The Road is a Harsh Mistress Pt. 03

Author's note:

See part 1 for blurb. Also, if you haven't already read parts 1 & 2, I strongly recommend doing so before proceeding.

All sensuality (on page or otherwise) takes place between characters who are eighteen or older.

Twenty-Four

Mike awoke the next morning with an irrepressible smile on his face. He felt fully refreshed despite not having fallen to sleep until after three AM and having been awoken briefly when his father and the children departed (not to mention that he had slept on a couch which was older than at least one of his children). The kids had just returned triumphantly from their fishing expedition, having caught a few small mouth bass. The adoring smiles they were giving his father warmed Mike's heart.

Everyone else was soon awake as the house came alive. Mike headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for the family, since 'short order breakfast cook' was one of his 'things'. Leia came in to help, and soon the family was enjoying bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, French toast, and biscuits. With Leia's gleeful help, they made a glorious mess full of laughter and smiles. On a few occasions, Mike forgot that the previous night's rendezvous was meant to be a secret, and they exchanged a brief caress or kiss.

After breakfast, Mike's father caught his attention and beckoned him outside with his eyes. After they were seated, he began the conversation as he always did, "So, how are things at work?"

"Just fine, dad."

"They're still fine with you never coming to the office?"

"There isn't an office. The company is completely virtualized. It allows them to take advantage of a massive cost reduction by not paying for commercial space."

Jubal shook his head. After a lifetime working as an engineer in an office the size of a warehouse, he could not imagine a work environment that did not involve thousands of people co-mingling. "Any word from Connie?"

Mike only shook his head in reply.

"I see. Son, your mom and I have eyes. They work much better now after that miracle pill you gave us last night. I can't thank you enough for that, by the way. I can't remember the last time I didn't have any aches and pains in the morning. Not to mention the way it made your mother look. I swear she looks like she did when we were first married. But what I wanted to say was, we see you and Leia together. You tell us she's your friend and it's not our place to question you. But we can't remember seeing you this happy, and I'd bet my vintage book collection she's the reason."

"It's been great having her around. The kids love her, and she's really just a great person. Having someone around that I can actually talk to, and enjoy spending time with, has been a revelation."

Jubal pursed his lips and paused for a moment before continuing, "Son, I love you. I don't say that often enough, but I really do. And I'm proud of you. You've been dealing with a really tough situation ever since Connie left, and you've never complained. You just put your head down and solve the problem the way I taught you, one piece at a time and then re-evaluate. I can't imagine how much harder this would have been on your children if you weren't the man you are."

"Thanks dad. I love you too. And I really appreciate it. I try my best to do what's right. Hopefully, I succeed more than I screw up."

"Can I give you some advice."

"Sure. Always."

"Don't be a fool."

"What are you talking about?"

"She adores you, son. Her coming into your life is a gift. Embrace it."

"Would it surprise you to learn that I couldn't agree more?" Mike replied with a grin.

"Good," Jubal huffed as he got to his feet. "That's real good, son. Word of advice?"

"Always."

"Don't let Connie's shadow linger over your relationship with Leia. I know you won't be able to help but learn some lessons. You're an engineer. It's who we are. But don't make the mistake of letting the lies Connie told you be your guide you. Your marriage didn't end because of something you did, son. It ended because your wife broke her promise. More than one of them, unless I miss my guess. But that lady in there is nothing like Connie. She's one of the good ones. Never let yourself forget that."

"I don't intend to, Dad."

He grabbed Mike's shoulder affectionately and smiled before saying, "Good talk, son."

His father headed back inside, leaving Mike alone on the porch. He sipped his coffee and stared across the lake thoughtfully. After a few minutes of solitude, Leia stuck her head out the door and asked if he wanted some company. He made room for her and wrapped his arm around her affectionately so they could bask in the majesty of the lake and mountains.

The serenity stood in stark contrast to the speed of his thoughts. He had known Leia for less than a fortnight. It was illogical, perhaps even preposterous, for him to be falling for her in such a short period of time. Yet the truth was undeniable. In Leia, Mike had found the paradise he dared not dream existed. The mind, however, is a temperamental and delicate instrument, and it is disinclined to rapid changes in circumstances. Thus, even though he was seated next to the woman of his dreams gazing out at the beauty of a calm mountain lake, his mind was racing with thoughts of how everything could be, perhaps even likely would be, ruined in an instant. He felt a pull toward the Artifact, to build a wish which would inoculate him from the ruin his anxiety was certain was on the horizon.

The thoughts were silenced in an instant when Leia murmured, "I'm not going anywhere, babe."

"How did you know?"

"Because I know you," she soothed. "Just relax and enjoy the view."

"Gods, you're perfect," he whispered.

"So are you."

Zach stepped out onto the porch and tentatively sat down across from Mike and Leia, who's happiness together had been such that it never occurred to Mike that he was still sitting with his arm around her as she snuggled against him. He belatedly realized his oversight and sat up quickly, remaining close to Leia but no longer touching her.

Zach said, "Dad, can I talk to you about something."

"Perhaps I should leave you two alone," Leia said quietly before rising quickly and heading inside with the briefest of backward glances in Mike's direction.

"What's on your mind?" Mike asked softly, mindful of their peaceful surroundings.

"We're not blind, Dad."

"What do you mean?"

"I see how you are with Leia. And how she treats you."

"You noticed that, did you?"

"As I said, we're not blind. Listen, I know things were really hard on you after Mom left."

"Things were hard for everyone. I know this has been really tough for both you and your sister. I tried to keep everything going, to provide what's best for you and your sister."

"I know, Dad. And you've done an amazing job. But the truth is that you've always done that. Of course you kept everything going, because you've always done everything."

"Zach," Mike warned.

"Please, Dad. Not another lecture about how I talk about Mom. I haven't seen her, or spoken to her, in almost ten months. I think we can dispense with the bull crap at this point."

"Who taught you how to talk like that?" Mike groaned.

"Certainly not Mom," Zach retorted with a grin. "You know she wouldn't have censored herself. Look. All I'm saying is that we don't want you to make a horrible mistake by ignoring your feelings for Leia because you think it's not what we'd want. Or, even worse, because of Mom."

"I won't," Mike replied.

"Won't what?" Zach asked in confusion.

"Ignore my feelings for Leia. I swear I'll always put your sister and you first, but Leia's given me no reason to believe I have to choose one or the other."

"Well... awesome," Zach grinned.

"Perhaps we can double date some time. Assuming Quinn wouldn't mind being seen with an old man. And your sister."

"Perhaps we hold off on that for now," Zach replied with a horrified shudder. "Not because of you, or Leia. But I'm certain Quinn's not ready for the ice cream fiend in there."

Mike chuckled as he got to his feet. He reached out his hand and pulled his son from his seat and into a hug with a single motion. He embraced him for a long moment before murmuring, "I love you, son."

"I love you too, Dad."

The family spent another day having fun out on the lake, and on the hiking trails in the nearby mountains. There was a brief bit of drama when Mike's father, upon discovering that the gas tank on the boat was only at half full, accused his neighbor of stealing and started to storm off to make his accusation in person. Mike managed, with considerable difficulty, to convince him otherwise by telling him that he and Leia had gone for a late-night ride the night before. Mike caught his sister winking at him as his brother-in-law gave him a thumbs up from behind Leia's back.

That afternoon, his parents surprised them by setting up the camping equipment in the backyard. She said she wanted to give the children an adventure with a campfire; smores; the works. Her ruse was laid bare, however, when Mike heard her telling his sister that she wanted Leia to have the room to herself.

That evening, Leia once again joined Mike on the deck so they could enjoy the chill in the air as they watched the children stare entranced at the campfire. He wrapped an arm around her, and she pressed herself against him as though they had been purpose built for each other. He gently kissed her hair, and she caressed his chest in response.

She said, "You had some pretty serious looking conversations out on the porch this morning. It was like a parade of the generations. I assume they were ministering to you on the sins of premarital intercourse and the danger posed by fast women?"

"They love you," Mike whispered sincerely. "All of them. My dad told me not to screw things up with you, and Zach said I'd better not ignore my feelings for you on their account."

"That's good advice," she observed playfully.

"And advice I intend to follow."

"You're not sick of me yet?" she teased.

"I thought that was my line."

"I guess we'll have to get used to sharing if we're going to be in a..."

"What?"

"Nothing," she murmured.

"It didn't sound like nothing," he countered gently.

"I'm not putting any pressure on you, babe."

"Honey," he pleaded. "What are you talking about?"

"I know your children come first."

"Leia?" Mike spoke gently. When she did not meet his eyes, he lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. "My princess?" She looked up with a somber gaze, and he bent down to kiss her chastely, but he allowed his lips to linger until she sighed against him. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing. Everything since we came here has been absolutely perfect."

"Then what..." Mike began, then he reviewed both her words and her body language. "Is this because you think I'm reluctant to be with you?"

"I know you're a good man, Mike. Part of that means Zach and Alexis will always come first. Not only do I accept that, I expect it. And I know you'll give me what you can, when you can. I can be patient. You're the man I've been waiting my whole life for."

"You don't have to wait, princess. And I don't want to let another moment pass where you don't know right down to your soul that I want to be with you."

She stammered, "Mike... I... that makes me very happy."

"Same," he whispered.

"So does this mean we're going steady?"

"If you'll wait until we get back home, I can likely dig my letter jacket out of the attic."

"I don't need any such decorations," she replied warmly. "There is, however, one thing I hope you'll agree to."

"What's that?"

She glanced back toward the makeshift campground, noting that the children had already climbed into their tents before replying. "Follow me."

She led him to the room which had been set aside for her use, closing the door behind them with a demonstrative 'click'. She flowed into his arms, hugging him tightly as she turned her face up for a kiss which he gladly delivered. The kiss lingered as their hands slowly wandered across each other's bodies. But they were both exhausted after the previous night's adventure, so he led her to bed.

Just as Mike was climbing into bed, Leia said, "Hang on, babe. I know we're both tired and we need sleep tonight. But a long time ago, when I was a lonely high schooler learning about the birds and the bees from trashy romance novels, I made myself a promise. A solemn vow which I expected future-me to honor. I swore that if I ever found myself in a relationship with someone I truly cared about, and who I felt cared about me, that I would never make the foolish mistake of allowing clothes to come between us unless societal norms demanded it. And I intend to keep that promise. For as long as we share a bed, I will always sleep in the nude; and I sincerely hope you'll do the same."

"I think that's a lovely idea, honey. But why are you so passionate about it?"

She removed her clothing and climbed into bed before saying, "We both agreed that intimacy is a crucial part of a relationship. While making love is obviously the most intimate we can be, we will not always be able, or even want, to make love. On those nights it is crucial that we lie together, with nothing between us, and share in the natural intimacy of skin-on-skin contact."

Mike removed his clothing and joined her, saying, "I promise, princess. For so long as you'll have me, we will never go to bed with clothes on."

"Thank you, sir. I'm honored to be your girlfriend."

"And I'm amazed at how frequently, and effortlessly, you prove that you are what I've always wanted in a partner."

She curled up against him, sending a warm sensation through his body. "You make a pretty good partner yourself, handsome." She kissed him unhurriedly before resting her head on his chest. "Now sleep, and dream of starlit boat rides."

Twenty-Five

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Leia asked with a chuckle from the door to Mike's office.

"I am working," he replied defensively.

"Then why could I hear racecars from another floor?"

Mike gestured at one of his monitors and said, "No reason I can't write code to the dulcet tones of free practice one. You have your podcasts, I have my racing."

"You can't possibly find this soothing. It just sounds like a bunch of British dudes arguing in the most British way possible."

"In other words, they're being more polite than Americans who've been married for ten years, yet you're somehow certain they're absolutely irate with each other?"

"Exactly. What are they so worked up about?"

"Something about an engine swap and whether or not it should incur a penalty. I honestly can't be bothered to pay attention because the driver in question hasn't scored a point all season. He could get a ten-minute head start and still manage to get lapped by the field."

"Harsh."

Mike shrugged and said, "What do you want me to say? He crashed out trying to pass air last year and ruined the last race of the season."

Mike clicked off the program and rose to refill his coffee. She followed him and sheepishly said, "You needn't have turned it off on my account."

"It was basically over anyway. I typically only turn it on as background noise."

"No podcasts for you?"

He shrugged and said, "Sometimes, if I'm doing something that is just procedural. But if its more hard-core coding, I tend to find that I get to the end of an episode and can't recall anything that was said."

"Hard-core coding?" she asked coquettishly.

He snickered and said, "Also a great term for making a baby."

"Is that what you want?" she asked, suddenly serious.

He opened and closed his mouth several times before saying, "I'm not sure I'm prepared to answer that."

"Seems a simple enough question."

"Perhaps. But so much has changed recently. If you'd asked me that question a year ago, I'd have said, 'no way in hell!'. But that was when I was a middle-aged fat guy stuck in an unhappy marriage. None of those things are true anymore. What about you?"

She sat down and took a long sip of her coffee before speaking. "I never wanted to be a mom growing up. My folks did as well as they could, but they never managed to hide how hard it was to be a parent. When I lost them, it sort of cemented the idea in my head that life was too fragile to assume the personal responsibility for creating, absent a damned good reason to do so. I grew comfortable with the idea that I'd definitely screw up any kid I brought into the world. Most people I know that flung themselves headlong into having children had great parents themselves. Yourself, for example."

"You're not wrong. I always wanted to be a dad, and Connie was on board with the idea so we started trying right after we got married."

"Exactly. I never had that feeling. At least, not until recently. Maybe Zach and Alexis are unicorns, but they really opened my eyes to why people would want to have kids. So, I guess my answer would be, maybe?"

"I think that's my answer too. The fact that we're both basically in our mid-twenties, at least biologically, kind of changes things... as does being with someone who never fails to make me happy."

She smiled shyly and said, "You make me happy too, babe."

He bent over and kissed the top of your head before asking, "What's on your agenda for today?"

"You're looking at it," she announced. "I've got a couple of feelings out with nonprofits who might align with what I'm looking for, but they're trying to decide if they want to meet me. How about you?"

"I'm blocked on my two primary initiatives at work. I think a few of my teammates might have started their weekend a bit prematurely on Friday. So, I thought I'd run a little errand this morning. You interested in coming along?"

"Will there be coffee?"

He chuckled and said, "For you... the best coffee."

She smiled brilliantly and hopped to her feet. "Then I'm your girl."

"This is not what I thought you meant by errand," Leia chortled at Mike's side.

"Do I sense disappointment?" he replied with a twinge of concern.

"No. Just mild surprise. I admit, however, that I'm intrigued. I assume you didn't ask me to come along because you need service."

"You would be correct."

"But you love your car," she observed as he shut down the aforementioned coupe and they climbed out. "Why would you get a new one?"

"Because this car was a compromise. It was what I could afford, and what I could hope Connie wouldn't pitch too much of a fuss about. But it wasn't the dream."

"Well I believe I've made my position on the issue of your dreams coming true quite clear."

Visions of their slow, tender lovemaking from the previous night, after they had returned from his parents' house and gotten the children in bed, sprang without effort into the forefront of his mind. He managed, not without effort, to shove those memories back where they belonged before his arousal became plain for all to see.

"Indeed you have, my dear. And you're brilliant at it."

"So what's the dream car for my super-handsome racecar driver of a boyfriend?"

