Dan Shanahan and Seera Wyndham stood on the porch of a house across the state line in Connecticut. She looked around, wondering why they were there. He waited silently for someone to answer his knock.

It had been hard thinking about what he going to do, but he thought it was necessary. They were descending into a snake pit with no one they could trust. He needed to make sure his girls were taken care of before he went.

They wouldn't like the edited story he was going to have to give them, but it was better than nothing. He had known plenty of vet families that never knew what had happened to their loved ones. He wanted to at least make sure he said goodbye before he wound up like that.

The door opened. The man in sweats peered at them through round glasses. It took a moment for his round face to light in recognition.

“Dan,” he said with a smile. “It's been years. You're here to see Isri? Come in. Let me get her.”

He vanished inside the house as Shanahan and Wyndham stepped inside. She closed the door behind them.

“Isri?,” Wyndham asked.

“My daughter,” said Shanahan.

Wyndham said nothing. She couldn't imagine the fury beside her having anything like children.

“Dan!,” echoed through the house. Shanahan smiled.

A giantess wearing a black ARMY sweatshirt and blue jeans appeared from the direction of the other side of the house. She closed on them and wrapped Shanahan in a hug. She lifted him off the floor.

“Hello, Isri,” said Shanahan.

“Molly said she hadn't seen you,” said Isri. She put Shanahan down. She glanced at Wyndham. “Where have you been? Is this your girlfriend? What brings you by?”

“This is my employer,” said Shanahan. “I have a job now. That's why I came to see you.”

“What kind of job, Dan?,” said Isri's husband, Curtis. “Where are our manners? Let's go into the living room. Would you like something to drink?”

“Do you have coffee?,” asked Wyndham. “That would be good.”

Shanahan nodded.

“I'll put some on for us,” said Curtis.

“Let's go in the dining room,” said Isri. “You're working?”

“Yes,” said Shanahan. “That's why I asked Wyndham to bring me out here. I have something to give you and your sisters before I go.”

“Is that why Molly hasn't seen you the last couple of weeks?,” asked Isri. She led the way into a room of tans with a large table in the center, and pictures of people on the walls. Some of the people wore uniforms.

“I suppose,” said Shanahan. He didn't sit down.

Wyndham did, looking at the pictures on the walls. She spotted Isri and Curtis in a few of them.

“You were a Marine too?,” she asked.

“A jarhead?,” said Isri. “No. Curt and I served in the Army, a better branch of soldiers.”

She smiled at the hurramph from Shanahan.

A heavy knocking sounded from the front door. Isri looked up.

“I'll be right back,” she went to the front door to shoo away the salesman she expected to find.

There was a commotion at the door. Shanahan waited patiently, looking in that direction. The sisters had arrived from the sound of it. That was good in his opinion. He wouldn't have to repeat the lie he was about to tell.

Isri returned with three women who resembled her on a smaller scale. They smiled when they saw Shanahan standing on his own. Hugs and questions followed. He waited out the storm, glancing at Wyndham. She sat back in her chair with an air of amusement.

“The coffee's ready,” said Curtis. He had a tray with four cups on it. “I'll have to get some more for everybody else.”

“Do you have Mountain Dew, Curt?,” asked Petra, the youngest.

“I think so,” said Curtis. “Molly? Adele?”

“Coffee is fine, Curtis,” said Molly. She took off her suit jacket. She draped the jacket over her chair.

“I would like some water, Curtis,” said Adele. She twisted the ring on her finger.

“I'll be right back,” said Curtis. He put the tray down and went back to the kitchen.

Wyndham grabbed her cup. She sipped her coffee, nodding at the taste of it.

“What's going on, Dan?,” asked Isri. “What is this about? You're not one for family visits.”

Shanahan nodded at the truth of that. He had kept an eye on the girls from a distance as much as possible, shepherding them through the citizenship rigmarole as best he could. He had seen Molly the most. She had earned a job in Social Services and she liked to keep tabs on her street people, which he was one.

“Here you guys go,” said Curtis. He handed a plastic soda bottle to Petra, a glass of water to Adele, and another cup of coffee to Molly. He picked up his own cup from the tray, put sugar and cream in it, stirring it with a spoon before walking to stand behind Isri.

“Diabetes,” said Isri. She pulled her own cup closer.

“A little won't kill me,” said Curtis. “I guess everybody's here. What's going on, Dan? This looks like a will reading.”

Shanahan silently agreed with Curtis. This was a will reading, and it was his.

“I'm going to explain everything and I don't want any questions about it,” said Shanahan. “I have a job, and I don't know how long it will take so I wanted to give you all something before I go.”

“Wyndham hired me for security for the detective agency she works for and my pay has been ten percent of the fee,” said Shanahan.

“How much have you been keeping?,” asked Adele. She knew right away from his expression that he hadn't kept any of it. “That's why our savings have been boosted more than normal.”

