The Portal Lawman

St. Antoni – The Forbidden Colony - Book 4

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Gail Daley

Copyright

Copyright © 2020 The Portal Lawman | St. Antoni—The Forbidden Colony- by Gail Daley dba Gail Daley's Fine Art Gail Daley—1st ed. Copyright © Cover Art Copyright © 2020

The name Barsoom is used as the name of a colony in these books, BARSOOM(R) is a registered trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.  And Used by Permission.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

E-book ISBN: 9781393123279

Print ISBN- 9781393382928

ASIN

For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed "Attention: Permissions Coordinator," at the address below.

Gail Daley

5688 E Sussex Way

Fresno, CA 93727

www.gaildaley.com

Ordering Information: Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the "Bulk Sales Department" at the address above.

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is unintentional and accidental.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Gail's Other Books

SPACE COLONY JOURNALS

Options of Survival

Destiny Rising

Tomorrows Legacy

The Interstellar Jewel Heist

The Designer People

Alien Trails

Quantum Light

PORTAL WORLD TALES

ST. ANTONI – THE FORBIDDEN COLONY

Warriors of St. Antoni

The Enforcers

The Gaslight Bandits

The Portal Lawman

Cradle of Fire

The Clone Initiative

THE OUTLAW COLONIES

Lemuria Chronicle*

Arcadia Rising*

Heirs of Avalon*

Babylon Shattered*

MAGI OF RULARI

Spell of The Magi

Magi Storm

The Paladin*

NON-FICTION

The Complete Modern Artist’s Handbook

PAMPHLETS

Introduction to The Internet #1

The Hard Stuff – Handbook #2

Art Show Basics – Handbook #3

Framing on a Budget – Handbook #4

Are You Making Money? – Handbook #5

*Working Title. Release dates TBA

About This Book

"A fast-paced Sci-Fi novel of adventure, suspense and romance on a post-apocalyptic earth. Trapped in a web of deceit and danger, two young women make dangerous alliances."

The end of the world had come and gone. Those who remained after the apocalypse did whatever it took to keep themselves alive, and to preserve what civilization survived. Sometimes they broke laws and defied the will of the draconian government agencies who were supposed to keep anarchy at bay.

Lacey Delaney, head of Laughing Mountain's Portal committee, flouted government edicts by helping Portal Runners smuggle desperately needed goods, services and people to the Forbidden Colonies.

Joyce Higgins has a stalker who is terrorizing her and her young sisters.  When she and her sisters are accused of being clones by the Parallel Genetic Agency, they take refuge in Laughing Mountain. A Clone isn't considered a human being with rights under the law, but the property of whoever created it. Deputy Mark Connors says he can protect them, but can he?

Malachi Sullivan, sub-commander of the free militia, is one of those who hold the line against the tyranny of an overbearing government aided and abetted by powerful industrial giants.

Lacey and Malachi had been in love once, but a treacherous woman broke them apart. Now they must put the past behind them and work together to save their town and preserve the secret of the Portal to the Forbidden Colonies.

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Delaney's Antiques & Collectibles

LAUGHING MOUNTAIN was nestled in the rolling hills of what had once been the eastern edge of California's coastal mountains. It was quaint looking town, with old-fashioned streetlights, and sidewalks overhung by large shaded eaves. The shops and cafe's lining Main Street were designed to attract tourists looking for antiques, art, and books, or the idle rich from the re-built coastal towns looking to spend an afternoon.

The manager of Delaney's Antiques & Collectibles, Lacey Delany, was the third generation of her family to work in the store, and she expected to hand it off to her children when she retired. Lacey was short and slightly plump, with long, straight hair an uninspired dishwater blond, kept piled in a messy topknot. If she had been five foot ten, she would have been referred to as statuesque and might have gone on to become a video model; unfortunately, she was barely five foot two, so instead of the sylph-like figure sported by high fashion models, her full breasts and hips gave the appearance of a squat hourglass.

