Podcasts about ATV

On this week's all-new episode of the Digging Deep ATVMX Podcast, we're breaking down one of the most unforgettable season finales in ATV motocross history. Legendary riders calling it a career — including one with a walk-off win. An undefeated season spoiled at the 11th hour. A sixth title for one of the sport's Mount Rushmore greats. The wildest Pro Am and Pro Sport battles imaginable. A WMX championship showdown. And the International Cup, too.I was in the announcer's tower for all of it…so I SAW EVERYTHING. Tears of joy, raw emotion, and moments we'll never forget — it's all here.Tune in now, and as always, thank you for DIGGING DEEP with us!Send us a textSupport the show

This week on Electrek's Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Raleigh and Puckipuppy, police cracking down on super-fast DIY e-bikes, Priority Skyline review, a new Can-Am electric ATV, and more. The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek's YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. As a reminder, we'll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in. After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast Pocket Casts Castro RSS We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming. Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today: Major e-bike maker hits pause on US imports after new tariffs Police stop and confiscate ‘incredibly dangerous 80 MPH' electric bicycle New e-trike boasts 960W motor, full-suspension and 500 lb capacity Raleigh launches new low-cost Bosch motor e-bike Tern just launched an Airstream e-bike and it looks kind of beautiful Priority Skyline review: A 12-speed automatic shifting throttle e-bike for a song Can-Am unveils new electric ATV that tows more than any gas model Here's the live stream for today's episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET): https://www.youtube.com/live/Uiqcq9lX0BQ

From Texas ranch roads to 500-mile racecourses, Matt Horton is proving that grit, discipline, and drive still win in the desert. In this episode, Matt walks us through his journey from small local races to becoming the 2023 WORCS Pro-Am Champion—all while prepping for some of the most demanding races in off-road.We talk about what got him hooked on ATV racing, how he balances life on the road with race-day pressure, and why the Honda TRX450R has become his weapon of choice. With backing from industry icons like Duncan Racing, FMF, and Fasst Company, Matt reflects on the key moments that shaped his breakout season and the mental toughness it takes to chase wins in brutal terrain.Whether you're into long-format races, rider stories, or the heart behind the helmet this episode brings it all.Subscribe, share, and follow along as we dig into the future of desert racing with one of its rising stars.

Palmer Police are investigating an incident where officers punched and tased a 22-year-old Wasilla man at the Alaska State Fair on Sunday night. Plus, a Delta Junction teen is dead following a fatal ATV crash over the weekend, with community members still dealing with the news; and wildlife officials are asking residents in a Kenai neighborhood to be on high alert following a bear attack early Tuesday morning.

Galerijā "Māksla XO" atklāta angļu fotomākslinieka, gaismas un attēla pētnieka Deivida Penija jaunāko darbu izstāde „Atvērtie lauki”. Tā ir viņa pirmā personālizstāde Latvijā. Izstāde tapusi, Deividam Penijam sadarbojoties ar fiziķiem Karaļa koledžā Londonā (King's Kollege London).

Don Higbee didn't grow up chasing trophies he grew up chasing cattle. But somewhere between ranch work in Casper, Wyoming and lining up at GNCC and Baja races, he found a calling that's lasted over two decades.In this episode, Don takes us through his unexpected journey into off-road racing, including key breakthroughs like his runner-up finish at the 2017 Baja 500 and podium at the 2018 Baja 1000. We talk about what it's like juggling family life, dealership ownership, and brutal travel schedules plus the little rituals and road stories that keep it all human.Whether you're a racer, a fan, or someone who just loves a good story about grit and balance, Don's journey proves that you don't need to be flashy to be legendary—you just need to keep showing up.Don't forget to subscribe, share, and follow along for more stories from the world of ATV racing.

88livetoride ep70 features thoughts on recent retirements in the ATV race community, how we make ourselves the best version for others, injuries, G-mans STARK VARG, CARTER BUFF, and many other honorable mentions as well. Also have you heard about the new things Dylan Dworak has in store with 500RSGP...hear about it here! Whitetail Hunts Dragon Race Fuels www.110nutrition.com (code-remain) RJR allterrainmotorsports Remember to follow us and give us a rating on Youtube, Apple, Spotify, and Facebook

(00:00 - 4:03) It's Monday! Bob thinks he found his second calling. He was at the beach over the weekend and noticed Lifeguards driving around in an ATV he thought he could do that job! Bob Hasselhoff! (4:03 - 6:28) With only two weeks left of August we found a bunch of excuses that people used to call out of work, we pass them on to you. One of them is "I ran out of Toilet Paper". (6:28 - 10:00) Are your friends costing you money. On average it costs about $250 a month just to have friends. Whether that's going out to dinner or having a party. Millennials and Gen Z are opting not to have friends to save money. All this and more on the ROR Morning Show with Bob Bronson and LBF Podcast. Find more great podcasts at bPodStudios.com…The Place To Be For Podcast Discovery!

Send us a textDelaney Dunn's racing journey is one of perseverance, breaking barriers, and finding strength in what makes her unique. Racing for 11 years since age 15, this 26-year-old driver from Otis, Maine has transformed from an uncertain rookie into the newly-crowned "Queen of the Oval" in the Ladies Acceleration Tour.The path to Victory Lane wasn't straightforward for Delaney. After eight years without a feature win, she finally broke through at Oxford Plains in a rental race car - a moment she describes as feeling "like I won the Oxford 250." Her determination was tested further last year when she was involved in a viral crash with an ATV on track, an incident that could have ended her racing career. Instead, she bounced back stronger.What many don't know about Delaney is that she races while being on the autism spectrum, receiving her diagnosis at 17 after she had already begun racing. Rather than viewing this as a limitation, Delaney considers her autism a "superpower" that enhances her racing abilities, giving her a sixth sense when it comes to car handling and translating sensory input into actionable feedback for her crew.Now competing in a 2009 Chevy Cobalt in the Ladies Acceleration Tour's four-cylinder "hornet" division, Delaney races alongside women aged 16 to 56 at tracks throughout Maine and New Hampshire. She's achieved the remarkable feat of securing a top-three finish at every currently active racetrack in Maine, winning at three of the five venues.With four races remaining and points standings incredibly tight, Delaney remains focused on consistent performance to potentially claim the overall championship. For aspiring racers, especially young women, her advice is simple: "Start early, earlier the better." Her story stands as powerful proof that with persistence, support, and self-belief, remarkable achievements are possible regardless of your starting point or the challenges you face.Feel inspired by Delaney's story? Follow the Women's Motorsports Network for more profiles of extraordinary female racers breaking barriers and changing the motorsports landscape one lap at a time.Support the showFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/womensmotorsportsnetworkandpodcast INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/womensmotorsportsnetwork/ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ TIKTOK: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melindarussell/ X: https://x.com/IWMANation FACEBOOK Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/melinda.ann.russell

Taylor Swift details falling in love with Travis Kielce. The mega-star who rarely does interviews tells all for two hours. From first date details to an easter egg explanation, Taylor lets us in on how she masterminds her life. Plus, how her mom won back her masters. Then, new clues that more surprises are coming. And, how her new album gets revenge on Kanye West. Then, Kim Kardashian sobs. Her tearful plea to Kanye caught on camera. Plus, Priscilla Presley accused. Did she pull the plug on daughter Lisa Marie to control Elvis' estate? Shocking claims from a $50-million lawsuit. And, Jamie Lynn Spears' teen daughter speaks out about the ATV accident that nearly killed her. Then, just wait until you see John Cena back in action… but covering up a hair transplant? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Today's show:0:00 Weather with Ashley Brauweiler4:31 Provincial wildfire briefings highlights11:10 Conception Bay North losses / The CBC's Caroline Hillier20:12 Active Forest Fire Duty Officer Bryan Oke25:38 ATV ban support group / Patrick Ryan35:46 NL wildfires behaviour / Biogeography professor Carissa Brown47:21 South Coast gas rationing / Angie Watson55:41 Street Reach helping vulnerable people / Thrive's Angela Crockwell1:01:25 Carbonear Public Library extended hours / Andrew Lockhart1:06:23 CBN support services / The CBC's Ariana Kelland with the RCMP's Adam Palmer

Did you know you can see Oahu's Windward side in just one day without feeling rushed or missing the best spots?For many visitors, the east side is simply a scenic drive, but behind those stunning views are hidden beaches, lush gardens, and photo-worthy moments most travelers overlook.If you've ever wondered how to plan a one-day itinerary that combines jaw-dropping scenery, local secrets, and perfect photo ops, this episode is for you. Join professional photographer Heather Eijenga as she shares her must-visit stops, insider tips, and expert advice for capturing Hawaii's magic, whether you're using a phone or a DSLR.

In this episode, the guys chat with Morgan Frayser, Co Owner of Slick Rock Off Road Rental. He shares what it's like running a family owned off road rental business in one of the most challenging tourism environments in the country. From navigating a crushing 32% local tax burden to dealing with activist groups pushing for restrictions, Morgan reveals how politics, regulation, and environmental pressures shape adventure tourism. He also shares stories of rescue missions and the steep insurance hurdles that come with operating high risk rentals offering valuable parallels and lessons for watersport operators facing their own industry challenges. [SPONSORS] - This show is sponsored by Take My Boat Test and WaveRez.Show Links:Website: https://www.watersportpodcast.comFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/awgpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1155418904790489Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awg_podcast/

TL;DR: When Gavin Newsom sweeps San Francisco's streets for an international summit, the press frames it as pragmatic urban stewardship. When Donald Trump orders a similar crackdown in Washington, D.C., it's cast as an authoritarian takeover. The cleanup looks the same; the narrative is worlds apart.In November 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom admitted plainly that San Francisco's sudden transformation—tent encampments gone, streets power-washed, graffiti scrubbed—was tied directly to hosting President Xi Jinping for the APEC summit. He likened it to tidying your home before guests arrive. Media coverage largely accepted the explanation: yes, the effort was timed for a diplomatic photo-op, but it was also evidence that the city could, when it wanted, restore order and civility.Fast-forward to 2025. President Trump, in his second term, orders a sweeping public safety operation in Washington, D.C. Federal agencies, the National Guard, and a temporarily federalized Metropolitan Police are deployed. The stated goals: end smash-and-grab retail crime, stop carjackings, dismantle open-air drug markets, break up illegal ATV takeovers, and make the capital safe for residents, tourists, and investors.The optics are similar: encampments cleared, streets quieter, police presence visible, sidewalks usable. But the coverage is very different. Newsom's cleanup is framed as a civic refresh; Trump's is depicted as a “coup,” a militarized occupation meant to “crush Black culture” and erase the city's character.Here's the double standard: The underlying actions—removing encampments, dispersing disorder, and signaling control—are nearly identical. The difference lies in the political framing. Newsom operates inside a media environment inclined to see him as a well-intentioned progressive trying to solve an intractable problem. Trump, by contrast, is cast as an existential threat; his motives are presumed malicious regardless of stated policy goals.This asymmetry mirrors the immigration debate. When Trump says he'll deport all 20 million undocumented immigrants, critics recast it as targeting only the most violent offenders—implying dishonesty or cruelty either way. In truth, violent offenders go to prison; it's the clean-record undocumented population that deportation actually affects. But reframing the policy into a moral litmus test changes public perception.The D.C. sweep fits the same mold. Supporters see it as long-overdue law-and-order; detractors see it as cultural suppression. To those inside the media's dominant narrative, Trump can never be normalized, and any exercise of executive authority is suspect—no matter how closely it resembles what a Democratic leader might do without controversy.The stakes go beyond partisan grievance. If public disorder is tolerated until an ally's event, but condemned as tyranny when an opponent acts, then public space becomes a proxy battlefield in America's endless political war. The broom is the same. The hands holding it determine the headline.

200 acres of prime hunting and recreational land just outside of Hill City MN.  5 -40 acreage parcels with the Hill River running through it.  A mix of tilable and wooded land with solid roads and trails through out it. Great for hunting and ATV enthusists.  Must see to truly appreciate.  $369,900- Chuck Carstensen RE/MAX Results 612-290-3809

It was 40 years ago today….On August 10th 1985 Michael Jackson purchased the Beatles song catalog from ATV, beginning one of the most legendary rock feuds of the 20th century. You could argue that it ended with Jackson's death in 2009. But you could also argue that it didn't…Andrew journeys through the entire Beatles recording career and plays one rarity from each year they were active.#paulmccartney #johnlennon #michaeljacksonListen, like and follow! IG: @toptrackpodEmail: toptrackpodcast@gmail.comFacebook: Top Track Bar and GrillBlueSky: @toptrackpod

GLP-1 shots can make your penis bigger, Howard Stern reactions, Green Dildo Coin, Spotify AI DJ, Jussie Smollett comeback, Maz quits on the Detroit Tigers, Jim's Picks: Butt Rock Songs, and Maxim Magazine in trouble for a 2007 article. Season 27 of South Park is on a roll. Even JD Vance dug it. Someone has taken credit for the green dildos at the WNBA games. It's a damn meme coin called Green Dildo Coin. If you needed another reason to take Ozempic (men only), some Reddit user is making a bold claim. Don't record on your phone when you ride an ATV. Howard Stern had the most bizarre "press conference" in Detroit in 1997 when he debuted on 97.1. Marc's been digging his Spotify AI DJ. A new Bonerline. Drew almost threw up today with the newest Diddy news. How many chances is this dude going to get? Special Forces Season 4 has a great cast. Some people are saying one of the contestants planted a noose on the set. Kelly Clarkson's ex has died at 48. She was not a fan of his. Drew Barrymore showed us her messy apartment.  Someone owes some people an apology. 2007 Maxim Magazine's Unsexiest Women. Tom had time for us after his medical procedure. Ennis Rakestraw is out for the year. Do the Detroit Lions really have it that bad at backup QB? The Detroit Tigers have really been on a rough stretch. Tom ran out of gas. More Howard Stern news...The 95 person staff were all blindsided. We go through a lot of comments from our YouTube video. Jim's Picks: Top 10 Butt Rock Songs. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley and BranDon).

The Howard Stern Show over at SiriusXM, more WNBA green dildos, kratom crackdown, a cop cam Karen, Andy Green update, a new China virus, and bad AI Katy Perry & Paul McCartney stories. Watch Drew on the Catching Up Podcast. A third dildo has been tossed on a WNBA court. A FOURTH dildo was thwarted. We're reminded of the best dildo video on the internet. Brooke Hogan sucks at music and being a daughter. She didn't attend Hulk's funeral. RIP Loni Anderson. Drew would rather nail Jan Smithers. BranDon does not look like this murderer. Howard Stern will not be renewed on SiriusXM. What will become of his 90 employees? Drew is interested in Kratom. Jim Bentley is on the mend following his ATV accident. Andy Green is still roaming the streets of NYC and telling stories. Kim Kardashian is out to find Amy Bradley from Amy Bradley Is Missing fame on Netflix. Wide mouth Carly Simon once nailed New York Mets star Keith Hernandez. Prince Harry quit his own charity. Kate Merrill is suing her former CBS TV station WBZ in Boston. We watch a beast of a woman battle with the police. The Woodward Dream Cruise is creeping up. Let Drew know about any Aston Martin events for his buddy, The Wild Man. Marc gets more crap for taking his kids to a Katy Perry concert. Did Katy Perry perform in Ferndale or is it just a BS AI story? Paul McCartney definitely DID NOT visit Phil Collins in the hospital. China has a new virus floating around. Todd Blanche and Ghislaine Maxwell had a 9-hour conversation just for her to say Trump didn't do anything. The transcripts may be released. Donald Trump misnamed Kristi Noem. Trump has also been de-banked. The brawl in Cincinnati won't go away. JD Vance's half-brother enters the mix. Check out this bike crash. Cameron Diaz is declared unrecognizable. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley and BranDon).

Lomgtime Cleveland Police Dtetective Steve loomis joins Bob. They talk about the ongoing problem of street takeovers. He talks about what can be done to stop the mobs of dirtbikes, ATV's and cars roaming the streets and causing danger for the public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newly 18-year-old Lil Tay joins OnlyFans. WATP Karl takes down “hero Opie” & the end of The Really Good Podcast. Plus – a Katy Perry pass out, Diddy denied, Donald Trump v. Gayle King, Sydney Sweeney dividing America, and Drew Crime: Mr. & Mrs. Murder. Jim Bentley has been injured in an ATV accident. He'll be fine, but needs surgery. Marc rocked out at Katy Perry. A female fan passed out and collapsed on stage. Drew popped up on the Catching Up Podcast with Matt Shepard and Craig Monroe. Check it out later this week. Drew Crime: Mr. & Mrs. Murder is on Hulu now. Quadruple murderers are all the rage now. Rod Stewart is getting crap for his AI Ozzy Osbourne tribute. Noah Cyrus is HUGE. Lil Tay is now a Lil Whore on OnlyFans. She claims to have made over $1M in 3 hours. Who are these pedophilic simps? Diddy has been denied bail. Gina Huynh is a liar and on Team Diddy now. Drew is extremely happy to receive his ‘poop anywhere' card. WATP's Karl Hamburger drops by to show us Alex Stein's latest prank on MSNBC, rip into fallen radio star Gregg ‘Opie' Hughes, the fall of The Really Good Podcast starring Bobbi Althoff and more. The Donald: Donald Trump declares Gayle King “over” and Taylor Swift “not hot”. Gay Trump is the best Trump. Late Night is much different now than your parent's Late Night. How long will the Jeffrey Epstein files linger? Woody Allen wrote a charming note to Jeffrey Epstein. Erik Menendez is BACK in prison following kidney stones. More video of the Cincinnati beatdown is out featuring an n-word. The woman beaten has raised over $400k on GiveSendGo. Bryan Kohberger survivor Dylan Mortensen is cleaning up on GoFundMe. Sydney Sweeney is heckled for being in a “racist ad”. The POTUS has her back. Michael Weitzel can leave his MAGA hat on. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley and BranDon).

As a Trauma Surgeon and Critical Care Specialist at Rapid City Hospital, Leslie Van Dyne, M.D. shares her unique perspective on caring for patients in a rural area known for outdoor adventure and seasonal risks. Dr. Van Dyne explains the differences between trauma surgery and emergency medicine, discusses caring for critical patients in the ICU and relates how activities like ATV riding, horseback riding and summer tourism impact the trauma cases she sees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Groups of ATV and dirt bike riders wreaked havoc on Cleveland streets over the weekend; a gun was found in a diaper bag at a Columbus-area daycare facility; Vivek Ramaswamy held a town hall meeting in Cincinnati; College Football Coaches' Poll puts Ohio State at #2.

This week features a deep dive into the deep hollers of the Appalachians with a local to the mountains, fishing guide, and friend of the show Nick T. The guys start with a strange correlation with the country of Georgia cuisine, why younger brothers can never win, and a “small world” story between a TV host and Big Money Banks. Next the three get into the correct pronunciation, Jrad's time with the Appalachian Service Project, driving ATV's with snakes, life in the hollers, the best Appalachian food like pickled eggs, wild true and ghost stories alike only possible in this part of the country, associating with your county not city,

