Scylla looked out the plate glass window of the Irish Mug as the debate at the table continued.

"It's too dangerous!" "You're on the other side of the street!" "I'm all for it!"  "Let's get 'em!" "Not me!"

Henrique half listened to the arguments while he looked at Scylla framed in the window, "She's not afraid at all.  Calm. Confident.  Doesn't seem to mind that a big fat target's been painted on her back." he thought admiringly.  Aloud, he said, "It seems to me that the shopkeeper most threatened is you, Don." he turned to Mr. Diortti.

"Yeah," Maureen nodded, "After all, she's parked in front of your door.  They shoot her, they shoot into your diner."

Mrs. Diortti looked distressed, but Mr. Diortti snorted, "Bah!  I never realized how much money we were paying to those leeches until I saw Juan with his new car!" Here, he glanced across the table at the tailor who kept shop across the street from him, and was the most vocal opponent of the plan.

"I don't need everyone," Scylla said, turning and walking back to the table.  She slipped into the chair next to Henrique and slid it over so it touched his chair, "I said we needed each other.  You've heard my plan," her eyes fixed alternatively on the reluctant shopkeepers who ran stores within 20 meters of her lamppost,  "All I'm asking is that when you hear the signal, that you keep your doors open for everyone on the street to get to shelter until the first gunshot is fired.  Is that too much?"

Henrique looked down at her, arm held up awkwardly.  Julian nudged Gordo and giggled: It was obvious he didn't know what to do with it.

"Well.  I suppose not." Juan conceded.  The other shopkeepers fell in behind and agreed.

Scylla turned to Maureen, "And you?"

Maureen shook her head, "I still think you're a stupid bitch, but I know the girls will agree to do their part."  Yvette, who was sitting next to her, nodded.

"You can count on us, Scylla!" Julian piped up when her eyes rested on him, but before she could say anything.  The other boys grinned in anticipation..  She smiled and turned her attention to Mr. Diortti.

"Well, it's all up to you, Mr. Diortti." she said finally.

"Let's go and finish these scum off!" he said fiercely.  Mrs. Diortti looked at him with a mix of pride and chagrin at his fire.

"I'm not in the plan." Henrique pointed out.

She turned and gazed up at him, "I didn't expect you to be part of this, but I could still use your help." she said.

"You've got it." Henrique nodded, knowing he would have agreed without any orders.

She smiled, "Thanks." she replied softly.

She got up, "Thanks to all of you." she said, "That's all.  We've got a lot of work to do to prepare the diner before the attack."

"Prepare?" Mrs. Diortti asked, puzzled.

"Oh yes!" Scylla looked amused, "You didn't think I'd expose you two to danger without preparations, would I?"  She wagged at finger at them, "I want to make sure you can tell your grandkids about this episode for many years to come!"

She turned to Henrique, "I need to talk with you outside about what we'll need to get in the way of supplies."

"Okay." he looked a bit doubtful, but got up.
-------------------
"Oh my goodness!" Harold exclaimed when he opened the door, "Mrs. Von Richter!  This is an unexpected surprise!"

"Thank you, Harold." Maria nodded as she entered the Trodden residence, "How is everyone?"

"Everyone is fine, madame.  Your son left for work an hour ago, and your daughter is out shopping.  Bethany is entertaining a-"

At that moment, the laughter of two girls and the barking of a dog came from the other room.  Bethany and Ikikko ran in, a wire terrier bounding alongside at their feet, "GRANMA!!!" Bethany screamed, changed direction, and plowed headlong into Maria's legs, wrapping her arms around them and giving her a hug.  Ikikko stood respectfully off to the side and watched as the dog hopped and pawed at Maria.

Maria smiled, bent over, and hugged Bethany, "And how is my little girl today?"

"Having fun!  Oh!" She put her hand to her mouth, "My manners!  Granma, this is Ikikko.  Ikikko, this is my grandmother." she introduced them, "Ikikko was bored at the safehouse, so I invited her over for the day."