Periodically, the Portal Authority Agency, or PAA, sent its investigators into towns such as Laughing Mountain to see if they could discover evidence of an unlicensed portal to another world. It took relatively little energy to power up a portal and travel to an alien world; this made taking advantage of the resources and opportunities new worlds offered doubly attractive to government and industry. Eager to restore the crumbling economies destroyed by a series of physical disasters and the spread of pandemics, Earth governments and industries banded together to control this new technology by creating the Portal Settlement Acts. Prospective settlers lined up in droves to emigrate to these new worlds and much money was made by providing access and supplies for the new colonies for a 'home stake fee'.

The Portal Settlement Acts made it a crime to open a gate or emigrate through a portal to any world not released for settlement by the United Earth Governments. Despite Authorities attempts at controlling access and knowledge, secret Portals to other worlds existed in many communities.

Anyone with a basic education in math and science could make a Portal. The one located outside Laughing Mountain was an unregistered portal. For more than two hundred years a local business, Delany's Fine Art & Antiques, had been an access point. The shop had been a feature on Main Street of the small town of Laughing Mountain since the town had been created by a group of “Preppers”.

From the outside the shop seemed a typical store selling old things. Whenever the door opened, a faint, musty smell wafted from the carefully preserved fabrics on the vintage clothing rack. The front display window showed a mannequin wearing a man's suit in good condition, probably dated from the 2020's, several lamps with ornate shades rested on crocheted doilies in the window counter, along with a pair of vintage high heels and a matching purse. The interior was lit by soft natural lights to show off the soft patina on the wood furniture and older metals. A display of Antique jewelry was displayed in locked cases in the back of the store. A sign over the doorway leading off the main display area read 'Items made the old-fashioned way by local craftsman'. Up the stairs was a series bookshelves with a variety of hardbound and soft cover books in diverse conditions. Rare and expensive books were kept a locked glass case. The sign above the case read 'please see the proprietor to  examine any book in this case.'

Besides doing a brisk trade in antiques, jewelry and rare books, Delaney's was also a place where Portal Runners, the name given smugglers who worked the Portal between the unregistered Colonies and Earth, could ship items intended for an illegal colony.

When the Portal Authority Agent entered the store, Lacey was engaged in a playful flirtation with Tom Mix, a thin young man with a head of bushy red hair and thick coke-bottle glasses. Ostensibly, Mix was a picker for several antique dealers, and he often stopped in to visit when he was in town. He looked like a mild-mannered milquetoast; Lacey was among the few people who knew he was an extremely dangerous Portal Runner.

Portal Runners smuggled people, books, medicines and other items through the unlicensed Portals to unregistered colonies such as St. Antoni, Avalon, Arcadia and Shangri-La. Like Lacey, Mix was the third generation to engage in the trade. His family was based across the Portal, on the forbidden colony of St. Antoni. He and several other runners frequently made trips across the Portal to scout for items requested by the colonists.

Lacey casually reached across the counter and touched his arm, making a small gesture to the agent. Behind the coke bottle lenses, Mix's eyes lit up and Lacey pinched his hand in warning not to do anything.

"Good morning," she called. "Can I help you find something?"

The agent smiled at her. "I was looking for a present for my wife," he said. He was about six-foot-tall, with sandy hair cut short, clean-cut features and an athletic build. Lacey wondered if he was aware of how closely he resembled the embodiment of a Federal agent in some of the old vids. His suit was a soft wheaten color and fit well, but it didn't disguise the bulge under his arm made by his shoulder holster.

Her family taught their children early how to recognize an Agent of the Portal Settlement Authority. Delaney's often served as a shipping point for items requested on the forbidden colonies. When a runner located an item needed or requested by a colonist on the other side of the Portal, if it was too large or bulky to take with them immediately, they would ship it to Delaney's. For a fee, the shop would hold it in storage until it was time to be picked up and sent through the portal gate. The Portal was hidden back in the hills above Laughing Mountain. It provided access to other illicit colonies besides St. Antoni, but St. Antoni had been the first to open and it created the majority of the traffic. It was by no means one-way traffic; Lacey's family also owned shops on several of the colony worlds where they purchased items crafted in the colony. Items made by colonists were offered in the local shops as hand-made crafts created by the community surrounding Laughing Mountain.