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 8 Summer Plans Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.  At dinner I checked in with Ivy first, then Vanessa when she had finished for the day and joined us. I also made a point of stopping to check in with Dani to see what she was thinking about her new co-team members, who she thought would work out fine, and Kyla. "I think she's a lot quieter than the rest of us," Dani told me as we sat side by side near Leo's RV. "Which isn't a bad thing, obviously. She isn't as used to being around girls like us though. Erica worked with strippers because of her job, along with all sorts of other crazy people, so it's whatever for her. Kyla obviously isn't used to how open we all are about sex things." I pressed my lips together and nodded, watching her as she sat in a group with Erica, Vanessa and Aria chatting. She was obviously engaged, but didn't offer much to the conversation and seemed happy to listen. "Anything else?" I asked. "Anything weird come up?" "No. Should I be watching for something?" Danielle asked. "No, no," I assured her. "I just; Erica, Ivy, Vanessa; it's working. It's crazy, but it's working. I'm worried about Kyla messing that up." "It should be fine," Dani said, patting me on the shoulder. "Erica will Mom them into shape if things get out of whack, and if she's the problem you can just spank her until she apologizes." That made me snort and shake my head with a grin. "You and her talk too much." "Or maybe we don't talk enough," Dani grinned. We folded ourselves back into the larger conversations, me joining the group with Kyla while Dani went to sit with Leo, India and Ivy. As the sun was setting we busted out the fire pit and Vanessa pointed me towards the nearest brush piles I could harvest some wood from; it seemed she'd handily directed some of her workers to pile it within easy walking distance. Then, once the fire was crackling and we all had our drinks of choice, we told the new women our story. We started with Leo and I, then how Erica had joined us for quarantine. We both teased her about hearing her masturbating, which until that moment she hadn't realized had been the case and made her blush. Then we talked about the land lease, the construction, and the introduction of Dani, Vanessa, and Ivy. Vanessa told us how fucking crazy she thought we were at first, but after that first night around the fire she'd realized something weird but special was going on so she stopped judging and started getting a little jealous. Then Ivy told her perspective, stepping into a life with Erica and me. Then we had to tell the story of Vanessa joining us, which got rushed over really quickly and then had to be retold because even Dani hadn't gotten all the details. I'd purposefully sat beside Kyla around the fire, Erica taking the spot on the other side of me. As India and Aria started ragging on Vanessa for not giving them the full story in the initial car ride when they met her, Kyla leaned over to me. "Can we talk? In private?" "Sure," I said, nodding towards our RV. I leaned back in the other direction to Erica and kissed her cheek, and she met my eye and nodded. Inside the RV Kyla had taken the Murphey seat this time so I sat on the bench opposite her. "You still feeling alright?" I asked her. "No," she laughed. Inside, in the more steady light of the RV, I could see she was flushed even with her slightly darker Filipina skin. "I feel like I've got a fever, but it's concentrated in all my erogenous zones. I don't even like women but that story about Vanessa has me..." She blew out a long breath. "I don't know how much more sex talk I can take before I snap." "I can ask them to stop if you want. Or we can have that conversation if you think you're ready." "I'm; Yeah, I'm ready to talk," she said. She took another deep breath and sat up straighter, putting her hands on her knees like she was trying to focus herself. "You can ask anything you want, and I'll try to answer," I promised her. "I don't have questions," she said. "Well, I actually have lots of questions, but they aren't important right this second. Seeing you with Erica and Ivy, and meeting Vanessa. Hearing the way Leo and Danielle talk about you. I think I know what I'd be getting into if I do this with you. And to be honest, it sounds pretty greater considering the other options that the world seems to be moving toward right now. But I never want to be someone who just takes the easy thing because it's in front of them. I know a lot about you now, but you don't know much about me. And I'll tell you, pretty much anything you want to know, but there's something I need to know if you're Okay with. More than my past, more than whatever your government is worried about." "The only way to know is to ask," I said, trying not to let my own nerves out. Kyla, who had been steady throughout the day, was showing signs of anxiety amidst her hard pressure to keep herself under control. "If I don't like it, we can try and find someone else as soon as possible." "I don't want,” She bit her tongue, cutting herself off, and took a breath. "Harrison. If I do this, if I imprint on you, this is my out. I've been doing everything my father wanted since I was a kid. The only escape I ever had was through dance, and even that he took control of to make sure I was getting the best lessons and tutors and going to the best camps and schools. And even then, he and NICA used it as well. My entire life I've been pushed and trained and taught and used because I didn't matter and my country and my service did. I want a new life, Harri. But I want that life the way I want it. I want a big family. I was an only child, and my parents tolerated each other at best in a political marriage. I want six kids at least, more if we can. Fuck, I'll pop out an even dozen and be happy. Or maybe not, maybe I'll be happy earlier than that, but I know I want a lot of kids to love on and raise in a big, supportive family. "If you can handle that, and if Erica can handle that because I know she's going to need to agree to it too, then I swear to God I'll be loyal to you and only to you. My father, NICA, my country; I can leave them all behind and in the dust if you can promise me we'll try to make my dream life happen. And I promise I'll be the best, hottest housewife I can be for as long as you can keep me barefoot and pregnant. I'll make sure I'm fit and tight and everything I can be for you in between pregnancies, but God I want this, Harri. I've never told anyone this before, but I want it so fucking bad." I didn't know what to say. She was practically sobbing in her earnest desire for what she was asking. I just slid down to my knees on the floor of the RV and wrapped my arms around her and Kyla clutched at me as she panted hard. Not crying, but desperately trying to control herself. "Kyla, I would be an extremely lucky man if I can give that all to you," I said. "And I want to tell you yes right away, but you're right. I do need to check with Erica first. Do you want me to call her in to ask her now?" She hesitated a moment, then nodded and sat back on the chair, sucking in a deep and unsteady breath. I stood up and opened the RV door, sticking my head out. All three of my women looked over to me and I made what I hoped was a reassuring smile, then locked eyes with Erica and motioned her over with a head jerk. She joined us, shutting the RV door behind her. "What's up?" she asked. "Everything Okay?" I looked at Kyla. "Do you want me to ask, or you?" "I; You," she said after hesitating. I turned to Erica and reached out, holding her hand. "So, I know we had our conversation earlier, but I didn't realize this was coming or maybe we would have talked about it more seriously. Kyla is ready to join us, but she has an ask. Because of her own family past, one thing she wants more than anything is to have kids. A whole bunch of them. So she wants to know if you and I are Okay with that and willing for that to happen, or if we should try to find her someone else who can help her get the life she wants." Erica's eyes had widened as I was speaking and her jaw worked a few times before she could find the right words. Then she turned to Kyla and looked at her for a long, long moment before putting a hand on her shoulder. "That's the most important thing for you?" she asked quietly. Kyla nodded, then looked up to meet Erica's gaze. "More than anything else. And I want to do that with Harrison; God, I haven't even known him a day but it's like I can see it right there in front of me. He'd make a great husband and an even better father. I just know he's yours more than either of the others, and I couldn't risk saying yes to him without you saying yes to this." "God, fuck," Erica sighed, and I realized she was tearing up as well. She looked to me. "Yes, obviously, if it's what she needs then yes. But I guess now I need to stop taking the pill because I'm not just gonna sit by and not be in the running for the first mother of your child." Now it was my turn to be surprised. "But we just,” She kissed me to shut me up. "It doesn't matter," she said. "I love you, you love me. If the world implodes and we're all shot off into space, I still won't regret making a kid with you." She turned to Kyla. "Are you going to love him?" "I'm going to try," she said. "And I'll work harder at it than my parents ever did." "Then yes," Erica said. "But, and I'll only ever say this once and you need to listen to me closely, if this isn't the truth and you hurt Harrison or me or anyone else here then I swear to everything in heaven and hell that I will end you. Do we understand each other?" Kyla nodded, taking her seriously. "I do, and I won't." "Okay," Erica said, and leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You clearly need a fuck, so unless you've suddenly turned Bi then I should leave you to it." She turned to me and kissed me hard, and I hugged her to keep her close. "You're sure?" I asked her in a whisper. She nodded. "Rock her world, babe. Show her why she's one of the four luckiest women on the planet." She kissed my cheek, squeezed my fingers in hers, and then stepped away and out of the RV. Kyla looked like she was going to jump out of her seat. "So,” I started. Kyla stood up abruptly and grabbed me by the face, smashing her plush lips to mine. I naturally grabbed her by the waist as we started making out right there in the middle of the RV. She'd been wearing that bulky coverall the entire day and now she started to scramble to try and get it unzipped and off at the same time as trying to get me to get my shirt off, which just turned into an awkward mess of her hands moving back and forth between us. "Stop, stop," I murmured, pulling my lips from hers. She actually whined a little in her throat and then blinked in surprise at her own reaction. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist as I carried her back towards the bed. Like this, she was taller than me and she bent down to kiss me some more, making it hard for me to navigate. Thankfully it was a straight shot, and there wasn't a lip at the door to the bedroom area that I needed to duck under or step over. I found the bed with my shin and stopped and lowered her down onto it so we lay somewhere in the middle, me on top of her as we kept making out. Once we were done I pulled away and tugged off my shirt. "Fuck," she groaned, looking at me hungrily. "Not what you're used to?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, so much better." She raised her hands to my stomach and up to my chest, letting her fingers play through my chest hair. I couldn't help myself and I reached down and unzipped the coverall down to her belly button. Underneath, all she had on was a set of black bra and panties. On the one hand, I was starting to get mesmerized by her body very quickly, but on the other, I remembered in the back of my mind that she hadn't arrived with any luggage. I lifted her from under her arms and she let me help her pull the coveralls off, then raised her ass so I could pull them from her legs as well. I crashed back down onto her, now feeling her smooth skin on mine. Her body was everything I would have expected from a dancer; smooth and sleek all over, with toned muscling and a sort of feline grace as she moved around. "Where; are; your clothes; and things?" I asked between kisses. "They said; they would bring; them up; from Cali,” she replied. Then she stopped the kissing and looked up at me. "Seriously, I've got this fucking craving for your cock right now like I can't believe, Harri. I need you to fuck me so fucking bad." "Okay," I said, and then kissed her again as I reached under her to unsnap her bra. When she realized what I wanted she didn't even bother with the snap, she just yanked the black cups off her tits and the whole thing over her head. Her tits were a perfect size for my big hands to palm, a bit bigger than Ivy's but much smaller than Erica's, and her dark brown areolas were smooth and a little puffy, with two perfect nubs for nipples. I sucked on one, feeling how hard they were, but she was stretching to try and get my shorts off of me. She needed the imprinting. We could always explore each other more in the future. I leaned away from her, one hand still on her tit and holding her down, as I shoved down my shorts and boxers. For her part, she pushed her panties down to her knees and I pulled them the rest of the way off. Her cunt was a gorgeous brown, flushed darker than the skin above and slick with her chemically-induced horniness. Even her clit hood was a little pulled back, the softer pink of her clit just visible from being swollen. She was entirely bare, and I wondered if that was a personal choice or a seduction tactic she'd been told to follow. Not that I cared at the moment. I wanted to eat her out and taste her. I wanted to make this last, to wow her like Erica had said. Fuck, let's be real, I wanted to impress the seductive honey trap spy with my sex skills. "Fuck my brains out," Kyla demanded. "Fuck me until I can only ever think of you. Take me and make me yours, you fucking massive wall of American god." I could impress her later. Her cunt accepted my cock like a perfectly tailored suit. I slid in, and even though she was tight and her muscles were firm as hell as they clenched at me she was also extremely willing. That changed when I was almost all the way in though, but not from want of trying. Kyla came, her entire body rolling and arching as her cunt clenched down enough to almost start forcing my cock out. She grabbed me around the shoulder and hugged herself up, clinging to me, and her hips roiled as she thrust hard up and down. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her lips curled in an ugly snarl for a long moment, until the orgasm passed and she let go of me, falling a couple of inches back to the bed with a 'whumph.' "H-Holy fuck," she panted, looking up at me in confusion. "What was that? That,” She blinked rapidly. "Did no one tell you about the first orgasm?" I asked her. She shook her head, still blinking like she was trying to gain her focus. "Fuck me and tell me," she said. I started to slow-thrust, enjoying the delicious warmth of her as I leaned down a bit more, pressing my full body against hers as she spread her legs wider for me. "They told Erica in the information session that she should expect a massive orgasm the first time she ingested a man's precum, and the biggest one of her life when they ingest their actual cum." "She got an information session?" Kyla panted, looking slightly alarmed. "You didn't?" I asked, equally alarmed. We'd both stopped thrusting at each other, not sure what to do. "Fuck it, fucking fuck me," she said and rolled her body to get my cock deeper inside her again. I wasn't going to argue with that. We fucked like that, mutually, for a bit and then I took some more control and went up high on my hands for better leverage and started to fuck her harder. Kyla moaned and panted beneath me, then raised her lips up and sucked on one of my nipples, which was an oddly pleasurable surprise, and then she took some of my hairy pec muscle between her teeth and bit me lightly as she came again. "Ow," I said when she dropped back to the bed again. "Sorry," she panted. "I just; you're really fucking good." Huh, maybe I can impress the spy, I thought. "I'm getting closer," I told her. I'd had... well, not the most amount of sex I'd had in a day, but a bunch, so I wasn't entirely surprised I was lasting as long as I was. "Do you want to try something else?" "I want to try everything with you," she gasped and kissed me. "But... let me..." I disengaged with her, which made her moan like a whore, and she scrambled around on the bed until she was at the bottom corner on her back. Then she spread her legs wide into a full split, and then even wider until she had one leg practically parallel with her torso and the other was way out to the other side. If she was a clock, she would have been showing 10 o'clock. "Fuck me hard. Use my hole," she said, licking her lips. "Get your cock back inside; yes! Oh, fuck, Harrison. Make my cunt fucking squirm. Make your cunt squirm. It's yours now. I'm yours. My whole body. Fuck! I've never felt it like this before. I've never felt anything like this." I was crushing down into her in big, hard strokes and I could feel her cunt squishing with her juices and my balls slapping against her ass cheeks. I was hovering over her and a bead of sweat had trailed down to the end of my nose. Kyla opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, licking it off of me. I lowered the rest of the way to her and kissed her hard, then hugged her tightly as I started pumping short and quick, barely leaving her cunt. "I can't wait to fall in love with you," I whispered to her. "I can't wait to make babies with you, and start a family." "Do it," she gasped. "Put a baby in me. Make my womb yours forever. Breed me, make me your breeding wife-whore. Love me, may-ari. Oh, fucking; that's what you are, you beautiful big bastard. You're my may-ari. My owner. I choose you. I choose; I,” I couldn't have stopped from coming in her if my life depended on it. She was pushing towards her own orgasm already, and her years of dance and other physical activity had turned her core into a vice that sucked at my cock like a hoover. I came as she lost her grip on her words, chanting about choosing me. She came as well, a scream quenched in her throat as her entire body flexed and tensed. I filled her up, releasing over and over in her, but I finished before she did and just went right back to fucking her since my cock hadn't gone soft yet and she was still coming. I only stopped when she went slack, her legs falling back to a more natural position, and her face went from that clenched teeth-gritting tension to a soft, satisfied smile. "Imprinting. Imprinting. Imprinting." I pulled away from her slowly, making sure she wasn't going to fall from the bed, and found that the entire bottom corner and the edge of the mattress were wet and sticky with juices. Along with my legs, crotch and hips. "Great, another squirter," I sighed. Not that I actually minded, but it just meant we'd be doing even more laundry in the tiny machine the RV held. I stood and, once I felt like I could be coordinated enough, I picked Kyla up in a cradle and lifted her higher on the bed and tucked her in. She was in the fetal position, still mumbling the imprinting sequence with that smile. I had to grab a new pair of shorts since mine had ended up in the splash zone, and I didn't bother putting on a shirt but did wipe myself down with some wet paper towel. Stumbling out of the RV, I was greeted by catcalls and applause. Looking around, the fire was still going and someone had stocked it higher with wood. Erica, Dani and Vanessa were all sitting in the Adirondack chairs, and Ivy was sitting curled up in Erica's lap. "Where are Leo and the girls?" I asked, trying my best not to let them show the embarrassment I knew they were going for with their teasing. "Aria and India were going to fuck, and invited Leo to watch," Dani smirked. "So I assume he's in there either jerking off, or fucking." "I don't need to picture that," Erica rolled her eyes. I stepped over and kissed Vanessa as she leaned her head back and reached up to hug me around the neck. Then I slipped around the circle to Ivy and Erica and kissed both of them. Dani opened her arms to me as well, so I hugged her and she kissed my cheek. "Congrats," she said as I pulled away. "Pops." "Oh, God," I groaned and looked at Erica. "You told them?" "Was I supposed to keep it a secret?" she countered. "I needed to talk it out with someone." Vanessa had stood from her chair and gestured for me to take her seat and went inside the RV, coming back out with some more beers. She passed them around and then sat on my lap similar to the way Ivy was with Erica. We sat that way for a while talking as the night sky played out above us. I'd always loved looking up at the sky out on the property, away from any major sources of light pollution. Now spotlights were lighting up the construction area a hundred yards away, where men and women were working through the night. The view was dimmed, and I wondered if it would ever be as clear again as it had been a month ago. Dani slipped off to bed first, and Vanessa grumbled that she had to be up in the morning for work so the rest of us went quickly. We never had discussed the sleeping arrangements, so I ended up sleeping next to Kyla, with Erica pressing her back to my side and holding my arm under her and around her stomach, with Vanessa spooning up to her and Ivy on the end on her back, snuggled partially under Vanessa. I knocked on the door and set the two big brown paper bags down on the stoop and backed away. The house wasn't 'old' per se, located in a neighborhood that had been developed almost twenty-five years ago, and hadn't been updated since it was first built. To be fair, there hadn't ever exactly been a housing boom in the area, so other than the one-off builds it was probably one of the newest places around. The inner front door opened and Mary looked out cautiously, then in surprise as she saw me. She hadn't texted me like I'd asked her to, and it had almost been a week since I'd seen her in the parking lot at the grocery store. She looked a little better, though not by much, and I wondered how far she'd been able to stretch that $70 I'd been able to give her then. "Harri?" she asked in surprise. "Hey, Mary," I said with a little wave. "How did you; Is this;?" "It wasn't that hard, Mary," I said. "I just made a couple of calls. You never texted me." "I know, I,” she hesitated, and then hung her head. "I was so embarrassed." "You don't need to be," I told her. "You're in a tough spot, and I'm not. I want to help out." "Mom? Who's at the door?" came a little voice from inside. A boy poked his head around Mary's hip, looking cute and curious. "It's an old friend of Mommies," Mary said. "He's just here to say hello." "Hey there buddy," I said, smiling as I pulled my mask down and waved, then let the mask snap back up and played like it had rocked me. The kid giggled. "My name is Harrison, but everyone calls me Harri on account of my big beard and hair." "That's a funny name," the kid said. "If you got rid of your beard, what would they call you?" "Hmm, that's a good question!" I said. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask your Mom, she knew me when I didn't have a beard." "We still called him Harri, baby," Mary said, smiling down at the boy and running her fingers through his hair. The kid had keen eyes and noticed the bags on the stoop and the food inside. "Is that for us?" "It is, kiddo," I said. "Could you help your Mom get it inside?" "Sure!" he said. Mary sighed and opened the screen door for him, and the kid came out in his socks and hefted up one of the bags and started carrying it in. "Harri, you don't need to,” "I made sure there are some snacks for the kids in there," I said, pretending like she hadn't been talking. "I know they aren't nutritious, but I figured you can bribe some good behavior for some Oreos and stuff every once in a while. There's also a bottle of merlot in that other one there, so you may not want the kiddo to lift it. He's a cute kid, by the way. I've got an order in down at the butcher's that I'm supposed to pick up tomorrow, so I'll be by sometime tomorrow afternoon with some meat for you guys too. Maybe I can meet your little girl then? Charlie, right?" Mary looked like she was about to cry, and I didn't want to push her over the edge so I tried to make it all like it wasn't a big deal. "Alright, Mary. See you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything specific and I'll see what I can do, alright? Tell the kiddo not to eat all the gummy worms at once." I was halfway down the driveway to my truck when the screen door opened again. "Harri," Mary called. I looked back and she was standing on the porch, looking at me with tears brimming in her eyes and a happy frown on her face. From this distance, without a mask, I could still see her as the little button-nosed cheerleader I'd known. "Thank you." I just winked and waved, heading back to my truck. "That was really kind of you," Kyla said as I got in. "It's nothing," I said. "I knew her in high school and her husband's been missing for a while." Kyla took one of my hands from the steering wheel and wrapped her fingers in mine, looking at it. The casual intimacy was still new; the first couple days after her imprinting had been us feeling each other out, and her getting comfortable with the general openness to sex that was our new life. I'd made it a point to spend time with her, both sexually and non-sexually, each day and we were slowly starting to find a soft groove. "That's still kindness, Harri," she said. "You're sure she needs it? I don't want to see you getting taken advantage of." "I'm sure," I said. "Okay," Kyla nodded. "Then we'll help her. Now, let's continue this tour. I want to know everything I can about this little podunk, backwoods town I've been shipped off to." "Well, the first thing you should know is that I'm pretty sure it isn't big enough to be considered a town. Maybe a village?" "Oh, God," she laughed. "Not if you consider all the construction workers moving in." "True. I bet we're close to half-againing the local population at this point. Vanessa said we'll hit a thousand by the end of the week." "With that many," Kyla said. "We should have our house in, what, a few months?" "No idea," I said. "No fucking idea." "Fuck, it's already June," I groaned. It was hot as balls and I was regretting putting on my 'go out into the world' getup. "How did you miss the 1st?" Erica asked, also done up in her gear. "How did we miss Memorial Day?" I countered. "Oh, shit," Leo said, standing up from where he'd been sitting over near his RV. "You're right, we did miss Memorial Day. Should we do something?" "Like what?" I asked. "We could throw a party," Ivy suggested. "We could all dress up fancy and have a dance?" The surveyors had been needing Leo and me less and less lately and I was starting to get a little twitchy with how little I had to do. Quarantine before all of this really kicked off had been one thing, but now we didn't even have our big wide backyard to ourselves. When Erica had mentioned that she wanted to take a drive into Portland to pick up some things from the tattoo parlor and check her apartment I'd jumped on the chance and we'd made the plan. The girls were already starting to excitedly talk about planning our late Memorial Day celebration as I stretched and sighed, checking my watch. We'd been planning to leave right after lunch and it was already 3pm. Vanessa had taken an extended break since she'd worked late the night before and we'd had some one-on-one fun in the RV, which had been sorely needed for her. Where the rest of us were struggling to find things to keep busy and motivated, the last week had seen more and more responsibility and work landing in Vanessa's lap as the construction crews started to show up and move into the barracks. It meant there was an entirely new crew of cleaners, maintenance workers and delivery people under her supervision along with her 'gorillas.' Not to mention her wrangling of the other foremen and administrators on-site as her father handled the top-end details of the job. Every day it seemed like new equipment and supplies were being delivered and a third barracks was quickly being erected as even more hands were around. But an hour with Vanessa had delayed us, and when I was finally ready to go Dani was busy with Leo over at their place, and since she was coming with us Erica and I had to wait. Then Erica and Kyla were ensconced in a private conversation in our RV when Dani emerged ready to go, so we lost another half hour before the three of us were all finally dressed and prepped to leave. "Okay," I said loudly, trying to cut through the multiple party-related conversations. "We're all agreed we'll do a Memorial Day thing, but we're burning daylight. Erica and Dani, let's go." We took my truck, only needing one vehicle since we weren't hauling a ton of stuff like the last time. As we pulled around the site offices I spotted Vanessa walking with one of the other foremen in conversation and gave her a little double honk. She smiled and waved. Driving down the old driveway path there were now a half dozen wide offshoots winding off into the trees and closer to the highway there were big swathes of ground that had been cleared and were starting to get flattened by scrapers and excavators. Vanessa had mentioned that we'd end up with a couple of strip malls worth of stores to help provide for the eventual community; a convenience store, a clinic, a dentist, that sort of thing. Right at the end of the driveway a guard hut had been erected, little more than a fancy roadside fruit stall that could barely fit two people inside. I pulled up next to it and Erica rolled down the window. "Hey Patrick," I said, waving to the construction worker manning the booth and tracking the ins and outs. "Hey folks," the older guy said with a grin. He was supposed to be on the road crews but had arrived earlier than needed. I'd asked him once if standing in the guard booth all day working a clipboard was boring and he assured me that after three decades manning a 'Slow/Stop' sign in the middle of roads through sun, rain and sleet, the booth and the clipboard were welcome. "We'll be out for a few hours," I said. "Sounds good," he replied and made a note on his clipboard. Then he wiped at his eyes and cleared his throat, blinking. "Y'all didn't say anything about how bad the pollen got up here. I think my allergies are kicking up and I didn't bring any of my meds, I thought the North West was supposed to be wet." "It usually is. We'll pick you something up," Erica offered. "We need to stop at a pharmacy anyways." "We do?" I asked. "We do," Erica said, patting me on the knee. "Hah," Patrick laughed. "And here I thought you was some sort of Big Dog, Harri. But you're as whipped by your women as the rest of us." "See you in a bit, Patrick," I said. He waved us off, then covered his mouth to cough a little. "Poor guy," Dani said. "I'd hate if I had allergies like that." "We'll get him fixed up," I said as I pulled onto the highway and started heading in the direction of Portland. "It's been weirdly dry and hot so I'm betting the dust from the brush cutting is doing it to him." And I didn't think anything more of it. Erica unlocked the metal grate that pulled down over the front of the tattoo parlor and lifted it up on the rollers enough to uncover the door. The good news was that the whole thing with the 'Autonomous Zone' seemed to have burned itself out and Portland was no longer hosting big protests at the moment. The bad news was that only happened after a week of riots and several news-worthy moments of violence and vandalism. Thankfully the parlor wasn't on one of the major routes the riots had travelled down and there didn't seem to be any damage other than sprayed graffiti on the grate and some of the glass windows behind it. I'd pulled my truck right up over the curb and parked us as close as possible. The streets were as empty of people moving around as the last time we'd come into the city, except there was more trash. I'd seen old newsreels of when there had been major strikes in New York City back in the early 80s and it wasn't exactly that bad, but another couple of weeks and it might get there. Someone must have been doing collections, they were just overburdened or understaffed or something. I had to nudge a pile out of the way with the front of my truck to wedge into the open space, but it almost immediately proved worth it as a trio of ambulances came burning down the street with their lights running. If I'd parked on the street one of them would have needed to swerve out of the way and who knew if those extra seconds would be the difference between life or death for someone; not to mention the potential of the ambulance not swerving fast enough and clipping my truck. Inside the tattoo parlor Erica went straight to her bay and started unhooking and gathering her equipment. Dani was looking around at the place, grinning as she examined the wild decor. She would call out questions to Erica, who would tell her who had done what mural, or the brief story behind the broken surfboard hanging from the ceiling and the skateboard deck covered in almost a hundred different signatures. I spotted a photo on the wall and realized it was of Erica and all of her staff at the most recent DragonCon where they had put up a booth and done live tattooing. Erica had said beforehand she thought it might be a waste of time, but the owner of the parlor was a huge nerd and wanted to do it so it was her job to organize. I never had found out how it went, but she looked happy in the photo. I grabbed the frame from the wall and brought it over to her. "Do you want to bring this, too?" I asked. She glanced at it and paused her work, then smiled and hugged me. "That's sweet, Harri. Yes, absolutely." She took the frame and put it in one of the boxes we'd brought for her to carry stuff, then turned to me. "Hey, could you just empty all those drawers there into the boxes? Don't just dump them, but there isn't anything particularly fragile. It's mostly inks and cleaner solutions and stuff." "Sure," I said. "Thanks, babe," she said and kissed my cheek. "Dani and I are just going to slip through to next door." "Oh, God," I groaned. I hadn't realized that was her plan. "Don't worry," she grinned. "It'll all be fun for you, I promise." The owner of the tattoo parlor also owned the sex shop next door and had installed a door between the two since the clientele crossed over fairly consistently. Erica led Dani through the door, opening it with her key, and I could hear them laughing and giggling. By the time I was done with the drawers Erica had pointed out, placing what seemed like hundreds of little vials and bottles of inks and other liquids into the boxes along with some other art supplies, they hadn't come back. I went to the door and opened it, looking in. Erica glanced over, grinning as she held another box and Dani was placing something inside. "You want any porn, babe?" "What do I need porn for?" I asked. "I dunno," she said. "Variety?" "Ooh, this one is called 'Big Black Booties 15,'" Dani said, grabbing a DVD from a nearby shelf and waving it at me. "You don't have that kind of variety yet, Harri." I snorted and shook my head. "I'm perfectly happy with the booties at my disposal, thank you." Dani shrugged and put the DVD in the box. "I'll see if Leo wants it." "Gag!" Erica laughed, making them both start giggling. I had a feeling that was a running joke between them. "How are we paying for this stuff?" I asked. "Everything is turned off and we don't have any cash." "Artie told me I could Venmo him at a 75% discount," Erica said. "Plus anything with an expiry date I could have for free. So we've got a lot of lube now, along with a bunch of penis-shaped candy and some candy underwear." I sighed and shook my head. "Oh my God, we should take her with us," Dani said, pointing up on a high shelf where a creepily lifelike sex doll was sitting. "I think you mean rescue her," Erica said. "Harri, help me get her down." "Really?" I asked. "Yes," they both demanded. When we packed up the truck we had two boxes of Erica's tattoo gear and other possessions from the shop, another full box of Sex Shop stuff, and Dani was sitting in the back next to 'Sexy Susan' who had also happened to get dressed in a sexy nurse costume. They thought it was fucking hilarious, I just thought 'Sexy Susan' was a little creepy. Dani stayed down in the truck, taking the front seat as I pointed out that the 1911 was in its case under the passenger seat if she needed it, while Erica and I headed up to her apartment. The elevator had an 'out of order' sign on it, and Erica had to use her key to the building to get into the stairwell which she said she'd never had to do before. That was an immediate red flag to me, but I kept my cool to try and not worry her. "You know," Erica said as we climbed the stairs. All our sex cardio seemed to be paying off because we weren't puffing from the exertion yet. "You haven't officially asked me to move in yet." "What?' I asked. "Leo and I,” "That wasn't asking me to move in permanently," Erica cut me off. "That was just for quarantine." I rolled my eyes, knowing where she was going with this. At the next floor I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to me, pulling down my mask and hers and kissing her hard and deep. "Erica Lacosta, will you move in with me forever and ever?" I asked her. "Yes," she grinned. "Yes, I will." She kissed me lightly to seal it, then sighed and we raised our masks and started climbing more stairs. "With that out of the way, I should really try and find a way out of my lease. Just because you have money doesn't mean I should be wasting mine on a place I'm not ever planning on moving back into." "I'll help with some research," I said. "I know there's all the clamor about halting eviction notices, but maybe there's something that will help. I could text Miriam, see if Captain Bloomberg knows anything offhand." "Hmm, maybe,” Erica started, but stopped as we reached her floor and found that door locked as well. "What the fuck?" she sighed and unlocked it. "Let me go first," I said. "Why? It's just..." As we entered the corridor Erica trailed off, seeing the tracks of dirty footprints in the hall and the spray paint on the walls. She immediately started to move forward, but I grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Wait," I said. "Look." I pointed at the big circles on the walls next to each door, but she clearly didn't understand what I was pointing out. "Those are FEMA search and rescue marks." Erica blinked once and was obviously unsure of what to say. "Let's just take it slow," I said. We walked down the hallway. Some of the doors were shut, but others looked like they'd been kicked in. "What do they mean?" Erica asked me, looking at the circles and the scribbles of letters and numbers on the walls. Each circle had an X dividing it into four parts, and each quadrant was marked. "The top part is the date the location was searched," I said. "5-24 means it happened May 24th, so a little over a week and a half ago. The left side is who did the search, the numbers are probably a military code for a National Guard unit. If it said PPD that would be the Portland police, or CDC or DEA or whoever. The right side is if there are any hazards." I pointed to one of the doors that were kicked in. "NE means 'No Entry.'" Then I pointed to another. "F/W means there's contaminated food and water." I pointed at another door, this one wasn't kicked in. "A 0 means no hazards. "What are the bottom parts?" Erica asked. I frowned and swallowed. "The crossed 0 means no one found. DB or DOA means dead bodies. LB means live people are, or were, inside." Erica looked at the carnage of the corridor, her eyes scanning the doors of her neighbors as she weighed the number of DBs. There weren't many 0s, but about half of the apartments were labelled LB and hadn't been kicked open. Half. We got to Erica's place around the hall corner, passing the old lady Diane's door. It was kicked in and labelled NE, DB. Erica poked the door with her boot and it swung in. Inside, other than the dirty boot prints, it looked generally neat and tidy... other than the pool of dark something that had dried on the kitchen linoleum. I grabbed Erica and held her as she gasped and her knees went weak. I pulled her away from the door and she saw that her own apartment had also been kicked in, but was labelled 0 hazards and 0 bodies. We went in and she sat down on the couch, burying her head in her hands. Kneeling in front of her, I cradled her head on my shoulder and hugged her tightly as the reality of the world settled on her. She cried, though not as long as she probably needed, as I talked her through what had probably happened. Enough people had gotten sick and called emergency services that they came to do a sweep of the building. They knocked on every door, and anywhere someone didn't answer they kicked it in. Then I assumed they had extracted the bodies. "I need to get out of here," Erica breathed. "Okay," I said. "Do you need me to grab anything? Did we forget anything last time?" "No, nothing," she shook her head. "Just get me out of here." I picked her up and carried her out. Erica wasn't Ivy or Vanessa, or even Kyla. She was a full-figured woman. But I carried her every fucking step, down every stair. She stopped me right at the doors to the building and had me let her down. "I don't want Dani to see me like this," she said. "Why?" I asked. "She would understand." "I know," she said, blinking under her ski goggles. "But if she sees me like this, she'll start thinking about what might be happening back home for her, and she doesn't need that." I held Erica's hand at the door for another minute as she breathed deeply and got control of herself, and finally she smiled at me and it actually travelled up to her eyes. "Thanks, babe," she said. "Love you," I said. "You too," she said and touched her forehead to mine since we were both masked and goggled. "Hey, Charlie," I grinned, waving to the little four-year-old as she sprawled in Mary's arms and waved back with her little grin. "Hi," she chirped. "Okay," Mary said, setting her daughter down. "Scoot, you. Let Mommy talk with Harri for a second. Go see what your brother is doing." "Okay," Charlie said and pounded off in the way only a four-year-old could. "You're looking more like yourself, Mary," I said. I was standing off the porch and we kept the screen door closed, but I had my mask lowered so she could see my face. She smiled softly and shrugged. "I don't feel like it, but thanks." "How are the kids doing?" I asked. "Well, I regret letting them eat sugar again," she smirked a little. "But they're good. Better than me, anyways, though Thomas misses his friends from school and keeps asking when he can go back to class." She laughed and wiped under one eye. "He used to hate going to school every morning, now it's all he wants to do." "We'll get there eventually," I assured her. "What about you? How are you doing?"

