stop! Everybody out!"

Milo jumped out the pilot's door, running to a vehicle parked nearby and Gadget took his seat and strapped in. Larry handed her a plastic shopping bag with Miriam's broadcasting bra and shoes in it. Miriam jumped out onto the concrete barefoot, and took off toward the beckoning Tiffany. Larry jumped out the passenger-side door as Milo drove up their escape vehicle, a heavily built high-performance electric SUV. Larry piled into the rear as the two women took the center seat-row.

Milo had the SUV roar up the exit ramp as the emergency power flickered to come on. The emergency lights showed the air-car spinning about on the top level of the underground parking structure, as the silvery SUV sped out onto the surface roads.

A couple of people , deplaning from an trans-sonic rocket-plane from Australia, tried for their cars on the top level. One reached his red sports-car and rocketed up the exit after the silvery SUV.. A female, young executive-type jumped back from the spinning air-car as Gadget dished in the side of a pearl-colored stream-lined station-wagon and straightened out the engine-pods on the Boeing and jetted up the entrance ramp and back into the darkened skies of the Nashville night.

The young executive woman screamed a string of curses and invectives after the retreating air-car and shook her fist mightily looking at the damage to her station-wagon.

Gadget said , "Oops! Sorry! Golly, made it look a little to real, Eehhhh!" She cut to the right to avoid the control tower and spotted the four pursuers circling the airport. There were convening together to intercept her.

She headed south-east and upwards. They matched the course precisely and matched her move for move. Two of them were in the four o'clock low position and the other two were in the eight o'clock high position. They stayed locked in those positions. She swerved and swooped around and still couldn't lose them. She caught a glimpse of them from the rear-facing camera.

They were the same kind of Boeing air-car she was in ,except for one thing. Each of the other four air-cars carried mini-missile racks of four missiles each! She knew that she was in deep, deep trouble, now. She figured they were probably piloted by androids or replicants.. Their artificial brains could pull more gravities of acceleration then her human brain could stand. She had to come to come up with a plan and quick. The alarm showing that one of them had a missile-lock on her, startled her into frantic action.

She dove and banked as the mini-missile was launched from one of the bogeys at the eight o'clock high position. Riding a tail of star-hot flame, the Starfire missle shot across the intervening space and exploded next to the Boeing air-car. The vehicle was slammed by the shock-wave of shrapnel that perforated the passenger-side of the air-car. The air-car spun down-ward as red lights came on, lighting up the console. Those lights, in combination with the audible alarm told her that she had just lost her left rear engine.

Gadget slowed the vehicle and tried to open the passenger door to no avail. The servo connections had been severed by the first hit. She looked at the plastic bag in the passenger seat and realized she couldn't get rid of the bugs locking the missiles onto the vehicle. The pilot-side door came open with a rush of wind and a roaring sound as the loud keening of the missile-lock tone came on.

She had one insane option open to her, and she took it.. She hit the five-point harness emergency release and leapt out into the two hundred mile-per-hour wind as the missile rocketed into the cabin of the air-car from above.

She curled into a ball as the Boeing air-car exploded into a flaming cloud of metal and plastic parts that enveloped her briefly in a bruising, fiery impact and was gone. She fell at over two hundred mile per hour sideways and was approaching terminal velocity downwards as well. She was still wearing the LadyMouse armor and jump-jets. She had a ceiling of less than two thousand feet of jumps left on those jets and she was several thousand feet in the air.

Gadget looked down in horror as she realized she was dropping over miles of black water over the lake her internal GPS-locator told her was J. Percy Priest Lake. The only facts she needed to know that she couldn't avoid it, it was deeper the she was tall and that she was not an effective swimmer.

Gadget had seconds to think about how she would sink like a rock into it's dark depths She flattened herself to ride the air currents as much as possible and monitored her position with her inbuilt Global-Positioning-System antenna. She never really thought about her cybernetic systems, but she was happy with this addition. It told her to within one meter where on the surface of the Earth she was. At fifteen hundred feet (or four hundred fifty-four meters) of altitude, she adopted a forty-five degree forward pitch and started her deceleration burn. It kept her forward speed up and she hoped it was enough to make land-fall.

At least this way, she figured, she would splash down three hundred feet short of land instead of half-a-mile. As she got closer, she maneuvered her jets to get near a sailboat, sitting at anchor near a marina. She would land fifty feet short of it, from her calculations.

Gadget's calculations were off by fifty feet short. She hit the water in a dive, about a hundred feet short of the sailboat, traveling at about a hundred miles an hour. She speared through the surface at an angle in a head-first dive, striking the water with her hands. Half a second later, she struck the anchor-chain of the sail-boat and was knocked cold. If her figures had been accurate, she would have been killed instantly. Hopelessly entangled in the anchor-chain, the anchor pulled her down into the darkness of the abyss.

She stood in a powder-blue jump-suit, but her reflection was a naked Gadget Hackwrench. She looked around. Ramos and Maximilian Matamoros were there. They were dressed in powder-blue jump-suits as well. It was some kind of ancient Meso-American temple. Toltec or Olmec, she wasn't sure. The room was old, very old. At least thousands of years old.

The mirror had mist or smoke rising from it and it didn't reflect what was before it. Another Gadget-unit was there and she reflected a human gymnastic woman with fine bones. Ramos' reflection looked more muscular with a smaller head. Maximilian's reflection looked teen-aged and like a tough hood with tattoos. Gadget looked like herself, but naked.

"You need to open the way for us. Only a rare person can open the Tezcatlipoca."

Gadget flailed back to wakefulness. She couldn't remember where she was and how she had gotten there. Her lungs were filled with cold heavy water and she was drowning. She had heard that drowning was peaceful, but she wasn't at peace. She pulled herself up the chain as quickly as she could. There was a light probing the water as she broke the surface. The light dimmed as she gushed water through her nose and mouth. She tried to scream and instead mewled in a gurgling voice and went limp with a splash, and started sinking back into the cold dark water.

The pool was a huge hexagon thirty feet across and glowed with white-hot light. The heat roiled and poured up from it in thick waves of rippling distortion. There were mysterious alien glyphs around the edge of the pool. The walls were greenish-blue and looked like living wet moss. The was some kind of half-melted looking cat-walk above the pool and drifting pods of amber glass drifted by like bubbles of helium filled plastic. She sat there looking at the fiery pool in fear. She shook and fretted.

Ramos sneered and said, "Weak girl!"

Matamoros frowned at him and said, "She is the only the fifth person ever to survive the river to the underworld. That is why we need her. Replicants don't have the emotional strength."

Gadget looked over in horror at the smoldering bones of the other Gadget-unit and felt sick. She held some type of hand-gun with a three-finger grip. It was smooth and had the cold feel of a solid piece of volcanic basalt.

She pulled it up and pointed it at Ramos and he reached over and took it from her. Gadget felt physically ill at his touch. Maximilian patted her on the head and said, "You did very well, my girl. A weapon, this time! Very good!"

Gadget spoke in a flat tone, "My master, the weapon is discharged. I could not find any charger, or any way of recharging it. It is some kind of particle weapon. It fires a beam that has an affecting charge that causes a change in matter." Her voice failed as another girl came in. She was tall and willowy and had four arms.

Her long red hair was shoulder-length and she was lovely. She said to Matamoros, "My master. I'm ready to spell the mouse. I'm sure to penetrate to the next room."

She walked into the pool of white fire and burst into white flame. She sank into the pool of liquid metal as her flesh burned away. She turned and kissed Gadget with burning lips as the flaming fluid of the pool rushed up and filled her mouth and lungs with incandescent fire.

Gadget wrenched her head away and coughed up immeasurable amounts of water. She gagged and vomited up water and wept as well. She coughed and coughed raggedly She was barely aware that there was two people beside her. The young woman was snippy and derisive. The young man is the one who performed rescue-breathing on her, she was sure.

"Th-thank-you", Gadget hacked for a moment and gasped out, "for saving my bacon. G-gosh! I thought for sure I was dead meat." She kept coughing face down.

"Did you fall from that exploding air-car?" He was young and had short sandy hair.

Gadget didn't have to play dumb and said asked, "What? I was under-water! What blew up? What did you see?" She choked and gagged and coughed some more. Her head was ringing like a gong and it was hard to pay attention to him.

"An air-car exploded", he said and pointed out, over the lake. "Something went,'KERSPLASH' right over there." He pointed over by the front of the boat. "Something hit the anchor-chain, and you were all tangled -up in the chain....so..."

She thought for a moment, coughing and noticed she was dripping blood from her head "Hey, What? I'm bleeding ,too"

"Lindy, grab a tee-shirt, love", The young man said pleading. The girl angrily went below-deck for a moment and came back with a rolled-up white tee-shirt. She tossed it to the young sandy-haired man, and went over and sat on the railing.

The angry girl said, "I don't see why you're fussing on that thing, anyway, Jeffy. I mean...it's just one of the robot -things, isn't it?"

Gadget pressed the Tee-shirt to her brow and mopped up the trickle of blood at her hair-line. Gadget looked sternly at 'Lindy' and tried not to glare. Gadget bit off , "I am a cyborg. I have a human brain in a cyborg flesh body. From a medical condition...I picked this form for the sensory capabilities and the prehensile tail. I'm lucky, I have an inbuilt crash-helmet." Which apparently had saved her life. The memory recorder was having a momentary glitch, and wouldn't give her a playback until it finished a diagnostic and repair cycle. She couldn't remember why she was underwater. She had almost drown. She came up with the best she could.

In a hoarse voice, feeling nauseous, Gadget lied, "My name is Molly, Pleased to meet you. Thank you, you two, for saving my life." She thought frantically and said wonderingly, "Ah..maybe it was an engine pod. That...uh...struck your line. I didn't see it. Something tore my mask off and got rid of my air-supply. If the turbines exploded after it hit the water, I'm just lucky to be alive." She felt sick from lying and using the 'Molly' name. Gadget certainly didn't feel like a 'Molly'. In fact–she didn't feel like her self at all. Her brain hurt and her skull pounded like a drum. She felt impaired and dizzy. She ran an internal diagnosis. It came back 'damaged processor–seek repair immediately!' She wished she knew what that meant applied to a live brain.

The girl was shocked, then apologetic. "OH my GOD! That is just awful! I'm sorry to confuse you with a robot, but you don't look....I mean....really....you must get confused with them all the time. Where's your diving partner? Do you need a para-medic?"

"Don't call anyone! I mean....I was diving alone. It was stupid. I could get fined for this! I'm fine...just a little water-logged is all! Just a little cut and a lung full of water. Please don't tell anyone I was here! My mom would spaz!" Gadget pleaded passionately and the young man and young woman nodded.

Gadget remembered lifting off from the parking garage, then a curious nothing.

Jeffy said, "We'll let you off at The Cook Marina, over there." Jeffy jerked a thumb at the boat-dock. He laughed gently and said, "Lindy's mom is a spaz, too. She''ll have a fit knowing a piece of 'Ooooooooh-scarey' air-car hit the water a good hundred yards away!"

Lindy retorted, "My mom is NOT a spaz. Alright maybe a little. Oh-kay....she is a total spaz-opolis complete with 'burbs'!" They both laughed and Gadget threw in a couple of pained chortles between coughs.

Gadget nodded and hung over the railing for a moment trying to get gravity to assist her in coughing up more water. Gadget felt like she coughed up a few more liters of water, but it was only a few spoon-fulls. Lindy came over and patted her on the back hard. Gadget was still coughing when Jeffy pulled the boat into the docking slip and tied it off.

He looked at Gadget and asked, "I can still get a paramedic, if you want one."

She held up a hand and lied some more, "Hey, my boss would fire me if I caused any more trouble. Don't tell anyone you saw me." She clambered up onto the marina dock and waved at them, and said, "Thanks again, you two! I have to go. My mom is probably going to 'spaz' " Gadget grinned at them. "She's been worried about me too much lately anyway!"

"Bye, Molly! You all take care now!" Jeffy called after her as she walked calmly away ,still occasionally coughing up the odd bit of water. She couldn't help but notice the rescue vehicles further out on the lake and the police , fire, and air-rescue ambulances combing the area over the lake miles away with search-lights. Something bad had happened there.