"I've got to get to an Estate sale in Modesto, Lacey," Tom said. "Maybe we can do dinner tonight if I get done in time?"

"Oh, thanks Tom, but Mom and Dad are still on a buying trip, so I've got rug rat duty."

"Is your gran still sick?"

"Well, she comes home from the hospital today, but she's not supposed to do anything strenuous for at least two weeks. Maybe next time?"

"Sure," he said. "I should be back through here next week. Rain check?" The shop door closed behind him with the tinkle of small chimes.

Lacey moved out from behind the counter to where the agent was making a good show of bewilderment as he stared around the shop.

"Welcome to Delaney's Antiques, Mr.?"

"Denzel, Wellesley Denzel," he said. He looked after Mix thoughtfully. "Your boyfriend?"

"Why are you interested in my social life, Mr. Denzel?"

He gave her a winning smile. "What man isn't interested in the social status of young women?"

"Not you," she let a touch of frost creep into her tone.

"Why do you say that? You're a pretty girl, why wouldn't I be interested enough to try to discover if you are married or single?"

"I don't hunt married game, Mr. Denzel," she said. "Don't look so surprised."

"How do you know I'm married?" he parried.

"Either you're the kind of sleaze who takes his ring off to fool the women he meets, or you're recently divorced. Either way, you aren't my type."

"You're exceptionally observant," he said.

Lacey shrugged. "A girls got to look out for herself. Now, how can I help you?"

"A colleague of mine recommended your store, but you have so much stuff, I don't know what to get her," he said, switching gears smoothly.

"We are proud of the variety of merchandise we carry," Lacey said, going through the sales spiel she had been taught the first day she served in the store. "If you let me know your price range, we can start with items within your budget. Is this a special occasion?"

"Yes, it's our fifth anniversary. So I want something special."

"Is she fond of jewelry? We have some nice antique sets." She led him over to a glass display case, taking out several trays and setting them on the counter.

"What is her birth month?"

"August."

"For August you want Peridot," she pointed to a ring with a light green gemstone. "The stone was often used in ancient times to reduce stress and anger."

"We have twin sons, also born in August as well."

Lacey picked up a ring with a delicate setting of a large Peridot flanked by two Spinel stones. "Perhaps this one? The two stones on either side of the main one are also August birthstones; they are Spinel, the stone of hope and revitalization."

"I like it," he admitted. "It's an antique, right?"

"Yes," she turned to the cabinet behind her and pulled out a folder containing the file. "This was purchased three years ago at the estate sale of Mary Lewis Reinhardt. She was a famous actress. I believe, yes, here it is. She bought the ring in Europe at the jewelry store called Tiffany's in the late twenties. If you decide to buy the ring, I will furnish you with a copy of the provenance. Does your wife have small hands?"

"Ah—about the same size as yours, I think."

"Excellent, the ring fits me, so it might not have to be resized for your wife. Wellington jewelers in Carmel has an excellent reputation for handling antique jewelry. They will do a good job for you."

"All right, you've got a sale," he said. "Providing you can take my card."

"We can do that," she assured him.

"I thought all you mountain communities preferred to deal in hard cash," he said.

"The locals do," she agreed. "But all of the merchants can accommodate our big city visitors."

Lacey took out one of the stores specially made ring boxes and slid the ring into it. She replaced the trays under the counter and locked it, before going to the cash register to ring up the sale.

She handed Denzel a tablet. "If you will just fill in your name and address so I can enter it into the national jewelry data base, I'll print off a copy of the Provenance for you."

After he left, she went to the door and looked out. He got into a large, four-wheel vehicle with tinted windows. She made a careful note of the license plate, describing him in detail on the paper tablet kept under the register. She could have entered it into the computer, but she didn't trust electronics not to be hacked.

"I'm going out for lunch," Lacey called to Molly Reinhart, her assistant. "Please do a sweep for cooties while I'm gone." Cooties was their code word for checking to see if the agent had left behind any equipment to spy on them.