"I am honored." Ikikko bowed.

"Nice to meet you, Ikikko!" Maria bowed back, "I'd like to-AH!"  She nearly fell over as the dog almost pushed her over from behind, but Bethany dove for her legs again and propped her back up.

"Curly!" Bethany rebuked the dog, "Sit and behave yourself!  This is Granma!"

The dog immediately stopped jumping and sat down, tail wagging fiercely, tounge hanging out, ears swivelling like radar dishes.

"My goodness!  Such an obedient dog!" Maria marvelled, at the same time getting the nagging feeling that something was wrong with Curly.

"You were saying, maam?" Ikikko asked.

"Oh!  Well, I'd like to talk with you about the woman who rescued you later."

"I know she is Bethany's aunt.  Is she your daughter?" Ikikko asked.

"Yes, she is."

"It would be my pleasure to do so, maam." Ikikko replied.

Quaren and Kayla had entered, carrying the luggage, "Harold, where can I park the limo where it will be safe?" Quaren asked, setting her bags down.

"Keep following the circle, but turn right instead of left.  Follow it around to the garage and honk the horn to be admitted.  Take the leftmost space."

"Where do we put these?" Kayla indicated the luggage she was carrying.

"Upstairs and to the right.  Mrs. Von Richter will take the master guestroom, and you two can take the guestrooms."

"Ummm, no.  Quaren said we'd need one next to Bethany's room, as well as Bethany's." Kayla said.

"Pardon?" Harold asked, prompted by a sure intuition.

"WHAT!?" Bethany protested, confirming his intuition, "That's MY bedroom!"  The dog gave a low growl in support of his mistress.

"Quaren will explain later, Bethy.  It's real important." Kayla assured her

"You can sleep with granma." Maria offered.

Normally, that suggestion would have met with immediate approval, but Bethany took on a thoughtful look, as if trying to remember something.

Kayla shrugged and started running up the stairs, carrying the luggage easily.  The luggage Quaren had dropped suddenly lifted into the air and followed her up the steps.

"Oh!" cried Ikikko.

Bethany left off thinking and squealed, "Ooohhh!  NOW you're in for a scary-vel-ous sight!" her voice took on a deathly tone as she spoke to Ikikko, "Watch out, or the Red-eyed monster's gonna getcha!"

"There are no such things as monsters!" Ikikko stated, a bit doubtfully, glancing back at the staircase.

"Oh yes, there aaaarrreeee!"

"Quit sounding so-" Ikikko started

There was a cackle of electricity.

"BOO!"

"AAAAHHHHH!" Ikikko cried out, falling backwards, startled by the sudden appearance of Grizelda's face a foot from hers  Curly whimpered and leaped into Bethany's arms, knocking the girl over.

"Howya doin', kiddo?" Grizelda grabbed both dog and girl in her arms and spun them around in circles.  Curly scrambled and escaped, but Bethany hugged Grizelda's neck.

"Doin' good, Auntie Griz!"

"Great!  Wanna ride?"

"YES!"

Ikikko and Curly were soon chasing Bethany, who appeared to be flying through mid-air.

"I'll show you up to your guest room, Madame." Harold offered his arm to Maria.

"Thank you, Harold." Maria leaned on him as they slowly made their way up the staircase, "When did Bethany get the dog?"

"Late yesterday.  It appears that the reports about feral dogs roaming about the streets of Meridiana had been, how shall I put it?  Monsterously exaggerated."

"Feral-" Maria glanced down just in time to see Ikikko fly by, with Bethany and Curly running behind her, "That dog?"

"Miss Elaine attested to it's extraordinary IQ herself when she brought it by." Harold made a face, "It required several baths to make its odor acceptable to your son."

Maria then realized that the dog had been missing patches of hair, no doubt from various fights.

"Here we are." Harold opened the door to the master guestroom and turned on the lights, "Supper will be served in two hours, but I can have a snack brought up if you wish."

