Callista left the diner through the kitchen entrance. As soon as she passed through the doors she saw five marked state police vehicles twenty five feet away. There was no vehicle directly across from the door and she realized that she was still in the kill zone for that rifle. The space was cleared to avoid a cross fire.

But those thoughts were just quick observations as she took to the air and tried to get up to speed while circling to the west. As she did she noticed someone standing on a rooftop on the other side of the street from diner. She immediately recognized him as Kyle. But around him the scene was strange. It was not easy to understand and was confusing to just look at. It took her less than a second to get to him as she zipped through the air. When she arrived she immediately thought this must be a very small portal, just like the large one still visible in the distance. Only Kyle was standing just on the other side.

Callista landed on the roof in front of Kyle Bulloch. She was wearing a waitress uniform consisting of a pink skirt and white top. The front of the skirt was also an apron and contained a pocket. Her white cotton top was buttoned down unusually far and barely contained her breasts. The short sleeves ended in lacy frills. The uniform was obviously meant for someone much thinner.

She flew so quickly that the wind caught the front of her shirt, pulling it apart and breaking off the last few buttons. Now she had to hold the shirt closed with both of her hands. She had flashed Kyle for only the briefest of moments.

Kyle arched an eyebrow as he looked over her waitress uniform and his eyes traveled up to meet hers, "Well?"  He stepped aside and gestured for her to step through the portal.

Callista blushed and pulled her shirt tight around her full bosom, stepping through the portal and mumbling something about having a terrible clothes day.

As Callista stepped through the portal Danny stood a few feet back from where Kyle was standing. He fairly thrummed with tension, his entire being seemed focused on one thing, her. There was an intensity that Callista had never seen in him, a set of his shoulders, stance and jaw that said he would move heaven and earth to protect her. 

When she met his gaze, his eyes bored into hers, searching, as if to drink in every aspect of her, measuring to make sure she was unharmed. The concern and question burned in his eyes. "Calli?"

Kyle watched Callista step through the portal and could almost feel the tension emanating from Danny.  As he started to turn to look at Danny something in the distance beyond his own portal caught his attention and stopped him from turning.  

His new amazing vision allowed him to pick up startling details of the scene across the street.  He could see that the diner was completely surrounded by state troopers.  To the left of the diner he saw the man with the rifle.  Next to him was Brice Jennings and the chief of the state police.  The chief tapped the FBI agent on the shoulder and pointed in Kyle's direction.

Kyle saw that the FBI agent started to turn his gun in his direction but Kyle had plenty of time to close his portal before the FBI agent could get a good sight picture if he wanted.  Then he recognized the scope on the weapon.  It was very distinctive and one of the most expensive scopes on the market.  Used by some elite special operations units, it has the capability to capture photographs, or video.  And there is a live transmission capability to allow a team leader or someone else to view the image seen through the scope with a helmet cam, or from a distant base of operations if there are sufficient wireless systems in the area.

He could also hear a helicopter overhead somewhere though he could not see it directly.

Kyle closed the portal to the circumference of a baseball to shield them from the view of the troopers and the rifleman before he could get them in his sights.

Seeing the state of Calli's clothing, he pulled off his shirt and handed it to her, "Been a rough day, huh?" He didn't mention the fact that she had somehow ended up in Lou's Diner, which was in the opposite direction she had been heading. "We heard a gunshot. Is anyone hurt? Apparently I can heal people...and then some."

Callista took Kyle's shirt, her eyes dancing momentarily over his muscular frame with interest before facing Danny.  She felt completely naked as she stood before him, seeing him in a new light as he stared at her with so much concern and worry on his face.  She smiled, feeling her body respond in kind and wondered if constant horniness was another side affect of the portal, realizing Danny was truly a great guy.  She smiled at him, holding her shirt closed with one hand and clutching Kyle's with the other.

"It's okay Danny, I'm fine, thank you.  They shot Carl Richardson Kyle, I've spent the last little while getting to know him.  He's nuts guys, and very dangerous.  He's more powerful than us, well, maybe not together but apart, he'd kill us and not think twice.  And he's looking for the others, that family, the woman and her kids or whoever they were.  Umm, could you guys turn around so I can put this on?"

She held up the T-shirt and smiled at them. 

"I need a shower and some better clothes.  Everything is too small now."

Danny relaxed measurably when he realized Calli was unharmed. There was still that protective air about him but it was fading faster as he realized what she was had just said. The old Danny surfaced with a rising blush as he turned away. "We'll have to find them first and warn them. Brice, err  Mr. Jennings should know too. We need to move off this ridge soon too. That helicopter will spot us quickly if it heads this way."

Kyle nodded, and turned around to give Callista some privacy as he stepped down from the ridgeline.  "We can get off the ridge.  I brought us here to look for Calli so we could get ahead of her and thumb a ride, but that isn't necessary now.  And we know where to start with most of the others.  Brian is en route to the morgue. He'll be fine.  Brice was with the troopers.  Danny can check right now to see if he still is and if he wants to join us to discuss next steps.  The waitress, Amy...works..or worked at the diner from the look of Calli's uniform.  We could probably find out her identity with that information..and her kids.  That leaves the sheriff's son and his friend.  I don't know that Carl Richardson has any of that info, though he might be putting it together...and I don't know his capabilities...just that he's somehow multi-faceted and is more powerful than any single one of us.  If we knew which one he'd look for first, we could focus on getting there first."

"Oh...and Brice's son flew off.  But I'm sure Brice can find him easily enough.  I think that's everyone. But if you're still concerned with preserving your identities, there is the matter of Calli's car...wherever it is..."

Kyle left the portal open, but the size of a baseball.  He didn't know if Danny needed the shortened distance to do his mental thing.

Callista quickly removed the remains of the waitress top and pulled the T-shirt over her head, forcing it down over her ample breasts and flattening over her smooth stomach.  The T-shirt was stretched tightly over her body, displaying her figure to perfection. She shook her head, she needed some new clothes immediately.

"He offered me to be his...partner...and then said there was another woman out there.  He may be after her first.  The rental car is back on the outside of town."

Callista said as she stepped down the ridge to stand beside them.

When Calli was done re-dressing, Danny moved back to the ridge and looked through the portal. It was like looking through a telescope. he could see the area outside of the diner. He focused a little and it sprung even clearer, his vision making it seem only a couple of yards away. He caught sight of Mr. Jennings near the man in the suit with the really big gun. 

He sent his mind out through the portal, feeling a little ripple as it crossed the distance through the portal, he wove his thoughts  lightly into the Baltimore cop's trying to get a feel of the situation on the other side of town.

As Callista joined, them Kyle turned to face her. "Amy....damn. And her family." Kyle looked out over the terrain and pondered briefly where the large mirrored portal was clearly visible against the blue sky. "We have to find her first and warn her. All clues lie on the other side of that portal," he pointed at the small portal he'd opened earlier. "At Lou's diner. But that place is gonna be swarming with troopers. Danny, I don't suppose you'd want to see what you can find out about Amy and her contact info with your new abilities?"

Danny was concentrating hard on Brice's mind while Kyle spoke to him.  He pierced Brice's mind easier than he thought he could.  The man was thinking about the situation he was in currently.  Helicopter gunships were overhead.  Danny could now see them through Kyles portal.  One was taking off from the grassy area behind the elementary school after dropping off four soldiers with assault rifles just to the east of the diner.  Two others were in the air and one kept an over-watch position as the other descended to the area behind the school.  He saw that Brice considered the memory chip Agent Parker...that was his name, the FBI agent, Stanley Parker....the memory chip that the agent pulled out of his scope and put his his pocket.  He picked up the name of Major Hassler, the person commanding the incoming military personnel.  The major was female, which was surprising to Brice for some reason.

Brice was also concerned for his son, David.  David was being hounded by the Air Force.  He was hoping his wife contacted him with some message by cell phone but he could not count on that.  He was filled with anxiety about his future but mostly for his son.  He felt that he had some connection with Agent Price and was somewhat pleased that the FBI agent had taken and pocketed the memory chip from his scope.