"We'll get to that," he replied with a squeeze of her hand. "But first, we have to find something practical."

"How do you mean?"

"A grand-tourer, which is the best way to describe what I'm ultimately searching for, doesn't possess a whiff of practicality. My coupe can seat four comfortably, five in a pinch, along with room for all their luggage. Or, alternatively, I can make a trip to S-Mart without worrying if my purchases will fit (so long I'm not buying dimensional lumber). The new car, by way of comparison, technically seats four, but I wouldn't use it to take the kids anywhere further away than their schools. So, we'll actually need to purchase two cars."

"Are you sure that's wise, babe?" Leia asked conspiratorially. She glanced around before whispering, "I thought your money making scheme would need at least a couple of weeks before you'd really start building up a nest egg."

"That's true. But taking the pill this week-end erased the last of my doubts about the Artifact's power. I know this is technically quite premature, but I figured... fuck it. I'm kind of riding a high, know what I mean?"

"Quite well," she replied warmly.

"I figured you already made my craziest, most improbable dream come true, why not shoot the moon?"

"Absolutely!"

"Besides, it's not like there won't be plenty of money to pay off the loans before the first payment comes due. So why wait?"

Without preamble, she took out her phone her phone and snapped a picture of him.

He looked at her askance, and asked, "What was that for?"

"Because that look on your face is my new heroin, and I'm positively addicted to it."

"Stick around, Princess, and you'll see that look so often you'll get sick of it."

"Not bloody likely," she retorted with a smirk.

He led her into the dealer and surprised her by prodding her to take the lead in the search for a 'practical' car because (while he did not realize it until they began their search) he found himself already thinking of the second vehicle they would buy as 'her' car. In truth, he had no way of knowing if she had formed any particular attachment to her aged and battered hatchback, and he hoped she would not view his actions as either presumptuous or (worse) misogynist. He simply found himself wanted to give the person who meant more to him with each passing day something luxurious, something hers. Things came to a head as they were wandering past a full-size luxury S. U. V. which cost more than most nurses make in a year, and he suggested she test out the driver's seat.

"I thought we were searching for cars for you," she muttered.

"Lots of couples each have their car."

"Yeah, but they also each buy their own cars. At least they do when they've been officially together for less than fifty hours. I appreciate the thought, Mike. But I don't need all this. Besides, my car works fine. At least... most of the time."

"I know I don't have to do this for you, but I'd like to. I want you to have nice things, honey. Because you deserve that. I'm sure my biases are informing this, and that you'd much prefer something else nice."

"Don't get me wrong," she interjected. "I fucking love this car. I have, in fact, always wanted one of these big ole' honkin' S. U. V. s with more bells and whistles than the space shuttle and enough horsepower to yank your house off the foundation. I'd even thought to get myself one of these. You know, in a month or two when I was freakin' swimming in cash because my rad boyfriend let me in on his get rich quick scheme. I just never expected you to do this for me."

"I'd really like to, if you're ok with it."

"Well..." she hedged. "Does it come in white?"

"Aye," he smiled. "I think it does, at that."

"Great! So, now that that's out of the way, where's this insanely impractical hyper-car you've been dreaming about?"

He gestured toward the showroom and said, "Right over there."

"What is it?" Leia whispered as she gazed through the windows at the gun-metal grey two-seater, which was encircled by the type of rope normally reserved for outside a nightclub.

"I once heard it said that, if you like driving above all else, and to the exclusion of all other considerations, you have to have a GT-R. It isn't the fastest car in the world, not by a long shot. It's also quite far from the most expensive. What it is, is one of the most exquisitely engineered production cars in history. It gets off the line like a scalded cheetah, corners like it's on rails, and will outrun not a few supercars in a straight line. It lapped the Nordschleife in seven-and-a-half minutes."

"Is that good?"

"It's extremely good. Especially when you consider that it's a grand tourer. Like I said, we wouldn't want to cart the kids up to Deety and Vivian's in it, but you and I could take a lengthy roadtrip in it without any complaints."

"When do we leave?" she inquired coquettishly.

"Let's see if I can convince them to part with it first," he replied as he led her into the showroom.

Twenty-Six

Following his family's return home from the reunion, Mike and Leia had easily settled into a comfortable routine wherein she became an accepted part of the Carter family's daily life. She pitched in around the house, although her role was more akin to what one would expect from a visiting family member (as opposed to an employee) while she looked for the right company to whom she would offer her services as an InfoSec expert. Every night, she would join him in bed after the children went to sleep. Each morning, they would rise before the children with Leia either returning to the guest room or starting her day.

When the weekend rolled around, Mike's normally loyal dogs failed him spectacularly. Typically, they could be counted on to wake him daily between 6:55 and 7:05. But on the second Saturday following the resumption of the schoolyear, the canines silently slumbered until well after eight. Typically, this would have been cause for celebration, but Alexis had seemingly been nominated by the gods of chaos to be the first to wake and thus wandered yawning into his bedroom shortly before 7:30. This would have been an unremarkable way to wake up were it not for the fact that he and Leia were lovingly wrapped around each other in their sleep, only a thin sheet covering their nakedness.

For her part, Alexis acted as if nothing were amiss. She walked up to his side of the bed, and woke him using her preferred method: staring at him without moving a muscle or making a sound until he startled awake to the unsettling sensation of being watched.

She said, "Good morning, Dad. Good morning, Leia. Can I have some breakfast?"

Mike froze momentarily before regaining some measure of control. "Sure, sweetheart. Why don't you take the dogs down and let them out? I'll be down shortly."

She walked from the bedroom, calling the dogs to follow her, as though nothing of consequence had happened. Mike looked over at Leia and smiled weakly.

She grinned crookedly and said, "That went well."

"Indeed," he chuckled. "I guess we should get dressed before anyone else comes in."

They rose and dressed quickly before following Alexis downstairs. They found her waiting in the kitchen, kicking her legs happily as she sat upon a barstool against the kitchen counter.

She glanced up and said, "Leia, are you my Mommy now?"

"No, sweetheart. Your mother will always be your mother, no matter what. But I do care for you, and your father, a great deal."

"But you were sleeping in Daddy's bed. Isn't that something only Mommies can do?"

Mike said, "It's complicated sweetheart. Your Mom and I tried for a long time to make our marriage work, but we failed. We always tried to make the best home we could for you and your brother, but we just wanted different things out of life."

"Does this mean Leia will sleep in your bed every night?"

Mike shrugged and said, "I hope so, baby girl."

"Ok," she replied agreeably. "Can I have pancakes in the shape of a puppy dog?"

Mike's conversation with Zach was even more straightforward. When the latter came downstairs, the former asked him to help out with breakfast as everyone else had already finished eating.

Mike poured the pancake batter, Zach said, "I heard Alexis caught Leia in your bed this morning."

"When did she have a chance to tell you that?"

"The literal second she woke me up" Zach asked in exasperation. "Don't worry, I told her that's a house-secret."

"House secret?"

Zach paused for a moment before responding. "Back around the time she was starting school, I sat her down and told her about the different kinds of secrets. There's fake secrets, which are things everyone knows but we pretend we don't."

"Such as?"

"The tooth fairy. She apparently caught Mom stumbling into her room once with a fistful of dollar bills. Not sure if she's drawn any conclusions from that about Santa, or not. The next kind is house-secrets, which are things which all of us in the house know, but we don't tell anyone else. There are also family secrets; same deal except it's ok to talk to Grandma and Grandpa, and our aunts and uncles, about. And then there are super-secrets, which only her and I know about."

"You came up with all of this on your own?"

Zach shrugged and said, "I didn't want her making more trouble for you by blurting something Mom did in front of the wrong teacher."

"I see," Mike said slowly. "I'm so sorry you felt the need to do something like that."

"Don't be," Zach said firmly. "Because you were the one who always made sure that, no matter what Mom did, everything was ok. But all that work you did, for us, it just makes me that much happier that you found Leia."

"You're really ok with this?"

"Heck yeah! I've seen the difference in you over the last few weeks. I can't remember ever seeing you so happy."

"Thanks son. That means a lot to me. To both of us."

As Mike straightened up in the kitchen, he realized he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Feeling like a celebration was in order, he entered the living room and announced to Leia and the children that they could do whatever they wanted that day.

The kids said, in unison, "Anything?"

Mike nodded emphatically and said, "Yes, the sky's the limit."

They shouted, "Waterloo!!!"

Mike guffawed at their reaction. He knew at once why they had thought he would be reluctant. Waterloo was an enormous waterpark about an hour from their house, and Mike had traditionally hated traveling to waterparks as he was loath to spend the day in a huge crowd, not to mention spending hundreds of dollars. But, as he considered their request, he realized that he was actually looking forward to the trip.

"Let's do it," Mike announced. "Tell you what, you can each bring a friend."

A great deal of screaming and rushing about ensued. Within moments, a plan had come together. Alexis was bringing her best friend from Girl Scouts and Zach had arranged to bring his girlfriend.

The day at the waterpark went spectacularly for all involved. It gave Mike a chance to get to know his son's girlfriend, who was a charming young woman, and swell with pride at the way Zach treated his partner. Soon after arrival the two of them headed off to the lazy river, hand-in-hand. Alexis and her friend opted for a more energetic day, demanding to ride every waterslide on which they were permitted, as many times as possible. Leia and Mike followed them to each attraction for almost four hours before the kids began to slow down and it became clear that they required sustenance.

As they ate, Mike became aware that something else had changed within him, and that it had nothing to do with the transformation he had undergone. When he had gone to waterparks in the past, indeed in any situation wherein he encountered a crowd of scantily clad women, he had spent his days constantly distracted by the veritable cornucopia of exposed flesh surrounding him. The styles of bathing suits favored by nubile college girls left nothing to the imagination and he had constantly chastised himself for leering. But, on this occasion, while he still saw the girls in the micro-bikinis and thongs, his gaze was never drawn to them. Sexy coeds and fit cougars were now no more interesting to him than the arguably equally attractive males who were nearly as ubiquitous. Leering at them no longer brought him any pleasure as he had the perfect woman at his side. And his change was due to more than the fact that Leia was unquestionably the most beautiful woman on the premises. It was the fact that she genuinely cared for him and wanted him to be happy. He no longer wanted for what his imagination conjured up when he looked at beautiful women, because the reality with Leia exceeded even the most lurid fantasy.

The foursome met back up with Zach and his companion at the designated time. Everyone was clearly tired from a day in the sun, so they decided to pack up and head home. On the way, they stopped and had dinner at a local Italian restaurant. All of the children were on their best behavior, perhaps aided by the exhaustion, and they enjoyed a wonderful meal together. Zach, who was clearly treating the outing like a date, played the part of the perfect gentleman under his father's watchful gaze. By the time they arrived home, after dropping off the kids' friends, it was nearly ten PM and the children needed little encouragement to find their beds.

Mike found Leia standing in the hallway outside his room after closing the door to Alexis's room. As he approached her, he waited for her to enter, but she remained still. He gave her a questioning look as he opened the door and she failed to move aside.

"I've been meaning to ask you," she whispered. "Why do you sleep in here?"

He shrugged and said, "This has been my room for basically as long as I can remember. Why?"

"Because this room is the smallest one in the house, including mine."

"But there's only a twin bed in your room.

"I would share any bed with you, Mike. My question is, why don't you sleep in the master?"

"That's..." he began, but he fell silent when he realized what he had been about to say.

"Connie's room," Leia concluded.

"Indeed," Mike agreed with a weary nod. "I moved into the guest room the first time I was reasonably certain she was cheating on me. She never uttered a word of complaint or inquiry. She in fact made it pretty damned clear that she was heartily in favor of me ceding the space to her exclusive use."

"So is it still untouched since she left?"

"Not as such. She stopped by a few months after she initially left to get all her stuff. I wasn't actually here when it happened, but I noticed the after effects."

"What'd she do, take a massive poop and not light a candle?"

"Not as such, but it was indeed my sense of smell which told me something was off. We'd been at my folks for the holidays and I came home early to do a freelance gig to make some extra dough. When I entered, the house reeked of sex. Near as I can tell, she stopped by to pack up her belongings and decided to have a bit of fun with whoever she was with while she was here."

"So it's still the same..."

"I threw away everything but the furniture... including the mattress. I'm not entirely sure why I never went back to sleeping in there, but it certainly wasn't in hopes that she'd return. If anything it was because I thought of it as hers, and I didn't want any part of it."

"I was just curious, Mike. I wasn't trying to pressure you into sleeping in there."

"I know, but I think that you make an excellent point nonetheless. This isn't her house anymore, it's ours."

"This is your house, Mike."

"For the longest time I thought of this as our house, Connie's and mine. Then I started thinking of it as hers, because she ruled it with absolut dominion. That's when I began to hate it here, because I hated myself for what I'd allowed myself to become. But then I received absolution in the form of her reaching the conclusion that we were what was wrong with her life, and she left us. But there wasn't a single day, from the moment she told me she was never coming back until the fateful day when our paths crossed, when I felt like that cloud had been lifted from this place. That's one of the reasons I found every chance I could to go tear-assing around in the mountains; because it meant I wasn't here. But you changed all that, Princess. You made this feel like a place where I could be happy. Because we're together... because where you are, there lies my heart."

"Oh, Mike," she gushed as she melted into his offered embrace.

"Come on," he whispered. "Let me give you a tour of our room."

Twenty-Seven

Mike led Leia into the master bedroom and gave her the nickel tour, which included the functional, but not unattractive, furniture and a pair of walk-in closets. But their true destination was the en suite, as both were anxious to shower off after a day in the sun and chlorinated water. Leia followed Mike into the expansive bathroom, which featured a large walk-in shower with multiple shower heads and a huge whirlpool tub. They headed for the former, pausing only briefly to remove their clothing. Mike started the water before wrapping his arms around her. They kissed deeply as the water began cascading down their bodies, allowing their hands to roam the other's body as the warm water soothed the aches of the day.

Without breaking their kiss, Mike reached out blindly to grab some body wash. He slowly lathered it up in his hands before he began to wash Leia's back. She moaned into his mouth as his hands wandered down her toned back to find her delicious derriere. He liberally soaped her cheeks before delving deeper to clean the inside of her cheeks and her anus.

The sensations this created in her caused Leia to moan loudly into their kiss. She retrieved the soap and began forming suds of her own before beginning to tenderly wash his chest and stomach. He took the opportunity to begin washing her front as well, starting with her shoulder blades before working his way down to her bountiful breasts. She arched her back and thrust them towards him, encouraging him as he spread the suds over each delicious orb. As he tenderly cleaned each nipple, he groaned at the sight of them hardening.

Leia's hands roamed down his body to grasp his rigid erection as their lips met once more. She liberally soaped all along his shaft, slowly jerking his rock-hard cock in the process. The pleasure she was giving him was so intense that his hips began to involuntarily thrust into her hands. For his part, he moved his hands further down her body to clean her stomach before reaching the agonizingly alluring smoothness of her pubic area. She made more suds and began to teasingly wash his scrotum and perineum. He groaned loudly into her mouth, thrusting his tongue against hers as they neared mutual orgasm without so much as a hint of penetration.