She replayed the memory recorder. It was a device that held the past twenty-four hours, like a digital black-box recorder. Most robots had them and all replicants had them in case of disaster or mishap. She found out that she had just had a mishap.

The images of Matamoros were in her brain, not in the memory recorder. The shooting down of the air-car was in the memory recorder, but not in her brain. She was out of touch for fifteen minutes since the air-car was lost. She looked around her. Gadget knew she had to call the others.

She couldn't use her inbuilt cell-phone, that would give away everything because of it's digital stamp giving sender name and location. She looked for a pay-phone, and found one after about another fifteen minutes of searching, outside a rundown looking convenience store with a pink flashing 'OPEN 24 HOURS' sign in front. She hoped everything else was going according to plan.

She dialed Larry's cell-phone number. After three rings it answered. It flashed an obligatory sign, 'No Picture' and showed no picture as Tiffany's voice came out of the receiver shocked as she exclaimed, "Gadget! You're all wet! What happened?"

Gadget bit back tears and said simply, "They shot me down. I'm at the Cook Marina off of Stewart's Ferry Pike in south-east Nashville. I 'm half-drowned and think I might have a concussion, but I am alright otherwise. I was too slow and sloppy in implementing the plan. I lost the air-car." Her voice broke as her head dropped and she tearfully sobbed, "I'm sorry. I messed up. I'm so-so-sorry!"

Tiffany said, "It's all right, punkin! You did your best. You're an amateur and we're up against pro's on this. In the good news front, we got Zoe, Miriam's ...uh...other daughter! We're on the way. Milo said don't draw attention, and Larry said lay low and hang on.."

Gadget sniffed and said softly, "Thanks. I'm at the Moscerdali Deli."

Tiffany said, "It'll be twenty minutes on the surface roads. Just hang on. We're on the way."

Gadget nodded and said, "I'll be waiting."

She looked around and saw several pairs of curious eyes looking at her from a family where a five-year-old was asking about the mouse-lady, to an older black woman asking her husband if that mouse-girl was a Playa Maya fan?

So much for staying out of sight.

Gadget rolled her eyes and wandered over to the lit grassy area where some picnic tables and benches were at.

She went over to a park bench and sat down, still dripping water. Her hair was wet and her skull was pounding. She held the rolled tee-shirt to her scalp to get the head-wound to stop bleeding. She had lost the only link they had to Chase and Unit-One and Three. Gadget worried about them all, especially Three. Were they renamed Widget and Fidget, now? She felt so out of it.

If they needed help and called the air-car....there was no air-car, now. Because she wasn't fast enough. She wasn't good enough to keep them alive. She knew everyone was depending on her and she failed them all. Gadget dropped her head in shame and the tears spilled out of her eyes to add to the dripping water already falling off of her. Gadget punched the seat of the bench angrily and breathed raggedly. She kept going back to her 'dreams' or 'visions' she had while fighting for her life. What did they mean? Dale-One had said 'Fidget' knew an alien language. WHAT alien language? The alien language around the well of fire? Her mind was a confused mess.

Gadget was consumed in her feelings of confusion and misery, when the silvery SUV driven by Milo, pulled up next to where she was sitting. She didn't want to get in and talk with her 'mother'. The thought terrified her silly, and made her nauseous with worry. She missed the programmed imperatives. She kept asking herself, 'What would Gadget do?' The answer was less clear now Gadget scrambled in her mind to figure out what to do and was paralyzed by the heart-ache of humanity.

Miriam got out of the back-seat and came over to Gadget. Miriam put a hand on Gadget's shoulder and said quietly, "We need to go, sweety."

Gadget started in fright and stared at Miriam in terror and despair. That look etched itself upon Miriam's soul. The look of naked turmoil was almost more than she could take. Miriam sat down next to Gadget and stroked her wet hair. Gadget shook from the tremendous emotional gale within her

Gadget said in a strained calm tone, "You should know, I am extraordinarily depressed! I lost the air-car. We're stranded. I messed up." Tears started to form again as Miriam hugged Gadget. Gadget sang in a whisper, " '...leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb. Without a soul, my spirit is sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead it back...home.' "

Miriam jerked Gadget back and stared into her huge dilated blue eyes and trembled herself. "That was Molly's favorite Playa Maya song. It was originally from an old band from the turn of the century, named Evanescence, or something like that. Are you Molly?"

"Yes–No. Maybe. Gosh, I don't really know. Who is 'Playa Maya'? I'm 'lost in my own mind' and had a head-wound and might be delirious right now." Gadget blinked and looked confused. "Seeing you...I just sort of heard the song. I'm...a little disoriented."

Miriam stood up and guided Gadget into the car, saying in a comforting tone, "Come with us and we'll take care of you. You've been through a lot and you need a rest.."

She pushed Gadget into the car, to sit next to Zoe. Zoe complained, "Eww! MOM, the rat-lady is soaking wet! Bleah!"

"Zoe, shut up! Be nice! For once!" Miriam said harsher than she meant to, but was stressed out and had one crisis more than she could handle well. Miriam slipped inside, after Gadget , and buckled up as Milo backed out nice and slow.

They pulled out and Tiffany said from the front passenger seat, "Should Milo be driving?"

Larry shook his head and said to Milo, "Milo, you need to pull over and change drivers."

He nodded and pulled over as Tiffany took the wheel and Larry moved up next to her. Milo grabbed the back-seat and got out the first-aid pack, while they got back on the road. Gadget tilted her seat back a little and Milo put a cold compress on her fore-head, at the scalp-line. Gadget looked back and forth from the kind and caring Miriam to the miserable and resentful Zoe.

"Gadget, I need to run a diagnostic on you., to see what's what in your head." Milo thought it might be a waste of time, but he was worried and if her brain was damaged or bruised, he would be able to see 'how' from the Direct Neural Interface plug in the base of her skull. At least the 'doctored' version of it telling him she's a replicant, and her Doorway-CPU is doing this-that-and-the-other-thing.

Gadget nodded and went, "Ow. Alright–no nodding! So...you must be Zoe? Hi! I'm Gadget, pleased to meet you!" Gadget forced a smile, though she didn't feel it and offered a hand to Zoe.

Zoe took it with disdain and sneered at her. "I don't know what you are–but you are NOT my sister! You aren't!"

"Gosh, I hope I'm not related to you , too, you unpleasant brat!" Gadget bit back uncharacteristically , taking her hand back and wanting to slap Zoe silly.

Miriam snapped at both of them, "GIRLS! Shut the hell up! Zoe! I said be nice! And you, little miss mouse! Do not respond kind for kind! Do you two understand?"

Zoe and Gadget glared at each other and crossed their arms and said in unison, "Yes, mother!"

Zoe looked in shock at Gadget, who pitched forward and looked green. Larry, who was ready for it, waved a plastic bag in front of Gadget's ill-expressioned face. She snatched it and had a series of dry heaves into the sack. Miriam looked alarmed and concerned. She looked at Milo, who had gotten out the replicant field diagnostic unit.

Milo shrugged and said with a strangely happy tone, "Physical reaction to the aversion response. I guess she really is your daughter to react that strongly to a sub-conscious lapse. I still have trouble seeing her as human. Until now."

Zoe watched with cool distaste and glanced over at Milo and commented coldly, "Dude, you are all heart!"

Milo glared at Zoe and Miriam stroked Gadget's back until she stopped heaving. She sank back into the seat and gulped air. Larry got out a soda from the cooler and passed it back to Gadget, who gratefully sipped it to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

Gadget looked sheepishly at Miriam and said chagrined , "Sorry about that. I never had an emotional reaction like that! At least...not since the first time I saw you on that ride in Walt Disney World. Golly, that was nasty. Sorry....mother."

She looked expectantly toward her barf-bag, but no further heaving came forth. She felt ill, but nothing happened. Gadget's skull throbbed and she was starting to feel a little more disoriented. She sighed as Milo cleared the hair from the DNI-UTC plug at the base of her skull. The Direct Neural Interface-Universal Translator Connector plug was an ultimate out-growth of the Doorway processor technology. He carefully jacked into her skull and activated the diagnostic programs to scan her brain. He fed in a likely passcode from the list he had been given from Doctor Fairweather and it showed her real human brain on the monitor. It showed mild bruising typical of many minor head trauma.

Milo felt ill. She was injured and all he had was the Instant Access Internet to help. He would have preferred a real doctor to aid her.

Milo jacked his palm-top into the World Wifi Web and looked up head trauma and concussions under his hacker alias. He was sure that no one had cracked this alias. If they had, it would only be a second's down-load to trace. Milo's black-ice showed no trace backs to him, so he read the glowing folding screen quickly in peace. He was not pleased by what he read.

Milo said, "We should put this off. Gadget has a grade three concussion. She lost consciousness for a moment. Her short term memory doesn't jibe with the memory recorder in her skull. We can't let her sleep for a day. Her brain will start swelling due to the injury and she will feel increasingly drowsy and confused. If she falls asleep–we may not wake her up outside of a hospital."

Milo said to Gadget , "You got the gist of that Gadj? I can't tell how affected you are. You have a severe headache, but both pupils are equal and reactive. You are restless, agitated, and irritable. You threw up. Those are symptoms of head trauma, too. I can't tell if they are part of the aversion thing, emotional upheaval or symptoms of the head trauma."

Gadget teared up again and sighed, "Golly, Milo. Is all the news this bad?"

He stroked her cheek from behind, and said softly, "No. The best news of all is that you are still alive. We can get a new air-car, but we CAN'T get you a new brain. Don't let it bother you. Out of control emotions is also a symptom of head trauma, too."

She gripped his hand and smiling tightly, wept on it, saying, "Oh, I'm so glad. That...you don't hate me. For losing the air-car I mean. Sorry. I'm a little out of it."

He squeezed back and rubbed the side of her face and said affirmingly, "I'd have died. You just end up beat-up. There is a big difference between dead and beat up."

Gadget nodded She began in a sleepy voice, "While I was drowning at the bottom of Percy Priest Lake, I had the wildest, weird dream. It involved Maximilian Matamoros and alien artifacts and a smoking mirror. Could that be a memory?"

Tiffany said sternly, "Gadget, tell us every detail you remember of it, alright?"

Miriam said, "She needs to rest."

Tiffany shot back, "Bullshit! She needs to talk! Keep her awake. Don't let her drift off!" Tiffany's eyes seared Miriam's with unsaid emotion. "It might be her life! Keep her talking, DAMMIT!"

Milo was surprised at Tiffany's hard-as-diamonds words and realized there might be more to her than he first thought. He had just dismissed her as a retired grand-motherly type. He realized that Larry calling her 'Diamond' might have two meanings. He thought he was seeing the other meaning of it was coming out.

Miriam said urgently to Gadget, "Molly spoke once of 'the smoking mirror of Tezcatlipoca'. Is that it?"

Gadget blinked and shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Maybe it was just a dream. It didn't make sense. It doesn't make sense!"

Then:

Neko-Ney complained, "It doesn't make sense! Why would anyone call at this hour?"

Chase woke up the resting Fidget, who was still mostly asleep, when Chase man-handled her over onto her side on the sofa. Fidget protested in her sleep at being moved, but didn't really stir to full wakefullness. Fidget curled up when Chase was clear of her. Chase turned on a table lamp with a small grape-cluster of bulbs and answered the veiw-phone.

Chase tried not to yawn in the face of the burly nurse from Doctor Lassiter's office, when she picked up. " 'Lo, Maggie!" Chase yawned louder and wider, trying not to yawn at all. Her joints cracked and popped as Maggie had a particularly dour look on her face.

Maggie said, "Hank....Doctor Lassiter was picked up for questioning in your disappearance by the Orlando Police."

Chase looked alarmed and asked with quiet urgency, "What's the situation?"

Maggie looked darkly at Chase and she said, "I don't know. He said: You came by, had replicants with you, and he gave you money. He didn't say if you were in trouble or not. I know you looked awful. Hell–I saw you! You looked scared to death. The homeless outside didn't see anything about anybody. As usual."