But then he sensed that Brice could feel his presence somehow.  "What the hell is that?"  He asked himself.  He could sense Danny's intrusion, as Danny expected he would eventually, given his great aunt's eventual discovery.  He pushed Danny away with his mind.

Danny smiled. He was going to have to get better at this reading minds stuff, that was obvious, but he did get some useful information. He reached out this time, not with the intent to read Brice's mind, but to communicate. It seemed a little different, than with his friends, maybe because he didn't know Brice as well, but there was still a sense of connection. 

'Mr. Jennings. It's me Danny Wells. From the ATV tour. My friends and I are worried about you, and the others. Especially the young woman, Amy? I guess Carl Richardson is also changed, by the portal as well. We're trying to figure out what to do next. Do you want to join us?'

'Danny?'  thought Brice.  There was a pause for a few moments and Danny could almost feel his mental gears going into overdrive.  'Danny, yes.  Any idea how to get me out of here?  I think my son is in trouble and I don't think I'll stand up to close scrutiny, not really.  I'm not under arrest at the moment so leaving is not against the law or anything.  And I think something worse than mere martial law is about to come down all around Maybell.'

'As a matter of fact, I do. If you can get some privacy, for about a minute or so, out of line of sight, we can bring you to us. Think you can do that?' There was a tinge of excitement to Danny's mental voice.

Danny was still looking through the hole and saw the chief of the state police step forward and ordered his men into the building.  They moved forward, stopped short, and then retreated back to their covered positions.  The Chief looked pissed off and was speaking into a radio.  Brice had been standing behind and to one side of the special agent.  He took a step back, and then another.  He looked around and Danny could tell that everyone was either focused on the helicopter gunships above them, the Chief himself, Lou's diner, or the approaching commando squad.

Brice turned and sprinted to the west, across the street and towards the back of a house there.  Danny did not actually see Brice move, not even the slightest blur of motion.  It was almost as if he was standing there one moment and gone the next...and he was looking right at Brice when he moved.  If the effects of his movement were not so devastating he would have had to assume he teleported away.  What he saw mostly was rising debris and near destruction in his wake.  The sound of the sonic boom made him flinch and he felt the pressure wave even through the small hole.

The FBI agent flew into the air about fifteen feet to land on his back, unconscious.  His nose and ears were bleeding.  The car next to them rocked and moved a couple of feet as its windows exploded violently along with all of the other cars within a hundred feet.  Everyone was knocked to the ground.  Those nearest were thrown several feet away.  The trees shook and bent wildly as he passed them.  He passed between two parked cars as he reached the other side of the street.  Their front ends lifted off the ground and they flipped over, moving several feet onto the lawn.  The glass from their windows were gone before they struck the ground and just beginning to land in a rain of tiny clear shards.

Danny was still in contact with Brice as he moved.  He got a very loud "HOLY SHIT!!!"

Brice stopped cold behind the house, in shock at how fast he moved.  It had been like the world had slowed down around him.  Nothing moved but him.  Now that he was motionless the sonic boom caught up with him and sent him flying forward to tumble along the cement patio behind the house.  He hit a trash can and sent it flying.  He came to rest looking up at the sky.  The windows of the house had shattered and the awning above his head was pulled away.  Much of the green canvas awning landed on top of him.

If anyone was watching, they would have seen the helicopter gunships start to move out of control.  They moved away, gaining altitude quickly in an attempt to regain stability.
 
Danny gasped slightly at the after effects. 'Damn. That was fast.' He sent across the link. His perception warped a little as his vision shifted to a point that gave him a good view of the back of the house where Brice was. He made the effort then reached out to Kyle, projecting the image into his head. "Open a portal there. Brice, Mr. Jennings just got away from the cops." he said to Kyle. Danny linked back with Brice. 'A portal will open just in front of you. Come on through, it'll bring you to us.'

Kyle blinked as the image filled his mind's eye.  He was amazed at the clarity of the vision.  He did as Danny said and opened the portal.  As he did so, the smaller one winked out of existence.

The canvass awning covering Brice burst into flames almost the moment that it landed on top of him.  He pulled at the heavy burning cloth and was on his feet at least as quick as thought.  He stood there as the awning settled to the ground.  Glass was still raining down and there was smoke rising from his body.  He looked down and noticed that most of his clothes were gone.  What was left were burnt tatters, some of which started to smolder into flame.  His shirt and undershirt were gone completely leaving only dark smears of ash or some tiny scraps of burning cloth stuck to his skin.  Most of his pants were gone below his upper thighs.  The bottom fringe of his...shorts?...were burning.  Most of his shoes were gone too.  The soles and some minor straps of heavier material were barely holding them together.  They were smoking too.

He saw the opening appear next to him.  He reached out, grabbed the burning awning, and settled it in the center of the cement patio.  He did not want to be the cause of burning down this house.  He then stepped through Kyle's portal.  Brice quickly put out the flames threatening to destroy his new custom shorts.  He then looked up at the three of them standing there.  "What the hell happened to us?"  He asked as he felt his head and face to make sure his hair and eyebrows had not burned away.  He mumbled something about the inconvenience of atmospheric friction.

Kyle chuckled as he saw the state of Brice's clothing, and answered the question, "Apparently, we've become clothing-averse. We need to look into more durable clothing. We've got some luggage in Callista's car, though I'm afraid most it smells like campfire and could use a wash."

After a moment, he continued, "We've got a lot to discuss and we could use your input. This Carl Richardson fellow seems to be one dangerous hombre and he's recruiting. I don't know what his plans are for those that don't want to be his partners-in-crime. He's nigh unstoppable by ordinary means, which makes us the good guys. We think he might be going after Amy because of her...well, because he's lonely is looking for someone to play Queen. She might be in danger..she and her family."

"Her name is Amy Carrolton. If I know that, there's a good chance he does too. There's no telling what he knows about us...or how far he'll go to try to recruit us. I don't think it was a coincidence that he went straight to Lou's Diner. All of our families may be in danger from this man."

"I was going to suggest that we find Amy first and get her and her family to safety, but now I'm thinking that we can't be everywhere. That it might be time to reach out to the feds to get our families to safety while we try to head off Carl and put a stop to him before he does too much damage. Thoughts?"

He looked around at the assembled group for agreement or input.

"I think we need to stick together and get Mr. Jenning's son back as well, Carl is..he's...it's hard to say but trust me when I tell you, we cannot handle him alone, if we are going after him we are going to have to be a team like those Fantastic X-men or whatever they're called.  I think maintaining a secret identity would be super difficult from the government, I agree with you Kyle, maybe we should reach out to them and let them know who we are so they can get our families to safety.  I'm not sure I want to hand myself over to them for inspection just yet though but maybe they can help us.  I need new clothes though guys, nothing I have in the rental car is going to fit anymore.  Carl isn't looking for a queen so much as an equal to play with when he's feeling frisky, he offered me the position and told me it was a limited time offer."

Callista finally felt like she was in control of herself again and stated her thoughts with determination.  She was also determined to get some new clothes.

Brice turned and looked at the opening in the sky to the southeast.  There was a helicopter circling it.  It did not look like it belonged to the military or any news agency.  But he was not that familiar with the different types of helicopters.  The clouds overhead had completely blocked out the noonday sun and were very dark.  The wind was picking up and it was clear the storm was probably mere minutes away.

"Unless we want to get caught out here in the pouring rain, I suggest we decide quickly.  I've got family in Wyoming nearby, relatively speaking, but I seriously hesitate to involve them in this.  My aunt Jude though, she might be willing to help us, with clothes at least.  My car is parked there and I have some clothes in my luggage.  She may have something to fit you Callista, better than that waitress uniform in any case.  From there we can go to a mall in Craig or Denver.  I doubt if we'll be able to drive out of here in either of our cars."

"The name of the FBI agent I was with is Stanley Parker.  He's not high up on the authority scale, but I think he's pretty open minded.  He might help us.  I have his cell phone number on my home phone's caller ID so we should be able to eventually make contact with him.  I know that the FBI has a witness protection program and a number of safe houses across the country.  My own police agency has nothing like that, not even close.  I have the names and numbers of local FBI investigators in Woodlawn Maryland, but I don't have any type of relationship with them.  I have a feeling about Agent Parker, though.  As far as that goes, I think he's our best bet."