He soaped his hand a final time and used his palm to delicately wash her sex before slowly thrusting a finger into her tight opening and greedily reaching up within her for her G-spot. In response she split her hands, moving one back up to continue jerking his cock while the other one drifted further back and started caressing his anus. He felt as if every hair on his body stood on end in unison while every nerve ending was turned up to eleven. He was passing the point of no return, but desperately wanted to bring Leia along for the ride. He took his free hand and firmly rubbed her clit as he kissed her deeply. He felt her body tense up just as his orgasm arrived and he began shooting jets of cum all over her stomach. The sensation of his attention on her G-spot and clit, combined with the feeling of his cum splashing across her stomach, triggered her orgasm and she joined him in shuddering bliss. They leaned on each other for support as wave-after-wave of pleasure crashed over them.

When their pleasure receded, and they were both able to stand on their own, Mike wrapped his arms around Leia and kissed her deeply. Their lips parted and he pressed his forehead to hers lovingly. He whispered, "That was amazing."

"For me as well," she murmured. "But... I have to tell you something."

"What's that?"

She smiled and said, "I think we need another shower."

They quickly rinsed off before heading together to the bedroom. They laid together on the bed, still recovering from their mutual orgasm. She rested her head on his chest as she absentmindedly traced her nails in circles along his chest and stomach, going lower each time.

She said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he replied simply.

"Do you want to have anal sex?"

"Are you asking if I'm willing? Or is this in response to the way I washed you?"

"I guess more the latter than the former. I've never done it before, but I wanted you to know I'm open to it. I can't fully explain it, but I know that what we have is special. I trust you Mike, more than I've ever trusted anyone who wasn't legally obliged to care for me. As such, I won't ever refuse you, sexually or otherwise. My body is yours, as I hope yours is mine. There's nothing you could ask that I wouldn't be happy to do. Not because I forgo my free will, but because I know that you would never wish me to do something for any reason other than our mutual happiness."

He kissed her and said, "Obviously my body is yours just as truly." She hugged him affectionately as he continued, "But, I didn't clean you like that to somehow coerce you into anal sex. I did it because I hoped it would make you feel good. In hindsight, I'm a little surprised I was so daring. But in the moment, it just felt right, so I went with it. Did you enjoy it?"

"Very much. How did you feel about me reciprocating?"

"It felt amazing. I would say I'd never cum so hard, or so much, were it not for what happened on the boat. Each orgasm you've given me instantly goes to the top of the timing tower for the biggest and most powerful one I've ever had. If we keep this up, I'll either have a heart attack or achieve nirvana, or both."

She snickered, "I could never hurt you. You'll just have to go the nirvana route."

By this time, the lazy circles she was making with her hand had reached his cock and he was slowly hardening under her gaze. He reached down to fondle one of her breasts to show his appreciation.

"I'm not on the pill, babe. But I wish I was. I want to feel you cum deep inside me."

He kissed her and said, "That would feel amazing, but I'll never pressure you on that front. I know our amazing night on the boat was unplanned and we went without protection, but we've been more careful since. I'll never complain about using a condom with you, honey."

"I know," she murmured. "But I hate it, and I know you do too. As we say in consulting, I'm efforting a solution on that front as we speak."

"Should we wait until then before we make love again?"

She rotated her hips until she was straddling him and said, "Are you nuts? Just let me know when you get close."

She sank down on his cock, which was now standing fully at attention, until he felt himself bottom out and her clit push against his pubic bone.

"Oh God, yes!" she moaned as she started to slowly ride him. "It's so deep, so perfect. Your cock was made for me, babe."

Her sermon in praise of his manhood continued. He could feel her walls rippling along his length. Reaching up to fondle her tits, he lovingly pinched and squeezed her tender nipples. She slowed her pace, but lengthened her movements such that she lifted up until he almost came free from her before slamming herself down again. The sensations along his cock was matched only by the ecstasy on her face and the majestic motion of her breasts. She slammed down one last time and then clenched around him as she found her release. The rippling of her inner walls threatened to trigger his own pleasure but he managed, with considerable force of will, to hold back as he knew Leia had something else in store for him.

Her shuddering subsided and she collapsed into his arms. He kissed her deeply as she embraced him with her full body and mind.

She whispered, "I want to, Mike"

"Want to what?"

"Have anal sex. I need to feel you deep inside me, filling me with your cum. I need that, now, tonight. And this is the only way. I want to give this to you, Mike. You and no other. I want us to share this. Please."

He kissed her again and said, "I'd be honored. We'll go slow. Do you want to be on top so you can control the pace?"

She nodded and sat back up with his cock still deep inside her, having remained hard through her orgasm. Her pleading for him to cum inside her made him, if anything, even harder. She lifted herself off him so he could retrieve some flavored lube. When he laid back down on the bed, she started to position herself over his hardness.

"Wait," he chastised gently. "You have to be properly prepared first. Come here."

He motioned for her to slide up his body and sit on his face. He gently licked along her slit, starting at her opening and going further in both directions with each stroke. Soon, he was traveling all the way from her anus to her clit. She shifted so her lower body was held up by her feet rather than her knees. This served to rotate her along his tongue and allowed him to focus on her ass. He took the lube and generously coated the area around her opening before licking all around her puckered star as she moaned softly. He felt her weight shift slightly as she picked up one hand and used it to slowly stroke his cock. As he felt her touch him, he thrust his tongue inside her forbidden depths. The sensation caused Leia to lose her balance, causing her to fall onto his chest. They laughed together before he leaned forward and continued tonguing her asshole for a few more moments.

When she rolled off of him, he applied more lube to his throbbing member and reverently watched as she repositioned herself above his cock. He held himself against her opening and waited, giving her full control of how slowly she went. She lowered herself slightly and the head of his cock disappeared inside her impossible tightness.

"Oh my God," she gasped. "You're so big!"

He reached up and began to rub her clit gently, prompting her to slowly lower herself onto his shaft in small up and down motions. By the time she had taken all of his length, he also had two fingers in her pussy and he was rubbing her G-spot and her clit simultaneously. She lifted her hips up slightly, holding herself above him in such a way that her devastating alluringness nearly brought him to completion.

She smiled at his awed expression and said, "Do it Mike. Fuck me with your perfect cock. Fill me up. I want to feel you explode inside me."

Mike thrust into her like a man possessed, holding beneath her ass to help her stay in place. She reached down and shoved three fingers in her pussy, fucking herself furiously and moaning in pleasure. He could feel her walls squeezing him, begging for him to fill her. The sensations overwhelmed him, and he could only manage to hoarsely gasp her name before he exploded deep inside her.

"Oh, fuck! It's so hot. Give it to me, babe! Give me all of it."

She sank down onto him once more as the final few spurts shot forth from his cock. He was in heaven. He had never known such complete affection, such perfect passion. He knew in that instant that he would walk through fire for this woman, that he would do anything to make her happy. Fortunately, her next request had a much lower level of difficulty.

She looked lasciviously to where they were joined and murmured coquettishly, "I think we need another shower."

Twenty-Eight

"This is it," Leia said, waving theatrically at the living room of her very nice, but objectively quite small, apartment. "We should probably breathe in shifts, just to ensure no one succumbs to oxygen deprivation."

"It's not that small," Mike retorted playfully. "It's nice."

"Don't patronize me. Your house is magnificent. This... is where someone who has no friends, and who is objectively under-compensated, lives."

"You have friends."

"Sure... you. But that's it." she murmured somberly.

"We're far more than friends, honey," he whispered as he grazed his lips across her knuckles. "But I'd like to think we're also that."

"Me too," she murmured quietly.

He pulled her close, sighing as their lips met. She molded into him like their bodies were made to be together. The languid dance of their tongues stood in stark contrast to the passion burning within them. They parted the kiss breathlessly, Mike's forehead dropping against Leia's as he gazed into her eyes with a feeling he dared not voice.

"Has your apartment been properly christened?" he whispered, giving her spectacular ass a squeeze to help drive home his point.

"Depends on your definition," she replied throatily. "I've had sex in the bedroom, but nowhere else." She took a breath before kissing him briefly. She looked into his eyes longingly and added, "However, I've never made love here."

"Well... that is something we shall have to remedy."

She pulled away from him with desperation in her eyes and said, "What's your pleasure?"

"You," he replied sincerely. "Always you."

"I meant, which room. But I like your answer better. A lot better."

She reached out to take his hand and tugged him in the direction of her bedroom. As she crossed through the doorway, however, she came to an abrupt halt and rasped, "You've got exactly ten seconds to get the fuck out of here before I break my foot off in your ass."

"What?" Mike stammered.

"Not you, babe," Leia added quickly without meeting his eyes. "I was talking to this ingrown cunt-hair lurking in my bedroom."

Mike peered around her to spot another person seated at the desk in Leia's bedroom. As the figure stood, he was shocked to recognize Vicky beneath the dark grey hood. She gaped at him as recognition dawned on her face.

"Mike?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Right question, wrong person," Leia snapped. "What are you doing in my apartment?"

Vicky took a deep breath before saying, "I was looking for you."

"The hell you were. You were rifling through my desk. Maybe next time you commit breaking and entering, leave the earbuds at home."

"I was looking for you. I wanted to make amends."

"What is this? Some kind of therapeutic assignment?"

"No, I just wanted to make things right."

"I told you the last time I saw you, Victoria, what I'd do if I ever saw you again."

"That was hyperbole," Vicky deflected.

Leia continued, "I told you I'd slap you so hard you'd lose control of your bodily functions."

Leia cocked her arm back, causing Vicky to leap to the far side of the bed with a look of terror on her face.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I meant what I said. I was trying to find you so I could apologize."

"How'd you find my apartment?"

"I... um..."

"You went back to Hector's hide-out, didn't you?"

"Hector?" Mike interjected.

"You didn't think his name was actually Tripod, did you?" Leia said over her shoulder. She turned back to Vicky and said, "That's where you went when Mike kicked you out. Isn't it?"

"So what if I did? He wasn't using it, and I needed a place to crash."

"You genuinely have zero remorse. Dozens of women abducted, duped into being sexual playthings and, as often as not, kept stoned out of their gourds until they were little more than mindless bimbos. And you couldn't wait to get back there. Tell me, you worthless quim, have you started abducting again?"

"No!" Vicky wailed. "I'm just using his house as a place to stay. Look, if you don't want to hear what I have to say, fine." She turned to Mike and said, "I take it you're with her now?"

"That's none of your concern," Mike snapped, more annoyed than worried.

Before Vicky could reply, Leia said, "Hey Mike? Did you know that in the laws of this state, if someone is on your property without your permission and refuses to leave, that you're legally permitted to kill them?"

"Fine!" Vicky exclaimed. "I get it. I'm going." She stalked toward the entry, grumbling, "Fucking crazy bitch."

As the door slammed behind Vicky, Leia turned to Mike and said, "Not a word." She then pulled out her phone and began furiously typing away. Moments later, Mike's phone buzzed in his pocket. He was content to ignore it, but Leia gestured toward his pocket urgently. He extracted the device to find he had received a text from her.

don't say anything. she might have bugged the place

help me look for anything which might be a surveillance device

but no talking until we're back in the car

Mike knew he had as much chance of finding a cleverly designed and hidden surveillance device as he did of sprouting wings and taking flight. But he reasoned that Leia's thinking was that Vicky was just as unskilled, so he resolved to conduct a thorough search for anything obvious and let her concentrate on a more detailed search of the area where she had found Vicky snooping.

Twenty minutes later, they rendezvoused in Leia's entry way, neither having found anything suspicious. Leia gestured toward the parking lot and followed Mike toward where the S. U. V. had been squeezed into the parking deck. Once they were behind closed doors, he let out a long breath.

She said, "I assume you found nothing."

"I'm hardly the counter-intelligence expert here. But I didn't find anything glaringly out of place. Not that I had a basis of comparison."

"Don't sweat it. I am an intel expert, and I didn't find anything either. Doesn't mean she didn't plant anything though. Fucking asshole. Made us waste a trip."

"How so?"

"We can't take anything out of there until it's much more thoroughly checked than I have the ability to do without equipment which isn't really available commercially. God-damnit! I really wanted some of my stuff."

"Anything you desire, you need only name it."

She reached out to take his hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "I appreciate that, babe. And I'm sure I'll take you up on that request, within reason. But there's some stuff in there which money can't buy. Like some pictures and a few hard drives with my old files."

"We'll get it all back. Just as soon as we figure out what she was up to."

"Isn't it obvious? She's looking for the Artifact. That's why the only places which were disturbed were large enough to hold it. And, if she resorted to digging around in my place for it, I can't imagine she hasn't at least contemplated doing the same to your house. In truth, I'm not certain there's anything she wouldn't do to get it."

"I assume you noticed that comment about my ex?"

"Indeed," Leia muttered with a nod. "We shouldn't make the mistake of assuming she's full of shit. What do you think Connie would do if Vicky contacted her?"

"Likely tell her to fuck off," Mike grunted. "Unless..."

He fell silent as he spotted Vicky on the opposite side of the parking deck. In truth, it would have been difficult to miss her as she was strutting purposefully in their direction. When she reached the vehicle, she stopped just short of an arm's length from Mike and stared at him expectantly.

He looked to Leia, who shrugged and said, "She's no longer technically trespassing, so I'm not allowed to kill her out of hand. Maybe see what she wants. Just know that if she touches you, I'll expect you to dunk yourself in a vat of sanitizer before we make love again."

"Well, that goes without saying," Mike replied playfully as he gave her a brief but meaningful kiss before exiting the vehicle.

Standing before Vicky, he employed the same tactic which had served him well during the waning years of his marriage by giving her his attention, but offering nothing in word or gesture.

At length, Vicky said, "It's good to see you again, Mike."

"Bullshit," he huffed. "I was never anything to you but a mark to be exploited."

"That's not true!" she yelped. "I meant every word I said to you."

"What were you looking for in Leia's desk? Or her apartment, for that matter."

"I assume you're with her now?"

"Wrong order," Mike replied severely. "Explain yourself first, then maybe you can get some answers."

Vicky continued as though he had not spoken. "I mean... you must be with her. The only thing I can't figure out is why."

"As I said, that's none of your concern."

"And how is it that you're driving a brand-new S. U. V. which costs nearly a hundred grand? Her bank-book says she doesn't have even a quarter of that in savings, and we already know you're..."

Vicky fell silent abruptly, prompting Mike to continue, "Do go on. What, pray tell, happened to all my money after I committed the profoundly foolish sin of handing you my unlocked phone?"

"You have no proof."

"The hell I don't! All I was missing was your whereabouts. Now that you've presented yourself before me, I just need to call the cops."

"You found it," Vicky hissed with eager intensity. "You found the Talisman."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you dare fukcing lie to me!" she snarled. "You were fat, penniless, and completely alone two weeks ago. Now? You're rolling around in a luxury S. U. V. with Hector's precious unicorn, one who he wasted the blood of seven dumb bitches making utterly perfect (even though he refused to ever do anything further for me). You must have found it! There's no other explanation."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mike stammered.

"Bullshit! Give it to me, Mike! It's mine!"

"No. Fucking. Way."

"Why not," she whined. "You've got it made, thanks to me. You never would have found the Talisman if it weren't for me!"

Mike kept his lips sealed and merely glared at her in response.

"Think about this logically, Mike. You're shacked up with someone who is arguably the most beautiful woman in history; you're obviously rich; what more could you possibly need with it?"

Mike crossed his arms demonstratively, but continued to stand mute.

