It was the 31st of October and we were getting ready for the Guy Fawkes bonfire party on Saturday, which Maggie always held for the local kids in the ...ack field behind the garden centre. The little tradition had started when her daughters were children and Mum would bring Emma and me over after school for the fireworks. There were sausages and baked potatoes and beans to eat and fizzy drinks and every one always had a lot of fun. After the twins got older and went away to boarding school,. The extended white limousine rolled silently along the socially prominent Upper East Side. Passing gloved doormen hailing cabs in front of opulent hotels; they drove by Madison Avenue's toniest shopping precinct until pulling to the curb in front of a nondescript building on 92nd Street that happened to be the most private club in the city.The chauffeur quickly opened the door and the "Mystery man" and his beautiful companion stepped out of the limousine and walked briskly to the entrance of. "We had ... a bit of a surprise, ma'am. Forty-two days ago, a female MORF with, if we believe everything she gave us, unusually extensive teleport and chronoport capabilities, appeared in the main command center in NORAD. She delivered a documentation package to us before taking her own life. The chips she left, with video, stills and written material ... provided us with more history than we wanted. We are still sifting through what she delivered and we still have only gone through a small. But then she pulled back gently. "What were you going to do if I didn't walk by?"Charise shrugged. "Take the bus home, I guess. Like last time." Last time?"Charise looked down at her feet, embarrassed. "This is the third time I waited for you." Oh, you poor darling. Come in here with me, right now."Laura started to steer her by the elbow toward the huge glass doors. Under her parka Charise wore a thin, dark green, ribbed cotton jersey, and Laura could not help noticing that while her stomach.