A Money Wrench

If you're just joining this series, you may want to start on chapter 1. It is a slow start, but a lot of stuff has happened. I wouldn't want you to miss out on the excitement. If you want just the thumbnail: Big Rock heading to Earth. Government builds bunkers to hide people in, but enforces polygamy, to get a baby boom after people hide. Then says 'oopsie, that's too many' and dangerous things happen.

Welcome back continuing readers! We have some new story building going on as Kevin and his family get ready to enter the Bunker. Kevin has a lot of stuff to navigate before his family is safe. Here, we have another step along the way.

I would like to say thank you to each of you following me on this journey. A special thanks to Masakari / BirchesLoveBooks for his support and editing. In fact, all the guys in the QT Writer's Room have thrown their help into this, my own creation outside the Quaranteam universe, and I really appreciate their support, and yours. I hope it shows.

******

Characters

Kevin Ansen

-- a community college physics professor selected by lottery to enter one of four government bunkers to ride out the impact of The Rock.

Jennifer Rodriguez

-- a former student of Kevin's; intended to major in Family Therapy, applies those interests to helping her new family, the first of Kevin's ladies to get pregnant

Sarah Moran

-- a fellow faculty member and friend of Kevin's for several years. Sarah and Kevin were both interested and failed to recognize the signs in each other.

Constance Worthington

-- a student at Simpson college, but never in Kevin's classes, learning canning and pickling techniques from a Mennonite friend and her mother.

Jessica Peters

-- widowed mother of three that agreed to serve as Kevin's slave to save her children. Also pregnant with Kevin's child.

Belinda Ansen

-- 16 year old daughter of Kevin Ansen

Leslie Roark

-- just barely eighteen, a friend of Belinda and her mentor in band.

Melissa Ballas

-- a former student of Kevin's from a prior semester, Kevin was surprised to learn she'd been flirting with him most of the semester.

Gabriela Fernandez

-- the realty agent that helped the Ansens select a new home for the growing family, denied her commission by the seller and her boss.

Melanie Nakamura

-- formerly partnered to Devon, a man Kevin killed in the melee. She had been a professor of reading techniques at a large university's teaching program.

Nicole Pharris

-- formerly partnered to Devon. She had been a local news anchor when Devon selected her.

Shaunice Yancy

-- 14yo old daughter of Devon, adopted by Nicole.

Levon Yancy

-- 7yo son of Devon, adopted by Nicole.

Eleanor Estrovich

-- 18yo surviving partner of one of the men who died in the crash. She came to Kevin to avoid her brother's suggestion she would have to partner with him in order to get in the Bunker.

Andrea Gadsen

-- 24yo Instagram model. Chose Kevin because she's always been 'a winner's girl.'

Destiny Rawlings

-- 41yo former chemistry teacher who physically matches Kevin's described preferences more closely than any woman in his family.

******

Ch 11 -- A Monkey Wrench

The zoom call with the other educators had gone well. Though it did carry a curveball. A few of them previously attended my seminars on education restructuring. The English, art, and music teachers were delighted to hear about my advocacy for their subjects as necessary for developing solid STEM students. And, thereby, good critical thinkers in general. As a result, I was elected by the group to be the spokesperson and chair of the working group. We had no boundaries given on how we organized education in the bunker, so we had a wide-ranging brainstorming session that ended with a lot of food for thought that we would all do additional work on before the next meeting.

I did at least get the whole group broken into sub committees. Some were by subject and some were focused on advancement expectations. The only thing we were sure on was no more social promotion. Each student had to demonstrate competency in each subject in order to advance.

Sarah was sitting beside me the entre meeting, taking notes. She declared before hand she would be useful for the education process in some way. She was practically vibrating with joy when the group selected me to lead them. As soon as the call ended, she jumped me. Fortunately, we were in an upstairs room converted for an office space. And the kids were outside playing. It's pretty awesome when the guy you want to be is the guy that gets your lady's engine revved to the redline.

That had been a few days ago. Now I lay stretched out on the couch, well, one of the couches, reading a rough outline plan by the math professors and the math education professionals on retraining for the early childhood educators. Those of us that taught math intensive subjects wanted to put an end to students learning math from people who themselves did not understand it - and hated it. This was one generational curse whose time was up.