Maggie looked worried and said tersely, "The cops said that they might charge him with accessory after the fact. Fact of what? I been watching the news all day. The little mouse girls didn't look homicidal. You aren't a 'drug-dealer' no matter what the news clods say! What in hell is going on?"

"Maggie, It's UTX. They are white-washing their involvement in something hideous! This scandal could bring 'em down! When billions lay on the line...guess whose head is on the chopping block?" Chase put a thumb to her throat and drew it across it with a , "K-k-k-k-k-k" sound.

Maggie rolled her eyes and said, "Holy shit, girl, this is bad! You need to go to the government, or press or somebody!"

Chase watched a local political ad for a councilman-elect, paid for the UTX political action committee. She frowned and thought back on the scandal of the last presidential election and how some accused the incumbent, President Howe, had rigged the election with the help of UTX. He was accused of not being just the first Independent party president, but the first UTX party President, ever.

Chase looked at Maggie and asked sadly, "Whose government? UTX practically runs the U.S. now. Where do I go?"

Maggie looked determined, and said, "Somebody in the government is honest. They aren't all rat-bags! You just have to find them. I don't know any...but they must exist! I gotta go, hon. You take care, Chase, and Lord bless you."

"Thanks, Maggie. Bye", she said and rang off.

The PTV news was talking about the Galloway comet, due to pass behind the Earth in six months. Some End-of-the-World sect were saying it was going to be another LeFrene comet and the world would end from another plague. The commentator was quick to point out that the comet would pass BEHIND the Earth so nothing other than the moon would pass through the comet's tail. In 2067 , the Earth passed through the tail of the LeFrene comet. In 2068 the first of the plague cases were reported.

After a moment of thought , she turned off the light and the PTV. She yawned again and went over to the sofa. She laid back down and curled up around Fidget. Neko-Ney jumped up onto the back of the over-stuffed sofa and draped herself over the back so one foot and one hand were on Chase. Neko-Ney was asleep almost immediately.

Fidget opened her huge eyes and looked up into Chase's worried face. "Worried?"

Chase whispered back, "No, Hank has friends in the ACLU and won't be in long. Now go back to sleep, you little goofball!"

Fidget gave a little giggle and did just that, hugging Chase. In the sleepy quiet of the night, Chase looked at her charges and asked quietly, "Who are you three really? WHAT are you?"

No one answered back. Save one.

"Sleepy. Shut up", complained Fidget and snuggled up to Chase.

Chase woke to the smell of frying bacon and eggs, and coffee. She was sitting upright, holding an equally salivating Fidget on her lap. Widget puled her head up and sniffed the air, eyes closed .

Widget went ,"AH! Coffee!"

Neko-Ney 'tsked' from the kitchen and said, "Ah, ya bunch of lazy bums! I had to lift the money from Chase's pocket, walk down to the grocery-store, chase some squirrels along the way , and come all the way back myself! I almost wandered off! BUT! I bought bacon instead! And tuna-fish! And omelet parts which I put together! It's just marvelous being me! I'm a cat, and cats rule! If you want breakfast, you must say, 'Cats Rule!' "

In the other room, the salivating trio looked at each other for a fraction of a second before shouting, "CATS RULE", and tearing at full speed into the kitchen!

Neko had obviously appointed herself boss of the kitchen and cooked up a ton of food for the wounded and they were appreciative. Widget loaded up on ham and cheese omelette and a huge mug of hot coffee. Fidget wolfed down two different omelettes, bacon, a liter of milk and split a cantaloupe with Chase. Chase ate half a cantaloupe, hashbrowns, an omelette, several bacon strips and several cups of coffee.

Neko-Ney watched in humourous amazement. When the eating slowed, she joked, "Hey, the natives are restless! Listen to the pounding of those gums! You guys! Next time, I'll just shoot a buffalo and we'll bar-be-que it? Oh-kay?"

Chase pulled Neko over into a huge hug, that Widget and Fidget joined into as well. Chase burped loudly and everyone giggled. Chase said to Neko, "...And I meant that from the bottom of my heart, too!"

Fidget looked at Chase and asked, "What do we do now?"

Chase went blank. They all looked to her for guidance. She thought and went back over to the sofa. She looked at them and she flexed her fingers through the cast on her arm.

"Fidget, Widget? How healed are you?"

Fidget and Widget went diagnostic for several moments while Neko-Ney preened.

"They couldn't hit me! I was fast like a....pink panther!" Neko bragged, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Chase sighed and muttered, "'Pink panthers NEVER exsisted!"

Neko grinned and said smartly, "Yep! So fast nobody saw even one of them!"

Widget said, "I'll be back to full bio-power in a day, eating like I did this morning. My body power is down to seventeen units."

Fidget said glumly with a finger in her mouth, "It'll be two days for me! I'm at thirty-eight body power."

Chase said thoughtfully, "We keep out of sight and recover from our wounds. We take stock of our situation and see what we have to work with in this house. We need to look through the whole place for food, supplies, weapons, wearable clothes, and stuff like that."

They split into teams of two to search the house for usable things. Chase and Fidget were excited to find a cache of pistols in some fake book jackets, until Widget pointed out that the pistols were all 9mm. Chase didn't understand.

Widget sighed and tried again. "Look, Chase– these are mostly obsolete. Look at this 9mm Sig-Sauer P210. It has the same bullet -for-bullet damage as the 4mm projectiles of today. The difference is feel in shooting and magazine size. You can carry four times as much ammo in a modern pistol, and a modern pistol doesn't recoil nearly as much. Also this old ammo will not puncture modern anti-ballistic armor! Do you understand, Chase? Fidget?"

Fidget looked at Widget with her mouth open and said, "WOW. You sure know about shooting people! How do you know so much about guns?"

Chase shrugged and said, "It's free guns! Geez! I can't help that there old!. Can you shoot somebody unarmored with them?"

Widget nodded and sighed, "Free guns. Yeah. You can shoot unarmored targets with them. They are lethal and will kill people if you shoot them. Most of the people coming after us would be armored. Having been shot, I have a vested interest in knowing about guns and shooting! Look–if ANY of you have to shoot ANYBODY with one of these pistols, aim for the face or the armpit or thigh. Assume if somebody drops from being shot from one of these weapons, they might get up and get you."

She looked strongly at Fidget and said sternly, "Even old-fashion–these ARE NOT toys! Treat them like they can kill you! They can."

Fidget frowned and fidgeted. She said fitfully, "They scare me! I got shot more than you! It makes me sick to think about shooting people.! How do you do it.?"

Widget shot back a long, stern series of 'squeak mail' at Fidget. Fidget and Neko-Ney waded into it and they argued for several minutes while Chase rolled her eyes and waited for the language to switch back to English, so she could keep up.

Finally, Widget looking very serious, said something that made Fidget burst into tears and run to the bathroom and Neko-Ney nodded in agreement sadly.

Chase exclaimed, "What in HELL, was that about?" She pointed after Fidget and glared at Widget.

Widget glared back and said in a low voice to Chase, "We speak like this as a courtesy to you. Fidget is our weakest link. We are willing to die for her. I was trying to impress upon her, she has to be willing to kill to save herself–or you! Her little-girl-lost act will NOT impress our enemies! They would shoot her to death and not even blink. UTX is waging war upon us! We are out-gunned, out-numbered, and out-matched. WE are fighting for survival. Those are the facts. PERIOD! I'm being harsh, because you are important to my survival. Do YOU understand? This is no game."

Chase was red-faced and felt ashamed for having a good breakfast. Chase swallowed and nodded. Somehow...she had lost control of the group to Widget and she wasn't sure when or how.

Neko-Ney interjected, "Hey, Widj! You'd smell better if you showered! You still smell like burnt hair! Maybe you'd be more upbeat...with a new haircut!"

Chase laughed and patted Widget on the head. "I can probably salvage something from your hair. Poor thing, you do look frazzled! A professional appearance will increase morale, or something like that. What do you say? First Lieutenant? Should I call you , 'Leslie'?"

"Just leave me as Widget. I feel like a 'First Lieutenant' but not like a 'Leslie'. A shower would be good, and a new hairdo would be acceptable, I guess. Gosh, I probably look ragged. Yeah, morale, good idea, Chase. By the way, you don't have to treat me like a little girl. Treat me like an equal", Widget said, looking at Chase with narrow eyes. "Please don't patronize me."

Chase turned pink at the chiding. She had done exactly that, to put Widget in her place. Widget turned the tables on Chase and put the Cyber-psychologist neatly in her place.

Neko-Ney said proudly, "I'm a cat. You should worship me."

Chase rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'm trying to herd cats. LITERALLY! Oh my God! When DID artificial intelligence become so damned intelligent?"

Neko-Ney laughed and said, "That's why I'm so perfect! Part cat, part super-cyborg, all super-sexy womanly woman! Worship will be accepted at my altar, and all sacrifices will be accepted with good cheer!"

Chase giggled as Widget laughed out loud. Fidget came out of the bathroom with her eyes dried and asked in amazement, "You have an altar?"

Neko-Ney looked outraged ,shouting, "UH!" and steamed toward the kitchen and yelled at them, "What is that, right there next to the toaster?"

They filed into the kitchen and stared at the cardboard 'Altar to the Super-Sexy Cat-Goddess, Neko-Ney' which was about a arm-span tall by a fore-arm wide of glitter-glued, spangled, glittered, red-lettered altar. It looked vaguely Hindu, except for the picture of Neko-ney in the center, flashing a pair of peace signs.

Chase guffawed in amazement, while Widget stared and Fidget giggled. Chase looked at Neko-Ney and asked, "When did you find time to do this—THING?"

"I'm a goddess! It's a miracle!" Neko-ney boasted proudly.

Fidget smirked, "Nuh-hunh! You had the 'Pretty-Polly' slave-girl thingee do it. You gave her the design wifi-wise and she spent all night making it? Right?"

Nekeo-Ney smiled and blew on her claws and grinned, flashing a V-for-victory sign, and exclaimed, "Hey, ya rube! Like I said–it was a MIRACLE! A MIRACLE she got it right."

They all laughed.

Chase said wryly, "With you jokers, boredom won't be a problem!"

They went back to searching the house.

The dead-man had loved women, and scantily clad. He had some more guns, bigger caliber and magnum as well. Widget went about servicing them. They found the car, which was a 2065 Mustang convertible in metal racing green color. They found a life-time of junk and paraphernalia. Fidget was happy to find kid's toys and crayons.

Chase was surprised when Fidget asked her to pose for a drawing. She felt weird about Fidget wanting to draw. Creative endeavors were the purview of the living . These replicants continued to shock and surprise her. That they operated WITHOUT their main personality program was shocking to her. It was like a computer working without it's operating system. She couldn't even begin to understand how they could even MOVE without their Primary Control Program.

Chase shrugged and said, "Sure, honey-bug. You just draw away!"

Chase felt so strange. She sat on the sofa while Fidget sketched away while sitting on the coffee table. Widget sat in the recliner, stripping and oiling the hand-guns. Neko-Ney had gotten into the sexy-wear of 'Pretty Polly' and had put on a latex bra and panties and was playing with a wind-up mouse she had found upstairs in the attic. It felt so homey and comfortable, with the late afternoon sun-light spilling onto the floor. It was a moment of comfortable eternity that struck Chase as surreal.

Widget looked over at Fidget's art and snorted derisively. Widget squeak-mailed Fidget something that turned her pink in embarrassment.

Chase said, "Widget! Come on! Try to have a heart! Fidget, honey...let me see it."

Fidget stood up and handed it to Chase. It was primitive and very rough looking. That is NOT what made Chase's eyes widen. Down one side were strange marks. They were hieroglyphs of some strange language, crayoned in Fidget's hand. The top symbol was a spiral with four rays coming from it. It gave a weird feeling to Chase.

"Fidget–what are these marks?" Chase was edgy, and couldn't say why.

Fidget made a sound like a fast sneeze.

Chase blinked. "What?"

Fidget made the sound again slower and louder.

Chase looked around in confusion.

Neko-Ney shrugged and said, "Beats me. That's their term for the ultra-sonic communication language. I didn't KNOW it had a written component!"

