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From: artie <artie@netgate.net>
Subject: {ASSM}  TGM: Finding a New Life 4/7 by artie (MF ROM)
Date: Sun,  9 Jan 2000 10:10:01 -0500
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<1st attachment, "t04.txt" begin>
Tales of the Golden Mule (c) Copyright 1999 by artie@netgate.net This work
may not be reposted or redistributed without the prior express written
permission of the author.

   A work of fiction, meant for adults.  Read something else if you are not
an adult, or are offended by stories with sexual content.  Then again, if
all you're looking for is in-out, in-out, in-out, you should probably read
something else.  I welcome constructive comments.  Enjoy.

   Tales of the Golden Mule - Finding a New Life - Part 4

   We woke up to the alarm clock the next morning.  We held each other for
a while, but I had to get up.  It was going to be a busy day.  I left Nancy
in bed as I showered and shaved.  She got up as I was getting dressed.

   Karen was downstairs already when I got down.

   "You let us sleep!" I told her.

   She smiled as she drank her coffee and read the Wall Street Journal. 
"You looked like you needed it," she told me.

   "We did."

   I rummaged for breakfast and poured a cup of coffee for Nancy.  She came
down a few minutes later, just as I was about ready to leave.  We hugged
and kissed.

   "I'll see you this afternoon, hon," I told her.

   "Okay, take care of yourself."

   She and Karen were going to start packing things up for the remodeling
work.  We wouldn't need a lot of things, and she welcomed the help.

   I headed to Palo Alto.  I met Angie, and we went to a larger room in the
back.  There I met a young gal, a student named Deb.  Deb needed some
catch-up work, so this fit in well.  I spent time working under Angie or
Deb's guidance, learning how to do feet.  We practiced on each other, and I
had to admit it felt great.  We went a bit over our planned hour, but Angie
told me I was doing well, and Nancy would be pleased.  From the look on
Deb's face, she thought I was doing pretty well too.

   My stomach twitched as I drove to the shrink's office.  As invigorating
and energizing as the hour with Angie and Deb had been, the hour with him
was exhausting.  I did most of the talking, with him guiding, prodding,
questioning.

   I stepped back into the sunlight, walking to the Jeep, and shook my
head. Wow.  I felt better, stronger, and starved.  What to do until one?  I
laughed.  I had an office I could use, with a sandwich place nearby.

   I picked up a sandwich and headed for "my" office.  As I ate, I checked
the fax traffic.  Some of it I'd drop off with Jill after seeing Marshall.
I thought about lying down on the futon, but knew if I did, I'd go to sleep
for sure.  I turned on the confuser, and checked my new medication on the
World Wide Wait.  As I'd guessed, mechanism of action unknown, but it
seemed to help with anxiety problems.  Minimal side effects were reported,
with an increase in libido among them.  Well, that was a relief!  I was
worried it would leave me limp and twitching.

   The session with Marshall was the least intense of the day.  I was
focused, and we went through things fairly quickly.  He'd fax revisions to
me at home, and we'd sign on Thursday at one in the afternoon.

   That part done, I hit him with a question.

   "Hypothetically speaking, of course, would my getting married affect the
trust in any way?  Would it complicate matters?"

   He smiled and looked into space for a moment.  "Hypothetically, of
course, when might this be happening?"

   "Possibly before we leave for Europe."

   He nodded and took a breath.  "Okay, I'll start looking at that
question."

   I shook my head.  I was the decision maker here.  "No, what I want you
to do is to think of how to minimize any complications if I get married
next week.  I expect to hear what you have to say on Thursday afternoon. 
Okay?"

   He smiled and nodded.  "Got it.  Can't think of any problems right now,
but we'll check to be sure."

   We shook hands and I took off.

   The ladies weren't at the house when I arrived around three -- Karen's
Jeep was gone, but Nancy's car was in the garage.  I had to turn off the
alarm system when I went in.  I installed the last two switches; the rest
were still on order.  I opened up the pool, and out of respect for Karen,
went upstairs and found my swim suit.  I put it on, and went down to the
pool.

   The water felt great.  I swam for a while, then spent a few minutes in
the spa.  I'd gotten out to dry off when the phone rang.  I went inside and
answered it in the kitchen, saying, "Hello?"

   "Both of you are going to die." Click.

   I took a breath.  I recognized the voice.  Gee, someone must be out of a
job.  I walked over to where the answering machine was, and Jill's box.  I
pushed buttons on the separate called ID box we had -- the last call had
deliberately blocked caller ID -- not surprising.  I picked up my cell
phone.  One of the other things I'd done was programmed Jill's numbers into
the speed dialer.  I called her office and asked for her.

   "Hi Bill, what's up?  Did you meet with Marshall?"

   "Yes, things went well.  I also just received a call from our friend
Mister Morris.  I think he must be out of a job.  He called to tell me we
were both going to die.  Jill, I'd like you to do something about that twit
for me."

   "Where's Karen?"