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 7 Hillbilly Tactics. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   The TV flashed, losing a digital telephone ring, and I grabbed the remote from the table and accepted the call. "Hey, Harrison," said the man on the other end. He was another lab coat, and as best I could tell from the blurry background he was likely in the same facility or even the same room as Doctor Varma had been. This guy looked like he'd stepped right out of a corny television show though; he was blubbery in the way that a guy could be after a couple of decades of slow physical decline, with a burst of thinning silver hair that just needed the black streaks and some smudges on his face to look like he'd been catoonishly blown up. The bit of scraggly, messy scruff on his chin that looked unplanned made me a little self-conscious of my own currently messy beard. Erica had wanted me to grow mine out a bit so she could decide if she liked it longer or shorter, and Ivy didn't care, so I was looking even more like a mountain man than usual. "I'm Doctor McKenna, but you can call me Bill," he continued. "You're on Doc Varma's team?" I asked, putting two and two together. "Yep," he nodded. "I was supposed to do the follow-up interview with you but got caught up with some of the numbers in your case. Charlotte and I have both reviewed the content. Sounds like you had a bit of a wild time, huh? And don't worry, we're all getting pretty used to the graphic nature of our work these days so you didn't offend or embarrass anyone." "Well, that's something at least," I said. "I never thought I'd be having a conversation like that with a doctor. Or anyone." He got a wry grin at this and held up a hand to ease me. "Believe me, Harrison. I've been with the team from the start and we have had more than a few of these sorts of conversations based on the nature of the vaccine. Yours is definitely up there as a novel case of details, but it's only personal for you, not us." I just nodded, not knowing what to say. I hadn't considered how often sex must come up in their day-to-day work if they were specialists. "Now, I have; well, I can't say it's good nor bad news," Doctor Bill said. "Interesting for us, for sure. As I'm sure you're aware, as you have two partners already, the vaccine is supposed to only be transmissible from women to men for the purposes of diluting the effects on men. To be frank, no one here on the team had considered the possibility of transferring and initiating a bonding process from one woman to another through female ejaculate. It doesn't help that most of the science community, those that would even think of it, haven't exactly spent time studying female ejaculate to begin with. So your situation wasn't tested for, but as far as we can tell it still shouldn't have been able to happen." "So what does that mean, doc?" I asked. "It means that you, or one of your current partners, or some combination, integrated with the vaccine and imprinting process in an exceptional way. A variant response is how we're categorizing it at the moment, and to be frank it's not even one of the most surprising ones we've encountered as the testing continues to broaden. As best we can tell from your interview, it's likely that Miss Peters was vaccinated through the oral ingestion of the female ejaculate; all the markers of a normal imprinting process occur when you began actual sex together. "Now, the really interesting part of this on my end is obviously the fact that this happened at all, but following the results of the blood tests from the Testing facility up where you are, and the preliminary tests we've completed on the samples that got flown down to us here, we've found that it isn't likely to be a phenomenon that is worth pursuing. Unfortunately, while Miss Peters is certainly going to be imprinted on you to some degree, it also seems that the efficacy of the vaccine in her system will be well under our current rates. Right now our projection is that she will only have an efficacy rate of about thirty-five to forty per cent, while a woman who has undergone our current best practices has an efficacy of somewhere around the eightieth percentile." I had to rub my forehead and close my eyes for a long moment as I tried to parse everything he was saying. "So what does that mean, Doctor Bill?" I asked. "It means that Miss Peters is now part of your 'Team,' he said. "That's what I've been calling the groups of imprinted people colloquially around here, anyways. But where your other two partners have a high likelihood of staving off the Duo Halo virus, if Miss Peters is exposed she is about half as likely to resist initial infection or gain serious aid in fighting off an infection she catches." "So we've put her at risk by having casual sex with her," I said. "Fuck me, this is exactly the kind of shit that I was worried about when she asked to join in with us." "Yes and no," he said. "To be frank, it's entirely possible that her integration with the vaccine will grow and normalize over time with repeated exposure to you. The staff up there will book some follow-up blood draws to check in on that. One of the many things were are trying to understand about the vaccine is how sex bolsters imprinted partners. Generally, we haven't seen that happen for women, since they can't have more than one imprinted male partner, but the more partners men are in contact with the more efficacy we're seeing." "So you're saying she's stuck with me," I said. "She asked for no-strings-attached, and she got trapped into a sexual relationship." "You could look at it that way," he said. "But,” "But," Doc Varma said, coming into view on his end of the call and hovering over his shoulder. "I would remind you, Mr. Black, that she did choose to initiate a group sexual encounter with you and your partners. And once she is awake from the imprinting process, I would not be surprised if she feels content with the overall situation following any initial panic or shock." I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "You know, when I first heard about this from Erica, I told her it sounded like some sort of brainwashing mind control shit? I couldn't believe she'd gotten the vaccine. But then everything was going so well that I stopped thinking about it. And Ivy was happy, and Erica's brother was partnered and they were both extremely happy. But this,” I sighed heavily and looked at the two scientists on the screen. "This is some fucked up, B-movie supervillain kind of shit. You guys realize that, right? Like, where is James Bond in all of this?" Bill frowned, but Doc Varma smirked just a little. "Yes," she said. "We are aware of how inappropriate many of the factors of the vaccine are, Mr. Black. It is a marvel of modern medicine, but we are still grappling with the necessities that come along with it." Together they ran me through what I needed to expect moving forward. Vanessa was going to be monitored until she woke up, so I would be spending the night where I was at. She'd get a complete physical, and they'd take more blood for testing before she'd be released into my care and we were brought back home. Then, depending on what she wanted, she would either be able to live with Erica, Ivy and I, or she could maintain some distance for the time being and only come to see me for the sexual encounters she would require. We would both receive follow-up check-ins from someone on the Vaccine testing team to draw more blood periodically to check if Vanessa's efficacy was changing, or if mine was. We hit the grocery store next, which ended up only allowing two people inside in a party at once. Dani wanted to look for some specific stuff, and Vanessa hadn't had her own kitchen to cook in for almost two years since she'd been eating cafeteria food on industrial construction sites, so I decided to hang out in the truck while they went in. I sent them with my credit card and reminded them of the staples we needed. They got in line outside the store, and I decided to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon and open the gate of my truck so I could sit outside. I watched Dani and Vanessa from across the parking lot, keeping one eye on them while I could. I could tell they were talking from the small hand motions. Neither of them talked with their hands like Erica or Leo did, but everything seemed friendly between them. "Excuse me?" I turned and realized I'd tunnel-visioned and completely lost track of my surroundings because a woman was standing about ten paces away from me. That wasn't like me at all. She was nervous, wringing her wrists as she stood awkwardly. She was a little scrawny, her clothes hanging off of her, and the eyes above her rough-looking mask were... not sunken, but sort of sad. "I'm sorry to bother you, Harri," she said. "I was just wondering if maybe you could spare a couple bucks? Things aren't really going well right now, and I've got my kids..." Living in Portland, I'd seen my fair share of homeless folks and beggars. Some of them were pushy and agitated, and others entirely shut down from their addictions. This woman didn't look homeless, but she definitely looked down on her luck. And down for enough time that it showed. She wasn't wearing even basic earrings but had the holes in her ears. There was a slightly less tan ring on her finger where I assumed a wedding band used to sit, but it was fading. Every major city in the United States had a homeless population. Some were worse than others, I knew that. The further south along the coast, the warmer it got, and the bigger the population. But out here in the sticks? In Jewell? Sure, we had the occasional drifter moving through. I'd never seen someone begging before. Things were really getting bad. "Uh, yeah, I can," I said, reaching for my wallet in my pocket. "I'm sorry, you know me but I'm not immediately recognizing you. Maybe it's the mask." She took a couple steps forward as I said I could spare her some cash, but looked away as I asked who she was. I kicked myself, realizing that her situation was embarrassing enough as it was. "Maybe you don't remember me," the woman said. "I was a year ahead of you in high school. Mary Duncan?" "Of course I remember you, Mary," I said. "It's just been a long time. You were a cheerleader I think, right? You did all the flips. You were really graceful." "Thanks," she said, and I could tell she was blushing behind her mask. I didn't have too much cash on me compared to what I used to carry for emergencies. I used to be a cash-only guy, at least around town. Knowing what my bank account looked like, I just pulled what I had and slipped down from the gate of my truck and set the bills on it, stepping back. "No offence, I don't think you stink or anything," I tried to joke. Mary's eyes went wide when she saw the bills, and she mumbled something as she stepped forward and I backed off a bit more so she could take them. It was maybe seventy dollars, but as she quickly looked through the bills I saw her get teary, and then she clutched the cash to her chest and collapsed to her knees, crying. I wanted to go and comfort her. Give her a hug. She was clearly overwhelmed and in a bad way, and back when we were in school she'd always been a cute, button-nosed girl with a soft smile and a big laugh. But I couldn't go to her. I couldn't rub her back or pat her shoulder or give her a hug. The best I could do was squat down from several feet away to get closer to her level. "Mary?" I asked. She sniffed hard and rubbed at her eyes. "Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed," she said. "You don't need to be," I said. "You said you have kids, right? How many?" "Two," she said. "Thomas is six now, and looks like his dad. My little girl Charlie is four. She wanted to go to school like her big brother this fall but..." But the schools were closed, and who knew how long they would be closed for? "And their Dad?" I asked. She sniffed hard again. "He went up to Portland to look for work after we both got laid off at the start of quarantine," she said. "I haven't heard from him since." "Fuck," I breathed out, hopefully not loud enough for her to hear. The guy could have abandoned his family like a shit, or just been overwhelmed and trying to find a way to make it right. Or he could be dead. "Mary, I'm sorry you're going through this. And I'm sorry if this touches another sore spot, but is your phone still active?" She nodded, touching the ragged little purse. I asked her to take it out and I immediately recognized that she'd probably downgraded her phone at a pawn shop, it was a beat-up old model barely above a flip phone. I gave her my number. "Call me the next time you need groceries, Okay?" I said. "Or if there's an emergency. Seriously, Mary." "I applied for food stamps, and welfare, but I haven't heard anything back," she said pitifully, like she was trying to explain her shitty situation. There wasn't any explaining. "The system is probably overloaded," I said softly. "Mary. I'm not pulling your leg. Go get groceries for you and your kids. I'll figure something out for you for next week, Okay?" "Harri, I can't just; I don't want to,” It was fucking stupid, but this woman who I remembered as that sweet girl was broken. I stood up and went to her, and pulled her to her feet and hugged her. She was tiny, and bony, in my arms. She'd probably been feeding her kids everything she could and taking the bare minimum for herself. "Stop," I said quietly as I held her, and she cried a little again. "You're doing what you can in a terrible situation, Mary. I'm doing Okay. Let me help." "Thank you," she whispered into my shirt, then sniffed behind her mask again and stepped away. 'Thank you, Harri." "Text me," I reminded her. "So that I have your number." "I will," she nodded. "I will." She left, headed towards the line outside the store, and I watched her go. Hopefully I wasn't going to pay for that moment of kindness with my life. But what was the point of being vaccinated and wealthy if I couldn't help a hurting woman? I sat back on the gate of my truck and saw the two big paper bags holding the meat I'd just bought. Hundreds of dollars' worth. I could have given her some, along with the cash. One of the chickens and some of the sausages. Kids liked sausage, right? Then I could practically hear my Mom's voice in the back of my mind. She'd been the giver in the family before she died. The volunteer. And she'd always said that you couldn't do your best for others without taking care of your family first. Seventy dollars would carry Mary and her kids for a few days at least. I could set up an account with Mason, connect her with Mrs. Branston for eggs, and cover her bill. I doubted I could do the same at the grocery store, but meat was always the most expensive part of meals anyways. I could drop a couple hundred bucks with her to help cover her other staples every few weeks. I looked down at my sweater, hoping again that I wasn't going to pay for this with sickness and death. What did those docs say? Eighty per cent effective, with more for each partner? I had three partners now, so I had to be like ninety per cent covered, right? The rest of my wait in the parking lot, unfortunately, wasn't peaceful. A guy with some parking lot road rage pounded on his horn at a woman who was loading her car. A half dozen teens skated through on skateboards, whooping and hollering and skirting by too close to people. None of them were wearing masks, and I saw a few of them spitting near people or fake coughing just to get a reaction out of them. I was trying to decide if I should call the emergency line, but they were gone as quickly as they arrived. Teens, rebellious and angry at the world, and most importantly bored and left to their own devices. Thankfully since I'd parked at the back of the lot they didn't really come near me. I did end up calling 911 when the fight broke out though. Two women were yelling at each other as they exited the store, both of them with full carts. I had no idea what they were shouting, but they definitely got the attention of everyone in the parking lot and the line. Then one lady pivoted and smacked her buggy into the other lady, and that one grabbed something out of the other's cart and threw it. "911 Emergency Services. Where is the emergency located?" "Yeah, I'm at the Green Grocer in Jewell," I said. "My name is Harrison Black. I need police services, a fight has broken out between two women in the parking lot and it's gotten physical." I could hear typing on the other end of the line. "I've dispatched a cruiser, sir, but the arrival time is at least twenty minutes. Is anyone's life in danger?" "Other than the pandemic?" I sighed. The women were grappled at this point, both of them trying to throw punches. "Hard to say. Neither of them are backing down and they've got a hold of each other and are swinging." "If you can, try to keep anyone else from getting involved, sir," the operator said. "And remember to keep your distance." "Fuck," I said as one of the ladies connected cleanly with the nose of the other. Blood started streaming down that one's face but it didn't stop her from clawing at the other with a snarl. "It's getting worse. There's blood now. Look, I'm not saying you have the authority to let me do this, but I've got my handgun in the truck and could pop one into the ground to spook them and try and disperse the issue." There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the line. "..... I mean, I'm not going to tell you to do that.... But..." "Understood," I said. I gave the operator my number, since I was sure the police were going to want to follow up with me, and then slammed the gate of my truck closed and went to the passenger side. Dani had returned the 1911 to its case thankfully, so I quickly slammed the magazine home and did a quick check to see it had one chambered before walking across the parking lot with the pistol held low and to the side. The women were scrapping on the ground at this point. A crowd had formed, not so close to each other to be shoulder to shoulder, but closer than they should have been. "Hey!" I shouted over the noise in my best military voice, but only the closest few people glanced over at me. One saw my gun and his eyes went wide. I sighed and shook my head, then pointed the muzzle at one of the little end-row barriers that had a sprig of a garden inside the concrete curb and pulled the trigger. The loud popping boom of the discharge quieted everyone real quick, including the fighting ladies as they all looked over at me. "Get the fuck out of here," I shouted. People scattered, including the two fighting ladies as they scrambled to recover their carts. I was pretty sure several items had gone missing from their shopping bags in the ruckus, claimed by other people who felt they needed them more. I just shook my head as I flipped the safety on and tucked the 1911 into the pocket on the front of my sweater. There were still a few people in line at the front of the store, along with an employee monitoring it, so I went over. It turned out to be the same teen as that time I'd been here with Erica and almost gotten in a fight myself. I gave him my name and let him know the police were already on their way. He said it wasn't the first fistfight he'd seen break out this week, let alone in the last month. "Kid," I said. "This job ain't worth your life." He shrugged. "I'm saving for college, and the bonus pay I'm getting as a front-line worker is adding up quickly." "College ain't worth your life either. Just saying." Dani and Vanessa came out of the store a little while later. I'd already returned the 1911 to its case and was sitting on the tailgate of my truck again. I explained to them what happened, both with Mary and with the fight. And I admitted to hugging Mary despite the danger. "I can walk home from here," I said. "We probably shouldn't get into the truck together. I'll need to,” "Harri," Vanessa interrupted me. "Shut up and get in the car. You're not in any danger, right? You're vaccinated. We're both vaccinated." "Yeah, but you are way less covered than the rest of us," I said. "It's not a big deal. It'll take a couple of hours of walking." Vanessa took it into her own hands and practically tackled me. "Oops, too late." "Vanessa!" I said in a panic and looked at Dani for help. "Lady made her decision," Dani shrugged. "We can either live in fear of it, or just do our best." So I ended up driving again, praying that Mary wasn't sick, which would mean I wasn't carrying it. I felt like an idiot all over again for hugging her, for risking everything to comfort her. But then I'd also seen that look on her face and I knew she'd needed it. Our last stop of the trip was Mrs. Branston's, but when I pulled into the front of her long gravel driveway I noticed that she hadn't put the flat of eggs I'd asked for in the usual spot. Frowning, I pulled out my phone and called her, but it went to voicemail immediately. "That's weird," I said. "Mrs. Branston is always home." "You want to go check on her, don't you," Vanessa said, not really a question. "Well, she's seventy and lives alone," I said. "She's not exactly ancient, but she's no spring chicken either." "Alright, let's go see what's up," Dani said. Then turned to Vanessa. "You're staying here though." "What?" Vanessa said. "Why?" "Because you already took one risk today, and I'm starting to like you too much to let you do two in a day," Dani smirked, then pulled up her mask. "Ugh, fine," Vanessa sighed. "Crack the windows for me at least." I did her one better and left the truck running with the AC on. Dani and I walked up the drive. It was long, but nowhere near as long as mine had been. The Branston's had built their house almost forty years ago; Victor Branston had worked at the local lumber mill, and his wife Hailey had started their side business of raising chickens and eggs after they built their single-story ranch house and barn. They'd had a son who had died in a drunk driving accident when I was still a kid, and a daughter who had moved away when I was still in middle school. At the top of the drive I tried calling again, and with no answer, Dani and I went to the front door and I knocked, then stepped back. "Mrs. Branston!" I called loudly. "You home?" Again, no answer. Shaking my head, I frowned beneath my mask and furrowed my brow. Her car was parked in front of the house, so she wasn't out. "Let's check in some windows," Dani suggested. "If she fell and broke her hip or something she might not be able to reach her phone." So that's what we did. It felt rude, peeking in her windows like that, but I let the MP side of me take over. I was looking into her kitchen when Dani gasped and motioned me to the other end of the side of the house. She was holding a gloved hand over her mask. I rushed over and looked in. It was Mrs. Branston's bedroom, and she was lying in the bed completely still. There was a dark stain around her mouth and nose and on the edge of some of the sheets. I recognized the dried blood. It looked like she'd been coughing it up. "Fuck," I sighed, stepping back from the window. Her sallow skin. Her sunken eyes. It was haunting. I called Emergency Services for the second time in less than an hour and reported it. "What do we do now?" Dani asked. "I'd say call her family, but I don't know her daughter's number. I think Mrs. Branston said she moved out east somewhere," I said. "We'll need to leave that to the police. Other than that?" I shrugged and looked around at the property. Hailey Branston had lived here going on forty years. Now there was no one. My eyes settled on the barn. "If nothing else, we should feed the chickens," I said. "No need for them to starve to death." "Good idea," Dani nodded and followed me towards the barn. Now, my worry had been that the chickens might be dead. I really wasn't sure how long it would take for chickens to starve to death, so I was preparing myself for the stink of not only a chicken coop but of dead bodies. What I wasn't prepared for was for the place to be empty. "What the fuck?" "This is weird," Dani said, looking at the rows and rows of empty cages. It was obvious this was a chicken operation. Just the bird poo around was enough to point to that. But there weren't any chickens. "How do fifty chickens just up and vanish?" I asked, wandering deeper into the barn. "It's not just the chickens," Dani said behind me. She was standing at a big bin near the front door with a big 'feed' label on it. She'd lifted the lid. "All their food is gone too except for a bit of mess at the bottom." I just shook my head, frowning as I looked around. Maybe there was some sort of metaphor here about Haily Branston's life, but all I was seeing was a crime scene. "Who the fuck finds out an old woman is dead, and instead of reporting it they steal all her chickens?" "An asshole," Dani said. "Assholes," I corrected. "This would have taken forever if it was just one person. There had to be at least two, probably more." I sighed. "Alright, we need to get out of here. We'll report it to the police when they get here." Dani and I went back down to Vanessa, filling her in on what we'd seen, and then waited. Thirty minutes later I called Emergency Services again on the non-emergency line, asking for an update on when we could expect someone to come out. "I'm sorry sir, but all our services are currently dispatched at the moment with active issues," the operator said. "We've got your report on file, and an ambulance will be dispatched when police are available. We have your name and number on file, we don't need you to stay on location." That was definitely not the norm for someone calling in a dead body, and it made me worried. "Alright," I said. "I just need to add something to the report then. After my previous call we checked in on Mrs. Branston's agricultural livestock. Someone has stolen all her chickens." "I'm... sorry?" the operator said. "Someone stole fifty-odd chickens," I clarified. There was another long moment of quiet from the other end of the line. "Chickens?" "Yeah, chickens," I said. A long sigh. "Alright, I added it to the report. Have a good day, sir." "You,” the operator hung up. "-too." "That sounded like it went great," Vanessa said sarcastically. "Yeah," I said, wondering what the fuck was happening to my home town. "I can't say that it did." Vanessa came jogging down from the office portables when the black sedan came rolling around the bunkhouses. After we'd gotten back from our big run, and Erica had berated me for taking a risk with Mary even while telling me how sweet a man I was, things had settled down. Leo's new partners had slept through the day with their imprinting, but we'd grilled up some extra sausages in case they woke up in the night and were hungry. I'd spent some time late in the afternoon with Ivy, and that night I'd slept with Vanessa on one side of me, and Ivy on the other while Erica spooned up behind her and rested a hand on my chest. We'd all been naked, but nothing overtly sexual had happened Vanessa had gone back to work in the morning, the first to wake up, and as she got ready and dug through her luggage Erica got up and made her coffee. The smell woke me up, and I realized it was 5:30 in the morning. It looked like our schedule was going to be changing with Vanessa in our lives. Breakfast was a quiet affair later in the morning; at least, quiet for us. Leo's RV was visibly rocking, and I had to assume Aria and India were up and the four of them were getting better acquainted. By the time Vanessa came back around for her breakfast break I'd already come in Erica, but Ivy had held off; apparently, the three of them had talked, and Vanessa only had about fifteen minutes for her breakfast break which meant a quicker-than-usual blowjob was necessary if she wanted some fun with her food. By mid-morning things had quieted down over at Leo's RV, and I'd left a platter of food wrapped with tinfoil on a chair next to the door. Ivy was just starting to get handsy with me, sitting on my lap and giggling with that look in her eye, distracting me from my drawing, when the crunch of tires outside the compound perked us up. The sedan ground to a halt, and Vanessa quickly came down to stand with Erica and Ivy and me. Agent Sourpuss was the driver again, and she just narrowed her eyes at us for a moment before turning back and speaking into the back seat. The door opened, and a woman in that same hooded coverall getup stepped out. "Hi," I said, stepping forward and offering her my hand. "I'm Harrison." "Kyla," she said through her mask, taking my hand and shaking it lightly. "I'm not really sure what you were expecting," I said. "I know things are weird and changing a lot for everyone, so if anything sounds like a problem just let us know and we can figure it out. The first of which is that, ah, these are my partners Erica, Ivy and Vanessa." "Allo!" Ivy said, stepping forward and wrapping the woman up in a hug. Ivy was still the shortest and most petite of the women, with Kyla standing around the same height as Vanessa. "Hi," Erica said, smiling warmly but not stepping forward, which I knew was because she knew the secret. In any other circumstance she likely would have been trying as hard as Ivy to be welcoming in an effort to dispel the weirdness. Agent Sourpuss rolled down the window. "Hey, you need to stop being so touchy. Protocol says you need to imprint as soon as possible." I sighed, glaring at her a little. "I hear you. Let's just make sure this is all Okay with her, yeah?" I turned back to Kyla, whose eyes were a little wide as she cautiously accepted the hug from Ivy. "Um, hello," she said, looking around at the construction site, and our ridiculous-looking compound. "There's a lot for us to explain," I said. "I can see that," she said. The more she talked, the more I heard a slight accent. It wasn't strong, not like Dani's, and I had to assume being the daughter of an Ambassador meant she'd grown up at least part of her life in the US or other places. Not to mention any training she'd received. "Are you Okay with this?" Erica asked her. "The idea of sharing space with a group of us?" "For what it's worth, I'm the newest and stumbled into it by accident, but it works for me," Vanessa chipped in. Kyla looked around again, then back at Sourpuss, and finally back to me. "It's the way things are," she said. "I can make it work." "Well, if you change your mind, you have until we start the imprinting process," I said. "Just say something and we can try to find you someone, or somewhere, else." She shook her head, then turned to Sourpuss again. "You can go." "Fine by me," the Agent muttered, raising her window and pulling the car away. I was almost sure I heard her mutter something about never wanting to come back again. "Come in," Erica said, gesturing to the fabric-draped entryway. "We'll show you around and can tell you what's up." Kyla followed Erica and Ivy in, but Vanessa hung back. "I need to get back to work," she said. "I'll come meet her later if you haven't dicked her down yet." I snorted and shook my head at her crassness. The only people who could get close to matching military folks in that way turned out to be construction workers. "Everything going Okay?" I asked. "Yeah, it's fine. Just getting the animals back in order after being away. They're going to be moving workers into the bunkhouses in the next few days so there's a lot to get ready," she said. She reached over and squeezed my hand for a second, but didn't step in for a kiss even though I could see her glance at my lips. "See you later?" "Absolutely," I said, and she started marching back towards the office portables. When I ducked back into our compound, Erica and Ivy had arranged the deck chairs into a semi-circle and Ivy was coming out of our place with a quartet of beers from the fridge. Erica was just gesturing for Kyla to take a seat. "We're all vaccinated," she was saying. "So if you want to get out of that getup you can." Kyla sat and sighed, lowering her hood and then taking off her medical mask. She was gorgeous. Her hair was a natural silky black with that smooth quality that Native Americans and East Asian folks shared, and she had cute little apple cheeks when she smiled softly in thanks as she accepted a beer from Ivy. Her skin was naturally tan, and she'd done her makeup to accent her ethnicity a bit rather than downplaying it, and knowing what I knew about her I wondered if that was a move to try and distract or seduce me. She had espionage training. She knew how to use her assets. "So Harrison," she nodded to me, then pointed at Ivy. "Ivy, and..." she looked at Erica. "Sorry, something with an E, right?" "Erica," my girlfriend clarified for her with a smile. "Right, Erica," Kyla said. "And the other was Vanessa?" "Right," I nodded. "Vanessa is actually a forewoman with the construction crews, so she had to get back to work." "Okay," she nodded. "And you all live in these trailers?" "RVs," I said. "And it's just temporary. My family owned this land for generations, and recently the government leased it from me and is building a residential compound. We'll be getting a house, and for now we've got these luxury RVs. But, uh, we're actually only living in that one. The other one is occupied by my friend and Erica's brother Leo and his partners." "So there's going to be five of us in there?" Kyla asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over the RV. "Yes," Ivy said with a smile. "It's very nice on the inside. And the bed is very cozy." "The bed?" Kyla said, emphasizing the singular. "That's, uh, another thing," I said. "This is a little rude but, well Erica, Ivy and Vanessa are all bisexual. Are you;?" "I'm straight," she said. Erica just nodded, though I could tell out of the corner of my eye that Ivy was a little disappointed but tried to hide it. "That's perfectly fine," I said. "We'll figure out a sleeping arrangement so that you're comfortable." "I,” Kyla started, then glanced at Erica and Ivy for a moment and seemed to change her mind. "Look, I'm stepping into your thing here already, so I don't want to be a bitch. But could I just... Could I talk for a moment with the guy who I'm going to be bonding DNA with or whatever?" "Yes, absolutely," Erica said. "Do you want to go inside, or should we?" Kyla glanced over at Leo's RV. "Maybe we should," she said and stood up. I stood as well, patted Ivy's shoulder and met a glance from Erica as she tried to warn me to be careful without saying anything. Kyla and I went to the RV, and I opened the door for her and followed her in. "Sorry about the mess," I said. "Vanessa just moved in yesterday and we're trying to figure out what to keep here, and what to move into the storage containers." "It's... fine," Kyla said. She was looking down the length of the RV, through the open door to the bed. I could only imagine what she was thinking. "Let's just sit here," I said, offering her the bench as I took the chair by the Murphey table. I wasn't going to mention that we used the bench for fucking almost as much as the bed. "Ask me anything," I said as we sat. "I know this is all weird, and you must have a thousand questions and concerns." "I do," she said, and leaned back on the leather bench and took a deep breath. I just met her eyes as she looked me over again. Then she took a swig of her beer. "What do you do for money? How does all of this work?" she asked. "Well, up until a few weeks ago, my family house was about fifty yards that way," I pointed. "Right where that first big bunkhouse building is. I worked remotely as a concept artist, and Erica's brother Leo was my roommate. Erica joined us out here for quarantine. The federal government came and wanted to buy my land, but I negotiated a lease with them instead and they paid me a lot of money for it, along with building me, Leo and my sister houses. So if you're worried about finances living out here, you don't need to. I'm not stingy, though I'd prefer if we don't get super extravagant. I'd rather us be wealthy for a long time than super-rich for a short one, and with five people on the team... Well, yeah." "The team?" she asked. "It feels a little weird to call it a family right now," I said. "What with all the changes happening so fast. I think that's how most of us will end up, but I don't want to presume anything." She frowned, looking me up and down again. When she got that look on her face she was fierce and calculating. Focused. Then it broke and she cocked her head to the side just a touch. "Did they tell you I was coming?" "Um, yeah," I nodded. "I got a warning yesterday that you'd be here sometime in the next couple of days." She nodded slowly. "Okay. I mean, obviously we'll need to figure some things out, but I think I can live with... this. I'd like to wait a day and get to know you all a bit more before we do the imprinting though. I'm not really a 'sleep with a guy on the first day' kind of girl." "I'd be happy to wait as long as you like," I said. "But, ah, you may want to talk with the others about that feeling you've got. Apparently, it'll just keep getting stronger." "Right," Kyla nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll keep that in mind." Voices rose outside. Not angry, just a little animated. "Sounds like Leo and his girls are finally coming outside," I said. "I think you'll like Danielle, she's a pretty open book. I can't make any promises about the two new women though, they arrived yesterday and I haven't had a chance to meet them properly." "That sounds good," she said. "Any other questions, or do you want to go meet them?" I asked. "Um, yeah, actually," she said. She was still giving me a slightly weird, considering look. "Do you know?" "Know what?" I asked, trying to poker face without poker facing. She kept eyeing me. "Who I am." I sighed a little. "I was told that you're the daughter of an Ambassador," I said, covering the big lie with a little truth. "Does that bother you?" she asked. "Why would it?" I replied. "I'm part Native, part Japanese, I travelled a decent chunk of the world when I was in the military. In the US, you growing up in another country is about as different as if you grew up in an east coast city." "That's not what I meant," Kyla said, sitting forward and leaning her elbows on her knees, staring right at me. "I meant does it bother you that I'm a spy?" The problem with going toe to toe with a spy was that all of my usual methods of evaluating someone were already going off. As a teen I'd been a bit of a hillbilly, I'd been an athlete, and I'd been a kid from a family with generational grudge issues. Then I'd joined the military and I learned about professional backstabbing and politics, and then I'd become an MP and really saw some of the dumb and vile crap that Man could do to each other. I'd been trained to be aware, alert, and suspicious. Seven years out of the military had softened me, I was sure. But not that much. Maybe Grierson shouldn't have told me about Kyla's background. I was trying my best to not be suspicious, which I bet if I saw myself back on a recording I would have seen as a red flag. If I hadn't known about her, I could have just accepted her and hopefully my natural and trained instincts would have picked up on anything fishy. I sighed a little huff of a chuckle and leaned back in the Murphey chair, looking at Kyla across the RV. I'd been doing my best not to just really stare at her, to make a judgement scan of her to really assess her. Maybe that gave me away. Maybe not. She was beautiful, but I'd already judged that. Her Filipino heritage was strong, but wasn't so different from the natives that I'd grown up around that it seemed out of place or exotic to me. Not to mention the plenty of varied Asians I'd lived around in Portland. She was still wearing the bulky coverall so it was hard to judge her athleticism, but just the way she sat told me she was a physical person. She was sitting on the bench, which wasn't particularly tall, but her feet were pressed to the ground by the balls of her feet and toes, her heels raised. Even though she was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees she also wasn't slouching at all. She was a coiled spring, but with a loose tension. She wasn't on edge, but was a calmly controlled nervous. "It does," I said, answering the question she'd stunned me with for a moment. 'Does it bother you that I'm a spy?' Who asked that? Was it a game, or a test? Was she trying to be truthful because of the situation, or was she running a long con to gain my trust to inevitably betray me? How calculated was this move, and what were the variables? Was it a move at all? "But not the way you might think," I continued. "It's funny, I don't even know how much they told you about me. I think I mentioned outside that I was in the military at one point. I was an MP before I was discharged. You are exactly the kind of person I would have been worried about for an important part of my life. But now? Honestly, Kyla, I just don't want you to fuck up the family dynamic we're trying to build here. I don't want you to put any of the people out there in danger, on purpose or by accident, if you plan on trying to do something for your father or NICA." She gave me a long look back, evaluating what I said. If we were sitting across from each other with a chessboard between us, or cards, I would have said she was trying to read if I was bluffing or not. But this wasn't a game, and there weren't stakes on the line, and I thankfully got the impression she wasn't trying to read me. At least, not like that. She was reading me, but she was trying to form her opinion of me, just like I was trying to with her. "Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked me. I pressed my lips together and nodded. "I didn't see as much combat as others, but I got in a few firefights," I said. "I had a few confirmed kills, and likely several more unconfirmed. And one of my investigations as an MP turned into a shootout with some human traffickers that ended... badly. Fuck, I haven't talked about that with anyone since I got out. I'd prefer you not bring it up with the girls, or Leo. Please." "I won't," she said quietly. "Have you?" I asked. "No," she shook her. "I mean, I have enough training that I could, but that wasn't ever supposed to be my job. I; I'd rather maybe talk about my story if I get more comfortable with you, but I've never carried more than a knife and a can of mace in my purse for self-protection and haven't ever needed to use either of them." "Does it bother you that I know?" I asked her. "I feel like it should, but I don't think it does," Kyla said, pursing her lips a little in thought after she said it. "I just spent the last four years living a secret life, but I've always lived a double life. You know, which means... I don't know what it means. Which is a first." "I told Erica," I said. "I wasn't supposed to, I don't think, but she can read me like a book and I didn't want to keep it from her anyways." Kyla smiled a little. "I could tell," she said. "I only picked up on little things from you because of the way she was acting." That made me chuckle a little. "Well, at least that's something. I'm not a complete waste." "So what now?" she asked. "You know that I know that you know. Do we need to set some ground rules or anything?"