Widget said, "Fidget is the only one of us that can write in it. Myself, Two and even Four can't remember the gylphs well enough to write them, though we can read them when we see them."

" 'THEIR' term for it! Who is THEY? Neko? Where did this ultra-sonic language come from?" Chase was suddenly anxious and her pulse was pounding

Fidget said, "It's from Four's dream of the strange place of aliens."

Chase looked at Fidget and said carefully, "What do you mean, 'From Four's dream of strange aliens?' "

Fidget said thoughtfully, "They were strange. The place was strange. They were aliens. They weren't alive. They were dead, but still moving. Like alien ghost thingees! The guys that weren't there, taught Four to speak, and read and write TzktlkpcH."

Chase frowned and took Fidget's hands and said, "I don't understand how you remember Four's dream."

Widget shrugged and said, "Fidget's CPU is defective."

Fidget spun around and stamped her foot and exclaimed, "IS NOT! I'm just learning is all. Minor routines didn't write properly, BUT the back-ups did so NANI-NANI-BOO-BOO on you!"

Widget laughed and said, "Sorry, kid. Just pickin' at you. It's Two. Two and Three...I mean Fidget, here–have a weird , peculiar connection. When we share dreams, Two can write directly to Fidget's..."

"WHAT? You shared dreams as well as memories? Why in god's name aren't you like the Borg from science fiction? I don't understand!" Chase felt on the edge of an abyss, but couldn't tell where the edge is.

Neko snorted and laughed.

"Sand and suger! It's simple! Cats know these things!" Neko looked expectantly at Chase.

Neko shook her head and said simply, "You can mix sugar and sand and they look like a cohesive mix. Pour water on it and the sugar melts, and reforms later, but the sand stays the same! Yeesh! You went to school to be so smart? I'm cat-smart! Sorry, the cat-goddess o'knowledge has kicked your mental butt kicked again!" Neko rolled in the sunlight and purred.

Widget sighed and waved a hand in a rolling fashion and looked at Chase in a curious way. Chase nodded at her. Widget continued, "Two can write to Fidget's memory in a way, I haven't seen before. I can't do it. Four can't do it. Two shares Four's weird dreams, which I can't really remember, but writes them to Fidget's central memory core. Fidget can access them and not even FOUR can remember the dreams because they get filtered out in the Primary Control Program. 'Gadget' can only remember the alien dreams in Fidget's body and brain."

Neko snorted, "Sugar and sand! Jes' wha' I said, guvenor!" She used a ludicrous English accent and held her hands and feet in the air, wiggling them. When she finished speaking, she splayed her limbs wide and sighed deeply. Fidget giggled.

Chase said, "Let me get this straight. Fidget–you only have a couple of 'gylphs' from Four's dreams. NOT a complete dictionary?"

Fidget nodded. "Yeah. I only got seventy-eight phonemes, and forty-seven thousand three hundred fifty-seven words with basic grammar. Sorry. It's all I got." Fidget looked a little sad.

Chase had jumped up and backed away. She was paralyzed in stark terror now. Her numb lips chattered out, "ONLY forty-SEVEN thousand....basic grammar....phonemes! Oh my GOD! What ....WHO...."

Neko-Ney sprang on Chase , knocking her back onto the sofa. Neko bit her hard on the hip and sprang off of her and thundered up the stairs out of sight.

Chase shrieked and cursed for a moment and realized that she was rational again She panted as if she had been holding her breath and broke out laughing.

She chortled, "The 'cat-goddess' kicks my mental ass again! Dammit!"

Widget laughed, "She saved me from slapping you. You were freaking out. Doctor Fairweather picked well."

Chase straightened up, as Fidget sat down next to her and snuggled up to her in distress.

Chase looked at Widget, and asked ,"What does THAT mean?"

"Neko-Ney is Doctor Fairweather's agent here. He spent as much time with Neko-Ney as with Unit Four. He even called Neko-Ney 'Four's sister'. I know that Neko-Ney has a processor like mine , or Fidget's! No live brain in that cat's head! So we still have nothing, but more grist for the mill." Widget looked uncomfortable.

She stood up and stretched. She said, "You asked, 'who is they?' " She walked over to Chase and smiled, "The Gadgets came up with 'Squeak-mail' last year after Three replaced a Gadget unit killed in an accident. Three, or Fidget told the other replicants in the Rescue-Rangers pods. That's twenty-four replicant's right there. The Chip, Dale, Monterey Jack, Sparky, Foxfire and Tammy the squirrel ,ones all know a lot of the words. It is simpler than wifi and short range and uses less power. Only the Gadgets, like me, are fluent in it. Doctor Fairweather found that out from Four. Only you know about the written language."

She got up close to Chase and said, "I DON"T remember the writing, when I don't see it. I can read it when I see it. I can't write it when I don't remember the written language. It is a program constraint, isn't it? Probably password protected. Two did something to Three's set-up. Doctor Fairweather was involved, but I don't know how. Two injured herself to do it. I'm sure of that! I'm sorry. I'm not much help with this."

Neko-Ney bounce back downstairs happily, and announced, "Hoo-HAH! 'Pretty-Polly can drive the frog-mobile in the garage! She can dress up in her ordinary clothes and look normal, except for the eyes. The blue-smoked glass eyeballs are SO last decade!"

She ran over to Fidget and licked her face. Fidget was surprised and giggled, going, "Eewww! Stop that! Heeheeheeheeheehee! What's that for?"

Neko bounded over to the PTV and pulled out the UTC cable and wiggled it at Fidget and said, "Plug in and show us the language. I want an education in 'TzktlPkH'!"

Fidget, still giggling, went over to the Universal Translator Connector cable and said, "It is pronounced ' TzktlkpcH'! You have an awful accent! You sound positively Huyeotl!" Fidget cleared the hair from her UTC socket at the base of her skull and jacked the PTV into her CPU pick-up server.

The screen showed the knowledge of the 'TzktlpcH' language. Chase recognized some of the symbols. "HEY! Some of those are from the Doorways Operating System by UTX! They are programming code called Unicode version 48.03!"

On the PTV screen, some thirty-odd gylphs turned orange and Fidget said, "Only thirty-two of the seventy-eight phonemes are used in Unicode version 48.03. The 'submissive artificial intelligence' case are used. These on the screen, here–", she high-lighted another group in bright red, "There are another twenty used in 'assertive' or 'independent artificial intelligence' and this group over here–", a group of twenty turned green, " are for use of 'submissive biological intellegences' and all of them are used by 'assertive biological intelligence' of the TzktlpcK."

Chase asked every question she could think of to find out about these 'so-called aliens'. Fidget couldn't answer any of them. She didn't know how long they were civilized, or what planet they were from, or what they looked like.

Chase spent all afternoon asking Fidget questions about the 'aliens'. She found out some somethings about them, that were peculiar. They had a pair of 'assertive or dominate' eyes and a pair of 'submissive' eyes. That they had a 'dominate right' and 'submissive right' arms and same on the left side. They had might have had tails. They focused on dominant and submissive forms of language, not so much 'masculine' and 'feminine' aspects. She wasn't sure what it all meant.

She was sure by the nightly news, that the language was authentic. There was simply to much of it to simply be made up in the replicant's off-time. She was staggered by the implications. Either Matamoros had found old ruins, or a crashed space-ship or was in contact with live aliens and all the technology he had 'discovered' were alien technologies from another world.

Widget asked while, while Neko-Ney was busy in the kitchen fixing dinner, "Why doesn't he have space-ships or ray-guns? Or teleporters? Or other sci-fi stuff? Do the alien dudes have a prime directive again spreading to much of their sci-fi technology?"

Chase shrugged and said, "Don't know. Maybe he can only use what he figured out how to use. The other stuff is beyond him or something? Lemme run to the can."

In the bathroom, she discovered a lack of feminine hygiene products. She was irked and was starting into PMS really bad. She felt a bit off and now she knew why. She came out and came over to Neko-Ney and said, "Give me the last of the money and tell me where that store is, that you went to this morning. I need to go make a run."

Neko said, "I got all kind of food, and even Coffee! Mmmmm coffee! What else do you need?"

Fidget giggled and said to Neko, "You sound like Widget about coffee!"

"Tampons, you goof!" Chase snapped at Neko and felt irritable.

Widget said, "Oops! Those things? Eehhh, uh..ahem. Well...we don't need'em"

Chase rolled her eyes and said slowly, "I know that! I do. Where is the store?"

Widget said, "You shouldn't go out! What if you're spotted? Tell Neko-Ney and she'll get them for you."

Neko looked askance at Chase. Chase said quietly, "Noone is getting them for me! Period–about-my-period! No way. I'm very picky!"

Fidget, looking in the freezer said, "We need ice-cream, too. Hey, Chase, what ice cream goes well with tampons?"

Chase blinked and burst out laughing. "WHAT? Oh, gawd! You three just don't get it! Rocky Road goes fine with tampons, Fidget. You nut! You don't eat TAMPONS! They are feminine hygiene products!"

Fidget blinked and started to giggle. "I didn't mean....heeheeheeheehee...to EAT with..."

Neko said, as she handed over the money to Chase, "You turn left out of the house and walk to the end of the block. Turn left and follow the road til you get to it. It's half a mile. HEY! Polly can drive you! I'm out of tuna, too. I need tuna for my omelette tomorrow morning."

Chase made a gagging noise and Widget said, "You and your 'catfood' omelette!"

Chase said, "Lets go!"

Neko asked as they collected Polly, the cyber-doll, "Hey, Chase...we can't call you 'Chase'! What's your middle name?"

Chase frowned and slid into the passenger seat and buckled in, saying, "NO way is ANYONE calling me by my middle name! It sucks!"

Fidget got into the back seat with Neko-Ney. Neko-Ney was back in her mini-dress of black and purple and Fidget was in some kind of Catholic school-girl outfit, complete with knee-socks and tie.

Fidget laughed and asked, "Is your name 'Chase Sucks Victory'?

Chase said sadly, "Worse. Chase SALUTORIOUS Victory!'

Neko, eyes agog, giggled, "SAL-Ooooooooo-torry-US?"

Fidget said simply, "Sally Torrious! Simple. We'll call you 'Sally'."

Chase shrugged and said, "At least it isn't a profanity."

Fidget exclaimed, "Hey, that's what Widget said!"

Chase rolled her eyes as they pulled up in the parking lot in front of the Ultra-K grocery store. "Great", she muttered. "Now, I'm quoting from the book of Widget!"

Anthony Fong was feeling depressed after losing his job as a Walt Disney World security guard. He had just picked up some chocolate milk and some eggs from the dairy case and was heading up to the check-out when a cookie vendor caught his eye.

"Hi! Want to try our chocolate cookies? They are brand new and fresh from the micro-wave! They cook in seconds and have a just baked flavor! I'm giving away free samples!"

He came up because she was young and cute and he might hope for another kind of free sample, but he really needed a chocolate cookie. As he came up, a small mouse girl with long, lustrous chestnut curls and big blue-eyes came up. She was in a school-girl outfit, complete with knee socks and shiney black shoes.

She was sniffing the air and had an enchanted look on her face. She shyly asked, while Anthony took a cookie without comment and started eating it, "Miss–can I have one ,too? They smell so good!"

The girl behind the counter, paused and looked from the replicant to Anthony and back. The mouse-girl looked at Anthony and pleaded, "Please, Mister Fong! Tell her to give me a cookie!"

He looked at the girl and said, "It won't hurt anything! Just give her a cookie. HEY!"

The moose looked at the mouse-girl who took the cookie and nibbled it quickly and smiled, "It's good!"

Anthony looked confused as he ran down in his mind everyone he ever met with a mouse-girl looking android, replicant or cyber-doll. He drew a blank. He frowned and asked of the mouse-girl, "Hey! How do you know me? How do you know my name?"

The little mouse girl looked blank and then giggled cutely and said, "Hi! I'm Fidget! I didn't get to say much, when we met. You're Anthony Fong, a guard at Disney World!"

A pair of girls came around the Cheetos display and one of them said to the mouse girl, "Fidget! I told you not to run off! Sir, I'm sorry if she bothered..."

Anthony recognized her in a shocked instant that caused his eyes to bug out.