   "Don't know.  I'm the only one home.  I think her box recorded the call,
but the caller ID information was deliberately blocked.  But the voice was
unmistakable."

   "What exactly did he say?"

   "The phone rang.  I picked it up, and after I said hello, he said, 'Both
of you are going to die,' and hung up."

   "Okay, call 911 and tell them you just got a death threat and need to
file a report.  Mindy and I will get the paperwork together.  We'll have a
restraining order within 24 hours."

   "Jill, thank you.  I'll call the cops.  Talk to you later."

   "Okay Bill, one of us may be by later on."

   I hung up my cell phone and picked up the kitchen one, and dialed 911.
I'd never done that before.  I told the dispatcher I'd just received a
death threat, and needed to file a report.  After a few moments hesitation,
she seemed very interested.  Someone would be out shortly.

   It was about ten minutes later when the doorbell rang.  I looked through
the peephole -- I was getting paranoid.  It was a uniformed policeman.

   I opened the door and invited him in.  We were just going through things
when Karen and Nancy came back.  Nancy was freaking out as she came into
the house.  Karen was very controlled, but obviously running on full alert.

   "What's happened?  Why are the police here?" Nancy demanded.

   "Calm down darling, sit down, please," I told her.

   I looked at Karen, then at Nancy.  I told her of the call I'd gotten,
and of speaking with Jill, then calling 911.  I introduced Karen to the
cop.

   It turned out Karen had spoken to the local authorities already,
alerting them there may be trouble.  That's why we had such good response.
She played back the message from her box, and confirmed the calling number
had been blocked.  Then she gave another of her predatory smiles, and
picked up her cell phone.  She dialed a number, asked for a particular
extension, and identified herself.  She asked for the number that had
called us at that time.  She wrote it down and gave it to the cop.

   "Cell phone," she said, "Should be easy to tell who it belongs to."

   "How did you do that?" I asked.

   "I had a trap trace set up on both places, just in case.  Glad I did."

   The officer finished up the report.  He told us we'd be receiving
regular patrol checks.  We gave him our vacation schedule.  Karen surprised
us by telling him she'd be staying here during that time.  I signed the
report.  He left.

   "So, what did Jill have to say?" Nancy asked.

   "She's going for a restraining order, I guess.  I hope she's giving this
guy's presumably ex-employer an ear full as well."

   "You can count on that," Karen told us.

   "So what have you ladies been doing?" I asked.

   That put Nancy a little more at ease.  They'd run out of packing boxes,
and needed to do some grocery shopping.  Nancy wanted to know how my day
had gone.  I held her hands and told her it had been exhausting, but
rewarding.  I showed them the switches I'd installed.

   Nancy saw the pool was open.  "Looks like you went for a swim."

   I nodded.  "I even wore a suit, in your honor," I told Karen.

   That broke the tension a little.

   "What's for dinner?" I asked.

   Nancy gave me an exasperated look, then laughed.

   "Rack of lamb.  I'm going to get it in the oven, then I'm going for a
swim."

   I took a pill, my first of the day, with some 7-Up, and got my suit back
on.

   I was swimming again when I looked up after hearing and feeling someone
else dive in, to see Karen in the pool.

   "This is great!" she said.

   "Enjoy it while we're gone," I told her.

   She laughed.  "Beats my apartment, that's for sure."

   I shook my head.  I didn't like what was happening.

   "Bill," Karen said, "We've done all we can do to prepare.  Worrying
won't do anyone any good, especially you."

   I took a deep breath.  "Karen, you're right, of course.  Part of me
understands that.  But, another part doesn't, and that's the part that's
freaking out."

   She moved over to where she could stand on tiptoes, head above the
water. "Bill, I understand.  I'm the same way -- part of me is calm and
calculating, but the other part isn't.  But that part is hoping he actually
shows up here and tries something."

   I laughed, seeing the way her muscles moved as she said that.

   Nancy joined us in the pool.  I liked watching her swim.  I liked
watching her move.  I liked watching her.

   I'd actually unwound a bit when the phone rang.  The first ring sent a
spasm through me, but I didn't lose anything.  I took a deep breath as
Karen got out of the pool and picked up the cordless phone.

   She hit the button, listened for a moment, frowned, then hit the hang up
button.  She started to say something to us when it rang again.  She
answered it, shook her head, and hit the button.  She stepped back to the
pool, phone in hand.  As she sat by the edge, legs in the water, it rang
again.

   "What's going on?" I asked her.

   Karen pushed buttons on the phone quickly and said, "Someone is trying
to send us a fax, it seems."

   I got out of the pool.  "More likely, a bunch of faxes.  Are they coming
from the same number?"

   By now we were all getting dried off.  The phone kept ringing, and Karen
kept clearing the calls.

   "I was going to suggest replacing this phone with a newer one with
caller ID display in the handset.  I'll check in the house."

   The three of us walked to the answering machine and caller ID box.  The
calls were coming from all over.

   I sighed.  "If I was going to do something like that, I'd call fax-back
services all over the country.  I'll be right back."

