Storiesonline.net
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                                Job Hunt
                             by Dual Writer

Copyright© 2009 by Dual Writer


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Description: A newly released disabled Marine looks for a job but finds trouble. He does find a future while demonstrating an ability to act under pressure. He also finds the large love of his life. There may be too much sex for some, so just skip the sex and enjoy the action. The rest of you readers, enjoy all of it.

Codes: MF
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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 Job Hunt, 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.

The Motel/Apartment Manager - Manager of the apartment motel Chuck initially takes up residence in upon his discharge.

Shirley McGiver - A woman resident of the motel Chuck has landed at. She takes in laundry, and eventually cooks for Chuck in exchange for eating meals with him.

Jerry - Loud mouth drunk that comes into Jonah's bar

Jonah - Owner of the bar Shirley takes 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.

Clerk at the unemployment office - The first clerk to help Chuck who assumes he just wants benefits, but after being questioned sends him to Lorna.

Lorna Williams - A career counselor for military personnel re-entering the work force at the unemployment office who happens to be the girlfriend of the office director and basically never shows up to work.

Metarie White - Supervisor at the employment office who hires Chuck to work in the office.

Julie Preston - A secretary at the unemployment office.

Francine - A window clerk at the unemployment office.

Marsha - A window clerk at the unemployment office.

Betty - A window clerk at the unemployment office.

Mary - A window clerk at the unemployment office.

June - A window clerk at the unemployment office.

Larry - Works at the unemployment office finding prospective employers.

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.

Jordan Harkins - The regional director of the employment agency.

Bart Simpson - As Shirley said, don't laugh, it really is his name, anyway, Bart is the erstwhile boyfriend of Shirley and member of a national bike club.

Reggie White - Metarie's husband, a former pro football player, and restaurant owner among other things.

Club President - President of the bike club chapter Bart belongs to.

Bucky - Member of the bike club and a marine.

Wilson - Member of the bike club and a marine.

Sam - Female owner of a lesbian bar Frieda takes Chuck to.

Howard Smith - Station Chief of the Tampa office of the U.S. Marshalls service.

Sarah - Office secretary of the U.S. Marshall's office in Tampa. She also happens to be the ACE or assistant station chief.

Mike Barnstead - An FBI agent in the Tampa office.

Anthony "Poppa" Nardelli - Local head of the mob and is involved in a scheme to defraud the government of millions.

The "Team" - Three men and a driver hired to dispose of Chuck. One is an expert in bombs...

The Shooters - Two men sent by Poppa Nardelli to kill Jordan Hawkins. They succeed but are captured.

Amos Davis - A Washington D.C. official in the unemployment department.

John Miller - Man sent by Amos Davis to sanitize Jordan Hawkins office.

George - A Deputy Marshall at the Tampa office. Had obtained his Masters in Criminology and is now transferring to the FBI as a special agent in Phoenix, AZ.

The Shooters - Another two characters with no name. Two professional hit men hired we assume by Poppa Nardelli to assassinate Chuck.

Jennings - A county law officer found in the trunk of his car that had been stolen by a team hired to assassinate Chuck.

Range Officer - The range officer for the federal building. The range is used by all armed government employees from all services. Later on the range officer is given a name of "Cap".

Ted - Another Deputy Marshall from the Tampa office.

Jan - Jan is an FBI agent in the Tampa office soon to become a senior agent and Assistant Bureau Chief.

McAllie - An FBI agent in the Tampa office.

Billy – An U.S. Deputy Marshal in Tampa, his family is kidnapped and he is forced to help the bad guys.

Roberta Angel Smith - Bobbie is a deputy Marshall with the Tampa office, the widow of a deputy killed in the line of duty and acts in the capacity of Safe One, the person in charge of the offices safe house.

Tow Truck Driver - Another deputy, but in reality he works in the garage for the Marshalls service. Is armed and has all the authority other deputies have.

Jeff - An FBI agent we must assume is with the crime scene unit who has come to help transport the vehicles and bodies and will be involved in the search of the vehicles and identification of the bodies.

John Scott - A major in the U.S. Marshal 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 than most.

The rooftop Assassin - Man who uses a small one seat helicopter to land on the hotel roof. After lowering himself to the penthouse patio he cuts the bulletproof glass to enter ... then he meets Chuck.

The bellhop - The original bellhop Chuck tipped by mistake. He had joined in with the bad guys and provided plans of the penthouse.

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.



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Chapter 1



I'm a new man. I'm in a new place, a new town, new people, new bars, new babes, haven't seen any yet but everything is new. I'm a new man.

Yesterday, Uncle Sam let me go. Yesterday, the base hospital that I had lived in for a year, stressed in for a year, and rehabilitated in for a year, said goodbye, you're on your own, you're a new man.

Yesterday morning, I took a cab to a house where a guy met me and took me to his garage. In it was a very used 1992 Harley FLHS with the only real option being some big leather saddlebags. Later, they would dress up this model and call it a Fat Boy, but when this was made it was still an FLHS. The price was right, so I exchanged seventy-five hundred for the title, tied my meager belongings onto the bike, put on the helmet the guy gave me and followed directions to the county tax collector's office.

An hour later, I had a tag screwed on the bike, and with the aid of a crutch, walked next door to the driver's license bureau. When I came up to the desk, the officer looked at me and asked, "Just get out?"

I nodded and flashed him my discharge and pointed with my finger to today's date.

He nodded and said, "Stand there if you can and I'll get you right in." A bunch of people around me began bitching and he said, "Shut up if you want in. This guy just got done losing a leg so you can live your lives. He goes first."

He turned back to me and quietly said, "Semper Fi."

Smiling, I gave an equally quiet, "Ooorah."

I looked at the crowd, but didn't smile or give any facial evidence that I knew they existed.

The clerk took my information, as well as my military motorcycle safety course certificate and military driver's license, typed up everything, and issued me a Florida state commercial chauffeur's license authorized to drive just about anything on wheels. The address I used was that of the base and I probably wasn't going to use it permanently, but it was good to have and I could change it later.

There was an insurance office conveniently placed next to the tag office, so I went in to get a quote on the bike. That's all I got, as the quote was enough to choke you.

I took out a note that I had and read the directions to my next place to visit.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into an old apartment complex. Actually, it was probably an old motel converted into small apartments. I rang the doorbell under the "Manager" sign and a very tall, big, fat, hairy guy with a cigar stub sticking out of his mouth, wearing a wife beater undershirt came to the door and just stared at me.

I figured that one of us had to break the barrier so I said, "Chuck Johnson, I called about the furnished apartment you have for rent."

He grunted, reached next to the door, and came out with a clipboard and a set of keys. Without saying anything, he walked across the parking area and I followed in my limping gait, without the crutch. When he got to a door that had metal numbers telling the world it was number twenty-two, he turned and looked me up and down, fitted the key in the dead bolt lock, and opened the door.

He turned and looked at me again, but this time he stepped back and motioned me inside.

There was a small living room area and a small kitchen, with a bar separating them. On the back wall were three doors. The door on the right was obviously a small bathroom, as I could see one of those metal shower stalls. The door to the left was the bedroom, as I could see a bed. The middle door was down a small hallway and appeared to lead outside.

I looked into the bedroom and it was what I would expect. I looked into the bathroom and it wasn't bad. A sink, commode, and shower. I looked back at the living room and it had a chair, a small couch, and an ancient TV. The guy walked to the back of the apartment and opened the door that led outside. I looked out to see a covered patio that ran the length of the building. Under it was kids' trikes, a couple of bicycles, and I noticed some motorcycles there too.

The man said, "You can park your bike back here. You get in over there between the buildings, but don't be revving up your bike at night. People have to sleep. It's safe back here. You might want to chain it up, but nobody will bother you. That last building on the right is the laundry building. You can use coins or get a card with credits for the washer and dryer. If you want someone to do your laundry for you, there's a bulletin board in there."

I walked back to the living room and he held out the clipboard. "Fill this out and give me the first month plus two hundred security. If you don't pay the next month's rent by the last day of the month, you're out of here. Your stuff will be outside in a box. No drugs, no whores working out of the apartment, and no fucking shooting. I hate fucking guns, I had enough of them when I was on the force. First time the cops come, I warn you, next time your shit's in a box. You got the five fifty?"

I gave him the three fifty rent and two bills for security. He counted the money and handed me back a hundred fifty saying, "I'll cut you some slack and only charge you half a month since it's already the twelfth. Remember to get your money in by the last day of the month. Fill out that paper and bring it over before you move your bike."

The big man gave me a crooked grin and walked out, heading back toward his apartment.

After filling out the required information on the form, I walked back to the Manager's apartment and rang the bell. I handed him the clipboard and he handed me some keys. He asked, "You a vet?"

I nodded.

"Hurt in Iraq?"

I nodded.

He looked at me and said, "Thanks for what you did, enjoy here, and I hope you don't have to live here forever." He gave me the crooked grin again and closed the door.

I started the bike, rode it to in front of my apartment and took my duffel bag in and unpacked it. I took out my little notebook and made a list of what I would need. I might have to make more than one trip. First, I needed to eat, buy some food, and get some civilian clothes.

Instead of the crutch, I took my fancy aluminum cane and slid it into a saddle bag on the bike and headed down the street to where I had seen a grocery store. With the use of a cart, I picked up the necessary items I needed, including some more toothpaste and soap. I remembered some soap for the dishes too. Since this was my first shot at the grocery store, I picked up some canned chili, canned stew, a couple of frozen dinners, a half gallon of milk, salt, pepper, loaf of bread, and breakfast stuff, including eggs. To make me happy, I pulled a bag of chips and a six pack of beer. I figured that I could get all this back to the apartment.

Outside, I filled the two saddlebags with my purchases with the flaps very loose as the bags were stuffed. Before I started the bike, I opened the fuel tank and looked inside. I saw metal. Damn. I looked at the fuel switch and it was already on the reserve setting. At the far end of the parking lot was a gas station, so I pushed the bike around so it was heading that way and pushed the button.

Thankfully, it ran all the way to the gas station. I filled it up with almost the whole five gallons before I took my groceries to the apartment, parking in the back next to my back door this time. I mentally almost called it home, but this wasn't home yet.

The fridge and freezer were cold, so I put the stuff away and locked back up to head out for some lunch, then to find some clothes. The first place I found was a Hooter's and across the street and down a ways was a Goodwill store.

I had a taste for some spicy wings and beer, so I treated myself. Good stuff, plus the waitresses weren't too bad to look at either. Most of them filled out their Hooter's tank tops very nicely.

Next stop was the Goodwill store. These places are always in shambles. People pick through stuff and never put it back. Lots of clothes are sort of marked with the size, but you usually had better try it on. It took a half-hour to find four pairs of jeans in my size, and another half-hour to find a pair of dress slacks. Shirts were easier as they all had the factory sizes marked in the collar. Two hours after going in there, I had the clothes I thought I would need. I even found a pair of engineer boots and a pair of loafers in my size. My left foot had to fit right, but the right one could be too tight or too loose as that was where the prosthetic leg was.

The girl at the register smiled sweetly at me and noted that I was using a cane. She looked at me and asked, "You lose a leg?"

When I nodded, she said, "My old man did too. He does pretty good just like you."

She rang me up, stuffed everything in a bag, then smiled and said, "That will be seven thirty-five."

I looked at her questioningly and she smiled again, "We give discounts to vets." When she rolled her eyes, I knew she was giving me a personal discount.

I paid, said "Thank you," and left.

Outside, I stuffed my clothes into the saddlebags, rode back to the apartment, and parked behind my place. I took my stuff inside before I walked to the laundry room. There were three notes about doing laundry, so I picked the one that said apartment twenty-five. I would have chosen that anyway as the handwriting was neat.

I walked back over to the back door to twenty-five and knocked on the door. A lady, probably in her thirties, came to the door. She really looked beat, but smiled and asked, "You have laundry you need done, Honey?"

I nodded.

"Bring it over so I can see what you have. I don't charge much but it still costs for the machines. Go get it, okay?"

I nodded and went to my place, got the stuff together, and went back to where she had come out of her apartment and was sitting in a lawn chair by her back door.

"She looked at the stuff and said, "Brand new from Goodwill, huh?"

While she looked through the clothes, I checked her out a little better. She was probably closer five-five than thirty-five, and maybe a hundred ten. Thin, but not bony, She was wearing an old loose unbelted shirtwaist dress that didn't reveal her shape, but you could tell she had some up top and a decent back side. I'm a typical guy so it took a while to get to her face. She had a lot of lines, so I may be underestimating the age a bit, probably closer to forty. Her hair was a mousy blonde that didn't look dyed. There was some gray mixed in, so the lady was no spring chicken.

She smiled and nodded as she looked through each piece. "They have all the buttons and the zippers work, so you made out. You did a good job selecting stuff. Is this all?"

I nodded.

She looked at me with her version of a crooked smile and asked, "You talk?"

"Yes ma'am, when I need to."

"Ah, a quiet one huh? Okay, I'll wash and iron all these for you and starch these good pants and shirts for ten bucks. Is that all right?"

I nodded.

"I'll have them for you this evening, okay?"

I smiled and said, "Thank you."

She asked, "That your bike?" pointing at my Harley.

I nodded.

"You're safe back here, but you need to chain it up with a good lock."

When I frowned she said, "I'll let you use my old man's. He left last month and hasn't been around, so I'm guessin' you can use it till you get one of your own. He's usually gone two months before he misses me." She went inside and came out carrying a heavy chain and a big padlock with a key stuck in it.

"Thanks," I said, as she handed me her chain and lock.

I chained and locked the bike to the metal pole under the overhead cover and went inside to relax. This was the most activity I'd had outside in a year and I was tired. I flipped the TV on and was rewarded with a good picture. There was a small remote, so I began flipping through channels. Amazing, the place had cable, so I found a decent old movie and settled down to watch it.

There was banging on the back door. I had been sleeping so this startled me.

I got up and hobbled to the door to find the lady from next door holding my clothes. I opened the door and took the clothes from her one hand, but she still had some clothes on hangers that she was holding up. I motioned for her to come in, set the clothes down that I had taken from her, then took the hanging pair of pants and shirts. After putting my stuff in the bedroom, I came back into the living room area to find her sitting on one of the two bar stools at the counter.

"You wash the sheets on that bed yet?" She asked.

I shook my head.

"You better let me run them through real quick before you use them. You never know. Let me wash the spread and blanket as well. The manager has a good cleanup crew, but you never know."

I nodded and went into the bedroom to strip the bed. There were two sheets, two pillowcases, a bedspread, and a blanket. I brought them back into the living room and put them on the couch. She went over and smelled the sheets. "Musty, they been around for a while without being washed. Give me a five and I'll get them washed right away."

I pulled out a five saying, "I'll carry them over for you if you want?"

"That's okay, I'll do it. I need to wash some other stuff at the same time. I'll just put it all in a basket and carry it over. If you want to know, I get my stuff washed while I do for others. It's kind of cheating, but it's how I get by. If you want me to clean your place, I can do that too. If you need a companion, a bed warmer at night, I can do that when my old man isn't in town. I do what I have to do."

I nodded, thinking she wasn't bad looking and she might be worth an evening. I'd bet she was the kind that wouldn't freak out over no right leg below the knee when she saw the stub.

She left and I looked at my watch. It was already six so I had slept for a couple of hours. I took out a TV dinner and a beer. I didn't have a microwave, so I had to warm up the oven. While that was going on, I checked to find dishes, flatware, and some pots and pans. There wasn't a lot, but enough to get by.

While I was waiting for the stove to warm, I noticed the lady carrying her basket to the laundry room. She would take a while to do everything and my five would barely cover the machines and soap. I figured on tipping her five when she brought my stuff back.

I ate while watching the local and national news on the local cable channel. It was spring, part of Florida's dry season. It was pretty nice out, so it was nice to be able to have the front and back doors open to let a breeze go through.

Funny, for most of this last year, I had made all my plans on what I was going to do when I was on my feet, or is that foot, and out of that damned hospital. Now that I was out, I was a little scared, uncertain, not sure of myself like I usually was. Well, I bought a bike, rented a place, bought some clothes, and I'd fed myself. Now I have to find a job. I have a list of places to check but from what the news is saying over and over again, is that there aren't any jobs.

I could get along on my VA benefit and some assistance, and I know I was eligible for food stamps. I was eligible for housing too, but I didn't want to live in a project. I just wouldn't fit. I need to find a job of some kind. Hopefully, I can find a driving job, or fall back to what I learned in trade school before the Marines, welding. Time will tell.

I was at the counter when there was banging on the back door again and a voice called out, "It's Shirl, I've got your bedclothes."

I hopped down and made it to the door. When I tried to take them from her, she pushed past me and went to the bedroom with them. I tried to start helping her and she said, "Go in there and open me one of those beers and let me do this."

Okay, I know when to listen. I went to the fridge and took out two cold ones. There were still two left, that was plenty, or so I thought.

She came in, pushing her hair back from her sweaty face. I handed her an opened can of beer and she handed it back to me and took the one that had not been opened yet. She opened it and took a couple of big gulps from it. She sort of watched me closely until I drank from the beer she had handed back to me. She smiled and took another big swig from the can.

"Ahh, hits the spot, thanks."

I nodded but had to ask, "You said "Shirl" was at the door, is that short for something?"

"Glad you asked. Yes, the name is Shirley McGiver. If you're wonderin', it's my maiden name too. Never married, but have had the same old man for twenty or so years."

I took out my wallet and handed her a five saying, "Thank you, Shirley McGiver, you've been a big help."

"What's this for? If it's for bed warming I think I'm worth more'n that. If it's a tip, I should've been doing this as a welcome service, but thank you very much."

I was smiling and slowly shaking my head at her forwardness.

Shirley stretched a little, "You new here? New in town?"

I looked at her and wondered how much I should tell her. "I just got out of service, but have been out at the base for the last year."

"Then you know Tampa pretty well," Shirley said.

"Don't know it at all. This is the first time I've been off base."

She frowned, "What the hell you been doin' out there that you haven't been in town."

Now was shit or get off the pot time.

My cane was next to me, so I picked it up and banged it on my prosthetic a couple of times and said, "It took a while to get this fitted and to figure out how to walk with it."

She squinted at me, then very matter of factly said, "So you lost a leg, just one or both? How high?"

"Just one, below the knee."

Shirley nodded then said, "Let me see."

I pulled up the leg of my pants all the way to the knee.

"Good job. Looks like whoever made this knew what they were doing. My brother lost a leg and a foot. He gets around pretty good. Doesn't hardly use a crutch or cane. If he's feeling poorly he uses a walker."

Shirley pushed my pant leg down and said, "Since you haven't been out and about for a long, long time, want me to show you the places to go?"

"That would be nice."

"Give me ten, ah, make it fifteen minutes. I gotta take a shower. Get your bike unchained and we'll be gone. If you have a jacket you might need it tonight, it's getting cooler out there."

I thought to myself, "What the fuck. I guess I'm ready for the world. She thinks so. Should I ride her, I haven't ridden in five, six years and should she trust me two up?"

I went in the bedroom and pulled out my old leather jacket. It wouldn't do in real cold weather, but it would do okay without a liner in this weather. I should put that on my list. Come to think of it, there were some decent leathers at the Goodwill store. I'll have to check them out.

I locked up the front and shut off the lights, but left the back porch light on. About the time I had the chain off and the bike turned around with the gas on the main tank and not reserve, Shirley came out of her place locking the door. She didn't have a helmet and I only had mine, so I offered her my helmet. She took it and set it by my door. "We don't need those anymore in Florida. When you go out make a left, I'll tell you after that."

Shirley had on some jeans and a tank top that was low enough to get your attention, with a leather jacket that wasn't zipped up. She looked good with her hair back in a ponytail. The fifteen minutes had taken years off her.

This girl had been riding a long time. She sat on the back and hugged my back leaning with me fluidly without feeling stiff back there. She kept up her chatter telling me to turn left, go straight watch for the bar up on the left. We pulled into a small bar, that had a bunch of bikes parked in the back out of sight from the street.

"You'll be alright in here, no clubbers. I'll introduce you as my new neighbor. Only a neighbor, got it? Most of these folks know my old man. Tonight isn't the best night of the week to be out hunting pussy, but you never know."

As soon as we walked into the noisy bar, people were hollering "Shirl, Shirl, where you been, you dumb cunt? This some guy you just picked up. Hey Bud, you getting a half and half for a quarter or what?"

Shirley punched the loudest mouth in the gut as she passed by. "He's my new neighbor, shit for brains. I'm showin' him around."

"I'll bet you're showin' him around. You're probably showin' him what he can get for two bits."

Shirley whirled around, grabbed the bottle from his hand and in an easy arc swung the bottle against a corner of the bar. The bottle shattered except the neck in her hand and the jagged end that she held to the loudmouth's throat. "You watch your fuckin' mouth, you slimy piece of shit. Another word out of you and I'll let you bleed out right here.

A mammoth came up behind Shirley, grabbed her hand with the beer bottle, and at the same time picked the loudmouth up by the belt of his pants. The huge hand on her wrist slid up smoothly taking the jagged bottle from her hand. "Out you go, Jerry, your mouth got the best of you tonight. Come back tomorrow after your mother has washed it out for you. You keep this up and you'll be treated like any kid and be grounded. Now get."

As the mammoth said this, he pushed open the back door and actually pitched the guy out into the parking lot. Funny the loudmouth didn't say a word to the big man.

Shirley looked at me and noticed that I had leaned back against the pool table and had the six ball in my hand. "Put it down, the guys playing pool would miss the ball. Besides that, I don't think you could knock Jonah out with only a pool ball."

The mammoth came back to us and stuck out his giant hand, "I'm Jonah, sorry you had to hear that shit. Let me get you a beer on the house and thanks for not hitting me with that damn pool ball. Those things knock the piss right out of ya."

Shirley laughed and said, "Jonah, this is my new neighbor, Chuck. He just got out of the service and I'm showin' him around."

Jonah looked at me and reached up to touch a patch sewn on my jacket,

"You a Marine?"

I nodded.

"Semper Fi," Jonah said, as he grabbed me in a bear hug.

I choked out a "Ooorah" while trying to get my breath.

"Hell, let's all three get a beer and I'll introduce you around."

Jonah and Shirley introduced me to what seemed like a couple of hundred people, but was probably only thirty or so. Hell the place wasn't all that big. While we were near the front door, a huge, beautiful woman walked in the door. She wasn't wearing biker bitch attire, but a short filmy evening gown that showed enough cleavage to get my motor running. God, she was big. She must have been six-six or seven and weighed probably around three fifty, maybe more. Damn she was big but "golley darn" I'd love to graze around on her.

Shirley saw my look and said, "Down boy, she's taken."

Jonah looked over at me and laughed. "Shoot, for a brother Marine, I'll share the bitch. Hell, it takes a Marine to handle this babe anyway. Hey Millie, come here you luscious slut and meet a guy coming in his pants over you."

The large wet dream came over to Jonah and grabbed his head and pulled it down into her cleavage saying, "Worship them my man, make love to momma's big tits and maybe, just maybe, you'll get lucky later."

Millie had a shit eating grin on her face as Jonah slobbered over her cleavage. She pulled his head up by his hair and said, "So where's this swingin' dick that lusts after me."

As Jonah turned toward Shirley and me, Millie narrowed her eyes and said, "Have you brought me a new boy toy, Shirley. Is he any good, you tried him out yet?"

Before Shirley could speak, Jonah answered for her, "She's showing her new neighbor around town and the sights."

In a real good Mae West imitation, Millie said, "Well I'm definitely a sight to see aren't I, Honey."

Shirley piped in, "Hell, he's probably harder than the fake leg he's got."

When I frowned at her exclamation, Millie reached over and picked up my hundred eighty pounds like it was a salt shaker. She pulled me to her and gave me a kiss that did get my extremities going. "Don't be put off by us, Honey. We just have a good time, all the time."

Jonah said, "Shit I was going to offer that he come by later and we double team you, Millie, but you already have the guy coming in his pants."

Millie put me down and reached down and squeezed my crotch. Don't come yet, Honey, there's better places to put that stuff than in your pants." She turned to Shirley, "What's the matter with you, Shirley, you still keeping that thing zipped up for your lost cause of an old man? Shit by the time he gets back again, that pussy of yours will be all shriveled up. This guy could keep it exercised for you. Your old man would probably thank him."

Shirley leaned to me and said, "The rest of Tampa is going to be dull after this place."

We finally did get a beer, but Millie and Jonah had us come back to his office where he pulled out a bottle of Jack and passed around some paper cups with the dark liquid in it. Millie sat down in a big overstuffed chair and spread her legs, raising them and putting them over the arms. She reached down and scratched her hairy spot and played with her clit as she drank her drink with her other hand.

Shirley said, "My God, Millie, you are the most uncouth bitch I've ever seen. This guy hasn't hardly even met you and you're showin' off your nasty pussy."

"Honey, no need in me being bashful. I'm wantin' him to get a good look at what Jonah gets. If your man is good I might let him sample a little. Perhaps a little taste, but I save the bonus stuff for my stud."

Jonah laughed, "Chuck, she's all woman. I think you saw that when she came in the door. There's no one like my Millie."

"Millie," Jonah said, "This guy is a Marine. So if you're going to give up some leg, he should be the candidate."

Millie smiled, "I'll stick to what I know is good and tease the rest. You don't mind me teasin' you a little do you, Chuck?"

I nodded.

"He don't talk much either, does he?" Millie directed that to Shirley.

"So far he ain't a talker."

"Well take him home and enjoy him, he might use that mouth for something better."

We went back out to the bar and enjoyed the crowd for a while. Shirley grabbed my wrist and looked at my watch. "Come on, let's get home. I might get a call between now and one. That's when he calls when he does. I like to be there for him if he does call."

I said goodbye to Jonah and got a bear hug and smooch from Millie. She whispered in my ear. "Jonah said we could get together. Ditch your babe and see Jonah. If he says you're good for it, I'm ready, Honey, just name the time she teased, I think."

Shirley and I left while I was still gawking at the huge luscious Millie.

At home, I chained up the bike while Shirley went next door. I had just gone inside when Shirley came back, carrying a portable phone. "If he calls, I can answer it over here as well as at home. You have any more beer left?"

I opened the last two beers and handed her one. Shirley pointed toward the back of the buildings, "Right between those buildings is a liquor store. They have cold beer too. They're open till two if you want to get some more beer or some booze."

I nodded, then asked, "Do you want some liquor? Something besides beer?"

"Not really, but that Jack tasted pretty good tonight. We shouldn't drink too much of that stuff though. It'll knock you out."

I left walking as fast as I could on my good and bad foot. I picked up a twelve-pack and a fifth of Jack Daniels. When I walked in the door, Shirley was on her phone and held up a finger to her mouth to be quiet.

"Why can't you come home now, Honey, you've been gone over a month. I miss you, Baby, I need you around." A long pause. "Come home, there's probably as much work around here as anywhere." Another pause, "Whatever you say, Honey, just come home soon okay. If you don't come home soon, I'm going to have to hunt up someone to scratch my itch. Now get home before I get desperate and if you can, send me a couple of bucks okay?" Another pause, "You know I'm not working and can barely make ends meet." There was a very long pause, "Okay, Honey, love you."

I could see her now just looking at the phone before pushing the hang up button. A big tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the phone.

Shirley raised her head, sniffing back the rest of the tears. "Good, you bought some booze. I could use a little of that along with another beer."

While I poured the booze and opened a couple of bottles, Shirley was busily pulling curtains closed, pulling down the privacy shades, shutting off lights and opening up the bedroom window. When she had the back door locked she came back to me and picked up the glass. There was at least two shots in the glass, about four fingers. She downed the whole thing and took a long drink of her beer.

"Ahh, hits the spot," Shirley said. "That son-of-a-bitch is in Spokane, Washington. What the fuck is he doing up there. I recognize the area code. He's a fucking sandblaster, and there ain't no fucking big ships in Spokane fucking Washington."

Shirley sat down on the couch and began taking her hair down. "Damn, he could get plenty of work around here and on the gulf coast but he ends up all over the country. I know why the bastard doesn't have any money. He's spending it all on a bunch of cunts. That sorry son-of-a-bitch is forever chasing pussy. One of these days I'm just not going to be waiting here anymore."

Shirley was crying, but looked near sobbing. It wasn't my place to comfort her but I was dying to hold her till she felt better, more secure. She has probably gone through what she was going through for a long time.

She looked up at me and patted the sofa seat next to her. "I won't bite. Come keep me warm, I could use a hug too."

As soon as I sat down next to her, Shirley turned to me and her generous mouth captured mine in a soft lipped, moist kiss that shook me to my toes. Shirley pulled her head back and smiled, "You kiss nice too. Damn you are a sweet one."

Well, the kisses kept coming and her hand had mine pulled over a soft mound with a very firm and pointy center. We continued until Shirley pulled me up by the hand toward the bedroom and the bed. Within minutes we were undressed, my prosthetic was on the floor, and we were snuggled in bed with me enveloped within Shirley's warm arms and legs. As she kissed and petted, Shirley said, "I'm clean, just tested last week. I know you're safe since you just got out of the hospital after a year there. I think we can go bare."

It took me maybe thirty seconds to come the first time and maybe about two minutes the second and over fifteen minutes to let go of the third full load. We were both panting after the wonderful exercise of making each other feel good.

"Damn, you were storing that stuff up. I don't think I've ever felt a guy come three times without going soft. You are some kind of good lover. Now sleep. I want to feel you against my back or my front all night long. Sleep baby, I'll be right here."

Well, that's how I started my first day out on my own again. Actually a pretty good day.

I woke this morning to kisses on my neck and back. I flipped over to see Shirley smiling at me. "Did you sleep good, Baby? Did you?"

I smiled.

Shirley hugged me to her full front, feeling my morning erection poking into her. "Do you need to use the bathroom? I did already. Go and come back okay?"

I went to the john and came back to find Shirley holding up the covers for me to crawl in next to her. We kissed and hugged until my part A found her slot B and we proceeded to have a long enjoyable session. When we were laying there in our juices, Shirley said, "How about that. I didn't even give you a chance to buy some happy time with me. I just gave it away. It was worth it, though, you really made me feel good. I want more of this so rest up, Chuck. I think we need to do some more exploring."

We got up and washed off in the tiny metal shower stall. I only had the one big towel but it was enough for this morning. I needed to put towels on my list.

I told Shirley to sit at the counter and I would fix us breakfast. She asked, "What are you going to fix?"

"How about bacon, eggs, and toast. Would that do?"

"That would be great but you're not making it. I'm the cook when I'm around. If you have coffee, make it. I'll do breakfast."

Thank goodness I had bought coffee and was able to find the old fashioned drip pot. I made a pot of strong coffee and surprisingly, by the time the pot had brewed, Shirley was putting plates of food on the table.

We each had four pieces of bacon. She had two eggs but had made me three. We ate heartily until she pushed herself back and said, "Damn, that's the first good meal I've had in a week. Sure is nice to have a neighbor that feeds me. I'm going to take your five and go to the grocery later today."

I frowned, "You can't buy much with a five, Shirley."

"Bet me," She said. "I can get a bunch of rice that will last me several days. I'll get some beef base or chicken base to flavor the rice and live good until I can get some more money ahead. You're going to need to wash your sheets again so I'm ahead already. Perhaps I can help you keep getting them dirty. Maybe you didn't get a freebie after all."

While I was laughing she said, "Never tell anyone we did that, okay? I don't want my man to find out, even though he is such a jerk. I love him, Chuck, but I did enjoy fooling around with you. We'll do some more, but don't tell anyone."

I nodded.

"Well, I gotta collect everyone's laundry and get started. I like to get that stuff done before noon. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I nodded as she gave me a quick kiss on the way out the door.

I opened the front door to let the breeze flow through the apartment and cleaned up the kitchen. I gathered up the empties to take them out the back to the opening between the buildings where I had seen a dumpster.

Back home, Shirley was in the bedroom, stripping my sheets. She said, "I'll do yours with the whore's stuff, Wanda, down on the end. She has four or five sets of sheets every day. She works out of her place, so she has lots of laundry. There are two other working girls out here, but they do their own laundry. I don't think they have as much traffic as wicked Wanda does."

I made another pot of coffee and began listing more food to get. I wasn't going to let Shirley go without good food. Whether or not she spends the night, she was going to eat.

I needed a phone, so I should pick up one of those pay as you go cell phones. Next I needed to consider what I didn't really want. I needed to get a car or pickup to use to look for a job. People weren't going to like me riding up on my bike to get a job. I needed to get a computer of some kind or find a library so I could get my e-mail. My cousin and my aunt were all I had as far as relatives, and I wanted to stay in touch with them. Besides, I needed the e-mail to stay in touch with my guys who were over in Afghanistan this time.

I walked over to the Manager's apartment and rang the bell. The big guy came to the door in what looked like the same clothes from yesterday, still chewing on the cigar. "Whadaya want?"

"Do you have wireless internet out here?"

I think they heard him laugh in Orlando. "I'll tell you what though, somebody has cable road runner with a wireless router. I'm using it so if you link up, you're gold. Just don't cook the goose, okay?"

I nodded.

"If you want private internet hookup, you can order it from the cable company."

I nodded again and left.

I locked up the apartment, found Shirley and gave her a key while asking if she personally knew of anyone who sold cars or trucks. She said, "Go by Jonah's, he knows everyone and he'll steer you right."

I rode over to the little bar and went in. A bottle blonde was behind the bar and Jonah was sitting in a booth in the back, working on some books. I just waved off the barmaid and went straight back to Jonah.

Jonah looked up as I approached and said, "How're ya doin', my man? What brings you out this morning?"

"I need to buy a car or pickup. Do you personally know someone that I can deal with?"

"How about an S-10. I know someone that has a ninety-five that runs great. He's not asking much and he might go pretty low because he needs the money. You know him, too. He's the guy that was blowing his mouth off last night, Jerry."

I nodded.

"Let me call him. He lives right around the corner. We could walk over and look at it."

Jonah made the call and we walked just around the corner and met Jerry in his jeans, with no shirt or shoes. He held up the keys and said, "Take it around the block a couple of times, then we'll talk."

Jonah and I got in with me driving. I started it up and let it idle for a minute listening while it warmed up. I flipped on the air and cold air came out. I put it in gear, dropped the hand brake and felt the clutch as we pulled away. I slowly accelerated, shifted into second, third, and forth but never reaching fifth gear. The clutch felt good and the motor sounded smooth. I rolled down the window to listen while I used the brakes to slow me down to a stop. We drove back to Jerry's place and he now had shoes and a shirt on.

Jerry asked, "What do you think?"

"What kind of deal can you make, Jerry?"

"I think I should be able to get thirty-five hundred out of it."

I looked at Jerry then Jonah and said, "Let's go" and began walking off.

"Hey, where're you going?" Jerry called.

"You don't want to sell the truck do you?"

"Sure, I do, I have to sell it. I have a new one and I don't want to have to buy insurance for this any more."

"I'll give you a grand, take it or leave it," I said coldly, and turned again to walk.

"Shit, that ain't enough. You have to come up with more."

I kept walking.

"Hey, come back, I'll tell you what, how about two grand."

I kept walking.

Now Jerry was following us, "Come on, deal with me."

I stopped and said in the same even tone, "I'll give you a thousand dollars for the truck. I think that's more than fair."

Jerry kicked rocks around a couple of seconds then said, "Okay, okay, I'll take the grand. It's gotta be worth more'n that though."

"You don't have to sell it to me, Jerry. I'll keep looking. I'll find something for around a grand that will be equal to your truck."

"Enough, okay, do you have the money?"

"Do you have the title?"

We traded cash for title and I drove Jonah back to the bar. "Good job," Jonah said. "That's the way to bargain with that jerk. Actually, you paid what the truck is probably worth. But good job anyway."

We pulled my bike to the back of the bar to be safe while I took off to take care of the registration.

I drove toward the tag office again but I was watching for insurance offices on the way. I pulled into a house with a big State Farm sign. Thirty minutes later, I had insured the bike and the truck and was on my way to register the truck.

When I drove home, I went through my place and over to Shirley's and knocked on her door. She came to the door in another of her shapeless shirtwaist dresses.

I asked her, "Do you have a driver's license?"

She smiled, "Yeah, I got one, but haven't driven for a year or so."

"Do you think you could drive a pickup back from Jonah's?"

Shirley smiled again, "I could, where did you get a pickup truck?"

"Jerry had one he needed to sell, so we made a deal."

"At least that prick has something of value," Shirley spit out. "Did you slap him a couple of times to make a deal?"

"It was a fair deal. When could you go over there with me? Would now be good?"

Shirley nodded, "Now would be good. Let me get my purse and lock up, do you have your bike or the pickup in front?"

I nodded saying "Pickup" before Shirley went into her house, closing her door.

We met in front of the apartments and I opened the passenger door for her to get in the truck. She said, "Thank you, that's gentlemanly to do that."

I nodded and got in to drive to the bar. Not having thought of it, I asked Shirley, "Do you know how to drive a standard shift?"

"Yeah, I can do that. That's all I've really ever driven."

Inside the bar, we had the daytime barmaid give us each a beer. We drank our beer and munched on some free peanuts. While we were sitting there, I asked Shirley, "Would you do me a favor?"

She looked at me warily, but said, "Whatcha need?"

"I can cook for myself, but not very good. I'm going to get tired of frozen dinners pretty quick. You did breakfast real good, so how about we make a deal. I'll take you to the grocery store and you pick out the stuff we would need to eat for say a week. Get enough for our evening meals and some stuff for lunch, like lunch meat and soup, or something like that. I guess we should include more breakfast stuff too. Then the deal is you cook and I'll pop for the food. This way we both get a decent meal. What do you think?"

Shirley grinned and frowned at the same time, "You tryin' to make a welfare case out of me or tryin' to find a live-in?"

"No, neither one. Speaking of welfare, you know I need to go to the aid office for food stamps. I'll bet I'm more than eligible. You might be too. I think I can file for unemployment now too. With my VA benefit, unemployment, plus food stamps, it might be enough to carry me through for a while."

Shirley asked, "You really going to ask for food stamps?"

"Sure, why not. We can get all of our staples and fresh food items with them. I've paid my taxes, so I might as well get some benefit until I can get regular work. I ain't exactly rolling in money and I've spent a lot yesterday and today. I figured I needed the truck for transportation to work if I get a dress up job. I'm not going to be too picky though, so I'll take anything I'm physically capable of doing."

I asked her again, "Would you be willing to barter, I'll buy, you cook, we both eat?"

"Shit yes, if you feed me I might even get some meat on these bones," Shirley said. "It'll be a good deal for me so I can save all my laundry money for rent."

We finished our beer and I gave her the truck keys before I went out the back to take the bike back in front. I told Shirley, "Let's stop at the store on the way home and get a couple of days' food. I'll go to the aid office tomorrow. They might get me started out fast since I'm an ex-GI."

We bought the bare essentials, but it looked to be enough to feed both of us for a couple of days. Since it was now getting toward supper, Shirley said she would cook up supper now and finish her laundry afterward.

She cooked some spaghetti and meatballs. We had a salad before and some canned peas to go with it. It was a decent meal. When we finished, I motioned for her to go do her stuff and I would clean up. There was enough left over to put in the refrigerator for lunch tomorrow for at least one of us.

When I was done, I walked back to the laundry room to see if anyone had left a newspaper back there. There was one, so I waved at Shirley and carried the classified section back to the apartment.

There were not many jobs available, but there were some driving jobs. I couldn't do deliveries because I probably couldn't pick up much over seventy or eighty pounds. I had found out in rehab that it hurt like hell to try to carry too much. There were some over the road jobs, but I didn't want to do that. As far as skilled labor, there wasn't anything there either. I was looking at the welding trade as I know I can do that. Nothing. Maybe the unemployment people would have some listings.

I browsed the rest of the ads and wondered what it would be like to sell cars or to work in an office as a truck dispatcher or this one that was a 911 operator. In the medical area there were some jobs listed for the veterans' hospital. I'll bet I would get some preference for out there. I was going to have to go out there anyway, so I might as well ask while I'm there.

I made a list. Unemployment Office. Welfare Office. Veterans Hospital.

Shirley knocked on the door and walked in, wearing a terrycloth robe with her hair wrapped in a towel. "Got a beer for your cook?"

I nodded and pulled two cans from the fridge. While I was doing that, Shirley pulled out a small chocolate cake from the fridge with what looked like creamy icing on it. "Want some dessert. I got this cake for us."

We ate cake, drank our beer and discussed my list and what I had found in the classifieds.

The woman said, "You're going to busy tomorrow. You best go to bed early. What say I give you a nice massage to put you to sleep? If I stay here, it'll be faster for me to make breakfast for you in the morning."

I smiled and went to brush my teeth before bed. By the time I had taken care of the getting ready for bed business, Shirley had the place closed up and windows open, sitting on the bed with the sheet and spread turned back, brushing her hair. I stripped down to my under drawers and lay on the bed.

"You didn't wear shorts to bed last night, is that the way you're going to sleep?"

I looked at her and pulled them off and tossed them toward the closet and lay back down on my front.

Shirley began a gentle message with some kind of oil. The longer she worked on my back muscles the harder she dug, loosening and massaging each muscle group. She worked down my butt then my thighs down to my legs. She wacked me on the butt and said, "roll over."

I was almost too sleepy and relaxed to roll over. She worked from my feet up passing over my middle and went straight to my arms working to the shoulders and then chest. She commented, "You've been working out a lot. You're going to have to find a gym or Y nearby to keep in shape."

I was so relaxed that when Shirley did some moving around, I didn't even open my eyes.

She worked down my chest area gently rubbed my stomach and with both hands she took my penis and gently stroked it up and down. As it grew, she used one hand to stroke me and her other hand to hold and gently caress and squeeze my balls. Just when I thought the massage was going to end, her warm moist mouth slid over the head. With a lot of saliva she licked, sucked, and rubbed the head of my dick, while her one hand gently stroked up and down and the other fondled my sac. Shirley knew how to make a man feel good. She would massage the head of dick with her mouth, teasing the underside, then slide her mouth down over me slowly till I could feel the end of my dick begin to slide into her throat.

She did this repeatedly until I reached up and rubbed her shoulder and said, "Enough, Shirley, I'm right there."

Shirley didn't stop but slowly increased her tempo until my body arched from the bed as I fountained multiple jets of sperm into her mouth. She continued to milk, suck, stroke, and squeeze everything I had from me, before she gently pulled off, laying my now limp dick down. Shirley reached down and pulled the covers over us snuggling into me with a leg over mine and an arm over my middle while on her side, laying her head on my shoulder.

"That was wonderful," I said, as I turned my head and kissed her forehead. I reached over and turned her face up to me and kissed Shirley very enthusiastically, thanking her for such wonderful treatment. She resisted me as I tried to use my tongue, then finally opened her mouth to exchange tongues. I could taste me in her mouth.

This did something to her as she rolled completely on top me, straddling my hips. Shirley held herself over me, holding herself up with her hands while looking at me. Her hair fell around our faces, shielding us from the world. "That is so sexy that you would kiss me. You kissed me after I swallowed."

Shirley reached between us and massaged my limp manhood and said, "Would you mind if I got you back up?"

I kissed her again very enthusiastically to let her know that would be wonderful.

Let it be said that an experienced woman with knowledge of a man's body can make it do whatever she wants it to do. If she wants you hard, you are steel. I was tempered steel as Shirley let herself slide down on me.

Shirley rode me for fifteen or twenty minutes before I rolled us over to be on top. I went from gentle stroking to pounding, until we were both sweating, exploding in orgasm, totally spent. Once again we lay together with Shirley on her side snuggled to me and her head on my shoulder.

In a minute, we were both asleep.



-------

Chapter 2



The next morning I was up, showered, fed, and on the way to the unemployment office by seven. I found the place easier than I thought I would. It didn't open until eight, so I stood by the door using my aluminum cane to lean on. Several people came up to the door and rattled it. When I pointed to the sign with my cane that gave the hours they each cursed turned and walked away. My thought was no sense in leaving if this was where you needed to be.

When the door opened, I spotted a take a number machine so I pulled the first tab available and stood by an aisle as I thought I would be called first. No such luck. My number was one seventy-three and the number called was one fifty-one. An older man in work clothes got up and went to the window. I had not thought that people from the day before had numbers and were going to be waiting this morning. Nothing left to do but sit down and wait.

With eight workers interviewing applicants, it only took forty-five minutes to be called. After explaining my position, the lady handed me a stack of forms and told me to fill them out and bring them back to her. I only needed to come up and stand near her window and she would help me as soon as the person she was working with left.

It took over a half-hour to fill out all of the forms. Once the woman was helping me again, she said I might not be eligible for benefits as I was receiving a benefit from the Veterans administration. She went to check with her supervisor, came back to tell me that I was entitled to unemployment benefits, and would receive my first check two weeks from the date of my discharge.

When she acted as if I were dismissed, I asked, "Don't you folks also help unemployed people find a job? Most of the information I just filled out is like a job application."

She looked at me as if I had a big pimple on my nose then said, "Do you really want to find a job?"

"Yes ma'am, I do. If you look at the forms I do have several qualifications that would suit me to many jobs. When I was looking at the classified ads last night there weren't any that looked like I would be qualified for."

"Let me assign you to a career counselor so you can be guided in the right direction." The lady picked up her phone, spoke a few minutes and wrote a name and number on a pad.

She tore off the top piece of paper from the pad and handed it to me. "Please go to the third floor and speak with Lorna Williams in room 312. Ms. Williams is a career counselor for military personnel re-entering the work force."

I nodded, smiled, and made my way toward a sign that said "Elevator."

Room 312 had a closed door, so I knocked on the door and waited for someone to grant me entry. I knocked again but much louder and waited again listening.

A short fat little man with Coke bottle glasses opened the door next to the 312 and said, "Lorna is not here. She just left on break. If you will come back in a half hour, she should be back."

I looked up and down the hallway and didn't see any chairs and didn't remember any in the elevator vestibule. I decided to just stand there and wait, thinking that it was pretty rude to know someone is on their way up to see you, and to take off like that.

Forty-five minutes later the little fat man came out of his office and looked at me. "Did you just come back or have you been here all this time?"

I didn't answer but waited, listening for what he had to say. He raised his eyebrows and said, "You must have missed her as she came back from her break but just left for the day to take care of personal business."

You know the feeling, a cross between anger, disappointment, and frustration. It makes you shiver with the cold anger that swirls through your body.

I nodded then went to the elevators and went back to stand at the clerk's window I had been served at originally. When the person she had been helping left she asked me what the problem was.

After explaining what had just transpired she picked up her phone and made a call. While she was talking, I could see her face turn red as she became perturbed. I heard her ask, "Where the hell are you? You're not in your office as a man with a bad leg and cane waited for you to come back from your break. How did I just call you and where the hell are you?"

The worker listened for a few minutes before slamming the phone down. She pointed her finger at my side of the counter and said, "You stay right where you are. I have to see my supervisor."

Less than five minutes later, another lady came to the window with the worker and said, "Mr. Johnson, I'm sorry you had to wait for someone that wasn't present. Could you give us your phone number and we will call you with an appointment time?"

I closed my eyes and opened them slowly, "I don't have a phone and probably can't afford one for a while or at least until I can get a job. I need to work to feed myself. I used most of my exit money to rent a place to live, purchase transportation, and some clothes from Goodwill so I can get a job and have a way to get to it. Please, do you by any chance have a job for someone right here?"

The supervisor looked at me funny, "Would you work here? In an office, helping unemployed people? It's not the best place in the world to work?"

I wasn't trying to be a wise guy, but I had to ask, "Do you get paid, do you have a nice home with a telephone?"

She almost frowned then smiled and asked, "Can you type?"

I nodded.

"Would you take an aptitude and typing test?"

I nodded again.

The lady laughed and said, "Perhaps you need to have a talking examination instead of a typing test. Come with me. Go to the far end where there is a gate and come through there."

The supervisor had garnered my stack of forms that I had filled out and led me to a small conference room. She seated me, left, and returned with a file folder. She handed me three number two pencils and a group of forms and said, "Please take your time and answer each of these questions to the best of your ability. This is an aptitude questionnaire. It is designed to identify your most effective work areas. There is no time limit. If you need to use the restroom, there is one out this door and to your right. There is also a drinking fountain there. Please see me in my office when you're finished. It is the first door on your left."

There were six sheets of paper with questions on each side. The print was very small and a little smudged. If you didn't have good eyesight, it would be impossible to complete the forms.

There were no trick questions, but they did ask the same thing in different ways about ten times for every question. It took an hour and fifteen minutes to complete all the questions. It was now eleven fifty and people would be going to lunch. I went next door, fully expecting the supervisor to be gone to lunch.

The door was open, so I knocked on the door jam. She looked up and said, "Come in." She held her hand out for the papers and said, "Please sit for a minute."

While sitting I watched as she took a form with holes in it and began counting where I had filled in the little box. Her desk was reasonably neat with some file folders and a pad. There was a large name display. It said, "Metarie White."

I had to smile as Metarie White was a very, very dark skinned lady. She was an, what should she be called now, African American? Black? To me she was just a person, so she was just Ms. White.

It seemed to take as long to grade and define the test as it did to take it. She looked up and asked, "Are you familiar with a computer keyboard?"

I nodded.

"Yes ma'am would do better than a nod, Mr. Johnson."

"Yes ma'am."

She chuckled. "Please have a seat at the computer to your right. Turn it on and when it finishes booting I'll tell you the program to use."

One thing the Marines do have is computers. They have computers in the barracks, computers in the library, computers in the day rooms, even computers in the chow hall. If you didn't know how to boot up a computer and read directions, you would never know what you were assigned to do from day to day.

Upon boot up, I asked and was told what program to use. Ms. White told me to put on the headset and use the mouse to start the test. She said the first one would be to let me warm up and the second would be the timed event.

Hallelujah, I had done something right in high school. I had taken two computer classes. The first semester was only typing, next we learned how various programs worked.

Upon completing the typing test, a full screen came on with the number ninety-six flashing on the screen. When I turned to advise Ms. White, she was already looking and said, "Hit escape." She paused and gave me another program to find. There wasn't a screen icon for it, so I had to go to the XP program list to find it.

Once I had the program booted, Ms. White reached over my shoulder and asked me to enter the information she had derived when she graded my aptitude questionnaire.

This took almost fifteen minutes. I clicked on the "submit" icon and a printer next to Ms. White's desk whirred and spit out several printed sheets.

She looked over them and occasionally kept referring to the application form that I had filled out downstairs.

"I know you have not had lunch, Mr. Johnson, so would you like to accompany me to the restaurant next door. The big rush should just about be over, so we should be able to get a table. Let me take these with me." She gathered up all the papers she had held and put them in a folder." As she got up from her desk, she said, "This will be Dutch. I'm not allowed to buy lunch for a prospective employee or an existing employee."

I nodded, but said, "Yes ma'am."

Metarie White smiled broadly that I had answered her.

The restaurant was a cross between a self-serve cafeteria and a serving line. I chose a Cuban sandwich that a cafeteria worker put into the presser for me. I also bought a large ice tea.

Upon sitting down, Ms. White said, "You have good manners, Mr. Johnson. You held every door, you had me precede you in the serving line, and finally you even seated me at the table. Manners are important and I look for them in prospective employees. Your aptitude questionnaire says you would do well in our environment and that you would make a good team member, as well as an eventual leader. You do not have any experience other than your military training and combat experience. You did not finish a degree in school, but you scored very high in the general knowledge area which is usually only accomplished after finishing a degree program. Eat up Mr. Johnson and let me think about this."

We ate leisurely without stuffing our food into our mouths and gulping it down. After wiping her mouth with her napkin and laying it on her plate, I asked, "Can I get us a cup of coffee or would that make us late returning?"

"That would be wonderful. Black, please, and this is still part of the interview process."

Back at the table, we were sipping our coffee when Ms. White began, "I'm reluctant to hire you as a general clerk as it is really boring, plus you have to deal with some unsavory people every day. I have need for a new person to help military people re-enter the work force, but that position is posted requiring a degree in human resources. You recognize that you have to work to earn money to enjoy life, so you are more than halfway to getting a job. Now, I just have to find a place for you."

She drank some more of her coffee and said, "I need a temporary secretarial staff member for about sixty days. The permanent secretary is out on maternity leave. This position also requires substituting as an interview clerk to give breaks in the morning and afternoon. You will work one hour, giving four breaks in the morning, and one hour in the afternoon, giving four breaks then as well. I'll send you out to work with the window clerks a full day before you have to relieve anyone. If you work fast, you will finish one person at each substitution. The first few days you will be longer trying to get the interview complete, but you will become quick very fast."

"The secretarial position requires some transcription, filling out forms, filing, answering calls for your immediate supervisor, and assisting your supervisor to fulfill their responsibilities. What do you think; want to work as a secretary to see how you react to an office?"

I didn't frown, but I must have had a sour look on my face, "What would this temporary position pay? I'm sure it would be at least what unemployment pays and I wouldn't have to go get food stamps."

"Temps begin at twelve dollars an hour, with permanent secretarial and interview clerks earning up to eighteen dollars an hour. You will receive an extra two dollars a day for working two hours at the window. That position pays a dollar an hour premium."

It didn't take me long to figure out I could live on the four eighty a week, but I thought I could probably eventually find a better job. I needed to go to the VA hospital to get checked in and to get my health club membership for continued rehab. That would be a life time freebie.

"Ms. White, I will take your position and consider it temporary while I seek better employment. I need the job and you need the worker. I'm sure I will fulfill the responsibilities the job requires. I can start in the morning if you wish but this afternoon I have to go to the VA to check in and to find a new gym for my rehab."

"Good, come to the back door by seven-fifty in the morning and come to my office. I will have you sign your W-4 and we will get you started."

We stood and I escorted her back to her door, going out to my pickup a little lighter on my feet. I would have a job to take up some slack on finances. I'd sure like to keep my little savings intact in case I need something for a rainy day.

The VA experience was a total wait and see. It took an hour wait to get my interview and a new card, and it took another hour to get in to see the clerk who gave me a local "Lifestyles" gym card. She said that if I would prefer Gold's Gym or the YMCA, I could switch, but Lifestyles were all over the area and had a contract with the VA.

When I finished, I found the employment office and asked for an application. After I filled it out, the clerk looked up my DD214 on the computer and said, "The only thing we have open right now is on the security team. I don't think you would qualify with your disability. They are regular policemen out here and have to do what a regular policeman does. I will keep your application and send it around. As you get other outside experience, come back and update your application, okay?"

That was disappointing. A guy doesn't like to be told that "you can't do something physically."

Oh well, it was five-fifteen, time to go home and have a beer.

I parked the truck in front of the apartment and went into the stuffy place. I propped the front door open, and opened the back door and the bedroom window. I checked the bike to make sure it was still there before I went to the fridge to get a beer. Thinking about it, I got two out and went to Shirley's back door to bang on it. Before I knocked, I could see her at an ironing board working on a shirt. She had the radio on a country station, listening to someone wail. I called out, "Hey Shirley, want a beer?"