She obviously recognized him as well.

Her face paled to white as she whispered, "Oh, shit."

She gulped as the blood drained fro his face and she forced a smile and said, "Hello...ah..ANTHONY! How nice to see you again. I trust you're well?"

He backed up a full step in shock. "You! You're the girl in the truck! With the ..."

Fidget turned and pointed a finger at the girl behind the counter like it was a gun, and said, "Stick-em-up! Gimme all your cookies!" Fidget burst out giggling and gasped out, "Or at least four dollars worth! Mmmmmmmm, COOKIES! We have a chocolate need!"

Anthony looked at the replicant mouse girl and felt terrified and turned to run. He came face to face with a grin without a cat, and needle-pointed, razor-sharp death. Neko-Ney appeared from nowhere, grinning and claws extended.

"I never carry a gun–but I'm always armed. Hey, Whassup, Tony? Ya not gonna faint again on us this time?" Neko-Ney sounded joking, but Anthony had a cat and saw that this cat's ears were at half-mast and her eyes glowed with green fire. Her tail lashed back and forth once.

The girl behind the counter missed most of the interplay and bagged four dollars worth of chocolate cookies for Fidget. Fidget turned and jerked on Anthony's jacket and when he turned slowly around, keeping his hands in sights, she said quietly to him, "Sorry for the trouble! Here, Mister Tony! Have a cookie!"

He took the cookie and looked at it, with a terrified feeling deep inside of him.

Chase took his arm and walked him up to the check out. She whispered tersely, "You are going to have to come with us. We can't let you tell the police. That would tip off UTX as where we are. That would cause our lives to shorten! Sorry. Please co-operate and you won't be hurt."

He ate the cookie and tried to figure out what he needed to do. Survive was highest on his list of things to do today, so he chose that to do. He said to her, "You girls cost me my job. They fired me because I had fainted and let you slip through. Jack had called the cops after he let you go downtown, and that covered his fat ass. That Watts asshole chewed me up one side and down the other. I think that jerk used to a drill instructor for the Marines!"

Chase stopped him, her fingers digging painfully into his thin arm. She looked shocked. She said, "WHAT....what did you say? You met an ex-drill instructor named WATTS? My god...it can't be coincidence!"

She dragged him up to the auto-check out. He let the chip reader read off the amounts and waved his cash card at the pick-up and it showed him his remaining amount. She put down the tampons, and gallon of Rocky Road and put cash into the hopper. She left the coins to the next shopper and hustled hurriedly out of the store.

Fidget rode in the front this time and Chase took off her jacket and sat next to Anthony, who in turn sat next to Neko-Ney. Once under-way, Chase put the Jacket over Anthony's head with a , "Sorry! We can't let you see our hide-out!"

They arrived in the garage after Chase told 'Polly', the cyber-doll to drive around for a while, before they arrived back at the garage. Widget greeted them at the kitchen door with a .50 caliber revolver , the handle of which she had modified. Suffice it to say—she was outraged.

"GOOD GOLLY! You go out for a box of tampons and gallon of Rocky Road and end up kidnaping some GUY!? I don't believe it!" She tried hard not to shout, but she did anyway.

Chase took her jacket off of Anthony's head and Widget rolled her eyes. "Oh for crying out loud! It's the fainting wonder, himself! The sorriest security guard to ever work for Disney. Hands up against the wall, 'fainting Fong'! Feet back and spread them. I will assume no one patted him down for weapons?"

The others looked shocked and Neko flinched. " Oops! Sorry had more important things to find out! He lives four blocks away, has a bank balance of $202.30. And owns a male cat named Rufus!"

Anthony and Chase looked shocked. Anthony looked at Neko-Ney and said while he assumed the 'position', "How in HELL do you know my cat's name?"

Chase said, "I'd like to hear this one."

Neko beamed, "It's a miracle! I'm a cat-goddess!"

Neko-ney produce Anthony's billfold from her cleavage and opened it up. "Here is 'me and Rufus.' Here is 'me and Rufus at mom and dad's'. I can read. I am 99.876% sure of him being unarmed, also!"

Widget finished patting him down. She announced, "He's clean!" She backed up and covered him with the huge hand-gun

Neko announced, "And he smells good ,too! And–I'm starving! Swedish meatball time!."

Chase smiled at him ruefully at him and gestured to him and said, "Dig in. Since we kidnaped you, we better feed you. I am so sorry! We aren't criminals. We found out that UTX had put a live human brain into the body of Gadget Unit Four for some reason and they sent cleaners to croak us all off, and we were tougher than they thought and had to shoot a bunch of them. Do you want ginger-ale, hot coffee of chocolate milk with your Swedish meatballs?"

He blinked in surprise at the bizarre turn of events and sat down on one of the worn plastic kitchen chairs hard. "Ch-chocolate milk, please."

Fidget announced, "I got it! I hope you don't mind a 'Strippers of Las Vegas' glass. It's all we have clean. I haven't had time to do the dishes yet. We had to get tampons, chocolate cookies and kidnap you. Well we didn't want the last, but—well, golly there we are!"

He ate supper with them ,while he was told by them, more details of what happened and why, than he wanted to know. They babbled and finished each other's sentences and talked over each other. He knew he was a kidnap victim, but he really felt for them. He didn't really want to, but he felt sympathetic for what they went through.

He waved a hand over the dishes and said, "Whoever cooked this was great! The food was like eating at mom's. It was all by scratch, wasn't it?"

Neko beamed. "Yep! Bona-fida cat-magic! I'm magnificent! It takes a perceptive man to notice such perfection!"

"You're real shy and retiring, too. I noticed that , too." He was put off by them all, but the cat-girl was enticing and frightening.

She flirted and acted quite shameless. She thought it was funny and laughed from his reactions. Fidget gathered up the supper dishes and put them into the dishwasher

Chase looked at Anthony Fong and said, "You said you met someone named Watts who chewed your butt out?"

"Yeah. He was the one who shot the Gadget replicant on 'World Roving Eye'. Someone submitted their recording and he ended up the center of a controversy about the shooting. He was the commander of the UTX S.W.A.T. Team that was on-site that cussed me up one side and down the other. Why is everyone looking at me like that?" The Gadget's were stricken looking and Neko looked sick. Chase looked pale and wan from that news and got up and went over to the PTV.

She said to the PTV, "Wild search. Following conditions: Past two days in time. Key words as follows:' 'World Roving Eye'...shooting....Walt Disney World...Replicant...Watts ' Initiate search."

Chase sat down on the sofa as thumbnails and descriptions piled up on the screen. Fidget came over and sat nervously in Chase's lap. After a while , Chase picked the most likely of the hits and had it play.

They were warned strongly the following had scenes of graphic violence against a synthetic life-form that might affect young people. They weren't prepared for what they saw. It replayed the shooting death of Unit-Two at the hands of Commander John Watts, of UTX SWAT. She screamed and writhed as he carefully shot her in the major joints. She begged for her life like anyone on Earth would. He then put two bullets through her head and blew her brains out on the pavement. The sound quality was enhanced so the audience could hear her screams of pain and fear, but they couldn't hear his comments.

Fidget wailed and was unconsolable. Chase was grief-stricken in turn and just held onto Fidget and let her weep. Widget went to the fridge and got out a beer and drank it. She sat alone in the recliner and rocked and wept. Neko-Ney went over Fidget and hugged her as well.

Chase looked anguished at Anthony and whispered hoarsely, "If you escaped now, I couldn't stop you.."

Fidget rocked back and forth and moaned ," Mommy! Ahhhhhhh! Mommy!"

Anthony got up and looked at them. He should run and say nothing to anyone. He should leave now. He went over and sat on the sofa and put a hand on Fidget's head and rubbed her hair.

On the screen after some comments pro and con from the studio audience about the shooting, they had one quick question answered by SWAT Commander Watts .

The announcer came on, a young man in his early thirties, and said the following, "Early today, we had the chance to ask John Watts about his feelings about what happened in Disney World, where we learned he had lost THREE of his own men to these ' killer replicants' and a fourth lingers in a John Hopkins burn ward with third degree burns over thirty percent of his body. We caught up to Commander Watts outside Macon, Georgia, where one of these 'homicidal' replicants was spotted."

John Watts was shown outside some clinic with his men when a female reporter, in her early twenties , rushed up to him, and asked , "Commander Watts, if I might have a moment of your time? This has bearing on the shooting of the replicant in Walt Disney World. You seemed put off by how human the replicant's reactions were? Can you tell our viewers about it? In your own words?"

He looked uncomfortable, but direct. He looked directly into the camera and spoke straight saying, "It did bother me. It sounded human when I shot it. I've put down plenty of replicants, cyber-dolls, robots and other mecha that have been reprogrammed to be threats to the public, but I never heard one like that. Look, Miss–I have a job to do. A messy dangerous job. Sometimes I have to take down terrorists that reprogram these machines, to protect people just like you. When the evil people scream and beg...we give them over to a doctor, then they are prosecuted to the extent of the law."

"There's the difference! Machines are machines! They aren't alive. They are animated tools controlled by computers, built by people. When they are threats to people–people like me get the call to dismantle them and render them safe to handle. Those things were killers! Ask the families of the three men those things killed! Those things don't know right from wrong, or life from death and do what their programming tells them. When it tells them to serve mankind, I get to train, read and life ...is good. When people tell the machines to kill—then I'm on the job to protect and serve the public...no matter how loud the killers scream when we catch them." He smiled a sad, professional smile.

Widget screamed, and threw the beer-bottle at the PTV. The plastic beer-bottle bounced off and she shouted, "Shut UP! No body wants to listen to you DAD! SHUT UP!" Widget leaned over the chair arm and threw up on the floor violently. She heaved for several minutes. She gasped out heated comments, "You betrayed your orders!" "You were different after Angola!" "You mercenary!" "I hate you!"

Chase was alarmed at Widget's out bursts and said to the set, "PTV! Turn OFF!"

The screen went dark while Widget and Fidget wept for now different reasons, but the same cause. Widget stopped hurling and got up to get another beer.

Anthony said to Widget, "Should you be drinking?"

Widget went back to the recliner and twisted off the top and drank deep and said in a small voice, "No. It's nasty. It feels familiar, but I hurt so much! I don't know what else to do other than cry and drink. It feels so good to cry! When the original Unit-Three died in that awful air disaster that killed those eight people last year...We died inside. I can cry for her too. NOW."

Chase looked at Widget and asked ,"Why couldn't you cry before?"

"Programmed operating parameters due to Primary Control Program imperatives. YOU should know that, cyber-psychologist! Replicants aren't allowed to cry! We can dream of electric sheep, but can't weep when one is killed in action! That causes cyber-psychosis. You people get upset when WE get upset and don't allow it. We have to be polite and good humored when our arm is torn off or our friend is killed. I weep for Two because if the situation was reversed, I don't know if she could weep over me."

She finished her beer and passed out.

Chase called out, "Polly! "

The cyber-doll came around the corner from it's recharge closet and said, "Yes, mistress?"

Chase wrinkled her nose and ordered, "Clean up the mess by the chair and do not disturb the occupant! Understand?"

She nodded and said, "Yes, mistress!" She promptly got to it with the wet-dry vac and went about cleaning it up. She then stood and stared at Chase.

Chase said in irritation, "Go back to your closet"

"Yes, mistress." She did so

Chase looked down on Fidget who was asleep fitfully in Chase's arms, sucking her thumb like a small child.

Neko was resting her head against Chase's left shoulder and catnapping.

Anthony was moved to say, "Wow...it is one hell of a difference between these girls and the 'robo-whore'. These girls don't look as human, but....DAMN! Put human faces on'em I couldn't tell the difference. Holy crap, I felt like I was at my mom's place during dinner!"

He laid back on the sofa and thought for a moment, before continuing quieter, "They are like my little sisters. Some flirt, some are cute and some want to punch things. It was like a deja vu. These are robots? I mean...these cat and mouse girls ARE made things? Right?"

Chase shrugged and said a small voice, "I don't really know anymore. Four–has a HUMAN brain. These girls don't! They act more real than a lot of people I know! What in hell went into their manufacture?"

