​     Gramps and Anne were taken to a dining room that overlooked Elliot Sound. Sliding doors led to the balcony beyond. Those doors were closed at the moment, however. It was cold out there.

​     A young, immaculately dressed woman greeted them. She spoke directly to Anne. "My name is Juliet," she said. "Is there something I can get you? Something to drink perhaps?"

​     "Nothing at the moment. Thank you so much," Anne replied.

​     Juliet made a concerned expression with her eyes and the bridge of her nose. She nodded towards Gramps. "And you are..."

​     He smiled. "I'm Gramps," he said.

​     "I'm afraid there's been some sort of mistake. The invitation was for Anne alone."

​     Now both Gramps and Anne smiled. For ten seconds they nodded and smiled.

     Hint taken. Juliet withdrew from the room.

​     "Professional," Gramps said after she left.

​     "I like her," Anne replied. "If I see her again, I'll see if I can't her to quit Kevin and come with me."

​     Gramps' phone rang.

​     "That's not good," he said. "I turned my phone off just before I got in the car. I shouldn't be getting any calls unless it's my family or it's an absolute emergency." He put the phone to his ear. "Abby, what is it? You...uh...really? Really? That's it, then. You and the kids go home right now. No more shopping for you. Call me when you get back to the house. I'll worry till I know you're safe."

     He put the phone back in his pocket.

​     "Problem?" Anna asked and, as she did, her voice came out just the slightest bit high.

​     "You're scared?" Gramps asked.

​     "A little."

​     "I'm feeling a little something, too. This isn't..."

​     Kevin Klawmaker swept into the room then, and the first thing Gramps noticed was that Kevin wore body armor based on a technology far advanced to anything found on present day Earth.​

​     Damn, Gramps thought. He really has thrown his lot in with The Fours, after all.

​     Gramps then noticed that Kevin sweated profusely even as he smiled at Anne in greeting.

     He'd been fighting.

​     Klawmaker frowned at Gramps. "Uh-uh, we can't have this," he said. "This lunch is for Anne and I alone. I made that very clear. Juliet should have..."

​     "I love Juliet," Anne said. "You've got a real asset there, Kevin."

​     Kevin grabbed a napkin off the dining table to wipe the sweat off his brow. "So far, this day is turning out to be far more interesting than I could have imagined. Okay, bring him in."

     It took four of Kevin's men to do it. They used what, to Gramps, looked like cattle prods to keep their prisoner at bay.

     Gramps saw who the prisoner was and thought, oh my God.

​     Because who he saw was Valtair.

​                                                    CONTINUE