He looked at the others to determine their reactions.  "Any of you have a better idea?"

Danny thought for a moment. "I don't really, though I'd be leery of trusting anyone outside of our group at this juncture. The government's going to want to make sure we're not some sort of security threat, and my gifts would certainly be considered a major security risk. An individual maybe not so much, but an organization, yeah, I'm screwed."

Danny paused for a moment. "Lets focus on the short term for the moment. Calli needs clothes, we need to get out of town safely, and as cleanly as possible and make sure Brice's son is OK and that Amy and her children are safe. Your Aunt Jude, is her house where Brian is staying?" 

"Yes."  Said Brice.  "Brian's ATV Rentals."  and he immediately thought that he needed to call his wife when he got there.  "Whoever made that...opening or whatever it's called, how far can you go?"  From where they were in reference to the town it was very clear getting to the house in Maybell was not going to be a problem.  "I mean, can you take us to Maryland or someplace even further?"

Brice thought of how fast he must have been moving.  It was actually....well, he had no idea how fast he could run.  Considering how much damage he caused, he wondered if it was worth the price.  As they talked, he considered that there had to be a way to run without causing any sort of effects like that.  "How long would it take me to run back home?"  He thought to himself.

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know. I only seem to be able to open them to places I know or can see, which lately has been pretty far." He thought for a moment and extended a hand, and shook his head, frustrated. "No. I can't open a portal to Baltimore. I can get us to your Aunt Judie's place though."

"But we still have the problem of protecting our families. After we were affected by that thing, I had a moment where I knew things about some of the others. That's how I know his name - and Amy's. As he is more powerful than we are, he might have gotten more."

As he spoke, he lifted a hand and another portal appeared. Through the opening, the group could see Aunt Judie's backyard where they had met to ride ATV's.

Brice nodded as Kyle spoke.  "That information could prove useful."  When the portal appeared, he raised his eyebrows.  "Damn!  That is really useful."  He said.  "Let me go first and make contact with my aunt."  He said as he stepped through the portal.

The first drops of rain were starting to fall and he moved to the back, sliding glass door.  It was unlocked but he saw someone just inside, standing at the kitchen sink.  He tapped on the door and she turned.  It took him a moment to recognize her as she moved to the door and unlocked it.  He stepped inside when it hit him.  But it could not be.  "Who are you?"  He asked in alarm.

"Brice, I'm Judith Sheppard, you great-aunt.  Come now.  Surely you recognize me.  Well, perhaps not.  I look forty years younger.  You were just a baby when I looked like this.  I'm still trying to understand what happened."  She was looking at him with confusion though.  "What happened to you?"  She said, wondering how Caroline was going to react to his new body when he got home.

Brice was flummoxed but he tried to take it all in stride.  So much strangeness was going on around him that this was just one more impossibility.  He thought about how he must look.  "There's a lot to explain, believe me.  I invited my friends.  We need some help.  Mind if they come inside?"

"Sure thing!"  She said.  "I think I'm dreaming anyway, why not?"  She turned and started removing items from cabinets and drawers, putting them on the counter top.  They were small plates and some cups.  "I'll set us up in the other room."  She said.

Meanwhile Brice stepped outside and waved at Kyle who was standing just on the other side of the portal.  "Come on in."  He said to them.

Kyle nodded sheepishly. He hadn't had a chance to tell Brice about his Aunt before Brice was through the portal. He stepped through the portal. "Sorry I didn't get to tell you. I just tried to heal her hip...but I saw there was much more I could do. She's completely healed...everything. And last time I was here, I was wearing a shirt."

Danny sighed as the plan muted to go back to the scene of his earlier crime. The fact that he hadn't had a chance to do anything with the computer annoyed him, but the opportunity to undo the wrong he'd perpetrated elated him. this conflict really tore him up for a matter of about 10 microseconds. He would return the tower, and see if he could talk Brice and Aunt Jude into letting him delete the information. He sent a quick message to Kyle. 'I'm putting the tower back. Someone will notice it's gone, I'll ask Brice if I can delete our info later. See if you can keep them away from Brian's room.'

Kyle nodded agreement, "Sure thing."

Danny stood and picked up the tower. A brief moment of concentration and he 'stepped' into Brian's room. Careful to avoid making any noise. As soon as he was sure he wasn't detected, he went to work putting the tower back into place. careful to touch as few things as possible and wipe off everything he did touch.

Once he finished, he teleported to where Kyle's portal opened onto and came up to the house. 

Callista stepped through the portal and smiled again at the now young Judith Sheppard.

"Thank you ma'am."

The Judith was cutting gingerbread and spice cake, placing them onto different trays.  She nodded at Callista as she came in.  "You're welcome, dear."  She said.  "Um, that's a bit scandalous, don't you think?"  She said, glancing at her top and unable to keep her opinion to herself.  "You can probably find something in my closet to wear.  You can check my dresser as well. My room is down the hallway there, second door on the right.  The bathroom is at the end of the hallway if you need to freshen up a bit.  Take any of the clothes you like, dear.  I'm planning on a whole new wardrobe anyway.  What you don't take will be going to the Salvation Army in a couple of days."

She stopped what she was doing when Kyle came through though the door.  "Oh my."  She said as she turned to face him.  She was clasping her hands in front of her, obviously unsure what to do with them.  "What are you?  An angel?  You left so quickly, I never got a chance to thank you.  Who are you?"

Brice was about to introduce them, but hesitated, keeping himself in check.  He did not know what these people wanted her to know.  The fewer people who knew their identities the better, even her.  He had no idea how all of this was going to play out, but he was not going to cut off their options by simply introducing them.  Instead he just turned towards the hallway.  "I'm going to unload my car.  I'll be right back.  I don't mean to be rude, but I feel stupid wearing only these shorts."  He was relieved that his keys were still in a pocket, so was his wallet.  He went out the front door to his rental car.

His aunt glanced at him and thought "You don't look stupid."  Looking back at Kyle she added "Neither does this man. I'm surrounded by eye candy!"  

"Thank you again, ma'am.  I hope we don't cause too much trouble for you.  I call shower guys!"

Callista smiled and nodded at Judith before heading down the hall towards her bedroom to find something to change into and looking for a hot shower.

Kyle shook his head, self-conscious now. "No ma'am. I'm not an angel. My name is Kyle. And there's no need to thank me. It was my pleasure."

He caught Calli as she passed, "Give us the keys to the car and tell us where you left it. We'll try to find a place to hide it and grab clothes while we're there."

Danny stayed near the back door, staying unobtrusive as the others interacted with Judith and Brice. He felt uncomfortable being invited into the house he'd broken into, twice, and was trying to keep the guilty look off his face.

Brice put his head outside the front door and looked around.  From his vantage point he could see past the end of the block to his left, all the way to the intersection of Rt. 40.  More people were milling about there, but all of them were focusing on the diner a block to the east of that intersection.  And he also saw Callista's rental car parked on the right side of the street there.

He looked at his own car and had his keys in his hands.  He wanted to walk quickly but not run.  He knew how that turned out last time and didn't want to repeat that incident.  But this time he tried to really think about what he was doing.  He stepped outside and picked up a piece of mulch from the bed of bushes to his right.  He looked at it for a moment, thinking about what he was going to do.  He threw it into the air and watched it as it reached its peak before coming back down.  He focused on what he was doing, then he moved forward.

He reached the car, unlocked the door and opened it.  He turned to look at the bit of bark.  It was just hanging there in the air.  No explosions of sound or wind.  The leaves of the bushes were not rustling.  The door to the house was still open.

He turned and started emptying the car.  He moved his and David's stuff, and all their trash, bit by bit into the foyer of the house.  When he was done he went into the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel.  He returned to the car and wiped it down as best he could.  He took his time to get it done right.  He closed the door, ensuring it was locked, and returned to the front door.

Brice reached out and grabbed the bit of bark that was still hanging in the air, a foot and a half from the ground.  He stopped moving and he heard the slight rush of air.