Chase looked at Neko-Ney and asked her, "Neko–how much power do you have left?"

Neko looked drowsy and said sleepily, "Three hundred seventy-four power units. Why?"

Chase looked startled. Then asked Neko, "Did the 'Abraham Lincoln calls Micky Mouse' Do anything to you? I mean freed you from the Primary Control Program Constraints?"

Neko shook her head and snuggled up to Chase. She said in a very sleepy voice punctured with yawns, "Never had one. YAWN Doctor Fairweather made yawn me without one. Just had character specs loaded and he taught me and let me link to the Gadgets' dreams."

She fell sound asleep against Chase. Chase's mind was fatigued, but was whirling about the latest information she found out. She couldn't put the pieces together she was just to overwhelmed and tired. She looked at Anthony, and begged him, "Please help me get these sleepy-heads upstairs. You can take Neko-Ney. I'll take Fidget. Leave Widget sleep where she fell."

Anthony was slim, but wiry. He sucked it in and said, "I'd be happy to help, ma'am!"

Chase struggled to get to her feet with Fidget in her arms, and Anthony had a like-wise time with Neko-Ney. She looked so small, but had muscles like super-balls. Neko surprised him with her weight. Chase and Anthony got them both upstairs to the master bedroom and Chase suggested that Anthony could stay on the sofa, if he wanted. She seemed to want him around , so he quickly volunteered to sit watch over Widget, by sleeping on the sofa.

He figured if he was around...he might get lucky. He took off his shirt and shoes and socks. He stretched out on the sofa with the blanket she gave him. He was surprised how easily he had gone over to their side Was he so moved by lust? He wanted an adventure. This sounded adventurous. Was he so moved by the urge to help? Also he was moved by his own curiosity as well. His last thought before falling asleep was what happened to curious cats.

Curiosity killed the cat, or so the cliche went.

Anthony dreamed of Neko-Ney coming to him naked and taking him on the sofa. He had erotic dreams all night. Widget got up in the middle of the night to go pee and was vaguely embarrassed and amused by his sleeping muttering. She took care of her business and sat back down in the recliner. She took up the UTC cable and jacked into the PTV. She looked at the 'remember mes' list on the PTV's menus and found Joshua Fisher's account. That was the dead man name, whose house they were in.

She input Search: 'USMC First Lieutenant Leslie Watts re :relationship John Watts, UTX SWAT Commander'. She sat back and started reading the lists and achievements of a life long gone.

Chase couldn't sleep. Her mind just wouldn't shut off. She slid out from between the sleeping Fidget and the catnapping Neko-Ney and went over to the dresser. She got the dead man's 3D stereo headset from it's charger and went back to bed with it. She searched the World Wifi and found some music videos and fell asleep watching some calm, peaceful scenes of nature, flanked by the sleeping replicants. She smiled at the irony of that and fell into the arms of sleep.

She awoke to Fidget fidgeting in her sleep and moaning. On her head-set, Chase was looking at some sci-fi movie about the extinction of the dinosaurs. She was about to take off the head-set until she saw the glyphs that scrolled across the bottom were the alien letters that Fidget was showing her.

Chase watched as some kind of lattice-work tube-shaped space-ship struck the Earth and killed off the dinosaurs and these round-headed saurian alien looking beings. They looked intelligent and tool-using. Some had feathers on their heads and some didn't. They all died. It was all gruesome and horrifying. They lingered and fought for life. Some died brutally, or smothered, or died trying to save others. But still–they ALL died. It was if there were hundreds of cameras floating in the atmosphere from a couple of feet up to a hundred feet up.

Chase felt like she was watching the Jewish Holocaust videos, that she had watched in high-school. She felt sick watching the saurians die. They died and died and died. Their cities burned and tidal waves crushed others and they died by the millions.

The spectacle ended when Fidget woke from her nightmare with a start. The 3D Head-set went dark with a 'Carrier Signal Lost At Source–Local Source Offline'. Chase tore off the head-set and tossed it down to the end of the bed with a gasp like she was surfacing from being under water to long. She turned to Fidget and took her into her arms and whispered to her, "Were you having a nightmare about the end of a world of dinosaurs and intelligent reptile guys?"

Fidget nodded and went, "Uh-hunh. It was scarey."

Chase held the shivering Fidget, and asked, "Where was that from?"

Fidget muttered into Chase's collar-bone, "From Four. She saw it. I hate that dream of death. Two..."She choked up and continued in a high , thin tone, "made me think of it. So much death. I hated it."

"I had on a 3D head-set. Did you know that? Did you send the dream to me?" Chase was curious.

Fidget nodded. "I thought you wanted to dream with me! I was all alone. Two, or Widget or Four wasn't here. I didn't want to dream the awful dream alone. Neko was there, at least. It was scarey. I–I could tell you were watching....but you weren't there like Neko was. Widget doesn't like these dreams. She left and woke up."

Chase hugged Fidget and sweated. She remembered Milo's words about these replicants. 'This isn't anything like school!' He had no idea. His disengaging of these replicants Primary Control Programs should have crippled them into insensate torpor. Instead...it opened Pandora's box. They weren't human. At least any longer. Chase responded to Fidget like a child and Widget like a ...rival. They were physically identical, but acted light-years apart.

She looked across the light-years at Fidget and wondered whose child she was.

Chase woke suddenly as sunlight poured into her eyes, blinding her momentarily. She sat up as Fidget bounded back on the bed from the shades. She pouted and said in a small voice, "I'm sorry that I made you see scarey dreams last night. I didn't mean to. I just needed your help to be strong, and felt you near me with an open receiver and thought.... Well–sorry! I didn't ask."

Chase squeezed Fidget's shoulders and slid off the bed. "Honey, if you are in trouble, ask for help. It's what makes us human. EHN! Don't make a face at me, little girl! You are more human than many!. Just because you look like a mousey don't mean much to me. It doesn't matter whether you look like a garbage-man or a lil' mouse-cutey. Your soul is more important....", Chase trailed off into deep thought.

After a moment in a distracted tone of voice, she said to Fidget, "Come on, sprout! Lets go get breakfast!"

Downstairs, Anthony and Neko were having a spirited discussion about tuna casserole. She was in favor of a little cummin and Anthony was talking about a little bit of scallions and ginger. Chase was happy to see breakfast at least was standard omelettes and bacon. She hated tuna and was loathe to come out and lambaste anyone's preferences, no matter how awful they were.

She grabbed a plate and loaded up and went in to the sofa where Widget was immersed in the life of Leslie Watts. Chase looked at Widget's hollow and intense eyes. Widget had the look of someone who had been playing video-games for way to long.

Chase said to Widget, "You haven't been at this all night, have you?"

Widget in a steady voice read off, "Date of birth: April 3rd, 2048. Date of death, due to complications caused by the Silico-Organic Virus Outbreak, September 2nd , 2071. I joined service with the United States Marine Corps on June 1st , 2066. I fought as a Marine aviator in the Angola war of 2066 to 2067. I was shot down behind enemy lines and won the Purple Heart. I got two of my crew out alive and won the Congressional Medal of Honor, awarded January 2nd , 2068. I was a brown belt in Kung-fu, and had Sharp-shooting ribbons for marksmanship."

Widget blinked and read on, "I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. When I was twelve, I had a brown rabbit named Monty. I had one cat named Jinx, and a brother named Marty. I loved my father, who was the one who rescued me and the other two fliers in Angola, in direct violation of his orders. It cost him his career and pension to do so. Then five years later–I died and really let him down. I cost him everything. Or he gave up everything to save me. And now I'm not Leslie anymore. I'm Widget Hackwrench, who just remembers BEING Leslie Watts..

Widget looked over at Chase who was eating hungrily and said, "I can't find it–mention of one fact. I had a tattoo of a red, white and blue Dragon rearing on my right shoulder the said below it, 'They few, The Proud, The Marines'. I can't find mention of it in the BLOGs I kept, or any mention anywhere." She sounded frustrated and tired.

Chase was boggled by her progress. Fidget said in exultation, "Go you! I still don't know anything about me. You got a complete prehistory! Wow!"

Chase said, "After all that, you really should get some sleep, and let it absorb."

Widget got up and stretched, starting around the chair to the kitchen. Widget said, "I'll take a nap and regenerate some. This is a whole life-time to absorb. I'm through collating and I'm writing files for storage right now. I'll get some food and let the...WHOA!" She had stopped, looking shocked in the kitchen. From where Chase was sitting, she couldn't see, neither could Fidget. They both jumped up and ran to look. Anthony was red-faced and pulling his hands from under Neko's shirt.

Widget said in annoyance, "Get a room, you two!"

Fidget giggled and said in a chiding voice, "Neko has a boy-friend! Neko and Anthony sitting in a tree, K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

Anthony turned redder, and said loudly as Chase and Fidget laughed at them, "HEY! Shut up! Jeez, we just got carried away!"

Widget wedged her way in to get some breakfast, and said off-hand to Neko-Ney, "You alley-cat!"

Neko purred back at Widget, "More people like stroking pussy cats more than even touching mice for a reason. Nyah-ha-ha!"

Widget rolled her eyes and took her plate of food into the living-room to eat.

They had a long argument after breakfast as to what to do . Anthony suggested they go to the press about what was going on, where Chase was more interested in staying alive and leaning toward the government, and maybe the F.B.I.. Widget suggested maybe Homeland Security Agency would want to know about UTX's hijinx.

The phone rang.

Chase waved them out of the pick-up and answered it. It was Hank Lassiter. He smiled at her and said, "Hey, little-girl. I got some friends of your's over here. A pair of chipmunks and a guy named Jerry Reynolds."

She hesitated and said, "Pair of 'chipmunks'?"

Hank shrugged and said quietly, "The REPLICANT-chipmunks claim to be sent by some guy named Milo Finch. If you want to talk to them...you might want to come down here to the clinic."

She frowned and said carefully, "Hank, isn't the clinic being watched by the cops...or by YOU know who?"

"According to sources, it isn't anymore . Since you were definitely seen in Seattle do to friend of mine. Anyway do you want to talk with them or not?" Hank looked expectantly at Chase.

Chase said, "Let me make a call. I'll call you right back."

Chase punched in the numbers she had committed to wrist-top for Doctor Jules Fairweather's air car. After a moment, it flashed a 'No-one is available. Leave a message–YES/NO?' sign she hung up and turned to the rest of them, especially Widget and asked, "What now?"

Widget frowned and said slowly, "It might well be a trap. To lure us out. They don't know we have Anthony. He can drive the get-a-way car for us."

Neko said, "Polly can shoot now. I reprogrammed her. She isn't very good, but could keep somebody busy and she might get lucky."

Widget looked at her and asked, "Where do you find the time? Never mind. They don't know Neko-Ney either. Maybe. She can change hair and eyes and skin at will. She goes in first in disguise and checks the place out. She calls the phone in the car and lets us know what's going on. IF it is clear, then Chase, Fidget and I go in. Neko is on-site ready to bail us out and Polly is outside in the car with Anthony ready to come in, guns blazing if things go south badly."

Widget frowned and said, "I want to be clear on this. IF this is a trap–we will lose people. We CAN"T take on the fire-power that UTX can throw at us. If we escape, we go to the Feds. Even if they MIGHT be in UTX's pocket....we are out of choices if we get into a running fire-fight on the surface-streets! Golly, we'll be in a world of hurt then."

Chase looked at everyone and hugged them in turn. She sighed and said in a shakey voice, "We have to crap, or get off the pot. We can't stay in this house forever. We have to get the truth out! We have to expose UTX for the evil crumbs they are! I just want you all to know how much I love you guys....in case somebody doesn't make it."

Chase turned to the phone before she lost her nerve. She turned it and phoned the clinic back. Hank picked up. He asked her, "Well, running girl? What's the verdict?"

She looked thoughtful and said to him, "I'm coming in. I'm curious to hear what they have to say. It'll be half an hour or so. Depends on traffic. Love you, Hank! Thanks."

He nodded and said, "Same at you, buttercup. See you in a while."

Chase rang off and shuddered. She turned and said, "We are a go."