"What if I tell your ex about the Talisman?"

"Careful," Mike warned menacingly.

Vicky sensed an opening and gave him an evil grin, "What are you going to do? Another bullshit threat?"

"I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, Vicky. We didn't see eye to eye, but I never felt you were an evil person. Perhaps a bit self-absorbed and vain, but not evil. But if you threaten the happiness of my family, you'll find out just how willing I am to make good on my threats."

"But you could use the..."

"Enough!" Mike shouted. He heard the car door open behind him but kept his attention on Vicky.

The color fled from Vicky's face, and she reached out to grip his arms fervently, as though she was lost at sea, and he was the only flotation device.

"Please, Mike! Just give it to me and I swear you'll never hear from me again. Don't you see? It's the key!"

"I see that you're a fundamentally broken person, and that I'm glad I got you away from my family before you did any lasting damage."

Vicky fumbled behind her back for a moment before pulling out a wicked looking knife. "Give it to me," she seethed. "It's mine!"

Mike felt a burst of anxiety as he knew Leia had exited the SUV, but he was not sure if she was in range of Vicky's weapon. He also knew he did not dare take his eyes off the blade. The manic look in Vicky's eyes left little doubt how far she was prepared to go. He reached a hand behind him blindly, hoping to corral Leia behind him, but he felt only air.

Just as he was about to risk looking for her, a blur flitted into his peripheral vision. The next thing he knew, Vicky was lying unconscious at his feet and Leia was standing over her shaking her fist.

"Dumb fucking redneck," Leia grunted. "I saw that stupid knife in her pocket earlier, but I didn't think she'd be dumb enough to pull it on you. What'd she want, anyway?"

"Initially, I think she was gearing up to make another play at attempting to seduce me. But then she noticed the new car, and convinced herself that we have the Artifact."

"Fuck," Leia grunted. "Why couldn't she have pulled the knife on us inside, then I could have slit her fucking throat and the cops would have given me a high five. Here?"

"We could always call the cops anyway," Mike offered. "After all, she did steal a shitload of money from me. It won't necessarily solve the problem she presents, but her spending a few years in jail can't be a bad thing for us. Right?"

"I guess," Leia huffed. "Although I still maintain that she's a splendid candidate for bringing back the guillotine."

Twenty-Nine

Mike awoke to a sighing, "Mmmm..." from his partner, which he decided on the spot was the best possible way to awaken.

Leia was spooned against his front, her head resting upon his starboard bicep while his port arm was wrapped around her and cradling her breast lovingly. He quickly surmised that the noise which had awoken him had slipped from her lips absent her consciousness. He desperately desired to let his hands wander over her body, and he knew she would welcome such an awakening. But as much as he hungered for intimacy with her, his desire for her to enjoy the bliss of a full night's rest eclipsed all else. He thus resolved to simply enjoy the quiet intimacy of sharing a bed with the woman who had so quickly become such an indispensable part of his life.

As he cherished the feeling of her naked body against his, he felt something click within him. More than just his body was coming awake as he felt his consciousness jolt with expanded understanding, like a supersaturated solution turning instantaneously from liquid to solid. Leia was more than a startlingly attractive woman; more than an almost impossibly wonderful person; more than someone with whom he had such perfect sexual chemistry that he constantly found himself questioning his own reality; more than just the perfect girlfriend. She was a person who was as committed to his happiness as he was to hers. More than that, she made him happier than he could ever remember, and she did it seemingly without effort.

He knew at that moment that he loved her. He knew it as surely as he knew he loved his children. Loved her in a way that was normally reserved for epic tales penned by the greatest of dreamers. What's more, he knew that Leia not only accepted that he must always prioritize the happiness and safety of his children, but she would also not love him if he felt differently. He knew she had never been in love before, if indeed she did love him as he suspected, so he would be cautious with professing his feelings. But he knew that, from this day until the ending of the world, he would love this woman with all that he was.

While Mike was still reeling from his profound epiphany, Alexis wandered in and inquired as to how soon breakfast would be ready. He whispered to her that he would be down shortly and, after waiting for her to exit, crawled from the bed and got dressed without waking his companion.

During the course of an impromptu training session on the preparation of waffles, Zach thundered down the stairs and announced to Mike and Alexis that he had been invited over to his girlfriend's house for the day. Before he could agree to Zach's request, Mike saw a text from the parents of the friend of his daughter who had joined them at the waterpark inviting his daughter to spend the day with them. After a moments' consideration, Mike realized that both invitations were far from a coincidence. Rather, they were (at least in part) a way of thanking him for including their children on the waterpark excursion. Mike agreed to both proposals and soon each of the children had been picked up.

Leia had been busy on her laptop and talking on the phone while he had been working out the details for the children. As they left, she entered the kitchen and said she had to run a quick errand. She left a few minutes later leaving him alone in the suddenly silent house.

What seemed to be a lifetime during which he was never-not-busy left Mike quite unprepared to face the prospect of having nothing to do. His bank accounts had, just the prior day, reached the point where he would still have in excess of one million-dollars even after he withdrew nearly a three-quarters of a million to pay off his debts... including the new cars and his mortgage. This newfound wealth had also allowed him to contract out for tasks he had previously been forced to handle himself, such as house cleaning and yard maintenance. He wandered through the house for a while, looking for things which needed doing, but eventually just settled into his easy chair and cracked open a book.

Leia returned home a few hours later and greeted him with a kiss before murmuring, "When will the children be home?"

"Not until late tonight. What should we do today?"

"Can we go for a drive?"

"Sure. How about we head up to the mountains and go for a hike? I know a beautiful waterfall spot."

As they headed towards the mountains, Mike was delighted to see that the weather was absolutely beautiful. The sky was nearly cloudless, but several days of rain the prior week kept the late summer temperatures down to a comfortable level. As they left behind the traffic of the suburbs and merged onto the dual carriageway, he nudged their speed up to a reasonably sedate ten percent above the speed limit. They cruised comfortably for about an hour before they exited onto a two-lane state highway.

Leia had spent the entirety of the journey holding his hand comfortingly, and whimpered in protest when he moved his right hand to the wheel to enable him to operate the paddle-shifters as they transitioned from the high-speed highway to the twisting back roads.

She looked at him and said, "Can we open the windows and enjoy the wind?"

"Of course, beautiful."

Their journey continued through the long sweeping turns and endless valleys of the deepening foothills as they approached the taller mountains clearly visible in the distance. Leia released his hand and began to squirm around a bit. He glanced over to find her removing her top and bra. She grinned at him wickedly as she stuck her hand out the window. The design of the car was such that someone would have to be right next to them, and in a taller vehicle, to be graced with the majesty of her incomparable breasts. He smiled approvingly and reached over to tickle her nipple. She reacted by resting her hand in his lap and gently massaging his cock through his shorts. Leia's short strawberry blond hair was flipping in the breeze, beautifully framing her perfect face.

They continued like that for another half hour before they reached one of his favorite places: a ribbon of automotive perfection which wound along the bottom of a gorge alongside the river which had created it. The combination of difficult hairpins and sweeping turns created the sensation of driving on a racetrack with an endless lap. For his money, it was the greatest driving road... in the world (or, perhaps more charitably, within driving distance from his house).

His favorite section of the road came right before the end. It featured a long straight before heading steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left series of corners with a blind summit. It was a nearly perfect replica of Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. He executed the series of corners perfectly, trusting his magnificent car to hold the corners as he held his foot down. Leia screamed in delight as they crested the hill at over at five times the posted speed limit.

As they approached the parking area for the trail leading to the waterfall, they were forced to slow significantly as the tarmac ran out. He cringed for his beloved grand tourer as they rumbled over the gravel road, but they soon reached the road's end. He was very surprised to discover the parking area deserted as he had assumed that the trail would be crowded considering the beautiful weather.

Leia, who was still enticingly topless, turned to him and said, "Are there any other parking areas for this trail?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

She leaned over and kissed him deeply before opening her door and hopping out. She then removed her tiny, skin-tight shorts and white thong. She retrieved her bra and top before handing him all her clothes and asking him to place them in the backpack he had brought along to carry some trail necessities like water, snacks and a first aid kit.

Leia smiled at him and said, "Your turn."

This was something he would never have contemplated before beginning the relationship with Leia. But her boundless enthusiasm and affection infused him with a sense of confidence and adventurousness far beyond what he had gained through his transformation.

He removed his shirt and placed it in his backpack along with all her clothing.

She said, "Now the rest. Let's see that beautiful cock."

He smiled and said, "You're really quite mad. You know that, don't you?"

"You know you love it," she teased playfully.

He removed the rest of his clothing save his socks, shoes, and sunglasses. He pulled Leia into an embrace and kissed her deeply, perhaps too deeply as the feel of her naked body against his own caused his cock to react to her nearness.

She caressed his manhood briefly before saying, "Now, isn't that better?"

They liberally applied sunscreen before setting off. A sign next to the trailhead indicated that they had a hike of roughly an hour ahead. The trail followed the river that had carved the gorge over the millennia. As they walked along the trail, he had difficulty focusing on the lush beauty of nature surrounding them as it was so much easier to focus his attention on his spectacular companion. She was having a fantastic time and acted as though hiking through the mountains naked was the most natural thing in the world.

At one point they came to an overlook which gave them an unobstructed view over hundreds of thousands of hectares of mostly virgin forest. Leia climbed onto a rock outcropping and asked him to take her picture. The sight of her stunningly perfect body with the natural splendor as a backdrop caused his breath to catch in his throat. He felt fortunate for his speechlessness, as he most certainly would have proclaimed his love for her were he able to speak. Before he professed his love, however, she insisted that he shuck his back and use it to prop up the phone so as to capture a picture of them together. It was a testament both to her indefatigable spirit and her boundless affection that he did not hesitate for a second before granting her wish.

It took them about an hour to reach the waterfall at the end of the trail. A gorgeous sight featuring a waterfall that was as tall as an Olympic high-dive platform, with a series of drops from one pool to the next terminating in a tiny lake which was deep enough for swimming. They quickly removed what little remained of their attire and waded into the freezing water. The initial shock of the chill of the mountain stream soon wore off thanks to the blazing sun overhead and they were able to swim comfortably.

He swam across the pool towards the waterfall and then beckoned Leia to join him. She swam towards him and, when she was close enough, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace. They swam together towards the waterfall, fighting against the current. As they arrived, the noise was thunderous as the water crashed into the pool. He moved under the waterfall. Standing on the rock ledge which was knee-deep beneath the surface. Leia looked up at him lovingly, drinking in the sight of his naked body. He allowed himself to fall into the pool, giving her a chance to stand beneath the water.

The sight of Leia's perfect body in the picturesque setting was one he was sure he would never forget. The way the water streamed down her body as she rose from the pool was mesmerizing. Water flowed through her hair and over her face before being forced between her spectacular breasts where it formed a curtain of water which teasingly hid her smooth pussy. He reached out his hand, which she took with a smile, allowing him to pull her into his arms. He kissed her deeply as they sank into the cold mountain water.

Leia broke the kiss breathlessly and said, "Make love to me."

He spied an outcropping of rock nearby which was just below the water's surface. Leia enthusiastically reached for his cock beneath the water as he moved them in that direction. He sat on the shelf before pulling her into his lap. A small offshoot of the main falls ran down his back as Leia mounted his eagerly waiting hardness. She slowly impaled herself on his throbbing cock as he held her hips firmly, and they moaned in unison at the amazing juxtaposition between the chilled mountain stream and the searing heat of their union.

Leia began to slowly bounce on his lap, taking him ever deeper until he bottomed out. She threw her head back in ecstasy, thrusting her ample bosom towards his face. Her nipples stood at attention, surrounded by her pebbled areola. He pulled her closer so he could take a nipple into his mouth, lightly biting it as he flicked his tongue across its tip.

In response, Leia increased her pace. She looked back down into his eyes with so much love and affection that he knew he could not possibly go for another moment without opening his heart to her.

"Leia," he gasped.

"I'm here, babe."

"I know you are, honey. Just as I will be here for you. Always."

"Mike?" she gasped; her eyes filled with hope.

"I love you, Leia. More than I've ever loved another woman. I know we've only been together a few..."

She shushed him with a kiss. Their lips barely touched, but the connection he felt to her in that moment was profound. He felt her love wash over him, surrounding him with a warmth that belied the freezing water coursing over his back.

She pulled back and smiled at him shyly before sighing, "I love you too, babe. With all that I am. You and your amazing children."

Their lips met again, and the kiss quickly deepened. In that moment, he knew she would never leave him, never let their relationship fester as she shut out the world. This was the woman he had been waiting his whole life for, and the woman with whom he would spend the rest of his life.

The oneness they achieved in that moment was the harbinger for their impending climax. Their tongues sensually intertwined, and her inner walls rippled along his hardness in an eager plea for their mutual release. Their embrace tightened in anticipation as he felt her sex grip him eagerly.

Leia broke the kiss and smiled at him lovingly. She said, "Cum inside me, my love."

Without a second thought, he immediately began to erupt deep within her waiting womb. Surge after surge of his seed erupted into the depths of her velvety embrace. Then he felt her inner walls clench him even tighter as she joined him in release.

"Yes!" she exclaimed to the heavens.

His orgasm was so powerful that he nearly lost consciousness. His body spasmed countless times as he filled her womb. He felt their combined fluids flowing from her body only to be washed away by the chilled water. They held each other as they cherished their mutual aftershocks, kissing gently across each other's neck, face, and lips.

Their profession of love was accidentally, and beautifully, simultaneous and they smiled at each other in celebration. They held each other in exquisite stillness for many minutes before the chill of the water led them to seek the comfort of shore.

As they climbed out of the water, hand in hand, she said, "That felt so magnificent, babe. Absolutely perfect. Feeling you filling me was everything I had hoped for."

He smiled and said, "Same here, honey. I feel like we're one person now. Speaking of persons, do you think we just made one?"

She smiled and said, "What would you say if I said 'maybe'?"

He pulled her into his arms to kiss her again before saying, "That depends on your opinion on the matter, my love. I know you'll make a wonderful mother, and you make me feel like a young man again."

When they broke the kiss she said, "Alas, I don't think you got one past the goalie this time. That appointment I went to this morning? It was to see my lady doctor and get an IUD implanted." His expression fell, and she hastened to continue, "But I love that you love the thought of us having a baby. One day, my love, I will give you more children. Until then, I can't wait until you fill me again." She looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Don't get me wrong, I still want you to cum everywhere else too. In my mouth, all over my tits, all over my face, all over my ass, in my ass. It's all the best. I want it everywhere, always and forever."

"I love you so God damned much, Princess."

He led her back to the edge of the pool, their hands clasped firmly together. When they reached the backpack, they found a small piece of paper resting atop it. It read, 'You two are beautiful together. We wish you a long life of happiness. But next time, please get a room.'

A guffaw escaped Leia's lips as she read the words. They had been so focused on each other that they had been unaware of an apparent audience. After a moment of shared laughter, they quickly got dressed again and began the hike back to the car.

Thirty

Over the course of the following week, Mike's life was as happy as any time he could remember. His relationship with Leia grew daily, as did her relationship with his family. In the span of mere weeks, she had gone from an imperiled stranger, to a trusted friend, to the lover he had not dreamed could exist, to his partner, to a fully accepted member of their family. Talk of their future was no longer awkward or angst-ridden, it was simply something they discussed both happily and frequently.