She picked up the cooler she had brought in with her this morning and stepped up into the cab of the old Ford truck she drove. The road up to the top of Lover's Leap was dirt, but it had been graded. She parked and walked out to look over the drop off. Coming up here was an indulgence she seldom allowed herself. It had been here that she and Malachi had first made love, and it had been here she had said goodbye to the child they had made who had never lived.

From here she could see the small town of Laughing Mountain with its array of quaint shops lining main street, and further down the valley, the saltwater lake created when the tsunami had come in through a crack in coast range. Another quake followed so quickly it had crumpled enough earth into the crack to fill it, blocking in the sea water. So now they had an inland saltwater lake covering the northern end of the valley.

Around the western edge of the lake was the rebuilt city of San Demos. Abandoned after the disaster, the indolent rich and famous were slowly moving back into the area. They often spent a lazy afternoon shopping in the small towns further up the mountain, followed by lunch or tea at the boutique cafe's catering to their trade.

On the eastern side of town was an enormous hedge maze grown to hide the entrance to the Portal. The only danger of being discovered was the was a small ground quake when the gate opened. It was relatively silent when operating but a muffler was added to the overhead jammers blocking the vision of any drones spying on the town by sending back pre-recorded views of the town’s outdoor theatre with its tiers of white-painted seats.

While travelers could dial up the coordinates to any known colony, the one on Laughing Mountain usually confined its trade with its five sponsored forbidden colonies: St. Antoni, a world resembling Earth in the Pleistocene epoch and run as mixture of feudal society with touches of representative republicanism; Avalon, a curious mixture of high-tech gadgets and renaissance culture; Arcadia, a society based on quasi-military laws; since they specialized in creating high-tech weapons Arcadia still had strong ties to earth; Shangri-La, whose citizens believed firmly in a pacifistic lifestyle and used robots to do all the grungy chores to support it; and Lemuria, whose planet was similar to St. Antoni, but with bigger and more dangerous animals and plants (they had real dinosaurs). It was run by a fractured group of colonists who disagreed with each other on almost every issue but had been forced to band together to survive.

Lacey boosted herself up on the hood of her truck and keyed in the music she always listened to up here; an ancient tune called "Red Rubber Ball". She took her chicken salad sandwich out of the cooler and prepared to allow the quiet to bring her the serenity she craved. She always came here when she was feeling melancholy.

She had a prickle of warning before he spoke. It was a little frustrating to discover that after three years she was still so aware of his presence.

"I didn't realize you still came up here," Malachi said.

She had known he was back. Lacey sighed, resigning herself to the inevitable discussion about their former relationship; a discussion she didn’t want to have. Until now she had been fairly successful in avoiding any tete-a-tete situations with him, despite persistent attempts on his part to get her alone to talk about personal matters.

Malachi was second in command of the local Militia. He spent much of his time coordinating movements with other militia groups. He was about medium height, with dark hair, and grey eyes in a wedge-shaped face with a dimple in his chin. He had a tight, martial artists body. He appeared deceptively mild mannered unless you looked in his eyes, and then the essence of the warrior shown through. This was a man who would put honor above duty and duty above all else, even love.

"I didn’t realize you came up here anymore either,” she said, proud of the mild tone of her voice.

"I always come up here when I get back," he said. "I have good memories here of my time in this spot."

"How nice for you," she said, mentally counting to ten, reminding herself she had to learn to work with Malachi; he was the sub-lieutenant in the local Militia. As the Liaison who coordinated the portal runners from the various forbidden colonies, it was with him she needed to cooperate. The two groups worked closely together—there would undoubtedly come a time when she needed his help.

Lacey set her half-finished sandwich down on the cooler and took up her binoculars.

"I didn't know you came up here as well," he said. It annoyed her he seemed to always bring up the last time they had been up here as a couple. He might have pleasant memories of their tryst at this place, but for her, the heartbreak and sorrow following it overshadowed any lingering good memories.