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 6 Lab Results and Quarantines Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   The Docs signed off, leaving me alone in the little meeting room again. Not knowing when I would be able to leave, I decided to try and fall back on one of my old military instincts; sleep when you can. So I got comfortable in the chair, closed my eyes, and let myself drift into a fitful, not-quite-soothing sleep. "Harri," someone said, and I woke with a start as my shoulder was touched. "Urm," I grunted, and sniffed in a breath as I blinked rapidly and looked around. I was still in the room, and Miriam was smiling at me. She was dressed in fatigues here in the military office complex instead of her service dress blues and her hair was up in a standard military bun hidden beneath the standard issue cap. "Just like a grunt to take any reason for a nap," she grinned at me. "Come on. We can talk in my office." I stood, yawned and stretched, feeling something pop in my back and my shoulder from the uncomfortable position I'd been in. "Lead the way, Lieutenant Colonel," I said. She rolled her eyes at me a little but didn't say anything, just opening the door and walking through. I followed her back into that hallway where Brent had clocked me. He wasn't in the waiting room at the end of the hall. "Is Brent,” I started to ask. "He's waiting on another floor," Miriam said. "Refuses to leave until he sees his daughter is alright. It's making operations slow down over at the construction site, but I can't blame him." "Neither can I," I said, touching the tenderness of my black eye. Miriam led me through several very plain corridors lined with doors. None of them had windows to see in, and most had nameplate mounts but lacked names, and instead were labelled with numbers. It struck me as secretive, and that meant I was probably in the Air Force part of the building and not the Vaccine Test Center part. If they were trying to make people feel at ease joining an experimental program, these plain walls and doors forming a maze were not the way to do it. Confounding an enemy trying to sneak through this part of the building, though? It was perfect. I followed Miriam until she stopped at a seemingly random door and opened it, leading me into a large office. It had a large bank of windows, but extra-heavy curtains had been hung over them and were drawn shut to the point I wondered if they were nailed in place. One wall was entirely covered in a whiteboard with all sorts of coded writing on it. There were two desks in the room; the main desk was scattered with papers and a computer terminal, with a plush office chair tucked in behind it. The second desk had more stuff on it, but in neater piles, and Captain Bloomberg was sitting behind it at work. She glanced up at us as we entered and gave me a slightly judgmental look, before going back to the printout she was reading. The rest of the office space was dominated by file shelving units, a gun safe, and a leather couch that looked uncomfortable but was probably soft as hell. "Captain, could you give us five?" Miriam asked. "Of course, Ma'am," she nodded, set down the papers face-down and stepped around her desk to the door. She shot Miriam a quick look, and Miriam gave her one back, and the Captain left. If I had to guess it was to do with the fact that the office was probably full of classified material and information and the Captain was silently reminding her superior officer not to let me poke around or leave me alone in there. "Sit, please," Miriam sighed once the door was closed and we were alone, gesturing at the couch. I did, instantly sinking into it, and she sat on the other end and turned to me. "So, now that we know it's not life-threatening, you feel ready to get teased yet?" I snorted a little and scratched at my beard. "It's still a little raw," I admitted. "Just like how you fucked her?" Miriam asked with a grin. "Sorry, that's the only one." I shook my head and chuckled. There were few kinds of people who could be as morbidly crude and insulting, and mean it in the best way, as a military friend. "Seriously, Harri," she said. "I got a briefing on it. She's fine, you're fine. No one is in trouble." "Tell that to her father," I said. "And I can't blame him for probably wanting to kill me." "Yeah, well, tough shit for him," Miriam said. "We've expanded his Need to Know status and gave him some more info on the vaccine to calm him down. He's not happy, but he's not worried anymore. Seriously though, did you have to go and fuck my lead civilian contractor's daughter?" "We were friendly with her," I said, and let out a long breath. "Erica said she thought Vanessa might be a little interested. I don't think either of us expected her to show up on our proverbial doorstep and ask for a foursome." "I always did think Erica was a smart woman after we met," Miriam said. "Though I figured you'd lost a few brain cells since you weren't dating her at the time." "There's a whole story behind that," I said, waving her off. "I'm sure there is," Miriam smiled. "Doesn't mean it's a good excuse though." "Well, Vanessa seems to think you have a crush on me after she met you for all of two minutes," I shot back at her. Miriam flushed for a moment but didn't look away from me, still in command in her own office. "Vanessa might have been doing a bit of projecting," she said. "I'm not into hillbillies with bushy beards and big guts." "Ouch," I laughed, holding my stomach. Sure, I wasn't in the peak physical form I'd been in coming out of the military, but I hadn't gone that soft. Miriam and I continued to chat and laugh for a few more minutes until the Captain came back and then Miriam let me borrow some sound-cancelling headphones and hang out on their couch while they were working. They had food ordered in and Miriam and I ate dinner together while Captain Bloomberg ate as she kept working at her desk. It wasn't until I noticed that the faint bit of light leaking around the edges of the curtains was dimming that it had been a long day and I hadn't been able to contact Erica and Ivy. I asked Miriam if I could have my phone back just to update them, and she and the Captain had to discuss it for a long moment before they decided they could probably do the texting for me, but for security protocols I couldn't be given control of the phone. When my phone powered on it took a long moment for it to connect to service, and then it started buzzing like crazy and a bunch of messages came in. Miriam was holding it, and her eyes went a little wide as the message notification scrolled by. "Um," she said. "Well, it looks like you and your partners are... happy together." "Oh no," I groaned. "What did they send?" "Well, you have a whole bunch of messages from Brent Peters chewing you out, so there's that," Miriam said. "But, uh, well, there are photos from your partners." "Sorry," I shrugged, once again finding my face heating up at the exposure of my sex life. "It's fine," Miriam said. "It was my idea to do the texting anyways." She tapped around on the phone for a moment. "Alright, I'll just say 'Harri isn't allowed to use his phone right now. This is Miriam Abarbanel. He is fine, no trouble. Vanessa is also fine and healthy. They will return tomorrow.'" "That's fine," I said with a nod. I would have liked to tell them more, and that I loved them. And that they shouldn't have been trying to send me whatever scandalous photos they had considering I was in military custody at the moment. Miriam hit send and a minute later another text came through and she opened it, immediately rolling her eyes and setting my phone down. "What?" I asked. "Erica sent another photo, and I think it was for me," she said. "What? Really?" I asked. Miriam opened the photo again and turned my phone around to show me. Erica and Ivy were both sunbathing in the chairs, topless. The third Adirondack had a name tag written on a piece of paper and taped to the back of the chair that red 'Vanessa.' Beside it, they had put out another lawn chair and had quickly put another nametag on it that said 'Miriam.' I couldn't help the little snort of laughter that came out of me, and I covered my mouth to try and stop from giggling a bit. "I'm sorry," I said. Miriam laughed once and set my phone down. "You know, Erica is the right kind of trouble for you I think," she said. "You haven't spent enough time with Ivy," I countered. "That girl is mischievous. I bet the Vanessa one was Erica's idea to try and cheer her up, and the other one was Ivy." "If you've got any pictures from that Danielle woman, I wouldn't mind checking those out," Captain Bloomberg said from over at her desk. "Laura," Miriam said, a little shocked. "What? I told you when we first saw her, that woman could turn a bigoted granny gay," Laura said. "That's fair," Miriam said thoughtfully. "Hey, no arguments from me," I said. Miriam and the Captain ended up finishing their work days, though Miriam told me that she was on call 24/7 anyways and they stayed in apartments lower in the building. She offered to try and find me a free one to rest overnight, but I asked her if I could see Vanessa and stay in whatever medical room she was in. I didn't want her to wake up from the process and be alone. This started a silent conversation of sharp looks between Miriam and Laura, until Laura sighed. "She's not alone. Her father hasn't left her side since we let him see her. This is... let's call it a legal grey area at the moment. Technically you're not even extended family, so he would get precedent on deciding who can be there," she said. "But under the circumstances of the Vaccine imprinting, there's been some debate going around the legal circles of what constitutes a civil union. The matter's still up in the air, but there's a case to be made that you and she are now more intimately connected than she and her father. So I guess the question is do you want to push the issue?" "Oh, fuck," I groaned, and had to massage the bridge of my nose. "On the one hand, yes I want to see her. On the other, Brent deserves to be pissed at me and worried about her. Can I just talk to him?" "Honestly, Harri," Miriam said. "I think you should probably leave that whole conversation to Vanessa and how she wants to have it. Doesn't matter how much you defend yourself, you're still the guy that fucked that man's daughter in a pretty... degenerate seems too strong, but pervy is too weak. Anyways, you fucking her like that brought her here, and he's now aware that she's going to be intimately connected to you for a while." I puffed out my cheeks and let the air blow out slowly, unsure of what to do. "I can try talking to him," Laura offered. "But honestly, I don't know if it would do any good." "It's fine," I finally conceded. "He can be there, just find me another room where I can crash, and let me know when she's awake?" "I'll leave a standing order with the nurses," Miriam nodded. So, as Miriam and Laura finished up for the day, they sent for the night sentry who patrolled the floor and let him know I would be in the staff break room and was allowed to eat out of the cupboards and use the washrooms. Once the airman was gone Laura excused herself and left me with Miriam. "It was nice having you around, Harri," she grinned, dropping her command facade again. She put her hand on my upper arm and grinned, giving me a wink. "And I was joking when I called you fat." "Yeah, well, you really hurt my feelings," I fake-cried, making her laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow before you leave, alright? And I still expect that beer next time I'm up at the site," she said and gave me a peck on the cheek. "You got it," I said, and pecked her back. "And thank you for all of this today, by the way." "Happy to help," she said, and then escorted me to the room where I would spend the next seven hours. The sentry woke me up around four in the morning. I had Cheeto dust on my shirt and fingers, the bag I'd found in the staff room cupboard almost empty and crumpled up on my chest. "Sir, I've been asked to bring you down to the medical wing," he said. "Fuck," I said, blinking awake and standing up. "Uh, give me a second." I went into the men's washroom and quickly washed my hands and my face, and tried to get myself straightened out. Looking in the mirror, I could tell that I'd been running on empty for a bit, but I didn't look as bad as I might have if I hadn't been getting in some light napping at least. The airman brought me to the elevator and punched a button for about a dozen floors down, and when we stepped off of it, it was clear that we were in a more public-facing area, though the number of armed airmen on guard was actually higher. The floor was still quiet, this early in the morning, and generally featured a lot more stuff. There were glass panes and windows everywhere and the place looked like what I would picture a medical bay would in a not-too-distant future medical show. There were a few nurses around, but most of the rooms and beds were empty. We passed by one room that was sealed up with a little yellow light near the handle flashing 'Quarantine Active.' That got me gulping and moving. We turned a corner and I saw her. Vanessa was sitting up in a hospital bed, an IV drip hooked in to one arm. She was in a hospital gown and didn't have any of her usual makeup on, so she looked... sick wasn't the right word. She looked different enough that I noticed it, but it was like seeing Erica without her makeup that first time. It was different but I liked seeing the natural her. "Vanessa, I'm,” I started, but then she threw a magazine at my head. "Harri, I swear to God if you try and apologize to me, I'll throw another one," Vanessa said. She had a stack of a few of them on a little rolling bedside stand, where she also had a tray from a shitty cafeteria meal. "You look good, Vee," I said, changing my mind. She blushed and smiled. "No, I don't. Liar." "Okay, you look as good as someone in a hospital bed can," I said. "Come sit, Harri," she said, shifting herself in the bed and patting beside her. I did, and she took my hand in one of hers and lifted the other to brush a finger against my bruised eye. "The night nurse told me what happened when I woke up." I opened my mouth to apologize again but remembered what she'd said and clicked it shut. She smirked and squeezed my fingers. "Good, you're learning." "So you're not pissed off?" I asked. Vanessa leaned her head back on the pillows propping her up, taking a deep breath. "Maybe at the world, a little. But at you? Or Erica and Ivy? No. I went in there knowing what I was asking for, and you told me the risk. I decided getting off with you three was worth it." She broke into a small smile. "And from what I remember, it was pretty fantastic." "It was," I chuckled. "I mean, wild and filthy, but fantastic." She was looking at me, searching my face for something. I couldn't tell if she found it or not. "I spoke to my Dad. He told me he decked you pretty good but I wasn't expecting a full-on shiner." "He definitely got me," I said, touching my eye. "Wasn't as bad as I felt I deserved." "Yeah, well I told him if he does it again I'll deck him," she said. "And that if he tries to take any revenge on you, he's just punishing me." "Does that mean what I think it means?" I asked. She brought my hand up to her chest and put it over her heart. "Harri, I'm stuck with you no matter what at this point, but if you guys will have me I'd like to move into your crammed RV life. I thought you and Erica were cool since we met, and we know we're sexually compatible. The way I see it, I can either fight this thing just for the sake of fighting, or I can get on board the Harrison train and enjoy the ride." "Vanessa, I; God, I wish I had my phone right now," I said. "There's a picture the girls sent that you'll want to see." Vanessa rolled her eyes and her smile grew. "Oh, I got several pictures," Vanessa said. "I've already seen them. Why don't you have your phone?" "I was up on a secure floor," I said. "Lieutenant Colonel Abarbanel was actually the one to see them when she helped me message back that we were Okay." "Then you have some surprises waiting for you I think," Vanessa grinned. "But for now, you're all mine." She pulled me towards her and guided me into a kiss. Then she whispered into my lips as our noses rubbed against each other. "Pull the privacy screen around us." "Here? Really?" I asked. "My nurse actually encouraged it," Vanessa said. "She said we just need to try and keep it down." I stood up and went to the curtain built into the rolling track around Vanessa's bed and pulled it around us, blocking out the rest of the room, and the hallway beyond the glass observation doors. When I turned back to her, Vanessa was shrugging out of her hospital gown, her cute little tits jiggling. I kicked off my shoes and got up on the hospital bed with her, picking her up a bit and sliding her down into a laying position and tucking my head down to suck on one of her nipples. "Oh, Harri," she crooned, her hand running through my hair. Her nipples got hard quickly as I played my tongue over them, feeling the little boob around it tug and pull as I moved around. I popped off and raised my lips to hers again, giving her a kiss. "I didn't get to spend that much time telling you how beautiful and sexy I think you are," I said between kisses. "Harri, you don't need to lie," she said. "My boobs are tiny. I'm used to; Ah, fuck!" I cut her off by grabbing the tit I hadn't sucked on, squeezing it hard enough to make her hiss a little bit. I'd seen she liked a little rough pawing and play during the foursome, so I used it now to make a point. "If you ever tell me these aren't perfect, I'll spank you so hard you'll have my handprint on your ass for a week." "Fuck, Harri; Fuck," she groaned as I let my grip on her tit loosen, and then bent down and took that nipple into my mouth as well. "Fine. You like my tits. I believe you." "Don't just believe me," I said. "Vanessa, you said you thought Erica and I were cool when we first met. Well, I thought you were fascinating. This gorgeous, tough woman who knew how to take charge and make things happen. Beautiful from head to toe even when you were trying to downplay it for work. Now, you're going to lay back so that I can explore every inch of your gorgeous, perfect body." She looked like she was somewhere between beaming happily and crying, but she nodded. I started back up at her lips and kissed around her jaw and down her neck to her collar bone. Then down to her chest, where I teased her nipples some more, rolling one between my fingers while I tongued and lightly nibbled on the other. Once they were both standing proud and weren't about to go down, I helped her pull the hospital gown off until it was hanging from the arm with the IV in it, revealing the rest of her body to me. I kissed down her stomach to her bellybutton and pressed my forehead against her, kissing her fit stomach softly, then moving lower. I got to the point between her belly button and her mound where her scar was, and the Strength tattoo. I took my time there, kissing it, and tracing my finger along the letters of the tattoo. I turned back to look up at her face and she was pensive, staring at me with this worried look like I was going to change my mind about her. "Perfect," I told her again, "And strong as hell." My lips went further, down onto her mound where a smattering of hairs were poking out. She'd obviously shaved herself in the past, but not as recently as I bet she would have liked. But I didn't care, and I kissed along the stubble of her pubic hair, letting it play against my lips as my beard played against her skin. She spread her legs for me, and I slipped around on the bed so I was laying between them on my stomach, looking up at her. "Do you want me to do this here?" I asked her. "Harri, I want your cock inside me like nothing else," she said. "We'll get there," I grinned, and began to explore her cunt with my lips and tongue. I took my time, softly kissing and licking, searching every nook and cranny of her outer and inner labia. Then I did it again, sucking a little harder, nibbling just a touch, finding the sweet spots that made her legs quiver or her breath catch in a hiccup or gasp. Then I went deeper, peeling her open with my fingers to see the soft pink of her hole, and tasted and teased her. She mewled for me, clawing at the bed. I kept needing to move her leg back as it came up and wanted to curl in towards me until I just planted my hand on her thigh and pushed her open, holding her leg wide. Then I did the same to the other leg, pushing them back further, and I slowly licked from her hole up her lips to her clit hood, teasing the tip of my tongue under it before pushing it back with my upper lip and prodding her clit softly. "Making me... ugh!" Vanessa grunted with a girlish tone, gasping for air. I did it again and watched as another little orgasm rolled through her, her cunt flexing as her abdominal muscles clenched. Moving lower I kissed the inner curve of her ass cheek and looked up from between her legs to meet her gaze. She watched me, a little surprised, as I practically buried my nose in her cunt so that I could drive my tongue against her asshole. Her brow furrowed as I did it, and one eye twtiched as I teased the outer ring, then centered on it and nudged the tip of my tongue a little deeper. "Not here," she gasped suddenly, and I stopped. "I; not here," she said again. "Okay," I said, moving up from her ass and kissing the crook of her thigh. "Just like that?" she asked. "What kind of guys have you been seeing that don't stop when you say no?" I asked back. She blinked. "The kind who don't eat ass, and rarely eat cunt," she said. "So the wrong kind." "Then let me ask you; what do you want me to do now?" She closed her eyes and blew out a long breath through pursed lips, before opening them. "Get your pants off and fuck me while we make out. I want to feel you on top of me." I grinned and slipped off the bed, undoing my belt and kicking my pants off. I was already hard, and she was wet from my exploratory oral, so I got back up on the bed and got over her in a standard missionary position. "Like this?" I asked her. She reached down and got my cock in position, and wrapped a leg around my waist and ass to pull me into her. "Like this," she said with a grin as I slowly penetrated deeper into her. Vanessa was hot and clenched my cock in a rippling sensation as I drove in, slowly fucking into her until I was buried to my root. She grabbed my beard in her hand and pulled me into a kiss as we stayed still and connected. "Ow," I muttered into the kiss. "Sorry," she laughed, releasing my beard. "It's fine," I said and kissed her deeply. We made out, our tongues doing more work than my cock for a long moment, until we started grinding against each other. The rhythm built up slowly, less a pounding than a sensuous back and forth that felt more like dancing. Well, the best kind of dancing where my cock was inside of a beautiful woman. Our kiss broke as we panted against each other. "More," she gasped. "More what?" "More weight," she said. "I want to feel you." I lowered myself from my elbows, letting my body press down against hers like a too-heavy weighted blanket. "Umm," she groaned somewhere at the back of her throat. Her body felt tense under mine, but slowly loosened. I kissed the side of her neck, and she ran the heel of her foot down my leg and then back up to my butt. The soft whoosh of the glass door opening outside of the privacy curtain made us both stop moving. "Vanessa, you good in there?" asked a woman. "Yep," she said. "So good. Perfect." There was a long moment of silence, and then, "Oh. Sorry for interrupting. If you and Mr. Black can finish up, your Father was hoping to see you. I can stall him for ten minutes?" "Thanks," Vanessa called back, biting her lips. Two soft footsteps and the door whooshed again, settling closed. "Oh my God," Vanessa groaned. "I can do a lot in ten minutes," I said with a grin. "No, we have less than that," she sighed. "I need to get cleaned up and dressed first, and you need to be out of here before he gets here. But first I need you to fuck me hard and fast and give me your cum." So that's what I did. I raised up higher again to gain the leverage I needed and I started pounding into her with hard, steady strokes. Vanessa gasped, and soon we were back in that rolling rhythm of our hips except it was way more fucking than dancing. Our eyes never left each other, and when I went in for another kiss she bit my lip as she started to come. That pushed me towards my own edge, and I got myself there by reaching down and strumming my thumb against her clit just as she was coming down, pushing her right back into a second wave of orgasm as her body clenched and I released. "Fuck," I growled, thrusting my hips forward and emptying my balls into her. "Fuck, Vanessa!" She arched her back, silently screaming before she exhaled hard and released the tension. We both lay there panting for a long moment. "I really want to fuck you again," I said. "Right now. I'm still hard as a rock for you." "I can feel that, you fucking caveman," Vanessa laughed, cock drunk for the moment. "But I need to clean up and you need to go." "One more thing," I said, and kissed her again. I got my clothes on first and then helped her find and put on her pants. She hadn't worn underwear when she had come to visit us the morning before when this whole thing kicked off, so now she was going to be leaking my cum into her jeans. Her shirt was there as well, but she was still hooked up to the IV, which meant I had to leave the room and send a nurse to help her. I stopped at the edge of the privacy curtain, looking back at her. "Go," she motioned to me. "I'm not leaving. You can see my tits any time you want." Maybe I was cunt drunk, but I wanted to tell her I loved her. I just grinned and blew her a kiss and a wink before slipping out. Once she couldn't see me, I shook my head. I thought orgasms were supposed to give you post-nut clarity, I thought. I almost blurted that out, and no matter how compatible we were sexually I knew that wasn't the right thing to say at the moment. I found the nurse, who went to help Vanessa, while another one brought me back to the elevator where I was met by the night sentry again. He brought me back up to the waiting room I'd been in before, and I flopped onto the couch. "Harri. Harri, we need to stop meeting like this," Miriam said, and I blinked awake again as she was standing over me and smirking. "Fuck," I grunted. "What time is it?" "Just past 0600," she said. "We've got a couple of cars ready to drive you back home." "A couple?" I frowned. "Brent left earlier in his own vehicle," Miriam said. "But we're sending you back with two more partners for your friend Leo. I already spoke with Vanessa and she said she wanted to ride with them to try and help them stay calm through their vaccination." I closed my eyes again as I parsed what she was saying. "Okay, hold on. Leo is getting two new partners?" "From what I red they are a bisexual couple who wanted to stay together," Miriam said. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and sucked in a big breath through my nose. "Well, at least mine isn't the only RV that's going to be packed to the gills." Miriam brought me down to the underground garage for the building and handed my phone back to me. Two black SUV were idling, the windows all tinted to the point that I couldn't see a single thing inside including the drivers. I turned back to Miriam. "Just another day?" I asked her. "Hell no," she smirked. "You, Harrison Black, as the biggest pain in my ass since I took this posting." Then she pulled me into a hug. "But I wouldn't change a God damn thing about it. I'll see you once our on-site office is up and running." "I'm looking forward to it," I said, giving her a squeeze back. "Lieutenant Colonel." "That's Miriam to you, soldier," she said, pulling back with a smirk and kissing me on the cheek. The elevator bingled and I was shocked, or really mildly surprised, to see Agent Sourpuss leading two women bundled up in hooded jumpsuits with masks on. Sourpuss took one look at me and sneered, directing the two women to the front SUV and climbing in with them. "What was that about?" I asked. "Oh, she's pissed off because she keeps getting seconded to us for transportation detail," Miriam said. "I have no idea why, but she isn't happy about it." "No; Technically I'm pretty sure that was my fault, actually. But I meant the whole bundled up get up." "First, why am I not surprised you're a pain in the ass for other people as well? And second, it's new protocols coming up from California and the first testing area. I guess there have been some questions around whether vaccinated but unbonded women could contract or become carriers for the virus. It's the latest back and forth between the scientists." "Speaking of which," I said. "I know why I don't need to be all bundled up, but why don't you? Are you imprinted on someone?" "Me? No," Miriam said. "Not yet, anyway. I'll do it when they push the order out, for now we're still technically in the testing phase for a bit longer. Everyone who leaves the building and re-enters without being vaccinated is getting blood tested and quarantined; it sucks, but it leaves us able to work functionally instead of talking to each other through hazmat suits." The elevator bingled again, and this time it was Vanessa who stepped out as a sentry gestured her towards the front SUV. She saw me immediately and veered off course, coming to me. I wrapped her up in a hug and noticed Miriam giving me a hard-to-read look. "Hey," I said to Vanessa. "I hear you're playing therapy animal for Leo's new partners." "They asked me to," Vanessa said. "From what I understand, the nurses don't think the woman who is supposed to be doing it does a very good job at calming nerves." Miriam snorted a little but covered it with a cough, looking at me. "Well, I feel like I'm missing out on some more alone time with you, but I understand why," I said. "Do me a favor and try and feel them out a bit, see what they're like." "I will," she smirked and went on her tiptoes to give me a peck on the lips. "They're going to be our neighbors, after all." "Yes they are," I grinned and patted her butt. "See you at home?" "Fuck. Home," Vanessa said, backing away from me. "I haven't had one of those in a while. It's gonna be weird." She turned and strode to the SUV and got in the back. "That one might be trouble," Miriam said. "They're all trouble," I laughed. "See you sooner than later?" "Sooner than later," she grinned and winked. I went to the back SUV, which was apparently my personal chauffeur for the sole reason that Agent Sourpuss couldn't find an ounce of empathy in her. Hopefully there's a partition between the front and the back, I thought. I can check those pictures Erica and Ivy were sending me. When I opened the back door of the SUV to get in I had to stop. "Ah," I said. "That explains a lot." I slid in and shut the door. "Agent Grierson." The craggy-faced Agent smirked and nodded. "Harrison. When I heard there was an anomalous vaccination issue, I decided to check it out and lo and behold, it's my favorite redneck." "Did you just come to check-in, or are you looking to offload some more government cash on me?" I asked. The SUVs started moving, pulling out of the garage and into downtown Portland. "Kid, you know I don't need to come to see you to check in," he said. "And I don't have the time to just come shoot the shit, no matter how much I'd enjoy a good fuckin' day off once in a while. I'm here to ask a favor." "Well now you're just being coy," I said. "You know that I know you didn't have to let that lease thing through instead of a flat purchase, so you've got me cornered." "Well, the good news is that I'm not asking you to do anything underhanded," Grierson said. "I noticed you've recently taken on a security consulting contract and your clearance has been restored. I'm going to open it up a little bit more here, if that's alright with you." "Playful, then coy, then asking my permission? Jesus fuck, what are you about to ask me to do?" "Alright, kid. Here's the deal," Grierson sighed. "Sometime in the next few days you're going to get a new partner delivered to you. What I need you to do is keep an eye on her. She's the daughter of the Ambassador from the Philippines, and officially we've run her through the Oracle matching system as a diplomatic courtesy. What no one else knows, including people in that building we just left, is that her Oracle results didn't matter. I'm placing her with you, and scattering a few other Filipino nationals in safe little corners of the country, as a deal with the NICA." "Wait, that's the..." I had to wrack my brain going back to my Military Police training. "Isn't that the CIA of the Philippines?" "A much lesser version, yes," Grierson said. "On the official unofficial paperwork, it's a spy deal. We're going to take care of some of their valuable people who are here, and they're going to take care of some of our valuable people who are over there. The unofficial unofficial deal is that we don't have anyone over there, and the government of the Philippines is going to let us stage our latest espionage attempts into China from their shores. There's a fucking information blackout coming out of China right now, and other than satellite images we've got nothing on what's going on in there." "Okay, hold on," I said. "So am I taking in this Ambassador's daughter as payment for the US Government?" "No, you're taking her in because Kyla Bautista is also secretly a spy who just graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in dance, and while she was there we suspect she turned at least four different Professors and research assistants into assets for NICA for Intellectual Property espionage. I'm scooping her up and putting her with you because you're so far off the radar that no one would think you're keeping an eye on her, and so that the Chinese can't find her if they figure out what's going on and want some revenge. But most of all, I'm putting her with you because, despite your record and stupid career choices after you left the military, you have the mindset to keep an eye on her without her or anyone else knowing that's what's going on." "This is all well and good, Grierson," I said. "But I've got three women imprinted on me already, one of them by mistake. How the hell am I supposed to add a fourth woman into the mix?" Grierson snorted. "Kid, I got news for you. By this time next year, I'd bet all that money I just put into your bank account that you'll look back and think what a naive question that was." I sighed and shook my head slowly. "What does her father think of her getting matched off like that? Does he even know?" "Oh, he was pissed until he got cut in on an early vaccination as well for his wife, along with his long-time second in command who he's been having an affair with, and his additional American mistress who is very black and very formidable, neither of whom the wife knows about. He seems to think it'll be fine." "Jesus," I sighed, shaking my head. "So what, is the OGA offering to pay me for spy sitting?" "No," Grierson said. "But there is an upside." "What's that?" "Like I said, Kyla Bautista graduated with a degree in dance. If I wasn't too fucking busy being ethical, I'd have just put her in my house. The woman is something else." "That's gross," I said, my face twisting in mild disgust. "It's reality, kid. Game it out; people need to fuck to save their lives. Even before this shit show people put a value on beauty over pretty much anything else. What do you think it's going to be like when the entire country is getting matched up?" "I don't know," I sighed. "That's; I don't even want to think about it." "And that's why they pay me and my people the big bucks," Grierson said. He tapped on the glass partition that separated us from the front seat, and the SUV began to pull over. "I'm not asking you to do anything you wouldn't have anyways. Just keep an eye on her for me, alright?" "Fine," I said. "But if she takes one look at me and asks for someone else, I can't do anything about that. I'm not forcing some woman into this." "Won't be a problem," Grierson said. The SUV came to a stop, and he stepped out. "Grierson," I said, and he turned back. "Miriam said someone pulled some strings to get her assigned where she is. Was that you?" "What?" Grierson raised an eyebrow. "You think I like you that much, kid?" "That wasn't an answer," I said. "Well, if it was me, I think maybe you owe me another one still," he said, then shut the door. Another car had pulled up behind us, which he got into, and it pulled a big U-turn in the middle of the empty street and drove back the way we'd come. The driver of my ride pulled back onto the street and sped up to catch the other SUV in our mini convoy, and I was left to my thoughts. I sighed and opened my phone. I didn't want to think about this Grierson thing. If it happened, then it happened and we'd deal with it. I went to my messages and opened the ones from Erica and Ivy. "Fucking hell," I sighed, looking at the lewd pictures and knowing that Miriam had seen them. "What am I going to do with three women?" Or four? Or more? I was going to need a bigger bed, and quickly. I stretched, feeling several somethings in my back and shoulders pop, as I got out of the back of the nondescript black SUV and felt the gravel of the construction site crunch under my boots. The place was bustling since we'd arrived mid-morning, and I saw more than a few of the workers taking looks over at me and starting to talk to each other. The rumor mill must have been burning hard since Vanessa had gotten carted off in a military helicopter and flown away. First things first, however, was to not unload two vaccinated-but-unbonded women into the middle of a construction site. I flashed a quick thumbs up through the passenger side window at whoever my driver had been; I'd never seen a face or heard a voice; and jogged up to the other vehicle and knocked on the passenger window. Agent Sourpuss rolled it down a moment later, scowling at me from the driver's seat. "What?" "I know you haven't been here for a bit," I said. "But if you drive around to the right over there you'll see our RVs and our little compound. Dropping the ladies off there would probably cause less of a, uh, scene." I could tell she wanted to argue with me but knew I was right. Instead of answering she just stabbed her finger down on the window button beside her and closed it in my face, then pulled the SUV around and headed in the direction I'd pointed. I walked along behind, and we rounded the second big bunkhouse building that was looking just about finished now and headed towards our compound. By the time Agent Sourpuss put the vehicle in park Erica and Ivy were already ducking out from behind the sheets hung between the corner of the RV and the storage container that we'd deemed the 'front door.' Leo and Danielle were right behind them. I wanted to go to my women, but I held myself back and instead opened the rear door of the SUV. Inside I saw that Vanessa was sitting in the middle row bucket seat, and I leaned in and kissed her quickly before offering her a hand down. "Don't go getting all chivalrous on me now, Harri," Vanessa grinned as she accepted my hand and swung out onto her feet. She looked back into the vehicle. "Come on, ladies. Leo's out here waiting for you." The two women, practically swimming in their baggy, hooded coveralls and masked up to boot, unbuckled and started climbing between the seats. I, however, was suddenly a little busy as I was hugged from behind by a small form that could only be Ivy. Beside me, Erica was pulling Vanessa into a hug as well. "I'm so sorry, hon," Erica said, squeezing the shorter woman tightly. "If I'd had any reasonable idea that this would happen,” "It's fine, Erica," Vanessa said, squeezing her back and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Seriously. We'll talk about it, but I'm Okay with it if you are." "Hey you," I said in the meanwhile, turning at the waist to wrap my arm around Ivy's shoulder and hug her to me. "Hello, mon amour," Ivy sighed. "I missed you." "I missed you too, I've," I said, and leaned down and gave the short blonde a quick kiss. The first of the women had reached the door of the car, and Ivy let me go so that I could offer her a hand down. All I could see of her were her eyes and the skin around them; she was white but tanned heavily, and had soft grey eyes that were flicking around. "Let me help, miss," I said. She accepted, her gloved hand taking mine for a moment to step down, and I ushered her directly towards Leo and Dani. "This is Leo, and his better half Danielle." "Hey," Leo scolded me playfully, giving me a little punch on the arm as he grinned. "Hey, hon," Dani said, pulling the woman into a hug that seemed to surprise her. I turned back and Erica was helping the next woman down; she was white and paler than the first, and had dark green eyes. Soon she was getting the same hugging welcome as the first from Dani, as Leo looked both a little bashful and a little excited. "How about we head in and talk?" Erica suggested to everyone. "Ladies, Leo is my brother so I might be biased, but you're in good hands. And if he ends up sucking, then Dani's got you." "Hell yeah I do," Dani chuckled, nudging Leo with an elbow. "I wouldn't mind getting handled by either of you," the tan woman said through her mask. "God damn, girl. Your tits don't quit." "Thanks for noticing," Dani grinned and winked. She took both women by the hand and started leading them into the compound. "Come on, let's get you two fucked and settled." "Now that's one hell of a welcome offer," the other woman laughed. I laughed a little too, hearing the two as Leo quickly jogged ahead to hold the fabric door open for them. "Seriously, those two are gonna be something else," Vanessa said, shaking her head. "You got to talk with them?" Erica asked. "The whole ride here," Vanessa said. "Their names are Aria and India. Aria seems a little sweeter and the more rational one, while India is a hippy kid from hippy parents. They said they've been girlfriends for three years, and up until last year they 'worked' as sugar babies while Aria was finishing up her master's of communications." "Jesus," Erica sighed with a rueful smirk. "They're going to eat Leo alive."