Anyone inside the house and watching would have seen Brice standing at the door and take a step outside.  They would have noticed him bend down for a moment and straighten back up.  He would have been a blur of motion then.  Items would have piled up, impossibly fast and also like a blur, in the foyer.  There was no shock wave of air pressure, no blast of noise.  But suddenly Brice was there, closing the door behind him, and holding a bit of mulch in his hand.  It all happened in less than a second. 

"Hey, I think I've got the hang of this."  He said.  He picked up a suit case from the floor and moved to the bathroom in the foyer once more.  "I'm going to get changed."

Judith Sheppard watched all of this with interest.  "Be my guest!"  She said to Callista before the barely dressed woman headed for the shower.  "Please, the rest of you, make yourselves at home."

She turned to Kyle.  "You said something about Brian earlier.  I'm sorry dear, could you explain it again?  It was something about him being alright despite what people are going to tell me."

While Judith spoke with Kyle she continued working.  It was really just a way to keep busy and keep her mind of what was going on.  She took her time removing the cakes from the pans, cutting them and putting them on serving dishes.  She put these dishes on the coffee table in the living room.  The small house did not have a formal dining room, just a small eat-in kitchen area.  But as she set out the small plates, silverware that was really not true silver, and the napkins, she marveled that there were enough seats for everyone.  She put some water for tea on the stove and pulled the coffee maker, that she only brought out for guests, and started a pot going.

She did not notice the man hiding guiltily, just outside the back door.

Kyle glanced in the direction of the door Brice had gone through. He had hoped Brice would talk to his aunt about this. He answered, "Well, that's difficult to explain Ma'am, and some of the story isn't mine to tell. We're some of the people that Brian took out on the last ATV tour. There was an accident and Brian was hurt, but he's going to be okay."

He noticed a landline telephone and looked around for a phone book while he continued, "We'll tell you the story, but I'd like Brice to be here as well. He may have more of the story."

Callista had turned on the shower but was able to hear Kyle's request for her keys.  She blinked in surprise and turned around real quick, her face suddenly turning red.  She was about to put her head out of the door and call to him but stopped herself.  She knew he would hear her.  She said:  "I can't believe it.  I left my keys and the remains of my clothes in the changing room at the diner.  My wallet and purse are in my car at the end of the street at Rt. 40.  Sorry guys.  I'll be right out."  She then finished removing her clothes and jumped into the shower.

Kyle looked at Danny where he stood outside, and tapped the side of his temple to indicate that he should read his thoughts. "Will you get our things from the car?  Especially our ID's...and a shirt for me..."

Danny nodded. I can probably get her keys and clothes too. Give me a second to see if I can get a clear enough image of the changing room. I may need you to open a portal for me to 'view' the area with so I don't get caught. Danny replied mentally to Kyle.

He opened his thoughts to Calli, and wondered at how the link to his friends was much stronger the closer they were. Calli, Can you remember what the changing room looked like? Replay it for me, so I can try to get your keys and clothes too.

Kyle was able to find a phone book, but it was in the recycling bin.  It was the newest book, though.

Kyle quickly thumbed through the book, looking for an address for Amy Carrolton. "Ma'am, may I borrow your phone?"
 
Callista was in the shower.  The hot water was running down her body and she was soaping up, running her hands over herself.  She was marveling at her new form.  Her waist was just a bit thinner with more visible abdominal muscles.  Her butt was in better proportion than before, more shapely perhaps.  Her breasts were larger, fuller, but not out of proportion.  She had been quite the jock, as women go, and her breasts had always been rather small to her liking due to the lack of body-fat, or so she supposed.  She wondered how other people saw her now.  She was just plain sexy, she knew it.  She was wondering what affect she now had on men...when Danny interrupted her thoughts.

Her mind locked up for a moment.  Was he reading her thoughts?  She seemed a bit flustered when she replied. 

"Sure.  If you go in through the kitchen entrance...um, that's the door on the far right as you are looking at the diner from the front, the dressing room is the first door on the left.  I'll try to imagine it."  But when she did so she also remembered how she looked in the full length mirror as she changed and how she was glad her favorite lime-green thong was still intact.  It was the only thing she was wearing at the time.  She quickly changed her thoughts to the chair where she had placed her clothes and then tried to give a general idea of what the entire place looked like.  "My keys are in the pocket of my shorts.  I'll be right out.  I'm almost finished here."  She said.  She stopped sending him thoughts and images and felt that she just might die of embarrassment.  

To herself she now asked an important question:  "Oh, my god.  Does Danny get a full visual image if that's what I'm trying to broadcast at the time?" 

Danny fought down a vivid blush as Calli's memories filled his mind. The image of her in the mirror was branded across his mind's eye like a centerfold in Playboy. The reality of her beauty and sex appeal was so much stronger now, after the portal, than before, and it far surpassed even his wildest imagination.

On the heels of this realization came a sudden and intense feeling of wrongness, as if he'd just violated her in some way. He knew Calli wouldn't have wanted him to see that image, her last burst of thought and emotions clearly showed she was embarassed. The problem was he couldn't unsee it, nor could he forget it apparently. What he could do is be discreet and pretend it didn't happen. Though it would be an image he'd savor for the rest of his life.

No, that wasn't stalkerish at all. Danny shook himself mentally and reached out to Kyle. 'Hey, I have an Idea. Calli gave me a great view of the changing room, and where she left her clothes. I'll give you the image. See if you can open a small portal, kind of like the earlier one, and I'll try to reach through and grab her clothes. That way we minimize exposure. If it works, I may be able to do the same thing with our stuff in the car.'

Kyle blinked in surprise as the possibilities dawned on him. He continued the conversation aloud.  "Oh wow. Why didn't I think of that? That's a good idea. I was only thinking of it as transportation. The possibilities are endless." He stood awestruck, as the potential of the power took on new dimension. "This is a gift that keeps on giving."

Kyle turned to face Danny squarely, "Okay...let's try this. Give me the image."

Danny thought for a moment and decided to try something. He reached out and touched Kyle on the shoulder. The connection he felt firmed instantly and he could feel his friend's surprise and burgeoning excitement at the new use for the portals. Danny could almost see the flow of his friend's thoughts, and knew with little effort, quite unlike what he had to use when he'd read Judith's mind from a distance, he could open all but the deepest of Kyle's memories. Danny reveled in the feeling for a moment, feeling very powerful, but squelched it. Now was not the time to explore like that.

Danny focused and recalled the image of the changing room, cropping the memory down to just the changing table where Calli had dropped the remains of her clothes. When he was sure it was as vivid as he could make it and brought it as close to arm's reach as possible, Danny projected the image into Kyle's mind. 'See if you can open it from this perspective and angle. That way I can reach in and grab them if they're still there.'

Kyle blinked for a moment as the image appeared in his mind. It had more clarity than did many of his own memories, and unlike his own memories, he didn't have to focus to recall, so his mental eyes could roam. When he felt like he understood the place well enough, he held his looked down at his hands as they formed a circle about eight inches across. He didn't know if he could change the angle of a portal, but he was going to try. He tried to open the portal as close to the shorts as possible.

Through the portal Callista's clothes were clearly visible.  It was a simple matter of reaching in and grabbing them, then closing the portal again.

Kyle quickly reached through to grab the items, pull them back, and closed the portal. They repeated the procedure with the luggage from the car. Kyle was thankful to finally get a shirt from his bag, and used the room Brice had used earlier to take a couple of minutes to change his pants too. He knew that when they did get to the point of being able to travel, they would be exposed to the elements, and the rain was beginning. He had been packed for hiking, camping trip. Most of the heavy gear was with the family caravan, but his personal effects were in his backpack. He took out his wallet and smashed iPhone and put it in his pants' pockets. He pulled out a poncho and repacked his bag, leaving nothing behind.

Callista finished her shower and dried off quickly, running her fingers through her damp hair as she checked her freshly washed body in the mirror.  She sure did look good, no way to deny it.  Looking closely she could not believe how perfect her skin was. It was like she was air-brushed or photo-shopped.  No way a human being can look like this outside of a magazine....and without makeup no less.  