Well, that was the idea anyway. We were probably not the first to attack this problem, but we were going to give it a go. It truly saddened me every time I'd work a problem at the board with my physics students -- not my gen ed guys -- folks that were bound for engineering schools or medical professions, and they'd sit there amazed as I approximated the answer in my head about as fast as they could work it on their calculator. They should have been taught the same tricks I had been given long ago. But they weren't. Somebody just gave up on them. These were smart kids. If they'd only been given the challenge, they could have risen to it. But no one ever bothered to try. I and some of the others who learned similar techniques already made those recommendations for the math subject matter group. We were going to start training brains again, not just button pushing.

While I was stewing, and reminding myself of the opportunity we had, Jessica came in. She had a few cleaning supplies in a carrier, and went about wiping surfaces and looking for loose bits of trash. All the while, she was humming and occasionally singing. I set aside the outline to watch. Jess always gave me a sense of joy. Of peace.

It didn't take her long to notice the attention. She stepped lively, practically dancing to the couch I was on, and extended a hand. I took it and rose at her suggestion. With an enormous grin, she turned her back to me cozied up and writhed against me and sang out loud.

"...your love is surprising, I can feel it rising, all the joy that's growing, deep inside of me..."

Shocked, I grabbed her and turned her to face me. "Did you just make a worship song erotic?!"

She pulled her earpods out. "I am a devout Christian woman in love with her master. Worship and horny get tangled up together." She delivered the last part with a wink.

My mouth gaped open. And frankly, I was a little afraid. This could go very badly.

"Whoa, Jessica. That's ... that's not okay."

She laughed and gave me a quick kiss. "The objects thereof are not getting confused my love. But the acts are ... joined. Sometimes."

The uneasy feeling wasn't yet mollified. "Jess, this is very dangerous territory."

She fixed me with a steady, no nonsense gaze. "I know exactly who's who. I have no difficulty keeping that separate. The BA may think they have bound me, subjugated me. But in my heart, I am free. I am free because of God. I am free because of you. I am happy where I am. I embrace the life I have, and who I have it with." She laid her head on my chest. "I told you before, your love is amazing. I meant it then, and I mean it now. I know you struggle with your duties and expectations. I just want you to understand how happy and fulfilled I am, sharing this life with you." She looked up at me as she spoke the last few sentences. "Every time you touch me, I feel love. Whether you're tender or rough, I know ... I know I am safe with you. If you shoved your dick down my throat and kept it there, blocking me from breathing ... even as my vision greyed and I passed out, I would still trust you."

I held her close, too overcome by emotion and responsibility to respond verbally.

She locked eyes with me again. "That's exactly why we are all safe with you. I've distracted you from your work, though. And given your reaction, I'm not really the one to help you settle. I'll discretely nudge one of the others this way."

After receiving a kiss on her forehead, she slipped out of the room. I took a seat on the couch again, without reclining. A few minutes later, Ellie slipped in, a broad grin on her face. She said nothing, just sat beside me, curled up close, laying her head against my shoulder. She was young, but insightful. I didn't need anything sexual, just the comfort of a woman held close.

It was working too. When Leslie came in shortly thereafter, I was feeling almost steady.

"Ooo, snuggle party? or something more? Can I join in?"

"Snuggling," Ellie said gently. "You are welcome to join us."

Leslie happily burrowed in on my other side. "This is nice."

"MMmm-hmm" Ellie replied.

"So Jess decided to send two of you?" I asked.

"What's Jessica have to do with this?" Leslie responded.

"She asked me to come spend time with master. She said he was a bit unsettled and could use some comfort."

"Oh. Well, I'm here for a different reason. I found something that you'll want to know. And, since this is your favorite place to sit and think, I started here." With that, she handed over a sheaf of paper. Phone logs. Paperclipped together in groups. Oh, each group was one number. I vaguely recognized a few numbers as belonging to women in my house. Every record showed one or more incoming calls from the same number.

