"What will I wear, mom, I don't have a tux?" I asked seriously."Stand up." I did. She looked me over and frowned. "No, you wouldn't fit into your fath...r's tux, you're much bigger than him. What are you doing this afternoon?" I'd been sitting at the table doing homework, only wearing a pair of shorts. We'd been experiencing an Indian summer, and, even though it was late October, the weather was quite warm."I was going to go the gym, but I suppose it's not that important. Why?" Honey, you don't. That's how it's supposed to be, Emily thought dully. And Mom, it's okay if Mom fu ... if Mom wants to have some fun with us, too. She rubbed her fingers against her forehead even harder. But Todd... Todd??? He's my... our younger brother!!! And he's such a little jerk, so obnoxious, such a gross little troll... She shuddered, thinking of the way her brother had so lasciviously ogled her naked body the other day at breakfast, those beady eyes of his crawling up and down her skin. I can't .... I suppose the concept was similar to the rail guns the Navy used to arm their ships in the 2020s but our guns achieved a much higher projectile velocity. We had no idea what material the skin of the ships was made of, but perhaps enough hyper-sonic slugs would breach the hull and hopefully start a self-destructive reaction in the engine or fuel storage area. We couldn’t duplicate conditions inside one of their ships and we couldn’t shoot too many test shots or we would have to use up time and. Three ornate crystal chandeliers lit the way to the simple white, wooden door with a large brass knocker. There were no signs, no mirrors, no indications at all to say what company, law firm or agency inhabited this space. She started to fear that an impulse had led her to make the wrong choice.She turned to call the elevator as the stranger deftly moved to stay behind her. "I. I can't. I'm sorry." There was no button to call the elevator. There was no longer an elevator door at all, just the.