She jumped, set the iron down, and hung up the shirt. She came out the back door and sat in a lawn chair, pointing at another one sitting across from her.

It took the whole beer to tell her what all I had done and that I was employed as of tomorrow morning. It wasn't a big wage, but it would do until I found something better. I figured if I was working at the employment office, I would have a lot opportunity to find out about jobs. I would also have time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Shirley was the smart one as she asked, "What kind of clothes do you have to wear to this job?"

My face must have told the story as all I could remember was men in shirts and ties and in one case a guy in a dressy shirt without a tie. All had on decent slacks and dress shoes.

Shirley said, "Come on, lets go up to the thrift store real quick to see if we can find some pants and shirts in your size. If they don't have anything we'll still have time to run to Wal-Mart for something."

Shirley locked her place up and I did the same, remembering to shut the bedroom window. The thrift store wasn't far and was about the same as the Goodwill, but bigger. Their hand-me-downs were not in as good a shape as those at the Goodwill, but it could have been because they were picked through faster.

We did find two pair of slacks that fit and three dress shirts that were still nice, plus Shirley found some ties that were very nice. The shoe bin was just that. There were several bins of shoes. A bin for each size but they were still pretty mixed up. I gave up after fifteen minutes, saying that my military dress shoes will work. They are already shiny and are easy to cleanup.

Shirley had found a pair of jeans and a tank top for herself, along with another dress of the type she likes. I paid for everything and we headed back to the apartment. Shirley said she needed to get my stuff in the washer real quick, as the pants needed to be hung to dry. She had me get out of the clothes I wore today so she could wash them as well, so if I needed to, I could wear them in the morning.

I started dinner, but was stopped and told in a very firm voice that she would be back to fix dinner soon. She told me to have a beer and watch TV or something.

I put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and did as directed. I opened a beer and sat on the couch watching the cable news channel. Nothing happening, just the usual, the new prez is trying to get out of Iraq as fast as he can tuck his tail between his legs and run, because all of his supporters expect him to do that. I think the man knows our presence there is important and that we should remain for a while, if for no other reason, to help teach the Iraq Army what to do. War and politics suck. War isn't important if nothing is getting blown up in front of people. But let the war be far away and we forget about why we are fighting because it doesn't keep us from getting our Latte or see that special movie.

After supper, I asked Shirley if she was up for a ride to Jonah's and she said she was, but wanted to be back in about an hour and a half as she needed to get my clothes ready for in the morning.

We rode down to Jonah's and had a beer. The place wasn't as crowded and Shirley and I actually got to shoot a game of pool. We had a second beer before we split for home. Nice to get out and ride a little.

At home, I washed up the dishes while Shirley was doing whatever she was doing with clothes.

About ten, Shirley came in carrying my new stuff on hangers. It looked good enough to think it might be pretty new. I thanked Shirley and gave her a ten asking if that was enough. She laughed and said, "Yep, ten bucks, a full belly, a full pussy, and a warm cuddly bed to sleep in. Well worth it."

I laughed, "So I'm the one selling favors now?"

Shirley laughed and said, "I'm definitely a buyer. Let me go shower and I'll be right back. Wait for me."

I locked up the front, checked the lock on the bike, opened the bedroom window, and shut off most of the lights. I had just sat down in front of the TV when Shirley came back, in her robe with her towel turban. We sat on the couch and watched TV as I brushed out her hair. After a while, Shirley asked if I wanted a massage, but I said, "Let's just cuddle up and get some sleep. You've had a big day too from all that laundry I saw in your place."

"I've got three more people giving me stuff. This will really take care of my bills. Since you're helping with food, I'm set. If my Bubba decides to come home it's going to play hell with my diet, but he usually comes home with a stash and stays till he runs out from smoking it up or drinking it up. I don't know why, but I really do love that guy. Maybe one of these days he'll settle down."

I was holding Shirley with her head against my shoulder when I noticed her breathing change. She was asleep. I closed my eyes and joined her.



-------

Chapter 3



I was up at six thirty, showered, but ate a prepared breakfast before dressing in color co-ordinated clothes Shirley handed to me. I tied the tie and checked out the stranger in the mirror. Some guy I didn't know.

Shirley asked, "I have a key so I can clean this place up. You can give me twenty-five a week for housekeeping now that you have a job. That way I'll have your supper ready for you when you get home, okay?"

She already had the key, but I was having some misgivings. Were we getting too close? Time would tell.

When I went to Ms. White's office at seven forty-five, she said, "Good morning, Mr. Johnson. May I call you Chuck?"

I nodded, then after she looked at me, I smiled and said, "Yes ma'am."

"Okay, sign these papers and I'll show you where your desk is."

Once Ms. White had the papers in the folder with my name on it, we went next to her office at a desk that butted up against her office wall. "This will be where you will work most of the time. You will be answering the phone for me, as well as the other normal secretarial duties."

An older lady came in and sat at a desk just opposite mine. Ms. White said, "Julie, I want you to meet Chuck Johnson. Chuck, Julie Preston. She is Ms. Castle's secretary. When I'm unavailable for questions, Julie would be a great person to ask."

Julie Preston at first had a scowl on her face, but was smiling from the compliment.

Ms. White said, "I need to take you out to the counters and let you work with the girls out there today. You'll work out there all of today to learn the procedures. Tomorrow we'll go on a more regular schedule."

Out behind the counter, Ms. White called all of the clerks to her and said quickly, "Before we open this morning, I want to introduce Mr. Chuck Johnson. He will be my new temp while my secretary is out on maternity leave. This morning I want him to work with you Francine and you Marsha. This afternoon we'll pick two more of you to teach him. Teach him well so he can relieve you for breaks."

The person Ms. White had pointed to as Francine came to me and said, "Let's get to my window and start. Just listen and watch while I do the first one. I'll explain each form as I go along so you'll have an idea."

Her area was neat and orderly. On her right was a set of bins like you would see at a post office where mail was sorted into. Each bin was labeled with numbers 1 through sixty. Wow! Sixty different forms.

The first person was a girl that had been laid off from Albertson's as they had closed some stores. Francine pointed at a form that was under glass on her counter. Under her nail it said, "Standard first file," listing the number one. Francine reached up to the top left of her sorting bins and pulled out form number one. She handed it to the girl and said to go fill it out and come back to the window and wait till Francine was done with the person she was helping.

Francine turned to me and said, "It'll get busier and the forms harder, just wait for it."

She looked down at her computer and it had a number flashing on it. Francine pointed at that number, picked up her phone and dialed, announcing over the PA the number that was flashing on the screen to come to her counter number.

The next soul came to the window, told about the same story, and received form number one and was told to go fill it out.

When someone came back with the form filled out, the information was typed into the computer. The screens were easy and had directions throughout.

This went on until ten when Francine said, "I guess you can handle this fifteen minutes. I'll be right back."

I was able to handle a citizen and a half before Francine got back. She took over and told me to go to the next booth to relieve a girl name Betty. Betty turned the window over to me halfway through going through a filled out form, telling me she would be back.

At ten-thirty, I moved another notch down and relieved Mary, and at ten forty-five I relieved June. When I went back to Francine at eleven, she took me to Marsha who said, "You're lucky, Chuck. You only have to work with me for an hour before I go to lunch. I suppose Ms. White will take you for another interview and get you back on time."

I said, "She doesn't go till almost one."

Marsha said, "She is the smart one around here.

Ms. White and I did go to lunch together again. She asked me about my military career and commented that her husband had wanted to be career air force, but his football career interrupted that plan. When we returned to work, she put me with another set of clerks to work with.

By five, I was tired and my stub was sore from being on my feet all day. Ms. White told me to see her in the morning and she would give me a time card to use from now on.

When I got to the apartment, the front door was open and good smells greeted me. I walked in and Shirley said, "Open a couple of beers and sit. Supper is just about ready."

I had just sat down with a couple of beers when Shirley brought two plates with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. She put a bowl of gravy on the table and sat down. "How's that. Good timing, if I do say so myself."

We ate and chatted with Shirley telling me the apartment complex gossip and commenting on the clothes she had laundered. She said, "I separated your clothes into groups in your closet so you know what goes with what. I'll switch the ties around so you will give a different appearance most every day."

After supper, I did the dishes while she took the clothes I had worn that day with her as she went to do more laundry. She was a hard worker. It seemed she put in a long day almost every day.

When I went outside to find Shirley to tell her I was going for a ride, she said she was going to stay home because she thought her old man would call early tonight.

I rode around the city sightseeing and made my way back to Jonah's. There I had a beer, shot some pool, joked with the barmaid, and had a fun conversation with big Millie. I asked her where there was a Lifestyle gym and she gave me directions to the nearest one saying, "I go every evening after work. I go from about five thirty to six thirty or seven. I probably ought to eat first, but I eat afterward."

Perhaps tomorrow I would eat later and go to the gym after work. I had my gym shorts and shirts, along with socks and sneakers, so I didn't need to buy anything. I planned on going the next night.

At the apartment after I parked the bike and went inside, there was a note from Shirley on the counter that said she would see me in the morning. I got out my gym clothes and sneakers so they would be out in the morning and went to bed. I slept well.

I woke to a slow soft blowjob. When I opened my eyes, Shirley was grinning at me, "Give me my breakfast before I make yours." She had me close enough that it only took a minute or two more for me to be filling her mouth. I tried to pull her over me, but she gave me a quick kiss pushing me away and said to get ready for work and she would have breakfast for me as soon as I shaved and showered.

For breakfast, we ate pancakes and sausages, a good breakfast. Shirley said, "I noticed some gym clothes on the dresser, when are you going to go?"

I said, "I thought that I would go after work. It's sort of on the way home, so I'll stop there for an hour or so. That will get me here by near seven. If that's too late, I can start getting up an hour and a half earlier and go in the mornings, but I do need to go for my rehab."

"Okay, I'll plan on us eating around seven then. That'll be good because I can probably finish all my laundry before you get through at the gym." Shirley paused and said, "Do you want to take a couple of meatloaf sandwiches with you today? I made a big meatloaf so there would be enough for sandwiches and another meal."

"Sounds good," I said. "That'll save me the price of a Cuban."

This day was different. The morning was spent typing a bunch of letters for Ms. White, plus answering calls for her. Most of them I passed into her, but some were bullshit calls that had nothing to do with business, just solicitations.

I did the mid-morning breaks, and later ate lunch with Julie Preston at our desks. She told me all about working for the state agency and that it was pleasant to have someone across from her that was there to work and not just gab all day. Neither one us gave out any personal information, but we had a decent chat while eating.

She left to go somewhere for the rest of her lunch hour, so I went to the group that was in charge of finding prospective employers to see what kind of jobs they had available. Larry, a guy with a lot of female mannerisms, gave me a ton of information. He was actually pretty. If he had been wearing women's clothes, I probably would have flirted. As it was, it was tempting except that it kept coming back to the fact that he was a guy not a girl.

Later, back at my desk, Julie said, "I heard you met Larry. Did he make a pass?"

"Sort of, but not overtly. He was very nice and helpful. I probably shouldn't tell you this but if he had been wearing girl's clothes, I might have flirted."

Julie laughed, "He is cute. I bet he doesn't have any problems finding boyfriends."

After work, I fought traffic to the gym and had to go through registration confirmation at the desk. This was this location's first VA registration, so they had to keep making calls on how to handle the paperwork. It took forty-five minutes for the bullshit, but I still wanted some exercise. I changed, and used the treadmill for twenty minutes, getting a ton of stares because of the shiny metal extension on my right leg. I used the machines for fifteen minutes before I grabbed my clothes and headed home. Millie never did show up. I made the mental note to get a gym bag and lock for a locker.

Shirley had supper waiting. We had warmed up meatloaf, boiled potatoes, and corn. After supper, Shirley asked if I was going riding and I said I might. She said she wanted to go with me if I did, so I told her that we would do it after we both got on some riding clothes.

When we took off Shirley gave me directions to another bar back toward downtown. The place was a more commercial biker bar that was fairly standard, except this one had a liquor bar instead of just beer and wine. Shirley introduced me to several people as new to the area and her new neighbor. I noticed that several of the guys were wearing colors of a national club. It wasn't uncomfortable, but I sure knew I was being sized up.

When it was getting late, I told Shirley it was time to go. She said one of the guys there would give her a ride home so I nodded and left. I had been home for about forty-five minutes and was in bed already when I heard a bike come up out front and leave. Less than five minutes later, Shirley came in the back door and crawled into bed.

"That was perfect. I let one of my old man's brothers give me a ride home so when he checks up on me, he'll hear that you weren't acting like you were owning me. The guys even asked me to tell you that you were welcome to come by their clubhouse if you wanted. I told them you were a vet with a bad leg, and they said you were still welcome. If you want my advice, you can be friends with those guys, but don't go joining a bike club. Too much trouble."

Shirley began making overtures of fooling around. I'm not fool. A little nooky before going to sleep would be nice. When we got down to me getting ready to enter her, Shirley stopped me and put a rubber on me, "Use this, it'll make you last longer."

We thumped and bumped for a good while and after a very nice finish, I got up and flushed the rubber down the toilet. Back in bed Shirley said, "And no big wet spot either, saves on the laundry."

Friday morning I was up, fed, and at work by seven forty-five. Julie came in and asked me if I wanted coffee. "Sure, where should I go to get it?"

"Come with me, I'll show you our lunchroom. Ms. White is being derelict in her duties."

Julie took me to the lunchroom where Larry was standing at the fancy coffee maker. When he saw me, he hurriedly poured me a cup. When I handed that one to Julie, he actually blushed and poured another for me. Larry asked in a husky voice, "Do you want cream or sugar?"

"Black is fine." I asked Julie, "Can we have coffee at our desks?"

Larry put his hand on my arm that wasn't holding the cup and said, "Employees are allowed coffee and soft drinks at their desk. You just have to be careful to not spill liquid on your keyboard or phone."

Julie was about to laugh at how aggressive Larry was being, but I took care of the situation by saying, "Then I'll get another cup for Ms. White and we can go back to our desks. I have a ton of work to do today."

Poor Larry looked disappointed that I was leaving so quickly, but it was getting close to starting time anyway.

I had just put Ms. White's coffee on her desk when she walked in. "Why thank you, Chuck. That was nice of you. Coffee would be good this morning."

"Ms. White, I keep forgetting to ask you for the time card and where would the time clock be?"

"Oh darn, I forgot to give you a card. Well today is Friday so you will be making up the new ones, so I'll just hand write one for you for your three days. Today is the end of this two-week pay cycle so you will receive a check next Friday. Monday you and I will go over time cards and run them through the payroll program. The state will print up those checks that are not direct deposited, and by probably Thursday or Friday, the checks will be here to be picked up or mailed. Get started on whatever you have to do and I'll bring out the materials for the time cards."

Ms. White came to my desk in about ten minutes to have me access a program on our network. She gave me her password to get into it and had me access the list of current employees. We went through the names as she checked them off her list. My name was in the J's so I was happy to see I was already entered into the system. Ms. White stopped me at my name and typed in my three days' hours and entered my rate of pay where she entered fourteen dollars instead of twelve. She looked at me and smiled, "You've been to work on time and have completed everything I asked, plus I'm told you are an asset out at the counter. You deserve more than twelve."

They had a special printer for time cards. Ms. White showed me where the cards were stored. We watched as the little laser printer spit out cards at phenomenal speed. When it was done, Ms. White took me back by the lunchroom and showed me the time clock and the rack where the cards were displayed. All were labeled alphabetically using the person's last name, except for an area labeled Temps.

"Put the cards into the spaces labeled, then for the cards with the red printing at the top that say Temps, you can put those in any order. Put the new ones behind the same names on this week's."

She reached up and pulled off three names and said, "Those three no longer work here, so if you have a card for any of them just bring it back to me."

By the time I was finished with the time cards, it was time for me to give the morning breaks, so I hustled out to the counters for the ten o'clock break. An hour later, I went back to give Ms. White the three cards that were extra from the people who no longer worked for the department.

In a blink of an eye, it was lunchtime and Julie said, "Let's eat in the lunchroom. I'm dying to see what Larry does next."

"I don't know, Julie. It's not nice to tease someone like that. He may get the wrong idea and I have to tell you, I really like what women have to offer."

"It'll be alright, I'll protect you," Julie said. "Besides you need to meet some of the other women who work here. There are some really nice cute single girls that work here too. As much as that matters, there are some married women that will do more than flirt with you as well."

My lunch today was two meatloaf sandwiches again. That meatloaf went a long way. Today, I also had a Coke, a bag of chips, and a good time talking to and being flirted with by lots of women. It was already common knowledge that a disabled vet was a temp for Ms. White. They knew I was single, that I had lost a leg, and all my personal information.

"How do you guys know so much about me?" I asked, in general.

I cute little black chick across from me blushed and said, "You're in the computer. Everything you put on your application is there so any of us can read it."

Julie quickly said, "We're not supposed to use that information for personal use, but it's okay for us to just look."

I nodded smiling and continued eating.

Julie said, "As you can see, he doesn't talk much. It's amazing how much more work I get done with him over there instead of our girl Gabby. When she comes back, she'll be so full of stories it'll take a week before I get anything done."

The little girl across from me asked, "Are you going out doing anything tonight or tomorrow night?"

I looked at her trying to figure out why she would ask, "Probably, why? Do you want to take me somewhere?"

This time she really blushed. I always think it's cute the way black chicks blush. They are more purple than red, depending on how dark-skinned they are.

"Maybe. Some of us girls here are going out to "Hard Rock" tonight. You could meet us out there if you want. They have a neat nightclub that has some good music, plus you can play the machines if you want. They even have card games out there."

"Um, that might be a little rich for me right now. I should probably keep a lower profile for a while until I get some money ahead. As far as gambling, that's a definite no-no for a long while. I've never been lucky gambling."

The little girl didn't let up though, "So what will you do? You said you might go out."

"I might ride to few places, have a beer here and there, meet some people, shoot some pool."

Larry said, "Ride to some places? How are you going to ride?"

"On my Harley," I said, smugly proud of my bike.

"Ohhhh," Larry groaned, "be still my heart. The man even rides a Harley Davidson."

The little girl said, "Oh Larry, get over it. You can tell Chuck likes girls."

Another girl next to the talkative one said, "How about giving me a ride tonight. You can take me to Jonah's or even to a couple of other biker bars I know. I can show you around."

The little black girl glared at the girl sitting next to her, "I thought we were going to try to get him to go out with all of us. You want to hog him."

"Well, he said he couldn't afford the Hard Rock, I might as well put my dibs in to show him around."

The little black girl asked, "Can you only ride one person at a time on your motorcycle?"

"Yep, only one at a time, when I do let someone ride with me."

Larry said, "Would you give me a ride? I can show you some interesting places and some interesting bars."

I laughed, "I'm sure you can, Larry, but I might not be very comfortable at some of the places you like."

"Don't knock it until you've tried it, Honey," Larry said sexily.

The girl next to the black girl said, "Quit it, Larry, you're being too aggressive. You'll never get a guy acting like that."

"Well, you two are being pretty aggressive," Larry said defensively. "I should be able to ask too."

I had finished my lunch, so I asked, "Ah how about you two telling me your names, and then we can decide where at the Hard Rock I should meet you. I can't afford a long night in an expensive club and I don't have fancy clothes, but I'll go out with you guys for a while tonight."

The little black girl beamed, "Great, I'm Tiani."

The white girl with the blonde hair next to her said, "I'm Judy and you can wear what you have on, but you don't have to wear a tie."

Three more girls came over and introduced themselves. A dark brunette was Brandy, another dark-skinned girl was Nancy, and a light redhead with lots of freckles and a happy smile was Frieda.

I looked at them all and said, "I take it you are all at least twenty-one and legal."

They all nodded in unison. If they weren't so serious looking, I would have laughed at the synchronized head movement.

"When and where?"

Tiani said, "I can pick you up if you don't want to drive?"

Brandy said, "I have a new car, why don't I pick you up."

Before someone else said anything I said, "Tiani asked first so I'll ride with her, why don't some more of you ride with her too that way there won't be so many cars there."

Nancy said, "Look guys, I can use my dad's van. How about I take all of us in the van? There's only six of us and it will hold seven."

I had to remind them, "Remember girls, I can't afford to drink all night. I just started work and haven't earned anything yet. You know where I'm living and that's why I'm living there. It's what I can afford right now."

"There's nothing wrong with where you live, Chuck." Frieda said. "We are all roommates and live in a big house together. With six of us we can afford to live in a fancy area with a pool. You'll have to come out to swim. Can you do that with a fake leg?"

"I take it off to swim, Frieda. Okay, girls, I'm in apartment twenty-two across from the manager's office. Um, when will you pick me up?"

Tiani looked at Nancy. Nancy said, "I'll pick up Dad's SUV on the way home. How about we pick you up around eight? The first show doesn't start till nine, so we'll be there in plenty of time. Is that okay?"

"Sounds like it's going to be a very late night, girls. Just keep in mind that I can't be a high roller gentleman tonight and buy you all drinks."

Brandy said, "I'll tell you what, Chuck. You've been good about all this so how about we treat you tonight. We'll all take turns buying rounds. If you make it through ten drinks, you'll be doing well."

I had a thought, "Who's the designated driver tonight?"

You could see I put a cloud over the party. Tiani said, "I guess Nancy is it. It's your car so you have to be the one."

Nancy thought about it then said, "My Dad might come out so I might get him to drive."

"Now that's something," Frieda said. "You're going to have your Dad chaperone us out to the Hard Rock Café while we're trying to get into some guy's britches?"

Tiani protested, "Frieda, we're not doing that. We're just going out to have some fun with a new guy."

"Sure we are. I'm no shrinking violet. I'll tell it like it is. Chuck, how about we just skip the Hard Rock and I'll show you my etchings in my room?"

Julie coughed, "That's even more forward than Larry, Frieda."

"It's true, Julie," Brandy sighed. "All of us are looking at Chuck and thinking, wow, a clean looking guy just ready to pluck and something that rhymes with pluck. We go out looking and the clowns we find are drunks or smelly or dopers or just plain losers. If Frieda is ready to herd him off for herself, she must be interested, considering."

Tiani got in on the complaining, "A lot of my type of guys act like we should just fall to our knees and give them BJs just because they're there. They think I'm stuck up because I don't drool over them."

Nancy looked at me, "It's kind of a stretch for you to be interested in Tiani or me, but we're not prejudiced and you don't act like it. We're two fine little girls, if I do say so myself."

"You are all adorable and all very appealing, but I have to tell you. I'm still so new to being out in the world, I don't think I'm in the market for a long term relationship yet."

Brandy said, "We aren't either, yet. We just want to have a guy or some guys that we can have a good time with that treat us like the ladies we can act like. If we're not ladies when you take us home, we want it to be our idea, not expected of us."

Julie elbowed me, "Now that's a compliment and a helluva invite if I ever heard one, say yes dummy, these are some choice girls."

I looked at my watch and got up. "You know where I live right, Nancy? Eight o'clock." Then I smiled and turned to Frieda, "And Frieda, can I get a rain check on checking out your etchings?"

Brandy broke in before Frieda could answer, "Mine too, and yes, you can have a rain check."

Frieda smiled at me, winked, and nodded. It was my turn to blush. Little Tiani came around the table. She pulled my head down and kissed me on the cheek. "You're fun, Chuck, I can't wait till tonight."



-------

Chapter 4



Before leaving the lunchroom, I poured two cups of coffee and took them back for Ms. White and me. On the way, Julie said, "That was something. I've never seen those girls so aggressive. You're going to be the talk of the place before five. I don't know whether it's good or bad, but you're going to have a rep real quick."

Ms. White smiled happily and accepted the cup of coffee. I told her, "I've caught up on correspondence and filing, what do you have for me until it's time for me to give breaks."

"You've done everything? I thought you had more to do before we did the time cards?"

"No ma'am, I'm done with everything pending. There's really not that much to do. I'll ask Julie, perhaps I can help her for a while."

Ms. White looked a little funny, "My regular secretary is always snowed under. Are you sure you've done everything?"

"Come on out and help me look. I think I've done everything, but I might have missed where more work is kept."

Ms. White came out to my desk, looked in the drawers and looked at the work pending file cabinet. All my in boxes were empty. My transcription files were complete and all of the weekly reports that were due Monday were done. I said, "I did everything according to the operating manual for this position."

I pulled the little flip chart out and went through each of the cards.

Ms. White said, "Julie, do you have some work that you could use some help with. Chuck is caught up on his stuff."

"Not really, Ms. White. Chuck is so quiet, we both get a lot more done than usual. I was going to offer to help him get caught up."

"He's already done all the Monday reports. The only thing he'll have to do Monday is the payroll and that doesn't take long. Come with me, Chuck," Ms. White said, "let's go see someone."

We walked through the office to the far corner where Ms. White told a secretary that she wanted to see Mr. Harkins. The lady used her phone before saying, "Go on in, Mr. Harkins can see you."

"Hi Metarie, good to see you, what can I do for you," the man said as he turned to me extending his hand. "I'm Jordan Harkins and you are?"

I said, "Chuck Johnson."

Jordan Harkins said, "Please, sit down and tell me what I can do for you."

Ms. White said, "It's what I can do for you, Jordan. I want you to get to know Mr. Johnson. He came on board Wednesday as my temp secretary. You know my girl has been out on maternity leave since last week. My department puts out a lot of paper. I dictate a couple of dozen letters a day and I know I push out fifty or so pieces paper a day to be filed. In the short time he's been here, Chuck has learned the counter to give breaks, plus he has totally caught up on my dictation, all the filing, and all of the reports due out from my department through Monday. My office has never been this caught up. I've already stepped Mr. Johnson, but we need to find him a job with more responsibility, Jordan. Chuck is doing far more than could be expected."

"I see, Metarie. Um, perhaps you could talk to some of the other department managers and your man could assist their secretaries and catch them up."

"Yes sir," Ms. White said. "I can do that but I think we might wish to use Mr. Johnson for some of the outside positions that are open."

"Does he meet the qualifications?" Jordan asked.

"That's the problem. All of those positions require a degree and Mr. Johnson has not attended college. He was recently released from the military because of an injury. I think we should find him a demanding position and waive the degree requirement. You can do that, Jordan."

"Oh Metarie, you're always bending some rules for one of your people." Jordan folded his fingers together on his desk and said, "I have an investigator position that reports directly to me that I haven't been able to fill. You know it is a delicate job that has to be handled discreetly, but is necessary some times. Do you think he could fulfill that position?"

"Easily, Jordan. If you want, I'll spend the rest of the day briefing him on the job. He could begin with some of your backlogged small investigations to learn the way."

Jordan turned to me, "Chuck, this position I'm talking about is to investigate hiring practices of some medium-sized companies that may discriminate by sex, race, or disability. You would quietly interview their HR people, gain their confidence, and report your findings. The important thing to do is to fully report your interview so you can follow up often with those companies that you might perceive having some prejudice. You will also make sure some of our large companies are completing the proper federal forms and reports required. This can be a very sensitive position and you will be reporting directly to me, with copies to Ms. White. She maintains your reports personally and they do not go through her secretary. You will be a busy man as we are over six months behind on what we are doing. You will be provided an agency vehicle during the day, and if you have to travel, you will be reimbursed of course."

He paused for a second looking at me and asked, "What do you think?"

"Sounds interesting. Will I still be a temporary employee?"

Ms. White was shaking her head no, but Jordan said, "Yes, you will for at least sixty days. That will give me time to evaluate your performance."

I had to ask, "If I am still a temporary, that means I can still look for employment? I mean this will give me an opportunity to do some job shopping, if I'm correct."

Jordan huffed a little, "Well, ah, you would be employed by us during this time. You should be giving a hundred percent effort and not job shopping if I put you in a position like that."

"But sir, if I'm but a temporary employee, paid like a temporary employee, with no guarantee of a possible future here, wouldn't I be dumb not to look for a permanent position somewhere?"

The man leaned back in his chair then said, "Mr. Johnson, if you will excuse us, I'd like to speak to Metarie for a few minutes."

Ms. White said, "Go back to the department and perhaps assist Julie. You'll be relieving for breaks in a few minutes anyway."

I left and since it was really time to be on the counter, I passed by Julie and told her I was on the way for relief. She came with me, as she relieved four people as well.

I saw some of the fabulous five down in that area. The five girls came to mind and I automatically began thinking of them in a happy way as the fab five. They were pretty funny and obviously fed off each other when they were in a group, one trying to be more outrageous than the other.

When the breaks were over, Julie took me to the break room. "You're supposed to take your break when you finish with the counter. I noticed you haven't been taking a break lately. That's an extra half hour a day you're using to get work done. That's why you're so far ahead."

Back in the department, Ms. White called me into her office. "Close the door and have a seat, Chuck."

She leaned over her desk and said, "What you just witnessed is what you would be investigating. You just witnessed discrimination. Jordan wants a man of color to have that position, but we haven't found one to fill the spot yet. He felt he could put you in the position temporarily, then let you go when he found another man to his liking. I've just finished telling Jordan exactly what I'm telling you, so it's no secret that I'm letting you know. Now he's embarrassed that he's been so obvious about his prejudice. I've already heard how you interacted with Tiani and Nancy and are going out this evening with the group of them. I'm proud to know you, Chuck, you are a gentleman, and you are not prejudiced. You would make an excellent investigator and should be paid the normal salary and not temp wages."

"Because of Jordan's prejudice, I don't want you to work for him. He's agreed to let you have the military human resources job and waive the degree requirement. That might be a better place for you anyway. The job pays decent too. Remember this is a federal job with federal benefits. One, you get a clothing allowance as you are to dress impeccably to impress prospective employers as well as the ex-military people you will assisting. Two, you will be given a per diem for meals, and expenses for prospective employers as well as the people you will be finding jobs for. Three, you will be issued a cell phone, for work only, so you can be reached while you are in the field. That's how the lady who was working here scammed everyone. And fourth, probably the most important to you right now, your annual starting salary is $45,700, about $3,800 a month. Do a good job and you can go way up from there."

She looked me right in the eye and asked, "Would you work for me in that position?"

The thought of how important a job it was going to be had my head spinning. "Thank you for the confidence in me, ma'am. There's no way I can turn down a job like that. Ah, I think I'll need a lot of your help for a while to figure out how to do a good job."

"You would have that anyway, Chuck. That is one of our more important positions, considering all of the men and women coming out of the service right now. If the new president cuts the defense budget very much, there could be a lot of men looking for work. The neat thing is that you can work with all of the other advocates, in all of our offices nationwide, to find available positions for them. You should be a perfect match for the job considering your history."

"I want to work for you, Ms. White. Teach me and I'll make you proud."

She sat back in her chair smiling and said, "I'll teach you, but you'll have to call me Metarie. You and I will be a lot less formal now that you are in this new position."

Metarie leaned forward and began typing into her computer. When she finished, she smiled at me, "You are now an official employee of the USA, with all of the benefits that go with it. In ninety days you will be offered health insurance, but you already have federal benefits for that. Ours may be easier to use, you'll have to choose. Also now that you are a federal employee, you will be eligible for any other federal position you may be qualified for. I do suggest that you begin night classes or some form of degree course. You will progress faster within the agency and any other government office if you were to do that."

It was as if another big weight was off me. This was more money than I really was going to need, but it was enough that if I wanted, I could find a better place to live. Right now I should just save some money and that felt good.

As some paper spit out from her printer, she pulled the sheets to her to read, Metarie said, "Okay, here is your first six months clothing allowance, and two weeks per diem. Any extra you have to spend on others, please document everything, and be sure to get receipts so you can be reimbursed. You'll have a credit card soon, but this should hold you for now. Go out to the cashier and present this to her. She'll give you cash or a check or some of each, however you want. Now, since you are a salaried employee, get the hell out of here, get your money and run. Go home and enjoy your weekend."

"I'm going to need some help buying the right kind of clothes. I'm not very fashion conscious and I haven't bought lots of clothes for dress. I've been a uniform guy with just jeans as my casual dress."

Metarie looked at me a second and wrote something on one her cards. "This is my cell phone. Call me tomorrow and I'll go with you to pick out some clothes. We'll get you some nice clothes at a discount. I know where the smart guys go to get quality stuff. Perhaps my husband will come along. He's a real classy dresser."

"I'll do that. It should be reasonably early tomorrow, okay? I'd like to get that out of the way. Thank you for helping me so much."

"It's my pleasure to help someone progress. I'm going to have you help me anyway, so don't thank me too much yet."

I left, said goodbye to Julie and headed toward the cashier. The lady looked at my letter and began asking how I wanted the funds. I told her I didn't know how much it was so she said, "You get a fifty-four dollars a day per diem, but you should only draw like forty until you get your personal accounting set up. Your clothing allowance for your first six months is thirty-two hundred and seventy dollars."

I was staggered, "Ah, how about twenty-five hundred in cash and the balance in a check so I can deposit it."

"Coming right up. Do you need some money to take those girls out tonight?"

"It's not my money. I have to buy clothes and have money for expenses. I can't use that money for tonight. I can use some of my savings though, now that I have a real job."

"That you can, Chuck. Have a good time with those girls tonight and be safe. Don't be drinking and driving. I heard what you were telling them and that was good to hear. Congratulations on the new job. I'll look forward to working with you.

I signed for the money and check and headed to the bank in my '95 Chevy S-10. Funny isn't it, Goodwill to Gucci in a week.

The bank posed the next problem. I asked for the head teller as I figured she would help me the quickest. After explaining my problem, she suggested I get a bank debit card. She could have one issued to me immediately that I could access just like a credit card. When I filled out the form she suggested I apply for a credit card as well. If I were to go over my deposits, the credit card portion would kick in so I wouldn't be overdrawn.

I told the head teller that I had just gotten out of the service and had only been employed a few days. I told her my new position with the salary and that the money I was depositing was clothing allowance and per diem.

All of a sudden I was being shown a lot more attention and a lot more courtesy. It was "Right this way, sir," and "Can I get you something, sir," and "How else can I help you, sir." It was almost too funny for words.

They gave me the debit card that had a five thousand dollar credit limit. I didn't care about the credit limit, but now all of my money in both the checking and savings was available when I needed it.

Before I left the bank, I asked the branch manager if he had any positions open, and who I could contact at their home office for job opportunities for veterans returning to civilian life. The man gave me several names, plus a hand-out with the corporate hiring information. He said, "Confidentially, if you have anyone that might me interested in a starting teller position, I have openings, plural, right now. Send me some good people and let me get them started in the banking industry."

I took his personal card and said I would get back to him. Knowing that a teller position was not the highest paying position around, I understood how they could be open, but it just goes to show you. There are jobs available, just not a bunch of big buck jobs. Hmm, that's not true either. I was just given a big buck job just for doing what I was being paid for and was supposed to do.

At the apartment, I noticed a filthy Harley setting outside apartment twenty-five and wondered if this was as a result of last night. The front door was locked, but Shirley was at the counter putting something together for supper.

"You're home early, how come?"

I opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Got a new job today and was sent home early."

"Is it a better job?"

"You betcha," I smiled. "It's going to be a good job. They even gave me money to buy clothes."

"I won't be able to help you for a couple of days. My old man showed up this morning."

"I saw a bike out front. He should but it in the back. Take the chain so he'll have it and I'll go to Home Depot and get another chain and lock."

Shirley nodded, "You don't mind if I feed him too do you? I'll eat less to make sure okay?"

"No problem, Shirl, around here we all eat. Should you go get him so I can meet him or what?"

Shirley thought a second, "No sense in waking him yet. He rode all night to get in. He'll wake up and I'll get him a beer and feed him. He doesn't know I'm cooking for you to get fed myself, but I'll tell him later. It's a good enough deal he ain't gonna bitch. Thank God he slept soundly enough that I was able to get all the laundry done I needed to do."

Shirley put a big pan in the oven, then stood up and said, "That has to cook for an hour before we can eat. I'll get him up soon, but you go to the store and get your chain and lock and I'll take this back to the apartment. You ain't going to have a bed warmer for a while. Get used to it or get some auditions."

I laughed at the audition reference. "Actually a bunch of girls from work are taking me out to the Hard Rock tonight on them. I told them I couldn't afford to take myself out there and for sure not a bunch of women, so they are taking me. I might get lucky, who knows."

"Are you a gambler?"

"No way, I don't gamble my money, not when every day of life is a gamble and probably higher stakes."

"I'm glad," Shirley said. "Gamblin', drinkin', whorin', drugs, that's how a body gets in the poor house. That's why I'm doing laundry and turning tricks. That's why I'm ashamed of myself all the time." A tear ran down her face.

"Don't be hard on yourself, Shirl. You said it the other day. You do what you gotta do. Just keep doing a little more for me like keeping the house and keeping my clothes up and I'll pay you decent. Don't be turning any tricks while I'm around. Do your laundry and housekeeping and there will be enough for you. Perhaps your man will settle down and stay this time."

Shirley was sitting on a stool with tears coming hard. "The other day, one of the guys that uses me came by and I just spread 'em for an easy fifty. I should have sent him to see one of the other girls, but I just hated to pass up a fifty. That's why I made you use a rubber. The guy won't use one, so now I have to go to the health department to get checked again. Damn, I'm one miserable whore."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself right now. Get yourself together. Take a six pack with you with the chain and lock and go wake up your man so he can get cleaned up for supper. I'll go to the store for mine and pick up some more beer. It shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes."

I left locking the front door knowing she would be watching the back.

It took all of the twenty minutes to get the chain and lock because the checkout line was so backed up. I got home and immediately chained up my bike running the chain around the cases and through the wheels.

I walked over to liquor store and bought another case of cold beer. Hate to run out on a weekend.

Back in the apartment, I popped a beer and turned on the TV to watch the news. There was a lot about the jobs being created by all the federal projects, but as I saw today, they are jobs, just not people willing to do them or people qualified to get them. I wondered where Jordan was going to get his investigator. Who cares, I had a great position now that might even be better, especially with the clothing allowance.

Shirley came in the back door followed by a big burly guy with a full beard and balding head. Shirley pointed at me and said, "That's Chuck Johnson the guy who owns that bike out back and the guy that's been trading out my cooking for my meals. Chuck this the Bart Simpson. I ain't jokin', it's his real name."

I nodded and reached out to take his offered hand. I went to the fridge and took out a beer, offering it to him. He took it and I got another one out for Shirley and offered it to her. She took hers then I got another for myself.

Pointing at the bottle on the counter I said, "You want some Jack to go with that?"

"Naw, this is good," Bart said.

Shirley went to work on dinner while Bart sat on the couch and I sat in the big chair. Bart appraised me and said, "Shirley said you were a crip, hurt in the service?"

I nodded and pulled up my pants leg to show my metal leg.

"You get around pretty good, but I see you have a cane and a crutch by the door. You need those?"

"The cane more'n the crutch."

Shirley said from the kitchen area, "He don't talk much. He'll answer but like I said, he don't talk much."

Bart chuckled, "Probably a good man for it too. What were you in, the army?"

"Marines."

"If you don't mind my asking, how'd you lose your leg?"

"An RPG didn't miss."

"I hear that all the time, what's an RPG?"

"Rocket Propelled Grenade."

"How close was it?"

"My leg was stuck out behind me when the grenade hit the track I was hiding behind."

"Track?"

I smiled, "Field name for a tank or APC, you know, armored personnel carrier."

"Well, at least you had others with you to help."

"They all died but one guy who lost an arm."

"How'd you keep from getting killed?"

"We killed the other guys."

"But you were both badly injured."

"We patched each other up and took the dead guys and track back to the base. The radio didn't work, so that's all we could do unless we wanted to just lay there and die."

"That's some story. How long were you in the hospital?"

"Over there a week, Germany a month, and back here almost eleven months."

Shirley had set the table and said, "Supper's ready. Come get it."

"Hey thanks, ah, Chuck, for letting me eat with you. I guess I should thank you for feeding Shirl too. I ain't too good about sending money."

I nodded then said, "When I eat, others get to eat to. It's the way I was raised. Besides, your lady does my laundry and I pay her to keep the place clean too. She needed the money, I needed the help."

"You're pretty talkative tonight, Chuck, is it because it's to a man?"

"Like you said, Shirley, he asks, I answer."

We ate the roast with potatoes and carrots, and had some of the cake with the creamy icing for dessert. Shirley washed up the dishes real quick, and I said, "I gotta a date with a bunch of women so I have to get ready to go out. I best shave and take a shower, so I'll see you guys tomorrow. If there's something happening somewhere tomorrow, let me know. I'd like to get to know more of the riding community."

"I'll meetcha to my brothers, that's the ridin' community I know. It's a good club, but I like to roam. I don't do good stayin' in one place."

"See you tomorrow. Shirley, if you guys go to Jonah's ask around to see what's going on. Let me know in the morning."



-------

Chapter 5



Bart and Shirley left so I showered and dressed in some clean clothes with one of the neat dress shirts Shirley had picked out. The outfit looked pretty good for some Goodwill or Thrift Store hand me downs.

At 7:50, a Chrysler Town and Country pulled up next to my pickup and five girls piled out of the van. Seeing me through the screen door, the bunch came storming in.

"Would you look at this, not bad, and clean too for a guy," Frieda said.

Brandy was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, "The bed's made and there are no dirty socks or underwear lying on the floor. Shit, Chuck might be a candidate for Larry after all."

Tiani had the fridge open and said, "He's only got two beers left in here, but there is some left over pot roast that's still warm."

Nancy said, "He's got a half bottle of Jack Daniels here. Anybody wanna drink?

Judy was still standing at the door. "Don't mind them, Chuck. They're typical nosy females. They can't stand the idea that a man can live alone and take care of himself. Since you were a Marine, I would be disappointed if your place wasn't squared away. My dad was a Marine and he's still anal in the way he keeps the house."

They were still comparing notes on the condition of the apartment while I locked the back door, shutting off the lights as I went, and shutting off the TV. When I was standing at the door, I asked, "Ready to take me to the Hard Rock?"

Judy put her arm around mine and said, "Take me, Chuck, take me."

The other four headed for the van, so I locked up and joined them, sitting in the middle seat. We went to the east side of the city to find the place with a giant guitar outside, marking the place.

After parking, we walked into the lobby area and in through the casino. The place was busy with lots of people feeding the machines with cards. No coins, just cards on most of them. They had some table games and a big card playing area that looked to be some kind of poker tournament.

Back in through the lounge, passing by a fancy dining area, we arrived in the main nightclub to hear AC-DC beginning their show. The girls knew one of the men at the door because he hustled us straight to a decent table, midway to the show stage. A waitress was instantly taking our order while the show was cranking.

By the time the group was doing "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," we were on our second drinks and singing along with the musicians and the rest of the crowd. It was a great show and well worth whatever it cost for us to be in there.

When the show was over, we were served our third drink and the girls decided we needed some snacks. They ordered some mushrooms, some snails, shrimp, oysters, all stuff that really was good eating. I was working on my third Beefeaters and feeling it.

Brandy with the bountiful bosom was on one side of me, and the dark, cute Tiani was on the other. Directly across from me was the mysterious Judy, who was doing a footsie job on my knee, trying to reach to my crotch.

"My, my, but you girls are a handful even when you're out in public, I said with a smile. "I love it."

Nancy, who was on the other side of Tiani, leaned forward and reached under the table, across Tiani to get a handful of my crotch, said, "I think I know what kind of handful I want for this evening."

Tiani slapped Nancy's hand and told her, "Don't be so damned grabby. You might hurt something we want to play with later."

Frieda said, "I definitely know I want to play with it later."

Brandy said, "Let's go into the disco lounge and do some dancing. Come on."

As we left, I saw Brandy and Judy talk to the waitress and she wrote something on a ticket that Brandy signed. The disco area was really busy, but we were able to get a table right next to dance floor anyway.

I had not even attempted dancing since losing the leg, but it looked like my rehab was about to start. As soon as we were in the lounge and had a drink ordered, Brandy grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the dance floor. I tried to tell her I didn't know whether I could do it or not, but she kept going anyway.

Brandy began gyrating in front of me in a sexy showoff dance that had me interested in things other than trying to dance. I just began to try to move around, using the fake leg as a pivot, shuffling along with more of my body dancing than movement. Somehow, while we were dancing, I tried to do a moonwalk and the other four girls at the table went nuts hollering and clapping. I did something right.

When that piece was done, Tiani had my arm, pulling me back to the floor. I did another dance with a moonwalk thrown in, and received some more applause.

Next up was Frieda and a slow number. Thank goodness. We danced with her body molded to mine. If we didn't have clothes on, the undulations of Frieda's hips would have had us fucking standing up. Whew, I had a hardon that wouldn't quit and she felt every millimeter.

Nancy was next with another slow one that she damn near had me coming in my pants, and Judy finished me off with a dance that went from slow to fast, then slow again. I was ready to drag her off to a dark corner.

When Brandy wanted her turn again, I held up my hand and begged, "Please, let me catch my breath a second and have something to drink and relax. You girls are teasing me wonderfully tonight. It's getting difficult to remain a gentleman out there."

Brandy said, "Who wants you to stay a gentleman? We want the Marine that takes what he wants."

"A Marine is always a gentleman," I said. "You're just making me forget I'm a Marine."

Tiani was looking at me with big round eyes, "You're like a dream come true, Chuck. A big strong hero that will seduce me into bliss."

Nancy laughed, "Tiani, you've been reading too many of those romance paperbacks. Chuck ain't gonna seduce you, he's going to throw you down and do ya."

"Oh, my heart is going pitter pat. Oh please, Chuck, throw me down," Tiani was laughing.

I danced another set with all of them, and we had another drink. All of a sudden, it was one thirty in the morning and the girls said it was probably time to head home. Looking at them, I thought no way, they are all still pretty high.

"How about I buy us some breakfast in the café here before we leave and let some of this liquor get out of our system?"

Nancy said, "It was my idea, so I didn't drink. I'm the designated driver tonight. Come on, we'll take you home with us or deliver you back to your humble abode, your choice."

I looked at the five desirable girls and said, "There's no way I could take care of all of you, so I guess I just have to go home alone. Let's have some of that breakfast, I'll buy. Then clearer heads can make a good decision."

We went to the café and since we were so rowdy coming in, they sat us to the rear where we wouldn't bother other diners with our constant revelry. With some coffee and full bellies, the girls were in full bartering mode. Brandy rose and said, "Think you handle two or three of us tonight?"

I think she must have thought I answered, as she said with a wink, "Yeah, I thought three." She went back to the huddle.

They all rose and Judy said, "It's settled, you get Brandy, Tiani, and Nancy tonight and in the morning you get Frieda and me. You won't be able to walk till Monday, Dude."

"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked apprehensively.

"Not a chance," said Brandy. "Consider yourself our captive till tomorrow noon."

I worried whether this was a good idea or not, but decided to see how it would go. Worse case scenario would be me calling a taxi from wherever their place was.

The five girls lived in an awesome, huge home in old Carolwood. The place had a big gate in front of the house that worked with a remote. They parked at the front door and let us all in. It was huge and beautiful. Brandy took my arm and was pulling me toward some stairs. She said, "Tiani, Nancy, get us some drinks and hurry up to my room. I have the biggest bed, come on hurry."

The four of us were soon nude, sitting on Brandy's big bed. My fake leg was lying on the floor and there was hardly any curiosity about it at all. I would have thought they would be self-conscious, but they weren't. They were drinking their drinks while Brandy was stroking my hardon. Tiani was reaching over to caress the head of my dick every once in a while and Nancy was licking her lips muttering, "I want a taste, I want a taste."

I finally said, "Okay, let's get some order here. Lie down and line up. I want to play with each of you for a little while. Let me enjoy you three a while and I'll be able to go a lot longer."

That did it. The three were laid out with Brandy on the left, Tiani in the center, and Nancy on the right. I began with Brandy and kissed her while straddling her. I kissed her a good while, leaning over once to kiss Tiani and Nancy. I didn't have to worry about neglecting them as they were kissing each other when I went to them.

I did everything I knew to Brandy. I sucked and nibbled her nipples while caressing and pinching what I wasn't kissing. I licked down her tummy until I met some short trimmed fuzzies and found her liquid center. Bingo, or would that better be described as boom. Brandy went off like a firecracker. She tasted a might tart in the beginning, but soon flowed some tasty nectar that told me she was enjoying my ministrations. When she was at a peak, I moved up and slid into her. What I considered a little above average length but very fat dick, had her groaning quickly. She came and came and then I had to hold still before I asked, "I'm about to come. We should have talked about this before, but where do you want it."

Brandy breathed, "Inside me, please. I pray you're clean, but please spray my insides."

No sooner said than done. I let loose a billion or so squigglies to play within her. We kissed and hugged until she said, "Let me up, I have to go to the bathroom."

As soon as I rolled off, Nancy's mouth was locked onto my dick, trying to keep it erect. It didn't even waver as she sucked me deliciously. Tiani began kissing me and rose to put one of her small breasts into my mouth. As I teased Tiani's small nipples with my tongue, Nancy rose and straddled me, settling onto me slowly. Tiani suddenly pulled her tit from me and straddled my head, lowering her oozing pussy to my mouth. This was some exciting action for a guy like me. I almost came, but I was able to keep control until Tiani lay over on her side after coming and I could roll Nancy to her back.

Once Nancy was on her back, I pulled from her and kissed, licked, and sucked my way to her pussy. Using my mouth, tongue, and hands, I made Nancy quiver and go into near shock. I rose above her and slid into her again to pound her, making her scream until I loosed a large load into her, making her continue to come.

This time it was Brandy that locked onto me when I pulled free of Nancy. She gave me several deep sucks before moving to Nancy's drooling center. Tiani lay on me and began kissing me softly. Her small dark femininity excited me for some reason, and I could feel myself growing already. I rolled her onto her back and truly made love to the beautiful creature. By the time I was kneeling between her legs sucking her clit, my dick was once again steel hard and drooling. Tiani was really ringing my bell.

When it was time for me to enter Tiani, I was apprehensive that I would hurt her, so I ever so slowly pushed into her. She surprisingly sucked me into her, easier than the larger two girls. Tiani's little hips began rising rapidly; she was fucking me faster than I could have from my superior position. Her moans and groans grew into near screams until she froze, totally wrapped around me, her body completely off the bed. I lay her back down to begin the in and out until I felt my body tingle, alerting me I would once again unload into a warm female receptacle.

Tiani opened her eyes wide with mouth in a perfect "O" then smiled before raising her head to lock her mouth to mine. I jetted into her with all that I had left. As I rolled to the side, Tiani stayed connected to me, rolling with me, holding on tightly. Brandy and Nancy began kissing both of us, telling me how much they had enjoyed our time together. Tiani kept holding me and said, "Sleep, Lover. Put your head on my shoulder and sleep."

I think it was Brandy that pulled the blanket up over us as I drifted off into a sound sleep.

I woke to the sensation of a moist warm mouth sliding up and down my erection. I was hard from sexual hunger, but I had to pee really bad. I reached down to pull Tiani's head from my dick and brought her face up to me. "I have to go to the bathroom really bad, Tiani. Let me up please before I have an accident."

She giggled but helped me crawl over Brandy to get out of bed. I couldn't see my cane even with a very bright night light, so I hopped to the bathroom and immediately sat down, pointed my still stiff dick into the toilet and let myself flow into the bowl. I had to go so bad I was even able to pee with a hardon.

I cleaned my dick with a cloth on the sink and cupped my hands to get some water into my mouth. Hmmm, good. When I had my fill, I hopped back to the bed to find Tiani on her back with her legs spread smiling at me. "Come to me one more time, Chuck. I want to feel you inside me, stretching me, making me yours once more."

That'll get your motor running, no matter how much loving you've had. I crawled up the bed until my face was even with her pussy and reached down to kiss it dragging my tongue from her little crinkle up through her wet lips to her nubbin that I sucked into my mouth.

Tiani pulled my head up and said, "Come up here, I want you inside me, please."

I scooted forward until the head of my dick was spreading her lips. The little girl raised her hips, sliding me into her until I was completely seated within her. There was no way to keep a low moan from escaping my mouth. We began our motion and continued until Tiani froze against me where she held me tight saying, "Don't come, don't come, I want to taste you, wait, please don't come."

I rolled over and lay on my back while she positioned herself over me so she could suck me and watch my face at the same time. She slowly began kissing me, sucking me into her small mouth. I could have sworn there was no way I would fit into her mouth but she surprised me until I could feel the head of my dick actually enter her throat. She brought her mouth back up until she was just teasing the head of my dick paying special attention to the sensitive underside. She continued this while squeezing my balls until I reached down to caress her head, "I'm going to come, Tiani, I'm going to come."

The little girl sucked the essence from my body, making me shiver with the excitement. When my dick was totally limp, the dark beauty came up to lay upon me and kiss me, letting some of my offering slide back into my mouth. "You are the sexiest man I've ever known. You really worked at pleasing all of us making our pleasure more important than your own. You are dangerous, Lover. You could be too much."

She pulled the covers over us as she remained on top of me and we drifted off to sleep.

I woke to the sensation of a heavy weight on me. It couldn't be Tiani as she is so small. I opened my eyes to look into Judy's. "Good morning, Chuck. Would you like to use the bathroom before Frieda and I bathe you then totally physically destroy you?"

I smiled at her, reached up, and cupped her large breasts, paying special attention to her hard nipples. I brought her down to me to suck them into my mouth, causing her to shake from excitement. I rolled her over onto her back and began kissing her, moving to her ears, her throat, and back to her full breasts. While she was groaning from excitement, I dragged my tongue down her tummy until it brushed through a thick forest to find a very wet slippery pussy. A few tongue licks and I was excited beyond belief from the taste of this excited, and exciting, woman. When I came back up from her pucker to her clit, I had a mouth full of her juices, but I latched onto her clit while sliding a finger into her pussy to see if I could find that magic area.

Her entire pelvis leaped into the air. I must have found the button as Judy let out a scream and began trying to push me off her. "Please, please stop, no more please, I can't take it, God how much do you want me to come, stop please."

I did stop but went to her face to kiss her as my dick found her flowering target and began to slowly sink into her. "Oh that's so good. You're stretching me so nicely. Whew, this is so good. I don't think you can make me come anymore than you already have though. I didn't know I could come so hard. Oh, oh, whew, that's good, I'm going to come again, oh no, oh no." Then she began screaming until I finally stopped after emptying myself into her.

We lay there with me still on top of her, as she was totally limp. I held my weight from her with my elbows until her eyes opened. "You can do that to me any time you want. That was soooo good."

Frieda was sitting on the bed watching us and said, "Perhaps you might want a bath now, Chuck. I think I came as much as Juicy Judy just did from watching. I didn't even have to touch myself and I've been coming non-stop. And to think, I once said that I didn't like men and I couldn't ever imagine letting one do to me what you just did to Judy. Anything that good, I want. Come on, take a bath, relax a little. Rest up for me."

Frieda and Judy led me to another room, drew a bath, and let me slide into the warm water. Judy had me sit up and she slid into the tub behind me, and Frieda got in, in front of me. She said, "That was quite a show you put on last night and again just now. I didn't think a guy could do it three times but you seemed to be doing fine right through Tiani."