All that came to a screeching halt, however, on the last Wednesday in August.

It was an unusually busy day at work for Mike, in part because he had shared the day before his desire to take a step back from his duties in the near future. He had thus found himself swamped in meetings to discuss both when and how his responsibilities should be distributed. Leia, still having not found an opportunity which piqued her interest, volunteered to pick up Alexis after school. Mike was so busy with meetings that he lost track of time, and he was jolted back to his surroundings when his phone rang fifty minutes after Leia's departure.

Glancing at the screen, he saw Leia's beautiful face and distractedly tapped ANSWER. "Hey beautiful. What's up?"

"Something's wrong, Mike. She's not here, and they won't tell me what's going on."

He felt as though a frigid spike had been driven into the base of his skull. "What do you mean she's not there?"

"Just that," she sobbed. "And apparently there's some list that I'm not on, so they won't tell me anything."

"Don't go anywhere. I'll be right there. And keep your eyes open."

He got to the school in record time and burst into the office like a man possessed. Leia was standing at the desk looking very close to tears.

Mike looked at the assistant principal and demanded, "Where is Alexis?"

"Her mother signed her out just before lunch," he reported with palpable fear in his eyes. "Is there a problem?"

"Fuck!" Mike exclaimed

The school official said, "Sir... I'll have to ask you..."

Mike tried to restrain himself as he seethed, "I need to see the video."

"I'm not authorized to share that..." the administrator began, but Mike cut him off to say, "I'm ninety-nine percent certain her mother is, at this very moment, in Southern California. And, if that's the case, then you're an accessory to kidnapping. Can you please just show me the God damn video while we still have a chance to save her?"

"Follow me," the assistant principal replied in a clipped voice.

As they followed him, Mike turned to Leia and said, "I'm going to call the high school while he's queueing up the video."

"You suspect Vicky?" Leia whispered worriedly.

"Who else could it possibly be?" Mike muttered. "Connie never got a new phone after we split, so I can still see where her phone is in the family tracking app. Unless she handed it over to someone else in a dastardly plot to kidnap the children of whom she technically has split custody, I'm pretty sure that she, as of about five minutes ago, just entered the house of her sugar daddy in the Hollywood Hills."

The moment the administrator started the video, Mike (who was on hold with the high school) said, "I need you to call the police and report a kidnapping."

All of the color drained from the face of the assistant principal, and he said, "Is that not your wife?"

"Her name is Victoria Miller," Leia answered. "She stole several hundred thousand dollars from Mr. Carter a few weeks ago. A crime she was arrested for last week downtown. You should really call the police right now! They'll arrive faster if the call comes from the school."

This spurred the administrator to action. He picked up the phone and dialed the police. As he did this, Mike finally got through to someone at the high school, and they confirmed his worst fears. A woman claiming to be Connie had signed his son out of school an hour before. He glanced over at Leia, who was speaking to the principal who had arrived moments before at a dead run. As he watched, Leia took over the principal's computer and was able to bring up a scan the front-desk worker had made of Vicky's identification.

"It's a good forgery," Leia muttered. "I'll give her that."

The image on the screen did indeed contain Vicky's picture along with Connie's name. She had also been clever enough to change other details (such as birth date, weight, and height) to match her appearance.

The police arrived at the school in short order. They took his statement and then began asking questions; starting with where they could expect to find Vicky..

Leia delivered the bad news. "She's almost certainly abandoned Hector's chalet in the mountains. You can try talking to the cops downtown, who likely have details like her social and family members, but if she's graduating to kidnapping minors, you can assume she's got a new place to lay low that no one knows anything about."

The detectives promised to be in touch soon and left him standing in the school's front office with his arm wrapped around Leia, who was softly sobbing. After telling the school they needed to leave Leia's S. U. V. behind, Mike led her numbly out into the parking lot. On the outside he was maintaining a stoic visage, but inside he was raging. Part of his mind kept shouting, 'Get the Artifact. Use it to find her. Use it to kill her'.

He knew this was not the solution for two reasons. The first was that the Artifact seemed to have some sort of 'threefold return' built into it. Any attempts to use it to do harm to others, no matter how deserving, had catastrophic effects on the user. The second was that he knew that, despite its success in helping him game the stock market, the Artifact would not grant him clairvoyance. Thus he could not use it to find out where Vicky had taken the children. He was at a loss. He somehow had access to the most impossibly powerful Artifact in existence, and yet he was powerless to find his missing children. Tears began streaming down his face as he drove into his neighborhood.

They walked into the house and just sat numbly at the breakfast table. This had always been his worst nightmare, and to have it occur mere days after he had allowed himself to believe that he had at last found happiness made it all the worse. He tried to convince himself that Vicky was unlikely to hurt the children, that all she wanted was a carrot to exchange for the Artifact. But he did not know that she would leave them unharmed, and that uncertainty was threatening to rob him of his sanity. His worry threatened to spiral out of control until he heard Leia's voice from across the room.

"... I don't want to say any more over the phone, but I swear I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important." She paused for a moment before adding, "Yes, as soon as you can. And I promise we'll tell you everything when you arrive. Just remember, time is of utmost importance. Ok. See you soon."

"Who was that?" he rasped.

"Your mother," she replied flatly. "Before you ask, I didn't tell her what has happened. I just asked them to drive down immediately."

"Um... why?"

"In case we think of a way to use the Artifact to get them back."

"Then we'd need her blood," Mike concluded.

"I just didn't want for us to think of something, then have to wait an hour to put it into practice."

"I don't suppose you have any ideas?"

"Just one," Leia replied. "We know Vicky wants the Artifact. Ergo, she'll contact you to arrange an exchange. We must be positioned to use that call to determine her location. She's likely clever enough to use a burner phone, meaning the cops will be lucky if they can figure out what state she's in before she hangs up."

"So where does that leave us?" he asked in frustration. "We're as likely as not to get someone killed if we're reckless with The Artifact. It needs very specific, concrete, limited instructions."

"I know," she replied.

He continued as his panic started to rise. "And I don't know the first fucking thing about how cell networks function. I get that mobile calls are (at this point) basically just data, and that the providers leverage the internet to a degree. But..."

"Mike," Leia interrupted calmly. She had to speak several more times before she got through to him. "I do know a bit about how these things work. Remember, I was in information warfare and counterintelligence in the Navy. I spent tons of time in windowless rooms trying to prevent cyber-attacks... and intercepting signals so as to determine their origin."

"Great!" he gushed in relief.

Mike rushed into his office without another word, prompting Leia to follow him moment later. He had just finished inputting the code to open the safe when she entered. He handed her the Artifact as soon as she approached, and then got to work on setting up the laptop and camera.

"What are you doing?" she asked shakily.

"You understand how these things work, so you should write the script. I'll help you test it and be here for you to bounce ideas off of."

"Mike," she said slowly. "Are you sure? I mean, it's Zach and Alexis."

"There is literally no one in existence I would rather have beside me, in this moment, than you, Leia. I'd be lost without your help. Lost without you. I trust you, honey. With my life, with my childrens' lives. With everything. I'm not trying to offload the responsibility for what's happened on you, it's just..."

"I know," she replied warmly. "And of course I'll help you. Just try to keep something in mind."

"What's that?"

"This isn't your fault," Leia declared with quiet conviction. "It's hers." He frowned and appeared to be on the verge of voicing his disagreement, so she added, "Vicky kidnapped your children Mike." She brandished the Artifact. "She took them from you for this. So she could get the ultimate power she believes this represents. You need to remember that, babe. Because there may come a moment tonight when you must act decisively, and which may have a tragic outcome no matter what you do. I don't want you to hesitate in the moment of truth out of compassion for her, because she has made her position clear. She's evil, Mike. Right down to the depths of her soul. And, far more often than we'd prefer, evil proves that nothing less than total defeat will dim its lust for power."

By the time Mike's parents arrived at the house, Leia had worked out what he believed was a plan which had a high probability of success. She was still working some of the bugs out, however, so Mike took Jubal and Tessa aside to bring them up to date. It left him gutted to recount the story, as his parents' reactions mirrored the desperate anguish in his own soul.

After getting over their initial reaction, Tessa asked the most pertinent question, "Can't you use that device which made those miracle pills to find them?"

"That's why Leia called you, not just so we could be together in this terrible time, but also because we'll need your blood, Mom, once she puts the finishing touches on our final wish."

"What's she have in mind?" Jubal grumped.

"She'll use the Artifact to create a very special phone. Vicky hasn't called yet, but that's likely because she's just working out where to do the exchange. There's no doubt in either of our minds that her endgame is to get her hands on it. But, with cell phones... and especially burner phones, the traditional methods the cops used to track people just don't cut it. Leia did a ton of SigIntel in the Navy, and she understands how those traces are typically done. And, more importantly, why they don't work a large percentage of the time. I don't understand all the details, but it seems like she'll use this special phone to make it so we effectively implant a tiny virus in the phone of anyone who calls or texts me. That virus will then start pinging every cell tower it can reach every second. Those pings will make their way back to this phone, which will allow us to use that data to triangulate her position. Even if she dumps the phone right after she calls, we'll still know exactly where she was and will use that to be that much closer the next time she reaches out. Once we either figure out where she is, or figure out where she's keeping the kids, we'll call in the calvary."

"And the Artifact can do all that?" Jubal asked suspiciously.

"The Artifact is actually doing very little of it. This is almost all Leia. She's mainly using the Artifact to design the Trojan Horse which will be transmitted to Vicky's phone, and to ensure that it will work even if the call only lasts a few seconds. She's really a genius with this SigInt stuff."

"Thank goodness she's here," Tessa breathed.

"I'd be lost without her, as I've already told her about a thousand times."

"I think it's ready, bae... Mike," Leia announced from the door to the office.

"Your family now," Jubal observed as he made his way to the kitchen to collect a paring knife and the first aid kit. "That means you get to call my son whatever you want."

"Family?" Leia whimpered.

"Later, dearie," Tessa soothed. "Now, tell me again how much blood this thing needs?"

Thirty-One

After all their urgency in preparing themselves for the inevitable, it took Vicky an insultingly long time to call. It was in fact, nearly midnight by the time Mike's phone rang. But they had been far from idle during that time. Recognizing that a critical gap in their response plan was that they had limited recourse if Vicky dumped her burner the moment she ended the call, they had gone shopping for supplies. Leaving Jubal and Tessa at Mike's house to coordinate with the police, Mike and Leia had relocated to a truck stop at the northern edge of the suburbs. He had chosen it because it was at the confluence of several major highways, meaning they could very likely reach Vicky's location much sooner. It was also nearly thirty minutes closer to Vicky's last known location than his house was. The second point was certainly a risk, especially if Vicky turned out to be on the other side of the city, and he desperately hoped he would not come to regret his decision.

When his phone buzzed, announcing a call from an unknown number, Leia had just returned from fetching a fresh round of coffee.

Mike took a calming breath before tapping ACCEPT and growling, "Where are my children?"

"They are unharmed," an electronically disguised voice replied. "I'll be brief, since I've no doubt you're trying to trace this call. You know what I want. Bring it to Hector's chalet. You have three hours."

The line clicked as she disconnected. Leia immediately went to work on his new phone (which he had dubbed Mycroft) to find the phone's location as Mike plucked one of the burners they had purchased from the center console and placed a call while simultaneously dumping the brakes on his grand tourer and tearing out of the parking lot with his tires screeching.

He was already at double the speed limit, heading north on the dual-carriageway, when the detective who had given Mike his card at Alexis's school picked up.

"She just called," Mike reported without preamble. "She told me to meet her at the house I told you about in a little over three hours."

"That doesn't make any sense," the detective replied. "We already had the state patrol check it out. They said no one's been there in at least a week. And they've got two units sitting on it in case anyone comes back. My guess is that she's trying to get you close, and she'll give you a new location at the last minute."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Whatever you do, don't go up there," the detective barked. "You let us handle this..."

Mike hung up and turned to his companion, "Find anything?"

"She's at a bar a few towns over from Hector's place. G. P. S. says it's about ninety minutes from here."

"We'll be there in thirty," Mike declared grimly as he juked around an S. U. V., itself travelling comfortably above the speed limit.

"Why am I not surprised," Leia grumbled as they darted past the location of the phone Vicky had used, a bar called The White Room.

"I'm guessing this place isn't named after the song by the British rock band from the seventies," Mike observed grimly upon spotting a picket line of Confederate battle flags along the roofline of the bar.

Mike braked hard and ducked into the parking lot for a fast food restaurant which had closed for the night. Without a wasted word, they took all their supplies and hurried toward the bar. They steered clear of the streetlights, heading behind a few buildings on the way to keep out of sight. The closer they got, the harder it was to stay hidden. The bar was packed, as was the deck on the near side. He looked around the parking lot for anything that looked familiar without any luck. He did, however, see a clearly fresh-off-the-showroom-floor muscle car. He knew next to nothing about Vicky beyond what she had told him, but the car seemed like exactly the type of thing someone who expected to shortly be flush with cash would secure.

Mike pointed it out to Leia and whispered that they should consider that car a target. Working together, they identified five other cars which he would also tag (choosing one because it also had dealer tags; two others because they were from the county where Hector's compound was located; the last two because they were spotless and thus possibly also new to their owners) before they retreated to his car to take up position in the parking lot (just in case Vicky was still at the bar, and they guessed wrong as to which car she would take).

They dropped down behind a dumpster and got ready. He grabbed six of the ten burner phones they had picked up at the electronics store, grimly recalling the strange look the young lady behind the counter had given him when he told her how many he wanted. During their trip north, Leia had 'activated' each of the burners by calling them for a few seconds, thus tagging each of them like a shark. This would allow them to use the burner phones like a tracking beacon for whatever they attached it to.

Mike crouched low as he sneaked off across the parking lot while Leia kept watch. Once he arrived, he was momentarily flummoxed as he wasn't entirely sure how to attach the phone to the car. He eventually decided to use a roll of duct tape Leia had suggested they grab during their hasty shopping trip to secure the phone to the middle of the front splitter (deciding that since they had parked front in, it was extremely unlikely they would notice their electronic passenger). He looked around to see if anyone had noticed his presence before using his phone to take a picture of the muscle car's VIN through the windscreen, just in case they needed to give it to the police. It took him just a few minutes to similarly tag the other cars they had identified.

Mike returned to their hiding place and then they snuck together back to his car. They drove a little closer to the bar, where they could both see the parking lot clearly and then implemented phase three of their plan.

"Good evening, Detective Stanley," Mike rasped into the phone, his voice showing the toll the stress was taking on him. "Or should I say good morning. I have an update for you."

"Tell me you didn't go up there," the detective complained.

"I have reason to believe your suspect is in a bar called The White Room about a half-hour from the compound the state police have staked out."

"And how would you know that?"

"Are you going to send the state police out there, or aren't you?"

"Fine," the detective growled. "But you stay..."

Mike disconnected the call and said, "Keep your eyes open."

The cops arrived a few minutes later. They parked outside the bar and went in as the barflies on the deck eyed them warily. Moments later Leia tapped his shoulder and pointed. Two figures had fled through the kitchen entrance and were creeping across the parking lot. Lady luck shined on them. Not only did he clearly recognize Vicky as they passed beneath a street-light, but she and the man she was with made a beeline for the muscle car to which he had just affixed a tracker.