Maria nodded approvingly at the tasteful Louis XIV styling of the room, "Perhaps some juice for energy." she said, smiling, "I'm not often out of the compound."

"We are humbled to have you here, madame.  I'll send a maid up with some juices to choose from and to help you unpack.  Is there anyone you wish to invite to dinner?"

"Let me think about that." Maria said.  Harold bowed and left.

Maria sat down on the bed to rest a moment when her cell phone beeped.  She sighed, pulled it out of her dress pocket, opened it up, said, "I'm fine Max!" into it without bothering to listen, then closed it and put it back into her pocket.

There was a chuckle from the door.  Maria glanced up to see Kayla leaning against the doorway, "That battery ought to be going out right about now." Kayla said, smiling as she walked over and sat down next to Maria, "How many times has Father called you today?"

"I've lost count!" Maria laughed, putting her arm around Kayla's shoulders and pulling her close.  Kayla smiled and rested her head in the crook between Maria's shoulder and neck.  Maria patted her arm, "Thanks for coming, Kayla."

"I couldn't possibly say no to you, Mama." Kayla said earnestly, "What plan have you decided on?"

Maria frowned a little, rocking sideways slightly as she thought for a few moments.  Kayla closed her eyes, letting herself sway in time with her mother, "I don't think confronting 37 is going to work." she finally said, "He's responsible for protecting the people of this city, and we can't let our personal needs interfere with that.  We'll have to dig up 56's location ourselves." she said, abbreviating the numeric designation of 356 as was customary when the subjects were known.

"Umm.  Yes." Kayla nodded, instinctively adding the "3" to the beginning of the numeric designation, "I COULD try hacking into the police computers, but he'd know I'd do that.  Might turn up some interesting stuff though."

"The newspapers perhaps?  And television stations?"

"For sure.  We'll have to look for patterns of Cyber activity.  Are we going to try the trap tonight?"

"Yes." Maria nodded.

A maid came in bearing a tray of a half dozen tall glasses of various kinds of juice, "It's nice to see you, Mrs. Von Richter." She bowed as she put the tray down, "Ready to unpack?" she asked as Kayla arose and left the room.

Maria selected a glass of orange juice, "Yes.  Let's start with that white one there."
------------------------
Cornazon looked thoughtfully at the shot glass of Gin in front of him as he listened to Raoul, his number one lieutenant.

"Everything's gone to hell!" Raoul complained, "None of our boys are coming back!  They're either in jail after that Ikikko girl fingered them, or they were offered one way tickets to the border.  Collections are way down because we don't have the muscle to be a threat!"

"Have you tried hiring new guns?" Cornazon asked, somehow knowing what the answer would be.

"Sure have!  Not a bite!  You'd think we were made of poison!  I offered twice, triple what the other bosses used to offer, but there are no takers."

Dinazo, his #2 man, sighed, "I think we should go back to the jungle and start over ag-"

"There's no starting over!" Cornazon snapped, "If we go back to the jungle, we'll be admitting that we have been bested!  No one would respect us!  We must stay here and succeed, or die!"

They had been childhood friends of Cornazon's.  They had been through too much to think of leaving him now.  They both fell silent for a moment before Raoul asked, "So, what's your plan?"

"I've put out some feelers for some outside help.  It may mean being, obligated, for a period of time.  But I think the relationship can be managed." Cornazon said.

They all fell silent, nursing their drinks, for about twenty minutes when the doorbell rang.  Dinazo got up and went to answer the door.

He returned, followed by two, black clad shapes, that took up positions next to the door and the window.  Their faces were hid in black masks, showing only oriental eyes.  Cornazon noticed the ornamental hilts of ninja swords strapped to their backs.

Cornazon arose as an old, slightly built Japanese, dressed like a businessman, entered the room, "Greetings, Mr. Tanoji!" He bowed, "Welcome to Meridiana!"

