After the mainstream media reports about Justin and Paul began to go away, in part because no reporter could locate either of them for a follow-up interview, many people thought the issue they raised might disappear from the public radar.

Agorist Underground supporters reported that interest in the AU skyrocketed as a result of the broadcast. The increased interest pushed TST resources to the limit as they attempted to keep up with all the new applications for security assistance, despite the short-term suspension of their operations in New York. New forums began popping up all over the Internet talking about the banking and finance issue from this new perspective, and many forums suddenly found themselves getting huge new increases in visitor numbers.

One morning Janice popped by to say hello to everyone and to tell them an interesting story. Directing her comments to Justin, she said, “An old friend of yours showed up today. Nevio Roone finally succeeded in getting the owners of the server through which you and your uncle conversed in your video conference call to do some extensive searching in their logs, and he finally located the address of the old safe house we abandoned.”

“He is no friend of mine!” Justin said with disgust.

“I know, I know” Janice assured him with a smile. “Roone showed up with a small team and found the now empty facility. We had a surveillance team watching for anything like this, and within minutes we captured his team. We took the opportunity to demand that he pay for the damage caused by the team that tried to attack you and Paul.”

“And?”

“He came around to our way of thinking when we threatened to file arbitration charges against him the way his henchmen got charged last week. He already knew about it, and once we impressed upon him that we intended to file similar charges against his team for breaking-and-entering, he backed down. He even agreed to get Hanover-Rush to pay his thugs' judgment fees to get them released!

“After the bank made restitution through the Agorist Arbitration Association, TST released Roone and his two compatriots, along with Donahue's team, from one of TST's unmarked vans near Wall Street. Then the van disappeared around a corner.”

“What happened to that poor TST guard they mugged? What was his name? Parker?” Paul asked.

“He got lucky. Fortunately, the concussion led to no long-term medical issues or complications. Frankly, he is lucky to be alive.”

“He'll make a full recovery then?” Paul asked again.

“He already has. The medical team released him a week ago.”

The following weekend, the AU got a surprise report. Apparently, Roone got drunk that Saturday night and started weaving his way up the Hutchinson State Parkway. Just past midnight, his car missed a turn and slammed into a lamp post. He died on impact. The state police reported he had a blood alcohol level of 1.2%.

With Roone's death, David Knight found he needed a new chief of security. After consulting with an advisor, he called in Haven Donahue. When the man arrived, one look at him convinced David to hire him. He looked the part of a tough security man, and his credentials spoke volumes. The interview lasted no more than two minutes before Donahue got the job offer. David didn't even ask him why the operation to kill Justin and Paul failed, figuring it had been Roone's fault.

The lawsuits Tom Robinson filed on Justin's behalf in federal and state courts got nowhere, and neither did the counter suits filed by the bank. The courts ended up throwing all of them out. David Knight never bothered to file defamation suits against anyone.

The government acted surprisingly uninterested in pursuing their cases against Justin and Paul. Speculation and rumor suggested that perhaps the government's pullback happened by design, because the powers-that-were preferred to have the whole thing fall off the public radar rather than continue to stir things up that might make people continue to ponder what Justin and Paul told the nation that night.

Unfortunately for the government, they didn't take into account Internet activity, which soared. Spontaneous rallies sprouted in cities across the country protesting Fed policies. After the initial legal problems with the New York rally, organizers learned their lesson and made sure they got the appropriate paperwork and permits before they held their demonstrations.

Two weeks after the presidential election, grassroots organizers scheduled a nationwide rally on December 16^th, the 235^th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Hundreds of thousands of people showed up for rallies across the country, and over a half-million people marched on the National Mall in Washington D,C. Petition campaigns and congressional calling trees organized spontaneously all over the place to deluge U.S. senators and congressional representatives.

WNN's broadcast continued to rank as the most popular download on Woohoo! video for the next few months. Editors of all the small newspapers in America found themselves overwhelmed by letters condemning the Federal Reserve system and fiat money, as well as legalized fraud. So did most of the larger newspapers as well. Some letter writers made fun of the “conspiracy theorists,” but surprisingly this view didn't get as much play as it might have in past years.

Meanwhile, Justin and Paul managed to buy some land in a very remote section of Montana, under fictitious names with the assistance of some new AU friends in that area. With TST assistance, they secretly moved out of New York and headed west where they planned to live their new lives. The area they moved to proved so remote that Michaela despaired that she would have no friends at all her own age. Fortunately for her, she met a young teenage boy who lived on a nearby ranch, and he took her horseback riding on occasion. This budding romance concerned Justin a bit, but Lizzie assured him that they raised his daughter right, saying that despite her good looks, Michaela had too much self-confidence and good sense to get into any real trouble.

