Dammen stood alone in the middle of the street, hands on hips, staring with indecision at the Tompkins" home. A white, two-story brick-and-wood house that seemed typical to the area. He could hear the sound of children"s laughter from the back yard and knew a lot of people were there, if one considered the many cars lined up in front of the house and all the way down both sides of the street. It was a warm, sunny day, slightly breezy, with a blue sky dotted with a few puffy white clouds and some geoengineered chemical trails.

He glanced around. Apparently no one else in the neighborhood had noticed him...