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 5 Lab work. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.   Time went quickly, but also seemed to go nowhere at all; only three days after the final demise of the house we'd moved the RVs four times and I decided we needed to figure out something at least semi-permanent. Even a week in the same spot would be preferable to constant movement. The space where my house had stood was now full of stacks and pallets of supplies, and Vanessa had a crew of almost two dozen of her 'gorillas' working to erect what would become the first of a dozen temporary bunkhouses for the incoming construction workers. She still seemed to be the only foreman on site, so I went looking for Vanessa. I found her at the water truck, splashing some water onto the back of her neck as she took a quick break. It had turned even hotter over the week, spring slipping fully into summer, and we were all starting to boil when we were outside. I'd quickly abandoned the feeling of needing to 'dress up' for everyone and I was down to athletic shorts and one of my sleeveless workout shirts; one of the few that were still 'mine' considering both Erica and Ivy had taken to wearing them as well. Vanessa was the boss however and had to set the example for the rest of the crew, so she was still wearing the jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt and her reflective vest of a dutiful construction foreman. "Hey, got a second?" I asked. "Oh, hey Harrison," she said, looking up as she continued splashing water onto the back of her neck. "Sorry I haven't come to check with you and the girls today, we had three more loads this morning of barracks pilings I had to get sorted, and the fucking surveyors are still bitching about not knowing where the sewage lines are going to come onto the property, as if I can fucking answer that question for them or something." "When's your Dad supposed to finally get on site?" I asked. Her father was supposed to be the General Manager of the entire construction project, but so far I had yet to have seen him. "Fuck, a few days still at least," Vanessa sighed. "I'm getting tired as shit of the phone tag." "Well, sorry if this is a big ask and causes you more headaches; any chance we could project ahead a bit and figure out where we can stash the RVs and everything where we're not going to need to move them for a while? Moving everything around is annoying by itself, but I've also noticed some of your guys are spending a lot of time wandering by the RVs whenever the girls are outside." "Fucking gorillas," Vanessa grunted and grimaced. "I mean, on the one hand, I get it; they are either cooped up in the motel or here working. I'm not exactly thrilled with the situation either. But they could keep it in their fucking pants too, ya know?" "Look, if we can find a spot, the way I see it we can use the RVs and Containers to set up a yard for us that's blocked from view. Then we can have some privacy and not feel cooped up in the RVs, and your guys aren't tempted to let their eyes wander," I said. "I figure it's a win-win." Vanessa smiled and patted my arm. "Harri, as long as you keep the fucking indoors, I'll see what I can do about getting you guys some more privacy." "What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly a little worried that Erica and I might have gotten caught at the Willow tree after all, or that maybe a surveyor had wandered up near the Spring without us hearing. "Nothing, nothing," Vanessa said. "I just; you know we can see the RVs rocking a bit, right? And I don't know who it is, but someone over in your camp is a screamer. We can hear her when she really gets going. Once the guys even gave you a standing ovation." "Fuck," I coughed, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I think it's something to do with the vaccine. I've had more sex in the last four days than I have in the last four years. Honestly, I don't even know how I'm doing it; I ain't old, but I'm not a teenager either." "Well, god bless the vaccine I guess," Vanessa smirked. "And good for you. Just do me a favor and keep it inside the RVs 'till we can get you that privacy. We don't need the entire site shutting down to listen to you fucking your girlfriends." I shook my head again with a self-deprecating smirk. "Um, deal. I hope." That made Vanessa chuckle, and we parted ways for the afternoon. The next day, she came back in the morning and explained the plan she had worked out with the Surveyors and one of the tree-clearing crews. By mid-afternoon, a new swathe of the back end of the hill was bare of trees, and a bulldozer scooped dirt into the holes left by ripped-up stumps. By the time Vanessa left that evening, two of the storage containers had been shifted around by the 'gorillas' and positioned in an L-shape for us in the new location, and Leo and I moved the RVs to form the other two sides of a square. When Vanessa came by the next morning we'd hung up some old, heavy blankets at the corners to maximize our privacy, busted out the lawn chairs and barbecue, and were on our way to turning the space into an outdoor living room. Leo and I even went so far as to rig up an old bell we'd salvaged from the barn on a wooden post with a metal knocker on a string to serve as a doorbell. Erica was the one to answer Vanessa's ring of the bell, and she swept aside the blanket curtain. "Welcome to Casa de Black," she declared. "Jesus," Vanessa said, walking into our new home base. "You guys didn't want to wait, did you?" "Why would we?" Leo asked. "We don't know how long we're going to be living like this, so might as well make the most of it." Leo had decided to make one last addition to our current set-up, and had pulled a loose slab of wood from the container holding all his tools and was carving 'Speak Friend and Enter' into it the makeshift sign with his handheld angle grinder. He'd already been talking about using his torch to burn the wood before giving it a clear lacquer coat. "What can we do for you, Vanessa?" I asked. "Need some breakfast?" "Actually?" Vanessa chewed on the inside of her cheek for a second and peeked back outside the yard. "Breakfast would be fucking great. They're feeding us at the motel, but it's been the same instant oatmeal every fucking morning." "Well, we've yet to have our egg hookup dry out on us," I said. Old Mrs. Branston lived about fifteen minutes down the highway and had been selling eggs to three generations of my family; through the pandemic and quarantine we'd set up a system where I called ahead and she dropped off two dozen eggs at the end of her driveway, and I left a ten dollar bill in her mailbox. "How do you like them? I think I'm getting pretty good at using the grill with a frying pan." We hosted Vanessa for about fifteen minutes as I fried her up some over-easy eggs and some toast to go with it, and she started devouring the first two so quickly that I put another two in the pan for her immediately. While I cooked, she shared the most recent gossip running through the construction crews. "So the latest group to come in said they got tested four times before even leaving the airport," she said around a mouthful. "They were basically flown into Portland, put in little hygienic pods inside the terminals until they'd tested negative all four times, then escorted to military transports. I guess the army is our taxi service or something, and there are members of the national guard currently standing watch at all of the motels. It's kind of fucked up and feels like a prison, honestly. We're not even supposed to mingle outside with each other, despite the fact that we all work together here all day." "Who's feeding you all?" Danielle asked. "Just the people already working out there seems like a lot." "Some catering service is making these prepackaged meals," Vanessa said. "The breakfasts are shit, and the lunches are whatever. The dinners are Okay though; microwavable, and waiting for us when we get off shift." "Have you heard anything else out there about the vaccine?" I asked. "Hmm-Hmm," Vanessa shook her head. "But I mean, I spend my time working." "I'm still not seeing much online," Leo said. "Little whispers on social media, but then it disappears before it gets going." "That's kinda fucked up," Erica said. "We know it's real. The government must be censoring the information or something. "Well, whenever it happens, I don't know what I'll do," Vanessa sighed. "I like working too much, being my own woman. I bring in more cash in a year than almost every other person I graduated high school with, I've been doing it for years, and I don't have any debts. I can't just get tied down to some guy." "You would be surprised, Vanessa," Ivy spoke up. "I am this way too, no? I left home to make my way, and I am happy doing it. But now I am happy here, and am also safe from the sickness. It is not how I saw my life going, but c'est la vie, non?" Vanessa shrugged, and we moved on to some other topics until her radio squawked and she had to run off back to her work. By lunchtime I'd already done another two quick guides into the hills for the surveyors and Leo had gotten his nerd-sign carved out and torched, and he was spray lacquering it outside the yard with a facemask and safety goggles on to cut the strong fumes. He stopped the sprayer when he saw me approaching and stepped away from the sign. "Hey, you able to help me out with hanging this tonight?" he asked me. "Of course," I said. "I gotta help you fly your nerd flag somehow." "Yeah, says the guy with the Lord of the Rings concept art cycling as his desktop screen," Leo rolled his eyes. "It's for my work," I said. "Top-notch inspiration." And then I realized I hadn't opened my laptop in days; not since I'd finished the questionnaire that had led to Erica choosing me. And Ivy for that matter. I hadn't checked emails, I hadn't reached out to contacts. Fuck, I hadn't even sent in my last work-for-hire backgrounds. "Whatever," Leo laughed and punched me in the arm. "Look, when you go in there, just know it wasn't my idea, Okay? I only helped them move the stuff." "What does that mean?" I asked. "You'll see," Leo said cryptically. I ducked through the blanket door and immediately saw what Leo was talking about. Space had been cleared in the center of our sheltered yard for three of the heavy Adirondack deck chairs, and laying in those chairs were Danielle, Erica and Ivy. Each of them was wearing a bikini and were glistening with sunscreen and sweat from the sun as they tanned. They had a Bluetooth speaker playing songs from their phones; I suspected Erica was trying to convince the younger two women of the virtues of mid-2000s pop punk. "Oh, good," Erica said, grinning as she saw me coming into the yard. She lifted her glass. "Um, excuse me, waiter? We could use a top-up, please." I snorted and shook my head, walking over. All three of the women were in two-piece swimsuits, though I suspected Danielle and Ivy's were possibly part of their stripping gear rather than actual bikinis. Both of their suits were more string than fabric and left little to the imagination. Erica's was a bit more conservative, though really not by that much because of her swathe of cleavage. "What are we drinking today, ladies?" I asked. "I made up a pitcher of sangria," Erica said. "It's in the fridge in our place. You would be the absolute love of my life if you were to go get it for us, please?" "I thought I already was the love of your life?" I asked with a smile. "You are," Erica smiled back. "But this will get you to the front of the line for my next life, too. How about that?" "Does that go for all of you?" I asked. "Absolutely," Ivy grinned. "I think I could definitely do worse," Danielle grinned. "But I think Leo might have something to say about that." "Harri can take my brother," Erica chuckled. "Don't worry, Danni. Just sell your future soul to Harri, what's the worst that could happen?" "Fine. My future love life for a refill of sangria," Danielle giggled. I fetched the pitcher and poured for the three women, unable to wipe the grin from my lips as I watched and listened to them bantering back and forth happily. By mid-afternoon, the tanning was over and after a quick fuck in the RV Erica and I were lounging in the Adirondacks, each of us with a sketchbook in hand. "What are you working on?" I asked. "I know you've been as frustrated as I have over the last month." "A tattoo design for Ivy," Erica said, her brow creased as she tapped her pencil against her lips thoughtfully. "Now that I have a future canvas, I feel like I can concentrate again. Plus the sex helps a lot." You laughed and nodded. "Got your creative juices flowing, huh?" "Got all my juices flowing, baby," she grinned at me. "What about you? I've got Ivy, and Danielle wants me to design something for her now, too. What's got you drawing again?" I smiled a little and shrugged. "Just figured out my muse," I said. "And what's that?" she asked. "Come on, don't be shy." I turned my sketchbook around so that Erica could see the portrait I had been sketching of her. She looked at it and blushed, biting her lower lip. "Just the most beautiful thing in the world," I told her. "You know," Erica said. "It kinda looks like you're drawing me naked." "That's cause I'm drawing you from the shoulders up," I said. "Yeah, but would you?" she asked. "Would I what? Draw you naked?" "Or Ivy?" "Are you asking me to draw you like one of my French girls?" I asked. Erica barked out a laugh at the reference and threw her pencil at me. "Yes, maybe I am," she said. "Now give me back my pencil." "You threw it at me," I said, fetching it off the ground. "Come and get it." We ended up in each other's arms and making out, me halfway to taking her back into the RV for round two, when someone rang the doorbell. "Who is it?" I shouted over the wall. "It's me," Vanessa called and ducked through the blanket door without waiting for a response. "Sorry, but we've got a problem," she said. "I think I'm going to need you down at the road again." "Fuck," I said. "Is it Kara?" "It's a lot more than that bitch," Vanessa said. I changed and this time Vanessa drove us both down in her company-branded pickup truck. Erica, having already staked her claim on me in front of Kara in her eyes, decided to hang back and let Ivy finish what I'd started. I was sure sending me away with that picture in my mind was done on purpose. As we were nearing the bottom of the driveway, I could hear the noise of the protest through the closed windows and over the engine of the truck. "Fuck me," I said. "Yeah," Vanessa nodded. The end of the driveway was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, blocking traffic. They were three rows deep and singing a protest chant. Every single one of them was dressed in bright colors, showing their allegiance to the Band and proudly shouting for all they were worth. Opposing them, about ten feet up the drive, was a slim, single row of burly construction workers just watching the protest happen. "Those guys really can't let themselves get baited," I said. "If something happens, it doesn't matter who said what or what can hold up in court. There'll be big, scary motherfuckers showing up wanting to do some damage and I don't think your boys are ready for that." "I know, I already told them," Vanessa said. "But I'll tell them again. You'd be surprised how much threatening someone's big, fat bonus checks can keep them calm and focused." We got out of the truck and I walked down to the line of workers, rubbing at the stubble on my chin as I considered the protestors. There were easily fifty of them blocking the driveway, and there was already a backup of two flatbed trucks on the highway, plus a half dozen cars that looked more like they just wanted to get by rather than come in. Another thirty or so protestors were strung out on either side of the highway in both directions, holding up signs and doing the organizational things to keep the protestors going. "Pretty good turnout," I said offhandedly. "A lot bigger than last time." "When was the last time?" Vanessa asked. "Five years ago," I said. "Kara tried to sue for an injunction on my father's Will, and about a dozen protestors showed up to the courthouse the day she got shot down." "Any chance they'll get tired and go home?" Vanessa asked. I scanned the crowd and the vehicles parked up and down the highway. I already knew there were about thirty military-age males in the protest, and I could see people opening the backs of vans where I spotted supply caches of water and food. I could also see the determination on the faces of the crowd, and hear the declarations of a couple of different women holding loudspeakers. The rhetoric, and emotions, were ramped up more than usual. The anti-government hate was high, and now that they knew they weren't fighting Me but rather the Government it seemed to steel their resolve. "Not a shot," I said. I stepped forward and the shouting got louder. Likely every single person in that crowd knew who I was, while I had no idea who most of them were. But with every step I took, they shouted louder. Finally, halfway between the lines, they seemed to be at a fever pitch and I just stopped and waited. They kept going for a good five minutes before Kara pushed her way through and walked up to me, masked behind those bandanas again. "I told you this would happen," Kara said over the shouting and chanting. "You didn't think I could do it, but look at us. Look at us, Harrison! We will not let this happen to our land." "Kara," I said loudly. "How do you think this ends?" "Only one way," Kara shouted. "The Feds surrender to our rightful claim, and stop their colonization efforts, and we take back what's ours." "This is dangerous, Kara," I said, gesturing at the crowd. "What?" she shouted back. "I said this is dangerous, Kara," I shouted. "Every person here is in danger." "Are you threatening us?" Kara shouted, playing it up for the crowd behind her. "Going to kill us, like your family has done for generations?" "Jesus fuck," I said, shaking my head. "Kara, this doesn't end the way you think it does. I'm going to pray for you, honest to God." Kara just held up her middle finger at me, pointed her other at Vanessa behind me, and turned and walked away to the cheers of her people. I shrugged and went back to Vanessa. "Yeah, they aren't leaving," I said. "I already called my Dad," Vanessa said. "He's coming down and will want to meet with you." "Sure," I nodded. "If they let him through." About thirty minutes later the protesters were still going strong, and another three flatbeds with either supplies or heavy machinery were backed up on the highway, along with dozens of cars. Vanessa was doing as much as she could to keep her workers at least a dozen yards away from the crowd of protestors; the last thing she wanted was for them to need to get quarantined waiting on a half dozen new tests. Or worse, actually catch something. I did my best to help her juggle phones, calling various General Foremen to get incoming trucks rerouted to staging areas and to keep those that were stuck in the traffic in their cabs or else they couldn't enter the site. Eventually she got a call, spoke quickly and then hung up. "Harri, this might be a big ask, but could you do me a favor?" she asked. "The government paid me a lot of money for my land and doing favors," I said. "But you've gone out of your way plenty for me and Leo and the girls. Favors come free to you, Vee." She rolled her eyes. "Who told you my brothers call me that?" "No one, just felt natural," I chuckled. "I call Erica 'E' sometimes, and I'm sure I'll end up calling Ivy 'I've' at some point." "Alright, well, 'H,'" she said. "My dad is parked down at the edge of the property on the highway and doesn't want to get too close to the traffic. Could you hike out to him and bring him back?" "Sure," I said. I looked up at the sun and then out at the woods. "Um, from here... it's probably faster if I grab an ATV. Would he be squeamish about riding double with me?" Vanessa snorted. "He probably wouldn't be, but he's also got a gut the size of your ATVs so it would be a tight fit." "Alright, guess we're hiking. I can rough it and reach him in about twenty minutes," I said. "I'll take a smoother way back for him, so we'll get here in under an hour." "Got it, I'll let him know you're on your way. Thanks," she said, patting my arm. "Try to take it easy on him, he growls like a bear but he's still my Dad." "Hey, he's the big man in charge. Gotta keep him happy or else I'll find myself with the worst workers for my house, right?" "Very true," she laughed. I started hiking back up the driveway a little ways, and then diverted into the woods, hoping that the protestors would miss that I was skirting away from them. I was very glad I had changed from my lounging around clothes; rough jeans and my hiking boots were a lot sturdier in the rocky bush than athletic shorts and sandals. The raucousness of the protestors was quickly muffled by the forest to a dull roar, and it felt good to get away from them. It was weird. After spending months in isolation with Leo and Erica, we'd been getting used to so many people around again with the workers and adding Ivy and Danielle to our weird little family dynamic. But a crowd like that, all packed together? That was exactly what the quarantine orders were warning against. "Harrison!" My name cut through the muffle of the trees and shrubs, and I turned and saw Kara quickly jogging through the woods to catch up with me. "Kara, what the fuck are you doing? You're trespassing," I said. "So throw me off your land," Kara said, coming to a stop about ten feet from me and putting her hands on her hips. "Oh wait, that's right, it's not your land anymore." I rolled my eyes. "You can take off the bandanas if you want. We're fine this far apart." She did so, pulling them down to hang around her neck. Kara was still as beautiful as the day we'd broken up, though she'd grown up a lot. Where I was such a mix that it was hard to tell I had any Native American in my bloodstream, she had that classic warm skin tone and thick black hair. She'd been taking care of herself well, fit and a little thinner than Erica was, but with a similar strong jawline to my girlfriend. Her lips were as full as I remembered though, and I could almost feel her kissing me again like all those years ago behind the corner of the biology classroom in high school, or laying out in the back of my old beater pickup under the stars. "What's going on, Harri?" she asked me. "I thought we'd at least hit a status quo or something." "Oh, the one where you file a lawsuit against me every couple of years, and the judge shuts you down, but I keep having to rack up legal fees?" "No," she said. "Well, sort of. I thought we were keeping things above board. No games, no gimmicks. Not getting historical." I grimaced. "Well, we did," I said. "So what the fuck?" she said, throwing her arms wide. "What the fuck is all of this?" "Kara, think about it for one fucking second without your prejudice. Imagine I'm not just doing this as a 'Fuck You' from my family tree to the Band," I said. "A week ago I wouldn't have thought any of this would be happening. A week ago I was happily living my life and would have stayed that way straight through the end of the world if I had to. Do you seriously think I've done this on some whim?" "Why, then? What are they doing? What are they offering you?" she demanded. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I said. "And even if you did, I think you're too far into this already to walk it back with your people." "Try me," she said. "If you ever cared about me,” "Stop," I interrupted her. "You've used that line twice on me before, Kara. You used it when you broke up with me, and you used it again right after my father died. That line didn't work when I was at some of the lowest points in my life; do you seriously think I'll respond well to that here?" She grimaced, and I saw the realization in her eyes that I was right. That she had used that line before, and it had been pretty fucked up for her to do that. "I'm sorry," she said, and only partially through gritted teeth. "I shouldn't have done that." "Thank you," I said. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt like I was in combat, just having this verbal sparring contest with her. I fucking hated her, but I also still knew she was the first girl I'd ever loved. The one that had broken my heart. The one that 'got away.' "Just explain it to me," Kara said, trying to be more even about it. "Please." I took a moment to breathe deeply. I wasn't barred from telling her anything. I'd tried to warn her when she'd shown up at the driveway before, but the thought of all those protestors at risk for the virus pushed me over the edge of trying to warn her again. "Kara, the government gave me the choice of accepting a huge payout for the land, or them kicking me out and taking it by eminent domain. Either way, they were going to take it and take it fast. I could either ride it, or die fighting it." "So what are they doing with it?" she asked. "Building homes," I said. "A whole gated community, it sounds like. Part of my payout was housing for myself, Leo and Valerie." "What the fuck? Why do they want a gated community way out here?" she asked. "Worst-case scenario shit," I said. "You mean the pandemic?" she asked. "Are you for fucking serious?" "Serious enough that my house got bulldozed a couple days ago," I said. "Gone. Like it was never even there." "This can't be real," Kara said. "This is absurd." "I told you that you wouldn't believe me," I said. "Well, if you were too much of a cunt to stop them, we will," Kara said, steeling herself again. "We'll have the local news down here by tomorrow, and if the Feds show up we'll have national news coverage by the end of the week." I had to try one more time. "Kara, this doesn't end the way you want it to. You're a dreamer, and I loved that about you when we were teens, but you know the real world doesn't just work like that." Kara narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going right now?" "What does that matter?" I asked. "Because I just followed you out into the woods after your little construction girlfriend was talking to you," she said. "She's not my girlfriend," I rolled my eyes. "Tell her that. She's flirting with you hard enough," Kara said. "I can see her doing it." "Even if she was, what does that have to do with you?" I asked. I knew I'd landed a blow because she got angry again. "Nothing," she said. "But I still want to know what you're doing." "I don't have to tell you that, Kara," I said. "I don't answer to you, I don't owe you anything, and I don't worship the ground you walk on. All I've got to say now is that you should go send all those people home, and hope that you haven't organized some super-spreader event here. For all the shit you've given me and my family, I don't want to see them all dead. I don't want to see you dead." Kara raised her bandanas again. "We're fighting the good fight. We're on the right side of this, Harrison. You're not." She turned and started walking back towards the road. "Fuck me," I sighed, shaking my head. That woman could still push my buttons almost fifteen years later. I pressed through the forest, making for the edge of the property and then diverting towards the road. When I reached it, I found a white and brown heavy pickup identical to Vanessa's idling on the gravel shoulder. The big guy in the driver's seat rolled down his window a crack. "What's up?" "I'm Harrison Black," I said. Another guy got out of the passenger seat and came around, slapping the hood. "Head on back to the motel," he said to the man in the truck. "I'll catch a ride back with my daughter." The guy in the truck nodded and waited for us both to back away before pulling a U-Turn and taking off down the highway. "So, you're the land guy, eh?" the man said, turning and offering me his hand. He was exactly as Vanessa had described; portly to the point of obese, with a gruff exterior that spoke of years handling his business in a rough industry and getting shit done. "I am," I said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Your daughter has been fantastic to work with. Helpful and on task, and she keeps her guys in line." "I have no doubt," he said. "She grew up bossing her older brothers around and got the best of her mother and me. I'm Brent Peters, by the way. I'm sure we'll be speaking every once in a while through this project." "Good to meet you, sir," I said. "And I'm sure we will." I led Brent into the brush and got us through the roughest part until I could get us to one of the more used trails. It got a lot easier for him there, and once he had a chance to catch his breath he seemed to actually enjoy the chance to stretch his legs. He didn't know, or at least wasn't forthcoming, with any more information than Vanessa had been able to give about what was going on, but he did enjoy hearing about the sordid history of the land, my family and the Band. It took a little longer than I'd thought it would to get back to the driveway, Brent needing a couple of breaks, but we made it eventually. Vanessa grinned when she saw her father in a way that made me think she was going to run to him and hug him, but she never made the move. I had to assume that was a hard-trained response from her years working with the man; hugging your pops on a job site would probably lead to taking a lot of shit from your coworkers. Brent quickly got updated on the last hour of developments from Vanessa, and I saw his managerial side take over. Soon the line of construction workers were twenty yards back from the protestors, and he was stride-waddling forward with a medical mask stretched over his face. Kara met him halfway, and whatever they said seemed to go about as well as the talks I'd had with her myself. Again, she ended it by showing off for the protestors by giving him the double-birds. "Well, that went well," Brent sighed as he came back. "You were right, Harrison. They're stuck in. Wouldn't even help us get those trucks room to move or get out of the way of traffic." "She feels like she's got leverage," I guessed. "And they haven't had that on us for years now." "Well, I've officially done what I can," Brent said. "Time to do what every good GM does when shit like this happens." He took out his phone and started walking up the driveway away from Vanessa and me. "What's that?" I asked. "Call the client and tell them to un-fuck the situation," Vanessa smirked. The rest of the afternoon and evening was a long fucking day. There was no good way to get the workers on site off of it, and no good way to get new ones on, so Leo and I ended up walking several groups through the trails to get to the road in places out of sight of the protestors. And since the big crew vans were parked on site, Brent ended up getting access to school buses to come and pick up his guys. The second to last bus dropped off a dozen men who would take over watching the driveway and the protestors overnight; we'd already seen them breaking out tents and lanterns to hold their vigil; and the last bus out had Brent and Vanessa on board. "Client will be by in the morning," Brent said, and winked at me. "Don't you worry, bucko. You hold down the home front tonight, and the cavalry will be here in no time." "You got it," I said. "But whoever is coming, I suggest you make sure they know to take this seriously. The Band is riled up, and now they smell blood in the water. This isn't going away easily." "I'll pass that on to the Lieutenant Colonel," Brent nodded. He shook my hand again and stepped onto the bus. "See you tomorrow, H," Vanessa grinned at me. "Not if I see you first, Vee," I chuckled. She stepped up into the bus and I heard her voice raise immediately. "Alright, you Gorillas. Grab your fuckin' seats and stay there. I swear to Christ if one of you pisses me off, I'll confiscate your fuckin' dinner, got it?" I laughed, and could see the construction workers grinning in their seats as the bus did a three-point turn and pulled away. The sun was getting low when I finally hiked out of the bush and back into view of our little compound. Erica was waiting for me with a smile and a plate of stir fry. "What's the word, Harri?" "They're still down there," I said. "There are some workers keeping an eye on the driveway. Could you throw on a big pot of coffee for me and dig one of the thermoses out of storage?" "Harri, if they've got some of their workers down there, it's not your job to supervise. I'm sure Vanessa and her Dad left someone in charge." "They did," I said. "And I'm not going down there. I'm staying up here." I shoveled the stir fry down, relishing in the spicy kick Erica liked to cook with. Inside our little compound I gave Ivy a kiss, apologizing that I wouldn't be seeing her in bed for the night. Then I went to the storage container closest to my RV. The one with my gun safe. "What's the word?" Leo asked me when he found me. I had a lantern flashlight on and was loading rounds into my father's Model 700. "Jesus, Harri. What the fuck?" I doubted he was commenting on me loading the Remington hunting rifle. We'd used it plenty when we were hunting during deer season; it was a solid, reliable tool. No, I knew he was reacting to the other firearms I had out. My M9 was already holstered on my hip, a copy of my service sidearm that had served me so well through my tour and as an MP, and my DDM4V1 was laid out, waiting for me to do a quick check it was still in good order. "Just taking precautions," I said. I was already trying to get into the right mindset. "What does that even mean? What are you doing?" "There's about a hundred protesters down there, last I counted. More keep arriving," I told Leo, loading the last round into the 700 and checking the safety before setting it down. I fished a handful more.308's out of the ammo box in the safe and fed them into the bandolier shoulder strap for the hunting rifle. "Problem is, they're pissed off. Not just about the construction, but at all the other shit going on right now. And pissed-off people do dumb shit." "So what, you're going to go all Alamo on us?" Leo asked. "For real, Harri. Nothing's going to happen. They're down there, we're up here." "Leo," I said. "I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want to. The Bear shotgun is in my RV. Do me a favor and keep it handy tonight. If I miss something, I'd rather you have it than not." "Harri,” "Dude, just stop," I said. I'd finished with the.308s and started taking apart the DDM4V1 and giving it a quick clean. It was a budget purchase that I'd made prioritizing reliability over flashy shit, and the 'scary one' in my collection when it came to civilians. Erica hadn't even liked the idea of me owning it when we gave her the tour of my firearms and taught her the safety protocols for them. Leo had only ever fired it once. Both of the siblings had said the same thing; 'If you have the rifles and shotguns and the handgun, why do you need a machine gun?' This sort of thing was why I needed it. And it wasn't a 'machine gun.' "I'm not planning, or hoping, to kill someone tonight. If I have to use the DDM4 or my sidearm, something has gotten really fucked," I said. "But I'm also not taking any chances. Sometime tonight, there's going to be people sneaking up into the construction yard to cause mischief, and they aren't going to know the difference between the construction yard and where we're living. Maybe they hear us and they stay clear, or maybe they don't. I'm not taking that chance." Leo watched me cleaning my rifle, and glanced out at the darkening sky, and then back to me. "What should I do?" he asked. A wave of relief washed over me; it had been years since I'd served, and every instinct I had was telling me to do what I was doing, but that civilian part of my brain was second-guessing everything. Leo agreeing told me I was being logical, even if he didn't like it or I turned out to be wrong. "Just be with the girls tonight," I said. "I can handle the yard, you stay with them. Think of it like a shitty tower defense game. If I do my job, you'll never have to do anything." He nodded and left me to my work. Surprisingly, it was Danielle who came to see me next. "What can I do to help?" she asked. Her Australian accent was sounding stronger, the California valley girl part of it dropping with her serious demeanor. "Nothing, I've got it," I said. She'd caught me as I was strapping on my ghillie suit; another item that Leo and Erica had found silly to own considering we didn't need it for hunting deer. It had honestly been more of a gag item in my collection than anything until tonight. "Harrison, I'll remind you that my Dad was military, yeah?" she said. "I grew up outside the city. I know how to work a firearm." I took a breath and looked at her. Even at night, by the light of a lantern, she looked like an elven beauty despite the cutoff denim shorts and zippered knit sweater. "Can you handle a handgun?" I asked. "I've shot the head of an Eastern Brown from ten paces away when it was threatening to bite my dog," she said. "I assume that's a snake?" "A fucking poisonous one," Danielle said. "Alright," I nodded. "Under the passenger seat of my truck is a gun case with my pop's old 1911 and a couple of magazines. Hang on to it for tonight. Try not to freak out Erica or Ivy, and if you hear shots tonight don't let Leo come looking for me, let alone Erica and Ivy. If they leave the RVs it'll just make things worse." "Okay," she said with a serious nod, then stepped towards me, hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks." "For what?" I asked as she stepped back. "For being the man I figured you were," she said. "Leo's all mine and I'm happy with that, but like I told you; you remind me of all the good parts of my Dad. I'm glad I have Leo and you around." She left to fetch the pistol, and I finished strapping on the ghillie suit and slung my two rifles over my shoulders and closed the gun safe. When I was finished slamming the storage container closed, I turned around to find Ivy and Erica both looking at me with their arms crossed. "Both of you, huh?" I asked. "Yes, both of us," Erica said. "United front," Ivy said. "Look,” "Shut up, Harrison," Erica said, and then they were both hugging me while being careful around the firearms. "Just be careful." "Extra careful," Ivy said, burying her face into the strings of the ghillie suit in my chest and then immediately pulling back with a wince. "Ugh, this smells terrible." "Yeah, well it's not exactly the sort of thing you clean very often," I shrugged. "Whatever," Erica said and kissed me. Ivy kissed me as well, looking at me with those big eyes of hers with concern. "So you're not going to try and convince me this isn't necessary?" I asked. "Wouldn't do anything except lead to a fight we couldn't win," Erica said. "You're too stubborn not to do it." "And too brave," Ivy added. "That too," Erica smiled sadly. Then she handed me the big thermos of coffee. "Come back to us in one piece." "I will," I said. "Don't worry. But if you two hear anything tonight, if there's any gunfire, don't come looking for me. Just stay in the RVs and hunker down from the windows. If you come looking for me, you'll add more danger and not take it away, alright?" They both agreed, though I could tell Erica didn't like it. I could only imagine her sprinting across the construction yard, bullets flying everywhere, screaming my name as she worried I'd been shot. Hell, she'd probably pick me up and carry me to safety if it were true, but she'd also likely never get to me in the first place if things were that bad. I kissed them both again, then stalked off into the night. I ended up settling into a nook on the side of the hill to the south of the construction yard, with a clear view of about two-thirds of the yard and most importantly the RV compound. I unslung my rifles and carefully positioned myself in a comfortable prone position I was going to be able to manage for a long time. I'd never gone through Sniper training, but I'd picked up enough from my Bootcamp, talking with other soldiers and from movies to know a thing or two; not to mention years of hunting. So I cracked the thermos and took a sip of the hot, strong coffee, and started my watch. I saw them moving through the trees at around 02:30 in the morning down on the east side of the yard near the driveway. They must have skirted around the construction worker picket line and followed the driveway up, but they were still in the shadows so I couldn't tell how many there were, or what they were carrying. The only reason I spotted them early at all was because someone was flicking a flashlight up occasionally. I had the 700 cradled in my arms, and I slowly rolled into position but didn't sight down the scope yet. I didn't have any night vision gear, and while the simple Leopold scope easily gave me the range to tag anything moving down there, I wouldn't know what I was hitting. They stopped at the edge of the tree line, and I could only imagine the nerves they were feeling looking out over the open area. There were seven portables set up holding various offices now, and half a dozen big crew vans that had been left behind for the night along with some of the company pickup trucks. The pilings and supplies to erect the bigger barracks were also looming in the big, open space. "Just take a look and leave," I muttered quietly to myself, willing whoever was down there to not make this worse than it could be. Five minutes went by before a figure began to creep out of the tree line, crossing the rise of the hill and slipping towards the yard. From the distance I was at, I couldn't see them clearly enough other than to tell they were probably wearing a backpack; not a big deal in and of itself, but my training was screaming at me. 'Anything' meant anything. That backpack could hold weapons, or communications equipment, or even an I E D. I sighted in on the figure. It was a man, military age but young. I couldn't see much of his face between the black bandana over his nose and mouth and a ball cap backwards on his head. My finger tightened just a fraction on the trigger when I saw the flash of metal in his hand, but my hesitation saved his life; he was carrying a can of spray paint. He reached what he thought was the shelter of the first building; and it was shelter if he thought a guard was patrolling inside the yard. But I wasn't inside the yard, and instead I was looking at him dead on along the length of the building as he took off his backpack and then turned, motioning back towards the tree line. A half dozen more figures began quickly creeping across the hillside. I had a choice; if that backpack was full of spray-paint and that was all they were there to do, it would be annoying vandalism at worst as long