   I went to our office and got the fax machine.  I set it up by the
answering machine upstairs, next to Karen's gadget.

   "You're not going to receive all those faxes, are you?" Nancy asked.

   I shook my head, and pulled the paper tray out of the fax machine.  "Not
a chance.  I'll set this to answer on the first ring.  It will tell the
other side to piss off.  Any voice calls it will pass through.  Sound
good?"

   Karen nodded, as did Nancy.  I reprogrammed the fax machine to answer
immediately, then hooked it up to the phone line.  It got a call, gave us
an error beep to let us know it was out of paper, and hung up.  A few
seconds later, it did it again.

   Karen had her cell phone out.  "Hi, Jill -- this is Karen.  I'm at the
house, and the phone is being flooded with fax calls.  If you need to reach
us, call my portable.  Bye."

   Nancy frowned.  "What are we going to do?"

   I smiled.  "Have dinner?  We have cell phones, so we can call people,
and Jill knows how to reach us.  This is juvenile."

   Karen nodded, but frowned.

   Nancy sighed.  "I guess we can get the number changed.  I've got to
check the meat."

   I hugged her, and she headed back to the kitchen.

   I frowned.  "Karen, I would have thought this was an unlisted number. 
The phone at the townhouse was listed."

   Karen nodded.  "This is an unlisted number.  He probably has the same
kinds of friends I do, who can look up information like that.  And in case
you're worried, the phone company, utilities, banks, everyone we could
think of, has been notified not to give out any information or make any
changes in services, and to make records of any such requests.  Is your
cell phone listed?"

   "Good thinking, thanks.  No, I got my phone through part of a package
deal some of us set up at work.  I get the bill, but it's registered to the
company."

   I had another bad thought.  "Oh shit.  We're going to need a shredder. I
tossed a credit card receipt in the trash when I cleaned out the Jeep this
afternoon."

   Karen nodded.  "You're right -- you need to be very careful.  I moved
the trash cans inside the garage when we got home.  We'll go through
everything before trash pickup next week."

   All this time, the fax machine had been merrily answering calls, beeping
with each one to let us know it still needed to be fed.  So did I.

   I walked into the kitchen and hugged Nancy.  "Need any help?" I asked,
with a kiss on the back of her neck.

   "Bill, I need to be held.  Why don't you go change, then help me set the
table."

   "Okay hon.  I'll be right back down."

   She laughed a little.

   Karen was standing at the caller ID box, going through the numbers,
shaking her head.

   "I'm going to change and get ready for dinner," I told her as I headed
up the stairs.

   In our bedroom, the first thing I did was unplug the phone.  I dried off
a bit more, then put on sweats.  I'd have to carry my cell phone around
with me.  Hmmm...  I thought a bit more about our emergency training at
work.  I wanted a phone on the fax line.

   I went downstairs.  Karen must be up changing; she wasn't by the phone.

   I picked up my cell phone and turned it on, then clipped it to a pants
pocket.  I set the table for the three of us.

   When Karen came back down, I told her my concern.  "Karen, if I remember
correctly, 911 cell phone calls all get routed through the Highway Patrol.
I was thinking of moving the cordless phone to the fax line -- so far it
hasn't been hit, and if we need to make a 911 call, that line will go right
to the local cops."

   She smiled and nodded, and handed me the base part of the cordless
phone. "Good thinking.  Do it.  I'll keep the cordless with me, along with
my cell phone."

   I took the stuff to the office and hooked it up.  That's something else
I could do -- make sure all the phone jacks in the place were wired for two
lines.  Only the office had a two line phone in it, for both the "normal"
house phone line, and the line for the fax machine.  Good, something else
for me to do tomorrow.

   We sat down to a nice dinner, aside from the fax machine ringing and
beeping five or six times a minute.  After a while, the three of us tuned
it out.

   While we were clearing the table, Karen's cell phone rang.  She answered
it.  I guessed it was Jill or Mindy calling.  I helped Nancy in the kitchen
while Karen walked around to the assortment of electronics we had on the
hallway table.

   We overheard some of her conversation.  "Pretty much nonstop for the
last two and a half hours, I'd say.  No, they're coming from all over the
place -- a lot of different area codes.  Oh, twenty or thirty different
numbers, I'd say.  Oh hell no!  Bill had a great idea -- he put the fax
machine on the line, but pulled out the paper.  It answers on the first
ring.  Yeah, I thought of that as well.  We have the second line, the fax
line, and so far it's clear.  Yeah, I should check that it's good.  Really?
In that case, I'll give Carl a call right away.  See you in a while.  Bye."

   I expected Karen to join us in the kitchen and let us know what the hell
was going on, but instead, she walked out on to the patio and closed the
door behind her.  Guess she didn't want us to know.  Oh well.

   I put a hand on Nancy; I could feel how tight she was in her shoulders;
it wasn't like her.  "Relax, or try to.  You're tight," I told her.

   She sighed, put down the dishtowel, and hugged me.  I put my arms around
her and rocked her gently.

