I had my own computer. I had it with me. It was a kid's computer, though, I guess that much different from every kid's schoolcomp these days except it was heavier and easier to break. The "safeguards" to keep us little ones from the really good stuff were a snap for Big Al to get past (or even non-computer-geniuses) but Al, of course, had brought her own computer, a prototype which made my Dad drool a bit when he saw it.
Anyway, the weather for Thursday was more rain, and I hung out with Al surfing the web. I was getting pretty curious about Reverend Swainson by then, and I asked Alcyone Umino. The Big Al version of the Reverend's story went like this:
"Johnny Boy started making trouble for us last year. Auntie Mako had to go back to Japan to keep Philip and Tammy. So then Johnny Boy sent his flock to smother us. Pickets outside our house every day, and his born-again people went after us in school . Plus he pulled strings to tie up our money. Not just Auntie Mako's, all of us. He actually got a probate judge to block Dad's estate! And he sent Betty to spy on us."
"Jeez," was all I could say.
"Well, that was a big mistake. I think you can figure out why."
"Yeah. She really hates him. Why?"
"Lots of reasons, I guess," said Alcyone, sounding a little vague--not like the Big Al I had got to know by then, or later.
"So what's he like? I mean, does he have women, stuff like that?"
"Well," she said, drawing out the word into a preamble, "Women, no. Maybe he's sleeping with his housekeeper; that's all. He makes a lot of money, of course, and he has to be hiding a lot of it, but any rich guy with brains does that, even Dad a little. He doesn't live rich. What he wants is to run things, maybe even be President. He runs a lot of stuff already, and he has gotten to a lot of people you would never guess. The President will do just about anything Auntie Usagi thinks needs to be done, but she hasn't helped us that much with Johnny Boy. She can't. He's just too big now. And too smart, and too f--too lucky, so far."
"How does he know about you guys? I mean, how much?"
"A lot. Not everything, but it's pretty clear he's figured out some of us are bishoujo senshi." Al started surfing again at high speed and showed me some things about Swainson and his family. "This is George, Betty's bro. He flies planes in the Navy. Probably he's a normal--no powers, I mean--or the Rev would have made something else out of him. Nice guy, from what Betty tells us . . . Here's Betty all made up."
"She looks about twelve!"
"That's from like a year ago, just a few months before Johnny Boy sent her to us. B.S. for her Dad's people, of course . . . Hey, here's some of the Christmas video! Look, there's Sarah and Lilly and Lil and Mim . . . Kinda spooky how much Lily looks like Betty, isn't it? They didn't get that nose from Mamoru."
"Mamoru?" I asked. "But Betty is--"
I didn't get to finish my question because Al had moved on. "Hmmm. This is interesting. What's the name of your mom's boyfriend? Fortescu?"
"Yes," I said, and she highlighted the name on the screen. "Johnny Boy is pretty damn smart, like I said, and I usually can't hack him. But his Atlanta house has some stuff that uses programs pirated from Mercurius, and the pirates put the back door in along with the stuff they stole. And so I can get a little stuff from Atlanta. Johnny Boy was there last week, and guess who else was? This is Johnny Boy's appointment book."
"Do you think it was about you?"
"I can pretty much guarantee it."
"Why don't you just take care of him?" I said.
"What, kill Johnny Boy? We're the good guys!"
"No, I mean, tell him to lay off or you'll turn him into a frog or something."
"Maybe a badger?" Alcyone chuckled, but got more serious after. "It's not that easy."
"Why? He doesn't have magic."
"Not magic magic like Mom, but he has powers. He can read minds like Betty. And he's a precog, he can see into the future sometimes. And he has a lot of ways to get back at us, and has to have at least one lawyer we don't know about who has instructions 'In the event of my death or disappearance.' And even more stuff, probably." Alcyone sighed. "And he's Betty's dad. Family counts, even creepy family."
(More to come)