On this week's all-new episode of the Digging Deep ATVMX Podcast, we celebrate the end of a legendary era.This past week, Chad Wienen quietly confirmed that the Briarcliff season finale will mark “the ‘Last Dance' of [his] full-time AMA Pro Racing career.” After more than two decades at the top of the sport, one of ATV motocross's greatest champions prepares to take his final bow.In this special episode, an emotional Chad Wienen joins us to reflect on his decision, what led him to it, what these last couple outings will mean to him, what's next—and so much more. This is a must-listen moment in ATV racing history and Digging Deep history alike.Tune in now — and as always, thank you for DIGGING DEEP with us!Send us a textSupport the show

En una nueva edición veraniega de nuestro podcast semanal, vamos a comentar las noticias tecnológicas de esta semana. Y una de ellas, una de las que más nos ha gustado esta semana, ha sido la novedad del paquete Apple Care One y la opción de robo y perdida añadidas al Apple Care de iPad y Watch.Os traemos una nueva noticia chorra de demandas a Apple de la cual la compañía ha salido airosa. De esta y de varias citas legales que ha tenido en los últimos días. Está en racha la compañía de Cupertino, que también ha conseguido en estos días que la Unión Europea acepte las modificaciones en la AppStore.Apple va a modificar la segmentación de edades  en su App Store. Y junto a esta medida, va a introducir otras destinadas a proteger a los menores de aplicaciones no recomendadas. Por ejemplo, aplicaciones que ni siquiera aparecerán visibles en sus tiendas de Apps.Por supuesto también comentaremos las novedades del mundo Beta, ademas de la cuarta entrega para desarrolladores, tenemos la primera pública, por lo que se da por hecho que ya está rodada. También comentaremos las novedades que nos aporta en CarPlay.Y como no, tendremos una ronda rápida de noticias y las novedades en aTV+. Para completar un nuevo podcast de nuestro Abierto por Vacaciones y del compromiso 7 de 7. Lo tenemos familia! Esperamos que estéis pasando un buen verano y que nos lo hagáis saber en nuestro grupo de Telegram. 

In this episode, we sit down with Chris Merrill to hear his harrowing story of survival. Chris was involved in a devastating ATV accident on the towering sand dunes of Southern Utah—an incident that nearly claimed his life and put his friend and his friend's son in grave danger. While driving the ATV, Chris unknowingly crested a steep cornice. The vehicle suddenly launched into the air, landing hard on its front end before tumbling violently down the dune. During the crash, Chris was thrown forward repeatedly, his face slamming into the steering wheel multiple times. The impact left him with a severely fractured jaw that spiraled around his skull. Listen in on how this experience affected Chris and his outlook towards life in general and the future ahead of him. Thanks Chris for being on the show!