"This is a good place to see the surrounding area. An agent came into the shop today," she said, focusing the lenses. "He got into an SUV on the passenger side. I wanted to see if they actually left the area."

"Did they?" his tone changed to all business.

"No," she said. "They've parked at the old Harrison Winery across from our property."

"That isn't good."

"No, it isn't. Tom Mix was in the shop to arrange a shipment tonight. I'm beginning to wonder if we have a mole somewhere."

She turned off the music and put in a call to Malachi's cousin Patrick, who handled security for the Portal.

"Hi, Lacey, What's up?" he asked.

"Patrick have we had any echoes on the sensors?" she asked, referring to the equipment used to check for movement around the Portal.

" I see nothing unusual," he said. "Do you want me to do a deep scan?"

"Yes, this is the third time we've seen a Portal Authority Agent in the area when a shipment is due to go out. I want to make sure there isn't a leak somewhere."

"You got it," he said.

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I Will Fear No Evil

JOYCE, AND two of her younger sisters, Tash and Tam were putting away the groceries they had just purchased. Tally, the other triplet, had stayed behind to collect the mail out of the boxes just inside the Apartment building. There was a lot of dried beans, dried noodles and canned vegetables and meat because that was all Joyce could afford this time. She had been fired from her job as an accountant after a man she had dated briefly had shown up at her office and made a scene.

They had moved into the new apartment three weeks ago. The money she earned as a free-lance bookkeeper had barely covered the deposit for a first and last rent and a security deposit for their two pets. Recon was a tiny terrier/Papillion mix who had the huge ears of a Papillion and the attitude of a terrier. Agnes was a large brindle Maine Coon Cat. She was presently winding herself between Joyce’s legs in the hopes a treat might be forthcoming.

When Tally set the mail down on the battered kitchen table, Joyce knew something was wrong.

“Are you alright? Did someone bother you?” she demanded. The girls had barely turned thirteen, the age Joyce had been when they were born, but they were already showing signs of budding womanhood.

“No,” Talley said. She pointed at the white envelope on the table. “No one bothered me. But this is the same type of envelope the other pictures came in, isn’t it?”

Joyce eyed the envelope as if contained poison. She sat down and took a deep breath before reaching for the envelope.

“Tash why don’t you and Tam feed Recon and Agnes,” she suggested.

“We will, after you open it,” Tam replied, her young eyes were frightened.

Joyce nodded and slit open the envelope with a butter knife. She upended the envelope and dozens of photos slid out. The photos had been taken with a long-range lens. There was nothing salacious about them; they were just shots of her and the girls going about their everyday lives.

“That’s this building, isn’t it?” Tally asked pointing at one of them.

“Yes,” Joyce said grimly. “Girls, I want you to go through everything we brought from the old apartment and look for some kind of tracking device.”

She dug into her purse for her phone and called the woman who had lived in the apartment next to theirs three moves ago.

“Diane?” she asked when the woman answered. “It’s Joyce Higgins. Do you remember telling me about a town where we might be safe from Dan Simmons?”

“He found you again, didn’t he?” Diane asked.

“Yes,” Joyce said. “Could you get in touch with the Delaney’s and ask them to help us?”

“What do you need?” Diane was a registered nurse, and she was using her best bedside manner to keep Joyce calm.

“A job and a place to live,” Joyce replied. “The only thing is—I don’t have a lot of money left over after I rented this place.”

“Let me make a phone call, Hon. I’ll call you right back. Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

Joyce hung up the phone to find herself being regarded by her sisters who wore identical expressions of fear and anger.

“I think we should set a trap for him,” Tash said.

“We could say we thought he was a burglar and kill him in self-defense,” Tam said.

“I’m tired of moving,” Tally said.

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Don’t Ask—Don’t Tell

LACEY WOULD not have been happy if she had overheard heard the conversation between Denzel and his partner after he left her shop.

When Denzel got into the massive SUV parked on the curb, Denzel's colleague, a tall silver-haired blond who possessed the statuesque build Lacey lacked, grinned over at him.

"What did you buy?"