In my ear from behind, Judy said, "You were supposed to let me bathe you before we played with you. You surprised me and had me turned inside out before I knew what was happening. You are a devil. I'll want to do that again you know. I don't think this is going to be a one night stand."

Frieda said, "We heard you were hired to become the military employment advocate. Nice job. You'll be one of the managers in the bureau. Why did they hire you, did you do to Ms. White what you've done to every one but me?"

I frowned but offered, "I guess I was at the right place at the right time."

Judy said, "Julie told all of us that you were some kind of super fast worker and that you completely caught up two weeks worth of work in two days and was looking for more."

"Julie exaggerates," I laughed.

Frieda was washing me gently now with a wash cloth and soap. Judy was holding my now limp dick as I lay back against her. Frieda was really heavy chested. So much so she sagged heavily. Her skin gave me the impression she might have been very heavy but had lost a lot of weight. I was drooling to play with those giant gazongas of hers. While she washed me, I reached up and cupped and began fondling and caressing her big tits. I held one big breast up at a time feeling its weight and softness. Frieda would shiver each time I captured a nipple between my fingers and lightly pinched.

Judy said, "The water is cooling. Let's get out and get into a nice warm bed for a few minutes. I want to make you hard again. Let me suck you while you play with Frieda."

We got out of the tub and the two girls dried me off before drying each other off. We lay down on the freshly made bed with Frieda and me on our sides facing each other. Judy was at my center, gently fondling my dick and balls.

As soon as Frieda began kissing me, my dick was on the rise. Soon, Judy was sliding her mouth up and down my dick. Tiani was better. I made love to Frieda over the next thirty to forty minutes, finishing after she had screamed loud enough for neighbors to call the cops. Perhaps not that loud, but loud enough that I had five women in bed with me making sure I had not injured one of them.

Brandy said, "You've done your duty. You've loved each of us and made us very happy. I vote that you come back and do this some more. What do you think, Nancy?"

Nancy lay down and kissed me, "For a white boy, you know how to push my buttons. Actually for any boy, you do the job. I vote that you come back and sleep in my bed a while."

Tiani crawled up and curled into my lap. "I want to keep you for myself. My dad and brothers would have a fit, but I bet my Mom and my sisters would be all over your cute white bod. I want to keep you."

Judy said, "Anyone who can make me feel so good is always welcome to come back. And if you don't, I'll kidnap you." She leaned to me and kissed me over the top of Tiani's head.

"I love what you did to me, Chuck. Keep in mind I am almost a confirmed lezzy. I'm sure glad I'm not. That was the best loving I've ever experienced, from man or woman. The nice part was how soft and tender you were to me even while your were ravishing me. I could feel you care for me through your touch. Please come back, I would love to hold you and love you all night long."

Tiani said, "I still want to keep him. It isn't practical, but wow, I want more. I have a confession though. I woke up last night and tried to suck him off but he had to go to the bathroom. When he came back to bed, I did it. I sucked him until he came in my mouth and I swallowed. It was totally awesome."

The other four girls were sitting there with their mouths open. Nancy said, "You really did? Chuck, did she really suck you off last night?"

I smiled and nodded.

Brandy said, "Who would ever believe Tiani would ever do that. You've always said no way, no how, never. Why did you do that?"

Tiani snuggled more into my lap, "I tasted him last night when he tasted like Nancy. He tasted so good and I could taste his stuff on him as well, and the whole taste just burned in my mind. I had to taste him again this morning so I did it."

Frieda said, "That's about as remarkable as me getting off on a guy."

Nancy said, "Do you have to go home today or can you stay and play all day?"

I sadly said, "I have to go home. I'm going to go shopping with Ms. White and her husband for some clothes. She is going to help me buy the right stuff at a good price."

Nancy immediately said, "We should go with them. We can help pick stuff out too."

Tiani said, "If we do that, Ms. White will know there's something between us today that wasn't there yesterday. I want more of this, so let's not advertise we're bangin' our buddy."

Frieda kissed me and said, "Well, let's get him out of here then. It's almost nine."

We all dressed with them watching with fascination as I strapped on my prosthetic leg. Once it was on and we were moving, Tiani said, "You can't hardly tell you have a limp sometime. Last night, you were dancing and doing that thing, ah, the moonwalk and everything."

Brandy finished the thought,, "And I bet not one of us noticed he didn't have the leg while he was making love to us. I even watched him closely while he loved up Nancy and Tiani, and it was beautiful."

Frieda said, "I did the same thing. I came so much watching him make love to Judy that he didn't have to do anything for me. I was very satisfied, but he did make me feel even better.

I had taken a shower with the group, which ended up being more of a fun groping session than bathing. They had to hold me up as it was crowded and it was difficult for me to keep my balance. When I was dressed, they all decided to ride with Nancy as she drove me to the apartment.

Once there, they were going to come in with me, but I convinced them that I should get in touch with Ms. White so I could meet her. I told them I would see them Monday and off they went.

I called Ms. White and she gave me directions to a discount men's clothier that was popular with the brothers, but also some knowing businessmen. I dressed in my best pair of khaki's and a nice sport shirt. Both ironed to perfection.

At a dive looking warehouse down in the Ybor channel district, I parked among some fancy Cadillacs and Lincolns and walked into the busy store. The first thing you notice is that if you are Caucasian, you clash with most of the other customers. The place was rack after rack of suits, sport coats, and slacks. I could see an area with shirts and a corner that appeared to be all footwear.

Ms. White came up to me with a very tall guy that looked vaguely familiar. "Chuck, this is my husband Reggie. Reggie, Chuck Johnson, the young man I've been telling you about." Reggie was probably six three or four and big, but very fit. The man had muscles popping out of his muscles. He was firm, but at least a little gentle, when we shook hands.

The big man said, "Nice to meet you Chuck, Metarie hasn't stopped talking about you since you started to work for her."

I had to say something more than nod, "Thank you for helping me pick out some clothes. I've never been a fancy dresser and the last several years fancy was my dress uniform."

He smiled broadly, "We'll get you fixed up. Metarie will dress you like a pimp if you let her, but I'll tone her down. I know what's right for business. You're young, so let's get you fixed up with some sport coats and slacks first."

It took a bit to get the right size of coat, but soon the two of them had picked out a half dozen very nice sport coats. My favorite was a herringbone with leather elbows. Reggie said all I need was a pipe to make me look like a professor.

Using the sport coats that we had picked out, Ms. White picked out multiple pairs of slacks that went with more than one coat.

I was pushing a large cart that had a hanger area that was already full as we went to the suits. There, we only picked out five suits, but their manufacturer's suggested price had me nervous. None of them were marked under five hundred dollars. This had me going back to look at the suggested retail tagged on the sport coats. I quickly totaled up what we had already picked out and held up my hand.

I felt a little sick but said, "Ms. White, Reggie, I only received three thousand to buy clothes. I don't have a lot of extra money other than that. We're way over that amount already."

Reggie slapped me on my back, "Shoot, Chuck, you probably haven't reached fifteen hundred yet. Not to worry. This place is a discount place that sells good stuff at fifteen to twenty cents on the dollar. Those Brooks Brothers suits you have there are all marked as being all over five hundred and I'll bet none of them is a hundred bucks. If we go over, we'll trim it down, don't worry."

I was pacified, but still concerned. Ms. White went nuts with shirts and after I had tried on a couple of sizes of shirts, she picked out about fifteen. We walked over to the shoes where I found a pair of wing tips, a plain type of shoe in brown and black plus three pair of slip on shoes that were very nice.

Ms. White said, "The only other thing we might look at is a couple of nice sport shirts. You know you can wear nice knit shirts under a sport coat and look very professional."

Ms. White picked out some gaudy looking shirts and Reggie just frowned and replaced them with some very nice, solid color, knits. The huge cart I was pushing was so full it would barely move. I wasn't worried about paying for the stuff, as if I didn't have enough, I would just put it back.

At a checkout register, a man totaled everything and totally shocked me when he said, "Your order comes to twenty-seven hundred thirty two dollars and seventeen cents."

Ms. White said, "Oh, I forgot. You need socks. Let me get you some."

When she came back, she had at least a dozen pair of socks. The sales clerk just put them in a bag with the shirts and said, "That will be your bonus."

Reggie said, "This is Chuck's first time here so he doesn't know the rules yet. Pay the man, Chuck, then he'll take you back to the tailor area."

I gave the man my card and told him it was a debit card. He looked at it and said, "This is a credit card as well, would you prefer debit or credit?"

"Debit please," I said, still sweating over getting out of there without blowing the entire three thousand allowance.

The next part took forever. A man and a woman had me try on every sport coat, every suit, and every pair of pants. One pair of pants apparently didn't fit the way they should and the lady went out and came back with another pair in a smaller size. When they were done, the man said, "I can have two suits, two coats, and two pair of pants by this afternoon. The rest will be done Monday. Please allow enough time to try them on when you return to pick them up."

The tailor took down my name and address and when he asked for my phone number I said, "I don't have a phone, sir. Perhaps I'll get one today."

Reggie said, "Take my cell number, its 743-9292."

The ninety-two registered then, and I looked hard at him. I didn't want to say anything yet, but I looked back and forth between Ms. White and him trying to figure out why she was working.

When we went out of the store, Reggie said, "How about following us down to the parking garage and we'll have lunch at the restaurant."

Ms. White said, "You'll love it. They have a great menu, please join us. Here take this bag. This is a welcome home gift as a military man and a welcome to work gift from me. These ties will get you started."

"You shouldn't do that, that's why I get the allowance," I protested.

Ms. White just waved her hand at me, "Don't worry about it, it'll look like you overspent your allowance twice when people see you dressed so well."

I nodded and carried the bags of shirts, shoes, and socks to my truck. I followed the Mercedes SL down the street pulling into the public garage across from an entertainment complex.

I parked near their car and caught up to them, using my cane to move faster. I said when I got up to them, "When you gave the tailor your phone number, I remembered who you are. You're Reggie White. The defensive end from Philly, right?"

He smiled broadly and nodded his head.

Ms. White said, "Most people don't recognize him. It's nice that you did."

We went to a fancy restaurant and were treated very special. Once seated and our drinks ordered, I had to ask, "Ms. White, how come you're working? I'm sure you don't have to for the money?"

"My word, what would I do? Reggie is so busy with his restaurants and real estate offices I would never see him anyway. I would be very bored staying home every day. This way I get to get out, go to different agency offices almost every day, and meet interesting people such as you."

Reggie said it would be different if we were raising kids, but we haven't been blessed with any, so we keep ourselves busy with business adventures. Metarie loves her job and is happy to join me in the evenings at one of my places. We have a great life, Chuck.

Ms. White asked, "So tell me about your night out with our adventurous group."

"We went to the Hard Rock Café, but not for the casino. None of us gambled. We watched a great AC/DC show, and spent the rest of the evening in the lounge dancing. They had me up for almost every dance. I was worn out by the time we left."

"Which girls were they, Chuck?" Reggie asked.

Metarie answered for me, "You know them, Tiani, Nancy, Judy, Frieda, and Brandy. Those five are always doing things together, they live together. Did you ah, make it home last night or did they kidnap you?"

I didn't look up, but said softly, "We had an enjoyable evening."

"Let it go, Metarie, this man is a gentleman and gentlemen don't tell."

"I'm just nosy is all," Ms. White said. "Those five act so forward sometimes, I was just wondering if they were all mouth and all show and no go."

I grinned and blushed, and Ms. White said, "I'm glad you had a good time with them. You'll have to be circumspect about your relationship with them, as you will be sort of their superior."

I nodded, but said, "They are all counter customer service people, so I won't be dealing with them much except to get referrals from them."

"I suppose you having a relationship with them wouldn't be bad. They are a crazy group. I still wonder why they ended up living with each other in a home Brandy's folks own. Judy's folks are equally well off, so you never know. Little Tiani's folks are pretty well fixed. Her dad was an NBA star when he was younger. One of her brothers is a star player at UF. You all will probably go to at least one game during the season."

We had a great lunch, but when the time to get the check came, there wasn't any. I asked the waitress for the check as it was my treat, and she laughed and said, "Just enjoy, Sir, you're with the owner."

"Ms. White, you said you couldn't buy me lunch and I'm the one with the expense account."

Reggie laughed, "She has nothing to do with it or to say about it. It's my restaurant and my treat. It was great to go shopping with you. Usually it's me that Metarie is dolling up. I think she uses me, and now you, as a doll to play dress up."

"Oh Reg, I'm not that bad. I just love bargains and enjoy seeing a man dressed nice. Chuck will look nice now at half the cost."

"That is some place," I said, describing the store we had been at. "I'm surprised the place isn't mobbed."

Ms. White said, "If this were closer to the first of the month, it would have been. A lot of the traffic is there during the week. A lot of businessmen who do not work regular hours, show during the day."

Reggie said, "The businessmen she's talking about are all pimps, dealers, or gangsters of one form or another. When you want to shop there, go during the early morning or on Saturday. Better atmosphere."

When we left, Ms. White reminded me to pick up my clothes before going home as they should be altered by now. I thanked them for lunch and for showing me where to buy clothes and for helping me select what I needed. I watched as they left in their fancy Mercedes before I drove back to the store to pick up my clothes.

When I went to the pick up register, the one lady who had helped me earlier said, "You're in luck. The tailors thought your entire order was a rush, so all of your clothes are ready for you to try on. Come this way and let's make sure they all fit." Every coat and every pair of pants fit perfectly. While I was trying on clothes, I realized I didn't have any decent dress belts so I asked the sales person if she would pick out a couple of belts for me. She came back with two belts and a half dozen more ties saying, "Ms. White didn't get you enough when she was in so I took the liberty to get you some more. I would want you to look perfect."

The additional stuff was next to nothing compared to what I had spent already. It took me two trips out to my truck to get the new clothes out there. I should have had them delivered.

I drove to the apartment and parked out front and began hauling clothes inside to hang in my closet. Once they were all hung up, I got the shirts unwrapped and unpinned so they could be washed before I wore them. The socks would probably be alright without washing, so I didn't worry about them. I discovered that the store had put some cans of shoe polish and two brushes in what they had given me. One was a stiff brush and one was a soft brush for polishing the shoe.

The thought was, might as well get the job done now so I would be ready for Monday. I popped a beer while sitting in the living room area with the TV on, shining my shoes. When I finished with the new stuff, I polished my military oxfords. Now my clothes were near ready. I looked out back to note there was no bike down by apartment twenty-five and I noticed that the door was open. I walked down to see if Shirley was busy. She was at her ironing board.

"Hey Shirley, I have a bunch of new clothes and when you do a load, my new shirts need laundering. Let me give some extra now so you'll have it for later."

She turned to me and I instantly saw she had a big shiner. "I'll come get them later okay. I want to get this stuff out of here real quick in case asshole comes back and is still in a bad mood."

"Is there something I can do, Shirl?"

"It's my problem. That guy that I take care of sometimes came by and made a fool of me and pissed my man off. He chased the guy off and decided I needed some discipline. I guess I did to let something like that happen. Anyway, Bart took off but he didn't take his clothes. So he'll be back. He's probably out at his clubhouse drinking. He'll be back."

"Do you want some ice for that eye? It doesn't look very good."

"I didn't duck fast enough. At least we got the black eye over with early in his visit. He gives me one whenever he comes home, but usually waits till he's ready to leave. It'll be fine in a couple of days. I guess he might leave early since he's pissed. I told him that if he stayed home or at least sent me a little money, I wouldn't need to supplement my washing money. As it is, he found my stash and took it all. Now I'm going to be short when the rent's due."

"I'll help, I got a new job down at the bureau. That's how I got the clothes. They gave me a clothing allowance and my boss and her husband just helped me pick out a bunch of new clothes. We were at a place called the "Mart."

"I know the place. That's where all the players buy their clothes. The rough trade around town shop there. Most white guys won't go in there as it's kind of rough."

Answering Shirley, "I didn't have any problems and they did treat me nice. Anyway, Shirley, when you have a chance, I have some shirts to launder."

"When do you want to eat supper? I have our roast in the oven here so I can watch it while I work. It'll be ready around five."

"Sounds good. I'm going to the store for some more beer. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine, thanks. If you want, you could get some Coke. That would be nice."

"Done deal, Shirley, I'll have some cold Coke in a few minutes."

I did the liquor store run and bought a case of beer and a twelve-pack of Coke. That should last a while. It was right at three, so I told Shirley that I was going out to get a phone but would be back by five for supper.

After locking up the apartment, I drove to where I had seen a good size shopping mall. I found a kiosk that was a rep for several cell companies. I told them that I needed a phone for work and the minutes would cost me an arm and a leg. If I signed up for two years they would give me a phone for free, so I signed up for a medium amount of minutes, took the phone and went to a Best Buy store that was next to the mall.

I didn't want to spend the money for a new PC, so I left but picked up a newspaper on the way home. I poured over the want ads. They had what was called free super saver ads that advertised things that were all five hundred dollars or less. I called a couple of the PC ads and found one nearby that sounded good for a hundred fifty. I drove over to look at the PC and was given a decent demonstration of how well it worked. The best part of the deal was that it did include a printer that was also a scanner, copier, and fax. The guy even gave me a ream of paper for the hundred fifty. Now I would have to get the cable company out, but the PC did have a wireless network card. Back home, I set the PC up on the counter and booted it up. The apartment manager was right; someone had a good wireless router somewhere nearby that was giving me access. No security setting, nothing, I had instant internet.

I checked my e-mail and found I had some notes from my guys that were back overseas again. Damn, I wish I were with them. I looked at the employment office web site to find that they didn't even advertise that they helped returning servicemen find work. I was going to have to round up a bunch of jobs for men and women coming back and getting out. I would also need some part time jobs for those that needed a little extra money to augment what some guys stationed away from their family sent home to mom and the kids.

By the time I had written a long note to one of my old team now in Afghanistan, Shirley was coming in the door, carrying a big covered baking pan.



-------

Chapter 6



I was at the apartment writing a long note to one of my old team now in Afghanistan, when Shirley came in the door, carrying a big covered baking pan.

She had doctored her eye with some makeup and it didn't look as bad, but I knew it probably still hurt like hell. "Oh boy, Shirley, smells good and I'm starved."

"I'm just going to put this on the stove and we can fill our plates from there. How about a beer and some of those rolls we bought to go with this? The gravy is thick and will taste good on bread."

When we were seated and had started eating, Shirley said, "Don't know where the old man is. I told him what time the food was going to be done. I guess he'll eat out at the clubhouse. He's probably feeling guilty. He usually does after he loses it with me. Hope he comes back looking for some loving before he takes off again. I have a feeling he won't stick around long this time."

I nodded and kept stuffing. The pot roast was delicious.

A bike roared up behind the building and Shirley went to the door then out back. Soon Shirley and her guy came in. She fixed him a plate and got him a beer.

He took a bite, "Damn, this is good. I could get used to eating like this. Look here, Chuck, I lost it with Shirley earlier over something personal. I hope you can look the other way over a black eye."

I looked at him and nodded, but figured I needed to say something else, "It's none of my business. Just don't fuck up the cook. I like to eat."

The man began laughing, "You're my kind of guy. You mind your own business but share what ya got. So how was your night out with that bunch of women that picked you up last night?"

"It was a good time. We went to the Hard Rock at the Indian reservation. Got to see AC/DC, we drank, danced, and celebrated in the lounge out there till late. A good time."

He asked, "What were you celebrating?"

"The unemployment agency hired me as the agent who finds jobs for people getting out of the military and for ex-military people that are looking. I have to go out looking for various jobs and employers, plus go to the base and other military facilities to tell people about the service. It should be fun. I like helping people, so this ought to be a good job. Now I'm going to be able to afford to pay rent and eat. I was worried for a while."

The man looked at me, "If you were concerned about money, how come you made the deal with Shirl?"

"Easy, I don't cook very well and I get tired of frozen dinners. Buying food to feed us costs less than a frozen dinner, so I get fed good for less."

"Didn't think about it like that, pretty smart. How did you know to do that?"

"I have a buddy up in Chicago that does the same thing. He and his ole' lady and the couple next door to them cook together and eat better for it. He says they actually save about fifty percent."

"With me eating here too, your theory gets messed up. I'm glad you're feeding me though."

"So far, I'm under budget for what I had planned. I think there's still food for Sunday, after that I have to take Shirley to the grocery store again. I'll make sure we plan on the three of us. We can have some Italian. That's cheap and it goes a long way. I'm hoping to keep getting leftovers for lunches."

He finished chewing his food and offered, "You want to go out to my clubhouse with me this evening? They're having a party and invite prospective members out. Gonna be a bunch of property out there."

"Property?" I asked.

"You know, fluff, babes that wear the "Property of" patches. The prez calls 'em comfort hostesses. Come on out."

"How about I stop in with you and meet your people. I have an appointment later with a friend for some barhopping. Is that okay?"

"Sure, the club will know I'm out soliciting. You haven't worn a patch before have you?"

"No, always been an independent other than being in a pretty exclusive group in the service."

He asked, "What group is that?"

"The Marines, Special Forces or in our group's case, counter intelligence."

"Well, you got your leg fucked up so now you're not a part of that group anymore."

I looked at the guy funny, "Once a Marine, always a Marine, it's till I die. My fellow Marines will always be my group and they feel I will always be in their group. That's the way a Marine is."

"Hmmm, I know we have a few ex-Marines in the national club and they're pretty tough cookies, but I don't think any ever lost a leg. Come out, I'll introduce you to the other ex-Marines."

"Do yourself a favor. Don't call them ex-Marines, once a Marine, always a Marine. It's in the head, we live the life." I said that firm enough I think he got the idea. "What time you goin'?"

"Soon as I wash up. Maybe Shirley will come along, will you, Shirl?"

She smiled at her man, "Sure, Honey, but I don't want to be anyone but your comfort tonight, please."

He frowned, then smiled, "Okay, you took it when I dished it out. We're even. Don't let it happen again."

He looked at me and said, "Something personal, sorry."

I nodded.

Shirley did the dishes and I went out and wiped down my bike, checked the oil, getting ready to ride. Back inside I called the Fab Five's house to have it answered by Brandy.

"I'm going out riding tonight and am calling to see if any of you guys want to take a ride with me. Going to wander around barhopping."

Brandy said, "I have a date, but our resident lez would probably like to go. She loves bikes and knows all the bars. Let me get her."

Frieda came on the phone, "Sounds good, Chuck. You don't mind if I don't wear a helmet do you. I hate those things. If you listen to me, I'll take you to some neat places. What time you coming by?"

"How about eight, I'm going out to a local bike club for a few minutes to meet some people but will be out of there no later than seven-thirty. If I'm early is that okay?"

Frieda said, "The earlier the better. See ya."

Shirley was gone, so I hopped in the shower to clean up dressing in jeans and a T-shirt. I had a denim jacket if it got chilly, so I stuffed it into my saddle bags. I checked my wallet and decided I only wanted to have a hundred bucks on me, so I hid the rest that I had, and went out the back after locking up. I was pushing the bike around, getting it pointed out when Shirley and her old man came out.

"Follow me, when we get there, they're going to shake you down so if you're packing, you might want to leave it." I shrugged and gave hand signs that I was not packing.

The clubhouse wasn't but about ten minutes from the apartments. The place was back in a neighborhood that looked fairly quiet. The gate guards let us both in but had me wait up while one closed the gate. He had me shut the bike down before patting me down for whatever he was looking for. I didn't have it, so he said, "Park right here in the visitor area. Have your host come with you when you leave."

Shirley's old man was waiting for me and took me to their social area that was a bunch of lawn chairs and some picnic tables. There were a bunch of semi nude girls running around with only some mini skirts and open "Property of" vests. Some guys were wearing vests with "Prospect" written on them, and they were quick to fetch beers for the three of us.

I was introduced to the club prez, then the guy looked around and brought a couple guys over to meet me. They were introduced as ex-Marines. One of the guy's said, "Damn, how many times do I have to tell you there is no such thing as an ex-Marine. Jesus, listen to me."

He turned from him and stuck his hand out saying, "Semper Fi." I said with the same enthusiasm, "Ooorah." The man winked at me and asked what outfit I had been in and how long I had been out. I told him about the Special Forces group and that I had been retired this past Monday.

"How bad you hurt?"

I used my cane to knock on my metal stalk that held me up.

He nodded then slapped me on the back. "Wilson here, was only in a year when he was gut shot in the first Desert Storm. He's still pissed they won't let him back in, but he has to eat funny so they couldn't keep him. Me? I did two tours, one in "A" country and one in Iraq. I'm done. Hate that fucking hot and cold sand. Florida sand is easier to put up with. No human size fleas that bite."

We chatted till it was getting toward seven and I said I had an appointment with some entertainment for the evening. The two guys nodded and noticed my host having a heated conversation with someone and said, "The man never learns. He's such a hot head, he's always arguing with someone. We'll take you to the gate and tell him that you had to leave. Come back, visit with us, and consider becoming a part of us. I'm Bucky, and this here is Wilson. Ask for us, we'll get you in. If you decide you want to be a part of us, Marines don't prospect, they've already prospected. No one fucks with us."

We went back to the gate and I fired up and left, heading toward the Fab Five's house. When I pulled up at seven-twenty, Frieda came out the door immediately, carrying a jacket. I put her jacket into a saddle bag, she got on, and we headed toward Jonah's.

There, Jonah and Millie greeted me warmly and were surprised I was with Frieda. Millie asked, "You man enough to change this lezzie's stripes?"

Frieda said, "He's good enough that I think I want to stay in this group a while."

Millie was laughing, "My God, Jonah, she likes dick. I'm gonna miss that ever lovin' mouth of hers, but I'm glad she's learned to go both ways.

Millie almost enclosed me with her big arms and generous body, "What do you have that another doesn't have, Stud?"

While I was trying to find a way to get air, Frieda answered for me. "Millie, he's gentle, he caring, he loves all of you at once, then he's like the energizer bunny, he just don't quit till you're screamin'."

Millie put a lip lock on Jonah and said, "Get me one of these for my birthday, Honey. I want an energizer bunny."

It's hard to keep a straight face around Millie, and now Frieda when they get wound up. Since it was Saturday night, a lot of couples were out riding, bar hopping. Frieda saw some of her friends and we were soon off to another bar. I felt a little out of place at the next place we went to, as I was the only guy except for a rather large, but obviously gay bouncer. As soon as we were inside, Frieda was hollering. "Hey Sam, where's that cunt, Sam, she has to pay up, come on out you cheap dike and buy my guy a beer."

A female, dressed mannish with short hair, came out a door behind the bar. "What are you yelling about and you," she was pointing at me, "you are not welcome in here. Beat it."

Frieda took my arm, "He's mine, Sam, and he's made me a believer. I'll loan him to you for an evening and you'll be begging him to come back."

Sam looked warily at me, "You drugging this lez cunt or what."

"No, Sam, he just loved me up to the point that I want more and more."

"Just the same," Sam said, still unsure. "I think you should have a blood test or at least see a shrink." Sam turned to me and asked, "So you been in this cunt's pants, tell me something about her that's unusual."

I thought for a minute before saying, "Do you mean that cherry birthmark she has on her, ah," I thought of what limb it would be from my perspective, "her left thigh?"

Sam just said to the barmaid, "Give the man a beer then get Joey to throw him out. Damn, even a good lez isn't safe from the clutches of the penis."

Frieda was still having fun, "Did I say I fucked him? The man knows how to eat pussy with the best of them. He licks, he sucks, he bites, and he loves it. He's so good, I dragged him up by his ears to kiss him and that hard thing he carries around popped right in. From there on, I was a goner."

Several of the girls around us were laughing at the contortions Frieda was going through to describe our liaison. Some were up close and personal, trying to get a handful of my butt while I was standing with Frieda. She noticed their getting friendly and said, "Better watch out, you may catch what I did, then you'll never be satisfied with just women again."

Frieda was smiling, "Give 'em all a quick kiss, Chuck, and let's beat feet. I want to show you around some more."

We hit two more places before I felt like I had all the beer I could hold. We were on the way back toward Tampa when Frieda said in my ear, "Take me home, take me to your place. I want to wake next to you in the morning."

Frieda had been fun, so I quietly rolled up to my back door, shutting down while still coasting. I noticed Bart's bike was back and was glad I was being quiet. After quickly chaining up the bike, I unlocked the back door and brought Frieda inside. I rummaged around in my duffel to find her one of the new toothbrushes I had. We brushed our teeth and crawled into bed, with the window open.

I didn't realize how tanked Frieda had been getting, but we had just snuggled when I could tell she was gone. It was nice snuggling with a naked lady anyway. I fell sound asleep.

I woke to noise in the kitchen. I opened an eye and could see into the kitchen where Shirley was getting pans out to cook breakfast. I slid from bed to close the door, but Shirley saw me before I was done. "Hey stud, I see you have company. Do you mind if I get the old man some breakfast. He's a little hung over and needs some food. I'm making pancakes, so I'll make you guys some too."

I closed the door and crawled back in bed. Frieda had her eyes open and was smiling, "Do you have a maid or is that another girl friend?"

"She's a neighbor that I share food with. I buy, she cooks. It's a good deal and we both get fed."

Frieda snuggled into me and kissed me, "I woke in the middle of the night and wanted to wake you up to ravish you, but you were so peaceful looking I let you sleep. And just think, I was drunk on my ass last night. You could have done anything you wanted to me but you just cuddled up and we slept. Some biker you are."

After a few more kisses, Frieda said, "I need the bathroom bad and I have to get some aspirin out of my belly pack. I tried to drink the bars dry, didn't I?"

Frieda surprised me by getting up naked and walking out of the bedroom to the bathroom. When she was through in the bathroom, she walked into the kitchen where I could hear her talking to Shirley, then I heard Bart's gravely voice. This babe had balls. I quickly got up and slid my jeans on, only to meet Frieda as she came in the bedroom with a cup of coffee for me.

She smiled and said, "Now you have a rep. Shirley's guy is out there with his tongue dragging on the floor. I stood there talking to Shirley and kept scratching my cootchie right in front of him."

"How did you know Shirley's name?" I asked curious.

"I didn't, that was the first thing I asked her. I said to her, 'What's your name, Honey, I need to find out where a glass is so I can get some water for some aspirin.' She told me, so I said 'Shirley get me a cup so I can take Chuck some coffee to get him started.' Her old man was having a cow."

"I guess he knows I'm heterosexual now anyway," I said with a smile. "Put something on so I can think of something I'd rather eat than you. I'm hungry for you and food."

As Frieda pulled on her jeans and T-shirt she said, "Let's get some chow and after that I'll take care of that other hunger."

We ate with Shirley and Bart then I told Shirley to scoot, that Frieda and I would do dishes. They were quickly done and we took a quick shower. Frieda thought it was funny how I had to constantly hop and grab hold of things to keep my balance. I told her to try to do her stuff on one foot and tell me how easy it was.

After drying off, Frieda helped me back to bed snuggling into me with lots of kisses. It wasn't long till we were going after each other in that ancient physical dance that men and women have been doing since time began. It took a while, but when we were finally satisfied, Frieda said, "I wasn't kidding last night to Sam. This is so good. I'm going to have to try out some other guys to find out if it's as good, or what. I like this stuff. I used to go home with Jonah and Millie, but I never would let Jonah touch me. Millie and I would do each other until I was zoned, then Jonah would bang her senseless. I want to try them out again and let Jonah do me that way this time. See, you've made me a new woman."

Soon, we cleaned up and dressed, so I could give Frieda a ride home. No one was at her house, so I kissed her goodbye saying I would see her in the morning. At home, I discovered all of my new shirts had been washed and ironed. I used the rest of the day to clean the bike, the pickup, and gave the apartment a dusting. I noticed when I came in that there was something on low in the oven, so I checked to find Shirley was making lasagna. She came in, pulled the tray from the oven and cranked the oven up. Once it was at the right temperature, she put the tray back in and said, "We'll eat in about forty-five minutes. If you want something to go with that, get it out. You still have some lettuce, do you want a salad?"

I ate a salad, set the table, and was enjoying a beer when Bart and Shirley came in. They teased me about Frieda a little, but mainly ate. Bart was on his good behavior without being confrontational. Shirley was just enjoying having her man around. Bart said, "I heard there is a big job down at Tampa Shipyard. Some big ship is in to get cleaned up. That's right up my alley, so I'm going down early in the morning to see if I can get on. I need to hang around here a little before I lose this lady. I know I have a golden girl, I just don't treat her like it. I'm a tellin' ya straight, I'm gonna try to do this right. At least for a while. Then we'll see."

Shirley was obviously happy, smiling with pleasure. She washed dishes and said, "Bart has to be down to the shipyard at eight so we have to eat breakfast early. If you want, I can just take his breakfast and cook it at home, and you can eat later."

"That's fine, Shirley. I need to get an early start anyway. I'll be up by five thirty. See you two when you get here, and that lasagna was great. Can I take some of that for lunch tomorrow?"

Shirley was happy receiving the compliment, "That's why I made so much. I'll freeze some for another meal, but I'll keep out a couple of helpings for lunches."

In the morning, I was showered and partially dressed by the time Shirley came in around five forty-five. Bart was done and gone by six fifteen, while I relaxed a little before finishing getting ready.

Somehow I knew Ms. White was going to be early, so I showed up at seven thirty and met her coming in. After she put her personal stuff in her office, we went up to my new office on the third floor. The former employee had not been in the office for what looked like months, as there were stacks of mail throughout the room.

Ms. White told me to go through the mail, and try to straighten the office, keeping in mind what the goal of the job was. By noon, I had taken two loads of trash down to the dumpster out back and the office was beginning to look like an office. I ate my lasagna at lunch with the usual group and was teased by the envious women about the great time we had out at the Hard Rock the previous Friday. No one mentioned that I had stayed over.

I spent the second half of the day going through the mail the second time around to make sure of what was worth keeping, reducing the stacks to about half. I did find a notice that my department had a healthy advertising budget to help me find jobs for exiting servicemen and women, and to attract out of work retired or released personnel.

Among the mess, I also found a job directive with an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) flip book that I wanted to study later. I figured that if I could read up on what I was supposed to be doing, I could make up a game plan for what to do.

Ms. White came up toward the end of the day and was amazed that the office looked like an office. It really was roomy, actually larger than Ms. White's, but it didn't have any windows like she had. The lack of windows didn't matter because a lot of my work was going to be out of the office anyway. In addition to the desk, a large credenza, and two side chairs, I had a nice little conference table with four chairs to have meetings at or to use for interviews. I was gifted with a nice small combination stereo, radio, and CD player that had been left, so I had music to work by. I found a soothing soft jazz station that went very well in the office.

When the day was done, I gathered the stuff I wanted to read later and put it into a very nice satchel that had been left in the office. Out in the parking lot, the Fab Five were standing around a little Saturn sports car. Tiani hollered for me to join them. Judy asked me, "We go over to Rocky's after work for a few minutes most every night. Want to join us? We don't stay long, but it's always nice to stop for one or two.

I nodded and went for my truck.

The girls followed me on foot, so I knew then that Rocky's must be close. At the end of the parking lot, we went into a back door of a neighborhood bar that was full of office workers. I recognized several people from the counter area, and smiled and nodded as people said hi.

We found an open booth and the six of us crowded into it. I was put between Tiani and Nancy on one side with Judy, Frieda, and Brandy on the other. A waitress in short shorts and a bulgy T-shirt came for our order.

Brandy opened the conversation with, "So Frieda took you to some of her haunts Saturday night. I'm glad, she usually either stays home or she goes to one of her gay bars. She must have had a good time, as I noticed she wasn't home yet when I got up."

Frieda said, "I even took him to one of my favorite girly bars. There's a standing joke that if a lez goes straight, the guy she goes straight with gets a free drink. Chuck took the razzing well. We went to a few other places until he said enough. I was so plowed, I don't even remember going to bed. Chuck was the perfect gentleman and didn't take advantage of a drunk babe."

Brandy said, "He was probably afraid you were going to get sick on him."

We had a couple of drinks before we all left to go wherever it was we were going. I went back to the apartment and changed out of my new suit for some jeans and T-shirt. Shirley had supper just about done and Bart was sitting on my couch, watching TV drinking a beer.

I popped a beer and dug out the manual I had brought home, hoping to glean some information from it. The thing was written like a lot of government instructions, very dry, and not very descriptive. You will do this, you will do that sort of thing.

After supper, I really dug in and was able to figure out what I was supposed to do and what the job really entailed. There was a hell of a budget for my position with some heavy expenses expected. I pulled the advertising notice out again to re-read it and discovered that the Washington office was requesting a reason why no money had been spent for advertising. I would work on spending some of the budget right away.

The next reading was the SOP. It was a little more plain language and was set up more in a Monday through Friday manner. It gave suggested daily objectives and contacts plus described the reports that were to be filed on Friday. I would have to find the forms they were describing.

By ten I was tired, ready for bed, so I locked up and crashed. Shirley woke me up at five thirty when she came in the back door to start breakfast. I hopped around getting a shower and dressing. Bart was finished eating by the time I was dressed, saying he needed to be at work by six forty-five every day. He said he was hired yesterday and was able to get in a full day. He seemed happy to be staying around for a while.

I was back at work at seven-thirty, meeting Ms. White in the parking lot again. She said for me to get settled in my office this morning and she would be up around eight-thirty. By the time she showed, I had a list on a yellow pad of what I wanted to accomplish today.

I showed her the manual I had read and the SOP, along with my goals for the day. She said that there were copies of suggested advertising down in the media office so that would be easier. She said I should establish regular office hours so counter people would know when I would be in the office.

She told me to let her know about anything out of the ordinary I might find in the office, and not to tell anyone else.

I skipped a few items on my list and went to the media office to get some suggested advertising. They had a huge folder that had never been opened, so I took the whole thing back to my office. When I called the newspaper to get pricing, I was shocked at the quoted rates. The budget would be used up with one small ad.

There were other ways to get into the newspaper, so I called the media office and asked if they used an agency. They did, so I called them. They told me they would send an advertising specialist over right away.

I called the local Air Force base employment office and introduced myself. I made an appointment to visit with them on Wednesday morning and remembered to call the motor pool to reserve a vehicle. A guy there said that my department had a car reserved all the time, but that it had not been brought in for service for over six months. I asked him to write a note about it and forward it to the director, as well as Ms. White. I would use my pickup if necessary, until they found the car.

The advertising guy came and I expressed my concern over the rates that I had been quoted. He assured me that the rates his agency received were a quarter of what the paper quoted. I showed him what I wanted for this coming Sunday, and he helped set it up with the hours I would be in the office. I would be in the office on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings and Wednesday and Friday afternoons. I called Ms. White to see if those firm hours would be good and she agreed.

The agency guy said he wanted to get some free advertising by getting out a news release on me. He interviewed me, getting my military background along with my other personal information. He said, "I'll play down your lack of a degree and play up your quick rank in the military. That should give a good impression. I'll put this in each of the regional inserts, plus I'll get it into the St. Pete Times. That should be worth some activity. Don't worry about your budget, I can get good sized ads in every Sunday without ever going over your budget."

I told him I wanted to advertise that we had jobs, but to advertise for people to use the service. He looked through the suggested advertising copy and selected another cut. "This should take care of getting them in to use the service. I'll put your office hours on this along with your name and you should be busier that a one armed paper hanger."

Lunch time was the typical good time, eating with the Fab Five and the other folks that stayed in for lunch. Ms. White came in and asked me to stop in her office before going back upstairs. The girls made sure I was going to stop with them after work before I left, heading toward Ms. White's office. She had a new temp at the desk I had sat in and she announced me to Ms. White.

"Chuck, the car is a problem. The girl who had the job won't give it back so I've asked the director to have a U.S. Marshal go out to get it. He became pretty nervous over the whole thing, so there may be more to that girl just not coming to work. I'm going to let it slip to the motor pool that they need to track it down or to report it missing. Not stolen, just missing. We'll see if that helps. In the meantime, you can use my agency vehicle if you need it."

"I'll use my truck. It's clean with a good body, and should pass the base inspection when I go out there in the morning. I'll use it until they find me a car."

Ms. White nodded her agreement and handed me a box of business cards. It was funny to see my name on a federal government business card. It was very impressive. I told her that I had begun advertising and had an appointment at the Air base in the morning. She reminded me, "You may find notes or something strange up there. If you do, give them to me and don't pass anything around."

I worked on my list till two thirty, when I decided to go through the desk and credenza drawers to clean them out. They had been stuffed with notes and various papers.

Before I could even start, the director walked into my office and did a quick look around. "How are you doing in your new job, Chuck?"

"Great, Sir. So far everything is going smoothly."

"I see you've cleaned up in here. What did you do just use a shovel and scoop it out?"

"I sorted it all out and threw away everything that didn't affect the agency or the job. It wasn't too bad."

He said, "Cleaned up and out everything, huh?"

"Yes Sir, I needed a starting point and found the department directory as well as the SOP. I've already begun using it to establish an office procedure."

"That's great to hear. Say, Chuck, if you run into anything in the files or where ever that looks strange or out of place. Let me have it okay? Sometimes past employees leave landmines around."

"Yes Sir, I'll do that."

"Oh, by the way, nice suit. Have you already spent your allowance?"

"Most of it sir, Ms. White and her husband took me shopping last Saturday and helped me pick out clothes. As you can see, they have good taste."

"I'll say, that's a thousand dollar Brooks Brother suit you have on. I hope you got a discount."

"A big discount, Sir. I think it's called the Men's Outlet Mart."

"Oh yeah, I know the place. It's in a real seedy part of town. Be careful down there."

I thought that was a little strange coming from a guy like him. I guess he's above getting a deal on clothes.

When he left, I began going through the drawers. The center one didn't have anything of importance in it and was soon empty, but it kept sticking. I'd get to it later. In the top right drawer I found a bunch of notes that were for after hours meetings with the director. It seemed strange for there to be so many, so I saved those and put them in an envelope. The addresses on the notes varied and they didn't mean anything to me.

In the bottom left hand drawer, I found some letters and cards that were obviously personal as they appeared to be love letters. I was going to chuck them, but decided to look inside one. The notes were handwritten and were all signed by the same name as the director. I quickly shoved all of them into the big envelope.

The credenza was another mess. There were more notes, letters, and cards, plus a big envelope that I opened that had a bunch of eight by ten photos of the director and some girl that I didn't recognize. The photos were of them in suits, with some in casual clothes. I put those aside and finished throwing away the junk from the credenza. I saved all the agency books and manuals, but threw away two years of out of date telephone books from around the area. The cleaning people were going to hate me, but I didn't feel like making multiple trips to the dumpster again. I would take one box down as I left tonight, but that was all.

It was four thirty, so I still had some time. I figured on fixing the center drawer on the desk. I got down on my knees to look to see if I could see what was catching and saw something taped under the desk that the drawer was catching on. There was a large envelope duct taped to the bottom of the desk. I slowly peeled off the tape so I wouldn't destroy whatever it was holding. When I had it free, I put the drawer back up before looking inside the envelope.

Oops! The envelope was stuffed with dozens of porno photographs. It took a couple of seconds before I realized that the people in the photos were the director and the lady in the other pictures, plus there were some people that I recognized from other departments. I'd bet this is what the director was looking for. I'd also bet that this is what Ms. White expected as well.

I put everything I had found into my satchel and went downstairs to see Ms. White. I didn't even take the big box of trash down. Before I went downstairs though, I wrote a short note to Ms. White, but didn't sign it. It said, call me on my cell between five thirty and six.

I made it to Ms. White's office just as she was closing her door. She asked me, "Do you lock your office up at night?"

"No ma'am, there's nothing in it that isn't from the agency, so there's no need. Besides I'm hoping the cleaning people will finish taking the trash out. The place needs a good scrubbing."

"You might have to do the thorough scrubbing yourself but you can ask to have it painted if you want. I'll ask the janitor crew to give your office some special attention. I know the previous person always had it locked and they couldn't get in."

We were in the hallway alone, so I gave her the note and made the motion of the finger in front of my lips to be quiet. She nodded in understanding and she went to her car as I went to my pickup. I put my satchel in it and walked to Rocky's. The girls were already there. They must have split thirty seconds early to be there already. They were discussing something that had happened to Nancy that day.

Nancy said, "I'm going to tell, Chuck. He'll have an opinion."

The other girls looked at each other, but they all shrugged their shoulders.

Nancy said, "The director had me in his office most of this afternoon for what he was calling my annual interview. My boss gives me my review, not the director. Anyway, after the first fifteen minutes the man was very forward asking me to go out with him, asking me over to his place to party with him and his wife. He was even saying how he could get me a special job at the agency that paid really well. That isn't right. I'm thinking about telling my boss."

Tiani said, "You know he did that with Brandy and with me too. I just let him know I wasn't interested and he let me go. You know the amount of times he called Brandy at home until she threatened him saying she would let her dad know he was harassing her."

Nancy said to me, "What do you think I should do, Chuck?"

I dug out my little note book and wrote Ms. White's cell number on it. "Call this number later. You'll recognize the voice. Tell that person about your problem and mention Tiani and Brandy had the same problem."

"Who is this?" Nancy asked.

"Just call, don't talk about this stuff to anyone else, especially at work. Too many places have ears. Do you guys always sit in this booth? See, if I wanted to know some office gossip, I could bug this booth and I'd know everything fast. This is better than the lunch room because you think no one knows you're here. It's always best to discuss personal stuff away from crowds."

The girls all looked at each other and decided to just tell some jokes and personal stories, letting the bad conversation go for the time being until it was time to leave the bar.



-------

Chapter 7



I left the bar early so I could get my call from Ms. White. I was just inside my pickup at five thirty when my cell phone rang. It was Ms. White.

"What is all the cloak and dagger stuff about, Chuck?"

"I found some stuff in the office today that is pretty personal in nature that you might want to look at so you can decide what to do with it. Where can I give this to you?"

"How much is it, Chuck?"

"My satchel is full. Four or five big envelopes and it is sensitive enough that I don't wish to give it to someone to give to you later. I wish to hand it over to you personally."

"I'm at my husband's restaurant that we went to Saturday. Can you come by there now?"

"It's just down the street. I'll be there in five to ten depending on traffic and parking."

"Park in the back next to my car. I'll tell the security guard to look for your pickup."

I drove to the restaurant and parked. Ms. White met me in the kitchen and took me to a big office. I began handing her stuff in the envelopes that she looked at quickly and said, "This is some really personal stuff. My goodness there must be a year's worth of letters and cards. She looked at the first photos I had found and said, "These are from the big agency party we had a year or so ago."

I got ready to hand her the envelope with the porn in it, "Ms. White, in this envelope are some photos that are going to offend you. If you are easily offended, let someone else look at them and describe them. These are not for the squeamish and are very damning."

She wrinkled her forehead and said, "Give 'em to me, I'm no prude."

After she began looking through them, she exclaimed, "Oh shit. Damn, would you look at that, it looks like, ah Chuck, did you look at these closely?"

"Not too close, I didn't want to get caught looking at stuff like that at work."

"Where did you find these?"

I said, "The center drawer on my desk was sticking, as I was trying to fix it, I found those in an envelope taped to the bottom of the desk."

Ms. White thought for a minute and said, "Go home. I may call you later."

I told Mrs. White, "I gave your number to someone who will call you. They have a problem with this same guy. I told them you would help."

She nodded and made a motion shooing me out.

At home, Bart and Shirley had just begun to eat, so I quickly took off my tie and coat and sat to eat. Bart had to comment, "What kind of job do you have that you dress up fancy like that?"

"I find jobs for military people when they get out of service or retire. I just started so I'm just getting into it."

"If you run into any electricians or other trades people getting out, there are a lot of jobs out at the shipyard. They even have labor jobs out there right now."

"Thanks, Bart. I'll come out there to get a listing. Hopefully, beginning next week, a lot of men who have gotten out of the service recently will ask for help finding work."

Before I had finished eating, my cell phone rang. It was Ms. White. "Can you come back to the restaurant for a few minutes, I want you to meet someone?"

I told her that I would be there in about a half hour. I finished eating and put my tie back on, grabbed my coat, and left. I parked in back of the restaurant next to Ms. White's car again.

Inside, I went to the office and knocked. Reggie let me in saying, "You sure stirred up a hornet's nest, Chuck."

Ms. White introduced me to Howard Smith, U.S. Marshal. We shook hands and he motioned for me to sit. "Tell me, Mr. Johnson, where exactly did you find all this information that you gave Mrs. White."

I told him the story, and afterward he asked. "Have you had any conversations with the director?"

"He came by earlier and asked that I give him anything unusual that I might find in the office. He seemed happy that I had thrown everything away."

"We just had a couple of our men go out to the lady's house that is pictured here to pick up the agency car. She was not very nice and is currently in custody for assault. She's running her mouth off, telling us all kinds of things. We may not need anything you found to convict the director of misappropriation of government funds, but I wanted to let you know that you could be in danger if he finds out you have turned him in. Ms. White is in an equal amount of danger. If I arrest him now, he may get out on bail since it takes forever to take someone to trial on a federal charge. It's during that time that I would want you to be careful."

I asked the man, "What are you going to do, Mr. Smith?"

"Call me Howard. I think I'm going to investigate the director a little more. I'd like to find a few hooks that I could use to recover some money. I can keep the lady in quiet custody for a while so she can't let the cat out of the bag, but if he gets wind there's a problem, he could get weird. Where do you live?"

I gave him my apartment address and he said he would have the Tampa police do some drive-by's to keep tabs on the neighborhood, but that wouldn't protect me very much. He suggested I find a more secure apartment.

I was back home by seven and decided I needed some excitement, so I changed clothes to jeans and a T-shirt and took the bike out for some exercise. Actually, I rode straight to Jonah's. It was a slow night, so I played pool with Jonah, and with Millie, while enjoying a couple of beers.

Back home, I brushed my teeth and was in bed by ten thirty.

At work the next morning, I checked in with Ms. White and advised the group secretary where I would be and what my cell phone number was. Ms. White said that I could use an agency car as they had mine back, but it had to be replaced.

At the motor pool, I was given a plain white Ford Focus. It was fairly stripped, but had air and a radio. I drove out to the base and was directed to the employment office.

I explained what my plan was and that if they could keep me posted on what positions were open on base, I would appreciate it. The lady there gave me the name and telephone number of the personnel office out at the post office, plus several of the agencies in the city. I was back at the agency by noon, in time to eat with everyone. My lunch today was a surprise as it was a couple of sandwiches made up by Shirley and an apple. The Fab Five were planning a weekend excursion to a place called the Don Caesar in St. Petersburg. They said it wouldn't be real expensive and that we could get a room together to split costs. Some of the other ladies in the lunchroom looked at us a little strange, but the girls said, "Chuck is the perfect gentleman. We would never hesitate to share a room with him. Too bad though, we've all been trying to make him a little less gentlemanly."

Larry heard that and said, "Perhaps Chuck would prefer to go over there with me. He might not be such a gentleman with me."

"That's okay, Larry, I'd rather be teased by a bunch of cuties than by you. It will be fun to see all these girls in their unmentionables. It'll give me some nice dreams."

Tiani hit me on the shoulder, saying, "Be nice, we'll just have to get you drunk and take advantage of you."

I laughed and said, "Promises, promises."

Ms. White asked if I could join her and her husband for supper this evening at the restaurant. "I would never pass up free food, Ma'am. What time?"

I was to meet them at seven.

After work and Rocky's, I went home and told Shirley that I was invited out that evening, so Bart should eat my share. Shirley said, "It's a roast so you can take some with you for lunch tomorrow."

I changed into a casual shirt with a sport coat and slacks. Reggie's sports bar and restaurant was sort of fancy, so I thought I would dress as I saw him dress the night before.

Surprise, surprise, Howard Smith joined us for supper in a private dining room. First Howard spoke, "I'm not sure how much you should know of our investigation, but I thought you should know that it is continuing and that we've uncovered several areas that we are pursuing. From the extent of what we've found, my agency feels that anyone with information on the case should be aware of the potential dangers. Apparently, some underworld people are involved. We don't know to what extent yet, but they are being funneled fees through your agency, especially your department, Mr. Johnson, so you need to be especially concerned. I've asked that you be re-assigned to DC or somewhere else for training. No one has responded yet, so this is to just let you know what may come."

"Chuck," Ms. White began, "Reggie wants to give you something before you leave, plus Howard has a permit that was issued to you today. I want you to be especially careful as the director did not come in today and Howard's people lost him this afternoon."

Reggie leaned over the table and handed me a Browning semi-automatic 9 mm. "Here take this, it's yours. This is like what you had as a sidearm in service, and it's a piece I don't use anymore."

He pulled back his coat, "I have this neat 40 caliber Glock now that I carry. I can carry it in the bar here as the place is mine, and I'm a registered security agent. You are too now, so you can carry inside a bar but be careful. A lot of people wouldn't understand and it could get you in trouble."

Howard said, "I've registered you with my office and with the Tampa police department. You're in the Hillsborough County and Florida state records as well, so you shouldn't have any trouble if you are stopped. If a policeman stops you for a traffic violation, tell him you're armed immediately. That way he can look at your permit and check you out right away. Anyway, I hope you don't need that, but I brought along a couple of extra high capacity magazines for it and this box of rounds."

For the first time, I picked up the piece Reggie had laid down in front of me and dropped the magazine, and operated the slide to clear the chamber. The magazine was empty, so I put it back into the piece and let the slide forward.

Reggie said, "Fill a clip would you, make me feel better."

"I'll do it before I leave, Reggie, I'd rather eat your good food first."

As we finished, Ms. White said, "DC called me today to let me know I was under consideration for a new position. I don't know whether it is because of all of this, or whether it's because the director is trying to get me out of this office. You see, when I first started there, he put the make on me and I shot him down quick, and told him in no uncertain terms that he was on thin ice. His wife propositioned Reggie and me a couple of times at gatherings, but I didn't think too much of it until I viewed the pictures you brought to me. Howard has them now and will be checking out those people in the photos."

"The other people from the agency may be harmless and just a member of a swingers group, but my people, along with another agency, will be checking these other people out," Howard said and added. "I've asked the FBI to get another security clearance on you so I can have some private talks with you. Too bad you didn't finish your degree, I could use someone like you."

"Thanks, Mr. Smith, ah, Howard, but I think my job is a good one and I'm looking forward to helping other returning vets find work. This should be a good place to help others."

Ms. White said, "See, Howard, that's why I wanted this young man in our agency. He wants to do good."

After supper, I went with Reggie to his office and loaded all three magazines. He rummaged in a closet and came out with a shoulder holster harness and a belt holster. "Here, Chuck, take these. They fit the Browning and won't work with the Glock."

"Reggie, I can't just take this from you, let me buy it okay?"

Ms. White laughed, "Are you kidding, he's been saying he's going to turn that thing into the police department as it's just extra and he doesn't want it anymore. Besides, Chuck, if the director goes away, I'll probably get his job and it pays about twice what I get now. It's a cushy job that pays a ton. There are benefits to the higher levels of government jobs."