She then dressed herself, having found enough clothing to dress herself appropriately.  Of all the clothes she found in Judith's closet she chose the one thing that looked less, well, less old fashioned.  It was a light blue sundress with a small flower pattern.  Judith was four inches shorter than Callista so the bottom hem was higher than she was comfortable with, but she could live with that considering what she had just gone through.  The dress was a bit small in other areas as well and not as easy to put on as she thought, but she could live with that until she could get to a mall.

Callista had never worn a slip in her life.  She thought the light blue, satiny thingy next to the dress in the closet was lingerie, not an undergarment.  She had worn a dress exactly five times in her life.  Three dances and two weddings.  Neither of those times had she worn a slip.
 
None of the woman's shorts or pants would fit either.  The woman was thinner than Callista and nothing she had would fit over her hips...nothing she was willing to wear anyway.  And she was sure as hell not going to wear any of the woman's underwear or stockings.  

Looking in the mirror with the sundress on, she wondered what had gone through her mind when she chose it.   The material was light colored and too thin for a normal sense of modesty.  She held up her lime green thong and put it under the material at the hem to see what it would look like if she wore it.  The damn thong was too visible, the colors contrasted far too much.

She bunched up the thong and put it into a small pink hand-bag she had located at the bottom of Judith's closet.  It looked cheap and it was empty.  But then she considered herself again in the mirror.  She stepped back and realized she left little to the imagination.

Was this what she wanted?  She could choose a different dress.  None of the shirts, pants, or shorts fit, but she could choose a heavier dress.  But she felt so empowered with her new look.  She liked the way the boys had looked at her.  She liked the way Carl had looked at her.  Was it so wrong?  Super-short, super thin sundress with nothing beneath.  She knew she was going to have to be very careful when she sat down or bent over.  She clenched her fist, grabbed her bag, and left the bathroom trying to abolish any shame or embarrassment from her mind.  She was determined to revel in her new body!

She returned to the kitchen and thanked the restored woman for her kindness and looking for her buddies.

By the time Callista came out of the bathroom she found that Judith Sheppard had set up in the living room.  There were seats enough for all, though she had to pull out a chair from somewhere.  Brice was just finishing his attempt at an explanation about what was going on.  She had been able to follow the conversation since she turned off the water in the bathroom.

"And as far as Brian is concerned, um, I think what Kyle was trying to say, is that he will come back to life.  The portal affected him just as much as the rest of us.  There's no way to determine how long that may be.  It could be minutes or days."

Kyle had nodded to indicate agreement at Brice's explanation of Brian's condition. He was dead, but the power was still there. He wondered if this was a trait they all shared and silently reflected that would make dealing with Carl Richardson more difficult.

Jude had listened patiently through Brice's explanation.  "So, Brian is going to live and you all have some special powers or something.  Wonderful."  She stood up and started pacing.  She was fumbling with her hands as she went, uncertain what to do with them.  "I don't know how, but I'd like to be a part of this.  No!  Wait, let me speak."  She looked around at everyone and went to her purse.  She returned with her driver's license.

"Look at my picture.  I took this two years ago.  I have no way to explain this change.  No story about plastic surgery is going to cover this up.  I have no idea what I'm going to do about this but I want to be a part of whatever you guys are planning.  I've lived a long and wonderful life.  But it has been a normal life filled with kids and family, vacations, work, and retirement.  It's been really great.  But now I have a chance to really live.  Ok, vicariously through all of you, but still, come on.  You guys will always need help, right?  I can come to Baltimore with you.  I can help in some way.  What do you say?" 

Kyle looked at Brice. This sounded like a question for family, but Judith had asked the group and she was a grown woman. Turning his gaze back to Judith, he answered, "Ma'am, I don't know that we even know what we're planning right now, and it may all end in tears anyhow, but I have no objection to you joining the cause. I think we need to make sure Amy and her family are safe first, after that, notify our families, fall back to a safe position and figure out what we're all capable of - and I for one plan to offer my help to the government. The capture of Carl Richardson may be our first priority and we may need all the help we can get to do that. With access to government resources - and not having to have to hide from them - a little training, some intel on the target, we'd represent a great asset to our country - and the world. But really, we don't know how the portal opened up, when it will close, or if other portals have or will open.  I believe we need to know these things.  There may be other people out there that represent threats as well. At this point, we just don't know."

"Well, I'm pretty much up for anything.  The only thing I was planning before today was my funeral.  You mentioned someone named Amy.  You must mean the Carroltons.  I heard Emma and her friends liked to bike all over that area.  I'm not surprised.  I might know how to contact them.  I can call Sidney Carrolton, she's Amy's grandmother.  She works at the library.  I'm sure she can tell us where Amy would go to hide out.  Or you can call her.  The library is number 19 on my speed dial."  She said as she indicated the phone nearby.  "She won't recognize my voice though.  I just spoke with her three days ago when she dropped by with cookies and tea.  She knows I have...um, had throat cancer.  But the library's not too far away.  It's address is 190 Collom Street, right behind Lou's Diner."

Kyle beamed one his rare genuine smiles at Judith, "See? You're helping already.  Lou's Diner is swarming with police right now and I think we should keep a low profile until we talk to someone with connections. Speaking of which, may I use your phone?  I'd like to call someone who may be able to help." He grinned sardonically, "My mother." 

"No problem.  Go right ahead."  She said.  She sat down, picked up a slice of gingerbread and her cup of tea.  It was still steaming.  She took a sip and tried to relax.  Judith felt as if her life had new meaning now.  Everything had changed.  She was feeling better than she had in decades.  She had no idea what she could do to help these people.  She turned to Callista who was sitting nearby.  The dress she chose was a light blue sun-dress that seemed to go well with her green eyes.  Judith always wore a slip underneath because it was so thin.  In the wrong light it was almost transparent.  She could see plainly that the woman was not wearing a slip.  She knew there was a blue slip in the closet hanging right next to that dress.  Why the woman did not wear the slip was beyond her.

"I was a secretary for thirty years, you know.  I'm sure I can help out somehow.  I've even been a business owner for several years.  I can get things done if need be.  I'm sure I can be useful."

Callista sighed and put a hand on the top of the older woman's when she put her tea down.  "Please.  You had me at the bit about plastic surgery.  No worries."  

Callista thought hard to Danny, hoping he was listening.  "Look, Danny.  Can you hurry up on the keys, the car and all what-else?  I just have the feeling we need to get going."

Kyle walked over to the phone on the wall. It was one of those old green wallphones that had the push buttons. He chuckled as he picked up the receiver and dialed his mother's number. He was surprised he remembered it.

It picked up on the second ring. A woman's voice came over the line, "Hello." It had been guarded, but still feminine. Kyle guessed the Caller ID would probably identify the city the call was coming from, "Maybell, CO.," but nothing more.

Kyle paused as he tried to figure out how to explain. He knew the phonelines for the town were probably all being recorded and searched by software designed to key in on certain words. He knew he' have to lie and be vague. He was going to have to tell her face to face. "Mom, it's me. We're okay. My phone got smashed. There's some kind of craziness going on here. We're going to be joining you soon. Are you staying at the same place we stayed on the way in?"

"Why, yes dear. We're back at the..."

Kyle cut her off. "Yeah Mom. I got it. I gotta run. We'll be there in a couple of hours. We'll explain everything then." And with that, he hung up. He hadn't given her much of a chance to talk. That could lead to awkwardness as he dodged trying to be honest an not tell her over the phone at the same time.

With that, he turned and joined the others in the living room.

It was about that time that Judith Sheppard bent over and whispered to Callista.  "Listen, honey, you really need to wear something under that dress.  Go put on the slip that was hanging next to it in the closet.  You look beautiful but far less than respectable, if you get my meaning.  Others might use other words, meaner words."

Callista's face reddened.  She whispered back.  "Another trait we all got, is great hearing.  You could have whispered that in the bathroom to me and everyone in this room would have heard it."  She looked around and caught Brice's eye.

