Storiesonline.net ------- Always Finding Trouble by Dual Writer Copyright© 2009 by Dual Writer ------- Description: Chuck Johnson. his "Job Hunt" over, is now a Deputy U.S. Marshal. His life is pretty complete with his six foot seven, three hundred fifty pound girl friend and a good life. He keeps finding trouble though but battles back against the bad guys. See how he handles several tough jobs without a lot of bloodshed but it can't last. Chuck and friends meet a lot of people you know that live in the area. (Some chapters have more sexy scenes than would be considered "some sex.") Codes: MF ------- ------- A U.S. Deputy Marshal story ------- Cast of Characters One of my editors, who extremely bashful and doesn't wish to be credited has too much time on his hands has written a compilation of characters He writes: It was brought to the authors (my) attention there are too many characters to remember who they are and who belongs to whom. I've (the bashful proofer) been a huge fan of the series since I found it. I've been in contact with the author (me) and with his blessing and encouragement; I am working on what I consider to be the definitive index of all the characters within the series. This list contains the name of nearly every character in the story Always Finding Trouble and Job Hunt and some Vacation folks who begin to show up with Chuck, from the smallest part, to the main characters. If a name is mentioned, they are listed here unless the name was simply mentioned in passing and they do not actually appear in one of the stories, or their part is one time and not really relevant to be listed here. The list is in the approximate order of appearance, and is not in order of importance Charles "Chuck" Johnson -The Main character within the Job Hunt stories. He is medically retired from the Marine Special Forces after losing his right leg just below the knee in Iraq. He becomes a U.S. Deputy Marshal who haa a rapid rise within the ranks to become an overseer of all of the offices. He has been used in countless difficult captures and investigations. He has a part time position with the Secret Service organizing and leading various covert and dangerous law enforcement activities. Chuck is an undiscovered musical talent and a very accomplished pilot. He is also clairvoyant and extremely lucky in most of his ventures and adventures. Finally he becomes a partner with Steve and Dewey in a number of their business investments. He has also acquired a nickname with in the Marshals service, "Wild Bill". This is referencing his shooting ability and the wild west atmosphere of his initial time in the Marshals service. Jonah - Owner of the bar Shirley has taken Chuck to. A side note for all the readers. This is the same bar mentioned in Vacation. Big Jim has sold out to Jonah. Millie - Jonah's wife, a real amazon of a woman. Metarie White - Supervisor at the employment office who hires Chuck to work in the office. Tiani - Works at the employment office and is a member of the "Fab Five". Judy - Works at the employment office and is a member of the "Fab Five". Brandy - Works at the employment office and is a member of the "Fab Five". Nancy - Works at the employment office and is a member of the "Fab Five". Frieda - Works at the employment office and is a member of the "Fab Five". The Fab Five - Also known to Chuck as the Fickle Five, Fantastic Five, Funny Five, Fruity Five, and Freaky Five. Howard Smith - Station Chief of the Tampa office of the U.S. Marshalls service. Sarah - Office secretart of the U.s. Marshall's office in Tampa ... She also happens to be the ACE or assistant station chief. Jan - Jan an FBI agent in the Tampa office soon to become a senior agent and Assistant Bureau Chief. Roberta Angel Smith - Bobbie is a deputy Marshall with the Tampa office, the widow of a deputy killed in the line of duty. Acts in the capacity of Safe One as the person in charge of the Tampa office safe house. John Scott - A major in the U.S. Marshals service, based in Washington D.C. He is essentially over all the U.S. Marshal offices in the U.S. He is also a former special forces Marine who understands Chuck better then most. Dave - A former Marine Special Forces TI (Training Instructor). He is also an old boyfriend of Sarahs. After being undercover for the FBI for 3 years, he transfers to the U.S. Marshalls service at Chuck's insistence. Tom Parks - Star of the story and an inveterate nudist and an architect who rises quickly within the company he works for. Zena Harper - is the neice of the owner of the company that Tom Parks works for as well as a neighbor of his sister Dana ... Zena approaches Tom about going out to the park with him. States she is a confirmed lesbian. Margaret - Zena's room mate, another lesbian. Joan - Zena's roommate, an undecided lesbian. Betsy - Another room mate of Zena's and also a lesbian. Uncle Bert - Zena's uncle and owner of the company where Tom and Zena work. Gerald and June Smithing - More members at the nudist park, and also swingers. Ms. Veronica Highsmith - One very strange lady. Highsmith is her maiden name and her married name was Cohen, but her husband is deceased. She is ultra wealthy and very kinky and strange. Georgia Scuggliomenio - Owner/Operator of a Scilian style pizza place near the nudist park. Shannon - A bartender at the Office, now out of work because it is being sold. Jack - Deputy Marshal from Orlando involved in a transport. David - Deputy Marshal from Orlando involved in a transport. Forest Harding - Replaces Howard as the Tampa U.S. Marshals office station Chief. As will soon become apparent, all is not right with Forest. Chad Hillock - The chief deputy that backs John Scott up... The State Department Team - Arrive in Tampa to inquire into Chuck's actions during a terrorist incident aboard a plane. The State Department Team Leader - Dis-believes Chuck's account and threatens to have him fired. They adjourn to the gym for a little one on one discussion. FBI Team Leader - Leader of the team investigation of doctored transcripts used by judges in deciding appeals. Dismisses Chuck's findings and asks for Chuck to be removed from the investigation. Lawton Monroe - A forty year Federal Judge, assisting Chuck in the investigation of doctored transcripts used by judges in deciding appeals. Charlotte - A witness being transported into witness protection. Ben Adams - Officer in charge of the Jacksonville Customs Office. Gus Manning - Officer in the Jacksonville ATF office. Colonel Nelson - The local reserve commander of the troops called in for an escapee apprehension along with the search of a ship. Maxine & Ted - Bobby's parent. Lena - Bobby's sister. Tina - Bobby's sister. Later called "Big Tina". Michele - Bobby's sister. Henry - Bobby's brother. Donny - Bobby's brother. Brenda - Wife of Henry, nicknamed Binky. Tabatha - Wife of Donny, nicknamed Tinker. Frank Manchetti - An Anerican who sold "secrets" to another government (an ally no less.), however he was suspected of spying and the information was faulty. Now the other government is VERY unhappy with him. Howard Sachs - The name that Frank Manchetti is re-located under. Sarg - An older Deputy U.S. Marshal mainly doing Air Marshal duty. Joe Moran - Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Tampa Marshal's office. Agent Parmour - Assigned to the Tampa FBI office. Jenkins - An agent in the Tampa FBI office and a computer wizard. Donald J. Maguire - The true identity of Forest Harding. Ken Harris - A senior Investigator for the U.S. Marshal service primarily doing background checks on Deputies. Resort Manager - Assists Chuck in setting up the seminar for all the Marshal and FBI bigwigs from D.C. to A.) Brief them on the problem and B.) Get them out of D.C. and everyone's hair. Kenisha Scott - The wife of John Scott, D.C. Deputy Marshal in charge of all U.S. Marshal offices. Manning Winters - Member of the U.S. Marshals service who is dirty and had been involved with Forest Harding in placing moles in the Marshals service and the FBI. U.S. Marshal – One of John's Bosses and the most senior U.S. Marshal, who it seems came up through the ranks. Mary Ann - John's office manager and right hand person whom he relies greatly upon. John Dawson - Assistant Station Chief of the Tampa FBI office who has been transferred out. This allows Jan to be made the Assistant Station Chief. Marie - Marie Antoinette to be exact is the new secretary for the U.S. Deputy Marshal's office in Tampa. Wanda Johnson - No relation to Chuck, Wanda is a Deputy Marshal from Buffalo, New York looking to transfer. She interviews and is hired as Chuck's office manager as he has assumed John's old position when John is promoted. Jack and Gina - Jack is a U.S. Deputy Marshal in the Tampa office, his wife is a teacher with a teaching certificate, but uses her time to provide foster care to abused girls. George Masters - The Buffalo station chief who is being demoted and transferred. He had a past affair with Wanda, dumped her, and generally messed up otherwise as well. Chuck devises a plan to make him happy with his transfer. Angelina Louisa Johnson - Angie is hired as one of two clerks to work in Chuck's new office. Lisa - A pilot with S&S air charters and eventually becomes involved with Chuck. She is also hiding a very big but good secret. Sandra - Clerk in the Buffalo U.S. Marshals office. Initially, she was terrified upon meeting Chuck. Becky - Another girl who along with Lisa live with Tom and Zena Parks in the naturist camp. Conish Matathena - Connie is hired as one of two clerks to work in Chuck's new office. Soon she will become an important witness for the services. Mathew Houston - Conish's estranged husband, a realtor turned to crime. Frank Harris - Station Chief of the Tampa FBI office. Bretnov - A Russian involved in organized crime and an assassin, very deadly and very dangerous. John Kensington - Property director for the U.S. Marshal's service. Randal Davidson - Assistant Station Chief (Ace) of the Dallas U.S. Marshal's office. Ben - The driver from the limo company assigned to drive Chuck around while he is in Dallas. Glenda - Retired clerk from the Dallas U.S. Marshal's office who has been asked to return to help out temporarily. Jean Davidson - Wife of Randal Davidson, helps him in the office. James Snider - An FBI agent in the Dallas office giving Jean Davison a lot of problems. Duane Adams - Station Chief of the Dallas FBI office. Howard Benning - New Starion Chief of the Dallas U.S. Marshal's office due to the death of the previous chief. Donny - Head ranger of the local Texas Rangers. Dick - Representative of the county court bailiffs in Dallas. Mysterious prisoner - John sends Chuck to pick up a prisoner in Canada, a very unusual move. Though never named, we must suspect he is a terrorist, or a member of the Russian mob... (Sneaky aren't I? Which it the true clue?). Maria - Housekeeper in Chuck's home. Chicago Union Team - Arrogant union leaders in Chicago who make one tiny mistake. Union Member – A worker in Chicago at Homeland Security. He makes a much larger mistake. Larry Wilson - U.S. Deputy Marshal in the Chicago Office. Team leader for the capture of escapee's in Chicago. Ed Landing - Station Chief of the Boise Idaho U.S. Marshal's office. Sam Wilson - Tampa FBI agent assigned to the case involving an attempt on Chuck's life. Ship's Captain - Captain of the ship in Savannah Georgia involved in an armed standoff. Station Chief - Station Chief of the U.S Marshal's office in Savannah Ga. Stewart Hamel - FAA examiner stationed at the Brooksville FL FAA office. He gives Chuck his initial pilot's exam. Hal Hogan - A deputy U.S. Marshal in the San Diego office. An older gentleman that is under used by the office which thinks they are doing him a favor. Chuck soon straightens their thinking out and Hal becomes a productive deputy once again. Homeland Security Chief - Station chief of the San Diego Homeland Security office. FBI Station chief - Station chief of the San Diego FBI office. U, S, Marshal station chief - Station chief of the San Diego U.S. Marshal's office. Major Selby - A commanding officer at the Camp Pendleton Mountain Warfare Training Center. Captain Harris - A marine from Camp Pendleton in command of a transport group. Deputy Bud Anderson - Deputy U.S. Marshal from the Amarillo office. Investigator Charleston - A CID officer at the military base in Lawton OK. Dan and Jane Carter - Brandy's parents. Don and Donna - Brandy's brother and sister, twins. Sioux Falls SD Ace - An ACE who feels it's fine to "work from home". Sioux Falls SD Sheriff - Father of the ACE, thinks he is GOD. Thomas Crowfoot - Deputy in the Sioux Falls SD office promoted to AcE. Station chief - U.S. Marshals office in Minneapolis, MN. Judge Manny Mankowski - Federal Judge in Minneapolis, MN. Wilma Mankowski - The judges wife. Robert Fisher - Station Chief of the Minneapolis, MN FBI office, has a real attitude in need of adjustment. Kathy Fisher - Wife of the FBI station Chief and bartender at the hotel he sends Chuck to. Mr. Thomas - In charge of the federal salvage yard in Minneapolis, MN. Jim Thomas – Jimmy, son of the salvage yard man, an out of work airplane mechanic. Is taken to Florida by Chuck where he is hired by Steve and John Truant. Don - Don owns and operates a Dojo in Tampa, and becomes the man in Jan from the FBI's life. The Band - Kenny, Guitar and leader of the band. Jimmy, Bass player. Jerry (Sticks), Drummer. Dan, keyboards. Fred, Lead Guitar. Carlos, Percussion, harmonica, vocals. Jack, sound and recording director. Barb, backup singer and wife of Kenny. Carolyn, backuo singer and piano player. Ramona, backup singer and wife of Carlos. The Director - The FBI director from D.C. Mrs. Atom - Mother of Nancy from the Fab Five. Sandy McCahill - Station Chief, Tulsa OK U.S. Marshal's service. Airman Franks - Phones in information on bomb locations gleaned from prisoners who were following McCahill. All three are on their way to Gitmo. Pops and Nancy - Pops is a musician and owner of a bar in Atlanta. He knew Lisa's father who was a musician as well, and is very good friends with Lisa. Nancy is his wife. Mama - Mama or Peaches (a nickname) is a black lady who owns a restaurant in Atlanta. Lisa's mother died when she was quite young. Though her father raised her, being a musician he was gone a lot and Mama was the woman who cared for and essentially raised Lisa till she was in her teens. Rags - Owner of another Atlanta bar and a musician as well. He and pops are friends and rivals of a sort. The Prisoners - Three prisoners in the sheriff's department jail. Chuck was arrested and placed in a cell with them by corrupt jailers. The Old Guard - Older guard in the sheriffs jail, first to observe how Chuck has protected himself. The Arrogant Guard - One of the ringleaders of the corrupt guards. Attempts to accomplish what the prisoners have not. Judge Randall - Federal Judge sent by John Scott to get Chuck out of jail. The MP's – Military Police from McDill Air Force base brought in to administer the jail by the Federal Judge. The Lawyers - Lawyers running around desperate to get Rocky and Bobby out of jail. The three stooges - Well, not the ones we all know and love ... Three cheap hoods hired to "dispose" of Chuck. James Monterro - A lawyer and money manager who is real scum ... involved with Rocky, does anything else need to be said?. Brian Tolan - U.S Marshals service Detroit Station Chief. Agent Corning - Duty agent in the Burlington, Vermont FBI office. Colonel Peters - Commander of a air transportation group at McDill Air Force Base. Dr. Jerry Morningside - Coast Guard Corpsman, Lake Champlain station. (The inland waterway in the U.S.A. with a Coast Guard station. New York Times Reporter #1 - Tries without success to interview Chuck. New York Times Reporter #2 - Second reporter to try and interview Chuck, gets arrested instead. Sheena - Sheila's sister, and a second wife to Dewey. William - Bill, Sheena's oldest child. Sharon - Sheila's second child. Shirley - Sheena's daughter with Dewey. Characters from Vacation 1 and 2 that are included in this story: Steven Gregory Sharp "Steve" - The first person and main character within Florida Friends. A medically retired Marine who came to Florida for a vacation. Owner and founder of S&S Enterprises. Is now a multi-millionaire. Donates to all sorts of charities. Martin and Glenda Nelson - Neighbors of Steve from the start, very important to Steve and become nearly like parents in a way. Glenda begins the morning coffee group with Steve by being the first to come over for morning coffee. Abe and Alice - Owners of the trailer Steve rents upon his arrival in Tampa. Abe begins to work with Steve repairing the commercial generators Steve acquired. This is partially the start of Steve's business. Kathy - The first woman in the trailer park that Steve meets and dates. Is also the mother of JJ (Jake Junior), Carl, Ben, and Barbara. The four children are hers and Jakes. Jake is her now deceased first husband. Jake was a marine killed in action on the first day of Desert Storm. Kathy leaves after the violence and unknowingly leaves pregnant with Steve's child. JJ - Kathy's son Jake Junior. Carl - Kathy's son. Ben - Kathy's son. Barb - Kathy's daughter. Star - A resident of the trailer park. Works as a dancer with DeeDee at the Mons Venus strip bar. Later becomes an employee of S&S. DeeDee - A resident of the trailer park. Works as a dancer with Star at the Mons Venus strip bar. Later becomes an employee of S&S. Charlie and Shawna - Neighbors in the trailer park, also both work at Tampa V-Twin. Of the two characters Shawna becomes more prominent as an employee of S&S. Hap - President of a local chapter of a national bike club. Becomes a very good friemd to Steve. Eventually retires as President of the club and becomes an employee of S&S employee. Tiny and Ruth - Neighbors of Steve in the park. Both eventually become management at S&S. Bear - Real name Barton Meyer. President of a national bike club affiliated with Haps club. Was also the counterpart leader in the other patrol that usually went out with Steve. Ben and Beth Phillips - Sue's mother and uncle who she discovered was her mom and dad. Ben is an attorney who has become a successful investor. Beth enjoys being a gradmother. Debbie and Hank Wilson - A special couple in a way. Turns out Debbie is Shawna's cousin and is in a relationship with her cousin Hank. Debbie joins S&S as Steve's assistant while Hank is hired as a painter. Samantha - A college student and part-time newspaper photographer. After meeting Steve and Sue while a reporter does a story on them, she joins the crew on the patio, and eventually moves to the park. Dewey - A resident of Friday Harbor near Seattle, he (at first) is a recluse with a drinking problem. It turns out that Dewey is very wealthy. He becomes almost like a brother to Steve, as well as a business partner. John Stevens - Brother of Dewey. Lives in Alaska and is a bush pilot, instuctor pilot, and wilderness guide. Mercy - A sweet magical lady from San Francisco who fell for both Sue and Steve. She is the daughter of Merlin and Missy. Merlin is a magician with a supper club where Mercy performed. She is very clairvoyant, a mind reader, has ESP, and mentally converses easily with others. Merlin and Missy - Merlin is a renowned magician with a dinner theater in San Francisco. Missy spends most of her time in Florida being a grandmother. John Truant - Retired military pilot as well as a retired lawyer. Sells his plane to Steve and Sue, then becomes their pilot for charters of the plane they have bought. Finally he becomes de facto head of the S&S air charter service division. Crystal Mendoza - Former trucker, soldier, truck salesperson, mechanic. Hired by S&S to head up the cab conversion sales as well as the truck dealership. Steven Gregory Sharp Jr - Yep, little Stevie has hit the ground running so to speak. Capturing the hearts of all his Gamma's and Pap's and of course he is the pride of his proud parents Steve and Sue. Charlie Jr - Charlie and Shawna's son, commonly called CJ. Robert - Debbie and Hanks son, no junior for Hank!!!. Mia - Jim and Hanna have added to the residents of the park with the arrival of their little girl. Juanita - A lovely Cuban lady who became a part of the family as the result of Sue and Mercy's interest in women. Elizabeth Ann Sharp - Steve and Sue's second child and first daughter. Sean - Shawna and Charlies second child and their first daughter. Michael Steven Sharp - Mercy's first addition to the group of kids in the park. Of course Steve is the proud father as well a Merlin being a proud grandfather since the child has his middle name. Merlin is just glad Mercy didn't name him Merlin. Little Dewey - Son of Dewy an Sheila. Margie - Girlfriend and soon to be wife of Hap. Gregory Steven Sharp - The surprise son Kathy took along from Steve when she moved north to escape the violence. Steve only learns of his son when Kathy and family returned for a visit. Trixie, Dixie and Tom - Mercy's new additions to the family. Identical twin girls and a fraternal twin boy. Philip and Manuel - Sues addition to the family ... Philip in honor of the family name Phillips, and Manuel in honor of Juanita's deceased husband. Bonita- Kathy's final addition to the family, one last child by Steve. ------- Chapter 1 Bobby and I were sitting out on the back porch of the safe house we were in charge of, discussing how busy, but yet how calm we had been. Since we had gotten together as a team for the safe house, we averaged a little over one person or couple per week to watch over before they were escorted to some new far off place. We both laughed at how the television program called it "In Plain Sight." The service did hide people in plain sight. A witness from Miami may end up as a stock clerk in a Wal-Mart in Toledo. An undercover guy from New York may end up as house painter in Springfield, Illinois. The people escaping one thing or another ended up with a safe unexciting life in a mundane community, living happily ever after. I have to describe Bobby for those who haven't heard any tales about us yet. Bobby is a magnificent six foot seven and weighs around three fifty. There is not an ounce of fat on her gorgeous frame. She has a body that is just big, huge, luscious, tasty, and all that stuff. She's got a rack on her that defies description and gravity. Her caboose is something to marvel at. Just watching her walk away is captivating to me and draws a crowd. Then there is me, an average guy about five eleven, but who should be six feet, that weighs around one eighty when I eat enough. I lost a leg to an RPG in Iraq, and now have a good prosthetic that I can usually walk without a cane with. I exercise constantly so I can remain in decent shape and I can tell you, Bobby puts me to shame with the weights and the machines. She is one tough cookie. We got together while some guys that wanted to have bent noses had a scam going against the government. They faked helping returning servicemen and were making a bunch of money. Because I was the one who stumbled onto the deal, I became a target and was sent to Bobby's safe house. The whole thing got all out of shape and the marshal service mistakenly made me a deputy and paid me more money than the employment people I had just started to work for, so here I am, still a deputy, working as Safe Two under Bobby. The whole thing's a long story. You'll have to research it and read it all for yourself. While Bobby remained the Safe One person at the house all the time, as soon as I was pulled from the federal unemployment or employment office, I was given a mixed bag of duties. The worst was air marshal. You got on a plane in the early morning at one location, flew to place B, boarded another and flew to place C, boarded another then flew to place D, and finally flew home to arrive sometime before midnight the same day. Because you were to be the vigilant duty person on a flight, you had to remain alert, watching what was happening all the time. Anyone standing around in an aisle for more than a couple of minutes was suspect. Anyone in a lavatory for too long, was suspect. Anyone approaching a hostess in the galley was really suspect. Another great duty was to accompany a federal prisoner to another facility that better matched the crime he had committed. Usually it was by air and we were often put in first class so it was easier to confine the prisoner. When we flew coach, I always wanted either the last seat in the plane or the first seat. If the plane had three seats across the aisle, whoever was unlucky enough to be in the third seat was bumped. I had read all the directives and viewed all of the videos on prisoner transport so I followed all of the suggested means of securing the prisoner. My prisoners got to wear some neat ankle cuffs with a pretty chain between the legs. They of course also wore handcuffs secured at the waist by an additional chain. These cuffs were cool as they allowed the prisoner hands free enough to read, eat a little clumsily, and drink from a straw, but restricted the person from giving me a fat lip or attempting to overpower me. When I flew with a prisoner, I kept him at the window on my right and wore a shoulder holster, instead of the belt holster I usually wore, as it concealed the weapon better. I always made sure the prisoner had plenty of reading material and always advised the hostesses that the person was a prisoner and was not allowed anything other than a snack and something to drink. Funny, on those flights, I never ate anything but I did bring along a bottle of water that was checked through for me. If the cap was broken, I tossed the water. One of the videos told of how a hostess had drugged the marshal and the marshal ended up deceased. That wasn't going to happen to me. I was always the first on and the last off the plane. If someone was going to intercept me in the terminal, I wanted to make sure there were fewer civilians around if it did happen. Of course, if there was an air marshal on the flight, he knew where I was so I could assist him or he could help me if necessary. The last thing that I said to a prisoner before we left his detention facility was that if we were attacked, I would shoot him first then try to capture the attackers. Several prisoners objected to my theory of self-preservation, but I told them that this was the only way I could ensure that my prisoner would not escape. One smart-ass told me, when I explained how I conducted transport, that since he was wearing body armor he didn't feel my threat was real. I had to explain to the man that I spent all my time on the range practicing head shots. He shut up. A couple of times during these six months, I had been sent out with a team to track down an escaped prisoner. My special forces training came in handy for these missions. My fake leg made me a little slower than some, but my training gave me the edge at anticipating what a runaway would do. So far, I was four for four in captures while leading a team. The good thing was that all were captured without injuring the escapee. My good friend and former leader, Howard, was promoted to the western region and became a real live genuine U.S. Marshal, not a deputy like the rest of us. He didn't like the politics, but he said he sure as hell liked the increase in pay. Bobby and I were getting some sun out on the pool deck when the duty phone rang. We kept the phone with us, so Bobby reached over and answered, "Safe One." I could only hear one side of conversation. It wasn't very informative. "Right." "Right." "That soon?" "We'll be ready." "I'll have him call in as soon as we have the subjects." When she hung up, she was getting up, so I did the same thing, sliding on my fake leg. "They are bringing a couple from Orlando and should be here in about ten minutes. Let's get dressed. The boss said they are high priority." High priority could mean they are important, well known politicians, public figures, or it could mean that a few dozen paid assassins were looking for them. We quickly dressed, turned on all the house security, and checked our defenses. The drive team called with the signal and the garage door was raised. Bobby and I now had an even better way to wait for a delivery. Bobby watched the video monitors for the car coming in, while I positioned myself in the garage where I could not be seen but could observe the car bringing in the guests, as well as all the occupants. The techies in the service had come up with some neat sunglasses that could see through dark tinted windows on vehicles as if the tint was not there. So I was in my position while Bobby was at the door, watching the car pull in through the mirror by the door. When the car stopped, the driver's window went down and a hand went to the top of the car and patted the roof, the signal that it was our guy and everything was okay. A deputy got out of the passenger door and the driver got out of the driver's door. Both of the rear doors were opened and three people got out. There was a man and a woman that looked scared shitless, and another guy that made you think he might be in the service. I watched them go into the house, waited thirty seconds, and went to check the Suburban they had come in. I checked under the seats and down between the seats quickly before went into the kitchen door. Bobby had two pieces of luggage open, going over it with our electronic detector. The guy I didn't recognize was giving her shit about being so over cautious. He didn't know I was in the doorway and he was between Bobby and me, while the two deputies and the couple were standing on the other side of the table, observing. Bobby kept going over one area on the side of the suitcase until the new guy said, "Would you get over it already. Just shut the fucking thing and get us something to eat." Bobby looked up at the guy and said, "Hold you horses, friend, something is setting off the gizmo here and I'm going to find out what it is. Bobby stood up and said she would be right back. I stepped into the hall while she walked by me, went to the kitchen, and came back with her little tool kit. She took a small pair of scissors and cut the lining of the suitcase away until she could see the entire side of the suitcase. There was something duct taped to the side. Bobby peeled off the tape and used some tweezers to hold up a small, thin, square object. Bobby pulled her transmission decoder from her tool kit and turned it on and it began blinking crazily. She said "Ah shit." The man standing watching all this seemed to be reaching behind his back so I put my gun to the back of his head quickly and said, "Be very still. Do not move even the hand you have behind your back." I looked at Jack across the table and said, "Jack, you cover and David, you come take this guy apart so we can confirm who he is." Bobby said, "I'll put this in a safe box real quick and call in." David pulled an automatic from the guy's rear holster, and two more small automatics from each ankle. We removed his coat and pants and took them to Bobby to put in the safe box after we had emptied everything from his pockets. As he was cuffing the man, David said to me, "I never understood why you laid back all the time until just now. This is strange." I told David, you cover this gentleman for a minute while I get my traveling chains for him. I'd like him as immobile as possible. I got the leg irons and the waist chain that attached the cuffs that were behind his back to it. There would be no putting your hands under your feet to get your hands in front of you. The couple who was being transported was terrified. The man asked, "Is there someone tracking us? What was that thing? Who is this man?" I asked Jack, "Where did this guy come from?" Jack said, "It was funny, the duty man at the court house said this guy would accompany the couple through to their permanent location. The couple is strange as well, because we didn't get a full folder, just a file folder with a stat sheet and transport order." Bobby came in the room and said, "We need to watch how we handle the couple, but the chief doesn't know what to do about this guy. He's dispatching three teams to cover and watch the area. We are to use only the sub-tactical radios to contact the teams. No commercial stuff." I went into the storage area and pulled a clean suitcase out for our guests. "If you need additional clothing, we have a wide assortment to choose from. It would be good to wear clothes that you normally would not wear. So please pick out some apparel and use this suitcase. We want to keep this one for a while." David had the strange agent or marshal out in the living room sitting on a couch. Jack said he had attempted to ask him for his supervisor's name or contact location, but the guy had clammed up. David had called his Orlando office and had a team on the way to the courthouse to pick up the guy who had handed off the couple with our funny prisoner. Our new station chief, Forest Harding, called from his vehicle and said he was almost at our location. He said he was alone and would park in the driveway. We watched as an agency car pulled to the left side of the driveway. That was the correct side for them to park when using the driveway. Forest got out of the car, shut the door, and walked to the front door. Nothing unusual at all. Bobby let him in and then he debriefed each of us as to everything up to this point. He used his cell phone and called Orlando only to find out the guard at the courthouse may not have been a real guard and was long gone. He called in to the DC operations center and briefed the duty people, asking if there was any intelligence about the guests. Forest tried to interrogate our stranger and got as far as we did. I asked Forest if I could just kill him and put him in a bag since he was taking up space and he had to detail someone to watch him 24/7. Forest put on a good show thinking about it for a while. He said, "Too many people know we have him under watch. Perhaps you can take off some of the extra chains and maybe he'll make a break for it. That would work. The guy had some guts because he never made a peep throughout all of our conversations. Our guests were due to be picked up by two of our people and flown in a private plane to somewhere in Missouri and taken from there by commercial air to their final destination. Forest called S&S Air Charter, the private service, to confirm the reservations. The flight was due to leave at seven this evening. Apparently the owner and his wife were the pilots tonight, as they said they needed the flight time. We used the charter company all the time as they were dependable and had various types of planes, perfect for different types of cover. Forest asked, "Have you guys run the gizmo over this clown yet? Let's check him to make sure he doesn't have an implant. Dave, lay him down on his stomach and put your foot in his back to keep him still. Bobby, run the gizmo over him very slowly. If he swallowed something we might pick it up either from the back or the front." Bobby did every inch of his body from the back before we turned him over and did his front. Around his abdomen we picked up a trace signal similar to the trace signal from the other device in the safe box. Forest said, "Okay, get him some clothes. I'm taking him to one of our teams near here. They'll take him in for an MRI and find out what's on him. How about we transport the couple to the airbase tonight and cancel the flights. We'll set something else up, but right now I want these guys out of here. Bobby, you know the procedure. Full alert until we say clear or move." We only put a robe on the guy and put the safe box in the car with Forest. David and Jack got the couple ready to move, but we were going to use our Suburban instead of theirs. We trusted ours better. David and Jack were to follow us in their car. Bobby called one of the teams and told them that we were leaving and they were to occupy the house until we returned. I made sure the couple was comfortable in the back seat while I arranged my firepower in the middle seat in order to be able to access the sunroof if necessary. Bobby backed out of the garage into the street and waited until the other car was behind us, then we headed toward McDill Air Force Base. We had a standing order for a small group of rooms attached to one of the most secure areas in the United States, the Centcom barracks. The gate guards were cordial as we showed them our ID, along with our transport order. We drove up to the barracks and escorted the couple into their overnight quarters. I asked the sergeant on duty if we could get some food brought for the two agents and our guests since we had missed lunch and supper in the excitement. Soon the four were eating, enjoying their food. Bobby and I said that we would see them again sometime and wished the couple a safe trip to where ever they were going. Instead of driving home, we stopped at the office to see what they had discovered about our prisoner and the device that had been in the luggage. The MRI showed an object in the large intestine so our illustrious lab techs gave the subject a heavy duty laxative and had him swallow a few fiber pills. The combination of that and some prune juice with Seven-up would make anyone shit. While we were waiting for the fake agent to give us a new toy, the techs dissected the small thin device. They identified it as a satellite phone tracking device. Each pass of certain satellites would identify where the signal was originating from in order to keep track of moving objects or people. They put the tracking device on the roof of the Suburban in order to time how frequently the device was polled. The device was only polled once every fifty-two minutes. It was possible that we were able to dodge being pinpointed by satellite. One of our techies had a great idea. He said that the satellite would look for the two signatures, the luggage device and the one that was swallowed, to be in the same place to confirm that everything was as planned. Once we had both devices and had gleaned all the information from them we could, he wanted to send them up in a drone to fly to somewhere in Wyoming and see what would happen. About ten thirty, the prisoner finally evacuated enough shit to fill a cesspool. Soon the techies were analyzing it getting all the information they could from it. The deputy marshal techs took the two devices out to McDill to put them on a drone for a long flight. The drone had a transponder similar to private jets, and would appear to be normal if it were tracked by another plane. Bobby and I were just getting into the house when my cell phone rang. It was Forest calling to tell us that the drone was blown out of the sky by an air to air missile fired from a aircraft with no signature that was probably another drone. Forest said, this was even better because now whoever was trying to get rid of the couple would feel as if they were gone. The guy that was the problem was the prisoner. So far they couldn't trace him except that he had a scar from an appendectomy that resembled the work of Russian or East German surgeons. I'm sure the man became lost within the federal penitentiary system, never to be heard from again. Usually foreigners from the European blocks were not welcomed and if they didn't talk at all, they were even less welcome, especially in prisons housing South American drug traffickers. They often had serious terminal accidents in padded cells. Bobby and I stayed on alert for a week to make sure that our location wasn't compromised and were relieved to enjoy life once again. Of course, that meant we were open for business again too. Our office was selected to pull a series of overseas air marshal rides for an entire month. Forest was good about dividing up the nasty duty, so everyone took a turn. As luck would have it, I was drawn out of the hat first. My flight would be to Belgium, on to Israel, and return. I was not to go through customs in Israel but stay with the plane and crew so I would not have my passport stamped. The trip was long and boring. In Belgium, we loaded a plane full of guys that looked like trouble, but they settled down in their seats and stayed in them for the entire trip. In Israel, we again loaded up a bunch of guys with turbans and robes that scared the shit of out of a guy who lost a leg over in that part of the world. Again, no problem. We had a full night's layover in Belgium and were billeted in the airport hotel. The accommodations were nice and the restaurant was decent. My habit was to never drink anything but bottled water while on duty. I would have coffee on the plane if they made it with bottled water, but I would not drink anything with native water. Not because I didn't trust it, but just to be sure I wouldn't get the runs. The 747 flight from Belgium to Orlando was full. It seemed that we had an inordinate amount of Arabic men. It was possible that they were all part of a company on their way to the States for a convention or for a meeting. I went to the back of the plane and used my cell phone to call the local air marshal office to see if there was any Intel on the passengers. The deputy that answered asked if I were talking about flight 1723. When I said yes, he said, "You are being accompanied by three other air marshals. Please remain in your assigned rear seat. Your contacts will all be wearing dark shirts with light colored ties. He gave me their seat numbers and told me that there were three suspected terrorists on the flight, but they had been thoroughly checked during their security searches." Wonder why that didn't make me feel better. I checked the seats of my companions, and watched as all three put items in the overhead then sat in their seats. The other marshals were in front, in back and on the side of the group. We should be fine. Before the flight left, one of the marshals walked to the back of the plane and motioned with his eyes for me to come to the back restroom area. When I followed the man, he stopped where we couldn't be seen and handed me a small television receiver. He said, "This is a receiver for some video cameras above the group we are interested in. You watch screen four. The rest of us will watch screens one through three. Watch closely, and if anything at all suspicious happens and you feel there is a danger, act on it. Don't hesitate, just act." He then told me something I didn't know. Two of the flight attendants are our people, one in this cabin and one in first class. Both are experienced agents and can handle just about anything, trust them. The flight attendant that's back here will identify herself to you as soon as we are airborne. Good luck and nice to work with you. I've heard a lot about your wild west days in Tampa." I guess you never live some things down. There was a French guy in the right seat with no one in our middle seat. I watched the guy to check him out. When he had moved in to get into his seat, I had felt him up better than a queer in a gay bar. He was clean but a little nervous that I had been as thorough as I was. Turning the TV on showed me a group of people and in the upper right of the screen was the number one. I pushed the pound button and the screen changed to two. Two more pushes and I was viewing screen four. The group of about six men was pretty clear. I could see their hands and the papers in their hands. There were no pens or other hard objects, so I relaxed. As soon as the plane was ready to take off, a flight attendant came down the aisle, checking seatbelts. When she got to me, she leaned down and said, "How're ya doin' Wild Bill?" I blushed, she smiled, and had relayed that she was our agent. We were four hours into the flight when there seemed to be a lot of moving around among the robed gentlemen we were watching. I noted that the flight attendant that was our agent was constantly nearby. My TV screen showed two of the guys messing with something down low between them. I watched and could see plainly that one was screwing something. Not a normal thing to do on an airplane. I got up and walked up to the seats in question and leaned over showing my badge. I said, "Give me what ever it is that you are messing with down there." The two were surprised that I was right there and were panicking. It's always more dangerous when a suspect panics. As they were hesitating, the passenger that was on the outside made a gesture that he was reaching for my service weapon. Before his hand reached my lapel, two Glocks were pointing at his head, mine and another marshal's. Again, I asked that they give me whatever they were messing with. They became loud and abusive, saying we didn't have any right to question them. I turned to the flight attendant agent and said, "Advisory 22B, quick." She moved back and opened a panel and brought several pair of handcuffs. I pulled the first man that had tried for my weapon up and pulled his hands behind his back. The flight attendant cuffed him, led him down the aisle, and had him lay on his stomach. I pulled the second guy from his seat, stood him up, and he was cuffed and sent down the aisle. The guy by the window was being belligerent to the point that I was almost going to use the sap being offered to me. When his hand went down to whatever they were messing with, I hit him as hard as I could with my gun hand. It didn't knock him out, but it rattled him enough that I was able to pull him to his feet, spin him around, and get him cuffed. I noticed that only two other air marshals and the one flight attendant showed their positions. Good thinking, in case there were more pranksters. I reached down to the floor and came up with an almost fully assembled fiberglass automatic with a silencer. There was already a loaded magazine in it, and when I checked the chamber, I found that a round was in it as well. The one agent that was in the front said that I should check the three men two seats in front of the others. I politely asked them to rise so we could check for contraband. As soon as they became vocal, I picked the one up with one hand, while putting my Glock under his chin. I said calmly, turn around and be quiet. When I had all three out of their seats, handcuffed, and searched, we had another almost completed automatic, plus the parts for a third. I asked the flight attendant to show me the public address handset and made an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this airplane is now under the control of the U.S. Marshal's service. Please co-operate with the marshals on board so we may be sure all imminent danger has been eliminated. Thank you." Almost all of the passengers in the airplane began applauding. It was enough to make all of us feel really good. It took us an hour to almost strip search the rest of the Arabs in the group. Most all of the rest of them were very co-operative and docile. Only a couple of the younger ones were testy. We did discover another partially assembled weapon, but that was all. By the time we had the handcuffed suspects back in their seats with cuffs locking their arms together and their ankles together, it was nearing time to land. The flight had become quiet again with passengers doing what passengers normally do. Watch a movie, doze off, play cards, just the usual. I swapped seats with a willing passenger so I could keep an eye on our Arab friends. The hostess said that she had the pilot radio ahead to have Homeland Security people on hand and to have the political people available. We landed in Orlando and watched all the other passengers depart. Almost every one of them that passed us said, "thank you" to us. Once everyone else, except the crew, the marshals, and the Arabs were off the plane, no one took charge, so I said, "We are going to take you off the plane slowly, two at a time. First, I want the gentlemen not handcuffed and apparently not part of the weapons plan to depart first. Please, stand, remove any bags from the overhead and leave the plane. Something was fishy, every one of them had put stuff in the overhead but not one pulled anything out. I used my cell and called the station guy outside. "Hold all of the Arabs. They didn't want to take their bags with them. Let's wait to see what's in them." Now we had to undo some of the handcuffs. We removed the ones that held neighboring arms together then released the ones that were locked on the ankles. Now I said, "We're going to have just one of you at a time leave the plane. Be very careful, do not make any funny moves. We don't have to worry about a stray round letting the pressure out of the airplane now. You are considered the enemy and will be shot if you act incorrectly." At least, I hoped the guys outside would do that, instead of thinking about it while their throat was being cut. As the last handcuffed Arab left the plane, the other marshals and the flight attendants and crew applauded with the one flight attendant yelling, "Wild Bill rides again." How embarrassing, at least I didn't fire a shot. The Orlando station chief waited while we hauled the overhead bags out to the lobby. Every bag had some form of unassembled weapon. We were able to put a bag with each of the Arab passengers and cuffed them too. My job was done except I had to write up a report. In reality, I should just have had to write a report on all twenty-two Arabs, but the station chief said to just write a report as to how I discovered the weapons and the measures we took while in the air. The flight attendants took us back to an office area where we were able to use MS Word to write up the descriptions of our actions. Once done, one of the marshals said, "I'm buyin' anything you can drink, I'm good for it." We didn't hold him to buying all night, but we did have several drinks. I wanted to get home and didn't want to have to wait till morning. I called Bobby and she said to wait a minute while she made a call. She came back on the phone and said for me to go over to the small aircraft terminal. A Cessna 172 doing some instrument flying would pick me up and bring me home. She said they should be on the ground in a half hour. I talked a ground guy into running me over to the private aircraft terminal. Once there, I had a sandwich as I had totally missed the food on the flight. We flew to Tampa airport where the student did a couple of touch and goes then flew to somewhere around Lutz and landed at a private field. We taxied over to some big hangars with S&S all over them. The instructor pilot was a girl. She would be easy to recognize as she had a star tattooed near her right eye. I thanked them for the ride. The girl said that several of the deputies were taking flying lessons. She said I should look into it. That's all I needed, a hobby that had me up in the air all the time. Bobby was waiting for me at the operations building across the runway. She welcomed me in a very nice way and we left for home right away. On the way, she said, "How about changing clothes and giving me a ride on the bike. My sis said if we were out, to come by the bar for a free one." When we got home, I called in to make sure my duty requirement was complete, changed clothes, and away we went, on two wheels, and with some noise to make us feel good. We took the long way to get to Jonah's bar where we walked in and were greeted by several of the other bikers there. The guys all knew Bobby and knew she was mine, just like they knew Bobby's sister, Millie, was Jonah's. Jonah and Millie were sitting at the bar, which meant that Jonah was squashed by Bobby's hug and I was pulverized by Millie's. You see, Millie was almost as tall as Bobby, but probably weighed closer to four hundred pounds, really big. Their Mom and Dad used to work for a circus where their Mom was billed as the world's strongest woman. Mom is about six-seven the same as Bobby and still built nice. Bobby's dad is a little guy that became her workmate in the circus, then her mate in reality. They had an older daughter and two more daughters younger than Bobby and a pair of brothers, one that's huge and one who is tiny like his dad. The brothers were married to a set of very big healthy twins. The twins were not tall, just big babes. The sisters gabbed, while Jonah and I shot some pool. We ended up playing as partners against all comers, pretty much winning more beer than we could drink. Eventually, my love said, "Let's go by Steak 'n Shake for a late snack and a malt." We were off quickly, enjoying the wind in our faces and had a great snack before going home to bed. ------- Primary editing by Pepere {ci}Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 2 The next morning should have been a sleep in day but the phone was ringing by seven. Forest said, "I heard you caused all kinds of problems to a bunch of Arabs on your way back from Belgium. Some big shots from DC are coming down so you better get spruced up and come in. Sorry to short you on some down time, I'll make it up, I promise." I asked if Bobby should come in and he said she could if she wanted to. We got dressed then called for our stand-ins to come to the house to stand watch. We drove into the office, arriving in time to have coffee and kibitz with Sarah a little. Bobby and I went over all of the SOP changes and read all the current bulletins. We were initialing the last of the memos when I was called into Forest's office. John Scott, the biggest big shot from DC, was there. I stuck out my hand but the man grabbed me and gave me a hug saying, "Damn, it's been too long since I've seen you. Glad you stayed with us. I've come to save you from the State Department and the press. Seems everyone one of those guys is claiming diplomatic immunity and they are also claiming indignant treatment while they were in flight." "You are so lucky. Do you know those four cameras were all connected to a DVR that has every scene and every word recorded? You did wonderfully. The senior man on the team didn't know what to do, but you did. Less than a year in service and you took over a potentially very deadly situation. Good job, I'm proud of you." John turned and introduced his next in command, "This is Chad Hillock. He's the chief deputy that backs me up. He's asked a couple of times how come you're still a deputy after shooting up half the outlaws in the Southeast U.S. I told him that it was all in self defense and in defending your unit. He didn't understand until I sent him through some team training." Chad smiled when John said team training. "I learned a lot about what you have to do when you have to do it. You personally sort of screwed up the averages for all the men. I do wish to congratulate you that no shots were fired yesterday." "No reason, Sir, the situation was under control so no further violence was necessary." John took the floor back, "There will be a State Department guy here to interview you. Just tell them like it was and we'll screen the videos for him. You can show him the point where you decided to take action. I personally think you almost waited too long to act. You were waiting for something more definite, and the screwing on of the silencer sure was definite." John walked out, said something to Bobby, and came back in, "The State Department guy isn't going to be here for another hour or so, how about let's go across the street to the hotel and have breakfast, coffee, or something." The five of us went across the street, with John showing Chad all the locations where something had happened and where I had been shot while lying on the ground. He pointed at the steel ramp and described how I had held it over my head while getting into the car. Chad said, "Stuff like that just doesn't happen in the marshal's service. It's been getting worse lately, but the Tampa incidents were the craziest." John said, "I watched as this guy shot a door gunner on a helicopter right out of the executive suite window. If he hadn't shot the guy, the gunner would have killed a dozen of us. These weren't just criminals, this was a war and we had a veteran." We ate again, even though we did have breakfast earlier. When we were finished sloshing coffee, we went back to the office to pee and get ready for the State Department guys. Bobby and I were looking at the marshal's website when four very nicely dressed fellows walked in. They were ushered into the conference room with Forest, John, and Chad, then John came out to get me. I was armed with a copy of my report and the knowledge that I had acted correctly. The four men were very proper, all blondes, all in perfect suits with perfect ties. I was wearing one of my thousand dollar suits that I only paid a hundred for, so I looked as good as they did. After introductions, the first question posed to me was, "Why did I feel that I had to humiliate the gentlemen on the plane the way I did." I waited until the speaker had relaxed a second, waiting for an answer. "My job was to protect the passengers on the airplane. My area of responsibility was the six passengers within the view of my video screen. I observed some covert activity, but continued to watch until I was certain that a weapon was being assembled. I acted immediately to immobilize the men involved and to confiscate the nearly completely assembled weapon. In the process of gaining control of the subjects, one individual made an effort to gain access to my weapon. It was at that point that I pulled my weapon and declared an emergency under 22B of the Air Marshals directives. I handcuffed each suspect and laid them face down on the floor. In the process of searching the next group of men, I found a second weapon almost completely assembled. Fortunately there were no further incidents and the men being detained were seated and further restrained with the available appliances." "Did you have to search all of the men within the group?" "I felt that there was sufficient evidence among the men that they were traveling with, that additional searches were warranted. We did find additional unassembled weapons, but could not be sure as to who had possession of them." Another of the four asked, "Why did you detain the men not in custody after the plane landed." "When the men in question boarded the plane, each one stored a gym type bag in the overhead compartments. When the men not detained left the plane, none asked for, or reached for their overhead baggage. Upon searching these bags, every bag had some form of weapon or explosive in it. We were able to put each bag with a passenger. I believe Homeland Security secured these people as terrorists." The leader of the group asked, "I'm told you have a video recording of the complete flight including the detaining and searching of the gentlemen in question." I asked the tech at the projector to first roll all four cameras at once so the State Department guys can see why only each marshal could only watch one view at a time. We watched the whole thing, and the individual video of all four cameras. It was apparent the men were assembling a gun just before I stepped in. When the four videos were complete, I asked them to replay video four only, and to enhance the video so it would appear as it did on my small monitor. This time, it was very obvious what the men were doing. It was apparent I almost waited too long to act. John even looked at me a little funny. When it was over I said, "I didn't want to do what I had to do, and almost waited too long to act. If I had waited another minute, the weapon would have been fully functional. Then there would have been dead passengers and marshals." The State Department leader said, "I want the originals of those tapes right now and any copies." John said, "We're required to retain a copy for our files and the originals are in the possession of Homeland Security. Copies have been forwarded to the CIA, as well as the FBI. If you wish all the copies you will need the Justice Department to supersede presidential orders." The State Department leader turned to me and said, "I've read your file and found you to be a danger to the public. I don't know how you can still be a deputy marshal, but I will see that you won't be long." This pissed me off, so I reached out and took hold of his arm and spun him around to look at me. "I'm not sure what's got you in an uproar, but I've never fired a weapon in anger or in anything but the defense of my men or myself. If you want for just you and me to go somewhere to discuss this, there is a gym downstairs we can chat in. Please reconsider your threat to take my job from me. I'm sure if the situation were reversed, you would be upset as well." The man glared at me and said in a low voice, "It would give me great pleasure to show you what a man really is. Name the time and the place and I'll be there." "Like I said, Sir, the gym is available right now and is close at hand." The man turned to his three cohorts and said, "Come with me to make sure this is a fair contest. I'm going to teach this Neanderthal how a man fights." The entire office heard the confrontation, so there was a mass exodus to the gym. The gym attendant provided shorts, T-shirts, socks, and tennis shoes. He handed each of us a jock with a cup, then stood watching us dress. When I dropped my pants and my aluminum leg became evident, the State Department guy smiled with a superior attitude. We walked out to where there was a ring and I asked the man, "Did you want to use gloves, or be barehanded. The man said, "I'm used to gloves, but I assume this will be a short street, fight so bare fisted will be fun." We walked to a large mat, and before we faced off John stepped in. He looked at both of us and said, this fight will continue until one of you cannot get up, is knocked unconscious, or admits defeat. The loser will apologize to the winner for any undue criticism. There will be no killing blows, and Chuck, you will not use your prosthesis to hit your combatant." The smart mouthed state department guy said, "If he thinks he can get that thing up, he can hit me with it all he wants." John shook his head and said, "So be it." He paused a second then said, "Go." The idiot did exactly what I didn't think he would do. He rushed me swinging. I sidestepped him and balanced on my peg leg sticking my other foot out to trip him. I stood back in a relaxed state and waited for him to roll up onto his feet, shake his head taking on a boxing stance. He kept dancing around about four feet from me so I took a step forward to challenge him. He took the bait and lunged and swung. I sidestepped again, but this time I gave him a stiff hand to the solar plexus. When he bent over from the shock, I almost chopped him, but instead I open hand slapped him, knocking him off his feet. I stepped back and stood waiting for the man to get his breath and get up. He finally stood, glaring at me, took his boxing stance again, and began advancing on me this time. I watched his eyes and shoulders and slapped him as hard as I could while ducking his jab. The slap was hard enough that his eyes were watering. This only made him angrier, so he decided to lead with his other hand and advanced again. When he jabbed, I slapped. When he swung, I ducked and punched him in the chest. I pulled the punch, since it would have been a killing blow if I didn't. It knocked the wind out of him for a second. I guess he had all he could take as he rushed me again, only this time as he got closer I leaned into him and took him to the mat with a chop to the side of his neck. It was enough to knock him out, but I was still on top of him and had to maneuver to get off him. It was at that point I would have finished a hand to hand combat by a quick heel of the hand to the nose, but I stopped before contact. I scooted back and stood up on my good leg and my fake one. I said quietly, "I believe your man is knocked out. If you wish to revive him, rub his temples and the back of his neck." They looked at me weird and watched as John got down and rubbed the man's temples and the back of his neck. The state guy sat up groggily and asked, "Did I win?" Even the three other state department guys laughed. John helped him to his feet and suggested he go sit for a little bit before taking a shower. John walked over to me and said, "You came close, Chuck. I'm proud that you were able to control yourself, but you know that wasn't a very fair fight." "I know, but somehow that man needed to know that you have to fight for your life, not let someone talk someone else into deciding between letting you live or be blown up by some terrorist." "Go home, I'll make sure the gentleman is reduced within the state department. You did the gentlemanly thing by accepting his challenge." Bobby told me to go change. "You don't need a shower, you didn't break a sweat." When I was dressed and walked out of the locker room, Forest came up to me and asked, "Did you egg the guy on or just accept his challenge. I accepted his challenge after I told him it was improper that he threatened to have me fired. There always seems to be someone who wants to fire you for doing what we are supposed to do. If I made your office look bad, I'm sorry; if I've made the marshal's service look bad, I'll resign; but I did what I felt was right on that plane and no one will ever convince me otherwise." Forest smiled at me, "You did right up there. You took charge and handled it like a true deputy U.S. Marshal." John came up and asked, "You're not reprimanding Chuck, are you?" "No Sir, just making sure what he did was honorable." John said, "It was very honorable. I'm proud to be one of his supervisors." I said, "How about let's go down to see my friends Reggie and Metarie for a good meal. What do you say? I think I'm good for one tonight. Oh yeah, hang on a sec." I walked over to the four State Department guys and asked, "We're going to one of the better restaurants in the area, my treat. Would you like to come along, as I said, it's on me." The three men looked at the leader expectantly as he stuck out his hand, "I apologize for my accusations. You are not a Neanderthal, but an accomplished defender of your country. I would be proud to eat with you but it will be the State Department's treat, not yours." All of my people had heard the exchange. Well, knock us over with a feather. We all managed to get into a couple of SUVs to go down to the place. I called Reggie's cell phone real quick and asked him if he had a big table for us. He said it was big enough for us, Metarie, and him. He asked if we were in our black SUVs and told me to park in the back. The evening and the meal was wonderful. Metarie gave Forest a bunch of grief for pulling me off the employment office detail. She said she was still working on getting the right people since I left. The State Department men were able to get a glimpse of what had happened before, and how we had all survived to be better people. By the time we put the State people in a taxi to their hotel, they were toasted and would remember this night for a long time. I took care of the bill with Reggie so the State guy didn't wake up hundreds of dollars poorer. Bobby and I drove home, with her under my arm next to me. We relieved the guys watching the house, but asked them to stay till morning since we had been drinking and were probably going to be busy a while. They smiled saying they had already planned on staying the night. Bobby and I enjoyed a few rounds of closeness, wrestling around and having a great time. Monday morning brought new assignments. Our team was reduced by six guys as a couple had retired, three had transferred to other offices for promotions, and one went to work for the FBI. Forest was leading the meeting and gave out the usual air staff schedules, saying that Orlando was picking up a lot of ours as we were so short. When he came to me, he said, "Usually we don't send someone out for an escapee alone, but we're too short to give you anyone. I can't send Bobby because she has three transients coming through this week. Chuck, you're going to have to get a line on this guy, and get some local help to capture him. He is considered armed and dangerous. He has been involved with some domestic terrorism groups and has robbed several banks. If you were to keep track of bank robberies, I think you might pick up his trail. Be careful though, this one could get nasty." I picked up a copy of the file from Sarah. This wasn't a file; it was a whole file cabinet. I glanced through it and took the whole box with me to study it at home. Before you try to track someone, you need to learn as much about them as you can. In the seclusion of the small office we had at home, I read every word of every piece of paper on the guy. I knew the general area he was going to be in, as there had been several bank robberies with his M.O. in his old stomping grounds. I called the motor pool and asked for an older pickup truck. They said they had one that was a little beat up looking, but ran like a striped ass ape. The next thing I had to do was to make sure I was armed with countrified weapons. I checked out a Marlin lever action and a real nice 308 with an excellent scope. The last rifle was a sporterized .223 that could hold a thirty round magazine. Instead of the Glock, I picked a nice balanced 1911 Colt .45. The range officer said the piece was perfect. Three magazines later, I had to agree with him. For fun, I picked up a monster .44 magnum. The thing only held five rounds, but if you hit something when you shot it, it was done. I used up about fifty rounds before my wrist said enough. I was getting fairly good with it, though. I dug through all my old clothes that I had bought at Goodwill when I first came to town. Everything was perfect for what I was going to do. I needed to look the part so I could fit in. The guy I was looking for ranged from Northeast Texas, Southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Alabama. His latest bank job was in Alabama, so you figured he was probably in Oklahoma or Texas. I drove up through the areas just to look over the towns that were mentioned in his files. All of his immediate family had passed away, but he had a mess of cousins scattered around the entire area. Several of his kin were in jail, serving time for everything from murder to car theft. The whole family seemed to thrive on making their hits in small towns. I tracked the bank holdups he had done since he escaped then went back to track the holdups he had staged before he was caught. There was a pattern. He would hit the farthest east then hit one in the farthest south. He would next go to Arkansas and hit as far north as the Lake of the Ozarks. The telling tale was he would go back east and rob a bank there. He only robbed in three directions, so that meant he was probably hiding out in Oklahoma. Our man had another thing that he repeated. He liked to drive an Oldsmobile. Since GM quit making them, he had to steal older cars instead of new, dependable rides. I checked in with the state police in Arkansas to have them check the surrounding states for stolen Olds. I came up with only seven. All were stolen in North Texas and Alabama. I'd bet they were all stolen by my guy. The latest theft was one that was a lime green. That was ugly enough to stand out. I drove up into Oklahoma and stayed in roadside inns so I could watch the highways and wander around to some of the honkytonks throughout Oklahoma. I was driving back toward Arkansas when my cell phone rang. It was the state police in South Texas, reporting a bank robbery in Texarkana, Texas. I was not far from a highway that would come up from there and if I were right, my guy would drive right by me. I drove a little farther to meet him earlier and pulled off under a tree like any good old boy who needed a nap. Sure enough, the ugly green Olds went flying by doing every bit of eighty-five or ninety heading toward Oklahoma. I took off after him but didn't try to catch up, just to barely keep him in view. I began to think, the Olds probably had the usual twenty-two gallon tank and he probably filled it up before his heist. Considering he was riding the car hard he couldn't have been getting more than say fourteen miles to the gallon. He should have to stop for gas around the Oklahoma state line. I called the Arkansas state police and the Oklahoma state police to alert them that a bank robber was driving through Arkansas but would have to stop for gas around the Oklahoma state line. I told them I was a Deputy U.S. Marshal requesting assistance. I put the pedal to the metal and the little pickup took off like a rocket. It was too light to go more than about a hundred twenty, but at that speed, I was catching up quick. We were approaching a small town with a big truck stop that I thought he might use, and sure enough, his brake lights came on. I called the Arkansas state police to tell them where he was at. They said they had a trooper in the parking area. I slowed to almost a stop looking through the lot but didn't see the car. I was circling when I saw a guy putting ramps up into the back of a trailer. When I drove past the trailer, I saw the green Olds. I drove on past and parked at the end of the row of trucks and called the police back again, telling them where the Olds was now. I said we needed to try to take not only the truck driver but also the bank robber. They said they wouldn't let the truck out of the lot. Making sure my forty five was ready, I slipped down the line of trucks, keeping something between me and the cab of the truck in question. I now was next to the truck before the one that had the car in it, and luckily, the engines were off. I could hear two men arguing about what they should do with the car. One wanted to keep it for another job and the other felt the car was too hot. Nothing was settled, but the latter one said he was going to look for another car. I got a good look at him as he walked away and it wasn't my man. I heard the door to the cab shut and the diesel engine start. My man had to be in that truck. If he decided to leave, the state boys were going to be an obstacle, but when I peeked around the side of the cab, there wasn't anyone in the driver's seat and I could hear music coming from the dog house. The guy started the truck for the air conditioner. I spied some wheel chocks on a big trailer and picked up four of them, setting them in front and behind the front tires of the truck. I next called the police and asked them to converge on the truck. I had checked to make sure there wasn't an escape door on the dog house, so I felt like we had him. When the police were in place, I turned off the fuel line going to the engine. The truck ran for a few minutes before it sputtered and died. When my man got into the driver's seat, he saw a dozen troopers with rifles and shotguns aimed at him. You could see his indecision, but he finally held up his hands. I was on the side of the truck, so I reached around and opened the door. He couldn't see me, but I said for him to stick his hands out of the door first and step down slowly. I told him that if he made a false move, there were several trigger happy policemen to help him to the happy hunting grounds. When he stepped out of the truck, I landed on his back pushing him hard to the ground. Several policemen were on him instantly, holding his arms away from his body. After cuffing him, we found a pistol and an automatic in his belt plus a twenty-five auto in his sock. We read him his rights and arrested him for bank robbery and I said, "This time you're going to Leavenworth my friend, no more easy places for you. I understand no one has escaped Leavenworth in the last fifty years." The local state troopers thought he might be better off in a local jail, but I told them that it was my duty to take the escapee directly to the nearest federal facility. The one trooper said, "That's going to be in Little Rock. That's a long way. Are you sure you want to take this guy that far?" I told them that I had to do it, so I put my set of cuffs and ankle locks on him and gave the local guy his cuffs back. Another couple of troopers came up with the other guy and wanted to know what to do with him. I told them that he was theirs. I didn't have a claim on the guy. I finally convinced everyone to search the truck for the money that was just stolen from the bank in Texas. They looked around a few minutes and came up with two bank bags. One from Texas and another from Alabama. I told them that ought to be enough to prosecute the man they just caught but they should call the FBI as it was their jurisdiction. I was just a glorified bounty hunter. They all got a laugh over that one. It was going to be a six hour drive to Little Rock but that was okay since I was rested. The escapee and I had a decent conversation the whole trip. I stopped so he could pee and eat. He thought I would take off his chains and cuffs, but they were made for just what we were doing. We finally made it to Little Rock and I escorted the man into the federal building, holding up my badge. They checked my credentials and escorted me to a holding cell. When they asked if I was going to take my hardware, I said, "He's still mine until another marshal takes responsibility for him. He won't go anywhere so let's just leave him." When I called into my office, Forest got on the phone and asked if it turned into a gunfight. I told him that there wasn't a shot fired. We had captured the escapee red-handed with more bank loot and I had just given custody to the Little Rock office. Forest said, "Good going. That guy had gunfights the last two times we caught him. This time he's on his way to Leavenworth so I don't think we will have to chase him anymore. Thanks for not shooting up the place as the Director is watching." Bobby was happy to hear I had caught my man and told me to hurry home, but to get some sleep first. I did just that. The hotel out on the edge of Little Rock was quiet and peaceful. Perfect for a good night's sleep. My cell phone rang about three AM. It was the Little Rock station chief saying that my man had just escaped and had killed two deputies in the process. I couldn't imagine that they could let that happen but sure enough they did. I asked the station chief for the local police desk. I called and identified myself and asked if they had any report of any stolen cars around the downtown area where the federal building was. After a long pause the man said, "We just had a report of a late model Olds Cutlass, white over blue stolen just a few minutes ago. I told the desk guy that it was probably the escapee that was now armed and very dangerous. He said he would get that out on the radio. The man was a creature of habit. He didn't have any money so he would rob the first bank he could find, probably up here somewhere, before heading for Oklahoma. I called the Arkansas state police and the Oklahoma state police to get them to be on the look out for the Olds. Where would I go before the banks opened? First I would find a bank with good escape routes then find a place to park and wait for it to open. I drove downtown to where the car was reported stolen and took off in the direction the car had been seen heading. I took the main road right through the city to the suburbs, driving slowly and looking at banks as I went. There was a branch bank in the front of a Wal-Mart right next to the interstate that leads to Oklahoma. This place would be easy to be in and out quickly. I drove past the place before parking behind some buildings and walked up to the Wal-Mart. Inside I bought a big straw western hat and walked out to the parking lot. I looked at the sides acting like I was gathering shopping carts and no Olds. Then I began looking down the rows in front of the grocery store and right in the middle was the Olds. I kept getting more and more carts pushing them up the aisle until the car was blocked in on the back and he was blocked by a curb in the front. I walked toward the front of the car to get a cart and stopped pointing my 45 right at his face. He was surprised to see me. I told him in a very loud voice to be careful and to keep both hands visible while opening the door. I stepped back at the right moment as he tried to swing the door into me. The Cutlass door slammed into the car next to him but not into me. I put the muzzle to his face and said, "Be very careful. The hammer is back, the safety is off, and you've embarrassed the local U.S. Marshal's office." "Slide out of the car slowly, keeping your hands very high and stand there, looking forward." I put the muzzle of my gun to his back and checked for the gun he had escaped with. I told him, "Step back one step, very carefully." When he did it I said, "Do it again." He was finally at the trunk of the car so I told him to lean on the trunk with his legs spread. Once he was spread enough, I forced him down on the trunk and told him to put his left hand behind him. I latched the cuff and repeated the instruction for the right hand locking it as well. "Okay, now sit down on the ground with your legs under the car." I called the Marshal's office where this guy had just escaped from and told them to send some help to come get this guy. I was holding him by myself and didn't want to shoot him but I needed backup. They said that they would send the county sheriff out to pick him up and I told them no. "You have to pick this man up. He is a dangerous criminal that is proficient at escaping. Come and get him, or send the coroner, your choice." Two county cars came screaming up, accompanied by a state trooper. All were concerned because I would not drop my cover of the escapee. I explained that the man had just killed two deputy marshals while escaping and I didn't want to take a chance. After hearing that, they agreed and stayed with me until the deputies showed up. None of them had the proper restraints for a guy like this, so I had them cuff his ankles together and use a set of cuffs between his hands and feet. It was uncomfortable, but it would work. I said I would follow them down to make out a report, then I was leaving town. It was eight in the morning by the time we finished all the paperwork. The escapee was now locked in his cell with the appropriate waist and ankle chains. I assured the jailer that this was not cruel and unusual punishment because he could still use the toilet, he could wash his hands, and he could eat. He just could not grab a jailer and force him to do something. I called my office to hear from Forest that he just read the notice that the guy escaped, killing two deputies and now a new e-mail was coming across that he was captured again. I told him about the capture and said that since I was pretty tired, I was probably not going to drive straight through. I would probably see him on Friday. Bobby asked, "Why didn't you just shoot him the second time so he can't ever do that again." "I had the drop on him and he didn't make me do anything to him. He was lucky. I'll see you soon, Lover. Save me some." "I'm saving all of it for you. Hurry home, but be careful." The pickup could make some good time, but it wasn't the most comfortable ride in the world. When I hit I-75 South in Florida, I was getting droopy so I pulled off into one of the rest areas, parking near the restroom. I locked the doors and stretched out on the big bench seat. The traffic going through the rest area bugged me at first, but I was able to shut it out and drift off for my forty winks. "Crack." "Crack, crack." "Hey motherfucker, you better put that down.' "Crack, crack, crack, crack." "Ohhh shit!" The sound of a small caliber hand gun going off right next to me and the obvious groan of someone being hit woke me. I didn't want to sit up to show my face as whoever was shooting was right outside the door of my truck. A car door slammed in the same direction as the gun noise followed by tires squealing. I rose up to see an old seventies Chevrolet burning rubber, leaving the parking lot of the rest area. All of the license plate I could quickly recognize was the last four numbers. They were 1313, an unusual number. I opened the door to see if I could see where the person that had been hit was. An older guy in a rent-a-cop uniform was on one knee by a bench near the restrooms. When I made it to him, he was holding his side but didn't seem to be hit badly. I made him lay down and pulled his shirt open to see a small puncture wound that exited an inch or so after it entered. It looked like all that was hit was skin and fat. I ripped the guys T-shirt and held it over the wound and asked of the gathering crowd, "Anyone have any antiseptic and tape?" "I have some in the camper, I'll be right back," an older lady said and hustled to go get it. "Anyone call the cops?" I asked looking around. When all I got was blank stares, I pulled my cell phone to see that I did have a connection and dialed 911. It took a bit to get through the county dispatcher's head that a shooting had occurred at a rest area. I gave them the description of the car and the last four digits of the tag. The security guard gave a brief description of the shooter, but he was in shock so he may not be remembering everything. The lady with the first aid kit returned, so I poured some peroxide on the holes and I put a couple gauze pads and lots of tape on it to hold until the guy could get to a real doc. He wasn't going to need an ambulance unless the shock caused him some other problems. I got him to sit up and someone gave him a Coke to drink. He seemed to be calming down and was beginning to be coherent. The first aid lady had a portable blood pressure tester and wrapped it on the guard's arm and took a reading. He was about 150 over 95 which was high, but not bad considering his shock. I talked to the guy a bit to find out he had been shot once before, nearly forty years before in Viet Nam, so this wasn't his first time under fire. He half smiled and said, "You act like you've patched holes before, you been over in the sand?" I smiled and nodded, then whacked my fake leg to let him know we were brothers, but from different time frames. I got the man up and seated him on the bench. The first aid lady sort of took over mothering the guy. I walked into the restroom, peed, and washed the sleep out of my eyes, while trying to remember anything else that might help the police capture the shooter. When I went back out, two state troopers were talking to the security guard who pointed at me, telling them I had seen the car. I described what I had heard and what I had seen. When the trooper noticed the holster on my belt in the back, he put his hand on my chest and challenged, "You're carrying a weapon, do you have a permit and reason to carry that?" I held up both hands and said, reach in my left rear pocket and pull out the flat wallet. He did, and flipped it open to see my badge and U.S. Deputy Marshal's ID. "Okay, Deputy Johnson, you have a reason to carry. Why didn't you do anything?" I explained that I had been sleeping and was awakened by the small arms gunfire. I couldn't open the door right away since the shooter was right beside my truck. When the car door slammed and the tires squealed in reverse is when I got out of the truck and noted the type of car and what numbers on the license plate I was able to see. The trooper kept my ID and went over to his car to call in what the situation was. The other trooper was standing there, looking confused. I suggested, "Let's find out how the guard was standing when he was shot. We should be able to find the spent round so it can be used for ID. Let's clear these people out of here so we can look for anything that may be here. There are probably shell casings back by my truck." The trooper nodded and began ushering the gawkers away from the area. The guard stood up in the position he was in when he was shot giving me an idea the spent round had to be between him and the brick wall of the restroom. I walked slowly in that the direction and saw it lying on the ground. I called out to the trooper, "Get your camera, and some evidence bags. Let's clear the crime scene so these folks can use the bathrooms." I suggested to the people having to go bad to walk around the building to enter the restrooms from the other direction. After photographing the site and the round on the concrete, the trooper put the round in a bag and marked it. Next we went to where the guy had been standing when shooting. I said, "I heard seven rounds go off, so we should have seven casings. Look carefully as those little automatics kick the brass out pretty far." It took us about ten minutes to find and mark all seven casings. The trooper photographed the evidence in their locations, and bagged them. I noted to the trooper that the Chevy must have had posi-traction as the tire marks leaving were from both tires and continued together until the marks stopped. The trooper took a picture of that too. The other trooper finally got back and handed me my badge and ID wallet. He said, "So you're just getting back from Arkansas? You had to catch an escapee twice? Did that guy really kill a couple of deputy marshals?" I nodded on all counts and said, "Are your fellow troopers on the look out for the Chevy on down the road? I'm guessing they probably took the first exit and will try to dump that car and steal another. You might want to do some scouting around in that area." "We know how to catch bad guys too. We have a procedure to follow. We'll get it done. You can be on your way." I just nodded at the guy and thanked the other trooper for getting the scene cleaned up quick. Before I started the truck, the squirrelly trooper came over to me and asked, "Why so many rifles? What were you hunting?" I told him, "I had to blend in with the natives in order to be where the escapee was. If I didn't blend in, he would guess me to be a cop. And the biggest reason was that I didn't know what I was going to need to capture the guy." The trooper actually sneered at me, "You Feds are a waste. You probably can't shoot with what you've got in there anyway. I should take your weapons from you just to keep you safe." I wasn't mad yet but I was getting there. I pulled out my ID wallet and gave him one of my cards. "Listen, the next time your down around Tampa, call me and you and I will do some range time. We'll use our personal weapons on a decision course. Whoever loses, buys lunch. I think I'll have steak." "I'll be seeing you, hotshot government man. I'll show you some down home shooting. I might want lobster with my steak." I smiled as I climbed into the truck again and drove off. I actually got off at the next exit to check out the truck parking areas to see if the Chevy was there. I checked every rest stop all the way to Tampa. I would still bet the guy is just off the highway at one of the truck stops, waiting to find another car. Bobby was happy to see me and gave me some welcome home hugs and kisses. I gave her the story of the rest stop and said, "I guess I'll have to make a report since shots were fired. I didn't fire any of my weapons, so I'm sure all the super powers will be happy." Bobby smiled, "Forest says that he's had dozens of inquiries as to whether you've been involved in any shootings since the little war we had. I'm surprised you didn't off the guy that killed those two deputies. He deserved it." I nodded, but said, "Couldn't shoot. I had the man cold. He couldn't react and I didn't give him a chance to make a move after that. Hopefully everyone handling the man will be careful from this point on. The guy should face capital murder charges now. If he does, he's a goner." I called in to the office and reported to Forest and gave him a heads up about the rest stop shooting. His only question was, "And you didn't shoot? Not even one shot?" When I said no, he asked, "Why not?" "No clear shot, Sir, any shot I took could have hit an innocent person's car or the occupant." "Why didn't you chase the car?" "I'm using the pickup without any lights. That's against policy and I thought the guard that was shot was more important." "All good answers, Chuck. Put them in your report. You did the right thing. You're a lot more mature than people give you credit. I wondered about you when I took over here. So far, you deserve your rank and the respect that goes with it. I'm glad to be your commander." "Thanks, Sir." "You have some down time coming but we're still short handed. I need you on a case we're working on with the Bureau. It's all leg work so use file code, FXXX34, and read up. You'll need to be on it tomorrow, I'll tell the boys downstairs you'll be joining them in the morning." I pulled up the file on the internet and was about to give the order to print when I noticed that the file had three hundred plus pages. I left it up on the PC and decided to skim through it as fast as I could later. Since I was still sleep deprived, Bobby tucked me into bed and kept me company, helping me to get to sleep. She sure knows how to make a guy sleepy. I woke up around two, took a shower, and read the note on the fridge. Had to go to the office, will be back by five. When you read this, call the guys so they don't have to watch the house. The team answered and I gave them the at ease password in a sentence. I made some coffee and sat down to read the massive file on the case I was going to work on with the Bureau. After reading nearly every word, I had to go back and read parts of it again since I couldn't find the answer of the most important question. "What were we looking for, what were we investigating?" I called Forest and asked him if he could give me an answer. He said the file was confidential and we couldn't discuss it over the phone. I asked him to read the file so he could answer the question when I saw him. Bobby came home with some folders of active relocations. She was checking out the possibility of us putting a family into a home nearby. The husband had turned in a man that turned out to be connected. There had been an attempt on the witness' life, so the service was going to put him in a safe location, far away from the folks who might be looking for him. The rest of the files were of people who might pass through on a hand off. After we both had read the files, she put them in our file safe and we concentrated on a workout. An hour and a half later, we were both wrung out, needing a shower and some food. Once those requirements had been met, we watched a new training film Sarah had given Bobby. It was on new ways to secure escapees. They used the waist and leg chains showing how the captive couldn't run and couldn't easily attack a guard. We each took the online quiz and got ready for bed. We took the long way to bed. That means we passed through the hot tub before we hit the sheets. Playing with a three hundred fifty-pound hunk of woman is a handful. Actually it was more like a front loader full, but it sure is fun. We were becoming experts at making each other smile. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 3 The next morning I reported to Forest who said he didn't have any answers for me as he didn't understand the file either. He accompanied me downstairs for the Bureau briefing. It seems the clerks in the federal court building were somehow changing files and were making changes to the recorded trial transcripts so appeals would be easier. If this were true, there would be lawyers as well as clerks that were involved. A clerk wouldn't know exactly what to change in order to give a reviewing court reason to dismiss charges. Something sounded really fishy with the whole thing as I had read in some of the early training that all original federal transcripts were filed in D.C. within the Library of Congress. I asked for one of the transcripts that was being forwarded to the review court, then I ordered the same transcript to be Fedex'd to me from D.C. to compare. I had to go into the office to look through the law library to find out the procedures of the federal review panels. It seems that a single judge reviews the request then convenes the panel. The single judge was supposed to have ordered the transcript from D.C. to review the case but a clerk was being helpful and provided one locally. That was the first mistake. When the panel convened, they were using what the original review judge had for a transcript to make a panel decision. That was the second mistake. People are lazy, so it's reasonable that the review judge would just take the provided file and go from there. My surprise though was that the other judges didn't request a copy. I went back through the panel's transcripts and found where three judges had requested copies of the D.C. file. The problem was the same clerk had provided what looked like an authentic file. I went in to see Forest and went over what I had found so far. I told him that the judges were only at fault for not personally ordering the transcripts. The statutes specifically required judges to personally order the review materials. It was a possible disbarment offense, but it was only a sign of poor judgment on their part. I asked Forest if he had a favorite federal judge I could present the findings to. He said he did, but that he thought I should report to the FBI team leader on the case. I had to answer, "Forest, this team has been working on this case for almost a year. I've worked on the case for less than forty-eight hours. What's wrong with this picture?" "Okay," Forest granted, "I'll set up your presentation to the judge right now, after that you go down and give the info to the team leader. The judge can begin action from his position, and you can help the team leader finish up identifying the clerks involved." That afternoon, Forest had me in his office to meet Lawton Monroe, a forty-year federal judge that was nearing retirement. He was an alert, sharp gentleman who listened to my entire presentation before answering. I showed him my evidence, which were the transcript used by the review panel and the transcript provided from D.C. I had tagged and marked all of the changed areas. My other evidence was the law book that spelled out the statute proceedings for a trial review. The man looked over all the evidence thoroughly, read the statute out loud twice, then leaned back in his chair. He smiled at me and said, "I guess you get to say 'gotcha." "I was assigned to this case and this is what I've found. Would you like to accompany me downstairs to corroborate the statute? I can introduce you into this by saying I wanted a judicial opinion." Judge Monroe looked at Forest and said, "He's not only smart, he's sneaky too. I like that. Let's go report to your team leader." The meeting with the team leader went less than spectacular. The man reprimanded me for bringing in a busy federal judge just to look at some spotty evidence he didn't feel warranted to be looked at. He dismissed the D.C. transcripts as probably being wrong and the local transcripts being correct. He told me to quit wasting his time and to go look for some good evidence. He looked at Forest and said, "How about you just take your man back? I really don't need him on this job." The three of us left and went right back to Forest's office. The judge used Forest's secure phone and called the U.S. Attorney General. He gave a couple of passwords then told the man that he wanted an investigative team in Tampa in the morning. They were to go directly to the U.S. Marshal's office for their initial briefing. He emphasized that none of the team being sent notify any other branch about where they were going." He hung up the phone and asked, "Can you give the same presentation Monday morning?" When I nodded that I could he said, "Now the shit is going to hit the fan. Good job, Deputy Johnson. I'll sign for your promotion if you're looking for one." "I'm fine, Judge, get us some more marshals though. We're a little short right now." Forest said, "See, Judge, this is the type of deputies we have. This is a really good office." The man rose to leave, "I'll see you both in the morning. You both should probably pay attention to your surroundings since we were blown off so forcefully. I'd hate to think that someone from the Bureau was doing something like that." When the judge left, Forest pulled out his drawer, checked his weapon, put it in a clip holster, and put it on his belt. "I know I should carry this thing all the time, but there is such a stigma about us shooting that I leave it here so I'm not tempted. You're carrying, right?" I said I was and that I had a basket full of ordnance to turn in after my escapee trip. Forest smiled, "All that and you didn't even fire a round." "Nice isn't it," I said, as I left his office. No one gave me a second look while I was turning in the rifles and handguns I had checked out, and no one even noticed when I checked out a duty vehicle to use to go home. A plain Jane Ford Taurus is the perfect "I'm a nobody" car for law enforcement to drive, especially when it's a sick looking blue. Who cares as long as it had air and the service's radio? I told Bobby about my day, and she said that I should be cautious when the shit hits the fan as some of the Bureau people can be vicious when confronted. They don't like to be caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Bobby wanted a treat tonight and had heard about a restaurant out in Land 'o Lakes that had some great Italian food. She had invited Jonah and Millie to go with us, so we were to ride to Jonah's and head out to Park Place from there. The evening was perfect bike weather. Warm enough so you didn't need a jacket, but not stifling hot. We arrived at Park Place about six thirty and found that the restaurant had about a thirty minute wait for a table. They had a lounge next to the bar, full of business people here for some thank God it's Friday fun. When you walk into a place with two women that are six-six and six-seven and go from three fifty to four hundred pounds, you get some attention. Jonah is almost as tall as Millie, but rail thin. I come up to above Bobby's shoulder, but just barely. When people who don't know us see the girls busting their butts to wait on Jonah and me, you just know they are wondering what we have, that they don't. While working on our drinks, we checked out the bar and billiard area that was equally full. There was some yellow tape over an area on the far side of the room with a sign that said, "Pardon our dust, we're expanding our billiards area. On the other side of that there was another restaurant that looked like a big city diner. It looked full too. There must not be many good places to go out here. The girls were talking about a clothing company out this way that made clothes for big girls. They said that most everything they wore came from a website called "Big Girls Clothes.com." The sisters were planning an expedition to the outlet store with their mom, their two sisters and their sisters in law. It was funny to hear them get excited about clothes. After being seated, we were fed royally. They had a menu with the usual steaks and seafood, but also had an interesting Italian menu that we all went nuts over. This was a great place as the service was super and the food was out of this world. We were so full when we walked out of the restaurant, we didn't know whether to ride back right away or walk around a little. We walked up the road a little ways, noting there was a light with a crosswalk for a subdivision of condos and duplexes on the other side of the road. A gas powered golf cart roared by us, crossing the highway. It was painted up with signs for Georgia's Pizza. It must be a local pizza place. On the opposite side of the street was a really high concrete fence, with lots of vines growing up the sides. You're always curious about what's on the other side of a really tall fence. A little further up the road was a guarded entrance to Lake View Naturist Park. The girls were laughing, but Jonah and I were in the dark. Millie said, you should know what naturist are, they're nudists. Jonah and I both nodded, with Jonah saying, "We should go in and check out the place. Hell, Millie loves to parade around bare ass naked all the time." Bobby said, "I've always wanted to go to a nudist park. I think it would feel good to be able to be totally free of clothes for a while. Write down the number on the sign, Millie, so we can check out the place." As we walked back to the restaurant and our bikes, we noticed that the building continued on the other side of the fence. Jonah commented, "See that, the other side, the nude side has a restaurant and bar over there as well. Cool idea." We rode back to our place where the girls were quickly out of their clothes and into the hot tub. We didn't keep the tub that warm but the air jets felt great to a tired body. Jonah checked on his bar a few times and found everything calm each time. We went into the house, still naked from the hot tub, and had some of Bobby's cherry pie with some ice cream. That's how three hundred plus pound babes can keep the weight on. As Millie and Jonah got ready to leave, there were hugs all around and promises of them coming out to swim and barbecue soon. When Bobby and I were alone, snuggled on the couch and watching some mindless TV, Bobby asked, "Would you go to a nude park with me? Millie wants to go in the worse way, but Jonah won't go. If you went along with us, Jonah might give in and go. Would you go with us?" "I might be a little self-conscious about my leg but I wouldn't mind going at all. You and Millie will cause quite a stir if you two go out there together. There are not many women that can top you two on looks, especially if you take in your total mass. My goodness, you two must have seventy pounds of tits each. You have a better backside than Millie. Your gorgeous butt in clothes causes guys to run off the road as it is. I can't imagine what kind of reaction your bare bum would cause." Bobby smiled at me and said, "You and I are going out there soon. If Millie wants to come along, she will be welcome. I'll bet my Mom would love to go out there. My two crazy sisters would walk out there naked just to show off. So if you want to escort a bunch of big babes out to a naturist park, you have a deal." "What about your dad, won't he want to come?" "Maybe," Bobby waffled, "he's kind of shy about being nude because he's so small. Mom says he isn't small all over, he just isn't very tall." "Well, make the plans, I'd love to check out five magnificent women all at one time. If they have a prize for the longest hardon, I'll win because there is no way that I can stay soft looking at all of you girls." Bobby hugged me, smothering me with kisses and her magnificent bazooms. "You're so sweet to love me the way you do. I could be another five inches taller and weight another hundred pounds and you would still be lusting after me. I love you, Baby." With that type of conversation we were soon leaving a damp trail from the couch all the way into the bedroom where we totally tore up the bed. Somehow I took care of Bobby's itch to fall asleep with her head on my shoulder and one of her magnificent legs across mine. We were interrupted on Sunday morning by a call for us to pick up a witness from the office downtown. This was going to be a single that would be staying for a few days while they worked out the new identity. Bobby said she would give the house a once over while I went to pick up the witness. As I got closer to downtown, I called to find out whether to park and walk over to get the witness or would they come to the car in front of the building. I was told to just pull up out front but to check up and down the street first before parking. I cruised the streets around the building to see if there were any vehicles out of place or people just sitting in a vehicle. I pulled up to the doors to the federal building and a guy in coveralls and a ball cap came out and got in the Suburban. After pulling away, I stuck my hand out and said, "Chuck Johnson, your host for a while." A shocking female voice came from under the hat, "I understood that a woman would be my keeper while in Tampa." "That's Bobby, she is the leader at the safe house. I'm second to her. I was just trying to be friendly, that's all." "Keep your hands to yourself and we'll get along fine. Everything about all this is scary. I have to trust people that I don't know and they all say they are watching out for me. I sure hope so." I was taking the long way home to make sure we didn't pick up a tail. The problem was that we did have a tail. I radioed the duty people and advised them of my situation and my moving 10-20 (location). Next I called Bobby and told her I had the subject but was leading company. She told me to wait for some teams to get to me. The guest angrily asked me, "What are you talking about, is there a problem?" "Look, don't be alarmed but we may have someone following us. A couple of teams will be with us in a minute. I want you to feel safe though as this is a totally bulletproof vehicle. Even the tires cannot be flattened by bullets." The subject was getting nervous, "Just relax, we're going to take a longer ride and head south toward MacDill AFB. If they are still with us, the guards there will take them. I used the tactical radio to inform the teams of my location and intent. I received some microphone keys in response. We were getting close to the main gate when I saw the two teams coming up behind the tail vehicle. I slowed to let one get on the street side and one to close up the rear before coming to a stop at an intersection. The rear vehicle made the announcement to remain in the car, but to put their hands out the windows. I could see at least three people in the tail car, but only one pair of hands. I used the Tac radio to advise the teams. The passenger in the team car beside the tail put his hand out the window with his Glock and shot out both left side tires. The team car rolled up a little more, the hand appeared out of the team passenger window again, and fired five rounds into the engine compartment using a forty-four magnum. We heard the engine grind to a stop, but the three men in the care were still not coming out or showing all the hands. The Tac radio crackled and one of the guys asked, "Chuck, can you get a head shot of one of them, preferably the driver. Take one out and we should be able to get the other two." "I can't do that. They have not shown any aggressive behavior yet, It's not a crime to follow another car." The guy left his mike keyed and we heard, "Christ, our best shooter, the one with the most kills, won't even take out the stupid driver." I was watching the three in the car to be sure a gun didn't come into view. A gun didn't, but all of a sudden the guy in the rear seat began pulling out the tube for a collapsible rocket launcher or LAW. Bazooka, if you want another name for it. I keyed the mike saying they were arming a LAW as I rolled out of the car facing the bad guys and took careful aim shooting the guy in the rear seat square through the head. I used three rounds to make sure of a hit. The front seat passenger went after the tube, so I shot him too. Damn, wish they wouldn't make me do that. The driver had both hands out the window hollering for us not to shoot him. Both teams converged on the car, pulling the driver out and laying him in the street. I waited until the team leader waved, then sat back down in my seat and reloaded my Glock. The girl in coveralls said, "Thanks. You weren't kidding about taking care of me. I feel a lot better now." She stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Charlotte, and I'm scared shitless. Now what do we do?" "We wait till a clean-up crew gets here then we head home with both teams following way back to spot any other vehicles that may be interested in us." Charlotte pushed up her cap and looked at me, "Don't you feel bad about shooting those two men?" "Since they were seconds away from making you and me meat pies, I don't feel bad at all. It's too bad I had to kill them as they could give us information about who is trying to get you. Hopefully, the driver knows something, but they usually are just contract guys that don't know anything except how to drive." The radio crackled, saying the clean-up and crime scene guys were there so we could go. I let one car get way ahead following him with the other team car watching from way back. They both knew the route, so they knew where someone might pick us up. If that were to happen, we would lead them somewhere else and repeat the capture process. Bobby spoke up on the tactical radio. "There's been a strange car running around the neighborhood for the last fifteen minutes. Abort coming here and head to the base. Let's keep this place clean. I wonder how they knew to look out here." I checked with the two teams and they said they were turning with us. We made it to McDill without further incident. The gate guy said, "I remember you from a couple months ago. Neat to see someone stick to a job even when it gets hairy. Our three cars pulled up to the BOQ quarters and we went inside. I had the guest give me all of her sizes and radioed Bobby with the sizes we would need. She said she would have a suitcase made up in an hour or so. The guest quarters the base supplied us was right on the aircraft tarmac. If we were going to transport the subject by air, the plane could taxi right up to the door. The female NCO in charge of the quarters handed the guest a big towel, washrag, and a hand full of toiletries, then showed her where the women's latrine and shower was. The two teams told me they weren't needed any more so they were going back to either the barn or on stakeout depending on what the movement folks wanted to do. Bobby showed up in a big Mercury a while later, with the suitcase for the guest and some clothes and toiletries for Safe one and two. That would be us. Bobby took Charlotte into a room and made sure the clothes all fit before they both came out. Bobby said to me, "So you had to shoot, huh? Bet you hated to do that. What made you shoot?" I smiled and said dryly, "A collapsible rocket launcher." Bobby nodded and said, "That would do it. You should be clean for the shooting." Charlotte said, "Clean? He should get a medal. They, you know those bad guys that are dead now, they were going to blow us up. He saved me, that's what he did." Bobby smiled at Charlotte and said, "The guy does that sort of thing a lot, saving people, that is." We walked over to the Officer's Club for supper and enjoyed a decent meal. When we were back in the BOQ, I called into the tactical transport center to see what was up. The man said, "The trio you took care of look like the only loose ends on this one. The relo group has the guest's ID ready and will probably transport in the morning. No word on whether your group is providing escort. Call in the morning for orders anytime after seven. Night, night, Wild Bill, make sure you clean your piece." Bobby had heard the last of the conversation and exclaimed quietly, "Smart Ass." She shook her head and said, "They know you're doing everything possible to keep from using force, but it just isn't happening." We spent a peaceful evening and night in the base quarters, had breakfast, before we were advised that a transport plane would be picking up the guest for relocation. By the time we had said our good-byes, there was an obnoxiously painted up Lear setting out on the tarmac. It was one of the S&S planes with cartoons all over it. Every time I saw one of those planes, I would get a laugh as you saw a new cartoon each time. The company had a great sense of humor. Bobby noted that there was one line under the S&S logo that said, "Big Girls Clothes.com." The two companies must be related. We waved goodbye to Charlotte and wished her luck. She left with a smile. Since we had two cars with us, we drove back to the house and gave the duty car back to the team babysitting the house. As soon as they took off, we were out of our clothes, diving into the pool, and getting our workout in the water for a change. We managed to get some sun, drink lots of iced tea, and plan on a bike ride as it turned twilight. A babysitting team came to relieve us and we were down the street with a roar in minutes. We rode to the bar, picked up Jonah and Millie, along with a half a dozen other couples, to roar off to Plant City for our dessert. We went to Parksdale farms for some of their great strawberry short cake with real home made ice cream and whipped cream on top. It's always a treat to get something special like that. The group took a real long way around to get back to Jonah's. By the time Bobby and I made it home, it was almost eleven. The relief guys had said they were planning on staying over tonight, so we didn't feel bad about being out late. Bobby and I made every effort to convince ourselves that we were made for each other. As soon as Bobby and I showed up for the Monday morning group briefing, Sarah reminded me that I had an incident report to write up. She also told me to be sure to say why I had to fire my weapon. The meeting was as usual. We heard about some misdeeds within the federal system that marshals had to investigate a couple of escapes, and a slug of people going through the witness protection process. I know I was, and I would bet all the other guys were waiting for the air marshal assignments too. We all dreaded the monotonous flights. When Forest didn't mention any air marshal assignments, one of the big mouths up front asked Forest about them. He said, "You know, since we are so short of manpower, Jacksonville and Orlando are taking up almost all of our slack. Since you asked about the air jobs, John, you can have the United route." "But, Forest, that's a three day turn. Why didn't Orlando do that one?" "John, just do the job, the rest of you, check your boxes for assignments. D.C. is sending a pile of dirty jobs done dirt cheap through channels this morning. They are assigning deputies according to their rank and experience. Okay everyone, do a good job this week and stay safe." We all hit the coffee pot and watched Sarah out of the corner of our eyes as she would be the one to post the jobs. I used my time to do my incident report, using lots of flowery hesitant language about having to defend the other teams and our guest. If I read the report, I would have promoted the guy who wrote it. Forest waved at Bobby and me to come into his office. He indicated for us to shut the door before handing us each a group of stapled information sheets. "After you do your presentation to the attorney general's task force, how about working a remote together? You two need a honeymoon, some time off, or something. The packet you have is about four guys, federal prisoners that walked off a day job in Pensacola and didn't come back. That in itself is unusual because two of them were short timers, one with two weeks, and one with three weeks. The other two men have several years, but have been ideal prisoners. Someone sold them on leaving early and the service would like to find out who, what, why and where the escapees are." He pulled a big box off the floor and put it on the desk. "Chuck, I know you like to research an escapee before you go chasing him, so the box has all our records on each of the men. You two check out a traveling car, go pack and let's see if you can get a lead on where they might be." I took Bobby to the conference room and handed her one of the files and told her to read it quickly to get an idea of the man we were looking for. My file was the thickest, but it was also the file of the guy with the most time and most times in jail. We both went on to the next file and when we sat back, Bobby asked, "So now that I've read two how do we proceed?" Actually, we need to read all four individually, and then decide. You and I can figure on at least one quick capture, and the rest may fall like dominoes. Let's get our stuff together and as soon as this meeting is over, head north to Pensacola. I think we could interview some of their cellmates and get an idea of what might have made the two short timers take off. The presentation to a bunch of senior marshals and an additional federal judge went well. In the beginning, the visiting judge thought our case was nit picking but when we showed distinct differences in the files, he became a lot more interested. The task force leader said, "We are going to pull cases for the past year, longer if necessary, and compare transcripts. This should be an interesting investigation. I understand your boss is sending you on an assignment that will take you out of town. That's a good idea, now you won't be associated with any bickering that goes on." Bobby and I used the time driving north productively. First, Bobby read the two files that I had read, followed by her reading me the two files that she had read. When she was finished she asked, "Notice any similarities?" "First, they are all from Jacksonville and all were convicted of theft of government property. They all were stealing military ordinance, rifles, ammunition, and explosives. How about we head east to Jacksonville and perhaps get there in time to welcome them to the city. We need to call in so the various armories can beef up their security." Since I was driving, Bobby called Forest to ask him to go through the chain of command so the military could add more security to any munitions storage areas. Forest said the wheels turn slow, but that he would get right on it. Just as we were entering the naval area of Jacksonville, Bobby's cell phone rang. Forest had some news for us. The Army National Guard armory had been broken into last night. The robbers had taken a deuce and a half (large two and half ton military truck) along with ten cases of M16's, fifty canisters of ammunition, ten cases of hand grenades, and four cases of anti-personnel mines. The lone guard had not been killed, but had been badly beaten. The other stolen goods were all uniforms. The vehicle was going to stick out plainly, so I had Bobby call the highway patrol to ask about any tractor-trailers or other large trucks that might have been stolen. We called the local marshal's office and asked them what type of relationship they had with the Bureau, as well as with the local sheriff's office and police department. The Bureau chief said he had already heard from Forest and had a team out investigating the armory break-in. I said that I didn't think the escapees were going to use the stolen weapons, but would use them to get money from gun runners or to barter for passage to a South American country. I asked the station chief for the number of the local customs office. The customs office was close by and the officer in charge told us to come by and review the files of all of the suspected arms and munitions buyers. He said he would have one of the lead ATF guys come by to brief us as well. In the customs office, we met Ben Adams and ATF officer Gus Manning. Both men were aware of the armory break-in but neither was aware of the four escapees. They agreed that the escapees were probably responsible. Ben said, he had a solution for goods getting out of the country. He called the harbormasters in the area and had them restrict departures until additional inspections could be made. The thought that all of the stolen goods wouldn't even fill one cargo container made the task a little more difficult, but we thought that if we could blanket the shipyards with law enforcement and photo posters of the escapees, we might have some luck. It was way past food time and we were getting tired, but we wanted a tour of the harbor area to get an idea of what we would encounter. The ATF agent slowly drove us through the area, pointing out warehouses with suspected activity then drove right down to the docks and parked between some containers waiting to be loaded onto ships. Gus said, "We need to go through the cargo ships that have drive on access. I'd bet the military vehicle is already loaded. It may still have all of the goods on it. Hopefully, the ship with it will still be docked since a restriction has been issued." I asked a question that may have been silly, "Since this is something that could come under the realm of national security, could we call out the guard or reserves and search every ship and every warehouse in the area? Gus said, "We can legally search every ship, but we have to have search warrants for all the warehouses. The Homeland Security guys could possibly get away with doing something like that, but there would be hell to pay when the legal eagles got hold of it." I asked, "Since you're part of national security can you ask your boss to get the reserves and or the guard to come help lock down this area. We could get these ships searched as far as vehicles go and get them out of the harbor so trade can get back to normal." "Good idea, let me call," Gus said. He called his boss but had to call a person higher in the chain of command. While he was doing that, I called our big boss in D.C. He had made the mistake of giving me his cell phone number, and this was a reason to use it. When I called him, he said he was relaxing on his back porch with some single malt and a big stogie. I gave him the details of what we were doing and asked if he could push some buttons so we could finish this chase quick. John said, "I can get you all the help you need real quick. Military arms thefts are way up and the brass are suffering. If you were to catch some of the traffickers, you would give the marshal's service some brownie points. I'll get right on it." I called the local marshal's office and asked if they could put a poster together with pictures of the four escapees on it and produce a couple thousand copies. I told them what was in progress and that we needed to have them for the troops to use. Bobby said she needed to stretch her legs a little as she was butt weary from sitting all day. Gus and I got out and walked with her. We must have looked funny as Bobby was obviously a woman flanked by two much shorter men. As we passed ships, men from on deck made loud, rude remarks, inviting Bobby on board. While we were walking along we saw something that got our attention about five ships down from where we were. Two Humvees drove from a warehouse across the dock onto a ship. A few seconds later, two deuce and a halfs came from the same warehouse and drove on to the ship. Gus called his boss to call for a raid. He called the customs guy and gave the berth number of the ship and told him to coordinate with his boss. I called John to tell him what we had just seen and he gave me a telephone number of a local reserve commander that was alerting his troops as we spoke. I told Gus to get his vehicle and Bobby and I would walk closer to keep watch. As we walked closer, a military ambulance drove from the warehouse to the ship followed by about a dozen fairly new pickup trucks. These ships were almost like ferries, as they had decks especially made for vehicles as well as cargo holds for containers. Bobby and I were up next to the warehouse so we wouldn't stand out so easily out on the dock. Gus drove up and parked his Bronco close to the building so it also would not stand out easily. He asked me if I wanted to go inside or wait for the troops. I told him, "Colonel Nelson said he would have his people here within thirty minutes, and that was twenty minutes ago. Matt from the marshal's service is meeting his men with the copies of the photos. Matt also said that he was able to get a couple dozen Homeland Security people and the entire local Bureau is on its way. The troops from the National Guard armory are slow but should show up for any mop up. Let's see if we can co-ordinate this and hit the warehouse and ship all at once." I had an idea and called Colonel Nelson to ask if he were transporting any troops in a deuce and a half. He said yes, so I said, "Stop and get the pictures of the escapees then bring two of the trucks right onto the dock and drive onto the ship. The people on the ship may think this is just some more cargo and direct you to where the other trucks are. Have your men blanket the ship, deck by deck, room by room. Tell them to be careful though, as these guys are not nice." "Good idea, Deputy, you sound like you have some command experience. We'll talk later." The hard part was waiting these last ten to fifteen minutes. Finally calls came in that they were assembled at the entrance roads. I told them to send the two trucks first and to be hitting the warehouse at the same time. Have the remainder of the troops form a loose guard around this local area and not let anyone through. The customs guys were on the trucks with the soldiers so they could direct those activities better. They were familiar with ships. We watched as the two trucks drove up to the ramp and were directed right into the ship. Just as I suspected, the trucks were considered cargo. Another truck drove up on the dock side of the warehouse with soldiers jumping out to stand guard at the door. A department of Homeland Security van pulled up by the ship with a dozen men getting out and heading up the gangway to the main deck. Gus was standing by a door at this end of the warehouse when it opened a crack. Since Gus was on the other side, he couldn't be seen, and Bobby and I were split up, with her being on the other side, at the corner of a container, while I was around the corner of the building. The door opened farther and two men slipped out. Gus said fairly loud, "Halt," The lead guy had a pistol and began swinging around at Gus. Wrong move, Gus shot him as he was still turning. The second guy was also carrying a gun and raised it to be shot by both Bobby and me at the same time. I was into the building while the second guy was still falling, but didn't see anyone else close to the door. The gunfire brought a dozen soldiers running to see what was going on. As we rolled the two over, we saw that they were escapees, the two long term guys. The one Gus shot was still alive, so I had one of the soldiers go back to his group and call a medic. There was no sense in even checking our guy for a pulse, as Bobby and I put our rounds directly in the heart side of the chest. The guy was staring straight up. One of the soldiers looked at the wounded one followed by the dead guy and had to go to the side of building to throw up. One of his buddies said, "He's green. He hasn't rotated to do a sand tour yet. He'll be alright." We detailed a couple of soldiers to watch the dead and wounded, then walked over to the big warehouse door to see how they were doing clearing the building. They were herding everyone inside together and walking them toward the dock. They were doing a good sweep. The first group gathered people and a second group looked for anyone hiding. Both of the deuce and a halfs that had driven on to the ship with troops came driving out. One had a lieutenant that told me they had found the stolen deuce and a half, with all of the munitions still on board. That left only two escapees. Bobby and I went back to the group of people brought out from the warehouse. A couple of Homeland Security guys were questioning some of the bosses of the loading crew. They didn't act as if they were being of much help. I went over to tell the Homeland guys, "I have orders to lock up all of them for theft of U.S. Government armament. Get them together so we can get them on buses. They are all considered terrorists so we want to get them down to Guantanamo as quickly as possible before some public defender gets at them." As soon as handcuffs began appearing, four of the guys began babbling about everything they knew. One of the officers smiled at me and winked. Some state patrol guys showed up so we could have them check serial numbers on all of the vehicles loaded onto the ship. We were going to have to unload a bunch of them to get the truck we were interested in off. An Army sergeant came up to us and said, "That other deuce and a half is stolen too. It just had not been missed and reported stolen yet. The two Humvees and the ambulance have been reported stolen as well. This is a good haul. About an hour later, some army types came out the drive on ramp with our two escapees. They were walking up gingerly as the army types had taken their shoes to keep them from trying to run. They knew tricks from the desert. We cuffed the two guys and told them that they were lucky they had not been with their buddies. Gus said, "I didn't kill the one I shot, but he'll die anyway. The other one died fast." The two men became very docile and quiet. Bobby and I finally found a couple of marshals among the many people from multiple branches of service. We gave them the two escapees and said another was probably going to the hospital, but the fourth was dead. They took possession of the prisoners and went to check on the badly wounded guy. I asked if they had a clean up crew but they said they used the Bureau's people and would call them for the dead guy. Bobby and I went in search of each of the group leaders to get their names and units so we could get them commendations. It took longer to get names and units than it did to do the raid. The local FBI agent in charge was an older guy that had seen it all in his time. He said, "There always has been smuggling going on down here both in and out. This is usually out of our jurisdiction so tonight was a bonus. Thanks for getting us in on the raid." We made sure that everyone knew where we were going to be, but said we were running on empty. We needed some food and sleep or we would be sleeping on the dock soon. I promised to come to the marshal's office in the morning when we got up to write up our incident reports. Bobby and I caught a ride back to our car and went to the nearest hotel. We both had a Big Mac on the way and were sound asleep minutes after getting in bed. Primary editing by Pepere {ci}Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 4 Six o'clock found me awake, as usual, thinking of what had to be done yet today. There was no sense in trying to go back to sleep, so I began sliding out of bed. Bobby's large hand and arm wrapped around me and pulled me back to her, spinning me around so I was face to face with her. We kissed some until she said, "I know we need to get going, but I needed some kisses from my guy. You know, we make a pretty good team. Wonder if Forest is picking up on that. I'd bet Howard filled him in. But John was just here, so he might have sent us together on this one to see if we clicked." I mentioned, "You know the directives say that when multiple inmates escape, a task force of no less than twelve men is to be assembled and work together to bring the escapees in. I know I'm not big enough for more than one, and you're not big enough to equal more than two, so we're nine men short on this detail. I'd bet anything Forest did this as a test to make sure we wouldn't do anything stupid. We brought in every department in the area to get the job done, but we did get it done." We showered, dressed, and ate before going to the local federal building. When we got there, news trucks were parked up and down the street. We walked through security, holding our badges out, and signed in. As soon as we entered the offices, the local chief deputy said, "These are the deputies that coordinated last night's raids. Let's go into the conference room and we'll let them give you a statement." Shit, this isn't supposed to be a part of being a deputy U.S. Marshal. Bobby and I were introduced, and I stood up to have a barrage of questions thrown at me at once. I remained standing and smiled until the news hounds quieted. "I'm going to go over this once. My partner and I are responsible for a mile of paperwork and I would like to finish it sometime this week. This is what happened." I told the story slowly, trying not to leave out any details and giving credit to each department and service that assisted us. I had the name of each leader that had been on site and made sure the news guys had the correct spelling for each one. The only thing I sort of muffled was the killing of an escapee. I just said he died from an exchange of small arms fire. The other escapee was still in the hospital not expected to make it. I wrapped it up by saying, "The U.S. Marshal's service was responsible for capturing the escapees and we're responsible for assisting in the recovery of government property. Our mission could not have been accomplished without the direct assistance of all branches and departments. My fellow deputy and I both thank all of you." The news guys all started shouting questions again and I held my hand up. "You know you're asking a question that I've already answered. Go back to your newsroom and watch the video tape. All of your questions will be answered. Anything other than what I have told you is either classified, or not significant to the case. Thank you." I helped Bobby stand and we walked out of the conference room, ducking into an interrogation room before anyone could follow us. Bobby stood with her back to the door and gave me a nice kiss. "I'm so glad you know how to talk to those guys. I would have been stumbling around the whole time." I smiled and gave her a kiss, "Just tell it like you're writing your incident report." Peeking out the door, I noticed that the last of the camera people were leaving. We walked out and I asked a deputy nearby, "Where do you hide the coffee and are you good cops and have donuts?" He busted up and led us to the coffee where there were several boxes of donuts. Bobby and I took a couple each and asked where there was a PC that we could use to write up our incident reports. The deputy pointed to the office of the chief and said, "See him first." The man stepped out of his office and said, "Go in and have a seat. I need more coffee and a couple more donuts." When we walked into the office, we almost dropped what we were carrying. Both Forest and John were sitting in the office drinking coffee and smiling at us. Forest said, "I saw your interview. Very professional and you did a good job recognizing every one of the different groups that helped. Pretty smart of you to get all of their names and units." John said, "This is one of your better moves. I liked the line about the exchange of small arms fire. You know this capture is the perfect cover for your run in with the State department guy. If his cohorts weren't honest about it, you would be history. You did good this time." Forest suggested we get our reports completed so we headed back to the offered PC to write the incident report. Lately anything to do with someone firing a weapon for any reason became a class in creative writing when filing the report. We were about to create the report when the station chief came up to us and said with a smile, "I think your fairy godmother wrote a report for you. Follow me." The local chief walked back into his office, with us following him, and said to us in front of Forest and John, "You forgot to sign your incident reports from last night. Sign them so we can forward them on." A quick glance at the reports he handed us told me that the exchange of small arms fire accounted for the dead and almost dead escapees. I looked up at Forest and John asking, "Why are you two here? You sent us on a job and we did it. Is there something else up?" With a smile, John said, "This was a bigger deal than you thought. You uncovered one of the largest arms and stolen property smuggling operations on the east coast. Almost all of the containers on that ship were full of stolen property. Their manifest didn't say stolen property, but the serial numbers sure did. They were going to transport over two hundred containers full of illegal goods. Just think, that ship does one and a half to two trips a month full of stolen property going out of the country and we've suspected they've been bringing in narcotics on the their return trips. We just haven't figured out how. That bust last night was significant. We put a dent in someone's treasure chest." Forest said, "I'm your station chief and I should always be around to congratulate two of my own when they do a good job. Chuck, you have a reputation to live down and have been doing an excellent job of it. I'm proud of you both. Howard told me Bobby was special, so I know now I've got a couple of special deputies that I'm proud of. Thanks for showing off the marshal service." The local chief said, "I think this is the first time this office has ever been featured in a capture or the news. I've sent my second down to the newspaper so they can write a decent article. Forest and John gave us your backgrounds so we could give them to the press. I have one question though, if you are disabled, how did you have a boxing match with a State Department type from an Ivy league school that was supposed have been on their boxing team." "I'm not really disabled; I lost a leg, that's all. If the State Department guy ever learned anything about boxing, he had forgotten everything he had learned. Besides, I don't fight fair." "That's what John said. He also told us he advised you to pull your punches." I shook my head, "There really wasn't any real punches. I think I had forceful contact with him only twice. The rest of it was just dodging and tripping, kind of dull." John told the local chief, "Go out and find every Special Forces guy you can that's getting out and hire them. They will be your best men. They know how to track, they know how to think and organize, and they aren't afraid to attack or defend. Find some Seals, some Green Berets, some Marine Special Forces, they all are special men." "I'm going to do that. No sense in letting that kind of experience and training go to waste." I asked Forest, "Now that the assignment is complete, do you have something else that's next, or should we just go back and report in tomorrow morning." Forest said, "You have a day off each for the incident, so report in day after tomorrow. If something comes up, I'll call you. Don't relieve the guys at the safe house. They have guests right now so you decide where you're going. I have a copy of your incident report so the only thing to write up is the tracking and capture report. This would be a great training movie to show how to co-ordinate services." "That's another reason I'm here, Chuck and Bobby. Not many deputies will call in other agencies to assist when they should. You two did a world of good for all of the agencies to let them all know that we can work well together. That Chuck coordinated the movement, but gave the individual team leaders their independence to act was really important. He gave them permission to do what they do best and to command and lead as they should. Chuck, if we had a rank of field general, I'd award it too you. This was the best operation among services that I've ever heard of. Do it again and I swear you'll have to learn to live in D.C." I frowned and shook my head, "A duh, Bobby isn't it?" I said mimicking a movie gangster." You ah, want ah, to get out of here huh? How bout we go bust up a bar or two on the way home, huh? Whaddya tink?" "Get out of here, make sure you're back to work day after tomorrow," Forest laughed. We shook hands all around and went out to the office to shake hands with those folks too, as well as with all of the Bureau folk that were in the office. Our hands were red by the time we were able to leave. Wonder how those politicians can do all that handshaking. It takes about five hours to drive back to Tampa. It took us almost seven as we stopped a couple of times to eat and just relax. At home, we met the guests and chatted with the deputies on duty. We took the time to clean our weapons and to put another round in the spare magazines that we had changed out after the shooting. Since we had guests, we decided to work out first, then swim. The workout felt great and the swim did its job of tiring us out almost completely. While we were showering, Bobby asked, "Can we go out to that place where we were with Jonah and Millie for a pizza? I'll bet they have a good one there. We can call them to see if they want to come. They could even bring some of their regulars with them too. We could eat pizza, drink some beer, and shoot some pool. You know, a nice night out. I want you to ask around about the place behind the fence too. I'd like to go out there for a day at least." While Bobby called her sister, I polished the bike and made sure the gas tanks were full. We took off and met Jonah, Millie, and three other riding couples on Dale Mabry, ready to head north to Land 'o Lakes. We pulled in and parked our bikes together, jammed into a single parking spot right in front of the bar and billiards area. The bar and billiards area had changed. The billiards area was now much larger with more tables and they had a big dart and foosball area. There were a couple of neat looking pinball machines with people banging on them. We had a beer at the bar while we waited for some tables to open up to sit at. Most of us guys put money up to challenge a pool table with Jonah the first to get on a table. Another of the guys challenged the same table as he said, "I'll be playing Jonah, almost no one beats him." Millie laughed, "I beat his scrawny ass all the time. Shit, we should just challenge all these people as a group. Bet we would win." Soon some tables opened up so we could put two together. We ordered a bunch of pizzas, planning on sharing all of them. Soon the pool tables were forgotten for the delicious pizza. While we were eating, two couples came in dressed to ride. T-shirts and jeans with the girls' hair back in ponytails and both guys pulling off doo rags. One was a huge guy with a really big woman with him. She was not anywhere as tall as Bobby and Millie, but she was a good sized babe. The other guy was shorter with a nice looking blonde lady. Jonah recognized the two and got up to say hi. Millie went with him and hugged the other two ladies showing us that Millie outweighed the other big lady by at least a hundred pounds and was five or six inches taller. Millie hollered at Bobby who went over, pulling me with her. She introduced us to Bear and Crystal. The other couple was a smaller guy called Hap, and his wife, Margie. We chatted a few minutes and before we went back to our table, Hap told Jonah that Charlie and Shawna are probably coming up, along with Steve and Sue and/or Mercy. Jonah said, "It would be nice to see them too, but we're going to be heading back soon. Chuck and Bobby just got back from doing some business up in Jacksonville, and I know they are bushed." We shook hands again and went back to the pizza and beer before it was all eaten up. We did a good job of eating five large pizzas. No one licked the platter, but all the crumbs were gone. When the last drop was sucked from the pitchers and mugs, we paid our bill tipping the waitress too much and began to leave. Before we left, I went up to the bar and asked a really cute redheaded bartender how we can find out more about the park behind the bar. I said that my lady and I were interested in coming out. She went to the register and brought me back a little brochure and a business card. "Look it over and call the number on the card. Everyone out here is friendly. I'm sure you and that giant lady of yours will have a good time. Come on out." She had noticed us already and had noted Bobby's size, not difficult at all. At home, we looked over the brochure and Bobby said she was going to call out to see if there were any other requirements for going out there. We played and wrestled for a good while. We were lying in Bobby's favorite position; me on top of her, enjoying the cushioning of her ample breasts, and with part of me soaking in her soggy furnace. Bobby said, "Tomorrow, let's go see Mom and Dad. I haven't been down there in a while. I'd like to see my sisters too. You need to meet all of my family; you're going to love meeting my two vampy sisters. I'll have to chain you down so they don't drag you off. Let's ride down on your bike. You can give the two of them a ride. You'll be their hero forever after you do." "So you think it's time for me to meet your family, huh? I wondered when it would be time. Are they going to think I'm an interloper, taking up where Danny left off?" "No," Bobby sighed, "They loved Danny and mourned his loss the same as I did. They've heard enough about you that they want to know you better." Bobby groaned, "Hmmmm, good. That thing is growing again. Is it the thought of my two nubile, young, sexy sisters, or the thought of how big and sexy my mom is?" "I'd have to think that one of you should be enough for any guy. Either one of your two little sisters would probably kill me." "They wouldn't kill you, but you would really be rode hard and put away wet." The big lady was laughing and coming simultaneously. It felt good to me, too. One last, nice, orgasm and we were sound asleep. In the morning, I changed oil and filter, washed, and polished the bike, checked the air pressure in the tires and declared it ready to go by nine. Bobby had checked in and we were still good to go with the day off. With the bike in gear and a roar, we were off to Sarasota. It was neat to feel the wind in our faces, doing about eighty on the Interstate. We took I-275 so we could go over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and connected to I-75 that took us south. We pulled up to a nice home in an older subdivision in South Sarasota just before ten. I had no sooner shut the bike down than two, very large, younger versions of Bobby came bounding out of the house. As soon as they had hugged and kissed Bobby, they were all over me. One hugged me and picked me up and gave me a kiss that only Bobby had ever given me before. As soon as the first one put me down, the second one repeated the squeeze and tickled my tonsils with her tongue. I couldn't help it. By the time the two had put me down, my jeans did not fit well in the crotch. Both girls wore only loose T-shirts and shorts. They were obviously braless as their headlights were on extreme high beam. Bobby noticed and laughed. The two girls didn't notice, and were laughing because of the double hug I had received. Bobby's mom was on the front porch and did notice. She was a little red-faced, but smiling, as Bobby hugged her. They had a short whispered conversation and I heard Bobby say, "Who wouldn't be after the lovin' those two just showed him." When I was introduced to Bobby's mother, we shook hands and then she gave me a gentler hug, leaning down to get cheek to cheek. I think she is even taller than Bobby, but a little softer, probably from age. Inside, we had some coffee and conversation. Bobby called the brothers' twins to ask them to come over for lunch. Her mom had already called the dad's shop to tell him he was coming home for lunch and bringing the boys, Donny and Henry. I learned that the two girls were named Lena and Tina. Lena was ten months older than Tina. The older daughter lived up in Panama City and was named Michele. She didn't get down to visit often, as she had four kids and her husband owned a marina, so he was busy seven days a week. Just after noon, Bobby's dad came into the house. The guy was probably five-five or five-six and might have weighed a hundred fifty tops. He got a hug that lifted him off his feet and a kiss to match from his wife, then had to endure another hug like that from Bobby. He was smiling when we shook hands, as he said, "You get used to a really big welcome when you have these women." Henry came through the door, having to duck or he'd bang his head on the upper door jamb. He must have been near seven feet tall and was just massive. A short guy that had to be Donny followed. He was a little bigger than his dad, but not much. They both shook my hand warmly and seemed genuinely happy to meet me. A horn honked out front of the house which sent Lena and Tina scurrying out to meet who Bobby's mom said was the twins. They came in the door with barely enough room on each side as they were both very round ladies. Neither was tall, probably about five-four, but both were really round. The two gave the boys healthy kisses and giggled. When the boys almost looked angry, they switched and gave them another healthy kiss. The lead large twin grinned at me and said, "They get mad at us, but just think, they have both of us to play with without knowing who it is they are with. Keeps them guessing." Henry said with a frown, "If the last one that kissed me is my wife, this is Binky, or Brenda, and the other trickster is Tinker or Tabatha. Don't believe a word either tells you because it won't be true. If they find out you're gullible, your life will forever be full of grief. My two little runt sisters are bad enough, but these two take the cake." Lena and Tina jumped on Henry. Just the weight of the two girls should have knocked him down, but he held both of them up as if they were tiny little kids. This family is really strong. The twins each gave me a sweet hug and kiss pressing their large chests into me to make sure I knew they were girls. Both whispered in my ear, "We really like to tease, hope it's okay." It must run in the family. Bobby's mom had lots of food on the table and stood behind her chair. She said, "Ted, bless our food." With everyone standing behind their chairs, Bobby's dad gave a short blessing, then we all sat after he sat down. It was really nice to see the respect they showed their parents. A mountain of food vanished during the next twenty minutes. The conversation was mostly about what was going on at the shop and what the twins had been doing today. Lena and Tina said they had interviewed at Wal-Mart this morning and hoped to hear from them soon. Ted was bragging on Donny for having rebuilt a Chevy turbo 350 transmission this morning in three hours flat. The book calls for ten hours total, but Donny had everything laid out before he started and just went right through it. Binky, Donny's wife said, "Oh goody, my man's bringing home a good check this week." Donny just smiled, "One of these real good checks I want to buy a boat big enough that all of us can go out on it. I was thinking of one of those big pontoon boats." He looked at me and asked, "Do you know anything about boats, Chuck?" I had to shake my head. "I'm not very experienced in anything except the military and now the Marshal Service." Ted asked, "Were you going to be career military?" "Yes Sir," I nodded. "Too bad about your leg. It seems like they could keep a good man to do inside stuff, or even mechanical work like we do. You seem to get along well." Bobby said, "He's getting stronger all the time. He hasn't used his cane hardly at all for over two months. He does exercise every day though. He's real regular." Bobby's mother said, "You look like you work out every day too, Bobby. Your body looks like mine used to when Ted and I did our circus act. If Chuck were smaller, you could do some of the tricks I used to do with Ted." Bobby smiled, "I can already hold him up with either hand and I toss him into the air and catch him. He can do handstands in my hands, but with his unbalanced weight, it's hard to hold him right. The funny thing is that I can throw him almost fifteen feet out into the pool." Lena leaned over and kidded, "Boy toy, huh?" Tina said, "He's a cute boy toy that's for sure." Bobby said with a smile, "He's my boy toy, hands off, you little thieves." Ted said, "You get used to being tossed around by this bunch. It was really sexy to be in the shows with Maxine. She was really the world's strongest woman I think. She might have been the world's biggest woman too. We did have a lot of fun together." Bobby's mom put the finishing touch on the bragging, "The best part of the whole act was when Ted would act like a cave man and hit me over the head with his fake club, catch me as I was falling, and carry me off the stage. The crowd would holler, cheer, and clap, as there's just no way for him to be able to do that." Bobby said, "Chuck picks me up all the time, even with his fake leg. He tosses me into the pool often." Mom said, "No wonder you're in love. He's the man for you all right." Lena said, "Oh, I want to feel those big muscles, Chuck." Bobby said, "Mine, my muscles." Henry stood and said, "Great lunch, Mom. Thanks for asking us over. It's nice to meet you, Chuck, I hope you come down again soon. I want to get to know you. Come on out Binky or Twinky, either one, and give us a kiss goodbye." Donny shook my hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Chuck, don't let the crazies run you off." Ted and Maxine shared an intimate hug and kiss, with Ted near staggering out of the house. The guys left, then Binky and Twinky gave me a big tit squashing kiss, hugged everyone else, and also left." Maxine said, "It's so nice to have them close by. We have lunch like this at least once a week. I really enjoy it. Of course, these two little twerps aren't usually here. Lena graduated but doesn't want to go off to college, and this is going to be Tina's last year in school. I want them to go to trade school or nursing school, but they're not interested in anything yet. Neither one have boyfriends that are steady, but they do get dates fairly often. They hardly ever get asked out by the same guy twice, so that means they're either not giving anything away, or they're giving everything out on the first date. I think it's that they're not giving anything away. They're pretty smart, like their older sisters. Millie was the wildest, but she made Jonah wait four months before she gave in. They are teases though. I'm surprised some guy doesn't enjoy being teased enough to come back for more." Bobby said, "We all tell Mom everything. We can't help it; she's our confessor as well as our teacher." Bobby looked around to make sure Lena and Tina were not in the room, "She told me all about how to get into Danny's pants long before Danny asked me to marry him, then made me tell her everything about it to make sure I was treating him right." Maxine said, "She must have done something right, Danny married her. Are you going to marry her, is she doing everything right yet?" I smiled, "Bobby is a wonderful companion and we are involved in some serious discussions. She still has to work out some things about Danny before we probably get married. Time will tell." Bobby hugged me, almost crying. "See, Mom, he knows and understands me better than anyone." The two girls came in dressed in Jeans and T-shirts. Lena said, "It's time to give us a ride on the motorcycle. Come on, I'm first, we flipped." Tina said, "I think she has a two-headed coin. She always wins." When Lena climbed on behind me, she scooted up close and said, "Move that thing from behind you, it's poking my coochie. I don't want something cold doing that." I moved my gun to my side. We rode out to the highway, to the next exit, did a U-turn and rode back. About a twenty minute ride. She loved it as most people do when they find out how free and open it is. Tina hopped on and snuggled her big boobs into my back while I took her on the same ride. She kept squealing with excitement the whole way. When I pulled in the driveway, Bobby's mom was in Jeans and a T-shirt waiting a turn. I smiled real big as she got on and at first she didn't snuggle into my back. But as soon as I accelerated down the street, she hugged me to her and squashed her two big melons right into me. By the time we hit the highway, she was squealing like Tina, excited by the speed and wind. When I came back to the house, she reluctantly got off the bike and said, "Oh boy, that was really good. You have to come back and give me another ride. That's really good. She whispered in Bobby's ear and they both laughed. I told them that Bobby and I should probably head north. They understood and we promised to come for a weekend soon. We stopped for fuel before heading out on the highway. I said that we were going on up 75 then cut back over once we hit I-4. As we neared a rest stop, Bobby said, "I need to pee. Stop up here for me, please." I pulled in the rest stop and parked near the restrooms. I went in, peed, and washed my hands. I got a drink of water and was heading toward my bike when I saw an older seventies white Chevy. I walked out to the bike trying not to be obvious about staring at the car. When I was at my bike, I could just make out the tag number. It was KX 1313. I looked closely and could see two heads on the seats, as they had the seats back, sleeping. I took a deep breath and walked back toward the restroom. Bobby was just coming out going for a drink of water. I got the rent-a-cop up from where he was sitting and made him come behind the partition that held a map. "Do you have a way to call for help, to call for the highway patrol, for backup?" The guy looked at me strangely, so I showed him my badge. He said, "I got a cell phone and that big red button over there is a panic button for me." Call in right now and tell them you have a pair of suspects in a white seventies Chevy with tag number KX 1313. The car is suspected as being the getaway car on a shooting that occurred in north Florida just a little while ago. The older guy looked sick. "Oh shit, that guy was shot. I don't want to get shot." "You won't, this lady is also a deputy marshal, so make your call, hit the panic button only if it doesn't make noise here." "I don't know if it makes noise or not," the man said trembling. "Then call in, quick." Bobby said, "I knew I should have brought my phone. That you didn't is surprising as well. Do you want to just go take them?" "I know they have one gun and they may have gotten better guns since then. If we try to take them, we're going to have to totally neutralize them. If I do it, I might get fired." "What's more important, Honey, doing your job right, or getting fired." "Shit!" I said in disgust. "Let's do this, they're facing the other way so we can ride around and jump off and run up on them, or just walk up on them while they're lying back like that. I can't tell if the mirror is tilted down so they can watch. "Let's just slowly walk that way. We'll hold hands, and as we get to where we would turn to miss the car, we'll split up and come up on both sides. Put your gun where you can reach it as soon as we drop our hands. Now don't hesitate, any funny movement, fire. You're going to have to shoot for the head as that's all that's showing. Sorry about this, I wish it were only me, I think I can take them." The rent a cop was just staring at us when Bobby said, "You dumb shit, we're in this together and we do it together. Now, let's go catch some bad guys." We both adjusted our pieces so they were easy to reach under our shirts, then walked out to the bike. We paused a bit and began walking out toward the rear picnic tables, holding hands. We got about seven to eight feet from the car with no visible movement by the occupants when we split and ran up. What we saw was not what we expected. There were two bodies of a young couple. Both had a red hole in their foreheads. We turned away and walked back toward the restroom. Before we could get there, a state patrol car came screeching to a halt in the middle of the drive. The trooper jumped out, pulling his handgun yelling at us to drop our weapons. We had been so stunned we had not holstered our guns. We put our pieces down and when he advanced I told him to pull the badge wallet from my left rear pocket. He pulled the wallet, looked at the ID and had me turn around. He handed it back to me and said, "Sorry." He turned to Bobbie and said, "Are you one too?" Bobby pulled her badge wallet out and showed him. He looked at her saying, "Sorry." I said, "That's okay. You better call a crime scene team and your coroner. There are two dead bodies in that Chevy. I'd say they've been there a couple of days, as the bugs are thick. They were both shot in the forehead. You're going to have to find out who they are, because the killers probably have their car. While Bobby and I holstered our weapons, the cop called in and drove around to where the Chevy was, parking some distance away. He opened his trunk, pulled four stakes out, and I helped him string crime scene tape around the car. When he looked in, he almost threw up and quickly backed away. "Christ, that's horrible. Wonder why no one noticed that car." We were behind it and I told him to look. It looked like people were scooted down in the seat sleeping. I said, "It doesn't look suspicious, but I am the one that reported that car with the last four digits of the tag when that security guard was shot up north." "Yeah, I remember that bulletin, the tag had 1313 just like that one," the trooper said. "I went through here twice yesterday and then again this morning. I didn't even notice the car. Damn, I hate that, I look but don't see." Two more patrol cars came, plus an unmarked white car, then a van. They congregated and advanced to the car. The officers from the patrol cars all turned away, about to barf, but one of the guys from the plain car and the guy from the van tried to open the doors. They were locked. I walked up and asked, do you have a slim jim? Give me some of those gloves and I'll help. Better yet, how about dusting around the handles and the door and windows first, then we'll open the door. It won't be any more or less gruesome. The tech went right to work. Bobbie came up and we took one side of the car while the tech and plain clothes guy did the other. We noticed the trunk lock was popped so I asked the tech for a screw driver and opened the trunk. It was full of clothes, and rifles. After the trunk area was photographed we pulled each rifle and dusted it and lifted prints before going to the next. There were empty soda cans inside as well so we did those too, bagging and tagging as we went. We found multiple wallets, with various IDs in them, and laid them out in a row. This was going to be a big deal before it was over. The tech handed me the slim jim and said, "I hope you're better at opening doors with this than I am. Show me." I showed him how the area under the hooked part of the flat piece of aluminum was twisted out slightly. "That's what you hook under the rod." With my finger I showed him how the rod went from the key area curving up to the lock button. "That's one way and often the easiest on the older cars. There is also a rod that goes between the inside door handle and the rear latch. The old locks would pop up when the door was opened from the inside on the front. The new cars make you pop the lock up before opening the door." I slid the slim jim down beside the window, working it up and down as I slid it back. I hit the rod and slid it another inch and pulled up. The button popped right up. I slid the tool out of the door and told the guy. Before you open the door, go put a face mask on. It's going to really smell bad in there. Get me and the plainclothes guy one too." Bobby waved at the guy and pointed to her face. I went to the other side of the car and popped the lock up quickly, took the face mask, and tied it on. I told Bobby, "This isn't going to be like those dead guys smelled, this is going to be really bad. You might not want to do this." She looked at me and said, "I'm a deputy U.S. Marshal and it's my job. I'll do it." We had a stretcher out by each door so when we opened the door the flies poured out. I told the tech, "Don't pull on them until I can make sure they will stay together. We're going to have to be careful with the bodies to keep them in good enough shape for an autopsy." I had the tech come over and we slid the man slowly off the seat supporting him as best we could. "Take hold of his pant legs, not his leg, and lift that way. Bobby, pick him up by his belt and I'll support his head and back. His arms will stay in place because of the rigor." We did get him laid on the stretcher. We checked his pockets, there was nothing in them. We covered the body and went to pull the female out. She only had on a shirt, so we used a pair of pants that had been in the trunk to support the legs and repeated the process of sliding her off the seat and lifting her to the stretcher. Bobby almost burst into tears when she pointed at the left hand of the girl. The finger had been cut off. Must have been for the rings. The girl still had a locket around her neck. I gently unclasped it and pulled it off. Inside the locket it said, "To Janet, love, Jim." They covered the girl's body and we moved both out of the way and partially out of sight from the gathering crowd. I asked the plainclothes guy, "Want some help going through the car?" "Who are you anyway? What authority do you have here?" "No authority at all, Sir." I pulled my wallet and indicated Bobby. "We are both deputy marshals and I was the one who originally identified this car when one of the bad guys shot that security guard. I'm kind of interested in the case." "Okay, I understand. Let's do the front seat first. Let's take it slow so we don't miss anything." The right front yielded nothing but trash. The left front had a partial box of twenty-five caliber automatic rounds in it. Under the floor mat was the automatic. "That's what I was afraid of," I said. "They have something bigger now or they wouldn't have left this." There was a Motel 6 key that we printed and tagged, but nothing else. We scooted the front seat up as far as it would go and began on the rear floor. There was a wedding album with a bunch of loose pictures in it. The pictures were of the couple laying a few feet away. We took stuff out of the car as carefully as possible, having Bobby and the tech tag and bag the items. Down on the bottom of the trash was a wedding license for this past Saturday. We now had names and addresses. It's always more difficult to deal with a tragedy like this when the victims have names. When I handed it to Bobby, I saw her tear up as she looked at it. I told her, "Have one of the troopers get on the radio and trace these kids so their kin can be notified, but what we want is the description of their car." The plainclothes cop said, "Smart, I should have said that." "It doesn't make any difference who says it. Let's keep looking." There was nothing else exciting, but we now had a large stack of tagged and bagged items. The plainclothes guy said, "Let's pull the back seat out, who knows what we'll find." When we got the seat out of the car there was a pile of junk under it. Lots of change, lots of receipts, old French fries, and some interesting stuff too. I pulled out of the car a second and waved a trooper over to me. "If you haven't traced this tag yet, run it and get as much information as you can on the owner. See if someone will chase the address to have a look, okay? This is already a double homicide and an attempted cop killing so who knows what else is up. If you need help, take the other marshal and she'll help you." "I'll do it right now. I know what to do." When I went back into the car the plainclothes guy said again, "I should have said that too." I said, "I'm just as bad, I should have had someone do it as soon as we drove up." We found a few parking tickets and a speeding ticket with a name and address with this vehicle's tag number on it. It was only two weeks old, so it was recent. We found a kitchen knife and a buck lock back knife with the tip busted off. Everything else was junk. That was until we found the finger, the finger from the girl. We tagged and bagged it, but put it with the body. Strange that the girl's finger could get behind the back seat. Who knows how that happened? We had been at it for over two hours, so we got out of the car and went for a soft drink. While we were walking back with our drinks, the cop that went to look up the license number came back excitedly. He read off the name that had been on the traffic ticket and said the man had a warrant out for attempted murder and battery of his neighbors and parents. He had served fifteen years of a twenty-five to life sentence and been released less than a year ago. The other cop came up and said, "We have the car the couple was driving and the license number. The parents of the couple are being notified now." The suspects are probably driving a two thousand and seven red G6, license number YZ544. The description is out across the state as we speak." The tech came and said the coroner and a flatbed tow truck should be here any minute. He thanked me for helping, as did the plainclothes guy. I said, "Catch these guys. I hate this stuff. The only reason I'm doing this job is to stop crazies like the guy that did this." Bobby and I took our gloves off and put them in the hazmat (hazardous material) bag, then went into the restrooms to wash our hands. While we walked back to our bike, Bobby said, "We should take a vacation and track this guy down. I want to put one between his eyes so bad." I hugged her saying, "That would make us as bad as they are. We use our weapons to defend others and ourselves. We are what stand between society and who those people are. Perhaps we should be with the Bureau or perhaps the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement.) We protect people and keep them safe, that's our job. Let's just be the best we can be at our job." She kissed me and said, "Let's let the wind get the stink off us. This is supposed to be a day off. Come on." Before we could get gone the plainclothes guy came over and had us give him our names and badge numbers for his report. He thanked us again and waved bye to us. At first, we didn't go very fast out on the highway but then as Bobby hugged my back, I got us going faster and faster until the needle was rocking on the ninety-five mark. I noticed and slowed down to about eighty until it was time to turn off and head toward the house. We went inside, said hi to the folks there, and went straight to the bedroom to take off our clothes and get a shower. After our shower, we put on workout clothes and headed to the gym room. We worked out hard for over an hour, put on swim clothes, and swam hard for a half-hour. We went in, pulled out a couple of beers, and sat on the porch. Bobby said, "That's a lot better. Everything is back in perspective again. Some things we run into are harder than others. You're right, let's do our job better than anyone else." The two caretakers or babysitters came out and said, "We're going to lose these two in about an hour. Do you want us to come back to finish your day off or will you be okay?" Bobby said, "Go home. Hope your guests were pleasant." "They weren't bad, didn't say much. They're scared, as they should be, but they'll be okay. Heard about your capture, you two did good. The whole building is talking about you. Next time, you'll have to get the Air Force in on it too. That's about all you missed this time. When you guys came in, I thought you two had a fight or something but now you're fine. Is everything all right?" I said, "We're fine. We got involved in a little mess down in Sarasota on the highway that turned out real bad. No shooting or anything like that, just a couple that had been killed on their honeymoon. I'm sure the killers will be caught. It was just a lousy thing to happen to some kids." "That'll spoil your day, that's for sure," the relief said. "Okay then, we're taking our guests out to the little airport for a private ride to a new life." We both said, "See you in the morning," as the relief left. Bobby sent me for some comfort food, steaks, potatoes, and spinach. We ate good, cleaned up the house, and went to bed to give each other the love we needed to understand the day better. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 5 The first thing Forest said in the morning meeting was, "Christ almighty, can't you two do anything without finding something to give our service a good name. You go up to Jacksonville, and in no time at all, you've got every federal agency there is and the armed forces attacking the docks. You completed the capture with only a fifty percent casualty record then you go on TV and give everyone from kindergarten to the Coast Guard kudos for doing a good job." "I give you a day off and what happens. You stumble onto a double homicide and lead the investigation of the crime scene instead of coming straight home like good little girls and boys. Who taught you two about crime scenes anyway?" I smiled and said, "I had too much time on my hands and watched all of the crime scene and body handling videos. There's a lot of good information in them." "I should have known. We have videos to tie shoes and button buttons. Anyway, you two, good job up in Jacksonville. Everyone knows and loves the marshal's service today. Good job down in Sarasota. The on site detective was on detail from the FDLE and said our guy just took over and had everyone working together to get stuff done. He wrote some kind of commendation for you two. Hope it's for a Big Mac lunch. You two need it." "Good news on that front too. Brevard County sheriff's department has the bad guys holed up in a house and is waiting to finish bringing them in. Hopefully they haven't hurt anyone else." Forest went to give out the air marshal duties to four new people he introduced as guys who transferred down to semi retire. He gave out a couple of escapee hunts, and finally got around to Bobbie and me. "You two are going to have a full house for the next week or so. We're detailing another team to stay out there with you. There will be multiple relocations coming through. I don't think any of them will be there twenty-four hours. You're going to have to partially clothe them. I want none of their luggage or regular apparel to get anywhere near our safe house. Everyone that comes through will be requested to totally strip, in view of a same sex attendant and put on a jumpsuit and flip flops that we will provide. Double-check any jewelry for signals, cameras, or signatures. Absolutely no watches past the checkpoint. If they bitch, put it in a bag and tell them it will be forwarded to them after they are relocated. Make sure that their hair is washed and combed out. Comb it for them if you can. These people coming through are very sensitive and should understand the need for the extra security." "The reason for the extra effort is that we have intel that there may be a mole that is supposed to have some form of tracking device so they will know the path the service uses. We will have an ultra-sensitive body monitor at the checkpoint. We should be able to find an implant if there is one. I'm taking a special interest in these relocations all the way through." I stood to address Forest, "If these people are so secure, why not house them on base after the check point. We can get their sizes and provide clothes. It shouldn't be a big deal. If we're afraid of compromising the safe house, let's not. I'm sure our enemies have the coordinates of the base, so let's keep them there." Forest thought for a minute and said, "Okay, but make sure you get the right clothes for these people. They will need two days of clothes. Make it happen and be careful. After each movement, I want a report of any conversations you have with the guests. We might get a hint from the conversations." Bobby and Sarah were going as a pair so that one person was in the clothing room, and one person would be with the subject. That way the measurements would be exact and they could describe the clothing before it was sent. The men would be easier. It would be jeans and shirts or slacks and shirts, and perhaps even a sport coat. We would get it done. We found out the checkpoint was going to be the Bureau's warehouse lab. This was perfect as they had every type of test equipment in the world, plus a safe room to take off the clothes. The first couple we picked up was in their forties and remained quiet until we got to the warehouse. We explained in detail exactly what we going to do. They said they understood and we proceeded. Fifteen minutes later, Bobbie was combing out the lady's hair, while I was measuring the guy. I called and had the clothes ordered while the guy put on his jumpsuit and flip flops. We put him though the signature scanner and found him clean. Bobbie finished with the lady, had her scanned, before she joined her I guess husband in a hospitality room to read and watch TV. These transfers were so secure we didn't use any of our personal vehicles and never used the same vehicle twice. The second set of people was about the same, with no problems other than the wife was bitching at the husband the whole time. She didn't want to give up her jewelry, but we bagged it and promised it would catch up with her when she was located. She also didn't like being observed while showering and objected to having her hair combed out. Bobby said it was either she combed it out or she would shave her and give her a wig. Bobby combed out the hair. We were able to pass them through without any additional problems. Pair number three was a pain. They tried to pull off a superiority thing with Bobby and me. When they got out of the car and it sped away, the guy asked where it was going. I said we never used the same car twice for security reasons. When we began stripping him down, he went berserk. He bitched about each piece of clothing and when he removed his slacks without removing his shoes, I became suspicious. He wouldn't remove his shoes, so I told him that I would hold him down and cut them off. When I flicked out my knife, he took the shoes off. We went through the whole thing with the guy, while he bitched about every article of clothing. He had a head of thick, curly hair that I said had to be washed thoroughly, which he did, but then became very belligerent about me combing it out. I gave him Bobby's verse. I comb it out or I cut it off, your choice. He was wild looking but finally said to comb it out. I was suspicious, so I had him lie on the bench on his back, and put a towel on the floor beneath his head. I combed it very thoroughly, and son of a gun if two small things didn't fall onto the towel. I combed all of the hair too, the back, the sides, the top. I almost wanted to comb his eyebrows. I flipped over the towel and laid it on the used stack so he wouldn't be suspicious. I put him in the signature grid naked instead of in the jumpsuit. The operator's eyes got real big before he began smiling. He had the man grasp the handles on each side of the grid and remain still for a moment. The tech ran a bunch of current through the guy, and tested him again. He was smiling and said, "You can get dressed now." Bobbie said she had the same kind of trouble with her subject. So we decided we needed to run a scam on these two for fun. Forest argued about it at first, but finally agreed so we took the two, blindfolded them, and drove around in circles for a half hour, and came back to the same building putting them in a holding room and not in the waiting area. After about forty-five minutes, we took them on another circle tour and put them into a different room. We told them they were in a secure holding location before their final destination. Totally camouflaged closed circuit monitors monitored each room they had been in. This time the woman pulled her jump suit down and used a comb she had asked for and began combing out her pubic hair while the guy held his hand under her. He must have gotten what he was looking for, as he unscrewed the light bulb in the bedside lamp, then put whatever it was inside and screwed the light bulb back in. The tracking guys immediately said the room was giving off a very strong signal. Our guys went outside with signal strength monitors to see if the signal penetrated the building. It didn't. After about thirty minutes, the guy removed the bulb and the small transmitter, and it looked like he threaded it onto the ladies pubic hair again. We had a different marshal go in and tell them that something was wrong and their destination was being changed. He blindfolded them and took them on another ride, then put them in a room in a small motor home inside the building. We left them and they did the trick of combing out the transmitter and putting it into the light bulb socket. As soon as the lady was zipped up, different agents went and blindfolded them and hauled them out for another ride. This time they were taken to a federal holding cell downtown and separated. The woman had the comb taken from her and the guy had a thorough body cavity search including his pubic hair. We took the lamp, drove out to the country along the beach and put it into a small house out there and plugged it in. The Coast Guard sat off the beach about a quarter of mile in what looked like an old fishing boat. Some agents were dug into a bunker about twenty meters from the house. Plus there was monitoring equipment placed every klick (kilometer) leading into the shack. We had been smart enough to put the lamp on a timer that turned on and off erratically. On the third day, a guy walking along the beach walked past the house, and on the way back went straight into it and came back out, looking around. The folks there didn't disappoint him. They took him into custody as he was yelling diplomatic immunity. A Coast Guard dingy came in to get the guy and took him out to the fishing boat where he was transported to Guantanamo Bay. Oh well, I guess he was a terrorist. The lady never did talk, but the guy was a chatterbox. They were working for the foreign government that the escapees were from. They became spy-trading material for the future. We were able to relocate a dozen couples without running across any more spies. Bobbie and I learned some good lessons for when we had to house any foreign nationals that we were unsure of. The Bureau promised to help us anytime, as this last group had been a good learning experience for them too. The techs were really impressed with the strength of the tiny transmitters. Bobbie and I actually spent almost ten days doing yard and house work without any calls or assignments. We were lounging in the kitchen, reading the Sunday paper when the duty phone rang. It was Forest. We were to pack business casual and some rough clothes, and go to the Lutz private field to be transported to D.C., where we would be picked up. He said we didn't need anything except our personal weapons. We would be picked up in forty-five minutes. Our job was to do, not to question, so we threw our stuff together but I grabbed the suitcase with the false padded bottom and put an MP5 with five extra magazines in it, along with an extra Glock and five extra magazines. I hate to be unprepared. When the cars showed up with our relief and the transportation, we went out to the private airfield and were put on an S&S Lear. Our pilot was a nice looking babe with about 50 triple Z tits. Bobby even did a triple take. Her co-pilot was a cowboy looking guy with fairly long hair, wearing jeans, an S&S T-shirt, and cowboy boots. They did the checklist thing and we were off. The cowboy came back and offered us soft drinks or booze if we wanted. We declined, but Bobby couldn't resist, she asked, "What do we have to do to get one of those neat T-shirts you're wearing." He smiled as he said, "Easy, just go to a NASCAR race and look for one of the S&S trucks. They have them on race days. If you want you can stop by the main shop and ask one of the girls there. They might be able to find one for you. Tell them Steve sent you. That probably won't get you anything, but tell them anyway." As soon as we landed and taxied to an area away from buildings, a Suburban came out to pick us up. We thanked the flight crew and rode into D.C. to a non-descript building that said only Federal. A man checked our IDs but didn't make us go through the electronic security, ushering us into an elevator instead. We arrived in a lobby area and went through some offices to find John sitting at his desk. "How was your flight, everything okay?" "Great, smooth and fast." "I'll tell you why you're here as soon as one of the reasons shows up. This is going to be important and there will be special orders, so just be patient. Do you need the restroom or want something to drink?" Bobby went to the restroom and when she came back, I went and brought back a couple of bottles of water. We had this thing where we never left our baggage or briefcases alone. One of us was always with them. A haggard looking guy came through the door with a couple of men that looked like Secret Service. John introduced the man as Frank Manchetti. He didn't look all that Sicilian to me, but what do I know. The two security men were excused and told to wait in the cafeteria. They would be summoned. John said, "Frank Manchetti is a security risk. He stole some secret stuff and gave it away to another government, one that is supposed to be an ally. We suspected Frank, so the stuff he gave away is totally worthless and if the directions were followed exactly, without researching each step, those who possess the secrets had a big bang. We found out that they did indeed suffer a big bang in one of their most secret laboratories. They are pissed. They think Frank did this to them on purpose. He not only gave them a deadly secret, but took money for doing it. Now Frank wants anonymity. He wants to hide and never be seen again. I personally think we should either shoot him, or turn him over to those who want him dead." John stood and paced back and forth a little then said, "This government has spies everywhere. They probably know how many sheets of toilet paper the president uses. Hiding this guy is going to be a problem. It will be a problem just getting him out of D.C. "You two are babes in the woods up here, but because of who you are, you may have a better chance of hiding this guy than anyone. I'm going to give you a bunch of money and some credit cards. Each time you use one of these credit cards, cut it up, and throw it away. Better yet, let some idiot steal it from you. I want you to hide him. Put him somewhere that will not make it obvious he is a wuss. Somewhere that he will blend in, like in a cesspool. I don't want to know where he is. Not yet anyway. You two will do whatever it takes to hide him where he will be safe. I want you to take him into the library and find out as much about him as you can. This file folder may or may not be accurate about his past." Frank, "This is your only chance to survive. If you do survive, we will take care of you for the rest of your natural life. I don't know why, but we will. Be honest with these two as they will take care of you. If you cross them, they may have to kill you to survive themselves. Now go with them and do what they tell you." "Oh yeah," John said seriously." Both of you, there is no restriction as to body counts. Any one or groups that need to not exist, make it so. These are my orders and you will follow them. He reached into his desk drawer and handed us four silencers. "These only suppress noise for about five or six rounds. If you have to use them, wipe them off and get rid of them. Take these two sat phones. Only use them if you have too. They do not have any GPS co-located the same as both of your cell phones. You can use those for a few days, then get some throwaways. Be sure to shut off anything you throw away. Make sure it will never be functional again. Good luck and be careful. John handed Bobby and me each a big handful of hundreds and a stack of credit cards. We took Frank with us to the library. I said to Bobby, "We've seen this video. We have to do it by the book, every step. I can see now why it said to do what it did." I took a deep breath and said to Frank, "First empty your pockets of everything, totally. Take off your coat first so we can look through it while you do your pockets. When he was done, I told him to take off his shoes and pants, then sit." We went through his pocket junk. We separated his keys and went through his wallet piece by piece. We kept pushing everything into a pile, even his handkerchief. The only thing left was some cash, sans the money clip, and some change. I went through his shoes, checking to see if there was any possible location for a bug or locator device. They looked clean, but we would eventually ditch them. "Take off your shirt, please." We didn't have to look far to find two bugs and what could have been a camera. We put it in the pile. I opened my suitcase and took out a pair of jeans, a western shirt, a belt, a pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of socks. "Take off your undershirt and lay across this table, please. Bobby, use his comb and comb his hair out over the undershirt." We didn't find anything. Okay, you're not going to like this, but we recently found out that this could happen. While I do this, Bobby, go downstairs and talk those guys out of one of their wands. Tell them we are experimenting with a new type of weapon, anything, just get it. When she left I said, drop your underwear and get into a kneeling position on the table. I slid the undershirt between his legs and used the comb to comb out his pubic hair. Son of bitch, there was one of those tiny signaling devices. I pointed to it and said, someone planted that on you in the last day or so. You might have been drugged, you might have been asleep or whatever, but they know where you are. I checked his skin, all of it to make sure there were no recent cuts or nicks. "Put the socks on, then the jeans, without your underwear. They'll fit you okay. You might as well put the shirt on, too. Bobby came in and I pointed to the signaling device from his pubic hair. All she said was "Damn, those things are really small." I waved the wand over the signaling device and it squealed. I had Frank stand on the table and we worked up from the table an inch at a time over his whole body. If I had some lube, I swear I would have stuck it up his ass. We were doing fine until we got under his arms. Shit, more hair. We used the undershirt and comb and found a tracking device under each arm. We finished doing him without another even tiny squeal. Just for fun, I went over his shoes and they gave off a symphony of sound. "Sit over there and put these shoes on for right now." I put everything into a wastebasket, except his money that I pointed to. Before I let him take it I did use the wand to check it out. He put his money away. "What do you think? Should we take the wand back or leave it up here?" "I'll give it back to them before we leave. I'll unbutton a couple of buttons and lean over. They'll forget everything except that I gave it back to them." "Okay, Babe, I saw a board of vehicle keys when we left the offices. I didn't let the door shut, so it should still be open. I'll take a couple of sets of keys and see if I can ID where the garage is. That should help get us out of the city. After that, we'll play it by ear." I walked to the door and gently pulled it open, slipping through, and not letting it latch. I stepped around the partition to where the key rack was. I took a set for a Dodge and one for a Ford crew cab truck. They were supposed to be in adjoining spaces 24 and 25. I peeked around the corner to see into John's office, but he was gone. I looked up to see if there were any video monitors around the keys or the door I had used. We'll have to watch for those. I went back to the library, checking on video cameras. I knew there were some we would never see, but most would be visible. If we could get out of the building and down the road, I really didn't care. After telling Bobby to watch for video cameras, we went downstairs to the main floor. The elevators and the stairwell were out of sight of the front door. I took Frank to the stairwell while Bobby went up front. She was perfect; she must have teased them good as they watched her walk back and push the button to get on the elevator car. Frank and I went to the second floor and met Bobby. We walked down the hall to the garage but noted a video camera covering the walkway. I looked for the space numbers and noted 24 and 25 were far off to the left of the door. We edged along the wall slowly until we could walk across to the two vehicles. I chose the pickup, as it would probably get us farther, considering people don't care what pickups do. With Frank in the back seat, I had both of my passengers lie down in the seat so they wouldn't show on a video camera if one caught me driving out. Frank had to direct me in D.C. as I had no idea where I was. I told him we were going west, anywhere west would be good. I noted the truck had dual tanks and both were full, that meant we had about forty gallons. At fifteen miles to the gallon, we could go about six hundred miles. We drove out past the beltway to I-270 and took I-70 to I-68. I made a quick stop at a service station and bought gas for cash, while Bobbie got a map and some bottles of water. We drove through to Morgantown where we found a Wal-Mart. We did some shopping for more jeans and shirts and bought Frank some work boots. We splurged and bought him a seven dollar watch too. A guy needs a watch. Back in the truck, I told Frank we would pick him up some luggage at the next stop. We got on and stayed on I-79 to Charleston. It was morning, Monday morning, and we could buy a car. I wanted to get rid of the truck as it could have a GPS system even though Ford doesn't put them on automatically like GM. We had breakfast and found a trashy little dealer that sold us a Ford Bronco for a reasonable price after a lot of haggling. We were able to get the truck with tags and stickers right there, legal or not, but we were able to do it. I drove the Bronco and had Bobbie follow me in the truck. We found a warehouse district and drove around until we found some empty buildings and drove in one. We parked the pickup way back in the corner behind a giant furnace. We wiped it down to the point of ridiculousness and left the keys in it. Hopefully, someone would steal it and drive it around a while, further eliminating any fingerprints. I needed to sleep so we found a motel on the outskirts of Charleston and got a double. I saw a Laundromat that would do clothes for us, so I dropped off all our new clothes and went to a restaurant where we ate well, then we went to bed. I woke at four, showered, and dressed before going to get our clothes. Everyone dressed in their jeans and such, but Bobbie and I had to wear our shirts out to cover our weapons. We checked each other out to make sure the guns didn't show. We took I-64 all the way to St. Louis where we rented another double. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking that a place around St. Louis would be good. The Illinois side had a lot of rules but the Missouri side did as well. Then it came to me, Arkansas was loose as a goose. We would go down there and find a place that would be perfect. We took I-55 south before taking I-40 over to Little Rock. There we rented a double, ate, and slept. The next morning, I got a newspaper and looked through the want ads. We interviewed Frank until we knew him better than his mother. He was smart, but not too smart. He was educated, but that doesn't help if you have to have all kinds of background checks. I needed to stash Frank without any ID, or a fake one, if I could get one made. What do I do with him, hmmm. A night clerk at a small motel would work, but it might be the wrong place, too public. We might find him a job as a librarian, but they might check his background. Then it hit me. This guy was on the run from politicians, not gangsters. I'll bet I could find him a place keeping books for someone. First things first. I went to the county courthouse in a small town fifty miles out. There I researched death certificates from the last few years where the birth date would be about the same as Frank's. I found a notice of assumed death because the guy had been lost at sea. No body, no real death certificate. I bought copies of everything, including the birth certificate, of course. I went to the local high school and asked if they had the transcripts for Howard Sacks that graduated either in seventy-four or seventy-five. I showed my U.S. Marshal ID, saying I was doing a security check. The lady was very cordial and copied his transcript and gave me a copy of his acceptance into the Merchant Marine Academy. This was perfect. She also gave me a copy of his certificate of course completion from upstate New York. I thanked her profusely and headed back. That afternoon, Frank became Howard Sachs. We went to another county out in the country, where he took a driving test and was issued a driver's license with a picture without his glasses. The next step was to have Lasik done on his eyes and get him some hair. We scheduled the surgery and it went fine. Frank, now Howard, couldn't believe how great it was to be without glasses. A shyster plastic surgeon replanted hair for Howard until he really looked good. Howard was happy. I had forgotten something, so I had to go back out to that school. The secretary was happy to see me. I asked if I could see his file again, (which she had never showed me in the first place) and I looked through it until I found the social security number. Back in Little Rock, we went to the social security office where we had to explain that Howard jumped ship in the Philippines to live with girls in grass skirts, but got lonely for Arkansas and he came back. He showed his driver's license, school transcripts, and the Maritime Academy certificate, and we got a Social security card. The next and last place was the IRS. We went there on a Friday afternoon and explained the whole deal to the guy. He looked up Howard's account to find that he had not filed in the year he went astray. Howard filed on the spot, paid his penalties of thirty-seven dollars, and promised to file every year now that he was back home. The IRS guy wrote up an out of country waiver, handed Howard copies of everything and we said goodbye. Back at the motel, I told Howard that he could get a job as a small town librarian, or just about anything else he thought he might do. I told him that if he stayed down in this neck of the woods, or even down in Texarkana, a little farther from his new birthplace, he would be untouchable. He told me he wanted to think about it for a night or so. We still ate every meal together, and still stayed in a double room in fleabag motels. Frank told us at breakfast that he thought he might teach school in a small town. He said his certificate from the Maritime Academy was the equivalent of a bachelor's degree and he felt he could teach elementary, even up to high school, since he did have a history degree as Frank. We went to the State Department of Schools and asked what positions might be available in southern Arkansas. Howard explained that he wanted to live out his years teaching in a small community. The lady had a couple of positions open in Prescott, and one in Hope. She said she could call for him if he wanted. He asked about the sizes of the towns and both were nice and small. He said, for her to call Prescott to see if he could get the high school job. They wanted to interview him as soon as possible so he made an appointment for tomorrow morning. We went to J.C. Penny and bought a suit from some separates that fit. We bought him a few pair of dress slacks and some nice shirts, along with some dress shoes, and Howard was ready to teach school. The next morning, it took the school superintendent about fifteen minutes to hire Howard Sachs as the new high school history teacher. Howard said he would find housing and advise them of the address. The school secretary gave Howard a list of places to look. Over lunch I told Frank/Howard this is what was going to happen. I was going to buy him a dependable used car. Rent him a place with the rent paid up for six months, and give him a wad of money to tide him over until his school paycheck started coming in. I knew he would need more clothes, but I cautioned him about not buying fancy clothing. The last thing I said, "Don't ever call anyone you've ever known before we plucked you from death. The country you pissed off holds grudges. If you used to go to a church related to that country, change religions. If you have a wife and kids, I am sorry, but this is now, and they no longer exist." He assured me he didn't have any family. He thanked me profusely and said, this was an easy job for you. You didn't have to work hard to get this done at all. I looked at him and said, "What I did was to steal a government vehicle. That's ten years. I falsified a birth certificate and some other documents, and under the new Homeland Security rules, that's probably twenty years for stealing an identity. Now I'll tell you, there were three times we had tails. Any one of them could have been our death warrant. We were lucky Howard, very lucky. We lost them in traffic and I made sure we lost them before we returned to the direction I wanted to go." "Let's go get you a place to stay and a car. What first?" "Let's look for my new home." We stopped at a gas station and bought a limited use cell phone and began calling about the advertised apartments. We drove by each one until Howard said, "Stop! This looks perfect. I'll bet that door among those bushes is the private entrance and the rent is very inexpensive. Let's call again and see if it's okay to stop in." We called, and walked up to the door to be met by a lady in her late forties. She showed Howard the small furnished apartment that was very nice. She showed him a small carport where he was to park his car. She said that if he wanted, they could share rides to school as she taught mathematics in the same school. Howard was grinning from ear to ear. He said he would be back in a little while. When the lady turned her head, I handed Howard enough for six months in advance. You would have thought he proposed, she was so appreciative. We left to drive down auto row. I told Howard he needed a nice dependable car, probably something like a Taurus or other small Ford. I told him not to trust GM cars as they could always be traced. He said he didn't think that would be a problem anyway as he liked Fords. We found a great deal on a five year old Taurus that had only twenty-two thousand miles and didn't look like it had been hit. It was a puke green and probably been on the lot too long, so we were able to negotiate. The dealer even gave Howard an additional discount since he was going to be a teacher right there in Prescott. We drove to the motel, packed up his clothes, and shook hands. I gave Howard Six thousand dollars, telling him not to spend it but to put it in the bank. Word would get around that he was thrifty and some woman might want to give you a chance at living the rest of your life happily married. The limited use cell phone became Frank's new telephone number. I told him that every time he needed minutes to just go buy them at any gas station or on the internet. We watched Frank/Howard drive away, feeling pretty good about the deal. We jumped into the Bronco and followed him way far back to see if he was followed. After he had parked in the carport he was designated to park in, he carried his bag around front and was let in there. The lady met him, and a minute later, the two went upstairs. We watched for a long while. Drove the streets around him checking to see if anyone was sitting in a car or whether a car looked out of place. On the way back to the motel I said, "Let's get out of Dodge and head home. When we get tired, we'll stop, fool around, and head out again. I want to ditch this car for another soon. We'll trade in Mississippi. They're easy there. We drove for about six hours and stopped to eat at a truck stop. We ate before we went next door to a Motel 6 which really should have been a motel 5 1/2 as it was so ratty. We showered and messed up the sheets so at least the maids could brag about their Notel Motel. We drove through Shreveport and while we were going through Brandon, Mississippi, Bobby said, "Look at that car. I like it. Let's go see if we still have enough to buy it." The dealership dealt with some really old classics. What caught Bobbi's eye was a Mustang Boss 302. It looked pristine, but didn't sound pristine. The guy was trying to feed me some shit about it having a racing cam. I told him I would trade the Bronco and three grand, plus I wanted to know the name of a shop where I could get the motor rebuilt. We argued until he gave me my price along with the name of a shop down the street that had a good name. We did the transfer while he licked his lips and counted his cash. I babied the car down to the shop he suggested, but got a real bunch of double talk. I told the guy I would rather push it back to Tampa than to listen to his shit. We drove over to a truck stop and walked around to the work bays where guys were tearing apart big diesel trucks. Bobby was worth stopping to stare at, so I had a chance to ask a guy about a shop that would rebuild an antique 302. He said, "So you bought Larry's Boss and now it doesn't run?" "I bought it knowing it needs the motor rebuilt or a new one, so I'm asking about who does a fair job." He looked at me and at Bobby before he said, "I noticed you got one leg, so I'll shoot straight. Several guys will rebuild it for you and do a good job, but if you want, I'll swap out your 302 for a 351 Windsor and you can bring it back up here in a month and I'll swap it back for a couple a hundred." "Sounds good, what do you want to put in the 351?" He thought a second, "Can you go six hundred?" I smiled and asked where he wanted the car. He said, "If it will make it this far, put it right next to me. Be careful though, so the thing doesn't blow up getting over here. Bobby and I walked over to get the car and drove it gently over to the bay and parked it. We pulled our bags out from the trunk and I went over to give the guy two hundred to get started. He nodded and said, "It'll be ready to roll in the morning. You'll have to keep it under a hundred twenty for the first thousand or so and change the oil after the first thousand. Okay?" Bobby was laughing and he had to say, "Down here, Honey, we don't dawdle out on the highway. If you drive much under a hundred, a HiPo is going to think your running shine or drugs." Bobby asked, "HiPo?" The guys say, "You know, troopers, highway patrol." Bobby's laugh was infectious and the guy had a good time with it. We walked over to the truck stop motel and got a room by the pool. We swam until we were tired, then went back to the truck stop to eat. We noticed the hood was off the Boss and a motor was dangling on a chain. We didn't stop to bother the guy as it was his deal. We had a good meal and went back to the motel to have some of the lovemaking we had missed out on for a while. Bobby asked when I was going to call into John. I said, "Well, I threw my other phone away in the Federal building, we left the two satellite phones in the library, and we gave the cheap phone away to Howard. I think I'll just wait till we get back to Tampa and let him know the deal is done." "You're not going to tell him where Howard is?" "Nope, and I don't think he wants to know." "Are you going to give him the rest of the money back?" "Probably not, since we won't have much left when we get back." Bobby looked confused, "But what about those credit cards?" "We might take Forest out to dinner on one, but I'll grind up the rest and tell John to close the accounts." "No one will know what we did?" "You're damn right they won't know." "How will you write your report?" "I'll say that I relocated Frank to a secure, mutually acceptable, location." "They won't want to know more than that?" "They might, but John doesn't want to know, ever." Bobby smiled at me and said, "We have some of the best adventures and vacations. This has been some trip." We fell asleep in each others arms and slept soundly until morning. We were up, showered and had breakfast by eight. We hauled our bags over to the Mustang and put them into the trunk. Our man came around a big truck with a visible name tag today. It said Carl. "So, Carl," I said, while counting out five hundred. "Did you get it done?" "You bet. Let's take it for a spin. I put a new rear main seal in, plus I fixed the jumpy first gear and replaced the U-joints." I handed him the five and another hundred. "Hey, I said six and I meant six." "I know you did but you did eight's worth of work and I'm gonna try it out. Hop in the back seat, Honey, and hold on." Bobbie shoehorned herself into the tiny back seat as I started the car, noting the amount of fuel, before rolling down to the concrete highway entrance while the engine warmed up. I let the car roll out to about twenty, then floored it. We burned rubber through the rest of first, second, third, and chirped into fourth. The clutch was smooth and the gears leaped into place. The car felt good and drove straight. I yelled, "Larry never wrecked it, huh?" Carl yelled back, "The only thing he did was sit and rev it up and burn rubber in first gear. That's how he almost blew the engine." We were touching a hundred twenty-five, so I let off and slowed until about thirty, I yelled "Hold on." I hit second gear, floored it, and spun a hundred eighty degrees, fishtailing down the road through fourth gear. I eased up and coasted into the bay where we had started." Carl said, "Holy shit, you can drive. Christ, you could sell rides at the carnival." Bobby said, "I would have pissed myself if I wasn't coming so hard from this thing." Carl broke up and asked, "Are you going to drive this thing that way all the time?" "Naw, I got it out of my system, but if I ever need to, I know it will do the trick." "No shit. That was awesome. When you come back up, I'll get my old lady to come up so you can give her a ride. She'll be so excited, I'll get laid before she goes home, unless she's ridin' you on the way in." Bobby was smiling and asked, "I know this is a hot rod but we live in Florida, does it have air?"' Carl said, "Ice cold, factory air. When it gets hot roll the windows up and turn it on." We took leave of Carl and filled the car up with premium and choked over the price. I checked the oil and noted the temp wasn't high at all. I sent Bobby to buy us a cell phone before we headed out. This car was dangerous. Every time I looked down at the speedometer I was doing close to a hundred. When we stopped at the same rest stop that the guard was shot at, he recognized me and asked if I heard? "What haven't I heard?" "That asshole that shot me tried to shoot it out with a bunch of sheriff's deputies and lost. He's six feet under by now." Bobbie said hugging me, "Good riddance. And best of all you didn't have to do it." The guard said, "You have yourself a good man, Honey. He was more worried about me than catching them that day. That's the sign of maturity." I said, "Bad guys always get caught, it just takes a while sometime." We were smelling home now and made some good time rolling that way. I didn't know where I was going to keep this thing, but I wasn't planning on letting it go. Bobby drove the last two hundred miles, keeping it around ninety. This buggy was going to cost us some tickets. We needed to insure it too. We called the house with our just purchased cell phone and said we were five minutes out and were driving an old Boss 302. The two team guys were out front waiting for us when we rolled in. They were in awe as the body was perfect with enough wax on it that if it did get hit, another car would just slide off. I told them that this was my treat to myself after they blew up my pickup. They laughed and asked, "Didn't you ever get paid for that thing?" "Nope, didn't know I could." Bobby said, "It's really not his. He bought it for me. I love it." We hauled our luggage in and I pulled the extras from the fake bottom of the suitcase and stored them, signing them back into inventory. I hung up the clean stuff and threw the dirty stuff into the hamper. Out in the kitchen, Bobby had a beer opened for me, when one of the guys said, "Forest asked that you give him a call as soon as you get in. Give him a call to tell him everything is okay." I used the house phone, "Good evening, Sir. Bobby and I just rolled in from our vacation, or assignment, or whatever it was." "Yes Sir, we fulfilled what John wanted us to do. No Sir, John will have to tell you that." "No Sir, I haven't called him yet, but I will. Do you have his cell number. I seem to have lost my cell phone." "You do, you have it? Where did you find it." "Well, my oh my, I must have dropped it when I went to the bathroom. That's really good, now I don't have to hunt up all those numbers." I wrote down John's number, said goodbye, and that we would see him at the morning briefing.' Bobby said, "Don't we get some down time after something like that?" I looked at her and said, "Did you fire your weapon?" "No." "Did I fire my weapon." "No." "Were we able to do everything we were supposed to do peacefully?" "I guess, but I know you twisted some arms." I smiled at Bobby, "No, just sweet talked some people, that's all." "Let me call John," I said, using the house phone. Bobby said in sarcastic voice, "Now you'll hear more double talk than a carni-barker." My side of the conversation went like this. "Evening, John, this is Chuck." "Yes Sir, the job's done." "Do you really want to know over the phone?" "I didn't think so." "It's done, all set up, and planted. Our guys would be proud." "Did I break any laws? Well, I did drive fast a few times." "I don't know anything about a Ford crew cab." "Credit cards? I don't have any company credit cards. If you want to send me one, I'd like that. I could take Forest out to supper." "No my cash is getting a little low. I'll go by the bank in the morning and get some though." "No Sir, Bobby was just bragging on me to Forest that we didn't even fire a round the whole time we were gone. Not even any target practice." "You'll have to stop in down this way the next time you're in the area. We found a great Italian restaurant that you would like." "Okay Sir, nice to talk to you and yes, we are home and happy to be here." After pausing a second I said, "Thanks for finding my cell phone and sending it down to Forest. That was a lucky break. I couldn't remember where I might have lost it." John laughed in scoffing manner and I told him, "We report in the morning, no down time on this one. We didn't shoot anybody." After John laughed again, I said, "Goodnight, Sir." One of the team members said, "You're so full of shit. That was the king of the service you just bullshitted. And the way you talked he knows you're bullshitting him. What's with you anyway?" I smiled, "It's what he wanted. I gave it to him." The other guy said, "I'll bet I could track down what you did. I would track down where you bought this car and if you traded anything in on it, then go back from there. I'd figure it out from your gas receipts." Bobby said, "I flashed gas station attendants my tits for free gas the whole way." The other guy said, "Shit, now he's got Bobby acting like him. What's the world coming to." I announced, "I'm starved. How about I run up to Publix and buy some steaks, potatoes, and any kind of veggies you want. I want a salad though." Everyone agreed and when I went to drive to Publix, Bobby beat me to the car and roared off down the street. The evening was quiet and the guys told us about a couple guests that had been through. They were using the Bureau warehouse to check guests out before they brought them here. They thought that was one of my better ideas. They said that D.C. had sent down a pile of new directives that we needed to read and some new videos. They said we would enjoy one of the videos. Bedtime was relaxing and fun. Bobby and I splashed around in the pool a little, sat in the hot tub a little then played in bed a lot. We were happy to be in our own bed. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 6 The morning briefing was quick. Most of the guys were out on air marshal work, covering for Orlando, and two guys were out chasing down an escapee that's been seen all over the place. Forest did his damndest to get me to tell him what my mission was and was a little pissed when I wrote up my assignment report. All it said was, "Task completed as directed by John." No last name, no details, nothing. Forest called John and told him about my report. The speakerphone was on when John said, "Sounds like a damned good report from two deputies to me." When Forest bitched some more, John said, "I have to be down your way for that Orlando flap with the bureau tomorrow, so I'll stop in this evening. Chuck said there is a nice Italian place we'll like. I'll let you know when." When Forest hung up he said, "He's going to tell me, so why don't you tell me?" "I can't, Sir, it was an order." Forest was saying, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." As we left. Sarah had a prisoner transport for me that would get me back in around six. I said bye to Bobby, grabbed a set of waist and ankle chains and headed downstairs. The deal was to sign him out, catch a ride to the airport, sit with him to Pensacola, and sign him in there, after that a ride home and I was done. Before I left, Sarah went with me into the break room and said, "Besides the job you just did for John, what's with Forest? He's been on the phone to foreign sounding people and arguing with them. He's been really testy, and as friendly as he seems to you, he's been down right scary. He's lost his temper twice right here in the office and he's had run in after run in with the Bureau. Is that why John's going to be here in the morning?" "One of the guys had to return fire while he was transporting a relocation and Forest went up in smoke, yelling that there is never a good reason to fire a weapon from a moving vehicle. Watch him closely if you have a run in with him, I don't think he is put together right now. He's letting me do all his office and personnel decisions; he just seems preoccupied with something." I told Sarah, "Okay, I'll talk to John tomorrow and have him take you to lunch or something. John trusts your judgment." When I checked this guy out of the jail downstairs, I recognized him from the war we had when I first came to work. He was the first bellhop that I met at the hotel. He was pretty surly and even more so that I was his chosen babysitter. He bitched about the ankle chains and he bitched about the waist chains. I told him the next thing he got was the Chinese handcuffs on the fingers. A duty guy took us to the airport where we walked through to operations so they could put me on the plane early. I told the guy, "If you think you need to go, go now or pee on yourself later. We do not move on the airplane. He did go to pee and discovered he could do it himself with the waist chain. I made sure he washed his hands, washed mine, and ushered him down the gangway toward the airplane. Usually there are Customs or Homeland Security guys all over, but none were around today. When we reached the door to go out, I pushed the bar and moved the prisoner out toward the steps. "Crackitycrackitycrackity" "Shit, that was an AK on full auto." The prisoner was down but too far out for me to reach. I used my cell phone to call the base. It took three rings for them to answer. I told them I was under attack at the airport at the lower Customs door. I needed back up and help out on the tarmac. I took my coat off and used a broom handle to stick it out the door. "Crack, Crack, Crack." Fuck, that's someone who knows to use single rounds for accuracy. A Homeland Security guy came running down the ramp. I had to grab him to keep him from going out the door. I grabbed his cap and stuck it just a little past the door with the broom handle. "Crack." The hat flew out onto the tarmac. The Homeland guy got on his radio, calling for help. I told him to get the ramp security people to close in from outside. There was a tow motor about fifteen feet from the door. If the guy was distracted, I could make it there and have a better chance of seeing the shooter. There was gun fire toward the building from the tarmac. I jumped the fifteen feet to the tow motor and watched a guy rise from behind some barrels and fire out toward the security guys coming from that way. If I shot, it was going to be almost a hundred yards. That's a long way for a handgun, but I was going to have to try. I peeked around to see the guy rising to shoot out toward the security truck again. I leveled the gun and used two hands, bringing the sighting up until it was at the top of his head and squeezed. The whole side of his face flew off. Oh shit, I must have hollow points in this weapon and not know it. I stayed down to see if there was another shooter, but nothing moved and no one shot any more. I waved the Homeland guy at the door to go check the prisoner, but he just shook his head. Rising slowly, with my gun in front of me at the ready, I slowly went toward the shooter. Nothing happened all the way there. When I saw he was done in, I waved at the security truck guys to come ahead. At that moment here comes a bunch of Deputy Marshals, the Bureau, probably all of Tampa's finest, and of course, more Homeland security guys that don't want to look at blood. Going back to check the prisoner was useless. The prisoner took three in the chest. I went back to the shooter and told everyone to keep away until a cleanup crew could get there. The Bureau idiots all wanted climb around on the crime scene. I finally had to declare my rank. I held up my badge and declared this a crime scene of the U.S. Marshal's office and for all other personnel to stand back and stand by for direction. Funny, just like the videos. I did get their attention and they all stood back. Two crime scene trucks showed up, ours and the Bureau's. I held the Bureau group back until our guys said it was clear to let them in. They knew better than me. I called into Forest and said that I had just had an incident. He asked, "Did you shoot anyone? Yes sir, I was the only one with a clear shot. No one else could get to the shooter." "You're at the airport right?" "Yes Sir." "Stay there, I'm on the way with Sarah. We have to do in person interviews with everyone involved. Gather all actual witnesses together in one place and keep them there. I went out to get the two security guys and brought them to where the Homeland guy was still shaking in his boots. He had recovered his hat and had his finger through the hole. He kept saying, "That boy, that boy he saved me, that boy kept me inside." I told them to all go into the marshal's office and sit. I got one of the air marshals and asked him to watch them. Then I went for the Bureau guys and asked, "Go upstairs and see if you can get some witnesses. I'm going to have to justify the shooting." Jan, the female FBI chick, that was the crack shot, said, "That was a good one, a hundred yards with a hollow point. Good shooting." All I could say was, "I didn't know I had hollow point loads. It was luck." She said, "My ass, that was good shooting. Let me get some civilian witnesses. They had to have seen the shooter from above. The glass is sound proof, but they should have seen something." She took off, grabbing a couple other agents to help. A couple of Tampa guys said they had two ramp people that saw the shooter. I asked them to get them and take them to the marshal's office for me. The one guy said, "Just like bureaucrats, a guy saves the day, then has to save his ass." The ex-bellhop was still face down, bleeding out with my chains on him. Some medics had checked him and waved everyone away. I asked the paramedics to go check on the Homeland guy that I kept from running out the door. He might need a sedative. Shit, I needed a sedative. I was trying to figure out when I put hollow points in a magazine. My cell phone rang. It was Bobby. I assured her I was alright, but was waiting so I could be cleared on the shooting. She cursed at the situation. I asked, "Bobby, did you put hollow points in my magazines?" "I did that before we left for D.C. I thought if we were in the shit, they would be better. Shouldn't I do that?" "You have to tell me when you do that. Hollow points don't shoot straight sometimes. When there is a long shot, they go however the round flattens out." "I didn't know that, Honey. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I knew John would only send you on something that was not only tough, but probably dangerous as hell. I wanted you to have all the advantage." "That's okay. I don't think there is any rule broken. It's just not usual for a marshal to use them." "Danny always used them. That's all he would carry." "They are good close up, Bobby, but suck when you have a long shot." "How far was it?" "Probably right at a hundred yards." "No way, Honey, no way you hit something at a hundred yards with a handgun." "Okay, you come down and tell them it wasn't me." "Do you want me to?" "No, I'm kidding. The little girl, Jan, from the FBI is trying to round up civilian witnesses for me." "The little lezzy probably is creaming in her jeans over your hundred yard shot. She probably wants in your pants. Bring her home and I'll set her straight." "Not a problem. Hey, here comes Forest. I need to go over the shooting with him. Talk to you later." Forest came up to me and there was no "Hi, how are you, are you okay," he just asked for my weapon. I pulled the Glock, dropped the magazine, and jacked the shell from the chamber. I handed Forest the gun butt first, put the round into the magazine then handed it to Forest as well. He pocketed the handgun and asked me to show him exactly how the incident happened. I went into the hallway and said, "My prisoner was ahead of me as is procedure when we were exiting the building. I heard AK fire on full auto and watched the prisoner go down. I showed him where I was standing and the position of the downed prisoner who was still face first on the tarmac. I told Forest I put my jacket on a broom handle and stuck it out the door and three rounds quickly hit my jacket on single fire, which told me the shooter was experienced and knew what he was doing. "At that instant a Homeland security guy came running down the hallway and was going to run out, so I grabbed him holding him back. The man didn't understand English well, so I grabbed his hat and stuck it just barely out of the door so only a couple of inches showed, and the shooter shot once, knocking the hat off the stick." "I called for help and a couple of airport security people drove into the area pretty quick and were shot at by the shooter. That's when I had a chance to jump over behind this tow motor." I was leading Forest outside and crouched down beside it. "The shooter kept firing at the two security men who were trapped on the other side of their disabled vehicle and only had handguns. I steadied myself on the frame of the tow motor and fired once, hitting the shooter, and as I found out afterwards, killing him." Forest asked, "Did the shooter shoot at you over here while you were out of the door?" "No, he was distracted by the security guards." "So, you were not in any danger when you actually shot the suspect." "If he looked over here I would have been. The man was a crack shot with his rifle." Forest was shaking his head, "Did you holler a warning or yell for him to give up?" I was getting angry, "The man was shooting at people. He had already shot my prisoner. This was a dangerous situation that I had to stop any way possible." Forest shook his head, "You don't get it do you. This isn't Iraq. This is the United States of America where that man was innocent until proven guilty. Consider yourself under arrest until I interview these other people." I was in a state of shock. One of the older air marshals had heard the conversation and was standing there with his mouth open. He whispered, "Holy shit, this can't be happening." I called Bobby quickly. "Bobby, Forest just placed me under arrest for not warning the shooter before firing. John's on his way here, so try to get him on the plane and explain what's going on. If they lock me up, I'm done for in the service. Try hard for me, please." She said quickly, "I'll do it right now. Don't worry." I followed Forest in to listen to his interviews. Sarah handed Forest a stack of papers, "These are statements from witnesses and the Homeland guy Chuck kept from getting shot." Forest yanked the papers from Sarah's hand and ripped them in two, throwing them to the floor. "Who the fuck told you to take statements? I'm in charge of this office and no one farts until I say so." He stomped toward the marshal's office. The Bureau chief saw what happened and tried to talk to Forest. "Who the fuck are you to tell me my job. This is my jurisdiction and I'm in charge. Get your candy ass agents out of my crime scene and away from my witnesses." The Bureau chief stepped away and pulled his cell phone. Sarah had picked up the papers, and was putting them into a folder, then she handed them to one of the air marshals, telling him to do something. We could hear Forest yelling at the witnesses inside the office. "So you were too candy ass to shoot back at an assassin. It doesn't make any difference that you only had pistols, you should have been shooting. Did you holler a warning and tell the man to give up. Who cares whether he was shooting at you. Did you warn him and offer him a chance to give up? Jan from the Bureau spoke up and said, "I yelled at the shooter to distract him so your man could get into a better firing position. The shot was impossible, but he took it anyway. Luckily, he neutralized the shooter. That's one hell of shot for a hundred yards." Forest actually swung at the female agent. She ducked pulling her weapon and putting it against his chin. "Put your hands over your head right now, do it. Put them over your head. Some one get the cuffs from my pocket and cuff this guy. He's unstable and not fit to be here." A Tampa cop grabbed one of Forest's hands, and pulled it behind his back. The cop got one cuff on, and as he was pulling the other hand back to put the cuff on, Forest spun away from him and punched the policeman. The FBI agent was aghast that a station chief was going mad. Forest reached into his pocket for my weapon. It wasn't loaded as I saw that he had put the magazine in his other pocket. The girl was frozen, Jan didn't know what to do. Forest brought my Glock out and pointed it at the girl. Bang, bang, bang. Forest went down and sideways. Jan, the FBI girl, was still frozen. The white haired air marshal who had heard Forest place me under arrest was standing in a shooting stance with his gun following Forest to the floor. He took a deep breath and looked for the paramedic. "I think I'm going to need something for my nerves." I ushered all of the witnesses out of the room and asked them to gather in the center. Our crime scene guy came running in, looked down at Forest and said, "Oh shit." He looked at me and asked, "Did you do it?" I shook my head no. He looked at the little girl who was still terrified, and Jan shook her head no. The old guy said, "I did it. Do you need my weapon?" The crime scene guy said, "No, holster your weapon and we'll get some rank out here to take charge. Let's get the Bureau chief to take charge." The Bureau chief was sitting in a swivel chair holding his chest. I went to him and asked, "Did you get hit?" He shook his head and said, "Help me get a nitro pill under my tongue; they're in my pants pocket." I got the bottle out, took one of the tiny pills, and put it under his tongue. I grabbed Jan, the FBI chick, and yanked her around, taking her gun from her. "Get hold of yourself. Holster this thing and tend to your chief." I said out loud, "I'm the senior man here right now, so please, do as I ask and let's get this place calmed down. Where's Sarah?" Sarah came out from another room and said, "What do you want me to do, Sir?" "Since this is a Class one incident, begin taking witness statements. You air marshals help with the statements, you know how to do it. You, Sir," I said as I took hold of the guy who had shot Forest, "Are to sit down and remain quiet until I can get a paramedic to check you out." "I'm alright, Chuck, I'm feeling fine." I took a deep breath then said, "Please relax a minute. This is going to be a mess." I looked out the back door and saw the prisoner was now covered. A crime scene guy photographed Forest and he spread a sheet over him. The place was getting some order. Sarah was quietly taking statements again, doing her job. The other air marshals were taking interviews too. At least nine people had seen Forest go nuts. I didn't want to tell the FBI girl or the older air marshal that Forest was not pulling a loaded weapon. "What the fuck are you into this time?" I turned to see John with a serious look on his face. I pointed down at the sheet and said, "That's Forest, our station chief. He was pulling a weapon from his pocket after striking a Tampa policeman and an air marshal shot him. John picked the sheet up to see Forest's hand still on my Glock. "Whose gun is that, Forest carries a 38 special snub nose?" "Mine, Sir, he asked for it before he placed me under arrest." "He really did that? He placed you under arrest, on what grounds?" The white haired air marshal said, "For not giving the shooter a chance to give up, for not warning him that he was going to shoot." John closed his eyes then opened them again. "I should have known something was going to happen that pushed him over. Christ, come on Chuck, show me what happened." I turned to Sarah and said, "I have to leave the premises, you are in charge." As we walked outside John asked, "If you were under arrest how were you in charge." "I really wasn't in hard custody and the place was a madhouse. The Bureau chief was having a heart attack and I'm the senior guy." "Okay, so show and tell me, from the beginning." I went over every movement exactly how it happened, right down to getting the hat shot off the broomstick. When I showed John the shot that I had to take, he whistled and said, "That's a long fucking way." The little FBI chick, Jan, had come out and said, "And he hit that guy with a hollow point. That's one hell of a shot?" "When did you start using hollow points?" "When you requested Bobby and me for the special mission, she figured we were going to be under fire and wanted me to have an advantage. You know I don't usually use them as they don't shoot straight." "Well, you hit the target and then what?" "Sarah and Forest got here and Sarah began taking statements while I showed Forest exactly what I just showed you." I was about to add to that when Jan said, "Your chief began yelling at Chuck asking him if we yelled a warning or yelled for the shooter to give up. When Chuck said he didn't have the opportunity, your chief placed him under arrest." The white haired air marshal said, "That's exactly how it happened, John." "Sarg, I didn't even notice it was you. How are you doing, Sarg?" "It was me that shot your man, John. He was pulling a gun and the little girl from the FBI was frozen. Jan was so scared that she couldn't shoot. When Forest spun away from the Tampa cop and hit him, the girl couldn't pull the trigger. I was right here and when the gun came out, I shot him. I didn't yell to stop or ask him to give up, I just shot him. Just like the book says, three rounds in the body." John was shaking his head. "Christ almighty this is a mess. First, Chuck, you are no longer under arrest or under suspicion of improper action. You probably saved those security guys." He looked at the old guy and said, "Have Sarah help you with your incident report and make it two days off not one. And go get yourself checked out." The crime scene tech came up to John and asked, "Can I talk in front of Chuck?" "You'd better, he's in charge of the station until I can find a sucker to come run the joint." "Good going, Sir. The shooter is a foreigner. I think he's Russian or Czech. I'm not sure. We'll have to have his dental work analyzed. The guy has three passports, so pick one and pick a name. He had a hotel pass card, so I sent some Bureau guys to take a look. It's going to be difficult to match the pictures to the face as Chuck's round tore him up bad. The rifle he has is a trophy. It is a perfect AK sniper rifle. I'll bet you can hit a fly at a thousand yards with that thing. There are thirty six casings and one empty magazine. He had four more thirty round magazines on him besides what was left in the one he had. He has rental car keys in his pocket so we'll have to try and track it down. It could be anywhere. He has some credit cards, so we may be able to track it that way. The Bureau guys and I have done all the outside work. Do you want us to do the inside?" John said, "Have the Bureau do it. You're too close to the problem." The tech hurried out to get the Bureau tech so he could take care of the inside mess. A cleanup truck was parked outside. Our tech came in, carrying the ankle and waist chains and cuffs. He looked around and gave them to me. John had lifted the sheet again so the tech could take pictures. When he was done, John picked up my Glock and noted there was no magazine in it. He pulled back the slide and looked at me. "The magazine is in the other pocket." John pulled the magazine from his pocket and almost handed me the weapon. I said, "I'll check out another. That one's done. No one wants that one." John nodded and put them in his pocket. He went over to Sarah to see how she was doing. She smiled and said, "I think that's all of them. They are all good interviews. I have the original interviews from the shooting outside. Ah, John, you need to give Forest a tox screen. He's been rocketing up and down lately. One second he's an ace, the next he's Darth Vader. I saw him with vials twice, but he could have had sinus trouble." John asked a tech for rubber gloves and after putting them on, he began pulling stuff from Forest's pockets. Two small narrow pill bottles were among the stuff. John looked at it, opened the bottle and tasted what his finger found when he rubbed the top. You could see his face fall. The tech held up another bottle of pills, "Would you look at this, a bottle of a hundred high dose tranquilizers. That shit will make you crazy. If that's coke and he's taking both, the man would have been schizoid." John said, "Let's get the heck out of here. Sarah, can we take you back to the office?" "Not on your life. I'm done today. I'll write everything up tomorrow. Besides, I'm going to an Italian restaurant tonight with my date, my boss, his boss, and a big lady." John looked at me, "Should we still do that?" "Sure, why not? The only difference is we're taking a limo if you don't mind. I'll pay for it. Just bring your bags with you now and stay at the safe house. There's plenty of room and the duty guys need to be awake tonight anyway." I called Bobby and told her everything was worked out for right now. John was coming home with me and we were leaving from our house to go out to Park Place. "Call a limo service and have them pick up Sarah and Dave before they come get us." "That's good news, consider it done. Who shot Forest anyway?" "Old Sarg. He was the only one to react fast enough." "Hurry home so I know you're okay." When we pulled into the garage, John noted the car under a tarp next to the garage. I told him it was a project of mine. He nodded and we all went in. Bobby gave him a big hug, then gave me an even bigger one. "I'm so glad you're alright. The office is going to be a mess." John said, "If the place is a mess, then it's Chuck's fault. He's senior man right now so I'm making him an acting Lieutenant until the service either promotes him or finds us a new man. I would prefer a new man, as I need someone like Chuck for special ops." Bobby said, "Yeah right, special ops, thanks for the vacation." I handed John the original stack of credit cards and said, "You can use one of these for our dinner." He said, "I tracked your personal cards, and all of these and there was nothing. How much did you get for the pickup?" "What pickup?" "The one I have a video of you driving out of the garage. Give me a hint. That thing is worth about twenty-five grand." "I'll come clean for you and give you a map. It's probably still sitting where I left it with the keys still in it. I thought someone would steal it and you would catch them with your truck." "At least you didn't drown it. That would have been bad. I thought you would go out on the street and steal a car or ride a bus. Who would have thought you would take a truck that nobody uses. The maintenance guy was looking for it, so that's when we dug up the video. Where did you pick the other two up?" Bobby grinned as she said, "I give good head." John busted up. "Oh shit. You are too brazen. You did good. We haven't been able to get even a whiff of the guy. I have two guys trying to track you down. If they can find the mark, the other guys can too. Whatever you did, you did it good. Forest couldn't understand a covert relo. He was dying to find out, and was even angry about it. That's probably another reason he went nuts." The limo came for us and we went to the Park Place to enjoy a hell of a nice Italian dinner. John was impressed with the service and the food. He said, "No wonder the place is packed. I'll come out here whenever I'm in Tampa. This is really good." At home, we relaxed with a drink before we all went to bed. Bobby and I were too worn out to even do much more than some loving kisses. During the night, I felt her lips on me. She continued until I gave her my all. She came up and kissed me, saying, "I love you, Baby, I really do." I woke to kisses. My magnificent Bobby was loving on me. She pulled me on top of her and said, "Put that thing in me and make me yours this morning." Oh boy, when you climb on Bobby, it's "Hi Ho Silver." Or maybe it's all Zorro with a thrust and parry. Whatever it is, it's great. Bobby will love you to within an inch of your collapsing. Then love you some more. Mornings are wonderful in her arms. We were holding each other close, softly kissing, enjoying the afterglow of our combustion. She said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have to get up. We have company and you have to give the briefing this morning." "Ohhh Nooo." "Yep, I heard last night that you're acting station chief." "Okay, okay, I'm getting up. Come on, I'll race you to the pool and beat your butt." I was on the way through the door when Bobby caught me, "Suits with company here." "Ahh shoot." I put on my suit and we raced up and down the pool for over twenty minutes. I finally went to the side and was gasping for air. Bobby came up beside me and said, "You damn near made me say uncle. Shit, I didn't think you'd ever quit." As we got out of the pool, John was standing in his shorts smiling. "That was one hell of a work out. I'm surprised one of you didn't pass out and drown." Bobby said, "We do that every morning and usually after our workouts. It's great cardio. Do some laps while we shower and get dressed. We'll have breakfast in twenty to thirty minutes." We left John trying to keep his shorts on as he swam laps. We were in and out of the shower fast and dressed just as fast. We started the bacon and the biscuits, then called the duty guys to come in. I made some gravy, and when John came in, we slid a plate under his nose with fried potatoes, bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy. "No wonder you guys work out so hard, with food like this, you need to." One of the duty guys said, "This is the perk for having to pull duty out here. We love breakfast out here. Of course, when they're home, the other meals aren't bad either." "Nice to have happy deputies," John said. "We better hustle so you can make up a schedule for today." "Already done. I linked to the server and set up the schedule from the requests we have. I have all the air marshal jobs taken care of, the safe house duty, the court house duty, and of course, we're doing a turn at the hospital for some dignitaries that are there. We have one investigation in progress that's stagnant. I'll look into it, and a billion reports to get in. I saw that our D.C. chief is in town for some kind of flap created by none other than our ex-station chief. Perhaps it will be swept under the rug if I talk nice." "Nope, you have to find his file and show up for the meeting with me. If we're wrong, we say so and offer to kiss their ass. If we're right, we get them to do it for us. Couldn't you pull that up on the station server?" "It's under "classified" so I don't know what it's about." John went to his room and came back with a fat file. "Read it and weep." I jammed through the fifty pages of bullshit that was mostly bitching by our deceased station chief. I said, "Why don't I go downstairs and just tell them that we were wrong. After yesterday, they should know our true attitude. I made them into the lead investigators because it was their jurisdiction. I handled the confusion and gave it back to them. When the shit hit the fan, I took over but gave it back to them again. I'll bet the Bureau chief will shake our hands and say thanks." John smiled and said, "If he does, I'm buyin' early." We went into the office in the armored car. At least that's what I called the Suburban. John thought it funny that I let Bobby drive. I told him that we started out this way so I could shoot our way out of the subdivision. He didn't think that was funny. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a couple of boxes of mixed donuts before getting to the garage. At the secure entrance, we showed our badges and swiped our Ids and rode the elevator to our penthouse. Surprisingly, the mood in the office was pretty good. Every one was a little apprehensive with John there, but they settled down quickly. I hollered that we were holding our briefing in the office as it would be faster and people could make notes at their desks. Sarah brought her chair in, so we were cooking. I went through the duty stuff and said that we had a stagnant investigation. Did anyone have any ideas on it? Joe Moran, spoke up. He never talks, but he stood up and said, "I've been trying to tell the chief that the legal secretary for the Sturgeon group, stole the file. Since they are entitled to know the evidence and what she swiped was a copy anyway, who cares. We'll just check whether they request the info again when it's time. We have the lady cold on tape, so if we want to arrest her, do so, but like I said." He shrugged his shoulders with his hands up. "We have to provide the evidence and the same information that's in the file. I looked at Sarah and back at Joe. If you will write that all down and reference the videotape we have on the theft, Sarah will file it and we will close this one out. Good summary, Joe, good work. "There was a twx on Sarah's desk. Tell us about it, Sarah." "We have a pair of long term escapees from Leavenworth heading our way. So far they haven't caused a lot of damage, but we need to get the info out to the agencies." I asked, "Anyone want to bloodhound on this one?" Sarg answered, "I know I'm needed on air marshal duty, but I know those two. Let me lead this one and see if I can bring them in." "Okay, it's a deal, Sarg. You know we're still going to owe you a couple of incident days. Glad you can work with us. Any volunteers for air marshal? Sarah, do we have any more retirees that need the money?" Everyone just sat there hoping they wouldn't get chosen. "Sarah, who is up next?" She showed me the list and I smiled. "Bobby, you get to pull Sarg's route today. Enjoy your trip to Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and back home, keep those folks safe." Bobby rolled her eyes and mouthed, "I'll get you later." I looked over the group and said, "I'm in charge because of a regrettable incident. All of our people are exonerated. I'm sorry if any of you had to be involved. We're men, let's act like men. Be careful and let's keep the public safe." Everyone went about their business and John went in the chief's office and sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. I went and got two coffees, two donuts, and went in and sat next to John. I gave him his coffee and his donut and we enjoyed both. When it was time I said, "If you want, I'll take care of the problem downstairs by myself." John said, "Thank you, but I was specifically requested to be here for this one. Let's go." We walked into the Bureau to receive a round of applause. The little girl agent, Jan, was whistling and cheering. John asked, "What's this about?" An agent said, "Your man hit a shooter a hundred yards away with handgun. Not only that, but he was using hollow points. One round, one hit, that's worth some applause," and he started clapping again. I held up my hands, and when the noise died down, I said, "It was a totally lucky shot." John and I were hooted and hollered out of the room into the conference room. The Bureau station chief was there, along with the Bureau's lead attorney and an agent. We sat down and asked them to proceed. The Bureau chief described the incident where the agent was confronted with an armed bank robber coming out of the bank with a hostage. The agent was acting as the sniper and took an available shot. The robber perished and the hostage lived without injury, but our former station chief cited the agent for not warning him first or offering an opportunity to surrender. The attorney cited FBI statute after statute that essentially said "When necessary, an agent should use deadly force to protect innocent civilians." It was assumed that's what he did. The attorney said, "It is regrettable your former station chief is not here to defend your position. Do you wish to comment on these proceedings?" I held my hand up so John wouldn't have to say anything. I asked the agent's name. Before he answered I said, I know you, you're agent Parmour. In my opinion, Agent Parmour, I believe you should be commended for first complying with your directives, and second, most importantly, that you hit your target without any collateral damage. I have no idea why we're here, but it's nice to see you all. If you're a mind too, I'll stand for coffee and a snack across the street. I stood up and shook the agent's hand and motioned for all of them to follow me. We walked over to the hotel restaurant and had coffee and a Danish. Nothing more was mentioned about the incident. After the meeting, John and I did our incident reports. We had all of the statements attached. I made up a commendation for Sarg for him to be recognized for his bravery and response in the face of imminent danger. John signed the commendation and I gave it to Sarah so she could have it framed. I called Sarah in so she could give me her key to Forest's desk and his PC password. Sarah said, "Forest had all the keys and did not give me his password." "Can you call Jenkins in the Bureau and ask him to come bust a password. Let me get the keys from his pocket stuff from yesterday. I'm sure it's on his key chain. The crime scene tech gave me the keys and one was for the desk. When I opened the desk, the second one was right there, so I gave it to Sarah as was procedure. Jenkins came up and punched in a bunch of keystrokes and asked, "What kind of password do you want. I said dryly, "'Password' in lower case would be fine. The tech smiled and put in the info and left. We inventoried enough drugs in Forest's desk to keep him high for weeks. His PC files were near blank. There was only the mandatory reports, no logs, no diary, no personnel notes, nothing. John said, "Have you checked out a new piece yet?" "Not yet, I guess I should get one. We walked over to the storeroom where I put the code in for the cabinet. I pulled a box out and scanned the number into the computer and read the number again to confirm it. I picked up a box of shells and four magazines. We went back to the office where I said, "Let's go downstairs to make sure this thing shoots straight. The last new one had to have a new barrel before it worked properly." Downstairs, I loaded four magazines with range reloads, put on the earmuffs, and fired a full magazine. Everything was going where it should. I called for a two magazine decision, and went through both magazines with only a single miss, and all good decisions. The range guy wanted me to do a combat decision series. John said he had never watched a combat demo. I loaded three more magazines, laid all four of them out with the unloaded weapon. The range officer yelled "Time," and I went through the four magazines, rapidly moving around in the different positions, then yelled "Done." The officer said, "You beat the babe's time today. You scored pretty damned good too, with only a single miss. That was a ninety-six in sixty-four seconds flat. I watched as you pulled from target to target. That was a really good round. You really have to come down and shoot with Jan. She'll love ya for it, even if she doesn't like guys." "We'll see" I said as I tore the weapon down and cleaned before loading the magazines with regular rounds, not hollow points. I slid a magazine home, chambered a round, dropped the magazine to put in the extra round and holstered the gun. John said, "When I'm with you, I know I'm safe. That was some good shooting. Do you practice a lot?" "I try to use the range three times a week thing like it's called for. I don't usually miss practice unless I'm out on a job. I make Bobby do hers now too. She's pretty good." "So you feel it's important for a marshal to be a good shot? Good with his weapon?" "Oh yes, John, especially with the decision course. That's how we keep from having collateral damage. An agent good with his weapon won't use it when he doesn't need to. When he needs to, he will make it count." "Those are all good answers, Chuck. I have to think about this a little, Chuck. I'm conflicted. I want you as station chief, but I need you in the field for shit like you just did. There are not many guys I can give jobs like that to. I'll let you know." "I'll do whatever job you want, John. I'll do both if that's what it takes." John smiled and said, "I can't send a station chief out on a mission that he may not come back on." "You knew that if you sent me out with Bobby, no one would get within a mile of the guest. I know how sneaky you are." "Hey, I gave you plenty of money to have a good time with." "You gave me exactly what the service estimates it takes to relocate a witness. They are right, that's about how much it costs. I had to give the guy a stake. But he's taken care of, John. Your best won't find him." I drew a map of a building where the truck was and put an X on it. I wrote the address down from memory and handed it to John. "We've searched that building. The truck's not there." "Fly there right now, take a taxi and look behind those giant furnaces. The truck will be right there. A little dusty but the keys are in the ignition, ready to go. I even left gas in it." "I'll fax this to that office and let them get it. I'll call you. Can you get me a ride to the airport?" "I'll take you, the office is running straight out, Sarah is in position, we're under control." "You take this station chief job too lightly. You're supposed to be worried, scared, mad." "Naw, I'll just let the guys do what they do best. That's protecting government property and citizens." I put John on a plane, hoping he would find someone to take over for me. This station chief stuff could become work. Back at the office, I sat at Sarah's desk and asked if there was a manual for the Station Chief's responsibilities. She pulled a binder from her cabinet and pulled out a video. "These two will cover it. Remember to take the quizzes." I studied the manual for the rest of the afternoon, making notes as I went. I needed to set up a daily schedule with the different items to be done each day. If I followed the book and used common sense, I should be able to handle the job, It took me until six to make up the daily schedules. I was going to work on some other stuff when Sarah came in and said, "Will you leave already? I want to go home. I can't leave till you leave. It's a rule." "I didn't see it anywhere?" "It's my rule. Your lady is already home and has called. Hit the bricks, Bud." I went out to the garage to get the truck, but remembered that Bobby had it. I was going to walk back over to the office for a car when I saw Hank. "Hey Hank, you have something you want me to test drive?" "What's the matter you forget to check out a car?" "Something like that." "Drive this Dodge. It's supposed to be fixed to run good. Make it do cartwheels and let me know." I did burn some rubber on the way home, even putting the car through some four wheel skids and powered out of them. The car ran pretty well. The only problem was that it was trying to overheat by the time I got home. I called Hank and told him about the car and he said, "Great, now I know what the problem is. Thanks, Chief." He hung up. Bobby came and gave a me hug that I needed after the day we just had. She told me how she was seated with a very wide woman in the back of the plane. "I don't fit in those coach class seats well anyway, and if you put a four foot plus wide babe next to me, it's a mess. I sat on the jump seat back by the restroom all day. That's a board, with some vinyl covering, that's not very comfortable. I know you had to give me the route, but I hope my name doesn't come too quickly again. "What we need are more senior guys that don't mind air marshal duty, I said, in response to the problem. "Let's put an ad in the U.S. Marshal News. Since it's online, we might get a response right away. Let's check to see how to do it." We pulled up the site and clicked on advertising. There was a tab for offices looking for people. We made a decent looking ad in seconds. Enjoy Air Marshal Duty? Enjoy warm winters? Transfer to Tampa, Fl No State Income Tax A great place to live Five lines were free, so that should be a start. There was a tab for retirement planning. It had all kinds of ads for the usual stuff like we'll take your hundred dollars of savings and turn it into a ten dollar a week paycheck for life. We put in: Florida Retirement - Earn while you enjoy warm winters; golf and fish all year. Low priced housing — No state income tax — Plenty of part time air marshal work. Transfer to the Tampa office to find your place in the sun while positions last. We typed it in, refreshed the page and our ad was in there. We went back to the regular classifieds and our ad was there. Bobby and I looked at each other and did a high five. This might work. We checked through the site and found four more areas where we could promote our office. Bobby wanted to put in "Under New Management" but I didn't think it would be appropriate, considering what had happened. We called the teams to see if they had eaten already and they had. None were staying the night, so we ate leftover pot roast, with carrots and potatoes, filling it in with a can of string beans. It was quick and good. Next we did the unthinkable by spending an hour in the gym. I even did thirty minutes on the dreaded treadmill. Instead of the pool, we stripped down and sat in the hot tub a while. Just long enough to get the kinks out and enjoy each other's company. Drying off, and following a delicious ass to bed, put naughty ideas in my head and Bobby was easy to convince that we needed a little more exercise. I spent a long time enjoying her, trying to kiss every square inch of her magnificence. That sort of treatment usually results in an energetic romp that puts us right to sleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 7 After the morning briefing, Sarah gave me the next of kin information for Forest. He came out of school directly into the service and had advanced rapidly. His personnel file did not show any dependents or any living parents. Sarah decided to investigate, as there was a sizeable life insurance policy that went to an heir. Forest's original employment application did not list a next of kin. This was a part of the application that was marked as "must be completed." No place to go but backward. Sarah called the small college in Illinois that he attended and was advised that they had never had a student by the name of Forest Harding. Sarah pulled up all of the colleges and universities in Illinois and e-mailed their offices with "reply required promptly" notation from the U.S. Marshal's office. While she waited for some replies, Sarah called the high school listed on the application. Again, no person by that name had ever attended that high school. She called the tech and asked him to do a print scan on Forest before we released him to the undertakers. She did what she should have as second in command, she called John. John said that she must be reading something wrong or asking the wrong people. She challenged him to challenge their personnel department to not only come up with a relative, but to come up with a background. Around four, Sarah showed me the responses from the colleges and universities. Our tech knocked on the doorframe to get my attention and I waved him in. He handed me Forest's print card that he had taken from the body, then showed me the print card that was on file with the service. Ray Charles could see that they were two different people. Next he showed me a search result of the prints he took off the body. Donald J. Maguire, born in Dublin, Ireland, 1969. It showed his education and a long list of confrontations with the law. There were arrests and minimal time served up through 1997, and nothing after that. Forest's application was dated March 1998. I had the tech contact the Ireland law enforcement people to see if we could get a picture. Then something hit me. "Why would his prints be on file for you to find in a U.S. search?" The tech had no idea. I called personnel in D.C. and asked for their senior investigator. I remember that after I was deputized, they found out how many hairs I had on my arms, much less who was my next of kin. The first words out of the guys mouth was, "How're ya doin, ' Wild Bill?" After a long pause from me he said, "I was one of the guys that was down in Tampa when half the underworld was trying to make you gone. Since Sarah had already deputized you as a full deputy, I was in charge of finding out how many little girls you accosted in kindergarten. I remember your file well. You were damn near a pacifist in high school, but rode around on a motorcycle terrorizing people. Then you joined the Marines around the time when your folks were killed, and the rest is, as they say, history. You did surprise me when I found your University of Maryland degree. You should have listed that on your resume as a degree instead of having subscribed to a correspondence school. That's not easy to do when you spend as much time in training and combat as you did." There was a pause then, "Anyway, Chuck, what can I do for you." I gave him a synopsis of what we had discovered so far, thinking he would enjoy getting to know how an Irish gangster became a station chief. His entire vocabulary became, "Holy shit, no shit, oh shit," etc. until he made the summary, "Someone's going to be in "deep shit." Ken Harris gave me his promise. "I will personally find out what's up with this. Make sure we talk tomorrow afternoon, and every afternoon until we have answers." "Oh, by the way, I'm running another peek at your file for the boss and the review committee. I think they're trying to decide whether to make you permanent station chief down there. You don't even have a year's service, so you might not get this kind of promotion this fast. But don't feel bad, you're already way above the curve by being a Sergeant and this is the second time you've been an acting field Lieutenant." I said, "I don't know whether I'm the right guy for this job yet, anyway. I'll keep the place running until they find the right guy to bring in. And that brings me to my last point of curiosity, I'd like to see the file on his, ah, Forest's investigation and board decision to become station chief down here. Am I allowed to see that?" "You bet, you're a station chief, I'll have it scanned and on your desk in an hour." "Thanks Ken; I'll buy next time you're in town." "You shouldn't be saying that, considering you have a bunch of vacancies down there. I've received six calls already today from older marshals wanting to transfer. Everyone wants to live in the warm weather. Anyway, I may be down soon. I'll hold you to it, just order me a Guinness." I was working on the next week's schedules when Sarah brought a stack of papers and put them on my desk. She said, "When you read this, you're going to shit. There are reports of incidents and various captures throughout this file that never happened. I remember names very well, especially escapees. I didn't recognize any of the captures, so I began pulling each of his captures and each of his incidents. None ever occurred." Sarah pulled a folder from the stack and pointed to it. "His app shows 1998, but there is an incident that says he was involved in a gang shooting in '96. Another strange incident says that he was key to an arrest in 2000 when he was in San Diego, but the arrest was in Chicago. That would be a big deal, but he shows a capture on the same date in San Diego." After looking at the folder I told Sarah, "I called Ken up in personnel and he's going to work on it. Put together everything you have discovered so far on a spreadsheet, and e-mail it to him with a copy to John. Add a note to John that we began the investigation in order to assign Forest's life insurance proceeds." This was either a case of someone's fair-haired boy or it was planned deceit, with help inside the service to facilitate it. This was becoming Bureau or Secret Service business, but I was going to let John handle it. I made sure we had everything covered for tomorrow and while I was thinking about it, I called Sarg to see how he was doing. "I have a couple of lines on the pair but they're being cagey. I have all of the police departments in their path reporting any robberies, car thefts, and any other strange incidents. At this moment, they are around Mobile, in a cream colored Mercury four door, wearing some wash and wear business casual clothes. The bad news is that they have acquired a couple of handguns, an SKS, and a couple of shotguns with a bunch of ammo. We need to upgrade the pair to armed and extremely dangerous, blanketing every department there is. I'd like to put out a notice at truck stops so we have some extra eyes looking for these two. And I think I'm going to have to have a side kick on this one. There are just too many leads to follow up on." Thanks, Sarg, "I'll work on some help. Good work so far. Be careful though, and if you get them cornered, wait for help." I called Sarah and we went over duty schedules and who could possibly be available for side kick duty for John. Damn, Bobby was the only one, and this was not going to be an easy one, or one where you get a chance to decide anything. I looked at Sarah and asked, "Bobby's good, she's calm under pressure and she's had some good experience, but can she handle the stress of doing side kick stuff for a pro like Sarg?" Sarah sat back in her chair, "How did she do on your little undercover romp? How did she act, how did she respond to some of your shenanigans? I'm sure you broke every rule she's ever read." "Now, Sarah, that's pretty presumptuous of you to say." "Shit, I'd love to know the truth, and I'd bet your man is as happy as a pig in shit in some small town with a place to live, clothes, a car, a job, a new "real" name, and that he's current on his taxes. You know the rules and you know how and where to bend them. I'm sure she's learned a lot." "Hope they don't have to bend any rules for a capture, I just hope she doesn't choke like Jan did at the airport." "Don't hold it against her for not dropping Forest. The Tampa cop was in her line of fire and Forest got her pretty good with his elbow. She was coming back up on him when Sarg shot him. Then she froze. She saw real blood, a real person that she knew down, with cause. That would screw anyone up. I'll bet next time she just drops someone that gives her shit and then beats up on the board that will bitch at her." "You're probably right about Jan, and I know you're right about Bobby. I wish Dave was back from his prisoner transport. He could learn a ton from Sarg. Then again, so can Bobby. Sarah, this is tough, it's hard to give the babe you're thinking about marrying a lemon of a job. This is not just a lemon; it might have a lot of thorns too." "You'll make the right decision, Chuck, I know you will. Think about it for a while tonight then get her together with Sarg so they can start the day together." "Sure, Sarah, sure I'll take all the time I need to think about it." I laughed and penciled Bobby in as Sarg's sidekick. I called home to catch her before she told the duty guys to take off. I gave her the news that she would get to work with Sarg on his capture. "Side kick you mean, right?" "Yeah, something like that. There's too much for him to cover by himself, Dave isn't back from his transport yet, and won't be for another thirty or so hours." Bobby sighed and said, "He probably would get a lot of benefit out of working with Sarg but hey, I'll get to put in to use all the shit I've been learning for the last several years. Actually, Honey, thank you. This is a big deal. I can just see you sweating over me having to go on a job with someone else that may get hairy. Not to worry, you've been training me to be very proficient in hand to hand and with weapons. Give me Sarg's number so I can make arrangements with him." As soon as I recited the number, she was off the phone, excited about being on her own without me being a papa bear. She doesn't know it yet, but I'd bet Sarg is going to be worse. Sarah and I wrapped up the day but stopped long enough to nag Ken in D.C. I had him on speaker mode so Sarah could hear the conversation. "Anything yet, Guy? I know it's early, but I'd bet you have a half dozen decent snoops moving." "You lose, I have over a dozen working on it and we're pulling everything we can from Interpol. I got Sarah's spreadsheet and it's been helpful. My folks are working on everything in his file. I have a pair of troops on their way to San Diego to see what they can find. The Chicago office was ecstatic to work him, as they all hated the man. They said he had his nose in every case, constantly sent them in the wrong direction, and if they worked on something outside of his direction, he'd put them on report. They wanted to know who they could send a card of thanks to." I answer that by saying, "I don't think that would make our guy feel any better. Even if he was a rat, he was still a living breathing person. Do keep me posted as I'm really getting curious. I've developed a couple of theories but I'm going to have to dig on them from some odd ends. I'll let you know if I find anything. If we could find out exactly how he got into the States, that would be a start. And if we could find out who picked him, made him a viable entity, and why they picked the marshal service to push him up from within. Seems like he'd have done more good in the Bureau or the IRS. Anyway, let's keep sharing and perhaps we'll have some surprises. Oh yeah, would you check on escapes and captures in the San Diego and Chicago areas. I'd also like some fingerprint checks on some of the captures in both places. Something is fishy." "Easily done from my end, I'll post an order to the jail facilities after we pull the captures while he was there." "Ah, Ken, just for fun, do it from when he got there through now. He could have left a helper along the way. It might be good to begin some security checks on the marshals out there." "Ah no, man that would make us even bigger idiots. I'll develop a team that starts on it tonight and works twenty-four seven on it. Christ, I hope you're wrong, but there's a good chance you're not. Talk at you tomorrow." Sarah sighed as I turned the phone off, "You shouldn't be in the office, you're a true investigator. Those are good thought processes and definitely some things D.C. needs to be checking on. We could have fake guys everywhere. He's only put on three people since he's been here. They are all a little slow going through their training. I'll pull their apps and confirm them tomorrow. Oh, thanks for the girl to help out. She's good. If she remains as good as she's shown so far, I'll keep her. How did you find her in the budget?" "I didn't, Sarah, you're the assistant station chief with a ton of duties you're not doing, and doing a ton of stuff that's purely clerical. We've had the assistant position open since before Howard left. I'm just going to use you as the assistant station chief you are. I need to take you to the range in the morning to set you up with some training, then we need to review what areas you will assume responsibility for." "You're serious, aren't you?" "You're damned right I'm serious. My ex-admin babe gave me this manual that told me all about how to run a show. Well, it's time for 'Lights, Camera, Action' around here." "Son of a bitch, you are serious. I am going to be a real assistant chief and not just an admin flunky." "Yep, just make sure who we keep is a good mix for you and me, and all our people." "Shit, I'm going to re-run her background. She's almost too good to be true right now. Shit, if she gets the key admin position, she'll get a hell of a raise." "On rank below eleven, you can't raise them more than one grade per six months, except during their initial ninety days. During that time you can move them two levels if you can write something flowery enough with facts to justify it." "You've read all that stuff, huh? Now, I won't be able to get away with anything." "Only more so, Sarah, only more so. Enjoy your new position. I'll enjoy having you at my back. I'll watch yours as well." She gave me a hug before going out the door. It took me fifteen minutes to clean my desk, grab the stupid manual again and head for home. I intentionally didn't check out a car and asked Hank what needed testing. "How about something else hot that I can abuse? I'm having a blast testing cars." "I heard about you doin' a four wheel skid around Dale Mabry on Fletcher and splitting a couple of cars as you were powering out of it. Don't you think you should leave that for the track?" "Yeah, I guess, but being locked up all day makes me want to let it out a little." "Bring your Mustang in and let me check it out. I hear you're going to give up the Cleveland to get the original 302." I continued musing, "The car deserves to be back to original. I've got a couple of books that I'm using to confirm everything to original. I'll probably sell it once it's back in perfect shape. I'm not a guy to have something that special. I need a street rod that I can have fun with and leave it at that." Hank tossed me some keys and said, "Try the Caddie CTX. I had to put in a competition clutch the way everyone was driving it. Don't go nuts as the suspension won't stand for too much horsing around." I drove the CTX decently. I let it out a little and only skidded a little to see what it felt like. The car was too fancy for me. A car this nice should have auto and a hair dryer. Amazing how you feel about motors and metal. Bobby was sitting at the desk, reading and sending e-mails. She was already knee deep in Sarg's case. She looked up and smiled, saying, "This is fun tonight, but by tomorrow the fun's going to be out of it. What's this about you starting a national investigation in HR?" "Some questions have come up, so D.C. is working on most of it and my new Assistant Station Chief is helping me work on this end." "Did you tell Sarah that?" "Oh course, and I thanked her for being so diligent about hiring her replacement. I've already moved the shit that had stacked up in the office next to mine out of there. Someone told me it was supposed to be the chief's private conference room. I have a table in my office. Tomorrow, Sarah will be in her new office with a door between our offices so we can converse as we should." "You know the guys are not going to let them bring anyone else in. I've already heard they want you to lead them. They know you're fair and you give jobs to those that can handle them. Sarg even said he wondered whether you might send me, as he thought I could use the experience after working Safe for so long." "Well, we're going to have to take some of the Safe responsibility or they'll take the house away from us. I don't think I could afford a house like this." "As full Station Chief you could, even one nicer than this one. Don't worry though; no one will want to take the Safe job on a permanent basis like we do. You'll just get a bonus for doing it in addition to everything else. As a matter of fact, you get to go get some guests that are being shaken down at the warehouse as we speak." Bobby added, "I'll finish up this, and start some supper for you and the duty guys. The guests are supposed to be sensitive, so take care." I pulled up the guest files and read them before calling the warehouse. "Are you still working on the guests?" "Right, Chief, we just started." "Ah, do you have a female on duty?" "Jan's working tonight." "Have her read the new directive and I expect both guests to have been bathed, head washed, and all and I mean all the hair combed on both guests. Make sure you get the underarm hair on the guy. These are duplicates of the last two that screwed us up. When I take them, they will be either very clean or I'll just drop them off at the morgue." "You're not messing around are you? But then after that last shit, I don't blame you. I'll dig out the directives and have the guests read them too. See you soon." We were going to house these people for over a week. This was highly unusual so we had to be extremely careful with these guys. At least the Bureau was taking responsibility to make sure the guests were clean before we brought them home. I opened the box we had received while we were gone. It had an ultra-sensitive probe for signatures of any kind, plus it was sensitive enough to pick up any kind of transmitter, no matter how weak. I gave Bobby the CTX keys and told her to exchange it with Hank tomorrow or to just sign it out. She was going to need a comfortable ride and that car was just that. I would drive the Mustang in the morning so Hank could play with it. Right now, I was backing out in the armored Suburban and going for our guests. When I pulled into the secure garage area, I could hear the female guest screaming about the indignation she was being put through. I wonder how many bugs they've found so far. The man was doing as he was asked. When the tech acted like he was done, I told him to bring the towel over. I had the guy raise his arms and as I reached with the comb he pulled his arm down. I said, "You have a choice of me shaving your armpits and pubic area or we comb it. If there is further problem then we will not consider your relocation." He frowned and I began combing his underarms. Well son of a gun, two from one side and one from the other. The one was definitely a bug so we dropped it into a lead-lined box. I had him lean over the towel and combed his mustache very thoroughly dropping another device onto the towel. Next, I did the guys bushy eyebrows where we combed out one each. "You're just full of these bugs. You're going to have to watch who you sleep with." He was really indignant that we combed his pubic hair but we did get a relay transmitter, a bug, and a GPS device that were added to our lead box. I had him stand on the table and began going over him with my new toy. He was generating two signatures, and a GPS signal. I asked the tech if the handhelds worked. He nodded and I had an agent tape the guy's hands to the grips then shot the guy with some heavy duty current. I waited about five minutes while the guy came back to earth then ran the detector over him again. Nothing. I checked the monitor to see how Jan was doing and it wasn't going fast at all. She was still working on the head hair. I assumed the manner I thought a real flamer would be like, then flitted into the room. "Oh Jan, you do that so crudely. Let me do that, I'm just so much more gentle than you. She looked at me funny, and smiled when I winked. We repositioned the towel and I began to thoroughly go through her hair. This was a record, seven various transmitters. I said, "Oh Honey, wouldn't you rather I shave that nasty hair under your arms. I could have it off in a second." When she wanted to keep it, I combed out a GPS device on each side. Now, Honey, we hate to do this next thing but those terrible gangsters find ways to just put those devices everywhere. She was a little leery when she had to straddle the towel but I was very gentle and managed to give her clit some attention that was making her smell good. She was charged up down there as well. I used the device to test her for signatures and she was just like the other guy. We found an additional GPS locator in her public hair that I had missed, so I asked her to stand in the signature finder then taped her hands to the grab bars. I let the tech burn her good, tested her again, and voila, she was clean. When all she got was a jumpsuit and flip flops, I'm sure she knew what was coming. We promised that as soon as we had thoroughly gone through her belongings, they would be forwarded to them. They wanted their medicines so I scanned them and removed some toys from the meds. I scanned again and they were fine. I made sure they saw we were not going to let contraband through. I told the couple, "You two must be important. There was several hundred thousand dollars worth of equipment on the two of you. Both of you have to remain under suspicion until we can get you located. When guests come through who are so well monitored it is difficult to understand whether you are a part of a covert operation or really need protection. Up until a few minutes ago, every word you said, every move you made was being monitored and documented. Some of what we have to do to protect you and us is a little humiliating, but if you really wish to be given the opportunity to continue breathing, it has to be done." "I'm going to give the two of you a treat and put you in a special place tonight. I'm not sure how long you will be there, but it will be very secure. If we are tailed from this location it will give us a chance to see who it is." I called home and told Bobby that I was going to stash these two guests in the hotel as they had too much junk on them to risk the exposure of the safe house. I would get their sizes and bring them clothing for tomorrow. I called one of the duty teams and told them that I needed a scout tail to watch for activity behind us on the way to the hotel. After giving them my exact route, I called the hotel to talk to our man upstairs and had him advise the hotel we would not stop to check in. We were housing a secure couple. It was a good thing we kept security posted on the penthouse floor so it was never without someone protecting the suite and the floor. The hotel used the other suites on the floor, but ours was for the service only. I had good and bad memories of the suite. There were some good times there though. When my backup called to advise they were in position, I loaded the pair into the Suburban and rolled into the street. We were only a block from the warehouse when we picked up a tail. I radioed the backup and they said they would wait to see if there was more than one. Too bad I didn't think of having a partner on this run. It started out just being sort of suspicious and it was now getting hairy. The radio crackled and the backup told me to use a headset. When I put it on and responded they told me, "You have a set of three. One's trying to run parallel, while two are switching tails. We called the Bureau for backup. They have some teams out right now that are closing in. We're going to enlist Tampa to help block off the street to see who these guys are. The parallel guy might get away, but we'll get two cars. Pull up to the side entrance to the hotel. That will give us the best chance to get all three. Take the long way by turning off Kennedy and go down by the channel district then back up. This will look like a normal diversionary ride and it will give Tampa time to get situated with their unmarked cars." "Roger, good thinking, guys, thank you." We left the channel district and headed straight up toward the hotel. When I pulled up to the hotel's side entrance, a doorman was coming out so I rolled down the window, flashed my badge, said we were holding there a minute, for him to go back inside and we will come in shortly. I watched as both tailing cars passed me. One turned to the right and one to the left with them thinking this was our secure destination and they wouldn't have opportunity for something or at least they knew where we were. We heard some gunfire in the distance. The full auto fire had to be from bad guys as none of us carried around full auto weapons on normal duty. Maybe Tampa had their SWAT team out. My team guy came on the radio and said, "We got em all, you can go in now or take them home, whatever you want." Without much to think about I said, "Nope, I'll drop them here for a night or two. We can watch them better here." I went around the car and opened the door to let the two out and walked with them to the elevators. It was late enough that no one noticed two people in white coveralls and flip flops going through the side lobby. Once on the penthouse floor, I had the duty guy take over and advise the guests of things they could or could not do. He said he would happily order any food they desired from the menu and they were free to enjoy the limited bar available in the room. He mentioned that if they would feel more comfortable, there were robes in the closet and that clothes would be provided in the morning. The couple seemed to be relaxing, so I said goodnight and left, advising the duty guy that these two could go either way, so for him to be alert. He asked if he needed to call in a downstairs guy, and I told him I didn't think it was necessary to use the extra manpower right then. I parked the Suburban in the office chief's parking space in the back of the building and walked through the monitored hallway to pass through security. Instead of going to our offices, I went into the Bureau's office to find my teams, along with a dozen Tampa guys with the Bureau's people. The Chief came out, shook my hand, and thanked me for calling them in. He said, "You handed us two most wanted and four guys that the Bureau has wanted to talk to for a while. They're all Russian so we have Jan listening in on them occasionally to learn what she can. We have another couple interpreters from USF on the way. They can listen to the complete tapes." "So far they're all trying to say they are Diplomatic Corps and want to speak to the embassy. What we know of all of them is that they are part of the Russian Mafia, but often work with the KGB as assassins or to do dirty work in foreign countries." "I heard some automatic rifle fire, but not much else. Anyone hurt?" "The good guys came out clean, the bad guys lost one. Jan knocked out the AK on full auto from about sixty yards, three rounds, all hits. No hesitation and no regrets, I think she's going to be fine after her confrontation out at the airport. She's tough and getting tougher. She's learning the hard way that there are real live instances that imitate her competition shooting. I wish I had both of you on my team, but I'm happy to have one." "I'm going home. If you want, I can babysit Jan tonight since this is her first fatal activity. Bobby is good with people after an incident." "Good idea, she's finishing her report now. Let me ask her if she would like to visit with you and Bobby tonight. You two would be a good influence." I called Bobby and brought her up to date on what had happened. I mentioned that Jan was finishing her incident report and was reporting her first kill, her first fatal action. Bobby said, "Damn, this is going to tough for her. I don't think she has any family or a partner. She shouldn't be alone. Can you get her to talk to me? You wouldn't mind if she stayed tonight would you?" "Not in the least, Babe, we're together in our thinking on this. I've already asked her Chief to see if she would. Hang on, let me get her." I walked over to Jan, got her attention and handed her my cell phone. She listened for a couple minutes with only one syllable replies, and then a pleasant smile settled on her face as she said, "Is it okay if Chuck stops by my place for some clothes for tomorrow? I know I get the day off, but I'll want to come in anyway." There was a pause then, "Yeah, I could do that too and I think that would be fun to do for a day, you got a deal, Bobby. See you shortly." Jan handed me the phone, pressed save, and print on her PC. Bobby said, "Bring her home, Honey. Get some work and casual clothes. She's going to work with me here at home helping Sarg. He has me doing all his research and grunt work. We'll be able to talk out anything she needs to get out of her system." I told my guys to go back to duty or home, whichever they were scheduled for, and thanked all of the Tampa guys that were strutting around proud that they were instrumental in a total capture. Their lead man said he wanted to hang around to see what might shake out and was sending his men back to duty. The USF interpreter was here and had brought other Russian language students, so we had more help. The Bureau Chief said both students had already applied for the Bureau, so he felt good about their allegiance. I told him that Bobby was going to spend tomorrow with Jan so he would know where she would be on her incident day off. Jan and I left the station in the Suburban to drive by her apartment. I told her to bring some casual clothes and to include her swimsuit so she could exercise with us. It didn't take her long as she didn't have a lot of hair stuff and she didn't use a lot or any makeup that I ever noticed. On the way out to the house, Jan and I talked about where we came from and our families. Her parents lived in Longwood, a suburb of Orlando. She had two brothers, both in the army and her dad was an attaché at the Orlando State department extension. She said she had wanted to be in the Secret Service but had to fulfill a tour in the Bureau first. She said she thought the Secret Service might be dull after working in the Bureau for a couple of years. When I called ahead and parked in the garage, going through the hand slap on the top of the Suburban. Jan noted it all saying, you have some good activities to ensure safety. She was a smart cookie. Inside the house, Bobby wrapped the five foot six Jan in one of her classic hugs, telling her that she was glad she came out tonight. After giving Jan a breather, I was treated to my usual loving embrace and kiss. Jan smelled the food and said, "Now I'm hungry. I shouldn't eat so late, but whatever is cooking smells great. I would kill for a drink first though." I fixed us all a martini on the rocks and we sat at the counter just relaxing. As Jan finished her drink, Bobby took her to one of the suites and had her change clothes to feel more relaxed. Jan surprised us by coming out in a fairly short flannel nightgown. "I hope this is okay, this is the most comfortable thing I could wear right now, unless I was wearing nothing." This started the conversation about the Park Place restaurant and what was behind it while Bobby served some of the lasagna that we had brought home from there. While pouring some red wine for Jan, Bobby said that we wanted to go out there soon and spend a day to see how we would like it. Jan smiled blushing and asked, "When you guys go, take me, okay? I think I'd really like it. I've always loved to run around naked, but couldn't with two older brothers around. As soon as I started getting older, my parents put a stop to my nude days." Bobby said, "We're pretty casual out here too and usually swim nude and often just stay that way. You can swim with us in the morning. We do our workouts early. If you want, I'll wake you so you can work out with us." Jan said, "I should go to the gym more often, but I only go maybe three days a week. It's no fun working out alone and I've just never been able to find many close friends here. I've always been somewhat of a loner and it's sort of tough making friends when people find out you're an FBI agent." "You need to hang out with others like us in the various services. We understand the demands put on all of us, and in reality, we make pretty damned good friends." Jan sat up a little straighter, blushed a little and disclosed, "I have some special needs that make socializing difficult. I prefer to socialize with women. I might be a lesbian. I haven't even had the opportunity to know men other than my dad and my brothers. Boys in school were always too immature for me to tolerate. If you weren't a cheerleader, a sports groupie, or a known slut, no one paid any attention to you. I hope this doesn't influence how you think of me but I need to be honest with people I want to consider friends." Bobby got up and went over to hug Jan. "I sure hope we're friends. I want to be and we don't have any preconceived ideas about any thing. If you think you had trouble when you were in school, how would you like to be taller than any of the boys in your class and outweigh the entire basketball team combined? I know how you feel, and then along comes somebody that makes you feel like a queen." "You mean Chuck?" "Chuck too, but I was married to a man that made me feel like Alice in Wonderland. Danny was killed in the service a long time ago. But I got lucky a second time, Chuck was sent to me as a possible relocation, and showed me what combat was all about. He's taught me more about myself than I thought possible. I'm lucky to have found someone twice. You're just still looking for your first someone." Jan nodded and said, "You're right. I am sort of still looking for that first someone. I guess it has to be a happening, a coincidence, a chance meeting, to find that person you're looking for. You two are something. Chuck made me get my head on straight out at the airport. In two seconds I went from 'paralyzed with fear' to 'I can handle it' because he looked me in the eye and gave me confidence. You've just assured me good things will even happen to me." I smiled at Jan, "You know you're a good looking girl. I'm betting you often turn down a lot of people who want to get to know you better. That's the toughest part, letting others into your life. We get so wrapped up in our personal lives and our direction that we don't let others in." "Thank you for thinking I'm attractive, Chuck. I'm not built very feminine like Bobby. I guess I don't have that great of a self-image." Bobby grinned saying to me, "Go ahead, Mr. all-male, tell her what you see when you check her out. You're not going to believe this, Jan. Listen close. Go on, Chuck, tell her and don't pull any punches." "Hmmmm, how can I be diplomatic about this?" I said with a hand to my chin. "Don't be diplomatic; say it like you would be discussing her with a couple of cronies over a beer." "In that case, let me get a beer for us each, then I can give it to you." We always have some cold long necks in the fridge so I opened three and handed two out. Sitting back down, I said, "After getting a peek down your nightie, you have some cute tits." Jan sat up and held her hand at the neck of her gown. "Those nipples look really suckable." She turned really red now. "You have some nice legs with enough muscle in them to know they would feel great wrapped around my hips." "You're terrible, Chuck, guys don't talk like that." Bobby said, "Oh yes they do, just listen, continue, Chuck." "I notice you walk really neat, most girls walk either pigeon toed or with their feet pointed out. You have a determined walk. Your feet are always straight ahead. That brings me to a major asset of yours. You have a great ass. I think I could love on those peaches for hours." I took a drink of beer while watching Jan squirm. "You know you do have a really expressive face. I've seen determination, fear, even anger, and tonight I saw some softness that was beautiful when Bobby greeted you. Your hands mimic your face, as they are equally expressive. I've seen them clenched in a fist, held together in a clasp, held to your side with your palms to you, and tonight several times with your palms out to us, welcoming us into you. I love those little star earrings you often wear. The little red stone in the middle is cool. Your other favorites are the dangly ones that have the three pieces of silver or whatever it is hanging down. I like the way you wear your hair. Short, combed back, and just long enough to be oh so feminine. Like I said, I like your face. Your eyes are nicely spaced and you have a really cute nose. Your smile makes your cheeks dimple. I just don't get to see it often enough. And Bobby will probably agree with me that your lips, when you're relaxed, are some of the most kissable lips I've ever seen. Your wide mouth makes a guy think he would enjoy feeding you what he packs in his jeans. All of that with a fairly long neck that would be fun to nuzzle." I smiled and took another drink. Bobby was almost laughing at me, but Jan was just staring at me with her mouth a little open. Bobby said, "When he's honest like that, don't you just want to jump his bones and let him prove what he just said?" Jan shook her head and took a drink, "God, Bobby, does he do that to you very often? I'm about to go up in flames." "He does that to me constantly. He tells it like it is and I enjoy hearing it." "Other than being embarrassed, I loved it. If he weren't taken, I think I'd like to find out what men are all about. That was beautiful, obnoxious, but really, really exciting." "Not to worry, Honey, I'm not trying to be forward or to sic Chuck on you, but I share. Just enjoy the feeling for right now. It's getting late, let me put you to bed, because we're going to have a great day tomorrow." Bobby was escorting Jan out of the kitchen and turned to wink at me. I really didn't know what the wink meant, but I just did what I usually do, cleaned up the kitchen quickly, checked the security and headed to bed. I showered quickly and brushed my teeth to next slide into an empty bed leaving the bedside light on low. Knowing that women can talk for hours, I sort of drifted off. I felt Bobby get in bed and snuggle up. I kissed her, tasting something very sexy on her lips. I smiled during our kiss, smacking my lips afterward and she said, "Caught me, huh?" "I have to say that even secondhand, it is quite tasty." "That babe's got a hair trigger and you had her primed. You are one nasty, sexy talkin' dude when you do that stuff. God, I was swimming in juices just listening. You had me wanting to leap across the table at her. I think she's really impressed you noticed so much about her. I know you see a lot, but right down to two pair of earrings is almost too much. And that comment about the wide mouth, I was ready to suck you off right then." While we had been talking, Bobby was pulling me onto her. She was pretty subtle about it, but I ended up cradled between her massive, strong, thighs firmly connected. We gave each other a very nice orgasm and without me ever going soft, we had another one that was pure lust. When we had devastated each other, we lay on our backs, covered in sweat. Bobby pulled me to her, "You just give me so much. Wow, what a fuck. No one, absolutely no one has ever, or can ever fuck me like you do. You make love to me as if I was a goddess, but you fuck me like you're trying to get a hundred dollars worth from a two-dollar whore. Whew! That was good. We slept very soundly. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 8 The morning was nice. Bobby and I were in the gym working out when Jan came in wearing some shorts and a T-shirt. She used the bike while I was on the treadmill, then she switched to running on a steep incline while I did my weights with Bobby. When we were obviously done, Jan said, "Now I need a shower." Bobby said, "We'll rinse off under the outside shower and let's do some cardio swimming to finish up. As we went out the door, Bobby was dropping her clothes on patio chairs while I loosened the straps on my leg. Jan hesitated a second then was bare, showering quickly and heading toward the pool. I hopped through the shower, and out to the pool. There I caught up with and passed Jan, swimming hard passing Bobby, pushing myself to get the maximum from the exercise. Bobby began catching up, but today I was able to stay ahead until I finally had to quit. I swam over to where Jan was hanging onto the side of the pool, gasping for breath. Bobby swam over to be on the other side of her asking, "How do you like our workout?" "This is awesome. You two really work out, you don't play around." Bobby said, "It's fun and it helps me stay a slim three hundred plus pounds." Jan laughed and said, "There isn't an ounce of fat on you, Bobby, you're just big, that's all." Bobby told Jan the story about her Mom and Dad as we got out of the pool and dried off, without being self conscious about our nudity. I put my leg on and we went into the kitchen where I had put on a pot of coffee before we started exercising. We sat at the kitchen table, naked, drinking our coffee for a few minutes before Bobby said, "We better get dressed and start breakfast, the duty guys are going to be hungry soon. Put some sausage on, Chuck, while you get ready. Jan and I'll put on some casual shorts and stuff since we're working inside all day." Soon, we were finishing breakfast and the duty team was drinking coffee, joking about us trying to steal a Bureau babe. They kept kidding me, saying the reason I wanted her was that she was as good with a weapon as I was. Jan said, "I heard about your score from the other day with a new Glock. That was better than any of my times. I'm going to have to practice more to beat you." "You're good competition, Jan. When I go down, I'll call to see if you're free for a half hour so we can get in our practice together." "That'll be great, Chuck, no one ever wants to shoot with me." As we all ate, Jan had to comment about the huge breakfast. The team guys said, "This makes duty out here so cool. What happened to the guests we thought you had." "They were too suspicious to bring out here right away. If we can get a handle on them and they're still around, I'll bring them out, but the hotel is a good place for them right now." "Since your relief is on the way, could you guys drop me at the office. It's either that or I drive the Mustang." Bobby said, "Drive the Mustang and give it to Hank to play with. I think it's got a bad plug wire or something. It's missing sometimes. Tell him to take it home with him so he can drive it. He'll go nuts." I left the girls to work at home and headed into the office, arriving at the garage at seven-thirty. I gave Hank the Mustang so he could cream his jeans for a couple of days. I told him I would check out a car or drive one of his cars to test. He said he had a couple that needed to be driven so to just stop in when I left. The garage at home was full with the Suburban and the CTX that Bobby was going to use for her duty vehicle while working with Sarg. The briefing was short and sweet, and we had two transferees attending this morning. They were both widowers and had showed up yesterday, as soon as their transfers were confirmed. That helped as I needed a capture team for a pair that had escaped from the Miami holding cell. They were shorthanded and our office was the official tracking station. The new guys were happy to have work so fast. I told them that we had more air marshal work than we could handle. They both assured me that I would have plenty after the ad that was online. Sarah had a stack of information on our quest to find out about Forest. She also had a stack of information on the new hires. She said, "This one is a fake. He's the one that's always poking around looking at everything. None of his college checks and none of his hometown stuff checks out. He's on hotel duty later today, and I don't think it would be good to let him near those two you have up there. This might be what he's meant to do. I can't think of a reason to infiltrate the marshal service except for something like that." She showed me the other man and said, "This one's as clean as fresh snow. The guy has been a boy scout, good student all the way through college and was recruited by the D.C. recruiters. He'll go far, he just needs some seasoning. He's with an experienced man. You sent him on the Miami capture." "Cool, make sure the other guy stops in the office before he goes to the hotel and make sure the downstairs relief comes in too, in case it takes two of us to subdue him. Call the Bureau chief and ask him if he wants the arrest or should we just hand him over to them for the federal prosecutor. Do it yourself from your new office, okay? Let's keep this between us until we've got the guy locked up." The Bureau wanted the collar so they were going to have a couple of guys hanging out up here when the duty change came about before noon. Sure enough, our old guy, who was going to be the downstairs guy, showed up first, in time for a quick briefing by Sarah. Then our fake new guy came in with his usual swagger. He loudly announced his presence and asked what we wanted of him today. I came out of the office and noticed that my guy and the two Bureau agents were walking up behind him. Sarah came out of her office smiling and said, "If you would, Greg, please carefully remove your weapon and hand it to me." With that, she brought her hand out from behind her dress, holding her Glock straight at the man's face. Greg went absolutely white. He handed us his gun and Sarah asked for his badge wallet. When that was complete, a Bureau agent told him to drop his coat and he did. They used a waist chain and cuffed him, saying he might be in cuffs a long while today, so he might as well be comfortable. The other agent was snapping on ankle cuffs when he found an ankle holster with a back up. "My, oh my, you were prepared today." I told them, "You need to search him, probably a strip search. Make sure you use gloves, you don't know what he might have on him." I said to the agents, "Thanks guys, make sure you read him his rights and call the prosecutor. He's charged with falsifying classified material so he comes under the terrorist act, plus a bunch of other things. We need to keep him here for a while and no outside contact whatsoever." I turned to George and said, "You take the upstairs duty. We probably don't need a downstairs guy till later. If the guests get friendly, let them lead the conversation. Let them ask you for whatever it is they may be looking for. They may not know what our boy Greg looks like. You might even want to answer to Greg if they say something." The office cleared out and about five minutes later, the current duty guy called and asked me if I wanted him to stay over. I told him no, to go home and get some sleep. We should be fine for right now. I might worry about this evening though. I had a box of clothes for the guests, so I took it across the street. They were happy to have regular clothes, but asked about their valuables. I told them they would get them back as soon as they were relocated or the items were cleared. I told them they could use the swimming pool upstairs if they wanted to, but had to ask for permission from the duty person. When I returned to the office, Sarah showed me more information we had just received from San Diego, and a stack from Chicago. Both locations had arrested deputies with faked backgrounds. I called Ken, "How are you holding up, Buddy?" "Not worth a shit. I am using my four oldest and most reliable deputies to run everyone in this office before another day goes by. One of these people here has to be in on this. We're checking all the clearances of the fake guys from San Diego and Chicago. I've told John all about this, but we are not mentioning it to the political guys yet. We might need to run them before we say anything. What do you think this means, why do you think we're being infiltrated?" "I have a hunch, but I'll talk to John about it on the secure phone. Transfer me and I'll set it up." When John answered, I said I was going to call him on the secure phone and hung up. Since the secure phone is in the station chief's office, I coded in the remote phone while knocking on the window between Sarah and I. I waved her in and when John answered, I told him, "Sarah is here with me and I want her to listen in to comment." "Okay, Chuck, this situation is getting a little out of hand, tell me what you think." "It's not what I think yet, John, but what we have to do. I'm thinking that we need to check out all of the guest relocations that have occurred during the last six months, maybe even a year. I'm curious if there are many missing, or have had accidents, and whom we were protecting them from. I have a hunch, but I want to hear what's real rather than give you a reason to only look in one direction. Use only older deputies, and make sure they really know how to investigate. They should all be careful as I'm concerned too. We had a fake guy here this morning, if you haven't heard yet. He's in custody and is being arraigned later this morning. There will be no bail. You should be telling the other locations to do the same or I'm sure these guys will vanish." "I'll follow your lead, Chuck. Call me if you have any more direction on this thing. I think I'm thinking the same as you, but we'll let it come to the surface for us. Be careful down there, our lab is having a field day with the electronics you picked up last night. That's some special equipment and the men you let the Bureau take into custody are all real jewels. I'm sure that's why we're thinking in the same direction." "Help Ken all you can, John, he's way over his head on this and I think he's getting scared. Keep him settled down as he has a good head for this stuff. He's just not used to it being in his face." "I agree, Chuck, I'll keep him settled. Talk to you later." We coded in the stop signal and the call was over. Sarah said, "I'm not going to ask you what you think. I'll wait for the big answer. Dave's back and on his day off. He'll want to be in on anything big and he would be an asset if there was anything heavy to go down." "I wanted to ask you about the gun thing from this morning. You just stuck that thing in his face right away. I think the surprise was enough to take him without a struggle. What made you do that?" "It's my job. I'm an assistant station chief and acted like one. I've been on the range almost every day. The range officer is making me pretty proficient. He said he's proud that I'm getting so good. I can't wait to show Dave." "Let Dave be for now. He had a tough one. If he's rested, he'll be of more value when we need him." The rest of the day was fairly boring, until about three when Bobby called. "Jan and I are on the way out the door to help Sarg. He has both escapees in a motel room. We're on our way to finish it. They're out in Brandon. We're taking the CTX in case you have a guest pickup." I barely had time to tell her to be careful before she hung up. I asked Sarah if Sarg had called for backup, and she said he had called in that he had called his side kick for backup and should be okay. It makes me nervous when someone else is doing something dangerous. I think I should be there. Sarah and I were getting ready to leave as a couple of duty guys came by after being out at the house. They were doing their reports when the tactical radio began chattering. It was Bobby calling for techs and a cleanup crew. I answered the call, requesting status. She said, both escapees were down, but one only had a slight wound. I should call the paramedics too. She said all the good guys are present and accounted for. She gave me the address, and while I was still on the phone, Sarah and the duty guys were making calls, getting things out to them. I was getting really nervous when Sarah said, "You can't be out every time something goes down. Relax, it's under control. Sarg has thirty years experience and Bobby has her shit together. Little Jan is coming right along. I think it's great that we're working so closely with the Bureau." The duty guys finished their reports and were almost laughing at me for being so anxious. I called Ken for an update and he said casually, "We're making progress, but we need more Russian language specialists." He was telling me something and confirming what I was suspecting. He said, "I should have more for you in the morning. John said it was turning out kind of as he suspected. He wants to know the why now." "Me too, Ken. I'll talk to you in the morning." I told Sarah, "Tomorrow, I want us to run our guests all the way back to diapers. Go interview them and check every word. That will give us the answer as to what to do with them." We left the office with Dave picking Sarah up in front of the building. I waved as they pulled away. Hank said he was glad I came early, as he was tired from putting in so many hours lately. I told him to work some half days to catch up. He nodded saying, "I might do that, thanks. Who needs that much overtime?" As I got into what was supposed to be a Dodge Magnum with a Hemi, I yelled at Hank, "Careful with that junior rocket. It's a lot of fun." The Dodge was neat, handled nice, and was fast enough, but not really hot. A nice ride, but nothing to call fun. I got home and started dinner before changing clothes. I put on shorts which were pretty obnoxious with my leg, but they were comfortable to me. I had on what they called a skirt that sort of looked like a leg that you put over the aluminum bar, but the problem was that it looked fake. I made up some stuffed salmon, but didn't put it in the oven. I thought some cheesy potatoes and some spinach would be good. After I made up salads, I made myself a big martini, sat out on the back patio and read the paper. Bobby and Jan called at six thirty to say they were coming in. I did the standby the door thing until Bobby patted the roof of the CTX. The girls got out of the car, still in the shorts they had on this morning, and came in. They looked funny with their holsters clipped onto the waist of their shorts. Both of them had magazines sticking out of their back pockets and had their badges showing as they had the wallet bent back with the badge covering their front zippers. I said, "Hold it, right there; I have to have a picture of this. Come outside, let me get the camera. I took a dozen pictures of them individually and together. They were perfect for a submission to the online newspaper. It really looked like Mutt and Jeff, as Bobby towered over Jan. I fixed them a drink and put the food into the oven. I looked up and they were both buck naked, swimming in the pool with all their clothes on the patio table. I got them each a towel and took it out to them. They got out and said they felt refreshed now. Jan came over and gave me a naked hug and actually kissed me on the lips. She said, "You know what, I dusted that guy today when he flinched, while Bobby knocked the other guy down. She made a great shot as you could only see part of the guy's shoulder. Sarg was out of position, but ran up on them as soon as we shot. You were the one to help me, Chuck. Bobby said that it was you that helped her too." "Have you called your chief?" I had to ask, as he was going to shit that I put his agent in danger." "Nope, not yet. I'll call him in a minute. As soon as I drink a little more of this martini." She did call him and explained the whole deal to him. Bobby even got on the phone to tell him how great it was for the two offices to be working together so well. Bobby also conned another incident day out of him. Jan got back on the phone and said, "I'll file my report online so it'll be on your desk in the morning. I'll include copies of Sarg's and Bobbie's reports for you. Oh, we used our cleanup guys as the marshal's guys were out on a call. We're going to get half the credit on the capture, so that's a bonus." She was laughing as she hung up. "He'll kiss your ass for anything that promotes his office." I commented, "I love to look at both of you lovely ladies, but a couple of duty guys are going to be in here within a few minutes. You might want to have a little more on than you do right now." They wagged their butts out of the kitchen/family room on their way down the hall. When they were dressed, I radioed the guys and told them to come wash up for supper. When we were all sitting down, I suddenly remembered, "What were our cleanup guys doing?" Bobby said, "They were out on Jonathan's other capture. The escapee isn't dead, and Jonathan is okay, but there was a hostage who was an accomplice that bought it. I'm surprised they didn't call you." She thought for a moment and said, "Poor Sarah, now that she's official, she gets all of the calls and if she thinks it's important, she calls you. Neat stuff, you have it made in this job if you get to keep it." "I'm sure John is going to find someone else for the job. Someone with more experience," I said thinking that our office was really busy lately. I told Bobby about having two transfers already and was told that there were six more requests. Soon we would have enough to cover all our air duties without using good duty people. Soon we would be able to handle other duties better. After the duty guys left and the kitchen was clean, I showered and was going to put my shorts back on when Bobby came strolling in, nude. She said, "Leave em off, Jan and I are thinking bare butts tonight. How about some ice cream?" We sat in the kitchen having some ice cream. The two girls became adolescents, teasing each other, putting ice cream on expanded titties, and having an ice cream mustache. We damn near needed another shower by the time we put the bowls in the sink. Bobby suggested, "How about getting in the hot tub. I'd like that." The two were immediately out the door and had the top off the tub as it bubbled. I came out and took off my leg then turned to find them spread just enough that I knew I was to sit between them. I slid down into the tub, with my arms around both of them at first, and was pulling them back when Jan grabbed my hand and pulled it over her shoulder. Bobby scooted down so she was low enough for me to have my arm around her as well. It was Bobby that said, "Does it feel good to have two women in your arms?" I was smiling with my head back and was about to say a quiet, "It's great." But a hand from each side of me took hold of my dick and it leaped into full attention. My answer came out a lot louder, "IT'S GREAT." The two girls laughed. Bobby said, "You should feel privileged. That's the first one of those Jan has ever had hold of. I think she's curious. Is it okay if she experiments?" I smiled and kissed Bobby, whose hand was now rubbing my tummy, while Jan's hand was touching my now aching dick all over, trying to get an idea of what it really felt like. There was a kiss on my right shoulder, so I turned and lips met mine on that side. It was a very aggressive kiss that was asking for more than I was thinking I should give. Jan said, "I asked Bobby if we could kind of do some things together. She said it would be fun. I think I want to do a lot with this thing, but can I do it a little at a time? Can I watch you and Bobby first?" Now if that isn't one of the strangest requests you've ever heard of. Bobby answered for me, "We would love to have you with us and watch us make love. I want a movie of us doing it, but Mr. Straight-laced here won't do it." Jan was squirming around, "Oh yeah, if I get Chuck to do me, I want a video of my first man. I would wear it out by replaying it all the time." Oh shit, this is getting deep. We were soon dried off and in bed, where the lights were on real low. Bobby immediately assumed an aggressive manner, making it obvious she wanted it all from me tonight. I did my best to graze over all the acreage, stopping at the peaks, and at a swampy place to sample the goodies. She had come several times by the time I was between her thighs, driving into her at her behest. She wanted it faster, harder, deeper, until she was bouncing me into the air. I filled her to the brim as she climaxed and almost passed out. As soon as we settled down, she kissed me thoroughly and said, please, while pushing my shoulders down. I knew what she wanted and gave her several more good orgasms as I tidied up the area I had been banging so thoroughly. When she pushed me off and pulled me up, she licked my face clean, and kissed me all over. That's when I saw Jan sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed, one hand holding the camera up, and the other between her legs. She put down the camera and came up to kiss me and Bobby before she latched onto one of Bobby's big nipples. As she leaned over me, I sucked one of Jan's suckable nipples right into my mouth. She gasped and pulled up, popping the nipple from my mouth but lowered it again so I could suck it in. She did this several times until she found my hand and put it between her legs. I knew what to do, but I didn't know how to do it with her, so it was a total experiment. Bobby picked me up and placed me half over Jan, and moved out of the way. I began kissing Jan on her lips, kissing her ears, and down her throat. I swear she was coming already. By the time I made it past her belly button to her sparsely covered pussy, she was juicing up really well. One good lick and she went off like a rocket. I captured her pussy lips as I wormed a finger into her. There wasn't a barrier, so my finger slid in smoothly, well-oiled with her juices. By the time I was sucking her clit and fingering her easily found special spot, Jan proved that a little girl could make a big noise. I kept making her come with my tongue and finger until she began tugging at me to come up her body. When I was face to face kissing her, she reached between us and fit me into her special place. I slowly slid into her with an oily ease. She let out a very loud groan, babbling nothing understandable. Her hips became a blur as she fucked me, I didn't hardly do anything until she wore herself out, then it was my turn and I began giving it to her. Her thighs came up and her legs wrapped around my butt pulling me into her time after time. I was just about to come but knew I probably shouldn't. I was trying to pull out when she said, "No, No, in me, do it in me, let me feel it." No problem, Honey. I unloaded a massive quantity into her, hoping that her dad didn't come looking for me with a shotgun. We were still coming, and I was slowly dragging my dick back and forth across her swollen clit, when she asked as she pushed my shoulders, "Do me like Bobby, please." For the second time tonight, I cleaned up where I had pounded so furiously. She came over and over again, mainly because I was enjoying finding her sweet spot with my finger while sucking her clit. She grabbed me by my short hair and pulled me up to kiss me, rolling me over and sitting on my middle. My dick had decided it had had enough for right now and was soft. That's when I saw Bobby sitting in the bedroom chair, up next to the bed, holding the camera. I guess they both got what they wanted. Bobby put the camera down and came to bed, pulling the blankets up over us. She said, "Chuck is the best lover I've ever had. Not that I'm experienced with a lot of men, but I can tell you he is the best from my point of view." Jan said, "If all men could do me like that, I'd become a nymphomaniac. I think I'll do that anyway, with Chuck, if it's all right with you Bobby?" Bobby kissed me, then Jan, and said, "I'd love to share with you Jan. This has been special." As she settled down on my shoulder, Jan asked, "Doesn't it make you jealous that he was making love to me? You know he didn't fuck me, he made love to me." "I wouldn't have it any other way, Jan. Every woman should have Chuck for her first man. He is so thorough, and just keeps you coming and coming. With you, Jan, I'm not jealous, if it were someone else I probably would be, but I like you, so I enjoyed you getting your goodies so nicely." Bobby kissed me and laid her head on my other shoulder. "I like this too. I like that we are sharing Chuck all night. I'm touching both of you; it's really special to me." Neither one said anything for a long time. I was just about to say something when I realized that they were both sleeping soundly. My mind whirled a while, trying to understand a woman's attitude, trying to understand the dynamics between Bobby and Jan. I couldn't, so I joined them in slumber. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 9 We were up and working out early. I was thinking that I would like a little more of a workout like last night's, but kept right on walking on that damn treadmill. It was a pleasure to get back to lifting some weights, followed by demonstrating how to skip rope with a fake leg. I still need a real peg leg for sports and some fun things. We swam hard for almost thirty minutes, until Bobby caught my good ankle and said, "Will you stop, for crying our loud. Jesus, we quit ten minutes ago." It took me five minutes to breathe regularly, but I had finally outlasted Bobby. We took showers and I was the only one to get ready to go to work. Both girls were getting an incident day. The duty guys ate with us, teasing me about how I now had women doing my captures. Yada, yada, yada. The Magnum was fine in morning traffic, but I wish it had wings so I wouldn't have to fight all the other cars. I stopped for donuts, thinking that Sarah wouldn't have time since Dave was back. Well, what do you know? Sarah had donuts, the new girl, Marie, bought donuts thinking the same thing about Dave that I did, and I bought donuts too, so we invited the entire building to come help eat up our extras this morning. I made sure Marie got her money returned from petty cash. The briefing was pretty loose this morning. After the air guys were gone, I held up two jobs. One was a prisoner transport that should be textbook, and the other was an escapee who was probably sleeping at his mother's house right under our noses. Three guys took the transport and three guys took the capture. I assigned the others to help Sarah do the detective work that she was so deeply involved in. John called about nine, telling me, "The politicos have heard about the mess we have and want some heads. I keep telling them that they have to wait until we find all the connections. They don't want to wait. How about inviting the D.C. bunch down for some fun in Tampa? Take them out to the reservation to that casino you have. Find them some whores, anything, but keep them out of my hair for a bit." I thought for a few minutes, then said, "Send them all to St. Louis for a meeting down in Branson. I'll try to arrange a charter bus for them. Go take a poll and see if it would be better if they bring their wives or if they came down on their own." John was back with me within fifteen minutes. "Man, you hit a nerve. They all think bringing their wives would be a good thing. Can you get reservations and everything that fast?" "Do I have a budget or can I just make it happen?" John said, "Make it happen." I did the calling, and whenever I heard a hesitation, I said, "There is no reason to ever say no to your federal government when they say price is not an object." They all kept agreeing. I reserved all the rooms and called John back. "Do you want to invite some of the Bureau because we've found a bunch in their group too? I'd bet they are sweating bullets the same as we are." "Damn good idea, Chuck. Let me find out how many." I added, "Don't send them, I'll have the charter service come get them. Call me back with the final number." I needed twelve more rooms and when I called back, I told them straight up, that if we have to displace patrons, we will pick up the tab of their rooms wherever you place them. This is important, as I need these guys together in one place. I'm going to beat them up during the day and you need to loosen them up at night. I don't want a minute of their time to be free. Every wife, or whoever they bring, needs to get a make over every day while they are there." "The manager/owner of the resort asked, don't you have a budget?" "Whatever I can't scrape up from drug busts, I'll do some more down in Texas and bring you what it takes. I just need these guys to enjoy their time there, and that means their ladies have to be happy too." The man said, "Tell you what, I think I get the drift of what you're doin' here. How about I give you two hours in the morning to brief these guys and two hours in the afternoon to do some more. I'll keep them either drunk or well-fucked, but happy one way or the other, during the other twenty hours a day. You give me this figure and you got yourself a deal." "Done," I said. He replied, "Done." I called S&S Air Charter to have them pick everyone up and get them to Branson, Missouri. The lady from S&S said, "No problem, we'll have to use a couple of other G5s, but we'll get it done." I asked the Bureau chief if I could borrow Jan for some high level schmoozing and he said I could borrow his entire staff to keep D.C. off his back. Before I left the office, Sarah told me to take my laptop and printer, and that she would keep me posted on what kind of shit we kept finding. To get the ball rolling, I drove home where I told Bobby to get ready, that we were going on a butt kissing mission. When I told her that Jan was coming, she licked her lips. I smacked her on the butt, and she gave me a kiss instead of being mad. Jan was still hanging with Bobby so I told her she was detailed to me for a couple of days. She would need some dressy clothes and some normal work clothes but plan on five days. I wanted to be there early, so I asked S&S if they could fly three of us up there right away, and all you ever hear from these folks was as soon as you get here to the air park, we'll be in the air. As soon as Bobby was packed and Jan had gone home to return with her bag, we flew in some kind of a turboprop plane that must have been fast, as it seems we just took off and we were landing in Branson. Perhaps it was the full bar they had that made the trip so short. The resort owner thought I must be his long lost brother as he damn near kissed me. His place was first class, and he was preparing all his people to do a hell of a job for me. I dumped a suitcase full of drug money on his desk and left him counting it as the three of us were checked into a very nice executive suite. We were hungry, so we called for room service. A bellhop brought us some roast beef sandwiches with the juice to dip them in, and wouldn't accept a tip. He said the owner/manager said he had it covered. There must have been more than I thought in that suitcase. We toured Branson that night, checking out the bull rides and the girls that danced on the bars. When we got bored, we went back to the room to do some more exploring about what this nutty relationship was becoming. As soon as we were awake, with coffee and functioning, we began putting together several presentations about the different problems that we had run into, and the actions that were being taken by the various offices and the justice department. We did an after discovery evaluation of what damage may have been done to both the marshal's service and the Bureau, then listed some actions we could take to make things right. We did six complete presentations that were going to be hosted by both Bobby and Jan. Each would talk about their respective entities, then jointly work out the details of what we were going to do. John called me on my cell phone, asking, "What the fuck are you doing? All the politicos are flying out on some private jets for Branson, Missouri. I know that almost all of the brass over at the Bureau is going too. What's up? What are you really up to?" First I had to remind him that this was all his suggestion and I was only fulfilling what he asked for. I gave him a brief summary of what we were doing and that it was being done to distract the bigwigs while those that did the work could and would get the rest of the job done. "How are you paying for this?" "You gave me a nice office budget." "No way, this is costing a bundle. Tell me, give." "I'm using a suitcase full of drug money that we never figured out what to do with." "Oh no, what if someone asks about it?" "Asks about what?" "Can I come down and see what's going on?" "Sure, John, I was planning on you being there, do you want me to send my Lear for you?" "Your Lear? Where did you get a Lear?" "Actually, it belongs to an air charter service that I'm working with." "Will it cost me?" "Only favors." "Send it, I owe you anyway." With a smile in my voice, "I told you my idea and you said to make it happen. It's happening." John groaned. I called S&S and told them to go to D.C. and pick up a VIP and fly him to Branson. They gave me the time and I called John back. "Call your wife and tell her to have you both packed and ready to leave at two this afternoon. Tell her to be ready to be pampered like she's never been pampered in her life. Oh yeah, the Lear has a nice bar. See you this evening." "Hey, the other guys aren't leaving till tomorrow, why am I coming before them?" "So we can party a little before we have to kiss so many asses. Just do what I tell you, and act like you're my boss." "Fuck you." He hung up on me. I was grinning when Jan asked, "Do you always talk to your superiors like that?" "Depends on whether they're worth talking to. You'll like John. I've never met his wife, but I'll bet she's a treat. Let's work on these presentations a little more and get them perfect. We have to make sure they have a projector too. We need to write a script in case we get tongue tied." We had the hotel get an executive suite ready for John and his wife, then begged a limo to go get him. The owner/manager said, "Do want some of that money back? Christ, you gave more than twice what we agreed on." "It's yours. Tip your staff so they know the guys that are here are worth taking care of. Make sure the women are taken care of. Make sure everyone has a good time. Feed us good, give them lots to drink, slip all the women some Spanish fly so those guys will get some and we're even. Oh yeah, we need a good projector in the meeting room that I can hookup to my laptop. We need one of those viewers too that you lay the page down and it projects on the screen." "I figured on all that. It's up and tested. We'll have a tech with you the whole time. We have some snacks for a break. Decide whether you want to break more often than an hour at a time. That's usually all the information they can take. The morning sessions can be shorter between breaks as everyone has been drinking a lot of coffee. Your heart patients are all taking Lasix or some other diuretic so they are in need of pissing every fifteen minutes anyway. So let's figure a break at thirty minutes, an hour, and at an hour and a half in the morning. The afternoon will be just one break after an hour." "Super, guy, I like the way you think. Okay, girls, lets go get John." The Lear landed and pulled up next to a block long limo the resort gave us. John came out, leading a most striking very dark skinned lady that looked like she had a hint of oriental in her. He introduced her as Kenisha, giving her a loving look. She gave us a dazzling smile and said she was pleased to meet us. In the limo, we chatted and Kenisha asked which of my ladies was my number one wife. Bobby and Jan almost burst out laughing. John was blushing, unable to speak. Bobby began, "We are not married yet, but it is a possibility. I don't think there is a number one or number two, but I met Chuck first. Jan would definitely make a great number two wife." Jan was blushing now, and I was ready to crawl under the seat. Kenisha said, "I've tried to find John a number two wife for three years, but he is so picky that he keeps turning them away. You are lucky to have such an accommodating husband." The babe couldn't get it right that we weren't married. The girls talked about how much fun they were going to have and Kenisha said she looked forward to serving John while they were there. I winked at John as he blushed. The first thing we did was to eat a little and go to the bar. Kenisha loved champagne cocktails, while John and I had some scotch so we could pace ourselves. He asked if I would show him our presentation so he could see if it was going to get me fired. We went to the room and the girls did the entire presentation for him. It took a long time, but we were pushing right through it, advising him of when the breaks would occur. Bobby said, "We may have to change some of the info as we are constantly getting updates from Ken and Sarah. We'll modify the presentation wherever it needs it." "Where did you get the idea to do this?" "The Bureau chief downstairs was crying that his brass was on his ass for possible moles. I know a lot of our service offices are affected. Some damn good people in D.C. were beginning to take some big heat over this, so I thought a diversion that would pacify the big shots would do the trick. Getting them out into the country was a way to get them back into normal thinking and I know Branson is just glitzy enough to make it work. So that's where we are." John grimaced, "So you borrowed some drug money and made this all happen." "What drug money?" "Jesus, you should be in politics. Either that or a carnival." Bobby saved me by asking, "What's for supper?" We each had a steak that was so thick you should have needed a power saw to cut it. We used forks and it melted in our mouths. The food was wonderful and the owner was feeding his help the same stuff while we ate. He made the announcement that I was responsible for all their good times and tomorrow they were going to be able to pay me back with the treatment the guests would have. We received enough applause that John leaned over and asked, "How much was in that bust anyway?" When I said, "I don't know. I just gave it all to the guy and he was happy. What more can I ask for?" John was shaking his head, laughing. That night, John was being dragged off to his suite by Kenisha, while Bobby and Jan sat naked on the end of the bed, making fun of the situation. "Master, what can we do to make you a happy husband?" "Oh Master, can we make you feel good tonight, all night?" "Master, please let us do naughty things to you until you explode." I attacked the two culprits and showed them what Master could do. They showed me they could wear me out in a very short time and make me become the audience instead of a participant. Watching did the trick, and I was soon back in the mix. We went to sleep, all happy, all content. The big day was here. I was going to pacify the guys that were the real U.S. Marshals but for the most part, sat behind a desk looking at gun catalogs and never buying any. The other group from the Bureau was D.C. bureaucrats who found the cash to keep the field working, and lived vicariously through their contact with the field. I know John had to swim in the same pool as these guys, and I was surprised he was able to look like he was a part of the group feeding at the trough. The main contingent would be arriving around one in the afternoon. After they were assigned their rooms, there would be a meet and greet from two-thirty to five. There would be plenty of lubrication available for everyone to get excited about what they would learn, and the unmentionable fun that they would enjoy when not fretting over the boondoggle that existed within the ranks. John and Kenisha joined the girls and me for breakfast in our suite. By seven, my e-mail was filling up with notes from more offices that had discovered discrepancies in various backgrounds. My advice had been to check everyone that had been hired within the last eighteen months to two years, especially anyone who had come recommended by someone from another area. So far, Forest or a guy named Manning Winters, had hired all of the deputies and agents with totally fake backgrounds, or had recommended them. As of this morning, we had seventeen deputies and Bureau agents being held in our private confinement areas. The prosecutors were diligently signing on, e-mailing me, and making sure that those that we caught were classified as flight risks and therefore could not get out on bail. John and I thought it unusual that considering how big this was, no law group was coming forward to try to pull strings for these guys. My morning call to Ken was put on a speakerphone so John could be a part of the update. Ken said that a New York City deputy had discovered that Forest entered the country through Canada a few days after being released from custody while awaiting trial for a minor offense. The deputy had been able to identify people who Forest had stayed with and learned he had attended an acting and speech school in New York City while staying in an apartment with several other men who they believe are some of the other people with fake backgrounds in custody. Ken said that he had shifted part of his investigative team to New York City to help scrape up additional details of those months there. Ken described what John and I had both been thinking for a while. He said, "We have several confirmed and unconfirmed pieces of evidence that there is a link to the Bratva and the Red Mob." Both of these names are linked to the world wide Russian Mafia. "The British have been able to tie Forest to activities within London that were Bratva connected. Their main business right now is the slave trade, but they have been infiltrating and aligning with some of the older established groups of Italian and Sicilian underworld characters. They have been increasingly active in drug activity and were becoming active in business scams." Kens final remarks hit home, "From some of the comments made by those in custody, the reason for their infiltration into the Bureau and Marshal Service was to gain an advantage by having early warning of Bureau investigations and to assist escapees, foil captures, and most importantly, to hunt down and eliminate witnesses against them." Ken said for us to call him later this afternoon and meanwhile, he would continue e-mailing us every report he received. When we hung up, John said, "That's what you were thinking, wasn't it?" "It almost had to be. The Bratva has a lot of KGB ties and the money involved in providing some of the electronics we're taking off of these people is out of sight. The problem is deciding whether the people we're getting through relocation are really witnesses, or set ups, so they can discover the paths we use to hide people. I'm almost certain that I have a couple right now that are plants. Their cover has been so thoroughly created that we're having a hard time disproving anything. We'll have to place them in less than two weeks, but I don't want them anywhere near where I might really place someone. I was thinking of even putting them in like New Jersey or Connecticut so they could screw up and contact one of their people. If they are for real, they'll keep their head buried so deep in the ground they'll be viewing Hong Kong." The girls had gone to the resort's spa for some pampering since they wouldn't be part of the lady fun once the group arrived. John and I were walking down by the river where there was raft rides and kayak safaris, when he said, "That damn truck was right where you said. How did you find a place that wasn't overrun with bums and hoodlums?" "That was luck. That is a really large industrial area that was recently abandoned, so I just kept looking until I found a place where a really nice truck could be stored out of sight. If someone did find it, oh well. But I thought the truck would be untouched." John smiled, "The cost of that relo went down another twenty-five grand. I'm really having a tough time tracking you. We haven't even been able to get a sighting of Bobby and she doesn't hide worth a shit. I was thinking that since you had Bobby with you, my guys would find the target in a day or so. They are just totally lost. That's good though, as the bad guys can't find the subject either. You'll have to tell me about it in ten years or so. I know the story will be a good one." The bigwigs began arriving at the resort and John surprisingly assisted me in greeting them and handing out our activity program for the men and the one for their spouses. We were sending them off to special suites to relax before the meet and greet. All were impressed by the air charter service that brought them. The meet and greet began with Bobby and Jan, now accompanied by the delicate Kenisha, welcoming the attendees and taking the wives from the husbands to describe the fun the women would have while there. The guys were all acting like, "Let's get down to business," but since they were bureaucrats, they didn't know what business to get down to. They did know how to drink and snack. Watching the amount of booze being consumed made me apprehensive that the resort owner may get the short end of the stick. John and I spent the entire time making sure they knew that we would be meeting first thing in the morning. To them, first thing was nine o'clock. To John and me, that was almost lunch time. We advised the resort owner/manager that our start time would be nine instead of eight. He smiled, knowing how senior business execs often squandered time. This would put lunch an hour later and give less time between the end of the afternoon session and supper. Perhaps we could make supper later to give them more time to drink before that. The resort owner said, "The spa girls will be happy to start an hour later, they love it." By the time we broke for the breather before dinner was to be served, several of the Bureau guys and some of the marshals were half in the bag. The waitresses were passing out coffee and were making sure that more fresh coffee was going to be in the suites. Bobby and Jan reported that the women were a bunch of lushes too, but were mostly drinking high calorie sweet drinks while discussing the latest diets they were on. Poor Kenisha hardly understood the attitudes and habits of the other spouses. Our first dinner was some of the leanest rib-eye steaks that I've ever cut with a fork. All of the side dishes were delicious, as was the choices of wine with the meal. One lady had made the statement before dinner that she was a vegetarian, so they served her a nice tofu plate that even looked good to me. The babe ended up with a steak just so she could taste it. None of it was left. The evening's entertainment was a local soft jazz dance band while the group continued to get together enjoying each other's company. John and I found out this was the first time the two law enforcement groups had ever been put together in the same group for a seminar. No wonder there was so much distance between the offices. They had not taken the time to work together. I was happy to put everyone to bed by eleven. It was almost past my bedtime. The stress from being on our best behavior since the afternoon left us exhausted. After getting into bed, I had two heads sleeping on my shoulders in minutes. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 10 We were up by six and John was in our suite, having breakfast, at six thirty. We went over the e-mails from yesterday and anxiously waited for the call from Ken, as we were kept from calling until too late yesterday. At seven thirty, we called Ken knowing he was an early in the office guy. "Good timing, guys," Ken said. "I've just finished checking my e-mails. The New York group has some Ruskies tailing our investigators, so we have some of New York's finest picking them up for bullshit throughout the day. Every time we pick up one that's on tail, we get another. We have found out that they are Bratva people. So far, we've connected Forest and twelve others all to the New York group, let's call it the training center. They all spent varying periods of time learning to speak with no accent. Some of the imitators are English and Irish, a couple from France, a couple from Italy, and so far, three from Russia. The school must really be good." "Now the news, some deputies, three, and some agents, four, have quit. We've apprehended three of the seven so far, trying to board international flights with fake passports. Of course, they could be their real passports. We have a sighting of one who went into the Russian embassy and hasn't been seen since. I'm thinking we've just about cleaned up the field. I have one of my investigators on sick leave, and he's not at home. The man has been in my group for right at two years. My Bureau counterpart says he has an investigator that resigned last week as he had a better job offer. That guy is missing, too." "According to some of the offices, there are escapees that are unaccounted for, with some never even put on a detail. Ah, Chuck, your hunch to check out relocations has turned up eleven missing. Two have the wives still around, but the other nine are just gone. We are working the missing persons' reports on them right now. All of the missing relocations are witnesses to Russian mob activities. I think we need to relocate all other witnesses we have as soon as possible. We need to get them back into protective custody quickly. I think we now know how the witnesses for the slave trade trial in Chicago were found. That cost us six witnesses, an agent, and three deputies. The police department up there still thinks it was some guy going berserk, but I think we have a better idea of what was behind it now." John said, "We're not going to tell all today. When we finish up tomorrow, we'll either give them the whole thing or promise them a top-secret file next week. I'd like to bring all our relocations back into protective custody first. I think we can place some agents and deputies to look like the relocations and possibly catch some of the assassins." Ken said, "I'm keeping my info close to the vest. Only my most secure people know what's going on. The field is a buzz of activity with everyone investigating everyone. In some ways it's good. When this is over, the men will all trust each other." John added, "I'll be visiting all of the offices over the next couple of months to get everyone relaxed. I'll try to get the senior agent to go with me. The Secret Service is running their own investigation, but they won't tell us whether they've found any moles. Keep up the good work, Ken, thanks." With a final word Ken said, "Good luck schmoozing all that brass. I wouldn't want your job for anything right now." Bobby and Jan had listened to the call. Kenisha had curled up on the couch for a nap. She had said, with a smile, that John had kept her up late last night. We were ready for the day, so we got Kenisha up so she could begin her day of being pampered again. We dropped her off on the way to the meeting room. We were surprised that a few people actually showed up around eight thirty. There were Danish and donuts to snack on before the meeting, and we gave them the first day's handouts. I gave Bobby and Jan one last chance to back out, but they said we had prepared so well that they knew the material backwards and forwards. They practiced with the projector and readied the first PowerPoint file and put the welcome screen up. At nine sharp, whether seats were still empty or not, we started. Bobby clicked off the welcome, and the next screen was red with the word "Danger" in the middle of a exploding balloon. Bobbie had the intro, "All of you know that we have found infiltrators within our organizations." The picture of a person, highlighted in a large group of people shown, morphed into a photo of Forest Harding. Jan spoke, "This man gave us a reason to investigate his background which we discovered was totally fabricated." The presentation continued with the background until the half-hour break time arrived. Most of the people hustled to the bathroom, then came back for more snacks and coffee. The second half-hour was more background about how we began back tracking Forest through San Diego and Chicago. There we included an FBI agent that we had discovered had a fabricated background. With his picture on the screen, the girls began telling of the investigation of the agent. During the second break, all of the attendees were back in their seats ready for more information before the break time had ended. The presentation showed a map of the U.S., with white stars for Marshal's offices, and green circles where FBI offices were. One screen after another appeared, with a red arrow showing where people with fake backgrounds had been discovered. Bobby and Jan described whether it was a deputy or an agent that was discovered at the location. Some had both. When D.C. got the last red arrow, there were gasps throughout the room. It was time to break again, but most just hustled to the bathroom and returned, getting a cup of coffee or Coke on the way back, and sat back down. The last part began detailing the investigations, one office at a time. We didn't finish, of course, as this portion lasted forty-five minutes. Before breaking, we offered them the opportunity to ask questions to clear up any points that we had already covered, promising a lot more information in the afternoon. The men were mostly too stunned to ask many questions and all were waiting to hear who we had discovered within D.C., as only a couple of people were aware of who we had under lock and key. The girls and I quickly ate lunch and went to the conference room to lay out the variety of foreign made weapons that had been found and confiscated from the agents and deputies captured so far. We had multiple AK-47s of various models, including the sniper rifle from the original incident, plus a variety of handguns and several cardboard boxes that represented explosives that were found, but had not been transported for the meeting. We weren't going to talk about the weapons today, but we wanted them to be in view to pique their interest. After lunch, we continued detailing each office, with a picture of the office building superimposed on a state map for effect. It was while they were talking about Tampa that it hit me. I was out the door, calling the office instantly. I told Sarah, "Get every available person you can find and find out every last thing you can about the bellhop the sniper killed. Then when you're done, I think we need to run every worker in the hotel. We don't have to be security clearance perfect, but look for irregularities on their apps. As soon as you can't confirm their background, bring them in and take them apart. Charge them with jaywalking or being a street corner terrorist, but get them and keep them. Have the techs go over the rooms where our guests are, as we could be compromised right under our noses." Sarah said, "Holy shit, I didn't even think about that. Why else would that guy have been targeted? It could have been meant for you though, if Forest wanted you gone." "It could be, but let's check it out, pronto." "I'm on it, Boss. Thanks for the confidence in me to handle this place." "Shit, Sarah, you've been running the joint for years, you just never got the credit." I went back to the meeting, sweating bullets, thinking how the guests in the hotel could be agents working with other agents that were hotel employees. It was enough to make even me nervous. Bobby and John could tell I was agitated, so when the break came up, they cornered me and I confessed that I had overlooked an obvious connection and what we were doing about it. John just said, "That is an easy one to overlook. The bellhop could be an important early link before Forest got here. That could explain some of the big buck guys out looking for you when you were under siege." Jan's eyes were about quarter sized, and Bobby was getting angry. She said, "We have to stop this, get to the bottom of it, and make a clean sweep." The rest of the afternoon ended with the attendees worn out from the intensity of the information. We ended the day with me giving a short talk. "Gentlemen, this investigation is still active and may only be in its beginning stages, so please do not discuss what you've learned until after everything is published. We are finding more areas to investigate by the hour, and I have to tell you, it's scary. We will clean out our mutual offices and strengthen our investigative services with better checks and balances." We went up to my suite, while the attendees went to the bar for some tranquilizing medicine and to meet their happy wives. This should balance out the horror they were exposed to so far today. Bobby went through e-mails while I returned a call from Sarah. Sarah advised me, "Chuck, the bellhop was an illegal immigrant from Russia. He was arrested and escaped up in New York. Now you have to do the same research within Homeland Security as this guy apparently just walked out of the secure prisoner facility. He was charged with being a part of the slavery group that the FBI was trying to bust. Remember how Customs, or Homeland Security as it's called now, kept getting in the way of that one. That's how the marshal service got involved. They were trying to find out what agency was responsible for the screw-ups. The investigation was called off before anything conclusive was ever found." She then added, "The hotel manager was run very quickly, and then I brought him over here so he would know how serious our situation is over there. He's spiriting out all the employment records for us. I'm having the Bureau and the Secret Service help to run all these people quickly. We should have more information by tomorrow afternoon." Sarah took a breath, then said, "The techs said the place was lousy with bugs. They even had transmitters on all our cameras. A couple of guys are trying to track down the receivers right now as they have to be within five to six hundred feet of the transmitter. We'll find them. We're leaving the transmitters in place so they don't know we've discovered them. If we move these guests, we'll have to make them go through the same cleaning as before. So far, our investigation of them shows they are real witnesses." The four of us just sat speechless, listening to Sarah. I let her go and called Ken. His first words were, "We got another one here who gave us a guy over in Homeland Security who gave us a half dozen of their field people. I've already had a heart to heart with the head of HR over there and he has requested some Bureau and marshal help, double checking everyone hired within the last two years. That's a lot of people. The New York team is starting to run into walls. There's been several gang related killings up there that appear to be the Red Mob. Those guys are the crude group while the Bratva has a better organization. All of our activity has found three groups of imported women that are really slaves, plus a cache of weapons you wouldn't believe. Apparently they are all destined for Mexico to trade for drugs. NYPD said to pass on a thanks for the tips. I'll have more in the morning as I have to go over all the reports that are being e-mailed in. There is just too much for me to get organized yet. I'll e-mail you later and talk to you in the morning." John said, "Sounds like we're getting to the heart of the mess. We just have to clean up the agencies. We have to have clean agencies. That's how we protect the citizens." Jan contemplated, "It's hard to believe all these people were able to be passed through because I was recruited while still in school. Then the Bureau investigated me so thoroughly they actually knew what my cycle was and questioned me why I wasn't using any form of birth control. I told them straight up that if they had checked me thoroughly enough, they would know I didn't go out with men, and that women were not prone to impregnating another woman. It didn't even bother them that I preferred women. It bothered them that I didn't use any form of birth control." Bobby and I looked at each other with an "Oh shit" look. Bobby had sorted all the e-mails noting some additions to the presentation to be added tomorrow. We were going to have to give the folks the bad news about Homeland Security. We discussed a solution to the investigation of new people and how we could make sure they were real. If two people did it from two different offices it could be possible to let someone sneak through, but if three people did the investigation from at least two different locations it would be almost impossible to sneak someone through. That was added to the last part of the presentation for tomorrow. Dinner was wonderful, but tonight was a little more somber. We had some fun entertainment that we were going to escort the group to, but they all agreed they would prefer to stay in the resort lounge and just visit among themselves. That night while we were lying in bed, again exhausted from the day, but obviously all three of us were horny. Bobby asked Jan, "You said today that you didn't use any birth control, yet you have had Chuck make two very nice deposits toward populating our home area." Jan giggled and said, "Wouldn't that be neat. The guys in the office would be so stunned and would be kicking themselves that I might have been available, but they never tried. Don't worry, Bobby, I'm smart enough to know when my cycles are and I'm perfectly safe. As a matter of fact, if I'm going to get much more of Chuck, it's going to have to be by tomorrow, as I'm going to be plugged day after tomorrow." Bobby kissed Jan, saying, "I think I'm happy to hear that. It would almost be neat to get a little critter from our man. I can't have kids or at least that's what I was told ten years ago. I might have myself checked out some more to find out if the problem can be corrected." "I'll give you one, Bobby. I can do that for you. I don't think I'm ready to be a mom yet, but I'd have one for you if you wanted." Bobby was stunned, looking at Jan. "I've never thought of letting someone have a baby for me. Both of my younger sisters said they would do it for me and only my one older sister has kids. Millie, my next older sister, can't have kids just like me." "My turn to say something," I said, raising my hand. "I'm still pretty young and it might not be time for me to be a dad yet. Let's be real careful until we are sure we want to raise a child. I will not begin a child and abandon it. When we get a child among us, whoever is the mom will raise the baby, period. The other person in our lives, if she is there, will be a special aunt, a second mom." Both girls gave me some kisses for that declaration. The kisses were augmented by touches that were excitedly transferred to other forms of kissing that ended up with me thumping Jan very thoroughly, depositing a gallon or so of baby juice, then enjoying all of Bobby and making an equally large deposit there. Both girls helped me with the other, making it a very sweet loving between all three of us. We went to sleep kissing. While we were getting ready in the morning, Jan came out of the bathroom, happily displaying the Tampax box. She said, "See, told you. I didn't get pregnant from my first adventure with a horny guy. It sure is fun to practice though." That I got a loving kiss, and a light bite on the lip, disproved that all women are bitches before and during their periods. Jan was acting absolutely horny. Bobby thought it cute the way Jan was as carefree as she was. John arrived and we ate breakfast, discussing the e-mails and reports we had received overnight. Other than finding another pocket of infiltrators within Homeland Security, it looked like we were cleaning up the two services. The Secret Service admitted to two arrests, but was still mum about their investigations. Ken's call this morning was pretty much a wrap up of the reports we had been e-mailed. He said the prosecutors were having a little trouble as a lot of the subjects were declaring diplomatic immunity. Since this allowed the federal prosecutors to prosecute the people as spies, they were upping the ante on the prisoners. Sarah said the investigation of the hotel personnel would be hot and heavy today, but kept out of sight so we wouldn't spook any potential infiltrators. She said it was almost funny, since between the Bureau and the service, everyone was investigating everyone else. Every time they would find a minor discrepancy, they would confront the agent or deputy. She said it was good training and had become fun for the men. She added, "Bobby, you were not that good of a teen were you. Seems you almost didn't graduate from high school. When you did, it was with good grades, but your conduct rated an "F." Bobby said, "That was then, this is now. I did grow up, you know." Sarah said, "Jan, your guys have tracked you from the hospital you were born in, through all of your schooling, and can tell you who all of your friends up through right now are. They were asking if Bobby was your friend, or were you just trying to get Chuck to shoot with you?" The girls laughed. Jan said, "Let them think what they want. It's none of their business. Besides, I don't mix business with pleasure, or with my personal life." Bobby rolled her eyes and John caught it, smiling. Kenisha caught it too and giggled, snuggling into John a little more. As it became time to begin again, we went over the presentation that we had and I said I would talk to update them at the end. John said it should be his responsibility to end the meeting, so he would speak after me, which meant I needed to be brief. We went over the people we had taken down since the Forest Harding incident and the link between the sniper, the bellhop, and the Bratva. Just telling these guys that the Russian mob was infiltrating federal law enforcement scared the shit out of them. This tied into the weapons on display. At the end of the last session, at four in the afternoon, the two girls were talked out and it was my turn. The girls put up pictures of the Marshal's Service insignia and the FBI insignia. "I want to tell you that we have cleaned out some slave trade in New York and Chicago. We have captured nearly fifty illegal Russian immigrants. Local police departments have been able to make literally hundreds of arrests of criminals related to these organizations that we are fighting. As far as the marshal service, we are bringing in every person related to past Russian Mafia activity since their relocation whereabouts could be compromised. We will relocate all of them again. Regrettably several relocated people have disappeared, and a few have met with accidents that are now suspicious. "The good news is that our branches of law enforcement, which includes Homeland Security, the Secret Service, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshal's Service have all evaluated their personnel investigation procedures. Every employee, and I'm saying every employee including you and me, are being re-investigated as if we are security risks. This is a good thing. If I feel the need to brief you gentlemen again, we will have another joint seminar. It may be a little more austere, but we will hold it away from any prying eyes or ears. Thank you for coming, be alert, be closed mouthed, don't discuss this investigation with anyone. Our national security depends on it. "I wish to recognize my two presentation personnel, Jan is from the FBI and Bobby is from the U.S. Marshal's Service. You have been briefed by a genuine agent and a genuine deputy who have just recently participated jointly and were instrumental in a capture where both of these officers were under fire. They agreed to help me on this project as it is close to them in our Tampa offices. Please join me in applauding their performance." When the loud applause died down, I introduced John and said, "Thank you." I received a lot of applause, but John stepped up quickly to end it. "When my deputy, Deputy Johnson, advised me of his discoveries, he was already leading a group investigation of almost all of the service. He wasn't going behind my back and ran me thoroughly before he advised me of his actions. Each step of this investigation has actually been initiated by his Tampa office. It's pretty amazing that our swimsuit office has to be the one to advise D.C. that there are rats in our midst. He's covered his tracks well by investigating every person he involves in the investigation. He has created a core of trustworthy people that are quickly cleaning up our branch offices. He has created a harmony between services that has never been seen before. Hopefully, this new cooperation will run through our entire organizations to make our country safer." "Please join me in applauding the U.S. Marshal's Service newest Lieutenant, with the possibility of being acting Major in the very near future." Oh shit, guess that pretty much tells what I'll be doing for a while. John continued, "I have two more announcements. The young lady that is one of the best marksmen within the Bureau and has won multiple competitions has been promoted to a Senior Agent for her work and activity within this investigation." More applause, and a very pleased look on Jan's face. "And now for our final promotion, Roberta Angel Smith, you have served the Marshal's Service with dedication that is unprecedented. You have assisted the past and present Deputies in Charge in ways that have been heroic while making sound decisions. You are now the Deputy in Charge of the Tampa Facility. Of course, this means you are now Lieutenant Roberta Angel Smith." Everyone made a huge display of applause and hollering, while Bobby stood there stunned. Now I was apprehensive; what the fuck would I be doing now? "As all of you know, there is always a bit of a party when any of our people get promoted," John said with a smile. "Well, we have a triple whammy to celebrate. Let's go do it." There was more applause, followed by an instant rush for the bar. John, Jan, Bobby, and I cleaned up our displays, had everything taken up to our rooms, and headed for the party. Bobby said, "I have to or someone has to tell Sarah. She's the assistant, she should have been promoted." John stopped us and said, "Who do you think recommended you and told me who could handle that mess of an office? She's the one that said, "Make Bobby my boss and you'll be proud." Bobby was shocked, "I can't believe I've been promoted again. What is going to happen to Chuck? Where is he going?" John smiled, "Nowhere, I'll tell you later." While we were having a drink and enjoying congratulations for the excellent presentation and the promotions, Bobby said to me, "Shoot, there goes my house and free food. But then I did get a nice promotion out of it. I can afford a house like that for myself now." I had a single drink, and then said I needed to check in with Ken and Sarah. John, Bobby, and Jan went with me as they were interested in this operation too. The first thing Ken said was, "Congratulations, the notice came through this morning. You'll probably be my boss so let me tell you, Boss, I'm bustin' my butt on this. We're cleaning up. I'm sure we're clean in all of the D.C. area. I've even run all the real Marshals. The Bureau and Secret Service are helping. The Secret Service has opened up and is joining us in a task force. We're taking it office by office and redoing everyone, not just those from the last two years. We have a problem with you, John, and all the other Special Forces geeks we've hired. We aren't allowed into your files." John interjected, "It's good that you can't. You wouldn't want to know us if you really knew where we had been." Ken came right back with, "Ah, your new Tampa hero has some open spots in his service record already. He steals a truck and you promote him. Wonder what I'd get if I stole the chief's Cadillac?" "Jail," John laughed. "Thought so, anyway, we're cookin' with gas and making rapid progress. We've set up a separate secure server for the investigations so they can be updated in the future. It's a great setup for management to review personnel. That's it for today, no big arrests, no new big news. Your Tampa office is doing something as they're burning up the wires checking out about four hundred people. They must be on a witch hunt." I said, "Thanks, Ken. I'll talk to you tomorrow morning, then we're going to be in the air." Sarah was next, and I could feel the strain, but elation in her voice. "We have three in confinement. All three are illegal. One from housekeeping, one from maintenance, and another bellhop. We're just about done with every one of them. The guys downstairs have been a big help. Your men here, or rather Bobby's men here have busted butt. Congratulations, Chuck, you too, Bobby, and Jan, I hear that you made Senior Agent. Nice." "No other news about our guests other than the guys think they need relocating. They found the receivers, and they were connected to a PC that we've left running. The techies are tracking down where on the internet it's sending information. Pretty elaborate. They tested some of the equipment and found that most of it can transmit up to five miles. That's scary from those tiny modules. Will I see you tomorrow?" "We'll all be home and back to work by tomorrow afternoon. There are a lot of things to do, plus the ongoing investigations, so we'll be busy." I paused then said, "Tomorrow, I'm buyin' supper out at Park Place to celebrate all of our promotions, including yours." "Thanks, Chief, ah, I guess you're not chief anymore. Thanks anyway, whatever you are. See you tomorrow." We sat back and John said, "Let's go downstairs and do some more celebrating while we can enjoy it. Dinner will be served soon anyway." Downstairs, the crowd was getting loaded. The women were so happy about all their treatments that they glowed. The hotel had given each of them a fancy bag of expensive goodies to take home. All of the wives of both services kept saying, "This is the biggest, best seminar you've ever taken me to." Several of the big guys kept asking me how the services could afford something like this. I kept telling them that I made a great deal. One of the FBI guys handed me drink and said, "Seems like there was that Simpson drug bust where the money was not accounted for. I guess it's been put to good use." John almost spit out his drink, and I was smiling real big. The FBI guy asked, "Could I interest you in a very senior position. Anyone who can put this together and initiate the activity you're doing, I want for my own." John said, "Can you make him better than a Major?" The guy said, "He's only Acting Major." John countered, "As soon as I have waivers signed by all of the Marshals, he'll be a Major. Oh, by the way, I need to speak to Jake over there, he's the last signature I need." The guy laughed slapping me on the back, "How many years do you have with the service, Johnson?" I was embarrassed to tell him, "Ah, right at nine months, Sir." "Holy shit, you don't mess around do you. Are you that dude that shot up the world down in Tampa? Damn, you sure know how to cause some grief." Bobby was hanging onto one arm and Jan was hanging onto my other. We were sipping drinks when the Senior U.S. Marshal came over to me with his wife, he asked, "Which one is your wife and which is your girlfriend?" Bobby said, "We're competing for the positions." That made him really laugh and his wife said, "Have them both. You hot shots probably need both of them to keep up with you." "I'm not quite ready for two yet, Ma'am." She smiled, "If you're anything like this guy was when he was your age, you're on a vitamin regimen to choke a horse." The Senior Marshal was blushing when she added, "It took him five kids before he decided he should start shooting blanks. Then I had to take up track as he was chasing me around even more." The two girls were being entertained by the lady so the Senior Deputy moved his head in a way that said, "I want to talk to you." His first words out of his mouth were, "Johnson, I'm so glad to meet the first deputy I've had that's not been afraid to shoot when he needed to and make the shot count. Glad you were able to stay with the service. Now, John has something special for you that we've gone over. You're perfect for the job and it's an important one. You're smart enough to make the job work for you without having to be in the air everyday. Do a good job for John and the service, and trust me, we'll show you our appreciation. Keep being as innovative as you have been, I love it. Oh yes, thank you for giving our truck back." John had come up and laughed loud when he heard what was said. He said quietly, "Chuck, I tell this man everything. He is a real U.S. Marshal with experience in the field, as well as a politician. Trust him. If you need something, ask. If it's the right thing to do, you'll get it." The man smiled and said, "He's just thanking me for the Commander rank he just got." "Wow, Commander, super, congratulations." "Don't say that so loud, shit everyone will think I'm making a lot of money. Kenisha thinks first hire deputies make a ton, so just let me be okay?" He looked at the Senior Marshal and asked, "Did you tell him what his job was now?" "Nope, that's your job. I would be meddling if I did." John happily said, "See what I mean, he lets his men do the work for him. Just like you do." "And just like you do, John," the Senior Marshal praised. "I'll tell you all about it at breakfast, let's go eat, I'm starved." We did eat and again the folks wanted to stay at the resort and dance in the lounge. By eleven everyone was gone, in their rooms and possibly asleep. My trio (including me), got ready for bed, packed up our bags, leaving out what we were going to wear to go home. We then were lying in bed, talking about what the future may have in store for us. Bobby said, "You know, this becoming the station chief is what Danny had envisioned in his future. I've got Danny, Sarah, Howard, and you Chuck, to thank for teaching me how to get there. I'm amazed he chose me for the job. Now I've really got to work. You know, I did all those quizzes from that manual you brought home. I even took the quiz from the video. Now I know what all the stuff you set up is and know what to do with it. You actually made my job pretty easy. Howard ran the joint by the seat of his pants. Forest didn't do anything correct, because he didn't have the background. You asked Sarah for the manual and went right to town. You learned she was supposed to be doing all kinds of things so you hired a clerk and had Sarah begin being an Assistant Station Chief. That was pretty smart. I wonder if they have a manual for your new job." "Me too," I said. "You just know John is doing something totally off the wall. I might have to go back to the employment office. Maybe I should call Metarie." "Whatever it is, you'll be good at it, Babe." Jan snuggled into my shoulder and said, "Maybe I need to transfer to the Marshal's Service." Bobby said, "Nope, you stay where you are. You've proven yourself and if you keep working hard, coordinating between the services, you'll keep going right on up. You studied to be an agent and you're a good one." I had to agree, "Continue to be the person you are, Jan. I'm proud to know an agent like you." We all lay there thinking of what lay ahead until all three pairs of our eyes closed. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 11 The three of us were up, showered, and dressed early. John called down to see if we were up and came down with Kenisha. "My bags are in the lobby, what's for breakfast? Want to eat with everyone else?" "Yes, let's do that and afterward go up and get the reports before I leave for the airport." As we were having our coffee before the food came, John said, "Chuck, you are now a Major in the Marshal Service. Congratulations. You'll enjoy the pay increase. I had a choice of bringing you in to D.C., or doing something I think is doable. We don't need more brass in D.C., but we need someone to do my job and more." He took a drink of coffee and said, "I want to re-define my job. You're going to do it. You'll be in charge of all of the stations throughout the country. It's not that big a deal, but you will be busy. You will have secondary responsibility for every FBI office, every ATF office, and every DEA office. You'll have responsibility for every federal law enforcement office. The object is to coordinate the efforts of the offices and to help them work together as one. You will have the service's plane in Tampa for you to use, plus you have a budget for staff. You'll need a couple of clerical types and a shrewd, killer, office manager, who will filter junk for you so you're not overwhelmed with bullshit. I'll bring you into D.C. to learn from me and my people, but we're going to be busy overseeing the operation from a different point of view. We'll teach you, though. You and I come from the same background, so you'll do the same job I did while you're doing it. But get ready, as soon as I transfer everything to you, the shit will hit the fan. Your building has an office suite on the same floor as the service office. It's rented and being spruced up. You have a budget if you need to make it fancy, but it used to be a judge's office and chambers, so it's probably fancy already. If you don't like the furniture or if it's too old for you, get new. Your computer system is being set up in there and will be only yours. I'll have access, but I will be the only person outside your office that will." We had begun eating now. John continued between mouthfuls, "I'm still going to use you when I have a problem. You'll have to have Sarah and Bobby keep a handle on your office. Your office manager will be your lifeline, so like I said, hire a good one. I promise not to do that to you often but, when it happens, it happens. You'll find out that finding someone you know will do the job, especially a covert job, with no direction and no base is tough. You'll find him though. When you do, keep him, use him like I used you, and promote him right on up." We were on our second cups of coffee, sitting back, when John said, "Congratulations, Guy. When I met you, I figured you to be my replacement. I just didn't think it would be so fast." He looked at Bobby, "You're a good choice, Bobby, I know you will be a good station chief and make Chuck proud of you. Remember, Chuck is not the station chief, he is a separate entity, and he doesn't make decisions for you unless you ask for help. If he butts his head in, kick him out of your office, unless he's there on official business. I know you two will work out, that's why Chuck's not coming to D.C. He'll learn how to be in and out in a day, except when something really strange happens. I'd like you to help him with his personnel choices. Get him some real slutty clerks that'll give him head in the morning, and send him home happy in the evening." "Sure thing, Boss, not," Bobby laughed. "Look hard for the office manager. It's got to be someone like Sarah, like my Mary Ann. You know the type and you may even know one we can steal. With all the big companies closing and contracting, we might get lucky quick." John put his arm around Kenisha who was happily smiling, "Well, boys and girls, it's time for us D.C. guys to roll out of here. Call me daily, Chuck, and let me know how you are doing with people and getting Bobby settled in. I'll bring you to D.C. and work with you for a few days. If you want, you can commute in your own airplane, but it's better if I keep you up there and work you to death for a few days. See you all later, and it has been nice to meet you, Jan. You did a great job." Jan glowed, stood up, and shook his hand, "Thank you, Commander, it has been my pleasure." "You're the first person to address me as such. Thank you, Senior Agent." We watched John and Kenisha go out to the lobby and out the main door to the bus. I think we all felt a loss with him leaving. He had heaped a bunch of responsibility on Bobby and me. We went upstairs and checked in with Ken. Bobby and Jan were pulling e-mails. Ken said it was wrapping up and it was good. I said we would talk later. Sarah said, "We'll finish up with the hotel today and then we're going to run the personnel at Homeland Security. They want us to do it, since it was their boss that said to get us on it. The office is busy, we have two escapees, we're working a couple of transports, and five new transferees that all want air duty. A few more and we'll start pulling a lot of Orlando's too. A couple of the transferees are helping out on the investigations. They have the experience and enjoy investigating by phone. We've even got an app from a senior clerk from Buffalo that wants to transfer. She has ten years of service and is a real deputy. I don't know what to do with the app." "Ah, Sarah, call the lady and put her on an airplane to interview with me. Put her up in the hotel for me and make sure she eats well. I want to talk to her tomorrow." "Does this have anything to do with the construction and cleanup going on in the old judge's chambers?" "Smart lady. Do it for me. I shouldn't be using Bobby's people for my work, but it would be a personal favor." "Okay, everything else is fine. I'll see you this afternoon, right?" "Right." I handed the phone to Bobby. Bobby took the phone saying with a smile, "My boss just handed me the phone. I guess you can put all his shit in a cardboard box and put it by the door. I'll bring in some doilies and flowers for my office tomorrow. Do what the man says and I'll start being a leader as soon as I learn how." "You know how already, Bobby, I'm proud to work for you," Sarah said. "Enough butt kissing, I'll talk to you later." When Bobby hung up, I told Jan to call in. She dialed the number and dialed the Station Chief's extension. "Thank you for the promotion, Sir." There was a pause, then a "Yes Sir," pause, "Yes Sir," pause, "Yes Sir, I'll be there this afternoon and begin. Thank you, Sir." Jan put the phone down and grinned a crooked smile, "John Dawson was transferred and he just made me his new Assistant Station Chief. Can you believe that? That's why I got the promotion." Bobby said, "I guess we have some celebrating to do. Jan come with us to Park Place tonight." She was smiling big, saying she might need to bring her boss along. We had the bellhops carry all our shit out to the limo and rode to the airport. The S&S Lear was waiting for us and a fuel truck was topping off the tanks. This meant that we were not late and they had not waited for us. Once again, we had the cowboy looking guy with the longer hair and good smile. I didn't know who was pilot or who was co-pilot, but the other person that was with him was not very tall, but had tits that didn't quit. They were gargantuan. She was a happy girl and seemed to have a relationship with the cowboy. Watching them move around you noticed they both limped a little as if they had old injuries. As the girls were getting on the plane, the big breasted babe followed them in and went for something. She brought some catalogues back and gave two to Bobby and one to Jan. She said to Bobby, "These are clothes you can get in Tampa at the outlet store, or you can order them on line. I'll bet you have trouble getting good stuff just like I do." Bobby said, "I'd like to have your problem, Honey. I'm big, but you're colossal." She laughed and said nodding toward the door where the cowboy was, "My old man sure like's 'em." Bobby said, "Mine does too, don't tease him too much." The lady actually reached up and unbuttoned two buttons flashing some grade "A" prime cleavage. I was grinning, almost embarrassed that I was staring. The cowboy just said, "She does that to me all the time. Hard to walk, isn't it?" They went through a checklist to get the plane ready to go and soon the lady hollered at me, "Can you pull the door shut and come up here a second." I pulled the door closed and followed the instructions to pull the latch down to a full locking position and flipped the catch over it. Up front, I stood in the doorway as they began taxiing. The cowboy was in the left seat and the girl was sitting a little cross ways in the right, going through more of the checklist. She showed me the top of the next page and said, "I'm going to ride with your ladies, you sit up here. Make sure you buckle your seat belt, put on that headset and read these items off as he gets ready to take off. There are a few for after you're in the air, so just follow his lead." She got up; showing more cleavage than should be allowed by law, then rubbed me up good as she moved by me to go sit with the girls. I got into the right seat, buckled up, put on the headset that only had the right earpiece. There was all kinds of chatter going on. In front of us was a USAir 757 and in front of that was a prop jet commuter. I said to the cowboy, "Let me know when I should start." He said sticking his hand out, "I'm Steve, the tease that went to the back is Sue." I told him my name was Chuck. "Okay, we're next, start reading and when I say check, go to the next." I went through the items as I watched the 757 go down the runway. I heard over the earpiece for Lear 1433 to hold. Steve was looking out the window saying, "I can't see any airplanes, wonder what's up?" A small airplane came down, circling right in front of us and set down hard on the runway. The propeller was not turning. Steve said, "That's an old 160 series Cessna. Engine's dead. Lucky the guy was this close to the airport. He turned just in time to land. Wonder why he didn't have more time to glide in. Oh, look at that, he's a crop duster. He probably pulled out of a pass near here and his engine quit or seized. He's lucky to have made it in." The earpiece gave us access to the runway and we were cleared for takeoff. I read what the directions were and waited for him to say rotate, then he said the next step was something about flaps, then gear, the altitude check, next some air quality stuff and finally he sat back, scanning the instruments tapping here flicking there and said, "Want some coffee? I'll bet we can get one of those babes to get us some." The big breasted babe gave us coffee. I don't know how she managed to get her arms around those things. I guess she was used to it. She handed us each a sandwich saying, "Glenda made us some sandwiches from the ham we had." I thanked her, not knowing who Glenda was. Steve and I chatted on the way back. He asked if I ever thought about flying and I said sure, everyone does, but it takes a lot of time to learn. He said it didn't take that much time but you had to do some studying. I said I might check into it. He clicked on the PA and said, "Sue, bring up one of Star's brochures for Chuck. We might get him to learn to fly." Sue brought me a neat brochure that had smiling people standing by a small aircraft. I asked, "If I was going to fly something like this, what do I have to learn except this basic airplane stuff and the instrument qualification?" He said, "Avionics are changing right now, and a lot of the instrument rating is probably going to change. If you are serious," he said, "I could probably get you through basic flight school and instrument training in about three months. The other thing you need is experience. That means airtime. You have to fly, fly, and fly. Get checked out in some different types of airplanes and you can go to the school they have for these babies. There are two separate schools, one is mostly the navigation equipment, and these planes damn near fly themselves. If the plane is kept up after every flight, it'll fly the next time. That's the key to flight safety, know when to say something's wrong and get it fixed." "If you notice, I set up all the instruments and let this thing take us home. If it was rough out, or I wanted to manually fly it, I could but there's no sense if I'm watching the instruments and the plane is doing what it's supposed to. That's why they call it an autopilot." I asked a stupid question, "So you could get up and wander around the airplane and you would be safe?" "I could do that, but that would be pretty stupid. What if something happened and I'm wandering around. Perhaps I can't get seated and right the ship fast enough. I'm sure some people do that, I don't, and it's not recommended." We were cutting across the gulf after getting clearance from some military base up in the area. We were descending as Steve said, "Maybe we'll see one of the neat big sailboats out today." We did see one ahead and he brought the plane down pretty low and seemed to be slowing. The boat had a main sail with S&S on it. He wagged the wings then began climbing again quickly. I asked, "Is that boat owned by the same company?" "Yep, it's one of the charter boats. There're three of the big sailboats right now. If business gets bad there will be only two or one, but so far so good. A lot of companies aren't making it and there're a lot of boats for sale. Wish I had some money to buy boats." I observed, "This S&S is a big company isn't it." "Pretty big, it started out small and just kept growing. The company just kept taking advantage of opportunities." "It's always neat to see and hear of a good success story." "Heard you had some success and got a big promotion. Congratulations." "Who told you about that, Steve?" "The lady from the Marshal's office. She was really excited for you." "It is a big deal, I'm excited too, but I have to admit, I'm a little scared, there's a lot of responsibility that goes with it. Too darn many people that I'll be responsible for. I don't know how many, but it's like thousands and that is scary." "Know what you mean, man, it's really a bitch to know you are responsible for the welfare of all those people and their families." Steve was doing a lot things with dials and knobs, "It's time to land this thing, want to read it, or do you want Sue to do it?" "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." He pulled another booklet from the overhead pocket and handed it to me. He flipped a page and pointed. I read the first item, and he said check. He then used a switch on the yoke to key the radio in calling for clearance to enter the pattern. He pointed at the next item and I read it. A voice came over the headset, giving us clearance and telling us about traffic at one o'clock at two thousand feet. I read the next item and got a smile from the cowboy. I read the gear down message and saw him pull the handle and heard the gear go into place. Steve said, "You have to listen, there's a certain clunk that tells you the gear is down and locked." I kept going step by step, right down to the runway. Once on the ground, he talked to someone who directed him to a taxiway. On the way up to the operations building, I asked, "You knew every step, how come you had me read them to you." "A checklist is so you remember to do them. Some things make a difference in the order you do them. You can fly without the checklist, but even if you're by yourself, you need to go through it to make sure everything is by the numbers. Since I have someone in the right seat, they get to read it to me. More fun that way." I was thinking that this guy would probably be a good teacher. He could probably be a good pilot instructor. We pulled up to the operations building and got out. The cowboy and I pulled the luggage out and set them on the other side of the gate. A lady came out of the operations building and said, "Your limo had trouble and they are sending another. It's going to be about twenty to thirty minutes." Steve said, "Want to go see where you learn how to fly?" Bobby said she wanted to go too, and of course, Jan went along with us. We walked across the tarmac to a building between two big hangars. The first or nearest hangar had a bunch of small airplanes in it and two twin engine planes. Inside the office was a young lady that said, "Hi Steve, hi Sue, did you have a good flight?" Sue said, "Steve flew and it was perfect. Smooth as silk." The girl said, "The weather is good all the way. Probably a nice day to fly." Steve asked, "Do you have more of those preliminary questionnaires for student pilots?" "Sure, right here, how many do you need?" He didn't even hesitate, he just said give me three. He took them handed one set to Bobby, one to Jan, and one to me. He took a video off a shelf and gave it to me. "Watch this and fill out the questionnaire. Grade yourself and you'll get an idea whether you want to fly, whether you're capable of learning, and how far you want to go in learning." "Come on, I'll show you a couple of the planes they use to train you in." The first was a small plane that didn't have a whole lot of instruments. Steve pointed out that some had sticks to fly, and some had the things like steering wheels he called a yoke. We walked over to a little larger plane and looked into the cockpit. It had instruments everywhere with what looked like small video screens on both sides of the airplane. Steve said, "This plane is used to teach instrument flying. Learning to fly this is fun. You fly all over and land at big airports when they're not so busy. It's a lot of fun." We walked back across the tarmac to see our limo had arrived with the driver standing by the door. The trunk was open, and all of the luggage was already in it. We shook hands with Steve, and said goodbye to Sue. I still couldn't get over the size of her chest. Bobby caught me ogling and elbowed me, laughing. Sue said, "Oh my, I'm sorry, I didn't know all these buttons were undone." Bobby, Jan, and Sue all laughed. Steve just shook his head, while I blushed. In the limo, Bobby said that Sue had invited us out to their place. It was near Park Place. She said, "Can you believe it, those two live in a trailer park." Jan said, "There's nothing wrong with a trailer park. I grew up in one and I turned out fine." Bobby said, "I like those two. We should go see them sometime. Did you notice she didn't even flinch about my size? She asked me if I knew Millie, as she says that she and her husband go to Jonah's. It used to be called Big Jim's before Jonah bought the place, but she says the place is still a popular biker bar. I'll bet Sue shows off when she's out riding." Jan said, "My almost "Cs" sure do feel inadequate after seeing those things." Bobby said, "She said they used to be a lot bigger before she had kids. She looks really good for having kids." I was thinking, too much talk about kids. Gotta get married to have kids, or at least you should. We pulled up to the house and the duty guys helped us unload the limo. I tipped the driver and he was gone. Ah, home again. We went inside and one of the duty guys asked Bobby, "Are you going to let the super boss live here with you?" Bobby said, "I guess he can while I still can. I think I'll have to give up the place. Maybe not, I'll see. I guess I could still do most of it but I can't be home during the day most of the time." The duty guy said, "The house may be compromised anyway." I asked, "Why, what happened?" "Just after you left, a pair of the duty guys were followed out here and a car sat down the block. Jack and I noticed the car as we left. The car began following us, so we pulled into the pancake place and stopped. When they parked, we started going toward them and they took off. We've seen a car down the block twice with people in it. When we call for backup from county, they're gone by the time a car gets here." "Listen," I instructed, "Next time, just call in and get whoever is closest to close off the street. You can see the guy on the monitors, so set up a way to recognize it and call in." "Good idea." "We need to make sure, and if it needs to happen, the next house is built and ready. I saw all of that in the Chief's log left over from Howard." Later, when we three were heading into the office, I asked Jan, "Look through your stuff and see if you've got anything on local brothels and slave trading stuff. I'm wondering if one of the people might have escaped and they're waiting to catch them." "Hey, that I can do now. I'll talk to the Chief; he'll know the kinky stuff." The office was pretty full in anticipation of our arrival. We had let Jan off on the 2nd floor and came on up. All the folks there gave us a hand. The welcome didn't last long as Sarah began showing us the final results from the hotel. They had found another kitchen worker and another on housekeeping staff. All were incarcerated and all were being held as illegal aliens. I suggested to Bobby that she have a tech, or techs, take the place apart again. If they have found the IP address the information was being forwarded to, we should tear it down, but if not, let's set up a sting. We'll shut down the floor and scrub the two guests again. We'll have them do some acting and see if we can catch someone trying to find them at the house. That will kill two birds with one stone. We'll know if the house is compromised, and we might catch who the transmitters are going to. Bobby said to everyone standing in the room, "Okay, Guys, you heard the suggestion, I like it. Let's go scrub the guests and make up a script. I want four guys to relieve the two out there. Let's catch some bad guys. Alive is better so they can talk, but these boys play for keeps." The techs were across the street with some duty people in an instant. They closed off the floor and used another room to have the guests shower. They were ready with towels and combs. Bobby had gone with them since they needed a female for the female guest. Two techs were going over the room, tagging every bug and covering every monitor. Soon the only thing transmitting were the monitors that don't count and the microphones. We were going to have the two black rags over the monitors pulled when the couple was back in the room so the listeners could see them at the same time. The guests were very cooperative when we explained what we wanted. They didn't have any problem saying what we wanted. They suggested that they do the talking in Russian so it seemed more authentic. Bobby agreed, but called Jan to monitor the play acting that they were going to do. The couple was totally clean. The bugs were all from the hotel. Bobby had the situation covered. She had four men in the house, two teams on nearby streets. Jan volunteered to be the female coming from the hotel to the house. I was going to be the guy. We exchanged clothes and moved the people to a different suite. Jan and I would ride down on the elevator. Bobby would pick us up in the war wagon and we would head out to the house. This could either be an easy bust, or a tough one. We would see. Back in the federal building, a young girl was talking to the secret service guards at the entrance. She didn't speak very good English and Jan recognized her accent. Jan began talking to her and found out that she had run away from a brothel in downtown Tampa. She said she couldn't go out on the street because people were looking for her. Jan brought her up to our office and called her Chief so he could come up. The girl was sixteen and had been here about four months. She was expected to service five men a day and some were mean and hurt her. She said she was fed pretty well, but didn't like getting hit all the time. She said she could have stayed in Russia to be hit and raped all the time. The more she talked, the sicker you got. We called the girls from USF to see if they could keep her company in the office while we worked on the other issue. Bobby had an idea, "Let's use her clothes and put them on someone about her size so we can make them think we're taking her to the safe house too. We might attract even more attention." Sarah said, "Let's deputize my new clerk. She's the exact size, with black hair and she needs to be a deputy anyway." The clerk was all excited that she was going to be a part of something. We did explain that there was a danger. She said fine, give her a gun and watch out. She said, if you have an army 45, I can shoot with the best of them. Jan said, "Let me get a Glock and take you downstairs real quick. A Glock is easier to use and shoots real sweet." Sarah checked out a small Glock and three magazines, and Jan took her downstairs. I tagged along to watch and see how Jan was teaching. They pulled the range rounds and the clerk loaded the three magazines. She asked for earmuffs, and before stepping into the range, she said to the range officer, "This is new gun. Shouldn't I clean and oil it first? Will you show me how this one breaks down?" Score one for the student. The range officer produced the kit and showed her how to break the gun down. She oiled the rag and rubbed each part, instead of the bath most novices give a gun. She ran a wet, then a dry, swab through the barrel and reassembled the gun. She wiped it down so it wasn't oily, and put the kit back saying, "Can you leave it for after I shoot?" Score two for the student. She stepped into the range, pushed the button to run the target back. This chick has been on a range before. Jan described what the safety features for the gun were, and stepped back. The girl loaded a magazine and chambered a round. She brought the gun up and put nine rounds into the body circle. I saw Jan say something; the girl loaded the second magazine, chambered the round, and put nine rounds in the head circle. The groups weren't super tight but they were all in the circle. The other plus was the girl was shooting one-handed. I saw Jan say something again; and once again she loaded up and fired with both hands, she shot five in the body, five in the head, all very tight groups. The two girls were laughing as they picked up the empties and brought them to the range officer. He commented, "Good shooting, you'll have to work out with Jan and Chuck. We'll have a team yet." Jan said to me, "Deputize her, she knows which end a bullet comes out of a gun." She said, "My dad's a gun nut. I can shoot a revolver pretty good, but I love the forty-five he has. I think I like this Glock too, except it doesn't hold many rounds." Jan said, "There are three sizes of the forty caliber. This was the smallest and preferred by most women." "I guess if it was a purse gun, it would be good, but my mom has a nifty little PPK that's really accurate and light. It doesn't hold many rounds either though." This chick knew her guns. I asked, "Have you used a rifle much?" "Yeah, they are fun. I just shot an MP5 last week at the range out on 301. They were demo'ing the gun, and thought it was neat that I could shoot it. It isn't hard to use at all and is very accurate. Not a super long range gun like a .308, but great for under two hundred yards." I like this chick. She had cleaned her new gun. The range officer gave her jacketed rounds to load up in her magazines. We all went upstairs where I noticed she went to her purse, put a magazine in the Glock, put a round in the chamber, and put the gun and two extra magazines in the purse. She knew a gun without a round in the chamber was useless. She smiled when she saw me watching her. "My dad will be so proud. Sarah gave me a badge and an ID card that makes it legal to carry." Just what Sarah needs, a clerk that's a gun nut. We went over the plan one more time. Jan went over to the hotel to check and I walked the Russian girl over there with the clerk flanking her. We made sure anyone looking could see who it was. Upstairs, the clerk and the Russian girl changed clothes. Jan assured her the USF girls would be there soon to keep her company. They listened to the conversations the two in the room were having, then listened to the tapes from earlier. Jan said, "They have done a good job. I believed them." We had made one last precaution; we had the Bureau give us three teams to hold in reserve outside the area that could respond quickly. They would get the bust anyway, but we had to be the ones doing the bait and switch. The couple changed clothes with Jan and me. All I had to change was the shirt, as our pants were the same color. Jan had the lady's clothes and they did fit fine. The Russian girl and the couple became a lot friendlier as more and more came out about how she had ended up here. The three of us went down to the lobby, complete with a downstairs guy. Bobby pulled up at the side entrance and the three of us, plus the duty guy got in the car. I had the two girls sit in the back so I could use the sunroof if we needed to. The clerk was about to orgasm when I lifted the floor partition and pulled out an MP5 and three magazines. I seated one and chambered a round, then closed up the floor. I checked my Glock and yep, there was the expected round and it wasn't a hollow point. Jan was telling the clerk how I had recently made a hundred yard shot with the Glock, but had been firing a hollow point. The girl said, "No way, no way in hell do you hit what you shoot at with a handgun at that distance. A hollow point won't make hardly any difference but the thought of a shot like that is awesome." I said truthfully, "Pure luck." Bobby said, "Not luck, Chuck is super accurate." The girl said, "Daddy learned all about guns and shooting in Viet Nam. I almost joined the Army but they wouldn't let me in the Special Forces. That sucks." I did like this chick. We eagle-eyed everything all the way to house and did the entrance as usual complete with the pat on the roof. Okay, inside were four men. We brought a man, plus me, Bobby, Jan, and the clerk. I showed where the extra MP5s and the extra magazines were. The four inside guys already had MP5s ready. I thought about it a minute and got three more, with a hand full of magazines and a couple boxes of rounds. One went to the duty guy that came with us, one went to the clerk, and I took one. Bobby admittedly wasn't that good with an MP5 and Jan had not been trained on one. I promised her and myself that would be remedied. We were ready. Bobby was scanning the monitors when the radio crackled. One of the duty cars said, "Three SUVs just pulled onto the street. They'll be coming your way in a second." I radioed back, "Give them sixty seconds into the street and follow them to block them from that end, both cars." I asked over our frequency if the Bureau boys were monitoring. They came back instantly. I said, "Take all three units and come in from the other side. I'd like one car to jump the curb and go to the back for some extra cover. It looks like they are just going to try to power their way in." I paused, "Okay guys, at the first round fired, come in and don't hesitate, fire to neutralize. Don't play around; there may be six guys to an SUV. We are going to come from the sides of the house; you guys come down the street. We should have them pinched in. Be ready to chase them down in the woods." I was watching the three SUVs slowly turn the corner. I told the guys, "Three of you to the left. The fence goes to the front of the house. I'll be with the three to the right. That fence goes all the way up, but is partially open." I looked at the clerk and told her, "At the first round, hit the button to open the garage door. Use the open sunroof in the Suburban for cover. The little glass shields are Kevlar. Use the MP5 until they get close, then just drop it and use your Glock. Put your magazines within hands reach." I could see her eyes narrow. She was really excited. If I were her, I'd be pissing in my pants. I had Jan go to the car with her, and Bobby was stationed inside as a last resort. She said she should be out with us, but I said, "You are the radio person. You've read and seen the tactical videos, we have to have you." She just nodded and said, "I'm ready. Okay, lets go, they're almost in front of the house. Hopefully they'll all get out at once." Three men went to the left and three of us went to the right while Jan and the clerk were in the Suburban. What we needed was a turret on the house roof. We watched the three Expeditions stop in front of the house in the middle of the street. The doors were opening and lots of people were getting out. I was thinking this was like watching the clowns getting out of the little car; except these clowns had AK47s, and shotguns with grenade launchers. I motioned toward the three grenade launchers and said, "Aim, and on my mark, they go first." I saw one of the guys bring up the shotgun and I yelled "mark." We three shot as one, and all three shotguns went down. The guys with the AKs began firing at us like crazy, but we were returning fire and the three on the other side of the house were also firing. I had heard the garage door open on our first round and now fire was coming from there. The men around the SUV were looking for a place to hide and one took off for the woods, but a round caught him before he was even close. Two guys were hunkered down on the opposite sides of the big Fords, but our two teams and the Bureau's two teams were in position and were firing. I did hear a Bureau guy yell, "Lay down your weapons, or we will continue to shoot." Only one guy did. He threw his AK and was standing, crouching with his arms straight up. The guys from the left side of the house were running up on the downed shooters checking them quickly for life, kicking guns away. The three shotguns with the grenade launchers were quickly picked up by the guys from the right side and placed by the house where Bobby was standing in the door with the radio to her ear and her Glock in her hand. When I looked at her questioningly, she said, "I've got all three cleanups coming and two wreckers. The county has been notified, but they are on their way anyway. They will just clog up the place as usual." I said, "Tell Hank to use three wreckers so there won't be any extra prints on the cars." I turned to all the guys and I said, "Okay, everyone get their rubber gloves. No touching any of those nasty things until you do." "Hey Jan, will you come out here and tell this idiot that if he doesn't shut up, I'm going to shoot him to see how loud he can yell." Jan went to the guy and told him to lie on the ground and put his arms straight over his head and shut up. He did, remaining very still and very quiet. One of the guys finally went up to him and cuffed him before shaking him down. The clerk came out smiling, carrying the MP5 and her Glock in her waist. She came up to me and said, "I know I'm not supposed to grin, but I got two of those assholes and I did the one by the shotgun a second time when he was reaching for it." I gave her a hug and said, "You did well, real well. I don't want you to say in your report that you hit anything. You only helped neutralize a group of what are there, about eighteen attackers. Go put your junk away, and kick my ass later, for not making you and Jan put on armor." She looked at me and said, "Oh shit, my dad will skin me." "Tell him to skin me; I was the geek that let you in on this." I pushed her into the house and took hold of Bobby and smiled at her. Protocol be damned, I kissed her. She grinned at me and said, "We're one hell of a team, aren't we?" Jan came up and hugged Bobby about the time the clerk came into the house. She snuggled up between Bobby and me and asked, "Can I get some of this lovin' too?" Jan looked at her and licked her lips. The clerk grinned. Hi Ho Silver, the county cars began sliding around the corner with their lights and sirens. They jumped out of their cars and came running up with their guns in their hands. Bobby was out by the bodies and said, "Touch one of those corpses and you will be doing traffic." The one guy's response was, "So what, I already do traffic." The cleanup trucks began coming and just drove up on the grass on the far side of the street, driving around the mess to the far side and parked in a neat row. The three teams began photographing the scene. Finally one of them said, "Please, Gentlemen, we are happy to have the help, but please lay all of the items from each individual on something so that we won't lose it, and we can identify the stiff. I see you are all wearing gloves. Very good, now please change gloves between each dead guy." A county cop was standing around, looking at the carnage, until he saw the guy the clerk had to shoot the second time. Her round exploded the head. Brains were lying out on all sides. The man bent over and began barfing. The clerk ran out and pushed him away saying, "Don't mix your pinky DNA with the stiff. I had to hit the motherfucker dead center to get that effect." I really do like that girl. I suddenly figured it out, I didn't know this chick's name. I waited until she was somewhere else, then asked Bobby, "What's your clerk's name?" Bobby smiled, "Like that babe, do you? Me too. Jan too. God, she's a find isn't she? What's her name? How the fuck should I know? I'm new to this job." I laughed and used my cell phone to call Sarah, "Sarah, Honey, please tell me the name of your new clerk that I'm going to keep as my personal toy?" "You nasty old fart. She can't be more that than twenty-two and you are, oh yeah, you ain't much older than she is, but what about Bobby?" "Jesus, Sarah, I only asked her name, I didn't ask about whether she took birth control or not." Bobby was about to bust a gut. "Her name is Marie Antoinette." "Oh, Sarah, come on, give me her name." "Her name is Marie Antoinette." "Really?" "Really." "That's a rip. Oh yeah, you might lose a clerk. That babe can shoot and has guts that keep on running." "Just keep her clean and pure, and I will keep her just for you." "You're so bad, Sarah." She was laughing as she hung up on me. The clerk was coming up to us and I said with a question in my voice, "Marie Antoinette?" "Yeah, that's me. Can you believe it? My old man just loves that old English shit and did me in. My mother is as nuts as he is. The guy can shoot the eye out of a gook at eight hundred yards, and turns around and names his daughter that shit. Call me anything you want." I was grinning when Bobby looked at me with a question. "We're getting some character in this place. All these old timers are coming in to give us some class, and now a Marie Antoinette." We laughed together. The Bureau was in charge of everything after we killed everybody. Nice talk, GI, but they were and that's the way the game is played. There had been eight men in each of the Expeditions and one had lived, too bad. He wouldn't tell anyone anything and kept claiming he was diplomatically immune. I think he went south. Way south, all the way to some jail in Cuba. Maybe he'll learn to read the Koran. Everyone finally left, leaving us with a safe house that was as safe as an ancient crippled school crossing guard. Bobby sent the duty guys home. Jan said, "I'll have to stay unless you want to take me in to my car." Marie Antoinette said, "Gee, I'll have to stay too, unless you want to call me a cab." There was something afloat here. Bobby suggested that since we had been so crazed today, we should do a work out, swim, and enjoy the hot tub, after which we would eat like little pigs. Bobby directed the two girls to the clothes emporium, while I put on my shorts and T-shirt. When Marie saw my leg she said, "Holy shit, you have a fake leg." I sort of looked at her and said, "Holy shit, you have a fake tit." "I do not," She pulled her top down showing some very nice titties. "See this, Buddy, it's a real one." We were all laughing at her antics; she blushed and said, "You got me. You asshole, you got me." Bobby said, "He hasn't yet, but if he does you'll be asking for seconds." Jan said, "No shit." Marie questioned, "What am I missing here?" We did the gym, where I actually did the fucking treadmill after the stationary bike, and finally did weights. When we went to the pool, I was determined to put them all in a box. I swam hard, fast, and long, but Bobby was staying with me and when I went to the side she said, "You son of a bitch, you almost got me again. How do you do that with only one and half legs?" I smiled and said, "My third leg helps if it doesn't get hard." Bobby swooshed water into my face. We did get into the hot tub and since we had already been naked in the pool, there wasn't any hesitation to get in the hot tub. We were lying back, when Bobby said to Jan. "I sucked him off last night, it's your turn tonight." Jan picked right up on it and said, "Fuck no, we have help, it's the new girl's turn. Get to it, Honey, he comes great, just don't drown." At first, you could see Marie give them a dirty look, then it dawned on her that she was being teased, "Well hell, I thought you girls were pussy eaters, not dick suckers." She had them, both Bobby and Jan were open mouthed, thinking, "Yeah, suck my pussy, bitch." With a lazy look at Marie, I said, "Not to worry, Honey, I'm so used to doing without; one more night won't make a difference." The two girls almost drowned me. When I could get the water from my ears, I heard them saying, "We fucked him to within an inch of his life two night's straight. He doesn't get any one night and he thinks he's being cheated." I was laughing hard enough to get damned near drowned again by three women this time. In the kitchen, still stark naked, but I was wearing my stalk. Bobby said, "We better eat up the good stuff, we'll be moving shortly. Too bad, too, this is the best house yet." We did have steak after a salad and with some good potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce. We had some ice cream for dessert, which turned into the usual tittie teasing with the cold ice cream. As everyone was sent to the showers, I asked Bobby, "Do you really like this place? The mess out front doesn't ruin it? She said, "Nope, I wasn't really a part of it and those guys are gone. This one only had the one bad thing happen, not one after another like the other place." "How about I buy this from the government? We can negotiate the cameras and stuff if you want. What do you think? I like the place, you like the place, and we're both probably out of being a Safe anymore. We can make some offices out of some rooms and we can still rent out rooms to duty guys if need be." Bobby came over and sat in my lap. Yep, the three hundred fifty pound Babe came over and sat in my hundred and eighty-five pound lap. "Would you really buy this for me?" "Yep." "Then I might want to give you a Marie Antoinette as a house warming gift." "Don't need one. I have all I can handle on my lap." "And not Jan, the little dyke you laid in Branson?" "You're not nice at all." "Truthful is all." "She's really not a dyke." "I know, but it sounds more dramatic." "Well, do you want to, Bobby?" "Want to what, fuck Marie, Jan, some other swinging dick you might have in the wings?" "Fuck, do you want me to buy this house?" "Sure, I really do. I like this place and it's the first place we had together from the beginning. Can I play with your little toys?" I spread my legs and said, "Yeah, that always feels good." "No, I mean the two little girl toys." "Do you want to play with them?" "Like you wouldn't believe." "Enjoy, Honey, but save me some of you." Bobby was off my lap in an instant, gone from sight. I shut the place down, turned on the security system, and turned off all the lights. I crawled into bed and pulled the sheet and spread up over me. Lights out. I felt Bobbie snuggle up to me and go to sleep. Then I felt a body with tits snuggle up to my back and go to sleep. When I felt a fourth body get in bed and in front of Bobby, I thought, "This is getting strange." Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 12 I woke at six. My usual time, sort of. I slid out of bed, noting Marie next to Bobby, and Jan had been against my back. I went out to the pool and was swimming laps when I noticed I had a swimming partner. We swam together until I pulled up and sat on the stairs. Marie sat next to me, panting. As we got our wind back, she said, "This is a great way to wake up. Did I see that you made coffee before coming out?" I said. "Yep." We were drinking coffee at the table when Bobby came out and sat on my lap, "Squish," for a hug and kiss. She got up, got some coffee before Jan came out sleepily and sat on my lap, squeezed my dick and said, "I'll be a working model in another day, get ready." She gave me a hug, poured herself some coffee, and sat at the table. Marie got up, went into the hallway, then turned around and came back out. She straddled me and sat in my lap, hugged me and laid a very nice lip lock on me saying, "Good morning. I ain't broke this week. Would you like to sample some good pussy?" Marie was so sincere in her teasing that we all broke up laughing. I said, "You better watch out, some mornings that thing won't go down and it takes a lot of woman to make it go down." "Try me." Bobby said, "He will, soon, I'm sure." Jan said with a pout, "Am I being replaced by another pussy that can shoot?" "Pardon?" I asked. Jan pouted some more, "Well, am I?" "I don't think so, but then I haven't had any of the other shooting pussy yet. You've tested and or tasted it, would I give up Bobby or you for it?" Bobby was laughing, but Jan said, "I wouldn't think so, but I'll share." Bobby said, "Well, that's damn generous of you, you little man stealin' twat." "I'm not stealing your man, Bobby, I'm just borrowin' him." "Well," Bobby said, "That's probably all Marie had in mind." Marie said, "Yes Ma'am, I want to borrow him, fuck him, and keep him. Shit, I'd take him home to momma." Bobby said, "I already did and he got a hardon over my mom." Jan said, "This shit is too deep for me. Now I'm missing something?" Marie was grinning, "Jan and Bobby are both so full of shit that if you pricked them, they'd crap for a week. They are perfect for you and me to give all the lovin' we can to them, but I'm afraid you're going to have to argue over who is girl number two and girl number three, then guard the door so we don't get number four." Now I was laughing. I asked, "Is there a duty team that we need to feed?" Bobby said, "Let me call and we'll see." She picked up the phone and called, "Safe duty respond." Nothing. "Safe duty respond." The radio crackled and a voice said, "You sent them all home after you killed all the bad guys. You are unprotected. If you need some rubbers you'll have to go to CVS or Walgreen's yourself." Bobby keyed the mike and said, "Smart Ass. This is your boss on the other end of this radio." "Morning, Boss. You got clothes on yet, or are you still sitting around in the kitchen naked?" Bobby laughed, "You just don't get no respect around here." I got up and began fixing us breakfast. Bobby got up and helped. We were a team and we were soon eating some good breakfast. This morning we had grits, bacon, eggs, and toast. Marie asked, "Do they eat like this every morning?" Jan said, "These two eat like there's not going to be another meal all the time." "God bless my wonderful America, I'm in love with both of them." "Zip your twat, newcomer, you get seconds." "Children, Children," Bobby smiled. "There's enough of me for both of you. I just don't know if there's enough of Chuck for the three of us?" I did a stage whisper, "Can I try?" We got dressed. The two girls, who had both worn strange clothes for the decoy duty yesterday, picked out something from the Wal-Mart room. After they folded up the clothes they had worn, Marie was sent back into the clothes closet to find some more clothes for our little Russian girl. She got her shorts, slacks, several tops, a couple of skirts, and some panties. She came out and asked me what size bra I thought the little girl wore. I had to say that I didn't have a clue. I said, "Probably a 32B at most. She's a little girl, only sixteen." We drove into town in a pretty good mood. When we got to the office, I told Sarah to initiate the new Safe house, but don't move us. You can have all the extra suite and duty room furniture, but I would rather you leave everything else. Ask Bobby if she wants to keep the living room and family room stuff. If she wants new, I'll buy new." Sarah asked quietly, "You want to buy the place, maybe set up housekeeping?" "Something like that." "Nice, I'll bet we can get that place for you for a song." "Well, make the song include the security, cameras, and all. They can have the library, guns, ammo and stuff; I just want the house, ah, for Bobby." "If she doesn't marry you, I will, or Jan will, or that moony eyed clerk, Marie, will. Christ, you are bad. Did you do all of them last night?" "No, Sarah, I didn't do any of them, too many witnesses. Besides, it's sometimes tough to want to make love after shooting a bunch of assholes. We did have a good time joking around. It took the tension away just fine." "I'll work on getting the new house up. I guess it will have to be duty people manning it." "Don't ask me, my office is next door." "Then go there and let me be," Sarah said. "Your possible admin is going to be here any minute. Want to interview her here or in your empty office?" "Find me some string, so when you want me, you can just pull." Marie and Bobby were listening and both were breaking up. Bobby said, "And this is the mess the man left me." Marie said, "Come on, Boss Lady, let's put the place together and get crackin'. You have to give a briefing in fifteen minutes. Let me print out the duty roster we did yesterday. That'll make everything easier." Bobby said very softly to me, "God, I love that little girl." Marie came up and handed Bobby the schedules and reminded her, "Make sure you ask who might want to assume Safe one and make sure you ask for referrals for female deputies. You guys are way behind in equal opportunity shit." The folks all came in, with someone remembering to buy donuts. I think they used the top secret marshal's radios to see who bought donuts. When everyone was relaxed and sitting, I introduced Bobby as the new Station Chief. I asked Sarah to stand up and when she did I said, "This is your Assistant Station Chief. The station clerk, who can shoot better than ninety percent of the service, is Marie Antoinette. When you need clerk help, it's Marie, when you need chief help, it's Bobby, when you need to know what time it is, ask Sarah. She'll still tie your shoelaces, but probably together. Now listen to your new Station Chief, see ya, I love you all." I walked out of the office. I thought that was the best I could do. I looked into my new offices and was surprised that the place looked lived in. The office where the two clerks would sit was open air and had two windows. The desks looked like they had never been used. The new PCs looked ready to go. There were some pictures on the wall, but it could use some plants and some women's touches hanging off the file cabinets. The Office Manager's office was really big. Very nice with a full wall of bookcases filled with federal law books that were current right up to last year. Her desk was a big six footer that said authority. She had leather covered side chairs and a little round table with some chairs around it for conferences. The office also had two windows in it. Shit, this office was nice. There was a big door leading to wherever, the same as the door in the clerk's room. I opened that door and just stood there with an open mouth. The only thing that could come to mind was, "This place is fucking awesome." This was a corner office with four windows. There was a corner credenza/bookshelf that was behind a massive dark oak desk with a giant leather chair. I walked around the desk, noting the glass top protecting the wood. I sat in the chair and it felt very comfortable. I looked around and didn't see a PC, so I spun around and found it behind some folding doors on the credenza. I think I would rather have it on my desk. We'll see. Beyond my desk was a larger than the secretary's round table, with chairs around it. I had four leather side chairs, not just two. I was important. Hot shit. On the two walls on the right was a bookshelf with a cabinet in it. I walked over to it and opened it. There was a really nice big TV. Using the remote, I turned it on. It worked. There was a VCR and a DVD player hooked up to it. I'll have to learn to work it. The shelves needed books and knick-knacks like a ship in a bottle, and stuff like that. The wall to the left was again full of shelves, with a larger center cabinet. I opened the cabinet and just about shit. There was a sink, but what was awesome was the array of booze bottles that all looked full. Holy smokes. Under the sink to the left, I opened a door and there was a fridge, with lots of beer in it. There was a lot of soda too. I shut the doors and noticed a card next to the glasses stacked very neatly in a row. I opened the card and it said, "So have a drink already. It's on me, or at least the government. Enjoy your new digs, John." I slid the card back into the envelope and just gawked at the place. There were two statues on each side wall, between the windows. One was George Washington, and the other was Abe Lincoln. Appropriate. I went back to the desk and pulled out the middle drawer. In it were a set of keys. It would take forever to figure these out. Behind the keys there was a manual. I pulled it out and laid it open on the desk. In John's handwriting there was a note on the first page. "There is no manual for your job. You are responsible for everything and if anything, anywhere, goes wrong, it's your fault. Here are some case studies where things went wrong and the mistakes I made in handling them. There are other case studies where my decision was a good one. Read them all, but don't take any for gospel as any situation can change in a heartbeat. The job is all thinking and living on your feet. Remember, you have an airplane at your beck and call. You can have a car and driver at your command. If two clerks and an Office Manager are not enough, then have another drink. If you ask me for a bigger budget, I'll have to give you one. So forget it. Work hard, live frugally, pay your help well, you will be loved by all. John" I'd bet he wished he had it so good. This place is awesome. I had to show it off. I walked down the hall and entered the office. Marie, in her clerk's chair looked up and said, "May I help you, Sir?" I smiled and said, "I wish to see both Bobby and Sarah." "Do you have an appointment, Sir?" "No Ma'am, I'm sorry I don't." "If you would call in advance, I'm sure I can get you in to see them." "Okay," (I leaned over the desk pointing at nothing. Her eyes followed my pointing finger.) I punched in the intercom code for Bobby's new office on the phone and said, "If you have the opportunity to speak with Bobby, tell her I'm having a problem decorating my office and could use some female assistance. If you want, you could tell Sarah the same thing." I walked out of the office and back to my new digs, opening all of the doors. That actually helped. I was sitting in one of the secretarial chairs when Bobby and Sarah walked in. They were impressed. I took them into the Office Manager's office and they went nuts. When I took them into the judge's chambers their eyes bugged out. I showed them the cabinet with the TV, closed it and walked over to other cabinet and opened it, showing them the assortment of liquor. I opened the fridge and asked if they wanted a Coke. They smiled. Bobby opened the cabinet again and took out the envelope. She read the note, then showed it to Sarah. Bobby walked over to the big desk to sit in the massive chair. She opened the leather bound folder and read John's note. She almost had tears in her eyes. Sarah came around the desk and Bobby got up to let Sarah sit. She read the note and slowly closed the book. She looked at me and said, "You are one important motherfucker. Christ, you just started yesterday, it seems. You steal my Safe one twice, only this time she's really gone. You did bring me my man, so most everything else is forgiven." Bobby said, "Yes Sir, you do need some decorating. This place is awesome, do want to soften it up or make it tougher." "I want it to reflect me. I think it should have a ship in a bottle, a model airplane, perhaps my military medals and stuff. I have a few things that are personal, that I can put on my desk. I need a picture of my Love in a leather frame." "Which one?" Bobby asked. "You, of course." Bobby asked, "Can I put pictures on the bookshelves? Sarah, Jan, Marie?" "Sure, but you are on my desk." Bobby came around and gave me a kiss. She said, "Your windows need curtains and blinds. I think you should have a matching leather couch on one of the side walls. You don't need statues in here. You can put George or Abe out in the secretarial office. You might want to wait until your Office Manager comes so you can match the curtains. This place is gorgeous, Chuck. Can you imagine what this cost?" I said, "The purchase date on a few of the pieces is 1968. I think they have gotten their money out of it. It's been modified for the TV, but the bar has been there all along. If 1968 is before this building was built, they moved the furniture here. Someone recovered all of the leather chairs. That was expensive, but the furniture is all priceless. I'm not going to change anything. I'm almost ashamed. John's office in D.C. isn't anywhere near as nice as this one." Sarah said, "I'll bet his stuff cost more than this stuff did. It's forty years older, but priceless." "Okay then, so I have to wait until I get my office manager and let her begin, then you two will help me?" "That covers it, Chief," Sarah said. "I have to get back to my office. I have to interview some old biddy from Buffalo for your office manager's position." Bobby said, "I'm going to help. I want you to have the proper support. We put an ad in the paper for your clerks, but the office manager has to hire them. Oh, come over and get your mail. Marie said you got a shit pot full. You're supposed to call Brian so you can get your PC set up." I looked at the desk and said, "I don't have a phone." Sarah pointed at the credenza behind me. There was a phone there. I followed them back to the office and said, "Madame Marie Antoinette. It would pleasure me to relieve you of the mail that has come for me and if you would, please prepare a telephone directory of the personnel of all of the services within this building and at the airport." "Why all of them?" I groaned and said, "My new job just made me all of their bosses. I have to walk softly for while, but they will all come to me to resolve a problem." Marie said, "All of them? Even the Secret Service?" "All of them in this region, and all of the Marshals offices in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the possessions." "Possessions, Sir?" "The U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, you know, places like that." "Oh shit." "You're right, Oh shit." "Sorry, Sir." "Quite alright. I do need Brian's phone number first, though." She wrote a number on a piece of paper and gave it to me, but asked, "Can I get him to do something for you?" "I'll call, it's my responsibility." She said under her breath, "So's everything else." As I was leaving, there was a lady in her late twenties, early thirties, coming in. Ray Charles could see this lady was knock your socks off hot. She had a conservative dress on that you wanted to rip off. Man, she was hot. In my office, I called Brian and asked him to help me set up my PC. He said, "Open the cabinet and turn it on. It will boot pretty fast as it's a rocket ship PC." I told him it has the prompt, Enter Password. He said, "What do you want it to be, Sir?" I entered my usual "password." The PC came up, looking as if it's ready. Brian said, "You have access to every server in the building. It's going to take you a while to understand how to access them, but I'll show you as soon as you get your office manager. If you're a little PC savvy, you'll figure it out. Now click on the internet." "It came up with the U.S. Marshal's home page." Brian chuckled, "Imagine that." "Smart ass," was my retort. "Sorry, Sir." "Don't worry about it Brian. I'm still Chuck." "If you click on the e-mail, your e-mail address is the same. You should probably decide whether you are going to use your laptop or your desktop for e-mail. You can use your Office Manager to filter them for you if you want." "Didn't think of that, Brian. I guess I'll use my laptop." After pausing a minute, I asked, "I'm not sure this is possible, but the cabinet behind my desk is nice but not convenient. I don't like my back to the world. I would want to have my monitor, keyboard, and mouse on my desk. You can keep a monitor back there, but I want at least a 19 inch LCD but would prefer two 19 inch LCDs to make it easier to multi-task. This desk is huge and will easily handle them. How tough will my request be and do I need to get some authorizations." "You don't understand yet do you, Sir. You are the authorization." "Okay then, make it happen. If I'm going to work, I want to work. I don't understand why everyone doesn't have three monitors on their desk anyway." "I'm with you, Sir, but let me suggest. They make this neat monitor that is very wide. You can have three full size screens displayed on your one monitor. You should try it to see if you like it as it would look better than three monitors on your desk. I gave you eight gigs of ram. If you need more I can go up to sixteen. Let me know if the screen updates are not fast enough." "That's great, Brian, go with the wide one. Now I'll have a slow poke laptop and my rocket desktop." "No you won't, Sir. I'm looking at your new laptop. You have to turn in your old one, but I'll transfer your files for you. I think this one's actually faster than your desktop." "Oh Brian, are you my new best friend?" "Only for geeky stuff, Sir. Keep getting me toys like those last Ruskie toys and I'll keep getting you neat toys for your office." "Thanks, Brian." "You're welcome." I began opening mail and instantly needed my laptop that was in Bobby's office. I went next door and asked Marie, "Could you get my laptop from Bobby's office. It's the brown one. Remember the charger too, as the battery isn't very good." "Um, Sir. Brian came and took it earlier." "Oh well, guess I have to wait." I left and when I came back to the office, Brian was on the floor messing with some wires in a floor conduit. He fished some wires through a channel in the desk and poked two out of the top. One was for the new monitor and one was for a wireless keyboard and mouse. He plugged stuff together, turned on the PC, and I watched it rocket up fast. Booting was a pleasure with this thing. Brian put in my password and it came up quick. He said, "I put in another eight gig of ram to give you sixteen total. I also gave you the four gig video card. Let me configure this keyboard and mouse." He banged a bunch of keystrokes that had the keyboard and mouse working. He put up three separate internet screens. One the Marshal's Service screen, a Yahoo screen, and the Bureau screen. When that was all done to his satisfaction, he gave me my new laptop. "I gave you the "Go to my PC" software so you can use your office PC anywhere you can get an internet connection. This thing will automatically hunt for an 802.11 connection like you would get in the airport or a hotel. If you need cell Wi-Fi then it will pick that up too. We use AT&T, so it's pretty much everywhere. All your old files are in here in the same configuration that you used to have them. This has the new Office 2007, so if you want to send a word file to an older machine, use the legacy.doc file format. The offices in this building will all be converted by next Monday. The region should be done by the end of the month. Our budget isn't that big, but the government bought enough seats for the new Office Pro for every PC in every office in the country. You know, cheaper by the million." "Okay, your laptop has a new battery that should last you at least four hours. You have a second battery in your case, so keep it charged too so you will have eight hours available if you need it. That ought to do ya. If you think of something else, let me know. How's your cell phone, need some toys on it?" "I think I'll live with what I have until I see one I like better." My phone rang. I picked it up and said, "Chuck, ah Charles Johnson." Bobby's voice said, "Who is Charles Johnson? I'm teasing. Please come over to talk to this applicant. You should meet her." I walked over to the office and told Marie, "Bobby is expecting me." She grinned and waved me back. I walked into Bobby's office and found the lady who had walked in when I walked out. It was a good thing I had seen her already, or I would have made a fool of myself. She stood, and I said, "My name is Chuck Johnson." "My name is Wanda Johnson." "How unique. Is that a maiden name or married name?" "Maiden name, I was previously married, but went back to my maiden name." I said, "Please sit." I turned to Bobby and Sarah and asked, "Tell me all." Bobby nodded toward Wanda and Wanda began. "I've worked in the Buffalo, New York office since I was nineteen. I have been the Senior Regional Clerk for five years. When the Regional Manager has required it, I have traveled with him, and also will as this job requires, if it requires it. I know all of the Marshal Service paperwork requirements and understand most of what your job will entail. Since your position is relocated from D.C., you will be given some latitude to create your own structure. I understand that you have a reputation of being a bit of a Rambo or Wild Bill, and want to say that I'm not opposed to permanent terminations, but I am opposed to unnecessary actions. Since your incident reports are in the service files, I've read all of your incident reports and have to say they are very difficult to believe, but your two ladies here assure me they are correct. It appears all of your terminations were forced and required." "My other concern is how you treat women, any woman. Again, these two ladies assure me you are a gentleman when you should be. I assume they also know that you are not a gentleman when you shouldn't be. My appearance often appears to encourage unwelcome approaches. I do not like that, especially in the work environment. I'm at work to do a job and will work hard to be the best office manager there is." I asked casually, "Can you decorate an office?" She was flustered but said, "I have an eye for décor." "Do you drink coffee?" Again she was flustered but said "Yes Sir, possibly too much." "Do you work out?" "Yes Sir, but what does that have to do with my job?" "You may have to work out with me and my roommate in order to maintain good health and to establish an appropriate relationship." "I see. I assume your roommate is possibly your unofficial mate." "Good assumption." After a chuckle, I continued, "Okay, the other stuff, I assume you are proficient with a PC." "Yes Sir." "I assume you are proficient with a Glock." She frowned, but said, "Yes Sir, I'm adequate." "You will need to be more than adequate, because this office has had some incidents even the office manager has been involved in. Sarah was shot when she was an office manager. Our current office manager was involved in a defense yesterday, and was required to be a part of a shooting." "Was that the twenty three that were killed on the Russian mob thing?" "It was, but what is important, is your willingness to learn to be proficient with weapons for your personal defense." "I can understand and accept that." "Okay, if you want the job when can you start?" "Monday." "You can move down here from Buffalo in three days?" "I gave two weeks notice three weeks ago. All I have to do is to find an apartment and move." Bobby said, "I was Safe One before being promoted. My place is huge and has suites, so you can stay there for a while until you find a better place. I'm going to remain in the house as it was compromised yesterday and the place will be abandoned as a Safe house." "Will your spouse, boyfriend, live in, fiancée, or whatever be a problem?" "I don't think so. Besides me, he has two other women who will lovingly entertain him if I let them." "And do you let them?" "Sometimes." You could see Wanda waiver. Bobby quickly said, "You will not be a part of it, Wanda." "Why do you say that?" "Simple; because you don't want to be." "Now I'm curious, how about furniture?" "The only thing they are taking is the living room and duty room furniture. Everything else is staying. As a mater of fact, a deal was even made for the security system." "Wow, that's nice. A safe house is usually pristine." "This one is more than pristine, you'll love it." "Okay, I accept your offer, but we will establish rent. I will assist with the food, cooking, and cleaning." Bobby said, "We'll work it out. Have you already secured a room for tonight?" "No, I just flew in last night and checked out of my room before coming here today. I've sold my car, so I will have to purchase one here. I'm sure it will be easy to do." I told her, "My office has multiple vehicles assigned to it. One of the fringes of the Office Manager's job is a vehicle. Because we travel back and forth daily, you may not need a vehicle. You be the judge. I think that house will need a two car garage addition, at least. It's a good thing there is enough room." Marie came to the door and said, "John is on the phone for you." "Tell him I will call him back from my office." "Go home with Bobby and whoever else is going. Get settled and then you guys need to go out and buy some living room furniture. We'll need some office furniture for the duty rooms too. Let me go see what John wants." Back in my office, I called John, "What can I do for you, Sir." "Did you see your office yet?" "Yes Sir, I'm in it right now and I wish to thank you for recovering all the leather chairs. The place is gorgeous." "I can't take credit for doing that. Another judge was going to move in there, but they built him a new office in the new federal court house." "Thank you for the note in the bar and the note in your manual." "Good, you're digging right in. Did you hire Wanda?" "How did you know she applied?" "I told her to. Her old boss in Buffalo is a chaser and got in her pants and dumped her. It was her or him. She was good enough to give notice, but he may go anyway when his new boss meets him." "I see. I suppose that's some place I need to visit soon." "You might, check all his reporting for a while. See if you see anything funny. Anyway, did you hire Wanda?" "Yes Sir, I did. I think she will work out fine. She has some attitudes that will have to change, but we'll do it gently." John surprised me, "She's really hot, isn't she?" I looked around to make sure no one could here me, "Yes Sir, she is, but that is not a deciding point." "I know, but just the same, she was one that Kenisha tried to convince." "You're kidding?" "Nope, she almost made the jump, but I convinced her to pay attention to her career. She's thanked me for helping her make that decision. If Bobby sucks her in the same as she did Jan, be careful, since your Office Manager is your right arm." "I think I have more than enough women. Actually, Bobby is more than enough women all in one woman." He laughed, "You can say that again, I can't tell you how I used to lust after her. Anyway, I'm glad you're getting settled. Let Wanda run the office. Let her filter everything for you. She'll take care of the crap without causing you grief." "I think this will work out, but the enormity of the job is a little scary." "You'll get over it, then you'll just handle it as it comes along. All will work out." After a pause, John said, "When you go home tonight, go tell Hank to give you your new ride. You'll like it. It fits you. Oh, and don't forget, you not only have a private parking place, you have a private elevator." "I do? I'll have to hunt for it." "The key is in the desk with the other keys. There is a duplicate set in your Office Manager's desk. You can bypass security if you want. It's up to you." John finished by saying, "Go home, Kid. Get a good night's sleep and get a run at it tomorrow." I looked at my watch and realized it was already five fifteen. Not terribly late, but time. I shut all the doors and had to get the keys to lock the office door. I finally found the right key and decided I needed to weed out the keys I won't need often. I looked for that elevator, but couldn't see it. It didn't matter as I had to go get this special ride that Hank would have for me. I walked over to the garage and saw Hank getting ready to go home. I asked him about the vehicle that I had been willed by John, figuring it to be some junker. Hank said, "We own some Ford Expeditions and Bobby already says she wants one since she's going to lose the war wagon. I will fix her up though, so it's as secure as she had. Somehow I know you'll get her in a bind along the way. Let me see, where are the keys to your ride? We just washed it today because John said you would need it." Hank led me down a row of company vehicles and came to a white, four door pickup truck. He handed me the keys, smiled and said, "John said you really liked this truck. I don't know why, because it's pretty plain Jane, but he said you would steal it if you saw it." I was laughing so hard I was almost crying. Hey, it's free and I still have the Mustang. I asked, "How's the Mustang." "Faster than it has a right to be, but it does need some tweaking. You sure you want to trade that Windsor for the original 302?" "Sure, Hank, I don't need to do a hundred fifty. The 302 will probably go that fast, it just won't get there as quick." "I could buy the whole thing from you if you wanted?" "Naw, I like the car and want to keep it. Let's get out of here." I climbed into the Ford and thought of how John had the guys drive it down here just for me. I'll get him back, or did I already do that. Hey, with a new house, I might need a pickup. When I drove it home, I parked it on the side of the garage as I didn't know what cars were still in the garage. I walked into the living room and saw all new furniture. Wonder how she did that. The family room kitchen area had all new furniture, with a nice table and bar stools at the counter. The video wall was open so they didn't take that. I could hear voices, so I walked down the hallway to the guest rooms. In the nice room on the far end, Wanda, Bobby, Jan, and Marie were discussing decorations. Wanda saw me and said, "I figured you were the one." She shook her head and said, "We'll have a good time. If you're close friends with John, you'll be fun to be around." I didn't understand that, but I wanted Bobby to see the truck. She would have a laugh. "Bobby, come outside and see the special vehicle John sent down for me. You're not going to believe it." As we were going out, she said, "They took the Suburban, so I'm having one of the Expeditions we confiscated fixed up for a driver. I'm driving one tonight. It's pretty nice. Jan brought her car and it's in the garage, so it's full. We will need a bigger garage." We walked around the side of the garage and Bobby's mouth fell open. She looked at it and finally said, "You shouldn't have ever told him where it was. This is really funny, though. I saw a requisition from maintenance for a pickup. We'll fill the requisition and fool John. You can get whatever you want." "That's cool, glad you have your eyes open. Do the deal tomorrow before it gets to the dealership." She said, "Take down the serial and tag numbers and I'll transfer it tonight. They will come pick it up at the garage in the morning." "Done deal, my Love." I said, "Now, you and I need to go take a ride and have a chat. How about taking a bike ride out to Park Place for a pizza?" She smiled, "I know what you want to talk about, but let's take the girls out to Park Place and get a pizza, then you and I can go down to Jonah's for a beer. We can talk out back." We did go to Park Place for pizza and beer. Jan and Marie were both hot to go out to the park behind the fence. Wanda said she was worried about how men would react to her. We were at the bar where a freckled redheaded bartender, who was sexy as all get out, heard us. She said, "A guy may get it up real quick if you're really special, but they go down just as quick. This place is great; a lot of people live out here permanently. They have built some gorgeous homes. If you want, they have a big bed and breakfast and they have some two bedroom cabins they rent by the night, week, or month. Come for a day, a week, or for life. I'd love to see you out here." She gave us all a wink. Wanda said, "Sure, why not, I'm changing everything in my life. Why not?" We went home and I got the bike out and Bobby and I rode down to Jonah's. He wasn't there and that was even better. We took our beer out to the back deck and sat at a picnic table. Bobby said, "Now talk to me." "Bobby, I love you. I've told you before that I love you. I'm beatin' around the bush about saying "Will you marry me." I'm afraid you'll turn me down. You, Babe, are more woman that I'll ever want or need. I'm serious, our little dalliances are fun and all, but I don't think they're good for you and me." Bobby took my hand across the table and said, "Honey, I love you too. If you want to get married, we'll do it tomorrow. If you want to never invite a toy to bed with us again, it won't happen. I would prefer to wait a while so we both know what we're talking about is the right thing for both of us. But now let me tell you a couple of things." Bobby took a deep breath which filled out her top real well. "I like to fool around. I like to fool around with girls. Look at me, I'm huge and don't feel attractive often. When one of these little girls comes on to me, I wilt. I also get sloshy and want to fool around with them. When you and I were fooling around doing Jan together, I came the hardest I've ever come. You make love to me so good it's wonderful, but I get a real rush out us fooling around with someone together. Coming back from Branson, that girl, Sue, kind of hinted around that Steve and her fool around with other couples. She said that Steve and her have more wives. Now that's wild. She also said between them they have over a dozen kids. That's really wild. When she was talking about that stuff, I was almost coming and Sue could tell. I'm just like that, Chuck. I like to fool around and I like it even more when you and I are doing it together." "I want us to go double fuck my sister and her husband. I want to swap with them. I want you to fuck my two little sisters so they know how good I have it, and I want to watch. I want to go home and get that sexy little Marie between the sheets and fuck her senseless. I want to teach Wanda what love can really be, what trust can really be. And I want to go play with Sue's great big tits and watch you fuck her till she screams. I might have to fuck Steve till he screams, but that would be fun too. Then we'll go home and make love, Chuck. We'll make love to let each other know it's really just you and me." "Damn, Honey, now I've got a hardon that won't quit." Bobby patted the table and "Sit up here and I'll give you an outdoor express. That's a quick blowjob that'll curl your toes in three minutes flat." I began laughing, "You are more adventurous than I am" "Shit, you can steal a government vehicle, do all that conniving, come home with a straight face, and you say you aren't adventuresome? Shit, Baby, you have me beat by a mile. I'm just adventurous different than you. I want to be like Kenisha and bring you toys to fuck. I'll get them too, but that's what I want to do. Shoot, I'd do Kenisha in a second. I'll bet you would too. See, I'm just a big horny lady that loves to play. It's your fault; you let it out of me." "We either need another beer or we should go home." Bobby got up and picked me up; I mean she physically picked me up, hugging me and kissing me. "I love you, Baby. I'll never let anything get between us. Have fun with me, Lover, I promise I'll make it good for you." We tossed our bottles and went through the bar saying bye. The bike felt good, but I was still at odds with myself. When I see something I think is hot, I feel guilty, then Bobby comes right out and wants to get her for me. Can she read my mind or does she get turned on by women like I do. She said she'd fuck Jonah and she'd have fun with Steve. Both are good looking guys, but she was like I'll fuck them so you can do their ladies. Is this wild or what? We rolled in and were met by the three female roommates in short nighties. They had already been in the hot tub and were getting ready for bed. All three said they wanted a ride on the bike. I had to promise that I would take each one out some evening. There it is again, I'm taking strange women around. What the fuck? Bobby said, "Swim tonight, or work out and swim in the morning?" "Let's swim some, wear ourselves out." Bobby just went straight out to the pool shedding clothes. I thought, what the heck, and took off my shirt. When I sat down to take off my pants and my leg showed, Wanda looked at me and said, "You are one hell of a man. No wonder these two are hot for your body." "This doesn't turn you off?" "You lost it in the war right? You're a man to get up and keep right on going. Look at you with what you were written up for. Look at all those incident reports. You did all that with one leg. You're one hell of a man. Let me help you." Wanda came over and helped me hop the few steps to the pool. I dove in and Bobby and I began swimming hard. We continued for almost a half hour then hung on to the side of the pool to catch our breath. Bobby got close to me and was playing with my dick. She said, "Look at that bitch, she's so hot for you, she's smoking. How's that for a hundred eighty degree turn around in a few hours? I better get you inside before she attacks you out here." Bobby was laughing at me as I got out of the pool with a hardon. Bobby helped me to the bench where I put the leg on, then walked into the house carrying my clothes. Wanda was following closely. I walked to our room, into the bathroom to take a quick shower, and then into bed. Bobby came into the shower and was hotter than a firecracker. It was just seconds until I was balancing on one leg while she was leaning against the wall. She went off again and again saying, it makes me so hot, it drives me crazy. She finally cried uncle, but I didn't get off yet. I was rock hard, but just not over the hump. Bobby wanted to get down and do me with her mouth, but I said, "Let's go to bed, maybe we can figure out something later." Once we were dry and under the covers, we did play and made love beautifully until I had her swimming in my juices. She hugged me tenderly, saying, "I love you so much. Now you should go fuck the other three in the house, but Jan is still out of commission." She made me laugh out loud. As I tickled my three hundred and fifty pound lover, I said, "What should I do, walk from room to room and ask if they want me to put them sleep with a good pounding?" "No Dummy, you would make love to them, you can make them happy, and I would be in here rubbing myself raw. Now I'm horny again just thinking about you hitting 'em all. I know you love me, that's not even in question, I'm just turned on by thinking of you making love to another lady that I think is worthy of you. I went nuts watching you make love to Jan. That was so beautiful and I have a video of us together now. I've watched it a couple of times and it makes me crazy. I'm just an average everyday six foot seven, three hundred and fifty pound love/slut, Baby. Do me again, Honey, or let me suck you until I turn your balls inside out." Then it dawned on me. This must be just before Bobby's period. She always goes nuts just before. I did make love to her again and we did have an excellent mutual orgasm. That did it for both of us though, we fell asleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 13 I woke to the telephone ringing. I picked it up and got a dial tone, but the phone was still ringing. Oh shit, that's the guest line. I pushed the button to get the second line and answered "Hello" instead of Safe Two. A voice came back with, "This is Chuck, right?" "Yes, Who, What, and Why?" "This is Deputy Marshal from Orlando and no jokes please, I've heard them all, just call me Marshal Marshal. I called this number because I need your safe house and the line isn't ringing there. I'm on I-4 about forty-five minutes out and will need to get a couple of guests into your place. I heard you guys moved and that you were the cheese now. Is Bobby really the new station chief?" "Yeah, she is. I'm concerned though as the line is supposed to be going to both places and the guys should have answered. Do you know where the Bureau's warehouse inspection station is?" "You mean the place where they have the bunks for guys when there's something big? Where the tech lab is?" "Yeah, that one. Take your guests there for inspection and induction. If they are clean, they'll go out to the safe house. If they are funny, they stay in the hotel. How long before pickup for relocation?" "This one is tough; they are witnesses and are being hunted. I have two chase cars with me, one in front and one in back. They even had me use our padded wagon. (protected vehicle)." "Okay, either Bobby or I will meet you at the warehouse. Get them started through a checkup right away, as it can take a while if they're dirty." "Got it, see you soon and congratulations on your new job." When I hung up, Bobby was already in the shower. I called the duty number and told them that Safe didn't answer, that I wanted two teams out there instantly, and to use the tactical radio to let me know. I called the warehouse to let them know of some hot incoming and they said they were ready. I called the duty guy at the hotel to tell him to keep the floor clean as we might have more guests up there. He said "no sweat," as the hotel already promised us the floor for at least the rest of the week. Bobby was getting out of the shower. I filled her in and asked her if we should rouse the others. She said, "Jan isn't mine, but you can use her. I'll get Marie up, though. If something's hot, I want her cool with me." "Listen, we don't have a protected vehicle, so we need to be camouflaged. How about us taking the pickup to check out the new safe house, then we'll head to the warehouse?" Bobby smiled, "Sounds good, but I'm in charge here so you can go back to sleep." "Not a chance, this is still one of my offices and if there's a problem, the buck stops with me." I headed for the shower as Bobby said, "How did I know you would say that." By the time I was out of the shower and getting dressed, Jan and Marie were both up and almost ready. Wanda came out of her room and asked, "What's going on and why didn't you wake me up?" I gave her a brief rundown and told her to go ahead and get a head start on the day by getting ready to go in. We gave her keys to the Expedition to go in later, and I gave her my keys to the new office. I told her to stay by the phone in case someone else called as there was something wrong with the safe house phone. She knew immediately there might be more to it, but said she would get ready. I took a deep breath before I made sure everyone checked their weapons. We didn't have any rifles, but we would remedy that later today. Bobby drove the truck to the new safe house since she knew where it was, busting my chops about the pickup truck the whole way, but easing the pain by reminding me she had gotten rid of it for me. As we drove up the street near the house, we came to our outside duty guys, and I had to show my face before the window came down. I told them about the phone and they said their last contact with the house was about an hour ago on the radio. That made me feel better, so I used the radio on the way to the house. They answered right away and I told them that I was visiting in a white Ford crew cab pickup. They asked me if the station chief had authorized my visit and I handed the radio to Bobby. "Good man, I'll remember that. Um, this is tomorrow, so if you would let the pumpkin in, I would appreciate it." She was giving the password for the day. "The mice will open the door." We didn't think they would open the garage but they did. This was a three car garage with the Suburban in the single car slot. Bobby patted the roof, and the back door to the entrance from the garage opened, showing friendly faces holstering their sidearms. As she walked in the house, Bobby asked, "Is the phone working?" "Yeah, we used it last night to call home. I'm married and my wife is thinking about perhaps us taking over the Safe One and Two." I checked the phone, both lines worked. I punched line two and dialed my cell phone number, the caller ID showed some other number than the safe house number. I checked line one and it was the normal number for what used to be our first line at the old house. It took me a second to remember what to do, but I remembered and called the operator who took a year to answer. I gave her the national security code. She was apologetic that it took her so long to answer. I asked for the security repair facility and was transferred instantly. "Secure repair." I identified our branch with its number and advised them of the problem. He asked me to hang on. I could hear him typing on a keyboard and came back said, "The dumb fucks from second shift didn't key in the change. I've got you switched on a direct number swap. Do you want that number changed?" "No, leave it, since I already have it recorded on my cell. I'll have it available as we're personally retaining that residence." "Listen, the program change won't be permanent until three AM tomorrow morning. You need to check that number every hour to make sure that it's still programmed right. These numb nuts can screw up a wet dream, so they could make everything revert. I would suggest you call forward the line you consider secure to your new line. That way the call will ring in both places. I'll set it up so it will ring in both places when forwarded. You know what, I'm not waiting. I've got your number, I'll call you right back. I picked up line one and was going to dial but the dial tone vanished. It came back and I was going to dial again when the second line rang. I picked it up and said, "Safe." "Gotcha. I know Verizon is going to have a cow, but I made the change permanent and put a security password on it. When you guys need to change this number again, use your office number for the password if the repair guy that's on isn't savvy. Sorry about the mix up." "No loss this time, just some sleep. Thanks." I hung up and we all relaxed. The duty guys said, "I put on a pot of coffee and started breakfast. You'll just have an early day." I told him that we have guests arriving at the warehouse to be checked out, but not to leave for transport until they were declared clean. He said, "Are we going to run everyone through there now?" Bobby answered, "it's part of the stations new SOP. Better catch up on your reading. I'll remind everybody during the next several briefings. You should have an updated book here." One of the duty guys pulled the manual from the shelf in the kitchen and began flipping through it. "Geez, there are a lot of changes. I guess I will have plenty to read today." Bobby said, "Go through the SOP completely every month. It doesn't hurt to do it weekly. If you are the Safe One, you will be putting the info in and can read it then. When you receive a change, put it in immediately as it could save a life." "Got it, Chief. That's why you're chief and I'm still a straight deputy. I'm working on it." I called Wanda on the number that had come up on my caller ID. She answered "May I help you," not knowing what was up with the line. I told her to write the number down so she would have it. I told her this part of the emergency was complete. She should drive in when she wanted to, but go through security at the front entrance. She was registered, but would still have to check in until something changed. We ate breakfast and headed into the office very early. Marie said, "I think I would make a better deputy than those two. I know how to follow directions." Bobby was perfect. "You are a deputy and you are in one of the most important positions in the station. Every deputy in the station depends on your coordination and your knowledge of every rule, every regulation, and every change. Your job is to keep D.C. off our back." Marie asked, "Is it that important to be a clerk?" I answered, "Sarah was the clerk that kept this branch together while we had an infiltrator leading us astray. She knew the rules and wouldn't let the men or even the impostor stray. Even though it was her knowledge that helped the guy fake his position, it was her knowledge that saved the station and probably several lives." "Pretty important then," Marie said. "Can I still get some action every once in a while?" Bobby said, "There's always a chance for a clerk to do some field work. I'll make sure you're included on anything big." I suggested, "Get to know Wanda. She's experienced and knowledgeable. Sarah will bring you up right as well. If you learn from the two of them, you could end up like Sarah as an ACE. That's our nickname for the Assistant Station Chief." Jan said, "You're in a station that's making history, Marie. Your station is probably the first one in the history of the service to have women as both chief and assistant. People will know of your background and it will help. I want to be a deputy in your station, but Chuck says that my future is better served with the Bureau." "It is, Jan, but as you can see, I'm trying to get the two branches to work together. Individually, we are both good. Collectively, we are unbeatable." Bobby said, "Just that attitude is what made the man the new master. Um, just what is your title anyway?" "I don't know, do I need one?" "You need cards, stationary, a sign on your door, something to address you by, all that stuff." I smiled, "I'll let my new Office Manager figure it out and let you know. Perhaps she'll tell me at the same time." Bobby said, "You know she's going to be a real task master." "Yep, that'll be great. I was used to Sarah making me toe the line. Wanda is a perfect follow up. I shouldn't miss too much." We arrived at the garage where Bobby parked the truck in the temporary position and wrote a note that she left with the keys for Hank when he came in. We walked across to the hotel to get a stack of donuts, then went through security on the way upstairs. The duty guy said, "I just put on coffee. The guys from Orlando are at the warehouse. They want the Chief, that's you, Bobby, to call them. Thanks for the donut. Hell of a wake up, huh?" Bobby called the warehouse to find out that the couple that were intended witnesses were as clean as the wind driven snow. She said, "Since they are going to be going back and forth to court and they may be hunted, I'm putting them in the hotel." She called the safe house and said, "Take the Suburban and have a detail follow you. I want the guests in the hotel. I'm told the couple are hot witnesses and are being hunted. Keep your eyes open and check at each step." She looked at me, Jan, then Marie, and said, "You know it's too easy to just take our little group and just do things. I have to learn to use my men. I'll call the standby guys and get them heated up. That's what I'm supposed to do. I better call the ACE, so she's alerted." She was looking at a list, "It doesn't make a difference, Dave is on standby. Two birds with one call." While Bobby was acting like a station chief, I was eating a donut and drinking coffee. Jan said she was going to the Bureau office, so I gave her two donuts for the security guys on the first floor. She took two cups of coffee and the two donuts and headed to work. I wandered over to the hotel and up to the security guy on the penthouse floor. He said the regular room had been cleaned up and was ready for new people. I told him there were some hot witnesses on the way. I also told him that we should be getting rid of our two Russians. The girl was another matter. I didn't know what to do with her. The duty guy said, "She really needs to go into foster care. She needs an education and a lot of attention before she can be put out in public. She has too many bad experiences from her slave days to be normal." When I said, "Where will I find foster parents that can handle a girl like that?" He said, "Call this number and speak to the lady that answers. Her name is Gina and she is just that person. There will be a language problem, but not one where the little girl is not understood. Gina came from that same environment and is now a loving wife and foster mother to girls like that." I could see the pride in his eyes. "Is she your wife?" "You guessed it. She can't have kids because her insides were torn up when she was little. But she is one hell of a mother to the girls that need it. She has her teaching degree and certificate, so she can home school the girl. Call her, then call immigration. If you can get Homeland Security to cooperate, they can have her at our house today." "There won't be a problem with any security agencies in this town, trust me." "That's right; you're the new whatever it is they call you. Shit, we have it made here with you in our backyard. Go get it done. Don't worry about calling Gina, I'll do it. If you call her, she'll keep you on the phone for a year. She's heard so much about you, she'll talk your arm off." "Thanks, Jack. We've taken care of another problem. I'll get Jan to come over and explain things to her." "No need, one of the USF girls stayed overnight with her and according to the monitors, everything is perfect. The little girl went to bed and the student sacked out on the couch. See there." He pointed to two monitors. They are fine. Our couple is acting like a couple, and they have quit bitching at each other. I think they know we aren't going to send them back." I left the duty guy, Jack, and went back across the street. I went to the rear of the building, looking for something that looked like an elevator. There was an oversized wooden door just inside the back door, but it was locked. Maybe I had a key that fit it. I went through security again, rode upstairs and walked down the hallway, trying to figure out the rear of the building and where that door had been. There was another oversized door that was also locked. I think I had the answer. I walked down to my office and almost didn't try the door because I had given away my keys. The door was open and Wanda was in the office, arranging the clerks' desks. She said, "Good morning, Mr. Johnson." "I'm Chuck, Mr. Johnson passed away years ago." "You will be Mr. Johnson in this office. The clerks must call you by your appropriate name and refer to you in the same manner. When we are not here, it will be a pleasure to call you Chuck, or some other endearing term, but here, you are Mr. Johnson." I guess I've been told. "Does that mean you are Ms. Johnson?" "Only if I'm being scolded. It is appropriate for you to refer to me by my first name or any nickname you wish to assign. The same goes for our future clerks." Okay, the babe has some rules. I can live with that. "Wanda, I know this is probably a station thing, but we have a sixteen year old Russian girl who escaped from a brothel here in town. Last night, all of the places under suspicion should have been taken down, but the info is being withheld from the media as there may be more. Anyway, this little girl can't be sent back to Russia, and she can't be released into society since she is too young and only has knowledge of one way of life. I need to get immigration to release her to some foster parents. Because of the possibility that the Russians might want her back, it needs to be kept confidential, even secret maybe. How should this be handled?" She thought for a moment then said, "Let's get her some ID with a new name. I'll use that name to get immigration to grant us permanent residence and will work with the Children's and Family Division to place her in appropriate foster care." "We have a deputy whose wife is a teacher and takes care of distressed teens. I want the girl there." "Give me the names and I will make sure that it's taken care of. I'm good at working with those departments. Ah, Sir, I need to make some personal long distance calls to arrange for my belongings to be trucked. I will also need to find a storage facility for the other few things I am transporting." "Use the phone all you need. Buffalo is on my list of places to see soon. Go over to the station office for the daily briefing that you need to do everyday anyway. Have Bobby introduce you, and ask the deputies about any storage places close to the house. That ought to take care of it. Call Hank, our guy in the garage to get you a car. If you want him to take you around to dealerships, he will. If you want to just try out a bunch of different types of cars, he'll fix you up. You'll like him; he's a down home guy that loves to help people and loves cars. You might watch him, though. He is respectful, but the man is single and does keep a close eye on candy such as you." "That's an inappropriate remark, Mr. Johnson, but thank you. Thank you for the warning, also. I found a stack of credit cards in my desk with a note that says I'm to order a credit card for my expenses and fuel. Should I do that?" "Yep, take one of mine for right now and you can use Staples online or go there. We have an account with them and you need to decorate the offices. You'll need the card for that. We both have a bunch to do today, so let's get to it. Can I have my keys back? Yours are in your drawer. I won't lock my office so you will have access to everything in there. I will leave my PC on, as I use "Go to my PC" when I'm out of town or out of the office. My PC password is password, all lower case. If you want to make it something else, let me know so I can memorize it." I paused for a second and looked around before saying, "It's almost time for the briefing, so you might start in there. I would appreciate it if you handle the Russian girl for me next. I'll go advise Bobby that you're in charge of that." As I began to leave the office, Wanda touched my arm and said, "Thank you for hiring me and thank you for immediately using my abilities and trusting my judgment. We are going to work out. I'll get started on hiring clerks. You're going to have a cow at how much paperwork there is going to be." We went to the station office where I grabbed coffee and a donut before I went to advise Bobby about the girl and what Wanda would be doing. Bobby nodded and said thanks, as she didn't have a clue as to how to handle the young girl. I told her that Wanda would attend all briefings and I would appreciate it if she introduced her this morning. I would stay scarce so her authority would not be undermined. She smiled and said, "Sarah and I agreed that you could start coming to briefings in a month or so. We should have the pecking order established by then. You did a good job on Marie. She's out there being the little general Sarah used to be. She's going to be a good one." I left and wandered down the hallway to try my key in the elevator. It was one of those locks that is always locked, but the key just releases the latch to open it. Inside was the elevator with one button. I pushed the button and the door opened. I pulled the hall door closed and pushed the only button available. It was either the top floor or the first floor. I rode down and the elevator door opened. I opened the wooden door and stepped out. Shutting the door and using the key to open it again, I pushed the button to get the elevator door to close and rode back up. How about that, a secure, private elevator? I would have to decide whether it was a good idea for Wanda or me to use it. It might be good to have us logged into the building. That's how they could find us sometimes, if something went wrong and they knew we were in the building. Wanda was in the office, calling the duty guys that were to get the girl a new name and ID. The Bureau had the available names, social security numbers, and such. We just grabbed them and gave them to whomever we needed to. They didn't really know or understand how the Marshal Service worked, and we didn't bother to tell them. I'm sure they had a lot we didn't know either. I checked my e-mail on my laptop and answered the couple that were there. I thanked John for the pickup and he called almost as soon as I pushed "send." He was laughing, "Steal one of my pickups will you. Enjoy your ride, Chuck." "I sold it." "What do you mean you sold it? You can't do that." "Sure I can. There was a requisition for a crew cab pickup that was already authorized. I just transferred the vehicle through the station to the new federal owners. They'll be happy for the fast response. Besides there's only a couple of thousand miles on the truck, it's brand new." "You are too sneaky. I pull a prank and you're out of it before I get a laugh." "I did drive it last night, and it came in handy this morning for camouflage." I explained what had happened and he said, "So you came to work early." "Yep, but I needed to. I have a bunch of loose ends to make sure get tied up, and my to-do list is getting bigger. How important is the problem in Buffalo?" "It's not critical mass yet, but it's getting there. I have a replacement in the wings. Be careful when you make the change, as the guy can be a hot head. You can offer him a new station as a deputy, but he's done as a Chief." "Can I use the plane or should I get reservations?" "If you need the plane, it'll be on its way. If you can use a local charter, use them if it's faster. You have an "at the pleasure of the president's" budget, just use it wisely. I'll watch it for you to keep you posted. The higher you get, the more they watch every nickel. They're going to shit that you've already turned the pickup at cost. That's a coup in itself. You're office had taken a twenty-five grand hit on the truck and you just got it back. Check the listings of available vehicles. If you take a vehicle that someone else has been pulled from, your office gets it free. Tell Wanda that too, she's good with budgets." I said, "That lady is by the numbers. I love it. This place is going to be ship shape in a heart beat." "She's tough, but she'll be an ass saver that's for sure." "Let me get to work, Boss, I'll talk to you later." "Hang on there, I am your reporting official, you are your own boss. You do not have a boss except for the U.S. Marshal in charge in the area of what you are doing at that minute. Use that power sparingly and with good judgment." "Jesus, this is a precariously strange job." "Like you don't know, but you will in time." We hung up and I answered the rest of my e-mails. I called the Buffalo office to find out the Station Chief's schedule. He was out today, but was due in tomorrow. I was conflicted about whether to use the federal plane or the charter. I went to the real boss of the place, "Wanda, can you tell me if it's cheaper for me to use the federal plane stationed in D.C. right now or for me to use a charter. We have a good charter service down here and you'll like their people. You know that once we get this office cooking, you'll be traveling with me for some issues. We're going to make things the way they should be, but only change things when they need to be changed." "Good attitude, Sir. We'll do a good job." She looked down at her notes, "While you were talking to John, we've established an identity, and the immigration people have made Children and Family Services assign this child to us. I've spoken to Gina. Dave will be taking her home with him. He's made arrangements with the USF girl to visit with the new family member to assist in her English lessons. There's a bunch of paper that has to be handled yet, but I'll get it done as I get it in." Wanda continued, "Let me figure out which plane is cheaper and I'll advise you. Here are some incident reports for you to review and if you have any questions, e-mail the stations involved." Darnn, if I have to review all the incident reports in the U.S. it could take a lot of time. I might have to delegate that. I read them over and didn't see anything amiss. Only one dead guy and he did it to himself during his capture. There was a box for the supervising official that was circled in red. I assumed Wanda was telling me to initial it. I did and was trying to figure out what to do with them when Wanda placed two wooden trays on my desk. In small brass letters one said "In" and one said "Out." I smiled and slid the papers in the out basket. She pointed to the "in" basket to show me more paper. Darn. These were Bureau changes that I needed to be aware of. I read them, noting there were holes in them. I pulled a binder out that had "FBI" on it, and it already had some older bulletins in it. I snapped them in and called downstairs to see if Jan wanted to do our required practice with me. She did, so I advised Wanda where I was headed and she said, "May I come with you, please? I want to become more proficient. You have made me have the desire to become a better deputy." We went downstairs, and while Jan ran through her exercises, I put Wanda in a booth and began from the top. We went over all the safety precautions up through dry fire. Jan had joined me to listen. We went out and the range officer handed me two full magazines and one empty with three loose rounds. I said, "You've watched me do this before. Thanks." We went through the handling again. I demonstrated putting the round in the magazine, inserting it into the gun, and chambering a round. I jacked the round out and ejected the empty magazine. Wanda did the maneuver in order, stood in a two handed position as I had instructed, brought the gun up slowly, and fired. She hit the outer area of the body circle. She said excitedly, "I hit it. I hit it the first time." I told her to repeat the process and if she needed to, to go slower but to remember to breathe before squeezing the trigger. This time she hit almost dead center. She was grinning like crazy. She repeated the single round firing one more time hitting a little off center, but still white. "Okay, Wanda, you now need to load a full magazine and fire all rounds until empty. I want you to count to three between rounds. Count out loud. To be accurate, you might even consider doing that under fire." She loaded up and began firing and counting, firing and counting, until the slide locked back. She said, "Did I hit the center with all of them?" Jan said, "You sure did Annie Oakley. That was great for a new shooter." "I've shot before, as it's required, but no one ever took the time to teach me to shoot. This is sort of fun." Jan grinned and said to me, "You might have another convert." I told Wanda, "Now, go load your three magazines and put up a new target. The first magazine in the body, the second magazine in the head, and alternate the last one between the body and head. Remember, count between rounds. If you need to count to four, do it. Accuracy is important." "Jan and I loaded up magazines with range rounds and did our exercises. We didn't do any decision rounds, just straight accuracy practice. We did sort of do it speed style and I fired my last magazine from the hip for fun." Jan said, "No fair, Wild Bill, I didn't know you were going to go cowboy on me. I want to practice that. That might be important. I have never thought about it before." The range officer handed her a loaded magazine. She blushed and went to the stand, pulled the door open and slowly fired a magazine, using my counting method. She did well for the first time doing hip shots. "That's a lot more difficult than you made it look. Your counting thing works though, as I did focus better. I'm going to use that in competition, but with fewer numbers." Wanda had picked up her brass and the range officer was teaching her how to clean her weapon. She put the full magazine back in the gun, chambered a round, and put her Glock into her clip-on holster. She looked up at us, smiling. The range officer said, "Another student off to a good start. I'm using all of your techniques on the new people. It's working out great." I asked, "Do you have everything you need down here?" "Yes Sir. John has always made sure the ranges are well funded. Mine is very active, especially since you signed on. We're getting some good shooters in here." "How about Homeland Security, are they practicing?" "They only have to qualify monthly. That's not often enough. How about having them try every two weeks. Send a directive and I'll try to schedule them. Do you want the reports of the non-shooters?" "Better send them to me. We'll log them or something." "I'll log them, but I know we have some duty people who haven't fired a round down here in almost a year. That's scary." "Let me know, I'll set up some remedial activity for them. We can't be caught unprepared." The three of us went back upstairs. Wanda was proud of herself, standing up straight, shoulders back, chest out and I mean way out, mouth watering way out. Damn, she could be a distraction. I complimented her on being a good student. She thanked me for teaching her. She said, "I'm going to be a deputy after all." "You have always been a deputy, but you were like those guys the range officer was talking about. They are not prepared. A deputy has to be like a Boy Scout, always prepared." I wanted to check up on the hotel progress, so I went to ask Bobby. She said that D.C. was making up IDs for the couple and transporting them during the night. She said the witnesses were in our main room and doing fine and the girl has been taken home. She thanked me, but I said, "Thank Wanda, she is good. She's handled everything by the numbers today. She's on her way to get some decorations, but has to be back for an interview at two. Want some lunch?" "I was thinking about Subways. One of the duty guys will chase, if Region will pay?" I counted heads and handed her forty dollars saying, "Get a receipt." She gave the money to the duty guy and he was gone. She came back in the office and said, "I have the house ready for you to sign for. You've been issued a VA twenty year mortgage at four point nine eight percent. They waived the down payment. If you'll sign these things, we'll send it to the title office and you'll be a homeowner. I've arranged for insurance, but it's a problem in Florida right now. The rates suck. We're on a watch list for better rates, so we'll just have to wait. You will need some help now that we are both busy. You need housekeeping, lawn care, and pool care. I have the solution. We can rent a room to a couple of USF students and they can pay their rent with the lawn, pool, and housekeeping. We might have to feed them, but it would make sense. You have the room and that would fill you up. If you keep Jan, Marie, and Wanda, they can help with housekeeping too. What do you think?" "That's a lot of people, will we have any privacy?" "As much as you want, but remember what I told you last night. I have special needs, and if you want what you have professed, my special needs need to be met." I laughed, "Go get em. I'll do my best, Ma'am. I sometimes think I joined the circus." Bobby laughed, "I'll make it worthwhile, my Love. You'll be a happy man." "I'm going to Buffalo tomorrow. I won't stay overnight unless I have to. I have to make a change and don't know how difficult it will be. We'll see." "I'll get you packed tonight so you won't have to worry about it. You need extra toiletries so you can have road gear and home stuff. I'll pick up what you need on the way home." The sandwiches arrived and we all chowed down. I went back to my office, answered my e-mails and spoke briefly to Wanda when she got back. She said Hank had given her a black Mustang that was really neat. I smiled, knowing the car's history. Her appointment arrived, and she had just shut my door, when my cell phone rang. It was the station chief from Buffalo. The first thing he said was, "Semper Fi." I responded with a "Oorah." Then "Who is this." "George Masters, the Buffalo station chief. I heard you're coming tomorrow and I'm sure it's to replace me. I've been an asshole and a pain in the ass for about six months. I deserve to be canned. From you, a vet like me, I can take it. Thank you for coming personally." "What do you want to do, George?" "Let me tell you a story and then I'll ask. A year ago I caught my wife with a Bureau guy. I beat the shit out of him and she said it would never happen again. Two months later, I caught her with a deputy. I couldn't beat him up, as he was my employee. I had to eat shit. Well, she said it would never happen again, but when we went from four nights a week to no nights a week, I became suspicious and caught her with the deputy again. I told him that he could transfer or quit. He hit me, because I let him and he quit. My wife left and took up residence with an unemployed ex-marshal who now is a cop. I've been stopped six times for suspected drunken driving. I have not had a drop in six months because of it. I thought Wanda was an answer, but we just didn't work. I was crude, rude, and an asshole. I'm still that way, but getting better." "Does John know about this?" "I don't air my dirty laundry. I'm telling you because you're a real jarhead with a history. You'll give me a hand up and smack me around, then kick me in the ass to get on in life. I really want to remain a deputy. I would ask to work down there with you, but you're not a Station Chief any more, and I just heard Wanda went to work for you. You have a great office girl. Do you think I could work out of D.C.? I can talk to John. I don't know the rest of the country that well." He paused then said, "I've spent a few days of vacation catching up on every report that I've missed in the last three months, and have the office ready for a new guy. This is the way I should have run the place anyway. I have a good clerk and a decent ACE, but he'll never be more than an ACE. Come on up, we'll do the paper work. I have a hundred ten days sick time stashed, and over two month's vacation on the books. Let me go on vacation until you can find me a home. I've sold the house, sold my furniture, and have my few belongings in my truck in a storage building. I'll ask you to take me there tomorrow. I live next door to it in a weekly motel. I'm ready for you, and I'm ready to be a good deputy." "George, I have your number in my phone now. Let me make a call and see if I can put a smile on your face." I hung up and called John. I asked, "If I have a guy that wants to step down to a deputy, an ex-marine that admits he hasn't been worth a shit, has his office ready to transfer, where would be a good place to send him. He specifically mentioned special ops in D.C." "No shit. Did he spill his guts?" "Yeah, it was a wife thing." "I heard all the details, but I couldn't interfere. Good deal, you just dodged a bullet. I'll e-mail you where he should report next week. He has a ton of vacation coming, but I think he should go to work. I've got an ex-drill sergeant heading our ready team. He'll get the boy in shape and back on track. This is one in your column. You should have the e-mail now." "I got it. Thanks, this is the way I love to handle things, short and sweet, to everyone's satisfaction." "It worked out, talk to ya." John hung up. I was thinking that if all my problems could be handled so easily, life would be good. I called George back and asked him if he could receive an e-mail. He gave me his address and I forwarded John's e-mail to him. When he said he got it, he paused then said, "Damn, I know the guy who ramrods that outfit. He was a drill sergeant. This will be fun. Thanks, Man, you have no idea. I feel like I'm nineteen years old again. Hurry, get me out of here. I'd love to have a drink." "I'll see you in the morning. You can be somewhere else by noon, and by day after tomorrow, signed in to your new unit." I wrote up the transfer form with all the information and slid it into my outbox. My inbox was empty, but I couldn't sneak out because Wanda still had her applicant. There was a knock on the door. I said "come in" and Wanda escorted a young black girl with Asian features into the office. I stood and asked them to be seated. Wanda said, "Mr. Johnson, this is Angie Johnson. She has applied for the clerical position. She has one year of college and is attending classes at night. Her business background was in a real estate office, but they recently laid her off. The Bureau did a quick background for me and she comes highly recommended by the real estate company. I want her." I smiled at Angie and asked, "Is your full name Angela?" Wanda said, "I'm sorry Mr. Johnson, this is her application." I looked at the application, then up at the young lady and said, "What a lovely melodic name, Angelina Louisa." The girl smiled with a thousand white teeth showing and said, "That is the most beautiful way anyone has ever said my name. You said it with music; you made me happy just hearing it." "Should I call you Angelina or Angie?" "You mean you're going to hire me?" "No, Ms. Johnson, Wanda is hiring you." Wanda also smiled, and said, "There sure are a lot of Johnsons around here." I stood, went around the desk, and putting my hand out, said, "Welcome to the United States Marshal's Service." The girl shook my hand and took a deep breath, smiling continuously. Wanda said, "Come, you have a thousand forms to fill out. I have to get Mr. Johnson's flight information. As she left she snatched the transfer paper from my outbox. While I played on the internet, getting three screens up at once, I guess Wanda was working furiously. She walked into the office with a printed schedule. Leave the little airport at seven, arrive in Buffalo by nine thirty, leave Buffalo no later that two thirty, and home by five. I thought it took longer to make that flight. "Great connections, Wanda. Now I need to get whoever will be the new guy so we can do the transfer." "I have him on a plane to Buffalo within the next hour and he will be at the office at ten sharp." That's cutting it a little close, don't you think?" "George has manned up. He even called me on my cell last night and apologized. I'm happy for him and glad he's getting out of there. He's a good man. He was just unlucky with his wife. I wish I had known, so he could have kicked her out earlier. It's done now. How was your conversation with him?" "Great, we come from similar backgrounds that he already knew about. We talked turkey, and I was able to get him some duty he really likes. He'll be on the road before noon." Wanda smiled, "It's been a pretty darn good day all around. If you want, I can drive you to the airport in the morning." "No, I have to get a car anyway. I'll get Hank to give me a loaner. I'm going to check the inventory of vehicles to see if there is something interesting. I understand our office isn't charged if we get an inventory vehicle." "Oh, when I decide what I like, I'll do that too, good idea. We saved almost nine hundred by chartering instead of having the plane come and get you. We'll watch our dimes and be way under budget." "Ah, sometimes we need to be spending money or they will cut us down. Just make sure we're not being too cheap to ourselves or the office." I shut my laptop off and began stuffing things into my case. Wanda nodded that it was good of me to get out of there. I walked to the garage and Hank gave me one of the Expeditions we captured. I told him it would be gone all day tomorrow. He told me to leave the keys in it and maybe someone would steal it. I laughed and drove home. I was home before everyone else, so I put out a bunch of chicken breasts that I had already sliced real thin, knowing they would thaw fast. I mixed up the spices for the meat and did all the little things to get ready for Marsala. We had plenty of asparagus and I tore up a big bowl of lettuce for salads. The only thing left would be the rice and that wasn't a big deal. Jan drove up first and parked on the street. Marie's car was in the garage and the Expedition was on the side of the house, so someone could park in the drive behind Marie's car and Wanda could park her Mustang in the garage. We need a bigger garage. Wanda came driving up with Marie, and did what I wanted, then Bobby drove up right after she opened the garage and drove in. We made it. As soon as everyone was in the house, Bobby said, "I want us all to get together for a few minutes to see how we'll work out." When we were all in the kitchen, Bobby asked me to make margaritas for everyone. Five minutes later, we were celebrating Margaritaville. Bobby took a healthy drink and said, "In a few minutes, Chuck and I are going to exercise. Any and all are welcomed and encouraged to exercise with us. We eat heavy, so if your metabolism is low, you need to workout with us. Peg leg here has some special needs as he can use the bike for a while but then still has to do about thirty minutes on the treadmill. Then he does weights with me for another twenty to thirty minutes and finally, we celebrate by stripping down and swimming hard until we can't breathe anymore. Do none, part, or all of it with us. I just want to tell you our normal routine. There hasn't been anything normal lately, so we need to get back in the habit." Bobby noted what was out on the counter and said, "I think we're having chicken Marsala tonight, so you're in for a treat. Chuck really is a good cook. If you make a special dish, tell us in advance and prepare us." "As you know, everyone has a room, that is, if you want to stay here. We're thinking of perhaps getting a couple of university students to trade out room and board for yard work and some housekeeping. All of you can do the same. Chuck is going to be traveling a lot and not able to do a lot. We'll see. If we can do it ourselves, we will without inviting more people in." "Jan, I know you were living in an apartment, are you going back to it or what?" She looked at Bobby and me, then the other two and was a little red-faced when she said, "Um, I don't know how to say this without screwing something up for you two, or me, or all of us." She looked real hard at Wanda and Wanda said, "Speak your mind, Jan. I'm not some Holy Roller or narrow-minded shrew. Speak up." "When we were in Branson doing the presentation, I had an opportunity to have a, a, to play with Bobby alone, and another to, um, play with Bobby and Chuck together. I want more of that. I could become a slave of that. I want to stay here, renting a room, just to get an occasional opportunity for more of that." Jan's face was as red as a beet. Marie spoke up strong. "I still live at home, but sometimes stay out overnight with someone. I'm a little forward when I get to know people, and I like all of you. I figure the only reason I haven't been with Bobby and Chuck is it wasn't time yet. I plan on it. I also want to get to know Jan better, she fascinates me." She looked at Wanda and said, "My God woman, I'm sure you feel my attraction to you. I just want to devour you." Everyone looked at me as if I was going to say something. It was quiet as everyone stared. If they thought I was going to say something really dumb, they should think again. "I think you all realize I'm along for the ride, pun intended." Wanda broke up laughing. "You do such a good job not staring at my tits that I want to rub them in your face. I swear you ignored them all day long. Little Ms. Johnson that interviewed with me was so hot by the time she left; she was spreading contrails leaving the building. At least I know I affect somebody. I am a very open-minded woman. I was married to someone who began our relationship very open then wanted to hide me at home while he sampled the neighborhood. That didn't last. Then I had an office romance that didn't work out, although he kept saying it was going to. I've been checking out all of the internet swing group ads so I can go get fucked real well, but I'm terrified of disease." Everyone was now squirming around in their seats as she continued, "From the first time I met Bobby, I wanted to play with her. She is so fascinating I can't stand it. Watching her swim last night was almost more than I could stand. Then the more I learn about Chuck, the more I'm strongly attracted to him. I'm also leaving a trail wherever I sit when I think these thoughts. I accepted the offer of staying here with the thought that I was going to fuck both of them until they couldn't walk. I think I'd like to be between them some and sleep. Please excuse me if I've been too graphic. I don't see a problem, except Chuck is only one man. He may be a very virile man, but I don't think he can handle the four of us. I propose a wrestling match and the last two standing gets him for the night." She waited a second then said, "Just kidding. We could have some other form of contest, like seeing which one of us gives the best, ah, perhaps I'm being too aggressive with you. Please forgive me, I really am somewhat of a prudish slut." I was laughing continuously during this stuff, while Marie, the youngest, was aghast that an adult would be that forward. Jan was observing with a shrewd look like, "This babe's competition." And Bobby, my luscious, loving, Bobby, was drooling and thinking, "Do it now, do it now." They all were indirectly direct except for Wanda, I wanted to see her naked. I also wanted to play with the neatly packaged Marie, and I already knew Jan is a treat. Oh my, such a tremendous responsibility, but someone has to do it. I thought I might get away with it, so I said it, "Oh my, such a tremendous, wonderful, exciting responsibility, but someone must do it." Bobby and Wanda pummeled me on the shoulders. They were both pretty big and Bobby is strong. It hurt. Jan and Marie came around the table and were fake slapping me, then alternately kissing me. Bobby said, "Come now, children, it's time for our Master to work out." I went into the bedroom and changed into shorts and a T-shirt, putting my tennis shoe on the fake leg so I could walk evenly. I gave Bobby a hug, feeling all her good stuff, before kissing her and asking, "Going your way?" She just grinned and gently squeezed my dick and balls. I was already partially hard from the exciting talk. The other three girls were all sitting on various weight machines when I stepped in the room. It was a contest. Jan had on some very short silk shorts and a top that was sort of a tank top which displayed her erect nipples very well. I wanted to make sure I watched her running on the treadmill. Marie might as well have been nude. She had on see-though white shorts and a just as thin a top that let you know her areola were not real big, but were puffy and making her tits very suckable. Then there was Wanda, I guess she was assuming her "Wicked Wanda" appearance. She has nice hips that were encased in satiny shorts that were pulled a little tight, showing us a very nice camel toe. She has a pookie ass that is beautifully rounded. Her flat tummy was bare and she was wearing a top that had a banded bottom just under her tits. Her magnificent mams were well displayed in the low-cut loose top, banded below, that gave me heart stopping views of her cleavage. As soon as I walked into the room and checked each babe out thoroughly, I had to adjust my jock, it would not hold me any longer. I smiled at all of them and said, "Individually, you are each divine. Collectively, you are a dream, and you know all about young men's dreams." I began with the bike because I hate that thing. Marie jumped on the treadmill and was on about a six or seven incline at five miles an hour. She might have been doing more, but I didn't want to see as I would have a stroke watching her. She quickly broke out in a good sweat, but kept up the pace from a slower run to a fast run, then ran steadily as I pumped the bike. When my fifteen minutes were up and I got up, Wanda, with the long legs, got on the bike and set the tension way up. I got on the treadmill and started out on my slow walk, making it all the way up to four miles an hour with a one or two incline. Fuck those girls, (I'd like to) this was hard work for me. Any faster and I'll rub the stump raw. The boot was getting loose; I need to go get a new leg. Maybe now that I was making more money, I could get a sports leg and a regular peg leg. I would look it up on the internet. I only did the treadmill for twenty minutes as I was kind of tired today. I did all of my weight routine, and Bobby spotted the two twenty-five that I was up to on the bench press. I was doing hundred pound curls at two dozen reps a crack. I did two sets of those. I almost choked when I watched Bobby spotting Wanda and I counted up two hundred fucking pounds. That bitch was strong. Bobby was drooling. Bobby wasn't showing off when she was now doing ten reps at four hundred pounds. Damn that's a lot. Wanda was bug-eyed at Bobby's strength. When everyone looked done, totally sweated up, but done, we began taking off clothes on the way outside until we all showered off the sweat under the outdoor shower and headed to the pool. Wanda was cool. She hung back with Bobby for them to help me hop to the pool after I took my leg off to shower. The two larger women did me in, as they effortlessly picked me up and pitched me into the pool. Splash! I felt like a three year old, it was fun. I began swimming at a building pace and soon there were five of us swimming laps faster and faster until Jan dropped out, next Marie had to stop. I was determined to take both of the other women, and Wanda finally faded and quit, then Bobby went to the side while I did one more lap at top speed, before drifting to the side. Everyone was panting from the exertion. Wanda said, "You two are the first people to ever outlast me on sprints. I can't believe you, Bobby. You glide through the water so smoothly and, Chuck, that you can take the two of us or all four of us is unreal. I figured you for about ten and out." She slid up underneath me, taking me into her mouth and sucking me up to maximum hardon. She slid up to be face to face with me wrapping her legs around me. She was oily enough that she slid me into her easily. She kissed me and said, "I think I want to get fucked before supper. Can you handle that, big guy?" I didn't have to fuck her. All I had to do was stand on one leg, hold her ass in my hands, gaze into her lust filled eyes. She was scorching. She moved her hips back and forth so fast and with such force, making contact with her clit the whole time, I was in heaven. Bobby was hugging us both, saying, "Fuck the bitch, fuck her good." Wanda became irregular in her thrusting and her hips slammed into me harder. When she pushed a giant tit into my face to suck, and Marie came from nowhere and latched on the other, Wanda came hard and so did I. I drenched her insides. Oh my, what a good cum. Wanda relaxed, but stayed connected to my still hard dick, kissed me, and snuggled into me slightly, moving me in and out of her. Marie finally said, "Don't be stingy, I want some before supper. Wanda slid from me while Bobby held my dick, making sure I became seated in Marie. She went to the races. She was saying, "I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum," from the second stroke on. She was finally almost screaming when she hugged me tight and whispered in my ear as she froze up, "I want your cum in me too, soon." Jan swam over and helped Bobby kiss me while Marie was still stuck on me. Marie said to Jan, "Since you're broke, I'll help you out." Both Bobby and Jan said, "Right." Bobby said, "I hate to tell you, but I'm broke too for a while. It's the shower or a rubber sheet. She kissed me saying, "No wonder I've been so horny lately." Wanda was lingering around behind Bobby, playing with her big nipples and tits, and feeling her massive size and tight muscles. Wanda kissed Bobby, then me, "I am going to make you both happy that I'm your toy." She kissed Marie and said, "You, my Darling, are a terror, but you need to learn to fuck a man until he cries uncle. He's knocking you out in a couple of minutes and he's ready for more. I'll bet Jan and I could get a load out of him before you can count to five hundred." Marie said skeptically, "Sure you can, bet." Wanda was strong; she surprised me by picking up Marie off my still very hard dick and tossing her backwards, then picking me up and putting me on the side of the pool. Wanda's mouth was quickly around my dick and she grabbed hold of the shaft, stroking. Both Jan's and Wanda's hands were caressing my balls. It wasn't going to take till three hundred. I was soon cresting and shooting loads into Wanda's mouth. She let Jan have a jet of cum, then they jacked me off, shooting cum towards the counting Marie. "You did it, he really came fast. Wow, that was awesome. Will you teach me how to do that?" Jan and Wanda hugged Marie and dunked her. She came up sputtering and said, "I want to swallow his stuff, not pool water." These girls were playful. We got out of the pool with Wanda and Bobby helping me to a chair, and when I was dry, I put my leg back on. We went in, taking our sweaty clothes. Bobby gathered them up so she could wash them all. I put on shorts and a T-shirt. The girls all showed up with long T-shirts that I assumed had at least panties under them. I started supper, which meant starting the grill after checking to make sure the breasts were thawed. I started the Marsala sauce, under the watchful eye of Wanda, and the curious eye of Marie. When the sauce was thickening, I began steaming the asparagus and put the chicken on the grill. By the time the table was set and the wine poured, the meat and asparagus were in the warmer and we were eating salads. When I served the chicken over rice, with the Marsala and the asparagus, they all moaned in pleasure as it tasted so good. I said I would make dessert later. Wanda said, "I had some delicious dessert. Since you ate the asparagus, you won't taste as sweet later." Marie asked about that and Wanda said "When you get a man. You'll want to suck him off every time you look at him. Watch what you feed him and note the taste. When you find what you like, he gets a steady diet of that and pussy. It's a blast." Jan said, "I love to suck on guys. Most of them won't let me for very long. With most they cum real quick or they only want to fuck. Maybe Chuck will let me suck on him for a long, long, time." "I guess I could do that. But every time I have to come, perhaps Bobby, or someone else who wants it, could finish me then I could come back to you." "But I want you hard," Jan almost cried. Bobby said, "Don't you remember, he fucked me twice, and you once, then we went to sleep with him connected to me. I don't know when he goes soft, but it's not quick." Wanda smiled, "I'll join you, Jan, while you're sucking him, I'll suck you then we can switch. I'll bet that would be fun." Marie was just staring back and forth at the wantonness being discussed. Bobby said, "Marie, if you're as wound up as I am, we'll let Wanda and Jan wash up in here while we check that Chuck is okay. Come with me and we'll check him out together." Marie was comically bobbing her head yes as Bobby picked me up, setting me on my foot and peg, and led me away. Bobby stripped my shorts off and gently took my leg off. She held my dick up in the air and leaned over, swallowing as much as she could. Bobby has a real wide mouth and was able to get me deep in her mouth. She pulled off with juicy sounds and smiled at me. She said, "You do him now, Marie, suck him up real good. I want you to feel him fucking you and watch as he cum's deep, deep inside you." I think Marie came from Bobby talking dirty. While Marie was sucking me with a very inexperienced mouth, Bobby sucked her titties and found her pussy, showing her what women can do with each other. Marie was trying to suck me and scream at the same time. She was flopping all over the bed, holding onto my dick with her hand and her mouth. It was more exciting watching than feeling. It was a blast to know Bobby was making Marie feel so good. Marie finally froze and flopped over on her back. Bobby nudged me and said softly, but loud enough for Marie to hear, "Make love to her, Chuck, make love to her like you do me. Make her know she's the most special woman in the world." Marie and I kissed and kissed. Then I pleasured her face by kissing her eyes, the corners of her mouth, her nose, her ears, working down her chin and her neck. I made love to lovely young puffy titties until she was almost squirting. Her legs were scissoring with want and her pussy was undulating in a fucking motion. She was very orgasmic, so that must account for some of her experience. Guys must think they were really good, as she could come from just a nibble, much less loving her breasts. By the time my face was between her legs, she was begging me to stop. Of course I didn't, as she had lots more to go and something told me this young lady was special. I was kissing and licking her pussy, sucking the excessive juices from her, when I slid a finger into her, hunting to see if she had a special spot. Oh boy, she had a huge special spot. She began crying and screaming, holding my face into her pussy with her legs sticking straight up. All of sudden, gushes of juice were streaming out of her. I raised my face to watch and slid a finger into her butt, at the same time watching as she shot a stream onto Bobby's face. Bobby just leaned forward and sucked her clit into her mouth. Marie was crying saying "Oh God, Oh God, that's so, so, so." I noticed Wanda, with the smaller Jan snuggled up under her arm, watching near the bed. Finally Marie just fainted. She was totally limp. Jan asked, "Is she alright?" Wanda said, "More than alright. Wait till he does that to you. It doesn't always happen, but when it's just right, it's heavenly, and oh so too much." Bobby encouraged me to get in the saddle, so I came up, sliding on the totally sloppy body of the sweet Marie, and slid into her. I'm a pretty wide fellow, a little longer than average maybe, but very wide, thick. Marie was so open, I slid so deep into her that it felt like the head of my dick went into a different part of her. As soon as this happened, her legs rose up and she wrapped them around me and her eyes opened. She was trying to say something, but nothing came out. I began to slide in and out of her, interring my cock into that special place with each deep thrust. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open as I slid in and out, feeling as if I were going to lose a storm deep inside her any second. As her hips began to undulate with my thrusts, her gasps came heavier until she was groaning loudly, forcing her pelvis into me getting me as deep as I could get. It was coming. The juices were boiling, cum was racing from deep within my balls, entering my tube to shoot deep into Marie. She held me tight while Bobby was kissing us both before she froze, but I kept sliding back and forth shooting and shooting massive doses of man juice deep into her, on the other side of the deep chamber. I lay still, buried as deep as it was possible. She hugged me tightly with her arms and legs. Her face scrunched up into an intense pleasure. Wanda and Jan couldn't help it, and came to pet her and gently kiss her as Bobby also kissed her, and kissed me the same. She said, "Whew, Baby, that took care of a lot of my special needs." As Marie's grip loosened, she relaxed and laid back with her arms stretched out and her legs stretched into a "Y." Wanda observed, "You really made love to her. My goodness, man, that was something. I want that someday." Jan said, "I want that right now, period or no period. God, that was the most erotic thing I've ever seen. Oh my, if we had a movie of that, it would be a billion dollar seller." Bobby looked up at Jan, considering that we had already taken movies together. Jan said, "The loving Chuck gave to me wasn't anything like that. My movie is good, but nowhere near what that was." Wanda took Jan by the hand, pulling her up asking, "Movie? You have a movie, a real one of you being made love to like that?" They were gone as Bobby and I kissed and loved a recovering Marie. Bobby said, "Let Chuck help you shower and I'll change the sheets. It's time we put you to sleep with us." Marie just smiled, and was not much help, as I pulled her from the bed. Bobby had to help me get her into the shower, then she left to change the bed. We showered, I dried her off, and Bobby came in to take her to bed while I brushed my teeth. I hopped into bed and slid in next to Marie who snuggled up to me. Minutes later, Bobby snuggled up to the other side of Marie. Bobby kissed me and said, "That's what I needed for my special needs." Bobby kissed me again, winked at me and laid her head on her pillow. Mine hit my pillow and we were all three asleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 14 I woke at five thirty. It's amazing that my body will wake up when I need to. I hopped to the bathroom, peed, shaved, brushed my teeth, and showered. I was hopping out to get dressed as Bobby came in with a cup of coffee. We kissed and she said, "I hope that wasn't too far out for you. It was heaven for me. I hope Marie is okay with it. I can't wait to enjoy Wanda, she is something." The conversation was causing my dick to rise. I said, "Cool it; I don't have a lot of extra time." Marie rolled over and said, "Plug that thing in and dump a quick load. I'd love it." "You two are making it difficult to get my pants on. I'm going to stain my suit pants if you keep this up." Shortly, I walked out of the room to be greeted by a tall, totally naked, big-titted Wanda. She hugged and kissed me saying. "I can love on you here, but I have to remember you are off limits at the office. Can you do that?" "I do it with Bobby and I want to enjoy her constantly." Good timing, as Bobby had come down the hall to observe Wanda's interception. Bobby said, "You're lucky, I love to suck on the pussy that my man is going to fuck. It makes me boil to watch him make love to someone intensely. And it makes me love them as much as they love him. I'm just too much into us loving each other." Wanda shivered and said, "Jesus, you are as bad as I am. Let's get him out of here so I can fuck you." I walked into the kitchen to see a plate of bacon, potatoes, and eggs with a couple of pieces of toast, milk, and coffee. Bobby said, "You got it exactly right for him." I ate while the girls chatted. Wanda said that she and Angie would have the office shipshape by this afternoon. She said she had another appointment with an older lady that sounded good for the job. She asked me if I had any prejudices. I told her my only prejudice was against people who didn't work. I picked up my big briefcase and headed for the door. Wanda said, "I put the papers for George to sign in order. Each one has a note so he knows what he's signing. Tell him I'm sorry we didn't work out. He'll like that and think of it all the way to D.C." The Expedition was fairly comfortable and handled well. I made good time out to the airport that I noticed was named an air park. I parked in an open area next to the operations building and walked past it across the tarmac. I was about a half-hour early. A guy and a girl were checking over the airplane that was still hooked to a tow motor. They opened the cabin door and the girl went in while the guy pulled the tow motor away. I stood off to the side and listened as they talked for a while then the engines started winding up. They caught one by one settling into a gentle roar. The girl came out smiling and said, "I'm almost ready, I didn't like the way something was and wanted to check it out. We could have taken another airplane, but this one is faster." She asked where my luggage was and I pointed to my case. She said, "What if we can't get out tonight?" She was cute, so I said with a smile, "Then I'll sleep naked and wear the same clothes as I'm wearing today." She grinned real big and said, "I'm sure I can find a reason to stay over." "Let's get going. Steve said you know how to run the checklist for me. Sit up front with me, Okay?" We did about what I had done with Steve coming back from Branson. Soon, we were up and had gone through all the items. "Want to fly it awhile? You can get the feel. We'll play around a little. Let me get up to our near max speed and let's play a little." She pointed to a needle that was indicating near five hundred then told me to put my hands on the wheel like hers. She said, "Put each foot on the pedals. Now, I'm going to hold the wheel steady and push on the right pedal." We swerved a little. "Now I'll do the left pedal." We swerved again in the other direction. "Ever want to fly upside down?" When I said, "Yeah" we instantly flipped over hanging in our seatbelts. I had felt the pedal go down and the wheel only turn slightly. We flipped back over, going level. "What do you think?" "I think I need to be rich so I can own one of these things and fly it all over the place." "It's neat, isn't it," She said grinning. "I'm going to slow down to normal cruise and set up the stuff that you would call autopilot. The manufacturer calls it navigational equipment." She didn't slow that much, but she had pushed buttons and moved dials until she pointed at something that was some fancy screen that was in front of each of us. "This is our route. We'll probably be there early. If you will go back to the little galley behind you, you can get us some coffee that I put on. If you wonder how it stays in the pot upside down, it has a lid that doesn't let the fluid out. Pretty cool." I asked, "How do you take yours?" "Black." As I got up to go back, I thought I heard her say "With some man cream would be nice." No way, I thought, and used some heavy Styrofoam cups to get us some coffee. They had cup holders so I put the coffee in them and sat back down. I put the checklist up in the overhead and pulled out the landing checklist and looked at it. I asked, "Do you fly this with only one pilot often?" "Almost never. It's actually against some rules, but everyone is committed today. I can fly you in the turboprop without a right seat pilot and this one isn't that much different. The boss said since you knew what to do and if I promised to keep both hands on the wheel, I could fly you by myself." We chatted about a bunch of stuff and when she finally realized I was some form of law enforcement she asked, "Do you have a gun?" I moved my coat to show her the holstered gun. She said, "Now I'm in trouble, guns make me hot, real hot. Shit, I promised I wouldn't get nuts flying you up here." "Go get more coffee?" "No," she said, "Go get me a Coke. That'll do it." When I got her the Coke she said, "Now take all your clothes off and lay back on a seat. I'll be right back to fuck your eyes out." I climbed in the right seat with another cup of coffee. "You're quite the hostess pilot aren't you?" "Like you wouldn't believe. It's coffee, tea, or me. But then it's pussy, mouth, or ass. Like I said, I go nuts over guns. I saw the boss blow a couple of bad guys away a long time ago. If he had not shot them, they would have killed a lot of people. That turned me on. Not that he killed someone, but the fact that he had that gun and knew what to do with it. That's power. Life and death power." I said, "You know, you have that same power." "What do you mean." "Look at you, a mere woman, flying a multi-million dollar airplane almost to the speed of sound. One stupid mistake and you and I are dead. If the plane were full, one mistake and everyone would be dead. You scan those instruments constantly looking for a change that shouldn't be there. One miss and we die. We might get a chance to save ourselves, but it would be you that was saving us. Like I said, you have the same power that your boss or I have with a gun." "Jesus, that's hot. I knew that, but no one ever said it to me like that. That's a lot of responsibility. I'm fuckin' around far too much, aren't I?" "Not in the least. You've demonstrated to me your unique ability to show me how the plane handles and a cute little flip. You've demonstrated to me before we ever took off that you wanted to be assured the plane was right. I want you whenever I fly. You're really good." She smiled at me and said, "You married?" "No, but I do have someone special." "She the jealous type?" "Not as long as she can watch?" "Oh, I like your woman. When can I meet her?" When I didn't answer right away, she said, "Pull the landing card and start. I'm almost to the point of going down." We went through the checklist as she chattered on the radio. We were soon lined up with the runway and she set the plane down smoothly on the main gear, then gently let the nose gear settle to the ground. We taxied up to the terminal spot she had been assigned. I read off the last few items and she was shut down. "Good job. I'll teach you some more on the way back." She gave me a card with her cell number. I gave her my cell number and got out. As I was getting ready to open the door, she grabbed me by the tie and said, with her mouth close to mine and her eyes looking into mine, "Don't mind me when I'm like this. I get horny at the drop of a hat and you're a big hat. Thanks for letting me tease you and thanks for being a fun fare. See you this afternoon." That babe was something. We were about fifteen minutes early, but a guy was waving at me from the private terminal steps. I walked up to him and he said, "I'm George." "Chuck." We shook hands warmly and walked out to his pickup truck. "I decided to save you money and pick you up. I'm all cleaned out and ready to roll. I've already met the new guy and talked to him extensively. We went to the office about six and I worked with him until nine. I took him to eat before I let him go. I think I covered everything. I'm a damn good deputy. I know the rules. I let something personal make me an asshole. That Wanda is one hell of a lady. I didn't treat her right, but I don't think I would have treated any lady right." We arrived at the office and walked in. There were a few people there and the clerk had a terrified look on her face. I smiled at her and said, "I'm Chuck Johnson, who are you?" "I'm, I'm, I'm Sandra." George said gently, "Sandy, Mr. Johnson won't bite. He's going to make the Chief transfer, give you a kiss on the cheek, and be gone." "Oh, Oh, he can't do that." "Figuratively, Sandy, he won't really do that." A man was standing there waiting to be introduced. When no one did anything I stuck my hand out and said, "I'm Chuck Johnson." The guy said, "You gonna kiss me on the cheek?" "Not unless it'll get me a better deputy." George said, "Meet my ACE or the station's ACE." Another guy came from the hall, zipping up. "Hi my name is whatever you want it to be. I'm supposed to be the new Station Chief." "Well," I said. "At least we're all relaxed and ready to do the paperwork." Sandy said, "I was going to get everything ready, but George did all his stuff, and your Office Manager said she was sending the paperwork with you." "We should be fine, Sandy. I'll need your help on some things though." "Just ask, Sir." We began with the formal "Your sidearm, please." George handed me his Glock after he dropped the clip and ejected the round catching it in midair. He put the round back in the magazine and handed it to me. "You will be issued a new one in D.C. You'll probably get the one with laser sights." "Neat." I handed him the station inventory and said, "The two of you will complete this now. I know men are in the field, but it has to be done." They did the weapons, the main equipment, and then we went to the motor pool, where we had to check off the vehicles that were out and the vehicles in the garage. Next were the classified files. We went through those one at a time, checking them off. We confirmed his sick time, his vacation time, and I handed him his check for this station. That's pretty final and it was probably hurting. I had the surprise though. I put his new assignment papers in front of him and said, "Sign here, here and here." He looked at me strangely. "Uh, these are hire papers." "They are." "Why?" "You're being hired for an ops job. I have to do this." He signed in the three places and I gave him a fat ops hire and transfer check. "What's this?" "Your transfer to ops bonus." "Really?" "Really." "Now check these serial numbers." I pulled a new box that held the fanciest Glock I've ever seen. He was tongue-tied. He read the numbers and didn't know what to do with the gun. I handed him a box of shells and four magazines. I rummaged around in my case and pulled out a box that he opened and found a custom holster for the gun." He was looking at the check and the gun. He looked up and asked, "You didn't ask for my badge?" "You'll need it in D.C. It'll save us postage and you're already used to carrying it." "This is real, isn't it?" "You're checked out, George. That old Sarg is waiting for you there. It's time for you to drive carefully all the way there. Ready?" "I swear, if I could get away with it, I'd kiss you." "Give John a kiss when you see him. If you don't, I'm going to come to D.C. and kick your ass." "You'd do it too, wouldn't you?" I smiled as we shook hands and said, "Good luck." He waved at everyone, and with tears steaming down his face, left with his new toys and his dignity. The new man said, "If I fuck up, please be the one to check me out." "You won't fuck up. If John had you in the wings, he knows you will do the job. George said he's gone over every thing with you. Let's you and I and your ACE go find a friendly sandwich shop and have a quick lunch." I asked Sandy, "Can I bring you back something?" "You?" "I'll be back." "No, I meant you'll really bring me something back?" "If you want." "If you're going to Daily's. I want a roast beef with pepper cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalopenos. Some mayo, too. Thank you, Sir." We left and had some good fat sandwiches. We discussed everything to get the new man going. The ACE said the station was in good shape as George had made sure it was straight. I said, "Treat your people with respect, and show them a soft and a hard side. Be next to them in danger and at their side in sorrow. You'll do fine." The guy said, "Straight out of the Non-Com and officers' manual for the forces." I smiled, "It applies." "That it does." We got Sandy her sandwich and according to the ACE, we got her a Diet Coke. We brought it back to her and she disappeared into the break room. I shook hands all around and went to look for Sandy. She was savoring her sandwich. I stuck out my hand to shake hers and she stood up. She said, "You can kiss my cheek. I trust you." I did. I kissed her cheek, saying I hoped to see her again. The new man asked why I wouldn't stay longer. "Do you need me to?" "Not really, but." "If I'm here, everyone will look to me to tell them what to do. I don't know what they need to do. You can happily refer to your ACE and say, "Ask him." I can't, the buck stops here." "You need to lead your men, including the ACE. Call me Friday after briefing and tell me your status. I'll be waiting." I pointed to the ACE and said, "You have a company vehicle, take me to the airport." "You're taking my ACE?" "You can't handle it?" "Get out of here, Christ, you're tough." I smiled and waved as I dragged the Assistant out by the arm. He drove me to the airport and we did have a decent discussion. I told him to help his new Station Chief with answers. "Don't do his work for him. I understand you're good. Do him a favor and teach, but don't do for him. Make sure you give him everything he needs for tomorrow's briefing, actually every day. But tomorrow, you give it to him early and tell him everything line by line and ask him to go over it. You introduce him then vanish. Go to the John, walk around the block, go downstairs to the Bureau, anything, but vanish." "When you come back, smile and ask him how it was. When he's gone, ask Sandy." He said, "You're right, you have to push them in. He'll be alright." "I know, you're here." We shook hands and I watched him drive off. I walked through the operations building and spotted my pilot chatting with a waitress. I walked up to them and said hi. The pilot said to the waitress, "See what I said, isn't he cute, a hunk, and a deputy marshal. He's got a gun." We went out to the plane and she began walking around the plane, looking at whatever she was looking at. A ground guy came out and stood in front of the plane while we got in. She pushed a start button that started the coffee pot. She said, "The most important part of the pre-flight and it ain't on the checklist." When I looked questioningly at her, she said, "The coffee. I put the coffee on and it's not on the checklist. Airplanes don't fly without coffee. Didn't you know that?" This babe was a case. She pulled the preflight check list card out and pointed at the things we had just done and asked, "Did I forget anything?" "I don't think so." "Grab the start 'em up and takeoff list." I used the list from item one and read each item as she went through each one. Sometimes she'd say, "Hold a sec." then say "OK." She called for taxi instructions and we were off. We cued up in line and eventually were blasting down the runway. You can feel the airplane actually get lighter on the wheels before lifting off. If you watch your pilot, they get a silly smile on their face. I kept doing the item by item checklist until we were at the end. I put the card away and she said, "You're not done." I pulled the card back out and opened it to the last page and was looking at it. She pointed to blank area at the bottom of the page. "We didn't do that yet." She smiled and said, "Get the pilot coffee." She waited until I was out of my seat and said, "You're supposed to request permission from the command pilot to leave your seat. I'll remember that." After a second, she added, "Oh, you can have some coffee too." We had coffee and some decent conversation on the way back. She said she was a friend of the girl who was the main instructor at the air charter and school. She said, "I was a dancer for a short time at the same place Star and De De danced. I always wanted to fly and learned to fly a few years back but needed my transport license. They told me to come on out and get some more right seat hours. I took lessons during the day for the more advanced aircraft and danced my ass off every night. I did everything I could to keep getting rides and now I'm qualified for everything, including the G5s. I love to fly. This is better than dancin' although I do love to be naked. I live out at a naturist preserve with a house full of crazy people. You ever go to Park Place?" "All the time." "I live right behind there in the park. Do you ever see a redheaded bartender with the cutest freckles ever?" "Yes, we have, I think her name is um ah, Shannon." "You got it. I live in a house with a guy named Tom who is married to a girl named Zena. Kinky name isn't it. Her mom's name's even worse, Zora." "Anyway, I live with Tom, Zena, Shannon, Joanie, Becky and Maggie. Becky is going to get married and move out soon but will still live in the park. Her guy is an officer out on the air force base. I think Maggie's going next. She has a really nice guy that follows her around like a puppy dog. She used to be a hundred percent Lez, but look what happened to her. You should meet these people. Come out and stay in the Bed and Breakfast. We'll go canoeing, or fishing, or just get naked and lay in the sun. You'll love it. Bring your lady or ladies and enjoy. You can't come solo. They don't allow guys by themselves." We flew back in decent time, landing at the airport and taxiing to the hangar of the charter service. The pilot said, "If you had a bunch of luggage, I would park over at the ops building, but you only have that one case. You don't mind walking over to the parking lot do you? I could give you a ride, but I might not let you out of the car." She laughed loud and long. When I got out of the plane, the lady with the star tattoo near her eye came out and asked how the flight was. I nodded. She said, "I'm sure my ditzy pilot talked your arm off and probably propositioned you. I hope everything is okay." "It's fine. She made it fun." "So you wouldn't mind flying with her in the future." "Not in the least. She's a good pilot." Star smiled. I said, "Say, how much notice do I have to give to start flying lessons?" "Not much right now. Instructing is a little slow. Actually it's a lot slow. We have a few special deals if you're interested. We can schedule you daily anytime, or just some evenings and weekends." "Most of the time I could be regular, but sometimes my schedule screws up." "Basic ground school and initial training will probably take a couple of months unless you do it every day. If you can afford it, that's the way to do it. I think you learn better when it's crammed." "If I do this, I want to understand how to do instrument flying." "They are changing a lot of the instruction cycles on instrument flying because of new equipment. I think the old way is best then learn the new. That doesn't take a long time but you have more studying to do." "I'll call to set up a time to start class." "Are you really interested or just curious?" "I want to fly." The lady took me inside and gave me a big binder and said, "Read every word. I'll quiz you on it. Here, take this book and read it. It'll give you some insight on flying. Call me for your first free ride. After that, flight time is expensive. Fuel is killer expensive." I stuffed the binder and the book in my bag and walked to the Expedition. I sat in the car and called the office. Angie answered the phone saying, "U.S. Marshal's office, Senior Deputy in charge, may I help you?" "My goodness, young lady; you sound young to be the senior deputy in charge." "Ah no, I mean this is the office of the Senior Deputy in charge." "Oh, now I understand. Does he have an Office Manager?" "Yes Sir, he does. May I ask who's calling." I said, "Sure, tell the Office Manager a Charles Johnson is on the line." "That's funny. My name is Johnson, the Office Manager's name is Johnson and the main man is Chuck, oh, that's you isn't it. I'm sorry, Sir. I'll get Ms. Johnson." "Hey, I have to have fun sometimes too, Angelina. Don't be mad at me." "Yes Sir, it's fun." She put me on hold, then Ms. Starch came on the phone. "How may I help you, Mr. Johnson?" "I'm calling to see if my inbox is overflowing or are there any calls I need to return." "Nothing important is pending, Sir. I've been able to divert most everything. You are requested to be home early this evening. I understand you are to be the subject of a serious discussion. It could become laborious." "You don't say. Well, I'm on the ground and I was calling to see if it was worthwhile coming in." "Definitely worthwhile, Sir. I think you need to see some changes we've made." "I'll be there in twenty minutes." "Goodbye, Sir." I parked the Expedition in the back of the building next to the Bureau Chief's Mercedes. That's pretty pretentious. I was about to use the elevator, but went around to the security gate and showed my badge. I walked into the station office out of habit and Marie said, "You're back. Do you need to talk to someone?" "I came in by mistake, Marie." I went back out and entered the office to find Angie and an older lady. She was very sophisticated looking, and very attractive. She asked if she could help me and I introduced myself, sticking out my hand. She began to stand and I said, "Please, remain seated. I'm sure we will have an opportunity to talk later." She smiled pleasantly, I said hi to Angie, and walked into my office. Holy shit. I walked out of it then back in. This was the right place, but there was a garden in there. There were hanging plants all over, with two real palms and another tree. Wandering Jews were hanging off the bookshelves by the TV and on the bar shelving. The plants made the place smell great. I had blinds and drapes. I opened the door to Wanda's office and it was a repeat of my office. There were plants everywhere. She had blinds and drapes too. I looked into the clerks' office and noticed the plants, a tree, blinds, and drapes. I looked at Wanda, "This is all wonderful. It smells so fresh, so full of life. I love it. The drapes are just right. They add some color. You did well by getting different colors for each room." "I like the ship in the bottle and the Learjet on the back shelf. Nice touch, as that is what I flew in today." Wanda said, "You and I need some form of art on the wall. I'll find some appropriate prints and this will be a nice place to work. What do you think of my second choice for a clerk?" Answering Wanda with a smile, I said, "The word, elegant, comes to mind. She is you in twenty or so years." "I thought so, as well. So far, she has grasped everything I've given her, as well as Angie. I'm very happy with our choices." "I am too, all three of you. As long as I'm here, I'll clean out my basket." I went in and plugged in my laptop to charge and to get my e-mail. I did not check it yet today. I pulled the stack of papers from the in basket and set them in front of me on a new leather pad. Okay, I guess it's easier to write on. There on my desk was a leather picture frame with a beautiful picture of Bobby. I looked up to the shelf of the TV cabinet and there were framed pictures of Jan, Marie, and Wanda. Sarah was missing. As was Angie and you know, she didn't give me her name. I got up and went to the front of her desk and said, "Hi my name is Chuck Johnson, I'm pleased that you're one of my new clerks." She looked at me as if I three heads. I stuck my hand out and she shook it, but remained silent. "Do I address you as "Hey you." "You out there ah, perhaps, the lady on the left, but you would be on my right and on your left if you turned around." She began to giggle. A really cute giggle and said, "My name is Conish Matathena. Most people call me Connie, but that is rather common don't you think?" "Since I'm doomed to be forever common with a name like Johnson, Conish Matathena is a magnificent name. I will probably refer to you as Mata Hari." She giggled again, "Do you always jest so much?" "I joke around in order to make my life smile more. If someone joins me in that smile, it makes my day." "In that case, Mr. Johnson, you may call me Connie, Mata Hari, or any new name you should come up with." "Conish, I am pleased to meet and know you. Enjoy our office." I went back into my office and began looking at only four e-mails and was able to immediately answer all of them. As I began going through the stack of papers, Wanda came into my office shutting the door to the clerks and sitting in one of the chairs. I said, "Thank you for the photos. I'm impressed you were able to get those so fast. We need one of Sarah, Angie, and Conish. That will make the set complete. "Will you wish pictures of the deputies?" "Of course, I wish a picture of a size that will include all of the office personnel. Then I wish one from each office that I'm responsible for. I want them displayed in the hallway and throughout the offices up here." Wanda said, "I knew you would want that. I've already sent a request throughout your offices for a staff photo. When we get them, we'll have them blown up and framed. An excellent idea." "I take it you are filtering my e-mails. Make sure I get and answer those I need to. This stack isn't very large." "That's what you have two clerks and me for. We are here to make your life easier. Do you have the transfer papers from today?" I pulled the papers from my case and handed them to her. I had made sure they were in order and paper clipped together in a file folder. "Thank you, Wanda, for arranging the employment bonus and for obtaining the new weapon. You made that man's day. He asked me to tell you, he wishes you two could have been compatible. He thinks highly of you." "That's very nice. I too have some regrets over that relationship. It's best forgotten. I do not let a relationship enter into my business persona." I had been doing the papers as we spoke, and finished the last one and put it in the out box. I had held one out. "This doesn't sound right. Think I should ask for a more detailed account of the incident?" "A single incident report for three deputies that did not have a dead ending, but a devastating ending just the same. Something is not right." Wanda said, "I didn't like that one either. Why not e-mail them asking each to create and write their own more detailed incident report and tell them it is due within twenty-four hours. That will let them know you read the reports and that they were skating by offering you a single collective report." "Send a general memo that collective reports are never acceptable for serious incidents and cite the reg for it. I'll look it up if you can't find it." "I know it by heart, Sir. I've had to show it to enough deputies. I'll send that yet today." She got up and said, "This has been a very nice day. Thank you for letting me have plants all around. May I continue at the house?" "By all means, but you're going to have to teach us how to care for them." "It will be a pleasure, Sir." She left. Man was there a difference between here and home. I still can't believe she snuck up under me and had me fucking her before the other girls even realized it. Pretty slick. She's strong, she picked up a smaller girl and pitched her. That's determination. Ain't I lucky? I looked at Bobby's picture. In my mind, I saw her massive size, marveling at her willingness to love me, but to share me. Losing Danny had to have been tremendously, shit, I can't think of the word, but it must have been horrible. Bobby sometimes doesn't seem locked in on our relationship being permanent. She's too willing to hunt up others to be a part of us, almost to take her place. Perhaps I should tell her about how I don't want anyone to take her place. She keeps talking about special needs. She's just kinky. I hope Marie is okay. That was intense. I don't think anyone has ever taken the time to show her that she is more than just some holes to be used. Women are wonderful. Too bad guys don't take more time to show them. I wouldn't mind playing with Angie, she's cute. And then there's the mysterious Conish, what a name. I want to see her investigative profile. It should be interesting with a name like that. I called Bobby and asked if Dave and his wife Gina were all set with the new little girl. She said yes and the Russian couple had been transported to their destination. She mentioned that we've had some reports on the witnesses we were housing, so she was instituting the maximum security for them. No outside time except at night and no person entering the penthouse suite except a deputy. How well I remembered the mess that I had lived through. We were going to have to take them back and forth for federal court. That could be a production. We would work it out. Oh yeah, it was Bobby that had to work it out. It's hard to just observe and wait for someone to ask for help. Angie came with another incident report for me to review. I thanked her and went over it. Pretty standard. Escapee gets a broken wrist trying to keep from being cuffed, dummy. The deputy actually apologized for using too much force. I need to talk to that boy so he won't make a mistake and not use the force necessary. I checked the e-mails one last time before shutting off my laptop and putting it in its case. My desk was clear, only one piece of paper in the out box. Would my conscience, (my office manager) have a cow if I split? Instead of standing up, I did the macro for the security web sites and put in the keyword vehicles. I followed links around until I found a listing for vehicles available for echelon vehicles. In other words personal drivers, cars we can take home as well as use for work. There were almost five thousand cars. I narrowed the search to the southeast region and there were still three thousand cars. I scanned through brand names. There were even Bentleys and Roll Royce in the mix. That's how the Bureau Station Chief got his Mercedes. I looked and found a Dodge Viper, but it had a lot of damage on it and blood stains. I narrowed the search area to Florida and began scanning through a thousand cars and trucks. I wanted something fast and safe. An SUV would be nice, but I didn't like the Expedition. Bobby did, but she likes big hoggy cars that are just enclosed trucks. Speed wasn't her thing. She had probably never taken a speed class. I did, but in a Humvee. Those monster wide things have some juice and can four wheel drift with the best of them. I never was a good car shopper. Everything on wheels I've had was opportunistic. Like the little pickup. It was a deal. I didn't have it long, but I had fond memories of it. While I was in the military, I had a junker Chevy that couldn't get out of its own way. It was an eighty-eight Chevy Nova that was really a Corolla. It was tiny, drove pretty good, economical, and I got my money back when I sold it before shipping out. So what do you get when your choices are from a totaled old Ford Ranger to a Rolls Royce? I flipped through car after car until I found a former Marshals Service protected vehicle. It was a Chrysler 300 with a Hemi. I clicked on the car to find it had sixty thousand miles. That isn't many at all. The thing had so many options it took two pages to print them on. The picture showed it to be a very dark Navy blue with heavily tinted glass. It listed bullet proof glass, lamps, body, and tires. It had a sunroof, so that was nice. It had law enforcement suspension, so that meant it was a little stiffer. I wonder why it was taken out of service. I started to call the garage in Orlando but had a better idea. I called Hank and asked him to get the lowdown on the protected Chrysler 300 they had as surplus. He called me back about ten minutes later and said, "Ah, Matt, the guy there, said the car wasn't big enough and they had to order and get a Suburban like ours. He said the thing has sat for two months and he would welcome getting rid of it. He said there was nothing wrong with it. Never wrecked, never shot at. They don't have a very active safe activity over there, nothing like ours." I told Hank, "Get it. If I don't drive it, I'll give it to Bobby instead of that behemoth Expedition you're about to pay too much to protect." Hank said, "I already told him to transport the thing tonight. I figured you would want it." "What else is out there? Do you know anything that's cool. You know what I like; fast, good handling, safe is good, normal passenger load is fine, so it can't be a vette or bird or 350 or something like that. The Bureau guys can get away with that stuff, but not deputies." Hank asked, "No truck?" "If it's unique, I'd look, but unless it's a crew cab, the passenger load isn't acceptable. The Caddy and Chevy trucks with the conversion bed are cute, but I think they handle like shit." "You got that right," Hank said. "I'll call around. It's going to take a couple of days yet to get the authorization to protect the freebie Expedition. We would do better selling it and stashing the money in our fund instead of assuming it for a driver. We can steal stuff from the other offices. They all have to have new stuff. You're smart, someone told you an inventory vehicle was a freebie and not charged to the office." "I read that in one of the manuals. Seems stupid to use up a budget for a driver when we confiscate stuff every day. Do you know there's even a Rolls and a Bentley?" "No shit, I haven't looked lately. Wonder what the upkeep cost on the Rolls is? We'd get some shit over that, I bet." "I'll try out the 300 and see if it's big enough for Bobby. That's probably why she wants the Expedition." I was still looking through cars and came to a year old Escalade that said it was protected. "Hang on; I got a hit for Bobby. A Cadillac Escalade in Miami that says it's protected. Let's see, it says it has forty-eight thousand. Shit, it's still new." Hank said, "I got it on my screen too. Nice looking dark maroon. I'll call you right back. I know Carlos down there." I looked through the car and it was nice, real nice. Sharp as can be. Even had some ground effects stuff; as if that would make much of a difference on an Escalade. Wonder why so few miles. Hank called back. "Same game, Boss. It wasn't ordered with the third seat so it is considered a max of five passengers. Transport vehicles have to be six minimum." "Call Carlos back and tell him we want it. Bobby will shit. It's big enough and it is fancy enough to get a chick off. I should get some nice lovin' for getting it. Call him, will ya?" "I already told him it had to be here in the morning, that we needed it for an op. The needs of a station Chief the size of Bobby is an op isn't it? And you know what, I'll order that third seat in real quick. There might even be a matching seat in one of the junk yards." "Damn right, Hank. Thanks. Keep your eyes open though. I might give the 300 to Wanda to get a junior rocket that we could pick up." Hank said, "Wanda may not fit in the 300." "What do you mean?" "Her tits won't fit," Hank was laughing. "She's tall with long legs and will have the seat back, but her tits still won't fit. That babe has tits longer than Bobby. Not bigger, just longer. Are you alive? You haven't noticed?" "Um Hank, I can't look at her that way, she is my Office Manager." He laughed, "You lyin' fucker, I look and she ain't my Office Manager. Christ the guys see her and go into the john to beat off." "It's getting deep, Buddy." "Well almost, you know what I mean," he said. "Thanks for pulling those two, but start watching the net. This office is short a couple of chase vehicles and a couple covert vehicles. I know of two duty cars with almost two hundred thousand on them. I know because you have already put in for new replacements. Let's cheap ourselves out a little. Do you think the guys would have minded driving an Escalade?" "You're right, that'll give my budget a boost won't it. That's why it took so damned long to get my tow truck. Shit, you're too damn smart. I'm gonna look for another tow truck. See me in the morning to get rid of your Expedition. Bobby's too." Good deal, I thought. I'd have a nice surprise for Bobby. A protected car, just like she and I wanted her to have. The 300 won't be bad. It's supposed to be a luxury car. It's cool looking, but then I don't need cool. I need fast. The more I thought fast, the more immature I felt. Oh well, I needed some faults. My watch said 5:05. I don't like the doors closed like they are; I can't see or hear the activity out there. They can't hear me talking to Hank about Wanda's tits either, though. Good and bad in everything. I stood, picked up my case, and walked out to Wanda's office. Angie and Conish were both there, holding their purses. Wanda said, "Can we walk over to a place these two say is a good place for an after work drink?" "Sure, I'll even buy tonight. Where and what is this place?" Angie said, "It's called The Office. They have specials almost every day. See if Marie or Sarah want to come too." "Let's stop in on the way by. They locked up as I walked down to the station. Sarah was standing talking to Marie, probably about tomorrow's itinerary. They looked at me and I said, "My staff has invited me to walk down the street to a place called The Office for some after work refreshment. Would you two like to join us? I'll go ask Bobby too." I asked Bobby and she said, "I haven't been in there in a long time. They used to have the coldest beer in town. Sure I'll come, I'm done anyway." Marie was on the phone, and Sarah was getting her purse, so we were getting up a group. Marie got off the phone and said, Jan's the only one that wants to come with us. We rode down in the elevator, stopped at the second floor to pick up Jan, and were out on the street. We walked the few blocks to the bar. They had big double doors and when we went in, we realized it was elbow room only. We did find a group leaving the bar and scooted into their seats. It left only Bobby and me standing. The special was buy one, get one, draft so we had icy mugs of cold beer in front of us immediately. The waitresses and bartenders were dressed in some pretty skimpy uniforms or costumes or something. I suddenly had a guilty feeling and used my cell phone to call Hank. When he answered I asked, "You ready to leave?" "Yeah, why?" "You know where the Office is?" "Yeah, why?" "You sound like a broken record. Walk down here and I'll buy you a beer. I owe you. But don't tell Bobby anything, okay?" "Shit, I'm on my way, I love those waitress outfits." Should have known he knew where the good looking, half-dressed, waitresses were at. When he showed up, he was surprised to find so many of us there. He happily joined us in having an icy beer. We all had some popcorn and that made us want more beer. We agreed two would be our limit and chatted and had a good time. Miss or Mrs. Conish didn't talk much, but she sure sucked down the beer. Wanda was in a good mood and almost lost her stiff manner of talking. She was so funny, as she was crude as hell when we were home. We found out both Marie and Angie should have been carded, since they were both just barely twenty-one. When we finished our second beer, we were all reluctant to leave, but we knew better. We walked en masse back toward the office. We found out both Angie and Ms. Conish were going to wait for a bus ride. Bobby said, "I'll take you home. It's no problem. We kept you late, so it will be a long time before another bus." The two objected, but Bobby said, "I'm not your boss, but I can be your boss's boss. Come with me." Jan wanted to ride with Bobby, while Marie and Wanda rode with me. Bobby and I even mixed up which Expedition was whose. They were identical. They took off and then we drove away. The conversation on the way home was fairly lively. Wanda was in a great mood, probably helped by the beer, and Marie was asking if we were going to workout again. "Of course, you have to do that stuff every day. We'll get home and get started so others can use some of the stuff. We might even have to get another bike and treadmill. There's room in the gym for some more equipment." We did get home and were changed and in the gym when Jan and Bobby drove into the garage. They changed and joined us. Jan was saying. "You guys are strict. If the Bureau guys go get a drink, none of them go workout. It was almost pulling teeth trying to get anyone to workout with me." Bobby said, "If we go have a drink, it's probably more reason to workout. I think we can eat big, and drink some as long as we workout regularly. Look at us, there's five sweating people that are in good health, enjoying making our muscles stretch." I couldn't help but to tease; "Bobby, I have a surprise for you tomorrow." "What, what kind of surprise." "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." Marie said, "Does he do that? My brothers and my dad do that all the time and I just hate it." Wanda said, "It must be a nice one if he's going to tease you about it. If it was nothing, he wouldn't make you curious." "That makes sense," Jan smiled. "I had not thought of it that way." Bobby still wanted to know, "Come on, give me a hint, what kind of surprise? Is it bigger than a breadbox?" Everyone laughed, as that's exactly what we used to ask when our parents teased us with a surprise. "It's good enough that some people could be envious." "Which people," Bobby asked. "That's all the clues, anything more and you'll get too close to what it is." "When will I get it?" "Tomorrow." "When tomorrow?" She asked this, as she was doing reps with almost twice my weight. "Probably in the morning." "You mean you don't even know?" "Patience, Bobby, I didn't know surprises got to you like that." "I love 'em. I go nuts thinking of everything under the sun. Now I'll think of all kinds of things until whatever it is comes or is given to me or hits me." Wanda was amused, "Knowing Mr. Johnson, Chuck, now that we are home, I'm sure it's something you'll like. Like a new Glock. He's ordered a whole pile of this new model." "Don't tell her the secret, Wanda," I said. She was helping to tease now. Marie said, "The new model with the laser, can I have one, please?" Wanda laughed, "You are a Bubba's wet dream, Marie. You get off on beer, guns, cars, and fucking. I can't believe you're single." "Guys that like all that stuff have to have something between their ears, in addition to something between their legs. That guy is out there somewhere, and I figured I might have better luck finding him in a law enforcement environment. Hanging around with people like Bobby and Chuck will attract those guys, so I'll find him." Bobby teased, "And in between, you borrow what's between my guy's legs to keep you calm." "It is a benefit here, isn't it?" The lighthearted banter, as we were sweating while working out, was very enjoyable. These folks were like family that I didn't have, and probably some the others in the room also didn't have. I wasn't sure about Jan. Marie had a strong family. Bobby's family was strong, but because of her job she didn't socialize as much as she could. Then there is Wanda, I didn't read her background. I guess I should read all three of my people's security check outs. When it was time for swimming, the five of us went out to the pool. I had to stop to take off my leg and was assisted by Bobby and Wanda again, those suckers. They jointly picked me up and threw me halfway down the pool. They were too damned strong. By the time I surfaced, sputtering, they were swimming by, already in a good rhythm. I had to really hustle to catch up. I didn't think I was going to be the long distance person tonight as I was tiring quickly. The two younger girls dropped and I could hear that Bobby was tiring, but Wanda sounded like she was going strong. After Bobby stopped Wanda and I were on our fifth additional lap before she stopped and coasted to the wall saying "Uncle." I did the show off thing, swimming another two laps before pulled up to the wall. "You girls are going to kill me. God, Bobby and Wanda, you two can swim. I'm supposed to be the tireless Special Forces geek and should be able to out swim you two hands down." With her tits against my back while playing with my dick, Wanda said, "Girls can be strong too, you know. We can train just like you do." "I know, Bobby can out-lift me and now you are close to doing it. I just can't lift much more." Wanda said, "I damn near weigh as much as you do, so I should be able to lift almost as much as you do. I've worked out continuously for years. I'd bet you had almost a year that you didn't get to workout. I know it's tough to workout when you're in a war zone, but your hospital stay probably screwed you up too." "The hospital people had me working out fast. Even before I got my prosthesis, they had me on a bike with one leg. They didn't let me get into a pool until the last three months and then it was just ten to fifteen minutes at a time. I'm still not supposed to be in more that a half hour to forty-five minutes. It takes away from my stump callus or something." "In that case, Chuck, I should get you out of here." Bobby was next to me, knowing what Wanda was doing, but not saying anything. Wanda was about to turn me around when Jan slid up between me and the wall. She wrapped her legs around me and Wanda both, while reaching down between us to fit me into her. She forced me into her as she didn't generate as much oil as Wanda. She grunted, "I got cha' right where I need ya," Jan turned her head to Bobby and kissed her, asking, "You don't mind if I borrow him a couple of minutes do you? I promise I'll only fuck him half to death." The look of pure lust came over Bobby's face. She had a hand between Jan and me, feeling our connection. Wanda's hands were trying to play with Jan's clit. This was feeling pretty damn good. Marie swam over and I didn't know how she was going to get involved. The mini pool orgy lasted until they made Jan get off so hard, she fell away and would have drowned if Bobby didn't pick her up and carry her out. I was still hard when Jan fell away and Wanda slid me right in. She only gave me a couple of nice strokes, smiling and said, "Perhaps we can finish this later." I swam to the steps and Marie and Wanda helped me to the outdoor shower where I was able to shower off and get my erection under control. As she was still trying to help me balance, Marie said, "It's so cute the way it slowly deflates. It's like it would much rather be standing up to give us pleasure. I guess you get pleasure from us too, don't you." I was drying off and Marie was still talking. "Funny isn't it. I've known a lot of guys and they never seemed to want to give me pleasure like Chuck is constantly doing with you all, or should I say all of us. Other guys mostly want to stick it in a hole and squirt. They push back and forth, get off and almost all of them ask, "Was it good for you, Baby?" Wanda said, "Whenever you hear that, try to drown the SOB or run like crazy. It took me too many years to learn my lesson. Hope you learn more quickly." As I was putting on my leg, Jan came over and sat on my lap. "Thank you, Sir. I needed that bad. Between you and your two big lady friends, you all did me in good." She patted her pussy, "It feels so much better now." These girls really do make me laugh. Tonight Bobby had a surprise. We had lasagna from Jonah's. Millie had brought it over and dropped it off in our fridge. I asked Bobby, "How did Millie get a key to a secure house?" "It ain't a secure house any more, Honey, this is your house, our house, all of our house. I have a key to Mom's and Dad's, Millie's, and even my other sister's place. It's only reasonable that she should have a key to leave food or get food from over here." Logical, right? I didn't know families did that sort of thing, but then I didn't have a family, except all these people. Someone had bought red wine. For that matter, Millie could have brought it. We ate salad, and then gorged ourselves with lasagna, drank dark red wine, and had some canolies that were sinful. Everyone was smiling while cleaning up the kitchen. We watched a little TV, but were soon in bed ready for a good night's sleep. I made the mistake of brushing my teeth and making sure everything was closed and locked, and the security system was working. I even checked all the monitors that showed nothing, not even one of the service's cars, as they were not here any longer. I checked on our people and found Marie snuggled with Jan. I didn't want to bother Wanda, as she is a bit of a strange bird. When I went into our bedroom, a video of my time with Jan was playing, while Wanda and Bobby were busily tasting each other. Not wanting to bother them, I sat in the chair at the end of the bed, watching their intensity. Totally awesome. I think this competition was as intense as the swimming competition. Whomever fell to glory, or to the glory of total orgasm, lost. They fought, licked, tongued, nibbled, and bit. They wrestled and dominated until one of them came up with a way for them both to win. Since I was watching, I must have been available and was expected to declare a winner. One of them easily picked me up and tossed me to the other, who laid me back to suck on me and impale herself on me. When one would get her jollies, the other would take over. When I told them that they were going to be rewarded with enough juice to repopulate a few of the larger provinces of China, they decided that the emission should be shared orally and mutually, between the two strongest females in my domain. I have to admit, the ejaculation was phenomenal, super, fantastic, and totally awesome. When they were done, I was still horny, so I attacked first one, fucking as hard and fast as possible, and when that one began to fade, I plunged into the second as if she were my reserve. I fucked, plunged, jammed, stuck, and enjoyed both of these women until we three were totally done in. My Love, Bobby, the strongest of us three said, "No more, Honey, that's all I have to give." The second strongest, but the most crafty, had me buried in her very warm, very active, pussy long enough that it sucked a torrential amount of my male juice out of me before we fell into a catatonic sleep. I woke up for a few seconds when the larger of the two women moved her head to my pubic area and sucked me into her mouth. I remained there, probably hard, for the rest of the night. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 15 If you want a strange feeling, try waking up with your wanger about to give a gently sucking mouth a large load of juice. Oh my, it is totally more than a body can handle. When I was totally sucked dry, my Love, Bobby said, "Time for breakfast, Honey. We fell asleep in the IHOP parking lot." Wonder how that happened? My semi-dream revealed that I ate with both ladies grinning at each other. Bobby said, "You know he's mine don't you?" The tall, buxom, Wanda said, "I'm not trying to take him away, I'd like to share him though." Bobby asked, "Do you think he can handle both of us?" Wicked Wanda answered, "He should be able to if he doesn't have to fuck Jan and Marie every day." Bobby countered, "But they are our friends too." Wanda responded, "Only as long as they get some dick along with us." "Aren't we being a little stingy?" Bobby was sincere. "Not really, both of us need more dick than those two do." "How do you think Chuck will feel about this?" Bobby questioned. "He loves you so much, he'll do whatever you want him to do." "Why would I want you to be a second wife or girlfriend, instead of Marie or Jan?" "I'm more mature, more playful, and I eat pussy better than either of the other two." Being sort of cognizant of the conversation between two awesome ladies, I asked them in this dream or dream like state, "Please, understand my allegiance is with Bobby. You are totally captivating, Wanda, and I'm flattered that you want to compete for me. If you want to enjoy me and give Bobby pleasure too, please do. I think your competition will give us a lot of enjoyment by letting you both enjoy each other and me. I think you are wonderful, but Bobby is still first." "That makes me want you all the more, Chuck. You are so loyal, so totally committed, that I want to suck the cum from Bobby every time you put some in there. You two are a total sexual awakening. I love you both." "Oh shit, what was that? What did she say? Is it too easy for her to say that?" Wanda snuggled up to my back, fondling Bobby's body in front of me. Both girls settled back down to fall asleep. Bobby started to, then held my hand to her breast. Strange dream or was it? I awoke slowly, groggily, and in a different position than normal. Bobby was lying with me, but so was this long, big breasted, woman. Oh yeah, Wanda. It took me a minute or so to put everything together before I became energized. Sliding from between them woke them both. They sat up, caught me, and both kissed me. We did get up together. I shaved and brushed my teeth while they showered together. After I showered, they helped me to the bed so I could dress and get my leg attached. In the kitchen, we began to make breakfast. Wanda said, "Let me wake the other ladies. I think I can do it gently. She quickly returned and the two girls came into the kitchen shortly after, dressed and ready for work. Wanda spent a few minutes explaining how to take care of some of the many plants that she had brought. I listened closely as I thought it might be left up to me to maintain them. Just as we were ready to go into the office Bobby said, "Am I really going to get a surprise today?" "You are, my Love, I think you will like it." Marie, the consummate gun lover asked, "Will I get one of the new laser-sighted Glocks?" "We'll see, Marie. They should go on an as needed basis." Jan was very quiet this morning and only asked for a kiss from each of us. She gave me a toe curler that told me she wasn't giving up. We stopped for several dozen donuts this morning to divide between the Marshal's Service, the Bureau, and the garage. Bobby questioned why I told her we both had to park in the garage in Hank's ready slots. I suggested it could be because her protection was ordered. A total truth. I went to work while Bobby did the same and gave the daily briefing. Hank called me and said, "The Escalade is washed, waxed, and detailed. Come and get it." Bobby wasn't that busy, so I told her a white lie. "I need you to go with me for a few minutes, come with me, okay?" With an unsuspecting innocence, we walked over to the garage. In the station chief's spot was a gorgeous dark maroon Escalade. Bobby's first comment was, "I wonder who's parked in my slot? It sure is an awesome car." Hank strolled out and dropped the keys in my hand. He said, "Was able to pick up the third seat for a song. Kirby's salvage just happened to have one." I asked Bobby, "We should steal it, what do you say, let's take it for a joyride," I handed her the keys and said, "You drive." She didn't get it until we were both in the car when she realized I was teasing her. "Is this my surprise?" I smiled. "This is awesome. Wow, it's so nice. The interior is all leather, and look at this, it's a department protection sticker. Is this thing protected?" When I smiled, she started it, slid the sun roof back and forward, rolled all the windows up and down and up again. Bobby gently put it into gear, and as she went by the grinning Hank, floored it to make it smoke the tires as she fishtailed out onto the street. "Yee haw!" Bobby was yelling in her exuberance. She blasted out Kennedy, and thank goodness, it had a green light to four wheel skid around to get on the approach to Adamo drive. If a Tampa cop had been around, she would have raced him. Thank goodness the elation didn't last long enough for us to either hurt anyone or to get a ticket. She pulled over to the curb and gave me a lip lock that told me everything between us was perfect. "Thank you, Lover. I didn't really want to drive that Expedition. It was a freebie, so I was going to take it, but it was going to cost a fortune to get it protected. I know I don't need a protected car, but I've been in one for so long, I might screw up. This is perfect. What a classic car." When we drove back to the garage, she got out and gave Hank a kiss that made him have to change shorts. She put the car in her parking slot behind our building. Upstairs, she was twirling the keys around her finger as she stopped in to see Wanda. "Just wait till you see it." She went back to her office where we later heard she lorded over everyone that she had a new, or at least almost new, protected Escalade. When Bobby left, Wanda grinned at me and said uncharacteristically, "You did good." My work was nothing until ten when I left the office for five minutes to see the Bureau chief. I returned to find my e-mail log was filled and my in box was over the sides. Oh well, all good things must end. I went through the e-mails quickly to make sure there was nothing earth shattering and attacked the in box. Damn, we had enough incident reports to choke an elephant I read them all and only pulled two for clarification. I quickly e-mailed both of the initiators of the reports and went on to the other items. I was requested to visit a station tomorrow. I wonder why they couldn't ask me in advance. One of our ACEs in St. Louis was getting married in the future and asked if I would give her away. (For crying out loud, don't they have someone closer to them than a one legged dude from Florida.) The kicker though, is a relocation that had been shot at multiple times while going through a trial, and refused to be relocated without taking her horse with her. I e-mailed the station and said, "Make sure the horse is clean and transport the horse to a stable near the relocation. Make sure you transport all of her tack as well. Give her an allocation or stipend to care for the horse until she can do it on her own." A female Assistant Station Chief called me a few minutes later and said, "I didn't think you would allow us to do that and I was going to try to figure out how to get the service to get the horse to the lady. You even remembered the tack. Do you have a horse or did you ever have one?" "No, I didn't. I did work for a man who had a lot of horses and I helped care for them while I was in high school." "I'm happy to work for you, Mr. Johnson, thank you. The relocation thanks you too." The rest of the paperwork was bullshit that I had to read and sign. There was another update to our manual that I read, checked into the site and took the quiz, then put it into the binder. I buzzed Wanda. She came in with her steno pad. I asked Wanda about the station transfer. She said it was one that had been on hold because John could not get there and he had not approved it. Because the request was re-submitted during the transition, the request was automatically granted. I had to go. "What about this giving away the bride thing?" "Do it. Have a lot of pictures made of it. Make it into a service newspaper highlight. Make sure someone goes with you to photograph everything and write an article and a report to send to D.C. It's good for brownie points." When I asked, "That's a lot of money to spend to go to a wedding, isn't it?" Wanda answered very dryly, "She didn't ask for a wedding present, did she?" Oh well, now let's see if Bobby will go with me. Let's check dates. "Wanda, get me to this station transfer in the morning. Make sure I have all of the paperwork and dossier of both people and on why this is happening." "Find out more about the wedding and do help me with a present. I will pay for it personally. It should not be an office expense. There will be enough expense just getting me there and back." A few minutes later, I went into Wanda and asked, "Do we have some kind of software or a big white board that I can easily refer to so I know when I'm going to be where?" "Wanda led me back to my office and typed in "Schedule" and it showed today as the first day of the calendar and six weeks of events. Each entry had a link that when I clicked on it, an entire memo complete with photographs popped up." "This is wonderful, thank you for getting it and setting it up for me. It's going to get crazy, isn't it?" Wanda smiled and said, "Very." I went back to the e-mails and answered all that I could and forwarded some to Wanda that I had no clue as to what the writer was talking about. I figured she would give me a link to inform me of what the true nature of the e-mail was, and then I could decide and respond. That took me all the way till noon, which brought Conish into my office with more in-box shit, and Wanda with a classic smirk. I remarked that I needed lunch and Wanda walked in with an envelope and said, "You are expected at some executive restaurant a few blocks away for a one o'clock luncheon." I updated my PC screen and said, "It's not on my schedule." Wanda said, "It might be more of a personal nature, Sir. The lady said it was imperative that she speak with you and offered to buy lunch." "Who am I meeting?" "A Veronica Highsmith, Sir." "Did you run her?" "Yes Sir, here is her dossier, there is nothing flagrant within. She is a respected member of the community and quite wealthy I noted. She may be trying to get us to buy a building." I took a deep breath and thought. A free meal is a free meal. Checking my watch, there was just enough time to walk there. I asked Wanda, "Am I supposed to bring anyone with me?" "She didn't ask for anyone else, Sir." The place was near where we were the night before for the after work beer. I was able to walk there quickly and went to the podium at the entrance. A man came up and asked, "How may I help you, Sir?" "I am to meet a Veronica Highsmith at one o'clock. Could you seat me early and bring me an Ice Tea?" "You will have to wait for Ms. Highsmith. She prefers those who are meeting her wait until she arrives." Okay, I can play her game for a few minutes. At one oh five, I advised the greeter, "Please convey my regrets to Ms. Highsmith that I have a busy schedule and could not wait any longer." The man sputtered and did everything he could to get me to wait. I walked right into an open elevator and pushed "1." I was almost back to the office and about to stop at the hot dog vendor when my cell phone rang. Wanda said, "Ms. Highsmith is now at the restaurant and is waiting for you." "Please call her and advise her to make another appointment and to either make it at our office, or be at the appointed place at the requested time." "I don't think I should tell her that." I had an idea. "Let me speak to Conish." "Conish, I want you to advise an individual who requested a specific appointment with me and who was not on time. I want her to make another appointment either at our office, or to be at the appointed place at the time requested. Can you do that?" "Yes Sir, Mr. Johnson." "Let me speak to Wanda so she can give you the information." I asked Wanda to give Conish the appropriate information and then asked if I could bring anyone anything back for lunch. She almost choked. I bought ten hot dogs and four Coke Zeros and headed to the office. I gave each of the ladies two hot dogs and packets of mustard and catsup, along with a Coke Zero. Wanda was embarrassed, but thanked me for the lunch. I went into my office, shut both doors, opened the doors for the TV, and turned it on. I pushed the telephone button that said, "DND" and enjoyed eating my two hot dogs very slowly while watching Fox news. At one forty, twenty minutes after I began eating, I shut the TV off and turned off my DND button. I opened the two doors to the offices so I could be a part of the office activity, and noticed a little bit of a strain. Tough shit, I don't know this Veronica Highsmith from Nancy Reagan, and would much rather meet Nancy. My e-mail was filled to the brim with mostly bullshit. I dumped what needed to be trashed, and answered those that needed to be answered. I went out to Wanda and asked, "Do you have my schedule for tomorrow with the appropriate paperwork?" Her face reddened and she said, "I will have it by five." I looked at my watch and said, "I have an appointment at three, please have it prepared by then as I will probably not return until day after tomorrow." She shot herself in the foot, "But Ms. Highsmith wants to meet you later this afternoon." "That's not possible today. I don't know who she is and she has not advised us of what she wishes to discuss. If you prefer for me to call her, I will, otherwise, tell her to make a mutually agreeable appointment." Wanda looked at me and slipped from her rigid demeanor, "You can be a bitch sometimes can't you." "No more or less than those demanding something I may be unwilling to give." She was wide-eyed and surprised at my answer. "I will poll my PC at three for my schedule and the forms for tomorrow. Be sure they are posted and accessible." I packed my laptop. Made sure my desk was straight and clean and left the office. I stopped in to see Bobby, but was told that she was out to see a duty team. I asked if she was returning before five and Marie said, "She said she will be back to pick us up." I said "I have an appointment and need to leave. There is a good chance I can't get back by then." "I'll make sure we all catch a ride with Bobby. She's in love with her new car." I smiled as I went across the street to see Hank. As soon as he saw me, he said, "You did good. Bobby is nuts about the car. Do you want yours?" "Take the keys to the 300 and give them to Wanda, then look for another car for me. One like the 300 or any other protected fast car would be cool, but fast is first." As an afterthought, I asked Hank, "Give me a nasty duty car. It'll fit my mood." "I have just the one." He disappeared and I heard a car that had either bad mufflers, or exceptionally loud ones, squeal tires all the way down from upstairs. Hank slid to a stop in front of me in an older Camaro. The body was ratty, the interior was worse. It did have a hell of a stereo as it was blasting an old Blue Oyster Cult song. It sat there rocking, doing a "rump" "rump" "rump." Hank said, "This is about a nine hundred horse power engine with a very heavy cam. I've checked the suspension, brakes, and steering and it is safe. The tires are all very expensive, high-speed, low profile on some expensive rims. Be careful though, as I haven't been able to check all of the engine characteristics yet. I think this thing is scary fast. I want to fix up the body and interior, put some flow masters on it and use it for a toy. See if you like it. I know it won't fulfill passenger requirements, but it should be fun." It responded well to gently putting it into gear and rolling out into the street. I looked up and down to make sure none of Tampa's finest were around and hammered it. As soon as I saw the smoke rising from the low profiles, I let up enough to get a grip and shot down the street. No sense in trashing a couple of two hundred dollar tires. The car gave you a secure feeling that it shouldn't have, since it had a racing harness in it instead standard seat belts. I teased a couple of new Mustangs and even a Vette. The Vette driver stuck his nose up in the air and floored it smoking his tires for a half a block then pulled over because a Tampa patrol guy was behind him at the stop sign. I had no destination, but I thought I would drive out to the little airport where I would probably take off from tomorrow. Wanda wouldn't screw the office with an expensive flight from D.C. and back for this one. I'm sure she would do her normal best, even if she were pissed at me. If she had a reason I should see this person, she should say so. I was thinking this babe intimidated the hell out of her. She shouldn't let anyone intimidate her. I was planning on jumping on it tonight. Instead of going out to the airport, I went back to the office and went up to the office with my laptop at four fifteen. Wanda was surprised to see me. I said that I was able to take care of my business early. I opened my laptop and pulled my e-mails and the schedule. I printed out what I needed to have and stuffed it all into a file folder. She did use the charter, but it didn't leave until eight-thirty. I was only going to Mobile. I didn't even know we had a full station there. I answered the couple of e-mails and worked on the couple pieces of paper that were in my in box. As it got closer to five I put my laptop away again and went to Wanda. "Did Hank give you the keys to your new car?" "He did, but I don't know whether I will like it." "It is the first choice you had previously listed, and is brand new inside and out. It is the exact color you listed for first choice, as well. I think it is beautiful. If you don't want it, I'll take it. A protected Chrysler 300 like that is priceless." "It is what I really wanted," Wanda admitted. "Good. I looked and found it just for you." "You did?" I smiled and saw a guilty look on her face. "How about going down to that loud place, The Office again, I loved their ice cold beer." "You're asking me?" "I am." I added, "I'm sure Angie and Conish would enjoy coming. You could give them a ride home in your new car. It'll be fun." Wanda's face lit up. "I'd love to go. Will you go ask the girls and ask Marie and Bobby as well?' "Sure, I'll wait at the elevator for you guys." I had shut off my lights and asked the two clerks to go with us and they were all for it. In the station, I asked Marie and she was bobbing her head. I asked Sarah who had Dave at her desk and they both said yes. Bobby smiled at me and said yes, as long as we didn't stay long, because she wanted to drive her new car around to show it off to her family. When we went downstairs to put our briefcases in our cars, Bobby saw I was putting my briefcase in the ratty Camaro. "What in the hell is that?" "That, my Dear, is one very hot little number. It has a mill, motor to the uneducated, that has almost a thousand horsepower. If you're good, I'll give you a ride." "Is it faster than the Mustang?" "About twice as fast." Bobby shivered, "It should probably be outlawed. Be careful and don't do to much wild stuff in it. Where did you get it?" "It's one of Hank's confiscated toys that he's letting me drive until I find a car." We were now walking toward The Office. Bobby said, "I'll bet you found that Chrysler for yourself and gave it to Wanda. What does an Office Manager need with a protected car like that?" "It's exactly what she had listed on her spec sheet and it's the exact color. It was a stroke of luck." She said, "Right, sure." "I'm sure there's more to it. It'll come out later. I like my car though. You did well. I would have never guessed when you were teasing me." The bar was really busy again. They had a special on chicken wings. You got twenty for the price of ten when you bought a pitcher. I bought two pitchers and two orders of wings. We were lucky to walk in when two tables were leaving. We sat down while some people bused the tables. The outfits were different tonight. The girl who waited on us was pretty sexy looking, but I'd bet a left nut she was a dick grinding lez. She would smile at you, but there was a glare in the eyes. Oh well, to each their own, or something like that. We were enjoying ourselves, knowing it would be about three more pitchers and everyone would have two beers. We didn't want any more wings as we would eat later. We were all having a good time when this tall, willowy lady, with a leash attached to the collar of a cute, average sized, lady came to the table. She said, "Chuck Johnson?" "At your service, Ma'am." "Why didn't you wait for me at lunch?" "I was told that I could not even have an iced tea until you arrived. I waited until five minutes past the appointed time, and left so I could get a drink of water or iced tea." The lady's face became red. "You should have waited, it could have been important." "Then you should have been at the appointed place at the appointed time. Please call again and arrange an appointment, but do not put my staff through the stress you put them through today. I am your employee, as I am a federal employee, but my staff and I are due the same respect that you are. Please show us that respect in the future and I will enjoyably return it." That was so sweet the bitch couldn't bite back. What the fuck was up with the girl on a leash? "Do you have a few minutes right now?" I looked around and didn't see how we could hold a reasonable conversation. "Ms. Highsmith, if you would like to have someone hold your leash for you, we could step outside to have a private conversation. If that is not agreeable, we can do this another time." She came over and stood in front of me, "You are a son of a bitch, aren't you. Jesus, and I have to deal with you. I can't believe you are the final say in this." "Since I have no clue what you are referring too. I repeat, please call for an appointment and be there when you ask me to be there. I understand you didn't show till twenty-five minutes after the scheduled time." I was bluffing, but I wanted to see what she would say, she took the bait, "I'll have you know, I was at the front desk at exactly one twenty-three." "Your watch is two minutes slow." I smiled at her to let her know I was trying to get her goat. She said, "May I offer you a refreshment?" "Only if I can give your pet a drink. I can call for a bowl." Ms. Highsmith spun around and pulled her toy out the door. All of our people were howling. That lady was too much. Wanda touched my arm and said, "I'm sorry. She did intimidate me, and she acted first of all as if she was very important, and that she had business to discuss with you that was a matter of life and death. She kept saying it was business that you had to decide on. Like I said, she did intimidate me. Thank Conish, she handled her just fine." I smiled at Conish and said, "You've had a lot of experience with people like Ms. Highsmith, haven't you?" "Yes Sir, and even with Ms. Highsmith. She is very wealthy and very well known within the community. She is very important too, to herself." Conish smiled, very satisfied with her answer. I mouthed "Thank you." She smiled even more and actually blushed. Our pitchers were becoming empty and we got up to leave. Bobby was going to show off her car to all her family, so would be home later. Wanda was going to take Angie and Conish home in her new car. Jan and Marie had a choice. I said, "I'm driving a bit of a rat tonight. It's clean but nasty looking. It does have some power that makes it special though. Both Jan and Marie's eyes narrowed. Both wanted to go with me. I said, I think there are rear seatbelts, but I'm not sure. If there are none then only one can go with me. Marie pulled a quarter and held it. Jan nodded and Marie flipped it. Jan said tails. It was tails. Jan smiled, Marie frowned and asked Wanda, "Can I ride with you if Chuck's car doesn't have rear seatbelts?" "Of course, Honey." Dave and Sarah walked me back toward the garage. Dave was telling me he thought he and Sarah might get married soon but it shouldn't change anything with her time on the job. "We'll be marrying because we want the bond and to get her mom off her back." Wanda picked up her car and drove it to the back of the building where Bobby and I had parking places. There were no back seatbelts, so a dejected Marie got in Wanda's car. They waited for the Camaro to start. It started with a huge roar and sat there going "Rump, Rump, Rump." As soon as it started, Jan jumped out of the car and stood back looking at it. "What's the matter with it?" "It's a high powered motor." "Ah, ah, can Marie ride with you instead of me?" I smiled as Marie was back out of Wanda's car so fast, even I was amazed. Marie knew how to buckle the racing style harness and said, "Show me." We backed up and gently rolled out onto the street. We waited to get out on a smooth asphalt area when I punched it. Instant smoke. I let off so we wouldn't attract more attention than we should, and rolled up onto the access ramp to get on the highway. I had seen that the car had camouflaged lights in the front windshield area and in the back window. When we got on the highway, a lot of the traffic had already died down, but it was still really heavy. I let the car roll up to about fifty then flipped on the lights and siren and nailed it in second gear. The front end lifted off the ground. When I hit third we were still burning rubber and the front wheels came up again. Marie was screaming with wild excitement. When we hit fourth gear, I noted that as we came up to about four thousand RPM, the speedometer said one forty. Whoa, this baby was hot. I let off and dropped down to under seventy, looking for the next off ramp. I went down the ramp, did a U-turn and headed back the other way to go home. We were only about three miles down the road when a Tampa cop car gave us his lights and a burp on the siren. I pulled off and waited for the guy to strut up to the car. I showed him my badge and ID. With a smirk, not even looking at my ID. he said, "Give me your license, the vehicle ID certificate, and your weapon." I got out of the car and motioned him to the rear of the car. He came back with his hand on his gun. "You don't understand do you? I am testing an undercover car, the individual with me is the local station clerk. She must certify the vehicle. Please note my ID, and if you want, use your portable to call my ID in. I'm sure your shift supervisor has me on his records." He reached for my ID and I held it back. "No one takes my ID. I said to use your portable." "What are you going to do if I don't want to do it your way?" "Arrest you and take you to the federal lockup. You know I can hold you for fifteen days before charging you." "You're bluffing." "Call your supervisor and ask him." He tried to stare me down, but I was smiling. He frowned and used his portable to call his shift sergeant. "He said he is Charles M. Johnson, a U.S. Deputy Marshal and that he was going to arrest me. Can I just bring this guy in?" The radio squawked back asking, "Did you look this man up on your in-car?" "No, Sarg." "Then I should let him take you in. See you in two weeks, Stupid." "What's so special about this guy, he was speeding. I got him for careless and reckless." "Did he shoot anyone yet?" "What do you mean, shoot anyone yet?" "Apologize to the gentleman nicely, get in your car, and come back to the station very quickly. You are in need of some very serious remedial training. Can Deputy Johnson hear me?" "Yes, Sarg." "Thanks for not shooting the idiot, and how are you doing, you asshole. I haven't heard of you shooting anyone for a good while. You lose your nerve or something, or did you get your quota?" I took the mike from the officer and keyed, "You know there's a bag limit on scumbags. I have to wait till the season opens again." "You didn't say something like "Do you know who I am?" to the idiot, did you?" "No, and he is not an idiot. He just did not use common sense when he talked to me." "What kind of hot rod you drivin' anyway?" "An old rat Camaro set up for under cover with about a thousand horses under the hood." "Did you let it all out?" "No, I had another gear and was going way too fast around four grand." "Is that the car that was doing wheelies on I-4. Some guy said you did your first wheelie at around fifty, and he guessed you were over a hundred when you did the second one." "Guilty as charged. I needed to find out what it did. I found out and was turned around going back in." "Get out of there and send my cop back to me." "See ya, Sarg." "Sure, Johnson, at your next shooting. Keep that leg under you and don't be using wheelchair ramps as umbrellas." I laughed handing the mike back to the officer. I said, "You better go in. I know him and he gets mad if you don't do what he wants." As I walked back to the car door, "See you later, Guy, hope you don't get in trouble." Marie had heard everything and was smiling. I strapped in and asked her if she was tight. She said yes. I checked the mirrors for traffic, put my blinker on and rolled onto the highway and with the cop standing there watching, I flipped on the pursuit lights and nailed it. I did a hundred foot wheelie before I hit second and stayed in the air, hoping the car went straight. I finally dropped it when I hit third, and checked the speedometer to see it registering one twenty. This car is too fast. Marie said, "You weren't very nice to him. But I guess he should have checked on you first. That was fun." We went home fairly sedately except one instance where it was perfect to get the car to do a four-wheel drift. Marie was squealing some more. I spun the car in the street and backed into my spot on the side of the garage. Wanda was already home, since her car was in the driveway behind where Jan's was in the garage. We needed a bigger garage. Inside, Marie was being a motor mouth, telling Wanda and Jan all about being stopped and how fast the car was. I changed clothes and headed to the gym. Minutes later, Wanda, Jan, and Marie showed up. I did my usual bike ride and treadmill, then did the sets of lifts that was due for today. Jan noted, "You have a different routine every day?" "Yes Ma'am. Wanda will help you set up a routine. Each muscle group needs working individually. We could do a little for each one but doing this way will make me stronger. I have to go to my self defense classes next week again. If any one wants, I can call to see if they have any beginners or if you're like Wanda, you can compete with some of the other belts." Wanda asked, "Why would you say that." "If you haven't ever competed, it is the only way you don't have a black belt in one of the arts. The way you move gives you away. You've had a lot of training, which is neat. You should teach; girls like Jan and Marie would love to learn. I think Marie shows a low level belt in true karate, what is it Marie? What Kyu brown belt?" She put her feet together, then with her hands at her sides, she said, third Master. "I'm no Master, and could only wish. I'll never make any more now with the leg. Why did you stop training, Marie?" "Household money. Now that I am working, I might go back. I give half my income to my mom and dad. They need it. If I live with you guys, it will make it nice so I don't have to live at home. If I watch my money, I'll have some for some new clothes that I need, and perhaps enough to go back and learn more." Wanda went to Marie and said, "We will create our own dojo. I will become sanctioned and you will progress as high as you wish." "Are you a black belt?" "In karate, I hold the rank of shodan black belt, but I have spent many years since, studying Korean Tae Kwon Do and Akido. I respect those forms very much. I have not caught him but if you watch, we will find our host exerting in the morning in a form of Tai Chi. See, he smiles. He would not retain his flexibility or his suppleness without those gentle, graceful movements." "I'm going out to the pool for some gentle, graceful movements in the water. Who's ready to join me?" Wanda said to the two girls, "Join me in some simple stretching before you swim. We have not warmed properly as Chuck has." By the time they joined me, I was swimming hard and had been for over ten minutes. This time, they would outlast me. They began slowly as they should and increased their pace. I reached my area of maximum thrust and was feeling fatigued so I gave into it and swam to the steps. The girls seemed to reach a point and they all stopped and came over to sit down with me. Jan said, "How do you recognize when a person has martial arts training?" Wanda said, "Sometimes you can't, but it's usually by their movements. Someone who has trained for many years has a certain fluid movement. Even Chuck with his fake leg has a swinging gait that is ready to leap at any second. It's probably a defense mechanism for him because he lost his leg. Some masters with only one arm are amazing to watch. I've watched a master in Tae Kwon Do with only one leg, totally destroy a Karate master. It all depends on how and what you train. I hope to train with Chuck if he will continue his training while I am here." "I try to keep my training private. It bothers some people that a one legged man will practice killing moves. That's why I use Tae Chi to keep myself at peace." As the girls were listening intently, I suggested, "Let's go see what we can make for supper." We found some hamburger and a box of hamburger helper. I said, "This will feed four of us very nicely, let's eat." We were able to put martial arts to bed for a while. I was a little put off that people would now be trying to catch me doing my Tae Chi to begin the day on an even keel. Jan and Marie should sign up for classes. I'll have to check the Y. There usually is a class for older folks, along with yoga. Wanda was still a mystery; she had loads of training but wasn't getting any practice lately. I wondered if I could spar with someone. I had not actually sparred since before my last rotation to the sand. All my training with the leg has been self-defense. I don't think I needed it but it never hurt to learn something new. I'll have to discuss the boxer and his stance. He didn't seem difficult to defeat, especially if the attacker was not trying to kill you. I put a package of corn into the microwave, but didn't start it yet. Hamburger helper is a great way to have a quick meal when you forgot to prepare. Cooking the meat is fast then you add some water and/or milk and margarine to whatever is the starch, either rice or pasta and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes, let it settle a few minutes and eat. Somewhere around six to eight minutes to go, you nuke the corn. While we were eating the hamburger helper, three cheese, with the corn mixed in with it, I was observing our new family. Marie drank milk, Jan and Wanda iced tea, and I had my usual beer. Marie asked, "Is Bobby really running all over to show off the car?" "She has a big, friendly family and they share everything. I'd bet Millie is in the car with her as she shows it off down in Sarasota. She has to show it to two brothers and their wives, her mom and dad, and her two little sisters. She won't stop until she's shown all of them. They're probably disappointed I didn't ride with them." "We didn't save her much." "All her family will feed her and Millie. They are a very close family and used to people eating a lot and often. I have a video of her mom and dad when they did their act so many years ago. Let's watch it. You'll get an idea of how strong they are." We cleaned up the dishes and put the videotape into the recorder on the family room television. The tape opened with the usual Greatest Show on Earth hype. Clowns and performers in a parade, circling the rings. Maxine was walking next to the men on stilts most of the time, so you didn't notice her size. The tape cut out and back in with men hauling weights out into the middle of one of the rings. Some of the weights were so heavy they had them on carts. Ted came bounding athletically out into the ring, doing multiple forward flips through the ring. Maxine followed in an exaggerated strong man walk. She was followed by three horribly muscular men flexing their muscles at the crowd. Ted ran up to Maxine and acted as if he were begging her to accept his attention. She picked him up and threw him over twenty feet into a net. Some of the overbuilt men tried to act as if they were her superior and that she should follow them. They would lift a massive weight and Maxine would pick him and the weight up and set them aside. The biggest man was attempting to lift near a thousand pounds. Maxine went to him and couldn't lift him and the weights. She tried two more times then stood back and motioned for the man to pick up the weights. He couldn't do it. Maxine got under the weights and lifted them in a clean and jerk then let the massive weight slam to the ground. She picked up what was not the impostor and tossed him into the net. Ted came flipping out to the ring to land kneeling at Maxine's feet so she picked him up and they did a pretend stage kiss followed by several demonstrations of Maxine holding Ted up with one hand flipping him to the other. They ended the act with some clown stuff. Ted pulled a wagon up into the ring then came dragging back what looked like a giant club. As Maxine walked through the ring twitching her butt, giving all the men in the audience vulgar thoughts, Ted used the fake club to conk Maxine on the head where she fell in the wagon. Ted appeared to grab her by her hair and pull her from the ring, strutting all the way. They came back for a bow before disappearing. Another act came on with elephants. The big elephants did many tricks and stood on each other and on small stands. Clowns were acting as if they were trying to teach this baby elephant how to use the stands. The elephant was having a great time swinging his trunk back and forth knocking over the clowns. Maxine came out, flexing her muscles, strutting through the ring, showing off her massive gorgeous backside. She went up to the baby elephant and acted like she was scolding it and showing it what to do. When the little elephant attempted the trick and failed, Maxine surprised all of the audience by picking up the baby elephant and putting it on the stand as it should be. The small critter, that probably weighed five hundred pounds, was very docile and Maxine did several different tricks with it. When the big elephants left, Maxine disappeared as well. The last time you saw her was in the final parade. She carried Ted on her shoulder the whole time. Even then, you could see the love between the two of them. Marie said, "That was so sweet. I wonder if Bobby's mom and dad are still as close." I said, "I witnessed it first hand. They still are as close as they were back then. It was a wonderful experience. The whole family is a very loving family." "Why did they leave the circus?" Jan asked, still thinking of the video. I told them what I thought to be the facts, "The first three girls were already born and it was difficult for them to do some of the weight tricks while she was pregnant. They quit before the two boys were born, and now of course, they have two more younger girls." Jan was sitting, just nodding, "They are truly a special family." She sat back and said, "I have a friend that comes from a fairly big family like that. They're all super close too. The parents are some kind of wealthy from something the dad invented or something like that. The girl that's my age lives in a monster house one or two streets over from here. It has a big fence like yours, but goes all the way around the house with a gate and everything. She lives there with four other girls. The girls are always over at Brandy's folks' house, as are most of the other kids. I always thought Brandy was just a spoiled little girl until I met the rest of the family. They all spoil each other. I think that's what big families do." Marie said, "I know those girls. I went to school with a little black girl, Tiani. She has a real close friend, Nancy, that lives in the big house too. I don't know the rest of the girls because they were a year ahead of me in school. From what I understand they all work for the unemployment office." Wanda was watching me and said, "What in the world are you blushing about Chuck?" "I worked at the employment office for a short while. That's how I ended up with the Marshal Service. I know those five. They are a riot. When I first got out of service and started work, they took to me to the Hard Rock Cafe one night to see AC/DC, and we danced the rest of the night." Jan said, "You probably didn't dance with Frieda, she's not too keen on guys." "Actually I danced with her as much as the others. She was very friendly. I still consider them all my friends. Now that I have my own place, I'll have to have them over. They are a lot of fun." Wanda was smiling, "That still doesn't explain the blush." Marie said, "Between Tiani and Nancy, they probably teased him so bad that it's easy to blush from thinking of those two. Tiani is under five feet and just tiny. She's a little doll though, and built. She was a tease in high school too, but didn't date that much as she said she had better taste. Nancy is good looking too, but not as cute as Tiani. She's beautiful though. She has very light skin with a smile that would turn me gay. She was always super friendly." Jan said, "You know those two well. I know Frieda real well because we used to hang out with some girls that enjoyed the same life style. I used to consider myself a lesbian. I've been led to believe I'm more bi-sexual now." Marie asked, "Did you ever go to that place where all those girls go, the P-club?" Jan smiled and said, "Call it by its real name, The Pussy Club, it's still a neat place to go. It can really be entertaining late on Saturday nights when all the leather ladies are out. They are so obnoxious and over the top, you just have to laugh." "Oooh, Jan, you have to take me there sometime so I can see the place. Is it a bar or a fancy night club?" Wanda surprised the other two girls, "It's just a bar with a liquor license. It's pretty big, but still just a bar complete with free popcorn and free peanuts. I went there with a lady from the hotel I stayed in, the one night I stayed before being hired. It was fun, but not really a place I would go to all the time. And you, Marie, don't go there by yourself. Some of the older women would consider you true eye candy and want to sample you quickly." That made Marie shiver, "I really want to go to the place and see it anyway. I've been kind of protected all my life with a dad that is all guy. You know, hunting, boxing, all that man stuff. My mom seems to enjoy dad being a man's man. She hangs on him like an old lady all the time. Every time they didn't think us kids would be watching, she would be doing something sexy or downright nasty to him. At least, I had happy parents." Jan said, "It's still early, let me call Brandy and see if they want to visit. We can sit out on the patio and have one of Chuck's margaritas." I didn't think this was a good idea, but it would be neat to see the girls. The phone conversation that Jan was having indicated that company was on the way. We cleaned up the kitchen quickly, just in time to answer to the doorbell. Jan opened the door and the five rushed in. Tiani climbed right up me wrapping her legs around me giving me a kiss that was obviously an invitation for more. When I put her down, Nancy gave me a sweet kiss, followed by kisses from Judy, Brandy, and then Frieda. Frieda molded her body to mine and kissed me so sexily, my pants were getting tight. It was a good thing I had put on jeans. Since Jan, Marie, and I knew the girls, it took a minute or so before I was able to introduce them all to Wanda. Frieda, ever the one to surprise me, looked Wanda up and down licking her lips and said, "I would love to get to know you better." Brandy said, "Down girl, you just practically raped Chuck and you're already propositioning his house guest." "That brings me to the big question," Brandy said. "When did you get this place, Chuck, and how in the world can you afford a place like this?" "It's a long story, girls, and I'm sure you'll hear about it over time." It was just then that I heard the garage door open. "Now you'll get to meet a lady that has changed my world." Tiani looked crestfallen, "Did you get married?" "No, I didn't get married, but I did meet someone like you girls that has rung my bell." Tiani said, "At least he said we rung his bell too." A smiling Bobby came through the door, stunning my five friends. She came up to me and with one arm picked me up, giving me a really neat hug and kiss. She put me down, looked around and said, "Why do I suspect you've found some of your fan club?" "Bobby, these ladies are some of the girls I worked with at the employment agency. I've told you all about them. This is Brandi, Nancy, Judy, Frieda, and this tiny dynamo is Tiani." Bobby totally shocked Tiani by scooping her up with one hand, "You, little girl, were all Chuck could talk about. Hard to believe he went from you to me, isn't it? Glad to meet you and hope we can be good friends." I said to Bobby, "They are neighbors. They live on the other side of the trees across the street. I'm sure now that I remember, it's the house directly across over there." Brandi agreed, "Our house numbers are the same, just a different street name." Bobby said, "You girls have to see what this character got for me as a driver. I'm not sure how he did it, but he got the Marshal Service to get me something special. Come out to the garage." They all went to the garage for Bobby to show off the car. You would have thought I bought her a diamond the way she was so excited about it. Tiani got in the driver's seat, quickly messing with the seat buttons, saying, "I need a ride like this. Oh sista' youse an me gonna be bosom buddies. Of course, your bosom is much larger than mine, but buddies anyway." This caused a lot of laughter. They finally all got out of the car and back in the house. Bobby said, "Millie and I had to take the car down to show mom and dad and my brothers, and of course, my bratty sisters. They are in love with it. The twins want to come up and sleep with you so you'll get them one too. The brothers weren't too happy about it, but said the car might be worth it. My family just dearly loves cars. I can't wait for us to drive up and show Michelle." Marie and Jan were both chuckling. Wanda explained, "Chuck said you probably grabbed your sister Millie and went to Sarasota." We were all sitting around the table and at the counter. Bobby said, "Chuck, make some margaritas or something. Let's get the girls to help me celebrate. Come here and sit by me, Tiani, I want to figure out whether or not you're going to be competition." Tiani did go sit next to Bobby who gave her another hug. Bobby can be so intimidating because of her size. When everyone had a tall glass, filled with a Jimmy Buffet special, conversation began to flow as Bobby became better acquainted with the girls. It really helped that both Jan and Marie knew the girls. Marie said to Nancy, "You know who's Chuck's new clerk? Angie, you know, Angelina, the pretty one that wouldn't date for whatever reason. Everyone thought she was gay but we finally found out her folks wouldn't allow her to date." Nancy said, "She should have been Catholic so her parents could have sent her to a convent. Now that she's out in life she'll probably go wild." Wanda said, "She seems to be quite circumspect in her private life and conducts herself very lady like." Wanda's public superior tone shocked the five newcomers so I said, "Don't mind her, she reverted to her business self for a second. She really is very friendly and loose most of the time. I think she was trying to defend Angie more than anything else." Wanda was actually blushing, and said, "Chuck sees through everyone. Sorry if I came off wrong. I like Angie though. His other clerk is the classic, though. Chuck can't figure her out yet either. I can't, and I don't want to, as long as she continues working like she does." I told all, "Wanda is my Office Manager, so when she leaves here in the morning, she becomes a totally different person." Marie said, "Yeah, a real Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde." Wanda then said, "You girls missed the best looking car out in the garage. The beautiful blue Chrysler 300 that Chuck provided for me today. It's everything that I could want in a car." There was another exodus into the garage as they went through the big Chrysler. It was nice. Too bad I had to give it away. When they got back into the house, I had mixed up a second batch. Marie began talking about our trip home in the old Camaro. She was telling them how we had actually done wheelies in traffic with a ratty looking old car. She had everyone in stitches the way she described the poor policeman that had stopped us. She said, "The one time I looked over at the speedometer, the first time Chuck nailed it, we doing over a hundred forty." There were a lot of oohs and ahs. Bobbie said, "You better slow it down. You're going to be somewhere you're not known and your badge won't get you out of a problem. Danny found out the hard way doing just that." I promised to be better. Bobby said, "Yeah, just like with the Boss 302. My brothers can't wait to see it." We chatted and joked a little longer before it was time for the girls to go home. I received good kisses from them on the way out, the same as when they came in. Tiani did her tree climbing act and was hanging off me, looking at me. She looked over at Bobby, "I'm competition all right. I was nuts about your, or our guy when I first met him. If those other four are honest, they think the same. I promise to be good though." She slid off me and stood, saying, "And when I'm good, guys just can't resist me." She gave Bobby a hug around the legs making her face almost to Bobby's breast area. That brought a naughty picture into my mind. I asked Bobby if she was hungry, did she get something to eat? She said Millie and her had eaten with her mom and dad. "I need a shower more than anything else. The excitement over that car has had me sweating like an athlete." The rest of the folks seemed to think it was time for bed too, so they migrated toward bed. I put the glasses into the dishwasher, and started it before locking up and going to the bedroom. When Bobby was out of the shower, she laid down relaxing, hugging me when I slipped in with her. She said, "I know I'm being silly about the car, but I really do like it. You're going to get so lucky." Funny though, she had given me a very nice kiss and hugged me to her chest, pressing my face between her breasts. In seconds, her grip relaxed and I realized she was asleep. All the excitement had done her in. It put a smile on my face. Of course, I was very comfortable and soon joined her sleeping. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 16 I woke early as we did get to bed reasonably early. I got up, peed, put my leg. shorts, and a T-shirt on, and went to the kitchen to make coffee. I went out to the patio and was enjoying the fresh morning air when Wanda wrapped her arms around me, kissing my neck. "I haven't had the opportunity to thank you for my gift. That was exceptionally nice of you to do for me. I saw that wreck you drove home, although Marie thinks it's just great. Would you enjoy coming back to bed for a few minutes or could we perhaps share some Tai Chi this morning?" "How about we relax while the coffee is getting ready?" We went out into the grass standing fairly far apart. I let myself relax by closing my eyes and beginning. I'm told that I learned the Chuan or as some say Chuan Yang forms. It doesn't make any difference though, because as your body exercises, the smoothness and gracefulness of the moves takes over your entire physic, giving an internal harmony that is extremely peaceful. An exercise can last a long time, but most people flow through five to ten minutes and are perfectly content. I stopped in the classic stance of feet together hands at my sides with my head bowed remaining still for a couple of seconds. As I brought my head up and opened by eyes Wanda was doing the same about ten feet from me. The interesting thing was the three ladies standing on the patio staring at us. As Wanda and I came in, Bobby said, "I knew you went outside most mornings, but I didn't know what you did. That was beautiful. It was almost sensuous the way you both moved. You weren't doing the same things, but your movements were almost synchronized in the same slow tempo." Jan and Marie looked at each other, and Jan said, "We're going to the Y after work to check out some of this stuff. I want that." Wanda and I smiled at them, and Wanda said, "It is not usual that one will intrude upon another while forming, but I asked Chuck if we could do it together. I don't think either of us saw each other as it is very personal. We should have some classes in the evening so all of us can form together." Bobby said, "Are you ready to swim now?" I un-strapped my leg, dropped my T-shirt and shorts, hopped to the pool, and dove in. Splashes followed as the others joined me, swimming slower in the beginning, building up to an all out sprint back and forth until we were all winded at the side of the pool. Bobby pulled me to her and gave me a kiss. "I didn't get to thank you personally last night." Wanda had come up to my back and pressed her big ones into my back saying, "I think I should thank him first, you had your chance." I laughed, "Ladies, ladies, we're a little late this morning. Let's get rolling. I may have things to do, people to see." The two ladies hauled me out of the pool, lifting me from my feet and carrying me to the chair where my leg was. Bobby said, "Let's just carry him into the house so he doesn't have to put his leg on again. He has to shower anyway." Wanda said, "Let's wash him under the shower out here. That way I can tease him too." That's what they did. Wanda is about five eight and less than a foot shorter than Bobby's six seven, but the two are so different. Bobby is big, full, and large. She's as firm as can be, with large breasts that barely sag. Wanda is slim, tiny waisted, but with huge tits that are firm, but are so long they just have to sag. There was no way out of it. While being thoroughly washed, I played with both sets offered to me, bringing me to a full very hard erection. I saw Bobby out of the corner of my eye motion to Wanda, who was soon leaning against the side of the open shower with her legs spread as Bobby guided me into her. I enjoyed a very nice mutual orgasm with Wanda. When she turned around to hold and kiss me she said, "I still owe you. That was just for fun." Bobby said as she kept stroking my dick keeping it up, "Now me." She assumed the same position, but because her legs are so long, she has to spread her legs out wider or bend her legs a little. We matched up, and just the excitement of us doing this with each other in the open, got me wound up so fast that we were both quickly coming. The good feelings washed over me and I'm sure over Bobby. We had to wash up a little more while the two ladies were giggling and laughing, enjoying their camaraderie in totally draining my morning excitement. Now we were running late. Jan and Marie were eating cereal when we came in the house. They hadn't seen the open fooling around we had been doing, so they didn't understand the way the two were acting. They were carrying me as I held all the clothes and my leg. This was really strange. Soon, we three supposedly more mature folks, were dressed with Bobby saying, "I have to get in to give the briefing. I need to print out the logs for the guys as it is a busy day. Chuck, could you bring me a couple of biscuit sandwiches from Burger King. Bring me a milk, too. Anyone else?" I ended up with orders from everyone. Marie went with Bobby so she could help Bobby get ready for the briefing, and Jan wanted to ride with Wanda. After putting dishes into the dishwasher, I locked up and went out to the ratty old Camaro. When you started the thing, it was so loud that it rattled your senses a little. I drove reasonably to the Burger King, and on into the federal garage. I tossed Hank the keys and gave him a couple of sandwiches. He said, "I heard about someone doing wheelies on I-4 last night. Little Marie already called me to give me the whole story. Your legend grows." "I'll be better. I couldn't resist trying it out. That thing could be dangerous." Hank asked, "How about I clean it up, make it a little quieter and into a pursuit car. A deputy could use it on a capture. It might come in useful." "If anything is near that fast, we shouldn't be chasing it. That car is a rocket." "I know," Hank said, "I took it home night before last and had to beg to get out of a ticket. Good thing I have a badge." I laughed as I headed across the street to our building. As soon as I came in, Wanda said, "Your station transfer is on hold. I canceled the charter without it costing us anything." After distributing the breakfasts, I was doing my e-mails when Conish came in and sat down. She spied my two sandwiches and said, "I'll come back after you've eaten." Before I could tell her to sit, she was out the door. I ate my sandwiches and walked to the door and asked her to join me in my office. As she came in, I shut the door, but left the door to Wanda's office cracked. She sat, and instead of going behind my desk, I sat in my other side chair in front of my desk. Conish looked me in the eye and said, "I was not a hundred percent truthful on my application. I'm afraid you may find out and terminate me because of it." "Should I have Wanda come in to hear this? She is the person hiring and firing in this case." "No Sir, I have already spoken with her extensively about this." She took a deep breath, looked all around, then straight at me, "I gave you a false name. I gave you my maiden name as I want to change back to it after my divorce. I have only been separated for about six weeks and have been almost hiding since the separation. I found out my husband has become a man that will be in jail as soon as he is caught doing what he is doing. I do not wish to be associated with someone like that and I do not wish to go to jail as an accomplice. I hope my false name will not prejudice you against me." "If Matathena is your maiden name, what was your married name?" "Houston, Sir." "And your former husband's name?" "Mathew Houston, Sir, he now goes by the nick name big T as he says his business empire will be as big as Texas." I thought for a moment then held my hand up for her to stay seated. I went to my PC, hit the Bureau web site and logged in. My status allowed full access to everything. I put in Mathew Houston and in the block for aliases, I listed T and Big T Houston. I came up with a folder generated in Miami and another in New Orleans. Both had pictures of a guy. I waved Conish over to look and she nodded. "That's him. Where did you find these?" Pointing to the FBI header for the page, I went through the files quickly, seeing that the man was busily importing Mexicans, some middle easterners, and what do you know, Russians. He had connections to some slave importers in New Orleans and some suspected slavers in California. These slaves were noted to be children under the age of sixteen to be used within brothels. There was a link to an ATF site. I went to it to find that Big T was linked to several firearms dealers and was purchasing large quantities of firearms. An investigation was underway to discover where the guns were ending up. "Conish, if I were to have some people come to my office, would you talk to them. You might be able to assist them in their investigation." "I know a wife does not have to do that, but I would be happy to do it. I spent almost twenty-five years happily married to a real estate broker and before he became involved with some foreigners with names that ended in trov, ski, and like that. They were really scary people. They would joke in their language, looking and winking at me. I know they were not being nice. Matt would just go along with them, humiliating me in front of them by openly fondling me. He often attempted to encourage me to be more physically friendly with his foreign friends. As soon as I discovered what he was doing, I took a few thousand from our checking account and fled. I got on a bus and ended up here. I will be happy to speak to law enforcement about his activities and what I know of them." I called the Bureau chief and asked it he had anyone working on the file, referencing it by the number. He said he didn't, but asked if I needed him to assign someone. I told him to consider it as I was going to get an ATF guy and probably a Homeland Security immigration specialist involved also. He told me to call him back when I needed an agent. As I stood, I said, "Conish, I'll gather the appropriate people and have them interview you collectively. I will be present and they will not divulge where you are. You will state that you will give information, but cannot be used as a witness as you would be under threat and didn't have any direct proof anyway." She stood up, smiled, and went back to her desk, re-closing the door. As soon as she left, Wanda was in my office with a stack of papers for my in basket. She said to me, "I see you did some research. Quite a story for Ms. Metathena." "No kidding. She's agreed to a mass interview. I'm going to get someone from each group that is involved in the investigation and see if they will prepare sufficiently to do this only once. If any of them get careless, Conish will have to go into protection. I think we would rather keep her here." Wanda said, "I would, she seems to be thriving in our environment. When I took Angie and her home last night, I found that they both live in public housing. She was lucky to have gotten in. I'm sure as soon as she begins getting paid, she'll probably find something near here. Angie has already said that the only reason she lives alone is to get away from her folks who she says also live in public housing." "Wanda, how did you get a clearance on Conish? When did you find out her name and situation?" Wanda looked as if she were trying to avoid the subject but answered, "During her initial interview, I told her we would perform a thorough background check. If there was anything in her background that would cause her to not get the job, what would it be. She gave me the whole story during that first interview. Something about her made me want to hire her. Somehow I knew she would be a good employee. Everything she told me checked out exactly. I hope you don't feel I broke any of the rules or jeopardized our security." "Probably not Wanda but when you are confronted with something like that, you need to include me as soon as you can. Had I found out on my own, the result would not have been good." "I won't let it happen again Mr. Johnson" After clicking through the Houston files she said, "You don't have hardly any e-mails of any value and most of the stuff I just put in your box is also of little value. You are clear to work on this project if you need to. I can even take care of everything in your in box." "I'll look at them. It's my job and will give me hints at what's going on where. E-mails are fine, I need to answer them and again it will give me an idea of what's going on." I called ATF and they had an agent assigned to the file. They would have him contact me. Homeland Security was tougher. These people were trying to become the all powerful, all consuming, arm of the government that would give the Spanish language total acceptance. I was a little pissed that the girl answering the phone could barely speak English and kept asking me questions in Spanish. I told her in my few Spanish phrases, "Give me your supervisor." It took almost five minutes before a voice answered the phone. I identified myself, but not my position because I didn't know what it was. It was a multi-jurisdictional position. I asked him if he were the manager or the supervisor of the receptionist. When he said, "What's it to you?" That did it. "Please give me to your station manager now. Do it now, or D.C. will be on the phone ripping you a new asshole. Well no, that's not true, that's my job, now get me the office or station supervisor right now." Two seconds later I got a "Customs," "Are you the station supervisor, chief, manager, or whatever you might be. Are you where the buck stops?" "Yes I am, may I help you." I identified myself and I heard him gasp. "First get someone as receptionist that speaks English and enroll the young lady that is there right now into an English class. Do it today. I want that to be reported to this office later today. You might want to make sure all of your people who regard English as their second language enroll with the former receptionist. I repeat; former receptionist. Second, teach your personnel to be respectful of all callers, regardless of how rude the caller may be. We still work for most of the callers. Third, I need to work with one of your immigration specialists, one who might be familiar with a specific file." "What file is it. I'm supposed to be aware of all active cases. I'm trying hard to be a good station chief." I gave him the file number and I could hear him typing. "I have someone familiar with the case, I can have him help you." "I'm going to have a multi-agency group interviewing a person knowledgeable about the subject under investigation. She will not be a witness and her identify must be protected or she will have to go into the protection relocation program. Will you have your agent contact me?" "Yes Sir, I'll do that and take care of the other matters you requested. I'm sorry for the treatment you received. I should observe my personnel's phone manners more closely and I will. You did a great job on that incident up in Jacksonville before your promotion. Congratulations on your promotion, I guess now that the super chief is in Tampa, I'll have to be on my toes." "Just do the job you know how to do. Oh yeah, are you supposed to answer customs?" "Sorry, Chief, I was customs for twenty-five years. It's a hard habit to break. I don't even know how to answer the phone because D.C. doesn't know how to do it either." "That is a problem isn't it. You're still customs, but now you're immigration too, plus you're part of the Homeland Security investigative division." "Yes Sir, I have responsibility for the ports, the airport contractors, and the customs and immigrations workers, and yes, thank you for saving my guy out there just a little while ago. This has become a monster job. I'm proud they chose me, but it can be a struggle. What do you think we should answer the phone as?" "I would say the receptionist should say Homeland Security for customs and immigration, and everyone else with their rank or title. You can just say chief, or boss, or God." "He laughed, thanks Chief, I appreciate your understanding. Let me get to work, too much bullshit before five is not good." I left with, "Talk to me when you need help." I called the Bureau chief back and found him waiting for me. "How about we hold this interview in your conference room?" I suggested. "There will be too many for my office. I'm going to set this up for next Tuesday. If you have a chance, come up and meet the interviewee. She is quite remarkable." "You have her there? How long will she be there?" "She's one of my new clerks, like I said, you would enjoy meeting her." "I'll be right there since I haven't seen your new digs yet." I told Wanda that the Bureau Chief was coming up so to usher him in when he got there. First was Conish, in her very proper refined voice, asking "How may I help you?" Next was Wanda, in her equally proper tone asking, "Mr. Harris, let me escort you to Mr. Johnson's office." I was already standing when they came in. As I seated Frank, Wanda asked, "May I get you coffee, Sir?" "That would be great, haven't had a cup all morning. Black, please." Wanda looked at me questioningly and I nodded. "This place is gorgeous. I would be jealous except I wouldn't want the responsibility. Who did the decorating?" "My new office manager, Wanda. She enjoys plants and I'm very happy to have them as well." "That's what we need in our place, plants. Perhaps she can show my office manager and clerk how to pick some out." "How's your health, Frank? You scared me out at the airport." "Scared me, too. I've not had a problem for a couple of years, then that whole month leading up to the airport thing just did it to me. I had four arbitration things with Forest, plus I was going to have to defend my office on an ACLU thing. You may or may not know that my divorce was finally final the week before the incident, and the final straw was out there where I should have been able to be in charge and just take care of it. With all the personnel problems we've been having, the divorce, and the shit that Forest stirred up, it's been too much. I'm doing better though. I've exercised every day, walking everyday, eating right, sleeping good. I think having you around is keeping me calm too, and that's not blowing smoke up your ass." Wanda had heard most of what Frank had said and added, "Mr. Johnson does have a calming affect." Frank blushed, but accepted the coffee. Wanda had a donut and said, "This is a cake donut. It's not real bad for your diet and for you to come up makes this is a special occasion." When Wanda left, I asked, "I didn't know about your divorce and I'm not good with gossip. You okay? Did you come out okay?" "I came out fine. When I found out I was sharing my wife with several others, I tried to get her out of my life but she was like a bad penny, she kept coming back. I finally had to have a restraining order, hired Sarah Perkins, the most vicious divorce lawyer in the city, and was able to keep my home and my pension. I had to give up a little savings and a car. That's all. Financially I'm great, but my personal or social life sucks." "It'll get better. The most important thing though is to take care of yourself, stay healthy." We had finished our coffee and snack. I put the cups on the sideboard where the bar was, then after waving for Frank to remain seated, I went out to get Conish. I introduced the two and explained briefly to Frank what the deal was. He said he would pull all the files so his person would be up on the case. He looked at Conish, "If I may suggest, I have a divorce attorney you should use. She is excellent at taking care of contested and potentially explosive divorces. You have a case like that, that's for sure. And the best thing, she charges guys like me a lot so she can do divorces for ladies like you pro bono." Conish smiled broadly and said, "I would love to meet this woman." Frank held his hand up as if to say stop, took out his cell phone and in a couple of seconds he said, "Sarah, Frank, can you come over to the Federal building real quick to see someone you need to help. Come to the top floor, when you get off the elevator, walk straight ahead to the old judges chambers. Thanks, Babe, I'm sorry, thank you, Sarah." "She gets all uppity when I say 'Babe.' I mean it in a nice way though." I stepped to the door and warned Wanda about Sarah Perkins. She came in and pulled an additional side chair to be next to Conish. I suggested, "Lets use the table, it's friendlier. I hate to talk across the desk at people." By the time we were all around the table, Sarah was being ushered in. After all the introductions were done, Wanda asked Sarah if she could offer her a refreshment. She grinned and said, "I could kill for a Diet Coke." Wanda looked at Conish and she was almost embarrassed, she asked, "May I?" Wanda said, "Of course, what would you like?" It was another Diet Coke and I asked Wanda to bring Frank and me a bottle of water each. It a minute, Angie and Wanda were bringing our drinks in. Once that was done, I gave Sarah a brief history so Conish didn't have to keep going over it. I'm sure it sounded better when I talked about it instead of her. When I was done, Sarah turned to Conish and asked, "Are you just angry at your husband for doing something that may be illegal, or is there more?" Conish looked down, then back up and said there's more. She looked at me and asked, "Will you say the words instead of me? It's very difficult." I explained that the husband was trying to get her to have sex with his foreign business associates and was becoming increasingly more aggressive in his attention to Conish. Sarah said, "I get the picture. I'll get you taken care of, but it's going to be tough to keep our secret. I'll handle it as if you're out of the country. Are you a natural citizen?" "Yes, Ma'am. I was born here to Austrian parents. We lived both here and in Austria throughout my youth. I went to Harvard. That's where I met Matthew. Neither of us went to graduate school, although I had aspirations of becoming an attorney." Sarah said, "Go right across the bay and enroll. One of the best law schools in the country. I could use a partner." Conish was flustered, "Oh, I don't have the money to do that." "You will, Conish, you will. I will separate your ex with a bunch of it before I'm done with him. Let me get right on it before these guys arrest him. We have to work fast. I'll get an emergency order for some heavy maintenance." Conish was smiling beautifully. "If you do that, I will be able to pay for your services. Thank you." "I know, Honey, that's why we'll work on this one. I am in this for the money. I'll do handstands for you if you don't have any, but I love to be paid, just ask Frank." Sarah turned to me and asked, "Hey, Chuck, need a good divorce lawyer?" "Not married, Ma'am." "Want to get married and see how you like it?" I laughed, "You need to meet some of the ladies I've been meeting lately. You're just as forward as they are." "I just like to have fun. Thanks for calling me, Frank. Conish can you come to my office after work? We need to get a whole bunch of information." Conish looked a little panicked, I said, "It's very difficult for her to get a bus if she misses the early ones." Frank offered, "Conish, let me walk you to Sarah's office. I will wait for you and make sure you get home safely." Conish said, "Thank you, Mr. Harris that would be excellent. I will see you, Ms. Perkins, as soon after five as I can." Sarah and Conish got up. Conish left to go to her desk and Sarah turned to Frank, "That one is right up your alley, Guy. She's class, probably more than you, but you got some couth. When you take her home, be cool, be nice, and offer to take her to supper. Take her somewhere nice, open, safe to her. You'll both have a great time." She turned to me and said, "Don't mind me, I'm a matchmaker in my spare time. I just can't find a match for me yet. Thank you for letting us use your office." Sarah Perkins was gone as fast as she came, saying thank you and goodbye to Wanda and Angie as she left. Frank said, "See why I like that Babe, lady, that is. She's good, but she's full of it." I said, "Okay, our deal will be Tuesday, say ten in your conference room. For security, I would like to enter it through your hallway entrance. Have one of your folks out in the hall to direct them. Let me know who your agent will be for my file. Just tell Wanda so she can e-mail them to confirm." "Got it, Chuck, sure glad you're doing this instead of me. Talk to you later." I looked at my watch to see it nearing the noon hour. This had been time consuming. I quickly called ATF and Homeland Security to give them date and time, and to have their agents contact Wanda. I would call the IRS, but those guys had loose lips and always screwed things up. I was thinking I needed to get Bobby to assign someone but it wasn't within our jurisdiction and all we would do was to cloud the issue. If we couldn't keep Conish hidden, it would be our problem but not until then. Okay, that was set. I wrote a quick e-mail to Wanda with the details and what to expect and to notify me if she had not had responses by Monday noon. Silly wasn't it to send an e-mail to my Office Manager a few feet away. I walked to the door and explained the coming e-mail to Wanda. She said, "You did exactly right. You don't have to warn me it's coming. I would expect an advisory. It's better that you put it down on paper instead of just telling me about it. Now the project is real." Hank called me and said, "Bring me a Subway. I want a roast beef, provolone, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and jalapeños peppers. I have soft drinks here. I need to talk to you." I walked in one direction to get the Subways, bought two of the same and walked back to the garage. I gave Hank his sandwich and sat down on a folding chair in front of his desk to eat my sandwich. He gave me a Coke, got himself one as well, and began eating. Between mouthfuls, I asked, "So what's up, what can I do for you?" "Let's eat first. I love these sandwiches. We'll talk in a minute." We ate, we both wadded up the paper from the sandwiches and hit the waste basket with our basketball type shots. Almost at the same time we drained our Coke cans and tossed them as well. A car came up to the ready spot near the door. It was an obvious police car of some form, a neutral color, which is sort of tan. The driver came in and tossed the keys on Hank's desk and said, "It's ready." Hank said, "Come look at this, it's pretty nice." I noticed the car looked new and when we opened the door, it even smelled new. It was a Chevrolet Impala. Hank opened all the doors, then opened the trunk. The trunk had compartments and gun racks so it was fitted as a police car. Every thing looked pristine. The part that bothered me was the leather seats. Police don't get leather seats. Hank said, "This is a protected car that does not fit the SUV directive. I picked it up because it has a modified engine instead of the stock for this model. It ain't real pretty, but it sure is fast. It handles real tight. I'd like to see if we could test it on the TPD track just for fun. I'm sure they'd like to test the Camaro there as well. I got this for your driver. You said fast, this is fast. You said it didn't have to be pretty, it ain't pretty. You said protected would be a bonus. This is protected. I did put some wheels on it and installed all our radios and telemetry in it. Please note that there are no exposed antennas." "It's just different enough I thought you would like it. You could have a Ford, but we have a ton of Fords. I might find another Chrysler and I know there are more SUVs. There are all kinds of Mercedes and BMWs, but you're not the foreign car type. If you decide you want this to be pink, I'll get it painted. But this is a nice car. If you don't want it, it will make one hell of a duty car. Oh yeah, this came with a deal. I got this with no transfer fee because it was on the back of my new flatbed, or rather my new used flatbed. This truck's bigger so I can haul the heavier SUVs that we've been running into. Now we have two trucks. Every time you've needed a truck, you've needed a bunch of trucks. Now we have two." I said, "Let's see what it feels like." Hank locked his office and jumped in. The car had the heavy-duty wide seat belts and we buckled them up and I rolled out onto the street. I accelerated gently up through normal street speeds. It felt good. There were cops out everywhere, so I couldn't nail it. I rolled up on the Leroy Selman Expressway and as we hit the straight away at thirty-five, I floored it. It didn't fishtail, but it did burn a lot of rubber and we were almost instantly at one thirty. I let off. I didn't know what it would do but this wasn't the place to find out. I got off, hoping there was a Sun Pass transponder for the tolls. For fun, I did a power one eighty to get back on the toll road and it stayed flat as a pancake. We went through the toll gates so fast, that it couldn't have taken our picture anyway. I let off this time before one twenty. I nodded and said, "Not a normal Chevy at all. Wonder what they did to it?" Hank said, "It's got the big Z06 427 engine from the Vette. The tranny is something that has been developed similar to the turbo 350, but stronger with better fluid take up. The suspension has to be special because this is heavier than a regular car. What do you think? Want it to be a different color or keep it a sleeper?" "This will be fine, Hank. Thanks for looking out for me. The Camaro is awesome, but I'll hurt myself in that one. Besides, if I need flash, I have the Boss. Speaking of the Boss, where's it at?" "Getting your 302 put in it. One of my guys is from up there and took it up. He said he knew the car. I also had Carl, the mechanic up there, open up the 302 so it would be as fast as the Windsor. I doubt it, but we'll see. You have a car that all the numbers match now. It's damned near new perfect. If you want to sell it, it will bring a bunch." "Thanks for sending it up for me. I was going to take a couple of days off and run it up. This works out fine." "And my guy gets to drive one hell of a nice car for fun," Hank said happily. Back in the garage, Hank gave me all the paperwork so I could keep it with me. I said, "Keep your eyes open for our guys. When a duty car is in need of rotating, just bring another of these in as fast as you can. It's okay for us to get heavy on cars. I may get bored driving the same one all the time. Get some stake out cars that are different, get some chase cars that are different. You know what I mean. Let's keep the area's budget low so we can use it for better things." Speaking of budgets, I needed to review the area and regional budgets. It was in John's binder. Before going upstairs, I went to the range and fired my minimum twenty-five to a maximum non-competition one hundred rounds. Actually, I went through three magazines real quick. I asked the range officer, "How about buying all the extra magazines you need for this idea? What would be nice is to be able to walk in, pick up three full magazines of range loads, put on the headset and fire. Pick up the brass, clean my piece, and book." "I'll fix you up, but I still have a lot of people using revolvers, and your Homeland guys are still learning how to shoot. What I'd like to do is to get you and Jan to help me make a training video. I want you to go through your training steps. As a second video, I'll have Jan teach the competition courses. For a finish, I want you two to do a dual competition run on film. That would be awesome. I have the budget for it, can I set it up?" "Set it up, but get the Bureau Chief's permission and write a specific script. Find me someone to teach who has never fired a handgun before and we'll do it." "Thanks, Chuck, I'll get right on it." When I walked into the office, Bobby was there and both Bobby and Wanda asked, "How do you like your new car?" "It's fine. Exactly right. It's fast, but not flashy. It'll work." Wanda said, "He's so calm about a new car. I dreamed about the new Chrysler all night. I know you are excited about your car, Bobby, and all he says is, it'll work." I smiled, "It's a tool. I may not be in the field, but it will do what I want when I expect it to. I don't like flashy cars to work in, I don't like flashy guns to shoot, and I have my Boss for fun and a house full of Bobby at home." "Careful, Mr. Johnson," Bobby said, "That is close to harassment." "I didn't say anything about you. Do you know if I have a Bobby at home?" "The car's great, Girls. Let me do my work. This is Friday and I have to check in with my boss. Wanda, I should review budgets, it's on my schedule." "I'll pull the ones we have. They are slow in coming in." "Memo everyone so we can put them on a spreadsheet. It will be easier to look at all of them at once to see if there are any anomalies. When you do the spreadsheet, grade the offices by the population that it serves. Use the three grades that D.C. uses. Keep the type of offices separated. Have one of the clerks do the time intensive stuff. Use your time more effectively." I ran through my paperwork, answered all the e-mails and called one of the stations about a resubmission of the collective incident report. Instead of talking to the deputy, I spoke to the chief deputy in charge. I asked why my request was not responded to in the manner I had requested. "Get off my back, you young punk. I have years and years of service and I know what I'm doing. You and that asshole in D.C. think you know everything about being a deputy, but like I said, you're just a punk looking for trouble." "Are you done?" He hung up. I called him back and said, "I'm not done. You will be in the office at oh seven hundred Monday. If you still want to be a deputy, you will write down, in essay form, why you should remain a deputy and present it to me when I eventually get there Monday. Be prepared, you may need a ride home. All deputies are courteous to all people, and to all whom they work with. You, Sir, have possibly exceeded the limits of what I think is courteous." The phone slammed again. I asked Wanda to pull the Chief's file and all communication with that station for the last year. She said it would take some time. I told her to use her clerks. She quickly brought me the Station Chief's file and I read it through, not seeing anything except he didn't have a great relationship with other agencies. What was I missing? He had enough time to retire but termination would kill retirement. There was a regulation that specifically discussed the issue. I composed an e-mail to the Station Chief in question and included the regulation number about termination without benefits. My next call was to John. He was in a good mood and I hated to screw it up. I asked him about the Chief. He said, "Shit, he's off his meds again. Call him back up and tell him to go take his medication. I'll call his wife. He's a manic depressive and really gets bad without his medication. Don't fire him yet; let me try to salvage him again." I called the station and asked the clerk quietly after telling her who I was, "Are you okay?" "Yes Sir." "Is the ACE around?" "That's part of the problem." "Why's that?" A hesitation on the other end of the line, "He is usually able to get him to take his meds when his wife is out of town. It just so happens that they are both out of town at the same time." "Do you know where his meds are?" "The Assistant has extra in his desk." "Do you want to help?" "Sure, tell me what to do." "Go get a glass of water and the pills, or whatever it is he has to take. Take them into his office; he's very stressed out so you may have to do something really silly to keep his attention. Do you have a paper bag?" "Yes Sir, a small lunch bag." "Perfect, set the pills and the glass of water on the desk, when he looks up at you, blow up the bag and pop it hard. Then stand up on a chair and yell at him as if you're really mad at him for not taking his medication. He should be shocked into taking it. Call me back. It'll take a half hour before he starts thinking right, but call me back if he takes the med." I waited impatiently for almost ten minutes, until Wanda said the clerk was on the phone. The clerk said, "He took them. He really thinks I'm strange now, when I popped the bag he was really confused, and when I stood on a chair, he actually looked scared. He cringed when I yelled at him, but he grabbed the pills and swallowed them. I yelled at him to sit down and be still. He's still sitting there." "Good, when he's straight, ask him to see his physician to see if he can get the newer long lasting implants. He has a tough problem. I'm surprised he made it to be Chief." "He developed all this after he became Chief. It's supposed to be some kind of chemical thing." "Okay, call me before you go home to let me if know he's okay." Wanda was at the door, "Do you still need all those records?" "No, sorry I didn't stop you right away. A manic depressive is tough to handle and I didn't want him to go off the deep end because of my e-mail." I looked at my PC to note the e-mail was still there. I had not sent it. I canceled the e-mail and called John back. John said, "His wife is out of town. I heard from the clerk about what you told her to do. Where did you learn that?" "There was a troop in Iraq that had the problem. When he took his meds, no sweat. He should have been sent home as soon as his problem was diagnosed, but a couple of docs thought he might be faking. We learned we had to do something outrageous to get him to listen, then yell at him to take the meds. Half hour later, he would be normal. He was finally sent home, but I heard he blew his brains out shortly after that. I suggested that our guy get the implant if he can." John was quiet a minute, "The man has been good for a lot of years. I've been trying to get him to retire, but he doesn't want to quit. Maybe you can figure out how to make him retire." "You have anything else for today? This has been a strange day so far." "Why, what do you mean?" "I explained the deal with Conish, gave him the file numbers, and told him how I set up a meeting for a collective interview. I told him about the car, then backtracked to tell him about Frank and the lawyer. With all this, and then this guy going off the deep end, it's been busy." "Some days are like that. Have you begun reviewing budgets yet?" "Started to compile them." "Let me know if anything is out of the ordinary. Otherwise, just make sure you keep the numbers under the big number. We have to be careful because money is getting scarce and we are going to be taking some hits. They ask us to do more, but want to give us less budget." I said sarcastically, "I know how to take up some of the slack on budgets." "How?" "Make damn sure fewer people make it to the pen. If they escape, just neutralize them. That would be a lot cheaper." "Don't say that. You never know when someone is listening and may believe you. Christ, you have a record. You're known as being a little bit of a neutralizer." "Sorry, it just pisses me off to see our guys busting their asses for the money we pay them." "Well, you're one of the guys that's underpaid too." "I don't count, I'm single, I can live cheap, I know how to live cheap. Family guys have it tough. They are constantly working extra shifts to make ends meet. I actually have a guy doing air duty all weekend to make some extra bucks so his wife doesn't have to work. You know him, Sam, the guy with the kid with Cerebral Palsy." "Yeah, our Association of Deputies was supposed to be getting him a stipend. Wonder what happened. I'll check on it." "I'm hoping we can help the DEA and the ATF on a drug bust and get the guy a bone." "Don't do that either," John said. "He'll have a hard time with the IRS." I thought of something, "You know what, I wonder if Matt, the bad guy, has a DEA file. Let me go check and bring them in if I need. Call me Monday if you need me." The clerk called me telling me the Chief was too embarrassed to talk to me, so she was doing it. "He told me to tell you he apologizes. He'll try to be more consistent with his meds." "Tell him to call everyone he pissed off today and apologize. His friends will understand, but they need to hear it." "I'll do that, Sir and thank you, you taught me a lot today. Hope I get to meet you one day soon." "Me too." Another crisis avoided. I went out to apologize to Wanda again for pushing the panic button. She said, "It's your responsibility to learn as much as you can to avoid a problem. I'm sure you did what was necessary." I explained what the problem had been and how we took care of it. She said, "We need to go work out a little, don't we? It would settle us down." "Actually, it's almost Miller time. I'm going to be ready. Conish is going to that attorney's office. Frank is taking her, so she's taken care of. My desk is clear unless you have more. We need to work on budgets between crises next week so we can report to John. I'm going to see how Bobby's doing and we'll go from there." I walked in to see Marie with a concerned look. She nodded toward Sarah's office. Sarah was busily typing something on her PC when she looked up to see me. She said, "Bobby's out on an incident. Two of her duty people at the court house may be dead. They were shot by some men with automatic rifles trying to kill the judge. He's okay. We have crews on the way." "Why didn't you call me, I'm right next door?" "Bobby said it was her responsibility." "What's the status of the shooters?" "We don't know. Everyone available and the Bureau are out taking statements, looking for them." "I'm going down not as the Senior, but as an investigator. Would you use the radio to ask permission?" Sarah said, "You don't need permission." "I know, but let me protect her dignity and ask. I don't want to try to take over." "Base to number one." "Number one." "Deputy C. Johnson is 10-8." (10-8 is in service/available for assignment.) "See me on site." "Base out." "One out." I rushed to the office to advise them of what was going on. I advised them to lock down and to only leave accompanied. I was downstairs, burning rubber in my new car, almost instantly. I was looking for the switch for the lights and noisemaker, and finally figured out that the floor button was the noisemaker and not the hi/lo beam. I slid to a stop near the mess of people, white clean up vans and damn, a coroner's van. I found Bobby directing traffic but that was all she was able to do because of the bedlam. She looked at me and looked ready to cry. She said, "Help." I said, "Continue doing what you're doing. It looks like you have the scene in order. Keep it that way. Let me go take a look." Going to the sheet that covered a deputy. I didn't know who it was and I didn't want to know yet. That there was only one sheet told me one lived so far. I looked to see how the one had fallen, then began looking around. This was just like trying to identify where a sniper was located. Something bothered me, so I went back to Bobby and asked, "Sarah said automatic rifle fire, was it?" "I don't know, the witness just said that a lot of shots were fired all at once. We haven't been able to identify where the shooters were." "You just said shooters, plural, why?" She looked at me and nodded, "They way they described the fire. It had to be more than one." I gave her a thumbs up sign and went back to the where the body was. Okay, now it could be from a distance, because no one saw anyone up close, but they heard multiple rounds at once. From how the body was lying, I looked out and gradually looked up until I found an open window. It almost looked as if there was someone in the window, but away from it. I stepped behind a pillar, probably the pillar that saved the judge. I walked a couple of pillars higher and after being behind, it I peeked out cautiously. There was a guy watching everything from back in the shadows of the room. I counted the floors that it should be on and used the radio that I had swiped from the ready room as I left the station. "One" "One" "How secure?" "Totally." "There is a guy across the street on the seventh floor watching what we're doing. I think you want to talk to him. He should be in the, let's see, one, two, three, four, fifth room to the right from center. Get him. We need to talk to him." "Got it." Fuck this ten shit. If this is secure let's just talk. I heard Bobby directing traffic. She was smart enough to not send anyone from this side of the street. I went inside the building and watched from a window almost directly across the street. I wish I had a rifle, but I knew there was no way to make a shot at this distance. I was standing there watching when I saw another man stand up with a rifle. Fuck, they may shoot again. Damn. The guy with the rifle looked like he was breaking it down. Good. The man standing leaned over and picked up another rifle and handed it to the guy that was lower. Maybe we were lucky. They would have both rifles broken down. I radioed, "I want them alive if possible." Bobby knew everyone heard, but she said, "You heard the man, we want them talking." The door behind the guy opened and many people came in the room. No shots were heard, so I guess they captured the two shooters. When I came out of the court building I had been in, there were news trucks everywhere. I hopped down the stairs as fast as I could to hunt for a Tampa Police Department man in charge. When I couldn't find them, I went to each news truck and flashed my badge. "You have three minutes to get this truck out of here. If you are still here in three minutes the truck will be confiscated." I radioed the garage on their channel. "Bring your tow trucks, we're gonna own some news wagons." The one guy heard me and was yelling to get his cameramen back. I went right down the line telling each of them the same thing. One smart-ass said, "You're obstructing free speech." I said, "You're obstructing an investigation of a murder of a government employee. That is worth five years. One more word and you will be under arrest." The man looked at me and said, "What are you going to do about it, Crip?" I turned, drew my weapon and shot both tires on this side of the van. "I guess you won't be able to make the five minute max to leave, will you?" "You son-of-a-bitch, you disabled my truck so you could confiscate it." I jumped in and pulled the recording plug between panels then grabbed the tech and threw him out of the truck. I punched the locks on all the doors and pulled them shut. After doing that, I held him down with my fake leg that has a shoe on it and said, "Yes, I am a little short on one side. I would want you to please roll over so I can cuff you as an obstructer of justice." When he didn't want to do what I asked, a Tampa uniform came up and said, "Need some help?" I handed him my cuffs and asked, "Please do the honors for me, okay?" My radio crackled, it was Bobby, "We're taking the shooters in for interrogation." "Get out of here and don't look back. This is getting nasty." "I know, I had a news lady in my face while I was trying to direct traffic." I told the Tampa cop quietly, "Take this creep to the county lock up. Just write up that charges are pending. Try to keep your name off the log. Lie, do whatever. He'll stay in till Monday morning, and he'll be released for not being charged." The cop smiled and said, "I can do that." The news trucks had pretty much pulled out, some leaving their cameramen who were not transmitting now that the trucks were gone. I found a Tampa Police Captain, and after showing my badge, asked, "Call some cabs to take these cameramen to their stations. Put it on the Marshal's tab. Get them all home for me, will you?" "Got it. I've never seen them move so fast getting out of here. Too bad that one guy has two flat tires." When Hank was loading up the truck with the two flat tires, I told him, "Take it to the TV station, wherever it is, and just drop it there. I wouldn't know what to do with it. If you can get in it, have Brian from the Bureau make sure there isn't any good tape on board." "Consider it done, I see you used the non-descript car to get here." Hank was laughing as he loaded the truck. He yelled out, "See I needed this bigger truck." The place was getting back to normal. The body was gone, and even the window the shooters had been using was closed. I took a deep breath and began walking to my car. A shorter person with her shoulders hunched down joined me. Jan said, "Sorry about your man. I heard the other one is in surgery, but is going to make it." That's what will break you up in the military, in law enforcement, in life. Knowing you lost a man and there was nothing you could do about it. "Need a ride?" "Yeah, can I see how the interrogation is going?" "I don't see why not. We'll see what's up." When we got to the parking garage, Bobby's car was there, but not the Bureau Chief's. We went through security and up the elevator. Marie and Sarah were still there. My surprise was that Angie and Wanda were with Marie and Sarah, talking quietly waiting to hear news, any news. Bobby came into the secretarial area and said, "Oh, Jan, just the person we need. I think these guys are Russian, once again with some very nice AK47s. If you would, I know this isn't your jurisdiction, but would you help?" Jan pulled her weapon and laid it down on Marie's desk. "You know I'll help. Have you totally searched them yet?" Bobby looked surprised and said, "You know I didn't think to strip them. I'll be back." I went with her to watch. Jan came along to watch through the blacked out windows of the interrogation room. Bobby had the first man stand up and began using scissors to cut his clothes off. When he was nude, she told him to lie on the table. With paper towels under his head Bobby began combing his hair. She combed his underarms, then his pubic hair. The prisoner couldn't believe a woman did the entire thing. Bobby looked as if she were counting, "I have seven GPS devices, eight audio devices, one camera, and three transmitters. She had the guy lay over the table and combed out his eyebrows, and said, "One GPS, One audio, and one transmitter. Hold it, a camera too." She said to the room, "This guy probably has a GPS and or transmitter inside him as well. We'll have to take him to the warehouse first." They put a set of coveralls on the guy and led him to another room. Jan began questioning him, saying his only chance to live was to talk. The guy said that he was diplomatically immune and ranted and raved about it. Jan said, "Trust me; no one will know we cut your balls off and fed them to you. Remember, you're in Florida. We have very nice sharks just off shore that enjoy dining on Russians that are bleeding. Do you think your friends will come to look for you?" We actually didn't hear this right away because it was said in Russian. Jan told us later. The man began asking for Harding. Where is Harding? That made my stomach churn. These people were everywhere. The best way to handle these guys would be to just, shit, I can't think that way. Jan came out and said, "Can I cut him, to show him how the sharks will know he's in the water?" One of the deputies said, "Hang on, let me get a boat down there. That ought to convince him. Then cut him." Fifteen minutes later, the deputy went to the window and opened it. He yanked the prisoner up and dragged him to the window sticking his head out to look down. Jan was jabbering to him fast and furious. The deputy brought the guy back and slammed him on the chair. Jan took a pair of scissors and slashed his arm. She said something else to the guy then acted as if she were going to cut him again. He broke. He began talking fast. Telling Jan everything he knew. We didn't know what he was saying, but it was being recorded. Jan listened until the man sat there staring at her. She said something very vehemently, then hit the man hard, back-handed. It was hard enough his nose and mouth started bleeding. She came out and said, "He was sent to kill our witness, a couple of escaped whores, as he called them, and to kill the judge. They couldn't get to the witness and couldn't find the whores, so they shot at the judge. I say we let him swim back to Russia." "Can he identify anyone that is still here, his contacts, any of the brothels?" Jan took a deep breath and said, "I'll find out." She went into the room and slashed the guy with the scissors again. We found out later that she said, "I want to go ahead and kill you, but my weak bosses say that I can't unless you don't talk." She talked to the prisoner another forty minutes writing down many things. She finally came out of the room and said, "We need to raid here, and here. This is the only brothel he knows about, but this is where the bosses live. Call the FBI, it's their jurisdiction. They will want in on this." The second prisoner was faster, after finding as many devices on him as the other guy, Jan started her interrogation by slashing his arm then holding the small man by the hair, she dragged him to the window to show him the boat. The man was jabbering in no time at all. He was only able to give us one additional place to look for people, but he had come to the states in a different way. He had been on board a cruise ship as a worker and jumped ship, something for us to pass on to immigration. When we were done, the prisoners, in coveralls, were taken to the warehouse where they were found to have transmitting devices inside them. They were given laxatives to see if the devices were intestinal. The prisoners got to hold the electrical shorting devices, but it didn't kill one each of the transmitters. They took the two men to Tampa General and gave each an MRI and had the transmitters surgically removed from the area between their balls and their asshole. Amazing what these people were doing. When the two men came out of surgery, they were more willing to talk than ever before. They really didn't tell us anything new, but relayed information about their homeland that we knew or suspected. The two were taken downtown to stay until someone figured out what to do with them. Bobby said that she would be home as soon as she was sure her man was alright. I made sure that Wanda took Angie home, and I took Jan and Marie home. We stopped at Publix on the way home and bought a bunch of fish and fresh vegetables. I knew that we would be cooking in shifts, so I started the steamer for the veggies and began cooking the Tilapia in the oven. Twenty five minutes, with seasoning, butter, and lemon, and you have good fish. I made instant rice while making up the other stuff, and fed those home at the time. I was a little stressed out, so had a salad with most of a small bottle of Beefeaters. Bobby came in with the news that the deputy was doing well and was conscious. The deputy that was killed was single, thank God. The injured deputy was married with two kids. He was proud they had saved the judge by pushing him behind a pillar, and was pleased we had caught the shooters. I fed Bobby and myself. Bobby wouldn't drink as she said, "If these people are that nuts, they may try for the witness or the judge tonight. The hotel is safe, so the Judge and his wife are staying there tonight. I'm just crazy over losing one man, and all of the bad guys aren't accounted for." I tried to console her, but she said she would feel better when the trial was over. She said, "According to the prosecutor, the witness wasn't much good. The translator acted as if the witness was hostile and wasn't telling any real information." I said to Bobby, "In the morning, we are going to get the tapes of the trial and have Jan listen to them. Meanwhile, have D.C. run the translator, they provided the person." "I didn't think of that. The original translator said this witness would do the trick. We thought that maybe he was just too optimistic." I called John to advise him of our status. I knew he had already heard of a death, so I told him the second man was going to be fine, and that we had the Bureau busting multiple places as we spoke. "Good deal. You were right that you didn't send our men out on it. It would have been a slaughter and the ACLU would have been on our asses forever. Oh, I wanted to tell you. The Association said they had let Sam and his kid slip through and they had already wired him a few thousand to help his wife and him through some bad times. The Association even sent someone down to handle his duty this weekend so he could be with his family instead of working to keep his wife home. That's more like what the Association is for. They will take care of burying the man killed too. His family will receive the insurance proceeds. That's pretty cold, but at least they have the opportunity to have something to remember him by." "Thanks, John, Bobby's taking this pretty hard. She's trying to be big Momma to everyone." "It takes a few before you can only write the letter home and choke back the tears, then go on to the next. She's living it right now, Chuck, you know what it's like. Let her work it out as she has to. All of us have to do it differently." "I know, John, I just want to keep her from having to go through it." "You can't, it's happened, she's a good leader, she feels the loss. She'll adapt, just be there for when she needs you." "I got it, I understand." "I heard she's requesting a security check on the translator, is there something wrong?" "I'm not sure yet. The translator keeps saying the witness won't talk. We are going to have a resident translator listen to the trial tapes and tell us what she hears." "Damn these Russians, they are causing us grief everywhere. We're just too lenient about illegal immigration. If we're going to rid ourselves of the problem, we're going to have to get tough." "Go tell them, John. No, don't say anything or you'll be out too. Get elected or something, then tell them." "I wish. I'm forbidden to run for office. I can only advise those that run or are already in office." "I'm going to get off, John, I think Bobby is going to need my help." I said to Bobby, "Get changed and let's work out a little. It will help. Come on." We changed and I let Bobby run on the treadmill while I used the bike. She swapped to weights, so I used the treadmill and Jan used the bike. Wanda was doing light weights in a Kata, an exercise form for martial arts. Marie exactly imitated everything Wanda did. Total idol worship. When my time was done on the treadmill, I did some weights, but light, as I wanted to observe Bobby to be sure she didn't overdo it. When she was on her back with over four hundred pounds, I said, "Let me be your weights tonight. Your mom said that would be good for both of us, trust and all." Bobby did reps with me until she was tired, then lay me onto her chest. With giant tears streaming down her face, she said, "I know I can't protect them all or even any of them, but I sent them on that duty today. When those two men were in the interrogation rooms, I wanted to just go in and kill them. I put my weapon down on Marie's desk to be sure I wouldn't lose it and just do it anyway. My emotions are all over the place. I feel guilty for sending them on the duty. I feel guilty that I couldn't protect them. I feel guilty that I didn't avenge their death. God, Chuck, I am really right there. Am I a leader to not be able to protect my own?" I said, as gently as possible, "You're asking the same question military and law enforcement leaders have asked for ages. You know you're a leader because you feel and realize the loss. If you didn't, you would be worthless." She was still for a long time, then said, "Let's swim." We all swam for a while, but not at the killer pace that would wind us totally. We swam hard, but paced. When I stopped, everyone stopped. Wanda and Bobby carried me out as usual, and we washed under the outdoor shower. Bobby even said, "A far cry from our loving this morning." When it was time to get in bed, I tucked Bobby in, and Wanda snuggled up to her while I shut down the house and locked up. When I came to the bedroom, the night light showed Wanda cradling Bobby while she nursed on one Wanda's large nipples. Wanda had big tears on her face, but Bobby was sleeping. I lay awake a little while but not long. I slid into a troubled sleep, knowing how Bobby's heart was broken. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 17 I slid from bed, did the "triple S," and woke Jan, who was snuggled with Marie. She was instantly alert and got out of bed to get ready. I thought I might have skated with Bobby, but she was up getting ready, as was Wanda. I tried to tell Wanda that it was out of her ballpark but she said, "I want to be a part of this. If I'm going to continue to be a deputy, I need to be involved." We went in using Bobby's Escalade and parked in the official parking places at the federal courthouse. Inside the judge's chambers, he greeted us warmly happy to hear the one deputy was doing well. He said, "My wife and I enjoyed a nice dinner last night and breakfast this morning. I must say, we felt wonderful and very safe. Thank you for watching over us and for keeping us this weekend. We should get this trial over Monday unless I find reason for a mistrial." The judge had the court clerk put the video in so Jan listened and wrote down what was said. A couple of times, she had them replay a part over so she could hear it again, and she then began translating the second time through. "The translator's first words here are, you know they are just going to kill you. You can't escape them. Say nothing and perhaps live." Jan said, "The translator did not ask the witness one question. If you want confirmation, call one or two of the USF students that sometimes act as translators." As she advanced the video to another area, Jan said, "The translator says here, Bretnov is here, Bretnov will save you if you want, if not, Bretnov will enjoy killing you. He will take you to the basement or underground or something like that, as the word has too many meanings. He says that Bretnov is either the executioner or her savior." Bobby said, "I wouldn't talk either. What do you say, Judge?" "I'll have to declare a mistrial and the prosecutor will have to petition the court to hold the accused without bail until the new trial. I don't have any reason not to go along, but since I've been attacked, a new judge will be assigned and you'll have to present everything to him. Who will it be? Who knows? It could be one of the liberal jurists who hate to incarcerate someone before trial. If it is, you'll never have a trial. The defendant will either be dead or far out of the country." Bobby said, "I can hold him as an illegal immigrant, and since he was caught with a weapon, I can legally hold him as a terrorist. We just have to be there to arrest him and take him into custody." The judge had the clerk make a couple of certified copies of the video and had her store a copy in her safe. When it was time to leave, one of the two duty guys said, "We have this covered, we parked inside. We'll take the judge back and keep him safe till Monday. He and his wife should have a good time." Bobby rode back to the hotel with the judge and I drove her car to the back of the federal building. We met Bobby as she came in, and rode up where we were greeted by the station's duty man. Bobby called D.C., listened, and then keyed her PC to download several pages of files. She read the files, then turned to us and said, "Let's go get someone who is implicated in a murder of a deputy marshal." Bobby had a team tailing the translator and had kept him under constant surveillance. He was right where he was supposed to be, and Bobby personally performed the arrest. When the man started with the 'I am a protected, I am immune, ' she calmly said, "Everyone hear that? We have a real live spy. We can execute him now. Sir, you are now under arrest as a spy, not just an illegal alien that we discovered, and not just a witness intimidator. You are now a spy." She turned to look at everyone. "Remember, spies may be shot if they try to escape. Let's not put handcuffs on him, he might run. Oh yeah, we have to have him at least partially restrained." Bobby clamped a cuff on one wrist and said very quietly, "Please run, I need to kill someone." You could see the man wilt. He believed her. I did too. We took him to our office and let Jan interrogate him. Considering the raids that were going on last night, I was amazed her cell phone had not summoned her to work. I called the Bureau Chief on his cell phone to find out how they did. "We cleaned out two brothels. One we found out about from the first raid." "We raided two mass residences and have all of them in our lockup. We are interviewing them one at a time. We have four USF students having a good time with them. They are not as extreme as Jan. I saw the video of her interrogation. I think we should lose it." "What about the location where the bosses are supposed to be? Anything?" Frank scoffed. "We brought in four men and six kids, four young boys and two fairly young girls. The kids are in the hospital, and the men should be too, either that or pushing up daisies. We had a problem with only one of them. As close as we can tell, his name is Bretnov and may be important." I quickly warned him. "He's some form of assassin. Have your people be very careful of him. Jan identified him within the translator's intimidation during the trial. The whole thing is a mistrial so we have some work to do." "I'll call the jail to make sure they don't try to question this Bretnov guy without a lot of help, and a lot of chain. Talk to you later." Frank called back within five minutes, "Thank goodness we spoke. They were going to take him up for questioning and held up when I warned them. They locked him up in cuffs and chains and found he had already made a shiv. We didn't strip these guys like you did, so we have to do that yet. The electronics on them tells you that there may be more to these guys than just gangsters. I'm not saying what it may be, but it's scary." I made a casual remark with true sincerity. "Frank, if I could, I would begin arming the populace and teach them how to defend themselves. With the crazy enemies we have out there, and the attitude of tearing the military apart, we'd better have one hell of a militia." "I know, Chuck, I know. I'm ready to find a place where I can just hide." "If you need me, Frank, call me, if you need Jan, she's yours, call her. She only got tough because of what she heard from the killers. She's still interrogating the translator that D.C. researched for us. He is a total fake. Your lady, Jan, is ready to be used however you need her; she wants to do her job." By five o'clock on Saturday, we were all home almost staring at the walls in shock over the last twenty-four hours. Bobby wanted to work out, so I did what was expected, but couldn't push hard. Instead of swimming, I went out into the yard, closed my eyes, and let the Tae Chi music play in my head. I soon began to relax and continued for nearly a half-hour. I finished, standing in my own solitude and internal warmth. I opened my eyes to find my friends sitting cross-legged or Indian fashion looking at me. Wanda said, "I tried to tell them about your movements and what they meant, but they need to learn for themselves. Have you found peace?" I smiled, and bowed. I leapt from the ground, far higher than could be expected from a one legged man, and gave a thrust and kick at the same time in the classic martial arts form. I landed nimbly on my good foot and began to say something, but Wanda said for me, "And now you are ready for war." There wasn't going to be any war. That's what was frustrating. I wanted to round up every person in the country that had anything to do with these organizations. This had gone on long enough. What was happening in locations that were not prepared as we were? It was really scary. I suggested that we go to Park Place and get some of their pizza and lasagna. We ended up riding out there in the Escalade and buying far too much take out food. The three girls and I drank heartily at the bar, teasing the good-looking redhead. The redhead was in a good mood and enjoyed my women. She kept getting close to Bobby and asking her, "Are you alright? Are you okay?" Bobby kept telling her, "My job can be difficult and it is right now." It didn't keep the bartender from being concerned and coming back to talk to us. At home, Bobby was still not drinking. She said, "If anything happens, I want to be ready. I'll get over it, Honey, but I feel as if I have to be prepared." Wanda was with us in bed again, and I let them drift off to sleep together. Bobby was once again nursing on one of Wanda's nipples. That is really special of Wanda to do. I hope so anyway. Sunday morning, John called me about six. I was making coffee when he called. He said, "We have a military prisoner airplane that will be landing at your private airfield in about an hour and ten minutes. Please have all of your prisoners, including the translator, at the airport. Each should be in both ankle and waist chains. It doesn't make any difference if they haven't been screened yet. You are to have them at the airport at oh seven thirty. The Bureau has called their man. Get cracking. Get rid of your trash." I was going to go get Bobby, but she had listened in on the telephone call. She said, "Thank God. Let's go get them. You call Hank and tell him to get the bus and meet us in the street. I'll call some troops. We'll have as many men as prisoners. Hopefully they will try something." Jan woke up and wanted to come along. "I might hear something that would be useful. I also want to be there if they try to run." The three of us tried to discourage Wanda and Marie from coming along but they ended up to observe as they both felt they had their time invested in these prisoners. We were at the lockup and began helping chain each man. We would chain one man then put him back in the cell. When we came to the baddest of the bad guys, Mr. Bretnov, Jan said, "I snuck in a weapon. I plan on killing him before we get to the airport." Bretnov was not restrained yet, so I offered him some pepper spray. "I know you understand English, so you have a choice. We can kill you now or you can die where you are going. My associate here does not like you. Should I use the pepper spray or shoot you with a tranquilizer gun. Take off your clothes, please." He finally took off his clothes. We had him kick the clothes outside the cell where we could search them. While he was waiting, we had him spread his lower cheeks and lift his balls for us and skin back his dick. We had him open his mouth and used a probe to search beneath his tongue and in his cheeks. After he put his clothes back on, including rubber shower shoes, he had to back up to the cell door to have handcuffs put on with the chain around the bar. We then put ankle chains on him, unlocked his cage, fastened the waist chain, and locked his hands to the new cuffs. Once we released the original standard handcuffs, he made some effort to try to break out of his chains. He couldn't, he was done. When all were accounted for, we led them out in twos, except a few that we considered a high risk. Hank was ready in his old school bus. He was in a protected driver's area that was totally safe. Two guards were in the back of the bus in protected cages with automatic rifles and small holes to shoot through. We were told the bus was one hundred percent protected, so we were confident we could get to the airport. Each prisoner was additionally locked into his seat at his hands and at his feet. They were not going anywhere. Hank drove the bus to the airport with eight cars leading and following. At the airport, the gate to drive onto the field was already open with armed soldiers standing in rows waiting for us. We brought the prisoners out one at a time and turned them over. Each man was accompanied by a copy of what was known about him and a translation of his interrogation. We cautioned the soldiers about Mr. Bretnov. They assured us he would not be a problem. We watched the big cargo plane take off then saw some fighters fly up to the plane after it was off the ground to accompany it. This was a relief. It was eight o'clock Sunday morning, and there were no more bad guys we had to worry about. The judge and witness were in the hotel, and we were free for the day. As everyone left, now off duty, except those who were safe house duty people, we sat in the car for a bit, when Bobby said, "Let's go see if we can get a seat and have breakfast at the Park Place diner." We rolled up to a packed parking lot. Bobby said, "I'll be right back." She walked down to the gate, came back, and said, "Mind if we eat in the raw? The guy says it's not crowded on the porch." "Oh well." We paid an entrance fee and were told we could park over by the golf carts. If we were bashful, nudity was not required. That wasn't a problem with this group. The girls were quickly all bare, waiting for me. I told them that I didn't have sandals or anything. Bobby grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, Chuck, I forgot that you might be self-conscious about your leg." "I'll be alright, except I'm not going to go barefoot." We walked up on the porch that did have quite a few people on it. There was an inside area, but the porch was nicer. We sat and were immediately brought coffee and water. The cheerful waitress said, "We have lots of pancakes, with sausage or bacon, ready to serve. Everything else takes just a little longer. The pancake special sounded good, so we all ordered the special with orange juice. Lots of people were coming and going, having Sunday morning breakfast. A young man was standing by the stairs to the porch, selling newspapers from his little red wagon. There were so many newspapers in it; I don't think it would have moved. We heard one of the people ask him where his sister was, and he said she was outside selling papers at the diner. The waitress told us that the mom and dad had both been laid off and the whole family was doing everything they could to earn enough to continue their lives. When we finished breakfast, we each bought a paper and tipped the kid pretty good. After stashing the papers, the girls wanted to at least walk around since we had paid for the day. We walked down past a building that was bustling with activity. We could see a pool, a big hot tub, and what looked like a community shower. I guess that would work in a nudist place. Down by the lake, we saw lots of people out in canoes and small rowboats. Lots of kids were playing in the sand on the man-made beach, just like they would at a regular beach. I suddenly realized that I was walking among what appeared to be hundreds of naked people. Okay, nothing to it. Lots of kids stared and pointed at my leg, but it didn't draw that much attention. We walked up to the busy building and went in. It was one big giant room with some other rooms around the sides. A man was trying to get people to get the chairs in place as it was getting late. We watched until we realized that all these people had been cooking and eating breakfast in the big room, but now they were sitting down for a church service. The five of us looked at each other and decided to sit. We sang some songs, said some prayers, and the man delivered a decent love thy neighbor sermon. After the last song, everyone got up and put chairs back around tables. There were two pool tables, some electronic games, some ping pong tables and what was that? The smell of barbecue on real wood fires was coming from outside. The girls all gravitated that way. I said, "You can't be hungry, we just ate." Marie said, "But doesn't that smell good?" Bobby and Wanda had already gone to a desk that said "Orders," and I could see Wanda fishing money out of her purse. They came back and said the food won't be ready for about an hour. They suggested we take a nature trail hike or go swimming. We elected to walk one of the trails that was said to be short. Almost two hours later, and totally thirsty, we got back to the big cookers. We bought a bottle of water for each of us and picked up our huge box of food. It smelled good. The decision was made that since we were not prepared, we wouldn't stay. They wanted to walk up and look at the Bed and Breakfast and the cabins that were in the brochure the bartender had given us. We walked back to the cabins and some women were cleaning them. We asked if we could look inside and get a good look. There were just two bedrooms with what looked like queen beds, a living room with a convertible couch, and a kitchen. What else do you need? The cabins had air conditioning, but it wasn't on where we were. We walked over to the bed and breakfast and people were still eating breakfast. It had a really nice atrium built around a huge oak. We could see that the place was nice the way they had it on two floors, very peaceful and intimate. We were walking out of the screened-in atrium when Bobby was accosted by a redhead. It was the bartender from the restaurant and bar. Bobby said, "You know, you never gave us your name. I'm Bobby, this is Wanda, Jan, Marie, and our main man, Chuck." The freckled lady smiled at all of us and said, "I'm Shannon. Come inside and meet everybody. They'll get a kick that you guys are looking the place over." Inside the cabin next door was a rustic kitchen with a rustic looking table that was probably expensive. The chairs were leather over some fine distressed wood. A tiny blonde was darting around the kitchen and stopped to greet us. "I'm Joanie. I have to go to work in a little bit because the other bartender can't come in. She's getting married, or got married this weekend and won't be in. Double shifts for a while." We met a really big-breasted girl named Betsy, and a girl that Jan recognized and who also recognized Jan. Her name was Maggie. She was really friendly and warm to all of us. A really nice looking lady with dark hair came walking through the living room to be introduced as Zena, the mistress of the house. She laughed; "I suppose I'm sort of the mistress. Let me get the Master, he's getting out of the shower." A nice looking guy came wagging out. I say wagging since his dong was a little stiff and it was wagging. He was introduced as Tom Parks. Wanda said, "Parks Place, Tom Parks?" "You got me. I sort of own a good chunk of it, but everyone else manages it. The redhead is in charge of all the bars. Little Joanie is the Park Lounge operator. Maggie is like an overall manager and that big-titted babe that's around here somewhere, is the bean counter, but she may be moving. We're all a part of it. I am an architect and work downtown. Zena is a sales manager with the same company. So you see, we are not in the restaurant and bar business." I said, "We don't mean to interrupt your day, let us get out of here. We were just checking out your cabins and the bed and breakfast." Tom said, "Come out for a weekend. You paid ten to get in just now and that's all you'd pay if you came on Friday evening. There's usually a camp fire with marshmallows on Friday. Of course, there's dancing on the porch Friday and Saturday. There's always some kind of party on Saturday night." Joanie came walking through, "And I am often the star attraction at one of them." Zena smacked her cute butt as she walked by. "Hush up, you little hussy." That's when Jan said, "I know you, and Joanie, and Maggie, and even Betsy. You guys used to come into the P-club together. You all used to live together. I guess you still do. Um, Zena, right? I notice you have rings, are you married?" Zena pulled Tom to her and said, "Yep, to this one right here." Maggie came up and put her arm over Jan's shoulders, "Jan, Honey, we've all changed a lot. That man," pointing at Tom, "Changed my attitude toward men big time. I'm even engaged now. Zena changed too. Joanie and Becky were always both ways. See that redhead, isn't she nice, well she used to be the bartender up at The Office and would hang out at the P-club all the time. Even she's changed. We all love each other, including this guy right here, and have lots of other men friends now. We have the best of both worlds. Do you want to come out to sample this guy?" Jan blushed and sputtered, but said, "I've learned to enjoy men as well. You've really changed Maggie." Shannon came in and hugged the other side of Tom and said, "It's nothing official or anything, but I'm like considered wife number two. Having a mistress and a master, I get the best of both worlds." Oh, oh, seeing the redhead and the dark headed Zena together was awakening parts of me that had been asleep. Joanie came back through and said goodbye and nice meeting you to each of us. She stopped in front of me, looked up into my eyes, then back at my growing self. The little girl took hold of my dick and talked to it, "No fair getting up when I have to leave. Now I'll have an itchy pussy all day, thinking about a new dick that I didn't get to try." That did it, full one hundred percent hardon. Tom laughed, but Shannon was now stroking a dick that was a lot longer than mine, but not quite as thick. Tom said, "Joanie can do that to you in a split second. Come on, Joanie, stop that so it can go back down." My dick began drooping, finally getting softer. I rolled my eyes but Tom again said, "See, you relax and then you're fine. How about a beer, I'm about ready for one." I was going to decline, but Bobby said, "That would be great." Shannon had migrated to Bobby's side and as she put her arm around Bobby's waist, with a nipple at mouth level, said, "You're acting more relaxed today. Is everything all better?" Bobby looked at me as if to ask, can I tell people? I nodded, and Bobby began telling the story about the shooting Friday, our turmoil Saturday, and the relief at getting rid of the bad guys this morning. We were all sitting around their big table, now with two leaves in it, on our second beer. Bobby was just about finished telling the story when the front door banged open and two older couples came in. If you didn't look closely, you would swear Zena just walked in again. That lady was with a nice looking guy, and then there was Tom's obvious dad, and a slender, good looking, lady. They were introduced as Zora and Martin, and Loraine and Lee. If I had been standing up, Joanie would have been able to talk to the microphone again. Bobby stood up to meet them, and Zora said, "Holy shit, you are a big un. My goodness, just look at you, you're so strong looking." The sight of Bobby, in all her glory, had both Martin and Lee rising to the occasion. Lee was definitely Tom's dad. He was really growing long. Loraine looked at Lee's face then down at his dick, she took hold of it and said, "She is nice isn't she, Lee? You can't have her, so down, Boy, relax. You too, Martin." Zena said, "Dad, don't do that to our guests. She doesn't want to see you all excited." Becky came over and was standing by my chair with her hand on Jan. She turned and put a huge tit in my face. She looked down and said, "I thought I could do that." Zena said, "Now stop, all of you. I'm getting embarrassed. The next thing you know we'll be having an all out orgy or something." Marie spoke up for the first time, "Oh yeah, I've never done that or been to one of those." That got a laugh from everyone. Wanda was our savior, she stood up next to Bobby, sort of sticking out her massive chest, and said, "It's probably time to get home. I have some things to do yet today." Marie said, "You can bet we'll be back." Maggie was walking Jan out, and Lee was trying to hide his hardon, as Wanda nonchalantly palmed her massively long boob and held it up for the men to see how long it was. Even Tom was growing. Bobby said, "Thanks for the hospitality; we've enjoyed meeting you all." Waving at us now, as Wanda was still teasing, Tom said, "Come back soon. I'd love to learn more about what you guys do as deputy marshals." Lee turned away as if he needed to go do something. Martin was hiding his hardon behind Zora, and Tom was just grinning and waving at us. He said, "Sorry, but sometimes someone does something that just does it. Sorry." We left with Bobby swatting Wanda on the butt for being so wanton. We walked up to the car, as Maggie and Becky walked with us. They said they were going to see Joanie and said goodbye. Maggie and Jan kissed, smiled, and both said, "See ya." In the car, we laughed all the way home, but by the time we got there, we were ready to eat the ribs and chicken the girls had bought. Cold barbecue is good. If you want it warm, just stick it in the oven or the microwave. The girls talked about the nudist camp all evening. They teased me about getting it up in front of people and then teased Wanda about her being so wanton. She smiled and said, "That's me, Wicked Wanda." When bedtime came, I was ready for bed. I locked up and went into the bedroom to find Wanda and Bobby really working on each other. I could hear some moaning going on in Jan's room, and looked in to see Jan and Marie really going after each other in a reverse position. I didn't even know Marie did that sort of thing. I came back to sit in the chair and watch the two big ladies, until Bobby raised her head and beckoned to me. I climbed on the bed and was lifted up and put between Wanda's thighs. "Do her good, Stud, but save me a helping. Between you and Wanda, I'm so horny, I'm smoking." It took a long time to put out both of their fires, but I did and when we fell asleep I had a head on each shoulder. That's nice. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 18 The entire house awoke at the same time Monday morning. The five of us went outside where Wanda and I lined up the three with no experience and faced them. She said, "Follow Chuck's movements. They will be slow and deliberate. You will know what he will be doing before he does it, but just stay in his rhythm. I will follow him too. Tomorrow, we can do mine. I wish we could hear Chuck's music; it would make our movements even more enjoyable." I kept all of my movements in the basic forms, stretching my limbs for the good feeling it brings. When I finished, we all stood motionless for fifteen to thirty seconds, then I said, "Let's do some swimming." We all swam hard, but not to exhaustion like we do after a workout. The outdoor shower was fun. It seemed we were all more comfortable being nude together after wandering around naked with a hundred or so other people. While we were eating breakfast, Bobby commented, "I can't wait to have my family come up and we all go to one of those church services together. I think that was the purest I've ever felt in church. When I was growing up, it always seemed as if whoever was talking was trying to make me feel guilty. Yesterday, the man was making me feel good about me and the day." Marie said, "That was different. I'm not sure how my dad would feel about it. My mom doesn't have an opinion about much of anything. The place would give her some peace though." "I was happy to see some of my old friends there," Jan said, wistfully. "Maggie and I used to be pretty tight. We shared some happy times together. Funny how seeing all of the girls there brought so many pleasant thoughts, but it made me realize how full my life is now that I have included Chuck and everyone else here." Bobby was blushing a little, "Before meeting you and Wanda, Jan, I never did really do anything with another girl. You two make it seem so natural and so intimate that our activities seem to just flow. Wanda, when I was so upset, you held me, almost mothered me, nurtured me. That was very special." "When someone needs that type of comforting, it makes me feel very special to be able to offer it. I've been rewarded handsomely because of it." Wanda rode with me this morning, while Jan and Marie rode with Bobby. I had to write incident reports and go over dozens of reports by the deputies and Bureau agents that had been involved this past weekend. I didn't envy Frank or his men, as they had to write up their raids. That means they had to relive the horrors of finding all those mistreated children. It was lunchtime before I even looked at e-mail. I needed a break, so I called Bobby to see if she was able to break for lunch. Marie picked up for her and said she was at the courthouse, going over details for another report that had been requested. I was about to go to the greasy burger place down the block when Wanda came to the door and said, "The lady who stood you up before is asking to speak with you again." I picked up the phone and said, "Charles Johnson." "I understand it's Chuck Johnson." "It can be." "Mr. Johnson, I know I'm calling at the last minute, but would you join me and a few of my associates at the same restaurant as before for lunch. I guarantee I will be waiting for you when you arrive." "What time, Ma'am?" "Anytime, right now would be perfect." "Would it be an imposition if a few of my business companions joined us? I'm sure you would find their company pleasant..." "Bring all you wish, Mr. Johnson, it will be my pleasure." I quickly said, "Since I'm starved at this moment, I'm leaving right now. I'll be there in less than ten minutes." At her door, I asked Wanda, "Would you like to come for lunch with me? The strange lady is bringing others, so you would be welcome. Too bad Bobby isn't available." We both went to the restroom for relief and to wash our hands, then rode down to street level and walked the couple of blocks to the big building that had the executive restaurant upstairs. As Wanda and I neared the desk a tall, sophisticated woman in an unusual business suit approached us. "Mr. Johnson?" The lady smiled very nicely, offering me her hand. "Veronica Highsmith." I nodded and introduced Wanda as Ms. Wanda Johnson, my Office Manager. The lady almost frowned when she asked, "Relation?" "No, just a coincidence, nice to meet you, properly Ms. Highsmith." "Please call me Veronica. Come this way, we already have a table." When we got to the table, surprise, surprise. Wanda and I had already met two of the people there. Veronica said, "Chuck Johnson, Senior U.S. Deputy Marshal, and Wanda Johnson his Office Manager." She pointed first at a smiling, nice looking, man in his early forties who was standing, "Bert Harper of Harper Construction and Management Corporation, Zena Parks, Marketing Manager, and Tom Parks, Supervising Architect." Zena said, "I said I hoped to see you again soon, I didn't realize it would be so soon." When Veronica and Bert look quizzically at Zena, Tom answered for her. "These two were part of a larger group visiting out at the park yesterday. I think they found us to be regular folks with a little bit different life style." Bert eyed us, "I've found a second life out there as well. It is extremely peaceful and friendly in the park." I asked Tom, "Aren't you busy enough with that group of restaurants and bars out there without being involved with this?" "That's for fun; this is what I do for a living. The bed and breakfast and the cabins could be a living too, but they are a bit seasonal. Doing what I do with Bert's company gives me great pleasure." "Let's order so lunch doesn't take forever," Veronica said, as a waiter stood next to her. Everyone ordered various things, but a chicken and shrimp Caesar salad caught my eye. Bert said, "Excellent choice, the only thing better is the seafood Caesar. It has lobster and clam in it. You'll love the one you ordered though." Wanda had taken Bert's suggestion and ordered the seafood Caesar. While we waited for iced tea, water, and coffee to be brought, Veronica got right to business. "Since you have a great deal of influence as to where federal law enforcement is housed, I want to interest you in our buildings for the coming relocation of the ATF group, as well as the DEA group. We conveniently own the building next to the federal building you work out of. Ours is the building directly across from the garage you use. As a matter of fact, you lease the garage from Bert now. I propose that we extend the group of federal law enforcement into the adjoining building to keep the offices in close proximity. You could additionally benefit by sharing garage space as well. You might be able to even move other federal offices into the building." I answered, "It's good to hear you so enthusiastic about helping us resolve a housing problem I wasn't aware was coming up. I will have to ask the agencies and D.C. about it. I'm very new in the position and have a ton to learn. Wanda will assist me in discovering what our needs are and what, if any, involvement I am to have in the selection." Veronica gave her thousand watt smile again and said, "Perfect, exactly what I wanted to hear. From this point forward, Zena will be your contact and our agent to assist you. Should you lease from us, Tom would supervise your build-out needs. Bert and I just sit back and collect the money." This must have tickled Wanda, as she began laughing almost uncontrollably. I patted her on the back asking, "Are you okay?" Veronica said, "I didn't think it was that funny." Wanda said, "Having knowledge of the first attempted meeting you two almost had, the last sentence you said, Ms. Highsmith, was perfect. It just hit me funny after the fit you threw over Chuck not waiting for you before." Veronica actually blushed, "Please forgive me for acting improper. I am somewhat egotistical and occasionally think it's cute to have businessmen wait for me to make my grand appearance. You proved not to be one of the weaker people who succumb to my arrogance. Again, forgive me for not valuing your time." Zena said, "You see, Veronica, there are more men out there other than Tom who are not amused by some of your antics." "Ah, but Tom amuses me in other ways." Bert cut in quickly as if to head off something. "I do want for us to do business, Chuck. I also would enjoy knowing you better out at the park. Please make sure to have Tom or Zena call me when you're there." Zena said, "I think Chuck should be commended for being so comfortable with everyone yesterday. It was probably very difficult for him to expose his leg to everyone." When Bert and Veronica looked at Zena and me, I said, "I have a lower leg that is missing. I use a prosthesis which is an aluminum stalk that a shoe fits on." Tom said, "When we were all having a good time with Zena's and my mom and dad, we didn't even notice. Because he is so comfortable with it, we all were too. Can I ask how you lost your leg?" "I lost it in Iraq. I didn't keep it out of the way of a grenade." Tom reached across the table to shake my hand and said, "Thank you for serving. I'm sorry you had to give so much for my freedom and protection." Veronica had a shocked look on her face, "You're right, Tom, I didn't even think of it in that manner." She got up and came around the table. She hugged me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, and you're still protecting us aren't you?" The food had been served and was delicious. When I commented on it, Veronica said, "Bert will have you registered here so you can come up for lunch or dinner whenever you wish. They invoice your office monthly so it is ideal for business entertaining." "That would be nice but Deputies don't entertain for lunch the same way you do. I'm afraid it isn't deductible since you indirectly pay my salary and our offices expenses anyway." "We do, don't we?" Veronica said. "You do put things in a very simplistic manner, Mr. Johnson." When Wanda and I were done eating, I said, "Thank you for inviting me to lunch. If you will register me here, the next time will my treat. This would be a nice place to bring one of my people for appreciation lunches." I stood, "Wanda and I will find out what our needs are and talk to you soon, Zena. I don't mean to cut this short, but we do need to return to work. We normally do not take a break longer than a half-hour at noon. We are stretching it a little." Bert said, "Nice to see you observe strict hours, Chuck. You don't expect that from government employees." As I shook hands with Tom, he gave me a genuine smile and said, "Please visit us at the park again soon." He turned to Burt and said, "Chuck's friend and obvious partner is an extremely tall, large lady. She is really fascinating. Veronica, you would be stunned." Zena said, "My goodness, it's your Bobby isn't it? She is magnificent. She's just so huge and beautiful." Zena had voiced her description with reverence and a wistful look. Veronica picked up on it and said, "I will have to meet this splendid lady." "Bobby wants to bring her family out next time. Her sisters are equally as large and tall, as is her Mother. You'll be amused that her father is very short, very slim. You'll enjoy their story. Actually, you'll enjoy the entire family as they are all full of life." Tom said, "I'm looking forward to it." Wanda and I said goodbye, leaving the four still at the table enjoying their leisurely lunch. Our walk back to shop was full of talk about the strange Veronica, and how unique it was to see Tom and Zena again so soon. Wanda said, "The two of them are very attractive with clothes on. As I remember, you were very impressed with her and her mother in the buff yesterday." I looked at her thinking, 'These are business hours, be on your good behavior.' "Wanda, we'll need to talk about this later, so I don't say anything inappropriate during business hours." "Thank you, Chuck, but this is still lunch until we hit that front door ahead of us. I'm only a stickler at work." When we returned, Bobby was talking to Conish. I invited her into my office and told her about our lunch and seeing Tom and Zena in clothes. She laughed, "I'll bet you didn't get as excited as you did yesterday." I asked, "So, is everything done and filed from yesterday's disaster?" "Yep, I attended the five minutes it took for the judge to declare a mistrial, and he didn't allow any bail and told the prosecutor that he wants any motions on his desk by next Monday. If there is to be a new trial, it should begin promptly. That's a lot different than we heard it was going to be." I agreed and added, "I don't think he enjoyed being shot at. I suppose that might influence his judgment a little." Bobby said, "The ad we put in the online newspaper has worked wonders. We are taking care of our air responsibilities, as well as Orlando's, and they are now getting a lot of requests for part time work from recent retirees. We've picked up two more young deputies that liked the low housing cost and no state income tax. We're getting close to our staffing numbers. I think that's the first time in years. You'll have to watch my budget now, especially any of my overtime having to do with surveillance. You'll have to give some of it to the Bureau, but that won't help since you're responsible for their numbers too." "At least I've found out now how to have stations get some transfers. They need to advertise what kind of advantages they have, like skiing in Denver or fishing in Seattle." Bobby said, "I want to sit in on the interview with Conish tomorrow. I think we should video the interview as well. I just spoke to Tampa PD and they said they are organizing a task force to investigate all of this as well. It would be good to let others observe your meeting tomorrow. You can screen Conish so her face is not visible and you can have her voice masked so it is not recognizable. Considering the folks we've been dealing with, I think that would be prudent." I said to Bobby, "Let me call my contact for the FDLE (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) to see if he has someone that might need to come. I need to call Dan down at the DEA office too. I forgot him." I made those two calls and then one to the Chief of the Tampa PD. He wanted to send one of his detectives who is being assigned to the task force. I reminded him that this was not a witness, only an informant. He understood, as have all the other people. When I called downstairs to Frank, I told him, "There is going to be a large group. If you can have your techs set up voice screening and a visual screen so the informant can not be viewed by the audience and those with questions, I would really appreciate it." "We're set up for it anyway, Chuck. We can put the informant in the interrogation room off the conference room. There is an excellent speakerphone system between the two rooms. I'll have the guys make sure our video with audio is set up for the meeting so we get everyone attending on camera as well. This will go a long way in the scheme of integrating agencies you seem to be doing." "Good deal, Frank, I appreciate you hosting this thing. I'm going to have to find a place for these get-togethers if they are going to be frequent." "Hell, hold them here. That way it looks like the Bureau is taking the lead. We need the good press." "I can do that. Say uncle if it gets to be too much." He laughed, "Some extra coffee would be nice." The rest of the afternoon was spent doing paperwork and finding out what my responsibilities were regarding space requirements for other agencies. I called John and he said, "I forgot to tell you about that. In Tampa, you have to handle them all. I'll get you together with our property director. He'll know or is supposed to know what's going on everywhere. He'll use you often when you travel. He gets a copy of your itinerary, as do the budget people and HR, so you see how those schedules are important. We get to give you additional little jobs while you are on location. Now you know why I didn't want to travel often." I was finishing up my e-mail when Wanda put through John Kensington, the property director. "So, Wild Bill, are you ready to go get some office space for the DEA bunch and the ATF guns and bomb guys? Did they call up and tell you that their lease is almost up and the building owner is planning on tearing it down?" "No, and my friends usually call me Chuck. I heard we need new offices sort of through the back door. A property management company approached me. They actually have a good idea, but I didn't want to even think about doing anything without someone to guide me." "Well, that's refreshing. Everyone thinks my job is easy and wonders what it is I do all day." "I know nothing about renting office space, John, so help me." "What kind of deal do they have?" "I didn't talk any numbers, but they have a building next to our federal building here in Tampa that is available. The same company owns the garage we lease a lot of space in now. Their contention is that we would have our agencies together in close proximity and we would have better use of the garage facilities." John said, "Sounds good. Go ahead and make an appointment to look at the facilities. I'll send you the space dimensions we have now and you can speak with the people in charge of those operations to find out their forecasted needs. I'll send you any other agencies or departments we need space for, and you might be able to make a better deal if we take over the whole building. If you want, when you get to the negotiations, call me and I'll come down. I'd love to meet you and you can listen in while I negotiate. It'll give you a handle on what to look for." I was nodding while talking on the phone. John couldn't see me, but I was thinking right along, "Yep, yep, yep, I need to learn." After thanking him and exchanging e-mails, I pulled Zena's card and called the number. An effeminate male voice answered respectfully. I identified myself and asked for Zena. I was put on hold, and then Zena answered. "So soon, Chuck. How may I help you?" I explained what I had been told and we set up a visit to the other building for Friday. My schedule was good so I agreed to Friday morning. I sat back in my chair and thought, 'Good day, a lot accomplished.' I went up to Conish and asked her to visit with me for a moment. When she was in my office, I said, "I have you fixed up for tomorrow so no one will see you and your voice will be masked. They all know you are an informant and not a witness." "Thank you, Mr. Johnson, I was concerned about that. I am greatly relieved, but still happy to be able to tell everything I know about someone who is out to harm others and our country." She stood when I did, and I couldn't help myself. I gave her a hug, saying, "Thank you, Conish, you are a good citizen." She was a little flustered, as it was inappropriate for me to do that, but my door was open to both Angie and Wanda, so what's the harm. Conish smiled warmly and went back to work. My cell phone rang. When I answered it, my big Honey asked, "Are you buying me a beer or do I have to buy?" "The Office?" "I'm ready to go and half the office is about ready to run out the door. It's five oh one, so what's taking you so long?" My desk was clear, so I put my laptop in my case and shut off my lights. Wanda was standing there with her purse, and when I turned, Angie and Conish were both looking at me expectantly. "I've already been asked, 'What's taking me so long?' Let's go have some liquid refreshment." My three ladies accompanied me out into the hall, locking our door behind us, and were met by the marshal's office people. The elevator was pretty full, but when it stopped on two, Marie reached out, grabbed Jan, and pulled her into the car. The others said they would wait for another car. It was a happy group that waited for Bobby and me to put our homework into our cars and join them in walking down the street to The Office. While we were walking to the end of our block, turning and walking down to the end of the next block, I thought, this place is just diagonally down from our back door. I wonder if it has a back door. This was really only a block farther from the employment office than the bar we used to go to there. The place was hopping. Monday's are probably always busy since people want to hang on to a little of the weekend spirit they have left. There was some kind of beer special, but as long as it was cold and wet, I would be happy. We were stuffing popcorn and drinking beer when a feminine voice came between Bobby and me and said, "Twice in one day? Now that is a coincidence." Zena was snuggled up to Bobby hugging her around the waist. As large as Bobby is, she does have a smaller waist than you would think. She's just big everywhere, that's all. Bobby, in her usual exuberance, put her hands on Zena's waist and picked her up as if she were a twenty pound kid. "So good to see you, Zena." Zena's surprise registered with Bobby and she put her down saying, "I'm sorry. I forget myself sometimes, but I am happy to see you." Zena said, "That's all right, I haven't been picked up like that since I was three and my daddy did it. My goodness, you're strong." Bobby blushed, "Chuck makes me work out every day, that's why." "Don't believe a word she tells you. She worked out long before I showed up." "Not nearly as much, and never as regular as we do now. You should see this little shrimp lift. He's really strong, and when he swims sprints, you better be in shape if you want to keep up with him." Tom was next to me, talking to Wanda and Jan about how much fun they had yesterday at the camp. The waitresses were really good. If they saw your pitcher was nearing empty, they would be bringing another. If you didn't want it, they would just go to the next table. Someone needed it. A voice from the past said to me, "My glass is empty, can you be a gentleman and pour me a beer." I looked down and son of a gun, "Tiani, it's good to see you." I picked up the cute little black girl, and she gave me a kiss that had Bobby peering around at me. The girl was smiling from ear to ear, "I figured you guys came in here after being over at your house the other day. The other girls are right over there, but if you walk away from your table, it's gone. We don't have our private booth like the other place. Come say hi." Angie hollered, "Hi Tiani, haven't seen you in a long time, Girl." Tiani ran to give Angie a hug, then pulled me by the hand to where the others were. Jan had followed as she saw Frieda. While I gave each a hug and kiss, Jan was telling Frieda about Maggie and the park. In a few short minutes, the girls were excitedly talking about going out there to see the place. Tiani asked me, "If I come out there, will you be happy to see me naked again?" "Of course, Tiani, but it will be under a little different circumstances." The little imp said, "I'll talk to that big girlfriend of yours and maybe she'll let us borrow you a little while." Brandy said, "I don't think I want to piss her off though. She is really big." "You wouldn't, Brandy, Bobby is the sweetest girl you'll ever find. The more you know her, the more you'll like her. I'm kind of monogamous. Bobby and I are pretty tight." Jan who had been talking to Frieda said, "Sure you are, you live with four horny women and you're monogamous? Right. Girls, you just have to take a number when you come in the door." I was shaking my head on the way back to Bobby and our group. Bert had joined our group, along with Veronica, who was again holding a leash attached to a very proper looking short lady with a big smile on her face. Now what was this all about? Bert saw me look askance at the leash and collar, and since he was standing next to me, said, "Veronica is a little strange. The lady on the leash enjoys being there. Now you may get a hint why Veronica is a little domineering." I was saying, "No shit," when Bobby asked me, "Should I get a collar so you can lead me on a leash? I would let you do that with me if you wanted. I would be proud to be led around by you." "I like you just the way you are, Bobby, stay that way. Bert, this is the second time I've witnessed Veronica leading this lovely lady around." We had reached our collective two beer limit, so I began saying goodbye. I asked Tom, "Is there a back door? If there is, I'll bet the back door to our office is really close." Tom pointed to the back and said, "It's to the left of the pinball machines." Bobby said, "They have pizza that's supposed to be the same recipe as the pizza out at Parks Place. I'm tempted to order one to take home." "If you want pizza, let's go work out then drive out there and get some. I could go for some too." Tom said, "If you guys come to the gate, tell them you are coming to my house. Park where the long garage is and come in the front or back. I'll order pizza for all of us. It'll make your trip out there twice the fun. 'Shannon may not be working tonight, but I think Joanie is. Just come on out. Zena will love to have you guys come." Bert had heard us. "I'll stop by with Betty and say hi. You'll love her. She's so full of life, she makes my life wonderful." He glowed when he said that. Bobby had heard the invite and was huddling with the girls. They all seemed to be in agreement. We left, with Wanda again riding with me, while Jan and Marie rode with Bobby. At home, it took only seconds for everyone to be in workout clothes in the gym room, using whatever appliance was available. I only did fifteen minutes on the bike and fifteen on the treadmill before running through the weights. Bobby slipped an extra five pounds a side on me, and I was struggling though my ten reps of two twenty-five. I was ready to do my second set when Bobby took off the extra weights on each side, smiling at me, "That'll make it easier. I want you to work up to three fifty so you can press me. I'd love that." "I'll press you alright, from the top down. I'll be sure to do that tonight. I'm already exceeding my own weight. That's good enough for me." When I got up and began pulling off my T-shirt, everyone else stopped and began stripping on the way out of the house, heading to the pool. We all swam hard, but again, not to exhaustion. I just didn't feel like doing it to that extreme today. As I swam to the steps, Bobby said, "Is everyone all right about going back our to the nudist park for pizza?" Everyone was in agreement and Marie said, "I'd ask what to wear out there, but it wouldn't make a difference would it? I'll just slide on some shorts, a tank, and some sandals so I can be bare ass naked in just seconds." That's what everyone put on, except Wanda. She had a short little tank top type of dress on. She looked really cute in it. You could tell she was braless and when I said, "You look good in that, Wanda," she raised the short skirt of the dress to show me that's all she had on. I must have blushed as everyone was laughing at me. Bobby's car was the chosen vehicle as it easily held us all. When we hit the gate and talked to the attendant or guard, Marie was already bare and Jan was stripping at the same time. The guard just grinned at the enthusiasm of the girls. He said, "They're just like the little kids that come out. Their parents have a hard time keeping clothes on them until they get here." We drove to the long garage and parked. Bobby stripped right down, so I took off my shorts and T-shirt, which left me in only tennis shoes on both my good and fake feet. Before we were at the door, little Joanie came running out to greet us. She said, "I didn't have to work tonight. Come on in. Everybody is going to be here tonight. We're going to have a ball." When I walked in I handed Tom a case of cold bottled beer that we had stopped for. He smiled and thanked me for the extras. He said, "Probably a good thing. I think my sister and her husband are coming along with both Zena's and my parents that you already met. In about ten seconds or there abouts, my favorite redhead is going to come through the door since she doesn't have to work either. Maggie put on some more bartenders so my two girls don't have to work as much." I turned to look at the gathering and discovered that Betsy was really something to behold. Tom saw me checking out her endowment and said, "Your Bobby is probably bigger, but on Betsy's small frame they do look like big toys, don't they?" Bobby heard that and laughed. "You guys, you must be in hog heaven being able to check out all the babes with no clothes on." Tom said, "Like you wouldn't believe. It's still just a gallery though. For the most part, it's look but don't touch. It's still cool to be able to see it all sometimes." Zena said, "He counts the individual hairs on their..." Tom was covering her mouth saying, "I do not. She's the one running around with a tape measure, teasing guys then measuring them." Zena was struggling to get his hand away from her mouth and then had hold of his dick. She was giggling, "I'll show you about measuring dicks. I think I'll just bite this thing off and then measure it." The two were playing like little kids. A black couple, carrying a little baby, came in. The lady said to the man, "See what I had to put up with as a kid. Tommy is always teasing like that." The tall black guy looked at Bobby and said, "Oh momma, somebody got's to introduce me to da big babe." The woman said, "Down boy, you wouldn't know what to do with it if you caught it." Zena went and took the baby from the woman, "June, it's so neat that you brought little Jerry. The only problem with this kid is he'll get a nipple in his mouth and just won't let go." "If you fill up his little tummy, he goes right to sleep and lets go then." Sure enough, the cute little kid had one of Zena's nipples in his mouth, giving it a good suck. Gerald had come over near me and elbowed me and said, "Kid knows where to suck, doesn't he?" We introduced ourselves to each other and I introduced him to the other ladies. He was being introduced to Bobby and she smiled at him, wagging her monster tits. It did something for him, as he sprung a woody that was really so long and skinny, it would tickle a lady's tonsils from the other direction. June said, "Down boy," As she came up and got a good grip on part of it. "Does this lady really do it, big boy?" Gerald said, "Sorry, I don't usually let myself get away like that." Bobby said, "I'm flattered. You're as bad as Chuck. He sees me like this everyday, but he shows me everytime how excited I make him. I love it." Wanda was over by us and said, "That is a very interesting ornament you're showing Gerald. I'll bet you've been told it has special uses." Zena came over and whispered something into Wanda's ear. Wanda said, "Exactly, he would definitely be a good choice for a double wouldn't he?" Bobby was hanging on to me and that meant I had a tit in my face and a lot of body next to me. I said, "We've been here several minutes and several things have not happened." Zena looked at me questioningly. "I have no cold beer in my hand, I don't think anyone's ordered pizza, and the sexy redhead hasn't shown up yet." Zena came to me and gave me a full body hug, rubbing her mound against me dangerously. "I can't take care of the first two, but perhaps I could fill in till she gets here." "Oh go get him, Honey, you're gonna wake that boy up," Bobby said, encompassing Zena and me in her arms, pushing us together even more. I couldn't help it. I was rigid, sticking up between our hostess' legs. The redness of my face made Bobby and Zena giggle as they separated to let me get some air. Bobby said, "I guess you sparked him up just as good as the redhead, didn't you?" Zena did get me an ice cold beer and said, "The pizza is coming along with some calzones." Joanie was busy talking with Jan and Marie, who was now in charge of little Jerry. June and Wanda were in the kitchen, talking about something, when Bobby softly said to me, "Here comes your redhead. You better get it up for her. Keep in mind I have special needs." I resolved right then that I would be very careful to avoid being titillated over these things. As the girls gathered around Shannon, and discovered something she had brought with her, Tom moved me out the front door to his nice screened in porch. The early evening was not that warm out there, so we sat and enjoyed an early beer under a gently oscillating fan. We could see the two older couples I had met before walking toward us. That would be Tom's mom and dad, and Zena's mom and dad. There was also a younger couple, consisting of a tall guy and a younger version of Tom's mom. When they came in, Zora said, "Oh look who's here already. Is your giant lady here too?" Tom's mom came over and gave him a very sweet motherly kiss then Zena's mom did the same thing. The other lady, Tom's mom's look-a-like, said to Tom, "Hey bro, you gonna introduce Jeff and me or what?" "This is Chuck Johnson, a deputy marshal we met this past weekend. Go inside and meet the ladies who came with him. Jeff, wait till you meet Chuck's friend, Bobby, you're going to need Dana's help." Tom's and Zena's dads had shaken my hand and were quickly into the house. They were both fascinated by Bobby's size. When Bobby's whole family came out, they would go into shock. Bobby came out carrying a couple of fresh beers for Tom and me. She said, "Are you hiding out here to stay out of trouble, or to keep from being over stimulated?" "Tom and I came out here to bullshit a little, but haven't had a chance yet." "Well, here's another beer for you two, Shannon brought some little calzones that someone named Georgia made up as an experiment. I'll bring a couple out." Instead of Bobby coming out, little Joanie came out with the miniature calzones. She handed each of us one and sat right on Tom's lap. She talked to us about how good they were. Joanie was checking me out thoroughly, looking me up and down, looking at my leg and everything about me. She whispered something to Tom who chuckled, then she got up and sat right on my lap, wiggling just a little to get settled. She picked up my hand and put in under her breast and said, "How does it feel? Does it make you think I'm not a kid? Do you like them? They're new, you know. I just love them. I can make them shake and wiggle and now when I get excited, my nipples really pop out. Really though, Chuck, what do you think about them?" I was a little taken aback, but Tom said, "Go ahead, be honest. Tell Joanie how you like her new tits." "I think they are perfect, not obnoxiously big but plenty big enough to give you an obvious chest in any type of clothing. They are very attractive." Joanie grinned and asked, "Do they make you want to play with them? Do you want to suck on them?" Her enthusiasm was really cute. "Joanie, if I didn't have a girlfriend already, I'd try to hog you all to myself." That made her shiver and the little girl snuggled deeper into me, holding my hand on one of her breasts. Bobby had come out and heard this last conversation and she said, "Would you like me to loan him to you, Joanie. I just love to watch him with other girls. You would be fun to play with." This made Joanie happy and excited enough that she leaped from my lap to Bobby's arms. She said, "You'd be fun to play with too. I really like how big you are. You're so solid, you feel hard like Chuck does." Joanie realized she said hard, so after giggling about it, she added, "Not like a hard thing between your legs, but firm like with muscles." "I know what you meant. You're pretty firm yourself, Joanie." "I run every day and I can swim now. I swim every day so my tits will stand up and everyone can tell I'm a lady, not some pre-teen," Joanie said, expressively pushing her chest out to emphasize and exaggerate her chest. Wanda came out to the porch. "There is a huge pile of boxes of pizza on the table. The way everyone is attacking them, you should probably claim some now if you want any." Tom and Joan hurried inside followed by Wanda, Bobby, and me. Wanda said softly to Bobby and me, "These people are very informal and it seems very sexual. Unless we want to become involved in an all-out orgy, we might want to leave early. I'm not uncomfortable with the prospect as there are so many good looking men and women, but I can tell Chuck isn't very eager for an introduction to Orgies 101." As we hesitated at the door, Bobby said quietly, "I'm a babe in the woods with playing mix and match with a large group too. It sure makes me excited, but I don't know whether I'm ready for something like that tonight. If we can get Marie out of here, since she seems to be going up in flames, we should probably leave as soon after eating as we can." With that agreed upon, we went inside to eat and visit with all the people. Familial look-alikes are not that unusual, but represented in the two families were three distinct examples. Zena and Zora looked like twins, except Zora was slightly heavier breasted than Zena, and her hips were a little wider. Both of them had cute, rounded, tushes that demanded second looks. Dana and Loraine were similar like Zena and Zora, but the personalities were very far apart so they didn't appear to be twins. They looked alike, but didn't act alike. Tom was slightly taller than his dad and wore his hair shorter, but their builds and features were nearly exact. They both had crooked grins when amused, and broad smiles when excited. I was envious of these two families, as they were able to have the two generations together. They lived close, apparently just down the street or road or path. Even the sister lived close. A feeling of happiness for them, and sadness of not having that for myself, washed over me; however, there was a very large reason to rejoice sitting next to me, and she was very eager to share her large, and I mean that in many ways, family with me. Just thinking of their diversity brought a smile to my lips. I suddenly had the urge to want to be a part of a family, my family. The conversation centered around a potential project Tom and his dad were considering. Apparently, Tom owned some land that adjoined the naturist park and was considering opening it up as an addition to the park for possible future building. Their discussions were centered around what size the lots should be. Tommy wanted them to be the same size as his lot was, but Lee, Tom's dad, wanted to make the lots a third of the size. Tom's argument was, a naturist park is all about being back to nature. He said if he didn't have open area on one side of him and the cypress swamp on the other, there was no way he would have ever built the bed and breakfast or the cabins. Lee contended that this was the last of Tom's unimproved property that his aunt had left him and he should maximize its value by subdividing it into tiny parcels. I thought it might be really interesting to own a place out here but that would be a lot of money and it seemed I had just bought a really fancy piece of property. Although I bought it for a lot less than market, the value of property was dropping everywhere. Bobby and Wanda were listening closely to the conversation too, so I'm sure they had similar thoughts. The park had an appeal but I was a little unsure of what appeared to be a promiscuous environment. It might be a little scary being involved with several people, as STDs seem so prevalent in society these days. I needed to have that talk with Bobby. As a matter of fact, our entire household needed to come to some form of hygiene agreement as we had been very open since we began fooling around. The redhead sitting across from me was fascinating. I kept thinking she could be a rainy day game. Bobby and I could play connect a dot/freckle while exploring all of her red hair. She did shave most of her fuzzies but there was no need. Her red pubic hair was extremely thin, not hiding anything. Wow, taking a visual poll of pubic areas was fun. Zora and Zena both had dark, thick, auburn hair. Their pubic areas were almost bare. Loraine and Dana both had almost coal black hair, but Loraine was almost completely bare, while Dana appeared to be cut into some form of style with her vagina appearing bare. Joanie had mostly uncut, but sparse, light blonde hair. Betsy was totally bare to make her super sized boobs look even bigger. Maggie had a trimmed lush growth of dark fur that pretty much covered her sex. My four women, wow, I was referring to them as "my" four women, were all neatly trimmed with Bobby and Wanda having less hair than Marie and Jan. With a smile, I thought, "All the better to eat you, my Dear," said the big bad wolf. My mind was going off the deep end tonight. As we all became full and lethargic, I held my wrist up and checked the time, exclaiming, "It's getting pretty late, ladies, we should be heading back soon. Tomorrow is a work day." Zena said, "It is, isn't it? It was fun to have lunch with you today, Chuck and Wanda. I hope you don't let Veronica get under your skin. She does mean well, but is a little strange." Tom said, "She ain't strange, she's damned weird. You can't help but like her, but she is really off the wall." Lee made a comment that was probably correct, "She isn't as comfortable around stronger men like Martin, Tom, or me. I can imagine what Chuck must do to her. She has probably tried to intimidate him from the beginning, and I just don't see Chuck putting up with her." Wanda was laughing, "Veronica invited him to lunch and was going to make him wait. Chuck is a stickler on punctuality and he doesn't allow himself extended lunches, so when she didn't show, he left. When she said she was ready, he told her to call another time when she knew she would be available on time. It was fun. The first couple of calls from her were very superior, but each successive call was considerably more cordial. Chuck treated her very nice, but very exact, very strict." She looked at Tom, "Did you really set Chuck up to dine up there?" Zena said, "I did, and furthermore, I put our company as the billing address. I'm sure you won't abuse it, but do use it to your advantage. You must take Bobby up there soon, the food is just great. Call me, Tom and I will go with you so you don't feel as if you're taking advantage." "Please change that Zena." I said. "We are going to be doing business together and I don't need the appearance of impropriety. My office can handle the expense easily enough." I stood so my crew would get the idea that we should be going. They all appeared to go along with the plan and got up to head toward the back door. We began to get handshakes from the men and hugs and a few kisses from the ladies. Joanie was cute; she stood on a chair to give Bobby a kiss, then turned to me and gave me a kiss while rubbing her nipples on my chest. Betsy seemed to smash her big ones into you. Zora's hips were extremely busy while getting a hug and kiss, and Loraine felt like a sexy snake slithering around you. By the time Zena had given me a kiss, and Shannon was holding her arms out to me, I was proudly pointing the way. She whispered into my ear, "Now that everyone has you ready for me, you're leaving. Do come back with your beautiful ladies, especially Bobby. We can all have some fun together." That just made me harder. As we went out the back door, Bobby comically led me by holding my hardon and pulling me toward the car. The view of all those different bare women at once is just too much for a guy like me. We slipped on our shorts and shirts, Wanda her dress, and departed. Bobby wanted me to drive, so I tooled the fancy Escalade home. Driving up to our house I was thinking that it's now our house, not a safe house owned by the government, and it gave me pleasure. Then it came to me. I thought of the place as "our" house collectively. These women were my family. If they were sisters, I had been committing incest. If they were wives, I wasn't treating them equally. I guess it was some form of loose poly-relationship that was working right then, so I shouldn't mess with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Bobby and I were brushing our teeth, getting ready for bed when Marie came in and asked, "Can I sleep with you guys tonight? I really need ah, ah some loving from both of you. I need some of Chuck, but I want to have Bobby hold me and let me love her. I love to have Jan with me too, but I need Bobby sometimes. I just love the way I feel so protected with Bobby and you, Chuck." Bobby waved for me to put Marie into our bed and was gone for a minute before she came back in the bedroom. Bobby smiled at me and mouthed, "Jan and Wanda are together." Bobby and I made love to Marie until she said, "I feel so good, so satisfied, I want to just fall asleep in the wet spot and dream of how good I feel all night." She did. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 19 Tuesdays are always weird. Usually you spend part of Tuesday finishing up what you didn't do on Monday. But today, all my stuff was complete until I got a call from the Dallas office. "Mr. Johnson, I'm Randal Davidson, the Assistant Chief in the Dallas/Ft. Worth station. Our chief was shot last night and may not live. We are going to need some supervision, as there are several problems that are being dealt with internally." "Randal, why am I hearing about internal problems for the first time now? John doesn't have any notes about problems in Dallas." "We've been trying to keep it in the family, Mr. Johnson. John would not have been very forgiving if he had found out about the problems we were having. If you would, please send us someone to help out with the decisions until we know how the chief is going to be." "Why are you dodging the responsibility of assuming command when your chief is down?" "You'll have to look up my file, you'll understand more then. I can assume command, but not effectively, and I cannot do some of the things a chief needs to do. I am leading and supervising at the moment, but we will need a very strong hand here to get us through these problems." "Randal, call me Chuck, I'm a deputy, the same as you are. I will be there this afternoon. When I need information, you will give it all to me. If it is confidential, close the door. Let me get off the phone so I can arrange transportation." Damn, I am going to have to have clothes and lots of information. I went to the door and asked Wanda, "Please arrange the fastest method to get me to Dallas ASAP. I have to go get some clothes, so it will be about an hour before I can leave. I have a long list of things you'll need to get up for me. I will need either first class passage with an internet connection or private charter with internet connection. I will need the time to study the Dallas station." I walked out of the office, telling Angie and Conish that I would see them for a while tomorrow morning. I winked at Conish so she knew I would be here for her interview. I ducked back into Wanda's office. She was now on the phone and I whispered to her, "Figure on getting me back here for tomorrow morning, then back to Dallas after the interview with Conish." She rolled her eyes at me and gave me the shoo, go away, hand motion, so I would get out of there. I walked next door to the station and motioned to Marie that I was going through Sarah's office to get to Bobby. Sarah looked up at me, surprised, but I was headed toward Bobby who was sitting at her desk. "I have to go to Dallas. I'm going for some clothes. I have to be back for the interview with the informant tomorrow morning. I'll probably have to go right back to Dallas, but if something comes up I may have to delegate the interview to you. If you have to do it, you'll have a list of things or rules to follow. I'll e-mail it to you while on the way to Dallas." I gave her a quick kiss and was back out the door, waving at Sarah and Marie. My junior rocket got me home quickly, where I put a sport coat, pants, and shirts into a bag, along with underwear and my travel toiletry bag. I was back in the car before thinking, and went back inside to my desk and pulled two full magazines from the desk to go with the extra I always carried. You don't go unprepared. Back in the car, I paused and used the cell phone before pulling out of the driveway. "Wanda, where to?" "Boy, you sure have confidence in me. It's only been twenty-five minutes since you left." "Thank you for being so good at what you do. Where do I catch a ride?" "Go to the air park up in Lutz. I can get you on a commercial flight but their first class is full. The price difference isn't that bad and the charter service is going to layover for you, bring you back tonight or in the morning, then we'll see what will work for Wednesday afternoon. I have Angie consolidating the last six months of activity for Dallas and will put it in your file on your PC. Also in there will be personnel files on the chief, ACE, and on down. I'll have a list made up of items to follow up on for the Conish informant's interview in the event you need someone else to cover for you. Let me know on that. Are you moving toward the air park now?" "Yes Ma'am, as soon as you said Lutz, I was on my way. I'll be there in less than fifteen minutes." Wanda said, "They said they would have the plane warmed up and ready for a quick departure. E-mail me the details, I just received an e-mail from D.C., saying the chief at Dallas was shot while off duty and was in critical condition." "I don't know the details yet, but the ACE said he can't fulfill the chief's duties and that there were some serious problems. I'll let you know as soon as I know." I paused before saying, "Let me call John while I'm on my way to see if he knows anything." I dialed John's private number and he answered, "John Scott." "Do you know of any problems Dallas has been or is having?" "Sorry, Chuck, I heard a rumor that there was a problem down there and I was going to tell you about it so you wouldn't be caught short." "I'm on my way to Dallas now, at least on my way to the airport. The ACE said he couldn't fulfill the chief's duties and was asking for help. He told me there were some serious problems." "Don't know, Chuck, sorry. I can tell you why the ACE doesn't feel adequate. He developed MS and is confined to a wheelchair and the office. He's a hell of a man, but he just can't do what a man's got to do in this job. If you need to replace him, get him another job, but if you have to replace the chief, get a strong person so you don't need an out of the office ACE." "Got it. I'm pulling up to the air charter place now. I guess there are times when your private plane would be good." "Your charter service is cheaper than us trying to keep a plane there for you. Use it effectively and it's that much better. You know on trips like this you should take your office manager. You need administrative back up on some crises. In the future, plan on it. I'm sure one of your clerks is strong enough to lead in your office when you're gone." "Didn't think of that, but I'll advise Wanda of the need." "Good luck, Chuck, call me." I parked in front of the S&S Charter office where other cars were parked and stepped out of the car grabbing my bag and my case. The girl with the star tattoo came out of the charter office and said, "The plane is warming up now, please get on and you'll be off. Your pilot is John. I hope you don't mind, but there is no co-pilot today. You don't have to help with the checklists as he is a very experienced pilot. Stay in touch with him in Dallas so he can be ready for you. Your office manager gave us the address of the office you're going to be at. We are going to land at a small executive airport a couple of miles from there, a lot easier than the main airport in Dallas. There is a car and driver waiting for you. Thank you for using S&S Air." She had been walking me to the airplane and had paused at the steps. As she pushed me up the stairs into the plane, she said, "Pull the door shut and push the arm down to lock." That was it. I put my bag in a back seat and my case on the seat next to the desk with the built in PC. It was already on. A guy that looked late fifties, early sixties came and said, "I'm not going to be able to get you coffee, tea, or me, so you'll have to serve yourself. Buckle up and we'll be out of here. My name is John." "Chuck here, thanks for the quick response." "My pleasure, I don't get enough time in this little "Go Fast" anyway. Most of the time I'm in a small prop jet or on a crew for the G5. Buckle up now, as we are going to go across the Gulf instead of using land based markers. We'll knock off some time that way as I understand you are in a hurry." I smiled and said, "Let's go. When we get in the air and you get leveled out, I'll bring you some coffee. I have a lot of work to do, so I'll be busy." "Got it. Thanks for chasing for me. We're out of here." John put the radio on the cabin PA system, so I knew at what stage we were. I logged into my office PC, put my codes into it, waited, put the second codes into it, then saw my desktop as if I were there. I clicked on my personal file and saw that the Dallas file was not that big, but big enough. I clicked on and began reading from the most current backwards. There was some kind of rift between the local police force, the Bureau and the marshal service. All three were claiming jurisdiction about something that was not specifically named. I read file after file and didn't come up with an answer. They had no incidents this past year but the Bureau had several. The DEA and ATF guys had a few. None looked out of line and there were no employee casualties. The Chief was an older guy, fifty-nine, had been a deputy since he was twenty-two, wow, thirty-seven years. He had come to the service when he finished his army tour in Viet Nam. Since then, he had finished a degree in law enforcement, married, raised a family and had been promoted to chief eleven years before. Everything looked good. A notation that he had been a widower for the last fifteen years saddened me, because it would be tough to be married to the same woman so long and to lose her. I tried to access the Dallas police force records for a detective's report on the shooting. I was denied access. I tried the Texas Ranger's site using the FBI access and was denied access. Okay, I guess there are some bridges that needed mending. The ACE's file was full of his early exploits, then notations about his MS and the problems he's had since then. He's done a good job and his station is ranked way up there on accuracy and timeliness of reporting. I'll bet they have a strong clerk too. My eyes were getting tired, so I got up to ask John if he wanted another coffee and he said, "We are on final approach. Go buckle up but take this empty with you. We'll be down in five minutes. Your ride is waiting. It's a limo service with just a car, if that's all right." "Perfect, as long as the guy knows where to go and can stay with me and be ready when I need him. I'll talk to you on the ground." I started to shut down everything but shot an e-mail to Bobby and told her that if I couldn't get back, Wanda had the list I referenced. I shut it all down as the wheels made contact with the runway. We were slowed down, quickly pulling onto a taxiway, going toward an operations building. When we stopped, a blue Ford pulled up next to the plane. John shut the plane down and came back. Before the door opened, I got his cell number and gave him mine. I said, "In all likelihood, we'll probably fly back this evening and come back tomorrow early afternoon. After that, I don't know." "It's all good. I don't have any one checking up on me so I'm free to be where you need me. This is your plane until you say you don't need it anymore. The boss told me that you would say where and I would take you." I met Ben, the car driver. Ben was very black, but had a bit of a Spanish accent. He said he knew where the office was while holding the back door open. He wouldn't let me put my little suitcase in the back seat but put it in the trunk. "I'll watch it for you. I'm not supposed to let you out of my sight and take you wherever it is you want to go." "Let's go to the station first. We can probably get something to eat or let's stop at a Subway or a good old fashioned Texas barbecue stand for something to take along." We did stop at a little shack that was one of the old fashioned Texas barbecue stands. Inside was a counter with a guy cutting meat for sandwiches off half a cow. He would easily slice pieces off until he had a plate full, slop on some sauce putting it where another person would load up buns, wrap the finished sandwich, and collect money. There were no chairs. There were some tall tables that you could stand up and eat at, complete with big jars of hot peppers and other flaming additives for your sandwich. I bought twenty sandwiches as I didn't know how many mouths I might have to feed. I was pulling a bunch of peppers from the jar when the guy behind the counter just handed me a smaller jar saying, "Take that, it's easier." I bought ten Cokes and ten Seven-ups and we were gone, carrying everything in a cardboard box. I pulled out two sandwiches for Ben asking him if two were enough, "Lordy, Mr. Johnson, them is big sandwiches. I should only eat one but they is so good." "Coke or Seven-up?" "Seven-up." "When we get to the office, I'll have to leave you in the lobby until I get the lay of the land. You might have to wait a while, so if you have a book, bring it in." "Yes sir, I be fine." The station was in a building with tons of parking out front. We parked in a space designated for a U.S. Deputy Marshal and walked into the building. I showed my badge and the guard swiped my ID. He did a double take on my name and said, "Welcome to Dallas Deputy Johnson. If we can be of help, let us know." He pointed to the door plainly marked U.S. Marshal and Ben and I went in carrying the box. An ancient lady was at the clerk's desk with the ACE's and Chief's offices directly behind. They had only four other duty desks in the office with no one else there. I set the box of sandwiches down and introduced myself to the lady. She smiled and said, "I'm Glenda. There is another girl that just started, but she's out to lunch. What do you have in that box, it smells good." "Good Texas barbecue, Glenda, there's plenty with some soft drinks. Have a couple. Is Mr. Davidson in his office?" "Randy is right through there. Go on in. Take him a couple of those sandwiches. He'll like that. You Sir," she was addressing Ben, "go sit at one of those desks and eat your lunch." I took four sandwiches and a couple of Cokes into the ACE's office. A guy was sitting in a wheelchair, working a mouse with one hand and something with his chin. A knockout looking lady was sitting next to him seemingly ready to help him at any second. They both looked up at me expectantly. "I'm Charles, Chuck Johnson. You are obviously Randal Davidson, and you Ma'am?" Randal waved a hand toward me saying, "This is my helper and my wife, Jean. She comes in every day to help me with what I can't do for myself. Nice to meet you Chuck and thank you for coming so fast, how did you get here so quick?" Jean smiled and stood to shake my hand. I said, "Sit, I brought some sandwiches. Is Coke all right with you or would Seven-up be better?" "I'll have to have Seven-up, but Jean'll need her Coke fix. Thanks for the lunch. Jean has to feed me so this will take some time." I went out to get a Seven-up and a couple of more sandwiches for me. Glenda said, "I'm going to take some sandwiches and soft drinks out to the guards. They'll be real happy." Ben was smiling while eating his barbecue. I sat with Randy and Jean watching her dedication and obvious adulation. She gently fed Randy and waited while he laboriously chewed each bite. Between bites, she would offer him the Seven-up can with a straw. She would sometimes wipe the sauce from his mouth between bites. "Nothing like good Texas barbecue, is there? This needs some peppers though. I held up a finger to hold on and went out to the jar. I brought it in and we each took four. After taking the jar back out, I offered it to Ben who reached for it with a big grin." Back in the office, Jean said, "These are almost too hot for me but I love them. Randy shouldn't eat them, but I can't deny him the pleasure." As I was finishing my second Texas sized sandwich I said, "When you have the opportunity, you might begin telling me the woes I heard in your voice when we talked. Jean, since you're obviously aware of everything, feel free to add anything you can." Jean said, "We'll get Glenda in here when our new girl gets back and we'll go from there. A lot of it is pretty childish, but it's escalated until it's a real problem." After taking a sip of soda, Randy said, "Just before you arrived, the hospital called. The chief didn't make it." I nodded and used my cell to call John. When he answered I said simply, "The number one is down, queue up who's next." "He'll be there tomorrow or the day after. I'll send you an e-mail with who, what, where, and why." "Check." John hung up. "The new man will be here tomorrow or the day after. Now, let's begin clearing up any problems before he gets here. I have an important meeting in the morning. I can give the briefing then leave and come back or you give the briefing and I'll be in around one or two." I heard some chat out in the office and asked, "Is the new girl here now?" Jean nodded, so I got up and met the new girl and brought Glenda in and we shut the door. Jean said, "He wants it all, so you either begin or correct Randy and me as we go along." "I'll start, Honey," Glenda said, "I'm not afraid to tell it like it is." "Mr. Johnson, I retired two years ago. The Chief called me up about six months ago, saying the clerk or office manager whatever we are, had to leave and he wanted me here temporarily. Well, I know Randy's condition and can work with it, so I came back to work for a while." "Right away, the chief was in trouble with the Dallas PD, then the Rangers, then the PD again. The Bureau wasn't helping us with our problems, so we began to cite chapter and verse to handle the problem." "I'm real curious about the problem." "The federal court building was condemned as being a dirty building and couldn't be used anymore. While the rebuilding is going on, we are using the county and state facilities for our trials. The judges all have separate chambers rented for the duration, so they're taken care of." "Well, the County said their bailiff's were responsible for the judges on and off premise. The Dallas PD said they have jurisdiction and wanted to babysit judges because of the federal money. Then came the big blow, the Rangers said they had jurisdiction and cited that theirs superceded the Dallas PD and the County. Meanwhile, the Chief is trying to get it across to all of them that federal judges have always been under the watchful eye of the U.S. Marshal's service. The other guys would be happy with Bureau or Secret Service taking responsibility, but didn't think the Marshal's Service was big enough or tough enough to handle the job. The only place we aren't surrounded by one of the other services is here." "They have made it tougher on us by pulling our cross communication privileges with the local and state law enforcement. I just heard they have now escalated the problem with the Bureau. The DEA just made a big bust without including the local guys, so they are all in an uproar. Homeland Security is flexing their muscles and are trying to sweep a half million Mexicans back across the border, which pisses off the head honcho of the Rangers because he can't get his grass cut or his house cleaned. Actually Sir, it's just one big pissing contest." I called John again. "Can you ask disbursement to advise all of the area law enforcement, including the Rangers, but not the Highway Patrol that all federal subsidies are to be held back until further notice? We're having a jurisdictional pissing contest that I want to stop. I need to get their attention. If I'm right, they depend on money from our branches for about thirty to forty percent of their budget. Make sure it includes all surplus stuff for their state guard units too." I paused a second before continuing, "I'll draft an invitation for the people who are in command to meet me to discuss our situation and see how many respond. They should all respond. but you never know. Why do we have such a small presence here, or am I not seeing something?" John advised, "You're not seeing the men as they have to be in and out of that office early to get anywhere. They cover such a huge area that they are in a real bind. Check their air responsibilities and you'll shit. We do have a problem as we do not have our own holding cells since the old building was closed. As you can tell, we are very short of space everywhere. I'll do what you ask so you can have them meet with you to work out your local problems. You should hear from some of them by this afternoon." Randy said, "Did you say you were cutting off all subsistence? Everything?" "Yes, I need their attention. Glenda, type up an invitation to attend a gathering of all agencies interested in correcting their current fiscal subsistence. We can meet at whoever has the best facility. Make sure the station chiefs for all federal law enforcement agencies are included in the actual meeting so we can get this done all at once." Glenda got up grinning. "Randy, what else?" "I have an issue with a guy from the Bureau. He wants to become Jean's new man. He's been bold enough to suggest she just put me in a nursing home and join him on his quest to Bureau stardom. I'm at a disadvantage, as I can't go to him. He lays in wait for Jean at the grocery store, going to the car, even stopping by at night after she's got me down. She's threatened to call the cops and all he does is laugh." Jean was red in the face, "I married Randy and vowed to take care of him for the rest of my life. I love Randy and plan to keep those vows. If the man continues, I'll shoot him for trespassing. I would think that might be bad for interdepartmental relations." "What is the agent's name?" "James Snider." "Do you have his agent number?" Jean typed in something on the computer and read off, "It's 499342." I called Wanda and told her, "Contact personnel and have James Snider, agent number 499342, transferred to either Guam or to an Alaskan office immediately at the convenience of the service. Ask them to advise our office of any feedback. Those are the farthest stations that I know of. See if there is a nice guy agent in either place that would enjoy Dallas." After hanging up I asked, "What else?" Randy was smiling and asked, "Can you cure MS?" "I wish, Randy, I wish." Glenda came in with an e-mail she printed out. It was the copy sent out from D.C. about terminating all subsistence. Sounded pretty final to me. She said, "I drafted that e-mail and sent it to your Office Manager. She e-mailed back that it was on its way out now." "Randy, your new chief will be here soon. I'm sure he will allow you to remain as long as you feel you can be useful. You know you don't have to subject yourself to coming in like this everyday, you could go on permanent disability." "I know, Chuck, but I want to do something. I want to contribute. I want to feel as if I can still do a job." "Next time there's a bunch of bullshit going on, call me and let me figure out how to quickly resolve the issue so we don't have to play hardball. Jean, you will also call me whenever something like this goes wrong." I took a deep breath and said, "Glenda, you need to clean the personal effects from the chief's desk and prepare it for a new man." To all of them I said, "Now let's find out about how and why our chief was shot." Jean said, "I think the man was where he shouldn't have been. He was a bit of a rounder and had a penchant to visit with other men's wives since his wife passed away. I'm not sure why, but he was always getting a fat lip or black eye for poaching. He was someone who was taking advantage of Viagra that's for sure." Glenda said, "The new little girl we have would have gladly warmed his bed, but he didn't want that, he wanted what someone else had." "Do we know, or do the police know, who shot him?" Jean rolled her eyes, "Ah, yeah, the Dallas police chief's son. He shot the chief and his wife. The wife lived, the chief almost did too." I nodded and agreed, "The man was in the wrong. I'm sorry he had to die for a stupid mistake. Hopefully the young man won't be tried." Jean said, "You're not mad the man shot our chief?" "Sure, I don't want someone to shoot our chief, but if he was shot doing what you said in the man's house, I'd say the guy might have been a little pissed and he acted in haste. Not justifiable, but definitely temporarily crazy." Randy and Jean both smiled and Randy said, "You have a Texan's heart. You're right. A man shouldn't be doing that unless he's invited by the owner, in this case the husband. Since he wasn't, our guy was stealing." Glenda said, "That is really harsh, but it's probably right." I stood, "Is the Bureau close so I can introduce myself there?" Glenda said, "Down the hall to your left. They have a temporary cubby hole just like ours. The chief is Duane Adams. He's okay, just not aggressive enough." I walked down the hall and entered the office. It was almost a twin of what I had just left. I asked the receptionist/clerk for Duane Adams after giving my name. The clerk looked at me funny, and used the phone. A man came walking from the farthest office, fast enough to be in a real hurry. He stuck out his hand saying, "Welcome to the Dallas/Ft. Worth office of the FBI. How can I help you, Mr. Johnson?" "I just wanted to say hi while I'm down for the unfortunate incident with the Marshal Service's chief." I could tell the man was about to say something, but stopped. I said, "I understand he was caught doing something he shouldn't have been." "A lot of people have caught him, but he was shot this time. I'm sorry he was shot, but not sorry for him to be gone." He waved for me to follow him as he went into his office, closing the door once we were inside. After we sat, he said, "I'm divorced because he had some magic hold over my wife and continued to use her until we separated. Since then, she hasn't been out with anyone. I might even try her again. I don't know what he had, but it got him punched in the face several times. I did it twice before throwing my lady out. I don't share well." "So do you think you might be able to work with a new guy in the Marshal's office?" "As long as he doesn't chase women." "I'll make sure he's either happily married or gay." Duane began laughing, "That's perfect. Now how are you going to not be shot by someone for cutting off funds?" "I thought I might have a meeting with everyone at once. Let's resolve all of the issues at one time. I want you to have your list. I want the ATF and the DEA guys to have their list. If the Homeland guys should be there, they need to be there. Let's get it done all at once. I used money to get their attention." "I want the federal prosecutor there, one of our senior judges, and I want a lawyer from each branch, one familiar with the regs. Any city, county, or state commander you speak to, tell them to bring their legal guys too. Now where would be the best place to have these talks?" Duane said, "How about the convention center? We'll rent a small hall with a bunch of tables and get this done. I like it. Just rope the bull, tie it up, and brand it. Get it done." "Okay, please coordinate with the new deputy." After a pause I said, "Um, you have a man that is probably going to be transferred. Hope that doesn't cause a problem." "If you mean Snider, my biggest idiot, good riddance. But don't send him somewhere a man might have a gun and shoot him. He's trying to be as bad as your guy. I know he's bothered Jean, your assistant's wife, a lot." I told Duane, "He's being transferred, that's all I know. Wish him good luck and say goodbye." "Until the new guy gets here tomorrow or the day after, work with Randy about the surge of city, county, and state people that will want our attention." I left and went back to the Marshal's Service office. It was three o'clock. Waving Glenda into Randy's office, I said, "You guys have this under control. I have a big deal to work on for tomorrow morning. If you would, can you schedule a briefing for all our local men on Friday morning? They need to know who their superiors are and that they are working for them." "I'll set it up. It might be someplace else, but we'll meet," Randy said. Jean got up and gave me a hug, saying, "Thank you so much for helping us out so fast. Randy just talked to you this morning and now something is started for solving all of our problems." "Here's hoping all of our problems can be handled as easily, Folks. Now work with Duane and be ready for the calls that will come in." To Glenda I said, "Make sure your new little girl understands she is the lifeblood of all the marshals out on duty. Do a good job so you can retire." I hugged the lady gently, conscious of her probable delicate nature. She hugged back a lot harder than I would have expected. I said to Ben, "Let's go back to the airport. Get me out of here and give me your phone number so I can call you to tell you what time I'll be here tomorrow. I'll be here through Friday around noon." John, the pilot answered on the first ring. I told him we were on the way, so warm it up. All he said was "Roger." Ben let me off at the plane. I shook hands with him and told him I would call tomorrow to tell him when the plane would be in. He got my bag from the trunk and I climbed onboard, pulled the door closed, and locked it. I sat in the same place and turned on the PC. While John was still going over the checklist, I made some coffee and sat back down and buckled up. Soon, we were taking off and going back across the gulf for a quick ride home. When I took John some coffee, he said, "We have a great tailwind and should be home quick. It's nice to do a turn like this and sleep at home." I told him that we would come back tomorrow, but not go home till Friday around noon or after. He said, "Well, I guess I need to see if any of the senoritas I know in Dallas are available for dinner Thursday." I was able to actually have an IM session with Wanda and told her I wanted her to come with me tomorrow, so to plan on it. She needed to get a couple of hotel rooms or have Glenda in Dallas do it. We were fixed on transportation both to and while in Dallas, the only thing we needed was lodging. She said she had received several e-mail inquiries as to when this meeting to regain funding would occur. She had also received a few irate calls from people who told her how important they were. She kept referring them to the e-mail that advised there would be a discussion. We worked jointly in a window, right up to the point that John said, "We are on approach. You're almost home." I wrote, "I'll be in the office in thirty minutes." She wrote back, "Why, it's after five?" "See you at home." "Bye." John had the plane spun around with the tail pointing at the hangar. I got out and Star came out of the office to confirm that I wanted the plane for Wednesday through Friday. She said that we probably wouldn't have to pay anything other than the pilot's per diem for Thursday. I drove home wondering how long I would be there before the masses arrived. I quickly changed into workout clothes and went to the gym to use the bike. I was already on the treadmill by the time Bobby checked for me in the gym. She gave me a quick kiss and left to change. The other three girls all came in wearing their workout stuff and began. When my thirty minutes of torture were done, I began doing the one machine that seemed to like me the most. It gave great shoulder stretches plus an upper chest workout. I worked right up through the weights and did all my routines before watching the girls finish theirs. We hit the pool together, swimming hard, sprinting until we gave out. We all clustered together nude. Marie said, "I thought if we stayed last night that there was going to be some fooling around. I think they do that out there." Jan was smiling, "Maggie says they go to some wild parties out there but we have to get ourselves an STD check before we can join in. You know we should do that just for us. I think we've been in just about every combination so far." "I think it would be a good idea, Jan," Wanda agreed. "I know my ex was chasing all over and I could have been given something that I may have given to any of you. We need to be careful." Bobby said, "When we do, I'm going to have Millie and Jonah get tested too. I want to watch you do Millie. I would really get off on that." I shook my head, "Can any of you believe that the woman of my dreams, who I want to commit to for the rest of my life, is encouraging me to mess around with her sister?" Wanda laughed, "She's just kinky. One of those voyeurs, she likes to watch." "I like to watch my man do all of you, and I would really get off if he was to do my sister. I'll let him watch me with Jonah, but I'll bet Millie and I get off more by watching our men with someone else." I said, "You're too much, Lover." Bobby smothered me with kisses, then sank beneath the water to give my stiffie some long sucks. She came up and said, "I'll schedule some testing. Wanda said you two were going out of town for Wednesday and Thursday night. Do you think you two could go by the clinic on the way to the airport?" "What's the hurry?" "I rented three cabins out at the naturist park for this weekend, Friday night through Sunday. Mom, dad, and the girls will stay in one, the boys and the twins in one, and we'll stay in another with Jonah and Millie. I'm not sure how kinky they will be with all of us there, but you never know. I want us all tested so we know we're safe to get wild. Chuck has some of my special needs to take care of. I talked to Zena today and she said if Marie wants to go with the other girls, she has to be tested. Jan may want to go with them too. Although I'd love to go to a big party, I don't think Chuck wants to do that. We'll just have to ease him into being wild with me." I asked, "Wanda, aren't you freaked out by all this?" "It kind of makes me hot thinking about it," Wanda said warmly. "I'm getting to be just like Bobby, I love to see you excited and teased by others. When Jan or Marie slides onto you, I get off on it. When you do Bobby right in front of me, I'm coming harder than she is. Bobby and I are becoming a lot like each other." Bobby asked, "So will you get tested tomorrow after your meeting?" Wanda answered for me, "If I ask to, we'll go on the way to the airport. I don't think he'll freak. He won't even let me get just one room in Dallas. He says two rooms and no visiting because it would be improper. He'll fuck my brains out while I eat Bobby into oblivion, but wants to act like a prude in Dallas. Figure that out." Jan said, "Maybe we should all go with him to keep you company, Wanda." "That would cause a stir," Bobby said. "He already has a rep over his Wild Bill days. That would be all he needs. The guys here would be after him for chasing around on me too." "It's just a couple of nights. My goodness, I don't sleep with an extra girl every night anyway, do I?" Bobby kissed me and said, "If I can help it, we don't sleep alone. You've got me humming on all cylinders, Lover, and I like it. Keep me happy, Honey, I'm worth it. Besides you have to do that redhead and little Joanie." Jan said, "I want him to love up Maggie. She is so sweet. I know she would go nuts for Chuck." Marie said excitedly, "Yeah, and you would love to play with Betsy's big bosom. A guy would have to like that. I'd like to play with them myself." And finally, Wanda said, "Oh my, just seeing how you drool over the mother daughter pair makes me hot. Can you imagine having Zena and Zora in the same bed, at the same time? Now that's hot!" We had migrated to the kitchen where I was trying to concentrate on supper. I decided on a salad before dinner, planning on some grilled chicken with special spices, served over skinny pasta with a cream sauce. Drinks were made and sipped and the salad eaten. The dinner, with some veggies, was great. I redid my quick packing job now that I had time to think. The clothes were fine, but this time I also put in socks and included my swimsuit as I would need some exercise. I mentioned it to Wanda and she said she would include a conservative suit, just for me. The evening quickly passed. Just before bedtime, I checked my e-mail to find a bunch of e-mails about the Dallas funding. Duane said he had a meeting set up for Thursday afternoon. He said the convention center was rented and would be ready. Randy had sent an e-mail thanking me for taking care of everything so fast. John's e-mail said, "I hope your Dallas dare works out. Texans are tough." I hope it worked out as well. When I went to bed, Bobby had it full of girls. She pointed at Jan and said, "You've neglected Jan and she needs some of all of our love. If you have anything left, you need to cool off our youngest groupie. Marie just has the hots over all those girls and boys out there at the park." "Then there is Wanda, you're going to take her to a faraway hotel and let her spoil while you're within easy distance to make her feel good. And lastly, my Love, you need to love me up, your Bobby, because you're going to be gone for two whole nights." It took a long while, but I made it through to Bobby, who totally loved me to near death. Our three housemates had warmed her up helping to fix some of her special needs. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 20 I was outside doing forms early Wednesday morning as I knew the day would be tough. Wanda appeared near me while my eyes were closed. The next time I opened my eyes; three more ladies were copying what Wanda and I were doing. We ate a decent breakfast and hit the office early. Conish said she wasn't nervous, but that she wanted to get it over with. I called Frank to make sure the set up was ready so Conish would never be recognized. At nine thirty, Wanda and Conish went down to the Bureau office as if on business. They were able to go in and be hidden into the interrogation room without being seen, by all but one agent. He was the one chosen to help at the door and was considered tops, in addition to being able to keep his mouth shut. I came in, with my folder of information on Conish's estranged husband, so I could help answer questions as we went along. When everyone was assembled, I was surprised to find that Jan was the agent chosen for the Bureau. She looked prepared and the corresponding file on the subject. I addressed the group attending, "Thank you all for coming so the informant can do this all at once. When the informant finishes telling what is known, you will have the opportunity to ask for clarification, and in some cases, additional questions. The restrictions will be no relationship questions, definitely not the name of the informant, no residency questions, or any question that could identify the individual helping us. Should the identity or whereabouts of the informant become public, the informant would probably be dead in less than twenty-four hours. I opened the mike into the interrogation room and asked, "To test the device one last time, please count down from five drawing out the numbers." "Fiiiivvvvee, fooouuur, thaaarrrreeee, twooooooo, Ooonneee." "Good, the masking device is working well. Please give us a description of what you know the suspect is doing that you consider illegal. Do not include anything he may have personally done to, or with, you." Conish spent almost forty-five minutes telling everything she could, including the names of the others involved, places, dates, and some of the resulting activities. She even gave the suspected burial location of a law enforcement officer turned crook, who had been killed just because of what he had been before. When the questions began, they were formed well and almost all were for clarification. Only one began delving into identity and I immediately said "Don't respond in any way. Please, Sir, respect the procedure outlined at the beginning of our meeting." The DEA agent wasn't happy, but it was all that he was going to get. At the conclusion of the meeting I said, "For your convenience, if you come up with additional questions, need additional clarification, or come up with a specific question that can be answered, please e-mail them to me at my office. As I have contact with the informant, I will respond to you. Because of the difficulty in seeing this informant, it could take a week to respond. I hope this helps you in your investigations. Please, get these men off the streets and, in some cases, out of our country. Thank you." Several of the men went into the Bureau for coffee and to visit. Conish was prepared with a couple of magazines and a bottle of water. It took over an hour for the last of them to clear out and for us to check and recheck the hallways for stragglers. I sent Conish up the stairs to the fourth floor to take the elevator up to our floor. Wanda had gone with her to make sure areas were clear before they entered. Upstairs, I congratulated Conish on an excellent performance. I told her how proud I was of her and that we were committed to keeping her identity a secret, as well as protecting her. I think she was very happy to have contributed. Wanda went over what she expected of the two girls while she was gone, then taking a deep breath, said to me, "Okay, time for my first business trip and another airplane ride. I hate to admit this, but I am terrified of flying. I usually have several drinks before boarding but I can't today, so please bear with me." "Wanda, you will be too busy while we are in the air to be afraid, so just relax." I called the airport to tell John we were an hour before flight time. I called Ben to tell him the approximate time we would land. I called Randy to find out how he was doing. He advised me that he and Duane had our meeting set up with the other leaders and could even move up the time if I wanted. I told him it would depend on the new man's arrival. He then said, "If you mean Howard Benning, he's in the chair you occupied yesterday. So far, he has been delightful, and hasn't left my presence since arriving. He mistakenly feels I can train him for his new position." This was good. "Tell Howard I have completed my presentation and will be flying out within the hour. See you in a few." I heard at least four people say "Goodbye, see you soon." I went by the station to say bye to Bobby and get a short watery-eyed kiss behind closed doors. She reminded me that Wanda and I had to stop by the clinic on the way to the airport. I told her I had planned on it already, but didn't feel we would need it. After saying goodbye to Marie and Sarah, Wanda and I went down to the car and drove to the clinic. They were fast and efficient. They did a pelvic on Wanda and a dick check on me, washing it with some kind of liquid to see if I had some kind of STD. They took some blood and we were gone, heading for the airport. I could see the fear begin to build on Wanda's face. When we got into the plane, I showed her the seats with PC screens, but she wasn't very accepting. She kept staring at the cockpit door. John perceived her fear and asked, "How about sitting up here with me. You can read off the checklist while I get us started and help me preflight, do the start up, and get off the ground." She became more nervous at first, then I could see some comfort come to her. I found out later from John that some people, women especially, felt that if they helped with the checklists, they somehow were ensuring the airplane's safety. It also gave them confidence in the future ability of the airplane to stay in the air. They went right down the list and when John yelled for me to shut the door, I did, and hollered check. Wanda's face was much more relaxed and I could tell that she now felt more in control. I booted the PCs and began getting ready for my station transfer duties and to get ready for my Texas meeting. While waiting for the PCs to come up and the plane to get off the ground, I made coffee, and peeked into the cockpit to see and listen to the conversation. Wanda had a headset on, listening to John file his flight plan and ask the local tower for permission to taxi. After buckling up, I was able to link up on the PC and wrote my report to John Scott in D.C. on the informant presentation. I next e-mailed him the existing schedule while in Dallas and advised him that the replacement had already arrived and was getting along with Randy. When we were airborne and leveled out, I went to give coffee to the cockpit crew. John thanked me, but Wanda said, smiling, "I have work to do. I can't stay up here and play with the dials and knobs." Wanda got out of the cockpit seat and came back, sat at the other desk with a PC, and began taking items from her briefcase. She was amazed the in-flight PC reflected her desktop because of the software we used. By the time John said we were descending, Wanda had the station transfer papers made up and had developed a meeting itinerary for the attendees. Our time in flight had been productive. I had downloaded and printed a complete dossier on Howard Benning so I could talk to him intelligently. Ben was waiting for us at the executive airport and whisked us to the office. When we came into the office, Glenda stood to greet me with a big smile. She warmly greeted Wanda, and showed her a desk she could work at while there but said she might have to argue with some deputies in the morning since space was at a premium. I went in to see Randy. He was dozing, with Jean lovingly watching him. I could see Howard in the Chief's office so I just waved at Jean and went back out and around, instead of through Randy's office. Howard and I introduced ourselves and I introduced him to Wanda. She handed me a stack of papers and we began going through them one at a time. I explained that since his quarters were temporary, he didn't have much inventory, and a great deal of what there was, was either at the local armory, or out at their safe house. We went over any training material he would need to review and that he had not completed prior to today. It only took us an hour to get through the bureaucracy of making him a station chief. I kept glancing at Jean to see if Randy had awakened, and I could see the concern on her face. I went in to see her and she said, "I think he slipped into a coma. I knew the time was coming, but I didn't think it would be so fast." I didn't think MS was so fast. Jean looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "His killer is the leukemia on top of the MS. He's been so coherent and in such a good mood, I thought we had a lot longer." "Jean, what can I do? What should we do?" Jean was working so very hard to keep her composure. "Have Glenda call an ambulance and I'll take him to the hospital. Ask her to notify his doctor at the University, as well. I guess now is the time to talk to that lady from hospice care. I've kept her away so far, but I guess I need her now." Jean was petting Randy's head, almost making me cry. I've seen death and sickness, but when you witness the love and closeness of a mate and the imminent loss of one's mate, it is catastrophic. Jean straightened Randy's tie and suit coat before standing and pulling his wheelchair from behind his desk. Jean said to me, "Chuck, Randy has everything up to date to the second. He's known this was coming and wanted to leave his office perfect. He's worked hard to make it this way. Let everyone know how much he appreciated John letting him continue right up to the last of his ability and effort." Jean pushed him out into the office area. She had her shoulders back, head held high, proud of her man as she helped him leave his office, probably for the last time. The ambulance attendants came and took over. I asked Ben to take Jean to the hospital and to remain with her. He should call me to let me know Randy's status and Jean's condition. Wanda came up to me and asked, "May I go with her? I might be able to help. Please, may I?" This was an unexpected situation, but I needed to be compassionate to the need. "Okay, go with her. Be protective and pay attention to everything anyone says to her so she has good info to make any judgments." After watching them leave, I ended up having to hold Glenda as she wept. "Mr. Johnson, Randy was a good man. I'm not saying this because he may die, I'm saying this because I've worked with him since he first started with the service. He's given the service his all, even though he's been confined to the wheelchair and declining in his ability to work. Jean has helped him, interpreting what was within Randy's head." Howard came from his office and said, "I was prepared to work with Randy. I've known people who overcame physical problems to make great contributions. I'm sorry for all of you who knew and cared for him." Howard and I discussed his quick move some more. He had a wife and two sons that would be following shortly. She would be coming this weekend to house hunt. Howard said, "We put the house up for sale and we have a contract on it already. That's a relief since selling homes seems so difficult right now. I guess we priced it under market value. The realtor thought the valuation was correct, and we're satisfied with the price, so I guess that it's fine." I said, "Let's go see the construction on the new federal building and courthouse so you have an idea of where it's at and where to look for housing." Turning to Glenda, "Can you call one of the duty men and ask him to ferry and advise us?" Glenda used the radio and found that someone was close. Five minutes later, a deputy walked into the station saying, "Wow, I'm allowed to come into the station early, that's unusual." Glenda said, "Don't get used to it, we still don't have room for you." She introduced us and explained what I wanted to do. He said, "I go by the construction site every day, and I'll take you out to a couple of houses that are forfeitures. We have some real deals on the books right now. You might like one of them." The deputy was down when he heard about Randy, but he did show us the construction site, which looked like it was nearing completion. He said the government offered a major bonus for completion three and six months early. It looked like they were going to make the six month bonus. We drove through some suburbs and looked at a couple of really big homes. He drove us by a home and pointed out that it was their safe house. So far, it had been held confidential for over six years. That was remarkable considering the trouble we had constantly had in Tampa. As we headed back to the office, Ben called and said the deputy had passed away. The two ladies were in the administration offices at the moment. I told the deputy and he said, "Let's get Jean's car and take it home for her. She probably doesn't need to come back to the office. I know how she's been. She and Randy have kept the office running and he's been ready to leave for any reason for the last three months or more. I'm sure Jean doesn't want to come back." We went in to get the extra keys Glenda had for Jean's car. She was prepared for everything. Glenda said, "I've said my goodbye in my heart. The hard part is done." She walked over to her desk and handed me a stack of folders. "These are the men qualified for the job, in the order in which I would consider them. I've numbered them on the top left corner. Hope this helps." Howard and the duty man took Jean's car home and I began evaluating men. I would interview the top three, but it looked as if Glenda had them in the right order. I asked her to set up appointments this afternoon for the top three men. She said, "You are so in luck today. All are in the area, although one is taking a prisoner to the lockup right now. He'll be free before long and radio in. I'll start with three and work my way up to one, okay?" The first two men came in. I talked to them extensively and suggested they spend some more time viewing the video library. The third man came in and suggested we get some fresh coffee out in the coffee shop off the mezzanine. We had a good chat and I offered him the ACE position. He didn't hesitate, but he said, "It's going to be hard to assume the position Randy had. I couldn't take his place. Let me have an evening with the new chief and I'll give you my answer in the morning." "Good decision. Being an ACE doesn't keep you from becoming a chief somewhere, it actually helps. You have some unique experience and I would like to have you in the support position for the new man. I hope you take the job." Ben and Wanda came back to the office saying that several of Jean's and Randy's relatives were at Jean's, so she should be alright. Howard came back and I introduced the potential ACE to him and asked that they leave the building and go somewhere to learn about each other. They thought I was nuts, but I told them, "Go to the hotel I'm staying at and charge anything you need to eat or drink for the rest of the night to my room. I'll call and verify it. Now go, find out if you can work as a team." Wanda and Glenda were grinning. Glenda said, "You sure as hell ain't subtle about getting what you want, are you? We've all heard you're direct, but you've been in the office a total of less than six hours and have turned it upside down and you have Texas and Dallas in an uproar." Wanda elbowed Glenda, "You ain't seen nothin' yet. You need to be in the meeting either tomorrow or Friday, you'll see." I had a thought, "Glenda, can you call Dennis' wife and have her meet him at the hotel bar where I'm staying? If she's there, Howard will meet her and have some help when his wife is here looking for a house. She'll also help her man make up his mind a hell of a lot faster." "That's not very fair, Mr. Johnson," Glenda said. "I don't want fair, I want fast, I want to get this show on the road." Glenda did what I asked, and thank goodness the wife was able to have a neighbor look after her daughters. I heard she was pregnant with their third, but was excited that her husband was being considered for the promotion. Wanda said, "You know it's almost five. These people are going to leave here and the only place you and I have to go is the hotel. Do you want to intrude on the meeting in progress?" "Nope, we'll go to the hotel, use the gym, the pool if possible, then we'll go eat. The decision should be made by then, so we can have them join us." "Pretty confident that he'll take the job, aren't you?" "Yep, they both have good attitudes, they both like being a deputy, they are both happily married with kids, and it says in both of their files that they like to fish and hunt. What do you want to bet they probably already have a fishing trip planned for a free weekend?" Glenda and Wanda laughed. Ben took us to the hotel where we were pre-checked in by Ben. Our bags were in our rooms that I discovered were adjoining and connected. I was thinking that was sneaky of Wanda. We changed and went down to the gym. I did the bike, the treadmill, and some weights. Wanda went through about the same routine, but ran instead of my walk. We checked out the pool and found it by a pool bar, but not the main lounge. Wanda and I swam hard, doing our sprint until collapse routine. A problem was that she had brought and worn her tiny bikini, which wasn't a true thong, but damn near. She's good looking enough to attract a lot of attention. Couple that along with a guy with an aluminum leg and you have a pair that really stand out. We went up to our rooms to shower and go eat, anticipating that we would probably eat with Howard, Dennis, and Dennis' wife. Thirty minutes later, we found the trio. Trish, Dennis' wife was drinking a virgin drink of some kind, while the two men obviously had been imbibing heavily. After being introduced to Dennis' wife, Dennis said, "I want the job. I want to back this guy up." Trish said, "He wants the job, but he probably isn't in good enough shape right now to make any good judgments." Howard said, "I already told him he didn't have a choice. We were going to work together. As soon as I can get my wife here, we're going fishing. Our wives will love each other and be great friends. If I buy the house the guys showed me today, we'll live right down the street from each other. We've got it all worked out." I happily asked, "How about going to the dining room and feeding all of us." They all agreed, so we went to the main dining room and made sure the guys didn't order any more heavy drinks. Wanda and I had a martini with a salad, and iced tea with the meal. Trish was really happy to have her husband growing in the service, and a little more out of danger than he had been on occasion. The other guys had steaks, while I wanted fish. The ladies each had some kind of chicken dish. I devoured a huge piece of salmon that was cooked just right, and had a really good creamy sauce to go with it. While having coffee, the two men were back to normal, but still grinning. They were happy to have come to such an easy understanding. I was too. I explained what we were doing with the meeting that was scheduled for Friday and said, "If you want, I can reschedule this for tomorrow afternoon. It's going to be a long one, and all of us will probably miss supper. I'll have sandwiches sent in to us while we make sure everything gets ironed out. I want a working agreement between now and when our new building opens. When we get into it, I'll come back down and we'll do this all over again to make sure they understand what the rules are. What do you want to do? An all day Friday, or work till we drop tomorrow?" Dennis said, "Let me call Donny, the head Ranger. He'll tell me the best way to handle the city guys. Donny figured you were just trying to get everyone's attention. He said he already knows his guys are out of line." I asked quickly, "When can you call him?" Trish handed Dennis a cell phone and he dialed a number. "Hey Donny, it's Dennis. Hey, Asshole, I'm getting this stuff resolved, so hang onto your britches. Listen, would it be better to beat the hell out of everybody until they fall tomorrow afternoon and night, or would it be better to start Friday morning and work till it's done?" "I thought that too, but I wanted to ask you. Okay, I think the boss wants to start as early as possible, but we have a bunch of people to organize. Hang on." Dennis pushed the mute button and asked, "What time do you think we can start?" "Try for one sharp. A lot of people will be stressed, but we can do it." "Donny, the boss said we should try for one o'clock sharp. Yeah, the convention center. I'm sure he figures everyone won't be there until two, but let's try. Get your guys there and if you would, call Dallas and get them thinking one o'clock. Tell them the guy is a stickler for being on time and if they want their funding back, to come along. Make sure everyone has their attorneys and their statute books. Hey, if we're gonna have a pissin' contest, drink a lot of water. See ya, Cowboy, I'll be there, I'm the new assistant. Randy has passed away and I'm going to try to do his job. Nope, nobody fills his shoes." He handed the phone back to Trish. He said, "If I used the Marshal's cell phone, he wouldn't have answered. If it's a personal call, he'll answer." "Can you start calling the other agencies, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security? I have the private number for the Bureau chief, so I can call him. This is good, we'll knock this out and get you two situated. Wanda and I will sign you in tomorrow morning after the group meeting we're having to introduce Howard. We can introduce Dennis as the new ACE at the same time." Trish said, "Let's get home, Honey. The kids are next door and you need to go to bed early if tomorrow is going to be as tough as you guys are talking." Howard said, "I'm going to the gym for a while to work off some of this food and alcohol. Want to come with me?" I smiled and said, "Wanda and I did that as soon as we left work. We did our workout and swam hard for about twenty minutes." He looked at me funny and asked, "Do you have a fake leg?" I nodded, smiling. "We were out at the pool bar when you and the lady who has a very nice shape, easily seen in that bikini she was wearing, were swimming. We couldn't get over how hard you two were swimming and for how long. Trish said Dennis didn't need to be checking out the competition while she was in her condition. That's why we moved into the main lounge." Trish was grinning, "I hope I can get into a bikini like that again. The first one wasn't bad, and I was almost back to being my size two when the second came along. Now this one is growing fast and so am I. You two really did workout swimming, and you said you had already been in the gym?" Wanda was nodding and said, "A few of us have a regular workout like that everyday, and swim till exhaustion afterward. It keeps us fit." Dennis said, "Let's get out of here before they convince us we should workout like that every day. Let's hit it." When they were gone, Wanda said, "I want something else to drink. How about a scotch or something like that? Maybe even a beer, but something." We walked out to the pool bar and had some good scotch on the rocks, watching the few remaining swimmers. I called the Bureau Chief and told him of the change of schedule and asked him to remind our attorney for me. I informed him of the promotion of Dennis and said if he wanted to meet the new station chief, he would be with me tomorrow morning. Now for Bobby. There was no answer at the house, so I called her cell. She answered saying, "Hi, Honey, I'm at Jonah's getting my sister off her dead ass so she's ready for this weekend. Do you think you'll still be able to get home reasonably early on Friday evening?" "It should work out, maybe even late tomorrow night. We'll see. If the meeting lasts longer than seven, we'll stay over, otherwise we'll be home." "Is Wanda close?" "Right here." "Let me talk to her." From my side, the conversation was pretty cryptic. "Yep," "Like I told you, adjoining." "It's not going to be a problem. I'll do everything I can to get us back tomorrow. I'd rather be home too." "Yep, he worked out and swam." "Okay, I will." She handed the phone back to me and Bobby said, "Jan's driving, so don't worry. Jonah's trying to feed Millie and me more beer than we can hold. Marie's already down for the count, but Jan is the designated driver. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it's going. You'll have to take a pee break anyway. Love you, Honey. Bye." Poor Jonah, two drunk babes, each weighing over three hundred pounds could be a problem. We walked to the elevators talking about the girls getting Marie toasted. Then again, Marie is a little crazy anyway. I said goodnight to Wanda at her door and went into my room. I stripped down, and hung up my stuff. I did the night stuff by brushing my teeth, peeing, washing, taking off my leg, and crawling into bed. I used the remote to turn on the TV for some noise and laid back. The door between Wanda's room and mine opened and a naked Wanda slipped into bed with me. When I gave her a questioning look, she said, "If you think I'm passing up a night to be alone with you without fucking your brains out, and enjoying feeling you next to me all night, you're nuts." She snuggled into me giving me a full body hug. I didn't say a word to her. I just began making love to her the way any man would be proud to love her. I was thorough, slow and thorough, until she was nearly screaming. As we cuddled away from the wet spot, she said into my shoulder, "That's what I'm talkin' about." Wanda woke me up during the night to make love again, and woke me in the morning with something I didn't expect from her. She gave me the most loving, sensuous, blowjob I've ever had. Of course, I haven't had that many, but this was special. She didn't let up until I was empty and shriveled up, or at least it felt that way. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 21 We were downstairs, having breakfast, when Howard came down. "You two even beat me out of bed this morning. I've heard a lot about you, Chuck, but didn't really know what to expect. John was always so straight and you are too, but you just feel looser, more on your toes. One footed toes, that is." "This is an important day for you, Howard, getting introduced to your first station as the Chief, and representing the service and your station at a major meeting. Let me be the heavy today so you can get a working relationship with these people. Hopefully, we'll get everything put together the way it needs to be." The meeting and introductions to the men went well. There were a hell of a lot of deputies, so many that we ended up having the meeting outside on the lawn in back of the building. Everyone could hear if we spoke loud enough, and everyone was saddened by the loss of Randy, but happy for one of their own for his promotion. The men were all assigned and out by nine thirty. I called the Bureau Chief to check on our attorney and was told the man was already on his way to the convention center. I said goodbye to Glenda, in case we were able to get out of there this evening and we headed out to the convention center. I made sure we all stopped at the Texas barbecue stand to get a couple of sandwiches. We ate standing up, before proceeding to the convention center. We were in place with our attorney and a federal judge at twelve fifteen. I asked the attorney to open the book I would need, and highlight the statutes I wanted to quote. The federal people, with additional attorneys, began showing up and were all in place by twelve thirty. I quickly explained how I was going to handle the meeting. They agreed with me and told me to handle it. At twelve forty-five, the Texas Ranger contingent came in, glad handing everyone, happy to get the meeting underway. At twelve fifty, the county people showed up, apologizing for being late and sat quickly. People had a piece of white, heavy, stock paper with a black crayon to write their names and departments on. They folded it and sat it in front of them so it would show like a nameplate. Everyone would know who they were talking to. At one, I stood and said, "It is important that we start all together, so we will wait for Dallas. To let you know, we will break for ten minutes out of every sixty. There is water and soft drinks along the wall. Feel free to get up at any time and get another drink. I'm told it's too difficult to have coffee, so we don't have that for us addicts. Don't worry about getting hungry. We have sandwiches ordered and they will be served at every break from three o'clock on. We will need the food for energy." There was a mass exodus from the tables to get water or soft drinks. I had a water and a juice for energy. Come on, Dallas. About thirty people came in the door at one twenty. They all had their noses in the air and sat at the central tables the others had left for them, knowing what would occur. One guy didn't wait till his people were sitting and said, "When are you going to get your head out of your ass and release our funding?" "If you will have a seat, Sir, the meeting can start. I've already gone over that refreshments are available all the time and that we will break ten minutes of every hour. I will provide food after three so we have the energy to continue." I stood in front of my table waiting for the group to sit. When they were finally settled, I said, "My name is Charles Johnson or Chuck Johnson. I am with the U.S. Marshal's Service. We are here to define what each of our responsibilities are and how we will interact. I'm sure that by the time we leave, we will all be satisfied." I went for the big book with pages marked and statutes marked. "First, I will read some statutes that I and the Marshal's Service must live by. When I've read all the statutes that pertain to our meeting, I will address each issue one at a time. We will fully and unanimously agree on each issue before going on to the next item." "Keep in mind that the agreements we make today will be good only until our new facilities are open. After that, we will either abide by all statutes or have another meeting much like this one." I read the statutes slowly. I read each one twice, with emphasis on the phrases that were important. I read the statutes as to how the federal departments must interact with the state, county, and city departments, and what support we must give them and what support we could expect from them. "First, now that you've heard how we must protect our judges, I want to address the bailiff issue. If you want to have a bailiff to accompany a deputy, that is permissible. If a bailiff obstructs a deputy, he will be held in contempt, as the statute states. I suggest a trade off for right now. Until our new facility is built, our office will use the county and state court bailiffs to serve our subpoenas and the bailiffs will stop trying to impede our deputies while attending to our judges. That will actually give your bailiffs more income than standing around the court house." I pointed to the county guy that represented the bailiffs. He said, "I don't know if the membership will go for that. We can take over your subpoena business anyway; those should be ours." The federal judge stood up and said, "Dick, you stupid little shit. When you learn the law, then you can get in front of a group and blow smoke up our asses. Until then shut up and let your attorney talk for you." The man, "Dick" was still standing, red in the face, and yelled, "I'll have you know that I went to law school for three years." The judge just said, "And flunked every course you took, I know the story, Dick. Now shut up or I'll have you jailed on a federal Baker act." The county attorney stood up with a book in his hand and said, "It says within our statutes that all subpoenas served within our jurisdiction will be served by our bailiffs." My attorney said, "Read him his own statute under that blue page marker." I said to the attorney, "Sir, you forgot to read the next paragraph. It says that all federal subpoenas will be served by U.S. Marshals, or as directed by the federal judge issuing the subpoena. As a note, you are also to have a Ranger accompany you on all state issued subpoenas, and I understand you are not doing that at this time." The county attorney was reading the next paragraph again and finally said, "You're right on both counts. Okay, but how can our bailiffs do this?" The judge said, "Charlie, read that last paragraph again out loud for me." He read the paragraph and when he said "federal judge" his voice trailed off and he just sat down. "Okay, your bailiffs will take a powder at the courthouse when the federal judges hold court, and we will in turn give your bailiffs some extra money until our new building is built." The idiot, Dick, stood up again and said, "Yeah, but we've always done it the other way." The judge said, "No, Dick, only since we've not had a building have we had the disagreement. You've only worked for the county bailiffs for a year and a half, now please be quiet." I looked at the attorney and asked, "You okay with that? You agree?" When he agreed, I asked each of the attending attorneys and didn't begin the next topic until they all agreed. "The next item on the agenda is prisoners. Out of one hundred and eleven federal prisoners housed within your group, twenty-eight escaped, and eighty-four times, they were late getting to court. I want our deputies to transport all prisoners and for all prisoners to be appropriately chained within your jail. Each prisoner will have both a waist chain and cuffs, and an ankle chain and cuffs. These will remain on at all times so we don't lose these men. We will provide coveralls for our prisoners so they stand out. We will also pay the appropriate per diem for them. It would be nice to keep them together, but you can mix them if you wish. I will not change my mind about having a deputy marshal transport a federal prisoner to court." "Sheriff, how do you feel about what I need to have happen?" "I didn't know that we let twenty-eight escape. I also wasn't aware of the eighty-four times we held up court because we were late. If we did that to our judges, we would be held in contempt. Can you give us a hand supervising these prisoners if we keep them together?" "It's a done deal. Work with the new Station Chief." I went around to everyone and asked if they agreed. We took a break, peed, got more water, and started again. I reread the statutes on the next group of items again and began. At the three o'clock break, a bunch of sandwiches appeared. More came each hour, all different. Around six o'clock, I asked each of the Federal people with me, "Any more requests?" I asked the Ranger in charge, "Do you see that we want to work together? Can you work with the Bureau and Marshal's deputies now? The DEA, ATF, and Homeland Security all have jobs they must do. They want to work with all of the departments here, but some activities must be held close and not shared until the deal is done. This avoids dead people on both sides. Please work together. I will release funding for one month. At the end of the thirty days I will either hear that you guys are playing nice together or we will be back here. None of us owns the sandbox; it belongs to all of us. Let's get the job of protecting our citizens done, and let's have fun doing it together." I went around the room while they were still sitting and shook hands with every person attending, even the idiot, Dick. When I was done, I went to get another bottle of water and another little sandwich. I turned and said, "We're done; let's get the hell out of here. You will all receive a transcript of every word spoken here. Let's use this as a starting point and get going." At my table, Howard and Wanda asked, "How are you going to give them a transcript?" My laptop was open with the keyboard facing all the people. I pushed a couple of keys and the beginning of the meeting began playing on the screen. I smiled and said, "Should be easy to make copies of the meeting." Wanda laughed and said, "I wondered how you were going to keep track of who said what?" I shook hands with our attorney and thanked him. I told the judge, "I love ya, I wish you were in Tampa with me." "You're a good kid. A little mouthy, but you have your ducks in a row. Come back and see us." I shook hands with the Bureau Chief and all the other Station Chiefs, thanking them for coming. Lastly, I shook hands again with Howard and Dennis. "Take care of this branch. Get that new clerk trained and Glenda retired if she really wants to be. If not, find her some projects to work on, such as coordinating the different groups to work together. Play nice with the others, and do a good job for the citizens, OK." I took a deep breath as I put my laptop away. "Wanda, it's six twenty, call John and tell him to warm up the plane. Let's go home." Ben had been sitting on the side of the room with the food, of course, and got up to accompany us out. He said, "I wondered why you two had your bags this morning. You done did everything huh?" At the airport, the plane was sitting there with the right engine running and John was waiting for us to board before cranking up the left. As soon as our bags were thrown in the back and the door was closed, the engine was started and John was calling for instructions. I called Bobby on my cell phone. She said they had just finished swimming and were getting ready to eat. I told her we were on our way and she whooped. I told her, "Hold that thought, we'll be there soon." As soon as the plane was off the ground, I got John some coffee before Wanda and I raided the liquor cabinet. We each had two tiny bottles of Beefeaters on ice, while we both wrote reports. I was going to give John the whole thing and thought I might transfer the file for the video from home instead of trying to from the plane. It was too much to ask from a moving airplane. I answered all my e-mails and dictated a note to be sent to the agencies to remind them that this was a thirty-day trial. Wanda and I decided on a second double martini, sitting back to enjoy the ride. She said, "This is really dumb; just that one time up front reading off that checklist, and I'm fine with flying. I'm scared, but not paralyzed. It's great, especially on this little plane." She looked around and asked, "Can we shut that cockpit door and join the mile high club?" I laughed, "More like the six mile high club, I'm sure we're probably around thirty thousand feet." "Well?" "Patience, Wanda, we don't want to start any rumors at the charter service." "My ass we don't, I want to start a rumor." She got up, spoke to John while handing him some more coffee and shut the door. On the way by my seat, she was tugging her panties and pantyhose down saying, "These seats in the back are more comfortable." We joined the club together. We were appropriately dressed when we landed, and had even sprayed some deodorizer around the cabin. We now knew why it was in the tiny galley. When we parked, I opened the door, let down the built in steps, helped Wanda out, and grabbed our bags. We shook hands with John, put our stuff in my car, and took off. At home, everyone welcomed us and we ate some leftover pork chops they had. With that and a beer, holding my big babe in my arms, the world was my oyster. I never understood that saying, but it was. When it was time for bed, Bobby said, "My guy needs to take care of a fire. As soon as he hoses it down, anyone else is welcome. Come on, Fireman, put my fire out." We did play for a long time. By the time we were done, I was totally finished and slept snuggled up to my babe with a smile on my face. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 22 Morning found me forming some Tae Chi, finding my inner peace. Bobby surprised me and showed up naked to follow my lead. Jan and Marie showed up soon, also naked. I was moving slowly, when I spied a naked Wanda coming from the house and wondered, "Now what?" When I felt perfectly arranged within myself, I stopped and walked back inside the cage to take off my leg and clothes to swim. The girls did a few more moves, and came in. They all dove in and swam with me until it was time to either drown or get out. Under the shower, Marie was a little aggressive and wanted to play with me. Bobby spun her and leaned her onto the shower wall pushing and pulling until we were coupled. I gave her everything she wanted, without having to come. Jan gave me a nice kiss and asked, "Can I have some too. I'm kind of juicy, I need some." I gave her enough strokes that I was close but she was done, satisfied. I looked at Bobby and she said, "I'm fine but it was fun watching." Wanda was already inside, so I finished washing and went in to get ready for work. At the breakfast table, having one of our traditional mega breakfasts, I asked, "So what's with the naked babes in the morning?" Bobby said, "We did that yesterday too. We're getting ready for tonight when we go to the park. I can't wait. My little sisters are so excited they can't stand it. Mom is as bad. Dad's like you, a little wary. My brothers think it's a hoot, and of course the teasing twins are really ready. Millie and Jonah are ready too. I think Millie's going to fuck Jonah to death before they get there though. She's so excited about strutting around naked, she's beside herself." The other three women were all smiling at me, thinking of the good time they felt they were going to have. I don't know, I hope this isn't too far out. I said to them, "Listen, all of you. I don't want this to sound like I'm a stick in the mud, but I may not be up for a lot of what may go on out there. All four of you can be as crazy as you want, but I may lay back and just watch or go hide or something." Bobby said, "No, you won't. We'll have such a good time you'll want to be a part of everything. But you remember, Mister, I have special needs you know." "You and your special needs. Your needs may be too much for me." "Naw, you'll love being around my family. I just hope my Mom can resist you. I'm going to watch my sisters and those damn twins too. You watch, you're going to be popular with my family. Be careful of the sisters, Mom thinks they're still virgins, so they could get knocked up." "I'm not fucking your sisters." "I know, but they may decide to fuck you. Considering their size and that there are two of them, you won't have much choice, will you? You better consider the twins, they will squash you. I know you wouldn't have a problem with Millie, but we may have to hold you down for Mom." I had my eyes closed, moaning. "Oh no, oh please no." "I'm just teasing, Honey, I'm sorry. The only one I might chase you onto will be Millie. It's about time I tried Jonah again." "Um, how about we all pack our sandals and toothbrushes and take them to work," I suggested. "It will be easier to leave from work. Pack some shorts and T-shirts too." Marie said, "And lots of sunscreen." "Don't forget that stack of health certificates we have either," Jan said. "I may decide to join one of the parties Joanie was talking about." We only took one car today, the Escalade. I was in the middle seat with Wanda, when she asked, "How do you feel about us girls getting friendly with others? Does it bother you?" "No. You are allowed to do what you want to do." "It doesn't bother you to know how much we care for you, and that we might fool around with someone else?" "It's alright, Wanda, I'm just not sure of myself is all. I can't believe everyone is more open-minded than I am, but I guess they are. I'll get over it. If I were to watch you girls doing stuff, I'd get so hot I'd be banging you next. I'm just not sure, though. I guess I'll get the chance to find out, won't I?" Wanda leaned over to me and said, "Until you are sure, I will be only yours or one of the girls. I'm yours anyway, I hope you know that. You've just totally captured my heart, and I can't tell you when it happened. Not to worry though, I'm sane, I love sharing you with Bobby and the girls." Jesus, where did that come from? I'm getting myself in real deep here. Wanda saw my startled look and said softly, "Just teasing. I do care for you and Bobby more than I can express. And yes, you have totally captured my heart, but it's not like let's get married this second, my Love. It's respect first, then the gushy feeling I get when I think of us making love. I mean everything else I said, though. I'm going to hang with you while we both get comfortable out there." I guess that's better, a little better, but still pretty deep. The day went well. I listened to Bobby's briefing and added to it that the ACE in Dallas, Randy, had passed away from MS and leukemia. I told them a card would be available to sign later today. We would send it to his widow, Jean, on Monday. When guys hear stuff like that, it reminds us all we are mere mortals. Wanda and I worked through all the reports that needed to be done. She was really good with all the forms and reports that were required. She was also doing a great job teaching Angie and Conish how to do her job as well. The Dallas office sounded as if everything was flowing smoothly with the new people in place. I was informed that there was good feedback from all the field personnel there today. The bailiff problem children were playing nice now, so everything was as it should be. Wanda and I met Zena at the building next door for our survey. The general construction was good and it didn't look as if it would be difficult to build out the separate units we would need. I advised Zena that I was still working on our total space needs and would get back to her on the project as soon as possible. We parted with Zena saying, "See you guys this evening. You're going to have a great weekend." Late in the afternoon, I made my call to John to let him know that all was well at Dallas, and that I wasn't stirring any pots today. John's only comment today was, "Stay loose next week, I may have something that breaks fast. I'll talk to you when I need you." It was truly a 'Thank God it's Friday' Friday. All of our desks were picked up and spotless by four forty-five. Wanda sent her clerks home early as a bonus for such good work this past week. At four fifty, Bobby called, "My mom and dad are already out at the park with my sisters. She called and said the girls are running wild, enjoying being nude. My brothers and the twins probably won't be there until seven, as they have to wait till the shop is closed. Jonah and Millie are expected any minute. I'm ready to go, just waiting for five." "Wanda and I will meet you in the hall on the way down," I said to an excited Bobby. "Wanda said that Jan would be waiting by the car. See you in a couple minutes." Wanda and I stepped out of our door at five, just as Bobby, Sarah, and Marie were closing their door. On the elevator, Sarah teased, "Enjoy yourself, Boss. Don't get a bad sunburn." At the Escalade, Bobby handed me the keys, saying, "You drive, you're the man. Now hurry, get us there quick." Friday night traffic was as heavy as always, but we were at the gate in about twenty-five minutes. The guard had us on his reservation list and wished us a nice weekend, while laughing at the girls in the car who were taking off clothes. I stopped at the little office at the bed and breakfast building to find out what cabin we were to be in. Tom's sister, Dana, was there and directed us to a cabin just up from where we were. She said that Millie and Jonah were already here. We went inside the cabin to put away our bags and to take the rest of our clothes off. Jonah and Millie were not there, so we found the bedroom that didn't have stuff in it, stored our bags and stripped. I grabbed a towel and said, "I want a swim and have a drink, in that order. Anyone else want to swim?" Bobby said, "Let's find my folks and sisters first. They might want to go too. When I went out to the living room/kitchen area of the cabin, I was greeted by the vision of my lovely nude ladies, plus Millie, Maxine, Lena, and Tina. The five women represented about eighteen hundred pounds of magnificently huge women. This had to be one of the most spectacular and sexy sights known to man. It took my breath away. It also made me fully erect in a millisecond. Lena and Tina were posing to show off their youthful chests, while the other three were just smiling. I stood there with my mouth open. Bobby's dad, Ted, helped me out as he said, "One hell of a sight, isn't it?" For whatever reason, I wasn't even embarrassed to be rock hard. It was sticking out in front of me like a heat seeking missile looking for a place to land. Millie, as usual, had something to say, "He may have a fake leg, but that log sticking straight out sure don't look fake." Jonah said, "I've been here long enough to have gotten over the same shock. The view could be dangerous if you had a bad heart." I wrapped my towel around my waist and suggested, "How about a swim?" They all wanted to go as the boys and twins weren't due for an hour or so. We were walking by the bed and breakfast and the cabin in front of it when Tom, Zena, and Shannon all walked out of the back door. Bobby, Jan, and Marie all rushed to meet Zena and Shannon. Tom took one look at the array of big women that I was with and became as stiff as I still was. "You ladies are all amazingly beautiful," Zena said, with a smile. "My Tom's paying you a great compliment. Hi Chuck, I see you think the view is good too." I said, "The group I'm with is fantastic, then you two girls come strolling out. Now my day is complete." Zena came and gave me a sweet kiss, but Shannon came up and gave me a toe curler that had my dick back to a hundred percent. "You say the nicest things about me, Chuck. That and you fascinate me because you have these huge women around you." Tom said, "We're on our way to the pool, are you guys going that way?" Off we went to the pool. As soon as we entered the area, every man and boy did a triple take of the five big women. All that could still get it up were either hiding themselves or diving into the pool. We swam for about a half-hour, enjoying the refreshing water. I got out to dry off and put my leg back on and was helped by Lena. She just picked me up under her arm, giggling, and carried me to the chair where my leg was. She put me down gently and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips. She asked, "Does my sister take care of you like this? You should have me come up and stay with you guys. I could wait on you like that all the time." Bobby had come up behind her and said, "Right, you just want to help out. I'm sure you wouldn't want to see how this guy measures up, would you?" Lena was speaking softly so only Bobby could hear, and especially not her mom, "You know I don't have any experience, and Mom said that Chuck must be good since you're happy. She also told me what you told her about Chuck being the best you ever had. Wouldn't you share that with your sister?" Bobby had a sly grin, "Just watch yourself, young lady. That stuff can hurt you as much as it feels good. You have to protect yourself." "Mom already taught me all about that stuff. I have an IUD and have started on the pill. I'll take the thing out of me when I've been on the pill for a couple of months." "Just don't be doing something like that in front of Mom or your sister. Chuck's mine and they may not understand." Lena stuck a fork in the conversation, "Millie already said I could try out Jonah if she got to watch." I guess the sisters had something in common, other than size. We walked en masse to the porch bar. There, we all ordered our favorite drinks, which in my case, was a martini. The women all ordered some fruity drinks and the two younger sisters had Cokes. Tom, Zena, and Shannon had come along with us. The bartender out on the porch was little Joanie who ran out and climbed up Bobbie, and looked around saying, "Wow, it's Bobby times five. This is awesome. She gave the one's she knew hugs, and was happy to meet the rest of Bobby's family." We were on the porch when Lena and Tina hollered at a car that went by. They took off running. Maxine said, "That was the boys with the twins. I hope you don't embarrass easily, Chuck. The twins are going to be wild. They are such exhibitionists and teases with clothes on, I won't doubt anything I hear they do out here." I was sitting at a table on a big bench, with Bobby on one side and Maxine on the other. They were sitting very close, so when I leaned back and both turned toward me, I was lost in a mass of mammary flesh that was totally amazing. Tom had noticed and said, "You could sell tickets for that ride. How nice being lost in there must be." Ted was laughing at the joke and at how I must have looked being covered with my girlfriend's and her mother's, his wife's, tits. "It's something you'll never get used to, Chuck. Sometimes I don't know whether they just tease you or if they just forget how big they are. Anyway you look at it, it is a treat though." In an effort to remove a massive breast from my face, Maxine managed to pop a nipple into my wide open mouth. I instinctively gave it a healthy suck which made Maxine groan, and me grow. Oops, I didn't mean to do that, at least I don't think I did, anyway. Bobby noticed I was getting large under the table and wrapped her big hand around me. She softly said in my ear, "Easy Chuck, don't try to do mom in front of dad and everybody." That made me turn scarlet, I'm sure. The next event had my head swimming. Another large hand pushed Bobby's away and encircled my very hard dick and gently gave it several strokes. Maxine said into my other ear, "You like to suck on my nipples, huh? I love to suck on things too." She let go of me at the right time or I would have sprayed enough cum around the room to sperm wash the walls. The other problem was that when either of these mammoth babes leaned to say something into my ear, I got a face full of breast, with an engorged nipple darn near in the mouth. By the time I had my senses back and ordered another drink from Joanie, the darling round twins came bouncing up to the porch with short and slim Donny, and huge Henry following. Binky and Twinky went around the room, hugging everyone and had to go behind me to give me a hug and kiss on the cheek. More titties in the face, but definitely smaller nipples. The two couples were introduced to Tom, Zena, and Shannon when Tom asked, "How in the world do you know you're with the right twin? There doesn't seem to be anything different about them." Henry, in his very dry sense of humor, said, "You don't, you just grab the first one that's available. Donny and I have never been able to tell them apart, so we're never sure whether we're with our wife or our brother's wife. They think it's funny, we think it's convenient." Brenda and Tabatha each whacked a guy on the arm. Little Donny said, "I thought we should take them to a tattoo parlor and have either or both Binky and Twinky tattooed on their beautiful butts. That way we would know who's who. The girls have resisted as they say their variety is what makes life fun." Maxine said softly "For once, those two are telling it like it is with the twins." It was decided that tonight was going to be dinner in the naturist park side dining room. We asked for tables when they opened up and were shortly seated. Tom, Zena, and Shannon had headed back to their place. We promised to stop by later. The restaurant waitresses had pushed a bunch of tables together for us. When we were seated, I was between Wanda and Marie, while Bobbie and Millie were bordering their dad. The plan was to bankrupt the restaurant with their all you can eat Italian buffet special. Ted ordered wine in a strange manner. He told the waitress, "Keep bringing bottles until we're either full or all your food is gone." I did my usual and had a big salad first. After that, I got samples of everything and sat back down to enjoy the food. The family should have ordered wheelbarrows the way they eat. Each of them took an entire plate of lasagna, and went back for an entire plate filled to the rim of spaghetti and meatballs. After that, they went for a big plate full of calzones. They just kept eating and eating and eating. I was used to the vast quantity that Bobby could consume, but Henry was devastating. While we were eating, Binky said, and I can only assume it was Binky, "You can see why I spend so much time in the kitchen every day. It takes all day to cook enough for Henry's supper." Twinky added, "You would think my little twerp wouldn't eat as much, but he eats more than Henry. He does it with mirrors or something. It has to be a trick." We left the waitresses a nice tip and took a walk around the park. The lake was beautiful, with some canoes still floating around in the shallows, where people were fishing. We looked over the rec center and ended up playing some pool, while some of the others played ping pong. Lena and Tina made friends with some older teens; they were laughing and having a great time with them. Maxine and Ted were content to have their family around them with their daughters-in-law, Jonah, and me to share this new experience with. Maxine was telling me, "When we were with the road show in Europe, we used to take the kids to the nude beaches all the time. They all loved it. When we first bought our house in Sarasota, they used to have a nude beach out on Lido Island, but they've banned nudity now. We could have gone to one of the naturist parks down there, but we never did find one we wanted to go to. When Bobby and Millie began talking about this one, we wanted to come along and it is especially good for Lena and Tina." In time, we migrated back up the hill to where the cabins are. As we passed the front porch of Tom's and Zena's cabin, Tom hollered out, "Come up to see Zena's and my moms and dads. They'll love all you folks." We crowded onto the porch and greeted the lovely Loraine and Zora. Lee and Mark were equally astounded by the huge beauty of Bobby, Millie, and Maxine. Ted even joked that Lee and Mark were missing the young stuff. The two young ones were still down at the recreation building. Maxine said, "Those two won't be as tall as Bobby or Michelle. They'll be short like Millie. Millie's only six foot five, I think. Bobby is like me, a little over six foot seven, and Michelle is the tallest at a little over six foot eight." Lee and Mark were trying to stand behind a couch to hide their surprising interest in the big ladies. There is just so much woman that a guy has to get excited. That and you feel the pure wanton female aura around them, especially when they are all together. Tom was having a great time hanging around Bobby. She was extremely friendly, as she had him under her arm constantly. Soon Hank and Donny said, "We need to take our lovelies back to the cabin. We have to go to work tomorrow. Dad can stay here, but we need to be there for our customers. We're leaving our wives here to disrupt the rest of the world, but we have to work. We'll see you all tomorrow evening." Ted said to the couples as they left, "So you boys are going to leave the teasing twins in my clutches all day tomorrow?" Donny said, "We know you'll warm them up for us, Dad." All had a good laugh at the family banter. Jan and Marie were in a deep conversation with Shannon, Betsy, and Maggie. They were planning something, but who knew what. Maxine and Ted said they were going to wander down to the rec building to remind the girls where they were sleeping tonight. Lee, Mark, Loraine, and Zora wanted to go with them, so the six wandered down that way. Zena said, "Bet they end up in the hot tub. Mom loves to be in there in the evening." Millie and Bobby now had Tom between them, teasing him like Maxine and Bobby had teased me before. While they were having fun with Tom, Zena, Wanda, and I decided to make some margaritas. They had the makings and the mixer, so we quickly made up a bunch. When we brought the drinks back, Jonah was on one side of Bobby, while Millie was on the other side of Tommy. Jan, Marie, and Maggie had disappeared, but Shannon was patting the couch cushion next to her, where she wanted Zena, Wanda, and me to sit. The sight of watching Jonah get aroused over Bobby, while Millie was doing everything but fucking Tommy, had me blooming. Zena took hold of me, as did Shannon. Shannon said, "Oh Zena, a fat one, not as long as Tommy's, but really fat. What do you think? Do you think Tommy will do either of them?" Zena said, "He's been horny lately, so he may do both of them, then look around for some others. You better watch out, Wanda, you are his size. You're like Shannon and me, so he will be lusting after your pretty body. I think he's fascinated by all the women that are surrounding him right now though." Shannon leaned over and kissed my lips, but kept right on going, leaning to take the head of my dick into her mouth. She rose up, smacking her lips, and kissed me, asking, "You don't mind that I did that do you?" Zena was chuckling and told me, "Tommy and I rarely play with others any more, and that goes for Shannon as well. You folks are just so sensual and unusual that you have us tilted or something." When Shannon repeated her head into the lap thing again, I looked up to see Bobby grinning at me. While Jonah was sucking on one of her big breasts, she mouthed to me, "I want to watch, do it for me, do all of them." Zena saw Bobby mouth that to me and whispered in my ear, "I want that big fat dick in my pussy. I want Bobby to see it slide into me slowly so she can see me suck it way up inside me. I want Tommy to watch me while he plunders that big woman of yours. He'll be so hot, he'll go up in flames." She grinned at Bobby, then straddled me, facing away, fitted me into her, and slowly slid down onto me. Bobby's eyes got big and round and I'd swear she began coming while watching. Shannon got down on the floor and began sucking on Zena's clit while she rode me. That's all it took for Zena to go over the top. Shannon kept sucking while Zena kept riding. Zena's pussy convulsing on me, giving me wonderful feelings. Wanda had snuggled up to my side and put her arm around me. She would kiss me, and then lean in front of Zena to kiss and suck an available nipple. The wanton nature of everything happening at once was overpowering. Zena fell over saying, "No more right now, please, I need a little break." Shannon gave me some kisses and asked, "May I now? May I ride that fat fucker?" When Shannon sat on me, also facing away, Bobby couldn't stand it any more and she turned, crawled to us, and buried her face in Shannon's and my junction. I was turned on because I was actually joined with the attractive redhead, but the feel good of the night was Bobby sucking on Shannon and me as Shannon rode up and down. Wanda was lovingly petting Bobby's head as she nursed on one of Shannon's nipples or came back to gently kiss me. Jonah had followed Bobby who had left a satiated Tommy and was behind her driving into her with thrust after thrust, as behind him, Millie was being pounded by a reinvigorated Tom, stimulated by the large sensual women. This was a very crazy and exciting scene. I could feel myself coming close, so I whispered into Shannon's ear, "I can't hold it, I'm going to come, I'm going to come." Shannon turned her head to kiss me, still holding my hand to her small breasts, while riding up and down on me and being pleasured by Bobby. What happened was the only thing that could happen. The three men all came, ejaculated, shot, spunked, unloaded, or any other way you would like to describe it. We juiced. As Bobby was cleaning her up thoroughly, Shannon said to me, "That was very nice. I like the way you feel in me. That was a nice ride." Zena went down and brought Bobby's head up to kiss her and lick her sperm covered face. She said softly, "You and Chuck are so sensual, we really enjoy you." Wanda who had been thoroughly neglected, came and sat beside me, kissed me, and said, "May I get this back up so I can have some now?" She was holding me, gently stroking me, keeping me firm. From my lips, she kissed my chest, my stomach, then softly sucked me up into her mouth. In no time at all, I was hard as a rock. Wanda lay back on the couch and pulled my face into her pussy. I feasted there until her stomach was quivering and her breath came in gasps. When she was about to pass out, I moved up and slid into her, giving her long slow strokes that set her off quickly. It took Wanda and me several minutes to quench our thirst for each other. Jonah was sprawled back, totally done in by Bobby. Millie, now finished with Tom, was nursing on Jonah's weakened horn. Bobby crawled up to kiss me and Wanda as I continued thrusting. She said to both of us, "You two are so exciting to watch. It makes me just cream and cream for you to do that in front of me, for me to see. I love it." When Wanda and I had reached our smiling satisfaction, Tommy served everyone a cold beer, saying, "That was really unexpected. I'm really surprised to have had two big babes this way, and get to watch my two ladies be ravished by someone who enjoys their sensual nature as much as I do. And you, Wanda, I want to experience you very soon. I think it would be fun for you to join Zena, Shannon, and me in some playtime." Wanda smiled demurely as she brought remnants of our bout to her mouth to suck from her fingers. Jonah said, "How about us finding a bed. I think I'm just about done for tonight." Bobby asked, "Should we hunt up Marie and Jan?" Zena disappeared and came back to have Bobby come with her. Bobby came back and said, "Let's leave them here, I think Marie is finding out a little more about herself." We kissed all around and headed to the cabin way in the back of the bed and breakfast building, promising to get together in the morning. In our cabin, Millie pulled out a bottle of good scotch and poured five glasses half full over ice. We ended up on the couch, with Millie on my right, Wanda on my left next to Jonah, and Bobby on the other side of him. While we sipped, Millie's hand idly played with my dick. I noticed that Wanda and Bobby were doing the same with Jonah. Occasionally, Wanda would change hands to drink with her other hand, and join Millie in stroking me with her other. We ended up in another coupling. Jonah thoroughly banged Wanda, while I did my best to stretch Millie out of shape, followed by having Bobby on her hands and knees while she sucked on Wanda's pussy and Millie sucked on Jonah's dick. When we were done this time, we were done. All of us had silly grins on our faces. Millie said, "God, I've wanted us to do that for so long. Wanda, you just made it that much better. I've wanted to watch Jonah be buried in Bobby again so bad. It makes me feel like we're family again. I have Chuck's stuff running down my leg, and feel like he made me big enough to drive a truck in there. This is the way it's supposed to be. Kinky, isn't it?" It was kinky. We separated, with Bobby and Wanda joining me in bed. A head on each shoulder, sweet kisses from both sides, and the soft "I love you coming from both sides." From both sides? Wanda's supposed to be teasing right? All this sex is driving us nuts. It sure is good though. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 23 I woke early, snuggled between my big babe and a slim slinky woman. When Bobby is snuggled to your back, she seems to encompass you, surrounding you with her large arms, and often with a leg thrown over you so you can't get away. (That's what it seems like anyway.) My mind wandered, thinking of all the teasing, and what seemed to me to be an all out orgy last night. I had actually been together with the beautiful intriguing redhead, Shannon, the classic Zena, and, oh my, another big babe, Millie, Bobby's sister. I know Bobby seems to enjoy seeing me with others, but her sister? That's kinky. Her family teases so much that I was now wondering if any of it means anything. Maxine is such a big breathtaking beauty, with mature softness that comes with being a mother. Does her teasing mean anything? That would be over the top. I shouldn't think of Bobby's mother that way. Ted is such a great guy; it would suck to do something that would make him feel bad. The same goes for the two young sisters. Whether they have experience or not, they are just too young to be involved in this orgy stuff. I'm having enough trouble being involved in it. Millie must be as bad as Bobby, wanting to see Jonah doing Bobby. They're both voyeurs, or whatever they would be called, to enjoy watching your mate fool around with someone else. It was more than just watching Bobby, because she was playing with herself while watching Jonah with Wanda. Wow, we did a lot last night. It happened so fast. The whole bunch must have been primed, as one second we were laughing and joking, and the next Bobby and Millie were attacking Tom. Jonah couldn't stand it and the sight of Millie playing with Tom had him attacking Bobby. I shivered thinking of the wantonness of the couplings. My lower extremity was expanding, so I lifted arms and legs off me and slid from bed. The bathroom was calling and a cup of coffee had my name on it, I just had to find it. After peeing and washing up a little, I put my leg on and stepped out onto the porch. The morning was beautiful. Less than a football field away was across lush grass was the bed and breakfast building. Bobby said she had signed us up so we could eat there if we wanted, or go eat up on the porch of Parks Place. I thought of the building, smiling. The front, the public side was Park Place and inside the fence it was named after Tom, Park's Place. I guess it was sort of an inside joke to the people within the park. I wondered if cafeteria of the bed and breakfast was open and had coffee ready there yet. I was going to hunt up a pair of shorts, but remembered, this was a nudist park, people didn't wear clothes. That's not entirely true. I saw some women with bottoms or shorts on yesterday, one lady was in a dress, and several guys wore shorts. Funny, none of them looked out of place. I kind of liked that. I liked the idea that no one, really, did a double take of my fake leg. They just accepted it and me naturally. After finding my sandals, I walked to the front of the bed and breakfast and saw several people and families having breakfast. I walked in and signed in under the Roberta Smith party. I was pouring coffee when Maxine called to me, "Come sit over here, Chuck." Ted and Maxine were eating breakfast together, so I took my coffee and a glass of orange juice over to their table. Ted said, "I hope you all had as much fun as we did last night. We ended up going to Lee's and Loraine's house with Mark and Zora, and another black couple who are neighbors. These people are wild and crazy. Maxine and I haven't done things like that since our days in the circus and carnivals." Maxine was smiling and said, "You should have seen this guy. He may be short but he can keep up with those other guys. I think he did all of them, all of us women that is." Maxine must have seen my shock and embarrassment, as she reached across and took my hand. "Chuck, don't think ill of us. We're just regular people with a wild streak. This place just seems to turn us loose, to free us of some of the stiff attitudes we've lived around for so many years. I really like you, Chuck, and I know how much Bobby thinks of you. Ted and I are just a little crazy, not totally, just a little. Please, understand we're just a loving couple that may be a little nutty." In a low voice to keep our conversation private, Ted said, "Maxine is a little strange, Chuck. She likes to watch me with others. Like she said, we haven't done this since our traveling days, so she was a little overly excited by everything. The other couples are so nice, so sexy, that it was very inviting." I nodded to both of them, "I can't say anything about what you do, not with living with the four ladies I do, and for what all happened last night. Maxine, your two daughters are just like you, they're voyeurs too." Maxine blushed, and on a six foot seven babe, that's a big blush, "I know, the girls tell me everything. I know how you are with all of your harem, Chuck. Ted thinks you're nuts, but Bobby seems to enjoy herself. You've done wonders with her. Unless you watch out, you may end up with a king-sized wife." I was almost laughing, so I had to share my thoughts. "It's as if I went through the dating drive-through and said, "Super-size me," and out came Bobby." Ted grinned, "Having a woman the size they are is really something, isn't it? They love you as big as they are too. I'm sure you get more attention than any of your buddies with skinny women." "It's kind of funny. I've never had any preconceived ideas about women. In reality I like them all, tall, short, big, little, and even black and white." Maxine said, "Ted's like that. He was nuts over the Williamson woman last night. Of course, he was nuts over the willowy Loraine and the sexy Zora, too." Ted seemed to sum it up, "I'm glad you're not upset about us being a little wild. Don't talk about it, the girls will do that among themselves. They share everything, and I mean everything. Even the twins now come to Maxine for everything a woman needs to know." Maxine added, "Speaking of the twins, the boys had breakfast and were gone by six thirty. Donny was bitching because he said the girls were switching again last night." Ted said, "The boys told me they know how to tell them apart in bed. Binky giggles when you make her come and Twinky groans loud. I think they should identify them and tattoo them so they couldn't play tricks as much." "Oh come on, Ted," Maxine said. "The boys are lucky to have those two. The girls love both boys so much it's ridiculous. They just like to make them happy. Of course, all the switching around makes them happy too, but I think it's the boys' happiness that is most important to them." "I think I'll go see if I can get the girls up for breakfast. I'd like to see if I can get Bobby in one of those canoes. I'm not sure it'll hold her, but we could find out." "That's a great idea, Chuck," Ted said, hugging Maxine. "Let's go down to the lake and see if we can try a canoe. We've done it before." They took their dishes to the empty plate tubs while I refilled my cup and filled four more for the others in the cabin. The people at the counter had a carrier to use for a bunch of cups. I walked into the cabin and found an unusual scene. Millie was on her knees in front of Jonah, slurping away. From the look on Jonah's face, he was close to giving up what Millie was sucking for. Standing very still, I watched a very skillful lady bring her man to orgasm. As Jonah was in the midst of his pleasure, Millie had picked him up and was holding him in her mouth, draining him. When she put Jonah down and let him slide from her mouth, she knelt up and gave him a gentle kiss, then sat back on her heels. "There, Lover, I know you're mine this morning. I have your first of the day. I love you, Jonah, thank you for giving me so much." Jonah leaned forward and the two kissed again. Without ever looking at me Jonah said, "Now, Chuck, we could use some of that coffee I smell." Millie was smiling and asked, "May I help you out this morning? I just love to do that first thing, or would I be stealing from Bobby?" I handed out coffee and smiled, "I'm fine, Millie, but thank you for offering." "You should have let her, she says Jonah has her rated as the best head in Tampa," Bobby's voice said from the bedroom door. I held up coffee for her and the smiling Wanda behind her. They came out, and both gave me kisses that tasted like pussy. When I looked at them with a questioning expression, Wanda rolled her eyes and said, "It's in the water out here. It just makes us all crazy." Bobby said, "I'm starved. Let's go get something to eat. How about you, Millie?" "That's why I asked Chuck. I thought another mouthful would help my hunger pangs. It's either go get breakfast or work on Jonah for more." "Oh no," cried Jonah, "We're goin' for breakfast." Bobby said, "Let Wanda and me walk through the shower real quick and we'll be gone. Come on, Chuck, you need to rinse the sleep off you too." All five of us took quick showers, with only me getting my hair wet. The others all had long hair. While we were at breakfast, Joanie came out and said, "You guys left me a present in bed last night. Your two are still sleeping in there. Should I wake them? When I came in and found them, I decided that they should be my toys for a while, so I wore them out all over again." Joanie is just so tiny, so cute, sticking her chest out to show off her store bought tits. She is a darling and reminds you of one of those little models that sit on top of a wedding cake. She's just perfectly Barbie doll shaped now. Since she is blonde, with no pubic hair, she looks even more like a little doll. Put her sitting on Bobby's knee, and you have the perfect picture of a choice of flavors, or I should say sizes. I told Bobby and Wanda my thoughts about the canoe adventure. Bobby said, "I hate canoes. I'll go, but every time I've been in one, I've tipped over. Take Wanda, she might like canoes. I saw they had one of those pontoon boats. I might go out on the lake on that." Millie told Jonah she would try, but didn't think it was a good idea. Bobby said, "I want to slather up with a bunch of tanning lotion and lay idly in the sun. I want my buns to be brown by tomorrow, so let me be." "I second that motion, Bobby, that's exactly what I need. Come on, Jonah, you need to get your lily-white body some color. Come help Bobby and me get oiled up." Those three headed toward the cabin for lotion and Wanda and I walked down to the dock area. When I asked about a canoe, a teen helped pull one from a rack so we could set it in the water. He gave us two paddles and said, "The lake is deep all the way around, but has some rocky areas over where the stream comes in. There are two springs that empty into the lake as well, so you will see a current from the stream across to where the natural dam is. Too bad you don't have the gear. The fishing is really good lately." Wanda had experience in canoes, so we were quickly able to coordinate our paddling and swiftly overtook a canoe that had a large woman in it. Maxine was all smiles, sitting up front in the canoe, while Ted was happily paddling his love along. "Bobby wouldn't come out, would she?" Maxine asked. "She's always been put off by small boats. Ted's taken me out in canoes lots of times. These are better than those square little boats that want to sink with me in it. We'll see you all later. We're headed for that little island with the big oak." Wanda and I wanted to see the stream that emptied into the lake, and we wanted to see the natural dam that let the water out. We ended up going almost completely around the lake, looking at everything. It was almost lunch time when we pulled up to the dock and turned in the boat and paddles. We checked the pool and no one was there, so we walked up the hill toward the cabins. As we went by, Shannon came out the back door and hollered, "They're in here, come have a beer and some lunch." We walked into a full house. Tom and Zena were entertaining today. They had both of their moms and dads, plus our entire group, minus the two boys who were at work. The twins were a little pink from the sun, but said they wanted more and would use more lotion next time. The two young sisters were talking with Jan, Marie, Joanie, and Betsy about the boys they had met the evening before. Lee and Mark were still gawking at all the large women in one place. Bobby, Shannon, Zena, and Millie were having a conversation with Zora, while Wanda and Loraine seemed to hit it off. Tom and I were joking about how the women seemed to bunch up and plan things for us. He said, "It's never good to see them with their heads together like that. You just know they're going to surprise the hell out of you with some new adventure. Considering how crazy my household has been lately, I couldn't even begin to figure what's up." It took two beers and a couple of sandwiches before everyone wanted to go to the recreation center for a poker tournament they were having. I asked, "We're out at a naturist park where it's supposed to be sort of for sun worshippers and you guys want to go inside to play poker in the afternoon?" "It is strange, isn't it?" Ted said. "I think Maxine and I might take a little nap. The girls are going to play volleyball with a bunch of kids, and the twins are going to burn themselves a little more, so you're on your own, Chuck." Tom said, "Come with me, I want to check out the porch this afternoon. I think they are cooking some of Georgia's new calzones and I definitely want to try them." I didn't know who Georgia was, but I walked with Tom to Park's Place. Joanie and Betsy had also come up to take part in the calzone tasting. The two said, "We're not poker players, and it's kind of tough to play strip poker out here." That got a laugh from a lot of people. Tom introduced me to several young couples there. I bought the beer, and found out how it's done when you don't have pockets. You run a tab that's put into a single tab for an entire group. We had a couple of more beers and delicious Italian spiced sausage and cheese calzones that were served with a bowl of spaghetti sauce to dip them in. They were delicious. I met the creator, who came out to give Tom a very sexy kiss, although she was fully dressed in a shift with a cook's apron over it. She announced that next week she would try the calzones with the sauce inside instead of dipping, so we were invited for a second tasting then. Tom and I wandered back toward the rec building, with Joanie and Betsy tagging along. Inside, people were making a lot of noise as the tournament was apparently getting down to the last few players. There was Bobby, Millie, Jonah, Zena, and Shannon playing against each other to see who the winner was. Tom said, "Zena and Shannon are both really cutthroat players. Your ladies must be good because not many hold up to them." It didn't take but a couple of more hands and Jonah was gone. The next to lose was Shannon then it was a showdown between Zena and Millie. Zena lost. The final two were the sisters. Bobby didn't even look at her cards and shoved her chips out. Millie looked at her cards and said, "Read 'em and weep, Sis." Millie had thrown a pair of Aces down. She wanted Bobby to show her cards, but Bobby said, "After the flop." The flop of three cards in the Texas Hold 'em hand showed two queens and an Ace. Millie whooped it up and said, "Throw in the towel, Baby Bobby, you're done." Bobby flipped her cards over to show a pair of queens. That meant Bobby had a full set of Queens and Millie had three Aces with two cards to go. There was enough noise in the building that attracted even more people to come in to see what was happening. Get the picture, two big babes, two really big babes, both about six foot seven. Bobby about three fifty, and Millie closer to a soft four hundred pounds, were standing, hovering over a card table waiting for two more cards. The next card was a two of spades and meant nothing. The dealer was intentionally slow turning the last card over. She flipped it over to show a king of diamonds. Bobby just said, "It's only fitting that a full set of queens would win this tournament." There was a lot of clapping and hollering, with an exodus out the door, all heading toward the porch at Park's Place. Bobby received a handmade leather bracelet and a certificate for dinner for two at Park's Place, a very decent prize. Zena and Shannon were all over Bobby, congratulating her for the win. Millie said, "You're always so damn lucky when we play cards. I don't know how you do it. I can beat you at Monopoly any time, but never at cards." The two big girls were hugging each other as we walked up the grade toward the cabins. As we were passing Tom's and Zena's cabin, they hollered at us to come in for a celebration drink. This cabin was obviously the hub of the two families and their close friends, as in minutes the place was packed with people. The kitchen, living room, and front porch were all overflowing. I enjoyed watching how everyone was interacting. Gerald and June were there, along with a cute set of twins, Tina and Terry. Their husbands Jim and Jack respectively, were probably treated similar to Donny and Henry. There were three other couples that I was introduced to, but had a tough time keeping all of their names straight. Gerald was sitting with me on the porch, when he said, "Would you and your wife like to come to our party tonight. I think one of the girls with you, Marie, has convinced June and Penny that she should be invited. She sure is eager." I smiled, "Marie is barely of age, but is getting a heavy education in interpersonal relationships real fast. I'll bet she wants Jan included in your group." "I'm sure it will be fine if they come, but how about you and your wife. I'm dying to check out your big, tall, wife. She is about as delicious as a lady can get. And her sister, Millie, is also a treat, along with their Mom and those two darling monster little sisters of theirs. Given a choice, I would still want to get to know Bobby a lot better." This was difficult to consider as I thought we might just relax tonight and just enjoy each other. "Um, Bobby and I aren't married. We're still in the talking stages." "You better lock that babe up, because she is just too much woman to let loose. What about the other lady that's with you, the one that's a little older and has such a regal posture? She has such a warm face that she is fascinating too." "I don't know, Gerald, we'll have to ask her if she wants to visit and play with your group." Wanda came out to the porch, looked around and came to sit beside me on the lounger. "It's getting crowded in there. Tom's and Zena's parents and Tom's sister are here too. They just caught Bobby's mom and dad as they were walking by, so they are here also." Gerald leaned across me, "Wanda, I'm Gerald. Tom said he couldn't answer for you, but several couples that are here now, along with June and me, are having a little adult party this evening. We usually require those that attend be tested, but I think because of the closed nature of your relationships, you all could be exempted. Your young friend, Marie, and your other friend, Jan, are coming. I know I would really enjoy you coming to party with us tonight." "Oh my, is this the kind of party I think it might be? A kind of, ah, let's see, a ah, swap the bitch party?" Wanda asked the question with such an innocent look on her face that both Gerald and I broke up laughing. "I guess that describes it in a rather crude way, Wanda. I think June refers to our parties as the perfect neighborhood mixers." Wanda didn't even hesitate, "This has been such a weekend of firsts that I just have to say yes, include me, and save some of yourself for me. I must be going into heat or something, as I don't seem to be able to get enough." She turned to me and asked, "You've asked Bobby if she wants to go, haven't you?" When I hesitated to answer, Wanda was off the lounger rushing into the melee of people inside. She came back, dragging Bobby and Millie. She brought them in front of Gerald and me before instructing Gerald, "Ask them now, see what they want to do." Gerald asked the two big ladies the same question, in the same way that he had asked Wanda. The situation was hopeless, as their faces both lit up with a look of lust and Millie saying, "Oh yeah, Jonah and I will be there. I can tell you my Jonah will really enjoy himself. I'll help him." Bobby came over to me and whispered in my ear, "Can we, will you be alright with us doing that? I really would like to go." Bobby had reached down and with one hand was trying to stroke my dick as her other hand was cupping one of Wanda's nice breasts. Wanda had to tell her, "Wait till later, Bobby, I'm sure we'll have a good time." "I'm so hot right now, thinking about what this could be like, that I could sure use some loving to help me wait for later. How about taking me home, Baby, and do me real good?" Bobby asked as she was shivering with excitement. Zena came out and went over to Gerald, "Have you been inviting everyone like June's doing? She has most everyone inside ready to start the party right now. Good thing our folks are doing something or they would be there as well. Bobby's mom and dad are going to Lee's and Loraine's. The only people who won't have been invited is Henry, Donny, and the twins." Millie said, "The twins will want to come but will have to convince the boys. They may not be as open minded about this." Bobby was still looking at me expectantly, "Please?" I said hesitantly, "Okay, this could be a real experience, couldn't it?" As time passed, the whole bunch of us migrated to Park's Place to eat out on the porch where we continued drinking. When we were finishing up, Kerry and Penny made sure we would come with Zena, Tom, and Shannon. The consensus was that we would go clean up and meet to walk to the party house. The brothers had shown up, and the twins who had been advised of the party, were busily convincing their husbands that going to the party would have many long-term benefits. After showering in the cabin, Marie, Jan, Wanda, Bobby, and Millie seemed to be a little anxious about our pending introduction into group groping the same as I was. Marie was very excited, pointing out that the girls were better prepared for a party like this as they could play with either sex, while the guys were pretty much locked in to heterosexual activities. Jonah announced, "Just so my lovely wife knows, I do not need to go to this event. I can even let her go without me if she needs to experiment. Millie, my Love, you are all I need or even want." Millie kissed him sweetly and said, "But I do want to see you try to fuck every woman there. You know how that turns me on. I think I get off more on that than anything." Bobby smiled at me, "Chuck knows I'm the same way, Millie. I think he goes along with me just to please me. I love him to pieces for it too." As our group walked out of the cabin, Donny and Henry were walking out of their cabin with the twins. The round ladies had rosy cheeks from being excited and were almost skipping, trying to contain themselves. Tom came from his cabin with Gerald, followed immediately by June, Zena, Shannon, Joanie, Maggie, and Betsy. Gerald said, "We have far too many women here. You girls need to start bringing some help for us men." Maggie and Betsy said, "Our guys are both working this weekend and can't be here, maybe next weekend." As we walked into Kerry's and Penny's beautiful home, we were re-introduced to the couples, and of course, Donny and Henry were meeting the people for the first time. There were huge pitchers of mojitos, complete with a big dish of mint leaves. Drinks were passed around and good conversation began to flourish. Bobby was congratulated again for her big win at the poker tournament. Some of the men had gathered around Bobby and Millie, fascinated by so much good-looking women in one place. Individually these two are awesome, but together they are near intimidating. Guys being guys, they were becoming aggressive, and of course the two women were warming up to the attention. Henry was getting as much attention from some of the women. At first, the two big twins were a little miffed that they weren't being mooned over like the two big girls, until Jack and Jim spirited them into a corner to be played with by a couple of guys married to twins. Funny though, as Tina and Terry seemed to separate Donny and Henry from the crowd and had them near Jim and Jack. Tom and I were sitting, drinking mojitos, and watching the fun. He said, "Our women have been captured by all these men. Of course, it seems several of the women appear to be enjoying each other." June came over and sat between Tom and me, saying, "My man sure went after your Wanda fast. She's got him worked up pretty good. Your little Marie is diving into the fun just like Joanie does. In this case, she has Joanie to egg her on. Fun to watch though, isn't it?" Tom pulled June to him and kissed her as if they had been kissing for years and years. She pulled from him smiling, then kissed me just as nicely, but not with the personal passion she had with Tom. She said to Tom, "Could you do me like you do Zena while I sit on this new toy?" We made up a trio and were enjoying each other, when Bobby and Zena came over. Zena was kissing Tom and Bobby was kissing me. She said, "You and Tom with June are so sexy looking. I wonder how that would feel?" Zena said, "It is heavenly, but you might want Gerald to break you in back there first. These two are too big to try out your back door." Without belaboring the events, the party continued until just Tom and I were able to continue. He seemed to have the same ability to maintain and continue to enjoy the ladies. That is that we can come a lot, but with continued stimulation, we can also keep right on fucking. Our hard dicks made us envied by the guys who were just plain done. When a worn out Bobby and Millie were finally put to bed, Jonah and I were in the kitchen with Wanda and Jan. Little Marie was on the pull-out couch, spread out, a totally satisfied sexual being. As we sipped some of the Black Label Jonah had brought, Wanda said, "That was really amazing. I think I had them all at least once, and was working my way around the second time." "All those women enjoy women, and just about the time you get an itchy pussy, a man with a hard dick appears and satisfies you. Tonight was special as I had as many women as I could possibly want and as many men. I think I could enjoy just being one man's lady, but the man is taken." She hopped up and gave me a kiss. Jonah was smiling, "I know Millie is a very sexual being, but she was off the wall tonight. She was so into all those men, and every time I even looked at another woman, she was getting off on it. I wonder why she likes to see me with someone else?" I had to add my two cents worth, "Personally, I think having two sets of twins was really fun. One set slim and athletic, and the other round and full of life. When Bobby was watching me with Binky and Twinky, did you see what she did to Henry? Henry was just as fascinated as Bobby was. While they watched, Bobby stroked him and he came all over them both. Donny had June on her hands and knees so he could watch at the same time. That was some party." Jan stretched and said, "I think I'm going to suck on one last well-used pussy and go to sleep. Marie is stretched out ready for me. I'll use her to relax with." Jonah said to Wanda, "Want to join Millie and me in our bed? You might get a little tonight and more in the morning, if you do." Wanda kissed me and headed for the bedroom where Millie was asleep. I slid into bed and snuggled up with Bobby. She spun around and hugged me to her. Her eyes were a little watery, so I asked, "What's the matter, Honey?" "I'm just happy. You'll do anything at all for me, won't you? I know you didn't necessarily want to go tonight, but I think you had fun, didn't you?" "I had a lot of fun. I think I had the most fun watching how excited you got several times." "Wasn't that nasty? I jacked off my brother. I almost gave him a blowjob. I think if we were to do this much, I'd fuck both of them. Little Donny isn't so little, is he? He's bigger than Henry by a bunch. He's so long. You're fatter, but his thing is as long as Gerald's, but thicker. Like I said, If we do this much, I'll be fucking both of them. Did you see Millie? She almost did Henry with Binky hanging all over her, then she played with Donny with Twinky doing all sorts of nasty things to both of them. Am I terrible to want that, too?" "No Love, you're not terrible. Tonight was very exciting, but something I don't think we want to do on a regular basis. Tom told me that Zena, Shannon, and he don't go to parties but once every two or three months. He says they are nice, but he's just as happy at home. I feel that way, too." "But you have the three girls at home, just like he has girls beside Zena." "You're right. But I don't need them, only you." "But I like the sexy stuff." "Then I guess we have to keep enjoying it." Bobby gave me some sweet kisses, pulling me onto her and cradling me within her thighs. "Think you can get it up one more time for me, Lover?" I pulled back and let myself be swallowed into her as she said, "Oh yeah, Lover, you feel so good. Now give me what's mine and let me soak in your love." We did do exactly that, and then I fell asleep between her legs, being hugged by my massive woman. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 24 Oh that feels good. Someone was loving me, bringing me near an orgasm. Bobby was still at my side sort of wrapped around me, so I put my hand down and petted a head. The lover pulled from me and came up my body to give me a kiss. As she slid onto me, she said, "After all that last night, I still need you. Love me Chuck, or rather, let me love you." Bobby woke next to us and said, "My goodness, Marie, you are a chatterbox this morning." "As soon as I get a good come, I'm coming after you Bobby." Soon Marie groaned and slid to the side to enjoy Bobby's massive size. I finally made it to the bathroom, shaved, and showered, then quickly tip toed past the satisfied snoozing girls hugging each other. Millie met me in the kitchen and hugged me, kissing me saying, "It's so nice to have you with Bobby. It's like you're a brother-in-law so we can be as crazy as we want to be." She was teasing me rubbing her mammoth breasts against me. I couldn't help it, I was hard. Millie was giving me a kiss while looking over my shoulder. "Uh oh, hubby caught us. Just look at him, I guess he likes what he sees. Come here, Honey, and give me some loving." Millie turned onto her stomach to lie on the table and said, "Fill me, Jonah, love your big wife." I was sitting in a chair, watching Jonah thump the massive Millie, when Wanda came to join me while Jonah and Millie performed in front of us. She asked while sitting on my lap, "Give you any ideas?" While hugging Wanda I said, "I think I'm ready for more with you but it would be more fun if it were at home and little more private." Wanda gave me a sweet kiss and left as if on a mission. Jonah and Millie had finished their wake up loving while being observed by the rest of the housemates when Wanda came in the door with a bag and a tray of coffee. "Whew, it smells like pure sex in here this morning. I think we need to feed our men well so we can have more of this." The bag was full of pastries that were instantly devoured. I suggested that we shower quickly and go to breakfast. I was starved and I figured the big girls were too. I waited for everyone to run through the shower quickly. I noticed that my wilted wanger was a little tender. I was thinking enough was enough. All this eroticism was nice, but almost too kinky for me. I thought I had passed some personal limits before, but now, who knows. As soon as we entered the big atrium to eat in the outdoor breakfast area, I knew some limits were still to be stretched. Ted and Maxine were sitting with the twins. They said that Donny and Henry were getting another forty winks since they had been awakened earlier and worn out by the twins. When I got my plate, Bobby was sitting with a space between her and her mother. If you want to feel dwarfed, sit between two giant, big, full, women who are both stronger than you. Bobby would lean over to me and give me a nuzzle, followed by Maxine doing the same on the other side. Maxine said quietly, "I heard you put on a real show last night with two sets of twins. They said you screwed them until they screamed then attacked poor Bobby for the third or fourth time. You must have taken your vitamins." Bobby described to her what had been going on this morning, saying, "He did us all at least once, but he did me twice and I think he did sis twice too. I'll bet he's still horny." Maxine's hand came into my lap and stroked me a couple of times, bringing me right up. Maxine teased, "I think I might want a to try a little of this. You should fix me up, Bobby." Bobby refilled my plate and got me some more coffee and milk. "You need your energy, Lover, you may not be done yet." I thought to myself that I was done and hopefully wouldn't get lost again in the craziness that surrounded everyone here but I said aloud, "I'm done, the prospect is exciting, but I'm done." Shannon came into the atrium and came up to us. She greeted everyone but then came to me and leaned over between Bobby and me and kissed me so well that my dick was trying to lift the table. "Thank you for last night, Chuck. You and Tommy made me feel so good. I think Zena's in love with the way you two were with her as well. You and your family are just so sexy." Shannon actually shivered as she said that. Shannon then announced, "I've come to invite all of you to our Sunday service down at the recreation building. To some of you a service might seem strange after last night's festivities, but we are naturists and we enjoy nature to its fullest. Please join us; you'll be enriched for it. Services will begin about nine thirty. Come with me now if you want." As I stood, everyone of our group stood and we left to follow Shannon to the recreation building. The morning was beautiful and chairs were spread outside with a small podium on a low platform in front. After we all sat, I noticed many were sitting on towels or blankets around the sides and in back. The service was nice. Everyone sang a few hymns that most everyone knew, then the speaker gave a very happy sermon, or talk, about how while we commune with nature, we remember our maker and all he has given us. The only collection was gifts for the park's fund to help families in need who lived within or who were members of the park. After a last song, services were over and like every church, people got up to mingle and chat. Many, many people came to greet us, as our group did stand out. They thought it wonderful that the family came as a group. Wood smoke began coming from some big cookers that were on the side of the rec building and I knew what they were for. There was going to be barbecue ribs and chicken. This was right up my alley, food. We passed by the pool, where we lost Lena and Tina. Henry and Donny wanted to swim as well, so the twins joined them in splashing and playing in the pool. I wanted more coffee, so I stopped in the bed and breakfast atrium to have some more. Bobby sat with me and asked, "Are you okay with everything? I didn't get too wild for you, did I?" "No, Babe, I guess I'm getting used to you and your family. They are a free spirited group." "Mom and Dad never did anything like that when we were growing up. If they did, we didn't know about it. Mom used to tell Michelle, Millie, and me about some of the wild and crazy things they used to do, but I didn't put it into the context that it could still be going on." I said to Bobby, "I know you're happy glad we could do all the things we've done. We might do more, but just not right now. You can decide what you think." Bobby hugged me, rearranging my ribs. We kissed so tenderly that it made goose bumps come out on our arms. Bobby said, "Wow, we both felt that one. Nice, huh?" In the cabin, the girls had straightened up and had laid out our clothes to go home in. Millie said, "I don't want to leave. Mom and dad don't want to, either. The boys can only be here today so let's stay till as late as we can. If we need to check out of the cabin, we can put our clothes in the cars." That's what we did. We cleaned out our stuff and put our clothes in the car so we could get at them. Bobby and Millie took off, but I wanted to walk one of the nature trails. I thought it would be interesting. Wanda and Jan went with me, and as we passed Tom's cabin, he and Shannon came out to join us. Our walk took us to the back of the property and skirted a tall chain link fence. Through part of it we could see some big buildings, and as we neared another area, Tom said, "This land here was left to me by my aunt. I think I'm either going to sell it in lots like where my cabin is, or I might just build some condominiums that people could own so they could come out as often as they want and only pay our annual park dues. I really like that idea best. If I priced them right, it would help a lot of people like you, Chuck, to have a place out here. But with your big family, you guys would be better served with a big cabin." I nodded and said, "I just bought a house. I don't think I'll be buying property and building a cabin soon." Tom disagreed, "You never know what kind of deal you can get until you get with the owner. It might be a lot closer to your reach than you think." Our walk ended at the perfect place, the porch at Park's Place. Joanie was working and she brought us a bowl of popcorn, along with some beer. Soon, our group began showing up until all of us were on the porch, including the two girls. Ted said, "This has been really nice. I think we should do it again this summer, but I'm bushed. I'm ready to drive home and relax before tomorrow." Henry and Donny agreed, while the twins were saying, "It's so nice to not have to wear clothes. People are so weird about heavy girls and it's hard to find clothes that make us look nice. Henry and Donny don't want us to, but Binky and I have started an exercise program so we can slim down a little. We're never going to be skinny, but we both want to be a little leaner." Twinky said, "Lean and mean." Henry said, "Don't lose too much. You know how Donny and I both enjoy some extra meat on the bones." We said goodbye to Tom, Shannon, and Zena, then walked to our cars. There were lots of kisses and hugs all around. I told all of them that Bobby and I would take care of any charges we had, as our treat. Then we watched as the boys and twins left. Ted, Maxine, and the girls left, followed by Millie and Jonah. The girls and I stopped at the gate office and paid our tab, then headed home. It felt funny to have clothes on. At home, we relaxed out on the patio, occasionally jumping into the pool. I downloaded my e-mail to find nothing important, and answered those that needed it. It was nice to go into the week without a crisis. Of course, John did say he had something for me that was important. The evening was just as relaxed. Marie went home to visit with her folks, saying she was going to stay there overnight. Jan said she was going to the P-club to see some friends. The three of us remaining at home were all consumed by reading in the living room with some good jazz playing. When it was time for bed, the three of us took a shower and made love together. That's about the only way to describe what occurred. We made love to each other, two on one, until we were content. There was no escaping the wet spots, so we just fell asleep in each other's arms. The perfect ending to a wild, but good, weekend. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- The following is how this chapter was originally written. This is included for those who enjoy the additional titillation: Chapter Twenty-four Not Revised Oh that feels good. Someone was sucking on me, bringing me near an orgasm. Bobby was still sort of wrapped around me, so I put my hand down and petted a head. The sucker pulled from me and came up my body to give me a kiss. As she slid onto me, she said, "After all that use last night, my pussy is itchy and needs some of you. Fuck me Chuck, or rather, let me fuck you." Marie was grinning down at me as she slid up and down. "This is so good. I wish I could have all those men line up for me again and just do me one after another over and over. That was so good. Oh," Marie grunted, "you feel so good, so fat the way you fill me so completely." Bobby woke and said, "My goodness, you are a chatterbox this morning, Marie." "As soon as I get a good come, I'm going to bury my face in your beautiful pussy, Bobby. I just love to eat you and make you come and come." Soon Marie groaned and slid to the side, to she crawl between Bobby's massive thighs and bury her face in her pussy. To help Bobby along, I got behind Marie and plugged her, thrusting hard and fast. Bobby was watching me, enjoying the view as well as the stimulation from Marie. Her groans were mixed with Marie's. When Marie laid to one side, I buried myself into Bobby and thumped her until she orgasmed hard. I finally made it to the bathroom, shaved, and showered, then quickly tip toed past the snoozing girls hugging each other. Millie met me in the kitchen and hugged me, kissing me saying, "It's so nice to have you with Bobby. It's like you're a brother-in-law so we can be as crazy as we want to be." She had been holding me to her mammoth breasts, stroking me. I couldn't help it, I was hard. Millie turned around and leaned over the kitchen table pulling my dick to her wet pussy, "Fuck me, Chuck, give me some family fun." It wasn't eight in the morning and I was in my third pussy of the day. I was just about to come in Millie's clutching pussy when she pulled free of me, sat on a chair, and pulled me into her mouth. She knew I was close and absolutely sucked my juices from me. When I was limp, she said, "That was what I needed and wanted." She gave me a spermy kiss and looked over my shoulder. "Uh oh, hubby caught us. Just look at him, I guess he liked what he saw. Come here, Honey, and give me some." Millie turned onto her stomach to lie on the table and said, "Fill me, Jonah, fill that thing up." I was sitting in a chair, watching Jonah thump the massive Millie, when Wanda came to kneel at my feet. She looked up at me and said, "Can I be your slave girl this morning? Can I suck you? I want to taste you and feel you inside me. Watch those two and you'll know what I want." Soon Wanda had me standing tall. She rose and lay next to Millie, but on her back. I filled her and stroked her slow, then faster, until it felt like my body turned inside out and flowed into Wanda. She exclaimed with a groan as Millie leaned over her, sucking a nipple into her mouth. Wanda tugged on my shoulders, wanting me to give her pussy just one more orgasm. She wasn't that messy. There was not much left for me to put in there. It was enough for her to happily come again from the thought I would do that for her. When I stood, Millie sucked me back into her mouth, gently nursing a renewed hardon. "Millie, stop for crying out loud. I'm done." Jan said from behind me, "Oh no, you're not. You have to do me, then you're done." Jan lay back on the table sticking her feet into the air as Wanda directed me into her. I did begin slowly, but it felt so good, plus watching Millie and Wanda feed on her small breasts had me churning. I was thumping away when big arms wrapped around me and Bobby's big breasts squeezed against my back. "Fuck her good, Lover. Don't come, because you have to do me one more time. I'm so hot. While you fuck this wanton little slut, my brother-in-law is buried in me, fucking me as hard as he can. My sister, his wife, is sitting on the chair with Marie's face in her pussy coming like crazy from watching him. That's the way, Jonah, fuck me hard, loosen me up for my man." The thought of everything that was happening at once was almost too much. I almost came. Jan pulled me down to her and said, "Enough, Chuck, you make me come so much, I can't stand it. Don't move. Go fuck Bobby now." I felt the weight on my back lighten and Bobby spun me around to hug and kiss me. She lay on the table and I sank into her, pumping frantically as I was going to come again. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jonah standing there with his dick in Millie's mouth feeding her what almost went into her sister. In seconds, Bobby was coming, and I followed quickly with a meager insertion of man juice. Bobby pulled me down on her and kissed me. She said softly, "This is the sexiest I've felt since, well, since a long, long time ago." Millie kissed her sister saying, "This is so good, Sis, this is what we needed. Jonah is teased so much and I don't help. This is us really letting go. Thank you for getting us all together." Wanda came in the door with a bag and a tray of coffee. "Whew, it smells like pure sex in here this morning. I think we need to feed our men well so we can have more of this." The bag was full of pastries that were instantly devoured. I suggested that we shower quickly and go to breakfast. I was starved and I figured the big girls were too. Everyone went through the shower quickly. I noticed that my wilted wanger was a little tender. I think enough was enough. All this eroticism was nice, but just almost too kinky for me. I thought I had passed some personal limits before, but now, who knows. As soon as we entered the big atrium to eat in the outdoor breakfast area, I knew some limits were still to be stretched. Ted and Maxine were sitting with the twins. They said that Donny and Henry were getting another forty winks since they had been awakened earlier and worn out by the twins. When I got my plate, Bobby was sitting with a space between her and her mother. If you want to feel dwarfed, sit between two giant, big, full, women who are both stronger than you. Bobby would lean over to me and give me a nuzzle, followed by Maxine doing the same on the other side. Maxine said quietly, "I heard you put on a real show last night with two sets of twins. They said you screwed them until they screamed then attacked poor Bobby for the third or fourth time. You must have taken your vitamins." Bobby then described to her what had been going on this morning, saying, "He did us all at least once, but he did me twice and I think he did sis twice too. I'll bet he's still horny." Maxine's hand came into my lap and stroked me a couple of times, bringing me right up. "I think I might want a little of this. Fix it for me, Bobby." Bobby refilled my plate and got me some more coffee and milk. "You need your energy, Lover, you may not be done yet." I thought to myself that I was done and hopefully wouldn't get lost again in the craziness that surrounded everyone here but I said aloud, "I'm done, the prospect is exciting, but I'm done." Shannon came into the atrium and came up to us. She greeted everyone but then came to me and leaned over between Bobby and me and kissed me so well that my dick was trying to lift the table. "Thank you for last night, Chuck. You and Tommy made me feel so good. I think Zena's in love with the way you two were with her as well. You and your family are just so sexy." Shannon actually shivered as she said that. Shannon then announced, "I've come to invite all of you to our Sunday service down at the recreation building. To some of you a service might seem strange after last night's festivities, but we are naturists and we enjoy nature to its fullest. Please join us; you'll be enriched for it. Services will begin about nine thirty. Come with me now if you want." As I stood, everyone of our group stood and we left to follow Shannon to the recreation building. The morning was beautiful and chairs were spread outside with a small podium on a low platform in front. After we all sat, I noticed many were sitting on towels or blankets around the sides and in back. The service was nice. Everyone sang a few hymns that most everyone knew, then the speaker gave a very happy sermon, or talk, about how while we commune with nature, we remember our maker and all he has given us. The only collection was gifts for the park's fund to help families in need who lived within or who were members of the park. After a last song, services were over and like every church, people got up to mingle and chat. Many, many people came to greet us, as our group did stand out. They thought it wonderful that the family came as a group. Wood smoke began coming from some big cookers that were on the side of the rec building and I knew what they were for. There was going to be barbecue ribs and chicken. This was right up my alley, food. We passed by the pool, where we lost Lena and Tina. Henry and Donny wanted to swim as well, so the twins joined them in splashing and playing in the pool. I wanted more coffee, so I stopped in the bed and breakfast atrium to have some more. Bobby sat with me and asked, "Are you okay with everything? I didn't get too wild for you, did I?" "No, Babe, I guess I'm getting used to you and your family. They are a free spirited group." "Mom and Dad never did anything like that when we were growing up. If they did, we didn't know about it. Mom used to tell Michelle, Millie, and me about some of the wild and crazy things they used to do, but I didn't put it into the context that it could still be going on." I said to Bobby, "I know you're happy glad we could do all the things we've done. We might do more, but just not right now. You can decide what you think." Bobby hugged me, rearranging my ribs. We kissed so tenderly that it made goose bumps come out on our arms. Bobby said, "Wow, we both felt that one. Nice, huh?" In the cabin, the girls had straightened up and had laid out our clothes to go home in. Millie said, "I don't want to leave. Mom and dad don't want to, either. The boys can only be here today so let's stay till as late as we can. If we need to check out of the cabin, we can put our clothes in the cars." That's what we did. We cleaned out our stuff and put our clothes in the car so we could get at them. Bobby and Millie took off, but I wanted to walk one of the nature trails. I thought it would be interesting. Wanda and Jan went with me, and as we passed Tom's cabin, he and Shannon came out to join us. Our walk took us to the back of the property and skirted a tall chain link fence. Through part of it we could see some big buildings, and as we neared another area, Tom said, "This land here was left to me by my aunt. I think I'm either going to sell it in lots like where my cabin is, or I might just build some condominiums that people could own so they could come out as often as they want and only pay our annual park dues. I really like that idea best. If I priced them right, it would help a lot of people like you, Chuck, to have a place out here. But with your big family, you guys would be better served with a big cabin." I nodded and said, "I just bought a house. I don't think I'll be buying property and building a cabin soon." Tom disagreed, "You never know what kind of deal you can get until you get with the owner. It might be a lot closer to your reach than you think." Our walk ended at the perfect place, the porch at Park's Place. Joanie was working and she brought us a bowl of popcorn, along with some beer. Soon, our group began showing up until all of us were on the porch, including the two girls. Ted said, "This has been really nice. I think we should do it again this summer, but I'm bushed. I'm ready to drive home and relax before tomorrow." Henry and Donny agreed, while the twins were saying, "It's so nice to not have to wear clothes. People are so weird about heavy girls and it's hard to find clothes that make us look nice. Henry and Donny don't want us to, but Binky and I have started an exercise program so we can slim down a little. We're never going to be skinny, but we both want to be a little leaner." Twinky said, "Lean and mean." Henry said, "Don't lose too much. You know how Donny and I both enjoy some extra meat on the bones." We said goodbye to Tom, Shannon, and Zena, then walked to our cars. There were lots of kisses and hugs all around. I told all of them that Bobby and I would take care of any charges we had, as our treat. Then we watched as the boys and twins left. Ted, Maxine, and the girls left, followed by Millie and Jonah. The girls and I stopped at the gate office and paid our tab, then headed home. It felt funny to have clothes on. At home, we relaxed out on the patio, occasionally jumping into the pool. I downloaded my e-mail to find nothing important, and answered those that needed it. It was nice to go into the week without a crisis. Of course, John did say he had something for me that was important. The evening was just as relaxed. Marie went home to visit with her folks, saying she was going to stay there overnight. Jan said she was going to the P-club to see some friends. The three of us remaining at home were all consumed by reading in the living room with some good jazz playing. When it was time for bed, the three of us took a shower and made love together. That's about the only way to describe what occurred. We made love to each other, two on one, until we were content. There was no escaping the wet spots, so we just fell asleep in each other's arms. The perfect ending to a wild, but good, weekend. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 25 Morning found the three of us swimming so hard, I think we were churning instead of swimming. When we finished we were breathing hard, but feeling refreshed. Jan had not come home, so she had obviously found a friend to go home with. About the time we were eating breakfast, a car drove up and Jan got out. She came in smiling and said, "I'll be ready in a few minutes. Save some breakfast for me." I needed to wander around with the Homeland group today, so I would have to drive. Wanda said she wanted to go shopping after work, so she was going to drive. Jan asked Wanda, "Can I go with you? I haven't been in a store in ages." We were split into three ways, just like Steak and Shake chili. After checking in with my crew and Wanda in her strict office persona, I took off for the waterfront. I was given a tour of their facilities and boarded a ship with them. When a ship comes in, the first person that boards is a person that represents Immigration. If there is sickness on board, a doc goes along to check out what it is. The next group on board is Customs. They do a preliminary check before the cranes begin lifting the containers off the ship. They have it down to a science that works for them. As the containers come off, Customs crews break the seals, do a partial inspection, and reseal the container. It gets another check that is a little more thorough in what is called a bonded warehouse, but there is just too much volume to be able to look at every single item. We walked down the docks to see what was being loaded onto ships. A Customs man was checking vehicle serial numbers and titles for cars, trucks, and old school buses being loaded onto a ship that was more like a ferry than a cargo ship. Everything was routine. I made it back to the office around two, just in time to find a huge stack of papers in my inbox, plus a long list of e-mails. I dug into the incident reports to find that most were hang nail variety, with only one escapee that ran in front of a speeding tractor-trailer. The feds wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. E-mails were equally as easy until I got to one from John that just popped up. It said, "Call me, secure. John." Now what? I erased the e-mail and went to the station where I asked to use Bobby's office. She was downstairs at the range. I needed to go there too. I called and told John to hang up and wait for the call. I used the secure phone and called him. John asked, "Are you alone, no one can hear you?" "I'm in Bobby's office with the door closed, I'm alone." "Good, this is for your ears and only your ears." "Go ahead, John." "You have to make a trip to Alaska. A bush pilot will take you into the Northwest Territory where you will be transported by another small aircraft to pick up a guy the Mounties have. This has to be done the right way, since you can't bring this guy back across the border the regular way. You have to bring him back by air, through Alaska. The Mounties don't want him and they didn't have a chance or a reason to shoot him, so now it's our problem." I could hear John take a deep breath. "Arm yourself heavily. When you get there, buy some clothes that you will need for the trail up there. You can't get what you need in Florida. Have Sarah give you a trip credit card. You don't have a budget, just don't be stupid." "Now the fun part. A lot of people do not want this man to be in custody. They would prefer him dead or free. Either way, you are between him and whatever his fate will be. If he gives you too much shit, shoot him. Just leave him out in the woods and nature will take care of him." "Your plane, or our plane as it has come to be, is busy, so I want you to call your local guy and get him to fly you up there. He has to stay there so you can get back. Do not, and I say again, do not list this man on any passenger manifest. When you get the guy, you'll know why. I just posted a secure file to your site. Pull it down and read it then erase the file. Call me when the prisoner is in your lockup or whatever the conclusion is." This was different. We were not allowed to go get prisoners in Canada. The Mounties would deliver them to our door. Wonder what this is about. I took Sarah into the supply closet with me and checked out an MP5, and a 308 set up for long range. Both were breakdowns that would store in a case so I put them into a single aluminum suitcase, with some extra ammo and magazines for the MP5. We did the sign out for the credit card, and I just knew I was forgetting something. I waited for Bobby to come up and I told her that John called and I would be gone for four or five days and I would call her. Back in my office, I asked Wanda to come in. "Call our air charter. I want a fast plane to Anchorage. The pilot will have to stay over and wait for me. Use this credit card number so it will be part of the trip. Tell them I need a pilot that can keep his mouth shut. And last, but as always, I'm going home to change, and head to the airport. I would like to leave in about an hour." I was on my way to the elevator when I remembered what I was missing. I went into the station and signed out a set of waist and ankle chains. I also brought along an extra set of cuffs just for fun. Now the nagging feeling was gone. At home, I changed into jeans, T-shirt, and a flannel shirt that I had. I put in my armor and a little bag of toiletries, knowing the clothes I would need would be bulky. It was early summer, but that meant it was only freezing up there right now. Not frozen solid. Out at the airport, I was greeted at the charter office by the cowboy guy and the big breasted babe. He said, "We'll take you up. We have a friend up there we can visit with. This will be nice for us and make some money too." We took off and began the long flight across country. We landed for fuel in mid-Missouri and flew to a small field in Montana where we refueled again. That Glenda person had made up a bunch of meatloaf sandwiches that hit the spot. I was going to have to meet this Glenda person. In Montana, the cowboy suggested we layover and rest a little as it was very late. Since we had gotten such a late start, we would have to fly all night and he would prefer not to do that. He said, "We can get a room down the road or just nap in the plane. If we sleep for about four hours, we'll get up there reasonably early in the morning. I was anxious to get this one done, but the bush pilot wouldn't be available in the middle of the night and I wouldn't have any stores available for clothes or equipment. Thank goodness the seats folded down to allow comfortable snoozing. We only slept about three to four hours before we were on the way again. Next stop, Anchorage. When we were parked, I asked the two piloting the plane for a quiet chat. They sat in the plane with me so I could give them a little information. "I'm getting a man from the Canadians that is wanted by our government. This is unusual, as they normally prefer to hand them over at the border. This man is very dangerous and his associates are also very dangerous. By the time I get him here, he shouldn't be a danger to us, but when we get to Tampa, no one will ever know how he got there. He will not be listed on the plane, anywhere. Do you understand?" Both of them nodded, agreeing without an argument. "Now I need to find an outfitter to get some clothes, but I would like one of you to wait at operations for my bush pilot to come." I told them, "There is a man named John Stevens that will be coming for me. Just have him wait for me here." The two were grinning so I had to ask and the cowboy answered, "That's who we want to see. We'll catch him for you and keep him here. There is a place to get clothes. The guy will buy back any stuff after you use it. Everything he sells is clean, but buy new underwear and socks." He wrote down the address and I went outside and found a cab that was really a pickup truck, to get to this store. The place was an old hangar filled to the brim with camping supplies, bobsleds, dog harness, and all types of clothes. An old bearded guy asked how he could help, then asked what I was going to be doing. I gave him what I knew, but said, "Even though I'm going to be scheduled to fly everywhere, I'd like to be prepared in the event I get caught out in the weather. Cover me for the next ten days, I hope it's not that long, but I want to be safe." The man loaded me up. He only gave me two pairs of long johns as he said, "You won't have a chance to change or bathe anyway. Take extra socks so your feet don't rot, but your balls will just have to suffer." He chuckled evilly as he said that. We stuffed everything into a big duffel bag. He asked if I needed a gun. I showed my Glock and said I had a rifle. He just nodded and said, "Up in the territory, there are some really bad people. They will be starting to move around this time of year so be careful." My pickup truck taxi driver was still waiting, so we rode back to the airport. Inside I found the charter pilots and another guy. He was introduced as John Stevens. They said they had just ordered food, so I ordered as well, along with a beer. I wouldn't get another one soon. The couple were very friendly and I finally had to stick my hand out and ask, "I'm Chuck Johnson. You two have flown me all all over the place. Can you tell me your names?" "Sorry, thought you knew us," the cowboy said shaking my hand. "I'm Steve Sharp, and this is my wife Sue. Flying is sort of our hobby and we take flights fairly often to keep proficient and to use as mini-vacations from our pile of kids. I love 'em dearly, but a day or so away is always good. While you're gone a friend of ours from Seattle is coming up to visit with us a while. Our friend Dewey and John here go way back." I asked John, "I was told you might only take me part way. Do you know if I have another pilot or will it be you all the way?" "Me all the way, Chuck. I don't have a problem going into Canada. I've worked with you government guys before. My plane is prepped and ready. As soon as we eat, we can be on the way." As we were eating, he let me in on one of the problems this time of year. "The lakes are going to have a lot of ice on them, but it will be weak. Everywhere we need to land for fuel will have to be on a river where the water flows and there's no ice flowing with it. Where you're going is going to be all right as there are two rivers and a good airfield. I ordered a bunch of sandwiches and we'll have three thermoses of coffee. I have a couple of milk jugs to pee in, so we're fixed." I had not thought about the need to pee in-flight. I changed clothes in the restroom to be ready for the flight. The hard part was putting the boot on my fake leg. Hopefully, everything worked fine. John said I wouldn't need the coat in the plane, but to keep it close. We rode in an airport vehicle to his plane, which was in the water. It had two big pontoons that kept it afloat. The plane kind of made me nervous, but then, these guys didn't want to die either. I loaded my duffel bag and gun case. John asked about the gun case and I told him. He suggested I put one of them together as you never knew when you would need one. He said, "I have a 308 lever action in the plane, but it's only good for about two hundred yards on a good day. Yours looks like a five hundred yard gun." When everything was tied down and I was buckled up, Steve was helping and untied the line holding the plane and put it in the pontoon. Pretty neat, the pontoons could carry extra equipment. John started the plane, doing a bunch of things in about the same order as was done on the Lear when I helped with the checklist. John called the tower and taxied out into the waterway and headed into the wind, building speed and lifting off. We circled around to a point where he entered some numbers into a fancy Garmin 4000 something. He brought up a map of an airfield saying, "This will be our first refueling point. It's actually a river, but it's classified as an airfield. They have a thousand foot runway along the bank they keep pretty clean but we can use the river. We'll check it out first to make sure, but the ice should be clear by now." We did make a pass and landed in the river. John attempted to call the field a couple of times but no one answered. When we tied up to the fuel dock, a beat up old pickup came out to meet us. The man who got out said, "Hey John, good to see you. Was up getting my supper when you buzzed us. Gonna have to get a radio up at the house so it will be easier on you guys. Fill it up?" As soon as the plane was full of fuel, John paid the man in cash and we were quickly back up in the air. The man didn't ask where we were going and John didn't offer. I like these Alaskans. They mind their own business. As it got dark, John said, "The next one will be a little tricky. The river is pretty narrow where we need to land, but we have to get down to look at the water first. Some times there's a big old log right in the middle of where we want to land. We'll see. They also have a strip we can use if we have to. There's almost enough snow still on the ground I could have used skis." This landing was tricky. We made a pass down into a gorge with the river at the bottom. We checked and it looked clear. We had to fly out of the gorge then back in the other way again to land into the wind. This landing was a little rough. The plane buffeted around a lot in the little crosswind there was. This place was not the same, as we did make radio contact before landing. The station operator told us not to get out of the plane as there was a pack of wolves down near the fuel docks. He told us that if we shot any, to make sure we didn't hit the fuel tanks. When we landed, I stepped out onto the pontoon and pulled the line out to tie us to the fuel dock. John came out with his Winchester 308 and a real bright flashlight that he had clamped on the underside of the barrel. He found the eyes he was looking for and started shooting. I know he hit some as they yelped. Not a nice thing to do, but apparently the wolves had been causing problems locally. We filled up and were gone quickly. John said, "This last little bit is only about forty-five minutes. We're not flying back tonight, so we'll just relax and we can go back in the morning. This place has a little hotel and a decent restaurant. I suggest we get a room so we can get a shower in the morning. I don't know what kind of guy you have to get, but if you need some rope, I have a bunch in the pontoon. If the guy gives me too much shit, out he goes at six thousand feet. When we're in the air, I'm the boss." I just nodded. We landed at the well-lighted airfield using the wheels in the pontoons. Before we set down, John said, "I hate to trust those things. If they don't work right, I could ruin a good pontoon. If we're lucky, everything will work the way it's supposed to." We landed smoothly, with John acting like a little old lady triple checking the pontoons for scrapes and gouges. I didn't want to check in with the Mounties until I was ready to take the prisoner. If they wanted to get rid of him bad enough, they might just hand him over to me and I'd be responsible for him immediately. We ate a late supper and checked into a double room that had a shower room down the hall. I slept well and John did too, if you figured his snores were good sleeping. The next morning, we were showered and fed by seven. John tended to the plane while I walked to the Mounted Police office on the airfield. It was complete with a jail. The officer in charge was very pleasant and spoke understandable French flavored English. He said, "We no have any problems, but he know we shoot. I hope you shoot quick too, because his friends are no nice. I no see any of dem, but dey be around. You watch close so you no take chance." I looked at the prisoner and wondered what in the world he was doing way up here. The guy was an American that had decided to go to the dark side. He had become Muslim and worked with a U.S. terrorist cell before coming to Canada. He had been caught up here with explosives and maps of a Canadian oil field. They didn't know what he was doing and did not get it out of him. They didn't get a chance to shoot him, so the best they could do was to ship him out. The man was dressed for the weather, so I chained him up with the waist and ankle chains and offered him a chance to pee. He wasn't very happy about being transported when I said, "If you pee on the plane, the pilot will personally push you out." Bush pilots have a reputation, so he must have thought it to be true. I threw his coat over his shoulders and walked him back to the operations building. John came in with a big bag of sandwiches and the thermoses filled with coffee. He looked at the guy and said to me, "A pilot that was testing a plane said there were some men walking around down off the end of the runway. I thought you might want to check them out before we took off." I found the Mountie from the office and told him what I heard. He pointed to an off-road four wheel vehicle and said, "Use four wheeler. Go see. Take gun. Don't go without." I drove the four-wheeler to the plane and put the MP5 together. I put it across the handlebars and put the 308 with the sling over my shoulder. I drove way out to the side of the cleared area to the end of the runway, then up a steep grade as if I were an airstrip worker. When I was above the field a little ways, I could see down to where three men were standing watching the field. I used the scope on the 308 to look them over. All three were Near Eastern in appearance, but they could have just as easily been natives up here. They did however have an interesting tube I couldn't identify, along with what appeared to be an RPG. I knew what those were. They had some rifles with scopes sitting against a log as well. My first thought was to just shoot them. I wondered how the Mounties would feel about that. What I needed was to be invisible, but to draw fire so I could defend myself. There was a large tree that had been cut down, but not cut up. I found a good place to brace the 308 to shoot. It wasn't a long shot, about three hundred yards. But I would have to be steady and I would want to remain still after I shot. The guy that bothered me was the guy with the tube thing. It was probably a shoulder-fired surface to air missile or SAM as they were called. That wouldn't do John's plane any good. If it was a regular heat seeking SAM it wouldn't find the prop driven airplane easily so he could be some form of shoulder fired rocket meant for helicopters and small aircraft. Oh well, why not fire first, it will be self-defense fast enough anyway. I sighted in and practiced going from the tube guy to the RPG guy. If I were lucky, I could put both of them down before the third guy could figure out where I was. Sniper time. There was no wind and nothing between the subjects and me. No sticks, snow, or weeds. I did what I had been trained to do, sighted, breathed, and squeezed. Without checking to see the hit, I moved to the RPG guy and fired. I swung back to see the third guy who was sighting up toward me, but to my left. I sighted, breathed, and squeezed. I checked each of the downed men through the scope and lay still for over five minutes. That's what a sniper does, he waits, he makes sure. I went to the four-wheeler and drove around and back down to them. I didn't see them before, but the three guys had some nice four-wheelers parked on the other side of a dirt mound. The tube was some kind of a missile, so I picked it up, along with the RPG and stored them on the four-wheeler I was using. I checked the men for weapons and found a revolver on each of them. I picked up each rifle and fired three rounds up in the air letting the shell casings from the AK-47s kick out as if they were shooting in the direction I had been. I stored the AKs and rode the four-wheeler back up to where I had made the shots from, and picked up my brass. I rode back to the Mountie station and dumped the AKs, the missile, and the RPG on the Mountie's desk. He said, "I hear shots, you okay?" "The men who had these are all dead. They shot at me, so I shot back. You might want to go get their four-wheelers, they look really nice." "I go tomorrow. Tonight, animals take care of mess. Less work. You should go home now." Strange place. I went to find John who was watching my chained guy with his Winchester. I told him I took care of the runway obstructions and we could go. He nodded. When we loaded up the plane, I used my other handcuffs to cuff the prisoner's feet to the floor so he couldn't raise his feet up and kick. I buckled him in and said, "My Glock is only two feet away, I won't miss." We were up and back down to where John had shot at the wolves. The attendant said John had shot two of them. The next leg was boring, but we had sandwiches and coffee before landing in the river. As we were filling up, a plane came down to look at the river, or so we thought. It went back up and circled before comming back down going too fast to land and too close to the side of the river we were on. I yelled at John, "Get down, stay down." I reached into the back of the plane for my MP5, flipped it on full auto, and made ready to spray the air where the plane should be in a second. You have to shoot in front of the plane to hit it. You let the plane fly into the fire. That lesson was learned in Korea way back in the fifties. John hollered, "They're shooting at us, watch out." As the plane came almost parallel with us, I opened up emptying a full thirty round magazine in front of the plane. I heard the hits and even saw the windscreen split. The man firing from the plane wasn't very good and shot way over us. I had seated another magazine and had flipped it to single fire; I aimed and fired at the wings, hoping to hit a tank. I didn't need to worry about it. The engine on the plane began sputtering, cutting out, and the pilot was trying to turn the plane around to land in the river. He was turning in a steep bank when the plane nosed over and went straight down into the swift moving river. The attendant said, "Bring that rifle and come with me. Let's see if we can save anyone." As I went to the boat, the man had run toward, he looked at me and asked, "You only got one leg?" I smiled, "Just one. It works pretty good though." "Damn right it does. Come on, let's go see what we can." He had a powerful boat that overcame the swift current and got us out to where the plane was sticking out of the water. We could see into the cabin easily, and it looked like the three people in the plane were all dead, or wished they were. The attendant tied up to the plane and opened the cockpit door. He shook each person, pulled a nice AK from the plane and handed it to me, and then he methodically went through their pockets, handing me the various items. The men each had an automatic pistol and the three had a lot of cash on them. I told the attendant, "Look closer, they have to have had more than one rifle. Can you see behind that back seat?" The man actually went into the plane by pulling the pilot out of the plane and pushing him into the river. He reached over the seat and came back with two more rifles, then went back and came back up with two tubes, two more missiles. These were bad people. When the attendant got back in the boat, he said, "I'll push those guys out later and let the river take care of them. I might be able to salvage a couple grand in parts off that plane. It's a nice one. I haven't seen it or that pilot before though. I'll call in the numbers to see if it's real. Too bad those guys had such a hard time landing, but it happens up here. Let's see how much cash they had on them and split it." These folks do live by different rules up here. This was still Canadian area so there was no sense in questioning anything. We took the loot back to shore and counted it out. There was seventeen thousand in U.S. Currency. We split it down the middle and I gave him the AKs and handguns, but took the SAMs with me. Our passenger was happy to get out and stretch his legs. He peed and I put him back in the plane. I told him next stop was Anchorage. I think he got the idea he wasn't a well loved person right now. His Al Qaeda buddies would just as soon off him as worry about him. After checking something in the engine compartment, John said, "We're going to have to stay over here tonight. I have to have a part flown in. It'll be here tonight or in the morning, so we'll use the field bunkhouse. You can lock this guy up pretty good can't you?" "No sweat, he won't go anywhere." The part came in late, flown in by a kid that didn't look old enough to drive yet, much less fly a bush plane. He was typical of the North Country mentality and wanted to use our prisoner for target practice. After getting the part installed in the plane the next morning, we loaded up and took off for Anchorage. John said, "You remind me of your buddy who flew you up here. He and his old lady are really something. He and I had a run in with a bunch of bush outlaws that ran around up here in the territory, robbing and killing. Between him and his lady, they took care of the bad guys real quick. He'll get a kick out of hearing how you knocked a plane right out of the sky." "Ah, John, this, ah, never happened. This flight was a sightseeing flight. That's it, that's all, nothing else." "Damn, I'd bet he would love to hear about this here and up at the airfield. I don't know what you did, but I heard three shots then a little later three sets of three. I'm bettin' the first three were the only ones that meant anything." "Just remember, John, this trip was for sightseeing only." "I got it, but wouldn't it have been easier to just drop him from the plane along the way?" "Who knows," I said. "The guy may decide to tell us a little more about what they are doing up there." We landed in Anchorage and tied up to the dock. John used the radio to call a taxi. I used my cell phone to call the local Marshal's Station to come out to pick up some ordnance that had been found. The taxi took me to the Lear, where I strapped the guy in and shackled his ankle chain to the floor. I told him that as soon as we were in the air, I would allow him to use the bathroom. Until then to just sit tight. Steve and Sue showed up, and I met them outside the plane. It was a good thing too, as their friend Dewey was with them. Steve asked, "Can Dewey ride with us. If he can, his wife and son will fly down to Florida and visit for a while." I asked Dewey for his ID and he gave me his driver's license. I used my cell and called Wanda. I told her to use my passcode to check an ID. The man was clean and was considered a solid citizen. I took Dewey around to the side of the plane and explained that if he could get on the plane and not see anything other than me, he could ride back with us. Otherwise, he should stay in Alaska. He looked confused, so I asked, "Can you keep your mouth shut?" He smiled and nodded, so I said, "Then look but don't see. Let's go home." Steve and Sue had been doing a pre-flight inspection of the airplane with some ground crew. They got in the plane and took some containers from the ground people that went into the tiny galley area. Dewey and I sat down and buckled up as we watched the couple up front go through everything that needed doing to fly this thing. Sue was in the left seat this time, with Steve doing the reading. Very shortly, we were taxiing toward the active runway. As soon as we were in the air, I went up and made coffee, then told Dewey he should go visit with the cockpit while I took the non-entity to the bathroom. The man wasn't too self-conscious, but I stayed with him right through him zipping up and washing his hands with an alcohol towel. When he was done, I locked him back up in his seat and brought him a sandwich and a cup of coffee. Dewey was still talking to the couple up front, so I booted one of the PCs and sent an e-mail message to John. It was just two words, "In flight." About thirty seconds later, John e-mailed back "With or without." I sent "With" back to him. Later, I sent him an e-mail that said, "Check Anchorage for found ordnance." We were landing in Montana to refuel when John e-mailed back, "Holy shit." While we were on the ground, I used my cell phone to call John the bush pilot. When he answered and I identified myself, he began cussing me for leaving him with those missiles to explain to the U.S. Marshals. He said "The worst part was you said I couldn't say anything. They finally said it must have been some covert thing, that's why they didn't know about you." "Sorry, John, but I did leave you a present. Look in your toolbox behind the back seat. That should make you feel all better." "Hang on a sec, let me look." The phone was quiet for less than a minute then he got back on the phone, "A hell of a lot better. Thanks, I robbed you for the fancy sightseeing flight anyway, so this is even better. Now I'm happy I didn't tell them squat. Thanks, Chuck, come see me sometime. I'll show you around." Steve and Sue pushed themselves, flying straight through. They each took a break, stretching their legs while visiting with their friend Dewey, sitting in the empty seat. After a stop in what I found out was Columbia, Missouri, we made it back to Tampa very early in the morning. I drove the prisoner to the lockup, and afterwards went upstairs to use the duty man's PC to send John the note, "Everything is where it should be." Before I could get a cup of coffee, my cell phone was ringing. John said, "What the fuck were you doing with SAMs.?" "They were on a plane that was shooting at us." "What happened to the plane?" "The pilot had some kind of mid-air collision and the plane went down. We found the toys on the plane." "What happened to the pilot?" "What pilot?" "Oh, and the passengers?" "What passengers?" "I see and what's this I heard about the Canadians finding three very nice four-wheel scooters?" "They're just lucky, I guess." "They also found three AKs, an RPG, and another SAM." "Man, those Canucks can find some good shit." "You're not going to tell me are you, Chuck." "A, this is not a secure line, and B, tell you about what?" "Um, I'll be in Tampa the end of the week. That's next week. Kenisha will be with me. I want to take her to that restaurant we went to. Can we go together?" "Sure, we're always up for eating." "Oh, a team will come and pick up your man. I think he's going to Cuba. Don't know and don't care. The big C (CIA) asked for the help and we did what we do. Thanks, Chuck, good job. Glad you're back okay." "Me too, I think I'll go home and go to bed. You should too you know." "I'm home, I just couldn't sleep until I knew you were done. Every time we mess with those guys, something bad happens. That's why you went." "No sweat, Boss. Let's get some sleep." John yawned and said, "The alarm will go off in forty-five minutes, maybe I'll just make coffee." "Go climb in bed with that sweet beauty you have. Snuggle with her and go in late." Another yawn, "You convinced me. Talk to you later." "Later, Boss." I went downstairs got into the Chevy and drove home, happy to be done with another kinky job. Now what do I do with a bunch of Alaskan camping equipment? Maybe I'll just ship it back to the store owner and see what he does. I sure don't need it down here. I quietly entered the house, and slipped into bed next to Bobby, who was snuggled to both Wanda and Jan. Jan raised her head and smiled at me and went back to sleep. Wanda smiled and put her hand on my cheek. Bobby just scooted her butt into me and slept. I joined her. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 26 There was some commotion in the bed, so I opened my eyes and saw Bobby getting out of bed. A three hundred fifty pound beauty isn't very graceful getting out of bed. Wanda and Jan were both watching and must have seen my eyes open. They smiled. Bobby turned and came around the bed to give me a kiss. "You got back fast, just four days. The way John talked, it was going to be a couple of weeks. Go back to sleep, I'm sure you have at least one incident day coming." "I need to get up and exercise. A good swim will do me good." I got out of bed and went to the pool and all three girls came with me. We swam hard, making us all feel good. Marie had come out and came up to me when I was hanging onto the side of the pool and gave me a big kiss. "Glad you're back, Stud. I thought I was going to have to find a sub. I'd have to go out to that park to find one though." Jan gave me a nice kiss and fondled me. "I need to clone you for when I'm horny. I go out with these women who don't know how to love me. You've just spoiled me, you know." Wanda gave me a hug and kiss as well. She just said, "I missed you too. You are important to all of us." Bobby slid in front of me and hugged me. She looked at me and said, "I'm getting' closer. You keep this up and I might say yes. Then what are you gonna do?"' I smiled and hugged her back and bent down and sucked a nipple into my mouth. I pulled off with a pop and said, "Yum." That got a laugh from everyone. After showering outside, eating breakfast, and getting ready, Wanda said, "Your boss told me that since you were coming in late last night or early today, you were not allowed into the office until Monday. There's nothing happening, so just stay away and rest up. This is Friday, enjoy it." I was still tired, so I lay down on the couch with the TV on, and promptly fell asleep. I woke because of a lot of racket going on outside. I looked out the front window to see one guy on a big commercial riding lawn mower, one guy edging, one guy trimming bushes, and another blowing things around. I thought, "What the fuck, when did we get a lawn service?" I called the station and asked Bobby. "When did we get a lawn service?" "Since you decided to be a wheel and I made Station Chief. Tell me when you have time to do lawn work. There's also going to be a guy coming by to do the pool. He probably doesn't earn what he gets, but he does vacuum it and check the chemicals. He also does the hot tub, so if you see someone out there, he's supposed to be there." At that second, a strange woman came from the hall with a pile of bed clothes in her hand. "What? Who? Bobby, there's a woman in the house, what's going on?" "That's Maria. She does Frank's house and had Tuesday and Friday open. She does all the heavy housework for us and our basic laundry. She does a hell of job ironing too. Treat her nice." I just hung up. There's too much going on. "I'm sorry, Senor Chuck, I thought you were still sleeping. I tried to be quiet." I smiled, "No problem, Maria, I don't need to sleep all day. I'll put some clothes on and get out of here." I put on Jeans, a T-shirt, and boots. I pushed the bike out of the garage and shut the door. I was about to leave, but thought better of it, and went back inside, put on a big loose vest, and slid a clip-on holster on my belt. I cranked up the Harley and headed to Jonah's. The big titted blonde barmaid was working while talking to some guy that I thought I recognized. I nodded at him and he said, "Johnson, Deputy Marshal right?" I nodded, "And you are?" Before he could answer, the blonde said, "He's my husband and he's a deputy sheriff so you better be nice." I laughed at the outburst. The guy said, "I've been at a couple of your confrontations. I was out at the airport a little while ago when that sniper was knocked down. You did a good job out there." "I was lucky." He nodded and turned back to the blonde. Jonah came from the back and greeted me loudly, saying, "Double D, bring this man a beer and some of the chili I just brought in." Fitting name for the babe. She must be used to the nickname, as she didn't flinch over it. I drank a beer and ate chili while Jonah and I discussed our past weekend. He said he didn't think he could handle that kind of craziness very often. "My wife is nuts. When she gets a wild hair, she goes crazy. Between Bobby and her, I don't know which one is the worst voyeur. They both seem to get off on what most women would cut our balls off for." I nodded, "Seems so, doesn't it." "Stick around; the monster lady is coming by in a little while. She's probably ready to entertain you and me by now. She's just over her period, so she's hornier than a woman has a right to be. It'll take all of me just to take the edge off. If you stick around, you can help me out." "That's okay, Jonah, I seem to have enough to take care of at home without wanting some of yours." "You don't understand, Man," Jonah said, almost begging. "I can't handle her when she's wound up. I don't think any two men can. You would be doing me a favor. I'll take movies so Bobby won't get upset she didn't get to watch." "Shit, Jonah, what's wrong with this picture.? You're trying to get me to play with your big lady, and I'm turning you down. But remember, I have my own big lady to try to keep happy." "You're right, Chuck, it's my job and I guess I have to do it. Good work if you think about it. But Millie will just flat fuck me near to death sometimes." "My heart bleeds for you. I'll send flowers, Jonah. I'm going to ride a little, get some wind in my face. I'll talk to you later." I didn't have any special direction, so I headed north, thinking I could always stop at Park Place for a beer and shoot some pool. Instead, I headed over to the private airport to ask a few more questions about flying. Perhaps I could get a short flight in one of the little trainer planes they had. I went through the gate and parked the bike in front of the charter office. The hangar on the left was empty of the jets, but the hangar on the right looked pretty full. Across the tarmac, the opposing hangar was open with a prop jet being worked on, but the eye catcher was a bright red with yellow accent bi-plane. Now that would be fun. I went inside the office to see who I might ask questions of. Steve and Star were standing at a board, discussing something. They looked my way and both smiled. Steve said, "Fancy seeing you so soon. I figured you'd still be catching forty winks." "Can't sleep while the rest of the world works. I did take the day off, though." "What can we do for you, Mr. Johnson," Star asked? "Call me, Chuck, please. I came by to possibly schedule one of the introductory flights you mention in the brochure for flight training." "We can do that Mr., ah, Chuck. What evening or day would you like? I have openings for tomorrow, Saturday, at two and most days next week. After five it gets busy with lessons, but we can work in a check ride." "How about tomorrow, it sounds like a good time?" Steve was waving his hand, "No, no, no. If you want a check ride, you get one right now. I'm goofing off today anyway, so let me check out a plane and we'll go flying. First though, I need to check on my new toy. Did you see that red bi-plane in the hangar across the aisle?" "That's a nice looking airplane. I didn't think they still made those. It looks new." "It's a home built type plane. They are considered experimental, but are certified after they are built. I've only flown it twice and it's a blast. The little thing will do almost a hundred fifty and is rated for aerobatics too. Hey, how about a ride in that, then we'll go up in a boring little Cessna 150 series to show you what you have to learn in." My smile must have been a giveaway. Steve said, "Let's go see if it's ready." We walked across to the other hangar and over to the bi-plane. Steve picked up a clipboard that was in the plane and looked through the papers. He walked over to a mechanic that was working on the turboprop and went to a board to hang his clipboard among several others. He walked back to me and said, "Pick the tail up and swing it around and I'll push up at the wing. Let's get it out of here first." The plane was nicely balanced and easy to pick up. We were able to push the plane out and set it back down facing toward the ramps and runway. "You sit up front. The helmet has a built in headset so we can talk to each other. If you would, don't put your feet on the pedals, and if you do, don't push. You can feel how I push them. Treat the stick the same way, you can put your hand on it but don't push, let me control it." Steve began doing his preflight check, explaining to me what he was doing. He checked the fuel for water, checked all the moving parts on the plane, moving the tabs back and forth. He even kicked the tires. He opened an access door, checked the oil, and buttoned everything up. "Let's go flying. Use the shoulder harness, but don't pull it so tight it cuts off the circulation. Remember what I said about the stick and pedals." I climbed up and slid into the seat, getting the shoulder harness over my shoulders and buckling the seat belt. My feet were on the pedals and I felt Steve pushing each pedal down and I watched the stick move around. There was a click, and then the whirr of what was probably the fuel pump or something like that, just before Steve hit the starter. The motor quickly caught and Steve let it idle for a minute or so. The few instruments in the plane had leapt to life when the engine started, and I even recognized what a couple of them were. Over the helmet, I heard Steve identify himself and ask for permission to access the taxiway. When the other voice said, clear to runway something, Steve just taxied over, pulled out onto the runway, and opened the throttle. The little plane didn't roll far before the tail came up and the whole plane lifted off just a short distance later. We slowly climbed higher. After flying in the Lear, I had a misconception of how airplanes were supposed to fly. We were pretty high by the time we cleared the end of the runway. We banked back to the north and flew north above Highway 41 before banking to the West to follow Highway 52 toward the coast. The altimeter showed we were right at five thousand feet until we came to the coast, then Steve took us down to about a thousand feet. He told me to check out the rays and the sharks as we paralleled the beach. We banked left again and began climbing as Steve picked up Highway 54. When we were out over farm country, Steve asked, "Want to do some fun stuff?" "Go for it, I'm game." Steve gave the plane more power then flipped it over so we were hanging in our harnesses. He flipped us back upright and climbed until the altimeter read over ten thousand feet. He did a complete three hundred sixty degree roll, followed by climbing steeply and falling over backward to slide into a shallow dive until we were level once again. We did some sharp banks, a fairly deep dive, and ended up with Steve asking permission to land back at the air park. He rolled the plane to a stop in front of the little aircraft hangar and shut the plane down. Once out of the plane, he asked, "You like that?" "That's what I want to learn, how to fly for fun like that. I might need to fly myself somewhere, but the fun part is what I want. I know I'll have to fly a bigger plane for Bobby to fly in with me, but we could fly up to see her sister in Panama City easily instead of that long drive up there. This little plane would be a blast, but Bobby may not fit in it." Steve nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, as long you don't try to carry a lot of other people, you'll be fine. You have to figure that Bobby is two people, so if you fly in, say a 172, you could take one additional person, but that's all." "Let's get a little plane and get bored. I'll let you fly it a little." Star was smiling when I went inside, as directed, to ask for an airplane. She handed me a book and pointed at the number on the front. I thanked her and went into the hangar to look for the corresponding number on an airplane. There was a bright yellow Cessna 152 with S&S Flight Training painted in bright blue on it. I walked over to the plane and was looking it over. Steve walked up and took the book I had and opened the left door and checked a gauge with a number in the book. He then pulled a checklist book from a pocket over the seat and said, "Let's do the preflight inspection just like you would do it if you were going to take a lesson. We went through the items one at a time, with Steve showing me where everything was, and the proper names for the parts of the airplane. He explained, "This plane can have a maximum gross weight of sixteen hundred pounds. That's on a cold day. On hot days, the air is too thin and the plane can't get off the ground if it's too heavy. So how much do you weigh?" "Probably one eighty, one eighty-five." "I weigh about one ninety, so together we weigh just under four hundred pounds. It's not that hot, so if we add the four hundred to the little over a thousand pounds the plane weighs empty but full of fuel we'll be two hundred pounds lighter than maximum. We should be able to take off without a problem." Once again, we pushed an airplane out of a hangar. This time though, we didn't have to pick up the tail. This one set up on three wheels. We climbed into the only two seats in it, and continued with the checklist until Steve flipped up a switch and held another up to engage the starter. The little plane started right up. As soon as the propeller was turning at a good speed, the little plane wanted to move. When the gauges all read as the checklist said, Steve radioed for access and it was granted once again. This time we went all the way to the end of the runway and turned around. Steve explained how, and why, each plane requested and was granted runway access. Pretty much common sense, but I imagine some people still need to be told. We turned up the runway and we began rolling faster and faster until Steve lifted the front wheel and the little plane seemed to leap into the air. We climbed even slower than the bi-plane had, but we reached five thousand feet fairly fast, heading north. Steve took the time to explain each instrument and what it meant. As he was flying along, he said, "Take the controls and try to keep the plane level. You can use the artificial horizon," he tapped a gauge, "to make sure, but try to do it by feel or sensation first." I flew along for a few minutes until the motor seemed to be groaning. I looked at Steve and he smiled pointing at the instrument on the dash. The nose was up pretty good. I eased the stick forward until the instrument showed level again. "You did what most people do. You pull the nose up and continue that way until you are near stalling the airplane. Fly north some more and try to keep the plane level. Let the plane do what it wants, as it will fly level if you let it." Sure enough, as long as I didn't let the sensation that I needed to keep the nose up take over, the plane's attitude remained level. Steve had me descend to four thousand feet and asked me to climb back to five thousand feet. He had done that before and adjusted the amount of fuel he was giving the motor. I advanced the fuel about what he had done before and gently headed higher. No groaning of the engine, so I didn't stall or almost stall. I set the fuel back to where it had been to keep the plane level. He pointed outside and said over the intercom, "That's Brooksville. Let's turn around and go back. Use the compass and turn in a wide bank until you're going in the other direction. We were heading at about 004 degrees, so I banked and ended up trying to get right on a heading of 184 degrees. I had to right the attitude a little to stay at five thousand feet, but I got it right. This would just require practice like anything else. Back on the ground, we did the checklist and he said to leave the plane out next to the bi-plane so that the fuel truck would know which ones to refuel. When we went inside, Star smilingly asked, "Are you ready to sign up?" "Sure, why not. I don't want this to go on and on, so I want to try to take lessons and fly as often as possible. I need to plan on that instrument school as soon as I have my regular license." She went over the costs and said, "If you want to start studying your ground school stuff, we can get you in the class for Saturday and Sunday. If you think you'll be ready, you can test on Sunday." "Okay, what time tomorrow?" "Be here no later than nine. The class will be in the operations building. It will not be out until three. If you take the test on Sunday, you'll have two and a half hours to answer sixty questions. They are not hard if you read the material and have a lick of common sense. Here's the binder for the class. Read it through. The instructor is going to be halfway through it already as it usually takes two weekends for ground school. Good luck. If you don't think you're ready Sunday, come to the next two weekends and take the test in two weeks." I could do this, I know how to study. Walking out of the charter service office, I found Steve waiting by my motorcycle. He said, "Most Fridays, we have a gathering out at the house for people who work at S&S and some of the clothing people. It's a lot of fun. I know for a fact that we are having a larger than average blowout to celebrate some company stuff, so we'll have ribs and chicken, and I'm told even a pig. Bring your lady and those other ladies I was told about. Free beer, free food, lots of good people. The party starts at five and usually lasts till nine or ten or so. What do you say, will you come?" Bobby shouldn't be hard to convince, and she was the most important. The others may or may not come. I like this guy and his wife, so why not. "Sure, we'll come. Tell me how to get there. You said you lived in a trailer park, right?" He gave me directions to a trailer park that was pretty near where we were. I thought I would just drive by to check out the place so I'd know where to go. I called Bobby, "We've been invited to a party tonight at the pilot's place near Land of Lakes, or Lutz, actually. I'd like to go. They are going to have food and booze and lots of people. Can you ask the others? If they want to come, if they do that's good, if not, that's fine too." Bobby asked what kind of food. I told her, "Barbecue ribs and chicken, and he said they were cooking a pig too." "I'm in," Bobby said. "I'll call Jan. Marie will follow us anywhere and Wanda will follow you anywhere." "Then just come home and pick me up. If you guys want to change clothes and get casual, that will give you a chance. Don't dawdle, as Steve says the party starts as soon as people can get there after the bell rings on Fridays." "We'll try to get out a little early like last week. We've all put in some extra this week so it will be fine. See you soon." I did ride over toward the trailer park, but turned into the business park next to it because of the big display of fancy trucks and motor homes that were out front. In this economy you wouldn't think the motor home business would be big, but they did have a lot full of big ones that were being worked on. The golf cart place on the other side of the street was something to see. They had every size utility and riding cart you can imagine, even those silly looking three-wheel police carts that meter readers use. Farther back were big trucks with those new style bodies. There was a tractor there with lots of cartoons all over it. It looked like one of the trucks that were at the car races on TV all the time. Without the trailer, you couldn't tell. I rode past what a sign said was the S&S Research and Development Center, and on the other side of the road was a strip mall with dozens of small shops. A couple of machine shops, a couple of motorcycle builders' shops, and even a Corvette restoration shop. There was a big school back there that I guess was for trades people. There were another bunch of big buildings surrounding a central building. It was the clothing company. Wow, this place had to have over a thousand employees. I wonder how they are staying in business? I rode back to an area that was a county park. It was also the home of the little league, soccer teams, and Pop Warner football. The place even had some tennis courts and basketball courts. This was really nice. There was an access into the trailer park that I rode through and recognized a point where I should turn to get to Steve's. As I slowly rode down the street, a golf cart roared up beside me and a big guy asked me to stop a second. I stopped and he asked me who I was and where I was going. I told him I was looking for Steve's place as he had invited me out for a party tonight. I had been in the business park and rode through the ballparks into the trailer park. He nodded and told me to ride slow as there were a lot of kids around. I rode down the street to find a huge tent in an open area that also had two horseshoe games set up. On one side of this area was a regular trailer house that was probably near seventy feet, but on the other side was some monster manufactured home that looked to be triple wide. The real amazing thing was the patio on the place. It was at least seventy feet long and was every bit of thirty or more feet wide. I could see tables and a big screen TV with several people and a lot of young people in there. That place was big. I rode back out and stopped at the front gate where the security guard was. I asked if I needed anything special to get back in for the party later. He said no, but I shouldn't carry in the park. I showed him my badge and he nodded, "I guess if you have to have it, carry it." "I can leave it in the car. That way it won't offend Steve and his family." "Shit, you won't offend Steve; he'll want to play with it. You'll just have to watch the kids, there are a lot of them." I rode home, showered, put on clean clothes, and was ready for the ladies to get home. At four thirty-five, the garage door opened and the Escalade drove in on one side, and the Chrysler 300 drove in on the other. The four ladies breezed by me with a hug and kiss from Bobby, the same from Wanda, a how's it hangin' from Marie, and a sweet smile and a hug from Jan. I was drinking a tall Beefeaters, so I just kept relaxing while the crew changed. They were ready in no time. Since I was drinking, I had Bobby drive while I navigated. On the way out, I told Bobby about signing up for the pilot's license school and what I would be doing this weekend. I also told her of my flights and the ride through the business park and what I saw in the trailer park. Bobby said, "Sue, the big breasted lady pilot said her place had a big patio where a lot of people came. I wonder if that's what you saw." Wanda and Jan were teasing Marie about the size of Sue. Marie was fascinated over Betsy's big ones, so they just knew she would be drooling over Sue. Jan said, "You never know, lots of women like other women. She might go both ways, just like us." Once inside the park we were directed where to go to park. There were cars everywhere and people walking toward the big tented area. When we parked, I pulled my gun off and stuck it in the glove box. The girls all asked, and I suggested leaving their purses in the car. They would be safe and since there were a lot of kids around, it would be a good idea. As we walked to the party area, we were struck with the sensation of the old time Florida trailer park. The difference though was most of the trailers were very big and all were well kept. The grounds were neat and well cared for, and even the street signposts were freshly painted. The place was very nice. As we walked up to the open area where the tent was, a young man about ten or eleven asked, "Are you Chuck Johnson, the Deputy Marshal?" "Yes Sir, I am." "I'm supposed to take you to my dad as soon as you get here. I've been watching for you." I could see the resemblance to Steve then. He went into the big patio at the far end, with us following him, and right up to a bar where Steve was standing. "Here he is, Dad, just like you said. He limps a little like you do and he has a giant wife. She's even bigger than Crystal." Steve ruffled his son's hair and stuck out his hand for me to shake. I introduced the ladies to him as Sue came up next to him. She was wearing a top that didn't magnify her chest, but it did give a mile or so of cleavage. Marie swallowed her tongue and Jan drooled as well. After the second introductions, Steve said, "It'll be too hard to try to introduce you to everyone, so I'll tell you what. When we make our announcements, I'll just introduce you to everyone. If you come back often, you'll get to know everyone. Now, what'll you have to drink?" When I asked for a tall Beefeaters on the rocks Steve said, "Ah, a man after my heart. The best stuff to start a party with." I turned around and Sue had spirited all of the women away to meet others. A beauty came up next to Steve and was obviously more than an acquaintance. Steve introduced me to Mercy. She was very gracious and you could feel her, as she looked into you. She seemed extraordinarily perceptive. Another lady came up to Steve and asked him for a mojito. She was an older, very attractive, Spanish lady named Juanita. You could tell Mercy and Steve were special to her by the way she stood next to them. Another lady, possibly older than Steve, came up to him and gave him a very friendly kiss. She was introduced as Kathy. Her dad was at the bar with us, having a beer. The feelings given off by these people put a smile on my face. Steve's friend, Dewey, was standing with a tall lady that was introduced as his wife, Sheila. "I'd introduce you to my kid, but he's going wild being here with his buddies. They don't get together but a couple times a year." The security guard was right about the kids. They seemed to be everywhere. There were nearly a dozen kids running around, that sort of all looked alike, and acted as if they were brother and sisters. There were some older, possibly college kids that acted like part of the family too. I couldn't tell who belonged to whom. I saw a few people that I recognized from Jonah's, and the big security guy that had stopped me today. When a big lady came up to him, I remembered him from Park Place Bar and Billiards. There was a cute redhead with a burly guy that I recognized from the bike shop near here, and from Jonah's. The funny thing was there was another short redhead that looked like the other. I wondered if they were twins. Another guy I saw, I knew worked at the Harley store down on Dale Mabry. I did go out to the tent with some guys in search of food. We all loaded up big paper plates with lots of food, and went back to where the cool air was being blown around. I wondered how he air-conditioned a screened patio. There were TVs around the patio like a sports bar, with a giant TV near an open sliding door of the main home. The place was really busy, with traffic in and out of the house constantly. I heard talk of NASCAR stuff, truck sales, even some news about a construction company. One of the guys apparently had just gotten back from Ireland where there was a division of S&S that built material moving equipment, a big name for forklifts. I wondered why they had to build them way over there. People were gathering inside and all around the patio in anticipation of something. Sue, Mercy, Kathy, and Juanita had come out to join Steve, along with a couple of men that seemed close to Steve as well. A big, very tall, guy that I had heard a couple of people refer to as Tiny stood up and used a microphone that was connected to speakers both inside and outside the patio. "Evening, folks, we have some news this evening that will be good for all of us. Before we get to the good stuff, let's do some social things. I see Dewey and family are here to visit. Steve has brought some new people into our clutches. I'll let him introduce them. Here, Steve." Bobby, Wanda, Jan, and Marie magically appeared at my side. Steve took the mike and said, "We recently picked up a new client at the air charter service that has been using us a lot. The man must be important, since he asks us to fly him somewhere, and asks if we can we leave in an hour or less. You know what this means, the only ones usually available are Sue and I. You know we were gone for a couple of days this past week; well, this guy's the culprit. The man of the group is Chuck Johnson. You best be on your good behavior as he is some kind of big shot as a Deputy U.S. Marshal. Say hi to Chuck." There was a lot of applauding along with some whistles and hollering. These folks know how to have a good time. "I can't hardly remember my kids names, so I'm going to let Chuck introduce the harem he's brought with him. I know you're all dyin' to find out the name of this gorgeous creature that makes Crystal look small. Here, Chuck, tell them who you brought with you." With a smile I said, "This wonderful lady that has a heart as big as she is, is Bobby. Her real name is Roberta but she'll hurt you big time if you call her that. Trust me, she can hurt you. Bobby is the local Station Chief for the U.S. Marshals Service, so she is also a Deputy U.S. Marshal." "This lady right here is also a Deputy Marshal, but works in the office as my office manager. Wanda recently moved here from Buffalo, New York. I'm sure you feel as I do, it was to our benefit." "This smaller critter is Marie Antoinette. The name is bigger than she is, but I'm sure you will agree, her name is beautifully melodic. She too is a Deputy and works for Bobby as the chief clerk in her station." "My special friend here is Jan. Look out now, as she is a Senior Agent and Assistant Bureau Chief with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jan is not only second in command here in Tampa, but she is also the winner of the all-services pistol competitions for the last two years." "That's my family or my group of friends. Some of you know Bobby's sister Millie from Jonah's, so you know her roots. Thank you for inviting us." I gave the mike back to Steve. "Nice harem, ah, I mean family, isn't it?" Lots of applause, hoots, and hollering. "Okay, I'll tell you the news, then let Tiny tell you what it means. This week we received the sole rights to our patents that will allow us to build and sell three of our lifts in the United States without infringing on anyone else's patents. We have moved to use the new building in St. Louis that we were setting up as a service center, but it will now be the manufacturing facility for these new products. If all goes well, we should roll the first of our lifts off the line in ninety days." Steve turned to Tiny and said, "Now tell 'em what this means." Tiny said, "This means a lot to us right now as our sales of used equipment is down quite a bit, along with repair orders. The big lift repair orders are still coming in, but have slacked off a little. We are able to shift people from here to St. Louis to make our new products there. All of you men who are moving will be the team leaders there. You will teach our perfect attitude and make sure our plant is way up there in productivity." "So far, we have not laid off the first person in our S&S Enterprises. Construction is tight, and we're still building the condos and apartments down across from Park Place. They are also still building the new plant for Quality clothing. Hopefully, we can get some more projects going for the men." "To let you know about our 401Ks. We have a broker that plays in commodities instead of just stocks. We didn't sell all of our portfolios because the market has always recovered and rewarded those people who stayed. I believe that, but we've used our extra money to deal in commodities, such as gold, silver, and platinum. Of course corn, wheat, and beans are doing well too. Our 401K manager is still doing a great job." "Since we announced a special package for those who want to retire early, we've had a whopping three people take me up on it. You guys are bad because everyone wants to work through this. Oh yeah, the three people who have retired were already getting Social Security for a long time. If any of you older folks decide you want to retire, let us know and we'll make you a deal you can't refuse." "Summer's coming and you know what that means, everyone is going to want fishing trips, vacations at our special places, and trips to Hawaii. Right now, the fishing charters are booked for the entire summer. The sailboats are booked, but we're afraid to buy more as the bookings could always drop out. So, those who want to plan special vacations, start now. The company is suggesting driving vacations this year to go see the U.S. and all its glory." "I'm giving the mike back to Steve as he wants to announce his vacation plans for this year." Steve took the mike and said, "Will all, and I mean all, my kids come here a minute. You'll want to hear this." A hundred or so kids came from every direction. There were some that were only about seven or eight, to kids that looked as if they were out of college. There wasn't a hundred, but there was a bunch. It looked like close to fifteen, I think. Shoot, this guy is prolific. "Mercy and Sue have convinced me. We are not going to sail the Caribbean again. We are not going to sail to Europe. We are going to take the big boat, go through the Panama Canal, sail up the west coast all the way to Alaska, from there to Hawaii, over to Japan, then down to the Philippines, and finally make the long trek back to the Canal and home. The trip from Seattle until we get back to California will be with at least one other boat, piloted by my friend, Dewey. We might be able to get two more boats and families to go with us. We are planning on leaving the first day school is out and hopefully be back the week before school starts back. If we don't make it back in time, then you kids might have to be home schooled this year. We'll work it out. I wanted to sail through the area with the pirates, but my ladies have told me that I didn't need the excitement in my life. Real spoilsports, aren't they? I think we could have made believers out of them though." "As it is, just getting to Panama can be dangerous enough, and on the other side, it can get real hairy with the drug guys that are out there. I guess you've noticed the extra time the ladies and older kids have been spending at the range. I think we'll be fine. I know you all will miss us, but we'll be back soon and you'll wonder where your peace and quiet went." Steve gave the mike back to Tiny. "Okay, now that you know what your founder and fearless leader is doing for the summer, make your plans so we can create schedules so everyone gets a break." Holy smokes, Steve and Sue. They must be S&S. These people are mega millionaires. They're not Bill Gates, but way up there. All that and they fly me around the country and live in a trailer park. Man, what a story this would be. Someone should write it. My group had partially dispersed. Wanda had met some people she was enjoying. Jan and Marie were talking to some girls at a table with lots of beer steins. My Bobby was right there with me. She whispered to me, "Steve and Sue are S&S. I can't wait to look up Steve Sharp. I'll bet there are some good files on him." The big security guard with the big girl friend came up to us, and he stuck out his hand and said, "My friends call me Bear. I noticed your tat earlier today and didn't have time to say anything. Not many have that one. Semper Fi." "Ooorah. I think the total in all the years is less than a hundred and fifty." He said, "It's a pretty damn elite group. Is that how you got hurt?" I nodded. "How bad?" "Lost a leg to an RPG." "Tough." "They gave me a new one. I'm fine." "Steve was in Desert Storm and was hurt. That's why he limps." "I'll have to give him the greeting then. It's always good to meet more men among men. It's good to meet all of you." Crystal said looking at Bobby, "You can say that again. I'm glad to know you, Bobby, I don't feel so damned big when you're around. Christ, you're big. You look fit too, like you work out." I answered for her, "She does, every day. She near kills me, keeping me in the gym." Bobby chuckled and said, "Sure I do. The runt drives me until I can hardly breathe. He nearly drowns me in the pool." Bear offered, "We'll have to get together for a ride. I'll take you around the area, show you off or hide you, one or the other." "Sounds good, Bear, I'll look forward to it." It was getting past nine, so I suggested to Bobby, "Why don't we gather our group and let them know we are going to leave? They can stay or go, either way. Jan and Marie kind of look like they may have met new friends, and Wanda is hanging out with another couple." Bobby made the rounds and our three ladies were all coming home with us. They had made new friends, but wanted the security of home. It took a long while just to say goodbye to our host and his women. There was constantly a kid in the way. It was fun to be around these people. As Mercy gave me a hug, she kissed me and smiled ever so gently. My head was filled with her picture, and it was as if I heard her voice. It was weird, but she was definitely talking to me. She kept saying to me in my head, "We want you to come back, we like you, we want you." Strange. We left the huge patio and the crazy party with a box of ribs and chicken wings. If I drank another beer, I could float home instead of riding in a car. Jan and Marie were excited about the new friends they had met. Wanda had a pleasant smile that reflected her good mood as well. At home we snacked on some wings and more beer. When we finally got our teeth cleaned, we fell into bed, sleeping almost immediately. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 27 Ah, Saturday. I was semi-conscious, thinking about sleeping in. Then the mind kicked in. Oh yeah, ground school for a pilot's license. I wonder how smart it was to commit to something like this. Oh well, I did commit, so I better be getting out there. I slid from bed and did the bathroom stuff, coming from the shower to meet my big beauty. She gave me a wonderful hug, telling me that the girls were going shopping out at the Quality Wear factory store today. She said Sue and another lady she met were going to help find clothes for them. She asked if I wanted anything, and I suggested that I wouldn't mind having some camo fatigue pants or possibly some shorts from the same material. While Bobby was showering, I dressed and made breakfast for everyone. It was still early, but there's no sense in getting used to sleeping in. I made the trip around the rooms to find the three all sleeping together in Wanda's bed. I asked them if they wanted to get up for their shopping expedition and they bounced right out of bed. We ate together and I said I was going to ride the bike out to the air park since it was such a nice day. The girls told me to be careful and learn well so I could fly them to the moon. Very funny. The bike was running well, but it let me know that I needed gas. Thank goodness for the reserve on the fuel tank switch. I filled up and rode serenely out to the airpark. It was a very nice ride, with much less traffic, since it was early Saturday morning. I was there just before eight, possibly an hour early. I thought I might check out the planes some more, but when I signed in at the operations building, an older guy that identified himself as the teacher said, "I think everyone is probably going to be here by eight fifteen, so we can start early and learn more. You're the one who wants to try for the test tomorrow right?" I nodded. "I'm not saying you can't do it but there is a lot to learn for only today and tomorrow. I'll make sure you have all the information, but you'll have to study tonight to catch up. Here's another binder like you were given yesterday. Go in the classroom and start on page one. I'll shift us to the correct page when the class begins." Ten minutes later, the classroom was full. The instructor said, "Let's begin. You all have a lot to learn before your exam tomorrow." We were taught for almost two hours before we got a pee break, then two more hours before we broke for lunch. The school had a huge stack of hoagies and soft drinks for us, and encouraged us to eat quickly so we could get right back to class. We started back at twelve thirty, and at two-thirty the instructor said, "That's the information I wanted to cover for today. I'm going to jam through last week's information for our new student. Any that wish to stay to go over the material again are welcome. I'm told that I can cram as fast as I can with this guy, so stay quiet and just listen, okay?" From two thirty to almost six, the instructor had me going through the earlier chapters, and using visual aids, and taught me the items about flying that you never think about. Every time you go somewhere, you have to calculate weights, quantities of fuel that must be included in the weights, plus weather and wind conditions. There was a lot to remember, and he reminded us that was why almost everything having to do with flying an airplane had checklists involved. If I wanted to be a perfect pilot, I should make up my own personal preflight checklists that didn't have anything to do with the plane, but prepared me to fly. We did several sample calculations for weight and balance, and then he threw in a problem about density altitude and the differences it made. When the instructor called it a day, my head was spinning. I could use some food and a beer. I called Bobby to see where they were. If they were near food, I wanted to join them, especially if the food was accompanied by beer. When Bobby answered, I asked, "Hey Babe, I'm finished for today and I'm starved and need a beer. Where are you so I can meet you?" The surprising answer, "We are back at Sue's place actually, having barbecue and beer. Come on and get here. There's enough food here for an army." "Are you sure we're not intruding?" Bobby was smiling, "No Honey, I think it's the way this place is, one continuous gathering of family and friends. Come on before we eat up everything." She hung up on me. Huh! I rode to the trailer park and was passed through the gate as if I was expected. When I parked in front of the trailer, I parked among a bunch of really nice bikes, and a bunch of various kinds of golf carts. I noticed that there were kids running around doing things everywhere I looked. There were a bunch of redheaded kids that must belong to the cute little redheaded twins. My ladies all greeted me with enthusiasm, all talking at once telling me about what they had found today at the factory outlet. They were praising Sue and the ladies that had gone to the store to help them find sizes for all of them. Mercy brought me a beer with a smile, "You look like you would enjoy a beer. Have some ribs, Tiny is doing a great job on them today." When the chatter settled to a roar, I went over to say hi to the men at the bar, watching Tiny and an older, much shorter, man cooking on two huge built-in grills under a giant hood. When my beer looked low, Steve pointed at a refrigerator with a Bud handle on it. "Pour your own, Chuck. That's the advantage of having a keg that's always full." I went back to the table to satisfy my hunger, listening to the multiple conversations from the various groups. The famous Glenda was introduced to me while we were eating. I told her how great her meatloaf sandwiches were. She smiled proudly. While pointing to the bar, she said, "My Martin loves my meatloaf and says all men love good meatloaf sandwiches. I think men just like to eat." Martin was the little guy helping Tiny cook. As I was filling up with food, Steve came over and said, "I know you have to study this evening, but we're taking a little ride up to Dade City. Want to come? If all your ladies want to come, we have enough single riders that everyone can get a ride." Bobby looked at me pleadingly as I answered, "I would love to. My bike isn't anywhere as nice as those out front. Kind of a plain Jane." "Hey," said the big burly guy with the redheaded girlfriend or wife, "you get your knees in the breeze. You ride. From what I hear, you even ride with a fake leg. Some of us have time to fool around with our equipment, and some of us don't. If you keep your bike running well and clean, no one will ever fault you." We did ride up to Dade City. They had some kind of festival or fair at their fair grounds. We had some more beer and a sausage sandwich, loaded up, and rode back to the trailer park. There were several women who were single riders. Some took my ladies and one of Steve's women rode behind one of the ladies. The tall lady with Steve, Kathy, was talking to one of the short redheads about when her bike was going to be ready. She was anxious to get it on the road. She did seem to enjoy being behind Steve while he rode a big bike with a sidecar. Sue was in the sidecar, while Mercy was behind a tough looking lady with a gentle smile. As a group, we said our goodbyes and thank yous for the hospitality, food, and beer. The girls were now all old pals with the women here and promised to call this coming week. They all were easy to know and like. There were a lot of them, though. Hard to get all the names right and who belonged to whom. Marie rode back to the house with me, while Wanda and Jan went with Bobby in the Escalade. As soon as we were home, I went into the office and studied hard until midnight. I took a shower, had a beer, and sat with the girls as they were still looking over their purchases from today. After a while I announced, "I'm going to bed since I need to be up early for class in the morning. I think I've progressed enough to take that exam tomorrow. The instructor said it wasn't that difficult, so I do want to try to take it." I was hugged and kissed before being sent to bed. Just as I lay my head on the pillow, a naked Wanda slipped into bed. She kissed me for several minutes before allowing me to progress to enjoy her magnificent goodies. We made love for a lot longer than I should have, but it was too good to stop. When we were still wrapped up with each other, gently kissing while lying in a giant wet spot, I slipped into sleep. Sometimes guys just can't stay awake, can they? Chapter Twenty-seven "B" Wow, six thirty already. I was up showered, dressed, and had some cereal, while the rest of the house slept in. The weather forecaster was expecting some afternoon showers, so I took the car and arrived at the air park about seven forty-five. The instructor said, "Eager, huh? I noticed you going for a ride with the bunch out at the park. Did you have time to do any studying?" "I got in three solid hours and was able to go through everything up through what we did yesterday. I went ahead and read the rest of the information too, so I should be up with the rest of the class." "So you think you might want to take the exam?" "Yep, I think I should be able to pass it." The instructor said, "Hopefully everyone will get here early again today so we can get started early." The class was convened by ten after eight. We had one very short pee break between eight and noon. The instructor said, "All those taking the exam today, go have something to eat quickly so we can begin the exam. You'll have two and half hours to complete the questions. You are not really expected to finish all sixty, but you are graded by how many you do finish." After we ate, I had already figured out that two and half hours was nine thousand seconds so I had to read and answer every question in two and half minutes or less. I should be up to it. I did finish all of the questions in only an hour and forty-five minutes. I'm sure I missed some of them, but I don't think I missed many. My retention is pretty good and I'm used to reading and comprehending fast. It took longer to fill in the little circles and look back and forth between the test and the answer sheet than it did to read and think of the answer to the question. I went back over the test, satisfied with my answers. When the tests were all gathered, the instructor said, "You should all receive your exam scores by Wednesday. I'll work on them right away. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday." As I got up to stretch, the instructor said, "Chuck, hang on a second, will you?" He took an answer sheet and put a template over it and began going down the answers. He went to the next sheet and then the third answer sheet. He raised his eyes to me and smiled. "Ninety-eight, excellent." I must have looked confused as he said, "You passed your exam. Looks like you missed one question. Come on; let's get in your first student pilot hours. Steve said that if you did well and I wanted to do it, I could give you your first hour or two of in-flight instruction. Let's go get a airplane. We walked over to the charter office and checked out a little Cessna and I did the preflight inspection under his supervision. He had me get into the left seat. That made me a little nervous, but he could fly the plane just as well from the right seat. We were soon in the air; with him giving me little hints how to handle the plane. He directed me toward some clouds, saying that he wanted me to feel the buffeting that would occur under these bigger cumulus clouds. We were at about four thousand feet, probably five hundred feet under the clouds. It was noticeably cooler under the big cloud and there were downdrafts and updrafts all the way under it. The whole time I was trying to keep the plane level beneath the clouds, I could see the instructor with his hand on the stick with me. What bothered me were the worry lines he got on his face a couple of times as the plane bounced like a basketball. I was amazed when he said, "Let's get back down; you've been up two hours. We'll get low on fuel pretty soon if we stay up much longer." Wow, wonder where two hours went. I landed the plane while being talked down all the way. He said my next lesson was going to be all up and down. Lots of landings, which meant lots of takeoffs. He handed me a neat little leather book with my name embossed on the front. "This is your log book. Your teaser time is logged, so let's log your time today to get you started." I made appointments for two in the afternoon everyday this coming week. Hopefully, I could do my work and still get out here to fly two or three hours a day to fulfill the requirements to learn. It could be difficult to flex around the time needed to finish. When I got into the car, I called Bobby to see what we were doing. "Come to Park Place. We're in the bar, shooting pool with the people from the trailer park. Tommy and Zena are here, too. Come on, I'm starved and we've ordered a bunch of pizzas and calzones." At the crowded Park Place, I had to park at the end of the diner's parking lot. I could see into the diner as I passed and saw that it was packed. The bar was full, with people at every pool table, and people at the dart games and foosball tables. It looked like every seat at the bar was taken, and all the tables had people. Bobby stood up and, of course, towered above everyone. She waved at me. I got a hug, a kiss, and was handed a long neck. "The food just came. Sit, I saved a chair for you." Tom and Zena were meeting Steve, Sue, Mercy, and Kathy for the first time. Wonder where Juanita was? There were a bunch of kids, so the trailer park folks didn't ride. Tom and Zena thought the group was a lot of fun. Steve asked how today was, knowing that since I was so late, I had passed the test and had gotten my first in-flight instruction. I talked about flying under the cloud and how my first landing had been. Bobby asked Steve, "Do you think he's going to be able to fly me? I'm so big, I may weigh too much." "You'll be fine, Bobby, Chuck will learn to fly the 172 and if you can get into the seat, it will carry you fine. If he wants to fly all you ladies he'll have to learn to fly the 205 or 206 we have. It will carry all of you." "That's a ways off, Steve," I said. "I have to learn a lot and have a lot of practice to do before I fly someone with me." "You're doing it now, Chuck," Steve said. "Even though the instructor is with you, you're flying him. It's the same." "Yeah, sure." "You'll see, you'll soon have confidence." It seemed like I had just gotten there when Bobby said, "It's nine-thirty, we should leave soon." Where did the time get to? Sue said, "We should have had these kids home an hour ago. Juanita will be all over us." We got kisses, hugs, and handshakes from the trailer park people, then a nice kiss and handshake from Zena and Tom. Amazing, we have met a lot of people in the last couple of weeks. Wanda and Bobby had ordered a huge box of calzones to take to work tomorrow. I was planning on a late night snack, as I knew how good those things were. We made it home in time to relax, have our snack, enjoy a leisurely swim, and hop into bed for a good night's sleep, after some cuddling with my big babe first. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 28 Monday morning, after some serious swimming, I was finishing dressing when my cell phone rang. It was John. "You're going to have to go to St. Louis for a Bureau station change then head up to Chicago for a Homeland Security union arbitration meeting. You'll need support, so advise Wanda. You'll probably be gone two nights, so plan on three. I know you just started your flight training, but this can't be helped. I have to be elsewhere. You know, out of this world and such. I'm sending you files that will get you up to date. Let Wanda put it all together for you." "While you're in Chicago, I think they could use you on one of their pickups. They think it's going to be nasty, so if you don't mind, lead the thing, and make it happen so our people get out alright. Be careful, don't rush or be cocky." Thank goodness I could talk to Wanda before she had time to leave for the office. I advised her of what we were going to be doing and said, "I have to call to cancel my flight training for a couple of days, so I'll ask for a charter. I guess we should try to take a commercial airline, but we'll probably need to work in-flight. Let me get us a ride." I called the air charter service and talked to the attendant on duty at the time. They said they would get something ready for me. The phone rang about five minutes later. It was John, my flight instructor. He asked, "How fast do you have to be in St. Louis?" "Today, it doesn't have to be instantaneous. I need to be there no later than, say two, so I can do what I need to do. I'm going to Chicago for at least a day, perhaps two, before coming home." John the instructor said, "Do you mind taking a long time to fly home? We're a little light on fast planes right now, but we do have an executive type plane for you." "That'll be fine. As long as my administrator can work on the plane, we're fine with whatever we can get. I'm sure it's faster than waiting for connections." "Come on out. Since I don't have a student, I'm the designated charter jockey. I think you'll like my idea." Wanda and I packed and drove to the air park, parking over by the charter office. John came out of the office and walked me back to a wildly painted Cessna 206. He said, "You're going to fly us to St. Louis. You're going to have a long lesson today and get checked out in another plane. We'll stop in at several small airports on the way for some practice landings and takeoffs, plus this plane was used by one of the executives for S&S. He had to have phone and internet service, so the plane is ready for you. Get your lady seated and I'll get your luggage over here so we can begin our preflight inspection." I thought this was neat. I would get my in-flight training while handling some job functions. This would take care of exactly what I was worried about missing. The flight up to St. Louis was interesting, as we did land and takeoff at five small airports on the way. This plane was heavier, much heavier, than the 152 and John described my first landing as pretty heavy, as well. By the third time setting it down, I was finding the runway more gently with the two main gear, before dropping the nose. Landing in St. Louis was different as we went into the main airport, a really big airport. I landed, but John had to do all the talking as we had to enter a long final approach and John had me watch some instruments to keep the plane on a steadily lowering line on a glide slope display. It wasn't difficult, just different, being told what to do instead of watching and feeling what to do. Wanda said the computer on the plane worked great and she had all of the station transfer paperwork prepared for us when we landed in St. Louis. She had also pulled the Chicago file so I would be prepared for the arbitration meeting. We were able to meet up with a Bureau driver to take us to the station. The change went smoothly with the old chief retiring and the new station chief eager to prove himself in his first station. About three, we were back out at the airport going over the preflight inspection checklist. John had the plane fueled while I was working, so we were ready to leave quickly. It took me longer to find the right taxiway than it did to wait in line to take off. Once again, John did all the talking and I just worried about the plane. I was going to have to learn everything he was saying, but right now I was more concerned about doing all the individual things to get us off the ground. At Chicago, we landed at an executive airport on the west side of the city, away from the intense air traffic of the big airports. Wanda had a printed out e-mail from our office. Angie had booked John at a hotel close to the airport, and had booked us near the Homeland Security station where the arbitration was going to be held. The three of us ate together before we parted. I promised to call John if we were going to be able to get out tomorrow. He told us not to worry as he would do some sightseeing. That night, I studied the arbitration file, wondering who in the world allowed government security people to join a union. The bitch was about a supervisor working a shift because a man had not shown up. The union felt one of the other men should have been called in to work overtime, so they wanted everyone on that shift to receive overtime reimbursement, whether they were scheduled or not. Wanda said, "Would you let me sleep with you tonight, even though I have my period?" "Of course, Wanda. We fool around because we want to. There is never a time when the only reason we are together is so I can get off. I enjoy being snuggled up with you too." Our individual doors were barely closed before Wanda came through the door between the rooms, wearing a nice gown. Sometimes a woman can be even sexier wearing a silky gown than being nude. I called home to see how Bobby's day was. She talked to me, asked to talk to Wanda, then said goodnight to me. When we were in bed with the lights out, Wanda said, "This is nice. I like being with you and this is just a little more intimate than before, since we're not anticipating sex. We're enjoying each other's physical company. This is special." Tuesday morning was rushed, even after having been up at six, central time. The hotel restaurant was so slow we didn't get to finish our breakfast. We walked into the big Homeland Security office for the eight o'clock meeting at seven forty-five. The main Homeland Security station chief and assistant station chief, three union representatives, their attorney, and the arbitration judge greeted us. At eight, I asked if we were going to begin and was informed we were waiting for the union member who had filed the grievance. At eight fifteen, I asked if anyone had attempted to contact this person so we could see what was keeping him. The one union man said, "Hold your horses, the man will be here. He isn't terribly late." At eight thirty I asked the arbitration judge. "I'm sure you're used to being stood up by someone who has filed a grievance. I am not. Since we are to pay this man for his time today and he was scheduled to be here at eight, I am putting the man on report for not showing up and not even giving us the courtesy of calling. Next, from the reports filed by all concerned, the now delinquent man didn't call on the day in question, either. I'm filing a retroactive report for that occurrence as well. One more incident of any form will be his third strike and he will be gone. This is not a threat, our national security depends on this man, and he is not responding to our or his country's needs." The union guys were huddled with the attorney, while the arbitration judge was grinning. They tried to present a few reasons why we couldn't put the man on report, but ended up having to agree the man was scheduled to be present, just as he had been scheduled to be at work the day the arbitration was for. I asked the chief and assistant, "Is it difficult finding personnel to fill these positions?" The chief said, "Not at all. We have at least two dozen people waiting for call up. They are people that already have security clearances." I looked at the union people and asked, "Tell me, do you want to go out and get some cards for a good poker game while we are waiting for your man, or would you prefer to reschedule this for in the morning. That way we can strike this guy out and you can get a good union member." "But, but, but what about the arbitration amount because the supervisor worked the shift?" "According to the file, the supervisor called the four men that were off that day, but were on the volunteer overtime list. Since it was a Sunday, you are asking for double time for everyone. If none of the four men available would come in, and he had flights and responsibilities to cover, I think the supervisor did an admirable job in keeping traffic flowing. Until you can convince your men to come in when scheduled, and to assist when called for overtime, it is the management's job to complete the assigned task. Unfortunately, the only person available to perform the task was not a union member." After pausing for maximum effect, "I propose to the arbiter that this grievance hearing be suspended, and the grievance be denied as not being justified." The man holding the power looked at his watch, "It's now nine oh five. I would think that being over an hour late would be considered delinquent. I agree with management on this one, and this grievance is hereby negated. Please turn in your reports so this man can be escorted out of the building on the next infraction. Good day, gentlemen." The attorney said to me, "You know, you can't do this sort of thing up here. This is Chicago; we control Chicago and what goes on here. You should go back to Florida and pick cotton or whatever you do down there." The three union guys were all trying to act tough, standing and attempting to intimidate us. All were overweight porkers that spent too much time showing off in bars. I was smiling at them, relaxed, showing that this was a total non-confrontational environment. The four men left the conference room and appeared to head toward the interior of the building. I asked, "Do those men have security clearances? None of them have anything displayed." The Station Chief and the assistant said, "Oh no, not me, they may not be cleared, but I'm not doing that to the union execs." "I will. I'm bound by duty to protect federal premises. Come on, Deputy," I said to Wanda, "there are intruders on our premises." Wanda was laughing as she followed me out into the offices, where we spotted the four talking to a group of men and women. I approached them and asked, "Would all of you show your security badges?" I pulled my deputy marshal badge and showed it to them. The employees all knew that the Marshal's Service did security checks all the time, so they were all pointing to their badges hanging from lanyards around their neck. The four union men looked at me as if I had two heads. "Who's senior man here?" A nicely dressed man said, "I am. I am the shift manager. I'm the senior union member here." "Good, would you place these four under arrest, and call the Marshal's Service to pick them up for arraignment. You are all armed, I see. Make sure none of these intruders are armed. Please have all secure information covered while they are on the floor." I looked at Wanda and said, "Let's check to make sure there are no other security breaches in this general area." The lead union man began bitching, "We have the right to be in a place of employment of our members. You have no authority." I looked at the senior man, "Please advise this man as to where he is and as to his rights. If you wish to recuse yourself from the responsibility, Ms. Johnson and I can handle it." The man turned to the union people and said, "My job is important to me and you are in a secure area. You are not cleared, and you do not have permission to be here. If you had asked, it would have been possible for you to be escorted throughout the building, but each area would have to be scrubbed and covered before your entry. We didn't have an opportunity to do that here, so according to the rules, you must be treated as hostile, and possibly spies." One of the union men said to us, with a very nasty tone, "You better hope you're out of town by the time my men come looking for you. I won't forget this." I smiled and said to Wanda, "That man is threatening me, should you shoot him?" Wanda had her purse on her shoulder and reached in and had her hand pulling just the handle of her Glock from her purse. "Should I shoot him or am I supposed to warn him first?" "I think we're supposed to ask them to give up first, warn them, and then shoot them anyway." I could see the attorney attempting to distance himself from the trio of men trying to be big shots. Four deputy marshals showed up and came to us. "What's up here? I understand there is a security breach." I pointed to the four men, "These men entered this area without requesting permission, disregarding the requirement for clearance. Please transport them to the lock up for processing." Two marshals pulled their sidearms and two began cuffing the four. When they began shaking them down, two had shoulder holsters. The attorney was about to pass out from fear. I'm sure he was thinking disbarment over this stupid act. As Wanda and I accompanied the deputies and the prisoners back toward the lobby and elevator, one of the elevator doors opened and an obviously drunk guy got off, waving some kind of handgun. "Where the fuck is the fucking meeting? I'm just going to cap me a fucking boss instead of fucking with all this grievance shit." As we approached, I could see the man's glassy eyes and total lack of cognizance that we were approaching. I reached up and grabbed the man's hand with the gun and brought it behind him and then kicked his feet from under him. When he fell, my knee was in his back to knock the wind from him. The gun went skittering across the tile floor as I reached up with my hand to have a set of cuffs handed to me. When the guy was cuffed, I asked the cuffed union officials, "Is this the man you were trying to protect today? You were really doing your union a favor, weren't you? A person waving a gun around in a building where almost everyone is armed is not smart. I think this is this man's third strike. Since he'll get at least ten years, perhaps you can find him a job somewhere else when he gets out." I told the deputies, "Call for some help. This one on the floor needs the full process. These other four might get off with a warning, depending on the judge. I have to be at your station later today. I'll file the incident reports then." One of the men said, "I saw your fake leg when you were kneeling. Are you Chuck Johnson?" "That's me." "And you didn't shoot anyone? Even this guy who had a gun?" "He was too drunk to know where he was and these other guys are all wusses. I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I don't shoot everybody." The four men laughed, but the four prisoners just looked confused. "Get em out of here for me, I've had it with these guys today." As they were being herded onto the elevator, I heard them trying to tell the union guys about what they had heard about me in the past. We went back into the conference room to get our briefcases and papers. The Homeland Security Station Chief and assistant were still sitting there. The chief asked, "So what happened?" I pointed at the bank of monitors that were now all on and said, "If you were not watching, look at the tapes." After thinking a minute, I said, "I want you men to know that I am disappointed in both of you for not protecting the security of your workplace. You cannot be intimidated by anyone that does not have a security clearance for this location. I'll have to have the Marshal's Service give you daily checks and test all of you. Straighten up, act like you're leaders." Wanda and I left, heading downstairs. There were deputies still milling around in the lobby, so I asked, "Think we could get a ride to the station?" The man that had identified me said, "Right this way, Chuck, I'll have you there in five minutes." The station was close and the door to door service was even better. The building also housed the Bureau, DEA, and ATF stations. The offices were all bigger than those in Tampa. Of course, this was the main station in Chicago, the second largest city in the country. As soon as I walked in the door, the Station Chief was out of his office to greet me. His deputies had warned him I was on my way. We accepted his offer of coffee, and even took a couple of very fresh, almost warm, donuts. In his office, he asked, "Are you really willing to go out with the men on this pickup? D.C. guys don't do stuff like that." "I'm not a D.C. guy," I said, defensively. "If you're referring to John, did you ever ask him? He would fly out here anytime to help you if you needed him." The Chief said, "I just didn't think the service would put a man in your position in harm's way. You're too valuable." With a frown, I said, "I am no more valuable than any man in your command, in your office. Everyone in the service is a deputy, ready to defend and protect government property, personnel, and most importantly, the citizenry." The man just sat there thinking about what I said. I'm sure he felt admonished. "Okay," I said, trying to get back on track. "Who's the team leader for the show tomorrow, and could I talk to him and discuss his plan. I've only briefly looked at this file, but John asked me to help lead this. While I do that, could you provide my Office Manager some office space so she can catch up on what we're missing today?" Wanda soon had a desk, and the seasoned team leader was introduced to me. His name was Larry Wilson. We went into the tactical room to look over a display of pictures. "This is the place where the escapees are right now. We've had the place under surveillance for two weeks and have found that the three are all armed and are accompanied by local gang members. We have snipers planted in key places that should give us several kills if necessary when we initiate the capture." After looking at the photos, I asked, "What kind of weapons do the subjects have?" "A lot of handguns, and we know that they have at least six AKs. The local Bratva traded them for a couple of the gang's street girls. The Bureau is planning an action on the Bratva house about the same time as our raid. So far, there is no indication that word of our raid has leaked. Let me show you how we plan to attack." He went through each of the steps he was planning to gain entry into the building. All were risky and had the men exposed to fire from inside. "How about gaining access from this third floor porch? There are no windows in a straight line up the side of the house. A grapple could be thrown over the rail and men could congregate up there and as they worked their way downstairs, we could be prepared to capture the ones who run out the front and back doors." "That's a good idea, but we have a problem as the houses on each side are connected by a tunnel in the basement. We will need to be ready to capture people at the ends of both tunnels. The outer two houses are not well guarded, so we anticipate capturing those easily. The center house is where the confrontation will be." We sat and looked at the photos and the building plans for a few minutes. "Okay," I said thinking of another way. "Let's go with the men entering on the third floor. At the exact moment of the third floor attack, I want flash bangs thrown through every window on the first two floors. I'm sure we can get enough men to get that job done. The tunnels will be covered, so we'll catch anyone staggering through there trying to get out. We'll catch the men leaving by the front and back doors. The men coming from the third floor will clear the third, the attic, go to the second floor, and push everyone to the first floor where the outside contingent should have gotten inside by then." "Aren't you afraid of injuring one of the suspects with that many flash bangs?" "No, the escapees and gang members aren't afraid to harm others, so we're just neutralizing them. We must protect our men first. Our mission is to capture the escapees with as little bloodshed as possible. Let's try it this way and hope it doesn't get to be a shootout." "I'm with you," Larry said. "We're planning on five thirty tomorrow morning. We'll meet here at four, brief, and be in place at five ten to five fifteen. This should give us the maximum element of surprise." "Sounds good. Have some men practice throwing grappling hooks to a third floor or higher area. They have to get the hook over the rail on the first throw. The men who will go up will have to hand over hand all the way up. Make sure everyone on that entry team is up to it." "We'll begin practice drills right away." "And, Larry, last of all," I said, thinking of the proper way to prep. "Bed check at six. I want food here for the men when they get here in the morning. If you have to hire a caterer, do it, but feed them during briefing." "Six is kind of early isn't it?" "Yes, it is. I want them in their quarters by six so they can relax and have time to think about all the ways they can get hurt tomorrow. If they think the danger through, there will be fewer mistakes." "It will be the way you want, Sir." "Excellent. I'm going to the hotel, exercise, get a good supper, and go to bed. See you here before four tomorrow." The taxi driver knew of a good Indian restaurant less than a block from our hotel, so we went there and enjoyed some curried chicken and some unique vegetables. After walking to the hotel, we stopped into the lounge for a nightcap, enjoying a piano player that was playing melodic ballads. Upstairs, we decided to forgo the exercise session, prepared for bed, called Bobby and spoke for only a few minutes, and we were both sound asleep in minutes. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 29 Our Wednesday morning wake up was at three, so we were quickly up, showered, and dressed. A taxi dropped us at the station at three-thirty, where we met Larry coming in at the same time. I asked for, and was let into their equipment room, where I fit Wanda with a vest and found one in my size. I found two extra magazines for Wanda's Glock, then I checked out an MP5, five magazines, and a belt with pouches to carry the extra ammo. Larry almost started laughing when he saw us. "Jesus, Chuck, this is just a bunch of gang bangers, not anyone that's professional." "Doesn't make any difference, Larry. You never know what you're going to run into and I'd rather be ready for anything. I'm interested in your snipers and the equipment they use. They may need to be very accurate today." Larry nodded, "They are all good, and the equipment they use is the best." Men continuously came through the door until Larry checked off the last man. As the men were eating their catered breakfast sandwiches, Larry said, "You all did good getting here on time and everyone is wearing their protective equipment. You know how we are going to take this place. We have practiced all of the accesses and approaches. We know how to catch folks that try to get out by the basement exits. The one thing we actually don't know is how many armed men are going to be in the main house, and how many will be awake and on guard. From the time you make entry, until the entire house is clear, don't take any chances. Protect your partner and yourself at all times. Deputy Johnson's assistant, Wanda, will be our checkpoint. Make sure you check in with her when your position is clear at the conclusion of this maneuver. Okay, good luck and be safe. Everyone go directly to your positions; when you hear the mike keyed and my 'Go, ' we start. Let's roll." There were a total of thirty men. Five to go into each of the two side houses, five to go into the third floor of the main house, five for the front, five for the back, and five snipers. There were four snipers stationed around the house, observing now, but would come in later for additional mop up. Larry was to direct from his position and Wanda would be his sidekick contact. This was Wanda's first action and you could tell she was nervous. She would do a good job and I knew she would be safe. You have to let people learn. Once in place, I was going with the five that were entering from the top. As a matter of principle, I would be the first up the rope to guard for the men climbing after me. Since we didn't know the strength of the railing no one would follow me up. When I knew the strength of the rail, I would signal 1, 2, or 3, as to how many men should climb at once. I heard the "Go" in my earpiece and moved forward, leading my group. As soon as I approached the house, I noticed something strange about the windows. When I got up close there was a small sticker on the bottom of the window that said "Kevlar." I keyed my mike and said softly, "No flash bangs from outside. The windows are protected." I heard two clicks of the command mike, signifying he understood. The rope man tossed the padded hook over the railing and pulled it tight without a sound. I pulled tight on the rope and immediately began the hand over hand climb to the third floor balcony. The railing didn't give at all on the way up and when I arrived, I saw that it was made of steel and was bolted into the deck and the walls. I quickly checked the window and glass paned door and turned, holding up three fingers. As the five men were climbing the rope, I checked the door and gently turned the handle. It wasn't locked, but I didn't want to open the door until we were ready to enter as a group. When all five men were on the balcony, I gave the motion we were going in. With the same hand signals, I motioned they should be sure to look in all directions and keep their heads down. I pulled down the handle and yanked the door open. No alarm. When I stepped into the room, I almost stepped on someone's head. I knelt and covered the man's mouth, while the second man in cuffed him. We stuffed a T-shirt in his mouth and tied it in, using a pair of panty hose that was laying there. We pulled his feet together and used a giant tie-wrap to pull them together and to tie them to his cuffs. We had hardly made a sound. While this was going on, the other four men were all around the room making sure there were no other accesses. A man entered the hallway and two men entered the first door and two more men entered the door farther down. The man that had helped me with our first capture went with me to the last door down the hall. When I opened the door, a head rose from a bed to see what was happening. I used the butt of the MP5 to keep the person quiet, and had to do the same to another person in the bed. We quickly gagged, handcuffed, and tie-wrapped them before coming back to the hall. When all six of us were assembled by the stairs, I motioned down and we went down the stairs as quietly as we could. The stairs were old and creaked all the way down. As I hit the landing, a door opened and a man was coming out of the door with a handgun. I said, "Drop it" as I steadied the MP5 at him. He tried to raise his hand, but he died from the silenced burst from my rifle. By this time, the other five men were on the landing and I directed them to the four other rooms on this floor. Before we could get to the door we were taking, a shotgun was fired from behind it, blowing a huge hole in the flimsy wooden door. Thinking another round would probably be coming, we both let go two bursts into the room and stood to the side of the door waiting for the next blast. Behind us, there were a couple of pistols shots and the rattle of the noise suppressed MP5s. I turned the handle on the door with the hole in it and pushed it open. I saw two guys laying up against the far wall with lots of blood on them. My partner covered the room while I checked for pulses. One had a light pulse, but it was irregular. Neither was going anywhere. I picked up a handgun and shotgun and threw them out through the open window. As we went back into the hallway, one of our men was being treated for an arm wound, and another for a wound to the thigh. Once they were wrapped, it left four us to go down the stairs. We could hear a commotion down there, and some shouted directions. As I peeked over the banister, someone from below began firing an AK on full auto. Thank goodness for inexperienced shooters. All the rounds went way wide of me. I motioned that I was going to go down the stairs and they were to toss flash bangs at the count of three. I started down the stairs counting, and at four I closed my eyes. We saw the flash through our eyelids, and since we all had ear plugs over our ear pieces, we heard the muffled bang, but were not disabled from it. Almost sliding down the stairs, I was confronted with six dazed men. They had one hand on a weapon and the other trying to get their ears working. They were looking, but not seeing, from being blinded by the bright light. I was taking the rifles away from the men as fast as I could. The second man down finished up for me as I hit the nearest door to me. Nothing there, so I went to the next, nothing there either. I heard pistol fire behind me, followed by extensive silenced rifle fire that increased in noise level as it continued. Silencers lose their effectiveness as you keep shooting. The fine steel wool packed into the silencer to absorb sound tends to weld itself together from the heat, resulting in no remaining noise suppression. While two men were occupied doing that room, my partner and I entered the other rooms until they were all clear. The two men that had been firing came over to the front door, threw it open, and flashed a light out toward the command vehicle. The five men assigned to the front closed in. We made it to the back of the house to find the five men assigned to the rear, entering the kitchen door. There was an open door with steps leading down, so those five headed down the stairs. I keyed my mike and said, "Two on the second floor need med assistance, both non-urgent. Five men coming in from the front, go to the third floor, clear the attic, and bring down the prisoners. Original entry men go back and clear the second floor. Turn on all lights now." I began turning on lights and looking in places a person could hide. I did find a scared young girl in a closet, hiding among lots of clothes and a bunch of probably stolen goods. I tie-wrapped her hands and led her to the door and pointed to the yard. "Go out there and sit. If you move someone will shoot you." She almost ran to the small grass patch and sat quickly, looking around frantically. I radioed again, "We need a cleanup crew on the second floor, first door to the right. There is a count of probably five on the second floor. A big prisoner van pulled up to the curb in front of the house, and the handcuffed prisoners were being pushed into the van after being searched. Most were in their shorts or other underwear. I heard the command calling for two more prisoner vans. There must have been a bunch in the other two houses. Once the prisoners were in the vans and our wounded were being tended to, I sent crews to each floor to search every nook and cranny for drugs, cash, weapons, or other contraband. Chicago uniforms began showing up, along with their gang division and detectives. We asked them to wait outside while we cleared the three buildings. We recovered a few hundred grand in drugs, and about fifty grand in cash. The big find was six full cases of new AK-47s, along with about fifty cases of ammo. The weapons and ammunition were all stored in the basement and had to be lugged up the stairs. It was getting light as I was reminding men to be sure to check in with command so we knew everyone was accounted for. When the deputies had cleared the building, I released the crime scene to the locals to further tear apart. Larry was smiling when I came up to him. He said, "You know how lucky we were? There were fifty-two armed men and thirteen women in those buildings. We have two minor wounds and only seven dead suspects. Jesus, we were lucky." Wanda said, "The two houses on each side had people that just stuck their hands up in the air and gave up. The only resistance was from the men coming through the tunnels and the ones in your building. We didn't use up but two flash bangs, so our ordnance count is way down." Wanda leaned over to Larry and asked, "I can forget this brass count, can't I?" Larry smiled and nodded. "I'll just put in less than a hundred rounds. What do you think, Chuck, that about right?" "I think so, two of the men with me each used a thirty round magazine and I used three bursts. My partner used two bursts. The other team used a couple of bursts, so it's still probably under a hundred." I stretched, cleared the MP5, and accepted a cup of coffee from the Bureau's canteen truck that had pulled up. I looked around and asked, "Ah, did we get what we came after? Did we get our two escapees?" "Both of them, plus we picked up a couple of guys on our "to do" list to bring in for federal warrants. We won't have to house the escapees though, they were the ones neutralized in the room where the shotgun blast came through the door. Make sure you mention you only fired a burst into the room as a defensive measure." I yawned and reached for a glazed donut from the canteen lady. She smiled and said, "Take a couple, Honey, you need the energy." The cleanup crews must be finishing, as bagged bodies were being carried out to coroner's wagons. Larry did another count and began releasing his men to return to the station to turn in the special gear. He said his goodbyes to the Bureau folks and the locals on scene before we rode back to the station so we could turn in our stuff. At the station, I hung up our vests and went to the table that had the cleaning equipment on it. I cleaned the MP5, reloaded the magazine I had used, and checked everything back in. Wanda was doing a quick inventory to make sure everything was back in after a major adventure. The Station Chief said, "I've already advised John's office we completed our mission and we only had two minor injuries. Thanks for helping on this, Chuck, I felt real good with you here on this one. I know you shouldn't be exposed like that, but this is our first hard bust in a couple of years. We have some more coming up, and now the men will have seen the way you are first in and just keep moving. They will follow and try to act like that." Wanda came to me with an incident report that was pretty accurate, filled with a lot of bullshit about warnings and offers to give up. I mentioned to Wanda that it was pretty creative for this early in the morning. "What do you think, Mr. Johnson, should I call the airport, or should we try for a nap before we return?" "Call John and ask him to buy a couple of thermos of coffee and a bunch of sandwiches. Let's go home." Wanda said softly, "Thank you, I'm ready for home." We had a duty man drive us to the hotel to get our stuff and take us to the airport where we met John. It was only ten, so John said, "We'll take about six hours to get home over the route I want to take. I understand you're sleepy, but between flying up here and back, you'll get about fourteen hours of time in. That's the equivalent of seven days of flight training. We'll quickly get your twenty hours of dual instruction this way." I asked John, "How come you didn't have me take a physical. That was part of the ground school info and I don't have one of those temporary student certificates?" "I just used your last physical from the base. Your doc is a flight surgeon, so he signed off on it for you. I'm a certified trainer and your personal FAA designated pilot examiner. Your student certificate number and card is in your logbook where I log all the various instructions I give you. Today will be quiz day. While we fly, I'll be asking you questions all along the way. You know the answers, I'm just going to make sure they are at your fingertips or in your mind's fingertips. Let's get this baby in the air." John had me do the flight planning and file the VFR flight plan. We did land at four airports on the way home. Two were full stops and turn around and take off again, while two were for fuel and potty breaks. We landed at home long before dark. John had me taxi right up to my car so we could transfer our luggage. As we got off the plane, Wanda said to both of us, "I didn't want to say anything, but we have to go to Oklahoma City for a station change. You need to figure out whether to fly in this little plane or a faster charter. You actually could take a commercial flight on this one. You won't need me and it's just a retirement station swap." John said, "Hey, I'm retired. I can do anything I want and teaching is fun to me. You can damn near finish your dual time and I can check you off on some of the other requirements too. If we go up at night we can get some of your night requirements in." "Okay, I'll work most of a day in the office and meet you out here about four. As I remember I have to do a bunch of night landings and takeoffs, so let's see what we can get in. I don't need a ton of sleep, but I should get to bed by say, three, to get back up at seven." "That's great. I'll work your butt off. You'll be ready for your flight test soon." Wanda and I went home and were greeted by hugs from Bobby, Jan, and Marie. Millie was visiting, along with Tiani from the next block. I said to all, "I'm happy to be home, but we've been up since three this morning. I need to work out, so if anyone wants to chat, come to the gym room." I changed and was surprised when I came into the gym room. There were two more treadmills lined up side by side at one end of the room. The other machines and weights were pushed closer together a little, but there was still plenty of room. Bobby said proudly, "I got a deal from the Shapes people. They closed the store on the east side of town and sold a lot of their equipment. Now everyone can do more at a time. I have this other Nautilus multi-use machine too." "You sure did get a deal, Honey. We'll have to look for one more bike and we'll have a gym big enough to take memberships." I only did fifteen minutes on the bike, twenty minutes on the treadmill, and fifteen on weights real fast. I told Millie and Tiani, "If naked people bother you, stay in the house. We have to swim. As Wanda and I hit the water, little Tiani dove into the water and started doing laps with us, surprisingly swimming really fast. I couldn't even begin to keep up with her, but I was still swimming after twenty minutes while she was hanging onto the side. When I quit and drifted up to the side on my back, little Tiani jumped on my middle, almost drowning me. With a laugh, I picked her up and threw her about fifteen feet out into the pool. She squealed loudly and swam back fast, "Again, Daddy, again." That cracked everyone up, but I did pitch her back out and made my way to the steps. Wanda helped me to the shower, where we washed off the chorine, followed by a mutual drying session. Tiani was exclaiming, "This is so open, so much fun. Chuck, your girlfriends are the best. I came over last night and they not only fed me, but kept me laughing all evening. I hope you don't mind if I make a pest of myself, but I like to visit you guys." Wanda said, "Chuck didn't tell you all, but he has to leave for Oklahoma City tomorrow. It will only be a one night trip, but that's what will happen sometimes." Marie said, "Wanda, you're so lucky to get to go with him all the time." "Not this next trip, Marie," Wanda answered. "It's just a station change so it's an in and out. If he were not taking flight lessons and could take a charter, he'd only be gone a day and not a night." Jan said, "I signed up for flight lessons and took my free flight last night. I'll start taking flight lessons after the two weekends in that ground school. I've always thought it would be fun to fly, and now I am making enough to pay for it." We had some good steaks that I was able to cook out on the grille. After a salad, we had mashed potatoes and broccoli with the steaks. I started to make myself a drink, but thought better of it, as I was flying the next day. I really didn't know how a drink of liquor would affect me almost twenty-four hours later. I did have a beer with my meal. It washed the steak down very nicely. My eyes were drooping by ten, and I nodded off a couple of times. Tiani said goodnight, and I got a hug and kiss from the others before crawling into bed. I didn't get a chance to close my eyes before Bobby was all over me. We hugged and kissed, then kissed and hugged, until she lifted me up and placed me into her cradle, fitting me into her in the process. We very nicely made love until her insides squeezed the juice right out of me. We kissed for a long time as she held me to make sure I fell asleep on top of her, cradled in her thighs. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 30 I woke up at six Thursday morning, slid from bed, strapped on my leg, put on shorts and T-shirt, and used the bathroom. The pace had been a little stressful lately, so a few minutes of mute Tae Chi would go a long way to toward relaxing me and preparing me mentally. Going through the stretching and stances becomes smooth and graceful, soon filling your mind with equally smooth melodic music that you "dance" to. Once that point is reached, you can close your eyes and let the rhythm take you through a series of slow stretching moves that totally relax you. As I changed directions, my eyes opened and found four women equally absorbed in their own music and dances. That was enough to make me smile and stand to relax, saluting, or bowing, to my imaginary partner. I was totally prepared for my day ahead. One by one, the girls finished finding their ending, until all but Marie went inside to have coffee and breakfast. Marie stripped and dove into the pool, driving herself to swim harder and harder until she floated toward the steps. When she walked out of the pool, you could see the change in her from little girl to radiant woman. Her association with these other women was making her into a special, confident, person. While sitting at the table, Bobby, Jan, and Wanda were looking at her the same way I was. Jan said it all for us, "Wow! She sure has changed since she came out here. Look at her, she's beautiful." We all smiled, but kept our group appraisal to ourselves as the pixie came in and sat naked at the table to eat with us. Since I was leaving for Oklahoma directly from work, I packed my bag and drove into work in the Impala. Wanda was a real taskmaster the entire morning. All three women were continuously stuffing my in-box with information and reports to review. It seemed that every station I was responsible for had a question or favor to ask for. By lunch time, I was starved and needed a break. I walked to the doorway between Wanda's and the clerk's offices and suggested, "How about lunch at the executive lunch room? We'll enjoy the walk and I know we'll enjoy the food. Wanda, can you make sure we can get a table?" We walked to the building a couple of blocks away, with Bobby and Sarah joining us. I had meant for the lunch to be just my office, but I could handle two more on the bill. The lunch menu was only a few items, but always had something for everyone. We all enjoyed the food, discussing trivial things. Bobby spent most of her time thanking Wanda for decorating the station with plants. Sarah said, "It's funny how we've never had much warmth in there other than the people. The plants give the place a fresher smell and soften the atmosphere a lot." After lunch, my inbox quit filling up and my e-mails slowed to a trickle. As three o'clock came, Wanda came in with her pad and gave me the itinerary. The Oklahoma City office was disappointed they wouldn't be able to have me earlier to take me out for the evening, but was happy to have me for breakfast Friday, tomorrow, morning. I was to meet the staff at seven at the hotel I was staying at. I should be in really good form by then, after having had only three hours or less of sleep. The key to staying alert is to eat well and drink lots of water and other liquids. Hopefully, the weekend was not over-planned. John was ready for me when I arrived and I was immediately assigned to do the preflight inspection as he watched. We went into the office to make up our flight plan and file it, using the internet. Back out in the plane, John just sat and watched as I went through the checklists an item at a time. When the plane was warmed up and ready to taxi, I looked at John expectantly. He said as he sat there sipping coffee from his flight cup, "You're the pilot, you ask. As a matter of fact, I'm just along for the ride as we land and take off. In between we'll have some question and answer discussions." Okay, I can do this. I've been studying and I've listened to every word John has said on the radio. We've discussed and practiced radio talk, so I can do this. Funny isn't it? An experienced combat veteran, used to life and death situations, being tongue tied when it comes to talking on a radio to some unknown, unseen, person. I called in for taxi permission and instructions and followed the direction I was told to go, heading to the far end of the runway. I could have taken off from the taxiway but no, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the runway. That way if something happens that keeps your plane from taking off, you have enough room to stop. Sure you do. As soon as we were in the air, headed toward our first stop, John had me set the GPS up for our destination. This was part of the instrument training I was supposed to get. This leg was at nine thousand feet, which appeared to have us flying right into some big clouds. I called Air Traffic Control to find out how serious the clouds ahead were. They recommended that we fly below the ceiling by a thousand feet and I modified my flight plan and headed down, constantly looking around to make sure I didn't see another aircraft. It can get pretty bumpy under big cumulous clouds. Going for long bumpy rides is not my version of fun. John didn't seem upset at all and just sat back, quizzing me verbally on a navigation item, then a routing issue, followed by a landing question. We were nearing the first airfield we were going to land at. This one was tricky, as there was restricted air space on each side of the corridor in and out of the field. The GPS makes it easy to make sure you're in the right place. I was a little miffed that I was waved off during approach and was requested to do a go around. This was difficult to do as you only had a three-mile wide corridor. I made the pass on the right of the runway and requested permission to cross the take-off path. They waved me off there as well, which meant I had to go out to ten miles before crossing the path and come back the fifteen miles in order to line up for an approach again. I almost asked John if I could just pass on stopping here. This time when I requested permission to land they said to come on down. The big emergency was over. Because we had exceeded my limits to the fuel stop with time in the air, we had to pull up to the pumps for fuel. I taxied the plane as near to the pumps as I could, as the hoses are long, but not so long that you can park a long way from them. I did all the safety things like chocking the wheels and attaching the ground strap. I pushed the rolling stairs up to the back of the wing and locked the wheels of the stairs before getting the filler nozzle and carrying some and dragging the rest of the hose to reach the plane. I filled the right wing tank, watching for the level of fuel to appear. I moved the ladder all the way around to the other side of the plane, locked the wheels, and went for the nozzle and hose. There was still plenty of hose, so I filled the left wing tank. Since this was self-serve you had to wind the hose back up when you were done and that can be a chore. Once done, I asked John how we pay for the fuel, since it didn't request a credit card at the pump. He said he would show me after I took off the ground strap and pulled the wheel chocks. I had to physically push the plane around to point out, but that isn't that difficult. John just watched me do everything. I did the preflight checklist and climbed into the cabin for the startup. John keyed the mike and asked the tower if they had recorded the fuel. They responded that they had, it was to be charged to S&S on the Cessna 206, seven, six, four, niner. "We got it, John." "Okay, John," I asked looking around again? "Where's the tower? I don't even see a dog house on the ops building." "Like so many small fields, there is no tower. The guy that owns this field is either in the little operations building or in the house over there at the end of the runway. He's probably in the ops building watching us right now. Before he goes to bed, he'll come out and lock up his tanks or shut off the electricity to the pumps. This is how our little field was originally. We only have a small tower and it's not staffed all the time. Pilots have to be responsible and have to take care of themselves and their hosts, like this little place." After thinking about it a second I asked, "So what was the big emergency?" John keyed the mike, "Cessna seven six forty-niner, request info on earlier field emergency?" The radio crackled quickly, "Daughter's horses got loose again and were running all over the runway, sorry about the go around. Careful leaving as the Navy and Air Force are being nasty again if one of us private guys stray." John said, "See, it was for a good reason, sometimes you have to have patience." I went through the checklist starting the plane and almost forgot to request taxi and take off instructions because the field felt as if it was abandoned. Soon, we were off for the next location for a landing and takeoff. We finally landed at Oklahoma City, parking in the area where we were directed. John watched as I helped the driver of a fuel truck refuel us and then as I tied the plane down correctly. He did offer some advice as to how to do the job efficiently. We took a taxi to the hotel we were to stay at and I was in bed by ten to three. I don't think I was still awake thirty seconds after lying down. Friday morning came too early, but I was up, dressed, and ready to perform the station command change early. I was having a cup of coffee when a duty deputy found me and introduced himself. He joined me in having a cup, saying he didn't figure a D.C. guy would be up already. I had to assure him I was not from D.C. and was used to being up early. We left to join the entire staff of the station at a local Denny's. We had a long breakfast, which turned into more of a roast of the departing station chief. The station was decorated to send off the retiring chief and to welcome in the new guy. Actually, the man taking over the job was the former Assistant Station Chief, so everyone was familiar with the man, and all seemed happy to have someone promoted from within. The actual paperwork didn't take very long, but they had a huge inventory that seemed to take forever to count. Lunch was a large layout of western style barbecue. The only people working this day were the ones on air marshal duty. I was bushed by three in the afternoon, but the folks at the station were planning on partying even more after work. I begged off and said, "Hopefully, I'll be able to come back to visit soon. This time, I have a fairly tight schedule that I need to adhere to." Wanda said there was nothing important for me, so I said I was on my way to the airport, but I would probably not get home till around four or five in the morning. I met John at the airport and immediately got hit with a surprise. He handed me an itinerary of locations he wanted me to fly through and said, "You'll be up front by yourself. I will not be available for you to advise or to ask what to do. This is a solo flight. Just forget that I'm on the plane. I think I'll just play on the internet the whole way home." "I'm going to need a lot of coffee and a lot of food in order to stay up a second straight night. Let me go buy a bunch, including some water." "I already have you loaded up. You have two thermoses, a stack of sandwiches, and some fruit within reach. There are also several bottles of water. You can plan this flight anyway you want, even to the extent of stopping along the way and checking into a hotel if you want. You're the boss; this is your first solo." I did the flight calculations and figured out where I wanted to get fuel and stretch my legs. This was going to be a long night. We were finally in the air a little after five. I was surprised that we seemed to be moving a heck of lot faster than what my airspeed indicated. The GPS said I was flying twenty-five knots faster than the airspeed showed. I finally figured out we had a hell of a tailwind at the ten thousand foot level we were flying at. I was worried about the heavy clouds and storms that could be in Florida, and was determined to check the weather there at the fuel stop coming up in Little Rock. I was glad I had scheduled a shorter hop than necessary. By the time we landed, I needed to pee very badly. This airport had a fuel island that small aircraft could taxi up close to. They were also smart, as they had restrooms built into the fuel island. As soon as the fuel was topped off, I walked into the operations office to check weather the rest of the way. It looked like I would be clear all the way to Tallahassee. The flight was going good as the tailwind should continue all the way. I figured that I could check on the weather the rest of the way while refueling in Tallahassee. There was one refueling stop in Birmingham where I was able to get more fresh coffee. At Tallahassee, I was able to see that the bad clouds had dissipated allowing me a clear flight straight through to Tampa. I was almost disappointed, as I was so tired. It was four in the morning on Saturday as I made the approach to our airfield. I used the radio to key the code to turn on the runway lights. The electronics were all working, but the blue lights were different. When I turned off the runway to go back toward the S&S hangar, I felt good that I had been able to make it back home by myself. Actually, you would have to be pretty dumb not to be able to fly simply by using the radio signals, backed up by your exact location being indicated constantly on the GPS. Navigation is a no-brainer if you do what you have been taught. John opened the door to the hangar so I could push the plane inside. We spun it around to face out so the morning men could refuel it and do anything else necessary with it. I cleaned everything up and hauled the trash out, along with the cooler and thermoses. I filled out the airplane log and made my own log entry. John added a few lines in my logbook, indicating the items I had completed. I was just about finished with the flight instruction. One more flight like this and I would be done. John and I took off at the same time. I'm sure he was thinking about bed the same as I was. I backed in next to the garage and let myself in through the front door. I didn't bother to do anything but strip and crawl into bed, finding Wanda and Bobby sprawled out. The clock said five ten. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 31 I woke up at ten, sitting up quickly, knowing I had slept late. The house was quiet, so I knew I was alone. After using the bathroom, I walked into the kitchen and found a note on the table. Bobby had written, "We didn't want to wake you, so warm up some coffee in the microwave and make one of the Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls. We're all at work doing the required annual file cleaning and reviews, see you soon ... Love, Bobby." I thought for a second how tough it was to have all of the office staff in on a Saturday but it only happens where it's required once or twice a year. Instead of coffee, I opened the door to the patio and hopped out to the pool, where, to wake up, I jumped in and swam laps at a moderate pace. Once out of the pool, I had to hop over to the shower and scrub off, then hop through the house to the bedroom. After putting my leg on, I shaved before I had coffee and a breakfast bowl. Wanda called the house and told me, "John called the house earlier, so at this second, I'm in the office. Bobby and Marie are working in the station waiting for you to come in. Get dressed and come in, I have your bag packed. I pulled up to my parking spot behind the building about eleven-thirty. On the way to my office, I stopped in to say hi to Marie and Bobby. Bobby was busy with something, so I just waved and went on to my office. Marie said, "You have been really busy lately, and it looks like you'll be even busier. We're happy to have you here for a few hours anyway." Wanda gave me a radiant smile, welcoming me back. I thanked her quietly for letting me sleep and told her I felt for her having to come in on Saturday. After turning in the paper work for the station change, I handed her the station's incident reports they had given me while I was there. Wanda said, "Yesterday, I thought you would be home for a few days, but you're needed in Boise, Idaho. Several escapees have apparently joined together to make a stand up in the mountains. D.C. wants you to be there so all of the current directives are adhered to. They would prefer a bloodless capture, but they understand that this could be a bad one." "When do I leave, Wanda?" "Now that you're up, I'll call out to the charter people. That will be the fastest way now. All the connecting flights have left for the day. I have a bag packed with clothes appropriate for the terrain where you will be, including your heavy boots. You might be leaving within the hour." I checked my inbox to see no one was putting anything in it right now. I said, "If I have a full crew, I'll work on e-mails and write my station report for Oklahoma City. If not, then I'll just be busier when we get this one done." Wanda said my bag was in the Escalade, so we stopped by the station to get the keys. Bobby said, "I'll go down with you. I need to go get us some sandwiches." Down at the cars, Bobby gave me a big kiss and said, "Be careful, this isn't going to be a good one. There are eleven very dangerous escapees from all over that have gotten together. No one can even figure out how they know each other. Try to get some rest on the way out there, as you haven't had a good night's sleep yet." After hugs and kisses from both women, I loaded my briefcase and pre-packed bag into the car and headed back out to the airport. The crazy little girl was to be my pilot today. Another girl that I was told was still in training for commercial flying accompanied her. She didn't have enough hours yet, but was in the process of getting them. This was good; I could work on e-mail as well as anything else Wanda wanted from me. The best part was that I could get a nap. My e-mail folder didn't have much and all the inquiries were easy to answer. I did my station change report, then IM'd Wanda, telling her I would contact her after my nap. The next thing I knew, the cute little pilot was shaking me, "Come on, Chuck, I understand you have work to do. We're in Boise and there are men here to take you away. Give us a call when you want to go home. Since we were told you would be here a while, we're going back home." The men took me to their small station where I was thoroughly briefed about the eleven escapees and the location where they were holed up. It was thought from the way the shack was built, that it was built over a natural cave. Depending on how deep the cave was, we could be fighting the entire battle only to lose them inside. "Is there any documentation about this cabin and who may have lived there before?" One of the men said, "The old man that used to live up there died a couple of years ago. The ranger up there said no one had been in the place since the old man died. There is a granddaughter that lived in town that had visited the man extensively. Hopefully, she will be at the station in the morning to answer questions for us." I looked at the video of the area again and inspected the photos that had been taken of the cabin. Several of the photos had one or two of the escapees outside cutting wood or moving more rocks in front of the cabin wall. That night, I ate well, and after a nightcap, I went to bed early, ready to work out a plan to capture eleven dangerous men the next day. Sunday morning, several deputies and the Station Chief joined me for breakfast. All the men were locals and knew the terrain well. Our hope was that the granddaughter would have something for us. At the station, a lady in her forties, dressed in jeans and a wool shirt, was waiting for us. The men got her coffee and a donut, and settled down to listen to her. She confirmed that the cabin was built as the front to a cave that her grandfather had made habitable. She said that a circular hearth heated the cave, with the smoke escaping though a natural chimney. We knew that many of the old miners that prospected in areas such as this, dug escape tunnels in case they were trapped by cave-ins. The granddaughter said, "There are three escape tunnels that gramps had. If you don't know where to look for them inside, you'll never find them. I can show you where they come out, but you might have a hard time getting in through them. The center tunnel is the biggest and would probably be the easiest to get in, if you wanted to." We drove out to the site, but kept out of sight as we didn't want the escapees to know we knew where they were. The place was a circus, with some local law enforcement ready if we needed them, a couple of newspaper people, and a rep from the ACLU, who advised everyone that he would decide whether we gave the men an opportunity to give up or not. I told the ACLU guy and the two newspaper men to make sure they stayed where the cars were, as they might give our positions away or be in the line of fire if the men inside decided to shoot. This was just what we needed at a capture where the escapees are armed, newspaper people and the ACLU. The granddaughter walked us around the mountain to show us the three tunnel entrances. Next, she took us up the mountain to show us the two natural chimneys. Smoke was only coming from one of them. Back down at the vehicles, she drew a diagram of the inside and what we might expect to find inside. My only idea was to fill the place with tear gas that would send them outside. We could use a pepper gas, but we would have to go in it afterward to get the bad guys, so that was nixed because it would take a week to get the cave area cleared. We decided to go take a look at all three tunnels and our side of the doors. Both of the side tunnels that the granddaughter said would be difficult to open were in decent shape, while the center tunnel was in excellent condition. There was a bar across the door that would not allow the door to open into the tunnel. That was strange, wonder why the bar was outside, instead of inside. Now what I would like to do was to drop a flash bang down the chimney and while they were recovering come in from both directions. The problem was, would the flash bang bring down the cave? The final plan was to cover the two side tunnels, then stop up the chimneys. As the smoke filled the cabin and the cave, someone would come out to find out what was wrong. We would capture them one by one, or a couple at a time, until we had them all or they were overcome by smoke. When all the men were positioned, the signal was given to cover the chimneys. It took almost twenty minutes before the door opened and two of the men came out looking around. When they were satisfied they were safe, they headed up the mountain on a path that led to the top. The two were easily captured, handcuffed, and led back down a different route that couldn't be seen from the cabin. About five minutes later, two more men came out looking around and hollering for their fellow escapees. When they didn't hear a reply, they went back in and came back out with handguns. They continued looking around as they began going up the hill to clear the chimneys. Once again, the two were easily captured, cuffed, and taken to join the other two in a large van designed to haul prisoners. The good news was that we had only seven guys left in the cabin. The bad news was that they were now aware something was wrong. Soon the windows and door were open, letting smoke out. We could hear a motor had been started and smoke was pouring out the windows letting us know the motor we heard was a generator that powered a fan that cleared the smoke from the cabin and cave. One of the more aggressive deputies wanted to start rolling hand grenades down the chimneys, plus drop a half a dozen flash bangs at once before charging the cabin. I thought that we might as well follow procedures and commandeered a powered bullhorn. First I told the seven men we thought were inside they had this opportunity to throw out their weapons and come out with their hands up. Nothing. I told the men that we were in sufficient numbers to overpower them and possibly kill all of them. Nothing. I signaled for everyone to fire five rounds into the cabin through windows and the door. We heard a single yell of pain. I told them again that they had a chance to give up. Nothing. I had two experienced men each fire two RPGs into the cabin. One fired through the door and the other fired through an open window. After the four RPGs, I called again to give them the opportunity for them to give up. Nothing. I called together all of our men and said, "I want four men to load up on flash bangs and each drop two down the chimneys. With eight of those things going off, the cave may collapse, but if not, the men inside should be incapacitated. You other men get to either side of the cabin and when the eighth goes off, you all charge the door. Be careful we don't know how prepared the seven inside are. The second team will go through the rear door in the center tunnel. You will fire at any movement before anyone has an opportunity to fire at you. Don't hesitate, we've given them all the chances we can." The four with the ordnance ran up the mountain, while the other men got into position on each side of the cabin. I used the bullhorn to give the escapees one last chance. When there was no response, I signaled go. I had talked one of the other men out of his .308 sniper rifle and had settled down into a prone firing position, sighting in at the door. This was not a group that seemed to want to give up. The flash bangs began going off, and before the eighth went off, men were coming out the front door. The first two both had their hands to their heads, but the one behind them came out with what looked like an SKS, looking around quickly. The last three came out and didn't even look to see where they were shooting, but began spraying everything in front of them which included the two escapees with their hands on their heads. I fired three successive rounds, knocking down all three of the men that were firing. They were motionless, obviously dead. Feeling a little self-conscious because no one else was firing, I picked up the bull horn and told the remaining men to put down their weapons as they were surrounded. The idiot with the SKS fired at me and this time, several men shot him at the same time. This made another escapee, who just came out of the cabin, begin firing in our direction and he was quickly cut down by several riflemen. Two more men came out of the cabin, dropped their rifles, and stood with their hands in the air. Now the script became even more confused, as there were thirteen total, not just the eleven escapees. When the men were cuffed and in the prisoner van, we began checking out the cabin. They had enough food to last them through the winter plus enough ammunition to begin a small war. The crazy part was the money; how did they get it? There was about fifty grand in cash for them to use. Who in the world did these guys know? We did save six escapees out of the eleven, but ended up with two unknown dead men. One of the ACLU observers came up to me and asked, "Was it necessary to have killed those first three men?" "They were shooting at us, at me, at my men, and at you. If I had let them continue to shoot at us, they would have hit someone, possibly killed one of my men, possibly even you. I can't have that. I fired only after being provoked. These men, even you, are my responsibility. Make sure that is included in your report." The Station Chief came up to me and said, "Sorry you had to take out those three, but you had the best angle at them. You saw my guys take out the other two later. It's not like they're afraid to act." "No sweat. They didn't know what kind of trouble they would get into if they did fire. I made up their minds for them. Your men did well." The Station Chief and the granddaughter went into the cabin as she would know where any hiding places might be. While they were doing that I asked the local law to search the area thoroughly, looking for the vehicle or vehicles that these men used to get out here. There's no way they walked the fifty miles from Boise. Around noon, a local sheriff's deputy showed up with a pile of sandwiches. The now large congregation of law enforcement personnel happily took a break from the gruesome cleanup going on. The local sheriff had been searching for the suspected vehicles and had not even found tracks other than our own. Any earlier tracks would be totally obscured now after all our traffic. The Station Chief was able to have a helicopter begin an air search, sweeping the area, looking for newly dead foliage or even cleared areas that could be roadways. Around three, the helicopter crew spotted some suspicious brush lower on the mountain from where the cabin was located. Upon inspection, we found a cave with two stolen mini-vans. It was time for me to get out of there, so I said, "I guess that wraps it up here Chief, we have six to send to maximum security, and seven to send home to where ever home was for them. It's always a shame to have to tell someone that news. What else can I help you with while I'm here?" Ed Landing, the local Chief, said, "You did what I needed. As soon as the prison released information that some prisoners had left the premises without permission, the newspapers were pushing the alarm button. As more information came out, the ACLU got involved, saying we couldn't hunt these really dangerous criminals down like animals. My constituents wanted them caught immediately, but the other faction didn't want us to use force." The man looked around before continuing, "At first there were just the original four that walked off, but a witness said that a lot more than that had broken into a local gun store where the escapees stole a couple of dozen rifles and handguns. According to the other prison releases around the northwest, we were able to account for seven more escapees that had been heading this way. We'll probably never know how they got together, but it would be nice to find out how they were able to get so much cash." I suggested, "Before you send the escapees back, interrogate them thoroughly, letting them know they will probably get an additional ten to fifteen years added to their sentence for jail break and armed resistance. Make sure you tell them that Leavenworth or somewhere like that will be expecting them. Perhaps a deal can be made." Ed said, "Oh we'll try, but from the way the prisoners were acting, they didn't want to give up anything." "Separate them; don't let them see or talk to each other. If they don't have the security of being together, they will all suspect each other of talking. Don't say that any of them are talking, but just smile at them. Let them think one of the other men gave you the location of the cars. That should put doubt in their minds." "Good idea, Chuck, what we really need to do is water board them, but I think we might get into a hell of lot of trouble over that. The ACLU will be watching over our shoulders while we ask them their names. Funny isn't it, the guys that cry the loudest when one of these hoodlums breaks into their home spend the rest of their time protecting him?" I rode back to the city in the prisoner van. I had left my bag and case at the station, so I went there first. To make sure of the protocol, I called John to ask his opinion. After giving him the whole story and my suggestions for the prisoners, he agreed with my approach and said to me, "You've fulfilled what you should. You led them into the confrontation and came out with only scratches, but with some escapees terminated. Since you've worked through the weekend, you can take a day or two off. Write your report, leave it on the clerk's desk at the local station, and go home unless there's somewhere else you need to be." "Nowhere, John, and I'm going to have to take a couple of days to get a new boot for my leg anyway. Perhaps I can get another leg while I'm at it." "Well, if you're out of commission, you're out of commission. Do what you need to have done and stay in touch with your office. If you have to do without a leg, use crutches or a wheelchair." "Thanks for understanding, John. I'll be at work, just not as mobile." I called Wanda to advise her that I was free to go back to Florida, and did she want to check on a commercial flight for me. I told her my biggest concern was to get some more rest. Wanda said she would call me back in ten minutes. When Wanda called back she said, "There is a commercial flight that flies direct to Dallas. That's the hang up, as it will be late there. The charter service will pick you up in Dallas and have you home by about two in the morning. Is that okay, or would you rather stay over?" "Book it, Wanda, or would that be Dano?" I did get a chuckle from her. She told me to get to the airport as they would hold a first class seat for me, recognizing I would be an additional air marshal. A duty guy rushed me to the airport, where I walked through the terminal and right onto the plane. As soon as I was seated, and they had stowed my bag, they were pulling away from the gate. The first class cabin hostess sat next to me briefly before takeoff telling me what all they had available to eat. I ordered before she had to take her seat for take off. First, I had a salad with a couple of little bottles of Beefeaters, and a very tasty piece of salmon in an almond sauce, chased down with some wine. When I was full, sipping coffee, I realized that I was letting down after the adrenaline rush. A good meal with some spirits had tasted good and put me into a relaxed frame of mind. I had to tell the hostess that I was not really on duty as an air marshal, but if she needed me, to kick me on the way by. The next thing I knew, the hostess was waking me as we were approaching Dallas. This was the result of what I had learned in the military. If you have a safe place to rest, you sleep. Because of the past learning experiences, I can sleep anywhere, anytime, if I'm safe. Find some shade under a deuce and a half, or a track and you can get forty winks before you have to be back in the field. The other part of that learning was to wake up refreshed and totally alert. Once out of the plane and into the massive terminal, I began my search for my next ride by calling Wanda. There was no answer at the office. I looked at my watch, realizing it was not only past five, but it was Sunday. I called the house, where Wanda gave me a telephone number for the charter pilot who should be on the ground here. The pilot told me to go to the counter of the flight I had just arrived at and they would direct me for transportation to the private aircraft area. The desk agent was very pleasant and said, "We are expecting you, Mr. Johnson. I will have one of the ground crew assist you." A guy in coveralls with noise canceling earmuffs around his neck came up, smiling. He took me through a maze of hallways and we ended up outside, near the planes. We used a pickup truck that was equipped with a radio that he used to cross some taxiways, but went completely around the end of the runways. We drove into a forest of G5s, Lear jets, larger turbo props, and some small single engine planes. As we drove up to the S&S Lear, the man said, "I just love these planes. All of them have the craziest cartoons all over them. All the ground guys make excuses to get over here so we can see them when we hear they're in." I thanked the man for the ride and was greeted by the nutty lady pilot I had flown to Boise with. She said, "Climb aboard, Chuck, I have my cute co-pilot with me again today, so you don't get to do the checklist with me. I'll tuck you in and you can just enjoy the ride. We'll be home in no time." After buckling up in one of the desk seats, I turned on the PC as we prepared to take off. By the time we were airborne, I was answering e-mails. Wanda and the girls had taken care of most of them, so I was finished in less than an hour. I noticed a new file marked incidents. When I opened it up, I found that Wanda had scanned the incident reports and had made an area for me to electronically sign off on them. I finished up the last of them, and sent Wanda an e-mail to thank her for a great way to catch up on paperwork while out of the office. I would go into tomorrow clean. We set down at one in the morning. I was entering the house at one forty. I stripped down quickly, brushed my teeth, and slid up behind Bobby to snuggle into her mass. She flipped over to give me a kiss, hugged me to her, and went right back to sleep. I was buried in her luxurious chest, so with a smile, I drifted off to sleep with her. I woke at six, slipping out of bed to use the bathroom, shave and shower. When I woke Bobby, she wanted me to come back to bed but I told her I needed to be out at the base no later than eight. Seven would have been better but seven-thirty or eight would work. Before leaving I was given kisses and hugs by Marie and Jan followed by Wanda giving me a full body hug and warm kiss. She said, "If you did anything with what you had in queue for work, you have done it all. Don't rush the people out at the base, get your leg taken care of. We need you mobile." MacDill was still in full security mode so they had to check out my identification and verify that I was expected at the hospital. My leg and stump were given a thorough examination along with all the other things an exam called for. I pissed in a bottle, gave blood to the vampires in the lab and hugged a cold metal plate for a chest x-ray. My original doctor told me my muscle tone was great and I should continue to do whatever it was that I was doing. In the prosthesis clinic, a tech examined my boot, took measurement of my leg or stump and even did a plaster cast of it. I asked them about a second leg and possibly a sports leg or even a peg leg. The tech said, "I can get you a second leg but I'll have to refer you to a civilian prosthesis maker for a sports leg or peg leg. There is a guy in Tampa that is very good and isn't terribly expensive. You might be able to get your medical insurance to cover part of it." I waited in the fitting room a while and the tech came back. He said, "Go get some early lunch in the hospital cafeteria. I can have your original leg ready for you in about an hour. The second leg will take about another hour, as they have to build it. Since we have working lengths and sizes, we should be able to have it done quickly. You're already used to the new ankle technology so you won't need physical therapy. Go take a long lunch and be back by one or one thirty." Three hours to kill, so with the use of crutches, I swung down to the cafeteria to see if anything interested me. On the way, I spotted the hospital library so I stopped in and was looking over an area marked as aviation instruction. A book, "IFR Principles And Practice: Guide to Safe Instrument Flying: Instrument Flight Training Manual", begged to be read. I pulled it out and sat at one of the tables beginning at the front of the book. If you didn't have any idea about aviation navigational equipment or were not interested in airplanes and flying them, the book would have been a total bore. But to me, it was fascinating. I was nearly three-quarters of the way through the book when my stomach began growling. I looked at my watch to see it was already one o'clock. Time flies when you're having fun. I wrote down the full name of the book and who the publisher was before swinging back to the prosthesis clinic on the borrowed crutches. There, the clerk asked me if I would mind occupying myself for about another forty-five minutes to an hour. I just smiled and told her no problem. This time I went to the cafeteria for a sandwich and Coke followed by a cup of coffee. After leisurely eating while reading someone's discarded newspaper, I swung back to the clinic to find a smiling clerk that announced all was ready for me. The tech had softened up the leather on the two new boots so they didn't rub my stump raw. I tried on both and couldn't tell one from the other and couldn't even tell which one was the original. When I told the tech this he proudly smiled at the compliment of his work. The tech advised me, "You need to go out to the VA hospital and register. It will take six to nine months for them to get you into their system. Even though you have a combat injury, they would prefer you go to the VA for medical treatment. They have good doctors and techs there too. As a matter of fact, I will be retiring from the service in three months and have already been hired on at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. The next time you need fixing, I'll be doing it again, but out there. Go to the civilian shop I gave you for a sports leg or peg leg. I understand they don't overcharge you guys for what you need." My spare leg came in a nice case that I happily carried out to the Impala. Since it was still reasonably early, I went by the prosthesis shop the base hospital tech had given me. The place was a very small office that was just one big room. There was a desk and computer by the door, two separate workbenches and several rows of shelves and bins of prosthesis parts. The couple working in the shop was very cordial, greeting me warmly and inquiring how they could help. I explained what I wanted and the lady said, "I think I might have exactly what you would want for around the house. I've created a neat boot that is like Chinese handcuffs. You slide the boot onto your stump and it stays put unless you push up and turn it slightly. It's perfect for getting up in the middle of the night. I even have a soft-liner, like your sock so you don't bruise or irritate your stump. The liners are removable and washable. You can use it out too if you want, but it really isn't a sports leg. Can I see your leg now?" She looked at my leg commenting on the new boot. She said, "Unless you think you want to jog or try to run, you don't need a sports leg. This one is one of the new flex ankle legs that will work fine for most sports. If you decide to jog or run, we can fix you up with a spring foot but they can be difficult to get used to. How about I take a cast of your stump? We'll make up your slip on peg for you to try. I'll bet you'll love it. I know I do mine." The guy smiled at me and said, "I met this lady at the school I was going to where I was learning how to make these things. It seems we had both lost some leg and we both wanted to learn to make them. I lost mine while in the military so my school was taken care of and we've been able to get the Small Business Administration to help get us started. We became partners in school and have continued to work together for the last ten years." "What he's not telling you is we're also married now. It's been a great partnership all the way around." I said, "Sounds like you guys have found your niche in life. I'm finding mine as well." She said, "We'll have your peg done day after tomorrow so let's get that cast so I can fix you up." They took the cast and she cleaned up my stump for me before I put my sock back on. My new boot felt good when I put it back on making me realize I had probably let it get too loose before having it fixed. I would pay more attention to it in the future. I was about to go into the office but decided to go home and begin my workout. I had just finished with the treadmill when my family came home. They all stopped in to say hi before changing into workout clothes. After our workout we swam fairly hard but not all out and gathered in the kitchen to decide on food. Bobby said, "Since we have some good steaks in the fridge, let's have them tonight and just relax at home." She figured I was probably tired of being on the move. The steaks were prepped, the grill was warming up and the salad was made. All of us were enjoying some form of alcohol relaxer before putting the steaks on and eating our salads. When supper was finished and the dishes were all clean, Bobby wanted to go to the bookstore for a novel she heard that had just come out. I found my note on the instrument flight manual and the five of us stormed the bookstore. Jan got a British history novel, Marie found a unique cook book she wanted to practice with, Wanda found a Robin Cook book in paper back she hadn't read yet, and Bobby found her book in the new releases. Back in a corner that was a little dusty, I found the instrument flight manual I was looking at earlier today. All of us came away with a smile. At home, the five of us scattered to various places to enjoy our purchases. About nine, Marie came through the house announcing that we had to come to the kitchen area family room to sample her new creation. She had made a dozen small calzones that she said were her own creation. I was the first to try one. It was filled with garlic spinach mixed in a Parmesan cheese sauce. The calzones was very, very good. I told Marie that she needed to share her recipe with Georgia out at the park and perhaps Georgia would teach her to make more good things to eat. As ten o'clock came near, I yawned, I was ready to call it a day. I lay in bed to be hugged on one side by Bobby and the other by Wanda. Before long, Marie and Jan had joined us with Marie lying on me and Jan lying on top of Wanda. Marie said, "Jan and I need a couple of kisses to let us know the master still loves us. You've been gone so much and we've missed you." Jan reached over and kissed me but went back to Bobby to luxuriate in the masses of our big girlfriend. Jan added, "It's a good thing you have a back up with Bobby and Wanda around or Marie and I would be relegated to the P-club and you know we would rather be right here at home." Jan and Marie gave me kisses saying, "We'll see you in the morning. Be ready, we'll both need more help by then." This left Wanda, Bobby and I hugging each other. Bobby was stroking me and kissing me from one side while Wanda was lying against me fully with her wet center rubbing on my hip. She hugged me saying, "I'm done with the curse and could really enjoy being loved, want me?" Wanda and I made love until we melted together. This caused Bobby to want the same attention, so after getting me back up and very interested, Bobby and I made some of our great mutual moves that brought us total satisfaction. Soon the three of us were laying back, one lady's head on each shoulder. Over five hundred pounds of very sexual woman was lying against me. After just a few kisses, we were all asleep in the gooey wet spots. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 32 I awoke Tuesday totally refreshed, snuggled between long, tall, big-busted Wanda and Bobby, my biggest love of all. A sneak look at the clock said five fifty-five, so there was only five minutes before I should be getting up. The girls usually wanted to sleep till six fifteen or even six thirty, but I was ready to roll. The thought passed through my head to form some Tai Chi this morning, but I was at peace with myself, so I thought a swim would be the most fun. I slid from bed, slipped my leg on loosely, and thought about how nice it will be to have the easy on and off peg that was coming. After using the bathroom, I walked to the back door and was ready to slide it open when I noticed a snake lying near the door. I looked closer and saw it was a Florida timber rattler. Shoot, I would need to go around the house to get something to pick it up with to kill it or put it in a garbage can. I almost left for the garage when I saw another snake over by the hot tub. Son-of-a-gun if that wasn't a rattler too. These weren't babies but adults three to five feet long. Hmmm, it's strange to have two up under the patio at the same time. It was then that I realized I could see at least three more out there. This was too early for them to be out sunning themselves, so someone must have released them in the pool cage very recently. I got out of the doorway, closed the drape, and went in to wake up Bobby and Wanda. I told them to use the bathroom and dress quickly. I went to Marie's room and woke her and found Jan with her, telling them to get ready for work early. I slipped on a pair of jeans and my high engineer boots, along with a shirt. As people began showing up in the kitchen, I didn't let them turn on the light and told them why. I had made a pot of coffee, so those who wanted coffee had a cup while I told them what my plan was. Bobby stopped me, saying, "We didn't turn on the alarm last night but the cameras record on the DVR continuously. I'm going to review everything since last night." "Check about an hour to two hours ago, first. Snakes look for warmth and they were still crawling around looking for a place when I first saw them. While you do that, I'm going to find something to pick them up with and get a garbage can to put them in." Not knowing whether whoever it was could have pried the garage door up and released some inside the garage, I went into the area cautiously, looking behind everything to make sure I wouldn't startle a snake. I found a rake and went out the wide back door, also cautiously looking around for any snakes that might have been outside. I didn't see any and shut the door to make sure none slipped in on me. Around the side of the house were our garbage cans, so I took the lid off an empty one and carried it with me into the pool cage. The nearest snake was just lying stretched out, not in a defensive coil. Using the rake, I scooped it up and while it was wiggling around, I dumped it into the plastic garbage can. There was another crawling along near a chair, so I scooped it up and quickly put it in the can too. I found seven more that were easily seen. Now I had to move stuff to find where they might be hiding. I went around the pool, dragging the garbage can, stopping at anything that could hide a snake. Two more were hiding out around the pool so after picking them up, I felt as if that area was clear. Now for the patio. I moved everything that could hide a snake and only found one more. Marie was standing at the patio door knocking on it and pointing toward the pool. I turned to look, and son-of-gun, there were at least four visible snakes swimming in the pool. These weren't rattlesnakes but cotton mouth water moccasins. It took me a couple of seconds to figure out that the net for skimming leaves that some how sneak into the caged pool would be the easiest way to catch them. I thought as I went after the water mocassins, 'Hope the two types of snakes get along as they were going to live together for at least a while.' It took almost thirty minutes to get the total of seven snakes from the pool and the skimmer basket. I was being really thorough, looking over the patio very closely. About the time I was going to declare the whole place safe, I noticed the hot tub cover was a little crooked. Lifting it up very carefully revealed a squirming mass of snakes. There must have been thirty or forty of them in the tub. With as much caution as possible, I scooped them out of the hot tub into the garbage can. I took a break to go in and have a cup of coffee. Bobby began telling me what she observed from the security videos. A small van had come up the street to park a hundred feet or so from our driveway. Three men had gotten out of the truck and carried buckets into the pool area. She said the video showed them dumping the snakes into the pool and hot tub, and the last bucket was dumped near our rear patio door. Bobby had made a copy of the DVR recording to have the Bureau enhance the three men's faces and to enlarge the license plate that was caught when they left. I sent all the girls to work, but I now had a garbage can a quarter full of snakes. To be on the safe side, I put the lid on the can and called the Lowry Park zoo. They said they were not interested in large quantities of snakes, but they gave me the number of a local lab that collected venom for serum. I called the lab to see if they would pick up the snakes but they said they would accept them if we delivered them in an approved container. I asked them if they could provide an approved container but they could not. I asked if a garbage can would be considered an approved container and their reply was that if the garbage can had been sterilized before its use, it would be suitable. A long shot was the county animal control department. When I asked if they would come take away a can full of rattlesnakes and cotton mouth water moccasins, they told me that they would come and catch them but were not in the practice of just picking them up. I called Frank from the Bureau to ask him what he thought I might do with the snakes. After having to explain the entire story to him and that his techs were going to work on the video, he said, "I know you don't like to deal with the local cops but on this one, call the sheriff's office and tell them what happened. They are going to want a copy of the DVR recording, so make one for them and give them a statement. They will then be obligated to take the snakes." "Come on, Frank, isn't there another way to do this without airing our laundry out to the locals?" "It is a civil crime, even though this is probably some kind of payback, or an attempt to eliminate you, which would come under your office. Since you're the CMFWIC, you might want to have the locals on your side on this." "Okay, you got me. What's CMFWIC?" "Oh, come on, you don't know that one? Chief mother fucker what's in charge." I had to laugh before saying, "Funny, but accurate in this case. Okay, I'll call a cop. Now that's pretty funny isn't it?" The phone rang as soon as I hung it up. Bobby was calling to ask me if I saw any round white lids around. She said that the video shows the buckets covered coming in but stacked together open as they left. She then said, "Don't go through the door out there. Don't touch the handle or anything on the patio. I'm sending a CSI team to get prints. The video shows everything they touched. One more thing, Sarg says he thinks he recognizes one of the men and is going over old cases to see if he can remember who it is. Anyway, since I'm in charge of this investigation right now, you stay on premise until the CSI guys get done." I told her what Frank suggested so I could get rid of the snakes. Bobby advised me, "Not to worry, I'll have the CSI guys take them to the lab you talked to and tell them they have to either take them or the guys will just dump them on the floor. That'll take care of it. I'll call first and tell them they have to take them. You know we'll just have to get in the habit of turning the alarm on. We also have to have a contractor come to give us a price on adding onto the garage. Oh yeah, that's what I wanted to ask you. Did you check inside your car? It's easy enough to open the door. Jan's car was out last night too, but hers has an alarm." The doorbell rang, so I told Bobby the CSI guys were here and hung up. The men said, "This is the first time we've come to you when there haven't been bodies. You gettin' soft on us now?" I took them to the patio where they had a list of places to dust for prints. I told them about the can of snakes and they said Bobby had already advised them of the deal. I told them while they did that, I was going to get ready to go in, but first I needed to check my car. As soon as I got to the car, I could see the passenger door lock was up. This was nuts. A protected vehicle that could withstand gunfire, flames, and even minor explosions, didn't have an alarm. Who would think a police car needed an alarm? When I looked inside the car there was a large rattle snake on the front seat and another on the floor as well as one on the back seat. The rake wasn't going to work here so I went inside and called animal control again. After explaining what my problem was, the operator said she would have someone right out and that I needed to report this to the sheriff's office. I called Bobby to tell her about the car and animal control. She said, "I don't like that we have to have the sheriff's office in on our business, but you probably should. This is as much a civil matter as it is a Marshal's Office responsibility. It should be fun to write a report for this." A van marked with Hillsborough County Animal Control parked in the driveway. I asked the two guys if they could wait while I had the car door handle dusted and went to get the CSI guys. They came out and dusted the handle, the top of the door and down the window, lifting several sets of prints that were probably mostly mine. I told the animal control guys that I had a garbage can full of snakes if they wanted to just add these to it. They said that would be perfect and they would bring the can back later. At least there was a snake disposal resolution. That reminded me that Monday was garbage pickup day for me, so I grabbed the other two cans and began wheeling them out to the curb. Thinking about it a second, I carefully lifted the lid of the first can to look inside. There was nothing, no snakes. The second was the same. I was getting paranoid over snakes. I went inside to gather up the trash from the other waste baskets shoving it all into the tall kitchen can then taking the bag out to join the two cans by the curb. It was a good thing too, as I could hear the garbage truck on the next block over. I did my usual triple S as quick as possible. (Shit, Shower, and Shave) and dressed for work, wearing slacks and a knit shirt that I could wear a sport coat with later. Every time I dressed in my fine clothes, I had good thoughts of Metarie from the employment office. The CSI guys were finishing up and the animal control guys said they thought they had all the snakes from the car. They had even taken the back seat out. I thanked them for hauling all the snakes away. A country sheriff's deputy was holding the lid while looking into the squirming mass of snakes. He asked if I had time for him to make a report and to get a statement. He said he had responded to the call when the house was attacked recently, and he remembered me from some past incidents in the area. The deputy was the guy who Jonah's barmaid introduced me to as her husband. I don't think he recognized me in dress clothes. I took the deputy through the house, showing him the patio and where we had found snakes. I took him back inside to the kitchen/family room area and had him sit while I made us coffee real quick. He filled out his report and took a statement as I answered all of his questions. I asked him if he could wait a minute and I would give him a security video of the incident. I called Bobby and asked if she had made more than one copy of the video. She transferred me to Marie who had made the one this morning. Marie said, "Yes Sir, made several. They are on the shelf under the monitor that doubles for a TV. They are marked 'snakes.'" The deputy wanted to watch the video, so I put one in the player and punched the button. We watched the fifteen minute video while finishing our coffee. "That's the best evidence I've ever been able to gather. I'll show this around at the station to see if anyone recognizes these guys. Good luck, but be careful. I know you know how to take care of yourself, but this shows that someone doesn't like you very much." "Thanks, Deputy, I'll be on my toes. It is a little more difficult to be on alert at home where it's supposed to be safe and cozy. I'll see you at Jonah's again soon, I'm sure." "That is you, the guy with Millie's sister. I go up there fairly often to keep Denise company. Most of the guys there know I'm a cop, but it doesn't seem to bother them, especially since I got my Heritage. Now I'm one of the gang." I said, "Yeah, I like Jonah's too. It's a good place to go and seems fairly mellow, if a biker bar can ever be considered mellow." When everyone was gone, I made a pass through the house, checked the windows and all the doors, turned on the alarm, and left. I was starved, but it was already past ten thirty, which meant the fast food places weren't serving breakfast sandwiches any more. I would just wait for lunch. I parked in the garage and asked Hank what it would take to have an alarm put on the car. After telling him the snake story, he said he would have it done by early this afternoon. Up in my office, Wanda handed me a blank incident report form and told me to make a report since it was an obvious attempt on a deputy or multiple deputies' lives. I wrote the report, noting that the CSI team had gathered evidence and that a security video had been given to the Bureau to enhance and enlarge the subjects and license plate number. It was just about that time that Jan came in with a young man that she said was going to be assigned to my specific case. She had already introduced Sam Wilson to Bobby, but wanted to have him meet me as well. We chatted for a few minutes before she finally got down to what she wanted. "Chuck, if you haven't been down to the range yet today, would you mind if we went with you. Sam doesn't have a lot of experience, and I thought it would be nice if he could get some first class instruction from you." "Sure, we'll go down together. But Sam, I have to tell you, Jan is probably a better shot than I am, and would be a better teacher if she would let herself be. Come on, I haven't been on the range in over a week." Wanda jumped up and said, "I'll tell the girls to watch the store. I need to go down as well." The range has six stationary positions to fire from, but only two people at a time can do a competition decision course. When the four of us walked in at once, the range officer, Cap, short for Captain of his college football team, smiled big and said, "Looks like Jan got you down here to teach after all. Thought you might be avoiding me down here, but I did hear you have been traveling." Cap handed out some magazines filled with range loads, and some noise canceling ear muffs. I told Sam to get on one side of me and Wanda to get on the other so I could help either if they needed it. I watched Sam fumble around with his weapon until I couldn't take it anymore. I asked him to clear the weapon so I could show him a little more about it. We took all of our equipment out to the cleaning table to begin. "Sam? This is a new weapon right? Have you cleaned and oiled it yet?" "Shouldn't have to if it's new, should I? Jan was harping about that too." I had to pause for a deep breath and said, "To begin with, this weapon is a mechanical piece of machinery that needs attention and care. Watch closely while I take your new weapon apart. Sixty seconds later, the Glock was parts on display, not a functional handgun. "Did you watch how the gun came apart?" "No sweat, I got it." "Okay, before we put it back together let's do some preventative maintenance. Use this slightly oiled swab and pass it through the barrel. Now use the brush. Okay good, now use a clean piece of heavy gauze to push through so the barrel isn't too oily. Look through it and see that the rifling or twists in the barrel are clean." "Now get a clean rag, with just a little oil on it, and wipe each part with a light glaze of oil. Do yourself a favor and put it back in the exact order when you finish oiling it." "Okay, wipe your hands with a clean rag and begin putting your weapon back together." This kept on, as I had to say stuff like, "Put the spring in first" or "slide it on from the top" and finally to say "make sure the slide travels freely back and forth." Finally "Pull it all the way back to a locking position and wipe the gun off again to get your fingerprints off of it." Cap leaned over and said, "Your fingers have a different kind of oil in them and if you sweat, the salty fingerprints will actually cause rust." Next I took him back into the range and had him put his magazines on the lower shelf and an empty magazine and the gun on the ready shelf. We went through picking up the gun, handling it, what the safety features were and the correct way to always maintain where the gun was pointed. He asked why he shouldn't carry the gun with the muzzle pointed up instead of pointing at the ground. I had to then talk about the best way to aim the gun and how to fire it to hit something. He was anxious to shoot, so I suggested he drop the empty magazine and lock and load a full one, so he could show me how well he could shoot. With the target only half way back on the range, he first held the muzzle up in the air then brought it down quickly into a two handed movie star position and fired all his rounds hitting the body of the target four out of fourteen times. When he was done, he dropped the magazine and smiled at me, "See, not bad." "Put your piece down, okay? Let me get someone." I went to get Wanda at the cleaning table. "Wanda, come do a demo for me." "Rats, I just got done cleaning it and putting it back together," the tall beauty said. "Leave it, Wanda, come use mine. That will make the demo more believable." Wanda came in and I put her in my position with my pistol and three magazines. "Now watch, Sam. This is how you are expected to shoot. Wanda is going to use my weapon. It is physically larger than any she has ever used before, so she may not be that accurate, but I think both you and she will be surprised." Wanda ran her target to the back of the range, looked at me for a signal, and I just nodded. She put a full magazine into the gun, chambered a round, and with a professional two handed grip, emptied the first magazine into the body hitting the circle with every round. She then dropped the empty and slid the next in to empty it entirely into the head of the target. She followed this with the last magazine, alternating between the body and the head, again hitting the circles every time. When she dropped the last magazine and laid the gun down she pushed the button to bring the target forward exclaiming, "Damn, that's better than that little gun. I want one like this, Mr. Johnson, this is really nice." "Sam, that's how you need to shoot. Did you see Wanda hold her muzzle up, or did she bring it up on the target? I hope you saw how it should be done and the results." Sam whined, "She's a pro probably, she probably has been shooting every day for years and years." Wanda jumped in and said, "My first target when I came here looked just like yours but after taking just one lesson and practicing what he taught me, I can do what you just saw." "I don't need any shooting lessons. I shoot good enough to defend myself. Besides, I'm not going to be getting into any gunfights. You guys act like this is the old west or something. The only reason I did this is to get Jan off my back. I'll come down every week and waste ammo to stay proficient, but I don't need any lessons, especially from a deputy marshal." Jan was red in the face from listening to the blowhard. He failed to pick up his brass or turn in his empty magazines and just walked out. Jan and Wanda dove down to pick up brass, but I waved them off. "I get to shoot now. That's what I came down for, isn't it? Jan, want some revenge and do a competition course with me?" "You're on, Boss, let's get some magazines." We took the empty magazines back to Cap who, instead of handing us a stack of practice rounds, handed us four filled magazines each. He set up the range and had us get into position. Jan said, "You should shoot some warm up rounds or I'll have the advantage." "This will be more real life like; you go from daydreaming to firing in milliseconds." The bell rang, beginning the round. We only did six positions, but the targets were coming up really fast. Forty rounds later, I felt pretty good about the course. "You might have beat me on speed, but I think I hit with every round, Jan." "Then you got me, Boss, I missed two targets as they were coming up so fast. Cap really was putting it on us wasn't he?" As we came out of the range, Cap said, "The winner and still champion, Deputy Johnson. I thought you would be rusty and you didn't even warm up. The fast targets miffed my babe and not you, I should have known." I took the scoop and scooped up brass, hand picking up the last of them. I brought my and Sam Wilson's sound muffs in and headed to the table where Wanda was waiting for us. Jan and I cleaned our weapons and straightened up the tables. Cap asked, "Am I gonna have to put up with the whiner for very long?" Jan frowned and said, "He's some big shot's kid and was transferred here because he had trouble in Cleveland. His file says he barely made it through Quantico academically and physically." I asked Jan, "What do think about him at a more demanding station, one where everyone has to pull together a little more than usual? I noticed an opening at an isolated three man station. He might make a good research assistant for the Bureau." "Do we really have a three man station somewhere that is used for research?" I answered with an explanation, "In almost all federal law enforcement agencies, there are some strange small stations that are short on manpower, but big on observation and research." Jan was skeptical, "How would you get this past his dad? He seems to be constantly able to pull strings." "Since this is considered a prestigious assignment for those who want to progress within the Bureau, I think his dad would convince him that fifteen months in the Aleutians would be a great benefit to his career. It will also help him grow up. From what I've heard, if you don't get along out there, people just seem to get lost wandering around the small islands or going between them. I'll bet he becomes a lot more considerate and respectful very fast." "Anything, Chuck, just get him out of my hair. No one wants to partner with him and you know we don't send men out alone unless it's for security clearance updates from the Secret Service. We get a lot of those, but he's done nothing but bitch about the duty." "Not a problem, Jan, I'll have his transfer orders in your station within the hour. Station Alpha will be happy to be getting a young guy like that. The old fairies out there will be all grins when they check out his file." Jan laughed at me, "Oh Chuck, the Bureau doesn't have gay guys in stations, especially at small station like that." I smiled and laughingly said, "I've heard only rumors, Jan, only rumors. But make sure you have him e-mail the station to see if he can bring anything for the guys there. They may need more lotion and lubricant." Upstairs, I had Wanda contact Bureau personnel to forward orders for Sam Wilson. He was immediately promoted to Station Alpha Observation and Research Facility for fifteen months. Since I advised Wanda of agent Wilson's past and present problems and benefactor, she sent an advisory e-mail to Sam's dad, congratulating him on Sam's selection for the station. She received an almost instant reply, thanking her for being instrumental in Sam's transfer. Jan called me around three to tell me that Sam had gone ballistic when he received his orders and had immediately called his dad. Apparently his dad convinced him he would be on the fast track for advancement if he did a good job at Station Alpha and pleased the research agents out there. Sam was signed out to pack and leave immediately, complete with a list of needed items from the on site researchers. Jan asked, "What if he does a good job out there and comes back to get promoted somewhere?" "If he does, Jan," I answered, "he'll have grown up and become a lot more flexible with his thinking. The guys out there will control his destiny with their performance reports. If he stops back in, just tell him good luck and to do a good job." Frank called me about five to tell me his men had picked up the driver of the minivan used this morning to drop off snakes. They had him in interrogation in an attempt to identify the two accomplices. They didn't have any print matches so far. I told him that Sarg thought he might know one of them, and Frank asked that Sarg come down to visit him. Bobby said she would have Sarg go in to the Bureau station to talk to Frank and to observe the driver. She also said, the housekeeper had called in a panic as alarms went off making lots of noise when she went into the house. "While she was talking to me, a duty team that is assigned as back up to the safe house showed up. I gave her the code to shut off the alarm and she said she would reset it when she left. Good idea to use it though. We'll have to have it monitored by a regular monitoring company instead of the board down here. I'll go over the procedure for the alarm with the girls this evening." John called to ask me about my snake incident. I told him a short version and advised him we had the driver in custody. His only comment was, "You made a lot of enemies down there real quick. Between the organized crime types and the Russians, that would be enough to make most people hide. Just be careful and pay attention to your surroundings. I know you should be safe now back here in the U.S., but you've chosen to be on the good guys' side. You've cost some bad guys a lot of money, people, and caused some embarrassment. A lot of those guys don't forget very quickly. I'm sure you're blamed for the organized prostitution busts the Bureau has made down there, as well as cleaning out the agencies of informers and moles. You might even consider wearing a vest. It's up to you, but just some advice." "You're probably right. I'll be a lot more careful and make sure those around me know to be careful as well." I was going to hang up, but asked, "What should I do, John, just go out and bring in everyone or anyone having to do with those groups? Is that the only way for me to get some peace?" "You can do that, Chuck, but you won't be able to hold them unless they are illegal aliens. Even then, immigration is being so loose about illegals that you may not be able to deport them unless you can prove they committed a crime against a person. You're better off catching them in a crime and jailing them here, rather than deporting them. They'll just come back with a new identity while immigration sits around with their thumbs up their butts." As it got close to five, I called out to the air park to make sure I was still booked for two hours from nine to eleven for night flying. They assured me a plane was reserved for my night solo and that John had written out where he wanted me to fly for landings. The crew wanted to go to The Office, so I accompanied them, having Coke while everyone else had ice cold beer. The waitress was cool as she brought my Coke in a frosty mug just like the beer. Tonight's special was what were called "Georgia's tasty mini calzones." Since we knew all about them, we had a couple of orders delivered to our table. After the second beer was finished, we walked back to the office for our cars to go home. Tonight we exercised and swam, but I didn't over exert myself so I would be alert for my night solo. I was getting close to my checkout ride with the FAA examiner and I wanted to be proficient. When I showed up at the air park at eight thirty, I was surprised to find John there. He asked me, "Do you want to use the 206 or a 150 series? Since you're checked out in both, you have a choice." "How about the little one? If I do a lot of flying on my own, it will probably be in smaller aircraft, so I'll use one of the little ones." "Good reasoning, Chuck," John said. "I do want you to fly the bigger planes when you have a chance though. I think you will do well in multi-engine aircraft as well. The idea is to fly as many different types of planes as you can. Go up every chance you get with anyone who will take you. I'll talk it up out here so you will be welcome with all of the air jockeys out here. They all love to fly and will love to share time with a guy like you. You need to fly a tail dragger soon too. We have some older planes that are fun to fly, but are not tricycle gear planes." My flight was easy, slow, but fun. It felt pretty good to fly by myself at night. I felt safe as I did everything by the numbers, making picture perfect landings in almost windless conditions on well lit runways. I landed at the air park at eleven ten and parked in front of the hangar. I was pulling the plane back into the hangar when John came out of the charter office and helped me put the plane in place. I wrote up the plane's log, turned it in, and noted the flight in my training log. John asked me if I could get in four more hours of instructor time so he could schedule my FAA examiners ride. "Let's do Wednesday and Thursday, two hours each at just about any time, you choose." "I can't do Thursday as the charters are really heavy then. How about four hours tomorrow either early in the morning or later in the afternoon." "Can we go up at seven, maybe even earlier?" "How about I meet you here just before six and we'll be back by ten? I'll try to schedule your examiner for Friday, how's that?" I smiled, "Sounds good, John. Can we use a 172 so I can get checked out in it? If I get my ticket, I want to be able to fly Bobby around a little. I think she'll fit fine in the right seat. She's big, but not fat big, just big." It was nearly midnight when I cruised around our neighborhood to see if there were any unusual cars in the area. I found two pairs of duty personnel in the neighborhood, but didn't stop to talk to them. When I went into the house, all three girls were still up and were happy that I made it home. I told them that I needed to get to bed as I was meeting John at the air park before six for my last four hours of instructed flight training. When we were in bed, I told Bobby, "If I pass my examination Friday, I'll take you up this weekend. It should be fun. We can fly up to Panama City to see your sister." For that I was duly rewarded with some high power loving from my big lady. She told me before going to sleep she had directed a surveillance duty in our neighborhood as an additional watch area since the safe house was near. She said that John had called her to advise her we should be vigilant. "You need to be wearing your vest for a while. The rest of us will be wearing ours when we're out, as well. We just won't take any chances." We had some more intense loving and fell asleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 33 The five o'clock alarm was too early, but I remembered what I was going to do. I did the triple S, dressed and headed out to the air park. John arrived at almost the exact same time, with his ever-present smile on his face. He says just being near airplanes makes him happy. The night crew already had a 172 out on the tarmac ready for us. I went through the preflight checklist and we prepared to takeoff. The tower wasn't going to open till seven this morning so we went to the end of the appropriate runway to head into the light wind. We announced to the world that Cessna 7449 was taking off on runway 27. This was to tell any aircraft that might be preparing to land that there was traffic on the runway. The four hours went by quickly flying up to Ocala to do a touch and go and landing in Panama City to refuel. We did the return landing in Brooksville, cruising the coast for a few miles before making the turn to come back to the airpark. As we were nearing the airpark, but not in the pattern yet, John reached over and pulled the throttle out, simulating an engine shut down. I was near panic, but remembered that instructors do those things. My electronics were not off and my altimeter said I was at seven thousand feet. Knowing I was six miles from the airpark, had it been an emergency, I would have used the radio to declare an emergency but would still have headed toward the runway. The plane glided so well that I actually had to bleed off a lot of altitude faster than the plane was descending naturally. Setting it down was not difficult, but I could understand that if I had not been prepared for this to happen, it could have been a problem. John said, "If the examiner does that to you, it will probably be near a large open field somewhere and he'll just pull out the throttle simulating shutting you down. Just try to determine the wind direction and head into the wind. If you have enough altitude, make a gliding pass over the area to make sure there aren't any logs or ditches then just set it down. If you can land the plane, there is usually enough room to take off again. As you've learned, taking off from grass isn't any different than dirt or a paved runway. Pavement is just smoother. In all likelihood, the examiner will have you abort the landing when you line up to land. He just wants to know whether you can make a good decision. He'll test you on all the stalls that we've practiced and all the maneuvers. Just fly like you've learned to fly." I had to throttle up the engine to taxi back to the hangar where John proclaimed my basic instruction complete. He smiled and said, "As soon as you get your license, I want you to begin your instrument training. Steve said he was going to assist you financially with the instrument training if you would agree to help out with some instruction to his security people." I happily said, "Sounds like a plan to me. I'm using up my fun budget pretty fast. If we didn't have the flights for work, I would be a couple of weeks away from the examination." John smiled, "Don't worry, Steve wants you to get as many hours as you can get so you might help out here doing some instruction down the road. That'll be after a lot of flying, but it's a goal. It's fun too, as you get some hours while you're teaching." John made an appointment for me for Friday at nine in the morning for my examination. He said that first I would fly up to Brooksville where the examiner would be. The first hour or so would be an oral exam that would cover all of the questions he had been quizzing me on when we were flying. The next step would be flight planning for a flight the examiner wanted me to take. The actual air time would probably be for about an hour or a little more. We would do landings as directed. I called Wanda to make sure Friday was open for me to be out of the office. She said that I was still considered on partial disability leave for my leg, since she had not logged me back in full time yet. That reminded me about my peg that might be done, so I called the prosthesis shop to see if it was ready. The lady answered the phone and told me to come and get it. She said they wanted me to try a new peg they had designed that had a pneumatic shock built into the peg to make it more comfortable to use. I drove to the shop and once there, I took off my regular leg and put on the peg. Walking around was strange as I was used to the big foot with the flexible ankle. There wasn't the "ker-plop" of heel/toe contact but just a "thump" as you set down on the rubber ended peg. The shock absorber for the peg had adjustments for stiffness and travel distance. They messed with it as I walked around the small room before having me walk outside on concrete. They taught me how to put it on and take it off quickly. This would be perfect for most stuff around the house, but I would still need the regular leg for the treadmill. I paid what I thought was a very reasonable price for the peg with the special boot and headed to the office to arrive just in time to be included in the Subway sandwich order. Wanda had me go over several questionable reports and write my comments to transmit to the stations, and showed me an e-mail from Sam Wilson thanking me for the promotion. His e-mail was from the new station and he even mentioned that the personnel there were very interesting. Jan would appreciate the e-mail so I forwarded it to her and Frank. No sooner had I sent it than Frank called saying, "If you have a minute, stop in to see me. If I come up, I may disrupt your staff and I don't want to do that." After eating my sandwich, I went to see Frank. He and I got some coffee and went into his office to sit and chat. "Chuck, you may not know this yet, but Conish has received her uncontested divorce. I further complicated her life by asking her to marry me. I know this is fast, but we've really hit it off and seem to enjoy being together. She has asked if we could just live together for a while to see how we get along and I have agreed. I hope you don't feel this is improper for me to do?' "Congratulations, Frank. I guess it's premature for that but it's great you have found a companion. You look good, so I can tell you're health has improved. It's amazing how some love in your life helps your outlook." "That it does, Chuck." Frank continued, "The other thing is that we've picked up the other two yahoos that were involved in your snake party. The good news is they are not part of the Ruskies or any big time organized crime group. They are a couple of locals that were burned when you closed down the employment fiasco. They didn't get pulled in then as we thought they were mostly innocent guys taken along for the ride. They weren't. They are three guys that were making good money for doing nothing. They were using one of the offices to make some deals in and collect a training salary from the government. They figured out where you lived as one of the guys worked for a pool cleaning outfit that takes care of your pool." "So what's the bad news, Frank?" He smiled, "The bad news is you probably have to testify about the snakes in your pool cage, patio, hot tub, and car. They won't make a deal, so the prosecutor is going to send them away for breaking and entering your property and your car, plus eighty-five counts of attempted murder against each of you at your house. There were eighty-five snakes so that's how many counts there will be. They won't be back on the street until you have grown grandchildren." "That's some good news, Frank. I can take off the vest for a while then. The folks living out at the house will be happy as well. We're using the alarm now, so that is a beneficial result of the incident. We know that we can be vulnerable if we are not careful. It's kind of stupid to have protected cars and a protected house, and not use the basic alarm system for the house. I did get a car alarm now that turns on with the wireless lock. Don't you just love the remote control locks and trunks on the cars now?" I thought of something, "Are you going to have Conish be a stay at home companion?" "No way! The first thing she said after I asked her to marry me was that she was not giving up her job in your office. She says this is the first time in her adult life she feels needed and useful in business. She loves working with Angie and Wanda, and you too, of course, but you're hardly ever around." I was happy, "That's good news. I'm sure Wanda will be happy to hear it as Conish has been really good at learning all our procedures and paperwork." Back up in the office, I called Wanda into my office with my doors closed and discussed Frank and Conish. Wanda said, "She told Angie and me the next morning. She also said she wasn't leaving under any circumstances, as she really likes her job." "On another thing, Mr. Johnson, I'm going to log you back in Tuesday, only using one day off for your prosthesis. You ended up working all day Monday and these other times are covered by your formal pilot training." "Ah, what do you mean formal pilot training?" "Because of your need to move around so much, there is a little used provision where a senior deputy can be trained as an aviator so he can fly unassisted when necessary. This also means the services budget is covering the cost of your training. I've been able to separate some of your flying as a combination of travel and training. It just reduces our budget figures a little." I sat back in my big chair and said, "That's really great. I haven't worked out a budget for myself and was a little concerned about how much the training was costing." Wanda said, "I hope you don't mind but I've worked out a budget for you that should make you feel good. It's in your personal files. It includes the house payments and utilities. You have no personal credit card debt, so the house is your major cost. We four girls each contribute a flat amount that offsets your house payment, utilities, housekeeping, landscaping, and pool care. You even have some left over that I think will cover enlarging the garage if you really want that." "I don't want to overcharge you guys for rent. You four or three or two could share an apartment for say four or five hundred a month." "Not hardly. You may have lived in a cheap apartment, but if we were to get an apartment, the cheapest we can find is about seven hundred for a very small two bedroom. I think we're all happier at the house than living like cliff dwellers in a large complex. If Jan or Marie ever wants to move out, your budget is still on the green side, so to let you know, you are putting money away with every payday." "Hmmm, how much am I paid anyway? I've never looked at those little slips they've sent. I know it's a lot, as I see the deposits, but I've just been concerned that there is money in the account for when I go to the grocery store." "That's the other thing, Mr. Johnson, the five of us are going to put a fixed amount into a pot for food each month. We're starting at a hundred dollars a month each and expect you to contribute as well. We will adjust the amount as we find out what's real." "Don't make it hard on you girls. I enjoy the company and would be very lonely if you all weren't around, even if there were only Bobby or just you, Wanda. The other two girls are nice fun to have around though." Wanda said while looking down, not looking me in the eye. "How would you feel if there was another girl to join us at the house? You have one last suite that's open and this girl doesn't have a car." "It's not just me, Wanda, there are three other women at the house and you know we don't have a conventional relationship out there. Do you think this person would be compatible?" Wanda grinned, "Oh, I think she would be more than compatible. She's losing her apartment as she's making more than allowed to live where she is right now, so she needs to move and our house would be convenient." "Why's that, Wanda?" Wanda lowered her voice, "Because Angie could ride back and forth with me or Bobby or Jan or even you. She has been talking to Marie, and asked Bobby, and now me, if I would ask you." "So what did Bobby say?" "You know Bobby, she loves and welcomes everybody." "What about you, Wanda?" "Thank you for thinking of me, Mr. Johnson. I like Angie and think we would be good examples for her. She should fit in well with us even though she may have some mental adjustments to our lifestyle. I've spoken with her extensively, and she is eager to become a part of our household." "That would be neat, an Angelina to go along with a Marie Antoinette. Sure, bring her out for a couple of nights this weekend, and let her make up her mind. There is a but, though. I'm not sure about another intimate relationship. Don't you think you and Bobby are probably twice as much as I'm capable of taking care of? Add Marie and Jan into the mix and you're stretching any man's abilities. One more could break the bank." "Mr. Johnson, we can't really discuss this sort of thing here, so let's talk about it later at home. I just wanted to get your opinion so I could let Angie know." "There is something that we can discuss here at the office, Wanda," I said, to get her renewed attention. "Our intimate relationship and the relationship with Marie could be considered very improper, considering our mutual employer. Somehow we need to discuss this issue among ourselves to reassure you, Marie, and Bobby, that our relationship at the house is exclusive of our work status." Wanda looked at me a long time and said, "I've thought of the problems that could arise from your relationships with us, but I think even Marie is able to separate her work responsibilities from home. I'll talk to the others more thoroughly about this. You shouldn't be in on it as we discuss it." "Thanks, Wanda, I just want you all to know that your positions do not hinge on our relationship outside the service." Wanda's face softened and she said with a gentle smile, "I know that, Chuck, and I appreciate you thinking of me and us." As Wanda left my office with a crooked grin, I was wondering what she had up her sleeve or skirt or whatever. Women were sneaky sometimes, thinking they know what's best for us men. To be truthful, they did know what's best. Since my boxes were empty, I thought to do a search in the government possessions for airplanes. There were some big jets and expensive larger turboprops that had been confiscated. There were some small planes, but they were mostly damaged. There was a 172 in Dallas that was in good condition, along with a Beechcraft in Kansas City that was interesting. In Houston was something that was really up my alley, a 206 that had some minor damage, but was close to needing an annual inspection. When I clicked on it, I found the 206 damage was all bullet holes. The fuel bladders were not damaged and the engine didn't take any hits. They didn't say anything about blood, but it did say the plane could be ferried only until the skin was repaired and the whole plane was inspected again. There was an open bid on the plane with the top bid sitting at twelve thousand, five hundred. I called John, my instructor, to ask him about the plane. He said if the plane were in good condition, it could be worth as much as a hundred and fifty thousand. From that point, anything wrong with it would reduce the price. He asked if I would tell him where it was at and perhaps he knew someone who would survey it for me. I gave him the information from the website, thanking him for his help. He said he understood my interest since Bobby was a little large for most airplanes. I might be putting the cart before the horse, as I didn't even have my private pilot's license yet. I probably had enough money to buy the plane and do the repairs, but I may not have enough to continue to maintain it and to operate it. I'd have to get some figures. Meanwhile, I would become a trader in airplanes. Probably not a smart thing to do in the economy as it is right now, but it was something I thought I should investigate. At five, Wanda asked if I wanted to join everyone at The Office. How could I refuse, besides, I didn't get a beer at all yesterday. This flying stuff was interfering with my drinking. We were at the bar, having our first giant frosty mug of beer when my cell phone went off. It was John, the instructor, so I walked out the back door to talk to him. "A friend of mine in Houston looked at the plane. It's being garaged near where his charter company is. He says the plane had been stolen in Florida several years ago but was involved in a drug bust six months ago. Nobody wants an airplane with bullet holes and blood in it. He says the only blood stains are on the floor and you can get replacement carpeting." John took a breath and said, "The plane needs an annual, but he says it looks like it has been taken care of, but never recorded. He started it up and let it run a little and it seems in good shape. He thinks the only thing the plane needs is some new rubber, the holes fixed and inspected, and some cockpit carpet. Finally Chuck, he says the bidding will end Friday at noon, so if you're going to bid, do it now." There was a pause before he said, "You know if you buy this thing anywhere near the price of the bid now, it would be stealing. I say try for it. You're not going to get a chance to buy a plane like that at a price like this ever. With a plane like that you can carry three Bobbys. And if you were to fail your pilot's exam, you could fix the plane up and turn it for a profit fast. For what you'll have in it, you can't help but make money." "What should I bid?" "My friend said to bid a dollar more than the existing bid, but to put in a bid max for at least another ten thousand. That way if someone were watching the amounts you could find out how serious they were. He also said he was going to have the government ad reflect extensive blood stains to drive away other bidders for you." "I'm convinced, John, guess I'll buy a plane and get rid of my Boss 302." "You didn't tell me you had a real Boss. Is it decent?" "Pristine and all the numbers match." "Really! Is it fast?" "Like a Lear." "Awesome, Chuck. You'll have to bring it out to the trailer park so Steve and his crew can see it. They love custom and restored cars." "Do you live out there too?" "Yep, the next street over, across from Tiny." "I remember Tiny and his wife, Ruth. Nice people." "They're both crazy as loons sometimes, but great people. All of them out there are crazy but it is just the best place in the world for me." "We're supposed to go out there again, possibly this Friday, so perhaps I'll see you at the party that's coming up." "Perhaps." Back inside, my second beer and some chicken wings were waiting for me. I briefly mentioned that I was talking to John my instructor. Bobby said, "I want you to take me up to Panama City so you can meet Michele. I can't wait for her to be surprised we came to see her. Mom will be so jealous." Soon, we were home exercising, prior to swimming hard. My new peg was neat as I could wear it right to the pool and slip it on to walk back into the house. The makers of the peg said I could even swim in it if I wanted, so I could use it to shower and stand on two things instead of balancing. I tired easily while swimming, as I was a little sleep deprived lately, in an effort to do too much in too short of a time. While the girls were getting supper ready, I went into my home office and logged onto the government site and registered as a bidder first, to bid on the plane. It was almost like bidding on EBay, but I could designate that I only wanted my bid to be one dollar more than the present bid. I did put in that I wanted to outbid each new bid by one dollar up to my max of eleven thousand more. I was thinking I should put twenty thousand instead of eleven, but I did it that way just to start. Funny though, the twelve thousand five hundred dollar bid was the only bid on the plane. After supper, the girls wanted to go shopping so we piled into the Escalade and headed to the mall. I really didn't need anything, except some underwear, but I joined in the shopping spree anyway. They mostly bought stockings and accessories, except for Marie, who was still building a work clothes wardrobe. I made a note to take Wanda, Marie, and Jan to the warehouse I had shopped at with Metarie. As a matter of fact, I would get Metarie to go with us. In the kitchen at home, with all of us enjoying a late night alcoholic beverage, Wanda brought up Angie. Bobby immediately said, "I'm all for her coming to live with us. She is a perfect lady around work, and keeps her area neat, so she should work out well with us." Marie was all for her, but Jan said, "What about dick privileges. I don't get nearly enough when I'm in the mood, and I know Marie could use a lot more, so are we going to have to share our resident pussy stretcher with one more?" Wanda and I were busting up from the frankness that Jan was displaying. Wanda said, "You know you would probably get a lot more Chuck loving if you were available when he is. He has been busy lately and even Bobby has suffered. I'm wishing we would have a trip so I could get some more as well. Just show up in bed and I'm sure between Bobby, Chuck, and whoever else is in there, you will be well satisfied. One more little girl with zero experience in our lifestyle will not make any difference." Bobby was grinning, "Goody, more of my special needs being taken care of." Jan did admit, "I guess that was pretty rash. I get so involved with pussy, that I forget how good Chuck is for me. I know I'm kind of a slut because I chase around so many women, but I don't chase other men. The women get my interest too easily. Oh well, you're right, I'll stay home and enjoy what I have, especially if we get another sweet young tasty treat." "Let her make up her own mind, Jan," Wanda scolded. "I'd bet she's never even considered playing footsie with another girl, much less playing the way you enjoy playing." Marie said, "Angie was always little miss perfect in school, but I think that was because of her folks. They always watched her very close. You can ask Tiani, she'll tell you." Wanda looked around and asked, "So can we have her out for the weekend to see how she likes the place? She has to move by the first since she has a decent paying job now." Everyone agreed. We finished our drinks and got ready for bed. When I came from the bathroom after washing and brushing my teeth, there were four naked women lying in bed waiting for me. Getting up on one elbow, Bobby said, "I'll be last, start with miss slut Jan first, then Marie, Wanda next, and finish with me. We figure you're good for at least two good juicers, so let her rip, we're ready for you. While you do one, we'll prepare the next one for you, a regular assembly line." "You guys are too much. I really do enjoy you all and even love you all. I need to be superman to fulfill all your dreams, though." I started by giving Jan some quality kisses and loving, progressing to my face being buried in her pleasure center. Knowing she gets plenty of experienced face time from other women, I almost felt inadequate. But when I slid up and began stretching her out to accept me completely into her, I knew I had my niche. She came readily as I sucked the stiff nipples on her average sized breasts. The whole time we were loving, Marie was kissing Jan, me, and sucking one of Jan's breasts. When Jan sprawled back smiling, Marie pulled me into her and began a fast ride. Marie tried to cram as many orgasms into a minute as she could. She came so readily that the five minutes of good fucking probably accounted for over twenty good orgasms. She was a real come machine. When she was grinning, I was able to begin loving up Wanda. She whispered in my ear, "I love to feel you completely on me and in me, Chuck. Don't do anything else but slowly fuck me into oblivion." Wanda wanted slow and steady, with lots of kisses. The longer we fucked, the tighter she became, until her pussy was milking me. As Wanda came for the third or fourth time, holding me tight, I spewed into her, causing her to lift me as she tried to get me even deeper into her. We kissed and hugged as we enjoyed my soaking in her frothy pussy. Bobby pulled our two heads towards her and kissed each of us. "My special needs are being overworked tonight. You've got me so hot, I'm burning." Jan dove between Bobby's thighs, and Marie pulled me from Wanda's gooey center and took me into her mouth. The sensory functions were overflowing, as the sights, smells, and feelings were really exciting. Bobby was coming when I pulled Jan by the hair up to give her a kiss. Her face was awash in Bobby's juices. Marie had me steel hard, so I just slid in to Bobby and began jamming deep to get all of me inside her. It's amazing how someone so big can be so small down there. We were kissing and I was dropping my head to bite her nipples while thrusting hard into her. We were both soon on the short, fast strokes and didn't last much longer. While Bobby crushed me in her massive thighs, holding my butt in with her heels, I blasted her insides full of my juices. We were both groaning loudly. Bobby wouldn't let me up and kept me cradled between her thighs with my head between her giant bosoms. Wanda leaned over and kissed me, then Bobby, who said that she was very happy and was going to sleep with me right where I was. Marie and Jan were snuggled together against Wanda, so we slipped off into dreamland just like that. Sometime in the night I ended up hugging Wanda's back with Bobby spooned against me. Wanda was sneaky, as she must have handled me just enough to have me seated inside her. We slept with me fairly hard inside her the rest of the night. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 34 The phone was ringing. I slid from bed to answer it, but all I heard was a dial tone. I punched the button for the second line and said "Hello." "Morning, Sunshine." "Uh, I think the appropriate phrase would be, 'Fuck you, John.' "What do you have in mind at, let's see, five forty-five on Thursday morning." "Get up, get dressed, and fly, drive, or run to Savannah and save their asses. They got into a gun battle with some people from a ship that was suspected of bringing in and taking out contraband. The ship is being held in port so the other side is at a disadvantage. The ship's captain is off the ship and won't go back on until the crew that is shooting is off his ship or pacified." "How am I supposed to resolve this?" "How should I know? They called me and I told them to call you but they asked if I would call you for them." "How fast to I really need to be up there?" "Yesterday! Get that ship out of the port, preferably with the bad guys in custody, and the cargo loaded. The ship owners will love you forever." "I'm on my way, John, thanks for the wake up. You know I have to finish this today as I have my flight exam tomorrow." "I didn't know that, Chuck, but this will get you up there and back faster." I hung up to see four faces looking at me, wanting to know what was up. As soon as I explained, Wanda was on the phone with the charter people. They told me to get to the airport and they would get me to Savannah quickly. I did the triple S, and dressed in just casual pants and a knit shirt. I stuffed my vest in a gym bag, grabbed three additional magazines for my Glock, and headed for the car without even taking a cup of coffee. Thank goodness Burger King has a couple of stores between home and the air park. I bought four sandwiches and two cups of coffee and beat feet to the air park. At six forty-five, I was getting out of the car when sexy Lisa, the crazy lady pilot, hollered at me to help push the 206 out of the hangar. "This is what's left today. Do you think the economy is really bad, considering we've been a G-5 short all week, and could have used another Lear a couple of times, as well." I put the sandwiches and coffee in the cockpit and began the preflight inspection card. Lisa came around and said, "Hey, that's mine, I should do that." "Sorry, Lisa, I've been doing it so much I just thought I was supposed to be doing it." "Shit, Chuck, I'm not an IP (Instructor Pilot) yet, so I can't sign off your time. You can fly this thing if you want though. You'll just have to do it from the right seat. Let's finish this and get in the air." We lifted off at seven fifteen, heading north northeast. It isn't that far to Savannah, especially by air. Lisa thanked me for breakfast and coffee, saying she didn't even get a chance to get a thermos for us. When we got to Savannah, we flew over the port to see if we could identify the ship. It was easy, as there were police cars and military trucks all over the place. I switched to our general service frequency and made contact with the Station Chief. I told him to have someone pick me up at the airport, which he readily agreed to. I landed us smoothly enough to get congratulated by my pilot. As we were taxiing up to the private aircraft terminal, I told her to tie down nearby and tell everyone you were a Marshal's Service charter. A deputy came out of the terminal, flashing his badge and waving for me to follow him. I grabbed my bag and went with him to his car. While he was driving to the port, I took my shirt off and put the vest on and slipped my shirt on back over the vest. He described the troublemakers as possibly being some smugglers that were caught while trying to bring contraband off the boat. No one knew how it happened, but the smugglers must have been surprised and thought they were being attacked. At the port, I heard the same story several times. I asked the Captain, "What nationality are the crew members in question?" Captain: "Indian, and maybe one Pakistani." Me: "Do they speak English?" Captain: "Most do, they practice all the time." Me: "What do you think they were trying to get off the boat?" Captain: "Probably hashish. I know they smoke a lot of it, and it isn't illegal where they come from." Me: "Are guns legal on board?" Captain: "We don't encourage them, but many have guns." I had an idea, so I asked the Station Chief, "How much gun fire was there from the ship?" "Just one shot from the ship, but the local police and customs probably shot off a couple hundred rounds." I had to ask, "Why so many?" The Chief said, "Cowboys. These guys never get involved in anything and they had a chance, so they began shooting." "Tell them to put their guns down and not to shoot. I'm going aboard to see if we can resolve this." The Chief exclaimed, "You can't do that, you'll get shot. Those guys will shoot you and then what will we do?" "Let me try. I'll holler up and tell them I'm coming aboard to talk to them. If they shoot at me, I'll get off and try something else." I took a bullhorn and walked up to near the gangway and turned on the bullhorn. "My name is Johnson, I'm coming aboard to talk to you. It would be better to let me talk to you than for me to be mad at you. Hold your fire and let's talk." I put down the bullhorn and began climbing the gangway. A head appeared around the railing and disappeared quickly. The gangway was high and steep as the ship had been unloaded and was riding high in the water ready to be loaded with freight. I finally made it to the top and saw a man hiding around a corner. He was waving for me to come to him. When I got there, a door was open so I entered and was immediately confronted by five men with guns. They were not pointing them at me though. One said, "If you don't pull out your gun, we will be fine. What do you want to talk about?" "Look, those guys down there don't know what you were trying to take off the ship, but they think it is probably hashish. The government men get mad if you try to sell that stuff here in the U.S. This is not a good place to do that, and if you get caught you will stay in prison for many years." One man said, "But it is not illegal for me to have at my home. Many want it here, why can't I sell it?" "The law here is against using that type of drug or to smoke it. Just like you don't have liquor in many areas, but we do. You can't drink or won't drink, but you will smoke that funny stuff." "We hear that before, but no believe. What can we do, we shoot in the air to scare off man with badge. How can we leave, the Captain will be mad." "If I let you guys take your stuff with you, will you promise to put your guns away?" "We will do that. Can you help us like that?" "I'm sure the Captain needs you and no one out there really wants to hurt anyone without a gun. Go put your guns away and hide your stuff where you always hide it when you're in port. Promise me you won't try sell it in the U.S., okay?" The obvious leader said, "We promise." He began telling the men in his language to do something. "I tell men to put away everything and to get other men so we can load freight. You go fix us with the men with badges and the Captain." I went down the gangway and used the bullhorn. "All non-federal personnel please depart from the port area. All federal personnel meet me right here, without weapons." I should have said with weapons stowed, as I saw a bunch of men putting their guns on the ground, probably for the better. The Captain came with the Homeland group and the Marshal Service people. I addressed all of them at once, "Look, there was only one shot fired into the air by the crew. They don't want to do anything, but were scared. They are not going to take anything off the ship, I was guaranteed that." I looked at the Homeland Security leader and asked, "Can you forget about all the rounds you fired at the ship and get on with business?" He looked confused, but thought about it, "Yeah, I guess nothing's been harmed really. We already did the INS thing on board and customs has cleared the freight that came off and the freight going back on. I guess we could let it go." I turned to the Captain, "I'm sure you need the men in question, and you probably don't really know which of the crew it really is do you?" "No, I don't really know which ones they are, who do anything." I smiled, "You need all of them though, right?" "Of course, I need everyone to run the ship." "See the men up there; they're waiting to load the freight. Go load up and sail with the next tide. You Homeland guys, stay right here and make sure no one gets off the ship." The Homeland Security Customs lead man asked me, "Are you really just going to let them go, even after shooting at us?" "They didn't shoot at you. The only infraction so far is they fired a round inside the city limits. Since they fired it into the air, they could have been shooting at big sea gulls that crap on them constantly. Did any of them show their weapons to anyone on the dock?" The agent started to speak, but stood there thinking about it a minute, then began going from man to man among the group waiting and watching what was going on. Two huge cranes began picking up the first containers to be loaded onto the boat. Several stevedores on the dock were preparing more large containers to be picked up while customs inspectors were checking bonding tags. The DEA station chief came up to me with a bag of donuts and a cup of coffee. "How are you doing, Chuck, haven't seen you since you came through a while ago with that hot rod Mustang." "I'm sorry; I don't remember seeing you then. What was the situation?" He chuckled, "You wouldn't have. I was with one of my men when you blew by us in North Florida. I recognized you from your picture on the inter-service site. You were with what looked like a big woman heading south. We stayed up with you, but I figured you to be undercover so we didn't stay with you. The Boss you were driving sure looked pristine, do you still have it?" "I do and I do remember an Expedition running with us for a few miles when we were on the way home. We had been under, but were finished when you saw us." The agent further explained, "We were in Panama City because we had a tip a boat charter service there was picking up stuff out in the gulf. It turned out to be sour grapes from a competitor. The suspect let us roam his four boats with dogs and check his passenger lists for the past year. If he was running drugs, he wasn't doing it on those boats." The agent asked, "Do you think those guys have any dope on board?" "Probably lots of it, mostly for personal use. A lot of the Indian and Pakistani crewmen use some hashish. It's not against the law over there and they are allowed to have it on board. I think a couple of them thought they might pick up some greenbacks selling some of their extra. Since they didn't do any dealing and we don't have any strangers running around down here, they didn't have a meet set up. I would rather chalk this one up to a misunderstanding than to screw up shipping and dock schedules any worse than they already are." "You're probably right; we've caught a few crewmen on shore leave with hashish on them before, but never with a whole lot. It usually becomes more trouble than it's worth, as the ship's agents get all out of shape and the Captain only wants to get his ship loaded and out of here. He's wasting money with his engines idling while he's waiting to leave." Almost all of the local sheriff's deputies and the local city police force had left the area. The Bureau had a couple of people there, but was not really involved other than as backup. It took four hours to get the cargo loaded into the holds and on the deck of the ship. Tugs were idling in the channel, waiting for a harbor pilot, to assist the ship out to sea. When the pilot showed up, he was interviewed to make sure he wasn't a contact for the crewmen on board with the dope. When I watched the lines being loosened and pulled back onto the boat, I relaxed. The situation was effectively over. Now all of the extra people were departing. The local ACE said to me, "Sure glad you came up. This was becoming a pissing contest over who had jurisdiction. The sheriff's department thought it would be cute to start firing on the ship. I don't know what they thought they would accomplish by shooting at six inches of steel. They might have dented it. We were called in by the Homeland Customs guy because he thought he was being fired on. From there, it was a cluster fuck. How did you know those guys weren't going to shoot you when you went on board, you didn't even leave your weapon?" "Since the ship was flying the Indian flag, I sort of figured out what might be happening. Men from that part of the world carry guns. It's part of their manhood. You're fine as long as you don't try to pull yours on them. They even respect you a little more for showing your weapon. I didn't feel like a stupid siege on a solid steel merchant ship, so a quick compromise seemed the way to go. I'm just happy that it worked out without a scratch." The Station Chief once again thanked Chuck and offered him a ride. "Take me to the airport and so I can get back home. Now we'll have to do the creative writing for a non-incident incident report." "I'll take you; the office is in the same direction." At the airport, Lisa was standing with three men working on the nose gear of the airplane. "You back already? I thought you would be all day." "Turned out not to be that big of a deal, Lisa. What's up with the nose gear?" She said, "I noticed some hydraulic fluid on the tarmac and discovered the hose for the front brake was cracked and leaking. We had to drain the rest of the fluid, take the old hose off and go get one made at a local supplier. Not a big problem but it could have become a problem and the leaking fluid will ruin a tire. They should be done in a few minutes. If you want a sandwich, the terminal café has some pretty good subs ready made. If you go in, bring me back a Coke, please?" I did want something to eat and went into the terminal to find the café. I bought a sub and a couple bottles of Coke, plus a couple bottles of water. I took time to take a leak and wash my hands before going back out to the plane to stow the goodies. Lisa was going through her preflight checklist while the workers were recharging the hydraulic fluid. As soon as they finished and had Lisa sign for the work, she motioned for me to get into the aircraft. After removing the wheel chocks, she slid into her seat, buckled up, pulled the next checklist, and began reading to me. I automatically began going through the steps to prepare to start the engine and started it. In very little time, I was requesting taxi instructions and runway access to take off. "Lisa, did you file a flight plan, or do I need to do that while we're holding here?" "I already filed, all you have to do is call in to initiate it. We'll do that after we get the wheels off the runway." We were soon off the ground on the way home. Lisa took the controls while I ate my sandwich, but began quizzing me about the same stuff John always did. She said she was prepping me for tomorrow. She asked how I felt about the test, and all I could say is, "John's taught me pretty well. I know all the right things to do, and I know what would be bad to do. So far I've flown this 206 more than student planes, but I'll fly a 172 tomorrow. I've only flown that plane twice. It's about the same just an in between size of this one and the 150 series. I like this airplane as it's pretty fast and handles very nice." When I took back control, Lisa pulled out a notebook and continued to quiz me all the way to the air park. We set down at three thirty and parked in front of the maintenance hangar. Lisa said, "The guys will want to look over what was done to make sure everything is good. It's always better to get a second opinion after having work done somewhere else." "Thanks for being my jockey today, Lisa. See you later." Lisa said, "Don't forget that Steve wanted you to come out tomorrow evening. He probably wants to celebrate you passing your exam." I called in to Wanda to see what was up. She said that she's fielded a few dozen calls congratulating me for taking care of Savannah without any problems. She suggested, "Come in and write your report. You probably won't be in all day tomorrow, so get it done now while it's fresh in your mind." It took me longer to get to the office than it did to write the report. I tried to be as wordy as possible, but the incident really was a non-incident. While I was finishing the report, Wanda said John was on the line. "Hey, John." "Hey yourself, you did a good job up in Savannah. All the divisions are calling in their reports to say it was handled without any real problems because you went on board, against no one knows how many gun wielding crewmen, and pacified them. So what really happened?" I quickly explained the whole incident, telling him the crew really wasn't threatening, but were a little scared they weren't going to be able to sail with the ship. Once they were comfortable, they put away their guns and probably fired up a pipe full of their favorite hash and went back to work. "Good job, Chuck. Oh, and good luck tomorrow on your exam. I always wanted to learn how to fly. I might try it soon now that you've given me the fever. Learn how to fly the jets so you can jockey me around. That would be neat to team up with you." "I've got a long way to go before I fly any jets. I have to learn instruments and get a lot of flying time in. If everything goes right, I'll try to fly myself to close stations when I need to go. The cost should be about what a commercial flight is. That will really help the budget." John said, "Well remember that you still need to get to some of these places fast and you will need to work on board the airplane fairly often unless you have Wanda with you. Anyway, good luck and as soon as you can, begin the next part of your training." It was almost five, but I checked my e-mail on my laptop, and used my desk PC to check the government auction site. The last bid was still mine at twelve thousand five hundred and one dollar. I wondered if this was like EBay where people hung on to the last second to place that last bid. I was surprised that whoever put the bid in on the plane didn't put in a lot more to go up if someone bid against him. My desk was clean and my laptop was back in its case. Wanda poked her head in the door and asked, "Want to go to The Office? Frank is coming with Conish, and Angie has some things with her to come home with us tonight. She's planning on staying through the weekend so we can see if we are compatible." "Sounds good, Wanda, let's get out of here." The four of us left the office and stopped in at the station where Bobby, Sarah, Marie, and Dave were all getting ready to walk out the door. Just like it was planned, the elevator stopped at the second floor to let Jan on and we went down. Bobby, Wanda, and I put our stuff into our cars out back and went across the back lot to the back door of The Office. Thursday night should be a little slower than normal, but it wasn't. The bar was enjoying a brisk business, selling buckets of six bottles of domestic beer for the price of five. If you bought two buckets, you got an extra two bottles of beer per bucket. We were enjoying each other's company when Tom and Zena came up and joined the party. Tom was offering his place to come out Friday and or Saturday night. Zena kept assuring us that they had the extra room in their house, even with the other girls there. I told Tom that Lisa had been my pilot again today and he was smiling. Zena said, "I'm surprised she can fly you anywhere. She loves military guys and cops. She goes nuts over anyone that carries a gun." "She really is a good pilot and pays attention to what she's doing. She does flirt, but so do most people." "Perhaps she won't be flying this weekend and will be around for a change if you guys come out. You should come, there's going to be the big fishing contest this weekend that my sister will probably win again, but you never know. The whole thing becomes a big cookout party." Bobby said, "I'm not going out in one of those canoes, no way. I might try one of the pontoon boats, but no little boats for me." Zena said, "While the crazies are all out fishing, you and I can hang out at the house or go down to the pool to get some sun." "I suppose we could go out there without inviting the rest of the family to come along," Bobby said. I mentioned, "I thought we were going to see Michelle Saturday or Sunday. Tomorrow night we're supposed to go to Steve's and Sue's." Zena said to Tommy, "Tommy, we're supposed to go over there tomorrow evening as well. You know who Steve is; he's the guy who owns all those businesses connected to S&S. Sue owns all those clothing factories like the one that you sold the property for." Zena turned to Bobby and said, "Isn't it strange, a couple that well off living out in a trailer park? I understand they live in a pretty fancy trailer though." Bobby said, "It isn't a trailer, but a very big manufactured home. They also have a huge screened in air conditioned patio with a bar and TVs, and inside they have a pool table. You won't believe the kids out there, they are everywhere, having a great time." Tom said, "Okay, we'll go out there but that still leaves the question of you two coming out to stay with us this weekend." Bobby said, "Tell you what, we'll come after going to Steve's and Sue's and stay through Sunday morning but we need to get going early so we can fly up to see my sister in Panama City." Zena shivered, "Oh, you're so lucky. I wish we would learn how to fly. I think that would be so cool to fly yourself around to some of the places we go. We could even fly down to the keys on weekends sometimes. We're just so comfortable out here that we don't hardly ever go anywhere except for business." I said, "I always wanted to learn to fly, so this is fun for me and I might be able to fly myself to some of the places that I go. It could help my office budget." We left to go home with Wanda, Angie, and Marie riding with Bobby, while I had Jan with me. At home, we quickly changed clothes to work out. Bobby had purchased another bike, so there was less waiting for either a treadmill or a bike from the Shapes store that was closing. When we were real sweaty, the girls headed toward the pool shedding clothes while I went into the bedroom to take off my regular leg and slip on my new peg leg. We swam hard, leaving poor Angie in our wake. She said she would have to practice to get to be a better swimmer. She didn't seem self-conscious to be nude with us. When we were done swimming, Bobby and Wanda did their usual of picking me up and carrying me to a chair. Angie commented, "You have two helpers that are really strong. That is something the way they can carry you like that." "You should see them throw me out into the pool. That's really a sight." We were going to have grilled chicken, but without the Marsala sauce, until Bobby asked, "Can you do the chicken with your special sauce? You know, the Marsala, and cut the chicken breasts in half so they're thinner." "Not a problem, let me put on some shorts and a T-shirt and I'll get started." Bobby came near me and said, "Don't put on any clothes, I think Angie likes to look at you." "She can look at me some other time. I prefer to have clothes on when I cook." Bobby, Marie, and Angie looked disappointed, but too bad. I prefer to be dressed when I'm cooking. It wasn't long before I served chicken Marsala over rice, with some wilted spinach, garnished with egg, bacon bits, garlic, and wine vinegar to go with it. Wanda found some sauterne that complimented the chicken and sauce nicely. Angie said, "I've never had chicken like that. It is delicious. Can you cook all kinds of food like that?" I smiled and told her, "Angie, I'm the world's greatest chef in deputy's clothing. I'll fix you some special meals that your counterparts in different parts of the country eat. I make some of the best turnip greens known to man and can fix all the country foods your mom and dad may have told you about. Some are really good, others I don't care for, but it's neat to taste different types of food." Bobby said, "Wait till we take you out to Park Place. They have some of the best pizza and calzones in the world." Angie asked, bewildered, "What's a calzone?" "That's it," Bobby said, "We're on the way to Park Place to pick up some calzones. We'll get a bunch for tomorrow's lunch." I said, "I'll stay home so I can go over my exam notes one more time, but please pick up about a half dozen for my examiner and myself. That will make a neat lunch." Bobby, Marie, Jan, and Angie took off to go out to Park Place. Wanda said she would clean up the kitchen so I could begin studying right away. It seemed I had only begun studying when the girls were back. I looked at the clock, realizing they had been gone for over two hours. I put away my books, stretched, and went out to join everyone as they had a drink. I didn't drink anything since I wanted to make sure I was perfect for tomorrow. Angie loved the suite she was going to possibly live in, and said goodnight to us as she prepared for bed. We all headed for bed with only my big bed mate with me. We spent a little while satisfying each other's craving for each other's body, then fell asleep snuggled together. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 35 My body alarm went off telling me it was time to get up. I sat up and turned off the alarm, leaned over, and kissed Bobby. She moaned, asking me to give her another fifteen minutes, so I slipped on my peg, a pair of shorts, and a T-shirt and went outside to relax before my day. Before I even began my stance, Wanda was with me, followed by Marie and Jan. As we all began, Bobby came out, followed shortly by Angie who just stood looking at what we were doing. As we continued, she took a position near Wanda and watched her, trying to follow what she was doing. It took me almost twenty minutes to find the peace I was looking for and stopped to complete my session. Wanda had already stopped and the others followed me, completing their movements. As we headed inside, Angie asked, "Do you do that every day? It's kind of like stretching, isn't it?" Inside the cage, clothes went flying and we all jumped into the pool, swam hard for ten minutes, before winding ourselves and climbing out. Again Angie said, "You guys exercise a lot. No wonder you're all in such good shape. If I stay out here, I'll be full of muscles." Jan said, "And you'll look really good with them too, Angie. You will feel great, as well." Marie offered, "I'm taking a martial arts class on Monday evenings. Why don't you come with me? You'll enjoy forming all that much more after you begin learning other arts." "I guess I could afford that now that I'm making decent money. My life has changed so much these last few months. I really need to go back to school in the evening, too. I guess I'll be as busy as you guys." Marie added, "We'll go together. I'm taking classes again next semester." We had a quick breakfast and all prepared to leave. I put on khakis and a shirt, with loafers on both my good foot and the fake one. After gathering a bunch of the calzones and some bottles of water in a large lunch box cooler with some frozen plastic ice packs, I headed out to the park. John was waiting for me when I drove up. "I thought you weren't going with me?" "I'm not. I'm just going to ride up with you and then one of your legs is going to be back here to drop me off. I might beat you up a little during your orals, but we'll see." I did the preflight after putting my logbook and lunch box in the plane. Inside the plane, while John was buckling up, I went through the checklist right down to hollering "Clear," then started the engine. I was soon out of there and in minutes entering the pattern for Brooksville. The little airfield can be fairly busy as they have an Air National Guard unit there, as well as some commuter traffic. There are also a lot of private aircraft tied down and housed there. The tower, and there really was a tower, directed me to park by the terminal building in slot number six. After shutting down, I chocked the wheels, and since I didn't know how long I would be on the ground, I brought out the tie down straps to keep the plane in place in case the wind picked up. John told me to update the plane's log before going in and to bring it with me, along with my own logbook. Within the FAA office inside the terminal, I met Stewart Hamel. He was a small, wiry guy, complete with bald head and glasses. I had to smile when he came around the desk to shake hands, Stewart had a fake leg too. John said, "I thought a guy like Stew would be the perfect examiner for you, Chuck. You both have similar backgrounds, except Stew's was in Viet Nam." After the pleasantries, Stewart asked me if I was ready to start. He handed me a small binder saying, "There is blank paper in this for the calculations that you will do in a while. First let John and me fire some questions at you. If you need to calculate any of them, use the binder." The two began asking question after question having to do with flying. John was hitting me with all the questions that I always had trouble with, but I fooled him as I had specifically studied them last night. Stewart said, "Here's our itinerary and we will be carrying the three of us with another hundred and fifty pounds of freight to Daytona. Work up weight and fuel and fill in your planning worksheet. John and I will go for some coffee. We'll bring you back a cup." "Hey, before you go, I need your weight, I know John's but not yours." He gave me his weight and smiled, "You just got a point. Most people forget to ask me and either just estimate or wait till I get back. See you in a few minutes." Doing the calculations was pretty easy. The itinerary listed that we would be doing some maneuvers when we were down near Sarasota, so I figured on my dead stick landing and banking in that area. At least there were lots of open fields around there to land in. Of course there were a lot of swamps in that area as well. Checking the weather was some concern, as it was already nearing ninety, and with three of us plus an extra hundred and fifty pounds, it was going to take a lot of runway to get off the ground. I had never taken off with a heavy airplane, so this would be interesting. When they came back, Stewart gave me my coffee before checking over my worksheet and looked in the binder at the calculations. He asked me if I had any questions. "We might have a density altitude problem. According to the logbook specs, we should be okay, but we are going to be heavier than normal." Stewart said, "I see you did the runway calculations, that's good. Not many new pilots will do that. What made you think about it?" "I plan on flying a passenger that's about three hundred and fifty pounds. She's like two people, so I have to take that in consideration when we go up." "Ah, good thinking." John said, "You should meet this lady. She's almost seven foot tall and gorgeous. She's just really big, all over, and I mean all over, really well proportioned. Chuck says she has four sisters that are almost the same size and her mother is as tall and large as his lady is." "I guess you won't be flying the whole family anywhere unless you get a 747," Stewart joked. It was getting toward lunch time, so I went out to the plane and brought in the six calzones. I asked if they had a microwave so we could warm them up a little and was shown to the break room area. As we savored calzones with some Coke, John was telling Stewart that I had a lot of my hours in a 206. Ding! I remembered the auction so I asked Stewart if I could use his PC a minute. I kind of held my breath, as I was afraid someone would have bid up the plane until they bid over my maximum. When I clicked on the airplane bid award, son of a gun, I now owned a 206. I was grinning so big Stewart asked what the deal was. I explained that I had bid on an airplane and had won it at a great price. "So what did you buy a 172 or something like that?" "No Sir, I just bought a 206 in decent condition. It only needs an annual, some rubber, and some interior carpet." Stewart asked, "Why the carpet?" I had to explain the bloodstains and such. "Oh, and it has some bullet holes to patch, but no internal damage." John said, "Want me to call and have it ferried over here? I'll bet for the price of a plane ticket, one of the pilots over there will be happy to fly it here so you can get it worked on." "Think so, John?" "I know so. Wait till you want to fly and your pocketbook is skinny. You'll fly anything anywhere just to get up in the air. You'll become a real airplane junkie." John called and within fifteen minutes he had someone who was going to fly the plane to the air park here in Florida. That guy was lucky, getting to fly the plane already because I wanted to fly it. I called the number at the air station to get the plane released and spoke to a couple of people. The lady said my credit card had already been debited, so the airplane was mine. They would give the pilot picking it up the paperwork for me to re-register the plane. With the phone calls made, I asked Stewart and John if they were ready. Both smiled and said, "Let's go flying." Stewart explained that today would be a longer than normal check ride as my mission would have multiple legs. First we had to take John back to the air park, Stewart wanted to do some maneuvers down around Sarasota and we could get fuel at the small airfield we were dropping the cargo off at in Daytona. Stewart watched me go through the preflight inspection, but that was easy as I had been doing it a lot, and I of course used the little card. I asked Stewart about the hundred fifty pound package and he turned around and waved. A tall lady came out of the terminal and walked up to the plane. Stewart said, "This is the package going to Daytona. Let's get in and get started." Before going through the startup checklist, Stewart asked me how I would usually file a flight plan. I said if I had a PC, I would do it that way, but I could do it over the phone and could even do it over the radio and initiate it at the same time. We finally were directed to a runway where I went all the way to the beginning marker before turning onto a totally calm, very hot, runway. Since the runway was over twelve thousand feet, I wasn't worried, but it still seemed like it took forever for the 172 to become light enough and to go fast enough to pull back on the yoke and lift off. When we leveled off at forty-five hundred feet, Stewart had me go through a couple of stalls to see how I handled the plane. There was barely any time before I was calling in to the air park tower. At least the wind had picked up a little so our takeoff should be easier after losing John. Stewart had me do a complete shutdown, preflight, and startup, probably to make sure I would still use the cards to run down the list. John had ingrained that into my head. Takeoff was a lot easier as the temperature was down to around 88 degrees now. When we did the maneuvers east of Sarasota, I was in a pretty steep bank when Stewart did the thing with the throttle knob. I was only at three thousand feet, but since it was so damned hot, I may not glide as well, and I didn't know the answer to that. There were two good looking fields but one likely target was the seventh fairway of Manasota Country Club. As soon as I made a pass, turned, and lined up, Stewart said, "Take us back up. That was a good decision. The fields would be good too, but the golf course was perfect." We did a touch and go at the airport and headed north, going around the busy Orlando air space instead of having to play in the pattern. The Daytona airport John had listed indicated a grass runway, but it did have fuel facilities. I called but there wasn't a response so I made a pass to check the windsock, and looked in every direction for other aircraft, then turned while announcing on the airport frequency that I was landing. I was just about to touch down when one of those kites with motors buzzed right over the top of me setting down on the grass where we were heading. I poured on the throttle gently lifting the plane and climbed out to circle the field. I made the announcement that I was in traffic, where I was and what my direction of travel would be. Once again I announced my descent while looking everywhere for even a trace of anything moving near the ground. This time, I did land on the grass strip and headed toward a small building with some people standing outside near some cars. Upon shutting down, and doing the checklist there, I helped the lady from the plane. Stewart got out, gave the lady a very nice kiss, and introduced her as his wife. "You're pretty trusting to let your wife go along on an exam ride." "Not really, my hands and feet were with you all the way. You reacted perfectly when the idiot damn near flew into you. I have his aircraft number and he will be receiving a citation." They had a fuel island that was only about twenty feet away so I pushed the plane over to the island and hooked up the ground straps, brought the step ladder out, and dragged the hose to the plane. After fueling up, I turned the plane around so it was facing out before I went into the little terminal to pay for the fuel. A lady inside the little air conditioned building said, "That's an S&S plane; we bill them. Stewart and I used the bathroom and went out to pull the wheel chocks and go through the preflight and startup. Taking off was even easier with a decent wind, except that the grass strip was a little bumpy. When we took off Stewart said, "Take me back to your air park, I have my plane there. I have to go get my wife." Once down with the plane in front of the hangar, Stewart said, "I'm happy to tell you, you passed. You're now a real pilot. Get lots of hours and always do everything by the book and you will enjoy safe flying. You did real well today with some adverse conditions. The heat was tough and the ultra-light incident was scary, but you did everything you should." I had to write a check for the exam and he updated my logbook and gave me a copy of my license application with his signature on the bottom. I breathed easier now that the initial training was over. Now I had to go on to the next step and learn instrument flying. Inside the charter office, I asked the lady there if she could sign me up for instrument classes. She congratulated me on passing my exam and asked me, "Are you the one bringing the 206 from Houston?" "Yes, Ma'am." "That plane has a history. It used to belong to Sue Sharp of S&S Industries and was stolen from here right after she had all new instruments put in it. Her insurance company paid her for it and I already checked; they don't want the salvage as they thought it was damaged too much. We'll give it an annual and go over it real thorough. The bullet holes are not a big deal and should be done in a day. I'll order you some tires and after you check on the carpet, I can order a new set of carpet if you want. Most airplanes get all kinds of crap on the carpet, so a little blood won't hurt anything." She continued, "You'll have a real nice plane. If you let us charter it when we need it, we can probably make enough to pay for your hangar fees and some of the maintenance. You might have to put in some communication gear, but that will just make the plane more valuable. That's a real nice plane as you know, since you've been flying in one." "I'm excited about buying an airplane," I said smiling. "I wonder how long it will take the guy to get here." "He'll be in about ten tonight. We'll put him up and get him on a ride going home in the morning. We have a charter going to Houston so we'll just ferry him home for you. That will save you plane fare." "Thanks a lot. This is really a big day for me, getting my license and now an airplane. I can't wait to see it." "Don't worry, it'll be here in the morning. Oh yeah, I see you're using the rental 172 on Sunday. Can't wait to use your new license can you?" "Nope, I need to take my girlfriend up to Panama City. The airplane will be perfect." As I got ready to leave she asked, "You coming to Steve's and Sue's party tonight? Steve said to remind you. He's looking forward to you and your group coming." "We'll be there. I guess I'll see you then." I was floating out to the car, thinking of my own airplane on its way here. This was a real fairy tale. I wondered how much it was going to cost to keep a plane like the 206 in good condition. I definitely wanted to keep it as perfect as possible. It was a big investment. When I called Wanda, she said, "You're out for the day, so stay out. Go home and put together what you want to take to the naturist park. Angie is about to bust her buttons thinking about going with us." After a pause, Wanda asked, "Ah, what's this about a plane being ferried over here from Houston? The station manager from Houston said you stole a plane from a local dealer and he was making the storage facility hold it until they had proof of insurance. I called your agent that you used for the motorcycle, house, and the Mustang, and they insured it. The lady said it was a good rate but you'll have to compare. So what's the deal with an airplane?" "Remember the plane we flew to St. Louis and up to Chicago?" "Yeah, I like that little plane. It wasn't as quiet or as fast as the jet, but it was very nice." "This plane is just like it. I found it on auction after it was confiscated. Surprisingly, no one outbid me. I think the guy that was mad figured he was just going to steal the deal for himself." "Will you be flying us around then?" "Sometimes, but I have to go to instrument school before I do that. I have a lot of learning to do first. Let me get some experience and knowledge, then I'll fly us when it's convenient." Wanda said, "I know some guys that use their own planes instead of commercial. I don't think they make money on the deal, but they get to fly their airplanes and can follow their own schedule. Just not having to wait for baggage would be worth it." "That and going through security," I said. "That's always a hassle." "You shouldn't have any trouble with security anymore. Just flash your badge and you're through." "You're right, Wanda, I don't have to worry about that as long as I'm with the service, do I?" "Is Bobby coming home first or did you guys pack for the nature park this morning?" "Everyone is packed. Why don't you just leave your car here and we'll ride out to the trailer park together?" "I'll do that. I'll go home and be back by five." "Don't be late, we're excited about going to see Sue and Steve and their friends." I was home and packed quickly. I was bringing my peg, sandals, and toilet gear. I really didn't want to go out there, but Bobby and the girls really seemed to like it. I would miss not having Millie, the twins, the boys, plus Maxine and Bobby's dad, Ted with us. They were a lot of fun and added to the experience. I had a feeling Bobby wanted to get a little wilder than usual. We would see. I pulled up to the back of the office building at four fifty-five. Perfect timing as Jan came out first, followed by Marie and Bobby who were followed by Wanda and Angie. Seven of us easily fit in the Escalade and we were off. It was right at five twenty when we pulled into the trailer park. The gate guard waved us through as if he was expecting us. I guess Cadillacs get preference over an unknown motorcycle. There was no big tent tonight, but there sure were a lot of people. The younger kids were at the tables eating hot dogs and hamburgers, with potato salad and baked beans. The first person to greet us was Mercy. She came out to hug all the girls, was introduced to Angie, and then gave me a hug and a very warm kiss. It was almost a warm up for Sue's greeting. She was bouncy, happy to see us and Bobby was equally as happy. She forgot that Sue didn't know her and her family that well and Bobby scooped Sue up into a hug squashing two sets of 40 plus H's (for humongous) together. Sue wasn't even flustered and returned the greeting equally. Kathy came up to us a little warily, after seeing the ease with which Bobby picked Sue up. Kathy was very warm, greeting each of us and remarking about Angie and how nice looking she was. Angie noted some little dark kids mixed in with the brood, so she knew the greetings were genuine. The girls were all spirited away by the women of the park, but Juanita handed me a tall Beefeaters, telling me that Steve had just returned from a charter and was showering. We talked a few minutes before Tiny boisterously glad handed me and pulled me toward the bar to help cook the ribs and chicken. He had a section of one of the grilles cordoned off, grilling specially marinated wings. The hot pepper smell coming from them made my eyes water. Tiny told me about his latest coup of buying another confiscated sailboat this past week to bring their big sailboat inventory up to four. He was almost apologetic that the new boat was almost new and that it was only a hundred foot. He kept saying that it was already set up as a charter party boat so the company wouldn't have to spend a lot of time or money before renting it out. This boat was going to have to take up the slack while Steve, Sue, and the family were on their big summer trip. Steve came out in shorts and a T-shirt, with a string of kids following him. He sat in one of loungers and had a few words with over a dozen kids, then as fast as they came, they were back outside doing something else. Juanita handed Steve a Beefeaters as he made his way to me. "What's this I hear about you buying a bullet riddled 206 at an auction. I think I misheard the price. Someone said you bought a decent 206 for twelve five? The other thing I heard is that it was our 206 that was stolen right after we bought it. Sue put some very nice gadgets in it for instrumentation. She spent almost three times what you paid for the plane to put electronics in it. When is it supposed to be trucked up here?" "It should be flying in this evening. The time estimate was about ten." "It's airworthy? Shoot, that's a hell of a deal at any price around seven hundred fifty. What all does it need?" I said, "I'm told it needs an annual, along with a thorough inspection, tires, and possibly some floor carpet for bloodstains. Oh and of course it has sixteen bullet holes that have to be patched." "I can't wait to see it. I bet you can't either. This party is just for you. Every time one of our friends gets their license, we like to have a party. This is yours." Steve was quiet for a second, and then pointed at my tattoo, "Is that Marine Special Ops?" I nodded. Steve turned and hollered, "Bear, get your butt over here." The huge hairy guy that had the big chick came over to us and Steve pointed to my Tat. "You know what that is?" "I met this guy and saw the tat at a Friday night party a while ago. I've only seen one other like it before on a guy that I know who stayed in after I left. He was in Special Operations." Bear looked up at me, back at the tat, and back at me, "Semper Fi." "Ooorah!" I exclaimed, to be heard by just us. "That's something isn't it, Bear." "Motherfucking right it's something. You told me that's how you fucked up your leg?" I nodded. Bear said to me, "I told you Steve here got fucked up over there during Desert Storm, but he didn't lose a leg, thank goodness. You're special man, we're all real special. Charlie isn't here right now, but that lady over there with the little girl is his ole' lady. She's a good woman. You'll like Charlie. He was over during the Storm like Steve, but as he says, he spent all his time counting grains of sand." Bear put his monster arm around me and gave me a hug. "Semper Fi, my friend, Semper Fi." We clinked glasses and finished our drinks. I said, "I think I'm ready for a beer and a couple of those killer wings I smell." Juanita said, "Be careful Chuck, they are almost too hot to eat. I like hot, but those are too hot to enjoy." After I had a mug of beer, Tiny gave me a couple of wings on a paper towel. Juanita was right, the wings were killer hot. So hot my eyes were watering, but I didn't grab for my beer. They were just the way I love them. "Wow, I can't ever get wings hot enough for me. These are almost there." Juanita called, "Mercy, Kathy, come here. You have competition for your wings." Juanita turned to me, "Those two spend a lot of time preparing them so they are hot enough you could eat them raw. They are the only ones who can eat them." Mercy and Kathy came over and looked at my bones from the wings. Mercy asked, "Did you really eat some of our wings? Did you like them?" "I sure did. Can I have some more, they're almost hot enough. I just love hot foods and can't ever get enough." The two girls gathered up the hot wings on a big platter and told me to follow them. They went to one of the tables and sat. Both had a beer but began eating the wings. Kathy said, "Better eat up, Mercy and I just love these and we're the only ones who can eat them. Next time we'll make more so you can get your fill. We'll try to make them hotter too." The three of us were enjoying the killer hot wings with red faces and tears streaming down our cheeks. When the last wing was eaten, the three of us drank our beer and headed for the tap for more after dumping the bones in a waste can. Steve said, "Oh no, not another hot food freak? Those two will work all week to make something so hot you won't be able to eat it. They even put habanero sauce on their eggs in the morning." Marie came up to me with a young man and said, "This is Steve's nephew, Dennis. We've met before in high school and out at HCC. He's in grad school now, finishing his engineering degree." I shook hands with Dennis and the two vanished back to where ever it was they were before. Steve said, "Dennis had a girl friend that decided to go out west to try to get into movies. Who knows, maybe she'll be more than a waitress out there. Dennis is a good kid, worked hard for me and still does when he has time. He's going to be in our research and development area. I sure hope we can keep coming up with new things to keep people working and money rolling in." The familiarity seemed to be alright, so I asked, "How have you been able to keep your people working? You have a lot of employees, so I know it takes a lot of orders to keep people busy." Steve didn't frown, but he wasn't laughing. "A few of our groups aren't doing as well as they could. We build utility bodies and toppers for trucks. Orders are down there. We build big truck bodies that are less wind resistant and those orders have stayed fairly steady. Our heavy equipment rebuild departments are doing well, with only a little drop off in repair orders. New product orders are way down, but we have so many products to sell now that we are just capitalizing on whatever is selling." "We have a group that manufactures special tools. We're making about three hundred tools for specific jobs within the mechanical and trades industry. This has been a good ongoing business, but it isn't very large. Star kind of looks over that business part time." "The new RV sales are way, way down but repairs to older RVs is way up, and so we've swapped some people from the main building to the RV area." "Then there is our scooter, or golf cart, business. We're steadily increasing our sales to municipalities for our three wheeled scooter and our new semi-enclosed cart for city and shopping center patrols. We're coming out with an air conditioned model for warm air climates and a good heated model for up north." "Since we're running out of housing construction projects, we've begun bidding and winning road construction jobs. So far we've been able to convert our skilled labor to equal paying jobs on road and bridge work. If we can keep getting new work, we won't lose our core group of people." I asked, "Steve, what about all those clothing plants?" "Those plants are all doing well. We manufacture or sew a lot of basic blouses for all the major stores including Wal-Mart. We don't want to become totally dependant on Wal-Mart so we expanded our manufacturing facilities just to make product for them. If they were to drop us, they would owe us a big forfeiture payment. But they won't, as our quality is first rate and we make sure the quality of the cloth is the best we can get for the money." "The rest of the clothing manufacturing is always committed to be sold long before we even buy the material. Once again, the quality of the product is keeping the plants busy." "Sue's fashion stuff for big girls is still her business love. She makes a complete line of clothes for especially hard to fit women like your lady. She's working with some design engineers for a line of foundations that she says will initially be exclusive to her big girls' line. She really feels it will be a big seller." "Steve, doesn't it scare you to be responsible for all these people?" "Scares the shit out of me, Chuck. We have the plant in Ireland and we opened another plant in Italy. So far they are both doing well in rebuilds of large lifts, and we're building our own design of large and standard fork lifts at both locations. To offset some of the costs, we've set up cart manufacturing in both locations so we're doing well there as well. We might pickup some subcontract cart manufacturing from a huge manufacturer, but that is yet to come." Steve paused a minute before asking, "So, can you look over my security group and possibly give them some pointers as how to protect us out here even better? I want to begin including security at the large multi-family units we've been building. The cost is being built into the condo fees so we need to have it available for them as fast as possible." "I'll look over your security and use one of our FBI agents who is a law enforcement academy graduate to make suggestions. Jan's also starting flight training, so you're going to have some federal law friends helping you out." Sue had come up to us, and after listening she said, "The park has been perfectly peaceful for years now and we all want to keep it that way. If we can continue to keep our plants and businesses protected, along with the residential areas, we will be extremely happy. That's where Bear and Hap come in. They have been running our security for a long while now and we have never been as safe." Bobby was sitting with me now and asked, "How long have you and Steve been together now?" Sue said, "Ten years, Mercy, and Juanita, too. Kathy is a few years less, but Steve actually knew her first. Kathy's husband was killed during Desert Storm. We have some stories you'll learn about over time. How long have you and Chuck been together?" "About a year," Bobby said. "I lost a husband in an incident with the U.S. Marshal's service five years ago. The service hired me to man a safe house for them and that's how I met Chuck. When this house became compromised, Chuck decided to buy it and we live there and rent out some of the suites in it. That's how the other girls live with us." Sue asked, "Are you two going to get married?" Bobby said almost flippantly, "Maybe. If we do, it's a ways off for us. I'm still getting over losing my husband. I don't know whether I can deal with losing, or potentially losing, another." Well, what the fuck? This is the first Bobby has ever said anything like that to me or that I've heard her tell someone else. We need to talk. Sue asked, "What about kids, don't you want some?" "I would, but I can't have any. Millie and I are alike in that way. Our sister Michelle has kids, but there's something wrong with Millie and I that we don't produce eggs or something like that. Later, if we want kids, we'll adopt." Marie and Dennis came up to us, and Marie asked, "Dennis wants to take me to see some of his friends. Do you mind if I don't go with you guys to the park? He'll take me home later. I can even call your cell if you want to know I'm safe." I smiled at Marie, "That would be perfect, Marie. Have a good time." Angie was sitting with a black lady named Deanne finding out about the S&S racing division. Angie brought Deanne over to us and said, "This girl knows everything there is to know about NASCAR racing cars and trucks. She's in charge of those big fancy trucks that you see on TV at the car races all the time. She works where Steve's office is." "What all do you do in the racing field, Steve?" Sue started the answer, "Steve began his entire business building racecar frames for a NASCAR team owner. That owner has moved his shop farther north to be closer to the races, but we still get all his business." Steve picked up where Sue left off, "We build motors. Our motors are second to none, and we stand behind them one hundred percent. We also supply both fiberglass and sheet metal for the cars. We worked hard to make some of the toughest fiberglass panels available on the market. Our fiberglass division is special. Our research and development department is working on some composite materials for everything from boats to airplanes. The composite material for boats is being designed to shed barnacles so you would never have to have the bottom scraped. If that works, we'll be busy forever." "You guys sure do cover the spectrum. I'm really impressed. I'm surprised you don't have some defense department contracts." Sue said, "We do, we do. We make camouflage fatigues for all branches of service. We have almost half our production facilities sewing military garments three shifts a day. If we can continue, I want to begin manufacturing our own materials. We have room behind the business park to build plants for manufacturing and I'm trying to put together what it would cost to start up our own material plants." "You two sure do spread out, don't you? On one hand, Steve is concerned about keeping his construction and mechanical people busy, and at the same time you're both planning on increasing your manufacturing." Steve said, "It's the opportunities, Chuck. Whenever we find an opportunity to make something, we do it. We now know how to start a facility, and know how to teach employees to work within it. All we need is the opportunities and enough room to build a plant to make it." Tiny was sitting with us and said, "Just like the opportunity to buy the sailboats we have. Each one was an opportunity that we were able to take advantage of. From what I hear, you took a chance and took advantage of an opportunity to buy an airplane. It's all the same thing, but as time goes on, there just seems to be bigger and bigger opportunities." The ebb and flow of the conversation was interesting as Bobby and Wanda became more a part of the group discussions. Sue, Mercy, and Kathy remained with us as the evening grew late. When it was getting toward nine, I said to all, "It's time for us to go. Seems we plan as many activities for the weekend as we have during the week. This has been a busy week too." There were hugs and kisses all around with Bobby, Wanda, and Jan becoming closer to more and more of the trailer park and S&S folks. The super large extended family seemed to just suck us in, to make us a part of them. It was very relaxing, very nice to be around them, to share the time with them. We were in the car heading toward the park when my cell went off. Marie was calling to tell me she was home so not to worry about her. Bobby took the phone and spoke with her a minute before hanging up. The phone rang again almost immediately. It was John from the air park. "Hey, I was just getting back from an Angel flight and your plane landed. I took a quick look at it and it is a beauty. It's been painted since Sue had it and it even has a data and voice communication system on it. Must have been an important drug guy to have had this one. The inside is a little different than our 206, as it's only set up for three passengers. The seats are extra large so it may be perfect for your girl's family." "I'll come out and look at it tomorrow morning. I'm dying to see it too. Thanks for calling, John." When we arrived at the park, the guard had us go straight to Tom's house to park. As soon as we parked, Lisa came out to meet us. The unusual thing was she was dressed; she had clothes on. Lisa said, "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but Tom and Zena aren't here. Betsy and Maggie were in an auto accident and are at University hospital." I asked immediately, "How are they, what can we do, is there anything we can do?" Lisa said, "I don't know how bad they are yet, as they are still in emergency. No, you can't do anything, but if you're going toward the hospital you can give me a ride. I stayed here to be here when you guys came. Let me get my purse and come with you, okay?" University Community Hospital wasn't on our way home, but it was not that far out of the way to take a friend. It took us about twenty-five minutes to get there. We found Tom in the emergency waiting area, where he told us, "Both have some broken bones, but are in decent shape. Zena is with them right now. They will be here overnight at a minimum while they do some more tests and watch them. Lisa, you can probably go in to see them real quick. They are in area seven next to each other. You'll see Zena, Shannon, and Joanie." When Lisa left, Tom got a hug from Bobby, Wanda, and even Jan. He said, "Sorry to have this happen to you guys when you were coming out for the weekend. We'll do it again soon, but the girls are family." We assured him we understood and would remain with him until he was confident of the girls' recovery and safety. Jan, Angie, and Wanda went to find us some coffee and while they were gone, Zena came out to see us, giving Bobby and me hugs. She repeated what Tom had told us and said they would call us to let us know how the girls were doing. She said both were about to be taken to a room, so they were out of any immediate danger. Betsy had a broken arm, while Maggie had a broken wrist and a lot of bruising from the air bags. She said, "Betsy said that a car came across the median and hit them head on. Thank goodness there was heavy traffic on both sides of the road so neither car was going that fast." Wanda, Angie, and Jan returned with coffee that was immediately accepted by Tom and Zena. Zena took the extra two cups intended for Bobby and me back for Joanie and Lisa. We said our good-byes with assurance that Tom would call us if we could do anything for him. We were on our way home when Bobby said, "You know, we should probably call Marie to tell her we're on the way home. Dennis may still be there and they may need to get into her room." Bobby called and it took a long while before Marie picked up. Bobby told her we were on our way home and why. Marie thanked Bobby for calling and told her that Dennis might stay the night. At home, the five of us sat in the kitchen talking quietly of how quickly something like this could happen. We decided we needed some liquid libation and were soon enjoying some rum and Diet Coke with lime. If we had some mint we could have Mojitos, but a Cuba Libre was good enough. After a couple of drinks, Bobby said, "What we need is the hot tub. Let's make another round and relax in the bubble bath. The water's been changed since the snake fest, so let's get naked and enjoy ourselves." We did relax for about twenty minutes in the tub. Because I shouldn't be in a hot tub for a long while so my stump callous wouldn't become soft, I got out leaving my one foot and leg in the water. We did enjoy ourselves and all were relaxed when we went inside. Jan and Angie headed toward their rooms and Wanda asked, "May I join you two this evening? I feel the need for some closeness to others tonight." Soon the three of us were snuggled in bed, with Wanda between Bobby and me. We did our best to give her the assurance that she was a valued part of our home. Surprisingly there was no sex, just loving. We drifted off into a comfortable sleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 36 Waking up on Saturday morning is always traumatic. For some reason, the body alarm gets out of whack and even though you aren't supposed to be anywhere, you feel guilty for getting up later than usual. I lay in bed between the sleeping beauties, thinking about the two injured girls and how they were doing. Only a broken arm and a broken wrist between the two girls isn't that bad, so you have to think that they were lucky, having been in a head-on collision. It's always traumatic when someone you know gets hurt. The need to use the bathroom and my growling stomach convinced me to get up and get moving. My slip-on peg came in handy as I used the bathroom and decided a swim would be good. On the way past the hot tub, I put the lid back on and walked to the pool, took off the peg, and dove in. Before I could go a lap, Wanda and Bobby dove in, and instead of doing our usual swim, the two wanted to play. After nearly drowning me for several minutes, we did do some serious swimming. It felt good to stretch my muscles and use them to the max. When I was panting by the side of the pool, Bobby came up and asked, "Do you think we can fly up to see my sister today instead of tomorrow?" "Sure, if they have a plane available, we'll do it. I'm interested in seeing if you can get into the right seat without being too cramped. You need enough room so your feet don't interfere with the pedals. We'll see when we try it." Bobby asked, "I know there's not enough room for Jan and Wanda, but do you think there's enough room to bring Wanda with us?" "Probably, but I'll have to calculate the weight and consider the weather. If it isn't too hot, we shouldn't have a problem. When the 206 is ready, I think we can get most everyone in it. Since Marie and Angie are both small, the total weight may be about right unless we have a bunch of luggage. Every pound counts." As we walked back into the kitchen, Marie and Dennis were sitting at the breakfast table eating cereal. You have to give the young man credit, he did gawk at Bobby and Wanda a little but he really didn't show too much surprise. Maybe his family visits out at the nudist park. The three of us that came from the pool showered, dressed, and came into the kitchen as Dennis was getting ready to leave. He was going back to the trailer park as Marie had decided it was a good day to go to Busch Gardens. She said she was going to get Jan and Angie up to see if they wanted to go with them. Dennis was going to get his sister and a couple of Kathy's older kids to come along as well. Thinking about it, I asked, "What would you rather do Bobby and Wanda, go flying or go to Busch Gardens?" Both women said together, "Take us flying." Bobby said, "I really want you to meet my big sister. You'll just love her. Wanda, you will enjoy her too. She's much more laid back than Millie, more like my mom. She has a bunch of kids and isn't fazed by anything. Her husband owns a marina where people sailing the gulf come in to stay overnight or to refuel. He also has some boats with crews he charters on the weekends or full weeks at a time." Angie and Jan came into the kitchen, happy to hear of the planned adventure to Busch Gardens with several people. Since they were taken care of, I told the two women that if they needed anything for the day to get it together because we were on our way to the airport. I reminded them to bring their sunglasses as it gets pretty bright up in the air. I purposely didn't call before going out to the airport, as I wanted to see my new airplane before we did anything. Once we were out there, we walked over to the maintenance hangar to find three men working on a really nice looking white with red and blue trim 206. Two had the cowling off and were doing something with the motor while another was doing something to the side of the airplane. As we walked into the hangar, John came out of the charter office and walked over to us. As he approached, he said, "It's a beauty isn't it?" I pointed at the plane and asked, "Is that mine? Is that it?" "That's the one, Chuck. You really got yourself a deal. Frank said he'll have the holes patched and painted by noon. And the Mauser twins are obviously heads deep into your annual. We don't hear any crying or cursing, so the plane must be in good condition. Kurt said the engine had a tear down about thirty hours ago. He found documentation signed off in Mexico from a reputable dealer for the rebuild. We'll get the information into the airplane's log and you will have dodged a very major expense." "What does that carpet look like? Is it bad?" "Not at all, come on, take a look. If you use a good cleaner, the little stain that is there might come out." I looked at the small spot on the carpet and since there was no smell, I immediately decided I could live with the small stain. I looked over the plane to find it did have a communication system similar to the one in the S&S plane. This plane doesn't go that fast, but it has a decent range, somewhere around six to seven hundred miles, and it has about a 150 mph cruise speed. The one thing that was the dagger in this whole flying thing is the cost of fuel. The hundred octane aircraft fuel was running around four bucks a gallon. That's three hundred and twenty dollars for eighty gallons to go about seven hundred miles. That can get expensive. I suppose I was going to have to plan my use of the airplane very carefully. The problem was that something like the 172 was only big enough for Bobby and me, plus maybe one more person. We looked at the plane very thoroughly and I decided that if it became too expensive, I could make enough by selling it to pay for a smaller plane and have some money left over to fly it. I cornered John, "What do you think of my chances of renting this thing out enough to help pay for the maintenance costs and to have enough left over to help pay for me to fly it as well?" "Pretty good, Chuck. The 206 is perfect for business flights around Florida and even up to Georgia or South Carolina. It's perfect for flying down to the Keys and the air is full of planes going between Tampa and Melbourne because there isn't any decent road to drive. Since the plane can carry a small group, it is very useful and versatile." "You'll have to fix me up with a contract so you guys can charter it whenever you need to. Oh, I need to reimburse you-all for the hotel for the kid that flew the plane up from Houston. Can I do that in the office?" "I don't think there are any charges on it other than fuel since the kid stayed here waiting to get on the charter going that way this morning. He was happy to get in the hours of free flying in a nice airplane. From what he noted in the log, the flight was very nice and the airplane flew perfectly." "Let me go see if I can rent a 172 for today. You can help me make up my mind whether my weights are too close or not. Come on, girls, we all have to get on the scales." Bobby and Wanda looked at me a little strange, but followed me into the charter office. They had one of those big scales like you see in a Publix grocery store. I had Bobby go first and she only weighed 344 with clothes on. Wanda topped out at 141 and I came in at 182. That total with a hundred fifty pounds of fuel was going to be 817 pounds with a max weight load limit of 830 pounds. I looked at John and said, "Unless there's a fudge factor I don't know about this, we are too close to take a chance on the weather factors. We'll just have to do this another day with just the two of us." John immediately said, "Use our 206. I'm sure we'll give it to you for the same rental as the 172. You have a hell of lot more weight capacity in that one and you are checked out in it. Besides, in the 172, you should probably go around over land but in the 206 you can safely cut across the gulf to get up to Panama City. You'll get there a little faster and it uses only a little more fuel than the 172. Just the safety factor of the 300 horse motor should convince you." "That sounds good, John. I think I'm up for that. Kind of a long way from the 150 isn't it. Let me do the weights for the eighty gallons. There's plenty of room plus we'll be going only a little under two hundred and fifty miles. I'll fill up if the gas is cheaper up there, otherwise I'll wait till I get back." John and I pushed the 206 out of the hangar where we had Bobby climb up into the right seat. She fit but it was a little tight. The passenger seats behind her were even smaller so she said she could keep her feet off the pedals. I picked up some bottled water and made sure the girls didn't need the potty as we would be in the air for almost two hours. I did my preflight inspection and had to go into the charter office to get my personal log book. I made my notation and used my cell phone to call in a flight plan and initiate it. I made sure Wanda was buckled in and the side double doors were closed tight before climbing up into the cockpit and pulling the checklist card. I went right down the line to start up the airplane and watched the gauges as they all came to rest in the correct positions. After warming up, I called the tower for taxi and takeoff instructions and was given access to roll down the taxiway to get ready to take off. When I turned around to takeoff, I had this eerie feeling that this may be my first of many, many takeoffs in the years ahead. We rolled down the runway faster and faster until our airspeed indicator was where it should be and the airplane became lighter as it lifted off smoothly, climbing upward, turning toward the north, northwest. When we leveled off at sixty-five hundred feet, I punched in all the information on the fancy Garmin GPS unit to bring up Panama City with the estimated travel time and our measurements of speed with the variables of airspeed compared to ground speed. I clicked on the intercom and spoke to the two ladies asking them if they felt comfortable. Both said they felt safe but were glad they had the headphones to keep the noise down. There were a lot of small aircraft up today. We were overtaking what looked like a small Cessna out over the gulf with an air coupe going the same way above us and a little faster. We were definitely going to have to keep an eye out for traffic. Right at an hour and forty minutes later, I used the radio to ask for landing instructions. They gave me straight in instructions and had me get off the runway as soon as possible to head toward the general parking area by the private aircraft terminal. After parking on an open tie down spot, I shut down the plane, got out to help the ladies get out, and strapped the plane down. We went inside to find out about a rental car. Bobby decided she would rent the car since it was her sister we were here to see and she knew where she was going. When the operations clerk questioned me about my gun, I showed him my badge but said I was on personal business. The man was nice and said, "Happy to have you here, you guys always get free airport services and a fuel discount if you need to fuel up before you leave." That was nice. Finally Bobby called her sister to find out where she was. They were at the marina out in Panama City Beach so that meant we needed to go across the causeway and bridge to get to the outer island. Bobby knew the way and we arrived to park near a nice concrete block building with the name "Jeff's Charters." A big lady and four pretty big kids came rumbling from the building to collide with Bobby. The kids all wanted to be picked up and hugged by Bobby, who did just that after a big hug from her sister. When the initial excitement was over, Bobby introduced me to Michelle. It was the same as with the rest of her family. Michelle picked me up like a rag doll and held me out in front of her saying, "You ain't very big but if Bobby says you're enough, you're enough. You are bigger than dad and Donny though. Let me find Jeff. He's down messing with a motor on one of the outboards. You introduce your man to the kids, Sis." There was fifteen year old six foot five little Jeff, then six three fourteen year old Sandra. Next was six foot twelve year old Jeanie, and last six foot eleven year old Mike. If you've ever felt small among giants, this was it. Michelle came back with a guy that was probably six ten and had to weight four hundred pounds if an ounce. The first thing he did was a shock. He picked Bobby up and pulled her to him giving her a big hug. He stuck his giant hand out to me to give me a shake and encompassed my entire hand. "Happy to meet the man Bobby has found to make her happy again. She's been without for too long. Now who's this looker standing over here?" Bobby introduced Wanda before we all went into the office and lounge building. The place was fixed up with a TV, some comfortable chairs and a bunch of vending machines. While Bobby and Michelle began talking a mile a minute, Michelle's two girls cornered Wanda and were asking her a thousand questions. Jeff nodded his head beckoning me to follow and headed out the door. "So you flew up here today?" "My first flight since flight school. We had a nice flight, nice and smooth with good weather." "That's kind of scary being way up there isn't it?" "Not really. That's what learning to fly is all about. Everything you learn is about safety first. If something doesn't fit or doesn't seem right, you don't take off. I'm sure you won't go out in the gulf without checking your boat and equipment. I won't fly without doing the proper checks." "That's good. I've always heard that pilots check their planes very closely before they fly. They don't want to crash either." We had walked down to a boat that had some bars erected over it with a come along on wheels set on tracks that went to the dock at the front of the boat where a big wheeled cart was. Jeff said, "I'm going to pick this end of the engine up and you slide the strap under for me okay? We'll do the front then the rear. Ready?" I slid the two straps under the engine wondering how strong Jeff must be to lift the engine up so easily. He connected the straps and hoisted the engine from the boat. After pulling the freed engine to the cart on the dock, Jeff let the engine down on the stand before pushing it up to a shop adjoining the office and lounge. An old guy was working on motors in the shop and Jeff said, "Leave some of that other stuff go, Carl, I want this rebuilt as we need the boat for rental. With summer here, we can rent everything we have." Jeff wiped his hands off, used some cleaner and after washing his hands we went into the lounge again. Michelle was fixing what looked like food for fifty, but I knew that it was just food for her family. She was making spaghetti and meatballs with some garlic bread. She was my kind of lady too as she had a huge bag of lettuce already pulled apart. Michelle said, "Saturday is a fun day for the kids. They get to come down here to watch their dad and to play with the boats. Little Jeff always wants to work out in the shop, but his dad is trying to teach him how to run everything else. All the kids like to help out though, so they all get to do something. Jeanie likes to pump fuel, but I think she likes to collect the money even more." When it was time to eat, Carl came in and sat at the giant picnic table with everyone. Watching the quantities of food that this family could put away was astounding. The kids ate more than the adults, Bobby included, but all of them put away a bunch of food. Old Carl was like Wanda and me. We didn't eat even half of what everyone else ate. Jeff got himself out a beer and offered one to me. I had to decline as I was flying, but Bobby and Wanda each had one, along with Michelle. The kids all asked if they could go down to the beach. When Michelle said yes, all of them went into the office, quickly changing into swim clothes. Seeing these giant kids was really a sight. They were not fat anywhere, just really big. Jeff got a call on his marine radio for assistance and a tow for a boat out in the gulf about twenty miles. He said he was glad to meet me but said, "These tows are worth a fortune. This is a big boat, so I'll make my month with this one tow. Watch the store for me, Michelle, I'll be back by seven, I'll take Carl with me." Michelle said, "We get a lot of tows from boats that run out of fuel or break down from a long run out of Mexico. I hate to see Jeff go out by himself on those as there have been dangerous people out there. Some are average people, but the ones with the big boats are usually the bent nose kind." "Should I go with him? Does he need someone like me with him?" "Naw, he'll be okay. He doesn't stick his nose in anyone's business and just does what he's asked to do. That's the best way to be out on the water." Wanda and I walked around on the docks while Bobby and her sister visited. I was happy to see the clouds weren't building so we would have an easy trip back. It was nice to be able to quickly go somewhere to visit like this. Wanda really liked the big sailboats, saying she always wanted to go sailing for a few days. She thought it would be one of the more pleasant trips a person could have. She said that Mercy at the trailer park was crazy about sailing, as were Steve and Sue and their entire family. They had to really enjoy sailing to consider a three month sailing trip with fifteen or so kids. Back at the lounge and office, we watched as Michelle refueled a big cabin cruiser and was paid cash for the diesel fuel. When she came back she said, "I need to put my bikini on. I get bigger tips when I'm wearing my bikini. Guys just love to get pumped by me." She laughed aloud at her own joke. I could only imagine the commotion she would cause pumping fuel in a bikini. It was almost four when the kids came back and Bobby announced it was time for us to go home. She did say that we would come up soon for an entire weekend. She said she might get Millie to come along. There were lots of kisses and hugs and handshakes before Bobby drove us back to the airport. After checking the weather, taking advantage of the fifteen percent discount, I refueled the plane, bought some water, and filed a flight plan. We were quickly in the air and on our way. The flight was perfect. Some clouds were building, but none were real big and none caused any up or down drafts. It was nice to come around and fly into the home runway. I pulled up to the hangar where the plane belonged and shut down. It took me a couple of minutes to make sure everything was shutdown correctly and the log books filled out. Inside the charter office, I told the girl there that I had filled up at Panama City since I received a law enforcement discount. She said, "You can get our internal fuel price which is a self service price for just over three dollars a gallon. You don't have to pay the Aeropark's fuel prices if you house your plane with us. Oh, and you need to go look at your plane. I think that all it needs now is to be registered. The men finished it this morning." We walked out and found the plane in front of the maintenance hangar. One of the mechanics came over and said, "John's going to test fly it in a little while to certify it again. Look at where the holes were. You can't even tell. Look at the carpet too, that stain came right out. You have one hell of an airplane. I'll bet it'll be rented out a lot." I didn't know what it was going to take to register the airplane, but when I asked I found out that it was just more bureaucratic stuff that John would guide me through. I suggested a stop at Park Place for a beer and pizza to Bobby and Wanda. The two ladies were for it, so we drove over to have some food and possibly find out how Betsy and Maggie were doing. Shannon wasn't at the bar, but we did see Georgia, who told us that the girls would probably come home from the hospital tomorrow, Sunday. The food was great and the beer hit the spot. When we got home, we all felt guilty enough that we ended up in the exercise room doing our regular workouts. We didn't go swimming; we just took showers and had some more beer while watching television. While we were watching TV, Bobby wanted to compare the difference between the cost of us flying up to see her sister rather than driving. With the discount on gas and what S&S was going to charge us, we probably used forty gallons at three twenty-five a gallon or about a hundred thirty dollars. If we drove the Cadillac and got twenty miles to the gallon we would use about thirty gallons at two twenty-five a gallon or sixty-seven fifty. Since the drive would take six to eight hours we would stay overnight and if we stayed in a hotel that would be at least a hundred so it worked out that flying was a little less expensive if we had to pay for lodging. With Bobby's family, I don't think that we would be at a hotel. Bobby said, "I know there's more to flying than just the gas but it will be nice to be able to fly up to see Michelle a little more often. We can go get my mom and take her up there or you can take my two sisters up. They would love it. I know you can't take all of us at once, but you can take two of us at a time." There are disadvantages to having a really big girlfriend. Bedtime came and the three of us were able to snuggle up and make each other happy in very little time. We wondered where Angie, Marie, and Jan were but knew they would call if there were any problems. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 37 Ring! Ring! Oh shit, the phone. I came awake, picked up the phone and said: "Hello." "Morning, Sunshine, or should I say almost morning and no sunshine since it's only three thirty. Homeland Security just called me to ask for some help. One of their stations was attacked last night in an attempt to free some illegal border crossers that were taken the night before. The big problem now is that whoever it was that attempted to free the illegals now knows they are being housed in the Bureau's lock up." John laughed a little, "Just like Mission Impossible, your job whether you want it or not is to get your butt out to San Diego as fast as you can, find out why these illegals are so important, and to ensure the Bureau is set up to keep them." "Ah, John, anything that may require my assistant for support?" "Not really, this is sort of a search and keep alive mission. Go investigate and protect. Be careful though as the below the border cartels have been getting pretty nasty lately. Wear your armor and be watchful. Call me back when you're in the air, but no earlier than eight okay?" Bobby and Wanda were awake, listening to my side of the conversation, knowing I was going to be on my way somewhere. Wanda asked a simple question, "Where, and how soon?" "San Diego, as soon as possible." Wanda smiled and said, "That's the only way you go anywhere, isn't it? I'll call out to the charter service first to find out if they can help." Bobby said, "You take your shower and get dressed. I'll pack for you and make some coffee and sandwiches." I was putting on khakis when Wanda came into the bedroom. "The charter service called back to say you can use the Lear but it has to be back by Wednesday morning. If you're longer than Tuesday night, you may have to take commercial to get back." I put my vest and three extra loaded magazines into my gym bag. After giving my ladies kisses and telling them to go back to bed, I left, checking my watch to see it was five after four. When I pulled up to the front of the charter office, someone was using the tow motor to pull the Lear from the hangar. I pulled my suitcase and gym bag from the car and headed toward the plane. John got off the tow motor, disconnected the airplane and said, "Get the preflight checklist out and start. Make sure you check the gear and engine ports just like it says. I'll put this away and close up." The checklist described exactly what I was supposed to be looking for at each item. While I was checking the rear of the plane, the big hangar door began closing, followed by the lights in the charter office being shut off. John brought his travel bag to the airplane stairs and said, "Okay, let me finish while you load our luggage. Make sure the netting is secured over the bags so they don't fly around if we hit turbulence." I stowed the bags and climbed into the right seat, pulling out the start checklist as John came into the plane, shut the door, got into the left seat, and buckled up. I began reading down the list as John performed each task, firing up each engine, and watching the gauges in preparation to taking off. At four fifty, we were hurtling down the runway, lifting off for the quick trip to San Diego. "Got something hot, huh?" John asked, after calling in a flight plan and receiving confirmation. "More shit with illegals and probably with drugs. It seems all of our big problems lately are from illegals. The new problem is they are becoming more daring and confrontational. I hate to think it's coming to a border war." John said, "We have a full load of fuel with a range of over 2,400 miles. San Diego is right at 2,100 miles so if we don't hit any headwinds, we won't have to refuel. We should make it by just about nine. Go use the onboard communications links and advise someone to pick you up around nine, which would be six their time." I was able to use the sat phone to contact the Marshal's Service office as I figured some backup would be appropriate. Since it was a government office that had been under attack, the problem was within our jurisdiction. Back in the cockpit, John and I had some coffee and a sandwich as he subliminally began teaching me right out of the instrument flying handbook. When I told him, "You know, I found this really neat book that was about instrument flying. It is almost exactly word for word what you're saying." "You already read the manual?" "I found it out at the base while I was waiting to get my new boot made. It was so interesting I looked for it and found it at Borders. I read it completely through once and have almost finished it again. As a matter of fact, it's in my luggage right now." "Son of a gun, that's great. Well, Chuck, I might as well begin your lessons. There is more ground school for instrument flying than your original ground school. You can take a crash course, but I don't think you're going to be able to take off for a couple of weeks to do it. You can learn at a regular pace and we'll get your hood time in as often as we can. You might as well begin learning this instrumentation too as this is similar to what the G5 has." The rest of the flight was all instruction. I should have had a notebook, but the little pad we used for calculations was enough for this flight. Just before we set down, I told John, "Call Wanda at the office and find out where she has a room reserved for you. I'll call your cell later to let you know how this is going." As soon as we were parked, a ground truck was there to pick me up to take me to the private aircraft terminal to meet a deputy. While we were driving there, I called John Scott in D.C. "I'm here." John asked, "Where's here?" "San Diego." "Fuck you, impossible, it's only nine fifteen. Where are you?" "Honest, John, I'm in San Diego. The charter got off the ground fast and we didn't have to stop to refuel. It only takes four hours if the weather cooperates." "I didn't think you would it make until late this afternoon. Good going. Figure out what's going on and make whatever adjustments to personnel you have to. Make sure all the buildings are secured and that they are on heightened security procedures. Call me this afternoon to let me know what's going on." The deputy that met me was an old timer. He said, "About all they have me do anymore is air marshal stuff and some subpoenas. I've had some bailiff duty, but even the judges are apprehensive if they don't have some young deputies watching out for them." While I was putting my vest on under my shirt, I asked, "You still use the range to qualify?" "At least once a week. I like to shoot a couple of times a week for fun so I get plenty of range time in. Do you think you'll need that?" He indicated the vest. "Should I be wearing one?" I stuck my hand out, "Chuck Johnson and you are Deputy,,,,, ?" "Deputy Hal Hogan. Guys call me Hulk, but I ain't near big enough or ugly enough to be a Hulk Hogan." "Okay, Hal, I'll get the Station Chief to assign you to me. I need someone to watch my back and would prefer to have experience over youth, especially experience that can shoot if necessary. About the vest, better to be safe than sorry, wear one." "Thanks, Chuck, I'll be your shadow. I know the drill and know how to do sidekick. Your back will be safe." Since the station wasn't really open on Sunday, only a duty guy was there, I got the chief's number and called him. He readily gave me Hal to use, saying to make sure he didn't fall asleep on me. I didn't think that was a very nice thing to say but would pay attention. Our next stop was the office of Homeland Security. The Station Chief greeted me saying, "Thank you for coming so fast. I can't believe you're here from Florida so damned fast. I only pushed the panic button last night around midnight." Realizing the time difference I said, "That was three o'clock east coast time. So this is really close to ten in the morning for me not seven in the morning here. You haven't been to bed yet, have you?" He smiled, shaking his head no. "This is too important to not be alert and prepared. The Bureau Chief is at his station, as well. I called him last night." "Okay, let's go over exactly what happened last night. Give me the details." Hal and I got a cup of coffee and sat with the chief, "Last night, about eleven, there was a commotion in front of the building. One of the security people was about to go outside to find out what was going on when some shots were fired. One of our border guys was down and his partner was returning fire. They neutralized one and wounded another. Apparently, about four other men in the group attacking us jumped in some waiting vehicles and took off." The Station Chief continued, "We were able to question the wounded man who told us they were trying to free some illegals that we caught trying to sneak in while riding in a room built behind some freight in a truck. All of the men we took into custody are cartel people that have been deported before. Two have federal murder warrants, so they are going to be going to a secure facility. The other four are known wheels from the Cuevo cartel. Because these guys are all high security risks, we put them into the federal lockup in the Bureau federal building." With a better understanding now, I asked, "Do you feel your station is secure now?" "I had all my men get the word out on the street that the prisoners were in the main lockup at the federal building and not here. We've emptied our facility out, and sent the illegals from the truck to county for safekeeping until they can be taken back to the border. We only haul then down on weekdays, not on weekends. We have four or five busloads a day except for Monday when we usually have at least ten busloads of captives." "Tell you what, go get some rest and get with me around seven this evening. I'll go check on the Bureau to find out what they've found out from the other prisoners, then I need to get Hal here some rest. If we have a problem at the federal facility, it's going to be at night. I don't think the bad guys are so brazen that they would try something during the day." We left Homeland Security and Hal said, "Don't be so sure about when these guys will try to get to us. They don't have any restrictions, and they use our hesitancy to defend ourselves as a way to overpower us." "You won't be hesitant will you, Hal?" "Not a chance. I was in that heavy stuff with the Mafia back in the late seventies and eighties. Back then we would say we "permanently disabled" an armed bad guy. Now we use the term 'neutralize.'" The Bureau Chief greeted us warmly and took us on a tour of his and the federal facilities. He had extra men at the front and back, plus men in the hallways fitted out with combat gear. He said, "I have us at a stage one security level right now until we get rid of these guys or we hear street talk that no one else cares about them. We have an official from the Mexican police coming to help identify the people we have in custody. I'm thinking they are important enough that they will be known." "When is the Mexican rep going to be here?" "Any minute, he called from the border about twenty minutes ago." I asked, "What are the procedures when you have foreign policemen come into your facility? Do you know the guy that's coming?" He looked at me a little funny and said, "We extend them every courtesy we can, and no, I don't know this officer. He said he has a detachment with him." "If we go there, are we armed, do they let us carry when we're there?" "Oh, I see what you mean. We can travel armed, but we have to give up our sidearms when we enter their facilities." "Make sure you do the same today. We don't need anyone armed in the building that we don't know. I wonder why he needs to travel with what you call a detachment? How many men is that?" "I don't know, I'll call the border guys, they will have a count." The chief made a call and looked up at me, "He's bringing eight men with him." "That's too many men. Put four men outside, two on each side of the building in defensive positions. Make sure the inner doors are secure. This puts the security guards at the detectors in a poor defensive position. Go have them put on vests right now before the group gets here." The chief began moving quickly. Hal and I went out to the lobby where the detectors were. We stood off to the side near a couple of marble looking columns. The chief had two of the heavily armed men in combat gear come to the lobby to stand inside by the doors. Hal said, "Thanks for telling me to put on my vest. This could get dicey real quick." I looked at him and asked, "You have a round in the chamber right?" "A gun's no good unless you're ready to fire it." I nodded and watched as two SUVs pulled up to the front and nine men got out, leaving the doors open as they approached the front door. "See that, they left the doors open so they could get back in quickly. The border guys forgot about the two drivers, so the detachment has ten people in it besides this officer." The nine men entered the lobby and were walking toward the exit doors beside the detectors. One of the security personnel said in English, "Please, gentlemen, remove all weapons and check them here before entering the detectors. The entry doors are on the other side over here. Once through the detectors, you will be buzzed in by the guard on the other side." The lead guy kept right on walking so the other security guard gave the same instructions but this time loudly, in Spanish. The man in front turned to the security guard and said, "I will not be humiliated like this. Open your doors this instant or I will have you fired." "It's my job, Sir, please remove all weapons and enter through the detectors." "I demand to see whoever is in charge right this instant. Let me in right now, I demand it." I walked out from behind the pillar and said, "I am in charge of this facility at this minute. We extend the same courtesies to you as you do us when in your country. Please remove your weapons and enter through the detectors." I pointed to the two guards at the doors and said, "Please observe our guests to make sure all weapons are removed before entering the detectors. You may shoot them if they do not comply." I turned to the guy supposedly in charge, "Do you have any identification? I wish to see what agency within your government you are from." Pulling my Glock and holding it on him, I could see him flinch and some of the men behind him begin to get uneasy. "Please, your identification, now." The two security guards at the detectors now had their sidearms aimed at the large group. "Since none of you have any official identification, all of you lay on the floor with your arms out over your head. Someone tell them this in Spanish. Tell them I'm getting nervous." One of the security guards at the detector rattled off the instructions in Spanish. This made all of them become even more nervous, so I moved closer to the guy acting like the leader and put the muzzle to his head. "Turn around slowly, now back up one step at a time. Keep moving, keep backing up, right there. Hal, shake him down. Shoot him if he does anything funny." Just as I turned back to the group, I could see one of the men pulling a gun. He was on the outside, screened from the security guards and the two men at the door. Before his gun was brought completely out of his coat, I snapped a shot at him. Shit, I shot him in the head, so blood went everywhere. Damn, I should have shot him in the leg or something. The roar of the Glock in the marble entryway was so loud the other men there were temporarily in shock. Four more combat dressed men came in the front door to join the two already there with their MP5s at the ready. I hollered for the security guard to tell them to again get on the floor with their hands over their heads. Slowly, the seven remaining men began getting onto their knees and lay down, face first, with their arms stretched out over their heads. I motioned for the combat dressed guys, "Cuff these guys and make sure they are completely stripped of weapons. When you have them cuffed, swap them around and have your partner shake him down again to make sure. Agents began coming out of the exit doors carrying their guns and more handcuffs. I looked outside to see the drivers of the SUVs being cuffed by more of the combat ready men. The Bureau Station Chief came out and confronted the guy who was supposed to be the leader. "Who are you? Why don't you have any identification? Did you really think we would just let you in without some kind of identification?" The man Hal had cuffed and shaken down didn't say a word. He stood without talking while his men were all found to not have any identification either. I asked him, "You came in loud and obnoxious, what happened to your boisterous attitude?" The Bureau Chief asked, "Didn't these guys have to have some kind of identification at the border? Did the Homeland guys let them in on the word of the Mexican side?" I dialed the number the Homeland Security Station Chief had given me. He answered sleepily, and I told him about the confrontation we just had. He said, "I'll get my Assistant out to the border right away to investigate how the group got through without any identification. You say none of them had anything? Not even the drivers?" "So far we've found nothing, Chief, find out for me. I need to know and so do you. Let's put off a nap for right now and get some information." The eight prisoners were stripped, put in coveralls, and put in individual enclosed soundproof cells. These cells were designed so prisoners couldn't talk to each other. I told the Bureau guys, "You saw how that was handled. If something comes up like that again, do the same thing. Your men outside did great coming in to back up the inside guys. Hal and I are going to the station. We need a nap in the ready room. I recommend that any men who were up all night be given the same opportunity, but remain on alert." Hal and I drove to the station where the Station Chief was in on this strange Sunday. He was going over duty rosters when I came in. Hal went to the ready room to lie down for a while and I went in to bring the Chief up to date. After telling him about the incident, he handed me an incident report form and said, "Please do it right so it doesn't get kicked back. My clerk has a cow if all the Is aren't dotted and the Ts aren't crossed." I wrote up the report with the supporting deputies and agencies so the big bosses in D.C. wouldn't question it. I went into the ready room to find it nearly full of men who had been on call all night. I lay down with my wrist watch alarm set for two hours. I should be alert by two. At two in the afternoon I sat up to see several other men waking. Hal was sitting up and said, "These cots are pretty comfortable when you're really tired, aren't they? That was perfect. I feel refreshed." We went into the latrine and washed up and checked with the duty man to hear there was nothing new in the prisoner war. The Station Chief was still there, so I asked him if the local law enforcement people had an intelligence division. "They have a good intelligence group and they will share with us when we need it. They've been instrumental with several escapee captures. Our problem here is that we are so close to the border that if an escapee wants to get out of the country, he usually can do it. It's not that hard to get into Mexico. As a matter of fact, it isn't that hard to get into the U.S. either." "Call over to your contacts in the intelligence group and see if they have anything on this bullshit that's going on. I think I would like some men to roam the streets around here to make sure there aren't any strange cars with men in them lurking around the corners." "Good idea, Chuck, I'll get a couple of men in civilian chase vehicles to make a continuous tour. That will give us some advance warning anyway." Hal and I went across the street to "Mom's" diner for a very decent meal at a decent price for California. Back at the station the Chief said, "The city guys have heard that some Cuevo guys are soliciting gangbangers for a job that's supposed to be dangerous. Intelligence has the number of takers up near a hundred. Do you think they would really try a frontal assault on the Bureau and federal building?" "Who knows, you better call over there to make sure they're prepared," I said to the Station Chief. "You should get your men outfitted and ready as well. I'm going to do some recruiting of my own." I called my D.C. boss, John, on his cell. After I gave him a synopsis of everything that had happened and what we knew, I asked him for the favor I had in mind. "John, do you know who's in charge out at Camp Pendleton now? Since they have the Mountain Warfare Training Center out there, I thought we might be able to garner a group of trained scouts to help out here. We could use this as an opportunity for an urban warfare training mission. Apparently the prisoners we have are too important to leave in jail and a major taskforce is being put together to spring them. I think if I had an extra hundred troops, I could not only repel any attempt to take the building, but we could capture all of the crazies who are attempting it. Done right, we shouldn't have to fire a shot." You know you can't use the armed forces for domestic law enforcement. You've seen the training video on the Posse Comitatus act." I'm not going to use them for law enforcement. I'm going to give some men a chance to have a life like training mission. If their C.O. goes for it, they will have a great adventure and will save my butt. "Sure, Chuck, like you're going to let a skirmish like this go by without firing a round. Sure you are. "Look, John, I wouldn't have shot that guy earlier if he didn't pull his gun. It was a fluke that I hit him in the head. He was short that I shot without even thinking about it. It was defensive." "That's okay, you did the right thing. I like your idea, Chuck. I'll call out there to find out what they might have and give them your cell. Don't get any of those kids hurt, okay? If you have a plan, then go get the bad guys and put them all in jail." Ten minutes later, a Major Selby called. "So you're a Marine Special Operations scout working for the Marshal's office now. John says you lost a leg, sorry to hear that. What kind of plan do you have?" "What I'd like, Major, is to have men already trained for urban combat to do some live training. I think with a small company of teams, we could convince a larger group to want to put down their arms and surrender. I would prefer seasoned men, but trained men are most important." The Major said, "I have a company that rotated back about two months ago. They are all experienced. Do you want me to lead them or do you want the job?" "You're their leader, if you were to be with them, they would know the seriousness of the situation even though this has to be coordinated as a training mission. Please stress to them that this is a potential combat situation, so they need to wear all of their protective gear. If you don't mind, I would like to come out and go over my plan with you so you can help modify it where needed. Can you get your men mission ready and on standby? They will need live ammunition, but shouldn't need any explosives. You might put a couple of RPGs in the mix and perhaps each of the teams could have a couple of M67 grenades. Hopefully we won't need them, but better be safe." "Come on out, I'll get the men up to standby. Since these are all Special Operation troops, we can pull ordnance. I'll notify the Commander and the front gate that you're on the way." I asked the Station Chief if he had one of the aerial photos of the building and the surrounding area. He did, so I borrowed it, and with Hal, headed out to Camp Pendleton. We were escorted to Major Selby at a command building. I almost saluted when I got in front of the Major, but resisted and stuck out my hand. He saw my hesitancy and smiled. The Major said, "This is different than a war zone, isn't it? There, you don't go through a lot of saluting and genuflecting. My guys have all had to relearn protocol back here. Show me what you have in mind, Deputy Johnson." I used the aerial photograph to show how the station perimeter defenses would be set up and how I thought we could set up hidden teams to close in after any combatants advanced toward the building. Just before the combatants were to attack, I wanted all of the teams, as well as the perimeter defenses to begin using bullhorns to offer them a chance to surrender. They would be advised to lay down their arms and proceed to the middle of the street with their hands behind their head. The Major said, "Regular urban stuff, huh? My guys are used to that except for the bullhorn thing." "You should have Spanish speaking men using bullhorns announcing in Spanish the same thing and at the same time as is being announced in English. What do you think?" "If this were Iraq, I would say you were a little nuts, but since we're dealing with an untrained force that should run at the first sign of organized opposition, I think you have a good plan. What are our firing orders?" "Same as anywhere, any armed resistance should be instantly quelled. We call it neutralized." The Major laughed, "I heard, it's still return fire in any language." "Don't wait to return fire, Major, these are not honorable men, these are criminals given a chance to make a lot of money if they succeed." "I'll get that across. The men aren't far enough removed from the field to make that mistake." I turned to Hal, "Can you call back to the station and have at least a hundred pair of cuffs brought out to be distributed among the men here?" "I'll get right on it," Hal said, and pulled out his cell phone. "Major, from the intelligence we've received, this event is supposed to take place about eight this evening. My thinking is that these people think our guard will be down at eight o'clock on a Sunday evening. We should have our men in place by six to six thirty. Can we do it?" "I have the men preparing right now. We can move out within fifteen minutes." Hal said, "How about some deputies meet your men to distribute the handcuffs. It's about time to get moving soon." The Major slipped on his vest, followed by his combat vest, complete with more than enough magazines for his sidearm and rifle. A Marine officer carries a rifle just like one of the men. Marines are soldiers, fighters, right up to the highest officer in the field. He picked up a phone and dialed a number and said, "Load 'em up, Gunny, I'll be right out." "Major Selby took me aside and said, 'I want you to know JAG tells me what you are asking for could violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits armed forces involvement in domestic law enforcement.' I responded, "It so happens I saw a training video on that recently. This a "training exercise" for your Marines? Like they really need a refresher on urban combat, but that will satisfy the brass all the way to the top." Major Selby grinned and said, "Not many opportunities for live fire training. The men will enjoy this." Hal and I took off for the Bureau station building to get ready for what we felt could be a long wait, or possibly a quick overpowering defeat of some bad guy types. One of the Bureau techs had gathered some radios that were on the same band as the Marine field units. He passed them out after completing some radio checks. Inside the Bureau offices were some sandwiches, and of course, a continuous pot of coffee. Hal was beginning to look fatigued, so I suggested that he lie down in their ready room for a little while to rest. I promised that at the first sign of people coming our way, I would wake him. It was almost eleven o'clock when one of the observation posts radioed in and advised that a group of about ten men were walking toward us. A few minutes later, another post, opposite the first post, gave a similar report of about ten men on foot. The third report came in startling us a little. Two school buses with a couple of SUVs in front were slowly rolling our way. We advised our men that we were being approached and had the Major begin to close in behind the groups coming up. The Major asked if they could quickly take out the two groups on foot so they wouldn't have to worry about them. I told him to take them as quietly as possible. As a closer observation post radioed the large contingent was about to turn the corner toward our building, the Major radioed that both flanking groups were in captivity. Now for the real fun. We watched the two SUVs turn onto our street followed by the two school buses. The way we were set up, it didn't look as if we had anyone outside guarding the building. But behind barriers on each side of the main doors were concrete walls where our men were patiently waiting to be called into action. That was also where two men with bullhorns were waiting. From the third floor inside the building, I could see detachments of Marines begin forming on the side of buildings ready for a flanking counterattack if it were needed. The SUVs and buses stopped with the doors of the SUVs opening and men, armed with rifles, came out and stood in front of the vehicles. Men began pouring out of the front and back doors of the school buses. They all appeared to be armed with standard rifles, but the light was not good enough to tell at that distance. I gave the order to begin announcing that they were surrounded and to close up behind the buses so none of the attacking force could get away. In both English and Spanish, bullhorns from the front of the building and from both sides and behind the attackers began a repetitious chatter telling the men to lay down their weapons. Law enforcement and U.S. Marines surrounded them. You could see the immediate uneasiness of all the men congregated together. They tightened up together until they were masses trying to hide behind each other. The Major had a surprise. A rubber-tired armored personnel carrier with a fifty caliber mounted on top drove from a side street to the attackers' right. A Humvee with a fifty cal mounted on top rolled out from their left. Meanwhile, the bullhorns were continuously telling the men to lay their weapons down, and give up before they died. Over a hundred men were crowded together looking for a way to escape, looking at two military vehicles with scary guns on top. The topping to our defense showed up. Teams began coming from both sides of the building with their guns at their shoulders in firing position. The men behind the concrete wall all stood up at once, also aiming at the group. Five teams came up behind the group and were still yelling at the men with the bullhorn. Slowly, almost too slowly, the men in the group began laying their weapons down and standing with their hands behind their heads. The bullhorn announcers began telling the men with their hands behind their heads to move to a team that held a large red flag. As the men who were giving up reached this team, they were cuffed and searched. A second team joined the team cuffing and searching while two of the approaching teams still at a ready firing position were almost on top of the last of the group that still held weapons. I walked out of the building, and went in front of the group still holding out. At a distance of only ten feet, I said, "You are defeated, put down your weapons and live. Keep them in your hands and I will give the order to fire." I pulled my Glock and aimed it at a guy in a fancy sport coat, "You will be the first to die. Tell your men to put down their weapons. They do not have a chance to survive. Do it now, or die as the man did in our lobby earlier today." The man standing in front of me had become so angry that I expected something from him, but not what he did. He turned from me looking at what must have been another leader of some kind, brought up his weapon and fired at the man two feet in front of him. Shots rang out all around me as about six of the remaining attackers were cut down. I didn't fire a shot, but held my position covering the remaining men. The bullhorn repeated the offer of survival if the remaining men put down their weapons and put their hands behind their heads. All of the remaining men didn't hesitate and immediately lay their rifles down and stood, putting their hands behind their heads. They were ushered toward the group cuffing and searching them. Major Selby walked up, leading one of the groups, "That was a good idea. It worked almost completely. I just heard from an observation post that an SUV had approached and was turning to leave but was stopped by a reserve team we had stay back. They are bringing the prisoners this way." The Bureau's clean up crew came rolling up to handle the six men on the ground. Some deputies were checking on the school buses to find out where they had been stolen from as they were marked with the local county school board name. Another group of deputies and Bureau agents were gathering the weapons lying in the street, putting them into a van for transport. The Bureau Station Chief came up to me and said, "I don't have the room for all these prisoners. We need to keep them together somewhere. The county said they could take about half, but we need to house them all." I called John on my cell, "John, I'll call you back with what all has happened but I need you to call a federal pen out here to see if they can handle a few more than a hundred prisoners. I think we need to keep this group together. Can you help me with this?" John didn't flinch he just said, "Let me make a few calls and I'll call you right back." The Marines had all the prisoners sitting on the street in neat rows with a couple of feet between each one. The Major walked through the rows of prisoners and came back to me. "I wish we had room out on the base to house these guys for you, but we don't. You're working on it right now correct?" I nodded, "It's in DC's court right now. I guess the coroner could have handled the hundred or so easier than finding jail cells. Do you have a count yet of the exact quantity?" "You have a hundred sixteen sitting right here, six that we caught in the rear SUV that we're keeping separate, and then the six dead." Shaking my head, "Jesus, they were able to get together a hundred and twenty-eight men. That's scary." The Major smiled, "I guess we have as much to protect here as we did in the sand." My cell rang. "Johnson." "The closest location that can take them is Florence, Colorado. You'll need prison buses to get them there along with some cover. That's Marshal work, so organize it and get it done. How many do you have?" I had to think a second, "I'll be sending a hundred sixteen to Florence. We're keeping six here to interrogate and we have six for the coroner." "You do any of the neutralizing?" "No Sir, the Marines took care of it. I'll write my report and I'll call you when we get this sorted out." "If our locations are safe, get some sleep and call me in the morning. Make sure the buildings stay on alert though. Whoever those guys are that everyone was trying to get must be important. If you want, send them out to Florence too. No one gets in or out of there." "We'll discuss it, John. Thanks, I'll get these guys going." Major Selby was still standing next to me and offered, "I may have a transport solution for you. I can get troop buses out here, plus accompany them to Colorado. We'll bring our transportation team with fuel trucks, a food prep team, and portable latrines. We should be able to get them there in a day and a half moving straight through. I'll classify this as a mobile troop movement training mission. Will that work?" "That would be perfect, Major. Can a few deputies ride along or trail your people? I will need them to supervise the transfer of custody. I'll have some men in each bus to begin cataloguing the prisoners so we have transfer papers ready by the time we arrive." I called the deputy chief for some men to do the work while the prisoners were being transported. He said, "You don't have to call me on the phone, I'm right over here in the lobby. This has been our jurisdiction, so I'm here. I'll come out and you can brief me." The Major and I described how we were going to get the prisoners to Florence. The Chief wanted to know how the men were going to be prosecuted. "Easy, Chief, since their crimes are federal, they can be tried anywhere. We have all the evidence necessary from the video cameras outside the building. None of these guys will be getting off and since it was an armed attack, they'll all get at least twenty years. Most of these guys are low level punks and won't last long with the big boys." The Chief said, "The six men that were captured separately, are in interrogation right now. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some answers from those guys." Three big Marine troop transport buses began arriving, lining up on the side street. Since it was now about four o'clock on a Monday morning, we weren't obstructing a great deal of traffic. More trucks pulled in behind the buses and a couple of Humvees parked in front of them. Deputies began leading the men to the buses, locking them into their seats. Everyone was warned that any crazy use of their feet would be answered with leg chains. The Major introduced me to a Captain Harris who looked at me for a long time. "I know you. You were hurt about two years ago. I was in the unit that came in to get your team out. You did a good job keeping them together even when you were hurt. Did you lose that leg?" I nodded. "I'm in charge of the road group. My new job is transportation. It's a long way from an ops scout unit, but a decent job. I have some good men that can move a division overnight if necessary. We have land, sea, and air at our beck and call." "Sorry I don't remember you, Captain. That period of time was a little hectic. Before it happened, my team was in the field almost all the time. Afterward, you know what happens. You're whisked off to emergency treatment and on to Germany. They took care of me very well." "Let's get this exercise going. Who's in charge of the deputies?" The Station Chief looked at me, but I said to him, "They are your men, you make the assignment." Everyone was sorted out and the convoy of vehicles took off. The cleanup crews were done and the school buses had been returned to their parking lots. Inside the federal building, men were being assigned positions for observation and guard duties. Upstairs, the interrogations were temporarily on hold as all of the men being held were requesting lawyers. All of them were aliens, mostly Mexican citizens, but we did have two Venezuelans, and two Colombians. I suggested that if they refused to talk, we should have all of them join their friends out in Florence, Colorado. I'm sure their attorneys would get tired of making that trip, especially if they were tried out there as well. The Bureau Station Chief said to me, "Did you get a load of the Mercedes SUVs we've been confiscating? These are some class vehicles. I think my guys are going to have some nice duty vehicles when this is done." "Share them with the Marshals," I directed. "They deserve some of the booty too." I added, "Too bad we have to give up all the weapons. There were some really nice SKS in the lot, plus a couple MP5s and a bunch of decent handguns. Your guys will be a couple of weeks checking serial numbers for stolen weapons." Looking around, "I need to get my guy, Hal, home for some rest. I need to get me to my hotel for some rest, as well. You probably need some down time too. Make sure the place is under guard and go home. I'll have my cell on so you guys can get in touch with me, but I need some sleep." As we were leaving, Hal said to me, "Thanks for keeping me around. I've had more fun this past however many hours than I've had in the past five years. This operation today was slick. That you were able to get the Marines to back you up was a real stroke of genius." When Hal dropped me and my luggage at the hotel, I told him I was worried about him being tired. He told me, "I have a condo about two minutes from here so I can be close to the station. I'll be fine. What time should I pick you up?" I looked at my watch, subtracted three hours and realized it was right at five in the morning here. "If you want, I'll be ready to go by noon. Park, come in, and we'll have lunch then go in to see what the situation is." "Got it, Chuck, and thanks again for keeping me with you." The desk people were a little miffed that I didn't call, but when I flashed my badge saying we had a problem operation, they relaxed a little. I asked what the problem was as the reservation was guaranteed. The clerk said, "We're sold out right now and could have rented your room." "Not really, I'm going to bed now and will sleep till noon. I'm keeping the room at least through today, so don't move me or kill my reservation." I let a bellhop take my bags for me. As we were going up in the elevator, I asked him, "Can you get me a tall Beefeaters on the rocks. I could really use a drink. Some kind of sandwich would be great too." "Right away, Sir, it'll take about ten minutes." I had taken a quick shower and was in my pants and T-shirt when the knock on the door came. The bellhop had a huge tray with a bowl of soup, a large roast beef sandwich, a tall glass of what was probably Beefeaters, and two bottles of beer. "This should help relax you, Sir." I signed the bill and gave the wonderful man a twenty, thanking him for his quick response. After taking a big drink of the booze, I called the office. Angie answered and quickly transferred me to Wanda. I gave her a quick rundown of what had been going on so far. I also asked her why she didn't send my briefcase and laptop with me. "You were going into a combative situation and didn't need to be worrying about e-mails. I'll take care of them until you return and you can review everything then." I explained that I was going to bed after eating and had her transfer me to Bobby. I repeated about the same things to Bobby, but couldn't answer the question, "When are you going to be able to come home?" I drank, I ate, and finished with a cold beer. After setting my cell phone alarm, I lay down in the bed and turned on the TV. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 38 Beep, beep, beep, beep My cell phone was making the alarm noise so I looked at the time, eleven-thirty. I stretched, scratched, and headed to the bathroom. The room had one of those miniature coffee makers, so I made a packet of coffee to drink while I did my triple S and dressed. I put my vest back on, even though I didn't think I would need it, before packing my stuff to leave if I could get out later. I was downstairs in the lobby at five till noon, greeted by a smiling, refreshed, Hal. "Morning, Hal. It is still morning isn't it?" He nodded and smiled, "We can eat here or how about a little place just up the street. They'll serve me breakfast anytime. You'll like it." As soon as we walked into the little restaurant, a round, smiling, Mexican woman quickly came to hug Hal. "How's my Hal this beautiful day? You make me smile to have you with us. And who have you brought with you, a man for mi nina?" Hal said, "She means her baby girl. That's her over by the back counter. No baby anymore." A dark-eyed beauty with black hair came from the back counter to give Hal a hug, "Tio, you don't come see me enough. Since Tia is gone, you stay away too much." She looked at me and asked Hal, "Did you bring me a man Tio? Is he the one like you? Can I have him?" "The man may have someone, Maria. He's here to help us with some pandillero that have caused us trouble. He comes to us from Florida." Maria smiled at me and offered her hand. "Pleased to meet you,,,,, " "Chuck Johnson, Ma'am." "Pleased to meet you, Chuck Johnson. Mi Tio Hal keeps telling me he will bring me my man, but he doesn't. You're not my man, are you?" "I could only wish, Maria. I do have a wonderful woman in Florida." Maria's eyes flashed, "I could be your wonderful woman in California. You could visit me often and give me babies. I'm going to be old and ugly before Mi Tio brings me my man." Hal was embarrassed for me, as I'm sure he didn't expect the two ladies would be so aggressive. He announced, "Please chica lindas we are two hungry men who worked all night and have just woken up. Bring some food for us. Do you want to feed us in the kitchen so you have tables for your lunch people?" The older woman hugged Hal again and took him by the arm, glancing at me and nodding for me to follow. We went through the kitchen doors to a large table at one end of the kitchen. She sat us down and kissed Hal, "You must think of me now, my Hal. Mi hermana has been gone over two years. I am the perfect woman for you and will make you happy for the rest of your life. Please Hal, do think of me. I am a young woman and still need a man." When she left, Hal said, "Sorry about the rush from those two. I don't come in as often as I should because of it, but I do love them both dearly. Juanita is my wife's sister. My wife passed away almost two years ago and Juanita thinks she should be my wife now. The two women were very close and even look so much alike that it's scary, but I don't know whether that would be the right thing. Poor Maria really is waiting for me to find the right man for her. I guess I do need to start the interview process for her. She is a beauty, isn't she?" We ate some excellent concoction of rice, cornmeal, eggs, some kind of meat, and lots of coffee. Juanita and Maria checked on us every couple of minutes, but were kept busy with their midday meal customers. When we were done, I was going to offer to pay, but Hal said, "They would be offended. I will take them out some evening soon. Looking at Juanita does get my juices going. I guess I should make an effort to see her more often. Are you sure you're taken? Maria is a beautiful woman and as pure as snow." "I'm sure, Hal. Let's go to the station and check in. I'm interested in what the local intelligence may have." On our way out, Hal let himself be surrounded by Juanita and kissed well enough they were both a little dizzy. Maria came up to me as they were kissing and said, "See, they are going to be lovers. Don't you want to join them? I'm a good chica." I smiled and gave her a one armed hug before following the dazed Hal through the door. At the station, several deputies were changing clothes getting ready to relieve Bureau men guarding the Federal building. They were dressing with a vest and a combat vest complete with both law enforcement tools and weapons. I called the Bureau office to see if the Chief was in, and he was. I asked, "Did you go home for some rest?" "I did, I live in the same condo as Hal does. It's a half a block away." I asked the Chief, "Can you call that intelligence group to find out if they've heard anything?" He answered, "Already did. The only thing they have is that some big shots from Cuevo cartel are now locked up and there are no other leaders available right now to do anything about it. I think we should transport every one of the players from this fiasco to Florence as quick as possible. The lawyers won't get in easily and when these men are confronted with more than twenty years, they may begin talking." I counseled, "That call is up to you and the Deputy Station Chief. You two talk it over and decide. If you're going to transport, do it quickly and with some heavy guard. When you get it done, spread the word on the street." I handed the phone to the Marshal's Station Chief and headed for the coffee pot. Hal pointed at some semi-stale donuts, but I passed. "After the meal I just had, I don't think an old donut would go very well." Hal said, "The way Juanita would feed me would probably make me fat within a couple of months. If we were to get together, I would bet she would sell the restaurant. She started it when her man was killed in the drug wars of the early nineties. She raised three kids and now only has Maria left. She is a good woman." Hal and I watched as the Chief began organizing the transport of the prisoners at the Federal building. He was pulling ten men and the Bureau was pulling ten. They were planing on two cars, one to lead and one to chase using only two prisoner transport buses with eight guards on each. The men were staging to leave, so I walked out and told them, "Remember friends of these people have already tried twice to free them. You are directed to protect our property and to maintain custody of your prisoners at all costs. You are not bound by any restrictions on firing your weapons. Be careful and be safe." After watching them leave, I went to a desk and called John in D.C. He said, "I've been briefed on the confrontation you had last night. The Pentagon is having a cow about us using a bunch of bloodthirsty Marines to help, but overall, I think you pulled another inter-service win out of your hat. Your Marines are off on a mobile transport training mission and your other Marines are receiving a civilian homeland protection citation for their training mission. Good job. Are you going to send the rest of the prisoners to Florence?" "The group transporting them is staging right now over at the Federal building. This should take the danger out of the local situation quickly." John said, "As soon as the prisoners are out of the city, go home. Considering your lack of sleep, you might want to take a day off if you want. Hopefully, there won't be another crisis that I have to send you on right away." "Thanks, John, I'll alert my pilot so he can be ready in an hour or so. That company has really been good to us and has answered our needs very well." John laughed, "Better than our own plane. Every time I need it, it's gone somewhere for some bullshit flight. That thing used to be for my exclusive use, but when you didn't claim it, the whole service feels as if they can use it to go to lunch. I wish we had a charter as good as yours. If we did, I'd sell the plane and just use the charter." I advised John, "I'll call you tomorrow to see what you have working. Oh, did you get those budget numbers? They are about ten percent under your forecast, and if my estimations are correct, we should be able to lop off another eight to ten percent." "Your numbers are perfect, Chuck. If you really think we can live with those numbers, I'll lock them in and you can use the other eight to ten percent for bonuses or incremental funds if you need them. Just don't declare excess budget funding or they'll audit you to hunt for more to cut." I hung up and called John, the pilot. He said the plane was ready to go, so all I had to do was to tell him to meet me at the airport. Wanda said that the day had been very quiet so far with very little correspondence or e-mails. I told her it looked like I would be home around midnight eastern time, depending on how soon I could leave. At two o'clock, we got the word the transport had left. I called John, the pilot, and had Hal take me out to the airport. Before I left the station, I chatted with the Station Chief about Hal. The Chief thought he was doing Hal a favor by giving him the nothing jobs. I convinced him that Hal was a real deputy and enjoyed doing his job. He was in good health and would be an asset to any duty. He promised to give Hal some of the prisoner transports and put him on some escapee teams. We had to stop at the hotel to get my bag and check out. When I noted that I was going to be charged for the night, I asked if the room was going to be rented tonight. The smart ass desk jockey said, "Of course it will. We'll get double for it now that you're gone." I asked for the manager, and an older gentleman came out to see me. I introduced myself and asked, "Do you get much Federal business?" "Oh yes Sir, perhaps twenty percent of our total revenues are from the government." "Would it hurt your hotel if you didn't get that business any longer?" "That twenty percent is important to our profitability. Of course it would hurt." I motioned him over to me, "I feel you are overcharging for your services and will be looking for other places to stay. Your desk person indicated that my stay inconvenienced the hotel a great deal, and now he had the chance to double book the room. Since you will be booking the room again and not having to clean it the second time, as you haven't cleaned it the first time yet. I don't think I should have to pay for tonight. Since it is within my overall budget responsibility, I'm going to recommend we find other lodging. Can you change my mind?" The man was surprised and couldn't say anything then he half closed his eyes and fished around in his pocket, he spoke in almost a whisper, "How much do you want? How much to let this thing go and not cause any trouble?" "Easy," I answered aloud. "Don't charge me for tonight and negotiate a better rate for lodging." "No, I mean how much do you want personally to just forget this?" "Okay," again I was loud, "I do not want, nor would I accept, a kickback or bribe. You will credit my room for tonight and you will negotiate a better price for lodging. Any less, and I will make sure we change facilities. Don't offer government employees money for a bribe or kickback ever again. If I find out, I can make it happen that you will go to prison." I turned and walked out, very pissed at how people just assumed you were holding them up for personal benefit. John met me at the airport, already finished with the preflight inspection. After taking off my vest, I put my bags in the back, and pulled the door closed as he slid into his seat. I climbed into the right seat, took the card from John, and began the checklist. Twenty minutes later we were in the air on the way home. The trip went by fast, with John having me mess with the navigational equipment, but never letting me change the original settings he had put in. We had a decent tailwind all the way, helping us to touch down right at eleven-fifteen. He pulled the plane up to the hangar door turning it around before shutting down. As we were getting our bags out, John said, "Keep in mind that this place is going to be short on some aircraft later this week. We might have a turbo prop twin available, but the Lear and both G5s are committed. I can't believe we actually bought or leased anther G5 with the economy the way it is. So far so good though, as a lot of corporations are selling their airplanes. They still need to go places; it just won't be in their own equipment." We agreed that I would call him for a schedule for my instrument training. I was able to let myself in at the house just after midnight. The house was quiet, but as I brought my bag into the bedroom and found no one in that bed, Bobby came walking into the bedroom with a glass containing ice and liquid in it. "Brought you a Beefeater, Honey. I'll bet you could use one." Bobby gave me the bone crunching hug I was expecting with an equally tooth shattering kiss. When she put me down, she handed me the drink and said, "Take a quick shower, Honey. Wanda and I are in her room talking. I, or we, will be in shortly." The drink relaxed me and the shower just about finished it. I sat on the bed and lay back for a second. I had big Bobby on one shoulder and Wanda on the other, nice. It was nice to have the two snuggled up to me, but I needed to pee. I slipped from bed to go to the bathroom, catching sight of the clock, five fifty-nine. Before using the bathroom, I pushed the off button on the alarm. While I was peeing, another alarm in the bedroom went off. I didn't know we had, or needed, another alarm clock. When I went back into the bedroom, both ladies were sitting on the side of the bed. Bobby said, "I need another hour or two. When you're gone Wanda and I stay up too late and last night we were involved in a conversation and when we came in here, you were zoned. We moved you all over the place and you didn't even flinch." Wanda said, "I can tell when you are really tired. You relax so well in the bed with us, as soon as we snuggle up to you, your breathing even changes." "What's with the other alarm," I asked? "Do we need two?" Wanda answered, "When you are gone, we end up trying to talk all night and we don't want to get up. The second alarm tells us to get going." As I slipped on my peg leg I said, "I need to swim a couple of minutes for some exercise. Anyone coming?" Bobby and Wanda didn't bother with clothes either and followed me out the back door to the pool. We were swimming laps at a moderate pace when Marie cannonballed in front of me, followed by Jan who stirred up the water equally. After both gave me a quick kiss, we resumed swimming until I felt worn down enough to relax outside the pool. Bobby and Wanda carried me to the outdoor shower where we did a mutual scrubbing job. Being surrounded by Bobby and Wanda is an exciting way to start the day. Both are special looking women. It made me feel as if I was a king. At breakfast, Marie told me that the Steve Sharp's nephew, Dennis, was taking her out to a baseball game after work. Marie was telling us confidentially, "Dennis treats me like a lady, but when I'm with him, I don't want him to. We seem to be so compatible it's scary, but I know it's silly to think that way." Bobby told her, "That's the way I was with my first husband. We met one day and two days later I was writing my name and his last name together to see how it looked. I became close like that with Chuck, too. We were together only a couple of days and I just knew we were going to be an item. I keep telling myself, no more marriage, but Chuck is in my head constantly." Wanda took me aside to privately tell me, "I have a contractor coming by this morning with a proposal to enlarge the garage. Last night when I found out you would be here this morning, I gave him a call. He's taken measurements and says that he has some suggestions. I'm sure you're allowed to take a few hours off this morning for a personal matter." "Wanda, can I afford to build on to the house? The house payment isn't that big, not much more than what an apartment would be, but I'm not sure of what my total expenses are." "Don't worry, Chuck, the rent the four of us are kicking in, easily takes care of the house expenses. With Angie here now, it will be that much more. I think all the girls will tell you that we are better off financially than we've ever been. I know I'm putting a lot into savings every check. If you want, we can have a house meeting one of these evenings to make sure everyone feels good about how we have it set up." "That would probably be a good idea, if for nothing else, than to make me feel good about it. So is Angie moved out here now?" "She's moved completely now, but spent last night with her mom and dad. She says she will spend a night with them every couple of weeks so they know she's still their daughter." The only one who didn't drive this morning was Marie. Jan was driving more now since she was Assistant Station Chief and had more responsibilities and Bobby had places to go every day. Wanda drove today as I was going in later. The contractor showed up right after the girls all left. With the garage doors open, he showed me two sets of plans. The first set showed an addition extending the three car garage to hold a total of five cars. The second set showed an addition to the garage side of the house that could contain five additional cars. The larger addition would extend the original garage deeper, giving me a larger area for the motorcycle and a large work bench and work area. That would be nice if I ever did get more time to do things for myself. I was surprised to find that the prices were not that much different. Just about the time I was ready to give the contractor a deposit, he showed me a third set of plans that utilized the area over the garage for a second floor. The contractor suggested a floor plan for an apartment that he said I could rent out or could convert into an office or a variety of other uses. He really did surprise me with the cost, as it was more than the five car garage addition, but it would add one or two private suites to the house at very little cost. I told him that I needed to think over the total expansion a little and would call him this evening or tomorrow. When I arrived at the office, Wanda came in my office and sat down. "What did you think of the proposals the contractor had?" "They are nice, Wanda, but now I'm confused about the second floor addition the man proposed." Wanda said, "That was my idea. You have room right now for four private suites for us girls, but no place for a couple more suites. You know if Marie and her young man get serious, they may want more than just her suite. I'm sure there are more people, preferably women, who would love to share our home and live in one of the suites we have." "You converted the two bunk rooms into two offices. One you use and the other we share. There is the big room that used to be for clothes storage and is now a separate entertainment room. You really have a nice home with lots of separate areas for privacy. I was used to living by myself for years, but I just love living with you at our home. Listen to what I said Chuck, our home. I feel as if it is our home, Bobby, Jan, Marie, Angie, yours, and mine." "I know you wouldn't want to think of it, but Bobby could decide she didn't want to live with us. She might decide to be a loner again or she could find someone else. She hasn't made up her mind since you let her out of her cage; she's still finding her way. I know you're strong enough to withstand that sort of emotional loss, but you would still have your home with the rest of us still living there." I felt a shock when Wanda said that to me, even a little sick thinking about the possible loss of Bobby. Wanda was right; Bobby had not made up her mind yet and was still confused about her future. I know she loves me but,,,, that was the problem, the but. "Sorry, Chuck," Wanda apologized. I didn't mean to shoot down your dreams or hopes. I just wanted you to realize Bobby wasn't as committed to your relationship as you are. She really loves you, but she may not be the marrying type right now or for a while." "Thanks, Wanda, I guess I needed to be given a little dose of reality." "You know, Chuck, I'm probably not a permanent solution to your desire to settle down with one woman either. It's not that I want someone else; I just may not ever want to commit to a permanent relationship again. I do love you, and I love Bobby as well, but I'm probably not the one to become your wife. I'm the one to be your personal assistant, and we can grow old together, but I don't think we'll ever be man and wife." "Thanks for being so honest with me, Wanda. You are very special to me and I depend on you and your opinion a great deal. Help me make sure Angie, Marie, and even Jan, never feel uncomfortable at home." "They won't, Chuck, you give all of us something we can't have anywhere else. You give us respect. You show us you care and you've loved all of us, except Angie. You can see Marie is happy and comfortable as she's found a young man and was happy to have him stay with her. That, Sir, is comfortable. You've done well to give all of us permission to be ourselves." I looked at my watch, "This is pretty heavy. I think it's time for lunch, and then I should catch up on some work. How about I get Subways today?" I took orders from the girls in the office and stopped in at the station. Bobby was gone, but Sarah, Marie, and Sarg, the duty man today, ordered. My sub was enjoyable as I watched some CNN headline news while I ate. The three girls ate at my table watching the news and chatting as well. I had just finished eating when a phone call came in. I answered the call since the girls were at the table. "U.S. Marshal's office, Deputy Johnson speaking, may I help you?" "You really do answer the phone like that, don't you? What if I could only speak Spanish, what would you do?" "I would answer you in my limited Spanish or get Angie or Conish to talk. Who is this anyway?" "The Chief over at the Homeland Security station. What's the gig sheet for firing range activity for?" "That's the summary the range officer makes up for me of each agency that's supposed to qualify on a regular basis. Since everyone in my area is law enforcement and could be called upon to defend themselves, their fellow agents, or the public, they are required to qualify on a regular basis. The people noted have not qualified for the amount of time noted. The men who have not qualified will not receive their supplemental income for armed duty. Those who do come and shoot regularly, have no problem." "Are office personnel and supervisory staff required to qualify too?" "If you carry a gun and receive the supplemental income you are required to qualify. If you carry a gun, there must be a reason that you are considered a part of our law enforcement and national defense force. Does that affect you?" "It does. I usually come by and fire a couple of magazines about every six months. You have me down for monthly. That's pretty often?" "I'd hate to depend on you in a skirmish if you were in your fifth month since shooting. All you have to do is stop by, grab some magazines, ear muffs, and shoot. Cap has a new brass recovery system so you don't even have to police your own brass. He preloads the magazines for you to make it even easier. And if you shoot above a certain score, a very low score, you get a coupon for a free Subway and soft drink." "Okay, okay, I'll come over. It's going to be hell to get some of the guys over though." "Make them read the memo. It should be in your S.O.P. now. When they find out they'll lose money, they'll be over." "You're right, they will. I'll make sure it's brought up at every briefing. Some of the guys who go out on busts use the range all the time, but the rest of us don't." "What if you are needed to be on site at one of these confrontations? Would you be able to help or would you be a hindrance?" "I got you. I'll be over in about five minutes. Come down and shoot with me. I'll teach you how good us old guys are." I smiled and asked Wanda if she wanted to use the range in a few minutes. The three girls headed to the restroom to take care of after lunch needs and came back. I did the same and picked Wanda up to go down to the range with me. I introduced the Homeland Security Station Chief to Wanda and we picked up our three magazines and muffs. Before entering I offered, "How about the three of us shoot for something, like who buys the beer at The Office after work?" Wanda said, "I'll do that, but that just means you drink free tonight. The contest will be between the Chief here and me." The man puffed up, "We'll see. I've been shooting for years and years. I'll bet I put over half in the paint." Wanda said, "Let's do a 12 round magazine in the body, 12 rounds in the head, then alternate 12 rounds in the body and head. That will make a perfect score eighteen in each. If we all get eighteen in each area, then it will be by who finishes first." Cap said he would ring the bell for us to start and time us. The bell rang, so I fired my thirty-six rounds as fast as possible, feeling that I had hit on all of them. I was finished for only about a minute when Wanda finished. It was almost another full minute before the chief finished. "Holy shit, you guys shot fast. I'll bet you didn't have half the hits I did." Cap pushed the buttons and our targets rolled forward. He counted Wanda's and said sixteen of eighteen on top and all eighteen on the bottom. You're doing great, Wanda. He counted the Chief's and said, "Twelve of eighteen on top and fourteen of eighteen on the bottom. You need to come see me more often." Cap was going back to his desk when the Chief asked, "Aren't you going to count Chuck's?" "No need, you count 'em." The Chief counted the head shots and the body shots and said, "The groups are so tight it's hard to tell but it looks like eighteen in each. How did you fire that fast? Do you practice every day?" Cap answered for me. "The man's been traveling way too much lately. He barely gets down here for a weekly any more. Wanda's been coming down three days a week so she can learn. She's getting pretty damn good too. You, Sir, need a copy of our video and some extra time on the range. Come down anytime. Stop in for lunch. Do thirty-six into the target, not even all in the paint, and you get a six inch Subway. Do thirty-six in the paint and you get a foot long." The Chief said, "Make sure you mark me down for being here. I need that extra in my pay." "Already have it in the computer. As soon as you fired the first round, I put you in. The boss just wants everyone ready in case they are needed." I suggested, "Make sure you get your men over here. I need them all to be ready. There's too much at stake for them to be unprepared." Upstairs, I worked for a steady hour answering e-mails and signing off on reports. When two o'clock came, I had a phone call from the air park. John asked, "Are you coming out today for some more classroom instruction? You need a little more, then you should be ready to begin your hood time." "Sure, I'll be out by two-thirty. I'll stay as long as you can teach." "Don't say that or you'll still be out here tomorrow morning. We'll work till six or so. That should get you ready for some hood time. By law, I can't teach longer than eight hours at a time anyway. Steve has you in his sights to help out. You have a lot of flying to get in before that can happen. That means we have to get your instrument rating and work on flight hours to get your commercial license. Like I keep saying, you need a lot of hours in the air." "What about the knowledge test that I'm supposed to take? When can I take that?" "When I give it to you. I am an FAA examiner and can give you the test. If you want someone else to give you the test, I'll call my friend from Brooksville who gave you your flight exam. He still owes me anyway." "Okay, John, let me get out of here and out there to work with you." I drove out to S&S air charter service to spend an intense four hours in John's office going over more and more of the information necessary to know how to fly with instruments. When I was getting ready to leave he said, "I have to crew on one of the G-5s tomorrow so come out and either Lisa or Steve will take you up with a hood. They both know my procedures. Lisa is a new instructor, but has a good record with students." I set up training for two in the afternoon as I was hoping to get out of the office at noon and perhaps fly my new airplane for the first time. I figured a flight of an hour or so would be enough to give me a feel for it. I was pretty excited about flying my own plane. At home, after working out, and eating a fairly light grilled fish supper, we all gathered at the table so I could get some opinions on the addition. The contractor had left the three drawings, so I explained them as he did to me. When I was done describing the apartment over the two garages, Jan observed, "The apartment or the area up there could be just like suites in the house down here, only bigger. Could you get four of them up there with a common living room area?" I answered, "Probably, but the contractor was leaning toward an apartment that would be self-contained. Rent on something like that could be fairly high considering the size." Jan said, "I think if it's going to be an apartment, you should make it a luxury one bedroom with a large bedroom, large walk-in closet and an office or den area. You could make the kitchen and living room area one large room so the place feels even larger. If you make the back wall entirely windows, the view out in the back would be nice. The glass could be one way so no one could really see in." Bobby said, "Since we need the garage and you like the idea of building an apartment up there, build the structure, but don't finish the upstairs. When you decide how you want it, finish it. Nothing will change, except the plumbing will cost a little more to get done." "If I build it now, I think I'd rather just finish it all at once. The price offered for the completed structure is really fair. This company is a division of S&S Enterprises, believe it or not. Does it seem we are becoming entangled with them more and more?" Bobby said, "I really like them, and wouldn't mind getting a little more entangled with them, personally." "You let that thing between your legs guide your thinking too much, Bobby," Wanda cautioned. "I thought we took care of your needs very nicely?" "You do, you do, Wanda, but I really get hot over Sue, and I know Mercy is nuts about Chuck, and did you see the way Kathy hugged around on him when we were out there last time? I thought those two were both going to haul him off." "No they didn't, Bobby, they were both just being nice. That whole family and entire neighborhood is as friendly a group as I've ever met." Jan said, "I saw those two redheads eyeing you. They both have big husbands, but they were both checking you out, Chuck." "Look, I'm trying to figure out what to do about the garage. At this moment in time, I can afford to build on. I can integrate the cost into the mortgage and only increase the payments a minor amount. The cost even includes additional air conditioning. Should it be a luxury one bedroom, two bath, or a standard two bedroom, two bath?" They were all quiet trying to make a decision. I had an idea, "How about building the two bedrooms like the suites down here. Each suite has a bedroom, a small sitting room area, and a bathroom. There will be a kitchen and living room like I described that would be one large area. Both bathrooms could have a door to them from the living area and from inside the suite, that way they could be easily used from either area." Bobby and Wanda looked at the sketch on the lined legal pad I was using. Jan said, "That would be perfect. If someone wanted to rent the whole thing, or if two people wanted to have the privacy of the apartment, they would pay for the whole thing. But if just the suites were rented, the two occupants could come down here to be a part of our gatherings here. I like it." All of the girls were nodding around the table. Angie said, "This is all pretty new to me. I had the public housing studio that was smaller than the suite I have now. I can't imagine having a separate big kitchen and living area just for me. I kind of like having us all together though." I called the contractor and told him that I wanted the five-car addition along with the upstairs apartment, but I wanted to have two separate suites and a central kitchen and living room that were a single large area. Both bedroom suites and the living room would have the one wall that was all glass. I described how each of the bathrooms should be able to be accessed from both the common area and the bedroom. The last thing I felt should be there was a utility room for a washer and dryer, as well as a separate water heater. "I'll put the changes into the computer tonight and bring it over in the morning. I hope I'm not rushing you, but I have men waiting to build your addition. Actually they're waiting to build any addition. As soon as we have an agreement, I'll pull the permits so we can get started." We all had some spiced rum and diet Coke with lime. Wanda commented that the Cuba Libre was the favorite drink of Sue and the girls out at the park. Everyone migrated toward their suites as it became time to say goodnight. That night Wanda and Bobby loved me intensely, long enough that they were both full of my liquid donations. We went to sleep with me having a head on each of my shoulders, all dreaming satisfying dreams. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 39 I woke a couple of times during the night, thinking of what Wanda had told me about how Bobby may not be able to commit to a permanent life with me. Bobby was facing me each time I woke up, so I kissed her and she snuggled into me even more. This sent me right back to sleep. At six, I was outside going through forms to my internal music, relaxing while considering the disturbing thoughts of not having Bobby and what that would mean to me. As I went through my stretches and exercises, I also considered what it would be like to not have Wanda with me either. I think I was equally disturbed by both thoughts. I really did enjoy having Bobby and Wanda as housemates, as well as bedmates. I had committed myself openly to Bobby, but had only professed enjoyment in the relationship I had with Wanda. I guess I needed to amend that with her to let her know how I deeply I really felt about her. If our relationship became any deeper, we would have to consider her position working with me. That would be a disaster for me though because she is so efficient. What I really needed to do was to analyze my feelings about Jan, Wanda, and Bobby. I think Jan was content being able to enjoy both men and women, and could probably be happy with a monogamous relationship with either, but would thrive if she could have both. She was a very loving person who was determined in her business career and a dedicated agent. Wanda was not transparent; she was a very complex person who showed her caring and consideration for others. She was very affectionate toward me and to each of the girls, but was able to be properly aloof during business hours. She too would probably be happiest having a relationship with both a male and female. Then there is Bobby. She was the enigma. She professed love, but declined to commit one hundred percent. She welcomed her family's acceptance of me, but seemed to withhold her acceptance of our relationship as one that could at least be near equal to that of her deceased husband. I could understand that. I really enjoyed all of her family and sort of greedily wanted to be a permanent part of it. Bobby had found she enjoyed woman to woman sexual encounters, and she had discovered her ability to be a part of an open relationship. I wondered if my reluctance to have a permanent open relationship kept her from committing to me. I didn't know. When I had completed my thought processes, I had completed my exercise. When I opened my eyes, I saw all the girls standing quietly waiting for me to finish. When I smiled, Wanda asked, "Now that you've worked that out, want to swim?" We swam hard, winding ourselves, hanging onto each other at the side of the pool trying to catch our breath. When we were breathing normally, Bobby and Wanda hauled me out of the water and put me under the outdoor shower where we washed each other with lots of smiles and giggles. It's so much fun to play with two gorgeous ladies under the spray. After a large breakfast, the girls left for work while I waited for the contractor. Before Bobby and Wanda could leave, he was at the door with his new drawings. We went over them in detail. We went outside one more time to make sure there was enough room for cars to come in the new driveway and to turn into the new garage. They could drive in straight or drive forward on the proposed extended concrete apron to back in. I made sure there were electrical outlets everywhere upstairs, as well as cable TV and data outlets that went back to the central panel in the garage. I signed off on the contract, gave the contractor a five thousand dollar check, "Choke, choke" and shook his hand. I brought the contract in to Wanda so she could begin the process of requesting a modification of my original loan. I didn't want to change the length, just to add the total amount of money to the mortgage so I could get my five grand back. At nine, the Jacksonville office called to ask if I could come up to retire the Assistant Station Chief and to sign in the new one. It really wasn't necessary for me to be a part of this, but Wanda said, "Do it. You can fly your new airplane. Call out to the air park and see if they can get it out for you so it won't take any extra time. Enjoy yourself Chuck, or do you need administrative support today?" "You know what, Wanda? I think I do need administrative support. Brief the girls on what needs to be done and let's go. We'll be back early and you can take my car back here. We'll figure out a way to meet you guys or for me to be picked up after my instrument lesson." Forty minutes later, we were lifting off in my own personal 206 being flown for, and being paid for by, the Marshal's Service. Wanda was thrilled to be my first passenger. The five-hour drive was only an hour's flight. We landed at a private field close to downtown, where the station was. A duty man was there waiting for us and quickly drove us to the office. Wanda went over the paperwork with the station clerk and prepared it and the retirement papers for the ACE. The new ACE was a young man with only seven years in the service. He was glowing with excitement in anticipation of saving the world. The formalities were completed quickly so we all adjourned to a restaurant a block away for a gala banquet and roast of the retiring deputy. It was a fun time for the station and would be remembered by the deputy for years to come. When we could graciously say goodbye, Wanda and I headed to the airport, chauffeured by another duty man. It took a few minutes to do the preflight and startup, but we were quickly on our way home. For practice, I had set up the Garmin for the regular instrument flight to our field and landed using the equipment as well. I guess I would be doing a lot of it in the near future and should get as much practice as possible. After landing, I parked near the hangar so I could refuel using the S&S truck. I refueled, logged everything, and sent Wanda on her way back to the office. Lisa came out of the charter office and said, "I thought perhaps you were going to be late since you were up in your new plane today, but you're right on time. Let's push your plane in and drag the 172 out. You do the preflight while I watch, then we'll go inside to make out the flight plan for your first hooded flight." I made up the flight plan with Lisa's directions and filed my first IFR flight plan. We were flying to Sebring, over to Manasota airport, to Clearwater/St. Petersburg, and back home. Lisa said each landing would be completely under the hood, but she would also be on the controls during touchdown and would take over after landing to turn us around and take off again. She wouldn't let me put in multiple locations, saying it was more important for me to input fresh data before taking off each time. Almost four hours later, we touched down back at the air park. Lisa let me completely set the plane down on the runway at Clearwater and at home before she said, "I got it." When we parked in front of the hangar, and while writing in my log book, she said, "You really did well. I know I didn't do anywhere near that well my first hood flight. Keep studying and get as much time in the air as you can. When you have the opportunity to fly, call out here to see if we have a charter going anywhere you can ride along on." When I was going to call to get a ride she said, "I'll give you a ride out to Steve's. Your big lady, Bobby, said she was going out there after work and if I could drop you off. I'm ready for a beer too, so let's roll." Steve's and Sue's place never ceases to amaze me. There are people everywhere, including lots of kids. It seemed as if there were hundreds of them, but in reality there were probably just twenty or so. They were so busy riding bicycles, playing catch, playing with Frisbees, playing pool, talking to their parents or someone else's parents, that it made them seem like two for every one. Steve was happy to see me and talked to me about my first flight in my own plane. I was warmly greeted by Steve's wives, or at least I guess they all were wives. Each gave me a hug and kiss, making me feel welcome. I was looking around for my group when Mercy said, "Bobby went with Steve's brother, Henry, and his wife, Nancy. I think Crystal, you know the big girl, and her guy, Bear, went with them. They're probably just down the road. Let's see, Marie and Dennis are off and gone somewhere, Angie is with Dee, Jan is with Samantha, and Wanda went to the store with Juanita. All of your women have abandoned you. I'll guess you'll have to borrow some of Steve's. Will I do?" I blushed brightly which made Steve laugh, saying, "Mercy, it looks like that's the best offer he's had all day. That's hard to believe too, with him being out with Lisa all afternoon." Mercy said, "When she's teaching, she's all business. It's once you're back on the ground that she can be trouble." Mercy gave me a hug and looked at me in her way that made you feel like she was peering into your head. She softly said to me, "Thank you, Chuck, your thoughts of me are very nice. Your mind is so gentle for a person that has gone through so much. You and Steve share a lot, perhaps that's why we are all so enamored with you and your ladies." When Steve and I were mostly alone, since there is never a time when you're really by yourself in the busy patio area, he said, "These ladies like other ladies as much as they like men. They're all a little squirrelly. Juanita used to be the straightest of the bunch, but she's been led into their lady loving the same as all of them. It's a good thing though, as there is no way I could possibly take care of four of them." "How did you get four, how did you gather them?" He looked at me and smiled, "How did you get five?" "I don't have five, not really. I met Bobby first and we became an item. Jan came along and she was the catalyst for Bobby liking ladies. Jan was somewhat of a dedicated lady lover, but for some reason, she wanted me to make love to her. Wanda came along and I swear I don't know how it happened, but she was in bed with Bobby and me instantly. Marie came along about the same time and is young and adventuresome. She's more interested in Dennis than me. She might play with Jan, or perhaps Angie, but since Dennis has been around, she hasn't been to join Bobby and me. And Angie, she is definitely not a part of any loving around the house. I think she should remain just a good friend, and possibly a permanent boarder, but not a lover." Mercy came up and said, "When she comes to you naked, begging you to make love to her, will you turn her down?" I stared at Mercy, "I should, and I hope I will. She is one of my clerks and that wouldn't be appropriate." "Wanda is one of your people." "But Wanda is a mature adult with lots of life experience. Wanda separates home from work." Mercy gave me a hug saying, "She cares for you a great deal. She confuses you sometimes, doesn't she?" "She does. Are you a mind reader or what? My goodness, you seem to look inside me, but it makes me feel good, not nervous or angry. Your thoughts in my head are very relaxing." Mercy grinned as Steve smiled, "Mercy has some unusual talents. I'm sure you'll learn about them in time." "You didn't answer my question, Steve, how did you get four wonderful wives, and how do you make them all happy?" Mercy said, "Let me." Mercy sat in my lap, which was very disconcerting, "Steve and Sue became a unit after Steve and Kathy separated. They found me in California and we three bonded immediately. Juanita just became a part of us. We all love her so much for her wonderful way. Then Kathy came back into Steve's life and our lives. I knew Kathy was going to be a part of us from the minute we met." Steve said, "That's the whole story. I let Mercy and Sue direct me in home matters. Kathy can be a little dictatorial, but the girls set her straight real quick. Juanita is just a lover. She prefers to be mother to all, and she does do a good job of it." We finally sat down for supper. It seems the kids had to eat early as there was something going on at the sports park and they wanted to get over there. Bobby showed up with Steve's brother and his wife, along with Bear and Crystal. Bobby gave me a sexy kiss that had a distinct pussy flavor to it. When I cocked an eyebrow, Bobby actually blushed before saying, "I'll tell you all about it later." We had meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, and Dutch apple pie for desert. Watching everyone eat was a treat. The large group went through what looked like five huge meatloaves pretty quick. I did notice two more meatloaves on the counter in the kitchen. I'm sure they were made up for future lunches. I'll bet the bunch of meatloaves must have accounted for at least twenty-five pounds of ground beef. I was pleasantly full as the ladies from my household began gathering around me, except for Marie who was at the sports complex with Dennis. Susan, Dennis' mom and Steve's sister, asked me, "What do you know about Marie? Is my boy safe with her?" "Marie Antoinette is a girl for a real man. Her dad is a very strong figure in her life and has taught her male oriented material all her life. She shoots with the best of them, loves martial arts, and I think all sports. I also think it was difficult when puberty came for her, as she was so male oriented. Considering her nature, I think Dennis is a very happy man to be dating Marie. She isn't loose, but she knows what she likes and is not bashful about enjoying it. Everything is new to her and she is enjoying finding out about it. Marie is very intelligent and is taking night courses toward her degree. Is she right for your son? Who knows, but those two will have a hell of a good time finding out if they're compatible." Susan said, "I haven't seen Dennis like this before. He's no babe in the woods. He's had girlfriends before who he's been physical with, but he's really taken with Marie. Since they started going out, he hasn't even been out just to go to the bar with any of the other girls he used to hang out with." "Marie's been the same. In the past, she was perhaps a little aggressive around the house, but since Dennis, she's either been with him or slept alone." Susan asked, "Is it okay if he stays overnight at your place?" I smiled, "Sure, Marie has her own suite with a private bath and sitting area. The two can use the hot tub, the pool, and can even watch TV in the living or entertainment room, without bothering anyone. We're all pretty open, so no one minds if those two are enjoying each other." Jan said, "I mind, Marie can be a screamer sometimes, and I get jealous. There are just not enough men around our house." Sue said, "Kind of like this place. Mercy and I can line up more work for Steve than he can do. Every time some girl makes me hot, I want Steve, Mercy, and me all to do her. I just love to watch Steve make someone come and come. I kind of think Bobby's that way; am I right, Bobby?" Bobby blushed, but said, "I do enjoy my man enjoying himself. It's something that turns me on." Mercy said, "We found out early on that while Steve handles one of us, whoever is not being loved on gets to play with each other. Makes it fun." Bobby was blushing again, but spoke up, "That's something I've recently learned to enjoy." Sue went over to Bobby and hugged her, rubbing the two monster set of breasts together. Just the sight of all the breast flesh together was enough to excite me. Wanda was sitting next to me and whispered in my ear, "So you see, now you know two men who have more than one woman, and both openly enjoy all of them and more." I whispered back, "Blows the hell out of my conservative mentality, doesn't it?" As we were getting ready to leave, Bear said, "Plan on a ride Saturday evening. Come out Friday night for the party, but also come out early Saturday with your bike. Have your ladies come out too and we'll get rides for all of them. We're going up to a party in Dade City. We'll be late getting home, so all of you can stay with Steve and Sue. We'll probably party late when we get back here anyway. Wanda, Marie, and Jan had stopped by the house to leave my car, along with Wanda's and Jan's, before coming out to the park in the Escalade so we all rode home together. At home, we relaxed watching TV for a while, discussing the trailer park folks. About the time we were heading to bed, Marie and Dennis came in, said hi, and that they were on the way to the hot tub. Angie wanted to join them and left a trail of clothes on the way to the back patio. This night, the bed was filled by Bobby, Wanda, and Jan. Jan was very excitable tonight, wanting to ravish the two ladies, and wanting me to ravish her. With Bobby's and Wanda's help, the three of us soon had Jan in convulsive orgasms, making her come over and over again. When Jan was finally satisfied, Bobby had me on my back, with Wanda astride my hips. As Wanda slowly impaled herself on me, then withdrew equally as slowly, Bobby said, "Now I'll tell you what I was up to with Nancy and Crystal. Nancy and Henry have a special fascination over Crystal. They both just go crazy over her size. When we were in their home, Henry and Nancy had Crystal stripped down in seconds. They were all over her, with Bear just sitting back, watching as his Crystal was being ravished. He said that he just loves to watch her being made love to by those two. He just sat there with his dick in his hand, stroking himself." "I was hot, so hot I went down on Bear and had him shooting off in my mouth in minutes. I think between him watching Henry fuck Crystal, and me sucking him, it was too much for him." "When Henry rolled off Crystal, she came after me for sucking Bear off, but she was kissing me instead of being mad. She had me on the floor, sitting on my face; making me eat her while someone's face was sucking me at the same time. Crystal got up and Nancy climbed on my face. That's when I felt someone begin fucking me. Henry and Bear took turns fucking me for a long time until they had both unloaded into me. God, I can't tell you how many times I came. When the two guys were done, the girls were in my pussy, cleaning me up fast. Henry and Nancy said they just loved big girls. When I told them I had sisters as big as I was, we almost started all over again." "Can you believe it? Bear's like I am. He loves to watch. Crystal says she just loves sex, and Nancy and Henry are two people who Bear feels comfortable with. I told both of the women how wide you are and they said that the guy named Charlie is real wide like you. Bear's kind of average for a guy his size, but Henry is pretty long. Crystal and Nancy both said that Steve is pretty good size. Hard to believe those people are so sexual. It just makes me really cream to be around so much sexuality." Wanda continued to slowly rise and fall on me as we listened to the wanton story Bobby was telling us. Wanda asked what was on my mind. I was curious so I asked, "Do you really like all that open sexuality? Would you like to have a lot of men, one after another?" Bobby moaned, "I already did that, out at the nudist park. That party was something. There were lots of men who wanted me. Tonight was okay, but I was thinking that what I was missing was Chuck. You would have been dessert, Lover. I'll bet Nancy and Crystal would both enjoy you sliding your big cock into them like you're doing to Wanda. I would have loved to watch that." Wanda leaned down to kiss me, then dropped a nipple into my mouth for me to suck on as she rose and fell, crushing her clit against me on each stroke. As she was shortening her strokes and increasing her speed, she began moaning, which brought Jan from her lethargy. She pushed Bobby's hand from her own pussy and buried her face into Bobby's pussy. When Wanda clenched me tightly in the midst of her orgasm, I shot loads and loads up into her as she collapsed onto my chest, smashing her long breasts into me. We were all lying still, breathing hard, recovering. Bobby said, "I love you all so much. I love you, Chuck, and hope you can live with the way I've become. I want more and more crazy loving. I seem to thrive in kinky sexuality. The people out at the naturist park and those wonderful people out at the trailer park seem to know exactly what I need." Jan was now on top of me, with Bobby on one side, and Wanda on the other. Jan was kissing me with her Bobby pussy flavored lips. "Thank you, Chuck, you and Bobby were exactly what I needed tonight." Bobby picked Jan up and put her on the outside, hugging her to all of us. Bobby kissed me and snuggled up to me. Wanda kissed me and snuggled to my other side. As I drifted off, I was still very uncomfortable thinking of everything Bobby had told us. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 40 Oh man, that feels good. A mouth was gently sucking me, bringing me closer and closer to filling the sucking mouth with my gift. I caressed the head of the sucking person and looked down to see Jan's smiling face with her lips around me. She lifted her mouth from me and said, "You gave me so much pleasure last night, I want to do this for you. It makes me feel so special that I can give you this. Please, come in my mouth, it will make me happy." Just when I couldn't hold on another second, Wanda kissed me with an extraordinary amount of passion. I erupted into Jan's mouth. She swallowed and sucked, pulling everything from me I could give. When she pulled from me, she came up and gave me a very passionate kiss. "It's so strange, Chuck, I dearly love to love ladies, but you are just so dear to me. I want to smother you with love all the time. I think I would be worse than Bobby and have a couple of new girls for you every day. Then I would want some of you too." Bobby sat up and said, "I know what my problem is now. I'm starting my period. I always get nuts this time of the month. Perhaps I'll settle down and be normal for a little while." I sat up and said, "Let's swim. I've been pleasured and loved this morning, and now we need to exercise to exorcise some of this lethargy." We did swim with Angie, Marie, and Dennis joining us. Angie was being especially playful with Marie and Dennis until they were about to get out of the pool, when Angie climbed on Dennis, holding his erection. Angie lay back, pulling Dennis into her. "Oh please, Marie, don't be mad. After last night, I really need him one more time." Marie came over and pinched Angie's nipples as Angie kept a steady rhythm fucking Dennis. Wanda, Jan, and Bobby all gathered around them, further stimulating them and Marie, as Dennis launched his sperm into Angie. When Angie lay back, Marie said, "If you think you're done this morning, you've got another thing coming. Now I need more. Come on, Stud, help me out and love me some more." As a young stud should, Dennis didn't go soft with all the stimulation and had Marie on her back, lunging into her, making her squeal. It didn't take but a few seconds to get the hot-blooded Marie to begin coming continuously. They kept up their rapid intercourse for a couple of more minutes until they both froze in orgasm. Jan, Bobby, and Wanda came over to me and hugged me. Jan said, "Now, I'm ready for more. This should be Saturday instead of Thursday." When we went into the house to get ready for work, I noticed my cell phone that was plugged into the charger had the message indicator flashing. I pushed the buttons to listen to the voicemail and heard John's voice. He just said, "Call this number, and see what you can do to help them with this capture. It shouldn't be all that hard, but these guys can't seem to keep track of the escapees. Um, I'm up in Canada and in a big deal meeting, so don't return the call. E-mail me when you have information about what's going on." I called the number, not recognizing the area code. A voice said, "Deputy Anderson." "This is Deputy Chuck Johnson. John Scott said you needed help." "Thanks for calling, Chuck. I need a lot of help. Every time I'm about to close in on these guys, they seem to know what's happening and are gone. Can I call you back in about ten minutes? I want to have a conversation with you away from here." "I'll be waiting," I said, and hung up. I was able to get my triple S done and was mostly dressed when the call came. "My name's Bud Anderson, so you can just call me Bud. I'm out of the Amarillo station and have been chasing these guys for ten days now. I've located them three times and organized a take down, but when we got there, they were gone. They had just left. One time there was a cigarette still burning in an ashtray. I'm feeling the only way I'm going to get these guys is to find them and have someone else go in and hold them until I can get there." "So what do you want from me?" "Can you lend me a couple of men to work with me and hold them for me? I'll track them down again and let the men you give me know where they are. All they have to do is to hold them until I can come get them." "Okay, Bud, how many are there and tell me where you are?" "There are four escapees, and I'm in Oklahoma City right now. I'll be going back to Chickasha, the last place they were, in a few minutes. I'm sure these guys are going to be between there and Lawton. They leave a trail a mile wide, so if you can get someone in place out here by morning, I'll know where they are. If we hold them in one place, I can get them." I hung up trying to think of a way to do this. It was something I probably shouldn't try to resolve alone. Bud had a good idea in keeping everyone local out of the loop if he was being subverted every time he went in to get the escapees. At breakfast, I asked Bobby, "What would you say if I borrowed Dave? He thinks like I do and we know what each other will do in a given situation. I don't think I can do this one alone safely, and would probably want a big team to do it, but that's what is causing the problem so far. Two men can go in and do even more damage than a team." "You're the boss, Chuck. If you need a man and Dave is the best one for the job, you have to ask him, but I'd bet he'll want to go. Sarah might object, but Dave is his own man." It was still early and I might catch him at home. "Do you have her or his number?" Bobby got her notebook and gave me Dave's cell number. "Hey, Dave, this is Chuck." I answered Dave's inquiry as to how I was, "I'm fine, but I need to ask if you want a duty. A deputy from Amarillo is in Oklahoma having trouble cornering some escapees. Every time he locates them and gets a team up to go get them, they've left by the time he gets there. He asked for help to hold them until he can get a team up to get out and get them. Would you go with me to do this one? I don't think it would be smart to try to do this alone, but if you and I were to do it, it would be like a team going in." Dave paused for a second and said, "I'm in. Sarah's going to have a cow, but I need something like this to get the cobwebs out. I think the range officer is getting tired of me. I'm probably into 2012's ammo allocation. What will we need?" "Get some rough clothes, you know, arid boots, jeans, long sleeve shirts to keep the sun off and a hat. You and I both know what to wear in hot weather. I have a couple of canteens, so we'll pick up a couple of packs, some space blankets, a couple of rifles, plenty of ammo, and be gone. I think we should get some MREs in case we have to be out overnight. Tell Sarah, and then meet me at the station with your clothes." I called the air charter and Star answered. "Star, this is Chuck Johnson and I need to get to Lawton, Oklahoma. I need to be there by this afternoon so I can't fly myself. There will be me, one other man, and some gear." Star said, "The fastest I have is a B200. It'll get you there if you get out here right away. Is Lisa okay? She is our reserve out here today and was going to give you your hood lesson today." "Lisa's great. We'll be staying over at least one night, maybe two. Can she do that?" Star laughed, "As long as she can sleep with you, sure. She'll stay a week in your bed. That's all she talks about." "No bed time, Star, this is business. She's going to need to keep her mouth shut while she's in Lawton too. Oh, can you get me a rental car? Perhaps a four wheel drive small SUV or pickup?" "I'll get it done, Chuck, but you're going to disappoint my precious Lisa." "She'll get over it, I'm sure." "Do you want to get checked out on the B200 on the way? I'm sure she'll love to teach you all about flying a twin turbo prop." "Am I eligible for that?" "Sure, we can begin checking you out in anything now that you've indicated you're trying for a commercial." "Did I indicate a commercial license?" "You sure did, right through a full instructor's license. You, my dear friend, need the hours." "Okay, we'll be there in about an hour to an hour and a half." "That'll be perfect for Lisa. She probably doesn't have a bag packed. She'll be ready; I'll get the plane out for you." We all ate a quick breakfast. I changed clothes into jeans and a heavy blue cotton shirt. I put my desert boots on and felt ready. I put my vest and extra magazines in my gym bag and left for the station. I was checking out two MP5s with six full magazines each when Dave came in. He said, "Sarah was amazingly proud that I was going with you on a tough problem. She said if we were together, we were both in good shape or as she said, in good hands." I made sure he had a vest and extra magazines for his side arm. Dumb me, he was just like me so he had them. I pulled two backpacks, six light space blankets, a dozen small MREs and four large canteens. We broke down the MP5s and put them in cases and hauled our goodies out to the car after saying goodbye to everyone. Out at the air park, Lisa had the B200 out and was standing by the door with the preflight checklist in her hand. "Load your gear and strap it down. Show your buddy how to buckle up and come do the preflight." I told Dave to hold up a minute and went to Lisa. "How about the flight plan? Should I calculate this one from the beginning?" "Can you do it from specs?" "That's how I was taught, Lisa. I used three types of planes during my initial learning so I've had some experience." "Okay good, let's go inside so you can do the whole thing." From the specs and the fuel capacity charts, we could make it to Lawton, without refueling even with a headwind. I checked the route to find there was only one area we had to go around so I noted it on the worksheet and made a note that Lawton was right next to a military base. Both civilian and military aircraft used the facility. I had all the frequencies and locations noted for entry into the controller. I called in the flight plan to initiate it by radio as soon as we were in the air. Lisa nodded as we went out the door. "Good job, Chuck. You did everything the safe way. You'll always be correct doing it that way." I got Dave into his seat, shut the door, and went up front to find Lisa in the right seat. "Um, Lisa, I've not ever flown this before. Shouldn't I try this out in the right seat?" "You need to learn from the left seat, sit." "This first time around, you do the checklist by yourself. If you get stuck, I'll help, but I want you to just go through each step on your own." I took forever to go through the list of items to check and to initiate until both engines and the props were engaged. This was the first time flying a twin and a turbo prop, so I did it exactly by the numbers. It was eerie to increase the power to get the plane to turn tightly and roll toward the taxiway. I called for runway clearance and was given access immediately. We taxied to the end and turned around. Still using the checklist, I rechecked all the settings and gauges and revved up, releasing the brakes. The plane was quick, rolling down the runway until our speed was at liftoff. As soon as we were in the air I said "next" and Lisa said, "Next is on your lap. What does it say?" I did a panic quick scan of the instruments then looked at the book." I adjusted the flaps after pulling the gear up and called in to initiate the flight plan. We were climbing to fifteen thousand feet, so I had to do the cabin pressure adjustments. We were finally at our altitude on our way to our first turn when I finally ran out of items on the check list. Lisa said, "You did great. You did panic a little there when you first took off but recovered very nicely. You were able to find everything the checklist said needed to be found. That was pretty impressive. You've been paying attention in the Lear haven't you?" Lisa commented, "Most everything is close to the same, except the Lear has a lot more instruments and gauges. Okay, I'm going to make coffee or at least show your friend how to make coffee. What's his name?" "Dave, he's a good man." It didn't take Lisa but a couple of minutes to get Dave busy making coffee in the miniature galley built into the plane. Dave was fascinated with the communication terminal on the plane that he could use to surf the internet while in flight. Lisa spent the trip quizzing me on instrument procedures and what to expect during different approaches and landings. When we were approaching Lawton, I called in announcing my location to be sent around on the close pattern. When we were reaching the approach location again we were directed to begin. I used the checklist again, performing each function while keeping the airplane on the correct glide path. Upon landing we were directed to an area that had some military and civilian aircraft. We parked in the specified space right where the tie downs were. As soon as we shut down, a military pickup was out to see us. A couple of MPs got out and asked what our business was. "Uh, this is a public airport. I don't know why I was sent to park here but I was. I am here on some business that is not for public discussion. If it's important, you can have your commanding officer come see me. I will discuss it with him and him only." One of the MPs went to the truck and was talking on the radio. Another truck came racing out from a building to stop next to the first. A second lieutenant got out and said, "So what's this secret business you're on?" "Are you the commanding officer of the adjoining military base?" "I'm as high as you're going to get, now talk to me or you'll be in custody very quick and probably forfeit this aircraft." "Um, come here, Lieutenant. I need to show you something." The young officer came over to me and I showed him my badge. "I'm here on some highly classified business. If you will call this telephone number in D.C. you will be directed as to how to treat me and those with me. The Pentagon liaison office contact is General Perth McCoy. Call him right now, use my cell phone." The Lieutenant looked at me warily, but accepted the phone and dialed the number. He hesitantly asked for General Perth McCoy. As he listened he began to stand up straighter almost coming to attention, you could see the sweat beads pop out on his brow. The lieutenant gave someone the story he had up to now and identified me by my ID. The next thing he was saying was, "Yes Sir, yes Sir, yes Sir, right away Sir, yes Sir, he's right here." The officer handed me my phone and I said, "Johnson." "What the fuck are you doing with some butter bar kid in Oklahoma? I don't want to know, but be nice to him and don't shoot him. I guess you can't warn us when you're traveling, but he says your plane was flagged as soon as you entered the pattern. Do you know why you were flagged, is someone looking for you?" "I don't know, General, but this trip is getting to be a little strange. I think I will get the plane over in the private aircraft area but you can detail a couple of the MPs to watch it from a distance for me. I have a rental car I have to get to over there." The general said, "Let me offer one of the unmarked C.I.D. cars and you can use some of those men if you need them. You can get us some good press like you did those jarheads out at Pendleton. Remember Johnson, they can assist you any way you want but they cannot arrest anyone. You're the peace officer, they are there to assist you." "Thanks, General, I'll leave the plane here and you can billet my pilot. Advise the lieutenant to contact C.I.D. for me and grease the path. I'll be sure to get you some press." I handed the phone back to the butter bar who said several "Yes Sirs" and handed my phone back. The general was gone. The lieutenant used the radio after he sent the first truck that had intercepted us back to where they came from. He came to me, "I'm sorry if I was pushy, Sir. We were alerted a possible domestic terrorist could be arriving here from either the D.C. area or Florida. Your flight plan indicated you came from Florida." "Who alerted you?" "I received notification from the state. I think it was the highway patrol." "Tell you what, Lieutenant, remember all the details, as you will be quizzed by the C.I.D. to establish exactly who notified you. You should call your commanding officer right now, as you will be relieved of duty as soon as the C.I.D. arrives." An unremarkable car was coming toward us, so the officer radioed someone about his situation. I could hear whoever was responding yelling at the poor guy. His day went from bad to horrible in just minutes. A guy with C.I.D. insignia, but no rank, got out of the car and introduced himself. "I am investigator Charleston. I have been directed to assist a Deputy Charles Johnson in any way I can." "I'm Johnson," I said. "First, you need to take this man in for questioning and find out everything he knows about who alerted him about our arrival. When you have found out everything you can, take him and the other men that were with him and keep them incommunicado for at least forty-eight hours. Keep me posted as long as I am within the ability to take your call. Let's get my airplane under cover, find my pilot comfortable quarters and get me somewhere so I can initiate the process for why I am here." Investigator Charleston used his radio and a tow vehicle came to move the airplane. I made sure that Lisa would be taken care of and had Dave move our clothes and gear into the C.I.D. vehicle. A second plain car came out to pick up the lieutenant and we left to ride back to the C.I.D.'s local headquarters. I explained to several interested C.I.D. investigators what the purpose of our mission was and why I was upset that our arrival was anticipated. The next thing to do was to call Bud Anderson. When he answered "Anderson" I just said "Chuck, here, if you can't talk just say it was a wrong number and call me back as soon as possible." Bud said, "Can't you dial the right number, get off my phone." It was about ten minutes later that my phone rang. Bud said, "Good timing. You called right when I was feeding some local cop some bullshit. It's all over that you or someone important is in custody down in Lawton, what's the scoop on that?" "Someone knew help was coming from either D.C. or Florida and that if any airplanes came in from either location, they were to be considered domestic terrorists. We haven't tracked down who was alerting law enforcement yet but the C.I.D. down here are working on it. Have you located the targets?" "Yeah, I have. But you're really going to like this. We're up to at least six now and it's beginning to sound like that mess up in Idaho where there were eleven. I'm thinking some more may be on their way to join these guys and I have our local clerk tracking any escapes that have occurred in the last ten days. Just the sheer number of escapes should alert us something is wrong somewhere. Do you want to take the ones we have now or do you want to keep tabs on them and see if we can pick up the other three that are on their way right now?" I asked, "When do you anticipate the other three should join the six you have?" "It could be as early as tonight, but I'm thinking tomorrow morning sometime. The last three are coming from Chicago and we've tracked stolen vehicles through St. Louis so far. The new escapees don't have a lot of arms yet, but they will when they get here. Apparently two of the men were at a gun show last weekend and purchased several rifles and at least three handguns. They appeared to be flush with cash, so someone is feeding them and someone is warning them." "Tell you what; give me your tactical radio frequency and the GPS location of where the men are right now. I will go check them out and watch them. As soon as the new men arrive, I'll call you to bring in the posse." "Okay, that'll work. Be careful. We don't know how aware these guys are, but we do know they have inside help. Make sure the C.I.D. down there makes it known that you guys are in custody. That might keep the escapees from running again." Bud gave me the coordinates where the men were holed up and said goodbye. The C.I.D. men had heard both sides of the entire conversation as I had put it on speakerphone. The commander of this group wanted to send some of his men with us, but I told him that Dave and I could move faster by ourselves. I also told him it would be nice if we had some reserves to call in that were close by. They rigged us with GPS locators and a radio with multiple frequencies that included the Marshal's Service tactical frequency. They gave us some maps of the area around where we were going, with some roads that were parallel to the ones used to get to the location we wanted to get at. It looked like we would be able to get within a mile of the buildings where the men were. The C.I.D. commander said, "Let me get the air force to do a high level photo recon for us real quick. I'll give them the location and they will have us good pictures inside an hour. While we're waiting, let's eat. Oh and remember that we can assist and support you but only you can arrest someone." We all went to a mess hall that was close by. We found Lisa there being attended to by dozens of security personnel. She was being royally treated and was all smiles. She assured me that the plane was taken care of and was already refueled. A runner came to the mess hall with a large thick envelope. The commander pulled the pictures out and we began looking at the buildings. There was a house, two medium sized sheds, and a large barn. There were no vehicles in sight, so they must be in either the barn or the sheds. Dave and I looked at each other as we checked over the recon photos. He said, "Looks like a ton of cover right up to the back door. You know what would be nice, some night vision equipment. Did you bring noise suppressors for the MP5s?" Before I could tell Dave I had suppressors, the commander said, "I'll get you suppressors for your rifles and sidearms if you need them. I can get you some good nighttime available light equipment as well. Let's get rolling and get your guys in the field. We'll begin to set up a surrounding force. We'll use some of our recon teams to close a perimeter after your escapees have arrived. You call and we'll close." They gave us the radios as well as noise suppressors for our Glocks. We put our vests on under some freshly washed camouflage fatigue shirts. Over that, we put on our tactical vests to hold ammo and supplies. They gave us what looked like a junker Jeep wagon, but in reality it was a very good vehicle in sheep's clothing. The escapees were between Chickasha and Lawton near a small town called Cyril north of I-44. The area was mostly section roads and some meandering cross roads that we used to get about three quarters of a mile from the buildings. We parked in a wet weather gully so the Jeep couldn't be seen but was still close enough for us to get back to. Dave and I loaded up, ready to do some close in recon. We were both probably rusty doing this sort of activity, but it was like the man says; if you know how to ride a bike. Dave was concerned with my leg at first but saw that I could move quietly and very fast through the brush. The heavy brush was tall and thick enough that we were afraid we would walk up on someone outside acting as a guard. We made a complete circle of the buildings looking for someone outside acting as lookout, and then began tightening the circle looking for any anti-personnel equipment or alarms. We did find one anti-personnel alarm on a stump, but whoever had set it out had failed to connect the battery. To make sure it wouldn't be set up properly we cut the power wire inside the battery compartment. The light would go on but it wouldn't transmit. It was becoming dusk, so we worked our way to just outside the light of the house and watched. We did count six men in the house walking around in the kitchen, mostly fixing an evening meal. They were pretty loud, so we were able to pick up some of the conversation. They kept saying they were to be brought something and it should be here soon. Dave and I looked around and went over to a small lean-to near one of the buildings to make sure we had a place for cover. Then we heard it, the thump, thump, thump of a modern commercial civilian helicopter. Not nearly as loud as the military rotary wing aircraft we were used to. We retreated to the lean-to and watched. The helicopter came over the house and made a sweep out to about a hundred yards from the house, shining a big light on the ground. They must have been satisfied as they set down in front of the house. Dave used his binoculars to watch what was going on. He said they were unloading a couple of crates that looked like armament crates, but he couldn't tell from this distance. Dave copied down the numbers on the aircraft. There was a lot of talking then the people who came on the helicopter got back in and it lifted off. The bird used its light to make a pass around the yard again before heading north in the direction it had come from. We were lucky that our Jeep was in the gully south of the property. When all the men were back in the house with their new toys, Dave called the C.I.D. commander and gave him the helicopter number and that it was heading north at that moment. They squawked roger and shut down. I told Dave I wanted to get a look in the buildings and the barn. If I could find their vehicles, I wanted to disable them so they couldn't move easily. We moved stealthily to each smaller building to find only rusted farm equipment. The barn was wide open and did contain two new Ford Expeditions. Using my Kbar I was able to reach up from under underneath and cut the battery cable where it connected to the starter solenoids. They wouldn't get down under the truck in their haste to get out of there. They would look everywhere else. We retreated out about fifty meters in the heavy brush, but kept an eye on the house. Dave found a deep depression about seventy meters out where we were able to get out an MRE each and eat some cold food. We agreed that we would sleep in two hour shifts so we pulled a couple of the camo space blankets out and used one for a ground cloth and one for cover. It was very comfy in the dropping temperature of night. I was sleeping about five AM when Dave woke me, saying there were lights on the road heading this way. We put the blankets away and crept closer to the house. Another SUV pulled up to the house and someone from inside came out holding a rifle. The men from the truck said, "We're from Chicago, you should be expecting us. Come on, man, we need to piss and we're hungry. You got anything to drink?" Dave and I moved back from the house and called in to advise that the expected men were in the house. We were advised that teams would be moving up to close off and surround the buildings. Dave and I watched as men began moving up around the area until they were all in various defensive positions. We moved up until we were almost a part of the leader's team. I touched him and held my hand to my lips. He jumped but didn't make a sound. He looked very shocked and near angry. I pulled him back a little and said, "I'm going to go up next to the house and announce our presence. I'll give them the opportunity to come out with their hands behind their heads. If they fire, you can fire. If they stick a weapon out the window you can fire. If they call you names, you can fire. They are not nice people and I sure would like to question them, but don't let any of your men get hurt. You will protect your men above all else. Now radio your other men that I'm going up next to the building. If they have night vision equipment on, they should shut it off as it's going to get bright." I started to leave him, but stopped and asked, "You have any flash bangs? That would get their attention." "We have a couple; let me get them for you." The team leader brought me two. I gave one to Dave and I said, "Let's sync our watches." We made them to the second then I said, "Make it exactly three minutes. You take this side window that's probably a bedroom, and I'll take the kitchen window. As soon as you throw it in, get out of there. I'll plug my ears and cover my eyes, but will start yelling and giving them a chance to give up as soon as the flash and noise stops. You know what to do if they resist." I made my way around the house, hoping the team leader advised all of the teams that we were going to set off some fireworks. I saw one group off to the side sprawled on the ground with cover ready for their heads. I was getting close to the back window when the kitchen door opened and one of the escapees came out on the little back porch. His eyes weren't used to the dark yet and I was right in front of him. He had a handgun in his pants and was reaching for it, but I let off a round into his chest before his gun cleared his pants. He fell off to the side. Thank goodness the noise suppressor was new and there was hardly any sound. I could hear men inside through the open window talking low. I checked my watch as the second hand came up to the twelve, I pulled the pin and pitched the canister inside. There were some immediate, "What?" "Oh shit!" and a few other expletives, but I had my ears plugged and my head down with my eyes squeezed shut. Boom! Those fucking things were loud, even outside. I rolled onto my feet and began yelling. "Give up, Give up, you are surrounded by armed forces. Come out unarmed with your hands on your heads. Give up and live. We will shoot. Come out unarmed, give up now and live." The back door opened and a guy looked out. He couldn't see me low against the building and he came out with what looked like a hunting rifle with a scope. He had the rifle at the ready, so he wasn't giving up. Before I could let a round go, one of the troops fired, knocking the man down. Another guy stuck his head out then pulled it back in. I heard some rounds go off from the other side of the building and another couple on the side of the house. "Give up, give up, come out unarmed with your hands on your heads. Give up and live." I kept my position as I was out of the line of fire and I had a clear firing lane to the door and the window over my head. The door opened and a man was coming out with his hands on top of his head. I told him, "Move out away from the door and lay flat on the ground with your hands extended above your head. Don't move, your life depends on it." Another came out the back door and I repeated the instructions telling him to stay away from the man already on the ground. I hollered for Dave to advise me of his count in front. He yelled, "I have three down and two prisoners." With my four there was one missing. "There's one more. There should be ten total. I have two down and two prisoners. You take the front, I'll take the back, let's get him out of there." I entered the door slowly looking everywhere to see any sign. I flipped on the lights and found a guy with blood running from his ears and mouth lying on the floor. I yelled, "I got him, he's down." Dave came in and I said, "Quick, have all the men searched and bring all the cell phones in here so we can watch them. I have an idea." Soon we had five cell phones on the table. I called Bud. "They're all in at the house. Make your calls and get your posse out here. There are a total of ten men here now." After I closed my phone, we waited about five minutes. then one of the cell phones began ringing. I wrote down the number then answered it. "Yeah?" "Move, your location is known. You have about thirty minutes, so move to the next location." Another cell phone rang, so I had Dave do the honors. He said "Yeah." The caller said almost the same thing. I called the C.I.D. command to advise them we had taken the objective and to give them the two telephone numbers so we could begin tracking them. Dave and I had handcuffs, so we cuffed the live prisoners and had one of the teams transport them back to the base so they could be put in their stockade and questioned there. Dave and I went through the house thoroughly and found a good amount of cash, plus some maps with locations marked, sequentially numbered. The C.I.D. commander rolled up outside so I gave him the maps and said, "Take your troops and check each of these locations for me. Bring in anyone there so a Deputy Marshal can question them, but otherwise just leave them as they are so we can take them apart later. Dave said, "Did you have to do any of them?" "One." "I did two of them. You think we could pass it off on the GIs." "Naw, tell it like it is. These guys didn't want to give up." The C.I.D. commander came back inside and said, "I have teams heading to each of the locations. We should have them covered by seven or eight o'clock. Don't you want to know about the chopper?" "Oh yeah, did you get it already?" "We had Oklahoma City radar track it. It came down right next to the one of our observation posts out at the airport. We held the men until your people could take them into custody and you guys now have a new helicopter. We found a few cases of rifles, ammo and some RPGs. What did they bring out here?" "I didn't even look yet." The wooden cases had some coffee mugs on them so we pulled them off and lifted the lids of the opened crates. Two whole cases of RPGs. I sure was glad they forgot about them when we attacked. Bud and a bunch of trucks full of State police and deputy marshals pulled up. Bud came in and asked, "Didn't wait I see. Did they try to make a break for it?" "Nope, thought we might want to do some investigating. Can you get all your men in here? I want to talk to them a minute." I whispered some instructions to Dave and the C.I.D. commander. When they were all together in the living room, I noted some C.I.D. team members were at the doors. At that second, a phone began ringing. "Whose phone is that? Would you please answer it or shut it off?" I noted the man whose phone had been ringing. He had just pushed the call off instead of answering it. Another phone began ringing. "Jesus, don't you guys know how to turn your phones off when you're out on a capture?" I noted the second guy whose phone had been ringing. Dave came in and walked up to the first guy and pointed his gun at his head, "Please slowly turn around and put your hands behind your back." I was standing next to the other guy whose phone had rung and held my Glock at him with the long noise suppressor still screwed on. He looked at me with a totally defeated look. "Yep, you're next. Turn and put your hands behind your head." "Who knows these two?" A man came up and said, "They are both part of the State Police tactical squad. Are they implicated in this somehow?" "They each called one of the escapees to warn them we were coming. We had already taken the house when I called Bud. As soon as he organized his posse, these two called out here. We had the cell phones on the table waiting." Bud came over and said, "I'm not mad at you now. I was furious that you took these guys by yourself after I had been chasing them for four months. I was pissed but now that I understand, I have to say that was some slick work. How did you get the Rangers to help you out? That was another neat trick." The C.I.D. commander said, "These two did the work. They had the place covered, including disabling the cars. They could probably have taken them by themselves but they let us help. I understand you snuck up on one of my teams. The guy's still pissed that you walked right up on him. Are you two some kind of Indian or something?" Dave smiled and said, "Jarheads." The C.I.D. commander asked, "Scouts?" Dave nodded. The team leader we had walked up on came up and said, "Figures. Damn, we have to get better." The local station chief had called the Oklahoma City coroner, as they didn't have cleanup crews here. I told Bud, "You might want to help interrogate these men and the men from your new helicopter the Army confiscated for you. They had dropped off a couple of cases of RPGs for our escapees. I think we need to do some thorough investigation to find out where, what, how, and why. How about I make you the team leader on this witch hunt? You can have all the resources necessary to get the answers. Want the job?" Bud smiled, "Damn right, I do. I don't have anyone expecting me home and I would love to work this. I might need a couple more deputies, but I want the job. Can you do that? Can you pull me from my station to work something like this?" "You bet I can, and I will call my office manager to cut the orders for you as soon as she opens in Tampa. Now, I don't know about any of you, but I'm hungry. I'm sure Dave is too, so let's pick up our gear, go get the Jeep, and head back to the mess hall for some food." The remaining teams began cleaning up, making sure they had all their equipment. We left the local law enforcement and the other deputies on site to finish up. I'm sure Bud would take all the places apart thoroughly before he left the area. Dave and I were driven to our Jeep in a Humvee. We drove back to the base in a convoy and drove directly to the mess hall. We both washed our hands and went to the line to begin piling on the food. When we sat down with some of the teams and the C.I.D. commander, I pulled up my pants so I could loosen my boot and re-strap it. The team leader said, "You have a fake leg? You have that and you walked up on me? No fucking way." Dave said, "Way. The way this man was trained, he can walk up right in front of you and you won't see him, I know, I trained him. His ability to move quietly is why he's still alive and only lost a leg. If you can log on to our site, check out Charles Johnson. He's some kind of deputy." "Dave's blowing smoke. I'm just good at moving quietly that's all." The team leader said, "We didn't see you either. You did walk right up in front of us and we didn't see you. One of my men even had night vision on. You did a hell of a job blending into your surroundings. We need to learn that better." I asked the C.I.D. commander, "Did you let the lieutenant go yet? I don't think he can hurt or help the investigation any more." "Yeah, I let him go. He was so scared he almost pissed his pants. He did remember exactly who had advised him and we are tracking it backwards. Be sure to give me your office numbers so I can keep you posted on our progress. This is good for my men. They need to have something to do other than busting kids with a joint or for trying to steal a weapon." When we were finished eating, I asked, "Is there a place where Dave and I can get cleaned up. I think our pilot would appreciate us to be bathed before we get into an enclosed airplane." They gave us a room in the BOQ so we could clean up and change. We gave them their fatigue shirts back as well as the noise suppressors for our Glocks and the night vision equipment. They did have some nice stuff. While getting cleaned up I called Wanda to let her know the capture was complete. I told her I would fill her in when I got home. She said there was nothing important pending so I asked to be transferred to the station. Sarah answered instead of Bobby and told me she had taken the afternoon off as she said she was going to Sarasota to visit. I let Dave have the phone so he could assure Sarah he was fine. While he was talking to her, he was looking at me nervously. I wonder what that was about. We were able to find Lisa and get our airplane out of a hangar. Lisa smiled at me and said, "Get the card, Student, and let's get this show on the road. There are probably a couple of thousand virile men here who could take care of my itch and I had to tell them all that I was off limits. Get me out of here, quick before I go back and do them all." The C.I.D. commander came out and shook Dave's and my hands. I thanked him one more time and assured him that he and the recon teams would be rewarded in recognition for their work. He watched as I did the preflight with Lisa watching over me. Inside the plane, I called in a flight plan and activated it as I was going down the list while starting the engines. When it was time, I took a deep breath and called for taxi and takeoff instructions. A couple of minutes later, I was pushing buttons on the GPS, routing us back home. Before I could put all the information in, Lisa said, "Put in the info to get us to Little Rock. You need to land there, and then let's hit Huntsville, followed by Tallahassee. We can do Brooksville too before we get home. You need a lot of hours and lot of landings. I made a big piece of cardboard so you won't be able to see out. Just like a hood. Now punch in Little Rock, it's close." At Huntsville, Dave asked if he could go potty and get some sandwiches and water. We did a touch and go at a small airport in southern Mississippi followed by complete landing at Tallahassee. Brooksville was sort of difficult, as their glide slope equipment seemed to be off, but I was able to get the plane onto the ground. When I lined up with the air park, I was happy to finish. After we landed, Lisa filled out a bunch of information in my logbook and told me to call her for more hood time. I happily left the park, and drove Dave home, as the office had been closed a long time by then. I pulled into the driveway at nine. The side of the house was torn up with the construction. The girls at home happily welcomed me. Bobby was down in Sarasota at her Mom's, Marie was with Dennis, and Jan was out with one of her friends. That left me with warm Wanda and smiling Angie. The treat was Tiani was visiting with Angie, so while I rummaged in the fridge for food and had a drink, I was brought up to date on the craziness of the foxy five-some on the next block. Wanda took my bags and emptied them, noting how filthy my clothes were. While we were in the kitchen, I broke my Glock down and cleaned it under Wanda's watchful eye. While I was cleaning my gun, she idly pulled rounds from the magazine and lined them up. When she had them counted, she put them back in and left the kitchen to return with a single round. She slid the missing round into the magazine and smiled at me. She asked, "Do you have some reports to write?" "I do, and I'll do them in a few minutes. I have all the names of my helpers on my pad. There's a lot of credit to go around on this one." "Will you tell it all?" "Sure, but they only want the high points. We do have an investigation that I've initiated and assigned a full time deputy to. I'll get you the information so you can publish his orders separating him from his station while he works on this case." Wanda said, "I'm never sure whether it's a good idea to let you out to fight for justice. Since I sort of know Dave and looked up where he came from, I'm sure the two of you were a formidable force." "I'll tell you one thing, Wanda, when I have something happening that I want a sidekick, it's going to be Dave. We worked very well together." I said, "You know this is Friday night. We were supposed to go out to the trailer park. I guess they'll understand." Tiani and Angie had disappeared into Angie's bedroom. I stretched and said, "I think I'll take a shower and hit the bed early. We didn't get much sleep last night. I need some extra rest." Wanda said, "Why don't I help you go to sleep? I'll stay with you so you won't be lonely until Bobby gets home." Wanda did her best to use up the last of my energy. It was fun and the result was very relaxing. I was down for the count. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 41 The weekend was a little strained without Bobby around and not knowing what was up. I did a few honey-do type repairs inside the house that needed to be done and laid out in the sun a lot. I was silly hanging around home thinking Bobby would come strolling in any second. Monday morning, I woke at my usual time, completely rested. Wanda was wrapped around me, but the other side of the bed was still empty. I slid from bed, slipped on my peg and a pair of shorts and went out side for some stretching and a few forms. While I was forming my mind kept wandering to Bobby and where she might be. I suppose I didn't have a chain on her, and she was a grown woman, free to do what she wanted. Still, it was unusual that she wouldn't call after our intense relationship for over a year. When I finished, I saw that I had been joined by Wanda, Marie, and Jan. Angie and Dennis were sitting by the pool watching. We all went in the pool, swimming for the exercise value, but not to wind ourselves. After the swim, Wanda and I showered outside, with me giving her long breasts some special attention. She loved the scalp massage I gave her as I washed her short hair. The girls living in the house were unusual in that all of them had fairly short hair. Marie had the longest, cut in a short page boy while Jan had the shortest with almost a long man's cut. They all claimed it was easier for them to take care of and didn't require long bouts with the hair dryer. We had a nice breakfast with all of us speculating on Bobby's adventures and return. Marie was quiet and didn't offer anything, and since she was with Dennis, I didn't think too much about it. At work, I was immediately engulfed in having to complete my incident reports and my version of the capture report. I wrote up separate commendations for the C.I.D. unit as well as the special recon teams that assisted us. I sent the complete capture report to John's office so he could spread the news through the branches as to how well the Army had responded. I even included the Air Force recon photo assistance so an additional branch received some credit. Bud called about ten to tell me he had several leads, but no real good theories of what this gathering of escapees really meant. I called D.C. to talk to one of the heads of the Bureau of Prisons. They had no idea what the two incidents meant, but listened to my suggestion of cutting off internet access and/or to be sure to monitor the net activity. I felt the only way they could be making contact would probably be through the net. After that conversation, I went over to the station to see if Bobby was in. She wasn't and Marie said she had called in early this morning to advise Sarah she wouldn't be in today. This was unusual. I wondered if there was a family illness. Back in my office, I called down to Bobby's parents' house. Maxine answered, so I asked how everyone was doing. Maxine seemed to be nervous about something, but answered that everyone was fine. When I asked if Bobby was there she paused a long time before answering me that no she wasn't there right then. She did say that she was sure Bobby would call me soon. Lunch was a quick run down the street for some deli sandwiches for my office, followed by my finally catching up with the endless supply of paperwork that flowed through the office. At two o'clock, I called out to the air park to find out if Lisa could accompany me for some hood time. Star said for me to come out and she would get Lisa or another instructor for me. By two-thirty, I was doing a preflight inspection on a 172 when Lisa came driving up in her Mustang convertible. She hopped out, in a pair of shorts and skimpy tank top, and walked up to me saying, "How's my favorite student today? Are you ready for some blind flying?" Lisa filed a VFR flight plan today and did the actual takeoff while I was behind the hood. As soon as we were up, and according to the instruments, heading west, Lisa gave me coordinates for the Davis Island airport and told me to land there first. The flight path to get to the approach was difficult as you had to avoid the Air Force Base and Tampa International. If you went too far west then you were into the pattern for the downtown St. Pete airport. I called TPA air traffic and requested permission to fly below their pattern at thirty-five hundred feet. I was able to skirt the outer edge of the McDill Air Force Base pattern then make a wide arc to line up for Davis Island. As we were just about to touch down, Lisa said to apply power and pull up. She told me to fly up to Zephyrhills to use their new landing equipment. Since we were still VFR, I climbed to five thousand feet, homing in on their beacon. I entered the pattern and requested landing instructions and was told to please observe the skydivers south of the pattern. There were always NOTAMS, (notices to airmen) for skydivers in that area, so most everyone just stayed away from that air space. It wouldn't be fun to have someone with a parachute land on your airplane as you passed through. Again, Lisa had me pull up before we touched down. She told me that we should see if Brooksville was working right, so we flew toward the airport there. When you're behind the hood, the instructor has to be your eyes to watch for other aircraft at or around your flight level. When I entered the pattern and asked for instructions, the tower advised their instrument landing equipment was under repair. If we wished to land for fuel or business to please advise. Lisa radioed back that we were a training flight so we would bypass the hospitality today. Lisa said, "Head to Clermont. I haven't been in there for a while. They have some newer equipment that's supposed to be nice. They also have a nice operations building with clean restrooms. I need a potty right now." I entered the pattern and requested permission to land. They answered back, "Do not attempt to land on the runway. We have a sinkhole forming on the side of the main runway. If you have to come in, use the grass strip." Lisa said, "Damn, I have to pee. Head to Zephyrhills again; they're closest and should give us a straight in if they answer. If not, just use the instruments and get us down and over by operations. Since there was no answer, I declared my position and intention to land. Using the signals from their equipment, I brought the plane down to touch down the wheels and to drop the nose. Lisa said, "I got it" and taxied to the small operations building. I shut down and accompanied Lisa inside to use the facilities. There was no one at the operations counter, but that wasn't all that unusual as at a lot of small airfields, the operations desk person has many other jobs. When we finished, no one was at the counter yet so Lisa hollered, "Sandy, are you here?" There was some banging from the other side of the operations counter so I looked over the top to see a lady with short brown hair lying on the floor gagged and hog tied so she couldn't get up. I went around the counter quickly and pulled off the scarf that had been over her mouth. While I was loosening the ropes holding her, she began telling us that someone she didn't know had just come into operations with a gun telling her he wanted an airplane. She said she told the guy she didn't have possession of any airplanes as they didn't have a local rental program. The guy was perturbed and tied her up and left her there. She didn't know where he was, but he had just left. While I was still down behind the counter untying the operations attendant, I heard, "Hold it right there, lady, don't move. See this gun, I mean business. You behind the desk, stand up slowly and know I'll use this gun if you make a move." I motioned for the attendant to remain on the floor as I pulled my Glock and moved to the edge of the counter. Luckily the swinging door to the counter area was propped open so I could get out from the counter without him seeing me. It's difficult to duck walk with a fake leg, but that had been one of the exercises the rehab people made me do, so I was able to move around the counter keeping low. "I told you to stand up. I won't hurt you if you stand up now. Don't make me mad or I'll start shooting up the place. I want your airplane. Just throw me the keys and I'll be out of your hair." I was now on the far side of him while Lisa was away from the center of the counter and completely out of the line of fire. I stood up and said, "If you put your gun down, you will not have to spend a long time in jail. If you use it, your jail time will be a lot longer. If you were to harm one of us, then it's needle time. How about putting your gun on the floor and sitting down. You really don't want to spend the rest of your life in jail." "I ain't spending ten minutes in jail. I'm flying out of here right now in your airplane. I think I'm going to have me some pussy before I leave and you're going to refuel that airplane for me too. Now get out here so I can tie you up." I said one more time, "Do yourself a favor. Put your gun on the floor and sit down. This is an important decision you're about to make. Do it now." The man was getting mad and began raising his gun. I dropped down behind the counter as he fired a round that went high, shattering a window behind me. I shifted my Glock to my left hand and leaned out around the side of the counter. He saw me and was lowering his gun when two of my rounds went into his chest and the third hit his head. His gun went skittering across the floor as he fell. "Lisa, turn around, don't look at him. Sandy, please call the police. Do you have a blanket or something I can cover him with? Sorry ladies, I didn't have a choice, he fired at me and was going to shoot again." Lisa did turn away, but had a shocked look on her face. The attendant, Sandy, was on the phone trying to convince the 911 operator that there had just been a shooting at the airport and one man was probably dead. She finally convinced someone she was for real. She looked at the handset for about fifteen seconds before hanging up. She too turned away and said, "In the closet over between the bathrooms are some emergency weather blankets. You can use one of those." I pulled out a blanket and spread it over a bloody, obviously very dead guy. I would let the local cops do all the work as I was not on duty and was just defending myself. The airplane hijacker just made an unfortunate choice of locations to steal an airplane. A single car came with a single policeman. He came into the operations building saying loudly, "Sandy, 911 isn't a joke. You can only use it for emergencies, what,,,, ?" The policeman stopped dead when he saw the body covered with the blanket. He frantically looked around and spied my sidearm. He pulled his gun and said, "Lift your gun from your holster and put in down." "Before I do that, let me show you my badge. I'm a deputy U.S. Marshal. I gave the man opportunity to give up and tried multiple times to discourage him. He fired at me once and was about to fire again when I returned fire." "Show me your badge, but come a little closer. I'll probably have to have your weapon." I handed him the badge wallet and he looked at it. He turned to Sandy and said, "You better call in again, I need a detective and I don't know who else." Sandy said, "Use your radio or is that thing you're wearing for looks. No one believed me when I called in the first time." The policeman realized he was wearing a portable. He called in to request assistance, automatically saying, "11-99 for a 10-55. 10-87 at the airport operations building." His speaker came back with, "Repeat that." The officer keyed his mike again and said loudly, "Christ, I need help. I have a dead guy out at the airport operations building. Send me help, now. That's an 11-99 for a 10-55. 10-87 at the airport operations building." The speaker came back with, "Do you really have a shooting with a dead person?" The officer just stood there grimacing. He keyed his mike and said, "Yes, that's what I said. Please get out here, this dead guy smells bad." I told Sandy and Lisa, "Why don't you two go out and sit in the shade. I'll bring you both some water." The two girls went outside, so I went to the vending machine and was going to put in money but the door was open. I pulled four bottles of water from the cabinet and closed the door. I handed the policeman a bottle and said, "The casings of my three rounds are over by the end of the counter. When you're ready, I'll give you a statement." I had just handed the girls bottles of water when four cars, including two marked cars, came sliding to a stop in the gravel parking lot. Four plainclothes detectives and four uniforms with lots of rank showing came running into the building. We could hear another siren coming and it turned out to be a coroner's van. A detective came out and went to the trunk of his car. He came back with a few pair of rubber gloves, a kit, and a camera. As soon as he went inside, another detective came out and asked for my weapon. "My sidearm is registered with the U.S. Marshal's office. The ballistics characteristics are on file with the FBI, the Marshal's service, and the FDLE. A federal officer's sidearm is never to be given up. Please consult your district attorney or the FDLE." The guy just looked at me and couldn't think of a response so went back into operations. Sandy said, "Thank you, Chuck. Lisa said that was your name. Thank you for freeing me and thank you for defending us. That is horrible that a man had to die, but you gave him several warnings. I can't imagine where he thought he could go to. Even flying under a thousand feet, someone would pick him up, follow him, and capture him. One of the uniforms with Captain's bars on his collar came out. "Can I check your ID again? The officer inside said you were Charles Johnson." I handed the officer my ID and he looked at it. "Are you the senior deputy from Tampa?" I nodded. "I was with Tampa PD when you were having your war about a year ago. Your name is imprinted on my mind. This guy sure picked the wrong person to pick on. What did he want?" Sandy began telling the story of how he had come in and had tied her up. Luckily Lisa and I needed to use the rest room and that's why we happened to be in the operations building. The officer said, "I'll send a detective out to take both of your statements. If you would, Deputy Johnson, could you come in and show us what happened and we'll get a statement from you at the same time." I went inside and showed them where I had been behind the counter and how I had gone to the outer edge so Lisa wouldn't be in the line of fire. The older cop asked, "You're right handed right?" I nodded. "You shot the man with your left hand?" I nodded again. "Are you that good with a gun?" "That's not that good. I'm sure you qualify with both hands individually and together." The older guy said, "I never could shoot worth a hoot with my left hand. Sure I can hit a target but I could never be that accurate with both hands." "All it is, is practice. I haven't been practicing with my left hand lately, but you can bet I'll start again." My cell phone rang. It was Wanda, "We were just notified that there was an escape from the Orlando holding area this morning. The escapee is somehow linked to those men from Oklahoma. I've sent out an e-mail cautioning all law enforcement to watch for possible escape attempts. Angie and Conish are calling all of the jail and custody facilities in our region to be extra careful." "Thanks, Wanda, send another e-mail memo and create an S.O.P. to restrict all internet use by prisoners. If we have to, we'll just pull the internet service from those units. They can use the phone. There is no law that says we have to provide internet service to prisoners." I asked, "Have you heard from Bobby yet?" "Um no, but I'll talk to you when you get back. I've heard about her but not from her." "Ah, I may be a while. I'm at the Zephyrhills airport. I've been involved in a shooting. Some idiot was trying to steal our airplane and shot at us." Wanda said, "I take it that his actions were unwise and had fatal results." "They did. I'm trying to get done with the investigation as we speak." "If you need to be bailed out, call me. Otherwise, we're having fish for dinner, out at the trailer park. Mercy called me to invite us out. Their fishing charter service brought back a bunch of fish so we're invited to enjoy the food." "I'll meet you out there later. I'm not sure how long this will take. Do I need to write up an incident report for this? This isn't Marshal business." "You will need to make a report. You used a firearm provided by the service and you were actually on duty, learning to fly." "Okay, I can never skate, can I?" We hung up and I was pleasantly surprised when an older detective showed me a handwritten statement that was exactly as I had told it. "Good job Detective. You've got it. Let me sign that thing for you and we'll get Sandy to copy it for me. Would you sign it as well?" The older Captain came up to us right then and said, "I think this guy is an escapee from Orlando. He's one of yours, Chuck, he's a federal prisoner in the process of being transferred to Leavenworth." I called Wanda back, "Is there a description of the escapee? Does he have any identifying marks?" There was a pause as Wanda was pulling up the description, "He has tattoos. One on his chest is a cowboy lassoing a cowgirl, several names on his right arm, and a large flowery drawing with mom in the center." I opened the dead guy's shirt to see the cowboy throwing a rope around a naked cowgirl. "Advise Orlando their escapee is not going anywhere. He unfortunately is not available to be incarcerated any longer. Can you fax the prisoner's info and sheet to me? Let me get you the number." I gave her the number and advised the police officer that the dead guy was ours. I called the station and told Sarah that I unfortunately ran into the Orlando escapee. I needed a cleanup unit at the Zephyrhills airport operations building. I would hold up the locals from moving things around. I was sure they would share with our guys. The fax was spitting out the info sheet on the prisoner complete with a fuzzy photograph. It wasn't so fuzzy that you couldn't tell it was the same man. I asked the detectives to please share their information with my techs when they arrived so we could get the stiff out of the building. I said my crew should be able to clean up the stains before they left. Outside, I told Lisa, "The folks at the park are having fish from the charter service tonight. If we get out of here in time, you should come out." Lisa said, "I have a martial arts class at seven that I hope I'm not late for. I really enjoy it. I've watched you and can tell you've had training. Was it all in the military?" "It was all while I was in the military, but it wasn't all from military training. I enjoyed the arts and studied several forms during the time I was in the service." "That's neat." Then Lisa asked, "Do you use Tae Chi?" "I do, it is my way to prepare for a tough day and it can be the way I settle down if I'm upset." "I know," Lisa said. "I get so wound up sometimes that my saving grace is to be able to use Tae Chi to relax." A white van with U.S. Marshal written on it came into the parking lot. The two techs came in and introduced themselves and asked what had been done so far. The detectives and the uniforms shared their information with the techs. They even downloaded their pictures onto the tech's laptop. The techs gathered copies of the statements and made a copy of the prisoner data I had received. The two told the coroner to hold the body and to not dispose of it until the next of kin if any could be notified. They helped the coroner load the body with the comment, "Chuck left his trademark corpse, a couple in the body and at least one in the head. It's been a while since we've seen one." The older officer said, "I heard you were a terror there for a while. I even saw you use a piece of steel for an umbrella at the hotel. That was pretty slick." I asked the techs to forward my ballistics info to the local police department. They said it would be done. One of the techs came back from the truck and asked for my weapon. When I handed it to him, he dropped the magazine and put three fresh rounds into it. He said, "Can't have you going around with a half empty weapon." As he handed it back to me I pulled my spare magazine from my back pocket to show him. "I should have known. You're a good scout, always prepared." The cleanup guys had cleaned the tile so that you couldn't tell a dead guy had bled all over it. Sandy thanked them profusely and said, "I can't believe how slow it's been. Usually I get several aircraft in and out of here, especially with our low gas prices." It was getting to be right at five-fifteen, so Lisa and I said goodbye to everyone and began the preflight inspection. We were soon in the air and almost immediately on approach to the air park. Lisa pulled up to the hangar and said, "I'll write up a low fuel notice and hang it on the yoke. Let's get out of here. You want to eat and I want to get to my class." Lisa hugged me and said, "Thank you. Before, I always liked guns and the power they represented. Today I saw for myself how powerful they really are. I also learned that using that power isn't what you think it is. Thank you, Chuck." I drove the short distance to the trailer park. As soon as I entered the patio, Wanda handed me a drink and said, "I'm glad you're alright," while Angie and Marie hugged me, saying that it was all over the news how a deputy marshal had been in a gun fight. I realized I still had my holster on, so I went out to the car and put my Glock and holster into the glove box and locked the car. Now I felt more at ease around all the kids. Sue, Mercy, Kathy, and Juanita all gave me hugs with Sue and Mercy insisting I kiss them as well. Kathy said, "You're as bad as Steve. You two are scary the way you can be in danger like that and just brush it off. That's why I left before so just be patient with me, Chuck. You're a nice guy, but you scare me." Sue said, "Now, Kathy will cut Steve off for a week worrying he'll do something like that too. It's not your fault, Chuck, you did what you had to do. I'm glad you're alright." Strange, the whole evening no one asked about Bobby. We all ate and had some good conversation and beer. As it got late, I suggested we head home. Marie said Dennis would bring her home later. Angie and Jan went with Wanda. As soon as I walked into the house, I could tell something was different. I walked into the bedroom to take off my leg and put on my slip on peg. When I went into the closet to hang up my pants and jacket, the difference was very obvious. All of Bobby's clothes were gone. I looked into the drawers and they were empty as well. The few pictures of her family were gone, as was the plaque for her promotion to station chief. I sat on the bed trying to figure this out but couldn't. I suppose I had to be like I had heard my dad say one time. "If you love them, let them go. If it's right, they will be back." "Are her clothes gone?" I nodded, "It looks like all of them. She didn't have a lot of personal stuff. She lived in the safe houses for so long that she was used to not having a lot of personal items to move. What do you know, Wanda, what's up?" "I don't know anything really. Sarah said that you were to call or go see Millie. She wanted to talk to you." I took the peg off and slid on a pair of jeans and put my leg back on. Wanda asked, "Where are you going?" "Down to Jonah's to see Millie." Wanda asked, "Can I come with you?" I said, "Sure. but I'm going to ride." "Good, I like to ride and you haven't been very generous about giving rides lately. Let me put some jeans on and I'll be ready." It was probably good that Wanda was going with me to hold me down a little. I was wound up enough to possibly ride a little more aggressively than I should. It didn't take but fifteen minutes to ride down to Jonah's. As soon as I came in the bar, Millie saw me, she looked around, and came up to me. "Get a beer and let's talk out back. Do you want Wanda to hear this?" "Sure, Wanda is very close to Bobby." We went out to the big deck and porch that covered most of the backyard behind the bar. After sitting down with our beer, Millie began, "I guess you saw that Bobbie moved out. I told her she was nuts, Michelle said she was crazy, Mom said the same thing, and the two girls are ready to come up and move in with you. I want you to know, before I say anything else, the whole family really likes you and will welcome you in our homes and in our arms anytime. You were the person to give us our Bobby back, so much so that she's become a little crazy." Millie looked all over but couldn't look me in the eye. "This is the hard part. I found out a little while ago that Bobby has moved in with some professional wrestler. I don't want you to go hurt anyone, but Danny and she used to be close with this guy and his ex-wife. He showed up here one night when Bobby was here while you were out of town and he has been all over her since or so she says. She said she's always had a crush on this guy and wants to see what he's like. I'm sure you'll find out everything even as it won't necessarily be public record, but it will come to light pretty fast. Bobby is appearing with this guy on TV this coming weekend at a wrestling match being held in Orlando. Most of the family is pretty big on wrestling, so they'll find out too, as they will be watching. Please, Chuck, don't hurt either of them. You're an adult, if you need to talk to someone, call me. Call Jonah. Call Mom. Christ, this is just terrible. I really thought you two were the done deal." "Don't worry, Millie, you can assure everyone that I'm not a lovesick crazy. I do love the lady, but I can let her go. It does make me angry that she couldn't talk to me about it. I'm disappointed about that, but I can live with it. My job is busy enough that I won't have much time to worry about it, will I, Wanda?" "You have been busy lately," Wanda said. "Millie, he can't even take a flying lesson without getting into a shoot out. Did you hear what happened out at Zephyrhills?" "Was that you? They said on the news it was a gunfight," Millie said concerned. "Did you get shot at?" I nodded, "It turned out to not be that threatening. It was over quickly." "Still, Chuck, that's so bizarre. You go flying and you end up in a gunfight. That's one of the things Bobby said scared her so bad. She said she was going to get someone who wasn't going to get shot. She said your trip to Oklahoma was all she could take." "It's our job. She knows that. I thought she was over it. I'm sorry she feels that way. Do you know what she's going to do about work?" "She said she's taking two or three weeks leave. She apparently has a few months leave time coming. She said she has a strong assistant so it wasn't a problem." "That answers the question as to why Sarah and Marie were so distant. Thanks, Millie. I'll miss your family. I was thinking you-all were going to be the family I didn't have. Tell all of them to call if they need me. Come on, Wanda, tomorrow's a work day. See you, Millie." Millie got up and gave me a big hug, with tears streaming down her cheeks. She choked as she said, "Bye, Chuck, don't be a stranger. This is still a good place to come for a beer and, Chuck, you know Mom and Dad will welcome you anytime you're in the area. The girls will always enjoy seeing you." I rode the bike back to the house at a reasonable speed, not wanting any kind of confrontation. After putting it away, I shucked my clothes, got a tall Beefeaters and turned on the hot tub. Wanda joined me with a drink, then Jan and Angie came out with glasses in their hands and sat with us. Marie came out with a Coke can and slid into the bubbles. We all sat thinking of our lost family member. "You know, I love all of you, you too, Marie. I'm so happy you've found a special guy. Now I need to find guys for you Jan, Angie, and you, Wanda." Wanda said, "I don't know whether I want a permanent guy. I'm pretty content the way my life is right now. You're all the man I could want in my life right now, so I think I'm content." Then it was Jan's turn, "You know I still like girls probably more than guys. Other than out at the park, you've been my only man. I'm still partial to you, so I don't think I want another guy right now. You can send me some sweet young girl if you want, but other than a toy to play with, I'm happy. I have my job, my friends, and my lovers here at home." "What if Dennis isn't the guy?" Marie said, wondering. "What if we're not perfect for each other? I think I really love the guy. I just got done making love to him, and left him sleeping in my bed to come be with another man I love to be with. But, Chuck, I'm a faithful person and won't sleep with you while Dennis is around. I hope you understand." "Of course, Marie, I love you even more for it." "Come on, gang, let's go to bed," I said standing. "Tomorrow will come early. Let's not talk about this away from the house. I'm sure everyone will find out soon enough. Marie, if someone asks, tell the truth. That's the way it should be." We got out, shut the tub down, and covered it. Marie and Angie headed toward their suites, while Jan and Wanda followed me to my bedroom. Jan asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight, too? I know Wanda likes to be in here, so do I, can I?" "Sure, but how about us just sleeping tonight? I'll enjoy being snuggled with both of you." We lay down and I had a head on each shoulder. They each gave me a very sweet meaningful kiss, and I listened to their breathing change as they drifted off to sleep. I lay thinking about Bobby. I wanted to cry because of the loss, but somehow, I knew something like this was going to happen. I didn't feel like I had lost her forever, but I sure had lost her for right now. My mind was settling down, I was relaxing, even while thinking about the crazy day it had been. I was tired. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 42 Oh my goodness, that feels so good. Oh, oh, it won't be long. I put my hand on the head that was moving back and forth on me. The hair was very short, it was Jan's. I looked down at her and she smiled up at me, "I just love to suck you. This is so pleasant. I love what you give me too. Give it to me, Chuck, I want it." Wanda woke just then and kissed me softly. "Aren't you the lucky one? Your dark-haired lesbian beauty is giving you something she would never give another man. You are so lucky." Wanda's kisses and touches, coupled with Jan's insistent mouth, were pushing me over. I launched shot after shot into Jan's sucking mouth. When I was empty she came up and gave me a spermy kiss then gave one to Wanda. Wanda said, "It's still firm, do you want to satisfy yourself now? I want to help. It was so beautiful to watch your face as you gave to Chuck. You are so beautiful with his dick in your mouth." This must have hit Jan's funny bone as she began laughing. "Yes, I need that thing in me, stretch me, Baby, split me open. Wanda, you can suck on my juicy pussy for me while I cram this thing in me." Jan climbed on, facing away from me and pushing herself onto me. Wanda gave me a kiss then buried her face in our junction, giving Jan immediate orgasms that caused her to quiver and shake all over. "No more, no more, enough, I've had enough, please," Jan moaned as she tried to get loose from Wanda and me. Wanda lifted Jan off me and mounted me, with her long breasts hanging in my face. "Suck on my long nipples, Chuck, suck my nipples, suck my nice big breasts. Oh Baby," Wanda shivered, "That feels so good. Oh yeah, fuck me, let me fuck you, suck on 'em, milk them." Wanda's pussy was soon squeezing me so erotically that when she hugged me in orgasm, I shot deep into her. She felt the warmth and came some more. Wanda said softly in my ear, "Oh, we fit together so well. You give me more pleasure than I could ever want. Damn, we're good together." Jan snuggled into both of us and said, "I think the three of us fit together just right. You two need me, almost a lesbian, to suck dick and lick pussy between your bouts. You two need me, and I need some of what both of you have." We got out of bed, smiling and laughing, and went out to the pool to find Angie, Marie, and Dennis lazily swimming laps. Jan, Wanda, and I dove in and swam as hard as we could until we were hanging onto the side of the pool, gasping for air. While I was hanging there, Angie swam over to me and got in front of me. She wrapped her legs and arms around me and said, "Since Bobby's not here right now, perhaps you need a cute little dark oriental girl to haul some ashes for you. Tiani said you were a pussy full." Wanda began laughing, "Such talk from our sweet, little, innocent, Angie." "I'm not that innocent. You saw what Dennis did to me right here on these steps. I know what feels good and I know how to take care of myself. I think I would make a nice bed mate for this man sometimes." I smiled as I made my way to get out. "Angie, you're my employee. We can't do that. It wouldn't be right and I could get fired for it." "I know you were doing Bobby, and I'm sure Wanda doesn't only sleep in that bed, and she's your office manager." Wanda said, "I'm not a toy either. I entered into this relationship knowing that I wasn't first in Chuck's heart, but I wanted to be a part of the relationship anyway." "I can be the way you are, Wanda. I know how to be a lady at work and a whore at home. I want Chuck to love me up. I want to know him in the biblical sense." I hugged her as I hopped to my peg. "Give us some time together, Angie. If it's supposed to be, it will be." "How will I know when it's my time?" "When I throw you down and fuck you senseless, you'll know." "Be still my heart, make it happen, Chuck. Meanwhile, Marie, I'm going to have to borrow your Dennis some more." I needed to use the inside bathroom this morning to shave and use the bathroom. We were soon on our way to the office. As soon as I came in, Sarah snagged me as I walked down the hall. "Come in, Chuck, I need some advice." We went into her office and she unloaded, "I'm really upset, Chuck. I knew Bobby wasn't telling me the truth last Friday, but I didn't think it was this serious. She talked to me yesterday to advise me she was taking at least three weeks of her vacation. She has a lot saved up. She told me she's moved in with an old flame, a professional wrestler." "I heard about it last night, Sarah. I know all the sordid details." "Anyway, Chuck, I'm upset as to how my Station Chief is acting. How should I handle this?" "The way any ACE should handle their Chief's vacation. You handle what needs to be handled. You do the assignments, you give the briefings, and you take care of the complaints and problems. If you have any problems, I am right down the hall. You've handled the station before from Marie's desk. You're in a position of authority now. Be the ACE you can be." Sarah took a deep breathe, "Thanks, Chuck, I know what to do, but I'm just so pissed at what Bobby's doing that I'm upset. I know this hurts you terribly, Chuck, but I don't know how to help. Please don't hurt either of them." "Don't worry, Sarah, I'm not going to hurt them. Bobby has her own life to live and even though we shared a lot, she never committed to me, so she's not backing out on anything. I'll be fine. All three of us have a job to do so we'll just do it without the intimacy Bobby and I used to share. We have rules to live by and I'll do my best to live by those rules." Sarah said, "I knew you would be good at handling this, but I guess I'm having a more difficult time than you are." "We'll be fine, Sarah. Call me if you need me. Call me if you need to run something by me. If I'm not available, talk to Wanda." I went to the office and greeted my ladies. They were all something. I was busy writing my incident report of the day before when John called. "Can't you go anywhere without shooting up the place?" "Three rounds, John, bang, bang, bang, just like I was taught, two in the body, one in the head. He shot first and was about to shoot again. I had to protect two women in the building with me." "I know, Chuck, the techs found a video record of this one. They have two camera angles that show the whole thing and the audio is clear. You were begging the guy to give up. Our favorite Marshal wants to give you another medal. The video is already being incorporated into a training video for how to warn someone and ask them to give up." "That's all I need, more notoriety. Perhaps you don't tell the viewers my name. Just say 'a deputy.'" "I'll ask him, but he loves to show you off. Your Oklahoma visit is getting us all kinds of good press from the Pentagon. They want to give you another medal for Pendleton and Oklahoma. You're so popular they might draft you to be a general." "I don't need any aggravation right now, John. Keep them away. How was your Canada trip?" "So good next time you're going, not me. That was a total lip biting experience." There was a pause, then John said, "I called to find out how you're taking this thing with Bobby?" "I'm fine, but how did you find out about this?" John said, "From everyone. Sarah called as she was worried you would get pissed and neutralize half the population down there. Bobby's sister called me as she wanted to know whether I thought you were stable enough to handle it. And finally, Bobby called to ask me if I would ship you somewhere else. I told her if I shipped anyone anywhere, it would be her up to Alaska or somewhere. She said that would be discrimination, but I told her she was the one who decided to keep you and not throw you back early in the relationship. She said you've never shown any real anger emotions so she felt you might explode over this. Are you sure you're okay?" "I'm sure. Bobby was giving off signals and I've had some time to analyze my feelings. I really did love the lady, but if it's not mutual, well, there are always more fish in the pond. Hell, I've got a standing offer from a beautiful unspoiled Mexican girl out in San Diego. She might be a little possessive, but she sure is beautiful. I'd have to move out there though and I like it right here." "How are you coming on your flying lessons? Do you have your basic license yet?" "Yep, got that a couple of weeks ago, I think. I'm working on my instrument rating and flying every chance I get in order to qualify for a commercial license to be followed by an instructor's certification." "Why the instructor thing?" "The guy that owns the school and charter service wants me to help out as an instructor for some reason. He's discounting my lessons and flight time. So between the service's benefit and school owner's discount, I'm getting some valuable training cheaply." "You're so damned lucky, I wish I were taking lessons." "Go take them, the service will pick up a lot of the costs." "I might do that. It would be fun." I asked, "So are you satisfied that I won't go nuts and jump off the Skyway or do in Bobby and the wrestler? I'm not going to do anything stupid. I have a lot of living to do and it's good to get some lessons about females before I get much older." "Good attitude, that's why you're doing what you're doing. I'll be down shortly to see you and Dave, so watch for me." I said, "See ya" and hung up. My baskets were empty and my e-mail bin was clear. I asked Wanda if there was any paperwork I needed to review. She said, "You could check on the new space that was rented for the DEA, ATF, and Homeland Security. The property manager was in and out so fast he barely had time to say hi. He said that you had done a good job setting up the building owners and was able to make a very advantageous deal." Wanda added, "It will be nice when all the offices are that close. A lot less hassles." I said, "Let me call Zena to see when the build out will begin. I should probably look at the plans beforehand with each of the Station Chiefs." I called and when she answered, I said, "Hi Zena, Chuck Johnson here. Since the deal is done now, I thought it would be a good idea to look at the office space plans with each of the Station Chiefs and myself. When will they be ready?" "Good idea, Chuck. Tom is working on them with the group downstairs. I'm sure he will want your input. The property manager gave us a cookie cutter floorplan. Can you come over in the morning? Bring your men and go over each unit. We'll break for lunch and go to the nice restaurant upstairs." "Sounds like a plan to me, Zena. I'll get my men set up to be there with me." I called each of the groups and set up that they be at my office or the station at eight. We should have a little discussion about our wants before we go to the meeting. Next, I called our property manager and asked him to fax or e-mail copies of the floor plans he had made up. He said that I had authority to make whatever changes that needed to be made, but any addition of space needed to be passed by him first. With that taken care of, I thought I might as well go flying. I called out to the air park to see if I could get an instructor. John got on the phone and said, "So, now that you have saved Lisa's life, she says she's yours now and you have to keep her. I want to thank you for protecting her and sweet Sandy over at Zephyrhills. From what Lisa said, you were something special." "Just doing what I know how to do, John. Can I get a long lesson today?" "How about a split? I'll work with you until two and Lisa will go up with you until you're tired. I want to work with you on a couple of things and Lisa always likes to fly with you. She says she bosses you around and you smile and just keep doing what you're supposed to." "John, I thought that was how a teacher pupil relationship was. They direct, you learn." "Not all guys want to be that cooperative, especially with a female instructor. I guess they would rather others get our best efforts." "Okay, I'll be out in about twenty minutes. See you then." I advised Wanda where I would be and headed out. Traffic sucked today, and it took me almost twenty-five minutes to get out there. John and I were off the ground quickly, with me under the hood. He had me do some steep approaches that were a little tricky as the plane had to descend rapidly. John kept telling me, rely on the instruments, they'll get us down." John brought me in at the air park at one thirty. He had me refuel the plane, and go into the office where Lisa had some sandwiches for us. She said that Joanie had fixed my sandwich for me. The little dynamo wanted to know when I was coming out again. Lisa had me doing a lot of planning for a short flight with more detailed planning for the next leg. She gave me multiple scenarios of weights, passengers, and fuel. It really wasn't that difficult, but she was trying to trick me into trying to take off with too much weight. Luckily, I added correctly and each time the weight was too much, I adjusted the fuel on paper to show we would be underweight to take off. We set down at six and put the plane away. Lisa asked, "Want to come out to Park Place for supper. Maggie is fixing something special. Call your women and have them meet us out there. Maggie is a good cook." I called home and talked to Wanda. She said that Marie and Angie were out with Dennis and Jan was at the dojo taking a lesson. "Would you come out then, Wanda? You like it out there, right?" "Yes, I'll come. I love it out there. Those folks are so free and easy. I don't want you to think I'm too much of a free love type of person, too much of a swinger." "Wanda, you are what you are. Thank you for including me in your life. I enjoy being with you. I'll learn to be more open and enjoy what is offered in life. I only need to follow and I'm sure I'll learn from you." She said, "I'll meet you at Tom's and Zena's." (ATTENTION READERS WHO DO NOT ENJOY EROTICA. SKIP TO THE NOTIFICATION OF THE END OF THIS INTENSE EROTIC AREA.) I drove over to the park, following Lisa, and parked near the house. Lisa came to my car when I stopped and said, "Take your clothes off out here. I'll help you. You can help me with mine." Lisa had me laughing heartily before we were stripped down. She was being so playful I was thinking of stretching her out on the hood of the Impala and thumping her right there, but I resisted somehow. She may not appreciate a car hood quickie. Inside, Joanie was the first to see me and greeted me by bending over and sucking my Lisa inspired hardon right into her mouth. "Yum, you have great tasting juice. I'll bet your stuff is really good." The naughty talk was keeping me up. Of course, Lisa's and Joanie's fondling wasn't hurting either. When Zena came into the kitchen, she was pulling Tom along by a very long and full erection. Zena came up to me and gave me a kiss, fondling me too. She looked at Tom, back at me, and said to me, "Come with us for a minute, Chuck, Tom wants to talk to you." As soon as we were in their bedroom, Zena pushed me onto my back and crawled up me until she had my dick standing straight up, she immediately fit me into her and began sliding down on me. When she had me completely in her, she leaned forward and kissed me. My hands were on her butt and she said, "Pull them open, pull my cheeks open. Come on, Tom, finish me." Zena was slowly going up and down on me about two inches but grasping me very hard internally. I could feel Tom begin to slide into her, going deeper and deeper, rubbing me through the thin membrane. Soon Zena's juices were gushing over me as Tom's strokes were longer and deeper. I could feel Zena quiver and Tom began to pulse. While Zena was shaking with her orgasm, Tom began to get softer. This whole thing was so fast and intense that I didn't come. Tom knelt up on the bed and kissed Zena. He said, "You are the most wanton lover a man could ever have. You know how to turn me on so hot I can't hold back. You better fuck this man really good or he'll have some excessively swollen balls." A voice said, "No way, I get next. Zena, you get your man up and let me sink down on this fat pussy pleaser. I want what you just had, Zena, but I don't want the juice, just the fucking." Lisa straddled me and said, "I just knew I was going to get you soon. After yesterday, you own me. You saved me, so I'm yours to do with for the rest of my life." Lisa slid onto me getting me deeper and deeper until she was trying to find more length as she was mashed onto me. Her hip movements made for some very long strokes that felt wonderful. Zena had somehow gotten Tom hard again and he was pushing into Lisa's other hole. Tom was a very experienced butt fucker. While I was smiling, Lisa's smoky look sizzled on me as she felt Tom going deeper and deeper. Soon Lisa was fucking us both. Out on me, in on Tom. In on me, out on Tom. Faster and faster Lisa pummeled us both until she groaned and collapsed, with Tom once again depositing more of his sperm in a welcoming receptacle. Lisa hugged me and kissed me. "Saving it for another of us girls out here, or are you saving it for your big woman?" Wanda was at the door and said, "He's probably saving it for me but there's a problem, the only place I'm good for his big load is my mouth, unless we use the shower. My friend decided to visit me." When I said, "Saved by the monthlies," little Joanie came in and proclaimed, "If I'm not going to get any dick, then you can just do some muff diving. Come on deputy dawg, eat." I was laughing too hard to do a good job, but Lisa pulled off and picked up Joanie, sitting her directly on my dick. She slid down and down. Joanie is so small you had to wonder what she was doing with so much dick in her. She wiggled until she had all of me inside her. She closed her eyes and said, "You fat fucker, I just love the way you're making me come. Oh yeah, I'm going to come for a week with that thing up there." Wanda bent over me and whispered in my ear. "Fill the little blonde. Let yourself go and fill her up. Blow the top of her head off with all that stuff." Wanda put her tits in my face as someone was fondling my balls. That was it. Loads and loads of thick juices shot up into her. She shivered and shook as I filled her. She began kissing me. First her face was at my nipples and that's what she kissed. As she pulled off me she kept kissing me until she was kissing my face saying, "God, I love you, or at least that fat dick of yours. Oh, Wanda, take me home with you so I can have some of that every day." Tom said, "You did a good job, Chuck. You've managed to satisfy three of the hottest pussies in the house. It's a good thing the folks are out this evening or you would be doing our mothers too. As it is, you may have to demonstrate your abilities on Betsy and Maggie. Shannon has already had you, and I know she wants seconds. See, this place can go from having a great time to having a great sexy time in seconds. We never know how it happens, it just happens." Wanda pulled me up and pulled me into the bathroom where I took off the leg and she joined me in the large shower. Wanda kissed me over and over until she said, "You know I'm crazy about you and watching you do those girls is almost too much excitement for me. In about a second you're going to be fucking a very bloody pussy. I don't think I can wait until we get home." Now she was making me hot, my very satisfied dick was standing straight up again. Wanda half squatted, pulled her plug out, turned, and stuck her butt out for me to enter. Wanda's pussy was hot, wet, and clutching. It only took about four strokes before she was coming, groaning, proclaiming her feelings to me. Something about her excitement got me going and I was soon on the edge of losing another big load of man juice into her. As I shot into her, Wanda pushed back into me, groaning, coming more and more. When she was relaxed and my dick wilted and fell from her, she turned and gave me a very loving kiss. "Thank you, Lover, I needed that. You must have loved giving two very large donations so close together." We washed again noting the blood and bloody sperm had washed down the drain. We dried off with towels someone had put out for us. There was a Tampon on the towels that Wanda slid into herself. She said, "It's nice to be with people that understand the body's demands. That really hit the spot." Before we went out to the living room, she said, "See, you're not so backward after all." When we came out, Tom asked me what I wanted to drink. Wanda said, "If you have any Beefeater, give him a glass, some ice, and a lot of Beefeater. He'll be fine. I'll take one too if I may." I recognized a man sitting with Tom and then remembered, "Burt right?" I stuck out my hand. He couldn't get up as a round plump blonde was sitting with him, or in reality on him and playing with his semi-hard dick the whole time. "Hi, Chuck, nice to see you. Chuck, this is my new wife, Betty. Betty, Chuck Johnson, the deputy I told you about." Betty smiled pleasantly, but wasn't going to let go of her toy. Betsy came over to me and kissed me followed by Maggie. Maggie said, "I heard that since you didn't bring your full contingent of women, we all had a clear shot at getting you in the sack. I'm getting to be a real cock hound lately. Sometimes guys make me so hot I think I'm smoking." Betsy said, "Oh Maggie, since you found out how good dick was, you've been smoking over boys as well as girls on a daily basis." "True, true, and it sure is fun. I'm glad I found out what guys' things were good for." (THIS ENDS THE INTENSE EROTIC AREA OF THIS CHAPTER ) We sat down to a delicious goat hash. The meat was sweet and tender, seeming to melt in your mouth. There were small potatoes and small carrots with the meat that were poured over biscuits with a lot of gravy. Maggie advised us that this was a special Greek recipe. We ate heartily and there was still a lot left over. After the big supper, it was decided we all needed a little exercise, so we took a walk, taking one of the paths that led down to the lake and back toward the recreation center. Our stroll ended up near the new strip center that had begun with the laundry and dry cleaner. Added to it now was a convenience store and a dry goods store that sold mostly discounted sheets, blankets, and some very nice pillows. There was a unique store for a nudist park, a body jewelry store that specialized in piercing, as well as a tattoo emporium. They were still open and appeared to be busy. We ended the walk near our cars. I said to our hosts, "Wanda and I need to be at work early. We're having some people in to go over some plans before we meet with an architect and a salesperson." Tom asked, "Going to get ready to gang up on me, huh?" "Nope, I just want everyone to ask for what they need before the build out. I hate having construction go on and on because of some last minute changes." Zena and Tom said, "We'll see you in the morning." Wanda and I got kisses from everyone before we left for home. Jan, Angie, and Marie were all home when we arrived. They enjoyed hearing the tame part of our visit out at the park. It was soon time for bed. When I finished brushing my teeth and washing, both Jan and Wanda were waiting for me. Jan said, "If you're going to get some of this prime pussy, you better be getting it now, as it's going into storage shortly. I'll be out of commission for a couple of days, but not my mouth. Strange, but I seem to cum almost as hard sucking you as I do from some of your wonderful lovemaking." I did work on Jan until she squeaked and squealed, groaning from the good orgasms. Once inside her, she came frequently and intensely until the excitement brought us to a big mutual explosion. We relaxed in each others arms, with Wanda snuggling with both of us. Wanda said, "I just love to watch you two make love. You two really are loving." Those were the last words I heard. Wednesday morning felt like a happy day. I slid from bed, used the bathroom and headed to the gym. I did a light workout before waking my beauties to ask them if they wanted to swim. There were groans, but no takers. I swam briskly, but not all out. I had just started when I was joined by Angie. She kept up with me and drifted over to sit in my lap when we finished. She took my hands and held them to her breasts. She said, "I must be getting close to my period. I'm nuts, thinking about sex all the time. I look at you and my pussy drools. You know you're going to have to fuck me pretty soon, or I'll just come in during the middle of the night and have you in me before you wake up." I turned Angie around to look at me, "Find a guy that's yours and fuck him so much he wilts. Find yourself a guy and enjoy him." "I will, I will, I'm looking, but before that guy comes around, you are right here and I just know that fat thing between your legs would be very nice to play with. I promise not to take seriously what I want you to poke me with in fun. I promise not to get pregnant and I promise to suck you back up after your first nut. I know what sex is and I like it. I just don't have that much experience. You can help with that too." I said defensively, "Let's get going, you have to get in early today." Angie kissed me very nicely and whispered, "I'll bet my pussy will feel good too." Jan and Wanda were up, but lethargic. Jan complained, "One good fuck and I'm bleedin' like a stuck hog. Damn, it was so good last night too. Wanda says that if we use the shower I can still have a little loving, is that right?" "True, Jan, Wanda demonstrated that last evening." "Get ready then, Stud, I need servicing this evening." We all went to the office, Angie and Marie rode with Wanda. I stopped in to see that Sarah was in a good mood and prepared for her briefing. She said, "By the time Bobby gets back, I'll be used to running the joint." The other Station Chiefs showed up before eight. Wanda and the girls served us coffee and some Danish that appeared as if by magic. I made the comment, "I'll have to have more of these meetings so we can get good Danish like this more often." I went over each of their spaces and said to all. "We'll go over your space individually while we are looking at it. Let your imagination put furniture in it. Let your imagination tell you what we are missing." At nine, we walked next door to be greeted by Zena and Tom. Tom had a large container of blueprints. I suggested we go over the two smaller offices first before tackling Homeland Security. Tom had done a good job planning the office space. I made the Chiefs stand in their space to picture the room as it would be. We were able to correct some locations for voice and data cabling, along with the associated electrical outlets. We finished up right at lunch time. As promised, we all went to the executive lunch room where Wanda met us. I told the Chief for Homeland Security that I wanted Wanda to join us for his area, as it was so large. She would help us put the space into perspective as we went through it. The other two Station Chiefs went back to their offices and the rest of us started on the big task of going over the large space. We went through each room, item by item with Wanda adding a great deal to our modifications. When we were done, we all shook hands, happy to be in agreement with the changes. Wanda had a handwritten list of changes and Tom promised a copy of our modified blueprint after he put it all into AutoCAD. There wasn't enough time to get in any flying for lessons, so I caught up with my paperwork and e-mails and had the itch to fly anyway. I asked Wanda, "What do you think about flying over to Daytona? There's supposed to be a great restaurant at the airfield there. They don't have any airport fees if you eat there. What do you think?" Wanda looked at me and said, "Can we all go?" I thought, me and five others, without Bobby included, would probably work, we would be within weight limitations. I nodded and Wanda smiled saying, "Let me ask. I'll let you know." She was back in less than five minutes. She said, "Jan has her martial arts class and Marie is going somewhere with Dennis. Angie wants to go and wants to bring Tiani with her. Sarah asked if Dave and she could come along?" "That should be a perfect load. How is Tiani going to get out there?" "She'll walk over here after work. It's very close. She said she'll be here about five or ten after." I called out to the air park to tell them I would be flying my airplane. Star got on the phone and said, "Good timing. It just got back. This is the second time we've rented it out. You'll be making money on that plane in no time." At five, we ended up having to take two cars out to the air park. The people who had not seen the airplane before were really impressed. Dave and I pushed the plane out of the hangar onto the tarmac and I began the preflight inspection. The plane had not been refueled so I thought, why not; let's use the tools we have. "Come inside, everyone. I need a total weight to calculate how much runway I'll need." Each of us stood on the scale with Tiani weighing in at only seventy-nine pounds. Angie wasn't that much more at eight-five. We were well within our load limits so I filled the airplane full of fuel and completed the inspection. I had to make sure my passengers were all seated and buckled in. I had the rear seats arranged so they were facing each other. It was really too noisy to talk normally, but I had headsets for everyone. I explained how to use them and let them put them on and adjust them. As soon as I turned on the power, the passengers were chatting away on internal channel two. Wanda read off my checklist as we started up and went through each item until we were ready to get clearance. I called in to activate my VFR flight plan, rolled down the taxiway, and turned around onto the runway and into the slight breeze. In a fast minute plus, we were wheels off, not up, since this aircraft didn't have retractable gear. Our flight was hassle free with a smooth touchdown in Daytona. We received taxi and parking instructions that put us within fifty feet of the restaurant's front door. We had to wait a little while for a table, so I had a cup of coffee while everyone else had a drink. The meal was wonderful. I had some fish that was really good. For appetizers we had fried conch fritters. They were done just right. The secret to conch is to beat the hell out of them. If you pound them long and hard enough, it tenderizes them so when you fry them in coconut oil, they are tender and delicious. After our dessert, we went back out to the airplane and did the preflight. Once off the ground, I turned toward the Atlantic coast so we could cruise the beach. This is a popular area for light aircraft to fly low up and down the beach, looking at the two legged sights. I kept an eye out for other aircraft as the passengers enjoyed the sightseeing. On the way home, we all discussed a possible trip down to Key West soon. Sarah even said, "Chuck, the way you fly is so professional, I feel very comfortable in this small plane with you." Wanda added, "It wasn't but a little while ago that I was terrified to fly in any plane. The instructor and charter pilot, John Truant, taught me a valuable lesson about flying. I learned to relax and enjoy the freedom of flight." Our landing at the air park was wonderfully uneventful. I did the shutdown routine and filled the tanks again. We picked up the water bottles and wrappers from the plane so it would be ready to use. After filling in the books and turning in the plane's logbook, we pushed the plane into the hangar and headed home. Tiani and Angie walked over to Tiani's house to get a nightshirt for Tiani and clothes for tomorrow morning. Jan was home and listened attentively to our adventure. We had a nice evening. I stretched and said as I passed Jan, "I'm going to take a shower, then come back in here for a drink. Be back in a bit." Jan looked at me with half-closed eyes until I looked at her and winked, nodding toward the bedroom. She was out of the chair and into the shower in a flash. We washed, played, and kissed until she was more than ready. I was wearing my peg, so at first I picked her up and sat her on me, lifting her up and down while enjoying the intensity. When my arms began to tire, I stood her up, turned her around to lean against the wall and slid home. It didn't take Jan long to reach her peak. She came over and over again, telling me how happy I was making her feel. We were both very satisfied when we turned off the water We had a drink and migrated to bed. Tiani gave me a kiss while sitting on my lap. The tiny person is so cute and so lovable it is hard to believe she doesn't have a string of suitors. Wanda and Jan each took a shoulder and happily fell asleep. I thought of my Bobby a little, then thought, 'oh well, ' and went to sleep as well. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 43 Oh my, I could get used to this. I reached down to caress the head of the person giving me so much pleasure. I felt as if she should purr. Jan nursed on my shaft, paying special attention to the underside of the head while fondling my balls. Just as my pot boiled over, Wanda leaned over me kissing me, my lips, eyes, cheeks, and ears, just all of me. Jan came up and gave me a very wet kiss. She had saved a lot of my offering and was kissing me and sharing with Wanda, smearing juices all over the three of our faces. After the pleasure she gave me, it was easy to put up with this part of her playing. She sat back on her heels smiling at us. "I love to do that first thing in the morning. I can feel your heartbeat, Chuck. I can feel when you get closer and closer until bang, my mouth is full and I'm swallowing and swallowing. The more I do it, the more I want to do it. I'm going to be the only lesbian bj queen around." I gave the two ladies a hug, slipped on my peg, took care of the bathroom stuff, and headed for the gym room. I did a quick workout and went out to find the girls all swimming lazily back and forth. Dennis was sitting on the steps with a worn look. "What's up, Dennis, are you trying to make too many women happy at once?" "No, Chuck, we just stayed up way too late. The last time I looked at the clock it said four fifteen. I don't know how the time got away from us." "Well plan on an early night after work. You need your sleep if you're going to be creative out there in that lab." "I know; it wasn't very responsible of me." "Come on, get your blood flowing. A hard swim and a good breakfast will wake you up. It happens to me all the time." We did do some hard swimming and he did feel a lot better. Marie even picked it up and was smiling by the time she left for work with Jan and Angie. Wanda rode in with me, the plan being that after work we might stop by the warehouse to buy some clothes. Over the months, I had ruined a couple pair of slacks, a really nice sport coat, and a bunch of shirts. Wanda wanted to look at what was available. Between calls, e-mails, and looking over reports, I called Metarie to ask if she would like to come with Wanda and me to do some quick shopping. She cautioned me that I would probably be the only white man in the place, or at least probably the only white man that was a law abiding citizen. "Oh, Metarie, you know I get along with everyone. I don't like people messing with other people but I'm a live and let live kind of guy." She said, "Yeah, sure you are. As soon as someone crosses you or someone around you, you become very aggressive, fatally aggressive. Can you be docile if I go with you?" "Sure, I'm bringing my office manager with me as she wants to see what kind of clothes they have." Metarie said, "Oh goodie, a lady to shop with. We'll have a great time. You'll have to sit back and watch us this time. They have big stuffed chairs for guys to wait and watch. You'll love the view the chairs have." After working on paperwork all morning, it was a pleasure to go to lunch with Tom, Zena, and Burt. Wanda and I enjoyed the three talking about their business and how surprisingly well it was doing during the poor economy. The lunch time interlude was a perfect way to relax. I was looking forward to a two-hour afternoon flight lesson today. John had from two to four open so I was going to leave when we returned from lunch. Back at the office, I made sure everything was in order and left Wanda in charge. I stepped out the back door to be confronted by Sarah having a loud discussion with Bobby and some huge guy standing with them. I asked Sarah quietly, "Can I help with something?" Bobby was surprised but came running to me, hugging me, "I'm so sorry, Chuck. I love you, Honey, but I've been crazy about Rocky for years and years. When he came around with the news he was divorced and he wanted us to get together, I couldn't resist." Bobby was hugging and kissing me, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me." She set me down just as a giant hand spun me around, "Get your fucking hands off my woman. Touch her and you'll have to be fed through a tube for the rest of your life." Bobby yelled, "Rocky, don't, he'll hurt you." "Fuck that, this little puke is going to get the shit kicked out of him." The man had me by my right shoulder and pulled his right fist back intending to punch me. As his fist began coming forward, I dropped, using my left hand to chop block the blow but brought my right fist up between his legs as hard as I could. This paralyzed the attack, but it took a leg sweep to get him off his feet. As I was rolling him over to cuff him, a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Bobby was pulling her Glock from her purse. Without thinking, I chopped her wrist hard, feeling the bones give, watching the gun tumble away from us. Again without thinking, I chopped her behind the knees to take her off her feet. While she was screaming, I put the huge guy on his stomach and quickly had his hands in cuffs behind his back. Looking around, I saw Sarah picking up Bobby's gun, tucking it in her pant waist. "What's going on, Sarah, what's this about?" Sarah looked terrible, "Bobby came in with her resignation so I told her she had to leave her weapon and turn in her car. She wouldn't give up her car and said for us to bill her. I can't do that unless the car has been declared excess and she would have to leave it here until that could be done. She said she deserved to keep her weapon and possessed a state carry permit. It's just all crazy, Chuck, Mr. Johnson. I'm sorry I couldn't handle this better." Bobby was still crying and was trying to help the huge man sit up but obviously having trouble with her wrist. It looked broken to me. Sarah asked, "Should I call the police? They both should be jailed. The big one for assault and Bobby, I don't know, she could even be charged with attempted murder. At a minimum she should be charged with assault with a deadly weapon." "Sarah, go get your purse and take Bobby over to Tampa General Emergency Room. I'll put the hulk in Bobby's car. When you get there, take the cuffs off him, and warn him to never attack someone again. You're going to leave both of them there and bring the car back to the garage." While I was trying to get the hulk on his feet a Tampa P.D. car came up behind the cars. The officer got out and asked, "Is this a federal matter or is this in my jurisdiction? An office worker saw this big guy attacking you and said a big woman pulled a gun on you. The report said there was another woman here, where is she?" "The Assistant Station Chief was here when the non-event happened. She is getting her purse to take this lady to Tampa General. She's going to let this character loose at the hospital." The policeman asked, "Why not now?" Before I could answer, the monster man said, "Because as soon as I'm free I'm going tear this punk apart and paint the sidewalk with his blood. The little fuck thinks he's so smart. He just got lucky. I'll show him. Nobody messes with Rocky Mountain." "Oh, the professional wrestler. Sorry it's not nice to meet you. You Sir, are under arrest for assault and stupidity. You should get a year for assault, and I'm not sure how long for stupidity." The cop looked at Bobby, "Where's the gun you had Ma'am? How did you hurt your wrist?" Sarah came out the door at that moment with her purse, surprised to see the policeman. She said, "I was afraid of that. Someone saw this and called the police. This is sort of a domestic problem, Sir. Could you possibly see your way clear to look the other way?" The cop said, "Tell me about it. Let me make that determination." Sarah said, "I need to get this woman to the hospital. I think she might have a broken wrist. Can you bring the monster man along and follow me over to the emergency room? I'll give you the facts over there." Sarah showed him her deputy's badge and he reluctantly agreed. He had a hard time stuffing the huge man into the back seat of the police car and had him sit sideways to fit. I gave the policeman my card and said, "It probably isn't a good idea for me to go along with you. If you need additional input from me or a statement, call the cell number. I have an appointment, but should be back here by four-thirty." "What about your cuffs?" "If you take them off at the hospital, give them to Sarah. If you have to book him, turn them in to your supervisor and advise them they are property of the U.S. Marshal." "You sure you don't want to file charges? This guy doesn't act like he's going to be remorseful about trying to hurt you." "He should calm down. I didn't shoot him or her and I didn't break any of his bones. He isn't going to be very comfortable between the legs for a while, but oh well." I watched as the cop pulled away while Sarah put Bobby in the back seat of the Escalade. Bobby wouldn't look at me. She knew she had fucked up and was lucky not to be on her way to jail. As soon as they were gone, I drove out to the air park in time for my lesson. John had me in the air quickly heading toward Sebring, back across the state to Manasota airport, and back home for one touch and go before landing and parking on the tarmac in front of the hangar. "You know, you need a couple of more flights and a solo. I think you're ready for your flight exam, but you need a couple of more hood hours and the solo. Plan on when you can do it and we'll work it out. Oh, you know you can solo in your own bird. Whoever had it after Sue, upgraded the Garmin to one of the most modern units available." I looked around in the hangar and asked, "Will I need to reserve it? I see it's gone." "Sue Sharp has it out today. Steve and Sue had to run up to Tallahassee for some important government meeting. Almost all of our aircraft were out, so she took yours. You know that was her first airplane so she does enjoy flying it." "I should get back to the office to make sure all's well. I'll give you a call to see when I can schedule the last of my hood time and my solo." When I got back to the office, I stopped into the station first. Sarah said that she would join me in my office in a minute. As soon as I walked into my office area, I knew everyone there had heard of Bobby's stupidity. Wanda just raised an eyebrow and nodded toward my office, then followed me in, shutting doors. I went back out to tell Angie and Conish to show Sarah in when she arrived. "I heard Sarah's description of what happened, you tell me about it," Wanda said, as she sat in one of my leather side chairs. I described what had happened as best as I could, right down to watching them go off to the hospital. Wanda said, "That's how Sarah said it happened and I've had her write up an incident report. Bobby is in trouble with the Marshal's service. She refused to give up her sidearm, she refused to give up her vehicle, and Sarah said she refused to sign off on the station inventory and classified documents form. Those are the minimum. If she's leaving, she has to sign off on those. The weapon and the car have to be considered automatic." Sarah came in the office. I asked, "So what happened at the hospital?" "I got Bobby into emergency care to get the wrist taken care of and went back outside to give the policeman my statement. He had another policeman there who put Rocky into another police car and changed handcuffs. Here's yours back. The policeman said Rocky spent the entire time they were waiting for me, telling the policeman how he was going to tear you apart. He's now charged with assault and threatening attempted murder." "Bobby was given a summons to appear before a judge for pulling her weapon. I have to write up a report that won't be very favorable for her and have to submit it to the federal prosecutor. I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson, but she refused to abide by the federal law. She refused to give up her sidearm and refused to give up possession of federal property. The gun thing was very bad and potentially deadly. If you had not been quick enough, I don't know what would have happened." Wanda said, "I've already called to find out that the gentleman won't be arraigned until tomorrow morning. I think we need to send one of our attorneys to court to have the man remanded to custody or at a minimum have the judge put a restraining order on him. You might even have to have one put on Bobby, too." Sarah said, "Actually I'm glad you came out when you did. I was having a difficult time with Bobby, and Rocky was egging her on, being confrontational. I don't like to think what Bobby could do to someone if she was to become physical with them." "Sorry you had to become involved with a domestic matter, Sarah. Actually, I didn't do anything to have to apologize for but I feel bad the service was dragged into it." "You didn't get me into this and the service didn't get me into this. My job is to do what I was trying to do. I was doing my job. You have to come up with a new Chief now. Pick me a good one, okay?" I didn't even have to think about it, "How about Sarg. He's still at least five years from retirement and I sure would enjoy having his experience in the job. I think the men would follow him and I'll bet he'll jump at the chance too." Sarah stood up, "He's in the office right now. Let me go get him and you can ask him." Sarah came back in two minutes dragging Sarg like a little kid going to the dentist. Sarg said, "Jesus, what's the rush? What do you need, Chuck? Christ, this is some nice office you have here. Is this how the other half lives?" We shook hands and I waved them all to sit in the big chairs and at the table. I sat at the table with Sarg. "Sarg, if I read you right, you aren't planning on retiring any time soon. I also know you enjoy being involved and being up front when something is happening." Sarg just nodded. "I'm acting early so there won't be any big discussion on this. I want you to be our new Station Chief. Will you do it?" "So it's true what I've heard about Bobby. She quit." "There's more and you'll be apprised of the whole thing when and if you accept my offer of Station Chief." He smiled, "To tell you the truth, I've had dreams of that job for years but never figured on getting it. If you let me have a discussion with my business manager, I'll give you an answer. I'm sure she'll want this instead of playing shuffleboard in an old folks' park, but I do need to talk to her." Wanda said, "If you think you can get a quick answer, use my office." Sarg was smiling as he got up and went into Wanda's office. The two women were also smiling happily with the thought of having someone like Sarg to rely on. The man was grinning when he came back into the room. "The boss said that I should definitely take the job. When do I start?" "I'll introduce you tomorrow morning at the briefing and we'll take care of the paperwork then. Is that okay, Wanda?" I looked at her and she nodded. "Sarah?" She nodded too. "And of course you, Sir, is that okay?" Sarg said, "Perfect, I'll be taking the wife out to celebrate tonight, so it will be nice not to be on call. Thank you, Chuck. I knew I did good to save your butt a while back. Looks like it really paid off." "It sure did, Sarg, but that was only a small part of it. I'm proud to serve with a man such as you." He got up, shook hands, and got a kiss on the cheek from Sarah who said to him as he walked out, "You know you have to work with me, don't you?" "Wouldn't have it any other way, Lady. You've been running the joint for years anyway, so I know you'll keep me in line." Sarah thanked me for resolving her station's problem so quickly. I told both Sarah and Wanda to make sure all of the paperwork was done exactly right so we wouldn't run into any delayed problems should they be in question. After Sarah left, Wanda said, "Let me prepare the paperwork for tomorrow morning, before we go home. This became a little nuts, didn't it?" "It sure did." While Wanda did her paperwork, I called over to the garage to see if Hank was still there. He was, so I asked, "Hank, bury the Escalade for right now. We'll probably end up using it, but for right now, let's keep it out of sight and off the record." "Got it, Boss. What a bunch of shit that was. Wish I had been there to help you. Hope Bobby is happy. We all loved her for so long. It's hard to give up a friend." "Yeah, I know." Hank said, "I'll bet you do." Thinking there was no time like the present, I completed an internal incident report, including the officer's name and the current disposition of the situation. In the box, that I never used, where it requested my opinion of what the disposition of the charges against Bobby should be, I put "It is important to withhold judgment and a decision on disposition at this time, as the incident occurred in haste. I believe our former deputy was acting under duress." I know I would have to amend the report in the future to account for the disposition, but I couldn't bring myself to just write Bobby off. I made some copies and turned it into Wanda as she was gathering her stuff to take home. Remembering our earlier plans, I called Metarie to tell her something had come up and we would have to reschedule. She was disappointed, but understood. When Wanda was finished, we went home after stopping at the supermarket for some steaks. Since we didn't know how many people were going to be at the house, we got ten New York strips, figuring we could freeze what was left over. At home, Jan and Angie were waiting for me to tell them what had happened. Instead of me telling the story, Wanda handed them copies of Sarah's and my statements and the incident reports. Angie said, "Sounds like you could have used deadly force and would have been justified." Jan followed with, "As much as I love Bobby, this sounds like she's under the influence of this guy and not being herself." "Let's get changed and work out. I need the exercise and the release. Let's hit it." We did a solid hour in the gym then swam as hard as we could. The four of us showered off outside, went inside, and dressed in shorts and T-shirt. I was preparing steaks when Tiani and Brandy showed up. Instead of Tiani immediately climbing up me for a hug, Brandy came to hug me and said, "I saw the whole thing, Chuck. I called 911. I thought that big guy was going to kill you, but you took him down easily. Then your big woman pulled a gun. I saw it. Did you hurt her when you knocked the gun out of her hand? It looked like she was holding her wrist." I didn't have an opportunity to answer as Jan and Angie told the two girls the story. Tiani came to me and said, "I heard it was you that was in that Zephyrhills shooting and then this today. Are you dangerous to be around? This stuff scares me. You deal with this stuff every day and don't think anything of it, and I'm just a plain little girl. I don't want to know about stuff like that." It was too bad that my tiny friend was put off by my real world. The surprise was Brandy. She was hugging me every chance she had, telling me she was proud to know someone who stuck up for what they believed. Both girls ended up having drinks with us and stayed for steaks. As the evening wore on, Tiani, Jan, and Angie went over to the house on the next block, but Brandy wasn't leaving. She was staying close, showing more closeness toward me than she ever had before. While I was out of the kitchen family room area to use the bathroom, Wanda and Brandy disappeared and showed up again, walking into the kitchen naked as the day they were born. Wanda said, "We're going to use the hot tub, want to join us?" The two girls were a sight. Brandy was not as tall as Wanda and didn't have as long of breasts as Wanda, but she was a looker. She had dark hair, brown eyes, and an all over tanned body with good tone to it. In the tub, me between the two girls, Wanda took the lead, "Brandy says she is very interested in you two becoming more than just acquaintances. She said that she wanted to get closer to you before, but Tiani had said she wanted you first." Brandy said, "Tiani told me tonight that you were mine as she couldn't put up with someone with a job like yours. If you weren't good at what you do, you wouldn't be in your position. All of life has risks so it's just a risk you have while on your job. I wouldn't want you to get hurt but it could happen. If it did, I would take care of you. I want us to get close, Chuck. I really do want you to know me better. I promise not to Lord my folks' money over you, but it can be fun to have sometimes. You don't seem to be hurting, so any money I have isn't as important." I looked at Brandy, then at Wanda, and Brandy said, "You're wondering about how Wanda and I will get along. I don't think we'll have a problem. I'm not the jealous kind and I'm not possessive. If you're my man, you'll be so content you'll always have a smile on your face. Between me, my friends and your other girlfriends, I'm sure we'll keep you happy and content." "Well, Brandy, that's some declaration. How about we take this new relationship an inch at a time? I don't know how good I can be at being in a relationship right now, but I do enjoy having close friends. Wanda is very special to me, but as she says we probably aren't destined to be anything but great lovers together." Wanda said with an intimate laugh, "We're class A fuck buddies. That's what we are." Brandy said, "You two are more than that. You two have a great respect for each other, and show it when you're with each other. I want that too. Wanda says she's trying to teach you to be a little kinkier, more open, more sexual. I think that's a great idea. If the truth be known, I want sex all the time, but learned to temper my wants. I want you, Chuck, I want to sleep with you. I want to make love to you and I want you to make love to me. I want to wake up in your arms and kiss you goodbye for the day, anticipating being with you when the day ends. Will you let me be a part of you for a while?" "He does, Brandy, and I'll help you. Chuck is just a little bashful, but he is a wonderful guy to be around." Wanda called Jan to see if they were coming back tonight. Jan said that she and Angie were partying with the girls at the house and were going to stay. They would be back home early to get ready for work. When we got out of the hot tub, I closed up the house while Wanda and Brandy disappeared for a while. They came to the bedroom with filmy gowns. Brandy said, "Tonight is to get used to sleeping together. Can we just all snuggle? Wanda says she and Jan are broke right now, so you wouldn't be getting any anyway." "Come to bed, I think I need to sleep and would enjoy being wrapped up in you two ladies." Wanda gave me a very nice kiss and snuggled into me. Brandy gave me a tentative kiss then laid one on me that let me know she was really interested in me. She smiled at me before she lay her head on my shoulder, she whispered, "I hope we work out." I did lie there thinking of the day and how diverse it had been. I said a little prayer for Bobby, hoping she was going to be all right. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 44 "Aren't they so sweet?" "Look how Brandy's almost laying on him." "Do you think they did it last night?" "Why don't you guys leave for a few minutes? I have a special way to wake him up." "We might have a special way to wake him up too." "I'm scared to death of him, but I just love him to pieces. I'll just have to think of what could have been. My big one-legged white man that got away." I opened my eyes to find Jan and Angie accompanied by Tiani, Frieda, Judy, and Nancy all standing around the bed. "Good morning, girls. To what do I owe this morning's welcoming committee? Is there a reason for you girls to come visiting at six in the morning?" Brandy woke up and said, "Oh, you guys. You're here to make sure he wasn't mean to me. I know the way you guys are. He was a perfect gentleman." Nancy said, "Too bad, we all know how good he is between the sheets. You should have at least shown him what you're good at." Frieda said, "Chuck, if she doesn't treat you right, call me. I can be the house pet since I like to take care of all of the household pets." Wanda asked, sleepily, "So you know all these girls very well?" Judy replied, "Not well enough. We took him out one time and he stayed overnight. We all had a shot at him that one time, but he didn't come back for seconds. We all wanted him too, but he was gone from the employment office so fast that we didn't get a chance to chain him down." Frieda offered, "Little Tiani wanted him so bad, but when she found out he had been in all those shootings, she became afraid of him. Brandy was the lovesick one. She wouldn't try to get next to him as long as Tiani wanted him, but as soon as Tiani said no way, Brandy was on her way over here." "Um, girls, I'm going to get up, use the bathroom, and go out to the pool. If any of you want to swim some laps, you're welcome to join me. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get up." They all stood there waiting, watching. Wanda sat up and stood so I could slide out of bed on that side to put my peg on. I had an audience as I sat, then stood, naked before going into the bathroom. I even checked behind me, thinking they were going to follow me in. When I came out of the bathroom, the bedroom was empty, as was the kitchen, but the coffee pot was dripping. All those women were standing naked out on the patio, waiting for me to come out. As I walked out of the house toward the pool, the array of beauty was too much. My little Johnson was rising to greet the ladies. There were a lot of "ohs" and "ahs" and "that thing is so fat." I dropped the peg at the side of the pool and dove into the water. I heard several splashes as I was swimming toward the other end of the pool. As my tempo picked up, Wanda came up beside me and Jan was next to her. A surprise was that both Brandy and Frieda kept up and didn't seem to be laboring as hard as the other girls. Finally, it was down to just Wanda, Brandy, Frieda, and me until I stopped and drifted to the side of the pool. Frieda and Brandy came up to me and said, "You almost got us. I don't think we could have made another lap." Wanda said, "You were lucky. He really didn't push as hard as he can. He's death on us when he really goes all out." Brandy gave me a full body hug and kissed me. "You know I'm not going to leave you alone now. I'm going to be closer to you than your boxers. Get used to it, because I have to get my fill of you before you get tired of me hanging on." The girls all thought the outdoor shower was a great place to play, so I went into the bedroom to take a shower there. I had just adjusted the water when the door slid open and Brandy stepped in. "Like I said, I am going to stick closer to you than your undies. You've fascinated me from the beginning, so I'm going to love you up every chance I get." Brandy hugged me and was going to play some, but I began washing her hair to relax her and get her mind off her playfulness. She was smiling and said, "That's very special. You don't have to quit so soon, do you?" We washed each other and then she said, "I have to go home to dress. I'm going to miss you all day now, so I want to make sure I see you as soon after work as I can. Will you call me?" I handed her my cell phone, "Put your number in for me. I have a flying lesson this afternoon and might be late." "You're learning to fly?" "Well, I actually have my license, but I'm in instrument school right now." Brandy was grinning, "I was worried about how my dad was going to handle you being a deputy type of guy, but if you fly, you two will be bosom buddies. I have my license but I'm not instrument rated. We have a couple of planes. I get to fly our Cessna 172, but I don't get to ever fly our twin or Dad's Lear. He doesn't fly it that often either. He rents and charters it out most of the time." As Brandy was dressing, she said, "I'll get Dad to let us use his plane and we'll go somewhere." "I have an airplane, a Cessna 206. It's a six place airplane." Brandy said, "I know what those airplanes are. Dad thinks they are perfect for most people. How did you get an airplane? Do you have money?" "We'll talk about it another time, Brandy, you have to get ready for work and I have to go in early." Jan hauled Brandy and the other girls around the block to get ready to go to work. Wanda came to me and said, "Now, that was an unusual way to wake up in the morning. I don't think I would have believed they were all in our bedroom waking us up. Brandy didn't seem that upset, so I guess they are pretty open over there." Angie and Marie rode in with Wanda this morning and I stopped to get some breakfast sandwiches since we didn't fix anything to eat at home. I stepped into the station to make sure Marie and Sarah had the duty rosters ready. Sarah said, "Come back in about seven fifty-five and I'll have them ready for the briefing." I passed out sandwiches to Angie and Wanda, but Conish was afraid of hurting her figure. We ate, having some coffee and just chatting among ourselves. At the station, I told the men that Bobby was all right but probably influenced by her new friend. I did tell them that I hoped she would be safe and happy, and that I personally was not filing charges, but the federal prosecutor had the last word. These guys are all lawmen, they understood. When Sarg was introduced as their new leader, all of them to a man applauded, hooted, and hollered their approval. This was going to be better than I thought. I handed the roster to Sarg and said, "No time like the present, send your men out. You all be safe, okay. We'll plan a party soon." Back in my office, Wanda said I was to call John in D.C. Damn, he's heard about the crap that went on already. "Hey, John, what's up. Gonna send me on another wild one. You did call just in time for the weekend." "You know what I want. What the fuck is going on down there?" "I know you couldn't have gotten the incident report yet as I just made it out last night. Let me get it to you while we are talking." I put John on hold and called Wanda to have her fax John Sarah's and my reports. "Wanda's sending them to you as we speak. How did you hear about it so fast?" "Bobby called me. She said you put a restraining order on her and her new friend so she couldn't talk to you. She also said you might be filing charges against her." "Tell you what, John, read what we're faxing you and call me back. I'll be glad to clarify anything to you. Take your time when you read it so you can read it all." I was finishing answering a bunch of e-mails when John called back. "You sure you didn't hurt that guy?" "No Sir, I hit him in the groin so I could cuff him. He swung at me first." John chuckled, "I'm glad you didn't shoot him. That would have been bad. But you broke Bobby's wrist? She didn't tell me that. Sarah's and your report both say she was pulling her service weapon. Sarah already faxed me her station report saying that Bobby refused to give up her sidearm and her vehicle." "I chopped her wrist when she pulled her gun. I hit her too hard and broke her wrist. Those bones aren't that big, so you know they're easy to break. I was busy trying to cuff her monster boyfriend when she pulled the damn thing, so I did it as smoothly as possible so I could finish cuffing him." John spoke up, "You're withholding judgment? The federal prosecutor or judge won't withhold judgment. Have you heard when the arraignments are?" "No Sir, but I'll find out and let you know what happens. I need to know if this Rocky person is out. I don't think he's going to pay attention to any court restraining orders. He's supposed to be on some TV wrestling match this weekend, so if he does get out, hopefully he'll just pay attention to that."" John said, "I don't want to get into your personal matters, but do you owe Bobby anything on the house? Do you have any co-mingled finances?" "No, I bought the house. It's in my name and I've been paying for it. I pay all the expenses and the people who stay with me pay me rent. To my knowledge, Bobby has a pretty big savings account. She has enough to buy a car on her own and if she doesn't have her big boyfriend, she has enough to live on until she finds work." "So you don't recommend we take her back if she wants to come back?" "That's going to be up to the prosecutor and the judge he presents the information to. If she is charged with a felony, she's done. We'll have to see." "You're right, Chuck, she got herself into this, she'll have to get herself out. Are you okay with all this?" "I miss the crazy lady, but if you love 'em, you gotta set 'em free. I'm not going to worry myself over it. I had to think it through to get right with it, and I'm okay now. I don't like it, but I don't have to like it." "You're a good guy, Chuck. Most would get nuts over it. Just don't shoot the guy. Try to keep your distance. Do you want a mission? There's always something." "Let me hang out this weekend, unless you need me. I'm going to try to get some flying in and have some fun." John left me with, "Be careful, when you have one of those roid rage type clowns, they don't think clearly. Watch yourself." I asked Wanda to check on Rocky's status for me. She found out he had been arraigned and released on bond, but cautioned that he was under a restraining order to not get within five hundred feet of me. "Wanda, would it be reasonable for me to investigate this guy from a distance? He attacked me once and made threats; perhaps I should check him out." She pulled out a fairly thick folder and handed it to me. It was full of freshly printed information describing Rocky Mountain. His real name had been Jerry Dunlap, but he had changed it several years ago. The man was popular enough that he had made a lot of money and had kept a great deal of it. He had a beach house in Belle-Air Beach on the inter-coastal island worth several million and didn't have any major obligations. He had had a run in with the IRS a few years back, but that action had been dropped. It looked like Rocky was an okay guy. I hope he treats Bobby right. Pete Serano, the federal prosecutor called. "Do you want to put this babe in jail, or do you really mean it that you're going to withhold judgment?" "I'd rather wait to see if this goes away, Pete. I don't have any hard feelings that she left our relationship. She's a grown woman and is free to do what she wants. I'm leery of her guy though. That's my biggest problem right now." "Tell you what, get a local attorney and sue his ass. I'd bet he has a pile of money and that's the only way you can make clowns like that leave you alone. When they find out you can get their money, they get quiet very quick. If you want, I'll hunt up an attorney for you." "I think I know just the one. She mostly does divorces, but I think she would do this one. Thanks for the advice. Run the whole thing in front of the judge like you're supposed to, and do what he says. The lady was in the wrong, but the couple will have enough problems without putting her in jail if you don't have to. Do what you're supposed to do, do what's right." I called Frank, the Bureau Chief, "Hey, Frank, can you give me Sarah Perkins telephone number?' "Sure, getting a divorce?" "No, I might have something she'll enjoy, though." He gave me the number and I called. A receptionist answered so I identified myself and asked for Ms. Perkins. "Sarah Perkins." "Ms. Perkins, this is Charles, Chuck Johnson, the deputy marshal you met with Frank and Conish." "What can I do for you, Chuck? You want to get married so I can take you to the cleaners later? You'd have a great ride while it lasted." "Not my idea of fun, Ms. Perkins." "Call me Sarah." "Okay, Sarah, like I said not my idea of fun but I have a possible lawsuit that you might enjoy. A wealthy professional wrestler attacked me yesterday. Since it didn't have anything to do with my professional responsibilities, I would like to keep this guy off my back by him donating to my welfare. Would you like to help with this?" "Are you in your office?" "Yes, Ma'am." "I'll be right there." She hung up. Wanda was standing in the doorway listening. "Good idea, Mr. Johnson. The pocketbook is the one way to get to these guys." Sarah came in the door, made over Conish a minute before being ushered into see me. "Shit, now I really do want to marry you. Christ, we'll make a bundle on this guy or get a bundle out of him real quick. He can't handle a lawsuit like this as it will keep him from getting legitimate contracts and endorsements." She plopped into a chair and took out a pad to write on, "Now who is it that attacked you?" "Rocky Mountain." "No shit. He's going to love you. I handled his ex's divorce. I separated him from all she wanted. She wasn't nearly greedy enough. She didn't realize he has so many offshore accounts. What kind of proof do you have?" I gave her a copy of the police report, and the two incident reports. Sarah read them over real quick and asked, "Do you have any other witnesses?" "He told the policeman that he was going to kill me several times, and there is the witness who saw the incident and reported it to the cops." "Will she testify?" "Let me find out, Sarah." I called Brandy and asked her, "Did anyone else see what happened yesterday?" "Yeah, three or four others did. I was pointing you out when it happened. Charlene saw it, and so did Monica. Why, do you need a witness? I want to be one." "Brandy, can you give me Charlene's and Monica's full names and contact information so my attorney can talk to them?" "Hang on, give me your fax number and I'll send them to you." "Thank you, Brandy. I'll talk to you later." "Sarah," I said, "Brandy is going to fax me a list of people who witnessed the altercation. Brandy may not be that great of a witness as she and I are trying to be special friends. We're not yet, but it would look funny to a jury. She was pointing me out to her friends when the problem occurred." "That's great, Chuck, I'll file something real quick to get their attention and I'll bet we'll get an attorney on the line within twenty-four hours." Wanda came in with a sheet of paper and two copies. She handed the copies to Sarah and said, "You should know that Mr. Johnson was carrying a gun, as he always does, yesterday and did not use it. He only disabled the attacker in order to handcuff him." "That's good, it shows that you wouldn't hurt someone for no reason. The guy's arrest and the arresting officer's statement will be enough to win a settlement. Everything else just adds zeroes to the number. I'll call you, I gotta get this thing filed. Love ya, Chuck, think about it, I'm available." I was laughing as she left. Wanda said, "I'll bet she would be fun for an hour or so. Perhaps even a full day or a week, but then she would be back chasing that buck." "You're probably right, Wanda. I don't need any other females right now. I'm very happy with the friends that I have, even the fab five from next door." "Your fab five are splintering into a one and only, along with the other four." "We'll see. It's a maybe. I'm going out for a lesson. I'd bet John finds some wild goose chase to send me on just to get me out of town. He's too protective sometimes." Wanda said, "If he does it will probably be up to Maine. There are some problems up there with some border agents and some escapees that may have crossed into Canada. There are two guys that walked away from a prison camp. They aren't dangerous yet, but who knows about guys having to spend another five years in jail." "Okay, dig it out for me while I'm flying. I'd rather stay in town this weekend and do some more flying. Perhaps go to Key West or somewhere." I left and called out to the park while driving. John was there and said he could get me my last couple of hours of hood time, or I could do a solo. I asked if my plane was in house. He had to go find out and came back, "It's out but you could fly the B200 if you wanted. You're checked out in it." That sounds like fun but let me stick to something like the 172. Make up my destinations and I'll be there in a few minutes. When I parked the car at the charter office and went inside, John was there. "Are you sure you don't want to use the B200? That's a hell of an airplane to do a solo in. Three hundred miles an hour! You really don't want to use it?" "I'm flying for fun, John. Just a leisurely flight in and out of some traffic patterns up and down the coast." "Okay, Chuck, here's a couple of hours worth. Just right for a logged solo. Do up your paperwork and let me look it over before you file." The flight was nothing spectacular. John sent me to Jacksonville to enter and leave the pattern, a quick touch and go in Daytona, a full stop landing in Melbourne, and back home, circumventing the bombing range near Sebring. Nothing rocket science, but I had to pay attention. All of the restricted airspace up in Jacksonville and near Sebring was good to get used to. When I touched down at the air park and put the plane in front of the hangar, John came out and hooked up a laptop to the Garmin unit and brought it into the charter office. He had me watch as he reviewed my path. He was particularly interested in the traffic pattern in Jacksonville as to where I exited in order to avoid the restricted airspace. He checked the Melbourne landing and takeoff to see that I avoided the edge of the restricted area there. When he was through, he said, "Good job, a solo like that is what your flight exam will be like. We'll get your hood time in and schedule your exam. What you need are hours. You need to fly the B200 when you can for more experience. Think of somewhere you want to go to and plan a trip. You have the plane's specs, plan it and fly it. You have enough credit to fly just about anywhere you want." I went back to the office to find Wanda beside herself, laughing. "You really stirred up the shit. Sarah called to tell me she had filed the suit and it was being served. Fifteen minutes later, lawyers were calling to talk to you. I referred them all to Sarah like she told me. What did she file for?" "I don't know, but the only way the word can be out is for Rocky to have been served. I don't know how she could have done that already." I called Sarah's office and was put through to her, "So how did you serve Rocky already?" "Easy, I filed the simple suit referencing multiple witnesses, the Tampa police report, the officer's statement, and the federal report. I sent a process server that always gets his man to see Rocky, and if he could serve him immediately, he would get a bone. He served Rocky about two hours after I left your office. The big boy's attorneys are all over the place. The network is threatening to cancel the contracted shows and a couple of sponsors that got word are threatening to pull their support" "So Sarah, what did you sue him for?" "I only asked for fifty million to get their attention. I think if we go to court we could get almost that. I think you and I are going to hit a home run on this one. Oh, I didn't get you to sign a contract. Will you pay me a lot of money to win this thing?" "What's a lot of money, Sarah?" "I'll do the first mil at thirty percent and at ten each mil thereafter. Is that agreeable?" "If that's fair, then sure. Is that a good deal?" "Do you know what ten percent of ten million is?" "Oh, okay, do you really think this is worth that much money? I didn't get hurt, you know." "Yes, you did. You had to suffer the fact that you had to defend yourself from the woman he stole from you. You had to suffer that you had to subdue him because of his anguish. You have to suffer knowing he's threatened your life. When the legal eagles started calling, I told them to pay up or we were going to the press. All the grocery store rags will pay you a mil apiece for the story. Are you sure you don't want to marry me?" "Remind me not to piss you off. You want me to come over to sign a contract or anything like that?" "Naw, I trust you, besides I have a recorder on the line. That would work if you became a problem. You won't, so you and me are okay. I'll talk to you later when I get a firm offer. Later, Dude." Wanda was in the doorway, "Fifty million? Does that guy have that much?" "I don't know, Wanda, but according to Sarah, if he pisses her off, he loses his ability to make more money. Right now if he keeps us happy, he pays out some money, but keeps right on making more. "Jesus, just a million is a bunch of money, but a bunch of millions! Wow, I might even reconsider hooking up with you." "Sure you would, what would you do with Brandy? She seems to be on the fast track to becoming close." Wanda smiled and said, "I know, isn't she cute? I like her and think you two would have a lot of fun together. I was thinking you should hook up with Lisa, or perhaps even Shannon." "I don't think Lisa wants a permanent relationship and Shannon is like second only to Zena. Shannon is more Zena's toy than Tom's." "You're right. Then there is Mercy who really likes you." "Wanda," I exclaimed amazed. "Mercy is Steve's wife or something like that. They have children together and she's a part of that family. That would be a terrible thing to do, to even think of breaking up that family." "You're right, and oh so sweet, to always think of others. Mercy really likes you and I'm sure Steve would invite you to enjoy Sue, Mercy, Kathy, or that luscious Juanita. All of them make me wet. I think Sue and Mercy are really into women. Kathy and Juanita are just into Steve, Sue, and Mercy." "I'm a babe in the woods, Wanda. I'll let you and Brandy figure out who's on first. Oh, don't mention this lawsuit thing to Brandy, nobody should know about this. The less said, the better chance we'll have to collect." "Are you flying anywhere this weekend?" "I want to. How about flying down to Key West? We'll stay overnight and wander around on the island to see what's going on. We can go either tonight or in the morning, and fly back either Saturday or Sunday." Wanda said, "Let me see if I can get some reservations for us. How many, do you know?" "We can take a max of five plus me. I think in this case, the fewer the better." "Let me ask Jan, Marie, and Angie." I checked on the Maine problem to find out the situation was stagnant. There were worse problems up in Montana, Minnesota, and one out in Washington State. None were escapees, only border problems where people were complaining we were being too strict. Actually that was good to hear. Wanda came in and said, "Jan has something going this weekend and Angie is spending the weekend with her folks. Marie wants to come and to bring Dennis. What do you think?" "That's four of us. We won't have a lot of luggage, but we need to take a lot of sunscreen. When do you want to go?" "Call Brandy and ask her. Marie and I want to go tonight and come back Sunday." I dialed Brandy's number again. She picked up and said, "Hi Lover, are you calling for something fun to do this weekend?" "How about a trip to Key West? We could leave tonight and come back Sunday." "Sounds fun, but that's such a long drive." "No silly, we'll fly. Wanda, Marie, and Marie's boyfriend are going. We'll fly my plane or another like it." "Wow! Sounds good, I won't need to pack much. Swimsuits, shorts, and tops, that's it. We're really going tonight?" "We'll go home, pack what we need, and go to the air park where the airplane is. We'll be down there no later than ten." Brandy said, "I'll call you from the house as soon as I'm packed. This is going to be a blast." Sarah Perkins was standing at my door, "Do you really have an airplane? You're really flying to Key West this weekend?" I kept nodding. "Damn, I should get serious over you. Here, sign this power of attorney so I can make a deal if necessary. You can sign this contract if you want to. I made the changes to only take ten percent of the 2nd and remaining millions I get for you." I signed the papers and handed them back to her. She asked, "Can you take me somewhere sometime? I'd like it if you would. I'll show you a good time if you want, or just be a crazy friend for you." "I'd love for you to be a crazy friend, Sarah. That's better than a quickie." "That's what I love about you, Chuck, a really nice guy. I'll get you some money, doncha worry one bit." Sarah was gone as fast as she arrived. Wanda mentioned, "She's really right on it, isn't she?" "I think she likes money. She sees how some people can have fun and wants that too, but she really likes money." The day was ending. I called out to the charter service to see if I could get my plane or another for the weekend. I told them I was flying to Key West and was told I would have a good airplane to fly. We all left the crazy place and were home quickly. I made mention to Jan and Angie that I wanted to make sure they set the alarms. They all understood. Angie was getting ready to go to her folks and Jan was going to take her. Jan was heading out to the nudist park to stay with the girls this weekend. We put our clothes into a duffle bag and our toiletries into a gym bag. We looked around and climbed into the Impala to go pick up Brandy. She came running out the door as soon as I drove up and we headed out to the trailer park to pick up Dennis. He was at Steve's, where they were having their usual Friday party, and understood that I couldn't party with them if I was flying. John said to enjoy the weekend and the flight. At the airport, I went in to get a log book and was handed a book for a B200. I asked, "Oh, come on, don't you have at least one 206?" Star said to me, "Don't be pissed but your plane is popular and John and Steve both want you to fly the 200. If you don't feel comfortable in it, I'll get someone to fly you." "No, Star, the B200 will be fine, but it is really too fancy for a weekend getaway." "If you were rated in the Lear, you could take that." "Give me the B200, I'll be fine." I did the planning which really didn't need to be done. I called in the flight plan and went out to grab the preflight inspection card first. After doing a thorough job on that, I loaded a bunch of amazed travelers into the plane. When I told Brandy to sit in the right seat, I thought she was going to orgasm right then. "Oh, Chuck, Dad won't even let me fly in the right seat on his twin. This is really cool." "You have to help me, Brandy, you read the checklist to me and we'll get this thing in the air." We went through the startup right through takeoff. When the wheels were up and we were climbing to our assigned altitude of 9,500 feet, Brandy asked, "Are you instrument rated yet?" "Not yet, but I can still use all of them. We don't have but one turn to make to skirt some restricted airspace as we go past the first island. It will be fast with this plane, about an hour and fifteen minutes, tops." In no time at all, I was calling in for landing instructions. As soon as we touched down, we were directed to the private terminal for tie down areas. As we taxied toward the marked space, a guy waved me into the slot. Brandy went through the shutdown procedures and we got out of the airplane. The ground guy said, "Happy to see you guys. Any time we get an S&S plane in here, we like to show you guys our best side. Let me help you with your straps. I put the good chocks out for you. When you're done, we have a courtesy car for you and I understand you're staying at the Islander, nice place. Have a great time." I didn't know what to think about the treatment we were getting. Dennis said, "Don't knock it, Uncle Steve does a lot for these people. He does a lot for everyone and they do try to treat him and his people nice. The company has a bunch of condos down here, so they are well known. You should have asked, they might have had one for you. You're experiencing a sample of Steve's good life. That's probably why they wanted you to take the B200. Nice airplane, huh?" It was eight o'clock on a Friday night in Key West, Florida. What kind of fun could we have tonight? We drove the car we were given to the hotel using the directions we were given. The place was very nice, right on the ocean, with a beautiful beach in front of it. We had two rooms, and the S&S treatment continued. The front desk person scolded me, saying, "When you reserve rooms you must always tell us you're with S&S. We can always give you special consideration. Remember, when you come to visit and we hope it is often, let us know you're with S&S." I would have to talk with Steve about this. He probably doesn't even think about it. The next thing to do was to eat. This time being a part of S&S didn't make any difference. I wanted some of the food from a bar I'd heard about called Conchs. There we had some drinks, lots of beer while eating crab legs, and conch fritters. By the time we got around to sharing a giant steak, we were pretty toasted. The food sobered us up a little, so we were able to stumble to a couple more bars that were mostly outdoors. We kept disturbing roosting chickens and were cautioned not to bother them intentionally. By the time we made it back to the hotel at nearly one o'clock in the morning, we were all full of good food and lots of booze. None of us bothered with anything but brushing our teeth and crashing in the king size bed. I woke up in the morning with a king size headache. Too much the night before, but I knew the cure. I called room service for a pitcher of Bloody Marys and a pot of coffee. The girls said, "No, it's too early, don't make us get up yet." I did make them have a Bloody Mary and take a couple of aspirin, then let them go back to bed. It was already eight so I put on some shorts and walked out of our patio onto the sand. I was using my leg in sandals to keep from sinking in, but I couldn't go out into the surf with it. I really wanted to get my toes in the water, but not at the expense of a leg. I would talk to the couple who made my prosthesis some time and find out what I could have that could take the salt water. Back in the room, I was able to get the girls up and going. Once again, I had room service bring some more coffee, and this time to bring a big breakfast with an assortment of everything. They brought a few trays of eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, potatoes, pancakes, French toast, and lots of fruit. We stuffed ourselves trying to eat it all, but couldn't, before we went out on the beach to enjoy the sun and sand. Brandy and Wanda had bikinis that would probably be outlawed in most places, but they were ignored here. I didn't ignore them. We played in the sand, and I watched the girls go out into the surf several times. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I took off my leg and hopped out into the surf so I could swim. I had only been swimming up and down the beach a short time when they blew an air horn and yelled for everyone to come in. It was a shark warning. I came in and was assisted by Wanda and Brandy back to the lounge chair where I could put my leg back on. I said I would have to wash my stump to get the salt off, so we went up to the room where we all showered and put on some clean shorts and tops. I put my peg on as it was kind of a "yo ho ho and a barrel of rum" afternoon. We had lunch in another bar that had great hamburgers and more fritters that were great with beer. The next bar was called Margaritaville, so we naturally had margaritas while listening to continuous Jimmy Buffett and other country songs. We found the place called Clam Jammers, where you shucked your own clams and oysters from tubs filled with ice, fresh clams, and oysters. A waiter there suggested we try a place called The Claw for supper. He said they had a great menu and we would enjoy ourselves. The rest of the afternoon was for going through antique and gift shops, finding presents for all our friends. I found some unique items for Steve, Sue, Mercy, Juanita, and Kathy. They deserved something for the class A treatment we received. We didn't even bother to dress up for our night out, just wearing our shorts, assorted tops, and me still sporting the peg leg. The Claw was perfect. They had huge lobster tails and claws that were served with very tender steaks. The place had a good Caesar salad that went perfect with a Beefeaters before dinner. We left the place full and happy. We did find a little swimwear shop that had some of the naughtiest swimsuits I've ever seen. The prices were ridiculously low and we found out that the suits were all sexy garments that didn't sell up in New York. We found our way back to our room around ten, deciding a good shower and a trip out to the big hot tub would be perfect. We had a lot of fun meeting people from various places, and finally went back to the room about eleven thirty. We lay in bed smooching and hugging for a while. Brandy soon convinced me to enjoy all of her, so I tasted every square inch of her for a long, long time. When she was groaning and nearly crying, I brought her over the top by tasting her special center. We were soon coupled, giving each other a mutual climax that rivaled the best I've ever had. Wanda had been helping both of us by touching, kissing, and sucking various places on each of us. Brandy and I returned the favor, bringing Wanda to climax after climax, until she finally begged, "I'm through with my curse, please do me, love me, I need you inside me." Again Brandy helped make her explode time after time as I thrust into Wanda until she collapsed. Brandy and I enjoyed each other one more time before falling asleep in each other's arms. Sunday morning was anti-climatic. I woke up at my usual time and ordered Bloody Marys for the girls and Dennis, a pot of coffee, and another huge breakfast. Everyone was happy to get up and have breakfast. They were all saying that it was too bad I couldn't have a Bloody Mary. I had coffee, which was just as good. We did play out on the beach for a while before we came in, showered, and dressed to return home. The hotel charged us so little that I was really feeling guilty, but I didn't argue as I wasn't aware of what all Steve and his company might do for these people. Surprisingly, the plane had been fueled and was already untied, sitting there with only the wheel chocks. While I filed a flight plan, the girls loaded our booty into the airplane. Brandy once again talked me through the checklist all the way to ten thousand feet. We were soon in our home pattern, circling to come in from the north. I used the instruments to come down as it was always a smooth landing when I used the instruments as well as visual to set down. I taxied up to the hangar and spun the aircraft so it could be pushed backward into it. We unloaded all our gifts and the couple of bags we had. Our first stop was the trailer park. I gave Steve and the girls their gifts and received lots of hugs in return. Next I brought out the stuff for the kids. One shop had a bunch of little model sailboats that were copies of various nice sailboats in the area. For the girls, I found several sets of jewelry making kits to make necklaces, ear rings, bracelets, and rings from shells and other sea stones. I didn't really know how many kids there were so I had bought fifteen for girls and fifteen for boys. It seemed to work, so I chalked it up to a good day. We were on our way to the house when my cell phone rang. It was Sarah Perkins. "Can you meet me somewhere? I need you to sign a release and a guarantee non-disclosure agreement." I said, "I'm north of the city, we're near Land of Lakes, where do you want to meet?" Sarah, with happy lilt to her voice, said, "How about the bar at Park Place? When we finish signing some papers, we'll have dinner, sound good?" "Perfect, Sarah, we'll see you soon." I said to the two girls still with me, "We're going out to Park Place to meet Sarah Perkins, my attorney. She has some papers for me to sign that are probably pretty important. Let's have that drink I couldn't have this morning. If we all get too looped, we'll call a cab." We were sitting at the bar for only a few minutes when Sarah came in, found us, and sat with us. I asked her if she wanted something to drink and she said, "Not yet. First, let me get Chuck off to the side and get some business taken care of." We sat at a table next to the window and Sarah began going over all of the items in the agreement. After she explained each form, I had to initial three separate copies. When she got down to the final stuff she said, "I tore up our agreement and made them take care of me after we agreed on a number. I'm happy, and I think you're going to be happy, they are very eager to get your signature." She handed me a check that had a whole bunch of zeros. "Holy shit, Sarah, that's, that's, that's..." "That's forty-two million and no change. I get eight mil for doing the deal. When you sign that check, along with these papers, you agree to not talk about the incident to anyone other than if you have to testify in court. This agreement covers both Rocky and Roberta. Sign right here and it's all ours." As I signed the agreements, Sarah said, "God, I love being an attorney. I just made us a bundle. I just got this deal from you Friday and now it's Sunday and we're closing the deal. Hang on; let me get the other attorneys in here." Sarah went out and two attorneys, accompanied by some tough looking individuals, came in the bar. Sarah walked them through the documents and said, "Thank you, Gentlemen. I'm sure the money will be available tomorrow morning when we withdraw the funds to transfer them to our bank." One attorney said, "Don't worry, it's there. Just make sure this doesn't get out from your lips. My friends here will make sure that if you open your mouth, you'll never say anything again." I stood and looked at the four men, "If you are threatening me, do your best, but this time I will not be so gentle. Don't ever threaten me, my attorney, or anyone I know, or you will be pushing up daisies. If you don't believe me, look up my record." One attorney became nervous and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Johnson, these men don't know your reputation. I do, I'll, I'll, I'll be sure they don't bother you, Sir. Please, forget the inappropriate words you just heard." The other three looked at him, back at me, and just shook their heads. The four men left with Sarah choking back a belly laugh. As soon as they left, she said, "Did you see that guy almost shit his pants when you talked to them? He knows you from defending some of the hoodlums that you cleaned out way back in the Nardelli days." "Well, Sarah, that's it, huh? You made me very a rich guy for defending myself. I thought we would use a lawsuit to just slow them down." Sarah was smiling, "Chuck, these people live and worship money even more than me. They deal in megabucks every day. Their endorsements are for millions and millions. Every time they get into the ring, cash registers are ringing everywhere. They make money on the pre-fight promotions. They make money on fight nights but that's only a small, small part of the whole. People pay these guys for everything. What they gave you is a lot of money, but doesn't mean that much to them as a whole. I'd bet Rocky has five times that much in a large offshore account. When they tape a big match, it's shown all over the world and believe me, the promoters, agents, and wrestlers make money at every turn." Sarah finally said, "Do me a favor. Please don't say a word about any of this. It's in this contract. Don't let anyone know you have big bucks. Don't quit your job or get crazy with the money. Do all that later, after a couple of years. Thank you, Chuck. This was a fun deal. Wish you had a few more like this." I smiled and asked her to join our group again. Wanda asked, "Get all your business taken care of?" Sarah said, "Yes, we did. I had to discuss with him about how the restraining orders were supposed to work. He has to avoid contact as well. You folks can keep him away from those bad people, can't you?" After just one drink with us, Sarah left. Wanda said, "I've ordered a bunch of calzones to take home for this evening. They should be here in a minute." I smiled, thinking that before, I would have been concerned we were spending too much money for takeout food when we could make a better meal at home. But now, if they wanted something special, they could have it. This did change a lot of my thinking. I didn't need to rent out rooms or suites to people to make the house payments or to pay for the upkeep of the house. The addition was a waste, as I really didn't need two more tenants. The bigger garage would be useful, but if I wanted, I could just let the others move out. That made me sad. I thought of the fun and companionship I had with Wanda, Jan, Marie, and Angie. You can't buy that. But now Brandy had become a focal point. Is she real, will she last? Will Brandy be a problem in my relationship with Wanda? Wanda and I did have a magic bond that gave us happiness just by being around each other. We did enjoy being sexual with each other, but Wanda was a very sexual person, probably more than I was. I guess we just have to wait and see. This Sunday evening was very passive, very pleasant. Brandy clung to me more than she needed to, while Wanda showed me a lot of attention as well. When it was time for bed, Brandy was showered and in bed before I could make it in. Wanda didn't come in and Jan didn't even stop in for a kiss goodnight. Brandy enjoyed being with me and incited me to make love to her for a long, long time. We fell asleep totally satisfied. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 45 The next week was boring. Nothing special was happening around the country and life in the house became a little less frantic and very peaceful. Brandy was an every night visitor, with her four friends over for supper, drinks, or exercise almost every night. Marie and Dennis were becoming more intense with each other and Jan had met a man at the dojo that sparked her interest. She went from two nights a week working out with her new friend to going almost daily, then she began not coming home nights. When the girls teased Jan about her intense interest in martial arts, she blushed a lot and occasionally broke down in giggles. Angie had a date. A young man from her community college asked her out for coffee after school. By the third coffee date, he, Modelle, was bringing her home. She brought him in to enjoy her home and friends. At first, he was reluctant to be comfortable, but was soon relaxed and enjoying all of our company. Tiani helped a lot as she was often sitting on my lap talking to me as if we were lovers. Brandy was always sitting next to me, but Tiani was like a pet that sat on your lap, waiting to be petted. She still didn't want anything to do with me other than being the closest of friends. I received my instrument rating and had flown a few flights in the right seat with John and Lisa. John was busily teaching me all about the Lear, planning on having me attend the school that the park was holding. Considering that I could get a lot more hours flying second seat in the Lear, I figured the school would be a good investment. Two weeks after our trip to the Keys, Brandy asked me, "Would you come with me for breakfast Saturday. My folks want to meet you and my dad is dying to meet another airplane nut." "Why breakfast on a Saturday morning?" "Dad says people are their friendliest when they eat breakfast with others. He also says that he loves to sit around the table after a good breakfast and shoot the bull." "I was going on a trip with John, but I'm sure I can cancel. He really doesn't need me to go with him." "Dad will be pleased that you gave up flying to meet him. You'll love my mother, too. She's so loveable and so much what a mother should be. My bratty sister and brother will be there, but I'm sure they will have other things to do. They are both in high school and have loads of activities." Breakfast at the Carter's was something. First of all the house was a real surprise. The driveway is a right of way between two fences of two different subdivisions. It's so deceptive as you don't expect anything back there. The first building you see is a mobile home that sits outside a large electric gate. After entering the gate, you are confronted with acres of lush lawn with white fences surrounding a beautiful red, with white trim, barn. You make a circle past a line of trees and 'Oh shit, ' there is a huge two-story country house with a big porch all the way around the front. When you park in an area where someone made a fortune laying pavers, you feel like there was more to uncover. Brandy didn't take me through the front door or the side door; she led me around back to look out over more lush grass and fenced in areas with horses grazing. Near the house was an Olympic sized pool, complete with diving boards and a high platform. On the far side of the pool was a low cabana that could have been considered a home in some areas. The back porch was magnificent. There were umbrella tables scattered about, but not under the roof of the porch. Under the porch roof was a large table, overflowing with food. Two teens had large plates full of pancakes and sausage, while a nice looking guy with graying hair was sitting reading a newspaper. "Daddy, I'm here." The man put down the paper and stood, approaching us as we stepped onto the porch. We shook hands as he said, "Dan Carter, you must be Chuck Johnson." I smiled and said "Guilty." He pointed to the two teens and said, "These are the infamous twins Donna and Don. Thank God they don't look alike, but they sure do act alike. They are twins in the truest way. They don't do everything together, but almost. At least they both have some of their own friends." A very attractive lady came from the house, carrying a platter of cut up melons and other fruit. She put the platter down, wiped her hands on her apron and smiled. Brandy said, "Mom, this is Chuck Johnson, the man I've told you about and, Chuck, this is my mother, Jane Carter." "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Johnson. Please sit down and have some breakfast. The food is all on warming trays, so please sit. Can I get you coffee, juice, some milk?" "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Carter, juice and coffee would be good." I turned to Mr. Carter, "Nice to meet you too, Sir, you have a beautiful place." "Thank you, Chuck. The only thing I don't have is my own runway and hangar right here. There really isn't enough room but I'm thinking of buying a helicopter to get between here and the airport so I don't have to drive. I think that would be fun." Mrs. Carter was being busy talking quietly with Brandy who was pouring me orange juice and coffee. "Brandy tells me you've recently obtained an instrument license and are building hours to obtain a commercial ticket. Are you planning on becoming a commercial pilot?" "No Sir," I said, taking a sip of coffee to test how hot it was. "My real goal is to become an instructor pilot to assist a friend of mine. He's invested quite a bit in me to learn so I'm doing my best to become a help to him and his company." "What company is that?" "S&S Air Charter and School, you may know them." "I know them well, and I know Steve Sharp well, too. He is a real dynamo. Everything he puts his interest in becomes successful. How do you know him?" "We met when he and his wife piloted a charter for me a couple of times. When he was by himself, he had me assist him and I became interested in flying. He is very friendly and welcomes everyone he meets to be a part of his family. I really do enjoy him and his family." Mrs. Carter asked, "Do you know his wife Sue very well? And that Mercy, she is so uncanny the way she knows what you're thinking. I really like Kathy and Juanita too, but they are more home bodies than Sue and Mercy." Dan said, "Steve is a little unusual in the way he has more than one woman. I don't think I could do that. Jane is more than enough for me." Brandy spoke up, "I want a man who's vital enough to have more than one woman. If he can handle two, three or four, he can handle me." Mrs. Carter said, "Oh Brandy, you're always talking strange. You'll give your young man the wrong idea." "Mom, he's the guy we girls took to the Hard Rock that time a couple of years ago. He handled the five of us just fine." "Ah hum, ah Brandy, don't give the kids the wrong idea." "Oh Daddy, you know what I mean. He gave us all attention that night. He danced with every one of us over and over. He paid attention to all of us." Mrs. Carter said, "I'm sure you would rather Chuck just pay attention to you, wouldn't you?" "I love it when I'm the only one, but Tiani wanted him first and now she's like his little sister. They are best buds. Frieda says that Chuck is the man for her, but I got him first. The other two want him too, but I have him. I'll share, but I get him most of the time." Donna said, "You sure are a crazy lady, Sis. You talk some weird stuff. If I get a guy, I'm not sharing him with anybody. I'll keep him locked up away from all temptation." Brandy was smiling but said, "I don't own Chuck and we're not committed. We are enjoying going out and having fun together right now. Like I said, if he can be a friend to all of my friends, he's my kind of guy." We ate and chatted about a little of everything. Brandy bragged about our trip to Key West, saying we were treated royally the whole time we were there. Dan made the comment, "Your mother and I have been thinking of getting a condo down there. We really enjoy how relaxing it is." I asked, "Mrs. Carter, would you please pass me those scrambled eggs? I think I'll have a little more." She said, "Would you please call us Jane and Dan? All this formality is too much for me. I'm sure you don't want to be called Mr. Johnson or Charles." "Okay, Jane, may I have some of those eggs?" We ate and were drinking coffee when Dan asked, "Brandy said you had a small Cessna, do you have an old 150? Perhaps a 172?" "I was lucky a while back and was able to buy a 206 that was a government confiscation. It's in really good condition and it's making me some money right now being rented out. I can't fly it every day so the charter company rents it out and charters it for short in-state flights." "Is that what you flew down to the keys?" "No, they had my plane rented out so they let me use one of their B200s. I really like that plane as it's fast and large enough to carry more people." "So you're checked out in several planes now?" "Yes Sir. I'm being trained right now in the Lear and hope to be able to fly left seat in that soon." "You are becoming an accomplished pilot. I have to agree with you, it is fun." When we were about talked out, Brandy suggested that we had some places to go. As we drove out the driveway, she said, "Let's go flying, anywhere in any kind of airplane. I just want to go up for a while." When we got to the air park, we found Star and John busy with rentals and lessons. John frowned at me, but asked, "You're not looking for a lesson today, are you?" "No Sir, just looking for any kind of airplane to go up in for a while." John looked over the inventory of airplanes, then thought a second. He asked, "Do you have your tail dragger endorsement?" "No Sir." He looked at Brandy and asked, "Can you wait about thirty minutes while I get Chuck checked out in a neat plane." Brandy smiled and nodded. "Come on, let's get this done real quick. I have another lesson coming up." We went out to Steve's red bi-plane and pushed it out of the hangar. We went over the airplane and quickly did the preflight inspection. He had me sit in the front seat and said, "It's easier to fly from the back seat, but I want you to land this thing from up there first. We'll switch after the first time." We put on our headphones, started the engine, and let it warm up. John was telling me about the plane and that it had plenty of power even though it was considered a sport plane. There were not many gauges or controls, but there were the basics. When we were cleared for takeoff, John said, "Just take off from here. We don't need much runway." We didn't use but about four hundred feet. My takeoff wasn't all that pretty as when I lifted off I had jerked the stick back then countered that by moving it forward a little then back again. Thank goodness I was at almost full power doing that dip. We circled around getting clearance and came in fairly normally. If you've been flying tricycle gear you want to lean it forward after touching down, but you let this airplane slow until the tail drops to the runway. You don't want to use your rudder pedals hardly at all on the ground as you can do a ground loop too easily. We were given permission to turn around and go back down the runway to quickly takeoff again. John and I switched seats and when I lifted off this time, I didn't jerk anything around. When we were up about two thousand feet, John went through trimming the aircraft and the correct throttle settings and how to lean the fuel mixture. We came around and came into the glide path. I kept looking for the glide slope indicator but there wasn't one. This was real flying, just the airplane and the pilot. The landing was easy if you just let the tail drop on its own instead of forcing it to the ground. We taxied up to the hangar and after I shut down, John said, "Check the fuel as Steve flies this thing all the time. Do the whole preflight including the oil as this is a smaller engine." The fuel was near full and the oil level was where it should be so I went for Brandy. She was excited about riding in her first bi-plane. I knew how she felt as it had not been that long ago Steve gave me my first ride. I was about to climb into the plane when John came out with my logbook. "I've put your endorsement in your logbook and will file it Monday. I just wanted you to see you've notched your gun again." Since Brandy was a licensed pilot, we had a great time. We flew over to the Clearwater beach and flew just off the coast checking out the people on the beach. When we ran out of beach down in St. Petersburg, we turned and headed back up the coast. We made a few passes over S&S boat charter services at the big Dunedin yacht club. There were two big sailboats in and a couple of large fishing boats. I thought it would be cool to try to get a ride on one of the boats soon. I noticed the time and that we were nearing the point where we were going to be on the last half hour of fuel so we turned for home. We flew by Brandy's parent's home and wagged the wings. We were waved at by the people out by the pool. The landing at the air park was nice and gentle. We were slowed down enough to turn into the charter service when we got there. I made sure to move the fuel truck to the little bi-plane and fill it up. I checked the oil again before Brandy and I pushed the plane back into the hangar. Pointing at an airplane, Brandy said, "Isn't that your plane?" "It sure is. It must have just gotten back." "Can we go back up? How about we go somewhere for a late lunch or early supper?" "Let me check with the office." John was back and looked beat. I asked about the plane and he said it was free and had been refueled. I told him we were thinking of going somewhere for an early supper. John looked up, "Let's go to Melbourne. They are opening a new restaurant there this weekend. If you don't mind, I'll ride along. Hey, Star, want to come with us to eat?" "No," Star said, "I'm bushed. Lisa's over in the maintenance hangar. I'll bet she wants to go." I walked across to the maintenance hangar and asked Lisa, "Want to ride along with John, a lady friend of mine, and me to Melbourne to an early supper?" "I'm in. Maybe she'll share." I just shook my head. "You're all talk, Lisa." "I do use my mouth well, but you don't know that do you?" A short while later, the four of us were taking off with Brandy in the left seat. It isn't a long flight, so we were sitting down being served in an hour. Lisa and John had a drink, but Brandy and I were abstaining. The food was pretty good and when we were back in the air, Lisa asked, "Can we go to Manasota for ice cream? They have the creamiest ice cream anywhere." We flew to the Manasota airport, had some good ice cream, then headed back home. Brandy was excited to fly the plane and to receive a checkout ride to enter into her logbook. She said her dad had it but she would get it and keep it with her now since we were going to be flying a lot. Saturday evening at home was pleasant. Everyone was out somewhere, so Brandy joined me in the gym while I did my bike, treadmill, and weights. When we went to the pool, Brandy was about to become bashful, but I assured her, and she knew we swam nude all the time. We didn't kill ourselves, only swam leisurely. It was only nine o'clock when we were done. I said, "Want to take a ride on the bike. I'm in the mood to ride." Brandy said, "The bi-plane should have been enough wind in your face, but I'd love to ride. Let's go." I had to take her home to get some jeans and a T-shirt first. We rode out toward the air park and back into the suburbs. I thought I could take a chance going to Jonah's so I rode up and parked on the side. The first person I saw was the little redhead from the trailer park. She was standing by a fancy bike. "Did you see Millie's sister here tonight? You know, the lady I was going out with for a while?" "No, she isn't here. Millie said she's in Detroit, at a big wrestling exposition with her new guy, that clown Rocky Mountain." I went inside and was greeted with a big hug from Millie. She was very sweet to Brandy, telling her how lucky she was that we were having fun together. The barmaid, Double D, brought us a couple of beers. When I gave her the money and a tip, she proclaimed, "See there, Millie, this guy doesn't think he's owed anything. He knows he can drink free, but does he? Naw, he pays for his beer and tips me to boot. Not like that famous fag wrestler you were drooling over. Give me a guy like Steve or Chuck any day." We had a beer, then Steve appeared and said, "Come with us. We're headed down to a clubhouse in St. Pete for a beer, then back up to the Crab Shack. That place is closing so it may be the last chance for a grouper sandwich or onion rings." We rode down to a bar in an old shopping center. This was obviously a club bar, but everyone was friendly since I had come with Steve. I had a large vest on, so my piece didn't show, and I didn't want to show it off. After a beer there, we rode up to the Crab Shack where Brandy and I split a grouper sandwich and a large order of onion rings. It was all so good. What a loss to lose a place like this. I can only imagine the struggle they had with the health inspectors. The tiny little place only had a small closet-sized kitchen, but it turned out some world class burgers and sandwiches. We drove back across the causeway to Tampa. When we were up near Carolwood, I split off from the group and rode home. We were still the only people home, so we decided to sit in the hot tub for a few minutes before bedtime. We made love long and slow this night. No rush, no hurry, just sensual touching and kissing until we were numb with satisfaction. Ah, Sunday morning. I was anxious to get up and enjoy the day. It was only six, but I got up anyway and used the bathroom and slipped outside to form to my own music for a while. I was back in the house, making coffee, when Brandy came out of the back, freshly showered. "I saw you out there doing some kind of dance. Is that a form of martial art?" "It's called Tai Chi, Brandy. It stretches your muscles and relaxes you all at once. It's a very old form of oriental movement. It is somewhat like a dance." Wanda came walking into the kitchen, "It is very relaxing, Brandy. You'll have to have Chuck play some music for you so you can have your own internal music." Wanda gave me a hug before pouring herself some coffee. She said, "That was an experience. I went to a party out at the park last night with Becky, Maggie, and Joanie. That couple, Gerald and June, were there too, but not Tom and Zena. Our home is so peaceful, and the company here is so nice, I think I would much rather be here." Brandy said, "Why didn't you come sleep with us when you got home last night?" "You two looked so peaceful, I let you be. I didn't want to bother you." Brandy got up and went to Wanda at the sink. She hugged Wanda to her and said, "No please, Wanda, you have to be with us. I really like you to be there with me, with Chuck, with us." Brandy kissed Wanda and said, "I'll help you enjoy being with us, Wanda. I want you to share Chuck with me." Wanda held Brandy looking at her, "You're serious, aren't you? I would love to share Chuck with you, and I do want to get to know you better." I decided that a big breakfast would be a happy beginning. I began by making some biscuits and started a bunch of gravy. Brandy asked, "Can I call Mom and Dad? They would love this kind of breakfast. Please?" "Sure, let me make some more. Give them a call." Wanda and Brandy went to put on shorts and T-shirts. I was just finishing the bacon and sausage when the doorbell rang. I welcomed Dan and Jane into the house. Brandy came running to say hi and get hugs. I went back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast. I was putting food on the table when Dennis and Marie came from the bedrooms. A minute later, Angie came out. It was a good thing there was a big table, as we were filling up quickly. Brandy and I were able to get out more dishes and flatware. We poured drinks for everyone and began eating our fill. The doorbell rang again. This time it was Tiani, Judy, Nancy, and Frieda. The four came in like a storm, and quickly found chairs as I found more plates and flatware. Dan and Jane were used to the girls, so they enjoyed all the chatter. Brandy told her dad about flying the bi-plane and then getting checked out in the 206 on the ride to Melbourne for supper. He said, "You've hardly flown in the last year and now you're flying all the time. That's great, Brandy. It can get expensive though." "I don't hardly spend any money at all, Daddy. If I blow it on aviation gas, then it will be for a good cause." Breakfast was soon over and the kitchen and table cleaned up. Dan and Jane were heading out to visit somewhere for the afternoon. Marie and Dennis were taking Angie with them to a movie later. Angie said she had homework too, so she had plenty to keep her busy. I wanted to wash my bike and car and look at what was left for the construction people to do. Brandy said she needed to wash some clothes and would come back later. When the bike was clean, I began on the car and Wanda came out to help and do her car too. We were having fun washing the cars, getting each other wet. This degenerated into us heading into the bedroom to get out of our wet clothes and play in our birthday suits. We managed to find several ways to wrestle until we were laying in each other's arms and juices. Wanda asked, "So you think Brandy is really open-minded about us playing?" "There is only one way to find out. Join us and we will make her happy, I'll make you happy, and you two can make me happy. That should give you an idea." "Can you hold up for both of us?" "Only if we invite Jan, too." Wanda frowned, "Jan might be finding herself a permanent guy. She might even be a candidate for the apartment over the garage. She's pretty intense, pretty serious, pretty fast." "Good for her. I hope it works out for her." "I'm glad you feel that way, Chuck. I hope she does too. Would you feel the same if I found another man?" "Of course, Wanda. You and I have a lot of fun with each other, but you don't want to get that close to me. I would miss you and still enjoy being around you, but yes, I would be happy for you." "I thought that, but it's good to hear." When we were showered and dressed again with the cars all put away, Wanda said, "You don't seem to have any trouble attracting company, so it wouldn't be like leaving you alone." "I don't seem to keep them, though." "If you're talking about Bobby," Wanda scoffed. "She'll be back begging. I just hope you'll resist. It may be a month, six months, a year or so, but she'll be back." "I figured so, but she kind of blew it for me right now. It would take a lot for me to want to get back with her. We had the service in common and now that's gone. There are enough other reasons to doubt that we would get back together." "You're not all that impressed with Brandy's money, are you? If you two get together it's going to be because you want to." "Wanda, I make great money. I have this wonderful house and people that help pay for it. We'll get some more people to live here and we'll enjoy them too. I have this flying thing that's kind of consuming, but the intensity will be gone soon. I'm happy, Wanda, very happy. I don't need any big money, so I'm content." "You know you're young enough that if you want to climb the political ladder within the Marshal Service, you would be a great choice for the old guys to elevate. You could have a decent political career if you wanted." "I don't think I'm cut out for that, too much compromising. I'll just do what I can in this job. It's a good job, a little boring lately, but a good job." "I knew you were going to get bored if we didn't have any special captures going on. John told me the same thing and told me to watch you so you don't get down from nothing to do." "Actually, I do have plenty to do and can begin going to some of the stations around the country to say hi." "The budget office doesn't want us spending travel funds when we don't have to." "No problem, I'll just sign on as a Marshal to visit other offices. That would work and keep me within budget." "You would still have to have a hotel." "Or stay with the Station Chief for a night. I'll bet most would give me a place to sleep." "They probably would. You could try that if you want. No one could object." Brandy came over about five, so we three went to the grocery store for food. We bought steaks, lots of hamburger, and pork chops. We would use the hamburger for both a meat loaf and some hamburger helper. Our beer supply was getting low, so we bought a couple of cases of beer, one regular Bud and one Miller Lite. That would take care of most tastes. We got a bunch of Diet Cokes and the makings for ice tea. Breakfast foods had to be refilled, as well as a cart load of toilet paper. With all these girls in the house, toilet paper can be at a premium. By six o'clock, people were coming home. Angie, Marie, and Dennis were there. Jan and her new guy were in. When the four girls from the next block showed up, Brandy said, "I'll be right back." She came back with more steaks and another case of Miller Lite. Jan talked to me about the possibility of renting the apartment upstairs as the guy she was hot for was living at home. He was working out at the S&S research and development center with Dennis, so I knew he was a decent guy. The apartment might be good for them. It was too big for them, but they wanted to use the other bedroom for an office or computer room if we didn't have someone else to rent it to. Angie said, "If Jan's room opens up, I know a girl at school who would love to live with us. She's a bartender, and also goes to school almost full time. She's a nice person and I know you would like her, Chuck. She's a fox." "Don't need another fox around here, Angie. You're too much to resist the way you are." Angie blushed and said, "Then you should sample this fox instead of letting me slip away." "You know the answer to that. Can't do it." Tiani hugged Angie and said, "He's nothing special. I drool for his body, but he's too scary to keep." Nancy said, "I'm like you, Angie, I want to try a little white boy for fun, but I don't want to ruin it for him with Brandy. If he had me for a night, he'd kick Brandy out." We had a great supper with lots of beer, ending the evening by making brownies. After the sweet dessert, the four housemates left, leaving Brandy with me. "You don't mind if I stay do you, Chuck?" "Heavens no, Brandy. We're having a lot of fun getting to know each other. Come on, let's get Wanda and use the hot tub." It was not only Wanda, but also Jan and her guy Don, Dennis and Marie, and Angie. We laughed and joked, but I could only stay in a short while or it could affect my stump. I said goodnight to the group, with Brandy and Wanda following me. In bed, we three played in just about the order I had suggested. Brandy was a very eager eater when it came time to make Wanda happy. She enjoyed Wanda's long breasts and gave her all the attention one woman can give another. The three of us made each other very happy. Both girls were filled to the brim before we fell asleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 46 I slipped out of bed to go outside to exercise some more and was joined by Wanda, Jan, and Angie. While we were in a stretch, Brandy came out and followed Wanda with her movements. By the time I stood to end the form, Brandy was enjoying the movements. I promised myself I would find some oriental music to go with our exercises. Breakfast was as usual, but I added some fried potatoes this morning for a change. Soon we were all ready for work. I stayed behind to see the contractor and make sure everything was going all right. He said he was satisfied with the progress and was expecting to be done in two weeks. I noticed he was setting poles out from the garage and asked him about it. He said, "These are to hold up the porch. The whole end of the two bedrooms and living room will be glass and will also have doors to the porch. There will be a nice patio to sit on in the evenings." That was going to be an expensive apartment. The work day wasn't anything special. I did get a call from Kansas City. The chief was retiring and the successor, the ACE, had been chosen. I would need to visit with them Wednesday. Wanda called the air park and made the arrangements. An hour later, the office in Minneapolis said they had a problem with the judge's chambers. They had discovered some kind of listening devices in the office, as well as in the clerk's office. I asked them to have the Bureau check them and to call me. John called to ask me to go up to the Dakotas to check on the small office up there. The Chief had been sick and there seemed to be some problem among the deputies. I told John, "That's the third problem in the last half hour. Send me the file so I can review it as I chase around." I discussed the possible listening devices in Minnesota and he said to make sure I followed up. I asked Wanda to reserve the plane for tomorrow morning as I would try to fly up to South Dakota first, before going back down to Kansas City. From there I would go to Minneapolis. John from the air park called me about an hour later. "Could you leave tonight and drop off one of our guys up in Chicago? You can stay over there or fly on to Sioux Falls, or is it Rapid City?" "Sioux Falls, John. Okay, I was thinking of having someone fly me on this one since I have work to do, but I guess I can do it." "We don't have anyone to fly you right now as the boss is getting ready to go on his sailing adventure. Like he says, we always need pilots." "I'll go get some clothes packed and be out there in about two hours. We'll leave as soon as I can get there." I asked Wanda to get everything together so I could bring it with me via my laptop. She said she had the Dakota stuff ready and would get the Kansas City change ready when I got there. I was home quickly and packed some extra jeans and boots in case I had to go out. I even threw my vest in my gym bag with the extra magazines. On the way to the air park, I remembered Brandy. "Hi Babe, I have to do some traveling. I'll be in Chicago, then Sioux Falls, but talk to Wanda. She'll know where I am. I'll call your cell phone this evening to say hi." "You don't give a girl much notice, do you? I can't go along, but I'll be thinking of you. Be safe and call me." I stopped at a Subway to get a couple of sandwiches and some bottles of water and lemonade. At the air park John came out with his arm in a sling. "What's with the arm, John?" "That's why we're short. I fell off a fueling ladder and broke my arm. I'm out for a while, so we are really short. I wish you had your commercial and the Lear school behind you so you could take some of these charters. You're helping anyway by getting this guy up to Chicago." "John," I said. "I'm going to be gone most of the week with this airplane, is that all right?" "It's yours, use it all you want. We've got your plane reserved all week anyway. Use the fuel card in the pouch and make sure you have anything looked at that needs it." I let the guy on the airplane and he sat in the back and buckled up while I did the inspection. This was the first time I had flown the 200 without someone to read the checklist for me so this was a new experience for me. I made up my mind to just be methodical and do things one at a time. We were off quickly climbing to twenty-two thousand. There was nothing between me and the executive airport I was landing at so it was a boring flight. I watched the instruments for anything unusual, but everything stayed normal. I was in Chicago early enough that I decided to go on to Sioux Falls. When I checked the weather before filing, I found out there was a line of thunderstorms passing through for the next couple of hours. No problem, I paid the parking fees after refueling and found a nearby room. I was able to get my files downloaded and use the hotel printer to make up a couple of files. After a decent supper, I called Brandy and found that she was at home with Wanda. She said she felt good there and wanted to be around when I called. After the call, I walked next door to a little bar for a beer. There were some pool tables, so I shot around a little before a guy challenged me. He was good, very good. When he wanted to go play a best of seven at nine-ball for fifty, I said, "I'm sorry, guy, I can barely shoot and you are really good. If you need the table, you can have it, but I don't gamble." He stayed for a couple more games but soon left. I figured I could go to bed early and get to Sioux Falls early in the morning. I set the alarm for four o'clock and dozed off quickly. I was in the air by five-thirty and parked at Sioux Falls near seven thirty. I rented a car with a GPS and drove to the station. They didn't have a night guy, so I went to a little restaurant down the block for breakfast. At eight thirty, the clerk showed up, but no ACE. The clerk said, "I'll call him to make sure he's coming in." "You don't have a morning briefing?" "Not since Martin got sick. The deputies call in for assignments and that's it." "Do me a favor, Ma'am. Call everyone that is not on critical duty and have them come in right now. Make sure you advise the ACE, he is to be here within a half hour." She said, "We only have four deputies in addition to what is supposed to be the working ACE and the working Chief." "That's okay; I want to talk to all of them as soon as possible. I understand your Chief is in the hospital in Chicago right now." The clerk advised, "He had chemo last week and will be coming home later this week. He probably can't come to work for at least two weeks." Twenty minutes later all four deputies were in the station. I had a brief conversation with each of them and none would say anything about the ACE or any problems. They were all long time deputies with allegiance to the sick Chief. I sent them all back to their tasks and waited for the ACE. After an hour, I asked the clerk for his phone number. I called him using my cell phone. When he answered, I said, "You now have fifteen minutes to be at the station. If you are not, you will not have a job and be in possession of what I would consider stolen property. Fifteen minutes, period." I hung up and was called back immediately. "I can't get there in fifteen minutes." I responded, "Then you don't have a job. I asked you to come in over an hour ago." The man whined, "I was finishing what I was doing. I usually don't come in unless they need me." "Too bad. You're paid to be here to give a briefing and go over your deputies' activities. You're not here, so you can't do that. Consider yourself terminated." When I hung up, the clerk said, "Oh brother, that's the Sheriff's kid you just fired. You better be ready for some heavy fireworks." "This is a federal office. We work with local law enforcement, but other than that, we have no relationship." "The locals are pretty tight around here. The Sheriff owns this city and the area." I said, "I guess the ACE should have thought of that when he decided he didn't need to come in." About ten minutes passed and a very large man in a cowboy hat and uniform came in. Two more men wearing the same uniform followed him. The man said boisterously, "Where's the asshole that thinks he can fire my boy? I have pull with the Marshal. I want to talk to him." I stood and walked up to him offering my hand, "I'm Charles Johnson, Senior U.S. Deputy Marshal, and you are?" "By God, I'm the God damn Sheriff of this here county and the law as far as you can see. I'm telling you no one fires my son." "I just did for not being here to do his job. His responsibility is to run this office and station in the absence of the Station Chief who is sick right now. The service does not pay people to work on their personal property during normal duty hours. I'm sure you pay your deputies not to work." "What do you mean pay deputies not to work?" "You are suggesting I pay your son not to work. If that were a good thing then you would pay your men not to work." "But, he's my son." "You're on the job, Sheriff. Why isn't he?" He looked at me and stood by the door with his cell phone. "Get your ass in here this minute. If you bust your butt, you might keep your job, but the man has a point. You ain't doin' what you're supposed to. Now move it and get here and beg." He came over to me and said, "I'm not sure why I thought it was okay for him to try to run this office from his place, but I couldn't do that. Um, if you can, see if you can salvage him." "Can you use him as a deputy?" "Yeah, but I can't pay him what you do." "I'll talk to him but I don't think he will be the Assistant Chief any longer. This office has a mission and it is not being completed. It's my job to make sure it is." When the Sheriff left, the clerk said, "I've never seen anyone talk to that man like that. He took it too. He even admitted his kid was wrong. When the guys hear that, they will be happy." "Which one of the deputies is the strongest? Who has done the most training?" "That's easy, Thomas Crowfoot. He's done every training seminar and video we have. He also is one of the best investigators. He's always where he's supposed to be." "Call him in again, I need to talk to him." Thomas Crowfoot came in the station about twenty minutes later. He said, "I'm about to catch the idiot that keeps vandalizing Judge Powers' office. I hope this is important." "Let me go with you and let's catch your vandal. We can talk while we wait." We waited a long while, but I did have the chance to offer him the Assistant Station Chief's job. He said, "I'm an Indian, do you want to do that?" "Are you planning on going on the warpath soon or doing something stupid like that?" He laughed, "No, and I don't even drink. I've always been afraid of what they say about booze and Indians. I want the job, so if you have the guts to give me the job, I'll take it." An hour later, we caught the man responsible for the graffiti in the Judge's office. He was a disgruntled person convicted many years ago for stealing a federal vehicle. The judge said he would get plenty of time to think about his misdeeds for the next few years. Back at the station, the Assistant Station Chief was there waiting. I had him sit and offered him a choice. "You can work here, and I mean be a hard working deputy, or you can be unemployed until your dad hires you." "I'm promoting deputy Crowfoot to Assistant Station Chief. He will be your superior and you will answer to him. Can you do that, or would you rather be a sheriff's deputy?" He didn't even hesitate, "I want to be a deputy marshal. I'll work hard and be here every day. Please give me the opportunity." I turned to Thomas and said, "This man will not be given any special privileges. I'm canceling any vacation due him, and he will have to accrue any new vacation from this point forward. Please, teach him to be a good deputy." Thomas nodded and said to the former ACE, "The Judge is on the move this afternoon. I think you should go with him today. He'll be done by six, so you should be home for supper." The almost terminated deputy took a deep breath and said to me, "Thank you. I'll do a good job." Thomas then said, "This is a working office and I do have a couple of items to check on. Thanks for the promotion. This means a lot." When Thomas left, the clerk said, "Will you sign these assignment sheets so I can update the files?" I signed them and gave her my cell. "Call me tomorrow after the briefing. Let me know that everything is getting done. I'll be back." The clerk said, "You're leaving? You come in," she snapped her finger, "just like that you make a bunch of changes, and you're gone?" "I have to do a Station Chief change in K.C. tomorrow, and Minneapolis has a problem I need to look into." "Do you always fix things so fast?" I had to laugh, "No, most problems take a lot more messing around to take care of business." "How do you drive that much or catch airplanes to meet your schedule?" "This time I'm flying myself. Some times I use a charter, it just depends." In wonder, she said, "You can fly, you can really fly airplanes?" I nodded. "I want that. I want to learn how to fly. They have a school out at the airport and I want to sign up for it. Do you think I could fly?" "Sure, all you have to do is study and take your lessons. They are not cheap, but are worth it. Good luck, I hope you do take lessons." I left the station and drove to the airport. The 200 had drawn an audience. The S&S airplane had dozens of cartoons all over it and you have to look at it carefully to find them all. I began the preflight inspection while several men were still looking at the airplane. The ramp guy said that the plane had been getting attention since I landed in the morning. I had the fuel truck come to top off the tanks, and asked the lookers to move away as I did need to leave. If I was lucky, I might get the station change done this afternoon instead of in the morning. While I was queued up behind some commercial planes, I called the Kansas City office. The Chief was agreeable if I got there before four, as they were having a party this evening. I told him I had another problem that needed to be taken care, so he said he would have the new man at the office and have his clerk get everything ready. The office was actually in Overland Park where there was a small airport that should be perfect, as they had full services. I changed my flight plan and headed there. The taxi pulled into the station at three fifty-five, good timing. I had met the retiring Chief before, so we enjoyed chatting as we went through all of the procedures. The new man being promoted into the position was a D.C. Deputy Marshal. Hopefully, it was a good choice. He seemed to be a likeable fellow. At six-thirty, everyone from the station was headed toward the party, and I was on my way back to the airport. The plane had been refueled so in just twenty minutes, the plane was fired up and ready. I keyed in the information to get me to Minneapolis and found that I had to land at the main airport. This was a busy place, so I would need some assistance with parking the airplane. While on the way up there, I was wondering what I would find out about what cases the judges had been presiding over. It was a serious incident if we found someone was trying to influence a trial. I was parked in a government slot near the private terminal, with the assurance that the plane would be refueled while I was on the ground. I asked the ground personnel to have a mechanic to look at the front gear as it sounded funny and felt funny when I landed. I called S&S charters to advise them of the problem and they said they would check with the mechanic later. There was a hotel near the station, so I passed on renting a car and just went to the hotel. The restaurant was still open, so I ordered a drink and a good meal. While waiting, I called Brandy to tell her where I was. She couldn't believe that I had started out in Chicago, gone to Sioux Falls, down to Kansas City, and was now in Minneapolis. "I did start way before breakfast today. I knew I needed to get here, so I pushed everyone a lot." I promised to get enough rest when she said, "I may have to take a leave from the employment office so I can take care of you. I think you need a keeper when you're traveling around like that. I could do that." Wanda assured me everything was peaceful at the office. She reminded me that I should write up my reports for Sioux Falls and Kansas City while they were fresh in my mind. When I asked if she was all right with Brandy hanging out while I was gone, she said quietly, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear, "I'm very happy to have Brandy's company. She is very experienced with ladies, considering she has lived with the other four for so long. She is a very nice playmate. Don't rush home, we're doing fine." I only said, "I didn't know." "Now you do. Enjoy, or would that be, let me enjoy." After supper, I took a tall glass of scotch up to the room to drink while I made up my reports. I transmitted them to Wanda before going downstairs to fax the station change reports, along with the retirement set. Now there was a copy with Wanda in the event something happened to the originals. As soon as I was done, I lay back on the bed and watched TV. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 47 I woke with a start, hearing the TV announcer say "Good morning, it's a wonderful Wednesday morning." The clock said five o'clock, so I had the choice of sleeping another hour or getting going. I got up and called the desk to see if I could get into the pool this early. The desk clerk said, "The gym is open and there are two lap pools in there. Would that do?" I went to the gym and rode the bike, used the treadmill, then used the free weights for twenty minutes. When I was done with all that, I used a lap pool for the first time to swim as hard as I could for about fifteen minutes. I was even a little dizzy from the strain. After doing my triple S, I had breakfast and showed up at the station at seven-thirty. The ACE was already there and welcomed me. He said, "Grab a warm donut and coffee and let me brief you on our problem. The Chief will be here any minute, but if you want, you can read these files for a few minutes to find out what we know to date." I quickly read the files and to find that the trials the judge had been presiding on were all corruption cases. Contractors were giving kickbacks to inspectors and some of the people letting the contracts. The pattern was showing that the amounts of the kickbacks were enormous. The bigger problem was that the work being accepted was shoddy, and in some cases, unsafe. Several witnesses had turned up missing, never to be found again, but the remaining witnesses were all being protected. The prosecutor had not lost a case so far, but there were two convicted men who had disappeared. They had probably fled the country. I asked the ACE to get me an appointment with the judge after I talked to the Chief. The Chief came in with a hard hat in his hand and a little messy. "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow. Glad you're here, though. We found a witness. He was buried in six feet of concrete. It's amazing the way those dogs can sense human remains underground like that." I told him I had read his office file and thought it might be good to talk to the judge. He made the call himself and turned to me, "Let's go. He's downstairs in his chambers. The Bureau is there sweeping the place. They do it every morning now. In the judge's chambers, I was introduced to Judge Manny Mankowski. He was about a hundred and fifty years old, but looked fit. He had a strong grip and a ready smile. I asked him why the defendants were allowed time after conviction and sentencing before being jailed. He said, "A man has things he needs to do before he goes to jail, possibly for the rest of his life. I like to give a man that opportunity." "Do you still give it to them if they are a flight risk?" "That's your job then. Perhaps your men should accompany the convicted man until he reports for his term." "Judge, we're seeing an epidemic nationwide, not just here, of felons fleeing while on bail awaiting sentencing or appeal. There is evidence that their efforts are receiving assistance from organized crime. I strongly recommend that for the time being, until we can get a handle on who's involved in this problem, you should withhold allowing these convicts time to settle their affairs. This is obviously true of those who are convicted of violent crimes, but as I said, it appears that a broad range of felons are flight risks right now. Please don't let these men out after they are convicted." "I hate to do that to a man, but if you really think they are that bad, I'll keep them and accelerate their sentencing hearings." The old judge continued, "I have a sentencing hearing at ten. Court convenes at nine, but I have several motions that I must discuss in court before the sentencing. If you wish to attend, I would be pleased to have you within my courtroom. Having been a Federal Judge now for almost forty years, I'm still excited every time I step into court. I'm charged to know the law and direct proceedings according to the law most every day. Sometimes I even get to decide a case using the law the way it was intended. What a wonderful, awe inspiring task I have. I do enjoy citizens witnessing the law in progress." The Chief and I left and he said, "Let's go back to the office so I can clean up. Since the judge has seen us, we need to come down for his performance. The man really is proud and humbled to be a judge. Can you imagine, he has the same enthusiasm for the law forty years later?" The Chief cleaned up and we went downstairs to the court room as the bailiff was announcing the judge with the traditional "Hear ye, hear ye." The old jurist went right to work, calling on a congregation of attorneys, giving his decision with the laws and cases that were referenced for the decision. A couple of attorneys vigorously objected to the decision, but the judge just said with a straight face, "That is my decision based on the law. If you have objections, the court will allow motions or you are free to appeal to the Eighth Circuit where they are a lot stricter. Meanwhile, I see that some of the defendants are not present this morning. As we have had some difficulty with keeping sentenced prisoners close at hand, I am issuing an order for all who have been convicted and sentenced waiting for motions or appeals to present themselves to the federal court clerk before close of business today. Any of these people not showing up will have their bail revoked and warrants issued. Please advise your clients to see the clerk by five." You could see this order upset some of the attorneys who jumped up and almost ran from the courtroom. I whispered to the Chief, "Find out which cases have defendants out on bail, waiting for their appeal. We might be able to salvage some capture time if we get an early start tracking them down." The sentencing hearing began with the defense attorney and a sneering, smug defendant standing. The Judge was holding a paper in his hands and looked up, "Ronald Marchel Colon, you have been tried and convicted by a jury of your peers of witness tampering and intimidation, fraud in relation to federal building contracts, bribery of a federal employee and a contractor, money laundering, assault of a federal law enforcement officer, and attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer. The probation office's report indicates no mitigating circumstances, and you have declined to cooperate with federal investigators or the US Attorney's office regarding these or any other matters. You are sentenced to an aggregate one hundred and twelve years, to be served consecutively. Your sentence will begin at the Florence, Colorado SuperMax facility, though you may perhaps earn a more lenient confinement after a few years of good behavior. Would the bailiffs please take Mr. Colon into custody?" The attorney almost yelled, "Your honor, aren't you going to give him a chance to put his house in order? I've appealed every count. Can't you allow my client bail while waiting for the appeal?" "Mr. Colon has been convicted of some very serious crimes against the government, as well as individuals. Unless and until his conviction is set aside, he is no longer entitled to the presumption that he is innocent, because he has been proved and found guilty. This is not the type of person that should be with the citizenry of our country. I've already denied your motions for new trial in his case, and he's had time prior to today to take care of personal business. The sentencing guidelines are no secret, and it is a mystery to me how you could have thought that Mr. Colon might merit bail pending appeal. You know where to file your appeal and how to get the fastest possible hearing. " The judge thumped his gavel and said, "Court will reconvene at one o'clock. Um, Mr. Johnson, would you see me in my chambers?" The exit was as formal as the entrance. You have a feeling of awe and respect the way the man spoke and conducted himself. The Chief and I went to the judge's chambers and were immediately ushered in. He smiled and said, "Was that the approach you wanted me to take?" "Perfect, Judge. I appreciate that you are giving us a quick look at who might be running out before it's discovered that no bail will be given and the prisoner is long gone. If some have bugged out, we'll have an earlier, warmer trail." The older man said, "I'm not comfortable with some of the reactions of the attorneys during the motion hearings. I would like to request two items, please have your office get with the court clerk to inventory all who are awaiting sentencing, for delay or appeal. I will be able to evaluate the seriousness of the situation. This is your department and considering your past record, you'll have them back in house quickly. Second, I want to have some protection for a while. If these men or the men scheduled to be tried, feel I am going to be too strict, they may want to find a way to delay a trial until another judge can be brought in. The other judges that sit in this division handle routine criminal matters like all federal judges, but pass all the serious cases on to me. Can you help me on this?" The Chief said, "Judge, from this point forward, until you say stop, you'll have protection as good as the President gets. We have been keeping an eye on you and your home; this will just make it easier. If we are obviously watching you, that will keep the casual revenge seeker away. Let me organize the process. If you wouldn't mind, we will provide a car and driver for you and your wife." "My wife has a driver, but will lavish in the attention. My sweet Wilma doesn't get out much any more, but will now want to go to all of the fancy stores to show off her bodyguard. I hope your man can keep his hands from my ravishing beauty." The judge began laughing loudly, enjoying his own humor. On his desk was a smiling picture of Wilma. She was as wrinkled as the judge, but with the same soft loving appearance. As we went up to the station, the Chief said, "I just love that old man. He has a smile every day he enters his court. He truly believes in blind justice and will admonish us for our slightest infringements. Since we know we have to have our shit together when we bring him a case, he knows that when we bring a case to him, it's a good one." "Take care of him. I wish we had the entire Justice department full of jurists with his dedication. I'm going to the Bureau lab to see what they have found out about the devices you've found. I'll be back up in a few minutes." The Bureau lab wasn't all that big, but had a trio of geeks, two females and one guy, that were all busy doing something. My intrusion was initially frowned upon, but when they found I was truly interested in their work and what they had found out, it was like a bunch of kindergarten kids trying to tell the teacher something. They had me sit at a desk as they showed me photographs of each of the items, with a corresponding photo of the location and a diagram of the room. Next they began showing me the manufacturer, the distributors, and the dealers. Since each item had a serial number, they were able to track the devices to two different dealers, one in Chicago and one in Cleveland. In Chicago, the dealer had good records with sales receipts, as well as a credit card receipt. Agents were tracking the cardholder at that moment. The other devices from Cleveland were bought by what was discovered to be a dummy dealer that was housed at a national construction company out of New York City. Further, Venice Construction Company was known to be owned by organized crime members. One of the three techs said, "We tracked the items to people. Agents then had to find the people and question them. When agents entered the company in Cleveland, they were met with a lot of hostility and were told to leave unless they had a search warrant. A judge has issued the warrant and agents are serving it now. We kept agents on site so nothing could be removed." Another added, "The cardholder who bought the device in Chicago is from St. Paul. He's a private investigator with some underworld dealings. Agents have been trying to find him for a few days. His family is reporting him missing." "Good job. You've done a lot. Do you have any information about the guy they found this morning out at the construction site?" The lady who appeared to be the leader said, "Not yet, but the forensics guy and his assistant are working on it. We're not a big office here, so they may have to send some of the material to Chicago or D.C., depending on who has the time to work on it." I nodded and said, "Tell you what, I'll call Chicago and have them put anything you send over there on their front burner. They have a big enough lab to get some quick answers. Tell your forensics man so he won't spend too much time trying to do something he's not equipped to do." We both made our calls. The Bureau Chief in Chicago had been one of the men down in the Branson, Missouri meeting. He immediately asked, "When are you going to have another of those meetings. My wife said that was the best she had ever attended. I can tell you she was happy. I'm still getting bennies from it." I explained what I needed and what it was for, he said, "Still working the interagency thing I see. I'm happy to work with you and your guys. I guess you're one of my people now too, aren't you? Tell them to send what they need worked on and we'll have our best people working on it as soon as it's in our hands." The lady who seemed to be the leader was hesitant when I asked her to have her Agency Chief come in. When I queried her, she said, "He doesn't like to work with other agencies. He's not open like you are. Don't tell him I said that, I'm just trying to warn you." "I'll go talk to him. We need to work together on this." In the Bureau station I was kept waiting a very long time before a tall, crew cut man in shirtsleeves sporting a shoulder holster came to a door. "I see you waited. Whddaya want. This is the FBI, Deputy Marshals are upstairs." I approached him and said, "Please, may we go into your office? We need to talk privately." With a loud antagonistic voice he said, "Anything you have to say may be said right here. You and me, we don't have any business together." I handed him my card, it read: Charles M. Johnson, Senior U.S. Deputy Marshal, Senior Supervisor, U.S. Law Enforcement. He looked at the card then back at me and dropped the card on the floor. "What the fuck is a Senior Supervisor of U.S. Law Enforcement? The only guy between me and the director is some faceless D.C. bureaucrat, John Scott. The only time I hear from him is when I have a problem, or if my budget is fucked up." "You have a problem. His private number is on the reverse side of my card. I would suggest you call him right now." The man's eyes began flickering with recognition that he might have made a mistake. He looked at me, down at the card under his foot and back up. I was still standing in the same spot, looking at him. It took him a billion mental calculations and a couple of seconds to swallow his pride before he knelt down to pick up the card. He glanced at my legs to see the pant leg against my stalk and looked at me as he stood. "Are you from Florida? Tampa?" I nodded. He rushed into his office slamming his door making the blinds on the door rattle. A couple of minutes later my cell phone rang. I answered, "Johnson." "Hey, the idiot Chief where you are just called me. I'm his regional supervisor, I should have warned you and him. Sorry. He hates anyone not in the Bureau, I don't know why, but it hasn't served him well. Does this mean I should get another man in there?" "Not yet, let me work him a little and we'll see whether he needs to go to another station as an agent. I'll also look up his record. If he's been a good troop, it would serve us well to keep him." "Thanks, Chuck, that's fair, this is why you were promoted to what you do. That and parties down in Branson." He was laughing when he got off the phone. The door opened and the Chief said, "Please come in." When I entered, he shut the door and stood beside his desk. He pointed to his service weapon, his ID, and his badge case. "I guess you want these." "Not yet. First, you and I have to work out why you have the attitude you do. You wouldn't be the Bureau Station Chief if you were not qualified." "What if I can't work with you?" I looked at the man and said, "I can't imagine why we can't work together. I'm going to make a few calls from upstairs where I have my briefcase. While I'm gone, please write down the major cases you are working on, which agencies referred them to you, and what interaction you're having with those agencies now as a result of those referrals. I'll be back in less than thirty minutes." Upstairs, in the Marshal's station, I was able to get a desk and get my laptop up on their network. I called Wanda, "Minneapolis is a problem. There are several problems here, but I'll work them out quickly. I'm going to call John but while I do that, pull the file for the Bureau Chief here. Post it on my PC so I can read it and print it out. That will help a lot." Wanda said, "I've been waiting to talk to you and didn't want to call you on your cell. A few other hot spots have popped up and will probably need your attention. Call me when you have a chance." I called John, when he answered I said, "Have you been poking pins in my doll or what? I'm running all over the place and found a real mess in Minneapolis, not only the original problem, but also the Bureau Chief. I'm getting the information to see if I can work out his feelings about the other agencies. And now Wanda says the problems are stacking up?" "They are and I may have to come out to help. Must be a full moon or something. Your judge's case up there seems to be showing up all over the country. It's going to come back here to D.C., but between now and then, we have a bunch of federal judges that have been threatened and even one who had a brick thrown through his window with a warning. Can you believe this? This is 2009, not the forties or fifties." "Let me handle one at a time. What do you know about or how do you feel about the Bureau guy up here." "Don't know him. I don't remember any complaints about him, but you know my office manager is going to blow a lot of that stuff off." "I'm pulling his file and will read it quickly. I have him giving me some information about major cases and how he's working with other agencies. It should open his eyes, I hope, and I'll take him out in the field real quick so he can see that deputies work too." "Hope it works. If you need more help, call Chicago, the Region chooses the successors. He has to come up for station changes so you don't have to worry about it. Don't waste a lot of your time today, we have other problems." I asked the Marshal Station Chief if they had any potential captures this afternoon. He said they were setting one up for two of the convicted men awaiting sentencing. We had found out they were making arrangements to fly to Canada in a private plane, followed by flights to South America. I asked him for a radio and said I might want to join the capture. He told me he would make sure his deputies knew. Downstairs, the Chief was finishing his list. I told him that I wanted him to take part in a U.S. Marshal's exercise so he could see how another branch did investigative work and serious apprehensions. I radioed the team setting up for the capture to find out where to meet them. I said to the Bureau Chief, "Let's go, you drive, you know where this place is." We drove to the airport and to an area near where my plane was parked. Was it only this morning that I flew in? The plane in front of a hangar that the sentenced men were going to fly out on was a B200 like the one I had, but didn't look in that good of a condition. The team leader there said he had men inside the hangar, posing as inspectors for an aircraft. There were also men by the front office, as well as by the side of the hangar nearest the plane. I asked if the plane had been disabled yet. I received blank looks. A maintenance guy was driving by with a tow vehicle. I stopped him, showed him my badge and got him to take off his coveralls. He had on casual shorts and a "What me Worry" T-shirt underneath. I put on the coveralls and drove the tow vehicle right up to the plane. Inside the well worn cockpit, I found what I was looking for, a set of keys. Amazing, an expensive airplane like this left with the keys inside. When I got out of the airplane, I shut the stairs which was the door and used the keys to lock the plane. Back with the group, I took off the coveralls and told the ramp attendant, "Don't go to that hangar and keep your mouth shut. Don't talk about this to anyone. If you don't think you can do that, radio your boss and tell him your truck is broke and where you are." The man looked confused, so after he put his coveralls back on, he radioed his supervisor and said he was working on his truck and he would call back. I told the guy, "Good decision, now we don't have to worry about you." "I'm curious, I want to watch." The team leader said, "Please stay behind cover, who knows what's going to happen." I had an idea, "Do you mind if I borrow your coveralls again? It shouldn't be for too long." I put the coveralls on and advised the Station Chief of my intentions. "The tow vehicle will be a perfect cover. I'll take it to just the front of the hangar and when they come out, I can be a distraction while your men make the capture." The leader asked, "You have your vest on?" I patted my chest and said, "It's in my bag in your office." "Come here." We went to a car where he pulled a bulky vest from the trunk. "Sorry about the old style but it is what it is. You don't go out on my field without your gear." He was the team leader here and in control, so I put it on under the coveralls. I made sure the sides of the coveralls were unzipped so I could reach in for my weapon. Hope this was quick and short, because I had left my other three magazines with the vest. I did have one spare, so I had thirty rounds. That's a lot of rounds, but you never know. I pulled up in front of the hangar door and left the motor running. There was a clipboard that I picked up to at least make it look like I was doing something. My radio was in the wire radio carrier with the volume on low. The radio crackled, "They're in the office, they just pulled up. Six men got out of the car and the car left. Repeat, there are six men, two subjects, four others plus the pilot." The awareness meter just went up. The danger meter did too, but this was so open, you wouldn't think there would be a problem. Instead of waiting to pull my piece, I pulled it out and set it beside me on the seat. It couldn't be seen by anyone unless they were next to me. Seven men walked out of the hangar. The lead guy was obviously the pilot, complete with sunglasses, while four of the trailing men were doing the neck swivel thing, bodyguards. As soon as they cleared the door, I revved the tow vehicle acting like I was going to move while still holding the clipboard. The four trailing men all looked my way with the trailing two nearest me reaching for their coats. Three deputies with vests and caps came from the side of the building and hollered for them to stop, lie on the ground, and put their hands over their heads. Everything always happens so fast that it's hard to comprehend sometimes. The pilot took off for his plane with the two men we wanted running directly behind him. One was reaching for his coat. Two men that had been in the process of looking at me while pulling guns, swiveled the other way and saw the three deputies. One of the men turned back to me, brought his gun out and fired a shot at me so fast I didn't get a chance to shoot or even pick up my gun. I was knocked off the tow vehicle. Thank goodness it had a dead man pedal and didn't move. I had to reach up on the seat to get my gun. I saw the two bodyguards begin to fire while the deputies were yelling their stupid warnings. I shot both of the bad guys with four shots. Two rounds at each and finished both as they were falling. The second pair of bodyguards had not been that fast in reacting, but were now pulling handguns from shoulder holsters. I didn't wait, I put four alternating rounds into each of them, one each in the body and one each in the head. I swiveled to see one of the men following the pilot was on one knee aiming at the deputies. I fired hitting the man in the body. He rolled over but was getting back to his knees. This time, at only about fifteen meters, I put one between his eyes. I brought my weapon up on the pilot who was hidden from me as he was trying to get into his airplane. The other guy looked around the aircraft and raised his hands. The whole thing took maybe fifteen seconds, maybe not that long. I felt something wet on my sleeve and looked to see red on the sleeve of the coveralls. Now I felt hurt. Shit, another good shirt. I pulled the coveralls down to see how bad it was. I had to rip my shirt sleeve from the cuff up and saw a wound on both sides just above the elbow in the fatty tissue. I ripped the sleeve off my shirt and wrapped it around the wound in a tourniquet compress to stop the bleeding. The Bureau Station Chief came running up with another deputy asking about my condition. I showed them my shirt, but my lower chest hurt. I looked down to see that the bullet had deflected off my vest tearing the outer fabric and ricocheted into my arm. The deputy was calling for an ambulance. The Bureau Chief said, "Holy shit, do you guys do this often? That was very professional. Those guys were pulling guns so fast they didn't even give you time to warn them." I looked up at the deputy and the Chief, "If you see guns, there is no warning. If a suspect shows a weapon, you must consider that they are going to shoot to kill you. Defend yourself and ask if they were going to shoot later. Read your SOPs. I've sent out multiple memos on how to conduct yourself if you are confronted with weapons." Both men just looked at me as if I was from Mars. I was sure they were thinking, "What SOP?" The cleanup trucks were already on site, so they began immediately. The team leader came up to me and said, "Well, we did get to capture both of the men we were after, but will only be able to hold one of them. Ah, have you ever considered not shooting men in the head? That's just too fuckin' messy." "The first two were finishing shots, but the other guy showed armor because he didn't stay down from the first round, and I know it was a good hit. Head targets are called for. That's why the range targets are made that way. That's why the decision course is set up that way." The team leader said, "Glad you have to write up your own incident reports. My guys didn't even fire, they were all a day late." The ambulance came and insisted I had to go to the emergency room. The Bureau chief said he would come down to rescue me and bring me back to the office. At the hospital, my badge helped get people moving. An older doctor came in, with an older nurse who took off the wrap. "Good job wrapping it, young man. What do you think, Jenny, is this just a flesh wound, can we send him back out in the field?" The nurse said, "It's been a thousand years since then, Doc. Was that the last time we worked on a bullet wound together?" The two cleaned me up inside and out and did something only military field people do. One stitched one side while the other stitched the other. They finished and bandaged me. The nurse asked the doctor, "One heart or two. He did get two wounds." "Ah, just one. See his leg; what do you want to bet he already has at least one?" They asked and I told them about the lucky RPG three days after getting a scratch that had to be stitched. They both nodded saying they had patched some guys almost on consecutive days. The doctor gave me some pain pills and a bottle of antibiotic pills. "Take these for pain if you need them, and take those until you've taken them all. Keep your arm in a sling at least for tonight, and don't sleep on it. You didn't lose a lot of blood, but maybe enough to make you lightheaded. Have a big steak and a glass of wine." He put his stuff away and said, "Now you have to go down to X-ray to see if you broke a rib. That tear in your vest tells the story. You were a lucky man today." The nurse said, "I'll take him down, they won't give me any shit about doing it right away. I'll be right back up, Doc." The nurse wheeled me through the hall and in and out of an elevator. The radiation guys weren't that belligerent and had me standing for a chest picture quickly. It took only a few minutes for them to hand the nurse the picture. She pushed me back upstairs and we were met by the doctor as we entered the area. He had me sit in a chair while he looked at the picture. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is you don't have a broken rib. The bad news is you have two cracked ribs, so no heavy anything for three weeks. You can do leg exercises but no arms, chest, or stomach. I can see you're in shape, so I know you work out. You'll just have to catch up later. Have a doc look at your arm and have another X-ray to make sure you're mended." He shook my hand and said smiling, "Nurse, get this guy back out in the field. What are we paying him for anyway?" The nurse handed me a packet of bandages and some topical dressing and wheeled me out through the waiting room where the Bureau Chief was waiting. She told him, "If you are this guy's boss, he's done for the day and no heavy stuff for three weeks. He has some stitches plus a couple of cracked ribs. Get him out of here, but don't let him slack off." The nurse leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you for serving, be careful out there. Now go make nice-nice with the administrators and get." The office people were the usual pains in the ass. I had already filled out all the forms, but they wanted to futz around. I told them they did not have to wait for authorization as I was a deputy marshal hurt in the line of duty. Take the information down and submit their reasonable bill. She finally gave me an itemized bill and we left from the emergency room door. As we were going out the door, a candy striper caught up with us and said, "I have to bring the chair back inside. Can you go get your car and pick him up at the curb?" We soon were back at the station, and I wanted to finish this thing with the Bureau Chief. I put my jacket on with the sling over that. We went into his office and I began reading over his list of cases. "Why haven't you worked with any of the agencies who turned the cases in to you? You could have saved a lot of time if you had. Those people were closer to the subject than your men and could have assisted." The man answered a little more humbly, "Do those other agencies have activities like that?" "Think about it. What kind of characters do the DEA deal with? How about the ATF? You're familiar with the ferocity the border people are encountering. Homeland Security is experiencing at least two shootings a day, just in border patrol. Your men are investigators and only seldom have to pull their weapons. The wimpy deputies are capturing escapees and protecting witnesses and judges daily. Deputies don't just take rides on airplanes. All of the branches have good investigators, use them and have a higher and faster case resolution." "I've been a little blind. The school teaches us we are the magnificent, the supreme law enforcement branch. I took that too much to heart. I'll figure out how to work with the other agencies." "Want to be a hero, get some recognition?" "How?" "Organize a meeting with the Station Chiefs of all of the law enforcement groups. Make a pact among yourselves to work together, to investigate together, and to share resources. How valuable would it be to have a couple deputies helping with a stakeout? They are good at it. Same with the DEA and the ATF is covered up in arms sales verification problems lately. All of you can put a dent in your caseloads. First thing though, is to teach your men to work with the other agencies." The man asked, "So I still have my job?" "Make these changes and you won't have to be an agent up in Alaska." He smiled real big, "I gotcha." He stuck his hand out to shake. Thank goodness the wound was to the left arm. "I never did introduce myself. I'm Robert Fisher, just call me Rob." "I'll call you. You do the same." Upstairs in the Marshal's Station, the team leader was still briefing the Station Chief. When they saw me, they both came out to get me. The Chief said, "You need to write your incident report. Remember that you neutralized a person when you were returning fire. We have videos from three angles that show you did the right thing. I'm going to work on my men to make sure they don't wait for an invitation to shoot." He had paused, "You going to be alright? How bad are you hurt?" "A couple of cracked ribs and a patched hole, I'll be fine." The Chief asked, "I hope you didn't have to lick the boots of the Bureau asshole? He's a superior pain." I smiled, "Tell you what, let him make the offer, but try to work with him if he throws out the olive branch. I think your men taught him something today. I took him so he could see us in action. I didn't think I would get so involved." The team leader said, "You didn't take over the capture, but you did offer a good vantage point for the takedown. Too bad you caught a round." "Oh yeah," I said taking off the sling and my sport coat. "Here's your vest. Thanks for making me put it on. I won't leave mine next time." The Station Chief took the vest and poked his finger through the torn fabric. He handed it back to the team leader and said, "You guys have a stack of people you need to begin looking for. The court clerk just sent up a big list. Work out some rosters and I'll borrow some men from around the region to help out." I suggested, "Let me call downstairs to see if the Bureau has some men to help you. I think you'll be surprised at the attitude." When I called downstairs and talked to the Chief Agent, he said, "I'll be right up so we can review how we can help. My men aren't that busy right now, so we can definitely be an asset. I like it, a joint effort." I smiled, "The man is on his way to offer some men and his help. You just make sure each team leader acts like a team leader and works the agents into the group." "I can do that," the Chief said. "We can all do that. This is good." When the Bureau agent showed up, they all shook hands and I excused myself as there was a lot of shit going on. Looking at my watch, I saw it was six, so I called Wanda's cell phone. She answered, "Johnson." "Are you home or still at the shop." "Neither, I'm having a beer at The Office. Call me in about an hour, we'll be home." I called John's cell to have him pick up saying, "Why didn't you call me on the land line?" "After six, thought you would be gone." "Not after the flash report we got from Minneapolis. All it says was there was a shooting, five down, including one capture, plus another capture and a wounded deputy." "That says it all. There was some resistance that was handled and the deputy is fine." John asked, "I get the feeling you were there?" "I was." "How many of the downed men are you responsible for?" When I didn't answer real quick, because I was trying to think of a way to tell him, he said "All of them, huh? Can't you let someone else do the dirty work?" "It happened, when no one else took the initiative, I protected the other deputies." "I'm sure you did. There is a mention of videos. I'll be interested in seeing them." "John, I didn't call to talk about that, but to find out about the other problems." "I've sent your file all the details. Have a drink, a good supper, and review them. Call me in the morning and well make a plan. The Bureau Director already called me to congratulate me for hiring you. He said you have started some kind of new interagency process in Minneapolis and he would know more later. What's that about?" "The local Bureau Chief had been listening to the Quantico guys too much and thought he was in charge of Gods instead of men. I took him on the capture and he was able to see there are good men elsewhere." "The same guy who called here today to ask about you being authentic? I told him his career depended on how deep his lips were in your ass. He didn't even reply, he just hung up. The regional guy called me to ask if you were a hardass, even though he knows you from the meeting. I told him you were a Marine ex-special operations troop. He groaned and thanked me." "Well, Sir," I said, taking a deep breath, "it has been a busy day." "Call me in the morning." John hung up. I packed up my shit and walked into the office. "I'm going to need a hotel with food, any suggestions?" The Bureau guy said, "Use the Hilton out by the airport. They have a great restaurant and a very good bar. Say hi to the cute barmaid, but don't try to keep her, that's my wife. Here, let me call, we have an account out there at the hotel. Just use your card." My Station Chief said, "Let me get a duty guy to take you out there. You have my number, so call me tonight if you need me. I think you have set the stage to take care of the judge and to take care of us here. Get some rest and go home." "I'll call you and the judge in the morning to make sure everyone's okay, then I'll leave. Thank you both for working with me. It's been a good day." It really had been a good day. We watched a great old judge hand down justice and we made him feel good about his and Wilma's safety. That put a smile on my face. We had made a tough takedown with only minor casualties to the good guys and I had a new convert that understood that if we work together, we all can have some success and some fun. The new Hilton was really classy. I was taken up to a very nice room, left my stuff and searched for food. I went into the bar so see if I could see the Bureau Chief's wife. There was only one lady behind the bar and she was a knockout. She was built almost as long as Wanda, but real full. Her top showed so much cleavage I could have used it to toss quarters into. The rest of her was just as nice looking. I sat at the bar while her head was turned away and said softly, "Mrs. Fisher? How about a very tall glass of Beefeaters on the rocks with a few olives?" The bartender looked around at me quickly, making her long silky blond hair swirl around her face, with a smile she said, "Right away, Sir." When she brought a doubles glass to me, she said, "Are you the man that took my husband out in the field today?" I nodded. "I should be mad at you for taking him out into danger, but from what he just told me, I'm proud to know you. You might have saved his job from what he told me and he seems softened toward the other branches. He even sounded a little less superior just then. I hope so; he's been getting pretty unbearable to be around." The lady had to serve some other drinks but came back to me, "Sit down by the service bar so I can talk to you. I'll bring your drink." I moved to where a tall redhead was filling a tray. The bartender filled the glasses with booze while the waitress was doing the sodas and add-ons. I had never noticed how bartenders and waitresses built their drinks before. The redhead smiled at me and left. The bartender stuck her hand across the bar and said, "I'm Kathy, and you are?" "Chuck, Chuck Johnson." "Okay, Chuck Johnson, According to Rob, you're shot, broken, and hungry. I'll get you a good steak out here while we talk. Want anything else?" "How about a Caesar salad? It goes real good with the Beefeaters." Kathy left for second and was back to fill a big order for a cute oriental. The tray had about a dozen and half beers and I swear the little girl wouldn't be able to carry it, but she smiled at me, lifted the tray and swished her cute butt across the floor toward her customers. For the next hour, while I was eating, Kathy bent my ear about Rob and the way he had been acting. She was giving out all of the signals of a woman about ready to say goodbye. I wasn't much of a counselor, but I did offer her a suggestion. "Kathy, you're a gorgeous woman and I know Rob is proud of you, as he told me to look you up. When you get home tonight, no matter how late it is; get him up, get his attention, and talk to him about how you have been feeling. Don't criticize him; just tell him how you've been feeling. You can criticize his superiority attitude, but not him personally, or physically. Make sure you put him to sleep with a smile. I'm sure you know what I mean." Kathy smiled at me, "I know what you mean and I'm good at it. I wish I was closer to saying goodbye or I would demonstrate. You're already a good guy in my opinion. You don't have a ring, you don't act like you're married, and you keep pushing me toward my old man. I'd do ya." The redhead was back and smiled, "I'd do ya too, but I have a man. Susie isn't taken, hang around and she'll take you home." Kathy said, "Susie is the one that gave you the nice hip swivel demonstration carrying all that beer." "I do have sort of a commitment right now, so I probably shouldn't be chasing while I'm out of town. I love all the offers but it would be a tough choice between you girls. How about I take you Kathy, and you Red, and do you both? I can't make up my mind, so I'd have to have both of you." The redhead said, "Be still my heart. Now I'll have to change panties." Kathy was smiling, "Now I'll smell really good for the rest of the night." "You girls, you make me blush." "He is, he's blushing, Kathy," the redhead exclaimed. The little oriental gal came up and asked, "If this is a sexy discussion with this guy, I want in. I could have my way with him with his arm in a sling. Can I take him home and keep him?" "Thanks for the sweet talk, Susie, you would be a treat, but I am in a relationship." "I want you even more now. I'm just going to borrow you for a little bit and send you home with a smile on your face, but I promise I'll send you home." Susie and the redhead filled their orders, did the register things and headed toward their customers. Susie had a better backside and movement than the redhead. Kathy said, "Interesting aren't they, but Susie definitely wins." I laughed, "You have been fun, Kathy, thanks for keeping me company." "Thank you, I'll make him listen to me. We've only been married two years and we're still supposed to be in the hot and heavy stage. He's been so wrapped up in himself that I'm only getting some about once a week. We'll work it out or I'll get your number and come join you and your girl. You can have a harem." "Good night, I need to do a report yet and get some sleep. What do I owe you?" "Get out of here, you don't owe me or this place anything. We are all indebted to you for visiting with us. Goodnight, Chuck. If you get lonely about one thirty, all three of us will still be here." It was almost ten by the time I had finished my reports and read the list of problem locations. There was no way two of us could take care of everything. There was no way four of us could do it. We needed to work this out using other agencies. Hopefully John would go along with that and we could go to wherever he thought the two hottest spots were. We could do a quick shift of deputies if we needed to as well. We had some older, near retired men who would probably love to work on a case. I called Wanda to find her just in from the hot tub with the family. She said Dennis had become a regular, as had Jan's guy. She said that even Angie had a guy bring her home from the Community College tonight. They had Cokes and sat in the living room for an hour or so. I told Wanda that I had a list of problems from John and would be talking to him about a plan in the morning. She said she would keep the e-mails caught up at the office, but to try to stay in touch with the office more often. "Today was intense, Wanda, too much, too fast, all day. I promise to call you first thing in the morning, right after I talk to John." Wanda said goodnight and to take care of myself. She told me to hang up as Brandy wanted to call me on the house phone. My phone rang almost immediately, "Hi Baby." "Hi Brandy, are you doing all right? You know your roommates are going to wonder what's happened to you." "They know, they know I'm crazy about you and I miss you. At least here I can smell your pillow and I'm even wearing one of your T-shirts to sleep in. It's one you wore so I can smell you. I'm bonding with your smell." "You're nuts and moving way too fast, Sweet thing. We've just sort of met and you're just getting to know me. Slow down, smell the roses, do a thorough check on me." "I did that when you worked at the employment office. I was interested the first time I met you in the lunchroom. Remember, I asked you to go out with us. Tiani was ready to attack you already then too, but I was the one to ask you. You're not afraid of daddy's money are you?" "No, no. I just want you to get to know me, my personality, my ways, and my faults before you try leaping into something." "I promise, Chuck, I promise not to ask you to marry me for a least a month. I promise to not have Daddy bribe you into marrying me for at least three months." "So what happens after two months?" "My mom will be over here trying to get you in bed so you'll marry me. She just loves you." "We met one time and she just loves me?" "When women meet someone and find out all about them, they fall in love. What can I say?" "She can't know that much about me." "Did you forget my dad is a very rich guy from selling the government secret stuff? He knows all the people who can find out everything about anybody. You were easy. He had your high school, military, and Marshal files on his desk Tuesday. You're an open book. You've been involved in a lot of confrontations, but Dad says they are all good shootings. He likes you and will do anything his sweet little Brandy wants. He doesn't have to give me a house, I already have one. You already have one. He doesn't have to give me a car, I already have one, and according to Wanda, you have a classic Mustang somewhere. See, you're a catch and I'm a good catch too. I'm impressed you got your degree the hard way, by correspondence and in the military. I've graduated from Florida, so we're both educated, both good looking, both have substantial balance sheets, and are both single. I want you, Chuck, and I'm going to be all over you, convincing you that I'm good for you." I was quiet a few seconds after listening to her. "You're not mad that daddy looked you up are you? You don't think I pry too much do you?" "No, Brandy, I don't need to hide anything, especially with someone I think a great deal of." Brandy gushed, "I know, neither one of us can say the "L" word yet, but I know I'm close and I know I really want to get a lot closer to you." "Good, glad you understand. Are you going to be okay if I can't get home real quick? It looks like a couple of more days before I can get out of the field." Brandy said, "I don't like it, but it's your job. Daddy says you're really a big shot, second only to some D.C. guy." "His name is John Scott, and he is a jewel. I do whatever he directs. The real Marshals are mostly figure heads, administrators, and politicians. It's the field deputies that are the law enforcement side." "I really miss you and do love you, Chuck. I know you're tired from a big day. I'll say goodnight and put Wanda to bed. She is fun to put to bed, if you know what I mean. I think I'm going to have Freida come over and help me tomorrow night." "Poor Wanda, perhaps she might go wild and eat you both." "I sure hope so." Laughing I said, "I miss you too, Brandy, talk to you tomorrow." "Oh, Chuck, you can call me during the day on my cell anytime. I'm taking off to help my mom at home, but will be back over here to help your housekeeper. I met her this evening and she is so sweet. I'm going to get my mom to use her." "Okay, Babe, have a good day tomorrow." I called room service for a glass of wine, a beer, and a piece of cake. I needed something sweet. I had stripped off my shirt when the knock came. I opened the door to find a female bellhop with a tray. She had a piece of cake, a piece of pie, a glass of milk, a tall glass of something brown with ice, a large glass of what looked like red wine, and a beer. She smiled, came in and set the tray on my table and stood up. I fumbled for a tip and she said, "Oh no, Chuck, the girls in the bar said this was on them, they were right, do you need some help getting tucked in later?" "Thank you for the compliment, Ma'am, but I think I have all I need. Thank you." "They said you would turn me down, but I had to try. Change your mind and call for Mindy. I'll be right here until two about the same time as the girls get out of the bar. They'll come too if you ask." She smiled and left. I wondered when I had suddenly become good looking or had developed some new kind of animal magnetism. My body was in good shape, I even had a six pack, but nothing special. My arms weren't all bulgy with muscles, but they were muscular. Nothing special but it was nice to get the attention. The brown liquid was good scotch over ice. I sipped that and turned on the TV. The local news channel had a report on the airport fiasco telling the viewer how the U.S. Deputy Marshal's men had a gunfight while capturing men fleeing the country. The pilot was also a fugitive and he was taken into custody and his plane confiscated. Wow, I wonder if I might make a deal on a B200. It was ratty, but airplane fitters can turn a ratty airplane into showroom new with seemingly little effort. I'd have to keep watch on the airplane. The Dutch apple pie was great, with chocolate cake as a chaser, and milk to wash it all down. I sucked down the wine then found the beer was still frosty, so I opened it and stretched out on the bed after taking a healthy slug. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 48 The TV was playing with a cheery female newscaster telling about the overnight news on a local cable channel. Another lady came on to give traffic information, followed by the weather person. I had a headache and I had to pee really bad. Probably too much booze, but I usually don't have hangovers. It must be a combination of the wound and the booze. I was still in my pants, so I stripped and headed to the bathroom where they had a mini coffeepot. The first thing after a big drink of water was to make coffee. I did the toilet stuff and shaved. I was considering what to do about the bandages when the coffee was ready. I took a mug into the room and sat on the couch, enjoying the coffee while I watched the news. I suddenly remembered the airplane. I wonder what was wrong with the gear. I used my cell phone and called out to the maintenance people I had talked to yesterday. The man told me that a nut was loose on the strut and wore down one of the hydraulic hoses. They had replaced the bolt, the nut, and the hose. The aircraft owners had already paid the bill, as well as for the fuel and airport fees. The man wanted to know if they needed to prepare the airplane for takeoff. I told them to hold off as it didn't take much to get it ready. I had to do a preflight inspection anyway. Deciding to look at the wound, I opened the bandages to look at the area. It was a little bruised, but not too ugly. There didn't appear to be any seepage around the stitches, so I left the bandages off and took a shower. It sure was sore, as were my ribs. I couldn't make any quick movements either, as every time I did, the ribs would hurt. I put the same bandage back on after applying some of the goop the nurse had given me. I put on my last shirt, thinking I would have to either buy another, get the only other one I brought washed, or go home. It was still before seven, so I went downstairs for a big steak and eggs breakfast, along with some biscuits and gravy. If I couldn't exercise I was going to have to watch my intake, but right now I needed the strength. After eating, I went to the station so I could use their printer and make my calls. I had a donut and some coffee while I listened to the briefing. When the men had gone, the Chief called me to his office. He put a disc in his video machine and pushed the buttons. There was no sound, but the camera showed me on the bottom left, the seven men walking out from the hangar, and three deputies coming out from the side of the hangar at the top. The airplane was on the right of the screen. You could see the two guys that I had supposed were bodyguards, pulling their guns and looking around. The one didn't turn completely and while he was pulling his gun, he looked back at me as I was reaching to pick up my Glock. The guy was fast as you saw his muzzle flash and me flying backward off the tow motor. Both turned and fired at the deputies, then turned back to me. I had made it back up, reached my gun, and fired at each of them, and as they were going down, I fired a second time at each of them. Both head shots. Not bad on a moving target. The second pair had looked confused, and when I had shot the first pair, they were pulling their guns. It showed me smoothly going from the first two to the second two, just like a firing range course. The other man, a convicted and sentenced man that we came to arrest, had pulled a gun, and when you saw my muzzle flash, he fell and rolled. When he got back to his knees and brought up his gun, you saw another muzzle flash from my gun, and you actually saw the top of his head come off, messy, not a center shot. You could see several sets of legs on the other side of airplane and several deputies running up to the downed men. One of the deputies who looked at the dead prisoner, tossed his cookies right there. At least he didn't get any on the dead guy, so the cleanup crew didn't have to smell it. The rest of that video was our vans driving up to do the cleanup and reports. Just as the ambulance pulled up, the video shut off. Another video started and was from a reverse angle. The same thing, but it was clear that I had no choice but to shoot. The third was a video by a deputy with a good handheld. It showed everything and included sound. I had let out an audible "oof" when I was hit. From his angle you could see me come right up, reaching for my gun. When the video went black, it shut off. The Chief said, "That evidence is as good as anyone will ever need. Did you hear my idiots trying to yell a warning while the bad guys are shooting? Christ, the goody two shoes in the organization are going to get us killed. You heard me this morning, reminding them to read and catch up on SOPs and your past memos on when to shoot. You made it easy, see a threatening weapon, shoot." The clerk came to the door and said, "Deputy Johnson, John Scott is on the phone for you, he said for you to pick up now, and he emphasized now." I smiled knowing he had just seen the video. "Yes Sir, how may I help you?" "You dumb shit; you didn't tell me you were the casualty. Are you all right? You took a direct hit. Did you break a rib since you obviously had a vest on, thank goodness?" "I'm fine, John, a couple of cracked ribs." "What about the bullet wound, how bad?" "Who told you about that?" "The Director of the FBI did when he handed me my set of the videos. We watched it together. I had to listen to him laughing at my deputy who didn't know enough to stay down when he was hit. I had to tell him that you were a Marine and wouldn't stay down unless you couldn't get up. He just said that he knew, he had read your file. So what about your wound, where is it?" "The arm, the fleshy part above the elbow. The round came off the vest and went through. An old military doc and his wartime nurse repaired their first bullet wound in thirty-five years yesterday. They did a hell of a job." "You're going home, you're wounded, injured, and should be home in bed." "I'm not going anywhere until we have this problem under control. Let me give you my idea. Get the Director back in your office or go see him and tell him we need his help. Wherever we have a problem, assign a dual force. If we need more men, we ship some in. If we get on this immediately, we can have dual units in the field today, hunting down people. We know how to do it, let's put it in play." "Probably better than you and me trying to handle everything. That's why you're the field boss now. I'll go talk to the Director. I'll call you back as soon as I can." I walked back into the Chief's office and asked, "When you guys list that plane, give me a call. If I can, I'd like to have it. It's a real rat now, but it wouldn't take that much to fix it up. Those are really nice airplanes. As a matter of fact, it's what I flew up here yesterday." "You flew yourself up here? No charter, no D.C. jet?" "The D.C. jet is too expensive and the charter service was out of people, so I flew. It's paid off so far, as I've been able to move around really fast." "You want that bird, you got it. I'll get a buddy of mine out at the airport to declare that thing as salvage. Get a flying mechanic to get it home and you can have it for salvage." "Is that legal? Shouldn't it go out for bid?" "Not this one, there are no keys, and they can't get the cabin open so they had to tow it to the salvage yard until someone tears the lock off the door, then the plane isn't airworthy." I pulled the keys from my pocket. "I have the keys. I forgot to give them back. I took them in the first place to slow the pilot down." "You did slow the pilot down, but I'll check with D.C. and see if I can just dump it. I'll let you know." I went for more coffee and another of the endless supply of law enforcement donuts. The clerk said that John was on the phone. I answered by asking, "Did he go along with you?" "He wants you as an agent and said he'll fight me for you. Yes, he'll be sending a special secure message right now to all branches and will call the eleven branches that need special attention. Can you imagine how they will feel? The Director of FBI calling your agency. I'd shit if I didn't know him. I hope he calls the Regional offices first." "Okay then, let's split up the offices and call them so we get the word out." "It's already done. I had the staff here start calling them before I saw the Director. I even have two Marshals calling. You've earned another star, my man. Keep coming up with the good ideas." "What else, is there another hot spot not related to this?" "There is, but you can't go, I'm going and even taking my wife." "You son-of-a-gun, what do you have, a station change in Hawaii?" "You are sharp, aren't you? Besides, you need to get home and get to bed. You're wounded and you're injured. Tell your pilot to hurry and get you home." "I flew myself, the charter service was short of pilots." "You flew yourself, in that slow thing you have?" "I used one of their turboprops. The thing will do over three hundred. Almost as fast as some of the new business jets." John sighed, "I should have known, you're becoming too much for us. Now you're flying fast planes, pretty soon you'll be flying jets." "I'm already taking lessons. It will be a while, but one of these days." "Okay then, Chuck, this thing is in the works. Check with your office then get home. I've forwarded a copy of the video so you'll have your own. Pretty cool, don't you think?" "I wish you wouldn't have. That's pretty gory stuff. It would make me worry about a person like me." John said, "It would make me want you to be with me all the time, now go home." "John, one more thing, the plane that was in the video we confiscated is pretty ratty. The airport towed it to their salvage area, I'd like to buy it and fix it up. Can I have it for salvage?" "Sure, have the Station Chief fax me the numbers and I'll release it to you. Can you get it back to Florida?" "I'll get a mechanic pilot to fly it there. The guy was going to fly it to Canada, so it should reach Florida." "Do that now and I'll turn it around for you and get it released. You did good to ask, a lot less hassle and no questions." I was smiling when I talked to the Station Chief. He typed up the information and both e-mailed and faxed it to John. I was talking to the clerk about the turnaround of the Bureau chief when John's fax came in with the airport federal salvage yard's telephone number. I said goodbye to everyone and caught a ride to the airport. First thing was to put my stuff in the airplane and walk over to the salvage yard. I called the phone number John had given me and I actually heard the phone ring. A man answered and I told him who I was. "Oh yeah, you're the buyer for this junk we got in yesterday. I think the plane's in better shape than it looks. It has good rubber and the skin all looks good. It really needs a paint job. I'll bet the inside is original and is terrible." "If you'll let me in, we'll look, I have the keys." The man came right out. He reminded me of Hank. All business, but he loved airplanes like Hank does cars. The inside of the plane was smelly and did look nasty. I said picking up the plane's log book, "See what you can find and let's see how it starts." There was no checklist, but I remembered it item by item. Both engines started easily and came up to power quickly. I flipped on the pressure units and air conditioner to see if it worked. Everything came on fine. The radios seemed to be working and the old instrumentation seemed to be working. All the interior lights worked and even the little fridge that you could reach from the cockpit worked. Not bad. The salvage guy said, "He's had both engines rebuilt in the last three hundred hours. That would be your biggest expense. It looks like he's kept the plane up mechanically, but has never touched the inside. The guy was obviously a smoker, you can see ashes everywhere, that's another reason the planes so ratty. The smoke deteriorates the upholstery really fast. What are you going to do with it?" "I'm going to get it back to Florida and fix it up. I'll order the interior and replace it myself. I'll have the folks where I'm at paint it for me. Maybe they'll paint it like the crazy plane I flew up here." "Is that your Beech B200 King Air over there in the government slot? That plane's a hoot. I spent over an hour looking at it." "That's the one. Perhaps they will do something for me." "You need a certified flight mechanic?" I nodded, "I do." "My kid just happens to be one and is even checked out on one of these. He'll work cheap as he's saving up for his own plane. I promised him I would keep an eye out when he gets about twenty in the bank. He's not working right now because the charter service he was working for went out of business. You know where he can get a job?" "I might, let me call." I called the charter office and spoke to John. "Thanks for paying for the fuel, the repairs, and the fees." "That's part of the service. Always tell us and we'll take care of you. When are you coming home?" I'm going to leave in a while but I have some news and a question." John said, "Question first." "How is the company set for mechanics? I know of a young flying mechanic that's looking for a job." "What school did he go to?" I turned from the phone and asked, "What school did your son go to?" "Wichita, then took the two year Cessna school and graduated in the top ten." I repeated that to John. He said, "Bring him in and let us talk to him. We do need another man right now. We are really busy and have taken in a couple of more planes to keep. Any more and we're going to kick the helicopter boys over to the new building behind us. Steve built two more hangars and is talking another two." "He really is big isn't he?" "More than you would ever believe. So what's the news?" "I bought a ratty B200 or at least I think it's a 200. It has the same engines yours does. It appears nice, sounds good, the inside stuff all works and the rubber looks new." "How much?" "I'll tell you about it later okay?" "I see, okay, later." "I'm bringing the plane along with the flight mechanic. We should be there this afternoon depending on how fast this kid can get rolling." John asked, "How's the instrumentation?" "It's all fairly old. I think it's all King." "The old instrumentation isn't that bad. What else does it need?" "It needs a paint job and an interior." "A patch job or whole interior." I answered, "John, I think it would be better to change it all. There were heavy smokers in it. Even some cigar butts in the back." "If the interior is bad, you're right, replace it all. That won't be cheap, but we can order it in at cost and you can do the work." "I can do that." "Well, get it here and get it fixed up. We need the plane. We'll be paying you instead of the feds paying us pretty soon." "Not hardly, not the way I'm moving around." "See you this afternoon." I turned to the salvage yard operator and he was smiling. "I called my kid and told him to pack everything he needed to move to Florida and could fit in a 200. He said he would be here in thirty minutes. We live just across that runway in the houses by the airport. My wife doesn't like the noise sometimes, but I love airplanes. She says I'm always a better lover if the planes are making a lot of racket, so she said she can put up with it." Too much information, but it did make me smile. Sure enough, a young guy came roaring up in a Jeep Wrangler. He hopped out, zipped up the top and handed his dad the keys. "I'll be up to get it as soon as I can if the job works out." His dad said, "Check to see if you can replace it cheaper down there. If you can, I'll sell this one and you can get one without a lot of salt damage." "Good idea, Dad." "You got any cash?" "You know I do. I've saved every dime I get for how long now to buy a plane. I've paid off all my student loans and I've paid you back, but I'll never be able to pay you back for what you and mom have done for me though. Let me get to Florida, get a good job and I'll bring you down for a Florida vacation." "Not necessary, Son, but if you do, wait till January when I'm freezing my butt off. Your mom will love it. You know how she loves to parade around in her swimsuit and getting a tan." The two shook hands and hugged. We stuffed his few belongings into the ratty plane. He stuck his nose up a little and said, "Is there any paperwork to go with this?" I said, "There a log book but run over to that fancy 200 and get the checklists, copy them, and put mine back. Your dad and I will do the paperwork and I'll bring you the papers for the logbook. I'll register the plane down in Florida when we get home. I'll call and get some insurance on it before we leave." The boy took off and the salvage guy and I went to his office. He was filling in information on a PC when the son came in, copied all the checklists and left. I called my insurance agent and insured the new plane, telling her the original insurance was for ferrying the plane to Florida. She said she would put a binder on it for me. I was going to worry about the money but then remembered I did have some extra now. The salvage guy printed out a dozen sheets of paper and had me start signing. When I was done he said, "Can you write me a check or do I send it through the Marshal Service?" "I have a check, how much should I write it for. The guy looked up a chart for the price of aluminum and said, "Since you have to haul it, make it for seven fifty." "Huh?" "Seven hundred and fifty dollars. That's what it's worth for scrap, unless someone wants to tear the engines out. That's more work than they are worth." "Is that legal?" "Damn right. I was told to get salvage out of it and I'm doing it. Just because my kid is going to fly this thing out of here, doesn't mean shit. He's flying the salvage out to be salvaged. Sounds fair to me." I wrote the check, feeling guilty. My lucky horseshoe was lodged deep up my ass lately. After yesterday, I was feeling really lucky. Wait till the Florida Department of Revenue saw this. They would have to let me pay tax on only what I paid for it as salvage, even though it was an airplane. Outside, I kept a copy of the paperwork and gave the kid a copy of the transfer papers for the log. He said, "I know these instruments. We'll file IFR all the way through. This thing is full of fuel and we won't need to stop. Ready?" I walked away as he was firing up the plane. The door was shut and he was off for his new adventure. His dad was standing by his gate watching, probably proud of his son's accomplishments." I pulled the chocks and was doing my inspection when a ramp attendant came up. He loaded up the chocks and gave me the receipts for the work that was done. He said the entries were in the plane's log. I was soon turned toward the taxiway calling in my flight plan and requesting permission to taxi. My new old 200 came on the air requesting taxi information and we were lined up one, two, off the end of the runway. I was cleared for twenty-five thousand and he was cleared for twenty-three. We had agreed on an intercom frequency so when we were both at altitude, I let him get to his cruise speed and I settled in just about two-ninety ground speed to stay close to him. When we were getting close to Atlanta, I suggested we land for lunch, as I was starving since we forgot to bring sandwiches. He was all for it so we called to change the flight plan and land at a small airport south of Atlanta. They asked if we needed services, and I responded, bathroom and food. The tower answered, "Food is cheap, the john is ten bucks each." I watched as my new friend landed very nicely ahead of me. We parked next to each other by the small operations building that was very busy. They had a Blimpie's, so I bought some subs and four bottles of water. I asked, "Want to eat in the air or do you want to stretch your legs some more?" "Hell no, let's fly. Let's get to my new home. I just know this is going to work out." We were back up in just a few minutes at our previous altitudes on our way home. Two hours later we were in the pattern for our home strip. He wanted me to land first so he would know where to taxi so I set down and turned off the runway quickly. He was close behind and followed to where I spun the 200 ready to be pushed back into the hangar. The new old plane spun around too and shut down. John and Steve came out of the office to see me, along with Sue. The two looked the airplane over then Sue went inside. She came back out. "Ugh, cigars, terrible, you'll have to tear the whole insides out." "I already plan on it, Sue. That and a good paint job, perhaps one like yours." Steve asked, "Did you buy it cheap enough to spend some money?" "I did, a real good number." Steve nodded, knowing not to press. "Looks like you're a multi-aircraft owner now. Your hangar and insurance money just went up. I think if you get this in shape, we'll be able to rent it out the same. So where's this mechanic at, I want to meet him." Jim Thomas, the young man I brought with me was quietly standing right there. I introduced him to Steve and Sue Sharp, and to John Truant. They all shook hands and Jim handed Steve his school paperwork and all of his certifications. Steve flipped through them and gave them to John. "Jim," Steve asked, "Is there a reference we can call?" Jim handed Steve a three by five card and said, "The top name and number is for the charter service owner that went out of business. The second number is the head mechanic for them and the third is for the Cessna dealership that used me when they could. I have just been rated on skis and pontoons and should receive the certification notice shortly. My dad will send it to me as soon as it comes." Steve said, "Here, John, call a couple of these and come back. Say, how about all of us getting a Coke or something." We headed into the charter office and to the break room in back. A couple of mechanics were sitting there with a manual out, looking at it. Jim asked, "Having a problem? I might be of help." The two mechanics began showing Jim what their problem was. He said he had that before and made a suggestion. He said it was difficult to thread it back in but it would save a couple of hours. The three of them left to go back across the tarmac to the maintenance hangar. Steve said, "I like him already, willing to help whether he's working or not." John came back and said, "We want the kid. His bosses said he never missed a day, was always on time and tried to get more overtime than allowed. He's rated all the way through G-5s and is certified in almost all instrumentation. Where's this kid been looking? I know of dozens of places that would hire him. I hope he's satisfied with what we pay." "Pay him what he's worth, John. If someone is worth more, pay them more, you know that's what my philosophy is." Jim came back in with a smile and said, "It was exactly the same. I slipped it right in for them. They'll save four hours on the tear down." John said, "How about coming to work for us? We need your knowledge and certifications. You can get some of the ones you're missing right here. The field has a good school here." "Thank you, this is great. Now I can once again save for my own airplane. It won't be long, I'll have my own. It's a dream of mine and I know it will happen." Steve said, "When people come to be with us down here, dreams do seem to come true." Sue asked, "Do you have a place to stay yet?" "Not yet," Jim said. "But Chuck said he had room at his place." Sue said, "We live close and there is a little trailer just down the street that's available. It's in decent shape and you could eat your meals with us if you want. We have lots of people eat with us every morning and every evening. Another mouth wouldn't even be noticed. You'll love all the folks out there too." Jim looked at me. I said, "If I didn't own my place I'd move out there and join these people. They have a great place and are really nice. If you want, I can put your stuff in my car and haul it for you." Steve said, "I've got the pickup. We can do it for him. I'm just happy to have another mechanic. We've been really busy. We're picking up a lot of work from the air park, as they have been loaded down. I've heard some places are starving, but we sure aren't. Chuck, register your plane and get with the Beechcraft guy and order your interior. He'll steer you right. Tell him it's one of our planes so you get a decent price." Sue came over and gave me a hug. When I winced she backed off. I said, "I got hurt up in Minneapolis yesterday and cracked a couple ribs." Jim said, "He got shot. His arm is all bandaged too." "Blabbermouth, don't tell everything to everyone." Steve and Sue were laughing. Steve said, "We're laughing because you sound like me. Several years ago I was in a bunch of little battles and I've constantly had to tell people to hush. You shot bad, must not be, you're up and around?" "Naw, just a through wound on the fleshy part of the arm. Some stitches on both sides." "Good, I'm glad you're all right. At least you were fine to fly our plane back. Come on, Jim, let's get your stuff out of Chuck's plane and get it to your new home. It's getting toward beer thirty and I'm ready." I took my bags from the good plane and walked over to the maintenance hangar. I told the maintenance super that their 200 needed fuel and they should look at the repair job that was done. I also asked if they could start stripping the guts from my 200, and when they had a chance, I wanted the teardown confirmed and any new modification that I could get. I mentioned that I was going to order new electronics and that gave them a smile. Now it was time to face the music. I had to go home. I called Wanda to tell her I was in and going straight home. She said to me, "You've got some explaining to do, Bubba. I downloaded a video that is pretty damning. Are you all right?" "I'm fine, just some scratches." "Sure, scratches huh? I can read, two cracked ribs, a through wound on your arm. Some scratches, I saw how you flew off that tractor." "It was a forty-five, what do you want? Those things kick." "Why didn't you tell us, tell me?" "No reason for you to worry. You and Brandy would have chartered a plane to come get me. I'm back and I'm fine. I have a surprise too. Don't know how much you'll like it, but I have a surprise." "I already know, your insurance agent called me for a check number for a binder. You bought another plane, some Beechcraft 200 something. Can you afford that?" "I'll tell you and show you the receipt later. You'll love the price. Anyway, I'm going home. Stop for some steaks okay? Some red wine would be good too." "Lost some blood, huh? Brandy and I rode in together this morning, we'll stop. See you soon." At home, it looked like the addition was done. There was a note in the garage that said the contractor would be by in the morning to get acceptance and money unless there were gigs. I put my bags in the house and opened a beer. I got out of my clothes and put on some shorts and a T-shirt. I went through the garage and through the door into the new garage area. It looked nice. There was a stairway in the old garage that led up to a common entry, into an open utility room with a new washer and dryer. You walked into the apartment through the back of the kitchen, next to a pantry and were able to look past a counter through the living room and right outside to the enclosed, screened deck. The kitchen was very large and had a nice bar/counter and a tiled area on the other side for a table and chairs. The kitchen had a decent sized fridge and stove. There were plenty of very nice cabinets. On both sides of the living room were two doors. When I opened the one nearest to the kitchen, I found a nice bathroom. I went through the bathroom into a large bedroom with windows on the far end. There was a door near the outside wall that led to a very large walk-in closet. It was really large as it was the extension of the utility room. I walked across to the other bedroom and it was the same, but reversed, so I checked out that closet to find it just as large. Very nice. I walked out to the covered patio and discovered the other stairway outside. Each side had an entry door that had been hidden behind curtains. The living room door was one of those multiple sliding jobs where all the sections slid into pockets in the bedrooms, and were all glass so they could still be seen through. I think I got my money's worth, and then some. I walked over to the counter and there were some garage remotes on them. There was a note that said he could install the radio telephone devices like we had on our main garage. I would have to think about that. It was good because you didn't have to haul a remote around. We could get different codes for the different doors. You wouldn't want all five doors to be going up at the same time. I shut everything up and noticed the alarm panel. I went back into the bedrooms and each had a remote panel as well. The alarm could be set from any of the three doors. Very nice. I went downstairs and back into our kitchen to stash the empty. I went into the bathroom, took off the bandage, and took a shower after the long flight and my sweating over the new plane. I had just finished dressing, with the bandage back on, wearing my peg, when the garage door opened. Wanda pulled in and four girls jumped out of the car and were in the door faster than you could blink. All five girls wanted to hug me, but it was just too painful. "Please, cracked ribs, take it easy, gentle hugs only." The tiniest, Tiani, pulled my head down and kissed me. She turned and said, "Lips ain't cracked." Brandy, Wanda, Marie, and Angie all gave me kisses. Jan's car came in the garage and she was in the house before the garage door was closed. She did the same thing and killed me with a hug then backed off, "Oh yeah, cracked ribs." She gave me a kiss and said, "I saw that video. The Bureau Chief from up there sent us a copy on the internet. I have a copy right here. You have some explaining to do, Buster." Wanda corrected her, "It's Bubba until he can show us how it was that he got shot so easily." "Ladies, ladies, it's easy to explain. It happened faster than anyone would have expected and the guy made a lucky shot. He didn't hit anything else after he shot me, so it was lucky." Brandy said, "Can I see it? Is it bad? Will I be okay if I see it?" Wanda said, "Probably, if you're squeamish you might not want to look too close, but you need to see what your man does." Tiani said, "I know and it scares me. You can have him, Brandy, but I'll love him just the same." Bloodthirsty Marie said, "Put it on the big TV and let's watch it." Wanda pulled her copy out and they put it in the big TV. I said, "Hey guys, what about the steaks and food? Can we get that out first so it doesn't spoil?" They all ran for the car. Wanda was smiling, "Always thinking of your belly, always hungry. You're going to have to temper your intake while you can't exercise." "I can still walk and probably ride the bike. I'll just use the dreaded treadmill more." The food was inside, in the fridge, and they all had some form of drink while sitting in front of the TV. I opened another beer and a bag of chips. The big TV showed it all in glorious living color. When we were down to the video with the sound, they were oohing and aahing over the noises. Brandy came over and sat by me. She put her arm around me and hugged me gently. "Don't do that stuff. You shoot them first. That's scary. And don't ever go anywhere without your vest. Kiss me, make me know you're still with me." Tiani came over and sat beside me on the other side, "Maybe I shouldn't have given you up. I can almost take comfort in how crazed you were for those few seconds, so methodical, so accurate. That was something." "That's why he practices on the range," Jan said. "That's why the fast decision courses. Chuck's really good at them and now you know why he is and why he insists his men practice." Marie said, "That was some good shooting, especially after getting knocked on your ass. I have to show this to my dad, he'll go nuts." Brandy said, "I need to show this to my dad too. He needs to see you in action. As a matter of fact, I'm taking it over right now. Save supper for me, okay?" Brandy and Tiani were out the door in a flash with Wanda's video. Wanda said, "Well, I guess it's a good thing I have copies." We all had some drinks and went to the gym so I could see how the bike was going to be. It wasn't bad, so I did a half hour on it and a half on the treadmill. I sent everyone out to the pool, but they didn't swim hard. Marie said, "It's more fun when we have your rudder to follow." We were just fixing the salad when Brandy and Tiani came back. Brandy handed the video to Wanda and said, "I hope it was okay to copy it. My dad wanted one." Wanda asked, "What did he think? Is he apprehensive about you getting serious with Chuck?" "No way," Brandy said. "His comment was, 'when you gonna marry this guy?' My mom wet her panties over it. She said that was the scariest thing she's ever seen, also the goriest. That guy's head just popped its top." "Let's forget the video and all that it represents and have some supper. I'm cooking steaks in a few minutes. Let's eat some salad first." Supper was great. We all cleaned up the kitchen, then Jan said she was going to pick up her friend. Marie said she was going to see Dennis and Angie was going to the library where she was going to meet her friend. Marie was dropping Angie off. Soon it was Wanda, Brandy and me. Wanda was serious and asked if she could talk openly. "Sure, Wanda, I guess Brandy should hear everything too. We're all very close." Wanda began, "Brandy and I had some very nice times while you were gone and last night was wild. We had a sleepover with all her girl friends. Those other four are something else. It was very enjoyable." She paused before continuing, "You know I'm prone to be very sexual and am probably near to a nympho. I do want sex almost all the time and when I don't get my almost daily dose, I go nuts. So far, Chuck, you or someone in the household has been available constantly, but I want more dick. Before you came along, Brandy, I thought I might get Chuck all to my own. I was almost going to ask him for some exclusive rights, you know the marrying thing?" "Brandy you came along and you're good for Chuck and just wild enough to keep him open. That you'll have to watch, he can get conservative on you. What I'm proposing is for me to branch out a little for some extra lovers. I already know a few who are willing and I'm interested in some discovery missions. I'm going to be a regular visitor out at the nature park too. I love their openness." "Since I'm going to be mixing it up with some strange stuff, I'm going to be off limits to you and the household unless I can make sure all my conquests are tested. Can you live with this?" I went around the table and pulled Wanda up, "I'll hate to lose some of the best pussy I've ever had. You're absolutely luscious to play with. Yes, I can live with it, and yes, I understand." I kissed Wanda passionately and held my hand out to Brandy to join us. "You two have been my rocks. Brandy, you're a breath of fresh air that makes all of our hearts sing." "Come on, let's go to bed. Brandy, you and I need to give this lady her daily dose." I had to operate from my right side as I couldn't lay on my left. Brandy and I did an excellent job in satisfying our soon to be butterfly. I left a nice deposit within her after she had been thrashing around a long time. Brandy went down for seconds and that fired me up so I was able to thoroughly love Brandy right through another deposit. It was wonderful and enough. We fell asleep, me with a beauty on each shoulder. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 49 Ah, Friday morning, perhaps I can get out a little early and relax. What I need is that little bi-plane, go soar in the clouds, and feel the mist on my face. I need one of those Snoopy hats with the goggles. The smile on my face woke Brandy who had her cheek resting against mine. "What's making you smile, Honey?" "I'm lying here with two beauties, a very special person snuggled up and greeting me when I first wake up, what more could make me happy?" "How about flying, were you dreaming about that?" "We were in that little bi-plane wearing Snoopy hats and goggles, flying through the clouds, feeling the mist on our faces." Brandy said, "Sounds more like it." I remembered something, "I thought you were taking yesterday off, but you came home with all the girls." "My boss called before work and asked me to come in. A couple of girls called in sick and she knows I'll always help out. She told me I could take off another time, but she really needed me yesterday and today. It seems they are both going to be sick for two days." Wanda was awake and said, "The contractor said he was going to leave a note wanting to see you this morning. He's done. He did a really good job, and included appliances and drapes across all three rooms in the back. I like the way the patio turned out too. It's really a nice apartment." Brandy asked, "With all the extra garage space, can I park my car inside when I end up here at night?" "Sure, I'm going to bring the Mustang home and drive it sometime. I really think a car like that should be driven and not just looked at." "Daddy loves old cars. He has a fifty-seven Chevy four-door hardtop. He loves that old car but he hardly ever drives it. If he sees you driving yours, maybe he'll drive his more." "Let's get going, I can't swim, but you guys can. I might try a few Tai Chi stretches, but my swimming is going to be limited." We were heading outside when Angie and Marie came from their bedrooms. They were both nude and went out to the pool. Watching the two, I said, "I just love this house, two perfectly nice young ladies parade past me in their all together. What a great way to wake up." Brandy and Wanda walked by, also nude, and it was just too much. I was getting a boner hard enough it hurt my ribs. I did attempt a flow of stretches, but had to modify several stances. It was as my left arm was stretched out that I noticed the bandages were gone. I must have lost them in bed. As I held my stance, I inspected the stitches and they looked fine. There was no redness or swelling. I continued for about fifteen minutes until I didn't feel any more painful pulling on my ribs. I would have to try this again to see if I can eliminate the pain. The girls were already inside, getting dressed. I got into the shower to do my morning quickie and shaved. I announced that I would probably need some clothes soon, so we needed to plan on a trip to the warehouse. I needed to replace at least two sportcoats, a couple pair of pants, a suit, several shirts, and couple pair of shoes. This dressing nice can get expensive. I might try some slacks and sport shirts to wear on days there isn't much activity. I could always start a dress down day, like Fridays and allow jeans and T-shirts or other casual dress. I thought what the hell, so I put on some slacks, a sport shirt, and pulled a jacket out that would go with it if too many eyes were raised. Everyone left for the day and I stayed back to meet the contractor. He showed up right at eight. We walked through the house and I asked him to go ahead and do the multiple garage door signals for the new garage. I told him I was very pleased and satisfied with his work. I had his check ready, with an extra five hundred dollars. I asked him to seal the garage floor for the extra. He smiled and said, "That was part of the deal anyway. I'll seal it this afternoon. It will be dry by five. You'll like it. I'll seal it with a pure white sealer. Oil won't stain it and it's easy to wash." He left and I got ready to leave. The doorbell rang. From habit I looked out to see Sarah Perkins. "Hi, Sarah, what brings you here?" "The contractor who just completed some work for you is bidding on some work on my condo. I thought I might catch you and look at his work." I thought this was a flimsy excuse to be here. Wonder what the real deal is? "Come in and I'll take you through the new building, or addition, as it is. The new and old garages are the support for a nice apartment that can be for a couple, or a couple of individuals." We went up the stairs, through the utility room, into the kitchen. You were struck immediately by how long the room was and the openness. The windows at the end made it look like the room went on forever. Sarah liked the counter bar area. She thought it made the kitchen very homey. I showed her through a bathroom, bedroom, sitting room area, and the huge walk-in closet. We walked to the other bedroom across the living room and she could see this was the same, except the reverse of the other side. Out in the living room, I pulled back the doors to give her the feel of a full room doorway to the patio. It was nice and shady and I noticed for the first time there were two ceiling fans with lights out on the porch. That was a nice touch. I showed her how both sides had a private entrance, accessible from the back stairway. We went inside so I could shut the doors. We went downstairs where I showed her the big five-car garage. She asked, "What in the world do you need with a five car garage?" "I have a fun car, plus my work car. The other folks in the house, but one, all have cars. We need the space." "That is a magnificent addition. Is your main house that big?" "Come, I'll show you." We walked through the family room and kitchen. The video wall was closed so I walked past it. It looked like a pantry. I took her out back to the pool and hot tub. She had already seen the living room, so we walked down to the first suite, Angie's. I knew her room would be perfect, so I opened the door to show her how it was arranged in a smaller version of the addition. I said, "There are four of these and then there are these two offices. One I use and the other is used for the two girls who are taking night classes. This bigger room is the media room for intense music listening or to watch a video. We walked back to the end of the family room where the entrance to the master suite was. Sarah was impressed to see the bed made and the room neat. She liked the huge bathroom with the separate tub and large walk-in shower. This entrance was also the entrance to a huge walk-in cedar closet with built in drawers and a large mirror on one end. My clothes were all hung neatly with my shoes lined up by color. The large side of the closet didn't have but a few of Brandy's clothes. Sarah commented, "Looks like you have room for a live-in." "I have four live-ins plus a very constant visitor. The visitor has four roommates that stay here a lot as well." "So you're not lonely at nights." I smiled, "Not hardly. All the girls keep me in company and keep me company. Some are restricted from this room, since they are my employees. The others, they're fun." "Are you bragging?" "No Ma'am, you were teasing and offering, so I teased back." "Okay, you got me. You are really too young for me. I don't know why but I was thinking I would come out here, sweep you off your feet, seduce you, and get you caught in my web." "You are a very attractive, but a very focused woman. When you find the right guy, you'll focus on him and he will be lost. Just keep an open mind, Sarah, and I promise he'll walk into your life." "You're sweet. You turn me down and try to get me to accept you're not the one. I know, I'm impatient and I think my body clock is ticking very loudly. I've made enough money to live the rest of my life and now I want what should go with the money. I want someone successful, though. I want someone who is my equal mentally, and is as focused as I am. But you're right. When I focus, I can accomplish anything. Sorry about the way I act sometimes. It just seems that whenever I get this way, I imagine all kinds of crazy scenes with people or men that fascinate me. You've done that from the first, but somehow I know you're not the one. You're kind of like candy, I want you, but shouldn't, or a toy I want to play with. Why is that?" "Sarah, men have done that for years, but they don't act on their feelings or they'll get arrested. You're just reacting to your feelings and needs. Like I said, just relax and that special guy will smack you in the face." With a frown, Sarah said, "I hope so. Thank you for understanding me. Think about me. Think good things about me. Perhaps you'll chase me instead of thinking of me this way." Sarah let herself out the door. I was almost sad to see her go as she is such an intense person. I can imagine that when she finds her mate, he will be a happy man. I locked up the house and took off for the office. First thing was to call John and see if he had any feedback yet. He answered his phone in his happy voice, "Wassup?" "That's what I'm calling for, updates. How are the sites doing where we've joined forces, any incidents?" "Lots of action, lots of results. Go to the internal page on your site. We're dumping updates to you as we receive them. Thought that might save some time. Have Wanda do a synopsis for you. You might even want to share this with Frank downstairs. You're already on good standing with him, so he'll get a kick out of seeing other areas getting on board. I've heard how your men have picked up some of his surveillance time and his guys have helped on some captures. It's pretty cool to hear how a bunch of FBI, deputies, and DEA guys helped round up a ship full of illegals before they could get off the ship. That was a good operation. Your Homeland guy down there sings your praises every day." "What's with you and all the smoke you're blowing up my butt? You don't do that." "Just feelin' really good about the way this joint operation has turned out. You're wounded and shouldn't be back out in the field, I'm getting ready to spend four wonderful days in Hawaii, but we have a bucket load of trouble spots. You came up with an idea that's working to take care of it all. I've got three Marshals trying to bring you into D.C. and a Director trying to steal you. So I'm buttering you up to keep you out of D.C. and the Bureau." "You don't have to worry, John. I'm good as a deputy. I might even be good in the employment office working for Metarie." "If you were over there, it would take you about six months to be in D.C. running the whole thing. The biggest problem with that is you would be stealing pickup trucks to escape D.C. again." He was laughing really loud when he disconnected. The man can be rude. I checked the internal site and read a couple dozen updates. The areas where the joint operations were being used had been very successful in apprehending several men who had been attempting harm to judges and witnesses. The two branches were learning from each other. Wanda came to the door and said, "John from the charter service is on the phone. He says he needs you. Can you pick up line one?" "Hey, John, what's up?" "We have a charter and can't go without a full crew. It's going to be until early Monday morning. You don't have a commercial ticket yet, but you could be right seat. If I can get a third we're perfect. It's an international flight to Europe and we have to abide by a dozen different rules." "If I don't have my commercial ticket, can you have only one pilot on board?" "We'll have two, but one won't be much use except in extreme emergencies. I want you to fly right seat so you can spell Lisa. I'll sit in the jump seat and can be available for instruction as needed." "Just a thought, John, I've never even looked inside a G5. How am I supposed to help?" "You already know the navigation system and you've flown the Lear a lot, why not something a little larger. Actually, the plane feels like the Lear. Once in the air, it's an airplane. You tell it where to go, watch the instruments, and it flies." "Hmmm, ah, you may not know it, but I've still got stitches in my arm from a gunshot wound and I've got a couple of cracked ribs. Is that going to be a problem?" "You'll be wearing a long sleeve uniform shirt. Do you have some navy blue pants?" "Sure, black shoes and socks. I may not have a solid tie." "We've got em. I'll even get you one of those fancy garrison hats with the shiny bill. Will you do it?" "When?" "We need to leave at four. And, ah, would you have any of your cute little girlfriends who might wish to act as hostesses? They would need their passports and we could use two. That's how skinny we are." "Let me make a call and I'll call you back." I called Metarie, "Metarie, I need to ask you a favor. I haven't asked Brandy yet, but I have a chance to do a European charter and they need hostesses. What do you think, could you spring Brandy, and possibly Tiani, this afternoon. They can be back Monday, but might be a little droopy-eyed. I'm not sure of the return time yet." Metarie laughed, "Brandy was such a dear to come in to take care of windows again today. I think we can let her and Tiani out this afternoon. Call her and she'll get Tiani. The two will go nuts racing out of here. I'll tell them to clean up their windows. Have a good time. Come see us." "Hey, Brandy, Metarie is coming to let you and Tiani out. Would you like to hostess on a flight to Europe and back? It may or may not be a lot of work, but it would be quite an experience. We'll be back Monday morning, so you'll be tired at work. We'll be leaving at four, so what do you think?" Brandy said breathlessly, "We'll go, I'll tell Tiani. It's too bad they don't need five hostesses. This is exciting, where should we meet you?" "You probably both need navy blue skirts and/or pants. I'll find out and call you when I find out. Talk to you in a minute." The next call was to John, "I have two hostesses for you. You've met Brandy, but you haven't met our little pixie friend, Tiani. She's black, I hope that isn't a problem." "No problem at all, perhaps a benefit. How soon can you be here? Do the girls have Navy skirts?" "I told them to figure out if they do. Can you fit them with tops?" "We have freshly laundered shirts of about every size imaginable for men and women, along with the accessories. We have never invested in pants and skirts. We probably should. Tell the girls to wear black high heels, but to have regular black low shoes for on the aircraft. Make sure they have their passports." I called Brandy back, "Navy skirts, black high heels, and black flats. Do you both have passports?" Brandy said, "We sure do, we went to Brazil a couple years ago. We have navy skirts but they're a little short. Will that be alright?" "As long as they are not too short, I'm sure it will be an advantage. Meet me at the house as soon as you're packed. Bring some casual clothes to wear while we are wherever it is we're going." Brandy said, "We'll see you in less than thirty, Tiani doesn't even need the plane, she's flying already." I told Wanda to have a good weekend and that I was going flying. She smiled and said, "Enjoy your convalescent leave. You know if you get shot, you're credited with thirty days leave. I'll have to keep track of all your flight time in order to use it up." "Thanks, Wanda. If you and Jan get a chance, shop for some kitchen and living room furniture for the apartment. Get some, ah, oh you know what the place needs. Use my personal credit card that you have. Just get what you need. I have plenty of cash right now." I was home, packed, and my bag in the car parked in the driveway so Brandy could pull into the garage. We threw their bags into my car and beat feet to the air park. John, DeDe, and Star were all ready for us. They had a fit over tiny Tiani, but were able to fit her with a blouse quickly. With their adornments and little hats, the two girls looked really good. John had some shirts for me, plus a nice uniform jacket with wings and a nametag. Star spent a few minutes in back and came up with nametags for the girls. John said, "Just in time. Star and DeDe are going to walk through the plane with the girls to show them where everything is and give them the safety briefing. I'll give you yours, but you need to get out to the plane so Lisa can go over some things with you. Sorry about how fast this is, but this came up at the last minute and we hate to pass up the charter. We have everything out but the maintenance jeeps, so we were lucky to have a G5 available." I went out to the plane and marveled at how luxurious it was inside. There weren't that many visible seats even though the plane is really big. Lisa said, "Get your butt up here. Take your coat off and hang it and your hat in the closet. I'll start going over your responsibilities. John will sit behind us in the jump seat. He won't have to do a whole lot but he can be another set of eyes. I've only done six overseas flights, so I'm kind of green. We'll be all right though. Now, first." Lisa went through dozens and dozens of instructions. She went over the instrumentation and which group to watch more than others. There were gauges everywhere, in front, on the side, overhead, everywhere. The cute thing was a cup holder and a small fold down table to place something to eat. Just like cars, the important thing was how many cup holders. Lisa said, "Let's go meet our passengers. I'll introduce everyone. We will all seat the passengers and make sure they are secure. The girls will give the safety briefing. You'll shut the door, then come up front where John and I will already be. Just reach up and grab the book that has the big "one" on it. You know how to do the rest. When we need all our hands, give the lists to John and he will read em off. Let's do it, Greenie. How does it feel to be a rookie on your first G5 flight?" "I wish it were a training run first." "No time like the present. John is really the right seat; you're along for training purposes." We were all standing at the doorway when the big bus drove up. Oh my, this was a really famous rock group that was back together for the beginning of a European tour to introduce a new album. An agent said, "Our plane is down for repairs and won't be back up until next week. You can get us to Berlin and back. We'll come home after the gig and go to Paris on our own plane next week. Some of the crew took commercial flights and the rest rode on the equipment aircraft." Lisa introduced everyone to the passengers and they all climbed aboard. We seated everyone with room to spare. Lisa was seating herself and John was waiting for me to get by so he could slide the jump seat over ... I shut and locked the door, slid into the right seat, and buckled up. I put on my headset, flipped the switch to intercom, and pulled the card with the big "one." I began reading and actually knew what I was reading. I even knew where to look to see if Lisa was reaching for the correct knob or switch. The aircraft fired up smoothly, with all the instruments and gauges reading correctly. I watched Lisa program the flight plan all the way to Berlin into the Flight Management System, fascinated at how smoothly she input the data. She began taxiing the big G5 toward the taxiway and radioed for instructions. I was still going down the list when Lisa said, "Give it to John with number 'two.'" I handed the lists to John and Lisa said, "Take hold of the yoke and be ready. This is where the right seat is of value. If something were to happen to me while taking off, you have to take over. You know how to fly, just fly and John will tell you what to do. The sweat factor increased about ninety degrees. John didn't tell me about this. The takeoff was like glass and surprisingly fast. The airplane was really fast and had a rapid rate of climb. We had to do a little jog around Jacksonville as we headed out over the Atlantic. I had put all the lists in their overhead pocket and was being briefed by both Lisa and John as to all of the functions of the various instruments and controls. It was just like the Lear, except there were more. Every gauge and every instrument had at least one backup and all the key instruments had a third. The controls were all dual except the gear and the throttle. The gear even had directions for a manual release, and hopefully, I wouldn't ever have to use that. John went over all the safety features of the aircraft and the open sea ditching procedures and what rescue equipment was onboard and how it would be deployed. Everything had multiple uses and could be used in case of an emergency. Lisa said, "I've got to check on the girls and go potty. Let me do that and I'll be back in about a half-hour. John will watch you and make sure everything is working properly." "What do you think, Chuck, want to go to school for this too?" "If I'm going to be doing this with you guys, I have to. I can't stand not being trained to do something. How long is the school for this thing?" We'll train you, but there is a three-day formal school where you will be checked out and certified. The navigation equipment isn't a big deal. They just make it bigger and fancier. The Lear's new equipment is about the same. We almost didn't have room to put it in. You'll love it the next time you use it. You know we bought another small jet right?" "No, I didn't" "I'll show it to you next week. You'll like it. It's an executive personal commuter, small, fast and cheap to fly. It should make the company some money." All the gauges and instruments were reading correctly. The fuel levels were decreasing at the optimum rate and the weather display ahead of us was clear as a bell. I wasn't sweating any longer, but I would definitely need a shower when we got there. Lisa came back, bringing me coffee and a bottle of water. John got up to go to the bathroom and stretch his legs. Lisa almost repeated exactly what John had asked, "So what do you think about the G5? Want to go to school? If you do, I get to teach you most of it, then you go to a three-day school right at our park for certification. This ride will be logged as your initial checkout. You have to have at least twenty hours checkout before you can be official right seat. A senior company pilot will make the decision when you're left seat stuff. Of course, you have to have your commercial license but you're damn near there. John might just train you to be a Lear and G5 instructor. That would be cool." I think these folks keep forgetting I'm a deputy Marshal in my real life. We had been in the air about four hours when I said I needed to use the restroom. We three did a scan of the panel to see that everything was good and I got up to go to the back. On the way there, the guitar player asked me, "What's with the gun? Are you expecting trouble?" I smiled, "In my other life, I'm a Deputy U.S. Marshal." I showed him my badge. "This is a fun avocation for me. I'm required to be armed all the time." "That's neat. I'm glad you're with us. Our BGs, you know, bodyguards, had to go commercial, so you're our man till they meet us." I went to the john and was coming back up when the drummer did a quick rat-ta-tat on my fake leg. I jumped and looked down at him. He smiled and said, "See, I got one too. I lost mine in Desert Storm, when did you lose yours?" "Iraq, a couple of years ago. The sand got us both, huh?" He said, "Mine was stupid, I was walking in front of a track when we were fired on. I thought I was outside of it but the track took it right off at the knee, just a dumb move. It hasn't hurt my beat though; I have some strong legs now. Actually my right thigh is really strong since I have to raise it for the base pedal." "I'll be watching. You're another person to show people we aren't disabled." "Not hardly, Dude, I'm as good as ever. I can jam eight hours straight and be ready for more. You know me, let's rock." Tiani and Brandi were glowing. They were having a great time taking care of the passengers. They said they had served some drinks, sandwiches, and beer, but mostly water. The whole group was very easy to please. Back in the cockpit, I was more relaxed. We began to get ready to enter radar controlled air space, so John was working the radio and confirming transponder numbers. Lisa said, "Get out the booklet that says "down" in big letters. Read it over and check to see if you know where everything is. When you're through, go over it again with John and me." As I was going down the list, I noticed the cabin temperature and air pressure gauge wiggle. I pointed it out to Lisa. John looked at the gauges and said to Lisa, drop to twelve thousand feet, I'll call in. This isn't an emergency, but it is a major concern." John pointed at the cabin announcement on the checklist, so I switched the intercom on my set to 'public address' and said, "We are descending early for our landing. Please be seated and fasten your seat belts. Will the crew please pick up any loose objects and store them before taking your assigned seats." I kept watching those gauges as we came down rather quickly. Thank goodness we were close, so the passengers didn't think we were in any kind of trouble. John was muttering, "Probably another faulty valve on an air tank. The compressor door of the turbine must have closed or something. Everything else looks good. Wonder why the warning light and buzzer didn't come on?" We were soon on the ground, taxiing to a special terminal where a big Mercedes bus was waiting. A huge cargo jet was parked nearby, but appeared empty. When we parked, Lisa said, "Go open the door and help get the guys off the plane. They could be unsteady from the long ride." I got up and went to the door. Upon opening it, I was greeted by four burly guys with security T-shirts. The first guy asked, "Why the gun, Bud?" I gave him the standard speech showing him my badge. He said, "Make sure you check in with the krauts so you don't get any grief over the piece. They will be out here in a few minutes for customs inspection. You guys have to stay with this rig until you're checked out. Get your passports ready." I helped the band members off the plane and their men began unloading the members' luggage. German customs and immigration came out and were very courteous and thorough. I had to interview with a special agent, showing him my badge and identification explaining that I flew as an avocation. The man's comment was, "Fun hobby, yah?" Lisa had already garnered mechanics to begin looking for the problem with the aircraft. They had a ladder back by an engine and another mechanic was taking down a bulkhead in the rear in the bedroom bathroom. John said, "You should go register for the immigrations guy like he asked. Get your coat so you hide the gun. Wear your hat, too. That will make you more official looking." When I went with the immigration man, he had to do a fingerprint scan and accessed U.S. Marshal records to check me out. He asked, "Please remove your hat. Yes, that is you. You are very high ranking to have a part time job." "It's something I'm learning to do for fun. I don't think I'm being paid for this trip. It's a learning experience." "Yah, Yah, you Americans, always do for fun. You should make money to do this. They pay for Marshals to ride the planes, yah? If you fly and guard them, you should get much money. You stay at Wolfgang Hotel; I will have a brew with you later. You have many stories to tell, I see." I went back to the plane to find both John and Lisa happy. The check valve between two tanks had stuck. If John had switched between them manually, the descent could have been delayed. Better safe than sorry, but I did learn something. John took me into the cockpit to show me where the readings were and where the manual switch was located next to the gauge. There were two switches, one between bottle one and two and one between bottle two and three. He said the compressor gave a false reading because it wasn't being fed any oxygen. The cabin pressure had fluctuated because of the compressor variance. Lots of things going on at once. John watched as the valve was replaced and tested, then how everything was put back in place. He made arrangements for the tank to be filled and put in place while we waited. The fuel truck came up and filled us up. John signed for the fuel and airport fees after giving them a credit card. Tiani and Brandy had the airplane cleaned up and even used the onboard vacuums to dust and vacuum everything. They brought out the waste bags and had a list of what they had used so it could be replenished. Two hours after we landed, the airplane was airworthy, all put back together, and pulled to a private parking area with a power hook up. John said, "This way the air conditioning system can stay on low to keep the plane cool and the little fridge units will stay on. That way we won't have a long delay to cool the plane and we won't need all new beverages. Just some ice and some refills. I think we might even have enough spares in the luggage compartment for the return. We'll go over it tomorrow." The band's dates were Saturday night and a Sunday matinee. We were leaving after the meet and greet following the matinee. The Sunday gig was being used for the single live recordings that they would touch up back in their studios in St. Petersburg. We were to hang out with the band and crew tonight and could watch them practice tomorrow morning. They all said, "Stay on your stateside body clock as much as possible. We're like six hours ahead here, so it's almost morning now. Take a nap till noon. We'll eat, practice, meet the promoters, and then do the gig. You guys can sit in the audience or come backstage. Either place is good. You might enjoy being part of the audience on your first trip. Try back stage tomorrow. It gets hectic back there." We had a quick breakfast after checking into the hotel. John raised his eyebrows when we told him to just get us one room. I told him, one is my girlfriend and one was a girl friend before and is the friend of my girl now, confusing. The problem was Lisa, who said, "No fair, I get him too." Tiani pointed to Brandy, and Brandy said, "We'll talk later." John's eyebrow cocked again. When we were done eating, we showered quickly and lay down to nap. We slept soundly, we didn't nap. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 50 We woke up at noon to the noise of my cell phone ringing. Lisa said, "Get up, get up, let's eat and go watch them practice." We dressed in jeans and T-shirts and went downstairs to join the roadies and the band. They had a private dining room with a big buffet that would be available all afternoon. The huge auditorium was connected by a tunnel to the hotel, so we rode carts over to the auditorium. The band set up and the sound guys did checks all over the seating area. They were injecting white noise through speakers and reading sound pressures everywhere. When they were satisfied they had the keyboard guy do some riffs followed by the lead guitar, the rhythm guitar and vocalist, the bass player, and then the drummer. He had to muffle down a little as the stage was reflecting his sound a lot. This was something I knew about. I had played in a band throughout junior high and high school. We were good but not near good enough to quit our day jobs or school. Some of us ended up in the military, some in college, and one in a nationally known band. Our music had been too eclectic. We played mostly Doobie Brothers and Allman Brothers stuff when we started, then went into real hard core metal blues, followed by playing a lot of really strong jazz with some Latin and blues flavor. Like I said, too eclectic for the pop culture we should have been playing to. That was the beginning of rap shit and the hip hop craze. There were some rock and metal bands making it, but not big. I was sitting by one of the sound boards when the tech kept wiggling a plug. I said, "If you have a kit, I'll redo the plug or put a new one on." He reached under the table and brought out what looked like a briefcase. It had all the tools. He said, "A new one would be best. This one's getting worn." I hadn't done anything like this in years, but I remembered it well. They used a butane soldering iron just like we used to, so I quickly had the new plug on. I checked under the board real quick and tapped the connection with the soldering iron to flow the connection a little better and put the lid back down. The sound engineer was sitting back in this big armchair, with his arms folded, watching me and said, "So you've done this before, a lot." "Long time ago, when you're in a small group, you do everything." "You've got that. What'd ya play?" "When you're in a small group, you do everything." "What mostly?" "Bass. Some keyboard, some backup guitar, backup vocals, lots of drums and percussion, but mostly bass." "Have Jimmy let you mess with his bass. He's really crazy about listening and watching other musicians." I just nodded, as most guys don't want a bunch of amateurs messing with their gear. The group went through most of their play list and degenerated into some of their newly written stuff for fun. They were jamming a little while when the sound guy talked to the bass player and he came over to get me. "Hey, come on over man, let me hear and watch you. I'll get my Gibson and do some chords with you while we jam. What they were playing was borderline blues, so it was an easy back bass to insert. There were a couple of bars where they slowed way down, more than half. It was interesting, as it was now almost a ballad that went back to almost rock blues again. Right back where I came from, eclectic. The guy handed me his bass. I stared at it, "Wow, a real handmade Columbia fretless, this is priceless." "Yeah, neat, huh? If you can't do fretless I got a Strat over there for the funky stuff." "Do you mind? I'd love to try it." "Be my guest. A lot of good fingers have been on that axe working with me. Let me see what cha got." He had the pickups set pretty high so you didn't have to pull the strings but could walk both hands for the run you wanted. If you slide your fingers on a good fretless with Humbucker pickups, you can make a good bass sing, almost like using a slide. I could see he had DeMarzio Humbuckers so I did a few practice scales then walked a blues riff followed by sliding the fingers a little to see if the bass would sing. Oh, did it sing. It was beautiful. "Almost makes you want to cry, doesn't it?" The bass man was smiling at me as I wondered at the sensitivity of the bass. The guitar player asked, "Hey, who's our new bassist. Isn't that the airplane jockey?" "Yeah man, he knows what to do with the Columbia, too. Do it man, really play it. Come on guys, do the number and see what he does with the drag." We did the piece and I just stayed with them very straightforwardly, until the part where it slowed down that he called the drag. There was a natural slide between notes that I could almost play one-handed. I slid my fingers, making the bass sing the accompaniment, as the guitar went way high with the metal. When we were done, the leader said to the sound guy, "You get that? If you didn't you're fired. Damn, that sent chills up my spine. Teach Jimmy that riff, man, that was awesome." Jimmy said reaching for the bass, "I was watching and listening, man, that was cool. I've never just let the sustain go on and on like that. Let me try." He went over the series of notes a couple dozen times until he was finally comfortable to drop his right hand and let his fret fingers do the work. "Man, this is sweet. I wonder why I never did that. Everybody is thumping and pulling strings, but I like to just touch them with a walk. You do the same, it's like you're making love to the axe, Man. It's the way it should be." The sound guy said to the lead, "He says he does everything, we should hire him to pick us up when one of us goes down for the night." The leader said, "I think the man has as many hobbies as he can handle right now. We might get him down to the studio for some fun though. That would be cool. Let Jerry work some percussion while he does the drums or give Dean a chance to do lead and he can fill in on the keyboard. Hey, can you do a B-3?" "Not really. I've only played the Hammond a couple of times. I would have to spend a lot of time practicing and probably take some lessons. And I don't have a lot of extra time." "Gotcha, I know the feeling. All we do is live music. We write it, practice it, play it for fun, play it for pay. Everything's music. I keep waiting for that day when I don't want to pick up this Gibson or the Strat again, but it ain't happenin' so far." Jimmy said, "We're all junkies. Our wives all say we're queer for each other, but we're queer for our music. We go between rock, blues, and now more and more jazz as we are getting older. I think our ears like it more. The blues still pull us back though." I got up to get away from them so they could play among themselves. I sat down with Brandy, Tiani, Lisa, and John, who commented, "So what else don't we know about, Chuck?" Brandy said, "That was awesome. You didn't say you liked to play music. When did you stop?" I had to tell the story of high school and an almost good group who broke up to go on with life. I said, "I'd bet there are probably a million good musicians out there who don't play anymore because they weren't in the right place at the right time. They all went on with life. We can still enjoy music and our fingers and hands will still work for a while without practice but we have other lives now." Tiani and Brandy hugged my arms protectively as they sat next to me. Lisa asked, "Can you play the guitar?" "A little. I could do better with some practice, as it's been a lot of years." "I'll bring you my guitar and amp. I'll bring you my little Gorilla practice amp with my Gibson 335. It's an ES-335 thin line." "Wow, Lisa, that thing is worth a lot of money." "Yeah, I know. It was my dad's. I was the only one who ever played it. He left some old Fenders and a couple of other Gibson guitars too. I've even got an old original Sundowner stage amp. It's in perfect condition, but the cone is getting old and will probably have to be replaced." "If you let me borrow a guitar, bring a cheap one. That will do instead of one of the original semi-solid bodies." We all adjourned to eat and lay down for an hour before being transported to the auditorium again. While we were snacking in the buffet room, the immigration man from the airport came and joined us for a beer and a snack. We chatted for about a half hour before it time for us to leave. He said he hoped to see me again sometime. We had to wear lanyards with big tags. The crew gave us crew T-shirts and one of the guys dug up a big tour jacket for me to wear so my gun wouldn't show. The show was great. They inserted the new piece they had practiced and Jimmy made the Columbia virtually sing during the drag. The crowd went nuts watching the bass player in the spotlight, moving just his left hand across the fret board. They did two encores and finally ended the night with a soft slow ballad that mellowed the crowd enough to say goodnight. Jimmy was making the bass sing some more so he had been practicing what I had showed him. It took the band an hour to do the meet and greet with the groupies and dignitaries. There was a lot of champagne and fancy wine but I noticed the band had some beer and that was about all. They weren't big drinkers. That's probably why they were still good musicians. Back in our private dining room and bar at the hotel, everyone had a few drinks. I had a big Beefeaters with the keyboard guy and we all enjoyed each other's company. This band was different than a lot of groups. They hung out with their engineers and roadies. They were a close group and prided themselves that they could erect and wire a stage twice as fast with half the people. We all migrated to bed to nap again so we wouldn't get our timing screwed up. When I came out of the bathroom after a shower, I was surprised to find three heads under the covers of one bed instead of Brandy in one bed and Tiani in the other. Brandy said, "Get in here, you have three of us and I know you can do three, you did it the first time Tiani and I got you in bed." It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. Brandy and Lisa were alike, very active and very aggressive. They wanted everything I had. Tiani was a small tasty hors d'oeuvre that was fun to play with. Everything with her was in miniature. She was definitely a spinner. I could sit her up on me, where she would magically completely sit, and almost spin her around she was so light and tiny. The one thing not tiny on her was her pussy. She could make herself loose enough to be sloppy, and so tight she almost hurt. I think I was able to do justice to the three girls. I know I was very content and didn't have to watch my ribs all that much. We woke about four hours later to dress and go down for the continuous breakfast. We had some great German sausage, potato, and egg concoction that was delicious. The band repeated their practice session from the day before, but not as long. We came back for a short nap, a snack, and right to the auditorium. John and Lisa said they were going to the airplane to get it ready, so I said I would go as well. Tiani and Brandy wanted to come help, so we all got our uniforms on, packed, and took a taxi to the airport. The two experienced pilots went over the plane and had it pulled out to the tarmac where the cargo plane was. John and Lisa continued to check everything, showing me what to look for and what all to check. When they were satisfied, they checked over our supplies and ordered some sandwiches and drinks from the flight kitchen. They did order in some extra beer as the agent said the band often enjoyed beer on return flights. John had filed his flight plan for the return and the five of us were standing, waiting for the band. They came in a smaller bus this time, since there were just the six of them. We went through the checklists and repeated our first takeoff with me ready to take control if Lisa were to fail in some way. The flight home was totally uneventful. We were all beat by the time we pulled in at about ten. At least the time difference was going to help out getting some sleep. We all cleaned out the airplane, making it ready for the charter they had tomorrow. The girls and I gave the clothing back to John so they could be laundered and readied for another crew. John had all of us fill out W-4s and said the charter company would be sending us payment. I told John to just keep it as I was learning and getting time. He said I had to take the money or they wouldn't use me again. Oh well. We were home by eleven, relaxing at the kitchen counter, telling every one of our adventures. The girls had to tell the others that I could play musical instruments and had jammed with the famous band, teaching the bass player a new technique. Tiani wanted to go home, so Brandy took her so she could also get some more clothes. Brandy had been gone a pretty long time when she called and said, "Baby, I'm so tired I'm just going to sleep here tonight. You don't mind, do you?" "No, I'm bushed too. I'll see you tomorrow." Brandy said, "Probably in the morning when I'm less tired. Night, Honey." "Night, Brandy." I lay down in bed and was joined by Wanda who snuggled up and said, "I'm still a virgin. I didn't find anyone interesting enough to let myself go with." Taking that as an invitation to enjoy her sleek body with her long droopy breasts, I turned to her and made love to her, and with her, until we were satiated and sleeping in each other's arms. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 51 This morning, stretching felt good. My ribs must be healing as I wasn't in much discomfort. I was still sore, but really not bad. As I became aware of my surroundings, Wanda was right next to me, lost in her own world. Jan and her man were nearby, possibly in a mental bond as they went through form after gentle form, and I had a new convert, Brandy, who had joined us. She was following Wanda's movements, still trying to find her inner music while learning the movements of release. Marie and Dennis were together, with him following her, and Angie had a tiny companion with her this morning as Tiani was mimicking her movements. I was pleased to see so many people finding the energizing peace the movements' give. As I completed my movements and quietly stood, Wanda, followed by the others stopped and stood, relaxed, satisfied with the moves and feelings. I headed for the pool and was followed by all the others as clothes went flying. We all swam hard this morning, needing the physical strain. I was able to swim pretty hard, promising myself a more vigorous work out in the gym this evening. After a hearty breakfast that seemed to be having more and more participants, we all headed for work, but not before Brandy gave me a very nice private hug and kiss in the bedroom. She said, "All you need to do is to say the word and I'll fill that closet up with the clothes of some special ladies. Love ya, Baby, have a good day and call me later. I'm doing supervisor duties today, so I won't be locked up on a window. All of us have progressed at the agency. We're all doing more than direct contact now. Frieda may even get your old job. That would be a really big promotion." The condition of the world was peaceful this morning with all of the protections in progress working the way they should. San Francisco reported apprehending several sentenced men who were attempting to skip out of the country. It appeared that many were trying to get to Alaska to get lost in the wilderness up there. I might have to rethink putting derelicts up there. We might need a strong hunting force to track down escapees. Close to noon, I was getting ready to leave when I received a call from Steve. He asked, "Can you come to the house, the patio, or whatever you want to call our place, for lunch? I have a couple of things to talk to you about and Ben Phillips, the finance guy, is going to be here. Beth, Sue's mom is here and if he doesn't come out for lunch, he doesn't get to spend much time with her. Come out, we'll have roast beef sandwiches left over from last night's supper. Glenda may even make some gravy to have an open beef sandwich." As I made it to the car, I heard my cell phone ring. It was Brandy, she asked, "What are you up to this afternoon? Metarie said Tiani and I have to take some time off or we'll lose the vacation. We're going to take half days for a while. Can we come with you to do whatever you're doing?" "Sure, I'll stop behind your building in a minute. I'm on my way out to Steve's for lunch. He said he wants to talk to me and Sue's uncle or dad; I'm confused on just who he is, but he's going to be there. I had asked about him for some advice." "Goodie, Tiani and I both just love those folks out there. We'll be waiting." We all went out to the trailer park for a great lunch. The two girls were all smiles. It seemed uncannily quiet there, but we realized that the kids were all in school. Sue even mentioned how lonely it gets there during the day but then the buses begin coming and the world erupts again with kids everywhere. After lunch, Sue and Steve said they usually go to the gym followed by going up to the pool to get some sun. Tiani and Brandy both looked disappointed, but Sue said, "Hop in the cart. We'll run over to the outlet store and get you both some shorts and a top, along with one of our close out swimsuits. You two can come to the gym with us and up to the pool. If Chuck's done with Ben, he can come up to the pool with us." The three women roared off in Sue's fancily painted, souped up, golf cart. Ben and I were still sitting at one of the big dining tables with a cup of coffee. He said, "Steve said you wanted some investment advice. He mentioned that you had come into some money and wanted to invest it." "I've never had much money, Mr. Phillips. I've always tried to be a saver and not a spender, but I have recently had the misfortune of having to be involved in a private lawsuit. My attorney, Sarah Perkins, negotiated an unusually large settlement that I need to protect and invest. I don't know how to handle taxes and I don't know how to invest to protect the capital. I may use some for fun or personal use, but for the most part, I want to invest it in safe ways so it will grow. No high risk stuff, as I don't have a lot of confidence in the economy." "You have a good attitude. I'll have to work on your total assets and liabilities to determine a tax situation. Do you have anyone helping you with your finances now?" "My office manager is managing my personal stuff, making sure the household bills are paid. Stuff like insurance, house upkeep, just the day to day bills." Ben asked, "Do you have any debt? Credit cards, personal loans?" I have a home loan and I have to use my personal credit card for some things. I mostly use a debit card that is also my credit card. I just make sure the checking account has enough in it, and any extra I transfer to savings. That's what I owe. I am young and haven't had time to build up a lot of debt. When you're in the military, you don't have to spend any money if you don't want to. Almost everything is paid for in the military. You have to buy your own underwear if you don't want to wear what they issue, which isn't bad, and you have to buy your own toiletries and beer. Other than that, there isn't much to spend money on unless you spend it on women who won't ever mean anything to you." "You sound like Steve. He was the same way when he was in the service. He saved his money there and when he was working in the oil fields up in Alaska and down in Belize on the platforms. That was the basis of everything you see that he has now. He had his grubstake from lots of hard work, his attitude, and of course, a lot of luck. He calls it taking advantage of opportunities. So, how much did you get in this settlement." I looked around to make sure no one overheard. "Ah, this has to remain confidential. It's part of the settlement agreement. I received forty-two million." Ben's eyes opened wide, "Forty-two million? You can't be serious. What in the hell happened for you to get that much. Your attorney must be dancing around the money tree. What was her percentage?" "I received it all. She negotiated a separate fee. She's very happy with what she was able to negotiate for." "Chuck, can you tell me, your new attorney what the lawsuit was about?" I looked at him questioningly, and he said, "Give me a buck, give me a dollar as an initial retainer, then everything becomes attorney/client privilege. I can't talk about it, and of course you're not going to." I gave him a dollar and said, "A famous local wrestler tried to hit me. My former girlfriend and he are old friends. My former girlfriend's husband was killed in the Marshal Service several years ago and the wrestler was divorced a while ago. My ex and the wrestler had been close friends before and during their marriages. The two got together. I had the misfortune of running into them while she was quitting the Marshal Service. He attempted to hit me. I subdued him and in the process of cuffing him, the ex tried to pull a gun. I was able to disable her and I figured both would be off to jail." I paused to take a breath, "The wrestler has a bunch of high dollar endorsements and is involved in a TV series. They even have my ex involved in the show now. His lawyers wanted to buy me off and since I knew Ms. Perkins, I had her run interference for me. I wanted a restraining order on both of them, as I don't need problems with civilians in addition to the riff raff I have to deal with everyday on the job. Ms Perkins saw a chance for a home run and the wrestler is worth a hell of lot more than is even imaginable. Sarah Perkins made a nice withdrawal." "That's a wild story. Who's the wrestler?" "Some mammoth called Rocky Mountain." "Oh wow, my group handles some of his investments and he does have a pile. His ex-wife got about two hundred mil from him and she didn't even touch any of his offshore money. Rocky kept his mansion in Belleaire and all his fancy cars. The wife took a condo in Vegas and the money. He got off lucky. How bad did he hurt you?" "I was lucky, I ducked and disabled him in order to cuff him." "You disabled Rocky Mountain and cuffed him. What did you do, shoot him?" "It wasn't a shooting situation, I was able to duck and strike a blow that put him down. It was probably lucky, but I have had some training." "Sounds even more like Steve. You two are like two peas in a pod." "So, Mr. Phillips, can you help me protect the capital and help with figuring the taxes and stuff?" "Call me, Ben. Sure, you're easy. Your money is perfect for right now. We have a couple of investments that are going to be quick but look like they will have a big return. I'll work out your existing tax situation so we can be ahead of the game. We'll pay anything you owe early and I'll make sure you'll owe more at the end of the year. I'll also protect as much as I legally can. I have a whole office full of smart accountants and attorneys that do nothing but research how a client can keep what is his." "That's very good. What do I do to give you the money? Do we need a contract or what?" "You should. Let me get a standard form from the car. We'll have Steve witness it and you can make arrangement to transfer the money to my control." He went to his car and came back with some forms. He filled out the forms, without the amounts, and had me sign them, he signed them, and had Steve come over and witness our signatures real quick. When Ben asked me which bank the money was in, I pulled my wallet out and handed Ben the check for forty-two million. "You haven't even deposited it yet?" "I didn't want anyone to know I had that kind of money and I'm under contract not to divulge anything." "Weren't you afraid that you would lose it or that it could get stolen?" I said, "Not really, if I lost it, I'm sure they would replace it because I could hurt them by telling the news media. I could probably get a lot of money from the gossip papers. The settlement covers both Rocky and my ex-girlfriend." "I'll get this money transferred this afternoon. As a matter of fact, let me get out of here now so I can get it transferred before two and it's in our control in today's business. We're losing interest. With this much money, it makes a big difference on a daily basis." He wrote the amount on the contract, gave me a copy, went to kiss Beth goodbye, and took off. Steve came over, "You must have made Ben's day. He just loves money. The man has more money than the feds, but he gets excited over a twenty." Steve handed me a swimsuit and a T-shirt and asked, "What size shoe do you wear, you look like my size." "Ten and a half or eleven." "Me too, I have a couple extra pairs of tennis shoes. Sue buys me clothes constantly because I don't like to shop. You can borrow a pair and just keep them here so you can go to the gym with us. This is a daily thing with us so we can stay in shape. We go up and get some sun every day for a half hour or so, to keep from burning when we're out on the boat, and to make the ladies beautiful. As if they needed any help. Say, you'll have to come sailing with us. You'll love it. When we get back, we'll go out for a weekend. That is if you or I aren't flying. I'm going to have to have more pilots. My nephew, Dennis, is taking lessons and his sister, Tina, is too. She's graduating from USF this week, so she will be working full time out at the charter service soon. She's right there for her commercial ticket and will be in the next G5 class with you. She does have this problem. She took all pre-med classes and has been accepted into the medical school at USF, so she will probably not be any help with the charter group." "Steve," I said, with as much sincerity in my voice as I could get, "I really appreciate how you've befriended me and helped me with flying. I've really become addicted to flying." "It is like a drug, isn't it? Sailing is the same way. You'll love it. I have some nice boats to sail and I'll help you get your captain's license if you think you might want to know how to sail. All the ladies are qualified captains and sailors. It's nice to have a crew like that. The older kids are all starting to get their licenses as well." Steve got up and headed inside, "Come on, let's get changed. If we do it out here, we'll get attacked by a stray wife or neighbor." I put on a pair of shorts, some white socks, and a new pair of tennis shoes that fit. I had to put the shoe on my fake foot, which Steve thought was sort of funny. I told him that two different shoes felt funny when I walked. He nodded in understanding. When the girls got back, Brandy and Tiani had a couple of big bags of clothes. Brandy came on the patio and exclaimed, "You should see all the neat stuff they have. If you look at their original name you think that the clothes are all for big girls, but they have everything, even sizes for Tiani. We have some skirts, some neat tops, and a couple of swimsuits each. We have to get the others out here, they will go nuts and the prices are ridiculously cheap. Sue says these are all closeouts or stuff that didn't sell, but we think their styles are great. Look, we have some more skirts to wear to hostess on the flights. Sue said they needed us to work as hostesses this weekend and the next." Steve and I were grinning, since we are both men who are always amazed at the excitement women show when they buy new clothes. Sue said, "We only went for some shorts and swim suits but they went crazy. I had to pull them out of there. Steve has to get back to work, and I should too. Come on, both of you girls, let's get changed and you can go to the gym with us. Steve is being very patient." While we were waiting, Mercy and Kathy came over to sit with us. Surprisingly, Kathy sat close to me and said, "You are some kind of guy. You're just like Steve and my husband was, all of you are fearless. I love you guys for it, but it scares the hell out of me. I'm glad our lives are so much more peaceful now. The only time I worry is when we're out on the boat, but Steve has taught all of us to shoot and how to defend ourselves. We're going to protect our family and there are enough of us to be dangerous. Between the older kids and us women, we're dangerous." Kathy hugged my arm and said, "Be careful, you have people that love you. We all like you too, and that's bordering on loving you, but we have Steve and he's our main man." Steve laughed, "You must have made an impression on Kathy, as she's pretty cool toward new men around here. I like him too, Kathy. I know Sue, Mercy, and Juanita do too. Here are the girls, let's hit the gym for some exercise." Steve and his four women headed for his pickup and my girls and I went to my car to follow. It was just up the highway to a very nice gym in the shopping plaza. I did my bike, the treadmill, and was working on some weights when it looked like his family was done. Mercy came to me and said, "Now the fun. Let's get our suits on and get some sun. I get to put lotion on you and if you're lucky you can do Sue and me. Steve gets to put it on your two girls. It's only fair, you know." We went back to the park, changed into our swimwear and went to the pool. Brandy and Tiani had come up with flip-flops, but I wore the tennis shoes Steve lent me. The three of us were pretty lily-white and were teased about not having tans. As Mercy had said, Steve went right to work, first doing sweetheart Glenda while Mercy stretched out her smaller body and had me do her thoroughly. Sue said she was next and wow, her top is so big it's almost obscene, but is something you'd like to explore. Kathy was next for me and is pretty big on top, but she is tall anyway. She enjoyed teasing me by loosening her top before flipping over giving me a shot at her big chest. She was pretty floppy, but I'd bet she would be fun to play with. Steve and I arrived at Juanita together and greased her together. She was moaning and smiling the whole time, enjoying being double teamed. Steve's women were all big on top, except Mercy, while my two were smaller. Brandy has a nice set of small Cs or big Bs that are very nice and firm, while Tiani has some of the cutest tastiest As or small Bs around. Both have very appealing chests to me. They are a testament that you don't have to have big bazooms to be attractive. I am surprised though. Me, and all the women at my house, in addition to Brandy and her four roommates, all have short hair while Steve and all his women all have long hair. Must be that we are all tuned in to each other. Steve then said, "It's our turn now. They should have done you first. Just this little sun is pinking you up already. Stretch out and let's let the ladies do us." This was a treat, Mercy, Sue, and Glenda did my back and when I was told to roll over, I was a little embarrassed as I was stimulated from all the hands. It was Kathy's and Juanita's turn to work on my chest and legs. Mercy said, "No fair, you get him when he's excited. We should wrestle them for him, Sue." Steve said, "See, having them fuss over you is fun. I get that way everyday, just like now." Steve's swimsuit was protruding like mine. We did about fifteen minutes on each side and Sue said, "That's our time for today. Glenda, Kathy, and Juanita like to stay with the other ladies for a while, but Mercy and I usually only tan for a half hour. I think it's enough for us. Steve said, "Can you swim with that leg or do you take it off?" "I take it off, let's get wet and cool down." Steve and I, along with Sue, Mercy, Brandy and Tiani, dove in and swam pretty hard. I was doing my usual power swimming to exhaust myself when I realized the others weren't as aggressive. Brandy told the others, "He's nuts. He does that almost every morning and every evening. He swims like a maniac until he gasping at the side of the pool. He's some kind of a crazy person." Sue said, "It's good cardio. He probably does it because of his leg and can't run well." I agreed with Sue, "Right with the first guess, Sue. I haven't learned to run yet, but may get a sports leg one of these days. I've found a very good prosthesis maker that I've bought a spare leg and a peg leg from. I'm probably going to buy a sports leg to try to jog. I think it would be fun, but it's difficult to learn how to use one." We walked back to the patio. Sue had us use one of the big guest rooms to shower and change back into our clothes. The three of us had a little touchy feely fun while we were doing it. Little Tiani was saying, "Brandy told us she told you that we wanted you to be ours. All of us girls want you as a toy, or boy, or something. She said you laughed, but we're serious. We've talked about it. You need to think about having five women all over you. We're going to beat you up and make you decide to keep us." I didn't laugh or giggle, but was I smiling real big, enough that little Tiani whacked me on the shoulder. The little minx could hit. As we were loading up our cars, Tiani said, "I really don't need the tan but the sun sure felt good. I have to get some heavier sunscreen. I like my light milk chocolate look." "You would look good in any color Little Bits, be comfortable with yourself." The little girl did her grab on my shoulders trick and pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around my waist, "I am just so nuts about you. You always say the right thing." After kissing me, she got down and asked, "So now what?" I said, "Let's go see how the plane painting is coming. You have to see the new interior. It is really gorgeous." We said bye to Steve and Sue who were getting ready to leave, as well as Mercy who was all smiles. She said, "You know you guys can come for supper if you want. You're always invited." "We'll probably go home for supper; we haven't been there much lately." Steve suggested, "If you're still at the air park later, stop by for a beer before you go home. We always like to have you and you're kind of a hero after watching that video last night." We left and headed to the air park. Shawna and Hank were in white suits wearing masks and headgear to keep the paint off them. They were putting on medium blue balloons to write the logos on. Actually, instead of balloons, they were more like rectangles shaped to make the plane look like it was going fast, with trailing streaks of blue behind the balloon. The plane looked funny with masking tape and paper over the windows and various parts. Jimmy was standing back, looking at the job the two were doing and said, "Those two are really good. They have already put on the white, let it dry, and are putting on the second color. They have a whole bunch of high powered heat lamps to bake the paint so they can do the logos and cartoons tomorrow. I can't wait, as they are both excited about the project." We didn't want to bother them, but I wanted to show off the inside, so I waved at them and pointed at the door. Shawna nodded, as they were working on the tail and engine covers. The girls loved the inside and were walking around in it. Little Tiani didn't even have to bend over to walk around. Brandy asked, "Did you get some new instrumentation? That all looks new." I nodded, "Yep, that's the new dual Garmin unit. I ordered everything to bring the plane up to as modern as possible." We got out of the plane and let the pair paint without further interruption. I asked the two, "Want to go flying? We could go up for an hour or so if you want. We could go fly the coast to look for sharks and rays." Brandy said, "Yeah, can I do left seat? Do you mind?" We were able to get a 172 as my 206 was out. I let Brandy do the preflight, watching to make sure she was thorough. It was nice to see she paid attention and did do everything by the numbers. She actually was a decent pilot. We took off and headed for the gulf to fly the coast. We started up by New Port Richey and worked our way south. Around Dunedin, we began seeing quite a few sharks and at the south end of the Clearwater beach area, we saw a pretty big hammerhead. They had the big red warning flags out so there was no need to call it in. Farther south, around Treasure Island, the water was thick with rays and down around Passe Grille Beach, the water looked murky white, but we realized it was a colony or herd of jellyfish. It made my skin itch to see so many. I told Brandy to head toward Manasota airport so we could get some ice cream. We landed there, parked in the private plane area, and had a small creamy cone each. The girls had chocolate while I had my favorite, vanilla. On the way back to the air park, I let Tiani sit up front. She was excited as it was the first time she had been in the front of a small plane. I was thinking, as we were on approach to land, how nice it was that I could afford to have a chance to fly around like this. I thought, "I'm lucky. I have enough money to fly all the girls around like this. We could even get all of them flying lessons if they wanted." Oh my, what am I thinking? I'm already beginning to think of them as a group. Not good, too many. Oh shit. When I turned in the log book for the rental aircraft, Dede, Lisa, and John were there discussing something. John and Lisa looked up at us and Lisa suggested, "Ask them, you have all three together. No time like the present." John asked, "The band you took to Germany has a problem with their airplane. It will not be ready for a couple of weeks due to some major problems. The agent asked us to fly them to France and Spain over the next two weeks and have asked for the same flight crew." Tiani said, "If you want us to work for you this weekend, we'll do it. Sue mentioned something about it." Brandy wanted to say something, "Tiani, don't you think we should ask Chuck what he thinks?" "What do you think Chuck?" Tiani asked sheepishly. With a smile, I held my hand up, "Hang on a sec. Let me call my office." I called Wanda to find out what was happening and told her I had the opportunity to fly to France and Spain over the next two weekends. Wanda said, "Go for it. You don't have anything special that can't be done before Friday. Besides, you have comp time coming." I turned back to group who were looking at me expectantly, "I suppose if that's what John and Lisa are asking, I'm up for it," I said with a smile. "I enjoyed the band as well as watching them practice and play." John said, "They want to leave earlier this time so get with Lisa later about departure time. You two girls may need to get off from work earlier Friday." Brandy hugged an arm and said, "That was so much fun, I know this will be even more fun." Dede said, "Then I'm going to commit to the charter. Thanks Chuck, Brandy, and you too, little one, Tiani. You three are a real deal maker. Can we plan on you for Spain too?" I spoke first, "If I'm not committed on my job, I'm sure all three of us would like to go." We left the airpark with smiles and expectant good thoughts of the coming trips. It was getting toward five, so we went by Steve's and had a beer before heading home. Wanda was already in the gym so I joined her, but Brandy and Tiani decided they would make supper. I told Wanda I had already had a workout but would join her for some treadmill. Wanda and I were talking while she was doing the bike and I was doing the dreaded treadmill. She was saying, "You must have a hundred congratulatory e-mails for getting the branches to work together. It's catching because New Orleans is bragging on how the Marshal Service helped set up a drug buy with the DEA boys. They had a couple of Bureau boys and a couple of deputies to help bring down a multi-million dollar ring and ferreted out an informant who was a Bureau employee." "El Paso is claiming the first, four-agency joint operation taking down a slave/prostitution ring. San Francisco Bureau reports they were able to bust up an immigration smuggling ring with the help of the Marshal Service, Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard. The stories are spreading and the stations are getting on board. I wrote letters of commendation to every office involved on your letterhead, and sent it to them with your signature stamp. John's office manager and the Director's are doing the same. John called this afternoon and was considering having you go with him to Hawaii, but I told him you were planning on France this weekend and Spain next. He said you would probably rather fly than go to Hawaii." "I would enjoy going to Hawaii. I've never been there. But you're right; I would rather fly right now. It seems I'm getting closer and closer to another goal and want to get there as soon as possible." When Wanda finished with her weights, we both went to take a shower. When I came back out into the family room, I was surprised to find the table expanded with the big extra leaf and four extra chairs filled with the other three girls from the next block. "Hi, Nancy, Judy, Frieda, nice that you could come to visit. Can I get you girls something to drink, or do Brandy and Tiani have supper ready?" Brandy came to my side and said, "I thought it would be nice to have them eat with us. You need to look at us as a package, and you don't get to see us together very often." Angie came in the door with her young man and said, "Mmm, smells good, is there enough for us?" Tiani said, "When Brandy and I make spaghetti, there's always enough for more people." Angie and her friend were smiling. She said, "It's so nice to have a couple of more girls my shade. My guy here won't feel so out of place." Her guy said, "Angie, I don't ever feel out of place here. Everyone has been super nice to me and treated me with respect." Angie said, "I know, I was just saying it's nice that I'm not the only well tanned young lady here." Tiani said, "We've been all over today. We even went flying and went to Sarasota for ice cream. Isn't that a kick, flying down to Sarasota for ice cream?" Wanda and I fixed some drinks for everyone, and we began supper with a salad, followed by mounds of spaghetti and meatballs, cheese, and garlic toast to sop up more tomato sauce. Wanda asked Brandy, "What's this about a package deal, Brandy? What do you have up your sleeve now?" Brandy looked a little nervous, but looked at her girlfriends and said, "Chuck visited us a long time ago. You've heard the story, or at least most of the story. I don't think any of us have been out with another man since then." Brandy looked around at the girls and they were all nodding their heads in agreement. "The reason why is that we all kind of became emotionally involved with your wild man and have been waiting for another one like him to show up for us to be interested in. Since Bobby's gone, we talked about it and want Chuck to consider all of us to be his girlfriends. You know, as a group. You're still part of the group, but you did say you had other ideas. I'm really serious about Chuck and you, Wanda, and you can tell Tiani is the same. The other three girls want us to be a package, too. Like I said, we've talked a lot about this and want to see if it will work." Wanda was smiling and said, "You know Chuck has a job that takes him away often and it can be very dangerous. Can you girls handle that he's gone and in danger? Can you accept that he may come back hurt, or may never come back?" Brandy was looking down at the table. She looked up with watery eyes, "That's what my dad asked me. I want to be with Chuck for as much and as long as I can have him. I think he'll be around forever. He may get nicked and scratched, but I'll nurse him, take care of him. See these girls? We talked exactly about this subject. None of us want to lose him, but we understand, and would rather have him when we can than not at all." Dennis said, "You sound just like Aunt Sue. That's what she said when we talked about Uncle Steve and the craziness he got into before. Aunt Mercy says we are all here temporarily and we must enjoy our mates and each other while we can." Wanda was nodding, "I'm surprised you girls have thought this through. I mistakenly have thought of you all as immature and perhaps a little frivolous. You're a fun loving group and bring a lot of energy with you. I for one would love to get to know you better in, as you say, a package deal." Redheaded Frieda, almost equally full on the top as Wanda, came to her and hugged her. "Wanda, we're a little crazy and a little different. The five of us got together years ago and we've become very close. We are a package. We enjoy each other and would like to share Chuck and his friends." Wanda said with a smile, "I'm a believer. I'm just going sit back and watch how your experiment comes along." Dennis said, "You're worse than Uncle Steve. He only has four and you have five, or is it six? You'll have to ask Aunt Sue where she had her big bed and bedclothes made." Tiani said, "I'll talk to her the next time we're out there. Come on, let's get these dishes done. We have some planning that needs to be done. Brandy and I are going to France this weekend and we need to be more prepared than last time." I went back to my seldom used office and looked at some of my finance stuff. Wanda came in and asked, "Do you need me to go over your budget with you? Are you comfortable with me handling it?" "I think it's wonderful, Wanda. It's nice that you're doing it all, but shouldn't I be paying more attention to what's going on?" She answered, "You do, you really do, but don't realize it. I'll bet if you thought about it, you could tell me within a hundred dollars what's in your savings and checking accounts." "Yeah, I guess I could, but I just don't want to dump it all on you." Wanda smiled, "That's what I'm here for. You and I have a special bond that may even transcend what you have with any or all of the girls out there. It isn't a 'we're gonna get married bond, ' but a genuine love and respect one. One I hope we will always have between us." I pulled Wanda to my lap and kissed her gently holding her to me, hugging her, letting her feel how deeply I felt for her. She said, "I'm still going to experiment and enjoy my wild ways. You keep your women happy and have a good time trying to keep five satisfied." She laughed, "It's ridiculous, but it could work with that group. They all enjoy each other as much as they might enjoy you." "Oh Wanda, they are too much for me to think about. I've been semi-forced into trying them out, experimenting with the relationship. I hope it works or that we all know if it doesn't and can handle the separation." "Just relax with them. They're a lot more than what they appear. You're a good guy to accept all five, but you already are sweet on Tiani and Brandy. I can see in Nancy's eyes that she doesn't see color either. All I can say is good luck." I booted the PC, logged onto the service network, and read some of the bulletins that had come in. I printed them and put them into my home SOP file. This job did have a lot of reading and learning to it. About ten, I went back into the living room and found all five of the girls in nightgowns. That told me what they had in mind. I said I was going to get ready for bed and I got five smiles. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I was greeted in the bedroom with five faces peeking out from under the covers with their heads on pillows. Judy was on one side and pushed Frieda over a little and said, "Slide right in here. Frieda and I will give you a nice massage and put you to sleep. We've decided that you need to sleep with us for a while before we begin any heavy duty sexing around here. I want some now, but I'll wait as we'll all wait. Come on; lay on your stomach so we can give you a nice massage." Now this was a different approach. Brandy had been trying to screw my brains out, and Tiani enjoyed being loved, but now I was going to get the gentle treatment. I hoped I could hold out and not attack them in the middle of the night. I did have a nice massage, lots of kisses from all of them, and fell asleep between Frieda and Judy. I think Brandy, Nancy, and Tiani were fooling around on the other side of the bed. I was too relaxed to worry about it, but my nose did pick up the scent of excited females. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 52 Someone was sleeping on top of me. It wasn't Tiani either, as whoever it was, was bigger. Opening my eyes, I could see the auburn hair of Brandy. It was so brown, it was a little reddish. You would think it was dyed, but her mom's hair was like that, only with some gray intermingled. I was surprised her weight wasn't hurting my ribs as I only felt the restriction from the extra weight. I was still between the large breasted redhead, Frieda, and the small blonde, Judy. The group was very diverse, all very different in size and shape. The only common things were their short hair and their single mindedness. I should get them to tell me how they all got together. I'm sure it would be a good story. I turned my head to look toward the bathroom, trying to figure how to get out of bed. It was coming up on six fifteen, so it was time to be up. Judy's blue eyes were smiling at me. She spoke quietly, "Good morning, Chuck, did you sleep well? Brandy does that at home sometimes. Tiani and her end up trying to sleep on top of someone all the time. Weird, huh?" "I am not weird, Judy, I just wanted to feel his heartbeat. I wanted to soak him into me." Brandy squirmed a little and asked, "Are you going to do that dance this morning? I want to do it with you and Wanda again. You have to try, Judy, it is so smooth and sensual. Chuck calls it forming and stretching. It's teak something." "Tae Chi, my sweet. Yes, I do need to get up and I'm going to stretch this morning and swim. Any or all are welcome." Frieda said, "Another early riser, just what I need. At least Nancy and Tiani like to sleep." Judy got up and Brandy followed. I slipped out of bed and hopped to the bathroom. I was standing, letting out the built up overnight water and noticed that Brandy and Judy were watching intently. Judy said, "You've got good aim. My little brothers were always peeing on the floor." I hopped into the closet to get a pair of shorts and slipped on my peg leg. We were on the way out the door when we realized it was raining pretty heavily. Turning, I said, "Come on, we'll use the gym for a few minutes and then swim." Brandy and Judy got on the two treadmills while I used the bike. I finished and used the four stations of the big machine to stretch my muscles. As we headed out the back door, Frieda, Nancy, and Tiani were all waiting for us. They said, "We like to swim, so we'll go with you. Isn't it weird to swim in the rain?" I said, "We swim for the exercise and the rain sure can't hurt. If it were storming, that would be different." While we were swimming, first Wanda swam beside me, then Jan dove in, followed by Marie, and finally Angie. We were having a pool party at six forty-five in the morning. We got out and I sent some of the girls into the bathroom to begin their showers, as there were a lot of us. Brandy, Tiani, and I washed under the outdoor shower. They had even put some of their shampoo out there. Everyone was dressed, had a little breakfast, and was ready to go to work by seven forty. All of us needed to get up earlier so we could have a more leisurely morning. Before the girls all left, I passed out keys and instructed them on how to use the alarm, telling them it was important to set it when they left. I rode in with Wanda this morning as I had asked Hank to bring my Mustang in. I wanted to use it a little. He said he was glad to get rid of it as he had too many people coming to look at it all the time. There was a slug of incident reports, mostly related to some West Coast peoples' smuggling operations. The Bureau, Homeland Security, and the Marshal Service worked together on some busts. Several became messy, but none of our people were injured. I called the San Francisco and Portland stations to make sure they were okay and didn't need any help. They were happy to report that with their new methods of cooperating between agencies, they were doing very well. I had the time to go downstairs to do some shooting. Wanda came down with me and even did a decision course with me. I fired some extra rounds, as I had not been practicing as often as I normally did. I did an extra three magazines with my left hand. It felt good to be able to get my groupings tight. The range officer said, "I loved the video. We're incorporating it into our training videos so the men can see how real incidents happen, how fast they develop and how quickly they're over. I love the one video where you can be seen getting back up to get your gun from the seat of the tow motor. It was awesome the way you picked up your piece and immediately began capping those guys. You did them in pairs by hitting both pairs with body shots then both heads and immediately turned and did the body shot followed by a really gruesome head shot on the guy kneeling. All of your rounds were right in the paint." "Sometimes you get lucky." "You didn't get lucky shooting. You got lucky wearing the vest. I heard it was a borrowed vest the team leader made you put on. Aren't you glad you did?" "Yep," I said. "That was careless of me. I should have put mine on before leaving the office but I'm used to having my car with one in the trunk. The team leader did his job though. He protected the men under him and ensured we were following procedures." Wanda and I cleaned our weapons, reloaded, and went back upstairs. Frank, the Bureau Chief asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with him. I said, "Sure, sounds good. Let me take you to a special restaurant that's close by. It's quit raining so we can walk." He said, "That's great, I have a guest with us today. You'll enjoy the man." I went downstairs to get Frank when it was noon. Jan, and a man I had never met before but knew from his pictures, were with him. Frank said, "Chuck, you know the Director, don't you?" We shook hands and the Director said, "The way everyone builds you up, I would have thought you were a mountain of a man. Hell, I'm bigger than you are. Where are you taking us to eat? Do you Marshal types get better bennies than we do?" The restaurant is a very nice upscale place to go for a midday meal. I'm sure most of the diners are there for business and were able to easily write something like this off. As soon as we were seated, it became old home week. Tom and Zena were there with Burt. I introduced them and they were impressed to have the Director the Federal Bureau of Investigation in their little corner of the world. The next surprise was Ben and Beth Phillips. Ben was his usually very polished self, and Beth was as always very warm, very nice to have as a friend. Just as we were served some ice tea and coffee, Reggie and Metarie came in. Metarie is so elegant and I think it impressed the Director that Reggie just smiled and Metarie gave me a warm hug and happily joined us at our table. The Director said, "It's seems you know a lot of people." "I've been fortunate to meet many great people. Metarie was my boss at the employment office. I wasn't there very long but it was significant in my life here in Tampa. Metarie is how I met Howard who was responsible for deputizing me." "That's what I want to talk to you about today. I want to convince you to come join our team in D.C. The Bureau really needs organizers that get it done, people such as you. D.C. is full of people that are just being pulled along. I need leaders, innovators, men to motivate others." "Director, I'm a Deputy. I enjoy being a deputy and as you know I'm working with all branches of our law enforcement group. I think I'm in the perfect place and the perfect position to help all the agencies to help everyone." "I was afraid you would say that. John even said you would. He says you're on some kind of semi-vacation, half days, for at least a month. What's that about?" Jan said, "He was wounded, you know that. I sent you the video. It's mandatory convalescent leave. He should be on thirty days in a row, but he's at least doing half days to keep his office current." The Director asked, "Are you sweet on this guy?" "No Sir, I rent a room from him. He has a large house and rents to several people. He has a nice place with a gym, a media room, big garage and a pool. I have a boyfriend, and Chuck is a great landlord." "I see," the Director said to me, "you're smart, you get someone else to pay for your nice home." "The rent doesn't take care of everything, but it does take care of most of it. I've built on and will be renting out two more suites." The Director asked, "What kind of suites do you rent?" "They are simple; each unit has a bedroom, sitting room area, and a private bathroom." The Director exclaimed, "That sounds nice, no wonder you have a full house." On the way back from lunch, the Director said, "If you ever have a thought about leaving the Marshal Service, please call me. I don't want to lose you." We shook hands amiably and went our separate ways. I checked with Wanda to make sure everything was as it should be, then headed out to the airpark. I walked over to the garage and found Hank, wiping down the Mustang. He said, "This is a really nice car, far too nice for a fuck up like you. Be good to it and don't abuse it. Don't drive crazy in it either. Let me know if you want to sell it." As I rolled out of the garage, the little Mustang felt like it wanted to get up and go. I resisted and drove sanely out to the airfield. As soon as I parked, I could tell I wasn't welcome over by my new airplane. There were huge curtains surrounding the Beechcraft so you couldn't see the plane. I went into the charter office where Lisa attacked me. "Can you ride to Atlanta and back with me? I have a charter in the Lear and we should have a second. Please, can you? I've even brought you a present. You can have the present, but I really need help on this. If you don't go, I'll have to pull Jimmy and he's snowed under." "Okay, sure, I'll go. I was coming out to try to get a couple of hours in anyway. This will be cheaper." "Cheaper, my butt. You get paid for this one. Just like the weekend charter you have going to France. You're going this weekend and next right?" "So far," I said, amazed at how crazy this place was with charters. "Come on, let's go, we have to go down to Peter O'Knight airport to pick up the people. It's one-way to Atlanta; we're dumping them up there and dead heading back. Put on a shirt, the tie, and your nametag. We'll forgive the black slacks today. You'll have to start keeping navy pants and black shoes out here." We were off the ground in twenty minutes. I was still tying my tie when we set down at Peter O'Knight on Davis Island. As soon as we landed and were parked at the small operations building, I opened the door and put down the stairs. Lisa had not shut the engines down and had them at idle while two couples came out from the building and I helped them board. As soon as they were buckled up, I pulled up the steps, closed the door, and climbed into the co-pilot's seat. I went through the checklist with Lisa and we were off the ground on our way. Once we were at altitude, I had to act as host and serve the passengers some soft drinks and one coffee. I did get Lisa a cup of coffee, but didn't get anything for myself. At junior rocket speed, we were on the ground in Atlanta in less than two hours, helping the passenger off the plane and into a limo. One of the guys handed me two bills and said, "Split that with your partner. Thanks for the quick service." I was going to refuse the tip, but smiled and said, "Thank you." He smiled as he got into the limo. I climbed back on the plane and asked Lisa, "Are we going right back or do we need to refuel before returning?" "Let's go home. Jet-A is cheaper at home. Lock it up and come read to me." I stuffed the two bills into my pocket and climbed into the cockpit. We did the get off the ground stuff and were on our way back in an under twenty minute turnaround. Pulling out the bills, I said, "The high-roller gave us a tip. Wow, have a hundred Lisa. That guy must be loaded." "Oh he is, Chuck. That's one of Ted Turner's key men. They have more money than sense. They use us all the time and have said they hoped we could respond when they needed us real quick. I guess we showed them." When we landed, we pulled the Lear up to the hangar so it could be refueled. I took off the borrowed clothes and put mine on. Lisa came out in a pair of shorts and said, let me get your present. It's in my locker. Lisa came out carrying a guitar case and a medium size amp. She put them down and opened the case. She pulled out an older Fender Stratocaster that was amazingly clean and unmarked, with a wide shoulder strap. She plugged in the amp and turned it on and went through the strings with a tuner. She strummed it a few times before letting it sing out a little to give some very neat sounds. She took it off and handed it to me and said, "See how it feels. I have something else, but try this first." I was able to make the guitar sound like a guitar. I was picking a few Eric Clapton riffs that I liked and remembered. "Nice, Lisa. This is a very nice guitar. Don't you have a junk one that isn't worth so much?" "I only have all the guitars my dad had. He had a bunch of Gibsons, several of which are Les Pauls. He has, or had, and I still have, all kinds of Fenders. He even has an early Jap Ibanez. I don't like it, but it's becoming worth something. Anyway, Chuck, play with this. Bring it with you Friday but let me get you this other." She had another guitar case, and this time I instantly recognized what it was. It was a real classic sixties Fender rosewood fretless bass. My only expression was, "Holy shit, that is a real classic." Lisa had a suitcase that had an assortment of effects and pedals. She said, "My dad got this from a guy that owed him money. The guy was going to get it back but died. No one has played this for at least twenty-five years or so. The big amp is in my car, but needs a new cone by now. The strings are probably no good anymore, but you can try. Fix it up and see how you like it." We went out to Lisa's Wrangler and I hefted the monster amp from the back. We plugged it in and let the tubes warm up. I tuned the strings on the bass and plugged it in. I kept the volume way down and checked the tuning again. The sound was clean and mellow. I pulled out a sustain pedal and plugged it through the amp and tested it. It worked too. I couldn't hear any crackling a bad cone would have, but kept it low for safety. I cranked up the sensitivity, gave it a little more volume, and began running just my fret fingers in a scale, then playing correctly, I played a few scales with my right fingers just tapping the strings for a low, growling bass beat. It does your heart good to hear that sometimes. I said to Lisa, "I'm going to have the amp checked out and have a new speaker put it both amps. That Sundowner for the guitar is a classic. I thought you were going to let me use a gorilla?" "Nope, I have four of these Sundowners, so you get one. You'll have to come play for my momma. She'll want to adopt you when she hears you play these old guitars. Practice some of the blues stuff. That's what she really likes." She was taking stuff apart and putting the guitars back in their cases. "Let's load this stuff up so you can take it home. Let's stop out at Steve's to see how they're doing on getting ready to leave. They are sailing Friday when school lets out. I didn't do what I had intended for the day, but I did get a few more pointers on the Lear and logged some more hours. We drove to the trailer park where the ladies had just returned from the boat. They said they were satisfied that they were ready, and everything from this point until they left would just be odds and ends and last minute groceries. They were going to fill the fresh water tanks tomorrow with filtered water and had been testing the desalination system thoroughly. You could feel the tension, the excitement that was building. Even the people being left behind were anxious, since Steve was going to be gone and he was the anchor, the stabilizing influence, of the huge enterprise. Sue was as important, but had spread her responsibilities around better so the business could continue manufacturing products indefinitely. I shook hands with everyone and decided I would be a better friend by leaving them alone. I drove home and found a new place for the Mustang. I took the instruments into my office area, along with the amps. I wanted to buy new strings and search out someone to check out and rebuild the amps. I was in the gym when the girls began arriving. Jan was full of stories about the Director offering me a job in D.C. Wanda said she was glad I didn't want to do that. She said she wouldn't be able to work with just anyone. After exercising and swimming, we had some pork chops with all the trimmings. When we had finished eating, the girls said they needed to go home to do some housework and laundry. After they left, Jan wanted me to come look at how Wanda and she had furnished the new apartment. I didn't know we had done that. Upstairs, I was surprised to find the apartment now looked lived in and very comfortable. The kitchen bar/counter had four tall chairs. There was a nice table and chairs just beyond and the living room area was set up so traffic could flow easily from the kitchen out the door to the enclosed porch. The living room had a couple of big chairs, probably recliners, a nice couch, and a loveseat that were arranged to be able to watch a flat TV hung on the wall. The bedrooms each had a queen size bed, a round table with a couple of chairs, a sofa with end tables, and a single recliner type of chair arranged with a lamp for reading. Since the bedrooms were so long, they didn't seem cluttered at all and the way everything was arranged, you had the feeling of openness. Jan showed me how she had purchased another TV to have in her suite and had brought a bunch of kitchenware from Goodwill for when she wanted to cook up here. When Wanda and I were in the kitchen having a cup of coffee, I asked, "Do you have any prospects for someone to fill Jan's former suite in the house?" She said, "There are a few, but they will need to be the right person. There is a student for next fall that talked to me, but we'll have to see. I really like her, but she may present a problem. We'll talk about her when the time comes." Marie came in the kitchen with Dennis and wanted to discuss the possibility of moving into the second suite in the garage apartment. Dennis said, "Marie and I are very committed to each other, and although I would prefer to stay out where I work and where the whole family is, I think I like the privacy this home gives us. Chuck, you are so laid back that it's always relaxing to be around you. I wish you lived out at the park. You and Uncle Steve would be great together. You two would be real buddies. He would probably try to get you to work for the company just so you two could work together." I was smiling, "I really enjoy everyone out at the trailer park. I don't think we'll be less of friends because we have separate homes. While Steve is on vacation, it will give me the opportunity to become better acquainted with the other people out there." Marie wanted to see what it would take to rent the upstairs suite and asked about it. Wanda, the person with the numbers said, "The size of the upstairs suites are twice the size of the ones in the main house. You already know you can live and get along with Jan. Your two men will have to see if they are compatible. You two are both still in school at night, so you are both busy. Do you think you can afford what Jan is paying now?" Dennis said, "I make good money working in the R&D center. Marie makes good money at her job. We don't have a lot of expenses, so between the two of us we should have more than enough. This is a lot cheaper than if we rented an apartment. It's also a lot nicer. I want to continue to have it like they do out at the park, where we just contribute toward food, eat together, and share the preparation. Marie and I will eat out at the park a lot, but we'll be here in the mornings most of the time and a lot of evenings." I had to ask, "What do your mom and dad think of you two moving in together?" "They really like Marie and have thought I would have moved out a long time ago. The way the family is and all the kids out there are, it's hard to leave the place. I think this will be the best of both worlds. I was having trouble studying and it was difficult to find a quiet place a lot of the time. My sister is having the same trouble and I want to bring her by to maybe think about moving into Marie's suite. She's going to be in med school and all the related things for a long time to come. She doesn't have a boyfriend, but does have some female cronies she hangs out with. Um, they aren't militant, but they are a, ah, a, they don't necessarily like men." Marie was almost laughing, "Tell it like it is, Denny, they're lezzies. Tina's not really like real close pals with those girls, but has just fallen in with them because she's been so picky with guys." Wanda said, "Have her come by, we're all open minded here. With Chuck's group, she may be very happy here. She might also learn a little more about men." "Oh, she knows about men," Marie said, "She just doesn't like how so many are predatory. She says some of the women are just as bad, but she doesn't have time in her life for games right now." Dennis said, "We will bring her by to see the place. I know Marie, Angie, and I have plenty of room and a quiet place to study. So can Marie and I move upstairs? That would be perfect for us." "Sure. I'm happy that you guys feel comfortable here. Dennis, you are very good about the way the girls parade around most mornings. I'm glad it doesn't upset you." "It's no worse than at home. You should see what those women wear on Saturday or Sunday mornings. You don't miss a thing as they are all trying to be sexier than the other. It's really a treat for us young guys to get an eyeful. You guys are open about it and the only time I really see the girls is when we're swimming. You don't hold big wild orgies or anything. I've heard about the naturist place. Marie said it's a lot of fun. We might go out there one of these days. Oh yeah, Tina does like to wander around nude. She's really good looking and a little bit of an exhibitionist, when she's not around her buddies, that is. They are such prudes around other men. They will rarely go swimming out at the trailer park." Marie said to Dennis, "Let's move my stuff upstairs real quick. You can start moving your stuff out tomorrow. I'll talk to your mom about it. She'll think it's a great idea. I'll talk to Tina, too." When they were gone, Wanda said, "See, no problem, the upstairs is full and we have a possibility for an empty suite." "That was easy wasn't it? It's also nice to have a couple of guys here when I'm traveling." "Are you kidding," Wanda said, "Think about it. Jan and Marie are crack shots. Both are combat proven now. I'm no slouch now that you've convinced me that shooting is fun. I think you have three women here that are deadlier than a lot of men." "You're probably right, Wanda. What do you think about the master plan these girls have come up with? This whole thing went from Tiani to Brandy, to Brandy with Tiani, and then she hits me with all five." Wanda gave me a hug, "I think you should see how it works out. They are a funny bunch and will probably attack Dennis' sister considering they are so obviously bi. Isn't it funny how you've mostly attracted girls that enjoy girls as much or more than guys? Jan got into guys after she met you and from what I hear from them, Frieda, Judy, and Nancy were pretty much into women only. Brandy even told me she hasn't had hardly any experience with men except from her fumbling high school days and you. Tiani is the experienced one I think. She just doesn't talk about it. She is a little cutie, isn't she?" "When we first met, Tiani and I had an instant attraction. I thought she would be put off at first because I was white, but she hasn't let that make a difference. Because of Tiani, Nancy has felt comfortable with me." "Well, I like your girlfriends and as far as I'm concerned, they offer me some choices to have fun. If I could clone you and have you for a partner every day, and twice on Sunday, I would be totally satisfied. You're man enough to handle me and perhaps one other. You're man enough to probably handle the five and me occasionally, but I don't think you can handle what I want and them at the same time." "I'm sure you're right, Wanda. To think it wasn't that long ago that I wouldn't have ever considered doing some of the things the crew in this house has done. I'm not ashamed of it, but I am surprised that I've been a part of it. So far, we've been very closed and safe. I haven't played with Jan or Marie since they found their new guys. You haven't found any new toys, but you might want to practice some safe sex to make sure. That stuff out there is scary." "It sure is. I can't believe you were always such a goody two shoes. You're not the jealous kind and have been one hell of a lover when you have time." "Thanks, Wanda, you are a pleasure to make love with." When the phone rang, I looked at the clock to see it was still only quarter to eight. Hank, the painter from out at the air park, who also lived at the trailer park said, "Shawna and I thought you might want to come out to look at your airplane. We finished this afternoon and just shot it with the second coat of clear. We're out here with a bunch of people from the park. Come on out, and bring some more beer as we're running out. Get out here so we can show it off." I said, "Let's go out to the air park. They want to show off their work on the airplane. I'll call the girls to see if they wanted to come." I called Brandy's cell and she said she would be right there with whoever else wanted to come. Angie wasn't home, and Marie and Jan didn't want to come. All five girls showed up with some hanging clothes and some other stuff that would go in drawers. They said, "Let's go see it." We crammed seven into the Impala. It was a good thing that the girls are all small. Only Wanda and Frieda are both fairly tall, but slim. I'm sure it looked like one of those circus cars when we all piled out. I had stopped and picked up two cases of ice cold beer from the ABC that was on the way. When I was carrying the two cases of plastic bottles into the big brightly lit hangar, a cheer went up. "Yeah, more beer, Chuck's the man," and all that stuff. The plane was under some bright lights, showcasing the two-tone blue with white base. The logos stood out and there was no mistaking that the plane had S&S roots. The closer you got, the more the cartoons jumped out at you. The first thing I saw was a caricature of me dressed in pirate's clothes, showing my peg leg. A caricature of Tiani was on my shoulder but Brandy was sexily dressed, also as a pirate, with more cleavage than she could have waving a sword. Behind and around us were the other girls. Below the cartoon in a small box it said, U.S. Deputy Marshal Chuck to the rescue." Another cartoon had Steve and me appearing as if we were behind something with our guns blazing. Behind us with their hands on their hips were caricatures of Mercy and a very large topped Sue. There was a separate cartoon of Mercy and me with electric symbols between our two heads and our hands held out in surprise. Near that was a cartoon of Lisa and I with our arms over each others shoulders with our heads together grinning. There was a small caption beneath that said, "Pals." There was even a picture of Steve and me lying back, with beer bottles in our hands, grinning at all the girls, including Kathy and Juanita, clustered around us. Even little Shawna and Lisa were perched on one of my knees. There was a chase scene where I'm being chased by the Fab Five, and another when Sue and Mercy are pushing me, tripping me over Kathy who is on her hands and knees behind me. Another picture underneath the cockpit window had John, the instructor, standing over me as I was looking at books. It looked like a teacher and student. Surrounding John and me were dozens of little faces that were the kids from the park. There was even one picture of me with a dozen or so kids on my lap, including some older looking ones. Kathy said to me, "My kids really like you too. They had to be in at least one cartoon with you." There were so many, in different sizes and shapes, that it would take me days to describe all of them. "Wow, Shawna and Hank, this is really awesome. I can't believe how good it looks. Thank you for painting a real masterpiece for me." Jimmy was there and also on one of the cartoons. He said, "You have to fly me up to see my dad. He'll have a fit over this. The plane looks so good, I don't even believe it." Lisa was there and gave Brandy and Tiani a hug before giving me a very nice kiss. "This is a hell of a plane, Chuck. You have one hell of future around here with us. I'm sure I'm part of it. You should be standing next to the plane with the Strat or the 335 and be wailing some really good blues. Mercy looked at Lisa and said, "You'll have to tell me about this. I missed something." John told me, "Yep, you're a real owner now. Two airplanes, flying charters, just about to get your commercial certificate. You know you'll be finished with the hours requirement when you get back from France this weekend. I'll work out anything else you have to do. You'll be an official commercial pilot when you go to Spain. I'll get the information together so you can study the airplane you are going over with these next two weeks so you can be truly checked out in the aircraft." Steve came up to me and put his arm on my shoulder, "Now you're a part of us. This is how these two see you. Can you believe they can do this with you and your people and only know you the short time they have?" Sue was on the other side of me and hugged me to her. I looked down to see massive cleavage and smiled as she was smiling so happily. "We really wanted you to like this. Steve says your plane will give us what we need for fast short hops. We needed another plane and now we have it. I think we should charge more for it as it is so beautiful inside." The two moved away, but I was instantly surrounded by Mercy and Wanda. Mercy said, "Are we that obvious? Do we really have sparks going between us? I know you and I have something special between us, but I didn't think it showed." Wanda said, "It's easy to see you two have some magic, Mercy. It is something special. It's very pure, but very intimate at the same time. It's like everyone wants to be close to you two when you are near each other to soak up that special something you two have and are generating." Brandy came and hugged Mercy, "Isn't it exciting? Can you believe that Chuck has an airplane like this? I can't wait for him to take us for a ride. I want him to have all his women with him when we go the first time. Mercy, can you go? You're not his woman, but you are special. Can we get us five, Wanda, and Mercy all in the plane, Chuck?" "I think that fills it up, Brandy. I think Mercy has enough to do right now rather than to go flying." Mercy was still standing beside me and said, "There's no way I'm going to miss flying with you on your inaugural flight in your new plane. Let's do it tomorrow evening after supper. Either that or we have to go right now." It was planned that we would fly tomorrow after supper, which additionally meant we would be eating at the trailer park with Steve and Sue on the family's last night there before they left on their sailing trip. The crowd was beginning to dissipate, going back to the trailer park. My girls were still going over each area of the plane, finding another hidden cartoon. All of them were depicted three or four times. I liked the way Shawna had put Steve and me together so much and how she had displayed the two families intermingled. Shawna handed me a large binder and said, "Here are photos of all the cartoons. There are some bigger pictures of just the airplane and we'll get one in the air soon. Hank and I are proud of this job. It seems like we're pulling you into our family more. You'll find we are some very nice people." I nodded, agreeing. "I'm sure we all have to be up to go to work in the morning. Let's head home. This is a real red letter day for me." The crowd vanished quickly. I had to gaze one last time at the brightly painted airplane under the bright lights. I was very proud. At home, the girls all vanished into the bedroom while Wanda gave me a kiss and said goodnight. I made myself a tall scotch and sat in the family room watching the news. Frieda came out in a gown, gave me a kiss, and asked, "Show me where the booze is so I can make you drinks, but right now I want to join you." We were sitting together when Nancy came out in a gown and sat on the other side of me. She hugged my arm and said, "Thank you for liking Tiani and me so much. I'm always surprised how whites and blacks dance around being with each other. I'm so glad it doesn't bother you that I'm black." "You're not very black, Nancy. You're kind of a milk chocolate. Tiani's even lighter. I don't think it should make a difference because it's what's between your ears that I'm more interested in. You know, you're a good looking lady, and I like that we're special to each other. If you have some cultural things you want to teach me, you and Tiani should spend the time to show me and teach me. I have a lot to learn about all of you. I really don't know you girls all that well, but I want to." Frieda gave me a kiss on the cheek, "We are five crazy ladies that found each other, and now want to remain with each other with you. You're going to be a little upset when you learn all of our plans. You know we're not going to get married because we can't legally all be married. We've agreed that it wouldn't be fair to the others if one of us married you and the rest of us were only living with you. We're all going to live with you." "Uh, that's different. That doesn't show much of a commitment from me toward you girls." "It will, Chuck," Frieda said. "We all can commit to each other without all that legal stuff. This way you won't be considered a gold digger toward us and we won't appear to be leeches toward you." The other three girls came in, also wearing nice gowns, and Brandy sat on my lap to be hugged. "So you're telling him all our plans." She kissed my cheek and laid her head on my chest. Brandy said, "Chuck, we're all trying to figure this out. We're trying to figure out all our feelings and why we feel the way we do. Some things have happened to us together that make us bound together even more than you could imagine." Judy, the little blonde, said, "Since we've been together, we've had good things happen to us, no men, just between us. I think that we all wanted men, but it didn't happen. I always wanted a man of my own and now I have one. I just get to share him with my closest friends, that's all." Frieda said, "I'm the only one who was hardcore, I'm the 'I hate men' type within the group. I'm probably responsible for leading the four down the pussy eating path too. Our relationship just blossomed. When you came along, Tiani went nuts over you and Brandy was lying in bed playing with herself constantly. That one night you went out with us was really a benchmark. You showed us all respect. You loved, and I mean loved, each of us. We ended up after Saturday and Sunday totally mesmerized by having been with you. We confided with Brandy's mom who wasn't much help. She said if we liked you to go get you, collectively. Well, you know the story. Everything that happened after that seemed to be taking you from us. We were happy when we found you here, on the next block from us, but not as happy as when Bobby moved out." Brandy said, "We really all do care for you. I really love you and I'm not using the word in the wrong context. Look at Tiani with the tears in her eyes. She's so nuts over you, none of us can believe it. You're ours, Chuck. We all know we have to learn whether we can make it together, but we are yours." I smiled, "The only problem is how do I hold you all at once and kiss all of you together?" The five piled on top of me hugging and kissing me. They were killing my ribs, but what a nice pain it was. They all got up and Nancy said, "Time for bed. You still don't get any tonight. Maybe we'll figure out a rotation when you get back from Paris. We're all jealous that Brandy and Tiani get to go and we don't." I shut down everything and checked the locks, and turned on the alarm. When I joined the five, they had a spot sort of in the middle between Nancy and Tiani. I lay down on my back and the two put their heads on my shoulders. Nancy said, "My folks are going to love you. Daddy is going to be a little strange at first, but I know Mom will love you. Daddy will come around when I let him hold our first little one. Everything will be fine then." Oh man, now we're talking babies and no marriage. Oh, woe is me. Tiani kissed me and whispered in my ear, "I want my own little baby doll too. I think I want a bunch of them, though." We did settle down and go to sleep, but I was having dreams that I had kids everywhere like Steve has. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 53 Uh oh, someone's not abiding by the rules. It really feels good, but I don't want the others to be mad. I'd rather just lie here with the weight on me. Weight on me? I opened my eyes to find Brandy once again lying on top of me. She better not put on much weight or I'm going to have a hard time being her mattress. She was asleep, so who is doing it? Oh, that is so good, I'm getting so close. She sure knows how to suck, stroking me, sucking on the head, rubbing her tongue under it, and squeezing my balls with her other hand. Too late, I can't hold it. I erupted in the vigorously sucking mouth. The sucker pulled every drop from me before she backed off, popping her mouth and smacking her lips. Jan's voice said, "Oh, so good. I just love your stuff. You have to teach my guy what to eat or something. I should have done him first. Now I'll have my taste buds ruined." Jan was able to climb up to kiss me with a spermy tasting mouth. Brandy made Jan kiss her and was pulled back to each of the girls as they woke up from the strange conversation. Jan left the room, with her cute tush wiggling, on the way back upstairs to her new lover. The girls were all tickling me. Judy said, "You're supposed to be saving up for us, not giving our stuff away to the house lezzy BJ queen, or whatever she is." Frieda said, "If she has a taste for that kind of thing, you're not going to get her to quit unless you can fill her up beforehand. Tiani already said our guy has good tasting stuff, even though it was the first she ever tasted." Brandy kissed me, "Tiani, Lisa, and I will take care of you in France. There will be no blue balls in our midst. You get a pass if we're in another country." Nancy said, "Get him out of bed. The man has to do his exercises, stretches, or whatever they are." I slid from bed, peed, slipped on my peg and shorts and went outside to do a few relaxing forms. The music was in my head along with the pictures of the plane. I was getting excited more than relaxed. I stopped, quitting the form. The girls were already in the pool, lazily swimming laps. Wanda joined us, dove in with me, and we swim hard, winding ourselves. When we got out, Brandy, Frieda, and I used the outdoor shower and they almost had me trying to bend Frieda over as they teased me so much. We got dressed and I made up a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. Nancy and Judy said they loved pancakes, so I made up a quick batch and cooked them at the same time. This morning, we all moved in concert, as we ate, had the dishes cleaned up, and were leaving the house by seven twenty. Very good timing this morning. John called first thing and asked, "Can you fly over to Mobile and be their eyes when they try to take down a brothel filled with an international population. There apparently are some heavies on the premises all the time and they anticipate a problem. Can you do it?" "Sure, John, let me get a ride. I'll call you back." I told Wanda what I needed and she called the charter service. She called into my office, "Can you be back this afternoon?" "I think so. John said it was something right away." "Get out there, the other John says he'll have the plane warmed up." I jumped in the car after checking out an MP5, and grabbing some extra loaded magazines for my Glock. I called John in D.C. on the way to the airport. "Have someone meet me at the airport. I'll be there in probably less than an hour. Call me back or have them call me with their plan." I slid to a stop, grabbed my gym bag with my vest and extra magazines, along with the MP5 and walked to the Lear. Lisa was in the doorway to the charter office and waved at me as I pulled the door shut and locked it. John already had the plane moving by the time I slid into the right seat. He handed me the card and told me what item number he was on. In a couple of minutes we were on our way, climbing at our maximum climb thrust. I thanked John for the Lear as it was just what I needed to get to this job. He said, "If you're still there at two, I have to leave. Our charter is at five and we need time to cleanup, change clothes, and fuel. We landed at Mobile and found a car waiting for me at the operations building. I got in the back seat with my bag and began taking off my shirt to put my vest on with my shirt over it. The guy said, "Don't worry, just put your vest on over your shirt. This is a straight raid we're doing with the Bureau, DEA, and Homeland Security immigration folks. Hopefully it's quick and easy. You're here as our observer to tell everyone we did the deed by the numbers." "We're going to hit the place from all sides at once. The whole place is built on four big barges like the casinos. We have the Coast Guard who are going to put men on the deck, and one of their choppers that is going to drop men on the top socializing area. We have about a hundred total people, so we should be okay. The problem is we know they have at least twenty guards. We don't think any of them speak English. That's the rub. We'll announce the opportunity to give up, but they may not understand. Hopefully, the sheer numbers will overwhelm them." I had to ask, "How come daylight?" "They should be asleep. They are hardly ever seen moving around until after noon. We want to hit them early and hard." I nodded in agreement. We pulled up next to dozens of service cars and a dozen local cars. The locals were all assigned traffic duty to keep people away from the waterfront. I put on my Marshal Service cap, zipped up my vest with the big deputy badge on the back, grabbed my MP5, and followed the man who had brought me. The team leader from Mobile was there. He was wearing the team leader insignia and said to me, "Think you can stay out of harm's way today? You aren't going in. You will be on the perimeter as an observer. You know the score as to what you can and cannot do. Take a look at the interior layout of this thing in the event you have to go in. Here are the entrances and the stations where we've observed guards we suspect are armed. They shouldn't be there right now as the populace is sleeping. Back here, behind these double doors, is the barracks where they keep the ladies. They should be safe from any flying metal but you never know on one of these things. Ready?" I nodded putting a round into the chamber of the MP5 and making sure the three extra clips were easy to reach. The team leader radioed the men and we all began moving forward. I could hear the helicopter approaching and could see the Coast Guard boats pulling up to the water side of the barge. Thank goodness there wasn't a narrow gangway onto the barge, only a lip over the edge of the barge for people to step down onto the deck. I went with the first group that was securing the deck, trying to peer into the windows. Being a little paranoid, I stayed down in a crouch so my head wouldn't be an easy target through the windows. Bang,,,, Bang, Bang, Bang. Rat, ta, tat, tat, tat, Crack, Boom. Shit, a war had broken out on the other side and to the rear. More fire was coming from the top deck. You could hear the difference between the AKs and some other kind of automatic rifle. The sounds of handguns and shotguns were obvious. I heard the thud of a round hitting someone and a man near me pitched back. He was probably all right, but would be stunned for a while. I kicked a couple of double doors to make them swing in to see if I could draw fire. No shit, draw fire, three separate weapons were firing in my direction. I had jumped back behind the steel bulkhead and saw a Bureau agent motioning to me with a grenade in his hand. I held my hands out and he threw it to me, but held his hand up for me to wait. He threw me two more and a flash bang, too. I wasn't going to try to stun them, I was going neutralize them. I pushed the door open a little and fired into the room. Return fire came back very intensely. I was thinking there were still only three weapons. There were men with bullhorns on the shore hollering for them to give up. I crossed to the other side of the double doors and got ready. I pulled the pin of the grenade, and using my right hand, I pushed the door open and tossed the grenade inside. I heard a lot of crashing for a second then the grenade went off and the double doors were blown off. The Bureau agent and I hit the doorway at the same time, trying to identify any possible resistance. I could see two men down but not the third that I knew had been there. We cautiously went through the parlor area and were about to push open some doors leading toward the private rooms when we heard something scrape by the wall. A guy was standing up with an AK leveling on us. We both fired multiple rounds at the guy, hitting him in the head so many times that there wasn't much head left. As we were turning around, the double doors from the private room area burst open and two men were as surprised as we were. They hesitated for a split second, and two MP5s put two bursts into each of them. The noise from the confrontation sounded like popcorn in a microwave. Multiple pops and bangs coming fast. We checked down the hallway where the private rooms were and walked quickly down this hall toward where the barracks was supposed to be. The agent stood to the one side of the door, with me on the other. I slowly pushed it open. The lights were all out in the room, so I hollered. "Turn the lights on. If you don't, I will blow all of you up. Turn the lights on now." Some lights came on in the back of the room where a shower room must have been. I repeated, "Turn all the lights on and you won't be hurt, do it now or we have to blow you up." A small figure came running toward the near wall and stopped after flipping on the light switch. I held up my hand as we didn't know if someone was hiding in there or not. The only thing I could think of was to make an offer. "All of you come out with your hands on your head. Please come out or we will shoot you and probably have to blow you up. Come out now, slowly with your hands on your heads. Another deputy and another agent came down the hallway, checking rooms as they came. The first girl came out of the room with her hands on her head. I stopped her and asked, "Can you speak good English?" The girl said, "I can speak perfect English. I have been schooled at the University of Moscow. Please, set me free." I said to her, "Tell the others what I said. Be sure to tell them we are serious and will use force if necessary. Are there any men in there?" "I don't know, too much was happening. Sometimes the guards come in and sleep with us. They just choose who they want and we have to do for them." "Okay, tell them, please be forceful." The girl began yelling through the door, over and over. It was working as girls began coming forward. They were coming from under beds, out of the shower room, out of what appeared to be a closet. I told the other two men who had joined us to move the girls out of the boat onto the dock. The girls were all dressed, not well, but they were at least covered. When they were all out of there, I was peeking in to see if I could see anything protruding or any sign of someone. This was the scary part. I told the agent, "Let's go in. Stay on the outer wall. We'll move around the wall to check the shower and closet together." We were like movie characters trying to blend into the wall. Our eyes searched frantically for any movement, any signs that someone could be hidden. We made it around the outer walls and were both on the back wall. We had looked under and around every item that could have hidden someone. As we were getting close to the shower room, four men came running out firing full auto using AKs. The agent and I were in almost a perfect crossfire and couldn't fire. I dove behind a sofa, knocking the MP5 from my hand while rounds were flying everywhere. The couch was taking a beating as all four men were focused on the couch, filling it with extra lead, tearing it apart. I was flat on the deck hoping to stay away from the intense fire. Then came the sound that gave me hope. Four successive "CLACKS," as all the AK slides locked back, out of rounds. I rose quickly from the floor with my Glock and began firing as fast as I could. A round from a handgun grazed my arm, but four men were falling within a couple of seconds. That was lucky. I was breathing heavily looking around for more resistance and saw the agent down. I went to the shower room first and could see it was empty. I went to the closet and threw the door open. A burst came back through the door. Not having the patience for this, I pulled the pin on another grenade and tossed it inside. The fuse must have been really quick as it went off almost immediately. I looked inside with the door open and could see two down. They weren't going anywhere, so I rushed to the agent. I felt for his pulse in his neck and his heart was beating fine. I was looking at him to find the wound and rolled him over. The man had six rounds embedded in his vest. I'm surprised the vest held at such close range. A couple of deputies rushed in and I said, "Get a corpsman, this guy is going to have some internal injuries. I don't think anything penetrated his vest." One of the deputies said, "You're bleeding, come out, we'll take it from here. It looks like the place is clean. We'll be going over it a second time." My adrenaline rush was so strong that it almost was making me dizzy, but I followed the one deputy out onto the dock. I had left some real bloody men in the closet and the four dead that had tried to cut up the sofa. Thank God the couch was big and thick with heavy cushions. There were two in the parlor done in with the grenade, the third in that room that the agent and I cut up, plus the two who had come running out of the hallway. Wow, eleven men. I wonder how many guards were on this thing. When I reached the command desk that was set up, the deputy I was with told the team leader, "We have one down, but alive, in the barracks, and this guy's bleeding." The leader looked up at me and smiled. "Not serious I take it." I nodded. "Get it bandaged and come back and dictate your incident report while it's fresh in your mind. The English speaking girl said she wants to follow you home. She says that you were strong for them or something like that." A corpsman ripped another of my white shirts apart and shook his head. "Come over and get a couple of stitches. You'll need to close that thing up." I looked at it and said, "It's not deep enough for stitches, just clean it, put some goop on it and give me a big bandage. I don't have the stitches out from the last time. You can do that while you're messing around." I looked around, noting there were no other casualties on the cots set up for the injured, "Are we in that good a shape? There was a lot of fire for no casualties." The team leader came over to me and said, "We lost one. Hit in the head. He was a DEA guy that had been around a long time." "How many were in the opposition?" The leader said, "From what we have, plus your eleven, there were forty-seven total." "That's a lot of men for one little operation." "This isn't a little operation. You pulled more than fifty women out of there and we're pulling three other raids right now that have a lot of women and no guards. We should be able to cripple this whole network." I found a cup of coffee and asked, "What were the casualties on the opposition?" "Seventeen total. We have some scratches on some of the thirty captured, but your area had the most intense fire. Here, give me that grenade and the flash bang. I saw them get tossed to you and knew you were not going to hesitate using them." He looked around and said, "Go dictate your incident report and just say the team you were on neutralized people in each of those cases. Make it the team, no individuals." I finished the coffee, found a porta-potty so I could pee from being so nervous, then found one of the staff taking reports. I dictated the report, saying I was an observer with the team and had to get involved in neutralizing some of the men firing on us. The leader came and got me and took me to a gurney where the agent who had been with me was. The agent painfully raised his hand, "Thanks, man, I understand you took those four out. I don't know how you did it, but we were fucked being across from each other. Those guys sure did surprise me." I smiled and patted the guy, "They surprised me too, but we made it out of there whole." "You got something, what's the blood from?" "Scratch, probably from exposed metal or something." The agent smiled and said, "Sure, sure." I went to the team leader and asked what else I could do. He said, "We're deputies, we did the dirty work so we can go home. The Bureau will take it from here. We may have to house the babes, but you're done. Go home and thank you for coming. I asked for you and John said he would get you. Sorry about the scratch, Chuck. Be careful. Semper Fi!" I smiled and gave him an "Ooorah." It took a couple of minutes to find a deputy with a car to take me to the airport. When we arrived, I went into the private terminal and found John in the cafeteria. I got a sandwich and a bottle of water. "What happened to your arm? You sure did bleed a lot." "Just a scratch, no stitches." He said, "Eat a sandwich and let's get. We'll be a little ahead of time. The news here is full of some kind of massive gun battle down at the casino piers. You being here have anything to do with that?" I just nodded. When we were getting on the plane, as he closed and locked the door, John said, "Get in the left seat, start on the list and I'll call in the flight plan." I easily went through the checklist as I had been doing it so much with John. He had me do everything else, including the takeoff. When we reached altitude he said, "Think you can set up the navigation system?" "I should, I've seen you and helped you do it so many times." He said, "Go ahead and set it up with the notifications for descent." A little over an hour later John asked, "Want to land it?" "Why not? Stay ready, but let me go through the checklist and I'll do it." John sat back and watched me as I read everything out loud just to re-affirm that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. As we were on final approach, I realized that I could do this. I set the plane down and if I did anything wrong it was to let the plane roll out too long. There was still runway left but I could have poured on more reverse thrust to slow us down. I pulled up to the jet hangar and spun us around so the plane would be headed out again. When the plane was shut down, John made some entries into my log and said, "The weekend after your trip to Spain is the Lear class. Study the book on the navigation system and you'll be checked out on the aircraft. It won't be long now. You'll be able to help with the lessons." I took my bag, the MP5, and headed to the station to turn the rifle in. As soon as I walked in, Sarah came out and said, "You're to call John immediately." She pointed to my bloody shirt and the bandage, continuing, "You were not supposed to be in on the bust. You were to be an observer." I pulled a cleaning kit and cleaned the MP5, reloaded the magazine, put them all back, and signed them in. Taking a phone and moving it to the table where I was cleaning guns, I called John on the speakerphone and began tearing down my Glock. "Hey, John." "Hey, my ass, you were not to be in on that. You were not to be on that barge." I kept cleaning the gun and said, "I was an observer and I couldn't observe if I couldn't see. The men got into trouble from some resistance they didn't expect, so I had to help or watch men die. I'm not going to let that happen, John." "How bad?" "What do you mean?" "Your wound, how bad." "A scratch, forget it happened." "You were already written up. The agent you saved said you were a terror. That you just kept pushing ahead." "I didn't wait for an invitation, if that's what you mean. We were having to fight, John. The bad guys were fighting us and we had to fight back." I could hear him take a deep breath, "I know. Damn, it's getting harder and harder to convince the higher ups about what's going on. Next time, come get one and take him with you so they can see." "Now you have another thirty days, want to come to Hawaii? I'll leave you there for a couple of weeks." "I'm going to France, John, and like I just said, it's a scratch, forget about it." "I have a picture of you, with a bloody white shirt, holding the hand of the guy you saved." "I didn't save anyone. He was already down." "Let's see. I have a picture of you, with a bloody white shirt, holding the hand of the guy you saved. That's all the evidence I need. Go home, I'll take care of anything that comes up. I will be in Hawaii when you come home from France. I'm going to use some of your vacation." The man was really rude; he hung up on me. I put away the cleaning equipment and filled my partially depleted magazine. I got a Styrofoam cup of coffee, as the station's was fresh, while my office wouldn't have any. As I left, Marie gave me a smile and a thumbs up." When I walked into my office, Wanda jumped up and came into the secretarial room. Angie also stood, coming from around her desk. They both looked like they were going to cry. ' "Hey, I'm fine, it's a scratch. It looks worse than it is." I took a sip of the coffee and said, "I need to go over what's been going on and then I'm going to get something to eat." Wanda smiled and said, "I think we've got you cleaned up. There isn't anything going on at all. Your friend Metarie would like you to call her, but that's the only call." "You knew I already called, John, huh?" Wanda smiled, "I did, Sarah called me. We figured you would stop in the station to clean and turn in your rifle." "Well, ladies, I thank you for taking care of business. As soon as I talk to Metarie, I'm going home to have some more food. Remember, I'm off to France tomorrow." "Hi Metarie, how are you?" "I'm fine. When you get a chance, I want to talk to you about your harem. I think I heard them right that they were moving in with you. Do you think you should let them do that?" "I don't know, Ma'am. I've not been given much of a choice." "I was afraid of that. Those girls can be a handful that's for sure. How do you feel about it?" I paused then said, "I don't know. I really like them all, but I can't say I'm in love. I have a ton of respect for each of them and am amazed that they are intent on being with me. This is different and it is more than I can figure out. I've told them that this is a trial. We're going to see how it goes and make up our minds." "Thank you, Chuck, I know you won't hurt them and I know you're willing to take a lot from them. Come talk to me anyway. Come have lunch with me or come on to supper with Reggie and me. Hell, bring the whole crew with you. I love those girls and Reggie thinks they are a trip." There was a pause, then she said, "Have a good time in France. Tiani and Brandy are both off tomorrow." I hung up and headed home. I had a left over pork chop with mashed potatoes. I looked to see what we might have for supper and decided to have Marsala. We had the frozen chicken so I began defrosting it. I made up all the stuff to go with it and sat back with a Diet Coke to wait for the girls to get home. When the girls came in, I asked, "Want to work out, or just eat and go fly the new plane." Judy said, "I can't wait, I know Frieda can't either. I don't even want to eat, but I guess we should." "Okay, I'll leave the chicken in the fridge and so it can be fixed for a meal this weekend. Let's go flying." The five girls, Wanda, and I headed to the air park in the overloaded Impala. I was thinking that I needed to buy a personal vehicle that would hold a lot of people. When we arrived at the air park, the new plane was outside the maintenance hangar, ready to fly. I climbed into the cabin to get my new checklists and began the preflight. While I was doing that, Mercy came driving up and got out. She said, "You didn't call me. Dede called to tell me you were already here." "Well then, climb on board and get everyone seated, Mercy. I'm just about finished out here." When I got in and shut the door, everyone was excited. Mercy was in the right seat waiting for me. She said, "Since I'm a pilot now, I'll fly with you any time. I'll have to work it out with the kids, but I'll always fly with you." A few minutes later, we were getting ready to roll down the runway for takeoff. The plane performed beautifully. Our takeoff was quick and smooth, even with the fairly full load. We flew to Jacksonville and on to Tallahassee before heading back home. The plane felt good, handled very nicely, and the new navigation equipment was easier to use than I expected. Back on the ground, all the ladies helped me fuel the plane and push it back into the hangar. We all looked at it a few minutes then headed to the car. Mercy gave me and the girls a hug saying, "I won't see you guys for a couple of months. I'll miss you, Chuck. All of us will miss you guys." Mercy left and we headed for the house. It was still early, so I fixed the Marsala. It was delicious. I had thrown the shirt in the trash, but Tiani came out, holding it up in the air. "What did you do to yourself this time? You ruined another shirt." Wanda held up her hand and said, "Chuck had to go help some people in Mobile. He got a scratch, that's all." We were fine until we were watching the news and one of the national items was about the big raids in Mobile where seventeen bad guys and one DEA agent was killed. Tiani looked at me with tears in her eyes, "Don't do that. You're ours. You can't do stuff like that. I know you were there, I felt it all day. Frieda and Brandy did too." We had a group hug while Tiani was able to control herself. She looked up at me and said, "I want a baby before you get yourself killed. You have to give us babies. That's one of the reasons we want you." I looked at them, "If I give you guys babies, then get killed, who's going to take care of you? How will you live, how will you raise our kids?" They all looked at each other until Frieda said, "We need to tell him. It's not going to make any difference to him." They continued to look at each other until Brandy said, "Let's go into the bedroom where it's quiet." As we went into the bedroom, one of the five added, "And private." Brandy had me sit in the chair across from the foot of the bed where all five sat in a line, "There is something big that holds us together. We all love each other more than you could know. We all love you too, but this is something that came up before we met you." They looked at each other even more, but Brandy assumed the leadership position. "We won the Lotto." I just sat there looking at them waiting. "We won a lot of money. Remember a couple of years ago, the jackpot got up to like almost two hundred million? We used to always put a dollar apiece in every week together. We won." "That's a lot of money," I said, skeptically. Brandy said, "I know; we know. We all liked each other a lot already and were pretty much into each other by then. You know, our girl/girl stuff. We decided to just keep the money in a joint account and live on it." Tiani said, "Brandy's dad didn't buy the house. We did. We all have neat little cars, but we don't spend a lot of money on junk. If something would happen to you, Chuck, we would have plenty to support us, even if we had a bunch of kids." Brandy continued, "You can't tell anyone about this. Metarie doesn't even know. Only my dad knows. All of us help out our folks except me. My dad has a lot of money and helps us with our taxes and investments along with an attorney that we both use. So you see, we're a good catch. You can have almost any toy you can think of." I waited a little and said, "I don't need anything but you guys. I need your attention, respect, and when it comes to it one of these days, I'll relish and languish in your love." Frieda came to me and kissed me. Tiani climbed into my lap. Judy and Nancy tried to hug me, but it was getting to be too crowded. Brandy just sat looking at me with watery eyes. She said softly, "Well, I already do love you, as do we all. We all love you." Brandy launched herself into my arms squashing Tiani and causing five girls to leak around the eyes." Judy said, "I wanted to buy you an airplane, but you have two." Frieda said, "I thought we could get you one of those fancy choppers, but that's too flashy for you." Nancy said, "I want to give you a baby, but the girls say I have to wait." Tiani looked up at me with her impish grin, "I want to get you a set of store bought tits so you can play with them. Now I was laughing. Brandy said, "I thought we could all go out and round up a bunch of good looking women for you to enjoy, but we want to be those good looking girls you enjoy." "I don't need physical things. Look around. I have a lot, more than can be imagined. I want a family. I want moms and dads, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, and grandfathers. You know, a family." As they recovered, I said, "We're getting entirely too serious. We've agreed to make this a trial. Let's see how we do. I vote for us to have something to drink and relax before bed." We did go into the kitchen to join Wanda and Angie in drinking something. I ended up fixing the girls all rum and Cokes with lime, while I had my favorite buzz, Beefeaters. A little later, when we were in bed, Frieda dove under the covers and was sucking me. She came up, slid up my body, and impaled herself on me. She said, "I'm not waiting another second to feel you in me. I want you and this is just a teaser. I'm hot enough to go up in flames, so let me get myself off on you. One of us will make you very happy before you go to sleep. This became the spark that led me to make love to all five. It was one in the morning when we finally lay back, sated, in the multiple soggy spots and slept. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 54 I woke to the feeling of a mouth again. No one was on top of me, but the mouth had me thoroughly enclosed. When I petted the head, she became more animated causing me to shoot large quantities of my juice into her mouth. As Jan came up to kiss me, Brandy rose up and intercepted her. The other four girls were equally as aggressive in showing Jan they appreciated her pleasing me. I said, "You know, we don't have to get up this morning, at least not Brandy, Tiani, and me. We're flying today and could sleep some more." Brandy said, "I'm too excited to sleep. I want to leave right now." Tiani stretched her tiny body and whispered, "I want some more of our guy, that's what I want." Nancy said, "You little slut. You'll have him in France while we only have each other." She paused, looking thoughtful, then said, "That isn't all bad, though." Judy said, "None of us are going to knock you up, though. That's going to take Chuck." "No babies, ladies, not until we've been together a lot longer than a couple of weeks." "Oh you, you ruin my dreams. I'll wait, I just don't want to." We all got up. Jan said she had to wake her guy up and left. We used the gym and went out to swim for a while. I didn't kill myself and Wanda, who had joined us, didn't either. While Wanda and I were showering, I could tell she was warm this morning, so I turned her, and while pinching her nipples and playing with her long breasts, I thumped her good from behind. She came hard, leaning back into me as my juices flowed into her. She kissed me, "Oh, just what I needed. You can be such a tiger sometimes." I made breakfast for everyone and had Jan change the bandage on my arm. She said it looked good and would be fine soon. The other arm, where the stitches had been, was now looking good, with no swelling or redness. After the rest of the family left for work, the three of us remaining were straightening up the house when Maria came to do the cleaning. We figured we should pack our bags, so we got our clothes together and were ready to leave. It was only nine and we were not supposed to show up out at the air park till eleven. Then Star called and said, "The band just called and asked if we could leave earlier. Can you come early?" I told Star we were ready and would start out for the air park right away. She said, "There will be a few more passengers as three of the wives are coming along. It shouldn't be much more work for the girls." When we were almost ready to leave, Lisa called and said, "Bring the bass. I'm going to bring a couple of guitars so we can have some fun ourselves while we're waiting around." At the charter office, the girls and I loaded our luggage into the cargo hold and went inside for our shirts, hats, and my coat. Star checked our passports and told me she had included my U.S. Marshal ID on the French immigration passenger manifest. I had a surprise. John wasn't going with us. He said to me, "I think if there was an emergency, you could fly and land the plane. You understand the navigation system, and I'm confident in your ability. Enjoy your flight." When the band showed up, the four of us were standing outside the plane, waiting to welcome the group. We thanked them for using S&S as their charter and helped all of them into seats. Instead of three wives, there were four wives and a girl friend. Lisa and I had to check the total passenger weight, along with checking the weight of the baggage. We were well within our gross limitations so we were soon burning down the runway, taking off. Lisa spent a great deal of the flight's seven hours quizzing me on the aircraft, its characteristics, and what to do in emergencies. She said, "See, John bombarded you so much last week you ended up with a fourteen to fifteen hour lesson. You won't get this much flight time during the school. You should still take it, but you'll be ahead of the curve." The trip ended up being just a few minutes shorter than our original flight to Berlin. We arrived in Paris a little after five our time, and eleven at night there. French customs was a long drawn out affair that required a lot of waiting and a lot of patience. The band had been personally cleared and had gone on to the hotel. We had to stay to have the airplane inspected, and the inspectors almost took our guitars apart. We finally made it to the hotel near one in the morning, still early on our body clocks. The band had a banquet room again and it was open. The roadies and crew were adjusted to local time, so they were ready for bed, while the band was wide awake as their bodies said it was still early. The girls and I enjoyed the food and booze, observing the antics of the crew and band. Jimmy, the bass player was cordial and said, "You'll have to sit in with us some more. Lisa, the pilot, said she brought some instruments so we'll do some jamming tomorrow after practice. We're going to practice before noon, eat, jam a while, then nap till it's time for the show. On Sunday, we'll practice early, do the show at one, and try to be on our way home by five, local time. What is it, seven hours plus to get back? We should be home by seven or eight. As long as the customs officer can still come out for us to the air park, we'll be home early." The four of us went to our room and decided we needed some stimulation to put us to sleep. It was easy to be stimulated by these three. When I couldn't get it back up quick, the three entertained themselves very nicely. Observing their activities helped get me up, over and over again. The three were very sensual and very much into each other. At breakfast Saturday, the girls were talking to Lisa about coming to live with us. She said she loved it out at the naturist park but Maggie and Betsy were about to move out. They were her main source of physical companionship out there, along with Zena, Shannon, and Joanie. She did say she would think about it and come by soon to look at our place. Tiani and Brandy had me so stimulated that I was ready to bed either of them constantly. Lisa got their overflow, as they were keeping me extremely horny. We were sitting in the nearby auditorium, where the concert was to be held, while the band worked through a few numbers, when Tiani said, "We've figured out that Nancy and Judy will have babies first. I might have one later, but the second bunch of babies will be Frieda and Brandy. Frieda is certain, but Brandy isn't too sure yet. I might have a baby with Frieda if Brandy wants to wait. The thing is though; Nancy wants two and wants them close together." I said, "I guess I should be looking for a bigger place." Tiani said, "Not really, our house is really big and can be easily increased in size." "I thought you were going to stay with me?" Brandy said, "I will, and the girls will some of the time. They will be around so you can be a dad, but I think they will be single or group mothers most of the time. Don't forget, Honey, they don't need the money but will want to continue working so the kids know the meaning of salary for effort. Tiani looked at me, "Brandy, I think we're getting too far ahead for Chuck. I think he was envisioning all of us together all the time. Chuck, Honey, Brandy and I are going to be your more or less constants. The other three dearly love you, but they don't want to live with you all the time. I might get like that way sometimes too, but Brandy will be underfoot for you almost all the time. The other girls will want some time with you and will want to be loved by you often, but then they will want to go home and be in the arms of their lovers there. I promise, you won't mind having a conventional relationship with Brandy, while sharing the rest of us Lisa had heard Tiani's description of our future and looked at me with an arched eyebrow. Brandy and Tiani snuggled up to me, each holding an arm with their heads touching me. I was deep in thought, so deep that I didn't even hear the music. There was going to have to be some more discussion about this. Brandy is very loving and Tiani showed me a lot of attention, but it just felt as if the girls considered me a tool. I could make them feel good sometimes, and I could fertilize their eggs, but it was okay for me to be somewhere else, not directly in their lives. That's pretty good. I guess I was getting used to the idea of having five ladies around me all the time. That is ridiculous, isn't it? I suppose my ego was puffed way up and I wasn't really thinking straight. Am I still hung up on Bobby? Was there enough time between Bobby and Brandy? Should I perhaps shut off all women for a while? The girls were using me, figuring a guy has his brains in his little head most of the time, and if they kept the little head happy, the big head would remain their empty bimbo. If that's so, what's with Brandy? What's with Tiani? They welcome Lisa into bed, and they are ravishing her even more than I am or can. Brandy and Tiani seem to really enjoy making love with me and that seems real, their pleasure seems real. Even the other girls' pleasure seems real. I know Frieda's pleasure is real because she squirts all over the place. I think I've felt every one of them contract in orgasm. Damn, girls need an orgasm meter on their forehead so you can check to make sure you made them feel good. I guess I'm a typical guy, make me happy, get me off. When the guys finished practicing and wanted to just play around, Lisa brought out her 335 and had all the guys drooling over the classic. They were doing some basic slow blues beat, letting Lisa do her B.B. King imitation, and doing some riffs that would make Eric Clapton envious. I had plugged in the bass Lisa had given me and was backing her by walking the slow blues beat to keep her in place. When it was my turn, I made the bass sing a little, but mostly double stringed the bass line, making it sound oh so sweet. Jimmy played similar to me and tried to make his beautiful bass sing a little and then as if we had practiced together for years, we played a bass duet that was sending chills down my spine. Our basses were singing together, our mutual doubles sounded like an orchestra full of bass beating blues monsters. Once a group of real blues freaks begin jamming to a slow beat like that, it becomes an endless piece of wailing blues that has all of the hair on your arms standing, and your scalp tingling. The music takes on different flavors, as different instruments take the lead, extemporaneously pushing the whole group farther and farther into music nirvana. The agent came out over an hour after we had started playing and called a halt. "You guys need some food and rest before tonight's gig. You'll use up all of your musical energy if you keep that up." The lead guitar was talking to the sound engineer guy, "I know you got all that. We should just put it on an album and call it Jammin. Shit, that was good. Think we could?" The sound guy said, "Hell yeah, it's long enough and it could be just for us and some special album people. It's too long to get any radio play unless I can bust it up and it's too pure blues for some. The basses really complemented each other, and that chick can play. That was some good shit. I'll have Kenny back at the studio listen to it, he'll give the word." When we went back to the hotel, Lisa and I took our instruments up to the room before going to the banquet room. As soon as we were in the room, Lisa had her guitar case leaning against the wall and was climbing on me. "I have to have you now. Music like that makes me so hot for a man, I'm like crazy. Hurry, bend me over, throw me down, just fuck me, hard, fuck me, Chuck." There was no lovemaking involved. I had Lisa on her hands and knees and was pounding her from behind as hard as I could. With all of the earlier loving I had received, I could last forever, so I pounded until Lisa sprawled out, pulling free of me. She turned her head to the side, "Oh yeah, that's the feeling that is so good. Oh, that was an awesome cum, an awesome fuck. Good one, Chuck, I could fall for a guy that can do me that good." She rolled over with her shorts still down around her knees. "Now go wash that thing and put it away unless you need me to suck it for you. That's sweet, you didn't fill me up to drain for the rest of the day." The two of us cleaned up and straightened our clothes and headed back down to the banquet room. The delay wasn't noticed as Brandy and Tiani were busy with the band member's wives. We had some decent food, along with a beer before we all migrated to our room for a rest. The four of us lay down and snuggled, napping for a couple of hours with nothing more than some kisses. Before the concert, the banquet room was filling with energy. Several guests were admitted and were fawning over the band. The band was staying sober, but the guests were drinking heavily and becoming a little obnoxious. It took the band's security people to help a few of the drunks from the room to keep the peace, as a couple of the rowdies were big men. We watched the concert from off stage and actually helped with the gear during the performance. I had to hold up a structural beam while a couple of roadies put some braces on it and bolted it down. They put big red stickers on the beam so they would know which one had the problem. Tiani was a hit because of her size. They asked her to get under the stage and plug a coupling together that had pulled apart. She was so small that she was able to get to it easily. Brandy was passing around bottles of water to the crew members backstage as it seemed like it was a hundred degrees in there. We found out later that the air handler for the stage area had broken. The air from the auditorium didn't circulate toward the stage. When the show was over, the band was wrung out. They were so hot, they each drank a full bottle of water and started on a second. The band visited with the important people, or people who think they are important, that show up after a performance, including a guy named Kenny who was there to supervise the live recording. I saw the sound guy give Kenny a CD and heard him say, "You have to listen to this. It's a jam with a couple of other people. It's real blues, listen to it and tell me what you think." I smiled as I remembered way back when some of the best music our young band had ever played was as a result of just that type of jam. The wives felt it but had ignored it, Brandy and Tiani felt it, but weren't moved by the intensity. You don't have to focus on listening to good blues, it just sucks you in. We ate, we drank a little, then we went to bed to sleep as much as possible so we would be up for the flight home. In the morning, which was still our night, we had breakfast with the band. The agent suggested we let the band go practice by themselves so they wouldn't get sidetracked. When they left, we were going to go up and lay down again when the guy named Kenny came over to Lisa and me. "If you guys would, I need a release from you so I can try to publish that jam session you guys had yesterday. It was really good. This release also gives you the standard percentage for sidemen. If we make anything from the album, you'll get something too. It won't be a lot and you'll only get a check quarterly but it could be something." I read the agreements and signed them. Lisa said, "If you feel good about it then I'm game." Kenny said, "I'd love you two to come over to our studio and jam with us. The guys love to do that sort of thing and maybe we can use either of you for some fill ins at the studio. Recording stuff over and over is boring and the guys get tired of it. Sometimes I'll just need a short riff that has to be just right to fill something in. Maybe you guys can do it for us." Lisa laughed, "You know I fly all the time and this guy is a U.S. Deputy Marshal and is on the road a lot too. He's just helping out the charter company right now while we are so busy." "Hey," I said in mock anger. "Speak for yourself lady. I'd love to play some music for a change. I'll get you my card so you can call me. If the guys want to call me to come over, have them do it. I might be available. About the only thing I do is work and fly." Lisa said snidely, "And mess with his harem. The guy doesn't have time for much of anything with five or six women at home." Tiani stood up tall, to at least four foot nine, and said, "There's only five of us, but he has another four that live with him. I don't think they all get in his pants though. Some have their own boyfriends." Kenny passed his hand over his face in fake astonishment, "Too much information. I'll call you." We went upstairs and slept for another three hours, showered, dressed, packed, and headed to the airport. Lisa and I went over the aircraft in a very detailed manner. We had left it plugged in to ground services to keep it cool. We had the in-flight kitchen prepare fifteen meals and a bunch of sandwiches. We made sure the holding tanks had indeed been flushed and all of our cabin fluids had been replenished. We were ready. The band finally arrived at six, local time. We loaded them up, made them comfortable and safe, closed up, and began firing up the engines. We were soon on the way home. Lisa had me reading the big manual and often took it to quiz me on several items. We spent at least three hours on the navigation system. The fourteen plus hours I had spent making the trip this time had been used productively. The band was going to be let off at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport so they wouldn't have as far to ride home and customs wouldn't have to come to the air park. Once they were off loaded, we flew back to the air park, arriving there near nine. local home time. We cleaned up the airplane and took off anything that needed to be refrigerated. After wiping down the cockpit and vacuuming the entire plane, Lisa gave me a hug and kiss. "This was a good trip. One more next week, the week after is the Lear school, and the week after that is the first weekend of the G5 school. It looks like your weekends are going to be busy for a while." At home, Brandy and Tiani both wanted to spend the night at their house to get ready for the coming week. I was too tired to worry about it, so we kissed and I sent them home. When I sent them off, I thought, "Okay ladies, are you staying or going? Permanently?" I was sitting out on the back patio having a tall Beefeaters when Wanda came home. She came out and playfully sat in my lap. She said, "Where's the competition or should I refer to them as my toys?" "Home, they needed to get ready for the coming week." "Good, I need some man. I spent the weekend naked out at the park and have had all of the pussy licking I can stand. I need dick. Hard, pounding, squirting dick. Come on, don't drink so much that I'll be short changed. I need all of it." Wanda dragged me inside, and after locking up, pulled me into the bedroom to give her some male loving. After we had thoroughly ravished each other and were lying in a puddle, I asked, "How come only women? I thought they had parties out there all the time. I know Zena would share, and I'm sure the two dads would be hot for you too." "I could have gone to a party, Gerald even asked me. Tom and Zena wanted to play, but it ended up only Zena and me playing with Shannon and Joanie. Shannon is really into girls more than guys. Joanie is too, but she likes sex, lots of sex from either sex." We made love this time the way I enjoy by touching and kissing everywhere. When Wanda had come so much that she was pushing me away, I said, "Now I'm going to fill you up with billions of little swimmers that are going to swim up you and crack that egg." Wanda came again as I filled her. "Oh you fucker, I've come so much my stomach hurts. You know how to make me snap." We ignored, or at least I ignored, the wet spot as Wanda was half laying on me as we drifted off. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 55 Oh, my goodness. That is really, really good. Whoa, Nelly, look out here it comes. I raised my hips from the bed as I spewed into a sucking mouth. I put my hand on the head of the sucking mouth and was surprised to feel it wasn't Jan's. I looked at four faces surrounding the bed. Judy pulled off me and said, "I liked that. You're right, Tiani, that is neat." She kissed me and said softly, "I'll do that for you anytime, Chuck." I smiled and asked, "What brings you all here this morning?" Frieda said, "We wanted to see you and wanted to make sure you know how much we want you. We want you to at least wake up to us. I think we want Wanda to wake up to us too." I was given kisses by all five girls, and then Frieda buried her face in Wanda's center, bringing her to orgasm. Wanda stretched and said, "Now that I've had my ashes hauled, perhaps some exercise would be in order." In the gym, the five girls were all trying to tell me that since Tiani and Brandy had told me their master plan, they wanted to assure me their desire to keep their own home didn't mean they really didn't love me. Judy said, "I could never have done what I did this morning with someone I didn't love. You see, we all love you we're just a little different about the way we are." Wanda wanted to know what Judy meant, "What do mean, Judy, what is this master plan?" Frieda said, "Let me. You see, we all really do love Chuck. But, we are all into each other and have been long enough to know it's going to remain that way. Without going into a long story, we own the home we live in and plan on keeping it. We've planned that two of us will be having babies right away and at least one more soon after. The other two will probably wait a while. Now, Brandy wants to live with Chuck all the time, or at least most all the time, and Tiani wants to live with him most of the time too. They still love us, but also love Chuck. We've talked it out over and over again, and we think this will work, that's why this is an experiment right now to see if it will work." Wanda looked at me skeptically, but didn't say anything. Brandy gave me a hug as I finished with my weights. She said, "We're not jealous of you, Wanda, but we have to make sure you are clean. We can't take a chance to have our babies sick." "I'm clean, Honey. I watch out more than you would think and don't get involved, even when I want to." "We'll love you up real good, Wanda. You might even become a part of us." "We'll see. Like you said, you're having an experiment. I hope it works out for you guys." We went out to swim and ended up with everyone from the house swimming with their men as well. Jan's guy was having a difficult time staying soft with the variety displayed there this morning. We had a quick pancake breakfast and headed into work. I had a note to call John and I got his voicemail as he was still in Hawaii. Wanda insisted I go to the Service's doctor to have both wounds checked and to get an x-ray. The doctor's office was out by the trailer park, in the plaza on the other side of it. After his technician took the x-ray, he checked both the stitched up and the unstitched sides. "You heal well. It's good to be young. You do need to learn to stay out of the line of fire, it's healthier. Your ribs look good. The cracks must not have been very deep as I can't see anything." He was looking at my service chart and asked, "I see you were given a flight physical almost a year ago. Did you finish your license?" "Yes Sir." "You need to get your instrument certification now. It will be worth while for you." "I've finished that and have enough hours for my commercial certificate and I can now start on my Certified Flight Instructor's rating so I can begin teaching." "Learning multi-engine?" "Have that, including training in a Lear and a G5. I'll be going to the Lear school weekend after next." "You're a lucky man. I wish I could fly more, but I'm too busy. If I get up six to ten hours a month, I'm happy. I'm going to move my plane up to the little airfield by Lutz, near here. My wife has picked out a new home up here with the highbrows, so while she plays with the country club set, I'll be flying." "That's where I fly out of. I have a plane there as well." "Oh yeah, what kind of plane do you have?" "Actually I have two, a Cessna 206 and Beech B200." "Wow, how did you afford those?" "Both were confiscation's that I bid on. The 200 was a total rat when I bought it, but it's gorgeous now. It has a whole new interior and paint job, along with new instrumentation. Get someone from the Bureau to keep you posted on what's available and try to pick up something that way." "I have a real nice Bonanza, so I really don't need anything else. If I need a bigger airplane, I can rent it. I have my multi-engine rating so all I would need is to get checked out on something like your B200. How do you afford to keep them?" "I let the charter service rent them out and use them for charters. The 206 is popular for short hauls around the state and the B200 is real popular for flights around a thousand miles." The doc nodded in understanding. "I'm going to recommend light duty for another two weeks anyway, but you can do anything you need to do. Just duck better and make sure you're wearing a vest. I'll transmit this to D.C. for you. You've healed a lot faster than could be expected. They're lucky you don't have a workman's comp problem." Since I was so close, I stopped in at the trailer park to say hi. I spoke with Glenda and Martin, Steve's sister, Susan, and his sister in law, Nancy. They insisted I stay for lunch. I asked, "The kids are out of school, where are they?" "All of Steve's kids are with him, and the rest are up at a day camp the clothing company has over at the plant. The little kids have so much fun there that they want to stay all day, and the older ones help out. They'll be home after lunch. They like to eat with their friends. We go up to the pool for a little while in the afternoon, so they have a good time. Some of the boys go over to the ball fields and play ball. Some of the kids play soccer and a lot of them play basketball and tennis. They have a lot to do." Susan wanted to know, "Dennis told us he's moving in a special apartment at your house. What's that about?" "I built on to my house as I needed more garage space. I added on a big garage and built a nice apartment above both garages. There are actually two separate suites, with a common living room and kitchen. You should come take a look." Susan said, "I don't want to pry. I don't want Dennis to think we're spying on him." "Nonsense, Dennis is a good kid or young man, and I know he's having a hard time moving away from home. That just means he loves his folks. He's trying to get his sister to come live with us too." "She needs to get out of the house. All she does is study. She needs some other young people to be around. Her med school stuff is demanding, but she still needs a private life. I'll try to get her to come take a look at your place." Nancy wanted to know what happened to Bobby. I gave her an abridged version, just that she had run into an old flame and had decided to go that route. Nancy made the comment that she had thought we made a good couple. She told Susan, "Get Tina to get in this guy's jeans. He's a nice guy and I'd bet he would be a good guy for her to latch onto." Susan said, "She may like to swing the other way too much. You know how she's been. I think I'll just let her find her own level of happiness. Living in a house full of young people would be fun for her though." Martin had been listening to the conversations and said, "Too bad you live so far away. We all really enjoy you and all your friends. Steve even mentioned that we might have to build you a house out here to get you closer." "I have a nice place, Martin. I come out this way all the time, so I'll visit often." About that time golf carts began pulling up to the patio. The women had been putting out platters of sandwich meats, cheeses, and bread, along with bowls of soup. A couple of dozen people had come in and were eating lunch, talking about work and their lives. This was like a mega-family having a meal together. The big burly guy named Bear came in with Hap, his smaller partner. A girl named Samantha came and sat by me, asking me about my job and what I had been doing. I said, "You sound like some of the news people that corner me all the time." She laughed, "I work for the Tampa Tribune, but I'm really a photographer. I sometimes get bylines from other newspapers." When the lunch crowd had mostly gone, I thanked everyone for lunch and got ready to leave. Susan asked, "If you think it's alright to come by, I'd love to; how about this evening after supper, around seven?" I went out to the air park thinking I could fly a little, but was cornered by John. He wanted to talk. "I was out at the naturist park this weekend and saw the tall lady that comes with you out here. Does she live with you?" "She lives at my house, but she doesn't live with me in the sense that we have a permanent relationship." John was acting like a school kid, "Do you think she would go out with an older guy like me?" "You're not old, John. I'll bet if you ask her, you might be surprised. But she might be too wild for you since she's so much younger than you are." He took a swipe at me in fun. "I'll do that. She works with you too, right?" "Yes sir, she does. She's my office manager." "Is that why she's the one who calls when you have to go?" "She comes with me sometimes, as you know, but yes, that's why." "So I wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes if we were to go out." "Nope, and she is a great gal. You would enjoy her company as I'm sure she would yours." John asked, "So, what are you out here for?" "I thought I might fly a little. I can always use the hours." "You have your hours for your commercial certificate now, you need to come inside and do the test on the computer, then we'll finish with a practical test. I've been giving you oral tests continuously and Lisa said she gave you all three sets of the printed oral exams she had with her. I'm your designated examiner, so let's get with it. The computer test was quick, so when I turned to John, he gave me an evil grin and said, "Let's go flying. We'll take your new bird because I want to watch you do a few things." We only flew for an hour doing some simple maneuvers that were really the same as what had been tested on in the 172. When we landed, John said, "Welcome to S&S Air Charter. We employ some great people that take care of our customers. Star and DeDe will get your education background together so you can work on being certified to teach. They will get you signed up for an internet class and when you finish all that, you can start helping out with classes. You're close." I picked up steaks for supper on the way home, thinking that we haven't had any good meat for a while. I bought twenty nice New York strips, not knowing how many people we would have for supper. While I waited for the rest of the household to arrive, I made a bunch of rice and made sure we had enough broccoli for everyone. We had some mushrooms that I thought I would sauté in garlic and butter for the steaks, so I got those out as well. The first in the door were Jan and her guy, Don. They were both in Gis and I could see they were sweaty. Jan said, "We were both off today and spent the whole day sparring. I'm beat and starved. I'm sure Don is too. Come on, let's get a shower and come back down to help with supper." Dennis and Marie came in, happy that Marie's classes were out for another week before summer session began. I told them Susan wanted to stop by to see the house after supper, and it didn't bother them at all. Marie smiled, knowing that Susan was accepting her. Wanda and Angie showed up, followed by the five girls. I asked if they were staying for supper and they acted as if I had asked a dumb question. I wondered how I was supposed to know what they were going to do. I took a survey to find out how everyone wanted their steak cooked, but Wanda stopped me, "Gym first. Your doc said to make sure you maintained your exercise program. He says that's the reason you heal so fast. Come on, let's workout and swim. Supper will be that much better." My five new girl friends joined Wanda, Marie, Angie, and me in the gym. Dennis still wasn't a believer, but I was sure it wouldn't be long before he would realize how much better he felt after he got in the habit. When we were done inside, the entire household swam hard. There were so many in the pool that it was good that some dropped out early. Don, the martial arts instructor wasn't nearly as strong as Jan, as she stayed with Wanda and me until they both finally drifted to the side of the pool, gasping. The five new girls warily watched us last three swimmers as if we were abnormal or something. The steaks were delicious, with everyone getting their fill. We had just finished cleaning up the kitchen when Susan, Kevin, Tina, Nancy, and Henry rang the doorbell. When that bunch was added to the group already in the family room, we had the makings of a party. Marie and Angie grabbed Tina and showed her the two suites that were now empty. The adults followed along so they could see the house as well. The study room and the media room were popular, and they were impressed by how large the suites were. After checking out the whole house, including the master suite, the mass of humanity moved to the stairway in the main garage to go up to the apartment. Marie showed Susan their private area and then opened the sliding doors to give them the feeling of the openness the porch provided. Having the stairway in the back, with separate entrances to the apartments, provided privacy to the units. Susan said to Kevin, "This would have been a great place when we were in school. It's private, but it's still all together. The way they eat together is like at home, there's just not as many." Nancy asked Brandy and the four girls who obviously huddled together with her, "Do all of you stay here all the time?" The girls looked at each other and Frieda answered, "No, Brandy stays most of the time and Tiani stays a lot too. The rest of us stay only some of the time. Chuck is only one man, so we have to pace him." The answer was so direct, Henry began laughing before saying, "Well, Chuck, I guess they let that cat out of the bag. If you were trying to hide your harem, it's too late." Brandy spoke up, "It really is his harem, and we all gladly serve him. We just hope he doesn't get tired of having five of us." Little Tiani was grinning, "I'm small enough he can keep me in his pocket as a spare. Monster Frieda's the one who has to be careful." Frieda picked up little Tiani and spanked her cute bottom as the girls bantered. We went back to the family room and kitchen area where I made drinks or got beer for everyone. We chatted for a while, then Kevin said to Susan, "Have you snooped enough, or did you want to test drive Chuck?" "Oh you, Kevin, the way you talk, you'd think I was loose." Kevin said, "Well, he does have a hot tub, so he could get you looser with a couple of more drinks and some time in the hot tub." Susan whacked him on the arm. Tina said, "Mom and Dad are always fooling around like that. They're probably the most conservative of the bunch out at the park. Would you guys mind if I came back this evening and stayed over a couple of nights. I have a few days off before I have class and duty again. I'd like to get the feel of the house, if you wouldn't mind." Jan took her hand and said, "Come stay with us, you'll like it here." The trailer park folks left, and Jan was huddling with my five new women. Something was up, but I wouldn't know what until they decided to let me in on it. Jan and Don went upstairs with Dennis and Marie following them. Angie was in the living room watching TV with Wanda. The five were all busy with washing clothes and doing some minor housekeeping. Nancy came to me and said, "You know, you don't have to have someone come in to clean and do your clothes. We can do that and we would really rather do it." I said, "Maria needs the work too, and she takes care of the whole house, not just me. I can tell her that you will do my stuff, but that's up to you. She is thorough and does a very good job." The five huddled together and Judy talked for the group. "She's fine, we just like to do for you. We'll do your shirts and wash your pants. We noticed that she doesn't iron your jeans, we'll make sure they're washed and ironed." Okay, so now I know they like to check out my clothes. Little Tiani came and said, "We found out you really have a mail order degree, you know, from when you were in the military. Is it a real degree?" Wanda had heard and said, "It's a University of Maryland degree. It's a nationally accredited school and the degree is recognized everywhere. If he wanted to apply for graduate school, I'm sure he would be accepted." It's funny because each subject I was questioned on was discussed by the group after they had an answer. It was Brandy's turn. "We need to figure out how to get you a degree from Florida. We're all Florida graduates and Dad would like that a lot." I asked, "Is that how you met?" They were all bobbing their heads. Brandy said, "We were in a dorm together the first year. That's how we got together. We got an apartment together our sophomore year. We've been together since." "How did you guys all get jobs at the employment office at the same time?" Nancy answered, "We went to a job fair and Metarie had a place for all of us. She thought it was cute that we were all college buddies still living together. It was when we first were hired that the good luck we told you about came along." Brandy said, "We were living at my house, so Mom and Dad were happy for us to move out." The doorbell rang so I welcomed Tina back. The girls hauled her and her bag to one of the rooms where they made her comfortable. When they returned, Frieda said, "Let's use the hot tub, that would hit the spot." She began stripping in front of us. Angie giggled and followed along with the other four girls. Wanda stood and said, "That's why I love these shifts," and pulled it over her head to display that she was nude underneath. I said I would be back and went into the bedroom to take off my leg and strip. I had taken off my clothes and leg and slipped on my other leg when Brandy came and got me before I could put on a robe. She pulled me out and said, "Maybe you'll have another lady. She's cute." The girls and Tina were already in the tub, so I slid in, happy that the tub was as large as it was. Tina asked, "Do Marie and Dennis use this too?" Angie said, "Yes, I should go get them. I think we can get two more in here." Tina said, "Let them be, I want to enjoy all of you together. This is a nice place." Tina was between Frieda and Nancy, so I knew the two were thinking it was an easy conquest. My supposed lovers, alternate wives, or whatever, were zeroing in on some new lady. I think I might be the odd man out most of the time with these girls. But since Brandy and Tiani were playing with me under water, I didn't feel unwanted, but wondered about the girls. The girls brought out a pile of towels, so when we got out, Tina was next to me and said, "I always wanted to get Uncle Steve naked and now I have his friend. I kind of get excited seeing how manly you are. Am I being too forward, Chuck? I do like the idea of you not being bashful and your ladies not being the jealous type." Little Tiani said, "We share, but mostly we like to play together." "Ooh, I get what you mean. My, oh my, a real man and five toys, all in the same place?" Frieda laughed, "And to think we were looking at you as a toy." Tina said, "I'm glad we're all adults and not afraid of what we want and like. Can Chuck take care of all of us?" Wanda said, "I wish." Brandy nudged her, "You can join us any time, Wanda. We'll even get him ready. You'll know how much we like you and want you to be as happy as Chuck is. Come on, Tina, let's get you comfortable so you can see how you like Chuck." My, oh my, everyone is being pretty forward. I locked up, went to the bathroom, washed up, and brushed my teeth. When I came in the bedroom there was an orgy on the bed. The five girls had Wanda and Tina spread out, devouring them. I sat in the nice stuffed chair in the corner of the room to watch. Brandy noticed me and came over to kiss me and kneel between my legs. Once I was rigid, she turned and sat on me, enjoying riding up and down. When she had shuddered and shivered, she pulled off and kissed me, then smacked Tiani on the butt. "Your turn." Tiani's lips tasted like pussy, but she was equally wet. She had me buried in her in seconds. She rode up and down a little more frantically, trying to get off quick. I used my fingers to stimulate her as she rode. That did the trick as she began shaking and whimpering in her classic orgasm. Tiani relaxed back against my chest and sighed, "Good, very good." When she pulled off I noticed Nancy watching, waiting. She was on me in a flash, sliding down on me, taking me deep. Instead of facing away, Nancy faced me and enjoyed the slow ride up and down. She kissed me and I alternated between her lips and nipples. When her body began convulsing, I used a finger to stimulate her clit to send her into orgasm. I was able to satisfy Frieda and Judy the same way until Brandy pulled me to the bed. She whispered just so Tina and I could hear, "Fuck her, Chuck, fill her with your magic. Make love to her." She didn't need much prep as she had been coming non-stop for almost forty minutes. She wanted me inside her, but I wanted to taste her lips, nipples, and her now well prepared center. When I did begin to slide in, she groaned loudly and held me close with her arms and legs. I must have been what she needed as she loved the slow movement I started with. After she had come repeatedly, she tried to push me off, "Too much, too much, stop." She was still kissing me when I pulled from her, but Wanda pushed me over and impaled herself on me, going to the bottom on the first stroke. Tina wouldn't give up my lips and was trying to help Wanda get off as she rode up and down. I was beginning to tingle, but knew I was good to go for a while longer. Wanda finally sprawled out saying, "Now use me, use one of us and finish, fill one of us, give us all you have." Nancy slid next to Wanda and pulled me on top of her. "Fill me, Chuck, let me feel it in me. Let me feel you deep in me when you let loose." As soon as I was seated in Nancy, she went wild underneath me. As I stroked into her, the other girls were kissing me, holding me, and touching me, encouraging me to let loose. When I groaned, "I'm coming, I'm coming," Nancy's legs locked around me as she screamed her pleasure. Her repeated "Yes, yes, yes," made me spray her insides until it was leaking out. Nancy held me tight, kissing me over and over again. When we began relaxing, she whispered into my ear, "Oh please, make it be, please make my baby." My dick wanted to spring back up, but I was being held so tightly I couldn't get enough circulation. When I was up on my hands and knees, still connected, Nancy was grinning at me. She said louder this time, "I think that was a good one. I hope I was ready." The girls were all kissing Nancy and me. Tina lay on top of me and said, "Can I have more of this, or is this just part of a welcome package?" Brandy hugged her and said, "Anytime you want, Tina. If we can get him excited, we'll all have him." Tiani was trying to swallow me whole, but couldn't get the last couple of inches down her throat. I had regained a full erection and said, "Take it easy Tiani, no one ever said you needed to deep throat me." She pulled off me with drool dripping off her chin, "I know, but I love the juice you leak when you're hard. I thought I could give you a treat and do like that movie." I've just had a treat. I think having seven ladies in my bed is a treat. Wanda said, "You would have been a hit when my husband and I used to go to swing parties. You could have done them all and still wanted more." Tina said, "You'll have to go with Uncle Steve and them up to the hot tub. Denny and I have watched them up there and they really get wild. I know they all like you, so you would be popular. My mom and dad even do crazy stuff with some of the others like Tiny and Ruth. None of them do that stuff a lot, just sometimes on weekends; especially after they've been out riding on their motorcycles." Tiani said, "Now that I have this ready, who wants it?" Brandy said, "It's mine. We need to get to sleep. Come on, snuggle up everyone. Let's see if we can get eight in a bed." Wanda said, "I have a perfectly good king size down the hall. Perhaps some of us should adjourn down that way." Wanda, Frieda, Judy, and Tina, left leaving me with Tiani, Brandy, and Nancy. Brandy was sitting astride me. She rose up, moved her hips around, and slid down on me. She leaned down to put a fat nipple in my mouth, pulled it free, and put the mate in my mouth. She repeated that several times as she rode up and down. Nancy and Tiani were on either side of me kissing me, petting us. As my insides sides said that I was getting ready, I moved to put Brandy on her back. Brandy moved with me then pushed me out and directed me into Nancy. "Fill her again. Make sure. Put it all in her." The thought that I might really be impregnating a woman scared the shit out of me, as well as excited me to the extreme. The kissing and whispering continued until I stiffened and began dumping what felt like an even larger load into the dark-skinned beauty. When I was empty, I tried to pull out, but Nancy only rolled me to the side, keeping me connected. She kissed so softly, so sweetly. She had watery eyes as she whispered, "I love you, Chuck, I really do love you." With Brandy hugging my back and Tiani hugging Nancy's, I drifted off thinking, 'This has really been a nutty night.' Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 56 I woke up with the thought of 'did I really make Nancy pregnant?' Was she really ready? Would they really do that? That line of thought would have continued except that a mouth was slowly sucking me. It felt very, very good, but different than Jan and different from yesterday morning. I petted the head of the sucker. Short hair, a smile on her face. Oh my, so good. As I got closer and closer, a dark face appeared over me to smile at me and give me a kiss. When I was swelling to let loose, the lips came off me and Nancy straddled me, sliding down on me then pumping her hips to finish me off. I launched a good morning load into Nancy once again. That's three in less than twelve hours. If I'm not shooting blanks and if she's ready, the deed is probably done. Once again, I was treated to multiple kisses and I found out who had been prepping me. It had been Brandy. She was grinning from ear to ear and asked, "Did I do a good job? I could even feel when you were going to let loose. That was fun and the stuff you leak tastes pretty good." Tiani said, "I taught her. I had to show her again just a little, but she was determined. We'll teach her to do it good. We'll take care of you." I had no doubt of that. This was a crazy place. "How about a swim? You guys make my legs rubbery every morning, and I can hardly do any Tae Chi feeling like that." We went out to the pool and were joined by Wanda and friends. As I lazily swam up and down the pool, Tina swam up to me and said, "Thank you for inviting me last night. It is very special to be around a bunch of like minded ladies. My schedule is too busy for much fun, but if it were right here, I might get to enjoy more of it. Can I move in here? I'll be pretty boring, but I will be a good housemate." Wanda said, "You sure can. I'll get you a key and you can move in today. I'll have to teach you about the alarm system, but it's easy. Chuck will figure out which slot you can park in. The boyfriends will have to figure out where to park, as I think there is space for only eight cars and Chuck has two." Brandy said, "Take your Mustang out to the house. Daddy has a giant building with his toys in it. He would let you park your car out there." "We'll figure something out. You know, Angie will probably want to buy a car one of these days so we'll have to figure on that too." We had a big breakfast and left for our offices. The girls had all brought their clothes to dress at our place this morning. I guess we had an "our" place and a "their" place. About noon, Metarie called and said, "Take a long lunch today. Come by Reggie's for lunch, I want to talk to you." Seeing Metarie was almost like business, so I didn't feel guilty about taking a long lunch. When we were eating a great soupy roast beef sandwich, covered with gravy, Metarie asked, "What are you doing with my girls? All five of them are acting like high school kids, except they're not talking about whatever it is they are happy about." "I'll tell you, Metarie, but you have to let them tell you in time." "I'll keep quiet, but I'm just concerned for them, especially Nancy and Tiani, because they can be taken advantage of so easily." "Not to worry, I don't think." I continued with a statement and not a question, "I think you know a little of their history from Florida and their lifestyle." Metarie said, "I do, but I keep thinking they're over that and have gone to find other men." "This is kind of off the wall, but Brandy wants me to be like her husband. At the same time the five of them all want to be my wives together. The way they've made me understand it, what's happening is that Brandy will be with me almost all the time, with Tiani also staying with me most of the time. The other three will circulate in and out as the need and whim hits them. They have promised that they are all available and willing to join me on demand or request." I let what I had said soak in while I took another bite, then added, "They are very firm in their belief this will work. They have some personal goals they want to work out within our relationship. Right now we are supposed to be experimenting to see if we are compatible and whether we will work out together." Metarie looked at me, "I can imagine what some personal goals are. Nancy wants a baby and she'll damn near do anything to get one. Are you willing to give her what she wants?" "I may not have a choice." "That could be, but you can always abstain." I thought Reggie was going to spit across the table. Metarie said, "Stop it, Reggie, this is serious. Just think of sweet little Nancy getting pregnant by this man. He can say no." I told Metarie, "We've done a lot of talking about it, Metarie, but they sort of waited to tell me the whole plan." Metarie asked, "So what's this about being like a husband to Brandy." I shrugged, "As close as I can tell, it means that she will be with me all the time or at least almost all the time. She does not wish to get married and is very firm about that. If any of them would get married it would be Tiani or Frieda. Do I think this will work? Who knows, but we can only hope and be patient." "I need to know whether the girls will continue to work for me. Will they decide to be housewives or just mothers? What do you think?" "Metarie, right now, they will continue to be your employees. They have even said that their kids will need to know the value of employment." She was shaking her head, "That's all I need is to have those five come up with babies, to all be unwed mothers. They are all nuts, totally nuts, but they have always been off the wall. Keep me posted, let me know if something goes wrong. Um, I'm not supposed to know, but I do know the five have some money from somewhere. I think I know, but I do know they own that big house free and clear, and it's in all their names. I know they are very much into each other, but are not radical or militant lesbians. I guess that's obvious. You've been the surprise when it comes to those five. Please, take care of them and be patient with them. They are all precious to me." "I know, Metarie, they are to me too. We've had some good times and I look forward to more. I think I have to do what they ask, to see if the experiment works out." "And meanwhile, I'd bet Nancy is doing everything in her power to get pregnant." "We'll see." Since we were down by the clothes warehouse, Metarie and I stopped in. I bought some slacks, a few sport coats, and a dozen shirts. The way I wrecked clothes, I was barely keeping up. While they did the alterations, I got some shoes, several ties, another belt, and even found another sport coat that fit great right off the rack. I used the credit card as I had no idea how much I had in my checking account. I went back to the office and was told to get out as I was still on half days for at least another month. That wouldn't last, there's no way I could go that long without something coming up. I decided to take my clothes home and get the amps to a place I had found out about. Tina was at the house, sunbathing in the nude out by the pool. I waved and she wasn't bashful at all. I put the clothes in the closet and loaded the two amps. The shop where I took them had guitars and basses hanging from the ceiling in groups of classics. There was every kind of classic guitar and bass available in what looked like perfect condition. The man had the fronts off the amps in a second and was testing the cones. He measured the cones and gave me a price. He said he would go over both amps, give me two sets of tubes and replace the cones for a very good price. I said to do the work. He smiled, "I don't work for just anybody. Jimmy said you were okay, but you gotta play for me to see, to hear." He took a nice old Strat fretless down and handed it to me and pointed to a big bass amp. There was a row of effects on the floor, all labeled. It took me a little to get the guitar tuned, and I was soon able to find how to set the controls. I did some standard bass string pulling, then progressed to some walking with my right hand. I soon had the sustain and the sensitivity up and began playing with just my left hand until I began to make it sing. I made music by playing only the bass part. I couldn't tell whether someone else could tell where the riff was going, but I was satisfied. When I was done he reached out his hand, took the bass and handed me an old Gibson Les Paul. It wasn't tuned either, but he did hand me an electronic tuner. This was easier, as all I had to do was to do a couple of copycat riffs that would sound good with little effort. The more I played, the more my own style came out until I was playing with my eyes closed, sliding my fingers on the frets. I stopped, opened my eyes and took the guitar off. "Sorry, I got lost in there somewhere. Nice guitar." "You got it, man. That's the way it should be. Get lost in the music. Jimmy said you and a chic did some awesome jammin with the boys. He said they might release a recording of it. That's a compliment like you wouldn't believe. I'll get these fixed up. If you have any axes that need work, bring em. That's what I do, man." Funny, I had not played any music for years and years and now I'm thinking that I want to play more. I wonder if a decent keyboard would be expensive. A nice set of drums would be good too but where could I put those. I could turn the media room into a music room. The audio and video stuff could go into the living room or the family room. There is a big music store that advertises new and used instruments on the way to the air park so I stopped in. They had some decent keyboards, but I wanted to get one with a decent Rhodes sound and possibly a B-3 sound too. I didn't like the three octave keyboards. I wanted a full keyboard with all eighty-eight keys. A man who obviously didn't know anything about pianos or keyboards waited on me and said he didn't have any used ones but had a new Roland that I thought was really expensive. He said, the Rhodes only had a sixty-six key keyboard, you could do with one like that. I said to him, not to embarrass him, but to be informative, "Actually, the most popular Fender Rhodes model was the 88 with 88 keys. When Columbia bought out Fender Electronics, they did produce some other sizes like the early 61 key similar to the harpsichord, and when Fender bought Rhodes they made the 70, 73, and model 74. All model numbers were for the key sizes back then. Now that division was bought by a company by the name of Helpinstil, I think." The guy looked at me with that glazed, too much information, look. I thought I could wait for a toy like that. Possibly ebay, there might be a deal there. On the way home, I wanted to figure on something good to eat, so I went by a little meat market I had seen. I bought a bunch of ribs, along with some chickens and some wings. At home, I rubbed the ribs down real quick with some spices and put them on the grille at the lowest temperature. The grille is a big one with three burners, so I put the center one on low and turned off the two outer burners and that's where I put the ribs. I skinned the chicken, spiced them up with some Cajun pepper, and put them on a spit to turn slowly. I took my time with the wings as I would do them on the direct heat. I made half to taste like fire and the other half to be normal. While the ribs and chicken were cooking, I ran up to the grocery store for some hot Greek peppers and another case of beer. It would be almost two hours before the ribs would be ready, so I made about half the wings as I was hungry. With them out on the bar, and an ice cold beer, I snacked before the crowd began coming home. While I was waiting, I changed clothes, slipped on my peg, and put my new clothes in order. I would have to get my shirts washed, and after shining my shoes, everything was neat and ready. The girls were all home first tonight. They began sampling the wings as soon as they saw them. I asked if they were up for the gym and all agreed they should work out. They disappeared into the bedroom, but Tiani and Nancy came back, each carrying a new sport coat. "Hey, you went shopping without us. You can't do that. We have to pick out your clothes." "Are those all right?" "Well, yeah," Nancy said. "Then next time I will. I didn't know you liked to shop for me." Tiani said, "Okay, but I'll bet you went to the warehouse. We need to go there too, as they have women's suits cheap." Brandy came in with Frieda and dragged me toward the gym room. Frieda said, "What did you tell Mrs. White? When she came back from lunch she was staring at all of us and admitted she had been to lunch with you." "The truth, I told her that you girls were all going to be my harem. Brandy was going to be my closest wife, with Tiani staying here about as much. I was honest with her and told her it was an experiment. We were testing the waters." "You didn't tell her about Nancy did you?" "What about Nancy?" Frieda said, "You know, about getting her pregnant." "Did I? Did I make her pregnant?" Brandy said, "You better have. She's all upset that you might not finish the job." Frieda said to Brandy, "We'll tie him down and let her sit on him every couple hours for the next couple of weeks. We'll get her caught one way or another." "Why is it so important Nancy get pregnant?" Brandy said, "Her sister died last year and she wants a baby so her mom will be happy again. She says a baby will bring her mom back to life." "How's her mom going to feel when a little baby pops out and is part white?" "She's light-skinned so it won't make much difference, but her mom will know you're the daddy. We're bringing her over later tonight to meet you. She wants her mom to know we're all going to be your harem. I like harem instead of wives better. Having a bunch of wives sounds dirty, sort of illegal. Having a harem sounds manly, sexy." We exercised and were joined by Wanda and Angie. Tiani, Judy, and Nancy finally came in to use the treadmills and bike for a while, but not for long. We went out to get into the pool and I stopped to put the rest of the wings on. They all liked the broiled hot wings that were not deep fried. Tina came out and swam with us. She said, "I like all this naked stuff. I love to take my clothes off. I like what we did last night too." After getting out of the pool, I kept checking on the ribs and chicken while we snacked on wings. We made some potato salad and warmed up some baked beans to get ready for the ribs. Don and Jan came in from the Dojo about the time the food was done. I had not noticed that Nancy had left and returned, as I was pulling the food off the grille. Her mom was with her. Nancy's mother was a very attractive lady with nice hair and a very nice figure. Everyone welcomed her and she even felt comfortable enough to have a drink. I made everyone except Nancy a drink. She said, "I may be with child and I don't want to hurt it." Nancy's mom would have dropped her teeth if they had been false. She gasped so loud she sucked all the air out of the room. Nancy went to hug her and said, "That pretty white boy and I are going to make a beautiful baby." I must have been blushing as she said, "Your pretty white boy is more like a redskin." Nancy said, "He just don't know me yet, Ma. You know me, I'm not bashful when I want something. He can tell you, Ma, I wasn't bashful at all." I cautioned, "Now hush, Nancy, you'll embarrass me if you talk like that." "Well, don't cha think we'll make a pretty baby?" Mrs. Atom said, "What are you going to do about a name? Your name's going to be wrong if your baby takes your man's name." "I'll change mine if necessary, Mom." "Why won't he marry you?" "Nope, none of us are going to marry him. We're all going to be his harem wives. If any one of us marries him, it's going to be Brandy or Tiani. You know the rest of us will be happy not being married." Nancy's mom said, "How come you can still be like that, like that kind of stuff, but want to be a harem wife and make babies. Something's wrong with this approach." "Eat up, Mom, my man made us some good food. Eat." Soon there was a pile of bones where all the ribs had been. We even ate the two chickens down to the bones. We were all full, but not overly so. All the girls except Brandy got up to leave. Nancy asked, "Would you mind doing the dishes? We want to take mom to the house. We'll see you in the morning. Oh yeah, come to think of it, we might be back later." Brandy was in a great mood. I asked her what was making her so happy. She said, "I talked to my financial advisor today. He has made some investments that have really paid off." "You already have a lot of money so why would that make you happy?" "He was telling me about a new client he has. He was bragging on how much he had already made this new client and how he had gone from just a regular deputy marshal to an important deputy marshal in a very short time and that this man had an enormous amount of money. More than each of us has individually. The way the man, Ben Phillips, kept referring to this guy, it has to be you." I frowned. "This is great. Now we never have to worry that you will like us only for our money. Don't you see? It's like the perfect scenario. If you have money, ours won't be important to you. You must think you have to work to be happy, because you are still working. That's important to us. The other girls don't know about this, but I want to tell them. Can I? I know it will make them all even happier." "If you do, they have to keep it quiet. I can't tell anyone where I got it, and I would prefer no one knows that I even have it." "I promise and I know they will too. Can't you see how perfect this is?" "I guess, it's weird, is all. You girls are all nuts. Or maybe I am." We were sitting in the living room when I heard my cell go off. I quickly went into the bedroom to answer it. It was John. He said, "Sorry about this, but you're going to have to get on your horse and get out to San Diego again. One of the judges who had been threatened is out there and it looks like at least one of our guys is dead and an agent also. You're going to need help, so get somebody you can trust. This won't be nice either. I'll try to get out there to help, but I have to kiss ass all day tomorrow. You need to get out there as fast as possible before we lose anyone else." I said, "Give me some details, what am I running into?" John said, "A big shot drug guy decided he didn't want to be in jail and tried to break out. He became neutralized, but his father is now on the warpath. The Bureau and the Service are working together and I thought you might get Homeland involved, perhaps even those Pendleton troops. I already called out to the base commander to advise him that we may need some of his troops for a support training excercise." "Can't the agencies out there just cut them off at the border?" "The bad guys are trying to organize a bunch of gangbangers like before." "If the guy's dead, what are they going to do? Get his body out of jail?" John said, "That and try to kill those that were involved in his son's death." "John, give me some contact numbers so I can talk to people before I get there or even leave here." John gave me a bunch of telephone numbers of contacts out there. I began calling to see what information I could get. I talked to the Station Chief and the Bureau Chief and neither one gave me definitive reasons to even pack a bag. I knew there was more there but I needed to know what was happening. I remembered someone who could help me. Hal answered his cell phone on the first ring. "This is Hal." "Hal, this is Chuck Johnson, can you tell me what's really going on out there? Is it serious, is it life threatening?" "God, it's good to hear from you. Yes, it is serious, and yes it is life threatening. We've lost a border patrol agent and we lost one of ours. The Bureau has a man down and we have a couple of men with minor wounds. We're getting shot at from strange locations and places you wouldn't suspect. I've heard the Cuevos have hired a bunch of trained Mexican army types to act as snipers. Can you help us? This is serious." I was thinking as fast as I could, "Tell you what. I'll get out there as soon as I can. Make sure everyone keeps their head down and pays attention to their surroundings. Carry the message back that they are not to take chances. I'll be there by morning, one way or another. I have to round up some help and I'll get out of here." Dave answered on the first ring too. "I know this is late but I need a sidekick and back up out in San Diego. I'm hoping to get some help from Pendleton, but you never know. The government might not accept that we are doing a training exercise. It's not going to be nice. Can you do it?" "I'll be ready in an hour. Can I check out any weapons for us?" "Good idea. Have Sarah take you to the station and get a couple of MP5s and one of the 308s. Make sure you get five magazines for each of the MP5s and about two dozen rounds for the 308. I saw some clip pouches, so get those with some combat vests. I'll get a plane going." I called John direct instead of the charter office. "John, I need to be in San Diego by morning, earlier if possible. What can you do for me?" He didn't mince words, he just said, "I'll call you back." When he called back he asked, "Are you going to be able wrap this up so you can make the Spain trip?" "I better, that would be far too long for what this is going to be." "Okay, get out here. I'll have something warmed up for you when you get here. I'll get you there as fast as possible." I turned to see Wanda with a packed bag. She said, "I've put khakis, jeans, and boots in there. Wear some slacks with dress shoes and a decent shirt and you'll be fine. Make sure you wear your vest." Brandy and Tiani were standing there watching with a look of apprehension. I gave each a kiss and told them not to worry. If everything went the way it should, I would be home day after tomorrow. I showered quickly and dressed in some decent pants and a knit shirt. Out at my car, Brandy kissed me again and hugged me. She said, "I don't feel good about this. I know I don't know what's going to happen but I don't feel good about it at all. Please be careful. We've just about worked this out and you may be a dad. The kid will need his dad. Come home." At the station, Dave was standing at the back door with Sarah. They embraced and I knew he was going through the same thing I just had. I told him to drive so I could make a call while we drove out to the air park. Thank goodness I had stored the telephone number when I had originally gotten it. "Major Selby." "Major, Chuck Johnson the Deputy Marshal, again." "Need some people hauled to Colorado?" "Something a little tougher. Have you been keeping up with the nonsense that's been going on with the South of the border gangs?" "I keep hearing about people getting shot. How does that affect you?" "Kind of the same thing as we did before, but no visible force. They have snipers that are trained Mexican army rangers. I need trained men to search out from our federal building until they find the source of our trouble. If we can capture a couple of them, we should be able to find out where they are headquartered and then I can go in and take them. I have to make sure your men are not in danger as it would look really bad for you guys to have casualties on our own soil." The Major commented, "Especially if it were by some illegals that are AWOL from the Mexican army. Are you here in San Diego?" "No, I've just heard about this and am on the way to a charter. I'll be there tonight sometime. I'm in Tampa, around four hours away, I think." "Do you have a contact that I can get in touch with and have some men begin searching?" "Yeah, I do. His name is Hal and he's an old pro. I'll make him the liaison between you and the Service. Can you get away with your guys wearing civies?" "No sweat, we'll make it an urban training mission. Uh, we'll keep anyone we get in a command truck until you get here. The way you are thinking is probably the way we'll work it. We'll take four teams and circle out. We should have something fairly fast." "Thanks, Major, you are a life saver." "No sweat, you gave all my men and the transportation group a Homeland commendation and I think you've helped me toward that silver leaf that's so hard to get." "Good, I'll help some more. This is important to get in and get out. I want to clean this up out there so others won't be so interested in messing with us." The Major said, "Let me go. I'll get this going quickly. I have antsy men just dying to do something. It will be fun." We were pulling into the air park and I directed Dave to the air charter office. We pulled our gear and luggage from the car to haul it to the Lear that was sitting with the engines already at idle. We stowed our gear but I had to run back to the car to get my vest and extra magazines for my Glock. I made sure Dave was buckled up in one of the communication seats and slid into the right seat. John said, "I'll bet you had something to drink tonight didn't you?" "I did." "Thank goodness I didn't. I'll let you do the deed in this thing, but you have to fly from the right seat. How much did you have to drink?" "A drink before supper and a beer while I ate." "So two hours ago?" "Over that." "You should be good. Let's go." Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 57 Flying from the right seat was not much different than from the left except for the perspective and reversing which hand did what. The plane handled the same and felt the same, just from across the cockpit. On the way out west, John was right back to the quizzes on the G5. Man, I don't think I'll ever fly with him without him teaching the whole way. He was determined to teach me to be a good pilot and teacher. Dave was comfortable enough to make us coffee and fetch water for us. He said he was chatting with Sarah on the computer, so he was enjoying the ride. As soon as we landed, Hal was waiting for us. He picked us up and drove to an old warehouse that was near the federal building. Inside was a large enclosed military command truck plus a bunch of Humvees. There were some Suburbans from the Marshal Service and the Bureau, so the troops were gathering. Major Selby greeted me, "Hey, Johnson, good to see you again. You had it down my man. We've picked up three sets of snipers. They were surprised to be found since they thought they were well hidden and they weren't even watching their backsides. Of course, my men can walk up on a mouse. Your men and the Bureau are questioning them right now. They've been coming out every fifteen minutes or so and it's about time for them to take a break." A radio began some chatter and the Major answered the call. He looked up and said, "Damn, a team closing in on a couple of snipers was made. They were fired on. They're fine, but they can't close in. They have the sniper team pinned down so they can't move. Think I should call in some air support?" "Let me change and get Dave and me out there. I'll see if there's another way." I changed into jeans and a heavy shirt with my vest on the outside, along with the combat vest. Dave and I hung our extra ammo on, patted ourselves down, jumped up and down to make sure we didn't jingle and turned to the Major. "You two have done this before. Nice to know you learned something," he said with a laugh. We were driven to the location in a Suburban as the Humvee was a little too obvious. We talked to the team that had made initial contact with the snipers, before we circled the snipers to see if we could get in close. I told Dave, "Tell you what, if I go up the fire escape, as long as I stay low, they can't get a shot. You and another rifle get in opposing positions so if they stick their heads up, you can convince them to stay down. When I get into position, I'll offer them a chance to live and see what happens. Ah, if you have to shoot, make it count. Make sure the team guy knows how it works. Just tell him any rounds that find their mark will be ours." Dave said, "I should do the climbing and you do the marksman shit. I have both legs." "I have the rank and it's my job. Be a good backup sidekick. You know the score." I only had to climb the ladder from the last floor to the roof. I slid over the edge of the building and went down prone on the roof. I had to crawl with my rifle to a steel air duct about thirty feet to the side, but it got me closer to the hidden snipers. When I was in position, I flashed my light back at the command team and hollered. "Give yourself up. You're surrounded and will only live if you give yourself up. Toss your weapons out and put your hands on top of your head. Do it now before we begin killing you." There was a lot of moving around noises coming from where the snipers were. I could hear them whispering, arguing about what to do. One of the snipers tossed his gun out butt first standing up with his hands on his head. He cautiously took a few steps toward me. I yelled, "Move forward two more steps and lay flat on the roof with your hands out in front of you." The man was taking the second step when the other sniper rose and put a burst into the back of the man who was giving up and put two bursts into the metal vent in front of me. I felt a burning in my thigh. Fucking great, another fucking wound. The sniper who killed his partner and fired at me didn't live two full seconds after firing his first burst. Dave and the Marine made direct hits on the guy. Bang, bang, just like that it was over. My thigh wasn't throbbing, so I knew I didn't have an arterial wound. I kept looking around to make sure there wasn't anyone else up here with me. Something felt wrong, like I was being watched, so I flattened out and crawled closer to a wall where I could see in three directions, but not directly ahead. I was hoping Dave still had me in his sights and was searching around me. I heard a movement on the other side of the wall where I was. I pulled my Glock as the MP5 was too hard to move around without making noise. There was a slight scraping that was closer to the edge of the corner of the wall where I was. I moved back quickly and just as I went around the corner, a muzzle came around the corner and an automatic, something that sounded like an Uzi, fired blindly. Zing. A round hit my fake leg. Hope it didn't hurt it. I stayed perfectly still waiting. I heard a movement then a rapid movement. I came around the wall low and saw a man was standing, holding the small automatic rifle sideways, trying to pull the trigger. I fired three times to the body and three times to head as he was falling. I lay flat on the ground waiting for something else. Dave was at the edge of the roof. "You okay? I didn't see the other guy." "There may be more. I can't tell. We should have a radio so we know when the team is sweeping the place." "They are coming up the stairs. Let me get in position, so we can sweep the place without exposing ourselves." "Careful, if they work in pairs, we're missing one. If he's here, he's waiting for us." "Johnson," a voice called from where the stairs were. I yelled back. "Stay down. We're missing a man out here somewhere. No chances. Stay down and we'll sweep toward you from both sides." I rolled across the roof to lie next to Dave. "Listen, we have to get past each obstruction, so watch carefully. There is just enough light for us to see, so that means they can see too. Let's go, one at a time. One of us covers, the other kicks them out." I said, "I'll bird dog, my rifle is under the dead guy." I remembered I had shot six rounds, so I exchanged magazines so I had fifteen in the magazine and one in the chamber. Dave was up on one knee with his rifle ready to sweep in either direction as I threw gravel on one side of a large vent and dove around the other side. As I was on the roof, I heard a scraping sound in front of me, about twenty feet away. I waved at Dave and pointed. I gave hand motions to move around to the side. With practiced skill, he moved silently toward the area where he would have a good view of anyone moving. I crept in a quiet duck walk to keep low around the edge of a small wall barrier. Doing a duck walk with a lower leg prosthesis is a practiced art. The military rehab people made me do a lot of duck walking. I picked up a handful of gravel and tossed it into the air so it would come down on whoever was behind the metal vent. The noise of the gravel hitting the vent was enough to make the guy break. He rose, firing his rifle right at me. I fired four rounds at the guy while Dave hit him with a quick burst. The guy was down, but I was hit again. Damn, this one hurt. It was then I realized I was hit in the vest, thank God. It sure did hurt though. Dave hollered for the Marines on the stairs and they stormed the roof, looking everywhere. One of the Marines had a radio, so Dave asked him to advise his command we had four down and a wounded friendly. I went to Dave. "Where're you hit. Let me see, where, Dave? Jesus, I didn't mean to get you hurt." "Not me, you jerk, you. You're bleeding on your arm and I can see a stain on your pants. Look at your vest. You have a round buried in it, you lucky fucker. You're alive so let's get you taped up." I walked downstairs on my own and was hustled back to the command center where a corpsman patched my leg by removing a small piece of metal of the vent from the wound and bandaged me. I told the corpsman I would take off my shirt since I didn't want to rip it up because I needed it for a while. As soon as it was off, he said, "Looks like you have a hole where your other hole was and you have another scrape on the other arm that is still bandaged. You, my friend, should get out of the field. This is getting close." I pulled up my pants leg to check my stalk and heard the corpsman, "Oh fuck. Hey, Major, this guys got a metal leg. What's he doing in combat?" "This isn't combat. This is civilian law enforcement." "Hell if isn't combat. There are rounds going off, people getting wounded and people dying. That's combat." The Major came over and looked at the nick on my stalk and said, "This is what happens to Special Ops guys when they get sent home. Is he fit for duty?" The corpsman was finished patching me and said, "He'll need some stitches, but he'll be alright for now. I'm waiting for him to come down and go into shock." Dave said, "You'll wait till hell freezes over. Once you've been through it several times, you don't get the rush too bad until it's all over. There is still more to be done, so he's still ready." The Bureau Chief came out of the command van and said, "We know where and about how many there are. It's close to the border so we're setting men up between the border and the suspect building. I have a backhoe heading out there to dig up a possible tunnel. If we can dig up the tunnel, we can trap all of them in the building. They should give up." I said to Hal, "Get us there." I turned to the Major. "Want to join the party, or are you stretching the leash too far?" "Hell no, let me get the men together and we'll head that way. We'll bring the command van along and use it to stash captives. Let's roll." Hal took Dave and me south until we were within sight of the border. To the west of the highway was a small cluster of old farm buildings. Between there and the fence was a bulldozer and two big backhoes. They were digging rapidly while the bulldozer was making pass after pass closer to the border digging a trench, trying to intersect a possible tunnel. Just about the time one of backhoe guys yelled he found something, the bulldozer broke through. He backed out and moved around to shine his head lights into the tunnel. When the Major arrived, I asked, "Do you have any C4 with some short delay fuses?" "How much do you need?" "How about a couple of pounds and two five second fuses." He asked, "Tunnels?" "Yeah, I want to blow them in both directions. They probably know we're here, I just want both sides of the border to know that it's game over." The Major had an ordnance sergeant come to me with two blocks of C4 and a couple of fuses. I had the machinery moved away and went to the edge of the border side of the tunnel. I pushed the detonator into the C4, looked around, hollered, "Fire in the hole." I pulled the timer up and pitched the block into the tunnel and laid on the ground to the side of the opening. Four, three, two, one, "BOOM." Dust rushed out of the tunnel opening. The ground above the tunnel raised then settled where the tunnel had collapsed for about fifteen feet. I went the U.S. side and repeated the process, but on this one, I rolled the C4 into a ball and pushed the detonator all the way in. When I pulled the pin up, I rolled it hard into the tunnel. Three, two, one, "BOOM." Dust exploded from the opening and the ground collapsed all the way to a barn like structure now surrounded by Border patrol vehicles, Marshal Service vehicles, Bureau vehicles, and in an outer ring, about two hundred Marines. I was impressed. Using bull horns, the Border guys began announcing for them to give up, as they were surrounded. If they didn't give up, they would die. We were getting a lot of attention, as several hundred Mexicans were up against their side of the fence, watching as the law enforcement officers began forcing the men out. The captives were searched, cuffed, and tagged with the information of who they were and what they were being charged with. The Bureau Chief said, "The local cells are bare. This will fill them up again, and I bet we'll have to house a bunch of these guys for a long time." I gave instructions to the local Station Chief and the Bureau Chief as to how to handle the commendations for the Marines. I shook the Major's hand and said, "You'll see that silver on your collar as soon as I can get it arranged." I said to Dave, "Let's get out of here." "Not until you get stitched. The corpsman just gave you a field patch to get you back out, you know that. Let's get it stitched and get you a shot of antibiotic, then we'll get out of here." The same corpsman, now accompanied by a field surgeon, cleaned the arm wound again and stitched it. After they bandaged me, they checked the thigh wound again. It was fine and didn't need anything else. The right arm had a deeper scrape than the recent one. The surgeon insisted on stitches. They gave me a shot and a bottle of pain pills and some more antibiotics. The doc said, "Stay off your feet for a day or so to let the leg heal. Keep your head down, and away from trouble for a while." When Hal began driving us back toward the city he said, "Why don't you two go to the hotel for a nap. When you wake up, I'll take you to get something to eat, then you can go back. You do need some rest." Dave looked at me questioningly. "Okay, I wouldn't be able to stay awake anyway. Let's get some rest and check on everyone when we wake up." This had been an all night operation. We had arrived here about four thirty local time and been involved with the activity right through about eleven in the morning. We checked in the same hotel I had been in before. Again I tipped a bellhop to get Dave and me a sandwich and a beer. Dave was surprised that I got us a double room instead of two singles. I said, "This is a maneuver, we bunk up when it's like this." I crashed and didn't wake up until eight that night. I stretched and went in to clean up. With the fresh bandages and stitches, I couldn't shower yet, so I just washed off good, shaved, and brushed my teeth. I checked the gouge on my leg again and decided I should have it repaired instead of taking a chance on it. I did have a spare now. Dave was coming out of his stupor and said, "Ah, to be young again. We old guys need more sleep." He was quickly up and dressed. I called our pilot, John, to see how he was. He said, "I've slept all day, so I'm ready." I told him to get the plane ready as we would be at the airport within an hour. I called Hal to tell him we were taking a cab to the airport. "Like hell you are. I'll pick you up in ten minutes, be downstairs. Too bad you won't have a chance to woo your west coast wife. Maria will be disappointed." When he picked me up, he was accompanied by Juanita. She got out of the car and hugged me saying, "You were the one who made my Hal make me his bride. I love you for it and my Maria is in love with you forever as well. She will make someone a fine wife and mother of their children. I'm sorry it isn't you, Senor." Hal drove us to the airport where John had sandwiches and coffee ready. He and I did the preflight and start up quickly, with me jumping in the left seat. In minutes, we were cued up in line for takeoff. We were in the air and on the way home by eleven. Dave managed to figure out how to enter his incident report. I took a thirty minute break from the cockpit and did mine while eating a sandwich and having some coffee. I called home to tell them I would be there in the morning, so they could sleep well. Brandy said, "I'm so glad you called, I've been so afraid. I'll tell you more when you get here." John began his questions on pilot training and continued until we were on approach to the air park. We radioed and turned on the lights to the runway. They were a welcome sight. The Lear handles so smoothly that you can be on the ground and taxiing to the hangar without even feeling a bump. As the plane is so light on its wheels, the landing gear locking in place provides a bigger bump than touching down. I helped John get the plane in the hangar and we all took off. I dropped Dave off at his house, waited until the inside light came on before driving home. It was time to go to work and everyone was up and ready. I was wearing my short sleeved knit shirt because I didn't have another long sleeve shirt with me. My two arm wounds were immediately seen and they were all critical of my not telling them about them. Brandy looked at me, and in front of everyone said, "Where else?" I frowned and she repeated her demand. I pointed to my thigh and said it was only a scratch. She said it again, "Where else?" I said, "Nowhere else. Just three wounds." She said, "I know you were hit more than that. I felt it and Mercy felt it." She was holding her hand over her stomach where the round had hit my vest. "A round lodged in the vest, but that just bruised me," I said, thinking that was it. "One more, where?" "Christ, Brandy, that's all. A round hit my fake leg but it didn't hurt anything." "Let me see your thigh and your leg." I dropped my drawers as I was getting aggravated. I showed her the big bandage covering the gouge made by the exploding metal and the gouge to my fake leg." "Seen enough? That's all. None are serious. I went back to finish the job after all of these. I'm fine." Brandy hugged me. "So how do you know how many times I was hit? Who told you? Did someone call the house? Did Wanda already hear?" Wanda quietly said to me, "I would never divulge what you've done. You and only you can tell others." Brandy said, "Mercy called me. She called here yesterday evening. She said you were hurt and wanted to know where you were. She scared me to death. I told her you were in San Diego and she said she would be near there in a day or so, and wanted to talk to you as soon as possible. She was talking on a satellite phone. She gave me some cell numbers and instructions on how to call her on the sat phone. Chuck, when she called, she scared me to death. I could hear the fear in her voice. She said she knew you were alive, but not your condition." "That's a little strange, isn't it? I wonder what kind of ESP, or whatever you call it, that she has. She's always looking at me as if she is inside my head." Brandy said, "She said she has special mental connections with some people and you're one of them. Here are the numbers and the instructions, call her." Nancy came and hugged me. "We missed last night, and by tonight I may not be as receptive as I am now. Please, can you take me back to bed?" She kissed me very softly with a lot of feeling. The other girls said, "We'll tell Metarie that Nancy had to take off this morning. You bring her to work later. Love her, Chuck, make her a mommy." The other four girls gave me kisses and Wanda gave me a full body hug. She said, "I'll call you if something important comes up, but you're on leave for a while. See you tonight." This place is amazing. One second it's teeming with activity and the next, peaceful, quiet. Nancy was being self conscious and bashful. When I took her hand to lead her to the bedroom, she was having a tough time looking at me. I rained kisses on her until she began relaxing. As she felt more relaxed, more comfortable, I began to slowly remove her clothes. I took my time and it was over five minutes before we were stretched out next to each other, face to face. Nancy seemed to enjoy hugging me, feeling all of my body against hers. We hugged and kissed, touching each other gently, intimately, until our fever was rising fast. While we were kissing, Nancy pulled me on top of her and whispered, "Put more of yourself in me. Give me your baby, our baby." We made love slowly, gently, with lots and lots of feeling. If I was going to join with a woman to create life, I wanted our coupling to be as memorable as possible. I wanted us both to remember how special it was. After filling Nancy twice with half the makings of the beginning of life, we lay peacefully, still kissing, still gazing into each other's eyes. Nancy asked, "You don't have a problem with me being black do you?" I asked a little aggravated, "Are you?" She asked in return, "Am I what?" "Are you black?" "You know I am, and you know what I mean." I hugged and said, "Why do I only see a woman who wants me to join with her to create a new life? It is totally unimportant in our lives right now that we are two different races. I would rather us just be lovers. I can't believe how fortunate I am to have a woman who wants me to be the father of her child. Did your Mom question you about this? Is she worried about a mixed baby?" "No, she's lighter than I am and my dad is very dark. She says the races have been mixing for hundreds of years. That's why there are so few very dark people. Look at Angie. She's not very dark, but has all the characteristics of an African American, except for her eyes and head that give her that oriental look." "See, more mixing," I said. "We need to focus on keeping you healthy, growing a healthy baby inside you." Nancy kissed me and lay back. "This is so nice, just you and me together. Funny, I like us alone like this, but at the same time, I want us to be making love with the others as well. I'm glad you're willing to make love to me, I like it." "Ah, Nancy, I think you would be surprised at the hundreds and hundreds of men of all races who would be ecstatic to take my place. You are a very attractive person. You're smart, gentle, loving, and good looking. I'd say you were a real trophy for me." Nancy punched my shoulder and reached down to take hold of me. Her gentle grip had me growing again. She asked, "Do you think it will get up again? Do you have any stuff left for a third time?" We did make love a third time and a third helping was served into Nancy. This time when we were relaxing, holding each other, I fell asleep. I heard Nancy talking to someone, "Can you take me to my house real quick so I can get my car. Chuck is worn out because he just got home this morning." A female voice with a Spanish accent, "Si, I do it. We go so I can finish the house." I woke with a start, voices were in my head. I listened to hear where the voices were coming from, but the house was quiet except for someone in the suites. Probably Maria, cleaning. I sat up, slid some shorts on with my peg and went to the bathroom. I groggily walked out to kitchen, poured a cup of coffee from the cold pot, and put it into the microwave to warm up. The voices were still there. That's when I saw the piece of paper Brandy had left with the satellite telephone number. I decided to try the cell phone first and dialed it. It took a few seconds for the connection to be made but Mercy's voice answered immediately. "Chuck, are you alright? I had a horrible day yesterday and last night. I know you're hurt, but I don't know how bad." "Mercy, relax, I'm fine. I have a couple of scratches, but I'm fine." "They're more than scratches, I know, are you really all right?" "I am and I will heal fine, no big deal. I'm back in Florida and am feeling fine." Mercy said, "Thank goodness. Mom said you were okay, but I was letting my heart overrule my head. She likes you too and feels a lot of thoughts from you." "I don't know how you do this stuff, Mercy, but you and your mom should quit telling people like my ladies here about stuff like that. If you read my thoughts, then you should know that I'm private about stuff like that. When I need to tell people about things, I'll tell them." "You, Sir, need a keeper. I'm glad you're okay. Sue and I were terrified something had happened to you. Steve kept telling us that if you were critical, the word would be passed fast, very fast. We just had to know, we all love you, you know. We all think of you often. Sue's mom and my mom have only met you a couple of times but really enjoy being around you. You're like Steve. If I didn't know better, I'd bet you were Steve's little brother." "Thanks, Mercy. I'm fortunate to have so many friends. So where are you guys anyway?" "We're off the coast of Baka, Mexico, heading north. Now we won't stop in San Diego to find you." "You're not supposed to worry about me. Worry about your family." "You are family, we all worry about you," Mercy said, filling my head with pictures of her, Sue, Kathy, Juanita, Steve, and a pile of kids. "You just don't know it yet, but you are family. We all have a connection with you." "Well, I'm fine, Mercy. You know I have a messy job that can sometimes have its drawbacks. So relax, I'll watch out for myself and take care when I have to." "We all love you, Chuck, take care of yourself." When I hung up, my cell rang immediately. "Johnson." "So how many times did you get hit? Are you sure they are all scratches? The field surgeon from Pendleton said you had another through wound next to the other and another deep graze on the other arm. Let's see, it says you have a shrapnel wound on your thigh, a deep bruise that will require x-rays from a round in the gut that was stopped by your vest, and your prosthesis was hit. What the fuck were you doing, providing target practice?" "Look, I'm not in the hospital, I'm not dead, I'm up and about and have just woken up from a nap. I'm fine and I'm planning on going to my office to check on what's going on." "Stay away. Your other boss, Wanda, has been instructed by your supervising Marshal to keep you out of the office until next week. You're very popular and they don't want to lose you, so mind them. Your legend is growing as the word is circulating that you're now a real live commercial pilot. Is this your final flying goal?" "I want to teach, so I have some low hurdles to jump yet. It's within reach, so all I have to do is get some kind of state teaching certificate. Wanda has applied to the state for me." "I told you to keep your head down. I guess you did that, but exposed everything else. Glad you're okay and not seriously hurt. If you don't mind, I want you to either go out to the base or to the attending physician for the Marshal Service you went to before. Have him look at you. He'll report directly back to us and that will make me and all of your fans happy. You can't take that many hits lightly. I'm sure you were responsible for some opposing casualties, but I'm more concerned about you." When John hung up, I called out to the charter service to see what time we were flying out tomorrow? DeDe answered and as soon as she knew it was me she said, "You can't go anywhere. You have to take that charter to Spain with Lisa. All the jet jockeys are going to be busy. We've even rented another G5 and subbed out an entire crew. The agent is talking Italy and Australia now, so these are some high profile, money making, bookings." "Relax, DeDe, I'm calling to see what time you want us out at the air park." "Oh, are you okay? John said you were shot. Can you still fly?" "I can fly and I'm fine. I just have some more holes, but I'm fine." DeDe sighed, "You guys will be leaving here between eleven and noon, picking up your fare where you dumped them Sunday morning, and heading non-stop to Barcelona. There is only one concert, so you'll be flying back Sunday. The next concert isn't for three weeks, so they have some time to make up their minds. They have specifically asked for you and Lisa, so it's not optional, you're second pilot on this one." "Okay, we'll be there about ten, ten-thirty to go over the aircraft." DeDe said, "Good, thanks for helping out. We could have subbed someone last weekend and we're booked solid again this weekend. Both of your planes are flying this weekend too, so you're making money in all directions. Ah, since we're using your 206 so much, we decided to paint it. Shawna and Hank are doing it right now. It won't be as wild as the 200, but it will be distinctive. I think our planes get us more business." I hung up and decided to wash up and go see the doc. I called out there to see if I could get in. The nurse said, "We were told you were going to call, so hurry, come on out. Doc wants to fly this afternoon before it starts raining." I drove out to the doctor's office and was quickly ushered into a room. I was told to drop my pants so he could look at my thigh, but before he saw me I had to have an x-ray of my stomach. Back in the exam room, the doc came in waving the x-ray and stuck it into the clip of the viewer. He did a lot of hmms and ahs until he finally said, "There doesn't appear to be any damage. We should look at that site every six months for the next year. We don't want anything growing because of the bruise." The nurse with him took the bandage on my thigh off. The doc poked around it, applied some goop, and put another bandage on it. They checked my two arms and decided neither would fall off, so they bandaged me back up and said, "You're not fit for duty, Son. You need bed rest for at least a week. Will you do that?" I looked at the doc, "You have to be kidding, right?" He smiled and said, "I gave you the cautious, intelligent, recommendation. Knowing how you probably are, just keep your head down and try to stay away from explosions and guns that are going off. I wish I could get you an entire jumpsuit of the material the vest is made of. You could use it. Be careful, Chuck, take care of yourself. You were lucky again, don't push your luck. You're not a cat." I asked about a shower, and the nurse gave me some waterproof over bandages that I should put on before a shower and remove afterward. I was instructed to take all the antibiotics and to check daily for any swelling or redness around the wounds. I was fine, no sweat. I know I had been lucky, but it seems that I've been so damn lucky lately, I could be pushing it a little. I was curious about the trip tomorrow, so I drove to the air charter office. John was there and I asked him about the flight plan and distances. He said, "The France trip was just about the maximum distance and Madrid is just a tad closer. You'll have a full load of fuel and still be okay on weight. The wives aren't going, so it will just be the band and the agent unless they bring someone else. Oh yeah, you will be topped off in Clearwater just to be safe." It's a long flight, near eight hours. I wondered how Lisa would prepare in order to give me that much schooling. I don't think she can. The next stop was the repair shop that had my amps. They were both done, so I paid for them and collected the amps and the spare tubes. The shop's owner told me to enjoy. I went home by way of the meat market to purchase steaks, then stopped at the grocery store for mushrooms for the steak, romaine for salad, and some broccoli and cauliflower to steam. I needed the protein. The first thing I did was to put the amps in the media room and try them out. The guitar sounded really good. I practiced with the various pedals to see how they affected the sound and the delivery. The bass amp was dynamite. It really had a full range of sound and reflected what I was playing so very well. I spent almost an hour messing with the guitars, but shut the amps down after that thinking I could get too involved. After changing into shorts but keeping my regular leg on, I used the stationary bike and the treadmill. I tried some light weights but the weight pulled on the stitches, so I decided to use some of the waterproof bandages and shower. I was sitting back with a Coke when the family began arriving. Dennis and Marie came in with their energy levels peaking. They said, "We're going to change and work out." Don and Jan came in with the same attitude. Wanda arrived with a morose Angie, as Angie's friend was losing interest in the relationship. Wanda told me that John had called her to go out and she was going out to eat with him this night. I was smiling as I knew how nervous John was about asking Wanda out. The fab five came crashing into the house. They were excited because Brandy and Tiani were heading to Spain in the morning and Judy put her mouth to my ear and said, "I'm glad you have money. That makes all of us feel better. Now we're equal at least about that." Nancy asked, "Is it okay if Mom comes over again? She likes you and wants to hang out around you a little. I think she's just curious since she hasn't had that much contact with whites except at work." Nancy and Judy left to get Nancy's Mom. While they were gone, John came to pick up Wanda. Wanda gave him a quick tour of the house and he became hung up on my Mustang in the back garage. I wished them a nice evening, wondering how Wanda would treat John. Would she be Wicked Wanda, or the demure and stiff Ms. Johnson from work? The folks swam for a little, got out, showered, and came back into the kitchen where I was prepping the steaks. When Mrs. Atom arrived, I turned on the grill before making drinks for everyone. I couldn't have any booze since I was taking the antibiotics, so I had more Coke. I served the salad and put the steaks on in stages so they would all be done close to the same time. Soon, we were eating some delicious meat, savoring the juicy flavors. When we were done, the girls quickly did the dishes. Angie came into the family room and asked, "There are guitars in the media room. Whose are they?" Brandy told her, "Those are Chuck's. Lisa, the pilot, gave them to him. They were her dad's." Angie asked, "Can you really play them?" "A little." Tiani exclaimed, "More than a little. We heard him jamming with the band in France, and they are going to make an album of it. I only heard him play the guitar a little and he sounded pretty good." Nancy asked, "What kind of music do you play, Chuck?" "Mostly blues, some jazz, some metal blues, some bluegrass, but mostly straight blues." Mrs Atom asked, "Can you make music like B.B. King. I just love his music. Of course, there is Stevie Ray Vaughn that is always a turn on, and lots of other good blues groups." Nancy asked, "Can you play for us? Please?" We all went into the media room that became a little crowded with all the people. I decided to bring the guitar and the Sundowner amp out to the family room where there was more room. Thinking about it, I went back to get the bass and its amp and brought it in. I hooked up the digital recorder so I could get a sample and use it as a back. I messed with some runs for a minute then did the bass lead-in I was thinking of and about sixteen bars of some medium blues base runs. I had separated the lead in and the runs, so after the lead, the run would repeat. Don't ya love electronics? I found my fingers working the six strings on the guitar the way they should and sat back. I tapped the first button on the sampler for the lead in and then, as I tapped the run, I began with some classic B.B. King wailing. I was impressed. The sounds coming out were better than I was. My fingers were having fun making sounds and wails that are pure deep blues. I played with the sampler backing me through four repeats then brought it to a close, pushing the off button on the pedal. Mrs. Atom said, "That was so wonderful. You have soul, boy." She hugged Nancy and said, "You picked a good one, Honey, if he'll play like that for me every once in a while, I'll be one hell of a mother-in-law." I toned everything down on the amps and the pickups and played some very conventional bluegrass folk songs that everyone knew. With a little encouragement, everyone was singing along and suggesting other songs. I could do most, but not all, of what they asked for. If I had the music I might have been able to do some, but then I have not read music for years. Tina kept saying, "You have to bring your guitars out to the patio. Lisa brings hers sometimes and the two of you could play together. Please, will you?" About nine, the girls took Mrs. Atom home and didn't return to the house. Tiani had gone with them. Brandy and I started getting our clothes ready for tomorrow. Brandy was in a happy mood and said, "It's so nice to have a nice evening with everyone. You have to play for my folks too. Some day soon, we need to get all our parents over to this house so we can entertain them and make them feel good about us living together." "Are they going to accept and understand that you guys are all part-timers here?" Brandy said defensively, "I'll always be here, at least most of the time. Tiani probably will be too. The girls are a little bashful that they are so into each other and don't want to embarrass you." "How would that embarrass me? Don't you think that would probably turn me on?" Brandy didn't frown, but said, "Could you get turned on and not join in? Would you still like it if we just wanted to be with each other?" "I think so. If I'm supposed to love all of you, I'm going to have to enjoy all of you the way you are. Besides, there are times when I may not want to do anything but watch how sexy you five are." Brandy was serious, "I don't think we'll all be just into each other at the same time. I'd bet at least one of us will want you, in addition to being with each other. I'll talk to the girls to see how they feel. If none of us wanted you and you were horny, what would you do?" Holding up my hand, I said, "This works wonders when there is no one available to help." Brandy laughed and said, "Yes it does, doesn't it? I use mine sometimes when I don't have help." "I would really enjoy trying to be closer as a group, not just snippets of one or two of you at a time. We can do that too, but I really want our loving to be together when we can. I think that will help me accept that you five are serious about being my wives, or harem, without the benefit of a legal commitment from any of us." Brandy was leading me to bed, "Can I go get Tina to sleep with us? I like her a lot and would enjoy her being with us again. Do you mind?" "Not at all, why don't you two play for a while and invite me to join when you've had enough of each other?" Brandy laughed again, "That might take a long time. You might fall asleep." "Then I fall asleep, so what? I like to watch you. I'll learn how to make love to you two better if I do." Brandy shivered, and as she left the room, said, "Get naked, I'm going to get us a toy." I was still in my boxers when a naked Tina preceded Brandy into the room. While Brandy was quickly stripping, Tina came to me, kissed me and fondled me, "Can you hold it a while, Stud? Brandy and I are going to enjoy each other for a bit. If we can still move, we'll both want you to plug us. I think when you come tonight; you should come all over us so we get to lick it off each other." They had not even started and I was standing tall. I watched the two experienced girls love each other so very thoroughly. I did learn something. I learned that girls seemed to enjoy repeating some of the sensitive things over and over again, but just barely touching. The excitement was making them come continuously. After over forty-five minutes, the two looked at me and smiled. They both crooked their finger at me, beckoning me to come to them. We played together, kissing, touching, and sucking, then I slid into one, followed by sliding into the other, until I was about to pop. Tina, the almost a doctor, said, "He's gonna blow. Chuck, get on your knees, shoot it all over us, get it on my tits, on my lips, all over my neck, shoot it, Lover." Both of them were lying back, arching their bodies to me while masturbating, as I began shooting all over them. I must have needed the release, as gobs and gobs of thick white sperm were all over their faces and bodies. When my orgasm was over, the two girls attacked each other, licking and sucking all of the juice from each other's body. It was sexy enough to get me hard again, but I just sat back on my heel watching them enjoy each other. They pulled me down between them and pulled the cover over us. They each had a hand on me as Brandy turned off the bedside lamp and joined Tina in having her head on my shoulder. Tina said, "Wait till Aunt Mercy finds out how much of a lover you are and how you patiently wait for us to enjoy ourselves. Aunt Sue and Aunt Mercy are going to drag you off. You know, that's why I don't go out with men much. I really enjoy ladies and I usually want them first. Guys just can't wait for me to get primed. You did perfect. Brandy and I were totally satisfied and you were a sexy dessert. You made us both come very nicely." The thought of having the beautiful, petite, and mysterious, Mercy, and the buxom Sue at the same time had me almost coming again. I had to force myself to relax so I could join my two lovers in sleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 58 I woke up at my usual time, just before six, but without the benefit of a sexy mouth on me. Just the thought brought me to full erection though. I decided that I wanted some Tai Chi this morning, so I slid from bed, slipped on some clothes and my peg, and went out to the yard. After only a few forms, I felt a presence and discovered Wanda in her own stretches. A few minutes later, Jan and Don joined us. When I drew my form to a close, I saw that Marie and Angie had joined us, while Brandy, Dennis, and Tina were sitting on the grass watching us, fascinated. I waved the group toward the pool, mentioning I couldn't get wet yet. They all swam, enjoying themselves. I was envious, but if I really wanted some exercise, I could use the gym. Brandy and I fed everyone and helped them get going. Just before our group was ready to leave for the day, the other four girls showed up to give us goodbye kisses as we would be leaving this morning. Nancy whispered in my ear, "I'm sure I have my baby. Thank you, Chuck, Mom will love it so much. We all will love it, but it will give Mom something extra." They all departed so Tiani, Brandy, and I cleaned up the kitchen and went to take a shower. I put on the waterproof bandages before joining Brandy. She didn't want any deposits as she said, "I'll smell like sex and your stuff will be running down my leg all day." We were ready by quarter to nine, so we loaded our bags and my bass into the car to drive to the air park. The Gulfstream was being prepped for the flight as we drove up. I joined John and Lisa in looking the aircraft over and checking it with them. When they were satisfied, Lisa and I went into the office to put on our shirts and accessories. Star had loaded the plane with two meals each, some sandwiches, and lots of drinks. We boarded the plane, waved bye to John, Star and DeDe, and shut the door. Lisa sat in the left seat while I ran down the checklist for her. The trip across the bay took longer to get up and down than the flight. Upon landing, a fuel truck pulled up and topped off the fuel for us. We had gone over our inventory one more time when a limo drove up and the six people going with us got out. They were all happy to see us and boarded immediately. The girls made sure everyone was buckled up while I shut the door and climbed into the cockpit next to Lisa. Everything was smooth for the first four hours, then we began running into some weather that we knew was coming. Our radar showed we would have to be way up high to get over most of it, so we radioed to announce our intention of climbing to over forty thousand feet. It was still bumpy, but not nearly as bad. The tops of the cumulus were probably around fifty thousand where the tropopause was, so they were higher than we could fly. We did climb until we were at forty-eight thousand. We were in some smoother air, but still getting buffeted around a lot. We finally flew out of the weather after spending over an hour jumping around. That made me a lot happier and I could tell that Lisa had been concerned. She took a potty break, then it was my turn. We had an opportunity to have a sandwich and some coffee, but didn't feel comfortable eating a meal in case we hit more turbulence. We had descended to our planned altitude, had our eyes glued to the radar, and listened for any traffic. It was a huge relief when we made contact with air traffic control out of Madrid. On approach, the gear worked as it should and there were no indications that anything shook loose. Lisa said we would have the plane gone over thoroughly before we started back. When the wheels touched down, I was conscious that I had to pee, really bad. The excitement and tension had gotten to me. I decided I didn't like Trans-Atlantic flights all that much. The passengers had all sensed how severe the storm had been and thanked us for getting them there safely. I wanted to thank Lisa too. We stayed with the aircraft to make sure it was cleaned up. The customs and immigration people in Spain were very nice and recognized my authority to carry in their country. I had thought there might be a problem, but all of the Spanish officials we dealt with were courteous and helpful. We had six mechanics going over the aircraft for almost three hours. They even did some run ups with the engines to test them and came to the conclusion the plane was good to go. We left the aircraft plugged into local services to keep the coolers and freezers cold and left for the hotel. The band was drinking pretty heavily, talking about how rough the flight had been. The roadies said their cargo aircraft had to declare an emergency after flying through the turbulence. They said it had been really scary. The four of us ate heartily, with none of us drinking. Not even a beer. I needed to help the antibiotics along, but I think the others just wanted to keep their systems clean for the return trip. We were tired out so we went to bed after noting the times for the practice. We planned on going to watch as we wouldn't watch the concert. While I watched, Lisa was given some very thorough loving by Tiani and Brandy. Tiani didn't understand until Brandy told her, "Chuck says he wants us to be together more. I told him we went back to our house because we wanted to make love to each other. He said he would love to watch us and would not interrupt. Tiani came to me and kissed me. She whispered, "If we do that and you're hot for us, I'll take care of you. If my pussy's too sore, I have a mouth and hands." Lisa thought the arrangement had possibilities. She said, "I like to be watched, that really excites me. Can I have Chuck now?" Brandy said, "Let's line up and he can have all three of us." That girl is full of ideas. We did play for another half hour or so and finally fell asleep, satisfied. We woke up together, just a little groggy. The hotel phone was ringing. I answered it. The agent said, "Most everyone is up and I think the band wants you guys to watch them practice. Come down for some breakfast so you can go with the band in their bus. Oh, and bring your instruments." I told Lisa what the agent said and she laughed, "He wants more jam music for more of that album or another one. Hope the spirit is with us again, that last time was fun. We were up, showered, and dressed, in jeans and band crew T-shirts. I wore my big tour jacket to keep the gun hidden in public. The banquet room was full of people and full of food. We loaded up on food and coffee while visiting with legions of people we would never see again. At the auditorium, the sound guys had the place pretty well set. There were cameras everywhere, with cameramen practicing shots that were being displayed on giant screens on each side of the stage. The band ran through their play list and only actually practiced a couple of pieces. They began to fool around and had Cokes and bottles of water delivered around as they were looking for some kind of beat. Brandy told Jimmy, "You should have Chuck do the little piece that he did at home and recorded so he could play his guitar with it." Lisa and I got our guitars out and I showed Jimmy the lead in with the bass that had sounded so good. He asked what I did with the guitar to follow it. He handed me his Les Paul that was on a stand by his bass. He repeated my lead in and began the walk I had laid down. On the first note of the walk I was able to let the Les Paul wail. It wasn't the sound I wanted so I stopped, used an effect, and set the sensitivity on the guitar. I had Jimmy drive the lead in a little stronger and hit it again. The Les Paul sang the blues in its purest form. About four bars in, the lead guitar of the band began doing a rhythm back while the drummer picked up the beat perfectly. Jimmy kept the driving blues beat going with the keyboard guy playing the same chords Jimmy was doing. Lisa picked up the blues back beat and joined the piano and bass to give the music a solid, driving blues blanket that had chills running up and down my spine. I nodded to the lead guy and let him take over while I pulled back into rhythm back up. Jimmy nodded to my bass so I put his guitar down and picked up the bass line so he could play his guitar. Soon the lead was to the bass and I was able to make the Strat sing the way it was supposed to sound. Lisa took a turn at lead and I think she even surprised herself as she was driving a hard blues beat that was almost metal. We finally cooled it and slowed down and began a half speed tune with wailing and crying and moaning from the instruments that was truly epic. Almost two hours had passed when we went through the joint chord progression we all knew to stop. We all sat back grinning. The lead said, "We have to travel all the way to Spain to get this to work. Damn, wonder what we can do in Australia or New Zealand?" The TV guys and sound guys flashed the band with Lisa and me playing on the big screens. They showed me showing Jimmy the lead in without the amp, then me showing Jimmy the riff I used at the beginning of the walk. The video wasn't cut and showed us starting, stopping with the adjustments, then the hard lead in to the beginning of two hours of Jamming. Watching the video on the big screens was pretty impressive. Jimmy said, "Now you'll be immortalized. I think we'll use that for our primer for the show while people are coming in." Kenny was there and said, "My ass, we're going to work it and sell it. That is music man, that will be our Jammin 2 album, but on video." Jimmy said, "They'll fuck it up and it won't sound like anything we did. Just leave it alone, Kenny, leave it pure. People like to see how we get something together. We'll be taking pieces from this and last week's session to singles for years. Some of those riffs are prime, original, never done before, prime." Lisa was ginning, she said, "I wish my Dad could tell me how he liked that. I know he's with me, watching me. He would have been glowing in that music." We all went back to the banquet hall for a meal. We couldn't decide whether it was lunch or supper, but we all ate. The band was going to lie down for a nap and get ready for the show. We decided to nap too, and leave for the airport to get the aircraft ready and check the weather. We did nap, cleaned up, and put on our uniforms. Out at the airport, we checked the weather and talked to some pilots that had just come across. We decided that we would never have enough fuel fighting the headwinds, so we would take the northern route through Greenland. We would refuel there, and if necessary, again at Islip on Long Island. The flight would be about three hours longer, but it would be safer. The weather wasn't going to be bad up north but we would be in the jetstream going against us. We finally received a pilot report that the wind was down to fifty knots around forty thousand feet, so we planned to stay in that area. The northern route had good radar coverage all the way home so there were advantages. When the band arrived, we told them of our decision and they heartily agreed. They said, we're all for smooth after that trip over. Take your time, we'll watch movies and kick back. We can always nap back in that bedroom. The flight home was long. (How long was it?) It took so long, the calendar changed twice. Not really, but it seemed like it. Lisa and I were both very tired by the time we landed. Neither of us felt as if we could nap in flight so we kept each other going with stories about our youth, mixed with questions about teaching people how to fly. We were happy to set the plane down in Clearwater. We had already cleared customs in New York where we got fuel, so the band was able to get right into their limo with their baggage and leave. We flew home quickly and almost jumped for joy when we taxied up to the hangars. We left Spain Saturday night about midnight. It was now fourteen hours later, two o'clock on Sunday afternoon. We cleaned out the aircraft as quickly as possible. I used the tow motor and pushed it into the hangar. They needed to wash the aircraft, and it needed fuel and servicing, but they liked it to be inside when at home. The girls were really dragging even though they had napped a little. They had made a couple of meals for the band and us, and probably a couple of dozen drinks for the guys. It had been a good trip home. When we landed, Lisa said to me, "I don't want to go home right now. Those guys out there are going to be up and too loud for me to get a nap. Can I go home with you guys?" She was welcome, of course. When we got home, everyone wanted to hear stories of the trip, but we were too tired to do much more than just fall into bed for a nap. The girls wouldn't let us sleep past seven. They said we needed to have dinner and move around a little before getting a good night's sleep. Now we began telling the story of the flight of horrors going over to Spain, followed by talking about the jam session. Lisa got up and found her purse. She took out a CD and said, do you have a player, you know, for music, so we can listen to this while we talk?" I put the CD in and heard the beginnings of the jam session in France. The girls had ordered pizza, so we all had pizza and beer, telling the stories of the trip, and listening to a really cool jam session. Wanda was listening and said she thought it was just awesome. I know I thought it was special. I really wanted a video copy of the Spain session. Lisa said, "Kenny said the mix version of the CD is even better. This is raw, straight off the board, without any mixing at all." It was exciting to know, we would be sharing our music with a lot of people. Tiani wanted to go home for the evening and Brandy was acting anxious, so I suggested to her, "Go ahead, go home tonight. I'll see you either in the morning or after work tomorrow." Brandy hugged me tightly and kissed me saying, "Thank you for understanding." We decided to use the hot tub, but I was out of the waterproof bandages and had to pass. Instead, I went into the gym and used the bike for a half-hour, then washed up before bed. When it was time for bed, Lisa crawled up to me and pulled my shorts off. She said, "You ain't getting any, but I hate to feel clothes against my skin when I sleep. Kiss me, you fool, and go to sleep." I didn't need to be told twice. I was instantly asleep. There was a very wet something rubbing across my thigh. It was rubbing back and forth, spreading moisture all over my thigh. Lips touched mine and a hand came to the side of my face. A strange voice said, "Love me, Chuck, make me sing like you do that bass guitar. Love me." The request was welcome. I was instantly hard as I looked forward to enjoying fulfilling the request. I did make love to the creature that I finally realized was Lisa. She was so very responsive and so full of energy returning the touches and kisses, that our joining inflamed her more. It took a long time for our passion to burst into raw flames before dying down. She hugged me saying, "I love sleeping in our wet spot." The clock read three o'clock. When I woke up at six, I heard it storming outside. The rain was really coming down. I moved around and slid out of bed to use the bathroom. I thought about the gym but thought I might do something later as I wanted a big breakfast this morning. After shaving, I got into the shower, not caring whether the bandages got wet or not. I was washing when a grinning Lisa came in. She had a silly grin on her face and said, "Want to know how kinky I am?" When I looked at her funny, she wrapped her legs around my good leg. I felt warm water stream down my leg as Lisa giggled a little girl giggle. "Isn't that kinky? It's so naughty. Kiss me and tell me you enjoyed me waking you last night." I kissed her and told her I had very definitely enjoyed making love to her last night. She said, "I really liked it too. I didn't have to have another girl or anything. You made me feel special and boy did you make me get off. Whew, that was good. Do you think Brandy or any of the others will be mad?" "They shouldn't be upset as they have no right to be. They did what they wanted and probably felt we might do what we wanted also." I began washing Lisa's hair, enjoying the extra touches that I was giving her. She purred her enjoyment and languished in the attention. She said, "You're spoiling me. I'll want to do this some more." She was watching me as I attended to her and asked, "How do you stand on one foot like that for so long?" "Practice, little girl, practice." We finally finished the long shower and dressed. I didn't put on work clothes as I was going back to the doctor for the follow-up he wanted to do. Lisa and I began making a big breakfast together. We made sausage, biscuits, scrambled eggs, and a huge bowl of gravy. People began showing up for breakfast, having a hard time waking up while the rain pounded outside. Slowly, everyone woke up and had coffee, Coke, or Diet Coke, and dished up a big plate of food. Tina said, "You should have told me no one was staying over last night, Chuck. I would have warmed your bed." Lisa grinned, "I kept him warm, even though I told him no fooling around last night." She giggled before saying, "I forgot I told him that, and woke him up about three o'clock. He was very attentive." Dennis said, "Lisa, if you need a ride out to the air park, I'm going that way. I have to pick up a couple of parts to see if we can duplicate and improve on them." "Great, Dennis. Thank you." Wanda said, "I need to go over a couple of things with you this morning, Chuck. We can do it here or you can come in. You can't stay though, a directive came down that you are not to go on duty until you're released by the doctor." I shrugged. I figured the shit would hit the fan as usual, but oh well. I would figure out something to do with my time. Everyone left except Wanda, so we sat having some coffee. She had her briefcase out and went over some budget numbers for the local Homeland Security station. She told me that our savings in the other divisions were being eaten up by the heavy caseload they had. I told her to write the Director over there to outline what functions other agencies might be able to pick up to reduce the overtime. Wanda suggested, "Why don't you go by there and just visit with the man and make these suggestions. He might want to tighten up a little more if he gets some attention. He sometimes reminds me of a little boy when he doesn't get his way or a lot of attention." "What else?" "Now some personal stuff, do you mind?" I smiled, "You know that you're special to me, Wanda, personal stuff kind of goes hand in hand with that." She nodded and smiled, "I had a really nice time with John both Friday and Saturday nights. Friday we just went out to dinner, but Saturday night we went to dinner and dancing. The man is really a lot of fun to be with. I lost it and made him take me home. I don't think I scared him, but I did wear him out by morning. He brought me home yesterday morning and I haven't heard from him. I hope he isn't put off by an aggressive woman." She looked up at me and said, "And I also hope you're not put off by me being aggressive. I still want you and me to be fooling around friends." I smiled. She said, "Last item." She took a big breath and said, "I talked to Maxine on Saturday. She wants to know whether you would allow Lena to live here while she goes to school at South Florida. She says that she knows you would watch out for her and help her when she needs it." Wanda paused, "I talked to Lena and found out she is coming here on a scholarship and is planning on studying for her master's degree to become a teacher. Lena understands that you might have some reservations about her being here, but wants you to know she's still angry at her sister for her actions. She doesn't know why you had the restraining order put on Bobby, but she said she knows it must have been bad. I think you should let Maxine and Lena come see the suite and decide. I've told them what the rent and food is, so they know what it costs. I think if you have Lena up here, you'll have Tina visiting often. Can you handle having your ex's two sisters around?" I gave my opinion, "Probably, I really won't mind, as I do have a lot of personal things that I'm involved in right now. I will say this, and you need to get it across to Lena, there will be no intimate relationship. We can be bosom buddies, the greatest of friends, but no intimate relationship, no fooling around, no sex." Wanda said, "I already said that to her and Maxine. I think they understand." "I just don't want to be in a situation where I might hurt her or invite trouble from Bobby or the Rocky guy. That may seem pompous on my part, but I don't play fair or fight like the ring guys do. I'll really use the folding chair." Wanda agreed, "I know, I was impressed you were able to keep from really hurting the man before." I nodded in agreement. "Have Maxine and Lena come up to look. I might be here; but I might not. The girls might be here, and they may not. Maxine and Lena will have to accept the way we are and the way we live." Wanda stood, "That's it. Go hide somewhere. Go see the Homeland office about their budget, but don't come in. The girls are proud that they can handle everything. Little Angie is becoming an excellent worker. Her grades this past semester qualify her for a full Marshal Service tuition reimbursement next semester, including the summer term if she wants. She's proud of herself." "I'm proud to be her boss, or at least partially her boss." Wanda smiled, "You're her boss. I'm just the delivery person and teacher." I put on some nice slacks and a knit shirt, along with a sport coat to see the Homeland guy. I downloaded and printed out his budget numbers, and highlighted the overrun areas. Most of the overtime was out at the airport, so perhaps we needed a better method of scheduling unless it was one of those twisted union problems. I called the Homeland office and advised the man that I would be there shortly. He welcomed me and said he would be waiting. We chatted in his office until I suggested we go to his cafeteria for a cup of coffee so we could discuss his budget. You could see him stiffen up. We discussed the overtime and it was due to a constant scheduling problem. We had no restrictions on the quantity of men we hired, just the total amount of hours they worked. Since normal forty hour men were banging in (calling in saying they couldn't come in) we were being forced to pay overtime to cover for the absence. I suggested this, "Hire an entire extra crew for each shift. Each time a guy calls in, bring in the other men and split the hours between the two. It won't take long before they don't call in unless they really need to be off. You know the difference. I will send a directive over for you to hire the new men and to handle the shifts the way I described. Since there is so much unemployment, I'm sure the new men will be happy with part time work. When the union guys bitch, send them to me." "God, that's brutal. Can't I just hire a couple of guy to fill in?" "The problem would be constant. A guy works in place of someone who called in and the next shift has the same problem. If the new guy has to work a consecutive shift, that would be overtime and we have to give it to a senior man instead of who we just hired. Hire a whole shift as call-in part time. When it shakes out, we'll end up with just the people we need and a couple of part time spares." I drove by the office, made up the directive, and had Wanda disseminate it. That would cover the Chief. Next, I went out to see the doc. I had to wait a while since I was a drop in. He checked the wounds, had his nurse rewrap them, and I was able to talk her out of a bunch of waterproof bandages. I stopped out at the charter office to find the hangar empty of charter type aircraft. It was eerie, as the only planes there were the little rentals and training aircraft. The biplane was there and I would have flown that, but it was still raining. I went across to see Jimmy. He was doing great, but said, "I need a car. Can you help me find something?" I called Hank and told him about Jimmy and his need. He said he would call his cousin and look in the confiscations. I promised Jimmy we would have him something quickly. I drove to the prosthesis store with my damaged leg to show them and get their opinion. They said the stalk should be replaced since I might put some stress on it and the leg could collapse. I asked if they could make me a sports leg while they were at it. The wife went through the measuring process again to make sure of the size. They discussed the value of the different types and we agreed on the most popular sport foot. The sports leg was really expensive, but I was making decent money with no real big expenses. Hank called me, he said, "Got you covered, Boss. My cousin has a five year old Wrangler he got from the county auction. He says the only thing it needs is a radio and some electrical repair. Your man can have it for less than half the low book value." "Can you have it hauled out to the air park that I fly out of?" Hank yawned into the phone, "I need to make a trip with some equipment. I could probably drop it off on the way. Where do you want it out there?" "When will you be going out there?" "I can be out there in about thirty minutes, I'm caught up here." "Look for my car. You'll drop the Jeep across from it." I left the prosthesis store and headed back to the air park. After parking, I found Jimmy buried in a customer's annual. He couldn't see me, so I said loud enough that he would hear me and not get spooked and bump his head, "I have your car on the way out here, Jimmy." He was out of the engine compartment in an instant. "What is it?" "A Wrangler that needs some electrical work and a radio," I said, giving him the price. "Wow, that's cheap. What color is it?" "Don't know but they are easy to paint if you don't like the color." About that time Hank pulled up with the big flatbed and backed toward the hangar. It took about ten minutes to get the Jeep off the truck and Jimmy was exclaiming, "This is great. This fiberglass body is perfect for the winter, but I guess you guys don't have winters do you. Look at that, a full set of canvas too. Hank handed Jimmy the keys and Jimmy asked, "How bad is the electrical?" Hank said, "Everything works, but it's just twisted together and taped right now. You need to butt the cut wires together and solder them. That's really the only problem. My cousin says even the air works." Jimmy slid into the seat and turned the key. The Jeep started up and ran okay, but not smooth. He nodded, evaluating the car. He got out, looked at the tires that were at least fifty percent worn and turned to Hank. "Who do I pay?" Hank motioned toward me, "Give this guy the check when you have it and I'll give it to my cousin. Here's the title, remember you need insurance and you need to register it. Here's the receipt for the amount my cousin wanted so you can pay sales tax." Jimmy asked, "Can't I give the check to you now?" "Sure, no middle man; I wasn't worried though. If Chuck vouches for you, you're good for it." Jimmy was getting his checkbook from his tool box when he said, "I like to pay as I go. This is good. Now my dad can sell my Jeep up north." As Jimmy wrote the check, he said, "The color is perfect. White will help keep the truck cooler down here. I'll get that top off tonight and put the curtains on. Down here, I'll have the curtains off ninety percent of the time." Hank shook hands all around and said, "I have to pick up a Bureau's duty car that died. It's right down the road, so you know I'm not spending too much of the man's money." "Thanks, Hank. You helped out a young man that seems to be making a good name for himself here. You did good." Jimmy went to talk to his boss and came back, "Can you run me up to the tag office? I went to the driver's license office last week, so this shouldn't be bad. Star called her insurance agent and I was faxed this card." We went to the county tax office and were pleasantly surprised to find it pretty empty. Since it was near the end of the month, no one had money, so the lines were short. Back at the air park Jimmy said, "If you have extra time Wednesday and Thursday, the Lear team will be here with their aircraft and you can probably get some time with them and cut down your class time this weekend. I'll be pulling inspections for them and I'm sure they would rather fly and teach than sit on their butts. "I'll be here. Sounds like a plan." My cell phone rang at that moment, "Johnson." Wanda said, "I guess your convalescent leave is going to be short. The Tulsa, Oklahoma, office just had a bomb threat. The ATF team came and cleared the station but is now going over the rest of the federal building. They have found an unexploded bomb and have disarmed it, but more threats are now being phoned in. The news media have not been let in on what's happening, so they know they are being watched. The Marshal in D.C. says you are needed. Where are you so you can get some clothes and leave? I'll call the charter service to see what I can get." "I'm out at the air park right now and I can see they are short of airplanes. I'll find out what I can do, meanwhile check on commercial connections for me. I'll call you back." In the charter office I found that my B200 would be back by three but it would take at least an hour to get it ready to turn around. The Lear wouldn't be back till five and that was the same case, an hour to turn around. I called Wanda, "I won't be able to leave until four in my plane or six on the little jet, so the earliest I can get there is about nine-thirty or ten tonight." Wanda said, "Southwest won't get in until after midnight, so commit for one of the planes there. Go pack and swing by the station for some information I'm having the girls pull right now. There have been a series of strange events in the area that has your Marshal in D.C. concerned." Packing was fast and I did remember to pack my new vest and the extra magazines for my Glock in my little gym bag. Back at the air park, my B200 was in and being refueled and prepped. Star came out with a thermos of coffee and a couple of sandwiches, "Here's some left over sandwiches from the charters today. You eat them or they will go to waste." I checked the weather to Tulsa and wished it wasn't the time of year that you had to battle thunderstorms. I filed a flight plan that would take me around a line of storms near southern Missouri that stretched north past St. Louis. As I was getting ready to board, Lisa came running out of the office, "Here, take this and listen to it on the way. It's the audio from Saturday in Spain." The flight to Tulsa was great because I had the CD to listen to all the way but the trip was horrible because there were thunderstorms everywhere. I couldn't get totally away from them, so I had to endure the painful bumping and shaking all the way. A lesser plane at lower altitudes wouldn't have been able to make it. At Tulsa, I was sent to the government parking area and attended to as if I were important. All the people at the airport were friendly and very courteous. I called the duty line at the station and the Station Chief answered. When I told him who I was and that I was at the airport, he said, "Man, I'm so glad you're here. I'll send someone to get you. I'll brief you then we'll get some sleep. Hopefully we can get a line on this craziness tomorrow." I had an idea, "How about meeting me somewhere so I'm not seen at your offices. If you think you're being watched, my presence could be misunderstood." "Okay, sounds good, but where?" "Why not the hotel? I have reservations at the Hilton at the airport so meet me at the bar in half an hour. That will give me time to check in and check to see if anyone is watching you or me. Give me your cell number, if I'm being watched, I'll call you. I may want to see where someone who is watching us goes." The Chief said, "It'll take about forty minutes to get there. I'll talk to you then." I took a cab to the hotel and quickly checked in, using the bogus name for undercover federal operatives. The hotels always give you strange looks, but the room charges are always quickly accepted. Their acceptance is confirmation that the no-name policy is okay. After putting my cases into my room, I went to the roof area of the hotel to watch cars coming in from over head. I called the Station Chief and asked him what kind of car he had. He told me he drove a White Expedition. Since he was close to the hotel, I asked him to stay on the line with me as he drove in. I saw his car come down the driveway toward the front of the hotel. I said, "Stop for a second as if you're trying to decide where to park." A car that had been coming fairly close behind the Expedition slowed and stopped in the double driveway lanes. That car turned its lights off quickly and began backing up slowly. I said into the phone, "You have a tail, park in one of the open spaces out on your right. Get out and go into the lobby. Stay on the phone while I watch." As soon as the Expedition moved, the car in the drive began moving and turned on the lights. I watched as the car parked and someone got out of a rear passenger door and followed the Chief into the lobby. I told the Chief, "Go to the desk, ask them some stupid question like how late can you get the free breakfast, just anything to get your tail inside. When you're done, get on the elevator and go to third floor. Get off the elevator and go to the stairs and stand in the stairway. Hopefully your cell will still work there. You're going to see one of the guys following you. He has a brown jacket with light Khaki pants and is wearing a tan ball cap. Don't look directly at him except in passing. Don't stare." I hurriedly went inside and took the elevator downstairs and went out the rear door in an attempt to circle the car that followed the Chief. The guy who followed the Chief into the lobby was still there by the elevators, watching one of floor number displays. I passed by him knowing that he didn't know who I was. I kept checking with the Chief to make sure we had not lost contact. I said into the phone, "New plan, go down the stairs as fast as you can and apprehend the guy by the elevators, hurry. Call me back in five minutes. I've got something to do too." The landscaping made it easy to skirt the car I was interested in and keep plants between the car and me. When I was near the car, I could see a driver and a front seat passenger, but no one else in the back seat. Hopefully, I didn't miss anyone getting out of the car. I noted the windows were down. Pulling my sidearm I quietly slipped through the vegetation and came out just to rear of the front passenger window. I put my gun to the head of the passenger and said, "Both of you, no strange moves and you will live. Driver, keep both hands in view and get out of the car and go to the front." He hesitated, but got out and went to the front of the car. I told him, "Lay across the hood of the car with your arms out straight. Don't move, your life depends on it." I poked the passenger in the temple and said, "Now, you're going to get out very slowly. You'll keep your hands in view, in front of you at all times. I want to remind you that your life depends on your cooperation." Reaching in the car to pull the door handle made me vulnerable, so I poked him with the muzzle as I opened the car door. While I was watching the man on the hood, I had the passenger get out of the car and stand, leaning against the car with his legs spread. I searched him quickly, emptying his pockets, finding an automatic in his waistband. I had him keep leaning against the top of the car but moving his feet out from the side so his weight was on his hands. While the man was in this position, I searched the driver, emptying his pockets and not finding anything. I only had one set of cuffs so figuring the gun toting guy would be the worst, I cuffed him. "Now you on the hood, get up, take your shoes and pants off." When he didn't respond right away, I nearly yelled, "Move, I said, shoes and pants off, now." When he was barefoot and in his tighty whiteys, I said, "Now take your buddies shoes and pants off him. Do it now, and live, or would you rather I just,,,,,." The man did it while the handcuffed man groused the whole time. "Let's walk to the lobby, don't try to run or I'll fire. Let's go." While walking to lobby, I called the Chief with my cell. "You okay?" "Fine, I have the guy inside in custody. What should I do?" "Good man," I said. "Call a duty person and have them come for three prisoners. We'll put these three in solitary and work on them in the morning." I walked the barefoot, almost naked, men into the hotel to the surprise and entertainment of the desk staff and the Chief. He said, "I guess that's one way to keep them from running. Here," he handed me a set of handcuffs, "cuff the other guy, I carry two pair." About fifteen minutes later, two deputies came into the lobby surprised to find two men with no shoes and no pants. None of the three had said a word while we were waiting, except for one who said he wanted to call his attorney. I gave the deputies orders to lock them up for questioning in the morning and asked them to call a tow vehicle to pick up their car and transport it to the Bureau lab. I showed the two deputies where the suspect's car was and asked the Chief, "How about a beer while you brief me?" We went into the small hotel bar where food could be ordered. We both ordered a salad with a small steak dinner. The Station Chief, Sandy McCahill, began telling me the story up till now. "This started right after the Bureau arrested a young man for plotting to blow up a shopping mall here in Tulsa. The arrest occurred just outside a local mosque's grounds, not on the mosque property, but sad to say, the arrest was witnessed by several other men. The Tulsa area has a large Muslim population both here in Tulsa and in some of the rural areas north of here. Over this last year, the Muslim radicals have become more vocal in their demand to have a voice in local politics but have not had anyone enter in any of the political races. The Muslim group contends they should be given a seat and a say in local matters automatically, not as an elected official." "As you can imagine, the debate has raged in the newspapers and on the local TV programs by both proponents and opponents. The Marshal's office became involved when a group of protesters stood in front of the federal building downtown with fake bombs strapped to their bodies. The local police were terrified the bombs were real, but one of my men just went up to the protesters and began pulling the fake gear off. They were all arrested by deputies for threatening a federal building." "Two federal judges didn't help the matter as one denied bail to the protesters that came in his court while the other granted bail, and in a couple of cases, dismissed the charges as being silly. The judge said it was silly to think that someone would actually blow themselves up right here in the U.S.A. in order to protest a silly religious matter." "The next day, that judge was sent a threat that he would die for saying the Muslims he let out of jail were silly. You can bet he was asking for protection faster than he let the protesters out of jail. The judge's car was being tampered with, but the car alarm alerted him to call the police. Some fingerprints on the car matched those of the men he released, but now they can't be found." "The next thing was a garbage can full of nitrate fertilizer mixed with diesel fuel on the judge's front doorstep. There was a detonator connected to a cell phone, but it didn't work so the bomb didn't go off." "We've had a bomb in the basement of the federal building and now we're getting threats on deputies', agents', and judges' personal homes and families. The men are ready to begin a sweep of all of the Muslim mosques, offices, homes, and farms in the area and make sure there won't be any additional problems." I asked, "Have you tried to have a talk with the Imam at the mosque? He must be aware of some of these acts, and even if he approves, he would have to know if the problems continue, his people could be hurt." "He knows, but won't recognize the problems are coming from his group. He insists we're making this up and it was all caused by us not keeping the grounds of the mosque a sanctuary." After thinking about the problem for a few minutes, I said, "Let's get some sleep and you and I will go see the leaders at the Mosque tomorrow. The militants may realize their men didn't check in and will be looking for them by morning. We'll thoroughly interrogate the ones we have before doing anything with them." Sandy said he would pick me up at seven and headed home. I wanted to get some rest, but I thought I should call John to let him know we were having a possible Muslim extremist terrorism problem in America's heartland. He answered his cell, "Scott." "John, Chuck, I'm in Tulsa and believe we need to alert everyone. This has all of the signs of some homegrown extremist terrorism. I have three prisoners we captured trying to watch our Station Chief here. Two were armed and all three are asking for their attorneys. We're going to interrogate them in the morning, but we'll have to turn them over if they make too much noise." John asked, "Can you hold them on anything?" "I'm not sure of Oklahoma's gun laws and I will check on it, but I think I could make a charge of stalking in the local courts stick. Only problem is it's not serious enough to remand them till trial. If there is a gun charge, that might do it, but it's all supposition right now." John again asked, "What can I do?" "If you could get them out of the country, say down to Gitmo, we might get something out of them. I know we can't water board them but we can scare them into thinking we can." "You think it's that important?" "You tell me, John. You thought it serious enough to send me here and I'm telling you like it is. Yeah, it's that important." "I'll send a courier. Have your captives at the airport in an hour. I'll get a transport from Oklahoma City." "Thanks, John, your country may thank you." John said, "You know this will all blow up in your face if they come back to the States?" "Yeah, I do, but so what. If I keep them off the streets a few days longer, I've done my job." Since I still had my clothes on, I called Sandy to let him know what was going on and told him to get some sleep; I would handle the transport. While getting the men out to the airport, I told them where they were going. All three were suddenly full of information. They began telling us their plans, what they intended to do, and how they intended to do it. Every man on the prisoner transfer detail was taking notes as fast as they could. When it became obvious where they were going, all three were almost crying, trying to convince us they could help save the world. In front of the prisoners, I said to transport crew, "If any of these creeps tells you anything that will save anyone, call me. I'll decide whether they come back or stay out of the country." It sure sounded like the three men thought Gitmo was worse than it really was. We would see as they had about five hours to come clean. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 59 Five o'clock and my cell was going nuts. I answered, "Johnson." "This is Airman Franks from the team that picked up the prisoners from you earlier last night. I have some information for you." "Go." "There is a bomb in the South Central Tulsa Mall set to go off at ten this morning, another possible bomb in the basement of the federal building set to go at noon, and one at the West Tulsa Mall for two in the afternoon. We think there may be another somewhere, but no one knows exactly where. I'll call you as soon as we have more information. Do you need me to repeat that?" "Got it Airman Franks, I thank you and Tulsa thanks you. Good man." I called Sandy, "I've just heard from one of the airmen who are transporting the men we caught at the hotel. The prisoners say you have a bomb at South Central Tulsa Mall going off at ten, one at the Federal Building set to go off at noon, and another at the West Tulsa Mall set for two PM. There may be more, but let's get after the ones we know about." "Got it, we'll blanket all three. See if you can get anything else. Let me go and I'll call you when I have an update." I was scared, really scared for the people of Tulsa, how bad could this be? I did the shit, shower, and shave quickly and hurried downstairs. A deputy came into the lobby as I was getting off the elevator. He yelled, "Are you Johnson?" When I nodded, he said, "I'm your driver for right now. Sandy asked me to come and get you. The ATF found the device at the Mall already and we have everyone in our building that is not evacuated looking for what is planted there." I asked, "What about the West Tulsa Mall, that's supposedly going off at two this afternoon." "Tulsa City has all of their off duty men going through the mall right now." "Can we stop by the South Central Mall before we go see Sandy?" "That's where he's at. We'll be there in fifteen minutes." As soon as I was at the Mall, I was led through multiple barricades erected to keep shoppers and store personnel out. We went to the food court area where several people were gathered, trying to watch what was being displayed on a video monitor. Sandy saw me coming and said, "The terrorists placed the device between two of the booths that are normally pushed flush together. Bomb guys are trying to defuse the device right now, and are about to haul it outside and set it off." As I watched the technicians dismantling the explosive device, I had a feeling of déjà vu. I had seen this same type of device before in training and in the field. This was the same type of bomb used along the roads of Iraq, the same as the terrorists used to blow up their fellow Muslims. I went over closer to the techs and asked, "Have either of you had military training?" An older guy said, "A bomb's a bomb. They're all the same." "Not all, these have a secondary trigger on the bottom in addition to the timer." The techs stopped and the younger man asked, "What secondary switch?" "We called it a jiggle switch as the bomb would go off when heavy equipment like a track or big truck made the road shake. If you can disarm the timer, you can move the device by sliding something firm under the bomb. If the explosive is C4, then the detonator should be easy to remove. Just be careful to disconnect the trip wire on the jiggle switch." The older tech asked, "What's with the mousetrap?" "That's for the detonator controlled by the jiggle switch. Just clamp it so it can't spring on you." I backed out of the effective explosion area, hoping my input had helped the two men. I grabbed Sandy and pulled him farther away, "We should leave this here and either help at your building, or get over to the other mall. From what I saw, someone who is Al-Qaeda trained made this device. Hopefully they used the same type of device at all the locations so we can easily disarm them." We went to the federal building to see how the search was progressing. I told Sandy, "Have someone go over the security tapes for the entrances only. See who comes in with something about the size of a small file box. You saw the size of the device at the mall. In all likelihood, the one here is about the same size. If we can see something of that size coming in, we'll know better where to look." It was then that I noticed a sign over an elevator door that said, "Garage." I asked one of the security men in the lobby, "Does this building have a basement garage?" The man looked at me funny and said, "Three levels and that ain't big enough." I went to find Sandy. He was in a security room directing men to view the tapes I had suggested. "Sandy, you may need to look at something else. First, have someone call throughout the building to get all vehicles out of the garage immediately. Make sure you announce that any vehicles remaining will be towed and possibly destroyed." The man realized what I was suggesting and became a little more nervous. He said, "Jesus, the garage holds almost four hundred cars?" "Just clear them out, Sandy. A vehicle can hold a hell of lot more explosives. It can even have a fertilizer bomb like Oklahoma City." I told the security video technicians, "Sync up videos of the garage entrance, the three floors, the garage elevator, and the lobby elevator. If the garage only lets people out through the elevator, then put one up of the lobby at the elevator so we can see who rides up and leaves. If there are other exits to the garage, we need to watch those to see who parks and leaves by another exit." They had a dozen monitors, so they immediately began bringing up the camera views of the last twenty-four hours. Thinking that a view of the garage might be informative, I went down to the first level and saw a stream of cars leaving. I walked around the outside walls to find stairways leading down, as well as up, to the other levels. I went up the stairway and found a door leading into the building, as well as a security "push to open" door leading outside. I pushed the door to see if it was alarmed. Nothing happened when I opened the door, no alarm sounded and no one came to investigate. This was an easy way to leave the garage. Hopefully, there is video coverage of the stairways and the exit doors to the outside. Back down in the garage, it appeared that at least the first level was just about empty. I went down to the second lower level to see it nearly bare also. I had to walk completely around two walls to see the whole floor. Down at the third level, it was empty except for a plain white Ford E250 van. When I went up to it to look inside, I noticed a Budget car rental contract on the dash. I also smelled diesel fuel along with a nitrate fertilizer smell. Chills went down my spine and I almost ran for the stairs. I stopped, took a deep breath, and began checking doors. They were all locked. Now I ran for the stairs. I met a video security tech coming down the stairs. He said he was going to check out a van that had parked somewhere on the third level. I said, "I already found it, smells like diesel fuel and nitrate. We need a slim jim to open the door to see if we can disarm the timer." He said, "I'll get ATF out here, they'll take care of it." "Why wait, let's get this done." "Look, Buddy, what if the bomb is hooked up to the truck battery so that if the door opens the bomb goes off." He had me there, I replied, "Okay, hurry, let's evacuate the building. If that thing goes off it could collapse the whole place." As soon as we were upstairs, he radioed someone who was instructed to get hold of an ATF bomb squad. I asked the tech, "Do they have more than one team of bomb techs?" "No, just one." I said, "They're probably still out at the South Central Mall. They were disarming the bomb found out there. How about the city, county, or state?" The video tech thought for a minute, "Let me call over to Tinker, you know, Tinker Air Force Base, near Oklahoma City, they have a bomb squad." I tried to hand him my cell, but he pulled his and began dialing. It took him a couple of transfers but he was able to send up an alert to have a bomb removal squad come immediately. He turned to me and said, "They're sending a squad by helicopter with their heavy equipment truck leaving right away." Sandy was in the lobby, so I told him what I had found. He said the video people had found the van coming in and had some good views of the driver as he went to the stairway and left the building. They were enhancing the video so they could get some pictures printed. Sandy said, "They look Mid- Eastern, Arabic." I suggested, "We need to evacuate too, so let's go out to the West Tulsa Mall. We might be able to help there." On the way out to the other mall, Sandy told me the ATF bomb team had disarmed the bomb and was taking it to their lab to see if they can determine where the components came from. At the mall, we entered through the main entrance and talked to an FBI agent directing the traffic of searchers. I asked if the food court had been checked thoroughly and his response was, "Yeah, we looked over there and found nothing." I told Sandy, the two likely areas would be the food court or the rest rooms. Let's go take a closer look at the food court. We needed to find this quickly, since if ten o'clock came around and no news of the first bomb became apparent, the bombers would know we were upon them, and if they could arm the bomb remotely, they would. Sandy and I closely looked at the booths and all around the perimeter wall, in trashcans, and even in plants. We were walking back toward the entrance area when I looked around the big fountain in the center of the large area between the four mall walkways. This would be the best location to explode a bomb. If they could cause the ceiling to collapse in addition to the shrapnel of an explosion, the effect would be devastating. I told Sandy, "Let's start at the fountain and circle outward from here. This would be the place to plant something." We walked in ever widening circles looking under, on top and in everything we could. When we had covered the entire entrance and outer hallway area, we met back at the fountain, sitting on the wide wall. As we discussed where to look next, I was looking at all the coins in the pool below the fountain. I noticed that about every six feet around the pool wall was a small box that was obviously where water intakes were. As I looked around I noticed one of the intakes was long, stretching from one grilled area to the next. I went to look at it and then saw it wasn't a part of the pool. The outer cover of whatever it was looked to be duct tape. "Sandy, come look at this. See, it isn't part of the pool, there's even a little space between it and the wall of the pool." Sandy asked, "Should we move it?" "Let's not, but let's see if we can get a maintenance guy to shut off the fountain and drain the pool real quick. Call the ATF guys and see if they can get over here for this one, since they've disarmed the other one." While Sandy called the ATF, I found a mall maintenance worker and told him what I needed. He went to a closet off the main area and shut the fountain off, turned a big valve and threw a switch that pumped the water from the pool. The water level began lowering immediately. The container on the side of pool was right at six foot long and about a foot square. By the time the ATF team arrived, the pool was empty so they could inspect what we had found. They had a portable fluoroscope and set it up to view the long box. They were watching their monitor as they moved the scope from one end of the box to the other. As they looked up at Sandy and me, one said, "This is it. Looks like a simple timer but there also looks like a cell phone device in it too. There doesn't look like there are any mercury or what you called jiggle switches. I think we should get this out of here as quickly as possible. We'll try to get it into our container, then if it goes off, no one will even know it." They moved the device within the emptied pool, causing me to want to run, but they didn't seem concerned. The older man said, "Have our container driver get the truck up as close to the front door as possible." The mall maintenance man said, "I'll open the rear access door and unless it's bigger than a garbage truck, he can drive it right up to the pool." "That's great, do it," the tech said. Soon the big bomb disposal truck was next to the pool. The operator said, "I'll use the crane with the remote control to lift the container into the hold. We can do it from outside using the portable video monitor. Everyone clear out while I hook this thing up." We went outside to watch as the operator slid straps beneath the container and hooked the ends up to the crane's cable lift. When he had everything connected, the operator came out with a monitor and a joy stick control. We all watched as he lifted the device and moved it into the disposal truck. He pushed a button and the straps were released so he retracted the cable and pushed another button that slid the giant lid in place over the container. The bomb squad guys went back in to pack their equipment. The one tech said, "Just to be sure, have your men completely check this place to make sure there's nothing else." Sandy and I left to head back to the Federal Building, leaving this site to the FBI's direction. Back at the Federal Building, a large flatbed was outside with the white Ford Van up on it. Some Air Force bomb techs and some Bureau lab techs were looking at the timing device that had been connected to the detonator. When I approached them, I asked if they could tell the origin of the devices. The one tech said, "The detonator is Chinese, but that's not unusual. The timer is from a cheap windup alarm clock and the cell phone in this set up is Saudi. Someone would have had to hack a local cell phone company to get this to work. We should be able to get some information from that." One of the Air Force techs said, "There's close to a thousand pounds of explosive in that truck. If it had gone off in there, the whole building could have come down. I heard you have other bombs, how are you coming with them?" I answered, "We knew of three and have now found all three and they are now all disarmed or contained. Hopefully that's all of them. Now we need to find out who is planting them and where their headquarters is." The Bureau lab tech said, "We're working on all of the materials and we'll see what we can find out. The picture we got of the van driver is being circulated, so we may be able to find someone who knows him." I told Sandy, "Let's get Homeland Security to watch for the man out at the airport. We should circulate the picture to the rental car agencies as well. We can also see if the transport crew found out anything else." Taking Sandy by the arm, I said, "Before we do much more of anything, I need to be fed, I'm starved." I hesitated as I remembered that it was just coming onto ten in the morning. Time for the first bomb to go off. I wanted to be sure the Bureau techs had both cell phones so they could track the calling number in an attempt to locate the caller. "Sandy, we'll wait; let's go to the Bureau lab to see what happens. Maybe we can have some food from the cafeteria sent up." We hurried to the lab to find the guy and two girls hooking up several pieces of equipment to the two phones. The one girl said, "Both cells are connected to the same provider, so we're going to be able to locate the relay tower instantly. Anything else is going to be luck. If we can, we'll try to keep the calling cell phone connected so we can track the movement between towers." At ten twenty-two the cell phone that had been in the van went off. The phone rang six times before the lab tech pushed the answer and mute button. We didn't think the cell phone from the first mall would ring, but a minute later, that one began ringing as well. We just let it ring. The guy tech said, "We got em, they are calling from a GPS cell phone. Let me give you the location, just a second." The guy was typing so fast his fingers were a blur on the keyboard. "Got it, the phone's locked, here use this GPS telephone unit. As long as the phone's power stays on, you can track it." Sandy and I took the device and headed to his station. There he radioed three duty teams and gave them the area to head toward. Next Sandy called the Bureau and told them the general area of at least one of the bombers. They were sending four teams that way immediately. Sandy said he would use the federal tactical frequency to guide everyone to the location. We headed down to Sandy's car and drove quickly toward the west part of the city. We drove past the location and noted a nice house less than a block from one of the Mosques that had been watched recently in connection to some illegal immigration problems. Sandy radioed for the teams to converge on the house, but to do so cautiously. He then used his cell phone to call a federal judge to request a search warrant. The judge granted the warrant and said he would have a bailiff on his way with the document. Sandy asked, "Do you want to be a part of the take down?" "Let's watch from out here to see if any one moves. Let's get in between the house and the Mosque. If they have a way to get out, they'll head for sanctuary in the Mosque." "Good idea, Chuck, I'll get a couple of teams this way to help watch." We were positioned to see the house and the Mosque. Two teams drove up with both cars emptying to take up positions. One team went to the doors of the Mosque and used handcuffs to lock them shut. They disappeared going around to the back of the building to make sure there weren't any other entrances available. Six teams, twelve men, approached the house from the front and back. As soon as the agents pounded on the door, the device the labs guys gave us began giving off tones of someone dialing, and displayed the number dialed across the top. A voice answered the phone and said only, "Embassy." Another voice spoke rapidly in Arabic. The call was obviously transferred and when the next person answered in Arabic, the conversation was rapid and the phones hung up. We could see the door open to the team at the house door. The team took the man in custody, cuffed him, and put him into a car. Three teams entered the house to search for additional people and for evidence. A deputy drove up to the house with the warrant and handed it to the Bureau leader then left to go back to his judge. Three men came out of the house next to the one we were searching, wearing robes and Kafkas or turbans, the cloth head wrapping Arabs wear, and walked hurriedly to the Mosque. When they attempted to open the doors, you could see the panic on their faces. They looked around in all directions and didn't know which way to go. One of the men in a long robe reached under his robe and came out with a gun of some form. Sandy said, "Let's go get 'em." "Wait, let's see what they do, they may lead us to more." While we watched, two Bureau men emerged from the house the three men had come from, telling us over the radio the two houses were connected by a tunnel. When the three men saw the agents come from the house, they began running down the sidewalk and turned into the first house and went inside. The GPS cell phone device began dialing again. Again the answering voice said, "Embassy." The chatter was louder and more insistent. The second voice came on and the two sides were practically yelling at each other. The whole conversation was in the foreign language, but the last words were in English, "We will come for you." I said to Sandy, "Radio your men, I want those guys before someone from an embassy can get here. I want them captured and gone." Sandy radioed all the teams and the twelve men surrounded the house where the three men entered. We went to assist the deputies and agents, joining the team entering the front door. Thankfully, I had my vest on hoping Sandy had his on as well. We were extra cautious, knowing there was at least one gun with the men inside. I hollered out, "This is federal law enforcement. Come out with your hands on your head. Come out now and live." A deputy opened the door and pushed it open. An agent chanced a look inside, moving in quickly. As we moved through the house we heard a commotion out in back. We rushed through the house to find five robed men on the ground with two teams standing over them. We went out to help cuff them and went back inside to search the house for any more people hiding inside. One of the agents came up from the basement and said, "We need a search warrant for this place too. We should be able to get it since armed suspects entered and ran from the place." Sandy called the judge again, and again he smiled as he hung up. "It's on the way." The teams holding the suspects searched the five and found three handguns and the GPS cell phone that had been used. We made note of the man who had been in possession of the cell phone. I directed the agents, "Get these men out of here quickly. Um, don't take them to the federal lockup, but to a district station. You can try to question them, but we may need to move them quickly so stay with them every second." The three teams who had taken the suspects had just left when a big Lincoln with a Saudi Embassy flag came to the house. A man in a nice suit went up and into the house without even acknowledging our presence. We could hear him calling out, going through the house, even into the basement. The bailiff with the warrant came up just then. I thanked the man for his speed and handed it to a Bureau agent standing there. "You were the one who wanted the warrant, go get what you're looking for." I followed the agent inside and down the stairs to the basement. The nicely dressed man was pushing things into boxes when we came downstairs. He began yelling at us that this was protected territory and for us to leave immediately. The agent held up a pack of C4 and said, "Explosives, this is illegal, this man is in possession off illegal explosives. There is no immunity for terrorists. You, Sir, are under arrest. I'll bet you can recite the Miranda warning better than I can." When the man's hands looked like they were heading under his suit coat, I pulled my Glock and held it to his head. "Careful, put your hands on top of your head." I nodded to the agent and asked, "You have cuffs?" He smiled and began cuffing the man. As I holstered my gun, I said to the agent, "Let's get him out of here and get a lab crew to go through this stuff." The agent asked, "What should we do about the car and the driver?" "Check to see if the driver is a Saudi national or a hired driver. If he's a hired driver, take him in and question him. If he's a Saudi national and an embassy employee, send him back to the embassy. Advise him his visa is expiring and he should return home, wherever that may be." I watched from inside as the agent spoke with the driver of the car and it took off, followed by a duty team. I brought the newest captive out and had the agent and his partners take him, saying, "Why don't you take this guy over to Tinker and question him on the way over? Tell him we're shipping him straight out of the country, and since he's a terrorist he's probably going to Gitmo, so if he knows anything he should start to talk soon. Stay with him, we'll call you to advise you what to do." I turned to Sandy, "We need to talk to the Federal prosecutor to cover our tracks. So far no blood, that's a good thing. We need to find out where their training center is and clean that out and contain as many of these guys as we can. If they begin sending them out with explosives, we'll be cleaning up dead people for a week." Back at the Federal Building, Sandy introduced me to the local FBI Bureau Chief. I gave him my observations and what we needed to do. The Chief introduced me to one of his senior agents who was the leader of their task force investigating local Islamic extremists. He showed me a big map of Oklahoma and the suspected training camps. There were five training camps throughout the state, with one just north of Tulsa. He had some reconnaissance photos provided by the Air Force as well as some satellite photos. I suggested we see if the local judge would give us a warrant to search the premises out there. If he would, we could document everyone there and perhaps come up with some illegals, and possibly some illegal explosives or weapons. Sandy said, "Let's go see the judge. He's in his chambers and we need to get in front of him so he knows what's going on." Downstairs in the judge's chambers, Sandy and I told the story of what had happened so far today. When we were done, the judge said, "You have cause to request warrants for all of the encampments. Do you want one for all of them or just this one?" I said, "All of them, Your Honor. I'll get the other offices working on them immediately. If we can get this idiocy calmed down, regular Muslims won't be in so much danger. If the average citizen hears what's going on, I won't guarantee any kind of life for a Muslim at all." The man wrote out a document and had his clerk print out several copies that he signed. Sandy and I thanked the judge and went back to his office. "I'll have my Office Manager alert all offices within the region to be on a lookout for any unusual movement of suspected extremists. Let's call the other offices here in the region to get these search warrants acted on." Sandy said, "I have this one to the north and one down around Muskogee. Oklahoma City has two, and one we can get to faster from Amarillo. I'll call Oklahoma City; you call Amarillo. I'll get these warrants faxed out right now, then we'll organize a group to execute the warrant at the camp near here." I talked to Wanda and gave her a brief update and gave her directions on what I needed her to do. When I turned around, the station clerk was standing there with a Subway sandwich. She asked, "Is chicken breast okay?" "Honey, anything would be okay. I am starved." I ate ravenously, washing the food down with coffee. My stomach finally felt like I wasn't neglecting it. The clerk came over to me and said, "Your office manager asked me to watch out for you and to make sure you're wearing your vest. I can see you have it on, so I don't know what else to do for you. She also said that if there was any gunfire anywhere, to send you somewhere else since she said that you attract bullets." I grinned, "She did, did she? Well, I only attract bullets when people shoot at me. I'll be careful, I promise." The federal prosecutor called to find out where we put the five men we took in custody earlier. I honestly told him that I didn't know, but would look for them. He said an attorney was demanding their release on the basis of diplomatic immunity. I said, "They are all charged with being in possession of explosives and being in possession of a cell phone used in an act of terrorism. That negates any diplomatic immunity. Their country can have them back when they get out of Leavenworth in twenty years or so." The prosecutor said, "You still have to produce them so they can be arraigned. They might be granted bail." "There is no bail for terrorists with hard evidence against them, unless the justice department has changed their minds." "Let's let the judge decide that. You can't hold them unless the judge says so." "I'll try to find these men and get them in front of the judge with the explosives we found while executing his warrant. If I were you, I wouldn't let any news people know what's been going on or you could have every Mosque in the area under siege." I was going to hang up when the prosecutor said, "You have an embassy official in custody that needs to be released. Do it now." "Again, this man was caught with explosives in his possession that were in the process of being made into bombs. We will return him to the embassy when he finishes his term in Leavenworth. He is considered a terrorist." The prosecutor said, "We don't have terrorists in Oklahoma. You're making up stuff as you go." "Hopefully, when you see the evidence, you will not feel compelled to tell the judge what you think. He might become a little irate." I got Sandy and we went back down to see the Judge. I explained that I wanted to have the men we had in custody arraigned and held without bail for trial. I explained about the explosives and the cell phone evidence, hoping it would be sufficient. His comment was, "Get 'em in front of me and make sure you can keep them from other inmates. Otherwise, we won't have them long enough for a trial." It was almost five by the time we were able to get the six men in front of the judge. I had called the federal prosecutor so he could be involved, as he should be. The man was not smart. The judge had already looked at the explosives and the transcript of the cell phone calls when the prosecutor said, "Your Honor, I don't see any real evidence and feel any charges should be dismissed. The idea that these men are terrorists is silly. They are not even represented by counsel, so I demand they be released." The judge sat up in surprise. He looked at the prosecutor, at Sandy and me, then back to the prosecutor. "I think I'll take what you've said under consideration. While I'm considering this case, I want to keep these men in custody and for you to come up with their defense attorney. For some reason, I feel you might know him well. Bailiff, these men are remanded to your custody until nine in the morning." When the prosecutor left, the judge motioned for us to approach his bench. He said, "I think I'll call the prosecutor from Oklahoma City to come over and have a shot at this. In the meantime, have this guy torn apart to find out why he's protecting obvious terrorists. We should have had their defense attorneys present if they had asked for them, but I understand that none of them has spoken a word since they were taken into custody. Let's not let this get out of hand." Sandy and I were sitting outside the courthouse on a concrete bench. Sandy asked, "I have a team going out to execute the search warrant at the camp. Do you want to go with them or get some food and rest for tomorrow?" I looked at my watch and suggested, "If the men do execute the warrant tonight, have them spend the daylight hours getting information from any residents out there and look around quickly for anyone hiding. Once that's done, have them begin searching buildings. Make sure they have ATF dogs with them to look for explosives and take shovels, and even a backhoe, with them. You might want to organize another team to relieve the first team so you continuously have fresh people there." I pulled my cell and looked up the Bureau Chief. When I told him what the judge wanted, the man was almost gleeful. "Damn, I've been looking for an excuse to get into this guy for a long time. He's cost us dozens of cases that I know were iron clad. As soon as he gets them dismissed, the people that should be in jail vanish. I'll get right on it and should have something by the time court convenes tomorrow." I told Sandy, "Let's get something to eat and some sleep. You have a wife, why don't you have dinner with her and let her know how special she is to you." He smiled and said, "Good idea, I might even get some flowers. I am a lucky guy and I haven't spent much time with her or the kids lately." Sandy dropped me at a hotel where there was a restaurant, and thank goodness, they had a small quiet bar. I could really enjoy a drink. I had a Beefeaters before going into the restaurant to have another with a good supper. When done, I picked up a bottle of beer from the bar and headed to my room. I called home, "Hi, Wanda, anything I should know about?" "No, Chuck, Maxine, Ted, and Lena are here looking at the house. Ted wants to move in. He says you have it entirely too good. Lena wants to stay in your bedroom, but I've convinced her that if she is going to live here, she'll need to stay in her room at night." "Thanks, Wanda, I'll leave it up to you whether or not we get a little girl for a boarder." In a hushed voice, Wanda said, "She sure as hell isn't a little girl. I think she's taller that Bobby, but not as big." "That's interesting but,,,,, " My mind went back to the business at hand, "Wanda, I'm not sure if this is winding down or if we're fanning flames. I'll call you after the hearing we're having in the morning. I'll get some ideas off to you before I go to bed and give John a synopsis of what's going on." After hanging up, I turned on the TV to the local news channel to see how much the news people were touting the bomb scares at the malls. As it was, both were just reported as bomb scares only. No one talked about the bomb disposal truck going into the mall. Nothing about the Federal Building was even mentioned. How about the luck, we were able to keep the media out of the circus for a while. I typed John an e-mail of the day's activities ending it with "No shots fired" and sent it. I was finishing my beer when I lay back on the pillow. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 60 The TV news announcer was telling the camera what a beautiful day it was going to be, with no thunderstorms in the forecast and great beach weather, if anyone could find a beach. Looking at the clock told me it was five in the morning. That was reasonable as it was six at home. I felt nasty having slept in my clothes with my leg strapped on all night. I stripped, hopped to the bathroom, and after covering my wounds with waterproof bandages, took a long shower, washing off the grime of the world. After shaving and taking care of all my morning duties, I quickly dressed and packed as always and headed for the restaurant. Having breakfast while reading the local paper is always a good way to start the day. I was having a second cup of coffee when Sandy came in and sat, waving at the waitress to bring him some coffee too. "Sleep well, Chuck?" "You bet, Sandy, with a full belly too. Should have exercised this morning, but I was too lazy. Any word from the team executing the search warrant?" "More than expected. They have found bomb making training videos, propaganda videos to entice men to blow themselves up for Allah, a whole arsenal of guns, and from early estimates, about five hundred pounds of explosives and detonators. The eight tons of nitrate fertilizer is interesting, since they don't have any farm land, and the six fifty-five gallon drums of diesel fuel are also interesting, as they don't have any diesel vehicles out there." Sandy took a drink of coffee and said, "The dogs found something I wish they had not. My clean up guys are out there right now exhuming bodies. So far they've dug up seven, but haven't gone very far or broadened the hole that much. We've taken everyone that was out there into custody including their holy man or Imam. I didn't get that much sleep considering my phone kept ringing, but at least my wife knows I'm safe." I looked up at Sandy and asked, "This is big, should we get the D.C. investigative team out here? Should we ask for the strike team to come back us up?" Sandy said, "I was wondering about that. We might do that so we get another couple of prosecutors out here. I haven't heard from the Bureau yet this morning, but I'd bet we have something before we go to court. When you're done, we'll go to the office and check with the Bureau. By the way, your being here is helping the Bureau and us get along. We need to work together, just like your memos suggest. Hopefully this dual investigation is the beginning of future cooperation." We went to the office and stopped in the Bureau station. The Chief was there looking over some reports. He looked up and said, "That's some gruesome shit out at that camp. Christ, who'd have suspected stuff like that? I'm just looking over the research my men have done overnight on our favorite prosecutor. There are only two flags. One, the man has made some healthy bank deposits, and has bought some luxuries for cash that are interesting. None of that is against the law if he can tell the IRS how much he's received, where it came from, and pays taxes on it. The other flag is, the man is married to a Muslim woman whose parents are very militant. The parents are Lebanese immigrants who live in Kansas City and just happen to be down here right now. We don't know what's going on, or if there is even anything illegal happening, so we can't bring charges or even bring him in for questioning. We will watch him. I'll give the judge this information and see how he handles changing prosecutors." We had some coffee in the station before heading to the courthouse for the early hearing. We stopped in the judge's chambers before court to advise him of what had been found out at the camp and what had been discovered about the prosecutor. The prosecutor from Oklahoma City was in the judge's chambers looking over the evidence we had against the five men. He said it was more than enough to keep the men in custody and he would handle the citizens' side of the case. "I've already heard this morning of some craziness out at a couple of Muslim retreat camps where explosives and weapons have been found. This thing is getting out of hand and we'll let you guys in law enforcement crack down out there. Keep us safe." A couple of deputies had been sent to intercept the prosecutor so he couldn't get to court on time. Their excuse was to take him to the houses that had been searched the previous day. They kept him all the way through noon just to be safe. The defendants had four attorneys from a large firm located in Oklahoma City and St. Louis. When the prosecutor laid out the evidence against the men, the judge remanded them to isolated custody as was the policy for terrorists. When that case was cleared, the fourteen men from the camp were brought in for arraignment. The terrorist evidence was documented in detail and the bodies were itemized, but had not been identified. When they were asked if they wanted counsel, none spoke. When asked how they pled, none spoke. The judge said, "The law will appoint an attorney for you if you don't have one. If you have attorneys, please state who they are so we may get them for you." They just stood there without speaking. The judge finally spoke, "You are to be kept in isolated custody until trial. If any of you should decide you want an attorney, please advise your jailer. Bailiffs, please take these men away." As the men were being led out of court, the four attorneys came rushing back into court. One rushed up to the judge and said, "Your honor, we've just found out these men being led from the room are our clients. We want to register as their attorneys and plead them not guilty with a request for bail." The judge just looked at them. "You're a little late. They didn't plead, so after looking at the evidence against them, I feel they should be kept in custody until trial. Since there may be additional capital charges, they are being considered dangerous and therefore isolated. Do you have any questions, gentlemen? If not, see my clerk before you leave." They looked among themselves and went to the judge's clerk. The judge looked at Sandy, the Bureau Chief, and me and nodded toward the door. In the judge's chambers he said, "Those are some high priced attorneys. I don't know them personally, but I've heard of them. So far you boys have played the game the way it's supposed to be played, so stay clean, stay sharp, and protect your evidence. Now get, I have a golf game at noon." The three of us left for the Bureau office and stopped in the ATF office to talk to the Chief there. He said he had a team out at the camp north of town and had just sent a team with dogs out to the camp near Muskogee where more explosives had been found. We made sure he knew how important that the chain of evidence was. We left the ATF office and said goodbye to the Bureau Chief. While on the way upstairs, Sandy said, "From what I'm told, this isn't a normal trip for you. No shoot 'em ups, no dead bad guys, I hope you're not bored." "Actually, I'm very happy nothing went bang so far. I don't really like to be involved in gunplay, it just seems to find me most of the time." I wrote my reports of the previous day's activities and the hearing. I felt better knowing the Bureau, ATF, Homeland Security, and Marshal's offices were working together on this. I asked Sandy, "Can we get the leaders of the local Mosques together for a short meeting? I want to tell them what we've found, and how we found it, so they know we're not picking on them." Sandy said, "I'll try, they might listen. It won't hurt to try." An hour later Sandy said, "We're meeting at three at the Northwest Mosque. The senior Imam in the area presides there and wanted our meeting to take place within his community." We gathered up stacks of photographic evidence, including the photos of the bodies being found at the camp. The body count was now up to eleven and still counting. Sandy and I had a leisurely lunch and arrived at the Mosque at two forty-five. We were courteously shown into a large conference room with several other men dressed in traditional attire. Most were pleasant and smiled. Sandy and I introduced ourselves and sat where directed. The senior Imam came in and all present stood in honor of the man. When he bowed to us, the others all bowed in response, so Sandy and I did a little bow as well. The Imam said, "You wish to address us as to your actions yesterday. We are very concerned that you took our people into custody yesterday and have withheld information from the news media. Can you explain?" Sandy looked at me, so I began by describing the initial contact with some men who advised us of three imminent bombs that were going to explode. I described that we had been fortunate to have found all of the bombs and were able to disarm them. I passed out the photos of the bombs and the individual devices. The last photo was of the two cell phone detonators. I then described how we were able to track down the caller to the two cell phones when someone tried to set off the bombs remotely instead of by their original timers. This was how we came in contact with the men taken into custody. I explained that we captured the men as they were exiting a house that contained a large amount of explosives, and that the original houses they had been in also had explosives stored in them. Again, I showed photos of the evidence. "Now, gentlemen, we have another problem you may not be aware and hopefully you will want to make sure this never happens again. The camps supposedly used for retreats north of here and near Muskogee both warehouse a great deal of explosives and have been used for terrorist training. You may not feel that is so serious, but we've found several bodies buried on the grounds and are still digging them up. If you've lost track of someone in the past year or years, you might want to give us information on that person. This is a serious matter and goes beyond plain terrorism. Look at these photos and think of anyone who isn't here anymore, who dropped out of sight all of a sudden?" I looked at the shocked Imam and said, "If I were to have let the news media get the information that real bombs were planted in shopping centers where mothers and children would be shopping, what kind of retaliation would you be able to withstand? The Federal Building is one thing, but other civilian targets? I hope you can withstand the anger of your neighbors if they should find out. They will eventually find out when these men go to court. At that time, you will all need to be making big signs of peaceful coexistence to everyone in the community." "Now, Sir, do you understand?" You could tell the Imam was disturbed and didn't know how to respond. I added the photographs of all of the men captured yesterday and out at the camp. "These are the men who could have brought you the wrath of protective parents and family members. You should know whom to blame. If there are more of them that you know of, get them out of the country or turn them in to the Bureau, the FBI. They will know how to deal with them. Gentlemen, I'm sorry to have brought you this information, but it was necessary." I passed my card to the Imam, along with Sandy's, and stood. I sort of bowed to the Imam who was still sitting, stunned from the information. Another man escorted us out of the Mosque. When we got to Sandy's car, something looked funny. I put out my arm, stopping him from using his keyless entry system. I pointed at the passenger seat that was tilted forward a little. We looked into the backseat and there on the floor behind the seat was what looked suspiciously like the bomb at the first mall yesterday. I pulled Sandy away from the car so we were on the side of the Mosque and shielded by the building. "Call in for some help, Sandy. I'm not sure whether the ATF is going to be able to help. And wouldn't you know, my clothes are in your trunk along with three full magazines." Sandy called the ATF, then called his station to request assistance. He said to me, "We're getting pretty thin on men, perhaps the strike force would be a good idea." We were crouched down on the side of the building when Sandy said, "We have to tell those people not to come out. Christ, the whole building could collapse if that bomb goes off." I said, "Tell you what, stay here and keep watch. Check everywhere constantly. I'll go to the door and if I'm lucky it won't be locked. I'll tell the men to be careful and to leave by the back door so they won't be caught in an explosion. I'll come around from the back. I'll yell at you so you'll know I'm coming." "You sure you want to expose yourself?" "Somebody's got to do it. Watch, everywhere, stay here under cover, be careful." I slithered along the wall in the front of the Mosque, looking at the car and hurried to the door. I was in luck, the door was open. No one was visible inside, so I went to the conference room and found the men still there. I said, "All of you must leave the building for your safety. Someone has planted a bomb in our car in front of the building. If it goes off the whole building could collapse. Please, humor me and leave by the back. Hopefully, that's where your parking lot is." The men were suddenly fearful as I was obviously trying to help them. As we were heading to the rear of the building, the old Imam said to me "Thank you, I will do all in my power to make us a peaceful community." When we were out the door I said, "Give me a telephone number where I can call you when the danger here has passed." The older man gave his number and asked for mine, which was on the card I gave him. When we had them written, I headed around the building to get to Sandy. I was about to yell at Sandy when movement off to the right caught my eye. My hand automatically went for the Glock as I tried to identify what I had seen. A man was crouched behind a large transformer that had some decorative bushes around it. I could see Sandy kneeling down up front, looking around and trying to stay concealed. I picked up a rock and threw it at Sandy. It landed next to him and he jumped, startled. He looked at me and I waved him down and with hand motions pointed to where the man was crouched. When he nodded, and while looking at the man, I yelled, "Hey, Sandy." The man looked at me and knew he was seen. He stood and fired at me with some kind of semi-auto handgun. He fired about five rounds before I shot at him. He staggered back, but didn't go down. When I was about to shoot again, something hit me on my side that was hard enough to knock me off my feet. I was stunned. I looked up and Sandy was in a kneeling firing position, aiming behind me. He fired multiple times before I was able to look where the original man was. He was trying to do something with a cell phone when "BOOM" the bomb in front of Mosque exploded. He picked up his gun and aimed at me, but I didn't miss his head this time. I had rolled to the side of the building to get some protection and kept looking around for more danger. Christ, this was getting ridiculous. Every time someone took a shot at me lately, they were hitting me. My side really hurt. Must have been another .45 or something like that. Sandy hollered, "Chuck, are you okay?" "I'm okay, I got one off to the side of us." Sandy answered, "I got the one behind you. Sorry, I didn't see him until he shot. Did he hit you?" Sandy came up and helped me up and looked at the back of my suit coat. He said, "Looks like your nice suit got ruined. Hey, you're bleeding somewhere. Let's get the coat off." I took the coat off and Sandy had me take off my shirt. About that time the senior Imam came up to us and said, "Thank you for watching out for us. The front of the Mosque is destroyed. We could all have been hurt. Oh, you're hurt, let me help." We finally found where I was bleeding. The round had pinched the flesh where it hit and moved sideways tearing the skin. I had Sandy tear off the tail of my shirt so I could hold it over the tear. Sandy used his phone to call in an incident and to get a clean up crew out. Meanwhile sirens were coming from at least two different directions. Sandy and I joined with the Imam and the other men who had been in the conference room in the front of the Mosque to look at the damage. It was amazingly extensive. What was left of Sandy's Ford was twisted junk. I looked around the wreck for my clothes and found the little gym bag with the three magazines further down the street, along with my suitcase that was torn open. Lying on the side of the road was my briefcase with my laptop in it. Wonder if that was going to work? When a fire truck and two police cars pulled up, they got out of their vehicles to look at the damage, trying to determine what had happened. Sandy and I showed our badges and IDs. We said we were in charge of the crime scene and that our team was on the way. A duty car pulled up with a team that came out quickly. While Sandy was briefing the duty team, the cleanup crew came with the CSI team from the Bureau. I showed them the two downed men and walked back up to where Sandy had one of the firemen get a first aid kit and clean up the skin tear and bandage me. The tear shouldn't require anything except a butterfly bandage. The fireman cleaned me up, put the butterfly on and bandaged the area. He said I should go see a physician and noted my stitches on the left arm. I put my shirt back on with my vest over it just for safety. Because I didn't know what else to do with it, I put my coat on too. I had to give statements to the CSI team and the local detectives. When we were finally done, I asked Sandy, "Take me to a Sears or Penny's. I'll get a pair of khakis and a shirt. Everything else is in shreds. I think my toiletries are okay though." He said, "You know, I'm done too. Are you going to stay overnight or just go home? Oh yeah, you're flying yourself. Are you going to be able to fly with,,,, say you need an x-ray on your ribs. You probably have some broken or cracked ribs. Let me take you to the hospital real quick. I'll make them check you out right away." I couldn't talk Sandy out of it so we went to the hospital where in all their speed, it still took them three hours to look at my skin tear, and finally get me x-rayed. The report was as expected, another cracked rib. It was now after nine o'clock. Sandy said, "We'll swing by Wal-Mart. You can pick up a cheap pair of pants and shirt along with anything else you need. Stay overnight and fly back in the morning. You need to call in the strike team for me too. Is that okay?" "Yeah, Sandy, sorry I've kept you out so late again." Sandy smiled, "Hey, we're alive. I'm going home to my wife and kids in one piece, thanks to you." We did find a pair of western cut pants and shirt at Wal-Mart that would be fine for tomorrow. That, along with what I salvaged from my bag would get me through. In the hotel, I took out my laptop and plugged it in and turned it on. Miracles of miracles, it came on, connected to the in-house wireless system, and I logged onto my office PC. The greeting was "Call Wanda immediately." I called home after ordering a fish dinner, a drink, and a beer from room service. Wanda exclaimed, "What the hell is going on out there? Are you hurt? The service report says one deputy wounded." I said, "Only a skin tear, no big deal." Wanda asked, "Were you shot?" "Yeah, but I had my vest on. Sandy got the guy." "How is it where you were hit?" "Another cracked rib, but I'm okay." Wanda sounded as if she were going to cry, "You have to be more careful. I know you're a good man in the field, but your luck is getting thin." "I'll be okay, Wanda, I'm fine. If everything is straight in the morning, I'll be on my way home before noon." "I hope so, I'm having a hard time keeping Brandy and the girls pacified that you're okay. If this keeps up, Brandy might not stick. She's getting nervous as it is." "Well, Wanda, easy come, easy go. I like all those girls, but this is what I do." She said, "Well, John is upset about this so you better call him and tell him you're alright. He's already dispatched the strike team. Was your car really blown up?" "Not my car, Sandy's car. What's so sad is the Mosque the car was in front of was heavily damaged. We were lucky though, as I was able to get everyone out before the explosion." Wanda sounded better, "I'm glad you're okay. Call John and call me in the morning to let me know how you feel. If you don't call me by seven my time, I'll have the hotel come check on you, so don't be late." There was a pause, then Wanda said, "Please, stay safe. You know we all need you here. Goodnight, Chuck." I called John real quick and explained I couldn't stay on my cell as my charger was lost in the explosion. He said, "You better have an incident report in my mailbox by morning any way you can get it here. If you're injured, you may be pushing a pencil here in D.C. for a month. Watch out, my friend, and be careful. Goodnight." My battery still had all the lines, so I knew I was good for at least twelve hours. There was a knock at the door, food at last. By habit, I pulled my Glock and opened the door to find a cute bellhop with a tray. She brought a tall Beefeaters, a salad, some kind of fish dinner, and two bottles of beer. I tipped the bellhop, totally ignoring how cute she was, then sat down to eat while watching TV. The news channel showed the blown up car and the front of the Mosque. The Imam was interviewed and he assured the newsman that he was doing everything he could to bring the perpetrators to justice. For some reason, there was no mention of the two dead guys. I ate and relaxed, coming down from the adrenaline rush. Thinking that I should call, I called Brandy's cell phone. When she answered, she sounded rather cool. "How are you, Chuck? Are you okay? I heard you were injured again." "Only a skin tear, no big deal." "It's still very scary. We think Nancy miscarried. She began bleeding today and the doctor said she wasn't pregnant. She's been crying all day." "Brandy, people don't always get pregnant on their first try, especially if they just stopped using the pill or some other kind of contraceptive." She said, "I know, but she seemed so convinced she was pregnant. She even took one of those home tests and it showed positive." "Well, she can try again. I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunity." That's when the ice came, "She may not want to do this now. You're pretty scary. We're all afraid you just won't come home one of these days. I'm sorry, Chuck. We'll talk when you get home." She hung up. Oh well. Damn, I'm having trouble with women. I took off my leg and lay down. Sleep came fairly fast but it was toss and turn most of the night. Oh my, what time is it. The clock says five thirty, so it's six thirty at home. I better call. When Wanda picked up I said, "Good morning" as cheerful as possible. "You sound good this morning. How're your ribs?" "Sore, but no more than expected. The little cut is fine." I could hear that Wanda was smiling now, "You just scare the shit out of everyone all the time. Grow eyes in the back of your head or something. Take Dave with you all the time to watch your back, anything, but be careful." "You know I do what I do, Wanda. It's part of the job." "I know that when I'm at work, Chuck, but when I'm at home looking at the empty spot in the bed, I feel differently. Hope you can come home. You know that it's Thursday, don't you?" "It is? Have I been here since Monday night?" "You've been busy, meet with the strike force and the investigative team then get out of there. You're done. I have to get to work. Call me to let me know your schedule." I called room service for some coffee and a light breakfast, then wrote up the incident report from yesterday. Along with the report, I wrote up a synopsis of the ongoing investigation and sent it along with the incident report. I told Wanda to disseminate my findings to all the agencies involved. After eating and watching more local news, I showered, shaved, and dressed in my Wal-Mart clothes. They didn't look bad, but were a far cry from the nice clothes I had been wearing. I left a tip and note for the maid that the clothes had been ruined and I was throwing them away. The hole in the back of the suit coat was obvious. I wonder if someone would get it repaired. For a thousand dollar suit, why not? Hope they enjoyed it and I'd bet they would wonder how the hole got there. A duty man was waiting for me when I came downstairs carrying my gym bag and briefcase, but wearing my vest outside my new shirt. He laughed, "Are we that dangerous around here?" "Don't know what else to do with it, so I'll just wear the darn thing. If it's outside my shirt it'll be easier to take off later." "Nice tear you have back there in the vest. Bet that hurts like hell." I answered as he led me out to his car to go the station, "Not bad, I've had worse." At the station, I was greeted by Sandy and the strike team leader. They had the investigative team downstairs at the Bureau going over the evidence. I asked Sandy, "Are you guys done digging out at the camp?" He said, "I think fourteen is all of them. We have an ID on one already and I hope we can ID the rest. The Muskogee camp had a grave outside their walls, and you know it has to be related. The grave is too fresh. Are you leaving or staying?" "If you need me I'll stay, but I've been directed to head home. Somehow, I don't feel like this is done, but I don't feel there is any immediate danger. Make sure the Bureau works with the local police department to check on any, I mean any, suspected extremist. We don't need any blown up malls. Hopefully, we've found the bulk of their explosives. Help the Bureau track down where that stuff came from." I shook hands all around before having a duty man take me to the airport. I put my stuff in the aircraft and went into operations to clear my fees and fuel bill. The operations billing clerk said, "S&S already called and took care of everything. We don't charge the feds any field fees. You have to pay for fuel of course, but that's all." I brought my thermos inside and had it filled while getting a couple of sandwiches and some bottles of water. I took one last leak before checking the weather. Right then it was clear all the way, but this afternoon there would be building cumulus with some on shore activity from the gulf. I was wheels up by ten and at the top cruising airspeed, plus twenty knots more ground speed from a real nice tailwind at twenty thousand feet. When I made the turn to stay out in the gulf near Panama City, I thought of Michelle and her family and wondered how they were doing. That brought the memories of Bobby and my feelings for her. Damn, she sure seemed to be the one. A little too wild, but she sure was something. Perhaps Brandy wasn't a lost cause, but she didn't sound very good last night. At one ten in the afternoon, I was lining up on final approach for home. Everything was automatic as I went down the checklist while watching the glide slope. I touched down and when I turned to go back to the hangar, I felt relieved to be home this time. Having the car blow up on me was a little scary. We could have been in or beside it. I put my little bag and briefcase in the car and cleaned out the aircraft. While I was turning in the logbook, Jimmy came running over to me, "Hey, Chuck, that Jeep is great. Thank you, man, it's perfect for me, and I have to thank you for that little girl that lives with you, you know, Angie. We went out again last night and had a great time." "I didn't know you had met her?" "Yeah, when you were out before, I met her and I got her telephone number. I couldn't ask her out without a car, but now I've got wheels so I could call." "That's nice, Jimmy, she's a neat little girl." "I'll say, my dad will get over she's another color, but I don't see it being a problem since my mom's Filipino. We're having fun as friends, we'll see if it works out." As I left to go home, I thought, "That's very good. Even Angie is finding another friend." I called the office, "Wanda, I need a new charger for my cell phone so I'm going by the store to get one. I also need a new suitcase so I'll try to pick one up." "Are you home, I mean here in Tampa?" "Yeah, I said I was coming." She said, "But you were supposed to call." "Oh, I was so interested in getting home, I forgot." "That's fine, Chuck, I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson, since it's still office hours. I'm glad you're home. I'll tell everyone so they'll quit worrying." "Okay, I'm going to run those errands and head home. I'd like to relax this evening after a nice supper." On my way back toward the city, I remembered that the warehouse had suitcases so I pulled in there. I didn't want to wear my gun in but I couldn't leave it in the car. Oh well, I guess there's no hiding it this time. I did get some looks as I bought a nice suit and two shirts. The man at the office register gave me a nice belt before I could even ask for a new suitcase. He was going to give me a fancy leather one, but I suggested one of the tough canvas ones instead. I told him, "I'm pretty tough on suitcases, just like my clothes. I ruined another good suit yesterday. That's why I'm here." He was nice and when I looked in my bag while walking to the car, I noticed an extra colored shirt and a handful of ties in the bag. This was a great place to shop. I stopped at the cell phone place to get a new charger, and headed home. I put on my swim trunks and went out to the pool to get some sun while sipping on a beer. John called while I was out there. "Where are you, Chuck?" "Home, by the pool, enjoying the sun and a cold one." "It's not even five and you're drinking?" "If a beer is drinking, then the answer is yes." "I wish I could join you. You did a good job with those religious guys. The Imam has talked to the press continuously, telling everyone how wonderful we are and how nice it was that you helped them. The strike team is busy helping the investigators and has found a couple of cells out in the country around Tulsa. There may be more problems there, but it's yet to happen. I wanted to tell you to stay away for a while. The Marshal that loves you is afraid you're going to be hurt and is making noise about bringing you in to D.C. I've already told him he would lose you if he did that, so lay low, stay home, be bored or something. Your file is full of wound notices. Stop it, stay out of trouble." "I will, John, I will sure try. I need to reset my luck again, as I've been a target too often lately. It's time to get a stronger vest and maybe leggings. I think I need something for my arms too." John said, "No, you just need to stay away from finding trouble. Be good, stay home a couple of days. I'll try not to call you. Find me another helper; we're having enough problems that I'll need another one." I decided I had put it off long enough. I went into the gym and got on the bike. I did that for half hour before getting on the dreaded treadmill. That made me remember that my sport leg might be ready. While walking at a leisurely three miles an hour, I called the prosthesis shop. The wife answered and said, "Your new leg is done. Come in tomorrow and we'll fit it for you. You'll need some practice and therapy for this thing. If you can't get in out at the VA, I'll give you a local doc that has people who can help you." I was happy to think I might begin running, or least jogging, again. The weight machine beckoned, so I began using the different stations to see what hurt and what didn't. I was really in pretty good shape for having another cracked rib. It barely hurt. I heard the garage door open and a car come in. It sounded like Wanda's Chrysler. She came into the gym room and gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're home." She looked at me and said, "I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on you. You're stretching your luck lately." Wanda left, but Jan came in shortly after her and hugged me, saying about the same thing. Marie and Angie were at class so I didn't expect anyone else. Lisa walked in the door and gave me a hug. She said, "I missed you out at the air park. They said you were back. The girls tell me you were in another scrape out in Oklahoma. Don't you know when to stay down? Are you okay?" "I'm fine. A little cut is all." She nodded and said, "That and some more damaged ribs. You better take care of yourself. There are too many of us worrying about you." When she left, I didn't know whether she was staying at the house or leaving. Wanda came back in the gym room wearing jeans and said, "How about a ride out to Park Place for dinner or out to the trailer park to see the folks out there." "Ah, I kind of thought Brandy might come by and we could have that talk she said we would have." Wanda frowned, "Brandy called me to tell me she wouldn't be by this evening. She said to tell you she would call you." I nodded and said, "You know, a quiet night at home wouldn't be bad." Wanda stood with her legs spread and her hands on her hips, "I want to ride, I want to feel the wind in my face. Come on get some clothes on and take me some place. Let's ride over to Clearwater and have supper over there. Let's go." I did get up, showered quickly, and put on jeans and a T-shirt, along with some boots. I was about to leave my weapon, but put the clip-on holster on my belt and slid a too large vest on to cover it up. I pushed the bike out of the garage and checked the gas. Wanda said, "The house is secure, let's get going." We rode toward Clearwater in the remnants of evening rush hour. This was more dangerous than a dozen gun fights. When we made it across the causeway out to Clearwater beach, we rode the strip till we ended up at a Froggies by the old pier. We had a beer and a great baked Mahi Mahi dinner. Thinking there was a lot of evening left, we went back to the mainland and rode north along alternate or business 19 until we came out on highway 19 up by New Port Richey. From there we rode up to Highway 52, back towards I-75, back to I-275 and exited on Fletcher to get home. We pulled into the house at ten, putting the bike away and going in to enjoy a nightcap before bed. We were sitting at the bar/counter when Lisa came in, wearing shorts, and said, "I just love it here. It's much quieter and more peaceful. I think I'm going to like it here." When I looked at Wanda, she said, "Lisa asked if she could try it here for a month, so I told her to come on over. So far she's been a lot of fun and we hardly know we have another housemate. She has to leave early in the morning pretty regularly, so she's often gone when we get up. I gave her a slot in the new garage. I hope that's alright?" "Nice, glad to have you, Lisa. Now that I'm back, I need some hours if you have any right seat time available for me." Lisa grinned, "As long as you play some music for me. I've already asked John if you can crew with me on the Lear and G5. He's fine with it. You still need the schools though. Lear is next week and John may send you to the G5 school in Savannah. He says you would like it there as they push you really hard for three days, test you, and send you home. You have to be able to pass a written test first though. I'll get you the manual to study." When it was time to go to bed, I was surprised to not have any company. I washed up and was leaning back on pillows with the TV on when Wanda came in. She sat with me and asked, "Do you want me to sleep in here with you? I thought you might want to be alone a little so you can sort things out. What do you think?" "Wanda, if you want to cuddle, please, I would enjoy feeling you with me. It's up to you though. We're still buddies, right?" She hugged me and said, "Still very much buddies. I think there's another that wants to sleep with you too, let me get her." Wanda came back with Lisa who was all smiles. Lisa slid under the covers and hugged me. She pulled her gown off and said, "I like the skin feel better than all those clothes. Thank you for wanting company." Believe it or not, we snuggled up and went to sleep. I slept very peacefully, enjoying the closeness of two who were not my "lovers," but true friends. ------- Chapter 61 I woke up just before six and slid from bed. Having put my peg leg on with a pair of shorts and T-shirt, I went outside to enjoy a few minutes of stretching. My form was drawing to a close when I felt Wanda near me, then saw her, Jan and Lisa as we all came to a close. While we relaxed, I noticed Marie sitting inside the pool cage watching us. Dennis was next to her. The girls were stripping and heading for the pool, so I thought, what the hey, I should be okay and I need the exercise. I slipped off my peg and dove in with them. I didn't swim that hard but moved along fairly swiftly, making sure my ribs weren't hurting too bad. The cut stung a little, but I would put some gunk on it and it would be fine too. After showers and breakfast, everyone except Lisa got ready to go to work. I asked Lisa, "Don't you have a flight today?" "Nothing this morning, I have a commuter run this afternoon up to Atlanta and back. I'm flying your 200, want to ride along?" "Sure, I have to go to a shop over by the stadium to pick up a new prosthesis to run with. It won't take long, about an hour." Lisa asked, "Can I come along, or is that kind of private." "Come on, let's go early and get it done." We took the Mustang in order to exercise the muscle car a little. Lisa loved the old car and enjoyed riding along, listening to the noisy exhaust tell the world how powerful the engine was, or at least sounded. The couple fit me with the leg and had me walk around on it a little. They encouraged me to spring on the foot a little to feel the push off from the foot that it had. He showed me how to adjust the tension of the foot to lessen or increase the spring. Both of them said it would take a few weeks to get it just right for me. I asked if they thought a treadmill would be good for learning how to use the foot and they both thought it would be great. Well, maybe I will like the treadmill after all. They did caution me about doing too steep of an incline while I'm learning to use the foot. Back home, I put the new leg in the closet and dressed in my blue pants and black shoes so I would be in uniform for S&S Air Charter. Lisa and I left early to eat at Steak and Shake before getting to the air park. I called Wanda to tell her I was going to fly with S&S today. She told me to have a good time. I was filling out the preflight log when I noticed the return time. We weren't leaving Atlanta until midnight. Shit, that was a long time to hang out at the airport doing nothing. Oh well, I already said I'd go. While I did the preflight and put on my uniform shirt, coat, and hat, Lisa filed the flight plan and stocked the galley with some coffee, beer, and some ice for drinks from the limited bar on board the little B200. Two couples showed up in evening dresses and tuxes. We seated them, showed them how to get at the booze supply, closed up the door, and began getting the plane off the ground. It only takes about two hours to fly to Atlanta. We went into the small airport close to downtown. A nice stretch limousine met us and whisked the two couples off for an evening of fun. We were to meet them at the plane around midnight. Lisa said, "Let me take you to see some local places you will enjoy. I should have had us bring some other clothes, but we'll be fine in our uniforms. Come on, let's rent a car." We rented a box with four wheels and Lisa drove us to a tiny little bar and grille near downtown. It was a true smelly bar with stale cigar smoke clinging to the walls. When we walked in, an ancient black guy was tinkling on the piano, just letting his fingers pick out various sounds and chords. Lisa walked up to him and said, "Hey, Pops, want to hear some neat stuff. I have a couple of CDs for you to listen to. I have one that's got video, can I put it on the big screen?" The old man waved at the big flat screen TV that was dark at the time. While Lisa was messing with the TV, an older black lady asked me if I wanted something to drink. I told her I'd love to have a drink but I was flying and couldn't. I asked, "You have coffee?" She smiled and reached up to pinch my cheek. "Always, Honey. These guys live on coffee." The video began and Lisa adjusted the surround sound. The opening was the riff from the French CD when I was showing it to Jimmy. A voice over said, "Now listen to what really happens when friends play together." There was wide view of the band with Lisa and me sitting with them. I remember we had just picked around a few seconds before I led in with a strong bass line and everyone had followed. From that point on it was hair up on the back of the neck time. The old man was saying "Yeah" "That's right" "Oh Lordy, Lordy that is so right." About halfway through, when I switched to a guitar, the man said, "You gonna play with Lisa's box? She let you play her Daddy's box? You some man." I had to admit, I played pretty damn good, but let the band pick it back up as the pace slowed. I picked up the bass again and had the opportunity to make it sing some sweet songs. When I used a glass for a slide to get the singing smoother, the old man said, "Nancy, Honey, come kiss your Daddy, this is better than sex." The woman came out and sat on the old man's lap while the video played on and on. When it finally came to a close, the camera got close-ups of all of our faces and expressions. It was as if we had all been making love and were totally sated. Pops and Nancy were clapping and saying, "You two gotta play for us too." Lisa said, "Not tonight, but soon. We didn't bring our music with us but we will soon. I wanted you to hear us, Pops. I'll leave you the CD. Listen to the other one when you can. It's us, but when we were in France. It's totally different and has some real good riffs." Nancy said, "You two play some good music. Come some Saturday night and play with everyone. We have an open stage and enjoy having anybody who feels the love." Pops just said, "Yeah, feel the love." Lisa told them we would come see them again soon. We left to drive to a small restaurant called Peaches. We were again out of our element as we were the only white folks in the place. When Lisa walked in the door, an enormous lady waddled from a desk and threw her arms around Lisa. "Oh Lisa, Honey. Oh where has you been, Baby? I've missed you so much. Come sit with me, bring your man, and come sit." The big lady was leading us to the back when she yelled, "Racine, get us some of that wine to celebrate." Lisa told the lady, "We can't Mama, we're flying and we can never drink when we fly. How about some of your great coffee?" We sat and Lisa and Mama talked and talked, catching each other up on what they had been doing. Finally, Mama said, "Okay, introduce me to your man. He's polite cause he ain't said a word while we yakked and hasn't ogled any of the girls either. Did you have to get one with only one leg, though?" I had to laugh at the lady as she was so direct. Lisa was almost embarrassed, she said, "Mama, he lost that in the war. He's a hero. He's not mine, but I think I'd like him to be. You want to stick some pins in a doll for me?" "Lisa, Honey, you know I don't do none of that voodoo stuff anymore. I'll sweet talk him for you if you wants." "Mama, this is Chuck Johnson, a very good friend and another flying fool like me. You have to go over to Pops' and make him show you the video. You'll see me and this guy playing some really good music." "Oh Lisa, you used to play so sweet. I loves the way you makes your Daddy's old box make music. You makes them strings sing, Honey." "Well, Mama, this here man makes some strings sing too, you'll love it." The big lady grinned, "Now tell me you're gonna let me feed you and your man. I haven't fed my baby, Lisa, for a long, long time." "We're here to eat Mama, this man can really eat, so bring it on; I'm dyin' for some of your great food." The lady had food and more food brought to the table. Lisa and I ate till we were about to pop, while the big lady nibbled off both of our plates. As we were eating, Mama told me how Lisa had been left with her every night when her dad had gone out to play music. During the day, Lisa's dad would teach Lisa to play, and during the night Lisa would play for Mama and her kids. Lisa said, "Mama kept me from when I was about four till I was sixteen. I would have stayed longer, but when dad died, the state put me in a foster home. I left at eighteen and was in the military for a while. That's where I learned to fly. After I got out, I, ah, worked as a dancer a short while until I got on with S&S. I knew what I wanted to do and I did it. See, I come from a good background." I could see the love in Lisa's eyes as she looked at the big lady. When Lisa said we had to go, the big lady got up and gave Lisa the warmest hug you've ever seen, and she had big tears running down her big black cheeks. Lisa kissed the tears away saying, "We'll be back soon, Mama, I promise not to stay away so long." Lisa kissed all the young girls working in the little restaurant, while I got a big hug from the woman with the admonishment, "You take care of my Lisa. Treat her good and she'll treat you like a man." When we left, Lisa needed a hug and said, "It's always so hard to leave that woman. It's almost like when child services came to get me when I left before. She was my Mama back then, and I wanted her to be the one to keep me, but they wouldn't let her have me because I was white. I lost something back then and have looked for it since. You've kind of helped lately; you're so open, so loving. Damn, I don't want a guy, but you sure are tempting." Lisa said, "It's getting late enough now to show you one more place. This one's a little rough, but we'll be fine unless you start being an uppity white boy. These guys are going to egg you on, but I'll fix it, you'll, or we'll be fine." Over the door was a hand painted sign that said, "Rags." Lisa walked in like she owned the place. I stayed back, trying not to draw attention. She walked up to a monster black guy and punched him hard in the arm. He whirled around, making me look for a club of some kind to use on the huge man. Lisa was grinning at the guy with her arms out. "My God, little Lisa, where you been, Jailbait. Holy shit, we been blessed, Hey, Jude, we been blessed with little Lisa. Come out here you big fag and say hi." Another Goliath with a shaved head came lumbering out the door, scooped Lisa up into his arms, and gave her a hug that I'm sure hurt down to her toes. She hollered, "Rags" be nice, let me have some breath, you asshole. I love you, but don't do me in." The second big man put Lisa down and said, "Oh my goodness, you are just a beautiful princess. Is that white boy you brought in a good man or should we do away with him?" "He's a keeper, Rags. You'll like the man when you get to know him. Just say hi to Chuck and give him some coffee. If you want to be entertained, give him your axe and listen. Go get some guitars and let's play for the people. That white boy plays a mean bass, but it's got to be fretless. You can let him play your SG or Strat later." "Your boy plays our music?" "Better than you, better than me, and with heart, my friend. When you have a chance, go to Pops' and make him play the CDs I gave him. There's a video you'll love that really showcases both of us." The big man, Rags, said, "Johnny, go get my instruments. We're going to play some music." He yelled, "Hey, Rey, and any who want to really play, my little Lisa is here to entertain. She brings a white boy who's supposed to have soul. Come help us find it." The other monster man came back, carrying a half-dozen guitar cases and laid them down on the table. Rags picked up one of the cases and handed it to me and said, "Let's try you on a line first. Let's see if you can keep us on track." I opened the case to see an original Gibson semi-hard body fretless bass. This had to be a custom. I'd never heard of one. I listened to the strings and damn, it was in tune. I was looking around for an amp when Rags pointed to an amp on the side of the room. He said, "Drag it over here and plug in. It should do ya." Watching Lisa as she petted another 335 like her dad's was inspiring. She strummed and began picking a few things as Rags found his sound with a Les Paul. An older guy came up to sit at an electronic keyboard and a tall lanky man sat at a drum set. Just his feet messing with the bass drum and the hi-hat cymbal told me he was going to be a project. Oh well, that was what a bass man was supposed to do, keep 'em together. Lisa led off with a traditional Night Train riff that bled blue. I followed standing in front of the drummer trying to get his attention to get the rhythm. It was tough to follow the lead while trying to keep the drummer going. After a few minutes, Rags stopped and told the boy to leave. He used the mike, "Can anybody play these skins and stay with us? Oh please, somebody?" I said to Rags, "You have anyone to play this wonderful bass? If so, I'll do you on the drums." Rags yelled without the mike, "Johnny, get your cute ass up here and play for me. Let's see if this white boy can stay with us." I had to move the drums around a little to get them where they felt comfortable, then remembering what we were playing, I clicked my sticks together giving it a "one, two, three, four" and hit the snare to give us a go. A big guy came out of the audience with a tenor sax hung from his neck and began playing with us. We were soon really doing a great rendition of "Night Train." Lisa did about eight bars, Johnny did eight on his own, the sax did at least sixteen, and Rags tore up the place with a long, long, blues guitar lead. I heard Rags bring us down to a close and worked with him. Rags put his guitar down and walked over to me. The monster man picked me up off the throne, hugged me, and kissed me full on the lips. "Damn boy, I love ya. You are gold. Johnny, play them skins so I kin hear my sweet Lisa and this boy play for us." Rags picked up the bass while Johnny got the drums together for his reach. Lisa grinned at me and mouthed, "Do your Summertime." I twisted the sensitivity up and hit the echo effects pedal then and off in the slow loud metal version of the best serenade of all time. Lisa pushed a mike up to my mouth and it was automatic, I sang. I sang the most loved blues song ever written while playing crazy, dissonant, bleeding sounds. By the time I was in the second line, Lisa was backing me with an equal rhythm blues line and Rags was putting down a bass line that made you feel really good. That piece takes a while, a long while, when everyone gets a chance to show what they can do with their sax or their strings. When we were done, Rags looked at me and said, "Marry little Lisa and give us some little music makers. I love you, man. I can tell you're our kind." Lisa came to me with water in her eyes and kissed me. She said, "That's about the best musical compliment you'll ever get." Johnny came to me and said, "You haveta come back and play with us. Saturday night when we do everyone. We'll get some brass, wind, everything. Come play with us after one, you know when all the gigs are over. When the boys really play." Lisa said, "Chuck and I will be back to play with you guys. The man loves his music too. Go to Pops' and watch us when we jammed in Spain. You'll love it. Hopefully they'll sell that CD instead of teasing people with it." We left with Lisa hanging onto me. She said, "That's the people my daddy brought me up with. They loved him and they still love me. Did you see the respect they had for pure music?" We drove back to the airport, arriving at a little after eleven. I began doing the preflight while Lisa arranged for some more soft drinks and ice. She was able to get two thermoses of fresh coffee, along with a couple of extra cups. She went inside and put a CD in the video player and said, "These guys are big time promoters. I want them to see us playing in Spain. We did good. I wish we had a video of you doing Summertime tonight. God, you can sing. You also do an awesome job on the drums. Where have you been all my life?" I smiled and gave Lisa a one armed hug, a real friendship hug. She was grinning, so I knew it was the right way to do it. About twenty after midnight, a limo pulled up to the aircraft. The men got out and said, "You're going to have to help pour the girls into the plane. They are both done, very well done. Make the ride back smooth, they will appreciate it." We did make the flight smooth, along with playing the CD for the guys in the back. We knew it was good as they kept getting more booze from the little mini-bar. When we landed back in Tampa, one of them said, "I recognized both of you on that video with the band. That was awesome. Do you mind if we talk to them about promoting that video? I think we can sell it to lounge and bar audiences as a long run video. I'd like to try if you don't mind." Lisa surprised me when she said, "If you get it done, find a mobile recording group and we'll go up to Atlanta and record at Rags for you." "You know Rags?" "He's my godfather, a very special man." "Shit, you're on just on that. Let me know when you can do it and I'll arrange some people and equipment. Make sure it's okay with Rags. I'd hate for him or Johnny to be mad at us." "Rags will do it. He loves Chuck here too. Wait till you hear how they play together." "Could you guys do a studio gig?" Lisa said, "Naw, let's make it live, if we don't have any feeling to go with it, it's no fun." "Gotcha, let me know and we'll get it together." The two couples took off in another limo while Lisa and I cleaned up the aircraft. It was already almost four. Lisa said, "Come out to Park Place and we'll have something in the diner. Let me leave my car and you can take me home to cuddle." We did go to the diner and enjoyed a great early breakfast or late dinner. We joked and laughed until we decided it was time to get to bed. I followed Lisa to the long garage and she got in with me, carrying a small bag. We drove home with her snuggling against me across the console. It was getting light as we went into the main part of the house. We didn't do anything but use the bathroom and slide under the covers. Lisa gave me a gentle kiss and said, "Thanks for the great evening. You and I can have some fun. I don't know if we're meant to be or not, but I do know we are going to be great friends." I opened my eyes knowing it was very late in the day. The clock said ten-fifteen. Not that late. I stretched, Lisa stretched, then wrapped herself around me. She whispered, "You are so nice. We come home late, both naked, both tired, and you don't bug me. You just hug me and we fall asleep in each other's arms. I kept waiting for you to make a pass or try to get some pussy, but you just hugged me and slept peacefully. I love that. You might be a keeper. I'll let you know when I'm tired of what girls have." I laughed out loud which brought Wanda in to see what I was laughing at. "Wanda, this lady is messing with my mind. I'm glad you let her move in. We're going to be great friends. You might get a lot more loving the way she teases me though. She likes to lead me on, but I love it." I got out of bed and hit the bathroom and hopped into the shower to wash off quickly. Before I was done, Lisa got in with me, pulled my wanger for me, and said, "You didn't even get it up for me this morning." "It was up earlier, but I convinced it to stay cool. I can wait, when you're horny, I'm sure you can be a whole lotta fun." She punched me on the shoulder and we quickly finished washing. Dressed and in the kitchen, I asked Lisa, "Are you moved in or are you still testing the place?" Lisa said, "I'm about half and half. I want to move in, but I really enjoy Shannon and Joanie. Maggie and Becky are leaving soon and I don't know whether or not it's going to bother Tom and Zena if I do move." "Do you have a relationship with them similar to Shannon?" "No, not really. I'm like Shannon, since I like girls and prefer to associate with girls or women. Shannon has some special thing for Tom, but she is and has been, crazy in love with Zena. I'm like Shannon in that way too since I met you. You just make me feel all cushy inside and I want to hold you and kiss you. It isn't even that sexual of a thing, but I do love it when we make love. Something happens that makes it so good for me. I could enjoy being with you and never have sex with you, but it's nice that we can enjoy each other physically too. You have a house full of girls that are unusually girl oriented, and very loving toward each other, but all of them seem to enjoy men or at least some men." Tina came into the kitchen at that moment and gave me a chaste kiss on the cheek and a quick hug, "Heard you were getting shot at again. You're gonna have to learn to duck. Uncle Steve used to be in all kinds of gun battles and he never got shot. You should learn from him." Tina went to Lisa and they kissed on the lips and hugged warmly. Lisa smiled at me and said, "You see, your home is so warm and friendly. Your other girl friends, your Fab Five as you call them, they're all girl oriented, what happened to them? Brandy was a lot of fun and I thought she was a goner over you." Wanda had come in and poured a cup of coffee. She joined the discussion by saying, "I think Brandy was having trouble separating her girlfriends and her man friend. She really liked being the one and only, with some occasional sharing, but didn't like the idea of all five girls sharing Chuck and Chuck sharing all four of her friends. Little Tiani is the big talker about the danger involved in Chuck's job, but she wants him as much as Brandy. Nancy got that way too. Judy is sort of neutral on everything, while Frieda is the militant in the group that likes women or at least enjoys being the dominant with men. Brandy is still looking for herself. She and the rest of them will be back." Before I could get it out, Lisa asked, "Where is Brandy, why doesn't she come over or see Chuck somewhere else? What's with that?" Wanda suggested, "I think she doesn't want to confront Chuck so they don't just totally split. She probably wants some time to sort out her real feelings. If Chuck wants to get her off dead center, he should call her mom or dad. They know how to talk to her." Lisa said she had to get ready to go to work as she was on a G5 crew for an overnight to Los Angeles. She asked Tina, "The crew is short a hostess. I was going to call Brandy or Tiani, but you could do it. We're flying a family of six to L.A. and need two hostesses. It's sort of the company's rule to always have two. One could do it, so it will give you a chance to learn. The other girl is Samantha. She's a photographer for newspapers, but they've laid off almost all their staff people and now buy everything on a subcontract basis. She enjoys the trips and I know you would enjoy her. You see her all the time at your Uncle Steve's. We girls always bunk together on the overnights, so you won't feel like guys are going to gang up on you." Tina asked, "Will we be back Sunday night?" "Actually, Sunday early evening. The family is attending a wedding and coming right back home. We fly them out to L.A. about once a month as they have a lot of family out there." I asked, "Why don't they charter the Lear? They would fit fine in that." Lisa laughed, "I asked the same thing and the man said the kids have more room in the G5 and he likes that the one they always take has the bedroom. He likes to nap on the trip and lying down is better than falling asleep in a chair." I nodded and said, "That makes sense." Lisa grinned, "DeDe says what makes sense is that the couple has babysitters to watch the kids while they use the bedroom to catch up on some closeness they have been missing. Karen says the lady told her it's exciting to be in a private bedroom on an airplane six miles up." With a laugh, I agreed, "That makes even more sense." Tina happily said, "Please, I'd love it. I'm a little broke this week anyway, so this way I won't be spending a lot of money." Lisa added, "And you will make money for being a hostess and babysitter. S&S pays pretty well for an overnight." "Great, that's even better. I baby-sit at home all the time. The kids are getting bigger and are easier but if you have them all at once, they can be a chore." Tina and Lisa got ready to leave, while Wanda and I were talking about getting some sun out by the pool. Wanda found her supply of lotion while I went to get my swimsuit. When I came into the family room, the two girls were leaving. I received nice hugs and kisses from both and they vanished. I was pouring some coffee to take outside when Wanda came into the kitchen naked. She looked at me, "A swimsuit, here in our private back yard?" "We do have Marie and Dennis, as well as Jan and Don." "They aren't here and probably won't come home soon. They're at Sea World together with some of the kids from the trailer park. I took my suit back to the bedroom and hung it the closet." Outside, I slicked Wanda up with the lotion, first enjoying giving her back, nice round bottom, and long legs a gentle message. When she turned over, I really enjoyed doing her neck and shoulders, and passed her chest as I spread lotion on her tummy and hips. I reversed direction and applied lotion from her feet, up her long legs, pausing at the puffy junction that appeared a little damp, and then enjoyed applying lots of lotion on her long, full breasts. While using both hands to work one breast at a time, I slid my hands around it and massaged it, pulling upward making her nipple pop way out. I leaned over and sucked the elongated nipple into my mouth, sucking firmly making Wanda groan. When she was thoroughly covered, I gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She grabbed my shoulders, holding the kiss for a long, long minute. Wanda smiled and said, "Thanks, that was special." Wanda had me lay on my front and gave me only a gentle massage since she said I still had multiple bruises back there. She oiled my butt and down my legs and finished my back area with a smack on the butt, telling me to roll over. She gave me a quick lip kiss then oiled my neck, shoulders, and chest, working her way down. At my waist, she skipped to my feet and worked up my legs and thighs then began massaging my balls. My dick had enjoyed all the attention, or inattention, and was standing full and tall. I hadn't thought Wanda would do this, but she leaned over and sucked me into her mouth until I thought she was going to swallow me. She pulled off with a pop and kissed me again before laying back. Wanda said, "Isn't it nice to just be a little lazy today? I think you should take me over to Melbourne or Sebring for dinner, or perhaps up to Daytona or Jacksonville. If the weather is clear, I'd love to go flying." "We can do that. We should try the new restaurant at Daytona. We might have to call for a reservation on a Saturday night. After we eat, we can cruise the beach and fly back watching the sunset." We had been lying out for a while when Wanda said, "I was going to go out to the naturist park tonight on an invitation from Tom and Zena, but I'd rather stay home with you. It is very pleasant to be just us for a change." "Speaking of just us, if Lisa and Tina have moved in, taking up Jan's and Marie's rooms, where do you plan to put Lena when she gets here?" Wanda was on her back so I was watching her long breasts wobble as she talked and moved. She said, "I might move into your bedroom, but I think that if I blinked, Lisa or Tina will be in there. But in reality, Angie will probably be moving out to the trailer park with Jimmy. Those two got hot and heavy very fast. You can't believe how those two have connected. He says that he was waiting until he got a car. Since you got him that Jeep, he's been here every night. Angie, who wouldn't even let that other guy sit in her room, is keeping Jimmy overnight. They're staying out at his place tonight. She said he's asked her to move in and she's thinking she might want to do that." "My, oh my, our little Angie may have found her soul mate. What do you think of him, Wanda?" Wanda chuckled, "I'm worse than a mother. I've checked the young man out thoroughly. He's a good kid. He was raised by his mom and dad in an airplane junkyard. He's attended every aircraft maintenance school available and is an accomplished test pilot. He's a very good kid who is saving up for his own aircraft. I'm sure he'll have it soon as little Angie loves to fly too." After a pause I said, "You know, I'm a little nervous about having Lena here. I'm still a little miffed at her big sister." "You just aren't over her big sister yet, that's your problem. You were more committed to Bobby than she was to you. She wanted to be a lot freer with her favors than she thought you wanted her to be. That's why she was always drawing you toward groups. I don't think you mind the group as much as you do the lack of intimacy or feelings toward the participants. Most of the partying out at the nudie park is kind of cold, except when you play with Tom and Zena. They are very warm, as are their housemates when they are home, but their other friends are kind of plain fuck friends, not even fuck buddies, not real close and don't want to get real close." "Yeah, that does describe it. I didn't mind playing with Jonah and Millie, but I wasn't keen on the brothers and the twins, and definitely not Maxine. She's kind of someone I want to consider untouchable." "She doesn't want to be untouchable, but I understand. You were good not to try to whisk off the two girls and play with them immediately like Bobby and they wanted. It's better that they respect you, instead of looking at you as a what, a lover, or fuck buddy. They're too young to have someone your age as a fuck buddy." "Like I said, I'm not real comfortable having Lena around. She's going to remind me of Bobby and it's going to take a while before I can get her out of my system. I should have thought about it more before we got together. Bobby's older than I am and perhaps had some crazier experiences than I had. I just wasn't ready to go all out like she was." Wanda asked, "I'm older than you by a few years and you don't have a problem with me do you?" "Wanda, you are totally honest with me all the time. You act like a lady at work and do your damnedest to support the office, the Marshal Service, and the people in it. Then here at home, you're loving, gentle, and again, totally honest about your wants and needs. You've told me that I may not be as kinky as you need. I can live with that because you're up front about it. I like that, I like the openness between us, and I like having you as a close friends too so that I have someone to talk to and confide in." Wanda leaned over and kissed me. "We should go in before we burn. Let's get that reservation in Daytona, get ready, and go early. I want to get home early as I think your girlfriends will come by later. I want you to be here so you have a chance to talk to them." "I'm not sure I want a nice day like today to end that way. I can think of other ways." Wanda smiled and said, "See what's going to happen with them. I think that as a group, they are a little immature for you yet. They have some growing up and learning to do." I called the restaurant at Daytona and called out to the air park to reserve a plane. After hearing where I was going, DeDe said, "Your choice tonight. Want a little plane, a 172, or your 206? If I thought it wouldn't rain you could even take the bi-plane." "I'll fly my 206, that's always nice." "If you want company, I think Jimmy wants to take Angie up, but he won't spend the money. Do you want me to call him?" I thought for a minute then said, "Sure, call him. Another couple or two would be fun." "In that case, can John and I tag along? I don't think the six of us will be much of a load. What do you say, can we?" "Let's do it. We'll make it a party." I got off the phone and told Wanda the deal. She grinned and giggled, but didn't say anything else. We arrived at the air park about four thirty. The 206 had a fresh funny S&S paint job, with some of the same caricatures on it as the B200, but in different skits. Shawna and Hank were very creative and had a great sense of humor. The Deputy Dawg thing with my face was nearly everywhere. This time the star was very large and had a smiley face in it. Jimmy and Angie were there, dressed for the evening, as were DeDe and John. I was the one who dressed down, but I did have on some nice slacks and a dressy knit shirt. I was beginning to do the preflight when I said, "Jimmy, you haven't flown Angie yet. You do the honors. I've done the preflight, let's get in and head to Daytona." Jimmy was obviously excited. "I don't get to fly except to test. Up and down and that's about it. Come on Angie, you can be my co-pilot." Wanda and I got into the back seats with DeDe and John in the middle. I was thinking, weren't John and Wanda beginning a relationship? Did I miss something? They did greet each other warmly, and Wanda and DeDe did have a whispered conversation, as did Wanda and John. Jimmy was a good pilot, doing everything by the book, which makes for a safe trip. He commented that we were probably close to max load with full fuel, as the plane didn't want to get up to speed. I could tell John wasn't nervous, so I wasn't. We were soon parking near the new restaurant at Daytona, among a mass of light aircraft. A uniformed attendant came out and chocked our wheels for us, accepting the offered tip. Kind of like a parking lot attendant. Dinner was great and the company was very nice. The girls wanted to stay to dance a little, so we adjourned to the bar where Jimmy said, "If you guys want to drink, I'll be sure to be the sober designated driver. Enjoy yourselves, just don't get too bad that you can't drive home." I did have a drink, as did the others. When the music started, John and Wanda got up to dance as did Angie and Jimmy. I asked DeDe, "Would you like to dance?" We danced to three tunes. DeDe was making it interesting as we rubbed bellies. She couldn't mistake that I was a male by the second piece and I'm sure she thought I was intentionally rubbing her by the third. In actuality, I was trying to keep from touching her. The next set was sort of a fast foxtrot, almost a swing. This was music that I loved to dance to, and when I asked Wanda, she declined. I asked Angie and she shook her head no, so I asked DeDe, "I really like this type of swing music. Would you like to dance again?" She was quickly up and in my arms. DeDe was a great dancer and could make her hips go in five directions at once. She reminded me of some nudie bar dancers I had seen one time when I was in the Marines. I ended up dancing with DeDe the rest of the evening as John and Wanda seemed to become a set. That was fine with me, as DeDe was a looker with some nice cleavage to drool over. It almost didn't look like she had a bra on, but if that were so, she must have had some help making them stand up like they did. I didn't care whether they were manmade or not. They were fun to hug to me and very nice to look at. About ten, much later than I had thought originally, John said, "Let's head home before Jimmy gets too tired to fly. You and I have had a couple, so we shouldn't fly, and we should get these women back on that side of the peninsula. We went out to the aircraft and watched as Jimmy did the preflight inspection. The attendant came out and pulled the chocks, accepting another tip, and Jimmy went through the startup. Soon, we were on our way home, but this time DeDe and I were in the back, with John and Wanda in the middle. Guess I lost my buddy for the night. Back at the air park Wanda quietly said to me, "If you don't mind. John's asked me to come out to the trailer park tonight. Is that alright?" "That's fine, Wanda. Enjoy yourself." She said, "I think DeDe would like to get to know you better. You might want to take her home." "I think we're just friends, Wanda, I like it that way." After the plane was back in the hangar I walked DeDe to her car. I took her into my arms and hugged her. She was leaning back puckered up. I lightly kissed her and said, "I had a great time DeDe, we'll have to do that again." I reached down to open her car door and she put her hand on mine and said, "You could come over for a drink tonight. Star isn't home and we would be alone?" "How about a raincheck? I'm still kind of beat up from this past week. I don't think I would be good company yet." We parted and I drove home, happy to not get something started with someone probably over ten years my senior. She was a fox like Star, but I didn't need another older girlfriend. Bobby and Wanda should be enough warnings for a guy. When I pulled up at home, one of the girl's cars was in the driveway empty. There was a light on inside, so I pulled into the garage not knowing what to expect. There was no one in the kitchen, family room, or living room, so I looked in the bedroom. The five were sitting cross legged in a circle in the middle of the bed. All were wearing gauzy short gowns and smiles. Brandy hopped up and kissed me, followed by the other four. When that was done, they began taking my shirt and pants off. I had to sit on the bed to undo my leg, then the girls pulled me to the middle of the bed with my head on pillows. They were sitting around me, all touching me. Frieda said, "We need to talk. Don't say anything until we all get a chance to say what we need to okay, please?" I nodded, not saying anything. They looked at each other and Tiani started. "A lot of the problem is me. I wanted you and still want you, but I'm just scared of you and your job. It isn't a girl's position to tell a man, their man, that they can't accept what he does for a living, so I instigated all of us leaving you. It's my fault for not talking to you about how I feel. There's more later, but that needed to be said first." Judy was next, "I'm kind of the incurable lezzy in the bunch. I really enjoy snuggling up to you and you've made me feel really good when we made love, but I like the other girls best. I liked the idea of having both you and the girls, so I liked our arrangement and figured it would be good for all of us. I really like you, Chuck, and hope you and I can be good friends and occasional bed friends, however this works out." Frieda said to Judy with a grin, "You little slut." She turned to me and said, "I'm a little like Judy. I like women more than men, but I do like men. You know I like to be the boss, dominant. I'd love you to be my slave, but with you, I don't see that happening. I'd have to be your slave. That would be good too. I'm sort of to blame for talking up the danger of your job, but I wanted them all to know you could be gone in a flash. That scares me; it scares me a lot, especially if we use you for our breeding program." Frieda giggled, "Our breeding program has you eventually planting babies in all of us. We have it planned and have chosen you, so regardless of the outcome of this evening, we want you to sire our babies." Now that will wake up certain parts of you. Nancy looked down at me, "Darn you, I thought we had made a baby, then it went away. I keep thinking it was real because I got so scared when I heard you were shot again. Not the first or second time, but a third time. How can you be the father of my babies if you are dead? How can you love them and hold them or their mother if you're dead? I'm having a hard time with that. You are going to make me a baby if I have to hide you away somewhere until I take. I just want you to be around to help raise it with me, with us." Brandy leaned down and gently kissed me with tears in her eyes. "I've cried enough. I've talked enough. I'm afraid of your job, afraid for your life, but I still care for you. No, that's not right. I love you, Chuck, I love you so much it hurts and hurts. Knowing you were home and I wasn't with you was too much. Without my friends, my lovers, I would have been on the Skyway Bridge flying without a plane. There are going to be times I will be so mad at you I'm going to yell at you and want to leave you because I'm afraid, not because I don't love you. Just know it's because I am afraid you'll be hurt or dead. I want to be in your bed, to feel you against me most every night. I want us to be with you all the time and for you to love all of us, to make love to all of us. Can I come back, come home to you? Did you replace me already?" "No, I didn't replace you." Tiani kissed me from the other side and said, "You know we are a little different. The five of us are a little different than some friends. We love each other and we will always love each other. We're including you in our love, which is different, as we have only enjoyed including other girls. We all like Lisa, a lot. We like Tina too. They are both girl oriented and are a lot of fun. You know how we feel about Wanda so you know we won't let her feel lonely. We want you to know that Tina and Lisa are special to us and we want them to be special to you. We want you to make love to them with us and without us. We can play all day, and then play all night, but we understand you can't do that, or at least not continuously like we can. But we want you to know, you are free to enjoy those girls we approve of. We want you to enjoy who we enjoy. Does that make sense? Are we being too bossy? Is that not enough freedom?" All of them gave me kisses and were hugging me and kissing me, telling me they loved me. Brandy said, "Can we sleep with you tonight, you know just sleep, hold you, touch you, and just sleep?" "I'd like that. Please, lay with me, let me touch and feel all of you. I've missed you and felt a real loss thinking I would lose my Fab Five." Tiani lay on me, hardly making me feel her, as she is so small, so light. "We are your Fab Five and will try hard to be better lovers, better at understanding you. I promise to talk to you more when I'm mad at you or afraid." Each of the girls gave me special kisses until I had Brandy on one shoulder, Nancy on the other, with Frieda behind her and Judy behind Brandy. Little Tiani went to sleep almost instantly on my chest. She is such a scamp, such a darling, but aggravating, pixie. I was thinking of her as a delicate milk chocolate morsel when I dropped off to sleep. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 62 There was some rustling around during the night as Brandy and Judy exchanged places. Judy snuggled up to me and kissed my cheek and neck, holding me. I felt tears on my shoulder as she said, "I love you, Chuck, please keep us." Tiani kissed my chest, and then I felt Brandy put her hand on my chest. I woke up to find Frieda's face next to mine, smiling at me. She kissed me softly and snuggled into me. Nancy was behind her and my hand was holding her to us as my other hand was holding Brandy to us on the other side of Judy. Tiani had slid down until her head was on my stomach as she curled up between my legs. Brandy said to me, "I wish we had a picture of this. I just love the way we are all snuggled together, with you holding us to you." Frieda said, "I don't know about you, but I need to use the bathroom. Do you mind if I get up?" "Let's all get up. Come on, let's swim a little and get our circulation going." I said this as I began to slide up to sit. Little Tiani grabbed hold of my semi-firm handle and pulled, "Oh no, you don't, that's my pillow and my toy, they're mine." With a laugh, I reached down and picked her up, holding her in the air, "Be good, little girl. Share your toys and your pillow." We all got up and used the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, put on my peg, and joined the girls going out the patio door. I said to them, "Jump in, I'm going to start some coffee and be right with you. We were beginning to swim laps when Marie and Dennis came down the stairs to join us. Dennis said, "I love this place in the morning. All these lush females showing us guys their beautiful bodies." We were swimming some laps when Angie came out of the house, leading a bashful Jimmy. She said, "I talked him into coming home with me. I think he's too busy taking pictures with his eyes right now, but this is Jimmy, my new best friend and a, um, lover. I think it's safe to say lover." Jimmy had a hand over his middle blushing. Angie pulled him toward the water, "Come on, that thing will go back down when you get in and start swimming. If not, I'll take you back to bed and figure out how to get it down." Frieda asked, "Where's Jan, her car's home?" Marie said, "We heard the two of them thrashing around in her room late last night and early this morning. I imagine they will sleep late." Judy said, "I'm glad Chuck likes to get up early. Tiani, Nancy, and Brandy always want to sleep late. I like to get an early start. Hey, Brandy, is the offer your mother made for breakfast this morning still good?" Brandy, a little out of breath, said, "I'm sure it is if we go early. You know she likes to leave for church by ten. I'll call to make sure. Chuck, do you want to go to church with mom and dad and the kids? Me too, and maybe the others." "I'd love to, let's get dressed and go." Frieda said, "We'll stay at your folks and clean up breakfast. You two go and anyone else who wants to go. Come on, girls, we all have to go get some clothes." The five left while Angie and Jimmy were playing in the pool. Dennis and Marie said they were going out to the trailer park for breakfast and headed upstairs to get dressed. The six of us crammed into the Impala and rode over to Brandy's. The same idyllic picture was there, with Brandy's mom and dad at the big table piled high with food, and her brother and sister eating at another table. The five girls gave the couple and the two kids hugs and kisses, then began loading food onto plates. About ten, Brandy's mom got up and said she was going to wash up to leave for church. Brandy's dad sat in the chair and tied his tie, stood up, and reached for his suit coat. I had been smart enough to bring a sport coat, so I went for it and came back to find Brandy with a big smile on her face. Tiani was dressed in a very nice pixie dress, since that's all she can wear, only pixie clothes. The other three girls were going to stay and clean up the dishes, so we left in the family's Chrysler mini-van, which easily held the extra three of us. The church was a non-denominational church in Carolwood that had a great music program. The congregation was very vocal with every hymn, as they enjoyed singing the songs we all had grown up with. The pastor gave a good sermon, although in comparison, I thought the man out at the nature park was better. It was nice to go to services. I used to go to the Sunday services in Iraq all the time when I was in camp. It gave me a good feeling and I felt safer in the field. Perhaps this will make me less of a target. After church, there was the usual handshaking and introductions to people you hoped you would remember. On the way home, Brandy said, "Thank you for going to church with us. Tiani and I needed that. We need to know you are protected by your faith. That's important to us." Brandy's mom said, "Those two girls cried on my shoulder for two days. I tried to tell them that if anything was serious, they would hear it fast, but they wouldn't listen. Perhaps they will get used to you. I told them both they were being silly. If they are going to have and share a man like you, they are going to have to learn to live with what you do. She doesn't have to like it, but she and all of them have to learn to live with it." I said, "You know, the Bureau and the Service have a psychologist on retainer for just such situations. Why don't I get you guys an appointment so you can talk out your fears. It's free and it comes as part of my job." Tiani and Brandy looked at each other. Tiani asked, "All five of us? How are we going to explain all five of us?" "You just tell her or him or them the real deal. If you guys are a set, go as a set. Just tell them you're a package deal." I shouldn't have laughed. The girls punched me. After we got back to Brandy's folks' house, we said goodbye for the day and headed home. The girls said they had things to do at home. Brandy said she would probably come over later, or they possibly would all come over later. I was thinking of taking a ride when Wanda came strolling out of the hallway naked. She asked, "Did your little girls come home last night?" "They did. They slept with me and were all very untouchable." "Wanna touch me? I've got the itches today. I wore John out last night after we went to the hot tub with Tiny, Ruth, Henry, Nancy, Kevin, and Susan. Those people know how to play. They are all so close, so loving. It was more playful than sex even. Henry and Susan, Steve's siblings didn't mess around with each other, but it was fun. You would love Ruth's big boobs and Nancy is one big girl. John really enjoyed Nancy." "All that and you're still ready for more?" "Like I said, my body wants more or maybe it's my mind. Come on, scratch my itch." "You think it's safe to mess with them, then with me like that?" Wanda said, "I think they only mess around with each other out there. You fooled around with Tom and Zena and them. You know Bobby had all of them with two legs that night, and you did too, so you decide what is safest. That's why we got those exams, if you remember." "That's a sobering thought. What if I gave my girls something? I slept with Lisa too, and could have given her something. I think I'll get tested again." "Meanwhile, Stud, I'm standing here stark naked with a drooling, drippy pussy, ready to be plugged. Please? I really need my fuck buddy." I scooped Wanda up and hauled her to the bedroom where I thoroughly plugged her repeatedly, until she lay there limp, dripping with our juices. "Ah, now that's what I needed. So good. Everything else was just an appetizer." We kissed and I got up, thinking a shower and a bike ride would be good. Wanda showered with me, but when I said I was headed out for a ride, she declined. I rode to Jonah's for a beer among friends. I went in and saw Jonah and Millie happily teasing each other. I got a handshake from Jonah, a hug and kiss from Millie, and a beer from double D. I ended up having two beers and playing pool with some regulars. I was getting ready to leave, getting a hug from Millie, when she stiffened in my arms and said, "Oh God." I turned and saw Bobby come in, with mammoth Rocky following her. He was dressed in jeans and a vest. No shirt with a do rag on his head, now sporting a fairly long mustache. I told Millie, "keep them busy and I'll go out the back and leave. I don't want any trouble and they won't know I was here. Let me get." As I slipped out the back door to circle around, I thought I heard Bobby calling my name. I had just backed my bike out and was about to start it when Bobby came running out the door with Rocky on her heels. Bobby said, "Chuck, stop, let me talk to you." Rocky was yelling, "Leave that punk alone. I gave him a lot of money to stay out of my life, our life." Bobby got in front of my bike straddling the front wheel. "Come on, Honey, you can talk to me, we should have talked a long time ago." There was now a crowd outside the bar watching with Millie trying to talk Rocky into going back in. He said, "See, he's trying to make out with my ole' lady right in front of my face. I'll be damned." Bobby looked at Rocky, "Shut up, I'm keeping him from going anywhere. Let me talk a minute." "I'll let you talk to him a minute, while he's pushing up daisies." With that, Rocky swung at me, I ducked and the momentum of his swing overbalanced the monster sending him against the front of the bike pushing it over on my fake leg and causing Bobby to fall over as well. People were immediately picking up Rocky, Bobby, me, and the bike. I scooted back noting my foot was twisted around. I loosened the straps quickly and got everything back where it should be while Rocky and Bobby were still brushing themselves off. I was back together and standing when Rocky said, "You fucking wimp, I still haven't hit you. I'm gonna pulverize you." Bobby yelled, "Leave him alone. Come on, if you hurt him even a little we're both going to jail. Stop." Millie and Bobby were trying to get Rocky back inside the bar so I reached for the key to start the bike and found it was broken off in the ignition. Jonah saw my frustration and came over to find out what the problem was. "Shit, you want me to take you home? You can come get your bike later." "Jonah, this isn't your or my fault or problem. I'll jump the bike, but I'm not running from some roid rage asshole. Just have the guys shield me a little so he won't get back over here." One of the guys said, "I'll get you some needle nose pliers so you can turn the switch. That'll get you home." He had just left when the monster pushed a bunch of big men out of the way and came out. He yelled, "Fight me, Bobby said you could take me any way I wanted to fight you. I don't think so, but I'll give you a chance. Too bad we don't have any TV cameras here. I could sell this. Rocky Mountain destroys punk Deputy Marshal." He grabbed his crotch and said, "Come suck on this Deputy ex-Marine cripple." I'd had enough, it was time to tease him a little, "That just about covers the extent of your tiny vocabulary, doesn't it? Do you think those steroid induced muscles are going to help you fight a real man? I heard all those steroids shrink your balls and dick, why don't you show the girls how big a man you are?" I saw friendly faces, Hap and Bear were standing in the crowd. I motioned for Bear and said quietly so only he could hear, "Take my piece so it doesn't get used at the wrong time." Bear was close to me so he reached around me, took the Glock, and slid it into his belt without anyone seeing him. I was smiling, when Bear moved away, "Come on, Rocky Mountain, or are you more like Sandy Foothills? There was a gasp from the crowd and I could hear Bobby say, "Oh no. Now Chuck's taunting him." She yelled, "Please, Chuck, don't hurt him, I'm sorry, Chuck, please don't hurt him." "I'm waiting, Mr. Foothill." The man's color changed from his tanning salon tan to a bright red. He charged and I stood as if to let him hit me. Rocky was suddenly launched over my head to roll on the blacktop and gravel. I stood in front of him smiling. He got up on his knees, finally stood and approached me more cautiously, trying to get me into one of the wrestling holds. He lunged, grabbing my arm with his hand. I slid my hand up in his armpit grabbing his shoulder with my other hand and twisted, sending him over my fake leg tumbling to the ground, trying to catch himself. "Have enough, Mr. Foothills, or do you want to hurt me some more." "I'm gonna hit you at least one time and know how good it feels." "I don't think so, Rocky. Please, go away, go home, take your little girlfriend and leave. I was here first and I haven't finished my beer yet." He was standing and had a funny look on his face. He stuck out his hand to shake and said, "Okay, let's let bygones be bygones. Shake and let's be friends." I made sure my foot was planted and stuck out my hand out knowing what was coming. I was grinning when our hands slid together and he yanked me forward toward a massive fist that was coming my way. I twisted and spun, bringing his arm around his back and swept his legs from under him. I was a little angry this time, and slammed him face first to the ground. Oh, that hurt. I couldn't see his face, but his nose was bleeding. He probably had a broken nose. I was kneeling on Rocky's back with his arm behind him when a county cop car came sliding up. Oh shit. "What's going on here?" Pulling Rocky to his feet, I said, "Rocky and I were demonstrating a few wrestling moves to show people how a smaller guy takes care of himself in the ring. Rocky landed wrong. Hey, Bobby, bring a towel and clean him up." Denise came out and said, "I seen it all, if someone makes a stink, I'll tell it like it is." I told her, "There's no problem, Denise. I told the officer Rocky and I were just showing these guys some wrestling moves." The county guy knew me and said, "You carrying?" I turned and showed him my empty holster. He looked around and motioned Jonah over, "I know there is a restraining order for your sister-in-law and for this Rocky guy. Get them out of here, probably all three of them. Chuck, here, could cause him some grief. I'm leaving, but get them out of here. If Denise has to call me again, there will be trouble." Jonah looked at me and said, "Thanks Chuck, come back another time and drink free. I think you knocked him out when you slammed him down so hard. I don't know how you did it, but the man can't touch you." Bobby was guiding the woozy Rocky out toward a Cadillac convertible to the laughter of the bikers standing around. One said, "Keep him in the ring, away from here. He ain't welcome. Tell him to pick on a bigger guy, it would be easier." One of the women hollered, "Tell him to keep his shrunken needle dick at home." Millie was standing in the doorway, shaking her head. She motioned to me and handed me a cold beer. "Drink up, you're the new hero now. The little one-legged guy who took out Rocky Mountain at our bar. You were a least nice about it and didn't hurt him bad." Bear came up behind me and I felt my Glock slide into the holster. He said, "Semper fi." With an "Ooorah," I drained the rest of my beer and said to all, "Thanks for staying out of the stupidity and thanks for getting me off the ground. I think I'll use that guy's needle nose pliers now and head home." I noticed the bike key fob had two more keys on it that looked alike, so I pulled the stub of the original key from the lock and put another in and turned. "Yeah, a couple of spares." I gave the pliers back and started the bike. With a wave, I rode home, wondering what else could happen this weekend. At home, I had just pulled the bike into the garage when Frieda, Judy, and Brandy came over. Frieda looked at me and said, "Double D must have been blowing smoke up our butts. You haven't been in any fight." Brandy was looking at the bike and traced her fingers over a couple of scratches. Judy picked up my hand and looked at the knuckles saying, "Not even a scratch." Brandy asked, "What happened to your bike, how did it get scratched?" I put my hands up and said, "It's not important. There really wasn't a fight. A guy was trying to be a big man and made a fool of himself, the end." Frieda said, "Denise said Rocky Mountain and Bobby were there and he attacked you when you tried to leave. She also said after you slammed him into the ground and bloodied his nose, you told a county mountie you two were demonstrating wrestling holds. How corny is that?" Brandy was shaking her head. "I guess I shouldn't be worried about you if you can terrorize the biggest wrestler there is and live to say it was nothing. You know this story will spread until someone will be asking you about it." "I guess it never happened. No movies, no pictures, no nothing, it's just a story." Brandy said, "You know we all know how this turned out before. Will you get more?" "No, I don't want more. I do want him to leave me alone, though. I was trying to leave the place without causing any trouble, but Bobby saw me and came out to talk to me. Rocky came out, following her, and started the shit." Judy hugged me, "As long as you're not hurt." "Ladies, I'm going to go in and have myself another beer or something to drink. Want to join me or not?" Frieda said, "I'm ready for a drink, anyone else?" Judy grinned and said, "You should get me drunk and take advantage of me. That would be fun." Brandy added, "Well, I guess those dirty clothes will just stay dirty." We were inside building drinks when Wanda came down the hall, still naked. Frieda began drooling as Wanda said, "Make me something, how about a "sex on the beach" or something like that. When you get it made, maybe Frieda or Judy could bring it back to me. I shouldn't be running around without any clothes on, should I?" Brandy looked at me and said, "Is she running warm today? I recognize that look." I just smiled. I was making drinks and Brandy had left and come back, "At least she changed the sheets on your bed. Both you girls should take her that drink. It'll take both of you. I've seen her like this before and the whole house of girls couldn't soothe her." I made another pitcher of Margaritas and asked Brandy, "Why don't you take this pitcher back to Wanda's bedroom and give them a refill." "You don't want me to stick around and play with you?" "Sure, but I'll still be here when you get back helping the other two. I'll be waiting." Actually, I was going to use the gym. I put on my new sport leg and went to the treadmill. I walked at three miles an hour for a while then sped up to three and half then four then four and half. I increased a half mile an hour until I was jogging at six miles an hour. It actually was more like running. The foot was doing good and not springing up to much. I was running at a pretty good clip and kept it up for thirty minutes. By the time I was done, I was drenched with sweat. This was the first time I had run since I lost the leg. A milestone. I decided that I should build up to longer periods or a faster pace. I took a quick shower and dressed in some more shorts and a T-shirt, this time with my slip-on peg. I was making salads when Judy came out looking a little frazzled. "Jesus, she's a wild woman. I thought Frieda got horny, but that is ridiculous. Oh goody, food. What else do you have?" "How about a steak, baked potato, and some mixed vegetables." "Is there enough for everyone?" "Who's everyone, Judy?" "The five of us, Wanda, you and whoever else may show up?" "I think Lisa and Tina may get in pretty soon, probably about six. Why don't you call the other two roommates and have them come. Perhaps they might help out back there." With a shy smile, Judy said, "Those two are doing the black pussy thing today. Sometimes they get into each other and just mess around until they can hardly walk. Today's one of those days." "Call them anyway; they need to come up for food. Tell them I said so and that they needed to save some of that black pussy for me." Judy giggled and said, "I'll tell them that. They will both want some, you know. Are you going to be able to handle a house full of horny women?" "I'm gonna try." Judy was still giggling when she called over to her house. The two girls said they would be over soon, especially if fucking followed food. I thought, 'my goodness was there something in the air?' I doctored all the steaks, thinking there would be at least nine and maybe more. There were only fourteen steaks, so we could eat them for breakfast if any were left over. The two dark beauties had come over and had already checked out the female orgy going on in Wanda's bedroom. Nancy came back and said that she and Tiani were what each other needed today, unless I wanted to add a certain ingredient into their fun. The potatoes were almost done, so I was dishing up the salad and had turned on the grille when Tina and Lisa came in the door, laughing and carrying on. Tina said, "Good, you brought your girlfriends back. I thought I was going to have to start hunting at the P-club, but now I've got your five, Wanda, and Lisa." Judy said, "Wanda's in a mood. After supper you should help her with it." "She can't be too horny," Lisa said. "She spent most of last night going crazy with me. We finally got to bed about three." Brandy came out, all disheveled and with a red face, followed by Frieda and Wanda. At least Wanda now had a robe on. Brandy went to wash her face and comb her hair, with Frieda following. Wanda looked as cool and svelte as always. She grinned, "Oh goody, reinforcements. Lisa and Tina, I need to talk to you after supper." Tina laughed, "We've heard you've worn out the population around here, what's up with that?" Wanda smiled and said, "I get this way a day or so before my period and I swear, I could go non-stop for forty eight hours. I should be over it soon, I think. I should be starting today, but I'm still just dying of horniness." "Let's eat, start on the salads and I'll put the steaks on." We all ate heartily, along with some friendly banter and comments on what Frieda had heard from Denise. She wanted to go down to Jonah's for the real scoop, but I told Tina to call Bear or Hap. They were there, and would tell it like it really was. Tina called the patio and asked if Bear or Hap was there. She had Bear on the speakerphone when he answered and asked, "Whatcha need, Sugar? Are you in trouble somewhere?" "No, Bear, I'm with a bunch of girls and we heard Chuck was in a scuffle today down at Jonah's. We want to hear what really happened." "It was hardly a scuffle. That big wrestler Millie's sister is going with started picking on Chuck. After Chuck tossed him over his shoulder a couple of times, the big guy tried to rush Chuck and hit him. He never touched him. The guy acted like he wanted to shake on letting it all go and tried to pull Chuck into a punch, but somehow Chuck threw the big guy over his shoulder and slammed him into the parking lot face first and bloodied his nose and face. He may have a broken nose. That was it. The cops came and Chuck said they were showing us all wrestling holds. Like I said, that Rocky guy never touched Chuck. Chuck may be little, and with only one good leg, but I wouldn't mess with him. That Rocky guy is probably three times bigger than Chuck. It sure didn't seem to bother him though." "What happened to scratch up Chuck's bike," Brandy asked? "That happened when the big guy tried to punch Chuck while he was trying to leave. The bike got knocked over. We all picked up everybody, as Chuck was pinned under the bike. We had to make it at least fair, with both on their feet. Where are you at, Sweetness?" "I'm at Chuck's. He won't tell the truth about what happened, so I called you. He said it was a non-event." Bear's deep laugh could be heard, "To that man it was a non-event, but to everyone who saw it, it was the highlight of the week and no one had a video camera. One guy has a phone picture of Rocky going over Chuck's shoulder on the way to the ground. Everyone forgot about the movie thing on their cell phones. The girls are here now telling everyone about it. It was a hoot." "Thanks, Bear, at least we got the real deal." "Say hi to the Jarhead for me and give him a kiss, he deserves it. See ya." "Bye, Bear." Tina turned to the others and said, "And now we know. Bear is about six-six, goes around two-eighty or so, and is all muscle. He's cut his beard and his hair a lot, but he used to look like a wild man. I think he used to be a bike club president. So was Hap, but they wanted to live and work around Uncle Steve, and that's who they are and what they do." Tina came over and kissed me full on the mouth. "I gave you his kiss; I'll give you mine later." Wanda was acting sleepy and actually said, "You know what, I think I'm done. I'm not crazy anymore and I don't itch or want anymore right now." The three girls who she had worn out applauded and cheered. "We did it, we took care of Wanda." Brandy softly said, but everyone heard, "Until next month." Everyone had to laugh. Brandy was sitting on my lap and hugged me. "I guess I won't worry about you. You get dinged up, but you're right here with us, loving and feeding us. What more could we want?" Nancy said, "Babies." Tiani giggled, "Give him a chance, give him a chance. Take your temperature and don't get so excited about it." Tina asked, "Are you really going to get pregnant intentionally?" Nancy grinned and rubbed her belly, "I want a baby and Chuck is going to be the dad. I thought I had it done but it didn't take. I'm exercising, eating right, getting the right amount of rest, and taking vitamins. I'll get myself a baby, I know it." Tina asked, "That's kind of expensive isn't it?" Judy answered for Nancy, "We have money. We have insurance, but we have money and have planned for this. I'm next as soon as we get Nancy fixed." Lisa raised her eyebrows, "You're going to be a busy boy, Chuck. Are we still on for that music gig in Atlanta next weekend?" "Don't I have Lear school next weekend?" "Only if you don't get it done before then. The instructors and planes are going to be here tomorrow, Monday. John will talk them into doing you quick and we can still make Atlanta. I'll bet the girls would like to go. You can borrow Steve's nineteen-seat King Air and take all of us. It's going to be a blast." Everyone wanted to know what Lisa was talking about. I didn't think it was going to be that soon, but I guess it was. Lisa explained how she had been raised by a big black woman and had played in some of the blues bars in Atlanta. She said, "These are off the beaten track places where real players play. They come in after hours or they come in at Pops' early Saturday afternoon and play. They make up music, they play oldies, or they just play. If we're nice, maybe Chuck will play the drums for us again." Brandy said, "Play the drums? You can play drums, too?" "A little." "A little, my ass," Lisa said. "He kicked a sorry kid off the set and got down on them. He carried the whole stage until he got them back playing together. Then he began playing his bass with a beer bottle and a glass, and damn near made all those grown men cry. He says he isn't good, but he sure is entertaining. The hell with good." Wanda said, "We're definitely all going. Are all of us white girls going to be all right?" Lisa smiled, "You will be perfectly safe. Tiani and Nancy could be the ones in trouble as they will think those two cuties are fair game." Tiani said, "I can handle myself." I said, "Wait till you see the size of Johnny and Rags." Lisa said, "Did you know our man sings?" "Who, Rags?" Wanda asked. "No, Chuck, he sang the blues while playing his heart out. You should have heard him. The man keeps surprising me and you guys too." "Enough, they'll see next week. We'll do this, but it isn't for popular conversation okay? It will be for fun. I'm a Deputy Marshal." "That, and our group's man, and soon to be father of a bunch of kids," Nancy said. Lisa asked, "Can I get in on this?" "How about me?" asked Tina. Brandy smiled, "You are both part of this group if you want to be. We want you to be part of us. We all like you two." Tiani went over to Wanda and hugged her, "We want you to be a part of us too Wanda." Wanda hugged Tiani back, "No babies for me though, okay?" We cleaned up the dishes and we're just having some fun talking about next week. My cell phone went off. I looked at who it was and groaned; it was John. "Johnson." "How are you feeling, okay?" "Yeah, I'm okay." "Good, I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to pack your bags, you don't have go anywhere, and you don't have to come to D.C. I've spent the day in meetings and have quelled all of that. You might have to lead a couple of groups occasionally, but you're fine for a while." "That's good, thanks." "Here's the hard part. This next week had best be spent incognito. Do everything from somewhere else. Don't go near the office and you might even consider making sure no one sees you around home. You are to be a non-entity for the week. Can you do that?" "Sure, what's up?" "If you're not available, news people can't talk to you. Tell all your friends, no talking to anyone about you. Some idiot here in D.C. leaked your file because you were being considered for a big time post. You're not getting the post, but the news people smell a story. They'll go away after a week, so make it so you're not around for a week." "I can do that. I'm sure I can be gone somewhere." John said, "I'll send Wanda and the station a directive to forget who you are for a while. If you're still hot next week, I'll find somewhere for you to be. Rest up, there's always something happening lately." I told the girls what John had said and Brandy said, "You can always stay at our house or Mom's and Dad's." Tina said I could stay out at Steve's, but she wanted to come with me if I did that. Lisa wanted to come too. "Wanda, do you still have the case of disguises that the relocations use?" She smiled, "What do you want?" "I want that long-haired wig, the clip on mustache, and that pair of glasses. That should do it when I travel in and out." "Yep, it should," Wanda said. "I'll get them." "See, I can go between here and the air park all week, plus get ready for the weekend with all of you." The girls were all going to leave when Brandy took me into the bedroom. She said, "Can I do something for you, I want to make you come or something. If I leave you, I'll feel like I'm running out on you, running out on my obligation." I hugged Brandy and said, "When you want to stay, stay. When you feel you should be at your home, be there. You and I are just as close. We're fine, we're going to be more than fuck buddies, we're going to be lovers." Brandy took a deep breath and said, "I don't know how to really be a lover yet. I try to learn. Maybe one of the girls will want to come over later and snuggle with you. Maybe I will. I just feel like I have some things to do tonight." "No sweat, don't worry about it." "Are you sure I can't give you a bj or something?" "Positive, now get." We kissed and she left with all of her friends following. Wanda smiled, "Now you see them, now you don't." Tina said, "That's okay, I think I would like to feel a masculine body up next to me tonight. How about you, Lisa?" "I might want more than to just feel his body," Lisa leered. "We'll do that to, but right now, let's get a shower and get to bed. Tomorrow will be busy. Wanda kissed me goodnight and said, "You have quite a harem around here. Some are a little flaky, and others I see as possibly becoming very permanent if you want them to be. Both of these two little girls are very intelligent, and very much women who will want a strong man in their lives. You're there and you may become one of theirs. Either one will let the flaky five come and go, but they will be the one and only for you. Watch them, they are special." I already had figured that out, but both were too much into women for me to worry too much. I already know what happens when girls are too much into women. The Fab Five did turn into the flaky five. That was fine. I still wasn't in a hurry. The two girls were both in bed when I came from brushing my teeth. They were hugging each other and kissing. I took off my leg and watched for a few minutes, until Lisa said, "Get in bed, we're just keeping it warm till you get here." I did slide between them with a smile. The two ladies were not bashful and did seem to know what part was supposed to go where. We demonstrated our knowledge for a long, long time until I had made both girls very wet. We fell asleep, me with a head on each shoulder, legs thrown over mine, and two hands holding my semi-firm appendage. I just loved feeling them drool over my thigh. We three went to sleep with a smile. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 63 Monday My head was screaming, new day, new day, come on, wake up, enjoy the new day. What's up with that? The two laying with me were so sweet. They each had a leg and an arm over me, protectively. For a couple of supposed lezzies, they sure were cuddly with me, a guy. The clock said it was almost six and my body clock was saying let's get up. My tank was telling me it was overfull and needed draining. Ever so gently, I got out from between the two girls and went to the bathroom. I slipped on my peg, trying to decide whether to form, swim, or put on my sport leg and run. Wanda leaned in the doorway and said, "Come with me, I need you to form with me." Decision made. I slipped on shorts and a T-shirt and went out with Wanda. We had not been stretching for more than a few minutes when Marie and Jan came down the stairs and joined us. We were ending our final step when Lisa and Tina came out of the house naked. They waved before diving into the pool. We were right behind them when we noticed Jimmy following Angie, and again being bashful. Some of us were swimming hard and some were swimming leisurely. The exercise was good for all of us. Dennis made his appearance and jumped into the pool. He didn't notice his sister until she pushed him under water. Tina said, "You naughty boy, walking around naked in front of your sister." "Me naughty," Dennis scoffed. "You're the one who's walked around the house naked all your life. I remember the big day when you were showing everyone you had new hairs on you,,,,, " Glub, Glub, Glub. Dennis was back under water. "Don't drown him, I like him a lot," said Marie, as she pulled him up so he could breathe. "I won't hurt him too much. He's always telling stories about me." Dennis was about to say something, but you could see it in his eyes that he wanted to call a truce. He just smiled. We got out, some showered outside and some went inside. I slipped my leg on and went to my bathroom and did my thing. I was dressed in slacks and a shirt, thinking I might have to put a disguise on. I could always wear a vest or my tour jacket instead of a sport coat. I was just going to the air park today, so I could drive the Mustang or swap with someone. We were having a decent breakfast when Lisa solved the car problem. "Why don't you ride with me? I have a little trip up to Savannah, coming back via Tallahassee. I'll be back by four, so you can ride home with me then. No one can see in my car from the side, so when we leave, just duck. If there's anyone watching, they won't follow." "Good deal, Lisa. I'm not sure whether I'll really get to do much with the Lear guys." Lisa asked, "Did you read that manual I gave you?" "Sure did, cover to cover, twice. I think I have it down." "Tell you what, I'll tell them to quiz you and see how you do. If they think you know the material, you'll be flying a factory Lear by noon." "That would be neat, I'd like that." Lisa asked, "How many hours do you have in a Lear and G5 total?" "Probably going on over a hundred." "Shoot, when they total up your time, they're going to sign you off quick. Just fly and have fun. Those guys will teach you some neat stuff. Pay attention so you can teach that bird too." "Do you really think you have the navigation system down?" "Lisa, you taught me and you beat me to death learning it in the G5 on our trips. You're a slave driver sometimes, the way you teach." "Good, you might have learned then." By this time we were parking at S&S Charter. Shoot, I could have ridden with Jimmy too, but his Jeep is open and it is hard to hide in that. Lisa gave me a kiss and went into the office. I walked over to the empty maintenance hangar to see what was up. The four mechanics were setting up some tables with charts and lists. Jimmy said, "We're going to pull annuals on the birds while they are here. It's pretty neat that the factory is having us do it. We're going to get the certification for an authorized repair center. That'll make this place some bucks. S&S will once again be highlighted on the map." There was a lot of noise coming from the runway. Three Lear jets landed one right after the other and taxied up to the front of the maintenance hangar. They were shut down and you could see the pilots using a checklist while going through the shutdown procedures. The doors began opening and the pilots came out and stretched. The charter company office staff and pilots came out to meet the new arrivals. I hung back while they went through all the greetings. I joined John when he waved me over. He said, "This is a special student that you might want to go ahead and qualify this week instead of just waiting around to test drive your birds. He's got a ton of hours and has studied the manual. I suggest when you three have time, have him take you to lunch someplace and give him indigestion by asking questions for a couple hours. Make him buy you lunch, then do what you think you need to do with him." The one guy took John off to the side and I heard, "If you have time and can do it that would be really great. He has a lot of hours in,,,,, " I didn't hear the rest. After coffee and relaxing, they were all interested in how the guys were going to inspect the aircraft. The guys already had one inside, with one of engines sitting on a giant stand. Jimmy said, "This thing will be in a million pieces in a few minutes. We should be able to do one of these a day if nothing shows up bad or worn." The three men each had a specific job and were working in separate areas. I could see Jimmy had become the actual leader among the mechanics and was teaching the three older men as they went. Jimmy was a lucky find for S&S. About noon, I suggested that I take the men to Park Place for lunch. John asked, "The diner or the restaurant?" "I think the restaurant, we'll have more privacy and it will be quieter." "Good, I'll come along. I love the quiz sessions, as you know from your earlier training." At Park Place, we ate in the dining room where we all had a nice salad and a huge sampler tray of miniature calzones. As soon as the waitress had taken our order and brought us iced tea, John and the three instructors bombarded me with question after question. All of the questions had been covered in the manual, so it really wasn't difficult. I just had to think of the individual answers as one would ask a question on the startup checklist, another would ask for the pressure reading for the cabin and where the sensors were. By the time we were finishing the calzones and my third glass of iced tea, my head was spinning. The final question was "What is the telephone number for additional pilot training?" It was on the last page of the book and I had seen it, but what was it. I closed my eyes and thought really hard, picturing the page with the number in a small box. I recited the telephone number. One of the pilots said, "That's incorrect. That isn't the number." I was thinking, well shoot, is this the only incorrect answer? Another of the instructors, an older man said, "That is the old number that is still forwarded to our office. It was in the manual up until three years ago. Where did you get your manual?" John answered for me, "Lisa took the class about three years ago. That's where the number came from. The older pilot said, "You don't need the class, you've learned everything we could teach you from the manual. Let's go back to the air park and I'll let you show me through the instrumentation. If you've learned that well, I want to give you a check ride. You've done some studying and been trained by some good people." Back at the hangar, we went through the instrumentation and I set up a few scenarios that were given. They gave me a list of information for a flight that I used a worksheet on. They were way off on fuel weights because of volume. They were also off on passengers and cubic feet of luggage. I gave the senior guy the discrepancies and he asked, "How did you come up with each of these discrepancies?" "Actually, it was easy. I used the factory checklist and followed the sheet item for item." He smiled at John and me saying, "You have a Lear jockey. Is yours free for a quick ride. I'd like to be back by five." John had me use the tow motor and pull the S&S Lear out and go over the preflight. I had to get the fuel truck and I had to get Jimmy to come inspect an open cowl shield. Everything under the sun was wrong with the damn plane. Christ, who put this thing away like that. I finally said, "We can fly but that front tire is barely within specs. If we were on a charter, I wouldn't fly it. Somebody hasn't been checking this plane and put it away in bad shape." John smiled, "That's what you're supposed to say and do. Jimmy fixed you up with a marginal airplane not ready to fly. This tells me and these men you know what to look for and where to look for it. Those are all safe flying habits. Jimmy's changing that tire now so we can take that check ride. Once inside the cockpit, I found one more Jimmy trap. He had stuck a toothpick down on one of the switches and it wanted to jam and pop back up. I looked down at it and pulled the splinter out with my pocket knife. The switch seated fine and the indicator came on. In a couple of minutes, I was requesting instructions. The S&S Lear leaped off the runway and at the appropriate heading for our assigned twenty-eight thousand feet. As we took off and climbed out, I kept going down the checklist one item at a time until I punched in the last of the numbers for Key West. The instructor talked me through a couple of emergency conditions and asked for the procedures. He had me change the flight plan to turn and do a landing at Melbourne, but where he wanted me to turn would but us in the bombing range near Sebring. I put in the alternates and flew inland because going out to sea would take us through the restricted area for the shuttle landing scheduled for that day. I told the instructor these things as he gave me constantly changing destinations. He finally said, "Take us home. I think you will be a safe pilot in the airplane. Want to do the G5 tomorrow?" "Pardon me?" "Let me check you out on the G5 tomorrow. Your log says you have three round trips overseas plus a couple of local trips of around fifteen hundred miles. Have you studied the manual for the G5 like the Lear?" "I've only read through it once, but it's pretty similar to the Lear except for some more modern instrumentation and readouts." "Well, we'll check you out on the manual and John says we can use a G5 in the morning until eleven. I'd like to see you handle it, but I think you know how." I made a smooth landing in the Lear and taxied back to the hangar area. After we shutdown, I checked the next day's schedule for the plane, and noticed a long flight. I filled the tanks and did the overnight inspections and tagged the airplane as ready. I knew Jimmy went through the aircraft one more time before he went home, but I needed to do it right. I was feeling pretty full of myself, actually checked out and certified to fly a Lear and perhaps even the G5 tomorrow. I went through the King Air 1900D to see if there were any write-ups on it. It was in good shape. I made sure there weren't any planned charters for it over the weekend and formally requested to use it. This was going to cost me some effort to pay for the plane up to Atlanta and back. Oh well, it's only time and money. I suddenly had a chilling thought. I wonder if that creep would sic his lawyers on me over defending myself. I went to the break room and called Sarah. I explained the entire thing from yesterday and she said, "You should have sent him to jail. That would be easier. Look, I'll file suit real quick. You round up names and phone numbers for the witnesses. As soon as they say something or serve you, we'll have him arrested for defying the restraining order. That will make them pause and think this through. How much do you want this time?" "Nothing, Sarah, I just want to be left alone." She said, "What about me? I don't work for free." I told Sarah, "Oh yeah, do whatever you want for yourself. Just make it clear that if they fuck with me, I'll talk to the Enquirer and whatever wrestling rags there are." "I'll take care of you. Ah, don't go home tonight. That way you can't be served. I'll have him served before five. That will slow them down a little." She hung up and all I could think of was, shit, now the asshole is keeping me from home. I was getting pissed. I called Wanda and she said what I expected. She was laughing about it. "A process server came by to serve you, but of course you aren't here. I asked for a copy. I told the man I would have to put it into your file for a reprimand. The idiot called someone and they said to let me copy it. I did, and he's still looking for you. I just called Sarah about it and am waiting for her to pick up a copy. He wants to sue you for fifty million dollars. Where did he get a number like that from?" "Thanks, Wanda, Sarah is on it and will respond to them today. She's serving both Bobby and Rocky because of the restraining order, so if they do serve me, they both go to jail. They will be held overnight since they have to appear in front of the judge who signed the restraining order. I don't think they will pursue Rocky's broken nose." Lisa was back and I convinced her to drive me by Jonah's. We arrived there and didn't see the Cadillac from yesterday, so we went inside. Denise asked if I wanted a beer or the boss. I smiled and she pushed a button. Jonah and Millie came out. Millie hugged me then said, "Bobby called and wants me to testify that you attacked Rocky. I told her no way. She said she would even pay me to say it. Look, Chuck, what's right is right. You defended yourself after Bobby stopped you from leaving and Rocky attacked you. She asked me to get names and addresses of people who saw the fight yesterday for her lawyer. I got them together, but they are for you. Let me get them." Jonah said, "Sorry you had such a bad time. Millie's really pissed at her sister and told her not to call when they put her in jail for breaking the restraining order. You were trying to help them out and they stopped you from getting out of here. Damn, it would have been so much easier. A newspaper guy came by here and asked about a fight between Rocky and some other guy. He wanted to know what happened and did anyone have any pictures. I told him the story wasn't true, so he left. What's your cell number so I can send you this picture that's circulating? It's really cool." Jonah sent me the picture and Millie came out with the list of names. I asked her, "Do you have a fax. A bar doesn't need one, but do you?" Jonah said, "We do, we're trying to start a new business. We'll talk to you about it. You may want to join us in it. We'll talk later; let's get this shit out of the way. Millie, take him in the back, but don't attack the poor boy. Just use the fax, not him." We did use the fax quickly after I called Sarah's office to get her number. She called me almost immediately, "Her sister is willing to testify for you?" "Yes, Ma'am." "Cut the ma'am shit. Can I call her and verify it?" "Why call her, she's the one who gave me the names, talk to her now." I gave the phone to Millie and they had a conversation that had Millie laughing. The only thing I heard was Millie saying, "Get him a couple mil so he can invest in my company, or my husband's and my company." Pause. "No, I don't need a divorce lawyer. I have the best husband a woman can have. I will remember you for sure. I'll recommend you to anyone who needs you. Bye." Millie handed me back the phone, "That do it, Sarah?" "Yeah, the idiot is making you wealthier by the second. My guy said he just served both Rocky and Bobby. They were laughing at him the whole time. Want to lock them up? We can you know." "See what their lawyers do, I think they will have a change of heart real fast when they find out they're going to jail if I get served." "You got that right. Okay, I'll let you know when they call." Millie and I went out and saw Lisa and Denise huddled, talking about everything under the sun. They had never met, but Lisa had heard about Double D and Denise had heard about lezzie Lisa. Funny, a couple of really cute girls with funny nicknames. Double D fit and was understated, but not lezzie Lisa. I shook hands with Jonah, got a hug from Millie and Denise, and left. Lisa asked, "Do you think you should go home? How about staying out at the park with Tom and Zena?" "No, those guys are too much for me. I really like them, but I don't want to have a wild crazy sexual relationship with them." "I know what you mean. I love your house for it's openness and the love you guys give each other, but it's all gentle, easy loving, nothing forced or crude." "I'll scrunch down and you just pull into the garage like you always do. If there is a process server hanging out, I'll just not say anything or be conspicuous." Before we reached home, Sarah called, "They are pissed. Royally pissed they said they were going to have you jailed for breaking the restraining order. I'd like you to get jailed and spend a night there. I think we can really have some fun, if you're willing." "Tell you what, Sarah, I've just got home, let me get into some old clothes and have a couple of drinks to put me to sleep, then you can call the cops to come get me. I'll spend the night and you can rep me tomorrow morning at the arraignment. Is that about it?" "Oh Baby, that's it. We're gonna get into this man's offshore accounts. We'll make Millie's day on this one. How long do you want?" "Give me an hour and a half." "Got it, Chuck, this is so good." At the house, I fixed a drink and a leftover steak from yesterday. I took a shower and put on the cheap khakis and shirt that I had bought when my clothes were ruined on a recent trip. The girls were all worried about me, but I said, "No sweat, I'll be fine. The cops will be here in about five minutes, so one more strong Beefeaters and I'll be toast. Hey, Wanda, should I have my deputy badge?" She didn't know, so I called John and explained what was going on. He said, "There's no way my Senior Deputy is spending a night in jail. I'll have a judge get you out before they're finished processing you. I hope you sue that asshole for everything he has. This is terrible." I had let Wanda hear what he said and didn't finish the Beefeaters. "Put it in the freezer. I may be home later." When the policeman came to the door, the process server came with him. As soon as he served me, Wanda called Sarah who had a Pinellas County Deputy ready to pick up Bobby and Rocky. The officer at my house did his duty and cuffed me, putting me in the back of an uncomfortable Ford Taurus. Too bad it wasn't a Crown Victoria, those back seats were much larger. As soon as we pulled into the jail unloading area, a deputy bailiff was there to watch how I was handled. He made it known I was a VIP and would be granted extra gentleness. They searched me thoroughly, but I didn't have anything but my driver's license, Social Security card, and my Veteran's ID. Everything went smoothly until I was put into a central holding area for the final booking. The Deputy Marshal watching out for me went nuts. I could see him out in the lobby yelling at the jailers. They eventually forced him to leave. As soon as the deputy was out of sight, the jailer rushed me through booking, made me strip, put on some orange coveralls and take off my leg. They gave me crutches and said they were only to get to a cell and back. They made me take a shower and put the coveralls back on. I was taken down a hallway into an older part of the jail where there were old open cells instead of the new monitored cells. They pushed me into a cell with three pretty good-sized guys. The three all smiled at me as the jailer took the crutches and said, "Enjoy, asshole." This wasn't good as I didn't have but one leg and there were three of them. I guess this wasn't playtime if they were going to be bad. "Hey, cutie, you bring the lube. I think we'll have ourselves a little man pussy tonight." I looked at the speaker. He was probably about six two, maybe two-twenty, and looked in good condition except for a little tummy. The other two were overweight and big. Both were probably over six foot and over two twenty-five, fat, but muscular. I looked around for something loose and there was nothing. I would have to make something. I couldn't kick anything as it was all metal and concrete and I was in a single flip-flop. Fuck. There were two double metal bunk beds and a metal toilet, absolutely nothing to use as a tool. I evaluated each of the men and decided, it's either them or me, too bad for them. I began stretching to be sure I was ready. I stood on my good leg and leaned up against the bars to get leverage while stretching. I needed to be flexible and I needed a grab place to swing from. "What the fuck are you doing, faggot?" "Getting ready for you men. I'm sure you want me to get ready for you, don't you?" "Just drop your drawers and bend over creep, you'll find out how ready you are for us." One of the guys let it slip, "Rocky's gonna pay us some big bucks for fucking you up. He says we'll be heroes." I dug a little, "Did he tell you I kicked his butt Sunday and he never laid a finger on me?" "No way slime ball, a little pipsqueak like you could never take a guy like Rocky. Now hurry up and get those coveralls off. We're gonna fuck you all night long." "The guards won't care if I yell?" "They're in on it, man. They said for us to do a good job so they get their cut." "Okay, if that's the way it is, who's first?" The smart talker was first. He stood and began walking toward me while unzipping his pants and pulling his dick out. Dumb. I waited until he was within kicking distance, and while smiling at the guy, I kicked him hard enough that I felt his nuts crush. As he began falling, I kicked him a second time under the chin and damn, I felt his neck break. Shit, I didn't want or mean to kill the guy. The two others were stunned. One of them was shaking the guy on the floor trying to wake him up, but I said, "He's dead, who's next?" One of the big men ran at me so I let him slam into the bars, using my grab, I swept his legs out from under him with my good leg then came down on his spine with my elbow. Too much, too fast. I felt his back break. I pulled myself up quickly and waited for the third guy to charge, I said to him, "Come on, come to momma, so I can put you to sleep like your friends." His eyes opened real big and he began screaming. "Guard, guard, Help me, he's killing me, help." The man screamed for a long time until he finally realized no one was coming. I told him, "Drag these two away from me. The dead one is shitting in his pants and this other one is peeing all over himself." He looked at me warily and dragged both men away. I yelled, "Hey, guard, there is one dead guy and another that needs the hospital. Come get them, they smell bad." An old guard came down the hall and looked into the cell. His eyes got real big and he said, "What happened?" "The dead guy tried to rape me and the other guy came after me when the first failed. I had to defend myself." The guard looked at the cowering cellmate, "Is that right?" The man was shaking his up and down and said, "They attacked him. He defended himself. He kicked the shit out of the first one, then knocked the second down and hit him with his elbow. He's fast." I said, "There's probably a federal judge trying to find me to get me out of here. Do yourself a favor and get me the Sheriff, right now." The old man left and the young jailer who put me in the cell earlier came down the hall swinging his billy club. "What the fuck is going on down here. I gave you three a cherry and you fuck it up." The guard looked into the cell stunned, "What the fuck, what did you do to them?" "The dead guy said you get some action if I'm fucked up. The other guy tried to help the dead guy." "I'll show you fucked up. I'll fuck you up beyond recognition. The man began unlocking the cell. I could hear more people coming down the hallway but I was going to defend myself till I was down. I moved to the corner of the bars and the wall and waited. The jailer came at me with the baton held over his head. I waited until he was close enough and until he was swinging the club downward. When he swung, I let go of the bar, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind him breaking it at the elbow making him drop the baton. I put my foot into his back while hanging onto the bar and pushed him as hard as I could to slam him into the concrete wall. He dropped like a rock. I knelt quickly and picked up the baton. I was back in the corner when a uniformed guy began yelling with authority, "What's going on here?" An older guy in a suit was with the uniform. The old guy said, "Charles Johnson?" I said, "That's me." The uniform said, "Where's his prosthesis, get it now and some crutches. Get a medic down here for these people. Mr. Johnson, what happened?" I told the story again, and added what the jailer tried to do. I said, "The inmate that's alive probably has a broken back. If you're careful, he won't be paralyzed. The jailer has a broken arm at the elbow and probably a concussion. Am I safe now?" The older man said, "I'm Judge Randall. You are safe. I'm here to get you out and probably indict half the jail staff." I brought the baton from behind my back and handed it to the Sheriff. "I needed a weapon. This is the first one offered." The Judge said, "I've heard of you, Son, you've lived up to your reputation. Let's get you out of here." The Sheriff said, "I'm going to have to get some statements. I'll have to hold him until we have an arraignment for killing this man." "You will release Mr. Johnson right this minute, or you will be arrested and placed in the federal holding cells downtown. You know we still don't have air conditioning, don't you? Your choice." The Sheriff said, "Come on, let's process him out of here and perhaps get a detective to take a statement. You other men, take care of these prisoners." I offered, "The other inmate will be happy to give you a statement. He was lucky enough to see everything." The next hour was pure bullshit. The old judge helped me walk as the crutches had disappeared, as had my leg. This sent the judge into orbit, swearing he was going to shut down the jail. When the Sheriff began giving him lip, the judge called a number and said, "Do it." Suddenly, there were dozens of deputies and Bureau agents in the hallways, cuffing everyone they found. They cuffed the Sheriff and kept right on going, virtually shutting down the jail. They even cuffed the county and city cops dropping off prisoners in the secure area. Several cars of detectives arrived and as they entered the jail they were arrested, read their rights, cuffed, and put in federal prisoner transfer buses. A couple of Air Force base buses full of military police showed up and began administering the duties of the jail. A Major was taking inventory and making sure prisoners were in cells and even the cell where I had been kept was cleaned out and the corpse sent to the morgue. An Air Policeman asked if I would give a statement, which I did and was told to go home. The judge said, "You know you are in charge of all these deputies and agents. What do you think, should we hold the Sheriff and all these men overnight?" "No," I was shaking my head. "I'm sure it wasn't the Sheriff's fault. Get him out and interview the jail staff until you find the culprits and how they were contacted. Be sure to free the duty policemen and the detectives. They were only doing what they were told." "You're a good man. That's the right thing to do. I'll have a hearing tomorrow, en masse, dismiss the charges on the good guys and hang on to the bad guys. Sorry you had to go through this, but they tricked the Deputy Marshal trying to carry out my orders. Those clerks will remain in jail. They actually hit the deputy with a baton forcing him to leave. Very bad stuff." They never did find my leg, which really pissed me off. One of the jailers said I wasn't wearing it when they brought me in, but a video was found to show I was. The County Sheriff now owed me a fifty-five hundred dollar prosthesis. I sure am glad I have a spare. I finally made it home at four thirty in the morning. Wanda was sitting in the kitchen when the deputy helped me to the door. I hopped to the bedroom and slipped on my peg. Finally, I could stand and get the weight off my only foot. The deputy tried to tell Wanda everything that happened, but said, "There's just too much to tell. This should be a movie, it's so bizarre. Chuck, call in, in the morning to find out what Sarg wants you to do. This is under his jurisdiction right now, so let him do his thing." Wanda said, "I can't believe they took your leg and lost it. I guess they thought you were going to leave feet first." "Well, I didn't. I was able to use the bars on the old cell as a grab. That gave me the leverage to use my good foot. I didn't mean to break the guy's neck, it just happened. I hope I didn't cripple the other guy. The jailer, I'm not sure what I want for him. The guy would have killed me if he could." Wanda kept asking me questions about each incident from when I was brought in until I left with the deputy. We were almost done when I realized she was interrogating me, cool. When we were done, she said, "You did good, Chuck, I'm glad you were able to defend yourself. This has become a lot bigger than it should have been." She pulled the recorder out and said, "This is Deputy Wanda Johnson interviewing Senior Deputy Charles Johnson as directed by Senior Deputy John Scott." She turned the device off and said, "Now you have an official interview. Let's get about an hour's nap before you have to go to work." Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 64 Tuesday morning. We slept for an hour and then swam a little trying to get our bodies ready for the day. We ate a big breakfast with all the housemates who knew something big had happened, but not the details. "Wanda, I have a check ride in the G5 this morning. Cover for me until I can get in. I'll answer my phone if I can but I may be busy. I didn't plan on being in today." "I didn't plan on you being in at all this week, but things change. You should call John this morning. I'm sure he's being fed continuous information, and knowing him, he's still awake too. Call him and tell him your schedule." I called John and he told me to not go in today but to stay near my phone. I told him about my check ride and he said, "Do that, you may be needed to fly some big shots one of these days. When you get done, go home. If you need to go to the base to get another leg, do it. I've heard all about it. Christ, you don't even need a gun to kill and maim. One dead, one critical, perhaps permanent, and a jailer still in lala land. Christ, you're a one-legged dude without anything, and you did all that? Remind me not to make you mad." I called Sarah on the way to the air park. Her first words were, "Oh God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have had you do that. Who would have known it was a trap? I'm sorry, Chuck. I'll make sure that asshole pays for this. He and Roberta are both in jail and won't be arraigned until ten. His lawyers are going nuts, but I told them that you were attacked at their client's direction, so they better start bringing money in from offshore. I've had your judge friend lock up all the accounts of Rocky Mountain and have even had some of his offshore accounts frozen. I'm going to crucify him for fucking with you. Did you get your fake leg back? I heard the jailers lost it." "Not yet, Sarah, that's another fifty-five hundred. Do what you need to do, sweet thing, but get lots for yourself." At the air park Lisa said, "They are ready for you and know you've been up all night. Do the question and answer session, you know the answers, then fly that beautiful airplane. You'll be fine." I was fine. The questions were a lot easier than the day before and we had plenty of coffee. This time the aircraft had not been sabotaged, but I did find a problem that Jimmy had to come fix. The hour flight I took was fun, except when I landed I had to really pay attention to be gentle. I still set down harder than normal, but not bad. When we parked the G5 the instructor shook my hand and said, "What's next, a 767 or an Airbus? Let's fly them all." "I think this is it for right now. This way I can help out here and I can help out in the school. It's been a long haul but fun, a lot of fun. I hate to run but I have to get back to doing some of my duties." I was driving back home when my cell rang. It was Sarah, "Where are you. Can you come to my office?" "As long as you won't put me in jail again." "No, you know I won't, this is serious. You need to come right away." I turned for downtown and called Wanda to tell her I was on my way to Sarah Perkins' office. Wanda said, "Good, you need to be there. All kinds of shit has happened. Remember that you are to stay away from news people like John asked." Sarah's secretary ushered me into a conference room. Sarah came in with the secretary who was carrying a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. Sarah said, "Thank you for coming quickly. Rocky's attorneys are about to jump off the Skyway. The press has found out Rocky and his Roberta are in jail and are trying to find out what the deal is. If this gets out, he's going to lose his endorsements and probably most of his wrestling contracts. The man has a lot of money, but you're going to get most of it and he lives on his ego and the adulation from his fans. He won't have any if this gets out." "What can I do? The judge put him in jail for breaking his order." Sarah was shaking her head, "I know, but you're now the focus because Rocky tried to have you harmed at the Hillsborough jail. It is getting out that the jailers were corrupt and that an unknown person killed one and seriously hurt two others while defending himself. How in the hell did you kill someone with no leg against three men?" "Training." "I want some of that training. Look, Chuck, I have two of Rocky's attorneys here right now trying to give me anything if I withdraw the charges. If I do, Rocky might go free and Roberta might be freed as well. I'm not sure I should do this, but I have an idea. We can make a contingency agreement. You'll get so much now, but if he breaks the agreement, you'll get a whole bunch more for you or your heirs. I think the man is nuts enough to try to kill you, so the contingency amount will be everything the man owns now and in the future." "Look, Sarah, I don't like any of this and I'd just as soon the man go about his business and leave me alone. He did fuck with me and that's going to cost him. Losing my leg is bad, trying to have me killed is really bad. Next time he attacks me, I'll intentionally hurt him. Do what you feel you should do. If you want him to bleed, cut him open, just do what you know how to do." "You're serious, aren't you? You really want to give the guy a break. You're better than I am. Let me get these freak attorneys. They're in my office listening to us. I wanted them to hear that you're not a money grubber." Sarah brought the two attorneys into the conference room and said, "This is the terrible man who supposedly attacked your client. What do have to offer?" The two looked at each other and said, "Can we give you assets instead of money?" Sarah asked, "What kind of assets." "You know like trophies, belts, personal stuff that you could sell?" I said, "No, I'm not interested in what Rocky has. I want him to know that he can't do what he did. If lots of money is what it takes, I want lots and lots of money. At least double what I got before and I want my attorney to get twenty-five mil this time. She deserves it for the way you've been pushing her around." The two were whispering to each other. The one said, "Will you withdraw charges?" "Only with a statement that no charges will ever be brought against me for anything that may have occurred, or ever will occur, between your client and myself." Sarah looked at me with half-closed eyes. The greedy little wench was counting her money already. I continued, "Give me a hundred, Ms. Perkins twenty-five, plus the agreement, and you have a deal, otherwise, I'll talk to the first reporter who asks." "Ah, can we make a call? We'll get right back." Sarah said, "Call from my office. It's private." As soon as they left, Sarah locked the conference room door, punched some buttons on the phone, and sat back down. We heard a phone dialing and a man answer, he said, "What do you have?" "He won't take junk, but he will give us what we want for a hundred mill to him and twenty-five to his cunt lawyer, plus an agreement that says Rocky will not and can never charge this Johnson guy with anything as a result of any contact between the two." "Is there a penalty if we break the agreement?" "Probably, but that isn't important. We need to get Rocky out of the country where he can lay low and do some video wrestling. He can come back for a quickie match, but he needs to get the hell out of here." The remote guy said, "Find out what the penalty is going to be and write it up so we can get Mr. Wonderful and his bitch out of jail. We'll get everything signed and promise the check's in the mail. Let's get this done now." The guy hung up the phone. Sarah said, "I'll handle the rest, stay quiet." She punched some buttons on the phone and unlocked the door. The two came back and Sarah began writing on her legal pad creating the words and penalties. I noticed when reading what she wrote, that nothing happened until a lot of money in some form of cash and the signed statement/agreement was in Sarah's hands. She wrote the big numbers and added fifty-five hundred for a new prosthesis. She looked up and said, "Read this, if you agree, I'll get it typed up and you can leave to get what I asked for. You bring the money and the signed agreement. I want a guaranteed cashier's check or cash on this transaction." The lawyers grimaced, but never raised an objection. Sarah had the agreement typed up and handed the attorneys some copies. She said, "Please do this quickly or we begin talking to all of the press. I have CNN's telephone number right here." The two left and Sarah said, "I'll show them "cunt lawyer." I saw you flinch when they called Roberta his bitch. You can't change scum and they are pure scum. We'll still have to watch for tricks. They will try. You, go away, go home, and enjoy the day. I'll let you know how it's going. You and I will be filthy rich by tonight. If not, we'll sell the story to the highest bidder. I'm good at that." I left Sarah's office thinking about it being lunchtime, but was apprehensive of what these men would do. They thought it would all be over the first go round and now we had struck back quickly and it had hurt, a lot, and could hurt more in the future. Downstairs, standing in the lobby of Sarah's building I looked out the glass lobby front and noticed a guy sitting in a car across the street. He was intently watching the door to this building. I walked across the lobby and looked to see if I could see anyone else, and didn't. Should I go around and out the back of the building, or just go out and walk to my car to see if he follows. Fuck it, I pulled my Glock to check the magazine and that a round was in the chamber. The security guard in the lobby was getting nervous, so I showed him my badge. I said, "Just precautionary, that's all." I walked out of the building and headed for my car without looking directly at the guy. He was only watching, nothing else. I suddenly felt naked. My vest was in my bag. Was the bag in the car or at home? I would look. At my car, I pushed the trunk release button on my fob and there was my case. I pulled it out and put it on the seat next to me as I started my car and drove away. I didn't want to lead someone to the house, but where should I go? I wanted to take whoever was following me away from people. I drove north toward the trailer park, but passed it up and kept going toward the little biker bar up the road. It was early enough there shouldn't be anyone there, so it should be safe. The car was back there a ways, but still back there, following me. I couldn't tell if there was another car behind him or not, but I would find out soon. I pulled into the bar and around back. I jumped out, put my vest on, and pulled the extra three magazines from the bag, along with my cuffs and a handful of the big tie-wraps we used for prisoners. I went completely around the building to watch for when the car pulled into the lot. The car only had one guy, the driver. He was talking on a cell phone when he pulled in. He backed up under a tree and parked next to an old garage on the other side of the parking lot. The guy seemed to be messing with something in his lap and I figured it might be something bad, like a gun. I looked at the surrounding area carefully and figured out how to get up close to the car without being seen. I quickly moved behind obstructions until I was about six feet from the open window of the car. I walked up at an angle so he couldn't see me in the mirror and stuck my gun barrel to his head. "Hand me the piece in your lap by the barrel. Screw up and you're dead so move slowly, no fast moves." I took the gun and shoved it in my waistband. "Now put your hands on the steering wheel and stay still." Using two of the big personnel tie raps that I brought from the gym bag, I tie-wrapped each hand to the steering wheel. He complained, but I said, "It's either this or I stuff you in the trunk in cuffs." He looked scared. I searched him, taking his wallet and his cell phone. I pulled the keys to his car and pocketed them. I finally asked, "What's going on? Why did you follow me and who are you waiting for?" He sneered at me. I reached for the end of the tie-wrap. "You know that if I pull this tight enough, all the circulation to your hands will be cut off, in an hour or so the skin will die, and soon after that you will lose your hands. Please tell me what I want to know." His cell phone rang so I answered it, "Yeah." "We're getting close, is the guy still there?" "Yeah." "We'll pull in on the other side of the lot away from whatever side of the lot you are at and we'll go get him together. If he doesn't come peacefully, well, Rocky won't owe him anything. We're almost there." The guy hung up and I said, "You have to be quiet." I pulled his tie off and tied it around his head so he couldn't talk. Then hurried across the lot to the other side to see what I had to work with. There wasn't much cover but there was a dumpster in the back. I figured I could jump one there and work on the other after the first was out of the picture. I needed more gags. I was on the side of the building when two guys in a Lincoln pulled in. They were typical movie looking hoods in cheap suits. They got out of the car and one used his cell phone and the one I had from the guy following me rang. I answered, "Yeah." "Where is he?" In a whispered voice, I said, "In the back on the other side of the dumpster. One of you go around back and flush him out front, we'll get him out here." The guy didn't even answer as he motioned for the other guy to get in front of the building and he began coming to the back. On the way to the dumpster, I found a long wooden dowel about an inch thick. Ah, I thought, "A weapon." I picked it up and waited. The guy came up to the dumpster, looked around the side, and walked straight past me. I whacked him on the side of the head and watched him crumple. I tie-wrapped his hands behind his back and used his tie to gag him. He wouldn't be out long as I didn't hit him hard. I picked up the cheap .45 he dropped and put it in my pants pocket. Going back around the way I came, I looked to see the other guy peeking around the side of the building. Very carefully I walked up to him and said, "Carefully now, you will drop that nasty gun you have and slowly kneel or I'll kill you. You see, I've killed the other two, so you're next unless you tell me who you work for." When he didn't say anything, I whacked him on the side of the head with the dowel too. He fell like a rock. I tie-wrapped him and used his convenient tie to gag him as well. What's with these guys wearing ties and cheap suits in Florida? They obviously didn't shop at the warehouse. I picked up his gun and walked to my car to put the three guns in the bag. There were some more tie-wraps, so I brought those and tie-wrapped the guy's feet. I walked around back and tie-wrapped that guy's feet together too. I pulled and tugged until I had the guy from the back on the side of building. The guy in the front was waking up, so I dragged him by the feet until I had him next to the other one. Thinking I needed all three to be together, I went for the guy in the car. Now I used my cuffs from the bag. With the cuffs on the man tie-wrapped to the steering wheel, I used my pocket knife to cut the tie-wraps. Those things are tough. I said to the man, walk slowly, or I'll hit you and drag you over there. You saw them." The man did walk carefully. When he was by the building, I hit him with the dowel anyway. When he was down, I unlocked the cuffs and tie-wrapped his hands behind him and tie-wrapped his feet before propping him up, sitting next to his buddies. I searched the other two and found their wallets and a pretty good amount of cash. I was more interested in who was hiring them. One guy didn't have a cell phone, but the other did. It was a nice one, one of those internet phones with a big fancy screen. Now I was in a quandary. What to do with these guys? If I called the cops, they would be out here quickly and I'd never get the information I needed. If I called the deputy marshals, I would have to explain more than I wanted to right now. I called Sarah. "Sarah, Sweetie, I need your help. A guy followed me when I left you today, and I led him on a wild goose chase and caught him, but not before he called a couple of his buddies to come help. One said over the phone that I was to be eliminated and Rocky would be clean and not have to pay anything. I haven't done any serious interrogation of these guys yet, but I want you to pull the attorneys' chains to see if they are stalling. If they are, they will call one of the cell phones I've taken from these guys. I'll see the number and have my office track it down. If they want me that bad, I may change the game a little. Make sure you don't let Rocky out until we get this settled and lots of real money in your hands." "I'll call the assholes immediately. Now I want to hurt them. Are you okay? How did you take on three men? Are you some kind of superman or something?" "Make the call, Sarah, I want to see if they call one of these phones." I used each phone to call my phone to get the numbers and called Wanda. "Wanda, take these two numbers down. I should have another to run through the lookup. I'm in a situation where I may need backup, so if you could have Sarg begin moving at least one duty team out north of Land of Lakes." Before she could answer, the cell phone that I took off the guy who came last rang. While it was ringing, I gave Wanda the number and said that I needed the source of this one fast. I answered the guy's phone and said, "Yeah." The person on the other end said, "What's your status, you get the cripple yet?" I held the phone away from my mouth so the wind noise and low voice level would mask mine. "Not yet, he's slippery." "Get that motherfucker before he goes to the newspapers. We have to keep him quiet. Do it fast or your boss will have your balls, this is important." I hung up wondering who the boss was. I heard Wanda on my phone. "Are you talking to someone?" "It's a long story but find out where that call came from and call me back." I thought some precautions would be smart. I called Sarah, "Do me a favor, close your office, and get over to my office. Stay with Wanda. She's pretty tough and knows what to do if something comes up. I think you need to be watched until this comes to a conclusion." "Are you saying I may be in danger, Chuck? If it's from these assholes, I hope they try something. I'll buy my island if they keep this up. I'll go over there, but only because I don't want my girl hurt." "Good, and Sarah, when you get there, make up a news release describing all this bullshit. When you're done, fax it to those attorneys and tell them the clock is ticking and you will fax it out if they don't do what we want fast." "Good idea, Chuck. Let me get out of here. To let you know, I do carry. I've got a neat little PPK that I know how to use. Some of these divorce cases can get out of hand, you know." "Okay, get out of there. I'll tell Wanda you're coming. Give her the lowdown, I haven't told her a lot." The three stooges were coming around. One had his eyes open and you could see the fear in them. I pulled his gag off and he said, "What're you gonna do with us? You're in trouble, Buddy, the boss is gonna really be pissed." "Who is your boss? Tell me, friend, and perhaps I won't kill you. If you know me, you know I like to kill people. I love to watch their eyes roll up in their head in pain as they take their last breath. I think it's way cool when they piss on themselves in fear. Do you have good underwear on? I hope you've got tightie whities so the shit that's going to squirt out your ass is spread all over you." I thought the guy was going to piss on himself right then. He had his mouth open in fear and his eyes were dilated from adrenaline. "Ah, uh, if I tell you, I'm a dead man." "If you don't tell me, you're a dead man. You better start talking. In an hour or so my biker buddies are going to be here and they will love pitching you out into the lake watching you splash around. They might use you for knife throwing practice first. They really enjoy punks like you." "We work for James Monterro, the lawyer. He's a very powerful man. He'll probably kill us anyway. Going to jail would be healthier." I walked away from the three and called Wanda, "Is Sarah there yet?" "She just walked in." I said, "Tell her to pick up." When Sarah answered, I said, "These men work for James Monterro, is he one of the lawyers you're dealing with?" "I don't think so, unless these other guys are a front. Monterro does a lot of sports rep stuff. He's sort of an agent. It's kind of common knowledge that Monterro has a lot of underworld connections because of his boxing clients. He's always been one step ahead of the law. This may be the event that stops that. What should I do?" "We need to get you well paid for this first, then we'll deal with Mr. Monterro. Get that news release faxed and I'll try to get these guys put away somewhere and get some statements. Since it's probably a federal crime doing what they do, I'll use our facilities. Tell Wanda to pick up." "Wanda, have two teams come out to the old Florida Bar on 41, north of Land of Lakes right away. We have three to transport and two cars to pick up. I think we'll just drive them out of here instead of sending Hank. Tell Sarg to have the teams call me on my cell. I'll be waiting." I walked back over to my three idiots with the one watching me with fear in his eyes. The other two were awake but were still groggy, not really understanding what was happening. My cell rang and it was a duty guy, he said he was almost here and I said for effect, "We'll take them in for now. If they don't talk, we'll kill them later." The guy laughed and said, "Scaring them huh, like we do with the window. See you in a minute." I answered, "Okay, I promise, no blood in your car. We'll do it somewhere else if we have to." The two teams showed up and we cut the tie-wraps off of them but put leg and waist chains on for easier transport and questioning. One of each team drove a car and I followed the four vehicles as we headed to the city. On the way I called Wanda, "Did you find out where the call came from?" "It's the offices of the attorneys Sarah said she is dealing with. What do you want to do with this information? Have someone pick them up?" "No, let me speak to Sarah." When Sarah answered I said, "Let's get down and dirty. Call the attorneys and tell them the three men who were trying to get at me are in custody and that if they want to remain members of the bar they should abide by the offer we agreed to. Tell them they have one hour to deliver negotiable currency to you. At the end of that one hour, you will go to the police and newspapers at the same time." Sarah asked, "That's kind of dangerous, isn't it?" I laughed, "Not when you're in a secure building housing the FBI and the U.S. Marshal Service." "How will they deliver what we asked for?" "Tell them they can deliver the payment to you in the lobby. I'll call Jan and have her go down with you, or she can bring them upstairs, your choice." "Bring them up here. I want them to see your office and know they are messing with someone important. Will those men you captured be here by then?" "Yeah, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Sarah said excitedly, "We could show them the three and let them see we do have them." I said, "We can do that. Let me talk to Wanda." When Wanda answered, I asked, "Is it all right to do this in a federal office?" "I don't know, but the office is protecting citizens. This time you're a citizen." I had another thought, so I added, "Listen, have Sarg assign a couple of chase teams to cover this James Monterro. If the man makes a move to leave the area, bring him in. Sarg can use the Bureau too, as it's going to be in their jurisdiction. I don't want to lose this guy." We brought the three men to the federal building and up to our interrogation area. I was thinking that we now were constantly aware of what could happen in some rooms from across the street. The three men were locked to tables and chairs that were out of view from the windows as a precautionary move. It was still the policy to have a window open and take the prisoner over and push his head out to show him how far it was to the ground before locking him to the table. Upstairs, I checked to make sure Sarah wasn't nervous about what was happening, and went into the station to make sure Sarg had invited the Bureau up to help with the interrogation. When I went in to speak with each of the men, I assured them they were my prisoners and that if I decided to transport them to another facility, they would be taking a ride with me by themselves. "Please remember what I promised to do with you. I want to know everything you can tell me about Mr. Monterro." When the FBI agents introduced themselves, the three were chattier than early teen girls. They began telling stories that were going to take weeks to get the evidence for. Several major boxing promoters and agents were implicated, as well as several wrestling agents and personalities. One of the men, the first to identify Monterro, gave us the clue. Monterro was skimming money off his clients when he took money off shore. He was showing the clients they had a hundred bucks when Monterro had skimmed fifty and only deposited fifty in the client's account. Monterro wasn't that smart, since his main personal bank was in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was subject to most U.S. banking laws and also subject to FBI scrutiny. The Bureau wanted to pick up Monterro as they said the evidence was sufficient for it. We had been very cautious with the men and had video recordings of their Miranda reading. The interviews were totally legal and could be used to prosecute. The Bureau immediately began their investigation of the offshore banks so money couldn't be transferred, and about the time we heard they had begun, security downstairs said there were some attorneys there to see us. Jan and Sarah went downstairs to meet them and brought them to my office. I remained in the station, but Sarah made sure my speaker phone was on so we could hear what happened. Jan and Sarah conducted business quickly. The lead attorney bitched about the difficulty getting that much cash so quickly, but handed it over. Sarah sort of counted it, making sure it at least appeared to be our demand. They gave Sarah the signed agreement, signed by them and Rocky, then suggested, "Let's go to the courthouse and file the results of this suit to make it public record. We'll ask for it to be sealed and I'm sure we can have the privacy seal for this." Jan suggested, "Of the three attorneys, I want to leave two here and only one goes to the courthouse. How about having Deputy Johnson accompany you to the courthouse? He does have a major stake in this." Jan called the station to have me come in. I said, "I think all three of you should see the men we took prisoner. These are the men who you attempted to call earlier. I have to tell you that I was the one who answered that call." The three attorneys were getting very nervous. Jan and I took them to view all three of the attackers from the viewing room of the interrogation rooms. We invited the two attorneys who we were leaving at the federal building to have a seat in the station's fourth interrogation room and had some refreshments brought to them. Jan and I went with the attorney to the courthouse down the street and performed the filing. When we were done with that, we brought the attorney back to the federal building, where Jan took him to the FBI office and arrested him. She had a video of his Miranda rights being read and left him in one of her own interrogation rooms. She and I went upstairs to retrieve the other two attorneys and brought them down to the Bureau office and went through their Miranda readings and stashed them into separate interrogation rooms. Frank, the Bureau Station Chief asked me, "What do you want to do with your three prisoners?" "The holding cells should be fine for a month or so, but I'm sure these guys are going to be out quickly. If my guess is right, they will be out of the country faster than you chased Conish." Frank laughed and said, "No one is that fast. It turned out great for both of us." The attorneys would not talk, so we quickly hid them away in cells. When they were in prisoner coveralls, they were much easier to work with and began giving some valuable information that let us know that Rocky was being taken advantage of to the tune of probably several hundred million dollars. Who would figure a steroid freak with hair transplants could make that kind of money? When everything was settling down, Sarah wanted to know if she could go back to her office. Thinking it might be a good idea to have an agent or two go with her, I asked Frank to go with Sarah. Before she left, she said to me, "I counted all of it. It's all there. You and I need to take this to a bank right away. Can you do that with me, instead of me going to my office?" "I can, let's do it quickly while the banks are still open." We both used the same bank, so we went to the downtown branch and made deposits, big deposits. We filled out the disclosure forms for that size cash deposit and left with two very nice deposit slips, leaving behind two bank tellers and a branch manager with their mouths gaping open. On the way back to the office, Sarah asked, "What are you going to do with all that money?" "I don't know yet, Sarah, but I'll find a way to help less fortunate people. I think there are probably a lot of charities that can use some money, so I'm sure I can use most of it to do good for others." Sarah said, "I will give some to charities, but the rest is going into the Sarah Perkins retirement and investment fund. I'm so nervous over this that I'm probably going to go contribute to a doc to get my stomach in order." I asked Sarah, "How much did you tell Wanda?" "I told her you were involved with a lawsuit with some creepy characters and you were going to get a large sum of money, but she doesn't know how much. Tell her how much or how little, that's up to you." "Thanks, Sarah, I don't think people should know how much is involved." Sarah laughed, "I don't give a hoot. I have enough to live happily ever after. I'll begin devoting more time helping those that need a divorce, but can't afford the attorney to make their life normal again." I dropped Sarah with a duty team that was going to go to her office with her to make sure it was safe. Frank called up to my office, "You might want to come down to the agency office. This guy is a gem. We're going to have to put him somewhere secure. He seems to think he knows half of D.C. He's even said he knows your guy, John Scott. Come on down, perhaps we can come up with somewhere for him." Before going downstairs, I called John. After some pleasantries, I told him I was personally involved with some kind of major sports scam. When I asked, "Do you know a guy by the name of Monterro, James Monterro." John replied, "I've met the sleaze-ball. The guy is slick, real slick. He doesn't open doors, he slides under them." I told John, "I've found out how he makes his money. He's convincing his clients that he is shipping their money to secure offshore accounts, but is skimming close to half for the privilege. That makes him guilty of a few federal crimes having to do with money laundering. You'll hear about it as there are a lot of big names that will be bitching. My problem will be keeping the guy incarcerated. If he gets out on bail, he'll be gone. "Good luck keeping him under wraps." John said, "It's guys like that who make our life less tolerable and keep us busy." Downstairs at the Bureau office, I related the conversation I had with John to Frank. Frank said, "I figured that, but you needed to ask. So far Monterro isn't talking, only bitching. The three attorneys and the three goons are yakking it up. If this keeps up, you'll be finding new homes for the attorneys in the witness program." Frank continued, "From the information we have received from the attorneys, we are contacting their clients to inform them they have probably lost about half of their offshore holdings. They can go after Monterro themselves. I'm sure at least one of his clients will prefer to attempt to handle this personally." He added, "From what we've found out, your three thugs were the only hired muscle Monterro employed. You shouldn't have to worry about more goons. We will have an arraignment in the morning where Mr. Monterro can name his personal attorney for this problem. Are you going to be there?" "Probably not, I think I've had enough of them. Thank goodness there wasn't any gunplay or dead people. That's all I need to have in my own backyard after last night. If something goes haywire, call me, otherwise, for me, this case is closed." "And ours is just beginning. I guess that's what we're paid to do. Thanks for turning one up for us. Everything has been by the numbers. You know you will have to testify against the muscle you brought in." "Yeah, but they are going to go away for ten years for having guns when they were trying to abduct me. I don't think the judge will give them another ten years for stupidity." "You're right; it's an open and shut case. I'll call you if something comes up." I went back upstairs to say goodbye to Wanda. She said, "There's more to this, and you probably should tell me a little about it, perhaps this evening. Now get out of here unless you want to go to the Office, it's already after five." "I'm starved; I'll see you at home. I want some exercise, something to drink, and something good to eat in whatever order I can get them, and then I'm going to bed." "Okay, I heard from Brandy earlier and she said she might be by. The girls are in some kind of zone of their own about what's going on. Lisa has called from Detroit where her charter went today and asked me to keep her posted on how you are. The only one I haven't heard from is Tina, but she has Ben Phillips calling the station about once an hour." I drove home cautiously, looking over my shoulder, and drove into a branch bank ATM to get some cash. For some reason, the cash I had when I went to jail wasn't counted and I came out without any. I was still angry over the night in the jail, but more than anything I was tired and hungry. As soon as I was in the house, I turned on all the cameras and monitors on the video wall and said the heck with exercise before digging out some chicken breasts to thaw in the microwave. I planned on grilling as many as we had, so we would have enough if people showed up. While the chicken was being thawed in groups of four big breasts at a time, I changed clothes before mixing up a tall drink of my favorite beverage. Lisa had brought a beautiful old worn Gibson acoustic home and left it in the media room, so I went for it and was sitting at the table strumming when Wanda's car came around the corner, followed by Brandy in her little car. I watched as Wanda pulled in the garage, with Brandy parking in the driveway and coming into the garage with Wanda. Brandy came in and saw me sitting at the table with the guitar and said, "Now, that's the way I want to picture you, not the one in my head of you in jail being attacked by perverts and corrupt jailers." Brandy gave me a hug and a kiss and sat down in another chair. "Play something cheerful for me. There's too much terrible stuff going on lately, and I'm so confused over what I want to have happen with you and me." I remembered a song my dad used to play for my mom all the time when I was young. It was one of the first songs he and gramps taught me when I was trying to learn the guitar. "Ain't she Sweet" is a happy tune, with a bouncy rhythm that says a lot to the lady you're singing it to. Brandy began grinning real big and came to hug me to her chest, restricting my hands from playing, as well as affecting my breathing. She said, "That's so sweet that you would sing that to me when I've been so weird. All of us girls are being so weird with you. I just adore you, Chuck, I have to leave or I'll be blubbering all over the place. I'll try to get the girls to come over later." I was going to tell her I would probably be asleep, but she would come anyway, so I just let it be. As I was beginning to doctor up the chicken breasts, Tina came in and gave me a hug. "Ben said you've been a busy boy today. You have to be dead tired after last night. I thought you might come home and sleep all day." "Too much has been happening, Tina. Hopefully, the turmoil is over and life will get a little more boring." "Sure, Chuck, from what I've heard, your life is about as boring as Uncle Steve's." I smiled and said, "I have corn on the cob in the pot, some baked potatoes cooking, and chicken about to go on the grille. Supper will be ready in about twenty minutes. Call upstairs and see if anyone up there wants to eat with us." Soon, Marie and Dennis were in the kitchen. Marie said that Jan and Don were not back from the dojo yet. Angie came in and asked if we could save some for Jimmy, as he should be here soon. We ate, and I finally got some food in me. I chased the food with a beer, knowing I was on my way to bed soon. I went into the bedroom to shower and made the mistake to laying flat on the bed for a second. Someone was messing with my leg, my fake leg. "What? What's happening?" Wanda said, "I'm taking your clothes and leg off. You'll sleep a lot better that way." I barely heard her, but later I did feel her snuggled up to my back. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 65 I woke up groggy on Wednesday morning, disoriented, and did not remember going to bed. The clock said five fifty, so it was nearing my regular time to get up. I rolled to the side of the bed to get up and reached for my peg. It wasn't there. I had to focus now, because things were not in order, not where they normally were. Spying the peg on the chair by the foot of the bed, I hopped over and sat to slip it on. In the bathroom, I relieved myself and quickly brushed my teeth, as my mouth felt gross from not brushing before going to bed. Thinking that I needed exercise, I went into the big closet, located my sport leg and strapped it on. In the gym room, I stretched for a few minutes and began walking on the treadmill. I gradually increased the speed until I was running at a decent six miles an hour, with a four percent incline. I was still a little unsteady on the new leg, but the treadmill had some nice handrails to help me keep my balance. Wanda came in and decided the bike was her best way to wake up. Little Marie got on the other treadmill and was building up speed fast. The three of us continued until we were very sweaty. I slowed to a stop and suggested we rinse the sweat off and try the pool. After hurrying into the bedroom to exchange the sport leg for my peg, I stripped, walked out to the outdoor shower, rinsed off, and joined my friends in the pool. We didn't sprint to exhaust ourselves, but swam moderately hard to get some good cardio exercise. While I was sitting on the wide steps on the side of the pool, Wanda asked, "Do you think you want to come in today? I do have a few things you need to look at, and you are going to be busy with prep for a possible trial against the county. Frank reinstated the Sheriff at the jail so life could get back to normal out there. The Sheriff would like to speak with you about your stay as well." "I think a day in the office would be nice. I have several things to follow up on, and I want to use the range to see if Cap has that new combat course done yet. Have you heard?" Wanda smiled, "Cap called last week to say he was waiting for you and Jan to set some standards for time and proficiency before he began grading regular users. You should get Jan and try it out together." Continuing, Wanda reminded me, "Remember to stay out of the limelight like John asked you to. So far no one has asked for you other than that process server, but someone can always show up at our door." We all had a quick breakfast, and it was while eating that Angie and Jimmy hit me with some news. Angie said, "Will you be mad if I move out to Jimmy's trailer? We want to be together and the trailer park is so much closer to the air park for him. He works some long hours sometimes and I want to be home when he gets there. The folks out at the park have assured me I was welcome to eat with them, so the only thing I have to do is to buy a car. Dennis says he knows a lady who has a good car she wants to sell, so Jimmy and I are going to go look at it." Jimmy then asked, "Do you think I could use your B200 this weekend? I want Angie to meet my dad. I'd also like him to see how your plane turned out." I answered, "If the charter service doesn't need it this weekend, you're welcome to use it. That would be the best way to get up there and back real quick. I'll bet your dad will be happy to see you, and even happier to meet Angie." Angie was blushing, "I hope so. Jimmy says his dad is very open-minded, so we will see." At the office, Wanda went over several remote office problems that were easily remedied, but still required a decision. Wanda already had the answers, but was concerned about making decisions for me when it was supposed to be done by me. The Sheriff dropped by the building to talk to Frank and inspect our holding cell area. We had room to hold up to fifty inmates if necessary, and had facilities for food preparation, but we had a contract with the hotel restaurant across the street when the population was small. The Sheriff liked the idea of our prisoners being in leg and waist chains even in their cells. He made the comment that it would be difficult to escape when prisoners were secured in that manner. The Sheriff and Frank came up to my office and we discussed my brief stay in his facility. He apologized that the situation had occurred and said, "The men cleaned out the locker of the jailer who you helped into a coma and is still there. I brought what we found with me and it's outside with your girls. One of the things we found was your leg. In light of what happened, we have written some new SOPs for handling amputees. Thank goodness you were able to defend yourself or I would probably be in jail as an accessory to your murder." I was excited by the news, "Hey, great, now I don't have to buy a new leg. The boot on that leg is nearly new and was my primary prosthesis. The one I have on is my emergency spare. It is nice to have my collection back to full strength again." The Sheriff asked, "My jailers and I are interested in how you defended yourself against three cellmates, then against the jailer who attacked you. What kind of weapon did you use, where did you get it? "Sheriff, I used my hands and foot. I had no weapon, nor could I make one in the cell. Your cells are very good in that they do not have any loose items in them." "It's so unbelievable that you could do that." "If the three prisoners had rushed me together, I probably would have failed, but they felt they could handle me one on one. The results are regrettable, but I had no choice. The jailer was the one who scared me the most. He came at me with a baton and was trying to use it. Luckily, he wasn't very quick." The Sheriff asked, "Should we be trying to train our men to combat a person with your skills?" "You could, but you probably won't ever run into the need. You won't know when you have someone with the skills, and for the most part, those with the skills usually won't end up in your facility. If you ever suspect someone of having those skills, put them in a single person cell with leg and waist chains. That will resolve any potential problems." "You're right, it will. The reason you were in the cell where you were, was to harm you, not to put you in a secure place." When the Sheriff and Frank left, I dug into my e-mails and finished up right at lunchtime. I asked, "Wanda, do you want to go to lunch at the executive club or would you prefer to have Subways." "I would enjoy having lunch with you, Mr. Johnson. That would be a pleasant respite." We walked over to the executive building and were standing at the Maitre D's desk when Tom, Zena, Burt, and Veronica Highsmith came up to the desk. Burt was very magnanimous in wanting us to join them for lunch at his treat. We couldn't be rude, so we accepted and were soon seated with them. Surprisingly, lunch was a total no pressure event, with neither Burt nor Veronica pushing for anything. Tom did mention that the buildout for the new offices should be completed by the end of the month. He was looking forward to our managers inspecting the properties. When it was time for us to leave Tom and Zena gave Wanda and me a hug and a handshake. Zena said softly, "Call us, come visit." On the way back to the office, Wanda said, "You would be a lot more comfortable out there if they weren't swingers, wouldn't you? I think they know that as well. Before, you went along with everything because of Bobby, and now you feel you may have lost her by some of that activity. I don't think so, but you are correct to act on how you feel. That place is fun, but nudism isn't necessarily a swinging lifestyle. Those people just get involved with each other differently than others do." About two, I called down to Jan and asked if she wanted to try out the new combat course. She enthusiastically said, "I'll meet you." Down at the range, Cap happily gave us some magazines so we could warm up a little. Jan and I fired forty five rounds each and brought the empty magazines back to Cap. He gave each of us three magazines, with ten rounds apiece, and showed us where to begin. He walked us through the course with the lights on and with the targets popping up randomly as we went. Cap wanted us to go head to head instead of competing on a timed basis. Jan and I got ready and the bell rang. We went quickly through the course, firing thirty rounds in a minute and a half. The targets were impact and noise activated, so the next one would pop up when a round was fired, the faster we fired, the faster the next target popped up. When we were done, Cap brought us a computer printout that had our times, hits, and decisions listed. As he showed us, he said, "Chuck was a little faster, but Jan, you beat him by one hit. You had two bad decisions, and Chuck had one. So there is no clear winner. I want you both to go through the course again, but do it more methodically, with zero misses, and with all good decisions. I'll use that time as our benchmark." Jan and I got ready, and instead of going through the course slowly, we ended up rushing through it in less time than before, but we both knew we had all hits and all good decisions. Cap said, "I can't use that time. That's so much faster than anyone can do it. Chuck, you beat Jan by less than a half second. Both of you had a hundred percent hits and hundred percent good decisions. I even had you guys on video for both of your rounds. You're too much. Go away; send me some normal people so we can have a real benchmark." While Jan and I were cleaning our weapons, I commented, "When did you get a model twenty-two?" Jan said, "When Wanda fired yours so easily, I decided that I wanted one like that. If I ever have to use a gun, I think I'd like the fifteen rounds instead of nine or thirteen. The gun has a better balance, and since you've made me an exercise queen, I'm strong enough to handle the extra weight." Upstairs, my work was taken care of, so I walked over to the garage to see Hank. "What's up, Boss? Have some new toys for me to play with?" "Naw, just checking to make sure everything is okay with you. I'm sort of concerned about keeping the Escalade and not using it." Hank smiled, "We've used it twice for transports over to Orlando. It's a great ride for that, much nicer than the Suburban." "Good, I've almost come to swap it for the weekend a few times as it holds more people, but I didn't want to be using it and have people think that I'm showing off." "Your buddy John from D.C. was trying to get me to get you a Jaguar that was in the system. He said you needed a fancy car like that, or a Mercedes like Frank has. I told him that you were pretty plain Jane when it came to cars and liked your Impala. He kept saying that the second in line for the whole service should be driving something fancy." "Hank, check on what John drives. I know it's in the system. I'll bet he drives something like a box with four wheels. Either that or the D.C. boys have him riding with a driver. That will give me some ammo when he's bitching." Hank said, "I'll do that, but you know all the wheels are driving the fancy stuff because it was confiscated. I've heard most of the big guys are being driven to work in Rolls or Bentleys. If you don't want the Jag, I'll drive it. I get off on those cars." "I'll bet my Impala is faster and out performs the Jag. I'd love to take it out on the county track one of these days." Hank said he would check on open dates and also gave me a set of keys for the Escalade, saying, "Keep these in your desk. If you need the car over the weekend, just come get it. Sign it out of course, but come get it." Back in the office, I was going over some of the new procedures that had come down recently when Lisa called. She said, "I heard your boys up here just confiscated a Lear 60 similar to what S&S has. They said the plane is a real rat. Why don't you check on it? That would be neat to have another Lear. You could become a member of the real jet set crowd." "I'll check, Lisa, but I don't need a Lear. Those things are expensive to keep up and even more expensive to operate. I would have to really steal it to make a good deal." Lisa teased, "Oh, Chuck, you know how much you like flying the Lear. Just think, you could fly your own Learjet somewhere just for fun. You could fly it for business too. That would make it worthwhile, and you know the charter company would have it rented out most of the time." "I'll check, I'll check. My goodness, what do you want me to do, open my own charter company?" "No way, you would be in competition with S&S. I want you to be so deep in S&S that I've got a permanent hold on you. Your two planes are in the air almost every day. You're getting top maintenance with Jimmy looking after your stuff. The kid thinks you walk on water as it is. Get a Lear and watch him go nuts." "I'll check, Lisa, I promise." When she hung up, I checked in on the equipment for sale and didn't see any Lear 60s. There was a 45 that was estimated to be in fair condition, and a Falcon that I didn't know anything about. I called up to Detroit to talk to the Station Chief. "This is Chuck Johnson in Tampa, I'm calling to find out about a plane you confiscated recently, possibly today." Brian Tolan, the Station Chief said, "Hey, nice to talk to the boss. Yep, we did take one in yesterday, but we've taken all of the value off it." "What do you mean?" Brain answered, "We pulled right at seventy-six million off the plane. It was on its way to South America with some U.S. Currency. We've been watching these guys for about two months and knew their schedule real well. The plane was due to be junked when they got it back to South America, as it needs just about everything except engines. A local pilot up here said we had a flying deputy that would be interested in the plane. Are you interested?" "I don't know, I said I would check on it and I'd want someone to look at it to give me an opinion. Can it be seen?" "Sure, come up and take a look. The thing might have some miles left in it, but I'd want a good mechanic to look at it first." I thought for a second then said, "I'll make some calls and see if I can get someone to come look." "Hey, while you're up here, we have a 182 that's been through a war. If you want that, I know you can steal it. Let me know, I'll get you a giveaway deal on it." "Thanks, I might do that. The guy that I want to look at the Lear wants his own plane. The 182 would be a good plane for him." I told Wanda, "I'm going out to the air park and might fly up to Detroit real quick. I'll talk to you later. I might be late, obviously, real late." When I drove up to the air park charter office, Jimmy was going in. I joined him as he was turning in some paperwork on work in progress. I asked him and DeDe, "Do you guys think you could rent out another Lear if you had it?" "Dede said, "Sure could. A lot of people want the speed and think the prestige of flying in a Learjet is worth it." "DeDe, I want to use our, or rather your, Lear to fly up to Detroit real quick. The kicker is that I want to take Jimmy with me to look at a plane. Can you rent me the Lear, and can I steal Jimmy?" DeDe was grinning and said, "You're as bad as Steve, always coming up with something. Get out of here so you can get back at a reasonable hour." Two and a half hours later Jimmy and I were setting the plane down in Detroit. I had called to have the Station Chief meet us at the airport. He drove us to the hangar where the newly confiscated Lear was being held. We towed it outside and Jimmy did an inspection, fired it up, and tested the engines. He looked the plane over thoroughly, and came to me. "The aircraft isn't in bad shape, it just has a lot of hours. You can probably put it back together for around a hundred fifty. That's on the cheap side. The interior is real decent, and both engines could use an overhaul and the hydraulics should be gone over. I'd say if you can steal it, get it. S&S can use it. I nodded, and asked the Chief, "Show me the 182 you have. Jimmy here is looking." "You could see Jimmy's eyes dilate at the thought of a cheap airplane. We looked at it and Jimmy said, "I think with a little effort I could get this to fly down to Florida. It is in poor condition, but appears almost airworthy." I told the Chief, "Sell me the little plane and just put it through D.C. I'll make sure to get it out of here quickly. Now, let me steal the Lear and we'll get out of your hair." "If I give you a ridiculous deal on the Lear can you get it out of here in two days?" "If the deal is ridiculous enough, we'll take it back with us right now." The Chief's eyes narrowed and he called someone on his cell phone and had a fairly long conversation. When he was done, he said to me, "Get the thing out of here right now. I'll get you the papers on it, and have it fueled if you think it's airworthy enough to fly to Tampa." I looked at Jimmy and he was smiling, I said, "Call the fuel truck. Jimmy, we can come up this weekend and get the 182 airworthy and get it home." Jimmy said, "No sweat, I'll call dad. Mom and he want to come visit me, so instead of me flying up to see him, I'll have him drive his truck down. They can stop by here, take the wings off, put the plane on the truck, and haul it to Tampa. He'll go nuts if he knows I've bought a plane." "Think you'll be all right to fly the junker home. I'm willing to fly it." "I've had more experience flying junk than you have, let me. I think the aircraft's in decent shape, it just needs maintenance is all. Like I said, you spend about a hundred on repairs and engines and it'll be like new again. Let crazy Shawna and Hank paint it up and it'll be done. Let me use your cell phone, I'll call dad right now." I supervised fueling the Lear and did a preflight on it for my own satisfaction. The tires were decent and there were no obvious problems with the gear, so it looked like it was ready to fly. Jimmy was smiling. He told the Station Chief, "My dad will be by here tomorrow. He'll take the wings off the 182, but he'll need one of the maintenance cranes to lift it onto the back of his truck." The Chief said, "I'll make sure the storage hangar people do it for him. Thanks, Chuck, you're getting that albatross out of here and you're making the Lear get out of here fast." Jimmy and I agreed on a frequency to talk between us and prepared to take off. We received clearance one after the other, and were soon on our way home. We kept up a constant chatter as Jimmy kept evaluating the instrumentation and the airplane. We were flying a little under cruise speed, just to be on the safe side, but not much slower than what we came up at. We set down at seven o'clock and taxied to the hangars. The night maintenance guys were all over the new Learjet, giving it the once over. They came to the conclusion that if the blades all looked good on the turbines, they felt the engines could be rebuilt which would save a lot of money. Jimmy promised not to try to save something that should be replaced. He used my cell phone again and called Angie, who was at his trailer. She said she had a surprise for him, and he said he had a surprise for her. Jimmy made sure the night crew was set, jumped in his Jeep and started for home. I went through the inside of the Lear very thoroughly. I was sitting in the left seat of the cockpit with my right hand on the back of the right seat. I felt something lumpy under the fabric at the rear of the seat. I looked at the seat and saw that the zipper that is used to put the seat cover on the seat was partially pulled apart. I kept pulling on the zipper until I had the back of the seat open. I was already excited, as there were bundles of money in the seat. There were ten bundles of five hundred, hundred dollar bills. That made me nervous. Someone missed a half million dollars of currency. Looking at the pilot's seat showed the same bulging, but it was flat instead of lumpy, like someone may have taken more time to stash the money in it. The zipper easily came apart and there were another ten bundles. I looked at the cabin seats and decided they needed to be checked out. I found that they didn't have zippers on the back, but the seats lifted out for flotation devices. Between the seat cushion and seat pan were ten neatly arranged bundles of cash. I quickly ripped off the other seven cushions to find the same under every seat. Holy shit. Okay, that's five million so far, I wonder what else I'll find. The galley area had been searched thoroughly as had the potty area. I began looking at paneling on the bulkhead and could see where some of the screws had been left loose. I went out to borrow a cordless screwdriver and came back in and unscrewed the paneling on the lower bulkhead between the window and the floor. I began removing stacks of hundreds. After taking all of the paneling off, I found an additional sixty four bundles of money. A quick calculation said that was an additional thirty-two mil. I ended up unscrewing panels everywhere inside the plane, then in the baggage storage area. I think that was all. There was thirty-six point five million so far and that had to be about it. That was so much money that I needed a duffle bag or something like it to put it all in. I found a heavy duty garbage bag in the hangar that would work. After bagging the cash, I screwed everything back together and made sure the seats were all in place, as well as checking that the cockpit seats were zipped up tight. I needed to call in and put this cash somewhere secure. The best place would be the station or my office, so I drove to the office, and for once, I used the private elevators to go upstairs. I stashed the bag of money in the cabinet below the TV. Then I sat at my desk and thought, "No one knows about that cash. I could keep it and live on it for the rest of my life." "Duh, dummy, you have money coming out your ears. You just held up the idiot wrestler for another bundle. You sure don't need this stuff." I shook my head in wonder and called John. He answered, "What do you want? Don't you know I have a home life?" "You know the big bunch of money they found on the Learjet up in Detroit?" "You mean the Learjet you just stole from the Marshal Service?" "That would be the one, yes." "What about it, Johnson?" "I just found another thirty-six and a half million dollars stashed in it. I had to dismantle the bulkheads and seats, but one thing led to another, and voila, a big bunch of money." John asked, "Who knows about this money?" "You and me." "Really, no one else?" "Since I don't have a night deposit key for a bank, I've stashed it in a safe place." "You idiot." "What? What'd I do?" "You idiot, you could have kept the money and no one would have been the wiser." "I would have known," I said defensively. "I know, tell me you did at least think about keeping it? Please tell me you're human." "I did think about it, John, but,,,, " John said, "Yeah, I know, your conscience wouldn't let you keep it. You friggin' idiot. I might have kept it. I really might have, but then I wouldn't have just bought a Learjet. Tell you what, instead of the ridiculously low price I was going to get that plane to you for, I'm going to charge you thirty-six and a half million dollars for a four million dollar aircraft on a really good day. See, you're a sucker. Now it's the Marshal Service that's taking advantage of you instead of you kicking back on an island somewhere." "Maybe I should reconsider keeping the money. I could buy a couple more airplanes with all those millions." "Yep, you could, but your conscience wouldn't let you do it. That's why you get the plane for being a good citizen. We'll even pick up the tab of getting it in good shape. You'll have to fly us around a little, but that's the deal." "Sounds good, I was afraid of the cost of fixing the plane up. You know the thing may need new engines. They are expensive." John said, "I have thirty-six point five million to play with. Make a deposit in the morning in your petty cash account. That should make a teller's day. I'll let accounting know of all the other arrangements and you'll get another gold star. You don't need any more stars. Are you all right after night before last?" "I'm fine. I'm surprised how quiet everything has been kept. That has to get out. There is no way you can keep shit like that completely covered up." "You would be surprised," John said. "If you have the D.C. muscle behind you, you can get away with a lot. Let me go back to my lovely lady. She's talking about another trip to Hawaii. She says there were a lot of possibilities for another wife for me. Say, you don't have a woman right now. She has a sister that's of marrying age. That beauty would make a wonderful wife for you. She would never leave you, she would cook for you, clean for you, take care of you like a king, and I can say that if she's half as attentive as my lady, she'll fuck you till you can't move, more often than you will want to. Then she'll go out looking for a second wife for you." "Don't promise anyone anything, John. Women are not on my list of things to keep right now. I might have reached a point where I think I might enjoy doing without women for a while." "That'll only last till you get horny again. I know all about it. I don't know how I lucked into my lovely lady, but I'm a king in my home." "See you later, King, thanks for answering my question." "I still think you're an idiot for telling me about the cash. See you later." Sitting in my big chair, I did feel good about telling John about the money. It really was the Service's. I'm getting a good deal on the plane, or rather they are giving me the plane in good shape, so I'm happy. I should have asked for the 182 to be thrown in. I went back downstairs on the private elevator and left from the back door. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store for some romaine, onions, and mushrooms, and went to the house. The house was quiet to the point that a second look told me there were no other cars here. I made myself a drink and had just begun sautéing the onions, garlic, and mushrooms, when Lisa came in the door. She looked like she had a hard day. I told her, go take a shower and we'll have some leftover steak for supper. I made up two Caesar salads and finished the steak topping. I got out a package of chopped spinach and a couple of the baked potatoes we had leftover from the other night with the steaks. Lisa looked refreshed when she came back into the kitchen. She said she wanted a drink like mine, so I made her one and we ate our salad. When I served the heated up steak with the mushrooms, potatoes, and spinach, I took out two beers for us to have with our food. Lisa sat back in her chair, rubbing her stomach, and said, "You'll make some girl a good wife. That was great; now tell me a couple of things. One, did you do anything about that aircraft I told you about?" "Didn't you see it in the hangar when you came in?" "That's it? I didn't look at it closely, but it doesn't look that bad." "It isn't, and it will be perfect when Jimmy gets done with it." "Good, S&S needs another Learjet. Second, what's this shit about you getting locked up in the county jail where someone tried to kill you, but you actually killed someone? Is any of that true?" "I was locked up as part of this Rocky Mountain and Bobby thing, and they tried to get a couple of prisoner goons to do me in, but they were dumb. I was able to handle them. A guard was involved and he tried also but I was able to disable him as well." "Who did you kill?" "It was an accident. One of the prisoners was going try to make me his bitch, and when he attacked me, I kicked him wrong and broke his neck." Lisa was shaking her head back and forth. She said, "I've spent a lot of time with Brandy and her buddies lately and they've kind of let something slip. You don't have to tell me as it really doesn't affect me, but have you come into a lot of money lately?" "Yes, I've come into some money and it is sizeable. It really isn't enough to make me change what I do right now; perhaps in the future, but not right now." Lisa was grinning, "Good, I like you the way you are and I don't know whether I'd like you if you were some rich guy. I have a hard enough time understanding my feelings for you the way you are. You know those five are all flakes, don't you?" I nodded. Lisa said, "I love 'em, and love to be around them when they're in a good mood. They are great to play with, but my-oh-my, they are a bunch of flakes. They say how much they love you and want to come over and be with you one second but turn around and say they would rather be with each other. Brandy is the most confused, as I really think she cares for you a great deal, but she just can't figure out her true feelings." I said, "I kind of figured they were that way. Come on, let's get these dishes done and play some music. You know we're going to be playing non-stop this weekend." We did the dishes and went back to the media room to play both acoustic and electric guitars and the bass. We had a good time making everything wail. It was getting toward ten when I suggested, "How about a little hot tub time and we go to bed?" Lisa put her guitar down, put mine on its stand, and sat in my lap. "Get me a drink and we'll sit in the tub for a few minutes. I'm more interested in the bed stuff. I'm really beat." I went to the bedroom, brushed my teeth, put on my peg and a robe, and headed for the kitchen. I made two more drinks and took them out to the hot tub and found Lisa already immersed in the bubbles. We sat, drank, and chatted for about ten minutes, then got out, covered the tub, and headed inside, locking up and setting the alarms on the way. I kind of figured Lisa was coming to bed with me, but she surprised me when she rolled on top of me as soon as I lay down. She sat up on my middle and said, "I've had all the women I want for a while. I think I'm ready for a little deputy, or in your case a big, fat, deputy. Would you mind if I get that thing ready?" I had to laugh, just her cute way of sitting on my hips had me primed and ready. I picked her up and held her over my head, put her back down on the bed, and began kissing her everywhere. She was a joy, as I could feel her excitement grow from the kisses. From the early gasps, to the later groans, Lisa became a very ready lady. When we finally slid together, she held my head in her hands and kissed me so intensely that I almost came. I think she did. We thrust together while kissing, and I was getting some nipple kisses in, until our bodies meshed together and as I filled her with my elixir, we both groaned our release. We were laying there kissing and hugging when we both just slid off to dreamland. It was a very cuddly dreamland. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 66 What the fuck was that? I woke up sweating and damn near shaking. I scooted to the edge of the bed and sat up, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. My mind was filled with images of that damned cell, with the idiot jailer grinning at me before he swung his baton. In my dream, I couldn't move fast enough to keep from being hit. The dream had switched back and forth between being knocked off the tow motor in Minneapolis and not being able to get up, to trying fire at the crazy Tulsa radical shooting at me, smelling the diesel fuel and nitrate, to hearing a cell phone ringing. There it was again, a cell phone ringing. I looked at the nightstand to see that my phone wasn't there. I slipped on my peg and followed the sound into the bathroom and closet area. There it was lighting up on the chest in my closet. "Johnson." "You sure were hard to wake up. Not getting enough sleep?" John was laughing when he said that. John continued, "I know I wasn't going to use you, but you're needed up in Burlington, Vermont. Actually it could be in New York, but the small dual office in Burlington is where the distress call came from. We have another group of escapees congregating again. This time we think they're out on an island in Lake Champlain. So far we've accounted for six, but there are a few older unaccounted for escapees that we thought were in Canada but now we think they might be with them." "The station up there wants someone to organize and lead them to take the whole group. Get up there ASAP so they don't get a chance to leave. We can get support from both Vermont and New York local law enforcement, so mentally work out what you think and call me back." I had walked back through the bedroom and looked at the clock. "John, don't people call you during normal hours? It's three AM and your call triggered a bunch of bad dreams and shit that I just don't ever have. Why call me now?" "You'll get used to it. Since the office up there is a dual office and shares space and support people, the agent in charge called his Regional boss who called the Director who called me. Apparently the agent in charge had just got back from observing the island from offshore and decided it was more than they could handle. The Director called me as he knows we have several people capable of directing something like this. I'm calling you because I'm locked up here in D.C. kissing ass as usual for the next two days in hearings over your fucking Tulsa shit and that we were so insensitive as to fucking shoot ragheads that shoot at us and want to blow us up. I guess the next thing I'll hear about is that it's illegal to shoot people who are shooting at us." "Take it easy, John. I'll take care of this. Just try to let the bleeding hearts know that we only defend the citizens and ourselves." John said, "I'm sorry to go off, but the Saudis are having a cow because we turned up an entire cell working out of the big Saudi consulate in Tulsa. They returned about twenty consular employees and from what I'm told, when the plane reached Saudi, seventeen were carried off the plane under sheets. This is very embarrassing to the Saudis, not because of the cell, but because we found them before they knew about them." He paused a second then advised, "I have to tell you. Some of the little stations like this are where we send older agents and deputies to finish their time. Some of them are guys who've lost their edge or their nerve. What I'm saying is take a sidekick and any weapons you think you'll need. If they have weapons, they'll be old and rusty. If you can, take a couple extra men you trust, as this may not be a no-brainer." "Okay, have the strike team meet me up there either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. I can use them, since this is going to be more than a 'sneak up and gotcha' capture." John laughed, "When you get back, see the Bureau's shrink about stress and dreams. I've had to do that a couple of times. Your kill rate is probably going to mandate it anyway. This is worse than war because you know and see who's dead. Sorry to have to get you right back out, but it's better than those news people finding you." "John," I stopped him from hanging up, "how about some recon photos? I'll be able to plan better if I have upper level and enhanced photos of any structures. I'm going to wait until morning to go up as I'd rather not begin waking people up now. I'll call up to the station to make sure they get law enforcement to monitor the island so we know if there is any traffic to or from it." "I'll get it done. The Director told me there is a duty man at the station 24/7 until this is resolved." John hung up and I went into my office and called the number for the station John had given me. "Agent Corning." "Hey, this is Deputy Charles Johnson. I'm supposed to come up and join you guys so we can have a party out on a nearby island." Agent Corning said, "We've heard of you and wondered if you would be coming. When will you be here?" "Today, don't know when yet, but later today. I have some things you can start doing. Call the Coast Guard, I know they have the only inland station up there and have them station some fishing boats with at least two crewmen around the island to watch for traffic. They are to report any activity to your office. Make sure whoever is on duty has a copy of what I'm telling you. They are not to stop anyone who is on the way to the Island. If someone is coming from the island, they are to be apprehended by any, and I mean any, means possible. They are to be considered armed and hostile. I want them captured so there is no opportunity for them to use a cell phone to warn others. This is important. Make sure the take down is fast without the subjects having an opportunity to use a cell phone. If this is difficult to do with only your resources, call both state police units and have them activate as many units as possible, but to consider the operation covert so it is not broadcast to all the state agencies. I'll type this up and e-mail it to you, along with any other ideas I have between now and when I get there." My cell phone rang, "Johnson." John again, "You won't believe this, but I'm having trouble getting transport for the strike team. Our plane is out in California, but it's too little anyway. The service doesn't have another larger plane and the Bureau has three, all out. The Air Force is trying to find us transport, but they are constrained by all kinds of bullshit around here because of all the wheels in Congress using the aircraft on quote "Official Business" unquote. Can you get a plane big enough to swing by here and pick them up?" "Don't know, I'll find something, but make sure you get those recon photos and call the Coast Guard so they know we need them up there on the lake. I'm sure their headquarters are already getting calls." "Good idea, another multi-agency bust. We need the press, you don't though." "Let me make some calls, John, and I'll get back to you." I called out to the charter office just to see if someone would be there. DeDe answered, "S&S Air Charters." "Hi DeDe, one of your favorite customers here." "How ya doin' boy, can I get a deputy to come out and keep me company this morning? It's kind of lonely out here waiting for a plane to come in." "You tempt me, sweet thing. But, what I'm calling for is transportation for about four from here to D.C. then picking up another dozen going to Burlington, Vermont for twenty-four to forty-eight hours." I heard a big sigh and she said, "I could get you a Lear but it isn't big enough. The G5s are all committed, but I do have the 1900D Super King Air that you're using this weekend. It's open till next Wednesday. Want that?" "That's probably fast enough. We should be fine as long as the team I'm picking up doesn't have a lot of equipment. I'll be out around nine." "Want a pilot or do you want to fly it yourself?" "I would love someone to fly it for me so I could get some sleep." "Dream on, lover boy. We ain't got any left. Train me some, okay? We keep getting more planes, so we need more pilots. You even have your Lear almost ready to roll. Jimmy and the other guys were working on it last night with several of the teens from the trailer park. I don't know what they were doing, but Jimmy said it was a surprise. There is a bill here for you. Jimmy said you wouldn't mind buying some avionics for your new bird. He's going out of his mind waiting for his dad to get here with his new airplane. That was nice of you to help him with it." "He's a good kid. I really like him and I love his attitude. He's a can do type of guy. He fits in very well with you guys." "Thanks to you, he's here. We're very happy to have him and he's bringing one of his buddies in to interview. Jimmy says the guy is an ace avionics and hydraulics man, besides being a good mechanic. Jimmy says he's best with tough conventional problems and jet engines. So far there's been nothing he hasn't been able to fix. Our guys are learning from him and enjoying being led by him. John is thinking of putting him in charge of the shop." "Awesome, I'm glad he's working out. The kid is snatching one of my boarders though. I hope that works out." "You mean the dark oriental female human attached to his hip? That little girl and Jimmy are inseparable except when they both have to go to work. All our friends out at the park have adopted Angie. You would think she was one of Steve's kids the way everyone is acting over the two. I think the idea that she was living at your place and you brought Jimmy makes them even more popular." "Good to hear. I worried about Angie taking off that fast. The two hardly knew each other and they were shacking up." DeDe laughed, "They must have more than just lust in their hearts then." "I've got a bunch to plan and do real quick, DeDe, see you soon." "I'll save some for you, Deputy, come use it." "Duh, double entendre, you are such a tease." "Who's teasing, bye, Honey." DeDe hung up with giggle. I finished the e-mails to Agent Corning and another brief e-mail of my general plan to John. If this works right, I'll be home tomorrow. I had better be if I was going to take a pile of people to Atlanta. At six, Wanda came in to see what I was doing. I gave her a brief rundown and said, "I think it's safe to call Dave now, I'll need to talk to Sarah too." "Good morning, Dave. Want to go up to Lake Champlain for a multiple capture?" "What the fuck, I haven't even had coffee yet. What is this, some kind of torture?" "While you're thinking about it, let me talk to Sarah, I need her help too." "Morning, Sarah, I haven't called Sarge yet, but I need two men to haul up to Vermont with me. We're going to be joined by the Strike Team from D.C., so whoever is going shouldn't have to get too close to the action. I need leaders as much as doers." Sarah said, "I'll call Sarge, but I think we have a duty team that will serve your purpose. Both are strong in knowledge as well as skills. I'll call you back. Should I have Sarge alert them if he agrees?" "Yep, they should be at the station pulling combat gear by eight. We'll be leaving out at the little airport north of Lutz about nine. I'll be in the office by seven thirty." "I'll call Sarge and get my horny deputy off his butt so he can go with you. We'll both meet you at seven thirty." I shut down the PC and went back to the bedroom. Lisa was stirring, so I kissed her awake and said that I had to go in early as I was leaving from her air park by nine. She stretched and said, "I have a flight about nine or ten today, so I'll go with you." I was in the shower when little Lisa got in with me. She held on to my appendage and said, "That was nice last night. You do know how to put a girl to sleep. She kissed me and said, "Be careful in making me so happy, I might want a steady diet of it." We showered and dressed, with me putting on jeans and a long sleeve sport shirt. I didn't have any combat clothes, but I'm sure I could get some if I needed them. Lisa rode to the station with me, enjoying a breakfast sandwich from Burger King on the way. Lisa watched me pulling MP5s and combat gear for my men by seven fifteen. I pulled four sets of everything I thought we would need and even threw in an extra vest and helmet just for fun. I had the feeling that as these guys were on a small island, they were probably well financed and well defended. Whatever, or whoever, is helping these groups of escapees, needed to be found and stopped. Sarah and Dave showed up by seven-thirty, with Sarge on their heels. He looked over the gear I pulled and said, "Anticipating rotating to Afghanistan when you're done?" "I want us to be prepared, Sarge, this could be easy or could be like some of the group take downs I've been involved in lately." "If you're using the Strike team, you'll be ready. Those guys are supposed to be a good team." "They may be stale as they don't get sent out enough. Training daily is good, but it's not like having real encounters. Ask Dave, it takes the first few rounds to make you remember what to do." Sarge said, "I know, it's always like that, isn't it?" The other two men came in and looked over the equipment. I checked to make sure we all had four full spare magazines for our sidearms and five full magazines for the MP5s, night vision, switchable laser sights, and sound suppressors. It is good to be able to turn off the laser in the event you don't want to alert your target. Wanda came in and said, "You left before I could talk to you. Come to the office for a second, I have something to give you before you leave." In our office Wanda closed her door and gave me a hug and a very sound kiss. "Please, stay out of a fight if you can. I worry, we all worry about you. You just crash in and try to do everything yourself. Use these men and use the strike team. Please be careful." She kissed me again and was tearing up. This is not like Wanda, but I smiled and assured her, "I know, Wanda, I've been pushing it lately. I'll be careful." Back in the station, I said, "Let's roll." The men and Lisa followed me to my car. At the air park, we all headed into the charter office where DeDe gave me a hug and told Lisa in front of the men, "You were supposed to bring me my treat without an audience. Now all these men will have to watch as I get taken care of by the office stud." I was blushing really bad when DeDe gave me a kiss. "You're so easy to tease. Here's your logbook and a company card for fuel. Remember that you have to have the plane back for the trip to Atlanta that I'm told is extremely important. I told the men to pick up their gear and get an average weight for me. All three weighed near three hundred pounds with their gear. I multiplied the 300 by 16 to get 4800 which meant I was going to be 2800 lbs overweight with a full load of fuel. The range of the plane was only 800 miles, so I would be screwed going up to Vermont with the team. I asked DeDe, "Are you sure you don't have a something bigger. I'm going to be overweight getting out of D.C." Dede looked through a book and said, "The only thing available around here is a 767 but you'll have to hire a crew." "Okay, I'll take these guys up and make a trip to D.C. for the other twelve. It's ridiculous that D.C. can't support us any better than this." I called John on his cell. "John, you have to tell the team that I can't pick them up till around two. I've got to fly my men up and come back to pick up the twelve men. They need to strip their gear down so their total weight doesn't exceed three hundred pounds each. An airplane may have a lot of seats, but not that much capacity." Lisa was pulling on my sleeve, waving a piece of paper at me. "Hang on, John." I looked questioningly at Lisa and she said, "Call this guy out at the base. He said if we could use his help for us to call him. This is a government job, they do that and they are a transportation group." "John, I'll call you back." I called the number and received a curt, "Colonel Peters." After explaining who I was and the problem I had, he said, "We have some C-130s that could use a training mission. How soon can you be here?" "Thirty to forty-five, Sir." "Then Deputy Johnson, come on down. I'll scramble a crew with some overnight supplies and get you to Burlington via D.C. Can you get your D.C. men out to Andrews AFB.?" "That I can do. Thank you for solving a huge equipment weight problem." The Colonel told me, "Find out if you need to drive anything on board, if so, call me back." I kissed Lisa and said thanks. She was beaming to have helped out. I waved the men to get back to the car again when I was thinking the Escalade would be better for a bunch of men and equipment. Out at the base, Colonel Peters had an Air Policeman meet me at the gate and lead us to the airfield where he was waiting for us. He said, "You guys should call us when you need us. We are a transportation unit, you know. I'll bet you can use our services anytime. Your group out there helped us with a mechanic for one of our small aircraft plus he fixed a problem with one of our G5s. We owe them, you don't owe us. I think we used your personal B200, the one with the pretty blue interior for the Commander to go up to Jacksonville. You guessed it; all our planes were down for maintenance. The Commander loved the plane though and also that cute little girl piloting the plane." "Thank you, Colonel, I'll try to get the plane back by tomorrow." "If you can't, call me so I can extend the TDY orders. The crew will be happy to do whatever you need." I called John and told him to have the team at Andrews to be picked up in about two hours. "What do you have now, a C-130?" "Yes Sir, I just stole it from McDill, along with a crew. If you want to come along, get some messing around clothes and some gear and meet me. We'll have fun with so many people wandering around." John said, "I might do that and I think a favorite Marshal also might come along to watch." "Just don't let him get hurt and don't let him try to take over when the take down starts." John answered, "He's a good man and will watch quietly. He's done it before." "Gotta go, the plane is started and they're trying to pull up the ramp." "See ya." The trip to Andrews was neat as I had not been on a C-130 for a long time. The men all sat in jump seats with seat belts along the side of the aircraft. The crew was funny as they were acting like they were hostesses and brought us coffee then wiggled their ugly male butts back to their area. One wasn't so ugly, but she was all business and we got no wiggles from the only real female. As soon as we had landed and the ramp dropped, the Strike Team came aboard and stowed their equipment in the big net with ours. The aircraft's crew secured all the equipment and seated the new men as the ramp was being pulled up. John and the Marshal joined us. John didn't even have any combat gear, so I knew he wasn't coming with me to help in the field. Two hours later, we were on the ground in Burlington with a National Guard five ton truck waiting to take us to the station. The station was next to a diner, so my men and the team went there while the rest of us went inside the tiny station. I met all the leaders, including a Coast Guard Commander. I looked at the recon photos that had just been delivered first and maps of the general area. The Bureau Chief said, "We observed two men come ashore and get in a car and go directly to a grocery store. They came out with loads of groceries and went straight back to the boat, so we let them go instead of alerting the people on the island that something was up." "Good move, we don't need any advance publicity. Okay, these photos look as if there might be gun emplacements. See this; it looks like a sandbag fortification. I wonder why we didn't get better enhancement on these photos?" John said, "My fault, I didn't ask for definition. Who would guess they had fortifications." I asked the Commander, "Can you get one of those fishing boats in close enough to check these four points to see if they are manned fortifications, like lookouts?" We've been in close, fishing on all sides, and so far the only lookout is one guy that walks around the little island looking at the various boats. He yelled at one of the boats that was almost on shore. He yelled that the island was a private residence and for the men to leave. My people are all dressed in fisherman clothes, so we haven't given anything away. I pointed out two areas where it looked like we could beach boats and not damage them on rocks. I said, "We can beach here and here with men to surround the back of the place. We'll take out the strolling guard and when we're in place, you can bring up the rest of the men from the front. We'll check these fortifications along the way to make sure they aren't manned." After thinking about the situation a minute I asked, "Can I go out with one of the fishing boats real quick so I can see these sandbagged areas up close? It looks like a good fishing spot, right up next to this one." One of the deputies handed me a flannel shirt to go over my vest and said, "With your jeans, you look like a fisherman. Commander, give him a peek at what the target is." We went out to the island in a very fast, but obvious big water, fishing boat. I went up onto an observation platform and was pointing at areas closer and closer to the island as we slowly drifted up close to a fortification. We were only fifteen to twenty yards offshore when I saw a movement at the top edge of the fortification. It was a lens. The lens moved to center on us and I could see the lens turn so I knew it was focusing on us. I yelled for the guys to get lines in the water and was pointing over near the shore. Luck was with me, as one of the guys almost instantly hooked up and was cranking in a huge lake trout. I noticed the camera go from me to the trout, then back to me. I pointed at another spot farther away from the camera and another line went out and luckily hooked up. We were showing that we were fishermen and the platform was a help. While we were landing this fish, a guy came out of the house nearby and yelled, "This is private property, get out of here. You can't fish within a hundred feet of here. Now leave." I waved at him and climbed down the platform ladder and had the pilot head out toward another island that was closer in. We hung out there a few minutes then went back in so I could go back to the station. Back at the station, I advised everyone that the fortifications housed cameras that were obviously connected to the house. We would need to be more covert about landing. I asked the Commander, "Do you have any boarding rafts, preferably black or seawater color?" "He smiled and said, "Night huh? I have about a dozen, how many do you need?" "I think we will do this the same way, so we will need two rafts. This is how we'll do it." I gave everyone the plan and they all agreed. The one thing I wanted was to have all cell towers in the area disabled so no transmissions could get to or come from the island as soon as possible. The Bureau Chief said he would handle that. He called someone and followed that by calling the local news channel television station to talk about the cell outage. This was important enough to alert the area so they began announcing the outage and sharing it with the other TV and radio stations. Sure enough, when I looked at my cell phone there were no bars. As it began to become dusk, we gathered at the docks, with the Strike Team splitting up into the two boarding rafts. I had Dave and my men lead the group of Bureau agents, Deputies, and some special team state policemen that were being ferried by the Coast Guard who had a full complement of their men in gear to help. I was with the raft teams and equally as dark, with enough makeup to hide anyone. We landed and quickly went to our assigned stations. Two of the men went to a fortification and disabled the camera then hid, waiting for someone to come look at it. A single guy came down and was shining a flashlight at the camera when the two men took him down without a sound. They brought him to the rear of the island and began interrogating him, using some painful methods, as we didn't have much time. I was there and said while holding a Kbar under his bleeding nose, "Live or die, your choice. How many men in the house, quick?" As I began slicing he began crying and telling us, "Sixteen." "How many weapons?" His eyes grew big and said, "A lot of them. They have machine guns." "What are they doing now?" "Sleeping and playing cards, we just finished eating." We gagged him and chained him securely to a tree and caught up with the team. I radioed the information to everyone else and said, "When you see and hear the flash bangs go off, come right to the dock but stay undercover. We don't know how fast they will recover." The dozen Strike Team men circled the house with a man in front of every window ready to break it and throw the ordnance in. We would shield our ears and eyes, entering as soon as the noise and light show was over. We set our watches and I stationed myself at the back door. No one was in the kitchen, so I turned the handle on the door and it turned easily and when I gently pushed, it began to swing open. I pulled the door shut then hid my face, and plugged my ears. Crash, then three seconds later; Kaboom, I think they all went off at exactly the same time. I rushed into the house with the MP5 on burst with the noise suppressor in place. I encountered a man holding his ears, blinded, so I cuffed him, patted him down and kept an eye on two more men squirming on the floor. A guy came out of the bedroom with a small machine pistol. I didn't even think about it and put a burst into him while looking for any other possible enemy. I heard some other noise suppressed bursts go off toward the right and saw some of my men heading upstairs. I cuffed the other two men in the room and was turning around when a guy came out of a room behind me firing a small caliber pistol. Thank God he was firing at my chest as I put two bursts into him at close enough range it lifted him from his feet. I saw instant blood so I turned back around to see another guy come out of a room holding his ears. A team member put the guy on the floor and was cuffing him, when one of the guys said, "You're bleeding. Get down and out of here." "It doesn't hurt so I'm fine. It's only bleeding. Let's clean these rooms and get a count." Men were pouring through the front door, Coast Guardsmen and policemen in combat gear, and my guys. Dave came up to me and asked me what to do. I told him, "Have everyone clear all the rooms and secure the entire building. Check for a basement and then we have to check every square inch of this island. Get a count to see if we have a total of sixteen." Dave was staring at my shoulder and hollered, "Corpsman, we got a bleeder." He turned back to me and said, "Sit, stay calm, I'll take it from here." A corpsman came up to me and ripped my neat flannel shirt off me as he couldn't get the fasteners from the vest loose fast enough. He put a compress on me and said, "Lay down, you cut an artery, I have to fix it." I said, "Cauterize it for now and fix it later so I can do what I need to do." "Slow down, you ain't in the Marines here. We have more brass here than in D.C. They'll take care of it. You, Sir, are going to get fixed first." "Why the Marine comment?" He pointed to my tattoo that was exposed and said, "Semper Fi." I lay back, closing my eyes with an "Ooorah." He messed with me and had someone hold a light over my shoulder until he said, "All better. You won't even need to go into the emergency room. You will need to see another doc in a day or two to check it out." I asked in wonder, "How did you fix the bleeder?" "The only way, I sewed it up. Only a small tear. I didn't leave anything in there either and I did sew you up real nice where I had to cut you open. Pretty damn good for the field if I do say so myself." "You're not a corpsman," I said accusingly. "I most certainly am. Four weeks every summer, one weekend a month and whenever we have an alert. Thank the Commander for calling me in. When I'm not playing Coast Guard Corpsman, I'm Dr. Jerry Morningside." "Well, thank you, Dr. Morningside, good patch job. Did I lose enough blood to be worried?" "Naw, about as much as you would lose if you were donating. You give blood recently?" "I'm ashamed that I haven't. I will get back in the habit." "I noticed a fresh wound on the arm, if you do that often, you might not want to give blood until you know you won't be spilling it all the time." "Now you sound like my girlfriend." Dave was standing over me and said, "Girlfriend, my ass, how about girlfriends and how about being shot and cut, what three or four times in just the last couple of months. Is this four or five, I don't know what." "Hush, and don't go telling John." "I already know," John said, looking down at me. The older Marshal was grinning, standing beside him. The Marshal said, "I thought he wasn't going to be on the inside?" John said, "You keep him out. If I told him to stay out, he'd quit." "You two are sounding like old ladies. Let's get out of here, I'm starved and I need to get home. Somebody set up some water boards and get what we need from these guys. We need the Bureau to come up with who's backing these creeps." The doc said, "I don't have any antibiotics with me but if you're still taking some from your last fracas, keep taking them and have another doc look at you, preferably one who knows gun shots. You were hit with a wimpy .25 caliber, glad it wasn't anything bigger." He picked two spent .25 rounds off my vest and handed them to me. "Not even enough to crack a rib. Get up you goldbricker, and get back to work." He pulled me up by my other arm and I could feel the stitches in there pulling. The old Marshal said, "John, perhaps we do need him to come into D.C. We can chain him up at night." "He'd just quit and go to work for the employment people. He's too stubborn, besides, I need him, and he has shown me some more men who have good heads on their shoulders and are good leaders. I'll try to use them for a while." The Strike Team leader came up to me and said, "All is secure. There are five down, you did two, my team did three. Not bad out of seventeen total, especially with all the weapons they had. You had a good assault worked out, and although we were told to keep you behind us, you led us in. You took one for your trouble too. I heard you say to get what we can from the prisoners before we can head home?" I told him, "Let the locals do that. We'll talk the Coast Guard into taking us back in so we can clean up. I'll rent some rooms so we can get this shit off our skin, take a nap, and head home in the morning. John, Marshal, you ready to go?" John elbowed the Marshal and said, "See, he's done and now he wants to get the hell out of Dodge and wait for the next problem." The old Marshal said, "I'm with him. Let's get him a steak and a glass of wine as soon as he's cleaned up. Let's go." "If you're going to take a shower, you'll need these." The doc handed me a handful of waterproof bandages. "You probably know what to do with them. Be sure to see a doc soon." We went back to Burlington and straight to a hotel where we did clean up. I had the shirt that I had exchanged for the flannel shirt and put it on. I met everyone downstairs and we went en masse to a steakhouse down the street. I made sure the Bureau Chief had all the cell service turned back on and notify the news people, but not about the take down. He got right on it. My phone began buzzing as soon as I was on my second glass of red wine. Lisa asked, "Are you all right? Mercy just called and wanted to know what was going on." "I'm fine. Call her back and tell her I was scratched a little and not to worry. I'll be home tomorrow, probably late morning. If you're not flying, I'll call." "I'm flying but will be back early. I'm glad you're okay. Mercy had me scared. I'll call her, but you probably should." "No, you call her. I don't need another mother right now." "I'll tell her that, she'll get you for it too." "Whatever, Lisa. Don't spread this around either, okay?" "Not even to Wanda? Mercy called her first." "Okay, I'll call Wanda, that'll be all of it. I'll call tomorrow." John said, "See, others are worried about you too. I think you're going to be on leave of absence for a while. How about a month in Hawaii or up in Alaska, down in Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands." The old Marshal said, "You know he's probably up for almost three months or more. What do you think?" I interrupted, "Look, I know you mean well, but I have a job to do and you guys have been great about helping me with time to learn to fly. Ah, I need to show my appreciation by doing what I've been hired and trained to do. You just keep finding problems and I'll keep taking care of them. This and all the times I've been hurt have been a fluke. I'll use up all this extra time and more with all the extra things the charter company wants me to do, so I would beg you to let me be. I might want to go Hawaii one of these days, and then I'll take you up on the offer. Thank you for thinking of me." The rest of the meal was just general banter. I should learn to duck or shoot faster, etc. etc. etc. I did call Wanda and told her it was just a scratch and nothing to worry about. She said she would read all about it so I didn't need to try to cover it up. "Besides," she laughed, "you won't tell the truth anyway, so I'll just find out from someone who was there." "Like who?" "Dave, the two men, John. They will know." "You win. It's a scratch, Dave will tell you." I finished with, "I'm eating, so goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." I fell asleep quickly. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 67 I was up before six. All of us had breakfast and were loaded on the aircraft by eight, in Washington by ten, and home by noon thirty. I drove the men to the station and went up to see Wanda. When I came in, Conish and Angie both got up and hugged me, saying that they were glad I was all right. I went to see Wanda, she shut her door, and she hugged me and said, "I knew you were going to be in danger and I just knew you were going to be in front. You did lead and you were hurt. You had to get an artery stitched, that's more than a scratch." "Wanda, it was a lucky round that I didn't even feel. I'm fine. Dave will tell you." "Dave already told Sarah he had to make you sit down while he called a corpsman. That's why we worry about you, you don't quit. He did say it was only a very minor wound and that made us all feel better. Now go write your incident report then go home and relax." When I was finished with my reports, I asked Wanda why my in-basket was empty and there were no e-mails. She said, "By order of your favorite Marshal. He called me personally, not his secretary or John, the man himself called and told me to make sure you went home and stayed there. I told him you were flying to Atlanta to party this weekend and he told me to find out where to see if he could party with you. Do you really want that guy partying with you in the places Lisa said you are going to?" "Tell him the truth. If he shows, he wants to party. If he brings his ole' lady, he really wants to party. He is a cool guy, I like him." I called out to the air park to see when Lisa was going to be in. Star said Lisa was shutting down outside right then. I asked her to have Lisa call my cell. I called Brandy and asked, "Ask Metarie if you girls can get out early so we can head up to Atlanta tonight instead of tomorrow. We can get in an extra evening of fun." Brandy got excited, "I'll ask. We're not busy today at all. She'll probably let us go. I'll call you back." Lisa called me and I told her about possibly going up tonight instead of tomorrow. She was all for it and said we could eat supper at Peaches, her Mama's restaurant. She said she would meet me at home. I asked Wanda, "Want to go to Atlanta early, like this evening? We'll eat supper at Lisa's favorite place, Peaches, and play it by ear from there." Wanda said, "I'm game, but you better call Tina. She wants to go too. I can leave early and have Angie and Conish lock up. I called the Marshal and told him the names of the two places we would be going to. The afternoon and evening at Pops, then an all-nighter at Rags on Saturday night. Should I tell him you're going early?" "Naw, tonight will be for Lisa." Brandy called to tell me that all the girls were heading home to pack. She promised they would be ready in a couple of hours. When I said I was leaving, Wanda had her desk cleaned up and left with me. On the way downstairs, she said, "I called John and he's coming with us. Will the plane hold us all?" "As long as we don't get too crazy with the luggage. I'll have the instruments and amps plus some clothes. I'll wear nice slacks, shirts, and sport coats while there. Might as well impress the people with clothes." We were all packed and ready to leave the house by three-thirty. Out at the air park, we had to unload the vehicles and park them in the regular airpark parking lot as we had three cars out there. When we totaled up the weight, we were just a little under the max gross weight. As I was checking the weather, Lisa said, "I told those music promoters we were going to play tomorrow night at Rags and he's setting it up to tape and record it live. He said he has already talked to Rags about it and had been given the welcome mat. You know this could be something, don't you? We do make a nice front for a group. If we were to get some tunes together, possibly some originals, we could be flying ourselves around on tour. That would really be cool." "That's all good, Lisa, but look at this line of storms. The tops aren't that high, but our ceiling isn't that high in the 1900 either. It's going to be bumpy as hell up there. There's no way around unless it's by way of Little Rock and they have thunderstorms with higher tops there. Maybe we should wait till morning." Lisa pulled the forecast and saw that it was going to be worse throughout the night all the way through early Sunday morning. "I guess we go, but we better get some barf bags out. This might be hairy." "We're okay, I've flown this one through some tough storms, and to think of it, this is one of the planes the weather service uses for storm penetration. Let's get up in the air before it gets worse." We got everyone loaded up and told them that this wasn't going to be the most pleasant flight they've taken. John told everyone, "Lisa and Chuck are two of the best, so don't worry, I'm not concerned. We were barely an hour out when we were in the soup. It was boiling soup too. It was rocky, but not as bad as I had anticipated. We broke out about the time we were descending to land in Atlanta. Once on the ground and parked, John told Lisa and me, "You two were great. I watched you and you both were handling the plane like pros. You were both attentive to the yoke the whole way never letting it go, always feeling what the plane was doing. It didn't get too bad and you were smooth enough, no one got sick. If I were your rating official, which I am, I would rate both of you well above a good pilot. You two did well." Lisa and I were proud to hear such compliments from a professional, with thousands of hours and millions of miles, such as John. We rented a couple of minivans, loaded up, and headed to the hotel that was close to the neighborhood we wanted to be in. Atlanta is no different that any other city. One street is beautiful and luxurious, while only a block away the landscape is totally different, raw, dark, and scary. We were a block away from Peaches, two from Pops, and only several blocks from Rags. After stashing our clothes and most of our gear, Lisa pulled out two classic electric acoustical Gibsons and said, "We have to play for Mama, and we can hook up at Pops to play a little for him. He'll like that. He might teach us a couple new pieces we can spring on Rags. Pops writes constantly and always has something new. We walked to Peaches and were welcomed the same way as before. The huge woman enveloped the diminutive Lisa in her arms and big bosom, hugging her as only a mother can. She ushered everyone to a huge table set up for us. She had Lisa and me sit on opposite sides of her, while she sat at the head of the table. When we were seated and food was put in huge bowls on the table, she said, "My Lisa's man will ask for grace now. Hold each other's hands." Okay, I haven't done this in twenty years or so. I said a prayer that my dad had always used, strong, brief, and meaningful. When I said "Amen," Mama gave a soulful "Amen" as well. Lisa smiled up at me and mouthed, "Thank you." The food was great. Mama had fixed some of the best baked pork ribs in greens I've ever had. She had just the right amount of salty ham pieces to make it all taste great. As we were finishing, she said, "Pops knows you're here and wants you to stop in this evening for a while. Before you go though, you have to play for me. I see you brought your boxes, so just sit right here and duet me." Lisa and I played some gentle soul and blues pieces that we knew Mama would enjoy. Mama sat back in her chair with her head back, eyes closed, humming with the music. Sometimes she would erupt in song as the music moved her. When Lisa and I stopped, she leaned over to me and gave me a big kiss and did the same to Lisa. "My, oh my, you two are made for each other. I sure hope you two have found each other in bed. That's probably the hot spot on this earth when it happens. Oh my goodness, you two move me." Mama's outburst made Lisa and me both blush. This made Mama all the more boisterous and happy. Mama looked at me and said softly, "You take care of this here little girl. She's precious to me and I want her with a good man. You have to overlook her penchant for little girls, but I'm sure you know that. Just play your music and you'll be making music together." We all left to head down to Pops. This time when we walked in, the bar was very busy. Pops was sitting at his piano with a cigar in his mouth, his hat pushed back on his head, staring at a handwritten chart in front of him while tinkling on the keys. Pops' lady, Nancy, saw us first and hollered, "Little Lisa, you did come after all. Pops, your Lisa is here." Pops swiveled around on his stool and stood to hug Lisa. The love shown was very genuine. As soon as Nancy and Pops had hugged Lisa, and Nancy had given both Lisa and me a hug, all the patrons settled back down, getting rid of their instant hostility toward a bunch of whites moving in on them. Pops pointed at some classic amps behind his piano, told us to drag up some chairs, and play a little with him. We went through a bunch of fairly stock blues tunes with Lisa and me adding only a few riffs here and there. Lisa said, "We'll bring the good boxes tomorrow afternoon and do some good stuff. You need to show and teach us some of your stuff, Pops. We could use some of your originals to show off a little." Pops said, "I have two for you two just for tomorrow. Those recording men are going to be here for a while in the afternoon and I want us to do them together. I have a couple more that I have all the music for, so you can do some Pops originals over at Rags. The man has heard them and wants them bad. Let's practice these two I wrote just for us. Tomorrow, Chuck here might play his bass on this first one. The other you can get a lead in and sample for the rest of it, then play the guitar with Lisa." Lisa and I went through the music with Pops about four times before we got the feel he wanted and we began to go from there, adding in some extra flavor in the open bars for highlights. Pops was nodding and smiling and saying "Amen" then "Amen, brother" the whole time. The second song was obviously a really crusty blues piece. It twanged and wailed with lyrics that were marked, Pops, a little later, Lisa, then a little farther, Chuck. There were even duets with Pops and Lisa, Lisa and me, and Pops and me. The piece highlighted all three of us in harmony. I said, "Man, you have a lot of faith in a guy to think I can sing that." "My Lisa says you sing, she says you sing pure blues sos I writes you a pure blues soul piece to unleash on the popsulation. Now sing boy." We went through the piece instrumentally several times, until we were able to begin becoming naturally inventive with some riffs. Then Pops began the lyrics followed by Lisa, sounding more like Mama Cass Elliot than the original. When it was my turn, the man did write words that came from me as if I were born in black and blue. By the third time through, the bar was hollering and applauding. You would have thought they would have gotten tired of the repetitious way you have to learn a piece of music. Pops turned to me and said, "Now you know what your Lisa can do. Dig up that old Mama Cass stuff and let her wail. You'll have people crying in the aisles. Rags will have her doin' it over there. You two can do this one over there and let that bum sing with you in his gravely voice. Now, let's go through the two pieces I wrote for his place. I got lots of brass and sax in it. Real Chicago style stuff. But this is Atlanta, we be better than dem northern folk. We paused for some refreshment which meant coffee and water for Pops, Lisa, and me, as we wanted to remain sharp to learn the new stuff. We were another two hours before we had the last two pieces down and Pops had us do all four together, one after the other. It was fun and I'm sure entertaining for the patrons. They wouldn't be here if they didn't like Pops' music. That's what the place was, a haven for blues freaks, players, and listeners alike. When we were done, Nancy, Pops' wife, came over and asked, "Can you do the Summertime Rags was telling me about? He says you really did it up blue. I love that piece and used to sing Lisa to sleep with it when she took her nap here in the afternoon so many times." Pops did the lead in with the piano and Lisa did a solid rhythm background, letting me pick the lead with Pops. After the first time through, I sang, without benefit of a microphone, but loud enough to be heard. The music always moves me to give it my all, and I was wailing on the guitar as well as with my voice. The song is strong enough to bring tears to eyes of blues lovers everywhere. There was a long hush over the patrons when we finished. Not even the clink of a glass, then all of a sudden a lone clap that was followed by more and more applause and yelling. It was too much, as I had enjoyed it as much as they had. Lisa gave me a kiss and Pops shook my hand. Pops said, "I want you to do that here tomorrow. You can do it over at Rags too, but you have to do it here. There's going to be a sax man here that will sit down and cry when he hears you. His daddy used to sing like you do, and I know he'll just cry. He'll want to adopt you, but you be a little too white for him. Now, let's play some happy stuff." Pops started playing and singing Sweet Georgia Brown. Soon, the entire bar was singing along and continued as Pops played song after song that was popular to sing along with. I looked at the big clock by the door and saw that it said it was two o'clock in the morning. Where did the time go? I looked over at the people we had with us and they were mixed in with the regulars, having a great time. I asked, "Are you guys ready to get to bed? Tomorrow's going to be a long, long, day and night." There were mostly "Aw, do you have to stop, do we have to go?" John smiled and said, "This has been very enlightening. Tomorrow is going to be even more fun." Pops said, "Come by about two or three. We'll play till nine, ten, something like that, then you can get something to eat before going to Rags. He won't really get going until one or so. But be ready, there's supposed to be a crowd there to hear you two. He's been talking you two up like you were a couple of rock stars. We'll have the recording people here first then they will be over at Rags. We told them no heavy lights so we don't get too hot and they said they would use the low light cameras at both places. The guy said it should make it look and feel more authentic. They done been here earlier doing sound pressure measures so they knows their stuff." Pops gave Lisa a kiss and me a hug and a handshake. "You two have a good night and make some more music." He gave me an exaggerated wink and whacked me on the shoulder as Lisa and I picked up our guitar cases to leave. Damn, right on the stitches. Back at the hotel, Wanda and John split off to their room and the Fab five, Tina, Lisa, and I went to a big room with two king beds. We all stripped down and washed up to get the bar smoke off us. We needed a shower, but were all too tired. I was paired with Lisa and Brandy with Tiani on the outside of Brandy. The other girls were snuggling playfully in the other bed, still high from the excitement of the music and the strange environment of the blues bar. I thought I was sleepy, but Brandy reminded Lisa, "Mama said you two were supposed to make music tonight in bed. You can't go to sleep without making some music together. Then you two have to make some music with the rest of us too." Lisa and I did make some nice music that was easy, smooth, loving, and full of kisses. After that, Lisa, Brandy, and Tiani were only sort of making music. When Frieda snuggled up under me, holding me deep in her while giving me a real, a very real kiss, I woke up again and began making some more music. Nancy was next and was able to nurse a second load from me, telling me I might be making a baby; that almost crippled me. But alas, there was still Judy who was very loving, and when I was laying limp from her energetic coupling, Tiani began sucking me up and said, "One more, Stud. You need to play a duet with Tina too. Tina was very loving, and Brandy and Lisa drove her over the top as I gently thrust into her. As she clamped down on me in her final throes, I actually came one last time. When I rolled to the side, Tina wouldn't let me slide out from her and kept her legs around me, holding me in. She said, "I love the way you make me feel. So full, so loved. Brandy, I'm gonna keep him." Brandy said, "I think we'll all keep him." That's the last I remember. I woke up really needing the potty. I had to pee badly. I slid from bed and made it to the pot to let loose a torrential stream that lasted at least fifteen minutes. At least it felt that way. On the way back to bed, two things distracted me. Actually it was three as three girls were in the other king size bed, and the covers were pulled down displaying Nancy, Judy, and Frieda. With Nancy in the middle, I had to chuckle as it was a reverse Oreo. The other bed was now the same with Tiani between Brandy, Tina, and Lisa. Knowing I shouldn't, but had to, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped pictures of both beds. They were all darling. I would be happy to spend the rest of my life with these seven. Now where did that thought come from. Mr. Conservative, thinking of keeping seven? Well, five wouldn't be around all the time and the other two liked the fairer sex as much as I did. Oh well, I wonder if there would be enough of them to at least have one a night that wanted me, a guy. The other thing that distracted me was the clock. It said ten thirty. It was past time to get going. I turned on the TV to the music channels, found some twangy country, and cranked it up loud enough to get complaints. I told them all, "Let's go get some breakfast, lunch, or whatever is available. We need to be at Pops before long." Brandy rose up and smiled, then cupped a breast saying, "Come back to bed a few minutes. You still need some rest. We don't have to be at Pops till two or three. Please?" When I slid into bed, Brandy was on top of me instantly, rubbing her breasts in my face, knowing that would make another part of me rise for the occasion. She was soon impaled; sliding up and down with a smile on her face and her eyes closed, mouth open, and gasping at her pleasure. Her lovemaking was about to push me over when she collapsed on me, and as she kissed me, she said, "You're little Tiani needs you now." As Brandy slid from me, Tiani pounced, sliding down on me, squeezing me hard enough to almost hurt. She loosened up, almost began vibrating on top of me, and came instantly. She was on a real short fuse this morning. When she finished, she is so short that she had to slide off me to kiss me. She made me kiss a big nipple on a tiny titty before she moved to let Lisa slide onto me. Lisa leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Make me sing, Music Man, make me sing." Lisa did sing, then Tina, followed by Judy, Frieda, and finally, Nancy, who said to me, "Roll me over and do me hard, put it all way up there inside where it will do the most good. Come on, deputy dawg, fill me up." She was too cute to refuse, so I pounded her until all my insides had transferred to be inside Nancy. Whew, some kind of wake up. Brandy kissed me and said, "Now, aren't you glad you came back to bed? I think we all needed you again this morning as much as we needed you last night. Come on, my King; let's get you washed and ready for the day." I was thinking on the way to the shower that it was good I could hold off from coming for so long because by the time that I got to Nancy, I was really primed. We called John and Wanda to find they had already eaten breakfast and were planning on a noon nap before our journey to Rags. We went to Peaches and had some kind of Cajun rice meal that was really a fish and crayfish Jambalaya. There was sausage, some bits of ham, and lots of love in the big pot. Mama's girls hovered over us as we ate, listening to us talk about the exciting day we were going to have. We left, promising Mama we would eat a late supper with her, and be back before we left tomorrow. We needed only one van today, so we loaded our instruments and amps in the van and headed to Pops. The place was buzzing with customers and the recording people. They were setting up mikes all over the place, with wire running everywhere. They had their muted lights shining in our direction, but also had some big coolers that blew cool air toward the stage area. Pops was supervising everything very professionally, as if he had done this thousands of times. He probably had. Lisa and I plugged in our equipment, tuned the guitars, and just watched. Pops wanted to warm up a little and we did a few good blues tunes to get a feeling going. The sax guy Pops talked about was there and he could do a righteous job on his sax. It was a beautiful Selmar of Paris that had to be forty or fifty years old or more. The man played it as if it were an extension of him. He could play some good jazz stuff along with the blues. But then, the two are so close most of the time. The old Marshal came in the bar with an attractive woman that must have been his wife. I introduced him to all of my people and he blended in quickly with the bar patrons, as well as with my group. Around three, we began to get stronger and stronger with what we were playing. I was doing a bass lead in that was strong and hard, Lisa came in on a natural that bled down to a gravely blues wail, with Pops pounding away with what he felt. This was raw, extemporaneous blues, created on the spot, never to be recreated unless recorded and sent through midi software. This was good, we played this piece for at least fifteen minutes until it came to a good conclusion. We sat back and smiled. One of the recording engineers said, "I got all of that. What do you call it?" Lisa said, "Saturday at Pops." Pops laughed and said, "There's been a lot of those over the years, but this is the first to be recorded. Come on let's play the other two originals." We played both of the pieces and our voices sounded very good together and individually. The music came out great. Next Pops had Lisa do some Mama Cass stuff, then he nodded at me while I had the Les Paul and he led in to Summertime. Lisa pushed a mike in front of me and we did the first part purely instrumental, then I sang the lyrics with our wailing in between. As predicted, the sax player was weeping. Big tears streamed down his black cheeks. It made me sing all the better. Blues is emotion, raw, pure, loving, emotion. When we finished, he came over, squatted down in front of me and said, "Thank you, thank you, that was so beautiful. You sound just like my daddy did. That was wonderful, thank you." He shook my hand vigorously and went for a bottle of water for me. Pops shoved a music stand in front of me and said, "You can do this, better than Willie and possibly as good as,,,, " I said, "Don't say it. I'll never be as good as the man. I'll sing it, but it is only in Ray's honor." With Pops' piano, Lisa's crying guitar, my bass, and the sax man, we did the song "Georgia on My Mind" justice. My voice must have fit, because we did get a lot of applause. We played until almost nine when I said, "If my fingers are going to last the night, I have to stop and get something to eat. Before I go, Nancy, how about a Beefeaters on the rocks. I'm dry. Lisa and I had a drink, which would probably be our last for the night, as you can't play all night drunk. Pops loaded us up with the four pieces he wrote for us then handed Lisa a huge folder of stuff he said we should look at. He said, "You bring that back after you copy it. I don't have copies, okay?" We agreed, of course, and promised to get the music back to him soon. We loaded up the equipment and went to Peaches for our late supper. I made sure the Marshal came with us and Mama just set two more places at the big table. Tonight, she fed us more Cajun, but not too spicy for most people. She handed me a plate and said, "I knows you a man that likes his food hot, sos I made this for you special. This was my man's favorite. It probably kilt him, but then he died happy with a flaming mouth." She laughed heartily. The food was some of the best spiced chicken, stuffed with spicy sausage and stuffed peppers, I've ever had. I'll be passing pepper farts for a week. Mama happily watched as I savored the hot food. It really wasn't that hot, but it would be too hot for most spicy food lovers. When we were all done, Lisa gave Mama a disc that she said was from this afternoon. She had talked the engineer out of several CDs so we could listen to it later. We arrived at Rags about midnight. Rags wanted to immediately practice the two pieces Pops wrote for him. We went through them quickly with everyone smiling, as we were very familiar with them already. We did the other two pieces as well, with Rags' gravely voice. Rags said, "Man, this is going to be good. We'll do a couple before two, then after two, we'll have the whole gang. You can switch around between bass, guitar, and drums. We'll have a good time. Go bang on them skins, Man. Get loose, make em sing, make us a solo, beat em." I had not sat and just played the drums for my own fun for years and years. It was always with a group for music and I had to stay structured, but when you can have the set all to yourself, you get crazy. I began light, finding the sound of the different toms, getting the feel of the snare, the high-hat, and the other cymbals. The two big cocktail drums had two different deep sounds that complemented the bass drum nicely. The twin toms above the bass drum had two nice higher pitches that when rolled across sounded really good. By the three minute mark, I was sweating and my hands were flying, making the drums give out a tune of their own until I found that magic that led to a close. When I finished, I sat there with the sticks in my lap, grinning. That was fun. People were hollering and clapping and it embarrassed me, since I wasn't playing for them, that was all for me. Rags came up to me and said, "Funny isn't it, you did that all for you, but you sure did entertain the rest of us. That was fun. Now, how about some warm up music." I started off on the bass, with Lisa doing some different Mama Cass stuff. A couple of guys with trumpets came in and instantly began backing us with great breaks. A trombone player came in and did the same, playing with the trumpets. Another sax player came, along with the sax from Pops. Everyone applauded a drummer who showed up. We had a full group playing some good Chicago/Atlanta style hard blues. Rags had us do both of Pops' songs back to back, then insisted I do Summertime the way we did it before, but this time the brass did some backing that was perfect. Again, the song came out pure. I made the bass sing along and accompany me, along with Lisa's bleeding 335. This was blues at its purest. We took a short water and coffee break, then did the two pieces that Pops had written for his own place. They came out nice and the vocals were amazingly good. After some really funky blues pieces, Rags announced, "Pops says the white boy does a good job on Ray's stuff, so here he is with all of our favorite piece." Rags led into Georgia. The words are easy and flow easily, so it comes out very natural. When that was done, I think my voice was done as well. This had been more singing than I had done in years and years. Lisa did some other stuff Mama Cass never had the chance to sing as they were Pops' originals that she used to sing when she would jam there and at Rags years before. I did a couple of numbers on the drums while the drummer was trying to make time with Tiani. When he came back he said, "Man, you got too many women. You gotta break loose with one or two of them for me. That little one is really something. You the man." Around five in the morning, my fingers were raw and I could tell Lisa's were hurting as well. We were saying goodnight and packing up to the cries for more, more, from the patrons. They had to have enjoyed the music as the other musicians had as well. All of the men came to Lisa and me to make us promise to come back. One said, "Man, you two make us want to join up with you and make music. We could be selling this stuff and livin' high. We are good together." Our group went together back to the hotel. The Marshal and his wife insisted we all come to their room for a nightcap. He was very prolific with his praise, saying it was always a pleasure to see his deputies doing some private things that made them more human in his eyes. He said, "I saw you in action and you were a machine, a leader, fixed on a single objective. I just watched you blend into a group and stand out at the same time. I saw the real you in both places. I think I like this one better, but I need the other you sometimes." Lisa said, "You should see this boy fly. He can fly just about anything and he does it naturally and smoothly. If he had been in the Air Force, he would have been an ace in his first combat. I love to fly with him." The Marshal said, "I might see that one of these days. I heard he just bought a Learjet for an unheard of amount of money." The man winked at me and put his thumb up. "You're a better man than me, Son. Thanks." I thought, 'So, who needs another thirty some million lousy dollars?' I almost broke out laughing. I think Brandy was the only one who caught it. We all went to our rooms and this time I did shower, but did so with a steady stream of women hogging the water. We were all covered with smoke from the bars and needed to get clean. We lay down as the sun was shining in and instantly fell asleep. Tiani was sitting cross legged in front of me, shaking me, "Time to wake up Mr. Music Man. You need to take us home before those big bad clouds get big and bump us around again." "What time is it, little bits?" "Eleven. We have to go by Peaches to say goodbye to Mama before we go, so let's get going, okay? I'd really like to get home in time to do laundry for next week. Have you noticed that we've been keeping up with your clothes, even if we haven't been keeping up with you?" "You're doing a nice job of it, too. I'm sure Maria appreciates the help." Brandy was now up, "I think she redoes some of what we do because she doesn't think it's good enough. She's really picky." Soon, everyone was up and I did my bathroom stuff, including shaving, and dressed while watching the seven women chat and dress. They were getting along amazingly well. I didn't think women could do that, but perhaps it was because they were more female oriented than most. Breakfast or brunch at Peaches was nice, as they were not open and made it for us as a going away present. Mama was very loving to Lisa and we promised to come see her soon. Mama said Lisa came to see her whenever she was in Atlanta, which was fairly often, but it was still too long between visits. At the airport, Lisa and I did the preflight together and quickly had us in the air. The flight home had only one towering cumulus cloud that gave us a single bump, but the rest of the way was like glass. We played one of the CDs from Pops on the way back, giving the people in the back an enjoyable ride. At home, we pulled in front of the ops building to unload all of our luggage and instruments. I walked across to the maintenance hangar to get the tow motor and was confronted by a really obnoxiously painted Lear with "Deputy Dawg" painted on both sides of the nose. There were cartoons everywhere, with faces of all the women in my life, including Lisa and Tina. Mercy, Kathy, Juanita, and Sue were very present with me staring at Sue's cleavage. Rather my extended eyeballs were staring. Every girl was highlighted with me, and the Fab five were grouped around me, as were Tina and Lisa. They had Lisa and me grinning in a bi-plane, and also pictured as pilot and co-pilot in the front windscreen of a G5. Like I said, the plane was full of cartoons. Jimmy came over to me and said, "Come talk to my dad. You know him from Minneapolis. He really loves the way the 200 came out, and he can't believe the Lear. We're done with the engines, hydraulics, and the new instrumentation. I'll take it up and shake it out tomorrow, and then you'll be set to go. I talked to Jimmy's dad who was head first in the engine compartment of the old Cessna. He shook my hand warmly saying, "You've helped my boy fulfill one of his longest dreams. I'm sure this is just his first airplane, but it is his first. Thanks for helping him." They had refitted the wings and you could tell they had done several repairs on the skin. This would become another project for Shawna and Hank. I towed the 1900D back to the hangar, cleaned it out quickly and fueled it, noting the quantities and turning in the slip. I logged the plane in and pushed it into its spot in the hangar. Back across the parking lot, Wanda left with John and the five gave me a kiss, saying they would try to come by this evening and took off. Tina and Lisa said, "How about pizza from Park Place to take home?" We were home in about an hour and a half, after a few small calzones and some beer while waiting for our pizza. At home, Angie and Dennis, with Jan and Don, were sunbathing in the nude out by the pool. The guys became embarrassed when we showed up, but they were told to cool it as we were open here anyway. The girls and I listened to some of the music recorded at Rags, marveling that we did sound pretty good. Tina said, "That was the best two concerts I've ever seen. It was up close and very personal. Damn, you two really pull the music from the other players and complement each other so well." Lisa and I laughed and almost simultaneously said, "We won't quit our day jobs for it that's for sure." We three exercised, with Tina and Lisa not as enthusiastic about it as I was. Tina said she liked mornings, and Lisa said she didn't like it at all. She said she liked to swim, but didn't like the weights and things. When we finished, we stripped and went to the pool, walking past the sunbathers to dive into the pool. Of course, I have to drop my peg and hop the last couple of steps, which means my appendage flops around extensively. The sun was getting low, so everyone went inside with the two couples disappearing upstairs and the three of us left to put on shorts or nightgowns and lounging in the living room. We watched television and I stretched and yawned, saying, "I think I'll have an early night and get refreshed for tomorrow." I kissed both ladies and when I went to stand up, they pulled me down on the couch. Lisa said, "Where do you think you're going without us. You know you have a dynamic duo to take care of before you get to rest, don't you? Come on, Tina, let's drag him back to bed and have our way with him." The three of us made love to each other for a long time. They made it fun and loving, constantly making each other and me feel great about our union. When the bed was very wet, not just from me either, we snuggled up in the wet spots and slept peacefully in each other's arms. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 68 Ah, Monday morning, exciting Mondays, a new week, new adventures. I was almost giggling because I am always excited on Monday mornings. Lisa opened a single eye and said, "You are entirely too happy for a Monday morning. What's with that?" "I love Mondays, the beginning of a new week. Something new is right out that front door. It's exciting." From behind me, I heard, "You are certifiable. Jesus, give it a rest. You sound more like Uncle Steve every day. You should be out on the patio with your attitude." Tina pulled me over and said, "Come on, let's get dressed real quick and go out to the patio for breakfast. Come on, it'll be perfect. They will love to see us in the morning." We did get up and hustle to get to the patio by six thirty. Coffee was being sucked up and I was enticed by Ruth's diaphanous gown and the two redheads with holy T-shirts that had their feet up on the seats displaying very red bushes. There were still a lot of kids around, and if you looked closely, you could begin to put kids with parents by their looks. The place was fun in the morning. Most of the people were like me, excited about a new day. Martin wasn't happy as he had to go to the doctor at the VA today. Glenda was fussing over him to make him relax. She kept saying, "Martin, Honey, you have to take care of yourself. We're getting older and we need to keep in good health." The guy named Phil was saying, "My two new managers are really ready to take over their territories, Tiny. My replacement is doing a great job and outselling me, even in this economy. He's been generating new business constantly, a really good man." Tiny asked, "Just where are you going on this first leg of your retirement?" "Judy and I are meeting Steve and family in Hawaii. I think we'll go to that big trade show in Singapore in August and be back here before September. If you need me, just call and I'll be right back, but you won't. Judy's replacement has been doing a great job running the joint like a pro. It's your turn, Bubba, you need to be training your replacement pretty soon. You have Henry, but he'll want to follow you in retirement one of these days." Alice said, "I wish I could get my old codger to consider retirement. Every time he starts to do it, he finds something else that's important. It would be different if he weren't so darned happy all the time, but he is a happy man. I hope he lasts forever." Bear and Hap were talking to some uniformed men that were getting ready to go patrol one of the condo and apartment complexes. They would be relieving the night people. There were twice as many night people as day folks, as there weren't as many potential problems during the day. They had to worry about daylight break-ins, but their presence had been enough to keep the bad element away. About eight, Lisa asked me to take her to the air park so she could dress for a charter back to Atlanta and on up to Philly. Tina said she had to begin one of her lab classes, so it was back to the grindstone for her. I shook hands all around and thanked them for the hospitality. Tiny said, "Begin and end with us. It'll brighten your day and it will brighten ours." I took Lisa to the air park and Tina home to get her car before heading toward the office. I was almost there when Wanda called, "Don't come to the office. There is some guy from the New York Times saying he has permission to interview you for a story he's doing on the Marshal Service. I'll call John, but go do something, anything, until I call you. I already told the guy that you are out of town." The only place I could think of was to go back to the air park so I drove out there. When I walked into the office, Star looked up at me and asked, "Do you have time to take a charter to D.C.? We just got this call to take a guy up there and bring someone else back. The someone else is in New York, so you have to go into Islip out on Long Island to pick up the return passenger. Oh, and you'll be flying your own Lear. Jimmy passed it this morning. Want to take it?" I called Wanda, "What do you think? I can take a charter to D.C. and then pick up a return in New York. Should I?" "Do it," she said, "the guy left, but I'm sure he'll be back. John said don't get within a country mile of these people as they want to trash the service for some of the raids, mostly your stuff." "Okay, I probably won't be back till late. Tina has some kind of killer lab all day, and Lisa is on a charter up to Atlanta and on to Philly, so you may be alone tonight." "Not alone, I'm sure John will be around. He's very attentive. You will have a new girl tomorrow. Lena's coming to try to see how living with us is going to be. Maxine said they will come around six." "This is going to be interesting. I really like Millie, so I think Lena will be fine. But like I said, no hanky panky. You have a private chat with her if you will." Wanda said, "You don't know. All the girls are different. Lena may not be anything like Bobby. All of them are very loving though, and you may need to make her feel welcome." "But not in bed. I'm drawing the line." "I hope the line's erasable. I'd hate for you to miss some of that big girl's loving. I think you miss Bobby." I said, "Bye, Wanda, bye, bye and thanks for the news guy warning." My new Learjet was ready on the tarmac. I pulled the preflight card and began going over it. Jimmy came out and went over it with me, showing me all the little things they had fixed and corrected. Before I entered the cabin, Jimmy stood at the steps and said, "And now your surprise." I went into the cabin to find it finished in light blues, creams, and teak paneling everywhere. The cockpit was a light tan rich leather that matched the cream upholstering. I was stunned. "Jimmy what is this, where did this come from?" "Your people in D.C. sent this package to us. This is a present for some find you made. They insisted on new engines, new hydraulics everywhere, and every instrument in the cockpit had to be new. Your avionics are so new that I had to read the manual. You won't have any problem as they set up just like the ones in our Lear and your 200. Isn't this awesome?" "I'll have to thank those guys. This is too nice for a cheap charter. I hope we're getting premium to use this one." Jimmy said, "Star told me we're getting a fifteen percent premium for you on this bird since it's so pure. Your cartoons are the best. The folks from the park have been out here taking pictures of it all weekend. Tiny said this is going to be his ride when he needs to go somewhere." "Jimmy, this is beautiful, almost too pretty to fly. Except when you see the outside you know it's one of ours, or rather S&S'." Jimmy said, "You're part of S&S, so you can say ours." "So where's my fare?" "I don't know, Chuck, I just fix 'em and fly 'em. Ask Star or DeDe." I walked to the charter office and found out that the man was late getting here. She said to load up a bunch of fancy water as both fares wanted premium sparkling water. I told Star, "For fifteen percent premium, they can have champagne." Star said, "Oh no, champagne flights are a twenty percent premium. Too much of a mess." A taxi pulled up out front and a guy got out and paid the driver. The man entered the office and said, "Can we hurry so I can get back to D.C.? Is the pilot ready? Do you have my sparkling water on board, chilled properly?" Star smiled and said, "We are prepared for you. If you would walk over to the airplane, we'll have your bag stowed quickly and board you in less than a minute." When the guy left, Star said, "He's some big city newspaper guy that's out of D.C. I think he said the Times." "You didn't tell him my name, did you?" "No, why?" "The guy is trying to interview me to trash the service. They're on some vendetta over some shootings, saying we are too aggressive and bullies. You know the usual pinko stuff." "You want to back out on the flight?" "No, I'll do it. I just don't want him to know my name. Call me Tom, Dick, or Harry, anything but Chuck." "You're on. Go fly the guy home. At least he's leaving. I wonder if you're picking up his replacement?" "Probably, but I'll get a chance to see who it is. Oh, do you know if I have a communications package on my aircraft?" "You do. It's in the front seat. Pull the cabinet and it swings around. There is a flat screen that slides up from the backside of the table and there is a keyboard drawer on the table. The controls are on the wall next to the seat and the printer is in the main cabinet. It's a color laser." "Good, I'm sure he'll ask." I took the man's bag to the aircraft and stowed it in the luggage compartment. I seated the man, suggesting he use the seat where the communications package was. I said for him to wait until we were airborne then turn it on and enjoy. Next, I got him a chilled sparking water that was nice and cold. I asked if he preferred a glass but he said the bottle would be fine. I showed him where the fridge was and asked him to remain buckled up unless he needed to get more water. I shut the door and went to the cockpit. Using the cards, I went through the startup procedures enjoying the newness of everything. It looked and smelled like brand new. Everything worked perfectly, so I was soon on the way to Washington D, C. We were actually setting down at a small private airport in Maryland which was fine with me. There is so much restricted airspace around D.C. that you have to really pay attention so you don't get gigged or worse, forced to land for inspection. I landed in Maryland and assisted the man off the plane and pulled his bag out for him. As I was handing it to him, he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm not that rude." I stuck out my hand and said Walter Turner without hesitation. I had thought up the name on the way. I would have to tell John my new name and get some fake ID. I bet they could even get me a pilot's license in that name. The man said, "You're going to Islip, out on Long Island to pick up my replacement, Walter. No one will suspect her to be a reporter. I'll bet she gets the story." I smiled nicely and said, "Thank you for flying with S&S, Sir. Please use us again." He left, walking to the operations building. I loaded up and took off, thinking I would refuel in Long Island. Flying from Baltimore to MacArthur Airport in Islip is mostly over water. There was a NOTAM to call thirty minutes before approach, so I called and was told there would be a holding delay of at least thirty minutes while repairs were underway on the main and both crosswind runways. I asked for an alternate for fuel and they gave me a small field in Connecticut and I headed there. As I approached, it looked like the runway was pretty short, so I knew I needed to land on the approach apron or as close as I could. There ended up being a lot of room left as the extension to the runway was in blacktop instead of concrete. The fuel price here was high, but necessary. They did have a small sandwich shop where I was able to get something to eat and a bottle of water. I kept checking on getting into MacArthur Airport and finally at four forty-five they opened up to traffic but were backed up at least thirty minutes. That meant a lot of flights would be declaring fuel emergencies. I thought I better get up and get in line. I called in for instructions before I ever left the ground across the bay. I was told there would be about a twenty minute delay. A minute or so later, the air traffic controller said, "Where are you, I can't see you. Are you having transponder trouble?" "Hang on, I'll jiggle it a little in a minute. I'm out over Connecticut." The guy came on in about five minutes later to clear me in before I had even reached the pattern. He made the comment, "Get that transponder looked at. It's nice and strong now but I can tell you it doesn't work worth a hoot on the ground. I loved that jiggle comment." I had fooled no one. As soon as I landed and parked up by the private aircraft terminal, a lady came out wheeling her bag, yelling at me for being so late. She was really rude. I apologized and said, "I wasn't allowed to land and had to go to an alternate to get fuel as the airport here was closed while the runways were being repaired." "Just shut up and fly me to fucking God forsaken Tampa so I can interview some kind of religious killer down there. Where can I sit to use a computer?" I seated her and explained that she could use the communications system as soon as we were in the air. She bitched that she had to wait and said to bring her a water and be quick about it and why didn't I have a hostess and a second pilot. I told her that a second pilot was not required, nor had their company paid for one or for a hostess. She harrumphed, but sat waiting for a glass. I placed a fresh glass in the holder for her, noting the bottle cap was off. I had to put her bag away and do a quick preflight inspection. I was able to shut the plane up and get into the cockpit where I went down the checklist, starting up and requesting taxi and takeoff info. The chick was bitching from the back, saying she had to go potty. I told her she would have to wait until we were in the air. She cursed me repeatedly, but I paid attention to flying and ignored her. Soon we were at forty-two thousand feet, heading south. I suggested she could use the facility at the rear of the plane and she said she didn't have to go any longer. The plane had a video monitor of the cabin area so I glanced at it to see that the lady was kind of sprawled out. She looked high. At a closer look there was a small mound of powder on the table, with a small silver spoon next to the pile. The fucking rude foul-mouthed lady was doing coke in my new airplane. As we neared Tampa, I called into the charter office on our emergency frequency and asked Star to call the Hillsborough county cops as I had a drug user on the plane who was holding a large quantity of coke. Star said in return, "Done, I'll bet you're really pissed." "Just do it. I'll be there in about ten minutes." I landed and taxied up to the charter office, where there was a limo and a County Sheriff's car. As soon as I shut down, Jimmy was there opening the door and the sheriff's deputy came on board and told the lady she was under arrest for possession of drugs. She was really vile now. She fought with the deputy until he finally cuffed her and dragged her from the plane. After putting her into his car and starting the motor to keep it cool, he came back to get her purse. She had at least ten grams in her purse and then the deputy found a bunch more in her luggage. She had enough on her to be considered a dealer. She would spend a long time in Florida now and the only interview she would be doing would be from prison. Jimmy removed a CD and gave it to the officer saying, "The recording has a time, date, and GPS location on it that constantly updates. If you need more than that copy let me know. The system records a hundred hour continuous loop. We'll pull one for our records also. She never asked my name, and of course I never offered it. I would have lied anyway. Lisa was there waiting for a ride home and helped me wash the table that still had residue on it and vacuum up the spill the lady had made on the seat and carpet. She really was a sicko. John will love to hear this story. Lisa and I went home where there were signs the Fab five might have visited. Some Coke cans were on the counter and it looked like they had left some potato chips. Lisa and I sprawled out in the family room and turned the TV on to catch the news of the big drug bust out at the air park. A newscaster said that a star reporter from the Times had been arrested in Tampa for transporting possibly a hundred grand of coke to deal here in Tampa. The reporter said the Times refused to make a comment on the reporter or her reason for being in Tampa. The Sheriff's deputy was interviewed and said that the charter pilot had observed the suspect using large quantities of the drug while on the plane and had alerted the authorities. The TV newscaster said the station was waiting for video footage of the reporter actually using the drug. I was nearly crying from laughing so hard. I told Lisa how foul the lady was, preceded by a fairly rude, impatient guy that went to D.C. Lisa said, "What's really bad is that the Times has to pay for her trip down here that cost them a reporter and a lot of bad publicity. The TV station down here will sell the video to the New York stations and the Times themselves. I'm sure a clip will be on the AP soon." Lisa and I decided some frozen dinners would be perfect since we were the only people at home. Before eating, I did do a solid hour in the gym, biking for fifteen minutes, running for thirty minutes, then using the weights for fifteen. I was loving this running stuff. I could get up to seven miles an hour and still be stable on the sports foot. I would try it outside pretty soon. Lisa asked, "Why don't you call the girls and ask them to come over. One or all. I could use a little girl company this evening perhaps we could double team one of them." I nodded, thinking that it was good that Lisa wasn't bashful as I would never think to order her up a snack or whatever neat method of describing that sort of activity might be called. When I called, Brandy was all loving and said she would love to come over. I told her that if she wasn't interested in some playtime with Lisa, she should bring reinforcements. She just said, "Yummy, I'll be right there." And she was. Brandy showed and did bring along her tiny sidekick. Tiani climbed up my body and said, "I'm hungry for man right now. You can have those two later, but you need to make me feel good now." They insisted we play in the big bed together. It was fun to watch the two girls really enjoy each other. Tiani helped them out and encouraged me to join in touching, caressing, kissing and sucking various parts while the girls orgasmed, more or less continuously. Lisa was proving to be a gusher or squirter. She was really making a mess of the bed. Brandy was loving it as she is definitely a messy lover too. Little Tiani rode me hard, but ended up planting her center on my mouth while she drained me with hers. She was saying she wanted to taste me tonight as she was developing a craving for doing that. She said it made her feel in control and felt that she was receiving a reward. Hey, I liked it, so I let her get a great big reward. Brandy became very amorous with me after being ravished by Lisa. I kept thinking that all the women I knew needed a warm up from another to get going. It was convenient to have so many volunteers to warm each other up. Brandy was really hot, and Lisa and Tiani helped me put her into orbit. When we were done, Brandy was soaked in our juices, with a huge smile on her face. She insisted on being connected as we fell asleep. We all had smiles on our faces. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 69 I woke up about five, feeling someone getting into bed with us. It was Tina, I looked up as she held her finger over her lips and lay behind Lisa. An hour later, the alarm went off so we all got up. After a quick potty visit, I went outside to form for a few minutes. Brandy and Tiani followed me, then Lisa came out to join in with what I was doing. This morning I explained that I heard soft, slow, oriental music playing as I went through the various positions. Each position was done to stretch a muscle group and was done slowly in order to increase flexibility and strength. As I concluded, I told how that when you ended the exercise, you stood motionless for a minute to let energy flow into your body followed by bowing to your creator for giving that energy to you. I think they all had a better understanding of why Tai Chi was so relaxing, yet filled with energy. We all swam hard before we went in to get ready for the day. While I was taking a shower, Tina came in and was very affectionate. She said, "I spent the night with Samantha but missed you guys, so I got up and came home. I really do think of this place as home. I could have used you to cool me off when I got home this morning. Samantha just got my motor running." I kissed Tina to let her know I was interested and turned her to lean against the wall. From behind, I did the deed that left us both very satisfied. Her loud groan brought a crowd, with Brandy saying, "Oh that's so naughty, I love it." Tiani said, "I'd need a stool to stand on so he can do me that way." The distraction and comments were making Tina giggle, which made her push me out and lots of juice came running down her leg. Brandy said, "Well, clean her up and come get some breakfast, the girls are here and have made pancakes." Sure enough the kitchen was full. Surprise, Lena was there. "Lena, were you here last night? I didn't know you were here?" "No, I was with Frieda and Judy. They wanted me to stay over there because you weren't home yet. Didn't Brandy and Tiani tell you?" Tiani said, "I forgot. I was so interested in getting over here, I forgot." I rolled my eyes and Lisa winked at me. We were eating pancakes when Wanda came rushing in, saying, "I'm going to have to start leaving clothes out at the trailer park. After Lena went to the girls' house, John wanted me to come out so,,,,, " "I guess you might have to do that, Wanda. So you could start from either direction." The girls were quick. They had the table cleared, dishes done, and said, "We need to get to work." I got kisses from all of them, and Nancy whispered in my ear, "You may have done it up in Atlanta, but I want another dose of your medicine tonight, okay?" As she was getting ready to leave, Wanda said, "I don't know about you coming in. There have been a lot of inquiries about your last few outings that has D.C. wanting you to take a long vacation. Call John and see what he says." Lisa gave me a kiss goodbye and said, "I'm on my way to Seattle. This will be an overnight, so miss me tonight and take care of the rest of the crew. Get Tina to warm one up for you." Lisa was laughing as she went out to the garage to get her car. It was nuts for parking. The four upstairs all used the new garage where the Mustang was. Wanda, me, and whoever was first used the main garage. That means that all the rest have to park in the driveway and that can be a bunch. Who would have thought I would need more than an eight car garage. I had a cup of coffee and talked to Lena for a while. She said to me, "I hope you don't think ill of me for staying over at the girls' house last night?" "Not at all, Lena, I'm sort of used to them." "That's good Chuck because I'm sort of very bi. I'm not a total girl only girl, but I really like girls probably a little more than guys, as guys are such users. They just want to stick it in and get off. Girls like to make each other feel good over and over for a long while. That's the way Frieda describes the way you make love to them. I hope I can find someone like that so I can experience that with a man." In a little bit she said, "Mom and everybody are so upset with the way Bobby treated you. We're Bobby's family, so we love her anyway, but she sure isn't very welcome lately. I think she's ashamed at the way she left you and now wishes she never left. She says she loves the glamour of being in the spotlight with Rocky, but I don't think she likes the problems a guy like that has. Mom says that guys that use steroids like that have bad tempers and their weenies and balls shrink up, and some can't even get it up to fool around. I don't know about Rocky's dick, but I know he has a temper. I've seen Bobby's face where he's hit her. I guess I shouldn't be telling you this stuff; it's just that I secretly hope you two might get back together. From what the girls say, they feel you are theirs and they are yours. They did say that Lisa and Tina are a part of their group, and sometimes Wanda? I don't understand that one." I smiled and said, "I don't understand everything either, Lena." She said, "What I'm saying is, that with seven girls, one more wouldn't be that big a deal would it? Can't I be one? Or can't you take Bobby back?" I looked at Lena lovingly and said, "Lena, Honey, you are a beautiful young lady that will become even more beautiful as you age. You remind me too much of Bobby, and even though you are not Bobby, and will probably never be like Bobby, I somehow feel I would betray the trust your Mom put in me. I don't want Bobby back, her leaving and going along with trying to hurt me, ended my feelings for her." Lena said, "Momma said I could have you if you would take me to bed. She said it would be good for me to have a real man make love to me. She said you would make me feel like a real woman. Ask her. Call her and ask her. I'll tell her to call you, I know she talked to Wanda about it. Please, just don't say never. Let me be your friend and perhaps I can join you as another of your girls. That would be really cool." "Oh Lena, you definitely are your mother's kid. You girls are very direct and not all that bashful, are you? I love you all for it." "See, you can and do love me. Now just take me to bed and make love to me. Just sitting with you drinking coffee is making me all gushy inside. I'll have to change panties. I might as well not wear any around here. I'll just leave a trail wherever I sit." Something about Lena's frank talk tickled me and I had to laugh. The little six foot seven or eight girl, who was getting to be very slender, was making me smile and feel pretty good. I told her, "We'll see, my princess. Perhaps something will change my mind." "Goody, until then I'm going to wear out your girlfriends. I think this is a great place to stay. I hope you let me stay here to go to school. You know my sister will want to come too and she's more direct than I am. She told me that the two guys she's tried sex with were terrible, but she likes it when she plays with girls. See, she's just like me. Momma said she used to play with girls when she was younger and even did it a lot after her and Daddy got married. She said that now she only plays with Daddy, but I think they might have messed around up at the nudist park." "Don't embarrass your mom. It's always nice to let people have their privacy on some things." "I know, I'm just trying to come up with enough arguments that will get us in bed together. I'll be good and I won't push you. You're being nice to let me stay up here with you to find out if this is good for me." "Lena, do you need to go out to school to register or check in or to look over the school? You might be able to meet some people and even take a look at where your classes are going to be." "That's a good idea. I can drive around while it's not as crowded to find the best places to park and where the different buildings are. I want to try out for the softball team and I have to go to the coaches offices to do that. I'm a real good pitcher and can play anywhere. I may not be the best shortstop but I'm great at first, second, or third, and all the outfield. I'm too big for catcher, but I've done that too. My best is hitting. I can hit any pitcher after I see her throw. The coach down at Sarasota said I was a freak and wouldn't let me play very often. I hope they aren't that narrow minded up here. They have a girl that's six five, so I'm just a little taller that she is." "I'm surprised you didn't play basketball in high school." "The same coach says I'm a freak and probably use steroids. I've never been able to get along with her. I love basketball, but am only a so-so shooter. I'm decent under the rim and do a good job on defense." "But, Chuck, I'm going to school to learn, not to play sports. If I have time, I'll play sports, if not, oh well. When you workout, can I workout with you? Bobby used to tell me how hard you worked out." I said, "We'll do that, Lena. Now I need to use my office a while, so if you have traveling to do, do it when the traffic is low, like between nine and three. Spend a few days on campus and meet these people. Maybe get in the summer athletics to practice for fall. I'm sure it would be fun." I went back to my office and fired up the PC. I called John and quickly had him rolling on the floor, telling him the story of the two newspaper reporters. He really liked the idea the chick went to jail for openly using drugs. He said, "That's probably why those people use charters. They can't take a chance on someone finding drugs on them. Charters don't have baggage inspections." John said, "Our favorite Marshal says you are a real talent with music. How come that doesn't show up anywhere?" That was easily answered so I told him, "I'm sure my Secret Service report shows my involvement in bands and music throughout junior high and high school. I had to leave it when my folks died and I didn't have a place to play any longer. That's why I joined the Marines. I needed a family. The Marines became my family. Now you and the service are my family." "That's pretty powerful, my friend," John began in a more soft gentler tone. "You know, Chuck, is there any way you could get lost for a month, or two, or three. I'm mean lost, like totally gone, out of the picture. We'll keep your office open and perhaps even have to call you in to do a job, but you are too hot for the service right now. There are a bunch of bleeding hearts that are upset about some of the wars you've been in lately. They were all good shootings and some were even restrained, but they are using you as a target for being so damned accurate." After pausing and looking around then back at me, he added, "What I'm saying is the Marshal and I want to put you on a paid leave of absence and have you be gone, far and long gone. I'll give you a sat phone so we can stay in touch, but I think you should even turn in your cell phone. Get a private one. One not charged to the service." "I pay for my own, John. I didn't know I got a free one?" John was surprised at that answer but commented anyway. "Well, keep what you have then. When you come back, we'll pick up the cost for yours. What do you think, can you get lost for a while? I don't think playing music would be getting lost enough. I mean gone from the area, totally out of sight, almost like in the witness program, just gone." "John, I have an idea. Let me call you back. I have to make a couple of calls." I called S&S Enterprises and asked for Tiny. When his booming, smiling, voice came on the phone, I already knew my answer. "Tiny, this is Chuck Johnson. Can you give me Steve's satellite phone number? I need to ask a favor of him and need to do it quick." Tiny said, "I have it right here, Chuck, take the number down." He read off the number and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?" "If the first idea doesn't work, maybe. I sort of know what Steve will say so I doubt I'll have to go to plan B or C. I'll talk to you later, Tiny." I sat at my desk contemplating whether I should really ask. Finally, I made the call. "Steve Sharp at sea here." "This is Chuck Johnson, Steve." "This is uncanny," Steve said. "Mercy told me ten minutes ago you were going to call. That's why I have the phone right here. What's up, is something wrong, what can I do for you?" "Steve, I've made myself too popular with the crowd that thinks it's bad to defend yourself. They think I kill indiscriminately, for fun. I don't, really, I'm a peaceful guy. Anyway, could you take on a crewman for the rest of your trip? Could you handle a guy on board, or perhaps your friend Dewey would let me crew on his boat." Steve said, "We'd love to have you, Chuck, but remember, I have a bunch of women and a pile of kids. Even this big boat can get a little crazy crowded sometimes. There is no privacy, but there is a lot of love and fun. The girls would all love to have you and I would enjoy your company. I'd be a lot more at ease with your skill and experience. Do you think you could meet us in California or up in Seattle? Possibly out at Friday Harbor where Dewey will be?" "I'm sure I can, Steve. I have to tie up a bunch of loose ends real quick, and figure on what to bring. I guess a lot of shorts, jeans, deck shoes, some dress clothes, swimsuits, and a handful of shirts and T-shirts." Steve said, "Get some good rain gear from a sporting goods store. You can get it up in Friday Harbor at an outfitter up there. Get a gallon or so of suntan lotion and sunblock. And you'll need some caps. Hear that, caps, plural. You'll lose one a week or so when the wind takes it off. I like slouch hats as they don't seem to blow away so fast. We don't go back for ball caps. The kids lose a couple a day. Everything goes overboard around here, including kids sometimes. You really have to watch them on a hot day. They're getting old enough to be dependable now, but when they were little, they would go running off the side of the boat to get cool all the time. That meant an adult had to jump in after them and the boat would have to take down sail and go back for them. We usually even had to start the engines." "Let me get to packing and planning. I've got to arrange for the house and stuff. I'll call you later to plan on a meeting place." "I'll tell the ladies; they will be ecstatic. Mercy is trying to grab the phone, so at least talk to her a second." "Oh, Chuck, I just knew you were coming to us. I'm so happy. You're family you know. I feel it in me. Sue, Kathy, and Juanita will be so happy and my mom and Sue's mom, Beth, will be happy too. The kids will be so excited. We'll get a room ready for you right away, when and where Chuck?" I told Mercy, "I don't know yet, but I thought you would be farther along by now." "We would be, but we had some trouble on the west end of the canal and had to delay there a little while. We're still on schedule and will probably not stay as long at Friday Harbor as we had originally planned. We're probably picking up a boat to travel with us in San Francisco and another up where Dewey lives. There will be four boats going to Alaska and Hawaii. We might not go farther this trip and just vacation in Hawaii. If we feel up to it, we'll go on to Japan and discuss the Philippines at the time. We haven't made up our minds. We're meeting our friends from Ireland either up in Alaska or at Friday Harbor, so it will be a real party after that. Oh, I'm so excited you're coming. I'll let you go. I'll tell everyone." She hung up. Just like that. Click. What a flake Mercy is, a sweet strange flake, but definitely a mysterious flake. I called Wanda and briefly gave her my idea of how to hide for a couple of months. She said, "I knew it would get to this as active as you've been. With this Congress and some of the Oversight Congressional Committee people, anyone doing as much good as you've been doing, is stepping on some of their supporters toes. The administration is for tough law enforcement, but the new Congress is wishy-washy. It will be good to get you out of sight, out on convalescent leave. That will look good to them. They can hope you'll croak. Perhaps we'll change your name when you come back so they won't know you're back. We can do that about once a year and get away with it forever." Wanda exclaimed, "Damn girl, I'm so smart." I laughed at Wanda's idea. She was having a good time with this anyway. "Wanda, can you be in charge of the house and children while I'm gone?" "No sweat, partner. I can do it blindfolded. John will just have to come over more often and get used to having someone beat him to my pussy." "Wanda, you're at work. You can't talk like that." "Sure, I can, I'm talking to a non-entity, so I can get away with anything. But you have to do something for me. Go get your own gun or guns. You'll need to turn in yours to me and any other equipment you may have. I noticed you pay for your own cell phone, so you won't have to turn that in. Why don't you drive your car in about five so you can leave it in the garage here where they can use it to keep it in good shape? If it comes to it, I'll drive your Mustang for you once a week, but I might get Hank to come and get it and exercise it for you while you are gone. You know all your girlfriends are going to go nuts with you gone for that long, especially your two new ones. Lisa is really hooked you know. Tina is a close second. Your fruity five, or Fab five as you call them, are so whacked out all the time you would think they were all goofy. I know they're just confused. Bring the car in but go to the gun store first." "I'll see you later, Wanda, help me plan okay?" "Nothing to plan, Guy. Pack and get." I jumped in the car and ran down to Gunn Highway where there was an old gun shop that had a Glock sign on the front. Inside, I found they had all the sizes so I asked for a model 22 with four magazines. I showed the man my permits and badge and he wrote up the sale. He did call the local station to verify I was real. I asked about special rifles like an MP5 or something like that. I said it would be good to have something that would and did have a good swing away scope and possibly some night illumination. The man had a specially made AR15 with the scope that was both swing away and had night illumination. I wanted that. I asked about defense shotguns, but not the kind with just a pistol grip. He had several that were short barrels and were twenty inches instead of eighteen. I thought that would be perfect. I had to explain that the weapons were for a sea cruise for boat defense. He understood and began loading me up with ammo. I bought two hundred rounds of forty caliber, two hundred for the AR and a hundred for the shotgun. He found me two nice aluminum cases to put everything in, and then it was holster time. I bought a clip on, a straight belt holster, and a shoulder rig. That should do it. The man said to me, "Have you ever thought about a back up? An ankle gun?" "I only have one good ankle, the other is fake. There's no way to attach a holster to the fake leg." "Let me see." I pulled the leg off and surprised him. He looked at it a minute, got a small holster, some snap on straps, and fit it to the stalk. He used the split on the stalk to hook one of the straps between so the holster wouldn't slide up and down and said, "See, perfect." "So what fits in that?" "A Glock 27, a PPK, a small S&W 9 mil, lots of guns, but I kind of thought you might want the junior Glock. Same ammo and you're used to the gun." "Good thinking, give me the 27." I put the leg back on and found I could raise my pants fast enough to get at the holster. Neat, a backup, but I didn't think I would ever need it. The guy handed me two full magazines and said, "An extra magazine goes into the little pocket on the holster. Make sure you clean the piece before you take it out to use and depend on." In answer to the dealers suggestion, "That reminds me, give me cleaning kits for these, the AR, and the shotgun. I'm not going to be around a station to use their kits. He added that to the bill. He asked, "What else?" "I don't know. I guess that should do it as far as firepower. This is my first boat ride into potentially hostile territory, so I'll see. Learn by doing." The man said, "I have a customer that bought some crossbows. He said the lack of noise was important." "Good idea, do you sell the noise suppressors for the Glock and do you have one for the AR?" "I do and I do. They are only available to law enforcement though. I guess you're law enforcement. Want one or two for Glock. If you have to use your backup, you won't have time to think about noise suppression. The shotgun is just plain loud but if you use the one for the Glock, you need to clean it after you use it. Same with the AR, but you fire a lot more ammo through it than you would the handgun." "I would? How?" "Oh yeah, ah, I'm going to give you something that you probably will recognize. Don't be a blabbermouth okay?" He handed me a packet. I looked inside and it contained an AR selector switch and the catch to change the recoil option. "My lips are sealed." We stuffed everything into the cases, but I put the envelope in my pocket. I handed him my card and he said, "You've made my day, or maybe even my week. Here, have a gift." "He handed me an older PPK with a box of .380 ammo. Give it to a girlfriend. You should probably give them a revolver, but have whoever come in and I'll teach them to shoot correctly. Now that's a good deal." "I'll do it. I have just the girls to learn. They'll probably all buy guns now." "Good, we need an armed citizenry who know how to use a gun. Better than just owning one." I signed the receipt and was staggered by how much it was. Oh well, I wouldn't be spending any money for a while anyway. But the bills will still be coming in. On the way home, I thought, damn, I've only flown my new plane once and now I have to leave it. Hell, I have hardly flown the 200 at all and the 206 has become a well used airplane by the charter service. Oh well, I'll be back. At least I would have the airplanes being used and making money. If I left the service, I could fly all the time. That wouldn't be bad. I'll bet Steve would hire me. Metarie would too. I'm betting on the Marshal Service though. I got out all of my toys and the cleaning kit. I cleaned the guns properly and put everything away. I thought, I'll go early and try the little gun out downstairs. Cap will get a hoot out of a backup. I need to check the accuracy and action of the new 22 too. I laid out clothes and made a list of what else I would need. More shorts, more T-shirts, and a few more pair of jeans that would need to be washed. I had only one pair of tennis shoes, so I would need a couple of more pair. My list was pretty long. I left for the office so I could use the range for a while. Downstairs at the range, I showed Cap my backup. He thought the holster was ingenious. I told him where I got it and he said the dealer was great, totally honest. Cap asked, "Did you buy any rifles?" "I bought an AR with a swing away that has night illumination." "Need a switch?" I smiled and showed him the envelope. He said, "Like I said, the man is totally honest." "I'm here to see if I can shoot this miniature piece. How about some 27 magazines?" Cap handed me four and said, "That's only thirty-six rounds. Enjoy. They shoot a little low. You're used to the weightier 22, but you'll adjust. Don't depend on a head shot though, unless you get real good at changing guns." I fired the thirty-six rounds fairly fast and it did fire low consistently. With the last magazine I was becoming more accurate, but still not as good as I was with my heavier weapon. Cap gave me four more magazines and said, "Try to compensate a little more for the lighter gun. Go one-handed since if you do have to use a backup, it's going to be in a hurry. You might even pull the target closer." "I'll keep it out. If I can hit it out, close will be easy." This time, by the second magazine I was consistently in the white. By the third and fourth clip, I was alternating between body and head hitting a fairly good grouping. I brought the empty magazines back and went to his cleaning station. I cleaned the gun, put the magazine in, and chambered a round. I automatically pulled the clip and Cap smiled while tossing me another jacketed round to slide into the magazine. Next I tested my new 22 and found it just as good as the one I was turning in. I cleaned that up too. I told Cap, "I'm going on an extended leave. Keep that under your hat, but I'll be gone at least a couple of months. Don't worry, it's minimal risk. I'll see you when I get back. Make sure the girls get their practice in and keep the other agencies proficient. I depend on you to keep my people safe." "This doesn't sound good, Chuck, you sure you're alright with this?" "It needs to be done, Cap. I'll be having a blast while you guys are slaving away." "Why don't I believe you? Send me a post card and I'll feel lots better." "I'll send you a bunch, how's that?" "Good, I'll share em with those that need to be shared with. You know you're a pretty popular guy in these here parts. You be careful and see you soon." I smiled and left, actually choked up at receiving that kind of send off. I took the car over to Hank and signed it in. We went through it and I told Hank he might want to pick up the Mustang and exercise it a little for me. He smiled real big and promised to take care of it. I grabbed my gym bag and went to the office to get Wanda to turn in my junk. When it turned five, Wanda sent the girls home and we went into the station where Sarah joined us in the supply closet. We turned in the Glock and my magazines, the handcuffs, and I was going to turn in the Vest. Wanda said, "That vest is damaged, so we don't want it back. Throw it away. Oh, and these cuffs and this chain set are excess too. Did you go to the store to buy toys today like I suggested?" "I did and got lots. I'll show you tonight." "Good, I can't excess a Glock. I can give away these Browning nines though. They've been off the books for years, the same as these .357's. Take these four nines and these two .357's and all this excess ammo. I'll bet you haven't inventoried in here since you were Station Chief." I knew the guns were excess and not on inventory but would never take them. Wanda and Sarah thought I might need them, so they loaded me up. The gym bag was groaning. I didn't see it happen, but another vest and two more sets of cuffs and chains showed up in the bag later. Sarah brought out a travel case and opened it. She said, "I was told to do an excess issue. I had to look it up. It's in the event a deputy has to go undercover. We're excessing this piece of equipment, this sat phone, and issuing it to you for full use. You won't be traced and you won't be back billed on its use. You might want to keep the usage down to about two hundred minutes a month. These things are expensive to use. Kind of like cell phones were in the beginning." Wanda said, "Remember you are keeping your badge and are still a Deputy Marshal wherever you go. John told me he may contact you to help somewhere along your travels, but you should do so without making any noise or letting others know who you really are if possible. In other words he wants you to do some dirty work, while almost undercover." Sarah gave me a kiss and told me to have a good time, but to miss her. She told me to be careful and stay healthy. Wanda and I left for home, with me riding shotgun. At home, I showed her my new arsenal and she approved. When I showed her my backup she said, "If you had that up in Minneapolis, you wouldn't have been shot. That is great. I'll worry even less now." I thought that would be debatable, as I would have still been upright on the tow motor. If she believed it, then it was so. She asked if I wanted her to go to the store with me. I said, "Let me call over to the girls and see if one or more wants to go. Since I only have the Mustang, I might want to get driven around. Would you or the girls be better at filling out this list quickly?" Wanda immediately said, "Get the girls, I don't like to shop. They'll know where to get everything. Have Frieda use her new minivan. She said she bought it for the kids that are coming." Perfect, I called and talked to Frieda, "Frieda, I need you and possibly all the girls to help me shop for a trip I have to take. This is important. All of you will need to talk to me about this." "I got you. I think I know why too. We'll be there in five to look at your list. Have a drink, you'll need it when the tears start coming." Sure enough the five stormed the door in about five minutes. I made sure Wanda was still at home as she had to be my referee. I fixed everyone a light drink as we were going out and explained that I had to take an extended leave. I wasn't leaving the service but I had to leave the area for a while. Brandy looked up at me and said, "Why don't you call Steve and ask if you can sail with them? Meet them somewhere, you'll be safe with Steve." I grinned real big, "That's exactly what I'm going to do." Brandy was up and in my arms saying, "I'm so glad you'll be with Steve and Mercy. Sue too, but Mercy sees inside you and knows you. That makes me feel so good. She talks to me all the time and I tell her all about you and how much I love you. How much we all love you. She helps me. I know it's screwy, but she does, she does talk to me all the time." Frieda rolled her eyes and was caught by Brandy, "She doesn't believe me, but one of these days I'll prove it. I will Frieda. Mercy will tell me how Chuck is." "That and Mercy's satellite phone. I'll be fine with that," Frieda smiled. Judy and Nancy hugged me and said, "We will miss you lots." Judy said, "I'm getting to want to be around you more and more lately. I think one of these days we'll all live together. I hope so as I want you to be around us, and I want to be around you." Nancy said, "I think when you get back, my belly will be growing. The home kit said positive. Atlanta did the trick. See, it only takes that one good shot and that must have been the one." "I hope so, Baby; I love you too and want us to have a baby together. He or she will be a wonder child." "Oh, Chuck, you have to have me tonight," Frieda said, "I'm near, close if not right now and if you leave, you won't be able to do it in a month or so. Please, Honey, do me tonight, make love to me, kiss away my fears of you leaving and plug me good." Wanda said, "How can you turn down an offer like that?" "I'd love for you to join me tonight." Brandy said, "Let's go get some clothes." Tiani was still sitting in my lap without talking. She finally said, "I want to be the parrot on your shoulder when you're a peg leg pirate out on the high seas. I'm really going to miss you. This is serious, isn't it?" Frieda said, "You saw the memo from those do-gooders about cleansing the agencies of those who are brutal or act irrationally. They say we need a gentler law enforcement group and more accepting group of people who can tolerate some differences in others. That means for us to accept the illegals and the people who want to hurt us. That's bullshit." "Let's go. I'll give you guys a toy to learn with when we get back." Frieda grinned and said, "Hot damn, our man bought us a gun." I just shook my head as we all left to go to the store. Amazingly, Wanda came with us. We were done and back home in two hours. Judy had ran out to get steaks and other stuff for supper and that's when I showed them the PPK and told them where to go to learn how to use it. They all promised to go learn and apply for their permits. Nancy said they can't carry at work but can everywhere else. I told them to ask Metarie, and they said there was a new memo out about carrying on a government site, no guns, period." The girls washed all my new clothes as we drank and ate a great meal. Judy and Nancy made a cake while the girls were busily packing my stuff. Frieda took off and came back with a footlocker and said, "If you're going to travel at sea, you need one of these." I tried to turn it down by saying, "I think I can get everything into a duffel bag and my gun cases. That would be easier to carry, don't you think?" The girls looked back and forth between the duffel bag and the foot locker and finally said, "You'll wrinkle your nice clothes anyway so take the duffel bag. It's easier to carry. Can we leave the footlocker in your closet?" "Of course, I'll enjoy having it here." Wanda rolled her eyes, but wasn't caught this time. Lisa and Tina came and found out the news. At first they were mad I had to leave, then were happy that I was joining Steve. They thought Steve and I would end the trip as great friends, even more than we already were. When Lisa asked when I was leaving, I said, "As soon as I can arrange to get out west. Either to San Francisco or to Seattle, out on Friday Harbor, an island in the San Juan chain." Lisa said, "I'll fly you in your plane. You can fly out and I'll fly back. I'll bring somebody along for company, maybe a bunch of people. You need a guitar, how about just an acoustical? You can entertain the folks and kids on board with that." "Lisa, they don't know I play, so it's not necessary to take a guitar." Lisa came and hugged me, and with her head down, said, "Yes it is, you have to have a part of me with you. If you're playing music, you'll have a little bit of me with you. You'll have my daddy's guitar that I've played and you've played with me." She pulled away from me and still holding my sides, more excited, she said, "I'll put some extra strings in it so you can teach some of the kids too. That would be perfect. You could even take one of the cheap guitars daddy had. That would even be better for the kids." I could see this wasn't going anywhere, so I let it go. I'd bring along a half dozen guitars if that's what she wanted. I sensed a stronger bond between us than I had thought. Soon the clothes were all washed, ironed, folded, and laid out to be stuffed into the duffel bag. We all went through everything, even to the point of a couple extra toothbrushes, plenty of razor blades and toothpaste. They even had extra of the soap that I used. I looked at my extra leg and decided to leave it. I thought I might ask about a treadmill to see if I should take my sports leg. Knowing Steve and Sue, I figured them to have some kind of exercise equipment. I definitely would take my peg for the ease of getting it on and off. If I did screw up my main leg, I could use the peg or even the sports leg if I take it. We were all looking at each other, so I made the call. It was three hours earlier so it was only six out there. Mercy answered the phone. "I knew it was you and I want you to hurry to catch up with us. Can you meet us in Seattle?" "Yes I can, have you already gone through San Francisco?" "We just left. We sailed in, picked up Mom and left. Daddy is coming as far as Friday Harbor and we didn't want to hang around. The other family that was going to meet us had a change of plans so it will only be Dewey and family, the Irish folks, and us. We have good wind going north so we should be in Friday Harbor in a day and half to two days. Here, talk to Steve, I'll go tell the girls." Steve's voice asked, "You packed and ready?" "Just finished, do you need any special equipment that I can bring?" "I think we're fixed. If you want to bring some of your own toys, bring 'em. We have a special place to stash them, so that if we need them they are close. Just bring yourself and the clothes you need. I'm looking forward to having an adult buddy on board. We'll have a great time. I'll help you get your captain's license by the time we reach Hawaii. That way you can take that crew of women you have out on one of the boats for a weekend or week." "That'll be great. Do you have any exercise equipment, like a treadmill?" "Yep, we have a bike, treadmill, a nautilus multi-position, and free weights. Sue and I exercise regularly. The rest of the women are getting better at it, but you know how hard it is to get them to do that." "Good to know. I can bring my sports leg so I can run on the treadmill and not just walk. Well, I'm ready. I'll meet you at Friday Harbor. Can you give me Dewey's telephone number so I can call him?" Steve gave me all of Dewey's numbers and warned me, "Ah, Dewey has changed from possibly what you may have thought of him. The man has another wife. His wife brought another lady into their lives and he has not only two wives, but he has picked up a couple of more kids. He now has four kids. The man just continues to surprise me. As usual, Mercy knew all about it before anyone ever knew. I think Mercy knew before Dewey. He's happy about it and you'll understand when you meet them." "Then I'll meet you in a day and half to two days at Friday Harbor. Thank you, Steve, this has made everything so much easier. I can disappear for a while and remain among friends." "We're all happy as hell to have you. All of us for different reasons, but trust me, you will be treated like a king. This is a great life out here." "See you soon, Steve." "See ya, Chuck." I'd had the speakerphone on so everyone could hear the call. They were all contemplating that I would be gone tomorrow. Lisa called the charter office to say she was going to take me to Seattle tomorrow. Apparently Star or DeDe was objecting, but Lisa said, "It's his aircraft and he needs it for a very important trip. I'll deliver him and bring the aircraft back. He won't be using any of his equipment for a couple of months, so there won't be any other conflicts. Tomorrow is important." Tina said, "I don't have to be in any class or lab for a couple days, so can I go with you?" Lisa said, "Perfect. Can anyone else get off to go? We can take several." Wanda said, "I'm going. I can take care of business in the air. This way I can ask any important questions on the way." "Ah, Chuck, John authorized you that satellite phone to keep in touch. It won't do him a lot of good if you're out in the ocean and can't fly to a problem, but at least he can ask you a question. He's also authorized you to take your laptop. He excessed it, so it's yours. He said it shouldn't work anyway, as it was blown up in the car in Tulsa. That should do it. Just hook the Sat phone up to your laptop using the attachment. You can get e-mail and even IM me if you want. We'll all be watching for your notes." Lisa gave me some of the CDs of us she had, saying she would figure a way to send the new ones to me as soon as she got them. We were all sitting back, maybe drinking a little too much, but happily enjoying our last hours together. Frieda said, "It's time for stud boy to take me to bed. He's got one shot at this and he better do a good job. All of you can come help get him back up and primed for a few more loads if you will. You can keep me wired and ready to receive all those good little sperms that are going to make by big tits fill full of milk. Are you going to suck on my big milky tits stud-muffin?" That broke us all up and made us get to bed. We all cleaned up and cuddled in bed. Tiani made a grab and mouthed me into an instant erection. Brandy was nose deep in prepping Frieda to receive her donation. It was about that point that I realized I was going to need a pile of cash for while I was gone. I could still use my debit card, but cash is always king. I'd get it in the morning. I still needed to get Ben Phillips to do something with the new dollars I just got. I want to help people with it, but before I find someone to help, I need to manage it and make the money grow. This was distracting me from the purpose of the exercise. Frieda was coming like crazy from the efforts of three of the girls. Tiani took her mouth from me and came up to kiss me. She said, "I love you, you crazy man. Now make our Frieda a mommy. One of these days you'll do me too, but right now it's Frieda's turn." The way Frieda was worked up it didn't take long to get her off again with me inside her and her insides pulled the good stuff right out of me. Frieda swore she could feel the juice hitting her eggs. That worried me as she kept saying eggs. Not split, but eggs. That's fraternal. The lovemaking continued until I had made love to all eight of the women, but every deposit was Frieda's in the midst of massive orgasms to help conception, or so the girls said. Finally, I was toast and limp, wasted. A mouth was making me hard one more time and the girls were all smothering me with kisses. A wet, tight, very tight, pussy slid onto me and I knew this was different. I pushed the girls away and found Lena sitting on me sliding up and down. She said, "There's no way I'm going to be left out after getting the others ready for you and making Frieda orgasm over and over. I'm having you and enjoying it. Oh you are so big inside me. I love the way you stretch me. They told me you'd feel this way. Now show me the man you are, roll me over and fuck me, make me yours, make me know what it's like to know a man." Lena was so beautiful and so damn big. I had to do it. She wasn't as big as Bobby or Millie but was taller, longer, and leaner, with average sized breasts for her size. She could move her hips though, and was doing me as much as I was doing her. The girls were all helping to get her off, making her squirm and almost scream. After coming several times, Lena reminded me, "Don't shoot that stuff in me. It belongs to Frieda, get off on me, but put it in Frieda." Lena grabbed hold of me and began moving her hips so fast she was sending me into spasms quickly. I said, "Let me at Frieda, you're making me come. Quick, let me go." The big girl picked me up and put me between Frieda's now very sloppy legs. A few thrusts later, as we kissed, she received the very last load of the night. Frieda had big tears in her eyes and kept saying, "Oh thank you, thank you, you're going to be the proudest daddy ever. Oh, please God, make me this baby." We kissed gently, I kissed all the other ladies, and Frieda kissed me again while we were still joined together. I was limp but firmly held by her. I'm not sure how this occurred, but we all slept in the one bed. I woke up in the night with both Tiani and Nancy on top of me, and noticed Brandy laying on Lena. The rest were all squished up on the bed. Wow, nine wonderful women. Now that's a harem. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- Chapter 70 I was up at six making a king-sized breakfast for everyone. When they all got up, they thought I would want to swim. I said, "I want to share a meal with all of you before I go. This makes me happy." All of them kissed me and gave me a hug, understanding I was going through as much emotion over leaving as they were. Lena came in totally naked and gave me a kiss. Kissing a six foot eight healthy naked young lady first thing in the morning is some kind of exciting. She was very tender and whispered in my ear, "Thank you, Lover, you made me a very happy young lady. I'll remember our time together for the rest of my life. I can't wait to tell my sisters and mom about how good it was. They will just love you all the more. I tricked you, but it was important to me. I love you for it, Chuck. Be safe, be careful, come back and do it again." I did hug the naked young lady to me with tears in my eyes. She was what I had wanted in Bobby so badly. I was a lucky man though, who had nine women who really did care. Lisa came out with a very, very short blue skirt on. She said, "You're going to experience a flight that only you can appreciate. We are going to have some fun." Frieda came to me and sat on my lap. She kissed me so sweetly, "I know we did it last night. I feel like a mommy. You know you probably made more than one. I just feel it. Come home to me; suck the milk from my breasts along with your babies. I love you, you crazy person. You've captured all of us even though you scare the shit out of us. I love you, Baby. Come home, come back to help me to raise your babies." Jesus, that is touching. I hope she has the baby she thinks she has. We did have some pretty good loving, so perhaps she is "with child." After everyone ate, they all helped me pack my clothes into the duffel bag. If clothes were ever protected, these were. I was kissed with almost every piece stuffed into the bag. When we were done, they watched as I put the bag into Lisa's car, along with the aluminum cases of toys and the two guitar cases. Wanda, Lisa, Tina, and Lena, were waved goodbye with me as we left for the air park. That was more difficult than I thought. I was going to miss my flakes, the Fab five. They were all special in their own way. I know I really did love them all. Amazing, I had so many women helping me that I was totally overwelmed, but I understood. At the air park, my new Lear was out on the tarmac with Jimmy worrying over it before we even arrived. When he saw me, he came to me and said, "I really hate that you have to leave for a while. Thank you so much for this job. My dad is proud of me, Angie is proud of me, and I'm proud of me. You are my benefactor, Chuck. You really got me started in my real new life. Thank you, Chuck, this is so good." Jimmy's dad came out of the charter office and shook my hand. He said, "You know you could have always hidden out in the frozen north for a while. By the time you could come home, you would want to be warm again." I said to the man, "You know you can come down here with your son if you want. I'll bet we have a place for you here if you want to be here. Think about it. If you want a change, call John Scott in D.C. and tell him I told you to call." He smiled and said, "My wife and I have thought of it. She says anywhere there aren't airplanes in our backyard. The trailer park might be the place for us." Lisa had finished the preflight inspection with Jimmy, and both told me to get my shit together and get on board. The girls were already settled in seats, with Wanda at the communications console. I sat in the left seat with pride as Jimmy shut and locked the door. Lisa began running down the checklist and I did everything automatically. When I called for instructions, I knew we were on our way. This was emotional. I was leaving everything behind me, all my lovers, all my friends, my work, everything, to hide out from whom, from what? Damn, this was tough to handle. We were given immediate access to the runway and headed to the end and when I spun the plane for takeoff, Lisa, in a very uncharacteristic moment, leaned over and kissed my cheek and said, "Hit it, let it out, take off like a jet." I tore down the runway and took off at a forty-five degree angle turning to head northwest. We blasted out of Florida, going across the gulf headed in our planned direction. Lisa began asking me tech questions for the Lear. She went through the manual questions and went on to the questions that were asked by the crew who tested me. We landed in Columbia, Missouri, not because we were low on fuel, but because it was a good potty break pause. We lit it up on the way out of there too. Not really afterburners. as we didn't have those, but we were at full thrust. In a little less than two hours we were lining up for Friday Harbor Island. I came in low and touched down right on the short apron pulling up tight, well before the end of the runway. We spun around and headed to the tiny operations building. As soon as we were parked, a dozen people were out taking pictures of the aircraft. The cartoons were so cool that people were on their cell phones calling others to come take a look. Dewey walked out of the operations building with what could be a teenager and couple of younger kids following him. We shook and I introduced him to my friends. He said, "Come on, we'll go out to the house for lunch. If the ladies have to leave they can, or they can spend the night and leave in the morning." We unloaded my duffel bag, the two aluminum cases, and the two guitar cases. Dewey asked, "Are you going to entertain us on this leg of the trip?" "I hope so, Dewey. Lisa here thinks I'm more than I am." "Isn't it wonderful to have women think you're more than you are. Makes us stick out our chests." Dewey's home was beautiful. It was all wood, everywhere, with wood floors and with kids seemingly running everywhere, making lots of noise in the hardwood environment. Looking out over the water, we could see the big sailboat Dewey would be sailing soon. This was an ideal place to enjoy the feel of the area. Dewey introduced everyone to his wife, Sheila, and his wife's sister, Sheena. He said almost sheepishly, but with pride, that Sheena should be considered his wife as well. Sheila tossled the hair on a young guy that looked like Dewey and said, "This is, not so little Dewey, he's seven. He answers to "hey you" pretty well too. The middle one is Sheena's William or Bill, he's almost seven. And these two cute ones are Sharon and Shirley, both five. Surprises, Sheena and I gave Dewey when we three got together permanently." After meeting everyone, Dewey said, "I have to introduce you to the folks at my favorite place to drink. Bring everyone and we'll entertain them for a few minutes." The ladies made a stir at the bar, especially a six foot eight young lady with a beautiful smile. Wanda is always a hit with her tall slender body, accentuated by her long breasts. Tina is so cute, and then there is Lisa, a cute little lady with a sweet smile and a nice body. I would definitely miss her. We all drank probably too much, but knew there would be enough time to sober up. We ate at the bar, having some great fresh salmon, and went home to be welcomed by Dewey's kids and wives. This was nice and gave me an idea of how a life with multiple ladies could be. That night I was king of the bed and enjoyed all my ladies. We led each other and I almost couldn't let Lisa go. Tina was right there too, as were Lena and Wanda. The ladies made sure I knew that I was wanted at home as soon as I could be there. We slept late, almost nine, but it was not so late that food wasn't available. Dewey said, "When you get a bunch of kids, you'll wake up earlier, they're hungry early. You'll love it." We did get everything ironed out so the girls could return home. All of them gave me kisses and hugs, some with tears in their eyes. We drove out to the tiny airport where the plane had been refueled and made ready to go home. I took a minute with Lisa, away from everyone, and told her, "You know we've hit it off special. I'm really hesitant leaving you the way I feel for you, but I know everyone at home will take care of you. Lisa, I want you to think about it, but I think we might be meant to be together, forever." "I know, Chuck. I feel that way too sometimes, but remember that I do like girls. Maybe more than I like guys, even you. This will help because we can both think about it. You and me, Honey, I think we're meant for each other too. Dingy, isn't it. I love you, Chuck, be safe, come back to me, come back to us. You're going to be a dad a couple of times before we ever get together. I love you, Baby. Be safe." I did get some love from each of the ladies. Wanda had tears in her eyes, as did Lena. Tina smiled a lot and said, "Come back to Lisa, she's got it real bad." They finally loaded up and I watched as Lisa took off with my new airplane. I watched it as it went out of sight, knowing I would be with them again, but it would be a while. Back at Dewey's, I played with the younger kids and finally got a guitar out and played and sang for all the kids until I was out of music for them. Dewey said, "Let's go into town, to the music store and buy up everything they have in sheet music for kids for the trip. You can learn stuff on the fly. The kids will never know." We went to a small music store where the lady gave me hundreds of pieces of music for kids and a "Fake Book" with thousands of songs in their basic form. When we were finished, we went to Dewey's bar and were sitting at the bar, having my favorite drink. Dewey asked me, "Can you play the piano?" "A little, but I haven't played forever." "They have one over there and keep it in tune. Go try, try to play it. There's no one here, they love when people play." Dewey moved my drink to the small baby grand sitting in the corner of the bar. At first I just tinkled the keys, then remembering the weekend, I thought, "Sweet Georgia Brown." I followed that with Georgia and actually sang along with it along with the others in the bar. I couldn't resist and played Blue Moon and was accompanied by everyone singing again. I ended up playing a dozen oldies that everyone was singing. I was surprised I remembered how to play. Dewey said, "We got to go, I need to go see the pawn shop guy." We walked down the street to "Bob's Pawn." Dewey and I went in and Dewey said, "Hey, you shyster, I need some kind of piano or keyboard to put on my boat. Two of them would be even better, whatcha got?" The guy had several keyboards. He did have a nice Yamaha that had all the bells and whistles, and was an 88 key model. The other he had was one of my favorites, an 88 key Roland. I tried both and Dewey said, "I'll take both but I'll only give you..." The man grinned at Dewey. They argued a while but they finally agreed on a price, but Dewey had the guy throw in two cheap guitars with extra strings and cases. You could tell these two have known each other for a long time. When we left, Dewey said, "You can't play on one boat without playing on the other. We're going to have a lot of fun on this trip. Let's go home and love up the women." The kids were a lot of fun and they did love the music. I ended up with sore fingers trying to play all the songs they kept finding in the big book. Dewey's women were having a great time as the kids were totally occupied with the music. I was asleep early that night. So early that I was shocked when a lithe body slid into bed with me. Lips touched mine and I became enmeshed with a woman as she hugged me to her. She wasn't inviting sex, more like offering comforting body contact, a gentle companionship. As we drifted off, the lady, Sheena, said, "You'll be welcome on this trip. We'll all enjoy you." The next morning there wasn't any funny feelings between any of us. We ate and worked on loading the boat to get ready to leave. They were ready. The boat was connected to shore power to keep the freezer and fridges cold. Dewey showed me around the big boat, and the more I looked, the more I saw masters had designed the beautiful boat to use every available scarce square inch for storage, to put a tool, to secure lamps. Everything had a place and a place for everything. Dewey's storage room was full of paper products. I had not considered it, but I suppose you do need a lot of toilet paper to be at sea with a big family for two months. Dewey had me taste the water produced by the desalination processor. It was good, clean water, not salty at all. Dewey even had a microscope in the tiny room that accommodated the large processor. When you checked the water, it was perfectly clear. The afternoon was typical around the islands this time of year. It was overcast, almost gloomy, but the water still gave reflections of the shore and the trees there. I was sitting outside on Dewey's wood deck, looking over the large lagoon that was Dewey's private harbor. A bald eagle flew by twice before settling on a branch out over the water. Some sea gulls were playing tag along the water line and a harbor seal was sprawled on a big rock about a hundred yards away. The seal's head came up, alerting me something was up. The eagle spread his wings, but didn't take off. It was strutting back and forth on the big branch with its wings spread. The sea gulls all landed on Dewey's dock, looking toward the entrance to the lagoon. Another huge sailboat with all of the sail taken in came around the corner smoothly, quietly, obviously under its own muffled power. The scene was surreal, very dramatic, the boat smoothly slid around the bend and I saw the large script letters, announcing the "Mercy, Mercy." My excitement built as the boat moved steadily closer, slowing, drifting toward a buoy out in the little harbor. The eagle screamed and the seal splashed into the water just when I heard the clunk of a transmission as the boat began swiveling around the buoy to stop. A small person was tossing what looked like a lasso over the buoy while there was activity at the rear of the boat, an anchor dropped as a rather large dinghy was also dropped into the water. An outboard motor started and the dinghy pulled to the front of the boat to tie up to the floating buoy. Dewey came out of the house and stood next to me, watching the activity on deck, now with young people running everywhere doing something while the dinghy went to a platform that was folded down. Dewey said, "It is magnificent, isn't it? When you see all those people on the boat, hear the laughter over the water, and see how they all function together, you get this great feeling inside. My boat is the same. Giggles and laughter keep the boat happily sailing." It was as if welcoming the new life to the lagoon, the eagle screamed again and swooped from his perch to sail down level with the boat, turning and giving his wings a flap to soar up the other side of the boat. I think the bird was actually ogling the beautiful sailboat, welcoming it to the lagoon. Dewey and I walked down to the dock to await the first load of kids and adults from the boat. A handful of people that included the four women I knew and two pre-teens pulled to the dock where Dewey caught the line, and all but one in the dinghy climbed onto the dock. Mercy broke from the group and ran to me and hugged me, holding me tight and said, "Oh, thank goodness you are okay. I, ah, we have you now. You're with us, we'll know you're okay." The other three ladies greeted Dewey and circled me. Each gave me a warm hug and kiss. Sue smiled so very big, giving me a hug against her mammoth chest and kissing me very nicely. Sue said, "We are happy you are now here with us." Kathy held me at arm's length before pulling me into her, hugging me fiercely. She whispered, "There's something about you dangerous guys that just drives me nuts. Stop it, be a gentle person with us." The sweet older, still very good looking, Spanish lady, Juanita, pulled my head down and kissed me the way my lovers kiss me and said, "So happy you are with us now. We ladies, especially Mercy and Sue, won't be worrying about you so much." Another dinghy load arrived on the dock bringing more kids and this time Ben and Beth Phillips got out along with Mercy's mother and father, Missy and Merlin, and two more kids. This time when the dinghy went back to the boat, Dewey went with it to greet Steve. Ben shook my hand with a sincere grasp, Beth gave me a little hug and kiss on the cheek, next Missy came and gave me a very warm hug and an extremely warm kiss. Mercy was still hanging onto one arm and Sue the other as Missy looked at me and as my head was filled with a flood of thoughts and questions, Missy smiled and said, "Mercy is right, we are connected somehow." The people kept getting off the boat, and going up to the house where Sheila, Sheena, and her kids were waiting for them on the big deck. As I was left on the dock, watching the transport of the people from the boat, I thought of the excitement that lay in store for me in the coming couple of months. As I was looking out at the big boat, my head was filled with what sounded like Mercy's and Missy's voices telling me, "We have you now. We will have so much fun." I had a very good feeling this next adventure would be fun and exciting. Primary editing by Pepere Proofing by Sagacious ------- The End ------- Posted: 2009-04-16 Last Modified: 2013-02-03 / 07:29:16 am ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------