Welcome the Leutz Family to RitR Podcast. Get to know Wyatt, Beth, Levi, and Leah in this episode. Lando and Dan discuss the double header at SVCC hosting the MWEDTs Rounds 4 and 5 Ohio Hunts Get your DRAGON RACE FUEL Follow us on Facebook www.rylandjohnsonracing.com www.keizerwheel.com

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 1 Pandemic Survivors, Harems and the Pacific Northwest. Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. To combat the deadly Duo Halo virus, the government will change the lives of Harrison Black and his friends out in the hills of Oregon. In return, Harrison finds a new purpose to his life in the midst of losing his family history. The House Guest. I glanced away again, relatively certain that Erica hadn't noticed my involuntary glance down at her cleavage but not overly worried. The grocery store parking lot was only half full, but we were waiting out front and I felt like we were in a bread line in Soviet Russia. The only good news was that it was a warm spring for Oregon State, and a clear day, so Erica and I weren't bundled up in jackets or anything. Of course, we were still getting used to the masks. "This feels ridiculous," Erica said, adjusting the bandana covering her lower face. She'd done her makeup as usual, with soft but smoky eyeshadow, and her thick dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Erica was a well-put-together lady, with the hips and bust of a woman who had aged perfectly into her thirties. I'd known her through our late twenties, and I wasn't ashamed to say I thought she'd only gotten hotter with time. Her black jeans clung to her hips and ass, and the black sweater she was wearing unzipped over a ripped band t-shirt accented the v of her cleavage that I'd been trying not to glance at. "At least it's not the middle of winter," I said. "Imagine this going on in January, in a snowstorm?" "We'll never need to see that," said the old man in front of us in line. He was wearing a hunting gaiter, but it was riding low on his upper lip. "This ain't the first virus, it won't be the last. Couple of weeks and the panic will die down. We'll have practically forgotten it by the fall, I bet." "Hopefully," Erica nodded. They'd announced the quarantine two weeks ago, and it had gone into effect last week. My roommate Leo and I had invited Erica, his sister, up from Portland; she was going to be cooped up in her apartment alone for the two-week shutdown and we had plenty of space on my old family property. Erica had made the drive the day before the statewide quarantine kicked in, having locked up the Tattoo Parlor she managed, and it had been a week of sun, hiking and ATV tours through the property, along with teaching her how to throw an axe and shoot some archery. Next week we were planning to show her the ropes on gun safety, and let her try out some of my grandfather's old hunting rifles. Erica was game for it all, and it felt like a mini vacation for all three of us. What Leo and I hadn't planned for was making meals for three instead of two, and so now a week in Erica and I were braving a trip into town trying to figure out exactly what we were and weren't supposed, or allowed, to do. Erica turned to say something to me, but her sentence was cut off by the heavy thrum and backfiring of a pair of ugly pickups rumbling into the parking lot of the grocery store on jacked-up wheels, halfway to 'monster truck.' They parked near the back, near my own truck, both vehicles with the stupid 'truck nuts' swinging from the hitches on the back and one of them with a big confederate flag sticker in the back window. "Jesus, I thought rednecks were supposed to come from the South," Erica muttered. "There are rednecks in every part of every country," I sighed. "Ask me about German rednecks sometime. Those people are weird." Five men unloaded from the two pickups, and I could see someone still sitting inside one of the cabs. I immediately took in everything I needed to know about the men; my brain couldn't shut off the instinct. Five military-aged males, three who looked like they could handle a bit of a fight. None of them were carrying firearms, no obvious sign of concealed weapons, but several had utility knives sheathed on their belts. Not that uncommon out here in the foothills of western Oregon. Three of them were wearing army surplus combat boots, one was wearing what looked like steel-toe construction boots, and one was wearing hiking boots. Their clothes were blue-collar casual. Rough, in other words. None of them were wearing any form of a mask. The debate was still out in the news; first, we were supposed to wear masks, then they said it wasn't going to be helpful, and now they were saying wearing masks might be the most important thing. Everyone seemed confused about the issue, but everyone in line outside the grocery store was wearing one of some sort or other. "Are they seriously going to just?" Erica muttered. The rednecks were heading straight for the entrance to the store, looking to bypass the ten or so folks in line ahead of us and another six behind us. I could see the panic in the eyes of the pimple-faced teen manning the door. He had no fucking clue what to do about it. "Ah, shit," I muttered, already stepping out of line. "Harrison," Erica cautioned me. "It's not worth it. What's the point?" "If not me, then who?" I asked her, then raised my fingers to my lips and blasted a whistle that echoed across the parking lot. Everyone turned and looked at me. All the folks in line, the rednecks as they were about to bull their way past the boy, and the beleaguered kid who I'd already watched bumble through explaining the line to annoyed people, let these alone belligerent assholes. "Hey," I yelled, but tried to keep my voice more friendly than commanding. "How about you guys show some respect to the folks out here and just grab a spot in line?" "How about you suck my nuts? We aren't sheeple, we know our rights," one of them yelled. "Yeah, this place can't deny us service, we've got rights," another shouted. "There's a difference between rights and being polite," I said. "Old folks are waiting to get their groceries, you boys can wait fifteen minutes." "You got a problem with us?" Another one shouted. "You know who the fuck we are?" "Harrison," Erica sighed. "I ain't got a goddamn clue who you are," I said. "And I don't care beyond the fact that you're acting like assholes." Two of them immediately started coming towards me down the line, the other three hesitating a moment before following. Fuck. I'd been hoping they were just some bully idiots, but the two in the lead were way angrier than they should have been. "Take a few steps back and don't get involved, E," I said quietly. "I'll be fine, but you can't get involved, Okay?" "Harry, what the actual fuck? There are five of them. This is a fucking parking lot. We should just call the cops!" she whispered back. "I'd listen to your fella," the old guy in the gaiter said. "We got one State Trooper somewhere in thirty square miles of here; would likely take too long to do any good." "You wanna say that to my face, you fucking fuck?" one of the men said. I'd taken a few more steps out of line, and he got up within a foot of me with his teeth bared and a fist raised threateningly. "I'm a god damned sovereign citizen, and I got every right to protect my dignity, honor and good name against fucks like you." "Yeah," I said, looking down at him as I breathed in deep and let my full size loom over him. The guy was probably 6'1 or so, but I was 6'6 in my stockings and had an extra couple inches over that from my own hiking boots. "I said you guys are acting like assholes, and otherwise I could give one single shit about who you think you are." "You motherfucker, I'm gonna," "Harrison?" One of the three guys in the back asked. He was one of the ones I'd identified as not being much of a fighter. "Harrison Black, right? You played Defensive End at Eisenhower." "Uh, yeah," I said. "That was a while ago though..." "Oh man, dude. It's me, Barry O'Callahan. I was a year behind you," the guy said. "Guys, this dude almost single-handedly ran our high school defense. Didn't you end up joining the military or something?" "Yeah, yeah," I said, squinting and looking at Barry. "Really? Barry O?" "Heh, yeah I filled out a bit since I was a junior," the man laughed, his gut jiggling with the effort. "And then I filled out a bit more. How are you doing, man? When did you get out of the service?" "Well, I'm doing fine, Barry. Been out going on seven years. But this is a bit awkward," I said. The interruption had been as confusing a moment for the two hotheads in their group as it had been for me. They were looking back and forth between us, trying to decide if they were still mad at me, or mad at Barry, or were just giving it up. "Oh, yeah. Uh, don't worry guys, Harrison is cool, Okay?" Barry said. "Dude, are you just in the area visiting or what?" "I've been up at the family place for the last few years since Pop died," I said. "Oh man, I'm sorry," Barry said. "But hey, can't believe we didn't run into each other until now. Who'd a thunk, huh? Here dude, you should come out to the clubhouse sometime. We'll grab some brews, catch a game or something." Barry pulled a crumpled matchbook out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me. The front had a WWII-style blonde pinup girl on a navy background with a white star behind her, invoking the flag. The Golden Beaver and an address was printed in tiny letters on the backside. It would have been a funnier innuendo if they weren't referencing the Oregon state flag. "Yeah, maybe," I said. "Come on, guys," Barry said, slapping his two hot head friends on the shoulders. "Let's get in line. Nice seeing you, Harrison." "Yeah, you too Barry," I said. And then shook my head as the five men headed back towards the end of the line. "What the fuck was that?" Erica asked me as I joined her back in line, and we moved up a couple spaces as the teen at the door let more people into the store. "Honestly, I thought I was about to spend the night in county lockup," I said. "Fuckin' Barry O." "He seemed like a fan of yours," Erica smirked. "Big high school football star, huh?" "I was a little above average at best," I said. "And I wasn't an idiot. Easy to look good when the rest of the team sucks." I looked down at the matchbook again and shook my head, showing it to Erica. She snorted and took it. "Is this real? Please tell me you aren't going to go join their little redneck club." "Not likely," I said. "It's a wannabe militia group. Bunch of swinging cocks with no sway." "What?" "Cause they're so small. It's a tiny penis joke." Erica smirked again and rolled her eyes. "You child. Can you do me a favor?" "What's that?" I asked. "Maybe, for the foreseeable future, you keep the whole Walking Tall routine to a minimum?" "I'm sorry, did you just make a Dwayne Johnson, early 2000s movie reference?" "Yeah, I did," Erica grinned. "What are you going to do about it?" "We need to get you to watch some better movies," I laughed. "Hey, son," the old man ahead of us said quietly. "Seriously, could you have taken those guys?" I glanced back at them at the end of the line, muttering to each other. "Probably, if I was right. If I got three of them, the other two wouldn't have done anything." "Heh. Would have liked to have seen that," the old man grinned. "Don't encourage him," Erica said. "He hasn't gotten into a fight on my watch yet, I don't want him to start now." "Yeah," I said. "But that's mostly because you're the one who usually starts throwing punches at the bar." "Hey, a guy gets handsy, I put him in his place," Erica shrugged. "No 'Walking Tall' shit, my ass," I snorted. "You two make a fine, rowdy couple," the old man said. "Oh, we're not a couple," Erica said. "Just friends," I said. "He's my brother's roommate," Erica clarified. "I'm just visiting." The old man raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Alright. Well, maybe you two should consider toning down the flirting then. You're likely to attract bears with all the hormones you're putting out." "Erica, Erica! No, you cannot punch him," I said, holding her back. "Hey, Erica? Can we talk to you for a minute?" Erica looked up from her phone with a cocked eyebrow and a pensive smile. I immediately realized how weird and out of character our approach was. She was lounging on the couch in the living room, her sketchbook tossed to the side with a half-finished something scribbled out in frustration like she'd been trying to work but just couldn't get it right. I knew how she felt, having had the same frustrations ever since the quarantine had been announced. "Sure guys, what's up?" she asked. I let Leo sit down next to his sister on the couch as she sat up, and I took my usual chair. It had been my Father's up until he passed; I'd avoided it the first month after he died and I took over the family homestead. Then when my older sister Valerie and her family came to stay for that summer, she practically pushed me into it. 'It's just a chair,' became our catchphrase for the summer as we sorted through the belongings of our parents and grandparents. "I'm sorry," I said as I settled into the chair. "This is already coming off weird. Erica, it's nothing." "You're making it seem like it's something," Erica said. She turned to her twin. "What's going on?" Leo and Erica were both a couple of years older than me, but once you were into your early thirties that kind of stuff meant a lot less. Leo had the looks of a classic Italian paisan with thick dark hair, a hawk beak of a nose and bushy eyebrows. He was built thin and a little lanky, and was usually ready with an eager smile and word of encouragement for anyone he met. That's probably why we'd gotten along so well when we started rooming together; his positive attitude had been just what I needed coming out of the Army. Erica had a lot of the same features as her brother; the thick dark hair, the ready smile, the energetic sparkle in her eyes; but she also had a sensuality to her that I can't say I'd ever noticed in Leo. She was a little more patient, a little more sure of herself and willing to take charge of things. And that control went all the way to her fitness, as she hadn't let herself slide even through quarantine. Leo sighed. "No, it's nothing. Well, I mean I guess it's something, but it's not," "How about we just say it, instead of talking about talking about it?" I said. "Yeah," Erica nodded. "How about that?" "Well, uh, Harrison?" Leo looked at me, which I guess was fair considering this was my house at the end of the day. "Erica, we're almost a month into the quarantine now," I said. "I know that when we invited you down out of the city to stay with us, it was supposed to only be for a couple of weeks. 'Two weeks to flatten the curve' and all that shit. But things don't seem to be getting any better." "No, it's fine," Erica said, sitting up straighter in her seat and pulling away from her brother. "I know I've been imposing on you guys. It's fine, I can head back down to Portland and I'll just," "Jesus Christ, Erica," Leo said. "We're not kicking you out." "You're not?" she asked. I realized that she was clenching her fists in her lap so hard she was trembling slightly. "Not a shot, E," I said. "We just wanted to make sure that you knew we want you to stay as long as you want or need. We love having you here." For the first time in my life, I saw Erica's lower lip tremble. "Really?" she asked. Back in the city she was the manager of one of the most successful tattoo and piercing parlors in the state, herding artsy workers that acted like cats with constant access to catnip. Erica was firm but fair with her artists, managed a clientele that ran the gamut from rich and entitled assholes to meth'd out deadbeats, and kept her own skills sharp with constant discipline and practice. Every time we had hung out in the years before the quarantine, I'd always been struck by how forceful a personality she was; she could smack talk with the best of them, manhandle a drunk in a bar like an experienced bouncer, and laughed loud and full-bellied. Seeing her on the verge of tears was a shock, and I realized we probably should have had this talk two weeks ago. "Yes, of course we do," I said. "God, you're practically family, Erica. I don't think I could let you go back and stay in the city right now. We love you." The damn burst and as thick tears began to pour over her cheeks and streak her dark eyeliner she reached out and pulled Leo into a hug with one arm. She beckoned for me with the other and I crossed the space to wrap her up in a hug as well. "Thank you," she whispered quietly between us. "I know you guys wouldn't; but still. Everything going on out there, and the way the city is right now... I just didn't" "It's going to be fine," Leo said to his sister, squeezing her harder. "You'll see." She kissed him on the cheek, then turned and kissed me on the cheek as well. "Thank you." I gave her a bit of a squeeze in return. "We'll need to go get some more of your stuff, I guess. You only came down here with a duffle bag." She laughed. "God, yes," she said and tried to wipe her tears. "I can go up there. I could use some more underwear, ha-ha." "Too much information!" Leo said, releasing his sister. She sniffed hard to clear her nose and wiped her cheeks some more to clear her spilt makeup and tears. Erica had a sort of post-punk or light goth style, with thick eyeliner and soft but smoky eyeshadow. For someone in the tattoo business, she had relatively few piercings, just two in each earlobe and a single small, silver nose ring on one nostril. She made up for it with a pair of full sleeve tattoos on her arms and a collection of assorted smaller tattoos on her legs. "What, you don't want to hear about me sweating through my bras?" She laughed at her brother. "Come on, Leo, we're all adults here." I laughed at her teasing and she squeezed me to her with the one arm she still had around my shoulder. She turned and kissed me on the cheek again. "I can go down to the city by myself, you guys don't need to risk yourselves for me. All the news reports are saying this thing is extra dangerous for men." "No, we'll help," I said. "We don't know how long this thing will last, so we'll bring the pickup and you can bring your car. And if you get exposed, you'd bring it back here with you anyways, so we might as well try and do it as fast as possible. Three sets of hands will make things go easier." "Okay," she nodded, then with a last squeeze of my shoulders she eased away and stood up. "Okay. Well, damn, guys. This feels like a fucking weight lifted off my shoulders. I've felt like I've been overstaying my welcome, not that you guys did anything to make me think that. I just,” "It's fine," I said. "We understand." "I don't," Leo said. "You've been all up in my personal space since the dam womb. You never had a problem with it before now." "Come here, you twerp," Erica laughed, slapping her brother on the arm. "Alright, alright," I said. "Come on, children. Let's make a plan here. No time like the present, if we get everything ready we can head out tomorrow."   Leo and I had first become roommates when he sublet me a room as I came out of the military seven years ago and wanted to move back to the Portland area. Then, when my father passed and I needed to move back to the family property, Leo had been more than happy to come on up with me instead of trying to find someone new to take over my half of the house lease. The old ranch-style house I'd grown up in had plenty of room, and my mother had died a few years before Dad, so it worked out for both of us. Even before the quarantine was announced we'd both been working from the homestead; my freelance illustration and concept art gigs kept the bills and property tax under control and food on the table, and Leo had swapped to making artisanal furniture in his little shed workshop instead of the house framing and cabinetry he'd been trained in. The old barn made a decent new workshop for him after a couple of upgrades, and once I'd gotten a satellite installed for point-to-point internet service we were... Well, we hadn't exactly been living the technological dream, but we had what we needed. The drive down to Portland from the homestead outside Jewell took a bit over an hour and a half on a good day with moderate traffic. It only took us an hour, in the middle of the day. I drove my truck, the cover on over the bed, and Leo rode with Erica in her car. The highways were practically empty, and for a while the drive almost felt like just a beautiful day out; other than the thick sweater I was wearing, and the work gloves I'd duct taped to the cuffs. I also had a pair of bandanas hung around my neck, ski goggles sitting on the passenger seat, and the hood of my sweater pulled up. It was the middle of a hot spring and I was sweating my ass off in my own truck just in case of death by viral infection. Even in the last couple of weeks, all the messaging online from the Government about what to do for safety felt like it had been conflicting with itself constantly, and when Leo and Erica tried to do more research they couldn't even figure out which politician or government body to listen to, let alone find something useful and convincing. So we went all out. Driving through the suburbs was a bit of an experience. One neighborhood would be completely desolate, not a single person outside and everything locked up tight. The next would be full of people outside on the street, walking dogs and kids running around playing. Most of them had those medical masks on, but it looked like people were out on summer vacation or something. The neighborhood after that was mostly shut down like the first, but one of the houses easily had thirty vehicles parked around it and was hosting some sort of party going on in the front and back yard. Somehow, despite the world feeling so alien, I still found driving through the city even weirder. Getting into the urban center where Erica had a small apartment near the Tattoo Parlor was like we'd hit the end of the world. Even more than in the suburbs, the near complete lack of people was shocking. We could go entire city blocks without seeing another car, and then suddenly we'd come across a food delivery driver peddling down the middle of the city street on a bike. The only other motorized vehicles I saw were one dude on an electric scooter having the time of his life, and ambulances speeding down the streets with their lights running. They didn't even bother with the sirens. Crackle, crackle. "Hey, Harrison? You read me? Over." I picked up my handheld radio and pressed the button. "Yeah, I read you, Leo. Over." "So we need to take a detour. There's a bunch of stuff online about this Autonomous Zone thing. Protestors in the middle of the city. We're going to avoid it. Over." "Yeah, sounds good. I'll follow. Over and out." I shook my head. The protests had started about a week ago. Halfway across the country, a man had been shot by police; investigations were ongoing, but no one looked good in the situation. Not the cops, not the man, not even the bystanders who had filmed the whole thing instead of intervening. It was a shit show all around, and it had sparked protests that I could only assume were fueled by people feeling so trapped in their own lives. Portland, ever a liberal center of activism, had been a hotbed every night. Vigils and marches every afternoon and evening. Then the riots started at night. We drove down a couple of streets that looked like we'd left the United States behind and entered a foreign warzone. I'd seen streets in Kabul during my deployment that had looked similar; the only thing missing from the burned-out cars, graffiti and general detritus were bullet scars on the walls. Windows that weren't boarded over were smashed. Storefronts were burnt out, looted, or both. It took us an extra twenty minutes to drive all the way around the 'autonomous zone.' By the time we pulled up into the alley behind Erica's apartment building, I was feeling sick to my stomach. A pandemic. Riots. What was next, a natural disaster? I'd seen some of the world; not a lot, but enough. Some of the best and worst places. We were supposed to be better than this. Taking the back stairwell was part of the plan. We didn't want to draw any attention from people; for all that Portland was that liberal bed of activism I'd just been thinking about, it was also still an urban center plagued by theft, crime and people trying to take advantage of each other. With no one on the streets, I'd suggested that pulling up out front made us more of a target to people looking to cause trouble, or attracting the attention of overzealous police. I pulled my truck in next to Erica's car and hopped out. "Alright, make sure you lock up," I said. "Harri, please," Erica said, sliding down her own ski goggles over her eyes. We were all bundled up now, with multiple face coverings each. "I've lived in the city about eight times longer than you ever did. I know how to handle myself." "Yeah, I know," I said. "I'm just a little anxious." "It's fine, dude," Leo said. "Let's just get this done." Erica let us into the building, keying in through a back door, and up through the stairwell. We didn't see anyone on the way up, and she led us through the halls to her apartment. As she let us in, one of her neighbors opened their door and stuck their head out. "Erica? Dear, is that you?" It was a woman, maybe in her fifties. "Hey, Dianne," Erica said. "It's me. I'm just here to pick up some things, and I brought my brother and his roommate to help out." Dianne stepped fully out of her apartment. She was dressed comfortably and had her silvering blonde hair pulled back into a bun. Most notably, she wasn't wearing a mask or any other sort of personal protection. "It's so nice to see you, Erica!" she said. "It's been quiet up here the last few weeks. I have to say, I never thought I'd actually miss your early morning banging around, but I do." "Ah, Dianne," Erica said, holding up her hands. She was wearing rubber gloves, duct taped at the wrists to her sweater just like my work gloves were. "We really shouldn't get any closer than this." "Oh, dear, it's fine," Dianna said. "I've been cooped up in the apartment for a week now, the only person who comes over is Mr. Jones from 5C for coffee every few days. I'm sure you've been just as safe, living out of the city." "No, really Dianne," Erica said. "I don't mean to be rude, but we're only here to get some of my things and go. And I know Mr. Jones is probably lonely up there, but it's not safe for you two to get together for coffee. You should really just skype each other or something." "Oh, I already have to do that Zoomy thing to see my grandkids," Dianna scoffed. "But fine, fine. It's good to see you, dear. Try not to take things too seriously, it won't be good for your health." From inside Erica's apartment, I couldn't help but shake my head. "Dianne, maybe you need to take things more seriously," Erica said. "I'd hate if anything happened to you, but more importantly I'd hate for your grandkids to never get to see you again if you got sick." "Well, I guess..." Dianne trailed off. "Goodbye, Dianne. It was nice seeing you," Erica said in that tone of voice that was just shy of 'politely fuck off,' then followed Leo and me into her apartment and shut the door. "God, that woman," Erica said. She peeled down the pair of gaiters she was wearing over her face. The top layer was a winter covering Leo and I usually used in the middle of winter when we were snowmobiling, and the second was a much thinner one we used in the summer when A T Veeing. "We should be good in here, no one's come in since I left." I peeled down my bandanas and sighed. "I'm sure she's nice, but that lady needs a reality check." "I just hope she isn't someone else's reality check," Erica said. "Alright. I'm going to start in the bedroom. Leo, can you go through the living room and grab anything you think we might want in terms of DVDs and stuff? And Harrison, do you mind doing a check-over of the kitchen? I'm pretty sure I got rid of all the immediate perishables before I came down, but I might have missed some things that could've gone for a couple weeks." We split up and went to work. I cleaned out a few old condiments that Erica had missed and collected some canned and boxed food that would travel easily, along with some of the more specialty cooking equipment Erica had made of point of mentioning. I wasn't sure what an 'air fryer' did, but she made it sound like it was a gift from God, so I was willing to pack it up. "All done in the kitchen," I said, standing in the doorway to Erica's bedroom. She was rummaging in her closet. Her bed was covered in clothes and a couple of pieces of luggage, and everything looked like a mess. "Okay, hold on," she said, then she reappeared and dumped what looked like an entire department store's worth of bras out onto the bed. "Can you start packing this stuff up? Don't worry about folding or sorting it, I'll fix it all once we're back at your place. Then I can grab everything I need from the washroom and we'll be done." "Sure," I said, and we squeezed past each other so she could duck into the washroom. Once she was gone, I just chuckled and shook my head at the mess she'd already made. "I don't think this is all going to fit in these bags." I got to work, and soon three of the four pieces of luggage were stuffed full. That's when I made it to the pile of bras. I glanced out the door, and quickly picked up a fancy looking one and checked the tag. "Damn, Erica," I chuckled. It was obvious she was a busty girl, but 36E? I wouldn't have guessed. Then again, I wasn't exactly a bra aficionado. I wouldn't even know if I'd seen D's or E's or what, the sizing just sort of confused me enough that I couldn't care to look into it any further. I carefully began packing her daintier things into a bag, and below the bras was a pile of panties; and only a few of them seemed like they were designed for comfort and not show. There were strings, there was lace. I held a particular red number and shook my head again, trying to do my best not to imagine Erica wearing it and failing. I shoved it into the bag with the rest. "Incoming," Erica said, bustling back into the room with her arms full of canisters and bottles and all sorts of things from the bathroom. She dumped it all on top of the panties in the bag. "Usually I'd be a lot more organized with this," she sighed. "But I just feel... being in the city feels kinda gross right now." "Hmm, I feel it too," I said. I picked up the last handful of her underwear and put them on top of the cosmetics stuff. "Oh my God," Erica said, grabbing the bag from me. "I can't believe; God, this is embarrassing." She was grinning and her cheeks had heated up as she quickly zipped up the luggage and turned to me. "I didn't realize you'd work that fast." "Hey, I've seen ladies' underwear before," I laughed. "It's not a big deal." "Yeah, but you haven't seen my underwear," she chuckled along with me. "At least you saw the nice stuff. I left most of it here when I came down; wasn't exactly thinking about showing off the goods, ya know?" "Hey, anytime you want to show off, you just let me know," I laughed. "I tried not to pry, but some of them looked pretty hot." "Oh, my God," she said, face palming her embarrassment. Then her smile turned teasing. "Then again, we could always play you show me yours, I'll show you mine. I'm sure the girls would be happy for some more freedom around the house." She squished her upper arms together to pop out her chest a bit under her sweater. Now it was my turn to smirk and blush a little. I was just starting to try and figure out what to say when Leo came in from the front area of the apartment. "Think I'm about done up here," he said. "Anything else, sis?" Erica snickered and punched me in the arm. "That's probably it. I was just teasing Harrison about feeling' up my panties though." "Dude!" Leo said. "Oh, come on," I said. "You know I wouldn't." "Still..." Leo trailed off. "Whatever. Just leave my sister's granny panties alone." "You think I wear granny panties?" Erica said, then turned back to the bag and started unzipping it. "Well, let me just show you some of these..." "Nope, no, nada, nyet!" Leo said, covering his eyes with both hands and turning out of the room. "I do not need to know. Too much information for me!" Erica snorted and shook her head, re-zipping the bag. She winked at me and gave me another friendly punch on the arm. "Thanks again for helping with all of this, Harrison." "No problem at all, E," I assured her. "No, no," she said. "Seriously. Thank you. You guys didn't need to come out here; it feels sort of silly to say, but you're technically risking your lives for me right now." "Well, chivalry ain't dead yet, I guess," I said. "I guess not," she laughed. She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "It's nice. Just don't go making a habit of it, I don't need some White Knight savior act out of you or my brother." "Deal," I said. We got everything out into the front hallway of the apartment, and it ended up being more than we could hope to carry down in one trip. The end result was that we made the first trip down, started loading everything into the bed of the pickup, and while Leo and Erica went back up for another load I stayed down with the vehicles. The thing about inner cities, we'd all learned quickly when we originally moved in, was that you took a risk when you left things in your car. Well, if you had a car to begin with, but if you did and people could see in then it was likely your shit was going to get stolen. So there I was, sitting on the open back gate of my pickup with double bandanas over the bottom half of my face and ski goggles over the top, when two men rounded a corner further down the wide back alley and stopped. They looked at me and the cars. I looked at them. One of them was wearing a medical mask, while the other had a knit wool balaclava on with nothing but his eyes showing. I'd never really considered it before, what with us living out in the woods away from most people, but at that moment I realized how simple it must be to do crime when everyone was expected to wear masks. I watched them. They eyed up the vehicles. I stood up. They watched me do it. I slammed the gate of my truck shut. They watched me do it. I walked around to the passenger door of the truck cab, pulled out the hard case I had stowed under the seat, grabbed my Dad's old Colt 1911 and slid a magazine home. The men kept their eyes on me, not batting an eye even though I was now holding a loaded firearm. I leaned against the back of my truck and watched them right back. Eventually, Leo and Erica came back down and I didn't mention the men or the pistol, which I tucked onto the passenger seat of my truck while we were moving things around. I left the door open so that I could keep easy access. Erica and Leo went up for one last load, and I entered another long staring match with the two men. They hadn't moved and were about fifty yards away so I couldn't tell if they were talking to each other. I swear I must have been sweating bullets under my sweater and gloves and various masks. I don't know if my adrenaline had spiked like this since seeing combat while deployed. Not even the grocery store parking lot showdown a few weeks ago had been like this. Finally, Erica and Leo came down with the last load, we got everything stowed away, and got back into our vehicles. I took a moment to unload and re-stow my firearm, and as Erica and Leo pulled away in her car I watched as the two men came up the alley and entered Erica's apartment building through the door we had been using. Maybe they had just been waiting to use the door, playing it safe with us. Or maybe it was something else. I wouldn't ever know. It took three days for us to start feeling... safe wasn't the right word. 'Less apprehensive' is where I ended up landing. Coming back from the city had been as smooth as driving out, but once we were home we all had this feeling of being dirty. It felt silly even at the time, but we ended up hosing each other off outside with the garden hose before heading in to take some long, hot showers. Was that ineffective? Probably. Did it make us feel better? Maybe, a little. When none of us were showing any symptoms of getting sick by the third night back, we all decided to crash and start a new show together on Netflix that night after dinner. I ended up in the living room first and was starting to scroll through the menus to find something we might like when Erica came down the stairs in her own comfy clothes. She was wearing baggy, low-riding sweatpants and a black tank top that I very quickly realized was bouncing way more than usual with each of her steps down the stairs. Erica walked over to the TV sitting area and flopped down onto the couch across from me, absentmindedly reaching up and tying her hair back into a loose and messy bun. "What?" she asked me when she realized I was staring at her. "Nothing," I said. "You just... you look good. Like that." She rolled her eyes. "It's just makeup, Harrison." What she meant was she wasn't wearing any. For the first time ever, even including the month that she'd already been staying with us, I was seeing Erica without makeup on. It was sort of shocking, honestly; whatever magic she did in the mirror, with her kit, it was like she could change the very structure of her face. Usually, she had an almost angular predatory look, with sultry and smoky eyes and sharp cheekbones leading down to a perfect set of clean and bright red lips. Now she looked brighter, more girl-next-door. Sure there were imperfections; soft lines under her eyes, little freckles and blemishes that got hidden by foundation, but her eyes were brighter, and her smile was wholesome. "Just don't feel like you need to be anything but comfortable, E," I assured her. "I like this look on you." She sighed and gave me a smirk. "Alright, charmer. What are we watching?" I tossed her the remote and let her start scanning through the list of new shows. Besides her lack of makeup and apparent lack of a bra, she was still her usual self. Both of her arm sleeves were bared by the tank top; her left arm was a colorful splash of a dozen of her favorite Pokémon from the original 150, all water-themed. Her right was Star Wars themed and focused on a pinup Femme Boba Fett on her outer upper arm, along with a couple sexy lady Stormtroopers, a Princess Leia in the requisite golden slave bikini, and Padme in the ripped-up white arena fight outfit. Not to mention the Yoda on her inner forearm and chili Chewbacca just below her armpit on her bicep. Her tank top also showed off the two heart tattoos on either side of her clavicle, and the half-mandala tattoo that sat on the back of her neck at the hairline. Erica's legs, while currently covered by her sweats, were a more eclectic collection of random and unplanned tattoos dating back from her start in the industry; some were done by her own hand, others by fellow apprentices, and a few even by the apprentices she'd eventually trained over the years. "Heads up!" Leo said, bounding down the stairs in his own sweats and a hoodie, vaulting over the back of the sofa and landing heavily next to his twin sister. "Jesus Christ," Erica said, ducking away to narrowly avoid getting kicked in the back of the head. She turned and hit Leo in the shoulder. "Watch it, you monkey!" "Takes one to know one," Leo laughed, swiping away her hands as she tried to hit him again. Soon the two were involved in a swearing match as Erica was leaning over Leo, trying to tweak his ears and drop a wad of spit down on his face, while he tried to both ward off her hands and push her away at the same time. Their easy sibling rivalry and goofing off usually wasn't this physical, but it still had me laughing and wondering all the same. I'd never had that with my sister; she was about seven years older than me, so we hadn't ever had that sort of a relationship. To be honest, I was also a little interested in the sibling scrap because Erica's tits looked fucking great jostling and bouncing around in her tank top, and a part of me hoped a boob would pop out in the chaos. Unfortunately, I couldn't be so lucky and the duel ended with both of them panting, sitting next to each other, with no boob appearance. "What are we watching?" Leo asked. "I dunno, we hadn't picked yet," I said. "Let's watch this," Erica said, seemingly at random, and selected some sort of a baking show. "Aw man," Leo said. "These competition shows are always so scripted." "They make me hungry," I said. "Maybe I should start baking more." "Yes," Erica said. "Now we're watching every season just so you can get more good ideas like that, Harri." The show was easy to follow and clearly designed like every other Food Porn-style "reality" competition. Other than the deliciously described food, the only thing actually keeping my attention was the host. "She's hot," Erica said during one of the transition scenes, right after the host had finished showing the TV audience the differences between a mousse and whipped cream. It had involved a lot of whisking very fast. "Not my type, but I can see it," Leo said. "She's got too much of a Fifties Housewife vibe going on." "That's just because she's so proper British," Erica said. "Look at her, she's gorgeous. And fucking stacked under those pretty dresses. What do you think, Harri?" "I'm with you, I think she's definitely hot," I agreed. "And I really dig the accent." "I bet she's a fucking freak in bed, too," Erica said. "No way!" Leo argued with his sister. "Look at her. She's all syrup and sweetness. I bet she's dry as a desert down there, and you couldn't fit anything in due to the stick up her ass." "Nuh-uh," Erica shook her head. "I'd put money on her having a filthy mouth off-screen. Just swears like a fucking sailor. And,  Hmm, I bet she probably says she's straight, but has plenty of experience with girls from her Prep School days." "Sure," I laughed along. "Makes perfect sense. Anything else?" "I bet she's got a cum fetish," Erica said. "Look at her eyes when she's talking about glazing. She's practically creaming her conservative little dress. And she definitely likes a cheeky finger up the bum to really set her off." All of us were laughing now, and the conversation faded as we struggled to get control of our giggles. By the time the first episode was over, we were hooked despite the silly concept, and let it play. We got four episodes in before Erica called it quits. "That's enough for me tonight, boys," she said, yawning and stretching her arms wide. Her right arm rubbed roughly against Leo's face on purpose, just to bug him as he pulled away. "I'm off to bed. Good night!" She bounced up off the couch and made for the stairs, her hips swiveling in her low-waisted sweats. They'd ridden lower, and she was showing a bit of a whale tail with her lace thong panties peeking over the waistline. "Dude," Leo said, snapping my vision from his sister as she walked up the stairs. "Uh," I hummed, and slowly raised both arms in an awkward shrug. "What do you want me to do?" "Just... don't make it a thing," he sighed, then flopped over onto his side. "She's my sister. You wanna watch Deadpool?" Visitors The rumble, sputter and hum of the approaching ATV broke my concentration as it cut through the quiet warbling of my shitty Bluetooth speaker long before Leo pulled around the trail bend. The thick foliage up here in the foothills, far at the back end of my family property, created a weird dampening effect so I hadn't heard him until he was almost on top of me. The rumble cut through the thick greenery now and was followed by the crunching of the tires biting into th