"Hey, I'm a guy and don't know you that well."  Said Brice.  "I'm just enjoying the view, though it does make me somewhat uncomfortable.  Especially since your dress is so short you have to keep a hand between your legs, even with your legs crossed.  But don't change on my account.  I think you look just fine.  I am married though, so all I can do is look.  But if you were my daughter I'd be pissed off at your choice of clothes, or strip of cloth."

Callista got up without a word and went to Judith's room once more.  She stood there holding the slip.  She removed the sundress, put on the slip, and put back on the sundress.  She did not know why, but this felt wrong.  She should not be wearing this slip.  She tried to figure it out in her head as she returned to the living room and took her seat again.  Now she felt uncomfortable.  She was embarrassed but only because of how the situation went down.  But she was missing something now that she was wearing the slip.

Although it was harder to tell, Brice suspected Callista was still not wearing panties, not even a thong.  She still kept a hand covering herself when she was sitting and there was far too much thigh visible.  He still felt uncomfortable with her dressed like that, slip or no.  It just did not feel right to him that a woman should dress like that.  He had been meaning to say this, but wanted to wait until Callista came back into the room.  "Aunt Jude, I really think we need you with us.  I think we need someone to keep us grounded, give us perspective.  These powers have changed us in ways we can't imagine yet.  Our world views are likely to change drastically in the coming months."

He said that while thinking that he should not have felt so uneasy with Callista's shamelessness.  He has seen plenty of naked women in his life.  He has seen lots of death, lots of horrible things, had lots of sex.  And he realized that it was not that she had been the next best thing to nude and unearthly attractive.  He felt it was just immoral, just wrong for her to expose herself to the world like that.  He knew his moral compass had shifted quite a bit and could not explain why.

He turned to the group, putting all of that out of his mind.

Judith nodded at Brice.  "Thank you dear.  And the more I think about this the more I realize you definitely need me."  She stood up and walked briskly to Brian's room.  She came back with a sweatshirt and sweatpants. They had the Colorado Buffalo's logo on them.  She put them on Callista's lap and sat down.

"I know they're not your style honey, but you have to start thinking about what kind of superhero you want to be, what kind of role-model you will be, and what kind of woman you want to be.  Brice said you can fly.  What will you be showing the world if you have to fly in that sundress?"

Callista gritted her teeth and acknowledged the inevitable.  The woman was right.  She had to pull herself together.  She moved into the bathroom in the small foyer.

Brice spoke up then.  "Damn Aunt Jude, thanks for putting it all out there like that.  I don't think I could have said it."

Callista returned moments later wearing the silver and gold colors of the sports team from the University of Colorado.  She sat down and folded her arms.  It was like her world-view was completely different now.  Callista's mind rebelled at being so covered up.  But she buckled down and spoke calmly.  "Thank you ma'm."  She said, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip.  She had chosen a Peach herbal blend.  It wasn't bad at all, really.  "Do you mind if I keep this purse?"  She indicated the small purse she took from the older woman's closet.

"No, not at all dear.  Go right ahead.  Like I said before, I plan on making a complete change of wardrobe when I get the chance.  And please call me Jude.  You too Brice.  I think I look about as old as you now."

"But you still talk like my great aunt.  It's gonna be hard thinking of you as anything but Aunt Jude."  Said Brice.

"Get used to it, honey.  It's a new world."  Said Judith Sheppard. 

"Which means you're going to have to start calling people by their first names rather than Honey, Sweetie, or Dear."

Jude blinked at that.  "You're right, um, Brice.  I hadn't thought about myself like that.  I've got to change my ways too somehow." She then turned back to Kyle.  "So, you figure out a way to get us all out of here yet?"  

Kyle nodded, "Yes Ma'am....uhm...Jude. I know where we're going. Craig is pretty much due west. So we can get there fairly easily by hopping from hilltop to hilltop through portals. Our families are staying at the same place we stayed on the way in, so I can get us close enough to walk or with Danny's help, we could portal right into the hotel. He could go ahead of us and find a place to portal the whole group in without being observed since he can send me a mental image of where we're going."

He furrowed his brow, "Only thing is, we need to warn Amy that Carl Richardson is looking for her and offer to get her to safety...though to be fair, they kinda disappeared, so they may not even need our help. I'll call her grandmother as you suggested an see if we can touch base with her first, and then we can decide if she and her family will be joining us."

With that, Kyle picked up a cordless phone that Jude had indicated earlier and dialed 19.
A receptionist at the library picked up after the third ring.  It took only three minutes to get her on the line.

"Sidney here.  What can I do for you?"  Said the woman.  She sounded like she was in her mid fifties.

Kyle replied, "Hi Sidney. My name is Kyle. I bumped into your grandaughter Amy today and have some information she might find useful. I was hoping to get in touch with her. Miss Judith Sheppard referred me to you. She said you could tell me how to get in touch with her."  He hoped she would just give him Amy's cellphone number, but didn't know how difficult it would be to get that from her.

There was a long pause of silence.  It was almost as if the phone were dead, except that Kyle could clearly hear noise in the background.  But when she spoke she seemed to be in a panic.  "Kyle, when was the last time you saw her?  I thought she might be at the Diner next door since she has the lunch shift today.  She's supposed to be working until four but her phone just goes to voice mail.  I tried our house but there's no answer.  There are frightful helicopters in the air, state police vehicles have the diner surrounded.  There was an explosion earlier and I see some ambulances just waiting on the road.  Oh my god!  They just entered the diner with guns.  Please, tell me, when was the last time you saw her?"

Kyle was surprised. It hadn't occurred to him that she might be worried about Amy. "Ma'am, Amy wasn't at the diner. I saw her out west of town with Emma and Daniel, just a few minutes ago. They were okay and were not headed for the diner. I think she might be having trouble with her cellphone. Does Emma or Daniel have a phone? Did you try to reach them? I can run by your house to see if she's there if that would help. I can have her call you if she is." Kyle didn't know if Sidney would go for it. In small towns, people tended to be a bit less guarded than urban areas. The happenings at Lou's Diner might have made her more or less cautious. He hoped it'd lean more to the latter if she thought Kyle seemed like he might help her make sure he grandaughter was okay.

"I tried Emma's cell phone but it also went straight to voice mail too.  Our next door neighbor checked on the house and they're not there either.  But there is a large hole in the back of the house."  She seemed upset and concerned.  "I can't imagine what happened to them.  I think someone took them."

Kyle's face froze as he heard the news. "Ma'am, call the police. Tell them what you just told me. I'll try to find her and her kids." With that, he hung up the phone. Turning back to the others, he relayed the news as he'd heard it, "Amy and the kids are missing. No one answers the phone. No one is at home and there is a big hole in the back of the house. That sound like trouble to everyone else? We've got to get to Craig and see if we can make contact with the feds."

Danny took advantage of the opportunity provided by Kyle's second call to bring up the subject of Brian's computer with Brice. He reached out and laid his thoughts gently in Brice's mind. This is Danny again, Mr. Jennings. I need to ask you something. You may object because of who you are, but I feel it's important in keeping our identities, at least mine, Kyle's and Calli's, safe. Brian's computer has some data on it that I need to erase. It has my credit card information, which would tie me, at least to the ATV's up on the ridge with the original portal."

"I cannot believe Judith or even Brian would have a problem with deleting that information."  He thought back.  He turned to Judith and cleared his throat.  "Um, Aunt Jude?  I understand Brian probably has information on his computers about these others.  Credit card information as well as registration and possibly email records are likely stored there.  Would you mind if we wiped it?"

Jude blinked at that.  "Really?  I suppose he probably does have everything stored there.  Yes, go ahead and wipe it clean if you like."

Danny stepped into the house through the back door. "Thank you, Mrs. Shepherd. I'll certainly breathe a lot better." 

Danny worked his way to the back bedroom, booted Brian's computer and started browsing, trying to determine the best way to scrub the information. Simply deleting the information wouldn't be sufficient, any first year computer forensic student would be able to recover it. The best way would be to wipe the drive and reformat, or simply remove the entire drive. The issue with that was simply by doing that, he would be totally messing with Brian's business. It was best to see what information was there and make plans accordingly. 