"A ring for our anniversary," he admitted. "You were right, she's good at what she does. She spotted my bare ring finger immediately." He took the ring out of his pocket and slipped it back on.

"There was a guy with her in the store when I came in. What do you know about him?"

Terri Warren tapped a screen with a manicured nail. "Tom Mix, history and background," she ordered, pulling the SUV out onto the street.

A vid shot of Mix appeared on the screen accompanied by a voice over. "Data in official records: Born Thomas Alloysius Mix to Jean and Clarence Mix. He is approximately thirty years old, and works as an independent picker for several antique dealers, most notably the Celebration Auction house in Las Vegas. He spends a lot of his time in California and has contacts in the builder's unions. When they find something unique during construction, he's one of the first calls they make. No known criminal record."

"So what is in the unofficial records?" Denzel asked.

A photo of Mix minus the glasses appeared. He looked less harmless without the shield of the spectacles. The voice over spoke, "Unofficially he is a person of interest in a ring of smugglers suspected of smuggling goods, services and people to unregistered colonies."

"And Delaney's?"

"Delaney's is suspected of being a staging area for smuggled items, although, again, no proof is available."

Denzel looked over at his partner. "Do we know where Lacey Delaney lives?"

"Yes. You want to stake it out?"

"If he was arranging to pick up stuff to take through a portal, I bet they do it tonight. According to the case notes of the last agent investigating this area, Delaney's will be his last stop before he takes stuff through a gate."

Denzel tapped his lapel communicator to let his wife know he wouldn't be home tonight. In acknowledgement, his wife sent back a growly face combined with a kiss.

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Strange Bedfellows

LACEY SPENT the afternoon in the storeroom, loading the trailer she intended to pull into the staging area later. She closed the shop at the usual time and drove home. There was little traffic on the winding road leading to the Delaney property. She pulled into the drive and keyed in the code allowing the gates to open. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of the off-road vehicle parked under the trees across the street. Her watchers were still there. The property across from her home had once been a winery. It had been abandoned during the quakes and no one lived there now. It was obvious her house was being watched, which meant the shop probably was too. Taking the stuff scheduled to pass through the gate up to the staging area without being detected would be harder tonight.

She frowned, watching out the rearview mirror as the gates swung closed behind her. A pack of large dogs came rushing around the house when she entered the driveway. Still frowning, she parked her truck under the carport and went inside after being greeted by the dogs who knew her arrival meant dinner would soon be served. The Delaney home was a two-story Victorian style house with a wraparound porch. The adjacent red barn housed milk goats, several horses the family used for riding, and a large kennel area for the dogs. The poultry house was on the other side of the barn from the house. The Delaney's had roots in the Prepper Movement which had been popular in America the late 22nd century. Her family had designed the 20-acre farm accordingly. The property was self-contained, with its own water, sewage and power system. A kitchen garden, greenhouse and food drying sheds blocked a view of other buildings from the road. These buildings had a variety of uses, most of which the family considered no one's business but theirs, a stand of tall trees had been planted to block a view of the buildings from the mountain behind the property.

Nothing appeared to have been disturbed inside the house or around the acreage, but Lacey couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that had lingered since the Agent left the shop. Telling herself not to be foolish, she checked the security video feeds anyway, they showed no one had come inside the grounds. She keyed in on the front gate, asking it to zoom in on the place where she had seen the parked car. It was the dark SUV. As she watched, a man got out and walked around to the back. Answering a call to nature perhaps.

Well, there was nothing she could do about it right now. She left the security room and went to check things were ready in the downstairs room they had fixed up for her grandmother. Suze Delaney wasn't ill, but she had taken a nasty spill leaving her badly bruised. The doctor had insisted she remain overnight in the hospital for observation, and instructed her to stay off the stairs. With a little help from her brother Jase and her sister Freddy, Lacey had converted the game room into a bedroom for Gran.

When the ambulance bringing her grandmother home from the hospital buzzed the gate to be let in, she did so.

