Gramps waved the sensor. 

     Every wall in the room, except for the wall that held the Picasso, slid away to reveal weaponry from floor to ceiling. 

     "You have a battle uniform my size?" Gramps asked. 

     "I still have your uniform from the last time. It's sitting in a drawer to your left. Here. See the flashing light?"   

     "Cool." He got it out.Gramps touched the fabric of his old battle suit. It leaped like something alive, a second skin, to attach and adhere itself ​to Gramps' body. 

     Katy barely looked up. 

     A viewing screen underneath the Picasso flicked on. For the moment, the image on the screen was a view from Adam's compound looking east. 

     "How far away is she?"

     "Less than a thousand miles now. She'll be on us within the next fifteen minutes." 

​     "Who...Who..." This from Katy. She was trying to...She had something she needed to... 

​     Gramps squatted so that he could look full into her eyes. "Yes Katy?" he asked. 

​     "I...I..." Katy got angry with herself. Concentrate! "Are we..." 

​     "Are we...what Katy?"

​     "How much trouble are we in?" Her first full sentence since she'd entered the room. Gramps didn't quite know how to respond. Now it was his turn to stutter. "I..I...Uh...Uh..." 

​     "We're in desperate trouble," Claudia responded over the com. "Do you understand that, Katy? Do you understand what I just said?" 

     Katy tried to nod but didn't quite make it. Then, back to the, "Do you...Do you..." 

     "Do we what?" Gramps asked. 

     "W-Where's the bathroom?" 

     "It's in the other room with the hot tub," Claudia replied. 

​     Katy smiled as she stood up. "I'll only be a moment," she said. "When I get back, you'd better show me how to use some of those weapons." 

CONTINUE

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