   Karen came back in a few minutes later, smiling.

   "What's going on?" I asked.

   She waved us to the couch.  Nancy and I sat together; Karen sat in the
chair next to us.

   "Mister Morris was indeed fired earlier today.  It shouldn't surprise
you that he didn't take it very well.  Jill got his former employer to
admit that he had made statements intimating violence.  She's lining up a
judge to sign a protective order, but to be honest with you, the problem is
going to be serving him with it.  That, and protective orders are like stop
signs on the road -- they only stop people who pay attention to them.  But,
we're in good shape."

   Nancy squeezed my hand.

   "Really?" I asked.  "Are you leveling with us?" I sensed something else.

   "Let's wait for Jill to get here."

   "No, Karen.  I asked you a question.  How can you expect me to make
informed decisions without information?  I want to know.  You can't explain
everything and its implications to us.  I understand that, but I want to
know your chief concerns.  I expect you to tell us."

   Karen looked at Nancy.  "Nancy?" she asked.

   Nancy surprised me.  She gave me a hug, then got up.  "I'm going to take
a long, hot bath.  I don't need to know right now." She kissed me on the
head, and as she walked by, put a hand on Karen's shoulder.

   We were silent until we heard the bedroom door close.

   "Bill, do you want to know?" Karen asked.

   "How the fuck can I tell?  Karen, I'm sorry.  It feels like something's
got you bugged.  What is it?"

   She nodded.  "I'm not sure if the fax thing is just harassment, or a
cover for something else, just insuring the phone line is tied up.  That,
and Mister Morris has a concealed weapon permit."

   "Oh fuck."

   "Bill, we've informed the police department, and they've spread the
word. We're also assuming Morris is able to listen to the police radios; I
know I can, and do.  I've also arranged for a couple very skilled people to
watch us.  One will be coming over with Jill in a while, and spending the
night in the garage."

   I looked at my hands.  They were shaking.  I looked back to Karen.

   "Do you feel safe?" I asked her.

   "Bill, I don't know.  Having said that, there's nothing else I can think
of doing, nobody else I can think of calling, nothing else I can think of
putting in place."

   "What do you recommend we do?"

   "For tonight, stay put.  I'm staying.  Jill and Carl will be over in a
while.  We'll look at things again in the morning."

   I stood up.  "Okay.  Would Carl like coffee?"

   Karen stood as well.  "Oh yeah."

   We walked to the kitchen and I helped her find the stuff to start a pot
of coffee.  I watched with interest; it was something I should learn to do
for Nancy.

   A while later I went upstairs with a glass of Lemoncello for Nancy.  She
was still in the tub.

   "Something for you, beautiful," I told her.

   She smiled.  "How are you?"

   I sighed.  "I'm okay, I guess.  Jill will be over in a while, with
reinforcements."

   She looked at me.  "We could leave, tonight or tomorrow -- just go to
the airport and go."

   I shook my head.  "No.  We're not running.  At least not yet." I
chuckled a little.  "I trust Karen and Jill.  When they say run, we'll
run."

   I bent down and kissed her, then headed back downstairs.

   It was another half hour before Jill and Carl arrived.  Karen got the
door.  The fax machine was still beeping.

   Carl was someone I wouldn't want to offend.  He was only a couple inches
taller than me, but very muscular.  He had a couple bags of stuff with him.
Jill and I sat down at the kitchen table.  Karen showed Carl around the
house and then to the garage.

   "Well, counsel?" I asked.

   She gave me a tired smile.  "We're getting some assistance from his
ex-employer, after a few heated exchanges and a nasty fax from Mindy and
I." She slid a document over to me.  "The restraining order is signed and
filed with the police -- Mindy called me as we were driving over here; she
is hand-delivering copies to other jurisdictions.  If he shows up within a
hundred yards of either of you, or the two houses, or the office, he's
subject to arrest."

   "Hundred yards?  How good a shot is he?"

   Jill gave me a grim smile.  "Karen told you about that?"

   "I'm not sure how much she told me.  After some prodding, she told me he
had a permit to carry a gun."

   She nodded.  "That's about all we know.  His house is staked out, and
we'd love to go in, but the authorities don't feel they have cause yet. 
The Constitution protects us all."

   "Okay, so what's the plan?"

   She shook her head.  "I'll level with you.  I don't know.  We'll look at
things in the morning.  I know that's not a very good answer."

   I reached across the table for her hand.  "Jill, it's an honest answer.
Those are the best kind."

   She smiled.  "I'm glad you understand.  I'm going to take off.  You know
how to contact me.  Try to sleep tonight." She looked over at the fax
machine.  It was still doing its thing.  "Has that thing shut up?"

   I shook my head.  "Not since I connected it.  I figure we'll change the
phone number tomorrow, but I'm not sure what good that will do."

   She nodded as she stood up.  "A very realistic appraisal, I'm afraid. 
We do depend on our friends to be able to bend the rules some times."