Reggie helped me with the shoulder holster checking to make sure I didn't have a bulge under my arm. Ms. White said, "Wear that, even to work. If you take off your jacket put the whole thing in your desk drawer and lock it. If the drawers don't lock, tell me and I'll order a locksmith for you."

On the way home, I thought to myself, 'This is a hell of lot more trouble than it should be. I just needed a job, not all this mystery and supposed danger. Over there in Iraq, I knew where to look for danger, but here, I don't know where it is. I need to look at my place differently I guess, and see what I can do to make it safe."

At home, I did a tour, checking the window locks as well as the catch on the front door. The dead bolt would be fine, but the door might as well have been made of balsa wood. One good kick and it would splinter tearing the jam out. I used one of the kitchen chairs and put it under the knob on the front door. The back door had a window on the top part so it wouldn't make any difference even with a chair on it. There was no way to make the place more secure.

I changed into jeans and put the piece in the clip on belt holster and left my shirt out. I walked around in front of the apartments and looked at how the cars were parked and the access to my front door. There wasn't an easy way to protect the door so I went back to the dumpster and poked around until I had a grocery bag full of beer cans and a couple of bottles.

There was a broken up kite with a roll of string on my back porch, so I poked holes in the beer cans and strung them up in the living room. I ran the string from my door knob to the bumper of my truck so if someone came to the door, they would trip on the string and rattle the cans. I put the cans by my bed with the string through the bottom of the front window. Next, I put some bottles and cans on the ground around my truck. I put a bottle standing up, with one lying down. Next was a can standing, then a can or bottle lying down. It looked like a bunch of trash except that if it were moved, I would know. If someone knocked over a bottle or stood a can up I would know.

I felt better about my security and figured I would be up early enough to pick up the empties before the apartment manager saw the trash. When I got ready for bed, I decided I should leave my prosthesis on and sleep in it. As long as I kept my stump clean and changed the sock every day, it should be okay.

It took me a while to get to sleep. It was almost eleven the last time I looked at the clock.

"Clang, rattle, Clang."

My cans next to the bed were rattling. I rolled out of bed and pulled the gun from the holster next to the bed. Slowly, I looked out the bedroom to see some shadows by the front window. Next I heard some cans out by the truck get kicked. I slept in shorts, so I went out the back door and walked quickly around the building to see what was up while calling 911 on my cell phone. There was a guy at my front door and two guys by the door of my truck. That was too many for me to confront, so I stayed in the shadows. The two guys finished doing whatever it was by my truck before they joined the guy at the door. It looked like the guy was trying to pick the lock. One of the men felt in his pocket and came out with a cell phone. He listened for a second then said loud enough for me to hear, "Let's get, the cops are coming."

They went to a car that was by the truck and jumped in slamming doors. There must have been a driver, as none got in the driver's door. The car took off without turning on their lights, so I couldn't get a look at the plate.

Seconds later a cop car with the lights flashing pulled in front of my apartment. I went to the car and told them what had happened. They went up to my door and tripped over my string again. I had to explain that was my alarm. They laughed and used a flashlight to look at the lock. It was scratched up but said they would have a crime scene guy come out to take prints. I told them the guys had done something to my truck and that they needed to look at it. They said a crime guy would do that. I took down the string and rolled it up, gathering the cans and bottles by my truck.

Soon a panel van came with four technicians to dust for fingerprints. One guy was looking at my truck and said, "Do you leave your door unlocked?"

"Nope it was locked when I parked it earlier. They shined flashlights in the window and said there was some kind of thin wire between the door and the steering wheel. I went to the other side of the truck and looked through the window. There was a grenade taped on the door. Pretty crude but effective. One of the crime guys found the pin on the ground and said, "We need to clear these apartments and get the bomb guys out here. Your truck may have more stuff on it if you say they were down under it."

I told the cops, "The landlord is going to kick me out of here if you guys do that. Can't you just quietly take that grenade out of the truck. You have the pin, I'll put it back in."

"No way, you don't know what kind of secondary stuff those guys left for you. Go put on some clothes, you have to be evacuated too. You need to cover that stalk you have as it scares the shit out of people."

I put on clothes as the cops began knocking on doors. The cops didn't tell anyone specifically what was happening but had us all move out to the street. People were groggy and sleepy and angry. The apartment manager kept asking whose place were they looking at, but the cops wouldn't say. I knew he'd find out later, but at least I didn't have to hear him bitch right then.

The cops herded us almost to the next block and said that if it was going to be long they would have a bus take us to a shelter. An hour later, I saw my truck go down the street on a flat bed truck. A detective came down and asked for the guy who owned the white S-10. The manager glared at me. The detective told everyone that they could go back to bed.

I took the detective to my apartment and made coffee. I showed him my state and federal carry permit and gave him Howard Smith's card. "You need to run this whole incident by him. He was expecting something like this to happen. How come you took my truck?"

The detective said, "If the bomb guys can't get rid of the junk under it they're going to blow it up. Hope you don't have anything important in there."

"Shit, I just bought it. It's a good little truck."

"Well you'll have to get another one as that one is gonna be impounded for a while."

About three in the morning Howard Smith showed up with two more men. His men interviewed me and the detectives. They told me to get dressed in clothes to leave the apartment as they wanted me somewhere they could watch me. They said they would take me to a hotel, so bring whatever I needed for the next day. They would bring me back for more later.

I took a suit, shirt, and tie. I had on the shoes I would wear. I wrote out a note to Shirley and left it on the counter and left.

Howard took me in his car, saying he had already notified Ms. White. They took me downtown to a hotel across the street from the federal building. Howard cautioned, "When you get up, don't go to work. Come next door but be sure to show them your ID so they don't arrest you for having a piece. Ask for me at the desk and you'll be escorted to my office."

It was five in the morning by the time I was in the hotel room. Too late to go back to bed, so I took a shower and dressed. I went to the hotel restaurant to eat. While I was sitting, drinking coffee and reading the paper, I noticed three guys come in and sit across the room. They looked like they had been up all night and were disheveled with messy hair and wrinkled suits. The one guy dropped his napkin and leaned over to pick it up with his left hand. His coat opened and I could plainly see a shoulder holster hanging there.

Shit! I can't even eat breakfast. I started to get flustered but then I decided that I would go ahead and eat. If they got weird, I was going to take my anger out on them for losing a night's sleep.

My bacon, eggs, toast, and milk were good, but barely enough after being up all night. When I was done, I went to the register to pay, making sure the men at the other table weren't making any moves. I went out to the lobby and used my cell phone to call Howard. I told him about the three guys and that they were still sitting in the restaurant, but watching me. Howard said to stand in the lobby where the men could see me, but to act like I'm waiting for someone and keep looking at my watch.

Less than two minutes later I saw guys coming in two different doors. They were suits that looked like cops. Meanwhile, I saw a guy come through the kitchen door and walk right up to the three men at the same time the others converged into the restaurant. With five men showing hardware to the three guys, they didn't try anything, but were in cuffs and being led out immediately. I saw Howard come in and he waved for me to follow. Before going out to the street, I looked up and down the street to see if I could see the car from the night before.

A big Buick was sitting at the side of the street near the hotel door. I hollered to Howard and pointed at the car. The driver was too busy watching his buddies being led across the street and didn't notice Howard and me closing in on him.

Howard went to the window, while I went to the passenger door. The driver's window was down and Howard just stuck is gun in the window and told the driver to keep his hands in the air and slowly get out of the car. Another agent saw that Howard was doing something and came over to assist. They cuffed the driver and Howard took him to the federal building, leaving the other agent to stay with the car until it could be picked up and impounded.

I followed Howard and the cuffed man into the federal building. Howard told me to show my permits and to follow him. We took the man upstairs in an elevator, with Howard saying, "We like to question guys on the top floor so if they don't give us enough we just throw 'em out the window and say it was suicide." He laughed when he said, "We have a lot of suicides here."

I could tell the cuffed bad guy didn't like the gist of that conversation because he kept squirming around in his cuffs. Perspiration was oozing from his forehead.

Howard took the man into a room and came back out. He showed me a door and told me to watch, but not to say anything.

Two of Howard's men went into the room with the cuffed driver. One of the guys went over to the window and opened it up all the way. The cuffed guy sitting down, just stared at the open window.

Howard came into the room and said, "Tell you what, guys, I think I can handle this by myself for a bit. I'll holler if I need some help." The two men left the room and immediately came in with me, smiling.

Howard sat down on the other side of the man and said, "So who are you working for this week? Give me a straight answer quickly. I don't have a lot of time today."

The guy looked at Howard and back to the window. Looking down at the table, he said "Nardelli."

"Okay, that's a start. Which Nardelli, and what were you up to?"

"Poppa Nardelli, we were just watching a guy."

"Funny how you plant a hand grenade and a bomb in a guy's pickup and you're just watching him. You were made at the apartment this morning. Tell me who this job is for?"

"I don't know that. Nobody tells a driver anything? I don't know what those guys did out there at those shacks. I just drive."

"You know we're on the eleventh floor, don't you? Let me show you."

Howard wasn't that big, but he sure was strong. He picked the guy up by his belt and neck and hauled him to the window and stuck his head out the window. He brought him back inside and literally threw him across the room.

"Get up, get in that chair and start talking. I'm tired of this game already. I want some answers."

The guy said, "Honest, I'm just a driver. The other guys know more'n me. I drive, I watch for people and tell them. I report back to a telephone number, that's all."

"Who is poppa doing this job for? This better be a good answer."

The cuffed guy was really sweating now and said, "I don't know his name but he's some guy that Poppa is doing business with. He's some kind of government guy. He's a spear chucker, you know, black. I don't hang with those guys, neither does Poppa unless he's makin' some bread off of 'em. I only saw the guy once when he was leaving Poppa's place in Ybor City.

Now that was chilling. Reggie's place was also in Ybor City. The area is pretty big, but business communities are pretty small and pretty tight. I bet Reggie knows this Poppa Nardelli.

Howard got up and said, "I want you to sit here and think about that window for a little while. If you would rather use it than talk, be my guest but watch so you don't land on anyone down on the sidewalk. Give yourself a good push off so you'll land out on the street. It's easier to clean up the blood."

Howard came out of the room waving for me to come with him. He left the two men watching the driver in the interrogation room.

"Let's see how the boys are doing with these other three. They are going to have them split up. You can bet they all have a window open and have made all of the right inferences. We're not going to let them jump as there are cameras in the rooms. We're allowed to scare them though. I think I can get away with throwing the guy back toward the desk. Besides, I was angry at him for blowing smoke up my butt. Nardelli brags a lot. I'm sure all his men know exactly what's going down."

Howard talked to one of the guys standing outside a room. "The guy's a parrot. He's yakking away in there to Tony. From what I heard, we can take Nardelli down. We even Mirandized the dude so we could use the video for trial. The guy keeps talking about this Jordan Hawkins. We have to find out who he is."

Howard smiled at me, "Wanna tell 'em?"

"Jordan Hawkins is the regional director for the Federal Unemployment Agency. I guess that's employment rather than unemployment, but he is my boss."

"Well, we have him dead to rights," the agent said. "I think we need to send someone out to pick him up." He looked at me and said, "Call your office and see if you can find out if he's there."

I went to a nearby desk and called through to Ms. White. I explained that I was in the US Marshal's office and was asked to see if Mr. Hawkins was in the office.

"He was in earlier, but left for an appointment he said he had an eight thirty. I figured you wouldn't be in today from the way Mr. Smith was talking last night. Did something happen?"

I told her that I would tell her later but asked her if she knew where Mr. Hawkins appointment was? She put me on hold and came back to the phone, "Funny, he has an appointment with Anthony Nardelli. You might not know this but Anthony Nardelli is the one known as Poppa. He has a restaurant real close to Reggie's."

I thanked her and said I would probably be in later.

After relaying the information to Howard he called a couple of agents and told them to go pick up Jordan Hawkins down at Poppa's restaurant. The place was even named Poppa's. Howard asked me what kind of car Hawkins drove and I told him a gold Mercedes. I didn't know the model but it was a big four door sedan.

The guys asked if they should bring Poppa in. Howard said, "You know, let's not do that right now. We have enough to bring him in, but let's hold off right now. It might help in the long run. We're going to have to call in the bureau, especially since the local cops are compromised. They are going to be pissed for us taking this as far as we have anyway."



-------

Chapter 8

When he was finished sending his men out, Howard told me, "I have to call the FBI in. They are the ones who really have jurisdiction. We have a relationship with your agency because of people that go through the unemployment process, and it is our responsibility to protect federal employees and property. Some of them could be people we are looking for. Did you see the posters down by the counter? We have a stack of posters near each counter for your people to look at. It's surprising how many people are on the run and figure out how to collect unemployment."

Howard made his call to the FBI and I heard him say to come on up to his offices. When he hung up, he took me out to a lady and said to her, "Deputize this man. Take down his info. I'm making him a deputy Marshal for a while. He's dumb enough to work with us on the Q.T."

Howard said to me, "This is Sarah, don't ask her out for a date, she'll go with you and you'll never get rid of her." He left with Sarah throwing a pencil at his back.

Sarah was about forty, not bad looking, but too old for me anyway. "I'm not that bad. Don't believe what that jerk tells you. The only reason I'm still single is that I haven't caught one of these guys yet. We have a bunch of single Marshals in the department right now, so the odds are in my favor. You're a little young, Honey, so let me deputize you and put some years on you."

"Let's see," as she flipped through a file, "you're the Charles Johnson that Howard wrote up in his report. You're the new rising star over at the Federal Employment Office. I see you have one hell of a service record. You're just the kind of young man our service and this office need. Like I said, you're a little young, but I think we can age you a little."

The lady swore me in, opened a drawer, and pulled out a leather wallet. She flipped it open and copied down the number on a badge inside the wallet. She quickly typed up a card, had me hold still while she photographed me. She glued the photo on the card and laminated the whole thing. "There you go, Honey, you're now an official federal Deputy Marshal. We only go after federal criminals, but we can act as peace officers at any time. If you run into a bad guy and don't know what to do with him, call the FBI. Give the agent who answers this badge number and they'll listen to you."

I put the wallet in my coat pocket and was going to go back in where Howard was. "Honey, the kitchen is right through there," she was pointing in another direction. "Get some coffee in there and be sure to take a donut or two. Now that you're sort of a cop, you have to eat donuts." Sarah laughed as I made my way in the direction she was pointing. "Oh and you can get back into Howard's area by going through the other door there. And I forgot, be sure to hold your badge up when you go through the metal detectors down stairs. Make sure they check your badge and log your badge number. That's their job."

The coffee was fresh and the donuts were still warm. No wonder policemen like donuts. I went into the other office and saw Howard sitting in an office with glass walls. He was on the phone and had someone across from him in a chair. He saw me and waved for me to come in.

I went in the door of the office and set my two donuts and the coffee down on an end table next to a couch. Howard got off the phone and said, "Give the coffee and donuts to agent Barnstead. Go get you and me some coffee too and bring back a hand full of donuts, any kind."

I shook hands with agent Barnstead and headed back to the kitchen. I poured two more cups of coffee and picked up a hand full of donuts. They had carriers, so I put everything in one, along with a handful of napkins and went back to Howard's office.

Howard said, "Mike, this is Chuck Johnson, the guy who started this mess. I've deputized him so you can brutalize and use him if you need. He's an ex-marine that needs a cane to get around because of a fake leg, but I think he left his cane where he had breakfast."

I realized that I had done just that. Hopefully someone saw it and they are keeping it at the hotel desk.

Howard said, "One of the guys picked it up for you when we pulled all the glasses off the table for fingerprints. We wanted to run those guys real fast to see who they were before we started questioning them. They are a real trio. All three were up for manslaughter up in New York and one did some time out in Nevada for planting a bomb in some mobster's car. You were lucky last night. I heard about the tin can alarm you had set up. Pretty slick. It saved your ass, that's for sure."

Mike Barnstead asked, "How long since you've been out?"

When I answered that it was a week ago this past Monday he asked, "How in the hell have you stirred up all this mess in just over a week?"

I gave him a brief synopsis of what had transpired and he said to Howard, "So that's who that chick is you have in quiet custody. You want these guys put away the same? We can hold them for crimes against the government for thirty days without charging them, just like terrorists."

Howard said, "Please do, the more people we take out of the loop right now, the better. If Poppa don't know what happened to his contract people, he might get nervous and do something stupid. At least, that's my thinking right now."

One of Howard's men came in the door, "We have another songbird. It's the four eyed guy that likes to make things go boom. Do you know he had six more detonators in his pocket plus the impound guys found thirty pounds of C-4 in the trunk of their car. They could blow up all of downtown Tampa with thirty pounds."

He looked at me and said, "They didn't think it would take a lot for you, they only used a half pound. You know what a half pound will do?"

I nodded and said, "It would have leveled every apartment in the front there. That's enough to blow a bridge, a big bridge."

"You know it. The guy is in there doing a regular talk show thing. We gave him his rights and told him to talk to a camera we brought in so he knows he's being recorded. I think we've found who blew up the office up in Atlanta last year. This guy has been working for a lot of bad guys all over the country. We need to put his M.O. on the wire and see what kind of unsolved "booms" are out there and question him on them."

Howard looked at Barnstead, "What do you think, should we go pick up Poppa or let him stew? I'm a little apprehensive about letting him hang out. You know he could be out of the country in a heartbeat. He's got a couple of airplanes out on Davis Island. If you don't pick him up, you need to put the airport under surveillance."

Mike Barnstead said, "Let's watch him and the airport. Make sure he doesn't have any other planes around the area, and let's just watch him to see what he does."

Howard jumped up and shut the blinds on his office. Jordan Hawkins was being taken to an interrogation room. Howard said to me, "I don't want him to see you. He may know you were a target and I don't want him to know you're around. We'll try to get some answers from him first."

Mike asked, "You still using that suicide ruse to get guys to talk?"

"Damn right, Mike," Howard said, "It's the best persuader I have. We leave the window open hoping they'll jump. It saves the taxpayers a bunch. Next time you have someone you're trying to break, bring 'em up here and let us talk to them a bit. We won't let them jump, but we know how to scare them."

The four of us in Howard's office went to the observation room for the room where Jordan Hawkins was taken. While one guy read Jordan his rights, the other guy opened a window and looked out. He brought his head back in and said, "Listen, if you decide to save us the money and jump, push out from the building when you jump. There's a lot of foot traffic today."

Jordan had a smug look on his face. The Marshal at the table asked Jordan, "Would you be more comfortable without those cuffs?"

Jordan said, "Yes I would, and I wish to call my attorney."

Before we call your attorney, we want to talk to you for a while. As you know now that you've asked for an attorney anything you say can't be used in court so you're not worth a lot to us. Perhaps you should be recorded as being a jumper."

The other Marshal said, "We have it on tape that you have business, illegal business, theft of government funds using Poppa Nardelli as your contact. We also have it that you were directly involved in hiring some men to get rid of poor Mr. Johnson."

Jordan said, "That honky son of a bitch wanted the special job that I'm saving for a brother, if one can ever graduate from school. As it is, he's the cocksucker that got my Lorna fired. Did you guys take Lorna? Lorna Williams? She's been missing since that Johnson asshole came to find a job."

"So what did you contract Poppa to do to Mr. Johnson?"

Jordan laughed, "You're too much. You know you can't use any of this. I can sing a loud and long song that's worthless to you. I wanted that fucker in a million pieces. Poppa knew just the people to get the job done. I even talked to them. They said it would be taken care of post haste. I should have had them do the White cunt while they were at it. Her rich old man can't even keep her at home. I would be doing him a favor."

The first Marshal said, "You know he's right, we can't use any of this, let's just throw him out the window now. That'll make Nardelli think that he killed himself rather than divulge his deal." The Marshal grabbed Jordan by the collar and began dragging him toward the window.

"Wait, wait, you can't do that. You can't just throw someone out a window, what about your camera you have in here?"

"Christ, are you that dumb? We just get rid of the tape for this camera and say we didn't get a chance to turn it on yet. Get real, man. Come on, Jacob, let's do this guy. I'll bet his head splatters all over."

You could see that Jordan was panicking. "Wait, wait, don't please, I'll talk, I'll tell you what you want."

"Okay then, what kind of deal did you have with Nardelli?"

Jordan fidgeted around a minute then said, "He set up a bunch of fake companies that we pay to supposedly find jobs for returning vets. The companies also provide training for returning vets that were supposedly hired by other fake companies. He got money for training, finding them jobs, and then he had companies that received a subsidy that pays up to half the salary of the men they hired. There weren't any men hired though. We found out the military didn't check on social security numbers or names that we sent in. They just automatically paid the fees we requested, smf paid the other companies as they submitted invoices."

"How much was your take?"

"I only got about a million and a half. Poppa's companies had to spend a lot of money to set up his companies. He made about thirty-five million last year."

Howard waved me out the door. When Barnstead was clear of the door, Howard said to Mike, "Go get Nardelli. We'll be able to track down any corporations that he has quickly. Go get him before he tries to run. Don't use the Tampa police force yet though. They have some ears in there and could warn him. If you want, we can go pick him up. I think we should lock up his restaurant and his offices and keep it shuttered while we investigate."

Mike said, "It'll be done, Howard, you've done a good job on this so far. Maybe you should throw that guy out the window."

Howard laughed, saying, "We actually have a net beneath every window so they can't do away with themselves. It's a great ruse."

Howard stuck his head in the door of the interrogation room and said, "Shut that damn window before the idiot jumps and cuff him to the desk. Come out here a few minutes, we have something else on this guy."

While Howard was talking to his men, I was at another window looking across the street at the hotel that was there. It had one floor with a terrace right at our level. I could see two men carrying what looked like rifles over there.

I turned and yelled, "Howard, get those people away from windows quick. You have snipers on the hotel terrace."

The agents began running. They opened the door where Jordan was and was trying to unlock his cuffs from his chair when we all heard the breaking of glass and a groan. There was more glass breaking and the sound of a round hitting meat. I hopped toward the interrogation room to be pulled back by Howard. "It's too late, don't go in there."

Mike was on his cell phone and Marshals were running for the door. I said to Howard, "Let me go with those guys. I saw them, I might recognize them if they pass me."

Howard waved me out of the office and I joined six men on the way down in the elevator. They flipped their badges open and stuck them in their breast pockets showing that they were U.S. Marshals and one FBI agent. I put mine in my coat pocket as well.

Down in the lobby, several FBI agents were running for the door while more were already running across the street dodging traffic. I said I would take the front lobby while the others ran to the other exits. My cell phone rang as I entered the lobby. It was Howard saying, "For crying out loud, be careful. They got Hawkins and the driver, plus one of my guys is hit pretty badly. These guys are playing for keeps."

He paused for a second, "I've got to call the local cops so we can go floor to floor through the fucking hotel. Those guys can disappear if we don't."

"I'm fine here, you know I'm carrying and I won't do anything stupid or heroic. Just catch the assholes."

He hung up and I watched each person that came down to the lobby. I told the doorman that the building was sealed and no one could go out or come in. He didn't like it, but locked the outside door and went over to the desk. An FBI agent was already there talking to the desk person. He came to me and said, "You probably need to open the door in case of a fire. Only let the law in. Tampa is coming with probably a hundred men so they'll be here in minutes."

He was right, unmarked and marked cars began pulling to the curb in front of the hotel. The doorman had just opened the door when they began running inside. The FBI agent said, "Let's get organized and let's have a six man team hit every floor. I want to have two teams start at the top floor and work their way down. Have four men take the stairs and follow the people down floor by floor, now get."

My phone rang, when I answered it was Howard again, "A helicopter just took off from the roof of the hotel. I didn't know they had a heliport up there. Tell Mike about it as soon as he comes in the door. I have the city and county in the air looking for the bird."

Mike Barnstead walked in the door and I relayed the information to him. He immediately got on the phone and called someone, yelling at who he was talking to paint every target they had in the air and keep track of where they go. He called another number and said, "Come get me, land in the fucking street down by the federal building. I'll clear a spot, but get here now."

He rushed out the door yelling to get the street cleared of cars right then. Uniformed police began clearing the intersection. It was one of the few intersections in the area that didn't have wires crossing all over the street. In minutes, a helicopter landed and I could see Mike and Howard get in and take off.

A Tampa police detective said to me, "You want a break? I can watch the door."

I said, "I'll stay till one of the lead Marshals tell me to leave."

"A real dedicated fed, huh? You guys have soft jobs compared to us guys."

I was a little pissed at what the guy said, but only replied, "Tell that to the Marshal that just got shot how soft a job he has."

The guy shut up and went outside to stand there instead of inside. I noticed that there were three ambulances in front of the federal building. They shouldn't need ambulances for coroner cases. Soon, news media vans were pulling up down the street deploying a bunch of reporters and camera people. I stepped into the lobby a little. The doorman said, "Don't want to be on TV? The cop out there is primping, just waiting to get on the camera."

I just nodded and the doorman asked me, "You're the one who lost his cane this morning, aren't you? I recognize you as you were the one who pointed out the car that was out there. Want some coffee? I think they'll give us some since I can't do any doorman stuff."

I smiled and he went to the restaurant. He returned shortly with two cups of coffee. We drank our coffee before one of the Marshals came down and said, "They have the shooters that were on the helicopter. They forced it down just outside the city limits heading toward Vandenberg airport. The FBI found the rifles that they used, so we can let these people do their business. Christ, this has been a busy day. You started this shit last night or early this morning. How're you holding up?"

I just smiled and nodded, finishing my coffee. I asked, "How come three ambulances? I thought the targets were done."

He said, "The targets are done but a couple of rounds went through walls and doors. Sarah was hit in the leg and another Marshal was hit in the hand. Those guys fired at least two dozen rounds each. They must have had some kind of special magazine to do that."

I said, "Probably a modified Remington with an extended magazine. It could be an AK, or even an early AR15. If the rounds were going through doors and walls, it was probably a jacketed 7.62 or .308."

The Marshal said, "Let's get back to the office. By the way, I have your cane at my desk. When you have to move, you get along pretty good. What do you need that cane for anyway?"

"Stability, my fake leg sometimes isn't as stable as it could be."

We went back to the office and I showed my badge as I went through the metal detectors. Upstairs there were Tampa CSI guys doing their thing with the two dead guys. They were also photographing where the rounds went through the door to hit Sarah and the other Marshal. I asked about the other prisoners and an agent said they had them locked up to chairs away from windows.

It was getting toward lunch and the excitement had burned a lot of calories so far today. I asked, "How about let's order some lunch. I'm sure the three guys in there will want some lunch too."

A Marshal who heard me said, "I'll order a couple dozen Subways. We have Poppa Nardelli in one of the interrogation rooms hollering for his attorney. I don't know how long we can keep that creep under wraps though."

A delivery guy came in soon with a huge sack of sandwiches. They were marked on the outside, so I selected a tuna fish and began eating. I noted that the Marshals did take sandwiches into the men in the interrogation rooms. At least they were not starving them. I wondered about the handcuffs and looked into an observation room. The prisoner had handcuffs on that had a longer chain between them. The chain was run through a ring on the table. The prisoners had a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a soft drink. Not bad.

About two o'clock, Howard came back, immediately bitching that he didn't get a chance to question the shooters. They were being obstinate, not talking, and asking for their attorney, who was for some strange reason, the same attorney that Poppa asked for.

Howard looked at me and said, "How about I give you a car. You go to the office and explain a few things then go to your apartment and get some more clothes. I want you under wraps for a while. I'm moving you up to the penthouse across the street, so bring enough clothes for a week or so. We have people out at your house. Your neighbor is even cooking for them. Some deal, you buy, she cooks. Her old man has a sheet a mile long, but acts like he's going straight right now. We've already warned him about loose lips."

Howard went to a board with multiple keys hanging from pegs and pulled down a set. "Take one of the surveillance cars. It's a cool Mustang. Since we have your truck, we might as well give you a car for a while."

He handed me a packet saying, "This is in case you're stopped for driving too fast. It'll get you out of a problem. Just don't go abusing the power okay? The car is in the garage across the street on the third floor. All the agency's cars are there."

I picked up my cane on the way out and went across the street to pick up a black Mustang. It was nice, with a CD player and the fancy interior. I could get used to one of these.

I drove over to the agency office and went in the back door straight to Ms. White's office. Her secretary announced me and Metarie met me at the door. She actually hugged me asking, "Are you alright? It's all over the news about some killings down at the Marshal's office. What happened down there?"

I walked into her office and used my cell phone. When Howard answered, I asked, "How much of what went on is for the public. Ms. White is asking."

He answered, "You can tell her about Jordan, but just say most of the men who were trying to do you in are in custody right now, but you have to remain our guest for a few days. Show her your badge and say you have dual employment for a bit. Oh yeah, she knows Sarah, so tell her about her and tell her Sarah's out at Tampa General."

I told Ms. White everything I could. She said, "I'm leaving. I need to go see Sarah. She's such a nice lady."

"Before you go, call your boss or Jordan's boss and let him know of Jordan's demise. You can tell him that Jordan was being questioned about a very big fraud scam that he started. If there are people higher than Jordan involved, they'll split or retire quickly."

Ms. White went to her phone and looked up a number and called Washington DC. She had an extended conversation and the one thing I heard her say was, "I'll consider the post, but I think I should let things settle down here before I use that office. Just fax a statement down that I'm directed to act as the Regional Director on a temporary basis so I can make decisions. Thank you for your confidence. If I do take the position, I'll do my best." She paused for a minute and listened, then said, "Yes Sir, no Sir, I won't tell anyone. If you would prefer that no one knows what happened to Jordan, they won't hear it from me."

She hung up the phone and said, "They didn't even bat an eye. The guy just said, "We need you to become the new Director. I'll be right down to get you signed in. That's when I told him to let this settle down first. For some reason, they don't want the knowledge that Jordan was killed to leak out."

She smiled at me, "Are you a shit disturber, Chuck. Ever since you started, the place is in turmoil. Go out to the counters and tell your girlfriends you're all right. They had some of their police friends checking up on you and found out there was a U.S. Marshal at your apartment."

I told her I might be able to come back to work tomorrow, but I had to remain within the Marshal's office observation.

Ms. White said, "Well, tomorrow is Friday so the only thing you need to do is proof your ads and write reports. They should be interesting. Go, leave, I'm going to see Sarah."

"Tell her I'm thinking of her. Maybe they'll let me go see her this evening if she's still there."

I went out to the counters and made contact with all five girls before heading out to the Mustang and to the apartment. The Marshal on duty greeted me saying, "You dog, you got the Mustang. Every one of us asks for it, but hardly anyone ever gets it. Your cook is doing laundry right now, so if you want to talk to her she's in the laundry room. I'm watching the pot over there to make sure it doesn't boil over. Thank God you have cable or I would be going nuts."

I walked over to see Shirley to show her I was in one piece. She was happy to see me, but disappointed I had to leave again. I said I was taking a bunch of clothes with me as I had to stay away for while. I said that she should feed whoever is there. I started to give her money and she said, "Don't worry about buying food. The U.S. Marshal's office is buying. They gave me a hundred this morning, and said they would give me another hundred each day they're here, to feed them and to keep the place clean. You don't have to pay me the twenty-five while they're here. I'm not telling Bart about the money. I'm going to let him think you're still buying. This way, if he books, I'll have enough for rent. The first is coming up, you better pay the manager or he'll throw your stuff out."

I told her I would give him a check before I left and went back to the apartment.

I gathered the clothes I would need for work, along with some jeans and T-shirts. The Marshal in the house said, "If you need stuff laundered while you're in the hotel, just have the hotel do it and charge it to the room. That's the way we do it. Be sure to charge your meals to the room too. If you have company, tell the Marshal on duty who's coming, and what they look like, so they can get in. I understand they're putting you in the penthouse, so you'll be living right for a while."

The apartment manager looked at me warily and asked, "Are you some kind of undercover guy or what?"

I assured him I wasn't but would be staying at least through next month and gave him the rent. I also told him that a U.S. Marshal would be watching the apartment for me and him, so he should feel safe.

"Well, what the hell happened to your truck last night that they hauled it off? I thought that maybe you were some kind of criminal. When I went over to your apartment to clean you out, the guy there showed me a badge and said your apartment was part of an investigation. He said you had the rights to the place for as long as you wanted it, and that I should go mind my own business."

"The truck was booby trapped, so they hauled it off for evidence. Some bad guys visited me last night and they are all in custody now. Watch the news, it'll all come out. You won't see me though, as I'm supposed to stay under the radar. Keep that in mind if someone asks about me, be sure to tell the Marshal in my apartment."

He nodded and asked if I needed a receipt for the rent. I told him the canceled check should be good enough and left. Shirley was at the door when I got in the Mustang. I waved at her backing out and took off. You know I wasn't showing off, but it's hard to keep from kicking up gravel in a Mustang when you start out.

I went to the hotel and told the doorman I didn't have any suitcases but if he could bring a rack, he could take my hanging clothes in. I told him I needed to park the car and would be right back.

I put the car back on the third floor of the garage and signed it back in. There was a notation on the Mustang sheet that it was permanently assigned to C. Johnson until further notice. Howard Smith signed it. I walked back to the hotel and went to the desk, gave them my name, and asked what room they had me in now. The desk manager looked at me and said nicely, "You are in the east penthouse, Mr. Johnson. I'll have a bellman take your clothes up for you. Please call for anything you need, you are an important guest."

The bellhop yakked a mile a minute all the way to the room. "You someone important? I don't recognize you from Hollywood, or are you some big shot financier. What cha in town for etc, etc, etc."

I tipped the guy a ten when he finally left. As soon as I had shut the door, there was a knock. I thought perhaps he had forgotten something, but I was cautious anyway. The door had a spy hole and I recognized one of the Marshals.

"What's up, are you going to be my roommate?"

"No, I just want to go over the rules with you. You're sort of in protective custody while we and the bureau do an investigation. We want to make sure there aren't more people out there that might want you gone. You did make a dent in Poppa's income you know, and I'm sure he knows your name and where you live, etc. There will be someone, or more than one guy, out here all the time. We have a man in the lobby that observes people going in and out. This hotel doesn't have any back elevators or back doors with access to stairs. Everyone who goes upstairs from the first floor has to enter the stairs or the elevators there. Even the food service bellhops have to use these same elevators. That's why there are ten of them, even though there is only one that goes to this floor and the roof garden. Anyway, you can have visitors, but you have to tell me, or us, who they are and what they look like. They can stay all night if you tell us, and you can feed them up here if you want. If you go to the restaurant, just sign for the meal down there, but we would rather you eat up here. In the morning when you go to work, you are to go over to the Marshal's office first to be briefed and then directly to your work place. Someone will go there with you and will remain with you all day. If you have something for the man to do, use him as babysitting gets pretty boring. Have a good time, enjoy yourself. If something happens, there is an alarm over the door that will go off. Get your piece and hide behind something. The cavalry will be here quickly, but in all likelihood, whoever had hall duty is probably permanently relieved, so you may be on your own. Good luck and enjoy."

The man left, so I put my clothes in the huge closet, and went to look out the windows. There really wasn't anything as tall as this room on this side of the building. So it was safe to be out on the terrace or balcony or whatever they called it. I was getting hungry, so I looked at the menu and thought of the man out in the hallway.

I opened the door and had to go down the hall a ways before he came out, "Do you want to eat with me? You can watch me just as well inside the room you know."

He thought for a second then said, "I'll call downstairs and tell them I'm in the room. Thanks, I am hungry. Today has been a mess, hasn't it?"

I was going to order a steak, but the day's special was prime rib, so I asked for two large orders of medium rare. I ordered two ice teas and two Miller lights, plus some dessert for both of us. I knew the guy couldn't have a beer, but I wasn't on duty.

The desk manager called and said, "Mr. Johnson, I forgot to tell you. You are not to tip the house staff. Each person serving is granted a nice gratuity. The young man you tipped earlier will be bringing your tip back to you. In the future, just sign for whatever services you get. The gratuity is taken care of automatically." I thanked him, and he said our food would be up quickly.

Sure enough, within ten minutes the bellhop was knocking at the door. The Marshal looked through the peephole, went outside, and checked the food and the cart. He let the bellhop in, who handed me the bill I given him earlier, explaining he didn't know it had been taken care of.

I put the beer in the refrigerator at the bar and dug in. The food was great. Both of us were really hungry and devoured everything on the plates. We both had dessert before the guy said, "I better go out and be at my post. I'll be down the hall where I can see the elevator as well as the stairway. The stairway is locked from our side so no one can get in. If there is an emergency, you have to unbolt the door to go down the stairs. It's easy to watch the place as there is only one penthouse elevator and right now no one else is up here. If the place is full, there could be four of these rented out. Your penthouse is always available for us and is under contract all the time."

I decided to watch TV for a while, but decided that I needed to use the exercise room. I put on my sweats that I had brought, along with my tennis shoes on my good and fake foot, and went out to tell the guard my intention. He radioed downstairs and told me that one of the downstairs guys would watch for me at the gym on the fifth floor.

Down at the gym, I found a bike that I could use and rode it for thirty minutes and used the weight machines for about forty minutes until my arms were giving out. I finished doing my thirty pull ups before heading up to the room, waving at the Marshal.

My guy waved at me when I got off the elevator as I went into the room. The phone in the room had a flashing red light on it so I picked it up to listen to a message. It was Ms. White; she wanted to tell me that Sarah had already gone home from the hospital.

I called Ms. White and told her I was living in luxury. She laughed and said that she would try to get me back to earth tomorrow with reports and such. I told her I would have a shadow and she said that Howard had told her that already. She said, "You know what, you've disturbed everyone except Reggie. He loves you. Poppa's is closed right now, so all the extra business is coming Reggie's way. He says that his business is the best it's been since he opened. His cook has temporarily expanded the menu while Poppa's is closed, and he has hired some of Poppa's kitchen staff to help out with the extra business."

I told her to tell Reggie hi for me. She told me that Sarah was glowing over me. She said that Sarah told her she had sworn me in and submitted the paperwork to be a real Deputy Marshal instead of just a temporary deputy. She had done that because she liked me and thought I might stick around if she did that. When Ms. White had told her about my disability she said, "There isn't any rule that says you have to be in any special kind of condition to be a Marshal. You just had to pass an exam and I had done that with her."

We both laughed at the idea of me being a U.S. Deputy Marshal. I said, "Well, I do have a badge and an identification card that Sarah made up. I wonder if she's going to put me on the payroll. That might be a conflict of interest between the two agencies."

Ms. White said, "Don't worry, I'm not giving you up to the Marshal's office that easy. You've started the ball rolling now, so you have to be here next week to take care of your clients."

After hanging up, I showered and went to bed with a TV playing at the end of the bed. This rich living was nice.



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Chapter 9


Authors Note: Before continuing the story a reader reminded and informed me that there are only politically appointed U.S. Marshals. All of the hired help are deputies. To fulfill some of their obligations they often hire "Temporary" deputies. There is a distinction between full-time deputies and temporary deputies. "All" of the marshals referred to within the story are deputies but I often refer to them incorrectly as "real" marshals. It is easier to continue to refer to them as the general public does as marshals rather than the elongated deputy marshal.

I woke at six and remembered that I started work right across the street. I lay there a minute before deciding to go down to the gym and use the treadmill for a bit. I hated those things, but it was necessary.

I put my sweats back on and opened the door. I waved down the hall and said I was going to the gym. A different Marshal was there and was immediately on his radio. He waved me on so I got on the elevator and went down to the fifth floor. The other Marshal was getting off another elevator and walked with me to the gym. After he looked inside I went in and set the treadmill to start me slow and work up to three miles an hour. Not very fast but with one leg, pretty fast. I did the prescribed thirty minutes while watching the news on the built in TV, then worked on the machines doing most of the work on my abs for a change. I figured after the good eating I had been doing, I had better double up on the abdomen.

Back upstairs, I ordered two big breakfasts along with a newspaper and called to the Marshal that when the food got there to come in and eat. He smiled probably because the night guy had passed the word that I fed them. We ate with a minimum of conversation, only vaguely commenting on the day before. Afterwards, I cleaned up and finished my coffee while reading the newspaper. There was only a little blurb that an exercise had been held across the street from the federal building. Even the TV news had nothing about yesterday.

At seven fifteen, I walked across the street to the federal building and showed my badge while the metal detector went berserk. Upstairs, I was surprised to find Sarah at her desk. I went to her and gave her a hug where she sat. I told her how glad I was to see that she wasn't hurt bad.

She said pointing at my cane, "Thank goodness it's not like your injury."

I knocked on the metal stalk saying, "Once you're used to it, it's not a problem."

She said there were donuts, so I asked her if I could bring her a coffee and a donut. She beamed, thanking me for being so thoughtful. When I brought our stuff back to her desk, she said, "Metarie already told me I'm too old for you. I told her that I agreed, but I sure would like to lose a couple of years for a night or two."

I laughed with her but kissed her on the forehead before heading to the back to see if Howard was in yet. He wasn't, but a half dozen other Marshals were. They all greeted me and called me the fair-haired boy for getting the Mustang as a loaner. I told them that it was part of my cover and I was inundated with pencils, pens, and other small objects being thrown at me. Howard came through the door just as a dry eraser hit the door by his head.

He frowned and looked around, but all of us were looking up and away like innocent little kids. "Settle down in here. We have business today since the story didn't get out. We have a day or two to wrap most of this up. Stan, call the bureau and find out where they're at on breaking down the corporate structures. Dave, call DC to get the lowdown on the request we put in yesterday for all payments to all companies that are listed as hiring and training. Let's make hay while the sun shines." Howard looked at me and smiled saying, "Come here, I have something for you to do today."

"Go to work, but I want you to access everything in Jordan's office to see if you can find the corporations he was funneling business through. So far Nardelli isn't talking, but he is getting perturbed because we're keeping him out of touch. His attorney has an appointment with a federal judge for a writ of habeas corpus, but we're still allowed to keep a suspected terrorist thirty days without giving him up to his attorney."

"Get over there and see what you can find. I'll call Metarie to tell her to give you free rein in Jordan's office. If you get any shit from his secretary, call me right away and we'll come arrest her."

After checking out the Mustang, I drove straight to the office with the other Marshal following me. We checked in with Ms. White and she went with us to Jordan's office. His secretary asked us what was up. I told her that Jordan had turned up missing and that we had been directed by the U.S. Marshal's office to look for some information. I gave her Howard's telephone number and she called him. She hung up and said, "Finally, that man has been up to something, but I don't exactly know what it is. He keeps stuff locked on me and won't let me even see certain files. Here, I have a list of the companies he won't let me work the files on. When have you ever heard of that?"

It took a few tries, but I popped the lock on his file cabinet and his desk. The secretary busily pulled the files from the cabinet, while Metarie began looking through his desk. While we were doing this, the Marshal that was my babysitter was accessing the personal files on Jordan's computer.

I made a list of the corporate names and the named contact from each file. Next I had the secretary do the same on all the other files in his file cabinet. I faxed the entire two lists to Howard with an explanation. Ms. White was finding several notes about the various companies with past and future dates for funds transfers. She also found a bankbook with weekly entries right up to last week totaling almost a million and a half. Ms. White whistled when she saw the numbers. I found a telephone list inside his locked center drawer that included a couple of Tampa police department people. I called Howard and he gave me Mike Barnstead's number to call.

Mike first asked me if this was a secure line and I told him I didn't know. He said to consider it insecure and to go outside and call him. I did and told him the names I found within the Tampa PD. He gave me a fax number and asked me to fax him copies of everything of interest I found, including what I had given to the Marshal's office.

The entire morning was taken up copying and faxing information to the two offices. Around noon, Ms. White got a call from Washington, DC, telling her that they wanted Jordan's office sealed and to let no one in until one of the head Directors arrived to look over the office. She told them that the U.S. Marshal's office was already looking through the office and I could hear a man yelling at her. Ms. White held the phone away from her ear as the guy was cursing so loud it was easy to hear him. He demanded to speak to the Marshal, so Ms. White looked at me and handed me the phone.

All I said was, "This is the U.S. Deputy Marshal." The man went crazy yelling and cursing saying we had no authority to be looking through personal and confidential files in the Director's office. I cautiously asked his name and he instantly said Amos Davis and I better remember it because it would be on my termination notice. He said one of his men was on a plane and would arrive by two in the afternoon, so we were to close the Director's office until the man arrived. The other Marshal wrote me a note. "Ask him what the man's name is that is coming. We'll meet him with transportation."

I said, "Mr. Davis, I'll close the office right now. If you'll give me your agent's name I'll meet him at the airport and bring him straight here."

Good ole' Amos wasn't all that smart and said the man's name was John Miller from the DC office. He hung up after cautioning me about removing anything from the files.

I asked the secretary, "Have we copied everything that can be copied?"

She smiled and said, "Yes sir."

The other agent told me, "Call that in, I'm sure they will want to meet Mr. Miller when he gets off the plane."

I went outside and called Howard to tell him of the guy coming. He conferenced us with Mike and it was decided that one of Mike's and one of Howard's men would meet the guy. They would just bring him straight to the office. Howard said, "Have the Marshal there with you set up a surveillance camera in the office. At the first sign of the guy destroying or trying to remove files, arrest him."

Back inside, I told the Marshal what the plan was and he said he was finished transmitting everything in Jordan's computer back to the main office back up system. He would shut the PC down and set up the camera and recorder.

The man was a good tech. He put four cameras around the office so he covered every angle. Anything anyone did within the office would be recorded. We set it up to record on a laptop located in the conference room next door. The secretary was supposed to unlock the door only after the man demanded that she do so. We set up another camera at her desk so we could get that on record as well.

At two forty-five, the three men walked into the secretary's office. The man identified himself as John Miller. The secretary asked for his agency ID, and he felt around in his pockets then said, "Darn, I didn't bring it with me. I have my driver's license with me though."

He showed the driver's license so the secretary acted coy and called Amos Davis's office in DC. Mr. Davis answered, "What do you want?" The secretary said a man was there identifying himself as John Miller, but did not have an agency ID.

She described him and was told, "Let him in the office right now, or I'll have your job too."

When she opened the door, John Miller quickly entered the office and slammed the door. You could hear him turn the deadbolt on the door. We watched him do it on the other cameras. John Miller had a big satchel type of bag that he opened and brought out a typed list. He didn't even try to use a key on the file cabinet but wedged a large straight edge into the drawer and popped the lock. Using his list, he pulled file after file stuffing them into the satchel. When he had double-checked everything, he popped the drawer on the desk and looked through it gathering anything that had a telephone number or name on it.

Meanwhile, on the camera in the secretary's office an event was taking place. The secretary was smiling while she produced a key, went to the door and slowly turned the deadbolt, unlocking it.

John Miller finished with the desk and turned on the PC. He tried to access the password several times using information from the list he had. He finally gave up and began disassembling the case. While he was using a screwdriver on the hard drive, the Marshal watching Mr. Miller called the secretary's desk. He said one word, "Go."

The two men walked in the door while the guy was unscrewing the hard drive. They held up their badges and the Marshal held up his gun. The guy acted like he was reaching for a shoulder holster when realized he didn't have it on. They read him his rights and arrested him on the spot. We locked the office back up and the two guys transported Mr. Miller.

On a hunch, I called Amos and when he answered all I said was, "Done." He said, "Get back here right away but lose that stuff as soon as you're out of the office. I'll see you in Jamaica."

I went outside and called Howard to tell him about my call to Amos. He congratulated me on the deception and said, "I'll have to call DC. It's time to get the brass in on this. Amos Davis is like one step under a cabinet position. I want you to get done whatever you need to do, then get back here where we can watch you. You're hot property right this second."

Ms. White went upstairs to my office with me and my shadow, the tag along Marshal. She accessed a list of reports on my PC and we began with each one, filling in the necessary and required information. It only took about an hour as I only had the one out of office appointment, unless we counted the craziness that had been going on. Instead of sending to Ms. White for her approval, she coded them as reviewed by her and the Director, one and the same, and sent them off. My internal mail had the proofs for the ad in it, so we looked them over and called the advertising agency that handled the accounts. That was done.

Ms. White told me, "Go, get out of here. I'll see you Monday unless you have something to do there. It's almost scary to have you around the office when the whole thing is up in the air. I didn't tell anyone what you told me about Jordan, so no one here knows. That's why the newspapers and TV are so quiet. I would just as well have them in the dark about all of this, but it will come out one of these days. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to bring up one of the other outside employment people to handle calls for you Monday. Any one of them will love your office now that it's all cleaned up and neat."

The Marshal and I left, drove back to the garage and walked to the office. Before we went out on the street, he looked up and down the street very thoroughly before we walked to the office. As soon as we walked in the door, Howard was waving at us from his office.

"The Marshal in DC just took Amos Davis into custody. From here on out, this thing is big time political. He had a bunch of stuff from his office packed up, with airline tickets to Jamaica. Too bad we don't know who they were meeting down there. We'll have a guy that looks like Amos on the plane, but I doubt we'll make contact."

Howard looked at me and said, "Right now through this next week, I don't know what to do with you. I've already been told that several of the companies listed in your information gathering this morning are owned by what used to be called the Mafia. The Chicago guys and the New York guys are involved. We don't know how Jordan was working both of them at the same time or whether it was someone higher up."

"Then there is Jordan's family. We went out to his house and the place is as if it were in hibernation. The place is closed up like a summer home with sheets over the furniture and almost everything shut off. The boys looked for any signs of where his wife and kids were but couldn't find anything. Now that we think Jamaica was a destination, we might want to go there. The girl you replaced who was talking, clammed up. Now she won't talk to anyone."

"For now, just go over to the hotel and stay calm. Invite some friends over for dinner, but stay in. Don't go out. Ask the guy on your floor for anything you need. He'll get it. Ask him for some games or take one of our laptops and play on the internet, anything, but just stay in and stay loose this weekend."

I went out to Sarah's desk to see how she was doing. She said she was fine and would be even better when the bandages came off. I asked her about a laptop and she asked if it was business or pleasure. I said probably pleasure. It's for a long weekend's entertainment. She went to a cabinet and pulled a box out and checked the laptop inside. She opened it, plugged in the transformer, and turned it on. It booted up with XP and instantly hooked up to a wireless router in house somewhere. She checked the programs on it and said, "This is a good one, it has no agency stuff on it. It's clean. Enjoy."

"Hey, before you go, you have to sign your time sheet for this week. Since you're confined over at the hotel this weekend, you'll be on duty like twelve to fifteen hours a day. You might as well get paid for being locked up."

I signed the time sheet, patted her on the back and left for the hotel after telling my shadow where I was going. He came right along and checked the street before I went out and radioed the downstairs man at the hotel. We were told we were clear and went across the street.

We walked through the hotel scanning people in the shops, at the concierge desk, in the restaurant, and at the main desk. We went to the penthouse elevator and pushed the button. When the elevator got to the lobby it didn't open. We pushed the button again but nothing happened. The Marshal pushed me away from the elevator and radioed upstairs. The man up there answered saying that it was all clear. The downstairs guy said, "Something is wrong with the elevator. Push the call button up there, but don't get close to the thing when or if it opens."

Soon he radioed that the elevator arrived but didn't open so he told us to call maintenance but to bring the elevator back downstairs. I pushed the button and we heard the cables begin clattering and whining. We jumped away from the door pushing other people away from the elevator door.

We saw a flicker of light as the elevator passed the lobby and a split second later there was a loud crash with dust pouring out of the cracks by the door. The downstairs guy radioed the upstairs guy while my Marshal led me down a hall toward the back. We found the maintenance room and tried the door, it was locked. My guy radioed the lobby guy and said, have the manager bring his keys to the maintenance room.

The man I had met yesterday at the desk came and opened the door. There on the floor was the maintenance man, tied up, and gagged. We let him loose and he began trying to describe what had happened. Apparently two guys that said they were elevator inspectors wanted to see his maintenance records, so he brought them to his office where they tied him up and gagged him. The fake inspectors took his elevator keys and left. The manager said, "Go look at all the elevators. The penthouse car crashed a few minutes ago. Make sure none of the rest have been compromised. I've thrown the emergency switch so none will move until you use your maintenance key. Get your spare and let's take a look."

My Marshal radioed Howard who said he would send an FBI team to check the place out for fingerprints. His last transmission was for me to get up to my cage and stay there. We went back to the elevators where the maintenance guy was checking a car. He told us to get in and we would go to the basement first and go up one floor at a time.

Down in the basement, the maintenance guy looked at the crashed car and checked the cables to the one we were in. He used a hammer to bang on the cables and decided they sounded fine. We went up to the second floor, next the third, and continued to the floor below the penthouses. There we got off and the maintenance guy and the manager took the elevator back down.

My guy radioed the upstairs man to open the door and we went upstairs and through the door into the penthouse hallway. The upstairs guy said, "The office bought the other three penthouses for the weekend so it won't be as difficult to watch the place. We have anti-personnel sensors on the roof so if there's any movement up there they will go off. We have sensors and video on every door to the stairs with additional sensors on the three floors below this. Any movement, they go off just like they just did when you guys entered the stairs. I think we're covered.

My shadow said, "I've got the eleven to seven up here Sunday morning, so I'll see you either Saturday night late or for breakfast Sunday. I'm going back to the office and finish my reports so Sarah will sign my time card. She's a stickler on paperwork. I don't know how the place would have run if she were hurt bad. I had nightmares."

The hall guy opened the door to the penthouse and looked through the rooms and at the terrace doors before saying, "All clear, enjoy."

I went inside, putting the laptop on the coffee table and turned on the TV to the cable news to get what ever was the latest. Everything was calm with no hint of the world collapsing on several people. I wondered what happened to Jordan's wife and kids. I hoped that would be okay.

I decided that a workout would be in order, but first I called Ms. White and asked her to have one of the Fab Five call my cell phone. I told her I was allowed company and maybe I could interest them in dinner in the penthouse. She said, "Hey, I'll come for that and leave Reggie at his place. You know who would love it is Sarah. You should invite her to dinner one night while you're there. She would really be impressed. I'll tell all of your girls they need to come make you happy. They haven't had a chance to ask you out for the weekend and I know they were planning something."

I decided to wait for a call, so I opened a beer from the night before and watched TV. At five ten, my cell phone rang. It was Tiani, she asked if I could go with the gang this weekend to Daytona. They had changed their mind about going to the beach and were going to go up to watch the car races and party. Brandy's dad had gotten them tickets.

I had to pass because I was supposed to stay at the hotel this weekend. Tiani said, "I'll try to get back early Sunday and maybe I can come up Sunday for dinner or something."

"That would be great, you alone or all of you can come."

"Frieda already had her night, so it's my turn and the others can fight over who's next."

She hung up and I was almost in a funk, but had a thought. I called the office and who should answer but Sarah. "What are you doing still there?"

"Oh Chuck, I have to transmit reports and payroll. I made up a fake report for your car. You need to learn how to do that and make up the difference from this week to next so the mileage will agree. What can I do for you honey?"

"I don't know whether this is appropriate or not but if you wanted to, how about coming over and having dinner with me up here in the penthouse. You'll have to walk up the last flight of stairs but we can have anything your heart desires to eat."

"Are you kidding me or are you for real?"

"No joke, Sarah, this is for taking one for me. A payback from the Marshal's office, if you will."