Watch on Philo! - Philo.tv/DTHRob proposes!!! And he tells her he wants to get married tomorrow! She says “you know my answers yes!”. They kiss and it's sweet, she's like I'm so happy I don't have to call you boyfriend anymore at my age. And then he tells her Paul is going to marry them and she's like what?! So we'll see. We find out that Ben Ayres did take the script from Lori and that he'll do what he can to get it into the right hands. Cut back to Gail looking real scared on the ATV. Suddenly, Tyler Hynes comes rolling up on an ATV and he says “my mom said I should come find 2 attractive women for some adventure”. He says Gail I know you're nervous, how about you hop on the back of mine and I'll help you. And Alicia is now like “wait I'm scared too”! Gail hops on and they get moving and Gail is loving life, holding onto Tyler Hynes. Cut over to Paige telling momma Kerry about her move. At first, she says it's a terrible idea. But she tells her that you know that I support you. It's time for you to do your own thing. Tyler pulls over and tells Gail it's time for her to try it on her own (plus he needs to give Alicia some love and ride with her cuz he's a gentlemen). She's nervous but she does it!!! You go Gail! Lori is proud of herself for handing over her script. She doubts anything will come of it but she did it and that's big for her. And her sister is so proud of her. After ATV riding, Tyler hangs out with Alicia and Gail and gives them a friendship pep talk that would make you run through a wall. They then all get rocks and write down something they want to let go of and they throw it into the water. Back on cruise, it's time for the pajama party, of course the 3 wise men do their dance. The women in the crowd are going nuts. It's time for Mr Shipmas - cruise version of finding Mr Christmas. Of course ripped Rob is competing. He tells Jonathan Bennett about the wedding and of course he's excited. Gail and Alicia are playing shuffleboard and of course Erin Cahill and Sarah Drew walk up. They're talking about friendship and they're all crying over the power of friendship. Back at Shipmas, Jonathan announces to the crowd about the engagement and Rob tells everyone that they're all invited. Rob does not win. Momma Kerry sees Taylor Cole sitting by herself in the empty dining room. She thanks Taylor for being such an active supporter of breast cancer awareness because Kerry beat breast cancer and they bond and it's sweet.   Lori and sister get back to their room and find a note on their door from Paul and Kimberley asking to meet. They have the script. Paul tells them that they checked out the first couple pages and then he pauses and that's it. 

In this episode of ATV-TALK, we sit down with rising ATV racer Mike Wise from Louisiana. Known for his lightning fast starts and consistency on the track, Mike shares his journey into the sport, what fuels his competitive spirit, and how he's turning heads on the amateur circuit. From small-town beginnings to standing out in the Open class, this episode is all about grit, passion, and chasing wins at full throttle. Whether you're a longtime fan or just getting to know the sport, Mike's story will leave you inspired.

En el Manzanas Enfrentadas de hoy, empezamos dándole un toque de color al repaso de la semana tecnológica porque, ya sabemos los colores de la futura familia iPhone 17 y nos trae alguna sorpresa. Apple quiere hacer un guiño a la nueva apariencia de sistema operativos, a su Liquid Glass. Por lo que junto a la gama clásica de colores estrenará un naranja papaya y un nuevo color con efecto visual que irá a juego con su Liquid Glass. Acompáñanos para saber cual será el color preferido de cada miembro de la familia de Manzanas Enfrentadas.En un nuevo episodio legal, Apple a demandado a Jon Prosser por filtraciones sobre iOS26. Según alegan los de Cupertino, Prosser tuvo acceso a un iPhone de demo atravesar de un empleado que le realizó una video llamada y le mostró en primicia como sería este nuevo sistema. En base a esta información el filtrador, elaboro unos render y simulaciones y publico la noticia que tuvo repercusión mundial. Apple ha despedido a este empleado y ahora va a por el filtrador alegando no solo la filtración publicada sino que también tuvo acceso a secretos dentro de este teléfono de pruebas de la compañía.Extraños movimientos de personal que continúan en Apple. En su mayoría con el objetivo de llegar a Meta. Donde les proponen no solo un nuevo proyecto mas ilusionante, también, aunque no seamos mal pensados, algo menos importante, una gran suma de dinero. Siguen saliendo la luz detalles sobre el futuro iPhold, ese esperado iPhone plegable. Se confirma que compartirá la pantalla sin pliegue con el próximo Galaxy Z Fold 8. Ambos estrenarían esta nueva tecnología que por fin solucionaría el problema de este tipo de dispositivos. Junto a estas, varias noticias cortas, nuestra encuesta y apuntes sobre actualidad en nuestra plataforma preferida de streaming, aTV+.

Katlyn Harp Was Missing for 9 Days… Then They Found the Box When Katlyn Marie Harp missed her daily check-in with her twin sister, something felt off. Nine days later, that feeling turned into a nightmare when her decomposing body was found stuffed in a green metal box—hidden in the woods on land once owned by her husband, Vincent Harp. In this episode, we break down the chilling murder of Katlyn Harp and how her husband's lies unraveled under the weight of evidence. From surveillance footage showing him buying gloves to GPS pings placing him exactly where her body would later be found, investigators built a case brick by brick. Vincent Harp said his wife vanished in the night. But cameras caught him loading the box. Cell towers caught him near the dump site. And luminol caught blood on an ATV he tried to sell. The clincher? Her sister saw the box and recognized it from his truck. Police opened it and found Katlyn's remains—confirmed by a tattoo. Vincent Harp is now facing charges for homicide, corpse abuse, and evidence tampering. If convicted, he'll never see the outside again. Get the full breakdown of this disturbing case—including how a web of surveillance, digital tracking, and sisterly instinct brought a killer to justice. #katlynharp #vincentharp #metalboxmurder #truecrime #missingwife #forensicevidence #lifesentence #domesticmurder #cellphonetrap #crimesolved Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?  Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Katlyn Harp Was Missing for 9 Days… Then They Found the Box When Katlyn Marie Harp missed her daily check-in with her twin sister, something felt off. Nine days later, that feeling turned into a nightmare when her decomposing body was found stuffed in a green metal box—hidden in the woods on land once owned by her husband, Vincent Harp. In this episode, we break down the chilling murder of Katlyn Harp and how her husband's lies unraveled under the weight of evidence. From surveillance footage showing him buying gloves to GPS pings placing him exactly where her body would later be found, investigators built a case brick by brick. Vincent Harp said his wife vanished in the night. But cameras caught him loading the box. Cell towers caught him near the dump site. And luminol caught blood on an ATV he tried to sell. The clincher? Her sister saw the box and recognized it from his truck. Police opened it and found Katlyn's remains—confirmed by a tattoo. Vincent Harp is now facing charges for homicide, corpse abuse, and evidence tampering. If convicted, he'll never see the outside again. Get the full breakdown of this disturbing case—including how a web of surveillance, digital tracking, and sisterly instinct brought a killer to justice. #katlynharp #vincentharp #metalboxmurder #truecrime #missingwife #forensicevidence #lifesentence #domesticmurder #cellphonetrap #crimesolved Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?  Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

I've been excited to get to this Bond film, mainly because everyone seems to really hate it. Diamonds are Forever was never a favorite of mine growing up but I never thought it was the worst! Well, now I get to see if as an adult, I feel the same way. Anita also has a real good laugh at villains crashing ATV's. Support the show on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/c/homevideohustle Check Out The Show On Goodpods - https://good-pods.app.link/n2LK61w5eEb More Movie Reviews on LetterBoxd - https://letterboxd.com/hvhpodcast/ Check Out Book Reviews on GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/.../168422134-home-video-hustle Watch Us On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfN67zqLBcbJNJw1cHI0Hlw Get HVH Merch - https://www.teepublic.com/user/hvhpodcast Music By: @tradevoorhees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watch on Philo! - Philo.tv/DTHIt's photoshoot time! Everyone is out there waiting including Alicia and Gail. Gail is like last night, I let Alicia down. Not today! Kerry and her daughters are there and I'm pretty convinced Alexandrea doesn't wanna be there. Rob tells his girlfriend Donna about meeting Paul and Andrew on the ship but obviously doesn't tell her about what they talked about. Cut to Paul trying to get Tyler and Kimberley in on the wedding ceremony. So they show everyone getting like 7 seconds to take a picture with everyone. Hynes is down there just goofing off. Rob and Donna come in and Paul is like ROB - making him look awesome in front of Donna. Paige gives Tyler a bracket with her name in it which is wild. Afterwards, Alexandrea was like you should make another bracelet with your number in it. Gail and Alicia meet Betty Hynes who is just the best. They ask her “is Tyler the same on screen and off” and Betty says “he's the bad boy for Hallmark for a reason”. Betty is a star, Paige and Alexandrea are hanging out, and she tells her about moving back to California and how she is nervous to tell mom. Remember Nate and his grandmas? Nate is just soaking up people telling him happy birthday, and I can't stress this enough - it's not his birthday. They're shopping at the hallmark store when Erin Cahill walks up and Erin is like Nate you're the best, happy birthday. And they bond over their mutual love of their grandmas, and Erin buys them everything they have in their hands! Lori and her sister talk about how to get their Christmas screenplay in front of someone at Hallmark. Donna is in the gym now and of course Nikki DeLoach is there. What are the odds?! And they bond. She talks about her brain surgery, Nikki talks about a rabbi she really likes. It's sweet. Gail and Alicia are hanging out and Alicia is like hey I booked us an ATV excision in the Bahamas. Gail is not thrilled by this. But she agrees to give it a shot. Rob and Donna get together for drinks with Kerry and her daughters and it's a whole thing. They bond over surgeries and then Donna and Kerry's daughter go to the bar and  Rob tells Kerry his plan and she says her daughter will do Donna's makeup. Plan is really coming together! The script sisters magically bumped in Benjamin Ayers and Sarah Drew and she pitched them the script and they love it. She asks if they will read it and they just kinda stare at each other. Gail gets on the ATV and chickens out. So Kerry and her daughters go to swim with the pigs which is run by Shane Gillis doing a Bahamian accent. Afterward, Paige tells her mom she wants to move to California. She's not thrilled. And then episode ends with Rob, ring box in hand on the beach of the Bahamas, getting ready to propose. 

It's Seeking Sunday! Ben here, today Jacques, Hesse and I open the show up to all of you! That's right, we're only talking about what you all have suggested, namely JoJo Siwa's new song, Caitlyn's assistant/girlfriends ATV death, Grok becoming a Nazi, and r/anti-sex, a reddit dedicated to Sex Haters.

Get 20% off your first Mood orderwith promo code VIEWS https://mood.com Use our code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*:  Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount https://seatgeek.oneRrlink.me/nK/VIEWS10 Welcome back to Viewssssss... Saturday upload! Hope you guys are doing great, we've got another hot podcast as David, Jason and Natalie return from their vacation in Thailand and Ibiza with a hot pod and all the scoop on what went on including: David's miserable ATV ride, Natalie's fleeting crush and Jason's report on flying halfway across the world. Also, David's lost interview with Noah Beck, a big reveal about Ilya and Jason feels bad after sex. And a story about a man with 30,000 Bitcoin that tried to marry two women. Check out Jason's podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/00MvrO8mYsPokBAodmzEpS?si=-K3S07HQTdmmAs3Ksh8lrg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 23, 2008. Blount County, Tennessee. After leaving his condo in Maryville, 51-year old Mike Hearon drives to his rural farm with plans to mow the lawn and some neighbours see him driving away from his residence on his ATV. Mike vanishes without a trace and the abandoned ATV is eventually found on a steep hill located a mile from his property. Mike's family suspects that he may have stumbled upon something he wasn't supposed to see and became the victim of foul play, but there is no evidence to work with and Mike is never found.  July 18, 2007. Ravalli County, Montana. 55-year old Barbara Bolick goes hiking in the Bitterroot Mountains on the Bear Creek Overlook Trail alongside a friend named Jim Ramaker. According to Jim, they were headed back down the trail together when he stopped at a scenic overview, but even though he only took his eyes off Barbara for about a minute, Jim claims that she vanished without a trace and he was unable to find her. A massive search effort fails to turn up any trace of Barbara and while Jim is not considered to be a suspect in her disappearance, there is no evidence to explain what happened. On this week's episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore two baffling missing persons cases involving victims who seemingly vanished into thin air in remote areas. Join us on Saturday, July 5 at 8:00pm ET for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link. Additional Reading: https://charleyproject.org/case/michael-edwin-hearon https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/50-volunteers-join-search-for-missing-maryville-man-ep-411119166-359796801.html/?page=1 https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/family-of-missing-man-still-searching/article_26118160-9967-54c5-8f13-1aed52c1a285.html https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/aug/27/missing-man-still-mystery-4-years-after/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/128530073/ https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/mike-hearon-man-missing-in-the-mountains/51-354008626 https://www.wbir.com/article/news/special-reports/the-vanished/vanished-mike-hearon-missing-in-the-moutains/51-d4855ea8-13ba-4710-a534-0ce8f1dc8441 https://parkpredators.com/the-local/ https://charleyproject.org/case/barbara-assunta-bolick https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/ground-search-for-missing-woman-suspendedposted-on-aug/article_623e4d47-a337-5984-bfa5-aa64697c3439.html https://www.newspapers.com/image/411502280/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/352194122/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/352194127/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/352194122/ https://www.newspapers.com/image/352194127/ https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/missing-bitterroot-woman-still-a-mystery "The Trail Went Cold" will be appearing at the True Crime Podcast Festival, taking place at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Boston North Shore in Boston, Massachusetts on July 18-20, 2025. To get a 20 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “ROBIN20”, by visiting https://www.truecrimepodcastfestival.com/.  “The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content. The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote. All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

For nearly two decades, Beau Baron has dominated the ATV racing world with an equally impressive motorcycle career running alongside it. Known for innovation, adaptability, and relentless drive, Beau has long been the guy pulling performance secrets out of a proverbial hat. But this time, the conversation takes a different turn.In this episode, we look at racing and life through Beau's eyes. From his early days on the bike to his current run leading the WORCS series (which he's already won 11 times), Beau reflects on the journey, the sacrifices, and what comes next.The love for the sport is still strong. But with sponsorships shrinking and family responsibilities growing, he's now weighing what life might look like beyond the racetrack possibly behind the controls of heavy equipment instead of a race machine.Will Beau Baron retire, or is it just talk? Can he clinch his 12th WORCS title? Tune in to find out then subscribe, share, and hit that like button. Thanks for being part of the ride!

Mike Esneault speaks with visual artist BJ Smith, and his mother Kim Smith. 20 years ago, BJ arrived at the hospital as the result of an ATV accident and given a 10% chance of survival because of a severe brain injury. They talk about the power of the arts as a healer and how creating visual art has had a profound impact on BJ's ongoing road to recovery.

Rover's shoulder pain has intensified. Aperol spritz dispenser. JLR has big plans for Friday in Allentown. Lazy eye and a lazy boob. Rover wants to buy JLR a new trendy swimsuit. Where is Duji? A man was found dead in a tank at a water treatment plant. Trump says the most fascinating things. The Liver King was arrested for making threats against Joe Rogan. Living like our ancestors. Is anyone on the show worried about WWIII? Where you would be safe on Earth from a nuclear war. Shooting down a satellite. Watching missile bases. Silos that held missiles in Ohio. A two-year-old boy is in a coma after a tourist threw him to the ground at an airport. High school senior died riding an ATV. Underage drinking at parties with parents. Krystle had a 10pm curfew. Jeffrey is booked for a private tour at Martin guitars. Making reservation for the wrong day. Charlie booked for the wrong flight to Alaska. Attire for flying.

High school senior died riding an ATV. Underage drinking at parties with parents Krystle had a 10pm curfew. Jeffrey is booked for a private tour at Martin guitars. Making a reservation for the wrong day. Charlie booked for the wrong flight to Alaska. Attire for flying. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rover's shoulder pain has intensified. Aperol spritz dispenser. JLR has big plans for Friday in Allentown. Lazy eye and a lazy boob. Rover wants to buy JLR a new trendy swimsuit. Where is Duji? A man was found dead in a tank at a water treatment plant. Trump says the most fascinating things. The Liver King was arrested for making threats against Joe Rogan. Living like our ancestors. Is anyone on the show worried about WWIII? Where you would be safe on Earth from a nuclear war. Shooting down a satellite. Watching missile bases. Silos that held missiles in Ohio. A two-year-old boy is in a coma after a tourist threw him to the ground at an airport. High school senior died riding an ATV. Underage drinking at parties with parents. Krystle had a 10pm curfew. Jeffrey is booked for a private tour at Martin guitars. Making reservation for the wrong day. Charlie booked for the wrong flight to Alaska. Attire for flying. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

High school senior died riding an ATV. Underage drinking at parties with parents Krystle had a 10pm curfew. Jeffrey is booked for a private tour at Martin guitars. Making a reservation for the wrong day. Charlie booked for the wrong flight to Alaska. Attire for flying.

Carrie Bradshaw is on ATV and we don't know how to feel about it, but we do know that this episode through us for a loop. But before that, we discuss Call Her Daddy for some reason. And then we get into it all - Ryan Serhant is back, LTW is in Desperate Housewives territory, the show's attempt at taking on aging, Miranda is cat sitting, and that ending!!

In this powerful and eye-opening episode, we welcome Dr. Katie Lee, a trailblazing dentist, visionary entrepreneur, and author of "Saved by the Mouth." Dr. Lee is on a mission to reframe how we think about oral health—not as an isolated part of the body, but as a foundational element of systemic and especially female health. Dr. Lee's journey began at just 14 years old when a traumatic ATV accident forever changed her life. After enduring nine surgeries and dental implants, she learned firsthand the profound impact a healthy smile can have on a person's physical, emotional, and mental health. That experience sparked a calling to become the best dentist she could be—not just to treat teeth, but to heal the whole person. As the founder of The Collective Health Society, a groundbreaking fully integrated functional dental and medical center, Dr. Lee is at the forefront of oral-systemic health. She also serves as the Chief Clinical Advisor for the Dental Innovation Alliance and contributes to groundbreaking space health research with NASA, helping protect astronauts' oral microbiomes during space travel. In this episode, Dr. Lee unpacks the critical but overlooked links between oral health, fertility, and women's overall wellness. She challenges the outdated research models that treat women as "small men" and calls for a more holistic, ecosystem-based approach to women's health. What You'll Learn in This Episode: