Peter, Ruthie and Felicity emerged from their parsonage first. Heather and James were each pushing a double carriage. James had Ruthie's babies, Randall and Jane; while Heather was charged with Felicity's children, Isaac and Rebecca. The Parkers followed from their residence, with Maighread offering to push Danielle and Theodore and Rhiannon walking besides them. The Anderson siblings, Hope and Patrick, emerged last from their adjacent bedrooms in the Parkers' guesthouse. There was a seriousness in all their demeanors, as they walked across the parking lot and towards a meeting none wanted to have but felt necessary to have. During the long walk, the groupings were all in animated conversations.

Heather and James were leading the way. They quickly moved to what had happened to each of them. Heather in particular had a query for her twin that she thought was not unreasonable to ask, but that she worried might offend him.

"Jim," she said, "our older male cousins have had wet dreams. You know that. So you would know that they don't just happen on their own. They happen either because you stimulated yourself, gave up and then you let go in the middle of the night -"

"No, I don't do that," Jim said.

"You had a nightmare about being abused -"

"I would have told you about that, Heather."

"Which leaves you dreamed about having sex with a woman, and it was so intense it triggered something in your system that made it happen."

"Yeah," said Jim. "I was seventeen, a freshman at university; she was twenty-one or twenty-two, a master's candidate in History, and my teaching assistant in a class I was taking. One day, I asked her to discuss an assignment of mine over dinner, since I had a lot of points to go over. It was a four course meal, we split the tab and we got a lot accomplished. I walked her back to her dorm and said good night. She then said her roommate was gone for the weekend to see her parents and asked if I wanted to come in.

"Knowing what she wanted, I of course said yes. We shot the breeze for another twenty minutes, then she asked me flat out if I was a virgin. Maybe it was the dream, sis; but I said no, I had a couple of girlfriends in high school but they were somewhat homely and had just put out because they wanted to lose their virginity too. I told the woman I was facing I had never been with as beautiful a woman as she, and if it was okay if we share each other's bodies.

"It didn't take that long to take off each other's clothes. We made straight up missionary sex for two hours. Just before I came, I pulled out, turned her so we were in the doggie position, and I took her butt. Yeah, number two, and I stroked hard. That's when I woke up. For thirty seconds, I could feel my hard-on. It wasn't torture pain, sis, but it was really painful. I turned on the lights, pulled off my sheets, and ten seconds after that, it all came out. A lot of it. It was nothing like what had come out of there before, but I put some on my fingers, put it in my mouth, tasted it - and I liked it! Then, I felt this incredible peace. And I thanked God for what had happened to me. I also promised Him that when the time was right, I would be responsible with it."

"What was your lover like?"

"Smart, dedicated, trustworthy -"

"No, silly!" said Heather. "Her dimensions! And what she was like in bed!"

"One hundred ten pounds, 38D, 23, 36. Her - well, tree trunk - was totally shaven. And the rings around the peaks of her breasts - I've never seen them so huge, not even on the porn stars we've seen on TV! And she was slippery as all hell. Which I liked - didn't need the lubricant! It was absolutely amazing - we were kissing each other like crazy all over. The best part is when she gave me a BJ. I had to beg her to stop so I could unload the load inside of her gate, not her mouth!"

"You were using protection?"

"No, it happened so quickly we didn't have time to put one on. But she told me she had been on The Pill since age nine."

"Last question ... what color hair?"

"Red ... my favorite. Almost the same shade as Felicity. A few lighter." Jim paused. "Heather, are you worried about what happened to you last night?"

"Yeah," his sister admitted. "I knew it was bound to happen, but I wasn't expecting it this soon! And bro, I didn't fall asleep until three in the morning. Wondering if more blood would come out. And more importantly, I worried about what we talked about last night with Aunt Shelby and Uncle Rod. I know guys are going to want me for all the wrong reasons, and you won't always be there to protect me! I know I have to take care of myself, but I am so vulnerable now. I don't know what to do."