   I'd thought about that, how we'd expected Karen to be able to do that
with the phone numbers we'd gotten from the fax machine, what seemed to be
so long ago.

   I walked with her to the garage.  The lights were off, and Karen and
Carl were sitting in folding chairs, looking at a little TV set.  There was
a side door to the walkway on the side of the house -- the window was now
covered.  The little TV set was showing what looked to be a black and white
image of the street and our driveway.  I looked and saw a wire going from
the set into the darkness and over to the garage door.

   "Miniature camera?" I asked.

   Carl turned to me.  "Low light as well, and very small.  Don't think
anyone can spot it from the street."

   Jill said, "I'm taking off.  You know what to do."

   We all nodded.  I said, "I'll walk you out."

   Karen said, "No you won't -- I will."

   I shrugged my shoulders.  Karen and Jill walked out.

   Carl motioned me to the other chair; I sat down.

   "Mister Wilson, you're taking this really well."

   "Not a fucking lot of choice, pardon my French.  What else could I do?"

   He smiled.  I was glad he was on our side.  "Oh, you could be running
around yelling nonsense at people, demanding impossibilities, that kind of
thing."

   I shrugged my shoulders again.  "So what can I do to make your life
easier, other than not get into shit like this again?"

   He actually laughed.  "Mister Wilson, this is my job.  I like it.  I'm
sorry my skills are still in demand, but I'm glad to be here when needed.
You can do exactly what Karen already told you.  Anything that happens,
stay in your room, go into the bathroom and close the door and stay there.
Leave the lights off.  Don't come out until one of us comes to get you. 
Don't do anything stupid.  Other than that, sleep well, and I hope it's
another boring night -- most of them are."

   We watched Jill drive off.  The camera was quite good.  Karen came back
to join us.

   I stood up.  "Well gang, I feel better, but I'd be a liar if I didn't
tell you I'm still worried.  I'm going off to bed."

   Carl stood up as well.  "Karen, can you watch the monitor while I
familiarize myself with the layout?"

   Karen nodded and sat down.  Carl took two radios out of his bag and gave
one to Karen.  He clipped the other to his belt.

   He smiled.  "Mister Wilson, you can show me the bedroom, if your wife
doesn't mind."

   "Carl, call me Bill, please.  And we're not married yet."

   We walked upstairs.  I checked the bedroom first -- Nancy was still in
the bath.  I showed Carl the bedroom.  He looked out the sliding glass
doors onto our small balcony overlooking the pool, and checked that it was
locked.  I described the bathroom layout to him.  He shook my hand and
wished us a good night.  I closed the door behind him.

   "How are you, sweetie?" I asked, walking into the bathroom.

   "Who were you talking to?" Nancy asked.  She was looking more relaxed.

   "Reinforcements.  Ex-Navy seal.  Glad he's here."

   "Okay, I'm getting out.  Time for bed."

   I held a towel out for her as she got up, and helped her out of the tub.
She dried off as I brushed my teeth.  We both went to the can, then went to
bed.  We held each other fiercely at first, eventually drifting off to
sleep.

   I awoke with a start.  It was still dark, and Nancy was moving, getting
out of bed.

   "What's wrong?" I hissed.

   She put a hand on me.  "It's okay -- I have to go to the bathroom."

   I tried to relax back on the bed, my heart pounding.  It was two thirty
in the morning.  It was a while before Nancy came back.  She got into bed
and we snuggled together like two spoons.  "Good news," she said softly,
"I'm not pregnant."

   I kissed the back of her neck and held her.  I took that as her period
starting.  I held her and after a while went back to sleep.

   It was light out when I woke again.  It was my turn to get up and use
the bathroom.  I didn't take as long.  It was quarter after seven when I
got back into bed.

   As I moved closer, Nancy slipped off her nightie and held me to her.  I
settled in, my arms around her.  She sighed as she held me close.  It was
another of those times when she took me to some wonderful place -- not
awake, not asleep, held, comforted.

   We got up after a while, showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. 
Karen was at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, and reading the paper. 
The fax machine was still answering and beeping.

   "Good morning.  Where's Carl?" I asked.

   "Upstairs asleep," she told us.  "How did you two sleep?"

   I rubbed Nancy's back.  "I slept pretty well," I told Karen, "How about
you, sweetie?"

   Nancy smiled.  "Pretty well, I guess.  I need coffee."

   I got a banana, and started some toast for us.

   "So did the fax machine go all night?"

   Karen answered.  "Think so.  I talked to one of the support people at
the phone company.  They'll be happy to change the number whenever we want.
I've got a list of ten numbers you can chose from."

   "And how long will it take him to figure out we've dumped the old
number, and get the new one?"

   "That's an optimistic thought," Karen said between sips.

   "And your answer is?"

   "Depends on how good his contacts are.  Within a day, certainly."

   "Well, in that case I'm not sure just what good it would do.  I take it
he hasn't shown up or been served?"

   Karen shook her head.  "Nope.  His residence is under 24 hour
surveillance, and he hasn't shown."