Mr Tanoji bowed slightly, then sat down, "I am here to listen to your proposition for a franchise in this delightful city." he said.
----------------------
The rental truck pulled up in front of the snack shoppe, turned, and backed up to the door.  Scylla and Henrique got out.  Scylla tossed her purse to Mr. Diortti, who put it behind the counter while Henrique let the back down.

"This stuff is heavy." he said as she came back to him.

"I know.  That's what makes it work." she replied, grabbing a sheet of 2 centimeter thick plate steel and slid it out the back.

Henrique grabbed the trailing end as it came out of the truck, "OOOFFF!" he gasped as it jerked earthward, letting it go as it crashed to the sidewalk, sending stone splinters everywhere.

"Get a hand cart and be careful!" she said with amusement as she lifted it and took it into the shoppe.  Henrique watched, momentarily bewildered, before walking up the street to borrow a hand cart from Frank.
----------------------
"Okay." Quaren put her silverware on the plate and nodded at the servant who appeared and took it away, "Are we all set up with the plan?"

"Yes." Kayla nodded, "You stay in Bethy's room, while Bethy and Ikikko stay with Mama in the guest bedroom.  I'm on the roof, and Grizelda will be on the ground."

Grizelda nodded, swirling her cocktail in her hand, "I moved the sensors, as you said, so we'll pick up when 56 comes for a visit tonight.  I jump up from below to cut off her escape, and Kayla comes down from above."

"And I hop out of bed, go to the window, open it up, and talk to her." Maria finished, "A very good plan, Quaren."

"All you need is talk to her, mama, and she'll see sense." Techno 54 said.

Bethany just smiled and slipped a piece of chicken to Curly under the table.  Ikikko added another piece and looked at Bethany quizically.  Bethany shook her head and rolled her eyes.  "It 'ain't gonna work!" was the obvious message Ikikko got.

"Any luck with the search, sis?" Quaren turned to Kayla.

"I've some clues." she smiled, "The best is a publicly available city map showing crime rates in color, blue for low crime rates, red for high.  The latest edition is fairly blue, but one street is pitch black for three blocks.  I'm cross-correlating that against locations of prostitution-related arrests."

Maria sighed unhappily, shaking her head.  Techno 54 reached over under the table and put her hand on Maria's.

"If you think about it, she really doesn't have much of a choice, mama." Quaren pointed out, "Most jobs require recommendations, and she wouldn't have an ID or birth certificate, and couldn't use the ones she already has."

"We make them as we need them, " Kayla agreed.

"It's not that." Maria complained softly, putting her free hand on 54's and patting it, "What I'm wondering about is what's at home that would make her stay away?"

"The Cyber Training board for one." Grizelda said after sipping at her cocktail, "Have you heard the latest rumor?"

Kayla and Quaren looked at each other, but remained silent.  Maria just sighed, "What is it THIS time?" she asked, exasperated at the prolific and bewildering variety of rumors she'd had to deal with lately.

Grizelda put her glass down and glanced at Kayla and Quaren, "There was a rumor that Father would use the Six geneset in the next batch of cybers, like he did with 29's."

"That's an old one." Quaren sniffed.

"I know.  The new rumor is that the training board is going to recommend that the six batchset be written off as mentally unstable and unreliable, and that the batchmates be recalled for reassignment as supervisors to the Fixed Ideas."

Kayla made a face, "Well, that's just sweet!  Six cared so much for those Fixed Ideas, it has some credibility.  And I suppose that just because the whole batchset cared for each other so much, that the board's concluded that they've got to be touched or crazy in the head somehow!"

"Mama!" Quaren started, noticing the look that passed over Maria's countenance.  Maria Schweitzer Von Richter was a lousy liar and too old now to learn how to do it effectively, "That's not true, is it?"

 Maria inhaled deeply, "I'm afraid both of those particular rumors are true."

"But that's not fair!" Bethany protested, "The others who stayed didn't do anything wrong!"