Danny easily located the files that contained Brian’s financial records and his customer registrations. But a quick glance through them told him that there was something odd going on. About a year ago Brian got fifty thousand dollars to start up his business. His great aunt gave him twenty more besides that. Her contribution to his business is clearly indicated. But the 50k shows only a small notation and no real explanation.

The words “From E.J.” are the only indicators of that source. But then, as Danny continued on he found another file filled with .pdf documents. Looking through the file it was clear this man needed a secretary, or at least someone who knew how to organize. There was no order at all. And it was clear that Danny scanned in everything into .pdf files. He had every receipt, every letter, every document for his business since he started. What was worse was that the names for each document had little reference to the documents themselves.

Luckily for Danny, the operating system was up to date. Moving through the documents in the folder directory showed him snapshots of each one. The file names started making a bit more sense and he could soon tell receipts from mailed-in registration forms, which were rather redundant since Danny kept registration information in another file entirely.

But then he found the business contract with United Enterprises International and things started getting weird. For some reason one of the largest private corporations in the US formed a partnership with a small-town nobody. The partnership arrangements were unusually clear. UEI did not realize any profits from Brian’s company and did not have any controlling interests at all. The only things Brian was required to do was to have his ATVs and helmets outfitted with specialized sensors from UEI and have one of UEI’s technicians perform all maintenance on the ATV’s and helmets when needed.  This maintenance would be free of charge to Brian or his business.

All of UEI’s contact information was there. The primary point of contact was Doctor Edward Jenkins himself, the CEO and owner of United Enterprises International.

Danny backed up all the files to the thumb drive he'd pocketed earlier. He took a few minutes to review the operating system and Brian's security settings. He looked for any backup settings, and where they may be saved out to. He also looked at the system resotre points for the operating system.

Searching through the restore points, Danny found only three.  The computer was relatively new, purchased when Brian formed the company a year ago.  He knew a reformat command should wipe the drive and all restore options.  His skills with computers seemed better than ever for some reason, but there were no real security settings for the computer.  Brian did not seem to have an issue with trust.  But Danny did find a back-up.  It appeared that Brian backed up everything to a cloud-based server.  The company was called Carbonite.com.  There were log-in and password codes that Danny would need to access that data.

Danny pulled up the carbonite site to see what login requirements were. Seeing it was an e-mail and passowrd, he pulled up Brian's e-mail program, hoping that Brian kept it perma logged in. From that he would be able to get the e-mail address and the forgot password function from the back up site should allow him to reset the password.

Brian's email service was through yahoo.com and it was a simple matter of finding his address.  Brian used Chrome as his main browser and the auto-fill function quickly provided an email address when prompted.  When he tried to log into the yahoo account he found that Brian did not have himself permanently logged in.  The password was not available.  For that he would have to do something else.

If Danny had his own laptop he might be able to crack the yahoo password since he had a few decryption programs from some hacking sites he visited now and then.  Depending on the length of the password, it might take up to an hour since Chrome used 128 bit encryption.  As it was he realized he might be stuck.  Carbonite would send a password reset link to the yahoo account and if he did not have access to the email he would not be able to reset the password.  

Finding that password would require some serious deductive reasoning.  And although normally Danny knew he was up to the task, it was just that he did not know Brian well enough.  Such efforts usually required a great deal of research on the target.   Or Danny would have to find another way.

He sat there for a couple of moments combing his brain for a solution.  He lifted the keyboard and saw the slip of paper underneath.  There were several different email addresses with different passwords.  It turned out Yahoo was not the email used for the Carbonite site.  That one had a gmail account.  But it was another email account that caught his attention:  bsheppard@uei.com.

Danny sat for a moment before pondering the significance of the new e-mail address. He doubted it meant anything, internal server mail was always faster and easier to maintain than if using an outside e-mail source. UEI probably created the account for communication, but the whole exclusivity thing, bothered Danny, so he pulled up the log-in screen for the mail program and logged into the UEI mail server, curious to see what he would find. The back up information could be handled shortly.

There were new no emails in Brian's In-Box.  There were only thirty three emails in the In-Box and nearly that many in the Sent folder.  There were no emails in the Trash folder or any other folders and no special folders had been created by Brian to hold other messages.  The first of the emails originated about a year ago, about the same time Brian started his business.  And it did not take much time to go through them.

The first few emails had to do with setting up his account and the receipt and set-up of the very computer in front of which Danny was now sitting.  Technicians from United Enterprises International had actually come to the home to set it up and get it running on the same day that all of the ATVs arrived.  The ATVs that Brian already owned or possessed had been taken away, re-fitted with some special equipment, and returned with the others on that same day.

About a month later Brian had complained about problems with the computer, its connectivity was spotty and there was keyboard lag-time.  Technicians from UEI came and fixed the problems.  Brian suggested they use video, voice, or text-chat for future problems, or even a phone call.  Their technicians could easily walk him through the process of fixing problems like any other tech-support.  The technician he was corresponding with insisted on house-calls.  The response time would always be less than three hours and it would not cost Brian anything for the service.  There was a notice that the computer was the property of UEI and opening the tower to access any internal components would void the warranty.  

Looking at the tower again Danny could see three seals that would be broken if he tried to get into the housing and access the internal hard drive.  He went back to the emails. 

But these correspondences, as interesting as they my be, were not what really caught Danny's attention.  Each month Brian compiled information from his customers and sent it to UEI.  The compilation contained the name, sex, race, age, address, telephone number, email address, and date of the tour for each of the customers.  Danny quickly went to the last email that was sent.  It was sent on August 1st and contained the information from Danny's ATV excursion.  

The reservation had been made near the end of July.  But no one listed on that email actually ended up going on the trip today.  The five people listed as going on the ATV excursion had decided not to go due to illness or injuries.  It occurred to Danny now that, due to the sensors placed on the ATVs or helmets, there would be GPS traffic for eight ATVs that would confirm the existence of seven customers today.  Danny's group of five had been reduced to three: Kyle, Callista, and Danny himself.  The other four were Brice and his son David, as well as Chuck and Phil.  There had been no time for Brian to inform UEI of any changes to the reservation.

 Danny found a file on the desktop that contained the compiled information since August 1st.  Charles Jantz and Phillip Kruger's information was there.  The compiled data from all previous tours were there as well.  They were sent as attachments each month.

Then Danny remembered the waiver forms they had all filled out just before leaving.  They were on a clip-board in the saddle-bag on Brian's ATV.  It would contain their names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, and signatures.  The ATV, as far as Danny knew, was still somewhere near the opening of the portal.

This was just getting better and better!

Danny ground his teeth in frustration. Why coudln't things go their way just once? He searched his memory of the events leadingup to and after the portal opened trying to remember where exactly Brian's ATV had ended up. If he could do that, then he could ge Kyle to open a portal, like they did for Calli's clothes, and the stuff in the car.

Danny recalled his last sight of the ridge top and portal just as Calli had picked him up.  The ATV's were scattered across the ridge top. Unless they had moved significantly from that moment, Danny was sure he knew right where Brian's ATV had landed.

He reached out to Kyle with his mind. Hey hoss, I need you. The release forms we signed are in Brian's ATV saddle bags. All of our info is on them. We need to see if we can pull the same trick that we did with the car and Calli's clothes. can you come back here? 

Kyle nodded as if he were speaking his reply out loud. "Damn. I forgot about those. Sure Danny. Be right there." He continued out loud, "I'll be right back." Headed down the hall towards Brian's room to join Danny.

As he walked in, his eyes explored the room, taking it all in. He nodded to Danny, "I'll open a small portal so we can take a look at the scene from above first. Once we pick out Brian's ATV, I'll close in and we'll see if we can find it. It was a metal clipboard, right? Like the police use for tickets?"

"I wonder if we left finger prints on the ATV's themselves...," he speculated.

 The portal opened and the rain was pouring down.  Because of the angle of his portal and the direction he had opened it, the wind from the bigger portal ensured rain would not come through the smaller one.  But most of the ATVs were visible, though partially covered with debris.  One of the ATVs was missing and Kyle remembered it had been thrown off the ridge to the south.  It was only due to their superior vision that they were able to identify Brian's ATV.