"Jackpot," he murmured.

He waited as the muscle car screamed past the parking lot where they were parked. After confirming on the Mycroft phone that the tracker was working properly, Mike realized that it was extremely fortunate he had bugged the car as well because, according to the tracking app, Vicky's phone was still in the bar. He was not sure if she had left it in a rush or because she thought the police had tracked her using it, but the cheap burner phone was now their only hope. He started his car and pulled out, intending to hang back far enough to not be spotted. He had a moment of doubt when it occurred to him that those two degenerates might simply go to another bar rather than heading for his children, but the tracking app suggested they were heading into the mountains.

As they followed the icon on the tracking app, representing the phone Mike had attached to their quarry, he tried to plan out their next step. His hope was that Vicky would lead them to wherever the children were. The ideal situation would allow Mike and Leia to sneak in and rescue the children undetected. But he knew this was more of a best-case-scenario than a plan. The problem was that until they knew where the children were, and what the lay of the land would be there, all he had were theories.

Leia gave voice to his thoughts, "What are we going to do when we get where we're going? Call the police?"

Mike shrugged and said, "Maybe. I guess it depends on if we can come up with a better plan when we see what we're dealing with. I'll tell you one thing, though. The fact that we're heading up into the mountains doesn't play into our hands from a police perspective. If they have buddies in the local sheriff's office, they're as likely to warn them off as they are to arrest them."

As they were talking, Leia noticed that the icon on the phone had stopped so they pulled over as well. It looked like the car was just stopped at an intersection, but he wanted to be certain they were not spotted.

Their quarry stayed motionless for about ten minutes before finally setting off again, continuing to head towards the mountains. As they resumed their pursuit, they noticed that the place where Vicky and her companion had been stationary was an extremely sketchy looking strip club. The kind of place that catered to lorry drivers, and likely offered services outside the boundaries of the law. He did not, however, see a drive thru window so he could not imagine why Vicky had stopped there for just a few minutes.

Their journey continued for another fifteen minutes until they were right at the transition between the foothills and the mountains. Moments later, the tracking app showed Vicky's car pulling off the road into what must have been a driveway as there was no crossroad on his map.

They continued past where the other car had pulled off, figuring that the tracking app showed Vicky far enough off the map that they could just drive by without raising suspicion. A moment later they passed a gravel driveway with dust still churned up from the muscle car's passage. There was a sign next to the driveway indicating that the property was for rent by an upscale vacation homes company. Leia took a pic of the sign and they continued until they found a safe place to pull off.

Before they came to a stop, Leia had already gathered information about the property they had just passed on her phone. "It says here that that property is a large lake-front chalet. There's a hot tub, an outdoor fireplace, a game room, and a theater. There's a guest cabin a comfortable distance from the main house. This place sounds like a house you'd rent for a family reunion. It costs two-thousand dollars a night."

They both scrutinized Leia's screen as she brought up a satellite image of the house. The property looked to be situated along a small mountain lake. The area on either side of the property appeared to be undeveloped, but there was a development on the other side of the lake, including a marina. Without a word, Mike started the car and headed for the other side of the lake to get a better look.

Thirty-Two

Upon arriving at the marina, Mike and Leia could clearly see Vicky's party house on the opposite side of the modest lake. The house seemed to have every light turned on, including external lights which illuminated her lawn and small dock. This gave them a clear view of the guest house off to their right of the main house, but there were only a few lights on there. They both pulled out binoculars and peered across the still water, hoping that perhaps they would catch sight of the children. The main house was two floors, and nearly the entire side of the house facing the lake was windows. It appeared that there were at least four people in what was likely the main room on the bottom floor. Vicky and the man from the bar were there, sitting on a couch.

As they watched, the women climbed onto the coffee table and began to dance luridly. Moments later, they started removing their clothes. It seemed apparent that the dastardly duo's quick stop at the strip club had been to pick up some strippers to go. The way the house was lit up, and the floor to ceiling windows along the lakeside, allowed them to see that the children were almost certainly not in the main house. He crossed his fingers and hoped that this meant they were in the guest house and not somewhere else altogether.

He turned to Leia and said, "What do you think?"

"I don't see the children. Do you think those girls will keep them busy long enough for us to get back over there and check the guest house?"

"I hope so because it's either that or we call in the cops. I think we should try to get in there regardless, and be ready to call in the calvary if something goes wrong."

Leia looked determined, but still very worried about everything that could still go wrong. She said, "How are we going to get across the lake?"

"I think we should split up. Getting across the lake will be easy enough if we can find a boat, they'll never be able to see anything on the water with all those lights on. My worry is, what happens if we get over there and find the children, only to be discovered? I think we need to have multiple options for our escape." He pointed down at her screen still showing the satellite view of the lake, and said, "You see this? That driveway is extremely long. Based on the way it twists around like that I can't imagine they'll be able to see more than a tenth of that driveway from the house. You could drive back around there and reverse into the driveway. Don't come close enough to the house to be seen but come as close as you can. Better safe than sorry. I'll head across the lake now in one of those canoes available for rental at the marina. Once I get to the shore, I'll call you and we can each sneak through the woods and meet at the guest house."

Leia nodded determinedly and said, "Let's do it."

He took the toolkit he kept in the boot before he kissed Leia and told her he loved her. She quietly headed out, not using the headlamps, and just navigating using the night vision they had gained sitting in the dark watching the house. He took the bolt cutters from the toolbox and snipped the bike lock which was securing the canoes before repeating the process on the locker which held the paddles. He put the toolbox in the canoe and quickly shoved off. Using the J-stroke mastered at summer camp a lifetime ago, he smoothly paddled across the lake. As he neared the house, he could clearly see the party Vicky and her apparent boyfriend were having with the strippers was still going strong. He hoped that would continue for at least twenty more minutes. Steering to the right of the house, he aimed for a spot right where the manicured lawn transitioned into undeveloped woodland to come aground. He pulled the canoe onto the shore enough to ensure it would not go anywhere, and then called Leia.

She answered the phone in a manner that felt influenced by her military background: terse and to the point. "In position. I'm about halfway between the house and the road. I can see the lights through the trees, but not the house."

"I just got to shore," he whispered. "Remember, the guest house is on your left. Let's both work our way through the woods and meet up there. We should aim for the side of the guest house away from the main house."

She simply said, "Copy that," and hung up.

He grabbed the toolbox and stepped into the tree cover. It was slow going because he did not want to make any noise, but he traversed the gap to the house in under ten minutes. When he arrived, he walked up to the guest house, in the shadow of the obnoxious lights coming from his left. He squatted down and waited for Leia. She apparently had learned more than counterintelligence and information warfare in the military, as she did not make a sound as she moved through the woods. From his perspective she merely appeared out of the trees. She padded over to him, and he greeted her with a quick kiss. They made their way around the guest house, looking for an entrance, or a window where they could see something. The ground floor windows looked in on empty rooms. He tried the handle to the door, but it was locked.

Mike whispered, "I don't suppose another of your skills is lockpicking."

She shook her head regretfully before beckoning him toward the shadows to reassess. She whispered, "I think you're going to have to break a window or try to force the door. Do you think there's an alarm?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure how to tell."

He then had a burst of inspiration. He peeked around the corner of the guest house towards the main house. They could see into the room where the party was happening. It looked like Vicky was getting her money's worth. Everyone was naked and Vicky was laying on the couch, sixty-nine'ing with one of the girls while her boyfriend was fucking the other one in a chair nearby. Mike hoped they would be occupied for a while, but he felt willing to make a bit of noise now. He sneaked up to the door of the guest house, staying as low as he could. When he reached it, he firmly knocked on the door.

He heard movement in the house and then he heard a voice say, "Leave us alone!"

Mike quickly stood and looked through the glass of the door to find his son's eyes bugging out of his head on the other side of the door.

Mike whispered as loud as he dared, "Can you unlock the door?" Zach shook his head before Mike continued, "Is there an alarm?"

Zach said, "I don't think so. Vicky just locked us in and left. I never saw her set any alarm."

Mike said, "Stand back," and then took a small crowbar out of the toolkit and stuck it between the door frame and the deadbolt latch before yanking it with all the strength he had. The door made a popping sound as the door jamb exploded on the other side, and the door slowly slid open. Leia and Mike quickly slipped inside. Mike immediately pulled his son into his arms, trying to hold back his tears of gratitude. He said, "Is your sister here?"

Leia closed the door most of the way closed behind them, so it would look normal from the main house.

Zach nodded and said, "Yeah, she's upstairs. I was reading her a story to try to distract her."

They raced upstairs to find Alexis in one of the two bedrooms. Mike pulled her into his arms gratefully. His son came into the room with Leia following close behind, and Mike reached out to pull them both into the embrace. They allowed themselves a moment of joy at the reunion before Mike spared a moment to look around. The room they were in was on the opposite side of the guest house from the main house.

"Are you two ok?" Mike managed to ask, despite the combination of relief and anger roiling within him.

His daughter nodded solemnly as his son said, "We're fine dad. Vicky brought us here after tricking the schools into letting her sign us out. We didn't even see her until we were outside the door, and she pulled a gun and said she'd kill you if we didn't hand over our phones and come with her. Once we got up here a few hours after dark, she locked us in. The whole way up here, I kept demanding to know where you were, what was happening. She said she hoped you didn't do anything stupid, but ignored us otherwise. Once we arrived, she locked us in this house and left. I heard them come back a while ago, but I could see from the window that she wasn't going to be thinking about us for a while."

Mike winced at the thought of either of his children seeing the display their erstwhile nanny was putting on next door.

Zach read his mind and said, "Don't worry dad, I made sure she didn't see anything," as he nodded at his daughter.

That made Mike feel slightly better, but he still burned with rage that his son had seen it. He was not naïve enough to think that a fifteen-year-old boy had never seen pornography, but that was worlds different from a live sex show.

Mike nodded his thanks to his son and said, "Get your stuff kids. We're going home."

As they headed downstairs, he made sure all the lights were turned off. He peeked out of the slightly ajar front door and saw that Vicky was now kneeling on the floor between the two strippers while her boyfriend stood before them masturbating. As Mike watched, the man appeared to begin ejaculating because the women began licking and kissing each other. Mike knew they had to hurry. He signaled to the kids to be quiet, and they crept out of the house.

They had just made it to the woods when he heard a man's voice calling out, "I'm gonna go check on the brats," from the enormous back deck.

Mike knew right away the man would reach the guest house long before they reached the car.

He spun around and looked at Leia, "You have to take the kids and get to the canoe. I'll get to the car and make sure they notice me. They'll think I've got the kids with me and chase after me. They'll never suspect that you three made it out the side door before I even got to the car. Just paddle around the edge of the lake until you're well out of sight, and then call my parents to come pick you up."

Leia looked very worried, but he could tell she knew he was right. Even if they all made it to the car in time, the children would be in unacceptable danger if Vicky chased them.

She said, "What about you?"

"I know these roads like the back of my hand, and I'm driving one of the most capable driving cars in the world. I'll think of something. Make sure to call the cops as soon as you get off with my parents, and insist that they're at the house to meet you. Now go. I love you all, and I'll see you soon."

He hugged the children and kissed Leia as she pressed the keys into his hands. His loved ones then snuck off towards the water line as he started running towards the car, this time making no effort to be quiet.

Moments later he heard Vicky's boyfriend start screaming. Mike figured he had made it about halfway to the car, but he wanted to make sure their attention was on him and not Leia and the children. He clicked the unlock button on his key fob twice, which caused the car's horn to chirp and the headlamps to flash. He immediately heard yelling from the direction of the house. Just as he made it to the car, he heard the muscle car fire up. He knew his plan to distract Vicky and her colleagues from Leia and the children had worked. Now he just had to figure out how to keep them distracted.

Thirty-Three

As Mike started the car, he considered his options. His problem was an unusual one. For most any kind of real-world application, he was driving the far superior vehicle. The muscle car would win in a lengthy drag race and had a higher top speed, but for literally any other motoring application Mike had them beat by a comfortable margin. That meant he needed to steer clear of dual carriageways and drag strips. It was also critical that he keep them from overtaking, lest they see he was alone in the car.

His mind made up, he pulled out of the driveway and headed deeper into the mountains. He knew they were following from the scream of the muscle car's massive turbocharger echoing through the early morning air.

The road he pulled onto presented an immediate challenge. It was hilly but essentially long and straight. He buried the throttle to put some distance between himself and his pursuers before they could get up to speed. He reached down and flipped the dash display from the default video game style interface to the navigation app. He quickly spotted an intersection a short distance ahead where he could head deeper into the mountains, and towards the roads where he had the advantage.

As he approached the intersection he waited to lift off as long as he dared; the intersection seemingly on top of him before he started braking hard. He was pushed hard into the safety belt as he decelerated sharply enough to make a stock car green with envy. He took full advantage of the whole road, swerving into the empty oncoming lane before kissing the apex and running wide through the turn's exit. He looked in the mirror and saw he need not have bothered. The muscle car missed the turn altogether, shooting through the intersection with its wheels locked.

Mike took advantage of the momentary break in the action to get an update on Leia and the children. He texted her using the hand's free functionality and asked her if they got away. His phone rang a moment later.

She whispered, "Yes. We got away. By the way, both Vicky and her boyfriend got in the car that's chasing you, if that matters. We're around the bend in a cove, and your parents are on the way."

"Thank you so much. Are the children ok?"

"Yes. Are they still chasing you?"

"Yup, we're headed up towards the mountains. Let me know when you get back to the house, and then I'll lose them. Thank you for everything. This would never have worked without you.

"Be careful Mike. I love you."

"I love you too, beautiful. Tell the kids I love them, and I'll see you all soon."

As he hung up, he noticed the headlights of the muscle car behind him. He was speeding through rolling foothills with his pursuers comfortably behind him when he glanced down at the navigation screen and realized he had made a mistake. Up ahead was a long straightaway with no side roads as far as the screen would show him. With a sinking feeling, he realized that while he was talking to Leia, he had missed his turn. Instead of the road he had been aiming for, one local motorcyclists called, 'The Dragon,' he was on a completely unremarkable but dangerously straight highway.

As he crested the hill, he saw a wide valley open up before him as the first hints of sunrise crept over the mountains. It would have been beautiful in any other circumstance, but he was being chased by two lunatics who had kidnapped his children. He buried his right foot, but his mirror told him the tale as he saw the muscle car begin to close the gap between them. His mind raced for something, anything, he could do to prevent them from overtaking him and seeing that he was alone in the car. He was driving one of the quickest production cars in the world, but his foe had a slight edge on him in the straights. As the muscle car began to overtake, Mike did the only thing he could think of: he hit the brakes and watched them fly right by. He felt like his skin would be ripped from his body as the G-forces threw him into the restraints. In mere seconds he shed a significant percentage of his speed. He looked up and saw the brake lights flash on in the muscle car, but it would take them twice as long to stop.

He gave the emergency brake a brief tug as he jerked the wheel, sending the back of the car sliding. He quickly applied the throttle to arrest his turn and was soon accelerating in the other direction. A brief glance in his mirror told him that his foe had stopped and was slowly executing a three point turn. He knew he had at most a minute before they caught up with him again, and, with the sun coming up, it would be even easier for them to see he was alone. He knew he did not have the luxury of toying with them until the children were home and safe, and that he had to end this as soon as possible.