"We'll talk about that. But the first thing we need to do, Heather, is take you to the super-center ASAP and get you pads. I'll pay for them the first few times. And we'll get different sizes and flow levels until we figure out what's best for you. Not tampons, you're too young for them and even then they can cause problems if you don't change them a lot. Then you need to talk to Mom and Felicity - alone. I don't need to be there, and neither does Dad. Just get it all off your chest - um, sorry!"

Heather laughed.

"And remember," James continued, "if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. For anything. I'll even get you training bras!"

"Jim, you're the greatest brother ever!" Heather stopped the carriage she was pushing, and gave James a huge hug. "I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"I feel the same way about you, sis. You make me a better person, always have." James paused. "Do you mind my asking, what you'd like your dimensions to be?"

"Well, I'd like Lucy's bust, Mary's hips, Hope's waist. 36C, 25, 34. And I'm gonna shave my wishbone when the hair starts growing there. And if I sleep with a guy, I'm going to shave off his hair before he gets into me. I just want it to be skin to skin - even on my barbeque starter!" Heather smiled and laughed. Jim did too. Then she turned serious. "What do you think Whirry wants?"

"Dunno," said Jim. "But we and our cousins are going to have a lot of questions to ask him first. I have a feeling some of the allegations made by the insider last year are bogus and he needs to clear the air."

Felicity and Peter and Ruthie walked silently, as nothing needed to be said between them after the previous evening. They were a bit embarrassed they had been caught but they decided not to be worried.

Next came the Parkers. The daughters were still in glee over what they had seen, and they asked some pointed questions to their parents. Rod and Shelby answered them as honestly as they could, then preempted the girls' next question by saying they had never partaken in a three way or wife swapping and never would. Neither should the girls, they said - whether it was with a man or another woman - because it made sex too complicated. The parents also said, the family made a promise to their friends that if they did have a three-way and wanted to continue to do so, they would look the other way, and they had to stick to that.

Patrick and Hope brought up the rear. Patrick was asking a series of questions about what his sister, Felicity and Ruthie knew about Whirry. The picture Hope painted was anything but a pleasant one. In fact, she said, she strongly suspected the heretic was setting them all up for a trap.

"But what if he isn't, Hope?" asked Patrick. "I doubt very much he'd repudiate any of his religious beliefs, unlike the way Victor Thatcher did and which led to the schism over twenty years ago. But something has been bothering his conscious. It only seems reasonable he'd want to talk to us. After all, sis, you and Felicity are the two leaders of the non-crazy evangelical movement and you both have moral authority."

"Of what kind, dear brother?" replied Hope. "Felicity and I are guilty of one thing - being too honest. We've both ratted ourselves out, me for something a hell of a lot worse than what she did. I stole eight hundred million dollars. Yes, it was paid back but I'm guilty as all hell. She took only three hundred thousand and that was totally by accident. Our followers forgave both of us, but Whirry has been merciless on his website about what we did. He doesn't believe in forgiveness - never has. I don't get it. I have to disagree with you, Patrick. Whirry doesn't want to see us because of who Felicity and I are. He only wants our help because he thinks we can pull some strings with the DA. You heard Shelby. There are no more deals after Carrie's. At least not when it comes to immunity."

The posse found their way inside and into the conference room. At Rhiannon's suggestion, the group reconvened the meeting in the vault. Once the door was closed, the anti-bugging perimeter was activated.

"Mister Whirry," said Ruthie, declining to call him Reverend because his degree was from an unaccredited diploma mill, "this is Saturday. Which I find peculiar because you are a strict Sabbatarian, on top of your totally unnecessary observance of Jewish dietary laws. Even my Jewish sister-in-law, Dr Sarah Glass, isn't a fanatic on food - she has the occasional cheeseburger - and she breaks Sabbath because her job requires her to. I do not know what would make you break Sabbath and why.

"And you know from our website, that this is usually the day we prepare for Sunday services. Right now, the children here - well, the four who can talk - should be getting ready for Sunday School, preparing and reviewing the course materials they write themselves. You should be aware, they will be asking many of the questions. Don't underestimate them. Are we clear?"

"Ms Camden," Whirry said. He said Ms because he and his church did not believe in the ordination of women. "Everyone here can ask me anything you like. Because what I have to tell you about Reverend and Miss Anderson's parents go way beyond what they've told you. I am here ... because I and my senior pastorate are in fear of our lives. No bluffing. And please ... call me Jack. If I can address all of you by your first names, that is."

"Fine by us," said Felicity.

"Let's get right to the point, Jack," said Heather. "Shortly after Felicity and Dad got married, a church insider made some specific allegations against you during the wild feed. We would like to go through them."

"Of course, young madam ... um, Heather," said Jack, "and you all need to know that's where the ratfucking began. The insider was a plant of Harry Anderson's. I did not know this until three days ago when he confessed to me. He got paid to put up all those captions. Some are true. Some are not."

"Okay," said Heather. "Let's go through them. The DUIs. Twenty two states?"

"Twenty seven, plus five provinces."

"Got busted in Canada, too, huh?"

"Well, they have a much broader definition of 'illegal detention' than we Americans too. I beat all five of those charges on technicalities."

"You claim it's a sin to vote, but you do vote."

"I'd be stupid not to. After all, I have to keep defending my and my university's tax exempt status. Even if we're both unaccredited. They check my voting records to see if I showed up. And yes, I am a Republican. I understand Rod and Shelby are, and their children, as well as Patrick and Hope."

"Let's be clear about that, Jack," said Heather. "We are all Republicans ... but in the mold of Eisenhower and Ford. Limited government, but fair treatment of the less fortunate too. Not the crazy kind of Republicans you and so many in this country are. The Tea Party is a disgrace, and you know it. But we're digressing ... so let's continue. You're a gambling addict, Jack."

"And I have used church money," Jack admitted. "I stopped cold turkey a year and a half ago. I am in treatment, and am still negotiating with the casinos on a repayment plan. I owe about five hundred thousand dollars."

"Not more?"

"No."

"Have you slept with any of your female staff, or with your female students?"

"Twenty one staff, sixteen students. And it wasn't merely blow jobs ... we went all the way after the BJs. I licked them up too. I liked it. I'm very much sexually active. I'm not going to apologize for that."

"Did you ever raped your wife, or your daughter?" asked Maighread.

"No, Margaret, absolutely not!" said Jack. "I'm a womanizer - I'll plead guilty to that! - but I have too much respect for women to play that game, especially with family. Any time I have sex is with the woman's consent. Always. Hester and I have been living apart on the compound for years. She also cheated on me, with a former aide from Australia that I purged for good at New Year's, and several of the camera crew. The divorce has been working its way for several years and we both want it to end. And I would never harm our daughter, Cynthia, ever. Well ... I did slap her once, really hard, when she was sixteen. She used the corporate credit card to go shopping for clothes instead of her own. It was an honest mistake on her part, and I told her right away I was really sorry. But Hester still uses the corporate card, despite repeated warnings from the church accountant not to."

"So it's safe to say there has been no consensual incest between you and Cynthia."

"Harry is one really sick puppy to even make such a suggestion. Who is he to point the finger like that when he had his way with so many? Forget Prudence - if I told you what she's done it would make you puke. You and your young friends. She's facing four charges, but I have evidence she raped at least fifty young boys. And Harry ... at least one hundred girls. They have no sense of morals."

"One hundred and fifty?" asked Felicity in horror.

"That I know of, ma'am," said Jack. "The DA is working through all of them and indictments will come any day now. When they do, even most of the televangelists - who are now cooperating with authorities to clear up problems with their finances - will finally break off ties with Harry and Prudence as well as they should. I'm sure there are many more kids who are afraid to say anything."

"Has Cynthia ever had abortions?"

"Three, as Harry said. One was Down's, and who can blame her for wanting to terminate? She was totally heartbroken that she did so, but she felt it was for the best. It was a girl, and she's at rest. The other two were students who raped her. I found out, I paid for the abortions, and the young men were imprisoned. Disfellowed too to say the least."

"Backtracking for a second," said Jim. "Does Hester have an expense allowance, and who approved it?"