"And the others who turned themselves in were only reprimanded and returned to duty." Kayla said, "That has to say something about how they get along with Normals.  356 is the only one out there in the cold, so to speak."

Maria's cell phone rang.  She released 54's hands, pulled the cell phone out, opened it up, said, "I am FINE, MAX!", and promptly hung up.

"Damn." Grizelda marvelled, "Does that thing have quantum batteries, or what?"

"Maybe." Maria said, putting it back in to her pocket.

"Well, I've got news that isn't gossip." Kayla remarked, smiling wryly.

"Let's hear it!" Quaren grinned.

"Not happy news, I'm afraid," Kayla glanced at Maria, half wondering if she should mention it or not, then decided to go on, "As soon as the inquiry's findings were published, the six and 29 batchsets started an e-mail petition to Father to have him overturn the Leadership ranking decision and settle for a reprimand."

"Isn't that a bit late?" Techno 53 asked.  Cyprus Trodden had learned a long time ago that listening was more profitable than talking, so did more of the former than the latter.

"Well, it kinda got changed after Six-" she stopped.

"Go on." Maria urged her.

"They changed it to a demand to recall the Cyber training board and replace it with a new one."

"I'd sign in a hot second!  How many do they have?" Grizelda asked.

"I don't know.  Being a special, they kinda left me out." Kayla said this with a touch of sadness.

Quaren leaned over and patted Kayla's hand, understanding.  Kayla shot a smile back to Quaren, then continued, "I suppose they've got over 4000 signatures now, judging by the volume of secure, cyber to cyber e-mail flying through the compound's mail server."

"Well, I suppose I should knock some cyber heads together." Quaren complained.

"Whatever for?" Grizelda shot a glance at Quaren, "I thought you disagreed with the board too!"

"I do!  I was gonna knock their heads for leaving me out!"

Ikikko listened in respectful silence, wondering how, as the youngest and newest normal to know about the Von Richter family, she could possibly contain the secrets that Bethany had confided to her, and which she was hearing right now.  And this Six person must be someone wonderful to provoke such feelings in these people.  The woman who rescued her, Mrs. Von Richter had told her, was somehow more like Six than Bethany's other aunts and uncles.  She hoped Bethany would be wrong, for she was anxious for the trap to work so that she could meet her rescuer again.

For her part, Maria absorbed all this in silence, "Silly me!  What made me think my little Paradise would last forever?  But now it's falling apart before my eyes, and I can't stop it!" she thought, blinking back her tears.
-------------------
"Whew!" Henrique pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped at his brow, "Are you SURE we need all this in here?" he asked.

Scylla looked hardly winded, although she was sweating a little, "Yes, we do!" she said decisively.

He glanced up at the cieling, "I hope that works."

She glanced up at it too, "Yeah.  I do too."  She laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Just thought of the perfect guy who'd know all about contraptions," she murmured while admiring their handiwork,"I'd like to know what he'd think of that."

"Are we done?" he asked.

"Yes.  Tired?"

"Well, yeah." he had been amazed by her strength and endurance.  She seemed to go on and on and on...

She walked over to him, grabbed his arm, and tugged on it, "Come on!  Let's grab a drink in my apartment upstairs."

"Uhhh!" he hesitated.

"I've got soda.  Come ON!  I'm not going to bite!" she insisted.
---------------
"What are we waiting out here for?" Tomas Complained.

Julian made a face at him, "It's important."

"What is it?" Gordo asked.

Julian shrugged, "It's import- THERE!" he pointed.

Scylla and Henrique were coming out.  Scylla locked the door, then looped her arm around Henrique's as they walked the few steps to the stoop to her apartment.  They went inside.

"YES!!!" Julian hopped up and down, punching the air, "Way to GO!"

"What happened?" Gordo complained.

"Yeah.  What happened?" Tomas added.