Danny sent his mind through Kyle's portal. That sense of expanded vision came back to him, as he visually scanned the area for anyone, or anything that could see them recover the clipboard.

The entire area was deserted.  There was still a very strong wind coming from the opening of the portal and some debris was still coming through, though not nearly as much as before.  The rain was still pouring down heavily.  No one was visible to Danny at all.  The giant mile-diameter portal kept anyone from the road from seeing the top of the ridge where the ATVs were located.

Kyle picked out Brian's ATV and with his enhanced eyesight, zoomed in to study the area. He closed the portal and opened another one just over the ATV. He reached through to take the saddlebags.

The ATV had a bag attached to both the rider's left and right side by the seat.  It was really an ingenious set-up where the rider could get access to the contents quickly if needed.  The bags were not easily detached quickly since there were leather buckles and loops and such.  And with the ATV on it's side, only one was immediately accessible.  The bag he could easily reach contained a large first-aid kit, three extra bottles of water, a map, a bag of snacks, and an emergency radio.

It did not take much for Kyle to move the portal's position in such a way as to get to the other bag.  Even on it's side he could reach beneath to gain access.  Here he found the metal clipboard, two more bottles of water, another bag of snacks, and a square metal case about six inches by six inches to a side.  It had an handle on top and was rather heavy for it's size.  The metal case had some writing on the side and it took only a moment for him to recognize it as a device to detect radiation.  He had seen something like it before.  He realized that Brian must have purchased this off the internet or something.  Maybe he was not as trusting and as confident about the lack of danger as he said.

Kyle put on his gloves as he readied himself to search the ATV. He took the map, the metal clipboard, and the what he thought was a geiger counter. He paused for a moment as he considered how rare an event like this portal opening must be and considered how brief human history had been on this planet. This portal opened somewhere - and who knew if it had opened before and what role it had played in the history of this lonely little planet? What was on the other side? Were there other portals and where did they open to? It was really a complete unknown and he couldn't assume he even had a clue about what it was, how it came to be, what its purpose was, and its very existence threw everything he thought he knew abotu his world into question.

He shook his head to clear away the thoughts and questions as they came pouring in and bring his focus back to the here and now, only to find questions existed there as well. Why here? Why this place? Could the radiation in this area be related to the portal? Had a portal opened here many years ago and radiated the area? Was the portal radioactive? He blinked. That could be bad.

He looked for the Geiger counter's on switch.

The box was closed by a simple tension clasp like one might find on a tool-box lid.  Inside was not exactly what Kyle expected, but it was close.  This was a much more sophisticated model than he imagined.  There was a small on/off button on the main module along with four digital displays.  Each display was for a different type of radiation, each recognizable (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and X-Ray) but for the human body Alpha and Beta radiation is usually not harmful so being able to detect them might not be that important.  There was also a detachable sensor but there was no line or cable to the display module.  Luckily there were instructions on the inside of the lid.  The detachable sensor was wireless, had its own on/off button, and had a range of 30 feet.  There was a small clip on the detachable sensor to attach it to an extendable rod if needed.  The rod was not present.

The instructions also said that the numbers would turn different colors as they approached dangerous levels, Red being the worst and indicating the most harmful.  After Kyle turned it on he saw all the numbers were green and pretty low except the Alpha particle, which was very high, though still green. He had not had much training on Alpha radiation because unless irradiated particles were inhaled or entered open wounds it was harmless.  It only traveled a few inches in air and could not pass though water, clothing, or human skin.  Even a sheet normal paper blocked Alpha radiation.  Either the sensor itself was contaminated with particles containing Alpha radiation or it must be damaged somehow.  Or there could be something else entirely going on here.

Kyle easily remembered what he felt and discovered when the portal expanded to its full size.  He knew there were other sentient life forms in this universe and beyond the portal there was an entire universe without a single sentient race.  He knew that this portal should not exist and that the barrier that separated the two universes consisted of the very energies that gave them their powers.  The hole opened up and the energy escaped into their own reality, their own universe.  He knows that the energies merged only with sentient beings, though the reason for this was not clear.  He also knew that somehow the physical rules of their universe have changed but that this change had a range limit, a distance beyond which everything in the universe was normal.

Kyle shrugged, feeling slightly perplexed. Not seeing anything in red, he decided to shelve it for now. They got what they had come for. Kyle stuck the map in his pocket to share with the group when they got a chance to take stock, and took the other items to stow with the gear.

Danny kept his senses moving around the ridge top, trying not to bisect or enter the original portal but trying to make sure he kept an 'eye' on all approaches to spot anyone coming up to the ridge. Once Kyle was done, Danny would scrub Brian's hard drive, after making copies of the information he'd found, and editing the back up as well. But pulling this off was first priority.

Danny did not see anyone approach as Kyle did his thing.  When Kyle was done he closed the portal and it was time for Danny to start working on the computer itself.  He turned to the computer and immediately saw someone was somehow accessing the hard drive remotely and copying files to server somewhere.

"Dang it!" Danny said. If this were Criminal minds, or NCIS, he'd immediately try to back hack, block and trace this new threat, but there were two problems with that. it wasn't that easy, this wasn't his computer, and while he was good, he wasn't fast enough. so he did the only thing he could think of, Danny stood quickly and pulled the (surge protector's ?) power cord out of the wall.  He then yanked the ethernet cable, and quickly broke down the tower again.

"It's time to go. I'll scrub this later." Danny replied without explanation.

Kyle nodded, holding up the clipboard and radiation detector. "We'll have lots to talk about, I'm sure."
 
*** 
 
Kyle stood and opened his hands in front of him and a portal appeared in the middle of the living room. The edges sparkled with blue electricity as it widened to stand between the floor and ceiling. Through the portal, the others could see the ridgeline south of town where they had stood before. Kyle knew the place an knew that it afforded him an expansive view. With his new eyesight, he hoped to make short work of the trip to Craig.

The heavy rain was pouring down on the other side of the portal.  Rain entered the living room of Judith's house from the other side.  Judith stood up quickly. "Oh my goodness.  Let me get a bag or something.  Just a minute."  And she ran to her room to do just that.  -

Brice turned and looked at the pile of his belongings in the foyer.  "What the hell?"  He said as he realized he would have to leave just about everything here.  If that was not a trail then he had no idea what was.  He decided that speed was needed.  He focused his mind and suddenly went into overdrive.  He went into the foyer and grabbed his small suitcase.  He opened the suitcase and emptied it out onto the floor.  He put all of David's books and school work into the suitcase and barely got it closed.  He picked up some small items that identified him and put them into his pockets and also grabbed his laptop.

In a second or so he was back at the portal with the others.  "Ready when you are."

When Judith returned she went into the foyer closet and pulled out some umbrellas.  They were one short.  Since both of Brice's hands were full, he did not get one.  

***

The trip to Craig took longer than Kyle thought it would.  The primary obstacle was the rain, which reduced his line of sight.  The closer they got to Craig, however, the lighter it was.  And it was easier to get into the hotel than they thought as well.  With the rain coming down as it was, no one was lingering outside.  It was easy to find a spot to port in and then walk around to the front doors to the hotel.

They arrived before their families, though the rooms were available.  While in the lobby of the hotel Brice took the opportunity to part ways.  He had a plane to catch in Denver and he could catch a cab or shuttle from this hotel.  He provided his home, cell, and work phone numbers to Kyle and the rest.  If nothing else they could leave a message at the front desk of his precinct and someone would pass it on.

He looked at the small group, wet despite their umbrellas.  "I have no idea how you're going to get the government involved Kyle, but it sounds like you have a plan.  Just keep me informed.  I'm not sure how you're going to find Amy and her kids.  That sounds like a real challenge.  When you get to Baltimore, give me a ring."

Kyle nodded.  "Will do Brice.  We'll have some serious catching up to do. Travel safe."

The story continues in Craig:
www.nextgenrpg.com/content/age-heroes/still-planning-colorado-age-heroes-page-8