The last set of logs showed an unfamiliar number with incoming and outgoing calls to the number that had called Jessica, Destiny, and the others. The number on this set was a local number, so it was someone in town. Or at least close to town. When I got to the end of the log, Leslie's handwritten note identified the number as Garfield's cell phone. And the common number showing up in all the records belonged to Frank Halverson. The last page, loose from the rest was from the BA website. It identified some of the low and middle level administrators for the Authority. Above the name Frank Halverson was a headshot of the jackass that insisted on watching me fuck Nicole and Melanie that first night.

******

Good thing Leslie found that information. A few days later I received an Order to Appear from the office of Major General Keith Foxlin. The general was in the high level of executives in the BA hierarchy, just a few levels below the BA council. Not sure why a military guy was the one calling me in. The order indicated I may be subject to disciplinary action, but gave no specifics.

The discussion as I prepped to leave was heated and left none of us happy.

"I'm going alone. If it's as bad as I think, I don't want any of you within easy reach. I want all of you safe here. If they take me into custody, at least I won't have to worry about what they're doing to you."

"Having me or Gabriela on hand to argue your case could stave off a negative outcome Kevin. We know about contracts! Let us help!" Sarah was scared and angry and it was showing. It was taking everything she had to not cry. Jenn, standing partially behind her and to the side was barely holding back tears. All of the ladies looked worried, and none to a small degree. Jessica already hustled the kids upstairs, taking Ellie with her for 'help'. God Bless that woman.

"There aren't any complicated contract rules to weed through, Sarah. I'm going in to show I have been in compliance with the letter of the rules. I have Leslie's ace in the hole as a backup."

"You don't even know if the Standards Act is why they are bringing you in!" Sarah shouted.

"Hell, it hasn't passed yet has it?" Gabby observed.

"So you need someone that can argue a case with no notice."

"Yeah, and you've never seen me do that, have you?" I replied, dripping with sarcasm.

"I've seen you succeed in impromptu arguments on topics you've studied for years." She replied with narrowed eyes.

"I've spent fifty years studying assholes and abusive government structures."

That was enough to get a smirk from Gabby and snorts from Andrea and Destiny. Sarah ... was not amused.

"I am going with you."

I walked up close, resting my hands gently against her sides. "I may be going into the lion's den here. You are carrying our child, Sarah. One of three new children in this novel life we are building. I cannot focus on what I need to do if you are in danger, at my side. I need you to stay here, safe, surround by people that will defend you and take care of you."

Sarah collapsed against me, crying, but not sobbing. I held her, saying nothing more. I knew what I'd said had gotten through, and anything added at this point would get her back up. After several minutes, she stepped back and locked eyes with me.

"You should take Gabby and Leslie. Gabby for the contract skills and Leslie because it was her ferreting that found the records. She may need to explain it, or verify it."

I was opening my mouth to object when Nicole spoke. "She has a point, sir. In this world they are building, you present a better image if you have an entourage. The hotter the better. For that reason it might be a good idea to take Andrea and Connie as well."

Connie blushed and tried to shrink back into the wall she was standing against.

"No. I'd rather not take anyone. But," I added, to stave off a wave of objections, "if Gabby and Leslie are willing, I will take them with me."

Gabby nodded, as did Leslie. Both had thoughtful looks on their faces.

"Well then, you two had better pack, and fast. It's a ten hour drive to get to the office I have to report to and my appointment is set for nine-thirty tomorrow morning. Wheels up in thirty minutes, we'll grab lunch on the road, and maybe dinner too. It'll be late by the time we get there."

"Have you reserved a room yet?" Sarah asked.

"No, not yet."

"We'll find you one close and send you the details."

"Please get something that has an included breakfast, or an IHOP or Waffle House close by."

My coppery haired companion smirked. "Sure. I'll make sure you have a warm, satisfying breakfast before you face whatever it is you'll have to deal with."

******

Lunch was drive thru from a place just off the highway, about an hour and a half down the road from the house. The trip was mostly spent in silence. Leslie spent a lot of time texting, likely with other members of the family back at the house. Gabby texted a bit as well, though most of the time she was on her phone, Leslie was as well. Based on the timing, I think they were texting each other.