"It's what's gonna happen, guys!" Julian rubbed his hands, "And it couldn't happen to a nicer gal!  Let's go!  Man, I hope Henrique's worth it!"
--------------------
"I have thought a long while about your proposal, Mr. Cornazon." Mr. Tanoji said, sitting back down in front of Cornazon.  He had left to rest because of jet lag, and to think about the arrangement Cornazon had suggested, "And while I feel that it has considerable merit, I have concerns about your willingness to be involved.  For instance," here, he smiled, "how could this Scylla woman be causing you so much trouble?  If a woman," here, the note of distain in his voice came through,"causes you so much distress, then why don't you take care of the problem yourself?"

Dinazo marvelled at his friend's self-control, noting the blood vessels bulging in his neck.  The last few hired guns had been driven away by Cornazon's bursts of temper whenever they had discussed this very issue.  "Perhaps," he thought, glancing at the two ninja-garbed assistants of Mr. Tanoji, who had noted the same thing and had changed their stances slightly in response, "those sharp looking swords have something to do with it."

"Now," Mr. Tanoji continued, noting that Cornazon had not volunteered a reply, "instead of me sending my men to dishonorably assassinate a woman while she is sleeping in her own bed, as you suggested, I propose that I and they accompany you tomorrow to assist you as you and your associates take care of her in broad daylight."

Dinazo finally figured it out.  Cornazon was not really a coward, but had become so accustomed to giving orders and being the power behind the scenes, that it stung his pride now to find himself being obligated to get involved, as well as being in an inferior bargaining position, "It's not time to go back to the jungle, boss," He whispered into his ear, "But it is time to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty again if we have to."

Cornazon shot a glance at him, and Dinazo fancied he saw a look of fleeting gratitude.

"You're right." he said, turning back to Mr. Tanoji,  "I'll make the arrangements for weapons and transportation, and pick you and your men up tomorrow morning at 9."

Mr. Tanoji brightened, rose, and bowed, "We will sign the contract at 11 tomorrow, and I will go back to Japan that afternoon with it."

Cornazon rose and bowed in response, "Thank you." he said simply.
----------------
Von Richter glared irritably at his cell phone.  The display was blinking, "MAMA'S OKAY!", and refused to make any calls.  Apparently, Kayla had hacked through the cell network, got to the phone's microprocessor, and had reprogrammed it.

"Okay, so maybe I made a few too many calls." he conceded, putting it down and forcing himself to get back to work.

For Von Richter, "Work" meant far more than looking at and approving requisitions, selecting between gene variants, and wondering whether they were serving too many green beans lately at the cafeteria.  It also meant monitoring the world situation in thousands of places and trying to figure out if he had left out some important function of society that might need a Type or Cyber assigned to monitor, and if necessary, handle the situation.  Some of the most bloody conflicts of the modern ear were not between the armies of nations, but were internal affairs arising from class, religious, or interracial warfare.  Keeping a finger on the world pulse meant reading the world press.

He initiated a web search for recent signs of unrest, then began to go through the list, making notes in a second window, when an article on a recent demonstration in a nearby country caught his eye.  "Too close for comfort." he thought, clicking on the reference, "Let's see what it is."
 
 

There were two pictures as part of the article, one of Private Seidelman, and one of Lieutenant Escuella.  It took only one look from Von Richter to know who it was.  The computer check was only a formality, for the artist always knows his work when he sees it.

He grabbed his phone, only to be reminded by the display that he wouldn't be able to contact his wife about the situation.

He glanced outside at the circle of senior year Cybers surrounding the residence.  Great.  Here he was, the theoretical head of a half legion of super soldiers, held prisoner in his own house because Quaren threatened to castrate the instructors and feed them their own severed body parts if anything happened to him while she was away!  He felt a perverse sense of kinship with the last few Caesars who lived at the close of the Roman Empire, who probably had similar problems, in a way, with their own Praetoran Guards.

"Damn!" he thought as he glanced back at the computer monitor, "If 356 was on a Peruvian military base qualifying for the Condors during this time, then who the hell is in Meridiana?"

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Chapter 15