"She does, but it's more like two hundred thousand a year, not a million. It was approved by the outside Board of Directors which I am not a part of. She's never been banned from the Internet, in fact she has a blog on our website under a pseudonym. But yes, she does retail therapy. A lot of it. I don't like it but she and I are separated and she's the one who has to face the accountants, not me. But she also doesn't have ten thousand pairs of shoes. It's more like two hundred. Which is still way too many."

"Has your church had cash flow problems?"

"Yes, but they were all cleared up six months ago. We've even paid back the margin calls. We're free and clear."

"The offshore money?"

"Way overstated, Jim. The seventy five million in Italy was more like ten. The so-called five hundred million in Guernsey was actually sixty million in Alderney. Fully declared to the IRS, taxes fully paid."

"Wait a minute, Jack," said Jim. "What's the point of parking money offshore if you're going to declare it? Kind of defeats the purpose!"

"After the 2008 crash, I don't trust American banks with my church's assets. There is a current account at an OKC bank to cover daily expenses, but that's as far as it goes with our banking system. The banks overseas are way safer. It's just being prudent."

"Let's get to the more grave questions, Jack," said Rhiannon. "We need to clear this up, before we get to what's going on between you and Harry. Have you ever attended Klan rallies; or more to the point, are you now or ever been a member of any hate group?"

"No, Rhiannon," said Jack flatly. "But Harry has and is. I have a twin brother who has caused nothing but grief from me ever since we here in high school. He's KKK. I'm not. He's the one in the videos. I'm not. And Harry knows it. He besmirched me by making the suggestion it was me. Until recently, I didn't know why."

Jack paused. He then looked around the vault. He then spoke again.

"Walter Abramson, my mentor, was a plagiarist," he said quietly. "That's no secret, and in this week's broadcast I will say that, flat out. And yes, I have fiddled around with his writings, but not anymore. I'm reissuing those books exactly the way they were meant to be written. Now, that being said - I can understand why some ... many ... would see British Israelism as racist. It never was meant to be, not quite. It was a way of expressing the White Man's Burden in a much more polite form. Over time, many have used it for racist purposes. I never have, nor would I. We're all entitled to Christ's salvation, regardless of color."

"Your church - or former church, I should say - supported segregation, however," said Ruthie. "Your current church also supported apartheid. Had you not done either, you'd have a lot more black followers."

"Yes to both counts, and I was wrong. And yeah, my cohorts and I missed out on a huge opportunity."

"Do you hate Catholics? My brother-in-law Kevin and my sister-in-law Deena are Catholic. Felicity used to be one, as you know, but she still prays for the church to reform. And many of our parishioners are Catholics who have no intention of converting, but just refuse to step in their home churches anymore. So we kind of take it personally. And you overestimate the power of the Vatican over the European Union. The EU is about as a secular institution as you can get. And all of Europe's leaders - Catholic or not - want to bring the church down for hiding all the sexual abuse."

"I don't hate Catholics, Ruthie. Plain and simple. I hope the Prime Ministers do bring the Vatican down - at least half of the bishops, if not more, deserve to be in jail. And I am going to backtrack on my statements and my articles in my magazine that were anti-Catholic. I just want to make sure it's the right words so there's no doubt it is a full retraction. I promise you that."

"What about the triple tithe?" asked Rod. "Don't you think that's going overboard? A lot of our parishioners here grouse about the single tithe, even though it's just a suggestion."

"I put an end to that, quietly, last week," said Jack. "In fact, Rod, I've dropped the mandatory contribution to just two and a half percent - a quarter tithe if you will, just like Muslims who can afford it do. I figure, one hour's wage a week isn't too much to contribute to The Work. I'm not backing away from keeping the Sabbath, or on the dietary laws, or on soul sleep. And I'm not giving up my overall control of the church. But the faith has to be flexible. I'm trying to do what I can."

"Well, I guess we've got that all cleared up," said Hope, "and we thank you for your frankness. But we need to know this: Is there something you did to Mom and Dad that set them off? Or if not, what is it that has placed your life in danger? We might be able to get you protection, but we're going to need a lot more information."

"You want information, Hope, you're going to get it. I know you and Patrick want to finish off your parents; as has Felicity for years. I'll help you. But I want something in return."

"Let's hear what you have first," said Peter. "Then we'll talk deal."