"Damn right, I'll come. When and what should I wear?"

"Have everything off but your smile, my lady, and I'll be happy."

"Oh you, come on, the truth."

"You can wear what you have on and please come to relax. I promise not to let you drink too much so you can drive home.""

Sarah gave the bad guy laugh, "Ya ha ha," then said, "I've got it covered. I take a taxi to work. I live in Hyde Park and only drive when I absolutely have to. I'll call my Mom and tell her I won't be home till late, if at all. She'll have a cow thinking I'm shacking up. I'll be over in less than twenty. Call the guys to tell them I'm on my way."

I went out to the hall and waved at the guy by the stairs. "Sarah is coming for supper. We'll all eat together. Tell the guy downstairs not to be shocked at my date for tonight."

The guy in the hall said, "Don't tease or take advantage of that woman. She's gold. If I weren't married, I would take her away in a minute. Be nice to her, okay?"

"I'm planning on it. If I weren't, would I invite you to eat with us?"

"Na, probably not. Anyway, Sarah is special to us, so be nice. Give her a good time."

When I went back inside, I left the door open. In about fifteen minutes Sarah was standing at the door, knocking on the jam.

"Come into my den, said the spider to the fly."

She laughed and came in and looked around at the luxury that I was being afforded. She said, "How about a cocktail? I've heard all the stories how this place has booze and everything."

I said, "I didn't know it came stocked. Let me look over here where it looks like a cabinet."

The whole wall was a pocket door that revealed a mirrored bar with a variety of liquor bottles. Underneath was an ice maker and another refrigerator. The fridge had several types of beer, but I shut the door and asked Sarah what I could fix for her.

"How about a Jack and Coke."

Easy enough, I filled a drink glass with ice and poured the whiskey, the Coke, used a stir stick, and gave it to her. I made a scotch and water for me, joining her on the couch.

Sarah kicked off her shoes and said, "Ah, so nice to be done for the day. Feels good to relax instead of worrying about Mom. I love her dearly, but she gets lonely and bugs me to death to do something. Tonight she is going to go play bingo with a bunch of her cronies. You made my night because I didn't have to worry about her tonight."

I sat with her, being quiet, enjoying the drink and her company, while the TV droned on.

Sarah asked, "Is that cable or something the hotel has?"

"I think it's cable, why?"

"Try channel 744."

I pushed the buttons and instantly the TV gave off soft jazz. Sarah said, "Ah my favorite, perfect for some drinks and dinner. So what's on the menu tonight, and how are they going to get it up here?"

"Don't know and I don't care, but I'll find out about the menu and let them tell us later how they got it here."

I picked up the menu from the coffee table and let her look at it. I called to the concierge to find out what was the special for the evening. The special was baked Mahi Mahi that sounded heavenly. I walked out into the hallway and asked the Marshal out there if Mahi Mahi would be good. He nodded and smiled almost excitedly.

The concierge connected me to the maitre d' from the restaurant from whom I ordered the three dinners, with what ever he thought would be a good wine, plus I wanted some Caesar salads and three desserts of his choosing. I apologized about the extra labor getting the meals up here, but he said it wouldn't be a problem. He said to look for him in about thirty minutes. I went out to the hall and told the guy that it would be about thirty minutes. I told him that when the guy downstairs calls, I would come out to help watch with him. He thanked me and reminded me that Sarah was a Marshal too and would be watching as well.

In an amazing twenty-five minutes, the hallway guy said the people were on their way up with the food. Sarah and I went to the hall, while our upstairs man went down to the floor below. Two big strong looking bellhops carried two carts up the stairs in two trips, so they were able to push them into the room. Because the penthouse had a separate dining table, they set the table for us. Once they were finished and left, the three of us sat down to a great supper.

The meal became almost a recruiting occasion. George, the hallway duty Marshal, and Sarah began espousing the benefits of becoming a permanent U.S. Marshal. George's example of a big benefit was that now that he had finished his Masters in Criminology, he was transferring to the FBI to become a special agent out in Phoenix. He said the Marshal's service was exciting and busy, but could also be used as a path to other service jobs.

Both George and Sarah gave examples of other men and women who had become FBI agents or members of the Secret Service. Even one of the current president's White House Secret Service staff came from the U.S. Marshal's office right here in Tampa.

They both presented an intriguing opportunity that actually paid considerably more than my new employment agency job. I countered with the fact that my new position had a rather large clothing allowance. Their positions did as well, but considerably less. I said that I was allowed a generous expense allowance to work with clients. They were given expenses as well.

I said, "Well, both groups provided me transportation but the Marshal's service did give me a neat Mustang as a loaner instead of a plain white Ford Focus."

I told both of them that I needed to prove myself in my first government position before moving to another.

George said, "That just makes us want you all the more. If you're conscientious like that, you'll make a great Marshal."

Sarah said, "With your youth, you'll go right up the ranks quickly."

When we finished, he had the bellhops come back up to get the carts. We already had them out in the hallway for them so it was an easy trip for them to carry them back down.

George went back to his duty position in the hall while Sarah and I went back into the room. We spent the rest of the evening watching a movie on TV that she wanted to see. Afterward, it was time for her to go home. She thanked me for dinner, and I thanked her for her company. She said that if I were a little older, I would have had a hard time getting her to leave. We laughed together before she did give me a nice hug and a soft lip to lip kiss to let me know she was serious.

George joked with her that she didn't stay the night and she just punched him in the arm. I walked her to the elevators on the floor below and she was gone.

Oh well, eleven o'clock on Friday night, and I was packing it in. George's relief came while I was still talking to him in the hallway. The new Marshal was one I had not met yet. I told him that I should be awake in time to feed him breakfast. He said not to worry as they would send up breakfast for him anyway.

I took off my clothes, brushed my teeth and had a couple of beers while watching TV. I fell asleep on the couch with the TV going. I woke about three and went into bed and was wide awake at six.

Breakfast was delivered quickly, so the hallway Marshal and I ate together. We had just finished when his relief showed up. This was a real waste of manpower to have to watch me the way they were. It made me feel a little claustrophobic. After letting the breakfast settle, I made arrangements to go to the gym. I did it all. The bike for a half hour, the dreaded treadmill for a half hour, and last I used the weight machines for another hour and a half, exercising each muscle group. The Marshal watching me said that I was in surprisingly good shape for being an amputee. I had to admit that my time in rehab out at the base is what made me the way I was.

This day was really getting boring. After lunch, I walked out into the hallway and asked, "Do you guys have any training films or anything like that in the office. This room is going to make me nuts, so how about I go to the office and use my time productively. I might as well learn something rather than just sitting here."

He called downstairs to let the lobby man know I was on my way. The lobby deputy met me at the elevator and checked that I was properly prepared for the street. I was dressed in just jeans, with a sport coat to hide my hardware. He watched as I checked the empty street and walked across with the aid of my cane. I flashed my badge at the men manning the metal detector and went upstairs to the office.

The duty Marshal had been alerted that I was coming over and to set me up with all of the training videos I could stand. He set out about twenty videos that began with one that was an introduction for new Marshals.

At about seven in the evening, I finished the one I was watching and packed up four more to take with me. They were pretty interesting as they were specific training videos. How to conduct yourself as an air Marshal? How to transport medium and high risk prisoners? Urban escapee tracking. All interesting and would probably help me out at one time or another.

Back at the hotel, I had the hall Marshal help me select supper. We ended up with some liver and onions, fried potatoes, and some steamed squash.

The rest of the evening was spent watching the videos I brought back with me. I watched a thrilling three video set that was about interview and interrogation methods and techniques. This was an excellent lesson.

The hall duty Marshal watched it with me as he had not viewed it yet either. We just bolted the door to the stairway, sat back, and enjoyed learning from the videos.

When his relief came, I invited the other Marshal to watch the new video as I could go into the bedroom and sleep fine. He did and I did. I fell asleep watching a boring movie.

Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday. Up early, eat, and workout for a couple of hours. After lunch, I went back to the office to check out any other videos I could find. They had several videos that were case histories of various escapee captures and a couple of actual escapes that had occurred over the past years. In each case, a Marshal was either badly injured or killed. The job could be dangerous work.

After an early supper, I convinced the Marshals watching me that I needed a leisurely stroll outdoors. We walked around downtown for a couple of hours before we went back to the hotel. I was becoming a little careless because I figured no one else would be coming since the seeming leaders were all in custody.

The girls didn't call after their return from Daytona but that would have been a stretch anyway.



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Chapter 10

Monday morning, I was up and down at the gym by six. I cleaned up and ate by seven, before going downstairs to walk across the street at seven thirty. Street traffic was low, so I looked to see if there were any parked cars to worry about, and started out. My cane became stuck in one of those stupid open grates they have in the sidewalk. This caused me to begin to fall. As I was going down, there was something smacking the pavement and sidewalk near me with a whining sound. I finally realized that someone was shooting at me so I abandoned my cane and hopped back to the hotel door.

The hotel lobby Marshal saw what was happening and was immediately out of the hotel looking up toward the parking garage. He was on his radio and in just seconds, men were coming from the federal building running toward the garage. Just as they reached the garage, a white Ford Victoria roared out of the garage and down the street. Two of the Marshals kept running to the garage roaring out in one of the pursuit vehicles. Meanwhile, the hotel Marshal was making sure I wasn't hit before going out into the street to pull my cane free of the grate.

I said, "This is the first time I've ever been happy my cane got stuck in one of those grates. I wonder why the guy quit shooting. It looks like he fired only four rounds and quit." I went back across the street, this time with a man on each side of me, went through the metal detectors, and up to the office.

The first thing Sarah did was to interview me as to what had just occurred. She typed the interview up quickly and had me sign it. Next she wanted the list of all the videos I had watched. She filled out a Marshal training form and listed all of them and their grade value. She had another stack of videos that were required viewing by new Marshals. She said I might as well be gaining knowledge in the correct order.

Howard came in saying, "The shooter got away. There's no way to track a white Ford Victoria in a Florida city that probably has two or three thousand of them on the street at any one time. You were lucky out there, Johnson, I'll bet you look at rooftops from now on. Don't just look at street level, always check areas that would give a shooter a line of sight to a target. You'll learn."

He introduced me to another Marshal who was my shadow for the day. "Go to work, do what you are supposed to be doing. That will probably be as safe as anything else. You're predictable right now. You come here, you go home. You're only available to hit out on the street. I am surprised they did the deed out in the open like that. This is a pretty cocky guy."

The Marshal assigned to me said, "Want to go downstairs to the range? They have all the ammo you could ever use up. Come on, let's get you a little more proficient with your sidearm."

We both checked out ear protection and each pulled fifty rounds of reloads. I stripped my magazine and loaded up with the reloads. My first target was all hits but there was no grouping, plus several were on the edge. The next set was all in the large body circle, but not necessarily a close group. By the fifth set, I had a nice small grouping in the target's head.

The Marshal I was with was just slightly better with his Glock. He said that I was a hell of lot better shot than most of the guys in the Marshal's service. He said most of them had to slowly fire single rounds at a time. We had rapid fired ten rounds in each set.

We policed our brass to turn in and reloaded our magazines with our original rounds. I asked the range officer if he had a cleaning kit. He pulled out one made specifically for my weapon and one for a Glock. We stripped our pistols, cleaned them thoroughly, and put them back together. When we were both done, we thanked the range officer and left for my car. Instead of playing tag, we were going to take only one vehicle today.

At my office, I checked in with Ms. White who had already been informed of my close call this morning. She asked my watchdog if he thought I would attract any danger to the building. He didn't think so, but he said he would be watchful.

Ms. White said that a lady would be up to help me shortly. She told me that I could use the office next to mine for the new person and to make sure I gave good directions in order to help the people we were hired to help.

As soon as I entered my office, the phone was ringing. It was a response from the ad. I made the man an appointment for later this morning and began looking at several message slips. It took me until the time of my appointment to return the calls that had come in and to set up appointments.

The new lady came in, we quickly discussed what our goals were, and I asked her to interview our new client with me.

My first official client was not out of service yet, but wanted to look for work before deciding whether to re-enlist or not. We went over the pros and cons of military life. He was single and had just turned twenty-one. By the time the interview was over, he was convinced to re-enlist for both the bonus and the rank he had been offered. The recruiting office should give me a spiff.

At lunchtime, my shadow and I had to order from the sandwich shop. I had a nice time talking to the five girls and several of the other folks in the lunch room. Brandy said she would call me later as she had something to ask me.

The appointments in the afternoon were okay, nothing special, except that I did have a man from Wells Fargo security come to give me parameters of the type of people they looked for. He had regular security jobs open, as well as transport or armored car positions. I thanked the man for being my first official employer.

I wrote up my ad results report, describing the eleven calls that were a result of the ads. There might be more during the rest of the week as the Sunday paper tends to hang around a while.

The new lady had a list of people she wanted to begin calling to see if jobs might be available.

Brandy called me from her counter position and asked, "Are you allowed to go out or are you stuck in the hotel?"

"Pretty much stuck," I answered.

"How about a few of us come up to your room and play cards or games tonight. It might be fun and definitely better than being by yourself."

"I'd love that, Brandy, if you guys want, whoever's coming should come early and have dinner with me. I also eat with the guy who is upstairs watching out for me. He'll join us."

"I'll talk to the others to see who all will come. If I'm the only one, you're in for a treat. I'll bring my nightie and we'll have a slumber party."

"Oh my, be still my heart. I'm not going to want a crowd then. Listen when you guys get to the hotel, you have to ask at the desk to go up to my room. That way the downstairs people can tell the upstairs guy you're coming."

"Got it, I'll definitely see you later, especially for the free food."

By five, all five girls had called saying they were coming. They were going to bring some chips, games, and a couple decks of cards.

My shadow and I went back to the garage and walked to the hotel. He said, "You've had an interesting day. It was enjoyable to be with you. Maybe I'll get to do it again tomorrow."

I told the downstairs guy at the hotel that some girls were coming in a little while. He surprised me by saying the elevator car had been replaced and was working fine. I told the upstairs guy about the visitors and he was excited, looking forward to see some cuties. After quickly changing out of my dress clothes, I called to see what this evening's special was. They were having Veal Scaloppini tonight. That sounded good, but it would still need to be warm.

Right at six, five girls came in. They were typical women and had to explore the penthouse; looking outside on the terrace patio and all around. They were impressed with the sliding wall that exposed the bar. I fixed each of them a drink and asked if they all liked Veal Scaloppini. I got yes' all around, so I called down and ordered seven veal dinners with the appropriate wine, veggies, and dessert.

We were soon dining with the Marshal. We had salad, and veal over rice with thick sauce over all of it. The meal was accompanied with some asparagus, some great mild wine, and capped with some sherbet, a really great meal.

All of us were full after the meal and decided to play some cards while listening to jazz from the cable. Nancy had brought a bag of pretzel sticks, so we divided them up and played poker. Frieda was the poker player and soon had most of everyone's pretzels. Tiani's went the fastest, as she was nibbling on them while also using them to bet with. Judy was doing pretty well too, and I was probably in third place.

We played cards till almost ten when the girls said it was time to go home. All but Brandy left after each giving me a kiss. Brandy gave me a very warm kiss saying, "I told you I was staying. Is that okay?"

"That is wonderful, Brandy, do you want a drink or can I get you something else?"

"Just you, let's shower and get in bed. I think we'll figure out something to do."

The phone rang. It was the downstairs guy saying he was missing one of the girls that had gone up. I told him she was staying over and he laughed, obviously holding the other four there until he knew what was going on. He said goodnight and hung up.

The night was very nice. Our playtime was energetic enough that we had to take another shower about midnight. Brandy said that she should be fine if we woke at six, so we snuggled up and enjoyed a satisfying night's sleep.

I got Brandy off for home to change for work and went to the gym for an hour. After breakfast, I checked in at the Marshal's office and with my same shadow, went to work. I had another excellent day, lining up another employer and actually referring two retired men to Wells Fargo. My bank even gave me a formal request that we were able to complete via fax.

My shadow and I were on our way back to the garage, the office, and the hotel. I noticed a white Ford Victoria riding close to my back bumper, trying to find space in the traffic to get in the lane beside us. Since the car was acting strange, I told the Marshal with me. He pulled his weapon and chambered a round. I was amazed that he didn't have a chambered round already. He was smart though, as he didn't turn to look, but made sure I was keeping track of them.

We were coming up to a cross street that didn't have any houses on it. The Marshal called in to tell control of our location and our situation. I changed to the right lane, with the car following us changing lanes as well. I signaled the turn while watching the car. He didn't signal and dropped back just a little.

My Marshal told me to go most of the way down the block, pull over, and get down in the seat. He would exit his side and be ready to fire immediately. When I turned the corner, it almost looked like the car following us wasn't going to turn, but did follow us at the last second. I had sped up and was able to slide to a stop with the Marshal getting out immediately while the car was coming up behind us. As it slid to a stop, I could hear rounds going off from behind hitting the Mustang and shattering the rear glass. I could hear the Marshal just outside the car firing.

I slid across the seat, over the console, keeping low and went out the door, going around to the front of the car. When I looked at the Ford, the guy in the passenger seat was hanging out the window, obviously out of the fight. The driver was kneeling beside the car behind the open front door concentrating on the Marshal. When he rose up to fire, I quickly put two rounds in his head, causing him to fall backward. The Marshal hollered that he was going to approach the car. He checked the guy hanging out the window looking for a pulse in his neck before he checked the guy I had shot on the other side of car.

He lowered his automatic and holstered it. I did the same, finally standing. The Marshal said, "You shouldn't have gotten out of the car. You are my responsibility. You did good though; you waited until you had a clean shot and took the guy out. I gotta call in and get the bureau out here."

I could hear sirens coming as he called in the attempt and the result. He was told to keep any locals away as the FBI would want to roll on this. Their crime scene team would want to run the show.

A Tampa squad car came sliding up with a cop jumping out grabbing for his weapon. The Marshal and I held up our badges with our other arm raised. The cop approached and checked our ID before approached the dead guys.

My babysitter Deputy said, "Don't touch. The FBI is on their way and will want the scene to be clean. Let's let them move anything that's to be moved. If you have markers, you might want to get them out and mark shell casings for them as well as us."

Another two Tampa cars and an unmarked car came sliding to a stop. The Marshal went through his speech about the FBI and asked them to stay clear of the scene. They were not happy, but that's the way it had to be. The unmarked car was a detective who brought out a camera and began taking pictures from every angle he could get.

Two unmarked cars arrived. One had Howard and the Assistant Marshal in charge in it, and the other had four FBI agents. A second later an FBI CSI team arrived. They were instantly taking pictures and began going through the two dead guys clothes, laying out the various things from their pockets.

When they popped the trunk, they hollered to call an ambulance. In the trunk was an older guy that looked dehydrated. He was tied up with duct tape over his mouth. One of the detectives said, "That's Jennings from out in the county. They put out a missing person's report on him and his vehicle. Check these tags to see who they belong to. This is a county sheriff's car.

The men there slowly lifted the man from the trunk and were pouring water over his mouth after they had removed the duct tape. An ambulance showed up to take care of the county officer and soon left for the hospital. Everyone at the scene was hoping for his recovery.

Meanwhile two of the FBI guys, accompanied by the Tampa detectives, had me and my shadow separated, giving them our individual versions of what had happened. The interviews took about fifteen minutes. We were just finishing when a news van pulled up with people piling out.

Howard began yelling for the uniforms to get those people out of here as this was a sensitive crime scene that was not for public consumption. There was a lot of yelling that they had the right to cover a shooting or any public crime. The cops just told them that if they ever wanted access to something that wasn't sensitive, they better get out of there. They reluctantly loaded up and left. My Marshal and I kept down in the seat of the car so we weren't visible to the camera while they had been out.

Howard came over and said to me, "You aren't going to be popular with the guys. You let those bad guys shoot up the Mustang. This is the most popular car in the fleet. I've already called the pool so they can fix this thing tonight. It'll be good as new by morning. This is the third time the car has been shot. It's not very lucky."

It took till almost seven-thirty before they hauled the dead guys away and loaded up the Victoria and hauled it off. The boss, Howard, said, "Drive this thing back to the garage, but park it downstairs by the shop. They are expecting you. Doug and I are going home."

On the way back to the garage, I commented to my Deputy Marshal, "This is the third time they've shot at me. I'm starting to get pissed. Too bad both of those guys are dead. I would love to hang one out the window to find out who hired him. I wonder if they have anything else from the original goons we had up in the office."

"Let me check on them and see where they are." He used his radio and asked for the 10-20 of the suspects that had been in our office when the attack went down last week. Who ever was manning the radio said they were being held in federal private custody in the lockup there.

I asked my Marshal, "Are you married?"

He shook his head no so I asked, "Want to go to Reggie's for supper?"

He answered, "I'll have to ask if that's all right. Let me call in."

When he called, Howard answered back right away and said it was fine, but to be watchful. He told us to call the restaurant before we went though, as they were really busy since Poppa's was closed.

We turned in the Mustang and checked out a surveillance car, an ugly green Malibu. I called Reggie's and asked for Reggie, saying I was a fed. Reggie came on the phone and asked, "What do you want, Howard?"

When I told him it was me, he said, "Come on over. Metarie is here. You can eat with us." I told him I had someone attached to my hip, he told me to bring him too. "Park in the back, I'll tell security, whatcha drivin'."

We parked in the back of the restaurant and went in the back door, through the kitchen. We went to Reggie's office and knocked. We heard, "Just a second."

Reggie opened the door with his shirt partially unbuttoned and no tie. He had a shit-eating grin on his face as he greeted us. Ms. White was still straightening her clothes too, blushing a little.

"We were catching up on some home life. Business has been too good in this restaurant lately. This place is the star right now."

We had a great shrimp scampi dinner, along with drinks and wine. We chatted about several things, but never touching on my activities. Ms. White asked my Marshal, "Are you guys going to steal my new agent?"

"If we can, Ma'am. He's already proven himself in a couple of hairy situations. I'd love to have him as a partner. The service needs men like him. Even the FBI inquired about him."

Ms. White said to me, "I guess I'll have to up your salary to compete with these other agencies. I'll fight for you, Chuck, we really need some young male blood in the agency. Especially some that's honest."

After eating, I let the Marshal drive us back, as I had had several drinks. Once we parked, we checked the street thoroughly before he accompanied me to the hotel. We said goodbye and I checked in with the downstairs man and went upstairs.

The hall guy was someone I didn't know, so I got acquainted with him and went inside to get ready for bed. It was nice to get off my stump tonight. It was a little sore from standing so much earlier. I had twisted the mount around and that bruised me a little, so I would be tender for a couple of days.

I stretched out in bed and was quickly asleep.

At six, I was on my way to the gym, followed by breakfast and a guarded walk to the office. My shadow was there waiting, and I asked him if we could go down to the range. I wanted to clean my weapon and I was two rounds short.

While down there, I asked for the combat series on the range and loaded three additional magazines they loaned me. The range positions were automated and were pulled back and multiple obstacles were positioned. The range officer walked me through their combat series first and did it again to explain the best angles to fire. He said the first series wouldn't give me any decisions, all targets.

Forty rounds later, I felt pretty good that I had scored a ninety. That was good in my way of thinking for a first run. I loaded my magazines while my partner did the series and next it was my turn for the decision series. This you had to be a lot more accurate and you were not ever as fast.

I had forty rounds and a hundred twenty seconds. Top scores were about ninety percent hits in seventy-five to ninety seconds. The decision series seemed easier than the target series. I was done in eighty seven seconds with five rounds left, scoring a ninety-four."

My partner said, "Holy shit, that's got to be damn near top score at the range."

The range officer said, "You'll have to meet Jan. She's an FBI babe that is really good. She's going to some competitions this summer. You two might want to team up. Don't get doe-eyed over her though, I think she hunts in the other forest, if you know what I mean."

I smiled and nodded.

The officer advised us, "She does a consistent over ninety in right at seventy seconds. It's really neat to watch her. Come just after lunch, she shoots almost every day, even weekends when she isn't on duty or gone somewhere."

We cleaned up our brass, and our weapons. I begged a couple of extra rounds so I would have full magazine.

My Marshal partner, Ted, wanted to go upstairs a minute before we left. He went to Howard who was talking to Sarah and a couple of guys, "The boy wonder just shot a ninety-four in eighty-seven seconds. What do you think about that?"

Sarah said, "You and Jan should get together. Maybe you can change her persuasion if you shoot with her."

Howard said, "Leave FBI girls alone. They try to steal my men all the time."

Ted and I walked to the garage to find the Mustang ready to go. His radio went off, "Ted, Chuck, come back to the office, the boys from downstairs need to talk to you."

We walked back to find two FBI guys in the office. The one said, "A federal judge just signed a writ of Habeas Corpus on Poppa. I don't know how they knew he was here, but they served it in our office. We have the federal Attorney General's office working on an appeal, as we want the guy classified as a terrorist. I wanted to let you know the man might be getting out. We'll find out by noon."

Howard said, "Call Ms. White and tell her you have to stay here for a while. The way it's going, she might as well hire someone else for that job. It's going to be a while before you're back among the unwatched."

One of the FBI guys said, "The beltway guys tell us that this group you've run into is national in scope, and probably has every major underworld guy in the states involved. It's just another of their lucrative businesses. They're going to be pissed for a while for us catching on. You, Mr. Johnson will be the object of their passion for a good while. They just hate to let someone like you get off. It's a thing they have."

Howard said, "He's just trying to tell you that we may have to put you into the federal witness protection program. That's where we change your identity and put you somewhere no one will look for you."

"I think I'll take my chances here for a while, at least until you guys get tired of boarding me."

Sarah smiled, "We can keep you just like you are for six months before we have to begin convincing you to go into the program."

I looked at Howard and the FBI guys, "Instead of that, let's just clean this thing up and make it too hot for any of them to continue their hunt for revenge."

An FBI guy said, "Whew! That's a lot of dead guys. You know those damn bullets can get you too."

I nodded.

Sarah said, "Come with me, Honey, I want you to have something." The guys all hooted and hollered that Sarah was going to give me something very special. She blushed and said, "I wish," softly as we were going into the supply closet.

"What's your jacket size, Honey?"

"This is a forty-four, Sarah."

She thumbed through a bunch of vests and pulled one out. "Put this on under your shirt. These are all type four vests. This will stop everything up to a fifty caliber. You're still going to get broken ribs and bruises, but it's better than dead."

Sarah added, "That's why you're taught to do head shots in some situations."

"Most everyone goes for the body. It's a bigger target. If you get hit, even with a vest on, it's going to knock you down. Hopefully, you'll still be alert and able to defend yourself."

I tried it on and it fit nice and close. The material was surprisingly thin, so you didn't bulge out because of the vest. I tucked in my shirt and Sarah said, "Let me," as she tied my tie and helped me on with my coat. She gave me a sweet kiss on the lips. "Wear this and take care of yourself.

Back out in the office area, Howard noted the vest. "Good idea, should have thought of that before. Hey Ted, get a vest, or at least remember to wear yours tomorrow."

Ted nodded and headed toward the supply closet.

Howard took a call and cursed as he slammed the phone back into the cradle. We have to let that slime ball out. The judge is only asking fifty thousand for bail. Howard looked confused and got back on the phone, "How does he rate only fifty when we have him cold on conspiracy to commit murder."

I could only hear this side of conversation.

"What do you mean we don't have enough evidence, we have witnesses?"

"Huh?"

"How?"

"Damn, how did somebody get at them?"

"Who was it?"

"No way, how in the hell did they get to him?"

"Oh shit, I'll be right down, I want to help."

Howard looked around and said, "All of you, come on, we have to help the boys downstairs. One of theirs is in trouble."

We all went into the FBI offices and right through the reception area into the main office.

Howard said, "Okay, McAllie, all of it, so we can all hear it."

"We found the three guys we were keeping in private custody, cold this morning. Poppa was down there too but he is was fine. We pulled the video of the rooms and saw Billy D come in and go to each of the three guys' cells, and leave. Billy wasn't on duty and when we checked the sign-in logs, his name didn't show up. We had the video so we picked him up out at his house. He kept saying he can't leave because some people had kidnapped his wife and his two daughters. They were gonna hold them until he offed the three stooges we were holding."

The agent continued, "We left, except we left Charlie Martin with him. About fifteen minutes later, a guy calls and tells Billy, you ain't getting your family back till you off Chuck Johnson. Billy tried to tell them that Johnson was guarded too tight. The voice said he didn't care, either Johnson gets dead or he uses the daughters for a Saturday night party. The guy said he'd send his old ladies head to him for a souvenir.

I must have looked bad as the FBI chief agent said, "You don't have anything to worry about from us. You're safe. We have to find Billy's wife and kids ASAP, though."

I offered something. "How about setting something up so it looks like Billy does shoot me? Make it out in the open where everyone sees it and you make a production out of arresting Billy. If you were to bring him back here for custody it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Make me look like a DOA and have the coroner's van come out to pick me up. Have me swapped with a stiff they already have and spirit me away somewhere. If I have to go into protection, fine, but let's get his family."

Howard said, "It might work. I hate to send the kid in to protection, but we have to get Billy's family back. He's going to fry for those three hoods. If he's lucky he might get some kind of homicide. It's hardly justifiable though. Billy's family will be free, but he won't be."

The FBI chief said, "Let's set it up. We'll do it out front of the building. Hannigan, go over to the coroner's office and have them load an unidentified homeless guy into the van. All of that office knows how to keep their mouth shut. Load up a magazine with blanks. Make them so that there are blood spots where they hit. Chuck, I see you have a vest, Good. It'll keep the blanks from hurting too much. This time, we'll let the media see what we're doing. Don't give them the name but say it's another person from the unemployment office. If I'm thinking right, a Tampa uniform will report to Poppa the deed is done."

"I'll radio Charlie to tell him to call me on his cell. We'll get Billy moving toward the office. Let's make this happen."

As we were going back upstairs, Howard said, "You don't have to do this. I can get someone to look like you."

"Not enough time, Sir. Just do it. Where are you going to take me afterward? What can you plan?"

"We'll put you up over in Orlando for a little while. Grow a beard or something. Anyway, you're pretty recognizable with that leg so even if you were in protection, you could be found."

Howard addressed everyone in the office, "From now on while we're on this case, we don't wing anybody, no arm shooting, or leg shooting. We shoot to finish the problem. If any of you get a chance at that slimy fucker, Poppa, do him and make damn sure he's done."

An hour later, I was in the FBI office when they called Billy. They said that he had to come in as they had to ask him some questions. Figuring that Billy's phone was bugged, he only said, "I'm on my way, but I have to make it fast."

Another agent had gone out to Billy's with the blanks and personally put them into his weapon. Billy was told to body shoot the target to make it look good.

They pulled up Billy's GPS phone and watched as his car made it toward downtown. We got ready to go downstairs.

We watched as Billy pulled into the garage, and he came out walking toward the building. Just as Billy was coming across the street, right in front of the building, I walked out of the door with Ted. Billy looked surprised, pulled his gun, and emptied the clip at me. All of his rounds hit me in the torso. The hits were hard enough that they knocked me down.

Ted pulled his gun and made Billy drop his. Our man from the hotel lobby had seen the action and came running across the street. People began pouring out of the federal building and soon police sirens could be heard. A medical tech from inside the building came up and acted as if he were checking my pulse. He acted as if he closed my eyes. One of the security guys came out and threw a sheet over me. Sarah was there crying hard, making a good scene.

While I was lying there, I was told later that a limousine came rolling up and stopped across from where I was laying. Poppa Nardelli rolled down a rear window and hollered, "You don't fuck with me, nobody fucks with Nardelli."

He was lucky no one didn't just shoot him right then.

They had Billy cuffed and sitting up against the building, ready to go in. Just when there must have been a clearing of people around him, I heard two thumps of silenced rounds hitting then I felt like someone had kicked me in the ribs. There was a crowd of people that took off from the group around us. I could hear them yelling, "There he is, there he is, don't let him get away."

I heard Sarah's voice ask quietly, "Are you alright? That hit you right in the lower chest. Does it feel like you are bleeding?"

I responded, "No, I'm okay" softly.

Sarah said, "Billy's dead, they shot him. Wonder why?"

I could hear the FBI chief yelling, "Get these news people out of here. They have all the video they need. Let's get this place closed up. This is a crime scene, now move it."

About twenty minutes later a voice said, "We put this one in last. We'll put the other one in the middle rack. Let's get him moved."

A couple of minutes later, I was rolled sideways and back on a board. They picked me up, carried me to the truck, and slid me in. The doors all closed and the van moved away. I could tell we were going slowly, probably to get around the crowd. As we were moving, a voice said, "Stay down a little longer. You don't have room to sit up; we'll be at the morgue in a minute."

We stopped and I sensed the van was backing up. I could hear the difference as we went inside a building. As soon as the doors opened, I was slid out from under Billie and helped up. The attendant surprisingly handed me my cane. "Thought you might want that."

The other attendant said, "Hey, how are you, where did that round hit you while you were down?" I pointed at my ribs and noticed my new suit jacket had a hole in it, so did my shirt. I felt around and pulled out an out of shape bullet from my vest."

"Damn, you were lucky to be wearing a vest. This thing you guys are working on must be a mess. Let's get you in the lounge. We have some other clothes to put on you, a pair of our coveralls. We'll take you out of here and hand you off in a bit."

"Ring, Ring." My cell phone was ringing. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it.

The attendant grabbed it and said, "Whoever you are, if you know the party you are calling, you should contact the Tampa Police Department." He looked at the phone then said, "They hung up as soon as I said that."

The other attendant led me into the lounge and handed me a set of coveralls. He used a radio he had and called, "Hey, Smith, I have everything taken care of. I'm leaving for lunch in less than five."

One of the attendants said, "Get out of those clothes and into that jumpsuit, hustle."

I took off the suit but left the vest on and put my shoulder rig back on underneath the big loose coveralls. As soon as I was ready, we went back out to the van. The guy handed me a cap and said, "Keep that on. Don't lose it."

We drove out of the morgue's yard and headed into the city. We stopped at a McDonald's and bought a bunch of burgers, before heading out toward Brandon. At 18th street, in the Ybor City area, we pulled into a construction yard and parked under an overhang next to a big blue sedan with very dark windows.

Howard got out saying, "You did good, Kid. I'll bet that round hurt like hell. To bad Billie didn't have his vest on."

"Did you guys catch the shooter?"

"Got him and his driver, alive too. We have them buried so far, no one can find them. Both of them tattled on Poppa. We're not going to pick him up yet because I think he thinks he's in the clear. I want him to do something stupid."

"How about Billy's family?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Nothing yet. That's probably why they killed Billy. They've probably either killed them or are using them. If Billy were alive, he would have hunted them down, so they killed him, and hit you with some insurance. You doing okay?"

"Fine, Howard, now what?"

Howard thanked the morgue attendants and told them to go back to work. He turned back to me and said, "I'm putting you up in our bungalow for a couple of days. You'll like it. It's better than a hotel room and you can even swim in the heated pool. The food isn't as fancy, but it is healthy."

We drove out to the Carolwood area down a private street, with large homes on even larger lots. As we pulled up to a house, Howard used his cell phone to dial a number and the garage door opened. He drove in and the door closed, leaving us in a lighted, enclosed garage, sitting next to a large, black Expedition with very dark windows. When Howard opened the door to get out, I followed. I followed him right into the house to hear him call out, "Hey, Bobby, you have a guest. Come meet him and feed him."

I was wondering why Howard was smiling.

"Holy shit," I thought. "That is one hell of a good lookin' huge woman."

"That I am, Honey, that I am. And who's talkin?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I was saying that in my head."

"You did fine, Hon, I love an honest man."

"Bobby, this is Chuck Johnson, you've probably heard some of the scuttlebutt about the bust he's been involved with and he's now a target."

"You the kid that did over ninety in under ninety seconds on the decision course?"

I smiled and nodded.

Howard said, "News travels fast in the company. Sarah probably told her."

Bobby said that Sarah did and that she was glad to meet the guy that was tearing up her heart. Bobby said, "Sarah said she'd give a left tit to be a little younger so she could have a chance at you."

Howard didn't help, "Yeah, she's got it bad. Listen, Bobby, I've got to run. I'll be doing paperwork all night. Keep this one under wraps for me. I'll bring him some clothes later, but right now that's all he has. You probably have some stuff that will fit him."

Bobby asked, "Gonna have him long?"

"Long enough, Bobby. I'd just as soon keep him around here, but we may have to send him away."

"No sweat, Boss, that's my job. I'll keep him well-fed and happy till you decide."

Howard left, leaving me with a lady that was probably six-six, six-seven. She was taller than Millie, but not as heavy set. This lady had a set on her chest that would make anyone drool. Her size and broad hips made her ass something glorious to behold.

"You have shorts on?"

I nodded.

"Strip so I can get these coveralls back to the morgue. I took out my stuff from the pockets, my wallet and my badge wallet."

Bobby saw it and picked it up to look at it. "Sarah said she made you a full Deputy Marshal and not just a temporary deputy."

Bobby was leaning over still looking at the badge. This caused her mammoth breasts to hang exposed. I couldn't help it, I sprang a boner. When you're in just shorts, something like that is really noticeable.

"Oh you, sweet boy. That's the best compliment I've had in a long time. Keep that up and you'll have a great stay out here. Hell, we're mates in the company anyway."

She walked through the house, motioning for me to follow her. She pointed at a room and said, "That's your room." She pointed across the hall and said, "That's my room." She pointed at the floor and said, "There ain't no path between my room and your room." She looked at me a minute and said, "But then, I may make one."

We walked into a room that had clothes racks and stacks of all kinds of clothes. She said, "See if you can find yourself a pair of shorts or pants in here. Pick out a T-shirt and you'll be fixed. You probably don't need that vest on, so put it in your room and I'll show you the rest of the house.

After finding a pair of shorts and stashing my vest, Bobby showed me a library room, a room with a large video screen and a couple of different kinds of video machines.

The living room was typical, as was the family room. The one predominant thing I noticed was that there were TVs everywhere, but none were on. Bobby said, "I like TV. It's company to me when I'm alone. I usually have a few on at a time. If you want to watch TV, pick one, or several, and enjoy. I like the noise and the movement.

"I don't know about you, Kid, but I'm hungry. How about us grilling a steak? Okay with you?"

I nodded with a big smile.

I followed Bobby into the kitchen.

We worked together to get the meat ready. Bobby showed me the grille on her patio and the screened pool area. I started the burners, but I told Bobby, "You need to teach me how to grille. I've never done it before except on little hibachis in the service."

"I'll have you cooking up a storm in no time. We'll work on it."

I looked around at the large backyard area. The back of the house was taken up with a large pool, covered with a screened cage. Beyond the caged pool was a decent sized grassy area that ended on the sides with an eight-foot privacy wall of painted concrete block, covered in some form of ivy. The pool and yard area was very private as there were no two story houses in the area, so no one had easy viewing access into the yard.

It was just a little early for supper, but we were both obviously hungry. We cleaned up the dishes and adjourned to the big family room off the kitchen to watch TV. Bobby and I talked a long while, with Bobby saying she would give me the story of how she ended up working for the Marshal's service tomorrow.

As we began to get sleepy, Bobby said, "Go to bed. Get a good night's sleep. I've turned on the alarm, so you're safe. You don't have to sleep with your piece under your pillow."

We got up and walked down the hall and before I went into the bedroom, Bobby turned me around and gave me a very nice warm hug. Being folded into her huge body was definitely a way to arouse me, not to settle me down to sleep. She said, "You're safe, sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

When I lay down, I kept reviewing the craziness of the day and thinking of how lucky I was to still be alive. I couldn't help but wonder how nuts Billy must have been, worrying about his family, to just coldly kill people in custody. He was probably the prime example of temporary insanity.

Finally my mind settled down to let me go to sleep.



-------

Chapter 11



I woke about six thirty and went to the bathroom attached to the room. I showered quickly and put on the same clothes as I had on the day before. I would need to get some more clothes and underwear soon. Perhaps I can find a few more things in the big clothing supply room.

I was just about to begin searching for coffee and filters to put in the coffee pot on the counter when Bobby came out, sleepily rubbing her eyes. "Oh brother, another early morning dude that gets up at the crack of dawn. Here, let me get the coffee going. Pay attention so you know where stuff is."

Bobby was still in night dress. For a huge woman, she had found a sheer Nylon or silk gown that didn't quite hide what was underneath. I could make out the shape of her huge breasts, how large the areolae around her nipples were, and it was obvious that she was bottomless when her back was to me, letting me view her broad, beautiful bottom.

When the coffee was started, Bobby turned around and couldn't help but see the bulge in my pants. "You are so neat to be so excited by me. To bad you've already had your bath or you could shower with me," she teased. Bobby gave me another of her fully encompassing, full body hugs and a soft kiss. "You are so sweet to get excited over me. We're going to have a lot of fun together."

She left to shower and dress for the day. I began rummaging in the fridge and found some bacon and a dozen eggs that I got out and put on the counter next to the range. The pots and pans were hung under the cabinets, so I pulled down a medium sized frying pan and started the bacon. While that was going, I found the bread and margarine and got ready to make toast.

Bobby came in just as the bacon was done, so I asked her how she wanted her eggs. She said over easy, so I busted six eggs into the pan and put four pieces of bread into her big toaster. Bobby had pulled out some plates and we were soon at the table having breakfast.

She stated, "You are going to be a good one to have here. You pitch right in, so it won't be any effort at all to keep you. Thanks for being so helpful, I'll try to make your stay fun."

As we ate, she began giving me some background. "About five years ago, my husband was killed in the line of duty. He was young and full of dreams to quickly become a station director for the Marshal's office. An escapee made the decision for him as they were closing in on him. Danny wasn't wearing his vest and the escapee was armed. I became a young widow."

I could see her eyes water while she narrated.

"I was lost and didn't know what to do with myself. All of the people from the office and the service were very supportive, but they can only do so much. Sarah and Howard came up with this job for me. They needed a place, a safe house, to keep people while the service made up new identities or found places to ship them. They needed someone to run it, so they asked me. I said I would try it out and was even involved in buying and remodeling this place. The rest is history. I love the job. I continuously meet new and different people, get a free place to live, free food, and get paid to boot. I'm now a full U.S. Deputy Marshal with all the privileges and benefits that go with it. I got it pretty good, don't you think?"

"You do, Bobby, but you don't get much personal time to meet another man for your life."

"Not true, I know all of the Deputy Marshals, and of course I know you now. Most of the guys are a little put off because I'm either too tall or they don't like my size."

"Boy, are they dumb," I exclaimed. "You're beautiful, Bobby. I'm looking at you sitting here right this instant and can tell you that I'm still fascinated by you. You're just big, big all over, that's all."

"Think you can handle a babe that's six-six and a little over three hundred pounds?"

"I'd like to find out, I can tell you that."

Bobby grinned, getting up to get us some more coffee. "Tell me about yourself and how you came to be here."

The story was long enough that we cleaned the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and were on our third cup of coffee by the time I finished.

Bobby said, "Interesting. If you get to stay around here, you should think about the Marshal's service or maybe even the FBI. It's a good living, a little strange, and only sometimes dangerous, but a great group to work with."

The phone rang and Bobby looked at the caller ID before she answered. She said hello and it became obvious that it was Sarah from the office. Bobby blushed, then I heard her say, "No, Sarah, I didn't do that. He is tempting though, isn't he? You should have seen, well maybe not, but I can tell you he was equally interested. Maybe you can come out while he's here. Come this weekend and we'll hang out by the pool. It'll give you chance to show off that neat new bikini you were telling me about."

She listened while frowning. I could see her eyes water when she handed me the phone and said, "Sarah and the boss want to talk to you."

As soon as I took the phone, Bobby left the kitchen.

Sarah said, "I have your extra stuff and the clothes from the hotel. We'll drop it by on our check in out there later. I have to tell you that the station is really busy with the bureau downstairs working this case. It's almost frenzy city in here. I'll let Howard tell you all about it. I'll come out Friday night or early Saturday, depending on what my mom is doing. See you then."

Howard answered the phone with, "How are doing out there. Isn't Bobby the best? She's tops in my book and really looks out for the boarders she has."

I could hear him take a deep breath, "Ah," he paused, then "Ah," again, then finally he said, "Ah, we found Billy's wife and kids. The bastards had probably killed them before they even sent Billy after you. I have to tell you, Chuck, there's probably not a federal agent or Deputy Marshal around that's not hot on this case. DC is sending their best teams down to work here and they've organized a task force all over the nation to clean this up. There's going to be a lot of hard feelings for a while. I'm glad I'm on this side of the law."

"I'm sorry to hear about the family, Howard. You said that it might be that way, what a waste. I wish I were out helping you right now."

"Tell you what," Howard said, "have Bobby take you through the video classes while you're out there and go over department functions and rules. You're already sworn in as a full Deputy Marshal, thanks to Sarah, so you might as well be ready to do whatever a Marshal does. If I can, I'll bring you in to work, but right now your presence is too much of a distraction. It's better that you're considered a non-entity now. Read today's paper, it has a huge story on this whole thing. Get on the internet. Have Bobby show you the service's website and see how big this thing is."

"We caught Poppa last night trying to take off somewhere in a small airplane, so he's back in custody as a flight risk. The federal judge revoked bail indefinitely. His lawyers are going nuts petitioning the courts."

"We have the last two shooters we caught yesterday, and have picked up a dozen or so of Poppa's people. All are in private custody, with special precautions around the whole place. We should not have a repeat of what happened to Billy."

"Anyway, stay safe, stay loose, and let Bobby teach you. She's a great gal, enjoy yourself and relax. We'll get you out as soon as we can. Let me speak to Bobby, okay?"

I called out to Bobby who picked up an extension. As soon as I heard her say hello to Howard, I hung up.

A few minutes later, Bobby came in saying, "I wish I were active in the field. I'd love to be the one to put some holes in those guys that killed Billy's family, God, how horrible." The big woman was choking up, almost sobbing.

I held Bobby in a hug for a few minutes, and led her to the couch in the family room area off the kitchen. We sat and I hugged her while she wept quietly for a while. She finally said, "You know, this job lets me hear some of the most horrible stories that you could ever imagine, but it gives people like you and me a chance to help out in the big scheme of things. Billy and his wife were the ones who helped me over losing my guy. Without them, I would have chewed the end of Danny's Glock. They helped me back then and now you're a great help. Thanks for understanding, Chuck."

Bobby sat up and encompassed me in her mass again, hugging me and giving me a very arousing kiss. She smiled at me, "I'm really glad you are here for me after hearing another terrible story. You make me feel better about myself."

She pulled away and said, "Come on, let's put our swimsuits on and go out to the pool. I'll get my manuals and we'll begin your training after we splash around a little."

"Ah, Bobby, are there swimsuits in the clothing room?"

She smiled, "Hmmm, maybe we should do this without the swimsuits. It might be more fun."

She paused and said, "Yeah, there are several in there. Go get one that's comfortable and that fits."

I found a suit, then used my cane to sort of walk out to the pool without my fake leg. Bobby was in the pool, hanging on the side and cocked her head watching me hobble out there, "You could have worn the thing and taken it off out here."

I nodded and said, "I need to get what they call a sports peg, they strap on and off quick, but those things cost as much as a good prosthesis. I'm going to work on making one myself and save six or seven hundred bucks."

Bobby asked, "You have more than one of those, don't you?"

"No, just this one. I'll get another one soon so I'll have a spare for when the cup and straps wear out. It takes forever for them to repair those things."

I went to the side of the pool, determined that this part of the pool was pretty deep, dropped my cane, and pushed off with my good left foot, diving into the pool.

Swimming is good exercise for an amputee, as you develop good upper body strength and you use your good leg and good thighs, in my case in a scissors motion. I am a good swimmer, but Bobby pushed off and propelled her massive form smoothly right along with me. She had amazingly strong strokes, coupled with her big arms and hands, to give her a speed edge over me.

I wore out after twenty minutes of hard swimming and Bobby was breathing hard as well.

"That was a good one, Chuck. Most people just splash around and call that swimming. You do like I do, you swim. Pretty neat to have a good swim partner, do you like to work out?"

I laughed, "Truthfully, not really, but if you ask, do I work out, the answer is yes. I need to do some dreaded treadmill stuff as close to everyday that I can, and if possible, an equal amount of stationary bike. I also go through a series of weights or weight machines for the rest of my upper body conditioning."

"You are in luck, there is a large room in the back of the garage that has a treadmill, a stationary bike, and a series of machines and free weights that will keep you trim. I'll show you later. We'll work out after lunch."

We climbed out of the pool and dried off. Bobby indicated we would sit out in the sun for a while and picked up a bottle of Coppertone. "Let me slick you up, then you can do me." She took pads from two loungers and laid them on the deck, indicating that I should lay down on one.

The lotion was warm from the sun and felt great as she rubbed it into my back, shoulders, and arms. She did my leg and both thighs pushing her hands up under the leg of the boxer style swimsuit. The suit had a net to hold me instead of a jock, so her fingertips were bouncing against the netting. She told me to turn over putting some lotion on my face and upper body. She had given me a very relaxing massage.

Bobby was wearing a two piece suit that had a fairly skimpy bottom for a lady her size. Her generous top was vicariously held in place by a sort of halter arrangement. When she lay on her stomach, she reached behind herself with both hands and using a single finger from each hand ran them under the outer hem of the suit bottom pulling up while sliding her fingers toward the top of suit. This pulled the material together and buried the suit between her generous butt cheeks giving the impression she had on a G-string suit. That'll take your breath away.

I swallowed a gasp back and spread lotion on her shoulders and back in the same motion she had done on me. I had just started and was trying to avoid getting lotion on her suit when she reached behind herself and pulled the bow loose at her neck and her back. The material fell aside, so I went to work, giving her a massage as good as she had given me. When my finger tips ran down her sides, they encountered her bulging breasts. My swimsuit was becoming confining.

Bobby's total size was fascinating. She is just so big. She is extremely tall for anyone, but she is just big, very big. Her back and arms were firm and muscular. I had watched her swim and she was fit. Since I was now spreading lotion on her legs, I could feel the tight muscles there as well. Spreading lotion on her thighs while staring at her big bottom had me raging, thinking of all sorts of improper things. I knew she expected it, so I massaged lotion into her gorgeously huge butt cheeks, wishing I were kissing them instead.

When I stopped and leaned back looking at all that flesh, she asked, "Want me to turn over?"

Without thinking in almost a whisper I said, "Oh please."

The big woman did a pushup from her knees and rolled over centering herself on the lounger cushion. As she rolled over her halter type top caught on something and simply pulled off. Bobby lay there now with only her suit bottom covering her pubes, but pulled together almost squishing into her pussy.

I just stared at her, then closed both eyes tight and opened them again. I must have exhaled very strongly when Bobby asked, "Gonna do my front?"

Looking her in her eyes, I poured a handful of oil and spread it over her neck and upper chest, above her breasts, working down over her stomach to the top of her suit bottom. Another handful of lotion covered the front of her thighs and legs. I massaged and caressed from her ankles all the way to the apex of her thighs. While still in full eye to eye contact, I poured another handful of lotion. Bobby began smiling really big.

Almost with reverence, I encompassed her left breast that was so big that my two hands could barely cover the lower underside of the massive mammary. I lovingly massaged the huge breast until the big nipple was sticking straight out. Still holding eye contact with the smiling Amazon, I poured another palm full of lotion and gave her other breast the same treatment, tormenting the stiffened nipple until Bobby closed her eyes and shuddered.

The act of putting lotion on Bobby was so exciting that I was worn out. I lay down on the pad next to her and just breathed deeply as if I and just run a hundred yard dash.

"You are so naughty," Bobby whispered huskily.

"Me, hardly, you just nearly gave me a stroke, letting me view and touch you. You are an amazingly beautiful woman."

"Thank you, Chuck, I loved what your hands were doing to me."

I had a thought about Bobby just then that I had to ask, "You wouldn't be related to a lady named Millie, would you? Her husband has a bar named..."

Before I could say the name of the bar, Bobby said, "Jonah's. Millie is my older sister. How do you know her?"

I told Bobby about how Jonah and I had become quick friends, and Millie, of course, had teased me to within a moment of me attacking, or at least trying to attack her.

"The teasing runs in the family," Bobby said with a smile. "She used to tease my Danny until he would drag me off and really pound me. She has that ability. Of course, I used to tease Jonah often as well. Since Dan was killed, we don't visit very much. I think she feels bad somehow that she still has Jonah while I'm alone."

"With all the guys in the service here, and that have been through here, I'm surprised that you haven't been scooped up by one of them and carried off into the sunset."

The big woman repositioned herself on the cushions on her side, holding her head up with her hand. "Most men are afraid of me, Chuck. I don't think any that I've met since I've been single would have even attempted to put lotion on me. That says something about you, you know. You dove in with both hands." The big lady actually giggled when she said that.

"Sarah told me you were the perfect gentleman, and you are. You did exactly as you were supposed to and didn't take one inch of liberty with me that you shouldn't, whether you wanted to or not. Wait till I tell Sarah what we did, she'll be so jealous. How come you didn't do more with her when she came to the hotel? She told me all about the great dinner you got for her and how sweet you were to her."

I thought for a second and answered, "Sarah told me right after we first met that she felt she was too old for me. That doesn't keep us from being good friends. I couldn't start something with a lady that feels she's too old for me. It wouldn't be right."

"You know, I'm a lot younger than Sarah is, and the little bit I may be older than you, sure isn't important to me. I love the way you react to me too. You know, you're laying there with your eyes closed, but you're still as hard as a rock."

With that, she reached over and held my very stiff dick over my swimsuit. "You know what that commercial says, 'if you experience an erection that last over four hours, you should call your physician."

"I'll be damned if I'll call for help. I want to experience four hours with you any day."

I heard Bobby moving around on the lounger pad just before she said, "Come over here and let's start on those four hours."

I opened my eyes and looked across at her. Bobby was lying on her back, bottomless with her legs spread, and her right hand was still holding me but now pulling me toward her a little.

My excitement level was so piqued that I shivered almost violently from just looking at her. We locked eyes as I began moving toward her. Bobby rose slightly, and with her two strong hands, stripped my suit from me, and actually picked me up and lay me onto her body.

The skin to skin contact was mind blowing. Amazingly, our parts matched, or was it almost a blending? I suddenly found myself buried deeply in her as her insides slowly massaged me. I began the ancient rhythm that has populated the planet since its inception.

With each five or six strokes, Bobby would shudder and shake, hugging me to her. We kissed, I suckled her breasts, she held my butt in her large hands, I thrust deeply into her. As I felt my insides begin to quake, I whispered, "Tell me your safe, I'm going to come so much we'll float into the pool."

"Do me, come in me, then come in me some more. I want to feel a man come in me, please fill me, make me a woman."

I hoped she was saying she was safe as at that second I began firing shot after shot as deeply into her as I could put them. Bobby's huge legs wrapped around me and kept pushing me into her as I continued the rhythm.

Luckily, my youth won out and I didn't even begin to soften but kept right on plugging until Bobby was gasping and shaking, holding me as tight as she could, "Don't move, not even an inch, please don't move."