We had a few light conversations. Nothing significant, just light housekeeping family talk or sharing of old memories. Mostly Gabby spent time staring out the window, or scrolling through her e-reader. She'd downloaded the Lottery rules, SOBA, and every other missive issued by the Bunker Authority. Boning up, getting ready for the confrontation ahead. She spent about an hour reading sections of documents off and then drilling me on them.

I manage to knock a full hour off our drive time, even with a full stop for a sit down meal at dinner. Hell, I owed them that at a bare minimum. They were taking a risk coming with me. It was still late by the time we checked in and trooped up to our room. Even at that late hour, my mind was still abuzz with possibilities and concerns. Leslie immediately gave me something else to think about. After a vigorous hour that included her sitting on my lap on the chair (with the two of us nude and joined), missionary, cowgirl, and finally spooning, I feel asleep exhausted.

Gabby slept on the other bed, crashing before Leslie and I. She woke me gently, early enough to get downstairs for breakfast. We invited Leslie, but she elected to get another half hour of sleep. We took our time (and I got seconds), so it was forty-five minutes before we returned to the room. We rousted Leslie and I hopped in the shower. A few minutes later, Gabriela joined me. Her rich brown eyes and the naughty grin below were promising. After several minutes of groping each other's wet body, she wrapped a leg around me and I slipped into her warm, inviting passage. She groaned as I thrust and reached her climax shortly before my own.

Which brings us to nine-thirty, sitting just outside the office of MG Foxlin. The mid-twenties secretary was, unsurprisingly, one of Foxlin's partners. She seemed completely competent. Then again, I think the long, wavy, naturally golden blonde hair that fell halfway to her ass and the breasts that could float a tank may have something to do with her getting chosen. Just a little. Leslie and Gabby both noticed me noticing, and studiously looking away. Leslie looked slightly cross, but at the same time entertained by my attempts to hide my notice. Gabby just leaned in and whispered "It's okay to like the look of other women, Kevin."

"With twelve women in my family? All of whom are attractive? I actually was not prepared to respond like that to someone else." I rolled my eyes. "Feels kinda greedy ya know?"

Gabby chuckled. "If you didn't respond to her, I'd be worried."

"Thank you dear. I needed that."

Her only reply was a knowing smile.

Then the secretary's phone intercom buzzed, calling for me. Alone. At least I still had the papers detailing Leslie's efforts with me.

Halverson was standing to one side in the general's office, a smug, feral grin on his face.

"Sit down, Mr. Ansen," the general said as he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. "Frank here has a list of grievances to be aired. Once he's gone through all of them, you may reply."

"Sir, I bring to your attention the following infractions by one Kevin Ansen." Frank began in a voice more officious and oily than the night he 'observed' me with Kiki and Melanie. I started taking notes in short order.

Charge one -- 'insufficient ardor' for the caste system -- my refusal to choose a third partner from among the melee widows.

Charge two -- unnecessarily delaying the 'transfer' process. This stemmed from waiting to take Nicole and Melanie to my bed, to facilitate the adoption of Shaunice and Levon.

Charge three -- 'disrespecting' a BA official in the performance of his duties. Specifically, my refusal to let Frank directly view my first time with Kiki and Melanie.

Charge four -- a second charge of 'insufficient ardor' when I refused to choose eight women for myself from among the race widows.

Charge five -- disparagement of BA officials. This was from my 'sniveling assholes' comment in front of the race survivors, their families, and race widows.

Charge six -- moral failure in the exercise of pro tempore power, because I allowed the racers and widows to choose each other rather than making assignments on my own.

Charge seven -- misuse of BA provided weaponry in the execution of two local citizens. Oh, I was so glad he included that one.

Charge eight -- persistent failure to exercise authority over tier six women, namely, that I didn't use my women sexually in every imaginable way.

"In light of these gross deficiencies, I ask that the violator be stripped of his privileges as a Bunker resident, and the women that have the misfortune of being tied to him be reassigned to men meeting the character expected of one privileged to be a part of our society." Frank took his seat with a smug smile. The gleam in his eyes suggested not only was he sure of his victory, he expected to have his pick of the women in my family.