Mike raced back towards the intersection he had missed previously in the dark, the muscle car nearly catching him up before he braked for the sharp left hander. They nearly overshot again, but managed to make the turn thanks to running wide across a fuel station parking lot. Mike pulled away slightly but ahead he saw a most welcome sight indeed: a warning sign advising that drivers slow down for a series of sharp bends ahead. He buried his foot and brought the hyper-focus needed to drive right at the limit of the car's abilities to bear.

This was now a contest of mutually exclusive strengths. By the conclusion of each series of corners he had pulled out to a significant advantage, but the muscle car would roar forward to nearly overtake in the straights. He was worried about them overtaking and it took all his skill to keep them at bay. He could tell they were getting either braver or more impatient, as evidenced by the increasing tire squeal from his pursuers in the bends.

He had driven this road countless times, and had seen what happened to those who drove beyond the limits of their vehicle. A final glance at the navigation screen told him they were approaching a corner called the Dragon's Tail. It was a long left-hander through tightly packed forest that grew right up to the edge of the road. The turn got its name because the left-hander abruptly transitioned into a sharp off-camber right at the conclusion. The government kept putting up warning signs for the curve but because the road was so narrow, cargo trucks were continually taking out the sign. He knew this might be his last, best chance to end this pursuit.

His pursuer had once again pulled up nearly even with him when they entered the corner complex. Mike had established himself on the best line and the muscle car was just behind and to his left. He accelerated into the entrance of the corner, pulling away slightly but the bend was not yet sharp enough for him to have a noticeable advantage. He kept accelerating, seemingly dragging the muscle car along behind him. He peeked at his mirror to confirm the location of his pursuer before seeming to overcook the turn slightly, juking almost imperceptibly to the left and forcing his pursuer to lift off momentarily. He 'corrected' and continued to accelerate for another few seconds until he saw the sign warning of the sharp right-hander lying on its side in a ditch. He took one final glance to make sure the muscle car was clear of him on the right side before juking to the left one final time. He then, after hastily straightening his wheel, stood on the brakes and prayed to the Gods of adhesion that he would make the corner.

Once more, the muscle car shot past him, its front wheels locking helplessly. But this time instead of harmlessly sliding to a stop, they found that they lacked the grip needed to steer into the sharp right-hander. They were still going over four times the posted speed limit when they went into the trees.

After emerging from the Dragon's Tail, Mike brought his car to a safe stop and turned around to head back to the scene of the crash. The muscle car had come to a stop just a few paces off the road after colliding with a large hardwood tree. He walked up to the car and looked through the side window to find an empty passenger seat. Vicky's boyfriend was in the driver's seat. He was also quite dead, thanks to a branch which had punched through the front windscreen, in addition to the man and his seat, on impact.

Mike looked around for a few seconds before seeing a bright flash several paces into the woods. He walked over to where Vicky had landed. She was still alive, although clearly in very bad shape. She had several compound fractures on her extremities, and she was bleeding profusely from a head wound. He knelt beside her and delicately brushed her hair away from her face.

"You fucking bastard," she hissed contemptuously. "Look what you did." He knew it was pointless to argue that none of this would have happened had she not kidnapped the children, so he could only stare at her helplessly. She continued, "Did you call for help?" He shook his head sadly. She said, "Why the fuck not?"

He said, "You endangered my children, and for what? Some more money? The Artifact? I am truly sorry, but it all ends: right here; right now."

Her eyes grew wide in horror, and she began to hyperventilate. Her activity was increasing the blood flow. She said, "I never meant to hurt anyone, Mike. I just wanted what was rightfully mine. You shouldn't have refused me. Your kids are great, I never would have harmed them. I just needed leverage."

"I won't argue with you Vicky."

She whimpered in pain and said, "Don't let me die here in these shitty woods."

He squatted carefully by her side and took her non-broken hand in his. He could think of nothing to say, so he simply held her hand as the life left her eyes.

After a moment of silence, he walked back over to the muscle car and pried loose the cell phone he had affixed to the front splitter, which had somehow stayed in place throughout the chase and the accident. He walked back to his car, sparing a final glance at the grisly scene before starting his car and heading home to his family.

Thirty-Four

As soon as he had mobile coverage again, he called Leia. "It's over," he informed her wearily. "I'm on the way home."

She said, "What happened? Are you ok?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Where are you?"

"I just got on the highway. I should be home in about an hour. Make sure my folks don't try to go home after they get to our place. They've got to be bushed."

"Way ahead of you. Everyone is planning to hit the sack the moment we get home."

"I should be home in the next hour. I can't wait to see you all."

"Can I have breakfast ready for you?"

"I don't think I could eat. I'll be there soon. I love you, Princess."

She said, "I love you too... our hero," and hung up.

On the way to the house, Mike made a few quick stops. The first was at a secondhand clothing store which was fortunately open at such an early hour. He paid cash for a shirt, shorts, and shoes. The second was at a very busy fast-food restaurant near the highway. He made use of their dumpster to get rid of the phones he had purchased the prior evening and the clothing he had been wearing at the accident site. He thought it very likely that accident investigators would conclude that his pursuers had been driving too fast, and that it had been a single car collision, but he wanted to do everything possible to make sure there was nothing linking him to the site. He had made sure not to touch anything which could leave a fingerprint behind. Now that he was wearing new clothing that should remove the possibility of being linked to the scene through shoe imprint, or clothing fiber analysis.

He arrived home a short time later and first spoke to the gentlemen in the police car parked in the driveway. "Officers, thank you so much for keeping everyone safe. I really appreciate it."

The officer behind the wheel said, "Sir, can you tell us where you've been?"

"I assume you've been told about how we found where Vicky had taken the kids, and how we snuck in there and rescued them?" The officers nodded. Mike continued, "Well we were discovered before we could sneak away from the children. Leia agreed to take the kids and hide by the lake while I led the kidnappers away from the house in my car. After they chased me for a little while, I was able to lose them and then I headed back here."

They said, "A local unit went by the location you provided. They found two... young ladies still in the house. Those two have been taken in for questioning. We have the house staked out in case the suspects return."

Mike thanked them again before entering the house quietly. Leia met him at the front door, and he felt as though a veil had been lifted. She hugged him tightly, saying everything that he needed to hear without speaking a word. Many minutes later he released her just enough so that he could bend down and kiss her tenderly. Her presence charmed his soul, and all the dark things he had been forced to contemplate in the last day were washed away like tears in the rain.

She led him into the living room where they sat together on the couch. They did not speak for many minutes, Leia knowing instinctively that what he needed more than anything was her nearness, and her love.

When he finally broke the silence he said, "It's all over. She won't ever harm the children again."

She kissed his shoulder before saying, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I led them away from the house like we planned. I knew I needed to keep them from overtaking me, or they'd know I was alone. They nearly got the overtake done once but I was able to pull a Maverick on them. Then I led them to the Dragon."

She said, "The Dragon?"

"A road up in the mountains that motorcyclists flock to due to its twistiness. Once we got onto that road, I was able to keep them at bay, but I kept worrying that they'd either see I was alone, or just get tired of chasing me. Either way I figured they would head here next. I just kept thinking that Vicky would never stop until she got the Artifact. The lure of its power was just too tempting, and she would never give up her quest to possess it. Had she escaped tonight, there's no telling how she would next escalate things. I knew I had to end things tonight.

"So, as we approached a turn called the Dragon's Tail, I rope-a-doped them. I lured them into going too fast, and then tricked them into destabilizing their car right before a blind turn. They went into the trees. The man with her died instantly from a branch which went through the windscreen. Vicky was thrown from the car and died a few minutes later after I spoke to her briefly."

Leia had wrapped her arms around his midsection, comforting him as much as she could. "What did she say?"

"She told me it was all my fault. If only I'd done as she asked, none of this would have happened." Leia said nothing, just squeezed him tighter. He continued, "I told her I was sorry. And then she died."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you mustn't blame yourself for any of this. Vicky caused all of this."

"I know that honey. What worries me is that I don't feel bad. Even if I can convince myself that those two maniacs killed themselves and I was just a bystander, I feel like I should feel... something. I just watched someone who I welcomed into my home, and allowed to briefly become part of my children's lives, die on the side of the road; and all I feel is relief. Is this my penance for messing with that damned Artifact; that I've been turned into some kind of villain?"

She slid off the couch and knelt between his legs before taking his face in her hands. She said, "You are a good man. Your children were kidnapped, and you instantly sprang into action to save them. And when your moment of truth came, you unhesitatingly placed yourself in greater danger to lead the true villain away from your children, and your princess. You're no villain, Mike. You're the hero. You're my hero."

He kissed her fiercely, his love for her surging. He pulled her off her knees and into his arms. Leia moved to straddle him, adding her legs to their embrace as she took his face in her hands. She moaned into their kiss as she rubbed her mound against his hardening member. They were well on their way to making love, regardless of being in the living room, when they heard a knock at the front door.

They broke the kiss breathlessly, and straightened their clothing, before Leia headed to the kitchen and Mike answered the door. It was the police officers he had spoken to when he arrived home. He opened the door wider, and they stepped into the foyer.

The officer who he assumed to be senior, because he was the only one he had heard speak thus far, said, "Sir. We have some information about the suspect. Is there somewhere we could talk where we will not be overheard?"

Mike led the officers out to the back porch and closed the door behind them. The officer got straight to the point, "Sir, there was an auto accident up in the mountains. It would appear that the suspect, one Victoria Miller, and a man we've identified as Ramon Bavel were in the vehicle. There were no survivors."

Mike took a deep breath before saying, "I understand."

The officer said, "Sir, you do not appear to be very surprised, or particularly upset. I was led to understand this woman was your nanny until quite recently."

He glared at the officer and said, "She kidnapped my children, locked them up, and then had an orgy where they could easily see her. I'm just glad I was able to rescue them before things got any worse. In a few minutes I have to tell my children that their nanny turned kidnapper has passed away. I'm not sure any of us really have a handle on how to feel about this yet."

"Can you tell me the route you took to get from the house where your children were held to here?"

Mike shrugged and said, "It was dark, and I was trying to keep them from killing all of us." He disliked dishonesty, but he managed to assuage his conscience with the fact that, technically, he had spoken the truth.

The officer fixed him with a hard stare for several seconds before nodding. He said, "Well, we'll be on our way."

Mike followed them back into the house and then saw them to the door. They got in their cruiser and drove away. He felt relieved, although strictly speaking he had never been in significant legal jeopardy as the worst he could have been guilty of was reckless driving. The tension fleeing his body was like a physical force being lifted as the worry that had been gnawing at him since Vicky had first mentioned the Artifact to him. To the best of his knowledge, the only people in the world that knew of its existence now were his loved ones. He looked up at the sky and breathed deeply of the crisp morning air. Then he turned and stepped inside the house.

His parents were awake when he went back inside. Leia was just handing them each a cup of coffee. Mike asked them all to join him at the dining room table. With an arm wrapped around Leia, he told them the whole story of the tragic evening, and Vicky's sordid history, leaving out no details.

His father was silent, but his mother said, "Mike, I hope you don't hold yourself responsible. That woman made her own choices, and this happened because of those choices. You did what you did to protect your children. And I, for one, will sleep better knowing she can't threaten any of you any longer." She turned and looked significantly at his father.

He said, "Anyone capable of facilitating sex trafficking, to say nothing of kidnapping innocent children, deserves to die. No other cure for such behavior."

His mother gasped at his father's words, but she did not correct him.

Shortly they announced they needed to get home to get some more rest. Before they left his mother hugged Leia warmly, pausing to pull back and look at her affectionately before resuming the embrace. His father hugged Leia while his mother hugged Mike. As she did, she whispered in his ear, "She's the one, Mike."

Mike promised that they would visit soon as his parents got in their car and left. He went back inside and called each of the kids' schools to let them know that the kids were safe, and that they would not be in school that day. At this point it really hit both of them that they had been awake for over twenty-four hours. They left a note for the children to wake them if they needed anything and trudged upstairs. Stopping only to brush their teeth and remove their clothing, they barely managed to make it to the bed before sleep claimed them.

Thirty-Five

Mike slowly regained consciousness, almost as though he was a machine being carefully brought online, one system at a time. His first sensation was contentment, and then warmth, before finally arriving at love. Without opening his eyes, he tightened his embrace around his lover who was delightfully spooned against him.

Without a world, she turned in his arms and claimed his lips hungrily. His first thought was that she knew instinctively that his soul needed the soothing balm their lovemaking would provide. This was closely followed by the realization that she needed that comfort as truly as he did.

Mike guided his fingertips down her body, first tracing along her neck to her collarbone, before finally arriving at her incomparable breasts. As he cupped her breast, he marveled at its juxtaposed firmness and jiggle. He softly pinched her nipple causing her to break the kiss and moan deeply. He slid down her body feasting on her nipples alternately as his hand moved to the junction of her thighs. Leia crushed his head against her as he moved to switch his attention to her other nipple, trapping him between her luscious breasts. He gently slid a finger into her welcoming opening, lazily stroking deeper into her heated core.

As he reached her G-spot with his questing finger, she released his head from its prison between her tits and exclaimed, "Oh, yes!"

He moved lower along her body, bypassing her sex and moving all the way to her feet. Cradling both feet together in his hands, he began gently kissing along the top of each. She was panting in anticipation as he sucked each of her toes into his mouth in turn and licked unhurriedly around them. Raising her legs straight up in the air, he kissed along the backs of her calves. Her panting mixed with giggles at his light tickling, but a glance downwards at her glistening entrance assured him of the rightness of his course of action.

He parted her legs and began alternating kisses down the inside of each thigh. The delicious scent emanating from her core spurred him onwards and he was shortly circling her blushing folds, delivering light kisses along each side of her lips. He finally ended her torment as her labia opened before him and he delivered a light kiss, equidistant between her soaked opening and her engorged clit. He licked gently along her slit, not yet opening her inner folds but rather deeply inhaling her intoxicating aroma.

Leia's panting ceased just long enough for her to whimper a single word, "Please."

Mike plunged his tongue deep into her silkiness, using long firm strokes from the bottom of her entrance all the way up to her pleasure center. He ended each stroke with a tiny flick of her clit, earning a gasp of pleasure from his lover. As her breathing quickened, so did the strokes of his tongue. He knew he had teased her too much to back off at this point, so he slipped two fingers into her soaked entrance, seeking along the front of her inner walls for her G-spot. As he stroked her most sensitive of spots, he moved his tongue's attention to her clit. He flicked it lightly at first and then grew more insistent before finally sucking her clit into his mouth.

This was more than she could take, and her orgasm arrived with a rush of wetness as her thighs clamped around his head. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her as he continued to lightly suck on her clit. He could feel her inner walls rippling along his fingers. Reaching beneath her ass with his free hand, he raised her up from the bed. He continued his attentions on her clit and G-spot as he added lightly teasing her anus with the hand he was using to hold her up. This sensation caused Leia to ascend to another plain with her orgasm. He could hear her repeatedly exclaiming, "Mike!" and "Yes!" through her thighs which still held his head captive.

Leia began to push on his forehead, and she eased the grip of her thighs. "Please, you're going to kill me. It's too much."