I rose to look at her pleasure filled face and leaned down to kiss her. We kissed and she breathed into my mouth. "Oh Chuck, that is so good. Now do me some more. I began to slowly slide completely into her and pull back out until I was almost free of her before I repeated sliding completely into her again. As we did this over and over again, Bobby began to breathe faster and faster until she groaned loudly, very loud, pulling my head to hers, kissing me and squeezing me inside her until my balls exploded again, sending a torrent of juice deep into her. She quivered and shook, holding me still once again, squeezing tight so I couldn't move.

"Oh Chuck, we have to stop a while or I'm going to have a heart attack. Lay still, stay in me, let me hold you in me as we relax, please go soft. I don't think I can take any more right now."

It took fifteen minutes before Bobby's breathing began to become regular. She finally opened her eyes and said, "I thought I told you to go soft. What's that doing still hard inside me?"

We both laughed at her unusual admonishment. She smiled at me and said, "Slowly, very slowly, pull from me. When you do there's going to be a gusher, I can feel it. A lot of you has leaked out of me already, even with your plug in there."

I slowly pulled from her and looked down to see a river of thick milky white fluid flow from between her legs. Once up on my knees, I moved to the other pad to take my weight off her.

Bobby was funny as she sat up and bent over, looking at the flow from her center. "Good one, Chuck, you really did fill that thing up. If I were able, you would have definitely knocked me up. Damn, that was good. Come on, roll into the pool so we can clean up a little."

We did just that, I crawled to the pool while Bobby just rolled across my pad, the deck, and into the pool. She didn't let me get far, as she wrapped me up in her arms, holding me face to face with her. We kissed softly, touching each other, enjoying the feel of each other. When she wrapped her legs around me, she discovered I was still hard as I slid into her warm gooey center.

"Damn that thing still wants more?"

"Does that let you know how much you turn me on?"

"What would a young, good looking guy like you want with a mammoth like me?"

"Are you kidding? You could be my lifetime project. It will take me a life time to explore all of you. I'll keep getting distracted and have to keep doing what we're doing right now."

Bobby shivered, "You feel so good, it feels so nasty to be so slippery under water from all the cum you've put in me."

As I buried myself as deep in her as I could she grunted and said, "I'm glad you're not any bigger. You're banging the depth of me as it is. It almost hurts, but it feels so good, I keep coming. You can't have anything else to put in me. You've come gallons twice already. I can't believe you're still hard."

"That's your physical influence on me, Bobby. You do that to me."

"Ring, ring, ring."

"Damn," Bobby said pulling from me, "the phone's ringing. I have to get that."

She pulled herself easily from the pool hustling into the kitchen to answer the phone. She came back outside carrying a portable phone saying, "Yep, I've been giving him some instruction, but we haven't gotten too far yet."

She smiled at me and said into the phone, "Yes sir, he seems pretty relaxed and comfortable here. Yeah, you know I'll feed him well. He's a lot of fun to be around. I'll keep him for as long as you want." She listened a while, "Oh Howard, quit teasing. I should be so lucky to get a guy like Chuck to be interested in me. Yep, I have the front perimeter boundaries set. Who even knows this place exists. Only a few in our office know about this place. That's the way you've always kept it. Okay, he doesn't need any extra clothes right now. I have enough to take care of what he needs. Yes sir, I know that if I need anything I can call you any time. Okay, I'll ask him and let Sarah know. All right, Howard, I'll look for you tomorrow then. Make sure you call me before you come, so I know to look for you. I'd hate to neutralize you trying to drive in the garage."

"The boss is being overly cautious. He says he thinks some of the men are being tailed when they move from the garage. He said he knows no one followed him yesterday when he brought you out here, but he doesn't want to take a chance to come out directly from the office. Your stuff from the hotel is being boxed and sent from the hotel to the office. One of the guys will probably have it shipped to a drop, where it will be picked up and brought here."

Bobby came over and helped me out of the pool and had me hold onto her as she dried me off. I used my cane to hobble over to sit under the patio on a fancy outdoor loveseat. The big woman came over and sat next to me, turning toward me. She looked at me and said, "Chuck, do you have many close relatives, like a mom or dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins?"

I looked at her and said, "My immediate family was all killed in a car accident while I was on my first tour over in Iraq. That would have been my mom, dad, and a sister. Both grandparents passed away over the last couple of years and the only aunt I have is a recluse up in Montana somewhere. I remember it is up around Helena. She went up there after a boyfriend jilted her and stayed up there. That was my Dad's sister. My Mom's kin are all down in the Louisiana Bayou. They're Cajun that lives out on the swamp islands. I've never been there, and I've never met any of them. Mom ran away from the swamp when she was fifteen, met and married my dad when she was still sixteen. That's why I stayed in the service and kept going back to war zones. It wasn't a death wish, but it was a way for me to laugh at it."

Bobby patted my hand and said, "Well stick around here and I'll lend you some of my kin. Besides Millie, I have four more sisters, both younger and older. The two youngest aren't married, but of course Millie and my oldest sister are married. I have two brothers, one older and one younger than me."

She smiled at me and said, "And yes, all of us girls are big. We are all super tall and big. Wait till you meet my mom. You'll go nuts. She is almost seven feet tall. When she was younger, she was in a circus and did carnival sideshow work as the world's tallest woman. Part of her act was to lift massive weights to show off her strength. She met dad when he was assigned to be her sidekick for weightlifting. He's only about five eight or nine and as skinny as a toothpick. Something clicked between the two and my oldest sister came along. They got married but stayed with the circus as clowns for a few years while she had Millie and my older brother. When she was pregnant with me, they decided to settle down near here and raise a family. Dad was a mechanic for the circus originally, along with working the sideshows so he became a mechanic here. He still has a small shop down in Bradenton where he and my two brothers work on trucks and cars."

"I didn't tell you about my brothers because I didn't want to scare you. Henry is six foot seven and weighs around four hundred pounds. Donny is about five nine and weighs maybe a hundred forty, soaking wet. Hard to believe they're brothers, but they are and they are close. They're both married and live next door to each other. They married twins. The two girls they married are both average height, but both qualify as Big Beautiful Women."

"So far, they both have two kids and perhaps that's all they'll have." After telling me about her family, she became contemplative, looking out over the pool at the back yard.

I pulled her close to me, enjoying the skin to skin contact, but feeling the powerful muscles beneath her soft exterior. "You know you are one hell of a Big Beautiful Woman."

"According to Millie and my sisters-in-law, I don't qualify because I'm not fat. I'm just big. They say you have to have a lot of extra pounds to be a BBW."

"Well, I'm the beholder and I think you are one Big Beautiful Woman. Damned you just fascinate the hell out of me."

"You're so sweet. You know, I'm not supposed to fraternize with guests. But you really don't count cause your part of us. We maybe shouldn't fraternize with fellow employees, but I think it's all right under the circumstances, don't you?"

Thinking about it a second, I answered, "You know, Howard may have sent me out here for just that reason. I think he figured we might get together. The person who will have figured that out is Sarah. You'll have to ask her in a back door sort of way."

"I'll do that when I call in this afternoon. I talk to the office twice a day everyday. If I don't call or talk to them within the specified times, they are out here in a flash. I forgot a couple of times over the years and each time, there were five or six cars here."

There was something that bothered me, "Since I've been here, I haven't noticed any hardware. Do you have any protection here, or is it not good to have something like that in a safe house?"

"Honey, I have a better arsenal than McDill AFB, let me show ya."

Bobby led me into the house, both of us still naked. By the front door was an umbrella stand. She lifted out an MP5 from behind a couple of big umbrellas. Over by the kitchen door to the garage, she pulled another MP5 from behind the refrigerator. Next she pulled out a counter drawer on the other side of the door and there was a Glock 22. She led me throughout the house showing me various handguns and MP5s.

Bobby stopped at the door to her bedroom and said, "Don't be mad at what you see in here, because it's part of what's necessary to keep this place protected. She opened the door and led me into the bedroom. She pulled a couple of bi-fold closet doors open to display a dozen and a half video screens. There was the front of the house, the patio, pool, and back yard, each room in the house, the garage, and there must have been four cameras on the roof giving a good view of the perimeter on the outside of the fence and down the street from the house.

In the closet with the monitors were additional rifles and several boxes of handguns, along with multiple cases of ammunition. Bobby looked at me and asked, "Think that's enough?"

All I could do was nod.

We went back to the kitchen where she said, "It's time for lunch. I have some roast beef for sandwiches. How about a roast beef with pepper cheese, lettuce, tomato and some jalapenos? Want plain mayonnaise or would your rather have horseradish spread?" Just the thought had my mouth watering.

We fixed a couple of big sandwiches and she pulled out a Coke Zero and held it out to me questioningly. I nodded and took it. She got one for herself and we went back out to the patio still stark naked.

We sat at the table on the patio, enjoying the warm breeze while eating the delicious sandwiches. When we finished, Bobby asked, "Want to lie down for a few minutes and let our meal settle, or would you rather look at training videos."

"I'll follow you, Teach. Lead on."

She led me into her room and said, "Watch this." She pushed a button by the bed and the sliding door between the family room and the patio slid closed and a red light over the patio display turned green. All of the monitors displayed green lights except the monitors that show out of the yard area. They had a regular white lights. Bobby smiled at me and said, "There, all secure."

She pulled a sheet and bedspread over us pulling me into her to be cradled against her chest. She kissed my forehead and I felt her body relax. She was content.

I drifted off for about an hour, until I heard a "beep, beep, beep, beep" continuously coming from the monitor area. I quickly sat up, looking at the monitors and saw the mailman walking up the sidewalk and setting a large folder by the door before walking back to his truck. He put some mail in the mailbox and pulled down the street to the next house. I could see this in the monitors from the roof. I watched as the truck went to each mailbox until it turned at the intersection to go down that street.

Bobby said, "If he didn't turn at that street, I would think there was a problem, but it's probably something from the service. They send stuff in big envelopes that look as if I subscribe to some kind of coin collection club." She got up and went to the monitors and picked up a joy stick. "Let's look at the envelope before I put on clothes and get the mail." She maneuvered the camera to look at the envelope and zoomed in on it. The envelope said, "United States Mint, Collectors Club."

"I guess we should dress. Darn, I really enjoy being naked with you. It feels so good and I keep thinking that we're both so available to each other to just ravish. But if we're going to get any studying done, we better put on some clothes."

She slipped on some shorts and a big man's short sleeve shirt and only buttoned it up enough to leave a delightful view of some cleavage. She said, "I'm going for the mail, slip on some shorts and a shirt and meet me in the family room."

When I was dressed, with my leg in place, and in the family room, I watched as Bobby opened the envelope. There were several pieces of paper and a couple of checks. She handed me a sheet of paper that had my name in the "to" area of the memo.

It was a welcome into the U.S. Marshal's service. It explained that my swearing in had initiated all of the customary benefits of a Deputy Marshal at the grade of Corporal. If I were to complete the list of training requirements below, I would be eligible for promotion to Sergeant. Upon reading the list of training videos, I discovered that I had already watched all but one. Sarah had already tested me on the others so she must have forgotten the remaining one, or she had a reason not to give that one to me.

Bobby said, "You're pretty important property to the service. They even sent me and extra stipend in order to purchase any special materials for your comfort. I suppose I could go into city to the strip clubs and pick out a couple of dancers for you. No reason to do that though, all I have to do is call my two younger sisters. They would be out here in a heartbeat, putting on a show for you. So, what was your note all about?"

I showed her the note and explained that I had already completed and had been tested on all of the videos except the one. She checked the name of the video and said, "I have that, we'll watch it in a bit and I'll test you on it afterward. Now that you know you need to absorb what's on the videos, you'll remember them. How did you do on the others that you watched?"

"I don't know the score, but Sarah said I passed all of them fine. I really like the interrogation videos. They were good, because I can use that information for my interviews for my regular job, if I ever get to go back to it."

"If you make Sergeant, you may not want to go back to that job. If you make Sergeant, you will be making about sixty-five base. The best part about it is that you will be just one step down from a station chief like Howard. Whoever got you classified as a Corporal coming in did you the big favor. It takes guys five, six, seven years to make Corporal. It must have been your military service that did that. I'll ask Sarah or Howard."

She smiled and said, "Come help me find that video and the work sheet. Let's make you eligible for Sergeant your first day of training out here."

First, we put away the mail that we had received before we went to find the video. In her magic closet, she had a shelf come down on some kind of motorized rotating basis. It took three shelves before we found the video and training packet.

The video was on hostage negotiations. The service kept a hard line on hostages, not compromising to the kidnapper unless directed by Washington. All of the information was pretty straightforward until it got to the documented situations. There were six case studies, where four were completed saving the hostage, but two cost the lives of the hostage, and one of those also cost the life of a Deputy Marshal.

All of the videos had the good and the bad. It seems as if the service lost a Deputy in almost every type of confrontation at one time or another. It was good that they documented it on the videos so you knew that the job had risks.

After I filled out the test, instead of giving oral answers, Bobby faxed the sheet to Sarah. Once it was gone and a confirmation received, she called, turning on the speaker of the answering machine, while she was on the handset that went with the cordless set.

Bobby: "Well, Sarah, you can send Chuck in so he's on the Sergeant list now."

Sarah: "I know. Isn't it neat they gave him credit for his military service? Howard reviewed his military record and said Chuck had several commendations and honor medals. I'm typing up the transmittal for his Sergeant grade right now. Considering he's in protective custody, he might get the grade almost overnight. Once he becomes Sergeant, he might be allowed to come back to life and help track down the rest of the bad guys."

Bobby: "You know he did all of the initial and pre-field videos too don't you."

Sarah: "Yes, he did that on his own. He figured out which ones he should watch this past weekend pretty much on his own. I only put a few in on him so he'd have some enjoyable ones too. You know he scored an almost perfect score on all the post video tests. Those scores will help him toward Sergeant too."

Bobby: "Do you think some of the other younger or newer Deputies will be jealous?"

Sarah: "I don't think so. They all saw how Chuck figured out that he needed to be taken out of the picture and he even planned out how to do it. What was bad was that Billy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh, I need to tell you. The service is giving him an honor burial along with his family. It's going to be one consolidated service. His record is being sealed without mention that he did away with the prisoners. The bureau is going along with it because it was their man that didn't accompany Billy in the cell area. The man is on report over it. Anyway, you need to attend the funeral. Chuck will probably be fine out there by himself. He's pretty resourceful and he doesn't scare very easily."

Bobby: "Let me know when it is and I'll be there."

Sarah: "It's tomorrow morning at ten. After the service they are going to take the whole family to a plot over at the Garden of Memories on East Lake. After the graveside service, there is going to be a luncheon wake back downtown. It's going to be a full day, so make sure Chuck has something constructive to do tomorrow."

Bobby: "I'll just have him rest up all day so he can take care of me when I get home. Think that'll work?"

Sarah: "Oh you. You've probably already got into his pants. But then I know you too well. You're such a stickler on procedure. While you have that man in your clutches, you should take advantage of him. I know I would, but he's too young for me."

Bobby: "Well, maybe you'll have to come out here and entertain him one day this weekend. We could double team him and see how he holds up. See if he would make a good "Undercover" guy.

Sarah and Bobby laughed together.

Bobby: "Okay, I'll meet you at the office no later than nine so we can go out to the funeral home together. See you tomorrow."

Once off the phone, Bobby said, "Let's read the newspapers about yesterday. We became distracted this morning and didn't do that."

The front page headline announced "FBI agent and U.S. Deputy Marshal killed in downtown Tampa. The story didn't follow the line that we had set up for the bad guys' consumption, but said two men with rifles had shot the men in front of the federal building. The story gave Billy's name and said that his family was being searched for as they had been kidnapped earlier. They didn't give my name, but said I was a new Deputy Marshal and new to the area. The service was withholding my name until next of kin could be notified. There was a picture of Billy and me laying on the sidewalk with sheets over us.

Another story told about several underworld hoodlums who had been killed recently in confrontations with law enforcement. The newspaper described that two hired killers, who were later killed in a confrontation, had earlier assassinated two men. The gun battle had been witnessed by some homeowners, but the media had been warned away.

Still another story talked about Poppa Nardelli having been arrested, released and re-arrested when trying to flee the country. Poppa's attorney gave a statement saying that Poppa wasn't trying to run, but wanted to go somewhere to relax and get over the trauma of being jailed. For some strange reason, the writer didn't give the charges Poppa was being held on.

There was no comment on the fraudulent employment and training scam that had been, and possibly still was, occurring. It's pretty difficult to shut off money when it is being sent regularly by the government.

We went to Bobby's computer where she logged onto the U.S. Marshal's website. There, we were able to look up the investigation. They listed cities from coast to coast with individual names of the people who were supposedly trained and hired with a subsidy. The service had referred the case to the bureau and the amount of misappropriated funds exceeded a hundred million dollars.

Bobby said, "No wonder you are not very popular. You probably cost them another hundred million because you blew the whistle on them. I wonder if the service is going to make up a story saying you were working undercover to investigate suspected fraud. If they did that, the bad guys would leave you alone because covert stuff is okay with the bad guys. It's part of the business. If you were undercover with the bad guys they would be hunting you, but since you were possibly undercover in another government agency, you're probably clear. I'll ask Howard about that tomorrow."

Bobby shut down the computer and said, "Okay, it's time for some physical training. Come workout with me. You need to work out to keep your strength up, and I need to get really strong so I can get into a carnival sideshow." We both laughed at that.

I began by warming up on the bike for ten minutes before I got on the dreaded treadmill and stayed there for thirty minutes. As soon as I was off the bike, Bobby rode hard, at a high tension rate, for almost thirty minutes. When she was done, she began doing stretches before she used the free weights. She worked steadily, only once having me come over to spot her while she was doing her bench presses. Wow! She pressed right at five hundred pounds. That is strong. I used the machines for shoulder and abdomen exercises, used some weight for curls and finished by doing my two hundred pound bench press that I was so proud of.

We kept this up until we had been at it for an hour and a half. Bobby got up and stretched out saying, "Come on, let's swim and stretch ourselves out. We won't be able to do much of this tomorrow. You can use the gym stuff, but not the pool. You'll be restricted to the inside of the house until I get home tomorrow."

We swam nude, after dropping our clothes and my leg on the patio. After the swim, Bobby took the cover off the hot tub. We got in and enjoyed the bubbles. We ended the afternoon with her bent over the side of the hot tub, while I was behind her, pounding away.

We took a shower before making a great grilled chicken dinner. The evening was spent leisurely watching a movie until we went to bed, in Bobby's bed. The bed is big enough that neither one of us had to sleep in the wet spot.



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Chapter 12



The morning was just as calm. Before Bobby got ready to go into the office, we swam hard for about twenty minutes, then relaxed over coffee and some pancakes. While I cleaned up the kitchen and dishes, Bobby showered and got ready to leave.

When she came out of the bedroom, I whistled. "You really dress up nice, looking good, Kid."

"Thank you, kind Sir. I don't get a chance to dress up very often. With you around, I don't want to dress at all. Listen now, you have to keep all of the drapes pulled, all of the doors locked, and no loud music. When I leave, the house is supposedly empty. I showed you how the perimeter alarms work, so be sure to set them. Here's a cell phone to use in case you have to call someone. That way you won't be using the main line. I think that's all. I'll see you this evening."

Bobby got into the Expedition, made the garage door open, and left after closing it. I turned on all the alarms, making sure all the lights on the monitors were green.

My day was going to be exercising first followed by some studying. I spent an hour and a half in the gym and took a shower to clean the sweat off. I had to find some clean clothes, so I raided the inventory again for some jeans and a T-shirt. I was comfortable wearing the jeans so I didn't have to look at the damned leg all the time. Out of sight, out of mind.

I selected three of the advanced videos, one on counter-espionage, one on methods of attacking a fortified structure, and one on high-speed pursuit. After the first video, I took the written test, just before it was lunch time.

While I was finishing lunch, the cell phone rang. I reluctantly answered it. It was Bobby, she was out of breath and began rattling on about a car exploding, and that Sarah and her had run down a bad guy.

"Slow down, Bobby, tell me slowly what happened."

She said, "I'll tell you in a little while. I don't think they will have that luncheon. We're finishing our report right now and I'll be leaving. The way Sarah is acting, I might bring her home with me. I'll send her mom to stay with a neighbor. God, you won't believe all of this."

I could believe just about anything at this point. I went into my room and put on my shoulder rig just to be sure I knew where it was. I checked to be sure there was a round in the chamber.

I began checking weapons that I had been shown the day before. The MP5 at the door in the umbrella stand had a full magazine, less two rounds, from the way it looked. That was good so the spring wouldn't lock up. There was already a round in the chamber. I double-checked the safety and put it back. I checked the MP5 behind the refrigerator and it was the same, locked and loaded, the Glock in the drawer was the same. I sure hoped this place was a total unknown. There was some craziness going on.

The cell phone rang and it was Bobby saying she was about a mile away, so I should turn off the perimeter alarm. For some reason she was very curt. I asked if Sarah was with her, and she said very harshly, "None of your business, goodbye."

Something was wrong. I called the office and got Howard. I told him something was wrong with Bobby coming in. He said he was on his way, but to be prepared for anything.

I was watching for the Expedition. It came down the street slowly with a Chevy Suburban following it. I knew I was going to be at a disadvantage if I stayed in the house, so I looked quickly out in the garage. I grabbed the MP5 by the fridge and ran/hopped to the side of the upright freezer out there. Depending on where Bobby park the Expedition, I would have a clear firing path to anything in the garage or in the driveway. I was hidden from view, so I would be a surprise. I felt my pockets and cursed. I didn't have my spare magazines for my sidearm. Hoping I had time, I hopped to the kitchen door, opened the drawer, grabbed the Glock and the two extra magazines, shut the door, and hopped back to the freezer.

The garage door began to open. I watched intently. The damn windows on the Expedition were so dark you couldn't see in. The Expedition pulled in and shut down. I was hoping Bobby would automatically shut the overhead door to shut out the Suburban. Just as the rear passenger side door opened, the overhead door began going down. A man said loudly, hurry, go open the front door. I saw people getting out of the Suburban before the door shut all the way.

The guy asked, "Where will your boarder be right now?" I heard Bobby say, "He's probably in his room jacking off. That's all he ever does."

The man laughed and said, "Both of you get out, slowly, no fast moves. Stay in front of me all the way to the front door." All the doors to the Expedition were slammed shut.

Apparently there was no one else in the Expedition so I waited until the man was in full view. He was so confident he didn't even have his gun held up. I didn't do probably what you're supposed to do and I wished I had a silencer. I pulled my 9 mm and fired a single shot hitting the guy in the head. Sure hope his blood didn't get all over the garage wall. It would be hell to cover up.

Sarah and Bobby both turned toward me. I tossed the MP5 to Bobby and as I approached them, handed the Glock to Sarah with the extra two clips. I said, "We can do this two ways, raise this door and destroy the Suburban with the MP5 or go out the front and back and catch them in a three way. We have to move because they're probably going to try to kick open the door."

Bobby said, "You can't break that door or any of the windows. Let's do this. You go around, grab the other MP5 from the front door and go out the back. Go around the house to the left. There is a gate that's easy to open there. I'll give you to the count of thirty and raise this door. Sarah, you go out the back and cover to the right in case someone climbs the fence back there. Count of thirty, now go.

I began counting to thirty slowly as I nearly ran to the front door, grabbed the MP5, and ran to the back door. Sarah was right there looking out as I hopped out and went to the left. I went through the gate expecting to see someone. At the count of twenty eight I was at the right edge of the house and garage. All the doors to the Suburban were open so however many there were, they were all out of the vehicle. I peeked around the edge of the garage while sliding the safety off and to see there were five guys at the front door kicking it and a guy by a bedroom window hitting it with his gun butt.

The garage door began raising, attracting the attention of all six men. I looked down to make sure the gun was selected for single fire and looked back up. As they turned toward the garage and started toward the door, I raised the MP5 selected the nearest target and fired. I fired six successive shots downing six men quickly. I passed the gun over all six to make sure none were moving before I yelled, "Six down in front, I don't think there are any more. Go double check Sarah's position then we'll tag these guys.

Just as I heard the kitchen door open, a guy came from the far side of the house firing as fast as the gun would slide another round in the chamber. I was still partially behind the edge of the garage and I don't think he even saw me. I raised the gun and hoped this one didn't have any body armor as his head was moving around too fast. I squeezed off four rounds as fast as I could, standing the guy up and spinning him. When he was almost perfectly still, I put a fifth round in his head. He was a mess.

Bobby came back through the garage looking down the street. There didn't seem to be any other vehicles around. I told Bobby that I had called Howard and he was on his way. He would probably call for back up. If she thought he would answer his phone, she should call him and stop him from leading anyone else here.

I was expecting neighbors to be coming out of their houses, but no one came out and no sirens could be heard. Sarah came through the garage and I asked her if she had a camera. She nodded yes and I said, "Take pictures of the bodies real quick and we'll shove them in the Suburban. Hurry before they get blood on the sidewalk."

Shit, we had eight dead guys that we needed to do something with so we didn't attract attention. I said that to Bobby, but she said, "If our cover here is blown, we shut this down and open another. We may be okay, because I think this is all of them. They caught Sarah and me as we went into the garage to get the car. I think they were going to use us like they did Billy's family. They could tell we were part of the service because I was parked in a service slot.

Howard apparently told Bobby he wasn't being followed, because a car was following another Marshal that broke off from Howard to mislead whoever was following them at the time. Howard pulled up and parked blocking the driveway.

He came up and looked around. "Good, Sarah's documenting the scene. What were you going to do, Bobby?" She looked at him and pointed at me.

I said, "I want to load the bodies into the Suburban so we can get them out of sight. I also want to get the blood off the sidewalk as fast as possible. Do we need the bureau or do we have to call the Sheriff's department?"

Howard said, "We can do what we need. We're autonomous in this situation. Thank God those MP5's are quiet. No one's called the cops. Let's get the bodies in the Suburban."

I hobbled over to the Suburban and dropped the seats down so the back would be open. I went with Howard and we loaded the guy from the garage into the truck first. Howard quickly went through the guy's pockets, throwing everything from them on the ground.

He told Bobby and Sarah, "Go through those guys' pockets and pull everything out. Do the closest first so we can get him in the truck."

Bobby said, "Chuck, you do the pockets, let me put these slime balls in the truck. It's easier for me to do it. I have two good legs. Hey Sarah, write down I.D. info from each of their wallets and stuff it in their shirt pocket."

I couldn't argue, so in the essence of time, I went through the first guy's pockets quickly. While Sarah was doing the second guy, I switched to the next. We leaped-frogged till I was at the last guy, who was pretty nasty. He was the crazy fool firing at me. I cleaned out his pockets and pulled his coat up over his messy head.

Bobby and Howard had all eight guys quickly stacked in the Suburban with the doors closed. He took the keys out of the ignition then used the remote to lock it up. He said, "I'll call the bureau and have their tow truck haul this to their station so they can do the bodies. Let's gather the junk from the pockets and get them in individual plastic bags."

Thank goodness Sarah and I had kept the junk separate. All had a wallet and all had a cell phone. Some had keys, they had some change, but a couple had notes about various people, our people, written on them.

Howard had Bobby parked the Expedition the way it was supposed to be parked and he had me move the Suburban while he parked next to Bobby in the garage. To make it easier on the tow truck driver, I backed into the driveway on the Expedition's side. Then, on second thought, I parked the Suburban on the street. I was happy to get out. The smell of the bloody dead bodies was not pleasant.

We all went inside but Bobby walked out to the mailbox, looking up and down the street closely, to double check that none of the neighbors had witnessed anything.

Inside, Bobby said, "Now that I've seen how it's done, I think I can do this if it happens again."

Howard asked, "Why did you head shoot all of them?"

I looked at him like he had two heads, "Body armor."

"I didn't think of that. I guess it is pretty easy to get. If I were a shooter going into battle, I would have some. How did you think of that?"

"A lot of guys wearing towels on their head wore body armor. It sure is hard to knock those suckers down when they're wearing it too. If you can't get a head shot, you have to hit their bodies enough times to stop them, stand them up, and spin them. When they stop spinning, you head shoot 'em."

"You'll have to teach the men about that technique. The women too, for that matter." He looked at Sarah and Bobby and addressed Sarah, "Are you going to stay out here tonight?"

Sarah said, "I sure would like to. I need some downtime after that excitement. I didn't do anything, but I swear it seems like I was the one that fired every round. Who would believe a secretary could be involved in this shit."

Howard said, "Secretary, my ass, you're the Assistant Station Chief. If you didn't know that, you haven't read your mail for a couple of years."

Sarah smiled, "Yeah, yeah, I'm more of den mother than an Assistant Station Chief. Amazing, we haven't had an incident in almost fifteen years, gimp here comes along, and we have an incident a day and even get me involved."

"I'll tell you one thing, Sarah," Howard started. "Someone will come get you from this point until this thing gets put to bed; you and your mom are not alone. If I have to move you into the hotel, I will. I already have teams set up to watch everyone's family, or they are going on long trips. No repeat of what happened to Billy."

Howard cocked his head, "Sounds like the tow truck, check it out to make sure it's ours, Bobby."

Bobby hit a button and a wall in the family room opened to show a duplicate set of video monitors. It showed what must have been a familiar sight and face as Howard headed toward the door.

Outside, two men in coveralls got out of the tow truck. One went straight for the chains and lift controls on the long bed truck while the other came over to Howard.

Howard said, "Hey, Jeff, so you got assigned to this one. Sorry about so many, but our newest guy got a little firefight happy. I have all of the pocket stuff inside. I'd like to look at it and document it before I hand it over. Would that be okay?"

"Fine, just do it on forms so I don't have to do it again. I'll assign a newbie to double-check it and to tear everything apart. You didn't shut off the cell phones, did you?"

"I sure as hell did." Bobby said, "I don't know if any are GPS phones, but I didn't want to take any chances. We removed the battery on all of them. When you get them, you can do whatever you want with them but I'd bet there isn't much information you get from them."

Howard said, "Good thinking, Bobby, you've done the series on covert storage I see."

"Damn right. I've done every module having to do with this place at least three times, and several probably a half dozen times. I want whatever I do to be second nature and not have to think about it."

She turned around and looked at me, "Hell, this guy is as much of a curve as you can send me. Who ever heard of having to store a dead Deputy Marshal in protective custody. They didn't cover that one."

Jeff said, "Maybe you should write a new training module."

Bobby said, "I'll let Sarah do that. I think she'll have something to add for inside Deputy Marshals and their vulnerability. We sure didn't anticipate this one."

Howard said, "You and me both, we should have after what Billy went through. The bureau and us screwed up big time. You're taking this to the warehouse right, Jeff?"

"Right, the center needs to take this truck apart as well as autopsies on the shooters. Since you've stripped them already, it's going to be harder to identify them."

Sarah said, "We wrote down the driver's license info on each of them. It's in their shirt pockets. That'll get you started until you get the rest of the pocket junk. None of them had a lot in their wallets. So far I haven't seen any easy tells. The truck may give you more info than the shooters and their stuff."

We were all standing next to the big tow truck, with the Suburban up on the bed chained down now. Another black Suburban was coming down the street very slowly. I was watching it as the windows on our side of the truck came down. I saw what looked like a barrel stick out the window.

I said quickly but not too loud, "Everyone, in back of the truck, quick. Bobby, I'm going to try for the rifles."

Sarah still had the Glock and Bobby pulled a Glock from her waist. Jeff, Howard, and even the tow truck driver, all pulled hardware out as they moved to the back of the truck, watching the car as it approached. The tow truck driver was the only one to speak, "Damn those bastards better not shoot my new truck. Christ, it took three years of begging to get it."

I hopped to the house door and into the kitchen, grabbing the MP5 there, coming back through the front door I grabbed the MP5 from the umbrella stand. There was no time to go back to my room for my extra magazines, so I looked out the door to see the Suburban almost stopped on the other side of the tow truck. Bobby saw me coming and met me halfway grabbing the MP5, checking it for a chambered round and checking the safety and firing position. If it was where I had left it, it was still on single fire. A confident shooter always chose single fire over full auto. Bursts are good sometimes, but you can't carry enough rounds and magazines for full auto.

The truck was moving again and I could see the far side rear door open from my perspective. "They're coming out the back door on the far side," I nearly yelled.

Jeff moved around to the back edge of the tow truck, kneeling down to give himself a lower profile. The others were directly behind the tow truck now. I made it to the truck and dove underneath to roll farther under it, edging forward to get a firing angle at the near side windows. Just as the truck came even with the tow truck, a round was fired from other side of the truck. I couldn't see the shooter because of my angle, but I was looking into the eyes of the guy in the near side window. He had a surprised look on his face as he tried to get the barrel of the AK47 he had out the window. I snapped a shot and luckily hit his cheek. That distracted him long enough for me to aim before putting another round in his face.

The driver's window came down, with the driver beginning to point an automatic of some kind at me. I hit him before the gun was even pointed my way. The Suburban lurched forward, leaving two shooters on the other side of the truck fully exposed. They looked stunned and began shooting wildly toward the house. They were both hit with multiple rounds within a split second. At least one of my rounds hit each of them.

I rolled out from the truck the way I had come in following the truck that was now being at least partially directed down the street. As it rounded the bend in the road, Bobby said, "Let's run, the street's a dead end. There's a cul-de-sac about a hundred yards down that way."

Howard said to the tow truck driver, "Move your truck to middle of the street, block anything from leaving and get on the other side. Sarah, you stay here with them."

Bobby, Howard, and Jeff were sprinting down the street, Howard and Jeff with handguns, and Bobby with the MP5. Since it would be dumb for me to try to catch up with them, I checked the two downed guys in the street. They were toast.

The driver put the truck crossways in the street so he and Sarah could get behind it. I didn't know what to do, so I went to the far side of the house and looked through the other open back yards trying to see something. The trio was standing around the car with their weapons pointing at it and a guy with his hands up standing next to the passenger door. Considering they had the situation under control, I turned in time to see another damn Suburban coming around the corner heading toward the driver and Sarah.

I yelled, "Move, get on this side of the truck."

As they were running around to the other side a guy came out of a sunroof and with some kind of small rifle pointing at the pair moving around the truck. I threw my MP5 to my shoulder and snapped a body shot. The man jerked back but wasn't down. I took the time and put one in his head. The passenger window opened and another guy leaned out the window with a handgun. I popped him before he could get off a shot. Next I aimed at the driver's dark side of the windshield letting off three quick rounds then shot at the other side of the windshield with another three. The car lurched to a stop in the middle of the street about fifty feet from the tow truck.

I knew more people were probably in the Suburban, but not how many. I yelled at the driver and Sarah, "Stay down, there's more inside that truck."

I slowly went forward keeping the tow truck between me and the Suburban. As I got nearer the tow truck, I yelled. "You're outnumbered. Get out of the truck slowly with your hands up. Be very careful, I'm a little trigger happy today."

The tow truck driver was at the front of his truck covering the passenger side of the Suburban while Sarah was kneeling down, using the outside rear tire as a shooting position. I saw a hand stick up on the far side of the truck and noticed the rear door of the truck start opening.

"Sarah, watch closely, someone's coming out the back." I began moving parallel to the street, keeping the MP5 pointing at the rear of the car. Just as I passed the driveway, the rear window on the driver's side exploded and I heard a mis-formed round whine past my head. I let off three quick shots in return, just as a head leaned out past the back tailgate area, with a handgun pointing at me. I fired two shots and the bolt of the MP5 locked open.

I dropped it and pulled my pistol. I was trying to remember how many rounds I had left, but couldn't remember. If I had at least one, it was better than none. I kept approaching the truck until I looked through the open rear tailgate to see no one moving except the guy on the side of the truck with his hands up.

"Move to the front of the truck and keep your hands high. I began checking the downed men to find that there was a guy that I had not seen that had been hit on the other side of the rear window shooter. He wasn't dead but he was damn near there. He was hit in the neck and blood was gushing out. His eyes had the look of dead fear while he clutched at his neck. Of the truckload of six men, only one was still standing.

I had the live one stand still while I patted him down and had him move toward the two trucks. I hollered, "Who has cuffs?"

The driver said he had some and went to his truck, coming back with some. I kept my pistol on the guy's head while the driver cuffed him. "Take him over and sit him on the grass. Take him apart again; I didn't do a good job searching."

Now the sirens were coming. That was a lot of noise not to be noticed. Howard and Bobby were walking two cuffed men back toward us when three county sheriff's cars came sliding around the corner. Thank goodness I had my badge in my pocket, so I held it up in the air. Sarah had hers as she had put hers in the waist of her skirt. The tow truck driver held his up as well.

Three deputies jumped out of their car pulling their weapons yelling for us to put ours down. I yelled back, "I'm a U.S. Marshal and this is our crime scene. Stand down, come and identify yourself."

The three deputies were stunned. They weren't used to being challenged. Still holding my badge up I said again, "Please identify yourself with your agencies identification." This was straight out of a video I had watched over the weekend.

The three pulled their wallets and showed their I.D. I told them, "One of you call your supervisor and begin doing traffic until we can get the crime scene people out here. Keep traffic totally out of this area, I don't care whether they live here or not."

The three deputies walked back to their cars just as two unmarked cars came around the corner. One was obviously a federal car as it had the front U.S. Marshal plate on it. That one pulled up next to the Suburban while the other car stopped to talk to the deputies. Three more unmarked cars came around the corner, all with federal front plates on them. They stopped, blocking the street, with men rapidly climbing out of them at the ready.

The two men in the unmarked car behind the Marshal's car got out and approached showing their badges. One was a little huffy saying, "This is our jurisdiction, this is our crime scene."

Two men, who had gotten out of the Marshal's car, said from behind them, "Identify yourselves and do it slowly. There's been enough shooting today. Slowly get your IDs and hand them back here. Until we release this area, this is a federal crime scene."

Again, more words right out of the video. Cool, the other Marshals had watched it too.

Six FBI agents walked up and asked, "Do we need a cleanup truck?"

Sarah had come up next to me and said, "I already called in. They're on the way. I asked for your two trucks and ours. We have a lot to go over."

I asked the agents, "Do you guys have cameras? I'd like to document this area and go down the street and document the car around the bend."

Howard and Bobby came up with the two handcuffed men and said to me, "Deputy, I'll take over lead from here. Why don't you go sit down someplace and let the adrenaline settle down."

I was so tired, I was staggering. I knew that I still had to write a bunch of reports. Just the descriptions were going to take a couple of hours. At least Sarah and Bobby could help me on the first one. Howard and even Jeff could help on the second and Sarah and the tow truck driver could help on the last.

I got the attention of one of the Marshals and pointed to the MP5 on the ground. "Photograph that piece, then take it in the house." I looked at Howard.

Howard had a serious look on his face and said to Bobby, "Guess you need to start packing."

The two detectives didn't understand, so Jeff flashed his badge and said, "This obviously was a safe house. It's been compromised so it has to be moved. Now if you'll get your men and do some traffic control for us, we would appreciate it. If you could, keep everyone from getting to that corner. We would like to keep this as private as possible. Call in and tell the news helicopters to stay away. Any that violate that request will be grounded."

One of the FBI guys moved his car so the detectives and the three deputies could leave. The four cars moved down the street and around the corner just as a white van with U.S. Marshal's office markings came around the corner. It was followed by two more white vans with FBI markings on them. A fourth white van came too but had no markings. Howard commented, "The clean up crew came along early. That's good."

Bobby came to me and said, "Let's get you inside before you collapse. You've had a busy day."

"No more than you and Sarah," I said, hobbling toward the house.

"We've been paid to do this for a long time," Bobby said. "You shouldn't have to start out this way. Besides, I think you accounted for every downed man out there. The two that were exposed from that second car were hit by all of us, but you hit them too. I noticed that you used up an entire magazine. When are you going to learn that you reach down inside the umbrella stand for some spares before you go out?"

Inside the house, the first thing I did was to go into my bedroom and find the other two magazines I had and slide one home and put the other in my pocket. I put the gun back in my shoulder holster and went into the kitchen where it looked like Bobby was pouring a drink.

"If that's for me, Bobby, I don't want one until everything's put to bed out there. Coffee would be great though."

Bobby looked at me saying, "Where's your adrenaline rush, how can you still be standing. I'm about dead and you're still coherent."

"I'm bushed, but you forget, I've had several years of that sort of thing, and with guys that were a hell of lot more deadly than those guys. This was all pure reaction. Nothing like worrying about your team around you taking fire from all angles."

Sarah asked, "How about we start on our reports? That might calm us down. We have three distinct incidents; let's start with the guys that took us down in the garage."

While we were going through each incident, various men would come to see how we were doing. Howard and Jeff came in, saying the three of us were going to be put up for commendations. He said to me, "I don't think the service has had many Deputy Marshals that had multiple incidents their first few days."

It was dark by the time the other two cars were up on flatbeds and cars began leaving. Howard said, "We're leaving two men out front. Turn on your perimeter alarm anyway. You probably won't get that much sleep, but try anyway. Chuck, you stay here. You're just as safe here as in the hotel. Sarah, do you still want to stay?"

"More than ever, Boss. How about I get the guy that gets relieved out there to take me to the office in the morning? I have clothes in the Expedition. You know we didn't even include it in the clean up on the investigation."

Bobby said, "That guy had rubber gloves on anyway. He was pretty professional, so I don't think he left anything in there. How long do you think it'll take to find and modify a new place, Howard?"

"We already have one that's not been opened yet. It's our reserve, waiting for something like this to happen. You'll move there tomorrow or the next day, if we can keep this area clear. It's close so it won't take long. It's probably easier to defend too, because there is open space all around. We can put perimeter alarms completely around the property. The only problem will be the raccoons and other critters that wander by."

Sarah finished printing out our reports and handed them to Howard. He handed them back and said, "You three have to sign them before they are official. We each signed the reports and Sarah handed them back to him."

"Print up four more and sign another," Howard said. "Sarah, you bring the signed one in and each of you keep a copy. Have it around with you for the next week or so, because you can bet a bunch of people from DC are in the air as we speak. No one downs eight, or in your case a couple dozen bad guys in one incident without getting a psychiatric exam. You did those eight guys, four from the second car and what, four or five from the last car. It'll take you all night carving the notches in your gun. Anyway, you guys are probably going to have to come in tomorrow morning. Chuck, you're alive again. You can just get your clothes yourself in the morning. If you want, you can wear something in and change once you get to the office. I want you to live in our secure house for a while though. It's easier to let Bobby watch you than have you somewhere else."

"Jeff and I are leaving now, I think this is his first incident and we have to go back and write up our reports before we go home. Bobby, I'll call you in the morning and Sarah, I'll tell the duty guys to bring you to the office with them in the morning before they go home."

Bobby said, "I think we'll just drive in with the duty guys in the morning and let the relief watch the place while we're gone. If you think the big shots are going to want to interview us, we might as well be ready for them first thing."

"Good thinking, Bobby," Howard was nodding, "Always looking ahead. You are a good Deputy Marshal. See you tomorrow."

When Howard was gone, Bobby brought out a bunch of cleaning kits and the three of us cleaned up the two MP5's, the Glock, and my 9 mm. We reloaded magazines and stored everything back where they belonged. Hopefully, we wouldn't need them again.

Bobby said, "There are steaks, Chuck, light the grille, Sarah make salads, I'll do some potatoes and some veggies. Let's eat."

It didn't take long before we were sitting at the table next to the counter in the family room off the kitchen. The video wall was still open and everything was green except the patio. Even the perimeter light was on. Surprisingly none of us had gotten the shakes from the excitement. That happens a lot when the excitement is prolonged and one confrontation after another. There is a huge demand on your psyche. You seem to skip the shakes and are just beat.

Bobby told Sarah to get her clothes and put them in her room. We were all going to get in the pool and the hot tub. Sarah said, "I didn't bring a swimsuit."

Bobby looked at her with frown, "Come on, Sarah, we're adults here. Get those clothes off. Let's see what you've got. If Chuck can strip his leg, you can strip your bush."

Sarah blushed as she said, "It's already stripped. I started keeping it that way when I began looking for a mate."

"Well then, no time like the present to show off your new look."

I was first to the pool and was able to get a good view of Bobby's bountiful body next to Sarah's as they came out of the house. Sarah looked really diminutive next to Bobby. They walked up to the pool and down the stairs sliding into the water gently, slowly gliding toward me.

Bobby took me by the waist and pulled me into her, hugging me, and turned me around to hug Sarah as she approached. The problem was that contact with Bobby's rich full luxury had me pointing at Sarah. The contact with my straight poker made her look down. She smiled and said, "I see you are happy to see me."

Sarah slid her arms under mine and around me, hugging me to her in a full body hug. She rose on her tip toes, taking me between her legs still hugging me tightly. She said into my ear, "Now this is the right reward for such a tough day."

As Sarah released me and stepped back, she took hold of me and said, "There is this thing down here Bobby that appears to be a toy of some kind. Do you know how to play with it?"

Bobby said, "If you keep messing with it the way you are, it's going to let you know what it's for. It's going to spray you with some special lotion."

I had to say something, "You ladies are a treat. I think someone said something about a reward. Just the sight of you two is reward enough."

Big Bobby wrapped Sarah and me in her arms and said, "Isn't he the golden-tongued one."

Sarah joked, "I don't know, I haven't felt what it will do yet."

Bobby said, "Let's get into the jacuzzi and perhaps that thing will relax in there."

The ladies preceded me, but Bobby was more used to me as she stayed behind to act as another leg while I traversed between the pool and the tub. While we were getting in, Bobby hit the blower motor and we were soon relaxing in the warm bubbles beating our muscles into a more relaxed feeling.

They were sitting on each side of me and Sarah reached over to hold me and said, "It didn't go down yet. We'll probably have to perform some type of first aid on it."

"Let him relax, Sarah, the man has had a very traumatic day. I don't think we've ever known a Deputy that has been in as much action as this one has in the short time he's been in our service."

"You're right, Bobby, I'll let him relax, but that thing is fun to hold and I've not ever had a chance to just play with one. Don't mind me, Chuck, I'm not usually this forward. You're just easy to be around."

Bobby agreed, "Isn't he though."

The phone rang.

Bobby was prepared, she reached behind and picked up the cordless from the table.

"Yeah," Bobby said?

"Okay, we're fine. Did you tell the duty guys? Good. Yeah, we'll be watchful. Thanks."

Sarah and I looked at Bobby as she put the phone back down.

"There is apparently some kind of mega-contract out on our guy here, and now sweet Sarah, you and I are in on it. They're sending a couple of more teams out to watch us tonight and are going to move us into the hotel tomorrow. The bureau apparently got wind of it and they're sending a team out here as well. Let's go in and get ready for bed. I think we should sleep in shifts tonight, with one of us awake all the time. Come on, let's get prepared."

The girls dried me off, and not surprising was my pointer. It had quit pointing. They helped me in, carrying my leg so I could dress and be prepared in case I had to get up. Minutes later, we were all dressed, ready to take turns sleeping. Bobby said, "I'll take the first two hours, then Sarah, then you, Chuck. Go to bed you two and I mean in two separate beds. Try to get some sleep. Knowing I'm out here should relax you."

It did. I was instantly asleep.



-------

Chapter 13



I had gone to sleep quickly and the next thing I knew, Bobby was waking me for my shift. She said, "I let you sleep three hours. I don't want to wake Sarah. This is the first real trauma she's been through. She needs her rest to be of any use tomorrow. I hope you don't mind. Wake us both at five. I have it dark in the front room, so I can have the drapes open. Keep watch on the guys out there and the back yard. The back is vulnerable if someone really wanted to get in."

The next three hours were a bit of a strain since I kept imagining hearing things. But I kept watch out both the front and back, along with the video monitors.

I woke both girls at five. They got up, showered, and dressed for the office. I still didn't have anything but the jeans and shirt I was wearing. Before we left, I asked Sarah if she had her weapon. She checked in her purse, took out the lightweight Glock, dropped the clip to make sure the magazine was full, pulled the slide back to check to see if a round was chambered and put the gun back in her purse. I looked at Bobby and she rolled her eyes. I told her to wait a second. I went into her closet, pulled another Glock, three magazines, and a box of shells. I also pulled one of the new MP5's two additional thirty round magazines and a canister of a hundred rounds.

When I came back into the hallway, Bobby asked, "A little overkill, don't you think?"

I grunted and added, "Think about the last few days, then say that again."

We went out to the garage, set all of the alarms, and got into the car, with me riding in the back seat and raised the door. Bobby used her radio to check with the two Marshals in the car at the curb. They said all clear and that our chase vehicle was around the corner. I was busily loading the magazines for the Glock. I seated a clip, put a round in the chamber, checked the safety, and proceeded to load the MP5 magazines. I had just finished loading the first magazine and seating it in the MP5 when we passed what was supposed to be our chase vehicle. It pulled out after us. I looked up a second and did a double take.

Bobby caught my double check and asked, "What's up?"

"There's no Marshal tag on the front of the car following us. Call the chase car and ask them where they are."

There was no immediate answer, then we got an answer, "We are just leaving the seven eleven at the entrance to the subdivision."

Bobby said, "Oh shit."

I quickly told Bobby, "Call the house car and tell them that we will be moving slow and to come up on us quick. Tell the chase car to set up a roadblock so we can pinch them in."

Bobby was giving the directions I asked her to give, while I was stuffing rounds in the other two magazines for the MP5. The people in the car following us couldn't see me watching them as we were in a vehicle with absolutely black one way windows. It was obvious they didn't have our radio frequency since they kept right behind us. Just as we rounded a bend in the road, we saw our guys parked across the road, standing on the other side of their car.

The guys from the house were rapidly coming up behind the car following us. All of a sudden, the car following us jammed on their brakes. Our guys following them saw the maneuver in time to stop and back up. I yelled for Bobby to stop and back up a little to give the car behind us less room to turn either direction. I checked our guys blocking the road and they were climbing back in their car to come to us.

Bobby backed to within about thirty feet of the car behind us and stopped. I was thinking it would be a standoff, but I wasn't up for a long wait. I didn't get breakfast and I wanted to get downtown. I lowered the window and pointed the Glock out the window at the windshield of the other car.

"Bobby, tell our guys behind them to use their bullhorn to tell them to get out with their hands up or face the consequences. Tell them to count to five and tell our guys to get down."

She used the radio to tell the men what I wanted. The guys radioed back, "What consequences, we don't have any consequences."

Bobby keyed her set, "I think our guy is finished with playing, just do it."

The guy with the bullhorn said, "I'm going to count to five. If you're not out of the car by five, you're not going to enjoy what happens. One, Two, Three,"

Before he said four, all four doors opened and four guys got out with their hands up, but all four were still holding weapons.

The deputy with the bullhorn yelled, "Drop your weapons and lie on the ground, do it now, drop your weapons."

One of the guys acted like he was going to put his piece down and get on the ground, but instead he leveled the gun at the car behind them even though he couldn't see anyone. I began firing and knocked the guy down but could tell he wore armor. Another guy decided to fight and I shot him and hit him in the neck. The first guy was trying to get up when one of the Marshals behind us put a round in his head. The other two guys just stood there with their eyes closed, but their guns were now on the ground.

The bullhorn sounded, "Move to the curb and lay on the ground, face down. Do not move. As the guy on one side began moving, he looked into the car twice before moving.

"Quick, radio our guys, tell them there is at least one more guy in the car."

The guys were starting to move when they heard Bobby and stopped. Tell them to use the bullhorn. If they don't clear the car, we will destroy it from here.

"Get out of the car. We will fill that thing with so much metal you won't know what model it is. Now get out now."

I grabbed the MP5 while opening the door. I flipped the weapon off safe and onto bursts, thinking I was going to blast out the windows. All of a sudden a guy jumped out of the car on each side rolling and firing fully automatic weapons at the car behind them. You can't hit shit with those mini-automatic machine pistols. While I was shooting bursts up one guy's crotch, the other guy was being pin-cushioned by the guys in front of us.

It was over almost as soon as it started. I was out of the car, leveling the MP5 at the guys on the ground, hopping to the car behind us, making sure it was clear. Shit, they had four shotguns in there along with a couple of hunting rifles with scopes. They had been serious. I went over to the two guys lying on the ground and laid the hot barrel up against one of the guy's head saying, "You know, I love the way it sounds when a skull explodes from a close up round." Then I laughed very cruelly. I think he wet his pants. I stayed there until the two were cuffed and cleaned. Both had ankle holsters and a back up in their belt.

I looked at them and said, "Too bad you didn't have a chance to get at your backups. It would have been fun. I'm starting to enjoy this."

One of the other Marshals told the two, "This is the kid that's done over a dozen of you guys in the last two days. I think he means it."

Sirens were coming, so I headed to the Expedition. Bobby was on the radio calling for a clean up truck and some crime scene specialist. She told them we needed the tow truck again.

As I got in, Sarah asked, "Are you alright? You're acting angry."

"I'm hungry, damn it, and these assholes are causing me to miss breakfast. See if we can leave here and get to the office. I don't think anybody is going to get between me and something to eat. As a matter of fact, how about an egg McMuffin, or one of those croissants from Burger King."

Sarah got out and talked to the two sets of Deputy Marshals that were holding off the county guys. She came back and said, "They said to take off, but to remember to write up the incident report since Wild Bill Hickok here is doing most of the damage.

Bobby chuckled and asked, "Are you serious, do you want something to eat? Do you think you can keep it down?"

"Hey, radio those guys and tell them to let the media photograph and film everything and everyone. Don't cover the dead guys, let them take the pictures as they are and to make sure they take pictures of inside the bad guys' car."

Bobby did that and asked why. I answered her saying, "Let's begin to let some of these idiots know we're ready. These guys all have armor on, so they're professionals. It might increase the temperature a little, but I think we're ready. There may be a big payoff if I get gone, but it's going to be the toughest hit they ever make."

After pausing a second to get another breath, "I'm starved and yes, I can keep it down. If I can eat an MRE while some sniper has me pinned down, I can eat a breakfast sandwich in a bulletproof Ford."

I busily reloaded my weapons in the back seat and sat back to watch the terrain. We stopped at a Burger King because it was first place we came to and did get a bunch of biscuits with sausage, egg, and cheese, along with some of those mini fried potatoes. We got some cinnamon rolls, a milk for each of us, and a cup of coffee each. When we were on the way to the office with something to eat, I had the feeling we were going to get to the office without any more trouble. We did.

We parked in the garage in the open VIP spot. It was called that, but it was a secure spot that was open on all sides so no one could hide around it. I left the MP5 in the car but put the Glock in my waistband. I'd have to remember to pick up a belt clip for it. Since I didn't have a jacket, all I had was a T-shirt framing my shoulder rig. You could see the Glock sticking out of my waistband, so I must have looked pretty strange. I'm sure several people did a double take on the guy with a cane walking between an Amazon and a nice looking lady into the federal building.

We held up our badges and the two security people that were really secret service, waved us through. We rode the elevator up to our floor, the two ladies with me greeted the receptionist, and we went into the main office.