   "Can we change the number temporarily?  Let the old one go dead for a
week or two, then pick it up again?"

   "Don't see why not."

   I fixed toast for Nancy and I.  We discussed the day.  I wanted to
rewire the phone jacks, get a new cordless phone, and complete the
installation of the light switches.  Nancy was going to pack up some more.
Karen would take care of the phone, and wanted to try running some things.
Carl would be with us for another day or so.

   I decided to start the phone rewiring first.  I'd done a similar job at
the townhouse, setting up all the jacks for two lines.  It was pretty easy
-- all the jacks had four wires running to them, with only two used. 
Setting up for both lines was a simple matter.  Each phone company line was
two wires, a pair.  Since the house was fairly new, all the utilities ran
underground.  The phone lines came up into a Network Interface Box on the
side of the house outside the garage.  The jacks in the house were wired
daisy-chain, one hooked to the other.  The second line in the office had
been added as an afterthought.

   Luckily, both the main set of jacks in the house, and the second line
jack in the office were put in with four wire cable.  I should have two
four-wire cables in the Network Interface Box.  Normal RJ-11 single line
wiring used the red-green pair of wires.  For two line wiring, what I was
going to do, the second line used the yellow-black pair.  All I had to do
was wire the yellow-black pair of each cable to the red-green pair of the
other.  That would give us two lines all through the house.  Unless, of
course, someone was sloppy and didn't bother with the other pair somewhere
along the line.  Oh well, more fun for me.

   I gathered the tools I'd need and went to the box, which was located
between two gates.  The tall wooden gate was at the street; our garbage
cans usually sat there.  About thirty feet farther along the house was a
lower metal gate that led along to the pool shed and pool.  I knew that
both gates were now tied into the alarm system.  The wooden gate was
silent; the metal one wasn't.

   When I looked at the plastic phone company box set into the side of the
garage, I noticed two wires sticking out from the bottom, each about six or
eight inches in length, resting against the wood siding of the house.

   When I opened the box, I saw that each of these wires went to a block of
black plastic.  One had a green dot on it, the other an orange dot.  Two
wires came out the other side of each block, and these went to the screw
terminals for the phone lines.

   "Fuck," I said to nobody in particular.

   I walked back into the house.  "Oh Karen!" I called out.

   She walked out from the kitchen.  "What is it?"

   I hooked a finger.  "Got something to show you."

   She raised an eyebrow and followed me.  I pointed to the black goodies
attached to my phone lines.

   "Shit -- bugs," she said.

   "That's what I thought.  But look closely at the wires.  See how the
copper is tarnished?  Those things have been here for a while -- copper has
to be exposed for a couple months, at least, to tarnish like that."

   She looked closely, then back at me, brow now really furrowed.  "So most
likely, they're not from our friend."

   I shrugged.  "That would be my guess."

   After a moment, I continued.  "As I see it, I can either take 'em out or
leave 'em in.  Got an opinion?"

   Karen gave me a very ugly look.  I chuckled a little.

   She told me, "I'm for leaving them alone."

   I nodded.  "Okay."

   "You're sure about those things being there for a while?" Karen asked.

   I loosened one of the screw terminals to put in the extra wires.  I
pointed to part of one of the wires.  "See the bright spot where the wire
was under the screw?  It takes time for copper to oxidize.  We'll have some
new spots to use for comparison, but I'd say it was at least a few weeks,
if not longer."

   Karen frowned.  "I want to get some pictures of this shit."

   I did my wiring, and closed up the box.

   When I walked back into the house, Karen was standing next to the fax
machine and her monitor.  She turned and gave me a big grin.

   "Hey, good job -- it works.  My tracker found the second line."

   "Thanks.  Want to call the phone company and get them to switch our
phone number?"

   "Okay.  What are you going to do?"

   "Where's Nancy?"

   "Sitting out by the pool.  I'm not sure how she's taking this."

   "Thanks.  I'm thinking of getting a two-line cordless phone, and picking
up the extra switches -- they should be in."

   "Sounds okay.  Take Nancy with you?"

   I nodded.  "Hope to."

   I walked outside.  Nancy was sitting in a patio chair, looking off at
the valley.  I went down on a knee beside her.

   "How are you doing, sweetie?" I kissed her shoulder.

   She sighed.  "I don't know.  I'm sort of numb."

   "Well, come for a ride with me, then."

   She turned and a small smile started breaking through the pain.  "Okay,
what are we doing?"

   "I need to pick some things up."

   "Like?"

   I grinned and held out my left wrist.  "I was thinking maybe a Rolex."

   She frowned for a moment, then laughed.

   "That's better," I told her.  "I need to get a better portable phone,
and the rest of the switches.  Karen says it's okay, and you should come
with me."

   She sighed and nodded, then held out her hands.  I helped her to her
feet, and we hugged.

   "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

   "Okay beautiful, take your time."

   We needed Karen's help to move Carl's little camera, but we got
underway.