Mike gave her clit one final playful flick with his tongue, which caused a spasm of pleasure to run along the length of her body, before he moved back up to lie next to her. She was panting as though she had run a marathon. He leaned up and kissed her gently.

She smiled broadly up at him and said, "My dear man. That was exquisite. But you're going to have to let me catch my breath for a bit before I can properly reward you."

He kissed her again, much deeper this time, before saying, "The look on your face is my reward, beloved."

He lay down on his back and she laid her head on his chest, still breathing heavily. She panted, "I just need a few minutes," as he lightly stroked her hair and basked in the warm glow of the pleasure he had given to his true love.

While Mike had been sincere in his insistence to Leia that he was indeed content, he had not intended to fall asleep. But he could not find it in himself to regret his oversight as he came slowly awake to the sensation of his cock sliding into a warm mouth. She took him in her mouth down to the base, allowing him to experience the unbelievable sensation of growing to full hardness within her mouth as she massaged him with her tongue. Pulling back, she began to sloppily stroke his entire length with her lips, going all the way down to the base each time. He could feel the head of his cock reach the entrance to her throat as her lips kissed the flesh at the base of his hardness. As he felt himself nearing orgasm, he began to tense his muscles.

Sensing this, Leia released his manhood from her mouth and said, "Not yet, lover."

She then raised up and took his shaft between her astounding tits and, using the lubrication she had thoughtfully provided, began vigorously stroking him. She looked down so that at the end of each stroke she could take the tip of his cock into her mouth. He began bucking his hips instinctively, knowing the combination of the sensations she was delivering and the intensely erotic sight of her fucking him with her tits would bring him to orgasm quickly.

He said, "Oh, honey. This is amazing. You're going to make me cum!"

She said, "Give it to me, babe. I want you to cover me!"

He reached down to grab her tits, pumping a few more times before he began to orgasm. Hot cum burst forth from his throbbing manhood. The first volley landed obligingly on Leia's waiting tongue. As she held her mouth open with her tongue extended, jet after jet of his cum shot into her mouth and then slowly dripped onto her breasts. As his orgasm began to subside, Leia took him into her mouth once more to greedily suck the remainder of the seed from his pulsing member. He felt her swallow several times as she thoroughly cleaned his organ. His breathing came raggedly as she massaged the bottom of his sensitive member with her tongue. She winked at him, clearly enjoying her retribution.

As she released his cock, she raised her breasts up and leaned her head down to start teasingly licking up his cum. She used long, tantalizing licks, and wickedly swallowed at the conclusion of each. When her job was done, she reached down and kissed the head of his cock a final time before laying down next to him.

He smiled lovingly at her and said, "Well it was nice to be the world champion of giving your true love pleasure, even if I only held the title for less than an hour."

She smiled and kissed him deeply before saying, "I think we might need another shower, my love."

He smiled and said, "How about a bath?"

She grinned at him and started for the bathroom.

As they lay together in the bath, basking in the warmth of the water and the delightful sensation of their slippery bodies rubbing against each other, Mike realized he was experiencing a moment of perfect happiness. What's more, it was simply the last in what had become an increasingly frequent occurrence since Leia came into their lives.

He had never doubted that he loved his ex, at least in the early years. He had always thought that, being an agnostic, the only leap of faith he had ever made was believing that Connie loved him as truly as he loved her. But having now fallen in love with Leia, and experiencing moment to moment the feeling of her being in love with him, he realized that his earlier faith had been somewhat misplaced. They had been friends, although far from the healthiest of friendships, and had enjoyed a degree of sexual chemistry Mike had never known prior to meeting her; but their relationship had never truly become a partnership. Thus, as the years wore on, a combination of her depression and addiction struggles had introduced a glitch into the system. At first it was imperceptible, but, like a single malignant virion invading a new host, that glitch grew until all that was left was a single word left in reply to his text asking when he could tell his children that they would see their mother again: never.

Despite all that had transpired, he could not bring himself to regret his time with his ex. She had given him his children, and for that he would always give her thanks. Under her harsh tutelage, he had also learned a great deal; both about himself and the nature of love. As he looked at Leia, he knew Connie had given him a final gift; because recognizing that his previous 'leap of faith' had been, at least in part, a product of youth and inexperience also positioned him to know, with perfect clarity, that Leia loved him. There was no leap of faith where she was concerned. His love for her, or hers for him, was an absolute. Like the sunrise or gravity, it was not up for debate; it simply... was. He did not need to take their love for each other on faith because it was irrefutable. And with this realization came another one.

He looked down at Leia who had laid her head on his shoulder and was gently stroking his chest. "Princess?"

"Yes, my hero?"

"My whole life has been spent searching for happiness. I thought I had found it once before, but I see now that what she and I had was lust, not love. I thought I would find it with my children. And I did, but the happiness your children give to you is less fulfilling without someone to share it with. I convinced myself that I had missed my chance at true happiness, and all that was left for me was to ensure that those around me did not suffer too greatly as a result of my misfortune.

"And then you came into my life. You showed me what it was like to be happy again. And you showed me what a positive impact maternal love can have on my children. You have shown me what true love is by loving me unconditionally, and allowing me to do the same in return. You are the perfect friend, the perfect lover, the perfect partner, the perfect stepmother."

Throughout him speaking to her, Leia had slowly sat up in the tub to look him in the eye. At around the halfway point she began smiling broadly and nodding vigorously. But when he reached 'step-mother' tears began rolling down her face. She smiled warmly at him and said, "I feel the same way. I have come to believe that my life began when I met you. Before that, I was just going through the motions. And you couldn't have learned how to love from me, because it was you who taught me about the nature of love.

"As for your children, I had sworn to avoid parenthood at all costs. After losing my parents, and then my grandparents, I didn't want to risk allowing that to happen to someone I cared about. But then I met you, and your amazing children, and I learned what love truly is. It was such a simple act, but the first time Alexis hugged me and told me thank you, I felt like I'd had an epiphany. They're astounding, Mike. You honor me by calling me a stepmother, but I can imagine nothing more fulfilling than to watch and guide them as they grow into the remarkable adults I am certain they will become. Save perhaps us having more children."

He took a deep breath and said, "Leia, will you marry me?"

She kissed him tenderly before saying, "Only if it's ok with the children."

He quickly pulled her into his arms and said, "I think we can take their approval as a given. Thank you, Princess. You've made me very happy," before kissing her deeply.

"Mike, you've always made me happy, but today I genuinely believe I'm the happiest woman in the world. I will love you forever."

She kissed him again as he felt her reach between them to grasp his hardening shaft. She aligned it with her opening and slid along his body to impale herself on his manhood. They continued to kiss deeply as he began to unhurriedly thrust into her heated core. She broke the kiss and took his face in her hands as he continued to languidly pump his throbbing hardness into her most intimate of embraces.

"Mike. I am yours forever. I will love you, and care for you, and laugh with you, and support you. I will love your children as if they were my own. I will give you more children. I will never leave you, never betray you. We are no longer two, we are now one."

He kissed her deeply before taking her face tenderly in his hands as she began to roll her hips and urgently squeeze him with her innermost muscles.

"Leia, I am yours, from this day, until the end of the world. You, and no other. I will love you, and cherish you, and protect you, provide for you, and trust you. I will love all of our children, together with you. I will never lie to you. We are no longer two, we are now one."

She kissed him deeply again as they desperately wrapped their arms around each other. Their connection was complete, it was perfect. They were joined, forever. With a final roll of Leia's hips, and thrust of his manhood, they began orgasming together. Leia's inner walls urgently squeezed his throbbing member as he filled her womb with his seed. Throughout their mutual orgasms, they never broke their kiss, so desperate were they to be joined as completely as possible. But, as the last of his seed shot into her heated core, he felt wetness on his cheeks. They broke their kiss at long last and he looked up at her to find that she was crying.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I'm not sad, babe. I'm happy, infinitely happy. I'm a married woman now. Any ceremony we do in the future for the children, or your family, will be wonderful. But this was our wedding, and I couldn't be happier."

He knew at once that she was right; no pseudo religious ritual could replace the moment they just had, or the promises they made to each other.

He smiled warmly and said, "Thank you for marrying me. You've made me the happiest man on earth."

A short while later he told her, "It's nearly noon. We should go check on the kids. When did you say they got to sleep?"

"I doubt they're up yet. It was close to six when they finally laid down."

They got dressed anyway and headed downstairs. Leia had been right; the children were still asleep. Mike put in a call to his daughter's school counselor and had a long talk with her about the kidnapping. She gave him some tips on how to talk to the children about what they had endured, and gave him some phone numbers for trauma counselors in case that was needed. His daughter came downstairs as he was wrapping up the call. When Alexis walked over to where Leia was sitting on the couch and cuddled up with her stepmother, Mike knew things were going to be ok.

They kept the children at home for the remainder of the week. There were nightmares, especially for Alexis. Leia slept with her nightly as Alexis insisted that only her presence could keep the bad dreams away.

Zach was unusually quiet. Mike agreed without hesitation when his son asked for a driving lesson, and the two spent the next three hours talking about Zach's guilt over not having better protected his sister. Mike had tearfully insisted that not only had Zach not failed his sister, but he had also been a far greater hero for her than anyone could have hoped for.

They had difficulty dealing with the news of Vicky's passing. They were conflicted by the love every child feels for a trusted caregiver versus the knowledge that someone they had known well was now justifiably dead.

They ultimately grieved and moved on without lasting effects. Charmingly, it was his daughter that led to them sharing their news about the engagement.

The night before they were due to return to school, they were having a boisterous family dinner. They were all laughing and generally enjoying being together. Alexis showed them a flyer for a performance she had at school, some kind of talent show they were putting together. Leia gave his daughter some great ideas for her costume and told her they would work together to get everything ready.

Alexis was silent for a moment before saying, "Leia, can I ask you something? I don't know if I'm allowed to ask, but I really want to know."

Leia said, "Sure sweetie, you can ask me anything."

"Can you be my mommy now?"

Leia sprang from her chair and took his daughter in her arms before saying, "I can't be your mommy. Your mommy will always be your mommy, no matter what. But, if you want, I could be your stepmom."

Zach exclaimed, "I knew it, you two got engaged, didn't you?"

Mike admitted guilt and threw himself at the mercy of the court. "I asked Leia to marry me, and she said yes."

His son said, "Awesome," as Alexis tackled Leia to the ground in a hug which would have felled an ox.

Epilogue

Seventy-Five Years Later

"Do you ever miss the roads back home?" Leia asked from Mike's side as he inside-out-ed a left-right corner complex along the coastal road near their estate in southern France.

"Sometimes," Mike admitted. "I got to know those roads pretty well over the years. I miss the Appalachian Mountains, to be sure. The Alps are great, but there's something special about the way the mountains roll instead of just jutting up out of the ground. Why do you ask? Are you already thinking about our next relocation?"

"Not as such. We should be good using our current identities for at least another ten years. It's just that I always think about those roads whenever we go for a drive."

His wife's mention of their ongoing Masquerade reminded him of when they had moved to France from Australia in the summer of 2061. The process by which both he and his family carefully managed their public faces and, when necessary, 'died' so that they could be reborn in a new country and with a new identity, had begun just a few years before his father's Centennial and continued with each of them whenever it became awkward to have the identity of a pensioner but a face which appeared half that age. It had taken a bit of trial and error, and even more discipline, but they had mastered it over the years.

Related to their Masquerade was something which made his now quite large family less happy, that being that they knew it was unsafe to be publicly associated. They had made the decision early on to only gather in secret, and even that was done infrequently. This reality was one of the reasons they had so eagerly anticipated the upcoming fortnight; it would be the first time he had seen many of his family in five years.

Thoughts of the unprecedented lengths to which they were forced to go to keep themselves obscured from the rest of humanity brought his thoughts to the Artifact. There had been many times since marrying Leia when Mike was tempted to destroy it lest it fall into the wrong hands. But ultimately, the Artifact was an integral part of Leia coming into his life, to say nothing of their unnaturally long life, and he felt he owed it a debt of gratitude. That did not mean he had not taken extraordinary measures to keep it safe. He had only used it once more following the incident with Vicky, to make more of the magic pills for his ever-growing family. Other than that, the Artifact stayed safe in a vault he had commissioned to be built beneath both their home (and enough reinforced concrete to build a high school).

Mike spotted an old road heading further inland and, after consulting the navigation app in his heads-up display, juked to the left to explore the twisty piece of ancient tarmac. The A. I. which was built into their hydrogen-powered roadster once again issued a complaint about his refusal to cede control, but he studiously ignored it since they so rarely found themselves on roads where the use of automated navigation was not compulsory.

"Do we have time?" Leia inquired softly beside him.

"The yacht won't even arrive at the quay for another thirty minutes, and they'll spend an hour loading provisions. The way I figure it, we're doing everyone a favor by not showing up until they're ready to cast off."

"Even if they were made to wait, you know none of our family will begrudge you a bit of adventurous driving."

"Far more than half our family has never known a world where people had to learn how to drive, and I think only a few of us ever bother anymore."

"Everyone knows of your driving prowess, my love. Right down to very youngest."

"The youngest is only two, my love," he replied with a smirk. "And while your great-grand-daughter is many wonderful things, one of them is not yet worldly enough to understand my foibles."

"She knows of your heroism. And that's what matters."

Mike smiled at the thought of being reunited with his now very extended family. In addition to his parents, siblings and siblings-in-law, the gathering they were speeding toward would include the grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great, great grandchildren of Jubal and Tessa. The event was ostensibly to celebrate the couple's one-hundredth-and-twentieth wedding anniversary, despite the actual date of that event being five months in the future. But, even with the dawn of the twenty-second century still a recent memory, and for the Carter clan who were secretly (and by a comfortable margin) the world's richest family, school calendars still held sway when planning family events. All told, there would be over fifty people in attendance, including Mike's five children, and all their progeny. The pills he had built with the Artifact had given them all the gifts of long life and freedom from illness. As a result, his parents still looked younger than he had the day they took their pills. Mike was nearing his one-hundred-and-twentieth birthday and still looked to be in his thirties, while Leia barely appeared to have aged a day.

As they silently drove through the mountains, Mike reached over and put his hand on Leia's thigh and said, "Do you remember the day we drove to the waterfall, right after we got together?"

"How could I possibly forget the day you first told me you loved me?"

He smiled and said, "It was a long time ago."

She took his hand and said, "You've given me so many wonderful memories through the years, my love. But that day will always be amongst my most treasured. I even saved that note."

"You did?" he asked exuberantly.

"Of course. I have a collection. We seem to have quite a talent for making love when we're not quite as private as we might have thought."

"Like that time in that big Ferris wheel in London?"

"Exactly," she replied with a wink. "Do you think that waterfall is still there?"

He chuckled and said, "We're not that old. Maybe we should go again someday."

"I'd love that," she replied warmly. Her expression then turned playful, and she added, "In fact, why don't we relive part of it right now," and pulled her top off with a flourish. She shook her still youthful breasts at him before she reached over to stroke his hardening cock through his pants.

He sighed in pleasure and said, "I truly love you, Princess."

She returned his smile and said, "And I will always love you just as truly."

The End

Thanks so much for taking the time to read Mike's tale. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review.

The Road is a Harsh Mistress

by Jake Lazarus

Copyright © 2025 Jake Lazarus

All rights reserved.

This book, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the author (except for the use of brief quotations in a review).

This is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, business, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.