Sarah did what she's been doing for years. She sat at her desk, put her purse in a drawer, and turned on her PC. She pushed some of her stuff around, arranged her phone just right and smiled, probably thinking to herself, "Ready."

Howard waved at us from his office. As Bobby and I walked toward Howard's office, the agents standing and sitting began applauding. It kept up all the way to Howard's office. Bobby and I waved, then ducked into the office to talk to Howard.

The first thing he said was, "Christ, can't you guys just come to work like normal Deputies? You've upset the media and a whole bunch of folks out in Carolwood. They are bitching that we put a hazardous hiding place among good citizens."

He chuckled and said, "The brass is still getting up, having breakfast and should be here by eight thirty or nine. I told them you guys would probably be here early, but they are the cheifs and we're expected to wait on them. Wait till they hear you had another incident on the way in. How many, and how many are able to talk?"

Bobby said, "Six and two."

Howard looked at me and asked, "How many did you do?"

"Two, maybe three."

He looked at Bobby and she said "Two, probably three."

He nodded and said, "You know from your school work that if you have an exceptional high kill ratio they're going to retire you. They don't go by military or Marine rules. They think it's unhealthy to be that accurate or that you could be involved in that many incidents."

"Can't be helped. If I'm canned, I can go back to work for the employment people where I may still have a job."

Howard grimaced, "Forget those people. We'll put you on airplane detail. Boring as hell, but very safe, it pays well and the travel is great."

He took a deep breath, "Go do your incident report real quick and bring it to me. You have to do them individually, you know. Now get before we have these guys up our butts."

As we were leaving he said, "Oh yeah, we put your clothes back in the penthouse, Chuck. We brought a set to the office for this morning. We've rented the entire floor over there. That's where we stashed the brass. Bobby will be in the other bedroom in your penthouse so plan on going for some clothes unless you want to go on a shopping spree courtesy of Uncle Sam."

We went out to Sarah who had three separate incident reports already printed out. It had three separate versions and mine was close enough to be damn accurate. I thanked Sarah profusely and signed it. She said she would wait a while and take them into Howard.

Bobby said, "Follow me, I want to get some different firepower for you."

We went into the supply closet where she twisted and turned a combination lock and pulled open a door to a large gun safe. It was jammed with every kind of handgun you can imagine. She pulled a box out and checked it and pulled out a box of shells. She had chosen a Glock forty caliber. It's actually not that much bigger than a 9 mm, but the forty caliber round has more powder and more penetrating power.

She asked for my badge ID. She scanned it and scanned the serial number from the box on the gun. She handed me the gun and asked me to read the serial number. I did and it matched. She closed the safe and looked through the stuff hanging up coming up with a nice shoulder harness and holster for the big Glock. Her next gift was a belt holster she said I could use for a backup when I needed one. She pulled three high capacity magazines from a stack and said, "Let's get you changed into something decent, then we'll go downstairs to the range and give this piece a test drive.

Out in the office, we asked around and found that some of my clothes were in the locker room. One of the Marshals took me to show me where. It took ten minutes to dress and put on my new hardware. When I came out carrying my personal weapon, Bobby said, "Give it here, I'll keep it until you get a place to put it. We can leave it in the hotel. Um, give me the other Glock from the house, because that's checked out for there. She put all of the hardware into her purse and we walked toward the door. We told Sarah where we were going and headed toward the elevators.

We walked into the range at eight o'clock. The range officer was having some coffee. "Hey, heard you two were doing some target shooting. Glad you're here to practice."

Bobby said, "I just gave him a forty. Give him some range rounds and let him break this thing in. It might be stiff." She turned to me and said, "Tear it down and clean it real quick before you start. That'll probably help a little. You can clean it again when we're done. Hey, Cap, give me some of those forties too."

I cleaned the piece and reassembled it quickly. If you know how to break down one Glock, you can do any of them. I loaded three magazines and put on the ear muffs. At the shooting position, I fired a full clip, hitting the target consistently, but all over the place.

I dropped the magazine and took the gun to the range officer. "Do you have any other barrels for this thing? I think this one has a nick in it, the hits are all over the place."

He opened a drawer while I was tearing the pistol down and handed me a new barrel. I slid it in place and locked it down.

Back at the firing position, I slid a magazine in place after putting my ear muffs back on, and began firing steadily at the target. Ten rounds right in the center. I dropped the empty magazine and slid another in putting ten rounds in a really tight group in the head. This was a sweet gun, light, easy to shoot, and very accurate. I was amazed a bad barrel got through the inspectors.

For the last magazine, I pushed the quick targets. These targets become lit at random, and you have to shoot each one within the one to one and a half seconds that it is displayed. The faster you shoot, the faster they light up. I went through the quick targets, hitting them all without any problem. I dropped the clip laid the gun on the position counter, and began picking up my brass.

Bobby came to me and said, "Jesus, you have to teach me to do that. That's uncanny. Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

"When I was in the Marines, especially in Iraq, sometimes we didn't have anything to do. Some guys like to watch TV twenty-four hours a day, but I like to read and shoot. So I practiced about four to six hours a day. You get pretty good if you shoot that much."

"I don't have time to shoot that often, but whatever tips you have, teach me. No wonder you were so accurate out there. I thought you were kidding about aiming and hitting head shots. You weren't lucky, you were accurate."

I had her get in position and asked her what position was most comfortable for her. She said, "No, I want to shoot with just one hand like you do."

"Listen, accuracy is more important than style. Show me how you shoot."

She used the two handed approach. I checked her hands and adjusted them so she didn't have a finger tipping the front of the weapon. I asked her to do some dry fire for me first, and to concentrate just like she would if it were live.

Instead of coming up on the target, she tried to level at it and pulled the trigger. I told her to do it again so I could see if she did it the same. She did.

I told her to put the weapon down. I then showed her without using the weapon how to come up on the target. I went through the motion three times. Next I put my finger up in the air and said, "Think of this as the trigger and think squeeze. No pulling, reserve that for my dick. Now squeeze. She did squeeze, but still pulled a little.

I said, "You will be very accurate if you learn to squeeze the trigger. Pick up the weapon and try again. Now use the motion to come up on the target, and squeeze the trigger." This time she was concentrating and the gun didn't jump up but stayed level. We repeated the motion and the squeeze three more times.

"Okay, now let's try a single round. Keep in mind that I want you to use the motion I showed you, and that you just practiced to come up on the target and remember to squeeze the trigger when you shoot."

Bobby was totally focused. She brought the weapon up slowly and when she was satisfied with the shot squeezed the trigger. She hit the target dead center.

"Wow, did you see that, a ten pointer. Let me do it again."

We put another single in a magazine and she went through the steps and fired. Another hole right in the center.

"This is easy. Why didn't they teach me this way before? Let me try a full magazine."

I handed her a full magazine and stepped back out of the position so she could do it all on her own. She fired ten successive rounds dead center where she aimed. She dropped her magazine and reached for another. I opened the door and said, "Now, all ten in the head."

I shut the door and watched as she put ten holes in the head of the target in a nice tight group. She dropped the magazine and laid the piece down, smiling. She bent to begin picking up the brass. I opened the door, and handing her another full magazine, said, "Here, one more but do it single handed. Square away at the target then raise your hand, shooting exactly like you do if you had both hands on the weapon."

She didn't look confident, so I told her that she was a natural and plenty strong enough to handle the forty single-handed. She put the muffs back on and slid the magazine home and chambered a round. She took a deep breath, raised the weapon and began squeezing the trigger. She put ten rounds in the target, five in the center and five in the head. The grin on her face was awesome. She dropped the magazine and put the weapon down before she pulled open the door and hugged me to her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. In ten minutes you showed me how easy it is to shoot. I've got to practice more so it's natural, but I can do it. Now I won't waste so many rounds in the field."

We picked up her brass, cleaned both weapons, put a fresh magazine in them, and I holstered mine while she put hers in a belt clip under her jacket. As we left, the range officer said, "If you stay around here, I'd like you to give some lessons down here. I hear you have a technique to use when you're up against body armor. I'd like to see it."

Word travels fast in a closed community like this.

I smiled and nodded, not wanting to commit to anything for a while.

We arrived upstairs at precisely nine o'clock. Sarah said our guests were on their way and called to make sure we were on our knees when they got here. Howard heard what she said and cautioned, "Remember, these guys do my proficiency report. Be nice. You, Johnson, and you, Bobby, go find an empty desk and look busy. I'll call you when they want to talk to you."

Bobby and I took adjoining desks and since the PCs were on, we both logged onto the department website. We went through the news about our local fun, noting that the latest episode had not made the site yet. Next we both logged onto the local news channel site to see live footage of the scene still busy out in Carolwood. The guys were really playing it up. The street had chalk mark outlines where the bodies had lain. There were little evidence markers everywhere. There actually couldn't have been that much evidence. Not that many rounds were fired. They even had three interviews, one with a Deputy Marshal, one with a bureau guy, and one with a Lieutenant with the Sheriff's department. Everyone was getting into the act. The news lady who usually had a smile, had this serious look on her face saying, "Now the hoodlums in the area know that the officials would prefer not to take prisoners."

Howard called me at that exact instant. "Johnson, come in, ah, Bobby, you better come in too."

I went into the office and was introduced to a John Scott. The man was about fifty with gray hair, cut in a nice flat top. He held himself erect and had a good military bearing. I came in and stood at attention. He recognized the stance and said, "At ease."

"Charles Johnson, huh? A date of being sworn in last week. It has here you were sworn in to help in your protection as a person in federal protective custody. So you're the one who started the employment office fiasco, huh?"

I'm sure the guy knew what my tiny file said by heart. But he wanted to be dramatic. "I'm told that you have volunteered for a couple of unusual assignments and have performed meritoriously. Do you enjoy killing?"

Aha, the shock value.

"No, Sir. I defend with deadly force, not with enthusiasm, but focus on my team's safety."

His eyes opened wide and he said, "Everyone out of here. Everyone except you, Johnson. Now!"

Everyone left Howard's office with flat top and me still standing. When the door closed he reached out his hand and said quietly, "Semper Fi,." I nodded, but added equally as softly, "Ooorah."

He said, "How long in Special Forces?"

"Seven years, Sir."

"I'm not a Sir, neither are you. How long have you been out?"

"You know the answer to that, it's in my file."

"You're right, I do. Sorry about your leg, would you have stayed?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to stay in the Marshal's service?"

"I don't know yet. It depends on what is decided and if I live that long."

"I want you and you'll live. We're too damn tough to be done in by a bunch of money grubbing cutthroats."

The man paused, looking at me as if trying to see inside my head.

"One word of caution, Johnson, try not to kill everybody. I hear you had an incident this morning and allowed a third of the attackers to live. Good move. The service frowns on too many kills. As it is you're going to have to see a shrink to make sure you're stable. Do you still get the shakes?"

"Not usually."

"Good, that means you think clearly under pressure. I'm going to call the folks back in. They think I'm dressing you down for being so accurate with a gun. I know that it is training and that you are just protecting your unit. Please remain a Deputy Marshal; you will have a great future with us if you do."

He said, "Sit," before he went to the door to call everyone back in.

When everyone was back in, he asked Sarah, who had joined us, "How come you swore Mr. Johnson in as a regular Deputy Marshal and issued him an ID with a full security clearance."

Sarah said, "I checked his military records with the Secret Service. His clearance is still current and is higher than what is required for the service. Mr. Johnson exhibited the values we want in the service and if he were a full Deputy Marshal, I felt I could get him to stay with us."

"Good thinking." He took a deep breath. "Howard has briefed us, and now we are going to interview the two men that were just brought in. We will not use your famous window technique because I want the bulletproof glass between the other buildings and me. I don't think we've ever lost a prisoner from being shot in an interview room before. There are a lot of firsts with this case."

He turned to me and said, "In front of everyone here, including the Chief of Personnel of the Marshal Service, I'm promoting you, Johnson, to Sergeant with a notation of Acting Field Lieutenant. Your pay will reflect the higher grade. Your promotion is not for downing so many perps. It's because of your military background. I can't have a Lieutenant being commanded by a Lieutenant, so Howard, you are hereby promoted to full Commander, not Major but full Commander. Sarah, please make these new promotions effective as of eight o'clock this morning."

"Now, if any of you others have something to ask or say, do it now, as we have work to do."

I stood, but Howard motioned for Bobby and me to stay, along with Sarah. The others left the office, shutting the door heading for the interview rooms.

"What the fuck did you say to that man? He didn't look like he was chewing you a new asshole. Sorry about my language, ladies."

I said the only thing that made since. "He is also a Marine. He was in Special Forces as well. He understands."

"What does he understand," Howard asked?

"He understands that I don't kill enjoyably, but I will defend my unit."

Bobby said, "That's something like what you said before he sent us out. Is that something you're taught in Special Forces training?"

"That is the second goal of a Marine on every mission. Our primary goal is to execute whatever the order is, but to always protect our unit. I was just protecting our unit."

Howard said, "Perhaps we should send all our men through Special Forces urban combat training. But then DC would start calling this the wild west office."

He turned to me and said, "Thanks, Chuck, full Commander is a very high honor. The man who was just in here is not a full Commander. He is a lowly Major. This was a special promotion and you are to blame. I blame you because the rank is too high for Tampa. They'll move me and I don't want to move. I wonder if my wife will like DC or Chicago? I doubt it."

Bobby said, "Maybe the guy out west is retiring. You might be in line for that job."

"We'll see. I want you two to go get some clothes for Bobby, enough for a week, come back, check in the hotel and come back to the office. An acting Lieutenant has some extra responsibilities. You're in charge of showing him, Bobby."

"Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Sarah, make Bobby's promotion permanent as of this morning. And let's make sure the payroll gets really screwed up because I wish to address you as Sergeant from now on. Now just like the Captain on Star Trek says, 'Make it so.' Now get, all of you. And be careful out there. You are to have a lead and a chase. Make sure our cars are armored like the Expedition, just in case."

The three of us left the office with shit eating grins. Apparently the big shots had told everyone of the promotions they had handed out and gave me another hand. I just grinned and headed for the door, picking up my jeans and T-shirt on the way. Four guys followed us out the door.

Bobby briefed the four on the way how we would go out to the house and made sure they had the max authorized ammo with them. The one guy said, "We've checked out enough hardware to start our own regime. We should be okay. We could almost use a third guy in each car for eyes."

Bobby stopped before we got to the elevators. "Hey, it's not a busy duty day, I looked at the roster. Let's get two more men just for fun. We should get to the hotel in time for a nice lunch. Come on."

We went back and asked Sarah for a couple more men. She checked the roster of available guys and paged three. They happily came running. The alternative was getting stuck on an Air Marshal assignment that had them overnighting somewhere. Older, semi-retired, guys that missed a lot of work handled a lot of the Air Marshal jobs

The trip out to the house was event free. One of the reasons was probably so many county sheriff's cars parked all over the neighborhood in the guise of speed traps. Bobby even said, "Perhaps we should reconsider and just stay here."

As we stopped to raise the garage door, the extra man riding with us said, "If they want you in the hotel, go. That place is easier to protect and closer to help."

I said, "I'll will miss the pool, though."

The guy looked at me asking, "Didn't you use the roof pool. It's exclusively for the penthouses. They even have a jacuzzi and small sauna up there."

"I didn't know, and I guess they thought that I didn't swim with my bad leg. Heck, swimming is better for me than that damn treadmill."

The Marshal said, "I'll tell all the guys to clear the pool area when they come on duty. That way you can just go up there. Actually the only way up there is on the penthouse elevator or the stairs. There is a maintenance elevator for both the penthouse and the roof but that's easily locked out. We even have a control panel with a visual of the elevator plus a video panel now. They installed it yesterday. The duty guy can see the lobby, the approach of each elevator, inside each one plus the door area for the stairwell on each floor below. Any movement on the penthouse elevator or any of the stairwells above the third floor activates an alarm. It's pretty cool and makes for a lot better security."

I thought of Bobby's house and said, "We should ask for an auxiliary panel like you have, Bobby, so when the duty guy is eating he can have the same view."

The guy said, "It's done. We don't eat with many protective custody people, but since folks like yourself and a lot of dignitaries from the service stay there, they put a false wall up with an entire array. We don't leave them on though. They only come on upon demand."

As she was driving, Bobby said, "We'll probably have them on all the time. I don't think I'll ever be as uptight as I've been. This has been intense. I can't believe there's been so many attacks."

"I saw the investigation notes from the bureau. This employment fraud thing is just so huge, there are mob types all over the states that are upset over losing the easy money they were getting. We're putting a big dent in their income, plus we've been busting fake training centers in almost every state. A couple of them were even being used as drug drops. Your tax money at work, we provide the office space where they collect free money, divide up the dope, and distribute it to their carriers."

"Amazing that one girl not being at work regularly could cause this whole thing to collapse," I said, shaking my head. "If the Director had hired me as his assistant, no one would ever know. He could have corrected the problem with the girl and the fraud would have continued."

The duty guys at the house were using the family room and facilities. "Hey," one of them said, "this is good duty. These monitors are great. Anything gets close and a buzzer or beeper goes off. Even a stray dog set the thing off. I love the motion detector on those roof cameras. That makes the distant perimeter easy to watch.'

The other man there said, "If there is anything you don't want moved, let me know now, because this house is going to be empty by tomorrow. Your new place is being prepared right now and they will move you en masse tomorrow. A group from the Atlanta office will be here to do the move."

Bobby asked, "Do you have a floor plan for the new place yet?"

The Marshal opened a briefcase and gave Bobby a small floor plan so she could familiarize herself with it. Bobby commented, "Not much different, except it's bigger and there is more open space around it. I like the idea that there are even quarters for duty guys."

"No more going to the Seven-Eleven for potty breaks either. We either use a jug or have a replacement crew come for relief. That was a real freaky thing that happened this morning," the Deputy said before he turned to me. "How did you figure it wasn't us this morning anyway? I heard you were the one pulling the alarm."

"All of our vehicles and the bureau's have plates on the front of them. That one didn't."

"Uh oh, not all of them do, our surveillance cars don't, but they are more common looking anyway like that Mustang you're driving or at least were driving. Anyway, that was good thinking and a good eye. Even if it had been a totally unmarked car and you didn't know it, you did right to confront it. There wouldn't have been any harm done."

Bobby came out with two big suitcases and said, "That will take me through a week or so. I suppose I'll be spending more time in the office than usual, so that requires better clothes."

She went back to the bedroom and came back out with three aluminum cases, "Let's pack up some hardware to carry along with us. Get the MP5 you have in the truck and the one behind the fridge."

We broke down the two rifles and put them in the cases, with six extra full magazines each. In the third case, she put the Glock, plus another, and my 9 mm in along with all my extra magazines and six more.

Bobby looked up and said, "That should take care of us. I like the idea of having a rifle in the truck with someone that can use it. I have a modification I want on the truck too. I want a sun roof with a flip up Kevlar shield in all directions. Chuck could have covered that car easily without leaning out the door or window. Hell, they've made that truck damn near bomb proof, might as well make it into a fighting vehicle as well."

We loaded up the Expedition, radioed the office and the car out on the street that we were coming, and opened the door. The trip back was as uneventful as the trip in. Instead of parking in the garage, we went to the valet entrance and put our luggage on a cart. One of the agents took the Expedition, while we went straight to the penthouse elevator. I looked at the control panel as we were riding up and noticed one other button that had an "R" on it. I wanted to check out the roof. That might be a nice place to get some sun."

We checked in with the duty guy and went into the penthouse. We carried Bobby's bags to the second bedroom. I went into the other bedroom and there were all my clothes hung in the closet, cleaned, and pressed. I thought that it will be nice to have some clothes again. To bad I lost the other suit, I had really liked it. Oh well, I knew where to get more.



-------

Chapter 14



The agent who took the car came in, along with the other six that had accompanied us. I looked at the menu and gave it to them. They called the duty guy and asked him what he wanted. We decided on some of the hotel's monster hamburgers and chili.

The order was made and I checked to make sure the fridge was full of soda. It was, along with several bottles of wine that weren't there before. I pushed the button that controlled the panel over the bar. There were twice as many bottles now, and all of them were full. "I guess they thought I might be a heavy drinker."

The duty guy commented, "When we said we were going to rent this penthouse permanently, and rent the others for at least a month, they filled the place up. Our business is important to them, especially in the slack times. We're using all four penthouses right now to house the dignitaries that are here.

I spoke up, "I only saw the two, who else is here?"

The duty Marshal answered, "There are six others, two more from the service that are out in the field and four from the bureau. This is a big deal we're working on. So far we've arrested over a dozen involved in this thing. It looks like Poppa Nardelli was the king in this area. It's just taking a while to find all of the offices involved. The DC people have all the addresses because they have been paying the rent. We're just raiding each one and collecting whoever is in them. We are also staking them out and pulling in anyone that comes in. We just take them all and sort them out later."

We ate while checking out the new video wall. They had done a great job blending it into the décor of the penthouse. If it were rented out to a regular civilian, they would never know it was there so the services money was well spent.

Howard came into the room saying, "How are the new sergeants doing. Did everything go okay. I guess it did, I didn't hear anything."

Bobby and I both nodded.

"You two will stay here at least a week. Bobby your new place will be ready the day after tomorrow but you're detailed to be Chuck's personal duty person for a while. You don't mind do you?"

Bobby grinned and shook her head saying, "Hell no. Watching this guy is pure luxury with a place like this."

Howard cautioned, "Well don't get too complacent. You know they blew the elevator here already and I'm sure some one will try something at least once. We think the place is pretty tight but some of these guys that are coming at us are good. They are smart too so just be careful and be watchful. You've been trained for this, use that training."

He turned to me, "I have the entire training series on protection for witnesses and relocated personnel coming. I want Bobby to review it and for you to do the entire course. Use the PC here and log into our site. Bobby has the encryption key so when you finish each module, take the on-line test. The guys will tell you, each major division class you ace means an increase in your base pay. With your extra time, you should be able to build your income pretty well. You've used your time well so far, keep it up. Even if you pull a rat on us and go to the bureau, these are cross modules so you'll get top pay over there as well. Somehow I have the feeling we're going to have a hard time keeping you here. The boss fell in love with you this morning, you sure he's not queer for you?"

That got a laugh from everyone.

"Tonight, he's hosting a dinner for you and Bobby. Sarah and I have been invited as well. I'm picking up my wife for this so it's a major occasion. Wear a good suit. Oh yeah, we have replaced your suit with another similar to it. Man, that thing was expensive. You sure have expensive taste."

I grinned, "Howard, as soon as we can, I'll take you to the place where I bought the suit. I got it for twenty percent of normal retail. I didn't even use up the entire clothing allowance I got from the employment agency."

"Considering the stuff you're wearing, I'll go with you. Who turned you on to the place?"

"I'm surprised you don't know, our dear friend Ms. White. Her husband Reggie and Ms. White helped me pick out everything. When I go back to get more, I'm going to call her. The place is full of unsavory characters but it is really the place to shop for good men's stuff."

"I'll make sure all the guys know about the place. I'll even make sure that they go in not packing so it's a more pleasant trip."

"I think the place is used to having guys carrying. I'd bet over half of the people shopping there were packing. Reggie had his and when he tried his coat on the tailor didn't even flinch. When he asked me if I usually wore a shoulder holster, Reggie told him and that it would be on my left. That's why my coats don't bulge or look mis-formed."

Howard added, "I guess it would be a good place for all of us to shop. We'll have the best tailored office in the district."

"Anyway, you two kick back this afternoon. You have at least four days coming for incidents. You know the service makes you take a day off after each incident. You had three yesterday and one this morning. When you need one of these, you can take them. I'm going to set up the shrink to come here instead of you going to her. When she does her interview, be kind, she's kind of a babe in the woods. I don't think she understands the real world is a little more violent than she thinks."

Soon it was just Bobby and I. I suggested, "Let's go up on the roof and take a look at this pool they have. Since it's high, it might not be warm unless it's heated."

We went to the duty guy picked up the radio we were supposed to have in the penthouse and walked up the steps to the roof. The door had an alarm on it that said that it would alert the world if we went through it so we went back down to the duty guy. He laughed and said, "See this switch, if I turn if off there is no alarm, if I turn in on, the world as you know it comes to an end. The elevator can't go there either unless I push this one time button. Besides see these," he pointed to three monitors, "that's the roof. When you're up there if you want privacy, tell me and we'll shut them off. I can imagine that I'd rather skinny dip than use a suit."

Bobby laughed, "You've caught me too many times at home haven't you. You know that's almost the only way I swim. Chuck don't mind and he's too much a gentleman to be ornery."

"You're a better man than I would be. The only reason I'd be good is I got a wife that does not share. She would alter my genetics, real quick, if you know what I mean."

Bobby and I climbed the steps again and looked around. We sat in the chairs to check the sight lines. There were none while sitting or if we were in the pool or Jacuzzi that would allow anyone even with a very long range sniper weapon to get a shot at us. I thought it would be good to get some binoculars or telescope to look around. I thought for a second then said, "I'll be right back."

I went down the stairs to the duty guy and asked to use his rifle for a few minutes. "What for, you gonna shoot something?"

"No, not going to shoot anything. I want to use the scope. I know you have these zeroed in at four hundred yards so I want to scan the sight lines up there to see if anything is compromised."

"Good thinking." He pointed to a knob on the side of the scope. "Each click is a tenth of a klick. You know a kilometer. Go through up to a full klick. I don't think there are too many bad guys out there that are proficient over that."

As I was going back upstairs I thought, 'a thousand meters is what, a little over a thousand yards? The longest shot I heard about was estimated fourteen hundred on a perfectly calm day. I'll check to a klick, that ought to be enough.'

Bobby laughed when I showed up with the rifle, "You don't miss much. They keep that rifle kind of hidden. It probably doesn't have much value at that duty station but it is part of the equipment for any station."

I checked sight lines all around. There was the one bank building that was almost as tall as this one but even standing up around the pool you couldn't see the top of that building. Nope, the only way to see or get at us up here is a helicopter. We should be fine. I wonder if they might have a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) filed for downtown Tampa right now. If they did, the only aircraft allowed would be military on a mission or law enforcement.

Being curious, I went over to the side of the building where the Federal Building was and looked at the top of it. Wow, they had four heliports up there and even one helicopter with FBI markings. I guess if we skinny dipped, bureau guys might get a surprise. Aviators are used to seeing nude swimmers and hanky panky from the air. They see it a lot.

We sat on the roof getting some sun on our faces for a few minutes before we decided to go back downstairs. Bobby said, "Let's go across the street and check out the modules the boss wants us to look at and we both need to see the rank modules. You have to go through ours plus your temporary field rank of 'Lieutenant.'"

"Between you and me Bobby, I still follow your directions. You know the rules, I'm not proficient yet."

"You know combat though," Bobby said with a serious look on her face. "I'll follow you anytime when we're under attack. You proved yourself more than once already."

I looked up at her and said, "You know, I think we should probably take a short nap before we do any studying. We would be a lot more alert if we were to do that.""

"Oh no you don't. I know that look. You don't have napping on your mind at all except what you're thinking of would definitely make me sleepy.

I grinned, "Well it would relax us."

"Wait," Bobby admonished, "let's see what the day brings. Fooling around like that makes me too lethargic. Considering our tenuous situation, we might want to be more alert. Look what happened the last time we were almost having a good time."

We told the duty guy what we were going to do and he said, "Just tell me what you want. One of the guys will bring it over. The boss wants you two wrapped up tight today. He thinks there are people just waiting to catch us sleeping. We have some body armored look a likes for you two, going back and forth fairly often as it is."

I laughed, "Where did you find a seven foot amazon and a crip?"

"We didn't, we have a behemoth from Orlando, you know him Bobby, the ex-wrestler. He's got a wig and is wearing a skirt. The only thing he's bitching about is your shoes and that he had to shave his legs. I think the guy likes being dressed up. For you Chuck, we're using that new college kid we just put on. He had a hard time limping so Howard whacked him with a cane like yours. He's limping pretty good now and needs the cane."

Bobby and I cracked up but we both wanted to see the pair so we could raz them about the duty another time. Our duty guy said, "Next time they come up, I'll call you. They have to start from up here and come back up when they come back so if someone is watching they think they started from your penthouse. That's why we have all of the penthouses right now. The two of them stay on the floor below until this is over. They just come up here before they go and go back down after they get back. They are doing what you're going to do and what Chuck did last weekend. Watch training videos."

Bobby said, "I'll call Sarah so she can check them out as two of the modules have to be signed out by rank. Sarah can check out anything."

We went back into the penthouse and I said, "You know what, since we're not on assignment, I'm going to have a beer. I missed one yesterday that I was planning on having one just like the drink I was planning on yesterday evening."

Bobby said giving me a hug, "Give me one too but don't drink to much, you might have to be alert for what I have in mind for you later."

"Promises, promises," I said as I pulled two bottles from the fridge. "There's probably some idiot with a plan to interrupt us later anyway."

"I'll kill 'em," Bobby said pretty seriously. I think I believed her.

About ten minutes after Bobby called Sarah, a huge almost a replica of Bobby and smaller bad copy of me came in the door carrying a box of videos. We chatted a couple of minutes before the guy imitating me asked me to walk across the room in front of him so he could watch me. I walked back and forth a couple of times and he said, "Your knee doesn't bend easily and your ankle doesn't at all. I'll tape up my ankle so it won't bend and put on a tight elastic brace on the knee that won't let me bend it easily. That'll make me limp a lot more like you."

I said to the huge wrestler, "You're kind of cute but it ruins it that I know you're a guy. You're chest isn't as nice looking as Bobby's. You need more padding cutie."

I ducked as he swung at me laughing. "You better watch out, you know us wrestlers all go both ways don't cha. We like cute little guys like you."

We all got a laugh but his partner got a real red face. Hmmm, wonder if ex wrestlers and young college boys still go both ways.

They left and Bobby was holding her hand over her mouth. When she started choking I patted her on the back until she could control herself. "It's all over the office over there, Bronson, the ex wrestler does go both ways admittedly. Did you see the red face on that kid? I'll bet they are enjoying this hotel duty. They only make about four trips a day across the street and the rest of the time they have to stick to their room. Fun time in the Broke Back Hotel."

"Bad Bobby, real bad. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Can't help it," Bobby said still laughing. "You teased the big guy and his eyes got big thinking you were coming on to him, then he teased back and his partner blushed. It is funny but don't ever say anything. People do what people do."

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching "Rank" videos. We needed to pass these within thirty days of our promotions. We watched both together but I was the only one that took the Lieutenant exam. It's cool the way the site gives you the grades back immediately. You're graded on correct answers but additionally graded on the time it takes to complete the exam. Bobby explained that if it takes you a long time then the computer assumes you were looking up each of the answers therefore even though you might have answered all the questions correctly, you might still fail. Bobby and I both received a hundred percent on the sergeant's exam and I received the same on the Lieutenant's.

When that was done, Bobby said, "Let's get cleaned up for dinner. It'll be in about an hour and a half. They might call us early for a cocktail or a visit. Go tell the duty guy and get into the shower."

I went out to the duty Marshal who was a different one and he nodded. Back in the penthouse, I went to my room, stripped and hopped into the bathroom. Bobby was standing in the shower, waiting for me. The shower was one of those big ones with two nozzles about waist high and three overhead. There was instant hot water, so we turned them on, adjusted the temperature and proceeded to wash each other's hair, and each other. Since the shower was so stimulating, Bobby ended up standing with her legs spread, bent over holding the wall, with me behind her making like I was a bronc rider balancing on one foot. Good stuff. We were both smiling by the time we cleaned off and and dried each other. I told Bobby she didn't look too lethargic.

Bobby disappeared into her room while I put myself together. I put on a nice dark suit with a colored shirt and tie combination that Ms. White had picked out. I looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. I went out to the living room to find Bobby coming from her room. I whistled. "Wow, you look gorgeous. Jesus, you look good."

She pirouetted for me asking, "You like?"

"I like a lot, a whole lot. You smell good too. I like that perfume."

"This is something Danny bought for me for Christmas a lot of years ago."

"You're the first guy I've worn perfume for, and I thought Danny would want you to smell it."

We both were a little watery-eyed thinking of the donor of her perfume.

"How about a drink? We might want to have a stiff one so we're relaxed with the big shots."

Bobby said, "Good idea, make us both a tall gin martini. That won't make our breath reek, and I love gin. Do they have Beefeater?"

I looked to see what was there. "They have some British gin in a pretty bottle called Boodles and Tanqueray."

She smelled the British Boodles and nodded. I put some ice in glasses and filled them with gin. I started to put vermouth in the drinks but Bobbie said, "I like mine as dry as it can get. You thought of the vermouth, that was almost not dry enough."

The martinis had quite a kick. I checked the bottle to find it was ninety proof instead of the usual forty proof of most gins, strong stuff to be drinking about four ounces each. About the time we were halfway through our drinks, there was a knock at the door. I looked through the peep hole before I answered it. Howard was waiting to get in.

"Quick, get me something, preferably a gin martini, before we have dinner. Today has been tension city."

Before I could get his drink poured, there was another knock on the door. Bobbie let Sarah in. Sarah gasped, "Quick get me something to drink, anything."

I gave Howard a stiff one, but gave Sarah a much smaller one as she isn't that big and this stuff was potent. Howard looked at the size of our glasses, "Are you two drinking that much Boodles?"

When I nodded, I commented, "I didn't know it was so strong until after I poured. I can't drink all of mine. Perhaps I'll finish it later."

Bobby handed me hers and said, "Put mine in the freezer too. That should keep the ice cubes frozen."

Howard said, "Just be yourselves. These guys haven't really been a pain in the ass, but they're still from DC and you know what home office people are like. The upper echelon guys don't always relate to field people. We deal with the shit and they just send out the toilet paper."

We all laughed at Howard's joke. He put his drink down and said, "Let's go downstairs. We have a private dining room."

He patted my chest and said, "First, go put your clothes on."

I understood and headed to the bedroom for the forty and my new shoulder harness. Bobby headed for hers also. I checked the magazine and realized that it really wasn't full. I checked to see how many rounds were in it. Ten, hmmm. I put them back in looking at the markings on the magazine and it said, 'maximum fifteen rounds.' I pulled the box of extra ammo out and put five more rounds in the magazine and five more in the extra two magazines I stored in my coat pockets. Wonder why no one told me about more than the usual twelve or thirteen for a Glock.

Back in the living room, I asked Bobby, "How come you didn't tell me this had a fifteen round magazine?"

"I forgot, yours is a full size Glock 22, and mine is a 23. I used to carry the 27 that only carries nine rounds. I prefer the compact because I usually have to carry it in my purse if I wear a dress. I only put ten rounds in this one as someone said that if you carry a magazine full for too long, the spring wears out and the gun might jam."

"If you were a homeowner keeping a piece at your bedside, you would be right. But we're combat troops. We throw these magazines away every year or have them refitted with new springs." I looked at Howard to see if I was right. "Or at least, that's what the military does."

"We are supposed to do that, but you know, I never carry a full magazine either," Howard said. "I also carry a compact because it is lighter."

"Well, I'd rather have the fifteen rounds and one in the chamber, thank you very much. That's five more rounds in a tight spot. Hell, I even ran out of the thirty rounds on the MP5 today. I heard there is a new forty round magazine. We should look into those."

"Okay, Wild Bill, this is really an unusual time. There's not as much action in the entire Marshal's Service in a year as you've had in a week. The next thing you know you'll be carrying extra magazines around."

I blushed really bad, "You don't do you," Howard asked?

I reached into my coat pockets and sheepishly pulled out a magazine from each pocket.

"You're a good scout, Chuck. Actually, considering what you've been through, I don't blame you. Most of us don't carry extra magazines unless we're going on specific duty. You do what you're comfortable with."

We went downstairs to a nice private banquet room. The big cheese, John Scott himself, greeted us. He introduced us to the other DC people. The personnel guy said to Bobby and me, "I see you both finished your Sergeant's exam and you finished your Lieutenant's with hundreds all around. It's good to see sharp people out in the field."

Howard was eavesdropping and smiled happily. Sarah caught our eyes and winked at us.

A surprise guest with us was Ms. White and Reggie. Ms. White was sitting next to Howard and his wife, with Reggie next to Metarie.

When we were seated at the table, Deputy Marshal Scott had me sit at his right, with Howard on his left. Bobby sat next to me, with Sarah sitting next to her. Several of our senior guys were here, along with a bunch of bureau people, including the agent in charge.

We all had drinks. I noticed John Scott had scotch and water, so it was only coincidence that I had asked for that before he ordered his. He had corrected my order to be some expensive single malt stuff and without water. It was too expensive for my blood, but really good.

The dinner was prime rib and not nearly as good as Reggie's. I wondered what Reggie thought of the quality being served.

Throughout the meal, the conversation was kept very light. When Marshal Scott asked me how I afforded such expensive clothing, I gave him the same story I had given Howard. Mr. Scott looked down at Ms. White and said, "You have impeccable taste. Thank you for directing our young man in his clothing selection. You're giving him some good habits."

Ms. White thanked him and said, "It was a pleasure. I felt I should help him spend his special clothing allowance properly, and I wanted him to make a good public relations impression on our clients and prospective employers. Reggie was the one that already knew where to shop, though. He just drags me there because I can put what should be worn together for him."

"You did a great job for Mr. Johnson. He's the best dressed Marshal in the service."

After the very nice meal, John stood and spoke to the group. "First of all, Howard, please stand."

"The U.S. Marshal's Service has many men that do great things and perform beyond expectations every day. Some perform that way for extended periods of time. Howard Smith has performed that way every day since he was sworn in so long ago. For his contribution to the service and this office, Howard is promoted to full Commander within the U.S. Marshal's Service."

There was applause all around.

"I want you all to know that this lady next to Mrs. Smith was instrumental in hiring Deputy Marshal Johnson. We all know how lucky we've been to have him over this past week. Chuck, Bobby, Sarah, would you three stand."

The three of us stood up, wondering what was coming.

Mr. Scott handed Howard something and said, "For having the ability to act under pressure and under fire in a manner that expresses the traits of a heroic Deputy Marshal, Sarah, the service presents you with the Legion of Merit award for courage. You are the first person within a clerical position to ever receive this award, as well as the first within clerical to be promoted to Sergeant."

We all applauded Sarah as Howard pinned the medal to her suit coat.

Marshal Scott handed Howard something again then began, "For her quick thinking, courage, and heroism under fire, I award you, Bobby, with this Medal of Valor for performance of duty beyond expectations. Congratulations, Sergeant."

Bobby was really smiling. This was the same medal her Danny had been awarded posthumously.

Marshal Scott turned to me and said, "Be at attention." Then, very softly, he said, "Marine."

"Charles Johnson, for courage, heroism, and the performance in protecting your unit, you are awarded this Medal of Valor." He pinned the medal on me.

For your performance so far beyond what could be expected of you as a Marshal, and that exemplifies the Marine Corps that you are still a part of, you are awarded this Silver Star. Congratulations, Sergeant Johnson. Semper Fi!"

As I answered "Ooorah," several men around the table enthusiastically gave that same salute.

Marshal Scott stepped back and saluted. I couldn't help it, I returned the salute.

He smiled at me and said, "Be at ease," then vigorously shook my hand.

As the formal ceremony broke up, several men came forward to congratulate me, almost all saying, "We should have known, only a Marine, Special Forces, too."

There was a long meet and greet with some having another drink, but Sarah, Bobby, and I didn't partake. When it was time, Howard radioed a duty person to take us back upstairs. John Scott said he would see us in the morning.

Sarah said she was coming with us and we three left to go upstairs. Before entering the lobby, it was thoroughly checked with our guy staying in constant contact with the other duty people. Once we entered the elevator we relaxed as it was programmed to only go to our floor. When it hit the third floor and stopped, there were four, forty caliber Glocks pointing at a bellhop with a cart. He almost fainted.

The duty guy said, "I forgot about the room service kitchen. Come on, we won't hurt."

The man warily pushed the cart into the elevator, and we proceeded to the top floor. The duty guy met us laughing, as he had seen the confrontation with the bellhop. "My bad, I should have radioed you that I had ordered. Who would have guessed he was coming up at that exact same time. Sorry guy."

The bellhop wasn't too amused but said, "That was the scariest thing I've ever seen. Those barrels are huge when they're pointing at you that close."

As the three of us were going in the room, Sarah said, "I'm staying tonight. We're going to bed early, so goodnight."

The duty guy was more interested in his food than us at that point, and waved goodnight.

We locked the double door and put the stops down. Bobby said, "I saw some Mai Tai mix. Let's have one of those when we've changed. Let's see, where were we the last time we were interrupted?"

Sarah said, "We were relaxing in the jacuzzi."

Bobby went over to the patio door and opened it. She flipped a switch and we heard the blower motor of the jacuzzi out on the patio start up. "Last one in has to fix the Mai Tais."

The two ladies raced toward Bobby's room, while I hobbled to mine. I took my clothes off and hung them up, preserving the creases and press. When I was stripped, I kept my leg on and used my cane to walk faster back to the open patio door. Both ladies were already in the jacuzzi. Sarah asked, "Can you make them real tall please, and make sure you crush the ice?"

I didn't grimace, but I did grin. I was flopping in the breeze while they were in the jacuzzi. It didn't take that long to fix the Mai Tais.

Let's see, first there was both light rum and dark rum. I think a shot of each. I opened the little cans of sweet and sour mix and little cans of pineapple juice. I set up three very tall Collins glasses and poured the light rum in first, added some crème de almond, and the triple sec. Next was the sweet and sour mix and pineapple juice, then I topped it with some dark rum. I think everything I put in was about double because I used the big glass.

I put some ice in a blender and crushed it hand scooping it into the drinks. I tasted one and it was decent. I found three straws and stuffed them into the drinks. Hmmm, I have to get three drinks out to the Jacuzzi without spilling them.

Oh well, I took two and made it out there without spilling any. I handed them to the ladies and went back for mine. Once on the patio, I took off my leg and the stump sock and swung myself into the tub.

The two girls separated and helped me to sit between them. Bobby reached over and brought me my drink and we all sipped a little. Bobby said, "Nice. This is the way to relax."

I nodded.

Sarah said, "This is almost as nice as back at the house. There's one thing wrong though."

I bit.

She reached over and began caressing my dick. "This thing has to be at attention for me to really relax."

Bobby and I both laughed.

We relaxed and just amiably chatted while sipping our drinks. Before long Sarah was getting herself pretty worked up.

Bobby noticed how agitated Sarah was getting and said, "What's up, Sarah, are you having trouble from this morning?"

"Not at all, I just need an injection and I'm holding the hypodermic. Would it be crude if I gave myself a shot?"'

Bobby really laughed then. Before Bobby could answer, Sarah was sliding down on me, enclosing me in a warm tight orifice that was squeezing and quivering.

"My, oh my, you were serious weren't you," Bobby said, leaning over to kiss me while picking up my hand to put it under Sarah's breast. I took the hint and held them both in my hands, leaning back and closing my eyes as Sarah rose and fell, pushing me totally into her.

"God, that feels so good. Oh, oh, so good, Bobby. I don't know whether you've had this yet or not, but you've got to try it. Damn it's so good, oh, oh, I'm going to let loose any second, oh my goodness." Her voice was getting louder as she progressed toward her peak. I pinched her nipples very firmly, helping her go over the top. Her pussy felt so good and was so exciting, I joined her shooting way up inside her while Bobby leaned to kiss me.

The two ladies now had me really excited. Sarah leaned back into me and was holding my hands over her breasts so I wouldn't pinch her nipples any more. "You did me so good. That was perfect and I even felt you shooting in me. That felt so warm and mushy. God, that felt great, I think I'm going to assign you as resident relaxer."

Sarah wiggled her butt around on me and said, "You're still hard, I might want some more, but not this second. Let me off so I can relax and your thing can go down."

Sarah pulled off me, but Bobby kissed me, centered me, and sat on me, lying back against me. As I groaned from her weight and the good feeling, Sarah said, "Oh my, that is so sexy, so nasty, now I want more. Fuck him, Bobby, make him squirt into you."

I held Bobby's massive breasts, pinching and caressing her nipples as she slid her slick pussy up and down. Her pussy felt even better than Sarah's. Damn, this woman was nice. After about ten minutes of sliding up and down on me, Bobby's breathing became more ragged and her moans became louder. I was straining to hold back. I reached around and caressed her clit while she was riding up and down. That did it. Bobby gave a loud grunt, and flowed around me. I could feel her juices even beneath the water. I let myself go, sending millions of tiny little creatures deep into her.

She leaned back against me. I surprised her when I picked her up and turned her around so we could kiss. She looked at me funny and said, "Are you that strong?"

I smiled and whispered, "The water."

We kissed, when I pulled Sarah to me to kiss her. Sarah said, "We should get out before we look like prunes."



-------

Chapter 15



The two ladies got up and helped me to get out of the tub. I sat on the side, being dried off, as I played with Bobby's voluminous breasts and Sarah's pert breasts and pointy nipples.

Bobby picked up my leg and sock and said, "Sarah, get our drinks. I'll put Chuck to bed. Bobby walked me to the bed. She left me to probably shut the patio door and shut off the lights. I hopped to the bathroom and peed while balancing on one foot. I shook and wiped off real quick, then hopped back to bed to find Sarah standing there, having set the drinks on the nightstand.

I motioned for her to get in bed, but she said, "Bathroom," and went.

Bobby came in, pulled the spread and top sheet back, and lay down on the king-size bed, patting the spot next to her. I climbed in on my knees and leaned over her to kiss her, leaning down to suck on a nipple while caressing a breast with one hand.

Sarah returned and I smiled at her, pointing to the empty side of the bed. She said, "This is so nasty, but I want it really bad. Bobby, don't think bad of me, please."

"You," Bobby said, "How about me?"

"You're a young widow; I'm just an old spinster that is enjoying this kid, this young man."

I leaned over Sarah, kissed her and said, "You're not old, especially between your ears. If you gave yourself half a chance, there would be suitors breaking down your door. Put an available sign on your face and you won't have to hold your breath."

"Oh you, I'm not attractive or voluptuous like Bobby, my boobs are tiny and my nipples stick out obscenely."

I was shaking my head, "Sarah, there are men that like flat-chested women. There are plenty of men that would think you are beautiful. I'm one of them."

"But you're so infatuated with Bobby."

"Bobby and I have some kind of special attraction for each other, but that doesn't keep me from being attracted to you. I didn't have much trouble being excited with our lovemaking."

That made Sarah shiver. "You did, you did make love to me. You didn't fuck me, but made love to me. It was so good."

"There's more, before morning you'll know what lovemaking is."

Bobby pulled me to her and asked, "Promise?" She was tugging on my hard again dick.

"Both of you, lie back and let me enjoy you for a while. Close your eyes and no fair peeking. Let me love you. Let me pleasure you. Let me take you to your limit."

Both ladies shivered from the words.

I kissed Sarah thoroughly until till she was gasping. I had been caressing her face, her breasts, stomach, and her fuzzies, into her slick pussy. It was easy to find her prominent clit while teasing her with my tongue. As I slid down on her, she became more excited until my mouth covered her pussy, with my tongue up her as far as possible. She was coming already, but I kept on until I was sucking her clit, with two fingers so deep in her that I was probably as deep as my dick could get. Sarah gasped and nearly screamed, but froze before totally relaxing. She was totally inert.

Bobby said, "You killed her."

I knitted my eyebrows looking at her, as I was on my knees between her legs.

Bobby smiled, "In that case, kill me too, do me like that."

As Sarah came around, I was kissing Bobby and enjoying her fullness, her large breasts, and wide hips. She came while I was suckling her breasts. She came again while I poked her pussy with my tongue and she came again while I sucked and fingered her. When I began moving up to enter her, she picked me up and settled me between her large thighs. I was so excited, I was drooling all over her.

I was soon balls deep, stroking her at an increasing pace. Bobby was coming continuously now, near screaming. We kept it up until sweat was pouring off me. Bobby finally reached around me, running a finger up my crack. As her finger hit my pucker, she pushed her pussy up at me groaning, coming. I filled her with my essence. We came together, exploding. Fireworks displays were going off behind our closed eyes as we orgasmed and kissed.

As we calmed, with me still between her legs, still buried within her, and still hard as a rock, Sarah said with tears in her eyes, "My God that was beautiful. Oh, I want that too someday."

I rose up and leaned over Sarah to kiss her softly. "You'll have this too, Sarah, I promise."

Bobby rolled us to our sides with us still connected. "Do you believe this horny critter, he's still hard. Men can't stay hard like that."

Sarah giggled, "If he's still hard after four hours, we have to call a doctor."

Bobby said, "Perhaps you should give him and it some mouth to mouth resuscitation, or would that be some mouth to penis loving. You might get a late night snack, or he might just crawl up and do you like he did me."

Bobby rolled off me, and my very wet dick flipped up in the air stiff as I lay back. I said to both ladies, "You two are both so damn exciting, I'll probably have to go to the emergency room."

Sarah did what I didn't expect. She went down on me with enthusiasm, swallowing most of me, but paying attention to the head of my dick. She was intense and she was going to bring me to orgasm quickly. I pulled her off me and laid her back. She spread her legs wide, making it easy to find her center and slide in. She gasped and shook as I slid deep into her.

I fucked, I pounded, I slid in and out. As Sarah came again and again, I was getting ready to explode once more. Bobby leaned over us and said in my ear, "Fill her up, squirt that stuff so far up her that it comes out her nose. Fuck the bitch, fuck the Sergeant, fuck the clerk right on her desk, make her sit in your cum all day, shoot it so full it drools down her leg, do it, cum in her, fill her."

This was making Sarah cum so hard she couldn't even scream. She was gasping for breath, with both of her hands holding my hips trying to pull my body inside hers. She arched, bridging her back, holding me in her while shivering and quivering. I came hard, sending what was left into her, coming so hard it almost hurt. Bobby was kissing me again as I released. When Sarah went slack, I rolled off her and Bobby attacked my mouth. She grabbed hold of me and leaned down to suck me clean, as my dick finally lost its rigidity.

Bobby laid me on by back, kissing me, having me kiss Sarah one more time. Sarah smiled big and said, "I'm not a virgin or an unused little girl. I've been around, but the excitement of us three doing this together is wonderful. I'm going to find me one of these just for me." She said this while taking my softened dick from Bobby. "When I get a good one, I'll share him with you, Bobby, it'll be only fair."

All Bobby said was "Mmmmm," as she kissed me. I sat up, grabbed the sheet and comforter, and pulled them over us. The two girls snuggled to me, my amazon on my right shoulder and Sarah on my left. Both of them began breathing softly, very regular instantly.

My amazon? Where did that come from? I better think about this a little. Wow, my amazon? Could it be? Am I ready for this? Wow, who knows, I guess time will tell.

As I was almost asleep, breathing regularly, Bobby's lips kissed my neck, then my ear, as she whispered softly, "I love you."

I woke up suddenly, thinking I had heard something. I listened but didn't hear anything. I looked behind me to see it was almost five fifteen. Time to get up anyway. I had to pee, so I slid from under the covers and to the end of the bed. My cane was on the chair with my shoulder harness and leg. As I got up, getting a hand on the chair, a shadow appeared at the door of the room. Without even thinking I pulled the Glock from the holster and yelled, "Hey." A flashlight came on and I could see a face covered with a stocking. I fired three times knocking the guy backward before finally thinking and putting a round in his open mouth. Behind me both girls were coming out of bed, turning on the light. The outside door to the penthouse burst open with the duty guy running in.

I said, "I took care of it. Go back outside a minute. Let me get dressed."

The guy left the room.

I turned to look for the girls. They both got up from the floor, Sarah had a red face. She said, "I don't think he saw me under the bed."

Bobby said, "I don't care if he saw me or not. Jesus, that scared the shit out of me. How did he get in?"

I had a thought and slipped on the pair of shorts I had gotten out and hobbled out to find the duty guy by the patio door, looking at a hole next to the lock. I said, "Hurry, run up to the roof to see if there's a helicopter up there. That's the only way he can get here unless he climbed the building. Shut off the door alarm but hurry. I slipped on by stub sock and strapped on my leg before I went for the elevator, yelling. "Watch that patio door close. I'm going up on the roof. John Scott and a couple of other Marshals rushing toward the penthouse met me in the elevator lobby. None of them were armed. As I got in the elevator, pushing John back, I said loud enough for all to hear, "Go arm yourselves and check on each other. Make sure everyone is okay."

I pushed "R" and waited for the quick ride to the roof. As soon as the door opened, I could feel the whoosh of rotating blades. I ran toward the motor noise to find a tiny single seat helicopter sitting there. It was really small, with an open cockpit.

I looked for the off switch on the tiny engine and shut it off. The Marshal that had come up the stairs said, "There's a rope down to your patio. The motion alarm didn't go off up here. Jesus, I'm sorry. I didn't notice any activity on the monitor."

"No harm done. Let me get back downstairs and put some clothes on. This place is going to be crawling with people. I went down in the elevator and met everyone from the floor at the door. They all were talking at once. I said, "Go up and look while I get dressed real quick." As I went to the room four guys were following me. I just shook my head and had to say as they all bent down to the dead guy, "Don't touch the crime scene. Go call a clean up crew. Come on, act like Deputy Marshals. You know what to do."

John Scott was standing at the door, smiling at me. As the four guys left he pulled the door closed, with him out in the sitting room.

I slid off the shorts and found my jeans and T-shirt. I put on my sock from the night before and the other shoe. After putting on my shoulder rig, I brushed my hair back and finally took a leak. When I opened the door, Bobby was in jeans trying to keep the DC peoples' hands off the patio door.

I looked at John and said, "Haven't these guys watched any crime scene videos or had any training? They're like a bunch of kindergarten kids."

John hollered, "Get away from the door. If your prints are on the damn thing how are we going to match the bad guy's."

They looked sheepish and backed away. I asked them, "Why don't you guys call for a whole bunch of coffee and ask them to bring up about," I counted heads and figured at least a half dozen more, "breakfast for two dozen ought to do it."

One of the men said, "We can't order that."

Sarah went to the phone and did her thing. Bobby said to me, "Let's shake this guy down real quick. He's got gloves on so there aren't going to be prints. You know you ruined the carpet. Don't you know how to shoot someone without making it so damned bloody?"

John was laughing at Bobby and said, "I'll bet he did body shoot him first but found the guy had body armor on. His training says head shot and he did. Good job, Chuck."

We went through his pockets finding only a hotel key. I turned and handed it to John and said, "Get this to a team quick and have them tumble the room."

He left quickly to get this done. Bobby said, "Do you always boss around the U.S. Deputy Marshal in charge of field officers?"

"It needed to be done, so he did it. If he wanted me to do it, he would have said so. He didn't give it to one of the keystones out there as he knew it needed to be done right away. What do you want to bet he had the duty guy radio downstairs for a team to get a car while he rode down? As soon as John sees the team leave, he'll be back up."

Bobby asked, "How do you know that."

"Training."

She said then, "Damn good training."

I said quietly, "The man was obviously Special Forces and not that long ago. He knows how to command and he understands how to work as a unit. When others fuck up, he goes around them and uses those that know how to move."