   Our first stop was for the phone.  I went to Fry's, a West Coast
phenomenon.  I could tell a little ways into the store that Nancy hadn't
been here before.

   I held Nancy's hand as she looked around in amazement.

   "This is nerd heaven," I told her, "a great place to avoid on weekends."

   We got the phone I wanted, a Panasonic two-line unit with caller ID
built in.  I picked up some miscellaneous phone cords and adapter blocks.
We went over by the video cameras and I got another battery and charger for
the camcorder, and picked up a couple more blank tapes.

   Nancy was still bewildered.  "Need anything?" I asked her, "Memory
chips? Ethernet hubs?  Vibrators?"

   She gave me a low laugh.  "They don't..."

   I took her hand.  "Let's look."

   They had massagers of a few varieties, but nothing that resembled the
more "personal" variety.

   "Guess that tells a lot about the sex lives of nerds," she chortled. 
She did spot the coffee bar though, and ordered a coffee.

   We stood in the checkout queue.  A pair of geeks were in front of us,
their cart laden with hi-tech stuff -- I saw disk drives, a motherboard,
some other stuff.  As we inched along, one of them scooped five or six
packages of Hostess cupcakes into their cart.  I thought Nancy was going to
fall down, she was trying so hard to keep from laughing out loud.

   We paid cash and made it back to the Jeep.

   "Never been there, I take it?" I asked as we pulled out of the lot.

   "I guess I've led a sheltered life.  That's some place!"

   "It's Silicon Valley, that's for sure."

   We went over to the store in Cupertino and picked up the rest of the
switches.  I showed Nancy what other varieties they had; she liked the
multibutton ones, so I picked up a couple of those as well.  We stopped at
a little Greek place for lunch.

   It was almost two when we got back to the house.

   We carried stuff into the house and put it on the kitchen table, walking
by the answering machine, fax, and Karen's box.  The fax was merrily
clucking away.

   Karen came out of the hall.

   "Hey!" I said, "I thought we were supposed to get a new phone number!"

   She smiled.  "Oh, we did.  It took him under an hour.  I chewed out the
head of security for the phone company.  We're getting another number after
shift change in a few hours.  Before the abuse resumed, we also got another
call from Mister Morris.  Jill has heard it.  She's working on an arrest
warrant."

   Nancy shook her head.  "I'm going for a swim."

   I gave her a hug.  "Thanks for going with me.  I'll put in the new
stuff."

   I set up the new phone, checking out both lines.  Installing the
switches took another hour.

   I thought about the cordless one.  It would work better if the base part
was up high.  That would be the outlet in our room.  I picked it up and
took it upstairs.  I plugged it in to power, then to the phone jack.  Line
1, the old line, worked fine.  Line 2, the new one, was dead at the jack. I
got my screwdriver and pulled out the two screws, pulling the jack from
wall.

   There was a broken wire on the back of the jack.  There was also a small
black blob attached to the rear of the faceplate, with wires going to
another black plastic block crammed in the back of the box.

   My stomach lurched to my throat.  I gripped the edges of the table; my
hands got cold.  I swallowed, hard.  This Technicolor yawn stuff had to
stop, and now seemed to be a pretty good time.  I swallowed again.

   I looked it over.  Two wires going to the main line -- those would
supply power.  Two wires going to the little blob on the back of the face
plate -- a small hole on the other side -- okay, that was the microphone.

   I took a breath and stepped into the hallway.  "Karen!  I need you
upstairs, now!"

   She came running.  She started to say, "What's..." but I put a hand to
her mouth.  I led her into the bedroom and pointed out the bug.  She turned
a little pale.

   I pried the block part out of the box.  It had an antenna wire sticking
up into the wall.  I got out my wire cutters.  I turned the plate over, and
said loud and clear into the microphone, "Fuck you." I cut the wires at the
jack.

   I looked at her, and said, "Not a word of this to Nancy." She nodded.

   We found two more -- one in the office and one in the kitchen.  Just for
grins, we went around looking at every phone plate.  Then we looked at all
the plates, electrical, cable, you name it.  We didn't find anything.

   I got the ladder from the garage and took the smoke detectors and alarm
pieces off the walls.  I found one more bug.

   Karen looked shaken.  She told me she'd have the office and the beach
house swept.  I wanted to do Tahoe myself.  Looks like we're going back up
there.  She didn't want me to do that.  The roads were too open.  What a
comforting thought.

   Carl appeared.  Karen briefed him in whispers, showing him the bugs.

   I went upstairs and got my swimsuit.  Nancy was in the pool, in one of
the floats, wearing sunglasses.  I dove in and swam to her.

   The way she moved, she must have been asleep.

   "I love you, beautiful," I told her.

   She shook her head.  "Oh, I love you, Bill.  My God, I need to get on
dinner.  I guess I needed that."

   Before I could grab her, she rolled out the other side of the float and
swam to the side of the pool.  She got out, not turning to me.  I left her
alone.

   Carl came out about a half hour later.  He looked pretty happy about
something.  He stood by the back fence, looking down the hillside.  I got
out and walked over to him.