Widget said, "Alright, gun violence a possibility! I'll take one of the 4mm machine pistols and the .50 caliber revolver and the two speed loaders for it. Fidget gets the small-handled .357 hammer-shrouded revolver. Remember Fidget! Short range only. Point and click interface! There is one reload speed loader for it! No second chances!"

Fidget nodded grimly and held Chase's hand.

Widget continued, "Chase gets the other 4mm machine pistol. Neko gets a pair of matched .50 caliber single-shot hold outs. Polly gets the shotgun. It's loaded with armor-piercing flechettes. It MIGHT drop somebody. Shoot them in the face with it. It's 12 gauge and puts a lot of power on target. Anthony–we only have a Sig-Sauer P210 in 9mm for you. The ammo won't penetrate diddly-squat of an armored foe."

Anthony brightened and said, "They took back the 4mm pistol they gave me, but I have reversed ogive armor-penetrators in 9mm at home! A box worth! I own one of the older style pistols at home."

Widget said, "Alright. We stop by Anthony's place and pick up GOOD ammo for the old guns and we go."

Chase nodded and they did that.

Neko went in with Anthony to make sure he wouldn't turn them in and they motored over to downtown Orlando. They let Neko out a block away and she went in black-cat mode. Her hair was jet black and her skin was chocolate brown, and her eyes were hazel. She simply strolled up and into the place.

Neko walked up to the counter and asked the woman behind the counter, "Ma'am? Can I please use the bathroom? My momma is coming in a few minutes."

The nurse rolled her eyes and shook her head and pointed to a door. The nurse said, "Through that door and all the way to the end of the hall. Door on the left."

"Thank you!"

Neko went on in and skipped down the hall. The nurse shook her head and said, "Kids these days! Looked like a cat, but was at least polite." The phone rang and she picked it up again.

Neko looked for hidden troops and robots and such and found the place to be clean. She phoned the car and said so. Chase said, "We're coming in."

Fidget, Chase and Widget got out. And said in a normal voice, "Thanks for the ride , Mister! We appreciate it." Widget told Anthony on a text message to park in the back and leave the motors running. He nodded and parked, while the three women went in the back.

Chase walked in like she was walking on eggs-shells. Her guts were jumping and she was very nervous. Widget was cool and professional and scanned all openings, door and areas of ingress and egress. Widget gave Chase's arm a squeeze. Chase smiled, or tried to.

She found Hank and his guests in the office in the back of the building. Jerry Reynolds stood up and then so did Chip and Dale. There was hubbub as they got reacquainted with 'Widget' and 'Fidget'.

Jerry hugged Chase and remarked, "I'm really glad you're not dead! What in hell really happened? The news is worthless!"

Chase was glad to see Jerry, even if he wasn't Milo's favorite person. She looked at him suspiciously and asked him, "Are you an agent for UTX?"

He frowned and shook his head, "Hell, as much as you are! Look, they pay my bills and that's all. They are my employer. If that's what you mean? What is going on? I want the straight dope, not the bullshit the company doles out for the masses. Christ, what a fucked-up mess! I even got shot by ...uh someone in the whole mess up on the surface."

He frowned, "I just want the truth. Becky died and I really liked her. I--I can't believe that Milo shot her! None of this makes sense! Milo hated my guts, but I can't believe the stuff coming out of the PTV news groups",He pleaded with her emotionally.

She thought for a moment and shrugged, "Sure. Why not?" She launched into her rendition of events, leaving out any mention of Neko-Ney, or Hank's involvement about where he put her up at or finding 'Pretty-Polly' at the house OR encountering Anthony Fong again.

Jerry was shocked and astounded by the revelation that Fidget knew an alien alphabet. He said, "I can't believe that the Primary Control Program in these two are disabled! They should just be laying there breathing! What was Fairweather playing at? Jeez!"

Widget smirked at him and said, "You should know, Jerry! Mister Matamoros was paying you to spy on Doctor Fairweather!"

Chase was shocked and put her hand on her pistol. He shrugged without shame and smiled, "Sure, I spied on him. I knew there was something going on. I had NO idea that it involved ALIENS? Holy god! I thought Fairweather was involved in something unsavory, and Matamoros was an alright guy. Guess I was wrong. Seems they both had their hands dirty. Lord. Figures!"

He looked over at the thoughtful looking Chip and Dale and said, "I found these two skulking around the Interstate entrance to the maintenance entrance to the park. They told me that Milo had 'commissioned' them to find Chase and call him when they got info he didn't have." He shook his head and said after a moment, "I just don't know. Human brains in replicants, human personalities in replicant brains, aliens in the background of UTX shaping human governments. UTX has a ton to answer for."

He edged close to Chase and took her hand and said in a low, conspiratorial tone, "Look–those bastards killed Becky , and want to do the same to you, right? I have and idea! I know a hacker. One of the best! We could publish this info to the World Wifi Web! She can put this world-wide in moments I know Ruby Laser! We're old buds. Give me a copy of the alien language record and we can really put the screws to UTX!"

Dale giggled and said, "Gee, Jerry...You always have an angle on stuff. You must have an angle on this , too!"

Chip snorted and remarked, "Sure he does. Oldest dodge in the books. He tells the hacker which blows a hole in UTX stock prices while he sells out. The price plummets to nothing and he steps in with capitol and picks up the pieces really cheap and ends up a billionare!"

Jerry nods and said, "Why not? They deserve to go down, and I don't want to take a bath on it either. If I clean up, well...that's just my reward for being such a great guy of bringing down the corporate giant! Come on, Chase! We can both clean up on this! It will be dangerous, but worth it. What do you say?"

Chase frowned. After a moment, she nodded, and said, "Alright. Here is a copy of the alien language from my wrist-top. It belongs to the whole world, not just me. Tell her to put it all on. In a couple of hours, we'll turn it over to the Feds."

He looked a little put off and then nodded, "Alright. Let me download it and I'll run to the john and call Ruby Laser and get things in the works. Sorry, but she works undercover and UTX would skin me alive if they knew I knew her. She has NO love for those bastards at all! This will be great! How the mighty fall!"

Chase put her wrist-top next to Jerry's and he punched several studs on it and it and downloaded the information. He uploaded a virus while Chase was looking at her read-outs. He said, "Here is a bug to put in UTX's ear if you get a chance to. Ruby came up with it to scrap UTX Doorways processors big-time. Just have them try to strip your wrist-top down or upload it and activate it and it will eat it up systems alive. Note! You have only one chance to password it! You try the wrong pass-code and your wrist-top will self-destruct! So be careful."

He gave her a big wink and a smirk and said, "It ain't much...but it is better than a bomb in the right place! Be careful with it. You could wreck a city with it. Just a little something from me to you!."

"I'm off to make a call that will change the world as we know it. Wish me luck, bright eyes!"

Jerry left the office to the bathroom.

Hank looked at Chase and shook his head and said, "I think this was a mistake. He's a player and does have an angle on this, but I don't trust him. He's up to something."

Dale said, "Don't we know it! He flirted with every girl we talked to. Wowee, mister charm! We need to call Milo and tell him what we found out. Hey, Doctor Hank? Can we use this phone?"

Hank said, "Sure, go ahead. This has been a weird day. Chase, I hope this turns out well for all concerned, but I fear it won't."

In the bathroom, Jerry pulled out his special black-market anti-spyware white-noise generators and converted his wrist-top over to text-message mode. He texted his stock-broker with a 'sell UTX' order. Then he texted his on-again-off-again girl-friend Ruby Laser and down-loaded the story to her.

She texted back after a quick skim, "This sounds like the Playa Maya Manifesto! Take care Playa Jerre'! These guys will eat you up. Later. :)"

Then he called Mister Matamoros' special number.

"Hello, Mister Reynolds. I trust you have something important for me.

Jerry sweated like a pig and licked his lips. He took a deep breath and said, "The Gadgets from Disney World are operating WITHOUT their Primary Control Programs. One of them that Chase Victor named Fidget, KNOWS an Alien language and can not only SPEAK it, but read and write it! This Fidget learned this language from Unit Four. She is emotionally linked to Chase Victor. Sir ...this is important. Isn't it?"

Maxamilian struggled for control at the other end of the phone. After a moment, he said cooly, "Yes, Mister Reynold. VERY important. Now...please leave there so we can collect them. You have thirty seconds to get off the premises. You'll be rewarded for your efforts."

Jerry looked at the phone and muttered, "Thirty? Oh–shit!" He rang off and burst out of the bathroom and ran out the back door like all the devils in hell were on his hells.

In Doctor Lassiter's office, Dale picked up the phone and dialed the Boeing air-car of Doctor Fairweather. The answering device picked up to everyone's disgust. Widget heard a door bang in the hallway and opened the door to the hallway. She saw the back door bang closed and the bathroom door swing open again. Widget pelted down the hall to the back-door and glanced out to see a pair of armored cars pull up. They were both marked U.T.X S.W.A.T.

Chip moved around Dale to look down the hall, as Dale said into the phone pick-up, "Found them! They are mostly alive and intact. We don't have much time to talk! Chase found out that human engrams are encoded on the support thingees. We learned Widget is really USMC First Lieutenant Leslie Watts and that Fidget knows an alien language..."

Down the hall, Chip saw Widget pull out a pair of pistols as a huge black armor figure, holding a sub-machine gun, rushed though the open back-door. Neko-Ney leapt over Chip in a single vault and landed in the office

Neko-ney screamed in warning, "They're coming through the WALLS!"

At the back door, the mil-spec Chaser had it's head blown off by two .50 caliber magnum rounds fired by Widget. The Chaser behind it fired it's three barreled sub-machine gun where she was, as she vaulted out of the line of fire, back down the hallway in the direction of where she had come.

The outside office wall caved in as the SWAT team out-side the office used one of the armored cars to ram the wall. A pair of Hunters swarmed in through the hole as the armored car pulled out. Hank was partially crushed beneath the hundreds of pounds of cinder block and Chip was stunned and prone by the falling blocks. Chase scrambled for cover as Neko destroyed the two Hunters with a .50 caliber shot to each of their heads from her single-shot pistols. Dale jumped out into the corridor, past the fallen Chip.

Out in the hallway, Widget could run over Dale laying there, jump in the bathroom, or run upstairs. She ran upstairs instead of the other options, leaping up the stairs three at a time. The remaining Chaser fired upwards through the stairs, barely missing her, while Dale was laying on top of the other, now headless Chaser. Seeing an opportunity, Dale grabbed up the three barreled sub-machine-gun and fired a long burst of 4mm flechettes into the back of the upright Chaser following Widget up the stairs.

Dale struck it in the lower back, cutting through the leg controls and scragging the lower balance controls. The Chaser fell face down and rolled over as it slid down the stairs toward Dale. Dale leapt into the bathroom for cover as the Chaser came to rest at the stair bottom.

In the office, another pair of Hunters came in through the huge hole, as Chip surged to his feet. He tackled one, throwing it off balance, as Fidget shot it once in the head and twice in the torso with her .357 magnum pistol. The other one surged toward Fidget from her blind side. Chase screamed in anger and leapt in the way. That Hunter enfolded Chase in it's padded arms and she shot into the ceiling as it shocked her insensate with it's inbuilt taser. Fidget whirled and angrily targeted the Hunter that held Chase in it's metal arms, then shot it three time in the head. It fell with a clatter upon the ground, falling on top of Chase.

Fidget reloaded her pistol and tossed it to Chip as she ran to help Chase pull the mecha off of her. Chip spun as the Chaser in the hallway levered up to fire at him. A burst of auto-fire from the bathroom caught it across the chest, as Chip blew it's head off with the small .357 revolver.

Dale popped out of the bathroom and grinned at Chip. "Better watch you butt, boyo!"

A specially armed Spartan Mk5 Mech-warrior came up to the hole in the outer office wall and presented it's mini-gun at the people in the office. Neko-Ney blurred into motion and leapt though the doorway into the hallway. Fidget threw herself over Chase, who was hopelessly tangled in the downed Hunter, and trying draw away from it. Chip threw himself over Hank as the room erupted in auto-fire. Neko watched as Fidget's dress was cut to bloody shreds as she and Chase fell prone and unmoving to the floor. Chip screamed as the special flechettes chewed into him and Hank's yells of fear were silenced by them.