Bobby said as she put the guy's pockets back together, "We should have that type of training."

"It wouldn't hurt. Let's get out of here and shut the door before one of these guys barfs from looking or the smell. Let's go wash our hands. You go out. I'm going to take a shower so I'm ready for the day. Send Sarah into the shower, then you go. I'll be out in five."

I did get a quick shave and shower and dressed in the jeans and T-shirt, but tucked my Glock in my waist. When I went into the sitting room, the food was there and the vultures were quickly eating while keeping an eye on my bedroom door to make sure the dead guy didn't come out.

John handed me a cup of coffee, holding a radio in his other hand. "I grabbed this from one of the guys in the team heading to the motel. They are supposed to radio me as soon as they get there. Nice wake up, huh?"

I grinned and said, "The damned alarm bled all over the bedroom too."

We laughed. One of admin types suddenly looked sick and was holding his mouth as he looked around to see where he could puke. I pointed to the patio and yelled, "Do it over the side of the building so I don't have to smell it."

John said, "Let me get these guys over to my room."

He turned to the group and said, "Leave one of those coffee pots and three meals. Now push the carts out of here to my room. All of you, let's go before another of you gets sick."

They at least followed directions and pulled three meals from the cart and left a jug of coffee. Sarah came out, got her coffee, and sat down saying, "Damn, this morning excitement makes me hungry."

Bobby laughed, "Being around Wild Bill here is making us immune to this stuff. How did you wake up anyway?"

"I don't know; I must have heard something in my sleep. I was waking up and thought I heard something, but I blew it off. I was heading for my cane on the chair when I saw a shadow at the door. I grabbed my gun and yelled. When the guys' little flashlight came on, I saw his face was covered so I started shooting. I'm surprised he didn't have one of those Glocks with the light and infrared, or even night vision. The guy was innovative to have that little helicopter. Wait till you see it, it is really tiny."

As she was eating, Bobby said, "He left his glass cutter on the patio. He was prepared as if he knew the layout in here. His rope just barely comes to the deck out there. He had measurements and everything."

The cleaning crew arrived. They immediately went to the door I pointed at and they began taking photos outside. When the photographer was back inside the sitting room, he took pictures of the patio door. He came to me and said very softly. Go pull the spread up over the bed and pillows. No reason to show who was in the bed.

I smiled as the guy winked and went to pull the spread up over the pillows. I even fluffed all three just to be safe. He came in smiling and took his pictures, put the camera away, and began going over the body.

"Sneaky bastard has surgeon's gloves," he said, as he took a glove off and pulled a fingerprint kit from his box of toys.

I left him to do his job as he would be a while. Others were checking all around out on the patio, while two went upstairs.

Howard came in the door. "Christ, can't we keep you in a protected hotel without you getting into it? Did you kill somebody again?"

John came into the room at that second and said, "He neutralized an attacker. Make sure you use the correct term when you write up your incident report, Chuck. The guy just happened to die while you were neutralizing him."

Howard laughed, "It's a damned good thing it's you up top, John, or my boy here would be shown the door."

"Yeah, I know," John said. "The former regime didn't like dead people. They thought we should capture people while they were shooting at us. Did this guy fire his weapon?"

I said, "Didn't give him a chance. When he turned on his light, I saw his face was covered and made the decision he was a hostile and took care of it."

"How many rounds did it take before you realized he was wearing armor?"

I blushed, "Three in a quick burst. I at least had him standing up by then."

John laughed. "Just like the book, three quick ones, and a decision. Good job."

Howard said, "You two talk your own language, don't you?"

John said, "It's the way teams are. You protect your unit. You make decisions to protect your unit. You consider yourself the last man standing, regardless, and fight that way."

Howard was obviously impressed by his boss.

Sarah said, "If you guys don't need me, I'm going to the office. I'll get my incident report done." She said to Bobby and me, "You two do yours as soon as you can. Send it to me in an e-mail. See you for lunch."

John said, "There's breakfast in my room if the guys left anything. If not, I didn't eat yet. We'll go downstairs and eat together."

Another group of CSI guys came in with a stretcher. Another guy came in wearing a flight suit. I asked him, "Are you going to fly that thing out of here?"

"Hopefully. It's probably a G-1 that the guy either built for the job or stole. I'll take it over to our building so we can go over it. Those things only hold a few gallons of fuel so it didn't come from very far. Where is it, on the roof?"

"Yeah, ah, you should probably go up the stairs. See the duty guy in the hall and make sure he got something to eat."

The pilot came back and said, "He didn't eat yet, order him something."

I called downstairs and ordered three more breakfasts, some milk and a lot more coffee. I noticed that Bobby didn't eat hers either because it was cold and greasy.

While we were eating with the duty guy, two people wheeled out the dead guy, and a guy went into the bedroom with some kind of carpet scrubber. Two maintenance guys wearing U.S. Marshal coveralls came in and began working on the patio door.

I said to Bobby, "I thought that was bulletproof glass?"

"It is; it can still be cut with special tools. That guy had them."

"How did he know about the bulletproof glass I wonder?"

The radio crackled, asking for "Safe one."

Bobby answered, "Safe one."

"Gold mine at the motel. We're bringing in guests and goodies. See you in about forty five."

The phone rang. I answered and Howard said, "You just got the call; tell the other pair to stay indoors for a while and you two come over. Be careful and check the street real good before you cross."

I laughed saying, "Okay, Dad, we'll look both ways before we cross the street."

"Cool it, Kid, you know what I mean," he still had a smile in his voice, so I knew he was okay with joking around a little.

I went out to the duty guy and told him to call the pair on the floor below and tell them to stay put for a while. You'll contact them when it's time to do their imitation.

He grinned, "Like they need having more time to lay around. Did you notice how both of them are walking bowlegged. If the kid didn't have to fake a limp, he would be walking with a cane anyway. That big guy seems to be doing a newlywed babe imitation."

"Be nice, they're doing what they are supposed to. They have to entertain themselves some way."

"Right," he said shaking his head.

I changed into some of my new slacks, a neat dark shirt, and a good looking sport coat. The mirror told me I looked good. The big forty felt good in the holster under my arm too. The maintenance guys were almost done in the sitting room but said they were going to give the carpet one more shot with some special dissolving material. Actually you could hardly tell where the blood spots were. We told them to check with the duty guy when they left and the housekeeping staff would be by soon.

We relayed the info to the duty guy and had him call downstairs to advise them that 'Safe one' was on the way with the guest. We checked the video screens and took the elevator down.

We checked the lobby and the restaurant while heading to the door. The doorman held open the door and the duty guy with Bobby went out on the street looking up and down. Bobby waved her hand by her side to indicate I should move with her. The three of us walked across the street with me in the middle and went into the federal building, flashing our badges.

As I went through the metal detector, one of the guys asked, "Are you trying to get a quick rep? If you are, you've done it. Even one of our bosses was calling asking if you might be a candidate for number one duty."

I looked at him with a question on my face, and he said, "You know, White House."

"I hope you told them that I was a cripple and wouldn't make the grade with those guys."

"Nope, told them that you were the talk of the firing range too. They'll be calling. You can bet you'll never see duty like this, guarding a federal building."

"Why are you here then," I asked?

"Easy, started off working clearances and pissed off some interviewees. The money is too good and my wife loves Tampa. I'm already five years past minimum retirement time. I'm good for another fifteen and this is a no pressure, no danger job. With you around it might be more so, but you won't be here long. Hot shots are always kicked upstairs quick."

Bobby waited till we were on the elevator, "I knew those guys were Secret Service. He's right though, hot shots always get kicked upstairs quick."

"I have something to say about it and I'm still an employment agency guy trying to match fresh out military guys with jobs."

"Sure you are, like Scott is going to let you go?"

Once in the office, we joined the others in waiting for what the team was bringing in. Howard said, "The bureau sent a team out with ours and it was apparently needed as they called in for a cleanup crew and had two for the sawbones. All the good guys are okay. They said you would want to be in on the interviews, though."

There was a commotion in the reception area and ten guys were on it in an instant. Five guys in cuffs were pushed through the office. Four went to interview rooms and one was taken to a desk where he was told to sit. I recognized the guy. I knew him from Special Forces training. He was a TI, a training instructor. He was looking around and I thought, not very smart to leave a guy like that by himself in an open room. He sat quietly though and kept looking around. He didn't recognize me, but that was understandable considering it had been several years and several hundred men since I saw him.

One of the bureau guys came out and un-cuffed him and gave him a cup of coffee. John Scott came over to me and said, "Recognize that guy?"

I nodded.

"He's been undercover for the bureau for almost three years. This was a lucky break. He can get off undercover now without breaking the chain. We have two more guys in the same bunch, but they are out west."

John said, "Come here."

John introduced me to the guy and said, "Remember this guy?"

"If I take off his longer hair, he does look familiar. About four, five years ago? You out and working for these guys now?"

I whacked my stick with my cane and said, "The Corps said I had to be a civilian again. Actually, I may only be temporary here."

John said, "This is the guy your crew was sent for. Now do you understand how those guys have lost so many men?"

"Holy shit, they would have had to send twenty or thirty, and still get lucky. Shit, you don't send someone after a troop after he's been in several years of combat. They're too salty, too aware. Christ, this guy is probably still seeing men with towels on their head. How come you didn't come to get us today? There wouldn't be so many in the interview rooms, that's for sure. I played chicken and hid under the bed while the shooting was going on. The idiots I was with had no lookout, no guard. They were caught completely unaware. Most of your guys can't shoot for shit. I'll bet they must have fired a couple of hundred rounds to down nine and wound two. The other three guys you brought in with me were under the bed with me, pissing in their pants."

"You happy to be through with undercover?"

"Yes and no. I lost my wife a few years ago to cancer, so I left the service since they wouldn't send me to a combat unit. The bureau offered me a position and I immediately volunteered for the undercover assignment. It was easy to make up my background. We used my real name and my real background. I just failed to tell them that I was working for the good guys too."

John said, "You know what, enjoy life, find a new life and a new way to do things. You've had enough time to get over losing your wife, or should I say the rough days are over. You'll never get over losing her. At least now it isn't as important to try to join her."

"You're right; I'm ready to join society. Maybe even go back to training crazy kids that want to play cowboy. See, I did well. I made this one worth his salt."

"You sure did, Sarg, you sure did. Thanks."

He winked and said, "Semper Fi," John and I both said, "Ooorah."

I started to walk away, but stopped and said, "You know you could transfer to the Marshal's service. You would make one hell of a protection guy."

He smiled and said, "I would, wouldn't I. What do you have different here than the bureau?"

"No undercover and you get to travel if you want to do air Marshal work. I think some of the bad stuff is chasing down escapees, but it's probably like chasing down those idiots we were chasing in Afghanistan the first time there."

The man sitting said, "Hell, that was fun. I loved chasing those guys. They always thought they could outsmart us and we always found them. You're right; it might be more fun here."

The bureau chief heard me talking to his man and said, "I ought to be mad at you for trying to steal my guy, but he's just come off a long, long undercover assignment. The bureau would shit on him anyway because they don't think a guy that's been undercover that long can adjust."

That pissed me off. It did John too, as he was starting toward us. I said, "Your people don't know a Marine and don't know Special Forces. They work right up until they swallow their weapon or they can't do anything but. It's ingrained in how we think, how we live, and how we die."

The bureau chief said, "Hey, I don't make the rules. My guys are smart, college educated lawyers or other forms of professionals. We try not to get our hands dirty."

The guy in the chair said, "Thanks for letting me know." He turned to me and said, "Okay, Troop, where do I apply to switch jobs?"

Come on, let's get you signed up then we'll get you cleaned up and some good clothes."

"I want some stuff like you're wearing. I like your look."

"Okay, we'll do that in a few minutes. Come on." I called to the bureau chief and asked him to come with me. He did, with a docile look on his face.

We went out to Sarah and I said, "This man is transferring from the bureau to the service. Can you do the paperwork for him, swear him in, and get him a clothing allowance if he's eligible, so we can go get him some clothes. The bureau chief will sign off and John will agree with me, that's for sure."

Sarah said, "As acting Lieutenant, you can hire anyone you want. How will you start him out?"

"Well, he has some seniority time for his time in the military and his years with the bureau. Give him whatever that adds up to."

The guy stuck out his hand and said, "Thanks, you just did me a great favor."

Sarah looked up at the guy and looked shocked, "Dave? I thought you were lost overseas, what is it, ten years ago?"

"Naw, we were just on a long mission that got longer. All the home folks had me written off, but Julie knew I was okay."

"And how is Julie? I heard she was fighting cancer."

"I lost her about four years ago. It's been hard. That's why I got out."

Sarah got up and gave the guy a hug. "You come to work here and I'll take care of you." She sat back down and asked, "Okay, I need your address."

"I don't have one, Sarah, I've been undercover for a long, long time."

Sarah looked at the guy, "Okay, Dave, we'll use mine for right now. Mom and I have two extra rooms and you just moved into one."

Dave had a happy, satisfied smile on his face. "Thanks, Sarah, that's really swell."

I pointed to the chair beside her desk and left with Bobby. John followed me saying, "Good job. That's the way to get good men. Recognize their ability and get them.""

Howard came up to us and asked, "Who's the guy you just hired, or was it steal from the bureau?"

I said, "He's been undercover for several years and you know what they do to those guys. He's a Special Forces Marine; I would think anyone would want that guy."

Howard was smiling, "If you didn't ask him, John would have. Come look what we have."

Back in the interview room, I found someone else I recognized. It was one of the hotel bellhops. He was the one that had to give me back the money. I asked if I could throw him out the window. I thought he was going to wet himself. John cautioned, "Wait till I leave the room before you do, but make sure you give him a chance to tell you everything."

"I don't want to hear it, I just want to throw him out." I pointed at the Marshal and bureau guy that were questioning him and said, "Call me if he doesn't talk. I'd like to watch him splat down in front of his hotel."

Bobby and I left and went into the evidence room. There were complete plans for the penthouse area, height of the building marked on the roof area and even the local FAA weather number and website to get information on winds aloft. They would need it for that little helicopter.

There were notebooks with all sorts of information about the safe house and even some notes on ways to attack it. The ones they listed had failed. The note about the guys leaving their station to go to the Seven-Eleven failed. All the snipers failed. They had three different scanners but none had the service's bandwidth. It was a classified frequency area and was not readily accessible.

Howard and John both had something to say, but Howard spoke first, "They probably have more people that they might send, but we're putting so much pressure on them in their own backyard, they may write this area off. I'm hoping. This was a big group of guys. According to the motel, there was originally somewhere around twenty-five to thirty guys, not including Nardelli's men. Since we've accounted for all of them, you should be a little safer. We'll keep our ears out there and know when they're sending someone in."

John said, "I want you to stay in the hotel where we can watch you. Now that we know of a vulnerable area, we'll put better motion detectors out on the patio for when the doors are locked. Anything happens out there, the duty guy's alarm will go off right away. We're checking to find out what happened to the sensors up on the roof."

"You should put an alarm in the penthouse too, so I'll know."

"For you we can, if there was a regular protection assignment, we wouldn't want them to know. We're going to block off some rooms on the floor below so no one can go up either. The hotel will only charge us when they are full. I think it'll work. We were too confident that no one could get up to the roof. Now we know so we have another camera and full perimeter surveillance alarms up there. We learn from our mistakes."

Howard added, "If it looks like the world is calming down, I'll send you two out to the new safe house. It's really nice. I know you'll like it. Meanwhile, enjoy the luxury of the penthouse. Now go back to the hotel and hole up. Tell your imitators to come over in an hour or so if they can get off their knees or out of bed."

I frowned and said, "Be nice."

He laughed, "Okay, I'll be nice."

John had a questioning look on his face. I just said, "An inside Clinton joke, Sir."

"Sure it is. Keep it that way. Don't ask, don't tell."

Howard, Bobby, and I all laughed. Bobby said, "The man is sharp isn't he. Probably has something to do with being my boss' boss."



-------

Chapter 16

When we went out by Sarah's desk, she was still with Dave. I suggested, "When you have him done and sworn in, call Ms. White and have her meet you at this place." I wrote the name of the Mart and the address on a piece of paper. "She'll help you pick out clothes. When you're done there, take the man to Wal-Mart for underwear and socks then take him home to get settled. Tell Howard what you're doing and I'm sure he will agree. Before you go though, check him out a piece like mine so they will fit the jackets right. To get over there with the piece, take one of the linen jackets you have in there for undercover. That way he won't stand out so bad."

I shook hands with Dave. He stood up and walked me away from the desk. "Do you know that Sarah was my first crush? We seriously dated for a long while. When I went into the service, she started going out with some other guy and that's how I met my wife, she was Sarah's friend back then and was until we moved away. Now look what you did. You not only brought me home, you gave me back my first girlfriend and I'm even going to be in her home. Thanks, man."

"Enjoy and enjoy the service. It's a good group. Study the videos and you'll go up fast, I promise."

Bobby and I left. We radioed over to the hotel and the duty guy came out and walked over to get us. We checked every which way as we walked back to the hotel. Upstairs, we had the duty guy there call the imitators and tell them to go over in about an hour.

The duty guy said the penthouse was clean as a pin and even more ready than ever for us. They even put a motion alarm for the patio and roof in the penthouse for me.

We walked in and decided to have lunch sent up. It was decided to have some shrimp scampi, so I went back to the duty guy and asked what he wanted. He said he had already eaten and thanked me anyway. I asked him if he wanted a Coke or anything. He said. "I have a coffee pot, a mini-fridge, and even a small john. This is a neat job now except when the subject starts shooting in the penthouse." We both laughed as I went into the suite.

After lunch, we had a choice; get some sun and swim, take a nap, or study some videos. Bobby stretched and said, "Let's take a nap. We didn't get much sleep last night."

We did take a nap, a short one, after a long bit of exercise.

We worked, or rather studied, till about three and decided to go exercise. I told the duty guy and he called another guy to come up and escort us to the gym. Bobby and I worked out for about an hour and a half and decided we needed a swim. We went up to the roof, stopping for some towels, and checking in with the duty guy. He said he would shut down the cameras up there for us. Bobby said, "If you can stand to see my bod, look all you want. If this guy gets frisky, turn it off."

The guy laughed and told us to enjoy.

We swam, and had fun putting lotion on each other. I noticed the light was off on the camera, but that didn't mean another might be on. We were satisfied so we just enjoyed the sun. About five, we put on our sweats and went back to the penthouse to clean up for another formal dinner.

By six, we had guests drinking in our penthouse. Sarah and Dave, who was in new clothes, came and both of them were smiling in each other's company. Dinner was a good steak and good conversation. The only announcement was welcoming Dave to the service. When dinner was done, Sarah asked if she and Dave could come up with us.

As soon as we were in the penthouse, Bobby winked at me and said, "Make us a bunch of Mai Tais, we'll be right back."

They went into Bobby's room. Dave asked me if I knew what was up. I said, "I'll bet they will be bare-assed naked out in the Jacuzzi in just a few minutes."

"No way!"

I smiled and nodded, working on the Mai Tais. I had just crushed a bunch of ice and had four tall strong drinks made, when Bobby and Sarah came out in robes. Bobby said, "We're on our way to the hot tub. Dave you undress in my room and both of you meet us out there. Bring some towels."

Dave looked at me smiling. He said, "Do you think I'll get lucky?"

"More than lucky, my friend, you're gonna get loved like you wouldn't believe. That woman has been waiting her whole life for you to show up. What a coincidence."

I went in and changed clothes, leaving everything except my pistol and the radio behind. I also left my leg on till I was out on the patio. I wrapped a towel around me and put one over my shoulder and walked out. Dave wasn't out yet, so I put the gun and radio within reach and took off the leg. The girls helped me, but Sarah was in a teasing mood and was trying to lift me by my male handle. "Save it for Dave, I think he's going to come just looking at you."

"Oh, I hope so. I'll just suck that stuff right up."

Bobby said, "Damn girl, you are really wild tonight."

Sarah said, "I've wanted this guy all my life. I would have never approached him while he was married, but now he's free. I am too, and I want him. Oh, Chuck, you don't mind if Bobby sleeps with you and Dave and I stay in her room, do you?"

I just smiled. When Dave came out, he was a little embarrassed. He said, "This is the first time I've ever been nude around a lady other than my wife. I will say that I'm looking forward to checking out delicious Sarah, you are definitely my type.

The man dropped his towel and was already hard. Sarah reached for him and pulled him into the tub with her. "Come here, you stud. Let me make us both feel real good."

Sarah didn't wait until they went to bed. In less than five minutes, she had kissed the man into a daze and was impaled on him, slowly going up and down. When she began telling him she was coming, he came out of his stupor, stood up holding her, and used his strength to raise and lower her until they both exploded.

That had the expected effect on Bobby and me. We were shortly standing with me behind her, pounding away. When we had reached our peak and were relaxing in the tub, Dave said, "You two are really sexy together. Watching you has really revved me up. How about you and I go to bed, Sarah, and get reacquainted in comfort?"

"Oh yeah, Dave, take me to bed."

They got up and left. Bobby said, "We can only hope that couple takes. I think Sarah really has waited for that man all her life. I'll bet if she were to think about it, he was the one she has been thinking of all these years."

"How about I take you to bed too?"

"Sounds good, I'll take the glasses in and come help you."

We got me and our stuff inside and used the radio to advise the duty guy that Sarah and Dave were staying over. I told him I was turning on all of the perimeter alarms. He keyed his mike and I checked the video monitors one last time. In bed, Bobby turned on the TV and we drank our untouched Mai Tais.

As we were drinking she said, "I feel more comfortable than I should with you, Chuck."

"Same here, Bobby."

"What do you think about this?"

"What you said last night, Bobby."

"What was that?"

I leaned over hugging the big woman, kissing her and softly in her ear said, "I love you too, Honey."

She sobbed. She didn't quit right away either. She just lay there holding me and sobbed. It took her a long time, almost a half-hour, to finally look up at me with a smile. "God, I love you. Danny just told me to love you with all my heart, to give myself to you as I did him. I'm yours to do what you want, Chuck, whatever you want."

We made love slowly the first time, softly exploring each other again and again. The second time was a little fiercer than the last time; it was pure, total, lust. We both came screaming, really intense.

We fell asleep in each other's arms saying "I love you."

I kept thinking, wow, this has been fast. Can she really love me as much as I've fallen for her? Will this last? Everything I thought was, yes, yes, yes.

Morning came at almost six, but it came peacefully. We woke up, kissed and made love again, quickly but sweetly. We showered together before she went to her room to get her clothes and had to wake up the couple in there.

While everyone got ready, I called for breakfast and was finished dressing by the time the bellhop arrived. The five of us ate, enjoying each other's company. Sarah said to Bobby and me, "We'll stay at my house tonight, thanks for giving us a start."

Dave said, "I think this is my last move. I'm here to stay. Perhaps I'll be here with the Marshal's Service to stay too."

Sarah had a big smile on her face.

Bobby said, "Chuck and I decided, without saying, that we were made for each other too."

The duty guy gasped. "Really, Bobby, is this the guy that we've been hoping you would find?

"Yeah, I feel it. Danny seemed to talk to me, telling me to follow this guy wherever he goes. I'm following."

"I'm happy for you, Bobby, we'll miss having you as "Safe One."

I interrupted, "Who said she wasn't going to be Safe One any more?"

The duty guy said, "It's going to be tough doing that, and you working in the service."

I smiled and hugged Bobby to me, "I'll bet we figure it out. Besides what better safe house than with a couple that are both Deputy Marshals."

"I hadn't thought of that. You're right, that might be a good thing, and it sure would confuse anybody looking for someone."

Sarah and Dave left for the office while Bobby and I waited to be summoned. We watched the required module until it was complete. We hurriedly took the test while the information was fresh, then sat back thinking it was getting close to lunch.

The radio crackled, summoning us to call in. Bobby called Sarah who transferred her to Howard. Bobby's face went from a smile to a frown and said, "Okay, we'll be over in a few minutes. How long ago were the decoys over there?"

"Okay, we're on our way."

We checked that we had all our gear, and went out to tell the duty guy we were going to the office. He called downstairs and told us to hold a minute. The three of us were looking at all of the video screens at once, when we saw a bellhop get off the tenth floor, pushing a cart.

We didn't think anything about it until the bellhop came back pushing the cart, only this time the bellhop had his hat on kind of crooked and we noticed the pants were dragging the ground. Bobby said, "The guy's hair changed color." He knew that the elevator wouldn't stop at the penthouse floor, so he went down to the kitchen floor and called the penthouse elevator from there.

As the guy was waiting for the elevator, all three of us pulled our weapons, checking to make sure there was a round in the chamber. We watched as he pushed a button and were surprised that he had pushed the roof button. Our duty guy called down, advising the downstairs people what was up. He said they were sending people to the floor below us to come up to our level. We saw them board an elevator while watching the penthouse elevator passing our floor heading for the roof. The guy in the elevator lifted the cover from the food on the cart and took a piece of the food and sampled it.

Once on the roof, the guy walked straight to the railing over our patio and brought out a small line that he attached to the railing then went over the side. Bobby and I said we were going to wait for the guy inside. Our duty guy said he would have the others come in as soon as they arrived. We didn't even bother closing the door. We just walked to each side of the sliding door to wait. Bobby reached up and flipped the lock off so the guy would find it open. She shrugged her shoulders and mouthed, "Why mess up the new glass."

The guy landed on the patio and was messing with something out there before trying the door. Just as he opened the door, the team from downstairs was coming in the penthouse door. Both had surprised looks on their faces. Our man made a stupid mistake. He went for a gun. Seven handguns went off at the same time propelling the guy backward. When he seemed to be still functioning, the team leader from downstairs and I both fired at the same time putting one, or two in this case, between the guys eyes. Finito!

The duty guy from our floor said, "I saw him do something to the jacuzzi. We better get that tested quickly."

Bobby went back to the video wall and opened it. She scrolled back on the patio tape. We watched the guy land on the patio. He went to the jacuzzi and opened a bottle from his pants pocket, poured the contents into the tub, and put the bottle back into his pocket.

The leader was about to go through the guys pockets and I suggested, "Why don't you get some gloves. This guy is wearing gloves and we don't know what was in that bottle. Let's call the cleaning people and get them rolling. We also need a hazmat (hazardous material) unit to check what that bottle had in it.

I looked at our duty guy and asked, "You can control our elevator right?"

He nodded.

"Can you keep the car from moving or keep a door from opening?"

He nodded again.

I asked then, "Next time, we'll trap whoever is in the car until we can be prepared for whatever someone has planned when we open the door. We might even want to put some kind of gas that can be released in the car to knock someone out. Let's think it all through, have it done, and make some plans."

Bobby asked the team leader, "How come you recognized a problem but didn't stop the guy downstairs?"

"We didn't want to tip our hand down there. We think there is another one down there watching. Now that we have this under control, we'll take that guy and question him." He called on his radio telling the downstairs men to take the man down there. He then sent two of his men to look for the bellhop that had been replaced.

"Okay, Bobby, let's head to the office." Before we could even get to the door, Howard's voice came over the radio, "Hold wherever you are, hold and take cover please. Back in ten."

We walked back into the penthouse, just standing off to the side, when a helicopter came down to eye level with the patio. Every man there dove for cover. I was watching a guy that was strapped in holding what looked like an RPG launcher. (Rocket propelled grenade.) Instead of waiting for him to make up his mind to fire, I put a round into his head making him jerk back and fire the RPG up into the air.

One of the team guys said, "Oh shit, don't shoot the pilot unless you think he can fire on us. That thing will make a mess on the ground."

The helicopter suddenly lifted straight up, banked, and headed north. There was a military helicopter less than a hundred yards behind it following.

Our team leader radioed Howard and advised him of the action. Howard said, "Have the guests come visit?"

We rode down in the elevator with a team guy who went with us all the way to the federal building. We waved our badges and went upstairs to the office.

Howard and John met us at the door, with Dave watching from behind. Howard asked, "Did you shoot somebody again?"

Bobby answered for me, "He body shot a guy wearing armor, along with me and all five team members. When the guy stopped staggering backward, the team leader put one in the guy's head."

John asked, looking concerned, "You didn't finish it?"

Bobby answered again, "Chuck's round hit the guy's head at the same time, but the team leader should get credit for the kill."

John smiled and said, "So he shall."

Dave was behind John, smiling.

Howard said, "We think that they will throw everything they have at us in the next twenty-four hours. DC said that from their intelligence, this is a last gasp effort. I want you two to go back to hotel, take Dave with you, eat, go to the gym, and take a nap for as long as you can. I want you both to be rested so you can stay up tonight. We might even have you spend the night in the ready bunks. Dave here will watch you till five, then we're putting two of our teams on you, plus a bureau team. DC says nothing is to get within a hundred yards of you, period. Chuck, before you go, Sarah has not fingerprinted you yet. The Corps is reluctant, as usual, to give us your prints because you're still alive. Dave has to have his done as well. We need to file them in our database. We also need a DNA swab, all for ID purposes."

I went to see Sarah, who had the card and swab kit out for me. We did the prints and swab, and I went to the head to wash my hands and take a leak. When I came out, Howard said the hazmat team said the guy had put some kind of radical poison into the tub so it was being drained and given a steam cleaning, an acid bath and a reseal. He said, "Sorry, no hot tub for a couple of days."

John said, "Come to my room, you can use mine."

Bobby and I both laughed.

The radio cracked again, and Howard was informed they had the helicopter on the ground, and that a team had been dispatched to another location.

I looked at Howard and said, "Why are they still trying. Their jig is up, their operation is done. Why would they be trying to get revenge for something they can't even do anything about anymore?"

John said, "They put an open contract out on you for a million. We think that most anyone who tries now is a money seeker. This last group should be all of the organized crime guys that try. We're putting the word out that everyone who's tried to date is pushing up daisies and that the people who had offered the contract were now dead, not in custody, dead. They tried to resist a raid and died. Word will probably get out by tonight or tomorrow. Until then, the crazies will be coming hot and heavy."

Bobby said, "We need to find a cocoon and just hole up."

Howard said, "You're not hunted, Bobby, if you want, we can replace you."

"Not on your life, Buster. This guy is my charge and I'll see him through this." Then under her breath she said, "For the rest of his life."

Howard did a double-take at her, then smiled, "Really?"

Bobby blushed, but said loud enough for all to hear, "Really."

Howard was nodding his head, smiling. "Go rest up so you two are alert tonight. Get Dave away from Sarah and go."

I told Howard that Dave could stay and stay with us later. All we needed was an escort across the street to stay within orders. John said, "Come on, I'm not too good to do escort duty. Let's get you secure."

We crossed the street without any trouble. We thanked John, radioed our duty guy upstairs, and rang for the elevator. Bobby and I were in the classic back to back position watching in all directions to make sure no one was making unusual movements. The downstairs guy walked over to us and said with a smile, "Perfect, absolutely perfect. We should have a film crew for you two. You're so damn perfect the way you're protecting each other, it needs to be on film."

The elevator arrived and we stepped in while the guy outside the elevator called upstairs. He didn't need to, as the man up there was watching us on the video monitors.

When we stepped off the elevator, we both said to the duty guy at once, "Are you hungry?"

He laughed, "Every time you two have tried to eat today, it's been too busy. They have a great grouper sandwich today. Have one of those and relax. You two are supposed to take a long nap to be ready for tonight. If what they say is right, you could be in for a long night."

I said quietly, "I have an idea on how to avoid all the problems. I'll tell the evening guy about my idea."

Bobby looked at me and I said, "Let's just get some food, I'm starving."

We ordered and food was at the door shortly. The man wasn't even allowed in the door. The duty guy made him get back on the elevator and go back down before he knocked on the door and had us take the cart in. He said, "New orders, no one but service and bureau people in the room. Shouldn't be a big deal. Have a good lunch, enjoy."

After eating, we lay on my bed and were soon asleep. We slept till about five and decided to dress more comfortably. We both put on jeans and dark T-shirts, with our shoulder holsters in place. I had the neat sport coat with patches on the elbows and Bobby had a jacket that looked good and covered her. She asked, "Shouldn't we wear body armor?"

I thought about it a few minutes then agreed, "Yeah, that's what the stuff is for."

We put the armor on under our shirts and were ready. John came to the door and said, "We're eating in my penthouse this evening. I thought the less exposed you were the better."

This night, we had a great salad before dinner, but no drinks. We had a fancy chicken dish that was delicious. I think it was scaloppini. Whatever it was deserved my praise. When we were done, I suggested we all go back to my penthouse and watch the monitors for a few minutes.

There, I turned all of them off except the ones that were downstairs. I began counting agents, Marshals, deputies and Tampa officers. "You know, if I were a bad guy and wanted to get up here, I would just walk right up to the desk and rent a room for two or three days. To make sure I was accepted, I would go in and out the doors and elevators often. I would use all of the facilities and generally be seen by everyone. Once I had all my timing down, I would find an easy way to get on the elevator and blast my way past the duty guys and begin dismantling the room until I had all living things taken care of."

"How would you get past the duty guys?"

"For a million dollars, I'd kill them. As each area was neutralized, I would work my way up until I finished what I had started. What do you bet that there are at least two, maybe more, assassins registered in the hotel right now, laughing at the reckless shit that has been happening?"

I looked around. "If you think you can protect me easier in the office than here, think of just the two guys downstairs with no back up. A bad guy, walks in, bang, bang, and rides the elevator to the office. From there he kicks down the steel door and methodically uses about fifty well placed rounds to hunt us down."

John said, "So you're saying there's no way to protect you."

"There is, but not in this urban environment. What we need are foxholes, some automatic weapons with defined firing positions, claymores, and an anti-personnel perimeter alarm."

John laughed, "You're right, that would be impenetrable."

Howard asked, "Where would we set up something like that?"

"How about we go where it's already set up. I'll bet I could call and get Bobby and me a nice comfortable bed for the night, with enough guards to protect all of us if we needed to. John, here is a telephone number that you can call and ask if they can put up two people in protective custody for a night. When we get permission to go, we'll make a big deal out of displaying me to everyone. As soon as I'm tucked away, it's over. I can read a book before getting a good night's sleep. You can too."

John's second in command said, "Damn that's anti-climatic. Where is this sanctuary you're talking about?"

John answered for me, "The Air Force Base. We can stash you in some officer's quarters in the BOQ and it's over. Let me call."

John called the number that was for the commanding officer of Central Command and talked with the man for a few minutes. He thanked the man and said, "We'll be leaving in ten minutes. I'm staying out there with these two just to be on the safe side, plus some Marines from CENTCOM are being detailed for guard duty. I feel better already. Let's move. What do you need to take with you, Chuck and Bobby?"

"Just a shaving kit, Boss, Bobby has an overnight kit in her purse."

"Let's roll then."

Howard had our armored rolling stock brought to the front of the hotel. About five Tampa cars pulled around us. Not one of the officers was looking up, and that's where the threat would come from."

I asked them to open the rear doors of the car we were riding in then told Bobby. "Go, get in the car."

When she was in the car, one of the duty guys said, "Let me help you."

"Don't be an idiot. Stay right here."

There was a neat steel plate that slid in place for wheelchair patrons that would need a ramp. They would slide the steel plate out and lay it in place and push the patron up or down. A patron could use the main door and just glide right in, but this was the private entrance.

I told every one to stand clear, slid the steel plate out from its holder, and swung it over my head. Balancing the thing on my head, I staggered to the car and what do you know. Before I had gone two steps, three shots rang out, with rounds ricocheting off the steel plate. All the cops suddenly were looking up.

Another set of three hit the plate and I was almost at the car. As I was right at the car, there was firing from three different locations that all hit the plate. I sure hope none got lucky and hit my fingers. The idiot cops were firing up in the air with their guns. The odds of hitting anything with a pistol at that range were really remote. I slid into the car with the steel plate over the top of the car but sticking out far enough that there wasn't an angle into the car.

I pulled the door closed and a few more rounds were deflected by the car. I wondered whether with all of the law there, if they would catch the shooters?

Bobby was petrified, "You knew that was going to happen didn't you?"

"I've been thinking how I would do this and how I could be prepared in the event the target did something like we're doing."

"Why didn't you let me protect you?"

"Because you couldn't."

We waited about five minutes at the curb until John and a duty guy came out and picked up the steel plate and put it where it belonged. John came out without fear and climbed into the front seat.

"I'm not congratulating you on a good plan, as you exposed yourself too much. If you knew you were going to be targeted, we could have used a decoy. But then you did get the maneuver accomplished without any casualties, plus you located the shooters. I'll bet there are a bunch of pissed off people."

Bobby shivered, and hugged my arm.

Three service cars and five police cars with sirens blaring headed out of downtown toward Bayshore Boulevard. The police officers kept us moving right along and ended the noise at the gate to the base. The air police guards on the gate had been advised we were coming. They checked all our identifications and led us to the BOQ. (Bachelor Officers Quarters.) We could have stayed in an airman barracks and would be just as safe. It's not that the base was impenetrable, but it was damn near. My other thought would have been the base hospital where I had spent so much time.

We only kept our driver and John, and were all shown into rooms. Bobby and I were lucky to have adjoining rooms with a connecting door. We had some ice cream from a vending machine before we all said goodnight. Minutes later, Bobby was in bed with me. I had on shorts and she had on a gown. In the event someone came in to check on us, we would be decent.

We slept like babies.



-------

Chapter 17



When we got up in the morning, we cleaned up quickly in the separate men's and women's latrines before we met John and the driver for breakfast. We walked over to the officer's open mess and bought some great military breakfasts. I stuffed, having the opportunity to have good biscuits and sausage gravy, along with a bunch of eggs and potatoes. The coffee was bad as always, but it was hot, black, and strong.

John looked at me and said, "Now what?"

"If what you told me is true, we should be free and clear today. If intelligence says there's still a threat, I'll just stay right here. I'll make the hospital measure me for another leg or something. Bobby can go to work and I'll go to the library."

Our driver said, "You're too comfortable. It isn't cool to tease death."

John about cracked up, "Son, this Marine has seen so much death and been confronted so many times with the decision to save his men and die, or save himself, he doesn't even think about it. Be in real combat for a week or two at a time, then tell me about comfort factors. This man can eat using a guy he just gutted for a table. He can sleep, not necessarily soundly, but still sleep with mortars falling around him at the rate of two a minute. What he did last night wasn't for show; it was to protect all of us as he felt he was the only target. He was, and he proved it."

The driver still looked at me warily. John used his cell phone and called DC for intelligence. He heard from them that several people had been picked up last night as a result of the sniper fire. He asked for their opinion, listening, nodding.

He smiled, "Let's get our shit, thank our hosts, and go to work. We'll go to the hotel to change clothes and you, Chuck, can start taking duty. You still have some accrued incident time so if you have other things to do, go do them."

I told John that I would discuss it with Howard and that I needed to make some decisions about my employment. John looked at me in understanding and said, "I hope you stay with us." He looked at Bobby and said, "I would like you to stay with us as well. There isn't too much duty where you two can work together, but if you find something you can do together and need help with the transfer, call me."

Bobby smiled, "We didn't put anything over on anyone, did we?"

"Something clicked with you two. You both exhibited all the signs. I think you're a good match. Be sure before you make it permanent. This is a crazy way to make a living. Bobby, you already know that."

Bobby nodded but smiled.

We drove back to hotel, with John saying he was going to sign out of our service office and take his crew home. He said they all had enough good stories for the rest of the office and cubicle rats back in DC.

Bobby and I went up to the room, saying hi to some relaxed duty people, and changed clothes. I told Bobby, I think we'll be staying in our new place tonight. I have to close my other apartment and pick up my bike, but that shouldn't be a big deal. Let's go to the office.

We walked to the office and were greeted by everyone. Howard said, "After worrying about you two so much. Last night was anti-climatic. Good idea, Chuck. Not cool doing the stunt you did with the steel plate though. You're forgiven because it worked. We picked up all the shooters, plus we profiled a bunch out at the airport, and have about twenty more in custody. They're bemoaning that the big shots who offered the reward are all dead. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, you know the story."

Howard looked right at Bobby, "So Bobby, you ready for your new place?"

Next Howard looked at me and said, "Decision time, my young friend, I've done everything I can to convince you to stay. If you do, there's a good future here for you. Have any idea yet?"

Bobby looked at Howard and said, "There's one more inducement we can use, Howard. I'd want to make this guy, Safe Two. We're supposed to have a two-person team at the safe house anyway. He can still pull duty a lot of the time when we're not hosting, and what better cover than a service couple. How about it?"

Howard and John waved at both of us to follow them as they headed toward his office. Once we were all sitting, relaxed, Howard said, "Bobby, Danny's been gone a long time now and you've become a valuable member of our team. When needed, you've pulled duty for sick guys, you've even pulled some air duty. Up until Wild Bill showed up, you've never exhibited any sign of interest in anyone. The guys that have been at the office since Danny left, have all looked after you closely, hoping you would have this opportunity."

"I guess something I want you to think about is, do you really want to have another relationship with someone in the service. Hell, even the bureau can be hairy sometimes. There's always that chance that either or both of you could be lost. Bobby, you know what that's like."

"The brief courtship you two have had has been unusual to say the least. This is what I'd like to do. If you stay on, Chuck, I'll assign you as Safe Two with Bobby as leader. Your temporary Lieutenant's position will probably go away, but you haven't had any special office yet anyway. While you are working out of the safe unit, I want you to go back to the employment office and work there temporarily. I want you to observe the transition of supervision and be watchful of any new schemes that might surface. You'll work closely with the bureau, who will pick up half your tab while this undercover is going on. You don't get to double dip on salaries. Your employment office salary will be diverted to the Marshal's service budget while you take care of this assignment. If the safe unit has to host, you might have to take a leave of absence from the employment people, but Ms. White will understand. She's happy with this arrangement and is actually the one to suggest it."

"So, this will give you a chance to be a Deputy Marshal as well as see how you like the employment division. Give all of it a trial and decide in a month or so."

Bobby was very excited saying, "Come on, Chuck, let's get our stuff and go see the new unit. We can swing by your old apartment and get the stuff you had there. Let's see if there is still an attraction between us in a mundane, monotonous world."

I shook hands with Howard saying, "Thanks Howard, thank you for the opportunity. I'm leaning toward wanting to stay with the service, about ninety-eight percent sure. This is a hell of an organization. I like the camaraderie, the closeness between Deputy Marshals. This is a great place to work. Should I call in, in the morning?"

Don't call in until next Monday. I'll work on setting your schedule up with Ms. White. Both of you are off until then, enjoy.

We left the office and went back to the hotel to pick up our clothes. I stopped at the gift shop to purchase a suitcase before going up to the room. It only took ten minutes to pack our stuff and head to the garage. We were both still a little jumpy and overly cautious, checking all the sight lines constantly.

The garage attendant said, "We did a bomb check on your car this morning, Bobby. Everything is clean."

Bobby drove out of the garage and said, "Do you want to clean out your apartment now or later?"

"Let's do it now and get it over with. I need to pay off the girl that has been watching the place and who was doing my laundry."

Bobby looked at me and asked, "Is she any good?"

"Yeah, she does an excellent job. She does laundry to pay her bills. She has a guy, but he's pretty transient. He's not here a lot. Right now he is but she still needs the cash. I had an arrangement with her that if I bought the food, she would fix it. She would share meals with me, giving her a couple of healthy meals a day. When her guy showed up, he began eating with me too. I still thought it was a good deal to get a well-cooked meal and have my lunches made for me for the price of the raw materials."

"Sounds like it was a good deal. What will she do if you're gone?"

"Don't know, but she's a survivor."

Bobby said, "How about we both use her for our clothes. We can drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon a couple of times a week. We'll do our own towels and bedclothes, even our own underwear. For the rest of our clothes it would be nice to have someone else launder and iron them for us."

I said, "We'll ask her to see what she thinks."

We pulled up to the apartment to find a service car parked in front of the apartment. Inside, a duty guy was watching TV.

"Hey, Chuck, looks like this one is winding down."

"I'm surprised you're still here. I figured they would have had you pulled by now."

The duty guy said, "Howard and the bureau have something they want to do out here so they're keeping the place. So far maintenance has been out changing around some things. Hey, that Shirley cooks up a storm. Bart is a little strange, but so far he's been a decent guy to be around. This is decent duty out here since you have the food deal. I bring whatever list Shirley makes and she cooks. Hell, she's even doing my laundry for me. She charges real fair. Tough little girl, isn't she?"

At that second, Shirley walked in the back door. The duty guy said, "Speak of the devil."

Shirley was excited to see me and gave me a hug. "I've missed you being around. You were kind of stabilizing around here. I think Bart even misses you. All these other guys that have been around are okay. Are you coming home now? Is everything okay now? Are you okay?"

I smiled at Shirley and said, "No, I'm here to clean out my clothes and stuff. The bad stuff that was going on seems to be over now, so I'm fine. These guys are going to stay on so the food deal is going to continue, at least for a while."

I took Bobby's hand and pulled her to me, "Shirley, this is Bobby, I've kinda fell for this lady and we're going to try living with each other for a while."

The duty guy exclaimed, "No shit, Bobby, really?"

Bobby just grinned and nodded.

Shirley said, "She sure is a big one, she reminds me of a bigger, sleeker version of Millie."

Bobby grinned and said, "Millie's my sister."

Shirley said, "Figures this guy would hook up with someone six or seven inches taller than he is and has over a hundred pounds on him. I don't know why, but I've always figured him as thinking bigger is better."

Bobby said, "I think he likes the idea that if his leg screws up, I can carry him."

Shirley laughed, "There is that."

I asked, "Shirley, would you consider still doing my laundry and also doing Bobby's washing and ironing of her outerwear?"

Shirley exclaimed excitedly, "Hell yes, the more the merrier. I'm getting a good bunch of customers. It'll change all the time, but I'll have enough to pay my bills and feed me if Bart takes off again. He's being pretty much a home body lately, and has been making me happy. But yes, just bring it by in the morning and I'll have them done up in the afternoon. I could use some extra hangers though. If you have any of those pants hangers, you know the ones with that cardboard round thing to hang the pants on, bring them. I need those."

"Let me get my stuff, there isn't much," I said.

I put my clothes into my duffel bag and took the few toiletry things that were in the bathroom. Looking at the place, I realized how high on the hog I had been living since my sudden departure from here.

I loaded my stuff in the Expedition and came back in. "I'm going to take the bike. I've missed riding. This evening, I'm taking Bobby out for a spin. We might even stop in at Jonah's so the sisters can visit."

Bobby said, "Jonah says that I might not be all that welcome at the bar. A lot of guys are put off by the law."

I laughed, "Who's gonna tell them. The only person to know would be Jonah and your sister. We'll just be another couple with a big lady."

The duty guy said, "A real big lady."

I put in, "A beautiful, big lady."

"Okay you two, don't make me out to be a freak. Come on, Chuck, get your bike and let's go see our new place.

I said goodbye to Shirley, promising to stop by and see her. The bike was dirty but started easily. I wiggled the bike back and forth with the gas caps off to see how much gas was in the tanks. Luckily they were still pretty full.

In short order, I was following Bobby out to the old Carolwood area where the new place was. When we came up to it, workers were coming out of the house, and a couple of duty people were standing in the garage. Bobby pulled straight in and I pulled the bike in all the way to the rear of the large garage. There was still room to fit a long car inside. The duty guys came over to check out the bike, but I told them to wait till I had it cleaned up so it would at least be pretty.

The two guys gave us a tour of the house. It had four guest suites that contained a sitting area or living room, a bedroom, and a large bath. If a guest or couple didn't feel like associating with others, they would be comfortable in their suite. The sitting area had a small table for meals or games.

The house had a large living room, a large family room off the kitchen, similar to the last house and included a security video wall. There were two additional bedrooms that could be used for additional guards or duty people if necessary, a large room with all of the gym equipment, and a large storage room, this time with hangers and shelves for extra clothes, towels, and toiletries. Then there was the host suite, which included a huge bedroom that included a sitting area and a large bathroom. There was a large video wall that was easily seen from the bed, as well as the sitting area.

The backyard was enclosed in a ten-foot high concrete block wall. It was very decorative, having large pillars with a decorative cap every twelve feet. The back of the house was similar to what Bobby had before. A large covered enclosed patio that included a nice size jacuzzi, and out from there was a very attractive pool in a screened cage. Beyond the large pool cage was a nice sized yard, much larger than what Bobby had before. The duty guys kept pointing out security measures, and took us out front.

Across the street there was grass for about fifty feet, with a dense wooded area beyond. As we approached the tree line, one of the radios began to beep. We were shown the various radar sensor points that worked only on larger objects. The duty guy said that a wild pig had set it off already, but there wasn't a panic as they were able to pick it up on video right away. They also said, the security sensors began more than a hundred feet back into the woods.

Once back across the street, the guys helped us move our clothes into the big walk-in closet in the bedroom. The one guy said, "Glad you're not even pretending by having Chuck use one of the other bedrooms."

Bobby said, "No need to pretend, we've pretty much committed to each other. Part of that is to be sure to tell all our friends we have found each other. Both guys gave Bobby a hug, saying how happy they were for her. Both of them also shook my hand and warned me that I had best treat their Bobby very well. I told them they didn't have anything to worry about.

They had Bobby followed by me, sign off on the house and all the equipment and arms stored in the bedroom. The only new furniture was the extra stuff used in the new suites.

As the guys left, we closed up the garage and secured the front. We checked out the new radios with the sensor warnings built in. They were a little smaller than the last ones, but had all of the regular and tactical frequencies.

Bobby looked through the refrigerator and was happy to see it already had a good selection of vegetables, along with a couple of nice steaks. I suggested we save the steaks for tomorrow and go out for an early ride. We could dine on junk food. I asked her if hamburgers and chili sounded good. Bobby nearly squealed with joy. I told her to hold that thought, as I was going to push the bike out the big double back door and wash it.

I couldn't figure why they had the big double door in the garage until I noticed a large garden tractor mower in the corner, nice. Once the bike was cleaned up, sparkling the way it ought to be, I pushed it back into the garage.

Inside the house, I found Bobby already in her jeans and T-shirt, wearing a large loose denim jacket. I put my rig back on and donned my denim jacket. We checked each other out to make sure our hardware wasn't obvious. If someone looked for it, they would see we were packing, but both of us were carrying our identification. We were not supposed to go anywhere unarmed.

When we first started out, it took me a little while to get used to the extra weight on the bike. To get used to it, we rode north a ways doubling back to take the long way around to get to a Steak and Shake we wanted eat at. Great junk food, complete with a malted milkshake. Bobby commented that she might get fat. I commented that there would be more Bobby to love. I got a smile for that one.

Once we were riding again, I was able to feel comfortable riding two up with Bobby. We felt right riding together.

Walking into Jonah's was the cause of a lot of loud whistles and hollering. Jonah was the instigator, smiling happily, and coming to get a warm hug from his sister-in-law. He said that he had just left Millie in the back office and for us to go back to surprise her.

Millie almost came unglued. She was partially undressed, putting her clothes back on. It was immediately obvious what had been going on. The room smelled like a whorehouse and Millie had that dreamy eyed look a woman gets after being well fucked. The two big girls still squealed and hugged, happy to see each other.

Jonah had come back in with us, and as he approached Millie she said, "No more, Jonah, I don't think I could handle any more. You've worn me out. Go get me a Coke or something, I need the caffeine.

We had a couple of beers with them out in the bar, gave them our new address, and they promised to visit soon, especially after hearing we demanded nudity within the jacuzzi and the pool.

It took us a long while to ride home since we intentionally went the wrong way, taking a wide arc to feel the wind in our faces. No fast starts, no loud noises to disturb our serenity. At home, Bobby used her remote to open the garage door, and I pulled the bike way up to the front. We went inside setting up the front alarms, checking the back and perimeter alarms.

After taking a warm shower, we crawled in bed where we made love, long and slow. I used my limited knowledge to bring Bobby to many crescendos, until with a loud groan, we both drifted off to sleep.

The phone rang. I looked at the clock and saw it was right at two thirty in the morning. I reached for the phone and saw it was line two, the host line. I said, "Safe two."

The voice on the other end said, "We have a couple that will be transported either tomorrow or the next day. They need to be secure tonight until at least noon tomorrow. They're on the way. When the car approaches, they will radio."

Bobby was already dressing and I dressed, as well. We were out in the family room watching the video wall when the radio voice asked us to open up. Bobby assumed a position that allowed her a view of the garage through one of those big security mirrors stores have. I had not noticed it before. All I could do was wait for her to tell me what to do.

She said to me, "I know that call by heart from your side of the conversation that I heard. Is this a single or more than one?"

"The voice said it was a couple. They'll be here till tomorrow or today, that is, at noon, or it could be as long as another day while they await transport."

The car pulled in and I heard the big door close behind it. Bobby watched intently until I saw the driver reach up and pat the top of the car. Bobby visibly relaxed and opened the door, waving me to come along.

We brought the couple in with their limited baggage. The two duty people with them went through their luggage again, but this time with some kind of radio sensor. He said to me, "We always check them once we get to a host, even though we checked them out really good earlier. A beacon could have had a time delay on it and it's always best to be sure."

The couple was young, but obviously had been a couple for a long time. The girl closely followed the guy's lead. We got them settled into a suite and asked them all if they were hungry. The looks we got said, "Oh boy, food."

Bobby asked, "How about breakfast, some steak and eggs, some biscuits and gravy. We'll have it ready in a jiffy. Bobby handed me a box of Bisquick and said, "Make the biscuits; I'll start on thawing the steaks."

I had biscuits in the oven in no time at all, and Bobby was grilling steaks in a pan while warming up another for eggs. I made a package of some instant sausage gravy and met her while she was loading the table with steaks and a dozen and a half fried eggs without one broken yoke.

We fed the couple milk and the duty guys, milk and coffee. The two guys chatted while we ate and the couple was quiet. When one of the guys questioned how we were getting along since we had just gotten together, the couple became more interested.

They asked us how we got together and told us of their relationship. The girl was the daughter of a mobster father and the boy was the son of a rival mobster. Both parents were looking for them with anger in their hearts. The service offered to give them new identities in exchange for a bunch of information that wouldn't tell any of the mobsters that their kids had ratted them out.

The duty guys said, "We'll just stay. We'll bunk in one of the new rooms. One of us will stay up until morning, then we can both rest while you two are up. Good night and thanks for the warm meal.

We stacked the dishes in the sink and went to bed. Once in bed Bobby said, "So how do you like our new life. We didn't even get the first night free. That's the way it goes in the service. Do you think you'll want to stay?"

I rolled to her, meeting her as she rolled to meet me face to face. "You bet Bobby, we have to find out if we're a team. I think we are a set."

We drifted off to sleep holding each other, dreaming of possibly spending the rest of our lives together.



Please remember this is fiction. None of the characters exist or resemble anyone anywhere. None of the organizations exist in the manner portrayed. Pepere is my worthy editor but remember, since I proof my story before submitting, all those nit-picky errors are mine.




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The End
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Posted:  2009-02-01
Last Modified: 2013-03-10 / 03:16:31 pm
Version: 1.20
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