Shanahan gritted his teeth. Adele would know that he had been loading their accounts. She did the taxes for the sisters and their families. As soon as she saw the numbers, she must have guessed what was going on.

“You don't have to keep helping us,” said Petra. “We're taking care of ourselves now. You should keep your pay.”

“That's indirectly what this is about,” said Shanahan, trying to get back on track. “We just did a job, and we have to go back to take care of some loose ends. Wyndham?”

Wyndham pulled out four stones and set them on the table. The sisters and Curtis looked at the small cylinders. They looked at Shanahan.

“Abstract art?,” asked Curtis.

“You're going to need bigger containers,” said Wyndham. “Once I open these, I have no way to put the contents back in.”

“What's in them?,” asked Isri.

“The ten percent from our last job split four ways,” said Shanahan. “I'm going to be gone for a while. Just let my pension keep rolling until I get back.”

“I've set aside a fund for you, Dan,” said Adele.

“I don't need it,” said Shanahan.

“You need something,” said Molly. “You can't just stay on the streets.”

“I can stay wherever I please,” said Shanahan.

They glared at each other across the table. Molly tapped the table with her finger tips.

“You said something was in these rocks?,” said Isri. “What? What was your ten percent?”

“Some valuables owed by the guy we caught,” said Shanahan. “I just wanted to give this to you before I go back. It might be a while before I can do anything else for you.”

“We're adults,” said Molly. “You don't have to give us your pay any more.”

“I never did,” said Shanahan.

“I have these,” said Curtis. He had four empty plastic milk jugs. He had washed them out at one point. “I use these as planters out back.”

“You might have to get something sturdier later,” said Wyndham. She stood. She took one of the jugs from him. She picked up one of the cynlinders and pushed the button on the end after putting the other end inside the mouth of the jug. The stone evaporated in her hand. Gold coins dropped down inside the jug. She pushed the full jug out of the way and took the next one from the amazed Curtis.

“What is that?,” asked Adele. She looked at the jug. “Is that gold?”

Wyndham dumped the rest of the cylinders into jugs. She wiped her hands against each other when she was done. She smiled at the sisters as she pushed a jug toward each one.

“That's my ten percent,” said Shanahan. “You're rich.”

“We can't take this,” said Molly. “You're living on the street. You need this more than we do.”

“You're my daughters, Kamallah,” said Shanahan. “This is my gift to you all. We have to get ready to go. I won't be around for a while but I'll see you when I get back. We'll have dinner, or something.”

“I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth,” said Curtis. He waved a hand at the four jugs of gold coins. “But this is a lot of gold.”

“Your kids will be in college soon,” said Shanahan. “That gold will fly out of your hands like that.”

“I can believe that,” said Curtis.

“Do you need help with this other job?,” asked Isri. “I have some equipment so I can go with you to take care of this.”

“We're good, Isri,” said Shanahan. “Take care of yourself. We have to go.”

“You better come back, you jarhead,” said Isri. “I mean that.”

“You four girls will always be the best of me,” said Shanahan. He waved for Wyndham to follow him. She held up a hand to tell him to wait until she finished her coffee. Shanahan glared at her.

That was enough time for the women to hug him, and give him remonstrances on his behavior. He took it with as much grace as he could.

“Don't worry,” said Wyndham. She circled the group. “We're just doing a simple excavation. Nothing risky will occur.”

They all gave her looks of disbelief.

“Thanks for the coffee,” said Wyndham. “It was a pleasure meeting you all.”

“Curtis and I can back you up,” said Isri. “We're still good with pistols.”

“We got it,” said Shanahan. “Don't spend all that gold in one place. People will freak out.”

“Call us as soon as you get back,” said Molly. “I don't want to find out something happened to you from the police.”

“Yes, Mother,” said Shanahan. He kissed her forehead. “You'll be the first one I call.”

“I'm not kidding,” said Molly. “I will kick your butt if you don't.”

She raised a fist and shook it at him.

Shanahan went to the door. Wyndham had already stepped outside and was halfway to the rental on the curb. He looked at the women and the big goof of a son-in-law. He smiled at them. He stepped out on the porch and closed the door.

He walked toward the rental, buried in his army jacket. They were going to wonder where the gold came from, and how he got it. He couldn't help that. The best thing he could do was keep them out of his dealings with the other world.

Grandview would love hostages to his behavior. It was a common thing, and he didn't expect the weapon master to be any different. That would be asking for a lot more than he would allow his expectations to give him.

“They seem concerned about you,” said Wyndham when he had settled in the passenger seat.

“I'll be fine,” said Shanahan. He closed his eyes. “Are you ready to deal with this thing?”

“I think so,” said Wyndham. “I arranged for a leave. The gear we bought is in the trunk. My apartment is paid up until next year. All I have to do is drop the rental and we can cross over from their parking lot.”

“I'm ready too,” said Shanahan. “Let's get started before I change my mind and run for it.”

Wyndham smiled as she pulled from the curb.