   "What's up?" I asked.

   He grunted.  "Thinking about perimeter security.  This fence isn't that
good."

   I pointed down the hill a ways, just beyond the solar collectors.  "Best
fence Nature can provide.  You won't find me going down there, or up from
the other side.  Manzanita and Poison Oak -- wonderful combination."

   He looked at me and smiled, nodding his head.  "I like it.  I might rig
some wire by the collectors, though."

   I shrugged my shoulders.  "Be my guest, but the poison is all around the
things.  What's got you so cheered up?"

   He laughed a little.  "Come on, I'll show you.  Your wife says dinner is
in twenty minutes anyway."

   I grabbed a towel.  He led me to the garage.  We had a phone outlet in
the garage.  I saw a wire plugged into it, leading to an old Styrofoam
cooler I'd brought from the townhouse.  He opened the lid.

   There inside was one of the phone jacks I'd bought, and all our bugs. 
Also inside was a small radio, turned to a Spanish language station.  He
put the cover back on the cooler.  We both laughed.

   "So, who do you figure planted those?" I asked.

   He shook his head.  "No clue.  I called a friend -- he'll drop by
tomorrow to let us know what frequencies they run on.  That might help."

   "Effective range?" I asked.

   It was his turn to shrug.  "Up on a hillside like this?  Five miles line
of sight, or more."

   I nodded.  "From the dust around things, and the oxidation on the wires,
they've been here for a month or more."

   He looked at me and nodded.  "I'd say two or three months, at least."

   "So, you've seen things like those before?"

   He nodded.  "Place in Vancouver, Canada sells them, if I remember
correctly.  They're made in Japan.  Not cheap.  Whoever did this cared
enough to send the very best."

   "I'm fucking honored."

   Carl laughed again.

   We went back into the house.  Nancy and Karen were setting the dining
room table for the four of us.

   It was a simple dinner, but good.  Nancy and I had wine.  Karen had iced
tea.  Carl drank about a half gallon of milk.

   After dinner, as the others were clearing the table, I said, "I'll go
check the mail."

   I started to turn to the door when an iron hand gripped my arm.  Carl
said, "No.  It's dark out.  It can wait until morning." He was serious.  I
nodded.

   I helped Nancy with the dishes.  She seemed subdued.  I was still
somewhat cold after learning our house was bugged -- even our damn bedroom.
And after all that work, Karen had insisted on having the base set for the
cordless downstairs with her stuff.

   We sat around and reviewed the day.  Carl and Karen reviewed what we
were to do in case anything unusual happened.  She told us the phone
company wanted to switch numbers in the morning -- they thought they knew
who was leaking information to Morris, and wanted to flush the bastard out.
Fine with me.

   I took Nancy upstairs around nine.  I was tired, but not too tired to
show her what I'd learned.

   "Nancy, get ready and then I want you on the bed on your back.  Would
you like something to help you sleep?  I think we've got some of those
pills left."

   She shook her head.  "No -- I've been taking tranquilizers all day.  I'm
going to need a therapist if this goes on very long.  I'm scared, Bill. 
I'm cold.  I need you to hold me."

   That helped explain how she'd been acting today.  I held her.  "Nancy,
I'll hold you, and protect you, with everything I have."

   We quietly got ready for bed.  I checked the handheld radio on her
bedstand, and moved it to my side.  I'd wake up easier, I was guessing.

   After she was on the bed, I had her move down so her feet were slightly
off the edge.  I got the fur coat from the closet, and a towel and the
massage lotion from the bathroom.  I put the coat over her, fur side down.
"Enjoy, love."

   "What?  What are you doing, Bill?"

   "Relax, hon," I told her.

   I raised her feet and put the towel underneath her feet and legs.  I sat
on my knees by her feet, spread some of the massage stuff on my hands to
warm it, and started massaging her feet.

   After a few seconds, she moaned appreciatively.  "Oh I love you."

   I put everything I had into massaging her feet.  I worked on her for
about forty minutes.  When I stopped, my hands were a little sore.  She was
breathing slowly -- I guessed she was asleep.  I took the coat off her, and
helped her get under the covers.  She made some noises, but never really
awakened.

   I picked up the coat, carrying it back to the closet to hang it up.  The
soft fur was so enticing.  I could just ...  but I walked by the phone
outlet that had held the bug, and I went cold again.  I hung up the coat,
went to the bathroom one more time, washed my hands, and got into bed.  I
snuggled up close to her, wrapping an arm around her.  She held on to me
tightly, but I don't think she woke up.

   END of Part 4 Tales of the Golden Mule

   Tales of the Golden Mule by artie@netgate.net
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www http://artie.web1000.com/

   The entire Tales of the Golden Mule is available in HTML format on my
web site (http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www/TGM.html).  It's also available as a
single LARGE (about 800kb!) text file on the asstr ftp site
(http://www.asstr-mirror.org//pub/Authors/artie/text/tgm.txt).

   

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