Justin and Paul did most of their building of the First Agorist Bank from afar after moving west. The two of them gave all the orders remotely from their Montana hideaway. They put together a solid team who did all the hard work. Justin found out quickly that Paul exaggerated when he talked about Justin joining his board of directors. It turned out that only two directors comprised the board, Paul and Justin. This suited Justin. Early indications promised he would have more fun growing this new bank than anything he ever did at Hanover-Rush.

Lizzie ended up publishing her doctoral thesis on the Internet, again with TST help to make it impossible for anyone to find out how to locate her. Her thesis became one of the most popular downloads on the Internet, once people realized who she was in relation to Justin. Their relationship grew every day. They both enjoyed the thrill of the new, romantic aspect of their relationship. Still, they hadn't consummated anything, and it began to worry Lizzie whether Justin was really serious or just teasing her. She doubted that he would consider the latter, yet the lack of definite progress shook her confidence a bit. She decided to not let it bother her and to prepare herself for the possibility that he wasn't all that interested after all.

One evening after another one of Mrs. Pomfrey's delicious dinners, Justin, Michaela, Lizzie, Paul, and Lenore sat in the great room talking about their day and relaxing. To everyone's surprise, Janice, Catherine, and AJ had showed up for a quick visit, and it turned into a party.

Mrs. Pomfrey served dessert to one and all, and Justin said, “Delicious as usual, Mrs. Pomfrey.”

Michaela piped up, “Aw, Dad, you always say that every night!”

Justin smiled back at his only daughter and said, “I say it... “

“...because it is true every night!” echoed everyone assembled, and they all laughed while Justin blushed sheepishly.

“Well, it IS true,” he protested. “Mrs. Pomfrey, why not pull up a chair and join us for a change? After all, you are also a part of the family.”

“Thank you, sir, but I've got the washing up to do,” she said, but Michaela stopped her.

“Oh, come on, Mrs. P! Please?” she begged.

“Sure, Michaela can help you with the cleanup afterward,” Justin added with a smile.

“WHAT?” Michaela shouted at her father, scandalized.

“It's about time you learned to pull your own weight, young lady. Perhaps past time,” Justin declared authoritatively. Michaela merely responded by pouting.

Mrs. Pomfrey watched the exchange with amusement before she replied, “Don't mind if I do!” Whereupon she untied her apron and tossed it aside, accepting a piece of her own apple cobbler, to a chorus of approval.

Despite the recent revelation about her true role at their old Long Island estate, it seemed to Justin that nothing really had changed, apart from the fact that they now lived 2,500 miles away or thereabouts and that their cook sometimes walked guard duty on the edge of the property, her 12-gauge dangling at her side.

Earlier, Janice and AJ brought everyone up to date about the progress of the latest TST underground city being built in Dallas. Paul and Justin pressed them for any news they might have regarding how well the “ban legalized fraud!” campaign had taken hold, but now that apple cobbler plates sat in front of everyone in various states of consumption, Lizzie enforced her new rule about no serious discussions over dessert. It was the only time during the day when she managed to keep the outside world out, and she relished it.

Having finished his cobbler, Justin stood up, a brandy snifter in his hand, and said, “Friends, may I have your attention please?” They quieted down and turned their heads to listen to him.

“I want to say how glad I am to have our 'extended family' here together under the same roof tonight.” He gestured with his glass at Janice, Catherine, and AJ, drawing scattered applause, a “hear, hear,” and a few whoops. “You three do not visit us often enough, so we may not let you go this time!

“However,” he continued as the others laughed; AJ and Janice grinned, and Catherine merely displayed embarrassment, “I also have something else I want to say, something I meant to say for some time now.”

He had their full attention now. He put the glass down and walked over to where Lizzie sat nursing a drink. Then he knelt down by her chair. Her eyes went wide as he did this, and she turned a little pink in the cheeks. She, too, put down her drink.

“I am a little out of practice with this sort of thing, so bear with me. After Amanda died, I never thought I would marry again. Of course, I never thought I would leave our Long Island estate, either!”

The others chuckled at this.

“A lot has changed. and I think it is time to make another change. I have discussed this with my daughter, and she approves.”

He glanced over at Michaela who grinned widely now, and she nodded back at him enthusiastically.

He turned back to Lizzie. “You have made an incredible, indelible impact on my life. Both my daughter and I literally would not be here today if not for you. But even more, you gave me something else, something totally unexpected. You healed my heart. The loss of Amanda is now just a memory, and I think she would approve, given the fact that you were her best friend. I love you more than words can say. I love you from the depths of my soul.”

Lizzie's eyes glistened. “Lizzie, will you please do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

As tears of joy flowed out, she gave a big smile. She threw her arms open and shouted to the rooftops:

“YES!”