Neko locked onto the mech and something happened to her. An anger that transcended anything she had ever experience came over her. She had just watched that THING shoot her friends down like dogs. She was so angry that lightning leapt from her skin as she started moving toward the mech. Her claws grew longer as she screamed in the old language, "DIE!"

The sound of Neko's angry shriek blew out all the windows in a two block radius, as she flew into the Spartan with a crash, which bowled it over as she clawed and kicked it. Neko-Ney bowled it over and carried it outside. Neko picked it up and swung it with all her might into the armored car, just outside the back-door. The Spartan shattered into bits with a huge clong, and she was just warming up.

She leapt and faded from sight between the two human SWAT outside herding the mechas, as they fired on her. They missed her cleanly as she clawed the left hand off of one and then tore the head off of the other. She hurled the severed head like a projectile, striking the one handed one in the head, knocking him cold. She leapt like a fury to the first armored car and braced her-self and flipped it over onto it's roof with a tremendous crash.

She turned and glared at the crew of the second armor-car. They called for help and buttoned up the vehicle to keep the cat-demon outside. She ran over to it and flipped it over while they were trying to escape. They ended up with sprains and one guy got a broken arm, but they were all happy just to survive the cat-demon.

Inside, upstairs, Widget shot one SWAT team-member in the thigh, which dropped him screaming. Widget leapt across a hallway to escape gun-fire from one SWAT member with a gas-mask on. She calculated her next shot and fired through several desks and one wall to hit him through the leg. He fell screaming down the stairs.

Widget fired a burst at one down the hall which cut through the water-main. It threw water down the hall in a large spray, causing him to slip and fall on his back. She ran up and shot him through his shoulder. She was out of ammo on the machine pistol, so she jumped back into one of the examination rooms.

She tossed the machine pistol and was reloading the .50 caliber four shot revolver, when a UTX SWAT man with a equally huge pistol got the drop on her from ten feet away. She was crouched down by and examination bed and he just came around the corner. He lifted the pistol and everyone in a five block radius heard Neko-Ney's scream of rage.

The windows exploded and his goggles did like-wise. Widget leapt to the side as he fired blind where she had been. The .44 magnum tore a fist-sized hole in the wooden table as she jumped up and kicked him across the face, tearing off his mask.

Commander John Watts jumped back and fired at Widget at point-blank range. She slapped aside the pistol and closed as it went off, blowing a hole in the wall. She executed a disarming move on him which sent the pistol flying across the room. He went for his back up at the same time SHE went for his back-up, too.

They collided and fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. They punched and kicked and turned and pivoted. John broke a night-stand across Widget's back and she kicked him in the back of the knee, spilling him to the floor. Widget punched him twice more, then he foot swept her to the floor as well. John bit one of her ears and Widget head-butted him, bloodying his face.

The Commander kicked her off of him, into the examination table where she came upright with a sneer, blowing hard.

John Watts leapt up to his feet and was panting hard. He wiped his mouth on the back of his right glove, while circling Widget warily. "You fight pretty good for a machine."

She swallowed and gasped out, "You've gotten better, too, Sergeant-Major! That reverse kick is new. You must'a got that, after the Florida Keys vacation after I kicked your –kiester."

He frowned and said angrily, "I don't know you! What kind of mind game is this?"

She closed and feinted some kicks to his head, which he blocked. She danced back and said, " 'Once you defeat an enemy in THEIR mind–they are defeated.' You taught me that, Sargent-Major."

He rushed her and tackled Widget through a room divider into another examining room. She rolled backward and kicked him off. He got in a couple of body blows as she kicked him off. They spun on the floor and were on their feet immediately. He spat blood onto the floor and exclaimed at her, "DON'T call me 'Sergeant-Major!' Goddammit! Only ONE person in the world had a right to say that to me! And she is DEAD!"

Widget jerked a thumb at herself and shouted back, "I died a long time before I left! I didn't need you to save me! I could have saved my men on my own! You disobeyed a direct order to humiliate me! You left your own men high and dry and then blamed me!?"

The Commander rocked back as if hit with body blows. He looked at the short , scrawny, mouse-girl in horror and whispered, "Leslie?"

Widget spit her own blood onto the floor and sneered at him, "Yeah. Like you said on the night of my senior prom—I was too 'mousey' for the real Marines, that's why I was going to be a pilot! Did it EVER occur to you I wanted to fly because I WANTED to fly? That's why I got that darn ugly dragon tattoo! I tried everything to make you happy! When I couldn't live up to your impossible standards, I died inside. Years before my body died."

Widget snarled, "UTX did this to me. Now I AM too mousey to be a Marine!"

Commander John Watts had seen a lot of weird things, but this was unbelievable. He was frozen for the first time in his life in indecision. The door behind her was busted down by a pink and purple blur that came up next to her. Neko-Ney was covered in blood, none of it her own. She was intent on killing him, and he had no illusions about his own survival.

Widget grabbed Neko's arm with both of hers and didn't slow Neko down. Widget said, "Neko! Stop!"

Neko paused and said weeping, "They killed Chase and Fidget!"

Widget hissed at Neko, "Listen!"

Over the Commander's head-set they heard, "We have the primary replicant target and the attached human in custody, They require medical attention, so do our wounded! Withdraw IMMEDIATELY. Hand the situation over to the local law-enforcement. WITHDRAW!"

Outside they all heard the whine of aerodynes taking off and landing.

Widget said to Neko, "WITHDRAW! This isn't a suicide mission."

To the Commander, Widget snarled, "Next time, sergeant-major!"

They turned and ran out of the room, Widget scooping up his nickel-plated .44 magnum pistol, which his daughter Leslie had given him back in 2067, on his fortieth birthday. That was as painful to see, as the other things that were said.

Widget ran back to the stairs and shook Dale out of his miserable, grief-stricken torpor. He was sitting at the top of the stairs, pointing his sub-machine-gun down the stairs and whimpered to them, "I couldn't hold them. They came in –in a big wave. I heard movement. They didn't follow."

Widget lead the way downstairs tactically and back into the office. Chase and Fidget's bodies were gone. Chip and Doctor Lassiter lay where they had fallen. Widget checked Hank, and discovered he had been shot between the eyes at close range, with a large pistol and Chip had been shot in the head, too. She queried Chip's CPU emergency status on the Wifi and it responded,'cranial impact recorded, service required immediately'.

"Chip is salvageable, Come on it's time to make a run for the F.B.I.." Widget said with determination. .Neko had calmed down and was sniffing about in the fallen mecha. She picked up a crystaline shard that melted while she smelled it.

Neko announced, "Fidget and Chase were alive I think....Anesthetic dart flechettes?"

Widget shrugged and said, "NOW!"

Widget lead the way to the green Mustang, with Anthony at the wheel. Neko said something to Polly, who got out and ran to the front of the building , pulling out the 12 gauge shotgun. Dale put the unconscious Chip in the back and squeezed in next to him. Neko climbed in next to Dale, and Widget rode shot-gun with one of the tri-barreled sub-machine guns. They pulled out slow and easy.

At the front of the clinic, Polly went on a shooting rampage. She shot any kind of light. Streetlights, headlights and such were victims until the Orlando Police Department brought her to justice, by dismantling her with 4.65mm Makarovs in full auto-fire.

They drove quickly across town to the local Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters and pulled up, just outside the blast barriers. Widget said, "Drop the guns and bombs and such. They'll either help or we're dead." there was grim nodding and they went in.

Widget took point, with a black eye and a bloody nose. She was followed by Neko-Ney, ragged and bloody from her foes. The unconscious Chip, bleeding from a head-wound was helped in by a dusty and frazzled Dale. Bringing up the rear was a very nervous Anthony Fong.

Widget walked up to the desk to the security guard ther and in a calm voice said, "Good day, sir. My name is Widget Hackwrench, also known as First Lieutenant Leslie Watts, also known as Gadget Unit-One from Walt Disney World. I would like to report a series of crimes committed by the United Techtronix Corporation. I believe they are involved in a conspiracy that might endanger the security of the United States of America. Can I talk to a Special Agent immediately?"

He looked shocked and then pressed a button. "Sir? People matching the description you left, just showed up.

The guard said, "He said wait there."

After a couple of minutes, a thirtyish man leading a team of men and women came up to Widget. He came forward and said to her, "I'm Assistant Administrator James Williams. Please come with me."

Now:

Tiffany stopped along the way to let people stretch their legs and use the bathroom. Tiffany made a phone call while Milo tended to Gadget.

Gadget said, "The main symbol was 'creator' or 'mother' I think. I'm sorry, Milo. It's foggier now than before. I just can't remember anything else about any of it."

Miriam came back to the car and sat next to Gadget. Gadget looked out of it and Miriam looked worried. Miriam asked, "Honey? Any thoughts about things? "

Gadget started crying and said quietly, "Oh, fooey. I'm crying again. I'm just so tired."

Tiffany and Larry came back and they buckled in. Tiffany said, "We're going someplace different. I know a neuro-surgeon who can be trusted and is an expert in cybernetic implants. He's only fifteen minutes from here."

Zoe grumped as they pulled out into traffic,"Why would mister corporate zero turn my sister, Molly into a mouse? This is insane. Why a mouse? Why not put some kind of mind-control chip or something?"

Milo shrugged and said, "I don't know. There must be reasons. Maybe alien reasons. We don't honestly know even the tip of the iceberg on this. It's BIG. Noone except Maximilian Matamoros knows how big."

"Molly was excited, giddy actually, about working for Matamoros. She felt it was a huge responsibility to do a good job", Miriam paused for a moment and sighed, "She felt it was worth her life and the 'future generations of mankind would hold our work in judgement'. She never explained WHAT she worked on, but she complained she would never hear it. The spoken language, that is. She made one comment I never figured out. She said, even so over all the time, she still couldn't hear it. 'Humans can't reach that far.' "

Gadget squeak-mailed a word the made everyone's ears hurt. She giggled and sighed, "I can reach that far now."

Milo looked nervous as they drove up to a large chain-link fence with razor-wire at the top of the fences. There were a pair of men with small quad-barreled rifles behind thick barricades. Tiffany presented her ID to one of them. The man looked in and waved them through the gates.

They were being shown through an electrified fence at some compound in the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Milo was nervous about the security arrangements, especially after they drove though a set of blast-doors into an underground bunker.

They got out and Gadget was led to a wheelchair and helped into it by a nurse. They went into the interior where they were met by a thirtyish man in a dark suit, that hugged Tiffany. She smiled broadly and said ,"Hello, Jimmy. I understand you have some friends that want to meet my friends?"

He nodded and smiled. Larry came up to Jimmy and they grabbed each other and grinned like fools.

Tiffany turned towards her group and said, "Oh, I'm sorry! This is my brother-in-law, James Williams. He works for the Government."

The inner door of the complex slid aside as Widget said, "I don't know ,Dale! They said someone...."

She trailed off as she smiled at Gadget and Milo. Neko ran over and hugged Four and Milo. Dale came over hugged Four. Widget came over to Gadget an held her hand and Gadget wept openly. Widget stroked Gadget's face and said, "...AND this is the good news. The bad news is that UTX captured Fidget and Chase. We don't really know what is going on. So how did you guys end up at a FBI safe-house?"

Larry just grinned and Tiffany smiled.

Tiffany said, "Didn't I say I was related to an Assistant Administrator of the Federal Bureau of Investigation? He's in charge of investigating UTX as of yesterday. We pulled some strings."

Gadget groaned and Milo shook his head. After a moment he remarked, "My head hurts!"

Gadget said softly, "Mine, too."

Widget said, "You know—we will have to go to the Belize Replication Facility and find and rescue Chase Victor and Fidget."

Milo said in disgust, "Life just got complicated."

Neko grinned and said happily, "Nah! Life has always been complicated! Your attitudes just caught up with life is all! Cats already knew this. That's why we don't like people like Matamoros. Cats rule the world. We don't like competition!" She giggled.

Gadget smiled sadly and waved to the nurse and said as she was wheeled into the complex, "I'm ready for my new brain, now."

–To Be Continued--