Two burly attendants helped Suze out of the ambulance into a waiting wheelchair. When they reached the steps, Suze levered herself out of it, reaching for the cane Lacey handed her. Once inside the open space living room, she plunked herself down in her favorite chair and picked up the vid remote.

"She's a handful," one of the drivers said with a grin.

"I know. Thank you for bringing her home," Lacey told them. She accepted the discharge instructions they handed her, and watched them leave. Their arrival at the gate coincided with the arrival of the school bus bringing her brother and sister home.

As they walked up the driveway Lacey couldn't help but appreciate the family resemblance. Both teens were blond. Jase was fifteen, with the gangly arms and stumbling feet of male adolescence. His dark gold hair was cut short. Freddy (short for Fredricka) at thirteen was already taller than Lacey. If nature continued to favor her, she would one day have the tall, slender figure so prized by Hollywood starlets. Her white-blond hair was cut in a chin length bob and the ends tipped in fashionable rainbow colors.

Jase and Freddy dropped their backpacks inside the foyer and made a bee line straight for Suze to give her a welcome home hug. After greeting his grandmother, Jase headed for the kitchen and proceeded to build himself an enormous sandwich along with an equally huge glass of chocolate milk.

"It's a wonder you aren't fat as a hog," Freddy snarked.

"I'm a growing boy. Want me to make you one?"

"What's in it?" his sister asked suspiciously.

"Meat, cheese, lettuce, onions, peppers; all the good stuff."

"I'll take one," Suze said. "That hospital food is junk."

Lacey poured herself a cup of coffee and climbed up on one of the stools beside the island. "We've got a problem with tonight's delivery," she said. "Agents are watching the house and probably the shop."

"This is the third time they've shown up on delivery day," Suze said. "We've got a leak girl,"

Lacey nodded. "I think you're right. Jase, when you get through eating, I'd like you to run a deep scan on the sensors. Not just the ones up by the Portal, but all of them. Patrick Sullivan will be doing the same, but I want to compare what you find with what he does."

"You don't trust Patrick?" Freddy asked, her eyes wide.

"I trust him, but I think he has a blind spot."

"The Militia," Suze nodded. "You think it's coming out of their crew. Are you sure you aren't suspecting them because of what happened with Malachi?"

"I've got what wouldn't hurt the rest of you to develop," Lacey snapped, "an open mind. I don't know where the leak is coming from; I just know I don't believe in coincidence. He's back by the way, Malachi; I ran into him up on the summit."

"What did happen?" Freddy asked, not for the first time.

"None of your beeswax," Lacey retorted, also not for the first time. When she saw Suze open her mouth, Lacey cut her off. "Enough, Gran. I have to be able to work with him. It's better if the past stays in the past, you hear?"

"I hear," her grandmother said.

When it was time to leave for the Gate, Lacey engaged the stealth mode on the ancient Econoline van and drove out of the property using a back road into the forest. She and the kids had loaded the van with a few of the trade goods belonging to the family before she ate dinner. She drove to the shop, backing the van's rear doors up to the loading dock. Inside the shop, she checked the security feeds. To be safe, she turned on the jammer engaging the counter measures which would broadcast a closed building and an empty loading dock to any vid fees aimed at it. The jammer had been invented by her brother Jase who had a rare talent for computer programming.

Usually her father or her mother would assist in loading the van with whatever the Runners had dropped off, but since both of them were away, Jase had accompanied her tonight. Once the van was full, Jase hitched up the utility trailer and they loaded it as well.

"Got a lot of stuff tonight," Jase observed as he tied off the last load.

Long practice made them speedy; they were loaded and ready to travel in fifteen minutes.

"When are you going to let me drive?" he asked as she pulled out onto main street.

"When you get your license," she retorted. "Don't turn off the shop jammer until we turn off main street."

The road up to the Portal went through a hedge maze. The path had been deliberately obscured from drone cameras by enclosing the entire hedge with an overhead jammer like the one used on the shop. It fed a false picture of a wide footpath cutting through the maze to the outdoor theatre in the center, which appeared on the feed as a round circle with tiered benches for the audience to watch performances.